The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • Sunset at DAWN!

    Sunset at DAWN!

    Is it feasible for the sun to set at the time it is projected to rise? Not, unless there is a total solar eclipse, a meteorological incident of extraordinary proportion. It is the biological equivalent of total eclipse that just intruded our national space a week ago today.

    The dawn of Dipo Famakinwa has just been darkened. His sun has just set when it was supposed to rise. How does one even begin to deal with the enigma that is death? It strikes arbitrarily and randomly with impunity. The agency of death is without rhyme or reason. When, as in this case, we are helplessly confounded, we give up on rationality. We implicate the creator. But how can the one who created responsibly kill at the dawn of existence?

    Barely 50, a whole lifetime was ahead of Dipo! Death is cruel! It is not supposed to be like this. It is not rational that the one at the back of the line is the first to be taken away. It is unfair that a parent must mourn a child.

    Having made the lives of innocent mourners miserable since its creation, death itself is a suitable candidate for death. Death must die! Unfortunately, death will not be an adequate punishment for the innumerable infractions of this hater of humankind. Death has overstayed its time on Mother Earth.

    In recent times, our land has suffered the loss of eminent people of character. Many, like Dipo, have passed on at very tender ages. But why, in the name of the good creator, should a loving wife, also in her tender years, and little children, tearfully contemplate an uncertain future, without their husband and father, in a clime where promises of support are as fleeting as the passing shadow?

    However, we must now rely on the promises of the one that never fails. We have a merciful creator, who knows the heart of his creatures, and who is acutely aware of Dipo’s unwavering dedication to the elimination of hunger and poverty from his homeland. Surely, He will not leave Dipo’s widow and children to suffer indignity. The one who promised to never leave us alone, will always stand with the family Dipo left behind even as He welcomes him to His bosom to rest in perfect peace.

    As we reflect on the untimely death of Dipo, we must focus our mind on the interrogation of the inadequacies of our society. Every passing day only now draws us closer to the brink of hopelessness. We are not making progress in the areas that matter to the good life of individuals. And it does not appear that we have the sense of shame that strikes at the core of our conscience and makes us correct the shortcomings around us. We are too willing to give up on the need for change even before we get started.

    Look at the medical facilities that we used to boast about in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s: University College Hospital, Ibadan (UCH), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile Ife (OAUTH). Compare the services then and now. We still have great physicians, pharmacists and medical technologists around. But do they have the resources they need to save lives?

    If they do, we will not need to engage in medical tourism. But we also know that medical tourism is a choice available only to a tiny minority of our teeming population. Do we care about the multiple millions who die annually because they do not get the treatment, sometimes very simple, that they need to stay alive? Indeed, many of the ailments that afflict our people can be prevented with basic health facilities if they were available throughout the country. For that to be the case, we need to reorder our priorities. Dipo did not have to die from the ailment that killed him.

    In the passing of Dipo, there is a double tragedy of his death and the sunset at DAWN. As his sun sets, there is also a threat to the survival of the organisation for which he selflessly abandoned a thriving business to incubate. Who can replace his pioneering efforts so brilliantly demonstrated?

    At the inauguration of Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) in 2013, there was palpable excitement across the length and breadth of the Southwest zone. Something great was happening. The old Wild West was set for renewal and development. Despite their partisan differences, the new political leaders of the region embraced regional integration as the effective means to the development of their various states.

    But there was also the anxiety about the unknown. Do we have the requisite personnel? Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), the group that initiated the idea was acknowledged as a group of visionaries with bubbling ideas. And we also knew that they had some of the smartest and most dedicated patriots who can deliver if they put their minds to it. But many of them had their own businesses and many more were gainfully employed. Who will be ready to step in and pick up the challenge to lead DAWN?

    Dipo stepped up to the plate, rolled up his sleeves, and set the ball rolling to the delight of patriots. And before our very eyes, the mustard was becoming an established oak. As he would say, it is the doing of the Lord, and it is marvellous in our eyes.

    In November 2016, the six governors of the zone, in a show of bipartisanship that has never been seen before, rallied round DAWN and embraced regional integration with the combined strength of their offices. As I observed in my piece, “Hope Rising for the West”, on November 25, the communiqué after the meeting was truly encouraging. The governors maintained that:

    “the optimum interest of the Yoruba people should be the prime focus of the six state governments at all times, and that all politics within the region must henceforth be guided by the philosophy of politics of development.”

     “the prosperity of any constituent part of the Region is ultimately negated if other parts are not similarly prosperous.

    “political differences should no longer be a barrier to the economic development of the Region where the aggregate welfare of Yoruba people is concerned. All the States consequently agreed to work together within the framework of a people-centred development strategy.

    “A regime of continuity, regularity and urgency of interaction was canvassed and agreed upon by the meeting. The present crop of governors therefore agreed to bequeath to their people a good legacy reflective of the visions of our founding fathers and common ancestors.”

    Significantly, the governors assigned the responsibility for implementing their vision to DAWN:

    “DAWN Commission shall consequently develop programmes and activities along the identified areas of cooperation and bring them up for cooperative implementation.”

    And I ended my piece with the statement “The ball is now in the court of DAWN!”

    Now this! The leading light of DAWN Commission has just been extinguished and we move from hope rising to dispiriting reminiscences about the curse of Aole.

    But now is the time to perish the thought of despair. Now, we must reject the myth of a curse of which we are innocent. If Aole truly cursed, its effect should lapse with the conspirators that he targeted.

    As we mourn the untimely passing of Dipo Famakinwa, we must remain focused on the struggle which he embraced and led for the development of our land and the pride of our heritage.

    We must stand for dignity and respect which does not come from material acquisition and possessive individualism. Our culture is being undermined before our very eyes. The custodians of our tradition are being abducted, kidnapped and detained by militants who disrespect us and are contemptuous of our inheritance.

    Dipo rose to the challenge and refused to give up until the cold hands of death snatched him from us.

    In this moment of grief, we must remind ourselves that there is much to do and brace up for the task ahead. He is already resting in peace.

  • Nigerian media and the Presidency

    Preamble

    The media is like a spider web. A small object that approaches it easily gets ensnared. But if the object is big, no time is wasted in attempting to tear the web apart. That is the parable of the media in the hands of power wielders.

    It is no longer news that the State House correspondent of the Punch newspaper , Olalekan Adetayo, was expelled from the Presidential Villa in Abuja last Monday. And the expulsion was allegedly carried out on the order of the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to Mr. President without any consultation with the Presidential media team in the same Villa. Thank God, a fine professional like Femi Adesina was up to the task as he immediately rescued the situation and thereby saved Mr. President of another embarrassing media dent that could have dangerously robbed on his image with a lasting effect. The incident is a further confirmation that the Presidency lacks synergy in its internal operations and the public is not oblivious of this.

    Going through the history of Punch newspaper, one will discover that the paper was founded on a platform of radicalism in 1976 by two gentlemen of professional competence. These were the late Chief James Olu Aboderin, a Chartered Account and Samson Oruru Amuka Pemu, an Editor from the then Daily Times stable. The latter is now the Chairman and Publisher of Vanguard newspaper. The radical background of Punch newspaper was the reason for adopting the slogan: ‘Pack a Punch’ which was popularly known with the Punch in 1970s and early 1980s.  It was for the same reason that the Beattle Car was used as its hypothetical symbol of ruggedness. “You can’t kill the Beattle”.

     

    Media waves

    When the Nigerian media waves throbbed with the breaking news of Punch correspondent’s expulsion incident, it quickly became a reminder of several similar incidents in that same Villa since the inception of the ongoing 4th republic. It will be recalled that the first Presidential media spokesman in that Villa in 1999 was Dr Doyin Okupe (a medical doctor) who was generally perceived as a square peg in a round hole as far as that office was concerned. He had to be unceremoniously removed by President Olusegun Obasanjo after two years of intolerable performance in office.

    But the generality of Nigerian journalists as well as the enlightened members of the public had known that Okupe’s sack was just a matter of time. The office required professionally trained personnel in the field of information and communication management. Thus, putting a medical doctor in that office was like putting a bull in a china shop.

     

    Tunji Oseni’s Era

    When the first experiment failed, the same President Obasanjo went out in search of a versatile journalist of international repute, as a replacement for Okupe. That impeccable qualification was found in the late Tunji Oseni. And the gentleman’s appointment brought a great relief to most Nigerian media houses in the belief that with Oseni in the saddle, the practice of journalism in relation to governance at the federal level would strengthen democracy in the country.

     

    Obasanjo’s perception

    Unfortunately, however, President Obasanjo did not see the job in that light. His seeming perception of the post of Special Adviser to the President on media was to use the office to silence the opposition and curb the perceived recklessness of the media. But Tunji Oseni was too refined to engage in such a butcher’s job. Thus, in less than two years again, President Obasanjo became fed up with Oseni’s civility and professional handling of the Presidential publicity management. What he (President Obasanjo) seemingly wanted for that office was brutality and not civility. He therefore fired the gentleman called Tunji Oseni through a humiliating radio announcement and then searched for another crack journalist of international repute who would however do the bidding of the President, irrespective of professionalism.

     

    The late Remi Oyo

    It was that presidential search that brought the late Remi Oyo to the Presidential Villa as Nigeria’s first female journalist to occupy the seat that was hitherto seen as a special preserve of the male gender. Although Mrs. Oyo was well equipped for the job, it was another matter if she would do it according to Presidential expectation at the expense of her professional prowess.

