The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

Federal government so detached from reality

As an indication of just how far down on the realty scale the government has descended, huge contracts have just either been approved or budgeted for in the 2013 budget. Among these are N2 billion additional fund for the construction of the vice president’s residence in Abuja, N2.2bn for the construction of a ‘befitting’ banquet hall in the presidential villa, billions more for the maintenance of the about 10 aircraft in the presidential fleet, and stupendous amounts for the official accommodation of the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. There are other hefty allocations for all sorts of sundry matters including meals, cutleries, entertainment, etc.

Asked why the VP’s residence was a priority, the Federal Capital City (FCT) minister made this remarkably indifferent explanation: “The Vice-President is staying in a guest house meant for visiting heads of state. It is not right, it is not befitting for the Vice-President…The Vice-President has no accommodation; certainly you will agree with me that it is unbecoming for any government not to provide accommodation for its Vice-President. We will now embark on the construction of a befitting residence for the vice-president.” The minister, you will notice, wasn’t talking of necessity in these dire economic times; he was talking of what is befitting and what is not befitting. It’s the same rationalisation everywhere in government. The Aviation minister, for instance, is also preoccupied with building airports that can compete with the best in the world. Have they been able to run and maintain the ones they inherited as best as they should?

The Goodluck Jonathan government is not just spending billions without rhyme or reason; I am beginning to suspect that the government has run berserk. Only last week, the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, disclosed that some 50 oil firms fraudulently collected N232bn from the government. Only N29bn has been recovered so far through debt swap. Were the gatekeepers sleeping when the crime was being committed; or was it sheer criminal collusion by government officials? In the midst of this horrendous mismanagement and wasteful spending, the president has not spoken with the gravitas the situation calls for. Instead, he has announced that eventually fuel subsidy would have to be removed completely. Neither he nor his ministers could tell us accurately the volume of fuel we consume, how they computed the subsidy, and why they think the economy can survive the social and economic dislocations the subsidy removal would precipitate.

The Jonathan government has not provided fresh ideas on how the country can best manage its resources, develop the economic and political paradigms that are efficient and best suited to our needs, and energise the system to succor the rising number of poor people who cannot afford to pay for shelter and healthcare, educate their children, and enjoy a decent standard of living. More people are unemployed today than at any time in our history, are cripplingly less skilled, more criminally minded, and die much younger than their counterparts in most other African countries. In brief, Nigeria fares very badly in every social or economic indicator. What plans does the government have to remake the country and its people? Practically none. Instead, the government continues to embark on a spending spree so violently opposed to the reality of the moment, and almost without a care for the future, that it is a miracle order has not completely broken down.

Sadly, as democrats, we will have to cope with this sorry situation for the next two years and more. There is little anyone can do to redirect the government. It believes it has the brightest ideas and the best men and women to run the affairs of the country. Whatever we say will simply bounce off their thick skins. The best we can hope for is to wait for the next polls and vote in rational and realistic leaders who have workable ideas for re-engineering the country. Meanwhile, we must also hope that the damage this band of indifferent and financially reckless politicians will do to the system will not be irredeemable. Indeed, I am not sure we can survive a wrong choice after 2015.

December 9, 2012
Before Nigeria is gifted another Obasanjo

We must tell OBJ: Not again

General Olusegun Obasanjo, the two-time Nigerian President, is a patriot; a queer one I must say, who remains so only if Nigeria is ruled in his image. In order to ensure he dominates the Nigerian environment, therefore, he first gave us Yar Adua as Obasanjo 11 and not even that gentleman’s cluelessness would deter him from subsequently inflicting reigning Goodluck Jonathan, as Obasanjo 111, having himself held us spellbound the previous eight years, rampaging. Rampaging, yes, that was it. No thanks to the EFCC, which he created and had under his jackboots, state governors like Alamiasiegha of Bayelsa, Dariye of Plateau, Ladoja of Oyo were sent packing via impeachment spuriously using , by far fewer legislators than were constitutionally prescribed. It mattered nothing to him that the courts subsequently reversed some of these constitutional aberrations. But those were the lucky ones as in Ekiti , he not only rambunctiously sent packing, his own adopted son, Ayo Fayose, who was governor, but flagrantly and needlessly imposed his kinsman, General Olurin, on the hapless state as Military Administrator, even as there was a sitting Deputy Governor.

Nor was that the limit of his impunity in a curious regime of ‘Le ‘tat, cest moi’ – I am the state. Today, Nigerians talk to no end about the monstrous oil subsidy scam easily forgetting that the impunity in that industry started way back when Obasanjo personally took charge of the Ministry of Petroleum and ensured that not even the National Assembly could conduct oversight functions there to guarantee accountability.

At least we have the words of Speaker Ghali Na’aba to that effect.

General Obasanjo was not done. He is, after all, a soldier. Therefore, for him, the appropriation laws were nothing but mere intentions of the National Assembly. For him, no institution should effect changes in his draft budgets whatever the constitution says and when it appeared to him that was not going to happen, he personally went on national television to allege that key officials of the Assembly had padded the budget.

The above is the essential Obasanjo.

But neither those nor the signal failure of Yar Adua and Jonathan as leaders, not even the fact that these two soon became their own men would dissuade him from again wanting to be thrice lucky, inflicting totally unprepared persons on Nigerians as president.

If news currently going the rounds are to be believed, his latest scheme is to divine on Nigeria, the pair of the Jigawa State governor, the dour Sule Lamido who ran, unarguably, the worst phase of Nigeria’s foreign policy in history as Foreign Affairs Minister, and his River’s State counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, the same man Obasanjo said his gubernatorial ticket had what he called ‘K’ leg and who had to be rescued, to OBJ’s chagrin, by the Supreme Court. To make a success of this new scheme, and in his usual serpentine manner, Obasanjo is known to have stopped at nothing to so damage Jonathan he won’t even be able to count on a wholesome support of his South-South constituency in his comeback bid. It is for that sole reason Obasanjo did not cast a mere glance at the South-East but went to the heart of the South -South –Rivers State –to zero in on Amaechi.

It should, however, not be our problem if the duo of Obasanjo and Jonathan should fight to the death, politically speaking. Indeed, Nigeria has a lot to gain from that eventuality as it has the distinct possibility of sparing us all the electoral malfeasance for which Nigeria has become world famous these past many years since the PDP has held the country captive with nothing tangible to show for it. What we have had, instead, to quote Dr Kayode Fayemi, the Ekiti State governor, mutatis mutandis, is ‘a paucity of leadership and apposite planning; deficits of vision, holistic strategy and service delivery accentuated by poor infrastructure stock and a level of corruption which today places Nigeria as the 35th most corrupt country in the world.’

It would have been tolerable if that were all the negativities.

Rather, PDP’s last two years in government has witnessed the theft, still to be officially denied, of a humongous N5 trillion, just as its other crowning glory is a rampaging Boko Haram that not only attacks at will, but chooses its mode of inflicting maximum damage, whether by suicide bombing, by outgunning security personnel or simply slaughtering, ram-like, poor villagers, as happened this past week in Borno state.

Long suffering Nigerians must wake up to the reality of what it means for an individual, however seemingly powerful, to continually, single-highhandedly, inflict leaders on the country.

