The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • Why not Hijrah holiday?

    It never rained but poured in November last year when Nigerian Press stirred up brouhaha over the declaration of one day Hijrah holiday in the State of Osun by Governor Rauf Aregbesola. A particular Southwest newspaper went completely off the track over the issue and exhibited untold ignorance in a manner of a king dancing naked in a market place by writing an editorial on the matter thereby subjecting itself to public ridicule. It was a display of blatant ignorance shamelessly celebrated by some other newspapers of the like.

    Shortly after that episode, another Governor of a Southeast state (Imo) declared six weeks holiday for Christmas against the constitutional tradition of two days that Nigerians are familiar with. And the same newspapers that earlier sparked brouhaha kept mute in what confirmed unbridled sectarian hypocrisy typical of shamelessness in Nigerian professional journalism. The connotation of their silence in the second case cited above is that the declaration of one day Hijrah holiday was wrong because it was not inherited from the colonialists whilst the six week Christmas holiday was right because it tallied with their religious interest even if it was unjust and contradicted the norm of conscience. That is the extent of slave mentality in Nigeria as often exhibited in the name of religious chauvinism.

    Succinct assessment

    Taking a retrospective assessment of the two above-mentioned scenarios after six months (last May), a well known Professor of Medical Biochemistry, Abdul Kareem Hussain, decided to chronicle the historical background of all the known calendars in the world as a way of tutoring some ignorant, self-arrogated Nigerian journalists on the essence of Hijrah holiday for mankind. Though a Medical Biochemist, Prof Hussain’s intellectual wellbeing has never restricted him to any straight jacket enclave of literacy because he knows the difference between literacy and knowledge. To him, literacy is merely a means of documentation of events and occurrences while knowledge is like a farm where all necessary crops must be planted and harvested for the assured survival of the farmer.

    Yours sincerely first had an encounter with this intellectual colossus in 1984 when he delivered a public lecture on Hijrah calendar at the Yoruba Tennis Club, Onikan, Lagos, where many Nigerians first got the idea of Hijrah calendar. In that lecture, he did such a thorough analysis of the subject that he thereafter became a reference point for most researchers on Hijrah and the use of calendar. The summary of what he said on that occasion, according to my records is as follows:

    Experienced narration

    After many millennia of incessant wandering in search of sanity and reason man was able to sight the crescent of civilisation. While he advanced along with his new crescent, he reflected on his past wanderings and thought of sharing the experience of this with his successors in order to leave a mark of guidance on the threshold of life. Civilisation, therefore, taught man to chronicle the experiences of his peregrination on earth by the means of calendar. And today, the chronology of events and the human evolutionary development are traceable only to the beginning of the use of calendar.

    By definition calendar is a system of reckoning time in which the beginning, the length and divisions of a year are arbitrarily defined. It is a table that shows the months, the weeks and the days available in one specific year. It is a schedule especially one arranged in chronological order as of the case on a court docket.

    Types of calendar

    Since the discovery and the use of calendar as an aid to historical records the world has journeyed through various stages of reckoning events through time and space. The use of calendar itself is a pointer to the earlier civilisation of the races or communities which made use of it. One of the earliest calendars which have helped in piloting human history through the millennia is the Chinese calendar which is supposed to have begun in 2379 B.C. In this Calendar, years are reckoned in cycles of 60, each year having a particular name that is a combination of two characters derived schematically from two series of signs, the celestial and the terrestrial. Months are also reckoned in cycles of 60 that are renewed every five years and each month consists of 28 to 30 days.

    There is also the Jewish calendar used by the Hebrews which engaged in the reckoning of time from the year of creation as based on a periodic cycle of 19 years with the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th year of each cycle designated leap years.

    This is followed by the Hindu calendar which began in about 400 CE. It is Lunar-solar in nature and the Hindus believe so much in it even till date. In this calendar, the solar year is divided into 12 months in accordance with the successive entrances of the sun into the signs of the Zodiac, the months varying from 29 to 32 days.

    Another calendar is the one called Roman calendar which is an ancient lunar calendar designating the days of the new moon as the ‘calends’ and the days of the full moon as the ‘ides’ while the 19th day before the ‘ides’ are designated as the ‘nones’. The original Roman calendar, introduced about the 7th century bc had 10 months with 304 days in a year that began with March. Two more months, January and February, were added later in the 7th century bc but because the months were only 29 or 30 days long, an extra month had to be intercalated approximately every second year. Thus, the days of the month were designated by the awkward method of counting backward from three dates: the calends, or first of the month; the ides, or middle of the month, falling on the 13th of some months and the 15th of others; and the nones, or 9th day before the ides. This rendered the Roman calendar hopelessly confused especially when officials to whom the addition of days and months was entrusted abused their authority to prolong their terms of office or to hasten or delay elections.

    Pagan origin of Roman calendar

    Most of the months in the Roman calendar were dedicated to various gods of the Romans. The calendar, though got the blessing of the Christian leadership and was refined by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 CE, as polytheistic token. For instance, January from ’Janus’ is the Roman god of doorways and beginnings. February from ‘Februs’ is the Roman god of purification. March from ‘Mars’ is the Roman god of war. May from ‘Maia’ is the Roman goddess of growth and spring season. April from ‘Aprilis’ is the month of the goddess of love and beauty. June from ‘Juno’ is the sister, the wife and coequal of Jupiter, the supreme Roman god. July named after Julius Caesar and August after Augustus Caesar. The months of September, October, November and December indicate 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th respectively in the old Roman calendar. These last four months are a misnomer in the order of numerals within the calendar. For 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th in numerals to represent 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th months in the calendar are incomprehensible. But they were retained for sectarian sentiment.

    The Julian calendar

    Also in 45 BC, Julius Caesar decided to use purely solar calendar on the advice of Sosigenes who flourished in the 1st century. This calendar, known as the Julian calendar, fixed the normal year at 365 days, and the leap year, every fourth year, at 366 days. Leap year is so named because the extra day causes any date after February in a leap year to “leap” over one day in the week and to occur two days later in the week than it did in the previous year, rather than just one day later as in a normal year. The Julian calendar also established the order of the months and the days of the week as they exist in present-day calendars. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar changed the name of the month Quintilis to Julius (July), after himself. The month Sextilis was renamed Augustus (August) in honour of the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus, who succeeded Julius Caesar. However, some authorities maintain that Augustus established the length of the months we use today. The Gregorian calendar which puts January as the first month of the year was adopted by England and America in 1752. It is the calendar now commonly used throughout most parts of the world.

    Other calendars

    Yet, there are other known calendars which include the Roman ecclesiastical calendar used by the Catholic sect, the French revolutionary calendar introduced by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1793, the Gregorian calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 CE. But by far the most authentic of them all is Hijrah calendar because of its uniqueness and eventfulness as authenticated by its clear historical background. The idea of putting this calendar into use was suggested by Caliph Umar Bn Khattab in Madinah as a historic landmark for Islamic religion. And it has since been in use throughout the Muslim world especially in determining the beginnings and ends of every lunar month as well as Muslim festivals.

    Qur’anic source of Hijrah calendar

    Of all the calendars mentioned above, Hijrah alone, which is the Muslim divine calendar, is unique for its eventfulness and clear historical background. Its dating began on the 16th of July 622 CE a day after the migration of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) from Makkah to Yathrib (Al Madinah). After a non-such persecution and threats to his life by the Makkah pagans, the messiah of mankind had to migrate for the safety of his life and, by implication, for the rescue of humanity from the wildness of inchoation.

