The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • SNAPSONG 245

    SNAPSONG 245

    • State-of-the-Nation Snaps  {Part 1)

    Do you know what it means

         To sleep every night

    With HUNGER in your stomach

         And wake up the day after

    Dizzy and utterly drained

    Do you know what it means

         To faint, then fall

    In crowded paniative* queues

         Staggering back home three days later

    With empty bowls in your trembling hands

    Do you know what it means

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         To sicken, then die

    From the mildest ailment

         As the caring doctor weeps over your woes

    And the needed drugs dance beyond your reach

    Do you know what it means

         To acquire your ignorance

    In bookless schools and roofless classrooms

         Where Mediocrity reigns as absolute monarch

    And Platitude counts its coins in a gilded palace

    Do you know what it means

         When the university no longer has its universe

    And Gown strikes a perfect rhyme with clown

         When the compost bed of ideas

    Has become the graveyard of dreams

    Do you know what it means

         To exist and not to live

    To bear each day like a heavy yoke

         To count on a plethora of prayers

    And phantom miracles behind the clouds

    * A Yoruba-derived pun on the word ‘palliative’. The two Yoruba syllables, ‘pani’, at the beginning of the word means, literally, ‘kill person’.

  • IBB’s ‘Journey in Service’

    IBB’s ‘Journey in Service’

    Last Thursday’s public presentation of former military leader Ibrahim Babangida’s over 400 pages autobiographical book, ‘A Journey in Service’ unprecedentedly brought together all living Nigerian heads of state and presidents, except Muhammadu Buhari. Given how controversial the author’s reign was, it was thought he would never write his biography, despite promising to damn the consequences and publishing it. In the end, Nigerians waited for about 32 years to get the chance to read him, his thoughts, leadership, controversies, and justifications. No book has been so awaited, and no gathering in the past one or two decades has been so striking. There were many suppositions about him and his time in power; now, nearly all those suppositions have been dispelled. What is left, as the pages of the book unfurl before its readers, may not exactly meet the high expectations of a long wait.

    Other than the reviewer, former vice president Yemi Osinbajo, a professor of law, no one was sure on Thursday that any other person had read the book. In the next few weeks, thousands of people will have direct access to the book, and probably read it, for the author as well as the publishers, Bookcraft, have not gone to any length to restrict access to the book. It is widely available online. The purpose of writing the book was, therefore, obviously not to make money from its sales; it was to get as many people as possible to read it. It will be read in millions of homes, if not for its stylistic elegance, then perhaps for its revelations; or if not for what it reveals or fails to reveal, then perhaps to accentuate the displeasure millions of sceptics who wrote the former military leader off more than 30 years ago have felt for a long time.

    Former president Olusegun Obasanjo warned Gen. Babangida to expect harsh criticisms and blowback over the book. There would be tonnes of blunt, scathing and unflattering dismissals, he said languidly, in contrast to the jaunty steps with which he mounted the platform to give his goodwill remarks. All past and present leaders who said a few things about the author (whether he ghosted the work or not) had been mostly laudatory, whether anecdotes, wisecracks, or allusions. It is in the nature of tributes, either at birthdays or book launches, to be giddy and lyrical about the subject, sometimes saying things the speaker himself would find shocking to his practiced modesty. Prof Osinbajo tried valiantly to balance his review by appointing his allusions to do the work of giving the ‘on the other hand’. But his witticisms seemed more expiatory of the former military leader’s misrule than serve as a harmless and even rhetorical counterpoise. On his own, Chief Obasanjo, who has studiously refrained from speaking about MKO Abiola and June 12, took refuge in his warnings to the author to expect the worst. In the process, he masked and coded his displeasure behind his reservations, and generally sounded unenthusiastic about either his presence in the hall or what the book managed to reveal or hint.

    So many commentators have excoriated Gen. Babangida based on newspaper and social media snippets as well as the author’s brief remarks. They dismiss him, all over again as they did in the past, as overrated, both as a military general who displayed lack of courage in the face of his subordinate’s mutinous manoeuvres, and as a head of state who saturated the country with futile social and political experiments without deeply, positively and fundamentally effecting the fortunes of the country. He touched a number of individuals, mostly businessmen and jobholders, and they have remained eternally grateful; but he did little else. Indeed, of all those who have commented so far on the book outside the launch venue, there does not seem to be any who thought him a hero or a role model. They wish he had not written the book. Great reviews of the book will perhaps come in the weeks ahead, as soon as readers overcome the shock of what took place at the Transcorp Hilton venue. But the reviews are unlikely to be salutary or sympathetic to a man, general and leader who is at once stoical and Machiavellian.

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    Gen. Babangida is also unlikely to care about the hostile and trenchant reviews, for he is too smart and sensitive not to know that he is robustly reviled in many parts of the country, especially in the South and Middle Belt. If he couldn’t be bothered by the unlawful dissemination of the book online, why would he wince at scurrilous attacks against his person or his leadership? For the nine years or so he was in office, and despite his best efforts to curry approval and heroic worship, he received bucketfuls of abuse and hostility. Yet, he bore everything with perfect equanimity. He is now in his twilight years, and he senses without saying it that the verdict of posterity is already sealed, and has in fact been sealed since 1993, regardless of whatever private exculpations he got from his supporters. At this point, therefore, the smooth-spoken and pretentiously genial general has lost all sense of caring. Given the platitudes reportedly redolent in his book, instead of honest admission of truths and uncomfortable facts and revelations, not to say the many reiterations of his presumptions and justifications, he obviously does not hope the book would deodorise his image. He meant the book for other purposes.

    That purpose was contained in the unveiling of his presidential library prototype, a concomitant of the book launch. The complex will cost billions of naira, N17bn or so of which was publicly raised last Thursday. It spoke to his popularity among a class of wealthy people, and the enduring fascination foes and friends alike still have for him, that when he called for donations, they overwhelmed him with cash. As they lathered him with donations and pledges, they also spoke fondly and wistfully of his time in office. He may not be able to explain his talismanic hold on this class of supporters, but he has an instinctive grasp of what he continues to mean to millions of Nigerians, particularly from the North. However, Southerners are so pissed off with him that they loath his book launch and describe as it as gratuitous insult to the sensibilities of ‘Nigerians’. Some of them are in fact so angry with him over how tragically his 1993 betrayal set the country back by many decades, that they do not trust him to tell the truth about his time in office or imagine he could ever be so altruistic as to care what fate befell the country.

    Yes, many people will take the trouble of reading his book in the weeks and months ahead, not because they care about him or think he has the capacity to analyse the country’s existential issues beyond his jaded philosophies and simplistic exonerations, but because they want to satisfy their curiosities, to find out whether he is not much worse than they had imagined. They will want to read for themselves whether they can find any context in the book to explain the widely presumed dichotomy between his regrets or acceptance of responsibility, which he offered fulsomely, and apologies for the poll annulment and execution of Gen. Mamman Vatsa, which he didn’t give explicitly. Many authors wracked by conscience often hide behind lexical facades; readers will want to peruse the book for themselves to see whether they could detect any stirring in his enfeebled gait, let alone his conscience.

  • Obasa opts for litigation

    Obasa opts for litigation

    Some 10 days ago, former Lagos State House of Assembly speaker Mudashiru Obasa went to court to challenge his removal last month while on vacation. He rested his application on nine grounds. His resort to the courts followed his realisation that civil action, which hundreds of his supporters embarked upon in the weeks following his removal, cut no ice. It is, however, within his rights to litigate his removal, especially as political interventions seemed slow and stalemated.

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    But if political intervention appears long-drawn-out, why does he think court action will give him the quick relief he desires so badly? He has had a long spell as speaker, but he has not matched it with experience and quick-wittedness. He seems persuaded that his colleagues are so fickle-minded that should he be restored in office, he could worm his way back into their confidences. Nothing is impossible. But given the manner they repudiated him weeks ago, their true selves appeared to have been on display. They will continue to loath his leadership. If at his age and more than 10 years of his leadership he could not hone his leadership acumen, where does he think his new self would come from?

    Strangely, both the state All Progressives Congress and the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) seem numbed. They should regain their composure and take remedies that won’t cost them dearly in the future, or become pyrrhic. They should take the wind. Whatever solutions they embrace that end up alienating the nearly three dozen lawmakers who kicked out Hon. Obasa will do more harm than good to the party’s fabric. Surely, they must know that the courts won’t give the party and Hon Obasa the respite they seek.

