The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • Meeting the herding challenge

    Meeting the herding challenge

    The controversy over how to deal with the time bomb that defines the frequent violent clashes between herders and crop farmers is an unfortunate example of our habitual politicisation of issues of economic and social importance. What it requires is simply getting our bearing right and calling a spade by its proper name.

    What are the issues? Herders naturally promote their economic interests by taking care of their cattle, shepherding them to good pasture not minding the economic interests of crop farmers and their farmlands which their cattle feed on indiscriminately. Naturally too, farmers resent the impunity that appears to characterise the actions of herders. They are resentful because it appears to them that herders are subject to no laws or to different codes which protect them from justice. After all, they see many of these herders with AK-47 flung around their shoulders. Do they have the legally approved licence to carry such lethal weapons in pursuit of their economic interests at the expense of the farmer’s interests?

    While some farmers resist confrontation, deciding to have their gods avenge the ill-treatment in the hands of a powerful foe, others have decided to take their destinies into their hands, fighting with whatever they have, what they regard as economic oppression and tyranny of the mighty and powerful. In the midst of what appears to be a raging silent battle for economic and cultural survival, amidst all that have been our terrible lot at the dawn of the 21st century, there are conflicting reports of prospects of governmental intervention. One such was the idea of a grazing land, which has recently come up in media reports but which has now been denied again in media reports. My intention here is to offer some clarifications which I hope can lead to a morally and economically adequate resolution.

    First, we need to understand the commonalities and the differences between farming and herding. In terms of commonalities, I would like to suggest that they are both farming activities. We entertain no controversy when we talk about crop farming and livestock farming. Farming is defined commonly as the activity of growing crops or raising livestock for food or as raw materials. The synonyms for farming include agriculture, cultivation and land management.

    Second, from the foregoing it follows that farming has a number of divisions or sectors including, livestock, grain production, crop production, land management, etc. and whoever is engaged in any of these activities is by definition a farmer. By the same token, a farm is defined as an area of land that is devoted to the activity of producing food crops or raising animals for food and/or raw materials. For farming, farms or farmlands are necessities. And a farmer therefore is someone engaged in the business of farming, which as we just agreed, include cultivating crops and raising livestock. I suggest that herding is one category of farming and a herder is one category of farmer.

    What’s the difference? Herding is an agricultural or farming device to manage animals domesticated for supply of food or raw materials. While crop farming is space-confined, herding can but doesn’t have to be unconfined. Furthermore, while livestock farming is farming for subsistence and for sale by farm owners, herding is usually done by third parties working for livestock farmers or by individual families as small holders.

    Herding has been described as a way of life. It is claimed that herders are culturally nomadic and they cannot live domesticated life. This may be true to some extent. However, it is not supported by experience of recent times. There are stories in the holy scriptures about middle easterners of Abrahamic religions living nomads lives, including Abraham and Lot, Jacob and his in-law, Joseph and his brothers, Moses and his in-law, and David and his Jesse brothers.

    But where is the nomadic way of life in present day Israel! Or with contemporary Bedouin Arabs? Many have settled for urban life enjoying modern facilities including schools and health care. No condition, they say, is permanent and a culture that condemns a large number of human groups to a life of perpetual hardship and suffering is not worth keeping. By the way, as our Minister of Agriculture once observed, the cattle reared in the harsh conditions of nomadic herding are also an unhappy lot.

    If herding is another method of raising domesticated animals, then it is livestock farming. It prevailed as a method under two related realities which no longer exist. First, there was large expanse of land most of which was unclaimed by any specific groups or individuals. Second, the land was unsuitable for crop farming and the shrub and plants on the land was good for the animals. Neither of these realities now exists.

    The land that Nigerian herders frequent with their cattle belong to individuals and families, though by virtue of military fiat much of these lands now belong to state governments. And the approval for the use of most of these lands is now vested in the state governments. It follows that the lands are not free for use as grazing land by herders.

    While small land owners get away with the use of the land once claimed by their ancestors, commercial farmers can only have access to the quantity of land they need by lease or purchase from the government. Herders hardly do any of these and they freely graze their cattle on the lands trespassing on farmlands with impunity.

    This accounts for the frequent clashes that have occurred between herders and farmers who cultivate the lands across the length and breadth of the country. It is incorrect to see this as a north-south conflict. Rather it is a conflict between the economic interests of crop farmers from north and south on the one hand and livestock farmers who practise nomadic herding in the north and south.

    Clarifying the matter this way enables us to deal with it in a rational way. First, both livestock farmers and crop farmers need suitable land for their farming activities. Second, the former can still use herders once they have a legitimate claim to adequate land that does not conflict with the valid claims of crop farmers. Third, having a legitimate claim to land means that livestock farmers, just as their crop farming counterparts, lease or purchase specific parcels of land for their farming operations.

    This is the economically rational approach to livestock farming.This is what private ranches are about in modern livestock farming. The advantage of ranches includes the opportunity to graze cattle and other animals in well nurtured environment with adequate facilities for education and healthcare for those that still choose herding as a job. Furthermore, the cattle that they raise by this method can be given adequate care, with good feeding grass and shrub specifically planted for the purpose as well as veterinary care for the animals.

    The denial that there is a grazing land bill before NASS is a great relief. It would not have worked if the goal was to stop the frequent violent clashes between farmers and herders and it would have aggravated the tension. The beginning of wisdom and resolution of the crisis is the recognition that it is too late in this day and age to subscribe to the practice of open range grazing land for cattle or other domestic animals. For besides the conflict it generates, it is also economically unviable. At a time when we are encouraging commercial crop farming, it is counterproductive to encourage open grazing which destroys farmlands and pit crop farmers against herders.

    Livestock farmers who employ the services of herders must not be allowed to put their economic interest above national interest. The nation has a primary interest in harmonious relationship among its various groups. In addition, it also has an abiding interest in the economic prosperity of all its citizens. Private ranching as a globally tested method of livestock farming is the best approach to the promotion of the interests of livestock farmers and herders that work for them as well as the interests of crop farmers.

  • A good time for auditory impairment?

    A good time for auditory impairment?

    This is one of such times that I really appreciate Opalaba. He sat and walked with elders and has been instrumental to my learning a bit of their wisdom. When he once told me of his wish to be hearing impaired even for a season, I thought that he was crazy. Then he repeated the wish, suggesting that what prevents us from auditory impairment also prevents us from a happy state of mind. How true!

    In the last few days, I just wish I had no ears. The cacophony of lousy news that have passed through my ear canal have been dangerously depressing.

    Take the fiasco that has been the lot of Budget 2016. First, it was lost and found. That never got explained. Then it was padded and unpadded. By whom and for what? We were not told. Then it was passed. And we praised the Almighty in anticipation of the goodies that will flow. Then in his wisdom, PMB decided to verify if it was a fake, the proverbial oja okunkun or deal of darkness. And behold, he found plenty to worry his honest soul.

    The accusation and counter-accusation followed. Was the Lagos-Calabar rail project there originally? Was it surreptitiously added? Was it passed by the Land Transport Committee? etc. And we got a house of senators divided against itself.

    The committee that vetted and passed the rail project provision confirmed that it did. However, the Appropriation Committees in their wisdom removed it. Why? Well, if it wasn’t in the main budget, then it must have been a padding. Therefore, it cannot be included. It may also just be that the committees resented not being directly informed or involved by the minister. Anyway, they axed the rail project.

    But there was provision for the rail project even in the original budget. This was the billions that the Appropriation Committees found hanging on a tree inside the budget document. Absence of goodwill prevented the committees from asking the necessary question: what is this amount for? Doing so would have resolved the problem. Instead, they decided to share the hanging allocation over their favoured projects. And now it sounds as if it’s a north-south palaver. I am having headache already!

    But there is more to vex the ears and this one is capable of turning a simple headache into a migraine attack. Senate President is charged with violating the provisions of the Code of Conduct Bureau. He protested and initially refused to appear. When he finally did, he fought hard to stall the proceedings. He contested the legality of the body. It wasn’t a court, he claimed. The Supreme Court ruled that it was. Then Senator Saraki approached the Federal High Court with a plea to find the CCT incompetent because of its composition and the investigation of its chairman by EFCC. The assigned judge was about to deliver his judgment but chickened out because of media outcry accusing him of corruption and favouritism.

    The case went on with lurid revelations about Saraki’s fat bank accounts, including hefty daily lodgments. The nation also got to know how he rakes in a monthly pension of N1.2 million from Kwara State even while he was earning regular income as senator.

    In the middle of the revelations at the trial, another bombshell hit the country by way of Panama Papers, a leaked information about offshore shell companies owned by the rich and famous worldwide. Saraki was featured prominently as allegedly having companies on British Virgin Island fronted by his wife. A prime minister of Iceland who was outed in the same expose resigned immediately from office. Saraki vowed not to resign just because of his ongoing trial at CCT. And since he denied that the Panama Paper leakage had anything to do with him, he hasn’t considered that as a ground for resignation.

    Meanwhile, the judge who had recused himself from Saraki’s case at the Federal High Court has, at the instance of Saraki, been ordered by the Chief Judge to deliver his judgment. The order was strange. But nothing is normal about what we have witnessed since the beginning of the 8th National Assembly under Chairman Saraki.

