The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • Leaders charting new paths and deals

    Today  I deal with personalities  as I  take  on the topic of the day. The aim is to show  how the personalities, reputations  and even utterances of  certain leaders precede them in what they do   or   say, in or out of office. We  take on global  leaders, incumbents in position of power   including   those widely regarded  as opposition leaders,  alternative leaders, or leaders in waiting in their various political systems  or sub regions   on   the actions   and news concerning them in the last one week.

     We  focus on    first on     Nigeria ‘s  APC  leader  Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu  and the business lecture delivered on his behalf by the Governor of Oyo State Senator Abiola Ajimobi   on the topic – Nigeria: Charting a  New Path to National Rebirth, last  Wednesday  at the 70th Anniversary  of Nigeria’s premier social club, the Island Club.  We  then take  a look  at US  President Barak Obama’s legacy project Obamacare and the challenges   facing it when its web site collapsed as people tried to access it  and the socio- economic  impact of   that development on Obama’s   legacy as  the first US  president to initiate such a  massive  Health Care project in the US. Next  we consider the views of Nobel Laureate Aung San Su Kyii  of Burma that Burma’s dictatorial  constitution has to be changed before she can ever hope to be president. We also  examine the US bugging of the phone of German Chancellor  Angela Merkel and the insistence of the German Iron lady  that the US  must be called to order  in spite of the very close ties   between both nations.

    We  go back to the Island Club 70th Anniversary lecture  of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu  whose  announced topic was Nigeria :  Yesterday, Today  and Tomorrow  until  Senator Abiola Ajimobi  announced the n topic’s  theme as  –  Nigeria: Charting A New Path  to National  Rebirth,   a title   which also determined the topic of this column  today. Naturally one would expect the Asiwaju,   as Nigeria’s virtual  and  foremost    opposition   leader  to do justice to the   announced  topic given his well known   devotion  and dedication  to analyzing Nigeria’s political and historical problems  as a pragmatic  and respected  participant observer of the growth and development of the Nigerian nation state. But  Asiwaju  switched   the topic and praised the Island Club  to high heavens before  dissecting and analyzing   the nation’s history  and growth or descent to decay, in his  usual vivid and enticing style reminiscent of the  witty anecdotes in his book – Financialism –  Water From An Empty Well; How  the financial system drains the economy, co  authored with former US  Consul, Brian  Browne.

    According to Asiwaju – ‘Drawing its  members from innovative  and   creative  segments of society, Island Club  was  from the start  set  to be great …Though   older than  Nigeria, the Club still shines. Unfortunately the glow of Nigeria has turned to dross ; the nation is a gem  obscured  by the grime  of      venal  and  menial leadership.‘   Actually  in adopting the new title as his theme, one   could again expect at  the lecture the usual  tirade of an opposition leader against a present political leadership that he has scant respect for,  which perhaps would have made the lecture boring. But  that was not to be, and that was due to the genius of Asiwaju’s  representative who delivered the lecture with such humorous  and witty jokes such that there was not a dull moment throughout the business lecture. Senator Abiola Ajimobi showed at the lecture what Former Minister of Sports Chief Akinyele meant  when representing former head of State  IBB at  a similar function  he said –  ‘when you  have seen the hand  of the tiger, you  have seen the tiger’  . The  Oyo  State Governor was in his element in terms excellent service delivery in the way and manner he   presented his leader’s paper. His jokes had the audience reeling with laughter  most  of the time. His  assertion during the Question and Answer Session, anchored  by  me, that he was  speaking for himself  on the answers  but was sure that his views and that of Asiwaju would coincide on most matters because they have been together for so long,  earned him and his leader  the respect and attention of a captive audience at  the lecture.

     The  witty Oyo  state governor set the ball rolling with the funny  story of how he came to be chosen by the Asiwaju to represent him at the lecture. At  a meeting in Abuja,  he said, Asiwaju wanted to show his APC  colleagues that he was fully fit after his knee surgery so he asked the governors to join him in a 100 meter dash with the proviso that the last man would represent him at the Island  Club lecture  –  and while Asiwaju came first  he Senator Ajimobi  came last and that why he was in Lagos. In addition he told his  wildly  cheering and laughing audience that he was selected because he was the oldest of the APC governors who were members of Island club – and there  was  no way the result of the race could  have  been different.

    Humor aside,  the contents of the lecture were brilliant,  decisive and vintage Asiwaju. I will  illustrate with  some juicy comments and quotes . Asiwaju  lamented in the lecture   thus  – ‘And  where  does  Nigeria   stand today? Today  we  loiter on the road of confusion because we are guided  by leaders who  themselves need guidance. The dream of a robust and great nation hood has been deferred . Nigeria now limps  and pleads for crutches  to help it,  just to stand.’  On  the proposed National  Dialogue which he called a Greek gift  on his return  from surgery  Asiwaju  noted – ‘Yes   we  need to talk. I remain an ardent supporter of the  call for a national conference  that is sovereign and open to all . That  is the only route out of the woods. We  must bring Nigeria back  on the path of true federalism. A  stage managed  affair  scripted   and monitored  to achieve the narrow political aims of narrow  political minds in Abuja will do nothing but whet  confusions appetite . Anything short of a Sovereign National   will be  like trying to apply a bandage to a tornado ‘. On  manufacturing Asiwaju noted that – No  populous nation ever reached   prosperity without a vibrant manufacturing sector. It is this sector that is  the  mainstay of urban employment, just as farming is the main stay of rural jobs. However our manufacturing sector shrinks under the policies of the present government. As   it shrinks so do the job opportunities of that vast army of city dwellers‘

    On security,  Asiwaju noted that the present administration said  it has the situation under control. ‘If  this is control he  concluded,‘ I  dread to  see how lack  of control looks. In  Boko  Haram, the nation faces  its largest challenge since the civil war. In  conclusion the APC  leader lamented painfully –‘We live in a land that is ours but is ruled by a government  that does not belong to the people because it does not like them. Nigerians want   democratic  governance, economic development, broad prosperity, justice, equality, moral purpose and human dignity. At  that point,   he   concluded  the state of the nation can be a state in which we are all proud and in which we  can live as a free people‘

    Surely  it  is such sentiments that Asiwaju has highlighted to drive Nigeria forward from  premises  of the Island club that has motivated the other world leaders we are focusing on today  albeit  in a different context. Obamacare is about more Americans getting heath care access and insurance  in the richest nation on earth where such favors are absent . President Obama has made this the flagship achievement of his administration and Congress has approved it. Yet  at the last dialogue on expanding the US debt ceiling, the Republicans wanted to make it a bait for discussion and scuttling it and Obama put his foot down that the deal had been done and that was why he was elected for two terms and Obama care was  not to be debated. Now  the website for accessing Obamacare  by an enthusiastic millions of potential beneficiaries has led to a crash but Obama  is not fazed. He  has acknowledged the problem and  has announced that the best IT brains in the world have been assembled to sort out the problem and keep Obama care afloat by all means. That  is how leaders should behave as they are not   expected to sleep on their watch  and see their  legacies derailed either by design, unintended results, sheer sabotage or outright enmity and lack of goodwill as in the issues surrounding ObamaCare and its implementation in the US.

    The  same dilemma faced  Burma’s Opposition leader  over a law directed at preventing her personally  from becoming president of her nation . This is a law  that bars women with  sons for foreigners from becoming president of Burma.   Suu Kyi  has two sons for a Briton who died while she was  in prison. The law was put in place when Suu Kyi was in detention after the Military  prevented her from claiming the victory  in the presidential election she won in that nation before. Now  the Military government through her role and intervention is getting global recognition  for  moving towards  democracy,  but has not removed the vile law and Suu Kyi  is not ready to buy that and is crying foul. She  is also alerting a gullible world  that the dictatorship  in Burma while seeming to move towards  democracy on the surface, is still a wolf in sheep’s clothing, until it amends  the obnoxious  part of Burma’s constitution concerning her.  Again,  the Burmese Nobel  Laureate  has  spoken boldly no matter whose ox is gored especially as the amendment concerns her and not with standing the fact that the military  in Burma still has total control  of the constitution  and any intended amendment. Again  a global leader  has shown bravery  in drawing attention to a human right flaw in the face of great personal danger and I cannot but doff my hat to her.

