The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

Watch Trump on China and Iran

For those who think President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy will puzzle the world, they haven’t seen anything yet. Yes, he is eccentric and narcissistic, and most of his policies, whether foreign or domestic, are eclectic, but the world is going to struggle valiantly to make sense of where he is going or where he is coming from. There is settled evidence that he embraces authoritarian leaders, as he amply demonstrated in his first term between 2016 and 2020, but the Chinese and the Iranians he loathed so much are neither democratic nor liberal in the sense Western countries understand the concepts. So, the world will scratch their heads to find rhyme or reason in his hatred for one dictatorship and love for another dictatorship.

Mr Trump will take office in January, and the hysteria within and outside his camp will reach fever pitch. But between now and that time, the cabinet he is cobbling together will both give a clear picture of how his foggy mind works and demonstrate just how deep into the morass he is willing to plumb. Americans are waiting with bated breath; so, too, is the world. For now, there has been no appointment he has made that has inspired anyone. In his first term, many of his appointees did not last because they struggled to reconcile their innate goodness with the coarseness of the president, his lacerating uncouthness. But in his second dispensation, most of his appointees will be men and women who have abjured their beliefs, appointees eager to outdo the president in excesses, bigotry and ribaldry.

In his first term, when he was unconvinced about the integrity of his political mandate, when he was still assailed by doubts and unsure whether his bigoted nature should be given free rein, Mr Trump’s domestic policy was caked in vitriol and codified in a wild and improbable amalgamation of gender insensitivity and racial bigotry. This time, with a resounding electoral acclamation that stunned the world and beggared belief, Mr Trump will be less restrained, if not openly enthusiastic, in unfurling his racial manifesto upon America as a great emblem of assertion and dominance. America will feel his rolling thunder; but the world, particularly Iran and China, will experience his misanthropy the more. Both

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countries already know enough to brace themselves for the great impact. Prepare also for such inscrutable and unexpected deals like the 2020 Doha Agreement between the United States and the Taliban who were yet to return to power in Afghanistan at the time. The misogynistic Taliban, now ensconced in power, have already congratulated Americans for not electing a woman president.

It is not clear that now or in the near future Americans will be able to explain why authoritarian Russia, especially President Vladimir Putin, seems to be Mr Trump’s kryptonite, why the US president seems seduced by the infantile dictatorship of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, and what the implications of seeming to reject globalism will mean for America. Watch keenly what Trump does in foreign policy, for both America and the world are unlikely to ever remain the same. Great tectonic shifts are afoot; they may not be choreographed or coherent, but the world will undergo stress in peacetime that it never underwent in wartime.

Mr Trump views China as a loathsome and evil competitor, almost as if America could not exist and remain great along with an inevitably rising China. Expect strains of unparalleled dimensions, strains that will incrementally pour cold water on the diplomatic relations between the two countries, particularly as the president-elect has picked a China hardliner, the Florida senator, Marco Rubio, as Secretary of State. Iran pursued a regional dominance agenda to the irritation of many Middle Eastern countries. With America growling at her, Iran will be unable to replicate the verve with which it pursued its proxy wars and policies under the Joe Biden administration. They won’t forget how curtly Mr Trump denounced their foreign adventures, particularly their nuclear policy, and they won’t forget the re-imposition of heavy sanctions after Mr Trump in his first term exited the US-Iran nuclear deal in May 2018. With a chastened and chafing China on the sidelines, and a consenting Russia eager to have an understanding with America on the Ukraine logjam, Mr Trump may feel emboldened to bait Iran and even take direct action. Iran will then discover how indeed limited its options are, or how restricted its elbow room is.

Sen Rubio, the incoming US foreign policy czar, may be a centrist, but his view of China as an enemy, his favourable disposition towards NATO, and his readiness to align with Mr Trump’s practical if unprincipled approach to Russia and the war in Ukraine may offer some steadiness and balance to the president-elect’s chaotic view of world politics. But these attributes may also single him out as a potential early defector from the Trump presidency. Of all Mr Trump’s foreign policy actions, the world should watch China and Iran with far more keenness than even NATO or Russia/Ukraine, or the US-Mexico border/immigration issues, considering that many of his picks for cabinet positions are ‘non-traditionals’ who lack experience and expertise in the areas they are to oversee.

November 17, 2024
Arab Summit’s revealing communiqué

Last week, the combined meeting of the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation took place in Riyadh and ended with a lengthy and verbose 38-point communiqué. The kernel of the decisions reached by the summit centres on Palestine and the concept of a two-state solution made urgent by the Israel-Gaza war. The summit calls for a ceasefire in the more than one-year-old war of attrition going on in the blighted city-state, the recognition of undivided Jerusalem (Al-Quds) as the ‘eternal’ capital of the State of Palestine; the condemnation of Israeli ‘aggression’ in the annexed Golan Heights of Syria, help for Lebanon to deal with the humanitarian crisis following the Israeli-Hezbollah war, and support for the campaign to make Palestine a full member of the United Nations, among other decisions.

The communiqué is hardly worth the paper on which it is written. Yes, the conferring states have genuine concerns for what is happening in the region, and are keen to have the raging war contained, but in summary, the summit was playing to the gallery. They know the impossibility of practicalising the resolutions they have drafted, and are even more aware of the intransigence of both sides in the Palestinian conflict. So both the summit and the communiqué are designed to placate the Muslim populations of the countries which met in Riyadh on November 11.

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Even though the communiqué was strongly worded, the summiteers were just playing politics. The only country that initially gained from the crisis in the Middle East was Iran which funds the three main regional militia groups of Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza. As far as most countries which gathered in Riyadh last week are concerned, the rising profile of Iran worried them much more than the Israeli aggression they wrote about so grandly. The Wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and the bombing raids in Yemen and Syria have completely devastated the Iranian proxy war machine and given the rest of the Middle East a breathing space.

Should they have cause to gather again soon, the Arab Summit will still secretly hoodwink everybody, and run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. They all know which side their bread is buttered, and will be extremely reluctant to countenance any outcome that leaves Iran or its proxy militias strengthened.

November 17, 2024
Towards a successful governorship poll in Ondo

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recorded significant improvements in the conduct of off-season governorship elections. However, some actors may want to dispute the remarkable progress because the poll outcomes did not favour their political parties and candidates.

In today’s poll across the 18 local government areas of Ondo State, the expectation is that the umpire would build on the feats of conducting substantially credible, free, and fair elections. This is non-negotiable, more so when a political party has kicked against the retention of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Oluwatoyin Babalola, based on the flimsy excuse that she was born and bred in Akure, the state capital, where his parents still live.

An election is always a tough battle in Ondo State, right from the First Republic. That is why the umpire should conduct the assignment properly with a profound sensitivity to the historical antecedents of the state. Those in politics now in Ondo were children of yesteryears and youths who witnessed the horrors of the earlier dispensations. In the dreadful days of the wild, wild West, the old Ondo Province was a major contributor to arson, killings, maiming and destruction of property, following the 1965 rigging of the Western regional elections. Eighteen years later, the state also boiled during the Ajasin/Omoboriowo rift. The Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) office on Oba Adesida Road in Akure was up in flames. A state lawmaker, Tunde Agunbiade, was beheaded. A leader of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in Akure, Agbayewa, and a House of Representatives member and publisher, Olaiya Fagbamigbe, were set ablaze.