Opposition politicians must lead the way by subsuming their individual political ambitions to the greater good of the country. They must realise they cannot all be President. PDP has done enough damage that its defeat should ordinarily be a foregone conclusion. But here, things are different, and we are talking here about past masters in election rigging.

Under the PDP, Nigeria has been taken to the very nadir not even the National Assembly can be trusted to deal honestly on behalf of the people they claim elected them. Its investigating committees are now routinely being caught in corrupt practices. Committees that are conducting otherwise solemn duties on behalf of the people have turned such opportunities to avenues for amassing filthy lucre simply because of our ineffective leadership at the centre. Yet Nigerians are pining for things other countries now take for granted: electricity, water, good roads, security, reasonable health services, but get, instead, misplaced priorities and stolen billions in oil subsidy.

Opposition parties already have their jobs cut out just as Civil Society must not be tired rallying the masses of this otherwise great country to ensure that we achieve our own ‘Rose Revolution’, the type that produced Georgia’s Saakashvili who completely changed the direction and history of that country by turning it to a respectable nation in which corruption is reduced to the barest minimum

It can be done. All we need is to be angry enough as a people to vote out those rampaging over us. We must tell OBJ: not again. From now on, Nigerians must hold his feet to the fire and tell him enough of this monkey business. We must let him know he is only one man, not three. We have had enough of this jolly ride over a country he could have taken to the ‘stratosphere’ in his eight years and which, today, should rank among the leading countries of the world given its God-given endowments, but is simply nowhere.

December 9, 2012
Does hunger loom after the deluge?

Travelling last month through Delta State, I missed the flood at its peak. But I saw enough to move me and offer a nasty hint of an unforgettable disaster. The waters had appreciably receded, yet parts of the dual-carriage way connecting Asaba, the state capital, to the Anioma area of the state remained flooded and impassable. Residents of nearby communities laid their fishnets in the probable hope that if they lost their farmlands and crops, they should at least catch some fish that came with the flood.

At a primary school where the displaced were quartered in Ndokwa-East Local Government Area, life offered little excitement beyond food provided by the state and donors.

In those two wet months, Nigerians felt the power of water, life’s otherwise precious liquid. No one was comfortable with that encounter. A persistent downpour swelled the Niger River and other rivers and tributaries, causing them to overflow their banks. The result has been utter devastation. Over two million people were reported to be displaced in Kogi and Edo states. Hundreds of houses collapsed under the impact of water. Displaced residents found temporary perching spots on the rooftops of surviving houses, waiting to be evacuated. Women clutched their babies, hoping something would happen to put them out of their nightmare. In Delta and Anambra, misery was widespread, as homes and farmlands were washed away.

In Ndokwa-East, reports suggested no flood ever wreaked such havoc in its history. It left about 22 clans under water, their people in sheer torment, displaced and with little to eat and little to wear, in makeshift shelters, and unsure of what tomorrow would bring. In Onuaboh, for instance, a clan of three quarters, this year’s flooding will be a watershed. No dry grounds at all. Inyi, where I spent two formative years, was a vast body of water. 2012 will be the year of the Great Floods. Discounting the services of wall calendars, the year will help to set off one event from another. It was an unsavoury encounter with one of man’s most cherished resources.

There has been some response from government. The Emmanuel Uduaghan administration in Delta State has sent relief to the displaced residents, as have individuals and organisations.

But there is need for more work. There is need for the authorities, including the federal government, to assess the situation and ascertain the magnitude of damage. Next, it will help to determine what assistance is required. Plus, no one should forget that whatever relief is sent should be appropriate, targeted and monitored.

There are reasons for these suggestions. Disaster management can easily be bungled if not properly thought-out, just as relief efforts can be misapplied and wasted if not clearly conceived and monitored. If the right things are not done at the right time, people needing help become hopeless. And that deepens the initial crisis.

For some of the flood victims, their plight has a traumatising impact. Their farmlands may have been flooded in the past, but not their houses or entire communities, as is the case in Ndokwa-East and parts of Isoko in Delta State. These people are struggling with not just economic loss; they are also grappling with psychological shock and need help in that area as well. They need encouragement now, some sort of psychological therapy.

They need comprehensive relief consisting of, but not limited to, food, medicine, water, clothing, and, of course, sleeping places, till the water recedes. They will also be happy to see that assistance meant for them actually gets to them, and not to some opportunistic dealers or people far removed from the floods. But beyond all that, they need something permanent, something to start and sustain them after the great waters. They need cash to buy new seedlings and begin all over again.

It is in the interest of everyone if this crisis is well managed. For one, it will show that we can learn from past blunders in disaster management, and that our governments really care for the people they govern.

No one should lose sight of the imperatives of mitigating the unpleasantness of life in a relief camp. Still, it must not be forgotten that tiding victims over the flood season is only one step, requiring another. That second step is even more fundamental. It should resolve the issues of life after the floods. What will the farmer-victims eat when the waters recede? And since these farmers also feed the society, what will we all eat when dry grounds appear?

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwumi Adesina has gone to great lengths to assure Nigerians that famine is out of the question. He said there is food and that Nigerians will not starve. Considering that some hefty sums have been raised by billionaires and other donors, perhaps the Jonathan administration is confident that all is well.

The proof of that confidence will however lie in the judicious use and equitable distribution of what is provided. Only that will stave off hunger.

This article was adapted from the one published in October entitled “Life after the floods.”

December 9, 2012
For once, let us change the colour of our problems

I have heard villagers plead passionately that just one school in their village will go a long way in ensuring the continuity of their lives where food cannot do it

No, people, the line is not original to me, I borrowed it from somewhere; and oh yes, problems can have colours. For instance, when the pocket is empty and the bank account is reading zero, don’t panic, it is only colour blue. That is when the radiogram will croon to you, ‘I’ve got the blues baby, I’ve got the bluuuues’. When there is no food in the house, though, then you are in colour grey. That is when all the edges of life are fuzzy and you find yourself shrugging and waxing philosophical and finding that it is true what they say, life is not all black or white. In between, there are various shades of grey, and there ain’t a single thing you do about the grey areas. However, should Junior make the mistake of taking the car out illegally in his youthful exuberance, then the family is catapulted into the red zone because Daddy can see only red. Everyone had just better scatter; things will get very rough indeed.

So, yes, problems have colours and the colour of Nigeria’s problems since I have been privileged to know her has been perpetually false. True, her flag may be green and white but believe me there’s nothing green about the way her leaders are bleeding her dry. They are right knowing ‘uns. Why, for instance, should it take an entire country so many decades to realise that it is not good for the presidency to hoard TEN (10) aircraft in its fleet all to itself. What kind of country is this? Tell me, IS THIS FAIR?! No, and again, I say, no when little ol‘ me has NONE!

From the time I heard the piece of news that Nigeria has about ten aircraft in the president’s fleet, I just thought, no, it is not the president who needs them. My suspicions are turned entirely elsewhere. I have been sneakily wondering though just what has been going on in the mind of all our presidents’ men from the time of Christopher Columbus down to the present. Normally, the president’s men are carefully chosen to reflect the cream of the cream (never mind that sometimes the cream is quite sour) who would work assiduously to make sure the president did not get into trouble, and also that the country did not get into trouble as a result of the president not getting into trouble. You get that, don’t you, because I don’t? So, they would make their efforts as concerted as possible to be frugal in their praise of the president (so he does not get so swollen-headed that he gets out of their control) and be equally as frugal in their methods of extracting him from any hot soup he finds himself in. From our records of the Nigerian scene, it appears that all our past presidents’ men who have not been frugal at all. They have insisted on lapping up all the praise themselves. Lucky devils, they have been riding around in presidential jets!

