The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • Creating states not guarantee for development

    Creating states not guarantee for development

    About six days ago, the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on the review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, approved the creation of an additional state in the South-East geopolitical zone of the Country. If ratified, the approval will increase the number of states in the Southeast from five to six. This is a welcome development because it will address the long-standing agitation over the region’s perceived marginalization. It is also worth noting that the last time new states were created in Nigeria was about 32 years ago.

    Furthermore, the joint committee considered a total of 55 requests for the creation of new states, two boundary adjustments, and the creation of 278 local governments. At the end of deliberations, the committee unanimously resolved that six additional states be created in the country, i.e., one additional state in each of the six geopolitical zones: North West, North East, North Central, South West, South-South, and South East. If all the requests successfully go through legislation, the number of states in the country will increase from 36 to 42, i.e., South West will have seven, South South will have seven, North West will have eight, North East will have seven, and North Central will have seven.

     The creation of an additional state for the South East region will neutralize the notion of marginalization of the South East by the people of South East Nigeria, i.e., the Ndigbo, and their sympathizers, including the international community. Indeed, there has been a long-standing feeling that the South East has been short-changed in national political structuring and other dynamics like political party primaries, national representation, resource allocation and sharing, etc. Therefore, this development is expected to address a long-standing geopolitical structure and zoning imbalance.

     However, while I welcome the creation of an additional state for southeast Nigeria, I am of the opinion that the creation of additional States for the other five geopolitical regions should not be the immediate priority for our national development. Because this does not reflect the seriousness of a country that is at a crossroads of development, far behind its peers, e.g., Brazil, India, Malaysia, a country that is struggling to get out of serious political and socio-economic challenges. 

    The questions we should ask ourselves and answer honestly are: What do we really want as Nigerians? What are our priorities? If the outcries for the creation of new states, by those people who are asking for new states, are due to “marginalization” in their respective states, which I know exists, because we cannot ignore the issues of marginalization, then would the creation of new states address those issues? As we are aware, identity politics and polarizing factors like ethnicity, tribalism, religious bigotry, etc., will continue to drive politics, economy, and social justice/injustice not just in Nigeria, but across the world.

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     So, if the argument is that some people are being marginalized, which is true, how do we address those fundamental issues without “balkanizing the country”?  Because with the way we are going, by my own reckoning, in the coming years, almost all the current senatorial districts in states across Nigeria, numbering about 109, could become states. Basically, almost all the existing states could be split into three or two states, apart from border adjustments. If that happens, we could be setting a precedent that will make a joke of a federation called Nigeria. This is because in the next five years, other people within the microcosm of those senatorial districts will also demand their own states based on “marginalization”.

    Creation of Additional States alone cannot address Marginalization:

    By the way, the issues of marginalization across States are true. For example, in Benue State, in the past 65 years since the independence of Nigeria, the Idomas. Igedes and other tribes, who occupy an entire senatorial district in the State, have never produced a democratically elected Governor of that state. In Borno State, the Borno South senatorial district has never produced a democratically elected Governor of that state in the past 65 years since independence. In Kaduna state, there is an outcry by the southern Kaduna senatorial district that except for a period of about 2 years, when the he incumbent Governor, Arc Namadi Sambo became the Vice President of Nigeria, and late Patrick Yakowa who was his Deputy Governor took over and died in office, the Kaduna South senatorial district has never produced a democratically elected Governor of that state in the past 65 years since independence.  In Kogi state, also, the people of Kogi South senatorial district, who also occupy an entire senatorial district, have never produced a democratically elected Governor of that state since the advent of the state over 30 years ago. The same applies to Nasarawa North Senatorial District in Nasarawa State, which has never produced a democratically elected Governor of Nasarawa State since the advent of the state over 30 years ago. The list goes on and on. 

    Certainly, the above-stated examples of imbalances, and valid senses and outcries of marginalization have serious political, social, and economic implications for the people affected, the states, and the entire Country.  However, I believe that the creation of additional states will not solve these problems, but would rather further complicate our national political and socio-economic dilemmas. This is because, due to identity politics, even when we microzone those states and make them states, there would still be some people who would be marginalized.

     Therefore, my opinion is that, as Nigerians, we should push for creative and forward-thinking legislation to address this issue. Accordingly, I advocate that, as an instance, the zoning of the Presidency between northern and southern Nigeria, which is currently termed “an unwritten agreement, etc.”, should be entrenched in the Constitution. I should also be encrusted in the Constitution that Governorships should also rotate between senatorial districts in all the States across Nigeria. The objective is to achieve a sense of belonging and a sense of balance for all Nigerians. We must recognize that the attainment of unity in diversity, equity, and justice is not a shortcut, but it is a deliberate journey that should be based on what I call a “fair process”. 

    True Federalism and Devolution of Powers are Critical Success Factors:

    The focus should be about true federalism, and devolution of powers, proper resource allocation, management and sharing, etc., leadership recruitment process, elections integrity, rule of law, accountability, etc. The fundamental overhaul of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, over and beyond the annual “peace meal” ritual of “amendments” that will ensure not only that the Constitution is the actual will of the people, but also a Constitution that will ensure that everybody complies with the provisions of the constitution and failure to do so, the person or people will face the consequences no matter how highly placed they are. Because the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has a lot of loopholes and lacunas (gaps) that allow leaders to circumvent provisions of the constitution as they please.

     As a nation, we are struggling to make 36 State Governors and the Minister of FCT accountable and effectively deliver good governance. We are unable to make 36 State Governors remove their hands from running the local government administrations and remove their hands from the cash tills of the 774 local governments across the Country. Yet, we want to continue creating new states without solutions to our existing problems

    Indeed, while it is true that some of the advocates of new states creation have no ulterior motives, most of the people who are proponents and advocates of the creation of these new states have the self-serving objectives of positioning themselves to become Governors of those states who will further subjugate, pillage and destroy the people under the guise of being the emancipators of these people.

    The Cost of Creating Additional States:

    When we evaluate the economics of creating new states, we should note that the total cost of managing an already crawling economy is increasing exponentially. New States will require a new governance structure, framework, and systems, starting from the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary arms of government. New instruments of government must be created, new state governors, new state legislators, new judges, new state executive councils, and other additional local government administrations, new Commissioners of Police, and other costs of running those governments.  Therefore, all the monies that we are supposed to invest to secure the country from insecurity, ensure food security, build infrastructure and catalyze a productive economy, ensure social security, and human capital development, create jobs, etc., will be redirected to creating states, which will not be viable.

  • The message in retrospect

    The message in retrospect

    Preamble

    The Ability to speak or write is a special gift from the AlmightyAllah. With time, such ability may become a hobby and eventually grow into a skill. Speaking, no matter how eloquently, cannot be as important as getting audience. So is the case with writing. A speaker can be classified as an orator only by his audience. Radio and television broadcasters as well as public motivational speakers can attest to this. Similarly, an author or a columnist can be celebrated or denigrated only by his readers. Any writer who takes his readers for granted, therefore, can only do so at his own peril. Such a writer may not be qualified for an author or a columnist.

    A Column by accident Memory lane

    Ever since yours sincerely started writing this column in The Nation newspaper, in September, 2006, no week has passed by without a barrage of reations reaching me even on some occasions when the column is not published for one reason or another.

    This is not just because I called the column a participatory one in its maiden edition but mostly because some readers who had long been familier with it since its inception in Concord newspaper, in 1982, acknowledge its quality and appreciate the methodology with which it is presented to showcase Islam to the world every Friday. For instance on a particular topic entitled: NO! MR. PRESIDENT, NO!, published in this column on February 2, 2007, when a onetime Army General from the Southwest, (Chief) Olusegun Okikiolakan Aremu Obasanjo was at the twilight of his second term of four years in office as Nigerian PresidentI, I received 189 phone calls, 107 text messages and 1143 written comments through the e-mail. That was about five months after the commencement of this column in The Nation newspaper. After I left Concord newspaper in 1989,  most readers of this column followed it to other Nigerian newspapers like Vanguard, The Monitor and The Nation. Some even followed it to some foreign magazines such as The Inquiry, Al-Afkar, Africa Now, At-Tawheed  and a host of others including some academic journals. Thus, questions, observations and comments kept coming consistently into this column from various parts of the world in form of reactions.

    Comment

    Now, 13 yeas after the column debut in The Nation newspaper, I consider it fair to refresh the memories of its original readers by recalling some of those reactions in retrospect if only to further confirm that readers, like customers, are kings and queens in their own rights, in the market of literacy. After all, it is only a novice writer that will close his ears or eyes to readers’ comments even if such comments are negative and bitterly reprobative. Ordinarily, as a columnist, I often feel psychologically elated when reactions to my column come in torrents from different conceivable angles, based on different perceptions.

    Some Published Reactions

    It should be noted that the few reactions received over some publications, over a decade ago, and published below were randomly selected from the piling chunk in my kitty at that time. Those reactions were, however, not necessarily more important than many others which were not published then. Meanwhile, in the spirit of participatoriness, some reactions to this column will, henceforeth, resume publication from time to time, as space may permit. This may strengthen the trust of the readers in the interactiveness of the column.

    While thanking all the readers of this 37 years old column, particularly those who have been reacting to it (home and abroad), since its inception, for their encouragement and well wish. I pray the Almighty Allah to appreciate their good intentions and encouraging actions as He (Allah) alone can reward them abundantly.

    First meeting with the Sultan

    It came as an undreamt surprise when my telephone rang at exactly 11.50 am on the first Sunday in February, 2007. My first reaction after pickimg the call was: “who is on the line, please?” especially when the call came without an identity. The caller simplay identified himself as SA’AD Abubakar. I immediately searched my brain for a possible familiarization with that identity. But while doing that, I did not know that I was repeating the name Sa’d Abubakar in a seeming soliloquy until His Eminence said: Ah!Don’t you know anybody bearing that name?. And in my reaction, I said the only person I can think of that bears that name is the new Sultan. It was then that His Eminence said: alright, this is the Sultan. At that moment, dumpfounded. The only clear words that I could utter were “Your Eminence!” before I went stammering. I was overwhelmed. In that telephone conversation,

    With a tone of commendation, His Eminence appreciated my writings and said that he had been reading my column since the now defunct Concord days. He counselled me never to relent especially in calling a spade a spade as I had been doing. And, as the Commander of the Muslim faithful, (Amirul Muminin), he showered royal prayers on me and promised to be calling again in future.

