The Nation Newspaper

Category: Dayo Sobowale

  • Hunger, cure and culture

    Hunger, cure and culture

    Dayo Sobowale

     

    THERE  is a proverb that says the  ‘a hungry  dog  does not play with a  well  fed  dog’.

    You  may scoff that such  saying is meant for  a  dog’s   life and   not   for  humans  .But    I   say  not so,  and I    intend to show why with this  pandemic threatening the way of life of our global  community.

    Lockdowns, social distancing , face  masks  have  become  essential  tools for human survival all  over the world   and  I start  today by thanking the Nigerian President for putting in place guide lines for opening the economies of the two  states of Ogun  and Lagos states which have been in effective lockdowns for five weeks by Monday May  4, when they will  now open shop as it were.  That was a great relief but a good challenge to all  of us to abide by the rules of hygiene so  clearly spelt  out for  our safety  and survival during this pandemic. It  is in the spirit  of living up  to the guidelines and implementing them to the letter   as both law abiding and survival  loving Nigerian  citizens, that   I look  at today’s  topic with  the dog hunger proverb.

    Some   issues I came across this week agitated  my mind in picking this topic. The  first  was the ease  with which European nations moved to lockdowns even as   some of their citizens complained that they did not move fast enough to contain  the pandemic, which  by   the way,    I  will  not call  by its name   again ,  till  it has passed .The  second was  an  opinion article in CNN  that  noted that  America  may not know the answer to the pandemic but it knew   the answer to cure  hunger,   all  along. The  third  was the news that  Germany is helping Nigeria with  debt relief during this    trying period,  and has provided funds to alleviate our suffering during the pandemic.  The fourth is the  amazing way     that  EU  nations  are  altering their way  of life and   culture   now and in the future to suit solutions  on ground       for  the    virus, with   perhaps,    the exception  of     Sweden.  I will  now elaborate in depth on these  issues.

    It  is my  view  that it was easy  for  Europe to  move to lockdown as a   pandemic containment strategy  because it  has  always been ‘a well  fed  dog‘ given the preponderance of the welfare  state in the   style  of governance  of nations  in the European  Union and community. To  keep  this   welfarist   style   afloat  the  EU  controls spending such  that member nations budget deficit  must  be within a certain percentage of the individual  nation GDP.  I am  not underestimating  the European  safety  concern over the spiraling  deaths  of  the pandemic, but a lockdown option with prospect of food on the table in the interval, no matter how long, is  not a difficult  option  under such  circumstances. In  African  nations the option is difficult  because food   insecurity  and    poverty  were  already intractable and killing foes    on the  food table   that lockdowns    can  only  escalate to the point   death  from  hunger.

    In  addition, given  the   poor working conditions   and  sufferings of workers in  EU  factories from the  Industrial  Revolution and the progress made by trade unions on workers welfare it has  always been a mark of human development  there,  to shorten working hours and increase  leisure  time   in European  communities.   So, being off  duty in lockdowns would  not be a phenomenon in a  highly  IT driven  environment where working at home   has  become   a familiar  way  of life.  Again  you  cannot  compare this with the situations  in member  nations    of the AU and  ECOWAS   where the drudgery of daily  work and exertions, 24/7  is  the guaranty of  life and  sustenance. That  is the guarantee  to  fill the empty  pot  to feed  the family and   the   source  wherewithal   to pay  monthly  rent which does not stop  getting due   for payment  during lockdowns.

