The Nation Newspaper

Category: Femi Macaulay

  • A presidential apology

    By Femi Macaulay

    IT took the power of a protest, involving women and children, to make President Muhammadu Buhari apologise to the people of the oil-rich Niger Delta for the Federal Government’s age-long neglect of the region. Buhari, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Enang, apologised for the bad governance responsible for the region’s underdevelopment   during the reopening of Oil Mining Lease (OML)-25 facility in coastal Belema in Kula Kingdom, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, on October 10, more than two years after a shocking protest had stopped activities at the site.

    Buhari said: “We are coming here at a very good time. Just two days ago, the draft 2020 budget was presented to the National Assembly. Now that I have seen what you are going through, we are going to take this message to the members of the National Assembly, to redirect the budget to know what they are providing for you.

    “We have been to the communities (in Kula Kingdom). I felt touched that the people were asking for schools, hospitals and potable water in 2019, after 40 years of oil and gas being taken from their soils. I scooped water from the pond that the people drink. It was smeared with crude oil.

    “On behalf of the nation, I apologise to you. We will change for the better. We will not only build schools, hospitals and provide potable water for you; we will provide complete communities for you. We will work with the Rivers State government, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), amnesty office and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.”

    A report said: “There was also the groundbreaking of 1.5 million-litre potable water and 12-kilometre treated water reticulation project for Oko-Ama and Belema by the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari.”

    Buhari’s picture captures the paradox of painful plenitude in the oil-producing region. It is inexcusable that the oil-rich area reflects not only a lack of prosperity, but also perplexing poverty. Sadly, the picture is true of not only the communities in Kula Kingdom, but also most of the communities in the region that produces the country’s oil wealth. Buhari’s apology and promise will be meaningful when they translate into action.

    The Belema flow station had been occupied by residents of the Belema and Offoin-Ama communities since August 11, 2017. At the time, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), in a statement, said it “had carried out an emergency shutdown of production ahead of the illegal occupation but has been unable to access the facilities since then to ensure a safe shutdown over a prolonged period. The continued illegal occupation for several days exposes people at the plant to higher safety risks, as anything could trigger a spill or fire with potentially serious consequences.”

    SDPC added that it remained “committed to the development of the Niger Delta, especially host communities including Belema and Kula. The SPDC JV partners have contributed $29b to the economic growth of Nigeria between 2012 and 2016.” Before the disruption, the Belema flow station produced about 35 barrels of crude oil per day.

    The protesters, who occupied the facility for more than two years, had suffered neglect for too long to be bothered about the safety issues raised by SDPC. Their decision to occupy the facility and disrupt normal activities there showed that they were desperate to get the attention of the authorities.  In a move to resolve the problem, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, had visited the facility last month. A report said he “pleaded with the women to return to their various homes with an assurance that their requests would be addressed.”

    The Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) Chairman, Chief Edwin Clark, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Godknows Igali, said during the reopening of the facility:”When the Group Managing Director of NNPC came here on September 28, he promised to grant all your requests, with steps now being taken to fulfill the promises. We are all winners. We have, by this struggle of the past two years, redefined the struggle for resource control.”

    The first commercial oil discovery in the country happened in Oloibiri in present-day Bayelsa State, in 1956; and the first oil field began production in 1958. More than six decades later, the story of underdevelopment in the Niger Delta has not changed, and will not change unless there is a change in the thinking of the political players who can cause changes to happen.

    Nigeria is said to produce about 2.5 million barrels of crude oil daily. The country is the largest producer of oil in Africa and sixth largest in the world. The country’s oil-producing states are: Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ondo, Edo, Imo and Abia. The first four states account for 80% of the crude oil produced. This explains why members of the underdeveloped host communities at the centre of the occupation of the oil facility in Rivers State feel shortchanged.

    Ironically, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) may well be among those responsible for the region’s underdevelopment. The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, was quoted as saying:  “Let us be clear on this, it will not be business as usual; it will be business unusual as the present leadership would not tolerate persistent underdevelopment of the region. We have become a laughing stock as people now say we (Niger Deltans) are the ones responsible for the underdevelopment of the region. The NDDC is seen as a conduit for empowering the pockets of politicians and hangers-on. We will not do things the way we used to do it. The minister will exercise the powers of the President, not just to supervise the NDDC, but to control its affairs.”

    Akpabio lamented that “for over 20 years, NDDC could not complete its headquarters. It is disheartening NDDC has been paying over N200 million every year as rent…It is shameful that in the nine states of the Niger Delta, NDDC failed to have one legacy project, such as a specialist hospital.”

    It remains to be seen whether President Buhari’s apologetic intervention will change the Niger Delta’s underdevelopment.

  • Who is safe?

    If the police rescued 231 kidnap victims countrywide in two months, August and September, it suggests that the kidnap crisis has escalated.   The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, interpreted the number of rescued kidnap victims as evidence of “the stronger relationship between the police and the citizens.” In the same period, Adamu said, the police arrested 216 kidnapping suspects. He announced these figures during his monthly conference with senior police officers in Abuja, on October 3.

    The police leadership should play down self-congratulation, and focus on self-examination. The number of rescued kidnap victims raises questions about the number of unrescued kidnap victims and the meaning of rescue. Kidnap victims who are released, possibly after a ransom is paid, can’t be said to have been rescued.  Was Adamu talking about kidnap victims who were set free by the police, and didn’t have to pay a ransom to kidnappers?

    Interestingly, a few days before the police chief released figures meant to highlight the anti-kidnapping effort, news of the release of Mrs Ogere Siasia, octogenarian mother of former Nigeria coach and player, Samson Siasia, who was kidnapped more than two months ago, had grabbed the headlines. “She wept like a baby, tears rolling down freely from her eyes before a battery of television cameras and a horde of reporters,” a September 30 report said.

    “It was terrible,” she said, asking: “Why do they like to kidnap me? … “They said my son is a millionaire.” Three days after she was kidnapped, her kidnappers demanded   N70m as ransom. They later reduced the ransom to N50m.  It is unclear whether a ransom was paid.

