The Nation Newspaper

Category: Femi Macaulay

  • A question of image

    IRONICALLY, the more evidence that the power of PR will not always work for power, the more the powerful seem to depend on it to work wonders. Interestingly, the testimony of a publicity specialist on January 28 during the trial of the beleaguered spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, gave further insight into how PR can be made powerless.

    Metuh has questions to answer in court on alleged fraud concerning  N400 million that he received from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November 2014; and on alleged money laundering involving $2 million.

    The Managing Director of a Lagos-based public relations company – CMC Connect – Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, who was a prosecution witness, said he got a publicity job from Metuh. Badejo-Okusanya told the court that his firm was engaged to develop and execute a media campaign to promote ex-President Goodluck Jonathan who was at the time pursuing a second-term dream. The witness said he was paid N77.5 million through Metuh’s firm, Destra Investments Limited, in December 2014, and that he began work towards the end of the month.

     ”The first part of the work was to get Nigerians to appreciate the roles of the military in the fight against Boko Haram, in general, insurgency,” Badejo-Okusanya said. He continued: “This was leading up to the Armed Forces Remembrance Day and we had insertions in newspapers, such as This Day, The Guardian, Punch, Vanguard, Daily Trust, Leadership and Sun…Thereafter, this was leading up to the Christmas season, so we had a campaign on TV stations wishing Nigerians Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We had it on Channels, AIT, Silverbird and NTA.”

    In addition, he said: “We also wrote materials, which we titled: ‘FACTS Speak’. The essence of this was to draw attention to some achievements of the PDP. We also did a series of other materials which ran into January, 2015.”

    At the time these promotional activities were being carried out, many Nigerians wondered about the wonders they were supposed to achieve for an administration that was a wonderful failure.

     How did Badejo-Okunsanya get this job? He attributed it to his expertise in “image positioning management” and his relationship with the PDP. He said: “The President asked me a couple of questions and I remember telling him that there was a disconnect between his government and the people. He seemed to take everything in good faith…” The question is: Did the communication consultant honestly think he could communicate success, and successfully contradict the demonstrable reality of failure?

    When there is a cosmic disconnect between the people and the government of the day, how much success can PR achieve in connecting the disconnected? Of course, this is not necessarily the same thing as reconnection, especially when there was never any connection.

    There is no doubt that the Jonathan presidency was out of touch with the public pulse and paid for it. The administration learned the hard way that image laundering is not the same thing as image management.

    Badejo-Okusanya’s account in a way replayed the 2014 controversy about the Jonathan administration’s contract with an American communications firm to cosmeticise its performance. At the time, Levick Strategic Communications was hired to employ its public relations expertise to make the Jonathan government smell like roses.  For the initial one-year deal, Levick was to be paid $100,000 monthly (almost N16 million at the time) as professional fees.

    On the scale of absurdity, the public relations goal of earning public respect for the Jonathan administration was extremely ridiculous.    For the avoidance of doubt, truth-based PR cannot deny actualities, or erase them; and the actuality of Jonathan’s governmental failure was undeniable and unerasable.

     There is an elementary lesson provided by bestselling authors and PR strategists Al and Laura Ries in their insightful 2002 book, The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, which is instructive in appreciating the fundamental flaw in Jonathan’s media campaigns. Central to successful PR, the experts argue, is the idea that “publicity possibilities” should be fully exploited. In Jonathan’s case, where were the “publicity possibilities” that the administration could effectively take advantage of?

    Relevant to Jonathan’s image are two celebratory international awards given to him recently, when the recipient is not considered award-worthy at home.  He was decorated as 2015 International Person of the Year by African Sun Times. After receiving the award, Jonathan said: “In 2015, despite challenges, we held violence-free elections that transferred power from one political party to another and from an incumbent to the opposition, without rancour, bitterness or strife.”  Correction: But there was so much rancour, bitterness and strife; it was a huge relief to many that the country didn’t explode.

    Jonathan continued: “In the process, we proved that nobody’s political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian or any national of any country for that matter. That, to me, is a most worthy testimonial of the character of the Nigeria nation and the resilience of our people, which is why I dedicate the honour to them.” The majority of Nigerians would most probably dissociate themselves from Jonathan’s so-called honour simply because it is dishonourable.

    Then Jonathan was adorned with the President’s Award by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an African-American civil rights organisation based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Interestingly, Jonathan was recognised for his leadership in human rights, social justice and the universal fight for freedom.

    Jonathan’s response: “I thank Dr. Charles Steele Jr, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, and the executive of the SCLC for honouring me…It was also a pleasure to meet Naomi King, the sister of the late American Civil Rights leader and founder of the SCLC, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who was kind enough to attend the event and identify with the goals and aspirations of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation. By this award, I am further inspired to continue to work for the advancement of democracy, peace and progress in Nigeria and Africa.”

      Jonathan’s track record as president contradicts the suggestion that he worked for the advancement of democracy, peace and progress. It takes more than self-preservation projected as self-sacrifice to be worthy of such credit.  So he cannot talk about continuance.

    If considering Jonathan worthy of awards and giving him awards can be interpreted as a continuation of the image laundering project, the public should perhaps expect more of such stunts.

    Now that the public has witnessed how poorly PR can work for a change-resistant government that didn’t work, President Muhammadu Buhari’s change-based administration will need to show how well PR can work when the government is working.

  • Corruption of conscience

    How much of it was extravagant exaggeration when Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Acting Chairman Ibrahim Mustafa Magu spoke against corruption in the boardroom of The Nation on January 20?

    “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.

    It is a corroboration of the conscience dimension of the anti-corruption battle that Magu said: ‘We need to let people know that corruption is bad because some people don’t seem to know.” He continued: “What I am saying is that people who know they have stolen our commonwealth should bring it back…They have taken our money and are bold enough to say they are not going to return it. The money belongs to the people; they should return the money quietly; let there be voluntary compliance. Let them voluntarily come out to say ‘this is what I have stolen’ and the government will take it. I think that is the best thing to do.”