    Similarly German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s insistence that the US and Germany must reestablish the  trust  in their relations over the bugging of her phone is brave, timely  and correct.The US  has denied as expected  and has assured Germany that this never and would not happen ever. Yet  the US  is feverishly looking for the US security contractor whistle blower that Russia has given asylum somewhere  in Russia. It  was interesting seeing the German Chancellor fretting with her hand phone while seated by  US President Barak Obama  at a previous state  function on CNN. One  was left wondering what could have  been going on in the US president’s mind in the light  of Angela  Merkel’s phone being bugged as now revealed. Anyway,  the German leader has shown the US that even though their two nations may  be close allies and Germany may be a junior military ally  of the US  and in NATO,  such bugging of friendly leaders is indecent and is not to be tolerated. Which  is like saying  clearly  that  even amongst friends ‘your freedom ends  where my nose begins’. Which, again  is fine by me, no matter  the security or diplomatic closeness, protocols  or camaderie   of all parties  involved.

  • Praying and preying

    Praying and preying

    Nigeria is easily one of the most religious countries in the world. Our people would readily make the Guinness Book of records for their incomparable capacity to pray. We are a nation of passionate Christians. We are a nation of fervent Muslims. We are a nation of committed traditional worshippers. Many of us adhere strictly to any one of these three modes of spirituality. Others combine two or all of the three in an interesting creative synthesis. There are hardly any atheists or even agnostics among us. We are all God lovers, ever unrelenting God chasers. Worshipping God is a cardinal feature of the Nigerian character. Irrespective of faith or ethnic origin, the Nigerian proudly holds aloft the banner of his or her religion.

    The Nigerian Muslim steadfastly prays five times a day and devotedly adheres to other tenets of the religion. No less worshipful and dedicated to God is the Christian of whatever tendency – orthodox, Pentecostal or syncretic. It is no surprise that a considerable stretch of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is fast becoming the Christian spiritual headquarters of the world. Millions of adherents converge on the many Pentecostal churches along that corridor for an endless variety of spiritual activities. Now, do we pray and worship God so much because we love him or we fear him? Why in the face of so much apparent Godliness is there so much obvious godlessness in the land? Let us leave such questions to the theologians and academics.

    Suffice it to say that is almost impossible to survive in Nigeria without prayer. Faith and prayer are indispensable existential necessities in contemporary Nigeria. You need prayers to escape the snare of kidnappers. You need prayers for protection against the assault of armed robbers. You need prayers to avoid lurking assassins. You need prayers so as not to become a victim of ritual killers. You need prayers to keep you from the path of blood thirsty Boko Haram insurgents. You need prayers before travelling on the treacherous death traps we call high ways. You need prayers before boarding aircraft that routinely drop from the skies. You need prayers so that your son or daughter does not spend eight years on a four-year course in our public universities. You need prayers so as not to fall sick when doctors are on strike. You need prayers not to be caught in horrendous traffic on the day when a certain First Lady, the mother of the nation, graces your state with a visit. Pray, what can we do in a country like this without prayers?

    But then in many ways, we are truly blessed and have so much to thank the almighty for. One of such blessings we enjoy is that we have, at least since 1999, had truly God fearing and ever prayerful leaders in charge of our affairs as a nation in Abuja. Remember the inimitable Soldier turned farmer and former tenant of the Presidential Villa. He was always so God conscious. OBJ was a reverential and ceaseless worshipper at the Aso Rock chapel. He was a frequent participant in several church programmes and activities within and beyond the Villa. OBJ would mount the pulpit and deliver exuberant homilies. He would quote scriptures like a seasoned pastor. If so how come all that third term agenda mess that rubbished his reputation and that of his administration so badly you may ask? Please don’t be unfair dear reader. The man has said if he ever desired any such thing, the God he serves so faithfully would have granted his wish. We must take his word for it. After all, prayerful men do not lie. They are only permitted to be economical with the truth.

    We are so lucky that at the helm of affairs today in Nigeria is a man who is even more prayerful and spiritual than OBJ. He is an epitome of prayerful humility. Can you imagine an OBJ, the EboraOwu himself, kneeling before any mortal man in prayer? Well, probably in private. But we have seen the likeable President Goodluck Jonathan publicly kneel in deep prayerful devotion before a revered Pentecostal General Overseer in the full glare of national and global television. Could anything be more endearing and ennobling? During the last Ramadan fast, the President even joined our Muslim brothers and sisters in observing the fast. Can there be any greater demonstration of a man’s love and devotion to God?

    As I write, our beloved President, His prayerful Excellency, is in Israel observing the holy pilgrimage. It is reported that accompanying him are several government officials including 19 very prayerful state governors. Ah! How lucky we are as a nation to have so many devout leaders. Well, at least from the pictures I saw in the press, there were the Information Minister, LabaranMaku and Governors Gabriel Suswan (Benue), Theodore Orji (Abia), Peter Obi (Anambra), GodswillAkpabio (AkwaIbom) and Jonah Jang (Plateau) in the holy land to pray along with the President. It will be interesting to know the cost to the public treasury of this pilgrimage extravaganza.

    Of course, the party would have been incomplete without the incomparable Jonah Jang. You can remember dear reader that this was the governor who miraculously emerged as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) by astonishingly leading a minority of 16 to defeat a majority of 19. Pray, where else should Jonah Jang be but in the very land where the Lord Jesus similarly performed the feat of turning water into wine? It is just that in the case of the NGF election, wine seems to have been turned into water. Surely, by the time Jang and his praying colleagues return to Nigeria they will be spiritually supercharged to perform even more mind boggling miracles.

    By the way there was also the picture of the President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, standing with the prayerful President and Governors in the holy land. Pray, was the CAN President also on the Presidential entourage? Did he also go to Israel at public expense? If so, is there really any difference between CAN and the PDP under Oritsejafor’s leadership? Does this not vindicate Bishop Hassan Kukah’s contention that CAN has become the praying arm of the ruling party? Given the close alliance between church and state in contemporary Nigeria, how can the former speak truth to power? It is so sad.

    While ever appreciative of our president’s prayerful inclinations, this column joins millions of Nigerians in raising eyebrows about the strange, coincidental presence of the embattled Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, in Israel at the same time that President Goodluck Jonathan is on pilgrimage. This is a woman currently embroiled in a monumental scandal back home. The purchase of two BMW armoured luxury cars for Stella Oduah by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) at the cost of N255 million is one of the most brazen examples yet in this dispensation of how Nigeria’s leadership elite selfishly and heartlessly prey on our collective resources to the detriment of the suffering majority.

    Stella Oduah’s presence in Israel on official assignment when she is yet to clear herself of the grievous allegations against her is an indication of the levity with which the Jonathan administration treats allegations of corruption and the strong possibility that the administrative panel purportedly set up by the President to investigate the scandal is an elaborate smokescreen. A truly God fearing and genuinely prayerful leader would have promptly suspended the Aviation Minister pending the outcome of the investigations. As it were, the President’s body language suggests that in this matter he is inclined to place private and party considerations above the national interest. Yes, by all means let President Jonathan pray. But above all, let him pray for the courage to take decisive action against those Nigerians without conscience who prey upon their fellow human beings with impunity as so vividly demonstrated by the Oduahgate scandal.

  • Dreaming the past

    Dreaming the past

    The above quoted Hadith was particularly in reference to leadership in any given society. When the Prophet was to send Mu’az Bn Jabal to Yemen as Governor, he asked him a pointed question as a way of confirming that his choice for the post was right. He asked Mu’az: “how will you govern the people in that country?” And the latter responded saying he would use the laws of Allah as contained in the Qur’an. Then the Prophet asked: “and if you cannot find a relevant solution in the Qur’an? Mu’az said he would use the Prophetic tradition (Sunnah). Then the Prophet further asked: “and if relevant solution is not found in Sunnah? Mu’az said he would adopt the consensus of opinions of learned scholars’’. Then, the Prophet asked: “and if you cannot get a consensus? Mu’az said he would use analogical deduction based on the three sources of law mentioned above. Thus, with Mu’az’s satisfactory responses, the Prophet technically confirmed the four sources of Islamic law by which any leader in an Islamic society should govern. The summary here is that governance should be by law and not by whim.

