The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

Feminism shines through ‘His Only Wife’

Olukorede Yishau

THE first sentence “Elikem married me in absentia” teases; the last sentence “I still wish that he had been at our wedding, that he, instead of Richard, had given me the ring and the Bible, that he had married me, that he’d wanted me to be his wife, his only wife” tantalises; and the sentences in between excite.

Welcome to the world created by Peace Adzo Medie in her debut novel ‘His Only Wife’.

Afi, a smart, pretty seamstress, lives an ordinary life with her mother after her father’s death. One day, her mother persuades her to marry Elikem Ganyo, the rich son of their benefactor, Faustina Ganyo. The man her mother wants her to marry is known to her only in name and reputation. Elikem, at the time, is known to have a Liberian woman as his baby mama, but Afi is assured she will soon become history. Reluctantly, she agrees to the wedding.

Her first shock is her husband’s absence at their wedding, which for her uncles and aunts, and other extended family members, is an opportunity to get some money and gifts. For her mother-in-law, her hope is that the marriage will help her get rid of the Liberian woman whose claws are tight on her son’s neck.

The wedding ceremony over, Afi moves to Accra, the Ghanaian capital, but instead of moving into her husband’s home, she is settled into a flat in a building owned by her husband’s brother. Days pass and she only speaks to her husband on phone, at first for a few minutes but, with time, they begin to talk longer. On the day he first visits her, nervousness takes the better part of her, her armpits are moist and her feet are heavy. Her hands are so damp she has to wipe them on her dress to open the door for him. She is shocked to discover he is only visiting and not ready yet to stay with her there or move her into his mansion.

In Accra, she has days of having nothing to do but cook for a husband she is not sure will show up. Her enrolment in a fashion designing school helps to save her from boredom. Her relationship with Richard’s girlfriend, who stays in the flat opposite hers, also opens her eyes to her new world. However, despite her misgiving, she stays so that the financial security her mother wants is intact.

However, with time, her patience runs out and she begins to trouble him about when she will move into his house and he keeps telling her to wait. She reaches a stage that she returns to Ho, their small town, and insists she will only return to Accra if he comes to take her to his mansion. Her mother and mother-in-law’s pleas fall on deaf ears. After some time he shows up in the village and takes her to his mansion, but their relationship is strained.

To make herself independent, she begins to train to become a fashion designer. Her situation is helped by her becoming pregnant with a baby boy and she has the baby, Elikem is overjoyed and this gives her some mileage. Elikem’s sister, however, does not like the ‘trouble’ Afi is giving her brother and seizes every opportunity to let her know that she should be grateful to have been picked from the gutter and polished up. Afi remains adamant, insisting on having her man to herself. Afi’s mother’s relationship with her mother-in-law becomes strained as a result of her insistence on being treated right. With the money Elikem gives her, she builds her mother a house and she leaves the one loaned her by Elikem’s mother.

From time to time, Afi notices strange things about her husband, and her suspicions are confirmed when she discovers text messages in which he professes undying love for his baby mama. This causes altercations between them. But, the camel’s back soon breaks when she stumbles into the baby mama, and the lies Elikem’s family has fed her about the Liberian woman become glaring. They claim she is ugly, but Afi discovers she is a beauty in a special class of her own. Things fall apart at this stage and Medie seems to borrow from the way things turn out most times in life: Unexpected. The plot twist here is a shocker!

Medie depicts a glowing and stunning Accra, and it is difficult not to root for Afi as she settles into the Ghanaian capital. Using masterful and seamless prose, she delivers a story with the capacity to keep the reader tied to the pages.

The characterisations are spot-on, especially her handling of the extended families and her depictions of the power of money. The extended families help to make the novel really hilarious. The rhythm of the storytelling builds the reader’s anticipation, and with themes such as deception, ambition, love, and values strewn all over the pages, and internal and external conflicts here and there, the outcome is an emotional rollercoaster. Stirring, unabashed, this marriage story shines with the power and grace that feminism is known for— with Afi’s voice ringing clear, not confusing and demanding her rights the moment she closes the window on nonsense and becomes a strong woman in a world where men are reluctant to change and, with this growth, she chooses her own path not minding whose ox is gored.

Told in the past tense and narrated by Afi in the first person, ‘His Only Wife’ will make a good movie and it is a good thing it has already been optioned. Afi is a heroine cinema-goers anywhere in the world can relate to and only promoters of patriarchy will fault the actions of a courageous modern woman who breaks her in-laws’ taboos which expect her to be nothing more than a beautiful cook, a dutiful mother, and a submissive wife who respects and does as her husband wishes.

January 15, 2021
Wanted: A Heroes’ Day
By Abdulrazaq Magaji

JANUARY 15 is here! It is the date on the nation’s official calendar that never fails to intrigue. As if you have forgotten, January 15 is Armed Forces Remembrance Day, a special date set aside to salute Nigerian soldiers who died in the two world wars of 1914 – 1918 and 1939 – 1945 as well as those who died during the preventable civil war of May, 1967 to January, 1970.

