The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • Hypocrisy of our expectations and the leadership question

    Hypocrisy of our expectations and the leadership question

    There are people within the leadership value chain that I call the “focal-point leaders”. Examples of focal point leaders include: The President, the Governors, the Chief Judge of the Federation, the Senate President, the Local Government Chairman, etc. These are leaders sitting at the top echelon of leadership, driving governance. But the focal point leaders can only drive effective, efficient, and impactful governance with the support of other leaders across the strata of leadership – vertical and horizontal, and those are the other critical leaders within the “leadership value chain”. If there is a failure within that leadership value chain, whereas the focal point leader may not have the leverage of the value chain to ensure/ enforce that which needs to be done, then that focal point leader will fail, no matter how intelligent, good-intentioned, or powerful he/ she is.

    I totally agree that; every administration must own its performance. People vigorously campaign for elections, promising milk and honey and all manner of things to citizens; especially with special reference to the 4th Republic, only for those politicians to turn around with excuses after winning the election, blaming their inability to perform on the previous administrations (at Federal and State levels). I also agree that going forward as citizens, we should not accept lame excuses from leaders that fail. But while we refuse to accept excuses from leaders who fail, we should also have the circumspection of recognizing that the rot did not start with the administration that is complaining. Indeed, the rot is longstanding. Therefore, we should have the introspection to manage the process of holding the leaders accountable to ensure that incumbent administrations at Federal and State levels, take the necessary steps to turn around the political and socioeconomic situation of the country. Of course, it should be without a doubt that continuously keeping leaders on their toes is what will ensure that politicians effectively deliver their mandates. Indeed, to whom much is given, much is expected.

    Furthermore, the optics of governance are also very crucial in managing the expectations of citizens. Therefore, It is very important that leaders within the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary Arms of government; at Federal and subnational levels must demonstrate quintessential and pragmatic leadership. They must show that they are part of the State or Country that they lead; or part of the problem they are trying to solve. Consequently, they, their families, and allies must also demonstrate in their actions that they are not living in a bubble. They should empathize with the people and show the citizenry that they are living with the people in practical reality and not in virtual reality. Only when leaders are quintessential, practical, and empathetic that there be the synergy of visions and objectives between the leaders and citizens. However, sometimes even when the focal point leader (for example the President or Governor) provides quintessential and pragmatic leadership; the Ministers, Commissioners, or other officials within the leadership value chain behave differently (or even sometime irresponsibly) without consequences; this situation presents different optics that are in parallel to what the focal leadership is saying or doing. This type of situation causes problems, especially when there are no consequences for people who misbehave within the leadership value chain. An example is when leaders, whether at the ministerial level or other levels, live lavishly as if we are not living with over 165 million Nigerians who are multidimensionally poor. Now, that is part of the bigger problem! I saw a video trending the other day wherein a known politician was displaying piled up stacks bundles of money (cash) arranged on a table in the midst of the multi-dimensional poverty that the majority of his constituents are facing, I am sure that thousands of them did not eat that day. This audacity of irresponsibility puts the government in a bad light and makes it difficult for citizens to believe or respect the government and its good and well-meaning leaders and officials.

    Conversely, the citizens have not really helped themselves or the leaders of the leadership process with our actions, inactions of hypocrisies. For example, when a President refuses to do a jamboree to share people’s free money, he becomes a bad man. When a Governor refuses to loot money to share around to he/she people, he becomes a bad man/ woman. So, a society that celebrates criminality with chieftaincy titles, and honorary doctorate degrees is not a society that is ready for change. It is also not a society that is ready to hire the right leaders, because the actions of the people are such a society will continue to promote corruption and criminality. A society where corrupt people are at once at the first line in the church, at the first line in the mosque, or at the high table of events, should not expect any positive change. This is because you cannot eat your cake and have it! A corrupt people will not allow a good leader to do the needful. Hence, how do you expect society to change for the better? How do you expect the recruitment process to be right when you, the people, are the ones celebrating the corrupt ones, whether as their parents, as their family, or as their society? Indeed, a lot of the religious leaders and the traditional leaders are also in cahoots, and they are part of the leadership value chain. But, as citizens, conveniently point our accusing fingers at the political leaders. The political leaders are part of the society, and unless we continue to refuse to partake in the ills they do, then we have lost the moral right to challenge what they do.

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    Therefore, dear Nigerians, we should start looking at things from a broader perspective, building up to the 2027 general elections to recognize that just deciding to choose any person as a leader does not make our problems go away. We should also know that we also have roles to play. First of all, what are our priorities? What are our values as individuals, as families, as communities, and as societies? Then we can take it up a notch higher to start addressing the recruitment process of our leaders, then move on to demand accountability and performance

    The Paradox of Corruption

    The biggest inhibitor of the delivery of good governance over the years in Nigeria is corruption which is as a result of the erosion of our values. This long-standing issue did not start from 1999 but indeed has been embedded in our societies for over 60 years – things have just been getting worse. To be able to address the issue of corruption, we need to dimension the issue of corruption and how deep it has pervaded Nigeria.

     Historical perspectives:

    •In 1947, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, wrote that “Corruption is the greatest defect of the Native Court system.” He complained that not only did judges take bribes, people used their connections to enrich themselves and avoid punishment for their crimes. Does that sound familiar?

     •In 1950, the late Sir Abubukar Tafawa, wrote that, “The twin curses of bribery and corruption pervade every rank and department of Government” … Does that also sound familiar?

     •I also gathered that in the 1950s, the word ‘awoof’ was already being used to describe how civil servants used their positions to enrich themselves.

     Therefore, from the above references, we can note that corruption is a long-standing issue in Nigeria. Even if the leaders at the top are good and capable, they cannot be able to force people within the leadership value chain to deliver, maybe by virtue of the system of governance or essentially due to what I call the “conspiracy of corruption.  Using the Civil Service as an instance; if the Civil Service is not in sync with the focal point leader, that leader is what I call an “entrapped leader”. Unless such a leader takes drastic steps, he/ she will be “restrained” by the conspiracy of the Establishment/ vested interests, which can trickle down to the society at large.

    In my humble view, the root cause of the national development problems in Nigeria is not just the failure of the leaders at the top. Part of the issue of bad leadership in Nigeria is what I term the failure of the “leadership value chain”. For example, if along the layers of the Civil Service, you have corrupt leaders, whether they are Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, etc. who collaborate to circumvent the system, the system will fail, and consequently the leader will fail, because he will ultimately become what I call, “an entrapped leader”.

  • Acting their script?

    Acting their script?

    ‘’And beware of a calamity that will afflict not only the transgressors amongst you to the exclusion of others and know that Allah’s retribution is severe’’.

    Q. 8:25 

    Preamble

    Writing a drama is like conceiving a pregnancy. For the drama to be practically actable the writer must take into consideration not only the theme, the setting, the characters and the complications that may build up spirally to the climax in such a drama. He must also think of the anti-climax of the drama as well as its possible denouement.

    Nothing shows the ingenuousness of a playwright as vividly as the crew of actors who put into action the script that gives birth to the drama in question. It is like delivering a pregnant woman of her pregnancy. If the delivery process is not carefully handled, the deliverer may end up becoming an undertaker. And that is when a drama is said to be tragic.

    The entire world today is a paradoxical theatre in which about seven billion human beings including Nigerians are watching a drama. Whether for ecstasy or dismay the viewers may randomly roar into controversies as the drama progresses. But the main concern of each viewer is what may become of his favoured character. 

    In the ongoing global drama against which we had been admonished in the Qur’an as quoted above, the concern of this columnist is the ‘colony’ called Nigeria. This is not just because the colony is my immediate constituency it is also because Nigeria is the heart of Africa. And if anything negative happens to her the whole of Africa will cease to be at rest.

    Hidden Agenda

    A clandestine script was unveiled in respect of Nigeria in 1995. Its contents revealed that this heart of Africa called Nigeria was heading for a break up by year 2015. The designers of this devilish agenda had set a timeframe of 20 years for its execution without suggesting any solution. And to portray their dream as a realisable one they kept hammering the probability of the success of that obnoxious project using some hazardous occurrences in the land as evidence.

