The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • Incumbency, performance and elections

    Chest  beating is a natural human impulse  when evidence shows that a leader has performed well in his appointed  or elected role. You would   expect admission  of failure too would be a normal reaction   when  performance is proven to have fallen short of expectation  for any leader.   This however is not always the case as failure  is always treated like an orphan   by world leaders.  How leaders in various political and economic systems perceive and react to failure and success as incumbents is our focus today. In addition we look at the role of   coming  elections in some polities to see what type of shadow they cast on the performance of these incumbents  as they try to implement policies they promised in their election campaigns. Lastly we examine how incumbents  view  criticism  of their policies especially when they think they have paid their dues to those criticizing them.

    It  is not very difficult to decipher what I have in mind if you followed the global network news closely in the last one week. In  Britain the main economic news was that the Olympics and Para Olympics that the nation hosted recently  had  helped it to achieve a growth rate of 1%  which means it is at last getting out of the recession;  a fact which made Prime Minister David Cameron to quip quite wisely that  ‘we are on the right track ‘. In  Nigeria  the main political event  this week  was the Ondo State gubernatorial elections  won by incumbent Governor Olusegun Mimiko of the Labor party who gave the elections a pass mark as free and fair because it was an isolated event while the party that came second the ruling party – PDP – has sworn it is going to court to contest  the validity of the results.

     In  the US,  last Monday  night,  President Barak Obama was hard put to defend his performance before his rival,  Mitt  Romney   of the Republican Party, who  switched positions on most issues on debate night, to the consternation of the incumbent president of the US, who many thought did enough to defend his policies especially the foreign one with regard to global security    in the third and last  debate before the US presidential election of November 6. In S Africa an  Inquiry on the 34 miners shot at Marakana Platinum mine  was told that  it would receive evidence that  14  of them were shot in the back by the Police – a development that could jeorpadise the relection  next   year of S African President  Jacob Zuma who was  also criticized recently  for   using state funds to renovate his village house.

    Aside from elections the use of  poison to truncate presidential incumbency was enacted in the Benin Republic where AU President Boni Yayi escaped assassination by poisoning involving his niece and his doctor  at the behest  of an  aggrieved business man who nursed a grudge over a lost cotton import license. To round up we look at the threat of the  incumbent President of Uganda, the long serving  Yoweri   Museveni  to pull Ugandan troops out of the UN contingent serving in Somalia because of a UN report that criticized Uganda’s role as supporting rebels  in the upheaval in   the  Democratic Republic of Congo – DRC.

    In terms of size and length therefore we have a big menu list for consumption,  but the ingredients  that grill  and combine them into a delicious mix  of analysis are simple enough. David  Cameron and Segun Mimiko fall  into the same category in terms of chest beating over  unexpected economic growth by the former and an election victory by the latter. In  the US, Obama  is fighting for his political    life  and performance in office and has had to amass and flaunt the whole weight of his incumbency before a dogged and determined  challenger – Mitt Romney – who  is said to be one of the few  presidential candidates  to have  made a presidential debate matter in the race for the US presidency  reaching a climax just less than two weeks away.

    In S Africa the application of apartheid-  like violence on miners in a post apartheid S  Africa  with the ANC in power is simply outrageous and unacceptable. Just  as  the shooting of the miners in the back is a horrendous shot in the back for S Africa’s democracy  and a betrayal of trust  of the people   of S Africa  by the leadership of that nation. Boni  Yayi’s escape of assassination from poison shows the vulnerability of security arrangements that thrive on  nepotism and cronyism in high places given the personal relationship of the Benin Republic president with those who would have had  him for dinner had their plot been successful. Similarly Yoweri Museveni’s  threat or blackmail of the UN  on Somalia  is no more than a fake indignation that should be ignored by the world body because it is  no more   than  a mark of aaffliction of power and sheer tenacity of office . Let me now      dilate at length  on each event.

    Really no   one can blame David Cameron for  being happy with the growth figures from the National Office of Statistics in the UK. Coming at  time of   government spending cuts,   high school fees  and withdrawal of benefits for the British masses by the government,  it has provided a  much needed staff of support for the ruling government coalition on the slippery path of  rapid erosion of public support that got the coalition parties into power in the first instance. In  addition some have argued that life in Britain is so difficult today that the growth means nothing to the common man in terms of bread and butter as well as an improved quality of life.

    Yet, whether one likes the Coalition or not, one cannot take away  the fact that it has the admiration of a global audience not to talk of that of a passionate and patriotic British one,  for the way it conducted a flawless Olympics that  can now be aptly dubbed a beneficial and growth inducing one . I grudgingly agree that David Cameron’s  incumbency is in its finest hour and it is difficult to argue when he said – we are on the right track!

    In similar vein the Ondo State newly elected governor can be congratulated on his reelection given the fact that he admitted that the isolation of the election made it successful. But would he have said that if he had lost? The isolation of the election gave a boost to his incumbency  and candidacy as the Chief Security Officer  of the State in charge of the elections and to whom all federal officers must pay obeisance. Could that swayed events and voters in his direction?

    Certainly performance as incumbent played a major part in his relection but he will be the first to admit he met first rate competition for power that must have taxed the immense aura of his incumbency tremendously. Given the fact that the PDP  has threatened to go to court it may be too early to celebrate victory yet because of  the experience   of recent guber elections in neighboring states where incumbencies have been overturned by court decisions based on fresh facts as expected in any democracy.

    I  think  I have really said enough on the US presidential elections for now as well as on the poison issue in Benin Republic. I  will therefore go to the S  African police shooting next. At  a government hearing on the Lonmin Marikana Platinum massacre of August 6 this year  lawyers of the victims claimed that there was no evidence that any police officer was killed although there was evidence that 14 miners were shot in the back. The Police had said in their opening statement that the miners were planning a bloodbath. Initially after the shooting  prosecutors charged about  300 miners that survived the attack to court in a bizarre application of an apartheid law  based on a purported ‘common law‘ that seemed  crazily to charge the miners for surviving police shooting  on the day  in question.

    Although President Zuma sympathized with the miners family after the shootings,  he was slow in ordering government investigation of the killings. He  faces a reelection bid as President of the ANC  later this year and the miners shootings could cost him the presidency of the ANC meaning he would not be eligible to contest for reelection as President of S Africa  in next year’s presidential elections. Whether Zuma loses his incumbency or not the shooting of black miners by a pack of white gun totting white policemen is a racist issue that is repugnant in any nation especially one liberated from such oppression recently and being ruled by blacks who were imprisoned before by such racist policemen. It is very disgusting.

    Lastly, Yoweri Museveni’s threat to the UN on withdrawing his troops from the UN Somali contingent is not diplomacy but banal horse trading. Is  the Ugandan strongman saying that because he has been a  good man in Somalia,  the UN should turn  a blind eye to his disruptive behavior in the DRC where thousands are being slaughtered by the rebels, said to be supported by Uganda and Rwanda?  Is Museveni  not  reading the same script drafted in Kigali, the capital of Uganda which has made a similar threat on contribution to regional security, when  similarly  indicted by a UN report on the DRC? The  UN should stick to its guns  and ignore Uganda’s bluster as  there are enough nations in the world willing to ignore sit tight bullies like him who have mastered the art of using democracy and elections to perpetuate their incumbency. Since they are mortal, there is no need to lose  any sleep on when their incumbency will inevitably end, which  invariably, is sooner than later.

  • A rescue mission for sports

    I dislike flying on the domestic route. I always have this sneaky feeling about the maintenance culture of our airlines. So, I decline invitations to sporting events around the country, except it is extremely important.

