The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • The Dean’s November

    The Dean’s November

    It has been a glorious week for journalism in Nigeria and for a scandal-fatigued nation by extension. There can be nothing more morally satisfying than watching good people finish first. In the ethical free trade zone that is Nigeria, this is immensely gratifying and a cause to be grateful to almighty. Allah de indeed.

    Watching the great man soak up all the accolades and encomiums , all the ringing ovations and rousing oratory at the Yoruba Tennis club last Monday, was like watching a king in autumnal splendour. It is the dean’s November. And all the men of timber and calibre came to pay their respects to the doyen.

    It was like an occult gathering of bi-centennial egunguns. The entire hall reeked of camphor cubes, organdi lace and other ancestral textiles. There were one or two double partings reminiscent of Edwardian dandies. Victorian Lagos came alive again.

    It was a Veterans’ Day, and as the reviewer of the collection, Dan Agbese, noted, it was perhaps the greatest collection of aging journalists that the nation has witnessed. Perhaps not since they founded Yaba Old People’s Home, snooper must caution. It was 17 years since snooper himself had a memorable breakfast of steaming Oturkpo yam porridge with Dan in company of the impossible Colonel Dickson Ovie-Itete. In the intervening years, the great Newswatch trailblazer himself has taken on a sage otherworldly hue.

    The man of the moment took it all in his stride. Not for once did the calm, impassive and Roman noble exterior betray any emotion. Like an all-seeing, all-knowing traditional deity, Allah De wore his usual mask of Olympian reticence. Only my master knew what my master was thinking about. Alhaji Alade Idowu Odunewu took in all the hype and hoopla with a regal forbearance that suggested good breeding and cultivated restraint. There is a stoic equanimity about the man that communicated deep wisdom and even deeper faith. When shall we see his like again?

    When Winston Churchill was told that Clement Atlee, his great rival and ultimate electoral conqueror, was a modest man, Churchill noted with caustic severity that Atlee had everything to be modest about. In our own Alade Odunewu we have a man who has everything not to be modest about but who has chosen the path of modesty and rectitude. There is something ultimately forbidding about Allah De’s simplicity and lack of airs. There is something about his casual, self-effacing mien that is a subtle indictment of the pompous self-importance of many of our contemporary rulers. Allah De is a different proposition altogether.

    There are great writers who are squalid human beings. There are great people who are squalid writers. There are people who are squalid human beings and squalid writers to the bargain. To be a great writer and a great person is a rare combination indeed. Alade Odunewu, by right and reputation, belongs to this special breed. Nigeria has produced greater writers and perhaps greater people in the realm of politics and entrepreneurial daring. But Allah De is in a class of his own as a great person and a great columnist.

    In their epic duel which was to earn Allah De the sobriquet of the dean of satirical journalism in Nigeria, Zik of Africa cautioned Odunewu about deploying major artillery to fight minor skirmishes. How about some preliminary skirmishes before the main tournament, Zik famously asked of his antagonist, trying to lure the wily journalist into a fatal clinch. Allah De did not decline. The result is a classic slugfest that has since become a benchmark for civilised discourse in post-colonial Nigeria.

    Zik, the apostle of Fabian socialism, the ardent disciple of Fabius Cunctator, the great Roman strategist of attrition, was drawing Allah De’s attention to one of the fabled tenets of delayed engagement and graduated violence as learnt from the master himself. Preliminary skirmishes must not be fought with major artillery. But the great Zik could have saved his breath. Allah De was never one to rush into political hostilities.

    In the end, it boils down to a question of style for great man and great columnist. The great riddle of Allah De’s life as a man and a prose stylist has to do with the complexity of simplicity. More often than not, it is not simple to be simple. Although Allah De’s style evinces a powerful simplicity, it is a simplicity that has been worked over several times by a profound and complex mind. It is not the simplicity of the Fleet Street journeyman, or the simplicity of the zealot of the American night school of journalism and ersatz fast food communication. It is a simplicity under-girded by a potent imagination.

    This is the point Dan Agbese seems to miss in his otherwise refreshing review. While praising Allah De for the simplicity and elegance of his writing, Agbese also betrays the mindset of the fundamentalist of the old school of journalism with its war cry of clarity and lucidity. By so doing, Agbese manages to skirt round the issue thus resurrecting an old stylistic ghost which dogged Newswatch at its inception and which provoked a memorable defence of stylistic complexity by one of its star columnists.

    It is true that the classical canons of modern mass communication are anchored on lucidity and simplicity of style. But such lucidity and simplicity of expression are often in collusion and complicity with ruling class agenda. They are tools of mass deception. The simplistic mind often hides under the mantra of simplicity to obscure and obfuscate complex issues.

    In the tortured and tormented labyrinth of the post-colonial state, with its state assisted crimes and ruling class delinquency, this kind of simplicity is going to be a tall order indeed. In a post-modernist world where writing about adventure is also the adventure of writing itself, this is like a relapse into stone- age verbal exchanges among hunter-gatherers of primitive information.

    At any rate, less is just less. Anybody who has something memorable to say must find a memorable way to say it, if they are to register with posterity. Poor Dan Agbese, journalism is too serious a business to be left to professional journalists. It is not by coincidence that the most remarkable journalists that Nigeria has produced are people who bring the fertile resources of other professions to bear on the trade.

    We are talking about the great Zik with his polyvalent potency, Awo with his classical erudition, Anthony Enahoro with his powerful intellect, Aiyekoto with his urbane and cosmopolitan swashbuckling, Allah De with his world-weary wisdom and superlative imagination, Sad Sam with his cynical perspicacity, Gbolabo Ogunsanwo with his polysyllabic virtuosity, Dele Giwa with his elaborate literary conceits, Stanley Macebuh with his mandarin ruminations and our own Olatunji Dare with the clinical clarity of an absconding scientist.

    While most of these men often return to their primary trade, while some of them would take a French leave from journalism, Allah De remains the quintessential journalist. Again, it is a question of style and taste. Allah De does not mix journalism with partisan politics. But this is not say that he was ever indifferent to the political fortunes of his beloved country. When affronted, Allah De roiled with quiet tempest. But he was wise and worldly enough to leave political rascality to the professional rascals. In such moments of sublime impotence, the great man would probably sigh: Allah De.

    The result is a body of writing that is at once penetratingly critical but also ruler-friendly. This is the man the entire nation celebrated last week. Since everybody seems to have an Allah De story, snooper might as well end with his own. Once upon a long time ago, Allah De missed his way in the jungle of primeval beauty that was one of the nation’s finest universities.