    Whereas every month of Hijrah calendar has spiritual importance apart from the universality of its blessings for mankind, its effect from 622 CE is only symbolic of modernity as it actually came into existence over 5,000,000 years ago when it was decreed and its months were christened by Allah Himself. The Qur‘an testifies to this as follows: “Surely, the number of months with Allah is twelve months in one year in Allah’s decree since the day when Allah created the Heavens and earth. Of these months four are sacred (Muharram, Rajab, Dhul- Qa‘dah and Dhul-Hijjah). This is the only straight and righteous path”. (Q. 9: 36). No other calendar can be so referenced in any revealed Book other than the Qur’an. The twelve months mentioned are Muharram, Safar, Rabi‘ul Awwal, Rabi‘uth-Thani, Jumadal ’Ula, Jumadath-Thaniyah, Rajab, Sha‘ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul Qa‘dah and Dhul Hijjah. Thus, the significance of Hijrah calendar is manifest not only in the eventfulness of its historical background but also in the divinity of its months. Unlike other calendars which were imposed for the purpose of worshipping material gods or to subject people to psychological subservience, Hijrah calendar is an evidential indication of human salvation. And besides, it has divine sanction. Nigeria is for us all and no one should think of creating an environment of subservience for a major chunk of the populace.

    Conclusive tutorial

    In his conclusive submission, Professor Abdul Kareem aims at educating Nigerian media to the effect that Hijrah was not peculiar to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as some other Prophets had preceded him in emigration. For instance Prophets like Nuh, Ibrahim, Lut, Ismail, Ishaq, Ya‘qub, Yusuf, Shu‘ayb and Musa, all emigrated from place to place before finally settling down. Of all these, only Prophet Muhammad’s Hijrah has a direct bearing on the practice of Islam. And since no Muslim has ever objected to the declaration of any public holiday for the adherents of other religions in Nigeria, it will be foolhardy for any responsible person to constitute himself into a cog in the wheel of Islam in any part of the country by opposing a declaration of Hijrah holiday constitutionally for Islam. In a sane society whatever is considered good for the goose must equally be good for the gander. But those who take their hatred for Islam as a hobby should know that no amount of barking even by millions of dogs can ever halt a surging train.

     

    Watch out

    As traditional of ‘The Message’ column, a daily column to be called RAMADAN GUIDE will be published for 30 or 29 days during the coming sacred month of Ramadan. It will contain a thorough exposition of some verses of the Qur’an as well as analyses of some Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) plus jurisprudential explanation of some hitherto ambiguous areas in all possible ramifications. Watch out! This may be your greatest means of becoming authentically familiar with Islam. And besides, it may provide an opportunity for pious Muslims to trade with Allah by sponsoring the 3×2 space earmarked for that purpose.

    Muslims hold conference on democracy

    The popular Premier Hotel, Ibadan, will be playing host to a conglomerate of Muslim clerics and laity from all parts of Nigeria between July 6 and 7, 2013. The conference will afford such people the opportunity to discuss Nigerian democracy as it affects them and their faith. The objective is to further examine the compatibility of democracy with Islam and be better informed about it. The conference will create a good avenue for participants to know the role expected of Muslims in it to enable them disseminate same to others. This is the first time a conference of this nature is being held in Ibadan. Abuja was its venue in the previous years. Attendance is strictly by invitation.

  • Five things Gov. Fashola ain’t getting right

    Five things Gov. Fashola ain’t getting right

    Let me first raise a mug of my favorite beer (no brand name dropping now) to our dear governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (BRF) on his turning 50 last Friday. I welcome him to our club, the golden age of gray and wisdom; a great club if you know how to live it. Great guy yea; and the song has been sung ad nauseam, I bet even he doesn’t want to hear it anymore.

    But suffice it to articulate in a few words what one considers to be the BRF essence. He stands out clearly as the best governor in Nigeria today and perhaps the greatest leader of this age first because he has remained unaffected by power and second, he has exhibited leadership by sheer force of personal example more than any one else among his peers. Put differently, bewildering grace under the enormous influence of power and such transparency that is self-accounting, self-evident and that seems to ring through and true. Let us add a work ethic that is alien to today’s leaders. He has indeed been the real breath of fresh air in a Republic that is suffused with charlatans and power hogs.

    We are daily embarrassed by governors and political leaders who seem to have no clue as to why they are in office, who are so excited by the office they occupy that it has become an end in itself and indeed, the end of the world for them. Many show such manifest greed that you can see currency notes sticking out of their ears and dangling from the neck of their spouses and family members. While BRF has managed to put a handle on power, most of his contemporaries are virtually being storm-tossed in the rise and tide of power. And the tragedy is that they are not aware of that fact. But while a book could be written on the BRF paradigm in this murky ocean of mis-governance, here are a few things not quite right in Lagos today.

    LGAs AS ROAD TO NOWHERE: perhaps the most tragic phenomenon blighting the country today is that we have turned our local council governments into a mere concept. Our LGAs have become an endless, worthless and mischievous argument while the hapless inhabitants languish. All over the country – from Sokoto to Borno, from Bayelsa to Anambra, Edo, Ondo, one cannot find any glittering example of a 3rd-tier administration at work. What we have now range from the most opaque system to sheer brigandage. And the result across the country: extreme impoverishment of the larger population which yields itself to extreme crimes like violent robberies, kidnapping, cultism, human trafficking, militancy and terrorism. Because hardly any economic activities go on in our local administrative units, large swathes of our people and territory are left bare and barren.

    This is the case in Lagos under BRF as it is in most parts of the country. This explains why the more BRF does, the more he has left undone. For every one facility he provides, there are about 57 others thus the need to work in tandem with the 57 administrative units for Lagos to lift from its morass of decay, crimes and slumhood. While one does not wish to be embroiled in the constitutional debates and politics of it, the point remains that BRF has not been able to device a mechanism that would make the local councils work.

    ONE MAN SHOW? Another point to ponder about the BRF era is a lack of robust delegation of responsibilities to cabinet members and aides. Though it is a national affliction of Nigeria’s leadership and not peculiar to BRF, we long for the day when our governors, presidents and heads at all levels would retreat to the background, to the quiet crannies where concepts and ideas reign while the aides are allowed ample initiatives to play the field. I look forward to the day when a works commissioner for instance, would own his projects, run his projects, sell it to the people and commission it without the governor ever showing his face. Most governors are busy building roads, culverts, gutters, classroom blocks and flyovers that they miss the most important point which is governing.

    OTHER POTENTIALITIES OF LAGOS: There is a notion that Lagos State is so fortuitously situated; that indeed the gods had provided all the food the state needs and that she only needs to prepare it. That is true to some extent. The revenue templates are there for instance and the dough would stream in in billion unhindered, no matter who is in the Round House. The BRF government has particularly perfected taxation as its main stream of revenue (you won’t believe that one has been taxed off one’s pants!). We have not seen this government pursue the other economic potentialities of the state other than taxes and rents. For instance, tourism, her aquatic splendor which is largely dormant, agric export, ICT and entertainment could be catalyzed to be huge revenue machines.

    REAL SECTOR IN REGRESS: Lagos State used to be the thriving hub of manufacturing and industrialization. Today, though there are still some machines rolling but they seem cranky, exhausted while many have simply packed up. Recently no fewer than 70 companies were delisted from the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE); these were hitherto thriving entities mostly based in Lagos, providing quality jobs and impacting the state’s economy. A drive through Oba Akran Avenue/Henry Carr axis of Ikeja Industrial estate is sure to make your heart sink – vast industrial complexes have been converted to miracle churches.

    Apart from picking juicy taxes from companies, when was the last time government engaged organized business groups with a view to ameliorating their challenges and ensuring their continued existence? How many new major real sector operators have berthed in the state in recent years and what are the strategies for attracting and sustaining businesses?

    HIGH-MINDED and HIGH-HANDED? BRF’s obvious high mind seems to naturally breed high handedness and this has largely defined his style of governance. It is a style that earns bounteous results but it also draws its flaks. Examples abound: the doctors’ strike palaver could have been better managed knowing that we are dealing with the high end of our society that could not be banished. The reverse case is the commercial cyclists (okada) who were off-handedly banished just because we could do so. With a little more circumspection, they could have been better managed and contained to the benefit of all. The okada affair is ironically, to the benefit and ruination of the police in the state today. The state university affair is also a point to note. The state must never be perceived to be profiting from public education. If subsidies are banished, if fee must be charged, it ought to be just enough to run well. The suspended bridge toll too could have been priced at half the current rate and the economy of the state would never have collapsed in September or even the near future. If we have paid for the bridge to be built, why do we have to pay even more to use it?

