The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Politics, prophecies, and pastorpreneurs

    Politics, prophecies, and pastorpreneurs

    By Aruleba Fabamise Oke

    The Biblical precept: “Many are called but few are chosen”, taken from the parable of the wedding Banquet fits in very aptly with the happenings in present day Christendom.

    It is like restating an obvious fact that many of the “tithe merchants” cum political jobbers out of brazen effrontery have claimed to be called to Ministry by God when in reality they “called” themselves to the flourishing pastorpreneural “Ministries” in order to feather their own nests at the expense of the brainwashed and pauperized congregants, all in the name of God Almighty as the late popular music maestro Fela Anikulapo-Kuti once asserted.

    It is instructive to note that the Old Testament warns us not to blaspheme God, insult or attack a prophet: “Touch not my anointed and to my prophet, do no harm” (Psalm 105:15). We cannot shy away from remarking that no fewer than seven “Oracles of God” fed the Nigerian electorate with unfounded and inaccurate prophecies about the outcome of the February 25 presidential election which ended in favour of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    At this juncture, it is imperative to ask: Who is the true prophet of God?

    The answer to the above question is not far-fetched: In Christendom, there are many archetypal characters in the order of “Brother Jero” in Wole Soyinka’s Trials of Brother Jero.

    An archetype, aptly delineated in the mould of “Brother Jero”, is typically trendy as he is elegantly dressed, fluent and lives with aplomb.

    He does everything manipulatively possible to keep his congregant (Brother Chume) stuck-up in the web of religious servitude and indecision in order to perpetually stay in business.  He ensures that his exploitative agenda holds sway through his artful deployment of the potent tools of religious propaganda and hypocrisy.

    Put simply, the tithe-merchants and political hucksters always deceitfully and irredeemably rewire the reasoning faculties of their congregants to such an extreme extent that God Almighty plays second fiddle to them in the churchy order of events. Their veritable tools of manipulation are prophecies and prosperity-seeking sermons.

    And Nigeria’s unkind political climate offers them a safe haven!

    Without mincing words, a groundswell of the poisoning of well abounds in many of the hallowed spots of worship which have been religiously converted to money-spinning and political propaganda arenas, nay, epicentres for promoting an ethnocentric agenda as well as the political aspirations of their political god-fathers or allies.

    The altars are no longer hallowed; they have ceased to perform their primordial functions of disseminating the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ for the sake of winning and salvation of lost souls. Rather, many pastorpreneural multitudinal domes have become epicentres for concocting inaccurate and unfounded prophecies for easy consumption by sheepish and psychologically disoriented congregants.

    Needless to say that some of these altars have metamorphosed into profane junkyards of political schism, acrimony and campaigns of calumnies and innuendoes.

    Without mincing words, several tithe-merchants and Nostradamuses have made a mockery of the WORD of God, both in terms of logos and Rhema, all for their self-serving motives!

    “Everyone shall be held accountable for his misdeeds.”

    Likewise, it is equally surprising that the worshippers-proletariats in these ‘business centres’ are consistently offered a full dosage of mental tonic to ensure unusual levels of success and longevity.

    A promise whose fulfilment is only premised on the congregants’ vile submission to the whims and caprices of the so-called “men of God!”

    The latest assault on the congregants’ psyche was made manifest in the Pastorpreneural Nostradamuses’ inaccurate prophecies or discordant prognostications about the just concluded February 25 presidential election in which Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged President-elect.

    Their prophecies, nay, human-flesh inspired political permutations and calculations all turned AWRY!

    Funny enough, one of such exuberant pastorpreneurs and political hucksters, in defence of his ethno-prejudicial political disposition completely got lost in verbiage during his vituperative and vilifying sermon, fighting a losing battle because his favourite candidate lost out to another candidate in the February 25 presidential election.

    Regrettably, the gullible and prosperity-seeking congregants took everything their “tithe-merchants” cum Nostradamuses fed them with hook, line and sinker!

    Another self-acclaimed “Oracle of God” vowed to revert back to “Ifa worship” should his prophecy about Tinubu’s losing the presidential election fail to come to pass.

    He has not yet made true his promise to jettison the Christian faith for “Ifa” worship!

    I wonder if they will ever be remorseful for their mistakes in granting anthropomorphic status to the Invisibly Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Immortal God.

    At times, whenever I see them preaching fire and brimstone sermons on the electronic media in order to justify their glib prophecies nay, their discordant political calculations and permutations deploying Queen’s English, I cannot but help screaming: God Almighty, you are super gentle!

    It is a truism that the more often a lie is told, the more likely people are to believe it.

    How long shall we continue to deify and celebrate these self-serving Nostradamuses of our time despite their endless glib prophetic utterances?

