The Nation Newspaper

Category: Femi Macaulay

Tourism means business
This year’s World Tourism Day, September 27, is another time to think about Nigeria’s approach to tourism and to rethink. The celebration will focus on “Sustainable Tourism – a Tool for Development.”

World Tourism Day has been celebrated since 1980, and previous editions have featured topics including Peace and Dialogue, Energy, Accessibility, World Heritage, and Water and Tourism. To mark the occasion, the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN), Taleb Rifai, said: “Last year alone, 1.235 million travellers crossed international borders in one single year. By 2030, this 1.2 billion will become 1.8 billion. The question, as we celebrate World Tourism Day 2017, is how we can enable this powerful global transformative force, these 1.8 billion opportunities, to contribute to make this world a better place and to advance sustainable development in all its three pillars. This World Tourism Day, whenever you travel, wherever you travel, remember to respect nature, respect culture and respect your host.”

It is interesting that the theme of the celebration this year underlines the role of tourism in development. If tourism has a development role, then development should have a tourism role. This linkage is not easily grasped by Nigeria’s tourism authorities.

Perhaps the new Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mr. Folorunso Coker, will help to drive a necessary rethinking of tourism. In July, he launched a roadmap designed to develop the tourism industry and contribute to the country’s development. It is called “Destination Nigeria: Tourism Development Roadmap (2017-2021).”

Coker gave a useful insight into his thinking on tourism, saying: “Tourism is a business of moving people from point A to B and back to A or further up to point C. It is transportation by air, by road, by water. Transportation entails servicing of vehicles, buying of new tyres and all sorts of maintenance issues of consumption, and that is business. It is when the traveller gets to the destination, is it for business, or pleasure? That is business. The hotel where he stays, the food he eats and other things there are business. We want to change the perception that people have always had about tourism that it is just Arts and Culture.”

He supplied statistics to support his business-oriented approach: “Tourism is responsible for 10 percent of the global GDP; it is about 8 trillion dollars in value; it is responsible for one in eleven jobs, which is more than the oil industry; it is the largest employer of labour in the world, about 292 million people. And strategically, it employs predominantly women and the youth. It is responsible for about 1.4 trillion in foreign exchange; it is responsible for 10 percent of world trade, and responsible for 30 percent of service export.”

He added: “Now you can see how important the industry is. And for it to make this huge contribution to any economy, it has to be treated as a serious business. It has to be invested in for you to reap the huge values out of it. So tourism must be treated as business not as leisure or pastime activity that it has always been classified as.”

It may well be that tourism needs a business model. In line with Coker’s business approach, the Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibrin, announced that the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) had approved the partial commercialisation of three national parks as a pilot scheme. Jibrin said: “Nigerian national parks are faced with numerous challenges which militate against their accelerated development. Prominent among these are: insecurity, inadequate funds for developmental projects, trans-boundary conservation activities and sustainable livelihood options, deterioration of infrastructure, lack of capacity, dearth of manpower and equipment and, above all, absence of strategic partnerships.”

Jibrin continued: “It is in a bid to reverse the trend and raise the standards of national parks to global best practices that the Federal Government recently unbundled national parks to encourage private participation in their development and management. Already, the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has approved the partial commercialisation of the service. The council has also approved the immediate commercialisation of the eco-tourism components of three national parks, namely, Gashaka Gumti, Cross River and Kainji Lake national parks as a pilot scheme. In this regard, the management of the National Park Service is working with relevant government agencies to ensure a securer and investment friendly environment in and around the national parks. I therefore urge potential investors to take advantage of this window and invest in national parks.”

Nigeria can a lesson or two from the official celebrations of World Tourism Day 2017, which will be held in Qatar, as decided by the UNWTO General Assembly. The planned activities demonstrate a serious, business-like approach to tourism: “The event will be structured around two sessions, focused on ‘Tourism as a driver of economic growth,’ and ‘Tourism and the Planet: committed to a greener future.’ In addition, a high-level think tank will be conducted with the aim of opening the debate on the potential of the sector to enhance cultural preservation and mutual understanding. On the Agenda will also be the presentation of the Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy, which advances sustainable approaches. The initiative is aligned with the Qatar National Vision 2030, which focuses on Economic, Social and Human Development and prioritizes tourism as a catalyst to progress towards a more diversified economy.”

When will Nigeria move beyond paying lip service to tourism as a tool for development? It is reassuring that Coker has an action plan and sounds like an action man who means business. As part of the plan, “the corporation will champion the upgrade of beaches and waterfronts in Cross River, Bayelsa and Lagos states to world- class standard, launch the National Tourism Fund as a joint initiative of the private and public sectors, including international donors and agencies, review of the NTDC Act No 81 of 1992 and all tourism laws, licensing rates and fees.”

Hopefully, the NTDC under Coker will fulfill the early promise and chart a course for development-oriented tourism based on a business model that works.
- This columnist is going on vacation.
September 25, 2017
Makinde: Public policy and public progress

For a woman who earned a PhD at the age of 60 in 2008, and went on to become a Professor, her Inaugural Lecture on September 12 provided a stage for philosophical reflection and scholarly thinking. Prof Juliana Taiwo Makinde said: “I feel proud and highly honoured to say that I am the first female Professor of Public Administration in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and also the first female Professor to give an Inaugural Lecture in the Department of Public Administration, OAU, Ile-Ife.”

She added: “I never dreamt in my wildest imagination of becoming a university lecturer, let alone a professor. My standing here before you today to present my Inaugural Lecture is, therefore, a special privilege from God who has used my husband, Professor Moses Akinola Makinde, as His instrument of positive change in my life.”

After completing her secondary education in the mid-60s, she worked as a confidential secretary. Her life took another course in 1983 when her husband “went on Fulbright Fellowship to Ohio University, USA,” and he persuaded her to enroll for a degree programme. “My own intention was to work and make money with which I planned to get some gadgets for our home back in Nigeria,” she recalled.

As an Education/English student in the Faculty of Education at the Ohio University, her performance got her a place on the Dean’s list in her first year, after which she continued her degree programme at the Faculty of Education, University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1984.

