The Nation Newspaper

Category: Emeka Omeihe

  • 2015 elections: A postscript

    Somehow, we have been able to muddle through the 2015 general elections. Muddle through? Yes.

    They ran their full cycle penultimate Saturday with the reruns in the three states of Abia, Imo and Taraba.  Whether the current situation is thrust upon us by luck, contrivance or some other extenuating circumstances, the results of those contests have been announced and general peace is anticipated to reign supreme.

    With it, all predictions of cataclysm by doomsday prophets appear to have come to naught. Nigeria has again, been saved from itself given the charged atmosphere and intemperate campaign language deployed by the parties as they sought to take control of the minds of the electorate.

    There is relief that there is another opportunity for us to once again, give democracy a chance. There is another chance for the country to correct itself if democracy must survive as a development paradigm. That appears the pervading feeling given the shortcomings of the process that brought about our current situation.

    To borrow the euphemism within our sports circles, we have wobbled and fumbled and ultimately gotten to our final destination- the conduct of ‘successful’ elections. It is a different kettle of fish how we got there. The above allegory was popularized some years back when our Super Eagles serially disappointed Nigerian sports enthusiasts due to lacklustre performance but ultimately managed to qualify for semi-finals and finals in continental competitions.

    Though they managed to qualify for further engagements, it was obvious the nation’s football was doomed if wobbling and fumbling was the strategy of its handlers to give the nation a first rate football team. Soon, it dawned on us that our national football game could no longer survive by trials and errors as denoted by this catchphrase.

    The fate of our national football today is symptomatic of how deficient the absence of clear performance standards and non adherence to rules can be in institutionalizing a lazy football culture in this country. Today, the Super Eagles plays without many Nigerians bothering about the outcome. Such is the scenario that is about to re-enact at the political level in matters concerning elections unless clear steps are taken to ensure that the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box prevails. The way things stand much is still awry with our electoral process.

    A peep into those reruns depicts a galore of complaints by the runners-up. In Taraba State, the APC candidate, Aisha Alhassan rejected the result describing the entire process as “daylight robbery” She alleged that the election was marred by violence, massive rigging, ballot snatching and abuse of the card readers in substantial parts of the state. The APGA and PDP in Abia and Imo have respectively complained of sundry infractions that detract substantially from known standards of free, fair and credible elections. The parties alleged incidences of manipulation and changing of election results by INEC staff among other malpractices. In the days ahead, many of the complainants will be proceeding to the election petitions tribunals to seek justice. We hope justice will come their way.

    The case of the three states is symbolic in more ways than one. Being the three states where governorship reruns were held, they mirror very vividly all that went wrong during the general elections. Whatever assessment we have of their outcome can be used as a fair measure of the outcome of the elections preceding them. Moreover, given their limited number, the minimum expectation was that malpractices of any hue would not feature as the INEC will deploy its surplus human and material resources to ensure a more successful outcome. If they did so, it failed to achieve the desired result as attested to by these complaints.

    If such irregularities including connivance by INEC officials can manifest in the manner alleged in these supplementary elections, it then stands to be imagined what transpired during the general election when the commission’s resources were stretched to their fullest. That should give us an idea of how credible the outcome of the elections had been. It will also form the basis for any assessment of the performance of that electoral body.

    From all accounts, the elections were marred by large scale malpractices in many areas. Sundry killings, under age voting, manipulation and falsification of results, snatching of ballot boxes and collusion by INEC officials at all levels of the election were some of the unwholesome features recorded.

    The source of these shortcomings can be grouped into two broad categories – the ones committed by politicians and their supporters and those wrought on us by INEC officials.  But by far the most worrisome of them is the latter. These are people employed and paid by the government for this and other related functions. Instead of doing the work for which they are paid, INEC officials have become the greatest cog in the wheels of the successful conduct of elections. Many of them see elections as the ripe time to make quick money. They invent sundry subterfuge to manipulate election results to satisfy politicians and line their pockets.

    That is why you hear of fake or duplicate result sheets being supplied to the polling and collation centres while the authentic ones are given out to politicians in exchange for money. With such connivance, all a politician needed to do is to sit back at home and enter whatever results that suits him and return same to the unscrupulous INEC official who in turn, submits them as authentic results. That is the genesis of the phenomenon of falsification of election results. There was much of it in the last general elections.

    When you place this sabotage of the electoral process by those whose duty it is to conduct free and fair elections side by side the penchant by our politicians to win by fair or foul means, the prospects it paints for the survival of democracy is very gloomy. Yes, by whatever contrivance, we have managed to muddle through, we can as well beat our chests and say democracy has come to stay in this country.

    But that would amount to an oversimplification of extant realities given events of the last elections. Perhaps, the relative peace we are now savouring is because the presidential election went the way it did despite some of these lapses. Had there been some dispute as witnessed at other levels of elections, the story may have been another thing altogether.

    For now, there is no guarantee that in subsequent elections, there will be this ‘spirit of give peace a chance’ in the face of observed lapses. If the attitude of politicians and those of INEC officials as witnessed in these elections is anything to go by, there are still thorns sown on the path to our democracy. We can only secure its future when politicians are compelled to play by the rules and errant ones made to face the full weight of the law.

    INEC officials fingered in falsifying, manipulating and selling of authentic results sheets must be identified and punished. Such official have become the greatest threat to the successful conduct of elections. We have muddled through. But wobbling and fumbling will soon turn out a defective approach to institutionalizing democracy in this country. There is still serious work to do to restore the confidence of the people in the sanctity of the electoral process.

  • PDP in blame game

    Since its dismal performance at the presidential and governorship elections, chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been embroiled in recrimination over whom to hold responsible for their fate. Not unexpectedly, accusing fingers have been pointed right, left and centre.

    More than any quarters, its national executive has been fingered for events that brought that pass. The supposed culpability of the party leadership is further buoyed by the woeful performance of the party in the home states of some of its top leaders especially in the north.

    The avalanche of calls for the dissolution of the party executive or resignation of its members especially the national chairman, Adamu Mu’azu is clear evidence of the disenchantment and dissatisfaction of members with their leaders.

    At another level, there have been calls for the setting up of a caretaker committee to manage the affairs of the party; total restructuring of its affairs and similar suggestions. In all these, the message that is being sent out is that the party as presently constituted, may further degenerate unless serious measures are taken to reposition it for the role of an opposition which the outcome of the polls has consigned it.

