Category: Femi Macaulay

Femi Macaulay

 

As the drama develops, it promises to further clarify the responsibilities of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

According to FCCPC, on April 11, 2020, it “became aware of complaints and dissatisfaction with respect to certain elective/cosmetic surgical procedures carried out by Med Contour Services.

Essentially, the allegations are that Med Contour engages in conduct that is considered otherwise unprofessional, misleading and potentially injurious, including resulting in possible fatalities.”

In the agency’s view, there was “sufficient probable cause to inquire into the consumer protection aspects of the representations and services of Med Contour, and its operatives.”

Based on this initial assessment, the commission “opened an active investigation into the practices and processes of Med Contour, its promoter, associates and employees.”

The investigators explained that the probe was “not a professional/licensing or disciplinary inquiry.”

In line with its responsibilities under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), the commission was interested in “the issues of authorisation of the business and or its promoters, associates or employees to conduct the subject surgical procedures; representations made to customers about their skills, generally expected outcomes for similar procedures, and assurances of specific outcomes in relevant cases; responsiveness during follow-up or post procedure complaints;  and transparency to consumers and applicable regulatory authorities.”

Illuminating its mandate, the commission highlighted the laws that backed its operations:  ”Sections 17(s),(t),(x),(y) and 130 prohibit obnoxious practices, require services to be safe and for the commission to act to reduce risk of injury to consumers, as well as ensure services comply with applicable standards of care.

“Sections 123, 124 and 125 prohibit making misleading statements, issuing guaranties or statements about the efficacy skills or probable outcomes with respect to services that are untested or scientifically unproven, and Sections 127, 128 and 129 prohibit unfair or unreasonable contract terms, exclusion, or waiver of legitimate liability for prevailing standards of care.”

The investigators called for “additional information from consumers with previous experiences with Med Contour or its operatives, whether the experiences were satisfactory or otherwise, and from persons who have any such relevant information, including about the experiences of others.”

“Immediately we called for additional information, there was a barrage. So, it was clear to us that these operations had to stop until we could clarify, and we needed to know from other regulatory authorities that the business was safe to continue to operate,” said FCCPC Chief Executive Babatunde Irukera.

“We did what we call an interim seal… After we opened the investigation, more complaints came in, a lot more information — some of it alarming, some of it damaging.”

The commission said it had received complaints against a Lagos-based medical doctor and owner of Med Contour Services Limited, Dr Anuoluwapo Adepoju, from one Marlene Oluwakemi, Taiwo Temilade and Vivian Onwuzuligbo, who alleged that Adepoju’s services “are unsafe for consumers,” and that she made “false, misleading and deceptive representation in relation to the marketing of their services.”

Adepoju’s services allegedly led to the death of one Mrs Nneka Onwuzuligbo, said to have died as a result of a failed cosmetic surgery the doctor performed on her, “and she is privy to the events that led to the demise of the deceased.” The incidents happened between April 15 and May 4, 2020.

However, Adepoju, who was arraigned on July 3 at the Federal High Court in Lagos, is not facing a murder charge. It is noteworthy that the commission, which is prosecuting the case, is focused on its role as a “competition and consumer protection authority.”

Established by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018, its responsibilities are defined, and include developing and promoting fair, efficient and competitive markets in the Nigerian economy, facilitating access by all citizens to safe products, and securing the protection of rights for all consumers in Nigeria.

Given this context, FCCPC accused Adepoju of disregarding its summons dated April 15, 2020; alleged that she refused and failed to produce documents which she was required to produce in compliance with the commission’s notice of investigation dated April 14, 2020; and further alleged that the defendant prevented and obstructed the commission from carrying out its investigation into the said issue.

The offences were said to have contravened the provisions of sections 11(1) (a), 33(1) (a), 110, 113(1) (a) and 159(4) of the FCCPC Act, 2018.

It is significant that the commission’s chief executive officer, Irukera, a lawyer, is directly involved in the prosecution of the case.

This reflects his hands-on approach, which he demonstrated in other cases. His style shows that he takes his job seriously, particularly as he has the legal training required for prosecution.

For instance, he led the agency’s legal team in the prosecution of four supermarkets/pharmacies at FHC, Abuja, over alleged price gouging; and led the Federal Government’s legal team in the prosecution of five defendants arraigned at the Federal High Court, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, for alleged sale of unsafe, re-bagged rice, unfit for human consumption.

Also, Irukera was in court to obtain an ex-parte order restraining DSTV from continuing their new price regime; and personally argued the case that got the court to restrain MultiChoice from further implementation of hike in DSTV subscription rates.

It is unsurprising that Adepoju is fighting back, after failing to cooperate with the commission authorised to investigate the complaints against her and her clinic.

To counter the complaints against her, she should have honoured the agency’s lawful summons and produced the required documents in the first place. Her uncooperative stance was tantamount to evasion and obstruction of the pursuit of clarity.

Adepoju’s situation has been compounded by a petition from the management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, to the Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Investigation Panel, dated June 11, 2020, accusing her of professional misconduct during a surgery she performed on Onwuzuligbo at her facility.

