The Nation Newspaper

Category: Segun Gbadegesin

  • Sophie’s Choice

    As the bodily vessel of the immortal soul of Sophie Oluwole, distinguished Professor of African Philosophy, is being laid to rest today, we are reminded of what matters in a well-lived life, which she exemplified. Simply put, it is a matter of the choices made.

    Professor Oluwole made the most fundamental choiceof originality and excellence in whatever she did. Throughout her memorable life, she repeatedly demonstrated this quality. And while she may not have consciously nursed the ambition of never dying, her choice has secured her immortality.

    In well-deserved tributes over the past four months since her passing, commentators have called attention to Sophie’s uniqueness as a philosopher of African tradition. In what follows, I discuss this and two others, including her contributions as an administrator and as Board member, relying on my experience with her in these roles.

    As a philosopher, Sophie’s choice of African philosophy as an area of specialization did not come easy in view of the historical trajectory of the discipline. Professional philosophy had its roots in the West and Socrates is considered its patron saint. This was the training we received in African classrooms. It was the training our African and expatriate professorsreceived beforea few of them branche.

    The first to branch out was Late Professor Olubi Sodipo, the first Nigerian Professor of Philosophy, first Vice Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University, and first President of Nigerian Philosophical Association. Even with his profile, Sodipo’s stance wasn’t popular with his professorial colleagues who insisted on professional philosophy as practiced in the West. They described his brand of philosophy as ethnophilosophy in contrast to professional analytic philosophy.

    I mention Sodipo here to underscore the chance that Oluwole took when she decided to pursue a doctoral degree in African philosophy, one of two Nigerians to opt for this unique specialization, the other being Anthony Oseghare my colleague at Ife who received his Ph.D. from University of Kenya, Nairobi under the late Odera Oruka, the exponent of Sage Philosophy.

    Sophie’s choice of specialization paid off handsomely not only for her professional development but also for the uniqueness of the contributions she made to professional philosophy. For many soon followed her, and now, there is hardly a department of philosophy in Africa without a program in African philosophy. Furthermore, when several of us relocated in the late 80s and early 90s, we took African philosophy with us to the centers of learning in Europe and America. And the tiny twig has become a giant Iroko tree.

    Sophie’s role in this evolution cannot be taken for granted. For the uniqueness of choice won’t matter much if it was not matched by the excellence of her analysis, the evidence of which is all over her writings.

    A major outing of Professor Oluwole was in a special edition of Second Order: An African Journal of Philosophy, founded and edited by Professor Sodipo from the mid-70s to the early 80s when he became Vice Chancellor, and the late Moses Makinde and I took over as editors. That 1978 special edition was on “Witchcraft and Magic”withcontributions by Albert Mosley, Sophie Oluwole, P. O. Bodunrin, D. Gjertsen, A.O. Sanda, and P. Rogers. As far as I know, Oluwole was the only contributor who had yet to receive the Ph.D. at the time. And she held her own.

    Oluwole’s objective in that article is to spell out “the justifications and consequences of the claim that witchcraft is real” while her professor, Professor Bodunrin’s argument is that there can be no justification for the belief in the existence of witches or witchcraft. While Sophie makes the case that science does not have the final say on this matter, Bodunrin takes science as the arbiter in the truth of the matter. As he puts it, since scientists are the skeptics in this issue, to convince them, “you have to speak their language.”

    Sophie suggests three methods, any of which she argues must satisfy the skeptical scientist because each fits the methodology of science. First, a believer in witchcraft must explain the modus operandi of witchcraft power. Second, “he must be prepared to demonstrate a causal relationship” between witchcraft power and the event he cites. Third, he can prove his knowledge of the reality of witchcraft power by “practically manipulating it.” For her, any of these speaks the language of science.

    It is this insistence on a level playing field between traditional African philosophy and Western philosophy that marks the debate over African philosophy in the beginning, as recent as 40 years ago. To her credit, Oluwole has been in the trenches of the struggle all along until she breathed her last. And it must be counted as righteousness for her.

    Sophie’s post-doctoral exploits in the field, including her books and numerous articles, are glaring testimonials to her scholarship and dogged fight for the elevation of African philosophy in its traditional mode. It is here that her most famous book, Socrates and Orunmila makes the perfect pitch. As she repeatedly argues, she expects her findings on the similarities in thought between Socrates and Orunmila to elicit a favorable reaction to the idea that Orunmila is no less a philosopher than Socrates. She makes her case with raw evidence provided her readers are open-minded.

    There is even a simpler case to be made. Philosophy is reflection on our human experiences. Unless you doubt that some humans have no experiences that warrant reflection, then it would be hard for you to doubt the capacity for reflection on those experiences by any humans. And as every Odu Ifa demonstrates, reflection on experience is key to Orunmila’s prowess.

    Professor Oluwole served as President of the Nigerian Philosophical Association from 1987 to 1991. From 1987 to 1989, I served with her as the General Secretary before I relocated in 1989. I observed her up close in those years as a team player and an excellent administrator with a penchant for details. Taking over from Professor Bodunrin who had then been appointed as Vice Chancellor of Ondo State University, Oluwole was determined to prove her worth. And for the two years that I served with her, she did. She made sure that almost every week-end on her way to Ondo, she stopped by at Ife to discuss issues, including the organization of workshops and conferences.

    Our path crossed again in 2008 when we were both appointed as members of the Obafemi Awolowo Institute of Government and Public Policy by the Lagos State Government under Governor Babatunde Fasola. With Chief Bisi Akande as Chairman, members include Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Mrs.Francisca Emanuel, Late Ms. Bisi Silva, Distinguished Poet Odia Ofeimu, Professor Adebayo Williams, Professor Wale Adebanwi, and Mr. Ibukun Fakeye.

    Itis a distinguished group and Board meetings are marked by constant interplay of seriousness and fun.  Though, in view of my location. I am not always available for meetings, anytime I am present, there is not a dull moment, thanks to the comic talents of Bayo Williams and Sophie Oluwole, with Bayo often at the receiving end, frequently eliciting the plea, Iya yi fi mi sile o. Oh, how we miss her already!

    In Sixteen Great Poems of Ifa, Professor Wande Abimbola tells us how Ifa divination began. One of Orunmila’s sons had disrespected him. Outraged by the insult, Orunmila relocated to Orun pitching his tent “at the foot of the much-climbed palm tree…with sixteen hut-like heads.” Chaos ensued on earth. His children went looking for him to return. They found him. But he refused their plea. Instead, he gave them sixteen scared palm nuts to consult with whenever they needed something from him.

    Sophie left us with an immense amount of “sacred palm nuts” in the form of her encyclopedic contributions to African philosophy.Scholars will be nurtured for ages ruminating over her works.This is what defines immortality. As the Odu Ifa proclaims:

    Mo dogbogbo orose

    Emi o ku mo

    Mo digba Oke

    Mo le gboin.

    I have become the timeless Ose

    I will not die

    I am two hundred hills rolled into one

    I am immovable.

    Sophie’simmortal soul is already resting in peace.

     

     

  • A vicious circle of greed, poverty, and violence

    Nigeria is blessed with plenty in resources: large acres of uncultivated of farmland, mineral reserves, water resources, and a massive population potentially capable of putting all of these to use for the wellbeing of our people. For several reasons, however, this desirable end is not to be. Why?

    I mention two reasons only to dismiss them. One, for convenience, we blame our plight on anyone but ourselves. Here, colonial exploitation is our whipping child. But while our experience of colonial exploitation is real, after 59 years, shouldn’t we wake up to our responsibility and deal with neocolonial collaborators in our midst?

    Two, some have suggested that we missed the road early on because when we became a nation, we did not opt for an indigenous political system unique to us. I respectfully beg to differ. We were a nation in name only when we started the journey of independence. Therefore, there couldn’t have been an agreement on an “indigenous” political system.