    A gang of gunmen abducted the old woman from her home in Odoni, Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, around 2am on July 15. Mrs Siasia’s case was particularly striking because she had been kidnapped once before, in November 2015, and was released after 12 days in captivity.  It is unclear whether a ransom was paid then. It is also unclear whether her previous kidnappers had returned to kidnap her again. It is possible that kidnappers could try to kidnap her a third time.

    Another striking aspect of Mrs Siasia’s second abduction was that the man who took a ransom to her kidnappers was held hostage. “According to him, on getting to where they directed him, gunmen surrounded his boat, blindfolded him and took him away,” a report said.

    Those who kidnapped Mrs Siasia on both occasions are still unknown and unapprehended. Her second abduction and captivity for more than two months further exposed police incapacity. The incident, from the beginning to the end, was bad for the public image of the police and their anti-kidnapping campaign.

    Kidnappers grabbed the headlines again on October 3, the same day the Inspector-General of Police pubicised the number of kidnap suspects arrested in two months. The police spokesman in Kaduna State, DSP Yakubu Sabo, said in a statement:  “The Command received an information through DPO Tall Gate, in the early hours of today 03/10/2019 at about 0310hrs that, some armed men gained entry into the Engravers College, a Boarding secondary school in a remote area near Kakau Daji village in Chikun L.G.A and took away two staff of the college and six (6) female students to unknown destination. On receipt of that information, the Command immediately mobilised combined teams of Anti-kidnapping, SARS, and conventional police to the area for possible rescue of the victims and arresting the perpetrators of the unfortunate incident. IGP’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) has been contacted for technical support.” The kidnappers are said to have demanded a ransom of N50million.

    According to a report, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai said he received intelligence report three months ago that kidnappers might target schools in his state. What was done to safeguard schools in the state?

    El-Rufai unwittingly exposed his administration’s failure to protect Engravers College. He said:  “Until the kidnapping happened, I didn’t know the school. It is right in the middle of the bush along the Abuja/Kaduna road. It’s in the middle of nowhere really, that’s why it was vulnerable. Other schools are protected…” Was Engravers College the only unprotected school?

    The governor spoke glibly about his administration’s security approach regarding schools, which sadly failed to protect Engravers College:  “Schools are being watched and we do regular surveillance. We use the Nigerian Air Force planes, we use drones. We do regular surveillance all across the state and we get intelligence as to likely targets. So, with the help of security agencies, we are doing the best we can on this.”

    It is reassuring that the Inspector-General of Police also said  special trainings were being organised for the special units, including the police mobile force, special forces, counter-terrorism unit, anti-robbery detachments, anti-kidnapping squads and the criminal investigation operatives. “This is with the intention of equipping them with the right orientation for policing in the 21st century and to align their operations within the expectations of the law and the citizens,” Adamu stated.  But the anti-kidnapping campaign needs less talk and more action.

    Not the kind of mob action at Dutse Alhaji area in Abuja on September 30 when three suspected kidnappers were burned alive.  “The suspects were three young men,” a report said. A Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) officer, Mr Aminu Umar, was quoted as saying that the incident happened at about 8:00 a.m. when a lady in a moving vehicle was heard screaming for help.

    Umar’s disturbing account: “The lady was suddenly pushed out of the vehicle while screaming. A motorist, who saw what had happened, pulled over in front of the vehicle and blocked it under the Dutse Bridge. From there, Okada riders (motorcyclists) surrounded the vehicle and told them to come out. They asked them if the vehicle was one chance (kidnappers) and the next thing; they started beating them and eventually set them on fire, and also the vehicle.”

    If kidnappings and kidnappers continue to grab the headlines at such an alarming rate, then who is safe?

  • El-Rufai: Beyond the show

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has some explaining to do. After grabbing the headlines when he took his six-year-old son, Abubakar, to Capital School, Malali, Kaduna, a public school, to begin his primary education, on September 23, El-Rufai has questions to answer.

    True, El-Rufai has been commended publicly for putting his son in a public school, but he has also been criticised publicly for allegedly playing to the gallery.

    Senator Shehu Sani, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the eighth National Assembly, told reporters in Kaduna that the governor’s action “was simply a 2023 political stunt set up for the media and people who live outside Kaduna because those who reside here know what public primary schools look like.” What do public primary schools in Kaduna State look like? Why did El-Rufai put his son in that particular public primary school?

    Sani said: “It is not because I have political difference with him, no. But whoever lives in Kaduna State knew that what the governor did with his son by enrolling him in a public school was just a comedy…He would have done better by upgrading schools in Kaduna. You cannot spend N195million in a particular school and then take your son and the media to that school and think you have done anything different.”

    Is it true that the El-Rufai administration spent N195 million to improve Capital School, Malali? How was the school improved? Why was the alleged cost of the improvement so high?

    Sani added: “I know that the children of former Governor Ahmed Makarfi attended this same Capital School. I also know that other public officials’ children go to that school too. So if you are not being cunning, deceptive and comical, you would have allowed all your children to enroll in public schools. Public school doesn’t mean primary schools alone; there are public secondary schools and public universities.”

    How many children does El-Rufai have? How many of them are in school? How many of them are in public schools? Abubakar was quoted as saying:  “I am sad that I will miss my old school, my friends and my teachers. But I have to help my father keep his promise.”  Which school was he talking about?

    El-Rufai wants to seen as a man who keeps his word. In a state broadcast in December 2017, he had promised to enroll his son in a public school when he is six years old.  At the time he made the promise, he was two years into his first four-year term as governor. He had said: “We are determined to fix public education and raise their standards so that private education will become only a luxury. As we make progress, we will require our senior officials to enroll their children in public schools. And I will by personal example ensure that my son that will be six years of age in 2019 will be enrolled in a public school in Kaduna State, by God’s grace.”

