The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Kwara ex-public officials may face trial over sales of govt property

    Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State warned on Friday that government may institute legal action against some immediate past public office holders over alleged illegal sales of government property.

    Receiving the final report of the Committee on the Review of Sales/Disposal of government property in Ilorin, AbdulRazaq said the recommendations of the committee may be tested in court in a bid to get justice for the people of the state.

    Government, according to him, “will find judicial solutions for the good of the state in particular and the nation at large.”

    The governor also said the committee might be called upon to make clarifications as government studies the report.

    Read Also: ‘Kwara needs reforms, says AbdulRazaq’

    Its Chairman, Senator Suleiman Ajadi, had earlier told the Governor that several cases of fraud and mismanagement of public funds and property were discovered by the committee during the assignment.

    Such cases were discovered in the handling of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises funds, Harmony Holdings, and others.

    He urged the administration not to let the report end in the bin as that might mean the loss of about N5 billion allegedly mismanaged through the SME funds.

    “The committee observed the immoral use of public funds to buy luxury cars, in the face of the poverty being faced by our people, especially because of several months of unpaid salaries.

    “This amounts to recklessness and against all norms of decency for those in authority to award these property kept in their care to themselves in whatever guise,’’ Ajadi added.

    The committee had 21 members and it sat for two months.

  • 2023: Northern youths endorse Tinubu, carpet el-Rufai over zoning comment

    Northern youths under the auspices of United Northern Youth and Students (UNYS) have endorsed former Lagos State governor and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for Presidency in 2023.

    The group also condemned the call by Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai for the abolition of power rotation in the country.

    Coordinator of the youth group, Comrade Jabir Maiturare, who addressed a press conference in Kaduna on Friday, said Tinubu has contributed immensely to the North politically, particularly his coordination of the South West for an overwhelming support that brought about the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 as well as his re-election in 2019.

    Read Also: Eid-el-Kabir: Make sacrifice for development, Tinubu urges Nigerians

    Maiturare said: “Let it be known that Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu has not declared to contest for any position yet. Instead, he is solidly behind President Muhammadu Buhari and giving him the required support.

    “In any case, whenever he seeks to contest for any position, including the presidency in 2023, we are ready to give him overwhelming support, and we therefore dissociate ourselves from such irresponsible act of some minority youth from the North.

    “In the same vein, we wish to state categorically that Governor Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai’s statement against the zoning arrangement in place is uncalled for and should not be given any serious thought because he speaks only for himself and not for the North.”

    The group noted that Tinubu has shown himself as a man of integrity and a party man to the core, whose efforts and contribution to the party has produced good results over time.

  • Furore in Ogun College of Health Technology over accreditation, maladministration

    Issues bordering on accreditation of programmes run by the Ogun State College of Health Technology (OSCOHTECH), Ilese, Ijebu Ode, have pitted the academic staff union and students against the management of the college reports KUNLE AKINRINADE

    All is not well at the Ogun State College of Health Technology (OSCOHTECH) between the academic staff members, students and management of the college which became a monotechnic in 2006 during the tenure of its immediate past provost, Dr Tunji Dawodu.

    The college, which was established in 1976 to train health inspectors and hygiene officials in order to ensure clean and healthy environment safe for all to live, has lately been infected by alleged indiscretions that have fouled its landscape amid fruitless efforts by the authorities to deodorise instead of disinfecting it.

    Top on the crisis rocking the institution is non-accreditation of programmes which has pitted major stakeholders, including academic staff under the aegies of ASUP, against the management. ASUP has since penned petitions to the state government and House of Assembly, urging them to rescue the college from the dwindling in fortune the non-accreditation of programmes has caused the college lately.

    Can of worms

    Unlike his predecessor, the current provost of the college, Dr Abiodun Oladunjoye’s administration, according to a petition filed by the ASUP of OSCOHTECH, is gravitating towards abysmal failure that may be difficult to redeem if he is not checked on time. The conscious transition of the college from a certificate awarding institution to a National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) had boosted its enrolment since 2006. But that may soon become a thing of the past as virtually all of its courses for ND and HND programmes are currently not accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), following the indifference of the college authorities to warnings and notices from both NBTE and professional regulatory agencies requesting renewal of accreditation according to the law.

    Currently, programmes run by the college have been delisted from NBTE’s accreditation list, meaning that the present batch of its students who are participating in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme might be the last unless something urgent is done to restore its accreditation. The college’s accreditation by the Health Records Officers Registration Board of Nigeria has since expired too, same with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria.

    The de-accredited programmes are 11 in number as shown on NBTE’s official website where their accreditation status are published.- HND Public Health Nursing accredited in 2010 expired on October 1, 2012; HND Community Health which got accreditation in 2013 has expired since October 1, 2015; HND Dental Technology accredited in 2013 expired on October 1, 2015; HND Dental Therapy accredited in 2013 expired on October 1, 2015 and HND Environmental Health Technology which was accredited in 2013 lost its accreditation on October 1, 2015.