    Having made these points, we reiterate that BRF remains the best among his peers by miles.

  • Tradition endures

    Tradition endures

    IT has not always been well with tradition. There have been serious philosophical objections to the idea of tradition and its sacredness. Utilitarian thinkers, for instance, tell us that traditions are not self-justifying, or that moral traditions can frustrate the moral progress of societies and individuals. In the wake of our own struggle for independence, traditional authorities were denounced by nationalists and progressives. Recently, however, both in intellectual and political circles, there have been a renewed respect for tradition and its values. And while the requirements of democracy have generally been pitted against tradition, a number of philosophers from Alasdair McIntyre to Alain Locke and David Gauthier have raised questions about the narrow-mindedness and absence of self-examination that inform ordinary thinking about democracy as well as the lack of self-examination that limits the diffusion of democratic ideals.

    Tradition is a customary way of doing things that is unique to a group. It is what is handed down from generation to generation. To borrow a religious language, it is the acceptance of the faith of our fathers. As renowned sociologist Shils puts it, the “decisive criterion (of its traditionalism) is that having been created through human actions, through thought and imagination, it is handed down from one generation to the next.” Of course, being handed down does not entail being accepted. A tradition is a tradition only because it is accepted by the next generation that also passes it on. The continued acceptance of a tradition is the basis of its endurance.

    It is important to note that the acceptance of a traditional idea, belief, or practice is subject to what the people it serves make of it in terms of their well-being. The notion that a tradition has a suffocating grip on a people is, therefore, misleading. It depends on the moral weight that the people accord it. This is what Kwame Gyekye has in mind when he notes that “the continuity or survival of a tradition depends on the normative weight it can carry with (a) generation” that accepts it and “much of the authority of an inherited tradition is said to have derived from the evaluative activities of a recipient generation.”

    What goes into the evaluative activities of a recipient generation? How do individuals and communities come to the conclusion that a way of life that they inherited from their forebears have meaning for them and is good for their well-being? These questions assume that we really have a choice in the matter. And to some extent, we do. After all, we can choose to ignore or even eradicate those traditions that we find unacceptable for various reasons. The limitation has to do with the fact that a recipient generation is not completely isolated from the giving generation. Unless a whole generation of potential receivers collectively commits patricide, they will have their parents for the better part of their lives. So did those parents have their own parents. There is therefore an interlocking and intersecting relationship of givers and receivers with givers interested in and monitoring the receivers’ attitude to the tradition of their parents and grandparents. In general, we are obedient and loyal offspring of the community that seers us.

    The foregoing thoughts came to mind as I gleefully watched the excitement, love, affection, and respect with which the Okeho community in the United States of America and their friends welcomed the traditional ruler of Okeho, HRH Oba Rafiu Osuolale Mustapha Adeitan II and his amiable Olori Taibat Omotola Mustapha during their recent visit to Washington. From the time they landed at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport to their departure three weeks later, the admiration of the people was palpable. And their royal couple did not disappoint expectation. They comported themselves with utmost dignity, and an apparently natural penchant for decorum that distinguishes the royalty, including gentle reminders from Kabiyesi about proper dress code and dignified outing.

    As appropriate to his status as the father of all, Kabiyesi was comfortable in the mosque as well as in the church and endeared himself to both the Jumaat and the Congregation. Thus, the royal couple participated in the worship service of Alafia Baptist Church in Maryland, and Kabiyesi’s address to the Congregation on the theme of unity felt very much like a sermon, a point that the Pastor noted with appreciation.

    At the civic reception in their honor, Oba Mustapha Adeitan II reminded his audience, mainly Yoruba in the diaspora of their origin with the observation that “a river that forgets its fountain will soon dry up” and “eniti o sole nu, o sapo iya ko” (the loss of one’s origin is tantamount to the recovery of a load of suffering). He also noted with satisfaction the laudable programs and projects that a good number of folks had embarked upon in the homeland all of which had impacted the lives of people positively.

    Okeho is a small community with concerned individuals with very big heart who are committed and dedicated to its progress and development. And, consistent with his emphasis on the theme of origin, Kabiyesi did not forget to place on record his heart of gratitude to all Okeho indigenes including those in the diaspora, especially those that are resident in the United States for finding time to visit Okeho from time to time. For this helps to ensure that they are aware of not only the condition of their people but also of their needs and aspirations for which the privileged ones can be of assistance to the community.

    Among those individuals who have been of tremendous help to the progress of the community are Mr. Jacob Moyo Ajekigbe, the former Managing Director of First Bank Plc and Kabiyesi did not forget to appreciate him as he had done at every occasion in the last several years. Another is Alhaji Moshood Raji Bomodeoku who after an illustrious career in the Federal Civil Service relocated to his community and set up businesses, including a tourist centre, Moshra Gardens.

    What is the relevance of all this to national discourse?

    I started out as an integrationist, one that believes in the idea of a one indivisible nation. I still do, but I now firmly believe that all conditions for integration must be satisfied. One such condition is that this belief must be shared by all and no one part is made to bear the burden of unity while others loaf around. With this is the moral need for equitable distribution of resources and amenities. It used to be the case that some were regarded as drawers of water and hewers of wood. Do we serious still want to believe this? I hope not. It is therefore incumbent on the political leaders nationally and locally to approach their mission with the fear of God, with the understanding that even the backwoods of the nation are endowed with living humanity that deserves justice.

    Finally, for me it is important for us to understand that the building blocks of a united nation are the communities that make up the nation. It is for a good reason that the Yoruba suggest that if the living room is not healthy, the entire city is nothing more than a slum. Therefore, we have to ensure that our hometown is healthy. All politics is local is the famous axiom attributed to late U.S. Speaker O’Neil. Therefore, if you have not already been actively engaged in your community, even if you are not a politician, it is important to assume that responsibility of community involvement. It is the least that you can do as a human being.

  • Diplomatic row over proposed UK visa bond

    Diplomatic row over proposed UK visa bond

    The usually cordial and long standing bilateral relations between Nigeria and the UK are being sorely tested by recent press reports that the British Conservative government is planning to introduce a UK visa bond of £3,000 for first time Nigerian visitors to the UK. Nigeria is one of the six countries being targeted by the proposed visa bond. The other countries include Ghana, Bangladesh, India, Kenya, and Pakistan, all Commonwealth countries. It is believed that this new visa policy could be introduced as early as in November. The countries being targeted by this new measure were caught by surprise as they were not consulted about the visa changes contemplated by the British government.

    Nigeria’s official response to the proposal was predictably swift with the Foreign Minister, Ambassador Gbenga Ashiru summoning the British High Commissioner to the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Abuja to strongly convey to the UK government Nigeria’s displeasure and concerns about the visa measures proposed. He urged Britain to reconsider the new visa changes and left the British envoy in no doubt that the visa measures were wholly unacceptable as they were plainly discriminatory.

    At their meeting, the British High Commissioner was reported as saying that only first time visa applicants would be affected by the proposal, still being worked out, and that the number of such applicants is really insignificant. He added that of 180,000 visa applications from Nigeria last year, some 125,000 were approved. But he did not disclose how many of this number of approved applicants were first time applicants, or how many of them had infringed British immigration laws. The number of Nigerian visitors who break British immigration laws cannot be so large and significant as to justify the new British visa policy. Most Nigerians who go to the UK are law abiding. It is morally wrong for the UK to seek to paint all would be first time Nigerian visitors to the UK with the same brush because of the sins of a few. Many of these applicants are students who, for historical and linguistic reasons find Britain more attractive than other foreign countries. The UK should clarify the situation by disclosing figures of Nigerian visitors that have broken British immigration laws.