    For students of International Relations, such a prediction cannot be strange. It is part of the strategies often used by the imperialists either to re-colonize some old colonies by other means or to scoop and dominate their economies in a typical capitalist style. They have done it successfully in some other countries none of which is now firmly on her feet. Vietnam, Korea, Yemen, China, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Somalia, Sudan, Palestine and lately the entire Arab nations all of which have had their bitter share of the pillage can testify to this assertion.  It is a modern day equivalence of the 1884/1885 partition of Africa carried out in Berlin, Germany, by the European imperialists, which led to the colonization of the black continent. If any of the above countries had resisted the project and stood their ground perhaps the world would have been spared of the throat-cutting threat posed today by the United States and her allies against what they perceive as lesser nations.

    Cult of Capitalism

    Incidentally, the US had also been a victim of this same imperialists’ guillotine especially in the hands of Britain. Yet, the cult of capitalism which has become their common bound would not allow the duo which had been mutually antagonistic to dwell differently because it is only in such a collaboration that the gains of their common interest can be accomplished. Unfortunately, Nigeria doesn’t seem to have learned any lesson from countries that had toed the   imperialists’ path hook, line and sinker.

    Rather than looking inwards for solution to our domestic problems as the US does, our governments do not only look up to Uncle Sam for solution even to a minor problem but also cry out to the President of America for help. It is just like the situation of a baby who has adapted to being spoon-fed at all times even while asleep. Today, Nigerian government can hardly think on anything without reference to America.

    Whereas some progressive countries like Japan, China, India, Brazil and even the United States in their days of search for growth and development shut their doors to the world and made do with whatever they could produce internally which was why their sudden zoom into the limelight came to the world as a surprise. This has never taught Nigeria any lesson. Rather, all that matters here is empty and monotonous noise about becoming one of the biggest economies in year 2020. No truly progressive country (even Ghana) has ever indulged in such empty and senseless propaganda before. What would have ordinarily justified such propaganda is a surprise zooming into the global economic stage as the listed countries had done.

    Propaganda

    It can only take a shameless country with so much wealth and without any visible progress in place to show for it to embark on such hopeless propaganda. What our government ought to have told us is how about $16 billion allegedly voted for revamping our electricity was spent on without any resultant availability of power. On the other hand, the government ought to have shown Nigerians the blueprint that qualifies us for such empty propaganda about year 2020 since it is a Nigerian project.

    In the 1980s, under the self-style military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, the slogan was that of ‘Housing for all, education for all and jobs for all in year 2000’. It ended up in sheer deception. In the 1990s, under the maximum despot called General Sani Abacha, the slogan was that of ‘VISION 2010’. It ended up in mere fiasco.

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    Then came a former military Head of State, General now Chief Mathew Aremu Okikiolakan Olusegun Obasanjo the man on whom Nigeria’s premium was hopefully placed because of his military experience and prison antecedent. His own invented slogan was that of hitting the top echelon of global economy in 2020. And the slogan is continually being re-echoed even less than a decade away from the target mark, when Nigeria is without electricity, drinkable water, pliable roads, responsible airline, functional refineries and standard education programme that can propel any possible hope in the slogan. As an OPEC member nation, Nigeria remains the only country that exports crude oil only to import refined fuel for domestic consumption. Petrochemical industries are the major hope for most OPEC countries as a possible replacement for oil in future.  In these industries, thousands of their trained youths are employed. But this has no place in the economic dream of Nigeria. 

    Yet our government does not deem it fit to invite foreigners to solve such social problems. Rather, what it perceives as problem is the backlash of its ineptitude arising from misrule, hence the invitation to imperialists to suppress agitators and potential agitators.

    Implications           

    Now, by inviting foreigners including the US and Israel to help resolve the problem of insecurity in the land Nigerian government has not only admitted its incompetence to protect the citizenry thereby surrendering its authority to the invited countries it has also begun to compound the existing problems by externalising the country’s internal affairs. After all, these same invited countries are the manufacturers of the instruments of insecurity in our land. Security of a country is like the heart in human body. Handing it over to someone else is like paving way for one’s death. No serious government will ever trivialize the existence of its nation to that extent. We all know that whoever pays the piper must surely dictate the tune. And in diplomacy, a friend today may become an enemy tomorrow. 

    Yes, in the name of solving Nigeria’s problem even when they have been unable to solve theirs, the invited countries may bring their arsenal to subdue some government’s perceived and imaginary enemies. But what is likely to happen thereafter is the question which many generations of Nigerians may not be able to answer for decades in future. This has happened in most of the countries which had solicited for military intervention of the imperialist countries. Today, those countries are regretting their thoughtless actions. Yet, Nigeria wants to join their league.

    A government is said to be in control and of essence only if it is believed to be capable of protecting its citizenry and defending the territorial integrity of the concerned nation. Any government that is incapable of doing this and rather decides to throw the gate of the nation’s security open to foreigners for whatever reason is unfit to be called a government.

    Partners in Crime

    Globally, the US and Israel are known for their belligerence and implacable transgression against nations that refuse to comply with their imperialist policies. And it is probably in reference to such imperialist powers that Allah had warned mankind over a millennium and a half ago thus: “…When imperialists enter a territory they audaciously pillage and brutally destroy it even as they subjugate the juggernauts therein to the level of servitude”. Q. 12: 22

    The real problem of Nigeria is to serve as an incubator of problems and yet rely on foreigner for solution to those problems even when such foreigners cannot solve their own domestic problems. In a logical poetic stanza, an Arab poet once opined thus:

    “We all blame time for our misdemeanour; when the misdemeanour blamed on time is actually in us; We smear time with all types of iniquities and yet expect time to cleans us of any blame; Were time endowed with mouth to comment on us, it would have blamed us for generating all crimes; Certainly no dog eats fellow dog; it is only men that eat fellow men’’.   

    The truth of the matter is that the roots of the multi-dimensional problems staring Nigeria on the face are traceable mostly to the corridors of our government. Of all the vices that constitute seemingly insuperable problems for Nigeria today particularly corruption, none originated from a source other than that of the government. Even where such corruption happens in the private sector, it will be discovered to be a derivative of the public sector. How, on earth, can we classify the case of immunity clause entrenched in our constitution to protect stealing public funds (in the name of President or Governor) in a country where overwhelming majority of people are so wretched that they can hardly afford even one meal per day despite the enormous wealth with which we are naturally endowed. And this so-called constitution was never subjected to any referendum to assess its acceptability.

    Immunity Clause

    The absurdity in that immunity clause is that some of such protected thieves who may have fallen out of favour are chased around for questioning in the name of fighting corruption. And that happens only after they might have vacated the office. For God’s sake if a person aids a thief in the casting away of his property has he not become an accomplice in the stealing business? What justification will such a person have in prosecuting the thief thereafter for the reason of stealing? The similitude of the above scenario is like that of what obtains in Nigeria concerning corruption. Those who injected immunity clause in our constitution as well as those who are in position to remove it but rather chose to retain it are together accomplices in the entrenchment and spread of corruption in the land. Such people will have no logical reason to talk of fighting corruption because they are its creator and sustainers.

    Another evidence of audacious governmental corruption in Nigeria is manifest in the position of the so-called FIRST LADY. Here is a position which has no provision in the country’s constitution but which is given such prominence that classifies the occupier over and above the elected Vice-President at the federal level and Deputy Governor at the State level. This illegal position has no official budget but it is flamboyantly provided with such paraphernalia of office that compete almost favourably with that of the President or the Governor at the expense of the public. With this kind of illegal operation how can any Nigerian President or Governor morally question any stealing by any public officer? And now, the same federal government has mobilized its instrumentality of office to destabilise the judiciary which is generally acknowledged as the last bastion of ordinary people’s hope. 

    We are our own Problem

    We are our own problem. We know the sources of what we call problems. We advertently or inadvertently incubate such problems. And we know how to proffer solution to them. But, like ‘lotus eaters’, we are so much drunk with illegality that it has become so difficult if not impossible for us to part with it. Thus, like the pot that calls the kettle black, we continue to deceive ourselves by mischievously passing the bulk anytime the die is cast.

    For how long shall we invite foreigners to solve our problems for us when the causes of those problems continue to swell in our bellies as we incubate them? Now, having invited mercenaries into Nigeria as problem solvers, has the government thought of the social and financial implications of such action? Have we really diagnosed and identified the origin of insecurity in our country before inviting foreigners? Or do we expect those foreigners to diagnose our diseases for us and prescribe medicine?

