The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • A culture of disputation and controversy

    A culture of disputation and controversy

    Whether Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s election is sustained or not, President Olusegun Obasanjo now knows it is clearly impossible for him to stay on in office. His ambitious manoeuvres to extend his tenure have been roundly and comprehensively defeated by the collective and unanimous spirit of Nigerians. Because of this, he hasn’t been as sprightly as he used to be or as radiant as his modestly passable looks could manage now and again. He has engaged in a feverish award of stupendous contracts and defended it as one who knows he has but a short time. But he knows he is going all the same. He has disembowelled his lay and clerical critics with as much venom as he used to produce in his early days in power, but he knows he can’t conceivably stay in power. He has begun to feel the same panic Gen. Ibrahim Babangida felt in his last weeks in power, and he is greatly discomfited by it. His smiles are less broad, his jokes lack colour and bite, and even the amiable rural aura that bathed them are thinner and inauspicious. He is more morose these days, more bitter against his traducers, and though he has not aged beyond his real (not official) age, he is distinctly ageing and aged.

    Obasanjo hasn’t been quite as composed as even his critics would like. This tremulousness often comes with the realisation that one hasn’t lived up to expectation. And nothing illustrates this nervous composure as his winding defence on Monday of the April general elections and his rage against his critics, chief among whom was apparently Pastor Tunde Bakare. Though a newspaper reported that the president was unfazed by the criticisms against his administration, it was clear from his recent looks and the lack of passion and conviction behind his arguments that he felt unsettled by the much more vigorous and acerbic criticism of the foreign media. He tried to mitigate the effect of the criticisms from abroad by granting interviews to any sundry reporter who cared to travel down, but they were still unsparing. They not only wrote off the elections as fictitious and fraudulent, they even described him as a failure.

    In the next two weeks and some days, Obasanjo will be going back to his expansive and now thriving farms and gilt-edged investments all over the country. He expects, naturally, to retire on good standing, a fulfilled, self-satisfied and adored statesman. I doubt whether his wishes can be granted. He is vow very wealthy, of course, but he has lived all his life posturing as a good and courageous man without taking one sound step to justify the name. Those steps he considered courageous were nothing but bold steps to alienate his friends and harden his enemies. As for whatever goodness he felt he had, no one knows about it, indeed, no one has seen it. Worse still, he will go back to his farm deprived of the customary goodwill that often accompanies a retiring leader loved by his people. Nor will he have many friends to accompany him home. Even the billionaires and millionaires he has made early in his government and in the closing weeks of his presidency will carefully read the lips of his successor to know whether to fraternise with him or to freeze him out of their circles. He seems destined to retire to solitary and somnolent existent as well as bucketful of lawsuits and acrimonious controversies over land and shares, some of which were extracted on the pain of incarceration.

    His views at the commissioning of the new wing of the National Assembly complex on Monday are quite instructive. His most salient view on the occasion is a typical reflection of the philosophical foundations upon which he has constructed his life, guided his ambitions, and wrestled his enemies. According to him, it is in the character of the Nigerian to whip up sentiments, controversies and disputations over elections. He had observed this since 1959, he said. Beyond the mendacious characterisation of the Nigerian as habitually quarrelsome and insatiable, Obasanjo seems to be saying in another more vigorous breath that bureaucratic incompetence was ingrained in us. And so as he counsels us to accept our character of being controversial and disputatious and not allow anyone to come and say ‘rubbish’, he also defends slothful electoral conduct.

    President Obasanjo has always been a poor student of history, perhaps because he is military-trained engineer. At the said commissioning, he asserted that “this was one election we had where nobody is talking about North or South… where nobody is talking about Christian or Muslim, and where nobody is talking about ethnicity as a factor.” The president is very forgetful. During his own election both in 1999 and 2003, none of us could recollect ethnicity or religion being a factor. He was a Christian as Chief Olu Falae, Alex Ekwueme and a few others were Christian.

    If he forgets his own election, the best election ever conducted in Nigerian in 1993 was perhaps the best chance we had to lay the ghost of religion and ethnicity to rest. Nigerians elected their candidates in 1993 without talking of the divisive factors Obasanjo thought was absent from his poorly planned, heavily manipulated and incompetently conducted 2007 elections. It was in fact his military constituency that arrested that political growth and sophistication. And from what we heard, it was an intervention he nodded and winked at. The president also failed to understand that a more pressing evil – rigging and manipulations – had distracted the electorate from looking at and discussing the other factors surrounding the elections. Obasanjo’s government never wanted the elections to be free or fair, otherwise commentators would have looked at the value of a Jonathan Goodluck on the Yar’Adua ticket compared with the electoral weight of, say, Senator Ben Obi on the Atiku Abubakar ticket. Contrary to the opinion of the president, we did not make any progress in 2007. None whatsoever.

    It is ironical that Obasanjo ruled Nigeria for eight years but does not understand what Nigeria’s political culture Nigeria should be. Put more simply, he is unable to explain the functions of a political party in a country where there are other political parties and various interest groups. At the National Assembly complex commissioning, the president said of the PDP: “We as a party, we formed the party in such a way that the party will work in close collaboration with the members of the PDP and the Executive who are products of the PDP.” The president must be reminded over and over again that he was neither at the formation of the party nor has he tried to imbibe the spirit and culture of the party. One the contrary, he led a ruthless takeover of the party and sacked all the principled political leaders who founded and led the party to its first victory in 1999.

    This takeover explains why the party no longer has a moral or philosophical core, nor any principled leader to rally the country behind the ideals of the party. It explains why its leaders promote the principles of party brigandage, elevate expediency over morality, and canonise godfathers, strongmen, garrison commanders and a motley menagerie of political thieves and compromisers. It explains why even Obasanjo himself is more fanatically PDP than patriotic, though he is president of about 150 million Nigerians. Why the president can’t see these weaknesses of his, why he can’t rise above the pedestrian philosophy of a village party official, why he can’t tell the difference between party and country, is hard to tell.

    These disabilities also explain why the foreign media have just arrived at the conclusion long reached by the local media, that Obasanjo did not make a success of his presidency. He was weighed down by party expediencies, bogged down in the maze of bitter fights with his friends, enemies and other passers-by, and entangled in many self-created moral, religious, cultural and political contradictions.

    We must hope that the in-coming National Assembly dominated by the PDP will not be swayed by the president’s uninformed admonitions that the senators and representatives must show unalloyed loyalty to the PDP. Their loyalty, if we must remind them, is to the nation and its constitution. Their bond with their political party is to promote, not impose, the principles and ideals of the PDP, and to see how Nigeria can best be shaped into a great nation within the ambit of the PDP platform. The PDP legislators should discountenance the president’s threats and intimidation. If he was used to giving unlawful orders when he was in the military and he found soldiers to carry them out, he should be reminded that his broken reforms, discordant ideas and collapsed values all reflect his inability to comprehend the fundaments of politics and democracy. He will leave office with his head bowed, his heart bleeding, his mind suffused with regrets, and, if he likes, shudder at our mocking conclusion that he was a soldier and farmer who found himself in the wrong vocation at the wrong time.

     

    •First published on May 13, 2007 under the headline “They say it’s our culture to be disputatious and controversial.” Palladium is under the weather and, feeling nostalgic, he wants readers to regale themselves with this piece from over five years ago.

  • Did you do your best?

    Did you do your best?

    How well did you do in 2012? If you score yourself 100 percent or excellent, the above question is not for you. If you didn’t do too well or you didn’t accomplish the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year like me, you need to answer the question.

    We all probably have various excuses why things didn’t work out for us and I quite agree that there are lots of factors beyond our control in a country like ours, but we need to sincerely answer these questions: Did you do your best? Did you take advantage of the opportunities you had? Were there not things that you should have done that you left undone?

