The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • When outrage is not enough

    When outrage is not enough

    Unlike most Nigerians who, after seeing the short video clip showing the unfathomable ill-treatment of the three-year-old Abayomi Michael of Christ-Mitots School in Ikorodu, by her teacher, Stella Nwadigo, continue to voice their outrage at what they consider as a most egregious violation of a tot by a supposed minder, I still have a bit difficulties in actually resolving the question of which of the actors should be the legitimate target in the circumstance.

    I understand that most Nigerians would probably want to see the principal offender – Stella Nwadigo – hung and dried in the merciless sun, if not for those custom-made slaps that would, even, in normal circumstances, be too much for an adult to take, but for its artful delivery. I say this because of the ease and the practiced care with which she went about the slap business. It was akin to a lady eating the boli (roasted plantain) with palm oil. Given that the mother of the abused child is also a teacher in the same school, one can only imagine what other children with no such ‘privileges’ are made to go through under her watch.

    Clearly, if question of how the barely literate, ill-tempered individual could be put in charge of a classroom of pre-school children is one that the owners of the school are best placed to answer, what about those business it is to ensure that those who handle our children are qualified?

    What of the society that pretends that a child should at least be six years old before being herded into the icy, unfriendly classrooms but makes no provisions for pre-school kids whose parents have a duty to earn a living?

    Yet, there is still another side to the story – which is that someone, yet unknown, actually held the camera to record the cruelty, and then going as far as putting it on the internet for the rest of the world to see! For much as it is tempting to imagine humanity being in the debt of this particular individual for capturing the moment, the profound moral issues thrown up by merely watching the savagery go on, and this on a three year-old, with no indications that any challenge was actually put up by anyone in or out of sight, should be no less confounding.

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    Was the idea behind the photo to draw attention to the obnoxious practices, which although known to be at commonplace but which the larger society prefers to live in its denial? Could it have been a case of the photographer enjoying the moment while the teacher administered the rod of correction?

    At this point, suffice to state that there are simply too many questions on the individual’s motivations to which answers are unlikely to be found – which means that the questions are such that the particular individual will have to duel with his conscience to resolve.

    Here, interested Nigerians might find a good example in the story of Kevin Carter, the South African photojournalist who won the Pulitzer Prize for his iconic photograph in 1994 only to commit suicide three months later. To Carter, the image of a starving Sudanese girl who collapsed on her way to a feeding centre with a vulture in tow may have presented one aspect of the Southern Sudanese war that was impossible to ignore. Nonetheless, when The New York Times published the photograph, I believe in 1993, there were as would be expected, far less issues raised about the war as there were about the humanity of the story-teller.

    Did the child die? Why would Carter prefer taking pictures to saving a dying child? As more and more posers were raised by a clearly flummoxed public, things got to a point that questions turned into accusations. I believe the final blow must have been delivered by a newspaper – St Petersburg Times (Florida) in its editorial comment: “The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene.”

    Clearly, if his widely reported interview, moments after his Pulitzer win that after taking the photograph he “lit a cigarette, talked to God and cried”, were meant to salve his conscience, his suicide, weeks after would prove to be less than an atonement for what, admittedly, could only have been a tragic failure of his humanity at a critical time.

    So much for the Abayomi Michael case; the jury is yet out on what to make of the role of the individual behind the camera. At this time, Nigerians would seem beyond care. Most likely, the individual has moved on. Yet, there is just enough blame to go round if Nigerians are to be honest with themselves. Could the individual doing the recording have stepped in to stop the beastly act, or better still, prevent the commission of what now constitutes potential crime? While the other intervention mercifully paid off; would that, in the circumstance, suffice as consolation?

    The answer, in my view, cannot be that straightforward.  Imagine if the tot had died; would the individual have experienced the same current of vindication as he/she’s most likely doing at the moment? Wouldn’t that failure have made the individual an accomplice by default to the crime?

    Thanks to the power of the social media and Nigerians love for story-telling, the stories of Nigerians going for their camera phones at the sight of either tragedy or crimes are increasingly common-place; which is not necessarily a bad thing.

    I understand that there are exceptions when the citizens have little choice but to record an ongoing crime real time. What is unacceptable is when Nigerians begin to imagine the act alone as sufficient to relieve them of the psychological burden to either immediately activate the mechanisms for crime prevention or physically stop the criminal in their tracks. Imagine a Nigerian doing a video shoot of criminals removing manhole covers on Abuja in broad daylight when he or she could easily have called in the police or mobilise other Nigerians to challenge and then apprehend the criminals?

    To me, part of the reasons lawbreakers believe that they can get away with anything is their understanding of the Nigerian psychology, which appears to preclude the potential offender from suffering even the most minor of inconveniences while doing their dirty jobs.  I believe we are now at a point where some doses of active heroism on the part of citizens will do some good.

  • Mele Kyari as almajiri

    Mele Kyari as almajiri

    The revelation by Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer GCEO of the National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on his 60th birthday, last week, that he was formerly an almajiri, is an interesting information. That Kyari, a top Nigerian elite, well-educated, and perhaps one of the most powerful and influential Nigerian, by virtue of the lucrative office he occupies, was once like the starry eyed boys packed in that cargo bus, reportedly rescued from a trafficker, in Abuja, last week, is intriguing.

    In his message, Kyari said: “I am profoundly grateful to my country for giving me the opportunity to grow from an Almajiri (Tsangaya) school pupil to become the CEO of Africa’s largest energy company.” Whether by coincidence or design, as Mele Kyari, was proudly announcing his Almajiri pedigree, the police in Abuja, were parading children, rescued from an alleged child trafficker, who was hauling 59 children, like logs of wood, in a 15 seater bus, without windows, apparently designed to carry goods.

    The ‘trafficked children’, with some holding begging bowls, were packed like sardine, as they were being hauled by their guardian, who himself apparently needs a guardian, to only God knows where. According to the scruffy looking fellow, the children were allegedly being taken to their Almajiri school, in Nassarawa.  He claimed that the dirty, barefooted and hungry looking boys, were released to him by their parents, for them to undertake Almajiri education.

    Unlike the children of Kyari and other elites, the boys were returning to school, without mattresses and beddings, eating utensils and beverages, school and dormitory uniforms, books and writing materials, and similar items, for boarders. Unlike other children going to school, the address was not supplied, so that on school visiting day, their parents can go check out how they are faring with their studies. Apparently, there would be no Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meetings, to ensure that the teachers are teaching what they are supposed to teach.

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    Under the tutelage of that guardian, there are no school facilities to be inspected and the inspectors of education would have no business checking out whether the school was habitable on not. Unlike the school where the children of Kyari and other elites attend, there is no question whether there are chairs and tables for the pupils, or whether the dormitories are habitable. The state of their residence, if any, may not be different from the airless bus that conveyed them. 

    Looking at their faces, I sought the power of clairvoyance, to know which of them could in future, become the chief executive of a company worth $153 billion, like the NNPCL, that Kyari, who was like them before, now occupies. Sadly, I couldn’t. Perhaps, Kyari went to a different kind of Almajiri school? For it is difficult to fathom how any of the abandoned children who loiter the streets of northern Nigeria, in the name of Almajiri education, can ever amount to what Kyari has become or anything worthwhile. 

    After the arrest of the alleged kidnappers with their victims, the senator representing Kano South senatorial district, Sumaila Kawu, of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) materialized before the cameras, to tell tales by moonlight, that it is their culture to allow children of the poor to loiter hungrily around town, begging for money to feed adults, who claim to be their guardian, while the children of senators, company chief executives and their likes, are enjoying cozy learning environments. A culture that practices class apartheid, to ensure that the children of the elite remain on top, while the children of poor, remains the dredges of the society is repugnant.

    What apparently amounts to irresponsible parenting, has metamorphosed and has been elevated into a culture, and a distinguished senator of the federal republic is proud to own and propagate such culture. To make matters worse, the elites, who have lost every sense of shame, seek to use religion to cover their sins. Yet, there are countries, like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Libya, Syria, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan and even Afghanistan, which are predominantly Islamic nations, but which do not engage in such odious practice of child abuse. 