    Let us then focus on what the real issues are. First, there is ample evidence on the importance of human talents in the development of other resources for the benefit of humankind. Our founding fathers recognized this and prioritized education. Therefore, in fairness to them, they started well and placed us in the path of progress. However, we, or more precisely, the uniformed ones among us, got rid of them and their emphasis on education.

    It was not for lack of money that we relegated the education of our children to the back burner. It was a deliberate policy of preventing them from actualizing their God-given potentials. The uniformed ones prioritized conspicuous consumption and white elephant projects. Yet ancestral wisdom is clear on this matter. The children you don’t train will rubbish your investment in the projects that you prioritize. So it is that from bars on bridges to cables on electric poles and louvres on uncompleted low-cost houses, those we failed to train prioritized the vandalization of our pet projects to make ends meet.

    Even after the uniformed ones were forced to retreat, they ensured that they handed over only to those who were not going to disrupt the apple-cart. With a meaningless jargon of qualitative education, they stagnated the forward movement of higher education for several decades. The most atrocity was committed during the regime of General Babangida with a deliberate policy of divide and conquer which ended up hurting every section of the country. Since then, it has been a downward spiral to the abyss in which we now find ourselves.

    Second, with such a huge deficit in the development of human resources, we are not able to manipulate the abundance of nature for our benefit. Therefore, in the oil sector, we depend on multinationals with no interest in our wellbeing. And we complain that they steal our oil? Our refineries are moribund for lack of maintenance because that is not a culture that we train ourselves to cultivate.

    Third, just as we abandoned education, we encouraged a contract-based economy and welcomed the proliferation of emergency contractors, apology to the late music icon, I.K. Dairo. The result was the rural-urban migration. Agricultural settlements were deserted and with it, productivity of agricultural products suffered irreparably.

    Fifth, the result of the foregoing is our realization that, without adequate human resources to manipulate nature, our natural resources, though plentiful, are useless. For the elite or run-of-the-mill egoistic maniac, this reality is a signal for greed to take over. In the circumstance, many unable to compete successfully in the race are left behind despondent and resentful. The result is our national nightmare. Think gang, cult, human trafficking, armed robbery, and kidnapping. It didn’t start yesterday. And without a drastic national approach to dealing with the root cause, it will not stop.

    Greed is not alien to human nature. As Thomas Hobbes theorized, it is natural human reaction in the face of scarcity. You would like to grab more and more in case there is no more. So would others. And this must lead to some unwholesome situation with many motivated by greed running into one another, causing violent conflicts, Hobbes’s war of all against all.

    Note, however, that such a conflict would, for Hobbes, occur in a state of nature, where there is no political authority to moderate interactions among human beings. That this same conflict is occurring between the boundaries of our nation is an unfortunate evidence of our proximity to the state of nature even after 59 years of independence

    What is the real issue that deserves attention? Is it scarcity of resources, greed, or failure of political authority? To my mind, it is all three combined in various degrees.

    First, our scarcity is man-made. Until a few years ago, we had carried on as if our newly-found oil wealth was inexhaustible. We fought a civil war without borrowing, thanks to the black gold. Even when it was made clear to us in the early 1980s that oil wealth was susceptible to the vagaries of the global market, we weren’t deterred from ostentatious living or from dependence on this single product for all our national development goals.

    In fairness to the Buhari administration, therefore, whatever its challenges in other areas, we must applaud its recognition of the need to take economic diversification seriously with investments in agriculture and mining especially. With increased output in agriculture, we can at least expect to feed ourselves and reduce our expenditure on food importation. But we must go beyond this least common denominator. We must worry about the development of human talents capable of transforming our increased agricultural output into the beginnings of an agro-industrial revolution. Education is key to this and must be taken seriously.

    Second, greed is certainly a disproportionate part of the problem, and it starts at the top with the political class. What have unfortunately downplayed the influence of the conduct of those in positions of authority on those below them. Leaders must lead by example. In the First Republic, political office holders served in part-time capacity. Those were still the most productive times in our political experience when citizens felt the impact of government positively on their lives. And those were still the most peaceful times of our national history. With access to education for anyone who desired it, and availability of jobs for those who took advantage of educational opportunities, greed was reduced to its barest minimum.

    Now, however, we have a complete reversal of the values that we started out with. The political class leads in the matter of vicious greed even when resources are desperately scarce. Many commentators, including this columnist, have berated the humongous emoluments cornered by current political office holders. Is there a rational and moral justification for a Nigerian Senator to earn more than a United States Senator? Or a state governor with no internally generated revenue to earn more than his U.S. counterpart?

    As CNN reported in 2016, the governor of the State of Maine, Mr. Paul LePage was the lowest paid governor in the US. His wife, Mrs. Ann LePage decided to take up a waitressing job at a local restaurant to supplement her husband’s $70,000 annual salary. Is Nigeria more economically developed and more financially sound than the US? But beside the huge salary, our chief executives have access to other perquisites of office including security vote for which they are not accountable. The youth envy this and end up as yahoo boys, kidnappers, and armed robbers.

    Finally, then, an effective political authority, mindful of our desperate situation, will map out a strategy to tackle our many challenges, not least of which is greed in high places. Surely, greed and corruption are not limited to the corridors of political power. However, corruption radiates from politics to other sectors. Corruption in high places motivates corruption in low places. Those least advantaged to benefit from corruption see themselves as unlucky. They resort to what they can control, namely, violence against their fellow citizens.

    Without effective political authority and political institutions that are incorruptible, the tomorrow of our nation is uncertain.

     

  • Envisioning the Yoruba in an ideal Nigerian Federation

    Yoruba values are the ageless strength of the Yoruba nation. Paradoxically, they are also part of her challenges. The core value of Omoluabi still remains the pillar of the Yoruba civilization. Iwa (Character) is its fundamental moral principle. Guided by this principle, generations of Yoruba parents brought up morally upright children who have gone on to succeed wherever they find themselves. They were told that if they demonstrated outstanding traits of character, they would go places. However, should they develop bad character, they might open themselves up to derision and hate.

    The components of Iwa include a strong habit of hard work (ise logun ise), the philosophy of live and let live, and hospitality (ikonimora) to mention a few. We also have a rich language which appears to accommodate opposites without qualm. While we say ise logun ise, we also insist that kitikiti ko mola, ka sise bi eru ko da nkan. Also, with the same mind that we philosophize about the morality of hospitality, we also express our misgiving about preferring strangers to natives (eniti a bi won bi kii wu won….). We are not worried about the apparent ambivalence of our proverbial statements. Our ancestors prioritize moderation and balance in every situation. If we learn from them, we would have little or no challenges that we do not have indigenous resources to meet.

    In an ideal federation, the central and regional or state governments are co-equals. There is no parasitic relationship and the regions/states have sovereignty over affairs relative to their customs and cultural traditions, including language policy, education, economy, etc. Specifically, an ideal federalism respects cultural democracy. That the Nigerian Federation is non-ideal is no longer news. It has been so since 1966 despite the complaints of many citizens, including political leaders, traditional rulers, educationists, legal luminaries, labor, and students. We also know that this deviation from the norm of federalism has been a clog in the wheel of our national progress and development.

    We know where we were at the dawn of independence having been in an ideal federation for at least five years before 1960. And we know where we were on the eve of January 15, 1966. And we can infer where we would have been if, on that day, the brake pedal of unitarism had not been depressed to slow our forward march.

    No one is in doubt that the current federal structure of the Nigerian state undermines the progress of every group, the Yoruba especially, in all areas. Recall, for instance, that the Awolowo administration defied the colonial federal government to pursue its own development agenda even though it meant forfeiting its allocation of federal fund. So, the current federation is not anything but a setback for the aspirations of the founding fathers of the former Western Region. For the Yoruba or any ethnic nationality or region to make progress relative to its aspirations, we must have something close to an ideal federation, if the ideal cannot now be achieved.

    Having made the point in the last paragraph, however, let me throw in a major caveat. We know the impediment to Yoruba progress in the current quasi-unitary system. But there is also another matter that must agitate our mind as we contemplate restructuring toward an ideal federation.