Ordinarily, and I think this is what happens in saner climes, the saying is if it’s broke, fix it; around here though, the saying is, if it’s broke, get a new one. And this is how Nigeria came to own 1, 2, 3, 4, … 10 planes in the presidential fleet when countries such as rich, rich Britain has none. No, it was not that they could not afford one, it was that they found that the wiser thing to do was to hire because it is so expensive to actually keep one.

Seriously, our humour is too black in this country; and some would go so far as to say we have none, and that is even blacker. The typical Nigerian attitude to public utilities does not do credit to our intelligence. Again, some would even say we have none of that either. Well, I say we have a sense of humour. Just look at our leaders at every level from the local government councillors to the legislative and executive. That should send you into rapturous laughter. Hem, hem. This is no time to laugh though.

And yes, we do have some intelligence. Just look at newspapers when our leaders are having their annual spats and spits. Delightful, isn’t it, to hear the fire crackling and the fireworks just going in every direction? So yes, I’m not sure but I think we have some intelligence. The problem though is that this nation prefers to keep what little intelligence it has under wraps. So, all our public stadia go to waste without any input of intelligence to keep them in good shape; all our national fleet of ships, planes and vehicles get to sit out their days under the stars, sun and moon just because we have too little intelligence to spare. Oh yes, and all the presidents’ planes get their early retirements just because we cannot beget the intelligence to get the mechanic take a look at them. After all, there is always a ready answer: yes, you got it, get a new one.

The most painful part of all this is that there are other Nigerians who desperately need the money used to buy these things to sustain their lives. Thirty minutes’ drive from where I live, there are people who have no electricity. There, we are not much different. Half the night and all day through, I hardly have any electricity myself. They also do not have water. Again, we are not much different. I also do not have water from the public utilities in my house. They do not have schools though. Now, the similarities begin to end. Anyone can do without water or electricity or food but not schools.

This is why I think the money spent on accumulating airplanes is being wasted. Please Mr. President; these monies are needed to sustain schools in these villages so that people who do not have a present can at least have a future for their children. It does not much matter that they do not have much food to eat; they really do not mind at all. But I have heard them plead passionately that just one school in their village will go a long way in ensuring the continuity of their lives where food cannot do it.

This is why I think we should begin to change the colour of our problems. The colours we have been used to have been colours of joy where all we appear to have been doing as a nation so far has been to go to the big markets of the world and throw up fistfuls of foreign currencies to the delight of those nationals who have looked at us, smiled, shaken their heads from left to right and walked away. And we thought they were enjoying the show. How were we to know they were shaking their heads in pity?! So, I think we should change that colour to black: it is the universal sign of mourning: we need to mourn the loss of intelligence in the land.

December 9, 2012
Joy comes in the morning

Today our nation stands at a crossroad and it is left for us to decide which path we choose to take. Do we take the path of despair and dishonour and give up on our country? Or do we rise above it all and latch on to the promises of God for our land and for our people? With biting poverty, mounting hopelessness, a bleeding economy, youth restiveness, unprecedented violence, brazen acts of terror and all manner of vices and evil thriving in the land one wonders how things got so bad. The foundation for our current situation was laid many years ago and since that time we have seen so much suffering and failure at virtually all levels. We were plagued with leaders who lacked vision, who lacked intellect, who lacked sincerity of purpose and who were antagonistic to those that dared to challenge their visionless and purposeless policies. Our country is currently bedevilled with so much negativity that it is easy to look around and just give up. Yet I say that we must never give up because ‘’hope springs eternal’’.  The bible says though the night may be dark yet ’’joy comes in the morning’’.  The wise ones say you cannot have a message without a mess. You cannot have a testimony without a test. You cannot get to the top of the mountain without first going to the bottom of the valley. This is true. And out of Nigeria’s ‘’mess’’ shall surely come her ‘’message’’. Out of Nigeria’s ‘’test’’ shall surely come her ‘’testimony’’. We have been to the ‘’bottom of the valley’’ and therefore we shall get to the ‘’top of the mountain’’. Our dream for a better Nigeria shall never die and neither can our collective prayers be in vain. I refuse to give up because I know that the God that I serve never fails. He alone rules in the affiars of men. He alone forges the destiny of nations. Out of a deep void and formlessness He ordered the creation of the world. He established it by the power of His word and He gave us dominion over it.

In the same way He created Nigeria for His purpose and for His glory and that purpose and glory shall surely be established. It shall come to pass and it will be manifest to the entire world. We shall see it and we shall be established in it as a nation and as a people. If God can do it for others, He can do it for us too. We can be great and, by the grace of God, we shall be great. This is my dream and this is what I see. And believe me when I tell you that it is prophetic. A Nigeria where every man and woman, regardless of faith, ethnicity, status or political persuasion finds a common cause and relishes in our collective humanity. A Nigeria where the rich have a conscience and the poor have hope. A Nigeria where joy and peace reign supreme and where bombings and killings are a thing of the past. A Nigeria where the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac and the adherents of the two great Abrahamic faiths of islam and christianity live together in peace, harmony and mutual respect. A Nigeria where the secularity of the state is respected yet where God is reverred and honoured by all. A Nigeria where the knowledge and fear of the Living God reigns in the hearts and minds of the people. A Nigeria where every man is His brother’s keeper, where leaders show compassion to those that they lead, where justice is done to all and where political persecution has no place. A Nigeria where decency is rewarded, where dissent is tolerated, where non-conformity is encouraged and where equity is enthroned. That is the Nigeria of my dream. A Nigeria where youth unemployment is low and where every individual, no matter how high or low, can aspire to any position and live his or her dream. That is the Nigeria of my dream. A Nigeria where human life and human dignity is sacrosanct and where fairness is the watchword of every soul. That is the Nigeria of my dream.

I have no fears about the future of this great nation because the God that I serve never fails. The bible says the nations are ‘’as a drop of water before Him’’. He sits above the circles of the earth and He counts the earth as His footstool. Yet despite His sheer awesomeness and majesty, with Him lies great compassion and mercy. Once we return to Him, acknowledge Him, honour Him and are led and guided by Him, He will restore us and shower us with His blessings. The Lord awaits us to make the right choice. We either continue to wallow in self-delusion, wickedness, greed, murder, the persecution of perceived enemies, the abuse of power, evil and insenstivity or we desist from our wicked ways and turn to Him. I am persuaded that once we make the right choice our date with destiny, as a people and as a nation, will come far sooner than we can possibly imagine.  In his book titled ‘’The Wretched of the Earth’’ Frantz Fanon said the following- ”each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover it’s mission and fulfill it or betray it.” Past generations in Nigeria have not lived up to expectation. This is the bitter truth.