    Thereafter, the Prophet counselled him as follows: “when you get there, my dear Mu’az, endear yourself to the people and do not be hostile. Be kind to them and do not be wicked. Be lenient with them and do not be harsh. Be considerate with them and do not be dictatorial. Be compassionate to them and do not be sadistic. Be sensitive to their plight and do not be indifferent. Be transparent and do not be seen as corrupt. Be a man of your words and do not be seen as a liar. Fulfil your promises to them and do not renege on such promises. Be trustworthy in utterances and actions and not be seen as a betrayer of trust. There are three signs by which a hypocrite is known. When he talks he lies; when he promises he reneges and when he is trusted he betrays. Remember that a leader is like a shepherd who cannot claim to be successful in a day until he has coasted home the last sheep in his flock. And every shepherd shall be asked by the Almighty Allah about what he does with the flock in his care’’.

    Bedrock of Peace

    Thus, the historic conversation between the Prophet and Mu’az confirms that good leadership is the bedrock of peace, decency and progress in any society. Today, many countries including Nigeria are dangerously restive because of deviation from that yardstick by irresponsible leaderships. A nation without a responsible leadership is like a body without head. Such a nation is likely to wander aimlessly and indefinitely in the wilderness of life just like the Egyptian gypsies of yore even as her citizens wallow helplessly in abject penury.

    Man ordinarily takes food for granted until he faces hunger where food is not available. He takes sound health for granted until he falls sick. He takes freedom for granted until he becomes a prisoner and he takes peace for granted until he faces war. One of the signs of living in a bad time is to keep remembering the good old days with nostalgia. Such is a confirmation that the past was better than the present. This is the situation in which overwhelming majority of Nigerians find themselves today in a country naturally and abundantly enriched with milk and honey.

    Time Changes

    Who could have believed some years back that this same country called Nigeria might become a beggars’ own country one day? When political calamity engendered by economic mismanagement struck Ghana in the 1980s, Nigeria was the only rescue haven in Africa for hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians who trooped into this country for all sorts of jobs including menial ones. Thus, from that experience, one would have thought that a lesson had been learnt by Nigerian leaders never to subject the citizens of this country to a similar misfortune. But alas, the situation in the past 30 years or there about has proved otherwise. Ironically, the reality today, is that the citizens of this sixth largest oil exporting country in the world have become beggars being deported from a onetime calamitous Ghana that sought and got economic rescue in Nigeria. The same Ghana is today a model for Nigeria virtually in all things that is decent and civilised.

    God, in His infinite mercy does not create any living thing without adequate provisions for its existence. He endows individuals and nations with wealth in time and space as a trust. But He does not physically come down to manage such wealth for anybody. Neither does He give anybody the authority to redistribute it. But in the end, the managers of such wealth will be asked to render account on how they managed it. Individuals and nations become humanly and materially rich only by Allah’s will at the place and time divinely earmarked for it. Any manipulation of such wealth by certain greedy cabal can only pave way for an untold calamity.

    Like a fly in a bottle of wine which drinks and drinks till it dies in there, today’s Nigerian rulers see their position as an opportunity to suck Nigeria’s oil dry at the expense of the masses to whom that oil rightly and legitimately belong. These rulers have forgotten that if the oil reserve had not been divinely meant for this generation it could have been discovered and consumed by many generations long before ours.

    Dream Land

    Nigerians of today have found themselves in a dream land. They are not only dreaming of what they ought to be as against what they are. They are also dreaming of the good old days in this same country that once gave them the confidence to build hope in their future as well as that of their children. That hope has practically become forlorn. Without necessarily sounding pessimistic, if there is any expectation for an ordinary Nigerian today, it is for death as despair is currently the song on most lips.

    Telling the history of Nigerian oil cannot end with the present generation. It surely extends to the future. Where are the founding fathers of Nigeria especially those who strove for the discovery of oil? Was the current situation their dream? Even as Prime Minister and Premier respectively, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto borrowed money from banks to purchase a car and build a bungalow. They never possessed more than those even when their political contemporaries were accumulating empires. It is easier to be a legatee than to be a legator. The greatest spendthrifts are those who do not know the source of money in their possession.

    It is rather ironic that oil wealth which serves as the source of fortune for many countries is the main source of Nigeria’s misfortune. At least this country was economically steady and progressive before the so-called oil boom. At least there was no oil money when Nigeria went through a civil war for 30 months without borrowing one kobo. Why has oil boom become oil doom?

    In his nine years in office as Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon took the price of PMS from 6k to 9.5k per litre. After him was General Murtala Muhammed an obvious man of the people who never tampered with the price of oil till his death in 1976. It was General Olusegun Obasanjo who first took oil price by a leap moving it from 9.5k to 15.3k in his three and a half year reign from February 1976 to October 1979. In his own three years and three months in office, President Usman Shehu Shagari never tampered with the price of oil. And General Muhammadu Buhari who succeeded him maintained the status quo as he never increased fuel price even by one kobo during his 20 month rule. Thus, between 1979 when Obasanjo left office and 1985 when Buhari was overthrown, the oil price remained same and Nigeria did not fail as a nation.

    The turning of the Screw

    When the self-styled Military President Ibrahim Babangida took over in1985, his first focus was on oil. It was he who moved the price of PMS from 15k to 70k in his eight years of governance. It was the turning of the screw. But by far the greatest leap of oil price in Nigeria was introduced by Chief Earnest Shonekan an interim Head of State who took the price from 70k to N5 within the 87 days of his illegal rule.

    Then General Sani Abacha the maximum despot who forcefully high jacked power in October 1993 moved the price of PMS from N5 to N11 within his five years in office. That was an average of N1 increase per year. When Abacha died in 1998, General Abdul Salami Abubakar became the Head of State and virtually concentrated on oil. He can be called Nigeria’s Head of oil fields. It was he who took the price of PMS from N11 to N20 within the ten months he ruled Nigeria. When General Obasanjo returned to office as elected President in 1999, his first port of call was oil. Capitalizing on the precedent laid by General Abdul Salami Abubakar, he went ahead to raise the price of PMS from N20 to N70 within eight years he spent in office.

    Exhibition of Power

    Now, to prove that removal of the so-called oil subsidy by previous rulers in Nigeria was a child’s play, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan decided to surpass them all even if all Nigerians would go to the gallows. After consultations with various stake holders and interest groups including traditional rulers, religious leaders, Labour Unions, ASUU and NANS, all of whom objected to any removal of subsidy at that precarious time in January 2012, Mr. President decided to go ahead with his plan not minding any contrary opinion. His argument was that facilities like roads, hospitals, schools, refineries and rail system must be provided even if that would be at the expense of the lives of Nigerians. And such removal must be done at a time when the feeding allowance of his family and that of his deputy is unilaterally fixed at about one N1billion per year. And at the end of it all, the money realised from the callous increase of fuel price was audaciously embezzled in the glare of the public. No further question. Yet, President Jonathan was calling on Nigerians to sacrifice while the cost of his medical services in the Presidential clinic was about N1.2 billion per annum even as another whopping sum of N300 million was earmarked for replacement of his kitchen utensils. For his trips abroad in 2012 alone about N10 billion was earmarked. But to show a good example of sacrifice, he and his Ministers resolved to cut their salaries by 25% though we were not told the amount of each cabinet Minister’s salary. And nothing was said about their undisclosed allowances. That is exhibition of power for you.

    Thus by one man’s signature appended to an obnoxious policy imposed on the populace, it became certain that many lives would be lost, many marriages would collapse, many children would drop out of school and many private business agreements would crumble thereby causing irreconcilable rifts across the land. These did not happen in the time of Yar’Adua because there was no cause for such.

    Yar’Adua’s Legacy

    With YarÁdua as President, Nigerians did not see their newly rekindled hope ending up in a paroxysm of despair as is the case today. Until Yar’Adua came on board as President in 2007, every other person that ruled Nigeria except Shagari and Buhari had claimed that there was subsidy on oil.

    Due to his short time in office, Yar’Adua might not have been perceived as a great achiever but the few achievements he recorded were quite remarkable. If those achievements had been sincerely inherited and maintained, Nigeria would not have been plunged into such a quagmire as we are witnessing today.

    At least with Yar’Adua’s few achievements, many ‘FIRSTS’ can be attributed to him in the history of Nigeria. For instance, he was the first Nigerian President to publicly declare his assets and those of his wife on assuming office. He was the first Nigerian President to publicly admit that the election which brought him into office was flawed thereby promising to reform the electoral process the machinery for which he sincerely put in place before his demise. And he congratulated the gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party, Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, who won a court case against a PDP Governor Olusegun Agagu in the spirit of political sportsmanship. Yar’Adua was also the first Nigerian President to confess that there was no subsidy on petroleum products and therefore reduced the price of PMS (petrol) from N70 to N65 per litre. Not only these, he was also the first Nigerian President to declare amnesty in a warless situation to ventilate a conducive atmosphere for permanent peace. If he were alive and remained in the saddle the present situation of insecurity would not have arisen. Perhaps that was why he called himself a servant leader.