    What we haven’t really confronted is what prospects and challenges the Yoruba might encounter in an ideal Nigerian Federation when restructuring is accomplished. Hopefully, the prospects are excellent for a reconfiguring of our zonal agenda for the development of our people. However, I hazard a guess that there would still be some great difficulties in view of our special circumstances. Unfortunately, we haven’t engaged seriously with these issues. Here I choose one for further reflection.

    We suffer from a deficit of consensus, talk less of unity of purpose. We pride ourselves in the matter of the priority we give to differences of opinions on matters of importance. We cannot all sleep and face one direction. Our uniformity of tongue and blood doesn’t prevent bitter political fights. No Yoruba leader since the days of Awolowo has ever controlled the admiration, talk less loyalty of a large percentage of the people. Superstitiously, we attribute this to the curse of Aole. But if we don’t speak with one voice, who is going to take us seriously? It is no surprise that the political geckos have always taken advantage of the cracks in our walls to invade our space.

    It is even more distressing that the most disruptive conflicts have not occurred because of ideological differences. Conflicts of personalities have always been the bane of our civilization from the days of inter-tribal wars to contemporary shenanigans among traditional rulers and political leaders.

    Along with the foregoing is our posture regarding our common ancestry and the glorious history of our immediate past. We are justifiably highfalutin recalling our exploits in the First Republic. We were first in all the innovations that mattered to a developing country. We were like a country within a country. And we regret that our march of progress was stopped because we decided to go national with our brand when all that national leaders saw then was a threat to their hegemony.

    Now that we have been strategically partitioned into tiny cubicles, each cubicle head decides to guard its power trimmings jealously. Thus, when the idea of a return to regionalism was first proposed years ago, the first attack on the idea came from our zone. “We are not ready to go back to Ibadan was the refrain” as if we are incapable of out-of-the-box thinking again. Surely going back to Ibadan or using another regional headquarter can’t be our only option.

    What we do about this issue of internal division and personality conflict is going to determine (a) whether we project a common voice regarding the need for restructuring and (b) whether and how we benefit from it when it finally occurs.

    About (a), we shouldn’t deceive ourselves thinking that APC leaders among us are the resisters. Many of them have been lifetime advocates of restructuring. The truth is that, in the present republic, resistance started in 2005 during the Obasanjo constitutional conference when PDP was in power in the Southwest apart from Lagos. The Yoruba Agenda was carefully prepared by activists and civil society leaders. It was endorsed across the board only to be turned down by PDP Governors who insisted that they were the elected leaders and they must have their way regarding the political agenda for the Yoruba.

    Of course, they had the backing of the then President whose disdain for restructuring was and is not a secret. If there are APC political office holders now resisting restructuring, it may be worth our while looking into the negative psychology of power that overcomes its bearers and render them incapable of long-term consideration of legacy. Just as the curse of a country with a wobbly foundation is not borne alone by one party or the other, so the blessings of a restructured Nigeria will rebound on everyone whether they support it now or not. But history records impartially and, in the fullness of time, it will make its record public.

    On (b) assume that restructuring finally occurs despite the resistance of the powerful. If the Yoruba are at each other’s throat, how are they going to benefit? A restructured Nigeria, with a true federal system, where federating units are quasi-autonomous, and are in control of their resources while paying taxes and royalty to the federal government, will not be a bed of roses initially. The success of each federating unit in such a system will depend on the quality of its human talents more than the material resources it controls. Therefore, the Southwest must prepare itself through the creative energy of leaders and followers who work cooperatively to reinvent the pacesetting genius of its past.

    The future that we envision calls for the closing of ranks and the mending of fences that tend to divide. This is our urgent TASK.

     

    • Excerpts from a goodwill message to Afenifere Renewal Group Retreat, March 30, 2019

     

  • Brutes in uniform?

    It happened again for the umpteenth time. A young man was cut down in the morning of his life, leaving Parents and loved ones to mourn. He committed no crime. His killers were not armed robbers, cultists or hired assassins. He was murdered by those paid to protect him and the rest of us. His case is just another in the long list of killings by brutes in uniform.

    “God punish your father! I can kill you right now for nothing!” an officer who sounded like the leader of his squad yelled repeatedly as he punched and gun-whipped a young man in a despicable demonstration of power over life and death. His subordinates begged him to no avail as he kept cursing in the video. This happened in a country supposedly governed by the rule of law.

    Kolade Johnson, the most recent victim of deadly assault by police brutes was a sports enthusiast watching a soccer game at a viewing center. That was his crime. One of the officers that killed him reportedly announced his resolve to “kill someone today.” Those paid to protect us have a monopoly of access to deadly weapons which they unleash on innocent citizens. And we think nothing is amiss!

    From available reports, the killers of Kolade were affiliated with the Special Anti-Cultism Squad (SACS) with a mission to eliminate the menace of cultism. A genuine mission! But what means did they adopt? They apparently decided to identify cultists by hair style. Anyone with dread lock is a cultist! If it has not led to such a tragic outcome, you would think that someone had a rich sense of humor. Dreadlocks as a symbol of cultism? I have professorial colleagues wearing dreadlocks! By the hair-style identifying formula of SACS, my colleagues are cultists!  It is too mind-boggling to contemplate where this leads us.

    In the middle of last month, Lagosians and the country heard with dismay the heartbroken news about a young school girl killed in broad daylight by the Police in Ikorodu. According to media reports, she was hit by a stray bullet fired into a group of young people whom the police contingent suspected were hoodlums. As the girl laid in her pool of blood, the squad hurriedly escaped in their van as the youths pursued them. Perhaps the girl could have been saved if the police tried to take her to the hospital. But they cared less, and an innocent life was taken without moral qualm. In what other country can this happen?

    In June 2018, a Police Inspector and two Sergeants tear-gassed an asthma patient whom they accused of being a fraudster. He went into crisis and they fled the scene. As The Nation reported on June 18, 2018, the three were subjected to internal discipline and dismissed from the force. However, it is undeniable that these internal measures have failed woefully to sanitize the Force or bring it to the desirable end of professionalism and respect for human rights.

    In August 2018, Vice President Osinbajo weighed with a directive for a complete overhaul of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), after numerous public complaints and a #EndSARS campaign. Amnesty International has also demanded reforms to rid the Police of the “criminal network” which “tortures and extorts” suspects even in phantom and cooked-up cases.

    The totality of our national experience with our Police is comparable to a horror movie. The difference is that horror movies are unreal.

    What is most depressing about all this is that the Police is an essential institution for the internal security of the nation. We need the Police because there are bad people with criminal minds whose raison d’etre is the perpetration of evil. However, we do not need a back scratcher with a glove of thorns. When the murderer camouflages as the savior, we are done for. This is where we are in our police-citizen relation in this country. We have a misplaced hope.

    The Police has its organizational vision and mission statements which speak to its role as a public safety government organ. Part of its vision is “to create a safe and secure environment for everyone living in Nigeria.” Vision statements are generally aspirational, pointing to an envisioned future. The point is to keep improving until that end-time is reached. But what improvement have we seen in the decades that we have had the Nigeria Police Force? The above cited incidents provide a damning answer.

    Complementing its vision, the Police also has the admirable mission of building “a people-friendly Police Force that will respect and uphold the fundamental rights of all citizens.” That there is a gulf between this mission statement and people’s experience with our law-enforcement officers is clear. The question it must address is, what must be done to bridge the gulf between aspiration and actuality? What does the Police need to do to build a people-friendly Force?

    Answering this question does not require knowledge of rocket science. A humanist with common sense should be able to address it effectively. There is a short-term and a long-term solution to the crisis, which it is.

    First, we have the long-term constitutional issue which many, including the National Assembly, have failed to address since 1966. Nigeria appears to be one of only a few countries its size with a federal system and a unitary policing system. With this comes the serious issue of effective management which we, obviously, do not have a handle on. Yet we, true to our human nature, are afraid or suspicious of change.