     

    Professional parasites

    It was that uncertainty on the part of the President that led to the employment of two ‘rental criers’ to handle the unprofessional angle of Oyo’s job. One of them was Femi Fani-Kayode. The other was Akin Osuntokun.

    Sensing that Remi Oyo might not be courageous enough to operate differently from the way Tunji Oseni did, the President decided to rely on the duo of the bulldozers who were given different innocuous titles to justify their pay.  Thus, through their bulldozing approach to publicity at the Presidential Villa, those men relieved Mr. President of his professional allergy and thus prevented him albeit inadvertently, from ending up in hiring four Special Advisers/ Assistants on publicity in eight years of his tenure. But it is on record that he used three Advisers with the period.

     

    Tunji Oseni’s narration

    Narrating his ordeal after leaving office, Tunji Oseni said Mr. President suddenly walked into his (Oseni’s) office strangely one day and said to him: “Tunji, I am thinking of making you an Ambassador in one of the foreign countries.” And, when he (Oseni) mildly objected to that proposal saying that he was satisfied with the job at hand, the President just walked away without uttering a word. About ten minutes later, he (Oseni) heard of his sack on the radio. And within a couple of hours, some security men told him to quit his official residence within 48 hours. That is the extent to which professionalism is accorded respect in Nigeria. Tunji Oseji never got over that shock till his death.

    If a renowned professional of Tunji Oseni’s status could be so humiliated what else is there to say about the expulsion of a correspondent from the Presidential Villa by a boss of another sector?

     

    Expulsion of ‘The Monitor’ correspondent

    While Remi Oyo held sway in that office, the State House correspondent of an Ibadan-based newspaper, ‘The Monitor’, was not just expelled from Aso Rock, he was physically bundled out of the Villa on the order of Mr. President who was supposed to be the father of all. The young man’s offence was to have asked a question that was considered as obnoxious to the Presidential power of that time.

    From all these, it became evident that calling the media the Fourth Estate of Realm is a mere political nomenclature that is totally abhorrent to Nigerian political class. Perhaps that was why President Olusegun Obasanjo vetoed the Freedom of Information Bill for about five years from 2002 to 2007 and refused to sign it into law till his exit from that office.

     

    Whistle Blowers’ risk

    It was the former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who first blew the whistle by drawing the attention of the world to the extent of corruption in Nigeria. He said emphatically that “Nigeria is a fantastically corrupt country”. That could be called his parting gift for our country on his way out of office as Prime Minister. But he had hardly completed that sentence when the noisy Nigerian press descended on him and took him to the laundry. As usual, our press rained abuses on him and asked him to proceed to the gallows. But now, less than six months after he made the statement, who is right? And who is wrong? Today, the man is globally acknowledged as a speaker of the truth at least in that respect.  And ever since, the Nigerian press has kept silent on the matter burying its ugly head in shame.

     

    Not patriotism

    Patriotism is not about blindly defending one’s country even where the truth is obvious. Going deep into the causes and effect of corruption in Nigeria, our press can hardly exonerate itself. Here is a press that blatantly paint the truth black and shamelessly clad falsehood in a cloak just for selfish reason.

    Yours sincerely is not just a veteran journalist but also a member of Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE). But whatever the situation may be, calling a spade a spade is the hallmark of patriotism. Those who claim to love this country must show it not in words by in action.

    Whistle blowing is yielding positive results. The looters of this country and their satanic accomplices must be ready to go to the gallows if need be. A trillion barking dogs cannot stop the surging train on its rail. Nigeria must survive.

  • This mysterious world

    Preamble

    What can we say of a man who fixes his eyes on the sun but does not see it? Instead, he sees a chorus of flaming seraphim announcing a paroxysm of despair.

    That is the parable of the country called Nigeria. Like the Israelites of yore, most Nigerians have become unbelievable gypsies wandering aimlessly in the wilderness of forlornness and wallowing helplessly in abject poverty even in the midst of abundance.

    Our world is mysterious. And the more efforts made to demystify it the more complex it becomes. Not even humanity’s greatest footprint (science and technology) has succeeded in demystifying the phenomenal web we call “the world”.

    In retrospect

    A few years ago, while yours sincerely was browsing through the internet, I fortuitously stumbled on a strange news report that was nearer to fiction than to reality, yet it was real. In the report, far away in Thailand, a young man of about 28 years of age was reported missing for some days by his relatives. By the time his dead body was eventually found somewhere in a thick forest, journalists in that country were bracing up for writing an exclusive

    Story.

    First mystery scene

    Incredibly, bruises of snake bite were found all over the young man’s body. And, surprisingly also, a monstrous python was found lying lifelessly by his side. On examining the python, the police discovered human bites all over its body. There and then, it was concluded that perhaps a furious duel had taken place between a man hunter and a reptile which led to mutual death. But the story did not end there.

    Second mystery scene

    The young man’s body was also found to be pants down with a dangling condom firmly fixed to his manhood. This unbelievable scene suggested the possibility of an attempted bestial sex that could be linked to a ritual act. Could the young man have attempted to rape the python? That was a mysterious question begging for a mysterious answer.

    Personal reflection

    On a personal reflection, yours sincerely arrived at a guess that the young man might have lured a beautiful damsel into a hideout perhaps for an illicit sexual orgy. But on getting to the point of action, the damsel decided to show her true self by turning into a python, and a duel ensued. Or why would a young man wearing condom be found half naked in such a circumstance with such a brutal reptile? This strange story quickly reminded me of an article I once wrote in this column which was entitled “THE WORLD OF JINN”.

    Linkage

    Linking that article to the episode in Thailand, just relayed above, may provide a possible clue to the mystery surrounding the death of a man and a python almost arm in arm. The similitude of the above episode is like that of Nigeria and her epidemy of corruption. I therefore decided to recall that article here today as an illustration of the linkage between the two articles if only to enable those who did not read the earlier article when it was first published. Please read on:

     The world of Jinn

    “…The world of Jinn is, to man, an imaginary world entirely wrapped in mystery. The details of how man and Jinn came to share the planet called the earth are known only to Allah. But who actually, are the Jinn? Jinn are living beings created by Allah from the flames of fire and given free will. They live on earth in a world parallel to that of man. But they are invisible to human eyes in their natural form. The Arabic word “Jinn” is from the verb “Jannah” which means to hide. Some other words from the same verb root are given names such as Janin and Janan meaning embryo and heart respectively to reflect their hidden nature.

    Categories of Jinn

    Jinn, like human beings, are as much in genders as in races and tribes. Their activities are elicited by their various cultures and traditions. Some of them are called fairy. Some are called demons and some are called devils depending on their roles in the lives of human beings. In Islam, the unbelievers among Jinn are called Shaytan (Satan) the plural of which is Shayatin and their paramount king is called Iblis. We first heard of Iblis in some Qur’anic verses revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) by Allah in the city of Madinah.

    Analysis

    According to the contents of those verses, shortly after the creation of Adam, Allah (SWT) asked the Angels (with Iblis in their midst), to prostrate to him (Adam). They all did except Iblis who bluntly refused. And, when asked why he refused to obey the commandment of Allah, he said he (Iblis), having been created from the flame of fire was superior to whatever was created from the earth. That was the beginning of hostility between man and Jinn as declared by Iblis on the premise of envy. Noting this hostility, Allah warned Adam and Hawau (Eve) to steer clear of the antics of Iblis and his disciples in order not to be lured into perdition. But with cunning and intrigue, Iblis succeeded in demoting the first human couple. The rest is history.

    Types of Jinn

    Jinn are of various heights, sizes and colours just like humans. They also have different languages and cultures depending on the race or tribe to which they belong. But one unique feature with which they are commonly endowed and, which man lacks, is the ability to transform into anything they want at will.

    Jinn’s earlier life

    Jinn are believed to have lived on earth for millions of years before the creation of man.

    It was from the experience of their lawlessness and bloody existence while they held sway on earth that the Angels got the idea which informed their initial objection to the creation of man. Without such experience the Angels would not have attempted to advise Allah “not to put on earth again those who would vandalize it and shed blood therein”. Q. 2, Verse 31.

    Environments of the Jinn

    Jinn are everywhere in the world today. They are in every home, community, country and continent. The Jinn live in trees, mountains, rivers as well as in people’s homes and in people’s hearts and wombs. It is possible to marry jinn as a wife or as a husband without knowing. This may sound odd but the truth is that most people keep jinn in their homes even in the name of children. There are Jinn in schools, in the markets, in the industries, in the offices, as well as in the Mosques and Churches. They share the lives of humans anywhere, everywhere.

    The Jinn in human environment

    The constant human tampering with the ecosystem has compelled the Jinn to change their style of living. Hitherto, they lived exclusively in places like forests, mountains, rivers, inside trees and in certain animals. But as towns and cities emerge from the ravages of the forests and mountains the Jinn take to human homes as abodes thereby sharing man’s immediate environment in all aspects. Today, Jinn do not only live in human houses, farms and offices, they also live inside their hearts, brains and blood.

    Colonisation

    If there is anything called colonization in the real sense, it is the occupation of human space and time by the Jinn. That human marriages which were once sacred do not last any longer and societal harmony, once taken for granted, has become a luxury are a sign of Jinn’s demonic grip on earth.

    Human Jinn

    Most people in authority who we call Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings, Queens, Governors, Ministers Legislators and Judges have significant traits of Jinn which have transformed into humans. Politicians are particularly fitting very accurately into a Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) which described hypocrites as persons who lie with relish while speaking and renege on promises and betray trust.

