The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • Nnaji caught in primitive power show

    Pig-headed impunity: On March 20, this column had picked on a two-page advertorial by Chams Consortium Limited in a national newspaper. One had been moved by the plaintive cry of Chams, a foremost indigenous technology firm over the shoddy treatment meted to its consortium by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to which it had a contract to work on Nigeria’s identity cards.

    In the Chams’ “Open Letter to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the firm had cried out that NIMC management had converted its “concession agreement into segmented contracts to ‘selected’ third parties”, among other infractions to legitimate agreements. Most touching was that every avenue for settlement, including sending of emissaries, mediations and even the law courts were rebuffed by the NIMC.

    The public outcry to the president was the only option left to Chams at that point to fight what seemed to have become a leviathan. One had been moved by the sheer injustice of the situation (in the face of it) to join in weeping for Chams. Though one is not certain how the Chams-NIMC rift eventually panned out, a similar scenario of primitive power show plays out in the matter between Professor Bathlomew Nnaji, President Goodluck Jonathan and his power ‘reform’ cabal.

    A prophet without honour at home:Prof. Nnaji, twice minister of the Federal Republic and winner of the Nigerian National Order of Merit (2004) cried out bitterly in a half page article in national newspapers April 20, 2015. Any man of conscience may not be able to hold back tears after reading Nnaji’s piece. To think that Nnaji, a world renowned professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering who won the US Secretary of State’s Distinguished Public Service Award in 2005 is the same one being messed up by his home government.

    The story in a nutshell is that Prof. Nnaji in collaboration of the Aba business community, the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) and a consortium of banks had nearly ten years ago gotten a concession from the Federal Government to supply electricity power to Aba (including Ariaria areas), Abia State.

    The big idea was to build an integrated power project for this commercial area; a business model for power development in Nigeria that can stand alone, be self-sustaining and can be easily replicated in other major industrial and commercial cities of Nigeria.

    With a Federal Government concession agreement in its kitty in 2005, began work on the 141megawatts Aba Integrated Power Project (AIPP or Aba Power). Some of the infrastructure built, according to Nnaji, include 141MW power plant with standard equipment from General Electric; rehabilitation of the entire distribution network in Aba and 105km of overhead transmission lines in Aba metropolis.

    Aba Power also built numerous substations of varying sizes, new control building and 27km of gas pipeline among other gas infrastructure to ensure a reliable and no down-time fueling of the power plant. All of these cost about $500 million or N100 billion  according to Prof. Nnaji.

    So why wouldn’t Aba Power be switched on if it was ready to go since November 2013? It is said that at about this time, power privatisation was completed and the entire Southeast zone was ceded to the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) – including Aba metropolis. Since then, the management of EEDC has refused to let go and the Federal Government would not take a stand and affirm Aba Power’s agreement and legitimacy over Aba metropolis.

    Hear it from Prof. Nnaji: “…The painful fact is that this critical issue has been left festering since November 2013. It costs the company $3.5 million in bank interest charges alone; plus more than N30 million for insurance coverage; and other operational expenses every single month to carry a project that is not yielding any revenue due to deliberate, hostile and crippling action of Enugu Disco and the BPE over 15 months ago.”

    He noted further that about eight committees, including committees of the National Council on Privatization (NCP) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Ministry of Power have investigated the matter and came up with the same recommendation: government should respect its agreement with Aba Power.

    “This travesty has been cruel to us all,” Nnaji cries out in his piece. “We have made all efforts to get the BPE to correct what (for choice of a better word) may be called an “error”. So far, they have not yielded to doing the correct thing. Rather, they have sought to justify this error and have sought to justify this error and have continued to politicize the situation unnecessarily…”

    Recall that Prof. Nnaji, acclaimed to be the best of President Goodluck Jonathan’s ministers was ‘removed’ unceremoniously as Power Minister over the privatization of Nigeria’s power assets. Recall also that the EEDC was controversially awarded to the current owners in spite of vehement protests by stakeholders from its zone of operation. EEDC has the entire five state of the southeast under its control – a very large expanse which it has managed very shoddily so far. Why would it illegally hold on to Aba which had been ceded to another if it has over a dozen other major cities of the southeast to tend to?

    It is sad that the Jonathan administration chose to grow a reputation as a government that breaches it agreements and makes light of serious matters of state. Petty politicking and impunity almost became its brand identification signature.

    If a man of Prof. Nnaji’s caliber could be meted with this manner of treatment one can only wonder what happens to ordinary Nigerians in the course of their routine relations with government. One is only at a loss as to why Nnaji and his group did not drag the Jonathan administration to court over this blatant show of primitive power.

  • Hon. Jude Idumogu: softly, softly

    Wisdom is better than strength”, say the holy book. And deep, deep wisdom do I commend to all the non-indigenes who won parliamentary seats in Lagos both at the state and federal levels. I will speak especially to Jude Idumogu who is the Lagos House of Assembly member-elect for Oshodi-Isolo constituency 2.

    A few days ago, I received several text messages from some ardent readers of this column informing me that Idumogu upon receiving his certificate of return started hollering Igbo kwenu! When I confirmed this after putting through a few calls, my heart sank.

    Here we go again, I thought. Non-indigenes who have won assembly seats in Lagos need to realize that theirs is a peculiar phenomenon that requires utmost sense and sensibility. They must realise that they are pioneers of Nigeria’s unfurling new democracy; they are pioneers of Nigeria’s great new dawn. There is a huge responsibility upon them to ensure that this great good does not go awry. Nigeria and indeed all of us will be greater for it when good citizens can win election wherever they reside; when the true will of the people prevails.

    But victory, especially of this hue comes with enormous responsibility. Indeed, managing it sensibly is the greater victory. If I were Idumogu, I would seek wise counsel by creating a multi-ethnic team of advisers; I would court the stakeholders of my constituency – the obas, the chiefs, the opinion leaders. I would set up quality constituency office and serve  ALL constituents in a manner they had never been served.

    I will always bear in mind that my victory is for the edification of Nigeria and not for any ethnic group.

     

  • Disturbing developments

    Disturbing developments

    Election is to democracy what oxygen is to life. Without periodic elections a democracy cannot survive. But while nobody resents oxygen because of its indispensability to life, the opposite appears to be the case with regard to elections and democracy. Many “democrats” would wish elections were not that essential. Without worrying about seeking voters’ periodic endorsement, many politicians would probably still deliver the proverbial dividends of democracy. But they would not have the mandate of the electorates. Not a problem for those politicians claiming to know better than the wearer where the shoe pinches. Too bad, therefore, democracy demands citizens’ input.

    When a candidate loses an election which he or she was sure of winning because of assurances of campaign aides, party leaders, and a strong conviction of having out-performed others in office, it can be a humbling and traumatic experience. This is especially true in the case of an incumbent with enormous powers and material resources to dispense. But it does happen.

    Elections are to be won and lost. Losers just accept the verdict of the people and move on, either to come back at a later time, as Buhari did on three occasions, or to retire into the role of an elder statesman, as Jimmy Carter did in 1980 and the world has been a lot better for it. This latter option is even more glorifying when it is approached without leaving behind any baggage of political actions and activities that may raise moral eyebrows.

    President Jonathan gracefully accepted his defeat and heroically averted disaster for the country. He deserves a lot of credit for this. Though some would argue that it is what is expected, I learnt in my Sunbeam class a long time ago that people deserve credit not because of the good they perform but because of the evil that they avoid. For avoiding the evil of a sit-tight-till-heaven-falls loser, I give him credit.

