The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • New road-side policing?

    New road-side policing?

    Citizens need to be properly educated about the role of FRSC and VIO

    A few months ago, the current Inspector-General of Police did what most Nigerians had considered impossible. He put an end to police roadblocks across the country. At the beginning, most Nigerians did not believe he would have the courage to keep toll-collecting police officers off the highways and intra-city roads. But as soon as it became clear that the no-nonsense IG was ready to fire road-blocking police officers, Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief and praised the IG for his braveness. A few months after this micro revolution, citizens are back to harassment by new groups of uniformed men on highways and city roads.

    Members of the Federal Road Safety Commission appear to have succeeded members of the Nigerian Police Force on road-side duties. FRSC red-capped men and women are now as ubiquitous on all roads between towns as the federal police withdrawn from the road a few months ago. Just like the police before them, FRSC officers stop moving vehicles on the highway and on streets within towns that are clearly not federal roads. Like the NPF men and women, FRSC officers dutifully ask for driver’s licenses, vehicle registration, insurance papers, fire extinguishers, etc. They even stop and delay drivers whose tail lights are out.

    I rode with a brother recently. He was flagged down on the Lagos-Ibadan highway around noon. After producing every document requested of him by the FRSC men, he was told that the passenger-side rear light “was not working.” My brother responded that this must have just happened and that he would fix it in Ibadan. I expected the FRSC men to give him a warning, but they quickly handed my brother a N2000 ticket, asking him to turn in his driver’s license. Of course, several mini-buses that were stopped did not experience much delay. They were quick to stretch their hands to the men in red caps. My brother blamed me for refusing to sit at the back. He was right; all the cars with one or two persons at the back were ignored by the officers. I quickly learnt my lesson and chose to sit at the back (at the so-called owner’s corner) on our way back.

    On our way back from Ibadan the same day, we saw a new set of road policemen. These were Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO). Like the FRSC officers we saw in the morning, they too were there to ensure safety on the road. Five or so buses were stopped in front of us. Even though we were not flagged down, I got down out of curiosity to ask one of the bus drivers what the problem was. The VIOs were asking commercial bus drivers the same set of questions that we were asked in the morning by FRSC officers. One of the officers came to ask me for my identity and why I had stopped without being asked to do so. I told him I just wanted to know what they were doing on the highway. He told me with a stern look, “doing our job and please do not block the traffic sir.”

    Even on Ikeja roads, FRSC and VIO are competing for attention or business. It is not uncommon to come across these men and women within half a mile on the same road on the same day in Ikeja, particularly on Olowopopo Avenue and Agidingbi Road. As if the FRSC and VIO are not enough menace on the roads, men of the Nigerian Customs are also stopping moving vehicles on Funsho Williams Avenue, Ibadan-Ife and Sagamu-Ore roads, to name a few. In their own case, Customs men claim to be searching for smuggled goods. They ask drivers to produce their customs papers, even when the vehicles carry proper registration documents. One Customs officer even accused me between Araromi-Obu and J-4 of driving a car that must have been undervalued, saying “the amount paid on the car was rather small.” I assured the officer that I bought the car in Nigeria from someone who had used it in the country for more than two years before I bought it. I was luckier than other road users. The chubby customs officer released my papers.

    One point arising from the replacement of NPF with FRSC, VIO, and NC men on the roads is the increasing harassment of citizens, particularly commercial drivers. It does not make sense to save road users from the menace of one armed force and put them in the jaws of men and women of three other forces. There must be better ways for Customs men to prevent smuggled goods from entering the country. This is why there are ports of entry into the country. Customs officers checking for smuggled goods outside the airport or in places that have no borders with other countries must have ulterior motives.

    Citizens need to be properly educated about the role of FRSC and VIO. Are they competing agencies? At the beginning, FRSC officers were to enforce speed limit on highways. VIO was principally responsible for ensuring that those who obtain driver’s license are certified to do so. These two agencies now behave like customs men. They wait outside their offices to ascertain that drivers have proper documents. FRSC men no longer enforce speed limit. They are not even properly equipped to do so. There are no radars to ascertain that drivers are driving within speed limit. There are no signs to indicate speed limit from zone to zone. Unlike what obtains in other countries, there is no agency that certifies periodically that vehicles are safe to be put on the road. In other places, vehicles are checked for mechanical fitness and emission control and certificates are issued for passing such inspection. Para-military men and women are not given beats on the highways to do this.

    People calling for death penalty for corruption have to be careful. There may be a need for Sharia sensibility, given the enormity of corruption in the land. But too many (if not all) of our MDAs are designed to encourage corruption. For example, there is no good reason to centralize license and vehicle registration. Any surprise that FRSC is becoming another central police?

  • Terrorism, politics and the law

    The bombing of a church in a military barrack in Kaduna in Nigeria and the placement of a bounty of 50m naira by the army on leaders of the terrorist group Boko Haram highlight Nigeria’s intractable and messy problem with terrorism. Unlike Nigeria, however Egypt faces a new problem from the use and misuse of power from its new president Mohammed Morsi, who recently issued presidential orders granting him powers that are not challengeable in any court in Egypt.

    In Nigeria again, in a strange concoction of politics and finance, the nation’s Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi, the Champion of Islamic banking in Nigeria asked the Federal government to sack 50% of its civil servants because it is spending 70% of its revenue on paying the salaries of these civil servants. In far away New York, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon asked the UN Security Council to approve the sending of an ECOWAS force to Mali to rescue that nation from invaders both Tuaregs and religious militants but asked the UN body not to provide the funds said to be worth $50m.

    The issues highlighted above raise issues of terrorism, authoritarianism, economic planning and finan ce, national, regional and global stability and I intend to highlight these issues in that light and context today. Let me stress that it will require a huge balancing act to do this and it is in that regard that I will make reference to an article by Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyii titled -‘A Sense of Balance‘in The Economist which stressed that both peoples and nations will need to balance their acts to make the world a peaceful place to live in.

    In that fine article Suu Kyii noted that the end of authoritarianism is not synonymous with the end of dissent or the demise of fundamentalism. Dissent she said should be channeled towards concensus and compromise while she stressed that fundamentalism, which can be volatile in times of change and uncertainty, is in reality the natural enemy of balance. Suu Kyii identified terrorists as those people lacking in self respect who are incapable of compassion and restraint when they have an opportunity to deal with those who they think put them in a state of incapacity to attain what they perceive as their deserved niche. Such people who lack self respect are incapable of respecting others. The terrorist mentality she concluded is spawned by intellectual and social influences that widen to an extreme ‘the gap‘ between the terrorist and others – and this destroys the essential balance that promotes a common bond of humanity.

    It is in the light of the wisdom of the Burmese and Nobel laureate that I take on the issues raised first on terrorism in Nigeria and the resurgence of authoritarianism in Egypt in the wake of President Mohammed Morsi,s surprising and bold move to concentrate power in his hands. In Nigeria terrorism is waxing stronger as terrorists this week bombed the headquarters of the special police unit in Abuja where terrorists are being kept and some were said to have escaped. There have been reports that some suspected terrorists were found round the State House in Ekiti State while Members of the National Assembly are said to be apprehensive that the Assembly could be the target of Boko Haram terrorists.

    It is my considered view that no government should allow terrorists to operate with such impunity as this weakens respect for constituted authority and casts aspersion on the sovereignty of the state. It is ironically to protect such sovereignty that President Mohammed Morsi in Egypt seized the powers of the courts and decreed they could not be used to challenge him in his bid to control law and order in Egyp. In Nigeria’s case it is apparent that the state is lax in tackling insecurity and terrorism for reasons best known to the authorities. But human lives should not be treated with levity and nonchalance by the rest of us because we have not any relatives killed by terrorists. It is dehumanizing to see churches bombed on a weekly basis while Christians elsewhere and those not directly involved just pause for a moment and move on while the state wrings its hands in futile admonitions and does nothing to deter the terrorist against the next attack.

