The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • Eye-witness account of #ENDSARS panel of inquiry

    Eye-witness account of #ENDSARS panel of inquiry

    For almost two weeks from 8th to 21st October, 2020, various parts of the country were gripped by fervent protests, mostly organized and actualized by aggrieved youths, tagged #ENDSARS, which expressed the widespread fury, disillusionment and exasperation of large numbers of Nigerians at the atrocities and human rights violations routinely perpetrated by the now defunct unit of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) known as the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS). Perhaps because of the role and status of Lagos State as the country’s commercial nerve centre and industrial hub; it being a melting pot of the diverse ethno-regional components of Nigeria where people of virtually every ethnic group reside, and the understandable concentration of the highest number of youth population in the state, Lagos was the epicentre of the anti-SARS demonstrations.

    What started as peaceful protests against brazen and rampant violations of the human rights and dignity of Nigerian citizens by the FSARS soon degenerated into mindless violence resulting in bitter harvests of blood, sorrow and tears no less gruesome than the pains and torture inflicted on mostly innocent people by a police outfit maintained by public funds and established to protect, not and tyrannize members of the Public. Unfortunately, Lagos was the worst victim of this degeneration of the protests and its hijack by hoodlums and criminals who were not actuated by the high-minded ideals of the original organisers of the protests. Thus, the level of destruction of private and public property, business and infrastructure in the state resulted in losses estimated at no less than N2 trillion. Yet, the NPF is an outfit of the federal government and not Lagos State.

    The disbandment of the FSARS by the then Inspector General of Police on the  11th of October 2020, and the federal government’s acceding to the 5-point demand of the protesters did not, unfortunately, stem the tide of the protests. Rather, the intensity of the demonstrations heightened as the protesters widened the scope of their demands and thus, inadvertently, allowing those with an utterly different agenda to perpetrate arson on public property and private businesses, commit arrant criminality, and launch destructive assaults on security personnel as well as their work stations and residential barracks and inflicting grievous injuries on many while snuffing out several lives. The police were the most affected by this onslaught, and again Lagos was the site of the worst devastations and depredations in this regard.

    Read Also: Tinubu commissions Tantita-sponsored projects at Kaduna’s Central Mosque

    Following the directive of the National Economic Council (NEC) to the various state governments on 14th October, 2020, to establish panels of inquiry to look into petitions of reported cases of brutality, abuse of human rights and the rule of law by the FSARS, the Lagos State government set up the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by the FSARS in the state, determine degree of culpability of affected police officers with a view to recommending requisite punishment for those found guilty as well as paying compensation to victims of police brutality and oppression.

    As governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu noted while swearing in members of the tribunal, “In Lagos, beyond setting up this Panel which we hope will serve as a representation of our broader interests, we have established a N200 million fund for compensation to families and individuals who have been victimised by officers of the disbanded SARS”. The 9-member Panel was headed by a retired jurist, Justice Doris Okuwobi, and had representatives of civil society, the ENDSARS protesters, the police and the National Human Rights Commission as members. Although initially billed to sit for six months from 27 October 2020, the Panel sat until 18th October 2021, given the volume of petitions and complaints brought before it.

    In a new landmark publication, a well-known civil rights and pro-democracy activist, public affairs commentator and analyst on the print, electronic and social media and seasoned election observer and monitor, Mr Nelson Ekujimi, has documented in exhaustive detail an eyewitness account of the deliberations of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution, which lasted for one year. The compendium spanning 1139 pages features reports on not less than 128 petitions and complaints brought before the Panel and the decisions reached by the Panel in several cases.

    Mr Ekujimi acknowledges the support of various journalists that covered the deliberations of the Panel for the one year duration including reporters and correspondents from Television Continental (TVC), Channels Television and Lagos Television, as well as the legal team of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the legal team of the Nigeria Police Force “who came to our rescue when some EndSars movement members harassed and assaulted the team leader for the offence of covering and reporting the Panel ‘s work as witnessed instead of embellishing it; in line with vested interest narratives.”

    Suffice it to say that this document of invaluable historical record was possible because of the fidelity of the governor Sanwo-Olu administration to its promise to ensure that the Panel did a meticulous job in probing the alleged injustices suffered by citizens at the hands of the FSARS and recommending the requisite compensation. To achieve this objective, the Panel was given a free hand to operate by the state government, which also made the necessary resources available to ensure the success of the Panel’s deliberations. Earlier, the governor had been widely commended for the composition of the Panel, which included well known civil society activists who had been known to be highly critical of government at all levels over the years, representatives of the aggrieved ENDSARS protesters, the police, the NBA and of course, the Chairman, a respected retired jurist not known for any partisan political proclivities.

    The petitions and cases pleaded before the Panel, which are copiously documented in this book, vividly portray the depth of dehumanization of mostly innocent citizens by the FSARS. Many of the stories of injustices suffered by the various victims are harrowing and heart-rending. As Nelson Ekujimi states in the preface to the book, “The Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuse and other matters sitting afforded the Nigerian people the opportunity to hear directly from the victims of security agencies’ abuses and brutality in an atmosphere devoid of the regular court procedures and tension. The Panel allowed indigent victims to air their petition with the assistance of pro bono services from the Nigerian Bar Association, in a record time that the workload of the regular courts will not allow for the quick dispensation of justice, as witnessed. Through the Panel sitting, one heard of the painful and bitter experiences of what some victims encountered in the hands of the disbanded notorious Nigeria Police unit, SARS, which could best be described as “man’s inhumanity to man”.

    But then, there were also unsavoury sides to the proceedings, which were clearly unveiled in the verbatim reports of the proceedings as recorded in this book. Thus, the impression was created, for instance, that some members of the Panel, lawyers, civil society activists, and sections of the media were determined to reinforce and impose on the public consciousness the allegation that a massacre actually occurred at the Lekki Toll Gate where soldiers detailed to enforce the curfew imposed by the state government at the height of the degeneration of the protests to sheer anarchy allegedly fired live bullets into a crowd of protesting youths.

    According to Ekujimi, “We also heard of some testimonies that on the scale of probability, could best be described as fiction or a film making session, most especially the petitions of the “Lekki Toll Gate incident, where alleged victims and even a volunteer, narrated how the Nigerian Army personnel were firing live ammunition indiscriminately at protesters and they were dodging bullets by running in a zigzag manner, dodging and escaping being shot at, while at the same time during the indiscriminate shooting period, were helping those who were shot to be ferried to the hospital for treatment. These bizarre stories are more fiction-like than reality; they can best be described as magical.”

    The author notes that the thoroughness and diligence with which the Panel discharged its duties during its sittings were not reflected in its conclusions and recommendations, especially on the Lekki Toll Gate incident of 20th October, 2020. In the words of Ekujimi, the Panel “stated that there was a “Massacre in context” and even went ahead to name victims of the massacre whose deaths were never proven through police report, medical report,  case notes, autopsy report and death certificate throughout the Panel’s sittings. Not one of the alleged victims’ testimony was substantiated with the critical elements of fact and evidence but shockingly, the Panel went out of its way to even affirm that a petitioner who petitioned the Panel over the death of his brother and testified before the Panel in September 2021, was listed as one of the alleged “victims of the massacre of 20th October, 2020”.

