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Category: Baba Yusuf

Points to note on the Dangote Refinery saga

For the past 2 months, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, foremost Nigerian industrialist and investor, the richest man in Africa, the richest Black man in the world, and a pride of Nigeria; has been speaking out in frustration regarding the various spanners that are been thrown into the works of the operations of one of the biggest refineries in the world, and one of Nigeria’s critical national assets, that we should all be proud of and support. Alhaji Aliko has been raising concerns with regards to the activities of vested interests and oil cartels who are trying to frustrate the successful take-off and operations of this laudable project. It is important that I remind Nigerians of how the oil cartels and the vested interests have refused to allow the government-owned refineries to function for about 40years. It appears, from the body language of some the players in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria that they want to ensure that the Dangote refinery goes the same way of the government-owned refineries. This should not be allowed to happen.

I commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s intervention on the matter with his approval for the sale of Crude oil to Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Naira which will boost output and bring down the prices of domestically refined petroleum products.

Therefore, I am calling on President Tinubu and all well-meaning Nigerians not to allow the Dangote refinery project to fail, because if it does, then Nigeria will be set on a terrible pathway and trajectory. I also add my voice to the voices of notable Nigerians like Dr. Akinwumi Adesina – the President of Africa Development Bank, Mr. Femi Otedola, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), etc. who have boldly spoken on the matter and have drawn attention to the dangers of sabotaging the Dangote refinery project.

To be clear, I am not holding forth for Alhaji Aliko Dangote on any breach of our extant laws, but I believe that there are processes and procedures for ensuring compliance with regulations. We are aware that there are Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) provisions within the oil and gas regulatory framework to prevent substandard products from being loaded or dispatched out of a facility like the Dangote refinery. I was, therefore, appalled to see and hear the statement made by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed which sent a signal of deliberate attempt to de-market Dangote refinery and its products – a Nigerian product; to de-market Nigeria, as a Country and inadvertently undermine all the efforts of President Tinubu to bring foreign investment into Nigeria. Like many Nigerians, I am saddened by the development as we keenly watch the unfolding situation, because the issues raised by Alhaji Aliko are indicative of deeper rot in the oil and gas sector.

Furthermore, I wish to remind us of the various efforts of Mr. President to bring into Nigeria, foreign direct investments as he is trying to recover the economy of Nigeria. According to the Honorable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite; while giving update of the achievement of the Ministry, stated the Nigeria, under the leadership of President Tinubu has secured investments commitment of over $30Billion in the one year of the administration of President Tinubu. Since his resumption in office he has demonstrably put his time and efforts in his bid to recover the confidence of investors in Nigeria. Therefore, in my opinion, the comments of the CEO of the NMDPRA, undermines the efforts of President Tinubu to recover, diversify and grow Nigeria’s economy. There must be unity of purpose and alignment of objectives to re-assure investors at home and abroad that Nigeria’s investment climate is ripe, healthy and available for engagement. Given the expectations of inflow of billions of US Dollars investments, the comments to CEO of NMDPRA is not only lacking in tact but could potentially sabotage the efforts of Mr. President of the last one year. Indeed, the strategic goal of president Tinubu’s 1Trillion US Dollar economy will be a mirage with these kind of counterproductive and sometimes undermining activities of some government officials especially regulators.

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Let me also draw our attention to the fact that this issue is not just an oil and gas issue. The way and manner they are trying to frustrate Alhaji Dangote and the Dangote refinery project, will have ripple and concomitant effect on Nigeria’s investment and trade climate. The business and operational environment will also be adversely impacted. I dare say that, unguarded statements by regulators, that throw spanners into one of the biggest oil and gas projects in the world, located in Nigeria, leaves much to be desired.

Moreover, I believe that the Dangote refinery is a project that should be guarded jealously and be supported to succeed, and where there are issues, the issues should be handled professionally and strategically. With this trajectory, if we have the people in the right place, with other modular refineries operating, the issues of fuel scarcity and the rising cost of fuel will be overcome. More importantly, it will also catalyze the inflow of foreign investments because investors will be confident their investments will be protected. And for those that have been sitting on the fence to also come into Nigeria ready to invest.

It is worthy of note that, according to Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX) which is the Nigeria Stock exchange market of the total foreign transactions so far in 2024; N311.41 Billion worth of portfolio investments were liquidated in Quarter-1 of this year, compared to a foreign outflow of N73.06 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2023. I wonder what the values of the incentives are if there are no institutional protections for good and law abiding players. Let us also bear in mind the pharmaceutical and oil and gas companies that have been divesting and leaving Nigeria in the past 4 years. Therefore, this is a wrong time to engage in actions that will further put our national investment initiatives in jeopardy.

If we allow the efforts and investments of Alhaji Aliko Dangote to be frustrated, the question is how can we replace Aliko Dangote’s investment or surpass it? How can we provide the tens of thousands jobs that will be lost which the Dangote currently employs across industries, as the biggest employer of labor in Nigeria after Government?

The job opportunities that Dangote Refinery and the entire Dangote group created and is creating as the biggest employer on labor apart from government in Nigeria; is a critical success factor for the economic turnaround strategy for the administration of president Tinubu.

In addition, I also, with profound respect, caution that we should not politicize the issue of the Dangote refinery because it is not a political issue but purely an economic and business issues. Therefore, I believe that Mr. President should listen to objective counsel of thought leaders, business leaders and elder statesmen and women, so that the issues will not be hijacked by politicians that will give the issue wrong colorations in order to score political points while jeopardizing the opportunity to achieve a “win-win” outcome in the interest of Nigeria.

For the avoidance of doubt, I am not advocating for unfair advantage to be given to the Dangote refinery or Dangote group . But suffice it to say that if the country through state and federal governments will go as far as they have gone in supporting Dangote to start such a journey, then it will only be rational that we complete the journey and reap the benefits in the overall interests of Nigeria and Nigerians. And where Dangote comes short of expectations, then the proper processes should be followed to ensure the rule of law and protection of our commonwealth and territorial integrity, in a way and manner that we don’t chase our development partners and good investments that we desperately need at this time. Therefore, sustainability is key.

By the way, how come Dangote refinery has been producing and selling diesel to local and international markets since February and yet we did not get any negative feedback from the international buyers and neither the NMDPRA has stopped the sale and supply of such bad products into the Nigerian market? Because, for the CEO of NMDPRA to take such a hardline position as a regulator means that they must have very cogent and verifiable reason which should not be based on just a press statement but action to show clearly that Dangote refinery violated safety and standards, in which case the appropriate sanctions should have been meted.

How come the regulator does not have its own laboratory which is a key function of that agency?! It is appalling that the tests are done by external parties! What is the integrity of the process? So what is the job of the regulator? Is it to be reporting issues on media, or to be regulating and ensuring compliance with extant laws and best practice? No meters in floats stations and so what are the working tools and capabilities of the agencies? There are so many valid questions that must be answered if we are serious as a nation.

I hope that President Tinubu will take some drastic actions in order to contain this ugly trend.

August 2, 2024
Food for thought as UAE lifts visa ban

I am glad that President Bola Tinubu took steps to resolve the diplomatic logjam created by the diplomatic and strategic missteps of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. I do hope that, going forward, we have learned some lessons that will guide us to be more proactive, and hedge against repeat of such avoidable situations with all the negative consequences.

However, in terms of diplomacy and foreign policy, I am a believer in “Nigeria first”, in our international engagements and relationships. Beyond the lifting of the VISA ban, I hope that the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and the UAE will be reviewed, improved and made more robust to further strengthen the relationship between the two Countries no win-win bases.

For the purpose of disclosure, I have been a stakeholder not just in the UAE, and the entire gulf region for over 20 years. I own a business in the UAE, and I have garnered professional and business experience of over years out of my over 30 years working experience, understanding the politics and business in the UAE, and the gulf region.

I dare say that Nigeria adds more economic value to the UAE, than any other African nation, and this is a significant point to consider while we prepare our international relations strategy for not only the UAE for the entire Gulf region. Therefore, from a strategic perspective, the rhetorical question is; “how are we leveraging the value we add to the economy of UAE in engaging the UAE, such that Nigeria gets the best of the bilateral relationship?” – from Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA), to trade and investment, etc. It is my opinion that the administration of President Tinubu should take advantage of this diplomatic momentum, for robust conversation to take place in order to boost Nigeria-UAE diplomatic relationship. It is also time for Nigeria to review her foreign policy over and beyond visas, slot time for airlines, etc.