Calling for an investigation, LUTH said: “Dr Adepoju has in a series of misleading and incorrect public statements in the social media absolved herself from liability in the management of this patient and put the blame on LUTH and its personnel, who availed the patient of their facilities and expertise.

She directly impugned the competence of the hospital and her senior professional colleagues and teachers.”

This helps to differentiate between FCCPC’s investigation and the requested Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Investigation Panel investigation. The former is about consumer rights; the latter is about professionalism.

Consumers have rights, including right to safety, right to be informed, right to choose and right to be heard.

That is the point of FCCPC’s lawsuit against Adepoju.

By Femi Macaulay

Truth hurts, but that is not an excuse for victimising those who dare to speak truth to power. Lance Corporal Martins Idakpini of the 8 Division, Sokoto, of the Nigerian Army, seemed prepared for the worst when he made a June 22 video that went viral. But that does not mean he should suffer for speaking truth to power.

His lawyer, Mr. Tope Akinyode, who is the National President, Revolutionary Lawyers’ Forum, said in a statement:  ”We have just filed an action at the Federal High Court against the Nigerian Army, Chief of Army Staff and the Attorney General of the Federation of Nigeria over the unlawful arrest and detention of Lance Corporal Martins and his wife, Mrs. Victoria Idakpini.

“On June 23, 2020, the Nigerian Army arrested Lance Corporal Martins for being critical of the army chief of staff over the handling of security crises and lack of adequate amenities to battle terrorism.

“We are of the considered view that the continued detention of Lance Corporal Martins violates his fundamental human rights much as it violates the extant provisions of the Armed Forces Act.

“Unfortunately, the Nigerian Army displayed a higher degree of despotism on June 25 when it illegally arrested and has continued to detain the wife of Lance Corporal Martins, Mrs. Victoria Idakpini, leaving her three children – twins of two-years-old and another who just clocked three – to the care of no one.”

Idakpini’s wife, Victoria, was freed after spending nine days in detention, but the lawyer said the lawsuit against the army would continue despite her release.

What did Idakpini say in the 12-minute viral video that got him into trouble? “I’m highly disappointed in your command,” he said, addressing Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai.  He called the army boss “a coward, a traitor and a betrayer,” adding that the loyalty of the rank and file to the army leadership must be earned.

”You have failed,” he said, addressing Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin.”You should be ashamed of yourselves,” he said, addressing the National Security Adviser, Mohammed Babagana Monguno, and the Minister of Defence, Bashir Salihi Magashi, both retired army generals.

”I’m a concerned Nigerian,” Idakpini explained. “We cannot continue to keep quiet when people are dying… many of our colleagues are dying.” He added that “innocent soldiers” were locked up in the guardroom indefinitely for complaining about inadequate weapons to fight insecurity.

”We need to restructure this army in order to achieve peace in the country,” he declared. He also criticised the Muhammadu Buhari presidency and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). “I’m ready to face court martial,” he said fearlessly.

The development attracted the attention of the House of Representatives where the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, moved a motion on July 2 titled, ‘A Call on the Nigerian Army to Release Lance Corporal Martins Idakpini from Arrest on the Basis of His Expressed Opinion.’

Elumelu observed that “Section 122 of the Armed Forces Act forbids the military from perpetually detaining any officer.”  The House directed the Committees on Defence and Army to investigate the matter, and asked that “ldakpini should be brought before the relevant House committees and the leadership, to brief them on the happening in the northern part of the country.”

It is noteworthy that about a month before Idakpini’s jolting video, another video had jolted the military leadership.

Demoralised soldiers who expressed their feelings in a viral video showed that there is something wrong with the Nigerian Army’s counter-insurgency strategy.  The soldiers had been ambushed by Boko Haram terrorists.

According to the military headquarters, two soldiers were killed and three others were injured in the surprise attack that happened “eight kilometres ahead of Buni-Gari in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State on May 18, 2020.” A recovery truck and a water tanker that ran into Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were destroyed.

The viral video showed the reaction of the ambushed soldiers.  A report said: “In disjointed Pidgin English that has been correctly translated… for the benefit of readers not conversant with such language, the angry soldiers said, ‘It shall not be well with the army (authorities), the army has sold all of us. Look at the way the army (authorities) are suffering us, it shall not be well with them.

‘Boko Haram ambushed us, what type of nonsense is this? The army (authorities) has suffered us. They sent jets to us after Boko Haram had finished us.

‘Buratai, it shall not be well with you for life. Buratai, you shall not know peace anymore.”

The reference to Lt Gen Buratai reflected the degree of their demoralisation.  But the army authorities glossed over the development, tweeting that “due to mental snap/distress occasioned by fog of war, two of the soldiers who escaped the IED and terrorists’ ambush recorded the incident with uncomplimentary remarks about the Nigerian Army and her leadership, which was released on the social media.”

