The Nation Newspaper

Category: Monday

Senate and Sagay’s tirade

It is getting increasingly clearer that the chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay has a penchant for emotive outbursts. How else do we account for the recurring controversial positions ascribed to him in the matter involving the rejection of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, by the Senate?

When a few weeks back the Senate rejected Magu’s re-nomination by the president citing the damning report on him by the DSS and poor performance at the screening, Sagay had said “whether they like it or not, he (Magu) will be there as his chairmanship will keep on being renewed.” Sagay attributed Magu’s delayed confirmation to “corruption fighting back.”

Apparently piqued by statements portraying the Senate as powerless in confirming such appointments, the upper chamber refused to consider the list of 27 Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC’s) nominated by President Buhari until Magu is relieved of his post. In the discussions at the floor of the Senate, contributors made copious references to statements by Sagay suggesting that their power of confirmation was of no consequence. And they resolved to put a lie to that through the refusal to confirm the REC’s until Magu is relieved of his post.

Sagay was again in the news, this time describing their action as childish and irresponsible. He said the Senate is filled with people of questionable character who place their selfish interests above that of the nation. For him, Buhari should call the Senate’s bluff and continue to run his government with people appointed in acting capacity.

The Senate did not take kindly to these wild accusations and has therefore invited him to shed more light on them. But as usual, he has boasted that the Senate has no powers to invite him since the office he occupies does not classify him in the category of persons under Senate inquisition. Yet, he is in public office as an appointee of the president making a caricature of the highest legislative body in this country.

Some of those who spoke on his invitation by the Senate have tended to question the powers of that body to interrogate him for exercising his fundamental right of freedom of speech. They contend that as a public institution, the conduct of the Senate must regularly come under the prying eyes of members of the public. They therefore see the Senate action from the prism of an attempt to emasculate dissenting views on some of its activities.

This perspective is clearly beside the point as his invitation in all fairness, cannot be ascribed to an attempt to emasculate public criticism of that key national institution. Of course, the Senate is open to public criticisms as reactions to some of its decisions have shown. In this case, we are concerned with the damaging and weighty allegations he made against the Senate as a body. He claimed that the Senate is filled with people of questionable character.

The ordinary interpretation is that a preponderance of the Senators is of shady character. That strikes as a sweeping generalisation. And the Senators are within their rights to feel sufficiently injured by that unguarded characterisation. It may not be entirely out of place that some Senators have serious credibility deficits. But to proceed beyond that to label most Senators as people of questionable character is to dwell in the realm of recklessness.

Thus, Sagay is being invited by the Senate not just for exercising his fundamental human rights but for statements that impugn the integrity and credibility of the Senate. If the Senate is filled with people of questionable character as he alleged, then this country is finished. His right to fundamental freedoms stops where the right of others begins.

Sagay is an appointee of the president on whose behest he speaks. That makes it difficult to draw a line between his views as a private citizen and that of the office he holds. When he pointedly told the Senate that its powers is merely to confirm and that the president can afford to disregard the Senate by retaining Magu in an acting capacity, he was merely obfuscating the right relationship that should exist between the legislature and the executive in a presidential democracy.

It was reckless for him to have averred that Senate confirmation of the relevant appointees of the government is of no consequence as the president could go ahead and retain in acting capacity people who failed the integrity test at the floor of the Senate.

He may have relied on Section 171 of the Constitution (as amended) which vests on the president, the powers to appoint and remove from office such functionaries. But the same section made it mandatory that certain categories of public functionaries must be confirmed by the Senate. The same Section 171(4) mandates that an appointment to the office of Ambassador, High Commissioner or other Principal Representatives of Nigeria abroad shall not have effect unless the appointment is confirmed by the Senate.

Yes, the president is vested with the powers to appoint or remove from office. But the president is still required by our laws to seek Senate approval. And as has been seen from the above, certain categories of appointments by the president shall be of no effect unless they are confirmed by the Senate.

It is therefore clear Sagay did not help matters when he advised his boss to ignore the confirmation powers of the Senate. He could not have furthered the course of democracy by simulating a situation in which the presidency and the Senate will be perpetually pitched against the other. Such a situation is a recipe for anarchy.

The nation is currently buffeted by debilitating problems. We are contending with excruciating economic recession with no end in sight. Insecurity and fissiparous tendencies are at an all-time high. They require the synergy and cooperation of all arms of government for immediate and lasting solutions. Muscle flexing and sticking to rigid dispositions, the kind Sagay has high preference for, will only exacerbate the situation.

So when the Senate decided to put off the confirmation screening of the 27 REC’s, it was meant to prove that its’ confirming powers are of some serious consequence. And I think they have made that point for Sagay to appreciate the futility of his ranting. Those who accuse the Senate of arm-twisting or blackmailing the executive by putting off the confirmation of the REC’s are missing the point.

The blame should be laid at the door steps of Sagay whose unguarded statements brought about the unfortunate pass. He accused the Senate of fighting Magu for selfish reasons. Yet, we know Magu’s credibility deficits emanated from the damning report on him by the DSS. Sagay can do with more caution in his current job. Else, he becomes an unmitigated liability to the Buhari administration in its new resolve to seek a mutually respecting relationship with the Senate.

April 3, 2017
A mother’s metaphysics

When a domestic storm becomes undomesticated and turns into a public show, it is sure to grip public attention and imagination. This is the case with the legal case involving Mrs. Taiwo Obasanjo who has asked a Lagos High Court to stop her son’s wedding scheduled for May 11 and 12. She filed a suit against former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the father of the husband-to-be, and Sir Kessington Adebutu, popularly known as Baba Ijebu, the father of the bride-to-be.

A report said: “Mrs. Obasanjo, who is the twin sister of Chief Kenny Martins, the former coordinator of the Police Equipment Fund, is seeking for a postponement of the wedding of her son to Tope Adebutu till after June 30…Mrs. Obasanjo is seeking a declaration that as the mother of the groom, she has parental rights to take part in the deliberations, decisions and activities leading to the forthcoming ceremony. She claimed that wedding invitations have been issued without her knowledge. The groom’s mother averred that she has been excluded from all the preparations for the upcoming ceremony.”

