The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • Addressing Nigeria’s ₦18tr road infrastructure deficit

    Addressing Nigeria’s ₦18tr road infrastructure deficit

    The recent disclosure by  Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, that the nation needs a whooping N18 trillion to address its road infrastructure deficit brings to fore critical questions about infrastructure financing and national development. This sober revelation, coming at a time when the country is grappling with various economic challenges, presents both an opportunity and a dilemma for policymakers and citizens alike.

    The magnitude of Nigeria’s road infrastructure deficit cannot be wished away. With over 2,064 inherited projects valued at N13 trillion in 2023, and with present realities pushing the figure to N18 trillion, we are confronted with a stark reminder that our nation has for decades neglected,  squandered and misdirected  our opportunities of making Nigeria an infrastructural hub. Presently, our  annual budgetary allocations through the National Assembly have proven insufficient to address this massive backlog, necessitating the search for alternative funding approaches.

    Building qualitative infrastructure is not merely about convenience; it remains a fundamental driver of economic growth and development with a massive multiplier effect,  road construction extends far beyond the physical infrastructure itself and as Minister Umahi rightly points out, road projects create diverse economic opportunities for an economic ecosystem like ours and could help address unemployment and stimulate local economies across the country.

    Moreover, quality road networks reduce transportation costs, facilitate movement and trade, and enhances productivity across various sectors. The agricultural sector, in particular, stands to benefit significantly from improved road infrastructure, as better connectivity between rural areas and urban markets can help reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmer incomes.

    The proposal on whether we are to fund road infrastructure via borrowing will naturally spark debates. This is due to concerns about our growing debt profile, which are quite valid, the nature and purpose of borrowing must be carefully considered, though Infrastructure borrowing, when properly structured and utilized, differs fundamentally from borrowing for consumption.

    First, infrastructure investments generate long-term economic returns which in turn can facilitate debt servicing. Efficiently maintained roads enhance economic  productivity and helps boost growth- all of which contribute to increased government revenue through various channels.

    Likewise, the cost of not meeting our present infrastructural needs now, may ultimately exceed the cost of borrowing. Poor road networks lead to higher transportation costs, reduced economic activity, and lost opportunities for growth. These hidden costs accumulate over time and can be more burdensome than the interest payments on infrastructure loans.

    Despite these, it is important to note that any borrowing strategy must be accompanied by robust safeguards and clear implementation frameworks. The government must ensure:

    Transparent project selection and prioritization based on economic and social impact

    Strict monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to prevent cost overruns

    Efficient project delivery timelines to maximize economic returns

    Integration of maintenance planning into project design to ensure sustainability

    Asides borrowing, which is neccesary,  Nigeria may also have other means to addressing such  needs via a number of approaches such as Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) which can leverage private sector expertise and capital while sharing risks and rewards. Examples abound of successful toll road projects and other aspects of infrastructural development powered by PPP in countries like Rwanda, Botswana,  South Africa,  Morocco and even in Nigeria. A  demonstration of the viability of such an approach when properly structured.

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    Infrastructure bonds which could attract numerous domestic and diaspora investors readily provides  an alternative to traditional borrowing while giving Nigerians an opportunity to invest in their country’s development.

    Asset recycling, where existing infrastructure assets are privatized to fund new projects, could help generate capital while improving operational efficiency. This approach  allows for an influx of capital, where  a public sector entity can apply such  initial funding to invest in higher performing infrastructure.

    The success of any infrastructure development program depends not just on funding but on effective implementation. Nigeria must address several critical challenges:

    Procurement reforms are needed to ensure transparent and efficient project allocation. The current system often leads to delays and cost escalations that burden the public purse.

    Technical capacity within government agencies must be strengthened to improve project planning, execution, and monitoring. This includes better coordination between federal and state authorities.

    Maintenance culture needs to be institutionalized. Many existing roads have deteriorated prematurely due to poor maintenance, effectively increasing the long-term cost to the nation.

    Nigeria’s N18 trillion road infrastructure challenge requires a balanced and pragmatic approach. While borrowing may be necessary, it should be part of a comprehensive infrastructure development strategy that includes: A clear and prioritized framework for project selection based on economic and social impact

    Diverse funding sources to reduce dependence on any single financing method

    Strong governance mechanisms to ensure efficient use of resources

    Integration of local content to maximize economic benefits

    Regular maintenance programs to protect infrastructure investments

    The government must also improve its communication with citizens about infrastructure projects. Public support is crucial for any large-scale infrastructure program, especially one that involves significant borrowing. Transparency about project selection, costs, and benefits can help build this support.

    The scale of Nigeria’s road infrastructure deficit requires bold action, tempered however with fiscal responsibility. While borrowing to fund infrastructure development can be justified, it must be accompanied by strong safeguards and clear implementation frameworks. The focus should be on creating sustainable infrastructure that generates sufficient economic returns to justify the investment and support debt servicing.

    With proper planning, diverse funding sources, and effective implementation, Nigeria can begin to close its infrastructure gap while creating lasting economic benefits for its citizens. It is possible!

  • Trump, immigration and capitalism’s global crisis

    Trump, immigration and capitalism’s global crisis

    Right from his near-miraculous reelection to the White House as the 47th President of the United States of America, a possibility that appeared remote given the perceived threat he constituted to that country’s democracy demonstrated especially by the insurrection he instigated against his defeat in the 2020 presidential election as well as his unsalutary record as a convicted felon, Donald Trump has given indications of his intention to effect disruptive changes both within America and globally. From day one with his inauguration on January 20, he has hit the ground running with a plethora of executive orders and verbal pronouncements to set in motion the implementation of the key planks of his campaign platform.

    These include stricter immigration control, mass deportation of illegal immigrants, withdrawal of US support for the World Health Organization (WHO), rolling back regulatory policies designed to safeguard the environment, introducing retaliatory and punitive tariffs in defense of US trade, granting pardon to those convicted for their attacks on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and ensuring a speedy end to the Russia-Ukraine war among others.

    In many ways, Trump and the far-right ideology he has come to symbolize and benefit immensely from politically, are products of the ever-deepening crisis of capitalism and widespread uncertainty and insecurity as regards the continued economic prosperity of the advanced capitalist countries of the West. This is particularly so with the stiff competition that emergent aggressive economies like China and India continue to pose to America’s position as the world’s foremost economic power even if she still retains considerable dominance in terms of global military prowess as well as the technological innovation that sustains it. In the long run, however, economic decline can undermine military efficacy as the history of the rise and fall of great powers across time and space has all too frequently demonstrated.

    Trump was obviously right when he declared in his well-written and delivered inauguration address that “As our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda with dramatic increases in support from virtually every element of our society, young and old, men and women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, urban and suburban, rural and very importantly, we had a powerful win in all seven swing states, and the popular vote we won by millions of people”. With the emphasis of their campaign on reproductive rights, protection of gay, lesbian, queer and transgender sexual rights as well as the threat, Trump was seen as constituting to the constitution and democratic governance, Kamala Harris and the Democrats utterly missed the point that substantial numbers of the electorate were concerned about current economic hardships and were willing to believe that Trump had the keys to attaining greater prosperity no matter the moral baggage he was associated with.

    Indeed, the deepening crisis of capitalism is the key reason why far-right groups with their often extremist racist, nationalist and anti-immigration rhetoric have gained increasing political ascendancy not only in the US but also in many other advanced capitalist countries. Over three decades ago, a number of analysts had predicted the steady march of a character like Trump from the fringes of the American political system to general political acceptability and dominance. This was with the relatively impressive showing of non-mainstream candidates such as Ros Perot and Patrick Buchanan as independent or third-party contestants in the 1992 and 1996 presidential primaries and/or elections.

    Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in Britain had emerged as President and Prime Minister, respectively, in both countries and ushered in the neo-liberal capitalist revolution that sought to respond to the crisis that Keynesian capitalism and its extensive welfarist, interventionist state had run into as from the late 1970s after the latter’s ideological dominance since the end of the second world war in 1945. Under the intellectual suzerainty of the Conservative economist, Milton Friedman, and his disciples of the Chicago School of Economics, neo-liberalism and its orientation towards financialism, privatization, removal of subsidies for critical social services, de-funding of welfare support to vulnerable citizens, the rolling back of the state, deregulation of the economy and the subordination of large segments of society to the vagaries of market forces, maintained policy hegemony in advanced capitalist economies till the weakening occasioned by the global capitalist recession of 2008.

    The capitalist triumphalism that heralded the collapse of communism in 1989, with the fall from power of most Marxist-Leninist states in the Eastern Bloc, best exemplified by Francis Fukuyama’s prediction of ‘the end of history’ and what he saw as the unimpeded march of capitalism and liberal democracy into the unforeseen future, was short-lived. For, the defeat of a potentially viable political and economic alternative to capitalism and its liberal democratic accompaniment did not eliminate the fundamental, self-defeating contradictions of capitalism despite Karl Marx’s vivid description in his ‘Communist Manifesto’ of the historically unmatched creativity and capacity for prodigious production of the capitalist mode of production.

    Thus, it is the inherent contradictions of capitalism and its tendency to breed incessant cycles of economic booms and bursts and recurrent recessions with the attendant hardships that have created the conditions for the emergence of Trump and the serious danger that his ideas, temperament, disposition and bigotry constitutes to the survival of liberal democracy in a country, that despite its failings, has been a beacon for representative and responsive governance over the last two and a half centuries.

    Utilizing the Marxist geographer, David Harvey’s conceptualization of the contemporary crisis of capitalism in his book, ‘The Enigma of Capital’, Benjamin Kunkel writes that the origins of the crisis can be located “in the troubles of the 1970s, when the so-called Golden Age of capitalism following World War 11 – blessed with high rates of profitability, productivity, wage growth and expansion of output – gave way to what Brenner called “the long down-turn” after 1973…this long down-turn, with deeper recessions and weaker expansions across every business cycle, reflects chronic overcapacity – another variety of overaccumulation – in international manufacturing, a condition brought about by the maturation of Japanese and German industry by the end of the 1960s, and later compounded by the industrialization of East Asia”.

    Neo-liberal attempts to address the protracted crises of capitalism, Harvey argued, resulted in policies that curbed high wages to increase corporate profitability but also implied deficient demand with negative economic consequences. In his words, “Persistent wage repression therefore poses the problem of lack of demand for the expanding output of capitalist corporations. One barrier to capitalist accumulation – the labour question – is overcome at the expense of creating another – lack of market”. And how was the problem of lack of market addressed? Harvey cryptically observes that “The gap between what labour was earning and what it could spend was covered by the rise of the credit card industry and increasing indebtedness”.

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    One of Trump’s greatest appeals to his teeming supporters is his stance on immigration as substantial numbers of Americans believe that their economic woes are compounded by the large influx of illegal immigrants who take jobs that citizens should have and endanger society through criminal activity. But capitalism as scholars like Andre Gunder Frank and Immanuel Wallerstein noted long ago has become a global economic system that generates development in one part of the globe in the same process that breeds underdevelopment and deepening poverty in another.

    The prosperity of the West cannot be understood or explained without reference to its profiting from more than five centuries of slavery and colonialism largely responsible for the backwardness of those underdeveloped countries that Trump derisively referred to as ‘shit hole’ countries in his first term. After the attainment of ‘flag independence’ as from the 1960s, John Perkins, an investment banker, in his book, ‘Confessions of an Economic Hitman’, reveals how Western banks, some of which he worked for, coaxed and lured African countries into taking huge foreign loans and when the lending countries ran into economic crisis, they imposed huge interest rates on the debtor countries resulting in a protracted debt trap that compounded their indebtedness and grounded their economies.

    As the economic crisis in Africa worsened in the mid-1980s, the International Financial Institutions imposed Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) demanding the devaluation of national currencies, privatization of state-owned enterprises, liberalization of trade, deregulation of the economy, retrenchment of public sector workers, removal of subsidies on fuel and essential services among other policy prescriptions that worsened poverty and deepened inequality. The resultant deindustrialization of these countries, astronomical inflationary spirals, increased unemployment and descent into political instability and internal strife created conditions in which large numbers of their citizens sought to escape their woeful existential realities and seek succour in more prosperous advanced countries such as the US.

    Teresa Hayter notes the grand irony that the Western imperialists who, as European imperialism expanded, obtained labour by force transporting between 10 and 15 million African slaves to work for plantation owners and emergent industrial capitalists thus creating the conditions for the pathetic state of these dysfunctional countries today. According to him, “So-called globalization, or latter-day imperialism, has created or helped to create new pressures to migrate. But the situation has changed. The governments of the rich countries, rather than forcing people to migrate against their will, are now intent on stopping them migrating when they wish to”.

    And as the late radical economist, Professor Bade Onimode, wrote “…the major sponsors of liberalization, globalization, in the North are strongly opposed to migration of labour. From France, Germany, the USA and other OECD countries, we read incredibly depressing tales of the harrowing experiences of immigrant workers…Why, this being the case, should the governments of developing countries not be allowed to exercise any controls on the entry of manufactured goods, capital, investment and technology into their countries, while the countries of the North stoutly shut out migrant workers from the developing countries…Why should free trade, liberalization and globalization be good for manufactured products, capital and technology (intellectual property rights) and be bad for labour?”.

    Trump has promised to end the ‘Green New Deal’, revoke the electric vehicle mandate, promote unfettered drilling of American oil all in a bid to promote manufacturing and prosperity in America. He has withdrawn the US from the World Health Organization which means stoppage of American funding for vital health programmes of the WHO many of which are of immense benefit to developing countries. Yet, the lesson of the Coronavirus pandemic is that not even the most powerful countries in the world will be immune when pandemics spread from one part of the globe to others.

    If his policies worsen the menace of climate change with the poor countries being the most adversely affected, this will only deepen the problem of poverty in these countries and heighten the desperation to migrate to more prosperous climes. Enthusiastic that America’s golden age has begun, Trump averred that “Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens. For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues. There will be massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury coming from foreign sources”.

    This may well be a legitimate national aspiration. But Trump apparently does not realize that, no matter how powerful she may be, America’s prosperity cannot assure her security in a world in which she is surrounded by increased impoverishment and heightened inequality. The contradictions of capitalism are global and must be addressed by international cooperation with America best placed to play a leading role in the quest for a fairer, more just, equitable, safer and kinder world for all humanity. To make America great again, she does not have to strive to be mean again.

  • Big for nothing Eagles

    Big for nothing Eagles

    Listening to NFF President Ibrahim Gusau pledge the federation’s commitments to ensure Eric Chelle succeeds as the Super Eagles, I thought I was dreaming. As a person, Gusau keeps to the few words he mutters. But when he speaks on NFF matters, he reads a script. I’m reluctant to hold him to what he read at the ceremony because it was the board’s decision. Make no mistake, Gusua is knowledgeable. He can discuss off the cuff.

    When Gusau spoke penultimate Monday in Abuja at Chelle’s unveiling, he showed that he was a good student of history. He gave nothing away. His utterances were guided. Native intelligence.

    According to Gusau: “I see in the new Head Coach the right spirit and the right attitude, and I have faith that he will take the Super Eagles to the next level. He sees the job of leading the Super Eagles as his dream job, and that is a huge motivation in itself.