However, since 1999, the state appeared to have bidden farewell to the electoral hullabaloo. Even when allegations of a stolen mandate filled the air in 2007, the gladiators waited on the court for the ventilation of their grievances, adjudication and justice. The mandate was retrieved lawfully from Governor Olusegun Agagu to Olusegun Mimiko without bloodshed.

Since 2012, there have been improvements in the conduct of governorship elections in the Sunshine State. Mimiko, who had defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defeated the late Rotimi Akeredolu of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), who eventually succeeded him after defeating Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) of the PDP. Also, Akeredolu defeated Jegede for the second time in 2018. During these contests, there was no cause for alarm.

No party has maintained dominance in Ondo politics in this Fourth Republic. In 1999, the battle was between Adebayo Adefarati of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and Agagu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). At the poll, it was 51 per cent for AD and 49 per cent for PDP.

During the political earthquake that swept the AD governors, Agagu succeeded Adefarati. But his second-term bid also collapsed. The state reverted to LP and later to the PDP under Mimiko. Much later, the ‘progressives’ bounced back under Akeredolu, who was succeeded by Lucky Aiyedatiwa last year.

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Ondo has somehow institutionalised zoning. Akeredolu came from the North Senatorial District. Thus, the two major parties picked their candidates from the South Senatorial District in the spirit of equity, fairness and justice, and with the understanding that power would rotate to Ondo Central later.

It is noteworthy that the campaigns were orderly and peaceful. The two main candidates – Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi of the PDP – have conducted their campaigns with decorum and elevated issues over personalities. The two candidates are politically related, having operated under their former leader, Akeredolu. They are also from the same senatorial district, which means head or tail, Ondo South is the winner.

The candidates, their party leaders, followers and voters should bear in mind the peace accord. The INEC is just the supervisor of the governorship contest. A successful poll is possible when the stakeholders cooperate with the electoral agency. Indeed, an election is the joint responsibility of the umpire, the government, security agencies, the candidates, political parties, party agents at polling booths, and the electorate. If any of the stakeholders flounder in their duties and obligations, substantial compliance with extantlaws and electoral rules and regulations may not be attainable.

The political parties must educate and enlighten their followers up to the polling day. Parties should impress upon their members and followers on the need to shun unruly behaviours and report any anomaly to security agencies instead of taking the laws into their own hands.

Party leaders have been mobilising during the campaigns across the local governments. There is no need to hire agents for vote-buying and selling. They should do away with desperation. Vote-buying is vote theft. It is an offence that is punishable as it erodes the credibility of the exercise.

It is the duty of security agencies to police the votes and prevent disruption and violence. Vigilance is key. They should maintain utmost neutrality and impartiality in discharging their electoral duty. They are not expected to aid or abet unscrupulous politicians with habitual rigging behaviour. Only policemen who understand the geography, sociology and terrain of Ondo State should be saddled with electoral duties.

The electorate is obligated to cast their ballot without let and hindrance. They should shun the temptation to vote in anticipation of a financial reward. Voting according to one’s conscience and understanding of the game is a rare form of personal dignity. These are hard times, no doubt. However, discipline should not be a casualty of the boring social condition. Vote-buying will become a thing of the past when the targets resist and report to security agencies on electoral duty.

Voters should also endeavour to cooperate with polling staff in the various booths and units. An election is a festival of choice, change and affirmation of the political leadership. Voters should shun intimidation and vote wisely.

There is now a trend whereby some people invade social media with fake news about unannounced election results. It is a dangerous trend in a contemporary election cycle. Social media, fundamentally, is not a native of Nigeria. Even though it was imported, it is useful. Government should muster the strength to regulate social media as it is being done in many parts of the world, and the regulation should be devoid of partisan agenda on the part of those at the helm of affairs.

The bulk of the responsibilities is on INEC. The mistakes of the past that cast shadows on elections in some areas should be avoided. Polling agents should arrive promptly at their designated booths or units. Lateness by electoral officials can spark anxiety and uproar. There is a need for correct polling materials to be conveyed to the appropriate voting units at the right time.

An election in riverine areas requires a special type of supervision. Coastal areas are far and rough. Transportation and other logistics should be thorough. Drunkards should not be allowed to drive the boats for conveying electoral materials and officials; neither should the canoes be rickety.

The data-capturing machines should not disappoint. If there is a hitch, there should be the understanding that it is temporary. Voters should be patient. There should be no voter at the polling booth who should be disallowed from voting, except for violating the law. In highly populous voting areas, INEC needs to extend the voting hours to accommodate the voters.

Proper collation of results at the collation centres is crucial. Disparity or discrepancies between the figures recorded at booths and those at the collation centres could erode trust and create credibility problems.

Bringing to book erring INEC workers found culpable in any electoral atrocity may also be the baseline for electoral sanity. The electoral commission should not relent in pressing for the setting up of a special electoral offences tribunal for the speedy prosecution of election riggers who try to derail democracy and dent the image of the country’s electoral system.

Today’s exercise should portray Ondo voters as enlightened adults who can perform their civic duty without rancour. The election outcome should reflect the reality on the ground and be accepted by the parties in the spirit of sportsmanship. An election can only produce one winner; losers have the opportunity to return in the next election season. This is the beauty of democracy.

November 16, 2024
Ifeanyi Ubah:1971-2024 (2)

Asides business and politics, Ubah stood tall as a philanthropist who sought to touch lives and left an indelible mark in that aspect.

Through various initiatives and schemes, Ubah through his foundation also implemented numerous community development projects, particularly in education, entrepreneurship and healthcare. His scholarship programs, programs for the physically challenged and medical outreach initiatives did also benefit many underprivileged individuals in his constituency and beyond.

Thousands of Nigerians, beyond tribe, tongue and religion, young and old were beneficiaries of his large heart, his philantrophy resonated majorly with the downtrodden while he chose to lift them to a more befitting status. Ubah not only handed fish, he also showed many how to fish, churning out numerous millionaires in such a gesture, a lot more also received funds to study within the country and even outside.

His philanthropic efforts during crisis periods, including the COVID-19 pandemic, where he provided relief materials and support to communities, highlight his commitment to corporate social responsibility and community welfare.

One other trait of the late Ubah was his rugged belief in the philosophy of “Aku Lue Uno” or Think Home Philosophy which seeks to connect one’s home with the wealth from the businesses established outside. This not only helped create jobs but it attracted development and signature projects such as the games and industrial village which placed his hometown Nnewi and neigbouring Ozubulu on the global map as it was to boast of facilities such as two international standard like stadia which would have multiple training pitches, an industrial park and technology hub, a sports academy, hospital, conference centre amongst many other facilities that would boost its choice as a place for sporting events, tourism, investments and business in turn creating a boost for the local and state economy.