    If the intention of the propagators of Almajiri is the teaching of Islamic education, what stops them from building schools predominately dedicated to such a cause? Both the teachers and the students, can do with clean school environments, uniforms, dormitories, teaching aides, computers, dining halls, and similar things that enhances the quality of life. Who says the Almajiri school system cannot have a curriculum that encompasses plumbing, electrical, plastering, flooring, tilling, roofing and similar skills, that would feed the graduated Almajiri? Why must the learners be so limited that they can only survive on benevolence?   

    Kyari, as an ex almajiri, can through a Foundation, start a model almajiri school, as a way of giving back to the system that laid the foundation for his very successful life. As a former almajiri, he has the credibility to lead a revolution to make the system amenable to modern day living. Senator Kawu and his colleagues, Honourable members, governors, business men and successful northerners, who believe the almajiri model of education is rewarding, as evidenced by Kyari, can sponsor Almajiri model schools, for the benefit of the teeming children roaming the streets of the state capitals and towns in northern states.

    If they succeed, the almajiri children would cease to be counted amongst the out of school children. According to the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF), there are over 18 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, and about 69 percent of them are in northern Nigeria. Within that number, Bauchi State has the highest number of about 1,239,759 million, while Kano has about 989,234. At a conference in October last year, in the presidential villa, Vice President Kashim Shettima, reportedly said states like Kebbi, Zamfara, and Bauchi, have more than 60% of primary school-age children not in school. Kebbi has 64.8% of out-of-school children. For secondary education, Bauchi has 66.75%, Kebbi at 63.8%, and Jigawa at 62.6%.

    The Bauchi State governor, Bala Muhammed, who has been up and about threatening the All Progressive Congress (APC)-led federal government with sack in 2027, has not done much to alleviate the cataclysm that the out of school children pose to his state, and to the rest of Nigerians. While gearing to challenge the Tinubu-led administration, at the presidential polls, he has not shown capacity to deal with basic education in the Bauchi State he currently governs.

    The northern elite, particularly those holding political offices and controlling the common resources of the people must show themselves worthy of the leadership positions entrusted in their care. Modernizing almajiri education would help the region’s economy. It is not enough to be masters of political rhetoric, while the masses wallop in poverty and ignorance.

  • Corruption in EFCC

    Corruption in EFCC

    The dismissal by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of 27 officials for corruption related offences again highlights integrity challenges on the part of those prosecuting the war against the malfeasance.  It struck as a typical case of corruption fighting corruption with counterproductive outcomes.

    A press statement by the commission last week said, the measure was in furtherance of its “quest to enforce integrity and rid its fold of fraudulent elements”. The agency affirmed its zero tolerance for corruption even as it promised to thoroughly investigate all allegations against its staff including “a trending $400,000 claim of a yet-to-be-identified supposed staff of the EFCC against a sectional head”.

    But the commission introduced a new angle to the issue when it warned the public against the activities of impersonators and blackmailers exploiting the name of its executive chairman, Ola Olukayode to extort money from suspects under investigation.

    It cited the case of two members of a syndicate being prosecuted at a Federal High Court for allegedly demanding $1million from a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority to ‘secure soft landing’ for him on a non-existent investigation. 

    The statement also contained an alert on alleged moves being hatched in some quarters to blackmail officers of the commission. It claimed that suspects being investigated for economic and financial crimes who fail to compromise their investigators go to any length to blackmail them.

    An appraisal of the press statement highlighted three salient but closely related issues bordering on the integrity and credibility of officials of the commission. While the first dealt with the punitive measures taken by the agency to deter corrupt officials, the second is a warning on the activities of those impersonating Olukayode to extort money from undiscerning public.

     The third strand is an alert on alleged penchant by suspects who fail to compromise their investigators to turn around and blackmail them. In all, they speak of the dire integrity challenges confronting officials of the commission in carrying out their statutory duties of stamping out economic and financial crimes. The issues highlighted are weighty. They hinge on the suitability and moral bearing of EFCC officials to wage a decisive war against corruption.

    It is good a thing the commission reaffirmed its zero tolerance for corruption which saw 27 of its fraudulent officials shown the way out. For an agency primarily established to aid the government prosecute the war against economic and financial crimes, the dismissal of 27 of its officials for corruption related offences in one fell swoop, is certainly unsettling.

    It conveys the image of an organisation whose officials largely work at cross purposes with its mandate, possibly for personal gains. Yes, the 27 officials implicated by the disciplinary committee have been dismissed. That may not have exhausted the list of fraudulent staff giving the organisation bad name.

    Ironically, just two days after the dismissal of the 27 fraudulent staff, EFCC issued another statement on 10 others detained by it over alleged theft of operational items they could not account for. The statement did not disclose the items of theft.

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    But a credible source within the system revealed that the officers allegedly broke into the exhibits’ room and stole foreign currency, gold items and other valuable exhibits. If officials could break into the exhibits’ room and steal items that will aid the prosecution of suspects, then the situation is that bad.

    All these speak of the rot in the system and a breakdown of values on the part of the staff of the commission. If syndicates can comfortably concoct stories of existing or non-existing investigations by the EFCC and swindle victims, then the commission needs to reappraise its operational strategies. There is everything to suspect that the EFCC is in the current predicament because of the existence in its fold of many fraudulent and dishonest staff.

     Or how else do we explain the narrative that 10 staff of the organisation allegedly broke into the exhibits’ room and stole cash and other valuable exhibits from there?

    Officials who go to this length can commit any other crime including supplying credible information to criminal syndicates to scam suspects under investigation. Little surprising the war against corruption has proved a daunting task.

    There was no information on the particular offences committed by the dismissed 27 officials. Neither were their names and other details disclosed. The possibility of extorting money from suspects or connivance with syndicates through information sharing to defraud unsuspecting members of the public cannot be ruled out.

    But the commission had no need raising alarm on suspects it claimed to be blackmailing investigators after their attempt to compromise them failed. That is something it can clearly investigate and handle conclusively. Though that tendency cannot be ruled out, there is the danger of fraudulent officials hiding under such cover to evade genuine complaints of corruption against them.

    The commission should keep to its promise to thoroughly investigate all allegations of corruption against its staff and not seek to hold brief for them. The way things stand, the greatest challenge confronting the EFCC in effectively carrying out its functions is the existence of dishonest and rogue staff within.

    There are many bad eggs within the organisation working at cross purposes with its mandate. The time has come for an urgent re-appraisal of the staff under the employ of the organisation to weed out those who give bad name to it.

    It is inconceivable how corruption can meaningfully fight corruption. Olukayode has a daunting task redeeming the image of the organisation. The way things stand, it will be difficult for the agency to make meaningful progress on its mandate with disoriented, morally depraved and fraudulent staff. For now, Nigeria has continued to post unenviable profile in the corruption ladder reflecting failures by various anti-corruption agencies to post positive records in that fight.

    But this should not be entirely surprising given the way the last administration toyed with the appointment of the leadership of the EFCC. That regime went ahead to appoint Ibrahim Magu as the acting chairman of the EFCC despite  a damning report by the Department of State Services (DSS) on his unsuitability for the job. 

    The DSS had written the senate not to confirm Magu as he would be a huge liability to the war against financial crimes. At least on two occasions his name was sent to the senate for confirmation but was rejected. But the president preferred to have him in an acting capacity until his uneventful exit after discernible signs of the predictions of the DSS had manifested.

    The EFCC is not the only anti-corruption agency contending with the crisis of integrity within its fold. Not long ago, Nigerians were shocked when a highly decorated Police officer DCP, Abba Kyari was implicated in the case of a social media influencer, Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi who pleaded guilty to money laundering and other crimes in the United States of America.

    The list of officials charged with crime prevention but curiously implicated in abetting such crimes is endless. But it is reflective of the inability of the country to make reasonable progress in the war against corruption.

    In the Corruption Perception Index posted by Transparency International (TI) for 2023, Nigeria ranked 145 out of the 180 countries assessed. It shared that position with Liberia, Madagascar and Mozambique. In the 2022 assessment, it ranked 154 out of 180 countries also assessed. Though the 2023 rating marked a marginal improvement on the previous year, it is still reflective of the pervasiveness of the scourge within the system.

    Regime after regime touts the war against corruption as one of their cardinal programs. But they come and go without making reasonable impact in combating the scourge largely because those charged with the prosecution of the campaign have been the greatest obstacles to its prosecution. Is it surprising that corruption in public places has shown no signs of abating? No thanks to the seeming discriminatory handling of high profile corruption cases by agencies of the government, including the judiciary.