    One of the strangest is the new Senate effort to amend the CCB/CCT law which places the bodies under the SGF. Whatever the merit of the move, the timing is injuriously self-regarding. The Supreme Court had ruled against Saraki that CCT is a court of law. Taking advantage of that ruling, Saraki and his loyalists in the Senate have initiated an amendment to the law seeking to move the CCT out of the SGF’s office and to place it under the judiciary. Should the amendment succeed, how does it affect the ongoing trial? Needless to add, the timing is just as suspect as the timing of the invitation of the former Chairman of EFCC before Senate shortly after Saraki’s wife was invited by the EFCC last year.

    The mother of all headaches is the state of the economy and the groaning of the masses. We know that PMB inherited a complete rot. It’s his unfortunate lot as it happened back in 1984. And we know that with this kind of mess, it takes time for a nation to turn the corner.

    The US economy was in the tanks in 2008 as Obama campaigned for the presidency. And when Obama won, he had to battle the odds for his entire first term. It’s only in his second term that the situation started to change. That is in a country with all the endowments—material, intellectual, infrastructural and political, compared to Nigeria with all the deficits. It is important, however, to get right the medication that the disease needs so that we don’t worsen the ailment.

    When SGF declared recently that the Federal Government borrows an average of N600 billion monthly to pay the salary of its workforce, I saw my blood pressure run out the window. For I had thought that salary payment issue was a state malady. When I read that my state governor had just reached an agreement with labour to dedicate a hundred per cent of federal allocation to salary payment, I shuddered at what this means for the development of state which I am aware he cares so much about.

    There is a structural problem. A state or a nation cannot devote 60-90 per cent of its resources to salary and allowances and expect to develop. If productivity is high, we may expect that the salary going out will bring in much more dividends. But when there is disenchantment and hunger occasioned by non-payment of salaries due to scarce resources, productivity cannot be anything but low.

    The private sector, which should be the driver of economic development and therefore the major employer of labour, is unable to play this role because we have for long neglected the creation of the conditions for the private sector to do that. We have neglected infrastructure. When the money was flowing like a river in the rainy season, we squandered the opportunity.

    No less culpable is the indiscipline that characterises the hiring of civil servants. When I marvelled at the high percentage of resources going to salary payment and wondered aloud how it was possible that states don’t cut their coats according to their clothes, my friend who is familiar with the unenviable career of the rot gave me a tutorial.

    “It’s all politics”, he declared. “In the matter of appointment and dismissal of permanent secretaries, politicians hardly pay attention to the monetary implications. But if you retire a Permanent Secretary, you are bound by law to pay his salary till the end of his life. Now, you will hire a replacement, and that one will also earn his or her salary even if your successor retires him or her. Add to this the many cases of politically-motivated employment of junior and middle level officers into the system.”

    Does it matter that expending the entire resources of a state or the nation on less than 10 per cent of the population is morally outrageous and economically imprudent?

  • Religion as dilemma for liberal democracy

    Religion as dilemma for liberal democracy

    On the one hand, for the liberalism in liberal democracy, with its undiluted commitment to freedom of thought, conscience and action, takes religious freedom as a fundamental freedom. The freedom of religion in liberal democracy connotes the right and the capability of an individual to practise a religion of his or her choice without fear of persecution or molestation. This freedom is unquestionable and it is not subject to social or political constraint.

    On the other hand, the democracy component of liberal democracy captures the collective character of the political community and its implication for common action and governance. Liberalism can accommodate a loner without any problem though it’s unclear why a loner would need a liberal theory in the first place. Where there is a multitude, however, there’s an assurance of a clash of freedoms and the need for a means of resolving those conflicts. Democracy is the choice of many modern societies, including Nigeria. Thus, liberalism, with its commitment to individual freedoms combines with democracy with its commitment to the sovereignty of the people as the foundation of government.

    The freedom of religion or freedom of conscience which liberalism affirms unequivocally for the individual, like other freedoms, must now have to be reconciled with or accommodated in a whole gamut of freedoms claimed by other individuals in a democracy. It soon becomes clear then that the freedom considered absolute for a loner is anything but in a democratic society where there is a clash of multitudes of individual freedoms at stake.

    Herein lies the dilemma for a progressive committed to the sanctity and advancement of liberal democracy. On the one hand, that commitment requires an unequivocal respect for the individual freedoms recognised by liberalism including freedom of religion. On the other hand, that commitment also requires a pragmatic approach that recognises the destructive nature of absolutist conceptions of freedoms, including freedom of religion in a pluralistic setting. It requires an understanding that there have to be restrictions of freedom of religion.The mark of statesmanship is the ability to navigate the two horns of this cruel dilemma.

    Fortunately, we are not in an uncharted territory. From liberal democratic theorists and constitutional provisions, we have the outlines of a compelling approach to resolving the dilemma.

    Thus, we only need to be reminded of the dictum of the apostle of liberalism with regard to the liberty of thought and action. The only reason why a person can be punished for an action, according to John Stuart Mill, is that it harms other people. From this it is clear that a defence of individual freedom will not fly where a person’s action or speech affects others.

    But if we can punish an individual after the fact that his or her action adversely affects others, we can or at least should act to prevent the performance of that action to the extent that it is possible. Prevention, after all, is always better than cure.It is this preventative approach that constitutional provisions, statutes and policies are designed to pursue in clear statements and enforceable codes.

    Constitutions vary in terms of such provisions with some as ultra-liberals favouring as much liberty as possible and some as ultra conservatives with as much restrictions as possible. The US is an example of the former. Iran is an example of the latter.

    With our multiplicity of religions, our constitution pragmatically steers the middle course between unconstrained freedom and unbridled regulation in the matter of religion. It endorses the secularity of the state with a freedom clause that grants the freedom to choose and practise one’s religion without persecution or molestation and an establishment clause that prohibits the state from adopting a religion.

    Despite the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, however, nations have witnessed varieties of violations including the persecution and harassment of citizens on the basis of religious differences. Indeed, religious conflict has become one the most virulent in our contemporary world.Nigeria has had its disproportionate share of this malady with Maitatsine sect in the 1980s and now Boko Haram, both confined to the North.When the constitution fails to protect, what does a leader do? In particular, what does a progressive government do to prevent religious bigotry and protect its citizens?

    This is presumably the question that Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna State was compelled to ask himself. The answer that he came up with in the form of a new legislation to combat the cancer of religious intolerance has been the subject of media interpretation with commentators breaking for or against him. A few in the latter group, including a Christian cleric, has pronounced a death sentence on the governor unless he withdraws the bill. What more evidence does one need for the vitality of religious extremism?

    Incidentally, El-Rufai’s bill is not totally original. It is a rehash of a 1984 bill that sought to serve the same purpose, but which had not received the kind of scrutiny that the new bill has received and had not been effectively enforced over the years.

    A key provision of the bill requires the licensing of preachers in the state. This is to be done by the Inter-Faith Ministerial Committee to be set up by the governor and which is to have a supervisory control over the two Committees of Jama’atu Nasir Islam (JNI) and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) respectively. These committees are to keep records of churches and mosques as well as the data of preachers in the state. Local Government Area Committees are to keep a register of preachers in their localities and screen their applications for preaching licences with recommendations to the Ministerial Committee. The latter may reject or approve and where it approves, the committees of the major religions are to issue the licences to their respective preachers.

    There is restriction on the playing of cassettes, CDs and other religious recordings (which must not contain any abusive language against persons or religions) to the privacy of individual homes or places of worship. Provision is also made for punishment for infraction of any of the provisions.

    There is little if any doubt with respect to the good intentions of the governor. In any case, it is difficult if not impossible to discern the motive of any individual talk less of a politician. However, one must always give the benefit of the doubt especially in a case such as this when we are confronted at every point of our national life with violent extremism. A leader has an obligation to think clearly and initiate ideas and policies that respond effectively to the challenge. I want to believe that this is what has motivated Governor El-Rufai in the direction of a new or rehashed legislation.

    Is it constitutional? Will it work? Some have argued that the bill violates the constitution because it restricts the freedom of religion that the constitution guarantees. This is not a valid argument because the constitution itself provides for the restriction of the freedom that it grants “in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, etc. and for the protection of “the rights and freedoms of other persons.”

    The major worry is whether and how the law will work if and when passed by the legislators and signed by the governor. It is unclear if the two major religions whose leaders are already up in arms against the bill will cooperate in its implementation. But it is equally unclear why these bodies are assigned the role of registrars when they do not represent every Christian or Islamic organisation or sect.

    Assume, however, that the issue of requisite committees is resolved, how are culprits to be apprehended and punished? The bill charges the Local Government Committee with the function of ensuring compliance with the terms of the licence issued. Presumably the same committees are responsible for apprehending violators and prosecuting them. The matter of enforcement will make or mar the bill if and when it becomes law. It is important, therefore, to be as clear as possible on the locus of responsibility for enforcement.

  • 62 years ago

    Do you not see how Allah sets forth a parable of Pleasant Word like a splendid tree which roots are firmly entrenched in the belly of the earth while its branches sprout gorgeously into the firmament of the sky yielding fruits every season by Allah’s grace? Allah talks to men in parables that they may be mindfully alert”. Q.14:24

     

    Preamble

    At a meeting of some like minded Muslim brothers, including yours sincerely, in Bodija, Ibadan, last Sunday (April 3, 2016), Alhaji Ishaq Kunle Sanni, the Chairman of Oyo State Muslim Community, sought permission to leave for another meeting scheduled for about the same time.