Her narrative continued: “By 1987, I completed my first degree programme with First Class Honours in Education/English. My husband was excited and very happy. He then persuaded me to go for a higher degree in order not to waste the first class degree that I had, always telling me that with my first class degree, I was a professorial material. I agreed to go ahead on the condition that he would give me N200 a month throughout the programme. This was just to discourage him from persuading me from going further. To my disappointment, he agreed.”

Indeed, this journey took her to a professorial height. When she delivered the 307th Inaugural Lecture of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, she focused on “Policy Somersaults, Poverty of Policy Implementation and Corruption: Obstacles to Development in Nigeria.” Expectedly, her lecture was informed by her research into policy matters, “especially the problems militating against the successful implementation of policies in Nigeria.”

Makinde’s topic was well-timed. Considering that policy making is a major function of government, and a major factor in governance, it is a reflection of her attention to fundamentals that she chose to talk about policy. She observed: “Various studies have shown that most government policies have failed, at the implementation stage, to achieve the desired results…This problem is what I refer to as poverty of policy implementation, resulting in policy somersaults and which has constituted a big obstacle to development in Nigeria.”

Obviously, there is a concrete connection between development based on social service delivery by government and proper policy making. Makinde illustrated how “government has failed in many areas in the provision of social amenities to the citizens,” using examples in two critical areas, the health and education sectors. She said: “It is an open secret that education in Nigeria has been witnessing gradual but steady decline in quality in the last few decades resulting in parents sending their children out of the country for their proper education, as well as in pupils learning under trees and dilapidated buildings.”

Quoting Africa Recovery (2017), she noted: “Healthcare also suffers from inadequate funding. Most health institutions lack basic facilities such as medicines and dressings while government health spending averaged just 4.5% of the budget.”

Makinde’s list of areas where policy failure has resulted in arrested development includes shelter, employment, security, electricity and water supply. It is difficult to fault her observations because they are observable.

She argued: “The role of public servants as the implementors of the various policies of government makes them part of the success or failure of public policies made towards ensuring development.” On the causes of policy somersaults and poverty of policy implementation, Makinde identified problems at the Policy Formulation Stage, the Implementation Stage and the Evaluation Stage.

Inevitably, she mentioned corruption: “Another critical cause of policy somersault is corruption.” Political corruption is so pervasive in Nigeria, and it may well be the most potent force against policy making and successful policy implementation.

This list of “some of the policies that appear to have suffered somersaults” is thought-provoking: “They include policy on poverty alleviation, and policy on education. Starting with policy on poverty alleviation, it is on record that since independence, many programmes, which include Operation Feed the Nation (OFN: 1979), the National Directorate of Employment (NDE: 1986), the Better Life Programme (BLP: 1987), People’s Bank (1989), Community Bank (1990), and the National Poverty Alleviation Programme (NAPEP, 2001), had been established by various governments at one time or the other to tackle the problem of poverty and food insecurity…in spite of all the above-mentioned programmes, poverty is still very visible among Nigerians.”

When a policy fails because it is poorly implemented, it raises questions about the intention of the policy and the intention of the policy makers, which may not be the same. Policy making without successful policy implementation amounts to daydreaming.

Among Makinde’s recommendations, those concerning corruption demonstrate the gravity of the problem as well as the gravity of the solution required. She proposed: “No plea bargain should be allowed. Plea bargain only encourages looters to steal more so that at the end of it all, they will still have something substantial to fall back on after paying the bargained amount. For instance, if the plea bargain is calculated on percentage of total money stolen, then the bigger the money stolen the bigger the percentage to be kept by the plea bargainer.”

Her final words deserve public attention: “You and I contribute to these problems in one form or the other. How? You may ask… When we encourage corrupt politicians by honouring them with chieftaincy titles in our community, or giving them honorary doctorate degrees in our universities, we contribute to corrupt practices… Policy success is the sum total of the commitment of the government and the citizens towards prevention of implementation gap arising from corruption and poverty of implementation of policies.”

It was a thinking lecture by a thinking lecturer for thinking members of the public.

September 18, 2017
A war without casualties

Where are the casualties of Nigeria’s noisy war against corruption? A war without casualties cannot be a war properly so called? The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu may well be aware of the oddity of a war without casualties. Perhaps this is why he declared during a visit to The Nation headquarters in Lagos on September 7: ”We’re now going to declare total war on corruption. It is our responsibility to crush corrupt practices in this country.” This suggests that before now the war against corruption wasn’t total or was near total.

What does “total war” mean in this context? A report said: “He described the biggest challenge to the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s anti-graft crusade as “corruption fighting back”. “It’s real and they (those fighting back) have all the money,” he said. Magu said there were no fewer than 125 high-profile corruption cases still “hanging in court.”

Does “total war” mean the completion of prosecution? Why are these high-profile cases up in the air? As long as high-profile corruption cases remain unresolved, public confidence in the war against corruption will remain uncertain. Magu’s visit shed light on the slow pace of prosecution of corruption suspects. The report said: “On the delay of such cases, Magu blamed it all on Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), who he said were used by rich and powerful suspects to frustrate cases.”How can 31 SANs go to court to defend one (suspected) looter? Sometimes judges are intimidated. Why should 31 SANs appear for a suspect? We need to ask questions,” Magu said.”

The report continued: “He said such lawyers adopt several strategies to delay cases, some of which have spent nearly 10 years in court. “They abuse the court process, file all kinds of applications and go on appeal, which goes up to the Supreme Court and back.

They adopt different technicalities and delay tactics. Sometimes they provoke the judges and write petitions against them. “But I don’t control the judges. We don’t have control over what happens in court. Our role is to investigate,” he said… “We investigate better than any other law enforcement agency in this country, including the police,” he said.”

Two months after he became acting EFCC chairman, Magu on January 20, 2016, described corruption as “deliberate and calculated wickedness” against the country’s existence, meaning against the people, during a visit to the headquarters of The Nation in Lagos. “The impunity is too much,” he declared. Then he painted a picture of personal pain. He said:”Sometimes I shed tears in the morning before I go to the office. It is just unbelievable; the rot is terrible.” When the arrowhead of the anti-corruption agency is overwhelmed to the point of tears by the sheer scale of confirmable corruption, it is a telling statement about the place of conscience in the anti-corruption war. The fight against corruption is ultimately a fight for conscience, and a fight against the enemies of conscience.