  • EFCC’s house cleaning matters

    EFCC’s house cleaning matters

    It was an inevitable effort to carry out internal cleansing at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Despite some recent notable anti-corruption actions against external targets, the agency faced serious questions concerning its internal system. There was a need to provide answers to the questions.

    Dramatically, it started the year with an announcement of housecleaning. “In its quest to enforce integrity and rid its fold of fraudulent elements, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission dismissed 27 officers from its workforce in 2024,” its spokesperson said, adding, “Their dismissal, following the recommendation of the Staff Disciplinary Committee of the EFCC, was ratified by the Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.” The agency also said it was investigating “a trending $400,000 claim of a yet-to-be-identified supposed staff of the EFCC against a Sectional Head.”

    A group, Journalists Against Corruption, noted that it was “the first time” the commission had sacked 27 members of staff “in one fell swoop for fraudulent activities and misconduct.” The agency was established in 2002.

    In a related development some days after the agency announced the multiple dismissals, its spokesperson said in a statement: “Ten officers of the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC are currently being detained in connection with the investigation of some missing operational items involving them.” He said these officers were arrested on the directive of Olukoyede and “are being questioned over the theft of items they could not account for.”  Their detention, he added, was “part of ongoing efforts” to rid the commission of corrupt practices.  According to the statement, “Investigators are making significant progress, and those found guilty will be subjected to internal disciplinary processes.”

     There is no question that the commission has an image problem. Indeed, in his 2024 New Year address to the agency’s personnel, Olukoyede had observed that “Public opinions about the conduct of some of our investigators are adverse. The craze and quest for gratification, bribes and other compromises by some of our investigators are becoming too embarrassing and this must not continue.” He added that the image of the commission was “too important” to be put on the line by any corrupt officer.

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    When President Bola Tinubu appointed Olukoyede as EFCC helmsman in October 2023, the administration described his role as an “important national assignment” towards “a newly invigorated war on corruption.” The administration said he “is a lawyer with over twenty-two (22) years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant and specialist in fraud management and corporate intelligence. He has extensive experience in the operations of the EFCC, having previously served as Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman (2016-2018) and Secretary to the Commission (2018-2023).”

    Olukoyede inherited “no fewer than 25 high-profile corruption cases involving former governors, ministers and senators,” according to an investigative report published in October 2023. The cases involve “not less than N772.2bn and another $2.2bn, alleged to have gone missing through money laundering, fund diversion and misappropriation,” the report said. Some of the cases seem interminable.

    The immediate past chairman of the agency, Abdulrasheed Bawa, had eventually resigned after the Tinubu administration suspended him “to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office.” The Federal Government said there were “weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him.”

    Notably, former governor of Zamfara State Bello Matawalle not only made damning allegations against Bawa but also claimed to have damaging evidence. “He requested a bribe of $2 million from me and I have evidence of this,” he said.

    Also, in 2023 anti-corruption crusaders in the country led by the chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), Debo Adeniran, had alleged that, under Bawa, some of the commission’s officials simply negotiated with suspects, and engaged in corrupt bargaining for self-enrichment. 

    The anti-corruption activists had criticised the EFCC under the previous chairman, saying most of the convictions claimed by the agency involved online fraudsters, and that high-profile political players were treated as sacred cows. They also alleged that “Some of the commission’s officials simply negotiate with suspects, get assets and cash retrieved and do plea bargains. This opens limitless opportunities for corrupt bargaining and self-enrichment by the operatives of EFCC.”

    They added: “We are also aware that in December 2022, the Bawa-led EFCC announced its plan to sell forfeited properties. It also announced later in January that about 12 bids were made for those properties and, later, that six of those bids were successful.

    “No details of this were made public, either to know successful bids or rejected ones. This was a ploy, in our opinion, to make the processes less transparent and, therefore, facilitate corrupt mismanagement of the proceeds or ensure that only their corrupt allies got the opportunity to purchase the assets at giveaway prices. The processes were rendered opaque and that’s very suspicious.”

    They called for a thorough investigation by “a technical Commission of Inquiry,” which would “dig into the modus operandi of EFCC investigations in the last three years by thoroughly analysing records of arrests, investigations, outcomes and final closure of each incident and individual suspects and how the matters were eventually dispensed with.”

    The anti-corruption crusaders also said “all seized assets need to be forensically audited with a view to recovering all assets re-looted or auctioned in suspicious circumstances.”

    The extent of Olukoyede’s housecleaning since he became EFCC boss is unknown. It is also unclear how much attention he paid to the allegations against the agency under his predecessor.

    Strikingly, the agency made the headlines in December 2024 when it announced the largest single-asset recovery in its history, a vast estate comprising 753 duplexes and other apartments located on Plot 109 Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja. A court in Abuja issued an order of final forfeiture concerning the estate, which the agency described as a “record-breaking recovery” and “a landmark forfeiture.”

    However, the agency’s failure to name the owner of the estate raised questions about its approach. Its effort to give the impression that identifying the owner of the estate is difficult, and will take some time, called into question its investigative methods.  When will the agency name the owner of the estate and follow up with prosecution? That’s when this unprecedented single-asset recovery will look like or be seen as an anti-corruption achievement.

    It is counter-productive for the country to have an anti-corruption agency that lacks credibility.  Ultimately, in its actions against internal or external targets, the EFCC must prioritise credibility. 

  • We owe this man

    We owe this man

    Few have afterlife in flesh and blood like Jimmy Carter. But the former United States president who soared to a century before bowing to the cemetery, has been called many names. President, senator, governor, nuclear engineer, poet, author, farmer, fly fisherman, naval officer, Nobel Laureate. No wonder at 90, he wrote a moving but simple memoir, A full life. But what he preferred, above all else, was to be called a Christian.

    He was my first introduction to the concept of the American president. I was a student when he visited Nigeria and hosted by the Owu Chief, who was the military head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo. And it was on his lips I first heard the word racism. He was one of the big men in history who would walk beside you without airs, as he did when he sat on a technology conference I attended in Atlanta. He never stained his soul with success.

    Few know that his father loved whites and blacks to be apart but his mother wanted the exact opposite. He loved his father, but inherited his mother, who visited, ate with and accepted blacks in their home, against his father’s protests. So, Carter grew up racially blind in his deep south village known as Plains, Georgia. His best friends were black, and he preferred the warmth and incandescence of black worship to the cold pieties of his race. He even spoke fluent black accent and played translator between the races.

    It was when he turned 14 that he lost his racial innocence when he and his two black friends walked to a pasture gate on their farm, and they opened the gate and stepped back to allow him step into the pasture ahead of them. The naïve Jimmy thought it was a trap and the guys had planted a tripwire so he could fall as part of their games.

    But it was dead serious. What his friends, Johnny and A.D., did was an act of racial deference. Jim Crow had crept into an idyllic bond, and deflowered him forever. He was forced to see black and exalt white, and he fought the latter all his life. He concluded a poem on that moment of knowing with the following words: “We only saw it vaguely then, /but we were transformed at that place./ A silent line was drawn/ between friend and friend, race and race.”

    His story of those bucolic years is invoked with grace and detail in his boyhood memoirs, A Hour Before Daylight, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. So when we saw him in Nigeria, or in Ethiopia, or somewhere in the recesses of malaria-infested dark hole of human habitation, trace it to the times of epiphany in Plains, Georgia.

    When Kemi Badenoch lost her balance to racial capitulation, she was benefitting from what psychologists call “white guilt.” I saw that a lot when I lived in the United States. It is not necessarily a bad thing. It is the sort of line that peppers phrases like, “I was not responsible for what my ancestors did to blacks”, “it was a time of injustice,” etc. It is the sort of logic that justifies Jefferson and Washington, who called for liberty but had slaves. Jefferson even had a child with a black girl known as Sally Hemings. Or the argument that Abraham Lincoln liberated slaves though he did not believe in equality. Some analysts say they were products of their times.

    Was Carter powered by white guilt? Maybe? There is nothing wrong with that. I cannot forget the day I just started a programme with the prestigious Rocky Mountain News, and I waited at the gate for a cab to take me home. A family car stopped by and they – father, wife, son and daughter – wanted to give me a ride home. It was raining. I turned it down, because I did not want to bother them. As they left, their daughter kept looking back, her face weighted with pain. I regretted it later when I knew they wanted to help a black man, wet in his white shirt and black tie.