     

    Why are Jinn so called?

    The word Jinn is originally Arabic. And in In Arabic language, a person is said to be demonized (majnun) when his/her conduct is devoid of human feeling. To be demonized is to act deliriously especially where human touch is expected to take the front burner. It is not a surprise, therefore, that some people in authority reflect some traits of lunacy or that of megalomania in their bid to display power. Such people are, no doubt, from the yoke of Jinn. However, Jinn, as special creatures, do not represent all that is bad. There are good ones among them. Some of them are even more pious than human beings. In Islam, the good Jinn are said to be the disciples of Ifrit.

    Jinn in the Qur’an

    In the Qur’an, Jinn are mentioned about 35 times in relation to their activities and good or bad nature. A whole chapter of the Qur’an (chapter 72) is dedicated to the Jinn especially the good ones among them. It is about this category of Jinn that Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) thus: “Say it is revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened to Allah’s revelations and said: “We have heard a wonderful revelation (The Qur’an) giving guidance to the right path. We believe in it and shall henceforth serve none besides (Allah) our Lord. Exalted is His glory. He has taken no wife neither has He begotten any child. The ignorant ones amongst us have uttered wanton falsehood against Allah even though no man or Jinn is supposed to say what is untrue of Him…” Q.72, Verses 1-7.

    Explanation

    Just as good people are scarce so are good Jinn. The latter associate only with good people and relate to them as comrades in faith. In the same vein, the evil Jinn relate to evil people in the spirit of give and take. No evil Jinn can be so friendly with any human being as not to demand 10 advantages in return for only one he has offered. Men who cultivate friendship with Jinn for the purpose of getting rich quick usually and invariably pay dearly for such. When you hear of mysterious death of a wife or that of a husband or even that of a child, watch out, a Jinn is at work somewhere around. Such Jinn are not known for serving man for free.

    Rivalry

    The Jinn see humans as permanent rivals who must be dealt with for displacing them on earth. And their active way of dealing with human beings is to offer carrot which they know that evil men will not reject. To them, carrot is not a free offer. It must be followed by stick. It is not by accident that children are born these days with two heads, four legs and at times without faces.

    The workings of the Jinn

    The workings of Jinn are more effective in the dead nights or in the day when the sun is at its peak. Pregnant women who wander about at these odd times are likely to have encounters with the evil Jinn. And, in such a situation, the Jinn easily supplant the foetus in them leading to the bearing of strange monsters in the name of children.

    Cohabiting with the Jinn

    While good Jinn live or mill around Mosques and cemeteries with the intention of cleansing those environments, the evil Jinn live in the toilets, refuse bins and the like. That is why Muslims are not supposed to talk inside the toilet except for emergency. And they should not stay a second longer than necessary therein. Most people do not know the danger inherent in leaving the toilet doors of their homes ajar especially when such toilets are un-kept. It is an ignorant way of providing abode for evil Jinn who fuel matrimonial crises from time to time and use reptiles and insects like spiders and wall echoes to harass the inhabitants. The situation of the world today is such that human beings are the ones living in the midst of Jinn and not vice versa.

    Jinn’s Working Instruments

    Using wealth, women and wine as fetters, Iblis seems to have conquered the world from the orient to the occident by gild-washing evils and trivializing good even as his agents are actively furthering his course on all fronts. Today, there are men everywhere but no husbands are available. Women are as numerous as the sands of the desert but only a few of them can be called wives in the Islamic or African cultural sense. Today, on the instruction of Satan, parents are scorned by their children, students treat their teachers with disdain, teachers take undue advantage of their students before letting them cross the huddles of examinations. Doctors and nurses who were once seen as good Samaritans are now the merchants of death and sellers of foetus and human parts. People who are designated judges are the custodians and incubators of injustice. People trusted with our treasury are the thievs looting the same treasury with impunity.  Religious sanctuaries have been turned into satanic shrines where men and women are duped or satanically hypnotized daily. Those we once venerated as clergy have audaciously become Lucifer reincarnates. Fathers impregnate their daughters. Mothers seduce their sons into abominable sex even as gays are consecrated as Bishops.

    Allies of the Jinn

    All the abominations against which we were warned in the Qur’an and the Bible have now been turned into ‘profitable’ trades and professions. And the yardstick for measuring which crime should be punished and which should not is the social status of the criminal. If, for instance, you are not a legislator, a minister, a Governor or a chief executive of a bank or a politician of note, do not pilfer. If you do and are caught, you will liable to the full wrath of the law. And on the other hand, you can only be said to have embezzled and not stolen if you are one of those wielding power in the country. In other words, embezzlement is for the upper class while theft is for the pedestrian masses. And the one deserves official forgiveness while the other must be forced to pass through the whole length of law process. The law of the land has no meaning to the satanic forces governing the country. Once you belong to the right cult you are above the law. As a result of this, Nigeria, a country of natural boom is now a nation of satanic doom.

    The big question

    Who will rescue this land from the scourge of demons? Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had proffered solution to all these evil forces when he asked the Muslims to listen to the words of Allah by reading the Qur’an and speak with Him (Allah) by prostrating to Him in prayer. Those are two things that the evil Jinn do not want to see or hear of. They flee from where the Qur’an is constantly recited and from where human beings often prostrate to Allah. Who says evil Jinn do not have strong Dallis in Nigeria?

  • Understanding secession struggles

    Understanding secession struggles

    A crucial premise of the world political order is that it is normatively justified. Otherwise, it makes little sense to defend an unjust system with the might of the state and the international community. Secessionists challenge this premise.

    A system, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. For secessionists, what they see in the states whose legitimacy they challenge does not measure up to their standard of justice. Hence the grave decision to confront a vicious Leviathan even when doing so risks a certain danger of deadly civil war, and an uncertain outcome that includes ignoble defeat.

    Surely, in this, as in other spheres of activities, the advice to keep trying until you succeed at your chosen task is a sound one. One cannot justifiably blame a group that persists against all odds based on the perceived justice of its cause. The commitment of politically aware and morally concerned activists in pursuit of their dream of a just ordering of the world political order is worth paying attention to.

    Therefore, today, I choose to look at three such efforts out of a plethora of cases that have emerged in recent times. The focus of each group with its justification for its position and the reaction of its larger political community, a.k.a. the state, provides a powerful insight not only to the sociology of the different states, but also their normative credentials.

    Scotland has been an integral part of the United Kingdom since 1707 when the Act of the Union ratified the treaty of 1706. The treaty had unified the kingdoms of England and Scotland under one Kingdom of Great Britain. Before then, there had been cultural and blood ties. James VI of Scotland who was the great grandson of James IV, King of Scotland, and Margaret Tudor, daughter of the King of England, became the acceptable successor to Elizabeth I, Queen of England.  That was around 1603 and the prospect for a common crown and a common parliament was bright.

    A common crown did not occur because of ingrained cultural differences and resentment. This was what the treaty of 1706 accomplished. Or did it? Even before the recent resurgence of nationalistic sentiment in Scotland, the treaty and act of unification were not a shoe-in but for the dire financial situation in which Scotland found itself. Ever since, the Union has only alienated many Scots, fuelling the demand for independence, a demand which Brexit has only just intensified.

    What has been the reaction of Westminster? With gentle persuasion, a strategy of divide and rule, and a dose of concessions, including devolution, the secession movement has been managed. In the 2014 referendum, 55 per cent voted against independence, while 44 per cent voted in favour. The Scottish National Party has now demanded another referendum vote over the decision of the English people to exit the EU. Time will tell.

    Significantly, government response does not include arrests, detention, or jail time for the leaders of the movement for Scottish independence.

    An unusual secessionist movement out of California in the United States just disappeared without the United States government lifting a finger. California and Texas, two of the biggest states that couldn’t be more disparate in outlook and political leaning, have shared a common interest in moving for secession whenever they do not like the result of a presidential election. Between 2008 and 2016, it was Texas that wanted an exit. Since January until this week, it is California.

    Based on its assets in population and financial muscle as the sixth-largest economy in the world, California can undeniably prosper as a nation-state. This plus the resentment of a federal government that is completely under the control of a conservative ideology which negates everything that many Californians espouse have driven the Golden State to the edge. Interestingly, the state itself is ideologically divided between the north and the south and as soon as it succeeds, if it does, California Republic will confront a new reality of assuaging a minority within the new nation.

    We may ask: what has been the reaction of the United States government to the threat of secession by one of its states? Silence!

    This is understandable. There is a constitutional provision for dealing with such cases. The movement leaders know they must cross a threshold. They must secure requisite signatures to place the initiative on the ballot. To organise signatures, they must raise funds. More than six months after they floated the idea, the California secessionists had not raised up to one quarter of what they need to put the question on the ballot for 2018. Amidst this, there was the bad press about the link of one of the leaders of the movement with Russia where he teaches English! The initiative was expectedly called off this week.

    Back home, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) declared a new Republic of Biafra a couple of years ago. This was after the election of 2015, but it was not altogether a completely new movement. Years earlier, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) had taken the nation by storm. Both movements boast of massive support from Ndigbo, especially the young generation, and both Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and Chief Ralph Uwazuruike became instant celebrities.

    The reason for the support that the two gentlemen receive from youths and adults alike is not far-fetched. Biafra war-experience shocked the conscience of many people around the world mainly because of the effective propaganda machine of the seceding region. The troubling pictures of malnourished children, the famished figures of the elderly, and the account of genocidal activities against the Igbo before the secession move were too gruesome for many.