    There are concrete consequences when conscience is corrupted by corruption. The established mind-boggling official corruption in politically powerful places during the Goodluck Jonathan presidential era prompts a reflection on the possible connection between corruption status and conscience status.

    At the core of the corruption complication is a failure of conscience. But what is conscience?  The simple idea of a sense of right and wrong can be complicated by the complexities of perception and perspective. But conscience is more than a concept; it is a confirmation of humanity. More corruption suggests less conscience; and more conscience should suggest less corruption.

    It is very likely that the corrupt politicians and their ilk who are responsible for the country’s present plight are ethically challenged, which is a way of saying they probably have a deficient conscience. Pauperisation of the people cannot be an act of conscience.

    Political governance should be concerned with the operation of “the Greatest Happiness Principle.” There is no doubt that the ethical principle of working for “the greatest happiness of the greatest number”,   promoted by Jeremy Bentham in his 1776 book, A Fragment on Government, is eternally relevant in the context of politics in particular. It is lamentable that individuals in the structures of power robbed the country blind, and demonstrably trivialised this pivotal principle.

    It is noteworthy that the EFFC chief described corruption as “deliberate and calculated wickedness” against the country’s existence, meaning against the people. To appreciate the comprehensiveness of this wickedness, it is useful to consider the definition of poverty by the United Nations and its deep political dimension: “Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity.”

    For a picture of the political element, the World Bank’s definition is clarifying: “Poverty is an income level below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. This minimum level is usually called the “poverty line”. What is necessary to satisfy basic needs varies across time and societies. Therefore, poverty lines vary in time and place, and each country uses lines which are appropriate to its level of development, societal norms and values. But the content of the needs is more or less the same everywhere.”

    The institution continued: “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom.”

    This clarity should clear any doubt about governmental responsibility when the issue is the correction of poverty. Clearly, the poor deserve opportunities that would raise them above penury, and the provision of an enabling environment should be a major purpose of political power.

    Corruption is not corrective and cannot correct poverty and underdevelopment. Evidence that corruption is “a denial of choices and opportunities” resulting in underdevelopment was highlighted by Prof. Yemi Osinbajo before his election as Vice President last year. He showed the country’s pathetic level of development in a lecture he delivered in Lagos to mark the 73rd birthday of the General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye.

    In his talk titled “Harmonising virtues to gain heaven and earthly prosperity,” Osinbajo said: “Our challenges are poverty – 112 million extremely poor despite being the largest economy in Africa. We are one of 33 of the poorest countries in the world; infant mortality – 3.9 million children have died between 2009 and 2014; maternal mortality – 55, 000 women die every year; diarrheal diseases – 110,000 yearly deaths; literacy – 10.4 million children out of school; 80 per cent graduates jobless; corruption; missing funds – N2.6 trillion NNPC petroleum subsidy scam; $7 billion kerosene subsidy scam; $1 billion missing excess crude fund; 400,000 barrels of oil stolen everyday…”

    Of relevance is the observation by the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim that Nigeria is among the top five countries with the largest number of the poor. Scandalously, the country ranks third on this unflattering list behind India (with 33 percent of the world’s poor) and China (13 percent). With 7 percent of the “wretched of the earth”, the country is ahead of Bangladesh (6 percent) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (5 percent). Together these countries are home to nearly 760 million impoverished people. It is easy to see the role of corruption in Nigeria’s tragically disappointing poverty ranking, which is ironic and inexcusable for an oil-rich country.

    In the country, corruption-related news here and there not only illustrates the fashion of corruption but also the failure of containment. When official corruption becomes fashionable, it is a corruption of fashion that should be made unfashionable. In the final analysis, the question is: How did conscience become inconsequential to the corrupt?

     

  • Coup of curiosities

    How much has Nigeria changed since its first and perhaps most far-reaching military coup was carried out 50 years ago? It was a coup for change. But was it a coup of change?

    Could it have happened without bloodshed? The Prime Minister, a federal minister, two regional premiers, and top Army officers from the Northern and Western regions of the country were murdered. The premier of the Eastern region (where most of the plotters came from), the Igbo President of the federation and the Igbo Army Chief were remarkably spared.

    The apparent selectiveness, if not discrimination, of the coup plotters in favour of individuals from the Eastern region ultimately resulted in a civil war that lasted three years.

    This is the speech by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu – announcing Nigeria’s first military coup on Radio Nigeria, Kaduna, on January 15, 1966:

    “IN the name of the Supreme Council of the Revolution of the Nigerian Armed Forces, I declare martial law over the Northern Provinces of Nigeria. The Constitution is

    suspended and the regional government and elected assemblies are hereby dissolved.

    All political, cultural, tribal and trade union activities, together with all demonstrations and unauthorised gatherings, excluding religious worship, are banned until further notice.

    The aim of the Revolutionary Council is to establish a strong united and prosperous nation, free from corruption and internal strife. Our method of achieving this is strictly military but we have no doubt that every Nigerian will give us maximum cooperation by assisting the regime and not disturbing the peace during the slight changes that are taking place.

    I am to assure all foreigners living and working in this part of Nigeria that their rights will continue to be respected. All treaty obligations previously entered into with any foreign nation will be respected and we hope that such nations will respect our country’s territorial integrity and will avoid taking sides with enemies of the revolution and enemies of the people.

    My dear countrymen, you will hear, and probably see a lot being done by certain bodies charged by the Supreme Council with the duties of national integration, supreme justice, general security and property recovery.

    As an interim measure all permanent secretaries, corporation chairmen and senior heads of departments are allowed to make decisions until the new organs are functioning, so long as such decisions are not contrary to the aims and wishes of the Supreme Council.

    No Minister or Parliamentary Secretary possesses administrative or other forms of control over any Ministry, even if they are not considered too dangerous to be arrested.

    This is not a time for long speech-making and so let me acquaint you with ten proclamations in the Extraordinary Orders of the Day which the Supreme Council has promulgated.

    These will be modified as the situation improves.