    If we have the sort of white guilt of Jimmy Carter, the world would tackle the bear of hate to a prostrate floor.

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    It is the power of childhood, and some Nigerians who grew up loving other ethnic groups without emotional encumbrances demonstrate that parents pay a price for turning their children to either tribal or religious bigots, or lovers of their neighbours. We see that from writers, politicians, governors and presidents.

    We must know that Carter loved humans hence has saved millions of Nigerians from river blindness, guinea worm, trachoma, malaria. His Carter Centre is labouring on, and it is the debt we owe that great man that even in death, he is still doing good.

    The other quality is his integrity, and some might call him naïve. Yes, he was, but there is good naïve and bad naïve. His was good. He did not, like Jonathan, make a flaky monument out of his humble background when he ran for president. He did not tell Americans, in false humility like Goodluck Jonathan, that he had no shoes as a boy. Carter had no electricity or pipe-borne water. As he put in his memoirs, he walked “barefoot in mud and manure”. He was the first U.S. president to be born in a hospital.

    When he ran for the world’s most powerful office, his fellow countrymen wondered, “Jimmy who?.” His first try at office was as a state senator and it was like an election in Nigeria when his opponents who hated his racial empathies did what might have happened in Nigeria. Dead people voted, ballot boxes were stuffed, and the numbers skewed. He challenged the process. Talk about naïve. He prevailed. His book, Turning Point, unveils the experience. When he ran for governor, someone helped him with a free plane ride all over the state. After he won, Carter asked him what he wanted from him. The fellow said he should say in his inaugural address the following, “The time for racial discrimination is over.” And Carter obliged.

    He had failed in his first guber try. He filled his days as an evangelical, travelling from city to city, and from house to house. After his term as governor, and he won a place in the White House, his tour has often been diminished by historians and journalists, perhaps because the American darling, Ronald Reagan, beat him. I was particularly unhappy with a piece by Time magazine’s essayist Lance Morrow, who painted the Carter years as gloomy and weak, and so Americans “buried him in a landslide.”

    The same view prevailed of Harry S. Truman, who succeeded Franklyn Roosevelt. It was in the early 2000s, kudos to historian David McCollough, that historians began to elevate him from good to near-great as president. I think people are revising their views of the Plains man. For a man who gave us Camp David and ended a generation of belligerence between Israel and Egypt. A man who hired more women and blacks into office, including in the judiciary, than all presidents before him combined. The man who gave us FEMA before many heard the phrase melting snow, or global warming. The man who set up the departments of education and energy, and installed the first solar panel in the White House. He was an evangelical, but he was prophet more for his acts than his utterance. His utterances were in his deeds.

    The reason he gets that lower rating is because he had better ratings after office. I am sure if he was asked if he wanted to be a great man instead of a great president, he would choose the former. Yet, what many writers and pundits were not brave to accept is that he was a great man who became a president. Not many can say same of Reagan, who walked to Mississippi in the heat of a racial killing and declared, “I believe in state’s rights.” That is a code for racism.

    Another reason was the hostage crisis when Iran held Americans for 444 days, and his rescue attempt failed. The Ayatollah released them to Reagan to spite Carter. Imagine that killing of Osama  has not sainted Obama but the hostage crisis has bedeviled Carter!

    In his books, especially A Full Life and An Hour Before daylight, he made a point about race in America. He showed that one of the reasons for deep resentment between blacks and whites was rooted in the Civil War. The whites who fought to retain racism were defeated, and so they saw themselves as a conquered people. Then the blacks, who were their wares were now the liberated. It gave them moral inferiority and blacks, in a deep and wounded sense, became emblems of their moral failures. It generated much hate, and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan, and what became known as the lost cause, may be rooted in that era of humiliation.

    When politicians from the south like Strum Thurmond of the Dixiecrats and George Wallace said “segregation today, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever,” the refrain roared from that sour blood.

    Hence, it is remarkable that a man like Carter rose from there. Martin Luther King Jr. said he expected the racial equality to begin from the south first. Genuine blacks distrust northeast elites who espouse liberal ideas but cannot host a black man in their front porches. A white friend who lived in Boulder, Colorado, a city of inherited wealth, was in my book club. He said, my neighbours love poor people but they don’t want them near.” They donate to charities but cannot share a quart of beer in a bar.

     The blacks trust a white man from the south who loved when he loved and hated when he hated. Like Carter. After all, a good gem comes out of fire. Like our man from Plains, Georgia.

  • The rise, rise and rise of capitalism (III)

    The rise, rise and rise of capitalism (III)

    The North American colonies were peopled predominantly by the English although the available spaces were contested with the French in the North and the Dutch in the North East. For example, the city we now know as New York was originally called New Amsterdam as it was originally a Dutch colony, the island of Manhattan having been purchased from the indigenous people for the princely sum of $24 in 1626. In time however the Dutch were supplanted by the English who developed the island into a trading centre and now the centre of global trade. These colonies were part of the emerging British empire and were ruled from London until they famously won their independence in 1776.

    Immediately eastwards of the British colonies, in the Caribbean ocean, the European powers of the day settled on the islands which dotted that area. There, they set up another form of colonies, the slave colonies on which European settlement was limited. As a matter of fact, these islands represented the limit of Columbus penetration as that explorer did not go beyond them. The original inhabitants of those islands now collectively and derogatorily referred to as Caribs and described as cannibals were quickly disposed of. It is interesting to note that the cannibals which gave Robinson Crusoe in the eponymous novel by Daniel Defoe an almighty fright were supposed to represent these unfortunate people in literature. Beginning in the sixteenth century, various European powers including the British, French and Spanish began to squabble among themselves for the mastery of those islands some of which changed hands as the Europeans made this region the centrepiece of war and diplomatic activities over several centuries. The rivalry was so fierce because it was realised quite early on that the soil of that region was particularly suited for the planting of sugar.

    Sugar cane was first domesticated in both Papua New Guinea and parts of India and gradually spread through Arab conquests to Southern Europe in areas around the Mediterranean sea, into Portugal and Spain. As with several other commodities, the use of sugar was introduced into Europe during the Crusades even though both the Greeks and the Romans had a familiarity with sugar but only as medicine.

    Sugar cane is a very demanding crop as it requires high temperature and humidity for growth. In addition, its cultivation is highly labour intensive and over the years was only profitable with the availability of slave labour. These conditions were admirably met in the West Indian islands and parts of the American mainland. All the usual European suspects starting with the Dutch got in on the act and started producing sugar in the New World with Columbus planting the first sugar seedlings on the island of Hispaniola in 1493. These sugar islands were supplied with slaves from Africa for hundreds of years and it is instructive that Cuba, the leading sugar producer in the Caribbean was also the last to abolish slavery in 1888. The lives of the slaves that had to plant, hoe sugar, harvest the cane and produce sugar was extremely brutal with the life expectancy of a slave that was landed on the island of Barbados at the height of slavery being only four years. Being transported to that island from Africa was therefore a short life sentence with extreme hard labour. When the slaves died, their dry bones were ground up and mixed with animal bones and used to whiten the sugar produced on the plantations. Slaves were not even allowed to rest in peace after their labours!

    Another aspect of slave sugar production was mechanisation. Sugar cane is very bulky and therefore very difficult to transport over long distances. This meant that sugar was produced on each plantation by the slaves who had grown the crop in the first place. All the pieces of equipment; crushers, rollers, and evaporators used in refining sugar were either moving or very hot and accidents leading to the loss of lives and limbs were frequent. Each machine had a machete within easy reach so that when a finger was caught in the machine, the band of the unfortunate slave was simply chopped off so that it was not necessary to stop the machine for the offending finger to be extricated from the machine. That mutilation was as good as a death sentence because from that point on,  the slave in question was no longer productive and had become expendable and well, slaves never retired. Those who could no longer work were surplus to requirement and were quickly disposed of. Their bones were then ground up to bleach sugar. Sugar fuelled the trans- Atlantic slave trade as no other commodity was able to do but in the end sugar also contributed to the end of the slave trade and ultimately, the emancipation of slaves on all British ruled territories in 1834.