    It is however true that policing at the level of states and local government is bound to be more people-friendly simply because it is more community-oriented. A nation-wide community policing sponsored by the federal Police cannot generate the kind of community feeling and sense of belonging that a local Police with personnel from the community can generate. Therefore, if we want a people-friendly policing, we would opt for a constitutional amendment to establish state and local police. We also must call out the cop-out excuse regarding finance. Transform EFCC into our federal Police in the manner of the FBI and dismantle the Nigeria Police with its budget transferred to the states.

    Second, however, we know that while this approach is right, it is wishful thinking because we are paranoid about change. Meanwhile, then, let there be an effective management of the Police that we have now. There is no doubt that recruitment needs to be overhauled. The mindset that sees every citizen as a hoodlum must not be allowed near the corridors of police stations. A mentally challenged and unbalanced individual must not be given access to a gun. But there are now many with mental issues parading as officers in the Nigeria Police. How did they get recruited?

    Third, the various special squads-SARS, SAKS, SACS- apparently see themselves as invincible agents of destruction. They are given these AK-47s which they parade with glee and with arrogance of power. What psychological or mental tests, if any, do they go through before they are enlisted in the special squads? The various atrocities they have committed over the years are enough evidence of the failure or ineffectiveness of such tests.

    Finally, the matter of police qualification and welfare must be taken seriously. With the explosion in the population of graduates of our tertiary institutions, it should not be difficult to have a pool of outstanding candidates with excellent mental states. With such quality candidates, however, we must be prepared to overhaul the welfare package for recruits and officers in the force. This will justify our expectation of a professional force and an effective implementation of a code of conduct that eschews bribery, extortion, and corruption.

    In his inaugural address upon his appointment last January, the Acting Inspector General, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar Adamu assured Nigerians that he was “mindful of their yearnings for a policing system that will not only assure them of their safety but treat them with civility and hold their rights sacred.” He then promised that “their deserved aspirations will be met henceforth.” Nigerians are still waiting to cash this promissory note.

     

  • On Tinubu and the task of bridging division

    Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has, undeniably, earned the distinction of being an enigma in the politics of the 4th Republic. Admirers and hailers love him with passion. Critics and wailers detest him to the marrow. Love him or hate him, however, you cannot deny him his place in national politics since the turn of the century.

    From his courage to stand against federal might and a presidential mockery of the rule of law, to his dogged struggle for electoral reform, to his persistent effort to form strong coalitions across geopolitical zones, Tinubu is one of the major architects of what is turning out to be a strong two-party system in the country. If we look back at our political history from the first republic to now, when partisan politics meshed with ethnic rivalry, how far we have come is no mean achievement.

    We have come a long way from three regional political parties, AG, NPC, and NCNC, none pretending to speak for the entire nation even though each had a modicum of membership in various regions. The Second Republic did not fare much better, though NPN claimed a stronger national presence than UPN, ANPP or PRP. The 3rd Republic had a militarily imposed two-party system, but we know how that ended. The 4th Republic also started on the same foot, with PDP having more national spread than AD or APGA.

    Of course, there is still worrisome division. The pertinent questions are: what is the nature and cause of our division? How might it be handled? Structurally? Institutionally? Are leaders doing their best to overcome our division?  Exploring these issues is not only a fitting tribute on this his special day, it is also in keeping with the birthday boy’s well-known penchant for deep reflection.

    Our division does not start today or in 2015. It even predates 1999. It goes back to the dawn of colonialism and the strategic interest of the colonizers in a divided country. They sold us the dummy of a Muslim North and a Christian South despite evidence to the contrary. And we played along, always quick to see the peck in the eyes of the “other” while feigning ignorance of the beam in ours.

    We politicized ethnicity and religion beyond reason to the detriment of national integration and national unity. Going by where we were in 1960 compared to our present, it is not out of place to conclude that we are far more disunited. We started off as if we were three countries in 1960. Now it is as if we are more than six nations with each zone in destructive competition with the others.

    But ethnicity is not the worst of our problems. In 1960, we didn’t have mega churches and mega mosques fanning the embers of religious fanaticism. And just as it is with political fanaticism and thuggery, religious fanatics also have their own foot soldiers whose job is the pursuit of revenge on behalf of their God.

    What they will never explain to us is why an omnipotent God needs the help of mere mortals to avenge his enemies. But I assume too much already. Didn’t one half of the clan tell us that Western education, which has championed global technological progress, is a sin, and the other half that we cannot trust our wisdom because it is foolish? Yet neither has jettisoned the products of technology and human wisdom.

    But I digress. On the task of bridging our division, it matters whether we have a national leadership from all sectors-ethnic, religious, business, professional- which (a) is fully invested in the task, (b) does not prioritize an egoistic, sectional, or sectarian agenda, and (c) does not itself include divisive members.

    Politics is by nature divisive. Even if, following Mwalimu Nyerere’s well-founded aversion to multiparty system, we adopt a one-party democracy (an oxymoron) or a no-party system, divisions cannot be wished away for the obvious reason that, in contemporary jumbo states, direct democracy is not a feasible option. But representative democracy requires choice of representatives, and choice of some among many defines division.

    Incidentally, selfless leadership, imbued with the national spirit, with a focus on a legacy, creates strong institutions, which drive the procedure for and the outcome of choice. To some degree, the last time we had that kind of leadership was during the struggle for independence. It didn’t last because division quickly set in.

    We do not now have strong institutions because we lack the leadership needed to create them. We now complain about INEC’s performance. We forget that between 1999 and 2011, elections at all levels were declared as a do-or-die affair from the highest office of the land. With neither PVCs nor card readers, results were just written and declared. With INEC Chairs and Commissioners appointed by the President, they were at his beck and call. Of course, candidates who felt wronged approached the courts; but the system was largely rigged against them. Division is further entrenched by perceived injustice at the polls.

    With the presidential system of government, we have a winner-takes-all structure. While a president with a focus on national unity will use the position to ensure a fair and balanced attention to all sections of the nation, there is no guarantee that every president will have this focus. Therefore, again, strong institutions matter to reduce the risk of fair distribution and just allocation succumbing to the frailties of human nature that favor sectionalism.

    Finally, we have a penchant for crude rudeness, name calling, and ethnic stereotyping, which are the bane of national unity. After almost sixty years of legal nationality, we are anything but a genuine nation with common aspirations, common sense of historical traditions, and common consciousness of belonging. Our founding fathers adopted a federal constitution to allay the fears of various units and ensure cultural democracy while moving the country to higher levels of governance. But with the bastardization of federalism, we now appear to be one nation only in name.

    Whatever wrong one section experiences, it automatically blames on the others. We have moved from a united front to finding solutions to our challenges. There was a time when cross fertilization of ideas prevailed even in bitter political contests. In the late 50s and 60s, despite regionalism, every regional leader focused on education as the best means to development. They learned from one another’s success or failure. Now, this kind of cooperation is limited to zones and hardly does one zone interact with the others. Where would this lead us?

    Bitter partisanship appears to have taken over from ethnic rivalry even though there are still undercurrents of the latter in our party affiliations. Last year, when former President Obasanjo dismissed both APC and PDP, and floated the idea of a new organization, the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM), we thought he was up to something innovative. He was going to build a new movement that could bridge our division. CNM attracted a lot of takers, adopted a political party, ADC, only for Obasanjo to abandon it and support Atiku, the PDP candidate. That inexplicable move killed the hope of millions for a new beginning.

    Let me round up on the note that I started with. Tinubu’s proclivity for strategic thinking, his courage, and his untiring efforts to work across the divides of ethnicity and religion to build strong coalitions are commendable traits of leadership. That PDP finally had a serious opposition in 2015 is what Tinubu’s bitterest enemies must give him credit for.

    With two strong parties, we will soon begin to see differentiating ideologies. Indeed, the difference in their outlook is already starting to show. While APC favors using the assets of the nation to build wealth for the nation and distribute fairly through social investment programs, PDP would rather privatize those assets and enrich the friends of the party. Parenthetically, Atiku just congratulated Trump for his “exoneration” by Muller. We would not be at this stage if we still had regional or zonal parties competing hopelessly with PDP. For this, we have Tinubu to thank.