Additional information: “She claimed to have received prophesies and spiritual warnings that Olujonwo should not engage in any elaborate celebration before his birthday, which is two weeks after the wedding, to avoid any impending calamity.” Olujonwo will be 34 on June 1.

More information: “Mrs. Obasanjo stated that she filed the suit to compel Adebutu and Obasanjo to shift the wedding to a date beyond June 30. She also claims that she appealed to Adebutu, the mother of the bride, Mrs. Rosemary Dacosta, the bride as well as her twin brother. Mrs. Obasanjo said her pleas fell on deaf ears but was instead, insulted by members of the family.” The suit has been fixed for hearing on April 10 before Justice Lateefa Okunnu, and Obasanjo and Kensington are yet to file a reply.

When I got the news, my mind went to my interaction with Mrs. Obasanjo a few days before a prayer programme she held on March 12 at Dike Hall, Air Force Officers Mess, Victoria Island, Lagos. She had come to The Nation headquarters at Matori, Lagos, to see a contact and I happened to be around. I had met her a few times in the same contact’s office. On this particular day, in that same office, she went into a long talk about her prayer project. I eventually managed to get away to attend to production matters.

I was in my office, racing to meet production deadline, when her contact’s aide brought her to me. She needed publicity for her event and her contact asked his aide to bring her to my office. It was tough trying to focus on my work and her talk about her project at the same time. It was less than a week to her prayer programme, and she was interested in spreading the information through the major newspapers. She wanted to have the names of useful contacts in specific newspaper companies. I took her to someone in the news room who could be of help to her.

She gave me some copies of printed material that served as an invitation to her event, which she tagged “Prayer Summit.” She said in the invitation: “As a concerned citizen, mother and a passionate lover of peaceful bonding and unity and good progress for all…I, Mrs. Taiwo Obasanjo (ex-wife to Daddy OBJ) humbly and respectfully invite you to a “national family prayer” of humble and genuine repentance before the Almighty God.

She also said: “It is a gathering of sincere humble repentant souls with a change of heart for worthy existence. Let us join together to be a formidable, bold, truthful, courageous, respectful, honourable, caring, selfless, honest gathering with a sincere heart of genuine repentance to live and implement “The agenda of the Almighty God” for our nation and the world.”

She added: “To bond together to live and promote peace, unity, honesty, love, justice, welfare for all and to deliberately expel hatred, division, killing, bloodshed, greed, sectionalism and religious intolerance from our nation and the world. Thank you and God bless you mightily as you attend.” The “Convener” emphasised: “Not Government Sponsored.”

A report quoted her as saying at the event: “God is ready to heal our land and change the pain. God wants to change our situation and make everything new. He loves and is interested in Nigeria. He is not giving up on us. God is ready to have mercy on Nigeria and forgive us all our sins, after which restoration will come. But we must be ready to repent of our sins.”

This background is useful in situating Mrs. Obasanjo’s grounds for seeking a postponement of her son’s wedding with Tope Adebutu. Her position, which is based on “prophesies and spiritual warnings,” can be appreciated only from a mystical angle. Indeed, it requires a metaphysical leap to grasp her metaphysics.

It is too easy to disregard her position, without regard for the other side of the coin. It is too easy to dismiss her spiritual context, without considering the possibility of a non-material context. It is too easy to be world-conscious, without a consciousness of otherworldly spheres. What if Mrs. Obasanjo’s position has credibility?

Apart from the supernatural dimension of the matter, the maternal question deserves contemplation. It is unclear why the mother of the husband-to-be was allegedly treated so contemptuously by other stakeholders in the wedding project. But her maternal reality remains unassailable, and that should count in her favour. Of course, this does not mean, and cannot mean, unchallengeable entitlement.

This domestic matter should not have developed into a storm. Perhaps it would not have become stormy if all the stakeholders were more focused on the destination, and less focused on the route. The central goal is the wedding, meaning dates can be considered and reconsidered.

It is food for thought that people at such great heights were unable to manage a situation that should have been well-managed to avoid a crisis point, which is where things seem to be right now.

April 3, 2017
On the make

A bully reigned on his street, a huge boor whose visage, gait, brawls and conquests menaced everyone around. But he was nothing like the thug. He was slight of build, thin and lightweight. By all perception, the tough would gulp him up in one swoop.

But he was no one to bait. The coercer came his way and wanted to browbeat him, especially because he did not share in the intimidated respect others nursed for him. Before the bully struck him, Bola popped his faced with a head butt. The brute retired as the neighbourhood tyrant, his face squished into a dam of running blood.

The myth was over. A diminutive fellow had played David, and the goliath scampered out of sight. Bola stunned not only the tormentor but the street. “Sometimes, it is the people no one imagines anything of,” noted the great computer code breaker Alan Turing, “who do the things that no one can imagine.” Everyone knew he was spry and stubborn. Few expected the giant to turn clay at his feet.

As Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu marked his 65th birthday last week to an uproar of praise as a political high roller, few know he has been a giant killer from childhood. It is perhaps to make the symbolic point that former world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield will meet him in the ring in May. He does not see giants. He is not like the 10 Israeli spies in the Bible who returned with fright and saw their enemies as giants and themselves as grasshoppers. He is like the other two who knew that the enemies were little.

He is also a practical gladiator. He knows the fight to accept, when to unleash a blow and how. He is not a megalomaniac like Hitler who boasted before the Second World War when he crooned: “Our enemies are tiny little worms. I met them the other day at Munich.”

While the party lasted and the colloquium buzzed, President Muhammadu Buhari came close to classifying the stature of Tinubu when he described him as the greatest politician of this era. That understates him. Any credible student of Nigeria’s history would know that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is not only the greatest politician since independence; his is the greatest since Herbert Macaulay.