    The central importance of slavery to the rise of capitalism is illustrated by the story of the voyage of the Zong, a British slave ship which sailed from Accra in present day Ghana with a cargo of 442 slaves bound for Jamaica in 1781. In the first place the Zong, in order to maximise profit was carrying more than double the number of slaves she was allowed to carry even by the terrible standards of the day. In addition, the substantive captain of the ship was incapacitated by illness and command fell to the ship surgeon who had no practical sailing experience. There came a time when through all manner of navigation errors, the ship faced a devastating water shortage and the response of the crew was to begin to throw the slaves overboard in an attempt to stretch the availability of water. It was reasoned that the cost of the slaves murdered in that manner was covered by insurance but that if they died of thirst, they would not be able to collect insurance of £30 for each dead slave. In the normal course of events, no less than 62 slaves had died of ‘natural causes’ during the voyage before the decision to execute other slaves by drowning was taken. All in all, 132 slaves were drowned over three days and ten others jumped into the sea of their own accord in protest at the inhumane conditions they were being subjected to. All other slaves were eventually safely delivered to Jamaica and sold on average for £36 each.  In addition, the ship owners put in a claim for the drowned slaves and won their claim. However, the insurers refused to pay up and the case ended up in court. Judgement in favour of the ship owners was predicated on the fact that the slaves were in fact items of cargo and did not deserve to be treated like human beings. The second trial ended in triumph for the insurers on the ground that the crew of the ship had been negligent and that was what led to the death of the enslaved people on board. An attempt to try the negligent crew for murder was however unsuccessful.

    Read Also: The rise, rise and rise of capitalism (I)

    The man who brought the issue of murder on the Zong to public notice was Olaudah Equiano  a former slave of Igbo descent. He joined forces with Grenville Sharp, an abolitionist who insisted that what took place on the Zong was murder but virtually nobody agreed with them since the victims were just Africans on their way to a short life of slavery. Eventually however, the Zong incident was a catalyst for ending British participation in the slave trade some thirty years later and the emancipation of slaves more than fifty years later.

    The point to be made here is that without the humongous profit made by the enslavement of Africans in the Americas, the capital needed for fuelling the Industrial revolution would never have become available. An example will help prove this point. The home port of the Zong was Liverpool, a town which owed its economic importance to the slave trade as it was the home port to many slave ships. One of the owners of Zong was Gregson, at that time the mayor of Liverpool. It has been calculated that Gregson was personally involved over a lifetime of slave trading in the transportation of at least 58,000 Africans into slavery in the West Indies. The man built up a mountain of capital to bring about the rise and rise of capitalism. There were many others like him who built up their capital in the same way. Some of these men were, in the manner of Gregson, individuals but others were formidable institutions like the Royal African Company and its Dutch counterpart, the Dutch West Indian company which had control of the sugar plantations in Surinam which remains a Dutch colony today.

    The slave trade was a massive commercial, and even municipal enterprise as we have seen with the city of Liverpool which was once a lowly fishing village but became a city, complete with a Cathedral within a short period of her involvement in the slave trade. Today, Liverpool is one of the largest cities in Britain, her murky past in the slave trade all but forgotten completely.

    The slave trade was very profitable. Commodities were brought to Europe in ships which were loaded down with sugar, cotton, indigo, rice and other commodities which were sold at an immense profit. The ships then took on the tawdry trade goods so beloved of African slave traders and sold again at great profit. Finally, the ships were overloaded with human cargo and transported across the Atlantic for yet another round of profit taking. But things did not always work according to plan as the case of the voyage of the Zango clearly shows. These traders needed trading capital which they got from banks as well as insurance cover which insurance companies readily provided. Some of these institutions which facilitated the slave trade are still in business today. For example, Lloyds of London is still very much in business but fully 40% of her business in those days was provided by slave trading activities. Barclays bank is another institution which has survived to the present day. Like Lloyds, Barclays bank was involved in the slave trade as she provided loans to slave traders thereby facilitating their trade. It cannot be overstated that without the slave trade, capitalism could not have engineered the Industrial revolution which over the years has changed the world profoundly.

    • To be continued.
  • By end of 2026 Nigerians will be clamouring for continuation of Tinubu administration

    By end of 2026 Nigerians will be clamouring for continuation of Tinubu administration

    YES. I wrote that even as I am neither God nor see into the future. As to any of us being alive December ’26 and beyond, you and I can only hope in the munificence of the Almighty God.

    So think not that I am playing God. Rather, I am looking at trends. At history.

    And by the way, I am not in any way suggesting that Tinubu’s political enemies, the likes of  Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Kwankwaso or the Obidients, whose own existence depends solely on feeding fat on eethnicity would have evaporated from the face of the earth. No. not by any chance. Indeed, more anti – Tinubu groups would most probably have mushroomed as the 2027 elections draw nearer. All these are no prophecy but truisms waiting to materialise.

    I say these things for two main reasons, namely: one, the fact that, like a miracle, I have watched this ‘anjonu’ – read as Tinubu – two decades ago, turn around near disaster into a grand opportunity for massive renewal,  and a comparatively worse situation turned around to mark the very beginning of today’s thriving Lagos economy, now 4th in the African continent of 54 countries. Yes, he  did it and please just don’t just joke with that man who the Almighty God has set apart.

    Do you know how many waters Bola Ahmed Tinubu has passed through?

    Apart from all the schemes of the opposition, did President Muhammadu Buhari want him as his own successor? Where, today, are the court jesters rooting for Emefiele or do you any longer hear of then APC’s Chairman,   who would have done anything to instal. .?

    Put nothing beyond Tinubu as long as it is in the best interest of Nigeria.

    The second reason  is the fact that Nigerians are no fools. Once they see their circumstances improve, turned around for the better, they would stick by you through thick and thin. Trust them.

    I, intact, have already seen one asking for a Tinubu for Anambra state. Yet they haven’t seen anything yet.  They should give Tinubu  12 more  months and many will marvel.

    I am not only a chronicler of historical events. I am, first and foremost, a trained historian – Kudos to the greats, my teachers – Akinjogbin, Anjorin, Segun Osoba, Igbafe, Afolayan, Omosini, Olaniyan and others too numerous to mention – who all took me through the crucible.

    As governor of Lagos state in 1999, Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited a state plagued by, among others, a galaxy  of stinking and suffocating streets, poor infrastructure,  and a very low internal revenue generation, implying very poor resources.

    Within his first year in office, Tinubu had begun to turn things around, laying the foundation that will turn Lagos into the thriving megacity it is today.

    About his first area of focus was education. wherein he initiated a comprehensive reform  aimed at making public schools attractive.  This included the rehabilitation of primary and secondary schools,  provision of free education in all public primary and secondary schools and the payment of WAEC/NECO fees for all students. These tremendously increased access to education for thousands of pupils with little or no additional stress for parents. He immediately prioritised infrastructure development, initiating several projects aimed at improving the state’s road network, expanding its water supply system as well as vigorously enhanced its waste management infrastructure. Not surprisingly,

    these efforts helped tremendously in improving the overall quality of life of the citizens.

    He also aggressively implemented  initiatives aimed at improving the state’s poor, if not negligible, internal revenue. This he did by introducing a new tax system,  expanding  the state’s tax base, and  implementing measures aimed at reducing tax evasion. He then computerised the entire payment system, to crown it all.

    When a few years ago, during a visit to him at his Bourdillon home he told Professor Bayo Williams and I the story of how he, as Lagos state governor, birthed the very first bond as a source of funding for Lagos state in the modern era, we could only marvel.

    As a result of his fear of Northern governors, President Olusegun Obasanjo could not start effecting payment of the 13 per cent derivation to oil producing state’s despite the latter’s pressure.

    Read Also: Oluremi Tinubu visits Gov Namadi, wife over son’s death

    Tinubu noticed the lacuna and persuaded the highly versatile governor Segun Osoba who had many friends among them, to plead with his Northern colleagues to relent, which he successfully did and payment began.

    Tinubu did that knowing full well that most of those huge funds would be sitting idle in banks, all of whose headoffices are domiciled in Lagos, well aware that banks would be receptive to funding solid state loan proposals. That was how he creatively got funding for all his massive infrastructural programmes in the  state.

    His administration also made significant investments in healthcare and social welfare. It initiated several projects aimed at improving the state’s healthcare infrastructure.