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Furthermore, another very important question we should ask ourselves as a nation, is how did we get ourselves into a situation where the UAE had to take such a hardline position as to put a Visa ban on Nigeria for more than 2 years? Some of us supported the position taken by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari with regard to aviation politics; whereby the UAE refused to reciprocate the slot and airport location for Air Peace Airline (of Nigeria) operations in the UAE, in violation of the subsisting BASA agreement between Nigeria and UAE. But even at that time, some of us raised some strategic questions and proffer some solutions to say that when Nigeria goes into such diplomatic rows, how do we position ourselves? I also believe that how you position yourself in the beginning of diplomatic engagements will determine how you manage or exit such diplomatic rows/logjams, especially in situations like the Nigeria-UAE diplomatic issue that was just resolved. There had been a lot of hue and cry as to who was wrong or right regarding the Nigeria-UAE issue. For me, it is not a matter of who is right or wrong. While I strongly feel that it was spat on Nigeria that the UAE gave such a blanket and hardline position to impose a Visa ban on Nigerians; on the part of Nigeria, we have not been strategic with regard to how we position ourselves and how we engage not just in the case of aviation or Visa, but also in terms of trade and investment, etc. That is why we lose face to the extent that another Country and/or its Airline will be treating us the way the UAE did, and we continue kowtowing to those Countries so much so that, at a time that is convenient for them, Countries like the UAE can stroll back and take large chunk of economic benefits in relationships that are mostly in favor of other Countries to the detriment of Nigeria’s political, and socio-political interests. The bottom-line is that based on my understanding of the nuances of how negotiations and relationships are fostered in that part of the world – how you present and position yourself as a Country ab initio, with regards to how you are perceived and you status will determined your strategic advantage; such that if you don’t position well in the beginning or in bilateral agreements like he BASA, and they feel that they can do anything negative to you and get away with it with no significant negative socio-economic consequence on them, we will continue to be at the receiving end of the bad deals. Therefore, whenever we foster relationships and go into negotiations, I advise that we have robust stakeholder engagement, so that we are more informed as a Country regarding how we position ourselves in international, diplomatic and bilateral engagements. This is very key.

Regarding the bad behaviors of some very few Nigerians in the UAE and other Countries around the world; it is important for the administration of President Bola Tinubu, to be proactive and to ensure that measures a put in place to filter as much as possible, bad Nigerians and stop them from travelling out of this Country, only for them to go and perpetrate all manner of crimes, thereby spoiling the good name of the overwhelming majority of good Nigerians. Of course, it is worthy of note that, the Federal Government cannot determine the behaviors and actions of citizens within and especially outside Nigeria. However, it is important to have a lot of sensitization to inform and guide Nigerians on “dos and don’ts” when living in other Countries. I am aware that, to some extent the sensitization conducted by some key government agencies especially, the Nigerian Diaspora Commission. But there is the need for wide and more detailed sensitization. Sensitization is very important because there is a growing number of human trafficking activities not just in Nigeria but globally. As we all know, those human traffickers mislead people into the traps that puts innocent Nigerians, not just in the UAE but all over the world, and that is how a lot of Nigerians end up in trouble not because they want to make trouble, but because they do not have enough credible information as they leave Nigeria or when preparing to leave Nigeria; or they are deliberately misled with lies, misinformation or disinformation. In addition, desperation, poverty, etc. also put a lot of them innocent Nigerians in trouble. Therefore, MDAs, like the Federal Ministries of Information and National Orientation, Foreign Affairs, Youth, Culture, Tourism; the National Orientation Agency, Nigeria Diaspora, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), etc. all have roles to play in sensitizing Nigerians. This is because, I believe that overwhelming majority of Nigerians are law abiding, and good people. But lack of proper information, credible data and guidance mislead people to enter into the wrong hands. So, there is the need to for the sensitizations to commence and increase and be consistent to ensure that the innocent citizens are safeguarded against risks that will put them and our Country in jeopardy.

With regard to the bad eggs, I expect that the Federal Governments should come out loud and clear with strong warning to individuals and groups that go outside Nigeria to commit crime and felony will not get any form of protection by our Government of Nigeria. It is time for government to demonstrate that there is zero tolerance for crime and criminality by Nigerians within and outside Nigeria. Nigerians should be told that government will only give support and protection to good citizens that are not involved in bad behaviors. In other Countries including the United Arab Emirates.

I also insist that the Federal Government should be firm when forging our bilateral relationships and agreements ab initio to ensure that we always go out with “the strong hand” and “good face” in terms of negotiations and other diplomatic engagements so that at the end of the day we our “ weak hands” or indolence in formulating agreements will not haunt us when things matter the most – we must be strategic, and we must be sensing.

Furthermore, I strongly caution that we should not allow the dissemination of such crucial information to be managed majorly by nonstate actors. The state actors i.e. relevant government agencies to consistently regularly and widely disseminate crucial information and guides otherwise misinformation and disinformation by non-state actors will prevail and become prevalent.

In closing, I hope that the relevant stakeholders will do the needful to ensure a good and enduring relationship between Nigeria and the UAE, and also other Countries around the world.

July 19, 2024
As the Supreme Court affirms local government autonomy…

Yesterday, Nigerians, including my humble self are happy to receive the news of the judgment passed by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on the autonomy of Local Governments in Nigeria Which is an outcome of a suit filed by the minister of Justice and attorney general of ten federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, on behalf of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The landmark judgement declared and instructed that, with immediate effect, all subventions due to local governments should be paid directly to the 774 Local Government Areas. The Supreme Court also stated that going forward, Governors cannot declare the seats of local government areas vacant or determine their tenure; Governors can no longer dissolve local government councils; the Supreme Court also bars Governors from funding unelected local government chairpersons.

Accordingly, I commend President Tinubu for the achievement of this crucial milestone which is actually part of his promise during his presidential campaign in 2023.

Furthermore, I am very happy with this judgment, given the fact that the over 50 years of shackles and stranglehold of State Governors on local government administrations have been effectively removed. This is especially so, given the fact that the State Governors have denied local government administrations the ability, capacity, competence, and autonomy to deliver dividends of democracy closer to the people in the inner communities and hinterlands.

This is a welcome development, also considering the fact that politics is local and the chunk of votes for all elections, i.e. local governments, states, and federal governments come from our local governments and hinterlands where the majority of our people live. This situation gave State Governors the strongest political leverage in the scheme of state and federal politics. I say so because many times we have witnessed how, due to this situation the governors practically blackmail the president on some key national issues that require their support, creating a scenario of “the tail wagging the dog”.

Therefore, on the positive side, I am very happy with this development. I look forward to the proper implementation of this judgment, in line with the provision of Nigeria’s subsisting Constitution. I also expect that with this judgement, the 10thNational Assembly will cater for this very important development in our polity in the ongoing amendment of the 1999 Constitution; in such a manner that the operationalization of the local government governance framework will be positively impactful on the socio-economic wellbeing of Nigerians.

However, I worry that because our democracy is still evolving, it is likely that the power of control of the local governments will shift to the federal government, noting the idiom “he who pays the piper dictates the throne”. Local Government Chairmen may switch their allegiances to the Center, i.e. Federal Government; which may imply that, in cases where a President is not happy with the State Governor, the President can frustrate that Governor through the Local Government Area Chairmen in his State. I hope that the scenario will not play out in the immediate to mid-term. That is why it is essential that the National and State Assemblies should be patriotic, and visionary, and apply wisdom in making provisions in the constitution that will insulate and protect the local government administrations from undue interference, such that what we are running away from, by rescuing the local government administrations from the chokehold of the State Governments, we end up making it worse by inadvertently transferring the issues to the Federal level which may lead to unintended negative consequence for the local governance and ultimately the citizens. An example is that we should avoid a scenario whereby a President will use the local government chairmen to frustrate a state governor who is not on good terms with him, etc. This is especially so given the ongoing efforts to dissolve State Electoral Commissions in order to consolidate and centralize elections management at the federal level. I believe that could find a legislative way out of that in order no to overburden the INEC and also not to undermine the autonomy of the States.

I am of the opinion that if we will do full devolution of powers, then we should be objective and do it in such a manner that we don’t throw away the baby with the bathwater. By this I am not just referring to President Tinubu’s administration, but also subsequent administrations. Constitutions provisions should be made in the overall interest of Nigeria and Nigerians in the short, mid, and long term. Otherwise, amendments made based on parochial interests, or without circumspection, may yet again backfire and haunt the framers of the constitution as we have seen with the outcome of the amended of the electoral act in 2022 when the 9th Assembly made some amendments that backfired on them which lead to the failure of over 60% of the members of the National Assembly to return to the National Assembly, amongst other losses; which in my opinion turned out well our democracy and especially for Nigerians.

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Socio-Economic Expectations: Taking Development Closer to the People

The expectation is that the autonomy of the Local Government Areas will accelerate the provision of basic infrastructure like pipe-borne water, basic roads, waterways, culverts, basic health care, etc. which has eluded our people at the local governments and hinterlands due to a lack of direct funding to our local governments. Therefore, we must ensure effective financial and operational autonomy at our local government levels, going forward. I expect that some State Governors will soon stop sheepishly commissioning boreholes, “bridges” that are basically glorified culverts, etc., and focus on strategic projects based on visions, value creation, and value innovation.