    That other meeting was about the permanent site of Islamic Vacation Course (IVC) Camp (Southern Nigeria Chapter) of Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN).

    The latter meeting quickly reminded me of the memorable month of April in relation to the establishment of MSSN in 1954. That was 62 years ago.

    Looking back at the cultivation of land, planting and germination of the tree of that formidable society one cannot but reflect deeply on the above quoted verse of the Qur’an with faithful appreciation.

    MSSN and NSCIA

    Talking about Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) today may be incomplete without reference to the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN).

    The two bodies are like Siamese trees of gargantuan nature with sprouting foliage and a formidable stem. Just as it is almost impossible to pluck the fruits of a tree without any recourse to the stem of the tree that carries those fruits so it is to play a significant role in NSCIA without having passed through the MSSN.

    The one is like a wonderful edifice built on the solid foundation of the other. Though the founders of MSSN were not initial members of that youth society, the role played by each of them in nurturing its tree of progress to fruition cannot be quantified.

     

    The almond tree

    The similitude of MSSN is like that of the almond tree. For those who know it, almond tree is splendid to behold. It is magnificent in appearance just as it is environmentally grandiose. But much more than all these, it is highly curative in substance and almost indispensable in essence. No soil, whether in the forest or in the savannah or even in the desert, is repugnant to this great tree for dwelling. Wherever it is found, almond tree creates a serene environment and serves as a protective umbrella for other living organisms around. It is one unique tree that wears the crown of a king among trees and bears the scepter of a generalissimo among tropical plants.

     

    Parable 

    The summarised analysis here is not much of almond tree per se but rather about the parable which its existence seeks to interpret. That parable is of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) which is like the almond tree. The Society was planted like a mustard seed on April 18, 1954 and gradually germinated into an enlivening plant with no irrelevant part.

    Most Nigerian Muslims of the current generation may not easily recall how MSSN came into existence 62 years ago either because they were not part of the struggle that brought it to bear or because the struggle has now taken a different form which they are unable to relate to the past.  Perhaps that is why they can now afford to take it for granted.

     

    A memorable revolution

    MSSN is both a spiritual and a social revolution which quietly crept into the Nigerian society at the very right time that a revolution was direly in need for Muslim youths. If Islam enjoys a hitherto denied official recognition in Nigeria today, it is mostly due to that miraculous revolution.

    It all started like a dream in April 1954 when a student of Methodist Boys High School (MBHS) Lagos, Tajudeen Aromasodu, now of blessed memory, in a clairvoyance muted a unique idea. He proposed an association of all Muslim students in Nigeria starting with Lagos secondary schools. His intention was to create a forum of unity through a common identity for Nigerian Muslim youths of secondary school age. Such a forum was to enable them to agitate for their rights and defend those rights for their common interest.

    Aromasodu’s idea had emanated from a journal of the Muslim Students Association of Burma (Myanmar) which he accidentally came across. He read the constitution of that association in the journal and became fascinated by it. That was at a time when Muslim school pupils could hardly pass through secondary schools in Southern Nigeria without getting forcefully converted into adherents of another religion.

    Muslim children seeking Western education in those days were seen as trespassers or usurpers despite paying the demanded fees. Besides denying Muslim pupils their rights to worship according to their belief, the Christian missionaries who owned most schools in those days used the schools as an instrument of forceful conversion. Thus, most of the Muslim boys and girls who attended Christian missionary schools either ended up becoming Christians or were forced to drop out of schools if they rejected conversion.

     

    The Nucleus Team

    Aromasodu’s focus at that time was probably not beyond Lagos which was then Nigeria’s federal capital and the seat of the colonial rulers. He quickly contacted a few other Muslim students of like minds in Lagos and, together, they decided to invite two delegates from each of the then seven most prominent schools in Lagos. Thus, fourteen of such students (boys and girls) formed the pioneer membership of what was destined to become a proverbial almond tree of formidable nature.

    The seven schools were Kings College, Lagos; Queens College, Yaba; Methodist Boys High School, Lagos; CMS Grammar School, Bariga; Ahmadiyya College (now Anwarul Islam Model College), Agege; Methodist Girls High School, Yaba and Baptist Academy, Obanikoro.

    That nucleus body held its inaugural meeting at Ansar-ud-Deen Primary School, Alakoro, Lagos, on April 18, 1954. It was at that meeting that a proposal which had earlier been sent out to the mentioned schools was formally adopted. And, a resolution was taken to draft the constitution of the Society which was ratified thereafter.

     

    First Executive Body

    With the constitution in place, some members of the first executive body were elected into office. Dr. Abdul Lateef Adegbite of King’s College was unanimously elected as President while Shuaib Oloritu also of Kings College and Saidat Anibaba (now Professor (Mrs.) Mabadaje (rtd) then of Queens College became first and second Vice Presidents respectively.

    Dr. Adegbite’s election was quite timely and coincidental because he was not just the Chairman of the Library and Debating Society of Lagos secondary schools, at that time, which made him a first among equals, he too had been planning a common forum for Muslim students.

    Some other officers were also elected and given responsibilities. Duties were delegated with trust and virtually everybody lived up to the trust.

    What would have been a major hindrance to the realisation of that dream was lack of funds. But nothing fails at the dream level if it has the hands of Allah in it.

    With strong determination and commitment, the young boys and girls levied themselves one shilling each on a monthly basis, which they contributed with dedication from their stipends. Besides, each of them bore the cost of transportation when assigned to a duty outside the immediate environment.

     

    Conferences

    If the first national conference of the Society, held in Lagos in 1954, drew the attention of many people to it and attracted many new members, that of 1956 held in Ijebu-Ode was a watershed.

    It was at that conference that the Society can be said to have become a real national body. Some members, especially of northern origin, who later became prominent in that body joined in 1956.

    These included the late Shehu Musa of Niger State who later became Secretary to the Federal Government, Adamu Ciroma who became the Governor of   the Central Bank of Nigeria, Jubril Aminu who became the Secretary of Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) and later Minister of Education and Petroleum; Yerima Abdullah and a host of others.

    It was about the same year that some other Lagos students like Lateefat Oyekan (now Alhaja Lateefah Okunnu (a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State) joined the Society and boosted its growth with special indefatigable leap.

    At this time, Islam was not yet known to have significantly reached what is now called South East or South-South of Nigeria.

    The third conference was held in Ilesha in 1957. It was hosted by one Alhaji M.A Smith, a prominent businessman with substantial financial wherewithal.

    The fourth and fifth conferences were held in Ibadan and Abeokuta in 1958 and 1959 respectively. In all those places, the conscious attention of local Muslims was drawn to Islam and some of them gladly encouraged their children to join the newly formed society of Muslim youths.

     

    The turn of events

    In 1957, Abdul-Lateef Adegbite, the first President of the Society, had completed his secondary school education at Kings College and he wanted to vacate the office for someone else but other brothers would not hear of it. They persuaded him to continue with the leadership showing appreciation for his leadership ability.

    However, providence set in to play a role in the life of Abdul-Lateef and that of MSSN simultaneously. He got a job as a researcher at the Historical Research Scheme in Ibadan in which he was engaged while awaiting admission to read English in UCI.

    At the time, Adegbite experienced a repeat of fortuitous providence working for him against his wish. He did not succeed in gaining admission into the University College but that was a blessing in disguise for MSSN. If he had been admitted as he wished, he would have had less time for the Society in its infancy and he would not have become a lawyer that he happily became later. He also would have studied English at UCI without any scholarship. His patience and faith paid off as he later got admission into the University of Southampton where he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Law before proceeding to the University of London for his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees on scholarship.

    Gender Dichotomy

    Realising the implications of talking any of the sisters into marriage within the Society, the President himself avoided any act that could set a bad precedent for others.

    When it was time for him to choose a marital partner, he made sure that his wife to be (Miss Taibat Yetunde Carew, now of blessed memory) was not a member of the Society. Although he met her at an MSSN forum, the latter merely escorted her friend to that forum.

    When he returned into the country in 1965 with a Ph. D degree, Dr. Adegbite was surprised at the growth rate of MSSN across the country. All the Muslim secondary school pupils had fully become members and most of the foundation members had either graduated from higher institutions or about to graduate.

    He, therefore, thought of a higher pedestal for the Society’s alumni to operate spiritually. Fortunately, he was appointed Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the Western State in 1967 a position that put him in very good stead.

    He was therefore, able to strengthen the MSSN and encourage fellow alumni to join hands in floating another Muslim Society that would be meant for only adults as members.

    Today, most of the pioneer members of MSSN are great men and women in various public and private sectors. The current Sultan and President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, some Emirs, Ministers, Governors, Vice Chancellors, Professors and, even the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua were members of that great Society.

     

    Office accommodation problem

    It, however, became disturbing that despite the greatness of this Society and its alumni, there was no permanent office that could be called its national   headquarters even by the time its 50th anniversary was celebrated in 2004.

    An attempt was once made to site such office in Ilorin being the midway between the North and the South. But that attempt was unsuccessful. It was only when the elders decided to pay attention to the issue of headquarters, recently, that a plot of land was secured for office in Abuja on which work is yet to commence even 62 years after the establishment of MSSN.