“Although this kind of outburst is expected in war, the soldiers involved have been identified and would undergo observation and counseling,” the tweets said, adding that the military “will remain unwavering in its quest to end the terrorism and will do everything possible to ensure there is no repeat of this kind of traumatic incident/outburst.”

When Lt Gen Buratai publicised his relocation to the Northeast theatre of war in April, he gave the impression that his move to physically and actively lead the war against Boko Haram would make a big difference.  But his presence in the theatre of operations has not given the Nigerian troops an advantage over Boko Haram. The counter-insurgency effort remains an effort, after more than a decade.

Not only the soldiers whose outbursts attracted public attention need to be examined; the military authorities also need to be examined.

These two viral videos involving soldiers speaking truth to power further show why President Buhari, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, should change the service chiefs so as to reinvigorate the fight against insecurity.  This is the bitter truth.

Femi Macaulay

Doers are defined by their doings.  Two important development projects demonstrate the importance of Resort Group Chairman Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN), who turns 60 on July 1.

A development-minded doer, he was on familiar turf at the 2019 annual lecture of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos, where he spoke on “Infrastructure Development and Growth in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges.” Babalakin shared some of his group’s experiences concerning the Murtala Mohammed Airport Domestic Terminal 2 (MMA2) and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

He said MMA2 “was built against the run of play, those who gave us the project did not want the project completed… How do you cope with that?” He continued: “It’s been 12 years since we completed MMA2 and no government… has done anything comparable.

This is because infrastructural development is… about serious commitment and a lot of intellectual rigour.” ”The Lagos-Ibadan expressway project is unthinkable,” he said. ”We signed the contract in 2009 to design, build, operate and transfer… they terminated the concession for lack of performance without disclosing to the public that they had held us down for 22 months.” Babalakin added: “It is sad that seven years after the project was cancelled, the road is only 40% ready.

They are building 40% of what we wanted to build and the project has no design. It is just a repeat resurfacing of the 1977 road. The architecture of that place has changed phenomenally since 1977 and our design accommodated all the changes… Our total cost was N112b. Now, over N350b has been spent on 40% of what we planned to build and they are still at 40%.” In 2017, when the Federal Government announced plans to concession 22 airports, Babalakin observed that “our eye-opening effort had led to the upgrading of some airports in Nigeria and the decision of the Federal Government to concession airports.” Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika recently received the Outline Business Case Certificate of Compliance for the concession of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano International Airports from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC). ”With these certificates of compliance we will go ahead to the Federal Executive Council for approval for the full business of concession to proceed and that will turn the airport terminals to their full potential in private hands…” Sirika said.

It remains to be seen whether the process and the outcome of the agreements would advance public-private partnership. It will take much more than words to achieve public-private partnerships that work; and it is only when such collaborations work that the country can enjoy the benefits.

Babalakin is a consistent and convincing advocate of the public-private partnership approach to development. Guided by personal experience, he listed the enemies of public-private partnership in Nigeria  at the 2016 Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, including the attitude of the government, lack of respect for sanctity of contracts and the rule of law, lack of investor security, corruption and malice.

His thoughts on the country’s underdevelopment are thought-provoking. “When we break down the issues, we’ll see that what we are suffering from in this country is a very deep level of ignorance,” he stressed at the CIBN event. He argued: “In the course of the evolution of the country, we got our educational system wrong.

So you have a system of education that doesn’t teach people what they should be asking for. They don’t even know what their rights are. You can go through primary, secondary school and university today without knowing that it is important to have a clean environment. “You could go through these whole processes and not realise that the government owes you anything.

You could go through these without knowing that it is fundamental to building a society that we all learn to tell the truth and you say you want to develop infrastructure. Where do you start from?” He illustrated the problem with an anecdote: “Last week, I had a meeting somewhere in Surulere on Ajao Street. I got there at about 1:30pm.

The water level was about one and a half feet and I saw students returning from school rolling up their trousers and wading through the water. I saw mothers doing the same thing and they were smiling all the way because really, they don’t believe it’s anybody’s responsibility to ensure that the place is drained. “They believe it is their lot that they found themselves there and God can by miracle take them out and they would not look back. They would expect the other people too to go and pray to God to take them out of the situation.

When you have that level of lack of demand or any form of entitlement, how do you begin to drive the system? How do you start?” This lesson is about development consciousness.  When the people are development-conscious, they will understand that it is their responsibility to ensure that the government lives up to its responsibility.

In November 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari lamented that N1 trillion had been earmarked for constituency projects in the last 10 years without visible grassroots benefits. National Assembly members in the period were to blame, according to an investigation.

Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Chairman Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye said: “Constituency projects are intended to be developmental, such as provision of water, rural electrification, rural clinics, schools, community centres and bursary for indigent students. ”In the light of annual budgetary allocations to constituency projects and based on actual releases by the government, it is firmly believed that the impact of constituency projects on the lives of ordinary Nigerians ought to be more visible…

The concern is that in Nigeria, rather than address the needs of constituents, many constituency projects have become avenues of corruption.” Development is human-driven, just as underdevelopment is human-driven.