Yet there is still hope as long as we have faith. That hope and faith is our blessed assurance and it lives in our minds and hearts. We know that the Lord will fix it. We know that He is ‘’more than able’’. We know that He is a man of war whom none can resist and we know that He restores, redeems and rebuilds even the most broken and wretched walls. Dr. Martin Luther King jnr., after delivering his celebrated and inspiring ’’I have a dream’’ speech, was felled by an assassin’s bullet on April 4 1968. To those that killed him, his dream died with him. Yet they were wrong. They did not know that great dreams, once birthed, never die. That is why the Word of God said ‘’if the princes of this world had known they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory’’. If those that murdered Jesus, and the devil that inspired them to do it,  had known that He would honour His word and rise up three days later they would not have crucified him. They persecuted Him, they humiliated Him, they beat Him, they tortured Him, they spat on Him and they killed Him yet they could not kill His dream or abort His mission. His dream lived on and became a reality for all mankind to see. It was the same with Martin Luther King. They killed him but his mission had already been achieved and his vision came to pass 45 years after his sacrificial and selfless death. This is indeed the stuff of which dreams are made. Great things are birthed in great dreams and if you dare to dream nothing is impossible.

I have a dream for Nigeria. I have a dream that one day Nigerians will see themselves as Nigerians before anything else and they will not regard their country and its people as a collection of strange bed-fellows that do not love or trust one another. Yet this dream can only be fulfilled when those amongst us that call ourselves leaders preach, practice and display discipline, temperance, holiness, morality, restraint, tolerance, mercy and the fear of God in the conduct of our affairs. It can only be made manifest when we stand up and fight against evil, tyranny, injustice, indeceny, bad governance, the abuse of power , political persecution and sheer wickedness. Our dream can only be brought to reality when love is the motivating factor in all that we do.  The Lord commands us to love our neighbour as we do ourselves. That is the cornerstone and the foundation of our faith and it is in that faith and that resolve that our hope for a better and greater Nigeria lies. I have a dream that Nigeria will be what God wants her to be, a great and powerful nation that is dedicated to the Living God and that will act as a shining example and a beacon of light for all to see.

I assure you that despite the dashed hopes and unbearable suffering of millions of our people over the last 52 years, our dream still lives and the Lord shall not forsake us. Our land and our people may seem blighted, in despair, depressed, repressed and confused. It may appear as if there is no hope for a better tomorrow and that nothing will ever change. It may seem as if the Lord has forgotten us and it may appear that our story is one of recurrent failure and shattered dreams. Yet this is not so. I have come here today to tell you that, despite all we see and hear, it is not over for us as a people and as a nation. I have come here today to tell you that we as a people have a date with destiny. I have come here today to tell you that Nigeria and the Nigerian dream lives on and that it shall be made manifest for all to see in the fullness of time. I therefore urge you to be strong, to hold your heads up high, to be proud of who and what you are and to stand firm. The vision is for an appointed time. Though it may tarry it shall not prove false.

God bless you and God bless Nigeria.

December 9, 2012
Like Oliver Twist, Jega wants more

INEC boss is seeking powers we can’t afford

Attahiru Jega, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), obviously stepped on some powerful toes when last week he asked for more powers for the commission, as well as canvassed for Nigerians in the Diaspora who are of age to vote in future elections. The INEC boss wants Sections 76(2) and 116(2) of the Constitution to be further amended to allow for only two periods in a year within which the commission can conduct elections to fill vacancies so as to engender certainty in the electoral timetable. Jega also advocated the establishment of electoral offences tribunal “to guarantee timely prosecution of electoral offenders,” as well as the disqualification of anybody convicted for electoral fraud from participating in electoral process for 10 years.

According to Jega, “The National Population Commission is, however, given additional independence in its operations in Section 158(2). This should be the same with INEC. The independence of INEC should be constitutionally guaranteed in all its operations and in its management and control of the electoral process, as was the case in Decree (now Act) 17 of 1998 which first established the Commission before the 1999 Constitution.”

Jega made the demands in a proposal he sent to the National Assembly, seeking amendments to the country’s constitution. In making these demands, the INEC boss would appear to have forgotten where we are coming from and, secondly, it would appear that it is yet Uhuru in INEC simply because he is the one in charge now.

Although both INEC and the National Population Commission (NPC) are important, they do not perform exactly the same functions. INEC’s independence in its operations; may be yes. But I cannot understand what Prof Jega means by independence “…in its management and control of the electoral process”. If that includes the power to disqualify candidates, I say an emphatic ‘NO’. It is true that the political parties have largely not been honest in their primaries, to some extent, they have had to pay the price at the polls for not following the due process in selecting their flag bearers. Apart from this, it is dangerous to put such powers in the hands of one man. What Jega is looking for is what we are trying to retrieve from the President who is constitutionally empowered to appoint the INEC boss, subject only to ratification by the National Assembly. No single person should be given such ‘powers of life and death’ in our kind of milieu.

INEC’s intention to make Nigerians in the Diaspora vote, thereby participating actively in the decision-making concerning the country’s leadership at all levels is good, at least in principle. This is the practice in many countries. But whether we are ripe for that is a different question entirely. Having credible election within is still a big problem, in spite of the relatively free and fair elections we have had in some places in recent times. Right here at home, we had the names of Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Michael Jackson and Bill Clinton in our voter register a few years ago.. Obama’s name never featured in Kenya’s electoral register, but it appeared in our voter register here! What all these tell us is that it’s not yet celebration time; we still need to perfect many aspects of our electoral process before seeking more powers for INEC.

As a matter of fact, INEC itself is calling for the setting up of Electoral Offences Commission to facilitate trial of electoral offenders. A major challenge we have is that many of the cases still last longer than necessary now that we do not have Nigerians in Diaspora voting. Where will we have the logistics to deal with the challenges to be posed if they are now allowed to vote? We may be surprised that the figures that would be turned in for them might outstrip the total number of Nigerians in whatever countries they are resident. Or, haven’t we had situations at home where the number of voters is more than the total number of registered voters in some polling booths and areas? This is a major challenge that the Jega-led INEC has not considered.

It does not make sense to grant Jega’s requests simply because he is Jega. No. We need to build institutions and not rely on people’s integrity, the way we seem to have done in recent times. One Maurice Iwu once led INEC and we all remember what he did. It was because of his discredited role in the commission that President Goodluck Jonathan searched for Jega and the find was applauded across the country because of what we all saw as Jega’s antecedents. But while we should resist another INEC boss in the mould of Iwu, we should never delude ourselves that we would never have a president who might want to impose such character on us as INEC boss again. You can imagine Iwu having the powers that Jega now wants for the INEC. It would tantamount to when a slave becomes king. No one, particularly those whose faces he or those who appointed him do not like would be spared.

Already, INEC has been empowered by the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended) to deregister political parties which fail to win at least a seat in a state assembly. And 28 political parties have had to die, with their de-registration by the commission, on Thursday. Also, the commission now has its funding included in the first line charge. This implies some level of financial autonomy that the commission needs in order to free it from the apron strings of the executive arm of government. Even this is yet to fully materialise with the reported withholding of the commission’s funds by the Federal Ministry of Finance. We need to perfect some of these freedoms or powers before asking for more. If we grant all of Jega’s requests, even the electoral offences commission that he wants established would be jobless.

So, Prof Jega should stop being Oliver Twist. He cannot get all he wants for the simple reason that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We all love independence or freedom. But, where ‘A’s’ freedom ends, ‘B’s’ begins. Prof Jega can ask for all the independence in the world, it is our duty to set the limit. Even Iwu would have loved to have full autonomy; but with hindsight, we know where that would have led us if we had allowed him. Even the little power that we gave him, he abused. No responsible mother would put hot soup on her child’s palm (for him) to lick simply because that child sees the mother does same and begins to cry for a piece of the action. So, let Jega tread softly.