    Now is the time to sift the wheat from the chaff by taking a cue from the Bible’s inspiring injunction:

    “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies to you. ‘I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name. Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish, both you and the prophets who prophesy to you’. (Jeremiah 27:14-15)

    •Oke writes from Ado Ekiti.

  • When will the Naira scarcity end?

    When will the Naira scarcity end?

    Since January 31 when we were asked to deposit all our old N200, N500 and N1000 notes in exchange for the newly coloured Naira notes, we have been in trouble parading in front of the banks from early in the morning till the banks close at 4 pm. If this is true currency change as required to be done every decade or so if we are to believe the CBN, why are N50 and N100 not being changed at the same time? It is simply unbelievable what is going on. As early as 5 a.m., people troop to queue up in front of the banks or to take numbers of entry before the bankers resume work in the morning. This is not hearsay. I take early morning walks and I see this every morning and wonder when the suffering humanity in Nigeria will have a reprieve from their government-imposed cruelty. Nobody even in other countries in Africa will believe what Nigerians are going through because of ordinary change of currency! This will have been understandable if there was really a wholesale change of currency.

    What I see in the so-called change is just mere changing of the colours of the N200, N500 and N1000. All the talk about enhanced security features are not there. It seems the job has been hastily done with absolute lack of competence and our government fell for it under the promise of local production without the need of foreign intervention. The president was apparently sold this ruse and the poor man believed what the CBN governor and the managing director of the mint told him. The CBN governor sold the dummy of the change leading to reining in inflation, monitoring the economy, making it difficult for kidnappers to continue demanding ransom in Naira as well as facilitating tracking down hoodlums who do this through putting security digital tracers on the so-called new Naira. They also apparently told the president that they would mop all old Naira so that the corrupt politicians who had stacked up billions of Naira in their personal safes at homes in readiness for elections would not be able to buy electoral votes as they used to do. It seems some politicians were believed to have huge war chests especially those running to become president or governors.

    Incredible as it may appear, members of the president’s own party seemed to have been targeted. The outcry of many APC governors and its presidential candidate appear to have strengthened the hands of the president and his CBN governor to believe that these politicians were involved in some shenanigans. Ironically both the Labour Party and PDP were vociferous in their support for the government policy. We had a situation where some governing party’s governors sued the federal government to the Supreme Court and won the case by which the old Naira notes have finally been declared legal tender until December 31. 

    This sordid case of the currency change raises several issues in my mind. First what is the purpose of government?  Is government put in place to serve the people? Of course it is logically possible for the people not to know what is in their own interest. Should there be a disconnect between the government and the governed as in this case? Why should government’s policy be injurious to the welfare of the people? Is government’s purpose not the amelioration of the people’s problems? Why should a simple case of changing currency be so difficult and problematic as in our case? Are there no lessons to be learnt from similar situations in India, a vastly complex country of 1.5 billion people and some African countries if we don’t want to learn from highly developed countries like the United States and the United Kingdom where currency change is gradual and lasts a whole year? Why could not this change have taken place months before now and what has the country gained by the rushed clandestine operations we have indulged in and qui bono? These are the questions any rational human being will ask. It is one thing for our president to want to clean up our highly monetised  and supposedly corrupt electoral process, and I believe many of us support his efforts  in this direction, but it is another thing to put the entire citizens of this benighted country on tenterhooks leading to heart attacks by many people, particularly the aged  and the elderly who do not have the energy to struggle with the strong youth daily fighting to be on the line, to get in some cases, two or five thousand Naira from ATM or even from banking halls. As some commentator has said, do you because there is a snake in your house set the whole house on fire as has been done in our case? Does the president get correct reports about what is happening? Women are going naked in banking halls to dramatise, without shame, that they are not able to feed their children and to send them to school. Men are attacking poor bankers with machetes. Banks have had to close their banking halls to prevent their workers from being killed because the CBN dishonestly said it has given banks money and that the banks were hoarding it. Perhaps there were cases of hoarding but this was an exception rather than the rule.

    I personally went to my bank several times only to be told with every honesty the workers could muster, that there just was no money. It got to a point where I had to sign a cheque and leave with the bank to call me when the elusive cash arrived from the CBN. Over a period of one month I managed to get N10,000 from my bank where I have current and savings accounts. Things got so bad for my sister-in-law who is closer to 90 than 80 that she gave her credit/debit card to her driver to go to the bank every day from dawn to the afternoon only for him to come back home with N2000 or N5000. Now I find the situation very unusual! Suppose the driver runs away with the card and converts its usage to other purposes or for himself? People had to do unusual things just to survive because of currency change.