As he beat the bully, he has been replaying that script all his life. He has done so in the corporate world as auditor. He shook up Mobil with a report that capsized the company’s top brass. The CEO fell. He earned the fear of his bosses, but the respect of the headquarters in the United States. He did it in the democracy struggles as senator in the June 12 struggles as well-documented in an upcoming book. He baited, dared the Abacha junta, was gaoled, escaped death a few times, and amassed resources and brain to fight the despot till his death.

He returned to slay giants and became governor of Nigeria’s signal state, Lagos. As governor, he inhabited an island when the centre under the Owu chief could not unseat him. He challenged and outclassed him. With his party of one state, and the rest of the country under the sway and resources of a behemoth of the PDP, some saw his obituary. His colleagues fell after the first term, and OBJ was shocked Tinubu returned a glory.

Lagos became the last bastion, what in Texas history is called the Alamo. They expected him to fall in 2007. They plotted Obanikoro to unseat his party and best Babatunde Fashola. Obj dallied and wanted his troops to move on Lagos. Security forces warned him against it. Eventually, he yielded and Fashola became governor. The king had become kingmaker in the most contentious of elections.

With all of these, he had earned himself the plaudit of a great politician. He was not yet in the big league with the great politicians of our history. He was still a regional wrestler.

He was still so when he brought the West back to the progressive fold. Osun. Oyo. Ekiti. Ondo. Ogun. Then even Edo.

It was time to go national, and that was the big task. No politician had been able to rally forces in our history to victory. We had in the First Republic an alliance to bring down the NPC government under the Nigerian National Alliance. They owned the centre. To topple them, other parties coalesced under the United Progressive Grand Alliance. It did not fly, and the result was not only the turbulence of the West, but it triggered a coup that gave us a 30-month bloodbath.

The next attempt was the PPA in the Second Republic. Some were sanguine and expected the coalition, especially of Awo’s UPN and Zik’s NPP and Waziri’s GNPP. They could not form a melting pot. Ego replaced concord, and each party went its separate way. At one stage, Zik landed in Enugu airport after what seemed a cheerful dialogue in Lagos airport. He accused Awo of contempt. NPN won the election but it lasted only a few months when Buhari struck.

The only attempt to bring parties across the regions for a truly national foray was spearheaded in 2011. It all seemed it would work but it fell apart in the last flush. Jonathan had his way. Buhari is president today after many expected the APC to be a bust. The party’s formation is the biggest fruition in our political history. He single-mindedly envisioned, architected and worked it. Even a little detail like getting the logo right made him travel across the country from Lagos. US President Richard Nixon wrote in his memoirs that the proof of a tough guy is not only to make a tough decision but his ability to bring his associate along the path.

The big feat was not so much the 2015 election as the APC primary, which he choreographed without a bitter aftertaste. The primary prefigured the ultimate triumph. That triumph, history will show, saved us from the abyss. Jonathan and Nigeria was ineluctably on the path of perdition. Debts and corruption were out of control.

Macaulay rode the nationalist movement across tribes and regions. Zik succeeded him but the NCNC progressively shrank into a regional party. Zik was a diffusion. Tinubu is osmotic. He has been in this odyssey since he abandoned his lush job as Mobil treasurer. He slept on the wet and damp floor of Alagbon prison, ate on the fly, ran out of money, hid in bushes and stared death in the eye. He never accepted the Mobil offer to return to the luxury of his former life.

Yet his is not about politics alone. It is politics as buoy to policy. He began a governance template that compelled Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun to confess that they want to copy it in the centre. No politician in history has enjoyed such emulation in politics and governance. It is not for nothing that Lagos is the one great story of governance today under alpha Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

Not since independence have such an array of bigwigs in politics, business and culture gathered in honour of a man who left office a decade ago. Governors, former governors, bureaucrats, captains of industry, CEOs, cultural mavens, et al. They were there. It is a tribute to his soft power, apologies to Harvard Professor Joseph Nye. Hard power collapses easily. But soft power endures. Those who have not read Governor Ambode’s parable of the coconut should digest it for its import of a man who, in spite of many laurels, is still a phenomenon on the make.

What other major statesman is known by his chieftaincy title from a different tribe!

Just as he fell the bully, he still has giants to bait and beat. Except that he sees grasshoppers when others see giants.

April 3, 2017
Ali versus uniform

If you have stood close to Hameed Ali, you will see two things that collide. The air of an aristocrat and the mien of an army officer. In between, you observe the impulses of an entitled man. So, if you are the Senate, you cannot expect the man to simply cave in when you ask him to wear a uniform.

Ali will not say it, but he believes he is done with the uniform. He was done when he retired as a soldier. To him, when you say “old soldiers never die, they only fade away,” it also includes the uniform. His army uniform, in all its imperial glory and starch, is fading away, and that is just fine with him. For him to put on the uniform of the Customs officer, he sees as degrading. You cannot be a soldier, where you rose to an elite rank and became military governor, and stoop to an inferior garb.

After all, as military governor and senior officer of the Nigerian Army, the Customs was a subordinate agency. Its comptroller-general could not puff beside a colonel during the military era.

The army officer sneers. But then he is also an aristocrat in bearing. He believes he belongs to a power elite in ethical and ethnic senses. With such double-barrelled accolade, he did the Senate, with the Oloye snorting, a rare privilege by appearing in the chamber to answer their questions.

Ali thus represents the irony of power in our democracy. He imbues the hauteur of an army officer and emblem of a feudal elite, and why did he agree to be the comptroller-general? Because he can, and he can get away with such contradiction. He sees himself as superior and saviour. In his special way, he has stooped to conquer. By asking him to wear uniform, they are trying to conquer him into stooping. Oliver Goldsmith’s 18th century play, She stoops to Conquer, fits into this narrative. Except that the play’s principal actor disguises to conquer. Ali is too patrician to hide under any cloak.

That is why he is defying calls to wear a uniform. He knows no law court can compel him to do so. No law asks him to wear it. Decency is the only reason, and who is to tell an aristocrat what is decent? Decency is for the common pool, and we don’t tell the big man what to wear and how to dress. As Mokokoma Mokhonoana, a South African writer and philosopher noted, “what to wear: an employee chooses. How to dress: His employer chose.”