A portrait of corruption in the temple of justice was painted by no less a person than the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption War (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), in an interview. Sagay said: “When we talk of the judiciary, we are talking of judges. As far as I am concerned, the judiciary is not the most blameworthy. That is the truth of the matter. The most blameworthy are senior lawyers – a number of senior advocates who have made it a speciality; who have developed particular skills to kill corruption cases so that their clients, after many years of delays and frustrations of prosecution, end up going away with their loot. And such lawyers, of course, share in the proceeds of crime. They get a part of the loot and that is why you see them buying private jets and so on. That amount of money from the proceeds of crime has completely blunted their consciences and they are as active as the accused persons – the looters – in trying to protect the loot because part of the loot now belongs to them by association.”

Sagay added: “What I am saying, therefore, is that this is where it starts. These are the people who carry huge sums of money behind chambers to judges. They are the ones who corrupt judges. Really, if the struggle is going to be effective, we have to mark down the lawyers who are behind all these, not just judges. In fact, there are some retired judges too that are in the game. They are called consultants and they carry huge sums of money to their juniors they left behind in the judiciary and use their influence to get them to simply abandon justice and do the bidding of corrupt persons. It is a very serious situation. But, as I said, the very first port of call would be the lawyers that are behind it. Right now, they are doing it without control; they are doing it without consequences…”

It is thought-provoking that these two major anti-corruption warriors, Magu and Sagay, accused senior lawyers of working against the anti-corruption war. If it is the case that senior lawyers are frustrating anti-corruption efforts because they gain from the ill-gotten gains of corruption suspects, it means that such lawyers are no better than those accused of corruption.

The accusation against senior lawyers who play the unflattering role of justice delayers in the war against corruption is too serious to be trivialised. Magu said during his latest visit to The Nation head office: ”Corruption is the worst developmental problem we have in this country. We need more support. This fight is for our collective good. We should not allow ourselves to be purchased to the detriment of our co-existence. We need to mobilise everybody. Let’s do it together.”

Those who behave like friends of corruption are enemies of society. Those who behave like enemies of society deserve to be condemned by society. Magu reportedly said he “duly handed over the list of high-profile cases as requested by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN).” The public expects convincing action by the authorities to show that the war against corruption is a war properly so called.

September 11, 2017
Aregbesola’s free train ride

As expected, a few days to Eid-el-Kabir, the Osun State Government announced the schedule for its free train ride from Lagos to Osogbo, the state capital. A statement by the Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives, Ismail Jayeoba-Alagbada, on August 27 explained that the arrangement was in “furtherance of Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration’s commitment to the welfare of the ordinary people who deserve this form of support from the government.”

The statement gave details: “The first train moves from Lagos on Wednesday August 30th, 2017 at exactly 10am from the Iddo Terminus, Lagos enroute our usual Ikeja, through Ogun and Oyo State to end the journey in Osogbo. Another one leaves at the same time on Thursday August 31st, 2017 through the same route down to Osogbo. After the eid-el-kabir celebration, the train leaves Osogbo on Sunday September 3rd, 2017 for Lagos. This we have concluded as the plan for this year’s eid-el-kabir festival.”

The commissioner added: “This is one of the social protection projects of the Aregbesola administration and since we commenced this more than six years ago, we have not looked back. Even in the face of very harsh financial constraints, we have strived to keep this offer going convinced that it has offered great opportunities for our people and helped their finances as well.”

This free train ride, which happens during major Islamic and Christian festivals, has been a striking feature of the Aregbesola administration, and many people look forward to the ride because it enables them to connect with their roots during the significant festive periods.

It takes a governor with an unusual sense of people-oriented governance to come up with this kind of people-oriented service. For instance, what kind of governor would choose to spend the night telling the people about his administration’s performance? There is only one such governor in the country. It is usual to have governors talk to the people at town hall meetings at daytime; but the unusual calls to the unusual. Governor Rauf Aregbesola has been unusual in his governance style, but he has achieved results that deserve public attention. Talking of an unusual approach to governance, an account of his latest talk-to-the-people programme in May speaks volumes for his methods. A report captured the event known as ‘Aregbe Till Day Break’: “For more than six hours, from midnight, the governor tendered his score card before the people. He was on the popularity weighing scale at the WOCDIF Event Centre, the venue of the event. He responded to probing questions with vigour and aggression. In a sense, the governor was combative. Reeling out facts and figures, he convinced the audience that governance was not a tea party in a period of national distress. Accompanied by Deputy Governor Grace Laoye Tomori and other aides, Aregbesola, after explaining some of his projects, would ask his permanent secretaries and other state officials to shed light on the people-oriented programmes, government’s constraints and prospects of early completion.”

What happened to some of the enthusiastic people who wanted to take advantage of the Eid-el-Kabir free train ride showed how good ideas, good intentions and good planning could be messed up by circumstances beyond the control of those who meant well.

A report presented a picture of the August 31 movement: “Hundreds of Osun-bound passengers, who had massed at the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, Iddo Terminal in Lagos for the free train ride provided by Osun Government for Eid-el-Kabir, were on Thursday stranded. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the huge number of passengers who turned out for the ride outstripped the available coaches…Some of the stranded passengers, who spoke to NAN correspondent, were pained for not making the trip, but they commended the governor’s gesture. They pleaded with the government to provide more coaches or extend the days allotted for the exercise to enable intending travellers to enjoy the free ride.”

The report continued: “Saliu Ademola, an artisan, told NAN: “I was shocked when I got to the terminal to see the crowd. The NRC should increase the number of coaches to enable the passengers to enjoy the train services.” A disappointed Taibat Lawal said in spite of her early arrival at the terminal in the morning, she was not lucky to be on board… NAN also reports that the normal fare per passenger for Lagos-Osogbo trip by train is N1, 500.”