    But hostilities had ceased for more than 40 years and normalcy had been restored. Yet, emotions still run high and a new generation of Igbo, including many who were not born at the time of hostilities, now lead the new movement.

    Alas, the last paragraph is only half-true! Hostilities only ceased on the battle field. For many Igbo, there is still a feeling of alienation from the larger society. Though, they have participated at the highest levels of governance, including the presidency, they have only served as Number 2 while the Number 1 position has still eluded them. They feel short-changed in the allocation of states per zone. And with an impressive record of educational achievements, they feel that their potentials have not been and cannot be fully realised in the Nigerian landscape with its contradictions.

    Furthermore, it is also the case that the movement attracts, not just a new generation, but also the old and well-established political and intellectual figures. Only recently, the prestigious Eastern Consultative Assembly elected Mazi Kanu as its new President. If that is not an endorsement of his position by the Igbo establishment, what can qualify as such? The governors of the Southeast and the business and professional class have also called for Kanu’s release.

    This raises the question: what was the reason for Kanu’s detention in the first place? Per government, he led a movement for secession and this is a crime against the Nigerian state. But for Kanu, the legitimacy of the state is the issue.

    A further question is raised: Can this crisis be effectively resolved through the legal system or through a thoughtful process, which takes account of the political context in which the crime is committed and addresses the fundamental issues it raises?

    That was why Great Britain tried to deal with the Scottish movement with devolution before the English ventured again into Brexit crisis. On the other hand, the California and Texas movements are largely ignored by the government because they have no oxygen to sustain them.

    It is instructive to note that the Eastern Consultative Assembly has restated one more time the grievances that occasioned the agitation for secession. The group identified the perceived injustice of “oppressive census figures”, “asphyxiation through state and local government creation, and “opposition of the Nigerian government to peaceful restructuring.

    The implication is that once these grievances are addressed, the agitation will cease. Can we give political solution a chance?

     

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  • Where is the President?

    By way of reiteration, this column asks once again that President Muhammadu Buhari must consider an honourable stand down from office. Last month, after his return from his 50-day medical sojourn in Britain, it had been advocated here that the President’s continued stay in office would do his fragile health condition more injury, just as it would portend deeper adverse effects on Nigeria’s economy.

    Expectedly, many are opposed to this position and understandably so – their motives are mainly selfish and self-serving. While some want Buhari to remain in power even when he is obviously chronically ill so they can maintain their positions and enjoy huge economic benefits, others have made political calculations that stretch even beyond 2019.

    Very few give serious thoughts to the immediate, medium and long-term impact of the current health situation of the President on the fortunes of the country. Indeed, the President’s close personal aides and kitchen cabinet would appear to be more comfortable with the status quo, which leaves room for proxy presidency.

    Inasmuch as this is utterly not acceptable, it is equally not sustainable. The events of the last two weeks or so have proved so. Last Wednesday, PMB was not present to preside over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, a signal ominous and distressing. The agenda was light. That was the excuse the nation was handed for the President’s absence.

    Gee! How could the agenda of a nation in recession be light unless the members of the cabinet have suddenly become hoary and light-headed? How could our agenda be light when terrorists are still wreaking  havoc in the Northeast and cultists are raging in the South? We speak of a country of about 200 million people and not a local council area. We speak of a country where hundreds are currently dying of a common disease called meningitis. We speak of a country that for eight years could not contain a rag-tag terror gang; that now roils under the ‘scourge’ of internally displaced persons. We speak of a country that still imports about 80 per cent of her staple food.

    This same country has a light agenda during her highest level executive meeting. And as a result, the President chose to stay away or take a snooze?

    If the first time is overlooked, a second successive time is bound to raise the alarm; which is the reason for this piece. This week, the FEC meeting was postponed once again on the flimsy reason of the Easter break making it difficult to have the memos ready. Ha! Is this how we run our country now?

    We thought certain things are supposed to be sacrosanct: like getting the FEC meeting memos ready at all costs, without brooking any excuses. This is the most basic we expect and this is how it is done in other climes.

    It is laughable indeed to give this manner of excuse. We couldn’t even get a smart excuse… we could simply have said that the FEC was on recess or any such banality. But most of the populace can see through all this shenanigans; we can see that the president’s ill health is making it impossible for FEC to sit regularly.

    Only heavens know what other national duties his ailment bars him from doing and meanwhile, we pretend all is well and that the country is running. But we know that the country cannot run effectively if our number one is incapacitated. Yes we have a veep but he is not empowered to run the country, he only takes orders and acts on such just like any other appointee.

    We are indeed in an aberrant situation. We saw it writ large the other day when the bumbling Babachir Lawal, the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) was accosted by the press and told he had been suspended. “Who announced it?” he had asked them most disingenuously. “The Presidency,” they told him. “Who is the Presidency?” he blurted rather pathetic; before he gathered up himself.

    But he had already spilled it. He had let it known that the so-called ‘presidency’ is now euphemism for a coterie of aides who speak for and on behalf of the president. It is a game he knows too well; he had donned that mask several times. Now the masquerade is stark naked.

    It was a palace ‘coup’ in which the victims heard the announcement of their ouster over the radio. It was a ‘coup’ in which the fallen angels were instantly barred from the throne of grace. While the one dumbfoundedly questioned an aberration he helped to created, the other, supposedly a tough spook became soggy-faced and lachrymal. The Director- General of the national Intelligence Agency (NIA) was betrayed by his tears. How are the mighty weeping!

    But if the circumstances around the presidency were normal, number one would have called them in, debriefed them, and formal letters of suspension handed to them before public announcements are made. But the situation in Nigeria’s innermost recess of power required a bit of cloak and a bit of dagger. It is subterfuge environment.

    Which is why we ask again today, where is our president? There is too much at stake to allow this tenuous condition to prevail for too long.

     

    Osborne Towers: Double standards

    There is clearly a whiff of double standards in the all-round handling of this mother of all malfeasance. Of course, the Osborne Tower scandal represents what may be described as the ‘condominium of corruption’. It is the recent cash haul from one of the posh block of flats known as Osborne Towers.

    The cash found in various currencies totalling N13 billion was shockingly claimed by the serving D-G of Nigeria Intelligence Agencies (NIA), Ayo Oke, who tells a bemused world they are funds for ‘covert operations’.

    First, all the flats in the condo are to be searched, but so far only former PDP governors: Peter Obi and Adamu Muazu, are being named. We do not hear anything yet about governors of the ruling party embedded in the condo as well.

    Again, why is NIA D-G Oke and the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (Babachir Lawal) being investigated by a Presidential Panel, instead of the EFCC doing its job as it has always done with other high calibre suspects?

    It is either that we no longer trust the EFCC or we are deferring to these suspects because they are serving government officials. Whatever the case may be, it is not good enough. It’s double standard.

  • The Fashola effect

    Going back to one’s words is not a pleasant thing. It is akin to returning to scoop up one’s spittle or worse stuff. This dirty job is what one is about to do here today. This column didn’t think it was a good idea to have collapsed three major ministries into one and saddled one minister with such behemoth. It didn’t matter that one had followed Babatunde Raji Fashola’s trajectory from inception; one still didn’t think him a superman.

    When therefore, President Muhammadu Buhari introduced such novelty, one thought it was unwise to say the least and we said so vehemently. Of all ministries, how could we deign to combine Works, Power and Housing? Why, these are the majors!

    But reports emanating from the Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing (FMWPH) have shown that the assignment may well be a piece of cake for the one we call BRF. In fact it is widely believed that what is known as the Fashola effect is beginning to manifest in this composite ministry.

    First, work has begun in most abandoned federal roads across the country. Work is currently going on in at least two roads in each of the 36 states of the federation. This means that a minimum of 72 roads spread across the six zones of the country are right now enjoying a resurgence of activities by way of site preparation, massive earth works, and a teeming of men and machinery. If these reports are anything to go by, one can wager that there was probably never a time so many roads were attended to at the same time.

    Two highways will serve as example here: the Lagos –Ibadan Expressway (LIE) and the Lagos – Ore – Benin Expressway (LOBE). These are probably the busiest roads in Nigeria. As one noted here previously, for the first time in a long while, the seasonal exodus to the Southeast last December was largely smooth. It witnessed few accidents and hardly any  gridlock often occasioned by bad portions of this road.

    Trips from Lagos to the East for instance, used to be marred by the need to run one-way in many sections of the road; the need to do detours sometimes through bush tracks and it was often plagued by extended traffic jams caused by many failed portions along the old road.

    All that is becoming a thing of the past on the LOBE. The ministry under Fashola, having anticipated the seasonal surge of traffic,  quickly embarked on numerous ameliorative work on the road which made last Christmas’ throng a bit pleasurable. Today, work has gone far apace on the Ore – Sagamu stretch and it is likely that by year end, we shall have a near brand new expanded and ‘nylon’-tarred road. It is the same with the LIE; work has been going on earnestly from both ends – Lagos to Sagamu and Ibadan to Sagamu. We all remember the encumbered state of this road for about five years of the Goodluck Jonathan era. By the time he left office, the highway was enmeshed in a complicated knot of litigation with a private investor.

    While this charade went on, the road deteriorated and claimed daily, the lives and limbs of hapless commuters. It was a season of endless road carnage.

    How that knot was untied should never be the concern of the citizenry in the first place; what is important is that work has not stopped on that road since Fashola and his team moved in little over one year ago. That is quite salutary.