    Yar’Adua as a mortal being might have his own weaknesses, nevertheless, his short period as President wrought a remarkable foundation for this country. If he had not been magnanimous enough to display the ingenuous tactics of declaring amnesty at the time he did, the story of Nigeria would have been quite different today.

    Nigerians continue to remember the good days of Yar’Adua today because the foundation he laid for a new beginning in his time has begun to crumble so soon in the hands of his successors. Just two years before her centenary celebration as a country, the President is telling Nigerians that the security problem in the country is bigger than a civil war and he can hardly handle it. Given the current situation where leaders are not models, who will save Nigeria from the devilish prediction of the West that this country would break up in 2015? That is food for thought.

  • The way music dies (3)

    It was cold out there; bitter, biting marmoreal cold, yet a score of children pranced about outdoors in the park at Agege, Lagos. They were happy as lambs in the spring. Their mothers no doubt relaxed the rules to let them play in the rain as it subsided to a drizzle. Daylight dwindled to a tranquil glow, emitting a picturesque flush of sort. It was the kind of scene that excites mushy old hearts to be young.

    But nothing could be more picturesque than the impressionable young girl of age five or thereabouts sweating in a blanket of extreme poses. Left! Right! Wham! Her tiny, young pelvis swung to the woofers’ jolt. It was the kind of jolt that symbolically deflowered a generation of teens and blew chips off adult shoulders in the winter of 1977, thanks to Elvis ‘The King’ Presley, the late rock maestro.

    This is hardly the swinging 70s and quite contrastingly, the speakers blared a remix version of “Free Madness,” a dancehall hit by Gabriel Amanyi a.k.a Terry G. Among other things, the lyrics of the track and its rhythm excited fever in the youngster characteristic of the insane. It was crazy, it was sensual, and she could really dance to it. That had to be too much for a five year old. It was.

    The rhythm is the key to the appeal of Free Madness – its pulsating twaddle too. Even though a great deal of his lyrics pass as gibberish, the artiste popularly regarded as the next best thing to happen to dance-hall music in the country effortlessly made inroad into the hearts of local music enthusiasts, the youth in particular.

    Free Madness was mistaken for a new-age music of the spheres, or “chante-chante music,” as its intrepid composer, Terry G, called it. Harsh syncopation and prolonged giddy drawl circling rapidly through repetitive musical patterns against a backdrop of daring electronic bass drums becomes the signature of the artiste’s music.

    However, stripped to the basics, Terry G’s music had no melodies, no dynamic changes and no lyricism. What sounds at first like one continuous pulsing sound gradually reveals all sorts of inner gibberish: Oya walangolo eee, walangoloeee, omoge oya je ki nsangolo, je ki nsangolooooee…Enemies no want me to dey rhyme but they say the fact be say I stubborn like a mad man, am a mad man, mad man like gingah, gingah, gingah intellectual ganja, but still me co-operate me I get myself but still me, me drop my swagga, its about to finish ee but me I go test microphone ooo eee.

    According to the self-confessed ‘mad man’ Terry G. “Na me be the ginja, the ginja; na me be the swagga, the swagga,” and of course, he became the rave in various dance halls across the country. So are the increasing numbers of Nigerian artistes whose music styles are not too different from Terry G’s. These days, it hardly matters what messages they propagate. From consequence-free violence, reckless sex, unrequited love to advance fee fraud, contemporary music is replete with lyrical mumbo-jumbo and you could still dance to it.

    Enter Kelly Handsome, Olu Maintain, two self-acclaimed artistes, who elevated and ennobled advance fee fraud with their respective tracks: “Maga don pay, shout alleluia” by Handsome, and “Yahooze” by Olu Maintain. Despite the momentous acceptance, rave reviews and prominence they enjoyed, Terry G, Kelly Handsome and Olu Maintain are virtually non-existent today. They have sung themselves into irrelevance.

    It’s even more bewildering to see promising music acts like Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun a.k.a Wizkid perpetuate the same kind of silliness and directionless advanced by many washed-out music hopefuls. At 23, Wizkid, a talented youngster has already achieved so much, winning numerous music awards by his ambitious compositions.

    But as if wired to self-destruct, Wizkid has chosen to go the way of several has-beens on the Nigerian music scene; his “hottest” track right now, “Carolina” glamourizes and perpetuates that bawdy, idiotic mediocrity characteristic of spent commonplace upstarts like Olu Maintain, Kelly Handsome, Tony Tetuila, Durella and Terry G to mention a few.

    On local and international stages, social media and numerous music tracks, Wizkid redefines himself in the image of the stereotypical intruder on fame and music artistry. Then there is Olamide, a highly vocal and talented lyricist whose punch lines revolve around the much hackneyed claim to victimhood and studio gangsterism. Both artistes’ (Wizkid and Olamide) oftentimes sound off as irresponsible, infantile and overwhelmed by the demands of their roles as music stars and crusaders of futuristic Nigerian music.

    Thank God for Tuface Idibia, Bukola Elemide (Asa), Irikefe Obareki (Kefee), Babatunde Olusegun (Mode 9), Jude Abaga (M.I) Abolore Akande (9ice), Etcetera, Eedris Abdulkareem, El Dee and Olaolu Tokunbo Akinbogun a.k.a GT the Guitarman, Nigerian music still retains a bit of the artistry and promise epitomized by music greats like the late Afrobeats maestro, Fela Kuti, Juju pioneers, King Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey, Fuji proponent, late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister.

    It is not my intention to legitimize whatever eccentricities that sullied the character of the old music greats, living and deceased, I simply wish to appreciate the raw artistry, originality and appreciable conscientiousness that characterized their approach to the art and business of music.

    Contemporary Nigerian music hardly ventures from such conurbation of raw energy into the much sought hamlet of genius and commercialism which pioneer local musicianship pulsates; neither does it enrich the global party or exit it into the uninhabited isolation of experimentalism. The norm is for artiste, music journalist and enthusiast to simply jump on to any trending musical train without knowing what they are getting into or where they are going whereas the teeming music enthusiasts already aboard waiting endlessly for gratification and direction have learnt to pay no heed to the directionlessness and mediocrity of contemporary artistes and the fancy nomenclature: “the track is phat,” “the album is tight…insane” and other humbug that characterizes modern music journalism.

    Nigeria looks worse every time the ignorant hordes congregate towards generic and dreadful music. It’s outright folly to deem contemporary music ‘great’ while it sizzles with outright thefts and bastardization of evergreen oldies and rehashes of one-hit-wonders that have been pawned to the used CD store.

    Modern music enthusiasts are unwilling to absorb anything new; irrespective of its quality as long as it has a great thumping beat attached to it. It’s even more horrendous to see excellent musicians like GT the Guitarman struggle against the outrageous patronage and money funneled at auto-tuned posers like Davido to mention a few.

    Those who compromise quality in music, according to a discerning music enthusiast, compromise quality in many other areas: “Voting the same candidates into office, buying products known to be harmful, investing in Chinese plastic novelties, and many other things. Inability to investigate the particulars leads to enjoying shallow and meaningless things. The big picture is missed in favor of lazily glossing over the details.”

    I am Nigerian and I am so ashamed of the mediocrity and garbage that we shove into the world. Sure, Nigeria has plenty of fantastic artistes, but they are obscured by the mediocre

     

  • Jonathan’s women of power

    Never underestimate the power of a woman, is an age-old maxim any wise man must take to heart. But the power of three strong women locked in one cabinet is bound to give way to volcanic eruption of Versuvius magnitude. This is the huge distraction the Federal Executive Council, FEC, is currently faced with and which has continued to stump the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. We refer of course to the president’s women; the great powers behind the throne of this administration: Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and Princess Stella Oduah. There is also the First lady Patience, but she remains a non-Cabinet member power bloc and an essay for another day.

    Okonjo-Iweala joined the administration on her self-recognition based on stint as finance minister during the Olusegun Obasanjo era and clout as former World Bank boss. Though she fell out with the former president in the wee days of the administration, her reputation remained intact as she returned to her beat in Washington. When Jonathan won in 2011, he needed a minister with experience, international clout, integrity and professional savvy to oversee the nitty-gritty of the economy. Okonjo-Iweala, a well-healed economist and technocrat fitted the bill, or so we all thought. So she was gifted with the position of Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy (CME).