    Now, I am disturbed by two developments. One is from the President’s activities since the elections. The other is from his supporters’ actions. Let me start with the second, an aspect of which I touched on a couple of weeks ago in “Conspiracy Theories.”

    Since the end of the elections, there has been a civil war within the Peoples Democratic Party. It is natural and reasonable to ask the question “why?” after such a disastrous thumping of the largest party in Africa. So I perfectly understand the rationale behind the call for a post-election assessment. What worries me is that even before the beginning of such an assessment, some party members and presidential aides have been able to identify the answer to the question “why?” and they laid it squarely at the doorstep of the leaders, especially the Chairman.

    Of course, we have to be fair and accept the truism that the buck always stops at the desk of the leader. But in the run-up to the election, PDP had two parallel leaders—the NWC and the Campaign Organisation with its Chairman and Directors of different departments. If there was no coordination between the two such that the Party Chairman was the overall head of both, how is he to blame for what the campaign did or didn’t do? And how will the call for his head now solve the major problem of disconnect between the party and the electorate which was the reason for its loss?

    The Chairman has identified the major mistake that the party made over which he appeared to have no control again because the campaign team was different from the NWC which he led. The campaign team ran a campaign that was fit for the 60s. It was a hate campaign; it was a campaign of crude power reminiscent of the NNDP days in the old Western Region.

    PDP campaign failed to realise that we are now dealing with Millennias, and it didn’t count on the pledge of INEC to use technology to block rigging.  When INEC didn’t buckle under threats of fire and brimstone, the game was over. Why should we all be concerned? We want a democracy with at least two strong parties that present candidates with real choices. Let PDP go back to the drawing board and learn from its corporate mistakes. It cannot do this with finger-pointing that only escalates the civil war and promotes fratricide.

    I am aware that President Jonathan is still in charge until 12am on May 29 and his presidential powers are still enormous. But he can use it for good or for ill. Certainly, he can use it to cement his newly found image as a statesman and a graceful loser. On the other hand, however, he can use his remaining days in office to confirm the belief of many that voted against him as a crafty and divisive leader. I am worried that the latter image may stick with his new actions and activities.

    When we woke up to the announcement that IGP Abba had been relieved of his position, many had an ambivalent attitude to the news. What does it matter? He was used and dumped. Too bad, but Abba didn’t deserve any pity. What goes round comes round. That was the general feeling. It wasn’t that the President was right or wrong. People just didn’t care because of Abba’s inglorious record as a partisan law enforcement officer.

    Then more shocking news about firing and hiring followed. First, was the hiring of former Governor Peter Obi as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) barely a month to the end of the President’s term in office. Obi had defected from APGA to PDP in 2014. Is this payback for his support before and during the elections? We recall the role played by Obi in the infamous Nigerian Governor’s Forum election. Still, what does this political appointment mean? Does the President expect that a President Buhari will retain Obi to appease the Southeast? Is it a sort of booby trap? What was the motive?

    On the same day the announcement of Obi’s appointment was made, the firing of Femi Thomas, the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), was announced and Olufemi Akingbade was tapped as Acting Executive Secretary. The same questions as above arise here. How is the public to take this hiring and firing at the dusk of life in Aso Rock?

    There is more. On April 29, the announcement was made of the appointment of Sanusi Lamido Ado Bayero as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the firing of Habib Abdullahi who had served in that position. There was no reason offered for the change.

    That wasn’t all. On May  5,  the Presidency announced the Presidential approval of the appointment of a serving Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Asabe Asmau Ahmed as the new Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) and the firing of Sharon Adefunke Kasali who had been in that position since 2007. A second appointment that was approved on the same day was that of Denzil Amagbe Kentebe as the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Management Development Board (NCDMB) and the firing of Ernest Nwapa who has been in that position since 2010.

    For each of these new appointments, the President’s expectation is that the appointees will be in their posts long enough to (as he is reported to declare in the case of the new Secretary of PEF) put their years of public service to good use in “re-engineering, repositioning, and re-invigorating” their various agencies “for present and future challenges.”

    These are relevant questions: Did President Jonathan confer with President-elect Buhari before making these appointments? If not, is Buhari morally and politically obligated to retain these new hires? I would think not. If the President made these appointments because he believed that he had the power, then Buhari also has the moral authority to reverse the appointments when he takes over power unless he believes, not only in their abilities to perform, but also in their loyalty to his mission. Thankfully, Nigerians didn’t elect a naïve President.

  • Muslim workshop on fiscal governance

    Muslim workshop on fiscal governance

    Deliberate collectively; surely collective deliberation is full of advantages for the Muslims”.

    Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

    A workshop on Islam and Fiscal Governance was organised by Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) with the support of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) on April 29 and 30 at Grand Ibro Hotel Annex, Abuja. Participants in the workshop drawn from various geographical zones of Nigeria included Islamic Scholars media experts and non-governmental organisations. The Christian counterpart of the workshop had earlier been organised by the same CSJ.

    The workshop was aimed at building Muslim scholars’ capacity in public finance management with emphasis on link between good fiscal governance and the teachings of the Qu’ran and Sunnah.

    The objective was to strategise on the means of spreading the message of fiscal governance in Islam across the length and breadth of areas in Africa, particularly Nigeria, where Muslims interact with other religious adherents.

    Following extensive deliberations and debates at the workshop, participants issued the following concluding statement addressed to the incoming Federal Government being led by General Muhammadu Buhari:

    Insecurity

    The experience of the last two months in which Nigerian military forces, in collaboration with their colleagues from neighbouring countries, dealt serious blows to the insurgents in the north-east of Nigeria shows that the Boko Haram challenge is quite surmountable. The workshop therefore recommends as follows:

    That the government should intensify the military campaign against the insurgents without relenting; rehabilitate and rebuild the destroyed communities.

    The government should also launch a poverty alleviation programme in the affected areas; set out a de-radicalisation process that can soften the minds of radicalised groups with a view to curbing the spate of extremism in the country; proactively attend to security challenges across the federation as soon as such challenges arise and overhaul the security architecture to make it more effective.

    Niger Delta and environment

    The government should continue to solve the environmental and poverty challenges in the Niger Delta region through continued funding of the NDDC; evaluate and review the value for money on federal programmes in the Niger- Delta for enhanced transparency and accountability in the expenditure of resources accruing to the region. Government should take steps to mitigate the effects of climate change including desalination and erosion.

    Cost of governance

    With regard to the Niger Delta region, the workshop recommended as follows:

    That the incoming administration should review and implement the recommendations of the Steven Oronsaye-led committee on restructuring of federal Model Driven Architecture (MDAs) and Agencies while retaining agencies like the Fiscal Responsibility Commission review the formal and informal income of political office holders so as to bring them in line with societal standards.

    The government should cut down the cost of bureaucracy in the National Assembly, the Presidency and MDAs as well as official overseas trips and medical tourism.

    The workshop also recommended improved fiscal transparency in public budgets to income and expenditures of government on capital projects. In addition, the government should set up a National Council on Public Procurement, reduce the number of aircraft in the presidential fleet and scrap public funding of pilgrimages.

    Government revenue

    Apart from incomes from the oil sector and other public enterprises, the government should standardise revenue collection and public accounting using the Lagos State model that improved Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from less than N5billion a month some years ago to the current N23billion a month thereby making the state a viable one. Thus, all income-earning Nigerians are brought into the tax net through sensitisation even as blockade on leakages is imposed.