    Among anomalies cited by Ekujimi included “medical experts who issued medical reports not based on case notes of victims treated, but based on a victim’s inconsistent oral statements on the cause of injury and when confronted with the contradictions in the medical report and case note, distance themselves from the report or, in some cases, were exposed as liars under oath. We also had a medical practitioner who wrote a medical report on an incident of October 2020 in June 2021, based on a phone conversation between a nurse in the hospital and the brother of the victim, after receiving the Panel summons in 2021. The Panel sittings witnessed all manner of absurdities that questioned the sincerity and integrity of some of the stakeholders.”

    The good thing about this book is that it factually reports the proceedings at the Panel’s sittings without any opinionated commentaries, thus affording readers the opportunity of ascertaining the veracity or otherwise of the author’s prefatory remarks by reading the reports of the various cases before the Panel. Also listed in an appendix to the book are the names of 69 persons whose petitions were successful and who were awarded various sums in compensation ranging between N750,000 and N10 million. Significantly, the victims received their monetary awards immediately, even before the Panel formally wound up its sittings. This is no doubt a publication of tremendous importance on a momentous event in the annals of the country’s history that will facilitate productive reflections on the root causes of the protests, the benefits gained and the avoidable errors on all sides that should be useful in guiding future actions in similar circumstances.

  • Be wary of match fixing

    Be wary of match fixing

    The incurable optimists are on the prowl. They are praying the South Africa and Republic of Benin slip in their last two 2026 World Cup qualifiers. They argue that with these unholy prayer sessions, Nigeria will finish with 17 points. They have forgotten that the South Africans’ last two group matches would be played on their soil, having been chosen by their ‘hosts’ Zimbabwe and against Rwanda as Bafana Bafana’s last home.

    Only a dreamer deep in illusory thoughts would predict that the South Africans would bottle up these clear hurdles. Those jokers who administer our football hardly remember that our penultimate game is against Lesotho in one of the South African cities. And with the way our players have played so far in the qualifiers, it would take more than prayers and luck for Nigeria to beat Lesotho in South Africa with South Africans rooting for Lesotho. Did I hear you ask if Nigeria beat Lesotho in Uyo in the first leg tie? You have started again. No. Nigeria came from behind to play 1-1 draw with Lesotho in the first World Cup qualifying match.

    Where were these incurable optimists when South Africa inadvertently had eight home games in a World Cup qualifier when Lesotho, Rwanda and Zimbabwe opted to play their home games in South African cities? That was the day Bafana Bafana clinched Group C’s sole qualification ticket. What the NFF and NSC people are doing now is to shift the goalposts after the damage has been done. The talk of miracle favouring Nigeria always is bunkum.

    I appreciate the fact that the South Africans joined the debate about the deduction of three points of 17; which means that Bafana Bafana would have 14 points like Benin Republic, but only if FIFA rules against them. But I smell a rat. We wait. However, with two matches remaining for Bafana Bafana, all which will be played in South African cities, it is safe to say that they have 20 points, going by their matches up to th last stage of two matches. By the same token, it is safe to say that Nigeria should win her two matches to jump to 19. But, there is a caveat. This means that Nigeria must beat Republic of Benin in Uyo in the all-systems-go tie.

    Read Also: Ezekiel Nathaniel sets new Nigerian 400m hurdles record, finishes fourth in Tokyo final 

    This will be crunchy because Benin would be having 17 points from her last home game. It remains to be seen if Nigeria would beat Lesotho in South Africa. Already, Lesotho have perfected plans to drag the Eagles to Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Concerns were raised about the conditions of the stadium’s pitch in the preceding match days 7 and 8 that pitted Lesotho with South Africa and South Africa versus Nigeria. Don’t we see this match venue uncertainty as some form of mind games meant to unsettle the Super Eagles on October 6? Could it also be an attempt to take the game to a city where our players would be guzzling water like camels due to altitude issues? All is said to be fair in warfare, isn’t it?

    Do our sports chieftains know about these undercurrents? Did you say yes, dear reader? People who didn’t know that the South Africans inadvertently had eight home games as soon as Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Rwanda opted to play in South Africa cities?

    “The negotiations are just at the beginning. People bid to host games, and then it’s what they can offer. We will compare the two deals, then the one which is better…” Mohapi told Soccer Laduma.

    The decision will be crucial for both teams as Nigeria pushes to secure maximum points away from home in a tightly contested group. Nigeria has no business being in this permutations, given the armada of stars we have playing in the European leagues. A few times in my quiet moments I ask myself if our players can’t speak to themselves and beat some of the countries that have humbled us in competitions as a result of poor coaching?

    Since Monday, I have avoided participating in the debates of FIFA’s likelihood of deducting three points from South Africa’s 17, because most of the arguments are warp. Whereas, they reckon that the Super Eagles will win the next two games, these pundits are saying that Bafana Bafana would lose theirs. Indeed. I envisage a situation where both Nigeria and South Africa would win their two matches, culminating in 17 points for Nigeria and 20 points for South Africa, that is if FIFA find them guilty. Gravevine talks suggested that Lesotho filed their protest out of time as they say in law.

    When will FIFA release their findings and punishments? It has to be before October 6, such that all the countries in Group C can know where they stand on the table and how to go about their remaining games. I must warn here that our soccer chiefs should be wary of match fixing. Nigeria won’t cease being a sovereign country, if Super Eagles fail to qualify for the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States. Heaven didn’t fall when Nigeria failed to qualify in 2006 World Cup in Germany and at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

    Only back-to-back defeats for South Africa against already-eliminated Zimbabwe and Rwanda will give Nigeria any chance of topping the section.

    What we should talking about is how to use the next two World Cup matches to rebuild the Super Eagles for the 2025 AFCON in December. How prepared are the NFF members for the competition coming on the heels another likely 2026 World Cup fiasco.

    According to Google: ‘’AFCON 2025 gets underway on 21 December 2025 when Morocco will host Comoros at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. The 24 teams have been drawn into six groups of four, where they will play a round-robin format, facing each of the other three teams in their group stage.”

    It would be foolhardy for Nigeria to parade the same set of players who prosecuted our last two World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda in Uyo and against Bafana Bafana at the Free State Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein on September 9 wholesale and expect to clinch the Group C’s sole qualification ticket.

    Already, one of our topmost defenders, Ola Aina returned to Forest, and the extent of his injury was confirmed. The former Chelsea player’s earliest return is expected by December, hinting that he could miss the Super Eagles’ AFCON 2025 campaign in Morocco. Aina underwent his first surgery on a torn hamstring in his right leg and is out of the country’s preparations.

    “On the 13th of September [four days ago], I had my operation. Thank you for all the support and all the messages and stuff.

    “I just finished having my surgery. It’s my first one, but yeah, I just want to say thank you for all the messages.

    “We move. It’s all in God’s timing; this is God’s plan.” Aina said in the clip he posted.

    Troost Ekong can be elevated to an administrative role in the Eagles among others whose time for Nigeria have reached the bus stop. They truly have to disembark and do other things.