    You are hereby warned that looting, arson, homosexuality, rape, embezzlement, bribery or corruption, obstruction of the revolution, sabotage, subversion, false alarms and assistance to foreign invaders, are all offences punishable by death sentence.

    Demonstrations and unauthorised assembly, non-cooperation with revolutionary troops are punishable in grave manner up to death. Refusal or neglect to perform normal duties or any task that may of necessity be ordered by local military commanders in support of the change will be punishable by a sentence imposed by the local military commander.

    Spying, harmful or injurious publications, and broadcasts of troop movements or actions, will be punished by any suitable sentence deemed fit by the local military commander. Shouting of slogans, loitering and rowdy behaviour will be rectified by any sentence of incarceration, or any more severe punishment deemed fit by the local military commander.

    Doubtful loyalty will be penalised by imprisonment or any more severe sentence. Illegal possession or carrying of firearms, smuggling or trying to escape with documents, valuables, including money or other assets vital to the running of any establishment will be punished by death sentence.

    Wavering or sitting on the fence and failing to declare open loyalty with the revolution will be regarded as an act of hostility punishable by any sentence deemed suitable by the local military commander. Tearing down an order of the day or proclamation or other authorised notices will be penalised by death.

    This is the end of the Extraordinary Order of the Day which you will soon begin to see displayed in public. My dear countrymen, no citizen should have anything to fear, so long as that citizen is law abiding and if that citizen has religiously obeyed the native laws of the country and those set down in every heart and conscience since 1st October, 1960.

    Our enemies are the political profiteers, the swindlers, the men in high and low places that seek bribes and demand 10 percent; those that seek to keep the country divided permanently so that they can remain in office as ministers or VIPs at least, the tribalists, the nepotists, those that make the country look big for nothing before international circles, those that have corrupted our society and put the Nigerian political calendar back by their words and deeds.

    Like good soldiers we are not promising anything miraculous or spectacular. But what we do promise every law abiding citizen is freedom from fear and all forms of oppression, freedom from general inefficiency and freedom to live and strive in every field of human endeavour, both nationally and internationally. We promise that you will no more be ashamed to say that you are a Nigerian.

    I leave you with a message of good wishes and ask for your support at all times, so that our land, watered by the Niger and Benue, between the sandy wastes and gulf of guinea, washed in salt by the mighty Atlantic, shall not detract Nigeria from gaining sway in any great aspect of international endeavour. My dear countrymen, this is the end of this speech.

    I wish you all good luck and I hope you will cooperate to the fullest in this job which we have set for ourselves of establishing a prosperous nation and achieving solidarity.”

    The coup failed and Nzeogwu was arrested in Lagos on January 18, 1966. Curiously, Nzeogwu was released following Biafra’s declaration of independence from Nigeria on May 30, 1967, after retaliatory killings of Igbos in Northern Nigeria that were seen as genocidal. Curiously, Nzeogwu was allowed to join the Biafrans, and he did.

    The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafra War, started on July 6, 1967. On July 29, 1967, Nzeogwu – who had been promoted to the rank of a Biafran Lt. Colonel – was killed in action.   His corpse was identified.

    Curiously, after Biafra’s defeat and the end of the war, the Head of State on the Nigerian side, Major General Yakubu Gowon, ordered that Nzeogwu (1937–1967) should be buried at the military cemetery in Kaduna with full military honours.

    Curiously, the 50th anniversary of Nzeogwu’s coup brings to mind a chain of curiosities.

  • Biafra fever

    When rebellion is inspired by hallucination, sooner or later the rebels will demonstrate that they operate beyond the realm of reason. The signs of disorientation are beginning to show more unmistakably in the affairs of Biafra’s promoters.

    It is not that Nigeria’s federalism is perfect, but the imperfection can be perfected without the complication of hallucinatory revolters.

    This must be Ralph Uwazuruike’s idea of taking things to the next level. After unveiling his group’s new identity on December 6 last year, and announcing his new leadership title, he has now released plans to set up a parallel government in the country’s Southeast and South-south.

    The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) was renamed Biafra Independence Movement (BIM), and Uwazuruike said he should be recognised as BIM leader instead of MASSOB leader.

    ”Old members will now belong to the new Biafra Independence Movement (BIM) while the MASSOB structure will be reorganised as the youth wing of the Biafra struggle,” Uwazuruike said during a meeting of his group’s zonal and regional administrators. In other words, the struggle is still alive, but will be carried on under a redesigned banner.

    Uwazuruike must be under the impression that he moved closer to actualising his separatist dream by presenting what was called the 2016 Biafra Budget at the Ojukwu Memorial Library in Owerri, the Imo State capital.   Is Biafra already a reality, and no longer an objective? Who was responsible for making the budget? Who approved it? Where will the funds to operate it come from? Does this budget presentation explain or justify the efforts to generate revenue internally by, for instance, selling so-called Biafra passports as well as MASSOB customised vehicle number plates? Of course, these specific examples were scams.

    Also, Uwazuruike announced the appointment of Rev. Fr Samuel Aniebonam, a Catholic Priest, as the Chairman of the Biafra Independent National Electoral Commission (B-INEC). Uwazuruike said: “The chairman, with other anointed men and women of God as members, will supervise the internal election into the offices of the new Biafra Government on February 22.” How can a group’s “internal election” be for the election of Biafra government officials?

    He continued: “Our election will not be like Nigeria’s election, it will be a transparent one. In Biafra, there won’t be electoral fraud. The tenure of the elected Regional Governor or Minister would be four years and nine months. There shall be no second tenure. Once you are defeated, you won’t appeal in a tribunal against your opponent. This is why members of the commission would be men and women of God.”  He sounded like a Constitution, or like the Constitution. Is there a Biafra Constitution? Who drafted it? Who ratified it?

    The group’s National Director of Information, Sunny Okereafor, was quoted as saying only members of MASSOB and BIM are qualified to vote and be voted for in the elections. Are these the only Biafrans, or the only enfranchised citizens of Biafra? Is the group the same thing as Biafra, or is Biafra the same thing as the group? Okereafor said: “The electioneering has begun; we are conducting elections into all offices from wards to the zones, to elect leaders to administer Biafra. We are going to show Nigeria how to conduct free and fair elections without rigging, intimidation and favouritism.”