Ubah despite his limited form of education was a man brimming with ideas, once, I listened to him while he talked about his ideas to transform the Anambra business/economic sector with the use of data, and I must say that I was wowed and i much believe that his burning desire to govern the state would have been beneficial to the state. Ubah indeed was a visionary; one who could see the future from that time and connect the dots seamlessly.

Asides the earlier mentioned projects, another testament to Ubah’s visionary leadership remains how he was able to initiate and deploy singlehandedly a sophisticated surveillance center to help counter crime in his home town of Nnewi. The center featured an array of over 100 television monitors, each displaying live feeds from different sections of the Nnewi metropolis. Such an initiative had helped reduce the crime rate in Nnewi and its environs by allowing for the immediate review of surveillance footage, whilst identifying the perpetrators as well as coordinate effective responses. Now, at a time when the same Anambra state is at the mercy of kidnappers robbers, cultists and unknown gun men, Ubah was walking the talk on security!

Of a truth, the impact of his passing has resonated deeply across Nigeria, particularly in his home state of Anambra, where countless lives were touched by his generosity. In Nnewi, his hometown, the grief has been especially profound. The traditional ruler, Igwe Kenneth Orizu, declared a formal three-day mourning period, yet the community’s sorrow has extended well beyond this official observance. Even now, four months after his untimely and painful demise, a palpable sense of loss continues to hang over the town, reflected in the somber faces and subdued atmosphere of its residents. His untimely departure at just 52 years of age did leave an indelible void not only in the community but also amongst family, friends, associates,staff and loyalists

As Nigeria continues to evolve, Ubah’s legacy will likely be remembered for its multifaceted nature – combining business success, political influence, sports development, and community service. His journey provides valuable lessons about the intersection of business and politics in Nigeria, and the potential for indigenous entrepreneurs to make significant impacts across various sectors.

Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah’s legacy is characterized by its diversity and complexity. From revolutionizing aspects of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector to contributing to sports development and political leadership, his impact spans multiple domains of Nigerian society. While his journey includes both achievements and controversies, his ability to maintain relevance and influence across different sectors sets him apart as a significant figure in contemporary Nigerian history.

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His story continues to evolve, but his contributions to business development, sports, politics, and community service have already left lasting impressions that will influence future generations of Nigerian entrepreneurs and political leaders. As Nigeria faces ongoing challenges in economic development and political evolution, the lessons from Ubah’s journey – both successes and setbacks – provide valuable insights for understanding the complexities of business and political leadership in modern Nigeria.

Fare thee well EbubeChukwuUzo na Odejimjim, you fought a good fight and with tears amidst the cheers I salute your legacy and pray that it shines through the ages as a light to the path for this generation and future generations of Nigerians.

November 16, 2024
PBAT, governance and the poverty question

When the group of eminent Nigerian statesmen and leaders known as ‘The Patriots’ visited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja recently, the Chief Emeka Anyaoku-led association urged the President to pursue as a matter of urgency the drawing up of a new constitution for the country predicated on a fundamental restructuring of the polity. In response, the President did not disagree with his August visitors but said the immediate priority of his administration was to see through its far-reaching economic reforms to elevate the country to a new pedestal of productivity and prosperity.

Speaking this week as the Chairman at the launch of a new biography of renowned academic, diplomat, and administrator, Professor Jide Osuntokun, Chief Anyaoku, a former General Secretary of the Commonwealth, reiterated the view that the extant 1999 Constitution is at the root of Nigeria’s protracted multidimensional crises. Unless there was a fundamental change from the constitution and a return to the regional constitution of the first republic, which he considered more in tune with federal practice and the country’s complex cultural realities, Chief Anyaoku was of the view that not even angels presiding over Nigeria would succeed in extricating her from the current existential predicament.

Of course, this point of view ignores the fact that the much romanticized 1963 Constitution could not prevent the massive corruption, political intolerance, rabid ethnicity, divisive regionalism, blatant election rigging, and brazen disregard for democratic norms that resulted not just in the collapse of the first republic in January 1966 but ultimately led the country down the slope of destructive civil war between 1967 and 1970.

The ills we complain about in Nigeria today under the current Constitution were thus already prevalent in the first republic even if they have naturally expanded in scope and intensity in post-first republic Nigeria including this dispensation since 1999. It would thus appear that the more fundamental challenge we confront is that of a perverse and dysfunctional political culture which will sabotage and undermine any constitution no matter how elegantly and meticulously crafted. Just as the change from the parliamentary to the presidential constitution in 1979 did not eliminate the negative behavioral traits of political actors that continue to taint Nigeria’s politics and jeopardize her development, the adoption of a new constitution is no magic wand to usher in the Eldorado that idealists dream of.

In any case, while it is easy to advocate the abrogation of the 1999 Constitution, there is no reasonable consensus on what type of legal framework and attendant political structure should replace it. That is partly why this column agrees with the Tinubu administration’s decision to prioritize its ongoing restructuring of the economy to create the material basis for a more stable and equitable political order rather than squander valuable time and resources on constitutional engineering adventurism with indeterminate and unpredictable outcomes.

Central to the administration’s economic reform agenda are the twin policies of removal of fuel subsidy as well as the merger of hitherto existing parallel exchange rate markets, both of which had facilitated the criminal enrichment of a privileged few to the detriment of the public good. Unfortunately, these policies have occasioned existential hardships for millions of Nigerians arising largely from inflationary spirals affecting essential food items, essential drugs and healthcare as well as fuel, transportation, electricity and other costs among others.

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Writing on the current hardships attendant on these reforms, a popular media scholar and columnist recently quoted at length President Tinubu’s arguments in opposition to fuel subsidy removal in 2012 when he was the country’s foremost opposition leader. He averred that nothing had changed fundamentally to warrant the President now implementing the same policy on assuming the country’s apex leadership position. But the Nigeria of 12 years ago is not that of today. As of 2012, the country was earning far much more from oil revenues while also exporting amounts of crude oil far in excess of today’s crude oil productivity levels. Unfortunately, such revenue bounty was not leveraged on to make the country’s comatose refineries functional, rehabilitate and expand critical infrastructure, promote economic restructuring and diversification or enhance self-reliance in diverse sectors.

During the campaigns for the 2023 presidential elections, there had been a consensus across partisan political lines that the fuel subsidy in particular must go. The presidential candidates of the major political parties all committed themselves to the removal of the subsidy. This decision was informed among others by the reality of substantial revenue shortfalls, soaring indebtedness, unsustainable debt-servicing to revenue ratios and dearth of funds for the provision of critical infrastructure without which there could be no meaningful economic recovery of future development.