    The British authorities are seeking to justify the visa review on both economic and security grounds. But the motivation is largely political as the proposed visa measures have strong electoral appeal in Britain. In 1966, when Enoch Powell, a right wing Conservative Party leader, warned that unless immigration from black Commonwealth countries was curbed, there would be ‘rivers of blood’ in the UK he was roundly condemned by the leaders of the two major political parties for his racist bigotry. Today, Britain is less racially tolerant. All three major political parties, including Labour, will support the proposed measures for electoral reasons. The British economy is under strain. It has been slowing down for years. But this trend can hardly be blamed on foreign emigration to Britain. There is no evidence to support this view. France and Italy, both of which traditionally have also had a larger number of immigrants, have stronger economies than Britain. Neither is contemplating the visa measures being considered by Britain. The down turn in the British economy cannot be justifiably blamed on foreign immigration. The reasons are largely domestic. That is where the solution lies. As a matter of fact, foreign immigrants to Britain have had a positive impact on the British economy, by holding down wages and, thereby, keeping inflationary pressures in Britain low. Without them wages in the UK will sky rocket.

    The current British Conservative government has rightly embarked on savage cuts in public expenditure to reduce Britain’s huge budget deficit, the real reason for the economic downturn in Britain. The cuts are having a significant impact on jobs and public service delivery. This negative trend has made the Conservative government rather unpopular in Britain. There are security considerations involved as well in this new visa policy. The countries targeted in the fresh visa proposal are considered the major sources of terrorist attacks in Britain. Only a few weeks ago two British citizens of Nigerian ancestry were named in the killing of a British policeman. They are both currently facing trial for the murder. But the two suspects were born and bred in Britain, not in Nigeria. It was in Britain that they were indoctrinated by Islamic extremist groups. The truth is that there are more British born would be terrorists in Britain than those seeking entry into Britain from countries such as Nigeria.

    The British visa review proposal is a knee jerk reaction to both the economic and security challenges facing Britain and other Western countries. It will not on its own solve Britain’s economic or security problems. What is needed to meet this particular challenge is a global and not unilateral response to a problem that is festering globally. The UN could provide a forum where this visa problem can be discussed and debated with a view to working out a framework based on a global consensus. Otherwise, there is a strong danger that the world could run into a global visa quagmire. This could undermine the much touted globalisation of the world’s economy as every country shuts down its borders to foreign immigrants. This is a real danger that the UK government should not ignore.

    The Nigerian authorities are right to convey to the British authorities their concerns about this proposed discriminatory visa policy. While it is conceded that Britain has the right to determine its immigration policy, this new measure targeted at some Commonwealth countries will damage the cordial relations hitherto existing between Britain and Nigeria. It will also weaken Commonwealth ties, already fragile for historical reasons. Britain is no longer a major world power. It has for decades now been on the retreat from its global and old imperial responsibilities. In fact, it is less nostalgic now about the historic ties of the Commonwealth than its partners. But it is still the leader of the Commonwealth of which its Queen is the head. This status imposes certain moral and political responsibilities on Britain which she now seems to have abandoned in recent years.

    True, Britain’s major political and economic interests are now centred mainly in Europe. Her economic relations with the Third World have declined somewhat. But that is where Britain should be seeking to strengthen its economic ties. Can Britain really ignore her long standing friendship and economic ties with the new Commonwealth countries? Can she afford to weaken her ties with these countries, including India, which have vast economic potentials? Such countries will be right in coming to the conclusion that Britain no longer cares about her Commonwealth ties and has effectively turned her back on the Commonwealth. They too will be justified in looking elsewhere for their major economic partners. Many of them are already doing so to the detriment of Britain’s economic ties with the Third World countries from the Commonwealth.

    As far as Nigeria is concerned, there is no point in the federal government seeking retaliation against Britain over this visa matter. This is hardly a viable option for Nigeria. Britain is not South Africa. We too should put our economic house in order. Many of our youths have no jobs. They seek emigration abroad to escape poverty at home. Yes, we have every right to be angry about the new visa policy, but our bilateral relations with Britain are so wide and comprehensive that this little matter should not be allowed to lead to any major diplomatic row between the two countries. This diplomatic wrangling is better resolved through diplomatic channels. There is no reason for instance why Nigeria should not undertake to be the channel for the visa bond being planned by the UK. At independence and for decades afterwards, Nigerians traveling abroad for the first time were legally obliged to post a repatriation deposit with the Nigerian immigration authorities. This requirement can be reactivated to meet the concerns of the British authorities.

    Diplomatic rows between Nigeria and Britain are not new. It is a road we have travelled several times before in our bilateral relations with Britain over the years. Examples of this include the row over the Anglo-Nigerian defence pact in 1962, differences with Britain in the period of our civil war, and the face off over Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). But we were able to resolve these disputes through diplomatic engagements. There is no reason why this method of resolving our disputes should not be adopted in the present row. The situation calls for the utmost restraint on both sides.

  • One season, two strikes

    Among industrial unions in the country, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) pack a lot of weight. Whenever they call their members out on strike, the nation trembles because they have the power to paralyse socio-economic activities.

    Whenever they announce their intentions to go on strike, the public becomes worried. The source of their worry is not farfetched. It has to do with the disruption in academic and socio-economic life during such strikes. ASUU and NUPENG’s strikes are usually devastating. As for ASUU, its strike disrupts the academic calendar of public universities, while that of NUPENG makes life generally difficult and frustrating for the people.

    When ASUU is on strike as it is now, public universities are virtually shutdown because nothing works during the period. Students are left to do their own thing and in such a situation, an idle mind become the devil’s workshop. Many students have becomes wayward all because they had nobody to guide them during such periods. It is not that ASUU should not go on strike whenever there is a compelling need for it, but it should be mindful of the consequences of its action not only on the students but also on the larger society.

    ASUU’s ongoing strike has to do with the 2009 agreement it signed with the Federal Government on how to revitalise the universities. What is delaying the implementation of this agreement, some four years after it was signed? The Onosode panel is believed to have smoothened the rough edges of the agreerment in order to facilitate its implementation. If this is so, why are we still hearing about ASUU strike? The government should do the needful to stop this incessant ASUU strike.

    Thank God that NUPENG has called off its own strike. We tend to blame the union for resorting to strike at the least provocation. Is it proper to do so if we don’t do what is right in order to prevent the strike in the first place? NUPENG may be doing things in excess at times, but is the blame really the union’s going by the way we handle such cases? But two strikes by two powerful unions at the same time does not augur well for the economy.

    RE : Travails of a war hero

    no matter how people feel about Brig – Gen Benjamin Adekunle, what is for sure is that he cannot be ignored. Love him or hate him, the general commands a following not only among those who fought under him during the 1967 – 70 civil war, but also among the populace. Reactions were swift to the write – up on him last week. Many of the respondents wondered why the nation treats its heroes with such contempt. They submitted that a man like Adekunle should not be allowed to suffer considering his sacrifice and that of others to ‘’keep Nigeria one’’. Others have a different view of the matter. But no matter our positions, the fact remains that Adekunle discharged his duty diligently to his fatherland during the war. Nothing can detract from the fact that he was a soldier’s soldier. He may have his faults like other human beings, but we cannot hold that against him at this hour that he needs the help of the nation that he served with all his ‘’heart and might’’.

    Do not let us waste our time by calling on the army authority or the present ruling class, let us call on the one and only Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assist this hero of our time. I know that he has a large and will be ready to do it. I don’t know how to reach him, but please relay this important Save Our Soul (SOS) to him. From Adetunji Folayan, Oworonsoki, Lagos (08033920391).

    Gen Adekunle’s case is pathetic and shameful. May God almighty come to his rescue. From Sam Adamu, Port Harcourt (08085588490)

    I read about Gen Adekunle and how he dealt with my people… I honestly don’t know what to feel for him. Well, as a student I can’t do much for him. However, I wish him well. From Ngwu Chukwuebuka (08133931248).

    Indeed, the country awaits the response of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). I have today (June 27) again dropped another letter at the Army Headquarters in Abuja. I will not cease until the right thing is done. From Abiodun Adekunle (08067860987).