    The perennial crises associated with Nigeria’s elimination from the senior World Cup is always ferocious. It could scuttle our attempt to surpass last edition, where Nigeria lost 2-1 in the finals to the host nation, Ivory Coast.

  • Footprints

    Footprints

    Preamble

    “I shall pass through this world but once; If, therefore, there is any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being; Let me do it now; Let me not defer or neglect it for I may not pass this way again”

     The concept of the above quotation tallies perfectly with Islamic philosophy of welfare management. It has been adopted by some humanitarians as a guiding principle of life. It serves as an irrigation nourishing the seed of kind-heartedness and philanthropy imbibed by some people. It is a summary of the real essence of wealth in the hands of a few as against abject poverty overwhelming the majority of people.

    Life is like a circle which rotates around a permanent axis. Whatever goes forth comes back. Whatever goes up comes down. The sun rises in the East and travels to set in the West. It comes back the following day to repeat the same journey without losing its track. Seasons exchange batons on a quarterly basis. Spring, autumn, winter and summer, all come at their right time without one taking the place of another.

    Children come into the world daily and grow up to become adults with time. Parents rear their children the way they themselves had been reared so that the circle of life may continue after their demise. We sleep and wake and eat and defecate daily until we are stopped by the supreme force that fixes and schedules everything. And our successors proceed from where we stop if only to keep the circle of life in continuity.

    Read Also: Tinubu visits Kaduna Friday for wedding, courtesy call on Buhari family

    Human beings are like cash crops. They germinate into embryo from spermatozoa, transform biologically from stage to stage until they blossom into youthful adolescents and grow up into productive men and women just like fruitful trees. And then they begin to grey as an indication that they are starting to wither away like trees which leaves are turning into red. By the time the icy hands of death come to pluck them like ripe fruits, their transit visa in this ephemeral world would have expired. But their journey from the unknown continues into the unknown until they are summoned by their Creator to give the account of that journey.

    No man comes into the world without a mission. The mission may be positive or negative. But what is common to all is a place in history which may serve as an encouragement or a guide or a warning to the coming generations.

    In man’s initial journey into the world, the soul is firmly in harmony with the flesh. Both work in tandem physically and spiritually. At that stage, a spade is always seen and called a spade. And that is why children are said to be innocent. But after some time, the flesh outgrows the soul and becomes like a mossy stone eagerly wishing to crush the fragile lily that the soul represents.

    At that stage, Satan begins to assemble his destructive tools with which to rework or dismantle man’s engine of life to suit his own mission. No one drives a car without an engine. But when the engine is removed from the car, the body becomes disabled. So is the case with the corpse of man after the exit of the soul. But blessed are those who do not nourish the flesh at the expense of the soul.  

     Alhaji (Chief) Dr. Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, the Baba Adini of Nigeria, was a man of flesh and soul. He combined both temporally and spiritually to the benefit of mankind while alive courting the milk of kindness with which he suckled the indigent multitudes around. He had realized early enough in his youthful days that life was worthless for anybody who passes through it without leaving a footprint on the sands of time. He therefore decided, despite his humble background, to live for his fellow human beings as much as he lived for himself. As a Muslim, he had read or heard the stories of some great men in Islamic history whose wealth was dedicated to humanitarianism. He therefore prayed Allah to grant him wealth promising to use such wealth for the cause of Islam and humanity if granted.

    Alhaji Folawiyo had particularly studied and admired the lifestyle of Abdur-Rahman bn ‘Awf, a companion of Prophet Muhammad who was stupendously rich but marvellously humble.

    Abdur-Rahman deployed his entire wealth to the course of Islam and the welfare of mankind to the admiration and blessing of Prophet Muhammad. When he was frightened by the rate at which his wealth was expanding and became afraid of his hereafter knowing very well that the rich might encounter huddles on their way to paradise, he asked the Prophet to pray for a drastic reversal of that wealth. But rather than doing that the Prophet prayed Allah to increase it and not to let Abdur-Rahman account for his wealth in the hereafter. Thus he became the wealthiest Arab of the Prophet’s time and the greatest philanthropist of that era. Yet he was so humble that most of the beneficiaries of his kind largesse never knew the man behind it.

    Conscious that the wealth entrusted to him by Allah could have been in the custody of another person, Abdur-Rahman vowed to utilize it responsibly if only to curry the favour of his Creator and Sustainer. He often expressed to whoever was ready to listen that the wealth in his possession was not for him but for others believing that he only held it in trust for the poor and the needy.

    Abdur-Rahman was not a soldier but he singularly financed several Islamic wars. He was not a king but bought many slaves into freedom even as he used his wealth to employ many people who would have been frustrated by joblessness. He cared for many widows and orphans, rescued many debtors from bondage and saved many marriages from crumbling. As one of the very few people to have been lettered in Arabia even before Islam, Abdur-Rahman strongly supported education financially and encouraged women to seek knowledge.

    To Baba Adini of Nigeria, Abdur-Rahman Bn ‘Awf, was a unique model especially for the Muslim aristocrats of the modern world to emulate. He therefore adopted a similar lifestyle and spent his wealth in the way of Allah. When the old Lagos Central Mosque became ramshackle and unbefitting to the State of Excellence in the mid 1980s, he volunteered to singularly rebuild it in the manner his role model, Abdur-Rahman Bn ‘Awf, used to bear the cost of projects all alone in the time of the Prophet.

    At the time when the Nigerian currency (the naira) was very strong, Alhaji Folawiyo undertook the building of a new Mosque for Lagos at the cost of N40 million. That amount was very intimidating in the 1980s. It is like committing N40 billion to a Mosque project today. It takes a strong Islamic conviction for an individual to commit such a huge amount to the cause of Islam at once. But that was one of his many ways of thanking Allah for His inestimable bounties.

    The Mosque was not built for observance of Salat alone as generally known with most Mosques in Nigeria. Facilities for vocational training were provided therein for Muslim youths who were in need of such training. And some of those who completed their training courses were supplied with necessary tools with which to fend for themselves.

    Also provided was a study centre of Arabic and Islamic studies in that Mosque which was equipped with copies of the Qur’an and other Islamic books. Alhaji Folawiyo did not stop at that.

    Besides employing thousands of Nigerians in his conglomerate of businesses, irrespective of tribes and religions, he also had a private scholarship scheme for indigent students to benefit from. Some of such beneficiaries studied in various countries of the world. There were many other Muslims who benefited tremendously from his annual Hajj sponsorship programme. But what many people consider as his greatest achievement was the establishment of an orphanage home in Ikeja named Babu-s-Salam.

    His passionate commitment to that orphanage was a true reflection of his kind-heartedness in a world where wickedness has virtually become a culture. Some of the orphans who passed through that home are now graduates of various disciplines from various Universities.

    As a lover of education and Progress, Alhaji Folawiyo did not only build and site several conventional secondary schools in places where schools were needed, he also contributed superlatively to the structural growth and academic development of Lagos State University (LASU) and some other Universities in the country.

    As a Vise President of Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, he cooperated with other highly placed Muslims in the country to further the course of Islam nationally and continentally. All these he did quietly but diligently even he often shunned unnecessary propaganda through the media.