December 9, 2012
‘Our’ corruption rating

There is a way we celebrate negative ratings about our country that it is understandable.

Due to our frustrations with the running of the country by successive governments, we are usually quick to accept ratings that confirm our perception about the state of our country.

This explains why the recent poor rating of the country by Transparency International has usual been ‘well received’ by Nigerians as a true reflection of how bad we have sunk on the corruption index.

Like in previous years, Transparency International, (TI), the global corruption watchdog ranked Nigeria as one of the most corrupt nation. In the 2012 Corruption Perception index released on Wednesday, Nigeria scored 27 out of the maximum 100 marks to place 139 out of the 176 countries assessed for the report. Consequently Nigeria is the 35th most corrupt country globally.

Many of us would have questioned the outcome of the surveyed if Nigeria’s rating if it has not been that bad. There are even some who would argue that the result is not a true reflection of how bad our situation is.

I have no reason to disagree with the TI like the Information Minister, Labaran Maku over how correct our rating is. Beyound the expert assessment and opinion survey which are the basis of TI’s verdict, the facts on the high level of corruption in the country are very obvious. This year alone, cases of misuse of public power and public funds for private interests like the fuel subsidy scam, embezzlement of the pension fund and others have left many wondering how effective the federal government’s anti-corruption crusade is.

It’s hard to blame Nigerians who Maku claims are eager to tell the world how bad Nigeria is. Corruption, particularly in ‘high places’ has robbed the country the necessary development that would have ensure better standard of living for the majority.

My only worry about the reactions of Nigerian’s to TI’s rating and other similar negative ones is the erroneous impression that only government officials are to blame for the decadence. We are quick to cite cases of corruption at all levels of government when as an author wrote “corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of our society” and many Nigerians are either involved in one form of corrupt practice or the other in public and private life or are guilty of criminal silence when we should speak up.

If our rating is to improve, we all have a role to play whether we are in government or not. Public officers at all levels have to maintain the highest degree of public trust and stop giving us a bad name when they perpetrate all forms of corrupt practices in local and international transactions. People should stop demanding for gratification for doing what they are officially paid to do.

Nobody should demand for gratification and nobody should give. Merit should not be sacrificed for pecuniary reasons.

December 9, 2012
Will Jonathan float where Atiku sank?

Theirs is a study in the instability of human relationship. Two years ago, former President Olusegun Obasanjo was at the vanguard of the campaign for President Goodluck Jonathan to run for election after completing the tenure of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua who passed on half way into his four-year tenure after a protracted illness. Today, a storm is brewing between Jonathan and Obasanjo after the latter began a quiet but bruising campaign against Jonathan’s ambition for re-election in 2015.

Many would recall how Obasanjo had visited Jonathan in the Aso Rock Presidential Villa at a time a debate raged on whether he should throw his hat in the ring for the 2011 presidential race and urged him to run for the coveted seat. This was in spite of the obvious danger Jonathan’s candidacy posed to the zoning arrangement in the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) whose Board of Trustees Obasanjo chaired at the time.

Jonathan, whose body language was still being read by perceptible members of the public, was said to have been totally embarrassed when in his usual comical way, Obasanjo stormed the Villa on May 29, 2010, pointed at him and said repeatedly: “You will run! You will run! Don’t tell me you are thinking about it! We just have to move forward!” And when a former Special Assistant to Obasanjo tried to persuade the ex-President to keep the plan close to his chest, he exploded: “I won’t keep quiet on this matter! You know that I will always say my mind!”

From then until Jonathan won the presidential race in April 2011, Obasanjo neither wavered nor despaired in his resolute campaign for Jonathan. For instance, he reportedly told the Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji, who visited his Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State home on August 21, 2010 to mobilise every machinery in Abia State to ensure Jonathan’s victory in the 2011 election in a move he declared as “Operation Totality”. He would later follow that up August 28, 2010 with a meeting he held in Ibadan with the PDP governors in the South West and other party bigwigs in the zone, urging them to unanimously adopt Jonathan as the party’s presidential flag bearer.

Obasanjo’s ruthless support for Jonathan was widely believed to have remarkably influenced his emergence as the presidential candidate of the PDP and his eventual victory at the presidential poll. And that was not unexpected, considering that Jonathan’s rise into national consciousness had been the handiwork of Obasanjo himself. He was minding his business as Deputy Governor in Bayelsa State until December 2005 when his boss, Diepriye Alamieyeseigha, was impeached and arrested after he had jumped bail in London where he was facing trial for money laundering and ran back to Nigeria. Obasanjo, then the President, was believed to have mounted sufficient pressure on the Bayelsa State House of Assembly to impeach Alamieyeseigha, paving the way for Jonathan’s emergence as the Bayelsa State governor.

And Obasanjo was not done yet. After influencing the emergence of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s emergence as the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2007 general election, the outgoing president needed a level-headed man to be his running mate, and his mind went straight to Jonathan. Two years into Yar’Adua’s tenure, however, he lost his battle with an ailment that had tormented him since his days as the governor of Katsina State. Jonathan then stepped in in an acting capacity and later as the substantive president.

But if Jonathan had been perceptive, he would realise that Obasanjo is pencil and eraser rolled into one. He is endowed with the ability to make in the same measure as his ability to unmake. That much has been demonstrated in his relationships with his erstwhile deputy, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Jonathan’s immediate predecessor, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua.

After clinching the presidential ticket of the PDP with the aid of the political platform of the PDM, the political platform of the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua in the build-up to the 1999 presidential election, Obasanjo felt an urge to compensate the platform by appointing its heir, Atiku, as his running mate, even though the latter had coasted to victory as the governor-elect of Adamawa State. Obasanjo won the presidential election and Atiku became the Vice President. But their relationship, which began on a rosy note later turned sour. Obasanjo did not only make life unbearable for Atiku for most of their second term, he also made sure he frustrated Atiku’s ambition to succeed him as president.

In place of Atiku, Obasanjo rooted for the younger Yar’Adua as his successor, sticking out his neck for the erstwhile Katsina State governor even in the face of public outrage over Umaru Yar’Adua’s ill health. But the eraser in Obasanjo showed up when the health condition of Yar’Adua graduated from a matter of serious national concern to that of national embarrassment. In the midst of the political brouhaha generated by the situation, Obasanjo, who had vehemently defended Yar’Adua’s ability to continue in office, made a volte face, famously declaring that no individual, group or section had the right to hold the country to ransom.

His declaration turned events unto the fast lane. Individuals and groups keyed into the call that Jonathan be named the Acting President. The National Assembly pandered to public pulse and Jonathan became the Acting President until Yar’Adua passed on and he became the substantive President.

It would seem, however, that the time has come for Jonathan to have a taste of the whip with which Obasanjo had flogged Atiku and Yar’Adua. After rooting for Jonathan for years, two incidents appear to have set the former President thinking in the direction of the Atiku and Yar’Adua treatments. The first was Jonathan’s defiance of Obasanjo’s advice late last year against Federal Government’s threat to remove the subsidy on fuel. Contrary to Obasanjo’s counsel, the nation woke up on January 1 to the shocking news that the government had removed fuel subsidy.