    Dr. Abdul-Lateef Adegbite’s appointment as Commissioner also helped tremendously in bridging the religious gap between the north and the south, especially in respect of the formation of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) in which he was to play a major role as Secretary-General later in life. As far as Islam is concerned, his was a footprint on the sands of life. Let those who are yearning for a similar footprint be as dedicated to Islam as Dr. Adegbite.

     

    A leadership training ground

    Apart from serving as a unifier of Muslim youths in Nigeria, MSSN also started as a potent leadership training ground for Muslim men and women of the future. That many brothers and sisters who passed through the Society are occupying various prominent positions including gubernatorial, ministerial, top managerial and core professional in Nigeria today is an evidence of that assertion. At least not less than five Heads of State or Presidents of Nigeria have been produced by the Association. However, the tempo of leadership agility in of the past seems to have waned tremendously.

    Thus, due to the fact that most students of nowadays are immature, some experienced hands at the helm of affairs in the Society continue to hold sway as principal officers thereby hindering the upcoming ones from gaining the necessary leadership and experience that should normally prepare them for the future.

    The implication of this is that leadership is no longer by training or experience but by mere incidental assumption. This in itself is a great disadvantage to the growth and development of MSSN as well as a cause of various divisions leading to the emergence of splinter groups. If this Society must progress as expected, a return to the original system that gave it a profitable vibrancy in the past should be a sine qua non.

  • Celebrating a national icon

    Celebrating a national icon

    The classy and stylish Eighth Bola Tinubu Colloquium has come and gone. But for all who witnessed the event, it was an eloquent testimony to the greatness of its namesake and the tremendous goodwill that he has earned through years of consistent demonstration of courage and resilience, fighting against political tyranny and impunity in high places. This will remain indelible in the hearts of many participants and attendees.

    There is probably no better evidence for the enviable political stature of Bola Tinubu in contemporary Nigeria than the fact that his birthday provided the platform for a “vital national discourse” at which the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria made important policy declarations and agriculture, one of the most crucial planks of national economic priorities, was subjected to serious intellectual and policy analysis.

    The choice of the colloquium topic, “Agriculture: Action. Work. Revolution”, is not only timely; it is also critical to the overall agenda and policy thrust of the current administration. The President, therefore, has every good reason for his enthusiastic presence. The topic gave him another opportunity to drive home his determination to impact the lives of the millions of Nigerians who believed in him and entrusted their future to him. He reassured them of his empathetic understanding of their present pain. He also renewed his administration’s promise to diversify the economy, using agriculture to lift the masses out of poverty.

    Indeed, the Eighth Bola Tinubu Colloquium turned out to be another remarkable example of the synergy and meeting of minds between President Muhammadu Buhari as the official face of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its progressive policy thrust on the one hand, and Asiwaju Tinubu, the charismatic national leader of the party who with the scars of decades of struggle for progressive transformation of the nation, continues to re-present the future that is possible for our people and therefore reserving the right of intervention at critical junctures on behalf of the voiceless.

    This synergy and meeting of minds is not lost on President Buhari himself as he declared his self-evident enthusiasm for the topic of the colloquium with his observation that the “theme for (the colloquium) this year could not have been better chosen. As the nation grapples with decades of dependence and profligacy of natural resources, and the coincidence of shrinking of oil prices, the chickens have indeed come home to roost.” For this reason, the President rightly observed that “diversifying the economy can no longer be a slogan; it has become a necessity.”

    And in a moment that betrayed his progressive bona fide and the reason for his initial acceptability to the masses that voted for change in the last general election, President Buhari declared that economic growth must be “broad-based, for every Nigerian citizen” and it “cannot just be for the lucky few at the top.” Since the majority of citizens are in the agricultural sector, it stands to reason to initiate a progressive agenda for economic growth with a laser beam on agriculture.

    That understanding of the meeting of minds is crucial to the overall success of the administration and the continued relevance of the party that it represents. I believe that this is in part a good reason for the President seizing the opportunity of the colloquium to reiterate the commitment of the party and the administration to the prioritisation of agriculture and the specific plans for its realisation.

    Among others, President Buhari pledged his commitment to the ultimate goal of self-sufficiency in the production of the categories of food that are staple to the diet of most Nigerians; and the ultimate ban on importation of such food items as rice, wheat, fish and sugar. That we continue to import these items is a shame and a vivid demonstration of our national deficit in seriousness. These are items that we can either grow at home with our expansive farmlands and teeming population of unemployed people, or can afford not to consume since there are good if not better alternatives.

    What is in jollof rice that is not in ofada rice? It is therefore encouraging that President Buhari has given the marching order with the setting aside of N40 billion for rice and wheat farming and his promise to stop the $11 billion of foreign exchange that we waste on importation of these items. Many Nigerians would willingly decide to partner Mr. President on this journey of hope. Nigeria has no reason to spend its hard earned foreign exchange on food importation.

    Of course, the real success story of this policy thrust cannot and will not be in the amount that we save in foreign exchange if it ends up hurting the masses whose fortune it is designed to improve. The real success story, as Asiwaju Tinubu, the celebrant himself observed, is not about the rate of GDP growth. “Our real quest”, Tinubu insisted, “is to strive to provide the people with sufficient food at affordable prices. The real story is that our farmers and their land must become more productive, but they must also be secured with better pay for their increased output.”

    In other words, a progressive strategy in the agricultural sector is for the ultimate good of the people. The prioritisation of agriculture as an economic strategy is for the benefit of families such that “no child goes to bed in want and hunger.” It is just as well, again, that the President and the party’s national leader spoke with one voice on, as the former put it, “the injustice of hunger and the need for long-term food security.”

    Matching the leadership declarations on policy strategy is the demonstration, by expert colloquium speakers, of practical possibilities and challenges in the agricultural sector. From the Keynote Speech of the Minister of Agriculture, which enunciated the policy specifics and the challenges of meeting them, to the guest speaker’s address on the prospects of a Nigerian Commodity Exchange system from an Ethiopian Commodity Exchange perspective and the fascinating prospects of poultry farming in Nigeria, the audience was treated to a day of so much nutritious food for thought (no pun intended).

    How did all these come to happen on the birthday of a citizen, a day which would otherwise have passed without notice but by the immediate family and friends? How come the birthday of a citizen without official appointment in government became an occasion for presidential policy announcements? The simple answer is that Asiwaju Tinubu has successfully and effectively represented the hopes and aspirations of the masses. He has championed their cause in and out of office. He has demonstrated an uncommon courage in the struggle against oppression and in pursuit of good governance. He has been an indisputable bridge builder across the national divides of tribe, tongue and religion.

    From the North and South, from the East and West, politicians, traditional rulers, intellectuals, market women, civil servants and youths gathered to celebrate the icon of change and the generous spirit that they fondly cheer as Jagaban. As the Yoruba would say, it is futile to engage in the comparison of heads. One who does that kind of exercise may end up suffering untold psychological breakdown. Therefore, it is sensible to allow destiny to play itself out. Some are just destined to be great.

    Yet the Yoruba, in their candid pragmatism, would also remind us that we must engage our hands to influence and improve our lot. This means that we are the architect of our fortunes. Tinubu’s ascendance in national political and business leadership is a testament to this belief. He has his maker to thank. He has his dutiful and supportive wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to thank.

    For the success of the colloquium, which is in its eighth year, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the initiator and architect of the idea since 2009, has every reason to be proud. Each year the programme has gotten better and better, and certainly, this has been the best thus far. Professor Osinbajo has put a stamp of his penchant for excellence on this annual event. It will only get better.

  • The Sultan: A Triple Heritage

    The Sultan: A Triple Heritage

    History is for human self-knowledge. The only clue to know what man can do is what man has done.

    The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus enables us to know what man is capable of doing”. By R. G. Collingwood

     

    Preamble

    The title of this article was not originally coined by yours sincerely. It is rather an adaptation of the title of a television documentary projected by a late African Professor of Political History, Ali Mazrui of Kenya, in the early 1980s. He   entitled the documentary ‘The Africans: A Triple Heritage’.

    The adaptation of that topic here becomes necessary because of the coincidence of history the type that gingered Mazrui into coining that topic.

    Today, history, being a teacher, has come back to the classroom to repeat itself to its numerous but willing students.

    Today’s Muslim generation in Nigeria is passing through a paved path of history without taking notice of it. This 20th Sultan is of triple heritage. As the President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council (NSCIA) he is a religious leader. By virtue of his national royal status he is a political leader. And as a retired Brigadier-General, he is a military leader.

    Thus, his triple heritage is complete. Such an incomparable colossus cannot be equated with any rascally charlatan trying to seek national relevance with the clout of His Eminence in the garb of a religious leader.

     

    ‘The Wings’ of History

    On Sunday, March 27, 2016, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni landed in the Southwest of Nigeria like a beaming sun in full regalia of royalty.

    On arrival at Ibadan Airport, he was received by a galaxy of well-meaning Muslim personalities from the six states of the Southwest some of who formed his entourage to Iwo, the city of Scholars.

    That entourage was led by no other personality than His Excellency, Dr. Sakariyau Olayiwola (S. O.) Babalola, the President of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN).

    At Iwo, His Eminence first paid a courtesy royal visit to the palace of Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdul Rasheed Adewale Akanbi.

    The latter joined His Eminence in commissioning the magnificent Mosque of ‘The Wings Schools’ where the bird of ‘Peace’ flies with the ‘Wings’ of knowledge. With its imposing grandeur, the Mosque has capacity to accommodate over 2,000 worshippers. And that provides an opportunity for the Muslims in the environs to observe their Jum’at prayer in the Mosque with ease every Friday.