    Once we start importing imperial mercenaries into the country to solve immediate problem we must not forget that those mercenaries will like to find a permanent seat here even if they will have to invent new problems for us in order to justify their stay.

    This admonition may taste bitter to those who have hidden agenda. But Allah’s words will never look for relevance. He warns in Qur’an 13:11 thus: “Surely, Allah will not change the situation of a nation or community until they themselves have resolved to change it through their attitude”. Whoever calls for equity must come with clean hands. Those in government must show example of what they want Nigerians to be as citizens. Acting the imperialists’ evil script will do no one any good in Nigeria. Think before you act.            

  • Sha’ban and its significance

    Sha’ban and its significance

    • By Kadijat Braimah 

    Sha’ban is the eighth month of the Islamic lunar calendar after the sacred month of Rajab and preceding the highly anticipated month of Ramadan. While Ramadan often captures much of our attention, Sha’ban holds significant value and blessings that should not be overlooked. It is a month of preparation, where we are encouraged to increase our acts of worship, seek forgiveness, and make efforts to purify our hearts. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) showed us how to maximize this time by fasting and engaging in other acts of devotion, setting an example for us to follow in order to spiritually prepare for the coming month of Ramadan.

    Significance of Sha’ban

    A month when deeds are raised to Allah as the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “It is a month when people tend to neglect, between the months of Rajab and Ramadan. It is a month in which deeds are raised to the Lord of the world, and I like my deeds to be raised while I am fasting.” (Sunan An-Nasa’i). This highlights the importance of Sha’ban as a month when our deeds are presented to Allah. The Prophet (SAW) made a point of fasting during this month to ensure his deeds were raised while in a state of fasting, encouraging us to follow his example by engaging in acts of worship such as fasting.

    Seeking blessing for Prophet

    The verse from Surah Al-Ahzab (33:56) commanding believers to send blessings and peace upon the Prophet (SAW) was revealed during the month of Sha’ban. “Indeed, Allah and His angels bestow their prayers upon the Prophet. O you who believe, bestow prayers and peace upon him in abundance.”

    This serves as a reminder for us to increase our recitation of blessings upon the Prophet during this blessed month.

    Change of Qiblah

    Sha’ban is also significant for being the month when the Qiblah was changed. Initially, the Muslims faced Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem for prayer, but after this event, the direction of prayer was shifted to the Kaaba in Makkah. This transformation, which took place on the 15th of Sha’ban, is a profound event in Islamic history, highlighting the month’s special status.

    Benefits of Sha’ban Granted Forgiveness:

    One of the key benefits of Sha’ban is that Allah grants forgiveness to His creation. This is a reminder to seek forgiveness and purify our hearts, ensuring that we have no hatred or ill feelings towards others.

    Striving for Closeness to Allah

    The Prophet encouraged us to seek Allah’s mercy and blessings during special moments, including Sha’ban. The Prophet said: “Indeed, your Lord bestows gifts that are preserved in your days, so seek them. It may be that one of you will fate upon it and will never again be in misery.” (Narrated by Imam At-Tabrani)

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    This teaches us to seek closeness to Allah during the blessed moments of Sha’ban and to make the most of the opportunities for the mercy and forgiveness that it offers.

    Preparing for Ramadan

    Sha’ban serves as a crucial period of preparation for the month of Ramadan. While Ramadan is the month of fasting and worship, Sha’ban provides us with the chance to spiritually cleanse and renew ourselves, so we are ready to fully engage in the acts of worship that Ramadan demands. Let us use Sha’ban to seek forgiveness, purify our hearts, and increase in worship, ensuring that we enter Ramadan with a heightened sense of devotion and closeness to Allah.

    May Allah grant us success in making the most of Sha’ban and allow us to enter Ramadan with sincerity, devotion, and His boundless mercy. Ameen.

  • Hamzat, UK don, Sayi for UMA Ramadan lecture

    Hamzat, UK don, Sayi for UMA Ramadan lecture

    The University of Lagos Muslim Alumni (UMA) will on February 23, hold  its 30th Pre-Ramadan Lecture.

    The theme of this year’s edition is “The Transformative Power of Ramadan”.

    UMA National President, Dr Mumini Alao, at a briefing in Lagos, said the lecture will take place at the J.F. Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos, Akoka.

    Dr Alao said this year’s theme was to highlight the huge benefits embedded in the holy month so that Muslim faithful can prepare to exploit them in full. According to him, the duo of Prof Mashood Baderin of the University of London and Justice Abdur-Raheem Ahmad Sayi of the Shari’ah Court of Appeal, Ilorin, Kwara State, have been invited as guest speakers.

    He said Baderin is an expert in Islamic Law and International Human Rights Law, which makes him a perfect fit for the lead topic.

    Baderin, he said, is making a second appearance in the annual lecture series, having delivered the 14th edition’s lecture in 2008.

    He said Justice Sayi, going by his training and vocation, has the requisite qualification and practical knowledge of the second topic.

    While Prof Baderin will speak on”Islam at the Intersection of Humanity and Religion, Justice Sayi will handle Shari’ah in Southwest Nigeria”.

    According to him, the topics were inspired by the apparent dilemma of Muslims on how to find the right balance between the demands of our faith, and the rights of our neighbours which sometimes might be in conflict.

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    Alao said: “During the past few weeks, this subject matter has come to the front burner following developments in Ekiti State where a traditional ruler purportedly “banned” the setting up of a Shari’ah Arbitration Panel as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism between and among willing Muslims in his domain. Is it true that the Shari’ah is strange to South West Nigeria? Is there no history, past or present, of its adoption and application in the private lives of willing Muslims in the region? Is it against the Nigerian Constitution for willing Muslims to opt for adjudication of some aspects of their personal lives according to the Shari’ah? Do traditional rulers or government officials have the power to ban private citizens from adopting an Alternative Dispute Resolution instrument of their choice?” Alao added that other dignitaries expected at the event include the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat; former Governor of Zamfara State Senator Abdul’aziz Yari; the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba (Professor) Saka Matemilola, UNILAG Vice Chancellor, Prof Folasade Ogunsola, is the Chief Host.

    Alao said the UMA has introduced some innovations this year to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the lecture. One of them is a “Qur’an Recitation Challenge” amongst primary, secondary and Arabic school children, the winners of which will be announced at the lecture.

    He said special recognition awards would also be given to some of the scholars that have delivered its lectures in the past, while the UMA Medical team will offer free medical checks to early arrivals before the programme proper gets under way.

    Alao said during the last three decades, the UNILAG Muslim Alumni Pre-Ramadan lecture has established itself as the forerunner of all other Ramadan lectures in Lagos and, indeed, the whole of South West Nigeria.

  • Shariah Court only for Muslims, Ahmadiyah clarifies

    Shariah Court only for Muslims, Ahmadiyah clarifies

    The Ahmadiyah Muslim Jam’at of Nigeria has said the imbroglio in the establishment of Shariah panels in Southwest is unnecessary as the Shariah court has been in practice in the region for decades now.

    Amir of the Ahmadiyah Muslim Jam’at of Nigeria, Alhaji Alatoye AbdulAzeez, stated this at the World Press conference on Wednesday at its national headquarters in Lagos.

    Alatoye said the Shariah court, which is constitutionally allowed in Nigeria, is only meant to attend to issues and matters as they affect Muslims and not non-Muslims.

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    The Amir said the imbroglio was unnecessary as being propagated by haters of the religion. He said those promoting the issues are politically motivated, saying if not, there is no big issue in the Shariah court in the southwest as it has been in existence for decades.

    He said: “Shariah court has been in existence in the southwest for decades, and nobody forces anyone to go there. Nigeria is a secular state; the Shariah court is for Muslims, and non-Muslims are not expected to go there for their cases as it only caters to Muslim matters in relation to marriages, divorce, and other sundry domestic matters. No one can force non-Muslims to subject themselves to the Shariah court as it is only meant to listen to issues affecting Muslims. The Shariah court is in Ogun, Lagos, and some other states in the southwest.”

    “The Muslims in Southwest have been peaceful, and they adhere to the tenets of Islam; the shariah court does not deal in criminal issues as this will be tantamount to crime as there is a constitution of the country that attends to such criminal cases,” he added.