    In Egypt where there is no such terror as in Nigeria, President Morsi has seized power ostensibly to forestall such state impotence in the face of expected terror. Morsi is acting proactively in anticipation of spurious litigations to hamstring the state even though his anticipation and actions are decidedly undemocratic. The difference between the Nigerian and Egyptian situation is that the party of President Morsi, the Islamic Brotherhood is a Fundamentalist Party and secular Egyptians are afraid that Morsi and his party will use the power he has seized to introduce Sharia Law in Egypt, to the detriment of opposition parties and other religions in Egypt. Whereas in Nigeria the terrorist is rampant and running amok as it were.

    Yet, there is still some caution and restraint in the way the stakeholders and politicians in the Egyptian state deal with each other. When the demonstrations against Morsi started, the Muslim Brotherhood planned its own counter one for last Tuesday. But it cancelled this to avert bloodshed when it saw the turn out at Tahrir Square against the president’s usurpation of the power of the Egyptian Courts.

    Such restraint is barren in the way Boko Haram bombs Churches killing and maiming Christians and passers by in Nigeria. Worse still the business as usual stance of the security forces as well as the ‘not my turn yet‘ attitude of the rest of us has portrayed Nigeria as a nation of people thick skinned to murder and mayhem in their midst. Which simply means that human life is cheap here as in the Hobbessian theory that says that in a state of terror, where might is right, human life is violent, brutish and short. Surely that is a sad and unfortunate image for any nation not enmeshed in America’s war on terror like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq where suicide bombing has made a mockery of the sanctity of human lives.

    Again, it is in that light that I consider the call by the CBN governor to sack half the work force of our civil service as well as the posture of the UN not being ready to spend money on rescuing Mali. The CBN governor’s call reminds one of ‘the shoot the messenger‘ syndrome while the UN parsimony on Mali’s survival reminds one of the proverbial cat that would eat fish without getting its paws wet. What the CBN governor has said is the correct thing for any government spending 70% of its revenue on salaries to do but even he knows that no politician or government in Nigeria will do that and survive.

    Even the host governor at the venue where the CBN delivered his stricture said it was not possible. So the CBN governor was just barking at the moon even though every one knows that sacking of civil servants was never part of his schedule of duties and that makes the civil servants happy as they plan his downfall in the full Nigerian retaliatory syndrome. Anyway, the CBN governor is as impervious to criticism as the politicians in the way he carried through his Islamic Banking agenda which is in tune with his Master’s degree in Islamic studies from the University of Khartoum. Really what is good for the goose should be good for the gander.

    Lastly, Ban Ki Moon has shown that he or the UN does not understand the gravity of the situation in Mali. ECOWAS states alone cannot fund the reclamation of Northern Mali because they all have financial problems of their own .They mostly rely on Nigeria as the father Xmas of such military adventures. But Nigeria has problems of its own such as the one pointed out by the CBN governor, the oil subsidy theft, the huge allowances of its legislators as well as the fight against Boko Haram to which huge funds have been committed.

    The UN should not turn the proposed Mali ECOWAS force into another laughing stock like the blue beret UN Congo troops who stood by and watched unconcerned as M23 rebels seized the town of Goma from government forces in the DRC recently. Mali is a member state of the UN that is in trouble because of regional problems stemming from the growth of militancy and fundamentalism on the northern part of all ECOWAS states and needs help, especially the financial type to maintain its stability and sovereignty.

    If Mali falls there will be a wrong signal to militants in the Sahel that they can simulate the situation in Mali in any state in ECOWAS. That is one message that is lost to the UN Scribe for now. Not funding the military rescue of Mali can be counter productive and very costly for the UN in the short run not to talk of in the long. A word is enough for the wise.

  • Readers’ comments

    Readers’ comments

    Communication among humans is a two-way track. It may be oral or written. If it is oral, there must be a listener (or listeners) while the speech is on. If it is written, a reader (or readers) must have read the written thoughts of the writer before reacting. This logical process is generally recognised as the etiquette of communication. A one-way communication is either a sign of despotism or no communication at all. And such can only at best create a situation for soliloquy or monologue.

    As a participatory column the only means of confirming that ‘The Message’ is globally read is to get reactions from its readers which may be randomly published in this column. For each weekly outing of ‘The Message’ there are scores of reactions from various sectors of the society home and abroad. Such reactions are a proof that preaching is like mud bitten with a stick. When it splashes to all directions, not even the preacher will be spared. Below is a cluster of examples especially in respect of last Friday’s article in this column.

    The contents of last week’s article in ‘The Message’ about Hijrah holiday (as constitutionally declared by Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola) was precipitated by the obvious mediocrity displayed in the editorial comment of a self acclaimed ‘most widely read newspaper in Nigeria’ based in the Southwest of the country. It will be recalled that the points marshalled to counter that editorial in this column were meant to put the falsehood arrogantly exhibited in the said editorial to shame while letting Nigerians know that some elements in our local media are like rolling stones that gather no substance.

    A newspaper is worth the quality of its editorial. If the editorial of a supposed foremost newspaper in Nigeria could be what was published in that paper on November 20, 2012, one can then imagine the real weight of such a paper and that of the forces behind it in concrete terms. In the intellectual realm, monopoly of knowledge is surely an anathema to which only an ignoramus can condescend. Journalism is a major segment of that realm. It is only a nonentity that will rubbish intellectualism in that realm by not conceding facts to where or who facts belong. Professional charlatans are known not only by their naivety but also by their insistence on ignorance even where and when knowledge has been evidently established. This was the case with the pedestrian editorial written to draw the public into unwarranted controversy.

    Religion, as we all know is perhaps the most volatile issue to handle in the media. That is why a renowned poet came up with the following relevant stanza:

    “There are good men in every land; the tree of life has many branches and roots; let not the topmost twig presume to think that it alone has sprung from the mother earth; we did not choose our races by ourselves; Jews, Muslims, Christians, all alike are men; let me hope I have found in you a man”.

    It may be necessary here to recall the genesis of the ongoing media campaign by a fanatical newspaper against Osun State Governor if only as a reminder. In his holiday declaration speech, Governor Aregbesola stated inter alia thus:

    “When we gathered here last year, the Muslim Community requested for three things: that the Islamic lunar year should be officially recognized. We did not give immediate response to this request. We only said if God so permits, we would assist Muslims in the state to celebrate the New Lunar Year. We are grateful to God that He grants us the opportunity to make it. This is beyond human capacity. I am glad that as a Muslim, God used me to make this day.

    There is a difference between how days are counted in Islam as against the way it is done outside Islam. A fresh day commences after sunset. A day ends after Maghreb (early evening) prayers. Many Muslims do not know this. In Islam, a fresh day commences after sunset. The scholars will explain this further….

    “So, we have been having this celebration for Muslims to also know that they have their own way of taking counts of periods of day, days of the month and months of the year.

    I therefore rejoice with Muslims of the world. We thank God for granting us the opportunity to witness this new lunar year. May God make it a blessed year for us all. Amin!….

    It is pertinent to state that whatever affects the eyes, gets to the nose. The turmoil currently being recorded in the northern parts of the country is affecting both ends of the North and other parts of the country. Those who take eggs to the North for commerce now feel the effect. They have nowhere to take them to; just as those who buy goods from there no longer have that opportunity. These are the consequences of instability. That is why we need to pray that God grants us peace, stability and tranquility. We should pray that He gives us the grace to live in harmony.

    The world has changed from the trend of brazen and crude imposition; hence we need to ask God to grant us the grace to relate with one another peacefully.