    Snooper snooping around as usual in the dense jungle recognised the great man and helped him on his way. The doyen was full of urbane gratitude. It turned out that in characteristic humility and fatherly affection the great man had come all the way from Lagos to thank one of his daughter’s teachers for his diligence and devotion.

    Last week the nation returned the full compliment to one of its most illustrious and noble sons. It was a moveable feast. Here is wishing the great dean many happy returns of the day, sir.

  • Mama Igosun haunts Okon

    Not even good old Okon could believe his eyes. The world is full of strange turns and twists. There are times when day dreaming turns into nightmares and when actual reality becomes a dream-like reverie. Is dreaming a slice of life or is life itself part of a huge collective dream? Whatever it is, when a child gets to the place of fear, fear must overpower it.

    Okon rubbed his eyes to make sure it was not a nasty dream. But there was Mama Igosun, now hunched and hobbled by age, leaning on a carved walking stick and blocking Okon’s exit from the kitchen. She was carrying her trademark apothecary’s pouch containing dangerous charms and fireworks. Her capacity for domestic confrontation remained undiminished by advancing years. Okon took a look and froze with fright.

    “God of Israeli, which one be dis one again? I think dem say say dis witch don die”, Okon mumbled to himself.

    “Iyanla iya baba ee”, the old woman began cursing in vernacular and then switched to her unique pidgin English, “na your grandma be witch.”

    “Mama , I hear say Ogunpa River don carry you go, abi na dem Tokyo boy?” Okon taunted.

    “Na your papa him grandma Ogunpa dey carry go like dat. No think say I no sabi say na you come set fire for house for Igosun. I dey take my time because pounded yam still they hot after twenty years. Now I come da sheria for you. Wey your oga sef?” the feisty old woman demanded.

    “Ha mama, dat one dey hide somewhere becos I don declare labour unrest for house”, Okon noted with a satanic smile.

    “Wetin be labour unrest? Your mama pregnant?” the old woman demanded.

    “Mama ..” Okon began and was cut off by the no-nonsense matriarch.

    “Shut up!!! If to say your mama pregnant, I fit deliver am. I train for midwife for Eku Baptist when my husband be PWD for Sapele, But we no dey allow oloriburuku boy like you to come out. Na for inside womb we dey finis dem, make dem no come cause trouble for ilu”, the old woman fumed.

    “Mama, you be illustrate woman. Labour unrest mean say I wan more money”, Okon jeered.

    “Who go pay yeye cook like you more money? I don tell Akanbi to fire you. I go bring am four Agatu for Mokola make dem come dey cook for am. Agatu pople no dey eat snail, but you Cameroon Kukuruku you dey steal sotey your belly go burst one day. Omo ale!” the old woman screamed.

    “Mama dis one you dey do na child abuse,” Okon protested.

    “I never abuse you. When I comot my knife you go see,” the old woman screamed. By now, Okon was considering the possibility of ejecting through the open window.

    “Okolobo, abi wetin you dey call dat your funny name? Set the kitchen, I wan cook olu and tata for Akanbi” the old woman raved and moved forward in a threatening manner.

    “Kai, mama, I know say Tata be one useless boy and Dan iska who dey write nonsense for dem internet but Olu be my girlfriend, make you no whack person just like dat.” Okon pleaded.

    “Wereeeeee!!! Olu na mushroom and tata na cricket,” the old woman fumed and lurched forward to hit Okon with her walking stick. Okon dived but hit his head against the sharp edge of the wall. It was at this point he woke up. It was a nasty dream.

  • The story of Georgia

    The story of Georgia

    Today, Georgia ranks alongside Finland as having the least corrupt police force in the world

    Although corruption has since become analogous to a directive principle of state policy in Nigeria, it is a self-evident truth that President Goodluck Jonathan did not introduce it to the country. It is also untrue, whatever he might have done in that wise, that IBB socialized corruption in the country. It is my view that the honour belongs to the late Major-General Yar’ Adua who, from his Katsina redoubt, but operating principally from Lagos, corrupted the political process by sending huge sums of money as political expenses towards his presidential ambition in the early ‘90’s whereas the practice before then was for party members, of all classes, to make monthly contributions for party funding. In the Awo days, nothing made an Action Group party member, more proud than showing his party monthly contribution card. At that point in Nigerian history, members truly owned their political parties.

    I am not making this allegation lightly as I was personally present, in ‘91/92, when a former Secretary to the government of Nigeria handed a Ghana Must Go bag to the late university Professor who took us there for purposes of going to register members into the late General’s party in Ondo state. And that, I reliably learnt, was by no means a lone event. The other person present, a Lawyer, can confirm that, because that party was different from Papa Ajasin’s PSP group to which I belonged, I did not even as much as permit myself to be present wherever it was, that bag was opened. I excused myself.

    What is true, however, is that under the current presidency, corruption has multiplied a hundred fold largely because of President Jonathan’s audacity in defying PDP’s zoning policy in 2011 and the concomitant necessity of having to then outspend the Atiku campaign which, in itself, was not cheap. That humongous funding would come mostly from sources known and unknown and the misguided, attempted removal of oil subsidy in January this year was a direct consequence of that. The need to recoup has contributed, in no small measure, to what a recent PUNCH newspaper investigation showed as a total of N5 Trillion in stolen funds under this barely 18 month-old government.

    That publication is yet to be controverted by the government.

    The above notwithstanding, I am positive that President Goodluck Jonathan can still translate to a statesman, even, Father of the Nation. But he must be ready to damn the consequences of a rather simple process which is guaranteed to enjoy mass support. He must first relinquish every intent to contest the v2015 election and then, GO AFTER THE ROGUES, big and small. The President is not here being invited to re-invent the wheel. Rather, he is being called upon to emulate his one-time GEORGIAN counterpart, Mikhail Saakashvili as much as possible, in what has become known worldwide as: THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA. The fact that Saakashvili was defeated in last month’s general election by Ivanishvili of the Georgian Dream Coalition, after nine years, does not vitiate this miracle that holds so much for Nigeria.

    Happy reading.

    This is a story of possibility from Georgia that should strengthen our hope in changing Nigeria in spite of its circumstances. It was told by Plamen Monovski, the CIO of Renaissance Asset Managers:

    “When the Prime Minister comes to sell you an IPO, you, the investor, take the meeting. When that Prime Minister turns up with no bodyguards and shows remarkable knowledge of the company he is promoting, you, the investor, take notice.