    Alison-Madueke is first of all, a home-girl of the president’s and he is said to have been a long-term admirer of the dainty damsel. There was also a family bond that dates way back. A doctoral degree holder in architecture, she was in the Shell group where she rose to be an executive director even though she remained a fringe player in the giant international oil corporation, (IOC). She was drafted into government in 2007 during the Umaru Yar’Adua administration first in the Ministry of Transportation, then Ministry of Mines and Steel, (2007 – 2011). Jonathan appointed her Minister of Petroleum Resources in 2011 where she has remained till date.

    Stella Oduah, a princess of Ogbaru land in Anambra State, she practically worked herself up the greasy poles of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, marrying one of the lumbering corporation’s top-notch and breaking off to start Sea Petroleum Oil and Gas, a firm that was to become one of the major petroleum products dealers in a short span of time. She is no doubt a woman of steel and she showed her hand during Jonathan’s 2011 presidential election when she apparently beat off the party hawks to sit atop the ruling party’s campaign administration and finance machinery. She was also at the helm of a nebulous money machine known as Neighbor-2-Neighbor (N2N) which churned out funds as if it were a mint. That was how come all through Jonathan’s fractious party primary and subsequent bitter campaign money was spent as if it were sands of the Bar Beach. Thanks largely to the Princess.

    Now these three women of clout, mountainous egos and enormous means have been yoked together under (or if you like, into one cabinet) and the result is a deadly triumvirate. In the realm of womanhood, no woman is better than the other, especially when presented before the court of men. There is nothing a woman resents more than being openly treated as inferior to another woman – in a relationship, in marriage, in whatever circumstance. Making Okonjo-Iweala CME certainly did not rub off well on Alison-Madueke and Oduah. What is so special, what has she got over us and where was she when we fought the bitter battles for the electoral victory? All these questions are sure to pop up now and then.

    The first cracks were noticed during the January 2012 petrol subsidy scandal when the decision to jerk up the pump price of petrol was concluded and announced between the Oil Minister Alison-Madueke and the president without the knowledge of the CME and most other members of cabinet. Huge so-called oil subsidy payouts had been made, sometimes with forged documents without recourse to the finance ministry. Okonjo-Iweala had openly admitted her office’s ignorance of the shady subsidy transactions further deepening the furor between the twain. There has been really no love lost between the two haughty and supercilious women culminating in the current fiscal trauma being foisted on the economy as a result of the NNPC finagling with funds meant for the federation account.

    A less rooted and powerful minister would have been consumed by the subsidy-gate and the sheer mess that was unearthed by the probes set up by the oil minister which largely indicted her. But there was no sign of that, not even a query was known to have been served her. Several nauseous scandals had spawn around her but the most recent being a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC which detailed how she had totted up about N2 billion junketing the world in private jets with the facts emanating from departments under the aviation ministry.

    In the bitter rivalry between these dowagers, the current scandal threatening to consume Princess Oduah of Aviation Ministry may not be unconnected to what is becoming a dog-eat-dog conflict. Apart from her unmatchable role in muscling Jonathan into the presidency, at the Aviation Ministry where she was of course given ample leeway and access to cash, she simply ran off with the ball and turned Nigeria’s aviation around 360 degrees in the manner it had not been done in over 40 years. In spite of the warts in her execution, her effort is monumental and she immediately became the poster girl and exemplar of Jonathan’s vacuous transformation agenda. Her ratings soared even higher in the cabinet.

    This triumvirate of course has the ears of Mr. President and soon, alliances formed around them. Some of their colleagues now have to latch on their coat tails to push their matters. In fact, during the recent sacking of ministers, it was Alison-Madueke who had save Agric Minister, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina who was an Obasanjo nominee. Such is their powers and such is the debasement of the cabinet that this FEC has become a bazaar of malfeasance and an enclave of arch-rivalry and deadly antagonism.

    Writing in his, In Touch column on the back page of this paper, September 23, 2013, Sam Omatseye in his inimitable style captured the phenomenon thus: “It is quite clear that the economy is divided into two orbits. Okonjo-Iweala holds sway in one while Madueke rules the roost in the other… we can see that there is no coordination in this economy.”

    There is no coordination even in the ruling party, PDP and neither is there coordination in the country. What is Jonathan going to do about all this?

     

  • A minister’s vulgar taste

    The world over men are perceived to be more corrupt than women. This has given rise to the clamour that women should be given more positions of responsibility in order to build an healthy society. In the world’s corruption index, Mexico is rated among nations where graft has grown root. Between that country and ours, only God knows where corruption thrives most. Mexico seems to appreciate the problem it is in, this is why the governor of one of its states directed that male traffic cops be replaced with women. Will that solve the corruption problem?

    This question is pertinent because it is not entirely correct to say that women are not as corrupt as men. When it comes to corruption, it is hard to determine which gender comes tops because money itself knows no gender. Money does not know the difference between a male and female touch. It enjoys the embrace of whoever touches it, be it man or woman. But women like to delude themselves that they are more honest than men.

    They say it without qualms that when it comes to moral integrity, men stand no chance against them. We have come to find out that this is all baloney. How do I mean? We have seen female robbers, female pick pockets, female car snatchers, corrupt female politicians and thieving female bankers. All these : robbing, stealing and the other vices were associated with men. Now, it is a case of what a man can do, a woman can do, even better. To the consternation of many, women now compete for space with men even in the nastiest areas of life.

    Many women have thrown overboard their God given grace to be the meek of the earth. They have shed their motherly toga in the craze for wealth and power and the society is the poorer for it. A country where its women behave as true mothers will attain lofty heights because they will serve as the moral beacon for the young and old. Women were specially created to assist men, but many of them have abandoned this role in their desperation to carve a niche for themselves.

    There is nothing wrong in a woman asserting herself, especially in these modern times. It is an era of survival of the fittest and women are not left out in this rat race of life. This is why many of them do abominable things in order to belong. You find them where women are not supposed to be found and do things that women should not be involved in. Society overlooks their excesses and allows them to be. Once in a while, society is shocked by the behaviour of some women and it reacts accordingly.

    It condemns such women and shows them to the world as bad examples of womanhood. Who is a good woman and who is a bad woman? A good woman is pure, simple, unassuming, honest and diligent. A bad woman can simply be described as one that lacks moral scruples. It is such women who dip their hands into anything, no matter how bad because they want to belong or prove to their peers that they too have arrived. What they don’t know is that a woman will surely arrive when her time comes. It cannot be otherwise, but they want to hasten things and so end up doing what they should not do.

    They call it opportunity. Yes, it is good to cash in on opportunity to make good in life, but it is wrong to use our commonwealth to achieve their so – called opportunity. Being a minister or occupant of any other public office should not be a licence for any man or woman to abuse such trust to enrich himself or herself. Our public officers are fond of using their privileged positions to do the unthinkable. They use both hands to acquire everything at sight under the guise of serving us. We can understand if men do this, but what do we say of women, the so – called fairer sex, who are expected to be the paragon of virtue?

    By now, you must have heard of the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, a princess, who got two BMW bulletproof cars from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), a parastatal under her ministry. NCAA Director – General Captain Fola Akinkuotu describes the cars as “operational vehicles”. As a minister with many parastatals under her purview, should we take it that she is entitled to such “operational vehicles” from each of them. The aviation sector is in deep crisis, but here we are, our minister is busy acquiring or is it arm twisting agencies under her to acquire armoured vehicles for her. If the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) buy her such vehicles she will end up having 10. What does she want to do with 10 armoured cars when the only record of the aviation ministry she is superintending is that of crashes? Under her watch, we have witnessed two crashes.

    The first was the Dana plane crash of June 3, last year, and the second was the October 3 Associated Airlines plane crash. Our public officers are only interested in themselves; they do not care about their countrymen that they were appointed to serve. We can all perish in plane crashes for all that Princess Stella cares as long as she gets her armoured vehicles. For NCAA to have spent N255million on the princess’ cars shows the extent some of our agencies go to in order to please their supervising ministers just for the heads to keep their jobs. No wonder Akinkuotu is already blowing hot that the workers, who leaked the purchase of the armoured cars, will be shown the way out.