    Let us ask ourselves; what does Islam require of us? Does Islam preach hooliganism or violence? The little knowledge I have concerning the religion is not as much as many of the scholars here today. However, the little I know of the religion tells me that a high sense of decency is required of every Muslim. Islam preaches such virtues as due respect for all creations, humility, tolerance and obedience to God and all properly constituted authorities. This must be practiced by whoever professes the faith. Allah states in (Quran, Chapter 3 verse 110) that Muslims are the group he created to enjoin goodness among people and forbid evil. If this is what Allah says of us; should any Muslim be nefarious? A Muslim that engages in bad act contravenes God’s injunction….

    As a demonstration of the impact of this celebration, I enjoin all Muslims of the world; starting from those in Osun, to move away from vices. Let us move away from hypocrisy and other bad lifestyles. Let us be good examples in every sense. It is best that we stand out as good examples for people around us always. A school established by a Muslim should be the best in terms of administration, dissemination of knowledge, and character building. Also in commerce, a Muslim trader should be a best exemplar of his trade; so that people would say if you want to have good bargain, go and get it from ‘“Iya Sikirah”’. In addition, as civil servants, Muslims should take the lead in diligence at work. Every Muslim should be a good exemplar.

    “…..Every Muslim here today and those that would be listening to me elsewhere should be reminded that this year’s celebration is a re- awakening. For us to admit that we are really celebrating, we should get back to our various homes and say to ourselves “I relinquish my bad ways no matter how little. I want to be God’s representative on earth in good deed”. May God make it easy and possible for us to accomplish. Amin. Secondly, do not relent in supplicating to God. Our state requires prayer; just as we personally do. Every living soul requires supplications to God.

    I would like to urge us all according to what God says in Suratul-An Nissai (Quran Chapter 4). He enjoins that we be fair to everybody; not to Muslims alone, even if it is against our interest. We get this injunction in Nisaa (chapter 4 verse 135), yes. He says we should do justice even if it hurts our parents, our loved ones, self etc….I would not go further than this. As we are happy and celebrating our New Year now; we should take cognizance that there are some others who desire to have their own festivals that government has not so far given recognition. If we do so don’t be hurt. We would only be following God’s injunction to be just….”

    Despite this self-explanatory address by the Governor, the zealot newspaper in question ignorantly but arrogantly engineered a media brouhaha over the issue with the aim of causing religious hostility among the people who have all along lived together in harmony. It was in reaction to that unwarranted fanatical provocation that ‘The Message’, as usual, came out to put the records straight in this column last Friday.

    Even the Osun State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) issued a statement rejecting any alleged religious hostility in the State. According to him, “the celebration of Hijrah in the state does not disturb us as Christians and we don’t have anything against it. There was no Christian that calls to show any displeasure to it or complaint from any quarters because we believe that it is promoting Islam. I as the Chairman of CAN in the state I sent congratulatory message to Sheikh Mustapha Ajisafe and Governor Rauf Aregbesola on the celebration to wish them well”. Aladeseye who admonished all to tolerate one another, maintained that the nation could only develop where there was peace and stability emphasising that there was peace in the state and calling on residents of the state to give the current administration maximum support to succeed.

    He also disclosed that most religious issues were resolved at National Religious Council (NAREC) meeting in the state adding that the controversy surrounding the use of hijab in public schools had been resolved amicably at the meeting. According to him, “Governor Rauf advised us to go and resolve the matter at the NAREC meeting where agreement was reached that it should not be enforced at the Christian Public Schools across the state and one year after, there has been evidence that the matter had been put to rest.

    In its own comment on this issue, the Muslim Association of Nigeria congratulated the Governor and good people of Osun “for this unique performance in recognizing the yearnings of the Muslim Community and their right with a declaration of Hijrah holiday. To us this will foster unity among various religious groups in the state and usher in peace and economic development. This is a state to watch for good things in years to come in Nigeria. Alhaji Yusuf Sulaiman, President of MAN.

    Also in a lengthy comment digging deep into the archive of Islam in Nigeria, a veteran journalist and former, manager of programmes, North Africa and Overseas service in Voice of Nigeria (VON) who was also the National Missioner, Muslim Association of Nigeria (MAN), Sheikh Najmudden Binuyo stated in part as follows:

    “The people of Osun, especially Christians in the state, who are well aware that the Governor has good intentions, are certainly not complaining. The state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Evangelist Abraham Aladeseye confirmed this during a chat with journalists on the matter. The venerable man of God stated that Christians in the state are not against the declaration of the Hijrah holiday. “I even sent congratulatory messages to Governor Aregbesola and the chairman of the League of Imams and Alfas. We Christians don’t have anything against it,” he said. So, why is this particular newspaper crying more than the bereaved?

    On its own, the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO) views with serious concern controversial editorial of Tuesday, November 20, 2012 (p.18) in a Southwest based newspaper. But we were not surprised that the newspaper in question viewed the decision Governor Aregbesola on declaration of holiday for Muharram 1 (Islamic New Year) as “odd and totally uncalled for”. The newspaper proceeded from a perverted logic when it asserted that “many predominantly Muslim states do not even have public holidays for hejira” (sic).

    For avoidance of doubt, Hijrah is remarkably significant to Islam both in form and in content as it represents for Muslims an epoch-making event that culminated in the rapid growth of Islam from Madinah. Hijrah, in fact, exemplifies the basis of the mutual understanding between the Muslim global community and the people of other beliefs, especially the Christians and the Jews.

    It (Hijrah) symbolises for Muslims, movement from dehumanising oppression to liberty, escape from danger to security, exodus from ignorance to knowledge, abstinence from corruption, adoption of accountability, eradication of infanticide and disentanglement of women from the bestiality of the ignorant past (Jahiliyyah) as well as general transformation of humanity from all traits of evil to the illuminating light of Islam. These and many others which are hardly found in other religions are the causes of envy that might have led a section of Nigerian media to grow so wild.

    Nevertheless, despite any unwarranted provocation, we, as Muslims in the Southwest, will continue to discuss our differences, in good faith as we have always done, to avoid any recourse to actions that may threaten our peaceful co-existence, as brothers and sisters, in a just and united Nigeria. By Mustapha Balogun

    Chairman, NACOMYO, Southern Zone

     

  • Revolutionary Rascals (3)

    Posterity shan’t forget “the boy who had no shoes” and yet emerged to become “President,”soon. In the near future, President Jonathan and company shan’t be worth much save vivid models of how not to become statesmen. Yet he shall be worth more than the average Nigerian in his youth, today.

    That old-fashioned respect for the young is fast dying out. In our fatherland, it is virtually dead.

    Thus our depiction as lower brutes – forgettable elements in the annals of the Nigerian state. Like our fathers, we shall start to agitate like the young at the age of 60 but then it will be too late.

    We shall die silent. Silent on the innumerable excesses and grotesqueness of leadership we loathe but have learnt to endure like the gifted curse of an eternal hump. It is never my intention to discountenance such vigorous activism that has become the pastime of contemporary Nigerian youth neither do I intend to ridicule the highly informed protest we consistently launch to counter the meanness of the Nigerian ruling class – for such articulated dissent are worth dying for.

    But despite the riotousness we orchestrate, our heartfelt protests resonate futilely like the maniacal hooting of owls caught in the blaze of the midday sun. Such enterprise…such severe impotence is best suited – as demonstrated by the current ruling class – to presidential corridors and parliaments that neither humanity nor the blandest form of patriotism could substantiate.

    Such silliness is best suited to citizens’ bars and soapboxes we mount in our rant-activated living rooms and courtyards – sounding boards for that infinite, untamed temperament we ennoble till date.