    This column was informed by the December 21 and 22, 2012 devotional reading from Our Daily Manna published by Dr Chris Kwakpovwe in which he recalled the encounter former President Jimmy Carter had with Admiral Hyman Rickover, former head of the U.S Nuclear Navy during an interview for a submarine programme.

    “How did you stand in your class at the Naval Academy?” Rickover asked Carter. Believing he had done very well, Carter replied, “Sir, I stood fifty-ninth in a class of 820,” expecting to be congratulated, but he was not.

    Instead, Rickover asked the unexpected question: Did you do your best?. A shocked Carter was honest enough to admit that he didn’t always do his best. “Why not?” the Naval Admiral probed further, leaving Carter dumbfounded as he slowly left the interview room.

    Fifty-ninth in a class of 820 is a good position but Carter could have done better if he did his best always.

    There is indeed a Carter in most of us. We forget that we always have to be at our best to be the best in whatever we do. A preacher once said that the difference between ordinary and extra-ordinary is the extra. Going the extra length with all the required diligence, knowledge, and passion is the attitude we need to succeed. There are, however, times we do all that is required and we don’t succeed, but we have to convince ourselves that we have done all that is required to be done.

    Being honest about what we failed to do provides us the opportunity to take necessary steps to accomplish our goals. There is the tendency to always think that somebody else or a government policy is the cause of our failure but if we think deeply we may just find out that we are the cog in our own wheel of progress.

    I set a number of goals for myself during this year which I didn’t accomplish. I don’t need any expert to tell me why I failed. I know I didn’t do my best. I know I procrastinated and didn’t act when I should have acted. I talked too much about my dreams and projects instead of acting on them.

    For the remaining days of this year, critically review how well you have done and be determined to do better next year guided by the goal of doing your best always.

  • Security Council: Text of Resolution 2085(2012) on Mali

    Security Council: Text of Resolution 2085(2012) on Mali

    The Security Council,

    Recalling its Resolutions 2056 (2012) and 2071 (2012), its Presidential Statements of 26 March 2012 (S/PRST/2012/7), 4 April 2012 (S/PRST/2012/9) as well as its Press Statements of 22 March 2012, 9 April 2012, 18 June 2012, 10 August 2012, 21 September 2012, 11 December 2012 on Mali…

    Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Mali,

    Recalling the letter of the Transitional authorities of Mali dated 18 September 2012 addressed to the Secretary-General, requesting the authorization of deployment through a Security Council resolution, under Chapter VII as provided by the United Nations Charter, of an international military force to assist the Armed Forces of Mali to recover the occupied regions in the north of Mali and recalling also the letter of the Transitional authorities of Mali dated 12 October 2012 addressed to the Secretary-General, stressing the need to support, including through such an international military force, the national and international efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the north of Mali;…

    Taking note of the final communiqué of the Extraordinary Session of the authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government held in Abuja on 11 November 2012 and of the subsequent communiqué of the African Union Peace and Security Council on 13 November 2012 endorsing the Joint Strategic Concept of Operations for the International Military Force and the Malian Defence and Security forces;…

    Emphasizing that the Malian authorities have primary responsibility for resolving the inter-linked crises facing the country and that any sustainable solution to the crisis in Mali should be Malian-led;…

    I- Political process

    1. Urges the transitional authorities of Mali, consistent with the Framework agreement of 6 April 2012 signed under the auspices of ECOWAS, to finalize a transitional roadmap through broad-based and inclusive political dialogue, to fully restore constitutional order and national unity, including through the holding of peaceful, credible and inclusive presidential and legislative elections, in accordance with the agreement mentioned above which calls for elections by April 2013 or as soon as technically possible, requests the Secretary-General, in close coordination with ECOWAS and the African Union, to continue to assist the transitional authorities of Mali in the preparation of such a roadmap, including the conduct of an electoral process based on consensually established ground rules and further urges the transitional authorities of Mali to ensure its timely implementation ;…

    3. Urges the transitional authorities of Mali to expeditiously put in place a credible framework for negotiations with all parties in the north of Mali who have cut off all ties to terrorist organizations, notably AQIM and associated groups including MUJWA, and who recognize, without conditions, the unity and territorial integrity of the Malian State, and with a view to addressing the long-standing concerns of communities in the north of Mali, and requests the Secretary-General, through his Special Representative for West Africa, in coordination with the ECOWAS Mediator and the High Representative of the African Union for Mali and the Sahel, and the OIC, to take appropriate steps to assist the transitional authorities of Mali to enhance their mediation capacity and to facilitate and strengthen such a dialogue;

    4. Condemns the circumstances that led to the resignation of the Prime Minister and the dismissal of the Government on 11 December 2012, reiterates its demand that no member of the Malian Armed Forces should interfere in the work of the Transitional authorities and expresses its readiness to consider appropriate measures, as necessary, against those who take action that undermines the peace, stability, and security, including those who prevent the implementation of the constitutional order in Mali

     

    • Palladium says Nigeria must insist on a political process in Mali before any adventure into that country. Surely we are not naïve to think war with AQIM can be fought and won over a short period.

  • The demonisation of democracy

    The demonisation of democracy

    (Being the chairman’s opening remarks at the annual lecture of the Centre for Constitutionalism and Demilitarisation held on Saturday, December 8th in Lagos)

    The revered guest lecturer, Professor Tim Shaw, distinguished and illustrious Nigerians in the audience, exactly nine years ago when I was invited from America to give the inaugural lecture of the Centre for Constitutionalism and Demilitarisation, the atmosphere was quite different. After almost two decades of brutal military misrule, Nigeria was experiencing a fine spell of civil rule and democratic governance. The economy was buoyant. After a long period of absence, the habits of civil and democratic conduct were beginning to take root in the land once again.

    At that point in time, there had been some hiccups in the system. The executive and the legislature, particularly, the lower house, were beginning to flex their muscles. Political Sharia had reared its ugly head. There had been some acts of executive highhandedness and even lawlessness, particularly in the brutal official reprisal at Odi. There were also muffled complaints about an absentee president who usually returned from long trips abroad to put some spanner in the works.

    But everybody was united in the belief that these minor problems were very surmountable, that some of the infractions were inevitable side-effects and consequences of the authoritarian culture of military rule, that Nigeria will comfortably ride the bumps of adversities. By his personal conduct at that point in time, the president, retired General Olusegun Obasanjo, had shown a zero tolerance for corruption. It was the belief of many that even if Obasanjo did not achieve any other thing, once he was able to rein in the monster of corruption every other good thing would follow.

    Today, it is sad to observe that we seem to have moved from a situation of great hope and expectation to one of utter dejection and despondency. What seems to be going on at the moment is a demonisation and demystification of democracy as the best system of governance ever devised by the human political imagination. Nigerians, particularly some sections of the political class, are bent on giving democracy a bad name in order to hang it.

    But if the political class are bent on committing political suicide, Nigerians have a right to retrieve their country from them before they push it over the cliff together with themselves. All those who suffered greatly in the process of enthroning this civil rule must be prepared to mount a vigil for democracy. The danger signals are there for all to see.

    In contrast to the current parlous situation of the nation, nine years ago seemed like an unfolding paradise. This time around, almost everything that can go wrong in a fragile nation and a more fragile democracy has gone wrong and without powerful countervailing institutions.

    As it was the case in the First Republic, we have a military stretched to the limits of its fabric and professional tether by internal security operations. We have a bitterly divided political elite. We have a situation in which a section of the country has been rendered virtually ungovernable by armed insurrection, with the other sections besieged by social, economic, political and religious vampires and vultures.

    But now in addition to these ancient woes, we have the alarming situation in which ordinary and normal military postings are judged and condemned through the prism of religious and ethnic coloration. We have warlords and powerlords jostling for contention. We have a ruling class that has become a byword for a bizarre and berserk variant of kleptocracy. Never in the history of this country has the run on the Exchequer been more openly defiant and in your face, particularly at the centre.