Many economic analysts contend that the administration’s courage in making hard policy choices that successive administrations had refrained from is already yielding positive dividends. These include the attraction of foreign investments worth over $30 billion in less than two years, near-tripling of the revenue earnings of the various tiers of government, achieving a favorable trade balance of N6.5 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, growing the country’s foreign reserves to over $40 billion, reducing debt-servicing to revenue ratio from over 90% to about 60%, doubling the minimum wage from N30,000 to between N70,000 and N85,000, increasing the nation’s daily crude production by one million barrels to 1.8 million barrels per day and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) collecting total revenues of N5.97 trillion from January to November 12, 2024 surpassing its 2024 target of N5.07 trillion. All of these are indicative of an economy gradually emerging from distress with positive signs for the future despite current excruciating hardships.

However, without losing focus of its long-term economic growth objectives, the PBAT administration must also treat as an emergency the high poverty levels that have become a threat to social harmony and national stability. It is obvious that the removal of fuel subsidy has negatively impacted more sectors than was envisaged by many before the implementation of the policy. One of the sectors most seriously affected with painful consequences for millions of Nigerians is agriculture. Prices of food staples such as yam, rice, maize, beans, eggs, poultry, fish, vegetables, pepper, tomatoes and groundnut oil among others have soared beyond reach.

While experts predict bountiful harvest in the near future given current policy initiatives, it is believed that more concerted efforts can be taken to crash food prices in the short term. The food crisis can be utilized as an opportunity to mobilize and organize idle youths back to the land across the country to engage in massive food production. A few months ago, the Southwest Governors Forum announced with fanfare that states in the region would work in concert to boost agricultural productivity and food availability. Unfortunately, not much more has been heard of this effort despite the abundant fertile land available for farming that was the mainstay of the region’s economy in the first republic.

Incidentally, the First Lady, Senator (Mrs) Oluremi Tinubu is showing an example for others to follow through various programmes of her Renewed Hope Initiative to promote and support farming among women and youths. Again, the impact of the waiving of duties on the importation of some essential food items is yet to be felt and the appropriate authorities must investigate why this is so with a view to expediting action on achieving concrete results in this area. Urgently boosting agricultural productivity and food availability to drastically bring down prices both through local farming and imports is key to decisively tackling the larger challenge of poverty.Considerably reduced food prices which more people can buy will minimize the need to resort to palliatives distribution which with few exceptions reach only a negligible number of people.

Again, given the demonstrated impact of fuel prices across the economy, the NNPCL cannot continue to offer excuses on why domestic refineries under its control remain dormant while the Dangote Refinery, on which so much hope was invested, is having minimal impact on fuel prices despite coming on stream. It is critical to find out why the initiative of paying for crude supply in Naira and the stoppage of all importation of refined petroleum as announced by the NNPCL is not being felt both in terms of fuel prices and pressure on the exchange rate. Perhaps the NNPCL and the petroleum industry as a whole is in need of the kind of forensic auditing carried out at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), an exercise that has eliminated opacity, enhanced transparency and minimized opportunities for corrupt enrichment at the apex bank.

When talking about poverty alleviation and the hardships in the country, the focus tends to be mostly on the federal government and the President in particular. While accruals to the states from the Federation Account have more than doubled since the removal of fuel subsidy, most of the sub-national units of government are not making the desired impact in terms of meaningfully alleviating the poverty of their people. True, some have argued that the rate of inflation and devaluation of the Naira have eroded much of the value of the Naira revenues to the states. Yet, the National Economic Council (NEC) which is a critical economic policy making body to which all governors belong can do much more in terms of peer review of the governors and ensuring improved service delivery to their people in consonance with the quantum of revenue available to them.

Despite the empowerment of states to generate and distribute electricity within their domains for instance, why are efforts not being exerted in this direction by more states apart from Lagos given the key role of electricity supply in mitigating poverty levels? One of the positive developments under the PBAT administration is the resurgence of a body like the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) under the leadership of Mr Tunji Bello to curb price fixing, price gouging and practices injurious to fair competition. The unethical antics of unscrupulous middlemen also contribute to the unrealistically high prices of many commodities.

November 16, 2024
The beasts are back

I’m not a sneer, neither am I an alarmist. I strive to speak the truth to our sports administrators to be proactive in their decision-making, not reactive. Whereas many were celebrating the fact that the 2024/2025 season’s domestic league matches have produced 19 away victories after 11 weeks, some other administrators were pretending as if there are mechanisms in place to trap urchins when they go gaga.

The cliché that the police are our friends is legendary, yet the relationship between the league and the police is far and wide apart as the dentition of Centurion. No fault of the police, I dare say. Accounts of what happened in the Tin City of Jos, and Benin City suggest that the beasts had a field day beating the referees to a pulp and causing mayhem with the other unarmed fans running for their dear lives.

And this has been the pattern of assaults at match venues of the domestic league over the years, with no arrests made whilst the urchins walk around both cities with broad chests celebrating their actions with boastful talks to repeat the dastardly acts again, under the same setting. Pity!

The irony of the league organiser’s punishment that the clubs should play without their home fans watching, is that those who participated in the battering of the referees last weekend would be the ones administering the directive to keep those who ran for their lives from the stadium. Yes, those who pummeled the referees groggily are ardent supporters and friends of those club officials.

More important is the fact that the two clubs belong to the State governments (Plateau and Edo) wherein their governors are supposed to be the chief security officers of the state. The States’ Football Federations chieftains need to do more to ensure that there is a synergy between them, the police, and the clubs’ officials to provide adequate security for the visiting teams and referees before, during and after games without needless incidents. After all, during international football matches referees, home and visiting teams are driven into the stadium premises escorted by enough security operatives. No fan dares to break such security architecture. NPFL men need to adopt this method of ushering the match officials and visiting teams in and out of the stadium and let us see how effective it goes.

Again, if our match venues had CCTV cameras, it would have been easier to spot where the thugs who ran onto the pitch came from. My head on the guillotine, the oafs would have been seen running from the portions in the stadium’s seating arrangements for the home fans. Would it shock you, dear reader, if I reveal here based on accounts of those in both stadia last week Saturday, that the clubs didn’t invite enough police operatives to keep vigil? Otherwise, the police would have made some arrests.

Therefore, the league organisers should banish teams whose fans beat up referees thereby bringing the game to disrepute, to far-flung locations, than this slap-on-the-wrist treatment of playing behind closed doors without their fans. Playing in locations far away from their home bases would incur more running costs from hotel accommodation and other logistics for each game. It would simply mean that every game would be treated as an away obligation with no returns from the gates. A case of double jeopardy.

Asking Plateau Utd to forfeit 3 points and 3 goals from their accrued points and goals for assaulting a match

official and also to pay a fine of N1million each for failing to provide adequate and effective security as well as for throwing objects towards the field of play, totalling N2 million, is routine. It isn’t tasking them enough.

The Jos-based outfit will pay another fine of N500,000, being compensation of N250,000 each for the assaulted match official (Zakari Aminu) & Rangers player, Daniel Onyia. They will also underwrite the cost of repairing the damaged team bus of Rangers and other verifiable losses/damage incurred during the incident. It would have been adequate if what they spent was up to N10 million.