Ali does not see himself as an employee. He sees himself in the mould of an employer. If you come from the vault of power, how else can you think? Enough has been said about how the fight between him and the Senate betrays the fissures in the APC. But for me, it is a far more symbolic thing. Wearing a uniform was a way to make the strong-head Customs head conform.

The man is known to be doing well on his job. He is raking in money. He is a sort of corruption czar in a cocoon known as the Customs. The top brass of that agency must be nervous to have him around. The agency is, by common consent, the most corrupt in the country. Those who work there live the peacock life, the sort their legitimate incomes can never even dream of.

It seems the real peacocks of this democracy somehow fell into the shadows of the Customs bear. They wanted a bear hug, instead the beast pounced on them. The animal has them in their claws. I am referring to the Senate and scandal of Senate President Bukola “Eleyinmi” Saraki, the extant Oloye of the upper chamber of Nigeria’s legislature.

Every member of the top class wants a big car into the country one time or another. We have learned that Oloye has fallen into the man’s net with a big, armoured vehicle. Oloye is denying ownership of a Range Rover impounded by the Nigeria Customs. Saraki’s spokesman says it is a matter of the supplier. But they have not been able to clarify why his name was not inserted in it. Well, we now know that the Senate intervened not because of the outcry over NCS impunity on the streets by impounding vehicles with antiquated papers, but because it touched their bones. What a selfless Senate and its leadership. Oloye had to fight back, and he wanted to put the man back in line by wearing uniform.

It’s clear now, this is no trivialisation of uniform. The Oloye has a keen sense of symbolism. Politics has always used uniform or sartorial markers for effect, either for good or ill. It’s not for nothing that presidential candidates changed their clothing from region to region during campaigns. Goodluck Jonathan was adept at this. The stiff Buhari, who never cared to change his habiliments, was compelled to do so in the last presidential hustings.

Appearances are too important in politics to be left in the hands of stylists. Key political actors are their own aesthetes. Hitler had his tuft of beard. Mahatma Ghandi looked grand in his half-cloth, and defied Churchill who called him “a half-naked kafir” in the heat of the Indian’s anti-colonial maelstrom. Abacha loved his goggles. Trump’s turbulent toupee is gaining notoriety. Charles de Gaulle had his cap and so did Churchill. Nyerere had his French suit.

Yet these men knew that the hero was not about the uniform, but about the man, as Andrea Randall wrote: “Heroes don’t always have capes, badges, or uniforms. Sometimes they support those who do.”

Ali believes he is supporting those who wear uniforms. Saraki and co. want to force him to don one. The uniform, for the point of view of Oloye, is not the stuffy khaki. It is obedience. Ali gets it and that is why he is kicking. Uniforms are about obedience. Individuality is about sacrifice. Ali would not sacrifice his individuality, though, to an institution. The reason is that he has come as a messiah. Messiahs in history have tended to be humble. But they have also been individual without alienating their folks. Jesus whipped the money changers in the temple. What do you expect when a combo of soldier and patrician takes over a can of worms like the NCS? Perhaps, Ali may have the moral bona fides for the job. He does not seem to have the humility. Just like his boss, Buhari, the fight against corruption calls for men of integrity. But history tells us that winners triumph with other weapons as well, including cunning and strategic flexibility. Sentiment, sometimes, supersedes principle, when appropriately harnessed.

Ali would not wear the uniform, and that is wrong, not in law but in optics. As Apostle Paul noted, all things may be lawful, but they may not be expedient. If he can stoop to fight the corruption war, he should respect the men by donning their clothing. He becomes their leader in and out, in and out of uniform. It does not make him less of soldier or patrician. It makes him a better man.

March 27, 2017
Uniform question

It isn’t trivial that the controversial Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Colonel Hameed Ali (retd), continues to trivialise the uniform of the agency by his unyielding refusal to wear it. From the look of things, Ali is unlikely to wear the relevant uniform during his time as Customs chief. He enjoys the status, but it would appear that he is contemptuous of the uniform that reflects the status.

Ali seems to have come to the job with a superiority complex, thinking and believing that his background as a retired army officer means it is beneath him to wear the uniform of an organisation he rates as inferior to the Army, even if he happens to be the boss. Of course, there is a uniform that goes with the office and rank of Customs CG, and that uniform is supposed to project the agency, and its boss, who may be said to be the face of the organisation.

Ali showed his mindset during a February 2 interaction with the Senate Committee on Customs and Excise concerning a proposed bill to restructure the NCS. A report said: “A member of the committee, Senator Obinna Ogba, demanded to know why Col Ali as Customs CG still appears in and wears mufti close to two years after his appointment. The Ebonyi Central Senator noted that the continuous appearance of Col Ali in mufti several months after his appointment appears to be ‘highly demoralising to officers and men of the front-line revenue generating agency.’ Ali fired back, saying that as a former military officer, tradition does not permit him to wear any other uniform.”

When another member of the committee, Senator Dino Melaye, recalled that Halidu Hananiya, a retired Army General, wore the uniform of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) as its Corps Marshall, Ali reportedly “told the committee that Gen. Hananiya made a fundamental mistake by wearing FRSC uniform.” It is food for thought that a retired Colonel suggested that he was more professionally conscious than a retired General.

It is interesting that Ali’s position provoked Senator Ogba to the point that he “angrily walked out of the session.” The report said: “While walking out of the hearing room, Ogba retorted “this is how you people keep on deceiving Nigerians on wrong action and still defend it.”

Ali’s stance is indefensible. It exposed his complex; it also complexified the uncomplicated. If Ali thinks he is too big to wear the uniform of Customs CG, but does not think he is too big to be Customs CG, then he needs to be encouraged to rethink. Hopefully, he won’t think he is too big to have a rethink.

Whether Ali can be compelled to wear the Customs uniform is not the issue. So, the dramatic divergence between the Senate and Ali on the matter, which has attracted public attention and has been compounded by other matters, is a drama of distraction.