    Corruption

    Government is seriously urged to break the myth of corruption by tackling impunity in public and private life through linkage of crimes to punishments. In this direction, while the seeking rejuvenation of the anti corruption agencies and their Codes of Conduct the workshop implores the government to ensure public declaration of assets by all public officials while special courts should be set up to try corruption.

    As a sign of seriousness in its determination to curb corruption, government should stop national awards and honour to people of questionable character,  block the current leakages in oil theft which is projected in the region of 400,000 to 600,000 barrels per day and launch a cultural orientation against corruption in partnership with faith-based organisations.

    Economy

    As a matter of urgency, the Federal Government should diversify the Nigerian Economy vertically and horizontally away from sheer concentration on oil and gas sector and assist the legislative arm to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill into law as a way of overhauling the oil and gas industry. Also, it is necessary to invest heavily in gas gathering for domestic and export markets especially by taking advantage of the West and Central African regional markets which may involve appropriate pricing of gas to motivate investors and stoppage of gas flaring.

     Education

    That the government should endeavour to refocus the country’s educational system towards national building rather than the current meal ticket that it stands to be. For education to entail the valued modern day utility it must be tied to productivity rather than mere bureaucracy and Nigeria must key into this.

    Agriculture

    To add value to agriculture and drastically reduce hunger in the country there is dire need to intensify governmental approach to the value of raw farm products before export by providing necessary incentives for small scale farmers who are helpless in their endeavours. This will ensure commercial agriculture and guarantee food sufficiency and security in the land.

    Power, employment and infrastructure

    The workshop also deliberated extensively on the situation of power, employment and infrastructures in the country as well as their implications for general security and concluded as follows:

    That the Federal Government should reform the energy sector by decentralizing the national rig and taking advantage of the abundant gas available in the country to partner with some serious private investors in putting the Nigeria on the path of industrialisation with a view to generating jobs for the multitude unemployed Nigerians.

    That as an oil-producing country, Nigeria’s establishment of petro-chemical industries as a major booster of modern economy is now a sine qua non especially at the States level. And the populace should be encouraged to buy locally made products to serve as incentive for the local industrialists and entrepreneurs. An example should be drawn from Saudi Arabia, a fellow OPEC member in this sphere.

    That with stable electric power and effective utilisation of oil and gas to turn Nigeria into an industrial nation the problem of unemployment will automatically be solved and the fear of insecurity will become a forgotten issue especially if agriculture is formally put on the front burner of the national economy.

    Profile

    Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is a non-governmental, non-profit and non-partisan organisation registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as a Company Limited by Guarantee.

    It was established to introduce professionalism in civil society work and to use social entrepreneurship to provide cutting edge services to enhance and deepen economic, social and political change.

    It is a Company Limited by Guarantee under Nigerian law. Its vision is that of a Nigeria where social justice informs public decision making. And its mission is to mainstream social justice in all facets of public life.

    Objectives

    The main objectives of CSJ are to:contribute to the development and implementation of national laws and policies on social rights and justice in accordance with international best practices;promote accountability, transparency and value for money in public finance management;monitor the extent of Nigeria’s compliance with ratified international standards on social rights and justice;provide a resource base and enhance the exchange of information on matters related to social justice;promote popular participation and gender mainstreaming in public decision making;promote wealth creation and poverty reduction strategies as tools for social justice;broaden the constituency of professionals interested in development, wealth creation and poverty reduction by maintaining a multi disciplinary network of professionals committed to work for the realisation of these objects.

    The key programme focus of the Centre include: Public Finance Management; Fiscal Responsibility; Public Procurement; Audit Reforms; Pro-Poor and Rights-Based Approaches to Budgeting; Political Finance Reforms; Power Sector Reforms and Rights Enhancement.

    A responsible government must be for the people and not for the ‘peckers’.While wishing the incoming administration a pleasant tenure the workshop reminds the President-Elect of the promises he made during his campaigns and urged him to fulfill those promises with the fear of God in mind.

    The Communiqué was jointly signed by Eze Onyekpere, Lead Director, CSJ Alhaji Femi Abbas, Chairman Media Committee, Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (Resource Person), Mallam Umar Rufai (Author of the Islam and Fiscal Governance Manual) published by CSJ.

  • Five quick wins for General Buhari

    Those who know a bit of the Holy Scripture would find some similitude between Nehemiah in the Old Testament and General Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s soon-to-be President. Nehemiah was among the surviving remnant of Israelites carried into captivity to Babylon and then Persia. He was merely a cup bearer in the palace of the great King Artaxerxes. But because Nehemiah was on a divine mission, this king whose kingdom stretched to India would be moved to look his ‘cup hand’ in the face one day and ask him: “Why is your face sad?”; whereupon Nehemiah would answer that the news emanating from his homeland Judah – a conquered territory – troubleth him to no end as the place lay waste, and its gates burned with fire.

    Now even if a king would care about his servant, is he also required to endorse the rebuilding of a distant vassal territory? But Artaxerxes did not only allow Nehemiah to go rebuild the walls of Judah, he granted him leave, written authority, security and munificence for the project.

    But this is the better half of the story. The other half is that when Nehemiah got to his homeland he found that the authorities at home and some of the elite of his people were profiting from the ruins and they resisted change vehemently. And Nehemiah noted pointedly that: …It grieved them exceedingly that a man had come to help the people.

    Coming home to now, why would an aging, and perhaps ailing old general contest four times in Nigeria’s grueling presidential election? He had ruled the country before so he is unlike some who wistfully wish they could sit on the gilded seat if only for a day. He is not in great lack; in fact he could probably get anything money can buy that he needs. He is not rapacious like some of his contemporaries. I once was in his Kaduna residence during the June 12, 1993 crisis to interview him for The African Guardian. His abode was a simple, single, one-storey duplex apartment which in my youthful eye then, was not befitting of a former oil minister and head of state. So to what can we put Buhari’s relentless quest to rule Nigeria than to say that like Nehemiah, it is a divine call especially at a time when the nation is in ruins and it profits the elite of the land so much that it remains so.

    Surely, it would grieve them exceedingly that this wiry old man has come to seek the welfare of the Nigerian people.

    Now what is to be done? One does not pretend to know the answers any better than the next guy; besides, Nigerians have inundated him with ideas since he was declared winner of the March 28 presidential election. Had he been collating them, he would have enough materials to make such tome of a book that the mere thumbing of it would take some time and effort. I will loath to add to his troubles.

    So here are five quick, simple, actions (low hanging fruits) I think General Buhari can take to set the tone for his administration and hopefully make the change Nigerians desire.

    One, don’t ‘fight’ corruption, let the system do the fighting. Yes, contrary to what many people have been clamouring for that he must fight corruption to a stand-still. We say no, you are not a pugilist; you must let the system fight corruption. There are simple, basic rules for tackling corruption in the system, just dust them up and put them to work.

    One such, a sure bet, is the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF). If President Buhari reactivates this office and puts a diligent and honest man at its helm, he would have by that singular stroke, without lifting a finger, reduced corruption by about 50 per cent in Nigeria. The other leg is to revamp ICPC and make it follow-up on all audit queries emanating from the AGF’s annual report and deal with them openly and to a quick conclusion.

    This is a quick-win because all the president needs is a memo directing. He should simply make the AGF’s office the most important in the land; make it fiercely independent and mandate it to do its job thoroughly and release annual reports to the public (and the Assembly) promptly.