    When Nika Gilauri, the Premier of Georgia, tells you that the prosperity of his country has been achieved because it has become one of the “least corrupt” countries in the world, you, the investor must take note.

    But it was not always like that.

    After the demise of the USSR, Georgia was not only one of the most corrupt of the former-Soviet republics, it was one of the most corrupt countries in the entire world. Bribe-to-drive was the norm; police stopped cars at least twice an hour to extort some good money. The then Interior Minister infamously quipped: “Give me petrol only; my people will take care of their own salaries.”

    Being a traffic cop was so lucrative that you had to pay a bribe of between $2,000 and $20,000 to get the job in the first place. Graft was endemic. Georgians passed more envelopes to bent officials than the post office does letters. Meanwhile the economy crumbled and the state was left bankrupt and powerless.

    The election of Mikhail Saakashvili changed everything. A bold reformer, he was swept to power in the “Rose Revolution” at the end of 2003 by the overwhelming desire for radical change. His closely-knit team is unified by a common vision and supported by both the parliament and judiciary.

    The new government was not just radical – it shocked and awed. Ministers, oligarchs and officials were sacked or arrested. Those who resisted were dealt with decisively, sometimes brutally. The state confiscated $1bn worth of property. Custom officials bore collective responsibility; an entire shift would be punished if one officer was caught accepting bribes. Corrupt university professors were kicked out with a lifetime ban from academia. But the piece de la resistance was Saakashvili’s order to sack the entire 16,000-strong police force on a single day, to replace them with some of the best and brightest university graduates. Today, Georgia ranks alongside Finland as having the least corrupt police force in the world and their standout uniforms are rumoured to have been designed by Armani.

    The campaign expanded irresistibly. Tax offices were equipped with CCTV; university examination papers were printed in the UK and held in bank vaults until needed; and officials were constantly tested in sting operations. The proactive assault on graft was accompanied by a PR campaign to undermine respect for criminal groups and introduce respect for the law. The campaign then turned to the sectors. First up was the power sector that was widely used as a cash cow, as it is here in Nigeria, for well-connected oligarchs. In less than a year, Georgia went from net importer to exporter of electricity and the sector became the target of long-term foreign investment.

    Tax collection followed. Georgia’s tax base consisted of just 80,000 companies in 2003 and tax collection was a mere 12% of GDP. Saakashvili slashed red tape and introduced flat personal and corporate taxes. Eight years later over 250,000 companies are on the register, and pay the equivalent of 25% of GDP. Georgia now boasts one of the most liberal tax regimes in the world, at par with the Gulf States and Hong Kong.

    Lastly came deregulation, with many rules and agencies simply abolished, removing channels of corruption in the process. Among other things, car registration became so easy that used cars became the largest export item in 2011. Georgia moved swiftly from the bottom of the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking (112) into the top 20 (16) by 2012. Foreign investment followed and fuelled a multi-year surge.

    But perhaps, the most lucrative Georgian export would be the fight against corruption itself – from which many states mired in graft could benefit. The Georgians patented a process whose steps are replicable: establish early reform credibility by radical action, launch a frontal assault excluding no sacred cows, attract new blood, limit the role of the state via privatization and deregulation, use technology and communication to maximum effect, and above all, be bold and purposeful. Georgia’s close and distant neighbours should take heed. Their prime ministers and presidents have got their job cut out for them.”

    Without a doubt, time has come for Nigeria to embrace the spirit and letter of such radical reformation to avoid the needless, prevalent and sickening bloodshed that now characterizes our national life.

    I am not that naïve not to know that corruption, which is now the name of every Nigerian sector will fight back ferociously. So did it in Singapore when Lee Kuan Yew and a group of Singaporean leaders bonded together, frontally confronted corruption in its most virulent form and transformed a poor, multi-racial city state into an astonishingly successful and corruption-free nation. Interested readers should go grab a copy of : FROM THIRD WORLD TO FIRST: The Singapore Story, 1965-2000 by L.K Yew.

    What is essential here is for Jonathan to know that he occupies, as yet unknown to him, the hottest part of the Nigerian kitchen. He must wake up and be counted as he could also kill off the dreaded Boko Haram with a successful crackdown on corruption. He needs to do this if he would like to see his name on the good side of history. Those currently misleading him will not even appear on the footnotes of that history.

  • Still on special status for Lagos

    Still on special status for Lagos

    The on-going constitutional review process across the country has once again offered the Lagos State Government the platform to reiterate its quest for a special status for the state. At a recent South-west public hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Senate President, David Mark, supported Governor Babatunde Fashola’s call for a special status for Lagos metropolis being a former capital city.

    Amongst the 36 items listed for deliberation, demand that Lagos be accorded a special status got a senatorial endorsement at the public session, which almost all the South-west federal and state lawmakers attended. The endorsement was contained in Mark’s opening remark, who contended that former capitals “are normally accorded special status the world over”. Mark’s public acknowledgement justified a course that the Lagos Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola and several prominent Lagosians had aggressively pursued even before the first review of the constitution.

    Lagos is presently experiencing such phenomenal population explosion that it is being projected to be the 3rd largest megacity in the world by 2015. Many are of the view that despite the 10 million figure declared by the National Population Commission in the last census exercise, the city’s best possible population is 40 million. Whereas the annual population growth in the developing world is 3% and Nigeria’s is 2.7% that of Lagos stands at a stunning 8% and is likely to accelerate. The state’s landmass is rather small by Nigerian standard (Kano State which officially has about the same population is about four times in landmass). As if to aggravate the situation, a considerable part of the metropolis is covered by water, a situation that complicates its infrastructural needs.

    The Lagos transformation project requires an enormous financial requirement, far beyond the capacity of the state government. Governor Fashola recently revealed that a sum of N6.14 trillion naira is needed to build and upgrade infrastructural facilities in the state in the next 15 years! This, then, is the significance of the call for the state to be accorded a special status by the federal government.

    Lagos, with over 128,000 workers (representing various ethnic groups) in its employment, apart from the Federal Government, remains the greatest employer of labour in the country. Ironically, many of the states in the country with lesser population and infrastructural needs receive same monthly federal allocation as Lagos. The special position of Lagos as the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, and indeed West Africa, has its peculiar infrastructural challenges. Its sheer human density driven by an increasing population due to endless survival and economic driven immigration, its ports and waterways, its border with Benin Republic, its high concentration of banks, industries, companies, and other commercial enterprises makes it a very complex state to govern. Being the pane through which the whole world views the country, granting a special status to Lagos remains the best possible way to drive Nigeria’s development as Lagos is the country’s most industrialized city with needs that align with its growth.