  • Osun conjures electoral crisis, stalemate

    Osun conjures electoral crisis, stalemate

    There is nothing in the Osun State local government election crisis to merit the term ‘crisis’. Absolutely nothing. Shortly before former governor Gboyega Oyetola left office in 2022, he conducted the local government election of October 15, 2022. The All Progressives Congress (APC) won handily. The conduct of the poll was, however, challenged by both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to which incumbent governor Ademola Adeleke belongs, and the Action Peoples Party (APP). On November 25 and November 30, both the PDP and APP got judgements against the APC, ordering the sacking of the elected LG chairmen. The APC appealed the November 25 judgement, but reports suggest they did not appeal the November 30 judgement. The controversy centres on whether the Court of Appeal judgement against the sacking of the elected LG officials based on the PDP suit does not in fact vitiate the judgement on the same matter in respect of the APP case.

    As far as the APC is concerned, the Court of Appeal judgement trumps anything in whatever way it was argued or brought up in the lower courts. It is obviously a case that turns juridical logic on its head. But clever by half, the PDP ignores its own defeat at the appellate court and instead latches on to the allegedly uncontested APP case to sustain the dissolution of the elected chairmen and councillors produced by the 2022 LG poll as well as pursue the conduct of another LG election yesterday. Governor Adeleke and the PDP have, however, not convincingly argued how the previous LG election could be annulled by a lower court judgement when the appellate court judgement continues to sustain that same (not a different) election. It appears to be a conundrum; but in fact it is not. The case is much simpler and unequivocal than the governor and the Osun State electoral commission have made it.

    In Nigeria, contrived legal conundrums remain a threat to democracy, especially when mischievously and persistently exploited by the political elite. There is no reason for Osun to be embroiled in any electoral crisis, let alone be exposed to the spectre of violence such as was triggered last week when the APC LG chairmen, acting on the judgement of the Court of Appeal, enforced their own return to office. They did so because their tenure would run out in October. Worse, completely ignoring the Court of Appeal judgement and instead electing to uphold a lower court judgement using legal subterfuge, Osun announced its determination to hold a new election thereby presenting the current LG chairmen with a fait accompli. They knew that even if the LG chairmen hypothetically get a future judgement against OSIEC and the state government, the trial judges would deem the outcome an ‘academic exercise’. To forestall double jeopardy, the recognised LG chairmen simply took matters into their own hands. If they didn’t, no one would help them.

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    The unfortunate Osun stalemate is a worrisome indication of how readily Nigerian political leaders engage in brinkmanship. They provoked the collapse of the First and Second Republics, and nearly triggered the collapse of the Fourth Republic after the last presidential poll when they called for military takeover. But they are not alone in their excesses. They have in addition managed to secure the buy-in of some judges and lawyers, and have been encouraged by some political parties and sore losers to flout common sense. There is in short little altruism anywhere. But this is where the federal government comes in, particularly the nation’s chief law officer, the Attorney General of the Federation. They must see reining in political extremists masquerading as governors and political leaders as an obligation that must not be shirked for whatever treason.

    It took some time before the Justice minister Lateef Fagbemi rose up to the occasion in the Osun case. But when he did, he offered sound legal and interpretative opinions. He recognised that Osun State was unwilling and perhaps uninterested in getting a superior court to explicate the import of the Court of Appeal judgement. The state’s officials probably feared that if they went for interpretation and the case did not favour them, it would spell disaster. So they latched on to the APP case, not their own suit, interpreted it the way they liked, and proceeded to dig their heels in, threatening fire and brimstone, and issuing dire warnings to anyone, federal or state, present or former state officials, bent on destabilising the state. Mr Fagbemi shunned their threats and insisted that Osun was irrevocably wrong. In any case, he wondered aloud, another LG election was due in October, still under the governorship of the incumbent – so, why the unholy rush? Only Mr Adeleke can solve that puzzle.

    Mr Fagbemi had been wary of rising to the challenge in some other states where the rule of law had been baited and defied, especially in the convoluted case of Rivers State where suits after suits have exposed the soft underbelly of Nigerian politics and judiciary. The Justice minister can no longer shrug his shoulders. It is reassuring that in the case of Osun, he has not equivocated. But he must go beyond offering firm and unimpeachable opinions; he must now take the fight to the ‘enemy’. He needs to light a fire and put it under the feet of the sometimes wary National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Too many judges, either due to incompetence or collusion, or even because they are beholden to political officials, have betrayed their oaths and perverted the cause of justice, and had given egregiously fallible judgements. They need to be shipped out. They have persisted in messing up scores of cases in Rivers; now they are ridiculing themselves in Osun.

    It is also time Mr Fagbemi took the fight to governors who in the name of the constitution are enacting farcical dictatorships in their states, thereby undermining the same constitution. He needs to give the federal government, and particularly the president, legal advice as to how to tackle errant governors determined to sabotage democracy. Voters in many states have not always shown gumption in picking their leaders, often voting for politicians for totally wrong reasons. Their indifference has populated State Houses with self-absorbed leaders. It is, therefore, necessary for the nation’s chief law officer to maintain vigilance in the face of excitable political and judicial officers unfazed by the spirit and the letter of the law.

  • Revisiting the ‘June 12’ struggle

    Revisiting the ‘June 12’ struggle

    It has been thirty-two since the June 12, 1993 presidential election was annulled. The pain remains in the heart of the Nigerian political history. The dashed hope of those who faced the fire to restore democracy after years of military dilly-dallying still hurts.

    Although some of the principal actors in the annulment saga have been consigned to the dustbin of history, their misadventure deeply threw many Nigerians in the throes of a rascal decision by a few megalomaniacs.

    But, as goes the Yoruba saying, a lie may travel for a thousand years, the truth will catch up with it in a single day. Those who indulge in prevarication only defraud themselves, and not their victims. From history, it is evident that the human conscience imposes the worst punishment on the guilty, especially deceitful leaders. They suffer a psychological burden. The cunning may savour gerrymandering in the beginning, but their lies will ultimately explode in their faces. It will birth an ignominy.

    The truth has finally demolished the edifice of falsehood erected thirty-two years ago on the quicksand of political machination. The truth was never hidden; only the facts were distorted.

    Truth and conscience have hunted the annuller, who wrecked a monumental havoc on the anxious country by dashing their hope of returning to civil rule through an election. It is a lesson to those in power. Those who loomed large in the past have now seen the vanity of life and the fleeting of power.

    Former Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, IBB for short, has surrendered, at last. During the public presentation of his book, titled: A Journey in Service, on Thursday in Abuja, he admitted that the June 12, 1993 poll was credible, free and fair. The former leader acknowledged that the exercise conducted by the National Electoral Commission (NEC), chaired by the late Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, was transparent. But he did not apologise to the nation for annulling the election. To those you suffered bruises during the demonstration, IBB presented ‘A Journey in Deservice.’

    The former military leader, who prided himself as the Evil Genius, only admitted the gross error of canceling the results of the poll won by the late business mogul, Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, who ran on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). IBB confessed that he lied when he told Nigerians in a broadcast that the ballot box was abused by money. He also lied when he said the court misbehaved when it intervened in the political process.

    Babangida was not a neonate in 1993. He only took Nigerians for a ride as a lord of the manor.

    Nigerians had endured the over eight years of his political meandering. But the annulment was the turning point. The unwise decision destroyed the legacy of the charismatic General who forfeited a hallowed place in history through one moment of miscalculation.

    Many were taken aback when the gap-tooth General with fake smiles refused to vote on poll day. He avoided legitimising the credible process so that he could later have an excuse to abort the transition programme.

    The conspiracy was tick. It was the story of a great betrayal by soldiers of fortune who waged a war of licentiousness against the people. The toll was huge. The pain was deep. The scars have not healed. For families that bore the brunt, the agony has not eased.

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    The nation was enveloped in anxiety. Schools were closed for one year. Politicians were tossed around, banned, unbanned, and banned. The political class that had invested so much resources, time, and hope in the formation of 14 associations was thrown into disarray. All the political parties were proscribed. Then, two parties – the SDP and the National Republican Convention (NRC) – were imposed on them. The electoral procedures, from zero party council poll to the presidential election, were deliberately made Herculean. Then, diarchy was introduced. Those with guns and trembling civilians were lumped together in an inexplicable Transitional National Council that ran parallel to a superior Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC). Never have Nigerians been patient with a very challenging and elongated political experimentation. As the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, warned, when Nigerians imagined that the new dawn had arrived, they were woken up to a new transition nightmare.

    People voted for democracy, but the military served them with regrets and sorrows. The symbol of the struggle and his devoted wife, Kudirat, were murdered. The yearning for a new dawn became a mirage. In the end, 1993 became a year of wasted expectation and lost hope.