Political Implications:

This development will pressure governors to focus on the delivery of their mandates rather than the emperor-like way they have been successively governing the states for over 50 years.

The judgment to the effect that “governors will no longer control the tenure of the Local Government Areas” will remove the choke-hold of the Local Governments by State Governors with which they wield immense political control of the local government areas to perpetuate their control of the political structures of the local government areas for political supremacy, while and after leaving office as governors. The LGAs have been mere appendages of the State Governors, while their offices are more or less liaison offices of the Governors. This further stunted the growth of local government areas across Nigeria, and more importantly the assurances of good governance. That is why the local government chairmen/ sole administrators sit out their tenures without making any impacts on the communities. I am expecting that this will change Nigeria for the better.

Interestingly, in my opinion, Local Government Chairmen will become among if not the most powerful political entities in Nigeria. The 774 Local Governments Areas having their full autonomy, presupposes that they may not necessarily have to kowtow to their State Governors – politically. Therefore, I reckon that the Local Government Chairmen at the State level and collectively at the national level under the auspices of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) will become more formidable political power blocks at the state and federal level build-up to the 2027 elections. Of course, the Governors who are popular and entrenched and are delivering good governance will retain their political clout and grit.

Going forward, we expect a governance framework that will ensure transparency and accountability in the administration and operations of the local government administrations. There are also other issues to be addressed like revenue sharing formula where revenues are collected at the state level at the various local governments to be shared by Local Government Areas

Transparency and Accountability

It is worthy of note that, just operationalizing the local government administrations and giving them full autonomy is not enough to ensure the delivery of good governance at the grassroots level. Let us not forget that it is still the politicians that will run the local government administrations and therefore, just because the local governments have been granted administrative and financial autonomy everything will now be “okay”. Things will actually get worse unless citizens actively demand good governance from Governors and local government administrations – to put the local government chairmen on their toes so that they do not feel entitled and take things for granted.

Nigerians will keenly watch how the new power dynamics will tilt the balance of power in favor of the citizens of this Country.

Corrigendum:

Dear all, please note that the correct name of the late Dan Masanin Kano, and Former Nigeria’s permanent representative to the UN is; “the late Dr. Yusuf Maitama Sule”, and NOT “…Bello Maitama Sule…”; as erroneously stated in last week’s episode of my Column titled “Dear Northern Nigeria – Who will save us from ourselves?!” dated 5th July 2024. The error is regrettable.

July 12, 2024
Northern Nigerians: – who will save us from ourselves?!

For the record, I am a northerner, a progressive, and a patriotic citizen of Nigeria. What some of us have been speaking to in the last 25 years since the beginning of the 4th Republic in Nigeria is that if we are to remain as one Nation, then the unity of Nigeria should be paramount.

The pressure groups that are currently coming together in northern Nigeria ahead in anticipation of the 2027 elections refer. From all indications, some northern political leaders are posturing for the return of the Presidency to the north in 2027, which in my opinion is the type of divisive and self-serving politics that will further deepen disunity in Nigeria.

Some of the justifications given by some of some of these northern political leaders build-up to the 2023 elections were to justify why power should shift to the southern part of Nigeria since the northern part of Nigeria had enjoyed 8 years of presidency under President Buhari, where some of them were Governors, legislators, political party leaders, etc. The question is, what did they do during their tenure? And how come some of them were at the forefront of the campaign for President Tinubu and ensured his success only of them to start working against his administration after less than 1 year in office simply because they were not getting what they expected? I would have taken them more seriously if their intentions were genuine, which obviously is not so.

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At this crucial moment in the history of Nigeria when the country is highly polarized along ethnic, tribal, and religious sentiments, I was taken aback to see the sublime positions of those political leaders, especially regionalizing the conversation. I don’t have qualms with making it a national discourse with the elites coming together to see how we can pressure any government in power, not just an APC Government. Because, as far as I am concerned, the political parties in Nigeria are the same wine in different bottles. Therefore, the cyclical and abysmal failure of the political class of this country is not about a political party. So, I am only keen to see political leaders coming together to speak with a view to ensuring that we put governments on their toes whether it is the APC at national or other parties at the subnational levels. I do not subscribe to regionalizing the political conversations at this point in time simply because some politicians have not gotten what they wanted or expected in the current administration of President Tinubu.

After all, they are the same people that went as far as insulting our elders (which include my parents) in their efforts to convince Nigerians that President Tinubu is the right person to lead Nigeria; only for them to do an about-face with tongue-in-cheek to shamelessly start going around to greet the same elders they were insulting and to indicate that the government they vehemently supported to power is not a good government. The gaslighting attitude by politicians should no longer be supported by citizens, especially northerners. I guarantee that the same politicians will have no qualms doing another about-face again to tell us that we should endure the Tinubu administration even though they were condemning the government a day before, so long as they get what they want! And this is what happens even at the state level.

This type of self-serving politicking that is promoted by most of our northern political leaders should be discounted by northerners. Indeed, I rather take seriously and respectfully the contributions of political leaders who have been consistent in their positions. Because those politicians can be considered more focused and genuine than these “latter-day prophets”. Therefore, we should stop being gullible and start looking through politicians whose only interests are not for the people, but only for themselves, their families, and their friends. The longer we continue remaining gullible and playing into the hands of ethnic and tribal jingoism, the longer it will take us to get out of the current debilitating socio-economic malaise in Nigeria.

We should be able to see through them and going forward decide for ourselves who we should elect at national and subnational levels because the bottom line is that these politicians don’t care about us. We should no longer put our destiny in the hands of these selfish politicians.

After all, it is worthy of note that out of the over 160 million multidimensionally poor Nigerians, 70% are from core northern Nigeria. This horrible poverty index was achieved in the eight years of President Buhari’s tenure. It is worthy of note that President Buhari was supported by a lot of northern political leaders who he gave leadership positions and the governors who mostly failed woefully to deliver their mandates, but rather left their states in worse than they met them in abject poverty, heightened insecurity and perpetual indebtedness. What a shame! I dare say that we should no longer listen to such leaders, as our guides and guardians. They have betrayed our trust and confidence, not once but many times over. If we continue to follow such leaders gullibly, then we have ourselves to blame for continuous suffering.

Accordingly, I am yet to see anything grand about the ongoing political grandstanding by some northern political leaders under the guise of “moves to save the north” or moves to “save Nigeria”, whence/ whereas they have been part of the political process and structure and establishment of Nigeria for over 50 years.

By the way, the northern politicians don’t have the monopoly of the aforementioned distasteful political credentials! Politicians from other geopolitical regions in Nigeria also hold the same awful credentials, albeit as a northerner, my focus of discussion today is on the politicians from the northern given that since after the glorious time of late Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, etc.; most of the current political leaders have woefully failed to deliver their mandates. Having enjoyed the privileges or good governance and leadership at that time devoid of parochial sentiments, they have betrayed all the values that trained them. Most of them came from humble backgrounds and yet they were given equal opportunities and level playing fields which they have shamelessly now cornered for themselves and their cohorts while their people die in abject poverty and strife as they sheepishly go about with the wicked and narcissistic people aloofness and sense of entitlement. – except for a few of them.

The bottom line is that there is an increasing number of citizens who are now seeing through these politicians and their allies – that for them it is all about leveraging the levers of politics and power; i.e. the divisiveness, ethnicities, tribal and religious sentiments to achieve their parochial interests. The hypocrisy and total lack of strategy or empathy for the people is sickening. It is time to call out these northern leaders for what they are – selfish and pathological – period! With no intelligent and coherent plan for the people – they go about with an empty sense of entitlement, with no honor or self-respect as they go about planning for their usual selfish political interests for only themselves and their children!

Northern politicians have successfully ensured that they have killed what remained of the education structure and system built by the vanguards of our liberation from colonialism. Knowing that education is the bedrock of any sustainable society, it is a shame that they have destroyed what they benefited from!! With an appalling level of illiteracy with no clear plan to help us exit this situation apart from photoshoots and mantras. I wonder how the North will make any significant progress without education. The state of insecurity in Nigeria is worsening, increasing infant maternal mortality, and increasing multidimensional poverty indices, I can go on and on. Things are so bad that, currently in northern Nigeria human beings have begun to eat grass and compete with animals for the food that hitherto was solely for animals!!

Where are the visions? What are the priorities? What are the values?

The citizens have not helped themselves either with wanton laziness and a sense of entitlement!! Therefore, 2027 should be about values, antecedents, strategy, clear vision, demonstrable capacity, and integrity.

What is even more worrisome is how most of the “new breed” northern politicians are already inflicted and sucked in by the horrible hydra-headed monsters of the corrupt and self-serving style of political leadership.

Going forward, it is no longer enough to convince people to elect or even rig people into office only for them to run into the crowd of the masses and start pointing accusing fingers at their hitherto co-travelers. In my opinion, those kinds of political leaders should not be considered leaders again but hypocrites and enemies of their people

As the Nigerian street parlance goes “Our mumu suppose don do”.