    We noted in the beginning that an estimated number of 72 roads are being rehabilitated at the moment. Many would not readily understand the import and impact of this. These are roads that have been abandoned in the last one decade due to government’s insouciance, non-fidelity to contractual agreements and lack of financial planning for projects.

    If so many contractors are back at work, this means they have been mobilised and are being paid for work done. Of course we know that the Works budget was amply increased for 2016 and the impending 2017 budget. This is the result of planning and in turn, acute leadership. But we also know that budget proposal is one; actual (cash) is another and judicial and accountable deployment of funds is yet another matter.

    But what really earned this space today is the knowledge that the minister has visited his projects in nearly all the six zones across the country and all the states save for about three or so. Imagine a shuttle across about 33 states of the federation in less than six months. Imagine inspecting about 70 work sites in all the four corners of the country. Imagine the multiplier effect of construction going on from the creeks of the Niger Delta to the Boko Haram savaged Northeast.

    These revived projects betoken the creation of more jobs for young people on work sites; supply of cement, sand, gravel, chippings, iron rods, food, drinks and a dozen other items. This indeed must translate to a massive boost to the economy.

    And he is not only visiting roads but also power generating plants in each state. Fashola also visits ongoing work in the 1,000 units per-state National Housing Programme. Work is also going on apace on this in as many states as have provided land. The ministry has said that if the Federal Housing project is not going on in your state right now, please hold your governor responsible; he is denying your people their share of the housing ‘national cake’.

    Think for a moment what would happen if all this is sustained in the next two years or more. Who says a tree cannot make a forest; who says only an engineer could head the Works, Power and Housing ministry; who says leadership is not everything?

     

    Lagos @ 50: Whither Igbo of Lagos

    As our mega city sets on an elaborate celebration of her golden jubilee, the big drums are out. Personalities who apparently gave the city voice, flesh and character are being lined up for recognition: Aliko Dangote, Folorunso Alakija, Mobolaji Johnson, Papa Jakande, BAT, BRF and AAA to name a few.

    Great, but what is the method to all this? It looks like names are merely pulled off the cuff. As my colleague Femi Macaulay pointed out in his column (Eagle Eye) on Monday, who would celebrate Lagos without a Sir Herbert Macaulay? And where are the Igbo of Lagos?

    There are Lagos Igbo families three generations old who have left indelible landmarks and impacted beautifully on the highways and landscapes of Eko.

    Zik was an Isale Eko boy who schooled at Methodist Boys High School, Lagos. Upon his return from US and Ghana, set up businesses in Lagos and started his politics here. He was MP for Lagos in the Western House. The imprints of Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, the wealthiest man of his day are still visible all over Lagos.

    If these are ‘old’ history, Rear Admiral Godwin Ndubuisi Kanu (retd) is not only a former Military Administrator, he lives in Lagos till today, and has been in the frontline of the progressives bent of Lagos politics. Recall NADECO. Prof. Pat Utomi, a public intellectual, has lit up the city with his fiery mind these past three decades; Jim Ovia, Cosmas Maduka, Onyeka Onwenu; the Mbanefos, the Ibrus, to name a few? Let’s make it inclusive; let’s win together.

  • Black Man’s Dilemma: Forty years later

    Black Man’s Dilemma: Forty years later

    Black Man’s Dilemma by Chief Areoye Oyebola, veteran journalist and former editor of Daily Times, was first published in 1976 on the eve of the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC). With its sweeping indictment of the black race, it was an unpleasant rain on the parade of black folks demanding recognition and respect from a hostile world. The review was mixed. While some commended his objectivity, others wondered how a fellow black can be so dismissive of his kind?

    Chief Oyebola revised the book in 2002, and shortly after, he kindly sent me a signed copy with his compliments. I carefully read through several times, and each time different emotions consumed me: bitterness, resentment, sadness and shame. While I felt like screaming aloud at several points in protest of chilling statements, I soldiered on till the end.

    Black Man’s Dilemma came up again last Saturday when a thoughtful and intelligent political activist, Architect Abiodun Adepoju (Abbey), paid me a visit. Abbey was the first Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, USA (SDP-USA) in the 1990s and was deeply involved in the pre- and post-annulment strategic meetings and rallies.

    As with almost every private and social conversations of Nigerians in the diaspora, our social evening soon turned on the state of the nation. “What is going on with NASS? Why is APC working against its interest? Why is the President’s anti-corruption war suffering defeat?

    What is the matter with our oligarchs that they cannot mobilise their financial resources to revamp the educational system?  In the face of serious recession and acute foreign exchange shortage, must we send young children to expensive schools abroad and get them exposed to all kinds of abuses and cultural deprivation? Why are our mega churches in the business of for-profit educational ventures when missionaries who had no biological relationship with us gave us good education at substantially subsidised rates?

    We went back and forth, diving into the history of our villages and our ethnic nation, the fratricidal wars that our forebears fought, and their unwitting facilitation of the barbaric trade in humans, the European partition of Africa and the ensuing colonial imposition, the struggle for and achievement of flag independence and the inability to run the affairs of the state justly and fairly. The question is “Is it in the genes we inherited or in the choices we made?” If the former, what hope is there unless there is a bright prospect for genetic modification? If the latter, can we collectively change the doomed course we are on by changing the choices we make?

    Out of the blues, Abbey recalled Black Man’s Dilemma. He had read it many years ago and was beginning to appreciate the thesis of the book. For as it turned out, the problem of Nigeria is the problem of black people in general.

    Oyebola asked several biting questions, all of which can make the soul of black folk groan in pain. If humanity originated from Africa, and “all races, including the black race, have behind them a past of approximately equal length, why must our own remain behind in material progress?” Ouch!

    While some assumptions, for example, of black people loitering around while others were making progress, appear to underestimate the impact of enslavement and colonialism on the course that we might have taken, there can be no denying the fact that, all things considered, “we have wasted our time while others were battling day and night to conquer nature and make their environment better than they found them.”

    We may romanticise and congratulate ourselves on our so-called relationship of mutuality with nature. We do not approach nature as conquerors, only as co-sojourners in God’s vineyard. But the extent to which this posture is a genuine choice rather than a forced one must be determined.

    In both the 1976 edition and the revised edition of 2002, Oyebola identified “three intriguing facts about the black race.” First, “no Black Country has ever made a breakthrough to modernity.” Second, about 20 million black Africans were captured and transported to the Americas as slaves. Third, the black race is relatively backward “vis-a-vis other races of the world.”

    For the author, “black people have no country to be proud of in terms of its great inventions and discoveries, its technical equipment and political power.” This is obviously sweeping. Oyebola himself referenced the great kingdoms of Mali, Songhai and Ghana. To this we may add the Oyo empire and the Sokoto caliphate. And we must not forget the impact of enslavement and colonialism on what might have been.

    But Oyebola’s thesis is inescapable: “the point that has always made me sad is that after so many years of political independence, there is still very slim possibility of a black country making a breakthrough to modernity.” If this is a fair assessment, the question remains why is it so and what can be done about it?

    Taking Nigeria as an example, Oyebola lamented that the hope he had about her taking “giant steps towards technological, economic and socio-political development, has turned out to be a misplaced hope.” Why? I think there are many reasons.

    First, the structure bequeathed to the new nation by her erstwhile rulers was inimical to genuine development and perhaps it was deliberately meant to be so for their obvious self-interest. Unfortunately, the inheritors of the structure failed to avoid the land mine. They walked straight into it.

    Second, backwardness in material and moral terms is not in our genes, it is in our choices. And it has always been so even in our pre-slavery and pre-colonial times. Like other races and kingdoms, the founders of our various political enclaves craved greatness, with very little concern for their subjects. And while they built great armies to defend their kingdoms and empires, the focus was the king and his coterie of loyal cabinet who enforced the inbuilt constitutional provisions against the excesses of the king. Therefore, the king and the cabinet only had to be in sync. Even this rudiment of protection against excesses was soon rendered obsolete by the colonial powers who needed an authority with effective powers as their proxy.

    This model of strong executive with weak opposition led us to independence and it was embraced by the new regional and federal governments. If you can do what you want without the fear of an effective opposition, and if you understand power as an instrument of greatness, then you are most likely to approach your political power in terms of your egoistic interests. Whether in the civilian or military era, this has always been the sad story of our politics. It has not been any different in the last 16 years. It is, therefore, not a surprise that we are not having a breakthrough to modernity.

    Oyebola observes that while Asians, Europeans and Americans are “massively investing their human and material resources in the application of scientific, engineering and technological research, thereby transforming their production, industrial and social welfare systems, Nigeria and other black countries pay minimal attention to research.” The mindset is different here than there. Here Governor Wike prefers to set up “trust fund” for the welfare of pastors in a country where the constitution unambiguously separates church and state, even if the schools in his state are lacking essential equipment and infrastructure.

    Chief Oyebola did not just criticise, he also offered suggestions on the way forward if Nigeria and the black race in general will make it to modernity. Self-discipline, which is grossly lacking in both leaders and followers, is one of his many suggestions.

    Corruption, the most dangerous enemy of development, is a cancerous outgrowth of indiscipline. Corruption drains the blood of the national economy, making it too unhealthy to invest adequately in education and research. Yet, originality of thought in governance and development, which Oyebola emphasised as essential for a breakthrough, can only be realised through heavy investment in human intellect. Choosing between mental revolution and collective atrophy should not pose a dilemma. Forty years later, the choice is clear.