    One of such expedient sporting events was the late invitation to attend Monday’s Presidential Sport Retreat at the State House in Abuja. My first thought when I got the late invitation was to pretend that I didn’t see the e-mail. But, my dad had pleaded with me not to decline any presidential invitation. And I had to respect his order. Dad’s directive is law. Getting a ticket at the Lagos airport was a challenge. Yet I was pleasantly surprised by the attention I got from the ticket office. I stood, hands akimbo, wondering where to go. In this transfixed state, someone walked up to me, asking for my travel details.

    I hesitated, but he knew so much about me that I accepted his assistance. When he returned my ticket, I was ushered through the congested entrance like a king. I was stunned, but on reflection inside the aircraft, I appreciated the impact of working for a renowned newspaper, such as The Nation, and the power of the television (appearances on Silverbird, among others).

    I thought that people would have protested as I strolled past. What I heard were complementary remarks that bowled me over. Inside the aircraft on Sunday, I prayed for a smooth flight to Abuja. When the aircraft landed, my plan was to sleep off till the next day. I achieved this objective because I kept my phones inside my bag.

    On Monday, with an open mind, I attended the retreat. What struck me was the presence of senior government officials, captains of industry, the financial institutions, governors, National Assembly members, the Vice-President and President Goodluck Jonathan.

    It was a mixed grill of the serious issues and the hilarious revelations from the presidents of the Paralympics and Wrestling Federations.

    The Paralympics Federation boss rocked the hall with laughter when he informed President Jonathan that the Federal Government’s resolve to eradicate polio by 2015 is the death knell for Nigeria at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio d’ Jameiro, Brazil.

    Dr. Frank Thrope told everyone that till date, Nigeria has won 51 medals; 49 of them were won by paralympians with polio cases. He was the only serious looking person. Will you blame him? But he did say that there were areas in the physically-challenged sports for impaired persons, amputees, etc. For several minutes, the hall, the President inclusive rocked with laughter. But, Jonathan, in his closing remarks, stuck to his wipe-out-polio mandate, with a promise to the federation chief that money will be released on time in subsequent sporting competitions.

    Indeed, when the Wrestling Federation President informed his audience that everyone partook in wrestling daily, even at homes, it took close to three minutes to stop the laughter. In fact, the President broke from a smile to serious laughter, after listening to what the Adamawa State governor whispered into his ears.

    Trust Nigerian men with their pranks as they visualised wrestling from another prism, forgetting that the wrestling the federation boss referred to is an Olympic sport, which is displayed in the open and watched by all; not involving two opposite sexes in pitch darkness.

    President Jonathan again showed his humorous side when, in his closing remarks, he told the audience that the Adamawa governor confided in him that the wrestling in the homes was won overwhelmingly by the women. Everyone laughed. Mr. President, was telling the truth, they must have felt.

    So much for the rib crackers. The first lesson from the retreat is the political will to make sports a big business, which inevitably will create the platforms for employment.

    The second lesson is the need to cultivate business concerns to embrace sports, but with a caveat -transparency and accountability. It was quite commendable listening to the President pour cold water on Rivers State Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi’s assertion that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is the most corrupt organisation in Nigeria.

    In another remark, Jonathan said: “I don’t think the essence of what we are doing is to apportion blames. What I can see is that our penchant for releasing funds close to competitions provides people with the conduit to ‘chop the money!” My President, you bowled this writer over when you acknowledged that sport is the biggest mobiliser of people. You admitted that the only time when Nigerians forget creed, religion, political divide and the infamous federal character is during sports competitions, especially soccer.

    Equally, important is the President’s acceptance that there was the need to create enabling environment for business concerns to key into sport patronage, first to change the way it is run in Nigeria and then to get Nigerians to know that sports help increase the country’s GDP as seen in other climes.

    The exhaustive evaluation of what models in achieving climes such as the US, Asia, Britain etc, exposed the essence of getting government less involved in sports in Nigeria. Interestingly, the retreat underlined the essence of sports as a viable socio-economic tool for youth development, nation building and instilling the core value of social justice.

    The President disclosed his resolve for Nigeria to rule the sports world based on hard work, greater sense of purpose and dedication, adding that: “If we must achieve excellence and meet the objective requirement for the rapid development of our sport industry, then we must broaden the finance base of the industry and create the right conditions for private sector funding and investment in sports.”

    What then is the trouble with sports? Participants identified poor management, much to the consternation of the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. And Mr. President buttressed the voting pattern when he said: “Adequate funding of sport is very crucial to this endeavour but efficient and transparent management of resources is key.”

    Is sport all about funding and administration? Not exactly. Without the athletes and the coaches, no sports events can hold. Athletes and coaches form the fulcrum on which sports thrive. It was very pleasing to this writer’s ears hearing the participants pass a vote of no confidence on Nigerian coaches for lacking the technical savvy to propel our athletes to attain their zenith. Although it was agreed that they would be trained and retrained, the general consensus was that we need to bring foreign coaches to train our talents at the grassroots.

    Participants agreed that our athletes have the wrong approach to details of their sport at the early stages. They submitted that governors pay sufficient attention to sports development at the grassroots. Much as the Rivers State governor identified with this grassroots sports development, he hastened to add sports takes the backstage in state governments’ quest to deliver the dividends of democracy to the electorate.

    Of course, many frowned at the levity with which we handle maintenance of facilities. It was also agreed that there was the need to concession edifices to the private sector to take care of them.

    It must be said that much as the participants nursed hopes that a new dawn beckoned after the retreat, yet when the question was put to them, shortly before Jonathan’s closing remarks, the conveners of the retreat were shocked to see the biggest percentage of votes read: “Doubtful but hopeful.”

    Will you blame the participants for their damning verdict? Not with the avalanche of such retreat reports on the dusty shelves at the National Sports Commission (NSC).

    The biggest fillip for sports development in Nigeria, in my opinion, arose when Jonathan promised to give executive seal to the NSC Bill, which, when passed into law, will make the body to be run by professionals and technocrats and not administrative staff, Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi told President Jonathan this accounted for the NSC’s workforce.

    NSC’s bill will ensure that those who formulate policies don’t execute them. That way, we will be able to identify who to hold responsible if things go awry.

    There would be a board that will churn out policies, which the NSC eggheads will implement. The present Jack-of-all-trades scenario at the NSC makes it impossible for new suggestions outside those of its hierarchy that the present order, has forced on us.

  • Southsouth in government, North in power, yet…

    If anyone needed evidence that President Goodluck Jonathan panders unduly to the North, the recent sale of the Nigeria’s power plants is sufficient proof. While one may not begrudge them their ‘good fortune’, what galls most other Nigerians is that some of the people from the North would still not be appeased. If bombs are not going off, uniformed security personnel and innocent people are being gunned down at will, for no just cause. If it is not senators of the Federal Republic being accused of aiding and abetting this senseless carnage, it is former governors or other members of the privileged elite. Perhaps the only condition for peace is for the rest of us to scurry across the border into the hills of the Cameroons, and the hinterlands of Benin and Togo? Almost everything we have in Nigeria has been conceded to the North yet it won’t be appeased.

    First, the recent sale of Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) shorn of the technical details and the little devils inherent in them, one must say that the broad ground norms required for fair and equitable bidding process are flawed. If we are privatizing, let it be truly private and competent companies (not transferring from federal to state governments); no private company should get more than one facility(they should build more in the future if they are so capable); no former head of state should be allowed to buy utilities they were instrumental to their failure.

    But what did BPE do? It allowed state governments to throw in all sorts of bids by proxy; thus while some states won, some did not win. That is bound to breed rancor. Second, it allowed a company chaired by former Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd) to bid. Now Abubakar’s firm, Integrated Distribution Marketing a Company (IDMC) did not only bid, it got the three biggest facilities in the North, East and West. This is utterly unacceptable. The North will never accept this inequitable arrangement. Even the gentleman governor of Anambra State well known for pandering to the dictates of the Presidency raised his voice saying the action was ‘shocking’. Says Obi: “It was more shocking because Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Bayelsa succeeded, but the South-Eastern states totally lost out.”