    He added: “Biafra will be a country where others would come to learn how democracy works… We want freedom; Biafra is the answer.”  Okereafor reportedly said Biafra would re-introduce its currency as soon as the elections were concluded and winners sworn in.

    Joking apart, don’t they sound like jokers? There is some confusion here, to put it mildly. Or there is some hallucination here, to put it less mildly. Planning to hold elections, and so on, in a non-existent Biafra must be a hallucinatory joke.  Biafra remains imaginary and imagination cannot make it existent. It exists only in the imagination of the imaginers.

    The reinvention that invented BIM should be appreciated in its proper context.  As background, it is noteworthy that a faction of MASSOB led by Uchenna Madu had expelled Uwazuruike for alleged misappropriation of funds. Madu was the Director of Information under Uwazuruike in the old power structure.

    The complexion of the conflict was obvious following Uwazuruike’s allegation that Madu got money from the Federal Government to stop pro-Biafra protests. In response, a statement by MASSOB’s Secretary, Ugwuoke Ibem, attacked Uwazuruike and threatened to expose his “atrocities, sabotage and deviation from Biafra’s actualiastion”.

    The statement said: “As the closest officer to the former leader as well as the image maker, our new leader has vowed to expose Uwazuruike’s dealings with the Federal Government under Jonathan; Ezu River case, death of Innocent Ogbuehi (ex-Umuahia MASSOB leader), and other illicit affairs.”  It added: “MASSOB, under Madu, will continue its non-violent agitation with other pro-Biafra groups.”

    How many pro-Biafra groups exist today?  This question is pertinent in the light of developments concerning what may be tagged “The Biafra Project”. It is no news that the Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), another pro-Biafra group, continues to make the headlines on account of the detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing treason-related charges for illegally running Radio Biafra.

    The truth is that problems arising from the country’s imperfect federalism may not necessarily be resolved by separatist impulses. Disunity among the various pro-Biafra groups is sufficient to illustrate this point.

    As Nigeria celebrates Armed Forces Day, also known as Remembrance Day, on January 15, it is an apt time to further reflect on pro-Biafra separatists in particular. It was on January 15, 1970, that Biafran troops surrendered to the Federal side after a three-year conflict, bringing the Nigerian Civil War to an end, perhaps without ending the centrifugal tendencies in the country’s space.

    There is no question that the present promoters of the past are too fixated on yesterday to give tomorrow a chance. Their extremism is a cause for concern. They are on the Path of Thunder, to employ the title of poetry by Christopher Okigbo, the talented poet who fought on the Biafran side and died on the battlefield. What kind of government will accommodate their provocative absurdities without a collision?

  • Military injustice

    It is not only a question of justice, but also a question of honour. Concerning the controversial 2015 terror-war mutineers now sentenced to 10 years in prison after a death-sentence review, Nigeria’s military authorities demonstrated a nauseatingly narrow appreciation of the connection between justice and honour.  Injustice, no matter how well dressed, is dishonourable. Not only was the sentence reduction ironically unjust, it amounted to a badge of dishonour for the military hierarchy.

    Curiously enough, Lagos activist lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) made an effort to clarify the information released by Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman on December 19 about the number of soldiers whose mutiny-related death sentences were commuted to imprisonment.  Falana said: “Twelve soldiers were convicted in September 2014 and sentenced to death by a court-martial for demanding for weapons when the General Officer Commanding, the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, visited a military camp in the war zone while 58 others were convicted and sentenced to death in December by another court-martial for demanding for weapons to fight the insurgents. Therefore, the number of soldiers who were sentenced to death by the two court-martials is 70 and not 66.”

    Beyond the confusing detail relating to the number of soldiers involved, more bewildering is the decision by the military authorities to impose a 10-year jail term on the previously condemned men despite exonerating evidence.

    It is as if the military leadership is blinded by denial. The global village now knows for sure that public funds meant for fighting and winning the terror war, running into billions, were rerouted by powerful individuals in the discredited Goodluck Jonathan presidency. The corruption-spiced narrative is still unfolding, with former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki right in the middle of the mess.

    Now, this is what President Muhammadu Buhari said in a recent transcribed interview with the Hausa Service of BBC: “I want people to understand that after I settled down and got a good grasp of what the country is going through, we removed all the service chiefs and appointed new ones. We also undertook an investigation and found out how monies meant for arms procurement were diverted and shared by officials in the last administration.”

    Buhari continued: “They sent the boys to the war front without arms and ammunition, leading some of them to mutiny after which they were arrested and detained. We have been able to raise money and fund the war. Go and ask the people of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa; how many of their local governments were under the control of insurgents? And how many are currently still under the insurgents?”

    A report said: “The mutiny was sparked by the death in a Boko Haram ambush of dozens of fellow soldiers when they were ordered against their will to drive down a dangerous road at night. Hundreds of Nigerian soldiers have deserted, complaining that they are not properly equipped to fight Boko Haram. The Associated Press said several soldiers told its correspondents that they were sent into battle with just 30 bullets and no food rations.”

    The now glaring and undeniable evidence of unprofessionalism by those who were supposed to lead the war on terror, which was a complicating factor, shows that the initial imposition of a death sentence on the mutineers was a case of double standard, inexplicable and inexcusable even in the context of military regimentation. If a death sentence was ridiculous in the circumstances, it is even more absurd that this was commuted to a jail term.

    Those who deserve to be punished are the crooks that used the anti-terror war against Boko Haram as a cover, and profited from billions meant for anti-terror arms.  The arms scam and the alleged scammers making the news at this time are at the heart of the Jonathan administration’s failure to defeat the Islamist terrorists who have been on the rampage in the country’s northeast since 2009.

    Apart from the huge number of mortalities linked with the insurgency, and the huge figures of internally displaced persons, the yet-to-be-resolved kidnap of 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, over a year ago, remains a huge open wound on the country’s conscience.