    His first term ended in May 2019. It wasn’t certain that he would still be governor of the state in September 2019 when he put his son in a public primary school. El-Rufai was re-elected governor for a second term, which is why he was able to grab the headlines the way he did. What if El-Rufai had not been re-elected? Would he still have put his son in a public primary school?

    El-Rufai’s words to journalists after the show at Capital School, Malali: “I made that commitment because I believe that it is only when all political leaders have their children in public schools that we will pay due attention to quality of public education. I went to a public school like this. In fact, the school I went to is not as good as this one, but here I am, because of the quality teaching I got.”

    He added: “My intention is to ensure that all our public schools offer quality education, and so we are encouraging all our senior public servants to send their children to public schools. Once the public schools are improved to a point they are nearly as good as or even better than private schools, no one will waste his money taking his child to private school.”

    What is the cost of primary education at Capital School, Malali? Who are the parents of the children in the school?

    In January, El-Rufai had publicised how his administration reformed the state’s education sector. While playing host to the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Ms Amina Mohammed, he said his first-term administration inherited 4,200 public primary schools that were in a bad condition. He also said that in 2015 he had inherited enrollment rate stagnant at 1.1 million pupils, with about 50 per cent of pupils taking lessons on the floor because of lack of furniture.

    He said: “In our effort to improve teaching quality standards, the Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) had in June 2017 conducted a Primary Four competency test for teachers.” According to him, 21,780 out of 33,000 teachers that sat for the competency examination failed.  He stated:  “As part of our education reform programme, we sacked the failed teachers and recruited 25,000 new teachers…We have also expanded access to education by making the first nine years of schooling free for boys and the entire twelve years of primary and secondary education free for girls. This has led to increase in School enrolment from 1.1 million to 2.1 million almost doubling the number of pupils in the State.”

    In a tweet on his education sector reforms, El- Rufai had said: “After a review of the cost and analysis of the demographic trends data as it relates to overcrowding in the classrooms, we decided to build multi-storey school blocks with more classrooms to accommodate 30 to 40 pupils per class. By January 2017, about 500 of the schools had been rehabilitated at the cost of about N6 billion. Our investments have contributed to the total overhauling of the education sector. We have introduced a Schools Rehabilitation Programme to provide decent classrooms, furniture, water and toilet facilities.”

    But El-Rufai needs to respond to Sani’s remarks and other remarks that call into question his dramatic appearance with his son at Capital School, Malali.

  • Allegation of duress

    It’s unsurprising that Senator Rochas Okorocha, the immediate past governor of Imo State, is happy about his recent victory at the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal. It was another victory for him, after his controversial election as the Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District.  But the tribunal’s judgement in Okorocha’s favour didn’t lay the controversy to rest.

    The election petitions tribunal had dismissed petitions filed by Jones Onyereri  of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Osita Izunaso of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA),  challenging Okorocha’s victory  in the February 23 National Assembly election.  The petitioners claimed the Imo West Senatorial District election was characterised by irregularities, including intimidation and violence. But the tribunal held that the petitioners were unable to prove the allegations.

    When the Returning Officer, Prof Innocent Ibeawuchi, alleged that he was forced to declare Okorocha of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the poll, the allegation stained the winner as well as the win. Ibeawuchi had told reporters that he was held hostage from 7pm on February 24 till 11am the following day.  He was quoted as saying:  “I was compelled to announce the result which was inconclusive. I am a man of integrity and it is not true that the governor slapped me but I was held hostage by agents working for him. I was manhandled and I thank God I came back alive.”

    In an interview published on September 15, Okorocha said: “What is good about the judgement is that it has gone a long way to prove my innocence and to tell the world that my victory was not under duress, which was an action intended to paint me bad in the eyes of Nigerians. The tribunal has come to affirm that the election was not under duress; that I did not use force to get the victory as the senator representing Imo West. That for me is good news.”

    According to Okorocha, “The Returning Officer had announced the results and I was shocked after four days to hear that the Returning Officer said his child was kidnapped and that he was made to do the announcement under duress. That would mean somebody forcing you to do what you are not supposed to do. He calculated the votes from the wards for more than two hours and confirmed that everything was correct. So, where was the duress? When the court asked him where the duress came from, he could not answer it and that was when the court described him as a dramatist. That was a fabricated story which does not reflect any practical reality.”

    Now contrast Okorocha’s narrative with this February 25 report: “Before reeling out figures at the district collation centre in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Office in Orlu, Mr Ibeawuchi, a professor, said he was being held “under duress” to announce the results. “My name is Ibeawuchi Izuchukwu Innocent, a professor at the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), the returning officer for Imo West (Orlu) senatorial zone”, the official said. My area commander, my P.Os; the party agents here present; members of the press; ladies and gentlemen. I have been held hostage here for days so I’m trying to ease off and take my life home back to my children and for the sake of that I am calling these results under duress,” the returning officer said. He then reeled out the results.” Okorocha polled 97,762 votes to win the election, while Onyereri had 68,117 votes and Izunaso got 30,084 votes, Ibeawuchi had announced.

    Based on the don’s account, INEC withheld Okorocha’s certificate of return. Okorocha controversially got a certificate of return from INEC on June 11, following the order of a Federal High Court in Abuja. Justice Okon Abang’s judgement on June 7 favoured Okorocha who had challenged INEC’s decision to withhold his certificate of return. The judge said:”Once a declaration of the results has been made, that decision is final and can only be reviewed by the election petition tribunal and not by INEC… Once the declaration is made under section 68(c) of the Electoral Act, INEC has become functus officio (has completed its responsibility) and INEC has no lawful authority to withhold the Certificate of Return for any reason whatsoever.”

    According to Justice Abang, “If indeed, it is true that the Returning Officer made the declaration under duress, it is for the defendants who lost in the election to proceed to the election tribunal to challenge the election under section 138 of the Electoral Act… INEC has not, in its counter-affidavit, suggested that the plaintiff did not win the election. INEC did not declare the election as inconclusive. INEC did not declare that the election was won by any other person.”