    Adekunle must not die. Should Gen Adekunle be left to die miserably, then Nigeria would have added a greater ‘’minus’’ to what Governor Fashola called empty ‘moral infrastructure’. I pray that, that does not happen. Where is is Gen Gowon while Gen Adekunle suffers? Where is Gen Obasanjo? Has he forgotten how Adekunle made victory easy for him towards the end of the war? Where is Gen Femi Williams while Gen Adekunle is in such a pathetic condition? Does he still remember what Adekunle did for him when he was wounded at the Owerri war front? Adekunle’s dynamic solutions to reviving the Nigerian Ports Authority cannot be forgotten. The slogan ‘’to keep Nigeria one’’ was the only tonic that propelled Adekunle to shell Biafra to submission. I will not beg anybody to look back at Adekunle , but those who have left undone what they should do, will suffer from the memory of what Adekunle went through before the capture of Calabar and Port Harcourt. From Pa Odutayo, (08023149828).

    Who were the enemies? If he did all that, please tell him to do it again. How come the people he fought for cannot send him to Ghana? Also tell him tyo prepare for the main war. :08097153657.

    Adekunle was not fighting his enemies, but only fought to unify the country. From Rev Emon, Jos (08060198831).

    I am a 63-year-old wounded military pensioner on monthly payment of N21,000, just like most of my colleagues dead or alive. In 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan announced a 53 percent increase in military pension, but till date, the increase has not been effected . My fellow Nigerian, you will agree with me that Nigeria is not worth fighting or dying for. From Iduwe Sunday (08069187363).

    Is it still a numbers’ game?

    Bravo, Jonah Jang, the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF). If you don’t like that, then wait for the outcome of the case, which Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State instituted in court. If you don’t understand the position of First Lady, you can’t understand NGF’s position APC wants to use Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State against President Goodluck Jonathan and a focused Governor Jang, but we are wiser than him and his backers. 08055469972

    The First Lady is probably reacting the same way any woman would have reacted if her husband is being disrespected by someone junior to him no matter that person’s position. Your write – up would have carried more weight if you had been seen in the past condemning the governors talking down at the president. 0818884775.

    No, it is no longer a numbers’ game although 16 can be reversed to read and mean 19, thereby becoming ‘Jona Jang Theorem’. From Pa Odutayo (08023149828).

    We in Port Harcourt are ‘solidly’ behind President Jonathan. 08035450232.

    The year 2015 is by the corner, let us show them what failure is. 08054026170.

    A lion in winter

    Mandela is a transparent person. Because of his transparency, he was honoured by the United Kingdom. As a true leader, he left office after serving one term. If it is possible, Mandela should live forever, but then death is inevitable. From Sylvester, Libolo Edda, Ebonyi State (08179754774).

    Indeed, Mandela is a super man; an icon. From Charles Umeadi, Port Harcourt (08187104543).

    Can we ever get a man like Madiba? Everyday, I pray for him, forgetting my own challenges. 08072305653.

  • Bayero: 50 years on the throne of Kano

    Bayero: 50 years on the throne of Kano

    The ancient city of Kano is one of the seven Hausa Bakwai states allegedly founded by the eponymous ancestor of the Hausa people Bayajidda who married the Queen of Daura after killing the snake Sarki that was apparently terrorising the local people. Myth of course is not the subject of history but myth is important sometimes for rallying the people.

    Kano and Daura are sister emirates in the heartland of Northern Nigeria. It is generally presumed that Kano emerged as an embryonic settlement in the 8th century but by the 14th century, Kano was so highly developed that it did not only become a centre of commerce and industry but a centre of Islamic civilisation with its own Ajami script and with a civilisation that radiated into several parts of the central and western Sudan. Indeed Muhammad Al-Maghili, the 15th century Islamic teacher lived in Kano for a while. This Islamic tradition was overtime undermined by syncretist tendencies of the Habe rulers. This was one of the reasons for the Fulani jihad led by Usman Dan Fodio. The first Fulani emir of Kano was Muhammad Suleiman who displaced the last Habe ruler Muhammad Al Walid in 1805. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the Fulani emirs have been on the throne of Kano emirate, the most important economic centre of Hausa land. Kano developed as a result of its trade links with the Maghreb and North Africa in general. During the 19th century, Kano’s contact with the Western Sudan was further accentuated by the spread of the Tijanniyah brotherhood or Tariqa associated with the rise of Alhaji Umar, the 19th century founder of the Segu- Toucouleur Empire. The Tijanniyah brotherhood brought Kano and what is now Senegal into close proximity. Even though the Fulani emirs of Kano follow the Qadriyyah Tariqa, nevertheless, the liberal and vibrant economic environment of Kano tolerated other ideas within the broad spectrum of Islamic civilisation.

    When the colourful Muhammad Ado Sanusi, the Emir of Kano from 1954 -1963 came into conflict with modern political leadership of Northern Nigeria particularly Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of Northern Nigeria and was accused of high-handedness and consequently removed and banished to the dusty little settlement of Dutse, Kano emirate was shaken to its very foundation but the crisis was overcome when Muhammad Inuwa was appointed emir of Kano. He did not last long on the throne when he passed on in 1963 and a highly educated and highly regarded successor in the person of Ado Bayero, a son of Abdullahi Bayero, a previous emir was appointed emir. Mallam Ado Bayero was born on June 15, 1930. He had worked with the British Bank for West Africa and had also been involved in 1949 with the Kano native authority which under Sir Fredrick Lugard had developed the Beit-el-mal (Native Treasury) to such an extent that the revenue of Kano was almost half of the revenue of the entire Northern Nigeria and the emir then earned slightly more than the Governor-General of Nigeria. To serve in the Kano native authority in the management cadre was not a little thing then. Later on, Ado Bayero went abroad for higher education in local government administration. On his return, he became the chief clerk of Kano town council. In 1954, he contested election into the Northern House of Assembly on the platform of the NPC (Northern People’s Congress) – Jamiyar Mutanen Arewa and of course won the election in grand style. He later resigned his membership of the House of Assembly to head the Kano native administration police. He held this post from 1957 to 1962 from where he was appointed Ambassador plenipotentiary and extraordinary of Nigeria to Senegal and it was from this post that he was called back home 50 years ago to be appointed Emir of Kano.

    His appointment was a wonderful choice especially at a time when Nigeria had just acceded to independence and the future looked very bright. He has been on the throne of Kano during which time Kano had witnessed great strides in its development, fortunes and misfortunes and the various vicissitudes of life that is the experience of any vibrant city. The industrial growth of Kano during his reign has been phenomenal so also has been the educational development with several high schools and two universities and industrial layout as well as commercial enterprises; Kano remains the second most important economic centre of the country after Lagos. Because of this, the city has attracted a lot of people mostly from other parts of Nigeria and a large population of Asians particularly Lebanese and Syrians. Kano has also witnessed the radicalisation of politics as manifested through various left-winged political parties starting from Alhaji Aminu Kano’s NEPU – Northern Element Progressive Union which later metamorphosed into the PRP – People’s Republican Party. The Emir has also lived through the regimes of several governors in Kano particularly colourful ones such as Abubakar Rimi and Bakin Zuwo to mention but a few. Through all these, this wise Emir has been able to maintain peace and concord amongst his own people even when he was challenged by radical politicians and by the Maitatsine riot of 1979/1980 when the emirate was plunged into violence. If not for the wisdom with which the emir handled the situation, the story would have been different. His recent escape from an assassination plot by the Boko Haram shows that this group has no respect for anybody. The people of Kano rallied round their wise leader who in public statement displayed the greatest attribute of a great ruler when he said he fears nothing and whatever would be, would be and that his life is in the hands of Allah.

    His service to his people derives from the ideas of noblesse oblige in which leadership goes with service to the people, in which leadership carries responsibilities which must be fearlessly discharged. Bayero has been a steady hand in the politics of Kano and one dares say in the politics of Nigeria. His friendship with the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, the spiritual head of the Yoruba people is symbolic and it is his own way of helping himself and Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuade, the Onirinsa of Ife, to cement the historic unity of the Yoruba and the Hausa which preceded the advent of British colonialism and a unity which is so desirable today if Nigeria is to survive.