    It was an open secret in the Jonathan presidential era that people in power ironically fuelled the Boko Haram insurgency by fraudulent acts. The anti-terror war became a pro-terror effort because of the weakening of state-capacity by government officials expected to win the war. Under the Jonathan administration, the image of the Nigerian military appeared irredeemable as it battled unimpressively and unconvincingly against terrorism.

    Now the world knows the terror war was kept going and had to be kept going, to keep the fraudulent actors going.  So, the mutinous soldiers have been vindicated. Their ultimate vindication would come when they are not made to pay for the sins of others. Or is military justice inflexibly and unfairly different?

    There is no question that the military’s already stained image in this matter would be further tainted if the authorities reject commonsensical flexibility for professional rigidity. The jailed mutineers deserve a further case review. Nothing short of freedom for them will do.

  • A dishonour to Crowther at home

    It is two years since the Bishop Ajayi Crowther Diocese in Iseyin, Oyo State, organised a fundraiser on October 26, 2013, for the completion of a new church building for the Bishop Ajayi Crowther Memorial Anglican Church in Osoogun, the birthplace of the illustrious 19th century cleric who in 1864 was ordained as the first African bishop of the Anglican Church at a ceremony in England. It is a testimony to Crowther’s quality that in the same year he was also given a Doctorate of Divinity by the prestigious University of Oxford.

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

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

    In Osoogun, there stands a storied tree. It is said that Crowther and other captives were tied to this tree before they were sold into slavery.  Nearby, there are ruins of a place said to be Crowther’s home, where he was enslaved. There is no architecture in the ruins. A signpost said to have been erected by the Iseyin L. G. to indicate touristic intentions, has no visible inscription.  Crowther’s statue stands in an open space at the centre of the village. Approaching Osoogun, the sight and state of a secondary school named Bishop Ajayi Crowther Memorial High School, signified official neglect.

    Osoogun looked abandoned on October 3, when I attended a Thanksgiving/Holy Communion Service in the village to mark Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther Day Celebration 2015. In particular, the new church building, which was started in 1992, and the reason for the October 2013 fundraiser, looked like an abandoned project.

    The special service took place at the church, which is still under construction more than two decades after construction commenced. To paint a picture of the unpicturesque church building, or more specifically, the church building in progress, or in the process of progress, it is sufficient to say that the structure is a dishonour to Crowther.  The building lacked a roof, doors and windows; and palm fronds were used to cover areas of congregational presence. It was unbelievable that building a decent new church to honour Crowther could be so difficult. The old church, built between 1958 and 1960, is in a dishonourable state.

    The 2013 fundraiser had a target of N10 million, which may be inadequate today. Whatever is adequate for completing the new Bishop Ajayi Crowther Memorial Anglican Church, Osoogun, can be conveniently provided by, for instance, the Oyo State Government, the Iseyin L. G., telecom players MTN and Airtel whose giant masts tower above the village, and the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, which has declared October 3 as an annual Crowther Remembrance Day. For how much longer will the special day be celebrated in such undignified circumstances right in Crowther’s hometown?

    Crowther’s stature was strikingly defined by a  June 30 ‘thanksgiving and repentance service’ in England, where none other than the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, publicly expressed remorse for the sin against him.   Welby is the most important leader of the Church of England and the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. His apology on behalf of the Anglican Church was a testimony to institutional regret.

    The Church of England demonstrated a capacity for self-examination and re-examination that deserves attention. The historic admission of guilt highlighted the long history of racism and the scope of racially inspired but misguided chauvinism. It was also a lesson in injustice of a colonial colour.

    Welby’s words concerning Crowther, who is regarded as the father of Anglicanism in Nigeria: “We in the Church of England need to say sorry that someone was properly and rightly consecrated Bishop and then betrayed and let down and undermined. It was wrong.”  He also said in his sermon: “In spite of immense hardship and despite the racism of many whites, he evangelised so effectively that he was eventually ordained Bishop, over much protest. He led his missionary diocese brilliantly, but was in the end falsely accused and had to resign, not long before his death.” It is relevant to observe that Crowther died of a stroke in Lagos in 1891, which was possibly connected with his desolation.

    It is noteworthy that Welby said: “We are sorry for his suffering at the hands of Anglicans in this country. Learning from their foolishness and from his heroism, we seek to be a church that does not again exclude those whom God is calling. We seek new apostles, and the grace to recognise them when they come.”

    Crowther, described as “extraordinary”, played an undeniably effective role in evangelism in the early days of Christianity in Nigeria. “Today, well over 70 million Christians in Nigeria are his spiritual heirs,” Welby said in tribute to his pioneering efforts.

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

    To his credit, Crowther’s language skills produced the first Yoruba translation of the Bible, which was completed in the 1880s, and a Yoruba version of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. These projects illustrate how seriously Crowther took his Christianity. He also produced primers for the Igbo language and the Nupe language.  Something should be done without delay by those who have power and resources to ensure the completion of the monument to Crowther in Osoogun. It is good for Crowther’s name.

     

    First published in October 2015

  • One year of motherlessness

    Perhaps the ultimate tribute to motherhood came from Pope John Paul 1 who said at a prayer session on September 10, 1978; ”We are the objects of undying love on the part of God. We know: he has always his eyes open on us, even when it seems to be dark. He is our father; even more he is our mother.”

    The idea that God is even more our mother came to mind as I reflected on the ultimate event of December 15, 2014. It was nightfall. I received a phone call from my wife who informed me that she was in my company’s car park with my maternal uncle. I was just ending my business at a watering hole not far from my office when the information came. I returned to my workplace.

    There was nothing unusual about my wife and my driver coming to take me home at the end of the working day. I wondered briefly why my uncle came with them, and thought it must be connected with route calculations. Although my mother was terribly ill, it never crossed my mind that something terrible had happened.

    “Femi, it has happened,” were my uncle’s first words when I got close to him in the car park. I recoiled with an exclamation. I took a few steps back and walked to another space where I stood gazing at nothing for a few minutes before I went to pack my things for a journey I had never experienced before then and will never experience again.