    When the chapter of his life’s odyssey was closed penultimate week, he, like others before him, became memorial words to be chronicled into history by those who were privileged to see him alive through the window of time. His philosophy has come to remind us that both the makers and the chroniclers of history will finally be returned into the womb of the mother earth. And observers of history will recall that these men or women have once passed through this world.

    This is neither a posthumous biography nor an elegy for a Muslim icon. It is rather an assessment of a life well spent which may serve as a good example for others who are still alive. One day, some people will take the trouble of writing about us just as we are now writing about others. Life is a circle. It must be allowed to run its full course without any hindrance. We are from Allah and we shall all return to Allah. May the soul of Alhaji Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, the Baba Adini of Nigeria be divinely reposed in eternal bliss. Amin.

  • Another perspective on State Police

    Another perspective on State Police

    Two weeks ago, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reiterated his commitment to the creation of State Police in Nigeria, due to our national security and geopolitical reality. Recall that Mr. President, had triggered the process of the creation of State Police on the 15th of February last year when he convened a meeting with the 36 state governors, also attended by the Vice President Kashim Shettima, the National Security Adviser, the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of the DSS, and some Ministers at the State house in Abuja.

    In my view, the creation of state police will provide a critical pillar of our national security architecture that has been lacking in Nigeria for a long time. In addition, the creation of state police is in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to achieve true federalism and decentralization of power in Nigeria.

    As rightly stated by President Tinubu, the preponderance and efforts of the various civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) in various forms across the geopolitical zones and States, including state security outfits like Hisbah in Kano State, Amotekun across the South West States of Nigeria, and state security outfits in other States across Nigeria trying to curb insecurity, further reinforces the need for the creation of state police.

    I have been a proponent of the creation of State Police in Nigeria, and in the past 1 year, I have written twice on this topic in this Column (Part 1 on the 23rd February, 2024, and Part 2 on the 2nd May, 2025). However, in today’s episode, I will reiterate my positions and expand my contribution to this important national discourse. In addition, as the Group CEO of the Global Investment and Trade Company (GITC), where the services we provide include; policy strategy and advisory, legislative frameworks and legislation support, policy implementation etc. we will support the creation of state police by following through the legislative processes (from Executive to national Assembly) to ensure that we have a robust registration to ensure that state police is not just enacted or activated, but to support the legislative process and framework that will protect the citizens of these countries and their allies from potential abuse of state police by those governors who that would like to take advantage of state police for their vested interests. Because, as Mr. President stated last week, and I quote, “We can work with the National Assembly to design a framework that guarantees local ownership while ensuring political neutrality”.

    Read Also: JUST IN: Tinubu returns after Japan, Brazil trips

    The Need to Continue Building Capacity at the Federal Level

    The Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Military, which are fully in the war against the insecurity theater, are facing not just funding issues, but other material challenges. Today, we have about 300,000 men and officers of the Nigerian Police Force, with a ratio of about 1 to about 500 Policemen. Recall that last year, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, raised this concern, requiring about 190,000 more boots on the ground to be recruited. In my opinion, they need more because we have about 250 million Nigerians that they are supposed to serve and protect. The Nigerian Military is facing the same man and material challenges. The entire Nigerian Armed Forces, i.e., Army, Air Force, Navy, Police, Immigration, Customs, Civil Defense, and the newly recruited Forest Guards, etc., are less than 800,000 active officers and men (boots on the ground). This is a really serious issue. 

    Therefore, there is an urgent need to continue improving the human capacity of the Nigerian armed forces at the federal level. Because, from a strategic perspective, while we refocus on state police, we must not lose sight of the criticality of the federal security architecture, which must be continuously and properly funded, equipped, and supported. Otherwise, we will be creating a bigger problem when we “lose guard” of our key security and territorial integrity flanks. It is only when the federal armed forces are solid, mobilized, mobile, lucid, efficient, and effective that state police will be relevant and successful. Even though the state police are crucial, they will have limitations.

    Read Also: Police arrest Islamic Cleric with suspected human flesh in Oyo

     Operations Model

    The lines of authority and accountability must be clearly defined between the state police and the federal police. Because even now, we sometimes witness face-offs between military and police or between security agencies. Therefore, the operations model should address the interplaying roles between state police and federal police. What will be the state of play when or where there are escalations? And what will be the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)? What are the engagement protocols between federal and state police? And what are the clear lines or boundaries of authority and accountability? We need to address that at the foundation level of formulating the state police legislation.

    Indeed, some powers will be taken from the federal security agencies, and they will be domiciled or shared with the state police. This will create new power blocks at the state level. Therefore, naturally, there will be a need for an adaptation process. Those are the things that will ensure that the federal police will all play their role in a way and manner that there are no frictions or there are no clashes. How we frame our laws will be key.

     Funding

    Funding and the framework that will support the funding are crucial. We currently have a situation where not all the states in Nigeria are struggling to pay the minimum wage of 70,000 Naira.

     Therefore, how will the Governors effectively fund State Police?  That is a crucial question that the governors need to answer and tell the citizens, from accountability and transparency perspectives. It’s not enough for a Governor to say he can crush insecurity within two months. How will he fund the state police in a sustainable manner? Because as citizens, we are not expecting governors to go to the federal government cap in hand to ask for money to fund state police, and if that will be the case, then I will withdraw my support for State Police.

     Concerns about the potential abuse of State Police by Governors

    I re-echo the concerns of many Nigerians and stakeholders that some state Governors will most likely use the state police as negative forces of coercion and abuse of office. The use of state police by overbearing and wicked Governors will certainly be a disaster, and, as citizens, we MUST not allow that to happen.

     But given our current insecurity situation and how we are evolving as a country, we cannot throw away the baby with the bathwater. Therefore, we should have state police. But we must have provisions within the constitution that will safeguard against the abuse of power, which will be catastrophic! 

     We should also ensure that thugs and touts are not converted by Governors to become State Police officers.

     Robust Legislation

    I use this opportunity to call on all well-meaning Nigerians, all subject matter experts, thought leaders, and stakeholders we should be part of the state police legislation, and give it the same attention that we gave the Tax Reforms Bill that was recently passed into law, to ensure that the enabling laws will be robust with the necessary safeguards to protect citizens, residents, and visitors of Nigeria.

     State Police will become a critical component of our democracy, and because we are creating something that is new, which could be subject to abuse, it is important that we pay attention. So that we do not hand over absolute power to state governors. Because absolute power corrupts absolutely!

    Concerns about Potential Abuse and Human Rights Violations

    We have cases of human rights violations and abuse of power by some security officials at the federal level. I cringe in my seat when I think of what will happen when the powers of state police are taken over by overbearing and narcissistic governors, whereby the state police are only accountable to the governors without any framework to neutralize such excesses if and when they happen.

     For instance, in February 2023, Justice Riman Fatun, of the Federal High Court Abakaliki, passed a judgment disbanding the Ebebeagu State security outfit in Ebonyi State, due to illegal arrests, extortions, possession of illegal firearms, human rights violations, etc. This instance underscores that the process of setting up state police should ensure that it will not be abused.