    Others: HND Health Information Management, which got accredited in 2013 expired on October 1, 2015; ND Community Health accredited in 2011 expired on October 1, 2013; ND Dental Technology expired on October 1, 2013; ND Dental Therapy expired on October 1, 2013; ND Environmental Health Technology expired on October 1, 2013 and ND Health Information Management expired on October 1, 2013. All of them have not been accredited many years after they were de-accredited.

    To remind OSCOTECH authorities of the need to secure fresh accreditation for the affected programmes, NBTE wrote a letter to Dr Oladunjoye asking him to ensure proper accreditation of its programmes in line with laid down regulations. The management of the college was to provide a sum of N2.6 million to renew accreditation for the 11 programmes. The NBTE expressly stated that the amount should be paid through Remmita, the official electronic payment platform, into the coffers of Federal Government.

    The letter dated December 8, 2017 and signed on behalf of the Board’s Executive Secretary by the Acting Director of Monotechnic Programmes, Ms Helen Oduntan reads: ”Following the expiration of the accreditation granted to the programmes in your college, I am directed to inform you that the Board has approved the accreditation visit to your college for the following programmes: HND Public Health Nursing, HND Community Health, ND Dental Technology, HND Dental Therapy, HND Environmental Health Technology, HND Health Information Management, ND Community Health, ND Dental Technology, ND Dental Therapy, ND Health Information Management.

    “You are therefore requested to remit to the Board the sum of N2,620,600 (two million six hundred and twenty million, six hundred naira only), being total amount only for the visitation.” Nothing was however done to comply with the NBTE’s request as the programmes remain de-accredited.

    Worried by the failure of the management to renew accreditation for its major programmes amidst other decrepit infrastructure, the leadership of the college’s Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) wrote a letter dated April 24, 2018, to the former Governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, asking the governor to, among other requests, rein in the provost and other management staff, but to no avail.

    The letter was signed by the then ASUP chairman, Comrade Abiodun Abiodun and General Secretary, Comrade Babatunde Yussuf. The unionists however lamented that no action had been taken with regard to their petition (s) to the appropriate authorities in the state.

    Like the NBTE, other regulatory and professional examination bodies have either threatened to delist the college or bar its students from writing their examinations in the light of the lack of seriousness exhibited by the management of the school towards renewing accreditation of its relevant programmes.

    One of such is the Dental Therapists Registration Board of Nigeria (DTRBN) which warned that students running dental programmes in the college would not be allowed to enroll for its 2019 professional examination.

    The decision of the board was communicated to the college via a letter signed by its Registrar, Mrs. M.O. Ojo. DTRBN in the letter with reference number DTRBN/162/ 317/ Vol III/19 and dated June 27, 2019 entitled “Non-compliance to statutory regulations” said the Board noted with dismay the disregard for re-accreditation of dental programmes run by the college despite its several correspondences on the issue.

    The copy of the letter sighted by our correspondent reads: “The Dental Therapists Registration Board of Nigeria has observed with dismay the flagrant disregard of your college to its statutory responsibilities on the training of dental therapists and dental technicians.

    “This is to reiterate that your college has consistently refused to comply with the directives of the Board on the accreditation of your two (2) dental programmes under the regulations of the Board in spite of several letters written to your college on the matter.

    “This is to inform you that the management of the Board has decided not to collect the Year 2019 examination forms of your students, and know that your students will not be enrolled for the examination.”

    However, following the inauguration of the new administration in the state, the aggrieved academic staff unionists followed up on their petition to the state House of Assembly. It was learnt that the Education Committee of the state House of Assembly had engaged the furious leadership of ASUP on July 23, while the embattled provost had also appeared before the committee on July 30, during which he was subjected to questioning over the allegations made against him.

    ”I can confirm to you that the aggrieved academic staff members and unionists appeared before the Education Committee of Ogun State House of Assembly on July 27,while the embattled provost was summoned by the committee to defend himself on the weighty allegations on July 30,” a source said.

    It was learnt that in order to douse the tension, Dr Oladunjoye’s loyalists in the college staged a solidarity rally on July 31, asking the academic staff members to leave him alone.

    Luxury amid bleeding facilities

    At a press briefing held on August 4 in Abeokuta, top academic staff members led by Comrade Abiodun again lamented the lethargy on the part of the college’s management with regard to renewal of accreditation of programmes amid alleged maladministration.

    Comrade Abiodun called on Governor Dapo Abiodun, and Ogun State house of Assembly to urgently save the institution from going into extinction due to the alleged incapability and financial recklessness of the provost. He blamed the provost for failing to take necessary steps despite several correspondences by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

    He said: “In a letter to the provost in December 2017, NBTE urged the management of our college to expedite action on the renewal of accreditation of programmes it lost a few years back. Yet, the management has not deemed it fit to do so. “We heard the management said it lacked the funds for the accreditation exercise and that the state government has not released funds for it.” The distraught ASUP leader noted that curiously, while the college bleeds from loss of accreditation of its programmes and decaying infrastructure, the management allegedly sought approval for the purchase of multi-million naira posh automobiles for the provost and others to luxuriate.