July 5, 2024
Food Insecurity and the cost of living crisis

Some of you may note that this will be my 3rd episode this year dedicated to the key issue of cost of living due to the importance of the issue in our polity and the ongoing efforts by Governments to curtail this very worrisome situation. Therefore, this is a reiteration of some of my humble contributions and additional perspectives for governments to consider while trying to alleviate the situation.

Security as a critical success factor for food security

The critical success factor to turn around the socio-economic malaise in Nigeria is first and foremost tackling insecurity. Otherwise, any other initiative will be a “flash in the pan”. This is because the recent escalation of insecurity around the northwest, north-central, and even southeast is hampering food production, otherwise, we are taking two steps forward and three steps backward. This has significantly impacted food security. The northern part of Nigeria is the food basket of the nation and is arguably some part of the West African sub-region. Farmers have gone to the farm late this year. Climate change is impacting, and the danger of food insecurity is looming. There is a need for quick actions

The recently concluded meetings of the Southern Governors meetings and the ongoing North-West Governors Summit on Security and also the just concluded meeting on security by the North-East region State Directors of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) clearly show how Federal and State governments are prioritizing the issue of Security in governance. What remains to be seen is how the meetings and engagements will result in tangible positive outcomes. This is because, without security, there will be no peace or any form of development.

The 2024 rainy season came a bit late but as it settles in, there are major concerns of the projections of poor yield this year due to the late start of the rain, excessive heat, floods, and crops diseases due to global warming. The projections are already becoming realities especially as the rainy season started late in the northern part of Nigeria, and more importantly insecurity issues. In the past 3 weeks, the terrorist attacks on communities in Katsina, Zamfara, and Niger States are going on unabated, with some villages around Danmusa in Katsina State almost sacked. These in addition to other areas in Nigeria. These are agrarian communities that are critical to food production. Unless our communities and villages are safe, we will face imminent food scarcity by the 4th quarter of this year which is a key harvest period and this will have devastating consequences on the already dire situation that we are facing in this Country.

Accordingly, some farmers cannot go to their farms due to kidnappings, banditry, and other forms of terrorism. And for those farmers that go to the farms they end up most likely paying three or four types of taxes/levies, i.e. Local Government levies, State Government levies, Federal Government levies, and the levies they pay to terrorists/ bandits or kidnappers. We cannot expect those farmers/up-takers to sell the products at a “reasonable” price” without considering their cost of production. In terms of production, power is not available, people have to resort to self—help to generate power at a cost that is rising (e.g. Diesel) to be able to produce goods or provide services. The government needs to be practical and sincere and address the key drivers of production in the economy so that we can turn around the rising cost of living. I also agree that there should be a measure of containment and control of over-pricing which can only be feasible if we deal with the aforementioned issues. For example, tackling insecurity at national and state levels so that farmers can go back to the farms this year’s farming season should be the first step and will be a critical success factor.

The brutal impact of rising food inflation

Of all the inflationary trends, I want governments to focus at food inflation as the key performance indicator for this economy and a driver for economic turnaround – as a “shock absorber” and as a catalyst for economic diversification. Food inflation should attract our attention more that headline inflation, and the core inflation. All food items have more than doubled their costs in the past 8 months and the prices will increase due food supply reduces due to scarcity as the rainy season sets in. Things are so bad that now a tuber of yam is split into 2 or 3 portions to be retailed. In some part of northern Nigeria, multi-dimensionally poor families and individuals are beginning to eat grasses and even dustbins are now becoming scarce of food remnants. Human beings are beginning to compete with animals for plants that hitherto human beings only feed animals. Things are really getting uglier.

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In addition to the potential low production/ yields due to inflation and insecurity, we have also exhausted our strategic grains reserves without replenishing them. Therefore, disaster is looming because potentially, by the 4th quarter of this year, the agricultural yields will not be enough to meet up with rising local demand. And as we all know food production drives the economy in terms of food security and raw materials for critical production sectors including medicine, pharmacy, textiles, etc.

Food Security

One of the key interventions that Mr. President provided was the release of over 24,000 tonnes of grains. But it is important for us to note the rule of subtraction without addition – it means we are depleting or we have already depleted our strategic reserves. So, I expect that within the whole intervention framework, that going forward, we will have plans to replenish the strategic grain reserves as quickly as possible, because the strategic grain reserves are the last lines of defense and must be available at all times. Otherwise in the next 5 to 6 months during the rainy seasons, naturally there are food shortages during the rainy seasons even without the issues of insecurity, global warming, and the depleted strategic grain reserves. It means that there is a potential disaster by quarter 4 of this year if a concerted well-thought-out strategy is in place immediately to proactively manage the impending danger.

There is a connection between food insecurity and health, education, and poverty. Because the agriculture value chain produces not just food, but raw materials for industries, raw materials for medicine, and healthcare. Food insecurity will also increase the rate of malnutrition in some parts of Nigeria, especially the northern region where we have the highest number of multi-dimensionally poor Nigerians constituting about 70%. In addition, because of malnutrition and increased infant mortality, there is already a prevalence of hunger and poverty. People are dying due to hunger, and people have started resorting to desperate measures resulting in social unrest and an increase in crime.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to deal with the factors that drive inflation i.e. cost of production, availability of the products (e.g. food, or other goods and services), cost of logistics, cost of storage, availability and cost of power (electricity), insecurity, etc.

Youth Empowerment in Agriculture

The youths of any society or nation are key to the development and substance of that nation. A very worrisome situation in Nigeria is the lack of deepening commitments and impacts with regard to the support for Nigerian youths to seriously take Agriculture as a profession or business. Part of the issue is that Agriculture has been nationally unattractive and more of a campaign tool than a national and state economic development tool. Over time, successive administrations have not sustained agriculture initiatives and interventions that would have made agriculture the “go-to” industry, for people to be encouraged to join farming.

Role of states and local governments

The importance of the roles of the States and Local Governments to improve our Agricultural value chain and its socio-economic contributions cannot be over-emphasized. Apart from the national agriculture sectoral reform strategy, which I have also suggested in in many for a that that we should have at the Federal level, the State Governors, the National Assembly, and state assemblies need to do more in crafting their various Agriculture reform strategies that will key into the overarching national development plan while taking into cognizance their peculiarities with a view to harnessing all their agricultural resources in the states for better socio-economic impacts -short to long term.

More than any other arm or tier of government, the state governments have a more direct and tangential role to play in alleviating the lives of their people. Going forward there should be more attention from the people on the state Governors and demand for good governance accountability and performance. The coming months will be key indicators.

June 28, 2024
Kano emirate crisis and the future of traditional institutions

“A nation is great not by its size alone. It is the will, the cohesion, the stamina, the discipline of its people and the quality of their leaders which ensure it an honorable place in history.”- Mr. Lee Kuan Yew – the First Prime Minister of Singapore.

The Situation in Kano

The ongoing game of thrones in the emirate of Kano is a symptom of ailing traditional institutions across Nigeria, that is gradually eroding its value in the scheme of governance in Nigeria. The traditional institutions are fast becoming political collateral damages in the feud between political titans at the state and federal levels. Sadly, the traditional rulers have either deliberately or inadvertently allowed themselves to become pawns in the chess game of politicians with devastating short- and long-term consequences on the institutions. Interestingly, the decline of the power and influence of traditional institutions in Nigeria started circa 1840 during the colonial era – for economic reasons, and then more prominently in the 1950s up to this day. I will discuss this trend further in this missive.

The ongoing feud within the royal house of Kano, amongst brothers, cousins, and in-laws leaves much to be desired, especially given the fact that they allowed politicians to infiltrate their ranks, divide them, and have now turned them against themselves. It is a sad period in the history of Kano.

As a son of Kano, as a child of traditional institutions, I dare say that Kano has significance in the scheme of things; traditional, spiritual, religious, and cultural, for almost over 1,000 years (over a millennium). It is a critical and strategic location that hitherto bestrides arguably the biggest emirate in West Africa, in terms of land mass and population; because, currently, Kano State has 44 local governments with a growing population of over 14 million people. It is also the second most important state in terms of electoral value with over 6 million registered voters, competing only with Lagos. Therefore, handling the sensitivities and sensibilities of the Emirate crisis is key to the political stability of the State and consequently the region.

Lagos is launching the Blue Rail transport system, initiating the Red Rail system, and planning to set up a new airport that will be the biggest and best in West Africa, it is one of the largest economies in Africa, etc. But in Kano State, we are struggling with social media influencers, and we are struggling with the throne of Kano. I don’t feel happy about it. It is ironic that we have a traditional institution and a royal throne that is about 1,024 years old and yet, instead of blazing the trail on the positive side, we are becoming a laughing stock in the eyes of everybody. It’s unfortunate. I do hope that there will be a way forward for us in Kano as soon as possible so that we can put the issue of the royal tussle behind us and face a bigger and more important issue of governance so that citizens can get out of brutal current national and sub-national socio-economic problems. Indeed, what will remain a fact is the huge political uncertainty, and build-up to the 2027 elections because, truth be told – there will be political consequences for the actions/inactions of political gladiators at the Federal and state levels.