    Two, he should accept no excuses for late annual budgets. President Goodluck Jonathan and his crew toyed with our budget all through his tenure. This document epitomised his lackadaisical attitude to statecraft and presented him as one not understanding the magnitude of the office he occupies. Jonathan and his team treated the budget with so much levity. But after the constitution, the appropriation bill is the next most important document in the life of any country. Serious governments would send the draft budget to parliament by the end of the first quarter each year. It must not only be prompt, the numbers must be skewed in favour of capital expenditure.

    Number three, block the leakages: All revenue-earning agencies of government must render annual report and accounts publicly without fail. Some of these include NNPC, NLNG, NIMASA, NPA, NCC, FAAN, FIRS, JAMB, WAEC, NECO, Railways, name them. They are also to remit to the CBN all earnings and are not to spend even a dime without express authority; they are to have a uniform accounting period of the year. The accounts are to be placed in the public domain on a stipulated date.

    By this simple measure, you will be amazed how much money we have in this country. By this, managers of these public companies will be on their toes just like in the private sector as they would have targets to meet. This move is sure to put the lie to the claim that government cannot run businesses.

    Four, insist that LGAs must work. This may be a tough call  in the immediate term but the message needs be passed from day one that you will not live with the grand larceny that have been perfected by governors across the land in the last 16 years. What we have today is that one third of the country is in perpetual shutdown as their resources are kept in private pockets. This is why terrorism, kidnapping, human-trafficking, baby factory and all sorts of vices fester in the hinterland unfettered. Any president who must make any impact must address the current LGA aberration in the country. Remember we are talking about our people and country here and not some self-serving federalism arguments.

    Five, make the right appointments; appointees must declare assets. The kind of team he selects will define the tone and character of his administration. This is actually his first litmus test; his toughest first task. Of course assets declaration is statutory but more important the depositions must be accessible to the public on request.

    In summary, these are simple but far-reaching actions he can take without breaking a sweat or upsetting the system. As the days go by, more complex actions requiring institutional tinkering would have to follow. For instance, the activities of some critical sectors of the economy in the last few years will have to be scrutinised if only to correct the ills; he will be expected to take a look at the continued importation of all sorts of things we can produce in abundance here – from food crops to petroleum products and all sorts of junks. Nigeria has simply become the dumping ground of the world. This must stop.

  • The Hornet’s Nest

    Preamble

    This article is not new. It was first published in this column in 2013 as a reaction to an outburst of some Nigerian political demagogues whose aim was to strengthen the confusion in the land. It is being repeated here today due to popular demand by ardent readers because of its relevance. Here it goes:

    “Conscience is an open wound; only the truth can heal it”.  By Usman Dan Fodio

    Nest, to the hornet, is a sanctuary. Whoever wants to stir it must be ready for some painful stings. It was the words of Nigeria’s lotus eaters against those of the former American President, Bill Clinton, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, sometime in December 2013 where the latter was the guest speaker at ThisDay’s award ceremony. The theme of the lecture was something like ‘Causes and Solution to Insurgency and general insecurity in Nigeria’.

    When Bill Clinton opened up on the causes of insecurity in Nigeria, particularly concerning Boko Haram, hardly did he realise that he was stirring the hornet’s nest. As a man who knew because he was in a position to know, Clinton emphatically identified poverty as the main cause of insecurity in Nigeria. He was frank in canvassing some ways by which Nigeria could effectively deal with Boko Haram insurgency and other forms of insecurity in the country without caring about whose ox might be gored.

    Among the ideas he suggested as solution were poverty alleviation, thorough education at all levels, equitable distribution of wealth and job creation for the nation’s teeming unemployed youths. Highlighting some desired programmes urgently necessary for curbing the spate of violence and general insecurity in the country, Clinton said:  “You have to somehow bring economic opportunity to the people who don’t have it. You already have all these political problems — and now violence  — that appears to be rooted in religious differences as well as all the rhetoric of Boko Haram and others, but the truth is that poverty rate in the North is three times that of Lagos”.

    Economic Management

    Counseling on the need to re-design the country’s economic management to the delight of all and sundry while pointing out that “too much inequality” was capable of limiting growth and opportunities among the citizens of a country, Clinton stressed that only a redistribution of wealth would go a long way to address the prevalent violence and insecurity in Nigeria. He went further to say: “You have about three big challenges. First of all, like 90 per cent of the countries who have one big resource, you have a number of ways with your own money. It shows you have different ways. Now you are at least not wasting the natural gas, you are developing and selling it through the pipelines. You have to do better job of managing the natural resources…..”

    “Secondly, you have to somehow bring economic opportunities to the people who don’t have. This is not a problem peculiar to Nigeria. In almost every place in the world, prosperity is heavily concentrated in and around urban areas. So you have all these political problems for now even violence. There appears to be political and religious differences and now, the rhetoric of Boko Haram and all that. You have to build a powerful state and local governments as well as a national policy that works along. If you just keep trying to divide the power into loosening strategy, you have to figure out a way to devise a strategy that will help share the prosperity.” The President-Elect may find some of these ideas useful in his blue print on governance in Nigeria.

    Clinton then went further to advise that education should be used as a tool to tackle poverty among Nigerians, saying that if citizens were well educated  they would be economically empowered and hence have less inclination towards violence. He added that: “Nigeria, which earns billions of dollars from her oil industry and is a major supplier to the US, must not take a “divide the pie” approach towards attacking poverty”. He therefore advised that governments at all levels needed to tackle youth unemployment which, according to him, is a major source of instability across the world.

    Bill Clinton was not the first experienced international figure to make such truthful but painful comments about Nigeria and her style of governance. As far back as January 27, 2010, the former US Secretary of State, Mrs. Hilary Clinton, who incidentally is the wife of Bill Clinton had spoken in the same manner about Nigeria in Nigeria. And the reactions that followed her statement were not in any way dissimilar from those that greeted Bill Clinton’s statement of 2013. While the wife spoke in official capacity, the husband spoke in private capacity. But the coincidence in their speeches was not just in the similarity of their thoughts but also in the similarity of the reactions that greeted both speeches. Speaking in blunt terms at a “town hall” in a meeting with Nigeria’s State Department officials in Abuja Mrs. Hillary Clinton said:

    “….The most immediate source of the disconnect between Nigeria’s wealth and its poverty is a failure of governance at the federal, states and local levels … Lack of transparency and accountability has eroded the legitimacy of the government and contributed to the rise of groups that embraced violence and rejected the authority of the state.”

    Government’s Failure

    “Nigeria”, she continued: “Africa’s biggest energy producer and second-largest economy, “faces a threat from increasing radicalization that needs to be addressed. Describing corruption in Nigeria as unbelievable, she reiterated that the government’s failure to deliver basic services helped foster extremism in young people…adding that: “The failure of the Nigerian leadership over many years to respond to the legitimate needs of their own young people, to have a government that promoted a meritocracy, that really understood that democracy can’t just be given lip service, it has to be delivering services to the people, has meant there is a lot of alienation in that country and others”. She lamented poor governance and deteriorating living conditions which she said made Nigeria’s disaffected young people ripe targets for militants looking for recruits to attack the West.