    The rot has been steady and systemic and did not begin with Goodluck Jonathan. But he has contributed his own valiant quota even where it can be logically argued that he had inherited an unlucky conjuncture. Since the advent of civil governance in 1999, increasingly costly and astronomically prohibitive elections have produced increasingly cruel travesties leading to democratic regressions rather than the consolidation of the democratic process. Civil rule in Nigeria has produced electoral results which cannot stand scrutiny or the elementary tests of integrity. The paradox is that the more costly and prohibitive the elections, the less satisfactory have been the outcome.

    The widely disputed elections of 1999 cost a paltry 8.6 billion naira. Four years later in 2003, the figures had jumped to an outlandish 45 billion naira. The result was an electoral terror which was widely condemned by both the local and international communities. The figures for the 2007 elections have been wisely kept from public scrutiny, which speaks volumes for the transparency and accountability of the officiating government and the integrity of the entire process.

    It was the first time Direct Data Capturing machines were used in the annals of elections in Nigeria. But it is instructive that when the then boss of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Maurice Iwu, attempted to demonstrate the efficacy of the new gadget before the national assembly, the result was a monumental fiasco with the machine not being able to capture any data. Nevertheless, Iwu went ahead to order thousands more of the malfunctioning contraption.

    In the event, the 2007 elections have been adjudged the worst in the history of the nation and probably in the history of humanity. Ballot-snatching, illegal candidate substitution, whimsical disenfranchisement of large sections of the electorate, computer-assisted generation of fake results, vote-switching, criminal manipulation of results and larcenous fabrication of figures became the order of the day. The disputes arising from that inglorious charade were still ongoing four years after. It was the most fraudulent electoral chicanery ever foisted on a people. Many years after, Nigerians are still shell-shocked by the brazen audacity of it all.

    Such was the scale and magnitude of this electoral heist that discerning and perceptive Nigerians began to whisper about the abolition of the Nigerian electorate. The former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, himself famously described the election as a do or die affair. The brutalisation of the average Nigerian psyche by this egregious effrontery has led to an abiding national trauma and widespread fear of the electoral process.

    In a sense, President Jonathan’s election seemed to have restored the hopes of majority of Nigerians in the ballot box. Although there were still widespread allegations of irregularities, particularly ballot-stuffing, vote-inflation and under-age voting, the outcome was adjudged by local and international observers as reflecting the wishes of the majority.

    But thereafter, Jonathan seems to have stumbled from one major political and economic blunder to another. As each new day brought in a fresh wave of revelations about massive scams and unimaginable heists, the authority and legitimacy of government have suffered incalculable damage. The reputation of democracy as a government of the people by the people and for the people has been dealt a fatal blow. So also has its twin legacy as the vehicle for the greatest good of the greatest number.

    In the long run, this brazen kleptocracy will lead to voters’ apathy and an ultimate loss of faith in democratic governance as a means of ameliorating the human condition. In a worst case scenario, the situation may topple into anarchy and the worst form of social miscreancy with unimaginable consequences for both nation and democratic process.

    Many have pointed at the lopsided structure of the country, particularly the overconcentration of power at the centre, as a disincentive to genuine democracy. A few have pointed at the residual and lingering efficacy of the despotic and authoritarian African traditional culture. Many more have ascribed it to some innate psychological conditioning which makes Africans predisposed to undemocratic conduct. It takes a long time for democracy to take roots among traditional non-democrats, it is cautioned.

    Whatever it is, it is now important for all men and women of goodwill to come together to mount a vigil for democracy in Nigeria. The collapse of the current democratic experiment in Nigeria may result in the eventual collapse of the country. If and when that happens, the humanitarian catastrophe for the subcontinent will be of apocalyptic magnitude.

    But if Nigeria can be persuaded to reclaim its destiny as the potential hub of progress and development for less humanly and naturally endowed African countries, it may yet be the African century. For the moment, that hope looks foolish and forlorn. Thank you all.

  • A president’s holy hypocrisy

    A president’s holy hypocrisy

    It remains a vivid image in many minds. I refer to the graphic picture of President Goodluck Ebele ‘Azikiwe’ Jonathan kneeling ever so humbly before the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, to receive divine blessings at the 2010 edition of, the church’s Holy Ghost Congress. It was shortly before the 2011 general elections. Before then, a clearly desperate President Jonathan had appealed to our emotions by regaling us with tales of his shoeless childhood. Little did we know that our votes for him would only foist a clueless leadership on us. At the last edition of the Holy Ghost Congress, President Jonathan once again was on hand to play the kneeling game. He went on his knees before Pastor Adeboye ostensibly seeking prayers to lead the country successfully. I have read some material online from gullible Nigerians commending the President’s carefully choreographed humility, modesty and simplicity. I am sure not many Nigerians are deceived. Surely, we cannot be taken for a ride twice or we would be utter fools. The revered man of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, a spiritual leader of impeccable integrity and undeniable credibility, has absolutely no excuse for allowing this desecration of his sacred altar by this theatrical exhibition of fake presidential holiness – especially at this sensitive time in the evolution of our country.

    The Holy Ghost Convention has clearly made its mark as one of the most important events in the spiritual calendar of our contemporary world. It has turned the Redemption Camp along the exceedingly disgraceful and disgusting death trap called the Lagos -Ibadan Express Way into a centre of universal attraction. The unprecedented expansion of the church under Pastor Adeboye’s leadership and the astounding success of the Holy Ghost convention provide evidence that he is genuinely called of God. Yet, you can trust the Nigerian elite. Everything bright and beautiful, they taint and distort. The Holy Ghost convention has become difficult to distinguish from what Pastor Tony Rapu once wittily described as the ‘Holy Ghost Supermarket’. At this vast spiritual shopping mall, all kinds of characters including charlatans, perverts, brutes and political opportunists come shopping trusting in the eternal grace of an indulgent Holy Ghost Father Christmas to meet their every want (not necessarily need). President Jonathan was easily the most prominent shopper at the last Holy Ghost convention. He came shopping for the support and sympathy of Christians ahead of the 2015 elections but he went about it in his usual cleverly deceptive manner. Now, Daddy G.O. is not an ignorant man. He holds a first class degree in Mathematics and a doctorate in the same discipline. Why he would allow his highly venerated altar to be so brazenly and cynically manipulated for political ends simply beats me.

    On what grounds was President Goodluck Jonathan given the opportunity to make political remarks at the last Holy Ghost convention, which is supposed to be a purely spiritual event? It would appear that at the Redemption Camp, all worshippers are equal but some are more equal than others. For the past two years, the Boko Haram insurgents have effectively banished President Jonathan from the Eagle Square in Abuja, reducing him to the sorry and ridiculous spectacle of marking the country’s national day within the precincts of the Presidential Villa. The Boko Haram is making the insane demand that Nigeria become an Islamic theocratic state. Is this not the time for the Nigerian President to demonstrate a higher rationality and morality by affirming at all times through his words and actions the secularity of the Nigerian state? Is this the time for him to engage in the hypocritical posturing of kneeling before the leader of a spiritual sect in a multi-religious state under fundamentalist religious siege? Will President Jonathan find a convenient Friday to join worshippers. at the Central mosque in Abuja, Kano, Maiduguri or Sokoto to demonstrate that he is the President of all Nigerians and not just Christians?