The situation that arose simply showed how popular the free train ride had become among the people. There is no question that the free train ride is based on the age-old political philosophy that government should exist to serve the people. In A Fragment on Government, Jeremy Bentham observes: “It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”

Interestingly, Aregbesola’s free train ride draws attention to the country’s rail transport system, which needs to be reimagined. It is good news that the proposed concession of the railway to General Electric (GE) is on course, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Managing Director, Mr. Fidet Okhiria. An August 29 report said: “Okhiria, who chaired a meeting with members of the transaction advisers in his office, said there was no doubt that the concessionaire would move in before year end. The NRC helmsman was represented at the meeting by the Director of Operations, Mr. Niyi Alli, who said the meeting was to fine-tune the gray areas of the entire transaction in order to ensure that it ends up being beneficial to both parties.”

Further information: “The Nation’s checks revealed that three components are contained in the GE concession terms. “The GE contract terms have three components – with a separate firm –Transnet- handling the track maintenance, APTML, a terminal operator, handling the cargo element and GE itself,” a top official, who would not want his name mentioned, said. According to him, the GE will supervise the three components, and pay royalties to the Corporation, which retains the entire workforce. “The terms of the agreement is to have the GE work on the railway at least for the first 12 months, after which the agreement may be renewed,” the source added.”

Hopefully, the country’s rail transport system will improve and attain modern standards in the not too distant future.

September 4, 2017
CCC: ‘Time to rebuild and restore’
Mother Celestial Victoria Olusola George was the cynosure of all eyes at the 66th Adult Harvest Thanksgiving Service held at the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Makoko, Yaba, Lagos, on August 6. The church at Makoko is the “National Headquarters – The Cradle of Celestial Church of Christ in Nigeria and Overseas.”

She was celebrated in the event programme under this attention-grabbing heading: “One of the Miracles performed by Jesus Christ through Rev. S. B.J. Oshoffa – Extract from C.C.C. Constitution Sections 53 – 57.” Her picture had an equally attention-grabbing caption: “Mother Celestial Victoria Olusola George – Raised from the dead after the third day by Jesus Christ through Rev. Pastor S.B.J. Oshoffa. She is still alive and with us in this Harvest Thanksgiving Service.”

These striking documented details provided elaboration:
1. “The miracles performed by our Lord Jesus Christ through me were numerous. I shall now make particular reference to that of the young woman named OLUSOLA who died and whom Jesus raised from the dead after the third day.
2. “A young member of the Church who was fond of saying ‘Please say Halleluyah with me’ and who, for short, was nicknamed ‘Halleluyah’ came one Sunday morning and reported the death of a woman at 3.00 p.m. the previous day (a Saturday) in a house which belonged to him. He said that in view of the many miracles performed by Jesus through me right there in Makoko, particularly those of IIUNSU and THERESA, he felt sure that OLUSOLA could be raised from the dead. He first spoke to me at ten o’ clock on the Sunday morning as service was about to start. Service finished at three o’clock in the afternoon and he kept on worrying me but I still did not answer him. Owing to his persistence, however, at 4 o’clock that afternoon, I sent Evangelist BADA (then a LEADER) with one of my robes to follow the man called ‘Halleluyah’ to the house and put the robe on the dead body and tell the relatives that if and when the body moved, it should be brought to the Church. On the way there, ‘Halleluyah’ was to go in front and Evangelist to follow behind.
3. “Evangelist returned and reported that he had carried out my instructions. At about five thirty that afternoon, they brought the dead body in a car because they were amazed to see the body actually turn over although it was still lifeless. I asked that the body be placed in the Church vestry for women.
4. “Now there was a young man from Ondo who came with them. He belonged to one of the other spiritual Churches, but I do not know which. When he saw that we left OLUSOLA’s dead body in the vestry for hours without bothering to pray or go near it but that we went on talking generally, he came to me and counselled that instead of doing nothing we should pray for the dead body as it was already stinking. I replied that I was not the one going to bring OLUSOLA back to life and that he should be very careful and not go near the dead body. I told him that if he did, he would have to accept responsibility for whatever happened to him. But he would not listen. He continued to pace up and down. Finally at about twelve midnight, he suddenly went to have a look at the dead body. He ran back to me startled, and reported that he had seen a man clad in white with his hair parted into two standing at the head of the corpse. I retorted to him that I had warned him not to go near the dead body. He ran away and I went to bed. OLUSOLA’s mother also went to bed. I did not bother about the dead body. These miracles are not done with my own power I am no more than a servant for HIM that sent me. There was therefore no need for me to go into a bout of prayer or staying up all night or fasting or such flagellation.
5. “In the morning of the third day of OLUSOLA’s death, her mother, watching the hours go by, became restless. At nine o’clock in the morning she came to me and said in despair that as the body of OLUSOLA was still as dead, stinking and lifeless as ever, and already covered with ants, she should be allowed to take the body home for burial. As she said this her loin cloth fell off her. This aroused my sympathy and I got up and followed her to where the dead body lay. I asked her the name of her daughter and she replied that her name was OLUSOLA. I struck the body and called ‘OLUSOLA’ and the dead girl replied ‘SIR’. I struck her again and said: ‘In the name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk’. She immediately got up and walked. She is still here with you, you all know her. Her younger sister is Sister IPADEOLA-”
It is interesting that the Celestial Church of Christ, founded by Rev. Samuel Bilehou Joseph Oshoffa on September 29, 1947, will celebrate its 70th anniversary next month. It is said that Nigeria is the country where the church enjoys the highest popularity. The journey to this milestone has been eventful, and it is worth celebrating as the church marches on.

After S. B. J. Oshoffa’s death in 1985, at the age of 76, the church faced a succession crisis that tested its resilience. Today, under the leadership of Rev. Emmanuel Mobiyina Friday Oshoffa, there is the calm after a storm. The 68-year-old Pastor is recognised by many members of the church as its Spiritual Head. He got a master’s degree from the University of Biological Science, Nancy, France, in 1977.