    Substantiating her assertion, Mrs. Clinton said, when she met with a group of Nigerians in the capital city of Abuja, “people were … standing and shouting about what it was like to live in a country where the elite was so dominant, where corruption was so rampant and criminality was so pervasive”. And “that”, according to her, “is an opening for extremism that offers an alternative world view”. After all, poverty knows no tribe, religion, gender or age. It cuts across all strata of human life. That was the idea imbibed by one time Chinese leader, Mao Zedong, in the 1960s, which came to transform China into a formidable nation today.

    Official reaction

    However, rather than pontificating on Mrs. Clinton’s analysis some members of the then ruling party virtually told her to shut up and mind her own business by leaving Nigeria alone. The arrogant resentment particularly came through the mouth of the then Publicity Secretary of the party, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, who, in a swift statement, said Mrs. Clinton’s remarks were baseless.

    In his words: “Although the ‘ruling party’ saw Mrs Clinton’s “visit to Nigeria as a further expression of the age-long strong cordial diplomatic relations between both countries, we are at the same time concerned that some of her remarks are not only way off the mark but also based on misinformation. Her sweeping statement on what she calls a ‘failure of leadership’ does not correspond with the reality of present day Nigeria where a committed leadership operating within the realm of the rule of law holds sway”.

    Professor Alkali said the ‘ruling party’ found Mrs. Clinton’s “condescending statements against our country and leaders not contextualised,” adding that she “seems to have taken her briefs from individuals or groups and other failed politicians who have an axe to grind with the government of the Federal  Republic of Nigeria”.

    He added: “It is a fact that the present administration inherited a lot of challenges that were entrenched in the body polity for a long time since assumption of office in May 2007, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has demonstrated a rare but firm commitment to right the wrongs of the past, using constitutional instruments in order to strengthen democratic governance in the country”.

    Observation

    Despite leaving a bad taste in the mouth, Alkali’s statement did not bother Mrs. Clinton who knew Nigeria better than the respondent Nigerians. Her reaction was a reminder of a Yoruba adage which says ‘a dog that refuses to respond to the warning whistle of the hunter is surely destined to stray into permanent perdition’. That adage has now proved to be a prevailing destiny on the then so-called ruling party that took impunity for law.

    Were Bill or Hillary Clinton a Muslim, some fanatics especially in Nigerian media would have characteristically accused him/her of wanting to ‘Islamise’ (sic) Nigeria just for telling the naked truth. However, to the great delight of reasonable and patriotic Nigerians, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), in a statement signed by its then President, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), said it wished “to align itself with the statement credited to the US Secretary of State the summation of which was that corruption, amongst other factors, has caused failure of governance in Nigeria”.

    Akeredolu concluded that: “We cannot agree less and note that President Yar’Adua admitted that Nigeria was facing challenges in its war against corruption and bid to reform its electoral system, which has underscored failure of governance at the federal, state and local government levels,” it said, adding: “This intervention could not have come at a better time than now when agents of the government are on the prowl, deploying viciously the weapon of blackmail against the leadership of the NBA who has long identified this and continues to clamour for change”.

    He continued: “Secretary Clinton having reiterated the position of the Bar, it would, perhaps, not be out of place for those who are quick to stand logic on its head to satisfy greed, to conclude that the top diplomat, being a lawyer, must also belong to Action Congress or any of the opportunistic organisations dubbed parties.”

    Nothing is strange

    It is not strange therefore, that the comments by Bill Clinton in 2013 drew similar parochially partisan reactions from those who are benefitting directly from the then ongoing rot in the country. It seems that politics in Nigeria is like an animal carcass on which idle vultures must feast without caring about the pollution which the odour there from would cause to the environment. Even a blind person can perceive the poverty in Nigeria or smell its odour. It is rather an added assault on the public to say that Mrs. Clinton in 2010 and Mr. Clinton in 2013 must have been briefed by certain individuals who were antagonistic to the ruling government. Such a statement could only have come from people of feeble minds who exemplified the ineptitude of Nigeria’s government of the time.

    In retrospect

    On December 22, 2012, the Nigeria Muslim Forum,  UK, held its 22nd Annual Winter Conference at Stamford Court, University of Leicester. At that conference, retired General Abdur-Rahman Dambazau delivered a paper that electrified the Hall. The paper which was entitled ‘Poverty Alleviation, Security and Stability’ addressed the Nigerian situation from social, economic and political points of view. In the paper, he made the meaning of poverty clearer, using verified statistical indexes to buttress his arguments. The retired General also looked at the ranking of Nigeria on the poverty table which showed Nigeria as one of the 20 most poverty-stricken countries in the world; and the Northwest as the most hit and Southwest of the country as the least affected. Generally, the situation is by far worse today than it was then.

    Religious Angle

    “In his own contribution to the discussions the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Dr. Mathew Kukah stressed that poverty was one of the main causes of intolerance in the society, which in turn often leads to conflict and insecurity. He said people react to poverty in various manners and that they respond to conflict in ways they feel would bring them justice. He also blamed the deterioration of the situation in Nigeria on injustice and warned that injustice would continue to breed violence in the country unless something was quickly done to ensure equitable dispensation of justice. He explained that diversity should be seen as an advantage to the society as it enhances growth, “although in Northern Nigeria the reverse is the case due to the failure to manage it well in view of the crises the region now faces….”.

    Frank Talk

    In an earlier similar statement he made in January 2012 about Boko Haram and causes of insecurity, Bishop Kukah said inter alia: “We live in a state of ineffective law enforcement and tragic social conditions. Corruption has destroyed the fabric of our society. Its corrosive effect can be seen in the ruination of our lives and the decay in our society. The inability of the state to punish criminals as criminals have created the illusion that there is a conflict between Christians and Muslims. In fact, it would seem that many elements today are going to great extremes to pitch Christians against Muslims, and vice versa, so that our attention is taken away from the true source of our woes: corruption. As Nigerians, Christians and Muslims, we must stand together to ensure that our resources are well utilised for the common good. This is why, despite the hardships we must endure as a result of the strike, the Fuel Subsidy debate must be seen as the real dividend of democracy”.

    “Religious leaders across the faiths must indeed stand up together and face the challenge of the times by offering a leadership that focuses on our common humanity and common good rather than the  insignificant issues that divide us. We therefore condemn in very strong terms the tendency by some religious leaders to play politics with the issues of our collective survival….”.

    Conclusion

    With all these issues still prominent on the national table it may be interesting to ask a very vital question as the so-called National confab was put on the front burner as a matter of priority despite the overwhelming opposition to it by the well informed sectors of the society. Now, besides wasting another colossal sum of money on mere political patronage what has become of that jamboree? There is a great lesson for the incoming government to learn from all these. For things to take a proper shape, not as it is but as it ought to be, a ‘CHANGE’ for the better must be vivid and practical. The euphoria of the recent electoral victory has created such an unprecedented hope in the generality of Nigerian populace that the new government must not allow such hope to end up in another paroxysm of despair. God guide our leaders aright.

  • Amosun’s Ogun: the great leap forward

    While many of his colleagues are still basking in re-election euphoria, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun seems to have put that ‘distraction’ behind him. While many would see their second term in office as ‘cool off’ period, it’s morning yet in Ogun State, it seems.

    Again, if you thought that big thicket projects like bridges and expansive highways the Amosun team actualised in the last four years were really big, then as the Americans say, “you ain’t seen nuthing yet,”

    Early in the week, Gov. Amosun moved to eclipse all records when he signed a contract with a Chinese firm to build an inter and intra-city rail line. The project which must be the first of its kind by any state government in Nigeria will traverse the major towns and cities of the state. The project, estimated to cost $3 billion and scheduled to be completed in three years is a product of a big heart and great vision; it’s a great leap forward for Ogun State and indeed, Nigeria.