     

    Commissioning

    While commissioning the Mosque by unveiling the plague that bore his name, His Eminence who was not in a hurry to leave the city of scholars, praised the proprietor of the schools, Prof Lai Olurode, for facilitating with peace, an indelible platform of knowledge for the people of Iwo in particular and those of the Southwest in general.

    He also offered a special prayer for the final year pupils of the secondary school and encouraged the generality of Iwo Muslims to maintain peace even in the face of provocation, saying Islam is about peace and not about violence.

    Quoting copiously from the Qur’an and Sunnah, he admonished Nigerians, especially non-Muslims, who often blame the misbehaviour of some Muslims on Islam to desist from such deliberate malignance.

    Asserting that there are no religious adherents in the world today without blemish, His Eminence concluded that Islam is the mirror through which Muslims should be viewed and assessed rather than the other way round.

    After commissioning the Mosque in the name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful, he led the congregation in the observance of Salatu-dh-Dhuhr making him the first Sultan ever to carry out such a duty in Osun State.

     

    First in History

    The coming of His Eminence to Iwo last Sunday was the first by any Sultan in over 214 years of the Sultanate in Nigeria. Besides, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar is the first and only Sultan to bring all Nigerian Muslims under a unified protective umbrella in history.

    Ever since he ascended the throne 10 years ago, he has paid meaningful visits to all parts of Nigeria rallying the Muslims in those parts towards peace and progress.

    He has thus earned the absolute confidence of Southern Nigerian Muslims who were hitherto skeptical of the northern leadership of Islam in Nigeria.

    The effective participation of Southern Muslims in the affairs of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) today through a number of leadership roles is a glaring attestation to this fact.

     

    The fountain of knowledge

    In Osogbo, the Osun State capital, there is a private citadel of knowledge and civilisation named ‘Fountain University’. The reason for naming it so is to enable it to be like an ancient well in the desert valley of Makkah called ‘Zam Zam’ meaning ‘Drink, Drink’.

    The well has been there for thousands of years serving hundreds of millions of people in all seasons without a halt. Zam Zam is an evidence of Allah’s special blessing for mankind in the past, in the present and in the future.

    Here is a well that never dries and the water is with neither colour nor odour. The more the water from Zam Zam well is consumed the more the well produces the water.

    In recent times, some airlines in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian government introduced a system whereby every pilgrim that wants it is provided with ten litres of Zam Zam as a parting gift.

    Thus, such pilgrims go back to their countries with the sacred water that heals ailments and enhances faith.

    With this, there is hardly any country in the world today without the knowledge and benefit of Zam Zam.

    Globally, therefore, Muslims know Zam Zam as the grace of Allah which no other religion is endowed with. If Zam Zam  had been an attribute of a religion other than Islam it would have been called miracle water.

     

    River Osun

    Incidentally, the river that gives the State of Osun its name is called River Osun. The name Osun is a Yoruba word meaning ‘Fountain’. But the function of that is a mythological aberration which cannot in anyway be equated with Zam Zam. While Osun, a coloured and odoruant stream is worshipped as a god, the well called Zam Zam, is seen and believed to be Allah’s grace with absolute purity for the benefit of mankind.

    The similitude of Fountain University therefore, is like that of Zam Zam, an inexhaustible fountain of knowledge and morality with the fear of Allah.

    In this University, students who are thirsty for knowledge and civility can drink and drink from its fountain to their fill.

    That Fountain University is sited in a ‘Fountain’ State is another historical coincidence which could have been made possible only by Allah. And that is probably why the Fountain University is based on the fear of Allah.

     

    Projects of Progress

    As part of his royal and spiritual itinerary in the Southwest region, His Eminence spent three days in the State of Osun where most of his time was spent at the Fountain University.

    On the first day which was Sunday, March 27, 2016, he laid the foundation stone of a 38-room Guest House being donated by Dr. Adul Rauf Wale Babalakin, SAN at the University after paying a royal and brotherly visit to His Royal Majesty, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun Larooye II, The Ataoja of Osogbo.

    Some other donors chose to be anonymous saying their donation were to the course of Allah who alone can reward human beings on their good deeds.

    On Monday, March 28, 2016, His Eminence commissioned an imposing two storey Senate building that will accommodate the University Senate, the Vice-Chancellor’s office and those of his deputies as well as the University Registrar’s and some other top officers of the University.

    The magnificent building was donated by the President of MUSWEN,  His Excellency, Dr. Sakariyau Olayiwola Babalola, OON.

     

    Convocation Lecture

    The Sultan then attended the University’s convocation lecture delivered by Sokoto State Governor  Aminu Waziri Tambuwal,  the Mutawalin Sokoto and then laid the foundation stone of the University Mosque being donated by Alhaji A. W. A. Ibrahim.

    He also laid the foundation stone of a 22 room female hostel being donated by Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali, SAN. In the lecture entitled “Religious Tolerance and the Challenges of Democratic Governance in Nigeria”, Alhaji Tambuwal said among other things that:

    “Obviously, religious intolerance in itself is the outcome of the way and manner that religious education is taught in various religious groups.

    “This is especially glaring in terms of insurgency, which is, for the most part, caused by poor education or the lack of it and religious bigotry. However, all factors as mentioned have been amplified by the nation’s conspicuous challenges to do with unemployment, poverty and leadership deficit…”. He then enumerated the causes of religious disharmony in the country as follows:

    1.Conflicts or misunderstanding fuelled by socio political, economic and governance factors.

    2.Disharmony facilitated by government’s neglect, oppression, domination and related discriminated processes.

    3.Conflicts and disharmony aggravated by the weak nature of State institutions.

    4.Conflicts and disharmony provoked by, for example, disparaging publications, vilification of other people’s views, values and wrong perception of other peoples’ faith.

    5.Conflicts essentially triggered by religious intolerance, fundamentalism and extremism which are mostly caused by poor education or lack of it”.

    After the lecture, Alhaji Tambuwal announced his personal donation of the University’s College of Law, the building of which he promised to commence soon. All the donations were within the launching of an endowment fund raising of five billion naira. But the donations were still far from the targeted sum.

     

    Honour for the honourable

    On Tuesday, March 29, 2016, His Eminence was honoured with the conferment of the Fountain University’s doctoral degree (Honoris Causa) during the 4th and 5th combined convocation ceremony of the University.

    Former Osun State Governor Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola also shared in the honour with a similar conferment.

    The official conferment on both men of honour was done by the Chancellor of the University, Sheikh Ahmad Lemu, the former Grand Qadi of Niger State.

    In all, about 370 students graduated with five of them coming excelling with First Class.

     

    Iconic Pro-Chancellor

    The Pro-Chancellor of the Fountain University is the immediate past Vice- Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, whose influence in attracting projects to the University is immeasurable.

    An indefatigable personality, Prof Oloyede is known for working tirelessly and dedicatedly for the success of anything progressive thing he believes in.

    As a man of many parts and focus, Oloyede believes that the greatest treasure for social and political wellbeing in any community is manpower.

    Thus, he took it as a personal assignment to build men and women of letters and honour for the future of Nigeria. This, he has done innumerably without expecting any gratitude from any mortal being.

    If the opening poem in this article is fitting to any contemporary Nigerian Muslim, Oloyede ranks topmost. His disposition to making great men and women is legendary.

    Unknown to the author of the following poem, there is an African called Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede who stands conspicuously out of the pack to bear the name of the principal character in that poem without showing it off. The poem goes thus:

    “Who shares his life’s pure pleasure and walks the honest road; Who trades with heaping measure and lifts his brother’s load; who turns the wrong down bluntly and lends the right a hand; he dwells in God’s own country and tills the holy land”. We are all witnesses.

     

    The Great Duo

    The combination of His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto as President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Prof Oloyede as the Secretary-General of that apex Muslim Council is unprecedented in the 54 years of the existence of that Council.

    If any Nigerian Muslim generation can ever be said to be fortunate, the current generation is surely the one.

    We pray the Almighty Allah to spare the lives of this duo with very sound health and continuous Allah’s guidance that they may jointly be able to pilot the affairs of Nigerian Muslim Ummah to the Cape of Good Hope. Amin!

  • Senate’s pseudo progressives

    Senate’s pseudo progressives

    Hello, Mr. PP”, Opalaba bellowed into the handset in response to my enthusiastic announcement of my presence in the area. There is a history behind this exchange.

    I had once walked into Opalaba’s booby trap of tradition bashing when I accused him of not welcoming me back home. I had suggested to him, as the elders taught us, that if he didn’t consider it appropriate to stretch to me a hand of welcome, he should not expect a corresponding gesture of goodwill to him. After all, he who fails to say “welcome” has lost a right to “I am here and I hope I meet you well.”

    My friend didn’t take kindly my accusation and though I wasn’t going to let him win the debate that ensued, I thought that he had a point. Opalaba insisted that either the elders were wrong or I got the import of their teaching upside down and inside out. In his thinking, the suggestion that the person at home must first stretch a hand of welcome to the visitor or family member returning from a trip makes sense when the two are physically contiguous. It is then easy for the home-bound folk to witness the arrival of the family member or visitor. In such a situation, it is normal to expect a warm welcome back from the home bound person to which the arriving folk may respond “I hope that I find you well.”