    In 1999, when civil rule was restored, the main inheritors of the gains of the struggle were the symbols of the military, ably supported by civilian collaborators who subverted the legitimate agitations.

    After five years of serious protest, the slogan of the battle changed, following the mysterious death of the election winner in detention. The people insisted that the military must just go. Nigeria ultimately entered the second phase of the struggle under IBB’s pre-determined successor, General Sani Abacha, the pretentious interim contraption headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, notwithstanding.

    Lamentably, the labours of pro-June 12 crusaders were in vain. But references would always be made to the contributions of the leaders and arrowheads of the campaigns at home and abroad. Many of them have passed on. But they left a memorial. Their survivors are still keeping hope alive, especially in this period of ‘Renewed Hope Agenda.’

    These leaders include Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Chief Bola Ige, Rear Admiral Ndubudi Kanu, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (incumbent President of Nigeria), Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Col. Dangiwa Umar, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Gen. Alani Akinrinade, Ayo Opadokun, Olu Falae, Frank Kokori, Fredrick Fasehun, Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, Ayoka Lawani, Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Chief Ganiyu Dawodu, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, Olawale Oshun, Mohammed Arzika, Amos Akingba, Balarabe Musa, Ibrahim Tahir, Walter Carrington. Wahab Dosunmu, and the ‘Epetedo Declaration’ forces comprising Femi Lanlehin and Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Chief Segun Adegoke, Olisa Agbakoba, and Justice Dolapo Akinsanya, who declared the Interim Government illegal.

    The list is inexhaustible. The leaders of the titanic struggle suffered many bruises, particularly intimidation, oppression, repression, detention, and trials before many of them went into exile. In those days, killer squads were on a rampage. State-sponsored assassins were on the prowl. The fear of bombing was the beginning of wisdom.

    But, apart from these leaders, many demonstrators at home also paid the supreme price in the process of sustaining the campaigns. While some leaders abandoned the struggle for a morsel of porridge, many activists, students, and ordinary people faced the bullets and endured military tribulations to the end. Most of them are unknown and remain unsung in life and death.

    The interim government was another joke. It was the structure that filled the void after IBB reluctantly stepped aside. Its head, Shonekan, was initially given the title of ‘Head’ without the accompanying powers of Commander-in-Chief, a position held by Abacha, a tough nut, an impatient Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Joint Service Chiefs. After three months, the inept Head of the interim government was shoved aside. In a panic, he hurriedly vacated the Presidential Villa – more or less as an impostor.

    The battle became hotter as the maximum ruler, Abacha, unfolded his self-succession agenda. Scores of protesters died as soldiers opened fire on them on Ikorodu Road in Lagos in 1994. IBB was deceptive, though diplomatic and approachable. Abacha brooked no opposition. No fewer than 174 demonstrators were wounded. A year later, some students of Edo State University were killed by soldiers for asking for democracy.

    The military caged the media. But it was fruitless. Many editors became guests of intelligence agencies. Press freedom was curtailed. Up came guerrilla journalism, which was nevertheless, costly. The family of Bagauda Kaltho is still in deep lamentation that the body of the murdered journalist is yet to be found.

    Reflecting on the ordeals of the forgotten heroes of June 12, Oshun, the Third Republic’s House of Representatives Chief Whip, wrote in his book: The Open Grave: NADECO and the Struggle for Democracy: “Too bad today, those who died then are now remembered in figures than in name.” Their deaths were not less poignant than those of Chief Alfred Rewane and Kudirat as they too were murdered in cold blood by blood-thirsty operators of the dictatorship.

    Little is known about the brave Nigerians who agreed to serve as couriers, ferrying messages and documents across the border for pro-democracy movements. They were silent patriots who sustained the struggle, despite the risks.

    Some of them were intercepted. A case in point was that of Mr. Laiyemo, a personal assistant to Chief Cornelius Adebayo. He was bearing a letter from the former Kwara State governor to a friend when the military arrested him. He spent 36 months in detention.

    The same fate would have befallen Rev. Tunji Adebiyi, who was bearing a letter from Lagos NADECO leaders to Ajasin in Owo, Ondo State. He was caught in Maryland during a stop-and-search operation. It was Kudirat who made a passionate appeal for his release.

    Who remembers the man called Uncle Johnson, who was drawn from his retirement by Akinrinade to manage Radio Kudirat in exile, or the information technology expert, Gbolahan Olalemi, who installed and ran Radio Freedom in Nigeria, with all its attendant risks? Olalemi had the misfortune of being caught and detained. He was kept in an underground cell, flogged by soldiers, and even used as a bait to access Dapo Olorunyomi’s home in Mushin.

    During the dark period, Tinubu’s aides – Benson Akintola and Akeem Apatira – were picked up by security agents in 1994 and detained at the Federal Interrogation and Investigation Bureau (FIIB) at Alagbon in Lagos for three months. They were looking for information about Senator Tinubu, who had gone underground and later into exile.

    When soldiers stormed the Ikeja residence of Akingba, the former university don was nowhere to be found. They pounced on his nephew, Peter Ogunyamoju, who was detained at Alagbon. The military planted a bomb in the house; it exploded, killing Nelson Kassim and Dr. Omatsola.

    A NADECO chieftain, who had escaped abroad, Chief Ralph Onioha, was helpless as news got to him that one of his boys, Abayomi Kehinde, was arrested as a pro-democracy agent. Also, for having anti-military leaflets and posters, Abdulsalam Danladi was detained in Lagos between May and June 1998. Another June 12 traveller, Samuel Asogwa, was detained for three weeks for circulating pro-democracy posters and literature. He was charged with sedition.

    The same fate befell Ebun Adegboruwa, a lawyer in Gani Fawehinmi Chambers. He was detained between November 1997 and June 1998 “for being in possession of subversive documents”. His 75-year-old father was previously held in lieu of him for failing to honour a summons by the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI).

    A similar scenario played out in Ijebu-Ode where Ayomide Lijadu was arrested in place of her father, who had organised a rally to protest Kudirat’s assassination.

    Adegboruwa’s colleague at the Bar, Bamidele Aturu, was detained for a month because his client, Isaac Osuoka, had posters denouncing Abacha’s self-succession plan.

    For 18 months, Prince Ademola Adeniji-Adele languished in detention for his NADECO activism. Captured as a prisoner of war at Ibadan, Lam Adesina lost his freedom between May and June 1998.

    Between May 1995 and July 1998, Kunle Ajibade had the worst experience of his life. He was jailed 15 years for being “an accessary after the fact of treason” over a story by The News, where he was the editor.

    It was not the best of times for journalists. Chris Anyanwu lost her freedom between June 16, 1995, and June 15, 1998. She was charged before a military tribunal for accessory after the fact of treason. Her Sunday Magazine’s coverage of the phantom coup trials was infuriating to Abacha. She was initially jailed for life. Later, the sentence was commuted to 15 years.

    Another journalist, Moshood Fayemiwo, was detained for a year and seven months. His paper published materials that revealed the looting of the treasury by the military while also campaigning for the revalidation of the June 12 election.

    For Nosa Igiebor, it was a hell of a time. For seven months, he was detained. His offence was that his Tell magazine published a story exposing Abacha’s plan to ‘punish’ neighbouring countries that showed sympathy for pro-democracy movements.

    Labour activist Joseph Akinlaja was detained for days for partaking in “an illegal meeting” where bombing of oil refineries and depots were discussed and for being in a crowd of pro-June 12 crusaders.

    A soldier, Major Akinloye Akinyemi, was detained for four years for alleged coup plotting. But it was believed that he was picked up for being the younger brother of Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, a NADECO chieftain. The elder Akinyemi stayed in exile for four years.

    Eminent banker and politician Olabiyi Durojaye’s case was pathetic. He was detained for seven months. The reason was unknown. “They told me they were just directed to keep me here (detention),” he said.

    For declaring the Abacha regime illegal, Senator Polycarp Nwite was detained for one year. The NADECO member was accused of planting bombs. In 1995, Rev. Peter Obadan was also held for seeking the revalidation of the annulled poll.

    Others detainees include Prof. Omo Omoruyi, who was shot and wounded for calling for the revalidation of June 12; Babafemi Ojudu, for his anti-Agacha stance; Soji Omotunde for decrying dictatorship; Mrs. Iluyomade, wife of Gen. Iluyomade, and daughter, who lost a pregnancy in detention; Arthur Nwankwo, for harbouring anti-Abacha pamphlets; Olorunyomi’s wife, Ladi, held in lieu of her husband; 80-year-old Chief Solanke Onasanya, who was asked to explain what he did not do; Abdul Oroh, of Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO) for his links with Soyinka and pro-June 12 campaigns; Onome Osifo-Whiskey, for criticising Abacha; Bayo Osinowo, for his association with Abiola; Niyi Owolade, for anti-government May Day riot at Ibadan; Chima Ubani, for allegedly inciting Nigerians against the military government, and Lam Adesina, who became a prisoner of war.