    In this blame game, disloyalty, conspiracy, sabotage and connivance with the opposition during the elections have featured as some of the infractions for which the leaders are being accused. In Bayelsa State, Governor Dickson set up a committee to probe allegations of sabotage and disloyalty against party leaders during those elections. Such has been the mood within the PDP especially with the last minute decamping of its key members across the country since after the elections.

    Members of the party are within their rights to be concerned about their future given extant realities. Those angry, have cause to be gravely disappointed over the declining fortunes of their great party as they are wont to call it.

    But the current fate of the party was self-inflicted. There were clear indications that the party would run into troubled waters but its leadership, for whatever reasons, refused to steer its ship away from the precipice. The signals were very clear that the centre could no longer hold but its leaders opted to look the other way.

    It all started with disagreement over the zoning arrangement of the party during the prolonged illness and eventual death of President Umaru Yar’Adua. Jonathan, as the then Vice president was expected to act as the president in tandem with extant laws. But some hawks and power hungry people within that party from the north did every thing possible to frustrate that outcome. It took the intervention of the senate with its doctrine of necessity for Jonathan to become the acting president and subsequently the substantive president with the demise of Yar’Adua.

    Having served out the remaining two years of the first tenure of Yar’Adua, issues arose as to the zoning arrangement of the PDP and the need for power to revert to the north.

    Going by that arrangement, power ought to have reverted to the north in 2011 given Obasanjo’s eight years and the two years in which Jonathan occupied that seat in a substantive capacity. The north protested. But for whatever contrivance, Jonathan was allowed to go for another four years and the north voted for him.

    We have since been told there was agreement for him to go for only four years and have power revert to the north in 2015. In the build up to the elections, that agreement was a very major issue with Obasanjo in the fore-front of persuading Jonathan to respect it. That was the major thrust of his very controversial and loaded open letter to Jonathan titled “before it is too late”.

    In that controversial letter, Obasanjo went out of his way deploying conventional and unconventional means to forewarn Jonathan of the huge risk in spurning the agreement and going ahead with his ambition to run for another term. He accused him of sundry misdeeds and sought to reduce his credibility in the eyes of discerning members of the public.

    But Jonathan denied such agreement existed and placed the burden of proof at the shoulders of Obasanjo. The subsequent implosion of the party leading to the decamping of many of its governors and leaders had its roots in the dispute over the zoning arrangement of the party and the arbitrary manner the party was being run.

    Matters became worse during the ward congresses of the party. Party members were not allowed to participate in the election of delegates as some influential members hijacked the process and turned in names of their cronies as delegates in preparation to manipulate the primaries. Many of their members across the country were not only disillusioned but totally disgusted with the brazen trifling with their collective will in that basic and elementary civic duty. Many were aggrieved and lost faith in the party.

    The subsequent primaries were a bazaar of sorts as it became a matter for the highest bidder while genuine complaints of imposition of candidates made to the national executive of the party were treated with disregard. The national executive committee of the party was compromised and allegations of extortion against its members were rife. Money changed hands with some of the key leaders of the party at the centre of allegations of corruptly enriching themselves at the expense of party cohesion.

    It was a bad situation which further led to massive exodus of aggrieved members to other parties. Such was the foreboding scenario in which the PDP went into the election and expected to perform wonders.

    And soon after, no less a person than the national chairman of the party, Mu’azu spoke along this line when he said the party was full of injustice. He had said in the occasion which had Jonathan in attendance that “a lot of people who left our party did so because of injustice in our party. Our party is full of injustice. The membership of the APC, LP and APGA is increasing because of this. We must find out what is wrong and correct it”.

    In an article in this column titled “Mu’azu’s crocodile tears” we had taken up the contradictions in his statements given that he presided over the most controversial and flawed ward congresses and primaries of the party. If he could not redress complaints of aggrieved members then, of what use is his coming public to cry wolf over issues that were bought to his table but for which he turned a blind eye? We then concluded that Mu’azu should take much of the blame for the ills he complained about and stop the buck passing.

    Jonathan did not help matters when he responded that the complaints would be taken into account while preparing for the 2019 elections. Our response was that the cost of the muddle could be so high that Jonathan may not have another opportunity to redress the situation and save the party. That prediction has come to pass. Those now trading blames are being less than honest. Signs of systemic decay and impending danger have all along been there. The issues leading to them are not novel. For now, the party should lick its wounds for ignoring clear signals of an impending danger. It is hoped a hard lesson would have been served.

  • The way to go

    Barring a few states where the governorship election was declared inconclusive and a supplementary scheduled, the picture of all that transpired during that election is no longer cloudy. Whether any lesson has been learnt by our politicians on electoral matters has also become palpable from all that transpired. With more than 95 per cent of the results known, and the reported incidents that marked them, statements of empirical validity can now be reasonably made.

    This is more so as, the nature and character of the unfolding political environment is getting clearer by the day. As things now stand, the All Progressives Congress APC has become the dominant party having won at the centre and with a majority of the states in its kitty. The party is therefore poised to exert a commanding influence in the nation’s affairs in the days ahead.

    By the same logic, the Peoples Democratic Party PDP which before now bestrode the political landscape like a colossus has been reduced to a minority party. With that, its previous ambition to rule the country without interruption has become a pipe dream. But that is not the issue to contend with now.

    The failure of the PDP is not much the issue as what it holds for the survival of democracy in this country. From the trend of events since the conclusion of the presidential elections, there have been genuine fears that our democracy stands to face the greatest challenge of our time. The feeling gaining ground is that we may after all, not be prepared for democracy and all it takes to grow and endure.

    As a development paradigm, democracy requires certain attitudes, dispositions and orientations. It presupposes a concomitant political culture. But, it is increasingly becoming difficult for that culture to germinate and grow here.

    Events are more than ever before giving credence to dominant views among political scientists some years back that the type of leadership Africa needed is benevolent dictatorship rather than democracy. That view took copious perspective of the historical background of the African people, their administrative structure and intolerance to opposition. That was at the period when military rule was the fad in the continent. Military rule is now stale. But its dispositions are still much with us. We claim to cherish democracy and all it stands for. But the reality on the ground is that we are not prepared to allow that culture to take root on our shores. The situation has become such that the little gains that may have been recorded in the last 16 years may come to naught if politicians do not part ways with their decadent pasts.

    All the encomiums showered on the presidential election may be rendered useless in the face of the glaring cases of violence that marred the governorship and house of assembly elections in many states.

    From Kano to Ebonyi, Lagos to Rivers, we have been treated not only to complaints about subversion of the rules but more seriously, cases of political killings have been legion. With these, it is obvious that the do or die politics of yesteryears is still much with us. These have tended make a mockery of the peace accord signed by Jonathan and Buhari to maintain the peace before during and after the elections.