    “Perhaps to give veneer to the controversial purchase, the approval for the first batch of the purchase was sought by the management vide a letter forwarded to the state’s Ministry of Education dated January 4, 2019 and addressed to the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, and it got approval for the purchase of a Toyota Camry car and Hummer bus for the official itinerary of the provost for a princely sum of N13 million. The purchase was granted by the ministry few weeks later. “Again, the management sought and got approval from the same ministry on March 6, 2019 for the purchase of a Toyota corolla 2019 model and Toyota Camry car 2009 model vide a letter signed by a director in the ministry.”

    The vehicles, which cost over N21 million, were for the official use of the Provost and Registrar of the college. Isn’t it an irony that the management that could not source the sum of N3 million for renewal of accreditation had the courage to seek approval for the purchase of luxury vehicles for the use of top management staff, especially the Provost who already has good vehicles as official cars? “Like we noted in our petition to relevant authorities including the state ministry of Education, Science and Technology as well as Ogun State House of Assembly, that the indiscretions of management of the college led by Dr Oladunjoye could destroy the education sector, and by extension the health sector in Ogun State. “Oladunjoye spent N13 million to procure second hand (not the approved tokunbo) hummer bus and a 2004 model Toyota Camry (Orobo) for Mr Ogunbanjo an unconfirmed staff in the library which is valued at N1.1 million.

    Mr. Provost should show purchase receipt that tallies with the N13 million received for these vehicles.” In similar vein, “Oladunjoye got approvals to purchase a 2019 Toyota Corolla but ended up buying a cheaper Toyota Camry 2017 model. It should be noted that as at 16th March 2019 that the approval for the Toyota Corolla 2019 & Toyota Camry 2009 was given by Ministry of Education, there was no commissioner in place, as she had resigned to contest election. “It was the Permanent Secretary that approved the N21.990 million for the cars. Did the PS have such wide powers?” Copies of the approval for the purchase of the vehicles by the state Ministry of Education, Science and Technology sighted by our correspondent were dated January 4 and March 6, 2019. Abiodun added: “The management has also been collecting the sum of N10,000 as convocation fess from graduating students, yet no convocation has been held since 2014 when the Provost was appointed.

    “Also, the major road in the college purportedly built with over N20 million collapsed a few months later, just after a downpour. “We want the state government to rein in the management of the college before things fall apart completely in the institution.” Abiodun, who was joined by two former ASUP chairmen, Adeoye Kuku and Abiola Ojure, lamented the illegal award of an access road contract in the college, which he claimed collapsed a few months after the road was built..

    “The Provost claimed he resurfaced the only access road in the college with granite; less than a kilometre of road for N25 million, which was washed off by flood in just eight months,” he said.

    Students react

    A cross section of students of the college expressed their disappointment with the accreditation crisis and maladministration rocking the college, with many of them blaming the festering imbroglio on the management of the college. A student of Dental Technology department, who craved anonymity, said he was shocked that the programme had no accreditation from both NBTE and DTRBN.

    He said: “Of all the problems facing the college, what is so shocking to hear is that my course is not accredited by the NBTE and DTRBN, which iare the professional regulatory agencies for the programme. “What that means is that we have been short-changed by the authorities of the college and our future looks bleak in the face of non-accreditation of the programme.

    The management cannot afford to shy away from its responsibilities, because it would amount to jeopardizing our future for no clear reasons other than negligence on their part.” Another student in the Environmental Health Technology department, who also spoke in confidence, said the management had been unfeeling to the plight of the students arising from the failure to renew accreditation for programmes in the school.

    “The management should pursue vigorously re-accreditation of the programme and restore the confidence of students, as many of us have been demoralized by the news of de-accreditation of programmes in this college,” he said. A student union leader, who asked not to be named, told The Nation that non-accreditation of programmes in the college was a disservice to the students. He said that students of the college would soon embark on protests to force the management to expedite action on renewing the accreditation of affected programmes.

    He said: “We are also worried that the management of this great college, led by the Provost, had been silent on the lack of statutory accreditation of programmes in the last six years or thereabout. What this means is that we might not get jobs when we graduate from the college, and it is nothing but wickedness. “The student union as a body will soon embark on rallies and protests to compel the provost and his management team to do the needful.” Contacted, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the college, Mr Ayodele Alaga, initially queried the motives behind the request for his reaction to the allegations on August 1. Although, he promised to revert to our reporter, he did not respond to the enquiries in spite of a reminder sent to him on August 4.

    The enquiries the reporter sent to the mobile telephone of the provost of the college on August 8 also received no response. When our correspondent again contacted Dr Oladunjoye on his mobile telephone on Wednesday August 14, he said he was in a meeting and promised to revert to the reporter. He, however, had not done so at press time.