    Yes, the South-East seems to always lose out in everything especially in this dispensation. South-East has the worst power facilities in the land. What about road network, federal presence, not to mention the vexatious state and local government allotment deliberately skewed to eternally hurt the South-East. But we digress.

    What the BPE led by Mr. Atedo Peterside has done in doling out all the key power distribution companies to Gen. Abubakar, we dare say, is an extension of the appeasement of the North which has gone on so rather nauseatingly under the Jonathan Presidency. The result is that while Jonathan is in government, the power and influence in all arms of government are firmly secured in the North. The South-East and the West are the sorry losers.

    Let us take a quick roll call: barring the president himself, the next five positions down the pecking order of protocol in our federation today is held by the North viz; vice president, senate president, speaker of the House of Representatives, chief justice of the federation, attorney-general of the federation. It must be put on record that this is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria. Thus apart from having a leg in the Presidency, they control the National Assembly and the judiciary effectively. It is particularly overwhelming in judiciary as the North also heads the Court of Appeal, the High Court and indeed all other positions down the judiciary chain.

    The North also dominates most of the strategic positions in the land. In defence, it holds the defence minister’s slot, the Chief of Defence Staff, the National Security Adviser and the inspector-General of Police; three most important position in the security and defence of any nation. These are complemented with headship of the Customs, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Other key positions held by our brothers from the North include governor of the Central bank of Nigeria,(CBN), headship of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), and chairmanship of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS), Petroleum Trust Development Fund, (PTDF), Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA) and the Pensions Commission, (PENCOM). There are so many other no less important positions like headship of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Education Trust Fund (ETF), the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), among others.

    We must state it clearly that there is no prejudice whatsoever towards the various gentlemen and ladies occupying these important positions; most of them are well qualified for the positions they occupy and most important, some of the positions are elective and hierarchical. In fact there is no grudge towards the North over what can be considered their good fortune; what we say is that they must appreciate that they have the upper hand in the polity today, they must do a lot more to contain the raging violence in their part of the country. They must also remember that when the fortunes change tomorrow and the pendulum swings to other parts of the country, they should show equal magnanimity and the desired equanimity. They must remember that equity and justice are the bases of peace in any society.

    LAST MUG(S): why is NASS hounding Oteh? The story of the delectable Ms Arunma Oteh, the director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is well known to enlightened Nigerians. After exposing the corruption of members of the Committee of the House of Representatives who deigned to be probing her activities at SEC, the members of the National Assembly would not give her a breathing space. The fact that the lawmakers probing her office compromised themselves, insisting that she must be dismissed sounds like sour grapes. The fact that they could not establish any solid case of corruption against her and the fact that the Presidency which appointed her still finds her worthy of that seat, the wise thing for our law makers to do is to back off for the moment. Well, they are allowed to have their searchlight quietly trained on her if they insist on their vendetta by all means. They should look for something better to do and allow the executive do its job.

    Gov. Fashola’s mishandling of the Okada riders: does the Lagos State Government know the number of commercial motorcycle riders in Lagos state? Is there any unit or department of government managing this huge block of an economic unit? Did anyone do a thorough analysis of the cost of taking this group off the Lagos roads? Apart from the huge opportunity to be tapped from this horde of hapless city transporters if we looked carefully, it is disheartening that the LASG is growing into the habit of throwing ill-digested laws at the people; laws motivated by anger and intent to punish punishment are often flawed laws. Laws should not distabilise, frustrate and damage people, it should on the other hand, support the populace, cooperate with them and enrich their lives. What callousness informed the crushing of the property, the basic livelihood of the lowliest class? What manner of law permits us to confiscate and crush other people’s property? We must rethink such a law. LASG must show more rigour and humanness in managing a social ferment manifesting as okada.

  • Readers’ parliament 21

    Sir Ololade, the picture you paint in your “The End 1” is too scary but true. Like a movie, you recreated the dreadful pictures of the civil war and the horrors that television brought into our living rooms from other lands. Shall we be allowed to see 2015? And will they allow us elect the ones you envisaged? I am waiting for the second part! E.U. Ukairo. FSTC Uromi, Edo state. 07032345312.

    Only pain! Only misery! Only five years of hell as a graduate in Nigeria. Only hope and prayer that this prophecy is averted because it will be bloody. But that’s what satan their master want from us. Maybe it’s a necessary evil. Phillip. 08033817094.

    Mr. Ololade, are you a prophet because I can see you are seeing a vision in “The End (1).” Do we need to sit down and watch those things happen? Chinedu Osumili. 08130239474. UNN.

    Hi, Olatunji, just read your article: “The End 1” and it is a terrific read. I look forward to your articles. Very firebrand and passionate. Thumbs up. 08180661079.

    Re: The End (2); fine piece. It frightens me that I am not the only one thinking along these lines. Akinyode. 08033705338.

    Behold Nigeria’s Nostradamus! You sound between a prophet and a perfect prognosticator. I have been keenly following your lamentation right from “The End 1.” Do we need to go to the planets to verify the authenticity of the truths that are tormenting you to explosion? You are speaking of what even our western neighbours know as the inevitable truth. But you err by aiming straightforward for the truth. Winston Churchill said you don’t do that. I however encourage you to keep on telling the truth. Soji Ojediran. Ibadan. 08063939858.

    Did Jonathan read the piece titled: “Farewell Umaru, Jonathan has come to us at last” of May 14, 2010? The answer is “no!” I think the Egyptians are more politically conscious than the oppressed Nigerians. PDP and Jonathan are one ideologically. Thank you. Amos Ejimonye. Kaduna. 08039727512.

    Sir, I am a passionate reader of your “Reality Bites” indeed. And I must commend your journalism prowess and equally pray for you not to be lured by better pay to the presidency like some people we know. 07067416008.

    I love your “Reality Bites” column. No doubt that a thoughtful and committed group of people can re-strategize Nigeria and give voice to the silenced. 08062704585.

    We are very bad people (1)

    Your analysis is correct. Some parents are boastful of their ability to purchase seats for their wards to cheat at JAMB and SSCE centres. It is sad to see what our country has degenerated to. God will help us. 08023137600.

    I wish you continue with this line of write-up. You strike a definite chord in our psychology and sociology with the message. I wake everyday with these foreboding realities of the basic Nigerian psyche. I fear for the future of this race and generation…I totally agree with your thesis. 08054967602.

    Excellent piece of writing. I agree with you 100 per cent. We need to change ourselves because we are indeed very bad people. 08079890367.

    Thanks a lot dear. You did very well in your piece. May God bless you with more knowledge and wisdom. Amen. 08063675643.

    Olatunji, what you are saying cannot be disputed. What has eluded us is the way out of the quagmire. Cyril Chinweike Eze. 08037907122.

    I have never read a more honest description of you and me. We are very horrible people. Ehimare Ehoho. 08081322995.

    You said it all. We are indeed very bad people. None could be worse. Barrister Obi Anierobi. 08031157593.

    Olatunji, I like your write-up. Let us be accountable for all our actions, let us stop blaming our leaders. An average Nigerian man is a criminal. Zuby from Port Harcourt. 08051603828.

    Your article is a very good one. Unfortunately you are talking to people who have long chosen the path of amorality. The assertion that the followership is as bad as the leadership is true. But in all climes, it is the leadership that sets the pace either for moral degeneracy or righteous living. The theory of the vital few cannot be wished away. The elites, opinion moulders and policy formulators who develop the framework for policy implementation and are supposed to enforce compliance are the first culprits. No society has only good people; what deters people from wrongdoing is the arm of the law which is supposed to be enforced by the leaders. That’s why foreigners come to Nigeria and beat traffic lights. Let’s get good leaders and things will fall in place. Etokowoh Owoh Uyo. AKS. 08037975031.