    It was when I got inside my office that the impact of the development hit me with a devastating force. When I sat down, a crushing pain overwhelmed me and uncontrollable tears streamed from my eyes. “Why?” I asked continuously as my body shook from the blow of fate.  No one could provide an answer. The question was unanswerable.

    There were three colleagues with me at that piercing point of truth: Lekan Otufodunrin, Joe Agbro Jnr, Sherrif Atanda. They must have been unsettled by my unsettlement. They offered soothing words. Then it was time to wipe my tears.

    That night, as we drove to the hospital to move my mother’s body to the morgue, it was a time for the choreography of memory. What can I remember? What do I remember? What do I want to remember? For over five decades, Eleanor Bodunrin Macaulay (nee Williams) was a constant and consistent parental presence. Even now, the shadow of her presence remains, suggesting a deathless physicality. As her first-born, I bonded with her beyond the restrictive ephemerality of earthly life. Genetically and by socialisation, she will always be with me.

    Her modesty was magical and magnetic, particularly in a world of vain noisiness. Her younger brother, Mr. Bankole Williams, said of her: “She disliked anything flamboyant and believed in modesty.”  One of her favourite sayings, “Little drops of water make a mighty ocean,” provided an insight into her sense of organic development and increase, which was reflected in the way she lived and projected herself.

    Hers was a life of meticulous attention to order and propriety. As a working mother with four children, three boys and a girl, she had to strike a balance between her workplace and her home, which she did with remarkable aplomb. Apart from her incalculable contribution domestically, she was able to hold down a job in a bank for 30 years. During the period, starting from July 1955, she held secretarial positions at the Barclays Bank (DCO), and later at the Union Bank following a business-name change, and retired in 1985. She was awarded certificates for “loyal and faithful service” to mark her 10th, 20th and 30th service years.

    Bodunrin Macaulay was dependable and consistent, and had long-term money-keeping responsibilities in the Shotan Williams family union as well as her society at the First Baptist, Church, Broad Street, Lagos. She was also a fascinating stickler for time. By Saturday afternoon, she was already prepared for church service the next day, with her clothes and accessories chosen and ready. Also, when she had to attend a special event, she would start planning for it at least a week or two ahead. She was impressively time-conscious and her punctuality was a timeless lesson.

    It is food for thought that as she lay dying, she was sufficiently conscious of her commitments, and a particular demonstration of her sense of duty was noteworthy. She sent her monetary contribution to the Women Missionary Union (WMU) through a family member, despite her infirmity and the distraction it represented.

    Bodunrin Macaulay was born in Forcados, a riverine area in the present-day Delta State, on January 5, 1935. She was the fifth of the eight children of the late Pa Joseph Latunji Williams (alias J.L.), who was a marine engineer with the Nigerian Marine, now Nigeria Ports Authority. Her mother, Omare Edudun (known as Nene) from Isie, Warri, was of Itsekiri stock. In the mid-forties, her father was transferred back to Lagos and lived with his family at No. 29 Odunlami Street, Lagos Island.

    In 1960, she got married to Frank Olusola Macaulay (of blessed memory), a grandnephew of Herbert Macaulay, the famous Nigerian nationalist. Their wedding, which followed a considerably long courtship, took place at Ereko Methodist Church, Lagos. They were married for 53 years and were only separated by the death of her husband in August 2013. It is worth mentioning that in a moment of candid expressiveness in the 1980s, Olusola Macaulay advised his first and second sons, me and my younger brother, who were then undergraduates, to go for women who would be like their mother when they were ready for wedlock.

    Bodunrin Macaulay would have been 80 on January 5, 2015, but she didn’t wait for the celebration. Three weeks to the milestone, on December 15, 2014, her mortality intervened. At this time of remembrance, the words of John Paul 1 prompt my reflection on the godlike aspects of motherhood and the motherly aspects of God.

  • Weakness of the watchdog

    Although the story is still developing, it is unflattering  that two major media players are facing  weighty corruption-related allegations: Raymond Dokpesi, founder of DAAR Communications Plc, owners of African Independent Television (AIT) and Ray Power; and Thisday publisher Nduka Obaigbena.

    Corruption is no respecter of persons or institutions. It only respects self-respect, which may act as armour against corrupting influences. The two politically exposed media owners enmeshed in the outrageous corruption narrative that has demystified the office of National Security Adviser (NSA) have only demonstrated the weakness of the watchdog.  The troubles of the prominent media proprietors named in the unfolding corruption scandal involving the former NSA in the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, Sambo Dasuki, teach useful lessons about the media’s vulnerabilities.

    The media’s watchdog role does not mean it is invulnerable to corruption. Ironically, the media’s responsibility means it is open to corruption. For instance, it goes without saying that the media’s customary investigation of official corruption comes with possibilities, including the corruption of the investigator. The likelihood of media corruption is even greater when media owners are more power-friendly than people-friendly.

    What was deployed in defence of Dokpesi Snr had an opposite effect. A statement by Raymond Dokpesi Jnr said his father’s accusers were mistaken. According to him, the media chief received N2.1 billion from Dasuki, but it was payment for media services “to promote and project the achievements and highlight the challenges of the Jonathan administration whilst demystifying false information gleefully circulated by the propaganda machinery of the then opposition party.” He added curiously: “We must further emphasise that the proposal had absolutely nothing to do with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), nor the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).”  It was an absurd effort to separate Jonathan and his reelection campaign from his party.

    The family’s statement may well be correct in claiming that the Jonathan administration structurally allowed the office of the NSA to accommodate “multiple budgetary sub-heads including for communication and information”.  In other words, the payment to Dopkesi from the NSA’s coffers may not necessarily be described as a fraudulent diversion of funds meant to fight terrorism.

    However, beyond the question of its appropriateness, the structure that facilitated such suspicious payment to Dokpesi leaves several questions unanswered.  A report quoted a source at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC): “Our investigators have isolated these areas of probe: Were the funds budgeted for? If not, what informed extra-budgetary expenses? How much was actually voted for arms procurement? How were the funds sourced? Who or which agency awarded all the contracts? Who were the contractors? Was there any evidence of delivery of equipment?”