It is interesting that activist lawyer Femi Falana entered the fray with the argument that Ali “can’t be compelled to appear in uniform.” Falana said in a statement: “The Senate engaged in another illegality when it exceeded its powers by asking the CGC to appear before it in customs uniform. Neither the Constitution, nor the Rules of Procedure of the Senate has conferred on it the power to compel the CGC to wear customs uniform when he is not a serving customs officer. Indeed, the directive is a reckless usurpation of the powers of the Board which is the only competent body to decide on the wearing of uniform by customs officers. In many countries, including South Africa, customs officers do not wear uniforms. It is on record that the first four heads of the Customs department in Nigeria never wore uniforms.”

Falana continued his argument:”With respect to the customs service, its officers are required to wear uniforms in accordance with Section 8 of the Customs Excise and Preventive Service Regulations which provides that “clothing and equipment shall be of such pattern and worn in such manner as the Board shall determine.” The suit challenging the legal validity of Col. Hameed Ali’s appointment has been dismissed on the ground that the President has the power to appoint a non-customs officer to head the customs service. Since a competent court has held that he is not a customs officer, Col. Ali cannot be made to wear any uniform by the Senate. If I am said to be wrong, I challenge the Senate to refer to any law that supports the wearing of uniform by the head of the customs service who is not a serving customs officer.”

The question is not whether Falana is right or wrong. This issue is beyond what the law says; it is about brand logic. If the Customs is seen as a brand, it follows that its head should be seen to be projecting and promoting the brand. If Ali is the face of the organisation, not wearing the organisation’s uniform, or more specifically, trivialising what represents the organisation’s brand identity, amounts to doing a disservice to the brand.

Ali does not need to be compelled to wear the uniform of the organisation he heads, or pressured into embracing the brand by wearing the uniform that defines it. Wearing the Customs uniform should be a matter of duty for Ali; it is a commonsensical approach to organisation governance.

Beyond the sound and fury that have characterised the public debate over Ali’s refusal to wear the Customs uniform, the heart of the matter is that Ali, by his stance, continues to exhibit a narrow understanding of organisation governance and the logic of organisation cohesion.

The question may be asked: What will it cost Ali to wear the Customs uniform? To put it another way: What has Ali got to lose by wearing the Customs uniform? He may indeed have more to gain because it would show that he is a thinking man who can rethink things, which may make him a right-thinking man.

March 27, 2017
Imo’s ‘autonomous’ communities

Those conversant with the traditional setting in Imo state would have been wondering when the word ‘autonomous’ crept into the Igbo lexicon in the classification of communities. It is a vogue in that state to identify traditional communities, many of which preceded the advent of the white man, with the tag ‘autonomous’.

Thesaurus defines autonomy as: independence, self-government and self-rule. Is it being suggested that these communities gained independence from a former master-traditional community? Or, they have been liberated from a former lord in the same fashion Africa freed its people from colonial rule?

These were bona fide villages in their former communities with common ancestry, full rights and privileges. They had their own village chiefs and other heads with a government-recognised traditional ruler. What is then the propriety of the term ‘autonomous communities’ when they were hitherto not under any form of subjugation or oppression?

The absurdity of the classification is further underscored given that even when a new community is carved out of an existing one, both the old and the new are still classified as autonomous communities. Which raises the question: autonomy from whom?

The term crept in when the then Mbakwe administration carved as separate entities two or three communities that had been fighting amongst themselves as a solution to years of acrimony and bitter hostilities. These communities had a history of age-long bitterness, and the intention of the government was to put an end to it. It then created new communities out of them, which it termed autonomous.

That singular act was, years after, to open a floodgate for intense agitations as those who envied the traditional chieftaincy institution saw it as a veritable avenue to realise their dreams. Soon, agitations qua agitations mounted. Demands ranging from the selfish and ego-boosting to the ridiculous became the order of the day. And given the very well known republican nature of the Igbo man, virtually any and every hamlet wanted an autonomous community status. Subsequent civilian governments, apparently succumbing to political pressures embarked on a bazaar of autonomous communities’ creation.  With one creation, more demands mounted on the government, and the situation became chaotic.

With an initial number of less than 200 autonomous communities in 1979, Imo today has nearly 700 autonomous communities with demands still mounting. The last time I checked, there are well over 100 recommendations from the previous State House of Assembly. And the list of villages and hamlets that want the autonomous community status are on the increase.

The reason generally canvassed for this mad rush for more autonomous communities is that they convey development quicker to the rural areas. It is also argued that it increases their share of the dividends of democracy from the government. You are quickly told the last time government had things to share; communities that have been split got more than those that have not.

So the more a community is split the more it gets from the government, the argument goes. With this kind of logic, it is not surprising the avalanche of agitations that regularly mount on the government.  You are, in addition, confronted with certain policies of the government that water the logic for more autonomous communities.

When you hear the argument that creation of autonomous communities quickens development, it is only an expression of what they stand to gain from the government. It is not an indication that people of the new communities will now pool resources in the fashion of the community development efforts that part of the country was hitherto known for- such that culminated in the construction of the Imo airport project.  Such community development efforts have since given way to dependence on the government. And in communities where these agitations are rife, you can hardly find any effort at collective development. People are reluctant to contribute to projects for fear that the agitators may eventually go with them if they secure autonomy. So it can be safely argued that the quest for autonomous communities is a disincentive to community development efforts.  Otherwise, we should have seen such efforts brought to bear in the development of the communities from which these demands are emanating.

And if a community cannot meaningfully embark on development projects with its advantage of size and population, it remains to be imagined the magic it stands to pull through when it is now fragmented. If the issue is really about development, why will that not progress in the present communities or the sections from where such demands are emanating? Ironically, the argument about autonomous communities quickening development is based on the misconception that government has infinite resources to dispense and the more the communities, the more they get. It is a time bomb that is bound to destroy the society.

Beyond the reasons that are publicly canvassed, these unbridled agitations have their root in envy, disrespect for constituted authority and the vaulting ambition by any and every charlatan to become a traditional ruler. It is symptomatic of the raging confusion in the so-called Ezeigbo title floated by some Igbo residents in places outside their ancestral homes. Where there is peace, acrimony and civil strife are simulated to provide the grounds for agitations.