As the name indicates, emphasis is on members of the armed forces, not non-military Nigerian heroes and heroines the country has produced. Though the country has produced many non-military heroes, Nigerians are still waiting for an imaginative government to carve out a Remembrance Day for them. Aside instituting a low-key Armed Forces Remembrance Day since 2015, the Buhari/Osinbajo administration has a moral and historical duty to introduce a Heroes’ Day on the nation’s official calendar.

Fact is, celebrating Armed Forces Remembrance Day on January 15, the anniversary of the needless murder of some of Nigeria’s finest political leaders by some over-pampered members of the Armed Forces is simply insensitive. It is a double tragedy that the remembrance is on the day that officially marked the end of the better-forgotten civil war in 1970. Heck! Are we healing old wounds? Or opening them up?

Let us recall, for the purpose of education, some of mind-bending events in the wee hours of January 15, 1966. In Kaduna, death came to Sir Ahmadu Bello, premier of the old Northern Region through Major Patrick Chukwuma Nzeogwu who invaded the premier’s lodge at a time honest men were in bed and killed the main tenant and his wife in cold blood. No member of the premier’s security detail or member of Sardauna’s household would have believed Nzeogwu, one of the so-called “Yaran Sardauna” (children of Sardauna) could bring himself up to the dastardly act of killing a man who showed deep interest in his career and wellbeing and whom he (Nzeogwu) fondly called Baba!

In Lagos, drunken soldiers invaded the official residence of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the nation’s first and only prime minister, disrupted his mid-night prayers at gun-point, took him away and killed him near Otta, in present day Ogun State. Also executed, Gestapo-like, were Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, premier of the defunct Western Region and Festus Okotie-Eboh, the nation’s trendsetting finance minister. Their murderers were members of the armed forces that the nation, ironically, salutes every January 15.

Aside killing these political leaders, the soldiers effectively ended the nation’s bourgeoning democracy and set the stage for a long military interregnum. The immediate effect of the actions of the bloody coup was the suspicion it introduced into the armed forces which effectively set the pace for the needless and avoidable 30 month civil war. Nzeogwu and most of his fellow conspirators are dead, but through elaborate celebrations every January 15, they are presented to Nigerians, alongside deserving members of the armed forces, as the best things to happen to Nigeria!

What makes the deaths of January 15, 1966 even more painful is that the victims were innocent of the cooked-up charges of treasury-looting levelled against them. None of the men stole public funds; none was accused of owning foreign bank accounts and, with the possible exception of the flamboyant Chief Okotie-Eboh, the murdered politicians maintained Spartan life styles. Even in the case of Okotie-Eboh, his killers never substantiated claims that he amassed public funds to drive his flamboyant life style.

For Sir Ahmadu Bello, his only worldly possessions were two mud houses, one in Sokoto and the other in his birthplace of Rabah, all in present day Sokoto State. On his part, the prime minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was still indebted to his bank for an over-draft he drew for the upkeep of his family at the time he was murdered! So, were these men killed because they were corrupt as alleged by their killers? Nothing can bring back these men but there will always be a big question mark as to why the nation continues to celebrate them.

What, exactly, do we celebrate on January 15? End of the civil war? Aside the estimated two million Nigerians lost to the war, the scar of the war are still there for all to see. If truth be told, everything must be done to stop segregationist elements in the country if Nigeria must avert another recession into either a civil or uncivil war. If we still do not deem it fit to offer a public apology for the dastardly act of some members of the armed forces, at least, we should be decent enough not to celebrate murderers on a date that sticks out like a sore thumb.

And lest this position is misread and misrepresented, there is absolutely nothing wrong with an Armed Forces Remembrance Day. By all means, the event should continue to be on the nation’s calendar but let another date be chosen for this purpose. For the sake of decency, let us set aside January 15 as Heroes Day to celebrate and salute outstanding Nigerian heroes and heroines.

It is time to set aside another date as Heroes Day if, for whatever reasons, January 15 is too appealing to be retained as Armed Forces Remembrance Day.
- Magaji <magaji778@gmail.com> lives in Abuja.
January 15, 2021
Club VICTORIA Boss, Bruno Owede begs LASG, public

Our Reporter

The management of Club VICTORIA in Lagos has appealed to the Lagos State Government to kindly reconsider its closure following a violation to the covid-19 protocols.

The Lagos State Police Command had last week Saturday raided the club located at Ajose Adeogun, Victoria Island, Lagos and arrested some clubbers and strippers at the club.

But the club Executive Chairman, Bruno Roy Owede in a press statement issued in Lagos on Friday described the incident as gross managerial misconduct, stressing that, the management has enforced disciplinary procedures against the affected workers.

Owede maintained that, the intention of the club was not to disregard or flout the COVID-19 rules and restrictions, but to keep everyone away from harm’s way.

He added that, as a brand committed to due process and compliance, the Club has submitted to the authorities for their enforcement efforts and step up its commitment in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

He assured members of the host community and customers of the club of the management’s readiness to partner with Lagos State Government in an effort to create awareness about the importance of adherence to necessary precautions recommended by health professionals.

“On behalf of the entire board and management of Club VICTORIA, we are deeply sorry for the unpleasant events of Friday, 8th of January 2021, which has put our brand in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

“Last week was the toughest operational week in our history, but it’s important to state that our intentions were never to disregard or flout the COVID-19 rules and restrictions aimed at keeping all of us out of harm’s way.