    Before you know it, a new Lagos was born,  to be vigorously nourished,  subsequently, by an uninterrupted succession system – which he birthed – and saw his party in power since 1999 till date.

    Let us now gravitate towards contemporary Nigeria and examine why, from the above experiences, I feel positive that President Tinubu will so impact Nigeria and Nigerians that, come election time in 2026 – 27, Nigerians will be clamouring – mind you not begging please – for his election and continuation in office in spite of the current efforts by opposition elements to demarket his government, shouting ‘ebi npa mi’.

    Considering the ambitious economic growth plan  he has unveiled for the country, it is obvious that I am in no fantasy land with my projection even if some doubt it.

    Among other things, Tinubu’s economic  plan aims at elevating Nigeria’s  GDP to $1 trillion by 2026 and to further expand it to $3 trillion by the end of the decade. 

    This will not only transform Nigeria’s economy, but so significantly improve the lives of Nigerians that ‘ebi npa mi’ would have long become history.

    Our current GDP is around $450 billion and taking it to $1 trillion would involve large scale investment and innovation. This will involve creating the right socio – economic environment for businesses to thrive, attract foreign investment, as well as develop the country’s infrastructure, none of which is beyond the capabilities of the technocratic and experienced politician we have in Tinubu. Indeed, a daring – do Tinubu has already shown himself as not only fearless, but sure- footed enough, to do whatever is necessary to make all these happen.

    As is already well known, his economic  plan is built around the following:

    *Infrastructure Development – investing in critical infrastructure such as roads, railways, airports, and seaports to facilitate trade and commerce, but certainly without eggregiously straying into building railways into foreign lands;

    *Industrialization – manufacturing and mining, in particular, to create jobs and stimulate economic growth.

    *Massive Agricultural Development – investing in Agriculture to increase food security, reduce food imports, and create jobs for rural communities especially through the establishment of food processing industries;

    *Human Capital Development –  investing in education, healthcare, and skills development to create a more productive and competitive workforce.

    It can bear repetition that Tinubu has the requisite competences, and experience,  to achieve, maximally, in these key areas and put the country on the road to a level of growth which will lead to increased prosperity as well as improved living standards for all.

    The impediments to achieving all these are, albeit, humongous and some will definitely require tact, and statesmanship, to resolve.

    First of all, apart from her ambitious politicians like Atiku and Kwankwaso, the North, as a political zone, has shown itself a major stumbling bloc to Tinubu’s success that no matter what some spokespersons say now in 2025, the North cannot truly wish to see President Tinubu succeed, not even for the sake of Nigeria. This should ordinarily be a surprise given the huge votes the North gave him in the 2023 election. The reality though is the fact that the North is immortality averse to not being in power.

    Only this past week, for the simple reason that it is currently not in power, and regardless of whether Tinubu created a  ministry of Livestock Development, or not,  a trending WhatsApp video showed a Northern group threatening to declare war on Nigeria. The  more sober ones are aggressiveky planning to drag former President Goodluck Jonathan out to contest not because they love him but rather because he can only now constitutionally spend a term. Forget, in the meantime, that this is the same man they disgraced out of office so their own Buhari could rule.

    For the North, therefore, just imagine the difference a mere four years can make.

    Corruption is another major impediment. It remains a significant challenge and President Tinubu would have to do far more than his government is currently  doing fighting the cankerworn as it can appear in any guise, to scuttle his administration at election.

    Insecurity is something  some people deliberately deploy, and escalate, to make the Tinubu government unpopular .

    On top of the challenges, as President Tinubu should know by now are the twin evils of hunger and the high and increasing cost of living.

    The realisation of my hope of Nigerians rooting for Tinubu’s continuation in office will rest squarely on how successfully, or not, he conquers these two.

    All things being equal, I haven’t the slightest doubt he will conquer because it is not for nothing that ThisDay Board of Editors recently wrote concerning him:”Overall, the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has by every note, caution, indication and inaction, earned the THISDAY Man of the Year, because of his doggedness,  resilience and his ability to take tough decisions even against the grain.”

    Once President Tinubu creatively addresses the impediments and gets them out of the way, he will be on the road to becoming a darling of Nigerians and I feel certain he will make a roaring success of his socio – economic programmes.

    I repeat: his ambitious economic growth plan has the potential to transform the Nigeria and improve the lives of all Nigerians.

  • Arikana Chihombori-Quao and the French condition in West Africa

    Arikana Chihombori-Quao and the French condition in West Africa

    Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, MD, is a Zimbabwean medical doctor, precisely, a Family Medicine expert, married to the very supportive Ghanaian Pan-Africanist Dr. Nii Saban Quao, MD, specialist in Internal Medicine, whom she met in the United States. According to her, she was quietly plying her trade, when, in 2017, she was unexpectedly invited by HE Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to take up the position of African Union (AU) Representative to the United States. When, reluctantly, she assumed office, she was confronted most directly with Western policies and practices detrimental to African interests; and, like the Pan-African activist that she was, she voiced her dissatisfaction stridently.

    Finding her African liberationist voice intolerable, as reported by the 24 October, 2019 issue of Amsterdam News (New York), a letter to her from the AU Chair at the time, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, a former Chadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, read in part: “I have the honor to inform you that, in line with the terms and conditions of the service governing your appointment as Permanent Representative of the African Union Mission to the United States in Washington, D.C., I have decided to terminate your contract in that capacity with effect from Nov. 1, 2019.”

    The sack sparked swift international outrage. In this regard, the Amsterdam News (New York) noted: “Supporters such as Jerry Rawlings, the former president of Ghana who, upon learning of her dismissal tweeted: ‘The dismissal of Arikana Chihombori-Quao, AU ambassador to the United States, raises serious questions about the independence of the AU. For someone who spoke her mind about the detrimental effects of colonization and the huge cost of French control in several parts of Africa, this is an act that can best be described as coming from French-controlled colonized-minds.’”

    Moreover, a petition demanding her reinstatement gathered over 100,000 signatures. Asked if she was surprised by the massive global support, she said: “Absolutely. … I did not realize that the work that I had been doing had reached that far. I was just a mother, a grandmother, who happened to be a diplomat speaking our truth. But also I felt that I had been given a platform to represent 1.27 billion people on the planet and 250 million within the Americas and that if I did not speak up about the evils and the ills I see every day, I saw every day, and continue to see every day, then that would mean the 1.27 billion people on the continent and the 250 million in the Americas will be voiceless. That is not something I was willing to do.”

    As such, rather than make her cower before the international powers-that-be, the dismissal strengthened her resolve to play her part in liberating Africa. Chihombori-Quao’s thesis is that, in 1884, the Berlin Conference held in which Europeans divided Africa among themselves; and did so in a cynical way, by cutting up erstwhile solid states or vast empires into tiny ineffectual countries which couldn’t assert themselves on the global scene, but needed props from the European hegemons. The vulnerable condition of these countries facilitated the continuation of colonialism by other means. She has been of the view that France was most predatory in its colonial exertions, and that when the country was pressurised to leave the continent, France emplaced inequitable conditions which undermined the sovereignty of the colonised nations and ensured that French colonialism continued effectively, especially in West Africa.

    The French policy of ending colonisation without decolonisng is referred to by the obnoxious term ‘Françafrique’. According to a 5 February, 2020 piece by Filip Noubel titled “’Françafrique’: A term for a contested reality in Franco-African relations,” in GlobalVoices.org, “’Françafrique’ is a term that describes the historical relationship between France and its former colonies in sub-Saharan Africa. … A portmanteau linking ‘France’ and the French word for Africa. … In its broadest definition, it encompasses the political, financial, military, cultural, and linguistic relations between France and the countries that came under French rule or influence – Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal.”

    Moreover, in a 23 March, 2018 article, titled “Françafrique: A brief history of a scandalous word,” in New African magazine, Boubacar Boris Diop states: “A Janus-faced entity – one African, the other French – Françafrique is the ultimate symbol of a confiscated, perverted sovereignty. … [T]his singular coinage perfectly illustrates France’s dogged refusal to decolonise.”