    The evidence of a fluid context where alleged media services are difficult to separate from anti-terror activities is the reason Dokpesi has questions to answer. It is also the reason Obaigbena issued a defensive statement from the US, saying: “We have never received any suspicious funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser. All funds received from the Office of the National Security Adviser were payments for compensation…”

    Obaigbena said he got N550 million as compensation for the Boko Haram bombings of his newspaper’s offices in Abuja and Kaduna in April 2012. He added that as President of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), he got N120 million as compensation for 12 newspaper companies whose copies were seized by soldiers in June 2014. It is curious that investigators said these payments were made to General Hydrocarbons Limited controlled by Obaigbena for “energy consulting”. Even stranger are denials by some of the affected newspapers whose officials claimed they never received any payment for compensation.

    It is ironic that media players have found themselves at the centre of a multi-billion arms scam. It was an open secret in the Jonathan presidential era that people in power ironically fuelled the Boko Haram insurgency by fraudulent acts. The anti-terror war became a pro-terror effort because of the weakening of state-capacity by government officials expected to win the war.

    Under the Jonathan administration, of all the arguments to redeem the image of the Nigerian military as it battled unimpressively and unconvincingly against terrorism, the most mystifying was the illogic that blamed media treatment of the anti-terror war for the continuing demystification of the country’s armed forces. The signs of a possible prolongation of the already protracted defiance of state capacity by the Islamist militia Boko Haram were observable, despite oft-repeated assurances from official quarters that the insurrectionists were doomed.

    It is unclear to what extent the extension of the anti-terror war was due to fraud-related factors. With the allegations against Dokpesi and Obaigbena, it would appear that media players helped to create an enabling environment for terrorists, wittingly or unwittingly. This is because, in the last analysis, fraud-related activities that made nonsense of the anti-terror campaign cannot be a plus for the media.

    It is noteworthy that the print and electronic media are represented in this drama, showing that corruption has no boundaries. The media’s watchdog role should position it on the side of the people. When the media betrays its essence by taking sides with unprogressive structures of power, it defeats the purpose of having a watchdog in the society.

    The media must demonstrate an understanding of its responsibility and appreciate its burden of truth. At bottom, the allegations against Dokpesi and Obaigbena show not only the corrupting influence of power but also the powerful influence of corruption.

  • Terrorism prosperity

    Certain developments in the country show that official terrorists don’t have a monopoly on terrorism. Evidently, the power of terrorism can encourage power terrorism. People in power can do things that make them no better than terrorists.

    It is unclear to what extent the extension of the anti-terror war was due to fraud-related factors. The multi-billion arms scam in the news is not exactly a revelation although it may have revelatory qualities. It was an open secret in the Goodluck Jonathan presidential era that people in power ironically fuelled the Boko Haram insurgency by fraudulent acts. The anti-terror war became a pro-terror effort because of the weakening of state-capacity by government officials expected to win the war.

    When politically powerful people help to create an enabling environment for terrorists, it is the ultimate tribute to terrorism. It is tragic that the role of former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki in the unfolding picture of official corruption in the country’s terror fight under Jonathan cannot be described as a war-winning effort. Dasuki was a counterproductive terror fighter whose failure has been compounded by his linkage with fraud-related factors that made nonsense of the anti-terror campaign.

    With Dasuki’s December 1 arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS) and his grilling by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the stage is set for unmasking political actors who aided terrorism by terror-friendly acts of corruption. A report quoted an EFFC source: “Our investigators have isolated these areas of probe: Were the funds budgeted for? If not, what informed extra-budgetary expenses? How much was actually voted for arms procurement? How were the funds sourced? Who or which agency awarded all the contracts? Who were the contractors? Was there any evidence of delivery of equipment?”

    Terrorism benefited from the corruption of the anti-terror war.  Corruption benefited too.  Diversion of funds for fighting terror meant a prolongation of the battle and a perpetuation of fund diversion.

    When anti-terrorism is not necessarily anti-corruption, there are consequences even outside the theatre of war.  It is now clear that organising fundraisers for the sake of the country’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who are victims of terrorism, might be easy; but it is so damn difficult for funds raised to reach the targets. This is the puzzling picture painted by no less a person than the Chairman of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III.

    At the opening of the Council’s second General Assembly in Kaduna on November 23, the Sultan said: “When we go into closed session, we will discuss that thorny issue of displaced persons, mostly in the Northeast. It is a very sad situation; people are suffering. Billions and billions of naira have been collected or put aside for their welfare, but what we hear every day and what we see on the pages of newspapers is very bad. It is important that this money be disbursed immediately via the governors.”

    Sultan Abubakar continued: “The billions of naira collected must be utilised now because, when somebody dies, he does not need anything again except prayers. So, since they are still alive, let’s feel for the IDPs; they are our brothers and sisters. We must feel for them; we cannot live a luxury life when our brothers and sisters are suffering. We do not sleep very well when we see things like that.”

    He should be commended not only for speaking truth to power, but also for demonstrating that traditional rulers can play a constructive role in a democratic context. In conclusion, the Sultan said: “So, please, we want the governors to take the issue more seriously; take it up with Mr. President and ensure the release of the funds because I was part of the team when this money was collected for the IDPs during the last government. They should find out where that money is and disburse it immediately.”

    In a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting, the traditional rulers jointly highlighted Sultan Abubakar’s concern: “In view of the hardships being faced by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North East with about two million of them in Maiduguri alone, the Assembly calls on the Federal Government to disburse the Billions of Naira raised in support of IDPs and other victims of insurgency to bring succour to them with a view to resettling them back to their homes.”

    To put it as mildly as possible, it is scandalous that this is happening concerning people who are not only displaced, but also distressed, particularly considering that they may be described as innocent victims.