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By the same token, the punishment meted on Bendel Insurance ought to have been weightier than what they got to truly serve as a deterrent to others. If the figures were very high, their state governors would have demanded an explanation. I would suggest that the NPFL management write the governors, informing them about the misconduct of both teams’ fans last Saturday in Jos and Benin City.

“3 points & 3 goals shall be deducted from Bendel Insurance’s accrued points & goals for the assault on the match officials. The club will pay another N1 million fine for misconduct capable of bringing the game to disrepute.

“Bendel Insurance will further pay a fine of N750,000, being compensation of N250,000 each to the assaulted match officials (Adeniyi Adewale, Anuoluwapo Balogun & Sodiq Sonibare),” the statement said.

A statement from the General Manager of Enugu Rangers International, Barrister Amobi Ezeaku to the fans described the attack by Plateau United FC of Jos’ fans as unwarranted.

One of the Enugu Rangers’ officials who witnessed the attack informed reporters that: “As the players’ and official’s buses made to leave the stadium, there were loud bangs on the bodies of the buses as the drivers made a quick dash towards the exit gate.

“On its way to where the team was lodged after making a turn at the Farringada Round-about, the fans that laid an ambush in front of the stadium, pelted the players’ bus with large stones with one of them catching the young midfielder on the face and beside the left eye.

“The bus had to make an emergency stop at the Alherri area near St. Murumba College, Jos, where the team medical personnel administered treatment on the injured player,” an official told The Nation’s reporter.

He said: ”We wish to inform you of the unfortunate incident that occurred during our match against Plateau United in Jos. The attack on our team is unwarranted and we are taking all necessary steps to ensure that Justice is done,” he said.

”Under this administration, the symbol of our great club must never be disrespected and we will go to any length to preserve its honour and legacy. Our commitment to upholding the values and pride of Rangers is unwavering,” he said.

Reading the two accounts of what they passed through explains why Plateau ought to have been banished and not asked to play without their fans. The punishment makes the two offences seem similar. Certainly not as the Jos fans attacked the Enugu Rangers’ contingent far away from the stadium.

The unanswered questions: Are the beasts who maim referees spirits? When will these thugs be caught and made to face the wrath of the law? Is it until these urchins kill referees before we put in place a mechanism to truly arrest these enemies of the beautiful game – football which unites nations? You tell me!

November 16, 2024
To achieve sustainability of Nigerian airlines

In the last 4 weeks, stakeholders in the Nigerian aviation sector, particularly Nigerian Airlines, have been celebrating milestones of achievements; from the celebration of the 10years anniversary of the startup and operations of Air Peace Airline with the expectation of more new aircraft in the coming weeks to add to its growing fleet, to the receipt and commissioning of two Bombardier CRJ-900 net generation aircraft by Ibom Air, with 9 remaining Airbus A220-300S from airbus in the next 3 years – for domestic and startup of regional flights that will be taking-off from Uyo International Airport; United Nigeria Airlines took delivery of its first Embraer 190 aircraft to grow their fleets, XEJet Airline, a new Airline also commenced operations with its maiden scheduled flight from Abuja and Lagos, etc. This is cheery news for the Aviation industry and Nigeria because this signifies growth in an industry that has been resilient despite the challenges it has been facing pre, during, and post-COVID-19 pandemic.

Therefore, I give kudos to the owners and leaders of Air Peace, Ibom Air, United Nigeria Airlines, and XEJet for their vision and determination in the face of harsh economic realities and tough operating environment.

I also commend the Honorable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Festus Keyamo SAN, for his consistent support of Nigerian Airlines and the Aviation sector in general, through policies, domestic and international stakeholder engagements, enforcement if regulations, and pushing for better opportunities for Nigeria Airlines and other operators in the aviation sector. The Honorable Minister has been very visible, vocal, and impactful in the past 1 year since he came into office. I look forward to the deepening, expansion, and sustained efforts by the Honorable Minister, and his team to ensure success. I also urge all industry practitioners to continue the good work of supporting the industry.

However, in my view, one of the best supports that Minister Keyamo will give Nigerian Airlines is to come up with an all-inclusive approach to restructure, re-capitalize, and re-position Nigerian Airlines for better performance, resilience, and sustainability. This can only be achieved by crafting a proper strategy based on which new/ additional coherent policies that will support the strategy will ensure a re-solidified foundation, more capacity, better credibility, success, and sustainability. With profound respect, we can’t throw policies at all problems.

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The sectoral overhaul has become necessary, in my view, due to the declining number of operational aircraft, high mortality rates of airlines in the past 25 years, and rising cost of tickets, which is sometimes a subset of rising cost of operations like the aviation fuel, due to global and national economic headwinds like inflation and multiple taxation, harsh operating environments, etc. The Honorable Minister was very clear in his statistics with regards to the rate of the death of the airlines, the numbers of the airlines that are not able to take up to the skies anymore and had to shut down over the years, while others are facing regulatory compliance issues. Additionally, others are struggling to turn around the maintenance of their aircraft, etc. Scale and scalability are critical success factors in the airline business

Accordingly, it is time for us to have some forward-thinking conversations about why or how we can save this very important and value-adding player in the socioeconomic development of this country. How do we save the ailing airlines (if possible) to recover from the current situation? How do we put policies, processes, and systems in place to safeguard this type of “one step forward four steps backward”, trajectory of Nigerian airlines? Unless those questions are adequately addressed, we run the risk of having to face a reality we don’t want to face, which is; in the mid to long term, foreigners coming to invest and taking control and majority stake in the aviation industry just like it is happening in a lot of other sectors in Nigeria’s economy. For instance, it is so bad that we are not able to develop a capable competition with DSTV, MTN, etc.

On the one hand, we need to support those very good Nigerians who are currently operating, albeit struggling to weather the strong socio-economic headwinds. Without prejudice to any airline in Nigeria, I use three Nigerian airlines as case studies in this conversation, and they are; Overland Airways, Air Peace Airline, and Ibom Air. These are 3 airlines that have come at different times, under different circumstances are adding critical values, interestingly, within very interesting niches. In my view, Overland Airways is the currently most sustainable airline, having been operating smoothly, and efficiently in the niche. Captain Edward Boyo, The CEO of Overland Airways; a veteran in the industry who had been efficiently running that airline for over 20 years. The Airline has demonstrated consistency for over 20 decades with a very good track record of safety. Captain Boyo has also demonstrated prudence, and excellent leadership in running the Airline.

I congratulate Air Peace for celebrating 10 years of efficient, growing, and value-adding operations. Dr. Alan Onyema, the Chairman, and CEO, has added value to the industry in ways and means that have not been done before in the recent history of aviation in Nigeria. Dr. Onyema has gone beyond just operating in the industry to even adding value in philanthropy and where Nigerians need help outside this country, he has gone far and beyond to deliver those support services for Nigerians free of charge

In the case of Ibom Air, here is the state government-owned airline, and the second government-owned airline after Nigeria Airways; that has been successful from startup. The Akwa Ibom State Government under the visionary leadership of the immediate past Governor, His Excellency, Mr. Emmanuel Udom was able to deliver this excellent project where even federal governments have failed. This is so, especially when the current Governor, His Excellency, Pastor Umo Eno has continued the good work by consolidating the position of Ibom Air and guiding the execution of the Strategic blueprint. The success of Ibom Air is basically because the Government entrusts the leadership of Ibom Air under the leadership of Captain Mfon Udom as Chief Executive Officer, and Captain George Uriesi, as the Chief Operating Officer. These two aviation experts and leaders are indeed a classic case of “round pegs in round holes”.