It is a historic occasion in the history of the church, and a historic stage in the priestly progress of E.M.F. Oshoffa. It is significant that the theme of the celebration of the church’s 70th anniversary is: “Time to Rebuild and Restore.” It is also time to focus on the future, and this requires all hands on deck.
August 28, 2017
Celebrating culture sponsors

What will happen if they don’t do the festival?” It was a striking question. On August 19, the day after the grand finale of the 2017 Osun-Osogbo Festival in the Osun-Osogbo Grove in Osun State, a small group of visitors who looked like foreigners stood at the riverside in the sacred grove with a local female guide who enthusiastically told the story of Osun, the water goddess represented by an attention-grabbing statue at the edge of the mystical river. One of the fascinated visitors asked the guide the fascinating question I overheard.

As I walked out of the sacred space, that question would not leave me alone. Indeed, the question followed me to my base in Lagos. The Osun-Osogbo Grove is the site of Nigeria’s star tourist attraction and the country’s pre-eminent traditional religious festival, which draws a high number of domestic and foreign tourists. The sacred grove was listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2005.

I became a pilgrim to the mystical grove right from my first visit as a journalist over two decades ago to see the spectacular festival. I had eagerly looked out for Susanne Wenger in the grove but didn’t see her. It was, therefore, a magical moment for me when I eventually came face to face with her in her Osogbo home on a different occasion while trying to get her to grant me an interview. I found out, during my research for the interview, that there was no book on her written by a Nigerian, although she was a cultural celebrity and had at the time lived in Nigeria for nearly 50 years. It was unbelievable! This was when the idea struck me to do a book on her.

At the time I informed Wenger of my plan to write a book on her, she responded positively, saying, “I bless your work and your good intentions.” She was an engaging personality well known for her remarkable devotion to Yoruba traditional gods (which earned her the Yoruba name Adunni Olorisa as a mark of her acceptance in the traditional society). She was also famous for her innovative New Sacred Art group and for her selfless dedication to the preservation of the sacred Osun-Osogbo Grove, listed as a World Heritage Site shortly after her 90th birthday in 2005- this was an interesting coincidence and the icing on the cake for Wenger.

Long before it became correct to be environment-friendly, Wenger had championed a crusade for the conservation of nature in the Osun-Osogbo Grove, albeit based on a religious premise and her conviction that deities dwelled there. It is to her credit that after her long battle with various interest groups that failed to see the need to guard the grove, the political authorities in Nigeria eventually saw her point and stepped in to protect it; and then, UNESCO followed.

Wenger’s passing on January 12, 2009, at the age of 93, after nearly 60 years in the country, was as newsy as her life. Despite her exit, indeed, because of the sad occurrence, the book project remained on course. This unique well- researched Wenger portrait offers a fresh experience of her; it consists of an extensive up-to-date close-up profile of her, and exclusive interviews that I had with her, which not only explored her extraordinary life but also yielded further insights into her thoughts and ideas on Yoruba culture and tradition at the advanced stage of her life.

It is enriched with expressive pictures of Wenger and some of her eye-catching sculptures in the grove; and other important images related to her gripping story. It is a modest way of paying a well- deserved tribute to a loyal vessel of Yoruba divinities (Olorisa); her legacy is undeniable. The book also beams the spotlight on the Osun-Osogbo Grove and the Osun-Osogbo Festival.

For the first time, the captivating story of the phenomenal Austrian artist who became an unapologetic populariser of Yoruba traditional religion and attracted global attention to Osogbo, Osun State, South-West Nigeria, is presented from a Nigerian perspective and with a Nigerian flavour.

The beauty of this book lies particularly in its liberal use of narratives by Nigerian journalists to paint a picture of this enigmatic celebrity known for her self-effacing modesty. It represents, therefore, a very Nigerian treatment of the subject. Furthermore, this is the most up-to-date book on the life and times of Susanne Wenger; it includes material on the celebration of her 100th birth anniversary in 2015 as well as the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Osun-Osogbo Grove as a World Heritage Site in the same year.

Every year, in August the Osun-Osogbo Festival is celebrated “to appease the goddess of the river.” The Chief Festival Administrator, Osun-Osogbo Festival, Otunba Ayo Olumoko, said in a statement: “We recognise and appreciate the support of all our sponsors, even though the recession and the parlous economy have forced many of them to withdraw their sponsorship of the Festival from 2015 to date. However, some of these sponsors are still loyal and faithful to accommodate the sponsorship of the Osun-Osogbo Festival. They still find it important to perform their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) towards Osogbo’s heritage by supporting the 2017 edition of the Osun-Osogbo Festival.”

He continued: “These sponsors, who have enjoyed the exclusivity spot in their various industries as sponsors of the Festival, have been supporting us consistently over the years; hence on this note we want to express our profound appreciation to the following: 1) Nigerian Breweries PLC and the Goldberg Larger Beverage, 28 consistent years of sponsorship; 2) Mobile Network Telecommunications (MTN) Limited, GSM exclusive sponsor since 2005; 3) Grand Oak’s Seaman’s Schnapps White Spirit, supplication drink over 25 years consecutively; 4) Government of the State of Osun, precisely 13 years running; 5) The Osogbo Cultural Heritage (OCHC) and the Osogbo Kingmakers, from cradle; 6) The Olokun Foundation, superintended by Otunba Gani Adams, since 2001 till date.”

These sponsors deserve to be celebrated for making the festival happen. They are culturally conscious and deserve to be commended for their services to culture. Hopefully, these sponsors will support me as I prepare to launch my book.

It is a reflection of the Osun State government’s cultural consciousness that it declared August 21 work free to commemorate ‘Isese Day’, which is also known as Traditional Worshipers Day. The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Adelani Baderinwa, in a statement said that the holiday was to make it possible for adherents of traditional religion to celebrate. It is noteworthy that Yoruba religion is recognised by UNESCO which in 2005 added the Ifa Divination system to its list of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”

August 21, 2017
Felabration and a governor’s inaction

We have been prostrating to Ogun State government for the past how many years,” Yeni Kuti told the world on August 2 at a press conference to unveil the 2017 Felabration programme. “They have not answered us. We’ve been there to see the governor. He has promised heaven and earth. In fact, we are still on prostration level. They have not answered us. The ancestral home, we visited with the architects. We’ve done a design, proposals, everything. We asked them (Ogun State) to be part of this (Felabration) but they said they can’t be part of it with Lagos State, that we must start it in Abeokuta. Two, three years ago, we had done the whole arrangement to start Felabration in Abeokuta, they did not answer us. But hopefully now, they will answer. We hope that Ogun State will come on board.”