    That was one call that made, not just my day, but probably my year. It was one reaction that confirmed my observation once expressed in an article in this column about this new Sultan shortly after his instalation.

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    By that surprise call alone, the new Sultan added to the chain of “FIRSTS which I listed in the mentioned article. In my 25 years of experience in journalism, as at that time, I could not remember when any public figure of Sultan’s status ever made a similar call to any common journalist except when seeking a media favour.

    A Launch with his eminence

    About two weeks after the above narrated encounter with him on the telephone, His Eminence called again to invite me to Kaduna from Ibdan for a launch with him. And, at his palace in Kaduna, This great Sultan sat down with me on bare carpet where we took a special launch together. That was my first experience of royal conduct in Nigeria’s Sultanate.

    By his conduct and actions so far, since he came to the exhalted throne, Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, has shown, by all means, an exemplary leadership for other Nigerian leaders or aspiring leaders to emulate. With him, Nigerian Muslims are being reminded of the Caliphate time of Umar Bn Khattab and Umar Bn Abdul Aziz when it was established and entrenched that leadership is neither by vicious display of force nor by crude bully and animalistic brutality. May the Almighty Allah be merciful to Nigerian Muslim Ummah by preserving the life of this Sultan with divine guidance and protection for the good of this life and that of the Hereafter. We also pray that the glow of His Eminence’s crescent may be brazenly kindled for a long, long time to come without experiencing an eclipse. Amin.

     Some reders reactions

    Femi, EFCC is on the side of the poor that is why the thieves in high places want to destroy it. Someday, state power will become the oppressed and the oppressors will fall to rise no more”. Amos Ejimonye, Kaduna.

    “Mr. Femi Abbas, your write -up on EFCC made my day glorious. Tafa Balogun, former IGP, saw danger in the enormous power conferred on the youthful Ribadu. Ehinderos greed for power conspired with Ribadu to oust him. The same Obasanjo will consume both Ribadu and Ehindero after April polls. You have said it all. Keep watching. God bless you”. Afolabi, ACP, (rtd).

    “Salam alaikun,

    I read The Nation Newspaper published on February 2, 2007. In fact, I like the way you advised Mr. President. May Allah reward you abundantly. Keep it up, it is part of Jihad.

    May Allah SWT, continue to protect you as He may continue to enrich your thinking. Last Friday’s essay was prophetic”. A.A. Amoo, Ede .

    “Dear Brother, your write-up on Mr. Presidents inconsistencies last Friday was very superb. May Allah continue to increase your knowledge”. Owolabi Abdullah.

    “Your article: NO! Mr. President NO! is a great piece and a great voice of hope at a time of sickening sycophancy. God bless you for it”. Dele, Lagos .

    “Femi, your 02-02-07 article brought out tears from my eyes, I found it hard to eat. Seriously, I became sleepless. May God see us through this terrible mess? Segun Eleshin.

    “Salam!

    Good write-up in The Nation this morning. Please keep it up”. Lai Olurode, UNILAG.

    “Salam,

    Brother Abbas, thank you for your great contribution on Muslim family. What I read on The Nation newspaper last December 2006 concerning Muslim-Family was a good Article. I will be expecting more from you”. Abdul -Yekeen Mustapha. Owo Poly, H.N.D 2, BAM, Ondo State . Mas-salam.

    “Dear Femi Abbas, your article today on the atrocities of the current regime under the topic: NO! MR, PRESIDENT, NO! is an eye opener. It reminds me of your powerful column in the good old days of Concord newspaper.

    You are a special gift to Islam in Nigeria. I hope that one day you will be recognized by Nigerian Muslim community as the late Abul Ala Al- Maududi was recognized in India or Ahmad Deeda in South Africa. And, if not, may Allah recognize you and shower you with the rewards of the Prophets great scribe, Zayd bn Thabit. Jazakumu – Llah khayran”. Idris Mustapha, Zaria .

    “Brother Femi Abbas, I did not know that you write a column in The Nation newspaper until my attention was drawn to it this morning. The last time I read your article was in Vanguard and that was over five years ago. The analysis on the EFCC is fantastic as usual. I had always believed that the establishment of the EFCC was a good action based on a dirty intention.

     The recent developments in the country concerning that commission have vindicated my belief. And, your analysis tallied with my thought on the commission. I totally agree with you that the commission is a peculiar mess to Nigeria, created by the current peculiar ruling class to further oppress the populace in the name of fighting corruption. Now that I know of this column, The Nation automatically becomes my paper. God bless you”. Sherifah Abdullah, Lagos.

    “Femi, thank you for your brilliant Friday sermons, coming up in form of a column. Without a gun or sword, you have voluntarily chosen to be the people’s soldier defending us fiercely against the raging tsunami of the satanic forces who, unfortunately, happen to be our rulers today. I particularly enjoy your writing on Mr. President’s perception of national security and of course, the one on EFCC. If columnists like you were many, who can call a spade its real name, perhaps Nigeria would not have slipped into the hands of devils. Please fire on. Your pen is mightier than their missiles”. Bayo Jemitan, Ilorin .

    “Hello! Femi, Reading your column every Friday is like drinking cold, fresh water after a long trek in a hot desert. I am not a Muslim, but I see your column as one for all good Nigerians and not Muslims alone. With your article: ‘NO! MR. PRESIDENT, NO!’ published on February 2, 2007, you have endeared me to The Nation Newspaper. If what you are doing in that column is what Muslims call Jihad then I am for it. Don’t rest on your oars. May God strengthen your fortress in all directions?” James Ahamisu, Asaba.

    “Thank you for reminding us of the late great leader, General Murtala Muhammed, in your article of last Friday titled-‘EFCC: LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD’. If anybody is qualified to be called the father of modern Nigeria it is General Muhammed and not the leopard called Obasanjo, now parading himself as such. Through your article, we still remember that great leader (Murtala Muhammaed)’ revolution, reformation and reorientation of Nigeria within six months of his governance. Murtala was an impartial creator and executor of ideas. He was an exemplary leader who started reformation of our society with himself. He surrendered his personal property to the state because he believed that he wrongly used his office to acquire it before he became Head of State. And, he never sold any state property to himself at give-away price. Neither did he flout the law of the land despite the fact that he was a military Head of State. That was a leader by all standards. He and not the current impostor, self-styled messiah (Obasanjo), should be called and recognized as the father of modern Nigeria” . Ademola Atolagbe, Owu, Abeokuta .

    “Hello! Femi, you are not alone in your opinion on President Obasanjo’s misconception of national security. Having moved from the prison to the Presidency without rehabilitation and reorientation, the man lost touch with modern reality and ruled with a prisoner’s vision. He has forgotten how Abacha started and ended. Such is the characteristic of African leaders. By the time he leaves the office very soon, and joins the league of former Presidents, God willing, his eyes will be open to the reality of what Nigeria is. Those who refuse to learn from history will surely bear the brunt of history”.

    Okey Ibeabuchi, Owerri.

    “Mr. Abbas, with your article published on December 1, 2006, entitled ‘- GOD! GIVE US A LEADER….’ You touched the hearts of most living Nigerians. That prayer was a precise summary of all prayers which most Nigerians have been offering especially about leadership. What remains for us is simply to say Amen. God bless you”. Daniel Akpan, Calabar.

    NB: Very soon, this column may begin a Jihad against two major scourges threatening to devour our dear country soul and body. One of the scourges is corruption. The other is religious hate speeches. The damages done to Nigeria by these two vices in the past three decades are better left to imagination. As a religious column, it becomes necessary to address these two vices for the sake of peaceful co-existence of the citizens in the present and in the future. In doing this, issues causing both scourges will be examined and assessed from all angles with a view to educating the populace on how to overcome them. Readers are expected to contribute to this Jihad if only to enable peace and prosperity reign in our country. And, by the grace of God, we shall not fail to succeed. Welcome on board. Meanwhile a second part of this article may be written in this column next week. Watch out for it.

  • The need for treatment of accident and gunshot victims without police report

    The need for treatment of accident and gunshot victims without police report

    The continual refusal of hospitals in Nigeria to accept and treat gunshot victims and accident victims without a police report should be stopped as a matter of national priority. Urgent treatment should be given to victims, while the Nigerian Police Force is immediately alerted and the police report is secured. This is to save lives and avoidable life-threatening injuries of victims, which should no longer be the case in Nigeria. 

    The refusal of such emergency treatments by hospitals is despite the approval given two years ago, by the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force (IGP), Mr. Kayode A. Egbetokun, in October 2023, that all accident and gunshot victims should be provided with prompt and compassionate treatments at hospitals without a Police report.

    This is especially given the fact that the IGP’s approval is in line with the enforcement of the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017, which stipulates that all healthcare practitioners should prioritize the immediate care and stabilization of such patients based on the criticality of the timeliness of medical intervention in saving lives.

    The Need for Enforcement of the Existing Law:

    However, it is worth noting that the above-mentioned Act does not cover accident victims. In addition, despite the existence of the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshot Act, which was signed into law in 2017, hospitals and medical practitioners still turn their backs not just on gunshot victims, but also on accident victims that need urgent medical attention. Interestingly, so far, there have not been any consequences of refusal of hospitals or medical practitioners to comply with the provisions of that law, which would have sent the signals that compliance is key. Also important is the fact that the majority of Nigerians are not even aware that such a law exists, so that they can take legal action against hospitals or medical practitioners that refuse to comply with the law. Because the Act is very clear with regard to non-compliance, for example:

    •Section 9 of the Act stipulates that, “A person who commits an offense under this act, which leads to or causes substantial physical, mental and emotional damage to the victim, commits an offense and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not more than 15 years and not less than 5 years without the option of fine”.