    Alhaji Ado Bayero has also for years been chancellor of the premier university, the University of Ibadan. He has brought to the office the dignity and honour of a first class ruler and his wise counsel has been of great significance to the several administrations that have passed under his chancellorship. I had the privilege in 1981 or thereabouts, to attend an international conference on education with him in the United States and the dignity and glory he brought to this country remains indelible in my mind. Long live the Emir of Kano, Sai Sarkin Kano Alhaji Ado Bayero

  • Boko Haram: Buhari’s odious comparison

    Boko Haram: Buhari’s odious comparison

    For close to three years of Boko Haram insurgency, it has been a daily harvest of deaths. In churches, mosques, markets, motor parks, police stations, prisons and even inside fortified military barracks, it is the same terrible tales of mindless killings. This has continued unabated even with the President’s belated declaration of a state emergency in the troubled areas some three weeks back. Last weekend in Zabarmari ward of Maiduguri metropolis, the Joint Task Force (JTF) on Boko Haram claimed 50 members of the dreaded group were killed during a clash. A week earlier, we were told about 40 were killed in a similar encounter. The flow of refugees within and outside the country has continued unabated. The battle rages on even with deployment of fighter jets and attack helicopters. We have no evidence that the insurgency has been weakened, neither have they renounced their demand for the Islamisation of the country. What is no more in dispute after three weeks of hostility is that we are engaged in a civil war.

    And what this called for is that all hands must be on the deck. Of course the opposition must keep the ruling party on its toes. It must do everything short of undermining our sovereignty to discredit the ruling party so that they can take over power. In America, the self-proclaiming guardian of democracy, the Republican Party that piled up 16 trillion debts, took their country to two senseless wars are doing everything to discredit the Obama administration. But at the outset of the senseless external war, Americans along with various institutions including the media and even religious groups presented a common front.

    That is what our nation needs today. But tragically, the opposition, in the last four weeks, has been behaving as if the battle to dislodge PDP is not about Nigeria and Nigerians. I think the president who after two years of praying for miracle has now decided to confront those who declared war against the nation deserves a break. He had been accused even by leading members of his party of incompetence for failing to deal decisively with Boko Haram. Even the northern leaders who sent their children to the best schools in the world with state funds while institutionalizing a culture of almajiri at home blamed President Jonathan for the social dislocation of their society.

    The president was asked to embrace dialogue, but dialogue failed to move the religious fundamentalists. He was pressurized to grant amnesty along the lines of what obtained in Niger Delta, but this only led to the intensification of war against innocent Nigerians. Those who institutionalized poverty by misapplication of their state resources while only 27% of children of school age Borno are in school, suggested poverty alleviation and building of mobile schools for the itinerant almajiris. But Boko Haram became more emboldened as they chased pupils and teachers out before setting the schools ablaze.

    While all this was going on, there was a culture of criminal silence among northern leaders. Those who managed to speak spoke from both sides of the mouth, blaming President Jonathan for their four decades of betrayal of the people of the north. Jonathan’s sin was upstaging the northern parasites in their game of political subterfuge.

    And finally when Buhari, often a victim of selective perception spoke, he made an odious comparison. Like a leader who only listens to himself, he declared “You see in the case of the Niger Delta militants, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua sent an airplane to bring them, he sat down with them and discussed with them, they were cajoled, and they were given money and granted amnesty.” They were trained in some skills and were given employment, but the ones in the north are being killed and their houses demolished. They are different issues, what brought this? It is injustice”.

    I sympathize with General Buhari, the author of ‘Nigerians have no other country but Nigeria’. He has always been passionate about Nigeria. But his greatest undoing has been the fact that he was ill-trained, ill-equipped and ill-tempered to manage society. It is most unlikely that Buhari’s last three attempts at the presidency, his lamentation about travails of a well -endowed nation repeatedly raped by its incompetent and unambitious leaders, his public shedding of tears over the nation’s woes could have just been informed by a desire to protect the interest of his highly visible and powerful Fulani minority ethnic group or the current crop of Jihadists who operate only on the basis of their narrow interpretation and understanding of the Holy Koran.

    My suspicion is that, besides being ill-equipped, Buhari like most new converts of new religion, merely mouths democracy without comprehending what it entails. For instance, for him, multi-partysm and free election equal democracy. He is not bothered about the subject matter of democracy such as fundamental human rights, equality, liberty and justice and freedom from government which favours rulers and their friends just as it was during his short reign in 1995 and just as it has been under successive PDP presidents in the last 14 years. It will be ironic for a man who is so passionate about his country, if in the words of Orisetjiofor, CAN president could ‘oppose a state of emergency when some parts of Borno and Yobe states had been occupied and the Nigerian flag replaced with theirs, burnt churches, schools, government institutions, killed innocent Christians, attacked traditional rulers and others not sympathetic to their cause’.

    Nigeria is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-religious society. Any political party that intends to rule Nigeria cannot afford to ignore any interest group. Democracy after all is a game of number and to ensure a sense of belonging, our founding fathers designed for us a federal arrangement that guarantees a place for individual and groups. Buhari may have his own personal failings, but I think he will remain a great asset to his new party as role model for multitude of miracle seekers all over the country who like him are not democrats but passionate believers in the potentials of our nation.

    Buhari, imprisoned with his narrow Fulani ethnic culture and religious world, left unaided cannot see anything outside this prism. But he has always excelled in nearly all assignments delegated to him. He was installed as head of state by professional coupists, Babangida and Abacha with little knowledge of their agenda. As minister for petroleum for four years, we exported refined fuel along with crude oil. As Head of State for eight months, we did not import grains. In fact storage facility for excess grains became our problem. Similarly, as chairman of Abacha’s Petroleum Trust Fund, Buhari performed creditably well. As a Nigerian military commander, he drove insurgents that attacked Nigeria from northern Cameroon during Shagari era far into Cameroon territory.

    Even by his own admission, his joining partisan politics was not of his own initiative but that of others. According to him “his close associates and those who knew him very well convinced him to join partisan politics”. And as man not versed in the acts of compromise, the hallmark of democratic process, but passionate about our country and its potentials, he moved from APP to ANPP, CPC and soon to APC. In his new party, Buhari must allow for a generational change as those who manage the world today are in their 30s and 40s while he provides leadership and moral support just as Asiwaju Tinubu now does for his highly competent and well equipped ACN governors.

  • NIPSS Politicians; Fashola: Builder; ‘Fasholaites’ Legacy Projects, not adverts; Bail; INEC; Solar

    NIPSS Politicians; Fashola: Builder; ‘Fasholaites’ Legacy Projects, not adverts; Bail; INEC; Solar

    How many billionaires in Nigeria are secretive billionaires and not on the Forbes rich list? Why? Corrupt money!

    NIPSS has at long last initiated a course for politicians. Education is a key to development. For years we have suggested that politicians, their aides and special advisors, instead of setting up the ‘Associations of Special Advisors to President and Governors and Ministers’ aka ‘ASATPAGAM’, should ‘get an education in delivering political agendas’ through 1-3 month diplomas in ‘Budgeting for beginners’, MDGs et cetera to reduce ‘delivery of democracy’ time.

    In Nigeria the more you look the less you see. Look at the billions put into ‘power failure’. We now know that the money went to terrorist activities against power supply. As someone said, one Japanese airport has 6,000Mw, more than Nigeria after trillions of naira ‘went up’ in ‘the darkness powered by PHCN’. Now see headlines like ‘Nigerian government to ban generators’. Ban whose generators- Government offices and employees’ homes? Or from the common man suffering no power after 1999-2013 i.e. 14 years of one-party rule? Is powerlessness a Nigerian ‘dividend of democracy’?

    Congratulations to Governor BRFashola@50 for showing that Nigeria is not bereft of good leaders and that with the right leadership a ‘Normal Nigeria’ is possible. He is a governor who has shown that governance is more than delivering the barest minimum and that delivering exercise books to school children is a child right and not a misguided dividend of democracy. In addition he has built bridges as his legacy!