Historical perspectives, trends, and impacts assessment of traditional institutions

I recall that as far back as around 1840, the basis and processes of the removal of the likes of King Jaja of Opbo (deposed in 1887), the likes of Oba Ovoronwem of Benin Kingdom (deposed in 1897), Oba Akintoye who was the Oba of Lagos (deposed in 1845), and Sarki Ali Ibn Abdullah Maje-Karofi (aka Alu Mai Sango), the Emir of Kano(deposed in 1903), were more for economic reasons, whence, those kings were removed and exiled and how some of them returned to their thrones. However, the basis and processes of removal of traditional leaders became more political than economic from the 1950s, particularly around 1955 when the then Premier of the Western region, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo Oba Adeyemi, the Alaafin of Oyo (deposed in 1955) and exiled him to Lagos; in 1963, the Emir of Kano Sir, Muhammdu Sunusi I had to abdicate the throne due his feud with the Premier of the Northern region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and then in 2005 when then Governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Adamu Aliero deposed the Emir of Gwandu. Recently, at the twilight of his administration, in January this year, Governor Yahaya Bello deposed two Emirs in Kogi State who hitherto have been critical pillars of traditional institutions in Kogi State and exiled them out of Kogi, they are His Royal Highness, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Isah Koto, the Ohimege-Igu Koton-Karfe, and His Royal Highness, Sam Bola Ojoa, the Olu Magongo of Magongo. Governor Yahaya Bello also suspended indefinitely His Royal Highness, Boniface Musa, the Onu-Ife in Omala Local Government Area Therefore, from the 1950s the removal of traditional rulers became more for political reasons than any other reason.

The traditional institutions also became more politically motivated when some progressive elements like the late Mallam Aminu Kano in northern Nigeria, and the like of Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, etc in southern Nigeria felt that some of the traditional institutions were becoming more politically involved and less value-adding to the masses they were ruling and were leading more towards the ruling political parties that were more inclined to conservative political ideals.

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The pivotal moment for the traditional institutions in Nigeria, from around 1967 A law was subsequently passed during the military region that reduced the powers and status of traditional institutions in Nigeria and basically cornered the traditional institutions to the local government level.

A call for the preservation of our traditional institutions

My humble contribution with regards to how our traditional institutions will be well preserved and protected in a way and manner that they will be more value-adding and impactful is that we start having conversations amongst leaders of thought, interest groups, and stakeholders within the traditional institutions, academia, and political leadership particularly the executive and legislative arms of government; to come out with a policy framework that will protect our traditional institutions in the interest of the preservation of our identities and core values. This is because, all Nigerians and indeed Africans come from somewhere where we all have traditional institutions that are the custodians of our cultures, traditions, history, and even in some cases spiritual values.

Accordingly, the preservation of traditional institutions should be of concern to us in the interest of the conservation of our identities, albeit with some modifications so as to put the traditional institutions on their toes to be more impactful, rather than the current “sense of entitlement” mentality of most of the traditional rulers, which has made them be considered more parasitic than symbiotic by progressive elements of our society (and rightly so in some cases). This topic should be important to all of us because we all come somewhere that we call home, or our roots – those are our identities. We can see how our brothers and sisters in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, etc. are trying to trace their genealogy from centuries ago to understand who they really are and where their forebears came from. This is because, in my opinion, whoever does not have a root or does not identify with his/her root is a lost soul.

Based on the foregoing, I use this opportunity to speak directly to the traditional institutions. With profound respect, the traditional institutions became the pawns in the game of politicians. They should recognize that respect for themselves, and that they are better and stronger when they are united than when they allow politics to polarize them. I recognize the fact that even the previous traditional leaders were involved in politics because indeed every human being is a “political animal”. But I believe that they should be more strategic and play more frontally neutral political roles, and not allow themselves to be used as political cannon-fodders which is what led to this sad situation in Kano where the traditional leaders are losing their mystic powers, charisma, popularity, respect and reverence in our Country.

Another key issue is the issue of materialism and greed. With due respect, most of our traditional leaders are so materialistic that they kowtow to politicians – it is a gory spectacle! As custodians of culture, tradition, and core values, traditional leaders who know their worth will have core values and standards they should not go below. By the time politicians start depositing them, one after the other, the value and relevance of the traditional institutions will diminish and most likely die over time. From time immemorial, traditional rulers used to be masters of strategy, warriors, and sometimes philosophers. Therefore, strategic positioning, integrity, emotional intelligence, and genuine love for their people and not just themselves and their children, will be the critical success factors to their sustainability. If they maintain those ideals, the politicians will have no choice but to focus on the delivery of good governance especially at the state level.

June 21, 2024
25 years of the Fourth Republic in Nigeria

The 25 years of the 5th Republic democracy in Nigeria have been bitter-sweet. On one hand, we have enjoyed 25 years of an uninterrupted period of democracy during which Nigerians experienced so critical transitions from one democratically elected administration to another, at national and state levels across the executive and legislative arms of governments. In addition, Nigerians also witness not just a change of power from one hand to another within the ruling party, but also the upstaging of incumbent Presidents, Governors, and Legislators by opposition parties or coalitions of opposition parties, which hitherto was considered almost impossible.

Importantly, the fundamental rights of citizens of freedom of expression, movement, and choices as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution have been largely enjoyed and sustained by citizens far more than what was obtained during the military juntas, even though there should be improvements, going forward. The ability of citizens to engage government in politics, economy, social justice, unity, justice, etc., has increased significantly in the past 25 years because Governments have been consistently put on their toes by citizens, civil society organizations, etc. – questioning strategies, policies, actions, and inactions, etc. These are all in my opinion dividends of democracy. Looking back to the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s during the military interregnum, when citizens would not dare freely express themselves and challenge the government the way they are doing now – directly or indirectly, in fact, just a gathering of 4 or 5 people having hush-hush conversations could lead to their arrest and detention.

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Therefore, we have come a long way as Nigerians and we must appreciate how far we have come. That being said, there is still much left to be desired in terms of what we are expecting from democracy. Because in my opinion, democracy is a process that should produce dividends like peace, unity, equity, justice, economic growth and development, social justice, value and cultural re-orientation, etc. Those should be some of the by-products of a good democracy. I am saying that much is still left to be desired because, looking back 25 years, there is still a lot of work to be done. Citizens are still not happy and to that extent, going forward, citizens especially their elites must influence a change in the attitude and behavior of our political class of this Country so that they will be more productive, and impactful for the betterment of Nigeria.

Furthermore, the political landscape is broadening and the political consciousness of Nigerians has evolved in the past 25 years reaching its highest during the 2023 general elections with citizens demanding good governance and increasingly knowing the power of their votes.

KUDOS

The Press and News Media – The Fourth Estate of the Realm

The history of the evolution of Nigeria and the successes achieved thus far is incomplete and I dare say would have been impossible without the contributions of the Press and News Media who for over 150 years have been informing, influencing, and also pressuring governments for positive impacts and change during and post-colonial era right from 1859 when the first newspaper in Nigeria was published by the British with the CMS Press at Abeokuta that published Iwe Irohin, the first newspaper in Nigeria. Importantly the advocacy work of the Press started during a period termed the proto-professional era of journalism which spanned between 1914 to 1921 which is the period that initiated campaigns for constitutional development in Nigeria – which was a critical success factor that led to our independence. And then the watershed moment was in July 1921 when the Nigerian press commenced operations with professionalism introduced by the late Mr. Ernest Sisei Ikoli, the first Nigerian newspaper editor. Ever since then the fourth estate of the realm has been a critical pillar of our achieving independence and subsequent pursuit of a better Nigeria and indeed democracy with vanguards like the late Nnamdi Azikiwe, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, late Mallam Sa’adu Zungur, late Mallam Aminu Kano, Chief MKO Abiola, Chief Segun Osoba, Chief Nduka Ogbaibena, Chief Bisi Akande, Mr. Ray Ekpo to mention a few paying heavily, with some of them in some cases paying the ultimate price with their lives for us to be where we are today as a nation.

Therefore, I thank the media for their contributions and sacrifices, not just for democracy, but for our evolution as a Country and as a nation. All the activism and advocacies wouldn’t have been effective and successful without the support of the media. I give kudos to the notable pillars of the noble profession of journalism for their achievements in our democracy.