    •Section 11 of the Act also stipulates that; “Any person or authority, including any police officer, other security agent or hospital who stands by and fails to perform his duty under this act which results in the unnecessary death of any person with gunshot wounds, commits an offense and is liable to a fine of N500,000.00 or imprisonment of a term of 5 years, or both”

    The above sections are germane to the consequences of non-compliance with the law, when and if not applied. Therefore, the IGP’s approvals also require follow-up actions that will ensure the sensitization of the public about the existence of this law on one hand and the enforcement of the law on the other hand; otherwise, the IGP’s directive will remain rhetoric. In the case of the bad/ wicked medical practitioners, there should be consequences for refusing to give treatment in such accident emergencies.

     Therefore, I urge the IGP, Minister of Information and National Orientation, the Ministers of Health, other relevant agencies of Government, Civil Society Organizations, other critical stakeholders to embark on massive sensitization of the public all over the Country to know about the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017, its provisions and action process of ensuring that the law works for the people.

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    Urgent Need for Legislation on Protection of Accident Victims

    There is a gap in the Act, of the non-inclusion of Accident victims or the non-enactment of a law to cover accident victims, which should also be addressed as a matter of national priority. 

     As it is today in Nigeria, there are no prudential guidelines or laws that guide the actions of medical practitioners and hospitals with regard to the treatment of accident victims without a Police report. Even when the Police report is presented (mostly after long and difficult processes), during which a lot of lives are lost, the hospitals are either rightly or wrongly reluctant to treat such emergencies with the dispatch and respect they deserve. In some pathetic cases, the hospitals outrightly refuse to provide such interventions to Nigerians and indeed any other person who requires urgent medical attention, which is against their professional oath and code of conduct.

     It is worthy of note that there are currently no laws that assist medical practitioners to treat such critical accident emergencies without fear of negative consequences from the Police or other law enforcement/ security agencies.

     Therefore, I am of the opinion that the gap can be catered for in the interim by a Presidential intervention using an Executive Order. This will place a high premium on human lives.

    To the Doctors, Nurses, and Other Medical Practitioners:

    The attitude of some of you should change. The majority of our medical practitioners have a high sense of empathy, compassion, duty, and professionalism. I have come across great Doctors, Nurses, and medical practitioners in Nigeria who practice with a high sense of responsibility, professionalism, humanity, and fear of God. But, sadly, there are also some horrible Doctors, Nurses, and medical practitioners, and what is worrisome is that the number of these wicked practitioners is increasing daily. I hope that the Nigerian Medical Association and other professional organizations in the health sector will deal decisively with the bad ones amongst them in order to fully restore/ sustain, and upscale the respect of this noble profession.

    Full immunity and protection should be given to first responders, hospitals, doctors, and all medical practitioners who provide any form of intervention to save the lives of accident and gunshot victims. In other Countries, such people and/ or establishments are heroes, but in Nigeria, in many cases, kind and honorable people mostly end up being treated as criminals, or aiders and abettors of criminals, fugitives/ suspects, and may even face prosecution simply because they followed their basic instincts and tenets of attempting to help and save lives. The situation is so bad that people simply drive by or walk by victims of accidents or gunshot wounds, because of the fear of dire consequences. Those people who want to help but are not able to do so, out of fear of negative repercussions, are also impacted because most of them become permanently psychologically scarred by the horror of the flashes of the bodies and faces of the victims they abandoned while in need of urgent help. Most of such well-intentioned/ well-meaning people live the rest of their lives struggling with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), which manifests in so many horrible mental and physical ways. We should not allow such sordid situations to continue by acting swiftly and properly. After all, nobody knows the situation he/ she or their loved ones may someday find themselves in.

    Hence, Civil Society Organizations and all well-meaning Nigerians should play key roles of sponsoring relevant bills, supporting the bills, attending public hearings and making contributions, passing laws, and ultimately signing into law the laws that will give more legal backing and effect to this critical need to save the lives of accident victims to avoid avoidable loss of lives and livelihoods.

    A humble request and advocacy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for an Executive Order:

    Your Excellency, Mr. President, with profound respect, and on behalf of Nigerians, I seek that succor can come by way of an Executive Order, as a critical interim measure, pending a full process of legislation, for doctors, medical practitioners, and hospitals to accept and treat accident victims without a police report. 

    Provisions could be embedded in the Executive Order, such that criminals, fugitives, or suspects should be treated, while ensuring that relevant agencies of government move swiftly to ensure that justice is still done after the provision of the treatment. For example, in the case of accident victims who are not covered by the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshot Act of 2017; as soon as victims are received, a prudential guideline should be activated to inform all the relevant law enforcement agencies, for example, the Nigerian Police Force so that if the patient is a suspect or crime or criminality or a wanted criminal, he/ she will be arrested and secured in the hospital, while treatment/ medical intervention is being provided, and he/she faces prosecution after discharge from the hospital or facility and continue with case of persecution. Other risk management mechanisms could be provided in the guidelines to ensure that criminals or terrorists are not given cover to escape justice.

     Thank you, Mr. President.

    May Almighty God Continue to Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Renaming Nigeria

    Renaming Nigeria

    “Man is history after his demise. Therefore, endeavour to be a pleasant history for others to read after you might have left the stage”. – Arab poet

    Preamble

    Man is both a product and a producer of history. He lives by history and leaves history behind as his legacy at the time of his departure from this ephemeral world. This confirms the fact that man and history are like Siamese twins. The one cannot do without the other. History makes man just as man makes history. The synergy between the two makes them look like a pair of scissors in which one blade cannot effectively function without the other.

    This is a period in Nigeria when recalling history is a necessity. How did Nigeria come into being a country and has a name? Is this name fitting and appropriate for the country that bears it? Can the name be changed and can changing it make any reasonable difference? These are some of the questions that ‘The Message’ seeks to answer today.

    Accident of history

    On January 8, 1897, an article appeared in Financial Times which suggested a name for the vast land around river Niger which had then been colonised by the Royal Niger Company on behalf of the British Empire. The suggested name was Nigeria (from Niger Area) and the author of the article was one Miss Flora Shaw, a 45-year-old journalist. She was then the colonial editor of Financial Times as well as the writer of a weekly column named ‘The Colony’ in that newspaper.

    In coining the name ‘Nigeria’, Flora Shaw logically took many facts into consideration. One: the area in question had no specific name by which it could be called other than a protectorate of the ‘Royal Niger Company’. Two: She considered an earlier suggested name ‘Central Sudan’ as aberrational since that name already belonged to an area around the Nile River occupied by a population of Black Africans now called Sudan. She equally considered the name ‘Slave Coast’ which the colonialists had attempted to give to this area as derogatory and finally settled for ‘Nigeria’, which she coined from ‘Niger Area’.

    Born at 2, Dundas Terrace, Woolwich, England on December 19, 1852, Miss Flora Shaw (fourth of her parent’s fourteen children) was a novelist and frontline, versatile female journalist who gained fame through her pungent analyses of African colonial economy. She was later to become ‘The Honourable Dame Flora Lugard, the wife of Frederick John Deatry Lugard of Abinger who colonised and amalgamated the southern and northern parts of what came to be known as Nigeria in 1914.

    Flora was six years older than Frederick who was born in India on January 22, 1858. The two historic personalities married in 1902 and lived together without children for the rest of their lives.

    Four historical facts are manifest here. First: the name Nigeria had come into existence far away in England long before the country that now bears that name became a country.

    Second: the name was coined five years before Flora Shaw married Frederick Lugard. Therefore, contrary to the general erroneous belief that it was Mrs. Lugard who named our country Nigeria, Flora was Miss Shaw and not Mrs. Lugard when she coined the name.

    Third: it can be said that Nigeria came into existence through the efforts of a bachelor and a spinster who later became a couple.

    Fourth: by sheer coincidence, Nigeria’s second First Lady, Flora Azikiwe, the wife of Nigeria’s first President, shared the same first name with the wife of Lugard: FLORA.

    Lord Frederick Lugard

    Baron Frederick Lugard was a military adventurer and an ardent administrator who played a major part in Britain’s colonial history between 1888 and 1945, serving in East Africa, West Africa, and Hong Kong. His name is particularly associated with Nigeria, where he served as High Commissioner (1900–06) as well as Governor and Governor-General (1912–19). He was knighted in 1901 and raised to the peerage in 1928.

    As at the time of Lugard’s incursion, most of the vast region of over 300,000 square miles (800,000 square km) was still unoccupied and even unexplored by Europeans. In the southern areas were mostly animists and in the northern areas were multitudes of Muslims with city-states and large walled cities.

    Lugard’s intention was to merge these two people with diverse cultures and spiritual inclinations and manage them as a single people in a single nation. Within three years of his expedition, he had established a British control of the large territory by diplomacy or by swift use of his meager force.

    Although in hastening to take the major states of Kano and Sokoto he engaged the hands of his more cautious home government, only two serious local revolts marred the widespread acceptance and cooperation that he obtained. His policy was to support the native states and chieftainships, their laws and their courts, forbidding slave trading and severe punishments as well as exercising control centrally through the native rulers.

    Historic marriage

    After his marriage to Flora Shaw in 1902 and the latter could not stand the Nigerian climate, Lugard felt obliged to leave Africa and accept a junior position of the governorship of Hong Kong which he held from 1907 to 1912. It was like stepping down as president to accept the position of a governor. Only a very few Africans would accept such.

    But the bushwhacker from Africa achieved a surprising degree of success and, on his own initiative, founded the University of Hong Kong. Thereafter, Lugard and his wife joined the Southern and Northern parts of Nigeria in an historic marriage that is yet to prove union right.

    How far so far?

    Ever since the exit of the British colonialists in 1960, Nigeria has remained a country without focus, despite the enormous resources at her disposal. In less than half a decade after independence, the crude hands of African inexperience began to show vividly in her administration as ethnic and religious flavours were added to her republican ethos. Then came the insuperable mountain of corruption that kept overwhelming the citizenry and drowning all hopes till today. Then, a military incursion was introduced with sweet tongue to right the wrong but which eventually turned forlorn.

    Now, after 100 years of absurdity called merger, Nigeria continues to wallow hopelessly in a paroxysm of despair as the last four years became unprecedented in the country’s history of corruption. Today, the language is no longer mere corruption but corruption with unbridled impunity.