     

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  • MUSWEN’s train in Ile-Ife

    MUSWEN’s train in Ile-Ife

    Preamble

    It was another day of history, last Friday, at Ile-Ife, Osun State. The actively mobile train of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) moved to the ancient city that is the cradle of Yoruba nation.

    The delegation was led by the President of MUSWEN, His Excellency, Dr. Sakariyahu O. Babalola, OON, who is also the Deputy President General (South) of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). On his entourage was a galaxy of who is who from all the six states of the Southwest. These included MUSWEN’s BOT Chairman, His Eminence, Justice (Prince) Bola Ajibola SAN (retd), KBE, LLD, D. LITT who was represented by Alhaji S. O. Aweda and the Executive Secretary of MUSWEN, Professor Daud O. S. Noibi, OBE, D. Sc.

    Others were the Chairman, MUSWEN’s Finance Committee, Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti FCA, (from Lagos); the Chairman, MUSWEN’s Task Force, Barr. Y. K. O. Kareem (from Lagos); the Chairman, MUSWEN’s Education Committee, Professor M. O. Opeloye (of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife); the acting Chairman, Osun State’s Muslim Community, Alh. Mustapha Olawuyi; the former Chairman, Ekiti State’s Muslim Community, Alh. S. Afolabi Ogunlayi; the Chairman, MUSWEN’s 2017 General Assembly Planning Committee, Dr. Wole Abbas (of the University of Ibadan). Also on the entourage were the National President, National Council of Muslim Youth Associations (NACOMYO), Alh. Kamal Akintunde (from Ogun State); the Chief Imam, Ife Central Mosque, Sheikh Abdus-Sami’ Abdul Hamid and a host of others.

     

    Mission

    The mission of that visit was to pay a sympathy and solidarity visit to the people and residents of that city over the recent fortuitous crisis that pitched the Yoruba residents of the city against their Hausa counterparts. Coming unexpectedly, the sad incident held the nation spellbound.

    MUSWEN’s first point of call in the city was the palace of His Royal Majesty, Oba Kayode Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife, where the delegation was received with the grandeur of customary royalty and uniqueness of Yoruba traditional hospitality.

     

    MUSWEN president’s speech

    Below is an excerpt from the speech delivered by the President of MUSWEN who led the delegation of prominent Muslims from the six states of the Southwest of Nigeria:

    “Your Majesty, first, on behalf of the leadership of the Muslim Community in the Southwest region, under the auspices of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), I want to congratulate you on your ascension to this great throne.

    We had planned last year to pay a courtesy call on Your Majesty after your coronation, but owing to some unavoidable circumstances, the plan could not materialise.

     

    Peaceful coexistence

    Your Majesty, we are glad that Allah has chosen you to occupy this majestic office at this particular time. Your efforts to promote peaceful coexistence among the peoples of the Southwest region and beyond are widely acknowledged. Indeed, within this short period of your ascension to the throne, you have earned your place of honour as a global ambassador of peace.

    Incidentally, this is what Islam teaches as accentuated in the Qur’an thus:

    “O mankind! We (Allah) created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know (and interact positively with) one another. Verily the most honourable among you in the sight of Allah are the most righteous of you. Allah has full knowledge and He is well acquainted (with all things).”[Qur’an 49:13]

    In Islam, home is wherever a Muslim finds himself. Islam neither makes a distinction among people on the basis of ethnicity nor elevates any race or tribe above another. Rather, Islam treats as sacred the life of every human being.

     

    The recent crisis

    Your Majesty, against this background, we were greatly alarmed on learning of the recent disturbances within this ancient city that has all along provided a peaceful home for indigenes, settlers and foreigners alike. However, we were greatly relieved by your words of assurances and  actions in providing the much-needed balm with which to calm the unwarranted tension thereby  preventing the crisis from escalating. Your royal action in the circumstance especially your call for forgiveness rather than retaliation and your strong words of caution to those who wanted to give the sad incident unnecessary ethnic and religious colouration further confirmed your standing as a model of the well-cherished ‘omoluwabi’ values.

    This extraordinary display of grace is in concomitance with Qur’anic characterisation of believers as:

    “Those who control their wrath and are forgiving toward mankind; Allah loves those who do good” [Qur’an 3:134]

     

    Commiseration

    Your Majesty, on behalf of all Muslims in the Southwest region, we commiserate with you and all the good people of Ile-Ife on the recent crisis. We pray Allah to grant you more wisdom and courage to do what is right, just and fair at all times.

    I want to use this opportunity to appeal to all Muslims and indeed all the people of Ile-Ife, the Southwest region and Nigeria to choose the path of peace in the interest of all as no people or nation can develop in the absence of peace.

    We must also remember, at all times, that we are all citizens of the same country and brothers and sisters in humanity. As members of the human race, we all are indigenes and settlers, once and at the same time depending where we find ourselves individually or collectively.

    While praying the Almighty Allah to grant us sustained peace here in Ile-Ife, in Yoruba land, in Nigeria the entire world, I wish to thank Your Majesty for granting us audience and royal hospitality despite the short notice of this visit. May your reign continue to be peaceful and prosperous”.

    Ile-Ife Muslim Community

    After leaving the palace, the delegation also paid a visit to the city’s Muslim community at the Central Mosque where Jum’at service was jointly observed and peace prayer was collectively offered to the nation. Thereafter, the delegation proceeded to pay a similar visit to the Hausa Community in its Sabo settlement where the Sarkin Hausawa with his chieftains and other Hausa residents received the MUSWEN delegation. Each group expressed delight over MUSWEN’s visit and gesture.

     

     In retrospect

    Last Friday was not the first time that the topmost echelon of Nigerian Muslim Ummah paid a courtesy visit to Ile-Ife. The President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affiars (NSCIA) and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, had severally paid similar visits to Ile-Ife in the recent past. On one of such occasions, His Eminence drew the attention of all and sundry to the symbiotic relationship between the Hausa community of Northern Nigeria and their Yoruba counterpart of the Southwest. Yours sincerely was on the entourage of His Eminence on every occasion he visited Ile-Ife and below is an excerpt from an article I wrote in this column on a particular occasion:

     

    Confluence of cultures

    It was a confluence of cultures at Ile-Ife, Osun State where a galaxy of Nigerian juggernauts assembled on the invitation of that ancient city’s monarch the late Ooni of Ife, His Royal Majesty, Oba Okunade Sijuwade. The Sultan and a retinue of Emirs from the north, the Obi of Onitsha and several Ezes from the East and the South-South as well as a galaxy of Obas and Chieftains from the Southwest were all present in full regalia. The venue was Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University (OOU). The State’s Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, was not represented as the chief host at that occasion. He was personally present. Some other Southwest Governors who could not afford to come were ably represented by their Deputies.

    The occasion was for the public presentation of a book on the history of Ile-Ife, Yoruba monarchs and their domains.

    Apparently, the Ooni invited those great Nigerians to the event not much for the purpose of the book presentation as for the symbolic national unity which Nigeria needs very much as a country.

     

    Sultan’s speech

    What interested the column called ‘THE MESSAGE’ most on that occasion, was the speech delivered by His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of NSCIA. It went thus:

    “…Let me start by expressing my deep gratitude to the Ooni of Ife for his kind invitation and several reminders to attend this undoubtedly great occasion. I am particularly glad to be here not just to listen and learn, but also to witness an epoch in the history of the Yoruba people. I come from a culture and tradition that has great respect for books and which places a high premium on learning. As many of you may have known the founders of the Sokoto Caliphate together wrote over three hundred books and tracts. I therefore feel very comfortable with both the occasion and the location”.

     

    Components of identity

    “The history of a people represents a key component of their identity. It brings out their origin, their exploits and their relations with other peoples and delineates their culture and values. We have a lot to learn from our pre-colonial history, particularly the appreciation of those values and precepts that inform the frame of mind of the majority of our people. Our post-colonial democratic institutions will do well to take into account these values which still dominate our socio-cultural environment.

    Your Excellencies, your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Guests, please join me in congratulating the book’s author, Prince Adelegan Adegbola, a renowned Journalist, who has been widely acknowledged as a Custodian of the history and culture of the Yoruba people, for his hard work and dedication, in coming up with this masterful work. We commend him most sincerely and we earnestly call upon other writers and intellectuals to emulate the worthy example of Prince Adelegan Adegbola and to bring to light more of the hidden treasures of our history and culture”.

     

    Dissemination of knowledge

    “Distinguished guests, the history and culture of our people, precious as they are, must not be left as the preserve of the elders. We must endeavour to disseminate this knowledge especially among the younger generations. It is in connection with this important task that I wish to call upon the Federal Government, especially our educational agencies, to re-introduce the teaching of history as a compulsory subject in our Primary and Junior Secondary Schools. A situation whereby the majority of our school age population is totally disconnected from its past, and the cultural norms and values it embodies, is not only counter-productive but portends great danger to the development of the country. Our future leaders must be imbued with a clear understanding of the history of our diverse peoples, their character and identity and the value systems which mediated their societal life. We can only ignore this vital aspect of nation-building at our own peril”.