    While addressing the congregation at the Redemption Camp, President Jonathan thanked them for their prayers, which he claimed aided his ascension to power in 2011. Well, having experienced his pathological cluelessness thus far, I hope that Nigerian Christians will begin to pray fervently for urgent deliverance from the country’s current lackluster leadership. In his characteristically crafty manner, the President said it was still too early for him to start thinking of the 2015 election but hinted that the power situation in the country has improved. But the question is if this is the level of power supply we should be enjoying today with over $16 billion gone down the drain over the

    last 13 years? He equally seized the opportunity to promise Nigerians free and fair elections in future asserting that the last election in Ondo State was free and fair. Now, I have commented extensively on the Ondo governorship elections and have moved on. However, President Jonathan and his spin doctors should stop creating the impression that they are doing Nigerians a favour by allowing credible and transparent elections. The current level of electoral credibility we have achieved has been through the sweat and struggle of Nigerians and we still have a long way to go to strengthen the country’s electoral reforms. President Jonathan has no choice in the matter. If he seeks to manipulate the electoral process against the will of the people, they will resist him and the people will win. The forces of truth and justice are irresistible.

    But still talking about the Ondo elections, is President Jonathan aware that some of the aggrieved aspirants are in court as they are perfectly entitled to pursue their grievances legally? Is he not pre -emptying the courts by unilaterally declaring the elections free and fair? Of course, one of the heinous acts of injustice, which this pretentiously holy President has perpetuated, is the continued suspension from office of the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, despite the advice of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to the contrary. The President seeks every opportunity to exhibit his religiosity. Even while unjustly preventing a man against whom no wrong has been proven to resume his position; Jonathan has the temerity to wear the sanctimonious garb of self righteousness. at the Holy Ghost convention. Is he aware that in Christian theology, the Holy Ghost is the third arm of, the spiritual trinity that superintends the affairs of the universe? If he can deceive man, can he deceive the Holy Ghost? Does he realise that Martin Luther once famously said that the world is erected on moral foundations and that, in the words of Wole Soyinka, justice is the first condition of humanity? I am convinced that the Holy Ghost will be most embarrassed at the brazen injustice perpetrated by President Jonathan in the Justice Salami case at the behest of his party hawks. Yet, he hypocritically throws his holiness in our faces with insulting insolence. Is his treatment of Salami the action of a God fearing man? In any case, with the President’s victimization of Justice Salami for partisan reasons, will any judge ever again summon the courage to annul elections rigged in favour of Jonathan’s interests? Is our democracy not in grave danger?

    Kneeling so innocently before Pastor Adeboye that night was a President who on the very first day of this year announced the sudden removal of the purported fuel subsidy immediately resulting in the skyrocketing of, the product’s price. Vehement nationwide protests brought the country virtually to a stand still for almost two weeks. The President and his economic team insisted that the economy would collapse without the removal of the subsidy. Of course, the government was forced to reduce the price of fuel and the economy has not collapsed. Rather, various probes have demonstrated that a substantial chunk of the purported subsidy is a huge fraud and that the NNPC is a cesspit of corruption. Yet, the Minister in charge of the petroleum sector sits pretty pretending to be carrying out reforms to sanitize the sector. She is her worshipful majesty who cannot be touched. The Holy Ghost must find all this terribly embarrassing. Indeed, if the Holy Ghost had a whip, I am pretty sure somebody would have received a heavy thrashing on Pa Adeboye’s altar that night and you can guess who. Just like Jesus did to the traders desecrating his father’s house, the Holy Ghost would have thundered “turn not my redemption camp into a den of charlatans, hypocrites and opportunists”

  • Fixing the Eagles in South Africa

    We are on the march again for football glory. Pundits are tipping the Super Eagles to upset the chart even though they were absent at the 2010 edition – no thanks to the humbling pie handed the Nigerians by a more adventurous Guinean side.

    There is the strong feeling that Nigerians perform better when the odds are against them. The purists hinge their permutations on our players’ exploits in their European clubs. They can’t be far from the truth since these are the indices that fans rely on in predicting the eventual winners of big competitions, such as the Africa Cup of Nations.

    But have the Eagles changed from their old ways of not giving their best during the country’s matches? It is hard to place a bet that these Eagles could be different. We need to expose those things that we all cannot see that haunt the players during competitions. Whereas the fans worry about our chances before big games, the players cannot be disturbed. It is just a game and it is this indifference they carry onto the pitch to record all the poor results we have seen.

    The mentality of the players has not changed. They love the good life of wine and woman. They love the bottle, partying all the time like movie stars. If they don’t do it, it affects their performance.

    Since France 1998, the Eagles have been bad testimonial to professional football. They behave as if they are demi-gods who must party to ease tension. They constitute themselves into cabals and dictate what they want. Things got so bad that the players picked their jerseys and those who should coach them. Of course, they decide what they should earn and insist on staying in the best hotels.

     Their wishes were always fulfilled, yet they circumvented all processes meant to ensure that they were not distracted. These boys are too rich. They flaunt their wealth by paying for rooms in the hotels where they stay. Their friends, most of who are pimps, litter the team’s camps. They pretend to be discussing serious matters with the players, but all they do is set the clandestine moves that distract them during competitions.

    Things hit to the crescendo in 2004 when three players were expelled from the camp for frolicking and breaking camp rules. In 2008, some players had the temerity to ask Berti Vogts for permission to party in Ghana. The German, we are told, granted them. The Eagles fell apart and earned the sobriquet Super Chicken.

     Need I repeat what happened at the South Africa 2010 World Cup? What many consider as the difference are the new faces but they can’t be better than those dropped. Perhaps these new faces will create the competitive edge to get the coaches to actualise their dreams. It is fair to say that they appear disciplined in the camp but that has always been the trend with every new manager.

     The Super Eagles are an intriguing group to superintend in big competitions. They bond needlessly in fighting for their entitlements, irrespective of how they fare in matches. They break into groups when the games begin. This has been the biggest problem with the Eagles in competitions. Sadly, some of the coaches align with the dropped players to rock the camp.

    Indeed, some disgruntled sports administrators take side with the players to worsen the situation, all in a bid to ensure that the NFF board fails. Personal vendetta rules the camp with National Sports Commission (NSC) chieftains fuelling bitterness among NFF men.

     It is clear that the Eagles’ biggest opponents during tournament are not the participating countries but themselves. Their conduct, commitment, determination and concentration during competitions leave much to be desired. We need to ask them if they truly want to represent us. This idea of reporting to camp to cause pain by not putting in their best during matches must stop. Nigeria will not cease to be a sovereign nation if we parade young boys who will fight for glory than the reluctant bunch that the Eagles have been. Those who are not ready to report in camp by midnight of January 4 should be dropped. Keshi should paraded boys who will be focused on lifting Nigeria’s image in global football competitions, not nursing fathers or journeymen transiting with the Eagles, but with finalised plans for cruises to choice areas, such as the Bahamas.

    Our players see camping periods as an imprisonment. The job must be done quickly for them to proceed on holidays. The nation may

    Eagles have been. Those who are not ready to report in camp by midnight of January 4 should be dropped. Keshi should paraded boys who will be focused on lifting Nigeria’s image in global football competitions, not nursing fathers or journeymen transiting with the Eagles, but with finalised plans for cruises to choice areas, such as the Bahamas.

    Our players see camping periods as an imprisonment. The job must be done quickly for them to proceed on holidays. The nation may mourn their unceremonious exit from big competitions, yet their deals in Europe are secured.

    Our players should be prepared to sacrifice their holidays to make Nigerians happy. After all, 90 per cent of them earned their stardom by playing for this country. Rather than destroy this platform, they should leave it where they found it.

    Keshi must drop all the big-headed players for determined ones who are hungry for glory. We are tired of watching immobile boys who lack the zest to perform.

    We have changed several coaches, the NFF men and other backroom coaching staff, yet we are still rebuilding. Maybe, this competition would provide the mirror to critically look at those we field in matches and ask if it isn’t about time we dropped them, no matter what they do with their European clubs.

    Our players’ classy European shows that we appreciate to call for their inclusion in the Eagles should be given a rethink. They appear to have reached their apogee and cannot give better than what we have seen in the past.