    We shall die silent. Looking around on the noisy inanity of our discontent: words with little meaning, rage with little passion and actions with little worth, one comes to the sad realization that among other ills, we diminish the significance and inestimable timelessness of the intense violence of silence.

    The riotous band of social media activists, youth leaders, human rights activists, women’s rights activists, advocacy chieftains, youth pastors, and so many more that we claim to incarnate distressingly negate that proverbial breed of noble, purposeful youth, scattered and integrated here and there, each in his separate devices – determinedly striving to achieve our individual and collective freedom from the ruling class.

    We are in no measure comparable to such salt of the earth thus our evolution in the worst of ways. Like a forest that has no roots and yet crowds with leaves and boughs, our grandiloquent agitation shall soon wither and die; as the stray notes of a flippant symphony.

    The contemporary youth is as dumb as doornails. Ah yes! I could say that again. A tireless lust remains our woe. Yet we who cannot do without spurting like barrel-heads, to curse our luck and curse the times, even as we do nothing to salvage it, would like to revolt.

    We speak of revolution like the next best thing we could orchestrate after our last follies have fallen silent. We forget that there is a time to speak and time to act; time to scream and silently orchestrate the inestimable violence of uprightness.

    At this juncture, many would cling to the timeliness of the brazen and fundamentally futile, defunct Occupy Nigeria Movement; they forget that despite our lack of hesitancy in confronting the State and our romanticized wish to abolish the status quo as the protests dragged, the eventual result was as usual, an opportunistic contract between the exploiters (the government) and a part of the exploited (labour leadership), at the expense of the rest of the exploited (you, me and everyone) – something Noel Ignatin would call “the original sweetheart agreement.”

    Says a lot about our revolutionary potential; today, the Nigerian youth is written off and our grievances dismissed as the crazed rant of a pathetic mass of revolutionary impostors. President Jonathan and company couldn’t be wrong for eventually dismissing us as essentially hopeless and misdirected.

    Despite the fervor and promise of the Occupy Nigeria movement, the Nigerian youth remains exploited and perpetually exploitable – victims of what George Bernard Shaw, terms “the stupid system of violence and robbery which we call Law and Industry.”

    Times without number, we moot and romanticize the inevitability of a Nigerian revolution, driven by the nation’s band of poor, disadvantaged youth. We dream of the moment when the

    Nigerian ruling class shall pay with blood, melancholia and despair for every ill they have wrought on us. We envision them in shallow graves and grisly jail cells, lusting for life and desperately seeking a second chance with a kind of humble defeatism. But within that same breadth of history, the Nigerian youth shall pay with more tragedy, more misery and blood even as we bemoan the disappearance of our “better tomorrow.”

    And the reason is hardly far-fetched; in desperate pursuit of our better tomorrow, we have “today” but yet fail to make the best of it. Like the ruling class, the Nigerian youth suffers a lack of intellect and knowledge – useful knowledge to be precise.

    Thus even if spurred by inexorable courage to topple the elite and change our stars, our tragedies shall persist in frequency and extent. After we inter the bones of the last of the ruling class, we shall raise our heads to seek our next best hero only to find none. That is because we who shall survive are as savage as the worst of the ruling class.

    Left to our devices, we display an unforgivable lack of humaneness and character. Hence even if we could successfully seize power, we shall manage to remain not much in significance and sight. Simply put, were our dreams of change realizable, we shall undoubtedly remain the next awful alternative.

    We are victims to an irrepressible yearning to actualize ourselves according to the magnitude in which greed has made us; to speak and act out what vanities we incarnate. We mistake this insatiable craving for stirrings to a revolt; although it is in actuality, a half-awakened common consciousness, sprung from common grief over our common hardship in poverty, low wages and bad leadership. And, above all, lack of equity and opportunities.

    All this cause us to think some thoughts and moot some measures together; but when this mutual agitation is ripe for expression, our actions and voices trail off in confusion. Sophistry and deceit are the springboards from which much of our civilization evolve; add mediocrity, mindlessness and greed; and you have a perfect representation of the Nigerian youth.

    We were wrong to think it a matter of years and decades that we would improve in citizenship and tact. We are unaware – like our base and iniquitous elite –that true citizenship essentially translates to being an emissary of truth, hope, superior culture and progress to both the literate and unschooled.

    Now that time, among other things, devaluates every hackneyed premise, anecdote, and elitist abstraction we recycle and foster, shall we begin to affect such citizenship deserving of our battered State? Shall we begin to rise in purposeful rebellion against the foul breath of socio-political oppression and economic slavery characteristic of our decrepit State? How?

    Let us begin from the grassroots. How?

    • To be continued…

  • Jonathan smiles as Nigeria dies: 5 points to ponder

    Jonathan smiles as Nigeria dies: 5 points to ponder

    What do we have to do to catch the attention of President Goodluck Jonathan? How can we convey to him that the situation in Nigeria today is the worst since after the civil war? How can we convince him and his minders that Nigeria is on the tenterhooks; that we are today, loitering around the precipice, taking casual peeks into the abyss of our doom. And in all of this, our dear president sits pretty, cool, seemingly oblivious of our clear and present danger. Here are some points Mr. President might want to address his mind quickly if he is to pull the chestnut out of the fire:

    The worst country on earth Have you noticed that our dear country, the giant of Africa now ranks at the bottom of every global human development index? The 2013 Economist Intelligent Unit (EIU) Where-To-Be-Born Index ranks Nigeria 80th out of 80 countries measured. Ask the average Nigerian on the street and 9 out of 10 will probably tell you that he wished he were not born here. Nigeria is also the haven for kidnap-for-ransom accounting for the highest percentage of body jacking in the entire world. We are the most dangerous country in Africa as well as the most fraudulent. We who are living it everyday can confirm that these assessments are not far from our reality. And we ask, how did our dear motherland come to be more Hobbesian, more arid than strife-stricken places like Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq? Shouldn’t these kinds of report wipe the smiles off the face of our president?

    Corruption unlimited It has gone on record that this administration has earned the title of the most corrupt so far but more worrisome is that it has become apparent that President Jonathan has neither the will nor moral strength to fight the scourge. Now we can only pray that this monster does not consume us all sooner than later. A national newspaper has been able to work out about N5 trillion as the sum lost to graft since Jonathan climbed the helm of government. KPMG, the worldwide accounting firm has reported that in the first half of this year alone, fraudulent activities have cost Nigeria about $1.5 billion. But that must be an understatement. Scratch just any organ of the polity and what gushes out is not blood but fraud. It is as if there is a secret pact to loot the country to death and the president seems to have been duly informed. It is not possible to keep track any more. But worse, no big thief is being prosecuted not to mention being put behind bars.

    Even the president has made sure that Nigerians never got to know what he is up to as far as his personal stack is concerned. He does not give a damn what we think about his hiding his assets; about his transparency status and about the glorious strength of presidential personal example. He does not give a damn about providing us with the much-needed moral leadership. Corruption has become unmanageable under Jonathan because we cannot vouch that our leaders are clean. In fact most of us suspect that most people in the villa are utterly corrupt which may explain why our president is so supine before the monster.

    The worst security apparatus in the world Now do not seek to find which global agency has made this declaration; it is Expresso that has declared that Nigeria must have the worst of security agencies to be found anywhere in the world. The Boko Haram menace has been on since 2009 and kidnapping has been with us for nearly 15 years yet we have not been able to device any strategy to contain these vices. To think that the immediate past chief of defence staff could be suspected of finagling with crucial defence equipment procurement contracts. It did not matter to him that explosives were going off everywhere targeting officers and men under him. Do you wonder why the ill-trained, petit terrorists would bomb our police headquarters, bomb our anti-robbery office and garner the derring-do to hit our major military cantonment, the very seat of our ant-terrorism initiatives? If we gained nothing else from our current adversity, it must be the elevation of our military, security and intelligence agencies to rank among the best in the world. But professionalism and serious duty have gone with the wind from this clime long ago. We are an anything goes country; an ad-hoc nation where absolutely nothing seems important to us. Yet Jonathan keeps smiling.