    In response, NEC had highlighted “the likely consequences of this judgment for our electoral process in particular and our democracy in general.” The commission said in a statement: “Obviously, persons who seek elective offices could perceive in this judgment an irrelevance of due process and acting within the law.”

    “It is not farfetched that some of them could in future disregard laid-down processes, including voting, arm themselves and mobilise thugs and compel Returning Officers to declare them elected, irrespective of the true outcomes of the elections.

    “Moreover, it may become increasingly difficult for the commission to convince its officials that they are safe to carry out their legitimate functions without fear of being harassed, held to ransom or visited with bodily harm.”

    Does Okorocha’s victory at the election petitions tribunal mean Ibeawuchi’s allegation of duress is a fabrication? If  it is true that Ibeawuchi had declared Okorocha the winner under duress, why did the petitions against Okorocha fail at the tribunal?  Why were the petitioners unable to prove the allegation of duress? Why was Ibeawuchi unable to prove his allegation of duress? What was needed to prove the allegation of duress?

    The problem of electoral interference by candidates and their backers has various dimensions. A democratic system must not tolerate declaration of election winners under duress because democracy is not about duress. The big question is: If there was no duress, why did Ibeawuchi make an allegation of duress?

  • Unprogressive continuity

    Self-restraint is in short supply among Nigeria’s Senators when it comes to spending public funds ostensibly for their work. That explains why the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), BudgIT, Enough is Enough (EiE) and 6,721 concerned Nigerians filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, to  “restrain, prevent and stop the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) from paying or releasing N5.550 billion budgeted for purchase of luxury cars for principal members of the Ninth Senate, and to restrain and stop the Senate from collecting the money until the downward review of the amount proposed by the Senate.”

    Describing the planned spending as unjust, unfair and unconstitutional, the plaintiffs argued that “The money could be better allocated to more important sectors of the National Assembly expenditure – like constituency projects and National Assembly-endowed educational scholarships.”

    This case is an interesting development. It remains to be seen whether the court will see things from the plaintiffs’ perspective. The case would have been unnecessary if the senators had shown a sense of restraint. The   Senate wants to buy Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs for its 109 members at an estimated cost of about N50m each. Does it mean only this brand at such price is considered befitting?

    The leadership of the House of Representatives is yet to determine the type of vehicles to buy for its 360 members. A source was quoted as saying: “The N34 million jeeps and the N14 million cars used by the 2015- 2019 Senators and Honourable members were sold off to them at between N1 million and N1.5million each.”

    Obviously, it is important to question the National Assembly’s questionable benefits. Do the federal legislators deserve what they enjoy simply because of their status? The federal legislature is not supposed to be a place where lawmakers just enjoy and enjoy.

    The benefits federal lawmakers enjoy make them look like political adventurers who are more interested in their own personal prosperity than patriotic performance that will enhance the country’s development.

    It is contracts and contractors season at the National Assembly. “The management of the National Assembly is in the process of awarding contracts worth at least N10billion as part of the efforts to ease the work of the newly inaugurated 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives,” a report said.

    According to the report, there will be contracts to supply “cars, television sets, refrigerators, water dispensers and office equipment, such as desktop computers, laptops, printers, scanners, and photocopying machines.” The new items will replace the old ones used by members of the 8th National Assembly, which were sold to them at giveaway prices after their tenure.

    Last-minute sales of office items to outgoing federal lawmakers at ridiculously low prices reflected a culture of waste. The items included computers, scanners, photocopying machines, plasma television sets, microwave ovens, standing fans, deep freezers, refrigerators, furniture and rugs.  Those who bought them were expected to pay with money deducted from their severance package.

    A piece of information exposed some of the outgoing lawmakers as greedy for gain.  According to a report, “Although some of the lawmakers gave the acquired items to their aides and supporters, others chose to sell theirs to willing buyers within the National Assembly complex.”

    Of course, those who sold the items they bought were business-minded and interested in profit. It was profitable for such lawmakers to buy and sell because the items were sold to them at giveaway prices.  Eleven office items were said to cost a total of N367, 479.33.

    The report said: “The breakdown showed that a Samsung double door refrigerator was given out for N25, 000; HP Envy Core 13, N49, 000; Apple Ipad Air computer, N41, 980; LED TV Samsung UA4600AR 50, N59, 500.

    Shredding machine, N19,800; Water dispenser with bottle, N8,990; Photocopying machine Sharp Copier AR 6021 N57,172.00; Scanner HP Scanjet Pro 3900 Fi N20,130.00; HP Laserjet Pro M201 N10,038.00; Desktop Computer Model Envy 233  Touch screen;  and Suit hanger N1,900.00. Any member taking the entire 11 items would pay N349, 970, 50, with N17, 498.83 as VAT for items.” This means the cost of the 11 items is less than N400, 000.   However, the report said the current market value of the 11 items was over N3m. This is a list of some of the items and their market prices: “LED television, N300, 000; HP Envy Core 13, N400, 000; HP Desktop Envy233 , N420,000; Samsung double door refrigerator, N315,000; Sharp Copier AR6023, N380,000; HP Laserjet M201 dw, N120,000; HP Scanjet Pro 3500F1, N195,000; and Cway water dispenser, N50,000.

    It is convenient for those involved in the transactions to argue that the items were used items. But can this justify the low, low prices?  The point is that the items were still usable. Indeed, even though they were tagged “used,” the items were unlikely to go for such giveaway prices outside the National Assembly, observers argued.

    Now that the items have been sold to outgoing legislators, incoming legislators will need to be provided with new items. That’s how a culture of waste is perpetuated.

    Then there is the hot issue of running costs. A former senator, Shehu Sani, had told the world that every senator got N13.5m monthly to run things. This fantastic figure is in addition to their salaries, he revealed last year, while he was a member of the upper legislature. It doesn’t make sense that senators get so much to cover so-called running costs. Each member of the House of Representatives gets between N8m and N12m for running costs monthly, a report revealed last year. What does it take to run the offices of federal legislators? How much is surplus to requirements? How do the legislators produce evidence that the money for running costs was spent for running costs?