“The incident was a gross managerial misconduct and we have enforced disciplinary procedures while working hard to put preventive measures in place.

“As a brand committed to due process and compliance with the rule of law, we promptly submitted to the authorities in their enforcement efforts; we would also like to take this opportunity to tender our unreserved apology to His Excellency; the governor of Lagos State, the entire State Executive Council, the Police Authorities and our friends and clients who were affected by this incident.

“As a company known for its commitment to the development of our host city, we pledge to step up on our commitment in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. We are also ready to partner with the Lagos State government in the efforts to create awareness about the importance of adherence to necessary precautions recommended by health professionals.”

January 15, 2021
Trump: Lessons for America and the world
SIR: The outrageous conspiracy theories of the outgoing President of the United States of America, Donald Trump have exposed the flaws and dangers in the America’s age-long democracy which is approaching its third century. The recent invasion of the Capitol Hill in Washington DC which houses the legislative chambers, just a stone-throw from the US White House, by thugs during a plenary with backing from President Trump is indeed saddening and shameful.

Now, the question begging for answers is: Should Donald Trump go scot-free despite his involvement in sedition and insurrection – treasonable felonies that sent citizens to early graves and almost collapsed democratic institution?

Sensibly, Trump should face the wrath of the laws for deterrence purposes. The laws are no respecter of persons. A political leader who out of inanity incited and mobilized mobs to unleash mayhem leading to deaths of persons is a good candidate for trial on crimes against the people. The mayhem was targeted at the members of the US Congress after the Vice President, Mike Pence declined to tamper with the sacred will of the people.

Prior to this, Trump had urged the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger in a telephone conversation to “find 11,780 votes” to enable him to overturn the election results already declared in favour of Democratic Party’s candidate, Joe Biden.

It is therefore logical to conclude that Trump is a psychopath and enemy of the state, thus, should be monitored to avoid causing further damages as Biden’s inauguration approaches. It must be noted Trump has not conceded defeat but vowed to continue the unreasonable fights. People as desperate as this can unleash costly mayhem at a time people least expected. As it stands, uncertainty on what may happen before the inauguration date looms. Recall the Capitol Police was overpowered having been taken unaware. Trump mobilized the thugs and instigated them to proceed to Capitol Building to violently disrupt plenary.

As it is, the two-step electoral system in the states comprising popular votes and Electoral College should be reviewed as the recent calamities have exposed its vulnerability. Same with Congress’ certification except for mere transmission. Imagine if Pence had bowed to Trump’s conspiracy theories; the victory wouldn’t have been sustained; the election would either be overturned or declared inconclusive against the January 20 – inauguration despite verdicts of 62 courts including the Supreme Court. Now, great lessons to the world – President Trump’s excesses have been manifesting, unsettling long ago from his day-one in office. It culminated, and at a time, in his impeachment by the House of Representatives only to be acquitted by the Senate merely on account of political affiliation and selfish interests. There should always be a boundary between politics and leadership. Public interest should be supreme. Had the Republicans acted astutely and did the needful, the mess and disgrace would have been averted.

The Republicans’ lack of oversight then fortified Trump’s impunity thereby growing to the present agonizing disaster, the ultimate of which was the desecration of the democratic institution and which has now brought ridicule to America before the global community. Politics should unavoidably, always be played with a sense of responsibility and foresightedness. That over 60 different courts received petitions on Trump/Biden presidential election, yet, concluded in a space of one month is deservedly a tribute to the US judiciary. This must necessarily be noted.
- Carl Umegboro, carl@CarlUmegboro.com
January 15, 2021
Chico Ejiro (1953 – 2020)

Editorial

HE finished shooting a new movie “barely two days” before he died on December 25, 2020. He was 67. It wasn’t supposed to be his last film. Known as ‘Mr Prolific’, Chico Ejiro was a highly productive filmmaker in the English-language sub-industry of Nollywood, Nigeria’s motion picture industry. Indeed, it is said that the films he directed are too many to count.

A 2002 article on Nollywood, published in The New York Times, said of him: “He boasts of shooting a movie in a single weekend. At times, he has directed several movies at once.” The article described his 2001 film Outkast as “racy” and a “runaway success.” Ejiro explained: “One of the advantages I have is that I’m also a cameraman; so I know what to shoot. I’m also a film editor, so I know what to edit. It helps me to do so many movies at the same time.” He added: “In those days I was so busy! I churn out four to five movies in a week!”

His elder brother, Zeb Ejiro, a Nollywood great who introduced him to filmmaking, described his “directorial production style” as “pacy and innovative.” Whether as director or producer, or both, he stamped his signature on the movies he was involved in. His Lagos-based production company, Grand Touch Pictures, collaborated with more than 30 organisations in television and film productions.

Films he directed or produced include First Cut Is the Deepest, Dream Lover, Agony of a Lover, True Romance, and Silent Night. Others are: Polygamy 2, The Final Clash, Night Bus to Lagos, Blood Money, Deadly Affair, Scores to Settle, Ashanti, Ofeke, Tears in My Eyes, All My Heart, Black Malaria, A Second Time, and Computer Girls.