  • Conflicts in DR Congo and across Africa

    Conflicts in DR Congo and across Africa

    The 38th African Union (AU) Summit kicked off two days ago 12th to 16th February 2025. Some of the key issues lined up for discussions include the ongoing conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the internal conflicts in Sudan, and peace in the Sahel region. Other major points of discussion will also include intra-Africa trade and development. I also reckon that the African leaders will discuss Trump 2.0 and the actions taken so far by President Trump on Africa e.g. withdrawal of Aid, suspension of USAID, etc.

    This meeting is happening as the 72hours ultimatum given by Mouvement du Mars (M23) rebels to the displaced persons to move out of camps in Goma and return to their villages will expire today, with the threat by M23 to escalate their offensive by advancing to take over the city of Bukavu, having taken over Goma, the capital city of the Northern Kivu region in eastern DRC, two weeks ago.

     The President of the DRC, Mr. Felix Tshisekedi, has been grappling with the situation as he tries to find a solution to this complicated and protracted situation that has kept the DRC on its knees for decades.  So far, the regional blocs of Southern and Eastern Africa have not been able to broker a cease-fire, talk less of a workable peace process. I hope that a workable and sustainable outcome will be achieved soonest so as to immediately scale down and subsequently stop the brutal socioeconomic and humanitarian crises in the DRC which will certainly have a negative concomitant impact on eastern and Southern Africa.

     The DRC is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world today, with millions of internally displaced persons in the northern and southern Kivu regions. I do hope that the ongoing AU Summit will bring about a precursor to lasting peace in DRC. Of course, it will be a long process, due to the protracted and complicated nature of the situation with so many unseen hands from the neighboring countries and even the intercontinental “Deep States”.

     The disposition and intent of critical stakeholders like President Paul Kagame of Rwanda is crucial, to making any meaningful headway to achieve an effective cease-fire and peace process. This is because of previous unsuccessful attempts. For example, in December last year, the peace meeting that took place in Luanda, Angola, was unsuccessful. President Joao Lourenco of Angola, was not able to anchor a conversation, most especially because the DRC government was not really keen on engaging directly with the M23 rebel forces, while the Rwandan authority would like the M23 rebels to have a direct conversation with the DRC government. Rwanda is considered the unseen hand behind the M23 group with Paul Kagame backing them for over 25 years, even though the Republic of Rwanda has consistently denied so. Therefore, due to the non-inclusion of the M23 group, President Paul Kagame did not attend the summit, and consequently, the Summit was a flop. What remains to be seen is if some of the provisions for the meeting that failed in Luanda will be addressed in subsequent engagements, because of the complexities around the DRC situation. Another snag is the spat between Rwanda and South Africa, which happened over a week ago. The diplomatic tension between Rwanda and South Africa is another key issue to be addressed if any good progress is to be made. This is because South Africa is part of the intervention alliance that is supporting the DRC in fighting the M23 rebel forces. We may recall that in 2012, the M23 rebels took over Goma. Subsequently, the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) in alliance with the Kenyan forces and South African forces were able to push back the M23 out of Goma.

     It is worthy of note that pursuing lasting peace in those troubled regions of the DRC is a very tricky situation due to geopolitical, economic, and sociological reasons. For instance; while DRC and its allies are saying that they are committed to protecting and defending the civilian population in the DRC; one of the claims of the M23 rebels is that they are protecting the Tutsis ethnic minorities who live near around Eastern region of DRC bordering the Republic of Rwanda – from marginalization and victimization. How those sensitivities will be addressed in the overall interest of all the power blocs will be a critical success factor. I am not really that optimistic that a concrete peace process will be achieved at the AU Summit, but I look forward to an outcome that will placate all stakeholders as a good way forward.

     The DRC also accuses the M23 of looting the Country’s solid resources, which include Coltan.  The DRC supplies half of the world’s Coltan – the metal used in making mobile phones and laptops. So, the Western Countries and companies are also being blamed, for being amongst the unseen hands that are escalating the conflict in the DRC, and that is why the situation in DRC is so pathetic – just like the cases in other parts of Africa. That is why as I stated earlier, I am not really excited that a solution is in the offing just yet. There is so much focus on the M23 rebels, and rightly so because they have been more frontal and consistently impactful. But the alleged activities of the “Deep State” of the Western world and other “interest groups”, and power blocs, further complicate the DRC situation. For example, the Republic of Burundi is an interested party that is alleged to have some spots with some rebels across the border with DRC. Uganda is also fighting with some rebel forces across its border with the DRC. And there is the crisis in the Central African Republic, which is neighboring DRC and shares its eastern border with DRC – and the threat/ ripple effect that may pose to the DRC and vice versa. The huge “Deep State” players that are plundering the Country’s resources will never want the DRC to have peace. Of course, we know that the “Deep States” have direct and indirect connections with some of the conflicts so as to ensure that peace does not prevail in DR where there are abundant mineral resources that the West so much desires.

     In addition, across the northern border of the DRC, South Sudan is engrossed in communal crisis. There is also a huge humanitarian crisis in the Republic of Sudan which is at the northern border of South Sudan. The Republic of Chad which is neighboring Central Africa (Central Africa Republic is sandwiched between the Republic of Chad and the DRC) is fighting with ISIS terrorists and pockets of minor internal political tensions. Growing terrorist activities in the Sahel belt with the breakaway of the Military Juntas in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso from ECOWAS are other dimensions that threaten regional and continental peace and prosperity of Africa.

     Therefore, the leadership of Eastern and Southern Africa as well as the entire continent of Africa; must achieve regional and continental peace, if any meaningful intra-Africa trade and economic growth can be achieved for Africa. The major issues confronting Africa are multi-dimensional, and therefore require a holistic perspective, approach, and solution, in trying to find lasting peace and integration.

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     In the case of the DRC, what are more critical are those long-standing communal, ethnic, economic, and geopolitical issues right from the 1990s. From the genocide in Rwanda and the sociopolitical issues in Burundi to the breakup of the Uganda and Rwanda alliance, which was a long-standing pact between President Paul Kagame and President Yoromeri Mesoveni from way back in the 1980s. Opposing forces that are not ready to see eye to eye, either for social, geopolitical, or economic reasons, will continue to elude peace in the DRC. So, the stakes are varying, and the stakeholders are incongruent. More importantly, the “Deep States” – unseen forces that are empowering the opposing forces either financially or with weaponry. Those unseen hands will do what it takes to ensure that there is no peace in the highly mineral-endowed DRC or any part of Africa that is so enriched.

     Indeed, the sad and precarious situation of the DRC has been there right from independence. The DRC had never known overall especially because the past leaders of the DRC have not fared well; whether it is during the reign of former President, late Mobutu Sese Seko, during the Zaire era, or when the Country reverted to be DRC after, President Paul Kagame and President Yoweri Museveni were the key unseen hands that upstaged Mobutu Sese Seko. And then you have the former President, the late Laurent Kabila, and his son President Joseph Kabila.

     More Points to Note.

    It is important to note that in Africa, we must recognize that the lingering and growing crises across Africa will ultimately hamstring the growth of the continent because we are all connected. Invariably if one regional bloc sneezes the other part of the Continent ultimately catches the cold with the effects that follow. Therefore, United we stand, and divided we will continue to wallow in the abyss of backwardness.

  • Lesson from history

    Lesson from history

    Preamble

    Let me start today with a Qur’anic admonition which I have frequently quoted in this column but which has consistently meant nothing to the rulers of Nigeria. It goes thus: “…Beware of a calamity that may descend not only on the perpetrators of injustice amongst you (but also on the innocent ones); and be warned that Allah’s retribution can be very severe on the unjust…” Q. 8:25.   

    History is an invisible teacher. It teaches the experience of the past to the inexperienced people of the present with a view to guarding them towards a safe future. Some people perceive history as the best teacher because it warns against the vanity of human wishes as much as it encourages the emulation of impeccable exemplariness of the past. Others call it a bad teacher because it does not practically enforce its teachings by preventing its supposed students from falling into the quagmire of life.

    From whatever angle it is observed, however, history remains the undisputable teacher of all teachers which can be described in any way by anybody depending on the side of the divide to which each observer belongs. Thus, for as long as human beings remain in existence, passing through the coast of history will never cease to serve a meal of lesson.