    Cash export Have you noticed the recent mad rush to ship dollars out of the country? Hardly any day passes without Nigerians being caught with large volume of foreign currencies outbound. The other day, $7 million dollars was found on a 24 year old fellow who claimed he was helping a big man ship it out. The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi told us recently that so far in 2012, $11 billion in cash had been taken abroad through our airports. Who owned the $7 million cash? One thought the president would have taken umbrage, dug to the root of that cash and used the owner as example. No table-banging action from our president. The president keeps smiling.

    Subsidy fiasco and the oil industry The uncanny tale of our oil industry and the so-called subsidy story has already become a landmark ‘achievement’ of the Jonathan administration. Our oil sector is the most corrupt and the most inefficient sector today and there doesn’t seem to be anything going on than looting and more and more stories of it. The most important thing which is to build refineries and free the country from fraudulent importation of petroleum products is never addressed. Nigeria is the only oil producing nation that exports crude and import refined products. While wretched, landlocked, desert country, Niger Republic, has just built a refinery, from which Nigeria wants to import cheap kerosene, the president has given us a 10-year target to end products importation! Yes, all of 10 years!

    Other troublous signs Why is the federal budget being so badly bungled? Why are members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) embroiled in turf fights? Why is there no bright spot anywhere; anything at all emanating from the federal government to cheer the populace? Never before had our budget been so very badly put together; while the current budget is caught up in the usual inertia and non-implementation, the 2013 budget which is in the making is riddled with loopholes and wasteful propositions. Our budget now seems like a garbage bin in which all sorts of rubbish (expenditure) are thrown in. Is there nobody or team who goes through the document rigorously (with a knife if need be) to take out the fats and the wastes? It is amazing that too much junk is being presented to us a budget under the watch of our dear Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Where do we turn to?

    What to do Nigeria dies right before the eye of President Jonathan; the situation calls for drastic action. As has been said on this space several times, Jonathan must resolve forthwith to fight corruption. He has no choice than to declare his asset publicly as the very first intent of seriousness. He must make every top government official to do same. He must move quickly to fire some of his appointees – those that have proven to be incompetent and quick-fingered. He knows them. Then we need to see him at work as he tackles some priority programmes like power, key roads and refineries. He should do less of the ceremonies; in fact he should delegate them. He only has himself to beat so he must re-invent himself.

  • Security on their minds

    Security on their minds

    Security is on the minds of our lawmakers this week as they begin to feel the heat of the Boko Haram terror attacks closing in on their magnificent edifice. To be sure, this is strange. The people’s House and the Upper Chamber should be immune from any and all forms of physical threat. Recall that in the wake of the nationwide protest against increase in petroleum prices, the people were prevented from getting close to their House. Now, our men and women of honour are afraid of just a few terror mongers?

    That is the nature of terrorism. Its goal is to destroy the morale of a people and to weaken their sense of security with its chosen method of random killing and maiming. You might ask: why would any reasonable human being engage in such an obviously immoral act? The answer is simple. Many reasonable people in many places engage in obviously immoral actions. Corruption is immoral. People engage in it. Robbery is immoral and people also engage in it. Not to talk of adultery and other such sinful behaviors. The difference between terrorism and these other immoralities is not just that terrorism involves killing the innocent, but that it is also a form of psychological warfare against the innocent. It creates panic, as is evidenced in the exposed mindset of our lawmakers. It also weakens confidence in the ability of government to secure its people, as is the case now in dear country.

    The last point has been brought to the fore more effectively with the statement credited to the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who allegedly stated that his party is not a security agency. Assume that the statement might have been taken out of context, it does not help assuage the feeling of helplessness that citizens have about the current security regime in the country. To be sure, a political party is not a security agency. It is an organisation of like-minded individuals in pursuit of common ideological principles for the governance of a nation. But those principles must necessarily include principles to effectively secure the people once the party succeeds in acquiring power. For what this acquisition of power means is that the people have entrusted to the party and its flag-bearer the responsibility to take care of their security needs for four years. For any political system, the security of the people is the first and foremost task.

    The latest assault by Boko Haram should not have come as a surprise, given its past approach following a government declaration. It followed the former Inspector General of Police to his office after he declared war against the sect. It has flexed its deadly muscle once an official declaration of intent was made. Taking the battle to den of the lion that Jaji is supposed to be must be seen as an undeniable victory for the group. How much more embarrassment can the government take? The Police are incapable. Now the military has been seen as impotent inside its own house? This must explain the frustration expressed by members of the National Assembly.

    The expression of fear by honourable members of the National Assembly over the activities of Boko Haram is natural and instinctive. Everyone, except the suicide bomber, fears the violent death for which he or she delights in and spreads. However, the contagion of fear that Boko Haram represents should not grip the National Assembly as an institution. This is because that institution, along with the Presidency, has the sacred duty to sustain the confidence of the people in times such as this. It is instructive that the party of the President controls the majority in both chambers of the National Assembly. A more effective approach would be for the members to approach the Presidency with concrete recommendations to contain the insurgency.

    The question now must be whether Boko Haram is here to stay and we are all condemned to a life of terror and fear. Are we now in the same league with Somalia? What explains the impotence of government to deal with this threat?

    It is interesting that the National Assembly debate expressed fear of terror attack on the institution when the Executive arm has been reluctant to describe what is going on as terrorism and has in fact lobbied the United States against declaring Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation. If it is not, then what is it? And if the government can deal with it as something other than a terrorist group, then why isn’t it working? This is where citizens must ask questions of their government. It appears that government is out of its wit in this matter. We have a security challenge that must be solved if everything else, including the economy, tourism, and foreign investment must pick up. It is unacceptable for government to throw its arms up and give up on the people.

    I believe that this country is internally blessed with human and material resources to deal with the challenge of insecurity. However, if I am wrong in this confidence in our people, then I would urge that in the matter of our security, government cannot be too proud to seek help from friendly nations. And the first step to doing this is to wake up from our state of denial. We must recognise the fact that we have a security challenge from a terrorist organisation that is determined to undermine the republican system of government that we uphold as the best for our multi-ethnic and multi-national structure. If we give in because we are unable to rise up and meet the challenge head-on, then we must be prepared to accept the inevitable demise of the country as we know it.

    Already the leadership of ACN is appealing to southern governors to wake up and confront their northern colleagues to stop the killings. If Boko Haram succeeds in pitting the South against the North, it would have achieved its foremost objective. Then what would the President and the National Assembly do about their oath of allegiance to protect and defend the constitution?

  • Police accommodation and my friend igp Abubakar

    Police accommodation and my friend igp Abubakar

    Let me say from the beginning that I am an admirer of police IGP Abubakar. I got close to him at a workshop celebrating democracy day held at the villa sometimes in May 2012. I was invited to the workshop as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations. I was not wearing a nametag, so IGP Abubakar may not be able to remember who I am. We did not talk, but we exchanged pleasant glances and I kind of liked his body movement whenever something ridiculous was said by one of the speakers. Just let me say I like his boyish looks and youthful countenance.

    When he took over as IGP, the first decision he took was to dismantle police checkpoints on the highways. This was a masterstroke. With this decision, he endeared himself to the all Nigerians who had become victims of police harassment on the high way. The hours of my journey from Lagos to Ibadan were reduced by half and my fear of being shot by drunken policeman holding a gun and asking my driver and I questions disappeared. The fear that armed robbers might take over the roads has generally not materialised. This is not to say that the roads are completely free of armed robbery and armed brigands. There has been an armed robbery attack recently on the roads between Iyin and Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State and on many other roads in the country. But the IGP’s removal of road blocks remains unimpeachable.