    I had a discussion with a retired academic like myself and I wondered whether we were being told the whole story about our economy. I asked him whether the economy was completely in ruins and the situation was being camouflaged as currency change. I hope and pray that that is not true because if it were true, millions of old people would depart prematurely from this world to the other side of the heavenly divide. How can one have substantial amount in the bank and be reduced to penury? Even most businesses are refusing to accept cards and transfers in some cases and cheques are absolutely no go area. One then wonders why banks continue to issue cheques. People are also complaining of their accounts being hacked by criminals who have become adept at intercepting transfer traffic. I hope that whoever wants to impose a cashless economy on Nigeria first ensure that the infrastructure is there before blindly jumping into a new scheme.

    While we are still smarting from the elections and currency palaver, some people are sending out notices of census enumeration. Mr President, please stop this needless booby-traps for the next government. We have a situation of fuel and money scarcity on top of unresolved security situation and somebody is planning head count!  Everyone knows the political complications attendant on conducting census. Right now, it is not the most urgent of our problems. Let us have peaceful political transition in a country where religion and ethnicity have been weaponised to a point where any little spark could lead to a general conflagration. Enough of this driving us to the edge of a precipice. We need to recover from the self-inflicted wound of cash scarcity and the myriad of problems blowing in the air.

  • Resurgent herdsmen attacks

    Resurgent herdsmen attacks

    • The Buhari administration must not rest on its oars until terror is defeated

    After several months since mid-last year, of restoration of relative calm, with the drastic reduction in the violent clashes between herdsmen and farming communities, particularly in the Benue and Plateau states of the North-Central region, there are reports of renewed incessant attacks launched by the herdsmen in a number of states. The security agencies appeared to have at last effectively responded to President Muhammadu Buhari’s serial directives to decisively deal with all forms of violence, including banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and herdsmen-farming community clashes, but that success seems to be waning towards the tail end of the administration’s tenure, particularly with regard to reported recent attacks by herdsmen on a number of communities in some states.

    For instance, early this month, armed herdsmen reportedly launched apparently coordinated attacks on several communities in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State. In the violent invasion which affected such council wards as Moon, Mbaikyor, Mbadara and Ilyav in the local government, over 36 persons were killed, scores of others injured and large numbers of people chased away from their ancestral homelands, with the attacks coming from diverse directions. This reminds us of the large scale killing of residents in several communities across the state which used to be a near daily occurrence. We surely can’t afford regression to those gory days.

    In a similar vein also in the first week of March, there were attacks by alleged herdsmen on the Ajegunle/Powerline community in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State which reportedly followed closely on similar onslaughts against residents in the Arimogija community in Ose Local Government Area of the state. The five separate attacks within one week, during which several persons were injured, were reportedly ignited by protests by the communities against the destruction of their farms by cows owned by the herdsmen. As in many other states which have passed anti-open grazing laws, the herdsmen allegedly graze their cattle openly with impunity. While the residents deserted their homes for fear of further attacks, the herdsmen were said to have extended their offensive to other communities in the area such as Ago-Dada and Ago-Onyinbo. Apparently, reports to the Ala Police Division as well as the Amotekun Corp yielded no positive results.

    Again, no less than 35 persons were reported killed in clashes in some Zango-Kataf communities of Southern Kaduna last weekend. The clash was ignited by a disagreement between security operatives and some Fulani men at a checkpoint in Ungwan Waikiki which led to the death of a Fulani man and a policeman before flaring into a larger crisis. In the case of Katsina State, there was a slight variant as the violence there last week was said to be as a result of a clash between suspected terrorists and local vigilantes, leading to the death of 18 villagers in Kankara Local Government Area and several others injured.

    All these suggest that there may be a deliberate attempt by the sponsors of violence to derail the current delicate and sensitive transition from the incumbent to an incoming administration, resulting in programmed widespread chaos. The security agencies cannot avoid to discount any possibilities as they discharge their mandate of protecting lives and property as well as maintaining stability and national cohesion. Exploiting known fault lines to instigate violence within the context of the inevitable bitter fallouts of highly competitive elections can further destabilise the polity and deepen divisions among people. More than ever before, there is need for efficient and effective intelligence gathering to help nip planned attacks in the bud before they become destructive realities.

    The outgoing Buhari administration cannot afford to take its eyes off the ball with regard to sustaining its recent successes in containing insecurity until the very end of its tenure. And, for the incoming administration, it has its work cut out in this regard; it  must hit the ground running in introducing measures that will help guarantee the security of lives and property in a complex, plural polity like Nigeria.

  • Avoidable tragedy

    Avoidable tragedy

    • Mishap shows how a nut case could cause misfortune for others

    No fewer than six persons were confirmed dead and more than 100 others injured in an accident last Thursday involving a train and a Lagos State Government staff bus in Sogunle area of Ikeja. It was reported that the driver of the government staff bus adamantly tried to get across the level crossing at PWD, Agege Motor Road, when the train coming in from Abeokuta rammed into it and dragged it to Sogunle before the train could stop.