The point is that constituents affected by undelivered constituency projects should demand explanations from their representatives. When the people ask questions about underdevelopment, the government will need to provide answers to underdevelopment. “The Nigerian system today is still very pedestrian.

We haven’t started the race,” Babalakin lamented at the CIBN event. This is food for thought as the country struggles with underdevelopment. It is noteworthy that Babalakin was born three months before Nigeria’s independence from British rule on October 1, 1960.

He champions development by constantly highlighting the difference between development and underdevelopment.

By Femi Macaulay

It was an egoistic move, fuelled by an obsession. It is obvious that Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki left the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because he desperately wants a second term in office. If political realities in APC had not brought him to his knees, he would not have left the party that brought him to power.

Suddenly, Obaseki is in love with a party that was in opposition to him and his administration.  ”The PDP in my view has demonstrated and shown that it is a party that is rooted in democratic practices. The party that believes in justice and fairness, a party that respects its people,” he said when he visited the party’s secretariat for his formal registration.

He added: “I am very happy to be here, the reception I have received since I drove in here has been ecstatic, the energy I see in this party is the kind of energy I require to take Edo to the level we should go to next. So, if indeed we have done anything in the last four years, you haven’t seen anything yet because with the quality of people I see here, the energy of the youths I see, by the grace of God victory will be possible.”

His move suggests that he is an adventurer seeking political power wherever it may be found.  His defection exposes his desperation for power.  His words to the contrary ring hollow:  ”For me, this fight is not about grabbing political power, it’s not about me; it’s not about trying to prove a sense of importance…”

Instead of wailing about his disqualification from APC’s governorship primary election, which inspired his defection, Obaseki needs to look in the mirror.  He will see that the things he said about the party’s screening process, after his dramatic disqualification, ironically describe his own governance style.

The governor, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, described his screening as a “mockery of democratic process” and “an unfortunate, disheartening and dreadful spectacle.”  He also said it was an “open display and enthronement of illegality,” and called it an “open show of shame, illegality and travesty of justice.”  He described his disqualification as “unjust,” and accused the APC’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, of “maladministration of the party.”

Talking of democracy and democratic process, Obaseki conveniently forgot his spectacularly undemocratic role in the sidelining of members-elect of the Edo State House of Assembly, who were members of his party but not in his camp, and were loyal to Oshiomhole, also a former governor of the state and his political benefactor with whom he had parted ways.

After a deliberate delay, he eventually transmitted a letter of proclamation to the clerk of the house, which was necessary for the inauguration of the legislature.  However, only 9 of the 24 members-elect, loyal to Obaseki, were first inaugurated, then 2 others, all in June last year, in questionable circumstances.

With the deliberate exclusion of the others, who were not inaugurated, Obaseki’s loyalists took control of the legislature.  What could be more undemocratic than such weakening of a critical arm of government in a democracy?  It is noteworthy that the political crisis in the state worsened in December 2019 when the House of Assembly declared vacant the seats of 12 lawmakers-elect yet to be inaugurated.

Suddenly, Obaseki remembered democracy when the governorship primary election drew near. He was ready to do anything in order to get re-elected for a second term. He showed his desperation by choosing Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Simon Lalong (Plateau) and Senator Ehigie Uzamere to work out a peace deal with the sidelined legislators-elect.   ”The exclusion of the… members-elect is one of the issues behind the virtually intractable crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC),” a report said.

Why did Obaseki wait till the approach of the governorship primary election, scheduled for June 22, and the party’s decision to conduct a direct primary election, which he was opposed to, before trying to normalise the anomalous situation he had helped to bring about in the state legislature? His wailing after his disqualification shows that he has not been looking in the mirror. It may well be that he reaped what he sowed.

He has a right to seek re-election. But should he do so at any cost? He plans to contest the state’s governorship election in September as a PDP candidate, to prove that he can win without the APC support that initially brought him to power.  Could he have become governor without APC backing in 2016? Why is he confident that he can be re-elected without APC support?

Obaseki’s defection means he will work against the party that brought him to power, with the power of incumbency which he owes to the party that brought him to power.  Surely, this is politics without principles.  ”A principle is a principle,” says Mahatma Gandhi, “and in no case can it be watered down because of our incapacity to live it in practice.”

If Obaseki wasn’t so desperate for power, he should have resigned himself to his failure to get the APC’s support for his second-term ambition.  When he won the governorship election as an APC candidate in 2016, he should have known that winning is not a permanent condition. Now that he cannot be the APC’s governorship candidate this year, he should learn from his failure.

Does he think it is shameful to be a one-term governor? The question is: What is Obaseki’s legacy?  Speaking holistically, his performance as governor hampered his second-term aspiration. He may believe that he did well as governor. But did he do well as a party man?

He will face more image problems because of his unprincipled fixation on a second term. He is too obsessed with power to learn the lessons of power.  He should be licking his wounds after his political humiliation in APC, instead of jumping to PDP where he may be further humiliated.

He should be told that illumination is often accompanied by blindness. The perceived plus of his defection prevents him from seeing the minus.