Indeed, this is a significant time for the Ogun State government to play a noteworthy role to further immortalise Afrobeat phenomenon Fela Anikulapo Kuti who died 20 years ago on August 2, 1997, at the age of 58. This year’s Felabration, according to the organisers, is “a special tribute festival.” The yearly celebration of Fela’s legacy is applaudable. It is interesting that this 20th edition is tagged “Prophecy, ‘suggesting Fela’s prophetic power.

From October 9 to 15, a chain of cultural activities in Lagos will celebrate the life and times of the larger-than-life musical idol. The venues include the New Africa Shrine, Freedom Park and Kalakuta Museum. Although his remains lie in an inventive tomb on the grounds of his former residence on Gbemisola Street, Ikeja, which is now Kalakuta Museum, Fela’s spirit soars beyond the restriction of the grave.

The striking picture of inaction painted by Yeni, Fela’s daughter, was repeated by Nike Nedum, Fela’s niece and daughter of Dr Beko Ransome- Kuti, when the Felabration Organising Committee met the press.

Nike said:”Ogun State’s priority seems to have been building roads and not necessarily in developing its tourism industry. And they seemed to be very keen three, four years back but didn’t follow through. We evicted all the people who were living in the house and you would have seen in the press lately that we have faced a lot of criticisms about how the house has deteriorated. It was largely because we were preparing it to create a museum in honour of members of the Ransome-Kuti family. They seem to suggest that they may still be interested but we haven’t seen them in real terms. But we as a family gather the resources that we can put in place to try and preserve and start the process of making it a spot that people can go to and we as Nigerians can feel proud of.”

It is understandable that the Felabration Organising Committee is interested in getting the Ogun State government interested in celebrating Fela. The music superstar had deep roots in Abeokuta, the present-day Ogun State capital. Fela was born in Abeokuta on 15 October, 1938. His father, Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, was “an Anglican priest and school principal” and “the first president of the Nigeria Union of Teachers.” His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was “a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement.” His brothers, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti and Beko Ransome-Kuti, both medical doctors, were notables. There is no doubt that the Ransome-Kuti family has its roots in Abeokuta, which explains why it makes sense to ask the Ogun State government to be involved in celebrating Fela, who brought glory to the city through his global stardom.

The Lagos State government should be applauded for its role in celebrating Fela. The great musician lived in Lagos and died in Lagos. The Lagos State government supported the renovation of Fela’s base, Kalakuta Republic in Ikeja, which is now a museum in honour of the legend. It is worth mentioning that Felabration, according to the organisers, “is an official tourist destination of The Lagos State Government.” They described the government as “major sponsors of the event.”

Yeni said: “Governor Ambode, I’ve never met him but he has stated his commitments through email to say he is part of Felabration this year and in fact they are sponsoring the Notting Hill Carnival. We’re going to take a float with Fela as the main theme. We will have a Fela puppet where everybody will dress like Fela’s queens and would drive through the streets of London for the Nigerians in Diaspora.”

Here is a picture of Notting Hill Carnival: “The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event that has taken place in London since 1966 on the streets of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, each August over two days (the August bank holiday Monday and the preceding Sunday). It is led by members of the British West Indian community, and attracts around one million people annually, making it one of the world’s largest street festivals, and a significant event in British culture. In 2006, the UK public voted it onto the list of icons of England.” This international dimension is worth celebrating because Fela was an internationally recognised performer.

Fela was not just a musician but a musical icon with a sense of mission. His AIDS-related death meant that a critical progressive voice had been silenced. It is a point to ponder how he would have reacted to Nigeria’s renewed democratic experience that began in 1999, about two years after his death. His unapologetic activism on the side of the people was daring and defiant; and he was willing to pay the price for his anti-establishment campaign. Music was indeed a weapon for him, and he used it against the enemies of progress with all the potency of a visionary iconoclast.

There is no doubt that the country has what it takes to become a prominent cultural tourism destination; and there is also no doubt that the country lacks what it takes to be such an attraction. Of course, tourism development has a price tag. There are important infrastructural minuses that need to be tackled by the authorities to realise the dream of a tourism-friendly and tourist-friendly destination. What about basic things like power and water? What about good roads and good environment? What about security, and law and order? Festivals and festivities grow to global status through tourism-friendly policies and cannot be imposed on the tourism market. But dreaming is a good starting point; the next thing is working to make the dream come true.

Felabration has pulling power. It is this pulling power that the Ogun State government is expected to recognise and appreciate by supporting the celebration.

August 14, 2017
‘We have a story to tell’

We have a story to tell.” It was a defining statement about the place of Yoruba culture and religion, also known as Orisa tradition, in a global village of multiple cultures and multiple faiths. Prof Wande Abimbola, a retired academic, distinguished Yoruba culture promoter and Ifa priest, proudly promoted the Yoruba essence during an interactive session at the 10th Orisa World Congress held at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, in July 2013.

It is noteworthy that Yoruba religion is recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which in 2005 added the Ifa Divination system to its list of the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”

Among the highpoints of the congress was the declaration by the then Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, who was the community’s revered traditional ruler and Grand Patron of the Orisa tradition and religion, that July and August will be celebrated as “Yoruba cultural months” from the following year. “I implore all descendants of Oduduwa to return home every year during these months to celebrate our culture and religion,” he said, at the opening ceremony of the congress at Oduduwa Hall, OAU. Oduduwa, regarded as the progenitor of the Yoruba people, is artistically represented by an imposing wooden sculpture carved by Lamidi Olonade Fakeye, which Sijuwade unveiled at the front of the university theatre in 1987.

Sijuwade, who died in 2015, launched the “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.”

It is August. It is time for the Osun-Osogbo Festival, Nigeria’s pre-eminent traditional religious festival, which draws a high number of domestic and foreign tourists. The site of this star tourist attraction, the Osun-Osogbo Grove, was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005.