     

    Happy Birthday, ABAT. Igba Odun, Odun Kan.

  • Toward a progressive governance outcome

    Elections have consequences. Losers tend to their wounds as they wish. They may choose to whine and fret over lost opportunities. Or they may decide to go back to the drawing board in preparation for the next opportunity. Winners, on the other hand, secure a mandate to deliver on their promises to the electorate. In doing so, they must be mindful of the priorities, cognizant of the limitation of resources vis-a-vis the multiplicity of demands. It’s a tough balancing game.

    This week, President Buhari inaugurated a committee to produce “a comprehensive document that will guide the incoming cabinet and enable them to implement the vision of the party and the administration for Nigeria while also highlighting lessons from the last 4 years.” The president is confident that the committee, led by Vice president Osinbajo, “will deliver a detailed implementation Plan for the Next Level.” It’s a tall order.

    How should the committee proceed? What outcome should it desire? And what means to the desired outcome? Will the desired outcome of the committee be good enough for the nation as the President hopes?

    Let us begin with the admission that, by INEC’s declaration, President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo received the majority votes in the presidential election and won by over 4 million votes. What this should mean, ordinarily, is that most voters accepted the platform that they and their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presented. If this is right, then, by the same token, it follows that those electorates must expect the Buhari administration and the APC to stick as much as possible to the platform to avoid disappointment. It is the logic of democratic elections.

    Following this reasoning, the point of departure for the committee must be the platform upon which the new administration is voted into power. What is it and how can it be successfully delivered?

    The Vision and Mission statements of APC, as well as its guiding philosophy make plain to citizens what to expect from a progressive party that it claims to be. First, its ideal is to anchor democracy on “the principle that government derives its powers from the consent of the governed.” Furthermore, “power must be used in the interest of the people rather than in the interest of the public office holder.” From this alone, we infer that every public office holder, from the president to the lowest civil servant must not place his or her interest over and above the interest of citizens. It follows from this that it is wrong to make profit on the back of citizens. It is also wrong to defraud through excessive personal emoluments or outright corrupt practices.

    Second, the APC manifesto pledges to construct “a progressive state anchored on social democracy where the welfare and security of the citizenry is paramount.” From this, it follows that the party and the administration in power through its instrumentality, will sniff out and destroy any impediments to the welfare and security of citizens. Such impediments could be as a result of the preexisting power relations between government officials and citizens which prevent the latter from having the resources they need to thrive. It is expected that keeping faith with its manifesto, the party will deal with such impediments.

    Take a quick example. It is not too much to expect this new administration with a solid majority in both Houses of the National Assembly to get together at the onset to deal with the embarrassing issue of personal emoluments of public office holders from local government level to the National Assembly and the Executive at state and federal levels. If it takes a constitutional amendment to do it, so be it. But APC as a progressive party with a vision, a mission, and a guiding philosophy that prioritizes citizen welfare and security cannot shirk this responsibility for two fundamental reasons.

    First, APC acknowledges that there must be a level playing field for all to thrive and achieve their maximum potentials. It is only when this is the case that we can have a country that is peaceful and prosperous. We deceive ourselves if we deny that the current environment of insecurity, including kidnapping, killing, and cultism have nothing to do with the inequality in the distribution of resources many of which cannot be traced to any manifest differences in the intelligence or ability of individuals. The inequality of resources that makes the majority paupers is due mainly to social injustice where some have undue advantage and they use it for their benefits to the detriment of the many. That is bound to build up resentment and, ultimately, violent social crisis.

    Second, the attraction of public service to many citizens, leading to a ridiculous number of candidates vying for various offices, is directly tied to the perceived and real humongous returns to investment. And this accounts for why elections have become a do-or-die struggle. Look at the number of candidates for governorship and National Assembly positions in the various states. It should be clear that many of these candidates either have nothing else available to them to do or they see better avenues to prosperity in public service. This should not be encouraged. Public service should be reserved for those who are genuinely interested in service; those that are committed to sacrificing their time and intellect for the nation. Unfortunately, in the last 20 years, we have converted public service into self service.

    APC describes itself as a change agent. To demonstrate this quality, however, it must be ready to make real and lasting changes for the good of the nation. It cannot be beholding to special interests. It cannot yield to blackmail from high places. It must not condemn itself to whitewash and cosmetic changes. And for this reason, it must not abandon its promise on the fundamental question of restructuring which it commits to clearly in its manifesto:

    “To achieve this laudable programme APC government shall restructure the country, devolve power to the units, with the best practices of federalism and eliminate unintended paralysis of the center.” http://apc.com.ng/manifesto/  (accessed 5/2/19).

    This is as clear a commitment as any can be. Justice, according to Thomas Hobbes, is keeping and fulfilling the terms of a contract, and injustice is failing in that respect. This manifesto item is a contract between the party and the people. Vote for us and we will restructure and devolve power. The people have delivered their side of the bargain. The party must not renege on its.

    In terms of specific programmes, the party offered 7 (or 8 if it counts devolution as a programme). Understandably, given the President’s own declared concerns about its negative impact, war against corruption tops the list, followed by food security, accelerated power supply, integrated transport network, free education, devolution of power, accelerated economic growth, and affordable health care. The question that I am sure will be the central focus of the Osinbajo Committee is how to prioritize the items on the list. Thankfully, they are not mutually exclusive items; they are interdependent and a focus on one has multiplier effect on others.

    The major issue here, however, is still the question of the elephant in the room: how is the responsibility to be shared between the center and the federating units, including the states and local governments. Take the question of education. While the manifesto identifies free education as one of its cardinal programmes, it doesn’t indicate at what level. Is it primary education, which is the responsibility of states? Is it secondary or tertiary, which are shared between federal and states? Moreover, according to the Next Level document, “10,000 schools per year will be remodeled and equipped.” How will this be done? Will the federal government give grants to states and have them identify which schools to be remodeled? Or will the federal government handle such remodeling by itself even when states own such schools?

    To my mind, if it is handled with diligence, the Next Level document provides a unique opportunity for the party and the administration to start experimenting with devolution of power for the benefit of all stakeholders.

     

  • The fury of the demos and the task ahead

    Elections are over–or almost over — pending the conclusion of those determined as inconclusive. Congratulatory messages have been pouring into the camp of winners while losers have probably been having some serious soul-searching for answers about what went wrong.

    Winners certainly deserve our congratulations. They worked hard and apparently earned the trust of the electorates. Babajide Sanwo-Olu in Lagos, Dapo Abiodun in Ogun, and Seyi Makinde in Oyo plus all the House of Assembly members in the various states. As charity begins at home, I congratulate my home-state governor-elect, Engr. Seyi Makinde. Since 2011, he has been a perpetual candidate for the position he eventually got. As such he became a household name in Ibadan and across the state. He campaigned hard and got significant help from a ruling party that scored own goal.

    I had bet on Bayo Adelabu winning because of his famous last name. In the 50s it was one Adelabu, one Ibadan. Penkelemes was charming, adorable and charismatic. With that warm love for a worthy son of the soil, you can understand my firm belief that Ibadan will stand by the scion of the illustrious Adelabu family. Was I ever so wrong!

    It’s the fury of the demos. And there’s something progressive about it also. I just got out of elementary school when Adelabu died in 1958. It’s been more than sixty years! Two thirds of the electorate of this year were not born when Adelabu bestrode the state. And for the Millennials who supported Makinde, what they know from history books may not endear them to the old warrior who opposed everything Awolowo stood for. Still I kept hope alive hoping that Oyo would stay in the progressives’ camp. I underestimated the fury of the demos this time.

    About this time, eight years ago, I was jubilant for what, in my column that year, I termed the “Revenge of the Demos” that brought progressives back to power across the Southwest. That revenge swept Governors Ajimobi and Amosun into power in Oyo and Ogun respectively. Governor Fashola got a second term in Lagos while Governors Aregbesola and Fayemi held Osun and Ekiti in place. The year was 2011. The party was Action Congress of Nigeria. Its symbol was the broom.