    No nation grows by treating the needs of its golden geese with discomfiture since the future growth of the country’s economy is tied to the development of Lagos which hosts over 85 per cent of Nigeria’s industrial hub, over 65 per cent of its financial nucleus and over 75 per cent of its active workforce. With each day, the population and needs of Lagos continue to increase to reflect this important role. As the economic capital of Nigeria, Lagos has been the first port of call for eager millions of youths from all parts of the country who long for means of survival from the uncertainties of a struggling economy like ours.

    Presently, it is obvious that the monthly allocation it receives from the Federation Account as well as its internally generated revenue is not enough to meet the developmental needs of the state. Regrettably, the federal government’s inability to discharge its infrastructural responsibilities to Lagos, over the years, has further worsened the situation. The National Assembly Complex at Tafawa Balewa Square, the National Stadium, Surulere, the Federal Secretariat, Ikoyi and the Apapa- Oshodi Expressway, to mention just a few, laid credence to this.

    When the FCT was moved from Lagos to Abuja, there was a subsisting agreement that the city would not be abandoned. Indeed, the Late General Murtala Mohammed acknowledged the onerous nature of the responsibility of leaving Lagos alone to deal with the burden of infrastructure the FG were leaving behind then, bearing in mind that if Lagos hadn’t been the federal capital, it probably would not have been having these problems. In fact, five cities; Enugu, Port-Harcourt, Ibadan, Kaduna and Lagos were later designated as ‘Centres of Excellence’ by the Murtala Administration as part of a plan to make them cities of pride by the federal government.

    However, successive federal governments have refused to take a cue from countries which relocated their national capitals without abandoning infrastructural development of the former capitals. It is now time for Nigeria to imitate Germany, Brazil, Malaysia, Australia and Tanzania, which, after relocating their capitals, did not hold back developmental programmes targeted at the former capitals. From 1954 to 1994, the capital of Germany was Bonn. It was moved to Berlin, following the endorsement of the ‘agreement of movement’ which spelt out the responsibilities of German government for the maintenance of the old capital and which it has been meeting conscientiously. Also, Brazil moved its capital from Rio-de janeiro to Brasilia. Till date, all federal roads, buildings and other infrastructure in both cities are maintained simultaneously by the central government. Malaysia has also maintained two capitals. Its old capital, Kaura-Lampur, has been retained as the legislative capital, where the National Assembly operates. Its new capital, Putrajaya, which is the most computerized city in the world, is the administrative capital. In Australia, the old capital, Sidney, still enjoys special recognition. Although Campera is the new capital, most activities of government, international conferences, party conventions and meetings still hold in the former capital city. The former capital of Tanzania is Dar-es-Salam. When Dodoma became the new capital, the old capital did not suffer neglect. The federal government should take cue from these examples by according Lagos a deserving special status.

    Lagos State government, in the last twelve years, has invested a huge amount of money on infrastructural development, especially construction of drainages, durable roads, beautification and restoration of parks to forestall the negative impact of flooding, erosion and other environmental hazards. However, these efforts are not enough for obvious reasons. Today, Lagos does about 9,000 metric tons of refuse daily, more than what the whole of Ghana is generating. The branch networks that some banks have in Lagos outstrip what they have in the whole country. A recent study reveals that over twenty five thousand people from across the world move into Lagos for various reasons on a daily basis. The number of heavy duty trucks and other vehicles that ply Lagos roads on a daily basis is quite alarming. Same goes for the number of pupils in its public schools as well as those that daily visit its hospitals. Consequently, the state spends more on infrastructural upgrading and provision of other basic life necessities than any state in the country.

    The need to accord a special status for Lagos is a non-political project. There is hardly any Nigerian that doesn’t have a stake in Lagos. An investment in Lagos is, therefore, a necessary blueprint for the development of the country since Lagos remains the window through which the world sees Nigeria. Any investment in Lagos is an investment in the future of Corporate Nigeria. It is an investment that protects and supports Nigeria’s capacity to earn more resources, support more businesses, expand businesses and address several other developmental challenges bedeviling the country. It is a right course. It is the right thing to do!

     

    Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

  • Corruption as opium

    Corruption as opium

    Unless President Jonathan acts fast, this ‘forbidden fruit’ that is eaten freely now might define and destroy his govt

    Without trying to act a seer, I can see President Goodluck Jonathan struggling to do something about power supply in the country, at least to have something to showcase in the 2015 elections. He has no choice; he must do something so he does not lose his deposit even with the elections still months away. Losing his deposit would be tantamount to committing political suicide. A saying common in the south west of the country says that after one has prayed that God should not make one fall into disgrace, the next thing one begins to pray against is for God not to allow one die the moment disgrace becomes imminent.

    No doubt, power supply would play a crucial role in deciding the president’s fate come 2015. And it appears this is one of the few things he can do without much sweat. He is not winning the war on the economic front; he is not winning the security aspect of it either. Education is in a shambles; health care in tatters and there is a massive infrastructural deficit that fixing is beyond the government’s ken. But most of the ‘ingredients’ needed for changing the face of the power sector are already here; all the president has to do is mix them in the appropriate proportions and food (power) is ready. His estranged political godfather, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had done much of the spade work; only that he (Obasanjo) was not destined to wear the crown of glory as the president who gave Nigerians light. Some would say an ‘ebora’ can never give light. Nonetheless, Obasanjo had imported most of the equipment needed for the power sector; forget the many mistakes associated with the decisions, i.e. their failure to reckon with the transportation needs for the equipment, given that most of them were too large to be transported by road, and the non-dredging of the rivers to transport them by sea, etc.

    Before the former president takes me on concerning the ‘crown of glory’ that I said he was not destined to wear, let me say that being a two-time head of state is good; but it is not necessarily synonymous with wearing the ‘crown of glory’. Even in the scriptures that I know the former president must be familiar with as a Baptist Church senior citizen, the crown is not for the person who began something but for someone who accomplished it. Chief Obasanjo had all the time to lighten Nigerians’ darkness; unfortunately, he chose to squander the chance by pursuing irrelevancies, including an impracticable third term agenda that he dissipated much of his energy on.

    But this piece is not about Obasanjo; it is about his godson, Jonathan that has now come of age and has severed the umbilical cord that tied him to his godfather. But Nigerians have nothing to worry about that; the war between the godfather and godson is spiritual and it has just started. God has a way of smashing any scheming that is not of Him, the same way He knows how to put asunder what he has not joined together.