    Bus passengers were ostensibly headed for work Thursday morning when the accident occurred. Two of them died on the spot, with four others dying while being accorded emergency medical attention. Fatalities included a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. Of the 102 injured victims rushed to hospitals, more than 50 had been discharged by last Sunday while others remained on admission at different medical facilities across the metropolis.

    It was one accident wholly avoidable had the bus driver, said to be an employee of Lagos State Ministry of Transport, better applied his discretion.  Eyewitnesses said he refused to stop at the level crossing despite the oncoming train being close by, and in defiance of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) personnel stationed there who flagged him down. Survivors of the mishap were reported saying the 44-year-old driver had his earpiece on while driving and ignored warnings by flag officers at the level crossing. In his bid to hasten through the crossing, the bus got trapped on the rail and was hauled onwards by the train until the train stopped.

    Whereas he put innocent lives at needless risk, the bus driver survived the accident and is being held at the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department (SCIID) of the police. He was reported early this week blaming the incident on a mechanical fault with the vehicle he drove. But the police said they were awaiting the outcome of medical tests conducted on him, which included blood sampling to ascertain whether he was on drugs or mentally fit. Meanwhile, reports cited persons who claimed to have been regular passengers on the driver’s route before the accident saying he had shown tendencies of being reckless. One particular source said she stopped going on his bus upon her observation of unwholesome tendencies.

    The Lagos State Government and city residents rose to the occasion in rescue efforts and providing succour to accident victims. The survivors were speeded to hospitals for medical attention, while Lagosians rallied to donate blood and provide other forms of support as were needed. Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu visited the accident scene and led the way in according priority attention to the victims. It was one communal moment in the megacity that is highly commendable.

    But the tendencies reported to have been exhibited by the bus driver, who is named Oluwaseun Osinbajo, again highlights the need for closer oversight on drivers of the Lagos Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) fleet. This fresh incident echoes circumstances of the murder of 22-year-old fashion designer, Bamise Ayanwole, in February 2022 after she boarded a BRT bus driven by Andrew Ominnikoron in Ajah axis of the state. There should be a functional training school for the fleet drivers, and regular competency evaluation to ensure they remain in perfect shape to serve the public. Lagos State government as well as other fleet owners may also consider imprinting on their fleet vehicles phone numbers to be called and report any driver observed by members of the public as showing reckless traits on the city highways.

    On the part of the rail corporation, there is need for gated level crossings, especially in busy urban centres. NRC Managing Director Fidet Okhiria was reported saying the corporation contemplates erecting overhead bridges at 11 level crossings in Lagos. “We are going to have 11 flyovers within Lagos and we cannot do all at the same time. We are constructing them in batches,” he disclosed, adding: “Before now we constructed barriers and they were vandalised. We even constructed automatic barriers, which were also vandalised. Although we have been repairing them, especially the automatic barriers, they do not last for a week after such repairs. It is either they hit the barriers with vehicles or people vandalise them overnight.” But it is not a sufficient reason to leave level crossings bare just because barriers previously installed were vandalised. The proposed flyover bridges are a long shot and there is no guarantee they’ll be diligently put to use by reckless motorists. Public safety dictates that NRC maintains barriers at the level crossings and secure them however it can. But they have to be there.

    This latest accident should be a learning curve towards ensuring there is no recurrence in the future.

  • Adamawa 2023: Will Binani shatter the glass ceiling?

    Adamawa 2023: Will Binani shatter the glass ceiling?

    SIR: Women are on the move in Adamawa State. When Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri hastily shuffled his pack to pluck Professor Kaleptwa Farauta from her position as the vice chancellor of Adamawa State University, Mubi, to become his running mate in the 2023 governorship election, he was not acting out of volition. His hand had been forced by a formidable foe in Aisha Dahiru Binani, the APC gubernatorial candidate.

    Binani, the senator that represented Adamawa Central in the 9th National Assembly shrugged off several household names in Adamawa politics to clinch the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Among the vanquished were former EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, Abdurazak Namdas, former member, House of Representatives, as well as Mohammed Bindow, a former governor of the state.

    She was probably alone in envisioning her victory,but  Aisha Buhari, Nigeria’s first lady, who hails from the state was quick to greet her, describing  her emergence as a  victory for women.

    Adamawa State is one of the six states which make up the Northeast geopolitical zone. It is bordered by Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. It takes its name from the historic emirate of Adamawa, with the emirate’s old capital of Yola, serving as the capital city of Adamawa State. The state, one of the most heterogeneous in Nigeria, with over 100 indigenous ethnic groups, was created in 1991, when the former Gongola State was divided into Adamawa and Taraba states.

    Its most prominent politician is Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former vice president, who was the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)  in the February 25, general election. Other political heavyweights from the state are Jibril Aminu, Aisha Buhari, Binta Masi Garba, Buba Marwa, Babachir David Lawal, Murtala Nyako, Tahir Mamman, among others.