    If there is anyone to be sacked over this matter, it is the director – general, who in less than six months in office, took this major decision of buying armoured cars for his minister. What is the reason for this acquisition? Is it to thank the minister for his appointment? Akinkuotu and his management must tell us how they got the money to buy these cars. Was the money appropriated for by the National Assembly? Under what subhead was it taken to the National Assembly? What reasons, if any, did NCAA give for the acquisition? The National Assembly, which resumed from break on Tuesday, should show keen interest in this matter because it borders on the oversight functions of its aviation committees.

    If the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Aviation are not aware of the acquisition of these vehicles, then the NCAA has a lot of explanations to make as regards how it came about the funds for the cars. It means the authority bypassed the legislature in making such capital expenditure. Asked whether the money for the purchase was appropriated, Joyce Nkemkolam, NCAA’s Director of Aerodrome and Airspace, could not provide an answer when he appeared on Channels Television on Tuesday morning. Yet, he signed some of the papers for the purchase of the cars.

    The NCAA management and the minister deserve the harshest of punishment for this seeming cutting of corners to acquire these armoured cars. They should not be spared if we are really serious about prosecuting the anti – corruption war. Let us make an example of them to deter others. But will we? Over to the Presidency and the National Assembly.

  • In defence of Stella Oduah and Cosmas Maduka

    I sympathise with delectable Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, minister of Aviation at this hour of her tribulation. As a successful operator of fuel tank farm, Oduah was undoubtedly ill equipped for the highly technical ministry of aviation. But basking on her past glory as a wealthy trader, she arrogantly ignored informed advice that the cause of outrageous charges by foreign airlines was government and its elected officials who fritter away billions of taxpayers’ money on business and first class seats. She instead chose to fight symptoms by embarking on an unwinnable war against British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Lufthansa. Having lost the war, she embarked on another ill-advised endeavour to float a new national carrier without first addressing the entrenched interests that killed Nigeria Airways and its successor, Virgin Nigeria. Her next gamble was a jamboree around the world in search of investors at the end of which she secured a $500m loan from China to build new airports.

    As for the inherited problem of some PDP stalwarts who also double as Airline operators and took interest-free bailout government loans that were diverted to other businesses, she was unable to do much. And now after two years of fruitless war against the symptoms of the decay in the aviation sector, Oduah with her alleged involvement in car deal with Maduka’s Choscharis, has become a metaphor for the pervasive corruption that has characterized PDP successive administrations in the last 14 years.

    As Oduah moves around alone soliciting the intervention of PDP godfathers to keep her highly rewarding job, she seems to have more detractors than friends among  the media that have dismissed her as self-conceited and lacking in grace, the civil society groups that often mistake symptoms for causes, the corrupt bureaucracy serving no one but itself, and of course, our highest paid legislators in the world who have chosen to look the other way in the face of massive looting going on in the executive for obvious reasons.

    Oduah’s other detractors that have now constituted themselves into a lynch mob, include the Air line Operators of Nigeria {AON) which has already recommended her for investigation by EFCC while remaining silent on its members that diverted huge government bailout to other businesses.

    We also have the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN). Ben Okewu its national president said the “necessary government agencies’ should not hesitate to prosecute anyone found to have played a role in the purchase of the bullet-proof cars”. He was silent on their members who received Toyota Corolla cars as part of the deal.

    Not left out also is the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE). Its secretary General, Comrade Abdulkareem Motajo, claimed that his union had written several petitions on the alleged financial improprieties involving the Minister of Aviation to the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation.

    But what has Oduah done outside PDP predilection for confiscating what belongs to all? At a period when it has been widely speculated that it is not uncommon for a female minister to own a private jet, Oduah’s ordeal according to her media aide, started with her request for armoured car “in response to the clear imminent threat to her personal security and life”. This is not unusual within PDP where gang wars among men and women are often fought with might and with tragic consequences. Even ordinary PDP state party officials and their business associates move around with armed police escorts.

    Following what by PDP standard, was a modest request by a minister, the corrupt and parasitic entrenched interest in NCAA decided to buy the minister not only one but two armoured cars at princely price of $800,000(N127.5m each.) not forgetting to buy themselves 34 new cars (13 Toyota Prado SUVs and 21 Corolla saloons.)

    Then, Sahara Reporters, the whistle blower, an outfit that torments PDP from outside, insisted there was a rip-off. To prove this, pro forma invoices were obtained from Vista BMW in Florida, United States of America, for a fully armoured BMW 760 Li car for only $162,195 (about N26m); and from the armoured car ballistic division of the International Armouring Corporation in Utah, USA, for $200,000 (about

    N32m), shipping to Nigeria inclusive.

    But Nigeria newspapers almost spoiled Sahara Reporters resourceful investigative work by introducing comparison which can sometimes be odious. As if we are not aware our ministers are superior to a British Prime Minister, they claim princess Oduah armoured car is more expensive than the British Prime Minister, David Cameron’s armoured Jaguar XJ X351 car at a cost of £200,000 (about N52m). Nigerians know that British prime minister lives in a three bed-room apartment called 10 Downing Street, and owns only one official car which must be left behind at the end of his tenure as Gordon Brown who drove out of Downing Street in his old personal car did.

    But back to our embattled aviation minister: Except we are setting out to persecute the minister for self conceit, Oduah is just a symptom of a cankerworm that has eaten deep into our social fabric. As one angry Nigerian analyst put it “At an exchange rate of N155 to $1, Oduah’s vanity would establish eight cottage clinics of N30 million each, or fund the sinking of 50 boreholes in a country where only 17 per cent of its 160 million people have access to pipe-borne water, according to a UNDP report”. In fact that figure can be multiplied by 36 if our leaders decide to lead by example. We can triple that figure if for instance the presidency sells off six of the nine jets claimed to be in the presidential fleet and the senate president and other principal officers of the National Assembly decide to live in mansions they erected in Abuja. After all the Malawi president recently sold off her country’s only presidential jet while British parliamentarians who have houses in London live in their own houses. The removal of Oduah, a mere symptom, as a minister will not stop PDP treachery against our nation.

    And if you ask me, Cosmas Maduka that sold a 2008 model of the BMW armoured car for four times the actual cost in Europe has nothing to hide. He is a shrewd Nigerian trader/businessman. I was privileged to meet this great trader turn industrialist a few years back.  I had led a delegation of two other Guardian newspaper directors to his office to present a business proposal. The man took a look at our painstakingly packaged proposal and declared “I will pay 50%’. Shocked, I responded involuntarily by shouting ‘Guardian does not sell ‘tokunbo’ (second hand) goods’. That was the end of the business meeting. Maduka has no patience with non traders especially newspapermen!

    Although some of his unorthodox methods may be unacceptable in other climes, I think Maduka is a saint compared to many PDP businessmen and their children currently in court allegedly for forging documents to defraud government of N1.7 trillion. He engages in transparent trading transactions with anyone including government bodies that accept his terms.

    And even it if is finally established that Maduka’s Coscharis made a kill  in its current car deal with officials of NCAA, how many Nigerian businessmen will waste such an opportunity to help themselves if all it takes is supporting PDP game of perfidy? As Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, my teacher and a former external affairs minister said not too long ago, show me one Nigerian billionaire who did not ride to his good fortune on the back of the Nigerian state.

  • Nigeria’s cultural tapestry and challenges of development – 2

    Returning to our earlier reference to the American cultural tapestry, it is necessary to clarify an important point – the mosaic combines diversity with a dominant, defining national culture. In the American case, the dominant national culture encompasses the predominant values shared by a vast majority of the people and which drives official policies, as well as corporate and individual action. According to Weaver, regardless of their diversity, Americans hold certain values or aspirations dear, such as emphasis on individual achievement, class mobility and distrust of an overly powerful central government, a common language (though Spanish is a second official language in many states) and standing united behind the Stars and stripes – the national flag. The emphasis on personal achievement, which fuels social mobility, is illustrated by the habit of the average American introducing him/herself by what s/he does for a living rather than by his/her family background or origins. Hence, according to Weaver, it is usual for an average American to tell a stranger his name and profession – that is what they do – while for a Nigerian, for example, the likely emphasis would be on his state of origin, lineage or some other reference to who s/he is.

    There are, of course, exceptions to this generalization. It only goes to show what premium each society places on indices of identification and recognition. Americans also share a rejection of the monarchical form of government, given the experience of the first immigrants from Europe, and the glorification of rugged individualism that accords more with republicanism. This extends to a suspicion of “big government,” captured by Henry David Thoreau’s maxim: “less government is better government.” Again, there are exceptions to this general rule in times of national crises, such as wars and economic depression. I am not painting a utopian picture of America, which has its own Achilles heels in gun violence, youth delinquency and institutionalised racism, just as other nations grapple with their own challenges.