    Doctrine is a Critical Success Factor

    Doctrine guides thinking and the culture. And since we are creating a new entity called State Police, a new doctrine should drive the culture. Accordingly, if the existing federal armed forces have weaknesses that we are trying to address, imagine what some governors with this humongous new power of controlling state police will do, especially when the officers and men of the state police are not properly indoctrinated.

     If we don’t deal with the issues of doctrine (top to bottom and not bottom up!), we may create monsters that we cannot control as State Police, and the terrible consequences will be of broad ramifications.

  • As Genocide in Gaza is confirmed by UN committee

    As Genocide in Gaza is confirmed by UN committee

    As I write, the Israeli army and air force is rolling into already pulverised Gaza. What is left is the full occupation of Gaza. Despite the opposition of about 70% of Israeli people and the leadership of the Israeli military and its intelligence and the vast international community, the government of Israel led by Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to wipe out the two million Palestinians through direct military action, starvation and arrested procreation by ensuring the people of Gaza would be too distressed that the question of regular union between man and woman would be the last in the minds of people of Gaza as claimed by an independent committee charged to investigate the situation in Israel by the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations.

    Already, there is a case filed by the government of South Africa before the world court over a year ago. At that time some people felt South Africa had no locus standi and that the country was jumping the gun so to say. But events in Gaza have now confirmed the charges of South Africa which is still pending. Although the UN is yet to ratify the committee report on genocide, it is certain the report will be confirmed. It is also certain that if it ever comes to UN Security Council, it will be vetoed by the United States. This is the hope of Israel that it can virtually do anything as long as President Donald Trump of the United States backs it, forgetting the ephemerality of the Trump presidency and that not the majority of Americans are in support. Netanyahu seems even to ignore the feelings of the majority of Americans which by all polling companies say they are worried by the direction of American foreign policy.

    Read Also: FG disburses N330bn to households under social protection Programme

    Now the world is constantly hearing the word genocide which describes the scientific eradication of Jews in Europe from 1941 to 1945. It is ironic that Israel is being accused of committing the same thing and its prime minister and some members of its present right wing government. The only extenuating circumstance in this sordid situation is that the vast majority of Israelis in whose name rampant murders are being committed are loudly disowning the actions of the government. The question to ask is why the Netanyahu government is committing crime in the full glare of television. When the Nazi government of Germany did this to the Jews and others it rejected, it did this hoping that these murders will not be discovered. Israel is not trying to hide this as long as the Trump administration condones its actions and indeed supports it.

    What worries me is its present United States’ Secretary of State, Marco Rubio who obviously is from the Latino minority is doing everything to please Trump and does not try to moderate the obviously wrong American direction that is alienating the global community. If this is what a former senator with considerable experience has to do to keep a job that he will be sorry in future when the Republican administration unravels.

    Trump is having a smooth ride in the Middle East because the Arabs allow or shall we say, the corrupt Arab regimes which do not reflect the Arab street allow him because they are somehow dependent on American security support politically and financially. The US has troops for example in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar and the Mediterranean fleet which monitors the security situation in the Middle East. This is why the countries of the Middle East are not really free. Any of them that manifest true sovereignty is quickly destabilised and their leaders removed. The only country in the Middle East that tries to be truly free is Iran which from the time of Ayatollah Rumeini has suffered externally-engineered invasion by Iraq and internally mobilised religious and ethnic difference that have humbled its economy. Even far-afield Pakistan in spite of being a nuclear weapon state does not enjoy full sovereignty because of American political subterfuge. The political freedom enjoyed in previous times by Abdel Nasser’s regime and  Syria’s Basher Assad’s  is now forlorn history and this is why Israel is allegedly creating a Middle East in its own image where Israel has full control of the Middle East air with American and sometimes European support.

    The problems Israel may have in the future when European security is decoupled from subservience to American command is that it will find itself facing a united Middle East detached from American control and in a world where American power is vastly diminished from its present global hegemony.

    I write as a friend of Israel because as a Christian my religion says I should pray for the peace of Israel. But as a human being, I believe God also created the Palestinians. If I am to follow popular Christian interpretation of the Bible, Arabs are the descendants of Ismael while the Jews are descendants of Isaac, both of them are descendants of father Abraham. I cannot pray for one section of Abrahamic legacy and curse the other. I say this to satisfy those who base their arguments on crude scripture which I do not believe is sufficient to deny human rights to life to any particular people.

    This reminds me of what Leopold Sedar Senghor, the first president of independent Republic of Senegal said about the “trilogy of suffering people, the African, Arabs and the Jews”. This feeling affected our foreign policy for years leading to Nigeria’s recognition of the State of Palestine and allowing its ambassador to be the doyen of all ambassadors in Nigeria based on his longevity of stay in Nigeria.

    As we move closer to the next General Assembly of the United Nations in two weeks’ time when the EU and most countries in Europe recognize the existence of Palestine followed by the stampede of recognition by the rest of the world, Israel will remain completely isolated and alienated from the rest of the world. This will be a pity and unfortunate denouement for Israel which attracted the support of the whole of the world hitherto because the genocide committed against the Jews historically in Russia and Germany and the states hostility against them in Europe and the United States. The present wicked policy of murder committed against the Palestinians is now fuelling the rise of racism and antisemitism against innocent people of Jewish descent.

    I just came back from visits to France, Spain, Great Britain, the United States, Canada and Ireland I noticed a perceptible and troubling hostility to Israel totally different from official relations of those countries with Israel. Parents were eager to protect their children from watching evening news disseminating killings by Israeli troops of defenceless women, children, elderly children labelled as terrorists. One is appalled by international global media parroting Israeli propaganda labelling these people being slaughtered as Hamas terrorists. The ongoing campaign of Israel in Gaza is totally unequal conflict between a modern army armed to the teeth with American and European weapons against a ragtag group of Arab murders which a well-trained mobile police force could have captured several months ago. To describe what is going  on right now  against poor people of Gaza  as a war to root out 3000 Hamas is a misuse of words and portraying arrant murder and genocide committed against women and under age children as a war begs the question and shows a member- state of the United Nations disobey all the international protocols of war protecting children, women, elderly people and a civilian population  and committing genocide because it has the United States backing is totally unbecoming of Israel for which Israel and the entire United Nations stand condemned and is condemned.

  • Mike and Jerry

    Mike and Jerry

    • •Why Tali Shani UK property transfer failed

    Everything about the case reeked. The smell oozed from a distance that anybody could perceive it. Both parties were up to something, and they used virtually every trick in the book to get their way. But the watchful judge was a step ahead of them, waiting for the appropriate time to bring down the gavel. He did seven days ago.

    Both parties lost woefully, and were ordered to bear their own costs, that is each party will be responsible for the expenses incurred on litigation. The case of the applicant and the respondent was bad ab initio. Interestingly, a strange name was at the centre of the legal drama. The applicant, who claimed to be a woman but never showed up in court for the over two years that the case lasted, gave her name as  ‘Ms Tali Shani’.