    The striking difference now, unlike in 2010, is that there is no Presidential Task Force (PTF) struggling to perform Nigeria Football Federation (NFF’s) duties. This needless struggle for supremacy was chiefly responsible for the country’s shambolic outing at the South Africa 2010 World Cup tournament.

    One only hopes that President Goodluck Jonathan can stop the government delegation from accompanying the Eagles to South Africa, like he did with the Olympians and Paralympians. These men and women add to the problems rather than resolve them. They invade the dressing rooms and disturb the coaches from telling the boys the mistakes made and how to correct them. They become emergency coaches. They are the ones who fan embers of bitterness among the players and coaches in a bid to get at their perceived enemies in NFF.

    The perpetual rebuilding of the squad since 1998 must be concluded; otherwise, people would be forced to ask: how long will it take to complete this structure called Super Eagles.

    However, it is soul-lifting to hear Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi admit that the Eagles are not under any pressure to win the Africa Cup of Nations. Abduallahi doesn’t expect the Eagles to lie down and be the group’s whipping team. He expects them to compete favourably to make Nigerians see the future in the squad that is being rejuvenated.

    Abdullahi’s proclamation is the biggest fillip the Eagles need to surprise the continent. It has never been so good. With ministerial interference out of the team’s workings, the players and, indeed, the coaches would have themselves to blame if we don’t play to our potentials.

  • Let’s look back

    Let’s look back

    Princess Comfort Olufunke Ponnle, wife of Prince Tunde Ponnle, Chairman of MicCom Cables and Wires and MicCom Golf Hotel and Resort, has died at 68. The Nation Editor Gbenga Omotoso relives his encounters with the late philanthropist

    THE call came in the dead of the night. About 1.15 am. The city of Lagos was fast asleep. I was in my study. I grabbed the phone as soon as it started ringing, its music like a police siren piercing the thick, dark night.

    “Hello daddy!”

    “Gbenga, how’re you.”

    “I’m fine sir”

    “Your mummy is dying o. But take it easy. She has asked for a befitting funeral and that’s why I’m calling you.”

    “Ah, daddy! Are you saying it’s hopeless? But mummy told me the worst was over.”

    I dropped the phone to return to my work, but the muse had taken a flight and I started struggling with it all. I couldn’t sleep. I was waiting to be told that a miracle had happened; she would live and see us all again, her face wreathed in smiles – as usual. If wishes were horses…

    Later in the afternoon, daddy called to break the most tragic – personally – news I had heard for some time. Mrs Olufunke Comfort Ponnle, a princess, an engineer, a golf enthusiast, fashion buff, socialite, a great mother of many children – including the five that are hers biologically – a damn good wife and a true Christian, was dead.

    The loss is not Prince Tunde Ponnle’s alone. The MicCom Group chair will surely miss his wife, with whom he did everything that was done and left undone everything that is yet to be done. She was strong in character and blessed with wisdom – the virtues that pulled many of us to her.

    But many would swear that her philanthropy was the magic. They may be right. I recall how the late Mrs Ponnle told me of her plan to open the house she built for her former teacher, Mrs Oni, in Ibadan. She told of how she once went to see Mrs Oni, after many failed attempts. She found her old teacher in a not-too-pleasing environment and decided to change that. The late Mrs Ponnle asked Mrs Oni to find a piece of land in the neighborhood for a friend who lived overseas and would like to build a house for her mother. Mrs Oni found a derelict building. Mrs Ponnle bought it, flattened the structure and from the ruins rose a beautiful bungalow that was presented to Mrs Oni. She was shocked by the gift.

    Such was Mrs Ponnle’s generousity. There is a long list of beneficiaries of the MicCom Foundation scholarship. Many of them have grown up to become notable citizens.

    There was never a mourning moment with mummy. She was always upbeat, telling stories, many of which were not merely anecdotal but loaded with hard facts and live characters. Many of them were to help us strengthen our marriage; others were mere jokes to animate the environment.

    I recall when I had a personal challenge that was too hot for me to handle, mummy didn’t just advise me on how to tackle it, she also led the way, praying with me. And, to God be the glory, the mountain was flattened.

    If mummy wanted you to do something for her and it was taking time, she would threaten to abandon daddy and look for another husband. Would you let that happen? Of course, you won’t. You would then transfer the pressure to whoever was in charge. “Now, I won’t look for another husband,” mummy would say after the job must have been done. Such was her sense of humour – delightful and infectious.

    Why do the good ones leave early? There seems to be no explanation that can satisfy a grieving relation of the departed as the whole question of death is shrouded in confounding mystery that dwarfs human intelligience. Science tries hard to answer the question . When a man checks into a hospital, they run tests that indicate what to treat. If he dies, the doctor issues a certificate, stating the cause of death. If the death is controversial, a post-mortem is ordered. A report is issued, but it is never enough to clear off the tears, especially when the death is so sudden – no prior complication.

    Besides, every death requires an explanation. Old age. Accident. Suicide. Robbery. Communal clash. As far as Africans are concerned, no death is natural; there must be some ethereal forces doing the bidding of some earthly bodies who insist that the dead has overstayed his visa here.

    To spiritualists, a man – or woman – dies when he or she has completed his assignment here. He simply moves on (up?) to take up higher responsibilities. Therefore, he needs a quiet but reflective send-off, not weeping and wailing. Those who subscribe to this allegorical explanation, often load the coffin of a departed one with food, drinks and other items, which they feel he or she may need. But, the question is: shouldn’t his loved ones have a say in how he departs, where he goes and what awaits him? No byes; final byes? It is not for man to know, even though he keeps probing.

    Besides, why do babies die? The spiritualist finds an answer in reincarnation. Every baby is believed to be making just another appearance here after living an earlier life. Those who are not supposed to be here, probably because they are beyond this level, are quickly sent back home to be reassigned. Some are born with deformities. To this school of thought, it is a sign of the life they had lived earlier. Law of karma?

    There is also the logic angle. Man was made of dust and to dust he returns. Since there is birth, it then follows that death is inevitable. Everything with a beginning must have an end, it is said. The Holy Book backs this in Ecclesiastes, chapter 3 that “to everything there is a season”. “ A time to be born and a time to die… .”

    Whichever way one looks at death, it is a painful experience. It is the end. No. Not quite. Our deeds – good or bad – speak for us after we may have answered the call. It is in this light that I view the departure of Mummy Ponnle. We should look back and count our blessings.

    She lives on in the hearts of the legion of students who enjoyed her scholarship; those for whom she provided shelter; those who got jobs through her; the vulnerable who she protected and the hopeless to whom she gave hope. And those lovely women with whom she played golf.

    If laughter is allowed in heaven –I bet it is, being a place of eternal joy – mummy will surely have a legion of fans.

    Farewell super mummy of a “world class editor.”

  • Security, governments and sovereign reputations

    The breaking news on the internet last Thursday about Nigeria was that 30 gunmen had entered a fortified building in Katsina in Northern Nigeria and kidnapped a French engineer and according to the State Police Commissioner burnt the nearest Police station to prevent being chased by the Police. At home in Nigeria in the news media , the hot news was the details of the helicopter crash that killed the former governor of Kaduna State Patrick Yakowa and the former National Security Adviser retired General Owoeye Azazi over the last weekend on their way back from a funeral they had attended at the home state of the nation’s President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Unfortunately such bad news was not peculiar to Nigeria and that really is the focus of our discussions today . We shall look at the way security issues are shaping the sovereign reputations of nations globally . Especially in a world in which information available from the internet have reshaped the way and manner that nations and governments have had to come to terms with security lapses of all shapes and sizes in a bid to protect their citizenry from the assault of well armed killers with inhuman and bizarre motives .