    Be that as it may, I wonder how President Jonathan manages to sleep with the mindboggling corruption ravaging the country. I have not seen this type of corruption in my life; not even in the Alhaji Shehu Shagari years. As a matter of fact, if I were President Jonathan, the only agenda at the Federal Executive Council meetings would not be award of contracts, but ‘corruption, corruption and corruption’, because, unless and until we fight corruption, we are deceiving ourselves; all the contracts awarded would only serve as avenues through which some emergency billionaires would emerge. I can see some people chuckle that that is the raison detre of the contract awards in the first place! Even in the Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha years, corruption was rife but it was not for all but for a select few in power and their cronies in the corridors of it.

    If the Jonathan presidency cares to be told; it is the laughing stock in all the high-wire intrigues that led to the Lawan Farouk/Femi Otedola ‘sting’ operation and its present stalemate. It is also the butt of all the jokes in the Ribadu/Oronsaye matter. As far as Nigerians are concerned, the Jonathan government has a case to answer in the scam that the fuel subsidy has become; indeed, its culpability is the reason why we are not making any headway in our attempts to punish the culprits. How it kept paying trillions for subsidy that we never spent N400billion in any given year on in 2011 (an election year) alone without asking questions could not have been a mistake. This could not have been anything but a premeditated swindle.

    And when one would have expected the president to be remorseful of his government’s action, he came out as usual with a most shocking statement that the fuel subsidy protests of January were sponsored. This is the height of his contempt for Nigerians. It is visible to the blind and audible even to the deaf that Nigerians have been milked dry by some fat cows most of who hobnob with the president himself, through fuel subsidy payments. And this much Nigerians have always known even if the Jonathan government pretends not to. So, in spite of all they know on the subject-matter, Nigerians still need some sponsors to give them bottled water and food to protest the insensitivity of the government that lacks the will to fight corruption? How can a president who understands the issues still have the guts to say this kind of thing at a time his government should be tendering unreserved apologies to Nigerians for the untold hardship that had been caused them by the conmen (and women) involved in the subsidy racket?

    Verily, verily I say unto the president, no matter what he does, his government cannot make any headway because he himself lacks the will to deal with those who stole subsidy money among numerous other frauds, for obvious reasons. Whatever anti- corruption war this country wants to fight can only make sense if it begins with the subsidy trillions. What the country has lost in the Jonathan years alone is mind-boggling. Even clerks now steal in billions. Let President Jonathan attain 20,000MW of electricity before 2015, it would end up amounting to nothing if corruption still rules the country. Why? The reason is simple: a child that one did not train will end up selling whatever inheritance one left for him, and for peanuts (to boot) because he cannot appreciate their worth.

    So, for President Jonathan to think he can leave any positive legacy in the power sector (or any other sector for that matter) is wishful thinking. He can only try; it won’t work for the simple reason that corruption will be at every juncture to wipe off the gains. What I am saying in effect is that the government can only succeed if it is possible to build on nothing. When God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, He told them they could eat of all the fruits there but one. It would appear that ‘forbidden fruit’ is the corruption that is the only exotic fruit that is freely eaten by the big people in the Jonathan era.

    •I could not feature last week but the printer’s devil burnt off the portion of my column where the notice to this effect was put. Sorry about that.

  • When life deals you a lemon … quick, reject it

    When life deals you a lemon … quick, reject it

    If we implement the fifty per cent cut, we would, in the spirit of fairness, have to start the reduction from Aso Rock by cutting the President’s or the Vice-President’s job

    In those days, when I still had fond dreams of being able to see my weight move in the direction of ‘slim’ or ‘will hopefully be slim in the nearest future’ (actual points on my scales), I planted a lemon tree. I had heard that its fruit, the revered lemon, was capable of causing weight reduction by some magic. Soon though, I found that its very sour taste was quickly giving me a dour look on life: rose bushes were full of thorns, no one could do anything right around me, and even the dog walking on its hind legs was very annoying. After much research, I also found that there was no magic in lemon that could help me lose weight. Rather, all that the blessed fruit could do was give me lemonade, fill me with vitamin C and, hopefully, cure me of scurvy should I be marooned on a ship for months on end, far from friends, relatives and sanity. Clearly, the lemon tree had to go.

    I am sure we all know the adage that says when life deals you a lemon, make lemonade. I am equally sure you know the antidote to even that, the lemonade that is, not the lemon. My religious compatriots do. At the mere mention of any undesired curse such as ‘May your days be filled with lemon’, up and around the head would go the middle finger and thumb, concluding in a snap, and then followed by a furious, hearty and immediate rejection verbalised in an religiously appropriate language, ‘I reject it in …’. Someone feeling feverish may refuse to take anti-malarial drugs but would heartily reject it. (Of course, who knows, he/she may eventually find him/herself lying down with malaria). There is no devil on earth that can withstand such a furious rebuttal, unless he has been naturalised as a Nigerian. My fear is that most devils appear to be carrying Nigerian passports and are strutting around now parading themselves as Nigerians. Because of that, the blighter devils don’t respect our rejections, sometimes even riding on them to one’s front door. Sacrilege!

    Just this last week, our Central Bank governor was said to have suggested that the national expenditure on the civil, legislative and executive services be reduced by cutting those jobs in half. His reason is that the country is carrying around on its head a very bloated expenditure that it is having difficulties sustaining. So, it cannot move forward. I say blame it on the devils pretending to be Nigerians. I know they are the ones causing all the heavy expenditures. They are the brains behind all the corruption we have heard so much about, embezzling funds, fixing large amounts for themselves as emoluments, swelling the work force with ghost workers, cornering all the contracts to themselves even though they are part of the awarding bodies … just what have they not done? Real devils, the lot!

    I am sure, however, that even the governor himself knows that it is not very realistic to reduce the country’s expenditure simply by reducing the work force because it is not easy to get rid of devils; believe me, I’ve tried. There is a devil that enters my pot of soup and simply makes it disappear whenever all kinds of condiments and tantalising enhancements like beef, chicken, fish, etc., enter into it. Against that saucy devil, I am helpless, as I find myself making more. There is another one that persists in increasing my workload so that no matter how fast or hard I work, I just don’t seem to see the bottom of the barrel. Real busy devil, that one. Then, there is one that just causes things to disappear when I need them most, particularly the ones I have hidden away to guard against their being lost. Right now, I just can’t seem to find my only piece of jewellery. I tell you, these mischievous devils are getting on my nerves, and obviously, on the CBN governor’s too. He can’t find the country’s money; but at least he knows the direction it seems to have gone to and a fair idea of how to recall it.