The Indelible Contributions of Activism on the return to democracy

I give kudos to the vanguards of our independence and also that I call the vanguards of the contemporary democracy we are enjoying, some of whom have paid the ultimate price with their lives. These eminent Nigerians are the true patriots whose contributions to our nation-building will be etched in gold in recorded history. These vanguards were men and women of valor including intellectuals, journalists, academics, medical doctors, engineers, etc. The space allowed for me is not enough to pen their names and the accolades. But in the past days, their names have been variously mentioned in writing and verbally as their names echo and reverberate across Nigeria and globally. Notwithstanding I will mention a few: Chief MKO Abiola, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Segun Osoba, Chief Nduka Ogbaibena, Mr. Ray Ekpo, late Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Chief Abraham Adesanya, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, late Mallam Lawal Dambazau, Senator Shehu Sani, Senator Uba Sani, late Chief Frank Kokori, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Mrs. Sarah Jubril and I can go on and on and on. The contributions of those I have not listed are in any way no less than the contributions of those that I have listed.

Points to Note

What remains a mirage in the past 25 years since the return of Nigeria to democracy in 1999, is that the Country has yet to achieve a consistent and sustainable socio-economic growth trajectory. Peace, stability, and prosperity are further threatened despite efforts to contain the ugly trend by the government and the citizens. The Country is further polarised along tribal, ethnic, religious, and regional lines more than ever before, while our demography is increasing exponentially.

Therefore, in my opinion, the way forward to better our democracy is if there is more citizens participation, especially the elites in our democratic processes and evolution. I believe that good governance is not just about waiting for politicians to do as they wish while we lament about how things have been going worse in the past 24 years since the return of Nigeria to democracy, but good governance is a process which includes citizens making demand and actually setting the parameters, standards of the kind of leadership their want and the accountability and performance framework based on which they will measure their leaders at all levels and hold them accountable.

I dare say that except for the 2015 and then 2023 general elections, the elites of this country have been serially and unfairly undeserving of the political evolution of Nigeria by not being actively part of the political process. We mainly engage in “armchair “criticisms and cynicisms. The question is what are the contributions and sacrifices we are making to better the political process? It is not good enough to just lament and pontificate. What solutions are we offering and how are we part of the solutions? As the saying goes, talk is cheap! It is time for action. Take note that not participating in the political process is also a vote of confidence on the status quo. And if we don’t participate, then we lose the moral ground to challenge and hold our leaders accountable because we would have a really failed ab initio in our roles as citizens.

We, the elites have been failing the masses of this Country by not really taking tangible actions that add value to our political process. Only when things affect our relatively comfortable lives do we try to gaslight the situation and make it look as if we are all in it together! That is what I call the “hypocrisy of our expectations “. It’s not good enough to carry placards, because the elites don’t even carry the placards anyway. I urge us to actively and consistently engage the leadership of this country at national and national levels so that we can all “own” the outcomes or collectively “disown” the outcomes of our political processes in the overall interest of Nigeria. LET US BE PART OF THE PROCESS.

God Bless The Federal Republic Of Nigeria

June 14, 2024
Local government autonomy key to national development

The bold step taken by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of going to the Supreme Court of Nigeria to confirm – if, or not, state governments have the right to have direct access and control of funding that is due to Local Governments Administrations (LGAs). It is trite in law, that local governments are supposed to be credited worth funding directly from the Federation Account. But for over 40 years since the second republic, Governors have been taking the funding allocations on behalf of the local government administrations, which in my opinion is a violation of Section 7 and other relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended. Surely, the suit instituted by Mr. President will settle this Constitutional logjam/lacuna, and clear the way for accelerated growth and development and the grassroots of Nigeria.

It is instructive to note that President Tinubu is living up to his campaign promises as outlined in his Renewed Hope campaign Manifesto build-up to the 2023 presidential elections. In Page 69 of the manifesto, Mr. President promised to, “Embark on a review of the federation revenue allocation system to recalibrate the division of funds amongst the three tiers of Government: Federal, State and Local. More funds should be allocated to the States and Local Governments so that they can better address local concerns and fulfill their expanded constitutional obligations to the people……. This promotes stronger governance at the state and local levels, thus reducing political congestion and competition for resources at the federal level. The performance of federal, state, and local governments shall improve while the people will benefit by having more political democracy and economic development more closely at hand.”

It is also timely, that recently, the 10th National Assembly has commenced the process of the amendment of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as they are deliberating on about 44 Bills which will include; devolution of powers, state police, local government autonomy, transition to parliamentary system, etc.

Taking development closer to the people

It is worthy of note that according to the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the current revenue-sharing formula is as follows: The Federal Government takes 52.68 % of the revenue share, states get 26.72 %, while local governments get 20.6 %. So far, Governors have taken 46.78%, i.e. 26.72% + 20.6% – with no commensurate tangible impacts to show for the masses of Nigeria, i.e. the grassroots.

A very worrisome situation in Nigeria is the lack of deepening commitments and impacts at grassroots levels where the majority of Nigeria reside and live.

A good example of the importance of the role of local governments is that local governments remain the critical platforms for our Agricultural value chain and its socio-economic contributions. There is currently no active development process flow between the Federal Government interventions and direct local government initiatives.

The acceleration of the provision of basic infrastructure like pipe-borne water, basic roads, waterways, culverts, etc. has eluded our people at the local governments and hinterlands due to a lack of direct funding to our local governments. Therefore, we must ensure effective financial and operational autonomy at our local government levels, going forward.

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I am very glad to hear that the perennial issue of undercutting or stifling the cash flow of local govern The bold step taken by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of going to the Supreme Court of Nigeria to confirm – if, or not, state governments have the right to have direct access and control of funding that is due to Local Governments Administrations (LGAs). It is trite in law, that local governments are supposed to be credited worth funding directly from the Federation Account. But for over 40 years since the second republic, Governors have been taking the funding allocations on behalf of the local government administrations, which in my opinion is a violation of Section 7 and other relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended. Surely, the suit instituted by Mr. President will settle this Constitutional logjam/lacuna, and clear the way for accelerated growth and development and the grassroots of Nigeria.

It is instructive to note that President Tinubu is living up to his campaign promises as outlined in his Renewed Hope campaign Manifesto build-up to the 2023 presidential elections. In Page 69 of the manifesto, Mr. President promised to, “Embark on a review of the federation revenue allocation system to recalibrate the division of funds amongst the three tiers of Government: Federal, State and Local. More funds should be allocated to the States and Local Governments so that they can better address local concerns and fulfill their expanded constitutional obligations to the people……. This promotes stronger governance at the state and local levels, thus reducing political congestion and competition for resources at the federal level. The performance of federal, state, and local governments shall improve while the people will benefit by having more political democracy and economic development more closely at hand.”

It is also timely, that recently, the 10th National Assembly has commenced the process of the amendment of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as they are deliberating on about 44 Bills which will include; devolution of powers, state police, local government autonomy, transition to parliamentary system, etc.

Taking development closer to the people

It is worthy of note that according to the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the current revenue-sharing formula is as follows: The Federal Government takes 52.68 % of the revenue share, states get 26.72 %, while local governments get 20.6 %. So far, Governors have taken 46.78%, i.e. 26.72% + 20.6% – with no commensurate tangible impacts to show for the masses of Nigeria, i.e. the grassroots.

A very worrisome situation in Nigeria is the lack of deepening commitments and impacts at grassroots levels where the majority of Nigeria reside and live.

A good example of the importance of the role of local governments is that local governments remain the critical platforms for our Agricultural value chain and its socio-economic contributions. There is currently no active development process flow between the Federal Government interventions and direct local government initiatives.

The acceleration of the provision of basic infrastructure like pipe-borne water, basic roads, waterways, culverts, etc. has eluded our people at the local governments and hinterlands due to a lack of direct funding to our local governments. Therefore, we must ensure effective financial and operational autonomy at our local government levels, going forward.

I am very glad to hear that the perennial issue of undercutting or stifling the cash flow of local government administrations in Nigeria will come to an end soon. Because this has been one of the key banes of the progress of this Country. For over 40 years, the State Governors have been holding the local government administrations hostage, and rendering them at the beck and call of the Governors. Suffice it to say that the refusal of successive state administrations from the 2nd republic to date to allow the autonomy of local governments as enshrined in Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which recognizes: “The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils.” is a testament to the hypocrisy of our expectations as a nation.

The sustained choke-hold of the Local Governments of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by State Governors is not just for the control of the financial inflows of the LGA, but also to ensure continuous political control of the local government areas to perpetuate their control of the political structures of the local government areas for political supremacy, while and after leaving office as governors. The choke-holds on the LGAs have further stunted the growth of local government areas across Nigeria, and more importantly the assurances of good governance. Over time, the local Government administrations have become voiceless, powerless, and almost useless. The local government management and operations have been almost comatose, and therefore, they have not been able to add tangible values to our political evolution. The LGAs are mere appendages of the State Governors, while their offices are more or less liaison offices of the Governors. That is why the local government chairmen/ sole administrators sit out their tenures without making any impacts on the communities.