    Others are: Nike Ransome-Kuti, Solomon Sobande, Emeka Ugwuoke – for circulating pro-democracy posters; Olusegun Mayegun, Popoola Ajayi, and Jerry Yusuf – for hijacking a plane in protest against the Interim National Government and calling for the restoration of Abiola’s mandate.

    Human rights leaders – Beko Ransom-Kuti, his brother, Prof. Olikoye Ransom-Kuti, Femi Aborisade, Chima Ubani, Joe Igbokwe, Olisa Agbakoba, Ayo Obe, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, Osagie Obayuwana, Felix Tuodolo, Debo Adeniran, Ima Niboro, Babafemi Ojudu, Bayo Onanuga, Akinola Orisagbemi (Personal Assistant to Mrs. Kudirat Abiola), Innocent Chukwuma, Bunmi Aborisade, and numerous activists under the banners of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), the divided Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Kayode Fayemi of Radio Kudirat, Lagos Justice Forum, June 12 Collective, the media, and he National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) made invaluable contributions to the struggle. The list is endless.

    Evidently, the restoration of civil rule was not achieved on a platter of gold. It was a collective enterprise involving the mighty, the low, and the suppressed masses: professionals, youths, students, artisans, peasants and the ordinary man in the street.

    Nigeria has witnessed a successful transition from civil to civil rule. The accompanied crisis and stress were also managed. But the fruits are inadequate.

    Asiwaju Tinubu was a great financier of pro-democracy activities at home and abroad. The onus is on him to reposition the country by building strong institutions, ensuring politico-electoral reforms, security, restructuring and restoration of federal principles and abolition of poverty, which was Abiola’s cardinal objective.

    If these goals are accomplished, then, the unsung heroes will heave a sigh of relief that the struggle was, after all, not totally in vain.

    Those who masterminded the reckless annulment for selfish reasons should be made to regret their action for life by giving the country good governance. But an effective government that works for all Nigerians is the best legacy to immortalise those who paid the supreme sacrifice in the June 12 struggle. This generation and the future ones deserve to have a better country the soldiers of fortune failed to bequeath to them. This is what the June 12 struggle stood for.

  • NASS, Development Commissions and 31 states comedy

    NASS, Development Commissions and 31 states comedy

    The Nigerian House of Representatives often presents Nigeria with some comic even if politically scandalous bills and other issues often bothering on the ludicrous. The people have seen fights with clothes torn and chairs flying. There had been heaps of the local currency allegedly a product of some sleazy transactions involving some members.  We have seen the emergence of a certain ‘Integrity Group’ whose members fought on the floor of the house. We have seen some of the ‘integrity group members mired in the fuel subsidy scandal with some being convicted and jailed.

    We have seen a member come to the house and unashamedly ordered his four wives that he had brought to the chambers  to stand up for recognition as proof of his masculinity and control. Another member had  protested the idea of electing more women into the house because in his words, “they will take the male positions”. We have seen gender equity bills being thrown out because some of the members fear their political and social advantages might vanish before their eyes.

    The 9th National Assembly had been severally referred to as ‘rubber stamp’ assembly but some political analysts who viewed their relationship with the former President Buhari’s  administration as very passive in terms of playing their very vital legislative roles. The often touted legislative/executive harmonious relationship was often seen to be tilted against  the legislature which in every democracy ought to be the most powerful tool for checks and balances given that they represent the people of their constituencies.

    The 10th National Assembly is seemingly yet to define itself somewhat. The people seem to wait with baited breath while quietly documenting their actions and inactions. Given the varied constitution of the National Assembly in terms of party memberships, not much differences have been noted. It seems to be business as usual given that most of the legislators mainly operate as mere politicians with no marked ideological similarities.

    The modus operandi of most of the politicians is often the same. There is still no structurally defined system in place. There is still largely an opaque national political agenda towards real growth. The focus/alliances are still the same; self, tribal, ethnic, religious and class agenda. No developed country thrives on these myopic agenda. The Roundtable Conversation feels that national growth must be a product of real altruistic political road map to development.

    So the clamour for regional commissions for the six geopolitical zones by law makers seems on the surface to be a very progressive idea. However, given the history of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from its days as OMPADEC, through to the establishment of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, not much development has come to the people or the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg. The environmental degradation, the poverty, the lack of development and the seeming agitation in the area continue to astonish the world.

    While on the face of it the development commissions might seem a good idea, to us, it really begs the question. The law makers sponsoring the bills and their supporters must be able to establish how functional those development commissions can be. What would be their terms of reference? How would they be funded and what would mark them out from the story of the NDDC that seems to have been full of scandals and corruption?

    It is an irony that the National Assembly that is supposed to make laws, represent their constituents and carry out oversight functions on the executive have largely left most of the job undone. If the legislative arm diligently carries out its oversight functions at the local, state and federal levels, development would have reached more people without the extra burden of development commissions. Scampering to sponsor bills for regional development without set foundational socio-political actions would merely be a round robin game.

    Nigerian political class is notorious for white elephant projects at various levels. Establishing Development Commissions mainly to fulfill regional political agenda would never be the correct route to development. The National Assembly ought to be more proactive in their law making and oversight functions which can be the propelling force for development. With more than 20 million children out of school in a 21st century Nigeria, what magic would six regional commissions make? Education is power.

    The legislators ought to be more concerned about the political structure that raises leaders who act as emperors in a democracy. There is urgent need to strengthen the political party structure in ways that the legislature becomes more functional. There must first be a functional and credible political party structure that can ensure that electoral laws are obeyed in ways to enhance intra-party democracy as a precursor to credible elections. This is a fundamental necessity. The dysfunction in the political party structure raises questions about our democracy.

    When there is intra-party democracy, elections would be less flawed and the elected would be held to account. It is largely due to lack of accountability that elected officials in Nigeria do not take their constitutional roles seriously.  Governors in Nigeria operate like emperors. As the political slang used to go, ‘they often influence the electoral processes from the ward level to the highest office in the land. 

    The saying that he who pays the piper dictates the tune cannot be over-emphasized under this circumstance. Today, the Attorney General of the federation keeps reiterating the law about the Local government financial autonomy. That is admirable but it is a practical illogicality because the governors seem to be the eternal hands of Esau with the body of Jacob.  The governors in Nigeria exercise too many powers in ways that stall development. The legislators must rise to that aberration in the political space.

    The recent House of Representative Constitution review Committee’s proposal for the creation of some additional 31 states in Nigeria is as ludicrous as it is a serious sign that our legislators seem to lack the tedious task of tidy thinking. To add 31 new states to a country with 36 states plus the federal capital territory Abuja bringing the states to 67 is not only outrageous given that not up to ten of the existing states operate profitably is just unbelievable.  Most of the states rely on federal allocations and random internal and external borrowing for sustenance and payment of salaries.

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    The proposed bill is the evidence that most of the politicians in the country are removed from realities. The focus seems to be a rat race for the creation of regional commissions and more states for the politicians to redistribute amongst themselves. Creation of political hegemonies seems to be at the core of most of the bills around commissions and extra states in a country with more than 137million people leaving in multi-dimensional poverty. Some of the existing states have been run down by those who have had the good fortune of being chosen to run the states at some points in our democratic journey.

    It is very curious that instead of the house to focus on why most of the states are insolvent and barely able to pay salaries let alone develop critical urban infrastructure to help the people, they want to further split the states possibly to spread more poverty. It is interesting that instead of looking at functionality and national interest, most politicians seem to be re-enacting the, ‘scramble and partition of the existing states in Nigeria.

    In a curious way, the proposed bill took no notice of the funding that goes into running a state. Their ambition seems to be just establishing more dysfunctional states. The lack of national and real people’s interests in the proposed bill clearly affirms that the Nigerian political class has some lessons to learn. Regional development Commissions and states do not spark development.

    Our legislators must understand the essence of the legislative arm in democracies. There is a reason coup-plotters and other global dictators descend heavily on the legislative arm anytime they happen to seize power. It is a great pillar of democracy. This again brings to the fore the need for the qualifying criteria for elections to offices to be reviewed in the country. The world is leaving Nigeria behind. The low level of the qualifying criteria for most elective positions is reason some people find their ways to certain positions.