With nearly 700 traditional rulers, the Ezeship institution has already been bastardised, denigrated and whittled down in influence. You need to visit a public function of traditional rulers to behold the ridicule and chaos that have become the fate of that revered institution. Yet, demands for its further degradation continue to mount. Matters are not remedied by the penchant of succeeding houses of assembly for embarking on a bazaar of autonomous communities’ creation. No responsible government can afford to watch this descent into anarchy. It is incumbent on the Rochas administration working in concert with the state house of assembly to put a halt to this madness. It is the duty of government to restore sanity and order to the traditional institution by discouraging this slide into unmitigated fission.

With stipends paid recognised traditional rulers, government increases the burden each time it creates new communities.  This gives the impression that it has limitless resources to pay. Even if it is capable of paying, there is still a limit beyond which we cannot continue replicating the so-called autonomous communities without destroying the fabric of the society. We are faced with foreboding prospects of every village, every hamlet or family becoming an autonomous community unless the government halts the madness.

It is ironic that many of the traditional rulers who benefitted from the mindless replication are now vehemently opposed to further splitting of their communities. Perhaps they have seen the futility of uncontrolled balkanisation of communities. This underscores the point that there is a limit beyond which that exercise cannot be stretched without dire consequences.

The government must come up with very stringent measures to discourage the fledgling market of autonomous community agitators. Imo people should be encouraged to channel their energies to more productive endeavours rather than rancour and schism. We cannot afford to destroy the society by consenting to the selfish hankering of the burgeoning tribe of agitators.

March 27, 2017
Ambode’s cultural logic

Well-rounded governance is an expression of well-rounded thinking. In a striking demonstration of the possibilities of political governance, Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode continues to raise the bar for cultural thinking in political office.
Ambode’s latest cultural statement, the presentation of Museum Possibilities and the unveiling of the design for a new world-class museum at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, on March 6, reflects a heightened cultural consciousness. He said, “Every society must cherish its historical antecedents because they serve as source of inspiration for succeeding generations to discover, appreciate and take pride in their identity. It has become very imperative that we take a step back and revisit our history. It has become important that we renew efforts to preserve and protect our history and historical artefacts.”
He also said, “In addition, the Lagos House also in Marina will be transformed into the Lagos Historical Centre. The JK Randle Arcade will be remodelled into a world-class recreation/tourism centre. The New Museum will complement and be an important part of the structures being planned for this axis. We intend to regenerate this axis and the museum into an iconic structure that will invoke deep sense of pride in all Nigerians.”
It takes a thinking political administrator to grasp the cultural dimension of the pursuit of socio-economic development. Ambode continued: “This is the new possibility that is being presented to all stakeholders in the tourism sector and all Nigerians. On our part, our commitment is unshaken and we are eager to make this dream a reality within the shortest possible time. Given the megacity status of our state, we believe this is the right way to go in order to optimally harness the state’s tourism potential for wealth creation and sustainable growth.”
It is remarkable that Ambode, whose Accounting background perhaps makes him an unlikely cultural enthusiast, has been able to show that there is no room for narrow-mindedness in governance. There is no doubt that he has brought a breath of fresh air to the breadth of gubernatorial view.
A further reflection of Ambode’s culture-conscious governance is the publicised collaboration of his administration with the Federal Government towards the renewal of the National Theatre, Lagos. The development is a definite positive for the country’s cultural sphere, particularly because the National Theatre was a subject of negative speculation during the past era of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency when the idea of selling it seemed to be the ruling idea.
It is an interesting coincidence that the determined moves to redevelop the National Theatre are happening in its 40th year. The architectural masterpiece, which has a revered history and represents unquantifiable cultural value, is unforgettable as the venue of the 2nd World Black Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) held in 1977. It is a shame that the theatre complex was neglected and allowed to deteriorate to the point where a critical intervention is now required for its restoration. No doubt, a restored National Theatre will enhance the country’s cultural attractions. In particular, it will raise the bar for cultural production and consumption in Lagos, and reignite nightlife in the megacity that is the country’s developmental pacesetter.
Talking of theatres, it is dramatic that the Ambode administration is building six new theaters which are expected to be completed before the end of the year. Ambode’s cultural focus shows that his understanding of “needs in the society” is not narrow and simplistic. When the theatres take shape, their presence will mark a cultural reinvention that may well inspire a cultural revolution. Certainly, a megacity deserves thriving cultural centres that will raise the bar for cultural production and consumption. The beauty of Ambode’s cultural imagination is the promise of civilisation. It is undeniable that cultural production and consumption have a potentially civilising influence. It is this core value that the new theatres are expected to bring to Lagos life.
Cultural logic also inspired the reinvention of the storied Tinubu Square on Lagos Island under the Ambode administration. Ambode’s remarks at the unveiling of the renewed site reflected historical and aesthetic consciousness: “The decision to renovate this monument was informed by the need to upgrade it to a level that befits the status of Lagos Central Business District. It is part of the plan of this administration to develop the Marina and Onikan axis to world-class tourist destinations.”
Regarded as one of the most-visited attractions in Lagos, Tinubu Square occupies a 2000-square metre space said to have been donated to the British colonial administration by Madam Tinubu. A report said “the structure that was built on the land was the Court of Assizes,” which was replaced by “a tourist water fountain donated by the Lebanese Community in Nigeria to commemorate Nigeria’s independence from British rule in 1960.”
Ambode painted a portrait: “This magnificent monument was erected in memory of a valiant woman, Madam Efunroye Tinubu, the first Iyalode of Egbaland and one of the greatest merchants of colonial Lagos. It is a celebration of her exploits in the business world and contribution to the foremost status to which our state has attained in the world of commerce.” He promised that “historical monuments such as this will continue to be given a facelift.”
By paying attention to cultural production and consumption, Ambode has shown a holistic approach to governance. It stands to reason that a megacity needs mega governance. The status of Lagos as a megacity is a reason for mega governance. Nigeria’s megacity in 2015 was listed 12th among the world’s largest 35 cities and credited with an unofficial population figure of “approximately 21 million.” Of course, a megacity has to grapple with mega challenges. Megacity challenges include slums, crime, homelessness, traffic congestion and environmental pollution. It is noteworthy that Ambode continues to respond to these challenges with mega capacity.
Cultural governance is usually overlooked by leaders whose idea of political governance is strictly one-dimensional; or it is downplayed to a level of insignificance. This is why Ambode is an exemplary political player in this regard, particularly because his impressive cultural interventions have happened in less than two years at the helm. It takes a cultured mind to think culturally. Ambode deserves a garland for services to culture.