    It is noteworthy that recent statistics by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) put the IDP population in the country’s Northeast at 2.2 million. According to UNHCR’s Representative to Nigeria, Ms Angele Dikongue-Atangana, who gave the figures at its yearly stakeholders’ briefing in Abuja on November 19, “the number is increasing specifically because regaining control of the territory by the military opened further access for the humanitarian officials so they can count many more IDPs, be they old IDPs or very recent ones.” To a large extent, the IDPs in question are products of acts of terrorism by the Islamist guerilla force Boko Haram, which has tormented the country since 2009.

    It is terroristic that these victims of terrorism are being denied the benefits of funds gathered for the purpose of humanitarian support.  Those responsible for this situation are no better than those who enriched their private pockets with public funds for fighting terror. Corrupt conduct that tended to prolong terrorism and probable corrupt conduct that has prolonged terrorism-driven pains are discernible minuses. From the look of things, looking for an answer to the question of the IDPs’ rehabilitation fund may necessitate a probe.

    Terrorism has exposed power terrorists. If Jonathan had achieved his reelection ambition, it would have given corrupt people in power more time to make more money from the anti-terrorism war.  Also, it would have inspired more fundraising events to make more money for exploiters from the plight of displaced persons.

    It would require suspension of disbelief to believe these narratives of terrorism in the corridor of power. Believe it or not, terrorism pays terrifically.

  • ‘Lincoln’s option’: Makinde’s food for thought

    How many people in the hall took it seriously when Prof. Moses Akinola Makinde recommended what he called “Abraham Lincoln’s option”? The retired professor of Philosophy took the matter of Nigeria’s redemption to another realm in his lecture to mark the 17th Convocation and Investiture of New Fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) at the main auditorium, University of Lagos, on August 13. Makinde, a NAL Fellow, tagged himself “the Academy’s philosopher”.

    His recommendation was indeed a philosophical leap. He said: “We must first acknowledge our sins, confess, repent and then ask God for forgiveness. This is the noble path America had taken in 1861 by the proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Nigeria must follow suit.” Makinde continued: “In a document contained in a book titled Shaping History through Prayers and Fasting, a former president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, during his presidency, had “proclaimed three days of national humiliation, prayer, and fasting. His first proclamation (out of three) was requested by a joint committee of both houses and congress, and the day set apart was the last Thursday in September, 1861.”

    Here is part of “the first proclamation”: “I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States, do appoint the last Thursday of September next as a day of Humiliation, Prayer and Fasting, for the people of the nation. And I do earnestly recommend to all people, and especially to all ministers and teachers of religion, of all denominations, and to all heads of families, to observe and keep that day, according to their several creeds and modes of worship, in all humility, and with all religious solemnity, to the end that the united prayer of the nation may ascend to the Throne of Grace, and bring down plentiful blessings upon the country.”

    Lincoln’s proclamation is Makinde’s recommendation.  According to him: “The new government of President Muhammadu Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo of the APC must see its era as a time for atonement, deliverance, restitution and change – a real and sincere change, from the evil and ungodly regimes of past governments to a visionary, purposeful, humane and godly one.”

    In his lecture titled “Reflections on the pains of growth”, Makinde offered a useful “conceptual clarification”: “The word ‘change’ does not entail forward motion alone. It could be backward motion like turning the hands of the clock forward or backward – backward like Nigeria’s case of oil boom to oil doom. Therefore, while growth involves moving forward, change necessarily does not. It could be forward or backward change.”

    It was an expressive shift from discourse to disturbance when electricity failed in the middle of the Convocation Lecture. For significant minutes, darkness reigned and many people in the hall must have wondered about the country’s unstable power supply.

    Makinde is the DG/CEO of the Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance based in Osogbo, Osun State. He is an internationally recognised name, particularly in the field of African Philosophy. He taught for many years at the University of Ife and, following a name change, at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, in Osun State.

    “I shall begin the events of our pains of growth from 1959 through independence in 1960 and the various changes that led to nowhere, but to a lack of positive growth in the polity, “ Makinde said, at the beginning of  an excursion that covered the “First Republic 1959/60”, “Second Republic (October 1, 1979 – December 30, 1983 and Military Rule, December 30, 1983 – June 12, 1993)”, “Third Republic (June 12 – November 17, 1993)”, “Fourth Republic (1999 to date)”.

    In tracing Nigeria’s trajectory, Makinde highlighted two specific military administrations, which he blamed for aggravating the country’s pains: “From Abacha’s era, it appeared that the pains of Nigeria’s growth were getting worse after two possible eras that would probably have alleviated its pains: Buhari’s and MKO’s eras. One was cut short, the other never allowed to be. In all circumstances, Babangida’s and Abacha’s military rules were a setback to Nigeria’s democratic experiment, development and economic growth.”

    However, Makinde also noted objectively: “We sometimes blame the military interventions for our woes and lack of systematic growth in social, moral, political and economic activities and behaviours. Unfortunately, the restorations of civilian rule in 1979 to 1983 and later 1999 till date have constituted severe pains of growth to the nation at large.”

    Against the gloomy background, Makinde argued that Man is the instrument of change and growth in the society. He supported his position with references to Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, and played up the role of scientific and technological revolution in advancing human societies.

    Makinde said in conclusion: “Now that change has come, the expectations of Nigerians are that this change must be for the better and no longer motion without movement.” He added: “It must also lead to growth in a genuine democracy with strong institutions, employment opportunities, fight against corruption and impunity of various descriptions, enshrine transparency and accountability in governments, parastatals and agencies, social responsibility and social justice, fiscal discipline, morality and rule of law.”

    In his remarks on behalf of the three new Fellows decorated at the event, US-based Professor Jacob Kehinde Olupona made reference to the power cut. He sympathised with home-based Nigerians, who experienced blackouts with frustrating regularity. It was a fitting end to the event because it helped to shed light on the burning need for change.

    In my interaction with Makinde after his lecture, he remarkably insisted on his recommendation. He told me: “Abraham Lincoln’s option obviously was one of the most important messages in my lecture to the presidency and Nigerians. I still believe that the inherent problems of Nigeria would remain (just in case Nigeria was cursed) until we do what Abraham Lincoln did for America as reported in my lecture.”  This is food for thought.