    In 2014, ACN joined with CPC, ANPP and a faction of APGA to form the All Progressives Congress (APC) This new and young party went on to defeat People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling party in the 2015 presidential election and retained the governorship of Oyo, Osun, Ogun, and Lagos. Ondo later joined the fold, and in 2018, Ekiti was back. APC waxed stronger in the Southwest again, thanks to the support of the masses and the diligence of the leaders.

    Then something went awry in some states. Hubris did what it knows best to do. Incessantly, the masses were talked down. Traditional rulers became foot-mats. The youth were told they were expendable. Workers were treated with contempt. Even aides who worked their hearts out and made their governors look good were sidelined and forced out. Then they were also assailed for leaving. You work diligently and your reward is badmouthing. But God is the avenger.

    “Man is not God” declared Prince Dapo Abiodun, governor-elect of Ogun. That was a profound summary of what we just witnessed in his state and elsewhere. Governors who played God just got put in their place as mortals. Perhaps, like many observers of the new politics of hubris, I am still at a loss about the mindset of Governors Amosun and Okorocha of Ogun and Imo States respectively.

    You insisted on your candidate even though he lost the primary election. You floated another party for him to contest even when you yourself contested for a Senate seat under APC, your party. You won your Senate seat with APC support. Then you campaigned against APC and for your candidate in a different party for the governorship. That kind of political calculation can only come from an immoral self-conceited mind.

    But man is not God. And voters apparently saw through the subterfuge and served Amosun right. They voted the APC candidate in as governor. Former Governor Segun Osoba and Asiwaju Tinubu, both mocked ad nauseam by Amosun and his cohorts, are having the last laugh. As for Okorocha, he just gave away the governorship that would have been retained by APC to PDP. The suspension by NWC must be sustained by NEC and hopefully, a presidential sentiment of friendship loyalty will not stand in the way of strict party discipline.

    Did I just discuss Ogun without a reference to former President Obasanjo? How is that even conceivable? If man is not God as Abiodun proclaimed, is Obasanjo man and not God? From his letters and pontifications during the campaign and up to the eve of the elections, you would be right if you thought his was the voice of the divine being and the oracle that anoints presidents. And then the true God spoke on February 23 and it was a repudiation of fake gods. Then we expected a consolation prize for the fakes on March 9. And again, the true God reaffirmed his preeminence. Truly, man is not God.

    How about Kwara State, and the “O to ge” phenomenon? There is no way to spin the campaign and the results of the two elections without seeing it as a fury of the demos. Who would ever entertain the thought, one year ago, that the Saraki political engine will crash like a pack of cards right before our eyes? With the swagger of an over confident master of the game, Saraki challenged his chi and got a thumping and fatal political beating.

    In several viral videos, we saw how wealth was ridiculed and money was mocked. The young people shouting “ole” at Saraki’s entourage didn’t care for his money. They picked up paper currencies thrown at them from moving vehicles, tore them in pieces and threw them into the air. They shamed money and its owners. That puts to rest the theory that money is everything. No doubt there is still a lot of hustlers, thugs, and ordinary folks who seek after money. But it is not universal. Kwara just confirmed this.

    And Lagos! The campaign was initially issue-based: education budget, health care, taxation, planning, etc. The debates were well-organized and informative. Then it was hijacked by self-serving operatives who introduced ethnic baiting and it suddenly turned nasty. There was even a last-ditch effort to replicate the Kwara strategy with the infamous “o to ge Lagos” slogan. It all failed because Lagos is not Kwara. In the latter, the state’s resources were used for political campaigns and personal enrichment. In Lagos, there is copious evidence of development that people appreciate. What comparison is there if not an opportunistic divide and conquer tactic?  The Lagos fury was in the reverse direction, affirming continuity.

    What next? The task ahead for elected leaders and representatives, around the country is to take to heart lessons learnt from the elections. First, leaders are servants of the people, not their masters. They should stop behaving as Lords of the Manor.

    Second, the demos are not crazy. They know what is best for their interests and with the right environment, they will always choose what they deem best for them.

    Third, and most importantly, do your best for the development of our human resources. Education is key. Our public institutions have been abandoned and these are the institutions that educate most of our children. What future lies ahead for them, and for the nation is anybody’s guess.

    Governors must cross party lines with a unity of purpose. Southwest integration is an ongoing effort championed by DAWN. We do not need to wait for national restructuring. Fortunately, we have a history to follow, and Seyi Makinde, as the lone PDP governor, has sounded positive about cooperation. He reportedly promised to retain the best talents in the outgoing administration. Therefore, he should have no problem working with his peers across the zone to deliver the best for our people.

     

    Godspeed!

     

  • Politics of principle or division?

    These are dangerous times. Electoral politics is undermining rationality in otherwise rational circles as the rebellion against reason seeks to elevate the politics of division, masquerading as politics of principle by a deliberate exploitation of our differences.

    The Yoruba are, by a wide margin, the most accommodating nationality in the Nigerian geographical space. This attitude is derived from an understanding that (a) humanity is one big family and (b) life experiences are reversible. A landlord here may become a renter elsewhere. An indigene here may become a foreigner elsewhere. Life is a pendulum, swinging back and forth. If you would like to be accommodated in a foreign land, accommodate foreigners in your midst.

    Indeed, the Yoruba have been known to not just love foreigners in their midst, but to side with them against indigenes when their case is morally sound.

    A vivid example of the politics of principle played out in the early days of nationalist movement in the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM). In 1941, a vacancy occurred in the Nigerian Legislative Council. NYM needed to choose a candidate to contest the bye-election. Both the President, Chief Ernest Ikoli and his deputy, Oba Samuel Akinsanya, expressed interest.

    NYM had a pre-existing policy that gave preference to its President in such matters. Based on this policy, Chief Awolowo supported Ikoli. The Executive Committee of the organization voted in support of the candidacy of Ikoli. Though Oba Akinsanya congratulated Ikoli, when the list of candidates was published, Ikoli and Akinsanya were the two contestants. Awolowo campaigned for Ikoli against Akinsanya, a fellow Yoruba and Ijebu. Ikoli won. That was politics of principle.

    Since the beginning of party politics, the Yoruba have been split in their party choice, but the majority have always embraced progressive politics that prioritize the welfare of the masses. From AG to UPN; from SDP to AD; from ACN to APC, plural majorities of Yoruba have rallied round these parties. However, other parties have had inroads into the Zone. From NCNC to NNDP, from NPN to NRC, and now PDP, the Yoruba like to brag concerning their fierce independence in matters of politics. Diversity of affiliation is an acceptable way of life.

    Therefore, we should expect that individuals may pitch their political tent wherever they fancy, whether based on moral principle or simple self-interest. Therefore, we should not fault anyone for choice of affiliation even if it means their voting against an illustrious son of the soil. Many voted against the Sage.

    The Yoruba have always sought alliances outside their zone. In 1959 Chief Awolowo initiated discussions with Dr. Azikiwe but the latter preferred to partner the North. 1n 1964, a southern alliance came through as UPGA, led by with Dr. Okpara after the NPC-NCNC alliance broke down. In the same year, Chief Akintola’s NNDP partnered NPC to form the NNA alliance, another reminder that the Yoruba have never slept facing one direction. The January 1966 coup ended both alliances.

    The coup decimated the rank of Northern political and military leaders. The West had its share of the loss. Moreover, the counter-coup of July 1966 demonstrated clearly the Yoruba principle of accommodation and willingness to pay the supreme sacrifice when principle requires it. Col. Fajuyi offered himself for death if his guest, General Ironsi, was to die. Their captors granted his request. During the civil war, Igbo residents in Western region had all the support they needed to survive and prosper, and after the war, returnees and new residents were welcome with open hands.