He was interested in storylines that were relevant to Nigerians and Africans, and his works ranked among popular Nigerian movies in West Africa. He also had an eye for talent, and discovered a number of actors who became Nollywood stars.

Ejiro’s stature in Nollywood earned him a place in Welcome to Nollywood, a 2007 documentary directed by American Jamie Meltzer. The documentarist followed him as he made Family Affair 1 and Family Affair 2. The documentary premiered at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and was shown at the Avignon Film Festival and the Melbourne International Film Festival in the same year.

His success helped to promote Nollywood, regarded as the world’s third-biggest film-producing industry after Hollywood and Bollywood. He was a significant player among the country’s second-generation movie makers who took the stage in the 1990s following the availability of inexpensive video-production equipment.

It is striking that he switched to filmmaking, though he had a diploma in Agriculture from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, and a degree in the same field from Federal University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State.

“In 1985-86, I started working with my elder brother, Zeb in NTA productions like Ripples and from there, I started off on my own,” he told an interviewer. “In my early days in the industry, I came in as a cameraman. From there, I developed to become an editor and from there to a director. So I rose through the ranks and learnt lots of things too.”

There is no doubt about his important contribution to the development of Nollywood, which has progressed from when it was criticised for low-quality films. Rating the progress, he said: “In terms of technicalities, it’s better off now in terms of the type of camera used, stunts and location. I will just say we are not there yet but very soon we will compete with the outside world.”

When his final film is eventually released, it will show the point he had reached in his profession before his departure. His phenomenal career had the qualities of a gripping movie.

January 15, 2021
Christian Chukwu at 70

Editorial

LESS than a week after he turned 70 on January 4, former captain and ex-coach of Nigeria’s senior national football team Christian Chukwu had to announce that he wasn’t dead. His alleged death had hit the headlines a few days after his birthday. It was fake news.

“Several people have been calling me from across the world since the news broke,” he said, adding that he was “terribly embarrassed.” Baffled, Chukwu said: “I don’t know where the story emanated from. Nobody has come to speak with me or any member of my family. I only heard people saying that I was dead.”

Chukwu had sought medical treatment for prostate cancer in England in May 2019. Notably, billionaire businessman Femi Otedola had philanthropically provided more than N36 million to cover his medical and travel expenses following a campaign to save his life. This intervention reflected his importance.

Nicknamed “Chairman,” Chukwu led the country’s senior national football team, which was then known as the Green Eagles, to a historic win in the final of the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations tournament. Nigeria became African champions for the first time, beating Algeria 3-0. The victory was sweeter because Nigeria hosted the competition. Chukwu, the team captain, made history when he received the new African Unity Cup from then President Shehu Shagari at the National Stadium, Lagos.

A solid central defender, Chukwu had a commanding presence and a charismatic personality. He was a motivating influence, and wore the captain’s band with an acute sense of his role and responsibility. On the field of play, his leadership skill was beyond dispute.

In his heyday, Nigeria had a vibrant, crowd-pulling football league system, with several exciting teams across the country. Lamentably, nowadays Nigerian football fans prefer to follow happenings in European leagues. The local league system has lost its lustre.

At club level, Chukwu was a pillar of the Enugu Rangers FC. He captained the team that won the Africa Winners’ Cup in 1977, beating Cameroonian club Canon Yaounde. Winning prestigious international competitions with club and country, as a player, showed Chukwu’s class.

He became a coach after a glittering career as a player, and was no less successful. He was assistant coach of the junior national team, the Golden Eaglets, which won the then FIFA U-16 World Cup in China in 1985 by defeating West Germany, the first team to win a FIFA World Cup trophy for Nigeria.

He was also assistant coach of the senior national team that qualified for the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals in America, a first for Nigeria, and reached the Round of 16. The team, known as the Super Eagles, and regarded as a golden generation, also won the Africa Cup of Nations that year. His achievements earned him the position of coach of the Kenya national team in 1998.

From 2002 to 2005, Chukwu was chief coach of the Super Eagles. Under him, the team won the bronze medal at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia. He also coached Enugu Rangers in the 2008–2009 season of the Nigeria Premier League.

His record, particularly as a player, elevated him to the status of a football legend. He won the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Legend Award in 2008. When the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) appointed him as its life ambassador in 2019, it was a further acknowledgement of his services to football.

NFF President Amaju Pinnick said: “Chukwu is a legend of the game in Nigeria. The NFF decided to introduce this award as a way of rewarding past players who have contributed to the development of the game in Nigeria. As a Life Ambassador, Chukwu will be placed on a monthly salary of N500, 000 as well as accompanying the Super Eagles to matches.”

It was another first for Chukwu. He may well receive more honours. As he starts life as a septuagenarian, we wish him many happy returns.

January 15, 2021
Relay race of strikes?

Editorial

AT a time that university students and their parents are about to feel a sense of relief after the call-off of a nine-month-old strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over nonpayment of overdue academic allowances and funds for revitalisation of the country’s federal universities, there is a fear of another long strike by three non-academic unions: Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NATT), and Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU).

The grievance this time is over failure of the government to indicate specific percentage of the N40bn the Federal Government had promised ASUU as partial payment for academic allowance to each of the other three unions that are also due to receive academic allowance.