Due to the aforementioned reasons, there is so much opaqueness in the administration of local government administrations in Nigeria. Most of the local government chairmen also end up helping themselves from the remnant of funds credited to the coffers of the local government – that is what bad leadership at the top does – i.e., “when the head is rotten the body subsequently rots away. In the end, the citizens of Nigeria are systematically and consistently short-changed. Consequently, year-on-year we do not see any serious developments taking place at local government levels; rather, what we see are multi-dimensional retrogression and poverty.

Indeed, a visit to local government headquarters around Nigeria will evidence how bad things are; the offices are shadows of themselves, the operations are comatose and there are basically no serious structures for people to lean unto in demanding the delivery of good governance. Therefore, I am very happy to hear that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is ready to deliver one of his campaign promises to ensure that local governments do not just get autonomy on paper, but that the autonomy is actualized and made fully operational.

Furthermore, one of the key reasons why we do not witness major and tangible developments at state levels is because the inactivates at local governments are due to undue interference by the state Governors to the extent that, it is only the local governments that are of interest to the Governors that experience of measure of development.

It is an established fact that “politics is local”. That is why everywhere democracy has thrived, and everywhere leadership has been effective and impactful; it is because the local governments are autonomous and fully operational – across the three arms of government at that level, i.e. Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. It is because politics is local and where the votes are garnered to ultimately achieve political success, which is the reason why the grassroots should not be abandoned after campaigns and elections. The people at grassroots levels MUST be catered for, if we want this Country to make any form of progress, and the only way growth and socio-economic development can be achieved at grassroots levels is to eliminate poverty and strife by fully operationalizing the independence of local government.

Sadly, most of the projects we see at state levels are around the State capitals with a lot of “white elephant” projects situated at the local government levels. This is why most of the Counsellors are almost non-existent but by title and by the little “change” and “crumbs” they pick out of whatever remains from the “financial leftovers” that trickle to their pockets from the coffers of the local government administration.

However, just operationalizing the local government administrations and giving them full autonomy is not enough to ensure the delivery of good governance at the grassroots level. Citizens should also actively demand for good governance from Governors and local government administrations – to put the local government chairmen on their toes so that they do not feel entitled and take things for granted.

We look forward to successful legislation to further activate and operationalize the provisions of the 1999 Constitution regarding the autonomy of Local Government systems, and the successful execution of the laws especially the role that the Supreme Court will play in ensuring that the local government administrations are rescued from the stranglehold of the State Governors of Nigeria. I am very hopeful that when that is done, we will see better performance of President Tinubu and subsequent administration, while as citizens we will directly hold the local government administrations to account.

Thank you and God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. ment administrations in Nigeria will come to an end soon. Because this has been one of the key banes of the progress of this Country. For over 40 years, the State Governors have been holding the local government administrations hostage, and rendering them at the beck and call of the Governors. Suffice it to say that the refusal of successive state administrations from the 2nd republic to date to allow the autonomy of local governments as enshrined in Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which recognizes: “The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils.” is a testament to the hypocrisy of our expectations as a nation.

The sustained choke-hold of the Local Governments of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by State Governors is not just for the control of the financial inflows of the LGA, but also to ensure continuous political control of the local government areas to perpetuate their control of the political structures of the local government areas for political supremacy, while and after leaving office as governors. The choke-holds on the LGAs have further stunted the growth of local government areas across Nigeria, and more importantly the assurances of good governance. Over time, the local Government administrations have become voiceless, powerless, and almost useless. The local government management and operations have been almost comatose, and therefore, they have not been able to add tangible values to our political evolution. The LGAs are mere appendages of the State Governors, while their offices are more or less liaison offices of the Governors. That is why the local government chairmen/ sole administrators sit out their tenures without making any impacts on the communities.

Due to the aforementioned reasons, there is so much opaqueness in the administration of local government administrations in Nigeria. Most of the local government chairmen also end up helping themselves from the remnant of funds credited to the coffers of the local government – that is what bad leadership at the top does – i.e., “when the head is rotten the body subsequently rots away. In

June 7, 2024
EFCC building momentum under Olukoyede (2)

“The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.” … Sun Tzu…A Chinese Military General, Strategist, Philosopher and Writer;

In the last week’s episode on my Column on 17th May 2024, (last Friday), I started a discussion titled “EFCC is Building Critical Momentum Under Olukoyede-1”, wherein I reflected on how Mr. Olukoyede has been building critical momentum on the war on the war on corruption since his assumption of office as the Chairman of the Economy. I also promised to continue with Part- 2 which I wish to continue reflecting on today.

Dimensioning the socio-economic impacts of corrupt practices on nigeria over the last 10 years:

As you are aware, the Federal Republic of Nigeria is currently facing multiple challenges including:

• Debt stock of over N77 Trillion; Debt to GDP ratio of over 23%; interest rate of over 20% and rising, Economic growth rate is currently at about 3.1% but projected to contract to about 2.9% next year (according to IMF), over 133million (about 65% of the national population) of Nigerians multidimensionally poor, etc.

•Nigeria now spends about 96% of its revenue servicing debt, with the debt-to-revenue ratio rising from 83.2 % in 2021 to 96.3 % by 2022. It is also worthy of note that out of the entire Nigeria’s 2023 budget.

•Only 30% of total expenditure will be spent on critical capital projects. The non-debt recurrent expenditure (NDRE) of over N8 trillion is the largest expense in the budget (amounting to about 40%), i.e.,16% higher than the 2022 revised budget of N7.11 trillion. This includes an overhead cost of N4.99 trillion, which accounts for over 60% of non-debt recurrent expenditure, etc.

I am of the strong opinion based on facts and evidence that corruption contributed significantly to the current socio-economic malaise we found ourselves in Nigeria. This is especially so given how the corrupt practices of political leaders have battered the economy and social fabrics of Nigeria to extent of the Billions of US Dollars in Debt, Billions of Naira uncompleted, abandoned, and substandard projects in various sectors including multi-dimensional insecurity, Power projects, Health, Agriculture e.g. (NISRAL), the ongoing prosecution of the erstwhile CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele opened and is still opening Pandora’s boxes or slime of corruption, Aviation, etc.

Therefore, the effectiveness and impacts (or otherwise) of EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies will be critical success factors to the economic recovery of Nigeria or the further plunge into the abyss of backwardness.

That is why some of us, as citizens of this Country, are solidly behind the fight against corruption in all its ramifications. Leading the charge from the front as Mr. Olukoyede is doing is the best way to face the monster of vested interest.

Based on the above-mentioned data and more, I expect that rather than the gloomy picture he projected, the EFCC Chair should have reeled out a “Call to Action” based on a strategy and action plan, in line with the mission statement of the EFCC, i.e. “To eradicate economic and financial crime through prevention, enforcement and coordination”; to ensure that the EFCC delivers its mandate under his leadership, in such a manner that the number of young people that are going into crime is significantly reduced while the good and patriotic youths who are in the majority, should be encouraged and supported, for a better Nigeria.

Strategic considerations and ways forward (continuation from last week).

From the foregoing, the judiciary has sadly become an enabler/ promoter/ partaker of corruption, erosion of our value system, and degradation of our society, and part of the reason why the executive and legislative arms of government in Nigeria have been underperforming with no consequences.

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EFCC’s Strategic Plan 2021 To 2025

One of the Critical Pillars for success for the EFCC and all Anti-graft institutions is the power of their strategy in the area of prevention of such crimes. This is especially so given that the empire of corruption is powerful with a huge war chest of the monies and properties they have stolen coupled with their vast network of affiliations within and outside government and even internationally. It is therefore imperative that the EFCC lean more on the pillars and levers of prevention which is cheaper and more effective than fighting the process of investigation, arrests, prosecution, and convictions which take years and cost a lot of money, time, and personnel, without guarantee of success. Mr. Olukoyede has been very vocal about the importance of prevention and I am glad that he has been recently very engaging in advocacy and also the set-up of a unit that focuses on prevention in the recent structural reorganization he did two weeks days ago. I am optimistic that it is a step in the right direction. What remains to be seen is how effective the execution will be by the operatives and officials who are tasked with the responsibilities.

May I refer us to the EFCC Strategic Plan 2021 to 2025, in which the following strategic objectives I believe are germane to the EFCC’s strategy:

•Strategic Objective 1: “To increase public engagement in the fight against Economic and Financial Crimes”

•Strategic Objectives 2: “To improve systems and processes for the prevention of Economic and Financial Crime”

•Strategic Objective 4: “To improve Law enforcement coordination and collaboration with relevant stakeholders”

The above-mentioned strategic objectives within the subsisting strategy plan of the EFCC align with the principle of crime prevention. This is especially given the fact that the cost of successfully prosecuting (or otherwise) is much higher than the cost of prevention.