Femi Macaulay

 

It is thought-provoking that two law courts, in three years, rubbished the construction. “State of Osun” does not mean Osun State, according to the courts, and the constructions should not be used interchangeably.

The latest rejection of the construction happened on June 3 when Justice Mathias Agboola of the Osun State High Court, Osogbo, declared that, legally and constitutionally, “State of Osun” did not exist. He also declared that, under the Nigerian constitution, only Osun State could be said to exist.

According to a report, Justice Agboola, “while delivering a judgement in a case brought before the court by a lawyer, Mr Kanmi Ajibola, against the state government over a personal tax of N5.3m that the state Internal Revenue Service asked him to pay, said it amounted to ‘artistic colouration’ when ‘Osun State’ is referred to as ‘State of Osun’.”

The report said: “Ajibola had approached the court to seek redress over tax demanded from him which he said was punitive because he usually held opposing views to those of the immediate past governor, Rauf Aregbesola.

“The lawyer also urged the court to declare the law upon which the tax was based as illegal since it was a law made by ‘The House of Assembly of State of Osun,’ a body unknown to the constitution.”

According to the judge, “The issue of Osun State and the ‘State of Osun’ is a loud one,” adding that lawyers working for the state should enlighten the authorities about the legal implications of referring to Osun State as the “State of Osun.”

He, however, advised Ajibola to seek redress on the tax matters through other procedures laid down by the tax law, then if all failed, he could return to court.

On the issue of the continued use of the invalid construction, the problem may well be unenlightened power. It may well be that the unenlightened are in power, and prefer the fog of unenlightenment.

More importantly, in December 2017, Justice Yinka Afolabi of the Osun State High Court, Ilesha, “declared that the change of name to ‘State of Osun’ by Gov. Rauf Aregbesola is illegal, null and void.” Justice Afolabi “ruled that the law and its makers were unknown to the 1999 Constitution.”

According to a report, “Delivering judgment which lasted more than one hour, the judge chided Aregbesola for deliberately and singlehandedly renaming the state, contrary to the known norms and the nation’s constitution.

“He also declared that the makers of the law, who are currently serving as members of the State House of Assembly, were not sworn in as members of the ‘State of Osun House of Assembly’ but as members of Osun State House of Assembly going by the seventh schedule of the constitution.

“The judge said that since the creation of the state in 1991, previous governments used the constitutionally envisaged name of Osun State. All the other 35 states of the federation, he added, had not deviated from the constitutional names given to them.”

Justice Afolabi’s words: “The executive governor of the state changed the name in 2011. The renaming of a state goes further and deeper for anyone to singlehandedly do.

”To re-order the name of Osun State as ‘State of Osun’ is hereby declared as illegal, null and void.

”On the oath of allegiance, I want to state that the Seventh Schedule is part of the law.

“It is not a mere draft or mere oath. It does not give room for any alteration. After deposing to an oath of office, you cannot turn around to do otherwise.”

It is noteworthy that this case was also instituted by Ajibola, who had challenged the legality of the “State of Osun Land Use Charge Law.’’

“Ajibola had gone to court in 2016, asking for certain reliefs after being served a notice by a private company known as ‘Interspatial Limited,’ “ said a report.

“The notice was christened ‘State of Osun Land Use Charge Annual Demand Notice’ and signed by one Mrs A. Ogunlumade, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.

”According to him, the notice was addressed to him as the property owner of No. 42, Onigbogi Street off Ibala, Ilesa West, and served on Aug. 15, 2016.

“Some of the reliefs he sought for included a declaration that the ‘State of Osun Land Use Charge Law 2016,’ having been enacted by a legislative body that is not known to the constitution and the state not known to the 1999 constitution, be declared illegal and unconstitutional.

“Ajibola also asked the court to set aside the ‘State of Osun Land Use Charge Law 2016’ having been enacted by a legislative body that is not known to the constitution and the state not known to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).”

The judge granted all the seven prayers of the plaintiff. After the verdict, Ajibola had said:  ”The judgement has pronounced ‘State of Osun’ dead and so be it.

For now, the judgement subsists except there is any other contrary opinion by the higher court. The effectiveness of the judgement is still standing.

As it is, all laws promulgated and businesses done by the ‘State of Osun’ have been nullified and it will be an act of illegality to use the name ‘State of Osun’ for any transaction.”

But in an 11-page notice of appeal filed on January 4, 2018, at the Court of Appeal in Akure, the then State Attorney General, Dr Ajibola Basiru, raised eight grounds of appeal against the judgement, asking the appellate court to set it aside.

The matter is still at the Appeal Court, which means that Justice Afolabi’s judgement invalidating the construction has not been overturned by a higher court.

But “officials of the state are still using ‘State of Osun’ in their official engagements and communications,” according to a report. This amounts to disregarding the law.

When then Governor Rauf Aregbesola introduced the construction, it generated controversy; and the court cases reflect the controversy.

Only the former governor can say why he introduced the construction in the first place. It was a pointless introduction of a pointless construction.