    In the US, President Barak Obama wiped off a tear as he addressed Americans on the news of the killing of 20 school children aged between 5 and 10 by a man aged 20 in an elementary school. Later in the week the US president ordered his Vice President Joe Biden to look into ways to stop such senseless and random killings with guns which were becoming rampant in the US and make recommendations within weeks .Also in the same week the report of the Inquiry ordered by the US government on the killing of the American Ambassador in Benghazi this year came out blaming lax security for the disaster as security contractors were a poor match for the killers who were well armed and well trained.

    These events and incidents in both the USA and Nigeria have political implications locally and globally for the image of the two nations in the comity of nations or the international community . We shall analyse them in that context.

    We shall also look at an event that happened during the week that will shape future perceptions of leaders with regard to how they have used their power and responsibility to make or mar the sovereign reputation of their nation or part of the world . The event happened in Russia where President Vladmir Putin announced that he supports Russian legislators making laws stopping the adoption of Russian children by Americans but also used the occasion to explain why he cannot be branded a dictator or be said to be running an authoritarianism in Russia .

    Starting with Nigeria again the two tragic and painful incidents are unfortunately in tune with Nigeria’s corporate or sovereign reputation in terms of terrorism , kidnapping and aviation disasters. The list of air crashes in Nigeria is legendary and the fear of air travel both for local and foreign destinations is not only mortal but is sickeningly morbid amongst Nigerians especially those whose businesses and jobs require travelling over the length and breadth of our nation.

    In the case of the kidnapping in Katsina the news report had it that Boko Haram has not claimed responsibility and that Katsina has relatively been spared the horror of such kidnappings till now . But Kaduna State , whose leader and governor died in the helicopter crash in Bayelsa has had a running battle with Boko Haram over weekly Church bombings one of which took place recently in a church in a military barracks . Given the ease with which knowledge and information filter through virally on the internet , the Nigerian nation ‘s sovereign reputation is that of a nation where people cannot go to church for fear of being bombed . That however is not the situation on the ground as millions go to church without security fears in Lagos, the South West and the East without fear of being bombed or kidnapped.

    Indeed the horror of the death of Kaduna state governor is that the Christians of Kaduna state have lost their Christian Governor , a rarity that occurred when the Vice President Mohammed Sambo was chosen as President Jonathan Goodluck’s running mate in the 2011 elections and the former’s deputy governor was sworn in as Governor of Kaduna state . It was rumored that Boko Haram’s fierce church bomb attacks on Kaduna were because of an incumbent Christian governor in a state that Boko Haram feels should be having Sharia Law.

    Now the tragedy in Bayelsa has favored Boko Haram’s wish , as a Muslim governor in the person of Patrick Yakowa’s former deputy governor has been sworn in as Governor of Kaduna state . Now it remains to be seen whether the coming of a Muslim Governor in Kaduna state will stem the fury of church bombing by Boko Haram in Kaduna state , or exacerbate it for one to draw appropriate political conclusions , with the concomitant security and sovereign reputation implications for not only Kaduna , State but Nigeria as a whole .

    In the US where a CNN report on Wednesday noted that 34 Americans are being killed by guns daily the sovereign reputation of that nation is that of a dangerous place to live in and that could be difficult to admit or defend for any citizen or government of the US . But in Connecticut where children of tender age were killed just like that one , or any citizen of the world , should think twice before making the US a destination at least in an ideal matter of choice situation What moved me most on the tragedy was the statement credited to the state governor that –Evil visited this community today .

    I think that should sum up the correct civilized community reaction to the gruesome murders as the name of the terrorist should just be substituted with the word Evil and his real name obliterated from human memory forever thus denying him the ignominious and mad recognition that drive such devil incarnate to their heinous crimes . For now the US must amend its gun possession laws in way that does not make individual self protection rights infinitely mightier than the security of the larger society.

    That is what common sense dictates , given the wasteful and high human costs of sustaining the present legal dispensation . Joe Biden, already at the behest of the US president , should drive the US legislature in that direction urgently to let the world know that Americans have respect for human lives – the opposite of which is the US sovereign reputation at present, globally.

    In Russia’s case Vladmir Putin was getting even with the US on the adoption laws because the US had not allowed the Russians to investigate allegations that Americans who adopted Russian kids had not treated them well .But that is typical diplomatic brick bats between old enemies and sometimes friend s. What interests me is that in the same report the Russian president objected to being called a dictator or that his regime is authoritarian and his excuse for this was that he did not tamper with the Russian constitution which he felt should have been easier . He even went on to say that he became Prime Minister after two presidential terms . Which is quite interesting for someone who claims to be a democrat . The essence of term or tenure presidency in a transparent democracy is to avert a monopoly of power by any individual and it is that principle that Vladmir Putin has sidetracked and manipulated to now hold on to power in seeming perpetuity in Russia.

    For him to say that he could have changed the constitution shows really that he is not at heart a true democrat but just another dictator bending the rules to remain in power as a monarch born to rule as it were or another dictator just like the ones just being ousted by the Arabs in the Middle East.

    Really it is a matter of time before the Russian masses, seeing the Arabs and their street demonstrations on satellite TV and the internet, get wise to Putin’s crude machinations to stay in power by all means , while making a mockery of democracy and transparency in Russia.

  • The exemplary duo

    Human history is invariably built on the biographies of certain outstanding personalities. Perhaps without such personalities, what we call history would not have come into existence. That is why history and man are seen as Siamese twins. The synergy between them is such that history makes man just as man makes history. It may be difficult or even impossible for instance to write the history of Macedonia without Alexander the Great or that of India without Gautama Buddha or even that of France without Napoleon Bonaparte. Those were men who formed the axis around which the history of their countries is built. Writing the history of Islam without any mention of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is unimaginable. There couldn’t have been anything called Islam without that greatest man that ever lived.

    Man becomes history after vacating the stage upon which he had been a performer. Any actor who wants to leave a footprint on the sands of time must transform into a pleasant reading for those who may wish to learn from his chronicled experiences. A confirmation of this assertion came to bear in Lagos last Sunday when a galaxy of Nigerian Muslim crème de la crème swarmed the Lagos Airport Hotel to say kudos to certain rare exemplary duo. The unique gathering was at the instance of the Federation of Muslim Graduates’ Association in Nigeria (FEMGAN).

    Two outstanding members of that association were deemed fit for honour and the city was painted red for them. The duo of Prof Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede who was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin until a few weeks ago and Barrister Bashir Olayinka Balogun, the Edo State Commissioner of Police until a couple of months ago remain vertical in the midst of horizontal men having completed their tenures of office without blemish. Both men had traversed the length and breadth of their respective professions walking tall with their heads raised high where others trembled like Lilliputians.

    Here are men of rare postures who had allowed their consciences to serve as the vehicle conveying them through their peregrinations on earth from adolescence to manhood. They bear the light with which to illuminate the dark tunnel of life for others to pass through without encountering any huddle. These men are as much a pride to Islam as they are to themselves and their families. Judging by today’s murky water of greed and unprecedented corruption in Nigeria both of which have become an obnoxious vogue and knowing how Oloyede and Balogun maintained dignity in their respective offices despite the overwhelming perversion in the land, no right-thinking person will doubt the fact that these exemplary men truly deserve honour. Both men are being appreciated and celebrated here not for rising to the respective posts they attained in public service but retaining their heads where other were losing theirs.

    This is not a biography in which the story of birth and upbringing is often told. Neither is it one in which the schools attended and the teachers encountered is chronicled. The concern here is the slippery pyramid of life which these icons had to mount from bottom to apex before the observing world could think of them as men of honour. How was that pyramid mounted? At what stage did recognition begin to beckon to each of the revered duo?

    Professor Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede had become a household name in the academia before now, not only in Nigeria or Africa but in the entire world just like the University he was privileged to head as Vice-Chancellor. What qualified him for such a vertical position is an interesting question for which most inquisitive minds may earnestly seek an answer. And the answer is not far-fetched.