    Read Also: Nigeria remains committed to foster stability in West Africa – FG

    Adem Kiliç lists the terms of the agreement as follows: “According to the signed colonization agreements, (1) The newly independent countries have to pay for the infrastructure that France built in the country during colonialism. (2) African countries have to deposit their national monetary resources in the Bank of France. (3) France has the priority in purchasing all natural resources of its former colonies. (4) In public tenders, it is imperative to give priority to French companies. (5) Africans have to send their senior education officers to France or French military infrastructures, due to a multifaceted system of scholarships and grants tied to the colonization treaty. (6) In accordance with the signed colonization agreement, France has the right to intervene militarily in African countries and permanently deploy troops in military bases and facilities managed by the French.”

    Others include: “(7) According to the colonization agreement, these countries are subject to the obligation to make French the official language of the country and the language of instruction. (8) According to the agreement, these countries are also obliged to use the CFA Franc. (9) Again, according to the agreement, these countries, in the event of a global war or crisis that may arise, have to ally with France.” Two additional terms which Mawuna Koutonin had mentioned on 28 January, 2014 in an article in Silicon Africa.com titled, “14 African countries forced by France to pay colonial tax for the benefits of slavery and colonization,” are (10) “Renunciation to enter into military alliance with any other country unless authorized by France” and (11) “Obligation to send France annual balance and reserve report, [and] without the report, [the defaulting country would have]  no money.”

    Boubacar Boris Diop further notes: “To be frank, the meek silence of Francophone African intellectuals is the main reason why French public opinion thinks there is nothing wrong with Françafrique.” He also states: “There are many signs that the situation is changing. France is no longer the great world power she used to be three decades ago, when Paris could easily topple an African head of state without too much fuss. Now, she needs the ‘approval’ of the UN – and the money – to do so. Moreover, most of the new African leaders were born after these strange ‘independences’ their fathers threw so cowardly to the dogs. Even though many of these young presidents still have a slave mentality vis-à-vis Paris, some of them refuse to act as its obedient lackeys. Ironically, these ‘resisters’ are the ones who will, at last, decolonise France, a country still haunted by its colonial past – tragicomically at times.”

    In a conversation with students and alumni of the University of South Africa, on Africa Web TV on 13 March, 2024, Thabo Mbeki, former President of South Africa, gave the details of one of the agreements as follows: “I think we’ve got to understand this about the West Africa situation. A few years back, you remember we had to work with Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), to help them to get sorted out. One of the things we found was that there was an agreement with France signed at the point of the independence of Cote D’Ivoire that France would maintain a military barrack in Abidjan, the capital, and the Commander of the French troops, in any situation where he felt the security of Cote D’Ivoire or the security of France was threatened, he had the power, the sovereign power, a French General, to take over the public station broadcasting and announce whatever he liked. It’s one of the twelve or so agreements that not only Cote D’Ivoire but many Francophone countries signed with France at independence. Mali has just repudiated all of those agreements.”

    President Mbeki continued: “Part of what is happening in West Africa is a rebellion by young officers against French neo-colonialism. It’s not only military coups to remove some elected president, but these young soldiers are saying ‘Our politics since independence has respected this junior relationship with France that must end. … It’s an anti-neo-colonial rebellion.’”

    And by the way, Adem Kiliç, in a 16 November, 2021 piece on “The system of Western exploitation in Africa and the case of France,” in the United World International, recalls the cruel antecedents of today’s debilitating exploitation of the continent and the victims’ resistance efforts: “The influence of the Western countries on Africa was the result of a bloody process and completely based on obtaining the resources of the region. There were violent conflicts and wars with the indigenous peoples who resisted the influence of the West in the African Continent. Indigenous peoples who resisted were violently and bloodily neutralized. The enthusiasm of the West to obtain resources on land and above ground in the beginning has evolved into another dimension with the determination of precious metals and strategic mines in the future.” That future is here.

    With France steadily losing its stranglehold on its former colonies and an uncertain diplomatic and economic future in West Africa lying ahead of the country, it seems as if France is now courting other countries, especially Nigeria. But Nigeria’s experience with France hasn’t been particularly reassuring. During the Nigerian Civil war (1967 to 1970), France supported and supplied arms to the Biafran side. Two of the motives some experts gave for the French actions were to control the oil resources of Biafra and to weaken and reduce Nigeria’s influence on French-speaking West African states. Given these and other antecedents, Nigeria needs to be quite cautious in the new relationship with France, and regularly ask the question, “Can the leopard change its spots?”

    It’s a credit to Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao’s profundity, foresight and tenacity that elements of the post-coup speeches and policies of current soldiers who ousted their pro-France governments, and even some democratically-elected ones, in West Africa sound like pages from Dr. Chihombori-Quao’s playbook. For example, the Alliance of Sahel States (French: ‘Alliance des États du Sahel [AES]’) has been established to get the benefits of unity, a common liberationist theme in Chihombori-Quao’s counsel, in order to enjoy the benefits of common vision and common action and ensure the stability and the enhancement of the sovereignty of the uniting countries. Moreover, the countries, including democratically-governed ones like Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire, have asked French troops to leave.  

  • Africa’s coming of age and Nigeria-Ghana’s example

    Africa’s coming of age and Nigeria-Ghana’s example

    The week rolled by as usual, paying no cognizance to its own unusual character. It was meant to be unusual because it was the second week in the year 2025; as it would be in the past, it was expected to be sluggish and lazy, not seeing much activities because most people were meant to still be in the holiday mood. It was not so, especially for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has kept up a racy, busy office culture. He has never allowed any holiday stand in the way of official duties, especially if there is an issue to get thrashed in the process of achieving a functional, model African nation.

    You will recall that during the Christmas and New Year holidays, though he was supposedly on vacation in Lagos, he was still busy receiving guests and treating issues of state; either those having to do with our local matters and those of regional concerns, as he is the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the ECOWAS. So the pace of his week’s activities were as steady and fast as ever, it was a work-ful week for him.

    If you are conversant with the Nigerian President, you would have observednthat his heart and ideas are bigger than just leading Nigeria and confining himself to this corner of the world. Tinubu has shown over the years that his leadership ideals and philosophy are global in perspective. He has propounded and expressed views on how diplomatic conducts between the Global North and South ought to be conducted, especially between Africa and the developed nations of Europe, America, the Middle East and the East.

    He was presented with another platform on Tuesday where he passed his shade of Pan-Africanism to those who need to be told the truth about us as a race. He was at the inauguration ceremony of Ghana’s new President, John Dramani Mahama, where he was the Special Guest of Honour, both because he has a long standing relationship with the new President, who by the way was taking the saddle in a second coming, and as the head of the ECOWAS. He was given the stage to make a speech and he did not fail to sound a message to the rest of the world.

    His message, cryptic as it was, addressed the new President, the people of Ghana, even the African continent, but most significantly, it sent something out to the rest of the world, especially those who have assigned themselves as moulders of our destinies, reaching out from their far ends of the world to distort and conjure.

    As he addressed the world from Ghana, his words carried a powerful and resounding message: Africa has come of age. In a time when global narratives often cast doubt on the continent’s capacity for self-governance and progress, Tinubu’s remarks reaffirmed a new reality—one where African nations are increasingly taking control of their destinies.

    Read Also: John Mahama calls Tinubu ‘President of Ghana’ during inauguration speech

    The smooth transition of power in Ghana is a testament to the growing strength of democracy across the continent. This is not an isolated event but part of a broader story of African countries—Nigeria, Ghana, and others—demonstrating that they are capable of solving their domestic challenges without external intervention. Tinubu emphasized that Africa no longer needs to prove itself to a world that has long doubted its potential. Instead, the focus has shifted inward, where the only validation needed is from its own people.

    The Nigerian leader’s speech underlined a significant point: Africa’s critics have failed to acknowledge the remarkable progress being made across the continent. For too long, global powers have sought to exploit divisions, perpetuating a narrative of instability and dependency. Tinubu’s message was clear—those days are over. The unity and resilience displayed by nations like Ghana serve as a beacon for the rest of Africa, showing that dialogue, collaboration, and mutual respect can overcome even the most entrenched challenges.

    At the heart of Tinubu’s address was a rallying cry for African nations to reject external forces that aim to divide and exploit. His words echoed a deep understanding of the historical struggles that have shaped the continent, as well as a steadfast determination to protect the hard-won gains of African independence. The emphasis on unity, even in the face of disagreement, is a reminder that the true strength of Africa lies in its collective will.