    It would appear the success of that undertaking was only limited to the presidential and National Assembly elections. It has become a huge joke given the sordid events that marred the governorship and house of assembly elections in many states.

    During those elections, all the vices that hitherto held our electoral process down and for which people lost faith in it reared their ugly heads. Not only were there snatching of ballot boxes and papers, incidents of rewriting and forgery of election results abound. This is so despite the introduction of the Card Readers to check fraud. Instead of giving the new device the cooperation it needed to succeed, our politicians were busy inventing strategies to frustrate its efficacy. All these have cast a dark cloud on the prospects of democracy in the days ahead.

    This seeming pessimism is further reinforced by the geographical distribution of electoral victory and the conduct of politicians ever since. By this, reference is made to the power equation in this country and how the dominant groups are bound to react to emerging political events.

    Apart from Ekiti and Gombe states, the PDP now has the South-South and the South-East as its political stronghold. The three zones in the north have all gone the way of the APC. Ditto for the South-West. By this development, the south-east and the south-south have now emerged as the fulcrum of opposition in the country. They are now expected to galvanize other pockets of loyalties in the north to challenge the ruling party.

    How much of this role and to what extent these zones can of it, is left to be conjectured. But if the history of opposition as we know it in this country is any thing to go by, there is reason to expect that the two zones may not be fully prepared for it. For one, they are not the traditional strongholds of the opposition in this country. They have across time, identified with the party at the centre. For another, it is difficult to conceive if the zones can reasonably isolate themselves from events at the centre given their peculiar circumstances. Soon, all manner of reasons will emerge as to why they cannot afford not to align with the centre. It is for the same reasons that we have been treated with a gale of decamping by members of that party especially in the northern states.

    The south-west known as the bastion of opposition in the country, together with Kano and sections of the north-east are very well accommodated in the new political order. Unless a new paradigm of political engagement is emerging, we may soon be all gravitating towards the centre with little or no opposition to check the ruling party.

    If such happens, we will be left with a situation akin to what obtained when the PDP held sway. Those shunted out of the mainstream may begin to heat up the system and we will be back to square one. The national chairman of the APC, John Oyegun captured this foreboding situation succinctly when he decried the spate of decamping from the PDP. He raised alarm over the issue and urged those decamping to remain in their party and strengthen opposition so that democracy can grow. He has said it all.

    Whether that is enough to change the situation will be borne out with time. The fears raised by Oyegun may become the greatest challenge of our time unless certain fundamental steps are taken to tinker with the subsisting structure of this country. For now, there is every reason to expect a continuous gravitation to the centre because of the omnipresence and omnipotence of the central government in the nation’s affairs. This overbearing dominance must be very considerably whittled down to discourage that drift and the systemic stress it engenders.

    Restructuring of the country with more powers to the constituent units is the way to go. President Jonathan once floated the idea of successful political parties at the various levels of election sharing power in proportion with their electoral strength.  It is another way to steer the ship of the nation away from a one party state. A combination of both approaches will engender faster development by insulating the nation from precipitate crises arising from bitter competition to control the huge resources at the centre.

  • Of fair weather politicians

    Those who have been full of praises for the outcome of the presidential and national assembly elections may have to pause for a while. The elections have largely been adjudged free and fair though they were not without peculiar problems.

    Despite these, there seems some understanding that we should let go especially given the heated political temperament that characterized the campaigns. There seems some consensus that no sacrifice should be considered too much for the corporate survival of the country. So has been the understanding. At another level, encomiums have been showered on the country for not falling for earlier predictions, much of which was on the negative side. These testaments have dwelt largely on the prospects of the successful conclusion of the elections to deepen democracy on these shores. President Goodluck Jonathan’s commendable move of  going ahead to congratulate Gen Buhari even before the official results were announced attest to this new thinking largely on the acceptance of defeat.

    Much of the comments locally and from the international community have focused largely on the prospects of the new development charting a new path for democracy not only in this country but Africa as a whole. It is a different kettle of fish if this turn of events was foisted on Jonathan, done out of his volition or thrust on him by an intricate web of contradictions. The fact remains that these monumental decisions and events have taken place and they will for a long time, shape the direction and perception of Nigerian politics.

    They will form the new basis for assessing elections and their outcome in this country.  But to what extent can we push the optimism that this singular act is all that is needed to redirect the attitude of our people on political matters for the better? How far can we push the idea that given the same set of circumstances, or a slightly different configuration of events, another leader in Jonathan’s shoes will behave the way he did? In effect, how far can we carry the optimism that democracy will be deepened by the singular action of Jonathan?

    Perhaps, insights into these posers can be gleaned from the attitude of some politicians since the results of the presidential election emerged. Reports from across the country have been a plethora of sundry politicians parting ways with their political parties in a new found love for the winning party, the APC. Even before the governorship and state houses of assembly elections were conducted, many chieftains of the ruling party, the PDP had started decamping to the APC. Matters were not remedied given that key among those decamping were very prominent people in the PDP. Some of them even ran for the governorship tickets of their parties while others hitherto held important political positions.

    And we ask, what has happened or what new things have they suddenly seen in the APC that they had to ditch their parties so soon after? What interests are more likely to have weighed in favour of such precipitate actions? How much does selfish interest count in this calculation and where is it likely to lead us in the quest to grow democracy? These are some of the moot questions. The way they are resolved will chart the future on the prospects and growth of the democratic culture.

    No doubt, we are in a democracy. Some of the pristine tenets for which democracy has become the fastest growing development paradigm are its capacity to offer unlimited freedom to the people. Key to this is the freedom of choice; the freedom to decide which party to belong. So those who are decamping are still within their inalienable democratic rights and no attempt is being made in this column to deny them of that.

    However, this right cannot escape public scrutiny since all are concerned with the growth and stability of those attitudes that can make democracy endure. This is more so given the positive sentiments that have come to be associated with the success of the presidential and national assembly elections. It would therefore appear that the mad rush to decamp to the winning party a few days after the elections smacks of indecent haste. For one, it portrays those involved as people lacking in principles. Ideally, political parties ought to offer alternative persuasions to the electorate. The alternatives which the APC offered were there before the elections and all those who believed in them had ample time to take a decision. And many did.

    For another, it is nothing but obvious interests that are largely self-serving that propelled those decamping after the results of the presidential election had been declared. Among these are political contractors and fortune seekers. In this category are those who eye the enormous resources at the control of the central government. Buoyed by the huge corruption in official quarters, the thinking is that it will still be business as usual and you need to gravitate to the center to have a share of the national cake. That has been our problem. That is why it has been difficult to talk of principles in Nigerian politics. It is for the same reason that politics has become the biggest industry in this country attracting into its fold sundry contractors and the criminally minded that switch camps without giving a hoot. It is for the same reason that competition for political offices has remained very rancorous and deadly.