     

    Inter-relationship

    “…We must also understand our history as the record of our collective struggle to interact with one another, and to understand and accommodate one another. The ancient State of Katsina for example, because of these dynamic interactions, was aware of the developments in Yoruba land as early as the seventeenth century. One of its most erudite scholars, Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Umar Al- Kashnawi, popularly known as Dan Masani, who died in 1667, wrote a book which he entitled ‘The History of Yoruba Land’, under the Arabic title of Azhar al-Ruba fi Akhbar Yuruba. Unfortunately, that book is now presumed lost. Similarly, the Nupes and several other peoples also interacted actively and for several centuries with Yoruba land, thereby producing a complex web of relationship which subsists up till today. The point being   raised is that the interaction and the inter-relationship between our various peoples were not created by Lord Lugard in 1914. It goes much deeper. We must re-enforce these sturdy historical foundations if we wish to build a virile nation”.

     

    Triumph of history

    “Finally, I wish to state that the triumph of history and its attendant glories, should always serve to strengthen of our efforts in uniting our people and in bringing peace and harmony. We must strive to acknowledge the universality of our common humanity and the favours which God Almighty has bountifully bestowed on us. We must always remember the noble words of the Holy Qur’an when it says:

    “O Mankind, we created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may know oneanother (not that you may despise one another). Verily, the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is he who is most righteous. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things) [Qur’an 49:13].

     

    From the hind view

    “From the available records, Islam is more than a millennium old in West Africa. From isolated Muslim communities in the 9th century to the trading entry ports of the 10th century, Islam grew by leaps and bounds. However, it was not until the 11th century that it began to emerge as a State Religion. According to Al-Bakri, a historian of the region, it was the Kingdom of Takrur which first acquired this status followed by the Kingdom of Kanem under the Syfawas.

    “By the 12th century, Ghana had become Islamized while Mali emerged in the 14th century only to be taken over by Songhai which hosted the Sankore University in Timbuktu in the 16th century. Sankore University was the first University in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Islamization of Hausa States of Northern Nigeria began in earnest from the second half of the 14th century”.

     

    Islam in west africa

    “The establishment of Islam in West Africa had always been predicated on multi-ethnic and multi-racial basis. Merchants and traders came from different parts of the world, including Morocco, Tripoli, Yemen, Iraq and Egypt. Scholars also came from those countries bringing various Islamic intellectual traditions which interacted and enriched local ones. These traditions flourished and helped to sustain veritable centers of learning including the famous Universities of Timbuktu and Birni Gazargamo as well as similar institutions in Kano, Katsina, Zaria and other Hausa States.

    “The emergence of the Sokoto Caliphate in the early years of the 19th century, led by the erudite scholar, Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio brought a dramatic transformation of the Islamic scene in West Africa. The Sokoto Caliphate was a political as well as an intellectual revolution. Politically, it initiated an extensive process of state formation which spanned across several states in Western and Central Africa. The political legacies of the Sokoto Caliphate could be found in present day Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and the Republic of Cameroon.

     

    Sokoto caliphate

    “Intellectually, the Caliphate also succeeded in putting scholars at the helm of public affairs. And as true intellectuals, they had to argue their way through almost every major decision they took and had the time and the foresight to record their thoughts, ideas and justification of their actions for posterity. The Sokoto Triumvirate, namely: Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio, Shaykh Abdullah Ibn Fodio and Shaykh Muhammad Bello authored over 300 books and pamphlets. Other Caliphate leaders were also prolific writers (despite the enormous state responsibility with which they were saddled). Nana Asma’u (a woman) alone wrote over 70 poems and tracts.

    “But despite these achievements, probably one of the Caliphate’s most enduring legacies had been in the areas of values. Next to this is primacy of Justice as the basis of good governance. Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio was emphatic on this when he said: “Seeing to welfare of the people is more effective than the use of force…. And the crown of the leader is his integrity while impartiality is his strong hold even as his wealth is the prosperity of his people”.

    From the above, it is evident that human life is like a building, the foundation of which is solid education, the structure of which is value-based culture and the roof of which is Justice. These three are closely interrelated. And whoever toils with them toils with life. Can anybody fault that?

  • JAMB: The 2017 UTME brouhaha

    JAMB: The 2017 UTME brouhaha

    Monologue

    The world is dynamic. It moves with time and in space. And people who are inclined to civilization and dynamism move progressively with it. The only thing that is permanent in this world is CHANGE. Unfortunately, that is the word that most Nigerians do not want to hear of even when no man or woman can survive without change.

    Whether in terms of weather, taste or fashion, man has always been an agent of change. Yet, most people are resistant to the process of change. This is typically characteristic of Nigerians who regularly enjoy the benefit of change but constantly abhor its process.

    Without change, there would not have been anything called Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Without change, there would not have been Permanent Voters Card (PVC) that has now come to give respite to Nigerian voting system. Without change, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) that is now a major means of curbing corruption in Nigeria would not have come into existence.

     

    The new innovation in JAMB

    When the current JAMB Registrar,  Professor Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede, OFR, FNLA, assumed office in August 2016, he did not only indicate by his utterances, actions and body language, that further change might be pursued for the betterment of JAMB, he also embarked on series of consultations with people who know to solidify the new innovations. Besides, he has organized series of seminars, workshops, conferences and retreats with many stakeholders from all parts of Nigeria including some past executives of JAMB in attendance.

    The latest of those retreats were the ones held in Abeokuta and Kaduna recently. At those retreats, participants were classified into groups with each group deliberating on a particular segment of the new innovation and coming up with a relevant resolution collectively arrived at.

    Below is the opening remark of the JAMB Registrar at the Kaduna retreat held at Arewa House on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 and titled: ‘Strategic Planning Retreat on Monitoring and Supervision of 2017 UTME.

     

    Preamble

    “…..On behalf of the Management and staff of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, I happily welcome participants to this Strategic Planning Retreat on the Structure of Supervision and Evaluation of the Conduct of the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

    When we sent out invitation to you and gave you a very short notice, we were skeptical on your finding time out of your tight schedules to honour our invitation. However, this large turnout has further confirmed our identification and choice of you as critical stakeholders with genuine and undiluted interest in this Nation’s education sector in general and in its assessment and evaluation sub-sector in particular where the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board plays a major role. I therefore thank you and appreciate your presence here today.

     

    In retrospect

    On my assumption of office as the fifth Registrar of the Board, I pledged to revisit and revamp the original ideals of those who thought it most appropriate to have a body like this Board and to pursue with vigour and passion their original objectives. I therefore salute the vision of the Vice-Chancellors of the then six (6) Universities who introduced the idea of synergy of their mandate in the areas of entrance examination and admission into the few universities that the Nation had. If synergy, peer review, cost saving, elimination of wastages, collaboration, cooperation and enhancement of academic excellence were identified and recognised then with only six Universities, these salient attributes, ideas and ideals are now more than ever before the basic of all requirements that are most critical for the integration and cohesion of the Nation’s Tertiary Education.

    Though a lot of water has passed under the bridge between 1977 and today, the idea of inclusiveness is still as germane today as it was many years back. This is why between August 2016 when I assumed duties and this month, March, 2017, a period of eight months, I have visited various Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, where I met with the Managements of the various institutions in order to renew and restrengthen our relationship and partnership. The Management of the Board has also met with the Committee of Vice-Chancellors, Committee of Rectors and Committee of Provosts. We have equally met with the Managements of National Universities Commission (NUC) and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). We have taken the Board’s major events and activities to the Bayero University, Kano, Baze University, Abuja, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, University of Lagos, and others.

     

    Supervision and evaluation

    It is therefore in our stride and continuation at bringing all stakeholders on board our inclusive train that we have organiZed this retreat to take another look at the Board’s supervision and evaluation of its conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

    The aim of this retreat is to adopt an all-inclusive mode of examination supervision and evaluation. Recognising the stakeholding of major players in the Tertiary Education Sector, the Board wishes to give operational responsibilities to the major players in the administration of the Board’s examination. It is not enough for Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) to visit examination centres with sirens and large entourage of government functionaries with very little impact to show for their participation, other than to be under television camera lights and beamed same to the whole world when the outcome of the examination is laced with stories of examination malpractices. This time around, the major players with requisite integrity, intelligence and appropriate knowledge of the assessment would be fully engaged to actively participate in the supervision of the examination.

     

    Sale of application documents

    As part of our approach to the ideal of Inclusiveness, we invited all Central Bank of Nigeria approved commercial banks to participate in the sale of the 2017 Board’s Application Documents. Sixteen (16) commercial banks and NIPOST honoured attended the interactive session where we explained the reason and need for all of them to partake in the exercise.

    After the interactive session, thirteen banks as well as NIPOST signified interest to participate in the sale of the 2017 Application Documents. Between the date of commencement of sale on Monday, 20th and Tuesday, 28th of March, 2017, the following nine banks had paid for the number of Application Documents they required in the first instance. The banks are as follows:

    Zenith Bank; Union Bank; Sterling Bank Unity Bank; First City Monument Bank; Fidelity Bank; First Bank; Skye Bank and

    As a policy, no bank needed to know the Registrar or any Management member or even anybody at all to be patronized. Rather, every bank was given the opportunity to participate in the exercise. This is to affirm that JAMB is for everybody and belongs to everyone.

     

    The Pin Vending System

    Emerging from a retreat in Abeokuta, the Board introduced a new sale of application method that has come to eliminate scratch cards while adopting a cost-saving procedure of PIN Vending System. This is a secure system devised to address the sharp practices hitherto associated with the use of scratch cards.

     

    Problem of New Salr Format

    We are aware of the teething problems attendant to the introduction of the new sale format, and as a responsive body, we have taken steps to ease the initial challenges and in a few days, the results will be a seamless registration exercise all over the country.