    None of the legislators in the National Assembly may be ready for change, given what they enjoy because things are the way they are. Unprogressive continuity isn’t the next level Nigerians expect under a progressive federal government, properly so called.

     

  • Babalakin: A vocal visionary

    If the people are ignorant of the government’s responsibility, the government should not be ignorant of its responsibility.  It is interesting that an important observer asserted:  “When we break down the issues, we’ll see that what we are suffering from in this country is very deep level of ignorance.” The speaker, Resort Group Chairman Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN), said this at the June 20 annual lecture of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos. He spoke on the theme “Infrastructure Development and Growth in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges.”

    Babalakin 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 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?”

    It is significant that a few days before Babalakin’s lecture, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had launched an investigation into N900b constituency projects in states. The probe seeks to verify constituency projects executed by immediate past senators and members of the House of Representatives in the 8th National Assembly between 2015 and 2018. The verification will involve 180 key projects in the 36 states, with at least five projects identified for tracking in each state. The first phase will be conducted in 12 states across the six geo-political zones of the country: Kogi and Benue (North-Central); Adamawa and Bauchi (North-East); Sokoto and Kano (North-West); Imo and Enugu (South-East); Lagos and Osun (South-West); and Akwa Ibom and Edo (South-South).

    A report said the commission “will make recoveries on projects/contracts confirmed to have been inflated or in which contractors underperformed or did not perform at all.”  ICPC Chairman Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye said: “The level of implementation of constituency projects in 16 focus states for 2015 is revealing. Out of 436 constituency projects for the year that were tracked, 145 were completed, 77 ongoing while 211 were not executed at all. For 2016, out of a total of 852 constituency projects in 20 states in the 2016 Budget that were tracked, 350 were completed, 118 were ongoing, 41 locations not specified in the budget and 343 not done or performed. In 2017, a total of 1,228 constituency projects in the budget were tracked for performance as at June 2018. Out of these, 478 were completed, 173 in unspecified location, 200 ongoing, 13 abandoned and 364 not started. The level of performance of constituency projects is therefore disputable.”

    In summary, about 2, 516 projects were tracked between 2015 and 2017; 918 were not done, 395 were ongoing and 214 could not be located. Owasanoye added: “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.”

    This picture highlights the relevance and significance of Babalakin’s observations in his CIBN lecture.  The probe is commendable. But it means that constituency projects before 2015 may never be probed. This is why Babalakin’s conclusion that public ignorance about the government’s responsibility is responsible for the country’s infrastructure deficit deserves attention.  What did affected constituents do about undelivered constituency projects? Could they have done something? If they did nothing, why was that the case?

    A big player in the business world, Babalakin is a big promoter of public-private partnership (PPP), which has helped infrastructure development in other countries.  In 2016, at the Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja,  Babalakin had listed the enemies of public-private partnership in Nigeria: the attitude of the government, lack of respect for sanctity of contracts and the rule of law, lack of investor security, corruption and malice.

    Not surprisingly, in his CIBN lecture, Babalakin shared some of his group’s experiences regarding 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%.”

    Babalakin, who turns 59 today, is a vocal visionary. Nigerians need to demand that the government should play its role responsibly.

  • Devotees and identities

    An ambitious idea to promote Yoruba religion and culture was among the highpoints of the 10th Orisa World Congress held at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, in July 2013. At the opening ceremony in Oduduwa Hall, OAU, the then Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, had declared that July and August would be “Yoruba cultural months” from 2014.  Oba Sijuwade, who died in 2015 after a 35-year reign, was a revered traditional ruler and Grand Patron of the Orisa tradition and religion.

    “I implore all descendants of Oduduwa to return home every year during these months to celebrate our culture and religion,” Oba Sijuwade had said.  Oduduwa, regarded as the progenitor of the Yoruba people, is artistically represented by an imposing wooden sculpture carved by Lamidi Olonade Fakeye, which Oba Sijuwade had unveiled at the front of the university theatre in 1987.

    Oba Sijuwade had clarified the idea of “Yoruba cultural months,” saying, “All my children in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo Republic, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Sudan, invite all lovers of Yoruba culture to the homeland during the months of July and August. Celebrate the values, virtues and treasures of our towns and cities. Hold public events, conventions and activities that showcase the invaluable riches of Yoruba culture and religion. These are the treasures that have made Yoruba culture and religion a global heritage of humanity.”

    Ile-Ife, regarded as “the source” and cultural capital of the Yoruba race, was an appropriate setting for deliberations on the challenges of the Orisa way of life, especially in the context of contending faiths. The variegated gathering included participants from the United States of America, Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico, and demonstrated the appeal of the Yoruba religion beyond its provenance.

    There is no doubt about the international status of Yoruba religion.  The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2005 added the Ifa Divination system to its list of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”

    Putting Oba Sijuwade’s idea into action is another matter.  His death should not mean the death of the idea. His successor, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, who is also enthusiastic about promoting Yoruba religion and culture, should make moves to turn this striking idea into reality.

    While Oba Sijuwade’s idea awaits its time, the vehicle he had used to publicize the idea needs to be reactivated.  The 10th edition of Orisa World Congress in Ile-Ife, which focused on “Culture and Global Peace,” was the fourth in the ancient town, starting from the first one nearly four decades ago. Six others have been held in Brazil, USA, Trinidad and Tobago, and Cuba. It is a project of Orisaworld, “an organisation of practitioners and scholars of Orisa tradition, religion and culture,” founded in 1981 by Prof Wande Abimbola, a retired academic and culture exponent. The group has “individual and institutional members from over 50 countries,” and “promotes culture, education and peace in a world where Orisa tradition and culture play a central role in the day-to-day lives of over 100 million people.”