    Yet, in 1979 at the inception of the Second Republic, Chief Awolowo was demonized for his role as Vice Chair of the Federal Executive Council and Commissioner for Finance. However, with an Igbo Vice President, and an NPP-NPN coalition, the Igbo were fully reintegrated into the polity. Chief Ojukwu returned from exile and pitched his tent with NPN, the ruling party. The Yoruba never complained. Of course, the NPN-NPP alliance soon broke down again. But it hardly mattered as the Second Republic also got booted in December 1983.

    June 12, 1993 election was fought by SDP and NRC and ethnicity hardly played a role in the electioneering as all ethnic nationalities featured prominently in both parties. That was, until the military annulled the election after Abiola had won the presidency. The struggle for the mandate and against the military was led by NADECO, an umbrella of all pro-democracy groups whose leadership cut across the regions.

    Soon, however, it became clear that the military had its strategy to break the coalition. Chief Ojukwu and Chief Tony Anenih, who had been the Chairman of SDP, led a delegation to the US to canvass for the support of the superpower for the Abacha dictatorship. At a forum, Chief Ojukwu insisted that the Igbo could not support the prodemocracy groups because Nigeria was founded on a tripod and one leg of the tripod was missing in the Abiola-Tofa ticket. It hardly mattered that the Yoruba didn’t complain in 1959 and 1979.

    The present republic began in 1999. Initially, Yoruba progressives found themselves in the same political associations with their counterparts from the Southeast and the North. In 1998, Chief Ige was a key participant in the drafting of the constitutions of the various political parties, including PDP and ANPP before he and others formed AD.

    AD governors focused on the development of the Southwest, using the Awolowo 1951 template. Lagos, under Asiwaju Tinubu, championed an ethnicity-blind coalition that embraced all residents. He assembled a team of technocrats and experienced political operatives. The result was the beginning of the magical developmental strides that continue till today. Envisioning a mega-city, he increased internally generated revenue geometrically and created agencies and institutions for the development of the state.

    Concerned for the welfare of the masses, Tinubu did not countenance any difference between the various groups and ethnicities in the state. From payment of WAEC fees to the recognition of excellence in school children, it was open opportunity or all. Igbo children who excelled in Spelling Bee competition served as Governor-For-a-Day. Civil service was open to all and large numbers of Igbo took advantage of this as heads of agencies and Commissioners.

    Igbo men and women serve in various capacities in the party. So, in terms of symbolic and substantive outreach to Igbo residents who take advantage of their gesture, the Tinubu, Fashola, and Ambode administrations deserve a lot of credit.

    It must also be acknowledged that until 2015, there has been no serious friction between the administrations, the party, and the Igbo. Since 1999, 2015 was the year when politics of ethnic solidarity appeared to surface in Lagos. Unfortunately, it was unscrupulously exploited by indigenes for partisan reasons hiding behind a facade of restructuring as a litmus test. This is what is most unnerving.

    Since 1999, Lagos under AD, ACN, and now APC, has led the struggle for state rights. It struggled for an Independent Power Project, which the Obasanjo administration blocked before the courts decided in favor of the state. The state exercised its right to create local governments and Obasanjo administration chose to withhold its local government funds. Even after the Supreme Court decided in favor of the state, the funds were not released until a new president was inaugurated.

    Since 1999, Lagos, under various administrations and the same political family, has focused on good governance with visible results for every resident. This is one of the few states in which workers don’t complain of late payment of salary.

    Since 1999, Lagos has executed liberal policies of life more abundant for all without discrimination.

    In the face of all the progressive developments open to all and the accommodating gesture and policies of subsequent administrations since 1999, what is the rationale for a politics of division that seeks to drive dangerous wedges between ethnic nationalities in Lagos? How does it benefit anyone to ever go this route if not for misguided calculations of political self-interest?

    It is my hope that rational residents shine their sight and know what is best for them, especially in the present reality of a progressive government at the center.

     

  • Reflections on the 2019 presidential election

    The 2019 presidential election is over. President Muhammadu Buhari has been offered a second term of four years. The reelected president deserves our congratulations. Of course, he must be the first to admit that there are numerous challenges ahead. But before we go into this, there are some takeaways from the concluded elections.

    First, it is pleasing that the nation is tending toward a two-party system as indicated by the performance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the elections. This means that each of these two parties has a good chance of becoming the ruling party every four years, ensuring a keen competition for the endorsement of the electorates, thus raising our hope for good governance.

    I am not suggesting that a multi-party system is bad for the country. But in this matter, “the more, the merrier” is not in the best interest of the country’s nascent democracy. This election featured more than seventy political parties contesting for the presidency. That is simply ridiculous. There must be more stringent criteria for registering political parties.

    Second, from intra-party competition for nomination to inter-party electoral contests, our elections are still bedeviled by the influence of money and wealth. This prevents talented individuals without deep pockets or godfathers from having a good chance to serve. Worse, it gives an undue advantage to proven thieves and corrupt individuals, who have illegally and immorally appropriated the wealth of the nation, to exploit the system. To combat this unwholesome trend, there must be a collective endeavor to curb the influence of money with necessary legislation. More importantly, such legislation must be back by strong enforcement measures.

    Third, while it cannot be denied that regionalism or ethnic nationalism is alive and well across the land, its role in this last election is debatable. For one thing, both presidential candidates are from the same ethnic nationality and their tickets show that they have inroads into other zones. And though their running mates are of different ethnicities, it didn’t appear to have made much of a difference.

    For rising above bigotry and chauvinism, we could pat ourselves on the back. The heavy presence of PDP in the Southeast and South-south predated the choice of Obi as Atiku’s running mate. It even predated the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. And while Osinbajo is from the Southwest, PDP showed a footprint in Oyo and Ondo. On the electoral map, you could see a red island on a sea of green from Northeast to Southwest. That island is Oyo. Hopefully, the era of ethnic politics and the politicization of ethnicity is passing.

    Fourth, to the credit of the contestants, this election has been fought most effectively on issues, including the state of the economy, candidate integrity, political restructuring, and party reputation. These are legitimate issues that will always be relevant in our politics going forward. And while the victorious party may rightly claim vindication of its positions by its victory, there is good reason for it to take a good look at the people’s complaints, which the opposition had tried to tap into.

    Fifth, intra-party crisis, fueled by indiscipline, especially within the rank of leaders, played a decisive role in the conduct and outcome of the elections in some states, including Oyo, Ondo, Imo, Rivers, and Ogun, where the governor was implicated in an attack on the presidential election campaign rally in the state. The loss of APC in Oyo, Ondo, and Imo, where the party is in power, and the failure of APC to present National Assembly candidates in Rivers state, are direct outcomes of intra-party crises.

    Sixth, every citizen who has faith in popular democracy and in the ability of our people to choose wisely based on their interests must be happy that the cabal of retired generals who seek to impose their will on the nation are now truly disgraced and retired for good. You do not have to be a sympathiser of Buhari or the ruling party to appreciate the fact of his victory despite the vindictive campaign orchestrated by former President Obasanjo who has constituted himself as the kingmaker.

    How is it ever fair or decent that General Obasanjo would choose voluntarily to support a candidate for election and within a year later, he turns against him with public letter-writing. What good does that practice accomplish? Even the Almighty gives his creatures a longer time period for them to change and repent. Yet every aspiring candidate runs to this “all-knowing” human for endorsement. Now that for the first time, the candidate he ridiculed publicly has won reelection and the one whose sins he forgave on our behalf has lost, it is time for Obasanjo to honorably retire from active politics, if he has any honor left to preserve.

    APC and Buhari must be pleased and be thankful to God that despite their rejection by the military cabal and the generality of the elite whose fortunes have been damaged by their policies, they are beneficiaries of the undiluted devotion of the masses, the poor and working class, whose support made the President’s victory possible.

    For the reason of the support from the poor and downtrodden that puts the president on top, it’s only fair to expect, and indeed, urge that the second term will come up with policies and programs that put the masses in the driver’s seat. This is especially urgent if the party and the president still adhere to their progressive ideology. Fortunately, the party would still have a majority in the National Assembly, one that one hopes is more aligned with its progressive mandate.