    If we are to do what he asks us to do, however, we would be in a bit of a fix. What, for instance, will we do with our investments in Aso Rock? I mean, if we implement the fifty per cent cut in jobs, we would, in the spirit of fairness, have to start the reduction from Aso Rock by cutting the President’s or the Vice-President’s job. Now, that will cause real wahala. It’s one thing for a president to lose an election and not be returned, but it’s a different kettle of fish for a president to be laid off. ‘Owing to cuts in public service expenditure, we regret to inform you that your job has been …’ I am sure the occupant of Aso Rock rejects it in …

    Anyway, should we succeed in Aso Rock, then we can move on to the legislative houses with confidence and take the census of a normal day’s session. Whoever is present retains his/her job; the absent ones will be deemed to have resigned. That should give us less than a third of them to pay any salary to. It is only then we can turn to the civil service.

    Now, everyone knows that the civil service is bloated, and for good reasons too, the principal of which is that the Federal Government boxed itself into that corner. This column has long and oft maintained that industries are being strangulated by the government. The perpetual habit of enacting national policies which favour only the cronies of the government in the name of close to one hundred and fifty million people can only lead to trouble. Countries are better when the wealth created is private sector-driven rather than government-given. Truth is, too many times, the government has made an ass of the law, and it is now getting close to pay-back time. The devil of vengeance is always just around the corner.

    Once, I was told, someone wanted to establish an industry in a city in Nigeria, so he procured a large acreage, got everything he needed ready including the machines and approached the federal government for a licence, explaining how it would provide labour, tax and other incentives to the country. Some government functionary then tipped his friend on the development who also got up and applied for a licence for the same product. His licence was not to produce however, but to import the product in order to get a better, faster and higher yield. The sad thing is that the importer soon tired of importing but not before a very original dream had been killed by the devilish dream killers.

    The result is that the Nigerian economy is not driven by the private sector but by public service; not even public utilities, just the service commission. So, the federal government is the only worthy employer of labour. This is why everyone wants in; and it also means that close to fifty people may be pushing a single file where a single computer button would do the job better. But, the country needs to keep the illusion of keeping us all engaged because it has not allowed private industries to grow. Everywhere else in the world, it is the private sector that employs more.

    So, rather than cut jobs, the eggheads in charge of our finances must find ways of making the little we earn do much by getting rid of the devils in the system. We must make something better than lemonade from our lemons.

  • Sanusi: The limit of candour

    Sanusi: The limit of candour

    There is little anyone can do to change Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s mannerisms and worldview. He is 51, and set in his ways. He does not shy away from battle, sometimes seeming to be even foolhardy, and cannot help but speak forthrightly on any subject that draws his attention, especially one that annoys him. This was why in Warri, Delta State, last Tuesday he again indulged his habit of not caring whose ox was gored and speaking candidly about economic issues. Speaking at the Second Annual Capital Market Committee Retreat, Sanusi had declared: “At the moment 70 per cent of Federal Government’s revenue goes for payment of salaries and entitlement of civil servants, leaving 30 per cent for development of 167 million Nigerians. That means that for every naira government earns, 70 kobo is consumed by civil servants.”

    Inflamed, as he always is when he addresses a large audience, Sanusi then turned on the heat: “You have to fire half of the civil service because the revenue of the government is supposed to be for 167 million Nigerians. Any society where government spends 70 per cent of its revenue on its civil service has a problem. It is unsustainable. The various tiers of government should cut down their recurrent expenditure and use the fund to provide basic infrastructure like schools, hospital, etc. How can we be using the proceeds from our major source of revenue to service recurrent expenditure, by paying salaries, allowances, etc. The country should be thinking of enhancing its productivity base rather than spending on things that cannot create wealth.”

    This was very hot stuff, a red rag to a bull. Predictably, the civil service bull, under the auspices of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), picked up the gauntlet and has been calling for the sack of Sanusi. Candour, it appears, has its limits. Perhaps affrighted by the sheer volume of the calls for his sack and the near unanimity of opinion against him, Sanusi has begun to prevaricate, if a news report from London is believable. Speaking to Channels Television in London at the end of the 13th Session of the Honorary International Investors Council Meeting, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor explained that he was misunderstood. After saying those calling for his sack were “shying away from the reality of the time,” he added, according to Channels, that he was only asking for downsizing of political appointees, not civil servants, who take 70 percent of government revenue leaving a mere 30 percent for the 160 million Nigerians.

    He’ll still probably modify what he told Channels, if that also becomes controversial, for it is not conceivable that he believed political appointees took 70 percent of government revenue. Coming to his help, however, was the General Secretary, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, who wondered whether the CBN governor could not tell the difference between civil servants and public servants. Lawal suggested that the strength of the entire civil service was below 100,000, while the public service, comprising the Army, Navy, Customs, EFCC, NAFDAC, etc. had 970,000 workers. “The civil service is just a subset,” he continued. “If Sanusi now says we are the ones taking 70 per cent of the budget, we have to doubt his CV. The IMF said for every N100 spent on services in Nigeria, 80 per cent goes to private pocket; it goes to corruption. Only 20 per cent is spent on projects.”

    The NLC was not as patient or charitable as the ASCSN. In a statement by Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, the NLC president said: “We see in Sanusi an agent of death that must be defeated and crushed before he further destroys the Nigerian economy. While President Jonathan is promising to create more jobs, Sanusi is calling for mass sack of civil servants in a country with one of the highest number of unemployed, which has indeed led to gross deprivation and the current state of insecurity in Nigeria. While we believe the Federal Government will ignore the ranting of this hollow economist, Sanusi has never demonstrated patriotism in all his advice on economic and financial management in Nigeria. Sanusi’s only understanding of governance is simply about saving money and not saving lives, as his proposals are repeatedly devoid of human content and without consideration for the implications on the larger society. The burden that will come with mass sack as high as 50 per cent of civil servants, in addition to the already saturated unemployment market, can better be imagined. Governance is about improving the quality of lives of the people and not destruction of productive lives.”