The second incident is the Jonathan administration’s handling of the menace of the Boko Haram sect in the northern part of the country. Irked by the administration’s tepid handling of the crisis, Obasanjo had recommended his aggressive response to the killing of soldiers and policemen in Odi and Zaki Biam, two communities in Bayelsa and Benue states respectively when he held sway as the President. But in one of his monthly media chats, Jonathan dismissed the Obasanjo approach as ineffectual and rash. It was a sword driven into Obasanjo’s heart, and it is believed to have provoked the ex-President to resolve that Jonathan must not spend a day longer than the expiration of his current tenure in Aso Rock.

Already, the ex-President is believed to be hobnobbing with northern leaders with a view to picking a candidate of northern extraction to fly the flag of the PDP in 2015. In particular, he is believed to favour the candidacy of the Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido. The first test of their strength will occur on January 8 when the party is scheduled to elect a new chairman for its Board of Trustees. President Jonathan is believed to have supported the candidacy of Chief Tony Anenih,while Obasanjo is rooting for Senator Ahmadu Ali.

For the two political titans, therefore, the January 8 event is not just an election, but a battle for ego and political relevance.

December 8, 2012
A nation threatened by imitation

Inside Kemi Asade’s sleek flagship store on Lagos city’s Broad Street, two ladies persistently ogled the new ubiquitous N48, 000 Hermes leather tote bag. One was stunning in freshly acquired Ralph Lauren N27, 000 blue chiffon check dress; the other however glowed attractively in a N25, 000 DKNY pink patterned chiffon dress. They were both putting on Christian Louboutin sling-back heel platform sandals valued at N24, 600 respectively. Their entire outfits were bought from the shop except their watches which they reportedly bought on shopping spree in the United Kingdom.

They strolled around the store haughtily, momentarily flipping price labels with intimidating chips on their shoulders. Velvety, clipped notes wafted from their lips like the scent of crisp naira. The effect was priceless. The four store attendants tripped on themselves, each jostling to be the one to attend to the parading deep pockets.

Asade simply grinned and managed a smug smile. And the reason was hardly far-fetched; the two ladies, she explained, were very big-spenders and daughters of a senior Nigerian Navy Admiral thus her certainty of making a killing by the patronage of her elegant, promising customers.

But just when they were expected to make good with their purchase, the two ladies muttered silently and quite assuredly to the store attendant. Then they turned around and made for the door. Promptly Asade sprang to her feet to ask cheerily for the reason they were leaving and one of the pair sashayed nearer to tell her that they had to get to the bank.

But the shifty grins on their faces as they made for the door indicated otherwise hence the reporter excused himself and took after the departing pair. Three blocks from Asade’s store; her two “loyal” customers cut a sight counting animatedly crisp naira for the purchase of 40 pairs of the same handbag that they assured Asade they were coming back to buy.

Further findings from the store owner, Margaret Okojie, revealed that Asade’s customers had actually come purchase knock off (counterfeit) versions of the tote bags. According to Okojie, the sisters had recently brokered a deal with her to purchase counterfeit versions of the bags from her every quarter.

“They said they were opening a boutique in a high end area of Opebi Ikeja. A mutual friend introduced them to me. She actually saved them from spending millions of naira importing bags that will gather dust in their shops. Very few people can afford to buy $10, 000 (almost N1million) Gucci bags or N60, 000 to N70, 000 worth of Chanel and Prada bags. Most ladies visit expensive boutiques to window shop and take pictures of latest bags only to come to my store to buy same bags between N2, 500 and N7, 500,” revealed Okojie. According to her, Asade’s customers only patronise her when they intend to buy original versions of her designer products for personal use and whenever they intend to use original brands of the bags to attract customers’ attention and lure them to purchase mostly knock off versions of the designer bangs in their store.

It’s an unforgivable fraud but Nigerians do love a good bargain. For instance, Sayo Aweda, a banker and one of Okojie’s “most loyal” customers was found perusing a hanger stacked with fake Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Chanel handbags. She was looking for a counterfeit of the new Kate Spade bag because the gold-plated metal strap on the one she bought in a high end boutique in Opebi is broken. “I bought it at N35, 000 and I don’t want to pay another N35, 000 another one yet,” she said with a shrug.

It’s a familiar refrain these days. Counterfeit shopping has become something of a sport, much to the chagrin of luxury-goods manufacturers. Fake designer bags are everywhere, it seems and it has become so easy to acquire that it’s virtually abominable in certain social circuits, particularly among the middle class and low income earners to flaunt the real thing.

Once limited to shady stalls on Lagos Island and low budget boutiques scattered around Lagos mainland, counterfeit luxury goods have gradually found inroads into many high end boutiques across Lagos and Abuja. They are also found online and in malls, and have even turned up at discount and used goods stores. Among the ladies-who-lunch crowd, purse parties, where guests buy inexpensive fakes in private homes while they sip champagne, are the latest trend. With all this fun, cheap merchandise, why buy the real thing?

Kayode Adebisi for instance, lost his wife and a child earlier in the year when his car brake failed to hold on the Lagos-Ibadan highway. Adebisi had paid his auto mechanic to replace his worn brake pads for him and the repairer, according to him, collected money for an “original used brake pad” known across local mechanic villages as “follow come part.”

Having patronised the same mechanic for four years, Adebisi harboured no reservations about the safety of such used part or the skill of his favourite artisan. Nor did the latter’s work ethic ever gave him cause to smart and fret. But that was to change sooner than he imagined. Few minutes before they got to Ibadan, Oyo State, the car brake suddenly failed Adebisi and he crashed into a stationary articulated truck even as he pressed frantically on his vehicle’s brake.

He claimed perceived some terrible burning odour from the engine but it smelt like some vehicle clutch was burning. He said: “I used a vehicle with auto transmission gear so I heard no cause to worry. I thought it was some passing vehicle’s clutch burning. So I speeded on ignorantly.” And the consequence is better imagined. No sooner than his vehicle’s brake failed him, he slammed on the brakes and the car skidded and swerved into the stationary truck by the roadside.

As you read, he is bedridden. He is healing from an excruciating fracture at his pelvic region and he experiences recurrent back pain. But every pain he feels pales beside the unbearable agony of losing his wife and child.

Further findings revealed that the brake pads installed in his car by his mechanic was actually a knock off model of his preferred German brand. But much as Adebisi would like to have his ‘trusted’ mechanic suffer for what he did, the latter desperately claims his innocence claiming he bought the auto part from a trusted auto parts dealer. “I never knew he had started mixing original and fake parts,” he lamented.

Lateef Durojaiye, an auto mechanic and proprietor of Ogun State based Baal Opeyemi Motor Works, noted that the defaulting mechanic may be telling the truth. According to him, most of the auto parts currently in circulation are “fake.” And more worrisome is the fact that erstwhile dealers in original auto parts have started mixing their merchandise with all manner of counterfeit and substandard parts.

Apparently miffed by the scourge of the importation of substandard products into the country, the Federal Government has vowed to atop importation of counterfeit goods into the country particularly by Asian nations. The Minister of State, Trade and Investment, Samuel Ortom said that because President Goodluck Jonathan was no longer comfortable over the development, he summoned the relevant agencies to meet with National Assembly on the way forward.

Ortom lamented that 80 percent of counterfeit and substandard goods that come into the country are from Asian countries.