    Your ability to put reality in pure perspective is outstanding. Until Nigerians move away from pretence, egoism, deceit, avarice, hate, etc, I wonder where our religious disposition will take us. Paul Vingil. Abuja. 08035880838.

    Mr. Olatunji Ololade, your write up, ‘We are very bad people (1),’ I must confess, is the best write-up ever in this morally bankrupt and unholy entity called Nigeria. More of it, please, my brother. They will surely meet the people’s justice in 2015. May God keep more of your type for the battle ahead. Henry Oputa esq, Port Harcourt. 08033125515.

    We are very bad people (1) says it all. Keep telling the truth. You are superb. Kehinde Olalemi. 07063504030.

    Tunji my brother, I totally agree with you. I fully understand your angst. Our society is largely populated by monkeys and baboons in human garb, primitive in thinking and bestial in deeds. I have never seen or heard of a society so depraved as ours. Until we, as a people, embrace those things that are truly important in life and jettison the mindless and blind accumulation of vanities, we are eternally doomed as a people spiritually and naturally. Gerard Ifeanyichukwu Okonkwo. Onitsha. 08023656124.

    What do you have to say about the south-east of the country where people are kidnapping fellow human beings including new born babies in the name of money? And all of us claim to be Christians. 08160149957.

    Olatunji Ololade, since I was born in this feeble but very wicked and perverse country that is called Nigeria in 1953, I have never discerned anybody’s heart like I’ve just did yours…having gone through your humble and earnest dispositional topic, I thought I were you but of course, I’m not. This is to erase the unscrupulous position of the doubting Thomases that will oppose your write-up in anyway because Nigeria is just simply negative to the core. I’m in this position because some agents of negativity will want to counter the message of good people to this. They will want to smother this great message by which you teach all of us about how bad and wicked we are in this hopeless and worthless country we live in that is called Nigeria…A people that hails criminality are very bad people. A people that condones wicked preachers that pray for government officials who steal public money are very bad people. A people who allow their previous leaders to walk the streets with their loots, even after these leaders have lost immunity are very bad people. A people that have made their generation a thieving one are very bad people. 08036925729

  • Making religion work for peace

    Making religion work for peace

    It  Sallah time, when the total submission of a man to the will of his maker is recognised and celebrated, it is appropriate to reflect on religion and the potentials it has for peace and prosperity. The paradox of our contemporary life is that an institution that originated in the desire for peaceful co-existence has been turned into a veritable agent of war and destruction. Certainly, the various objects of human religious devotion couldn’t have been pleased with this turn of events.

    Religion speaks to the heart with a message of love; and to the soul, with a promise of redemption and salvation. The major religions understand the fallen nature of humans and the need for divine favor to overcome sin and. This is what gives one inner peace—knowing that one is in tune with the Almighty.

    No believer, whatever his or her faith, fails to make this his or her ultimate goal. Of course, there are other purposes, including the materialistic hope of miraculous prosperity. I dey serve my God, e dey do am for me. And sometimes when the latter overwhelms the former, we have cases of unfulfilled expectations, leading to frustration and psychosis.

    I am sure that I am not alone in being perplexed when believers of all faiths fail to translate the pursuit of inner peace that their religion affords to the pursuit of social peace. If each person is at peace with God because of his or her belief in the divine will of God, why is it so difficult to be at peace with others who are equally at peace with the divine will of God?

    In the matter of social peace, it is interpersonal relations that matter, and while the various religions promote inner peace of adherents, they have not been very successful in the matter of promoting interpersonal relations. I want to believe that it is not intrinsic to the religions that they neglect interpersonal relations that promote social peace. Rather, I think there is something in human nature that prevents the message of inner peace from being translated effected into a pursuit of social peace. If it is not in the nature of religion but just in the nature of humans, perhaps there is hope of transcending the aspect of human nature that makes it difficult for religious believers to promote social peace.

    There is a powerful argument against what I just proposed. It goes as follows. While there is nothing inherently opposed to social peace in each religion, a pluralism of religions in a common space is not likely to promote peaceful coexistence among adherents. But we know that there is hardly a society without a multiplicity of religions or at least sects of the same religion. Therefore the argument is that if not by nature, then by circumstance of modern life, which brings people of different faiths and sects into a common nationspace, it is naïve to expect religion to be an agent of peace. Why not?

    Looking at the injunctions of each of the major religions, it is hard to defend the foregoing position. Christianity is a religion of peace, with its injunction to believers to be peacemakers so they can be blessed. One of the major commandments, summed up in the teachings of Christ is to love one’s neighbours as oneself. Indeed, Christ himself is the truest symbol of love for laying down his life for the sake of others. If love of others is a precondition for social peace, then Christianity should be considered a foremost promoter of social peace.

    The Islamic faith is based on the teachings of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). Like other major religions, Islam preaches peace and the social obligations of believers derive from and reinforce their religious duties. They are enjoined to maintain peace and love their fellow human beings. Leaders are instructed to be righteous and it is the religious duty of believers to take care of the poor and wretched.

    Traditional African religions of all shades cannot be ignored in the context of our society. Dwindling in numbers, they are still in reckoning in communities across the nation. And it cannot be overemphasised that these religions are integral to the communal foundations of traditional African societies with emphasis on the community and its well-being. In a sense, then, they have a mission to preserve and promote the peace of the community. More than the two Abrahamic faiths, traditional religions demonstrate a capacity to enforce their injunctions regarding the promotion of social peace.

    Given the position of each of these religions on the important issue of peaceful coexistence, while would anyone suggest that religious pluralism is antithetical to the promotion of social peace? The answer is that it is not just the injunction of each religion in the matter of peace that counts, the tragedy of our time is the fact of the politicisation of religion. The messages of Christ and Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) have been politicised beyond reason. In the service of self-interest, later day prophets have turned these messages on their heads and have sown seeds of hatred and war. In the circumstance, it is naïve to expect that adherents who listen to the messages churned out by religious leaders today are going to be moved to promote peace among people of different faiths.

    This history of Christianity and Islam cannot be complete without reference to the crusaders and jihadists and the ensuing intolerance in their wake. These are motivated by the proselytising injunction fundamental to each religion. Yet, both Prophets Muhammed and Christ could not have intended their injunctions to evangelise to result in conflict and violence. You could evangelise and preach the gospel without instigating violence. There is religious violence and conflict because the various devotees are intolerant of the views of rivals.

    Religious intolerance is deep and troubling and it can be explained in terms of the distorted understanding of devotees concerning their roles in spreading the good news of their faiths. On the part of leaders, there appears to be an instrumental conception of religion in terms of the material gain it affords. The more the adherents, the greater the good things of earthly existence and religion have been turned into an irresistible source of wealth and primitive accumulation by many religious leaders.

    If religion is to contribute to the promotion of social peace and refrain from being an instrument of conflict and violence, religious leaders must come to terms with their social responsibilities and enjoin their followers to be tolerant of other people’s religious beliefs. In the final analysis, the social enterprise is more important because it makes the religious structures thrive. If the nation is in turmoil, the practice of religion is in grave danger. Happy Sallah!

  • Muslims and use of water

    Muslims and use of water

    This is the season of rains when water is everywhere but none for drinking. This is the season in which the sky opens up its generous bowl to pour down water in abundance. But the earth has no room to accommodate the gesture. This is a period when plants and animals feel that their needs for survival have been grossly exceeded. The world is said to be flooded with water everywhere and humanity becomes restive. The bounties of Allah seem to be too much for the need of man. In Europe, Asia, Africa and America, the story is one and the same. The world is grappling with a deluge.