    As if in a nightmare, we suddenly found ourselves in a situation where figure 16 is said to be higher than figure 19 and theft is officially defined and treated as to outside the framework corruption. Billions of dollars are said to be missing from our treasury just as our foreign reserves are daily being depleted even as ministers and other governmental cronies are living like princes and princesses under an unquestionable emperor.

    Now, Nigeria is at a crossroads over where to go from here. Like Laurent Gbagbo’s tenure in Cote d’Ivoire Nigeria is anxiously waiting for a period of uncertainty but fervently praying that such period never comes. Typical of African greedy leaders, we now have a situation at hand where ‘the monarch must not be deposed democracy or no democracy. The rule of the game is either ethnicity or religion.

    And to prevent the deposition of the monarch, the military must be mobilised against the ‘bloody armless civilians’ for the purpose of election. Thus, election has become a war that must be fought and won with massive arsenal by the government in power no matter whose ox is gored. Where are we going from here?

    Democratic tenure

    Four years is a long period in a democratic tenure of a nation. It is long enough to lay a solid foundation for a nation. It is long enough to build a formidable edifice that can be inherited from generation to generation. If 16 years of democracy cannot do any of these in Nigeria can one century do any? If a journey of one year cannot take a traveller anywhere who says 10 years will take him anywhere?

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    As an OPEC country, we have abundant oil wealth but we must import refined fuel for domestic consumption. We have a massive army of unemployed youths and we cannot provide electricity to enable them to be self-employed. Yet, we are insisting that we must continue like this even as billions of dollars are being stolen daily. Where are we going from here?

    Obama’s counsel

    In his direct presidential address to Nigerian populace on Tuesday, March 24, 2015, the American President Barrack Obama said of tomorrow’s elections and the subsequent ones as follows: “Hello.  Today, I want to speak directly to you—the people of Nigeria.

    Nigeria is a great nation and you can be proud of the progress you’ve made.  Together, you won your independence, emerged from military rule, and strengthened democratic institutions.  You’ve strived to overcome division and to turn Nigeria’s diversity into a source of strength.  You’ve worked hard to improve the lives of your families and to build the largest economy in Africa.

    Now you have a historic opportunity to help write the next chapter of Nigeria’s progress—by voting in the upcoming elections.  For elections to be credible, they must be free, fair and peaceful.  All Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear.

    So I call on all leaders and candidates to make it clear to their supporters that violence has no place in democratic elections—and that they will not incite, support or engage in any kind of violence—before, during, or after the votes are counted.

    I call on all Nigerians to peacefully express your views and to reject the voices of those who call for violence.  And when elections are free and fair, it is the responsibility of all citizens to help keep the peace, no matter who wins.

    Successful elections and democratic progress will help Nigeria meet the urgent challenges you face today.  Boko Haram—a brutal terrorist group that kills innocent men, women and children—must be stopped.

    Hundreds of kidnapped children deserve to be returned to their families. Nigerians who have been forced to flee deserve to return to their homes.  Boko Haram wants to destroy Nigeria and all that you have worked to build.  By casting your ballot, you can help secure your nation’s progress.

    I’m told that there is a saying in your country: “to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done”. Today, I urge all Nigerians—from all religions, all ethnic groups, and all regions—to come together and keep Nigeria one.  And in this task of advancing the security, prosperity, and human rights of all Nigerians, you will continue to have a friend and partner in the United States of America”.

    Ordinarily, such a cross-Atlantic presidential speech would have been unnecessary if we had learnt from the examples of great African leaders such as Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Sam Njoma of Namibia, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Ahmadu Ahidjo of Cameroun.

    But since the uncheckable greed in us will not allow us to learn from good examples we must to listen to an American Obama who talks to Nigerians rather than talk with Nigerians. Whatever name we now give Nigeria, positive or negative; we shall not relent in saying: God save Nigeria!

  • PDP in denial as it disintegrates on self-inflicted injuries!

    PDP in denial as it disintegrates on self-inflicted injuries!

    Avalanche of PDP Leadership out of the Party:

    As the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) protracted toxic internal crises escalate, the party is unravelling, as Governors of the PDP-controlled states are moving en masse, out of PDP to the All Progressives Congress, along with their cabinets, members of federal and state assemblies, local government chairmen, and the majority of the PDP structures. Within this week, two PDP Governors, i.e., the Governor of Enugu State and the Governor of Bayelsa State, and the entire PDP team and almost all the party structure in the states, left the PDP. 

    Within the last two years, the PDP Governors’ forum membership has depleted from sixteen (16) to eight (8), and most likely, more PDP Governors will leave the PDP in the coming weeks. This development is a clear indication that the party is disintegrating.

    APC Governors Converting PDP leaders to APC- The Governor Uba Sani Example:

    For instance, three days ago, the APC Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani was at the National Assembly to welcome the three members of the House of Representatives representing three Kaduna federal constituencies who defected from PDP to the APC. This further confirmed that at the state level, Governor Uba Sani is maintaining critical momentum while applying “politics without bitterness”.

     How Did PDP Get into this Situation?

    Could this be the beginning of the end of PDP? Certainly, the PDP will soon become another case study in Nigeria’s political history – A classic case of what happens if leaders of a political party are stingy with their money, short-sighted with their vision, greedy with their ambition, and. Most of its leaders, like many political leaders in Nigeria, feel entitled.  Something that is as mundane, yet profoundly telling as the inability to own a national headquarters, or ensuring that the ground rent of the building is paid for as at when due, tells you the kind of double standards that some political leaders in Nigeria, in this case, the PDP leadership, have been running the political party. The fact that political leaders cannot own a political party Headquarters in the 26 years of Its existence out of which the PDP produced three Presidents of Nigeria who served for 16 years, with the majority of state Governors across Nigeria and majority at the National and State Assemblies, is telling of how committed they are to the political party, which leaves much to be desired.

    Most members of the party are political “free loaders” (like many politicians in Nigeria) who did not and are not truly committed to the unity and progress of the party. The majority of the PDP have only been using the party as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for achieving their selfish and parochial political interests. That is why they dump the party whenever it does not serve their interest, and return to the party when it suits them. By the way, this is how most Nigerian politicians use the political parties. 

    In addition, “lazy politics”, politics of entitlement, stomach infrastructure politics, and lack of internal party democracy, are also the reasons why the PDP has been unable to resolve the lingering internal crisis, which demonstrates the lack of capacity of the party to produce a President that will effectively lead Nigeria. The truth is that the PDP must rebuild the confidence of Nigerians and convince Nigerians that the PDP is the correct party that can effectively and successfully lead Nigeria.

     So far, the PDP has been bedeviled by internal crises for about fifteen years (since 2010), as a result of self-inflicted internal wrangling, and power tussles. The fault lines in the PDP structure started subliminally, in 2009 when the ailment of the then President Umar Musa ‘Yar’Adua got worse and the doctrine of necessity had to be applied (and rightly so) to save Nigeria from a power vacuum, by empowering the then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to become acting President, the subsequent death of President ‘Yar’Adua, and confirmation of President Jonathan as President and Commander-In-Chief. The cracks started becoming visible during the 2011 Presidential primary and general elections, when some power blocs within the PDP felt that it was still the turn of northern Nigeria to produce the President that should complete two terms of eight years that was truncated by the death of President ‘Yar’Adua, especially with late President Muhammadu Buhari who was at that time, a frontline and popular opposition Presidential aspirant from northern Nigeria, who was to contest against the PDP Presidential candidate. Even though President Goodluck Jonathan went on to win the 2011 Presidential elections, the cracks and internal crisis continued to brew subliminally and were ignored by President Jonathan and the PDP party leaders. The continued, unperturbed enjoyment of the electoral victory and power of incumbency. By 2014, the internal crisis of the party had manifested to the extent that a splinter group of then PDP State Governors that called themselves the “G5”, broke away from the mainstream PDP to join the coalition that formed the All Progressive Congress (APC), which removed PDP from presidential power. Essentially, the PDP leadership ignored the telltale signs of the fault lines, cracks within the party structure, and the consequent crises. As most of the leaders sat on their hands, the PDP had begun to face an existential crisis as the party began to implode.

     What broke the camel’s back was the power tussle, built up to the 2023 Presidential Primaries, the powerplay and zoning arrangement that culminated in a full-blown political war between the 2023 Presidential candidate, former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the then Governor of Rivers State Nyensom Wike. The self-inflicted injuries of the previous years and the refusal of the PDP leadership to recognize the geopolitical dynamics and realities of the 2023 imbroglio dealt a deadly blow to the PDP.

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     In fairness to then Governor of Rivers State and now Minister of FCT, Nyensom Wike, he was practically funding and running the PDP for some years, while other active and former political leaders and office holders folded their arms and watched him as some of them were decamping from the PDP to other political parties at their convenience between election cycles, thinking that they could have their way all the time. Alas! The PDP has never been the same – it has been disintegrating. 

    PDP is Living in Denial:

    PDP leaders have been in denial and blaming all sorts of reasons for the PDP predicament. While I concede that propaganda is part of politics and war, propaganda can only be useful and effective to the extent you are doing all possible to reclaim lost positions, consolidate, and take charge. It is disastrous to think that propaganda alone will win your wars or competitions. In the end, propaganda is a bubble that will burst. It appears the PDP bubble is about to burst.

     Back in the days, the PDP was the party to beat. It was a party in charge of its structures and machinery at the federal and state levels. It was a party that was disciplined and entrenched. But complacency, greed, intoxication of the power of incumbency, and the slow but sure incursion of political jobbers and pretenders were the combined monsters that are consuming the party. Yet at this critical point of its existence, the PDP is living in denial and waiting for a magic or miracle to bring it back to power.

    It is ironic that the PDP is a party whose leaders bragged that they would be in power for 60years. Alas! The PDP could only crawl to reach the 16-year milestone of holding the Presidency of Nigeria. 

    PDP Never Prepared for when they became an Opposition Party

    Furthermore, one of the critical failure factors for the PDP is that they took Nigeria and things for granted. The PDP is living in denial, because they never prepared for survival as an opposition political party, and when the time came for them to be an opposition party, like the APC and other legacy political parties had been for 16years while the PDP held sway, they just got lost. When reality hits the party, the leaders of the party are not wired or prepared to unite, adapt, re-strategize, and collectively work to regain control and leadership of the party and Nigeria.  