Who was Osun? This is a picture: “Oral tradition has it that Ore (daughter of one Elekole in Ekiti-land) was the mother of Osun; hence the saying ‘Greetings to Ore, the mother of Osun’. Osun was born at Ijimu, was the youngest of the three wives of Sango-the god of thunder. Oba (from Iwo) and Oya (from Ira) were his other wives. Sango was by this time the Alafin of Oyo. Though Oya was the eldest of the wives, Osun was in fact the real apple of Sango’s eye. As a result of a fight that ensued between Osun and Oba, both wives were divorced. Osun left Oyo only to marry Larooye at Osogbo.

There are two distinguishing features in the character of Osun as a person. First, her knowledge of the use of herbs was renowned throughout Yoruba land. As a matter of fact, she was the only person in her time that really mastered the systematic manipulations and technical formulations connected with the use of Osanyin (god of knowledge) to achieve her various objectives. This knowledge she used to the best advantages of the people of Osogbo. The banks of the river became her centre of activities as her name became associated with the spirit of the river and its sacred water. Larooye and Osun brought sacrifices to the river and a large fish (Osun’s messenger) appeared and spat some water into Larooye’s hands. This sacred water was said to have healing power including the power of making barren women fertile. Larooye was then given the title ‘Ataoja’ which is a contraction of ‘A tewo gba eja’ (one who stretches his hand to receive fish). His town became known as ‘Osogbo’ (the habitation of wizards), which was a manifestation of the wonderful works of medicine constantly being undertaken by Osun (Larooye’s wife). It is quite a possibility that whenever the river overflowed its banks, Osun usually made sacrifices to appease the goddess of the river. This appeasement, now known as the ‘Osun Festival’ eventually developed into an annual ceremony, which today is observed by sons and daughters of Osogbo during the month of August.” – Tourism in Osun State of Nigeria – (Osun State Tourism Board)

It is August. It is time for this year’s World Sango Festival at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III. On the final day of the 10-day festival, which is expected to attract tourists, the people will “assemble in Koso and wait eagerly for the arrival of the Elegun-Koso representing the ancestral spirit of Sango.”

Who was Sango? This is a picture: ”Sango’s life was so filled with terrible battles and surprising victories that his subjects and enemies alike credited him with supernatural powers. Sango died in the prime of his life. One of the supernatural powers which he claimed himself was the power to make lightning. According to Oyo traditions, while demonstrating this power to his chiefs and courtiers one day, he accidentally burnt down the palace. Either out of embarrassment or out of fear of his subjects, he took his own life. But his people, out of gratitude for all he had done for their kingdom, deified him, giving his name to the god of thunder and lightning and set up shrines and rituals for his worship. The cult of Sango became the special cult of Oyo-Ile kings, unlike in most Yoruba kingdoms where the cult of Ogun (god of iron and war) was the royal cult.” – (A History of the Yoruba People – Adebanji Akintoye)

As Abimbola observed, “We have a story to tell.”

August 7, 2017
Restructuring fever

It seems everyone in Nigeria is talking about restructuring these days, as if it is a silver bullet to end all contentions and achieve the ultimate synthesis. The Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, captured the various campaigners and the range of the campaigns: “We have witnessed in the last few months, all manner of political agitations, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. While some arguably more moderate and mature voices have advocated for the scrapping of the 1999 Constitution and a return to the 1963 Republican Constitution with its emphasis on regionalism, others have called for the practice of “true” or “fiscal’ federalism. Yet another group is aggressively seeking to commit the nation to adopt the Report of the 2014 Constitutional Conference as the authoritative basis for discussing restructuring, while at the extreme end of the scale, we have the champions of a separatist agenda who are hell-bent on balkanising the country.”

Interestingly, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said the Federal Government was following the nationwide fever: “We are looking at all contributions made by Nigerians across the country. Very soon we will come out with policies to address the call for restructuring of the country.” It is noteworthy that the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), on July 19 formed a nine-member committee headed by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State to come up with a response to the issue.

It is striking that another committee was created on July 28 by the 19 Northern states “to collate the views and comments of the people of the Northwest, North-central and Northeast ahead of any conference on the restructuring.” This committee is headed by Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State.

As things stand, it is predictable that there will be other committees on the restructuring controversy set up by other groups to take a position on the increasingly divisive subject. In the storm, there are many loud voices that seem to miss the point. For instance, the former APC Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, said: ”The 1999 Constitution is Nigeria’s greatest misadventure since Lugard’s amalgamation of 1914. The constitution puts emphasis on spending rather than making money, thereby intensifying the battles for supremacy between the legislature and the executive while the judiciary is being corruptly tainted and discredited. The constitution breeds and protects corrupt practices and criminal impunities in governance. The 1999 Constitution can never be beneficially reviewed and the ongoing piecemeal adjustments or amendments can only totally blot the essence of national values and accelerate the de-amalgamation of Nigeria. All the angels coming from heavens cannot make that constitution work for the progress of Nigeria. It should only be scrapped as bad relics of military mentality; and it ought to be temporarily replaced with the 1963 Republican Constitution to enable a transition for the writing of a suitable constitution.”

Taking the same path, the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) argued: “A constitution that virtually neutralises the local government system, which is the nearest to the people has invariably consigned the people to irrelevance and put development at the grassroots in reverse gear. A constitution and system of government that continue to explore natural resources to enrich the ruling class at the expense of the people cannot endure. This constitution compels corruption. Our country is presently confronted with daunting challenges of increasing youth unemployment, which is fueling insecurity, kidnapping, armed robbery and separatist agitations. These challenges clearly show that Nigeria’s problems are foundational and structural, therefore, constitutional. Unending piecemeal amendments of the 1999 Constitution cannot work. It will merely be postponing the doomsday. The constitution must be discarded, and the 1963 Constitution and the resolutions of the 2014 National Conference should be used as a template for a new ground rule, which will be submitted to the people in a referendum.”

Arguments for restructuring the country in specific ways tend to downplay perhaps the most fundamental requirement for reform, which is the human factor. It goes without saying that no constitution is self-operating, meaning all constitutions depend on operators for success or failure. This reality is so real that any argument for restructuring that fails to take cognisance of it is so unreal.