    Ironically, these set of people have captured political power in many states and would not let go. They will go to any length to ensure they remain relevant. The illegal monies they have acquired have become their greatest strengths and it is difficult to wish them away. The APC is within its rights to admit the new decampees. After all, it will be happy to increase its membership so as to gain advantage over its opponents. But the optimism about the growth of democracy may be threatened if this trend is not carefully watched. We may inevitably be gravitating to a one party state as was almost the case when the PDP held sway. It took the combined efforts of some committed Nigerians to float a strong opposition through mergers to save the situation.

    That visionary action has today paid off in the successes of the APC. Now, if we again find ourselves in a situation where there is no strong opposition, we would have reversed the huge efforts to give Nigerians two credible alternatives. That will detract substantially from all the optimism about the growth of democracy in this country. It will also speak of something fundamentally wrong with our politics and with us as a people. But the expectations of these desperate politicians can be checked without denying them the freedom of a party of their choice. They can be discouraged by the incoming administration ensuring probity and accountability in public offices.

    These are the challenges facing our democracy. They can be checked through a decisive war against corruption and devolution of powers to make the center less attractive. Only then, can we discourage fair weather politicians and shameless contractors from gravitating to the winning party.

  • Now change has come

    In this column last Monday, I wrote under the title “Beyond the elections”. The article which was put together days before the election and published before the results of the presidential and national assembly elections were released, had examined two possible scenarios that could play out after the elections.

    These were the likelihood that it may come out rancour free with the results accepted by all. The other simulated outcome was that of violence leading to breakdown of law and order in some parts of the country arising from a disputed outcome. The latter speculation was further given fillip by the foul political environment that arose in the desperation of politicians to control the minds of the electorate and threats of mayhem from sundry quarters should the election go in certain ways.

    We also took very serious note of the peace accords signed by both President Jonathan and General Buhari to maintain the peace during and after the polls. On the basis of these accords, we further contended that in a very peaceful election, the nation would have been on the threshold of history as all predictions of cataclysm that have instilled fear in the people leading to many fleeing to their ancestral homes, would have come to naught. So also would the prediction of doomsday for the corporate existence of Nigeria by some foreign interests.

    The column also examined the inevitability of change in this country. The main thesis of our presentation was that change was imminent in this country irrespective of which party comes into power as the consciousness of the people have been aroused to its dynamics. That was our summation of the heuristic value of some of the issues raised during the campaigns by the opposition and the possible reaction to them by the government in power if it succeeds in winning the election.

    That election has come and gone. It has also been lost and won with the emergence of Muhammad Buhari as the president-elect. Its outcome has been generally accepted though it had its own problems. The man at the helm of affairs, President Jonathan displayed a rare show of statesmanship by not only conceding defeat but went ahead to congratulate his opponent at the tension soaked election. That is a rare feat in this part of the world where leaders and sundry political contenders cling tenaciously to power irrespective of their unpopularity and the verdict of the people.

    Africa is replete with such leaders. And here at home, matters are not remedied by the inability of politicians to cultivate the culture of accepting defeat. Coming from an incumbent President, there is cause to celebrate. At last, we can beat our chests and say in unison that the peace accord did the miracle. There is a ray of hope in the horizon that we are on the path to parting ways with some of our ruinous political attitudes and orientations. So, we have been left with the first scenario.

    Even though subdued anger and disgust cannot be ruled out completely, everybody seems to be happy that peace has after all reigned supreme irrespective of these feelings. Everybody seems to be satisfied and reassured that Nigeria has been rescued from the precipice of disintegration to which it was irretrievably headed.

    With this also, predictions of doom and cataclysm of unimaginable proportion have come to naught, albeit for now. Those who fled their places of residence for fear that harm may come their way after the election may now return. Perhaps, the relative peace we are now savouring is because Jonathan lost and accepted his defeat in good faith. Matters would have taken a different dimension if he had disputed the election outcome. The situation may also have been different if Buhari had lost the election. These possibilities should not be ignored as we celebrate.

    In effect, there was the hand of God in all the events that brought about the current pass. And the gloomy atmosphere has given way to a very bright one. So, there is every reason for people to be happy especially the poor who bear the brunt of the inadequacies of those who superintend over the affairs of this country. They are the ones who would have suffered immeasurably had the elections degenerated into violence. Nobody died after all. Those who reportedly died met their fate while happily celebrating the victory of their preferred candidates. May their souls rest in peace.

    Now, the much-clamoured change has come with the successful election of General Muhammad Buhari to run this country for the next four years. Change has come with the defeat of the PDP, a party that has ruled this country for over 15 years and had boasted to rule ad infinitum. That boast is now history.  Change has also come from the ascendancy of the APC into power at the national level. Change has come for the first time in our history for an incumbent president to be defeated in an election. So change is all over the place especially since that mantra was the key campaign slogan of the APC.

     

    And if we still borrow from our article under reference; that will not be the end to it all. Soon Nigerians will begin to contend with the reality of the new dawn. They will soon begin to contend with the prospects of what this change holds for them. They will begin to look up to the new things to come in the way this country had hitherto been run. They will begin to look out for fundamental changes in the structure and organization of this country in such a way that can unleash the creative energies of the constituents to fasten the pace of development and give a new lease of life to the suffering masses.

    The consciousness of the ordinary people has been aroused to the inevitability of change in statecraft. Their minds have been attuned to different approaches in the running of affairs of the government. They desire real change. That change must permeate every strata of the nation’s social fabric. It must proceed beyond vote catching strategy to redirect the resources of this country for the overall public good.

    Change cannot take place in the face of the pervasive corruption that has over the years left our people hewers of wood and fetchers of water despite the immense resources nature has placed at our backyard. Change will turn an aberration if ethnic and primordial considerations, which took ascendancy to an all time high during the elections, become prime considerations in the distribution of public resources. Change will only endure when we build national institutions that will serve all Nigerians irrespective of who is in power and from which sections of the country he got the largest chunk of electoral support.

    Good a thing, Buhari has made the fight against corruption a cardinal objective of his regime. He says the fight counts most and he is determined to make the difference in this regard. He has said it all. But the challenge can be daunting. If he can achieve that for this country, he would have written his name in gold. But for him to do that successfully, he must be resolute and firm. There are entrenched interests here and there he will have to contend with.