    Abimbola had announced that future congresses would be held in Nigeria, and that the next one would take place in Ile-Ife in 2016. Six years after the last congress, and three years after the next one was expected to take place, it is unclear whether the organisers are planning another congress. It is ironic that a group set up “to revitalise and rejuvenate the Orisa culture and all its traditions” needs to be revitalised and rejuvenated.

    Oba Sijuwade had  declared with poetic overtones, “I hereby make the following proclamation: the religion of Yoruba land; the religion of Oduduwa who descended from Heaven on a chain of iron; the religion of Oranfe who lives in a house of perpetual fire in Heaven; the religion of Ifa, witness of destiny; the religion of Sango, the great warrior and giant, child of Oranmiyan; the religion of Oya nicknamed oriirii, eater of she-goats, the female warrior who wears a sword as part of her outfit; the religion of Osun nicknamed ewuji the greatest mother of all; the religion of Obatala, owner of ancient Iranje; will never perish.”

    Interestingly, the last Orisa World Congress involved discussions on a number of important topics, including “Globalisation and Cultural Identity.” Globalisation has religious implications, including collision of faiths. There have been clashes between devotees of Yoruba traditional religion and Yoruba Christians and Muslims.

    Last year, for instance, following a conflict triggered by the Oro festival, a report said: “Perhaps the height of the growing resentment against the festival came in February 2018 when the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Muslim Community in the Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State approached a high court to stop Oro from being held during daytime in the area. The religious bodies claimed that government parastatals, schools, businesses and other public places are usually forced to close down operations as a result of the daytime ‘curfew’ foisted on them by the traditional exercise. While granting their prayers, the court limited the occasion to between 12:00am and 4:00am, a situation that has since brought relief to many in Ipokia and its environs.”

    In another instance, a report said: “In Erinmo Ijesha, Osun State, there is a traditional title, Oodole, which is conferred on a leading member of the community by the council of chiefs. Whoever is chosen to become the Oodole dances around the town, and visits important locations in the town, including the Oba’s palace. The chosen one wears a cap, under which are leaves alleged to have spiritual powers. The installation involves invoking the spirit of the deity; and the ceremony is rounded off with the killing of a sacrificial goat or cow… Those who do not participate in communal rituals, especially Christians and Muslims, are often targets of violent attacks.”

    In August, the two-week Osun-Osogbo Festival will take place in Osogbo, Osun State, with a grand finale in the Osun-Osogbo Grove, a national monument and one of Nigeria’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Osun is a Yoruba water goddess celebrated yearly in a spectacular festival that is a star attraction. The Osun-Osogbo Festival, possibly the country’s pre-eminent traditional religious festival, draws a large number of visitors from within Nigeria as well as the Yoruba diaspora and beyond.

    There are various other traditional activities that sustain the Yoruba religion. The reality of diverse faiths and religious differences should not encourage religious violence.

  • Certificate of controversy

    Senator Rochas Okorocha controversially got a certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on June 11, following the order of a Federal High Court in Abuja. But getting the certificate didn’t clarify how the former Imo State governor won the Imo West Senatorial District election held on February 23.

    It’s one thing to be declared the winner of an election; it’s another thing whether such declaration was uninfluenced by duress.  It is interesting that INEC is interested in how election winners were declared winners. When the Returning Officer, Prof Innocent Ibeawuchi, alleged that he was forced to declare Okorocha of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the poll, the allegation stained the winner as well as the win.

    Ibeawuchi had told reporters that he was held hostage from 7pm on February 24 till 11am the following day.  He was quoted as saying:  “I was compelled to announce the result which was inconclusive. I am a man of integrity and it is not true that the governor slapped me but I was held hostage by agents working for him. I was manhandled and I thank God I came back alive.”

    Of course, the professor’s claim that he had declared Okorocha winner “under duress” calls into question how the former governor won the senatorial election. A certificate of return should not be in the hands of an election candidate whose victory was declared under duress. Democracy is not about duress.

    It is striking that there were others like Okorocha whose election victories were doubtful because the returning officers involved were allegedly forced to declare them winners.   INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr Festus Okoye, said the commission had received similar reports concerning the National Assembly poll in Oju/Obi Federal Constituency in Benue State, as well as the House of Assembly elections in Niger and Akwa Ibom states.

    He told reporters in Makurdi on March 22: “The commission has not given a certificate of return to anyone from Obi/Oju, the same thing with Agaye state constituency in Niger State. There is also another state constituency in Akwa Ibom. So as of today, there are four areas where declarations were made under duress and we said we will not give certificates of return to those individuals.” “Some of them are already in court,” Okoye had added.

    Justice Okon Abang’s judgement on June 7 favoured Okorocha who had challenged INEC’s decision to withhold his certificate of return. The judge said:”Once a declaration of the results has been made, that decision is final and can only be reviewed by the election petition tribunal and not by INEC… Once the declaration is made under section 68(c) of the Electoral Act, INEC has become functus officio (has completed its responsibility) and INEC has no lawful authority to withhold the Certificate of Return for any reason whatsoever.”

    According to Justice Abang, “If indeed, it is true that the Returning Officer made the declaration under duress, it is for the defendants who lost in the election to proceed to the election tribunal to challenge the election under section 138 of the Electoral Act… INEC has not, in its counter-affidavit, suggested that the plaintiff did not win the election. INEC did not declare the election as inconclusive. INEC did not declare that the election was won by any other person.”

    Justice Abang’s judgement means that INEC’s refusal to issue certificates of return to the other candidates involved in cases of alleged declaration of election winners under duress is equally unlawful.

    INEC highlighted “the likely consequences of this judgment for our electoral process in particular and our democracy in general.” The commission said in a statement: “Obviously, persons who seek elective offices could perceive in this judgment an irrelevance of due process and acting within the law.”

    “It is not farfetched that some of them could in future disregard laid-down processes, including voting, arm themselves and mobilise thugs and compel Returning Officers to declare them elected, irrespective of the true outcomes of the elections.