    “Coach Chelle recognises and appreciates what is ahead of him, and he says he loves the challenge. We will be there giving him the necessary support all the way,” Gusau said.

    Indeed, I won’t delve into Chelle’s promises to change the Eagles’ 2026 World Cup fortunes. I didn’t expect anything less. Rather, I would wince to ask if Chelle would have the balls to plead with his employers and those agbada wearing government officials who crowd the team’s dressing room at half time, to remain seated at the State Box area. Give the coach space to discuss with his boys, and the time to identify their flaws and get to hear on the way forward.

    In the past, these government functionaries led by the NFF people, crowded the dressing room at the interval, giving the coach no time to discuss his countertactics based on what he had seen in the first half. The 15 minutes allocated for pep talks isn’t always enough because these people take turns talking to the players and even the coaches. Can you beat that? The coach needs to have all of the stipulated 15 minutes set aside for half-time talks to his players to himself. Indeed, messages from well-meaning Nigerians such as telephone conversations with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can be delivered to the boys via Zoom before the match, preferably in the hotel.

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    These are the biggest opponents that Chelle would have on match days not their opponents, especially if the Super Eagles have not scored a goal or are trailing with a goal or two (God forbid).

    Chelle’s second obstacle would be the criteria for inviting players to prosecute the last six matches. Looking at the semblance of names on the players’ list when they are released gives this writer the impression that their invitations to the games are done by outsiders, not the team’s coaches. My fears become stronger when injured players are invited. It gets worse when benchwarmers populate the list as if we don’t watch European football matches in the 774 LGAs in Nigeria weekly. Even if we don’t watch European games weekly, they are available on YouTube to be downloaded if you choose that option.

    Chelle’s third obstacle would start with the amount of control he would allow the NFF technical committee members to have in his team’s selection processes. Besides, would Chelle take instructions passed to him by his employers or government functionaries urging him to substitute a particular player or players not playing well in their naive opinion in a game?

    Would Chelle allow his selection of players to be hijacked by agents or influencing peddling people? Chelle should make sure that agents are kept at bay and not allowed to mingle with the players in the hotel. These agents shouldn’t be given unfettered access to the team’s buses, especially, their itinerary. The team’s Chief Security Officer must be one who thinks on his feet. Movement in and around anywhere the Super Eagles delegation are spending time should be watertight in surveillance. Chelle should, in his interactions with the players in their different abodes in Europe, urge them to plead with their relations to stay away from the camp for maximum concentration considering the precarious placing of the country in her 2026 World Cup group.

    Nigeria’s previous World Cup outings have been dogged by allegations of the easy access of all manner of visitors, with many of them eating and relaxing with them at the poolside.

    Would Chelle introduce a Code of Conduct in his camp for his players as way of instilling discipline? Or would he cast an indulgent eye and say that they are adults who know what to do? Would he have the guts to be unsparing and fair in meting out justice?

    Would there be a deadline to report to the camp? Would Chelle allow those extraneous issues such as delayed departure, bad weather, or the airline ‘untrue’ technical hitches influence his decisions? Who buys the players the flight tickets? NFF or the players? Answers to the question of who purchases the flight tickets would determine who decides when players should report to the camp. A situation where players buy their flight tickets with promises from the federation to refund creates the setting for them to report to camp as they wish without apologies for being late. Need I say that it is the major reason the team plays disjointedly during matches? The team only gets to train with its regulars 24 hours before the game.

    Do we start to define to the NFF the reasons for paying players monies in which all the parties in the discussion agreed should be paid? So, how has it been possible for the critical partner in such discussions to renege on their role over 29 times? It is ridiculous to note that our players have on record outstanding bonuses and allowances of 29 matches, yet, they keep honouring the country’s invitations. How did we get to this disgraceful stage and no heads have rolled?

    Why do we thrive in leaving things very late before they are done properly? It seems to me that this fire brigade approach to resolving sporting deficiencies benefits some people. We are always in one form of controversy or the other at the NFF, yet we expect corporate sponsorship. No chance. This cap in hand leaves sponsorship for sports at the doorsteps of the government. What a shame!

    The biggest sporting brand in Nigeria should never be presented to the world with a beggarly status. Are Super Eagles being tagged big for nothing? It really hurts.

    Those who have described the NFF as being toxic have their reasons. But are they? You tell me.

  • A voice from Harvard

    A voice from Harvard

    On Monday, October 3, 2011, a voice echoed from the United States of America and reverberated throughout the intellectual spheres of many other countries across the continents. The voice was that of His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III  the Sultan of Sokoto   and President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). He was the guest lecturer at Harvard University where he delivered ‘The Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi Annual Lecture at Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, on the invitation of the authorities of that University.

    The theme of the lecture was: “ISLAM AND PEACE BUILDING IN WEST AFRICA”.

    In the preamble to the lecture, His Eminence briefly took a look into the various indices of contemporary developments and analyzed the merits and demerits of such developments vis-a-vis human cultural values. He started as follows: …..“Today, more than ever before, we stand on the threshold of great opportunities.  Developments in various fields of human endeavor have made it easy to accumulate vast knowledge on peoples and cultures and to communicate this knowledge in ways never imagined before, with the real promise of bringing better understanding between us all.  Scientific breakthroughs have also made it possible to achieve human development at an unprecedented scale and to enhance the welfare and wellbeing of each and every one of us…

    But these opportunities also come with great dangers – and these dangers have already begun to manifest themselves in ways that leave us with much to worry about.  Bigotry and hatred are being elevated to a new pedestal and spread with relish and impunity.  Protracted conflicts, threats of war and the rise of extremism and militancy, from all sides of the socio-religious divide, have become the reality of our daily lives in many parts of the world.  Regrettably, a significant portion of the world’s population still wallow in abject poverty and neglect, thereby fuelling the vicious cycles of conflict, violence and instability that we are now all too familiar with.

    As a military officer and diplomatic representative, I have seen the devastation of war, not only in West Africa, but in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of the world.  I have witnessed the desperate cries of widows and orphans and the exasperation of bewildered families desperately struggling to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives.  As the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs; as well as the Co-Chair of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council [NIREC], I have also seen the pain and suffering which ethnic polarization and religious misunderstanding could bring to a nation and its people; how ego and bigotry could conspire to deprive people of their rationality and good judgment and how religious leaders could set aside the teachings of their scriptures to lend a helping hand to these sectarian crises.

    But during all these, I have also seen how people of goodwill could make a world of difference; how the right word at the appropriate time could heal an old wound; how a little help to those in distress could rekindle hope in our common humanity and how people of virtue, courage and determination could set aside their fears and misgivings to work together to re-establish and strengthen the bases of mutual co-existence within their diverse communities. It is in the context of these challenges and opportunities that I wish to talk to you on the issues of peace and religious harmony tonight.  Since many people have talked and written about Religion and Conflict in our part of the world, it is only appropriate for me to address you on Islam and Peace-Building in West Africa, and particularly in my home country, Nigeria, with the real hope that in our individual and collective efforts, we can contribute our little quota towards the realization of the Jodidi vision of promoting “tolerance, understanding and goodwill among nations and the peace of the world…”

    Alluding to Sokoto Caliphate founded by Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio in the early 19th century as a cultural and intellectual yardstick for measuring value in a meaningful society, His Eminence said: “The emergence of the Sokoto Caliphate in the early years of the nineteenth century, led by the erudite scholar, Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio, brought a drastic transformation of the Islamic scene in West Africa.  The Sokoto Caliphate was a political as well as an intellectual revolution.  Politically, it initiated an extensive process of state formation which spanned across several states in Western and Central Africa. Intellectually, the Caliphate also succeeded in putting scholars at the helm of public affairs. As true intellectuals, they had to argue their way through almost every major decision they took and had the time and foresight to record their thoughts, ideas and the justification of their actions for posterity. The Sokoto Triumvirate, namely Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio, Shaykh Abdullahi Ibn Fodio and Shaykh Muhammad Bello, authored over 300 books and pamphlets.  Other Caliphate leaders were also prolific writers.  Nana Asma’u alone wrote over 70 poems and tracts.