    This new chapter in Africa’s story is not without its difficulties, but as Tinubu highlighted, the continent has discovered the critical path to success. By prioritizing homegrown solutions and charting a course tailored to its unique needs, Africa is positioning itself as a global force to be reckoned with. The vision is not just economic growth, but a comprehensive transformation that uplifts every citizen, leaving behind the shadows of poverty and dependence.

    Tinubu’s remarks also served as a tribute to the sacrifices of those who came before. The unity that many African nations now enjoy was hard-fought, with countless heroes dedicating their lives to the dream of a free, prosperous, and self-reliant continent. Today, that dream is becoming a reality, as nations like Ghana and Nigeria demonstrate that democracy and progress are not only possible, but thriving across Africa.

    As the world watches, Africa stands tall, confident in its ability to navigate its challenges and forge its path. President Tinubu’s call for unity, resilience, and self-determination is not just a reflection of the present—it is a vision for the future, one where Africa takes its rightful place on the global stage. The message is clear: Africa is no longer waiting for approval or recognition. It is already rising, a shining star of democracy and hope.

    “We celebrate African Democracy today as Ghana and her beloved people mark the transition from one democratic government to another. This moment does more than symbolise another milestone in the evolution of Ghanaian democratic society. It lays to bed the question of whether Ghana and Africa are capable of democratic and productive endeavours. Ghana has answered that question resoundingly.

    “It is time that Africa’s critics stop forgetting the strides your nation, Nigeria and others have made by continuing to ask us to prove ourselves. We have nothing to prove to anyone except ourselves. We have found the critical path to our success. We shall lift our nations out of poverty and build a resilient economy at our own pace”, he told those who need to know this.

    President Tinubu also cryptically alluded to a new trend that seems to be besetting the continent, especially as seen in a couple of West Africa states. The democratic experience in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic recently got halted when military juntas seized power and went on to pull the countries out of the ECOWAS, which membership they have held for years. Attempts by the sub-regional body to get these military hotheads to reconsider and allow the people of their countries return to democratic rule have been met with stiff resistance.

    From all indications and available feelers, the military juntas get their reason and encouragement from foreign interests, whose motive has been placed around mineral exploitation. Their strategy has been ‘divide and rule’, rather reminiscent of the colonialists of past centuries. On this development and to those orchestrating this situation, Tinubu still had a message:

    “While others may seek to demean Africa and keep brother pitted against brother, that shining star reminds us of who we are. Better yet, it reminds us of who we can be. That star means that we shall always strive to work together. Even when we disagree, we shall dialogue and discuss until we reach an agreement. Never, never shall we harm others and never allow any outsider to hurt us or disrupt the unity for which so many of our heroes gave their sweat, blood, and very lives to achieve”, he said.

    On Thursday, President Tinubu hosted the Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister, Wang Yi, at the State House in Abuja and did not fail to seize the occasion to made profitable demands from the Chinese government. Remember he has nurtured a kind of friendship with the Chinese, which led to the status of our relationship being upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership, now he demanded that the currency swap agreement be increased beyond the $2 billion agreed in the past, just as he called on China to increase the $50 billion pledged to Africa’s support as, in his words, “the infrastructural needs of Africa are greater than that”.

    He also decorated his aide-de-camp, Nurudeen Alowonle Yusuf, with his new rank of Colonel, describing him as a “diligent and reliable officer”. Meanwhile, he had already tasked the military to go after the murderous terrorists who killed six of its men in Damboa, Borno State, just as he instructed that a probe carried out on the incident. These also happened on Thursday. However, on Friday, he was at the National Mosque, joining other Muslim faithful to observe the Juma’a service to mark this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day.

    The week went the way it did; busy and strategically impactful, however, this new one promises to bring more, especially as he already left yesterday for another global economic event in Abu Dhabi. Let’s wait to see what he comes back with for all of us.

  • Edo councils and creative lawmaking

    Edo councils and creative lawmaking

    It is slanderous to credit Edo State local governments’ legislative arms as the originators of creative lawmaking that makes the law an ass. Other states and even the federal government had achieved that distinction years ago. In recent weeks, however, Edo LGs have managed to give some oomph to disingenuous political engineering. Barely three days after the House of Assembly, on December 17 and by an undisputed majority, suspended for two months the state’s 18 local government chairmen for insubordination and refusal to be accountable, the victims got an Edo High Court injunction on December 20 against both the governor, Monday Okpebholo, and the legislature to desist from tampering with the running of the councils and removing any chairman. Nonsense, said the legislative councils of the LGs weeks later, there are many ways to skin a cat; and they promptly began impeaching the chairmen, one after the other, parallel to the court injunction.

    Alarmed that the Edo State government appeared disinclined to obeying the court injunction, the chairmen coalesced their efforts and approached the Federal High Court in Abuja for relief from what they were certain was a budding All Progressives Congress (APC) tyranny. All the 18 chairmen, including Tom Obaseki, brother of the former governor, Godwin Obaseki, were elected in September 2023 on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform in a bitterly disputed election. Few states have so far been able to conduct free and fair local government elections. Despite being armed with Edo High Court and Federal High Court Abuja orders, the LG chairmen have still been unable to fend off the assault by the state’s legislature. Do they have an answer to the legislative councils’ actions? It is unlikely.

    The buffeted chairmen, some of whom have out of desperation defected to the APC, may appear to have the 1999 Constitution (Section 20) on their side, especially in line with the opinion of the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, on the matter, but it is unclear whether they have the Edo State Local Government Law of 2000 on their side, Section 20(1)(b) of which was deployed by the former governor in similar circumstances to upend the LGs. Mr Fagbemi insists no governor has the power to remove council chairmen or dissolve the councils entirely. But the House of Assembly and the governor insist by virtue of Sections 4 and 7 of the same constitution that the chairmen were not removed but suspended in line with the House of Assembly oversight functions on the LGs. Until the courts decide how far anyone can go in dealing with the LGs, a process that promises to be long and arduous, the legislative councils will continue to spring their ingenuity on everyone.

    Read Also: Police arrest 38-year-old man for spreading fake news in Edo

    Beyond who is right or wrong, including whether any state can actually conduct a free and fair election at the LG level, it is clear that the problem of the councils is much more fundamental than it is generally viewed. Last year’s Supreme Court judgement granting the councils financial – not administrative – autonomy may have rubbed the governors the wrong way, with many of them fearing that the federal government was deliberately and mischievously setting the cat among the pigeons, but everything points to the fact that Nigeria’s dysfunctional constitution and political structure may in fact be responsible for the abnormality. In the First Republic, the federating regions ran far better organised and elected local government administrations. That fairly workable and acceptable structure was dismantled by military intrusions into politics and governance. Since then, no formula has seemed to work at the local government level, with more patches creating worse tear.

    The problem is not Mr Okpebholo or even Mr Obaseki foisting 18 PDP LG chairmen on the state, or the alleged financial malfeasance of the chairmen, or the sometimes mysterious and facile decisions of the state courts, or the complicating judgement of the Supreme Court. The problem is the 1999 Constitution. It was unable to make up its mind how to seamlessly integrate the councils into the tiers of government, or defend them when the governors inevitably savage them. As the federation is currently structured, and the councils maladroitly integrated into the governance of states, it is unlikely that the anomalies perpetrated in the states against the councils will abate. Already, some states have found a way round the Supreme Court judgement on LG financial autonomy, and have conducted appallingly incompetent and self-serving LG polls to produce council puppets. They will do worse in the months and years ahead. The governors, it is obvious, have no patience with cohabiting with obstreperous or independently minded council chairmen. They can tolerate defiant councilors, but they will brook no opposition from any ambitious or ‘confident’ chairman.

    President Bola Tinubu tried to pacify the governors when they visited him at home in last December, insisting that the administration was more interested in impactful governance at the grassroots level than instigating LGs against them. They heard him, and nodded in apparent agreement. But it was clear that they remained unconvinced. They will return to their states and turn on the screw a notch tighter, leaving the federal government and the Supreme Court wondering what next to do to salvage the castrated LGs. The federal government, through its anti-graft agencies, has threatened to prosecute LG chairmen who cannot account for their spending, and will probably go on to make scapegoats of a few dissembling council bosses. The effort may, however, be unsustainable, legally and constitutionally. Instead, let the Tinubu administration take another look at the structure of the federation, the so-called restructuring plan, and determine just how far they can ginger what is today a clearly anachronistic political system into morphing its way into the future.