    “Moreover, it may become increasingly difficult for the commission to convince its officials that they are safe to carry out their legitimate functions without fear of being harassed, held to ransom or visited with bodily harm.”

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate in Imo West, Jones Onyereri, described Justice Abang’s judgement as “slaughtering of justice,” and “a nauseating decision.” Onyereri said he would appeal the judgment.

    A statement by the director-general of his campaign organisation, Eze Ugochukwu, accused Abang of bias, saying, “The inevitability of the judgement was obvious.” “The handling of the case from the start, left much to be desired, as issues of obvious bias were not hidden, including suspension and abridgement of rules of court, overt intimidation of defence lawyers, and harassment of same; whereas the plaintiff lawyer was allowed a field day in court. The reality is that the decision came from a court of first instance. Therefore, the decision stands to be tested at the appellate courts while the trial at the tribunal goes on.”

    The controversy continues because Okorocha was declared winner in controversial circumstances.  Prof Ibeawuchi’s claims that he was “compelled to announce the result which was inconclusive,” and “held hostage” and “manhandled” by agents working for Okorocha, are serious allegations.  An election candidate should not benefit from such lawlessness.  The court, in apparently following what the law says, should not endorse such lawlessness.

    The problem of electoral interference by candidates and their backers has many shapes and sizes. If the law failed to anticipate the question of declaration of election winners under duress, then it is time to review the law. A democratic system must not tolerate the lawlessness Prof Ibeawuchi described.

    The don had said he had to announce the result because he feared for his life.  He claimed that the election should have been declared inconclusive because of the electoral fraud in eight Local Government Areas.  According to the declared result, Okorocha polled 97,762 votes to win the election ahead of Onyereri (68,117) and All Progressive Grand Alliance’s Osita Izunaso (30,084). The question is whether the result should stand.

  • Pendulum effect in Imo

    Power changed hands in Imo State, resulting in the pendulum effect. Governor Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wasn’t expected to continue on the path of former governor Rochas Okorocha of the All Progressives Congress (APC), even though it is said that government is a continuum.

    Indeed, the Ihedioha administration’s move to probe the Okorocha administration demonstrates discontinuity. It is curious that  the eight-member committee set up to investigate Okorocha’s performance in his two terms as governor between 2011 and 2019 is expected to “ascertain and document the locations of and balances on all bank accounts operated by Imo State government, its Ministries, Departments and Agencies as at May 29, 2019.”

    This suggests that the Okorocha administration failed to provide such information before it exited. Ihedioha’s media aide, Steve Osuji, said: “That there was no formal handover was made plain at the inauguration of the Secretary of the Imo State Government recently…Governor Emeka Ihedioha had called up the sitting Permanent Secretary of Government House who was the most senior official left to take the in-coming members of the new administration round the offices. He was asked about the status of formal handing over. The Principal Secretary had told the audience in the hall that no handover had been put to effect…It must be noted that there was no formal meeting between the governor-elect and the sitting governor in Imo State since the election was won and lost.”

    It is unclear why the Okorocha administration had exited in such an untidy manner. By failing to provide such necessary information, the administration showed that it had learnt nothing about proper process. Such unwillingness to play by the rules exposed a government that didn’t understand how not to leave the stage.

    The investigative panel is also expected to ”review all financial transactions and where necessary, a forensic audit with a view to ascertaining sources of funds and the application of same;  review such   disbursements/applications of state resources to ascertain the propriety of charges levied on accounts, interest payment on loans and deposits where applicable, authorisation, etc; and review the operations of the Imo State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) with a view to recommending appropriate strategies to reposition the agency for better performance and sustained growth and to conduct governance/financial reviews of key agencies of government with a view to documenting all revenues generated or subventions/allocations between 2011 -2019.”

    Perhaps the probe would show that the Okorocha administration had something to hide; perhaps not. Ihedioha’s inaugural speech on May 29 gave an insight into the need for a probe.  ”Pensioners are owed for over 77 months, accruing fifty-seven (57) billion naira in Pension liability alone,” he said.  ”Eight years of bad governance led to a mind-boggling decay of critical public infrastructure; a crippling debt burden without any meaningful infrastructural or institutional developments to show for such a humongous debt.”

    Ihedioha added: “In the light of recent revelations by interest groups, various institutions and agencies of state, many have asked what becomes of those who recklessly plundered our commonwealth. My answer is simple: They will be held accountable. While this administration will be forward looking and not embark on any witch-hunting, those who have held positions of authority must prepare to render account of their stewardship to the people because our resolve to hold their feet to the fire of probity and accountability is iron-clad.”

    When a new governor probes his predecessor’s administration, particularly when they are members of opposing parties, there is a public tendency to attribute such investigation simply to a malicious desire to rubbish the target of the probe. But such perspective is simplistic. There may well be good reasons for such investigation.

    Okorocha had displayed desperation to determine his successor. He had desperately wanted his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, to succeed him. Nwosu had defected to Action Alliance (AA) from APC after failing to get what he wanted.  In a display of crude godfatherism, Okorocha had shamelessly supported Nwosu who was the governorship candidate of a political party different from his in the March 9 governorship election.

    Okorocha clearly carried godfatherism too far. It wasn’t surprising that his party decided to punish him. His party’s National Working Committee (NWC), on March 1, suspended him “for anti-party activities.” In a statement, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the NWC “has also taken a decision to recommend the expulsion of the suspended individuals to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.” Also suspended was then Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who had similarly backed another party’s governorship candidate whom he desperately wanted to succeed him.

    The APC statement stated that “the NWC had earlier written to the suspended governors on their anti-party activities, and several other steps were taken to ensure they desist from taking actions that are inimical to the interests of our party and candidates. Notably, these individuals have not shown any remorse and actually stepped up their actions.”  The party accused the suspended governors of “serial anti-party activities,” and “noted how the suspended members have continued to campaign openly for other parties and candidates that are unknown to our great party. They have in fact constituted themselves as opposition to APC candidates in their respective states.”  Interestingly, both men are now APC senators-elect.  It is a cause for concern that they will sit in the Red Chamber pretending to be men of honour.