For the longevity, profitability, and sustainability of Nigerian airlines, we must deal with strategy, corporate governance, minimum acceptable standards in terms of leadership and management structure, Financial capacity, risk management, prudence, operational model/ excellence, etc.

Therefore, the government needs to come from a strategic and policy point of view to recapitalize this industry and set standards such that people have to come together to form alliances and strategic partnerships to build strong airlines as institutions and bring the requisite capacities and competencies to run the airlines in ways and manners that will not just be operational, but they will be profitable, they will be value adding to the economy sustainable. This is a very important panacea for the turnaround of the Nigerian airline industry.

Based on the aforementioned points, the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development needs to have a new or to fine-tune the existing aviation reform strategy. This will ensure that we have a strategy that fits into the international realities to grow our domestic airline business, and to make our domestic airline more robust and competitive in the domestic and international market.

Just like what happened in the banking industry some years ago, based on which he banking industry is undergoing a third phase of recapitalization, Nigerian Airlines must also be restructured, recapitalized, and repositioned as such. With all due respect to the Airline owners; They can only guarantee the sustainability of their airlines if they consider and adopt strategic partnerships and collaborations. So, we would like to see synergies between the players. This can be achieved by the Airlines themselves for the federal government to make that happen or for the airlines. The Airline owners and leadership should review the situation from the strategic and profitability point of view or survival point of view; to realize that they are better off as partners or getting new partners to grow to have more a fleet of aircraft to have economic off-scale to grow but where you have individuals put in their funds The only thing that will happen maybe short, mid to long time is reality will hit us. Foreign investors will come, put in the money, and start eating into the domestic market, killing our own brothers and sisters who are invested.

Moreover, they need partnerships local and international to grow. And for the government to bring in a regulatory fiat or regulatory framework to ensure that we have what I call “a recalibration” or “remodeling of the sub-sector for sustainability. I hope and pray that this reform will happen for the good of the industry and the Nigerian economy in general.

In subsequent episodes, I will continue expounding on this important topic, including the economics of the reform, infrastructure, some prudential guidelines to ensure product quality, and quantity, regulatory shortfalls, some prudential guidelines, etc. Thank you.

November 15, 2024
Bleeding heart theatre (2)

Shall we call him Ishmael? Each of the 32 boys recently released among the 76 detained in the August #EndBadGovernance protests—emerge as symbolic Ishmaels, castaways in a society indifferent to their plight.

Betrayed by the northern political elite, they wander estranged from the care and ideals that should palm their fate, laying siege to Nigeria’s rural heartlands and suburban sprawl.

There is an apocalyptic drift in the scourge of these minors, mainly underage boys and teenagers. The northern intelligentsia and political class, in particular, perceive them as fractions of the region’s disposable human trash. They believe that there are more pressing political and economic problems to address. This is a mistake. A grievous one.

It is the sort of apathy that seethes, awaiting the right spark to rupture – often at the nudge of shady political elite and criminal masterminds.

These boys are products of Nigeria’s dysfunctional system. Inured to mayhem, they are forbiddingly dangerous. Their personalities, shaved of compassion are sculpted to project strife by their maleficent benefactors.

Brainwashed, they become puppet personae, stunted in growth, and unquestioning of their puppeteers’ malicious intent.

Amid their benefactors’ toxic patronage, they manifest like soulless dummies, casual workers in a Nigerian carnage factory.

As victim and villains, they are both exposed and enclosed, behind their coarse faces and masks.

Each boy is naked yet armoured, premature yet ritually experient. They are impervious to morals because they have become soulless; their defiled innocence screams for urgent help and yet remains closed to redemption.

Their naivete is deceptive – not to be toyed with. Military officers in Nigeria and neighbouring countries claim the minors they face on the battlefielf are fearless. In Cameroon, a local commando unit dispatched helicopters and artillery against waves of Boko Haram’s child insurgents, who appeared to be drugged, some armed with no more than machetes, said Col. Didier Badjeck , a former Cameroonian army spokesman.

During a recent battle between Boko Haram and Cameroonian gendarmes, in northern Cameroon, more than one hundred screaming boys ran towards a fortified position, many of them barefoot and unarmed, said Badjeck to WSJ, and most were swiftly gunned down. Soldiers found in many of their pockets packaging from the opiate, tramadol.

“It’s better to kill a boy than have 1,000 victims,” said Badjeck. “It’s causing us problems with international organizations, but they’re not on the front lines. We are.” This is both sad and scary. No adult should ever have cause to think or say such of a minor.

No government should ever have cause to detain or charge minors as adult felons. Yet, in the aftermath of the August detentions, the swift release of these boys appeared less an act of justice and more an effort to quell public outrage.

The fervent shrieks of a chastising public seemed to browbeat the federal government into a retreat, thus releasing the boys, who returned to their communities as heroic symbols. Some state governors met them with a bizarre pageantry, a peculiar celebration for youth seen just days before as outlaws. The government’s hasty capitulation—a backhanded “victory” for those who condemned the arrests—signals a dangerous precedent, affirming that lawlessness may, at times, be overlooked for the sake of appeasement.

The political elite, especially, raised their voices to align with public sentiment in a bid for relevance. But it is the boys who suffer the most from this theatre of misdirected sympathy, this tacit validation of violence and defiance masquerading as reform.

Ultimately, they reflect a peril that grows with every unaddressed grievance. For they are not a separate people or class but the product of a fractured society that disdains to acknowledge them even as it manipulates their resentment for political purposes.

In the north, the legacy of this abandonment manifests in boy-terrorists, and bandits too young to understand the true scope of their actions yet resolute in their defiance. In the southern cities, Lagos especially, young gangs with names like the One Million Boys and Awawa Boys haunt neighborhoods, their adolescent faces hardened by a violence that stems from necessity. Teenagers wielding machetes and knives, robbing and raping without remorse, are the mirror to our society’s indifference, a warning cloaked in youthful terror.

These young gang members—southern and northern alike—reveal a raw truth about Nigeria’s descent. They are the sons of a failed republic, a generation cast adrift, molded in the rough hands of neglect and raised in the shadows of power.

But to disregard these boys as mere “distractions” is to miss the ominous truth that they are the harbingers of a much greater devastation—one that will not be contained by neglect.

President Bola Tinubu’s leadership stands at a precipice, compelled to confront the specter of youth disillusionment not as an incidental problem but as a national crisis. It is the duty of the ruling class to recognize that the cries of hardship from Nigeria’s marginalized are not tantrums but a plea for survival – to be treated with dignity.