Femi Macaulay

It is a collision between political power and poetic power. The poet seeks to speak truth to power; and the politician seeks to silence the voice of truth.

This is the picture, more than three weeks after the police arrested Rotimi Jolayemi, a journalist and oral poet, also known as Oba Akewi, on May 5, and detained him in Abuja

Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed should feel embarrassed that his name has been linked with the absurd arrest and detention of Jolayemi.

Mohammed should also feel embarrassed that the police had arrested and detained Jolayemi’s wife and siblings in order to force the journalist to give himself up.

“His wife, Dorcas,  and his brothers – John Jolayemi and Joseph Jolayemi – were all detained in Kwara State,”  and “were kept in detention for eight days, nine days and two days respectively as hostages, while the journalist was being sought,” according to a statement by the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).

According to Jolayemi’s wife, “They said they wanted to arrest my husband and he fled to Maro in Kwara State. They said I was the one who advised him to run away and switch off his phone. They played a recording of my phone conversation with my husband.

“Apparently, they had bugged my phone and that of my husband. I admitted that, indeed, I told my husband to run away, but it wasn’t a crime because I didn’t harbour him. I only asked him not to come home, which is what a typical wife would do.

I heard the police wanted to arrest him and I didn’t know the reason why they wanted to arrest him. I told him to run away because I wanted him to be safe. They said for that, I would pay for it. I was brought before their boss and the man insulted me, calling me a stupid woman.

He said I shouldn’t have advised my husband to run away. The man said I would pay for it and they took my statement. I was there from April 29 to May 6.”

She added: “While I was in detention, they played a recording of the poem that was recited by my husband. They asked if I could confirm if the voice belonged to my husband and I said it was his voice.

They said how could my husband be insulting Lai Mohammed, a minister. They said it was Lai Mohammed that ordered them to arrest him.”

After Jolayemi surrendered to the police in Ilorin, Kwara State, it took the police more than two weeks to come up with a charge against him. The charge read: “That you, Jolayemi Oba Akewi, male, aged 43,  on or about the 14th day of April 2020 at Osolo Compound Ekan Nla, Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did send audio message through your Android phone device to a group WhatsApp platform known as ‘Ekan Sons and Daughters’ and which went viral immediately after it was posted for the purpose of causing annoyance, insult, hatred and ill will toward the current Minister of Information and Culture, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,  and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015.”

The “audio message” in question was critical oral poetry by Jolayemi, who is also Vice-Chairman, Freelance and Independent Broadcasters Association of Nigeria, Osun State chapter. So, Jolayemi will face trial for his poetic criticism.  It is not clear if he is also being accused of making his poetry go viral.

The minister’s spokesman, Segun Adeyemi, has said his boss should not be blamed for Jolayemi’s trouble with the police.

Who complained to the police?  Why did the police desperately arrest and detain the journalist’s wife and siblings? That was unjust, unreasonable and unlawful.  The CDHR said Jolayemi was being illegally detained at the Federal Investigation Bureau of the Nigeria Police Force, Abuja. Why?

It may well be that the minister is not responsible for the actions of the police.  But he should feel concerned that such actions were carried out concerning a matter that concerns him.

Jolayemi’s wife also said his family had tried to get Mohammed to drop the case.  ”According to my brothers-in-law,” she said, “they sent representatives to plead with Lai Mohammed to drop the case.

They said the Oba of Ilala in Kwara State and some other traditional rulers had gone to the minister to plead with him, but he has refused to respond.

Some even went to the minister’s hometown in Oro to plead with elders in his community, but there has been no positive response.”  These efforts to placate Mohammed suggest that the journalist’s family is certain about his role in the affair.

What prompted Jolayemi to compose the Yoruba oral poem in question?  It is a scathing work full of unprintable lines.  The poet also punched Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouk.  Jolayemi’s work is not a panegyric.

It is confrontational and provocative. The poet was probably unprepared for the police, which is why he went into hiding initially.  Did he expect Mohammed to laugh off the poem’s content?

However, the poem’s content does not justify the poet’s arrest and detention. It also does not justify the arrest and detention of his wife and siblings.

People in power need to learn how to live with criticism, even the foul type. The reckless reaction, allegedly by Mohammed, has only helped to further draw public attention to the poem’s content.

Jolayemi has been accused of committing “an offence contrary to Section 24(1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015.” Section 24(1) of the Act made it an offence for any person to “knowingly or intentionally send a message or other matter by means of computer systems of network that (b) he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another or causes such a message to be sent.”

The sentence on conviction for such an offence is a fine of up to N7, 000,000 or imprisonment for up to three years or both.

In this case, the prosecution will have to prove that the poet’s criticism is based on falsehood. But is it?

By Femi Macaulay

It is commendable that, from September, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Oyo State, will have a campus in Osoogun, where the celebrated cleric after whom it is named was born and captured by slave dealers in 1821. The private university was established in January 2005.