    But despite these impressive achievements, probably one of the Caliphate’s most enduring legacies had been in the area of values.  Classifying value into five categories and justifying each by quoting relevant authorities, His Eminence ascertained as follows:

    The first category of values raised by the Sokoto Caliphate leaders was that associated with knowledge as the basis for effective leadership.  Ignorance has no business with leadership and ignorant people shall have no business in governance.  In the emphatic words of Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio:     

    “A man without learning is like a country without inhabitants.  The finest [qualities] in a leader in particular and in people in general, are the love of learning, the desire to listen to it and holding the bearer of knowledge in great respect. If a leader is devoid of learning, he follows his whims and leads his subjects astray, like a riding beast with no halter, wandering off the path and perhaps spoiling what it passes over….“  [Bayan Wujub al-Hijra]

    The second category of values which I wish to bring to your attention is the primacy of Justice as the basis of good governance.  Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio, the leader of the Sokoto Caliphate, had always believed that “seeing to the welfare of the people is more effective than the use of force.”  According to Shaykh Uthman, “the crown of the leader is his integrity, his strong-hold is his impartiality and his wealth is [the prosperity] of his people.”  Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio was equally emphatic on how injustice compromises the integrity of governance and ultimately destroys the state. He said:

    “One of the swiftest ways of destroying a state is to give preference to one particular group over another or to show favor to one group of people rather than another and draw near those who should be kept away and keep away those who should be drawn near….  Other practices destructive to sovereignty are arrogance and conceit which take away virtues.  There are six qualities which cannot be tolerated in a leader:  lying, envy, breach of promise, sharpness of temper, miserliness and cowardice.  Another is the seclusion of the leader from his people, because when the oppressor is sure that the oppressed person will not have access to the ruler, he becomes more oppressive… A state can endure with unbelief but it cannot endure with injustice.” [Bayan Wujub al-Hijra]

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    The third category of values is that dealing with the fight against corruption especially in the management of public affairs.  Shaykh Abdullahi Ibn Fodio puts the Caliphate’s position in clear and unambiguous terms:

    “A ruler is forbidden to touch property acquired unjustly, such as through bribes obtained for appointing a judge or any other officer.  The use of such property is unanimously regarded as illegal.  It corrupts the Religion and opens the door wide to abuses and oppression of the poor.  For the officials may feel that since money was obtained from them as a reward for appointing them to office, they in turn must recover it from the common people….” [Diya’al-Hukkam]

    It is also the view of the Sokoto Caliphate leaders that those charged with authority must strive to shun corrupt practices and lead by example.  In the words of Sultan Muhammad Bello:

    “Leaders are like a spring of water and officials are like water-wheels.  If the spring is pure, the filth of the water-wheels cannot harm it.  If, on the other hand, the spring is polluted, the purity of the water-wheel will have little effect [on the purity of the water].”  [Usul al-Siyasa]

    The fourth category of values relates to the dignity of labor and indeed the responsibility of government to provide the enabling environment that would allow people to make a decent living.  In the words of Sultan Muhammad Bello:

    “……Guard yourself against poverty by lawful earning, because every poor man is afflicted by three defects:  religious weakness, feeble mindedness and loss of honor.  Worse than this is the contempt in which he is held by people. There are two assets which, as long as you safeguard them, you will remain alright:  Your earnings for your livelihood and your religion for your hereafter. The recommendable earning is better than supererogatory worship, the benefit of which is confined to the worshipper alone, whereas the benefit of the recommended earnings extends to others.” [Ahkam al-Makasib]

    The fifth and final category of values… is the uplifting of the status of women, especially through Education.  The Sokoto Caliphate leaders, as erudite scholars, lived by the percepts they preached and ensured that their wives and daughters and all others associated with them were educated to the highest standards the society could offer.  Many of these women, including Nana Asma’u, became leaders in their own right and played an active role in the political arena.  Equally and importantly, Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio’s pronouncements, made in the very early part of the nineteenth century, could not be more categorical:

    “One of the great calamities which have afflicted Hausaland is the practice of many of its scholars in abandoning their wives, daughters and servants in a state of ignorance.  They are left like animals without any effort to teach them.  This is a grave mistake and a prohibited innovation.  They treat them like utensils which they put to use, but when broken, get thrown into the dustbin.  What a strange behavior!  How could they leave their wives, daughters and servants in the darkness of ignorance and astray, while educating their students morning and evening.  This is just for their selfish interest and for show and ostentation….”

    The Sultan who had delivered similar lectures in Cambridge and Oxford before did not stop there. He went further to trace and analyze the challenges of insecurity as well as causes of violence and terrorism in Nigeria and suggested some solutions to those societal vices. These will be brought up in this column later in sha’a Llah.

  • President Trump’s inauguration and some initial global reactions

    President Trump’s inauguration and some initial global reactions

    President Donald Trump is fast settling in as the 47th President of the United States of America (Trump 2.0), after his inauguration into office 4 days ago, on the 20th of January, 2025. He has hit the ground running by starting to deliver his campaign promises, starting with a bold speech in which he re-affirmed his Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda with sweeping statements on how he intends to use Tax and Tariff on foreign countries and foreign business to better the lot of Americans, etc. He undertook some saber rattling on geopolitics and global trade and Investment. Immediately after the inauguration speech, he went on to sign over 300 Executive Orders which included clamping down on immigration, pardoning the January 6 Capitol Hill insurrectionists, etc. 

    Accordingly, President Trump has ordered the immediate deployment of over 1,500 troops to the US-Mexican Border to block immigrants from entering the US, while a sweeping operation is underway to arrest and deport immigrants that are already within US soil. 

    Essentially, we are back to borders and tariffs. Globalization is now on the brink, as nationalization is becoming more prominent across the globe.

    Global stock markets and the world economic Forum Respond

    Global stock markets as well as the global trade and investment ecosystem are already reacting to President Trump’s inauguration and initial actions. President Trump, from day one secured $500billion US Dollars in Private commitment, amongst other multi-billion US for infrastructure development of AI and other technology initiatives; President Trump also made a Pitch for a 50/50 shareholding between TikTok and the US, he also gave a green light for Billionaire Elon Musk to be the American investor in TikTok, etc. Reactions have also been flowing from the annual World Economic Forum taking place in Davos Switzerland where world leaders have converged. What remains to be seen is President Trump’s action plan on how he intends to achieve his strategic objectives.

    As President Trump addressed the World Economic Forum yesterday, he reiterated his campaign promises, i.e. his anti-Immigration policy, US lowering interest rates, blasting the EU over tariffs taxes, and regulations, reaffirmation of the US opting out of the global climate change accord, etc.

     However, a very interesting development is that President Trump stated that his administration will slam more sanctions and tariffs on Russia if President Putin doesn’t stop the war against Ukraine. Although he didn’t provide specifics, this is a slight departure from his initial position on the Russia-Ukraine war before his inauguration. This is a noteworthy topic to watch considering President Trump’s position against the EU-NATO’s strategy on the Russia-Ukraine war. 

    Is Trumps Rhetoric, a real disruption or a deal tactic?