    When this happens, the tendency is for the scientists to lay blame at the door on what they will call global warming. They will give many reasons including the depletion of the Ozone Layer as the cause. But Muslims have no choice but to thank Allah and request for a moderation of His largess. This is the time to realise that moderation rather than excess of anything is the best in man’s life. In Islam, there is no cause or effect of a matter that is not known or cannot be controlled by Allah. Whatever happens in the life of man is by His permission.

    The world is like a queue. You enter it at a point and come out of it at another point. This is one major lesson which every Muslim has come to learn through the observance of daily prayers (Salat). In Salat alone where queues are essential, a lot of lessons are there to learn.

    The very basic lesson to learn in Salat is hygiene. If you newly embrace Islam, you have to undergo a ritual bath called Ghuslu-s-Shahadah or Ghuslu-d-dukhul fil Islam. It is performed with water. When you want to observe any Salat, be it obligatory or supererogatory, you must perform ablution with water. This is called Wudu. If there is no water, you take to Tayammam (dry ablution). As a Muslim, after an intercourse with your spouse, you must perform a ritual bath called Ghuslul Janabah before you can observe any Salat. When a Muslim woman completes her monthly menstrual period she must perform a ritual bath called Ghuslul Haydah before she can resume observance of Salat. A Muslim woman who has just completed her blood-dripping period following child delivery must perform a ritual bath called Ghuslu-n-Nifas before she can resume observance of Salat. A newly born baby in Islam must be taken through a mandatory bath called Ghuslul Wiladah which is also done with water.

    Muslim pilgrims must commence their Hajj or Umrah activities with a ritual bath called Ghuslul Hajj or Umrah at their respective Miqat before they enter the condition of Ihram. When a Muslim, male or female is dead, a ritual bath is performed on his or her body. This bath is called Ghuslul Janazah. Anybody who carries out a bath on a dead body must also undergo a ritual bath of purification called Ghuslu-t-Taharah mina-n-Najasah (bath for purifying self from filth). This is because a dead body in Islam is like a filth which must be disposed of as soon as possible before it starts to decompose and thereby constitute health hazard for the living. Whoever touches such filth has had a share of it and must therefore cleanse up before observing any Salat. Such a person cannot participate even in Salatul-Janazah on the body of the deceased person which he has just cleaned up until he has taken the purification bath.

    Muslims are expected to clean up with water through ablution at least five times a day. And, as a prophetic tradition prescribes, they are also expected to perform ritual bath on Fridays in preparation for Salatul Jum’ah though such bath is Sunnah (optional) rather than Fard (obligation). Naturally, women, especially Muslim women utilise water much more than men. They are the ones who take care of the children and, in the process; they clean up for them many times a day. Besides, women are the ones who must clean up for menses every month. They are the ones who must clean up ritually after 40 days, following child delivery. They are the ones in charge of matrimonial kitchens where they use water day and night. Thus, when the demography of women in any society is compared to that of men one can imagine the quantity of water consumed daily or weekly by women.

    Given the fact that water plays a central role in the life of a Muslim therefore, two important conclusions can be reached. One is the fact that Islam is absolutely a religion of purity. And that is why Prophet Muhammad was reported to have said that “Allah is pure and He will not accept anything impure.” The second is that Muslims are the greatest consumers of domestic water in the world. This is because, besides using water socially, commercially or domestically like other human beings, an average Muslim uses additional one third of total water used by any non-Muslim on a daily basis.

    It is therefore understandable why Muslims feel more worried when there is dryness and water cannot be easily accessed. This is what led to the idea of a special prayer called ‘Salatul Istisqai’ (rain-seeking prayer). This prayer randomly observed by Muslims when shortage of water becomes acute cannot be observed with water ablution. It is a way of reconfirming to Allah that the main purpose of our existence on earth is to worship Him just as the purpose of keeping domestic animals is to serve man. Salatul Istisqai which is usually followed by heavy rainfalls is a major evidence of an existing covenant between Allah and His faithful servants. The wonderful effect of that Salat contradicts any scientific theory. Non-Muslim meteorologists have always wondered how possible it is for rain to fall at an impossible time, following a congregational prayer by some Muslim faithful in a locality or region. But to their amazement, they have regularly seen the potency of such prayer in bringing rain not only for Muslims but for all and sundry. The question is: ‘can any other religious group do same to the advantage of mankind? This one trillion Naira question is still begging for answer even almost one and a half millennia after the introduction of Salatul Istisqai as a bringer of rain.

    That Salatul Istisqai actually brings rain even in a severely dry season remains a puzzle to unbelievers especially in the West who see everything, including God, as a product of science.

    I first took part in the observance of Salatul Istisqai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as a student in that country, in 1976. The two rakat prayer had hardly been concluded when rain started in torrents. It rained for nine hours continuously in that desert country and flooded the entire Emirates like the deluge incurred by Prophet Nuh (Noah) as contained in history. It took more than a week before normal social and commercial activities could fully resume. I have since participated in the same exercise twice thereafter in Nigeria and in Saudi Arabia. The effect of Salatul Istisqai is not necessarily immediate. At times, it may take a week or more before rain starts pouring. And, if, after some time, following the observance of Salatul Istisqai, rain does not come, the Salat can be repeated. Allah has a design for everything. He knows when rainfall will best serve the need of man. And in seeking such a favour, Muslims must not try to jump the gun.

    During Hajj in 2007, when the weather became too dry to bear, the Saudi authorities called on all Muslim residents and pilgrims to rise up and cry to Allah for heavenly water through Salatul Istisqai. Thus in cities like Madinah, Riyadh, Dammam, Dhahran, Yambu’, Jubail, Abha, Asir Taif and the likes, millions of Muslims, residents and pilgrims alike, queued up before the Almighty Allah, crying for water to come from heavens. The prayer was led from the great sanctuary of Makkah (Al- Haram) and I was a participant.

    In the observance of Salatul Istisqai, any Imam who leads it is expected to recite Suratul Fatihah as often done in any other Salat. He follows it up with any other chapter or verses in the Qur’an but it is preferable that rain or water-related chapters or verses are recited. These recitations are done aloud. And they are followed by emotional supplications made passionately to Allah while pleading for rainfall.

    Any participant in such prayer is expected to be in a sober mood and be absolutely confident that the prayer would be accepted. The essence of raising one’s hands to Allah in prayer is to further confirm that there is no intermediary between man and Allah in worship and in prayer. Allah Himself emphasises this in the Qur’an by saying to Prophet Muhammad thus: “When my servants ask you about Me, tell them that I am very close to them. I accept the prayers of those who seek from Me but let such seekers expect the giving from Me alone; let them be confident in My ability to accept prayer so that they may be guided aright”. However, there is need to correct the wrong notion being spread around that dresses must be worn inside out by those who will partake in Salatul Istisqai. There is nothing like that in Islam.

    The effect of Salatul Istisqai in bringing rains is just symbolic of all other prayers by Muslims. No genuine Muslim prayer is ever turned down by Allah. Acceptance of prayer may not be exactly in accordance with human expectation, it may not be as promptly as man wants it but eventually, a Muslim will realise that his prayer has been accepted by Allah without an intermediary. Right now, about three million Muslims are performing Hajj in the Holy Land each of them using an average of 10 litres of water for Salat alone daily. And each will spend an average of one month in the Holy Land. This is happening in desert cities like Makkah and Madinah where no visible rivers flow. Yet, water is abundantly available for everyone even at the height of over 110 floors in sky scraper buildings. How else can one feel the mercy of Allah?