    Indeed, any political party that wants to exist for long, must be prepared to be united, proactive, consistent, consolidated, financially capable, and effective, for instance, in the United States of America, power shifts between the Republican and Democratic political parties. In the United Kingdom, power shifts are between the Conservative Party and the Labor Party.

    Interestingly, the PDP will conduct its national convention in the next one month even though a group within the party is in Court in a bid to stop the Convention. The months ahead are crucial for the PDP.

  • Critical notes on Dangote versus PENGASSAN, others

    Critical notes on Dangote versus PENGASSAN, others

    “Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.” … Sun Tzu – A Chinese Military General, Strategist, Philosopher, and Writer

    Like every other Nigerian, I have been keenly watching the friction between NUPENG and PENGASSAN against Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which is threatening Nigeria’s economy.  I am glad that the National Security Adviser (NSA) to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and his team have intervened, which has resulted in a resolution in the interim. I commend the NSA for his strategic thinking and emotional intelligence in averting a strike action that would have crippled the economy at such a very sensitive time in our Country.

     I am also contributing as a friend of Nigeria’s organized labor unions (to which NUPENG and PENGASSAN belong), based on my experience and antecedents of fostering industrial harmony between institutions and Unions. For instance, about eight (8) years ago, as the Group Chief Strategy Officer of a publicly quoted company in Nigeria, I was instrumental in ensuring the protection of the welfare and well-being of workers in one of the most sensitive and highly unionized sectors in Nigeria – the Aviation sector. I was instrumental in influencing and facilitating, amongst other things, the biggest single staff promotion exercise across all cadres in the history of aviation in Nigeria, where almost 900 staff were promoted at the same time in one Company in the sector – the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc; with no rancor, outcry, or dissent. This averted a major strike action that could have crippled Nigeria’s aviation sector, with a domino effect on the nation’s economy. I was able to achieve this feat by working with the two main Staff Unions of the Sector. I also had to convince the Board of Directors while brokering the peace deal between the Board and the Unions. A feat that earned me documented commendations from the Board of Directors of the Company, the staff of the company, and also from the Workers’ Unions leadership.

    Balancing Agitation of Workers’ Rights and Circumspection for Economic Stability

    I believe that the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) and its umbrella bodies, or organized labor, are critical stakeholders and veritable levers that should keep the government and private sector organizations in check, hold governments to account, and provide constructive engagements and counter-balance in ensuring the delivery of good governance in Nigeria. Therefore, I regard Unions as positive contributors and not antagonists. 

    However, I believe that organized Labor should be the voice of Nigerian workers in line with the principles of collective bargaining and the overall welfare of the entire Nigerian workforce while supporting the government to deliver its mandate. Therefore, I am of the view that the Unions should not be opposed to the government or private sector growth and development, but they are critical stakeholders in socio-economic development in Nigeria.  

    Accordingly, in my opinion, leaders of some of the organized labor Unions have been perhaps overplaying their hands. And the drawback of overplaying an advantage is that it is highly likely that you could lose focus, advantage, supporters, and ultimately, miss your key strategic objectives and fail to make the desired impacts. If the leadership of the organized labor loses focus and becomes highly political or distracted, they could personalize the struggle. If so, some of the workers (in public and private sectors), the generality of Nigerians, and other critical stakeholders will start questioning the rationale and actual objectives of the leadership of the Unions. Consequently, the Unions could most likely lose their strategic positioning. It may seem far-fetched, but the highly operational, antagonistic and sometimes allegedly transactional method of activism currently used by the Unions will ultimately make the them to lose their footing, their guard, relevance, and respect – slowly initially, and if not contained, this could lead to conflict of principles and objectives with negative consequences on the Union leadership structures and Unionism sustainability. 

    Importantly, with the call-off of the planned strike by NUPENG and PENGASSAN, it is time to review the situation that led to the imbroglio with the intent to fashion a proactive “win-win” way forward rather than being reactive. The focus should not be only on the short-term impacts but also on the mid-to-long-term impacts.

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    The only way for the Unions to win this battle is to review their strategies, face realities, and craft a “strategy of adaptation, value-addition, and sustainability” rather than a “strategy of pushbacks.” Because indeed, change has come, and they must adapt to that change or life will go on without them. 

    Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has changed the game of the mid and downstream oil and gas sector in Nigeria with the Dangote Refinery, and he is riding on the momentum. Hence, Nigerians will not allow a few vested interests, whether as Union members or as players in the industry, to draw us back into the relic of the past. The days of cheap blackmail and antics of self-service. The reality is that the laws of demand and supply are at play, and the law of reality is at play with regard to the oil sector and other sectors of Nigeria’s economy. 

    Meanwhile, the infighting within some Unions also highly suggests that the agitations of some Union leaders are not about the workers or people of Nigeria, but about their parochial interests. 

    Based on the foregoing, I urge the Union leaders to be more circumspect and strategic, going forward. There is no doubt that the organized labor unions are critical stakeholders in Nigeria. Therefore, strategic thinking, planning, and execution are key to the successful delivery of their mandates in the interest of the workers of Nigeria and indeed for the general good of all Nigerians. I do not envy the current position of the leaders of organized labor in Nigeria and the circumstances they have found themselves in. That is why it is important that they remain focused on the big picture objectives and not be distracted by mundane issues that may come up, or those that they deliberately or inadvertently create. 

    That is why there is a need for organized labor in Nigeria to re-strategize and re-position, otherwise they may push their luck too far, which may derail the train of the struggle and leave Nigerian workers at the losing end. I honestly hope that this will not happen. Because, in Nigeria, we really need a vibrant, strategic, and forward-thinking organized labor Union at this critical time in our Country. The NLC is a veritable counterbalance that we need, which should ensure good governance in Nigeria.  

    The Need To Have More Industrialists Like Alhaji Aliko Dangote In Nigeria

    Like other well-meaning Nigerians, I have been promoting the Dangote Refinery project over time, recognizing the input he has made to Nigeria’s economy, and recognizing the reality of supporting Dangote Refinery to succeed as a critical component of our economic recovery. Indeed, it is worthy of note that Aliko Dangote has become an institution and has built a behemoth of a conglomerate of institutions in various sectors, not just in Nigeria but across Africa. 

    However, in my opinion, as a food for thought for all Nigerians, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has become a “key one-man risk” for Nigeria’s economy. If this strength/ risk scenario is not properly managed, the situation may backfire on Nigeria in the mid to long term. This is because, from a strategic perspective, an individual who has become so rich and powerful, across various sectors, with no veritable competitors/ competition, or fallback options for a Country like Nigeria, is a paradox of being a “Strength” as well as a potential “Weakness/ Risk”, for the Country. 

    Therefore, there is need for leadership at the highest level of this country, to as a matter of national priority, support the emergence of more industrialists the like Alhaji Aliko Dangote to emerge across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria i.e; Southwest, Southeast, Northwest, Northeast, North Central, South-South; for the development and sustainability of Nigeria’s economy, because sustainability is key. Otherwise, some potential implications in the mid to long term are that the Dangote Refinery will most likely become what we are running away from, which is monopoly and exploitation, because absolute power is what we are giving Aliko Dangote, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In addition, if God Forbid”, anything goes wrong with Dangote, Nigeria does not have fallback options. This is a high risk that should be mitigated. Of course, with the likes of BUA Refinery, etc., coming up, there will be options and competition in the midterm. But there should be a national institutional strategic framework to build more capacity for the long term across all sectors.

    Therefore, it is also important that we don’t support to the silencing or stifling of NUPENG, PENGASSAN, or NLC, but that we should insist that organized labor Unions should step up, and do the needful in line with tenets of their mandate in the actual overall interest of workers and Nigerians and Nigeria’s political, social, and economic development and sustainability. 

    Meanwhile, constructive engagements should continue for a better Nigeria – nothing more, nothing less.

  • Food for thought for Northern Nigeria

    Food for thought for Northern Nigeria

    “Woe betide a society whereby their dead leaders are better than their leaders that are alive” … Dr. Yusuf Maitama Sule CFR, the Late Dan Masanin Kano, and Former Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations

    For the record, I am from Northern Nigeria, a Muslim, and a patriot of Nigeria. I am currently not a member of any political party. However, I am worried that our narratives and posturing as northerners will not change our collective situation for good unless we tell ourselves the truth and take the necessary actions.

     By the way, while I am talking about northern Nigeria, the people from other regions in Nigeria should also take my message as a mirror for their regions, so that they can also make progress. Because we all have similar tendencies.

     The Crux of the Issues.

    It is proper and very important for interest groups of northern Nigeria, like other regional, ethnic, and religious groups in Nigeria, to continue advocating for good governance and pushing for more equitable leadership and representation at the federal level, while keeping the fee of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to fire.  

     However, in my view, the issues bedeviling northern Nigeria and the actual solutions will depend on how we, the northern elites and establishment, view the issues, our sincerity of purpose, and the actions that we take to address them. The root causes of most of the challenges facing Northern Nigeria are more regional and local than federal. Therefore, we must refocus, expand our vision, and change our mindsets if there is to be any hope of redemption, growth, and development. 

    Living in denial and blaming trade will only complicate and exacerbate our situations. The combined ticking time bombs of tribalism, ethnic jingoism, religious extremism, religious bigotry, hypocrisy, poverty, jealousy and envy, greed, hatred, erosion of our core values, corruption, etc., are part of the multi-dimensional issues that we must address as our realities. Indeed, we must also accept that the issues are mostly self-inflicted, either deliberately or inadvertently.

    Consequently, political grandstanding and gaslighting will not help us but only make our matters worse. The population growth rate of northern Nigeria, the preponderance of out-of-school children, rising unemployment, youth restiveness, rising social vices, insecurity, etc., in northern Nigeria reflect our dire situation, which calls for sincere and sober reflections. Without decisive actions to contain the ugly trends rather than blaming trade, we will be doomed.