    It is important to note the change in President Trump’s mode of messaging on China, which in my view has changed from “aggressive” to “conciliatory”. For instance, he was the first to call President Xi of China and had discussions on how to move forward, and China also sent the highest-ranking Chinese official to Trump’s inauguration. This speaks volumes of the mutual understanding of the value each two largest economies of the world bring to the table, and the need to have more mutually beneficial trade relationships than the “take it all” approach on each side. The fact that their aggressive position of Trump on China could not be in the interest of his de facto right-hand man Elon Musk and other big American tech giants and businesses is an indication that it may not be a “Trade Armageddon”, after all. I also reckon that Trump may be playing the bluffing game to secure a good deal for America at the end of the day.

     Furthermore, at the core of President Trump’s national economic development strategy is to drive the US economy, by taxing sovereign nations and businesses and by applying Tariffs and sanctions. In my opinion, President Trump considers all the other countries around the world as subnationals of the United States of America. The $ 1 trillion question is “how” he will achieve that objective. President Trump wants to do a lot of audacious and disruptive things in terms of geopolitics, economy, investment and trade, technology, energy supply for Americans, re-energizing the manufacturing sector to compete with China and other manufacturing Countries, etc. But how he’s he will achieve those objectives, albeit some of them conflict with each other in this day and time of the 21st century, remains to be seen. Because even during the days of Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, etc., those imperialists could not control the entire world. Indeed, at some point, they had the illusions that they were controlling the entire world with Wars, Taxes, Tariffs, Sanctions, etc. But one by one they could only achieve the much they could, albeit without longevity. The world is watching President Trump’s tariff strategy and preparing to counter the strategy. Countries like China, Canada, Mexico, and Panama, are already reacting and strategizing to counter President Trump’s strategy. The days ahead will be interesting.

    Oil and gas politics

    President Trump will pump more oil and gas into the global market, as the USA is the largest producer of Crude oil in the world. We are beginning to see the impact of Trump’s presidency on the global oil market, as with a decline 2 days ago (24 hours after his inauguration) as the price of Brent Crude went down to about $79 from where it was. The impact that the oil glut has on an oil-producing nation like Nigeria which relies on crude oil for about 90% of its revenue will be significant. 

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    If we may recall, during his first administration, President Trump applied his “drill-baby-drill” concept of ensuring the global glut of oil, which scaled down the prices of oil globally. And he will do the same during Trump 2.0, by trying to control the demand and supply side of oil, playing the oil and gas politics. 

    For Oil and Gas producing countries like Nigeria, this is a threat. Because this will affect them in terms of the revenues. Accordingly, Oil and Gas producing Countries will need to hedge against the impact of “drill-baby-drill”. Countries that are forward-thinking with their economic diversification strategies have hedged the potential outcome of our Trump policies because everybody knew that if Trump won, these are the potential steps he’s going to take.  For countries like Nigeria, I expect to see a review of our economic diversification strategy, even though the outcomes or impacts of the diversification may be in the mid to long term.

    Consequently, countries that have prepared will just adapt. In my view, those countries that didn’t prepare will have to go back to the drawing board. I expect Nigeria to do so, i.e. to review some of the budget parameters and targets so that they could be more realistic.

    Global supply chains and trade

    There are already warnings coming from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank about potential disruptions due to the economic policies of President Trump. There will be disruptions, definitely global disruptions, due to the influence of the U.S. in many things. So, there will be disruptions in trade, investment, and supply chain with the concomitant effect on global and national inflations.

     In the case of Nigeria, we need to be more sure-footed, purposeful, and result-oriented. For instance, in the case of Nigeria’s budget proposal for 2025. The benchmark for crude oil that we use to project our revenue will be impacted by Trump 2.0.

     Importantly, in my view, from the big picture perspective, unless President Trump adjusts as backlashes ensue (I notice that he has scaled down the tariff he intends to slam on China from 50% to 10%), the US will be the ultimate loser IN the end, the ultimate loser. For example; In the case of President Trump’s Migration policy, chasing the migrants out of America may likely ease cheap labor out of America, which will increase the wage bill in the US. I also wonder how President Trump intends to turn around the US manufacturing sector within 12 calendar months or two years while fighting US Allies like Canada, and the EU; and other Countries like China and Africa that are US trade partners in terms of crucial raw materials. 

    So essentially, in my opinion; excessive taxing and the increase of tariffs by the US, on foreign countries and foreign businesses will be countered by the productive sectors of the world, which is China, India, and other countries. We know that the U.S. is one of the biggest consumers of Chinese and Indian goods and services, where Apple Inc., Tesler, etc. products are produced in China. This is what I mean by stating earlier, that the US could be the ultimate loser.

    BRICS

    The increasing popularity and relevance of BRICS, whether it is from the point of view of economic positioning or geopolitics in terms of oil production, in terms of the wealth that these countries hold as it is today, and indeed to provide an alternative platform to the US dollar or the dominance of the G7. With the emergence of Donald Trump and his tariff narrative, it is clear that the BRICS Alliance will grow membership to adapt new the global reality.

  • The Sunny side of Ajose: A tribute

    The Sunny side of Ajose: A tribute

    Some ballads bloom where they are birthed but only a handful thrive on the scenic coast of Badagry where Sunny Ajose spent part of his childhood. His narrative purrs like a ballad of the coastline; the boy who would grow up to become the most accomplished administrator of Lagos State public service was born on a speckled coast shadowed by the southern sun.

    His family house stood rebelliously against nature’s elements; bordered by a restive beach, the steep rake of its tiled roof held courageously against the whipping of the sun and torrential rain. Watching the roof take a beating from the sun and the rain furnished his first imagery of perseverance against life’s punishing elements.

    Years later, the lesson was reprised in his loss of a parent. That was his first brush with misery as a young adult. Ajose came to grips with the sad unpredictability of life: one minute you are busy, living, and the next, you are gone. That was a learning curve. Going forward, he rarely expected life to be magical. Unlike the frantic fantasist, he didn’t live for the illusionist’s promise that a garment shredded to bits may be mended without a seam, or that carnations consumed by fire may be tended to bloom atop the cinders.

    Born February 10, 1946, his untimely demise on Thursday, January 16, 2025, served as a sorrowful punctuation in the annals of the Lagos State public service. Ultimately because his was a life plain-woven with purpose, one that embodied service, integrity, and unfaltering commitment to the ideals of humane governance.

    To have known Hon. Dr. Akinsanya Sunny Ajose (OON) was to have walked through the passageway of wisdom; to have conversed with a man whose breadth of experience spanned decades of institutional reform and dedication to statecraft.

    In 2023, during one of our numerous conversations, he justified his deep yearning to have his biography written—a testament to his legacy. His words were laced with a sense of urgency, not out of vanity but duty. He wanted younger generations of Lagos civil servants to drink from the wellspring of his wisdom, to understand that public service, when done right, is a sacred trust.

    It was a sentiment reinforced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who constantly urged him to document his experiences for posterity. Tinubu, an architect of modern Lagos, understood that Ajose’s insights were invaluable blueprints for the future of governance in the state. And so, we embarked on this literary pilgrimage together—a journey that has now, painfully, outlived its subject.

    Spending time with Pa Ajose was akin to stepping into a grand, unfolding maw of Lagos’s evolution. His words were never hurried; they were measured, deliberate, and laced with depth. He did not simply recount history, he animated it. Every recollection, every anecdote, was a lesson in resilience and public morality.

    His ascension in the Lagos State Civil Service was not without its challenges. Appointed Head of Service in 2004 under Governor Tinubu’s administration, he inherited a civil service marred by fiscal constraints, infrastructural decay, and an entrenched culture of bureaucratic lethargy. Lagos was a colossus in motion, yet weighed down by inefficiencies that threatened its future.