In response to the announcement of an impending strike by the non-academic unions, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, said: “I have not seen their notice of strike. When we see it, we will call the attention of their employers, which is the Federal Ministry of Education and the NUC…It is the NUC and FMoE that will determine what each union will get from the N40 billion because they also have the template as submitted by the various universities for those earned allowances.”

But a Joint Action Committee comprising NASU and SSANU indeed began a three-day warning strike from January 12 to 14, to protest the Federal Government’s failure to address any of the issues contained in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) both parties had reached and signed with the government back in October, 2020.

Coming a few weeks after nine months of negotiation between ASUU and the Federal Government during which the public universities were closed because of strike by the academic staff, the threat of another strike by three non-academic staff unions over similar grievances with the same government is unsettling and puzzling. Unsettling because of poor attention to important details of all parties relevant to growth of education in a country that is already punching below its weight in too many areas that provision of good education can guarantee.

It is puzzling that a commonsensical issue, such as determining the sharing formula of N40 billion funds for academic allowance to all categories of workers in the university evaded consideration for the nine months of negotiation between government and ASUU. In addition, the latest complaint from NASU and SSANU about failure of the government to respect agreements, like the complaints of ASUU earlier, could have been prevented if the Federal Government/ASUU negotiation for the past one academic year had been handled more strategically, especially by the government. If the Federal Ministry of Education and the NUC are the agencies responsible for sharing academic allowances among four unions in the country’s university system, as the Minister of Labour has observed, why was the Minister of Education not a part of the nine-month negotiation for release of the fund, or why have the non-academic unions not requested for inclusion in a matter of interest to them, when such inclusion could have prevented a new strike? Or, do both government and unions in our universities revel in crisis?

It is not an exaggeration to say that Nigerians are tired of the uncertainties that have surrounded university education in the country, particularly in the last 10 months. Citizens cannot continue to be destabilised for sending their children and wards to universities to, among other goals, provide fitting manpower to drive national development. We, therefore, call on first-line stakeholders (because all Nigerians are stakeholders): the four unions in the universities, labour ministry, education ministry, and the NUC to synergise efforts to avoid another prolonged strike in the universities, by addressing the new threats by the non-academic staff unions urgently.

All the stakeholders must realise the need for fairness in sharing the money, as universities cannot function properly if some sections decide to withdraw their services, rather than continuing to relish in what looks like a relay race of strikes.

January 14, 2021
The grim reaper and Nigeria’s academics

By Jide Osuntokun

News about the deaths of Nigeria’s academics particularly professors have been rather frightening and depressing in these days. There is no doubt that many of our people are succumbing to the ravages of Covid-19. This is a personal tragedy for me because some of the people dying are personal friends, colleagues or younger brothers in the African sense. It’s not every one of them who passed on that is coronavirus victim. Some are dying of old age because of wear and tear after years of work in environment that is not conducive to mental exertion and with very little material earthly things to show for it. Some are also victims of depression after seeing their life’s work fall apart or into decay because of government policies characterized by lack of consistency and continuity.

I have sometimes looked in bewilderment at the state of collapse in places where I have worked in my youth and adult lives go into disrepair and disrepute in the present dispensation which pays little attention to merit, integrity or excellence. It is very difficult for anybody of my age not to wonder if life has been worth living with all we worked for going to the dogs with those in authority unable or unprepared or incapable of doing something about it.

When I discuss these issues with my friends, we all share the same feelings of despair and disappointment. If you are also a thinking person and who is aware what is in offing for black peoples in the future, the ignorance of people in government who seem to worry more about their bellies and their pockets and about who is in or who is out and what ethnic group, persons holding office belongs to or who are engaged in perpetual permutation about offices they intend to hold in the future, you realize that our people have lost their senses and our future as a country and a race is a lost cause. How many of our people are aware of the whispering discussion about reduction of the population of the world and getting rid of the useless part of it which they suggest are Africans. One tends to dismiss these talks as hoax but there is no smoke without fire. This is why the gradual withering of our country’s intelligentsia is a cause for concern. The total lack of preparedness for all future eventualities is frightening.

Read Also; Five prominent Nigerian professors lost to COVID-19

For example Nigerian newspapers reported that Nigeria is expecting 100,000 Covid-19 vaccines soon. I hope this is not true! Isn’t Nigeria said to have an estimated population of 200 million?. What fraction of our population will the expected vaccines take care of bearing in mind that two doses are expected for a person . What a joke of a country. Is this country not sufficiently endowed in knowledge and wherewithal to have assembled its own scientific community to produce this vaccine even if we had to import the manufacturing equipment from abroad? Iran is doing this, so are India and Pakistan. When are we going to stop being journeymen in the grand journey of human history? The answer is blowing in the wind! Until a Black country is successful others in the secret covens of white supremacists who deny the humanity of black peoples will be planning and targeting Africa as an experimental field of drastically reducing human population through sterilization or scientifically or secretly poisoning them under the guise of controlling diseases which invariably seem to come from Africa as erroneously propagated by the racist Western and Eastern press. The swirling dangers surrounding the black man is unfortunately matched by the woeful ignorance of the black governmental leadership on the African continent. It is not a matter of self-protection only that eternal vigilance is required always but it is a matter of life and death for a whole people and unless we wake up now it will be too late before we are all led like sheep into slaughter houses at least metaphorically speaking .