    To the respondent, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), the ‘Tali Shani’ that ‘gifted’ him the property was a man. Ozekhome was seeking the transfer and registration of the property at 79, Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX to himself in terms of the ‘gift’. He claimed that “the transfer is not for money or anything that has monetary value”, but in consideration for his “legal services”, which he added, the client could not pay for anyway. The court held that he never stated the nature of the ‘legal services’.

    ‘Ms Tali Shani’ took the wind out of Ozekhome’s sail when she objected to the transfer on the grounds that she is the original owner of the property. Judge Ewan Paton was faced with a puzzle. First, to unravel the gender of this ‘Tali Shani’, and second, to determine who he should order the Land Registry to give the property to between Ozekhome and ‘Ms Tali Shani’. This decision became the lot of Paton, who was called to bar in 1996, and became a judge four years ago, to make when the issue became too hot for the registry to handle.

    Paton’s observations are noteworthy: “That apparently routine application (of transfer and registration) has, however, generated proceedings of a quite extraordinary nature. At their heart are mutual allegations of identity fraud by impersonation. These in turn generated multiple allegations of forgery of documents, fraud, conspiracy and corruption of public officials. A key figure in both parties’ cases… was a very prominent and now deceased former Nigerian general and politician, General Jeremiah Useni”.

    Read Also: FG disburses N330bn to households under social protection Programme

    Jeremiah ‘Jerry Boy’ Useni, who the court eventually identified as ‘Tali Shani’ and who admitted in the cited Jersey Royal Court matter that he used ‘coined’ names, such as ‘Tim Shani’, to transact businesses, testified in the Randall case for Ozekhome. Though, Useni died in the course of proceedings, his testimony helped Paton in deciding the case. Conversely, ‘Ms Tali Shani’ and her lawyers were busy giving all sorts of excuses for her non-appearance in court, including faking her illness, purported death and funeral, as the judge held.

    The Randall property is valued at over £700,000. One of the questions the judge asked during the proceedings was where ‘Tali Shani’, who was called as a witness by Ozekhome got the money to acquire the property in 1993 when he was just 20 years old. The witness claimed to be a cattle rearer and mango and sweet trader in school! He said he bought the property and gave it toUseni to manage.

    The same question can be asked from ‘Jerry Boy’. Where did Useni, who the court held to be the owner of the property, get the money to buy it, as a soldier then? It goes without saying that he could not have bought it from his legitimate earnings, and also at the same time have another property described as Flat 213 Quadrangle Tower Cambridge Square London W2 2PJ.

    Money from the Quadrangle was said to have been used to run the Randall property. As a reputed lawyer, was Ozekhome not curious about the house ‘gift’ from Useni? As a rights activist, critic and anti-corruption crusader, did he not ask his friend where the money for the property came from? By accepting the ‘gift’ and attempting to formalise its acquisition without asking questions, can he still lay claim to being a social crusader? Crusading comes at a price, a steep price, at that. No other person should know this more than Ozekhome who practiced in Gani Fawehinmi’s chambers as a young lawyer.

    If not for Judge Paton, the property would have changed hands without the gullible Nigerian public being any wiser about some of the things their so-called heroes do. The name ‘Tali Shani’ should have sounded the alarm bell and made Ozekhome to ask questions. Rather, he told the court that such names are common in Nigeria. Really?

    As the judge said: “Mr Tali Shani – whether that is the name he was born with, or whether it was changed at some point in the past – was simply a vehicle or conduit by which General Useni tried to transfer to the respondent a property previously registered by him in the false name ‘Tali Shani’ in 1993. I do not know, and do not need to make findings, on how and when General Useni first came across and involved Mr Tali Shani in this or any other transaction…; whether this man already had that name (which the respondent himself said was not an uncommon name in Nigeria)… I do find, however, that he did not purchase this property himself in 1993, and so had no title of his own to pass to the respondent.

    “Both parties have failed. Neither ‘Tali Shani’ was who they said they were, and neither was the person who purchased this property in 1993. The real owner, via a false name, was General Jeremiah Useni. His evidence clears all doubts about the ownership. I have him on record as saying: ‘I owned it… I bought the property… before I gave it to someone to run… I paid the deposit… then bit by bit… I bought it… It is my property’”.

    With these words, he lengthened his name to Jeremiah ‘Jerry Boy Tali Shani’ Useni; and unwittingly voided the property ‘gift’ to his good friend and lawyer.

  • Return of Fubara

    Return of Fubara

    Today, the six-month state of emergency in Rivers lapses. The suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara may return to work today or tomorrow, along with his deputy and the House of Assembly members. The emergency rule was for a reason – to restore law and order and governance in the state in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict that anarchy loomed there then.

    Read Also: Fubara’s return: MOSIEND calls for peace, unity, inclusive governance

    Of course, not everybody supported the emergency rule, especially the suspension of Fubara. All that is behind us now as a nation. Going forward from today, it is in the interest of Fubara and the other returnees to build on the legacy of peace of the outgoing Administrator Ibok-Ette Ibas. Let peace endure in the Garden City so that the people can feel the impact of governance.

    The difference between being in and out of office should be clear to the returnees by now. Thus, it will be foolhardy for anyone to allow lightning to strike him twice.

  • Before anger tips to rebellion

    Before anger tips to rebellion

    If Nigeria eventually burns to a rubble, let it not be because we didn’t see it coming. Those who would incinerate our homeland, will do so “for the love of country.”

    For the love of country becomes our sexiest lie, the curvaceous plague of bleeding-heart activism. Everybody cops a feel.

    For the love of country, the call persists for Nigerians to resist President Bola Tinubu’s stringent reforms. The same love purportedly spurred the coalition of disgruntled politicians into a frantic opposition. And for the love of country, dubious demagogues call on the youth to march on the streets, in Nepali Gen Z-style, “to take back our country.”

    The call to insurrection spreads like wildfire across Nigeria’s civic space as the Gen Z, instigated by the so-called “old takers” romanticise the seizure of power from the incumbent ruling class, come October 1, Nigeria’s independence anniversary.

    Chaos agents have re-emerged in the civic space, baiting insurrection in a manner akin to rubbing a lantern to make a genie appear. What they fail to tell their mindless herds is that the revolution they incite will dawn in a vortex of storms.

    Beyond their poesy of agitation and the citizens’ inalienable right to protest, they offer no promise or assurance of security if the protest gets hijacked by anarchists.

    Of course, Nigerians aren’t unreasonable for demanding affordable healthcare, education, secure communities, functioning infrastructure, and opportunities to earn a decent living. But these demands while justifiable, must never be countered by ruling class condescension.

    Read Also: FG disburses N330bn to households under social protection Programme

    President Tinubu must avoid the pitfalls of talking truth to the people. In asserting the needs and urgency for tax reforms, for instance, his administration must avoid any language bordering on conceit and prone to misinterpretation. There are several ways that a terse and simple statement like, “If you want good governance,  you must pay your taxes” could be misinterpreted and  weaponised by cynical citizenry and desperate opposition.

    To manage widespread dissent requires greater patience and tact, particularly in the digital age, where misinformation and rage are easily weaponised and destruction rapidly escalates within hours.

    The recent toppling of Nepal’s government by Gen Z protesters may seem a distant horror of Himalayan politics, but it is a parable for Nigeria’s political class, that young people, if ignored and oppressed, become easily manipulable and spurred to violence.