    The Lagos he spoke of was one grappling with a revenue intake of N600 million, a figure paltry in contrast to the metropolis’s ever-expanding needs. Slums sprawled across the cityscape, infrastructure was collapsing under the weight of neglect, and the civil service, the engine of governance, was in dire need of recalibration. Ajose did not flinch. He understood that reforming an institution as vast as Lagos’s civil service required both the scalpel and the sledgehammer—subtlety in some places, forceful restructuring in others. His leadership was marked by a meticulous dismantling of corrupt enclaves within the service. He spoke passionately of the motor vehicle registration department, a cesspool of fraud, which he determinedly sought to sanitize despite intense political pressure.

    His commitment to due process wasn’t an abstract ideal, it was his guiding creed. Public service, he often said, was not a transactional endeavour but a transformational one. He preached selflessness, of the need to strip governance of selfish ambition and replace it with altruistic zeal. And Pa Ajose lived his theories. He was not merely a bureaucrat; he was a servant-leader, one who saw beyond the fleeting allure of power and embraced the enduring call of duty.

    What struck me most during our sessions was the confluence of his brilliance and his humanity. Ajose was a man of many parts. He was a technocrat who understood the pulse of the people; an administrator who never lost sight of the human stories behind policy decisions. His interactions with junior colleagues, family, and political contemporaries bore the hallmark of a man who carried power with humility. He was a bridge between generations, a statesman whose counsel was sought after because it was rooted in sapience, not self-interest.

    The lessons he imparted were clear: humility, passion, empathy, integrity, hope, and humaneness. These were not mere virtues to him; they were the scaffolding upon which he built his life. To Ajose, governance was an art, one that required a delicate balance of firmness and compassion. He was not merely interested in policies; he was invested in people. He understood that governance, at its core, was about elevating the human condition.

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    His life’s work was to etch this philosophy into the soul of a flourishing civil service. Eventually, our numerous conversations and deep dives into his experiences, culminated in a biography: The Sunny Side of Ajose – Triumphs and Legacies of Hon. Dr. Akinsanya Sunny Ajose (OON). A title befitting a man whose life radiated warmth, wisdom, and inspiring devotion. It was meant to be unveiled on his 79th birthday, February 10, 2025. But the Almighty God, the Best of Planners, had a different plan. Though he did not live to witness its unveiling, the book remains a luminous guide, a parting gift to the civil servants of Lagos State, a lighthouse that will illuminate their paths long after Pa Ajose had taken his final bow.

    Beyond his administrative acumen, Ajose was also a towering figure in Lagos politics. A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a member of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), he was the apex leader of the Badagry division. His political sagacity, tempered by years of public service, made him a unifying force within the Lagos APC. His dedication to the development of Badagry and Lagos at large earned him the respect of stakeholders across the state and beyond.

    As we bid him farewell, my heart goes out to his venerable widow, Madam Arin Ajose, a woman of equivalent grace and fortitude. Theirs was a partnership marked by mutual respect and unswerving support, a bond that reflected the very essence and character of their wedlock. Her loss is profound, but so too is her legacy as the wife of a man whose impact will echo through generations.

    Pa Ajose was no ordinary man; he was an institution. His life was a masterclass in leadership, a chronicle of service, and a reminder that the highest calling is not power, but purpose. His departure leaves a void, but his legacy fills his wake. And so, we mourn, but we also celebrate. For in the annals of Lagos State, in the ethos of its civil service, and the pages of literature, Ajose lives on.

  • Pre-colonial culture in Nigeria

    Pre-colonial culture in Nigeria

    Culture is the total way of life of a people as it manifests in their cuisine, dress, belief, world view, language, leisure, work and play.  There is a universal human culture because all men and women are descended from a common ancestry/ But in course of time, there develops noticeable differences determined by our different history and environment. 

    Nigeria is of course a plural state made up of some nations and nationalities.  It follows therefore that there are as many cultures in Nigeria as there are different nationalities. Nevertheless there has been a gradual synthesis of cultures in the Nigerian area even before the area became known as Nigeria.  The peoples of the large area watered by the Benue and the Niger rivers had historically been in contact with one another before the advent of colonialism. So we can identify a commonality of culture at least in the material sense. 

    Most of the languages in this wide area with the exception of Hausa and Kanuri belong to the Kwa family of the Niger-Congo group of languages.  The material remains of the Nok, Ife, Benin, Bida and Ugbo-Ukwu form a cultural continuity artistically. Furthermore the system of government in the wide area falls within two broad typologies namely chiefly institutions and acephalous or segmentary system of political organization. The Hausa Kanuri, Nupe, Igalla, Jukun/Chamba, Yoruba, Efik, Edo, Itshekiri and a few other share very well established monarchical forms of government while other ethnic groups like Igbo, Idoma, Urhobo, Tiv, Ibibio, Anang, Kamberi, Kilba, Ebira and the majority of the smaller nationalities operated along segmentary or stateless societies.  Even the Fulani who later became identified with the rulership of the emirates are largely segmentary people. 

    It is safe to say acephalous village societies were the commonest political culture in pre-colonial Nigeria.  In some of the monarchies the kings were regarded as divine and they or dead ones were sometimes elevated to the status of gods as was the case with Sango of Oyo.  But kings were largely seen as being second to the gods.  Most people in the Nigerian area in pre-colonial times worshipped a pantheon of gods in ascending hierarchy before the Almighty himself.  The people believed in the Supreme Being whom they variously called Olorun (the owner of heaven) Abasi, Chukwu, Chineke, Ubangiji, Osanobua, Oghene and so on and so forth.  The Almighty was usually not approached directly but through lesser gods to whom they offered animal and food offerings as propitiation for their sins.  Sometimes religion was exploited by the rulers to ensure loyalty of the subjects.  In this regard, priests were sometimes part of the royal retinue and in some cases the roles of the kings were so highly ritualized that they and the priests were sometimes indistinguishable as in Ife, Benin and in Wukari. 

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    The kings wherever they were to be found were not absolute rulers.  Their seemingly absolute powers as vice-regal to God were constrained by councils of notables who were most times independent of the king’s power as ‘kingmakers’ and tribunes of the people.  There is evidence to suggest cultural borrowing and emulation by groups in the Nigerian area in pre-colonial times.  The Tiv and Chamba for example were influenced by the Jukun to the extent that Tivs for example began to adopt Jukun institutional symbols such as drums and to organize themselves in small principalities.  What is true of the Tivs was also true of several Ekiti and Akoko principalities who borrowed insignia and titles from the Bini monarchy. It seems that the stateless or acephalous peoples felt disadvantaged in competition with organized monarchies that they began to adopt the chiefly political organizations.  This is responsible for the presence of kingdoms in the western periphery of Igboland heavily influenced by the Igalla and the Bini. 

    At the family level, what was common of the people of the Nigeria area in pre-colonial times was patriarchy and fathers ruled the homes as kings and wives and children obeyed them without question. A man had the privilege of having as many wives as his pocket will bear and the senior wives ran the domestic affairs of the families.  Children were communally brought up.  All children were regarded as belonging to the community and every truant of a child could be chastised by any older member of the community. 

    There was absolute respect for age and everybody in society knew his place according to one’s age.  In some places, there were age-grades association serving as instruments of socialization and mobilization for community effort and for war of defence in times of crisis. Most of our ethnic groups followed patrilineal descent. There were matrilineal societies like the Itshekiri and others but this was the exception rather than the rule.

    Social organization in the centralized polities like Oyo and other Yoruba kingdoms, Benin, old Calabar, Hausaland, Kwararafa (Jukuns), Kanem-Borno, Nupe and Igalla kingdoms as well as the kingdoms in the western periphery of Igboland was more complex than in the village democracies of the Igbo, Ibibio and a host of other segmentary peoples.  It should be obvious that it takes some effort to live in cities where there were contending interests which had to be harmonized than to live in villages.  Many of the centralised polities witnessed various modes of stratifications and specialization. Some employed the stratagem of secret societies like Ogboni and masquerade cults like Ekpe as instruments of execution of judicial decisions. 