To dismiss the grievances of a suffering populace – the youths in particular – as the complaints of ungrateful citizens is not only unacceptable but tragic. No leadership can expect loyalty or appreciation from those it deems irrelevant, those it ignores with contempt. I hope President Tinubu would commit no such error.

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Our youth—these forgotten Ishmaels—need more than our pity; they need a path to purpose. Their anguish should not be pacified with symbolic gestures or cynical grandstanding. They require a structure that fosters legitimate ambition, a system that offers alternatives to the grim realities that now bind them to violence. Education, mentorship, vocational training—these are not luxuries but necessities, the only means to disarm the fury that threatens to consume our nation.

The establishment of robust, grassroots programs that address not only academic but also emotional and ethical development can begin to mend the broken bridges. The infusion of opportunities for legitimate enterprise, for creative and productive outlets, could allow these youths to redirect their energies towards a brighter future.

Rather than institutionalizing punishment, we could foster community programmes that can rehabilitate former gang members, bandits, and soldiers, providing them with meaningful engagement through work, skill-building, and mentorship.

It’s aout time we held the political elite accountable for their part in the mayhem. They must be held accountable for the violent use of young people as agents of political manipulation. Policies that insulate minors from being co-opted for political gain should be enforced strictly, with transparency in electoral and political processes.

Our society must reckon with its own contradictions. We cannot decry the corruption of our youth while perpetuating the very conditions that breed it. We cannot chastise them for the choices they make while denying them any real options. We must look beyond the symptoms and address the root causes — the grinding poverty, the lack of access to quality education, the systemic corruption that has made a mockery of justice and governance.

For each child we condemn, another will rise, hardened by the same struggles, driven by the same sense of abandonment. It is a cycle that feeds upon itself, a vortex that will one day consume us all if left unchecked.

The path forward must be laid with compassion and reform, not with the fiery words of performative rage. Without it, the condemnation of these boys remains as empty as the promises they once believed in, leaving them stranded in the wastelands they were forced to call home.

November 14, 2024
Pastor Tunde Bakare is 70 years old

The activist and indefatigable man of God and tribune of the Nigerian people Dr Tunde Bakare of the Citadel Global Church is 70. I was glad to have attended the one in a life worship and book presentation of his autobiography on Monday, November 11 followed immediately by a reception in the hall of the church attended by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation representing the president, serving and former governors, ministers, traditional rulers from the southern and northern Nigeria including emir Muhammad Sanusi, the Emir of Kano.

I wrote with much interest, the foreword to Bakare’s autobiography titled “Definitely Not The Least”. The title indicates the fact that Tunde Bakare was the last child of his father, Sanni Bakare, a devout Muslim descended from the grand Imam of Abeokuta, Abdul Sidiq Bakare. In fact the Bakares were the first Muslims in Abeokuta, a town founded circa 1830 after the revolution and mass movement of the Oyo Yoruba into the Egba forests. This was after Fulani incursion into northern Oyo Empire and the Oyo’s consequent southward movement and pressure on their vassals, the Egba and Yewa people in present day Ogun State.

The story of Tunde Bakare began in Abeokuta, a unique city for many reasons in Nigeria. This was the last independent city in Nigeria before its independence was abrogated in August 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War. Because of the unique history of Abeokuta, the town witnessed the first attempt at Christian evangelisation and its consequent cultural impact of western education on the town. This followed preceding Islamic cultural influence as a result of the considerable number of Muslims in the town. These two foreign cultures were imposed on the strong African tradition of the Egba people which many of them still held to, despite the two exotic religions of Christianity and Islam. Tunde Bakare is a product of the intermixture of the three religious tendencies prevalent in Abeokuta, then and now.

This autobiography is the story of a boy born into a large Muslim family who fate dealt a terrible blow when at only two years old, his relatively affluent father died leaving him and his mother Eebudola to fend for themselves. The book is a tale of struggle by his mother, who through iron discipline, tried to shape the destiny of her son the way she knew how while the son tried to find freedom as a growing child in what he considered a cruel world of poverty and deprivation. He did what was possible to get educated, selling water, fetching wood to sell and helping his mother to sell whatever stuff she was selling to make ends meet. It was this harsh beginning of being alone in a wicked world that shaped the early life and times of Tunde Bakare. He struggled through primary and secondary schools changing from one school to another, leaving school for some time because of poverty only to continue again thus finding himself in embarrassing position of being behind classmates who were not as good as he was. This kind of humiliation at a young age strengthened his resolve to get on in life by dint of hard work and determination. He was also somehow lucky by the rather cosmopolitan nature of Abeokuta where he could see at a glance, what he found attractive in Islam, Christianity and Western education. Early in life, he wanted to convert to Christianity but was discouraged by the reaction of his mother and his relatives. But he had seen himself becoming a Christian so that when he took the plunge and transition from Islam to Christianity later in life after moving to Lagos, he faced the harsh consequences which came with it because members of his family were not prepared to see a scion of a Muslim family brought up on the Holy Koran jump ship just like that. This denouement was not to take place until after he had had to move from his roots at Abeokuta to Lagos to improve on his rather pedestrian performance in his West African School Certificate examination. Having passed his examination eventually, he began to aim higher by getting a job and asking God to bless the labour of his hands through doing odd jobs like washing and ironing clothes, first for his teachers, and later for those who needed his services and enrolling in evening adult classes for Advanced level examination that would qualify him for university admission.

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It was not until I read this manuscript before writing a foreword to it that I discovered a strange coincidence. He had a serious accident which led him to having to stitch his lower or upper lips and the lady who took him to hospital was a certain Mrs Agbelemoge who happens to be my cousin. Her father and my mother are cousins. It was around the same time that I met Tunde Bakare as one of his teachers who coached him for his Advanced level examination in History and government in the University of Ibadan extramural studies centre in Saint Jude’s Ebute Metta, I believe in 1977. If I am like Tunde Bakare, I will see the divine hands of God in our meeting and my taking keen interest and a liking to a student who I would describe as a precocious young man. It was through my intervention that Tunde entered the University of Lagos. Every step Tunde Bakare took in life has been preceded either by a vision, dream or hearing from God.

He started his Christian journey in the University of Lagos and since laying his hands on the plough, he has never looked back. He used his training as a lawyer to serve humanity thus bringing his profession to bear on his Christian belief. His most difficult convert was his mother, Eebudola Asabi Bakare who he had previously sponsored to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina but who he converted to Christianity, the religion which she embraced with fervour of somebody born into it. This was very important to Tunde to whom his mother was very special as a person who believed in him and saw a vision of his son’s success as not only a religious leader but a secular one well before anyone else. Tunde Bakare cut his pastoral journey through tutelage under the giant leaders of Nigeria’s Pentecostal movement namely, Dr Samuel Odunaike of the Foursquare Church, Dr W.F Kumuyi of the Deeper Life Church and Pastor Adejare Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God who leads the largest Pentecostal church in Nigeria.