    However, while that scenario is normal in the traditional setting, it does not feature often in contemporary setting when even within the same village, I may not know that Opalaba was away or has arrived and vice versa. It was in such a setting that I had accused Opalaba. His response was an outburst of a pent-up anger at whoever or whatever:  How am I supposed to know that you had arrived? Am I expected to have a crystal ball? It’s stupid to quote that nonsensical proverb. It doesn’t apply to this situation. In fact, it’s the reverse that applies: If you don’t announce your arrival with “e ku ile” you forfeit your right to “e ku abo.”Since that exchange, I learnt to announce my arrival.

    That was what happened last weekend and the response that I got was “Hello, Mr. PP.” To my question, “what does that mean?” Opalaba irritatingly suggested that I ought to know. “You are all pseudo progressives,” he derisively averred. “And I just pity the poor folks that you all deceived with your change mantra. Change my foot!”

    Continuing, Opalaba exploded: “What change when you cannot even defend a poor kid taken advantage of? Your legislators were quick to initiate an ethics probe of one of their members for bashing them in an interview. But when a 14-year-old was abducted and impregnated, ‘mum’ was the response from them! Now a bill seeking a law to criminalise such barbaric exploitation of the vulnerable has been dealt a death blow in the Senate. But what have you done as a columnist? ‘Mum’ is the word from you as well.”

    “By the way” Opalaba continued, do you know what’s in that bill? It is the most reasonable and modest set of legislation that any reasonable person, born of a woman, would gladly assent to if only as an honour to the vessel through which they entered the world. And to those who have daughters and sisters among them, you would expect that they would be mindful of the future that they aspire to have those poor girls and women experience and do the right thing.

    “In case you haven’t followed your senators’ legislative blunder, I have identified at least six substantive and largely innocuous features of the gender equality bill. And I would invite your good self to tell me, based on your understanding of the commonsense revolution that APC enunciated and which I believe you subscribed to, which of these is lacking in commonsense or is too radical for your comfort.

    “First, the bill requests parity for boys and girls and men and women in educational placement and school enrolment, including in the award of scholarship. Simply put, obstacles should not be placed on the path of girls or women in the matter of educational attainment. Pray, why would any sane senator oppose this? Are girls and women different species? Are they not human beings? Does their different anatomy place a curse on them? It is just so damning of the mentality of pseudo progressives who are really closeted reactionaries.

    “Second, the legislation seeks to eliminate gender stereotyping and customary prejudices that are ignorantly based on perceived inferiority or superiority of the sexes. Where roles are reserved for men and women based on such stereotypes, it does an irreparable harm to the psyche of young women and men. Indeed, our distinguished senators may not be aware or conscious of the real foundation of their votes on the bill. But they have just exposed the harm that traditional stereotyping had done to their own psyche. They grew up being fed with the rubbish about what women are and in their adult lives they refuse to independently and critically evaluate the old “idols of the tribe”, the prejudices that stand in the way of reason and rationality.

    “Third, the gender equality bill seeks to eliminate sexual and domestic violence, including rape, assault and sexual harassment. All religions preach domestic harmony. All sects preach peace. While would senators be in favour of promoting sexual violence? But you may tell me that none of them favours the promotion of violence. My question to you is “why are they against a bill that seeks to eliminate violence?”

    “Fourth, the bill that your pseudo progressive senators reject seeks to eliminate inhuman and humiliating treatment of widows. It seeks to give a widow the right to an equitable share in the inheritance of her husband’s property.And to your pseudo progressive senators, this is a mortal sin! A woman spent the whole of her life with a man more or less like a servant, bore his children, satisfied his sexual urge, nursed him when he was sick, provided the needed emotional support for his passion and ambition no matter what they are. In the end, he passed on and the woman is left in limbo. She cannot have access to his property. Relations who hated him and her while he was alive have the right to inheritance. This is the tradition that your pseudo progressive senators admire and voted to continue.

    “Fifth, the gender equality bill seeks to ensure more participation for women in politics and in positions of authority. But your pseudo progressives cannot bring themselves to an understanding of why they must empower women in this way. After all they (women) are supposed to be seen and not heard. The fact that the major prophets have special places for women in their heart doesn’t amount to anything for your reactionaries in progressive garb. Women are about half the population of the nation. But out of over a hundred senators, there are not up to 10 women. It is good reason for shame. But shamelessness is the heritage of pseudo progressives.

    “Sixth, the gender equality bill seeks to make age 18 the minimum age for marriage in the country. Of course, for pseudo progressives this is the height of provocation when they would rather catch them young. So for them it is the last straw. Indeed, I venture to hazard a guess that many of them did not bother to read the entire legislation and when this caught their attention, they just decided there and then that the entire bill must be shredded. Pity!

    “In the end, a chamber with a majority of its members in a political party that campaigned as a change agent and an advocate of commonsense revolution, threw out a progressive bill that seeks to emancipate a large segment of the population from unfair exploitation. How low can a chamber go?”

    Thus sayeth Opalaba. And from me, oro pesi je.

  • Imperative of values

    Imperative of values

    Values are the foundations of social and national life. They make us who we are and determine what we will be. They can be positive or negative. We live by them and by them we thrive or degenerate. A society that derives its being from positive values can expect to thrive and prosper. On the other hand, where negative values are the driver of national wheel, it can expect to slouch toward the Hades of existence. By the same token, when a nation starts on a positive value orientation but goes on to embrace negative values, we may expect it to flounder and fall. This was the fateful course of the empires that were and are no more.

    From whence come our values? Are they natural and immutable or are they conventional and relative? In other words, are our values independent of human making and therefore natural, holding absolutely no matter the circumstance? Or are they dependent on human conventions and therefore relative to time and space? It makes a lot of practical difference how we theoretically answer these questions. It makes a lot of difference across cultures, across religions and across nations.

    For value absolutists, societal values are immutable because they are independent of human conventions and agencies, and are needed for societal survival and progress. Therefore, they cannot be overridden by any social idiosyncrasies or legal manoeuvres.

    But where do they come from and how do we get to know them? The answer varies. For many traditionalists and conservatives, values are divine. We know them through God’s revelation to the devout and wise ones. Recall Moses and the Ten Commandments. Or Prophet Mohammed and the Holy Koran. The prophets don’t lie and therefore society must abide by their mandates. Obviously here, the challenge of consensus strikes us right in the face when there is a conflict of revelations mandating a conflict of values. How do we deal with different revelations concerning child marriage?

    For secularists, the source of our absolute values is nothing but the reason and the conscience with which we are fully and lavishly endowed. To know the values that we must live by, we only need to consult our reason and be guided by its dictates. If we are honest and smart, we would not miss the mark. The problem is that we are not all honest and some are not as smart as others. As a result, we also have here the challenge of consensus when differing value conclusions are drawn from the same set of factual propositions to the detriment of social life. How come different reasoners reach different conclusions about the value implications of the fact of child marriage?

    In the last two paragraphs, I have deliberately framed the question of consensus in simple and direct language. I have avoided the issue of abduction, for instance, simply because it is contestable. Assume, however, that the case of Ese and Yunusa were not that of abduction but simply a case of love between two young fellows. Do we have a consensus of revelation and/or reason about the value of child marriage since it is not denied that Ese is a minor? And on the need for parental consent?

    It follows from the above that value absolutism of religious or rational dimensions has a challenge regarding consensus on values within a social space in which there are contending and competing spiritual forces or rational agencies.

    Value relativism recognises this conundrum but it doesn’t fare better. For value relativism, values are relative to societies and cultures each of which has the right and responsibility to determine what values are best for its survival and progress and therefore values may vary from place to place. While this position makes consensus within particular cultures and religions possible, it fails to take account of the plurality of cultures and religions that make a society. And the major mark of modernity is the plurality of cultures and religions within a social space as in the case of our multi-ethnic and multi-national space.

    Recognising the diversity of our cultural and religious values and the challenge of consensus across the divides that they represent, we opted for a device that should take precedence over all of them and bring us to a consensus on value matters. This is what our grundnorm, the constitution of the country represents or is expected to represent. We do not have a common spiritual or rational agency. But by appeal to our rational self-interests and what is needed to promote them in a multinational environment, we agreed to establish the guiding principles of social and political life which, therefore, supersede any cultural or religious dictates or divisions. Provided we allow the constitution to do its job of promoting our national values, we should be able to ride the storm of ethnic or religious diversity.

    It is to this end that the constitution gives us the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State as the source of our national values and social orientation. It also establishes the rule of law as the basis of our interactions. In each of the dimensions of our economic, political, social and spiritual lives, we have the rule of law to guide our relationship with government and with fellow citizens. The onus is mostly on our governments through our political leaders to enunciate and pursue practical policies aimed at bringing out the best in every citizen. When leaders succeed, the nation and its citizens excel in values orientation. Otherwise, they experience anomie and alienation. Our contemporary experience of value deficit is an eloquent testimony to the failure of leadership.

    If we believe in the doctrine of the natural depravity of humans, then it is human nature to drift toward vice or negative values. Naturally then, we prefer consumerism to productivity. If economic sabotage through hoarding pays, we embrace it. Political violence and election rigging that scuttle democracy may favour a few as long as there is no consequence. Some may find it attractive to denigrate women and see them as sex slaves even when they protect their own daughters from harm. Unbridled materialism and opulence in the midst of mass poverty may not tax the dead conscience of the filthy rich. And prosperity gospellers may have no qualm about milking the poor cattle that they volunteer to herd. If our different cultures and religions pronounce differently on these value choices, the constitution and the statutes that it spawns are clear in their denunciation.