     Some questions for all of us who are Nigerians from the northern region are as follows:

    Having produced the highest number of Presidents and Heads of State in Nigeria, and having been key stakeholders in the political evolution of this country, how many banks are owned by northern Nigerians? How many media houses are owned by northern Nigerians? How many manufacturing plants, or factories, are owned by northern Nigerians, apart from Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Alhaji Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu, and a few others? How many industries or factories in Nigeria are operated or managed by northern Nigerians? How many of the former State Governors of northern Nigeria have even a “pure water” factory where they have employed 10 people? How many of all former State governors of northern Nigeria, former and serving Senators, and Members of the House of Representatives are actually employing people or that actually have scholarship programs/systems whereby they are supporting children from their constituencies, with their own money, or the money they have taken from us? How many of us own or are managing (at top level) the insurance companies, and other private financial institutions, corporate organizations, apart from the Non-Executive Directorships that we are occasionally given, to give a semblance of national outlook for Companies that are owned majorly by southern Nigerians in which we have no real stake, etc.? These are the critical indicators that will tell us whether we are moving in the right direction or not. Today, most of the masses in northern Nigeria are “on their own”, with no help from the elites.

     Most times, we, the elites, only speak out loudly when it comes to issues that directly affect us or our children, but not really for the common good. How did we allow our region to slide into the abyss of over 80 million out of over 133 million multi-dimensionally poor Nigerians? Are these issues entirely the fault of a President, i.e., President Olusegun Obasanjo, President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, President Goodluck Jonathan, President Muhammadu Buhari, or the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu? Why do we have to shout all the time about issues that we are also responsible for? For example, we have a situation whereby a former northern State governor, who was a governor maybe 15 years ago, has become a glorified personal assistant to a current state governor. This speaks volumes to how we are making progress as northern Nigerians, or as Nigeria in general, because, by the way, this is not just a northern Nigeria issue.

     Certainly, if we are able to speak truths to ourselves, we may start moving in the right direction. Most of our leaders block their ears, close their eyes when they are in power, whether as Presidents, Vice Presidents, State Governors, Deputy Governors, Federal and State legislators, Judges, Chief Executives, Civil Servants, etc., but they shamelessly become “latter-day activists” when they leave office, having failed to deliver good governance during their tenures. It is time that we, the people of Northern Nigeria, start calling out such leaders.

    For the past 65 years in Nigeria, from independence to date, in every administration, northern Nigerians have been given the opportunity to lead or to serve. Whether the number is enough or not is not the issue. Recently, the late President Muhammadu Buhari was the President for eight years. How did our northern leaders, who were given the opportunities, perform? How did they change the fortunes of northern Nigeria within those eight years? Not long ago, during the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan, most of the top government officials who were found blameful or responsible for the diversion of the funds that were appropriated and disbursed for the procurement of weapons to fight terrorism were from Northern Nigeria. They were found to be in cahoots with misappropriating money that was meant to save/ protect their people, other Nigerians, and residents from being looted, kidnapped, raped, maimed, and killed daily in thousands. What This is the height of wickedness! Shame! What did the northern elders, elites, or citizens do, or what are they doing to stop these menaces and evil tendencies of self-service?

     Currently, the two Ministers of Defense, two Ministers of Agriculture, the Coordinating Minister of Health, Minister of Information, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Transport, the National Security Adviser, etc., are from northern Nigeria. It does not matter what political party is in power at the federal level; we always have a significant share of power and the highest number of representatives in the power dynamics of Nigeria.  Therefore, what should matter is how we perform and how we utilize the opportunities.

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    Self-Service OR Sincere Agitation?

    For instance, months into the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there was agitation by the Northern elites that there was a plan by the administration to sack northerners from CBN, etc., when 70% of the children in the CBN are our children, i.e., children of the elites. What about the children of Shoe shiners or peasant farmers, etc? Are we addressing the issues of almost 70% of our public primary and secondary schools that are dilapidated, with our children that sit on bare floors, in open areas? How about the teeming Almajiris that we maltreat? Is that the responsibility of the federal government? We all know that the State governments are primarily responsible for primary and secondary schools’ education, and yet we have over 10 million children and youngsters out of school. How are we, the elites, also speaking truth to our state governors to ensure that they do the needful? So, these are the posers for us to address as Northern Nigerians.

     Moreover, 70% of the leaders from North and indeed from Southern Nigeria came from humble backgrounds. But most of them forget where they come from, only when they need their votes. The fact is that about 60 or 50 years ago, they were given opportunities by leaders like Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, etc., and yet most of them have abandoned their people. Most of them were like the Almajiris of today, and yet they were given those opportunities to excel and become leaders in their Country.  Now, all they think of is themselves and their children. Yet here we are blaming all our woes on any President who is in power.

    Therefore, I urge our political, religious, traditional leaders, top leaders, intellectuals, and the entire elites to have a moment of introspection.

    In the subsequent episode, I will continue expounding on the issues bedeviling northern Nigeria and how I think we should best address them.

  • Not by desperation

    Not by desperation

    “Are they (the umbelievers) claiming the possession of the right to distribute the bounties of your Lord? It is ‘We’ (Allah) that distribute among people their sources of livelihood in this world and ‘We’ exalt some in rank above others so that some may employ the services of others. Your Lord’s mercy is better by far than all their hoarded treasures”. Q. 43: 32

    Preamble

    History is resplendent with lessons for people whose steps in life are in tandem or not with Allah’s guidance. There is no life’s odyssey without a divine warning. Heeding or shunning such a warning is however a matter of choice. And the consequences or otherwise of such a choice will eventually become the heritage of the concerned person.

    We live in a world, today, that is quite different from that of the centuries past when the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW). But surprisingly, nothing in the contemporary world has run counter to the predictions of that sacred Book or those of the last Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

    For instance, business transactions in the time of the Prophet might not involve high technology or the sophistication of transport as of today but the norms which guided business in those days are still as vital today as they were then. Not even the introduction of mundane ideologies like capitalism, socialism, and communism has altered those norms. So far, the source of the wealth of the world has not changed from what it was in the past millennia. That source is the earth from which every atom of wealth emanates. Even the materials used to manufacture satellites or space shuttle aircraft are from the earth.

    Thus, from agriculture to nuclear device, no new norm has been introduced to warrant any new world order that can affect the faith of the Muslims. As a matter of fact, the world has witnessed the collapse of communism and that of socialism within a period of 74 years despite their overbearing influence when they held sway. It is just a matter of time for the current pervading capitalism to go the way of socialism and communism.

    Economic ideology

    An unlettered personality like Prophet Muhammad (SAW) did not need to formulate any mundane economic ideology to run a great Islamic government. He was not just a political leader but also an economic expert, a great law giver and an army general of impeccable status.

    Without necessarily going into details on how he managed the economy of the Islamic state which he established and ruled from the scratch, it is obvious that even his ascension to the seven planets which paved way for modern man’s exploration of the space is of immense economic value to the contemporary world which no sensible critic can logically dispute. Although the Quran which was revealed to an unlettered Muhammad (SAW) is seen by some ignorant people as a mere religious Book, the economic value of that Book has remained unquantifiable and will remain so forever. The fast-spreading Islamic banking in the West today is a clear evidence of that fact.

    Being the most read book in the world, the Quran has been translated into hundreds of languages making it possible for millions of people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to be employed at the various segments of the world’s economy. For instance, the writing of the Qur’an, its recitation, its proof-reading, its printing, its marketing, its teaching, its translation, its interpretation and even its criticism by unbelievers are all sources of economic survival for millions of people in the world irrespective of their religions. The global engagement in research on that glorious Book by various scholars and intellectuals either for acknowledgement of facts or for criticism are an attestation to the above assertion. There was no book like the Qur’an before its revelation and there will never be a book like it till the world will come to an end. The mounting hostility to it in certain quaters is largely due to ignorance about it. But that cannot continue forever.

    Islam as employer of labour

    If only one quarter of a billion people is gainfully employed in the workings of the Quran alone, today’s world economy would have been remarkably upheld by the religion of Islam. Yet, apart from the Qur’an, millions of people are engaged in various businesses relating to Hadith (Prophetic Tradition), Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), Tarikh (Islamic History), Tawhid (Faith in the oneness of Allah) and Thaqafah (Islamic Culture) among others. All such specialized books which emanated from the Qur’an itself were advanced to compliment the sacred Book of Allah.

    Even, for hundreds of years that the Orientalists were busy citicising Islam through their satanic publications, it was undeniable that those destroyers were benefiting from the economic legacy of that divine religion through the sale of their evil publications.

    Today, even as the same Orientalists are busy reversing themselves on what they had maliciously published about Islam in the past they are still benefiting economically from that great religion.

    However, despite the vast economic advantages provided by Islam, some unscrupulous Muslims including Nigerians still engage in illegal businesses that contravene the tenets of that divine religion. Some of such Muslims are among the thousands of Nigerians who are now languishing in various prisons around the world. Some others are even sentenced to death, by various means, as punishment for their crimes. Incidentally, some of such people often commit their atrocities under the cover of Islam. This happened even during the time Hajj rites.

    This reminds yours sincerely of a fortuitous encounter with one of them as far back as 1981 which keeps my heart quivered even today. I had once relayed that ugly encounter in this column through an article entitled ‘Business made in Prison’. But I decided to repeat it here today because it was an experience from which young Nigerian Muslim men and women of today can draw a lesson from.

    Illicit act

    A Nigerian youth of about 30 years of age called Akram (not real name) did not have anything like poultry in his dream when he was going into Saudi Arabian prison as a convict in 1981. His only prayer was for Allah to influence the minds of the Saudi Authorities to have mercy for him and grant him amnesty after two or three years in prison. His service term was 15 years. He had earned the sentence through drug trafficking engendered by blind ambition to be quickly rich by all means.

    Akram is a quiet, easy-going young man from one of the Southwest Nigerian cities. He graduated from the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia. I first met him in 1978 when I went for a first degree in that country. His University was in Madinah while mine was in Jeddah. He left Saudi Arabia after graduating in 1980 and settled down in Nigeria following a one year compulsory national service to the nation. In his plan, Akram did not want to work for anybody. His ambition was to be a big merchant of automobile and electronics. However, since there was no ready-made capital with which to start off such a business, he decided to take a short cut, typical of Nigerian style and he found Saudi Arabia, the country that funded his University education, as most suitable for such a dirty business. Thus, he embarked on his first illicit ‘business trip’ to the country of his Alma Mata in 1981.