On a personal level, the loss of our intelligentsia is doubly painful because of the threat against us as a people. When I heard the death of Femi Odekunle, I felt it as a personal loss. Femi was a person who will ask why not when everybody was saying why? One does not have to subscribe to Hegelian dialectics to realize that scientific truth can only be attained through conflict of ideas. In positioning himself this way, Femi nearly lost his life to the Abacha terror. I shared this unfortunate experience with him in my incarceration in military detention for six months under Abacha for speaking truth to power. But for the sudden death of Abacha, Femi would have been executed along with General Oladipo Diya for knowledge about a phantom coup! This is why it is so painful seeing him dying in harness while serving his country to the coronavirus pandemic. His father died when he was over 100 years old. Longevity was in his gene. It was at the burial of the old man that I last saw Femi. I feel sorry for his family and his relatively young wife Ruki .

Oye Ibidapo- Obe was my junior brother through his marriage to the sister my departed friend Segun Ojutalayo. I watched his meteoric rise from lecturer to professor and vice chancellor. He was vice chancellor when I retired from the University of Lagos. He comes from a family in Ilesha whose ancestors fought alongside my great grandfather in the Ekiti parapo war of 1876 to 1893. He had always been close to me. He was always full of life and his services were in high demand everywhere. In spite of this, he was highly principled. I was impressed that he opposed President Jonathan’s decision to rename University of Lagos Moshood Abiola University as political move to curry Yoruba votes. God knows Abiola deserves monuments in his honour but not an old institution with traditions and long history like University of Lagos or University of Ibadan. Oye stood his ground despite the fact he was serving as one of the vice chancellors of Jonathan’s 12 “democratic dividend “ universities hurriedly put together without planning about staff or financial cost.

I knew Professor Ajeyalemi at the University of Lagos. I knew him at a distance so to say but he related to me as a big brother. Academics is a leveller and there is no feeling of senior or junior in the university system. One earned the respect of others if one merited it. Ajeyalemi was one of those who earned the respect of others.

Of course it’s not all the professors who died in recent times that died of Covid-19. Some died as a result of age and ailments associated with aging. Professor Tunji Oloruntimehin , the famous historian of the Western Sudan, I believe died of natural causes. He will be remembered for his erudition and scholarship. For a man who did not go through secondary school but rather a teachers’ college to achieve all he achieved is a mark of perseverance and distinction. He served for several years as editor of the academic journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria. He also edited publications of the Nigerian Academy of Letters before subsequently becoming the president of the academy a position which he held with passion, dedication and dignity.

Prof Olu Longe, former head of computer science department in the University of Ibadan was a quiet and deep man knowledge-wise. He passed on due to old age. He was the first professor of Computer Science in Nigeria. He was also a distinguished old boy of that city on the hill, Christ’s School Ado – Ekiti.

There are many other professors who crossed the line of Divide between this earthly place of weariness and wickedness to the other side beyond the pearly gates of heaven. I know of professors Ekeh and Onwundiwe and others. I know them by their reputation which will remain imperishable.

I remember what Professor Gerald Graham, emeritus professor of Imperial History at the University College London and one of my mentors and supervisors of giants like JF Ade Ajayi and Kenneth Onwuka Dike told me in the University of Western Ontario, Canada in 1971 when we were both on the staff of the Department of History of that university. He said an academic never dies as long as he has published books which will serve as a permanent memorial to his name wherever there are libraries in the world. This is absolutely true of such recently departed professors like Ladipo Akinkugbe and others.

Monuments may be destroyed or wear out; the words on marble will always remain. If this will serve as a consolation to the families of departed academics, I commend this tradition and belief that academics just like ideas don’t die. In any case, we are destined to die one day and as masquerades in my home town of Okemesi, are wont to say on the last day of Egungun festivals when they are on their way back to heaven as people pretend to believe, they would say “Heaven needs not be in a hurry because we are all going there”.

How philosophical!

January 14, 2021
Between Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler

By Jide Oluwajuyitan

America which prides herself as the world’s greatest and most enduring democracy has gone through many vicissitudes since her 1788 adoption of a constitution that ‘provides the world’s first formal blueprint for a modern democracy’, each time coming out re-invigorated. Last week’s failed coup attempt by President Trump, an American tragedy described by Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, as ‘deranged, unhinged and dangerous” was just one more test of its resilience.

The victory was not just on account of its strong institutions of democracy –political parties, independent judiciary, independent legislature, free press and virile civil society, all of which have come under severe attack during Trump’s last four years of inept leadership but more because of America’s political ethos which Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) in his “Democracy in America” identifies as the “instinctive adherence to equality and the totality of customs, values, principles, habits ,public opinion and beliefs” all of which celebrate the virtues of American system –stability and majoritarian rule.