    Aisha Dahiru Binani may have floored six men to snatch the governorship ticket, but she faces an uphill task to unseat Fintiri, the current governor. 

    In a state that counts Numan, the ancestral home of the Bachama people, feared and famed warriors that they are, if Binani is to become governor, she will have to do battle. A slew of court actions have already tried but failed to stop her momentum.

    The People’s Democratic Party remains in the ascendancy in the state with the manner Atiku Abubakar swept the votes in the state. But it faces the sternest of tests from the All Progressives Congress, and Binani, who has combined stints as a legislator in both houses of the   National Assembly with establishing a string of successful businesses.

    In a country  that remains unjustifiably patriarchal, Binani is evidence  that women can punch above their weight 

     In an election cycle when  the harvest is ripe for women in the “Land of beauty”, the presence of  Professor Kaleptwa Farauta  alongside Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri on the ticket of the People’s Democratic Party will ensure that woman will occupy one of the two highest offices in the state no matter what happens  on March 18.

    Before June 30, 2022, Professor  Farauta, a seasoned technocrat, who became the Northeast region’s  first female vice chancellor, was the vice chancellor of Adamawa State University, Mubi. Fintiri’s choice made her the first woman to be nominated for the office of deputy governor in the Northeast. 

    Fintiri’s re-election will be a hammer on the glass ceiling  as a woman will be a deputy governor for the first time in the region.

    If a woman is to become a state governor in Nigeria 15 years after Virginia Etiaba’s short stint in Anambra, it may just come from the “Land of Beauty” where women with beauty and brains continue to push boundaries.

    •Kenechukwu Obiezu,

     <keneobiezu@gmail.com>

  • Making the cashless policy work

    Making the cashless policy work

    By Felix Oladeji

    SIR: Over the years, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has engaged in series of reforms aimed at making the Nigerian payment system formidable. These reforms were meant to enhance the overall economic performance so as to place the country on the right path and in tune with global trends.

    The introduction of mobile banking, electronic banking and online transactions (cashless policy) has paved way for a new era where the use and demand for physical cash is gradually declining. The emerging Information Technology (IT), has made banking services become more and more automated with less paper work than in the past. Banks have realized that they would soon go out of existence unless they keep with the pace at which Information Technology (IT) has redefined the creation of value and worth for their customers.

    However, the policy is currently challenged by financial infrastructure deficit. The cashless payment channels that are currently available are not adequate in terms of being able to cope with the demand even if it is to be implemented religiously. This means that the policy will require further investment of funds by operators and regulators. 

    Electricity is a critical infrastructure for an efficient e-payment system. Sadly, Nigeria cannot boast of steady power supply across its urban and rural areas. This without doubt is affecting the success of cashless policy. The high charges and fees on some of the electronic channels are capable of generating resistance by the banking public.

    For example, the recent re-introduction of charges for ATM withdrawals did not go down well with the users.

    To operate successfully in cashless economy, some level of literacy is required in view of the technology involved. Therefore, Nigeria with high rate of illiteracy will certainly have some challenges in this regard. The illiterate population will obviously prefer to keep their money in cash.

    More importantly, trust is lacking in Nigerian business environment. Businesses are done on cash basis as cheques bounce at will, hence people place less trust on the use of cheque but prefer cash instead.

    The risk involved in rushing the programme without having all the infrastructures in place has been devastating as failure recorded has made people to lose confidence in the system. 

    To sustain the electronic payment system, strategic measures must be taken to reduce negative effects of the problems identified as obstacles to the smooth functioning of the system. Both the government and CBN have a great role in the introduction, development and maintenance of cashless banking through policies, finance, infrastructure development and massive campaign for the awareness and acceptance of cashless banking among the people.

    Above all, Nigerians have a greater role in accepting the cashless banking payment system, making use of it with the belief that it would improve their financial and economic life and boost the image of the country leading to booming economy.

    High GDP under the cashless banking system would attract, encourage and build confidence of foreign investors, tourists and analysts which would on the long run, lead to further development and improvement of our economy.  

    Electronic payment system is capital intensive, therefore banks should be encouraged to collaborate among themselves to jointly finance some of the infrastructures and share them amicably. This will help them to share the cost and reduce the initial cost of setting up the system. Government should provide adequate security to make people to buy into the policy fully.

    •Felix Oladeji,

    Lagos.

  • Obaseki’s crocodile tears

    Obaseki’s crocodile tears

    SIR: The plea by Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State to women of the state to save him from impeachment by voting for candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the upcoming March 11 state House of Assembly elections is equivalent to the shedding of crocodile tears.

    While Obaseki isn’t up for re-election, it is obvious he has seen the handwriting on the wall following the woeful performance of his party in the recently concluded presidential and National Assembly elections where it failed to win a single seat in the National Assembly and came a distant third position in the presidential poll.