    The world has gone beyond ‘attempted school certificate’ as the qualifying criteria for certain offices. This seems to be exactly why some very ignorant people find their ways to positions they have no business vying for in the first place. It is always an exhilarating joy to listen to most legislators across the world including some African countries. On the contrary, the Nigerian politics seems to be the exclusive preserve of the least endowed intellectually.

    Debates in the legislative houses often expose the immaturity and lack of intellectual sophistication of most members. Professional or occupational achievements are often not considered by political parties in choosing candidates for elective posts and this is main reason certain aberrations exist in the political space. The scramble for regional development commissions and mushroom and insolvent states cannot be route to development.

    The proposal for the creation of extra 31 states in a country with the myriad of developmental problems like Nigeria just affirms the allegations that the National Assembly seems peopled by people that need some lessons in legislative duties and nation-building. Like the legendary Shakespeare said, “The fault dear Brutus is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings”.

    •The dialogue continues…

  • Who let the dogs out?

    Who let the dogs out?

    The stories emanating from the Dankaro House in Abuja that some of the boys who secured Nigeria the qualification ticket to the U20 Africa Youth Championships slated to be held in Ivory Coast have disappeared to Europe is laughable. It leaves me cold with only one thought in mind -that song titled, ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ Perhaps, the NFF has forgotten that it is the only body authorised to sign ITC to departing players to Europe for legitimate greener pastures as they say. So, how convenient was it for the issuing officer and indeed the big man at the Dankaro House to have signed the ITC documents of these fleeing players as they claim, who in the coming months ought to be representing the country in a continental soccer competition?

    What was the hurry in letting such talented players sneak out of the country when indeed, their horizon would be better if they remained with the team, got the ticket to the U-20 World Cup and were rated better than how they have been sold in a hurry to Europe or wherever they have gone to? This is the price you pay when people in high places at the Dankaro House engage in the transfer of players to Europe, the Americas and the Diaspora.

    What it simply means is that Nigeria would just participate in the continental championships and exit in the first round of three matches.

    Interestingly, the edge of taking a team that grabbed the ticket to the continental, playing together for cohesion, is lost to shylock agents. It is the reason one questions the veracity of young boys and girls who are invited for an exercise knowing that we have no database to track how they emerged at such a stage and their growth in the future. It is also the reason that the NFF has paid lip service to the idea of standardising and registering all academies such that it would be easier to track such an unprofessional movement after the country has exposed such players to the world. It must be stated here that these boys are found and made to complete their assignment of representing Nigeria creditably at the continental championships in Ivory Coast. The NFF President must intervene quickly to stop this rude joke.

    It is true that Nigeria has a large pool of players to replace them at the grassroots. Yet, those toiled to make us qualify for the continental stage should be allowed to reap from what they have sown. Nobody should be allowed to hoodwink them into thinking that petty foreign currencies being used to lure them would define their career. But the truth is that they would be better rated if they play at the World Cup, unlike the pittance that they would get at the behest of agents who crave more cash going into their pockets. One is excited that these young boys would need the federation’s ITC to play in Europe or wherever. I only hope the NFF doesn’t play the ostrich by granting their requests. Pray that if these kids didn’t make the Nigerian side to the WAFU tournament, they would somewhere languishing and praying for the new dawn in their careers.

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    In other climes where developmental programmes are implemented to the letter, the U-20 squad is the nursery of their senior national soccer teams. What it simply means is that when an opening beckons in their senior teams, they don’t go fishing for Nigeria-born young boys to plug the hole. This reliance on Nigerian-born boys and girls explains the star-trek by ours of today across the 774 Local Government Areas in the country.

    They are no longer scared of being lured out of the country with peanuts, knowing that it is about the easiest way to play for Nigeria if they start scoring goals with aplomb in these obscure leagues. Of course, this illegal star-trek is a cabal oiled by a gullible media whose practitioners no longer ask probing questions which could help stem its growth. Those who can’t return to play for Nigeria easily drift with those who bear Nigerian names but play for countries where soccer is still at its novelty stage.

    In the last two decades, Nigeria has been prosecuting football matches with mostly the ”foreign legion”, I wonder if our soccer administrators appreciate the damage they do to the ”beautiful” game. Our administrators see soccer development from the prism of participating in competitions outside the country. No programmes to catch the talents young, train and retrain the coaches for a workable template. For them, success is winning trophies, even if the players come from the moon. No surprise the dearth of competition here.

    We have relied so much on the ”foreign legion” that it doesn’t matter if kids from Europe populate our age-grade teams. We must not win age-grade competitions. We should de-emphasise winning, even though it is the ultimate. We should insist on getting kids who can return to the grassroots to serve as icons for others to emulate. Otherwise, we may get the ”foreign legion” as sports administrators to drive home the point.

    There is a need to ask these administrators where those countries get the talents we scramble for to change their nationality. We are experts in spotting Nigeria-born kids, forgetting that they evolved from a planned system, which isn’t alien to us. In those countries, there are established academies at the grassroots where these young boys and girls are introduced to the game usually under neighbourhood schemes. Hence, when such talents blossom, the neighbourhood is proud of them as they return to be celebrated.

    Civilised countries develop their sports through the neighbourhood system where facilities are built to engage the youth and push them away from social vices. Nurseries serve as the bases for storing the data of those discovered. Such information helps to nurture and monitor the good ones to stardom. Besides, nurseries lay the foundation where the athletes are taught the rudiments of the game. It is at such factories that playing styles and patterns unique to such countries are evolving.

    The Senegalese have established qualitative nurseries using their allocations from FIFA through grants. Today, the Senegalese are kings and queens of different age-grade tournaments in Africa. What this also means is the discovery chain of new talents is seamless, not needing any form of corruption in the models being used. What nurseries do for such shining stars is that the operator would monitor their career paths and ensure that they play for decent clubs here or in Europe than allow them to fall easy prey to shylock club scouts and agents.

    A blueprint is sacrosanct for sports to thrive and it must be anchored on the dire need to resuscitate moribund grassroots competitions that engage the youths and take them away from the vices of society.

    The emergence of a sports policy, endorsed by the government, will create jobs such that this industry could in the next 10 years become the highest employer of labour.

    Don’t you think so? You tell me.

  • Issues in the Obasa saga

    Issues in the Obasa saga

    Surely, the parties in the ongoing impeachment crisis rocking the Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHA) ought to have known that such an utterly avoidable internal implosion would make them vulnerable to vicious attacks by those who envy and deplore the fact that their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in its various mutations at different times since 1999 as AD, AC, ACD, ACN and now APC, had maintained near one-party electoral dominance of the country’s economic nerve centre over the last two and a half decades. In a widely circulated piece on online platforms, for instance, one Dr Afolabi Gbajumo, after a lengthy dissection of the crisis from his own perspective accused both factions in the current LSHA imbroglio and even the executive of unbridled corruption, illicit accumulation of wealth and venality without the slightest scintilla of evidence.

    True, Lagos is not yet anywhere near where it should be in developmental terms as it is still a work in progress as all human communities always are. But it would take the height of intellectual dishonesty not to admit the glaring fact that compared to where she was pre-1999, the megacity state has made remarkable progress on all fronts leaving virtually every other state in the country far behind. Today, she is not only the sixth largest economy in Africa, Lagos is gradually emerging in the ranks of leading megacities of But this is the kind of unfair onslaught that disputants in the LSHA open their party to and it is unfortunate that they are digging in deeper in their trenches in what can only be an ultimately self-destructive internecine warfare. However, what are the issues?

    With no less than two-thirds of the members of the LSHA controlled by the APC undertaking his impeachment on January 13, 2025, when he was away on vacation to the US, it is logical to argue that the erstwhile Speaker of the House, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, had lost not only legal but also moral legitimacy. And there is no doubt that the members of the LSHA are constitutionally empowered to elect and remove their principal officers through stipulated rules and procedures. And the vote of confidence passed on the newly elected Speaker, Mrs Mojisola Meranda, by a majority of members before the House adjourned sine die suggests that the legislators are indeed fed up with Obasa whom they have accused of arrogant, insensitive and corrupt leadership.

    The problem is that in politics, things are often not as they seem to be. For example, on 11th November, 2024, members of the LSHA passed a vote of confidence on the allegedly corrupt, insensitive and arrogant Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker of the House. As the This Day Newspaper reported the story, “The vote of confidence on the Speaker coincided with his 52nd birthday as the lawmakers eulogized him for uplifting the country’s democracy through laws that impact positively on the people. Majority Leader, Noheem Adams said during plenary presided over by Deputy Speaker, Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, that his motion, seconded by Hon. Sa’ad Olumoh (Ajeromi Ifelodun. 1), followed a wide consultation”. What then had changed between this time and the ‘impeachment’ of Obasa on January 13 this year?