  • The mission and the call to action

    The mission and the call to action

    It is time for action. That was the import of the message that President-elect Muhammadu Buhari delivered to the members of the 8th National Assembly at their induction ceremony early this week. It is a timely message to an arm of government that has had an ambivalent relationship with the executive wing since the beginning of this republic. Even when the same party controls the legislature and the executive, it has not always been a positive working relationship. Now we stand at the threshold of history as the President-elect observed and the question is: will the legislature be a dependable ally of the executive in the making of the change that is deserved and desired?

    Reading the text of Buhari’s clarion call to action is reassuring. It is clear and simple. It is logic-driven and integrity-motivated. Yet it is important to see the fundamentals of the address for what they are. I see three broad areas touched by the President-elect.

    First, there is a fundamental assumption which underlies everything else. The assumption must be true or at least its truth must be pursued for everything else to follow. The assumption is that Nigerians are a united people and they stand resolute to protect their growing democracy. I will come back to this fundamental assumption.

    Second, there is a declaration of fact and a statement of belief. The fact is that the “legislature is a critical component and necessary ingredient of democracy and good governance.” This fact can be understood in various ways, the most straightforward of which is that the constitution makes an unambiguous provision for the legislature as an oversight institution in our democracy. Without the legislature, we run a dictatorship not a democracy. I think this is also the understanding of the President-elect. But of course, it doesn’t follow that a legislature guarantees that we run a democracy. If the legislature is in dictatorial cahoots with the executive we would effectively have a dictatorship on our hands.

    It appears to me that the President-elect also has this ugly side of the fact in mind when he noted an additional point concerning the democratic credential of the legislature. The “legislature by nature is inherently democratic in the sense that all members are equal and are elected representatives of the Nigerian people.” While I understand the sentiment behind this statement, I would like to observe that it is only half true. What do I mean?

    It is true that the members of the legislature in our system are elected representatives of the Nigerian people. I am not even going to qualify this with any provisos regarding free and fair elections. Let’s take it as a matter of fact. Yet, that Nigerians freely elect their representatives is only the beginning. The legislature that is constituted by these Nigerians thus elected may choose to jettison democratic norms and embrace dictatorship in their dealings with one another and with the Nigerians who elected them.

    The metamorphosis of a legislature elected democratically into a dictatorial body is not unique to our political system. About two centuries ago, Rousseau noted it in his characterisation of the British parliament and the freedom of Britons. For him, British people were only free on the day of election. Thereafter, he opined, they became slaves to their legislators.

    We have seen Rousseau’s observation confirmed in many instances in our own clime. Therefore, I interpret this aspect of Buhari’s declaration as a statement of belief. And this is confirmed when in the next paragraph he observes thus: “As President-elect, I recognise this fact and believe (my emphasis) that legislators carry this heavy burden of representation with all the seriousness it deserves.” It is on the basis of this belief that Buhari can conscientiously pledge his commitment to “working with the legislature as development partners motivated by the desire to deliver good governance.”

    Why is this important? We have seen even in advanced political systems that legislators sometimes pander to very narrow and parochial interests at odds with the interest of the nation as a whole. These interests may include their own misconceived egoistic interests, sectional interests, and business interests. These are misconstrued in the sense that if the national interest in say, security, transparency, economic buoyancy, and freedom from corruption is not secured by the concerted efforts of all branches of government working with citizens, the parochial or selfish interests are in jeopardy.

    This is where the fundamental assumption of President-elect Buhari that Nigerians are “a united people” who “stand resolute to protect its growing democracy” is crucially relevant to his mission and clarion call to action. As Buhari also noted, going by “the doggedness of Nigerians and their commitment to ensuring that their wishes are represented and respected”, I think it is clear from the just-concluded election that they are resolute to protect their growing democracy.

    The last election tested the unity of the country and she undoubtedly passed the test in flying colours. While there are still pockets of frustration and angst over the results, I think we have turned the corner. It is now important for the fragile unity to be strengthened not with platitude but with genuine action. This makes the clarion call from the President-elect a timely one.

    This takes me to the third broad area of Buhari’s message, the proverbial meat of the text where he identifies the fundamentals of his mission. He emphasises three specific areas: security, including human, physical and environmental; economy, including youth employment; and corruption, including high cost of governance. Anyone that has followed the campaign promises of the President-elect and the manifesto of APC will not be surprised by this statement of mission which features the three priority areas that both the party and the President-elect have always emphasised.

    The challenge of security includes tackling the insurgency in the Northeast and environmental degradation in the Southsouth. The President-elect will need the National Assembly to objectively and dispassionately examine his proposals without bringing sentimental sectional interests to bear. Thus, as an example, I do not expect a Southwest legislator to bring up the matter of OPC when considering a legislation that targets insurgency in the Northeast. Neither would it be appropriate for a Northern legislator to bring up the matter of Lake Chad when considering the matter of environmental degradation due to the activities of oil and gas companies in the Niger Delta. Comparing apples and oranges in such matters would be a disservice to the progressive agenda.

    The economy is in serious crisis despite assurances from the outgoing administration. With dwindling oil revenue and our inability to break out of a mono-economy despite warnings, it is now certain that unless we come up with new ideas and develop new economic agenda, our hope for the future of our children is in jeopardy. The realisation of this important fact must stir every political office holder to action.

    The President-elect has called for appropriate policies to be put in place and translated into laws. Now is the time to revisit those actions and policies that have not worked thus far. Why do we still have so much failure in the energy sector despite billions of investment? Why do we still feed the fat and greedy fuel importation industry despite dismal results? Can we now build on the tangible results that we are experiencing in the agricultural sector as a foundation for our economic take-off?

    Whatever we try to do towards the rejuvenation of the economy will amount to naught unless we block the leakages that the President-elect has referenced ad nauseam during the campaign. In the restatement of his mission to the 8th Assembly, he reiterated the centrality of this matter when he invited the legislators to “collaborate on the budget process and restructuring of the public sector so as to collectively tackle the menace of high recurrent cost at the expense of capital and human development”(my emphasis).

    On this last matter, a good place to start is for the National Assembly to work with the Executive Branch to review and trim the recurrent budgets, including compensation and allowances, of all branches of government. That is progressivism in action.

  • Fireworks: Readers on the warpath

    A DELUGE of hurtful missives: After reading my installment on this space last week titled: Lagos is not a Yoruba ‘town’, a colleague had called quite early in the day to warn that though he found it a great piece as usual, that I should expect fireworks. Himself a well-regarded columnist on the stable, his words turned out prophetic as my sms box was almost jammed a few hours later.

    I never had such number of responses from readers since I ventured into public commentary. Expectedly, most of the respondents were Yoruba but sadly, most of them misunderstood my theses or didn’t even bother to read the piece having made off angrily with just the title. And even the title at that, many missed the inverted commas attached to town (‘town’). Worse, very few responded to the issues I raised. Most of them simply inflict me with abuses and even curses as if by that very piece, I had managed to cede Lagos to the Eastern region. I was truly shaken by the effusion of animosity over this ‘small’ matter.

    I was really disheartened that we have become a generation that cannot throw jibes at each other or sustain simple, civilised debate without resorting to ‘naked’ insults. Most of us seem so comfortably tucked in under the duvet of our stereotypes. We cannot bear any dissection of our misconceptions or flawed generalisations.