    The public face of the police as represented by the current IGP remains friendly and attractive. As a Nigerian, I know that policy innovation and change are usually challenged by entrenched vested interest. IGP Abubakar may not be complaining loudly, but he must be definitely fighting to get his colleagues to embrace his policies. It is a pity that the Boko Haram problem remains intractable. But this is not a police problem alone; it is the problem of the armed forces and the problem of all Nigerians. People have suggested that we must take palliative measures to reduce the sufferings of people in the affected areas and give people hope where there seems to be no hope. In order to make policing successful we need holistic approach because after all, in a period of hopelessness, when dying is seen sometimes by fanatics as an easier option than living, policing becomes difficult. Organised state violence as represented by the police and the Armed Forces can only deter when people care for their lives. But the element of deterrence is removed when people are ready to die and have no fear of dying and believing that by dying they go to a better place in the hereafter. We must continue to pray and encourage the police IGP and his team, but in leading the police, the IGP must ensure that he makes life tolerable for the rank and file of the police. This is actually the kernel of this write up and appeal not only to the IGP but to Mr President and the legislative branch of government to come to Macedonia and help the police.

    Whenever I drive on Bank Anthony way in Ikeja, coming from the local airport and I see the police barrack on my right, I feel sad. The place is so totally run down and the houses dilapidated with dirty clothes hanging in the veranda, corridor and windows of all the buildings, giving the impression of largely filthy and unkempt surrounding. These buildings are standing on prime land in Ikeja and they are an eyesore in a rapidly modernising city like Lagos and in the words of Ronald Reagan, the former American President, I say to IGP Abubakar “please tear down these walls and these buildings”. They are not fit for human habitation. What I am saying for this barrack would apply to virtually all police barracks in Nigeria. I cannot but single out Ibadan where I live. The police command headquarters in Iyaganku in Ibadan has buildings with broken windows and generally rundown environment. I have no doubt that the police IGP and his team are aware of this and I am sure the Executive and Legislative leadership in Nigeria is also aware of this.

    There is need therefore to do something about this because to me, this is a national security matter. We cannot keep police rank and file in filthy and unhealthy surroundings and expect them to see themselves as stakeholders in the society and this perhaps accounts for the mutual distrust if not hatred between the police and the people they are supposed to protect. If we want to get the best results from our police, we must properly provision and house them. If the government finds it difficult to build decent barracks for the police, government should have a rethink about police accommodation.

    In some countries in the western world for example, the police live among the people in their own homes and go to their offices routinely. In the case of emergencies, they can be summoned to these offices where equipment and ammunitions are kept. Our government could adopt this practice and give every policeman loans to build his own home wherever he likes. But perhaps, Nigeria is not ripe enough for this kind of policy. So we must go back to the issue of building decent barracks for policemen. We can have a ten-year programme of Police Barrack Development. These barracks perhaps could be built at the outskirts of the cities in some kind of police villages where environmental beauty and greening would be taken into serious account. The current practice where policemen are housed in one-room apartments should be jettisoned. Series of three-bedroom bungalows for the rank and file would be appropriate and policemen would also be educated about the need for small families.

    Some years ago, a Police Development Fund was launched. Unfortunately, this excellent idea was marred by corruption and the billions collected were stolen by those put in charge and the case like all cases of corruption in Nigeria has died a natural death. But in the mean time, the problem of policing remains. People complain about the police but do nothing about their material condition. There is a need to do something about this and if needs be, some of us might send a private person’s Bill to do national Assembly for discussion and for possible passage. The policeman can become our friend if we stretch our hands of fellowship to them.

    Cynics may ask if there are no other institutions needing reform. Yes the whole country needs reform. But we must start from somewhere. There can be no improvement in our lives if there is no security. It follows that we must do first things first by securing our society through a reform of the police and thereby securing our lives, because at the end of the day reform is about people and police reform would guarantee human security and societal well being. In other words, police reform should be a priority not because of altruism but because it is in our enlightened self interest.

  • A nation under siege

    Nigeria is not at war, but it is at war with itself Why do I say this? In the past three years, internal security has been stretched beyond its limit while trying to curtail the activities of those who have declared war on the country. With no corresponding response from the security agencies to their murderous acts, these renegades have made the country virtually ungovernable.

    Yet, we have a government and a thing like this is happening. It is the job of government to secure the country and ensure the safety of lives and properties; but doing this has become an Herculean task for the present administration. These days, all sorts of characters with guns strike at will, killing, maiming and looting.

    If Boko Haram is not doing its own, bandits are busy terrorising the people. No part of the country is safe now from the grip of these bad boys. Perhaps, if it had been Boko Haram alone, the public would have known the direction to face to seek divine solution to this gargantuan problem. As things are, the people are between the devil and deep blue sea.

    Who do we run to or who do we run from between Boko Haram elements and your run-of-the-mill bandit? None, I say, because there is no difference between them; it is like six and half a dozen. They are only different in name, but similar in evil deeds. As if to see who will outdo the other, these renegades have been unleashing terror on the country in a relay race like manner. As soon as one finishes a lap, it hands over the baton to the other and vice versa.

    Between Sunday and now, the nation has known no rest from these animals in human skin, apologies to the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. And I tell you, they, especially Boko Haram, are not selective in those they attack. They attack civilians, military and para-military personnel. So, if the military and the police can be attacked, who then is safe from Boko Haram and those we commonly refer to as die-hard rogues?

    Although, Boko Haram has a history of attacking military and police formations, it has never done so in quick succession as it did on Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, it hit the elite Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, and on Monday, it took its destructive campaign to the Force Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Headquarters in Abuja. That same Monday, gunmen struck in the polytechnic town of Auchi in Edo State, looting and killing.

    In Jaji, 15 were officially confirmed dead. The figure is believed to be higher than that unofficially; two reportedly died in the SARS attack. Fifteen persons, among them three soldiers, were said to have died in Auchi. Chances are that the casualty figures are likely to be than these by the time we take proper stock of what happened. I will be putting it mildly to say I’m not shocked by the attacks on the military and police formations considering what they went through in Boko Haram’s hand not too long ago.

    The attack on the 244 Recce Brigade also in Kaduna a few months ago prompted the army to devise means of stopping the Islamic group’s suicide bombers from hitting home easily. The metallic security device, we were told, can stop any bomber who runs into it at the entrance of any building, particularly a church, where it is placed. Were there no security device at the entrance to the church in Jaji last Sunday when Boko Haram struck? Or is it a matter of complacency by the army? Could it have relied only on its name-army- to scare away the fundamentalists?

    What about the police? With the havoc Boko Haram wreaked on the Force Headquarters not too long ago, should the police have gone to sleep so quickly in taking steps to tame the group? Does it not speak volume about our police that Boko Haram could successfully hit another of their facility and get away? The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), it was reported, has ordered that security be beefed up in all police and public buildings, is that to say, there were no such security measures in place before now?

    Boko Haram and hoodlums will always be a step ahead of our security agencies if they are only quick at taking fire brigade measures. With the way Boko Haram has been terrorising some parts of the country, these agencies don’t need to be told that they have to be pro-active and not reactive to curtail the group’s activities. If they continue like this, it will only amount to shutting the stable when the horse has bolted away.

    But for how long will the people continue to live in fear of Boko Haram and hoodlums? The fear of these people is the beginning of wisdom for many Nigerians now. We live in fortresses, yet, we are not safe. Billions of Naira are voted for security and defence, but we don’t know how the money is spent because neither us nor our properties are safe. We-the leaders and the led- are at the mercy of renegades, who have become law unto themselves. Will we ever know peace?