    Recently, Libya, a onetime Italian colony in North Africa, stood out as a bastion from where the smoke of history was oozing out into the firmament of Africa and the Middle East for misguided rulers to inhale some scents of experience from. Of all the Arab countries that recently engulfed in political turmoil, perhaps the least expected to join the fray was Libya. And that assertion would have become an axiom if the 69 year old despot of that country had heeded the warning of history coming from the neighbouring Tunisia.

    There had been a general but erroneous belief that the trend of the ongoing revolts in the Arab world started with the fall of the imperial monarch, of Iran (Muhammad Pahlavi ) who styled himself the Shah n Shah (King of Kings). Iran is though situated in the Middle East, she is not an Arab country.

    The truth is that the Arab revolts actually began two years earlier (1977) in Egypt. It was called ‘Egyptian Bread Riots’.

    The two day riots of January 18 and 19, 1977 were a spontaneous reaction by hundreds of thousands of peasants to the removal of state subsidies on foodstuffs as recommended by the World Bank and the International Monetary Funds (IMF). The then Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat, had, in response to IMF’s recommendation, increased the price of a loaf of bread by just one Piaster (an equivalence of one Nigerian Kobo). The implementation of that policy was the height of insensitivity, on the part the government, to the murderous plight of the masses at that time.

    By the time the dust settled, about 79 people had been shrouded for burial while over 800 others became patients in the casualty sections of many Hospitals in the country. The riots ended only with the reversal of that obnoxious policy and the restoration of the removed subsidies. That singular incident, added to the general discontent in the land hitherto caused by the evident class dichotomy, eventually led to the assassination of President Sadat three years later.

    From thence, Egyptians became conscious that the only language understandable to their government was violent revolt. Thus, in 1986, barely six years after the death of Sadat and the assumption of office as President by Hosni Mubarak, another major riot broke out in Egypt.

    On February 25, 1986, about 17000 Egyptian conscripts of the Central Security Forces (CSF) otherwise known as Egyptian Para-military Force staged a violent protest in and around Cairo city destroying two major Hotels and targeting the property of the upper and the middle classes. The riots caused by a peddled rumour that the government had decided to increase the then two year compulsory national service to three years without any commensurate remuneration lasted three days with official casualty figure put at 107. Over 2000 people were said to be terribly wounded.

    Unlike Sadat who quickly reversed his foodstuff subsidy policy, the only lesson which Hosni Mubarak seemed to have learnt from Sadat’s experience was the use of force. Ever since, Egypt had become a delicate gun powder waiting to explode at anytime as the nation’s youths had become so restively radicalized that taming with mere appeal was impossible. If there was any surprise about the recent Egyptian revolution that ended Mubarak’s 32 year regime with ignominy therefore, it was its delay till that time.       

    With the Iranian and the Egyptian experience, one would expect the other rulers in the Middle East region as well as Africa to learn a lesson. But as a Yoruba adage goes,” a dog destined to die in perdition will never respond to the whistle of the hunter”.

    In Tunisia, the protests leading to the flight of the tyrannical President Zain El-Abidine Ben Ali to Saudi Arabia were instigated by the gruesomely symbolic suicide of one Mohammed Bouazizi on December 17, 2013. The 25 year old College graduate had used his University degree as collateral to obtain a bank loan with which he ventured into trading in grotesque having realized the futility of looking for job in a country where about 14% of the populace was unemployed. But unexpectedly, his wares were confiscated by government officials for not obtaining official permit to sell farm products. In reaction, the young man concluded that his country didn’t need him after all and he decided to commit suicide by setting himself ablaze.

    Efforts to rescue him proved abortive as he died in a Hospital a couple of days thereafter.

    Piqued by that sad incident, the public reaction to his death was unimaginably spontaneous. Violence erupted across cities and towns as already aggrieved youths trooped to the streets burning whatever could be burnt and maiming whoever could be captured among government agents. The demand was no longer for reforms but for the removal of the President. By that time, the President though tried to address some of the issues against which complaints were made his action had become too late to yield any sensible result. Thus, when the coming signals were no longer positive he knew that the die had been cast and decided to flee the country thereby ending his 24 year old regime with historic ignominy.

    The case of Bouazizi who set himself ablaze and was posthumously pronounced a martyr as well as the father of the revolution was just an atom in the complex story of longstanding discontent in Tunisia. There were many other cases of the like but three main factors can be said to be the immediate precipitates of the Tunisian revolution. These were corruption, unemployment and insensitive affluence publicly displayed by government officials.

    While all these were going on in Tunisia and Egypt, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s impression was that the Presidents in both countries were mere jellies who could hardly manage their matrimonial homes. It was far from his imagination that the surging political tsunami sweeping across the Arab world like a hurricane could come near Libya let alone consume him.

    After 42 years of unbridled despotism, Gaddafi inadvertently reopened the film of Pharaoh’s history for the modern world to behold. Like Saddam before him, he lost all that he lived for including most of his children.

    The story of the Tunisian, the Egyptian and the Libyan revolutions, cannot be relayed in isolation. There are many more of the like as Syria and Yemen soon followed suit.

    If the hanged President Saddam Hussein of Iraq had not met his doom in the hands of his imperial friends turned enemies, he would have probably met a similar waterloo in the hands of his own people just like Gaddafi.

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    In virtually all the Arab countries, education is free from the primary school to the University. There is no problem of electricity, water, roads, rail system, food and housing. The only two areas in which the people of those countries were encountering problem with their governments were unemployment and freedom to participate in governance.  And for those two reasons, an un-foretold tsunami swept the length and breadth of what is called the Arab world.

    The Moroccan Monarch, his Jordanian colleague as well as the Algerian President were only lucky to have heeded the warning tune of that tsunami in time thereby escaping its consequences. The lesson they learned from the experiences of their colleagues in the neighbouring countries served them in good stead and they survived the unprecedented calamity. Otherwise, they would have ended up like Libya’s Gaddafi or Egypt’s Mubarak.

    Here in Nigeria, which of the above named infrastructures was made available despite the enormous material resources with which the country is naturally endowed? Rather than utilize those resources to boost the general standard of living and thereby uplift the status of the country, the priority of our government in the past 16 years was to squeeze the citizenry dry through a monstrous corruption and callous removal of a non-existing subsidy on oil. And that was in addition to the spiral increase of tariff on electricity consumption in anticipation of an imaginary stability of power. At a stage, every Nigerian driving a vehicle was forced to buy new number plates that cost about N30000 in replacement of the old one on their cars. In any civilized country, such obnoxious policy would have constituted an act of barbarity. But in Nigeria, that was the government’s way of generating funds for its officials to embezzle with impunity.

    While the Tunisians became restive over 14% unemployment figure, Nigerians were proudly grappling with about 72% of unemployment rate even as the government kept drumming loudly the tune of becoming one of the 20 most economically viable countries in the world. What a grand self-deception? 

    The warning here is for the doubting ‘Thomases’ who are still in the dream land in Nigeria and the rest of Africa to open their eyes and clearly see the vanity of human wishes in the cited Arab nations. Such tendentious talks like: “IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE IN NIGERIA”, as the outgoing Senate President was severally quoted as saying, only belongs to primordial men who still live in the primordial time. To avoid becoming like flies dying in the bottle of wine, men of reason had better learn from the experiences of others before some others begin to learn from their own experiences.

    Justice is fundamentally sacrosanct in the reckoning of Allah. Where you have people who are educated enough to know their right; where you have people who are conscious of their common affinity and are ready to assert it; where you have people who believe in God and His capability to impose justice where none exists, let no one think that such people can be exploited indefinitely. Those in power in Nigeria who think they can live perpetually on injustice should remember that the likes of Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak never thought that nemesis could afflict them one day. Their episodes are now part of history. Prophet Noah (Nuhu) never prayed for the destruction of his nation and people even after 950 years of preaching to the deaf. His prayer only came when, one day, a small child carried on the shoulder of his father asked for a stone to be thrown at him (Nuhu) just as most people in the nation had done for the past 950 years. The Prophet’s conclusion was that even the great grand children of that generation would continue atrocities in the land and remain hostile to God just like their parents. Thus, when he prayed for their destruction, it was divinely accepted with ‘automatic alacrity’.  The rest is history. Let those who refuse to learn from ancient history try to learn from the recent one. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. A word is enough for the wise.