  • Dormancy of HIV/AIDS anti-discrimination law in Nigeria

    The HIV/AIDS (anti-discrimination) Act was enacted in Nigeria in the year 2014, but has since remained dormant due to non-implementation. Unfortunately, besides the psychological trauma and pains persons living with HIV go through in the country, they also face various forms of discrimination and inhumane treatment by fellow citizens.

    The HIV/AIDS (anti-discrimination) Act, 2014, was enacted to discourage discrimination against persons living with HIV/AIDS, particularly at workplaces.

    Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). By damaging immune system, HIV interferes with body’s ability to fight organisms that cause diseases. On this basis, many people consider infection with HIV a death sentence. Many people have lost their jobs because of their HIV status, while many marriages have crashed on grounds of same.

    The worst part is that most persons who are HIV positive conceal their status while majority of persons are avoiding HIV test mainly because of social stigma and discrimination. Some pregnant women who are HIV positive avoid going for antenatal care so as not to be tested, thereby subjecting their lives and the lives of their unborn babies to serious danger. In fact, this discrimination poses a threat to peaceful coexistence among members of the society, making compliance with the HIV/AIDS (anti-discrimination) Act, 2014, very difficult.

    It is absurd that the law that was enacted to stop this discrimination has been dormant like it doesn’t even exist. For instance, section 21 (1) of the HIV/AIDS (anti-discrimination) Act, 2014, stipulates that an employer employing five or more persons shall in consultation with the employees or their representatives adopt a written workplace policy that is consistent with the National HIV/AIDS workplace policy for the working environment.

    Subsection 2 of the same section further states that the workplace polices shall be lodged with the Minister of Labour and Productivity, currently known as Minister of Labour and Employment. Section 24 (1) of the same Act goes on to repose the duty of ensuring compliance and enforcement of the entire provisions of the Act on the Attorney-General of the Federation.

    The HIV/AIDS anti-discrimination Act 2014, therefore specifically reposes the duty to ensure compliance with the entire HIV/AIDS (anti-discrimination) Act, 2014, including section 21 (1) of the same Act on the Attorney-General of the Federation.

    Meanwhile, by virtue of section 150 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Attorney-General of the Federation who is also the Minister for Justice, is the Chief Law Officer in Nigeria, and therefore responsible for and oversees all legal affairs of the nation. Now, one is wondering whether the office of Attorney-General of the Federation is aware of this Act and why it has not performed its duty in ensuring the implementation of the law and compliance by employers of labour in Nigeria. Why is it always compulsory that our government officials and even the ministries and agencies must be pushed to perform their statutory roles? This is just worrisome, alas!

    It is indeed worrisome that an Act which was enacted five years ago is yet to be implemented and complied with. I am aware that Lawyers Alert Nigeria, a non-profit human rights organization has approached court to compel the Attorney-General of the Federation to carry out its functions as provided in the HIV/AIDS (anti-discrimination) Act, 2014. Lawyers Alert under its free legal assistance project for vulnerable groups is prosecuting several cases where persons living with HIV were discriminated against and either denied employment even when qualified and able, or sacked on account of their HIV status. Of course, dismissal of an employee over HIV status is a gross violation of his or her human right to work.

    Recently, Lawyers Alert got judgment in its favour in a matter where an employee was dismissed by his employer on the account of his HIV status. The mattered was instituted at the National Industrial Court, Abuja division. The court on that account held that dismissing employees on the basis of or actual HIV status is discriminatory and unlawful.

    Justice Agbakoba of the Abuja Industrial Court found that the HIV/AIDS (Anti-Discrimination) Act, 2014, is equally applicable in the private sector and prohibits discrimination against existing and prospective employees.

    Following an increase in cases of discrimination against Persons Living with HIV in workplaces in Nigeria, Lawyers Alert in its determination to provide access to justice for persons living with HIV and to ensure compliance with the HIV/AIDS (Anti-Discrimination) Act, 2014, served a Freedom of Information request on the Minister for Labour and Employment, on November 2, 2018, requesting the document containing a list of workplaces/ministries  that have complied with the provisions of section 21 (1) of the HIV/AIDS anti-discrimination Act, 2014, which requires employers of labour to adopt a written workplace policy and lodge same with the minister.

    Unfortunately, despite series of follow-ups on the FOI by Lawyers Alert for over three (3) months, there was no document at all containing such information, with the Minister of Labour and Employment.

    While awaiting the outcome of Lawyers Alert’s suit against the Attorney-General of the Federation which is in Court 3 of the National Industrial Court – suit already mentioned and adjourned to 29th of October 2019 for Lawyers Alert to address the court on the issue of locus standi (on whether Lawyers Alert has any interest above that of the society for it to approach the court on the issue), let me just conclude here by noting that if the Attorney-General of the Federation  carries the duties as enshrined in the law and ensures compliance with HIV workplace policy by employers of labour, stigma and discrimination against persons living with HIV in Nigeria would cease and rights to work and access to justice would be enhanced for persons living with HIV in Nigeria.