The country’s political evolution shows that the constitution may not be the most problematic problem. When those empowered to operate the constitution use their powers to cripple the constitution, the resultant failure cannot be the fault of the constitution.

The people may well have issues with the current constitution because there will always be constitutional issues needing resolution; but there will always be further issues to resolve after resolution. A constitution is necessarily work in progress because of social dynamism. It is a contradiction to have an unchanging and unchangeable constitution in a changing and changeable social context. Any restructuring of the country must, therefore, be informed by the reality of contextual changeability.

It is easy to identify the critical importance of the human factor in the operation of the country’s constitution; it is difficult to make the human operators of the constitution do so with utmost good faith. In the final analysis, the kind of restructuring that will advance the country’s interest is an ethical question.

There is a tragic aspect of the restructuring debate, which is that it represents a primary moral failure. Without sounding romantic, the ultimate restructuring must happen in the mind. It is obvious that the mind is where the unprogressive operation of the constitution begins, and the mind is where it will end.

Restructuring became a hot front-burner issue on account of unprogressive governance, meaning that if the country’s political operators got governance right the idea of restructuring that is spreading like a dangerous fever would perhaps not have been presented so explosively.

The questions are: If the constitution is operated with good faith, and that is possible, will the grounds for extensive restructuring still exist? Is the elevation of form over content, which the restructuring debate implies, a necessary condition for progress? Is the moral content of political leadership in Nigeria irrelevant to the campaign for restructuring?

July 31, 2017
Whistleblowers, beware!

It would be interesting to know what thoughts are going through Abubakar Sani’s mind right now. As a result of a court order, he will be remanded in prison custody till the case in which he is the accused comes up for hearing on November 2, three full months away.

Sani was arraigned before Justice Aliyu Tukur of the Kaduna State High Court, on July 13, accused of providing false information and misleading a public officer while on lawful duty. His trial was triggered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the grounds that his information had prompted a fruitless raid on the Kaduna residence of former Vice President Namadi Sambo on June 28, by ICPC and Directorate of State Services (DSS) operatives.

A report said: “Counsel to the commission, Elijah Akaakohol, said the accused had provided the false information to an official of the commission on June 21, 2017. Akaakohol told the court that Sani had claimed to have transported boxes of money in local and foreign currencies from Abuja airport to the house at Ungwan Rimi GRA, Kaduna in 2013, which he suspected to be ill-gotten wealth and still at the house. The counsel added that it was based on the claim that the accused “made officers of the commission to carry out a sting operation that turned out to be false.”

Interestingly, the report continued: “Sani, who appeared at the court without legal representation, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.” This may well mean that Sani is unapologetic, which may further mean that he knew what he was talking about when he gave information about alleged hidden ill-gotten wealth to the agency.

It is noteworthy that Sani reportedly claimed to have participated in moving the said money to the said house. Or could he have lied about this? Why? He should know what he is talking about. Sani would have arrived at a rough idea of what his reward should be like for providing such information. His calculation would have been informed by the Federal Government’s publicised range of reward for such whistleblowing.

This is how the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, presented the whistleblowing aspect of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s anti-corruption strategy for the recovery of stolen public funds: “The whistleblowing policy is a very simple policy through which we encourage Nigerians who have any information about the violation of our rights, commission of a crime, fraud or corruption or any Nigerian who knows where certain money is being held or kept to anonymously contact us. We will protect his or her identity and if the information leads to the recovery of money, he or she will be entitled to 2.5 per cent or 5 per cent of the money recovered.”

Predictably, Sani must have had huge dreams of a huge monetary entitlement, considering that the information he supplied had to do with alleged boxes of money in local and foreign currencies.

It is intriguing that there is no defining portrait of Sani. For instance, who is he and what is he? How did he get involved in moving the said money? Was he paid for his role? If he was, who paid him? How much was he paid? If he wasn’t paid for his role, why wasn’t he paid? Should he have been paid?

Why did Sani blow the whistle? This question suggests the possibility that he had a real reason for whistleblowing, meaning a fact-based reason for whistleblowing. The so-called whistleblowing policy, unprecedented in Nigeria’s political history, presents two choices: To blow or not to blow. It may not be as easy as it sounds. Where the whistleblower blows the whistle, it reflects a decision that whistleblowing is what to do in the prevailing circumstances, whether in obedience to moral influences or in obedience to less noble influences. Where there is a deliberate decision not to blow the whistle, it may well be that there is no burden of responsibility, and there is no desperation to make easy money.

Whatever might have been Sani’s spur, what he is going through because of it raises questions about the workings of the whistleblowing policy. In the first place, is there convincing evidence that the information he supplied was contrived? Not finding the said money at the said house doesn’t necessarily mean the money was never there. Also, it doesn’t necessarily mean the money was there at some point but is no longer there. What it means is that a thorough investigation is necessary to establish whether such money was ever there.

This particular whistleblowing case is particularly fascinating because it also involves former Vice President Namadi Sambo. About two weeks before the whistleblower was arraigned, Sambo had issued a statement through his spokesman, which said of the June 28 raid: ”This raid brings to four the number of times the residence was searched within a period of six months… At the end of the whole exercise, the officers, who carried out the search were satisfied that nothing incriminating was found.”

It is thought-provoking that the statement described the search as “a fault-finding mission,” adding, “We are apprehensive that a repeat of such episode will not be surprising if an incriminating object is planted in his residence in order to willfully and deliberately incriminate him.” The suggestion that Sambo may be the target of a frame-up is food for thought.

About two weeks after Sambo’s statement was publicised, Sani appeared in court, charged with misleading the ICPC by supplying misleading information to the anti-graft agency. Now that Sani has been exposed as the source of the information that necessitated the search of Sambo’s house, will it make Sambo less fearful of a possible plot against him by the security agencies?

Considering Sani’s experience, those who want to be whistleblowers at this time need to be sure that the information they provide to anti-corruption agencies is correct and up to date. In other words, they need to provide current information about what they want to expose. So, whistleblowers, beware!

July 24, 2017