    What can be deduced from the experiences of the United States and many other countries is that it is that public/civic culture, the aggregate of the shared values of the people(s), as articulated in daily life and subscribed to by their leaders and ordinary people that shape the fortunes of the nation itself. Consequently, national character that flows from such shared values largely determines the social, political and economic fortunes of the people.

    Many people steeped in the idea of a Nigerian diversity characterized by ethnic-based cultures assume that there is no dominant pan-Nigerian culture, to which a large number of Nigerians subscribe and which defines our national character within and outside the country.

    The post-independence history of Nigeria has been dominated by certain key events, including the systematic and sustained subversion and bastardisation of the democratic system in each of the first and subsequent republics; civil war and prolonged military rule; various ethno-regional irruptions; and the mismanagement of the country’s natural resources, especially, crude oil and natural gas. These events shaped what I have termed the country’s national public culture, which has largely determined the fortunes of the country. My position is that it is those elements of our public culture, much more than any foreign imperialist or neo-imperialist agenda, that account for the Nigerian situation. These traits in Nigerian daily life constitute the sinews of Nigeria’s anti-developmental public culture.

    Constituents of Nigeria’s Anti-Developmental Public Culture

    Regardless of protestations to the contrary, public culture in Nigeria is dominated by most, if not all, of these features. Due allowance may be made for the contexts in which Nigerians live or operate. An attempt will be made to give historical depth to these features by citing examples from Nigeria’s post-independence history.

    It is an understatement to declare rapine or systemic corruption to be the chief defining feature of Nigeria’s anti-developmental culture and the greatest threat to the corporate existence of the country. The scale or quantum has grown exponentially since independence. In the First Republic, the scale of corruption was apparently limited by the quantum of resources available for plunder, and by the relatively more developed public spiritedness of the leading political leaders of the era. Nevertheless, it was not unknown. Even the corrupt governors and ministers of the Gowon era (1966-75) appear saintly compared to their more rapacious successors. So rife and systemic has corruption become that things have become worse with each passing regime since the Second Republic of Shehu Shagari, which eventually collapsed under the weight of profligacy, corruption and electoral malfeasance. The cancer of corruption and political sleight of hand became systemic and symptomatic of the Babangida regime, which was largely associated with the “settlement” culture. Abacha’s brutal regime superintended the looting of the till leading to the flight of billions of dollars into overseas bank accounts, much of which is still being traced.

    The “settlement culture” manifests in two ways. The first one is: “don’t ruffle feathers, just suck it up, let’s cover the shame, let’s forgive and forget, and let’s pretend the evil never happened so as not to expose our friend or our man/brother.” We enjoy sweeping dastardly acts under the carpet in the name of settlement. The other type of settlement culture is that there is no case that has no price. Hence, you hear people talk of “name your price” and this has gradually become a way of life for Nigerians.

    Yet another is the culture of pathetic patronage. Family and associates pester persons who have just been elected into office for corrupt patronage. Undue pressure is mounted on public office holders to pay back financiers (so-called political godfathers) after elections. Contracts are awarded after every election to people who lack the technical competence, managerial experience or resources to handle the projects. Abandoned contracts are never probed, and released funds are never recovered because of our culture of “not opening old wounds,” best described by the story of three proverbial monkeys: “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” Consequently, public money now grows wings in billion-naira scams. No nation has ever developed under the albatross of the purloining of the public purse.

    • Professor Olukoju, FNAL delivered this paper at the Nigerian Academy of Letters 2013 Convocation Lecture.

  • Sarkin Zazzaun Suleja et al

    Sarkin Zazzaun Suleja et al

    In keeping with my promise of last week, below is the longest of the reactions to my tribute to Sarkin Zazzaun Suleja, Alhaji Awwal Ibrahim, on occasion of the celebration of the 20th year since his ascension. This reaction and the next will be the last of such lengthy reactions I will publish under my column, much as I would like to promote sensible debates on issues. Henceforth any response by text or email longer than 150 words should be sent to the editors of this newspaper who, of course, have the discretion to publish or not.

    Sarkin Zazzaun Suleja

    Sir,

    A couple of years ago I wrote to you when you referred to the late President Umaru Musa as a subject of the emir of Katsina. Yet again, you have used the same characterization for a whole lot of people, the people of Suleja and no doubt, by extension other Nigerians as subjects. I was deeply disappointed when you referred to the President of a whole country of over 170 million people as a subject. I am not writing this to castigate you, but to ask that you please re-examine one of the most fundamental of all beliefs, namely, if in this day and age or in any age for that matter, the ruler / subject worldview is moral, democratic or decent. In my mind, there is no decency in a world where we still refer to citizens as subjects. We should be actively challenging and dismantling such primitive institutions and moving our people toward a world of equal worth, to a merit based world, a democratic world, where hereditary or anointed leaders is a thing of the past.

    To paraphrase a famous quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a quote you know very well, “We should judge a person by the content of their character and contribution and not by any other consideration”

    I mentioned to you in the last letter I wrote to you regarding referring the late Umaru Musa as a subject, that many, many years ago, at the beginning of your brilliant writing career and a self-made rising star, I happened to be around a couple of your friends, people you knew very well, when some of them made what was meant as a disparaging comment regarding your humble beginnings. The moment I heard the comment I instinctively reacted because it felt raw, unfair, mean spirited and elitist. They were clearly saying in no uncertain terms, “well so what, he is still a subject, therefore beneath us”. I took offence and said something to the effect that “the guy has good character, is friendly, humble, sharp and hardworking, what more do you want?” As far as I was concerned they were no better than you.

    I knew jealousy is a universal human condition and our friends were young and therefore might not yet have been fully discerning, but it didn’t make it any less offensive. Sadly, there you were effectively saying the same of the late Umaru Musa and now the people of Suleja and by extension the people of Nigeria.

    Sure, there is an important distinction; you were not saying it to be mean spirited or out of jealousy. Nevertheless, the word, the characterization and the world it describes is fundamentally demeaning. That world and that word should be assigned to the dustbin of history.

    In my eyes, I put no one above you and you are not someone’s subject by any definition of the word. You are one of the few people in that country that have earned their place in life by striving to maximize the gifts the Almighty God gave you. No one gave you anything. You earned it fair and square. You didn’t become who you are by chance or through connections or any sort of patronage, that much is very clear about you.

    What the people of Suleja and everyone else for that matter need, is someone who would contribute in real terms, to the quality of their lives. The real king, the real prince, the real princess, is literally in the trenches, working, producing, toiling, sweating and getting dirty with the people. That is the only qualification you need to become a king, a prince, a princess, and every single person could become that. In that world there is no subject.

    Sahalu Saidu

    Etsu Nupe

    Sir,

    Thank you very much for your columns. They are always informative and educative. Please keep it up. My only comments or observations on your tribute to Etsu Yahaya Abubakar are as follows.

    Firstly, Etsu Yahaya is not the 13th Etsu Nupe. He is the 36th. Why? If you analyse Nupe history from 1300 to date, you will discover that we had 19 authentic or independent or non-controversial Etsu Nupe starting from Tsoede, the first Etsu Nupe (1483-1591), to the last Etsu Nupe Muhammadu (1795-1805) before the Fulani jihad. The period from 1805-1832 was characterized by succession dispute, factionalisation, Fulani intervention and ascendency. Hence during this period puppet Etsu Nupe were produced and retained in power by the Fulanis until they finally took over the title in 1832.

    It is a historical fact that Mallam Dendo throughout his life refused to crown himself as Etsu Nupe. Rather he gave the title to his favourites from any of the two factionalized or divided Tsoede dynasty (Yissazhi and Gwagwazhi) while he himself retained the real power. This situation continued until he died in 1832 when his children took over the title and the power that went with it. This continued up till 1897 when one of the faction sided British (Royal Niger Company) against Bida.

    Therefore if we add 19 independent Etsu Nupe from Tsoede dynasty (Old Nupe kingdom) with 17 Fulani Etsu Nupezhi, then Alhaji Abubakar Yahaya is 36th Etsu Nupe not 13th.

    We have 17 not 13 Fulani Etsu Nupes because Usman Zaki, Masaba, Abubakar, and Muhammadu Makun each reigned twice. Thus if you add 4 to 13 you will get 17 Fulani Etsu Nupes not 13.