    I thought I could show another side of the Igbo-Yoruba debate; afford us some fresh insight but I might have only stoked the fire some more. Most of my readers took the title literally and the meat of their response is: how dare you suggest Lagos is not a Yoruba town? But of course Lagos is a Yoruba city in Southwest Nigeria; I thought that was an eternal fact that is trite in itself. I simply meant that Lagos is fast growing into Nigeria’s megacity, a cosmopolis and a leading world capital every Nigerian is proud of as opposed to a Yoruba ‘town’.

    Another preponderant response is: what you will never allow in Igbo land you want to do in Yoruba land.

    No medicine for prejudice: I want to imagine that most people saying this probably never toured Nigeria. The truth is that Igbo have won election in the north if we care to check our records. The truth is that in Owerri, capital of Imo State, which is deep in Igbo land, there is a Rotibi Street, off Douglas Road. Ages ago, a Yoruba had built a house there and had the street named after him, right in the heart of Owerri.

    Also down Douglas Road is Ama Hausa, a large settlement of Hausa which has been there for ages and with an increasingly large and mixed population. That population will win election in Imo House someday soon as votes begin to count and if the people need their own representation. In Garki, Enugu, the story is the same; as in Umuahia and even Abakaliki, while Onitsha is a united Nigerian nation with Hausa, Yoruba, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Ika, etc. They have lived there in Igbo land for decades. This is a verifiable fact. Someday, a party will find the strength in their number and canvass it for political gains.

    In 2010, one Mr. Igharo was a Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of Imo State. The story was that he was retained after Youth Service and he rose to be perm sec in Imo State Civil Service. Mr.Tito Asekhome, a professional surveyor/town planner from Edo State was a Special Adviser (SA) in charge of urban planning during the era of Governor Ikedi Ohakim in Imo State. In Enugu, Dr. Wale Adedayo was Chief Press Secretary to Governor Chimaraoke Nnamani for about eight years. The point here is to educate most of my readers who responded rather violently that Igbo are not what they think. Our hospitality and civility to visitors and strangers are legendary and that is the truth. Those who are married to Igbo, those who have lived or served in Igbo land will bear me out. Yet this is not to say that there are no black legs in our midst as in all other tribes.

    But the point I must not fail to stress is that there are so many misconceptions and fallacies out there that people purvey to stigmatise Ndigbo. Many people simply project their deep-seated prejudices and ingrained malice to tar Ndigbo at every opportunity; some ignorantly and some propagating sheer mischief. They want Ndigbo to live by different standards and codes of behaviour but of course that would be patently unfair thus unacceptable.

    Blame it on the ‘new’ politics: A crucial point many missed which I must reiterate is that for once, two equally matched parties were in a keen contest for votes as has never occurred before and under an improved voting system. Trying to vilify or label Ndigbo for the outcomes will only make us lose the crucial lessons to be learnt from the exercise. We need to help the new government in Lagos understand that the last elections signpost the future of elections to come.

    Parties will have to work harder for votes by targeting specific ethnic divides henceforth. Blaming or scape-goating any tribe or group will not help.

    We must interrogate what happened prior and during the last Lagos election. We must think through all the tendencies and possible grievances; constructive engagement and rapprochement will have us better equipped for the next voting season.

    Below is a sample of some of the readers’ responses:

    Happy Sunday dear brother Steve Osuji. I always enjoy your column. Last Friday’s was no exception. I only wish to say that whatever that one deserves to achieve in life discreet decorum and tactics (are required) whether one is in Lagos, London or New York.

    We have Ndigbo here in Akure and we know which party they voted for… no qualms. There was no affront from them. Ndigbo in Lagos carried their campaign beyond mere elections that would come and go. Their open campaign mandating their sons and daughters to vote for a particular candidate was too confrontational. Agbaje would have won but for his sectional approach. Yoruba in London or elsewhere would have acted differently to score their goals. Arrant arrogance does not work positively in most cases. That is the simple lesson here. As for Kabiyesi, I disagree with him 100% – Prince Bola Faloyo, Akure (08038258389)

    Re: Lagos is not a Yoruba ‘town’. Steve honestly you really fouled my day by your submissions on the above article. That Lagos has grown to the status of what it is today and peopled by diverse tribes does not mean it has lost its original owners by history.

    The article in question has positioned you as an “Igbo irredentist” which I know you are not. Truly, you owe the Yoruba race a great apology because what you are trying to achieve is a distortion of Yoruba history which to me is highly unacceptable. What you have postulated then suggests by inference, that with the cosmopolitan nature of Kano, Onitsha, both cities should never be seen as Hausa and Igbo towns respectively. – Taiwo Osunsanya, Ilupeju, Lagos

    Mr. Osuji, the tragedy hypocrites and tribal irredentists like you cannot imagine is a scenario of any OUTSIDER occupying and controlling citadels of your enclaves such as Onitsha, Enugu, Owerri, etc. Why can’t your people try out what you do here in places like Kano or Kaduna!

    You and your fellow immigrants will soon start getting the Port Harcourt and Kano treatment in Lagos. Igbos always covet the best of other people. Nowhere in the entire Igboland would you find other Nigerians thrive. You are so ignorant of the history of Lagos and its institutions…that’s why you obtusely imply it belongs to no one in particular. But rest assured you and your fellow refugees commence the overdue process of getting the HEAT in diverse ways from now – 07013324163

    Steve, the Ibos didn’t vote AD, they didn’t vote AC, they didn’t vote ACN, they didn’t vote APC as well in the last elections. An Ibo man had become an LGA chairman in the north, councilors in Lagos but no Yoruba can ever become even a class captain in any Ibo land. They are too sectional and selfish. – 07059286003

    A brilliant write-up but you goofed when you asserted that Lagos is not a Yoruba ‘town’ though you confirmed the indigene status. Pray more for Nigeria. All of you did not see what Patience did in Okrika, Rivers State but you can quote our paramount ruler wrong and right all the time  – Yemi Fregene, 08037117145

    Truly, Lagos is not a Yoruba ‘town… Lagos is a mega city! We may not be able to change the DNA of an Igbo man overnight (since 1914?). Ndigbo must learn to respect the feelings of their hosts globally! The much celebrated tradition of an Igbo man not subjecting himself to a common rulership is faulty especially in the contemporary period… how can you convince others to place you in number one position? Can you imagine what it would have cost the Yoruba race to lose Lagos to PDP now that APC is at the centre? – S.L. Ajao, Ketu, 08029952832

    Sir, I am an ardent reader of your column every Friday. I wish we have many of your kind in the media. Your most recent: Lagos is not a Yoruba ‘town’ is very explicit, educative as well as informative. Keep it up and God bless you. – Chike, Aba, 08033557480

    Lagos is not a Yoruba ‘town’? You got it all wrong. Lagos is known as Eko among the Yoruba; we do not call it Lagos… my problem with Igbo settlers is that they are dubious. Scarcely do you get 20% of them who have made it through lawful means. From business they now turn to land acquisition and now politics of annihilation. This is not acceptable to us. Let them go back to develop Igbo land too. – Binyamin Yusuf, Ede, Osun State, 08039416161

    Your headline was provocative as well as your language and ignorance of Lagos history. You may as well tell your Igbo brothers to occupy Ibadan, Osogbo, Abeokuta, Akure and Ado-Ekiti and make them cosmopolitan cities and claim them, leaving Onitsha, Awka, Enugu, etc.