    Tinubu governs at the risk of similar disorder. The call for a Gen Z-led “mother of all protests” slated for October 1, should not be dismissed with the wave of a hand, given that the target audience comprises a younger generation bruised by economic hardships.

    Although the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported an unemployment rate of 6.5% among 15- to 24-year-olds in 2024, following a controversial change in the methodology for calculating unemployment, labour experts argued that the agency’s previous record, that pegged unemployment at 53.4% of 15- to 24-year-olds,. is more representative of the reality on the ground.

    When these unemployed youths band together, as witnessed during EndSARS in 2020, the “10 Days of Rage” in 2024, and more recently, the 2025 Nepali protests, they can destabilise any country.

    Already, major online platforms are abuzz with comparisons, with many openly musing about launching Nigeria’s version of the Gen Z revolution. While it is true that an insurrection may be sponsored by foreign interests and opposition parties, it is harder yet wiser, to use the threat of such to engage with the youths who are often targeted and conscripted as canon fodder for actualising the masterminds’ plot for a regime change.

    The same social media that galvanises discontent can also be the bridge through which trust is rebuilt, among other platforms. Tinubu’s administration must reengage with the youths, online and offline, with greater candour. His message must explain, in simple but concrete terms; why painful reforms are necessary, how their burdens are being shared, and what timelines citizens can realistically expect for relief.

    He cannot afford to let his reforms, however well-intentioned, be perceived solely as instruments of suffering. His administration has taken bold steps—subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, infrastructure investment—but for many Nigerians, the immediate impact is unbearable.

    Humane governance means not just announcing reforms but cushioning their impact, communicating their purpose with sincerity, and showing that beneath the government’s fascination with economic indices subsists an undying zeal to dignify human lives.

    If Nigerians must brave the constraints imposed by his reforms, let them not see his administration reject the bitter herbs it seasons for the populace. One of the most significant arguments against the ruling class is its predilection for obscene benefits while urging Nigerians to embrace, unquestioningly, greater sacrifice.

    Worse still, the flaunting of ill-gotten wealth by the political elite and their progeny, the so-called “Nepo-babies,” fuels resentment. This same phenomenon lit the fuse in Nepal, children of the political class flaunted ill-gotten wealth on social media. The spectacle of privilege rubbed raw against the economic wounds inflicted on the impoverished citizenry and what began as online mockery snowballed into a bloody protest claiming over 72 citizens and dozens of politicians and security officials.

    The prime minister was forced to resign, and in the wake of the upheaval, the youths chose a new interim female leader, Sushila Karki. The lesson from Nepal is clear: governments must never ignore the cries of the young.

    Tinubu must not wait for the streets to burn before he reengages with the youths. The presidency’s current reliance on so-called friendly press and social media influencers to court goodwill is both inadequate and counterproductive. Rather than command trust, they echo like hired choristers singing a banal hymn.

    The youth can identify authenticity and also perceive condescension. What they demand is proof, forthrightness and acknowledgment of their suffering, not rehearsed slogans.

    The president must be explicit about what he has done. He should tell Nigerians plainly how much has been given to each state to alleviate hardship, and he must urge citizens, especially the youths, to demand accountability from their governors and legislators. This is not buck passing; it is simply truth-telling. For too long, state governors have escaped scrutiny while Abuja carries the blame for every unpaid salary, road crater and failed healthcare. Tinubu must help redirect the anger of the masses toward constructive civic engagement, where the electorate holds local leaders accountable instead of collapsing all grievances into one Abuja-shaped caricature.

    Yet this redirection must be done with empathy. While the president enjoys the support of a small circuit of discerning citizens, who understand that economic reforms come with pain, the wider population live too close to the cliff-edge of hunger to appreciate abstract economics. They want food, jobs, security, and dignity. Today, not tomorrow.

    Nigeria is yet to fully recover from EndSARS  and 10 Days of Rage, yet the likelihood of another bloody protest looms ominously. Influencers cannot stop it and journalists will turn punching bag in the crossfire, as in Nepal, where the press was branded both by the protesters as government stooges and by the state as saboteurs.

    Tinubu must, therefore, forge alliances with credible segments of civil society, student unions, professional associations, and faith communities. These are the bodies that can carry messages of constructive engagement to the grassroots.

    By responding more proactively to citizenry dissent, Tinubu can transform potential rebellion into renewed allegiance. If not,  neither the National Orientation Agency (NOA)’s Explainer journal nor friendly editorials in the press will be enough to tame insurrection, if anger tips into rebellion.

  • Politicians: Let every day count for the citizen 

    Politicians: Let every day count for the citizen 

    The Onitsha market shooting is yet another wake-up tragic occurrence crying out for a preventive solution in the ongoing saga countrywide called ‘The Government Uniform vs Fellow Citizens’. It is a pity that citizens have to die by this method so senselessly across the country. This is often only because of ‘an assumed lack of accountability by those in uniform’ resulting in widespread almost routine physical excesses of ‘uniforms’. This ‘abuse of uniform’ has become so commonplace as to be glossed over by the citizenry who largely cry silently ‘Thank God it was not me’ when such uniform strike again. 

    Yet this characteristic abuse of office resulting in death of a pregnant woman and her unborn child is an expected outcome of giving uniforms and guns and power to people without very close supervision. Close supervision is the key to prevention of ‘uniform-caused crime’ as it led to the introduction of bodycams in many security outfits worldwide. We suffer the latest widely known overreach of those empowered to control us, politically or socially or governmentally, through wearing a uniform and carrying a stick or gun.

    Fortunately, the governor who created the uniforms involved has taken immediate action and arrested the uniforms and investigations have been carried out and prosecutions are taking place. No matter how genuine a governor is or how strong his desire to serve, his reputation is only as good as the weakest link in the chain between him and the last citizen he has supposedly fought and won an election and taken an oath to serve. 

    Many genuine mourners will be attending the unexpected funeral of the prematurely dead diligent pregnant mother who died of bullet wounds merely for going to market where an ‘abuse of uniform’ occurred;  an irreversible abuse of office for which no apology or quantum of money would be enough.

    There are many types of uniforms worn by government officials. Politicians are government officials, make no mistake.  Politicians also wear a uniform. And they abuse that uniform also. They use their uniform to control the budgets and what they do with those budgets cares for and certainly can kill some members of the citizenry. How much time do politicians spend doing things selflessly for the citizenry? When politicians do things affecting the citizenry, do they think of the side effects when their men go ‘authoritarian’ when not supervised?  

    Nigerian politicians must recognise the citizen as needing protection for both politicians and the other uniforms of government. The vast majority of citizens are honest and many uniforms extort from them as a routine. Too many politicians feed off the same citizenry, denying the citizenry a rightful share of the budgets and projects supposed to lift the citizens out of poverty.

    Read Also: Troops kill three terrorists, capture IPOB Commander Gentle de Yahoo

    We need to get more done with less funds so that the budgets will go further to help citizens more. Nigeria has made too many politicians and hangers on very wealthy at the expense of additional penury and lack of opportunity and lowered achievements of millions. 