    Unlike most Nigerian men of letters in the Ivory Tower, Professor Oloyede wears a binocular with which he sees life from two opposing world the West and the East. And this became evident not just in his management of the University of Ilorin in a tenure of five years but also in the humility, selflessness and patriotism with which he demonstrated civility and exhibition of knowledge in that office. The difference between a man of letters and that of knowledge is quite clear. While the one sees life through the common eye, the other sees it with an uncommon vision.

    In the days of Socrates, Aristotle and Herodotus, when education was an adorned virtue used as a yardstick for measuring civility and value, no one cared about the material gains accruing from it. Bastardisation of education only set in when certificate became a means of valuing its material worth. Thus, with certificate, mere literacy began to be misconceived as education. And today, Nigerian Universities have been reduced to centres of advanced literacy rather than those of education. Whereas literacy is just an added value to education the modern day man has ignorantly but arrogantly interpolated the one for the other. This is what Professor Oloyede resented in his academic odyssey when he chose to combine eastern education with that of the West with a determination to take advantage of both in fertilising the academic soil of Nigeria’s future. For those who didn’t know, that was why he specialised in Islamic Studies even at the professorial level.

    Professor Oloyede’s philosophy of life seems to tally ascetically with that of Daniel Webster who in a memorable poem stated as follows: ‘’If we work marble it will perish; if we work upon brass time will efface it; if we rear temples they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds and instill in them just principles; we are then engraving that upon tablets which no time can efface but will brighten to all eternity’’.

    This is the philosophy that propelled him to adopt contentment as a principle right from the early age. Why relating his reason for contesting for the office of the Vice-Chancellor, he once told some medical students of his University who went to congratulate him on assumption of office as Vice-Chancellor that he never intended to contest for that office. But when an academic charlatan with an ulterior motive in the same University threatened to expose him if he dared contest for the post, he (Oloyede) saw it as a challenge to put his privacy on a public table. His intention was actually not to contest but to see what would be exposed in his privacy. And, contrary to the expectations of skeptics, he emerged as the Vice-Chancellor without an iota of blemish.

    Before contesting for that post he had served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor twice. First, he was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and later Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration in the same University of Ilorin where he had spent his entire academic life as a student, as an alumnus lecturer, as a Director in several areas and as a Professor. Thus, he had seen that University inside-out and that was enough to propel an ambition in him to target the highest office in the Citadel for which he was eminently qualified but it did not. Professor Oloyede relayed to his students the story of his unintended contest for the highest office not as mere bravado but as an encouragement towards service to humanity with humility and patriotism.

    When he noticed that the position of the Executive Secretary of the Association of African Universities was more meaningful and more beneficial to Nigeria than that of the President which he then held, Professor Oloyede encouraged some of his Nigerian colleagues to apply for that post promising that he would resign his Presidential position in that Association to enable a fellow Nigerian occupy the office. Incidentally, most of his colleagues did not believe him. But when the time came and one of them indicated interest, Oloyede surprisingly resigned as President of African Vice-Chancellors just after two years in an office where he had opportunity to spend two terms of renewable four years each.

    However, the Professor who benefited from Oloyede’s large-heartedness by assuming the office of the Executive Secretary of African Universities eventually ventured into Nigerian local politics and relinquished the covetous post in favour of that of the Secretary to a State Government (SSG) thereby depriving Nigeria the benefit for which Oloyede had resigned as President.

    Only a few Nigerians in the academic arena can surpass Oloyede’s record when it comes to the ‘nitty gritty’ of academic administration. Yet, you can hardly notice it in his demeanour. He is not only the first alumnus of the Faculty of Arts in the University of Ilorin to graduate with a ‘First Class’ he is also the first alumnus of that University to obtain a PhD from the same University. Not only that, Professor Oloyede scored many other ‘FIRSTS’ in that University to the admiration of the upcoming students and encouragement for those with same aspiration among them. He was the ‘FIRST’ Director of Academic Planning and first alumni President to be a member of the Governing Council of the University. Professor Oloyede is also the first Unilorin alumnus to become a Deputy Vice-Chancellor and subsequently the first alumnus to become the Vice-Chancellor of the University.

    And at the national level, he was the first Vice-Chancellor in Nigeria to introduce Computer-Based Testing (CBT) method of screening applicants in the country just as he was the first Vice-Chancellor to lead a second generation University to the number one position in Nigeria based on external ranking. He also became the first Nigerian Vice-Chancellor to emerge as President of the Association of African Universities (AAU) and at the same time the Chairman of Association of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU). Still not done, he is the first Nigerian Vice-Chancellor to combine the Board membership of International Association of Universities (IAU) with those of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and Association of African Universities (AAU).

    With the above listed ‘FIRSTS’ he was (as Vice-Chancellor) able to make Unilorin the first Federal University in Nigeria to run a decade of uninterrupted academic calendar and prompted that University to be internationally ranked as one of the very best 20 Universities in Africa. Also, through his astute academic administration, the University of Ilorin was able to maintain the first position in national ranking for three consecutive years (2009, 2010 and 2011). Another major plus in this man’s life but which most people hardly focus is arbitrating factor. He does not just resent conflicts in whatever form he also regards arbitration as a duty. Thus, he immediately initiates arbitration and reconciliation wherever he notices any conflict be it interpersonal, intertribal or interreligious and ensures resolution without minding the cost. And his impartiality in doing this is generally acknowledged and revered across all borders.

    In Professor Oloyede is a great example for those who aspire to be great in a world where greatness is a slippery land. His life has become a guide for the younger professionals and artisans, especially among Muslims who need guidance either as a warning on the vanity of human wishes or as encouragement or both.

    Unfortunately however, this same Professor Oloyede who is also the Executive Secretary/Coordinator of Nigeria Interreligious Council (NIREC) was the one somebody in Ilorin recently wanted to paint black by linking him to a crime of arson in a Church. Can that be of any surprise? Nigerians are notorious for three things: avarice, corruption and mudslinging. But can the sun be affected in any way if a group of blind men claim not to be aware of its existence? Or how does it bother a brook which water the herds decide to boycott?

    From what we know of Professor Oloyede, it is only left for the present days to raise up their voices in chorusing ‘GOD BLESS YOU’ to him so that the future days can chorus back ‘AMEN’ in response.

    Barrister Bashir Olayinka Babatunde Balogun is a devout, practical Muslim in conduct and mannerism with phenomenal abhorrence for corruption and indecency. His forage into the Nigeria Police Force in 1980 might not be unconnected with that natural tendency in him. Yinka Balogun, as he is popularly known among Muslim brothers, is a quiet, cool-headed and forthright gentleman who pitches his tent with destiny. He sees hustling as a form of corruption and refrains completely from it. He believes that man can only attain that which Allah has ordained for him and that no man can give what Allah does not give. Yet, he is quite pragmatic in his approach to life while taking his conscience for the scale with which he weighs his deeds from time to time.

    Throughout his sojourn in the Nigeria Police Force, Yinka Balogun always found himself as an odd man out at any post because he refused to concur with any abnormal norm of the moment. And he was regularly treated by most of his colleagues as a lone ranger. Here is a man who, having studied and understood the social terrain of Nigeria, resolved never to initiate or engage in any struggle he could not handle all alone. As a political scientist, he understands the theory of collective responsibility and the possible implications of its entailed betrayal. Thus, his permanent companion in all his actions is his conscience with which he has never parted for a moment. While most of his colleagues and even his juniors in the Police Force jostled for promotion by other means and sometimes got it, Yinka held on tenaciously to the will of Allah through destiny believing that with Allah there is a scheduled time for everything.