    A Yoruba adage says, the dog that would be lost will never hear the hunter’s whistle –  Oluwasanmi Michael, Ado-Ekiti, 08164800725

    I am concerned about the way you have put the matter in public domain. The Oba of Lagos is the traditional head of Lagos metropolis and not Lagos State. The election of individuals in Lagos State is not to represent Lagos city but the state. What people might be communicating is that Lagos is the former capital of Nigeria but it is still a Yoruba town as Calabar was once capital of Nigeria but remains a town that belongs to indigenes of Cross River State…

    However, anybody can have a claim in any city in the world once you establish your life there. Every Igbo and others who live in Lagos are Lagosians and Lagos is their home. Please be informed that Lagos town is not Lagos State which is parallel to Enugu City in Enugu State.

    Lagos belongs to all of us and we shall all prosper together to build a better city to co-exist in harmony and joy – Dr. Lai Olawale, 08102893662.

    Haba Steve, nilu to loba to nijoye! You must be a demented writer with bird brain. If Lagos is not Yoruba, is Eko Igbo? Your write-up is an unpardonable affront – 08059696243

  • Conspiracy theories

    Conspiracy theories

    Let us start with a couple of definitions.

    Theory: an idea or thought deployed to account for some fact, situation or the outcome of some event.

    Conspiracy: a covert plan by a group of people to do something unlawful or harmful. Thefreedictionary.com more specifically defines conspiracy as “an agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act.”

    Conspiracy theory: “a theory that explains an event or a set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators.”—Merriam-Webster. The covert or secret plan need not be criminal but the objective of the conspiracy theorist is to present the object of his or her theory as evil and therefore condemnable.

    There are many examples of conspiracy theories in history ranging from the theory that the assassination of President J. F. Kennedy was not a lone act of Lee Oswald but a conspiracy by some powerful actors to the one that explains the 9-11 terrorist attacks as a government insider job. Recently, there is a conspiracy theory claiming that polio vaccine is a ploy by some evil powers to effectively sterilise children of the Third World.

    Not all conspiracy theories lack evidence and some of them may be self-explanatory or self-justifying. Many intelligent people believe that some Western powers implicitly supported the Apartheid regime of South Africa for a long time with their refusal to impose economic sanctions.

    Nigerians too are adept in theorising and where two or three Nigerians are gathered, you can expect a theory of everything from Ebola to labour, from corruption to education, and from soccer to cancer. The average Nigerian is a Monday Quarterback. On Saturday before the Sunday game, he lacks the prospective insights for a winning formula for his team. On the Monday after, however, he has an enormous capacity for retrospective analysis for why his favorite team lost the game.

    We have seen a large number of Monday Quarterbacking since the elections, and they all conspiracy theories. These theorists don’t dig around the reality of the loss of the ruling party for fear of the truth. For them the party did not lose because it underperformed. PDP did not lose because Nigerians from north to south are tired of a government of impunity and endemic corruption.

    In the inner recesses of its theorists, PDP did not lose because a large number of its party leaders felt marginalised and therefore discouraged, leaving the party in droves or staying put but without any enthusiasm to work for its victory. For our conspiracy theorists, PDP lost because there was a conspiracy against President Jonathan and by extension against the Southsouth and Southeast.

    First, in the delusionary realm occupied by some PDP leaders and their armchair theorists, including professorial columnists and professional activists, the loss of the party was because of a secret plot, a gang-up of sort by four zones—Northwest, Northeast, North-central and Southwest—against two zones—Southsouth and Southeast. It was an evil plot, even if not criminal.

    Second, there is a theory of a criminal plot as well and it was between INEC and APC against PDP. This was criminal in the sense that INEC, as an independent entity, is constitutionally responsible for free, fair and impartial elections. But, the conspiracists argue, it did none of these.

    There is a third theory about an internal evil plot akin to the Brutus conspiracy against Caesar. We are told that PDP lost because even the Chairman of the party and some of his leadership team were in deplorable evil cahoots against the party and its candidate.

    Finally, we are now just being treated to another category of conspiracy between the outgoing IGP and APC and its presidential candidate on the one hand against PDP and its presidential candidate on the other.

    Let me make a couple of preliminary observations on this new development. First, my initial reaction after the announcement of the results of the presidential election was to move on. I thought there was no point revisiting all the nauseating actions and inactions of candidates and their supporters during the campaign. It was time for a new beginning based on a new social contract as I later remarked. But since then many PDP supporters have refused to let go even when the President himself conceded gallantly.

    Second, while I think that it is natural and indeed reasonable to ask the “why” question in the face of such a disastrous thumping of a party that arrogantly vowed to be in power for 60 years, it appeared to me that it would have been more beneficial to look into those of its policies, actions and, more importantly, attitudes and behaviors, that turned Nigerians off.

    Instead, the same analysts who misled the party and its candidates with incredibly erroneous permutations even up to the last minute on Election Day still have the audacity to pontificate about what went wrong. It is truly amazing. What it means is that much as it is good to have a strong two-party system, PDP may never get its act together and correct its mistakes to compete effectively in future presidential elections.

    Now, I invite our PDP conspiracy theorists to the impartial chamber of ethical reasoning for a candid interrogation. They must prepare to answer fundamental questions that scream for answers.

    One: You claim that there was a conspiracy of four zones in the North and Southwest against the Southsouth and Southeast. Where were you in 2011? Was there a conspiracy then? If not, what makes you think that there is one now? Are ordinary Nigerians not able to decide what is best for them without a charge of conspiracy hanging over their heads? By the way, comparing the number of votes that your candidate received in the North and Southwest with the number of votes that the APC candidate received in the Southsouth and Southeast, which party has a more legitimate claim to the allegation of a disturbing gang-up against its candidate?

    Two: You claim that INEC Chief and his team conspired against your candidate and the party. Was it the same INEC Chief that conducted the 2011 elections? Was this the same Jega that your analysts in 2011 considered a credible candidate for a 2019 presidency slot on account of his impartiality? Were there the same two candidates in that election? If INEC Chief didn’t conspire when your candidate won, is it fair to charge him for conspiracy when your candidate lost? More importantly, how was the use of PVC and Card Readers which were introduced to improve credibility an element of conspiracy? Don’t you want electoral credibility?

    Three: I wouldn’t know if there was an internal plot within PDP. But if there was, doesn’t that tell us more about the dysfunction in your party? How is that a problem for the rest of us? Can you then put your house in order?

    Four:  Can you really substantiate the charge of a conspiracy by the IGP against your party in light of public knowledge about the atrocities committed by the IGP against the opposition? Do you forget so soon his stridency against Speaker Tambuwal even after a court verdict? How about his order for voters to leave the polling areas even after INEC’s affirmation of voters’ right to remain there? Or his deployment of partisan AIGs to the areas you wanted to capture? Or his complicity in the Ekiti saga?

    I have a humble advice for PDP because I really want there to be a strong two-party system. Borrow a leaf from the proactive stance of Bola Tinubu and the ACN. In 2011, its candidate lost woefully. But it didn’t come up with any conspiracy theory. Rather, licking its wounds, ACN went back to the drawing board of political organisation. With a vow not to join a discredited train of retrogression, a strong determination to compete effectively, and confidence in their ability to build a progressive party to take on the PDP behemoth, Team Tinubu went to work. The rest is history.

    Can you please stop whining and hurry back to the basics of attitudinal change and organisational restructuring?