    Virtually every community in the Nigerian area in pre-colonial times practiced ancestral worship.  The dead was sometimes buried in homes or near homes and people would go to the graves of their ancestors to pray and to ask their departed souls “not to sleep” and not to forget their descendants who may be going through some problems.  Africans generally believe in a continuity of existence and the afterlife was part of the African cosmology.  Masquerade cults sometimes pretended that the masquerades were earthly representations of departed ancestors.  People of course knew this was untrue but it was part of the culture to know the truth in this particular case and pretend that things were otherwise. 

    The masquerades which came out periodically and most times annually provided some form of entertainment and diversions from the drab existence of life.  Medical facilities were rudimentary but herbal medicine was usually efficacious.  There were also medicine men or shamans who claimed superior knowledge of life and to whom people took their problems.  In most cases the simple life of the people ensured that their medical ailments were such that available medical knowledge took care of.

    People ate organic food without additives and since there was no refrigeration food was fresh and this must have had some positive result on the health of the people.  The result of this was that many of the present ailments were unheard of in those days of yore. The cuisine was also unsophisticated involving liberal consumption of yams in various forms among the vast majority of Nigerians in the forest and central areas of Nigeria.  The food culture in the Savannah and Sahel areas involves the liberal use of grains such as wheat, millet, corn and sorghum.  Protein came in form of fish and game meat and beef, lamb and goats in the Northern parts of the country.  Palm oil which came from palm trees growing widely in the South was an important part of cooking while peanuts oil was common in the North.  All kinds of leafy vegetables were consumed and spices, particularly peppers were preferred condiments.  Some of the dishes such as the one in Yorubaland and Hausaland were peppery while the Igbo and others in the South-eastern part of what became Nigeria used peppers sparingly.

    Not all Nigerian people in pre-colonial Nigeria wore woven cloth.  Many of our people went about oblivious of their bareness or nakedness in what a humourist called their birthday suits.  The Yoruba, Hausa and Kanuri had always had thriving native textile industries.  The Yoruba were so successful in this regard that the Portuguese used to buy “blue cloth” from them for use in Upper Guinea Coast in the 15 and 16th centuries at the beginning of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

    The Nigerian area before the coming of colonial rule was of course not sealed off from the outside world.  The Sahara desert had not always been a barrier between the Mediterranean and the Nigerian area.  The trans-Saharan trade had provided a medium of contact between our people in the Savanna and the Mediterranean Coast.

    Trade in goatskins (Moroccan leather) had always thrived between Kano which was a commercial emporium in the Savannah and North Africa since the 14th century.  The contact was so strong especially with the advent of Islam in the 9th century that Kano became not only a centre of commerce, but of intellectual erudition.  Islam came early to Borno by the 8th century through the Fezzan and the Sudan with Islam also came horses and donkeys from Egypt as beasts of burden.  Their presence revolutionized travelling especially among the elite and also transformed most of the wars fought among the states from wars of attrition to wars of movement. 

    Islam changed almost completely the culture of people in far North of what became Nigeria.  It affected the way they dressed, ate, worshipped, married, and buried their dead, their languages and world view generally. The Jihad associated with the name of Usman dan Fadiyo, (Uthman bin Fudi) and his brother Abdullahi transformed the lives of people in what later became the caliphate stretching from the desert in the North to Nupeland and part of Yorubaland and Borgu.  Even Borno which has the primacy of place in the history of Islam in Nigeria was not untouched by the revolutionary changes in Hausaland.  Attempt by the Fulanis to take over Borno from the Saifawa dynasty that had ruled the place for hundreds of years did not succeed but it led to a regime change spearheaded by a Muslim cleric Muhammad-el-Kanemi, a Kanembu resident in Ngazargamu the then capital of Kanem-Borno. Islam provided unifying culture for the several different cultures in Nigeria and Arabic provided a written language which the rulers used not only for the spread of Islam but also for records necessary in the emerging sophisticated polities from the 19th century onwards.  Even area as far as Lagos was not untouched by Islamic culture before the advent of colonialism.  Islam came to Yorubaland including Lagos through the coming of itinerant Turkish traders and through Nupe malams who served sometimes as barbers and apothecaries.  By the 19th century preachers came from as far afield as Borno to Lagos. 

    There had always been contact between Yorubaland and Hausaland and particularly between Yorubaland and Borno. The Kanuris maintained “jokingly relationship” with the Yorubas whom they considered as “lost brothers” and the Oyo Empire relied on Borno for the supply of horses which they used to build the cavalry forces with which they overran most of Yorubaland and neighbouring Aja speaking people and the Fon of Abomey.

  • A tax tale full of fury

    A tax tale full of fury

    The change in their position was unexpected. It came with a bang! The media celebrated the development out of shock. There was nothing they could do anyway. They were looking forward to a long drawn battle between the governors and the President over the issue. It seemed there would be no headway over the Tax Reform Bills until the governors switched gears. The bills were introduced by the President to reform what he described as the nation’s archaic tax laws.

    The bills are four in all, but a part of it did not sit well with the governors, especially those from the north. But they made it to look as if everything was wrong with the bills, with their initial objection. They threatened fire and brimstone, as they declared that the north would not back the bills. At a meeting in Kaduna, the governors, some elders, religious and traditional leaders from the region unanimously rejected the bills.

    Buiyed by the support of these elders and leaders, the governors sent words to National Assembly members from their states to shoot down the bills during debate. Take down four bills, just like that because of their grievance over the value added tax (VAT) component in which they claimed the north was shortchanged by the sharing formula proposed by the Federal Government. They claimed that the sharing formula would pauperise the north. Pauperise? How? You only pauperise an individual, corporate entity or state that is viable. As the saying goes, he that is down, needs fear no fall.

    There was no cause for the governors’ anxiety, and some of their region’s leading lights put sentiments aside to speak in favour of the bills. Renowned Islamic and Christian clerics and politicians saw the bigger picture of what the bills are meant to achieve and said so without mincing words. Without looking at the faces of their complaining governors, people like Reverend Matthew Kukah and former Speaker Yakubu Dogara spoke glowingly about the bills, pointing out their benefits for the north. They argued that the bills would aid the growth of the north where people have suffered under the yoke of poverty and deprivations for years.

    Dogara bemoaned where the north is today in spite of having held leadership position more than any other region in the country. ‘’What did they do for the north?’’ He asked rhetorically. “Now that there is a leader who has thought of how to better the lot of northerners, we are  complaining of not being consulted on the tax bills. How many of these governors consult people in their states before they do anything?” These were some of the voices of reason that saw the good in the bills and spoke out. But the governors were still not swayed.

    They held on to their position which they carried to the National Economic Council (NEC) which is chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima. At NEC’s meeting last October 31, the governors urged President Bola Tinubu to withdraw the bills. He responded that there was no better place than the National Assembly for them to air their grievances and make their own inputs into the bills. At his maiden Presidential Media Chat on December 23, the President said the bills had come to stay, but left the window opened for negotiation. The bills, he noted, are “pro-poor”.

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    The bills exempt those earning around N800,000 and companies making N50 million yearly from paying tax. There are other people-centric provisions in the bills, which the governors and their co-travellers did not look at. All they wanted was to throw away the baby and the bathwater. The noise over VAT too was needless. The government’s proposed sharing formula which got the governors’ dander up were: Equality, 20%; Derivation, 60%, and Population, 20%. The Taiwo Oyedele-led Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms said the formula was arrived at after a series of meetings with all the affected parties.