    It’s unlikely anyone would heed the NLC’s call, or that the campaign against Sanusi would go far. As this paper’s Hardball column observed on Friday, the president, who is a politician and whose priorities are often carefully circumscribed by electoral exigencies, will simply ignore the CBN governor’s recommendations. Said Hardball last Friday: “Nigeria can use the candour and common sense of someone like Sanusi. But whether that candour befits a CBN governor is a different thing altogether. Nor is it likely that President Goodluck Jonathan will find Sanusi’s brave talk amusing. Jonathan is a politician, and he has an election to win in 2015, if he decides to contest. Sanusi on the other hand has no election to contest or even care about. Instead he has repeatedly announced he has a death wish – to be sacked. For someone who derives fulfillment in speaking candidly and making people squirm, which characteristics he deeply covets, the last thing on his mind is to please anyone or suffer fools gladly. Sanusi may have spoken idealistically, but Jonathan can be relied upon to act realistically.”

    The integrity of Sanusi’s views appears sound, even if slightly misplaced. The number of states is truly unbearable, unwise and burdensome. It is in fact shocking that Nigerians can be so far removed from reality that they are campaigning for additional states. Consolidation is needed to reduce recurrent expenditure in states and to increase efficiency. Even though the solution to civil service bloatedness is not the drastic downsizing Sanusi recommends, there is little doubt that something still has to be done, whether in direct relation to the civil service or, as the Association of Senior Civil Servants argued, in relation to the public service as a whole. And if we do not need a 36-state structure, why would we need a 774-local government structure? We have been financially too reckless for far too long. In addition, the national and state legislature simply must be restructured to reduce expenditure on them. Like the structure of the federation itself, the structure of the legislature is inoperable, downright inane and unrealistic.

    The problem with Sanusi is not so much his views – many of those views are in fact heartfelt and sensible – but the way he delivers them, and the fact that they come from him, the governor of the Central Bank. It is indeed unfortunate that his controversiality is beginning to overshadow his responsibility as the governor of a financial institution that regulates the financial health of the country through very sensitive monetary policies. The CBN governor should seldom be seen, and heard from sparingly. But Sanusi is voluble and gives the impression he is averse to working in the background where he would be more effective. He gives the impression he is more at home with incendiary statements, politics, religion and traditionalism. His position requires somebody who should hardly stir. But Sanusi is restless, verbally aggressive, sometimes showy, and even obtruding. If he eventually gets the boot, it will not be because he had ceased to be intelligent, as the NLC inferred last week, but because he lacked the requisite restraint Nigeria’s apex banker should possess.

    Surely, there must be a limit to controversy, even for a politician, let alone a top banker. Consider, for instance, that Sanusi pursued banking reforms, not with the studious patience and empathetic firmness required of the apex bank, but with the messianic and inquisitorial zeal of an extreme and opinionated campaigner. Consider also whether it was appropriate for him to appear in office in full traditional regalia following his installation as a chief in his native Kano State. Did he know the implication for his image? And what of his stubborn resolve to introduce the N5,000 note, in spite of the thunderous opposition against the project? Were he to be governor or president, he would be a dictator, probably even of the malevolent variety. It is certainly not enough to say controversy dogs him; given his predilections and his idiosyncratic leadership of the apex bank, it must also be said that he actively courts controversy. And it doesn’t matter whether the victims of his fiery denunciation is the influential National Assembly, which he says exasperates him, secular bankers, whom he says criticise non-secular banking because they do not know banking regulations, and those who denounce his partiality for directing the apex bank’s corporate responsibility in favour of Kano, his home state, and never for once in favour of other major northern states hit more lethally by Boko Haram and other terrorist attacks.

  • It’s surprising Ojukwu’s will is described as shocking

    It’s surprising Ojukwu’s will is described as shocking

    The last will and testament of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu has finally been read. It provides for his widow, the former beauty queen, Bianca, much more than it offers something to any other member of the family. Perhaps we will have more insight into the will later on. But for now, the leader of the defunct Republic of Biafra has not seemed to give reasons for the drama embedded in his will. Most newspapers that reported the reading of the will described it as shocking, unexpected, or surprising. Ojukwu’s life was all about drama, shock, irreverence, boldness and surprise. He would be untrue to himself if he went into the celestial realm without the drama and shock he was reputed for in his lifetime.

    One of the items in the will that surprised many is Ojukwu’s acknowledgment of a daughter, Tenny Hamman, unknown to family members. I do not know what is surprising about it. Was such a man that gave public indication he had an eye for beautiful women, and was not dissuaded by religion or any other consideration from giving free rein to his passion, not expected to engage in mysterious dalliances, made more adventurous by the longtime secrecy that accompanied them? I doubt whether he was afraid to acknowledge Tenny while he lived, or that he had to make provision in his will to secure the property (or the cash value) for her, or that he felt it was harmful for her to be known. Knowing him for who he was, Ojukwu acknowledged her because there simply must be something dramatic and newsworthy in the will. The press will try their best to discover the face of the mysterious daughter, who was born of a Sierra-Leonean woman, and I am not sure she will try her least to hide her identity.

    The media disguised their shock by saying the hefty provisions for Bianca was expected, though not by the margin with which she thrashed other members of the family. If anyone is shocked, it is because the person is unrealistic in his appreciation of the power of women over men. When a man is smitten, as indeed Ojukwu experienced thunderbolt when he met Bianca, he becomes a child again and is held in permanent thralldom by her charms. There was no way Ojukwu could have freed himself from Bianca’s charms, nor did he try, nor did he want. He was enraptured by her when he was alive, and he took scintillating memories of her to the grave, memories that are probably not attenuated by any supposition of her later marriage. When a man is in love with a beautiful woman, and that love waxes stronger as the man becomes enfeebled and the woman grows more resplendent, any other heir would be lucky to receive more than a gesture.

    Above all, I think Ojukwu’s will reveals more about men’s overrated power than about women’s underestimated power. How many men do not have one Tenny Hamman or the other somewhere? Perhaps, someday, a bright photographer will be able to match her face and her mother’s with the faces of two ladies who were at his burial, and who, unknown to the family, somehow managed to secure prime positions at the graveside. And very soon, too, we will know why the name of Debechukwu Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who continues to insist he is first son, is missing in the will. Ojukwu, it turns out, is having the last laugh.

     

  • Eniola Bello’s point

    National Mirror of November 29 welcomes us this week with a bouquet of infractions: “…in their various constituencies to synthesize grass root (sic) opinions on this all important (all-important) project.” Not my view: grassroots opinions….

    “In many respect (respects) it is out of tune with modern reality….”

    “Nigeria has never degenerated to (into) this level, security wise.”

    “That is why the state governments need to be given the impetus to pool their wisdom and resources together….” Delete the last word in the extract.