    • Oyegbade is a writer and social commentator

  • Osinbajo drives Buhari’s social investment programme into second term

    As the Buhari administration gets set for its second term, analysts are focusing on a key question: what will the administration do with the policies and programmes which are designed to improve the welfare of Nigerians at the lower levels which it implemented in its first term? This is a significant issue because the administration, from the word go, pegged its legitimacy and relevance on improving the lives of ordinary Nigerians across the country. This was why the government introduced a portfolio of social investment programmes in 2015 under the office of Vive President Yemi Osinbajo with the goal of taking millions of Nigerian citizens out of poverty.

    In spite of skepticism about the implementation of some parts of these programmes, there are many documented positive reports from across the country of significant benefits delivered. Confident of its track record, the National Social Investment Office (NSIO), which coordinates the social investment programmes under the office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has encouraged members of the public to examine the evidence themselves to see that the programmes are succeeding.

    Vice President Osinbajo is not only actively but passionately involved in the conceptualization and implementation of the social investment programmes. In fact, his dedication to the social investment drive of the administration has received high praise from the President. At an event held in May 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari commended Osinbajo’s efforts and said he was glad that the school feeding programme had improved attendance in schools.

    Buhari was particularly pleased that school children from poor homes could get at least one decent meal a day. The President’s joy is in congruence with the goals of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme: to provide nutritious meals for primary school children, thereby encourage learning, increase enrolment in schools and create jobs for cooks.

    The NSIO’s June 2018 report recorded 8,596,340 pupils in 24 states being fed by the NHGSFP, and 90,670 cooks being empowered through the programme. Osinbajo announced in May 2019 that as many as 190,000 farmers earn a living through the programme by supplying farm products. The feeding programme continues to attract plenty of interest among Nigerians because of its connection to children and to the education sector.

    Another popular social investment vehicle of the NSIO is Trader Moni/Market Moni initiative, an offshoot of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme GEEP. Again, Prof. Osinbajo has been receiving widespread commendation from various quarters for his successful hands-on leadership of the Trader Moni initiative, with the President jokingly expressing concern about the safety of his vice in crowded business areas.

    Trader Moni involves disbursement of collateral free loans to business people including traders, women cooperatives, market women, and farmers. The recipients of the loans must be members of approved cooperatives in order to ensure that the loans are paid back.

    The NSIO has reported that over 4,084 cooperatives have benefitted with about 308,737 certified loan disbursements. Trader Moni is not the only NSIO programme that supports small businesses. There is also NPOWER, an initiative that seeks to improve the entrepreneurship culture, as well as develop skills among youths to make them more employable. The target demographic is youths between the ages of 18 and 35.

    Each enrollee is given a monthly stipend of N30,000 and they are trained in their chosen vocation by NPOWER Volunteers. The NSIO has recorded impressive statistics for NPOWER, with enrollment as at June 2018 standing at 300,000.

    Each programme targets a specific demography, and the NSIO goes to great lengths to identify eligible beneficiaries. This is evident in the implementation of the NSIO’s National Social Safety Programme which was designed to get accurate data on poor and vulnerable households who qualify for assistance by the NSIO.

    The data gathering is done through various scientific means including poverty mapping, community-based targeting and proxy means. With the information captured through this process the NSIO identifies beneficiaries for its National Cash Transfer programme.

    Each beneficiary then receives monthly cash transfers of N5000. In addition to the payment, beneficiaries are mentored and coached to form savings groups by Community Facilitators who visit them weekly. As of June 2018, the NSIO announced that it had 297,973 beneficiary households who were being trained by 2,495 Community Facilitators in 20 states. In all, the social investment programmes have produced a total of 9.76m beneficiaries.

    In Buhari’s second term, the Federal Government will be looking to consolidate on these results as the NSIO continues with its portfolio of social investment programmes with the VP overseeing them with his usual rigorous passion. There’s no doubt that the Osinbajo’s leadership is a key reason for the overall success of the social investment programmes. His oversight and the high-level implementation strongly indicate that these programmes are close to the heart of the Buhari administration.

    The progress made notwithstanding, Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment Maryam Uwais believes that the NSIO can achieve more in the next four years with improved funding. She says that the Federal Government will in its second term scale up the programmes to reach more Nigerians: “We have gone far in 21 states but we hope to build on it”, she said.

    In response to skepticism which some Nigerians have concerning the programmes she has urged the press to visit the poor communities and rural areas to investigate the activities of the NSIO. “If our media go to these rural areas, many will understand how far we have gone in the 21 states”. She also acknowledged the attention the programmes got during the last elections. “This intervention is to alleviate poverty; we are seeing results. For instance, the Trader Moni scheme has been on since 2016 but it got more attention during the elections”.