    It was on my way back to school from a summer holiday of the same year that I met him at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. After embracing and exchanging pleasantries, we decided to sit together in the aircraft (of the then Nigerian Airways) in order to have a chat on the good old days and our expected future. Thus, from Lagos to Jeddah (a journey of five and a half hours), we really chatted to our fill.  Then It was as if we had not spent one hour when we arrived at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah after five and a half hours.

    Youthful dream

    As bachelors, we discussed various issues ranging from marriage, bearing of children to monogamy and polygamy as well as family structure. We gossiped on the political trend in our country as championed by the then ruling party, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). We compared Nigeria’s pace of development with that of Saudi Arabia and concluded that our government had neither focus nor plan a situation which made Nigerian youths abroad feel like orphans.

    We also talked about world peace, the then cold war between the Western Capitalist World championed by the United States and the Eastern Socialist Block championed by the now defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) and the future of Islam in Africa and the Middle East. We analysed the Middle East crises and the role of the two opposing world powers in those crises. We also veered into Nigeria’s micro economy by discussing the role of small and middle scale businesses in our country compared to those of other countries with similar status like Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Singapore, India, Pakistan and Egypt.

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    Without gazing through any crystal ball, we concluded that with no middle class in place, our country might have no hope except through an accidental miracle. We also reviewed the use to which Nigerian oil was put vis-a-vis that of Saudi Arabia, Libya or Algeria. On this, we concluded that oil in Nigeria was a blessing from Allah which the country’s ruling class turned into a curse. But we were not experienced enough to suggest tangible solution.

    Thus, in that long conversation which touched virtually all issues affecting the corporate life of Nigeria and her citizens, we agreed on some and disagreed on some. However, we were satisfied to have delivered our minds of their pregnancies if only to broaden our horizon.

    Point of departure

    On arrival at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, my friend quickly dashed into the toilet and requested me to help push his baggage to the security desk for checking. He promised to join me shortly. It was almost my turn for security check before an instinct gingered me into consciousness. For more than 30 minutes after he entrusted his baggage to me and went into the toilet, my friend did not resurface. Something just told me to abandon his baggage as I was approaching the checking desk and I did. My own baggage was checked and I went out of the arrival hall to wait for him at the taxi garage. After about one hour of waiting and Akram did not surface, I decided to proceed to my hostel where he was to pass the night in my room as we had earlier agreed.

    Breaking News

    While I was still expecting him in my hostel, the electronic waves throbbed with breaking news. The Saudi Television reported the arrest of a Nigerian who smuggled drugs into the holy land. His name was ‘Akram’. That was at 9pm Saudi local time. We had arrived in Jeddah at about 9.00am that day. About one hour after the breaking news, my friend was brought to the gleer of the nation through the tube and paraded on the Saudi national television as the suspected culprit in the illicit drug trafficking. That was one of the most frightening moments of my life. Akram wanted to be rich and I was to pay the cost of his richness.

    Rumination

    What would have happened if I had not heeded the warning of my instinct? Who could have imagined that a seeming gentleman like ‘Akram’ would ever think of trafficking in drug for whatever reason? If I had been caught with Akram’s baggage, what explanation could have exonerated me? Those were some of the questions that immediately ran through me like milk runs through water and changed my mind about sentimental friendship with people, no matter how innocent they might look. There and then, I decided never to assist anybody again in carrying his or her baggage while on a journey.

    After about three months of trial, Akram was sentenced to fifteen years in jail. He was lucky that drug trafficking at that time in Saudi Arabia had not attracted death as punishment. If it were now, the punishment would have been death sentence by beheading. I was also lucky that at that time the Saudi immigration authorities had not adopted the use of secret camera to monitor passengers.

    Prison for reformation

    For 15 years thereafter (from 1981 to 1996), Akram remained behind bars languishing in Saudi Arabian prison as an inmate among criminals as he anxiously expected to be let off the hook one day. But one good thing about Saudi Arabia as a country or any other Islamic country for that matter is the concept of reformation which imprisonment entails. Inmates are not just imprisoned as punishment for crimes they are also prepared for a better post-prison life and re-orientated for better world outlook.

    Besides, prisoners are paid a specific amount of money daily for their labour in prison. And that gives them hope of reintegration into the society after leaving the prison. Such money is kept in a special bank account opened for them. The total amount is paid to each inmate after his or her prison term.

    Thus, when Akram left the prison in 1996, the post-prison money paid to him by Saudi government became his main lot in life. He was deported to Nigeria but not without that prison labour reward that became his capital for a poultry business. Thus, within a couple of years thereafter, he had become a big poultry farmer but whether or not he learnt any lesson from that incident is another matter.

    Qur’anic admonition

    Most of the young men and women of today do not seem to believe in crawling before walking. To them, what matters most in their lives is how to quickly get money to spend and not how such money is made. That is the main cause of the high rate of crimes witnessed around the world today and the entailed short life span for those youths. In Qur’an, Chapter 43, Verse 32 quoted above, Allah had warned Muslims against desperate accumulation of wealth over 1,400 years ago even when desperate quest for wealth was unfashionable. However, the refusal by today’s youths to heed that warning and the aggressive greed of the privileged elders in power constitute the main cause of restiveness and insurrection around the world today.

    In Islam, desperation for accumulation of wealth is prohibited because it encourages a focus on the end result rather than the means and its entailed immorality. In the past decades, Nigeria had sunk so deep into the valley of corruption that no one cared to ask about the source of any wealth even as corruption became the taproot of Nigeria’s tree of existence. Now, with parents, teachers and even legislators getting so desperate to become rich even right before their pupils and children what future is expected for those wards?

    Parochial wealth estimation

    Desperation is not what fetched Nigeria the enormous oil wealth of today. If desperation ever had any role to play in accumulating wealth, perhaps Nigeria would have long become a country in penury. This is because people who were more desperate in this same country and had lived and died some centuries back would have discovered this oil wealth and they would have exhausted it long before our own generation. But in consonance with the above quoted Qur’anic verse, Allah deliberately preserved it (oil) for our own generation for a reason best known to Him. Yes, oil may be the source of wealth at this time it is surely not the last source of wealth in this country.

    There are other sources of wealth preserved for the future generations which no desperate ‘awks’ in this generation can discover. Those who see oil as the climax of wealth and want to own its control or die for it should engage in a rethink. You can only have the privilege of presiding over the wealth of a nation for a while and not for all time. The experience of some past regimes in Nigeria should serve as a sufficient lesson. And those in government today should also note this very well. The privilege of the past did not extend to the present and that of the present will not extend to the future. Every era is a transit. And every transit has a term.

  • Notes on Constitution review

    Notes on Constitution review

    Prelude to the resumption of the 10th National Assembly from their mid-year recess, the ongoing amendment of the 1999 Constitution is expected to be a top priority, as stated by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio GCON, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas GCON. Meanwhile, during the recess, some ad hoc committees of both chambers of the National Assembly have been actively undertaking consultations with various stakeholders, while public hearings on some of the Bills are already underway. It is also worthy of note that both the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on the Constitution Amendment have created inclusive platforms that engage citizens, civil society, political parties, professional groups, and traditional institutions in the amendment process.

    Therefore, as citizens, we have the opportunity of ensuring that the amendments like the State Police, devolution of powers, Local Government Autonomy, etc, are well thought-out, articulated, debated, and legislated.

    Meanwhile, it is a consensus in Nigeria that we are not happy with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is because it was not created with the inputs and acceptance of the majority of Nigerians, which is not in line with what is stated in the opening statement of the 1999 Constitution, that “WE the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: … HAVING firmly and solemnly resolved:”. However, if citizens do not engage, debate and ensure that their representatives at the National and State Assemblies include what they consider the critical issues to be part of the amendment of the Constitution, it means that we have abdicated our responsibilities for the political class to continue doing as they wish which in most cases may not be in the best interest of the citizens of Nigeria. We will also lose the moral right to challenge “faulty” or “unfair” provisions if they are added to, or not removed from, the Constitution.

    Indeed, some well-meaning Nigerians, including the group of eminent Nigerians – the Patriots, led by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, are of the opinion that there is a need to overhaul the 1999 Constitution, as part of a much-needed wider and deeper political, structural, and systemic reform for a more united, progressive, and better Nigeria.

     Another school of thought is of the opinion that it will be more prudent, expedient, and efficient to harmonize the recommendations of the late Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) of 2008, and the recommendations of the late Justice Idris Lebo Kutigi-led 2014 National Conference. 

     What is important from all the discussions going on in this matter is if we truly love Nigeria, then we should agree that the overhaul of our constitution is a critical success factor to the progress and development of Nigeria.

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    I believe that the amendment of a constitution is NOT a destination, but a process and journey to the “ideal” or “desired” political and socio-economic destinations of a nation, a country or society. But I also agree that the “peace meal” annual ritual of “amendment of the 1999 Constitution is reducing the importance of fundamental amendments to the Constitution and may deny Nigerians the opportunity for a robust overhaul of the Constitution.

    Therefore, because we already have an entrenched Legislature, i.e., National Assembly and State Assemblies, whose members are elected to represent all the peoples and regions of Nigeria, it will be somewhat complicated to create a parallel body with quasi-legislative powers to amend the constitution. In my view, what will be more proper, prudent, expedient, and efficient is that the elites of this country, including groups like “The Patriots”, engage the respective members of their constituencies, collectively and individually, to ensure that the key and relevant recommendations from the Justice Uwais Committee and the Justice Kutigi Conference recommendations are presented/sponsored for legislation. Indeed, the wider objectives of Patriots remain relevant and germane to our political evolution in Nigeria.

    Let us be part of the process

    The political landscape is broadening, and the political consciousness of Nigerians has heightened over time, with citizens demanding good governance and increasingly knowing the power of their votes and other fundamental rights. 

     Therefore, it is against the background of the aforementioned developments that I find it necessary to speak to all well-meaning Nigerians, particularly the elites, on the importance of citizens participation in the legislative process as a crucial value-addition to the enactment of sound, far-reaching, practical, relevant and impactful amendment of the Nigerian Constitution that will further unify Nigeria and ensure delivery of good governance. By “elites”, I mean the middle-class citizens, who are mostly educated, gainfully employed, and part of the governance and leadership structure of Nigeria in the Civil Service, Public Service, and Private sectors. We are mostly employees or employers of labour as professionals, businessmen/women, entrepreneurs, academics, craftsmen, etc, within the organized and informal sectors.