Trump like Hitler emerged in 2016 brandishing in one hand the flag of 1865’s defeated 11 southern confederate states that plunged America into civil war to protest Abraham Lincoln anti-slavery policies, while selling an ideology of nationalism that promoted the interest of only the white to the detriment of others in a nation of immigrants. But his ‘politics of fear’ with a divisive battle cry of “let us take our country back” …”We’re going to make America great…” resonated well with the white supremacist movements and leaders including David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon. Trump, because of his politics of fear narrowly won the 2016 election by a razor-thin margin of 80,000 votes in swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin despite losing the popular votes by over three million to Hilary Clinton.

After four years of inept leadership, Trump’s politics of fear and appeal to base instincts failed him in 2020 with Biden defeating him with about 7million popular votes and 306 Electoral College votes to 232. Except Trump and his allies who lost 59 court cases before the electoral college vote last week, the election was adjudged free and fair by stakeholders including Vice President Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell, GOP senate majority leader.

However, following the decision of the two GOP leaders to uphold their allegiance to the American constitution during last week Electoral College vote certification, Trump decided to exploit the innermost fears of his threatened white supremacist base by inviting them to Washington for a “Save America March”. And lionizing them he had said “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol … you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

And as the mob descended on the Congress threatening to “hang Pence” and kill Pelosi, who along with other lawmakers were ferried to safety by the police, Trump reached out to his mob of protesters: “We will never give up. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore… We fight like hell, and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” The attempted coup led to five deaths, with many others injured and the symbol of American democracy desecrated by a mob of criminals Trump celebrated with “we love you”.

With last week foiling of Trump’s coup, humanity was probably saved from a Third World war because Trump shares so many parallels with Adolph Hitler, the sick man of Europe, credited with the death of 75million people including 20million soldiers, 40million innocent civilians many of whom died as a result of massacres, genocides, mass bombings and starvation during World War II.

For instance, for Hitler, ‘democracy will in practice lead to the destruction of a people’s true value’. Therefore his strategy as expressed in his ‘Mein Kampf’ was to “destroy democracy with the weapons of democracy”. First acquire power through the democratic process and thereafter renounce participatory democracy. For Trump also, democracy is a means to an end. That explains his efforts at destroying institutions of democracy and his failed coup attempt. Like Hitler the quintessential anti-democrat, a “deranged, unhinged and dangerous” Trump was ready to foist his dangerous views and policies on America and the rest of the world.

Just as Hitler was egged on by sycophants and self-serving leaders who could not stand up for the truth, Trump for four years was also egged on by GOP’s self-serving leaders and Christian evangelicals who compromised their Christian values to support a manipulator, a serial liar and a tax dodger in the task of destroying American democratic ethos.

Like Hitler, Trump has no faith in political parties. Aping Hitler who used Nazism as springboard to take over power, Trump hijacked the Republican Party to secure the presidency and thereafter attacked its core values, replacing Republican Party with ‘Trumpism’, a euphemism for lies, corruption and deceit. Just as Hitler humiliated Nazis’ leaders, Trump humiliated GOP leaders starting with Speaker Paul Ryan who he denied a ticket to re-contest and now VP Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell, GOP Senate majority leader and governors that chose to reject his creeping dictatorship.

Hitler had a ‘bastardisation’ policy for children born in Germany but of non-German parents. He believed they were inferior to German children and could not be given citizenship because citizenship was by blood of the Aryan race. Trump like Hitler is against the Fourteenth Amendment which confers citizenship on all children born in America. Trump has spent the last four years trying to deport such children. In 2017, more than 5,400 children of potential immigrants were detained and separated from their parents at the US –Mexico border by Trump. Currently, the parents of 628 children could not be found with a Chicago Tribune’s recent editorial accusing Trump’s officials of withholding critical contact information that could be used to locate their parents.

Just as it was during Hitler’s reign, Trump has been at war with the press in the last four years. If like Hitler, Trump has his way, the state should control the press and use it as instrument for propaganda. It is not for the less endowed Trump, the strong defence of the press by Thomas Jefferson, the American founding father and the principal author of American declaration of independence (1776) that “were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter”.

And lastly, Trump like Hitler suffers from a delusion. His ‘I am the only one who can fix America’ …if Democrats win, America will be taken over by Antifa radicals’, ‘countless American lives have been lost because of failure to secure borders’, find parallel in Hitler’s delusion that he was ordained to protect the Aryan race. And just as Hitler blamed the Jews for most of the problems and evils in Germany as well as the world while his men embarked on genocide, Trump blames China and Europe for his ineffective repose to COVID-19 pandemic, banned citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen and later Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar, and Kyrgyzstan Sudan and Tanzania with his Executive Order 13769 to protect America from foreign terrorist while domestic terrorism sponsored by his right wing supporters festered.

January 14, 2021
Kano’s 13,000-shop economic city set to open

The multi-billion naira Kano Economic City is primed to become one of the largest business hubs in West Africa and a major economic driver of the ancient city writes Senior Correspondent FANEN IHYONGO.

IT sits on 117.2 hectares on Zaria Road, Kano. The Kano Economic City (KEC), also known as Kanawa International Market, is ready for business. Traders are eager to see the market take off.

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, who inspected the project, said Kano is an industrial and commercial nerve centre of northern Nigeria and some West African countries. Because of the state’s burgeoning population, markets in the city are becoming inaccessible so the best way is to find a site on the outskirts of Kano and develop a world-class modern market.