    Improved publicity of the NSIO’s operations will help to douse skepticism and improve awareness among potential beneficiaries who come mainly from communities that suffer challenges with internet connectivity and communication in general. These challenges affect both the smooth implementation of the programme and the communication of its benefits. Another challenge the NSIO must improve upon is the short-changing of field officers and beneficiaries by supervising officials who often exploit their positions in many ways.

    The good news is that the NSIO and its partner organizations such as the World Bank, UNICEF, Accenture and Action Aid, have a chance to review the results so far and change strategies where necessary. Osinbajo has said that a key part of the administration’s Next Level plan involves scaling up the programmes.

    “At the Next Level, which is what we are talking about now, what we are saying is that we must make this programme bigger,” he said.

    • Udo-Akpan is a policy analyst based in Lagos.

  • Onitiri tells FG to release Sowore

    Lagos-based political activist, Chief Adesunbo Onitiri has advised the Federal Government to release Mr. Omoyele Sowore from detention in the interest of peace, democracy, and his constitutional right.

    According to a statement, Onitiri said the detention was unnecessary, undemocratic and unpopular, and could not stand the test of time and law. “I wish on behalf of millions of Nigerian democrats and peace-loving citizens plead with President Muhammadu Buhari government to release the convener of ‘Revolution Now’, Omoyele Sowore, as his detention will continue to heat up the polity,” he stressed.

    He said Nigerians’ fundamental human rights to freedom of speech, association and assembly cannot be taken away from them by any government in power.

    Read Also: NLC to govt: release Sowore, others

    “Besides, we wish to plead with our judiciary not to be used against the people, as Nigerians shall hold the judiciary responsible if our democracy should fail.

    “We have come a long way to achieve this democracy and it should never fail. We implore our judiciary to be courageous, stand firm with the people of Nigeria and defend our democracy.”

    Onitiri emphasised the importance of the Judiciary as the last hope of our people and strongest pillar of our democracy.

    “This is the time we need our Judiciary to be bold and courageous. We have no other country we can call our own. We must all salvage our country, Nigeria and make it work and great again.”

  • Revolutionary pressures in Nigeria (1)

    The title of this piece is evidently not original. It is an adaptation of the title the characteristically profound yet highly controversial book, ‘Revolutionary Pressures in Africa’ published in 1978 by the immortal preeminent political economist, Professor Claude Ake. The reason for my referring to this book in this column today is pretty obvious. Former radical students’ union leader, media entrepreneur turned politician and now convener of the #RevolutionNow protests, Omoyele Sowore, has made revolution, a popular buzzword in Nigeria once again.

    Of course, the state has responded in a predictably high handed manner to what may have most likely ended up as nothing but a futile exercise in unproductive political masturbation. For, as respected columnist, Professor Ayo Olukotun put it in his column of Friday, August 9, in The Punch, “You cannot have a revolution without a revolutionary agenda, revolutionary personality, a vanguard, a rearguard and minimal capacity to enforce the revolutionary script”. By obtaining a court order to detain him for 45 days, in the first instance, the Nigerian state has simply lionized Sowore needlessly.  It has demonstrated a nervousness that only a fragile and insecure state should exhibit when confronted with a political pygmy like Sowore.

    What Ake refers to as ‘revolutionary pressures’ have existed in Nigeria ever since I became politically conscious as a youth. Yet, we have never succeeded in creating a cadre of revolutionaries to take effective and maximum advantage of such situations to successfully mobilize the masses to overthrow an indisputably unjust, exploitative and inequitable socio-economic and political system. At best we have had ultimately ineffectual mass protests, military coups that produced largely reactionary, repressive and regressive regimes or elections in which people mostly vote without choosing (apologies once again to Claude Ake) and elected governments come to power promising fundamental change that forever remain elusive.

    Explicating on Ake’s theorization of ‘revolutionary pressures’, a reviewer, Lawal Abdulmutha, posits that “In accounting for the instability of present-day African political systems, Professor Claude Ake argues that there are revolutionary pressures against the existing exploitative class relations, and thus against the very survival of the ruling elite and the state. He attributes these pressures to, first, the desperate poverty of African workers; second, the huge economic and social discrepancy between rich and poor; third, rising expectations due to modernization; fourth, the enticing models provided by the developed countries made even more piquant by their portrayals in the media and by the limited penetration of consumer goods and retail firms into African markets; and fifth, the politicization of the African peoples through their frustrating colonial and post-colonial experiences”.

    The late renowned development economist, Dudley Seers, famously noted in the 60s that the three most critical questions to ask in order to ascertain whether or not a country was developing are: ‘What is happening to poverty? What is happening to inequality? What is happening to unemployment?’ These three indices have undeniably worsened over the last two decades indicating that we are yet to begin to perceive and utilize democracy as a handmaiden of development. Despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s best efforts and personal example of modesty and rectitude, the country remains trapped in a huge corruption cesspit that continues to inhibit the possibility of extricating the vast majority of our people from dehumanizing poverty.