    The fight against corruption should also be matched with institutionalisation of a new social order based on equity, justice and fairness; a new order that will consign to the dust bin of history vestiges of alienation and marginalization of the constituent units in this unity in diversity. Then, change would have endured with the country on a steady march to peace, progress and unhindered development.

  • Beyond the elections

    By the time this article is published, the presidential and national assembly elections would have been over. Possibly also, the results may have become a matter of public knowledge. Successful candidates would be jubilating while there will be gnashing of teeth by losers. That is the typical payoff in a zero sum game. This scenario is more likely to be noticed at the presidential level given the high stakes and bitter acrimony that attended the campaigns for that elated office.

    Possibly too, all the predictions of cataclysm of unmitigated dimension that have seen people fleeing back in droves to their ancestral homes may have come to naught or isolated violence leading to loss of lives and destruction of property may be playing out. These are the possibilities that we may have to contend with after the elections. But the last eventuality is the one most dreaded by all given the danger it portends for lives and property and our corporate survival as a nation.

    That is why on two occasions, both President Goodluck Jonathan and his rival Gen. Muhammadu Buhari have signed an accord to maintain the peace both before and after the elections irrespective of their outcome. It was very heart refreshing watching the two rivals embrace themselves after the accord to the admiration of people. That is the way it should be. It is not a do-or-die affair since the reasons ostensibly adduced for aspiring to that high office revolves around the promotion of the general good of the people. An election that results in grave harm on the citizens’ detracts substantially from the essence of representative democracy. It gives the sad impression that what counts most is the overall interest of the contenders rather than the electorate who remain the ultimate sovereign. That is the contradiction that comes with violence leading to loss of lives and property.

    If commitment to peace during and after elections by the two major contenders from the PDP and the APC are any thing to repose hope on, the election may come out successful. We hope this will be so. It is also hoped that politicians would go beyond the signing of peace accords and restrain their supporters from acts that may lead to break down of law and order. But if the ruinous attitude of our politicians and refusal to concede defeat are still much with us, there is every thing to expect that the outcome of the elections may not be completely acceptable to all.

    If this scenario leads to violence, the accord would have come as an exercise in futility. Then, our security agencies will have to contend with restoring law and order in the areas stricken by post election violence. And when this is juxtaposed with the challenge of insurgency in some parts of the country, the energies of the security agencies will be greatly stretched.  But where nothing of such happens, Nigerians would have been on the threshold of history. It would portray the country as one that has started learning the ropes in democratic conduct. It will be an unmistakable signal that our people are gradually internalizing the culture of democracy. Then, those who initiated the peace accord would have reason to beat their chests celebrating the success of their efforts. That would be a thing to cherish.

    But that will not be the end to it. Soon, Nigerians will begin to contend with the reality of the new dawn. They will have to face the reality of what prospects the future holds for the nation irrespective of who among the contenders won the presidential race. They will begin to look up for the new things to come in the way this country is run. They will begin to look out for fundamental changes in the structure and organization of the country such that can galvanize the creative energies of the constituents to fasten the pace of development.

    Promises have been made; hope has been raised to an all time high. And coming at a time the price of oil in the international market has declined considerably with attendant devaluation of the naira, Nigerians will be full of expectations on the change to come either from the PDP or the APC.

    We say change because from the way things are, it is obvious that things are not going to be the same again. The consciousness of the ordinary people has been drawn to the inevitability of change in the way things are run in this country. They have been sold to the desirability of change in the conduct of statecraft.  Their eyes have been exposed to the fact that every society is in a state of flux and nothing is as constant as change. Change will definitely come given the alternative paradigms that have been offered by the existence of a credible opposition.

    If the opposition comes to power, it will likely initiate policies to make the difference and justify its mantra. If the ruling party succeeds, it cannot proceed with business as usual and still hope to be in reckoning. So, something positive will definitely come our way. It is the similitude of dialectics in action; a clash between thesis and anti-thesis that will ultimately give rise to some form of synthesis. That is what one foresees from the chain of events that have been unleashed as the political parties sought to take control of the minds of the electorate. People have been awakened to the reality that our leaders both past and present have not taken the necessary measures to quicken the pace of development without the distractions that emanate from a convoluted federal structure. There is the consciousness that Nigeria in its present form, cannot progress without some tinkering in its structure.

    Issues of true federalism: devolution of power, resource control, revenue sharing, state and local government creation and autonomy are recurring decimals that must as a matter of necessity be re-jigged.  It is obvious that these are some of the deficits standing against the progress and development of this country. They also relate very positively to the acrimony and bad blood that go with competition for the highest political office in the country. The point has been made before now that we need to whittle down the overwhelming powers of the central authority for us to move fast on the ladder of development.

    Despite the allure of this, some vested interests have for very selfish reasons, stood against its realization. They still root for centralization to enable them control the huge funds at the federal till. Yet, they want corruption to be reduced to its barest minimum. This is a remote possibility given the composition of the country and the thinking that political ascendancy is largely for prebendal predilections.   These are the issues that face whichever party wins the election. We must therefore proceed beyond the euphoria of electoral victory to confront extant systemic dysfunctions that have overtime, stood against the peace and development of this country. Their handling will make the difference between erecting this unity in diversity on a firm foundation and on sand.

  • Again, here we go!

    All things being equal, the presidential and national assembly elections will hold in five days time. There is no foreseeable reason they should not hold after the initial postponement. This is more so given that the two major planks on which the shift was hinged have been very substantially addressed. The liberation and recapturing of local governments, towns and villages under the stranglehold of the Boko Haram insurgents have reasonably progressed. So also is the distribution of the PVC.

    The other matter of whether or not to deploy the card readers is now at the table of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the sense that it is its prerogative to decide when and how to use them if it is fully satisfied with the outcome of the trials. Though, those experimental outings came out with some hitches, it is to be expected that the electoral body has taken note of them making, amends where necessary.

    Expectations are high that this set of elections should come and go. So much heat has been generated by this particular election that Nigerians are eager to have them pass by. The eagerness is not as much for any personal interest or enthusiasm but because of the general belief that this election could make or mar the country. Many are therefore desirous to have the elections pass by for them to resume their normal lives.