March 20, 2017
Obumselu: Exit of a literary giant

By a twist of events, I didn’t get to hear of the passing of erudite Professor of English Benedict Ebele Obumselu until about a week after. Given my routine of resuming daily activities after morning prayers with monitoring major news events of the day, I was thrown into a big puzzle as to how such a major news event could have escaped me. Is it possible for such an astounding intellectual and man of many parts to have passed on without attracting media attention?
Could it be that his contributions both as an academic and literary icon, and his place in history, are not fully appreciated? Or did it not occur to someone in the family or very close to them to issue a statement announcing the death of a man who left indelible footprints in the literary field? For a country that celebrates people who managed to ascend high political offices even when they have nothing to show for it, could it be part of the collective anomie of elevating materialism and the ephemeral to the detriment of value and more enduring virtues of life? Those were some of the questions that agitated my mind on realising that Prof. Obumselu’s exit did not get the deserved media mention it ought to.
I came into contact with him in 1984. Then, I had just been engaged as Staff Writer at the then Satellite Newspapers, Enugu, owned by former Anambra State governor Jim Nwobodo. Obumselu presided over the editorial board meetings of that newspaper as a visiting Chairman. Though I had worked in two provincial newspapers before then, it happened to be the first time I was working in a well-organised national daily whose editorial board followed the pattern of what obtains today.
I recall very vividly how he usually drew my attention to the corrections he made on my scripts. I recall the very personable way he mentored us in the art of editorial writing and the very tremendous impact he had in improving my writing skills. Unfortunately, the period was short as he was later to take up appointment at the Imo state University.
I was later to take up another job with the Statesman, a newspaper owned by the Imo State government. While I was at the Statesman, he sent for me for some discussions as he was living in Owerri then. He told me of plans by some well-heeled people from the eastern part of the country to set up a national newspaper to be based in Lagos. We held several meetings on this idea and compiled names of prospective editorial staff.
Somewhere along the line, we started hearing stories that another financier was about to go it alone. Soon, news went round that a business tycoon and philanthropist, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, was about to set up a national newspaper in Lagos. And this was immediately followed up with advertisements for various editorial positions.
Those of us desirous of moving over to Lagos, the centre of journalism practice, to face more challenges saw that as a good opportunity, given the preference accorded journalists from there over and above those of us that work in state- owned media houses. I was engaged as pioneer political editor of the Champion group in September1988 and the paper hit the newsstands a month after in October 1of the same year.
Prof. Obumselu moved over to Lagos to consummate the newspaper we were working on prior to my taking up appointment with the Champion group. The company, the Torch publishing, acquired an office at Esmo Close in the highbrow Ikeja area, brought in modern printing press. The whole idea was to go national. But for some reason, this idea could not come to fruition. They had to go into commercial printing with some of the national dailies running to them in times of difficulty.
While in the Torch, I maintained regular contact with him and assisted him in sourcing some of the staff that worked with him. I often visited his residence in the Ikeja area to share ideas. And visits to his flat said a lot about the simple life he lived. In one of such visits, I came into contact with the late environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa. I recall their discussions on literary matters as Ken kept making references to one of his books, On a darkling plain; and the advice Obumselu gave when Ken started passionate discussions on the plight of the Niger Delta people. It did not take long after that episode before Ken ran into the trouble that led to his unfortunate death. During the time Ken was passing through that difficulty, all that kept coming to my mind was the encounter of that very day.
Obumselu was a friend to many people, especially the young and upcoming who he encouraged and mentored through his simplicity and modest ways of life, his intimidating credentials notwithstanding. I count myself as one of those greatly influenced by his philosophy of life and for that I owe him a lot of gratitude.
A great scholar and literary guru, Obumselu attended the famous Dennis Memorial Grammar School (DMGS) Onitsha before proceeding to the University of Ibadan. At the University of Ibadan, he became the president of the Students’ Union from which position he eventually emerged as the first president of the National Union of Nigerian Students, NUNS, which today is known as NANS.
As a student union activist, he was reputed to have laid the grounds for issue-oriented activism. On graduation, he took up appointment as an Assistant Registrar with the West African Examinations Council in Accra, Ghana. It was from there that he proceeded to the Oxford University and obtained a doctorate in English in 1958.
On his return to Nigeria, he was appointed into the faculty of English of the University of Ibadan, thus marking him out as the first black and African to teach in the faculty of English of Nigeria’s premier university. He was there until the outbreak of the civil war. He was very active during the war, working variously as special adviser to Ojukwu on war documentation, official war historian and recorder.
At the end of the war, he settled to teach at the University of Nigeria. Obumselu was a key member of the Ohaneze Ndigbo which he served as both its Secretary-General and Deputy Chairman.
A scholar of high repute, he was easily regarded as one of the major literary critics in Africa because of his philosophical, cerebral and oracular powers. He was a confidant of the late Christopher Okigbo and reputed to have had tremendous influence on the production of some of his poems. With his death, Nigeria has lost one of its best minds. Adieu Benedict Ebele Obumselu.

March 20, 2017
These men died

Three deaths happened in the past week. Two of them were personal, and the third was deeply professional. The first and personal one is that of Pa Jacob Mosanya, a labour activist and perennial fan of In Touch and The Nation. He struck a friendship with me about five years ago, and was like a father figure. He visited my office a number of times and showed his great love of poetry, history and politics that engaged our conversations. He wrote a book a few years ago on Awoism and the Western Region. He worked for many years with the Railways and was a committed Nigerian. I will miss his intellectual brio, his mental dynamism and paternal advice. He died two days after his 88th birthday. He had wished to outlive his father, who also died at 88.