    Again, since Obasa had lost the confidence of the vast majority of his colleagues and it is even claimed that civil servants in the LSHA bureaucracy boisterously celebrated his removal, why was he impeached when he was out of the country on vacation? Since he was so reportedly overwhelmingly unpopular, could he have done anything to stop his removal if he was present? Wouldn’t that have denuded the process of his impeachment of its seeming surreptitious and conspiratorial secretiveness and accorded it more legitimacy? After all, this is not the first time that a Speaker of the LSHA would be removed in this dispensation. Hon Waheed Jokotola Pelumi was the Speaker of the LSHA between June 2, 2003 and December 29, 2005. Pelumi was removed from office by his colleagues and replaced by Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji who remained in office from December 29, 2005, till the end of the life of the 7th Assembly in 2015. Pelumi was not removed from office in his absence and the governor at the time, now President Bola Tinubu did not oppose the change of leadership which reinforced his democratic credentials.

    It is ironic that those who mobilized a massive security presence in the Assembly premises to facilitate the removal of Obasa cried foul that officials of the DSS had invaded the Assembly premises to prevent the Speaker, Hon. (Mrs Miranda) from accessing her office and allegedly to facilitate the resumption of Obasa who had dismissed his impeachment as defective and not following due process. The DSS has since made public a letter signed by the Deputy Clerk of the House, Mr A.T.B. Ottun, to prevent alleged plans by Obasa to forcefully resume in his office on February 18, 2025. Reports widely disseminated on social media that a cache of sophisticated arms were suddenly discovered in Obasa ‘s office weeks after Mrs Meranda had supposedly been making use of the same office does little to help the credibility of the anti-Obasa elements. It gives the impression of a desperation to de-market and instigate public opinion against the embattled Agege legislator.

    During Adeyemi Ikuforiji’s tenure as Speaker, he led the House in offering robust checks and balances to the executive during the tenure of the highly cerebral Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). But this the easy going but inwardly steely lawmaker from Epe did without ever insulting the governor or demeaning his office. Thus, that Obasa kept Governor Sanwo-Olu and his entourage waiting for nearly four hours before the commencement of the presentation of the state’s 2025 budget estimates and without any apologies for this slight is inexplicable.

    Rather, his needlessly combative speech on that occasion was the height of arrogance which has been widely condemned by the public. Had members of the Assembly limited themselves to Obasa ‘s arrogance and insensitivity which was publicly on display in his treatment of Sanwo-Olu, in the allegations that led to his impeachment, it would be hardly possible to fault their action. But they also leveled grave allegations of financial misdemeanor and recklessness against him which in my view necessitates that he be given the opportunity to defend himself before being sanctioned in accordance with the principle of fair hearing. Since he was not given the chance to defend himself before his impeachment, could this be likened to shaving his head in his absence (apologies to MKO Abiola)?

    True to his calm and difficult to ruffle demeanor and simple, unassuming carriage, Sanwo-Olu responded with philosophical serenity and enigmatic taciturnity, to what was perceived as an unwarranted slight on his person and office by Obasa. But then, we must look beyond Obasa ‘s annoying abrasiveness and a disposition to easy combustibility, which makes the prospect of his ever occupying the position of governor as he is rumored to desire, frightening.

    It will be recalled that in August, 2023, the LSHA under Obasa ‘s leadership, had rejected 17 of the 39 names Sanwo-Olu had forwarded to the legislature for clearance to be appointed as commissioners in his cabinet. In an unnecessarily bad-tempered speech on the floor of the House during that episode, Obasa had decried the fact that the nominees were grossly unrepresentative of the diverse local government constituencies in the state while also not reflecting the requisite Christian-Muslim balance that had always been taken into account in constituting the State Executive Council.

    As the late Oba Olatunji Hazmat, a Frontline Lagos and national progressive political leader of uncommon perspicacity stated in his gripping book, ‘Reflections of A Public Man’, “Lagos may be the greatest cosmopolitan city in Nigeria, but just like the nation itself, it can not march forward even in the matters of the least consideration of governance without accommodating the diverse interests, biases and native proclivities that shape and girdle her formative character…For fairness and wide judgement, the governor, the mayor or any other official of the state must consult others, must bring diverse interests into focus and attention in the choice of cabinet members, in the composition of parastatals and other allied governmental bodies”.

    But beyond this, Obasa raised the pertinent point of the undue dichotomy between so called technocrats and politicians in governance in Lagos State and what he perceived as the unfair favouritism given to the former in filling cabinet and non-cabinet positions particularly under the Sanwo-Olu administration. In its report on the face- off between the House and the governor on the matter, the Premium Times of August 29, 2023, wrote that “But some party loyalists said the main reason some nominees who are technocrats were rejected was because they were not known in their constituencies and had no electoral value. Michael Uju, a public affairs analyst, said the disqualification was political. “Unfortunately, there is the sense that most of those rejected by the House are the technocrats among them who are not so much into party politics,” he said.

    Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s administration as Premier of the Western Region in the First Republic is still the reference point in qualitative developmental governance in Nigeria. Its achievements were gargantuan and path-breaking. In his autobiography, the great Awo commented on his Cabinet thus, “Second, my team of Ministers was unexcelled. It was a team of which any head of government anywhere in the world would be proud. It was a well-knit, highly disciplined and fanatically loyal team. Each of them knew his subject well”. None of these men would be regarded as technocrats or even intellectuals in today’s lingo. They were educated men and professionals in diverse fields but to be appointed into public office in the Action Group (AG) at the time, you had to have a very strong linkage with your grassroots communities. This was made more imperative by the parliamentary system of the First Republic which required that those to be appointed as Cabinet members first had to win elections into the legislature as elected representatives of their constituencies. Even though he could have couched his argument in less inelegant and confrontational language, Obasa had made the point that he was concerned about the grassroots vibrancy of the APC in the state. This is certainly a pertinent concern even if it is true that his real motive was his assumed governorship ambition in 2027.

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    The truth of the matter is that although successive APC administrations in Lagos State have performed relatively remarkably well in infrastructure development, social services delivery and security among others – the primary purpose of government – the electoral performance of the party has declined with each election since 2011 and one reason for this is the ever growing alienation and distance between the government and the grassroots. In the 2007 governorship election, Fashola of the AC scored 593,300 votes to 394,956 for Senator Muslim Obanikoro of the PDP. In 2011, BRF scored a record 1,509, 113 votes to win reelection while Shamsideen Adegboye of the PDP recorded 300,450 votes. In 2015, Mr Akinwumi Ambode of the APC had 811,994 votes while Mr Jimi Agbaje of the PDP had 659,788 votes. As for 2019, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC won 739,445  votes to 206, 141 votes scored by Jimi Agbaje of the PDP.

    In the 2023 governorship election, Sanwo-Olu won reelection with 762,134 votes to 312,329 votes scored by Gbadebo (Chinedu) Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party (LP). To secure his victory after the APC had unprecedentedly lost the earlier presidential election in Lagos to Peter Obi’s LP by nearly 10,000 votes, the party had to scramble frantically to mobilize primordial sentiments to ensure Sanwo-Olu’s reelection.

     Had the governorship election come first, would Sanwo-Olu have become history in Lagos State? The answer is anyone’s guess. A school of thought believes that the electorally dysfunctional overly elitist outlook and disposition of governance in Lagos State has heightened under Sanwo-Olu and this is dangerous as the crucial 2027 elections approach, an election in which the triumph of the APC will depend on the degree to which it has regained its organic linkage with the grassroots. This is probably the point Obasa was making but his petulant mode of delivery distorted and undermined his message.

    What then is to be done about the seeming impasse as regards the position of Speaker of the LSHA? The right of the members to elect their principal officers cannot be contested but this must be in line with their extant rules, due process and the guidelines of the party. The enthusiastic support given to Hon. Mrs Meranda so far indicates that she enjoys considerable goodwill with her colleagues as well as the bureaucracy in the LSHA. But some voices in the party contend that the next Speaker should come from either Lagos West where Obasa comes from or Lagos East if legislators from Lagos West are not interested in the Speakership position as it is claimed.

    Both Mrs Meranda and the governor are from Lagos Central and this contradicts the party’s zoning formula. The aggrieved members no longer want Obasa as Speaker and they have successfully removed him at least until the courts adjudicate in the matter. But they cannot at the same time unilaterally jettison the party’s power sharing formula. Honourable Mrs Meranda has demonstrated her value and the high esteem in which her colleagues hold her which must be a function of her personal attributes despite her having been Obasa’s deputy. But she may have to stoop to party supremacy today to conquer a future that is politically exceedingly bright for her.