Why such a gigantic trade centre? “We want to provide a platform for entrepreneurs, traders, and business tycoons to have easy access to world-class infrastructure befitting of a modern market place. The essence is to harness product value-chain opportunities and improve economic growth,” Ganduje said.

KEC represents the largest economic hub in Northern Nigeria, designed as an architectural focal reference point for major market development projects within West Africa. This was learnt that the master plan of the Kano Economic City was laid out in a pattern inspired by the Arewa logo, which symbolises the unity of the North.

The project is a Public-Private Partnership between Kano State Government (which provided the land) and Brains and Hammers Limited (developer), with Jaiz Bank as the financier. The project risks have been appropriately shared in a bid to ensure successful delivery and use of the market by traders and customers alike.

•Mega Wholesale and Retail Warehouses and Malls at the Kano Economic City

The market, with 13,000 shops, has trailer and passenger motor parks, conference centre, amusement park, educational institute, banks, petrol stations, hotels and motels, malls and medical facilities, among other ancillary facilities.

There are power supply and distribution, street lighting, 24-hour security, telecommunications ducts and other essential plug and play facilities that typify an efficient trade community.

Kano is one of Nigeria’s major industrial states and business melting pot for northern traders for over a century. But the coming of KEC will open a new vista in cross-border/country trade.

The Kano Economic City Board Chairman, Mallam Muhammed Aliyu, said the market has been developed in three phases.

The phase one, Aliyu said, is made up of 1,000 units of the duplex, luxury and basic shops dedicated to pharmaceutical wholesalers, and another 3,000 units of shops designed for the information technology section, to be called ‘GSM Village.’

“KEC is an appropriately-timed project in Kano State, necessitated by the quantum of commercial activities and cross-border trades facilitated through the state.

“These commercial activities have substantially outgrown existing market facilities and as such dense congestion of the markets and its environs accelerate wear and tear on existing infrastructure.

“This has led to huge financial losses emanating from uncontrollable fire outbreaks and other menaces which occur almost on an annual basis in recent time,” Aliyu said.

Each shop at KEC is planned to be self-sustaining in terms of fire outbreaks. That is, if fire guts a shop, it will not engulf the neighbouring shop. The power supply is sourced from the national grid, connected through underground cables. There is provision for solar power supply too. The market is built with dedicated staircases and toilets that provide a unique solution for modern-day business operations.

The last purpose-built market in Kano state was implemented in the 1980s. The project developer, Brains and Hammers, said it was from that point of development, job creation, and commerce enhancement that it decided to partner the Kano state government to develop the Kano Economic City.

The Kano Economic City is built, not just as an economic hub, but an Export Processing Zone (EPZ), with well-crafted components that include 80,000 square meters of Mega Wholesale and Retail warehouses.

The developer said the project has primarily targeted Kano traders who will grab the opportunity to expand their trades in KEC, which sits in a strategic location, providing excellent infrastructure, heavy clientele traffic potential – local, regional and international patronage, and easy accessibility.

“Traders would be excited about shop ownership in a market that provides a desirable ambience and offers significant levels of market dominance and a sense of trade distinction within the Kano trader community.

“While the primary target market is Kano, KEC would unequivocally serve other traders in Nigeria and across West Africa whose business value chain activities interlink with Kano markets.

“The project possesses all infrastructural requisite to ensure functionality, with all amenities that typify a community that has a knack for optimal quality and excellence,” KEC Chairman Aliyu said.

Project Director Dr. Abdullahi Hadejia Gambo said the pharmaceutical and GSM sections, comprising 4,000 shops, would be inaugurated first. He explained that the pharmaceutical section is a federal initiative on drugs, primarily to control its movement and abuse. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) which is responsible for regulating and controlling the manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, sale and use of drugs will have an office at KEC to check counterfeit and expired drugs. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), charged to eliminate the manufacturing and sale of hard drugs, will also have a branch at the market. This will help to crack down on perpetrators of drug abuse.

•Some of the stores

Gambo said the Kano Economic City concept has been developed on the epithet: Work, Play and Live, making sure the trader is a professional and he or she owns the shop, of which he can work or trade and pay daily.

Another fantastic thing about the Kano Economic City project is the use of local content. All the building materials used in the project are sourced locally. All the engineers and workers are Nigerians. “This is to encourage and promote ours and as well prevent capital flight,” the project director Gambo said.

Ganduje said: “We have gone around the world to see different shopping malls. We have seen the Dubai shopping malls, the Emirates shopping malls and the China shopping malls. Then we said let us have something in Kano similar or better than what we have seen abroad.

“And it is because of our political will and commitment that we are actualising the development of the Kano Economic City, which when completed, will be the best economic city in the country.”

The governor explained that the Kano Economic City would silently tackle insecurity in the Kano-Jigawa axis by creating thousands of jobs to the army of unemployed youths in the region. This will go a long way to addressing crime and other social vices. Ganduje said the international market will generate huge revenues (IGR) for the state which would be used for developmental purposes, as part of his administration’s agenda to transform Kano to a megacity.

January 14, 2021