    Yes, we can, if the government can get its act together and use its might to do what should be done in matters like this. Should a government keep quiet in the face of serious challenge to its authority by renegades? The answer is no. I pray that the government will summon courage to act before things get out of hand (as if they haven’t) because it will be too late to cry when the head is off. No renegade can be bigger or mightier than government, except a government which does not know the enormity of its power.

    READERS’ TURN

    RE: When president fight

    Boko Haram’s reign of terror is fuelled by its knowledge that we have a leader that lacks courage and vision, to send a signal to the blood suckers that somebody is in charge; that is why they issued irritating terms of dialogue to the presidency to our shame from: Joseph Solomon, Kaduna, 08099577661.

    It is better our president accepts instructive criticism and rise to the Boko Haram challenge. His in action shows that he does not value life just like Boko Haram. From: 08030817528

    The president should go to battle with Boko Haram not former President Olusegun Obasanjo. From: 08163498511.

    President Jonathan is planning to seek second term in office, that is why he is afraid of fighting the killer-group in the Northern part of Nigeria. From: Bola Oluwatuyi, Akure, 08136055942.

    May the Lord grant our president listening ears, a receptive heart and wisdom. From: 08095607404.

    Our president is too soft on Boko Haram. He should stop saying that Boko Haram will soon be a thing of the past because whenever he says so, the evil men hit harder. From Edet Bassey, 08027343842.

  • Babalakin as a distraction

    Like most Nigerians who know Dr Wale Babalakin only through his celebration by PDP, I cannot also claim to know him beyond the positive picture of a brilliant lawyer, an astute businessman, a hard taskmaster in pursuit of excellence, painted in our heads by the media. If there were doubts about those positive attributes, they disappeared at the site of MM2 masterpiece he built on concessionary basis. If there were still other cynics, PDP, his current nemesis, took care of them by forcing him on the public consciousness.

    It was Obasanjo’s government that first appointed him Chairman of the Constitutional Drafting Sub-Committee of the National Political Reforms Conference in 2005. He moved up in 2007 to become an Honorary Special Adviser on Legal Matters and General Counsel to late President Musa Yar’Adua. In February 2008, he was conferred with the National Honour of Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR). He was later appointed Pro-chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and Chairman, Committee of Pro-Chancellors of Nigeria Federal Universities.

    PDP presented him as a national icon and role model that represents ‘the new Nigerian spirit of enterprise, scholarship, courage and consistency’. But all that changed when Obasanjo, in spite of fraudulent ‘due-process’ policy his administration introduced, unduly influenced the choice of Babalakin’s Bi-Courtney above other PDP warring contenders for the reconstruction of the 106 kilometres Lagos Ibadan express way at N89.53 billion on “Built, Operate and Transfer Concession Agreement over a period of twenty five years.

    The project like many derailed basanjo lofty initiatives became a victim of internal PDP wrangling while Nigerian users of the road suffered untold hardship. Babalakin’s name became a metaphor for all that is wrong with PDP; graft, corruption, inefficiency, ‘I don’t give a damn’ attitude’ of its office holders who squandered billions on rehabilitation of roads year after year, while the nation’s network of roads remain in state of near collapse,

    Babalakin’s name also took on the imagery of: death of thousands of motorist as a result of accidents, wasted man hours of motorists caught in the traffic grid lucks, unruly truck drivers, who cannot be tamed by an undisciplined PDP administration interested only in squabbles over contracts, the shame of Ogere where motorists crawl for over five kilometers due to indiscriminate parking of trailers at both sides of the roads and more.

    Yet Babalakin has chosen to leak his wounds quietly. He has refused to talk about his many wars with government officials, the tanker drivers in Ibafo, and above all, his battles with demons, witches and other evil forces that drove this well educated man to seek spiritual help from churches that dotted both sides of the express road.

    But as a detached observer, I sympathise with Babalakin solely on account of the double jeopardy he has now suffered. While Nigerians blamed him for the tragedy of the failed Lagos Ibadan derailed project, he is presently being hounded by EFCC. It alleged his companies- ‘Stabilini Visioni Limited and Bi-Courtney Limited, between May 2006 and December 2006 laundered N3.4b for Ibori through Mauritus to buy an aircraft. It has also claimed that Babalakin knew the money to be as a result of criminal conduct by the said James Ibori. It did not however say how.

    Owning an aircraft in Nigeria has become a status symbol. The president has a fleet of nine. Between 2000 and 2012, PDP years of locust, the number of private aircrafts grew from 20 to about 150. They are mainly owned by ‘members of the political class, business organisations, religious leaders, business persons, and a number of state governments, including Rivers State, Lagos State, Taraba State and Akwa Ibom State’. Why is EFCC not showing interest in how serving political office holders and private individuals channel the funds used in purchasing their private jets?

    And Since EFCC expects Babalakin to know or care about the source of money for contracts awarded by governors, shouldn’t the organization extend the probe to all those who got contracts from Ibori as well as from other indicted ex PDP governors?

    What we have been told is that Delta state government awarded contract to Babalakin’s firms along with some others who transferred the money to Mauritius to purchase an aircraft

    We have not been told that Babalakin’s companies involved in this transaction collected money without executing the contract. Even if it is thus established, when did EFCC start running after failed contractors? Is this not the same PDP that defended President Jonathan’s appointment of Dr. Doyin Okupe as presidential adviser on Public Affairs in spite of his alleged shoddy implementation or non implementation of contracts from Imo and Benue states? In the two cases, all the PDP men agreed money exchanged hand. In fact Benue and EFCC went to court demanding for a refund of N600m for contracts not fully implemented.

    As it is often the case, it would appear we are being entertained by government and EFCC, once again to divert attention from other national issues. First, even if the involvement of Babalakin’s companies in contract to purchase air craft for Ibori has suddenly become an offence, what can Lamorde’s EFCC do about it? Was it not only last week he informed the senate that ‘several cases involving top politicians, accused of stealing public funds, have lingered for years after an initial public fanfare with’ some of the indicted officials still roaming the country as kingmakers, lawmakers, and political gladiators.’ Did the alleged laundering of money to buy aircraft by Ibori and Babalakin’s companies fall under the category of ‘small petty thieves, 419 and yahoo yahoo boys’ he claimed his agency has capacity for?

    Besides, we have witnessed this theatre of the absurd before. EFCC once chased Dimeji Bankole the former Speaker of the Lower House from Abuja to Abeokuta in the middle of the night to execute his arrest for alleged fraud. There were even some temporarily chased out of the country. The former EFCC helmswoman once assaulted us for weeks through daily press briefings about the sins of those Sanusi, the CBN governor claimed contributed to the collapse of banks due to their non performing debts. To the shame of EFCC and Sanusi, some of those names have become pillars of Nigerian economy after buying some of the banks following government injection of tax payers’ money. Others have become government advisers while many leading light of PDP on Sanusi’s list are now law makers working feverishly to curb corruption in Nigeria.

    Without the distractions of Babalakin and Ibori who has proved to be bigger than Nigeria until the intervention by the British judiciary, this government and its EFCC have their cups full. Only last week, the world acclaimed audit firm, KPMG in its report. rated Nigeria as the ‘most fraudulent country in Africa, with the cost of fraud during the first half of 2012 estimated at N225 billion ($1.5 billion)’.The Africa Fraud Barometer only last Wednesday identified ‘Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa as accounting for 74% of the total number of cases of fraud on the African continent, with Nigeria recording the highest overall value of fraud in the first half of the2012’. The Punch newspaper, putting together reports of various probe committees set up by the President says ‘over N5tn in government funds have been stolen through frauds, embezzlements and theft since president Jonathan assumed office in May 6,2010’

  • Reminiscences (GG at 80)

    Reminiscences (GG at 80)

    FIRST, a confession: The subject of this article is well known to this reporter. So, dear reader, take it easy, if you feel that there is a tinge of subjectivity here. But, I assure you, Notebook will be as conscientious as it has always been.