    It seemed that at that stage, the governors did not show much interest in what was happening. They feel that under the derivation principle they would be cheated because tax would be calculated on the basis of what is generated from a state. In their own estimation, states where corporate bodies are situated would benefit more at the expense of others, with little or no presence of such entities. As a way out, they proposed a sharing formula of: Equality, 50%; Derivation, 30%, and Population, 20%. Was it because of this simple matter that they wanted the four bills withdrawn?

    It pays to play things cool always and not to resort to acrimony over governance matters. Leaders should think more of the led and not themselves in any given situation. They are in office to better the people’s lot and not to do otherwise. It is good to see the governors fall in line over the bills. It is not an ego thing. They should see their change in position as more of a sacrifice to make for the greater good of the people. As the President said, “it is a commendable example of cooperation between the Federal and state governments”. This should be the guiding principle of the relationship between the government and its sub nationals.

  • Police: Law keeper or insurer?

    Police: Law keeper or insurer?

    The Nigeria Police Act 2020 as amended states explicitly the functions of the police. Without the benefit of this law, we were taught those days in our civics class the role of the police in the society. It is to maintain law and order. Pure and simple. When the police arrest a person for whatever reason, it is in pursuit of this age-long duty of ensuring that society works seamlessly. The police are there to enforce the law. The laws are there to protect everybody, no matter their stations in life.

    The police power of enforcing public safety, law and order is wide. It encompasses road safety and traffic control. The police are a must-have in any society. Without the police, public order and safety cannot be guaranteed. Safety on the road and in the home is essential. Without the police on the road, we are all at risk. Nine days hence, it will be February 1, the date set aside by the police to begin Operation Show Your Third Party Insurance Certificate by motorists. Is there a need to set aside a date for this operation? NO.

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    It has always been the practice of the police to ask for ‘motorists’ insurance’. There is no way a policeman will stop a motorist on the road and not demand to see ‘your insurance papers’, whether comprehensive or third party, the two most popular classes of motor insurance. So, there is no big deal about it.

    The real deal is in the police going into insurance business, which take-off is expected to commemorate the operation show your insurance papers. The police in business? I have never heard of any police anywhere in the world mixing law keeping with busiess. What kind of police will go into insurance trade and also be the one enforcing compliance with motor insurance? The law does not back the police action. If the law frowns at officers managing or running any private business, or trade, except farming, can it back the institution to break the same law?

    It is not too late to have a rethink on this issue for the sake of the integrity of the police, and motorists who will be at the mercy of overbearing officers, acting under the guise of enforcing a law, a job they have been doing uhindered for many decades now, anyway. On what basis then did the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) grant the police an operating licence in the first place?

  • Politicians: learn ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’

    Politicians: learn ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’

    Problem: Sacrificing a N500m National Assembly NASS meeting for a N5,000 photocopy?? WHY NOT JUST SAY ‘PLEASE’?  Everything is not a conspiracy against you or disrespect! 

    We live in a country which appeared to prefer to equip the political class than empower police. Police Armoured Personnel Carriers, APCs were confiscated from police in military regimes and the police were degraded.  Our police are tele-guided to guard politicians and ‘big persons’ over the public. Politicians expect police to carry handbags, briefcases and cash. We live in a country screaming about Information Technology, and now ‘Artificial Intelligence -AI’,  advances from the rooftops but which has no ‘2025 Standard Operating Procedure Cell Phone Use’ in every police station for record and transmission of cell-phone mugshot photos, fingerprints and for ‘National Data Base of Permanent Computerised Documentation of Accused, Crime, Criminals and Contacts’.

    Worst of all, we live in a country where we allow politicians to lose focus from service to become monsters. Where an ‘elected official’ and ‘serving senator’, Deputy Whip, who attended a scheduled meeting considering the relocation of the 2025 Police Budget as well as Budget Defence by the Inspector General of Police, vexed in his pomposity because he was given a different version of the IGP’s speech than the IGP was reading from. This was interpreted as a malignant breach of ‘protocol’.

    Was this a mistake, or ‘failure to distribute available copies of the IGP’s document’? Did they have more than expected numbers? You know how we grab programmes. However, it was, deliberately misinterpreted as a deliberate insult on his political personage or whatever was deemed by him to be such a monumentally heinous crime against himself and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the  Senate, sitting and at home, his person and voters who sent him to the Senate. This warranted him arrogantly and belligerently walking out like a bull out of a China shop. Are we so sorry? Should we on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the entire citizenry, the birds in the air and the lizards on the street, apologise to your ‘High and mighty’? If it was in our power, should we direct that Nigeria suspends Senate and House of Representation sessions for a ‘National Day of Apology’ for wounding the pride of the political lion, a whole senator?

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    We should call for a quiz among students to answer the question ‘When some Senators have a document and some have not- is it mistake, administrative error, underestimation of attendees, under-photocopying, a conspiracy? But more importantly – What is the best, diplomatic “on air’’ solution?

    A: SHOUTING AND PROTEST; B: WALK OUT; C: A+B; D: POLITICAL CONSPIRACY THEORY; E: CALL FOR A 5-10 MINUTE ADJOURNMENT FOR COPIES TO BE CIRCULATED OR PHOTOCOPIED. My vote is for E.

    There was huge attendance at the Police Budget meeting. There was an abridged and full budget booklet distributed and the annoyed senator was given the one not read by the IGP. Simple. Regardless, NASS members need to understand the cost of such meetings before disrupting, adjourning or walking out of them. Why should NASS suspend meetings when one of their members dies? A minute’s silence is ok!  Nigerians die every day, unsung, unmarked. NASS ‘Meeting Suspensions’ cost Nigerians many millions.  What cost to the citizens is borne for these meetings? Don’t laugh. Add the cost of 100-200 airline tickets for attenders and aides to-and-fro nationwide, 1000-2000 security personnel, per diem, local hotel bills, vehicular transport, hangers-on. And add the human disaster cost in lives. MEETINGS IN NIGERIA ARE NOT A JOKE! THEY ARE A RISK!!  Officials, aides, security personnel die in transit to such meetings in plane, road crashes and road and rail armed robberies and kidnappings. We are not talking N500m for this meeting, are we? Be truthful. When all the costs including pre-planning stages and countless meals, fuel costs and per diem are included, nearly N1billion.  So, politicians, especially self-styled ‘Distinguished & Honourable’ NASS and State Assembly members must not, rubbish N500m-1b  expensive meetings for a N5-10,000 photocopy politicised beyond belief, televised.

    PS: D&H is repeatedly exemplified as ‘Un-Distinguished and Dis-Honourable’.

    Let us not forget: We are still awaiting news of the dismissal from political office, the criminal charges and the ‘Grievous Bodily Harm’ trial of the House of Mis-Representation member ‘I WILL MAKE YOU DISAPPEAR AND NOTHING WILL HAPPEN’.

    Both cases above manifest the hyper-self-importance manifested by the urge to get noticed by voluble or violent scene to overcome the common sense of silence and appreciation. POLITICAL POWER REVEALS TRUE HUMAN NATURE.

    What ever happened to the serious crime of ‘bringing the profession into disrepute’?  Sorry, it is the ‘profession of politics’ with its questionable service reputation as a ‘profession of politics’. Who will save politicians from themselves?     

    There are second and third political incidents to consider.

    We congratulate the first female Lagos State Speaker Mojisola Meranda BSc, MPIA. From the fate of her predecessor, remember that it is not how long but how well you do your job. You have an unprecedented opportunity and responsibility to females in Lagos State. Recall that ‘DELIVERY DAY IS THE MOST DANGEROUS DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE WOMAN AND CHILD’. Do not let them labour in the ‘Labour War’-d in vain. Make it a safer Lagos State which has enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.