    Before now, many of our citizens living outside their ancestral homes had fled those areas for fear that harm may come their way. Many more are likely to flee days before the elections especially those residing in the northern parts of the country and Abuja. This is not a matter of speculation. Neither can it be dismissed as the doomsday prediction of an arm chair Journalist. It is real. The fear is palpable that unmitigated violence is likely to breakout thereafter irrespective of who wins. And in this regard, we have in mind the presidential election which at any rate comes first. There is general apprehension that its outcome is most likely to be disputed. And when such disputes arise, they manifest in violence often leading to the destruction of lives and property. This is more so as the election is viewed rightly or wrongly as a defining moment for the nation’s corporate survival.  Two factors account for this. The first has to do with the history of elections on these shores and the penchant by politicians not to accept defeat even when there is sufficient evidence they lost. This conclusion is very evident from the plethora of litigations that follow elections on these shores. Even where losers are known to have conceded defeat, congratulated their opponents with a promise not to challenge such verdict, it has been very disappointing seeing the same people reverse themselves only to proceed to the tribunals later. This election is unlikely to depart from this ruinous pattern. There is even more reasons for it to assume more dangerous dimension than previous ones.

    And this brings us to the second point. Despite whatever pretences one may wish to make, the election is largely seen from the prism of ethnic and religious lines. These factors have been palpable in the language of political discourses since campaigns began and even before then. The north wants power return to it as a matter of right. The south-south wants one of its own currently occupying that position to be given another term of four years before power can now move. There is yet to be any national consensus on the matter and we are going to the elections with such destabilizing and potentially explosive tendencies.

    There have also been threats from here and there if certain events go certain ways during this election. Accusing fingers have been pointed at each other by the major political parties. We have been inundated with accusations of plans by the political parties to rig the elections especially the ruling party. INEC has not been spared on this. If anything, the recent demonstrations in Lagos by some ethnic militias asking for the sack of Jega can only add to the general foul air that now surrounds the coming elections.

    The net effect of all these is the likelihood that the outcome of the election is likely to be disputed, especially so if there are observed lapses from the arrangements put in place by the electoral body. It would even seem to me that people are likely to be looking out for faults to discredit the elections.

    When we pair this observation with the high stakes of the election, one can then understand the stark reality that awaits this country in the next few days. But elections are not an end unto themselves but means for the advancement of public good. If that is the proper conception of the matter, why must hell let loose because one political party or individual failed to realize his ambition? Why has ethnicity and religion become prime considerations that determine the direction of the power matrix in this country? And if our leaders emerge on the basis of such mundane platforms, can they really pass as nationally acceptable leaders? Can they in all fairness, still remain loyal to the central authority irrespective of their attachment and loyalty to primordial considerations? These are some of the moot issues.

    Again, why are we simulating obstacles so as to find a convenient ground to wrestle the electoral body to the ground? And what of the likely consequences of such on the general wellbeing of the ordinary people that are being promised heaven and earth if they vote in a particular way? These are some of the contradictions arising from the polluted atmosphere that pervades the political atmosphere as we go into the elections.

    If blames are to be apportioned, the political class is largely culpable for heating up the political environment. And the reasons for this are largely self-serving. The same political elite that have despoiled this country, mortgaging its future are at it again. And in the pursuit of their personal interests, they have now mobilized the common people against each other.

    It is the same common people that will bear the brunt of whatever adverse repercussions that may arise out of a contentious election.

    If the overall interest of the people is the prime factor for seeking political office, nothing should be done to throw this country into crisis whatever the outcome of the polls. Our laws are replete with established processes for redress and those who feel shortchanged should avail themselves of such avenues. There must be conscious efforts to redirect this country from the part of a self-fulfilling prophesy of disintegrating this year. That is the huge challenge before us.

    Above all, much still depends on the INEC on the day of the election. The elections must not only be free and fair but must be seen to be so. Already, the electoral body has been put on edge. It does appear the electorate is not prepared to take excuses from it. It must therefore work hard to deliver to Nigerians an outcome that will give no room for acrimony. That is the surest way of disappointing those who are waiting for the slightest infractions to cause trouble.

  • Jega’s burden

    It would appear the controversy trailing the conduct of the 2015 elections will have no end. And no end seems in sight as its eventual outcome might present more challenges than what we are currently facing.

    Two basic considerations inform this seemingly damning conclusion. The first relates to the history of elections on these shores. Even at the best of times, hardly had there been elections whose outcome was not highly disputed.

    Our politicians find it difficult to accept defeat even when it is clear they had very slim chances. Matters are not helped by glaring cases of malpractices, irregularities and shortcomings that have become a recurring decimal in our electoral process. All these combine to whittle down the confidence of the people in the credibility of elections.

    The cycle of violence which sometimes leads to the destruction of lives and property in some volatile sections of the country is a logical consequence of loss of confidence in the electoral process. That feeling is still much with us.

    The second reason is that this election comes with very peculiar challenges. It is true that election periods by their very nature, are very trying times. But it is also no less correct to posit that the coming elections are potentially very explosive. The stakes are very high and no group will let go. There are genuine fears that its outcome could make or mar the country as the issues involved are at the very heart of our corporate existence.

    That perhaps, accounts for the unending controversy that has dogged the preparations of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC since the countdown to the elections commenced. The focus has been on the preparedness and credibility of INEC to conduct generally acceptable elections. The shoddy distribution of the Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC’s) appears to have provided the platform for the plethora of attacks and criticisms that have trailed INEC’s activities in the last couple of months. The commission did not help matters when it claimed it was fully prepared to conduct the election in February as previously scheduled. A Council of State meeting was convened in which its Chairman Attahiru Jega insisted the commission was ready to go ahead with the polls.

    But Jega was later to inform the nation that though he was very ready for the election, he had to postpone it on the advice of Service Chiefs who said they had a major operation in the north-east that will not allow them offer the needed assistance to the body were the elections to proceed as scheduled. Going by the way Jega spoke, he left no one in doubt that he was only succumbing to security pressure by deferring the elections. In effect, he had a mission to exculpate the electoral body from any complicity in the events leading to that postponement.

    Not unexpectedly, the Jonathan administration was heavily lampooned for inadvertently simulating the chain of events that led to that pass. This was evident in the reactions of the international community and civil society groups among others.

    No less a person than former president Olusegun Obasanjo had in reaction, alleged that the postponement was to enable Jonathan buy time so as to win the election by hook and crook. He drew parallels with events in Cote d’voire when Laurent Gbagbo, faced with stiff opposition had to postpone elections until he was sure he was going to win. Such have been the level of suspicion and antagonism that followed the postponement.

    Curiously, events since then have been at variance with the electoral body’s claim that it was really prepared to go on with the election. On the contrary, the challenges of the poor distribution of the PVC’s have since put a lie to Jega’s claim that he was ready for the elections. At the time the Council of State met, the rate of collection was put at less then 40 per cent. Jonathan said that much in his last Media interview.