    This was a man that his people rallied behind in 2020 when he sought re-election, against the seeming threat by external forces to impose a governor on the state, and used their supreme powers to return him to the Dennis Osadebey House. But he repaid his benefactors with betrayal, pain and failure.

    It is pertinent to state that since 2019 when he fell out with his predecessor, former governor, Adams Oshiomhole, the Edo State House of Assembly has been comatose due to Obaseki’s fear of impeachment. The story of how 14 Edo lawmakers won the election but were forced to abdicate their responsibilities of delivering effective representation to their respective constituencies may once again come to the subconscious of the electorate who will go to their various polling booths this Saturday. They will speak loud and clear with their votes.

    Those who took him in the PDP when he was rendered homeless by his former party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the build up to the 2020 governorship poll, are gnashing their teeth in regret as he ended up factionalising the party. Some of them like the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, whom he had publicly thanked and attributed as the major pillar behind his victory in 2020, are now his sworn enemies.

    Aside from the fact that he has failed to deliver the dividends of good governance to Edolites, Obaseki supported the federal government’s currency redesign policy which has brought untold hardship upon his people sparking unrest and protests which has led to the loss of lives in his state. How much more anti-people can a governor be?

    For a man whose only achievement in power is the commissioning of street lights and the signing of MOU’s, the appeal to sentiments is an old tactic which will no longer work. The people are tired of bad governance and will do the needful even if it results in the eventual impeachment of the governor before the expiration of his tenure next year.

    •Peter Ovie Akus,

    New Jersey, USA.

  • Commissioner: how Sanwo-Olu renewed Lagosians’ hope

    Commissioner: how Sanwo-Olu renewed Lagosians’ hope

    Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s strides to transform Lagos into a smart, sustainable and resilient city, have renewed residents’ hope for a prosperous future, Commissioner for Youth and Social Development in Lagos State, Olusegun Dawodu, has said.

    Dawodu identified the transport, education, healthcare and youth empowerment among many other areas that Sanwo-Olu’s policies had greatly impacted Lagosians in the over three years of his administration.

    He noted, for instance, that the three universities in Lagos never went on strike when other universities downed tools for months, “because the Sanwo-Olu administration provided everything they required to stay afloat.”

    The commissioner also noted that the governor provided vehicles for all the Student Union Governments (SUG) in the Lagos State whether at state or federal institutions, adding that Sanwo-Olu is fair-minded.

    Dawodu said one of the governor’s most significant achievements has been in the area of transportation.

    “Lagos is notorious for its traffic congestion, which can sometimes bring the city to a standstill. However, under the governor’s leadership, several initiatives have been put in place to ease traffic flow and make transportation more efficient.

    “One of these initiatives is the Lagos Bus Service (LBS), which is designed to provide affordable, reliable, and comfortable transportation for Lagosians. The LBS has already deployed over 800 modern buses across the city, with more expected to be added soon. In addition, the governor has also signed agreements with ride-hailing companies like Uber and Bolt to provide additional transportation options for residents.

    “We just completed the blue rail line. It is a huge investment and another way to increase our intermodal transportation system. The red line is coming on stream,” he said.

    He also noted the governor’s strides in healthcare, noting in particular, the massive children’s hospital being built on Lagos Island.

    Dawodu added: “A lot of maternal care centres have been built. We have re-planned our fire station and service stations. We have provided fire engines for our staff there, held training facilities for them and enhanced monuments and allowances for them. You see our waterways now; a lot of ferries are going in and out.”

    On youth empowerment, the commissioner said the first thing he and his team did was to change the mindset of the youth because many of them felt the government must do everything for them “but training was provided that helped change their mindsets.

    “After the training, the governor sponsored 15 youths to Spain for another leadership programme. They are now impacting others.

    “Aside from this, we also organise business and communication skills training for them so that they can set up their businesses with ease, write proposals and leadership qualities.

    Assuring Lagos residents that the governor doesn’t discriminate, Dawodu said the Sanwo-Olu administration “is very accommodating even to destitute from other states.

    “Yes, we put them in our facilities; we feed them and even educate some of the children in our schools. Medical services are provided to them free of charge even though it is a lot of burden on us.”

    On the achievements of his ministry, the commissioner said over 9,000 students from 76 schools have benefitted from various advocacy programmes and sensitization organized by his ministry.

    “Another achievement for us is being commended by the governor for the standardization of the state adoption process.

    “Lastly, is the renovation of youth centres and old peoples’ homes across the state including Abesan Youth Centres, Omituntun Youth Centres, Ikorodu Youth Centres, Lafiaji Youth Centres, Ikeja Youth Centres, Yaba Old People Home.”