“Following a decision from the Governing Council meeting held via Zoom Video Conferencing app on Friday, May 15, 2020, the University is to register its presence at Osoogun town, to further immortalise the Anglican Sage, recognising his works, refined values, achievements and sacrifices,” the university said on its website.

According to the university’s website, “The Vice-Chancellor, together with the Bishop of the Ajayi Crowther Anglican Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Kemi Oduntan, and a native of Osoogun, Dr. Sola Ojenike, visited this site to earmark parcels of land, about 40 hectares landmass for the Ajayi Crowther University, Osoogun campus.

“This campus will host the Centre for Anglican Communion Studies, Centre for Mission Studies, Department of History and Archival Studies, Entrepreneurship Centre and Faculty of Agriculture which is to take off in September 2020.”

The plans include the Crowther Museum and Archive and a mausoleum for Bishop Ajayi Crowther “whose remains need to be reburied in his home town Osoogun.”

This development is significant, coming after the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) had chosen the Crowther monument site as one of the country’s 100 most important monuments during the centenary celebration of Nigeria’s amalgamation in 2014.

Rt. Rev. Oduntan brought the collaboration between the university and the community to my notice. He is a passionate promoter of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther.  The Baale of Osoogun, Chief Moses Osuolale, “warmly received” the Vice-Chancellor of Ajayi Crowther University, Rt. Rev. Prof. Dapo Asaju, signifying the community’s backing.

I visited the Crowther monument site some years ago when I attended a Thanksgiving/Holy Communion Service in the village to mark the yearly Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther Day Celebration. The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, has declared October 3 Crowther Remembrance Day.  I saw the storied tree. It is said that Crowther and other captives were tied to this tree before they were sold into slavery.

Nearby, there were ruins of a place said to be Crowther’s home, where he was captured. There was no architecture in the ruins. A signpost said to have been erected by the Iseyin local government to indicate touristic intentions had no visible inscription.  Crowther’s statue stood at the centre of the village.  The state of a secondary school named Bishop Ajayi Crowther Memorial High School showed neglect.

In October 2013, the Bishop Ajayi Crowther Diocese in Iseyin, Oyo State, organised a fundraiser for the completion of a new building for the Bishop Ajayi Crowther Memorial Anglican Church in Osoogun.  The old church, built between 1958 and 1960, was in a dishonourable state. The new church is still work in progress.  The truth is that the church needs financial support for completion.

The birthplace of the illustrious cleric who in 1864 was ordained as the first African bishop of the Anglican Church at a ceremony in England should have a befitting church.  It is a testimony to Crowther’s quality that in the same year he was also given a Doctorate of Divinity by the prestigious University of Oxford.

It was in Osoogun, in present-day Iseyin local government area, Oyo State, that his life began as well as the story of his life.  It was in his village, Osoogun, that Fulani slave raiders seized him in 1821. He was eventually sold to Portuguese slave traders at the age of 12. The young Ajayi of Yoruba ancestry was rescued by the British navy and taken to Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Crowther described his enslavement as “the unhappy, but which I am now taught in other respects to call blessed day, which I shall never forget in my life.” In his progression to priestly prominence, he took an unlikely path, helped by unlikely destiny helpers. For him, slavery turned out to be a springboard to celebrity.

It is noteworthy that in 2015 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, publicly expressed remorse for the sin against Crowther at a   ‘thanksgiving and repentance service’ in England.    Welby is the leader of the Church of England and the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. His apology on behalf of the Anglican Church spoke volumes about Crowther’s place in history.

Welby said: “We in the Church of England need to say sorry that someone was properly and rightly consecrated Bishop and then betrayed and let down and undermined. It was wrong.”  He also said in his sermon: “In spite of immense hardship and despite the racism of many whites, he evangelised so effectively that he was eventually ordained Bishop, over much protest. He led his missionary diocese brilliantly, but was in the end falsely accused and had to resign, not long before his death.”

Crowther died of a stroke in Lagos in 1891, which was possibly connected with his desolation. “We are sorry for his suffering at the hands of Anglicans in this country,” Welby said.

Described as “extraordinary,” Crowther played an undeniably effective evangelistic role in the early days of Christianity in Nigeria.  Not for nothing is he regarded as the father of Anglicanism in Nigeria.  “Today, well over 70 million Christians in Nigeria are his spiritual heirs,” Welby said in tribute to his pioneering efforts.

Crowther’s achievements are remarkable, considering his unremarkable beginnings. Following his conversion to Christianity and his baptism in 1825, he adopted the name of a prominent British clergyman of the Anglican Church Missionary Society (CMS). He studied in England and attended the Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone, where he advanced his exceptional interest in languages, which became of immense use in evangelism.  He made history when he was ordained as the first African bishop of the Anglican Church.

Crowther’s language skills produced the first Yoruba translation of the Bible, which was completed in the 1880s, and a Yoruba version of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. These projects demonstrate how seriously he took his Christianity and his evangelism. He also produced primers for the Igbo language and the Nupe language.

Osoogun is a place of history; and Crowther is a man of history. The Osoogun campus of Ajayi Crowther University will make the community visible, and should help develop the village.  Other projects to promote Crowther’s significance should spring up.