  • Another wake-up call for opposition political parties in Nigeria

    Another wake-up call for opposition political parties in Nigeria

    The spectacle of a debacle that happened at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national headquarters during the PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting, which took place last week was a show of shame, and a culmination of the crises that have rocked the party for about 2 years, with no end in sight. The “roof-rofo” fisticuff which looked like a scene out of a 2nd grade Nollywood movie was both funny and annoying – what a paradox! This is especially so because the fracas happened at the national headquarters of the PDP during the meeting of what is considered the highest advisory and decision-making body of elders and leaders of the party. So, what should we expect at the state and/ or local government levels?

    Many people do not know that I have political experience. As a bit of background about my political antecedents; I was a founding member of the All Peoples Party (APP) in 1998, and I was appointed as the first Information Analyst at the APP National Secretariat, working directly with the National Chairman and the National Secretary (within the National Working Committee). I worked with different Committees including Planning and Organising Committees, Mobilization Committees, National Convention Committee, the APP governorship elections Campaign team for late Engineer Magaji Abdullahi, the APP Governorship Candidate for Kano State in the 1999 Gubernatorial elections, etc. I was given level-1 confidentiality clearance and ran political assignments at the highest level. After the Presidential elections, In the second half of 1999, I followed some of my Principals, to switch affiliation to the PDP along with other party chieftains. In the PDP, I was also privileged to work at top levels with the likes of the late Ibrahim Aminu Saleh, and other party chieftains. One such instance was playing a key role in the emergence of Chief Audu Ogbe as the PDP National Chairman in 2001. Following that development, I became actively involved in partisan politics and undertaking national assignments. In 2005, midway into the second term of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, I decided to revert back fully to my professional career and stepped away from partisan politics.

     Having been a member of an opposition political party, as well as the ruling party, I understand the mechanics and dynamics of politics and party administration. Since the time I left politics in 2005, interestingly, today, all our political mentors, leaders, and colleagues from 1998 to date are in all the political parties, APC, PDP, Labour Party or NNPP because the politicians have all spread out. And that tells you the kind of politics we have in Nigeria.

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     The politics of ideology in Nigeria is still a work in progress. With the way the opposition political leaders and their parties are unraveling, unless something disruptive is done on the part of the opposition, it is highly unlikely that they will make any significant impact in the 2027 elections, i.e. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will most likely have what they call in football, “ a walk over “- in 2027 – easy win. Because, to be honest, what is currently going on in the opposition political parties is a joke. I say with all sense of responsibility, that I am disappointed with the kind of leadership that is provided at the political party levels. I am disappointed with the kind of engagements that are happening across opposition political parties. Selfishness, parochialism, and the pretext of nationalism or patriotism are most times reflected in their actions. And I have said it many times, and with all due respect, that whether it is His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, His Excellency Peter Obi, or His Excellency Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso; all of whom I have profound respect for, cannot effectively lead a country if you cannot manage a political party. For instance, with the ongoing spectacle of a debacle in PDP some days ago, does PDP currently look like a political party that can upstage the APC at the federal or even at the State level? So, the truth is if these political leaders really mean well for Nigeria, then they should have a solid and robust strategy that will unify their political parties, and they should put their differences aside and focus on building internal democracy which will ensure them the unity of purpose and prepare them for the herculean task of winning a highly strategic incumbent, like President Tinubu.

    According to former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the APC is enticing some opposition party leaders with money so that they could destabilize their parties. With profound respect, in my opinion, that allegation is laughable. If opposition political parties continue deceiving themselves by saying that it is the APC that is causing problems in their political parties, then that means that the opposition political leaders don’t have the capacity, political sagacity, political acumen, and fluidity to hold their party structures and hold their people together. I also expect that sometimes they should even do the politics of give and take. President Bola Ahmed had to step down his presidential ambition twice, for the long game – That is strategy! But every time Alhaji Atiku loses elections, then everything has to stop, or he will abandon the political party that gave him the ticket. Mr. Peter Obi is also beginning the move in that direction. We must understand our strengths and our weaknesses to effectively utilize opportunities, and ultimately achieve our strategic objectives. 

    We have a political colossus in the person of President Tinubu as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We can talk and wish him away. We can lament and complain. But unless they put their heads together, like it happened in 2015, as we may recall it was l the APC, i.e. President Bola Tinubu and his political allies that upstage an incumbent President; then all the opposition can organize, will be talk shops. They can only upstage the incumbent President if they put their personal sentiments aside and look at Nigeria as a project. 

    By the way, let me be clear, that I will not support power going back to the North in 2027. As Nigerians, we agreed to a north-south shift of power in the interest of unity, equity, and justice. Therefore, let us work with that template so that the opposition will start putting a robust strategy, going forward. I am saying this without prejudice to the constitutional right of citizens to aspire for any public office in Nigeria. Essentially, leadership recruitment in Nigeria should be based on character, content capacity, unity, equity, justice, and about what a candidate has to offer Nigeria. Only when opposition political leaders and opposition political parties come together, that there be hope for the opposition to even put the APC on their toes.

     Accordingly, my humble “going forward” agenda-setting message to the opposition parties is; “Recognizing your reality is the beginning of success”. Real situational awareness is what guides successful strategic planning and execution in military warfare, business, and also politics. Toxic narratives, social media rantings, and cyberbullying will not lead to success. In essence, the opposition parties need to expand their vision, be more strategic, detailed, focused, determined, and resilient, and ultimately be united about selfish interests to succeed, because performance is measured by results and outcomes and not by events or activities.

     One of the indications of how the opposition parties are faring is how the members of the opposition parties in the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) have completely disappeared from their political party structure, headquarters, or scheme of things. In the past few weeks Members of the opposition parties in the National Assembly in the Senate or House of Representatives are already decamping in droves to the APC. I expect some State Governors of the opposition will soon decamp to the APC.

     A lot of members of the opposition parties in the National Assembly, no longer associate themselves with the Presidential candidates who should be the rallying point of their party. I expect to hear or see them deferring to those leaders with regard to critical issues of national interests, but that is not happening except in the case of the NNPP, in fairness to them. For those who won elections on the platform of the PDP, I cannot remember the time that I saw most of them in a photoshoot together, talk less of hearing them going to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for advice or guidance. The same situation is the case of those who won on the tide of the Obedient movement, the photo shoots with Mr. Peter Obi are becoming less talk less of constructive engagement with the LP leader.

     My parting words for the opposition political figures; United you stand, divided you fragment your votes and make it easy for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to coat into his second term the rhetorical question is, “Will our politicians ever rise above their selfish and parochial interested to actual do the needful?” Your answers are as good as mine.

  • Solution to bad leadership

    Solution to bad leadership

    As mentioned here sometimes ago, all the rightly guided Caliphs strove to keep the exemplary leadership of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) aloft after his demise. This was done by Abubakr, Umar bn Khattab, Uthman bn Abi Sufyan and Ali bn Abi Talib. Ali in particular did not limit it to himself. He extended it to those who served under him. For instance while appointing Malik bn Ashtar as the Governor of Egypt, he gave him the following instructions in writing and advised him to follow it to the letter in his governance in that country. Below is the instruction:

    “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Be it known to you Oh Malik, that I am sending you to a country which had experienced in the past both just and unjust rule. Men will scrutinize your actions with a searching eye even as you used to scrutinize the actions of those before you. They will speak of you even as you did speak of your predecessors. The fact is that the public speak well only of those who do well. It is they who furnish the proof of your actions. Hence, the richest treasure that you may covet should be the treasure of good deeds. Keep your desire under control and deny yourself that which you have been warned against. By such abstinence alone, you will be able to distinguish between good and bad…”

    “Develop in your heart the feeling of love for your people and let it be the source of kindness and blessing to them. Do not behave to them like a barbarian, and do not appropriate to yourself that which belongs to them…. Do not set yourself against God, for neither do you possess the strength to shield yourself against His displeasure, nor can you place yourself outside the pale of His mercy and forgiveness. Do not feel sorry over any act of forgiveness, nor rejoice over any punishment that you may deem fit to mete out to anyone…” 