    Unknown to the non-Islamic world, performance of Hajj every year is a great blessing to humanity rather than just a mere act of worship by Muslims. Hajj is the biggest congregation of human beings on earth. Allah loves and respects congregations of pious people who praise Him and pray to Him for the needs of the world. That congregation is essential for the continuity of human existence. There is no country in the world today without Muslim pilgrims joining their brethren from other parts of the world in requesting Allah to save the world from perishing. And each year, as such prayers are accepted, the world is confirmed saved despite the evil moves of Yajuj and Ma’juj (Gog and Magog) as well as their agents who are ignorantly pursuing their own destruction every minute. Thus, like Salatul Istisqai which brings water to everybody and not Muslims alone, Hajj is to the benefit of mankind and not Muslims alone. Thus, its preservation must be ensured by everybody in the interest of continued human existence.

    Without water, it will be difficult to observe Salat or to fast in Ramadan or to give Zakat or to perform Hajj. Without water, it will be impossible to bear children and bring them up, or to keep farms and sustain them. Water is life. But this is not for Muslims alone. The difference is that Muslims use part of the water to show gratitude to Allah by worshipping Him. Others use it for mundane life alone which is sheer vanity.

    Knowledge is like water which softens the earth for seeds to germinate and for plants to be nourished to fruition. Knowledge in Islam is much more important than worship. No one can validly worship Allah without knowledge. And if for this reason alone, it should behove the entire Muslim Ummah of the world to join and cooperate in using water to worship Allah. That is the essence of knowledge. It cannot be trivialised.

    As this year’s Idul Adha comes up today, ‘The Message’ hereby congratulates our numerous readers for witnessing another festival wishing them many pleasant returns of it. But ‘The Message’ will be shirking its responsibility if it fails to comment on a fabricated Hadith now making the rounds. The so-called Hadith is quoted as saying that observance of Salatul Jum’at is not obligatory on whoever observes ‘Idul Adha on a Friday. This fabricated Hadith cannot be reasonably attributable to Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Salatul Adha is optional while Salatul Jum’ah is obligatory. It will therefore be unreasonable to quote Prophet Muhammad as expressing such an obnoxious Hadith. ‘Id Mubarak! Kullu ‘Amin wa antum bilkhayr.

  • Racial factor in US election

    The election of Barak Obama four years ago was a victory for non-racial democracy. Obama is therefore a transitional leader that is taking America from its racist past to a glorious future where it will be the quality of one’s mind and not his race that would be the objective measurement of one’s character. In the 1920s, President Harding was virtually driven out of office because rumours had it that his skin colour was changing and that he probably had black blood in him. Whether true or not, the poor man died apparently in frustration and desperation.

    It would have been unthinkable some decades ago for someone with Obama’s look to even aspire to be a senator not to talk about being the President of the United States. In the 1960s, Obama would not have been able to freely have a cup of coffee or a meal in a restaurant in the southern part of the Unites States unless he went to a black restaurant. He would not have been able to sit anywhere in a bus except at the back because the front rows were reserved for whites. If he was pressed, he would not have been able to ease himself in any toilet in a restaurant as whites would normally be able to do.

    When James Meredith was admitted to the University of Mississippi, he had to be protected by federal troops sent in by the Kennedy administration because the then governor of Mississippi said James Meredith would only be admitted on his dead body. In short, as a result of President Lyndon Johnson’s reforms of the 1960s and the activism of the supreme court of the United States, Americans of all colours do not only have rights under the law but these rights are justiceable. What the Obama elections represents is the triumph of reason over imbecility in American social and political life.

    There is still racism in the United States sometimes this is hidden and sometimes this is open. The so called Tea Party Movement within the Republican Party is openly racist and sometimes depicting Obama as a monkey and asking him to go back to Africa where he can have as much bananas as he likes. Sometimes the expression of freedom of speech in America can go to the extreme, the kind of extreme that makes it possible to ridicule Islam on the recent film on Prophet Mohammed that created a lot of problems globally for the American government.

    The former President Jimmy Carter said that white Americans have suddenly woken up and realized that they elected a black man as president and they are very scared and many of them see the coming election as a way of changing the situation. This is an uncomfortable truth but it is no less the truth. The Financial Times of London owned by the Murdock group that also owns the rabidly conservative if not racist Fox network in an editorial opinion sometimes in August 2012 said that this coming election is the last chance for white Americans to take back political power. It came up with some crude statistics that the number of Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and native Americans by the next decade would outnumber those of the whites and that a coalition of this visible minorities may in the foreseeable future dominate American politics.

    This is of course nonsense but it is remarkable that a prestigious newspaper like the Financial Times would give vent to this crude racism. Mitt Romney, the republican candidate dismisses Obama’s supporters as government dependents, that is, those who cannot do without government support while his own supporters he will want us to see as the real Americans of the traditional American dream. That is those who build themselves up by their boot straps. Ordinarily if Mr Obama were a white person, he will easily be re elected especially running against a man who is a bishop in the church of the Latter-day Saints otherwise known as the Mormons, a sect that many Americans see as strange.

    Apart from that, Romney has a lot of skeletons in his wardrobe especially centring around sharp business practices and underpayment of taxes. Obama inherited from President George Bush two wars and a doddering economy that was on the verge of collapse. The iconic motor industries of Detroit particularly General Motors and Chrysler had to file for bankruptcy before the Obama administration intervened and saved them. If they had collapsed, millions of American jobs would have gone down the drain. The same thing can be said of American banks and insurance companies involved in the mortgage scandals that were rescued by the Obama’s administration yet 8% of Americans are unemployed but it could have been worse. In the area of foreign policy, Obama is winding down the war in Afghanistan after he had done that in Iraq. He is trying to avoid being sucked into another war in Iran and Syria and his use of drones has saved many American lives who would have had to be sent across the boundary of Afghanistan to Pakistan to fight the Taliban. His administration has managed to stay on the side of the people in the so called Arab Spring Movement.

    He has not been able to bring peace to Israel and Palestine but if re-elected, he may be able to do this because he will no longer be constrained by the power of the Jewish lobby.

    Personally I wish he will be re-elected. This is for psychological reasons from seeing a black man in the most powerful position in the world. But in reality, we Africans have not benefited much from the Obama presidency. The only benefit if at all is psychological.

  • Nature and dynamics of insurgencies (III) (part 2)

    Nature and dynamics of insurgencies (III) (part 2)

    Some of the leaders of the insurgency have University education which accounts for their vastly improved organization. They are familiar with the terrain in which they operate and have wide social connections in the region. In addition, there is some evidence of both local and external support in terms of funding and training for the insurgents. Some senior government leaders and politicians in the North are under investigation for giving the insurgents financial and logistical support in their operations. The full extent of such collaboration by a few of the leaders in the North is not known. But there is little doubt that some Northern leaders secretly support the insurgents for political reasons. These leaders want political power at the centre to return to the North.

    The skills of the insurgents in producing lethal home based bombs, and other weapons of mass destruction used in the massive suicide bombings of their targets indicate some external support as well for the sect. One of the fallouts of the Libyan war is the proliferation of arms in the Sahel, some of which have found their way into Nigeria and other states in West Africa. The recent attacks on Mali were facilitated by the easy access of the insurgents to some of the weapons from the Libyan war. The insurgents do not seriously appear to lack access to arms and ammunitions or to considerable financial and logistical support. The open terrain in the North and the wide dispersal of the local communities are conducive to the type of insurgency being waged by Boko Haram in the region. There is some evidence that the insurgents enjoy the support of some law enforcement and security agents. This accounts for their good intelligence which keeps them a step ahead of the security forces. The Churches, main targets of their attacks, are clearly visible and, in view of their large number, cannot be fully protected by the security forces, already overstretched by the security challenges they now face.