    If that was not enough evidence, the admission by Jega at the floor of the senate a week after the postponement that over one million PVCs were yet to be printed in far away China, is all one needed to substantiate the position.

    Since then, the date of collection has been shifted thrice and will now end six days to the presidential and national assembly elections.

    Now, if INEC was prepared for the elections as Jega claimed, how do we reconcile these developments? Could the body have gone ahead to conduct a free, fair and flawless election when millions of Nigerians stood to be disenfranchised? And what are the likely consequences of millions of registered voters denied their inalienable right to vote due to no fault of theirs. These are the moot questions. And they are at the center of the increasing suspicion trailing INEC’s activities.

    There is also the issue of card readers- an innovation the commission said is designed to increase the credibility of the election outcome. The device was just tested last week- a clear one month after the postponement of the elections. The question is whether the commission intended to use that device for the postponed elections? If the answer is in the affirmative, then it further complicates the situation. Some of the challenges that have just been dictated could have created problems that would detract substantially from the credibility of that election. These are some of the dangers that faced INEC if that election had proceeded as scheduled. Some of these issues topped the grouse of the PDP Governors’ Forum that met last week in Lagos. They seemed to have struck the right chord when they asked “Nigerians to reconcile the purported readiness of INEC for the February 14, elections with the testing of card readers more than a month after the postponement”

    This observation should not be ignored especially given the bad blood the postponement generated. The electoral body will regain the confidence of Nigerians by coming public on why it is so. It also has a responsibility to explain why it has continued to postpone the collection date for the PVC’s nearly five weeks after the election was rescheduled. This is necessary for Jega to regain the confidence of the electorate. The imperative of confidence building in ensuring the overall success of any election can only be discounted at a grave risk.

    Undoubtedly, Jega faces a big burden in the current elections. The challenges of the PVC’s have been considerably reduced by the postponement. He has tested the card readers with varying degrees of success. The matter is not all about the INEC’s right to deploy the device but how to ensure its efficacy during elections. If the electoral body feels sufficiently satisfied that the device will work and produce the desired result, it could go ahead and deploy them.

    But it stands the risk of being discredited if there is system failure either on account of network problems or other extraneous variables. These are some of the issues. It is a calculated risk. Jega and his group should be prepared to face the verdict of history for any acts of omission or commission. That appears to be the message the PDP governors are sending across.

    The buck stops at Jega’s table. He will rise and fall together with what he decides to do. But rational calculations instruct that faced with uncertain circumstances, the right option is to minimize ones losses in the event of the worst outcome. It is akin to laying landmines for the elections to introduce innovations whose reliability and efficacy cannot be guaranteed especially when prior suspicion was raised.

  • Ray of hope from Chad

    Riddle over the death of acclaimed Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau is about to be untangled. This ray of hope came from Chadian President, Idriss Deby. He had at a press conference in that country’s capital N’djamena called on Shekau to surrender or face immediate death.

    Hear him, “Abubakar Shekau must surrender. We know where he is. If he doesn’t give himself up, he will suffer the same fate as his compatriots. He was in Dikwa two days ago. He managed to get away, but we know where he is. It’s in his interest to surrender.”

    Given the controversy on Shekau’s death and accusations against Nigeria’s African neighbours for not cooperating in the war against Boko Haram, Deby’s intervention is significant in more ways than one.

    First, it signifies the accord brokered by the French government for multi-lateral cooperation in the war against the insurgents is beginning to take full shape. Before now, that accord had not been given full cooperation such that the insurgents have had a free reign levying terror on innocent people with reckless abandon.

    If the countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon which share very porous and ill-policed boarders with Nigeria had been cooperating in the fight against Boko Haram, perhaps the insurgency would have been crushed long before now. Because of this seeming nonchalance, the insurgents had exploited to the fullest, the porosity of our borders; fleeing into neighbouring countries when hotly pursued by our soldiers.

    In one of such occasions, our soldiers were rescued by Cameroonian soldiers as they strayed into their territory. There were then reports that our soldiers were even disarmed by the Cameroonian soldiers in keeping with international conventions; provided food and military protection before they were eventually escorted back into the country.

    This matter has been deliberately brought in to underscore the difficulty in fighting Boko Haram in the face of the difficult terrain in which our soldiers have had to operate. It is therefore heart-warming that at last, Nigeria’s neighbours now share our concerns to flush out the insurgents without further delay.

    For another, it also illustrates very vividly the enormous successes the Nigerian military have been making in the fight against the insurgents in the last couple of weeks. These successes are no longer in doubt. Many villages in the war ravaged North-east especially Borno State that is worst hit have been liberated with heavy casualties inflicted on the insurgents.

    It is not surprising that following the heavy artillery power of the ground forces backed by aerial bombardments, the insurgents scamper to the borders seeking escape routes. And there, they are confronted by our foreign neighbours. With consistent push from the Nigerian troops and the cooperation of our neighbours, there is no doubt the days of Boko Haram are numbered.

    We are encouraged by the revelations of Deby. And when a president of a country speaks on such a very sensitive matter in public, we have every reason to take him very seriously. There is no reason not to believe Deby knows where Shekau currently is. He has ordered him to surrender or face dire consequences.

    But if the psychology of such terrorists is anything to go by, it is very unlikely Shekau will surrender himself alive. He would rather die than give up himself to be humiliated and disgraced. So why wait for him to surrender when from all accounts, such an expectation is a very remote possibility? For a group that wires young girls with explosives for suicide missions, self annihilation will not amount to much for its leader. This is more so when we reckon with the weird religious ideology that propels this extremists terror group.

    Going by the weight and certainty with which Deby spoke, the issue of Shekau may even be resolved before this article is published. When we pair this certainty with the fact that Shekau is unlikely to surrender alive, the likely option is that of violent confrontation.

    Either way, Shekau’s time has come unless Deby is not sure of his statements. There is no reason not to believe him. It is therefore the expectation that in the next few days, the world will get to know more about Shekau and the Boko Haram insurgency.

    We will then be entangled in a controversy of another sort. We will hear such tales as the dead man is not Skekau but a semblance of him. We will be confronted with a crisis of identity given several reports before now that Shekau had long been killed in battle field. All manner of theories will be floated especially by those who would not let the present administration take credit for the feat. The authorities will be hard put to convince the people that this is the original Shekau; not the characters that have been mimicking him. May be the saving grace will be the Chadian authorities. Coming from Deby, all shadows of doubt that are likely to be raised over the identity of the sect leader may not be pushed too far.