  • Hypocrisy of our expectations and the leadership question

    Hypocrisy of our expectations and the leadership question

    There are people within the leadership value chain that I call the “focal-point leaders”. Examples of focal point leaders include: The President, the Governors, the Chief Judge of the Federation, the Senate President, the Local Government Chairman, etc. These are leaders sitting at the top echelon of leadership, driving governance. But the focal point leaders can only drive effective, efficient, and impactful governance with the support of other leaders across the strata of leadership – vertical and horizontal, and those are the other critical leaders within the “leadership value chain”. If there is a failure within that leadership value chain, whereas the focal point leader may not have the leverage of the value chain to ensure/ enforce that which needs to be done, then that focal point leader will fail, no matter how intelligent, good-intentioned, or powerful he/ she is.

    I totally agree that; every administration must own its performance. People vigorously campaign for elections, promising milk and honey and all manner of things to citizens; especially with special reference to the 4th Republic, only for those politicians to turn around with excuses after winning the election, blaming their inability to perform on the previous administrations (at Federal and State levels). I also agree that going forward as citizens, we should not accept lame excuses from leaders that fail. But while we refuse to accept excuses from leaders who fail, we should also have the circumspection of recognizing that the rot did not start with the administration that is complaining. Indeed, the rot is longstanding. Therefore, we should have the introspection to manage the process of holding the leaders accountable to ensure that incumbent administrations at Federal and State levels, take the necessary steps to turn around the political and socioeconomic situation of the country. Of course, it should be without a doubt that continuously keeping leaders on their toes is what will ensure that politicians effectively deliver their mandates. Indeed, to whom much is given, much is expected.

    Furthermore, the optics of governance are also very crucial in managing the expectations of citizens. Therefore, It is very important that leaders within the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary Arms of government; at Federal and subnational levels must demonstrate quintessential and pragmatic leadership. They must show that they are part of the State or Country that they lead; or part of the problem they are trying to solve. Consequently, they, their families, and allies must also demonstrate in their actions that they are not living in a bubble. They should empathize with the people and show the citizenry that they are living with the people in practical reality and not in virtual reality. Only when leaders are quintessential, practical, and empathetic that there be the synergy of visions and objectives between the leaders and citizens. However, sometimes even when the focal point leader (for example the President or Governor) provides quintessential and pragmatic leadership; the Ministers, Commissioners, or other officials within the leadership value chain behave differently (or even sometime irresponsibly) without consequences; this situation presents different optics that are in parallel to what the focal leadership is saying or doing. This type of situation causes problems, especially when there are no consequences for people who misbehave within the leadership value chain. An example is when leaders, whether at the ministerial level or other levels, live lavishly as if we are not living with over 165 million Nigerians who are multidimensionally poor. Now, that is part of the bigger problem! I saw a video trending the other day wherein a known politician was displaying piled up stacks bundles of money (cash) arranged on a table in the midst of the multi-dimensional poverty that the majority of his constituents are facing, I am sure that thousands of them did not eat that day. This audacity of irresponsibility puts the government in a bad light and makes it difficult for citizens to believe or respect the government and its good and well-meaning leaders and officials.

    Conversely, the citizens have not really helped themselves or the leaders of the leadership process with our actions, inactions of hypocrisies. For example, when a President refuses to do a jamboree to share people’s free money, he becomes a bad man. When a Governor refuses to loot money to share around to he/she people, he becomes a bad man/ woman. So, a society that celebrates criminality with chieftaincy titles, and honorary doctorate degrees is not a society that is ready for change. It is also not a society that is ready to hire the right leaders, because the actions of the people are such a society will continue to promote corruption and criminality. A society where corrupt people are at once at the first line in the church, at the first line in the mosque, or at the high table of events, should not expect any positive change. This is because you cannot eat your cake and have it! A corrupt people will not allow a good leader to do the needful. Hence, how do you expect society to change for the better? How do you expect the recruitment process to be right when you, the people, are the ones celebrating the corrupt ones, whether as their parents, as their family, or as their society? Indeed, a lot of the religious leaders and the traditional leaders are also in cahoots, and they are part of the leadership value chain. But, as citizens, conveniently point our accusing fingers at the political leaders. The political leaders are part of the society, and unless we continue to refuse to partake in the ills they do, then we have lost the moral right to challenge what they do.

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    Therefore, dear Nigerians, we should start looking at things from a broader perspective, building up to the 2027 general elections to recognize that just deciding to choose any person as a leader does not make our problems go away. We should also know that we also have roles to play. First of all, what are our priorities? What are our values as individuals, as families, as communities, and as societies? Then we can take it up a notch higher to start addressing the recruitment process of our leaders, then move on to demand accountability and performance

    The Paradox of Corruption

    The biggest inhibitor of the delivery of good governance over the years in Nigeria is corruption which is as a result of the erosion of our values. This long-standing issue did not start from 1999 but indeed has been embedded in our societies for over 60 years – things have just been getting worse. To be able to address the issue of corruption, we need to dimension the issue of corruption and how deep it has pervaded Nigeria.

     Historical perspectives:

    •In 1947, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, wrote that “Corruption is the greatest defect of the Native Court system.” He complained that not only did judges take bribes, people used their connections to enrich themselves and avoid punishment for their crimes. Does that sound familiar?

     •In 1950, the late Sir Abubukar Tafawa, wrote that, “The twin curses of bribery and corruption pervade every rank and department of Government” … Does that also sound familiar?

     •I also gathered that in the 1950s, the word ‘awoof’ was already being used to describe how civil servants used their positions to enrich themselves.

     Therefore, from the above references, we can note that corruption is a long-standing issue in Nigeria. Even if the leaders at the top are good and capable, they cannot be able to force people within the leadership value chain to deliver, maybe by virtue of the system of governance or essentially due to what I call the “conspiracy of corruption.  Using the Civil Service as an instance; if the Civil Service is not in sync with the focal point leader, that leader is what I call an “entrapped leader”. Unless such a leader takes drastic steps, he/ she will be “restrained” by the conspiracy of the Establishment/ vested interests, which can trickle down to the society at large.

    In my humble view, the root cause of the national development problems in Nigeria is not just the failure of the leaders at the top. Part of the issue of bad leadership in Nigeria is what I term the failure of the “leadership value chain”. For example, if along the layers of the Civil Service, you have corrupt leaders, whether they are Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, etc. who collaborate to circumvent the system, the system will fail, and consequently the leader will fail, because he will ultimately become what I call, “an entrapped leader”.

  • Acting their script?

    Acting their script?

    ‘’And beware of a calamity that will afflict not only the transgressors amongst you to the exclusion of others and know that Allah’s retribution is severe’’.

    Q. 8:25 

    Preamble

    Writing a drama is like conceiving a pregnancy. For the drama to be practically actable the writer must take into consideration not only the theme, the setting, the characters and the complications that may build up spirally to the climax in such a drama. He must also think of the anti-climax of the drama as well as its possible denouement.

    Nothing shows the ingenuousness of a playwright as vividly as the crew of actors who put into action the script that gives birth to the drama in question. It is like delivering a pregnant woman of her pregnancy. If the delivery process is not carefully handled, the deliverer may end up becoming an undertaker. And that is when a drama is said to be tragic.

    The entire world today is a paradoxical theatre in which about seven billion human beings including Nigerians are watching a drama. Whether for ecstasy or dismay the viewers may randomly roar into controversies as the drama progresses. But the main concern of each viewer is what may become of his favoured character. 

    In the ongoing global drama against which we had been admonished in the Qur’an as quoted above, the concern of this columnist is the ‘colony’ called Nigeria. This is not just because the colony is my immediate constituency it is also because Nigeria is the heart of Africa. And if anything negative happens to her the whole of Africa will cease to be at rest.

    Hidden Agenda

    A clandestine script was unveiled in respect of Nigeria in 1995. Its contents revealed that this heart of Africa called Nigeria was heading for a break up by year 2015. The designers of this devilish agenda had set a timeframe of 20 years for its execution without suggesting any solution. And to portray their dream as a realisable one they kept hammering the probability of the success of that obnoxious project using some hazardous occurrences in the land as evidence.

    For students of International Relations, such a prediction cannot be strange. It is part of the strategies often used by the imperialists either to re-colonize some old colonies by other means or to scoop and dominate their economies in a typical capitalist style. They have done it successfully in some other countries none of which is now firmly on her feet. Vietnam, Korea, Yemen, China, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Somalia, Sudan, Palestine and lately the entire Arab nations all of which have had their bitter share of the pillage can testify to this assertion.  It is a modern day equivalence of the 1884/1885 partition of Africa carried out in Berlin, Germany, by the European imperialists, which led to the colonization of the black continent. If any of the above countries had resisted the project and stood their ground perhaps the world would have been spared of the throat-cutting threat posed today by the United States and her allies against what they perceive as lesser nations.