    I am not sure if it is only reassuring or true to suggest that our nation has seen the worst in terms of the negativity of our value system. Twenty years ago, many thought we must have gone through the worst when it was government itself that promoted the most heinous of crimes, including judicial murder of citizens for irrational self-interest. Now we have local and state governments doing just as much and getting away with it. Much more harmful is the collaboration of the judiciary through the bad eggs it harbours to perverse the cause of justice and mock the rule of law.

    Most of the values that the majority of our people live by are egocentric and therefore inimical to the social health of the nation. If everyone were to adopt those values, no one can expect to survive let alone prosper in this nation-space. Those negative values couldn’t have come from any natural or spiritual sources. But with individuals embracing them and political leadership not having enough moral courage and political will to unleash the power of the grundnorm and our statutes to deal decisively with them is not just embarrassing; it is destructive of our common interests. For with these negative values and the weakness of the will on the part of the government, we are creating the veritable means of our national demise. Empires and nations have risen and fallen as a result of the values that they embrace and promote. We have not even risen to the midpoint of our potentials. But we are already prepping hard for the big fall.

  • The Message @ 10

    Prologue

    Time flies.

    It was like a dream ten years ago when this column named ‘The Message’ debut in the great newspaper called The Nation.

    By then, this columnist (being a journalist) had written Islamic and sundry other columns for about 24 years in various Nigerian and foreign daily newspapers as well as weekly magazines. Such newspapers and magazines included National Concord, Tehran Times, Vanguard, The Monitor, Inquiry, Africa Today, Africa Now and a host of others. Naming the column ‘The Message’ in The Nation  was deliberate.

    Perhaps, no other name accurately matches the divine religion called ‘ISLAM’ as much as ‘The Message’ being the greatest mission to mankind from the Almighty Allah through His greatest Messenger, Muhammad (SAW).

    Hitherto, the column had borne various names in various newspapers, such as ‘Islam’, ‘Islam Today’, ‘The Sermon’ and others.

     

    First outing

    In the preamble to the very first article published in this column 10 years ago, yours sincerely stated inter alia as follows:

    “Here is an Islamic column entitled ‘The Message’. It is starting today in the name of the almighty Allah, the compassionate the merciful. It will appear in this space henceforth, every Friday in The Nation , Insha’Allah. This column will be meaningful, both in title and in contents, to the Muslim Ummah, home and abroad as well as to others.

    Starting at a time when technology has reduced the world into a village and paring with the visionary title of the great newspaper called The Nation, this column promises to deliver The (great) Message of Islam to all those who are ready to receive it with open minds and genuine intention”. Its language of communication will be English in its received form and lucid standard which will be comprehensible to all who are literate enough to read and understand simple English language.

     

    Central Focus

    The central focus of ‘The Message’ shall be the Man. And the word ‘Man’ here does not refer to Male gender alone. It rather refers to the most important creature of Allah on earth around whom all issues in the world rotate” and with whom all other creatures can be relevant.

    However, it should be quickly added here that man, whether in the primordial or contemporary sense, is a product of family. There can be no talking of over seven billion citizens of the world today, without a fundamental reference to the family”.

    The world of man is like a gargantuan tree with rich roots that supply its strong stem and foliages with highly nutritious and sustaining food. Just as no tree can stand without roots so can no social life of humans be peacefully sustained without solid family backgrounds.

    Thus, the human family can be incontrovertibly described as the root of the tree of human life.

     

    The family angle

    Based on the fact that every clan, tribe or nation starts with a family, ‘The Message’ shall be addressed first and foremost, to the family. And, since there can be no survival for any family without business, it also becomes necessary to view the family from the premise of the business in which it is engaged”. Business is the chief determinant of human movements and standard of living.

    Arguably, the peace or otherwise of this world depends on those two fundamental concerns: family and business. Each of these shall form a major chapter in ‘The Message’ column. The rest shall be like stars supporting the moon in its celestial entourage.

    This column will therefore be interesting not only because of the depth of its research and the clarity of its language but also because of its participatory nature which will enable its readers to make contributions directly or indirectly.

    Besides, the right of readers’ responses shall be treated as sacrosanct and, there shall be no discrimination either on the basis of creed, gender, tribe or race. But every rule has its own exception. The exception here is that any response or reaction that tends to abuse this opportunity may not be accorded the privilege of rejoinder. Welcome on board of ‘The Message’ being delivered to the nation through The Nation.

     

    A Child @ One

    When this column was one year old in The Nation in 2007, an article entitled ‘A child @ one’ meant to celebrate the occasion was written. As a reminder, yours sincerely decided to recall that article here today for the purpose of gratifying the Almighty Allah who piloted us to this day through that intellectual odyssey and to show appreciation to regular, invaluable readers without whom the column would have been meaningless if not irrelevant. The article went thus:

    “The young shall grow. With his brain, teeth and limbs, he shall develop through motherly nurturing and evolve as a dependent adolescent. Then, through the various circumstances of life, he shall garner experiences that will help him to grow into an independent adult. It is assumed that in that process, he must have learnt how to suck mother’s breast milk; how to eat solid food; how to sit unaided and how to crawl riskily from fire place to water storage. He must also have mastered the art of walking around with no sense of any danger and that of running from pillar to post in a seeming rehearsal for the struggles of life.

    Thereafter, like a competent Cadet, he shall rise through the ranks to become an army general one day. Like a prince, he shall struggle through thick and thin to become a king one day. Like a student, he shall study days and nights to become a professor one day. Like a servant, he shall serve and serve loyally until he becomes a master one day. Then, rising to a status of prominence, he shall ask himself the vital question: “how did I reach this stage?” That child is ‘The Message’ column.

     

    Soliloquy

    “It is not just by leading battalions of army to war or by conquering an avowed enemy that a General of worth emerges. What makes a worthy general is the ability to care for the rear as much as he concentrates on ravaging the rough road that leads to the war arena. A general who does not care about the soldiers he leads to war is only risking his life and his fame as he may end up being a General without troops.

    For most Nigerian Muslim readers of newspapers, especially The Nation, this column is a ‘General’ in its own right. And, to be worthy of the name, it becomes a sine qua none to look back, at this point, and see if the archers are still there with their ‘bows’ and ‘arrows’”. The archers in this case are the readers. Without them, there can be no general called ‘The Message’.

     

    The Ark

    Today, ‘The Message’ as a column, is ten years old. It was all like yesterday when it started cruising, like the Ark of Noah, across oceans and seas of life, some of which were ‘Atlantic’ while others were ‘Pacific’. “On board of that ‘Ark’ were a number of issues revolving around man and his faith and the norms that guide the moral existence of Muslims.

    As expected, along its cruise rout, the ark encountered some whales and sharks as well as crocodiles and hippos thereby becoming a target of dangerous threats at various stages of the voyage.

    In a nutshell, ‘The Message’ has consistently been a lily by the mossy stone. Yet, like any newly christened child, not many readers were aware of the existence of this column until a couple of years after its debut.

    “Today, however, the story is different. In virtually all corners of Nigeria and even some countries abroad, ‘The Message’ has become a house hold name just like The Nation. Its readers are not from amongst the Muslims alone. They are not from amongst Nigerians alone. They cut across religions, tribes, nationals, races, genders, ages, ideologies and interests. Their responses and reactions confirm this”.

    If ‘The Message’ has not been publishing reactions in recent times, it is not because there are no reactions but because most of the incoming reactions are from abroad and mostly complimentary.

    To consistently publish such reactions may amount to self-adulation by the columnist as it may create boredom for the readers.

    Unlike in the past, most Nigerian readers of ‘The Message’ hardly react to the contents of its column in writing these days. They prefer to call by phone and discuss verbally with the columnist an indication that newspaper readership is being reduced to a sheer leisure matter. The purpose of displaying the telephone number and email address of the columnist in this column is not for the readers to call but to send reactions in writing so that fellow readers can share their expressed ideas.

     

    Original design

    “As a column, ‘the Message’ was originally designed, to serve the purpose of a weekly Friday sermon in a written form. Thus, like any informed sermon, it discusses, comprehensively, all issues affecting the lives of Muslims vis a vis the fundamental principles of their religion”. It ascertains all perceivable problems in the society and proffers possible solutions to them where necessary from Islamic perspective based on indepth research and the intellectual ability of the columnist to interpret such research and present it to the public in the purest form”.

    Going by its title, this column is not a message to the Muslims alone. It is rather a message to all civilised people who want to know the reason for the existence of Islam and the extent of its workings. It is also a mode of interaction between the Muslims and non-Muslims over some issues hitherto considered knotty and unresolved. Thus, by making the column a participatory one whereby readers are privileged to express their opinions and observations in reaction to its contents, a better understanding is gradually being forged between the adherents of Islam and those of other religions.

    As a result, the perennial mutual suspicion, particularly between the adherents of Islam and those of Christianity in Nigeria, has drastically been reduced. Now, it is becoming clearer that religion should not be by coercion but by personal conviction based on persuasion which must not be offensive to others who are yet be convinced. However, if in the process of practising what is believed, some elements of bigotry are reflected, let that be attributed to the messenger rather than the message.