    I hate birthday newspaper advertisements as a waste of millions in public and private funds, totally 10,000 adverts@ N500,000/ annual or N10,000,000,000 or N10b/annum for sucking up to the person in power –soon to be forgotten after a political power cut. Remember that each advert gives a finder’s fee of 10-20% totally N1-2b/year. Who listened to State of Osun’s Ogbeni and indeed Fashola’s own request that all adverts should instead be monetised for charities. However in the special case of Governor Fashola@50, I want, in spite of that massive advertorial ‘incumbency-only’ waste, to say how proud we Lagosians are of Governor Fashola. The 50 odd adverts in one paper would have been N25m in a Fashola Legacy Project. I would have preferred to see 50 or so N500,000 endowments for events, scholarships, competitions, prizes, a play in Fashola’s name in education, business, law and creative arts to raise the next generation of ‘Fasholaites’. It will take money –that advertising money would have been useful! You never hear of newspapers doing much CSR with their profits! I won a prize of a huge green Stedman’s Medical Dictionary in the USIS J. F. Kennedy Essay Competition from St Gregory’s College in 1965 or so. A Fashola Essay Prize for leadership among students or prefects is not too much to establish for a man who is so politically savvy and modest as not to name the Principals’ Cup and other major rejuvenated and new initiatives and events after his person. That takes guts, leadership, vision and a resistance to sycophants. As ‘Class Captain’ we hope he is spreading his philosophy among the Progressive Governors Forum. Nigeria has a sprinkling of visionary governors. There are a lot of ‘if only’ regrets in Nigeria. What if Obasanjo had ‘allowed’ Asiwaju Tinubu’s power dreams for Lagos in 1999 or had not withheld the N10b or if the civilian government had corrected the military induced 20 LGAs for Lagos versus the 77 for Kano State? Where would Lagos State be now without these anomalies?

    Celebrate ‘Fashola: The Builder’ or ‘Fashola: The Bridge Builder!’ I was on the beautiful architectural masterpiece Lekki-Ikoyi Suspension bridge. That is what government is about –executing the visionary solution and employing Nigerians. Government is supposed to pay attention to masterpieces beyond the ability of others. Jonathan agreed to allow the bridge but would Obasanjo or Buhari have? Why is there only that bridge when the Seine and the Thames have many bridges? Are the next bridges planned? Those still building the second and third Niger Bridge should be ashamed. The bridge is about shortening distances and the toll should be cheaper. Happy Birthday: Fashola the Builder’.

    A student who allegedly kidnapped, beat and raped an undergraduate was bailed with three sureties of N250,000 each. That is not a deterrent but an encouragement to violence against women.

    Readers of this column will know that it has promoted Addresses on State of the Nation, State, LGAs, Professional Bodies and Associations throughout Nigeria to highlight problems, encourage performance and development. Hurray, the Oyo State Governor Ajimobi gave a State of Oyo State Address just last week. So should the Presidency and NASS.

    Senate wants new recruitment into the military but how many of the senators will put their children and relations forward?

    So INEC says ‘no’ to e-voting, ‘No’ to Diaspora voting, perhaps ‘no’ to APC registration. What next? The CBN announced that N22b is repatriated home annually by the Diaspora Nigerian community. Does that not qualify them to vote?

    It is a pity that the Governors’ Forum does not have as a priority the prevention of further violence against farmers on the murderous North-South Cattle ‘Blood Meat’ corridor.

    So the World Bank supports a Nigerian university to produce solar panels. Who is afraid of a ‘Solar Powered Nigeria’? Government and its cronies in ‘Nigeria’s Great Petroleum Scam’? Meanwhile JAMB cut-off points cut off merit and youths lives.

  • On ethics and leadership in Africa (I)

    On ethics and leadership in Africa (I)

    Last Thursday, June 27, a Kano based public relations company, Direct Contact Promotional Communications Ltd., made a public presentation of Kwankwasiyya, its newly published illustrated children’s bilingual biography of Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the Kano State governor. It had invited me to speak as guest of honour on the topic of leadership. The notice was short but I accepted the invitation because it provided me an opportunity to present a paper I had prepared on the topic two years ago for another occasion but which I never published. After re-reading it I thought it was even more relevant today than it was two years ago, considering the shameful spectacle of squabbling governors over the simple election of the chair of their forum alone with which they have been entertaining the public.

    In the end I could not present the paper in person because the publishers suddenly shifted the venue from Abuja to Kano. However my friend and professional colleague, Ujudud Sheriff, who was spending the week in Kano, his home state, accepted my request to stand in for me. The following is the first part of the paper:

     

    What is Ethics? One definition by the ENCARTA CONCISE ENGLISH DICTIONARY is that it is “the system of moral principles governing the appropriate conduct for an individual or group”. Another dictionary, the WEBSTER NEW TWENTIETH CENTURY DICTIONARY, defines it as “the system or code of morals of a particular philosopher, religion, group, profession, etc.”

    Ethics, in other words, is simply a set of rules about the dos and don’ts, virtues or vices, in a society. By universal consent, behaviours or actions like honesty, patience, loyalty, modesty, equity, justice, faith, etc, are virtues. Among vices are of course the opposite of all these.

    Probably the most concise articulation of these universal virtues are those famous Biblical Ten Commandments to mankind never to do certain things i.e. that Man should not kill, steal or lie, etc.

    Obviously any society in which vices outweigh virtues will not make progress. Instead it will degenerate and eventually collapse. This is pretty much obvious in the rise and fall of empires since Adam and Eve. Historically empires have collapsed more from internal decay than from external attack.

    Every society has custodians of its virtues. These, by definition, are its leaders. ENCARTA defines a leader variously as “somebody whom people follow” and as “somebody in charge of others”. WEBSTER defines a leader simply as “a person or thing that leads”.

    People acquire leadership status by virtue of their knowledge, experience, wealth or sheer personality or a combination of these. They may become leaders through the ballot box or the barrel of the gun.

    Logically any society that has a preponderance of good leaders would prosper and that which does not, won’t.

    Africa, it would seem, has had a preponderance of bad leaders at least since a little after the departure in the ‘60s of the Europeans that had colonised it for about a century. As Africa celebrated 50 years of its independence from colonial rule this year it remained the poorest region in the world and falling even further behind all the other regions.

    According to Martin Meredith, a British journalist who has written extensively on Africa, in his 2005 book The State of Africa, the continent’s average per capita income is one-third lower than that of the world’s second poorest region, South Asia. The per capital incomes of most of its countries, he says, has halved from those of 1980, or in some cases, from those of 1960. Half of its nearly 1 billion people live on less than a dollar a day. Its entire economic output is about $420 billion, which is 1.3% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product, “less than (that of) a country like Mexico,” which itself is among the poorest in the world.

    Africa, continues Meredith, is the only region where school enrolment and life expectancy are falling.

    The most glaring contrast in the development trajectory of Africa and Asia can be seen in the post-colonial histories of Nigeria, the continent’s most promising at independence, and Singapore, a tiny island state, which started out as part of Malaysia.

    With a population of at least 150 million, Nigeria is the most populous on the continent and the 10th largest in the world. It produces about 2 million barrels of oil a day, making it the fourth biggest producer in OPEC. Its arable land is one of the largest on the continent and it is also well-endowed with solid minerals that are in great demand world-wide.

    By contrast, Singapore has a population of 5 million and has no mineral resources. Its only natural endowment is its deep seaport. Fifty years ago Singapore, as part of Malaysia, was poorer than Nigeria. Its prospects looked bleak as it was forced to leave Malaysia due to ethnic and religious differences with the mainland.

    Today, Nigeria, with a Human Development Index of 46.6, according to a recent The Economist Pocket World in Figures, remains among the poorest in the world. In sharp contrast, Singapore, with an HDI of 90.2, has moved from its status as a poor Third World country to the rich First.

    The difference, it seems, has been in the leadership of the two countries. No one has put this better than Chinua Achebe, Africa’s finest novelist and essayist.

    “The trouble with Nigeria,” he said in a pamphlet of the same title he wrote over 27 years ago, “is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership”.

    In a lecture to the Nigerian chapter of Oxbridge Club he delivered at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs on March 17, 1989, former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, arguably Nigeria’s most influential leader since independence, seemed to agree completely with Achebe.

    At the time of his lecture he was already four years in office out of a tenure that eventually lasted eight years. In those eight years he changed the face of Nigeria’s political-economy, for better or worse, more than any leader before him or after.