    Another economist, Edgar Owens, contends that development takes place when there is development of people and liberation of the human potential rather than the development of things. What have we seen in most cases over the last two decades of unbroken democracy? There is an overconcentration on huge infrastructural projects in urban centers mostly for their exhibitionist value as well aspresumably a source of fantastic kickbacks from overinflated contract awards by a larcenous political class. Again, the democratic process itself – the humongous cost of organizing and managing elections or the no less outrageous cost of maintaining elected and appointive public officers – diverts resources from meeting the pressing existential needs of the vast majority of the people including providing potable water, solving the power supply conundrum, undertaking meaningful rural development, eliminating avoidable diseases, providing effective, affordable and qualitative healthcare and educational services among others.

    In calling for his #RevolutionNow campaign, Sowore is, therefore, right that the inexcusable level of poverty in Nigeria today is unacceptable against the background of the country’s abundant resources and the obscene profligacy of a minuscule proportion of the population. But then, does Sowore not contradict himself logically and philosophically? In contesting the last presidential election, was he not expressing his faith and confidence in the extant system? Was not that an election in which the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) lost no less than five states to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)? Is an election credible only when you or your party wins? If Sowore had been declared winner of the election, would his government have magically solved all the country’s problems instantaneously? Would he then have initiated a #RevolutionNow campaign against his own government or tolerated others launching such a campaign?

    Beyond this, Sowore and his collaborators seems oblivious of the fact that Nigeria is already caught in the midst of an ever deepening revolution of the country’s teeming and suffering masses of the underclass even if the latter have never heard of nor have any idea what the word revolution means? How else can you describe the mindless descent into ever worsening anarchy across the country on a daily basis? I have seen with my own eyes youths with blood shot eyes banging with dangerous weapons on the windows of cars caught in traffic and forcibly dispossessing occupants of such vehicles of their money and possessions. Is that not a revolt of the underclass even when they lack any class consciousness in any meaningful sense of the word?

    What do you make of the senseless banditry, terrorism, religious extremism, rape, kidnapping, cultism, communal clashes or even mindless drug use by an alarmingly increasing number of youths? These are forms of revolt and rejection, even if self-destructive, against an exploitative, casino capitalist system that has totally alienated the vast majority of the citizenry and ripped them of their basic humanity and dignity. And here lies the signal failing of the likes of ideologically conscious individuals like Sowore and radical groups like the trade unions, progressive academics and change-oriented civil society groups that have abandoned the more important but back-breaking task of political education, enlightenment and mobilization of the masses of the people to effect radical political change.

    A vacuum has thus been created that has been filled by ethnic entrepreneurs, religious buccaneers and anarchic separatists who consciously divide the people in order to continue to exploit them. Sowore and other young and vibrant presidential candidates in the last election contested on the platforms of parties that had no firm pan-Nigerian foundations or even easily comprehensible and widely disseminated programs capable of appealing to the electorate. Party formation, consolidation and mass mobilization are no tea party.

    What then is to be done? Old style bloody revolutions that sought wholesale overthrow of extant state structures and the emergence of an ultimately elusive radically new order is not the way to go. History teaches us that such revolutions not only eventually consume their own children, they easily degenerate into even worse monsters than the systems they overthrew. Unlike countries like Libya, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia or Algeria which had to undergo the so-called Spring Revolutions to break the bonds of dictatorship but only fell into greater political crisis, Nigeria has a democratic system that, despite its flaws, has lasted 20 years without any interregnum.

    It makes no sense to seek to discard the system wholesale at this stage.   With all its faults, democracy has built into it a self-correcting mechanism. The cure for the lapses of democracy is continuous practice of more democracy. It is not the perhaps well-meaning but ill-conceived, poorly thought out and immaturely organized #RevolutionNow sought to be convened by Sowore in a complex and plural polity like Nigeria, which he does not appear to have studied seriously.

    In his review of Ake’s ‘Revolutionary Pressures’, Lawal Abdulmuttah, writes: “Ake notes that the African people are essentially demanding two things. The first is equality, which, in effect, means the abolition of post-colonial capitalism and its privileged classes. The second is “social well-being, easing the agony of extreme want”. Ake, however, postulates that neither of these demands will be granted by African ruling elites because the very condition of underdevelopment very drastically limits the expansion of the economic surplus. Thus, the capitalists cannot react favourably to revolutionary pressures without committing class suicide, which, of course, they will not do”.

    Here, I do not entirely agree with Ake. Unable to resist the persistent and vehement demands of Nigeria’s middle and underprivileged classes for a welfare state in order to democratize the benefits of Nigeria’s oil wealth, the Nigerian ruling class had no choice but to include a chapter on the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy in the 1979 constitution and this has been retained in the 1999 constitution. Although this section that provides for far-reaching welfare services to succor the poor and vulnerable was defanged by being made non-justiciable, human rights lawyer and activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has demonstrated how this section can indeed be a basis for a revolutionary redistribution of wealth in Nigeria in his seminal book, ‘Nigerian Law on Socio-Economic Rights’, which we will re-examine in the final part of this piece next week.