    In my opinion, 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 the outcome of a process which includes the citizens not just making demands, but actually setting the parameters/ standards of the kind of leadership and the accountability and performance framework that we want, based on which we will measure leaders at all levels and hold them accountable.

    We must not leave the entire thought processes and actions of legislation to politicians who, in most cases, do not consult their constituents but rather push their agendas to the detriment of the people. If these continue to happen, we should all have ourselves to blame, and importantly, we will actually continue to live the brutal consequences of not paying attention and participating in our political process, or die as a result.

     As citizens, we should also be very aware and fully engage in sectoral reform legislation to ensure that our individual and collective skills, competencies, and capacities add value to the process so that our various areas of profession or interest are supported for our collective good as a people and as a Country. I believe that active and more robust stakeholders engagements and citizens participation will not only strengthen our democracy but, more importantly, it will ensure good governance and consistent delivery of the dividends of democracy in all sectors and strata of our Country.

     We should please note that not participating in the political process is also a vote of confidence on the status quo. And if we do not 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. Hence, I urge us to actively and consistently engage the leadership of this country at the national and sub-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.

     Meanwhile, I recognize and commend the efforts of a few elites who have ventured to speak truth to power in trying to put the Government on its toes, those efforts are impressive and highly commendable. But to demonstrate sincerity of purpose, we should remain consistent. We have a lot of work to do in order to make Nigeria great. 

    Other points to note

    I humbly submit an action plan to guide our thoughts and conversations:

    •Going forward, we should Mainstream group discussions by articulation, lobby, advocacy, participating in public hearings, and submitting papers to relevant arms, and institutions of government at state and sub national levels

    •Leverage technology and social media to raise awareness and galvanise support for very crucial provisions to be made or included in the constitution amendment. All these can be done in an organized manner. WhatsApp groups, other conventional community interest groups, and societies could articulate and refine their thoughts and positions on  the various topics of review and submit them as proposals to the respective Constitution amendment Committees, and also fully participate in the legislation process through follow-ups and performance reviews. 

    •These engagements should not stop only with the Amendment of the Constitution, but to also include other subsequent legislations to introduce new Acts/ laws or for the review of existing laws.

    •We should also please note that the “process” is the most important part of our political evolution. Because the process will determine the quality of the outcome and its impacts.

     I will leave us with a food for thought to reflect on: The achievement of the national growth and development that we dream of will continue to elude us, until we all actively participate in the political process of the evolution of Nigeria.

  • Footprints

    Footprints

    Preamble

    “I shall pass through this world but once; If, therefore, there is any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being; Let me do it now; Let me not defer or neglect it for I may not pass this way again”

     The concept of the above quotation tallies perfectly with Islamic philosophy of welfare management. It has been adopted by some humanitarians as a guiding principle of life. It serves as an irrigation nourishing the seed of kind-heartedness and philanthropy imbibed by some people. It is a summary of the real essence of wealth in the hands of a few as against abject poverty overwhelming the majority of people.

    Life is like a circle which rotates around a permanent axis. Whatever goes forth comes back. Whatever goes up comes down. The sun rises in the East and travels to set in the West. It comes back the following day to repeat the same journey without losing its track. Seasons exchange batons on a quarterly basis. Spring, autumn, winter and summer, all come at their right time without one taking the place of another.

    Children come into the world daily and grow up to become adults with time. Parents rear their children the way they themselves had been reared so that the circle of life may continue after their demise. We sleep and wake and eat and defecate daily until we are stopped by the supreme force that fixes and schedules everything. And our successors proceed from where we stop if only to keep the circle of life in continuity.

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    Human beings are like cash crops. They germinate into embryo from spermatozoa, transform biologically from stage to stage until they blossom into youthful adolescents and grow up into productive men and women just like fruitful trees. And then they begin to grey as an indication that they are starting to wither away like trees which leaves are turning into red. By the time the icy hands of death come to pluck them like ripe fruits, their transit visa in this ephemeral world would have expired. But their journey from the unknown continues into the unknown until they are summoned by their Creator to give the account of that journey.

    No man comes into the world without a mission. The mission may be positive or negative. But what is common to all is a place in history which may serve as an encouragement or a guide or a warning to the coming generations.

    In man’s initial journey into the world, the soul is firmly in harmony with the flesh. Both work in tandem physically and spiritually. At that stage, a spade is always seen and called a spade. And that is why children are said to be innocent. But after some time, the flesh outgrows the soul and becomes like a mossy stone eagerly wishing to crush the fragile lily that the soul represents.

    At that stage, Satan begins to assemble his destructive tools with which to rework or dismantle man’s engine of life to suit his own mission. No one drives a car without an engine. But when the engine is removed from the car, the body becomes disabled. So is the case with the corpse of man after the exit of the soul. But blessed are those who do not nourish the flesh at the expense of the soul.  

     Alhaji (Chief) Dr. Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, the Baba Adini of Nigeria, was a man of flesh and soul. He combined both temporally and spiritually to the benefit of mankind while alive courting the milk of kindness with which he suckled the indigent multitudes around. He had realized early enough in his youthful days that life was worthless for anybody who passes through it without leaving a footprint on the sands of time. He therefore decided, despite his humble background, to live for his fellow human beings as much as he lived for himself. As a Muslim, he had read or heard the stories of some great men in Islamic history whose wealth was dedicated to humanitarianism. He therefore prayed Allah to grant him wealth promising to use such wealth for the cause of Islam and humanity if granted.

    Alhaji Folawiyo had particularly studied and admired the lifestyle of Abdur-Rahman bn ‘Awf, a companion of Prophet Muhammad who was stupendously rich but marvellously humble.

    Abdur-Rahman deployed his entire wealth to the course of Islam and the welfare of mankind to the admiration and blessing of Prophet Muhammad. When he was frightened by the rate at which his wealth was expanding and became afraid of his hereafter knowing very well that the rich might encounter huddles on their way to paradise, he asked the Prophet to pray for a drastic reversal of that wealth. But rather than doing that the Prophet prayed Allah to increase it and not to let Abdur-Rahman account for his wealth in the hereafter. Thus he became the wealthiest Arab of the Prophet’s time and the greatest philanthropist of that era. Yet he was so humble that most of the beneficiaries of his kind largesse never knew the man behind it.

    Conscious that the wealth entrusted to him by Allah could have been in the custody of another person, Abdur-Rahman vowed to utilize it responsibly if only to curry the favour of his Creator and Sustainer. He often expressed to whoever was ready to listen that the wealth in his possession was not for him but for others believing that he only held it in trust for the poor and the needy.

    Abdur-Rahman was not a soldier but he singularly financed several Islamic wars. He was not a king but bought many slaves into freedom even as he used his wealth to employ many people who would have been frustrated by joblessness. He cared for many widows and orphans, rescued many debtors from bondage and saved many marriages from crumbling. As one of the very few people to have been lettered in Arabia even before Islam, Abdur-Rahman strongly supported education financially and encouraged women to seek knowledge.

    To Baba Adini of Nigeria, Abdur-Rahman Bn ‘Awf, was a unique model especially for the Muslim aristocrats of the modern world to emulate. He therefore adopted a similar lifestyle and spent his wealth in the way of Allah. When the old Lagos Central Mosque became ramshackle and unbefitting to the State of Excellence in the mid 1980s, he volunteered to singularly rebuild it in the manner his role model, Abdur-Rahman Bn ‘Awf, used to bear the cost of projects all alone in the time of the Prophet.

    At the time when the Nigerian currency (the naira) was very strong, Alhaji Folawiyo undertook the building of a new Mosque for Lagos at the cost of N40 million. That amount was very intimidating in the 1980s. It is like committing N40 billion to a Mosque project today. It takes a strong Islamic conviction for an individual to commit such a huge amount to the cause of Islam at once. But that was one of his many ways of thanking Allah for His inestimable bounties.

    The Mosque was not built for observance of Salat alone as generally known with most Mosques in Nigeria. Facilities for vocational training were provided therein for Muslim youths who were in need of such training. And some of those who completed their training courses were supplied with necessary tools with which to fend for themselves.

    Also provided was a study centre of Arabic and Islamic studies in that Mosque which was equipped with copies of the Qur’an and other Islamic books. Alhaji Folawiyo did not stop at that.

    Besides employing thousands of Nigerians in his conglomerate of businesses, irrespective of tribes and religions, he also had a private scholarship scheme for indigent students to benefit from. Some of such beneficiaries studied in various countries of the world. There were many other Muslims who benefited tremendously from his annual Hajj sponsorship programme. But what many people consider as his greatest achievement was the establishment of an orphanage home in Ikeja named Babu-s-Salam.

    His passionate commitment to that orphanage was a true reflection of his kind-heartedness in a world where wickedness has virtually become a culture. Some of the orphans who passed through that home are now graduates of various disciplines from various Universities.

    As a lover of education and Progress, Alhaji Folawiyo did not only build and site several conventional secondary schools in places where schools were needed, he also contributed superlatively to the structural growth and academic development of Lagos State University (LASU) and some other Universities in the country.

    As a Vise President of Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, he cooperated with other highly placed Muslims in the country to further the course of Islam nationally and continentally. All these he did quietly but diligently even he often shunned unnecessary propaganda through the media.

    When the chapter of his life’s odyssey was closed penultimate week, he, like others before him, became memorial words to be chronicled into history by those who were privileged to see him alive through the window of time. His philosophy has come to remind us that both the makers and the chroniclers of history will finally be returned into the womb of the mother earth. And observers of history will recall that these men or women have once passed through this world.

    This is neither a posthumous biography nor an elegy for a Muslim icon. It is rather an assessment of a life well spent which may serve as a good example for others who are still alive. One day, some people will take the trouble of writing about us just as we are now writing about others. Life is a circle. It must be allowed to run its full course without any hindrance. We are from Allah and we shall all return to Allah. May the soul of Alhaji Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, the Baba Adini of Nigeria be divinely reposed in eternal bliss. Amin.