    Cult of Capitalism

    Incidentally, the US had also been a victim of this same imperialists’ guillotine especially in the hands of Britain. Yet, the cult of capitalism which has become their common bound would not allow the duo which had been mutually antagonistic to dwell differently because it is only in such a collaboration that the gains of their common interest can be accomplished. Unfortunately, Nigeria doesn’t seem to have learned any lesson from countries that had toed the   imperialists’ path hook, line and sinker.

    Rather than looking inwards for solution to our domestic problems as the US does, our governments do not only look up to Uncle Sam for solution even to a minor problem but also cry out to the President of America for help. It is just like the situation of a baby who has adapted to being spoon-fed at all times even while asleep. Today, Nigerian government can hardly think on anything without reference to America.

    Whereas some progressive countries like Japan, China, India, Brazil and even the United States in their days of search for growth and development shut their doors to the world and made do with whatever they could produce internally which was why their sudden zoom into the limelight came to the world as a surprise. This has never taught Nigeria any lesson. Rather, all that matters here is empty and monotonous noise about becoming one of the biggest economies in year 2020. No truly progressive country (even Ghana) has ever indulged in such empty and senseless propaganda before. What would have ordinarily justified such propaganda is a surprise zooming into the global economic stage as the listed countries had done.

    Propaganda

    It can only take a shameless country with so much wealth and without any visible progress in place to show for it to embark on such hopeless propaganda. What our government ought to have told us is how about $16 billion allegedly voted for revamping our electricity was spent on without any resultant availability of power. On the other hand, the government ought to have shown Nigerians the blueprint that qualifies us for such empty propaganda about year 2020 since it is a Nigerian project.

    In the 1980s, under the self-style military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, the slogan was that of ‘Housing for all, education for all and jobs for all in year 2000’. It ended up in sheer deception. In the 1990s, under the maximum despot called General Sani Abacha, the slogan was that of ‘VISION 2010’. It ended up in mere fiasco.

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    Then came a former military Head of State, General now Chief Mathew Aremu Okikiolakan Olusegun Obasanjo the man on whom Nigeria’s premium was hopefully placed because of his military experience and prison antecedent. His own invented slogan was that of hitting the top echelon of global economy in 2020. And the slogan is continually being re-echoed even less than a decade away from the target mark, when Nigeria is without electricity, drinkable water, pliable roads, responsible airline, functional refineries and standard education programme that can propel any possible hope in the slogan. As an OPEC member nation, Nigeria remains the only country that exports crude oil only to import refined fuel for domestic consumption. Petrochemical industries are the major hope for most OPEC countries as a possible replacement for oil in future.  In these industries, thousands of their trained youths are employed. But this has no place in the economic dream of Nigeria. 

    Yet our government does not deem it fit to invite foreigners to solve such social problems. Rather, what it perceives as problem is the backlash of its ineptitude arising from misrule, hence the invitation to imperialists to suppress agitators and potential agitators.

    Implications           

    Now, by inviting foreigners including the US and Israel to help resolve the problem of insecurity in the land Nigerian government has not only admitted its incompetence to protect the citizenry thereby surrendering its authority to the invited countries it has also begun to compound the existing problems by externalising the country’s internal affairs. After all, these same invited countries are the manufacturers of the instruments of insecurity in our land. Security of a country is like the heart in human body. Handing it over to someone else is like paving way for one’s death. No serious government will ever trivialize the existence of its nation to that extent. We all know that whoever pays the piper must surely dictate the tune. And in diplomacy, a friend today may become an enemy tomorrow. 

    Yes, in the name of solving Nigeria’s problem even when they have been unable to solve theirs, the invited countries may bring their arsenal to subdue some government’s perceived and imaginary enemies. But what is likely to happen thereafter is the question which many generations of Nigerians may not be able to answer for decades in future. This has happened in most of the countries which had solicited for military intervention of the imperialist countries. Today, those countries are regretting their thoughtless actions. Yet, Nigeria wants to join their league.

    A government is said to be in control and of essence only if it is believed to be capable of protecting its citizenry and defending the territorial integrity of the concerned nation. Any government that is incapable of doing this and rather decides to throw the gate of the nation’s security open to foreigners for whatever reason is unfit to be called a government.

    Partners in Crime

    Globally, the US and Israel are known for their belligerence and implacable transgression against nations that refuse to comply with their imperialist policies. And it is probably in reference to such imperialist powers that Allah had warned mankind over a millennium and a half ago thus: “…When imperialists enter a territory they audaciously pillage and brutally destroy it even as they subjugate the juggernauts therein to the level of servitude”. Q. 12: 22

    The real problem of Nigeria is to serve as an incubator of problems and yet rely on foreigner for solution to those problems even when such foreigners cannot solve their own domestic problems. In a logical poetic stanza, an Arab poet once opined thus:

    “We all blame time for our misdemeanour; when the misdemeanour blamed on time is actually in us; We smear time with all types of iniquities and yet expect time to cleans us of any blame; Were time endowed with mouth to comment on us, it would have blamed us for generating all crimes; Certainly no dog eats fellow dog; it is only men that eat fellow men’’.   

    The truth of the matter is that the roots of the multi-dimensional problems staring Nigeria on the face are traceable mostly to the corridors of our government. Of all the vices that constitute seemingly insuperable problems for Nigeria today particularly corruption, none originated from a source other than that of the government. Even where such corruption happens in the private sector, it will be discovered to be a derivative of the public sector. How, on earth, can we classify the case of immunity clause entrenched in our constitution to protect stealing public funds (in the name of President or Governor) in a country where overwhelming majority of people are so wretched that they can hardly afford even one meal per day despite the enormous wealth with which we are naturally endowed. And this so-called constitution was never subjected to any referendum to assess its acceptability.

    Immunity Clause

    The absurdity in that immunity clause is that some of such protected thieves who may have fallen out of favour are chased around for questioning in the name of fighting corruption. And that happens only after they might have vacated the office. For God’s sake if a person aids a thief in the casting away of his property has he not become an accomplice in the stealing business? What justification will such a person have in prosecuting the thief thereafter for the reason of stealing? The similitude of the above scenario is like that of what obtains in Nigeria concerning corruption. Those who injected immunity clause in our constitution as well as those who are in position to remove it but rather chose to retain it are together accomplices in the entrenchment and spread of corruption in the land. Such people will have no logical reason to talk of fighting corruption because they are its creator and sustainers.

    Another evidence of audacious governmental corruption in Nigeria is manifest in the position of the so-called FIRST LADY. Here is a position which has no provision in the country’s constitution but which is given such prominence that classifies the occupier over and above the elected Vice-President at the federal level and Deputy Governor at the State level. This illegal position has no official budget but it is flamboyantly provided with such paraphernalia of office that compete almost favourably with that of the President or the Governor at the expense of the public. With this kind of illegal operation how can any Nigerian President or Governor morally question any stealing by any public officer? And now, the same federal government has mobilized its instrumentality of office to destabilise the judiciary which is generally acknowledged as the last bastion of ordinary people’s hope. 

    We are our own Problem

    We are our own problem. We know the sources of what we call problems. We advertently or inadvertently incubate such problems. And we know how to proffer solution to them. But, like ‘lotus eaters’, we are so much drunk with illegality that it has become so difficult if not impossible for us to part with it. Thus, like the pot that calls the kettle black, we continue to deceive ourselves by mischievously passing the bulk anytime the die is cast.

    For how long shall we invite foreigners to solve our problems for us when the causes of those problems continue to swell in our bellies as we incubate them? Now, having invited mercenaries into Nigeria as problem solvers, has the government thought of the social and financial implications of such action? Have we really diagnosed and identified the origin of insecurity in our country before inviting foreigners? Or do we expect those foreigners to diagnose our diseases for us and prescribe medicine?

    Once we start importing imperial mercenaries into the country to solve immediate problem we must not forget that those mercenaries will like to find a permanent seat here even if they will have to invent new problems for us in order to justify their stay.

    This admonition may taste bitter to those who have hidden agenda. But Allah’s words will never look for relevance. He warns in Qur’an 13:11 thus: “Surely, Allah will not change the situation of a nation or community until they themselves have resolved to change it through their attitude”. Whoever calls for equity must come with clean hands. Those in government must show example of what they want Nigerians to be as citizens. Acting the imperialists’ evil script will do no one any good in Nigeria. Think before you act.