    “I venture to suggest”, he said in the Oxbridge lecture, one of his most controversial, “that it is the nature of the competition among us, the so-called elite… which have been at the root of our national problem.”

    “Who are the elite in our national context?”, he asked rhetorically and quickly answered himself. These, he said, are “a few of us, numbering a few thousands out of a population of more than 100 million (who) find ourselves in positions of leadership and influence in the professions and academic, the armed forces, the bureaucracy, industry, agriculture and commerce, in the media houses, in the courts and councils of our traditional and political associates,”

    “You will perhaps agree,” he said, “that the worst attitude of the Nigerian elite over the last three decades or more have included factionalism, disruptive competition, extreme greed and selfishness, indolence and abandonment of the pursuit of excellence.” These vices, he said, also included indecisiveness and inconsistency in policy making occasioned by self-interest.

    Having diagnosed the crisis of leadership he said the country was suffering from, he proceeded to offer a solution which he said was indeed THE only solution.

    The Structural Adjustment Programme his administration had introduced in 1987, he said, was “the only possible answer” which should be embraced in all its ramifications by anyone who considered himself a patriot. It had its pains, he admitted, but its liberalisation and the deregulation of the economy unleashed the spirit of enterprise among Nigerians. The “good results” of SAP, he predicted, should be evident “from the middle of the next decade onwards,” i.e. 1995.

    Four years after Babangida’s prediction, The Economist published a survey on Nigeria entitled “Anybody seen a giant?” The survey, in the magazine’s edition of August 21, 1993, entered a verdict that contradicted Babangida’s prediction.

    “Nigerians” said, the survey’s author, Sophie Pedder, “are forever being told, and forever telling visitors, that they are the giants of Africa. If Africa is ever going to produce a South Korea, they say, it will happen in Nigeria. Yet each time the country has the chance to turn itself into a prosperous model for still poor Africa, it blows it.” Babangida, the author concluded in not so many words, was yet another disappointment. And whoever succeeds him from August 27 1993, she said, was unlikely to be any different.

     

  • This British ‘pay as you go’

    This British ‘pay as you go’

    The news was like a bolt from the blue. It was shocking, surprising and amusing as well. I mean the proposed £3,000 deposit by immigrants intending to enter Britain as from November this year. Immigrants of five countries – Nigeria, Ghana, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh – have been singled out for this unfriendly treatment. Yet, these are members of the so-called Commonwealth countries that the British is so proud to sing about.

    In history, we learnt that the Commonwealth was an empire where the sun never set, a figurative expression to describe an empire that was adjudged to be the biggest in the universe, stretching North, East, West and South of the pole. Today, though the spirit of the Commonwealth is still very much alive, the principles behind it have been tinkered with again and again to the point that it has almost completely been obliterated.

    Now, it will cost a new immigrant from Nigeria a fortune, at least, more than a million naira to venture to England. I remember in the ’70s when Nigeria’s currency was at par with the dollar, it cost just a few naira to get on board an aircraft and jet to England and back. If I am not mistaken, it was about N180. With your Basic Travelling Allowance, BTA, and others, you might only need less than N1000 to get to UK and back for holidays. Today, the story is different. You probably need to sell your child into slavery before you can raise the required money to undertake a trip to either Britain or the United States, the preferred destinations for most Nigerians.

    This is why one is not amazed at the flurry of criticism and resentment that has greeted this proposal. Olugbenga Ashiru, Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, has been at the forefront of this groundswell of opposition to a policy considered discriminatory and obnoxious. Ashiru, who has proved to be a round peg in a round hole ever since he came on board a few years ago, has been doing everything to convey the message of the Nigerian government and the Nigerian people to the British government. He has been prompt and decisive.

    The other day, Ashiru summoned Andrew Pocock, the British High Commissioner in the country, to acquaint him with the government’s indignation and exasperation against a policy which is considered highly inimical to the interest of Nigeria. While this was going on, notable leaders of the National Assembly have been spitting fire and brimstone to the effect that Nigeria will reciprocate in a similar gesture if the British should go ahead to implement the unfriendly policy. That, in itself, will be a recourse to the Mosaic law, which says “a tooth for a tooth” or tit for tat, whichever is appropriate.

    On the day the news made headlines in the Nigerian Press, a group of well-meaning Nigerians were almost cut off in the hullabaloo that followed. The Entrepreneurs’ Organisation, EO, Chapter in Nigeria, was to have a three-day training programme for both the old and new members who were recently successful in the interview conducted for them about a fortnight ago in Lagos. The three-day training was for the new intakes who would undergo what is called Forum Training, which is a cardinal operational part of the EO. As a new member, you are expected to belong to a “Forum”, which is the core of EO. That training took place at Protea Hotel, GRA, Lagos, on Thursday, June 27, from 8:00am till 5:00pm. The following day was Moderator Training, which is meant for those who intend to be moderators at various forums. While the third day, Saturday, June 29, was reserved for Strategy Training for the Board members. All with the same time duration, that is, 8a.m till 5p.m on each day.

    Julia Lankraehr, a globally-certified trainer by EO Global, was to fly in from London on Wednesday, June 26, to undertake the series of training. When she applied for entry visa, she put business as her reason for travelling to Nigeria. Then the Nigerian High Commission requested her to get a work permit to enable it to grant her a visa even though she was going to be in the country for only five days. It took a sleepless night on Monday, June 24, with officials in Nigeria making frantic calls to the High Commission in London before the matter was resolved on Tuesday, June 25. Who knows what would have happened if this crude policy had been in operation?

    The EO is a global organization that has its headquarters in Virginia, United States of America. It was founded in 1987 by some group of entrepreneurs who thought they needed a common ground and platform to discuss intimate issues concerning their businesses, family lives and other personal issues that could keep individuals endlessly awake at night. Today, the EO parades well over 9,300 members scattered all over 146 chapters in 46 countries of the world. They are everywhere. The Nigeria chapter was inaugurated in Lagos on October 4, 2012.

    Last year, the Nigeria Chapter of the EO was to attend an event hosted by EO, Cape Town, but all the delegates were denied visas in spite of the fact that all their papers, including hotel bookings, were intact. It was at the height of the diplomatic row between South Africa and Nigeria early last year. The humiliation suffered at the embassy was so much and time-wasting that I vowed never to submit any application for South African visa anymore in my life. Though I had several multiple entry visas to many countries on my passport, I paraded the place with others for more than three months before our empty passports were grudgingly returned to us without any convincing explanation. The most annoying thing there was that one could see some people whose means of livelihood or reason for travelling to South Africa could not be easily ascertained coming in and taking the visa. It was a terrible experience that I don’t find funny to relate to anyone. Even if you go to the embassy, you could be kept there for hours before you are asked to return another day. All for nothing in the end.

    I am sure if the proposal of £3,000 was still being debated in Britain, by now, David Cameron and his people should know that dire consequences await them if they go ahead with this discriminatory policy which is capable of destroying the umbilical cord of the Commonwealth family. I am not saying that Britain should throw its doors open to every Dick and Harry, but then imposing such a draconian policy will only paint the country in a bad light as far as civilisation, decency and decorum are concerned. It is the inalienable right of man that all individuals should be treated with some modicum of dignity, the colour pigmentation notwithstanding.

    It is apparent that the Britons alone cannot live in Britain. Other races must come and go. Forget that some citizens of other countries come into Britain and do menial jobs, if and when available. Britons also go to other countries to do jobs that the indigenous people could have done. After all, why do other citizens travel to other countries? Even the five countries mentioned in the new policy, you have Britons there. Why do they go there to do business rather than stay back in their country and get rotten? I have been to practically all the affected countries and there is no one where there are no Britons in their large numbers in spite of some of the atrocities these colonialists committed against the people in the past.

    The world has become a global village where all impediments to free movement should be done away with. Certainly, erecting new barriers to free movement is certainly out of the issue for now. Therefore, I will suggest that Britain should find a better and decent way to deal with her perceived immigration problems rather than stir up a hornets’ nest.