    If things had worked out according to Okorocha’s plan and Nwosu had succeeded him, there would have been no question of a probe.  Not surprisingly, Nwosu advised that Ihedioha “should rather consolidate on the achievements of his predecessor.” Nwosu’s words: “If I were the governor today, I would face the business of governance knowing that there is job to do.” But Nwosu is not the governor, and the governor’s job involves determining the extent of alleged bad governance by the previous government. Good governance implies exposing past bad governance, while carrying out the business of governance.

    Since a probe can only uncover things that are covered up, Okorocha has no reason to fret about the probe of his administration if there had been no cover-up.  This development is a lesson to people in power.  A pendulum swing counters the old ways, and brings trouble to those who had governed without a sense of good governance.

  • Who is the real Ambode?

    It is said that power changes people and personalities. Was that the case with the immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode?  The portrait of Ambode painted by the immediate past Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Tunji Bello, as the administration exited in May, contradicted the picture of him in The Art of Selfless Service – A Biographical Account of the Public Service Career of Mr Akinwunmi D. Ambode. The book, by Marina Osoba, was launched in May 2014, a year before Ambode became governor.

    Bello, in a message titled ‘Time to say goodbye to colleagues on this platform,’ had said: “Our main drawback is our government’s inability to apply enough emotional intelligence in the administration of the state. Emotional intelligence includes interpersonal skills, interpersonal relationship, humility, respect for the well-established mores of governance, disregard for the accomplishments of others. The belief that our way is the best without considering other options in a democratic setting, absence of wider consultations, distance from the governed, lack of effective communication skill or amateurish display of government acts and political immaturity. Deliberate and open alienation of others. We undertook gigantic projects without the soul. We were too self-opinionated and narrow in our approach to governance.”

    Bello’s message was meant for an “internal platform,” but somehow it reached the public domain.  He added: “In leadership, emotional intelligence is 70 per cent of application while individual brilliance is only 30 percent…Besides, and apart from lack of enough camaraderie compared to previous administrations, our cabinet has been less rigorous, less fulfilled, less engaged and less accomplished. And for the first time since the time of Governor Lateef Jakande, this cabinet departs unappreciated and disenchanted.”

    Bello’s assessment of the administration in which he was the third most powerful person, after the governor and the deputy governor, gave a thought-provoking insight into the personality and leadership style of the head of the government. This appraisal also suggested why Ambode failed to get the endorsement of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), for a second term.  He became the first Lagos State governor to serve one term since 1999.

    Ambode, a trained accountant, was probably the most experienced individual, in terms of familiarity with the state’s civil service operations, who had governed Lagos State since its creation in May 1967. In a 27-year career in the civil service, he was Auditor General for Local Government, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, and Accountant General of Lagos State from 2006 to 2012. He is credited with revolutionising “the way Lagos State finances were raised, budgeted, managed and planned” through his management of the State Treasury Office.

    In The Art of Selfless Service, the author says “it became necessary to speak with staff of the State Treasury Office (STO), his very last assignment.” Some of those who had worked with Ambode at the STO said complimentary things about him.

    Mrs Yemisi Adams: “I am a Grade level 12 Officer with the State Treasury Office in Operations Department… To me, he is a role model; he is a leader not a boss. A boss wants you to do things the way he says, there is no input coming from anyone, but for a leader, he will table the problem and some solutions, he will ask for opinions and feedback before taking decisions … He leads by example; he is a real leader… He doesn’t like bragging about what he does, he does things very quietly.”

    Miss Oluwakemi Toso-Gbangba:  ”I had the opportunity to work with Mr Ambode for ten years…  He is a great team player; he listens to one about anything. I feel he is a workaholic; he believes in getting the job done. He is prim, proper and believes in perfection… He is a good person; he has a good heart…He taught me to believe in myself; to not see problems, but search for solutions.”

    Mr Hakeem Alimi:  ”I have worked with Mr Ambode for over six years now and his style is not the usual civil service style, it is a good mix of public/private sector style… He is an equal opportunity person, he doesn’t believe in favouring women over men or men over women…It is my opinion that one of the secrets to his success is his charity; his compassion and love for people. God has given him a huge capacity for empathy, to put himself in other peoples’ shoes; he is a great helper and forgives wrongs so easily.”

    Mrs Olumuyiwa Ojelabi: “One thing that amazed me so much was this; there was a morning I was walking behind him on the corridor, he saw an empty bottle of coke lying around, he didn’t call the cleaner and shout like some people might. Instead, he picked it up and took it to the pantry himself and continued to his office. He is a humble person; imagine the most senior officer here not thinking he is too good to do something so simple. He is an example to all.”

    Mr Osinubi Taofeek Olalekan : “I am a Grade level 12 Principal Administrative Officer with twelve years’ experience in the Public Service, of which I have spent two years here at the State Treasury Office, working under Mr Ambode. He is not like others, he is not your typical civil servant, he does not work like a typical civil servant, but like someone in the private sector…Personally, since I started here, I love coming to work, this surprises me; because when you work in a place like this, your best comes to the fore, you feel you have made a difference and you are making an impact.”

    Mr Taiwo Wakeel:  ”I am a Principal Administrative Officer of twelve years with the Public Service. I have worked for just over a year with Mr Ambode… If you work with Mr Ambode you can be assured of two things: one, you will work very hard and two, you will close late… He doesn’t look at religion or sex or age or tribe, all he wants is for everyone to become excellent… Around the STO, we call him ‘Baba Laanu’; he has great goodwill with all staff.”

    Bello spoke about Ambode as governor, while the treasury office staff spoke about Ambode before his years of gubernatorial power. As he left office, 55-year-old Ambode himself observed: “The fact remains that I came in as a technocrat so I call myself a techno-politician, but I think I am wiser now. I am more of a politician than a technocrat.” Was it an admission that power changed him?