    Not only that, Yinka also believes that knowledge is the basis of every success in human life. To him an orphan is not a person who is bereaved of his or her parents but one who is bereaved of knowledge and discipline, hence his continuous pursuit of further knowledge despite heavy personal and official responsibilities. While still in the Police Force, he knew that a thorough police officer ought to be well familiar with the law of the land and thus enrolled for a degree in law after obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. He also knew that obtaining degrees in Political Science and Law could form a solid background for any modern man in cotemporary time but the combination of both degrees was not enough to make one a crack professional police officer that he eventually became. He therefore embarked on a series of professional courses in addition to the original police training he received initially. Some professional courses he attended include: Criminal Justice Administration Course at the University of West Virginia, USA, Command Course/ASCON, Seminar Management Course on Police Administration and Strategy in Cape Town, South Africa and Master Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ibadan. He also attended the Senior Executive Intelligence Management Course at the Institute of Security Studies, Abuja as well as African/Middle East Chapter Retrainers Course for FBI National Academy Association (FBINNA) organised by the United States Department of Justice at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Botswana.

    Equipped with this chain of trainings, which he combined with a formidable educational background, Yinka was able to walk the ladder of Nigeria Police Force to the top except where politics became a barrier. He served as Divisional Crime Officer, Divisional Police Officer, Assistant Force Public Relations Officer II, Acting Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, Officer-in-Charge of Motoring Unit, Officer-in-Charge of Special Enquiry Bureau (SEB), Prosecution/Legal Officer (CID), Divisional Police Officer (DPO) AND Officer-in-Charge of Anti-Fraud Division in various places and at various times.

    He also served as Team Leader (General Investigation) FCID, Assistant Commissioner of Police (General Investigation), Principal Staff Officer to Inspector General of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Patrol and Guard, Operations as well as SCID, Officer-in-Charge, Special Fraud Unit(Ikoyi and Abuja) and finally, he became a Commissioner of Police in Ekiti and Edo States respectively before his retirement on October 30.

    In all these, what really matters is the indelible mark of dignity Barrister Yinka Balogun has left behind as a legacy. If transparency with dignity is not celebrated in these exemplary duo what else should be celebrated? God bless the duo! God bless the Muslim Ummah!

  • This year, as all others (2)

    Years pass like dreams of mist and our informed analyses like a drunkard’s fart. Its the stink that’s nauseating. It pervades every nook and cranny. It lingers. It assaults our airspaces like bad breath.

    Something is wrong with you and me. And something tells me we know of it. We are just too scared to admit it. Perhaps it’s mere imprudence; or maybe its willful misunderstanding that drives us to stay inert while dream-castles we build are felled to rubble, by elements of state desperate that we remain the threshold of ruined hopes.

    Perhaps its cowardice that drives us to analyze this and analyze that and everything and anything, touting whims, pushing logic and remedies we would never pay heed to.

    The coming year won’t be different. Thanks to you and me, 2013 will not be the year in which our dreams come true; it couldn’t be the year in which we shall enjoy good leadership. May it not be the year that we would cease to coexist as members of the order of the area of the Niger.

    May it not be the year that you and I would cease to breathe kindred air in kindred airspaces. It could be the year in which for all our pretensions to selflessness and grace, we shall remain, nothing.

    Next year could bring more pain, more sad stories, more grief and this is the year that becomes the prologue to such sad, sad stories. This is the year in which we garnish catastrophe and grief with the trimmings of greed and plunder.

    Our talk is of change, still. Our talk is of progress and peace; as if talking change and mooting peace and progress would rid our lives of every tragedy we orchestrate. Some would rather that I regurgitate philosophy and logic of dead and diminishing icons turned fancy daguerreotypes. Why? Just because it is elitist or socio-politically correct to do so?

    Some would prefer that we continually espouse the “complacence” of Afenifere, the “superiority” of Arewa and the “vitality”of Ohanaeze Ndigbo even as time and politics demystify their touted clout and exploits. Shall we persist in doing-the-done-thing that usually amounts to nothing –pushing rant, fruitless vitriol and insignificant agendas as if our lives depended on it?

    Yet we persist in our fruitless venture flaying and applauding the critic next door, as our politics dictate. Still we stand clueless, even through oppression and misery, our lowliness of mind and might reinforced by our inclinations to tolerate fraudulence and celebrate it.

    Tell me, in 2013, what is it that we seek? A martyr to murder or just another scapegoat to substantiate the charade we are set to perpetuate at the 2015 general elections? Perhaps we seek some unrepentant idealist to demand for us, freedom; even as we for whom it is been demanded are yet unsure of our right to demand it.

    For all our bluster, who have we found worthy of the proverbial mandate by which we seek to break free? You? Me? Who? For all our PhDs, M.B.As, HNDs, B.SCs, LLBs et al, we still throw our hands up exasperatedly. We still condemn and criticize, offering nothing practicable to replace everything we condemn and criticize. The knowledge we flaunt makes our lives no better.

    Our anecdotes and intellectual protestations aren’t worth a random fart. You see, despite our touted knowledge and humanity, we lack the stuff real men are made of; we lack such measure worthy of the freeborn.

    And our dream is to take charge. From whom? How? When do we hope to take charge? Is it when the moment steals by our anger and renders our grief acceptable enough? Is it when the instant deserts the dreamer and the bated dream?

    It will simply not do to do like we used to do. It will simply not do to hasten daylight in order to ornament it with a dark pall. Our talk is of freedom but we silence our will to the wiles of vanquishers we have learnt to celebrate. Our talk is of freedom yet we smother our sighs to insipidity of folks teaching our clueless fold to remain commonplace.

    Shall we remain commonplace? Shall we remain nothing? As we fumble into the New Year, shall we continue to make history as a nation of freaks forever perverting acclaim and summoning a feast to commemorate our descent into despondency and grief? Shall we continue to accord the world first class seats to our festivals of shame and bloodshed?

    Come 2013, shall we proudly prove that whom the trappings of fortune would desert shall first of all run mad? Shall we engross our will to the pleasure of the predatory ruling class? Shall we accord power to the imbecilic, and nobility to the cheeky?

    I think we shall get to do all that, as usual. And when everything gets to boiling point, we shall sit back self-righteously to curse our fortune and curse the times. You see, its the same old grief, same old politics, same old faces and same old script, every moment and all of the time.

    In Nigeria, everybody is a critic, everybody is a cynic. Its the optimists in our midst that are worse to see; they would make the undertaker our midwife-in-chief in a heartbeat.

    Conjoined with such citizenry, next year, you and I shall continue to watch impotently as characters we dread make‘promising’ subjects of us. A good many of us shall dance and make merry while our usual ‘statesmen’ assume power as they have learnt to have it and we have learnt to give it. It doesn’t matter what slogan we chant, it’s never going to be you or me; neither would it be the next best candidate on our block of barren realities.

    Have we even, such candidate that we seek? Come next year, who shall we prepare to assume our mandate? Sanusi Lamido Sanusi? Nuhu Ribadu? Oby Ezekwesili? Goodluck Jonathan? Who? Perhaps every self acclaimed critic, messiah, activist, egghead and soap-box technocrat. Perhaps not. If we could accept that our future lies in our hands, not theirs, then we may learn to forget our activists and politicians of the order of the bleeding heart and treacherous mind.

    Then we may understand that our usual statesmen would forever keep the succour that we seek from our ailing schools, hospital corridors of death, perilous roads and airspaces and cracked pavements where queues of the unemployed elongate like photographs of civil death. Then we may get to understand that statesmen we allow to power shall always deprive us by power.

    The path to greatness is wrought with mines hence it takes men of exceptional abilities to traverse it. Have we such men yet? Let us seek the luxury and insight of the looking-glass? It’s time we sought out our man of integrity, fearlessness and impartiality. It’s time we discovered that citizen with towering morality, fairness and metaphysical humility: grandiosities which psychologically, become the premise of even unrepentant parasites seeking greatness they are yet to earn.

    Let us remember only you and me and posterity in search of the leadership that we are yet to find.