    Not all ambassadors are worthy of the missions entrusted to them. There is no sphere of human life without bigotry. Globally, it is not in religion alone that fanatics are found. They are also found in politics, business, professions, cultures and even sports. If this is the case, human nature must be separated from the precepts of religions. Nigerian Muslims do not attribute the crimes committed by some Christians to Christianity as a religion. Therefore, let Nigerian journalists learn a lesson from this and stop using the media to champion sectarian strife between two religious blocs”.

     

    Peace and no rancour

    “Now, by understanding that religion, in any society, is like a university where various faculties exist and admission seekers can enroll in any faculty without one obstructing the chance of another,  readers of this column are beginning to see religion as an instrument of peace rather than that of rancour”.

     

    Spheres of life

    In Islam, there is no barrier between one sphere of life and another. The temporal and spiritual lives of Muslims are fully governed by the tenets of their religion. And those tenets cut across all spheres of life without any demarcation. Thus, just as it will be improper and irrational for those in the economic or business sector to scare away politicians from economy so it is for politicians who want to prevent religionists from commenting on politics.

    That is an intolerable aggression which ‘The Message’ as a religious column will not condone. Those who don’t want religion to be mixed with politics should neither ask for votes in Churches and Mosques nor seek political patronage of religious pundits.

    As for some religious demagogues and their congregational zealots who think Islam must be practised according to their own perception of life, such a parochial wish must be stopped henceforth. Nothing causes religious rancour in Nigeria as much as provocation. This has been tolerated for a very long time by Nigerian Muslims. It must not continue. As Muslims, we shall legitimately resist any attempt by anybody to use our political mandate to devastate our religious lives with a view to gagging us in a country to which we all belong. ‘The Message’ shall continue to champion such a course in sha’Allah.

     

    Nigerian Media

    In this same sphere, some Nigerian media practitioners are like politicians. They simply hide under the cloak of reportage to paint white substance in black colour and give blackmail a preference, especially in matters relating to religion. It is they who coined such words as ‘marginalisation’ and ‘Islamisation’ both of which cannot be found in any English dictionary. Like politicians and religious fanatics, most Nigerian journalists are at their very best in displaying ingenuity when it comes to evil disposition. They are the primary inventors of political and religious conflicts in Nigeria. Yet, they behave like an ostrich that buries its head in the sand while its huge body remains exposed. They are a dangerous species to be wary of in the country as they cunningly impede all avenues of peace and harmony.

    Regardless of the evil antics of Nigerian politicians, journalists and unrepentant bigots in other religions, this column will continue to commend good deed and condemn evil actions in all spheres of life no matter whose ox may be gored. Islam is an international religion. It has no barriers in terms of nations, races and tribes. A Muslim in New Zealand is a brother to another in Alaska or Beijing.

    That is why ‘The Message’ must comment on Muslim activities around the world if only to inform its local Muslim readers about the affairs of their brothers and sisters elsewhere in the world”.

     

    Conclusion

    This columnist is not apathetic to criticism since there can be no growth without constructive criticism. But a poisoned food is not worth the name of a meal. Any reaction that is deficient in language and reasoning will not be accorded the privilege of a rejoinder in this column.

    Meanwhile, I wish to express a profound gratitude to genuine readers of this column. Their readership is the impetus propelling the spirit behind the informed ideas, deep thoughts and researched writings appearing in this column every Friday. Without informed readers, there can be no informing columnists. Thus, readers are greater than writers. I am proud of you.

    I pray the Almighty Allah to safeguard our well illumined path from getting thorn-blocked by the forces of darkness who think they can extinguish the light of Allah. God bless you all!

  • Devaluation for Dummies

    Devaluation for Dummies

    The naira devaluation debate appears to have been conducted in abstract terms that make it difficult for many folks to participate in it. This shouldn’t be the case. In fact, the economics of devaluation or revaluation appears to be plain and simple, though there are no simple answers to the questions that they raise.

    The debate has highlighted some inconvenient truths about the economy that we have operated since the beginning of the republic. But the inconvenience of these truths does not diminish their status as truths. In the language of popular introductory books, then, I present “Devaluation for Dummies.” I would still be one of the dummies but for my power couple who broke the issues down for me in plain language.

    First, we operate an economy that is fundamentally based on foreign exchange earnings from one product, that is, fossil fuel. The vibrancy or otherwise of the economy is therefore dependent on fluctuations in the oil market. There is no better evidence for this truth than the benchmarking of our annual budget on the price of oil. To allow for the shock of the fluctuation, we use conservative figures so that we may have a pleasant surprise for our Excess Crude Account, an extra constitutional device cleverly designed as buffer for us in the rainy day.

    Second, we do not produce any tangible products for export besides oil and we do not produce most consumer goods. So we are fundamentally a consuming nation. As President Muhammadu Buhari has repeatedly observed, we even import toothpicks.

    Third, from the foregoing, it follows that we need more foreign exchange than we earn from the export of oil, our only commodity, in order to pay for our cravings for imports. If the individual importers of these goods have access to their own foreign exchange earnings, e.g. through their business and professional incomes, they would not need any from the government through the CBN. However, the vast majority, including most businesses, have no independent sources of foreign exchange. Therefore, they rely on government for supply. Additionally, we also now import education for our kids by sending them to foreign institutions for which we have to pay their tuition in foreign currencies.

    Fourth, since we operate a market economy, the market can easily decide the rate at which the naira exchanges for any other currency, including the dollar. It should depend on the law of supply and demand. The currency that we do not need remains weak against our naira while the currency that we need badly remains strong as long as it doesn’t exist in sufficient amount to satisfy our personal and business demands.

    Over the course of 40 years, we have seen a reversal in the rate of exchange between the dollar and the naira. As a graduate student in the United States in the 1970s, I used to receive my allowance in dollars, and I received more dollars in exchange for the naira amount that was remitted to me. That means that the dollar was weaker than the naira at the time. That was also because we earned more foreign exchange from crude oil sales. It was a time we wallowed in oil wealth and didn’t quite know what to do with it. Now the reverse is the case and we are in the grip of an economic malaise.

    Fifth, with supply crunch in the forex market and too much naira chasing too few dollars, it is an inconvenient truth that more naira will have to be dished out to catch just one dollar. It’s the law of demand and supply.

    Sixth, naturally a government likes to protect the value of its currency in the exchange market. There is national pride in the strength of the national currency. Therefore, while the market goes south for the naira, government wants it to stay north. It can only effect this with a strategic intervention that freezes the rate of exchange at a particular level despite what the market determines to be the real rate.

    Seventh, the unintended consequence of such a decision to freeze the rate of exchange in the face of a real shortage is that some businesses and industries are favoured to receive foreign currency at the governmental rate for their external transactions, while others are forced to the parallel market where the law of supply and demand operates. MAN just made a request to the Central Bank for a direct allocation to it as an organization, instead of going through the commercial banks so its members can have access to cheap forex to avoid the closure of businesses and factories.

    Eighth, an alternative policy is to follow market leadership and officially bring the value of the naira to the level that the market determines. That is, government devalues the naira relative to, say, the dollar or pound sterling. Apart from avoiding distortion and unfair favouritism in the forex market, an important advantage of formal devaluation is that it makes the country’s export products cheaper for prospective foreign buyers. Therefore, they buy more and the country is able to earn more foreign exchange, which it can use for its imports.

    So, what could possibly be wrong with the argument for official devaluation especially when, in reality, we have an unofficial devaluation of the naira in the parallel market? And what might be the response of the pro-devaluation lobby?

    The presidency has stuck to its position against devaluation. Both President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo have argued that the allure of devaluation is the prospect of a country earning more foreign exchange from its exports which become cheaper to importers abroad. However, since we do not produce a lot for the export market, devaluation is not an option for an economy such as ours. Furthermore, devaluation would make imports costlier to us; and so, while we do not earn more from exports, we would have to dish out more for our imports, to the benefit of other countries. This is the heart of the argument against devaluing the naira.

    Another argument against devaluation is that naira speculators are responsible for the run on the dollar in the forex market. Not knowing whether or when the government would officially devalue, panicky buying of the dollar and selling of the naira has apparently distorted the value of both to a large extent. This means that while it is true that there is a shortage of forex, what is going on in terms of the value placed on the dollar vis-à-vis the naira may all be due to those anxiously purchasing the dollar. The way to deal with such a situation is not devaluation but with a combination of fiscal and monetary policies that assure citizens. While it may not do away with all speculation, it may at least reduce it. An example is the announcement that government will not provide forex for tuition for students studying abroad.

    The response of the pro-devaluation lobby is swift. To take the last point first, it is not clear how the decision to withhold forex from students studying abroad will stop speculation. Parents are advised to make their own forex arrangements presumably through the parallel market. This, of course, puts pressure on that market leading to few dollars chased by naira, a perfect condition for speculation, and thus for the further weakening of the naira. And the vicious cycle is unrelenting.

    Furthermore, as the government protects the naira and the market gives it a drubbing, it doesn’t help the policy objective of attracting much needed influx of foreign investment that can stimulate the economy towards the ultimate goal of producing more for export. For instance, if foreign investors are not sure about what the value of the dollar or pound sterling that they plan to bring in tomorrow to start a production chain will be the next day, they are likely to defer the decision to bring it in as long as possible. This further exacerbates the situation by denying the economy another source of much needed foreign exchange. And poor naira continues to be the helpless victim.