    “…the states and local governments sufficiently financially empowered to take care of its (their) responsibilities.” There should be a conjunction between ‘sufficiently’ and ‘financially’.

    The next two lexical frauds are from the Editorial: “The minister exposed the shock find during an official visit to PHCN’s facilities in (on) the premises of the….”

    “…contributed to PHCN’s woeful (abysmal) failure to provide regular electricity supply to the nation.”

    National Mirror Back Page of the above edition also contributed to the pool of grammatical disasters: “Sanusi had, on Tuesday, drew (drawn) the ire of workers by arguing that….”

    “…the federal government must embark on some cost saving (cost-saving measures….”

    “His arguments on the introduction of N5,000 notes was (were)….”

    Still on National Mirror: “FG to sanction DISCOs over over-billing of customers” A rewrite: “FG to sanction DISCOs for overbilling customers”

    “Teachers employed by the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) to complement….”Education Today: Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)….

    “CANNU donates to flood relief (flood-relief) fund”

    Finally from National Mirror under review: “Eduwatch gathers students, scholars together” Yank off the last word in the excerpt.

    “Geepee proudly introduces world class (world-class) multilayer (multi-layer) composite panels…no painting, no maintainence” (Advertisement in THE GUARDIAN of November 27) Bloated pride: maintenance!

    THE GUARDIAN Opinion of November 27 circulated two improprieties: “With preparations in top gear, and barring any last minute (last-minute) hitches….”

    “The final death nail (sic) came with the present political dispensation that began in 2000 that paid lip-service to governance.” Get it right: death knell or just knell. There is nothing like ‘final death nail’!

    DAILY Sun of November 29 contained copious indiscretions: “If the Abia PDP stalwarts have forgotten, we will gladly remind them that candidates who stand for elections under (on) the platform (platforms) of political parties….”

    “Kaduna gears up for LG polls amids (amid) fears of violence”

    “Records show that their actions and inactions, in the past, have (had) contributed in….”

    “Non-partisan intelligence driven mechanism panacea to Boko Haram” A rewrite: “Non-partisan, intelligence-driven mechanism, panacea to Boko Haram

    THE PUNCH of November 29 blundered: “Police deploys (deploy) 19,000 officers for games”

    Next on the itinerary is Rutam House. THE Guardian of November 27 from its window to the inside pages misprinted both editorial and advertorial entries to the point that this columnist lost count: “Let it be a time to re-examine our consciences and tell ourselves (one another) the truth.”

    “Between 180,000 to 200,000 barrels of crude oil….” The worsening crude oil theft: Between…and…not ‘to.’

    “How skill acquisition, entrepreneurship impacts (impact on/upon) national development”

    “Poor budget implementation: A drawback on (of/to) national development”

    “Notice of court ordered meeting of FCMB PLC. (This full stop is useless here)” And this: court-ordered meeting….

    Still on THE GUARDIAN: “Non DStv (Non-DStv) subscribers get 3 months (months’) free subscription with every devices (device) purchased.” Which agency wrote this poor copy? I hereby surcharge it!

    “In our pursuit of better ways to make our renown (renowned) products available to more Nigerians….” (Half-page advertisement by CWAY Food and Beverages Limited) ‘Renown’ is a noun—it is its adjectival form that is required here.

    “The family of…announces with deep sorrow but gratitude to Almighty God the death of our son…following a ghastly road accident….” My sympathies quite all right, but the English language cannot die: a fatal (not ghastly) vehicular accident. And for the second time round, ‘sorrow but gratitude to Almighty God’ cannot—and will never as long as there are seed time and harvest time—co-function in any circumstance. What is amiss with our spirituality? Our God does not inhabit in sorrowful environments. So, as His children, let us give thanks to Him in all situations. He knows best why tragedies befall us. Even in the face of fatalities, write obituaries or related issues with cheerfulness/joy/happiness/satisfaction/angelic punctuation/heavenly intervention…and (not but) gratitude to God, we….Sounds eschatological? Reactions are welcome to this lexico-spiritual intellectualisation of Christianity. I insist that this is a contradictory and blasphemous obituary!

    Latest reaction to the above encore from a man of erudition, Mr. Eniola Bello, the Managing Director of ThisDay Newspapers: “Deep sorrow and gratitude…may appear contradictory but I see no reason why they cannot co-function. You cannot take language use from its cultural and religious environment. The contentious phrase has nothing to do with where God inhabits. It is more about the impact of a tragedy and the acceptance of the unchangeable. Where on earth will anybody announce the death of a loved one with joy? The sorrow is for the loss; the gratitude for the life lived and in keeping with God’s commandment to give thanks in good or bad times. There is no reason why both cannot go together. Ever seen a woman cry in pain during intercourse yet clings to her partner, moans and pleads that he shouldn’t stop in order not to terminate the immeasurable pleasure? You say it is contradictory? I say it’s paradoxical.

  • Haba Sanusi

    Haba Sanusi

    Despair, despondency and utter bewilderment is the lot of many Nigerians over Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, CBN Governor’s statement on the lay-off of 50-70% of civil/public servants.

    It is very embarrassing and intimidating that such a statement should come from the governor of the apex bank. He went further to castigate Mr. President and called for the drastic reduction of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives and further called for the abolition of local government councils in Nigeria.

    Without mincing words, I think it is crystal clear that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has failed this country as CBN governor. He established Islamic banking without approval of the relevant authorities. I suggest that he should be quickly called to order and if necessary relieved of his post because it is not for the interest of the nation. Sanusi should go and face his traditional stool in Kano State.

    The federal government should put him in check without delay. The civil service is the engine room of any democratic structure. What the presidency should do for the civil/public servants to enable them continue to play their roles administratively as advisers with experienced hands is to increase service years for all staffers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) from 35years to 40-years.

    This is so because when retirement age was increased in 1979 from 55years to 60 years, service years was increased from 30 years to 35 years. It is therefore not appropriate to increase only age in some sectors of the economy to 65years, Sanusi’s personal view notwithstanding, retirement age and service years should be 40 years of service or 65 years of age whichever comes first.

    This will enable the public service to retain experienced public officials.

    Mr. Sanusi should take it easy. His people have benefitted immensely through the federal character principle as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The federal character principle is being abused in Nigeria, whereas in the United States of America it is for the best brains.

    Mr. Sanusi, enough is more than enough according to Professor Tam David-West. As a matter of urgency you should return to your traditional stool in Kano and exhibit intelligence and professionalism at that level.

     

    Abu is a freelance journalist based in Benin, Edo State.