    Our first meeting was in September, 1974. The sun was getting set to set, its recession a bit slow. Behind the hills that ring the town, the sun was showing its face, bright but weak. And there he was, just after a long row of palm trees that lined the red – earth, dusty road that led to the school premises, mowing a field of green grass that had grown wild. He had on only a pair of white shorts, his trademark, as I discovered later. No top.

    As he looked up from what I later found out to be a routine task for him when students were on holiday, he wiped sweat off his brow and continued his business. I announced my presence.

    “Good evening sir.” “Pele o (hello). How’re you?” “I’m Gbenga Omotoso, the table-tennis player you discussed with Mr Babajide in Ibadan.”

    His face brightened up. He burst into laughter and seized my hand as he screamed: “Ping pong!” And so began my relationship with the man who paid my – and many others’ – way through secondary school, a teachers’ teacher, father of many children –none of them his, biologically – , worthy chief, consummate farmer, confident trainer and frontline humanitarian.

    Chief Guy Gargiulo, an Italian naturalised Briton, was the headmaster at Ajuwa Grammar School, Okeagbe – Akoko, Ondo State, from 1963 to 1978. He had had a short stint as Physics teacher at Igbobi College, Lagos before moving to Okeagbe to help give the school a push.

    He advanced in age to 80 on August 13, but all was quiet as he was away in England. He returned to Nigeria this month and a reception was held in his honour last Saturday on the premises where he helped shape the future of many students who are today prominent citizens: Otunba Solomon Oladunni, former Vice Chair, Mobil. Tuyi Ehindero, ex- Managing Director, Unilever, Zambia. Tunji Abayomi, rights activist-lawyer and politician. Akinwunmi Bada, ex-CEO, Transmission Company of Nigeria. Oba Oladunjoye Fajana, ex-African Development Bank/World Bank chief and now Ajana of Afa, Okeagbe. The Right Rev. Jacob Ajetunmobi, Bishop of the Anglican Communion, Ibadan Diocese. Tayo Alasoadura, former Commissioner for Finance, Ondo State. Commodore Sanmi Alade, Nigerian Navy. Mike Igbokwe, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a legion of others in banking, sports, industry and government.

    There are not many people of whom one can say: “O…he had a great influence on my life.” Many there are who can proudly say this of GG, as we excitedly call him. All his efforts were geared towards imparting in us all the virtues to which he subscribed – hard work, courage, loyalty, endurance, honesty and more.

    He feared nothing. The only fear he ever had was being bitten by snakes, he told us. But the day he held one and was bitten, the fear ended. Then he started reading about snakes. We were taught how to catch and keep them. But GG warned us never to go near the cobra, saying there was no remedy to its poison. The last time I visited, he had a snake, which he nicknamed Angelina, at home.

    His idea of education is not the mere acquisition of a certificate as a visa to some perceived Eldorado; not a theoretical exploration of some esoteric facts and figures, but a total package to prepare the youth for any challenge that life may hurl on their way. Every student was encouraged to learn a trade – bricklaying, auto mechanic and others. The Ajuwa Printing Press, which was run by students, was popular. It printed our exercise books, report cards, inspirational poems, such as Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling’s If, and the ubiquitous poster, “Speak English, remember your WASCE” that adorned our classrooms.

    Gargiulo persuaded us all to love farming – we all had copies of a poem he wrote on Obasanjo’s Operation feed the nation (everything then was an operation; the military era) – as he led the way every evening. The maize farm was a beauty to behold, the sheer greenery and the glittering golden, thread-like strands sprouting from the cobs. The vast row of teak, their rustling leaves dropping in the harmattan. The short palm trees and their scarlet fruits. The gmelina. Our yam came from the school farm. The eggs we had once a week came from the school poultry. It was fun caring for the rabbits and watching the cows graze.

    Our farm products were sold and the proceeds invested in shares in the name of the school.

    For GG, sport was a priority. The yearly marathon was compulsory for all. So was swimming. The community and the students built a dam to facilitate this. From the dark brown pool and the pontoon that were carved out of the dam, boys and girls were moulded into national champions. No fewer than two former students are now coaches . This reporter was a table tennis star, the very reason I won his heart.

    He believed that no student was so bad that there was no redeeming feature. He once told of a student who led the mechanic club. He was poor, academically, but Gargiulo predicted his greatness. The man rose to become a top Leventis Motors manager, admired by all for his deep understanding of Mercedes cars, just like the Germans.

    It was not all fun at Ajuwa. I recall a riot. GG had gone to Ibadan to buy books. The day he was to return, students stormed the Okeagbe-Ikare road, bearing cudgels and sticks. They were singing war songs. Some sympathisers advised GG to stay away to save his life. He refused to. A few metres away from the school, he parked the van and walked, his face wreathed in a big frown, even as he asked the unruly students:”What’s going on here?” “You want to kill me? Go ahead now!” He was booming like a lion and swearing–he always did when seized by anger–. His hair sprang up and his hands betrayed red hot blood running through his veins. His face was red – it was always so whenever he got angry.

    One after the other, the students dropped their weapons, ran into hiding behind the palm trees and sneaked into the classrooms. GG, later in the night, relived the incident. He told me: “I saw that you, like the others, held a stick, but I was damn sure you wouldn’t hit me. It was the wise thing to do; otherwise you would be attacked.” I never knew he saw me among the mob.

    GG had few friends, among them the late Tai Solarin, the frontline educationist and critic.

    Gargiulo was always struggling to speak Yoruba. Why? The logic was that if he could speak Yoruba, there was no reason for us not to speak English. His favourite proverb is Aya nini ju oogun lo (Being bold is greater than having juju). To those who scorned him for always wearing shorts, he would say: Sokoto gbooro ko d’ola (Trousers are no symbols of wealth). He wore trousers only on special occasions, such as when a governor was visiting.

    When Immigration officials harassed him in Akure, the Ondo State capital, demanding his papers, they got more than they bargained for. They asked him to be reporting in their office every day, wondering why he would not relinquish his British nationality if he so much loved Nigeria. One day when he was tired of it all, GG faced the officials and said: “Gentlemen, ti a ba ti n fi apari isu han alejo…(When hosts begin to show the guest the hard top of the yam, it’s time to leave.” “They didn’t let me finish. They said ‘go; just go now!’ That was the end of the matter. But, why should I suffer to get a permanent stay here after about 30years? I still, even in my old age, contribute to building this great country.”

    The last time I visited my alma mater, less than two years ago, I learnt of how Gargiulo shed tears on seeing the destruction of his dream. I was touched. Ajuwa is a like a war – ravaged town, battered and bludgeoned by the very people who swore to care for it. Plundered. An old lady, used and dumped.

    Is this strange? No. Considering the rot in almost all areas of our national life, the fate of Ajuwa is not strange. But, when cometh another GG?

    Obasanjo finds his size?

    WHEN former President Olusegun Obasanjo lampooned President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of the Boko Haram monster, it was clear that a civil war was on in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Jonathan didn’t turn the other cheek. Cheeky Christian? Rather, he delivered a blow at the heart of Obasanjo’s much vaunted agility to tackle such problems. He said Odi was a disaster, an atrocity against women and children. In fact, His Excellency was short of calling in the International Criminal Court.
    Enter Gen. Yakubu Gowon. He said Obasanjo’s castigation of Jonathan was “highly irresponsible”. Now, observers are asking: Has Obasanjo found his match?