Those directed to meet with the National Assembly included the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), and National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

It is very hard to obtain accurate statistics on counterfeiting, mainly because it is a clandestine activity but Joseph Odumodu, Director General of SON, revealed that Nigerians spend N1 trillion annually to import substandard goods. Odumodu explained that 20 per cent of road accident is caused due by substandard auto parts while over 200 lives have been lost to collapsed buildings occasioned by substandard products within five years.

According to him, Nigeria could save N500 million annually by buying correct bulbs instead of buying counterfeit that won’t last. Odumodu said faking, counterfeiting and substandard goods are global phenomena but the Nigerian case is worse due to obsolete and weak legislation.

“We are strong patrons of substandard goods. We know the real ones but we claim that we don’t have money to buy them. Average Nigerian importers are criminals, murderers and killers. We must do something about them.”

Products targeted by the faker cut across items like drugs, tyres, household utensils, phones, electronics, clothing materials, IT equipment, as well as food items like beverages, milk, canned foods, toys, cables, automatic voltage regulators, amongst several others.

It is estimated that Nigeria loses about N50 billion annually to importation of fake and substandard products. Of this figure, trade in substandard auto spare parts accounts for about N20 billion. Especially startling is the fact that the fake auto parts market is dominated by adulterated parts of a popular Japanese product with large market in Nigeria.

Counterfeiting is a hugely lucrative business, with criminals relying on the continued high demand for cheap goods coupled with low production and distribution costs. The illegal activities related to counterfeiting take advantage of unwitting consumers and bargain-hunters, exploiting people’s appetites for cut-price brands or simply their financial position.

While the costs are difficult to quantify – and do not include non-monetary damage such as illness and death – the value of counterfeiting is estimated by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation for Development (OECD) to be in the region of $250 billion per year. And while counterfeiters continue to reap significant profits, millions of consumers are at risk from unsafe and ineffective products.

A bargain gone wrong

Counterfeiters are involved in the illegal production of knock-offs in virtually every area – food, drinks, clothes, shoes, pharmaceuticals, electronics, auto parts, toys, currency, tickets for transport systems and concerts, alcohol, cigarettes, toiletries, building materials and much, much more. Often the temptation for consumers can be too strong to resist, with many not understanding the risks and ramifications attached to this illicit industry. Buying a counterfeit handbag or pair of jeans, for example, might not be regarded as an illegal transaction – simply a cheaper way to wear the latest fashion goods.

However, often little thought is given to how the money may ultimately end up in the hands of organized crime groups or how the industries that rely on legitimate sales suffer. Even obscure purchases like safety goggles or electrical plugs that have been illegally copied and reproduced present significant risks, given their lower quality. Counterfeit cigarettes also present multiple risks: they are even more harmful than genuine cigarettes, as they may contain much higher levels of nicotine and other dangerous chemicals such as arsenic, benzene, cadmium and formaldehyde.

One devastation too many

Recently, former President Olusegun Obasanjo warned of an imminent revolution in Nigeria.

Obasanjo’s call was hinged on the prevailing high rate of youth unemployment, which he estimated to be about 72 per cent. Youth unemployment in the country is currently pegged at 75 per cent. Unemployment rate in the country increased to 23.90 percent in 2011 from 21.10 percent in 2010 according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Historically, from 2006 until 2011, Nigeria unemployment Rate averaged 14.6 Percent reaching an all time high of 23.9 Percent in December of 2011 and a record low of 5.3 Percent in December of 2006.

Besides robbing millions of youths of opportunities to be productively engaged in local industries and other indigenous growth efforts, the ramifications of counterfeiting affects everyone, with Governments, businesses and society being robbed of tax revenue, business income and jobs. The flood of counterfeit and pirated products creates an enormous drain on the global economy by creating an underground trade that deprives Governments of revenue for vital public services and imposes greater burdens on taxpayers.

It also leads to more public resources being spent on fraud-detection methods by public sector authorities and larger intelligence and policing budgets being needed to counter sophisticated schemes and networks. Counterfeit goods also undermine employment, as products are copied and produced illegally, thereby displacing sales of original merchandise and reducing the turnover of legitimate companies. Fraudulent medicines also have a direct impact on increased medical costs due to prolonged treatment periods and medical complications in the spread of treatment-intensive diseases. The prices of products also go up because companies increase security systems to counter organized criminal activities and have to invest more in research and development.

Taming the scourge

Yemi Ogunsanwo, Managing Director of Crest Communications suggested the need to build more awareness of the scale of the problem. He said that private companies complicit in counterfeit trade should be named and shamed, and codes of conduct more rigorously enforced. He emphasized coordinated and cross-sector action at the international level as vital measures for identifying, investigating and prosecuting counterfeiters.

Consumers also have a responsibility to exert their influence with their purchasing choices according Hamida Shittu, a clothier and fashion designer. According to her, counterfeiting networks will continue to operate as long as customers support it. If your favourite designer brand is clearly not made by your favourite designer, stay away. Beyond these obvious counterfeit products, stay alert to other warning signs. While these purchases may save you money in the short term, the longer-term losses are far more costly, she said.

Nigerians have continued to spend a fortune on the importation of finished consumer products that could be sourced locally if efforts are made to patronize locally made goods. The National Bureau of Statistics claims that “Mineral products, raw hides and skins, leather etc, textiles and associated articles and vehicles, aircraft and associated parts, represented the highest growth in imports between the third quarter of 2011 and the same period of 2010 while crude oil exports contributed 95.3 per cent of total exports”.

This has resulted in the continued low capacity utilisation and low production in Nigeria-based companies and industries resulting in high unemployment figures in the country, according to the trade statistics. The United Nations Development programme (UNDP) recently raised concerns over the increasing rate of poverty and unemployment in Nigeria. DaoudaToure, the Resident Representative of UNDP, made the observation in Abuja at the 53rd Annual conference of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES).

Toure noted that “for almost a decade now, Nigeria has been recording consistently high economic growth rate that has not produced commensurate employment opportunities and reduction in poverty among its citizens.” He urged the government to engage in growth patterns that generate jobs on a large scale to mitigate youth unemployment and a shift from jobless growth strategies toward inclusive and pro-poor growth strategies that equip youths and women with required skills for decent employment.

But this may prove very difficult to achieve given the average Nigerian youth’s mentality about locally produced goods. Cornelius Akpan, a shoe maker who recently relocated from Aba to Lagos, disclosed that he experience has taught him to attach foreign designer labels to his locally made shoes. Thus at his shop, many counterfeit brands of Gucci, Marc Jobs, Kenneth Cole among others are on display to the delight of many high end customers – mostly boutique owners who come to buy them in large quantities at a normal rate of N4, 500 to N5, 000 per shoe although they sell them, fully packaged as originals at ridiculous rates of N17, to N45, 000 per shoe.

Then there is Bolanle Awe who jets out every month to purchase counterfeit versions of designer shoes, hand bags and clothes in Dubai. Likewise, Fidelis Okhagbue, an auto parts dealer, travels to China more frequently as the Chinese market, he claims, is more profitable than any other. True, many vehicle parts dealers in Nigeria travel to China to determine the quality of the items they buy. Most times, they place orders for low quality goods in order to attract low prices and attract higher patronage.

This explains why most imported knock off goods in Nigeria bear Chinese labels. Unfortunately, the regulatory authorities in the country simply ask importers to pay penalties and permit them to take delivery of their goods to the detriment of the end users.