The other death was a little personal. The poet Derek Walcott died at 87. He visited Nigeria a few years ago, and I met with him for a long interview about his works. He told me my interview with him was different because I was familiar with his works. Many interviewers around the world were not. I interrogated him. His great work, Omeros, was a modern epic that domesticated Homer’s Odyssey in the Caribbean. He won the Nobel Prize principally on its strength. My favourite line from his work has haunted me: “You will love again the stranger that is yourself.” Another line? “I met history but it didn’t recognise me”

The more distant death was of Jimmy Breslin, 88, the cigar-chomping journalist, who dared establishment, baited scoundrels and supported the common man. He wrote in a sunny, acerbic style, and maintained a column for over 40 years. He was a major icon of pen, and won the Pulitzer prize. He has been imitated in vain by many columnists and served as example in journalism classes. I never forget his view of column writing, maybe because I share it: “Rage is the only quality which has kept me, or anybody I have ever studied, writing columns for newspapers.”

March 20, 2017
Avenging angel

What intrigues a thinking man over the furore over Ibrahim Magu is that the Senate and the DSS want him to be an angel. The paradox is that, by finding nothing but fuss, they seem to have made him one.

The President has stumbled twice over a stone by nominating him twice before the Senate and meeting rejection twice. But the upper chamber thinks it has won twice. Saraki, the Eleyinmi, must have indulged a gloating laugh. The DSS boss must have done same. Both must have found some time to say congratulations.

Magu, the imperious soldier of morality, may have sulked in silence. But what would Muhammadu Buhari of the imperfect health be doing. What did he say when the word reached him that his pick was scuttled again. Did he call the DSS boss? Did he ask his men to call Saraki, the chief comedian of law makers?

The EFCC storm is about purity. We want to cleanse the system, of moral worms and thieving scoundrels. We need one with a pesticide, or shall we say, moralsticide. One who can clean the sink. So, it follows that everyone who wants to decide who gets the job must have moral high ground, must not be a sleaze merchant. So, by rejecting Magu, the DSS has presented itself as the angel. Saraki and his men have shown themselves angels. Buhari who nominated him has done so because he is angelic, and Magu must also be an angel.

We all know that it cannot be so, and therefore, we are all kidding. The constitution was not made by angels or for angels. Nigerian citizens are no angels. When the United States constitution was being crafted, the authors knew this. Hence the main writer, James Madison, wrote: “If men were angels, no government will be necessary.”

So, when they formed what is still the best constitution on earth, the U.S. founding fathers like Washington, Hamilton and Jefferson knew they were glorifying an imperfect document, but one with ambition, a revolutionary fervour and credo for human progress and equality. They confessed that it was a project that would be improved along the way. That explains the several amendments on the documents over the centuries.

Ordinarily, one would expect that a man who wants to guard our coffers against thieves would be an imperfect person with a reasonable level of probity. But the Senate wanted a perfect man, so did the DSS. The irony is that they had a “perfect” man, as we could find. They found no fault with him. They wanted to find an appearance of a fault.

They said he had paid for his residence improperly. It was not only an official residence, but he never touched the finances in the transaction nor contacted the persons involved in the deal. Like most persons in such positions, they move into their residences as he did. There were other allegations, which included boarding a plane with potential target of his investigation.

The attorney-general cleared him of the charges, after issuing him a query. So, from all these, it means the only man who said the truth was Magu. That makes the Senate and the DSS purveyors of untruth. The seeming angel here is Magu.

So, what does that make of the President? Buhari comes off as a weak angel. He should be the angel of angels. But it seems the arch angel is incapable of defending a lesser angel.

So, what is the matter with DSS? I say, nothing. The DSS is a security agency rooted in the security history of this country. When we became a democratic people, did we retailor the DSS into a democratic machine? If we did, we have failed. The men who took over the reins of office from the soldiers still had military mindsets. They included men like Obasanjo and Danjuma. Of late, we learned from IBB that generals formed a military wing of our democracy, and they have exercised great influence on the polity since 1999. Let’s not forget that the OBJ years boiled over with impunity, and how could the security agents not flow with the strong-arm sentiment of the times? It means that our soldiers have freed themselves from the stronghold of the trigger. They have not plucked themselves from the jackboot style of the military era when security reports were not about facts but about intent. So, reports were tendentious, inspired by bias rather than investigations.

So, we ask a simple question? Did the DSS not know these charges when Magu was first appointed in acting capacity? Secondly, did the President not contact them before nominating and re-nominating the man to the shark waters of the Senate?

If the President didn’t, then we run a naïve executive branch. If the President did, then we have a cravenly presidency. Both are fatal to the concept of the presidential system. Why then do we have Senate whose wheel horses are under investigation presiding over the moral competence of their investigators? If correction lies in the hand that committed wrong, to whom shall we complain? But what Saraki and company are doing is to try to become angelic by intimidating the angelic. Or what Shakespeare noted in his sonnet, “double penance, to correct correction.”

Neither am I saying that Magu is without his fault. The major fault, ironically, does not come off as devilish to them. That is, Magu’s dalliance with impunity and contempt for the rule of law. The Senate and the DSS see nothing there.

Now, let’s see what the President does about his power. The greater target of all this is what may pass as Buhari’s enduring legacy: the war against corruption. The presidency and DSS tango reminds one of the Reagan years when Secretary of State Al Haig defied his boss, and said: “I’m in charge here.” Reagan would not let another snatch his glory.

Magu is still EFCC boss, and he would be so as long as the President wants. The law is clear on that. I support him there as the avenging angel. Let him continue to haunt Saraki and his men, who think they can edge him out and force the President to pick someone else. My fear Buhari lacks enough dan iska in his soul to bait the Senate. If he does, there will be no peace in the Saraki enclave and the corruption czar can act with substantive result.

March 20, 2017