  • Petitioner seeks to liquidate governorship candidate’s firm over debt

    Petitioner seeks to liquidate governorship candidate’s firm over debt

    Oil and gas servicing company, Hydrodive Nigeria Limited, has urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to wind up a company, Saidel Limited over an alleged multi-million naira debt.

    The petitioner, in the winding up petition filed by its counsel Nnamdi Oragwu of Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors, told the court that the respondent has failed to pay the debts of N200million and $243,606.50, weeks after the delivery of a statutory demand notice.

    The debtor company belongs to the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Akanimo Udofia. 

    Hydrodive Nigeria is, therefore, praying the court for an order liquidating Saidel Limited under the Companies and Allied Act for its inability to pay the debt.

    The petitioner also prayed for an order appointing Mr Tochukwu Onyiuke, an insolvency practitioner or any duly licensed member of the Business Rescue and Insolvency Practitioner Association of Nigeria, as the substantive liquidator as the court may deem fit, to immediately liquidate Udofia’s company under the Companies and Allied Matters Act.

    The petitioner asked for an order that the cost of the petition and the cost of the liquidation proceedings shall be paid out of the assets of the respondent.

    “Upon a winding up, the petitioner/creditor of the respondent would derive the benefit arising from a thorough tracing, collection and gathering of the respondent’s assets which will be applied by the liquidator for the settlement of the respondent’s debt.

    “In the circumstances, the petitioner believes that it is just and equitable to wind up the respondent for its inability to pay its debts,” Hydrodive Nigeria prayed.

    The petitioner said it specialises in providing diving, vessel leasing, sub-sea and construction support, as well as maintenance and repair of offshore facilities.

    It said Saidel Limited approached it for offshore diving works for the Southern Swamp Sales Gas Evacuation Pipeline Project sometime in 2018, following which an agreement was reached and executed on July 17, 2018.

    Parties also executed supplementary agreements in which the respondent contracted the petitioner as a subcontractor for the project, which it duly executed.

    The petitioner said it completed the execution of the project in February 2019 and was issued a project completion certificate by Udofia’s company.

    According to the petitioner, by the terms of the Service Agreement, Saidel Limited was required to settle the petitioner’s invoice within 45 days.

    “Upon the completion of the project and execution of the certificate of completion, the petitioner raised and sent several invoices to the respondent totalling the sum of $2,613,953.12.

    “Meetings between the petitioner and respondent were held where the petitioner granted a concession and issued credit notes to the respondent for the sum of $214,292.47.

    “Respondent paid part of some invoices leaving an outstanding sum of N200,000 million and $243,606.50.

    “Despite the terms of the service agreement and the addendums thereto requiring the settlement of the invoices within 45 days of the issuance and confirmation and consistent demands, the respondent has refused and neglected to pay the sums of N200 million and $243,606.50 owed to the petitioner.”

    Hydrodive Nigeria said it sent several reminders, follow-ups and demands for the payment and also informed the respondent about the huge interest already accruing on the facilities borrowed to execute the contract.

    Aside from earlier emails, the petitioner said it sent subsequent emails on December 2, 2019, January 6, 2020, January 27, 2020, February 12, February 24, 2020, April 18, 2020, May 25, 2020, June 6, 2020, July 18, 2020, July 28, 2020, August 20, 2020, September 28, 2020, October 24, 2020 and November 3, 2020.

    Hydrodive Nigeria said: “On February 16, 2021, the respondent responded that it was trying to finalise an overdraft facility with three banks to make payment because it had no other option for payment and the respondent could not give any commitment regarding payment until it could get confirmation from the banks showing that the Respondent was becoming unable to pay its debt.”

    The petitioner said it sent further emails but the respondent still did not make payment as agreed at the end of March 2021.

    After many other subsequent emails, the respondent admitted an indebtedness of $150,000.00 and N200,000.00 but still did not make payment for even the admitted sum.

    On December 3, 2021, Hydrodive Nigeria sent a mail to Saidel Limited informing it that the debt was two-year due.

    The petitioner said the respondent failed to respond to its final demand letter sent through its solicitors Messrs Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors on October 27, 2022.

    Hydrodive Nigeria, therefore, issued the statutory notice in compliance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act requiring the respondent to make payment within three weeks.

    It subsequently filed the winding-up petition, praying the court to liquidate Saidel Limited.

    But, the respondent said it had challenges repaying the money.

    On April 1, 2021, Saidel Limited told the petitioner in response to one of the demands letters that it was “optimistic on closing the facility deal with bank”.

    It added: “Unfortunately, the final Credit Risk Committee of the Bank rejected the Respondent’s requested amount and increased the collateral to 140 per cent.”

    On December 6, 2021, Saidel Limited stated in another mail: “We are aware of our obligations, and we are making all efforts to close them down.

    “Unfortunately, things did not go as planned but alternative measures are being planned to close out our obligations to your organisation.