    “Never take counsel of a miser, for, he will vitiate your magnanimity and frighten you with poverty around. Do not seek advice from a coward, he will weaken your resolution and dampen your morale. Do not take counsel of a greedy person, he will instill greed in you and turn you into a tyrant. Miserliness, cowardice and greed deprive man of piety and push him into unbridled desperation. The worst counselor is one who had served a tyrant before and shared his crimes. Do not appoint such a person as your adviser. He will lure you into crimes and turn you to a criminal…”

    “Great care should be exercised in revenue administration to ensure, not only the prosperity of the tax payers but also that of the masses. You should regard the proper upkeep of the land in cultivation (i.e. maintenance of national assets) as of greater importance than the collection of revenues. He who demands revenue without helping land cultivators (i.e retired workers) ruins the state…”

    “Fear God when you are dealing with the problems of the poor people.  Always consider the fact that they have no one to protect their interest. They are forlorn, indigent and helpless who have become victims of the vicissitude of time. Assign for their uplift a portion of the state exchequer (Baytul Mal) wherever they may be. Let no preoccupation slip them from your mind for no excuse whatsoever, for neglecting their rights will be acceptable to Allah…”

    “Finally, dear Malik, shun self-adoration. Do not indulge in self-assessment and self-praise nor encourage others to extol you because all these tend to undo good deeds of pious men and Satan relies most on praise and flattery. Never overrate yourself nor indulge in tall talks about the favours you have done for people. Breach of promise annoys God and man alike. Do not act in haste nor defer the execution of a good decision. Do not insist on wrong doing or slackness in rectifying the wrong already done…”

    “When people as a whole have agreed upon a thing, do not impose your own view on them just because you are in power. Remember that power is transient and you will eventually exit or be forced to exit from it one day…”.

    When the above code of leadership is compared with what obtains in Nigeria today one will surely be amazed by the wide gap between the world of a realizable dream and that of a nightmare. In Nigeria, there is no such document that can be called a code of leadership. Even the constitution which gives Nigeria its name as a country is only available to a clique of power usurpers called leaders.

    As stated in this column weeks back, leadership in any sane society is not a function of policy makers alone. Leadership does not start from the top. It is rather a matter of good home management and excellent upbringing of children. Leadership is like a pyramid which has a base and an apex. Whoever wants to assess leadership in a society must start from the base rather than the apex. It will be unreasonable to sight a major fault at the roofing of a house when the foundation of the same house is evidently faulty. Generally, children learn from their parents’ actions more than from the latter’s words.

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    In the religious sphere, most of the so-called leaders of Mosques and Churches in Nigeria have failed to rid the society of indiscipline and rottenness prompted by unbridled corruption because they have turned religion into a meal ticket. And, by so doing, they have become the real motivators of those vices. If those so-called religious leaders had genuinely and sincerely lived up to the requirements of the faiths they profess, Nigeria would have surely been a better place to live in today. But by their actions and dispositions esoterically and exoterically, the religious leaders in Nigeria have proved to be examples of the worst problem of constituted leadership. Since over 90 per cent of Nigerian population is a combination of Muslims and Christians and since the so-called leaders of Nigeria are from both religions, it is clear that the adherents of Islam and Christianity are together, the real cog in Nigeria’s wheel of progress.

    Today, over 60 years after independence, more than 99 per cent of Nigerians who are 60 years and below have never seen the book of law by which they are purportedly governed in the name of constitution. Yet, they are forced to obey such a secret law and even reprimanded for breaking it. Perhaps Nigeria is currently the only country in the world where citizens are ruled and punished by a constitution which they have never seen. That same constitution, according to the rulers is being amended and very soon, we shall be told that a new constitution is in place.

    In civilized countries, the constitution by which people are governed is a public document made available to all citizens including market women and primary school pupils in the languages they understand. In Nigeria, it is a secret document available only to the legislators, the executives and those in the judiciary. The few other people who are probably in possession of our constitution are professionals like Lawyers, Justices and a few Journalists who can hardly do without it in the discharge of their duties. Any other citizen who demands for the availability of the constitution is automatically regarded as a renegade and treated as such. In Nigeria, to be ‘Good People of a Great Nation’ you must have neither comment nor opinion about the constitution of your country. Just obey and follow the leaders’ order. That is one way of ‘REBRANDING’ Nigeria.

    Hiding under the constitution which is exclusive to them alone, Nigeria’s self-styled leaders have been able to ruin anything ruin-able in the country to pave their own way to perpetual governance. They have been able to turn what was supposed to be oil boom into oil doom for many generations of Nigerians. They have been able to destroy all other sources of the economy including agriculture and manufacturing industries to gain maximum personal benefit from oil. They have been able to demolish the pillar of the ‘MIDDLE CLASS’ which is the backbone of any modern economy and eliminate the use of coins thereby widening the gap between the rich and the poor. They have been able to deny Nigeria the much needed refineries preferring to export crude oil and import refined products to enable them reap from the fruit of such a poisonous deal. They have been able to render the national electricity moribund in order to throw Nigerian doors wide open for importation of power generators thereby making Nigeria the world’s greatest depleting country of the Ozone layer through the use generators. By the last count in March 2010, Nigeria was said to have an estimated 57 million generators even as the country remained dark and millions of able bodied youth remained unemployed.

    Not only that, these self-styled leaders have also been able to ground the country’s Airways in order to float their own individual private airlines just as they have had to paralyze the national Rail line for their private haulage businesses to flourish. And now, Nigerians can’t ply the roads anymore because the leaders’ haulage trucks have destroyed them. Then, to complete the cycle, they had to sell Nigeria Telecommunication (NITEL) to themselves in the name of privatization through what they called ‘BLIND TRUST’. And in their wild evil manipulation of the unseen constitution, they have been able to siphon billions of Dollars (public funds) into their own private bank accounts in various countries abroad while Nigerians wallow in hunger and squalor. One of the reasons why Nigerians are paying six times the amount of GSM services in other West African countries is attributable to the unequalled corruption of our rulers.    

    Thus, today, Nigeria is the only country in the world where constitution is secret and the use of coins is a taboo, courtesy of the political ‘Lotus Eaters’. And in all these, the brunt bearers are the ordinary citizens whose God-endowed resources are used to enslave them. If anything remains for this country now, it is her carcass. Yet, like vultures feeding on the carcass of a dead prey, the vampires of this land are shamelessly relentless in their struggle to continue the governance of Nigeria by fraudulent means. The summary of all these is that Nigeria has graduated from being one of the most corrupt countries in the world into adopting corruption as her alternative name. What else can one say about this so-called ‘GIANT OF AFRICA?

    In Nigeria’s first republic, the system of governance was parliamentary in which every legislative contestant was voted as a legislator and the Prime Minister emerged through an in-house electoral college while the Ministers were appointed by the Prime Minister from among the elected Parliamentarians. At that time, Nigeria, by constitution, had only a ceremonial President appointed through a political arrangement sanctioned by the constitution. Federalism, at that time, held sway with strict adherence to the principle of exclusive and concurrent lists even as Ministers and legislators paid for their accommodations and means of transportation. Genuine political leadership, democracy and true federalism were however beheaded with the termination of the first republic in January 1966 by the military vagabonds through a coup d’état. Ever since, Nigeria has remained a country without leaders. Those who have been calling themselves leaders are nothing more than slave drivers who mounted the political ladder to that height by deceptively pretending to serve the people. And their slaves are the hapless and hopeless masses of Nigeria who ignorantly or innocently gave the mandate.

    Things started to go bad for Nigerians when greed gripped the better parts of those called leaders and they veered into the realm of ‘WANT’ from that of ‘NEED’ which had characterized the first republic. Thence, they were lured into the enclave of avarice and the result is the massive corruption in which the country is now engrossed. Even a carnivorous animal like the lion will only prey on a lesser animal for its immediate feeding need and thereafter become indifferent to other lesser animals that cross its way until it becomes hungry again. Nigerian politicians on the other hand will rather amass all available things including those they never need and keep such things for their children and grand children in case of future scarcity. 

    In 2010, the federal government alone is spending about N10 billion to celebrate the 50-year-old rot called Nigeria independence despite the glaring death of hope in the land. To all these, what is the solution? The answer to this question is a return to conscience by everybody. Without conscience there can be no leadership.