    But let us give the final word, once again, to Professor Ayo Olukotun who warns that, “What the Sowore outburst has to teach us, in case we are a nation that learns, is that time may be running out for the ruling class, to make desirable changes, and to walk the talk by rescuing Nigerians out of the bind in which they find themselves”.

  • Police parade 216 suspected criminals in Kano

    Kano State Police Command has arrested 216 suspected criminals, allegedly involved in robbery, kidnapping, car snatching, currency counterfeiting and drug dealings.

    The Police Commissioner in Kano, Alhaji Iliyasu Ahmed who paraded the suspects on Friday, said the suspects were arrested within the Sallah period.

    The commissioner said the arrest was made mostly by personnel of Operation Puff Adder.

    Ahmed said nine of the suspects were arrested over armed robbery and 16 for kidnapping.

    He said that two kidnapped victims were rescued by the police.

    The commissioner added that 34 thugs locally known as ‘Yandaba’, were also arrested in various locations with dangerous weapons during the Sallah period.

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    According to him, 51 other suspects were arrested at different criminal hideouts where large quantity of dried leaves suspected to be Indian Hemp and other intoxicating substances were recovered.

    “This is in addition to tracking one suspect at his hideout in Warawa Local Government Area after allegedly stabbing one other person to death,” he said.

    He added that the command had also swooped on five suspected fraudsters and high profile scammers on land matters and that N400,000 and four motor vehicles were recovered from them.

    According to Ahmed, another five suspects were also arrested for counterfeiting local and foreign currencies.

    He however stated that operation Puff Adder which was recording tremendous success would be sustained throughout the state, until all non repentant criminals were arrested and brought to justice.

    The commissioner commended law abiding members of the general public for their cooperation during the just concluded Sallah festivities which ended peacefully.

  • Police rescue three kidnap victims in Ogun

    Three persons kidnapped on the eve of Sallah celebration at Ode Omi, a community in Ijebu Waterside Area of Ogun East senatorial district, which shares boundary with Lagos have been rescued unhurt by the police.

    The victims are Adamson Bamidele, Adam Jelili and Sanni Azeez.

    Police spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi,  said the victims were rescued unhurt on Friday.

    The rescue operation, according to Oyeyemi was led by the Commissioner of Police, CP Bashir Makama.

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    He said: ‘’The operation which was personally led by CP Bashir Makama made use of police helicopter for aerial surveillance of the creek where the hoodlums were tracked to, and when the heat was too much on them, they were left with no other option than to release their captives. ‘’

    Oyeyemi also disclosed that a suspect had been arrested in connection with the case, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend the remaining members of the gang.

    He said that CP Makama had ordered the anti-kidnapping team and other tactical squads in the command to bring the hoodlums to book.

    He added: ‘’The victims have since been reunited with their families.’’

  • N3bn fraud allegation: Group gives Oyo-Ita 72 hours to resign or face mass protest

    A group, Independent Public Service Watch (IPSW), has called for the resignation of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita following the allegation of N3billion fraud leveled against her.

    In a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by its Executive Secretary, Mr Okpanachi Jacob, the group vowed to commence nationwide protest against her if she fails to resign within 72 hours.

    It would be recalled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating Oyo-Ita over alleged N3billion contract scam, abuse of duty tour allowance, money laundering, among others.

    The group said it would henceforth take legal action against the likes of Oyo-Ita to ensure that public servants facing corruption trial vacate their seats pending the outcome of their investigation.

    “As stakeholders in the Nigeria project, we shall henceforth go all out including seeking legal means to ensure that public servants facing corruption trial vacate their seats pending the outcome.

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    “We hereby issue a 72- hour ultimatum to Mrs Oyo-Ita to resign from office barring which we shall massively mobilise our civil society partners to picket wherever Oyo-Ita is.”

    Jacob stressed that Oyo-Ita ought to have resigned her position pending the outcome of investigation, as all efforts to reform the civil service would amount to nothing if she remained in office with the level of the allegation against her.

    He wondered why public servants facing investigation for corruption in the country still find it convenient to remain in office.

    “It is worrisome and unacceptable that the Head of Civil Service of the Federation that is central to the fight against corruption is involved in corrupt practices.

    “There is no way the service can be reformed when its head is enmeshed with series of allegations of corruption.

    “More painful is the fact that a single Nigerian and a woman of Oyo-Ita’s calibre who by all means looks very pious, will be in custody of such mind numbing sum of money in the midst of the abject poverty faced by civil servants and Nigerians in general.

    “Preliminary findings by the anti-corruption agency confirmed that about N3billion has been traced to the Head of Service which came in through proxy companies.

    “Also, about N600million has been traced to the account of one of her key aides who has been unable to give any justifiable explanation for it,” Jacob said.