Importantly, the prevention of economic and financial crimes is more strategic. This is because the issue with being reactive in the fight against corruption is that the deeds have already been done. The monies have already been lost, the monies would already be in the lands of the vested interests, which they will use to fight back and defend themselves. Therefore, be prevention, the EFCC will be proactive by stopping wastages, blocking leakages, and shielding the national assets and financial capacity of Nigeria from being misappropriated. You will agree with me that this strategic plan which is very good is solid on prevention. Accordingly, I totally agree with Chairman Olukoyede’s call last week for the review of the Public Procurement Act of 2007 in particular and “rework the laws that established the Bureau of Public Procurements in order” which are actually bereft of loopholes that inadvertently give lee-ways for circumvention of the procurement act to perpetrate economic and financial crimes amongst other corrupt practices. I agree that the review of the immediate review of the Public Procurement Act will be a Critical Success Factor to achieve Strategic Objective No. 2 of the EFCC’s Strategic Plan of 2021 to 2025.

EFCC’s Strategic Objectives 2: “To improve systems and processes for the prevention of Economic and Financial Crime”

In my opinion, Strategic Objective 2: “To improve systems and processes for the prevention of Economic and Financial Crime” is the most important strategic objective amongst the list objectives in the strategic plan because we have seen, based on over 20 years of existence of the EFCC, that EFCC lost some of the notable cases that the EFCC should have won and secured conviction or more traction without achieving success. Those losses were largely due to issues of process. I am saying this without prejudice to the cases that were compromised due to collusion between the vested interests, their lawyers, and the judiciary. The process is critical in law enforcement. The process is critical in risk assessment. At this juncture, I dare say that the EFCC should also note that part of its mandate is risk assessment and risk management. Corruption is a type of risk and also a type of threat. So when you are doing a risk assessment and you look at corruption from a risk mitigation perspective, you will ensure that your processes, procedures, and systems are proactive to timely detect anomalies. When the crimes are committed also, your will processes are water-tight and followed strictly, in adherence with the rule of law to ensure that the “bad guys” do not escape justice. Because the vested interests take advantage of loopholes in our process of investigations and/ prosecution or administration of our criminal justice system to escape scot-free of without the kind of convictions that will deter people from committing such crimes. So compliance with rules and regulations, and ensuring you follow the processes are key to success.

I will continue to elucidate more of my insights and perspectives on this very important topic of judicial reforms in subsequent episode(s).

May 24, 2024
Efcc is building critical momentum under Olukoyede (1)

As a certified strategist, an apostle of the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade TRACIT (TRACIT is a global private sector initiative to mitigate the economic and social damages of illicit trade), an advocate for good governance and policy coherence in governments amongst other skill and experiences; I am able not just to appreciate the importance of a sincere and objective fight against economic and financial crimes in societies and Countries; I am also able to dimension the depth of the issues that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria is facing, the trajectory so far achieved, and proffer some ways forward for an efficient, effective and impactful EFCC.

Barely seven months after his appointment as the 5th Executive Chairman of the (EFCC) since the commencement of her operations in April 2003, Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyode had hit the ground running and has so far, built critical momentum in the right direction in the fight against economic and financial crimes which is the fulcrum of the bane of our progress as a nation.

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Momentum of high-profile cases

Within the last 7 months, the status of ongoing high-profile graft and other corruption cases at various stages of investigation and prosecutions – with a scope and scale of cash and assets amounting to whopping Billions of US Dollars (Trillions of Naira); are indicators of the critical momentum that the EFCC has built in such a short time under the leadership of Mr. Olukoyede, especially with the seriousness and fearlessness, the EFCC is currently executing her mandates.

Such high-profile cases include: those of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele and his co-suspects, the former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and his co-suspects, former Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Senator Hadi Sirika and his co-suspects, suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, her predecessor and other co-suspects, suspended Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Board (REA) Mr. Ahmad Salihijo, the suspended Executive Directors of the REA, and their co-suspects, etc.

Economic and financial crimes are major crimes against humanity and sabotage to nation-building; which is part of the reason why some countries around the world legislate capital punishments as stringent as the death penalty or life imprisonment for such heinous crimes.

Love him or hate him, The EFCC under the leadership of Mr. Olukoyede is building critical momentum for success. Are there rooms for improvement with regard to the operations of the EFCC? The answer is YES. But what we cannot take away from the current leadership of the EFCC is that they are improving and are certainly moving in the right direction and already making impacts. Therefore, Kudos to Mr. Olukoyede and his team.

In this series of episodes, I also will advise the EFCC on some important points to note in order to sustain the momentum and make significant impacts not just in prosecutions and convictions but more importantly in curtailing and preventing economic and financial crimes in Nigeria.

The level of pushback that is deployed anytime are attempts to stand up against vested interests or fights against corruption, tells any right-thinking person that indeed we are in trouble in Nigeria. I therefore do not envy the situation that Mr. Olukoyode has found himself in. Indeed, the task is enormous, the enemies are formidable and the risks are high.

Accordingly, I wish to encourage Mr. Ola Olukoyode and the EFCC that the first casualty in the fight against Corruption is the truth and therefore he should expect a bigger campaign of calumny against him and the EFCC. Some of the Critical Success Factors focus on Process and tenacity of purpose which Mr. Olukoyede should imbibe not just in himself but across the EFCC as an institution because indeed, “no tree can make a forest”.

The political will of mr. president has been a critical success factor

Indeed, it is worthy of note and commendation, that the momentum so far achieved by the EFCC in the last 8 months is due to the unalloyed support by President Bola Tinubu, who first of all made a “round peg, in round hole” appointment of Mr. Olukoyede and Mr. Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda as Executive Chair and Secretary of the Commission respectively.

Furthermore, from all indications, Mr. President has not been interfering with the works of the EFCC in this administration. This is based on the fact that the aforementioned high-profile cases under investigation or undergoing prosecution are all of the members of the ruling political party the All Progressives Congress (APC) who held public offices during the immediate past administration of President Buhari (who is of the APC), and also officials at the highest level of the current administration of President Tinubu. Hence, so far, President Tinubu has shown the political will to fight corruption with the way he has been allowing the anti-corruption institutions to perform their duties. Accordingly, if the dragnets of the anticorruption war go beyond APC members, the President should not be accused of witch-hunting!

Strategic considerations and ways forward

While I agree that we should critique the operations and performance of the EFCC, it will only be objective if we, as citizens, civil society organizations, arms of government, etc; also take note of the key strategic and operational impediments and challenges that the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies face in the discharge of their mandates, and support the removal of those impediments. Only then could we effectively support critical institutions like the EFCC to succeed for the betterment of Nigeria. Otherwise, our actions/ inactions as citizens, civil society organizations, arms, and institutions of government will amount to asking the EFCC to chase criminals with her hands bound behind her back, which in my opinion is sheer hypocrisy. Let me share some classic examples of such impediments:

•Judicial Impediments: Plethora of Exparte Orders and conflicting judgments

As I have elucidated in my two past episodes where I added my voice to the need for reforms in the judiciary in Nigeria. It is relevant to regurgitate this point which I made in those episodes about how the judiciary in some cases deliberately or inadvertently constitutes impediments to the effective administration of criminal justice in Nigeria. One of the classing examples of how the judiciary enables wanton corruption in Nigeria is the ugly trend of how persons and organizations lean/ hide under section 46 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, to secure injunctions/ judgments to stop investigations, especially on matters of corruption, other forms of criminality, and even terrorism; to the extent that judges grant orders to stop statutory bodies from performing their constitutional responsibilities, which leave much to be desired. This is a serious issue that is becoming an anathema to the progress of Nigeria. In most of the cases where such injunctions or judgments are given, it is very clear that the prayers of the applicants are out of place at no moment. Additionally, some of the injunctions are granted in clear violation of the constitutional provisions given those Arms or agencies of Government, for example; the National Assembly in line with Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, or the provisions of the Acts of the EFCC, ICPC, Nigeria Police, DSS, etc. In any case, it is elementary to note that anyone trying to stop an investigation into criminal allegations is actually indicating that he/ she is trying to avoid investigation and possible prosecution, and therefore, such applications should not be granted by the honorable justices. This is because innocent parties will set the records straight and clear their names when they face an investigation. Unfortunately, we are all witnesses to this ugly trend which if not stopped, will certainly legitimize corrupt practices, and all forms of criminality including terrorism and acts that could threaten our territorial integrity. These are serious issues with potentially serious consequences on our polity, and should not be entertained by any well-meaning judges or citizens of Nigeria.

Accordingly, on the basis of legal reasoning, the judiciary should allow and support statutory institutions to perform their duties, rather than prevent valid investigation or obstruct the principles of separation of powers that they- the judiciary should protect! Legislative, regulatory investigative, and prosecutorial institutions should be allowed to undertake their mandates as enshrined in the Constitution. If some judges continue the habit of forestalling investigations under the guise of fundamental human rights, as long as the investigation (civil or criminal) does not violate any constitutional provision; then that Judge, in my opinion, is supporting the obstruction of justice.

I will continue elucidating more of my insights and perspectives on this very important topic of judicial reforms in subsequent episode(s).

May 17, 2024