    Leadership is neither about power nor about authority. People who really understand the weight of responsibility involved in leadership will not vie for it. It was after experiencing such weight that Umar bn Khattab indicated in his personal will that none of his children should be allowed to partake in the leadership of the then vast and rich Islamic state.       

    Leadership must be recognized as a transient privilege conferred on man by the Almighty Allah. Some people had that privilege yesterday but they are out of it today. What they did with it has become history. Those with the same privilege today who cling to it as if it can never slip out of their hands should remember that they will become history tomorrow which will serve either as a warning on the vanity of human wishes or as encouragement to perform better or both.

    “If we work marble it will perish; If we work upon brass, time will efface it; If we rear temples they will crumble into dust; But if we work upon immortal minds and instil in them just principles; We are then engraving that upon a tablets which no one can efface but will brighten to all eternity”. God save Nigeria!

  • China’s AI deployment versus Trump 2.0’s strategy

    China’s AI deployment versus Trump 2.0’s strategy

    Today, I will lean on my background in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and over three decades of experience as a Chartered ICT Professional, as part of my diverse skills and competencies to reflect on the ongoing constructive in AI as China unveils Deepseek AI and other AI initiatives.

    Within one week of his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States (U.S.) (Trump 2.0), the emergence of the Deepseek AI platform suddenly sent President Trump’s Offensive strategy into a tactical defensive retreat. Like I said before, President Donald Trump soon realized that we are not in medieval times. China has dealt a strategic tech card that has disrupted not just Trump’s 2.0 strategy, but the entire global tech and AI space with the game-changing Deepseek moment. Deepseek is the main competitor to ChatGPT, and other AI models.

    Global stock markets are already reacting to the emergence of Deepseek which has sent shockwaves across stock markets, as tech stocks plunged, with about $1Trillion wiped out in a single day! According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Research: $15.7 trillion is the projected global economic growth that AI will provide by 2030. In my vew, with the rate at which AI is moving, AI may exceed expectations.

    Deepseek AI is cheaper than other AIs, built on less advanced chips, yet it performs as well as other AI frontrunners. It is free as an open source and nimbler. Of course, as a first-time launch, it could still be considered a Work in Progress, as the platform will be finetuned as it progresses. In one fell swoop, Deepseek is demystifying AI, and making it available and accessible- that’s a game changer!

    Just like anywhere in the world; respecting and leveraging alliances (internal and external) will remain a critical success factor for the United States (U.S.) as it has been for centuries. Alienating Allies will backfire in the long run. Deepseek’s emergence has sent shockwaves across the global tech ecosystem so much so that it secured the full global attention, particularly that of President Trump as he acknowledges the disruptive power of the Deeepsek AI, by recognizing its emergence as a “wake-up call” to the U.S. This unexpected reaction from a normally defiant President Trump is a stark reminder of the uncertainties of global dynamics especially in this 21st century. One may say that it is still early days. But the domestic and international reactions to President Trump’s scare tactics are signs of days to come, that President Trump will not run the world as he thought he could.

    In my view, the timing of the emergence of Deepseek AI, is very strategic for China, especially within the context of the ongoing tech, trade as well as geopolitics wars between the U.S. and China. It is strategic that China waited until after the inauguration of President Trump, before they unleashed Deepseek AI full-scale onto the World Wide Web, countering or completely disrupting the initial plans of President Trump’s offensive strategy of domination. Instead of deploying a defensive strategy, China deployed a counter-offensive strategy from an unexpected flank by seizing the moment to deploy Deepseek AI. As if that is enough, just a few days ago, Alibaba, a Chinese Tech giant unveiled its AI model, “Qwen 2.5-VL”, which according to Alibaba, is even better than Deepseek’s V3, Open AI’s GPT 4.0, and Meta’s Llama. According to Alibaba, Qwen 2.5 VL is currently the best AI model in the world; which remains to be confirmed in the coming days. In addition, last week, Moonshot AI, a Chinese startup released its latest product, named “Kimi K 1.5”, which Moonshot claims is at par with Open AI’s best. Interestingly, these game-changing developments in China are unraveling at the beginning of the year 2025, within a week of President Trump’s administration and during the Lunar New Year in China which is a holiday period in China. Accordingly, China is basically making a power move and a strategic statement to the world, especially to the U.S.; that China will remain a force to reckon with in technology, trade, commerce, and supply chain climates, amongst others.

    Of course, it is worthy of note that within 72 hours of his inauguration, President Trump demonstrated political and strategic sagacity, by securing almost $500 billion in Private commitment and, amongst other multi-billion U.S. for infrastructure development of AI and other technology initiatives; President Trump also secured a $600 trillion from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Muhammad Bin Salman which is “to expand investment and trade” between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. for the next four years. Additionally, President Trump also made a pitch for a 50/50 shareholding between TikTok and the U.S., he also gave the green light for Billionaire Elon Musk to be the American investor in TikTok, etc. These achievements speak volumes of the influence of President Trump, his commercial foresight and acumen in planning for further development of technology and empowering AI to consolidate the position of the US in the global Tech. However, it is obvious that President Trump is beginning to realize that his objective of easily subjugating the world under the threats of occupation and tariffs will not be that easy to achieve if at all it is possible.

    Read Also: Breaking the Silence: Addressing the Stigma Surrounding Hormonal Imbalance in Nigeria

    It, therefore, follows, to note the change in President Trump’s mode of messaging on China, which in my view has changed from “aggressive” to “conciliatory”. For instance, he was the first to call President Xi of China and had discussions on how to move forward, and China also sent the highest-ranking Chinese official to Trump’s inauguration. This is an indication of the mutual understanding of the value each of the two largest economies of the world bring to the table, and the need to have more mutually beneficial trade relationships than the “take it all” approach on either side. The fact that President Trump’s aggressive approach to China could not be in the interest of his de facto right-hand man Elon Musk and other big American tech giants and businesses is an indication that there may not be a “Trade Armageddon”, after all, Mr. Elon Musk and other Tech American Tech giants who have major manufacturing and production plants in China will rather advocate for constructive trade engagements. I also reckon that Trump may be playing the bluffing game to secure a good deal for America at the end of the day.

    The cost-effectiveness and capacity of Deepseek AI, and its other capabilities at the initial launch has provided a vista into the potential things to come and has negated the assumption/theory or principle that the US alone will determine everything from technology commerce, and trade, investment regional and global security, etc. for the entire world. The emergence of DeepSeek AI is also a counter maneuver at the thought that America will use the availability of semiconductors to push China out of the market or to control the market in that regard.

    Furthermore, the fact that DeepSeek AI does not require expensive chips is a big game changer and also brings to the fore the need for partners and allies to look at how they can work together for mutual benefits in the global space. The illusion that one country alone will determine how other countries survive or exist is long gone. As I said before, even Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, and Alexander the Great amongst others had the illusion of conquering the world, but indeed they could only do the most they could before they left.

    Security and privacy concerns for Deepseek AI versus cost and customer choice

    There is a valid concern that open-source AI platforms like Deepseek AI are not secure, endanger the privacy of user data, and could have data integrity issues. Basically, AI algorithms rely heavily on the quality and diversity of the data. Therefore, in my view, the growth of AI will further complicate and endanger our Cyberspace unless drastic, sustainable steps are taken by governments across the world and all concerned.

    Essentially, it is not only Deespseek that could be guilty of the aforementioned threats as we have seen in the case of Google, and almost all the social media platforms. It is a clear and present danger and the seriousness with which global leaders are discussing regulations and security AI; clearly demonstrates the importance of standardization, regulation, and security. But the reality is that the AI space is undergoing constructive disruption, breaking monopolies, and providing alternatives for users 

    China, Russia, India, and Japan are also playing major roles in the Tech space. Therefore, how President Trump is able to adjust his strategy will determine how the U.S. will continue maintaining its dominance. Because indeed maintaining leadership also requires building consensus with allies by giving and taking, and not only by just taking. So, the tariff war should be a subset of how President Trump is able to position the US by recognizing that the availability of raw materials and human capital in terms of skills, competencies, and capacities are critical success factors, and the U.S. does not have it all. For instance, Lithium and other critical raw materials are coming from Countries around the world, especially Africa, while gifted and talented human capital is available all over the world.