 

By Femi Macaulay

It has been a week of passionate tributes and intense counter-tributes following the sudden exit of Abba Kyari, 67, who was President Muhammadu Buhari’s powerful and influential Chief of Staff for five years until he died of COVID-19 on April 17.

In a statement, President Buhari said: “Mallam Abba Kyari was the very best of us. He was made of the stuff that makes Nigeria great.”

There were contrary reactions to Kyari’s death. Perhaps the most striking were remarks by former Kano State commissioner for works and infrastructure Mu’azu Magaji, who was sacked for his “unguarded utterances” against Kyari.

Kano’s commissioner for information Muhammad Garba justified Magaji’s removal from office: “The action of a public servant, personal or otherwise reflects back on the government and therefore, the Ganduje administration would not tolerate people in official capacities engaging in personal vendetta or otherwise.” According to him, Kyari “led a life worthy of emulation by serving his country to the best of his ability.”

A report said Magaji “had taken to his Facebook page to celebrate Kyari’s demise, describing it as freedom for Nigeria.” “Writing in English and Hausa,” The PUNCH reported, “Magaji stated, “Win win… Nigeria is free and Abba Kyari ya mutu a cikin annoba… Mutuwar shahada in Har da Imani mutum ya cika.”

“The translation of the post reads, “Win win… Nigeria is free and Abba Kyari has died in the epidemic… the death of a martyr… if he is a believer, the person is complete.”

The report continued: “In a subsequent post, the commissioner said the office of the chief of staff to the President is too powerful and it should be broken into two.

“Magaji wrote, “For the good of Nigeria and Mr President… The CoS office should be split… A PPS (principal private secretary) and a humble manager of his office as CoS… It is currently too powerful for a non-elected official.”

The report also said: “Reacting to comments that his post elicited, the commissioner said it was nothing personal. He said Kyari was only a support staffer at the Presidential Villa and his death should be treated as such.

“Magaji wrote, “Nigeria is bigger than any individual… While praying for the president’s late support staff… Ours is to prevent a repeat of his non-accountable domineering era!

“In institutional democracy, no individual is bigger than the state… Our interest is to get equity and capacity in the highest position of power. It’s not personal!

“I am not a hypocrite and I won’t pretend! While at a personal level I pray Allah to grant Abba Kyari Jannah… I sincerely believe Nigeria needed a better CoS period!”

According to another report, “Magaji, on his Facebook page had written, “It’s very, very important we put things in perspective so that we can save our system from punitive unconstitutional usurpers in the future!

“Democracy & democratic equity does not by itself strive… It must be guarded and protected… One person, just one person can set a dangerous precedence!

“When you are all done with the pretence and crocodile tears, we will do a review in overriding interest of the Nation and its people!

“I am perfectly aware of the storm I am in… The fact however is I know what comes from the heart or that what is purchased! You all will come around.”

Magaji had sounded like a man who knew what he was talking about, and would be ready to defend the things he had said. But when the consequences came, he changed his tune, saying his Facebook posts had been misinterpreted.

”In an emotional reaction to my posting,” Magaji said, “agents around the office of the chief of staff misunderstood my whole meaning, infuriated from the loss of their benefactor, as such petitioned my principal His Excellency Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the Governor of Kano State, they twisted the narrative with explanation completely out of context and lacing it with religious and cultural connotations that made it necessary for our Principal the Executive Governor to show leadership and solidarity with the dead by relieving me off my position in Kano State as his Commissioner of Works and Infrastructure.”

He explained that “The use of “win win phrase” is basically an attempt to explain the Islamic Promise on the people that died as a result of any kind of pandemic. The late Mallam Abba Kyari was privileged to die as a result of Covid-19, making him among the beneficiaries in Islam. He is conferred with the automatic privilege of martyrdom…By this, the death of Mallam Abba Kyari is a big win for him, which is almost the dream of every Muslim.”

What he said next in the statement gave him away as someone talking out of both sides of his mouth: “On the other hand, Nigeria equally have the opportunity to restructure the office of the Chief of staff, where I called Mr President to ensure that we can utilize the pandemic challenges into more strengths, by disintegrating the power of the office for a rapid administrative flow, which over and above anything, our constitutional democracy is meant to achieve and function so often.”

Magaji’s explanation suggests that he had a rethink, and chose to be politically correct. His effort to explain what he meant was simply damage control. “I am so sorry for any pain I may have caused both the families of the late chief of staff and my boss His Excellency Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. I am forever loyal to my boss; the Governor of Kano State and indebted to all the people of Kano state,” he said.

This drama has shown how freedom of thought and freedom of expression are controlled in the political environment. Magaji’s punishment for his observations on Kyari and the office of the president’s chief of staff does not mean they are untrue. He is a casualty of Kyari’s death who has exposed the Governor Umar Ganduje administration’s game of political correctness.

Paradoxically, perhaps the ultimate tribute to Kyari is that his death is an opportunity for the country to redefine the position of chief of staff to the president.