     

    Supervision of UTME

    It must be noted that the JAMB has no university of its own. Thus, it is our desire that all stakeholders should take the UTME as their own and make it a successful project through cooperation in the overall interest of the examinees who will end up in our various tertiary institutions and eventually emerge as leaders of tomorrow.

    The current preparation being carried out by JAMB towards the conduct of the 2017 UTM examination should be viewed with good intention and trust because if that examination is not well supervised, it may not produce the expected results.

     

    A clarion call

    The Board is using this retreat as a clarion call on all stakeholders to ensure that all hands are on deck to make the conduct of this public examination better in Nigeria. It must be remembered that the conduct of the examination by the Board is the foundation of the quality of education in Nigeria. In view of this, I urge all the stakeholders to see this year’s UTME and their involvement in its process as a call to national duty and personal sacrifice.

    I also urge leadership of our tertiary institutions to be actively involved in the supervision of the Board’s examination as that will boost the quality of candidates that will be admitted into the various institutions in the country.

    Computer Key Board Without Mouse From the general feedback on the adoption of the Computer Based Test (CBT), we have noted the challenge of computer low level literacy of some candidates, especially the phobia of such candidates for the use of mouse. This has been partly responsible for the call by some people for reversal to the Paper and Pencil Test mode. Thus, in order to ensure equity and level playground for all candidates the Board has designed a system that will allow candidates to use only eight (8) keys without the use of the mouse.

    By this new system, all that the candidates need to do is to press letters A,B,C,D as relevant for responses (answer) to the questions. The keys are arranged as follows:

    P = Previous Question

    N = Next Question

    S = Submit after candidates might have finished answering all the questions.

    R = Reverse (when candidates want to reverse their submission).

     

    Distribution of candidates to centres

    As part of standardisation of the Computer Based Test (CBT) centres in terms of capacity, two hundred and fifty (250), candidates would be distributed evenly to each centre without any discrimination. This means that no Centre will be favoured or discriminated against.

    The JAMB examination Schedule has been designed, streamlined and synchronized in such a way that the examination will start and end on the same day, except otherwise dictated by the number of candidates in a few states with low subscription.

     

    The Blind Candidates

    In order to expand the frontiers of equity and inclusiveness, we met with the Executive Committee of the Association of Blind Persons in Nigeria  at the Board’s Headquarters in Abuja in February 2017 and we also met with prospective blind candidates from a school for the blind in Lagos at the University of Lagos recently.

     

    Visually-Impaired Candidates

    Secondly, the Board has also approached the Digital Bridge Institute to partner with it to set up examination centres for the Visually Impaired Candidates where those candidates can be trained all year round. Now, the Institute has agreed to set up these dedicated centres in Abuja, Lagos and Kano in 2018 and the Board will support the centres with all necessary inputs that can make teaching, learning and assessment at the centres seamless. The centres will also have residential accommodation for the blind candidates and their guides.

     

    Awaiting result

    For the umpteenth time, I would want to seize this opportunity to emphasise that awaiting result candidates are eligible to register and sit for the UTME.

    However, since candidates would not be considered for admission on awaiting result status the Board hereby urges all candidates desirous of admission to upload their O’ level results on the Board’s portal the moment they receive them and before the commencement of admission exercise as their O’ level results would form a crucial part of their registration requirements.

     

    Determination

    We are determined to make a change with this examination as we are aware of the strategic role our examination plays in deciding the direction of tertiary education in Nigeria. We appeal to all Nigerians to give us the required support.

    The guiding principle would be to formulate ideas and map out strategies that would ensure the maintenance and sustenance of the integrity of the Board’s examination and the sanctity of its process.

    Thank you all and God bless”.

  • QC and the cannibals

    Did you see the shocking front page photograph in The Punch of Thursday, March 30, 2017? First, here is the caption: “Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari, at the kitchen of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Ajiwa, Katsina State… on Wednesday.” And now the story behind the photo: Governor Masari visited this girls’ school in his state. And perhaps to impress the people around, he had gone to the school’s kitchen and tried to help himself to the student’s lunch.

    For the governor, it was hands-on governance in action. He doesn’t only provide lunch, the food is good enough even for him. And for his publicists, this was the ultimate photo opportunity to sell Mr. Governor as a provider who is also humble enough to partake in the students’ humble ration. And they got almost half a page on the front page of the national daily.

    But here is what is perhaps, the default story in that large picture. The school kitchen is set in a dingy environment in an obviously uncompleted building. There is a littering of plastic bowls, pots and all sorts. In other words, this very filthy and unkempt shed is where the food a government girls’ school in Katsina is made. It is in this wretched environment that Governor Masari is seen stooping to dish some food for himself. It is a stark environment totally devoid of hygiene and order that is being showcased.

    Though this piece is not about Governor Masari, he is being brought forward to press home Nigeria government’s mindset and disposition towards education in today’s Nigeria. Here is Masari proud to show-off a big bowl of rice for feeding students, but he is oblivious of the unhygienic environment the food is prepared and dished. Would this be blissful ignorance, benign unknowingness or incompetence of the suicidal type?

    This picture dovetails into the ongoing saga at Queens’ College, (QC) Lagos which has become a metaphor for what can be described as Nigeria elite’s cannibalism. The deathly occurrence at QC in the last two months, which has culminated in its closure, is a portrayal of how Nigeria’s elite progressively destroys institutions, systems and the very people they govern.

    Arguably one of the best all-girls schools in Africa in the past, QC will be 90 years in October. Unfortunately, QC is celebrating its double sapphire with a scandal that has already cost the lives of three students and quite a number still undergoing treatment. The school is also on forced, indefinite closure, while its beleaguered principal, Mrs. Lami Amodu, has been transferred to another school. (Perhaps to continue her bumbling?) The school was last year hit by sexual harassment crisis when some students accused a male teacher of serially molesting them. The matter was apparently not brought to a proper closure but rather papered over and one dare say, swept under the carpet.

    But hardly had the dust settled when this calamity erupted. What may be described as diarrhoea ‘epidemic’ broke out in the school. One day in January, after a meal, over 1,200 students reported to the school’s clinic with abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and stooling. Since then, things have been topsy-turvy in the school.

    The problem did not, however, start this year. The school had in fact, been embroiled in all sorts of shenanigans, but seemingly made worse by the coming of Mrs. Lami Amodu as Principal of Queens College (PQC) in 2015. Her initial response to the sudden health challenge in the school was said to be lax and unmethodical. Besides, under her watch, hygiene conditions deteriorated just as over admission caused congestion and strain on facilities.

    Rules were flouted and standards dropped sharply to the point that a private water factory was set up on the premises of the school.

    Though matters reached a crescendo with the ascendance of Amodu given her apparent inefficiency and alleged avarice, the rot at this elite school set in long ago. The Federal Ministry of Education (FMoE), which oversees QC and 103 other Federal Government-owned secondary schools, seems to have long forgotten the rationale for their establishment.

    The ministry, representing the elite, has become like cannibals, ‘killing’ these schools and indeed anything else they lay their hands on. In the first place, Federal Government has no business running secondary schools anymore. And indeed everything points to the fact that Federal Government officials do not actually run these schools but on the contrary, the schools are conduit pipes for siphoning billions of naira every year from the treasury.

    Apart from staff salaries, audit reports in the past have shown that budgetary allocations for keeping up the schools are hardly deployed for the purpose. In the past decade or two, parents and old students have been levied to sustain the development and running of the so-called Unity Schools managed by the Ministry of Education.

    No new Unity School has been built for years, especially in Lagos and other major cities, causing a scramble in existing top Unity Schools, such as QC and King’s College and pushing them to over-admit. Because they are virtually free and are still in the halo of their old glory, they are highly sought after by top public officials and their cronies.

    Admission racket has been rife and gets more acute with each passing year. Nearly half of the intakes are made to pay. This probably explains why QC has a population of over 3,000 students and class sizes rising to over 70 at a point.

    It is, therefore, not surprising that the FMoE has not deemed it fit to initiate an enquiry into the QC saga where three deaths have been recorded so far. In other climes, the principal would have been fired and the minister resigned.

    The same sordid situation at QC is replicated in nearly all the 104 so-called Unity Schools. Conceived as centres of excellence and instruments of unification, they have long been cannibalised; they are today, one huge racket.

     

    Re: Where’s Nigeria rice

    Last week on this page, I had asked: “Where on earth is local rice?” devoting ample space to it. I have since found that I was half in error. A reader had called to inform me that local rice indeed exists in some parts of Nigeria, especially in Southeast. I managed to find a rice dealer in Aba who confirmed that Nigeria-made rice indeed abound in Southeast markets.

    Interrogating the trader further, he gave some insight: one, that Nigerians still preferred imported rice and buy more of it, though it’s more expensive. He explained that local rice may not be in Lagos because the market is brimful with smuggled foreign rice, which is more profitable.

    This is good news, but the job is still not done if Lagos, the biggest market, is devoid of the local brand and if foreign varieties still dominate. The Federal Ministry of Agric and Rural Development (FMARD) must do more. And this is why task force has been advocated here. Let us set up a crack team on each of the food staple we import, such as rice, poultry, milk, cooking oil, tomato, etc. Nigeria will be saving about $20 billion per annum if we eliminate the importation of these items.

    And it can be done in two years. All it requires is a team working the value chains from tilling the soil, as the case may be, down to the dinner table.

    For instance, an official ought to have detected that local rice is not in Lagos and worked on it. Self-sufficiency doesn’t happen, it requires methodical work.