    Read also: PDP calls for cancellation election in Kwara

    To this end, it is fitting to bring to memory the advice of this column to President-elect Buhari in 2015: “General Buhari has a mandate that comes with great expectations. It is not an easy spot to be on. But….there is a lot of goodwill, considering the ecstatic jubilation across the land…. The people’s general cannot afford to disappoint!!!! He must build trust. And he must satisfy the yearnings of the youth and the elderly for the dividends of democracy.”

    Continuing, I noted that “the APC manifesto is the political Holy Book of President-elect Buhari. He referred to it incessantly and campaigned on the three priorities that the manifesto highlighted. He promised that he will provide adequate security of life and property for citizens; that he will attack corruption at its root; and that he will reboot the engine of the economy and will diversify it to tackle youth unemployment.”

    That was four years ago. There is no doubt, however, that the same advice is apt today. While APC has moved from “Change” slogan to “Next Level”, the party has not changed its priorities which remain focused on anti-corruption war, economic recovery, and security.

    The Next Level slogan, which also should be the administration’s mantra going forward, is a nod to its modest achievements on the three fronts in the first term, and a dedication to up its act in the new term. The election has been cast as a referendum on the president’s performance in the last four years. That he won is evidence that the electorate gave him a passing grade.

    However, while the victory is not undeserved given the progress in the key areas, especially infrastructure, there is always good reason for introspection and retrospection. On top of the agenda of the party leadership and the presidency must be party discipline, without which it would again start on a wrong foot. Recall, how Saraki and Dogara defied the party and got away with it in 2015. Every challenge that the administration had to struggle with emanated from the way that gross indiscipline was handled. A hands-off approach by the President will most certainly lead to the same unfortunate outcome this time.

    President Buhari “must not be tempted to surround himself with sycophants who only tell him what pleases him. He must tap into the wise counsel of those who will boldly disagree with him with good and unselfish reasons. The bulk stops with him now.” These last words from me in 2015 are still valid in 2019.

  • A conspiracy of evil forces

    Last week, my friend did not give me a chance to respond after he announced his vote. On Wednesday morning, he woke me up with a mournful voice, boiling with rage inside.

    “It is worse than you ever imagined”, Opalaba announced. “There is a conspiracy of satanic forces. Even the visually impaired can see it. How can a country prosper with such an alignment of evil forces against it? This is becoming unbearable for me.”

    “You sound terrible, my friend” I said. “Last week you were upbeat. Though you didn’t tell me who you were voting for, you were damn sure who wouldn’t get your vote. What is the matter now? Is it the postponement? But the new date is upon us and before you know it, it’s all over.”

    “It’s more than the postponement. It’s about the remote causes of the postponement. It’s about our mental and spiritual state as a country. It’s about wickedness in higher places. It’s about powers and principalities. It’s about the rulers of the darkness of this world who refuse to let the country make progress. My friend, it’s about our godlessness, soullessness, and shamelessness. It’s about an inspiring ideal that confronts a dreadful reality.”

    At this point, I knew Opalaba was up to something profound that has agitated his sharp mind for some time. I chose to listen rather than interrupt with questions which might provoke negativity.

    “This is a serious matter, and I am absolutely not in a joking mood today. We approach the 59th anniversary of our existence as an independent country with little to nothing to show for it in terms of physical development. But more problematic is the reality of our moral degeneration. Churches and mosques litter our land-space while we deviously pay obeisance to mammon. We have sold our soul to the god of money, the root of all evil.

    “Poverty is a terrible disease that afflicts millions of our fellow citizens. But as the Prince of Peace once remarked, the poor have always been and will always be around. We were poor at independence. The Brits fleeced us to the bones. But our leaders inspired the best in us with outstanding examples of thrift and modesty. They embarked on the development of human resources across the land with the West laying initial example of investment in public good.

    “Convinced that education is an effective antidote against poverty, they invested heavily in public education and we and our generation are evidence of their success. As politicians, they had to seek the mandate of the people. But they held their heads high and only needed to point to their fulfilled promises. The people trusted them. They needed neither to buy votes nor to deceive.

    “Of course, even at that time, there were enemies of people’s progress. In every generation, there are progressives who care for the masses, and there are reactionaries whose self-interest is always the gauge of public policy. In the days of the advancement of free education policy, naysayers railed against the benefit of the scheme.

    “Those naysayers are no more, but they left behind equally terrible offspring. Oka bimo sile o bi oro (The cobra can only produce poisonous offspring). For these modern cobras, feeding school children amounts to bribery. Providing loans for poor market-women selling plantain or pepper and tomato for a living is vote buying. They are children of their fathers who decried free education because it would prevent children from helping their parents on the farm. This is the mental state of exploiters. They are happy if ordinary people are poor and dependent. For, they could use them at appropriate time during elections by buying their PVCs or tossing #1000 which doesn’t fill their pot of soup.

    “In a North Central state where his father has always been the feudal lord, it is alleged that a senator has disbursed in the last week of campaign more than 800 million Naira in one city. His associates fanned out across the state with truckloads of money to share out in their various communities. Your guess is as good as mine where that money comes from. Why are there no developmental projects? Why is there no public infrastructure?

    “In the southwest, the pacesetter region and the origin of all good developments that other regions emulated in those days, where our hardworking parents were satisfied with their modest means but sought and appreciated the provision of public goods by the government, a new language of empowerment has emerged. In Ogun State, a law-maker used his constituency funds to provide town halls, classrooms, bore holes, etc. Some party leaders were allegedly not impressed because they were not empowered personally. They would rather those funds were given to them to share.

    “You could say that our people are so impoverished that their sense of right and wrong has been fatally assaulted. You would be partially right. But you could not compare the level of poverty today with what used to stare our parents in the face in the 50s and 60s. Yet they were not this morally bankrupt. Those who were harassed to join NNDP to avoid huge tax assessment (agbeka) had their game plan. They knew which party was going to get their votes. Of course, we also know how things turned out with the rigging industry.

    “Our parents were poor, but we had good education, thanks to a sense of public good that animated politicians imbued with the ideology of life more abundant for all. However, generations following us were not that lucky. Theirs was the era of new breed politics masterminded by the corrupt institution of the military and their sponsors.

    “With a conviction that anyone can be bought and pocketed, the military led an era of impunity and gross indiscipline. This culminated in the neglect of rural development and public education from primary and secondary to higher institutions. Subsequent governments did not fare better.

    “This criminal neglect left the country with hordes of youths with no skills to offer to secure gainful and honorable employment. With sheer muscle, they massed on the streets of our major cities, hopeless and visionless. Politicians take advantage of their hopelessness, arm them with weapons, and deploy them to maim and kill opponents, snatch ballot boxes, or burn down INEC offices.

    “The Yoruba know too well that if we spend our fortune on building mansions all over the land and we fail to build up our children, those children will end up pawning off the mansions. The same is true of the nation, and it is what is happening before our eyes. Do we really expect our hopeless youths to have a sense of respect for national assets? What does a utility pole mean to them but a bunch of wires they could vandalize and sell to make ends meet? What passion does an INEC office conjure for them if they are offered #5000 to burn it down?

    “To make matters worse, these youths don’t even now have many role models in the adult population. Those in positions of authority, by virtue of their education and/or parentage have hardly demonstrated any love of nation above self. They acquire assets by dubious means. They use their positions to thwart the cause of justice and good governance. The allegations of corrupt enrichment against the CJN should not have divided a nation with a sense of common good. But few in the political class have such a sense. Many see everything in terms of their self-interest.

    “Governors want to replace themselves with their clones. Thus, a governor running for a senate seat on the platform of one party sponsors his protege to run as governor as candidate of an opposition party. How do you even describe this kind of lunacy? And he chose the presidential campaign rally to unleash terror on the president and party leaders. And is it alleged that he has the president’s blessing?  Stranger than fiction! I am done contemplating any good coming out of this contraption.”

    Opalaba thus ended his solemn reflections on mother Nigeria. And he hung up without a goodbye.