    Some of the leaders of the insurgents are believed to have received their military training in the use of arms in Pakistan and the Yemen. Certainly, the insurgents have received considerable financial and logistical support from Al Qaeda, the formidable terrorist group based in Pakistan and the Yemen. Mutallab, the University educated, well bred young man, involved in the attempted bombing of a US bound plane is a good example of young educated Northerners who have turned their back on the Northern establishment into which they were born, but from which they have become totally alienated as a result of the social and economic inequalities in the region, far exceeding those in the South where education provides the basis for social and economic advancement, including access to job opportunities. These young educated Northerners despise their Northern leaders for the widespread corruption in the country, including the North. They have a vision of a society based on the Sharia, the Islamic legal doctrines. Boko Haram is also able to recruit easily from the ranks of the poor, the talakawa, who abound in the North. The talakawa have nothing to lose by joining the insurgency which promises them a better life and equal economic opportunities. It is from this group of the poor that Boko Haram has continued to receive its local support. The insurgents seek the overthrow of the established authorities for political reasons. In most cases, this type of insurgency is tribally or ethnically based. It is a product of a colonial legacy in which different tribes and ethnic groups were brought together under colonial rule.

    At the moment Boko Haram is not known to be operating outside Nigeria. It is local in origin and outlook, with a single specific objective; the destruction of the old established order and its replacement by a new order based on Islamic laws and strict Islamic doctrines. It is limited to the Northern part of Nigeria. Al Qaeda, the fundamentalist Islamic movement, based in Pakistan, but with tentacles all over the Arab world is an example of an insurgency whose operations and activities cut across the entire Moslem world. Nigeria is a multi-religious country. The country’s constitution guarantees to all its citizens the freedom of association and freedom to practice their religion. Boko Haram is opposed to this. Where the North is concerned it wants the creation of Islamic states. This is why Churches and the Christians are the main focus of its attacks. The insurgents resent the spread of Christianity in the North. They want the Hausa- Fulani North to be wholly Moslem, to be governed strictly according to Islamic laws. The problem is that it is not only the immigrants from the South that are Christians. There are large numbers of the Hausa-Fulani who, over the years, have converted to Christianity. The new generation evangelical Churches in the North have achieved remarkable success in extending Christianity to the largely Moslem North. The fundamentalist Moslems in the North feel beleaguered by this development which they fear threatens their way of life.

    So far, the Nigerian security forces have failed to effectively tackle the Boko Haram terrorists. They have stepped up their activities and operations in the North. The authorities have attempted without much success to counter Boko Haram by the application of military force. Dialogue may offer a way out of the insurgency but Boko Haram has not yet committed itself to this. At the moment, there is very little room for maneuver on either side of the dispute. The issues involved in the insurgency are so fundamental that any negotiations at this point in time are unlikely to succeed. There is a distinct lack of trust on either side. The group has persistently ignored the pleas of the Northern leaders to abandon their terrorist acts and operations. Instead, Boko Haram has intensified and widened its insurgency. There is a complete deadlock between the two sides. What is likely to happen is that the insurgency will gradually run out of steam and external support. This will make it easier for the Nigerian state to manage and contain the conflict. The federal authorities need to be more proactive in tackling Boko Haram. A sustained programme of public enlightenment on the danger to the state of Boko Haram should be started. This should be complemented by a more sustained and determined effort by the federal government as well as the Northern governments to invest more in providing easy access to education and jobs in the North.

    The security forces will need to do much better in intelligence gathering to pre-empt terrorist attacks by Boko Haram. A greater infiltration of the sect by the security forces for intelligence gathering is also called for. In this regard the federal authorities are looking for international support and assistance in intelligence gathering and equipment. The US government has been reported as being willing to offer some assistance on this. The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was reported as making this offer during her recent official visit to Nigeria. Britain and other western countries will also be disposed to offer similar assistance.

    It is doubtful whether the Nigerian state has the capacity to neutralize the insurgent groups. Ethnic and religious divisions compound the security problems of the Nigerian state. Poor police and army intelligence makes it far too easy for Boko Haram agents to operate in the North. But it has to be admitted that there is also some support in the North for the principal aim of the sect, which is to make most of the North theocratic, instead of being secular.

    It will also be necessary to take practical and effective measures to cut off the local and foreign financial and logistical support for the insurgency. The CBN and the local banks have a huge responsibility in this regard. Without funding and logistical support Boko Haram will lose local support and become less effective.

  • Bakassi and tyranny of Nigerian State

    With the spate of virulent attack on President Ebele Jonathan even from his own South-south constituency over the ceding of Bakassi home to about 300,000 Nigerians to Cameroon, it is difficult not to sympathise with him. The final phase of the Bakassi tragedy could not have come at a worse time for a president facing the crisis of legitimacy from the whole of the North-east and that of identification from the South-west that has sustained a principled opposition to nearly all the policies of a president who has equally responded by shutting out the area for appointments to sensitive positions in his administration.

    It is of little relief to the president’s critics including his cousins who have called for his impeachment over the Bakassi national tragedy that his role was no more than that of a caretaker long after the deeds had been done by other state leading actors such as Balewa, whose naiveté was exploited by Ahmadou Ahidjo, a fellow northerner with roots in Nigeria, Gowon who panicked over the threat of Ojukwu, his friend and rival to the unity of Nigeria and Obasanjo, who having tasted war, opted for diplomatic settlement following unfavorable ICJ ruling against Nigeria.

    Jonathan, who those who have become immigrants in their own country had thought should be most touched by their plight on account of being from South-south, was deemed to have performed less gallantly than former state actors such as Shehu Shagari, Murtala Mohammed and even Sanni Abacha. It was Shehu Shagari who for instance told his Cameroonian counterpart “that the existing Nigerian border at the sea coast of Rio Del Rey was protected by the OAU Resolution of 1964, respecting the inviolability of inherited colonial boundaries”. It was also Murtala Mohammed who consigned the Maroua declaration into the cooler insisting no part of Nigeria will be ceded to appease supporters of Nigeria during her civil war, while Abacha on his part called off the bluff of Cameroon over the disputed Bakasi peninsula.

    One can therefore understand why Cross River State that has half of its Efik population forcibly removed from their ancestral homes felt betrayed by the Nigerian state for failing to appeal the ICJ ruling especially after its Attorney General had provided seven additional grounds for an appeal.

    The ruling itself was a travesty of justice, an international conspiracy of the offspring of those who exploited our pre colonial antecedents and post colonial division they created for the purpose of pilfering our resources to cushion the social problems in Europe. Otherwise how can the ‘Yaoundé II Declaration’ of 4 April 1971 and the ‘Maroua Declaration’ of 1 June 1975, products of unratified agreement between two self-serving African dictators and the Anglo-German treaty of 1913 take precedence over a treaty of protection of 1884 between Britain and Obong of Calabar? It is curious how, in the wisdom of the ICJ, fraudulent horses trading between European fortune seekers carry more weight than the fundamental human rights of about 300,000 indigenes that are to be uprooted from their ancestral homes.

    But beyond President Jonathan, currently every body’s whipping child, this betrayal of the fundamental human rights of the Efiks of Cross River State has once again demonstrated the failure of Nigeria state that has since independence constituted itself in to an obstacle to the self-actualization and aspirations of most of our over 250 federating ethnic nationalities.

    Most of the groups have always striven to preserve their respective cultural values, religious beliefs and indigenous languages as supported by the United Nations Charter. Our founding fathers for political expediency failed in London in 1959. The social engineering efforts of the military brigands in creating states had been self-serving. Some of the current state actors both in the executive and legislative arms behave like hoodlums with little or no allegiance to the state they have repeatedly raped.