Along the way, he interacted with Pastor David Oyedepo of Winners Church and Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) – his contemporaries. He had his reasons for finding his independent path from the foremost leaders under whom he had served and associated with. He however found more rewarding his association with two American Pentecostal pastors Dr Morris Cerullo and Dr Lester Sumrall and particularly Dr Sumrall. Sumrall was an American Pentecostal pastor, evangelist, teacher, and missionary. He founded the Lester Sumrall Evangelistic Association and World Global College in his native New Orleans Louisiana. Sumrall was less well known than Cerullo in Africa and of course in Nigeria but Bakare claims he owes most of his spiritual development to him. Bakare’s Church, The Latter Rain Assembly and later on The Citadel, its successor were found very attractive by the young people apparently because of his youth and spiritual leading.

Bakare was ineluctably led by divine inspiration into secular activism which is not strange for a young man who saw Christianity as not just a belief system but a way of life. Pastor Bakare could not restrict himself to preaching alone or embarking on crusades against demonic and evil forces in our society while the mass of humanity suffered a lot. He sees himself as a “messenger” of God to suffering humanity if not in the world at least in Nigeria and Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe) where do nothing governments sat on the necks of their people for very long time. This led him to organising pressure groups and leading demonstrations on the street in Lagos and Abuja against constitutional breaches and against prices of fuel and other commodities. This soon brought him into clashes with people in authority and great admiration of the people who saw him as a tribune of the people and an electoral asset to people in power or in opposition.

This was the situation which brought him into running with Major General Muhammadu Buhari against an incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan who was largely supported by the Christian community in 2011. This decision was taken by Tunde Bakare under divine guidance according to him and not for the love for filthy lucre, glory or fame but in the public interest. When he and his principal lost the election which he considered rigged, he never gave up and was able to persuade Buhari to run again in 2015 but not with him as running mate. Buhari subsequently won the 2015 election with generous support of Bakare. Buhari offered him several positions including High Commissioner to the Court of Saint James’s in London which he declined. The lack of performance for eight years by Muhammadu Buhari must have influenced him to accept the challenge and gauntlet to try to be president himself in the election of 2023 where he was faced with the African reality that leadership is mostly bought not earned.

It remains to be said that when the history of this times is written, the name of Pastor Bakare’s remarkable story of a man who rose from poverty and deprivation to aspiring for the highest position in the land would be one of those to be included among the makers of modern Nigeria. Reading his excellent autobiography and the command of English by the author has been a labour of love and enjoyment. The story of Tunde Bakare is a testament to the love of God and his wife, Layide and the beautiful children she gave Tunde. The book is also a promenade into the intricacy and complexity of recent politics of Nigeria and the mortal dangers faced by an activist like Bakare who of course overcame fear because in all he did he had faith that God was leading him. This book deserves to be read by the critical mass of the Nigerian society.

November 14, 2024
Abiku Grid and the greedy DisCos

Power transmission and distribution remain at its lowest ebb ever in the history of the nation. Since the classification of customers into bands under which they are billed according to the hours of supply they enjoy daily, electricity distribution has not been the same again. Whatever band you may be, supply is at the discretion of the distributors who have prioritised Band A customers.

Generation, we have been told, has been fantastic. The problem is that of transmission and distribution. The government-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) which acts as offtaker to the generation companies (GenCos) has the capacity to transmit but the distribution companies (DisCos) lack the capacity to distribute the entire stock.

These DisCos, which dot the six geo-political regions servicing the states in those places, more often than not decline to take all the transmitted power for distribution, citing various reasons. They claim that they are being owed by many customers and as such do not have the financial muscle to pay for the supply. At times, they ask for credit facility, which they do not extend to customers who they treat with levity. Some people have, however, argued that the issue has to do more with infrastructure than finance.

They may have a point there. Since the privatisation of the power sector by the Jonathan administration in November 2013, there has been no new major investment in the public utility’s infrastructure by the successor-distribution companies which have today become law unto themselves. They are more interested in reaping without sowing in what they acquired.

What value have they added to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), as it was then known, which they acquired under different guises and forms? They quickly mopped up the assets, without doing anything about the decaying infrastructure. The nation is where it is today in its power generation, transmission and distribution drive because the assets of PHCN fell into the wrong hands. The privatisation was not properly done and the nation is paying for it today.

The incessant collapse of the National Grid has shown that we are still a long way from achieving our dreams of regular power supply despite the introduction and classification of consumers under bands, with the assurance that those on the elite Band A will enjoy an uninterrupted 22-hour supply per day, at a heavy price.

Those who can afford it have been paying, but many are complaining that there is a catch somewhere, which they cannot put a finger on. They claim that it is a scam, pointing at the fast rate they say their meter credit burns out despite switching off many appliances to control use. Is there really any need for band classification where there is an efficient and effective power system? The answer is no.

By resorting to band classification, many Nigerians have been deliberately shut out of the power supply chain because they are men of straw. It is only men of means who now enjoy power yala yolo, as some will say, at any given time of the day. Even when the grid collapses, their supply is not affected. Where does that come from? From a grid that is hidden somewhere unknown to the majority of the people.

The frequent incidence of grid collapse has worsened the problem. For the 11th time this year, it happened again last Thursday. It was the second time in 48 hours that we were witnessing such a national embarrassment which followed that of Tuesday. What a way to celebrate the 11th month with the grid collapsing for the 11th time last Thursday. Jokes apart, why this incessant collapse? Is there no way out of it? How many megawatts are we producing that this vast network of transmission lines linking power stations to end-users nationwide cannot cope?

In September, we were celebrating the generation of 5,313 megawatts (MW) of electricity in a country of 232.6 million people. Whereas South Africa and Ghana, with a population of 64.2 million and 34.4 million, generate 58,095MW and 2,837MW. The truth is our Abiku National Grid is no longer fit for purpose. It outlived its usefulness long ago when it started packing up at the slightest hint of trouble, be it of infrastructure or the DisCos’ inability to take all the transmitted power.

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Things cannot continue like this. Otherwise every other thing will collapse as a result of the failure to fix the national grid. It is time to look for an alternative before the grid turns us into a grieving nation. We have been at its mercy for too long. To rub insult upon injury, the DisCos are threatening fire and brimstone over prepaid meters that they claim would become outdated on November 24.

They have rebuffed all entreaties by the Nigerian Electricity and Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to replace the meters at no cost to consumers. They are insisting on customers paying for a replacement. How do you pay for a replaced item? There is nowhere in the world that replaced items are paid for by consumers when such exigencies arise. It is for the service provider to replace an item where the need to do so is not of the consumer’s making.

Ikeja Electric (IE) has been adamant over the matter. Where its counterpart, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), has shown some understanding through the upgrading of the meters to ensure their continued use, IE is insisting on the replacement of the meters at a cost to the consumer or nothing. This is not business; it is sheer wickedness and exploitation of its poor and suffering customers. It wants to play hard.

But it should be mindful of the consequences of such action. They are usually not good for business, no matter how indispensable the service provider may think it is. Like EKEDC, IE will lose nothing by allowing its customers to upgrade their meters with ease. It should remember the saying: “customer is king”.

November 14, 2024