    Additionally, if we are to talk of Etsu Nupes that ruled from Bida, the correct count would make Etsu Yahaya the 15th not 13th because Abubakar and Muhammadu Maku ruled twice from Bida. From the foregoing analysis the appropriate position Etsu Yahaya occupies in Nupe history is 36th.

    In addition to the tribute you paid the Etsu, let me say he is a peace maker, bridge builder, reformer, role model, pillar of unity and a socio-economic promoter.

    Furthermore, when you mentioned national leaders Niger State has produced so far you left out Dr. Nnamadi Azikwe, the First President in Nigeria who was born in Zungeru, and General Inuwa Wushishi, former Chief of Army Staff.

    Finally, the attack on Bida was by Royal Niger Company not British West African Frontier Force. Again the war lasted 12 days not two days and 17 British Soldiers including Lieutenant Thompson lost their lives, not eight as was said in one of the feedback to your article.

    Also the person who criticised your assertion that after the fall of Bida, the rest of the Sokoto caliphate fell easily was wrong because with the fall of Bida, as you said, other Emirates and Chiefdoms in what is now Nigeria fell like a pack of cards. In fact, it was only Bida that fought gallantly against Europeans. This was evidence in Goldie’s words when he said “Nupe has always and rightly been looked upon as by far the most powerful State of the Sokoto Empire and the fall of Bida will strike terror far and wide”.

    Danjuma Ismaila

    National Archives

    Ilorin.

    07034563107

    The National Conference

    Sir,

    Please recall my earlier text to you on National Conference being convened by President Jonathan in which I said I objected to your write up. You should disregard my comments as I later realised you and I were saying the same thing in certain aspects of your write up concerning the behaviour of our politicians not keeping faith with the constitution.

    The only area I still object to is in your belief that Jonathan is playing the same game of insincerity simply because the previous military leaders played the same game in the past.

    Ekiran SP

    +2348028258487

    Sir,

    I can assure you that Jonathan will fail in this gamble. I come from the South-South and I don’t think any sensible person down here will vote for this man again in 2015. Whatever result he will gather here would be rigged by people like Goodwill Akpabio, the Army, the Police and the INEC. If the security personnel were loyal only to the Constitution, Jonathan would score zero in non-Ijaw areas of the South-South.

    +2348086220897

     

    Sir,

    At least the president did not mention “Kare jini biri jini” in his quest to conquer 2015 election.

    Edward Ali kumo

    +2348071300190

    Prognosis of governorship election in Niger State

    Sir,

    If you cannot promote your brother Nupes for governor your silence would have been better. Your cousin, General M. A. Garba (rtd), has been in forefront of the struggle to produce one. May God protect him for his services to the Nupe people. You only serve the interest of your masters who are settlers in Niger. We know you were press secretary to one of them.

    In sha Allah, your prayer of making his son in law governor will not be answered and a Nupe man or woman will win as is the wish of your progressive cousin and other progressives across the Nupeland.

    Wing Cdr Magana( rtd)

    +2348126980353

    Sir,

    (Contrary to your remark that only Niger, Kano and Ogun States have produced more than one head of state each), I thought Katsina also produced both Gen Muhammadu Buhari and the late President Umaru Yar’adua.

    +16623806072

     

  • Christians against Aregbesola?

    The Punch columnist Abimbola Adelakun on Thursday October 17, once again regaled readers with her article captioned The Christians against Aregbesola in which she allowed sentiments and lack of proper appreciation of facts and law to interfere with her regular no-nonsense style.

    It would appear that the central thesis of her write-up is that Aregbesola should take a stand in favour of a particular religion. According to her, “Aregbesola tries too hard to pander to every existing religious belief in Osun State… this kind of politics is confusing as it is unimpressive…he does all these without any coherence or stating where he stands in the whole affair”.

    Ms Adelakun appears to be confusing the position of a private person and that of an elected governor who has sworn to uphold the Nigerian Constitution. Whereas a private person can take a standpoint in favour and patronage of a particular religion, doing so by Aregbesola, a governor that ought to uphold the Nigerian Constitution will be unconstitutional.

    Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) entitles every citizen to his/her right of thought, conscience and religion. A governor is also oath-bound ‘to do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour or ill-will.’ What appears to be confusing to the writer is simply the fact that Aregbesola, though a Muslim by faith, has decided to respect and give accommodation to all religions and beliefs as stipulated in the constitution. Being committed to upholding the constitution, he has decided to be more open-hearted to other religious views while ensuring that all faiths are treated equally.

    The Constitution of Nigeria does not denude a man of his religious faith just because he has attained certain public office, yet the constitution is grossly antagonistic of any attempt to prefer one faith to the other using public machinery. Rev. Fr. Moses Adasu was governor of Benue State between January 1991 and November 1992 on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). While in office, the catholic priest wore his cassock throughout without any hue or cry.

    Another grave lie being bandied about is that the Osun government has introduced Ifa studies into the curriculum. There appears to be some confusion on this allegation coming from the same writer who eloquently debunked the jaundiced view on traditional religion and advocated the teaching of comparative religious studies. How would her expectation of the teaching of comparative religious studies be accomplished if there should be no reference to Ifa?  In any event, it should be expected that a writer of such repute should make simple research before putting pen on paper. Page 399 of the West African Examinations Council Regulations and Syllabuses 2009-2012 lists Wande Abimbola’s Awon Oju Odu Mereerindinlogun (UPL Ibadan 1978) as one of the recommended texts to study for poetry to be examined in Yoruba. One hopes the writer will get a copy of this book recommended by the West African Regional Examination body to discover that this book, among many others in the WAEC syllabus, purely contains the teaching of Ifa. How can Aregbesola now be guilty of introducing something which has been part and parcel of the West African Region examiners syllabus for decades?

    The writer went further to say “…he (Aregbesola) is busy throwing his religion in your face with billboards that announce his private devotions”. This allegation must be put in proper perspective. The truth of the matter is that, in 2011, Governor Aregbesola travelled for lesser hajj to Mecca. Some political desperadoes went to town saying he was receiving treatment for cancer. Some political enthusiasts, who felt that the wicked lies should be debunked, quickly got pictures of him at the pilgrimage and displayed it on billboards to counter the falsehood. On arrival, the governor ordered the immediate removal of all such boards.  Apart from that isolated 2011 incident, one is compelled to ask the writer to disclose the locations of those billboards that she eloquently alleged to be in existence in 2013.

    It is unfortunate that a respected columnist with unfettered access to information from a government office would derisively tag a revolutionary and well thought-out educational policy as madcap! It is also unfortunate that a clearly thought-out educational policy and programs of the government will be so dismissed in a derisive and laconic manner. What is madcap about providing school uniforms for 750,000 students and pupils? What is madcap about feeding about 300,000 pupils daily with nutritious home-grown foods?; What is madcap about distributing 150,000 e-learning device to students where all the recommended books and past questions are stored for use? Please let us be told what is madcap about employment of over 3750 teachers in one fell swoop and massive teacher training? What is madcap about building and equipping of 170 new schools in a state hitherto famous for acute shortage of educational infrastructure? What is madcap about an educational intervention that has seen the state moving from number 32 out of the 36 states to number eight in the rating of performance in external examination?

    We find it distasteful for a writer, who having abdicated her role of investigation and balanced analysis, resorted to sitting in the comfort of one cool house in a foreign land to cast so many aspersions on the personality of a head of government without factual or legal basis.

    Perhaps, there may be the impression by a perceptive reader of Adelakun’s column that she is a die-hard secularist who sees no good in any religion. While she is entitled to her opinion, it is however unjust to seek to railroad a governor to proscribe a practice that the constitution freely allows a person to observe. While the pristine lectern of a newspaper back page is a secured refuge from which the author can magisterially shut down people’s rights just because she feels so, the position of a governor is not so easy. A serious government must respect all shades of opinion while striving to leave its foot-prints on the sands of time.

    Perhaps, what is looking strange to Ms. Adelakun is the fact that apart from Aregbesola’s compliance with the provisions of the constitution to be even handed among all beliefs he has also decided to remain fidel to the injunction of his faith as enshrined in the Quran 16:90 to wit- ”Verily Allah enjoins justice, and the doing of good to others; and giving like kindred; and forbids indecency, and manifest evil, and wrongful transgression”.

     

    • Basiru is Regional Integration and Special Duties Commissioner in the State of Osun