    “We might have taken some time, but we would be the last one to shy away from our contractual obligations.”

  • Emefiele: Bull in a China shop

    Emefiele: Bull in a China shop

    BY the time the Presidency finally broke its silence on the issue, a lot of damage had been done. Many lives had been lost and many businesses crippled. Till today, Nigerians are yet to get their bearings right over the naira redesign policy. It will be an understatement to say that things have turned upside down.

    Under the policy, the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes, as they are now known, are to be replaced with new ones. But the problem is that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was and is still not ready for the exercise for which it hastily set a January 31 deadline. It introduced the policy in October, unveiled the specimen notes in November and fixed January 31 for the phasing out of the old notes.

    The timeline for doing all these was 90 days. Ninety days! Is that possible with the shoddy way things are done in this country? CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, who was in a hurry to push the policy through for reasons best known to him, said everything was in order. The Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC), he said, was equal to the task of printing the required volume of new notes. It was a lie.

    The Mint lacks the capacity to undertake the job if that magnitude and that marked the beginning of the problem with the policy. By then over N3 billion had been mopped up by CBN through the deposit money  banks (DMBs), while only N500 million of the new notes were pushed out. How do you run an economy of over 200 million people with that amount?

    Is the amount proportionate to the volume of the gross domestic product (GDP).

    According to economists, the currency in circulation must take into consideration the content of the  GDP to avoid a run on the sectoral components that make up the GDP. Emefiele threw all economic considerations to the winds. He was more interested in the political side of his policy which he claimed was to stop vote-buying during the elections.

    Is it possible to run an election without cash? He answered that question himself when he was confronted by the electoral umpire, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, that they would need money to plan for the elections. Emefiele quickly said that he would give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the cash it required. “Just come to me and I will give you the money”, he said. Is it CBN’s job to disburse money to INEC. It is not, but we are in a country where anything goes.

    So, it went on and on. Affected by this harsh policy, Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states sued the Federal Government. The Supreme Court granted their request for an interim injunction restraining CBN from enforcing its February 10 deadline for phasing out the old notes.

    On February 10, the Council of State (CoS), after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari said the old and new notes should co-exist to ease the people’s pains. Despite the interventions of the Supreme Court and the CoS, the President did the unthinkable on February 16. That was six days after the February 10 date that he promised to positively resolve the crisis. 

    His February 16 national broadcast was not positive, at all. It disobeyed the Supreme Court order validating the use of the old and new notes parri pasu. The President varied the order, by directing that only the old N200 note should co-exist with the new ones until April 10. It was a slap on the face of the highest court in the land.

    The court did not find it funny at its March 3 sitting where it carpeted the President for flouting its ruling, thereby threatening the rule of order on which democracy is hinged. It consequently directed that the old notes remain legal tender until the end of the year, by which time hopefully, enough of the new notes would have been printed.

    The government and CBN played deaf to the order. For 10 days, the nation was on tenterhooks. The people groaned as the cash crunch bit harder. Emefiele buried his head in the sand like ostrich, waiting for God knows what and who. Obey the Supreme Court; obey the Supreme Court, the President and Emefiele were advised. They did not.

    When the pressure became too much, the Presidency issued a statement on Monday, disowning Emefiele and his accomplice, Abubakar Malami, Buhari’s attorney-general, over the disobedience of the order. The President said he never told them not to obey the order. But did he tell them to obey it? It is a two-way thing. As their principal, they cannot do anything without him. So, he must give the greenlight before they go, as he did in respect of approval for the naira policy.

    Everything Emefiele did was with his approval. At a point, Emefiele even pursued Buhari to Daura, Katsina State, to get the approval for the extension of the policy deadline from January 31 to February 10. Emefiele has brought shame upon himself. He has lost his voice and he is now shying away from facing the public. He allowed himself to be used and dumped. He has turned out to be a bull in a China shop.

    Emefiele has destroyed the Nigerian house which he was supposed to help grow with sound economic and monetary policy. CBN governors all over the world are men of their own. They do not crouch before their countries’ presidents because they want to keep their jobs. Emefiele is the architect of his infamy. His kind should never govern the CBN again.

    Sanwo-Olu go pepper them

    FORTY-EIGHT HOURS hence, the governorship and Houses of Assembly elections will hold. All eyes are on Lagos. Will there be an upset there? This question is flying about because of what happened during the February 25 presidential poll. Labour Party (LP) won the state. Things will be different this Saturday because the necessary lessons have been learnt. LP or any other party for that matter stand no chance in this race.

    Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will beat all other candidates hands down. He go pepper them to borrow the political lingo of the time. Why am I so confident? This is a different election from that of February 25. The religious bigots can also not use the faith ticket to demarket him. What about ethnicity and the youth factor? They will also not count much.