“We have a crisis situation. We now insist on certificate of free trade,” according to Odumodu, SON boss who declared that the agency will go beyond seizure of substandard goods and embark on re-export of such goods. In response to the devastating effect of the trade in counterfeit goods, SON launched its zero tolerance campaign against fake products last year. And till date, the regulator claimed it had removed about N3 billion worth of substandard products from circulation.

The life of counterfeit goods through back alleys, mafia connections, and sweat-shops into the homes of middle-class Nigerians and impoverished children trying to obtain malaria medicine constitutes a national malady of devastating proportions.

The sharp contrast between the Sex in the City, a popular sitcom’s idealization of a good knockoff Hermes bag as a status symbol, and the overnight “ghost shift” worked at factories, pumping out counterfeit goods in China as well as the devastation of the knock off produced on a developing country like Nigeria is no doubt unimaginable.

It ruins the chances of a country like Nigeria to rise through the doldrums of self-inflicted economic decline and unemployment to the socio-economic Eden of its dreams. But who cares; as long as there is a ready stream of knock off goods, counterfeit product dealers like Awe and Okhagbue will continue to travel to Dubai and China import knock offs as usual. And if it means killing the economy and luring more Nigerian consumers to their deaths, so be it.

December 8, 2012
Give us this day our private jet

Would it not have been much better if the Lord Jesus Christ, the founder of the Christian religion and saviour of humanity had been born a Nigerian rather than a Jew? ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”, Jesus admonished his followers, “and everything will be added unto you”. But if Jesus were a Nigerian, he would have the street wisdom to enable his adherents enjoy to the fullest both the kingdom of this world and the blessings of the world to come – a win –win situation for all. If Christ was a Nigerian, he would have said something like this: “Seek ye first the kingdom of private jets, palatial mansions, exotic four wheel drives, lucrative oil blocs, multi-million private university enterprises, companionship of the high and mighty of this world and every other thing will be added unto you both in this world and that which is to come”. A Nigerian Christ would have found a workable compromise between the Kingdom of darkness and that of light. He would have urged us all to give unto Caesar what is God’s and give unto God what is Caesar’s and there would have been eternal peace between good and evil world without end, Amen. Can you imagine John the Baptist being foolish enough to have his head cut off for speaking truth to power if he were a Nigerian? No, he would have blessed the unholy matrimony between Herod and his brother’s wife, invoked divine blessings on them and gone on to spend the rest of his days in splendour and prosperity while fulfilling his God ordained mission on earth.

I have often found some of the words of Christ in the Bible confounding, stupefying and astounding. For instance, there were two men fishing for their livelihood in the Sea of Galilee. “Follow me”, Jesus simply told them and I will make you fishers of men”. But how do you fish for men? Simply by seeking to win them over to the kingdom of God I can now understand. However, if it were in today’s Nigeria, how exactly would Jesus have framed his mission? I think he would have said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of private jets.” And the reason would be quite simple. With luxury private jets, fishing for the souls of men becomes much more efficient, stress-free and maximally productive. Much more importantly, the man of God, cruising the heavenly spheres in his modern flying gadget would have a closer proximity to the Almighty and have a greater possibility of his prayers being answered on behalf of his prosperity seeking adherents.

As I pen these words, two men of God, fishers of men in their own peculiar ways are on my mind. First, is Pastor Ayodele Joseph Oritsejafor, founding and senior pastor of Word of Life Bible Church, Warri, Delta State. Ever since he was converted by the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa in 1972, Pastor Oritsejafor has not looked back. He has been a fiery, uncompromising preacher passionately seeking to win souls to Christ. Over the last four decades, his ministry has flourished abundantly and he has become one of the success symbols of the now fashionable prosperity gospel. Only recently, Pastor Oritsejafor justly celebrated his 40th year on the pulpit. President Goodluck Jonathan personally graced the occasion – an indication of Pastor Oritsejafor’s standing in the kingdom of this world. President Jonathan on that occasion considered it noteworthy that Oritsejafor was President both of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN). I really do not think this is to Pastor Oritsejafor’s credit. Why should any individual want to cling to the two very influential positions? Does this not smack of some mini megalomania of sorts? But the highlight of Pastor Oritsejafor’s 40th anniversary as a preacher, was the gift presented to him by his congregation of Canadian-made Bombadier jet manufactured in 1994 and costing $3.5 million. When the announcement of the gift was made, the entire congregation reportedly erupted in joy, congratulating and backslapping each other on the good fortune of their pastor and, most assuredly, praying it would one day be their turn to be living testimonies to God’s miraculous blessings.

If Pastor Oritsejafor symbolises the overly individualistic and materialistic orientation of the Pentecostal movement in contemporary Nigeria, the Metropolitan and Archbishop of Abuja, His Eminence, John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, exemplifies the restraint, asceticism, deep learning and self effacement that is the essence of the Church. Archbishop Onaiyekan was one of the 22 new Cardinals elevated as elite princes of the church by Pope Benedict XVI. He thus follows in the footsteps of Francis Cardinal Arinze and Anthony Cardinal Okogie who were ordained Cardinals before him. An accomplished polyglot, John Cardinal Onaiyekan earned his doctorate in 1976. His interesting dissertation was on “The Priesthood in Pre-monarchical Ancient Israel and among the Owe-Yoruba of Kabba: A comparative study”. Surely, the Cardinal would do well to revise his thesis for publication and accessibility to a wider audience.

The Catholic Church is a most unique organisation. It is at once all too human and yet manifests unquestionable traits of divinity. The Catholic Church places no premium on miracles. It does not pride itself on raising the dead or opening the eyes of the blind or conferring instant prosperity on the poor. Yet, despite millions flocking to instant miracle centres, the Catholic Church continues to flourish and maintain its own in the Christian community. By 2005, for instance, it was estimated that there were 18 million baptised Catholics in Nigeria and the country along with the Congo Democratic Republic had the highest number of priests in Africa. One of the greatest strengths of the Catholic Church is the very rigorous theological, philosophical and logical training that the church gives its priests. I have absolutely no doubt, for instance, that the average Catholic priest is far more intellectually equipped than his Pentecostal counterpart to respond pungently and effectively to such new books as ‘The God Delusion’ by the English biologist, Richard Dawkins or ‘God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything’ by Christopher Hitchens; books that question the very basis of faith in the existence of God and the supernatural.

I am not surprised that it is another great Catholic priest and intellectual, Dr. Monsignor Mathew Hassan Kukah, who has had the courage and honesty to speak up against the very obscene, purported gift of a private jet to Pastor Oritsejafor by members of his congregation. According to Father Kukah, “I do not see anywhere in the world where any worshipping community can claim that they’ve been able to raise over 7 billion Naira to buy such a gift for their pastor. But most importantly for me is that, amidst the squalor and poverty that we face in Nigeria, these are not the kind of model display that we should be to our people”. It is difficult to fault the cleric’s logic.

And on the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Father Kukah is even more trenchant and biting. In his words “CAN has become more visible in relation to national prayer sessions, pilgrimages, alliances with state power and so on. Unless we distance ourselves, we cannot speak the truth to power. We cannot hear the wails of the poor and the weak. We should not be seen as playing the praying wing of the party in power”. Surely, I cannot put it better. But is Pastor Oritsejafor listening?

December 8, 2012