    Deformed and rendered dysfunctional, the state has today been reduced to an orphan by those who are expected to show more concern for her health. The children of those who have repeatedly raped the state in the last 30 years, caring very little for her health have followed the footsteps of their parents. Obviously neither the fathers nor their thieving children see the state as their own. After all, no thorough born of a father deliberately sets out to destroy his father’s estate.

    The tragedy of Bakassi and its 300,000 citizens occupying an area of about around 665 km² is the tragedy of Nigerian state that has always physically or metaphorically killed the best of its own rising ‘sun’ such as Isaac Boro,Saro Wiwa, Professor Awojobi, Fela , Vatsa, among many others as well as suppressing by force, groups that demand for self-actualization.

    For instance, a United Nations brokered accord between Cameroon and Nigeria specified that on taking over the peninsula, Cameroon should respect the rights of the Bakassi people, who should be free to remain in their homeland. The Bakassi were expected to either become Cameroonian citizens, or retain their Nigerian nationality and be treated as foreigners.

    We have also been told by experts that the collision of warm and cold oceans has built in Bakassi submarine shoals rich in fish, shrimps and amazing variety of other marine life forms which makes the area a very fertile fishing ground, comparable only to Newfoundland in North America and Scandinavia in Western Europe.

    We therefore had an opportunity in the last 10 years to have changed an adversity to an advantage since the ICJ judgment itself only asked Nigeria to transfer possession of the peninsula, but did not require the inhabitants to move or to change their nationality. But for those 10 years, those that have taken over the state have been too busy fighting over what they could take out of the state to worry about the economic potential of Bakassi. Economically empowered Bakassi would have become an indispensable ally of Cameroon even if they are regarded as foreigners on their own land.

    Similarly for 10 long years, none of the state actors was resourceful enough to scheme about exploiting the spirit of the judgment through turning the area to a new haven for its Nigeria inhabitants. But for the greed of the actors, we have enough resources this 10 long years to build schools ,provide health facilities and other infrastructures that would have set out Bakassi Local Government area as a Nigerian ‘new London’ within a rusty Cameroon territory.

  • Aregbesola and the NEPAD award

    Last week’s NEPAD award to the Governor of the State of Osun, Engineer Rauf Aregbesola cannot be described as a shot in the dark. It is another feather-in-the-cap signifying a long range of achievements. This award, amongst several others, is in recognition of an established policy thrust.

    Aregbesola’s policy thrusts reflect a mindset rooted in progressive politics. The most commonplace interpretation of this position is that it is an attempt to use the levers of the machinery of government to effect positive social change. There has of course been a well entrenched debate induced over the last 20 or so years about the efficacy of the machinery of government, its appropriate size, cost effectiveness and so forth.

    Such an examination is vital. However, what cannot be contested is the vital importance of the machinery of government in an underdeveloped polity. The key factor here is the underdevelopment of both economic and social capital. Indeed in many respects, there is in reality a paucity of capital. Aregbesola clearly understands this. In actual fact, the six point integral plan of action which constituted his election platform recognized this vital link.

    In his electoral platform, Aregbesola obviously saw that there is an intrinsic link involved in using the levers of the machinery of government and the need to accelerate development as well as building- up social capital. This is vital to achieve the United Nation’s rather minimalist Minimum Development Goals (MDG’s).

    This policy thrust and the emphasis on social capital accounts for a constant stream of awards and recognitions as well as high profile diplomatic and multilateral institutions’ visitations to the ‘bourgeoning’ state. The positive spin-off here is that the peculiar policy thrust of Aregbesola’s administration has also, in addition to awards, also attracted a constant stream of grants and aids. The bestowing of an award on him by NEPAD therefore is just another indication that continuous acknowledgement continues to come in for the policy thrust and emphasis on social capital.

    This is of course very much in line with the thinking of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). NEPAD was adopted at the 37th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia. NEPAD aims to provide an overarching vision and policy framework for accelerating economic co-operation and integration among African countries.

    The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) developed a “Compact for Africa’s Recovery” based on both these plans and on resolutions on Africa adopted by the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000, and submitted a merged document to the Conference of African Ministers of Finance and Ministers of Development and Planning in Algiers, May 2001.

    If we must be expansive, “a compact for Africa’s Recovery” is now been turned into a compact for Osun State at the micro level. In this way, MDG’s and NEPAD’s objective are not just used as mere vacuous shibboleths and buzz words, the governor is in reality, walking the talk.

    The result is that there is actually a hand-in-glove type synergy between government spending in Osun State, the development of social capital and overall economic and social development. A few examples should suffice to illustrate. Recently a leading senator, Senator Uche Chukwumerije (PDP Abia) lauded the educational programme of the Aregbesola administration. This is significant. For Senator Chukwumerije comes from across the political divide.

    What is more significant than even the distinguished Senator’s intellectual honesty is the policy thrust. The heavy UNESCO pleasing investments in education especially at the primary level will be decisive in the development of the state’s economic base in the years ahead. The innovative introduction of the Opon Imo, knowledge tablet will in the years ahead help to increase test scores. The introduction of the knowledge tablet shows that the state is ready to use information technology aids to, as it were, up the ante.

    The linking of budget expenditure to facilitate the compact is also revealed in Aregbesola’s job creation schemes. Hitherto Nigeria as a whole has suffered from the socially dangerous trajectory of a ‘growth’ which is unaccompanied with the creation of employment. In view of the country’s demographic composition this is a positively dangerous development. In fact, the country is delicately poised because of this on a demographic time-bomb! This is why the State of Osun’s proposition as it were, is innovative. What has happened in Osun in reality has been a fundamental re-direction of the budget to facilitate job-creation.

    We are aware for example that the allocation of the budget has been re-directed towards the modernization of agriculture in the state. With an ageing workforce and outdated operating systems, this is a very important thing to do. What is even more crucial is that the modernization scheme has led to the creation of more youth employment through government- facilitated involvement in agriculture. This is a German type re-allocation of skills and redirection of employment pattern. What is being done here is that the rural economy is being re-invigorated with the infusion of fresh hands. The fresh hands who are better educated and physically fitter will be able to better absorb the new operating systems vital to a resuscitation of the rural economy.

    The re-vitalisation of the rural economy is vital; for this lies at the heart of any “compact for recovery”. This the NEPAD people must have taken into cognizance in giving Aregbesola the ward. Along with the revitalization of the rural economy, there are vital initiatives to rebuild or to reconstruct the infrastructural base in order to establish the enabling environment to attract investment generating employment.

    The key proposition in Aregbesola’s initiative is the re-direction of the budget in order to create the enabling environment for self-sustaining job-creation-led real long term economic development. This fits well into NEPAD’s four primary objectives which are: to eradicate poverty, promote sustainable growth and development, integrate Africa in the world economy, and accelerate the empowerment of women. It is based on underlying principles of a commitment to good governance, democracy, human rights and conflict resolution; and the recognition that maintenance of these standards is fundamental to the creation of an environment conducive to investment and long-term economic growth. NEPAD seeks to attract increased investment, capital flows and funding, providing an African-owned framework for development as the foundation for partnership at regional and international levels.

    It cannot therefore come as a surprise that NEPAD has given Aregbesola this award. He has aligned with their objective. For the Osun helmsman fits into a positively refreshing emerging pattern. The new wave is to use the allocation of resources available to the government in a creative way to build the physical infrastructure which is then turned into a key facilitator of social development.

    The new wave represented by people like Aregbesola typifies a clear decisive break from an unedifying past. What is however crucial is sustainability of the effort. For this the institutional framework and justiceable mechanism must be put in place to protect and sustain these gains.Undoubtedly, Osun’s emerging model under Governor Aregbesola is at once a veritable portrait for emulation and approximation by governments in this part of the world.