    Where we are today compared to our total income over the years is far behind expectations.  We should be a country in a hurry with everyone shouting hurray. Certainly, there is good work being done by the current administration to recover from years of ‘abuse by government of the citizenry’.  Many good steps have been made, but many budgetary quotes seem completely out of sync with reality. There must be a way to further reduce the cost of contracts. There is a general feeling that budget padding and contract inflation are acceptable, approved and ok when they are not such a large part of government corruption in the countries we aspire to be like.

    The deliberate opaque funding of political parties is a huge albatross around the neck of Nigeria and the huge self-service appetite of politicians for a ‘larger share of the funds available’ are serious problems for the citizenry. The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, sets the stupendous ‘Salaries And Perks’ for politicians which SAP Nigeria dry. Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) is trying to stop RMAFC  from further raising the emoluments of politicians who are among the best paid politicians worldwide at par with many countries fulfilling all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

    We in Nigeria have a minimum wage of N70,000 set by very well-paid politicians. The problem is that N70,000 is not a liveable wage today. In addition, simple things which can be done almost overnight have still not been done by the federal government. The citizen is equally or even more the responsibility of state and local government. It is unacceptable that electricity is still lacking and too many schools lack enough books and equipment for staff and students and too many hospitals still have no electricity and enough drugs and there are still not enough clean public toilets. This government may not have put us in this hole. All party leadership at all levels in past power have cumulatively contributed to our poor performance to date so far but the citizenry certainly expect the current government to take responsibility for the urgent emergency measures needed to get us out of the hole.

    Act now please, politicians should stop ‘counting the days to election’ and instead let ‘everyday count in Citizen Friendly Projects’.     

  • The INEC chairman as kingmaker

    The INEC chairman as kingmaker

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is like a lady who’s had too many botched body-enhancement procedures – the result being a terrible beauty for all to behold.

    A look at its history shows how past leaders thought they could resolve the organisation’s problems by cosmetic name change. From something called Electoral Commission of Nigeria (ECN) in the late 50s, it became the Federal Electoral Commission (FEC) which oversaw the federal and regional polls of 1964 and 1965.

    A succession of military regimes ensured there was no need for such a body until 1978 when the General Olusegun Obasanjo regime birthed a new Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) – the primary difference with its predecessor being the capital letter ‘O’ and a more musical sounding acronym.

    Along the line it would become the National Electoral Commission (NEC) which the late General Sani Abacha, as he dreamt of transmuting into a civilian president, renamed National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON).

    Once day at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, the stern, unsmiling dictator keeled over. His successor, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who was charged with arranging a hurried exit for the junta, created what is now known as INEC. The innovation this time was to append the word ‘Independent’, hopefully warding off any future accusations of bias. We all know how that has played out.

    Read Also: First Lady congratulates Hilda Baci on second Guinness World record

    For as long as elections have been held in Nigeria, the electoral body has always found itself inserted into the heart of the drama. This isn’t because its officials are on the ballot but simply because politicians and the general public have come to believe that irrespective of what votes have been cast, winners are ultimately those favoured by the commission.

    Nothing in the constitution and other laws guiding the conduct of elections suggests that the INEC chairman has any extraordinary powers to decide election outcomes. Yet, a long, unbroken chain of losers are often quick to blame him for their woes. It’s the reason why there’s always heightened interest in whoever is going to be appointed to the chair.

    The commission is back in the news because the incumbent chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2015 is coming to the end of his tenure. There’s already feverish speculation as to who his successor would be.

    Buba Galadima, a leading member of the opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), alleges that President Bola Tinubu is one the verge of appointing a recently retired Appeal Courts judge he called ‘notorious’ the next INEC chair.  He didn’t elaborate as to the reason for his notoriety only warning of civil unrest, were such an appointment to be made.

    More people have their ideas as to what can make the electoral body work. They are hardly structural, largely revolving around how to appoint the chairman. Some have suggested that the National Assembly takes over the responsibility as though the legislature isn’t populated by partisan politicians who aren’t more patriotic than those in the executive branch.

    A former Rivers State Governor, Celestine Omehia, has come up with the novel proposal that the chairman and National Commissioners be elected. The trouble with this suggestion is that it’s the same distrusted INEC that would handle the election, preparing the ground for further cries of rigging.

    An even more interesting intervention has come from Bashir Ahmad, a former aide of President Buhari, who bemoaned the fact that of 12 chairmen who run the electoral body, only two have been Northerners. He would probably love to see this ‘marginalisation’ redressed with the appointment of another individual from his region to follow Yakubu’s 10-year incumbency.

    What he failed to point out is that of the 10 chairmen from the South, all have been from the Southeast and South-South, none from the Southwest. It’s interesting that in a country where the zoning of political positions has become a fact of life, not much noise has been made about balancing things in this area.

    Imagine if Tinubu now decides to address this ‘injustice’ by appointing the next INEC chairman from this zone! The uproar would be heard at the ends of the earth. Cries of ‘Yorubanisation’ would drown out everything else. It would be said his plan to rig the 2027 polls had been inelegantly unveiled.

    It would appear that in appointing previous chairmen, governments have tried to balance unspoken political considerations with concerns about picking persons perceived as neutral and having integrity. So, they focused on academia, retired justices and civil servants. Sometimes they encountered individuals who had too much of a good thing like the late Prof Eme Awa. The Ibrahim Babangida junta ousted him for being too ‘rigid’, replacing him with someone who was more ‘flexible’. Read into that what you may!

    In some countries in the West, those who manage elections are not mild-mannered academics or grey-haired jurists – but people with track records of managing massive logistics operations. In the end that’s what’s involved in trying to deliver ballot paper and officials to the nether parts of Nigeria. These individuals are either former military officers or have worked in multinational organisations.

    I’m sure that in picking Yakubu’s successor this old pattern of looking to the academia and the judiciary may be repeated. Unfortunately, a cynical population has never been too impressed by INEC’s saintly figureheads. In a time of deep polarisation, not even an angel would suffice.

    The truth, however, is that INEC and its chairmen are only part of the problem. To be sure, on many occasions they messed up previous elections through late delivery of materials, or by sheer bungling of other areas of the polling arrangement.

    The trouble is, no matter how well-laid electoral plans are, there are politicians who would do anything to subvert the people’s will. Those who fund vote-buying, print fake ballots, organise mass thumb-printing, snatch ballot boxes, or instigate violence at polling stations are all politicians and their agents – not electoral commission officials.

    They have been at it since the First Republic when they would distribute salt and other items from house to house on the night before elections; they would still be pulling their old tricks come 2027. The perpetrators are to be found across the parties; never mind the shrill cries from certain wings of the political elite. Until there’s a national consensus to let the people’s will as expressed at the ballot prevail, elections would continue to be problematic in Nigeria irrespective of who’s running them.

    As damaging as violence and other forms of electoral malpractice may be, what’s worse is the deliberate efforts of certain politicians to demonise INEC and its officials when things don’t go their way. After a shellacking, their loss is because of electoral agency compromise, but whenever they win democracy is thriving in the land. It’s time to place the blame where it really belongs.