    This point has to be underscored given that the issue of insecurity in the country has become a serious election issue. The opposition has made it one of its cardinal campaign issues with a promise to ensure the security and territorial integrity of the country. The government in power has reinvigorated the war against terrorism to prove that it has the capacity to tame the monster and take away from the opposition whatever political advantage it seeks to get by exploiting weaknesses in the war against terrorism.

    These are the issues the nation will have to contend with in the way the current escapades against terrorism are likely to be perceived. This is more so when it is realized that one of the major reasons for shifting the elections was to enable the military conclude its military operations in that part of the country. Then, many had queried what feat the government would achieve in barely six weeks in a war that has seemingly defied it these years. Many did not see the possibility of that happening.

    But the signal coming from Deby and the reported recapturing of many villages from the insurgents now give a glimmer of hope that Boko Haram is now living on borrowed time. That would be a major political feat for the government of the day especially with the elections around the corner. It would have proved beyond reasonable doubt that the military had genuine reasons for asking to have the elections shifted for them to conclude their military operations. The government would then exploit that success for electoral advantage.

    But the question will still arise as to why the government had to wait till the last minute before decisively confronting the insurgents. Is it because of the arrival of new equipment or a deliberate strategy to score political points for electoral advantage? These are the issues that will be thrown up if the real Shekau is captured or killed and the insurgency tamed very considerably in the next few days. Whatever the case, it is in the interest of this country that the war is brought to a conclusive end.

  • A citizen of example

    Lagos State House of Assembly last week, resolved to invite Ms Josephine Agwu, a cleaner at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos to celebrate her for a rare display of honesty and integrity.

    Reports had it that Ms Agwu had in the course of her duties, found N12 million in various currencies and returned it to the owner. That was the third time she was returning lost monies for the collection of their owners.

    Apparently moved by this uncommon show of honesty and patriotism, the Deputy Whip, Rotimi Abiru, under matters of urgent public importance, called the attention of his colleagues to the fact that being the third time the lady was returning lost monies, the matter should not be allowed to pass just like that.

    He recalled that the lady who earns a paltry N7, 800 monthly was given $50 the second time she found and returned lost money. Other contributors noted though the incident did not take place within an establishment of the Lagos State government, yet it was not out of place to appreciate her as a sign of moral motivation. Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji therefore directed the clerk of the House to invite Ms Agwu for members to appreciate her.

    Though Ms Agwu is yet to appear before the state assembly and the nature of the goodwill of the house yet to be determined, there is still every reason to commend the assembly for its kind and visionary gesture. It is not only heart-warming but very patriotic for members to have realized such a rare display of integrity should be encouraged especially in a country held down over the years by monumental corruption. This is more so given the strategic importance of our airports.

    Being the gateway to the country, our airports have before now come under serious bashing from the outside world for sundry ills that go on there including corruption. At the heat of the Ebola virus scare sometime last year, a group of American security officials in transit had alleged that one of them was pursued and injected a substance suspected to contain the Ebola virus in an insecure area of that airport. The report which was meant to paint black the airport security was aptly denied by airport authorities for lacking in any shred of truth. They had faulted the claim because no such case was reported to any of its security outfits. Nothing was again heard from the US officials who bandied the claim. And nothing came out of the report of the test they claimed the victim who was admitted at a US hospital on arrival, was said to have undergone. This matter has been deliberately brought in here to underscore the kind of negative image our airports have before now, been subjected to for reasons best known to their sponsors. There have also been other instances in the past the nation has been treated with video clips of the corruption that go on in the airports involving our security men. All these have tended to give the image of our airports as an insecure, corrupt and unsafe place for business.

    It is this negative rating that has been put a lie to by the uncommon display of honesty by the conduct of the airport cleaner. This is especially the case given that this marks the third time she would return monies forgotten by their owners. A country that is interested in good moral standing, cannot afford not to appreciate and celebrate such a patriot. That is the duty the Lagos State House of Assembly has taken up and it should be appreciated by all and sundry.

    The state assembly deserves commendation for not allowing the contributions of the cleaner to pass unsung. Not with the high level of dishonesty that bestrides the nation’s entire landscape. Not with the concomitant corruption in high and low places that has held this nation prostrate and stultified all efforts at genuine economic development.

    The contributions of the assembly are better appreciated when it is realized that the incident occurred in a federal establishment which ordinarily, should be outside its area of authority. But it refused to be constrained by this temporary line of divide since the heuristic value of celebrating the cleaner will rob off positively on the moral bearing of the entire society. That is the way it should be and the assembly deserves to be commended. It has by this rare display of patriotism lived up to the motto of the state as the centre of excellence.

    Beyond the gesture, there are other potent issues thrown up by the incident. The first has to do with the conduct of Ms Agwu’s employers. There is nothing on record to show they appreciated this cleaner of example. For her to have returned lost monies for three consecutive times, meant there is something very special about her. She is a rare person; an uncommon Nigerian. She ought to be celebrated and hugely rewarded in order to send the message very unambiguously that honesty pays. She is poorly paid but not poor in spirit. That is why even with her meager salary, she was not moved at the sight of N12 million.

    In a country where armed robbers would have cleared any obstacle at sight to carte away such a huge money; in a country where employees disappear into the thin air with smaller amounts entrusted to their care, it is only proper the cleaner should be hugely rewarded not only by her employers but the federal government. These are the kind of people that deserve the yearly national awards and not the sundry characters that should ordinarily have had nothing to do with them. It is therefore only proper that the federal authorities seize the momentum set by the Lagos state assembly and demonstrate very unambiguously that honesty and integrity pay. She works at our airport and it is immaterial whether a private company employed her for that purpose. The good example she has consecutively displayed is for the overall good of the country.

    It is also important that other Nigerians of exemplary quality; no matter how lowly placed, are identified, celebrated and rewarded as a mark of encouragement to others who have been sold to the idea that life is all about hook and crook. And they are many.

    But there is also a contradiction which the loss of such a hefty sum has brought to the fore. In a country where the majority find it nigh impossible to feed, is it not scandalous that people could easily forget such a huge sum of money? In a clime where even a third of that amount would make a big difference between life and death for a majority, does it not speak of the wide gulf between the rich and the poor that such an amount can be easily forgotten?

    These are some of the issues that have been brought to the fore by the incident. You can imagine the big temptation it was for someone who earns less than N8, 000 a month to have returned N12 million she found on a platter of gold. Many would have seen that as a golden opportunity to make it. For such people, Ms Agwu may have lost an opportunity to conquer poverty. But they are wrong. For her, honesty and integrity pay better and life is not all about money. Such a moral bearer ought to be appreciated by all.