    That  brings us to the article  in  CNN   with the title –  ‘  We  may  not have a cure  for COVID-19 but  we  do for hunger ‘   by Billy  Shore.   The  ‘We ‘  refers  to  the US. It  is a bold viewpoint  that  showed  vividly  that in terms of strategies, perspectives  and reactions to the  pandemic ‘one man’s  food  is  another man’s  poison ‘. It  illustrates vividly  our proverb that a hungry  dog does not play with a well  fed dog.  Hear  him – ‘ Unlike the tragic shortage of N95 masks  and ventilators, there is no shortage of food in America.  Nor is there a shortage of food assistance programmes.     The  Supplemental Nutritional   Assistance Food Program –SNAP  – school  lunch and school breakfast, WIC  and summer meals,  all  exist and are available for  low income families  that need them.’  He  went on in parts – ‘For the past 10 years our  No  Kid  Hungry Campaign has knocked  down many barriers that  existed between a hungry  child and a healthy meal. We made enormous progress in adding   more than 3m eligible kids to  school breakfast as just ONE  example ‘He  then  concluded –‘Though massive in  scale feeding children during the pandemic is  a solvable problem  as well. ‘How  I wish  a Nigerian was saying that about my Nigeria.  It  however shows  that in terms of survival strategy on this pandemic,  a hungry  dog  does  not   adopt   the same strategy of lockdown with a well  fed dog.‘

    Let  us  now look at  Germany’s generosity  to Nigeria on debt relief during the pandemic and financial assistance to  keep  us afloat  during our pandemic travails. I  commend the magnanimity of our German friends as it shows that a friend in need  is a  friend indeed. I  feel  good towards Germany as  I  was on a  fact  finding  trip to W  Germany before the unification of Germany with some Nigerian journalists some  time   ago.  Indeed  Germany  under Chancellor Angela Merkel  has been  kind to the developing world . Germany’s  present African policy  is tied with containment of the migration problem from  West Africa   to   EU  and  Germany, of which Nigeria is a major factor. Merkel  is leading the challenge in the EU that if the sources  of  migration to EU   like    ECOWAS  States,   including  Nigeria   are   made economically buoyant there would be no need for WEST Africans, and Nigerians especially,  risking their lives on the Mediterranean   Sea  and telling lies that they are being persecuted  as gays  in Nigeria,    to get political asylum in Germany. So  in this  case it is a case of a well  fed dog keeping  the   hungry  dog at  bay  by giving it something to eat and minimizing its hunger. It  is really good diplomacy   and    one that we  should  be grateful for even though we know that German firms  like their Chinese counterparts  are doing good business in Nigeria, pandemic or not.

    We  now  look at why EU nations especially UK  are  making future plans as if the pandemic solutions like lockdowns and social  distancing and masks will  be their future way of life.  That  to me is cowardly and  self defeatist  and is a poor  reflection on their  history, good and bad.  Europeans and China and the US  have faced worse plagues and pandemics than this  and have survived and prospered. Even  China from where the Manchurian Plague  of 1910 took  off  and the solution of face masks was introduced is looking at life  as  usual   after this pandemic which started from one of its cities, Wuhan. I feel  Britons especially  should  be of sterner  stuff  and not allow the pandemic to change their way of life as they  have not allowed terrorists to in recent  times, after many  bomb killing and  bloody knives’  wounds and deaths. They   should borrow a leaf  from   Sweden which has followed a policy of containment of living with the pandemic and seeing it through to its end without changing its nation’s culture and way  of  life.

    European  nations especially  those involved in Colonialism   should reflect on how the people they conquered in Africa,  Asia and Latin America felt  when the Europeans came,  slaughtered  and  conquered them and changed their culture and way  of life   permanently forever.

    The  French  even tried to turn Africans into black  French men to no avail. Former colonialist  nations   really   think back on this and wonder how whole societies and kingdoms were lost to colonialism  and  the European way  of life   forced on these  far flung communities  by force of superior  arms and technology. If  perchance these EU nations change  their way  of life because  of this pandemic, then they would  have    started to have an inkling of the havoc and permanent change that they  wrought around the world in the name of colonization and civilisation,  many  ages ago.  It  was a bitter and bloody  pill  to swallow for the victim  societies  and nations  then.  I  wonder  what  the taste  will  be,  perchances, to  the   seemingly   willing  victims   this time around.

    So  far I have  ended my column  with –‘ Long live the  Federal Republic of Nigeria’. Henceforth, as long as this pandemic lasts, I will  end with the rider – ‘ From the fury of this  pandemic, Good Lord deliver Nigeria ‘Amen.

     

  • Contagion, containment and progress

    Contagion, containment and progress

    Dayo Sobowale

    In  tribute to the highly  diseased time of the contagion that we are in,  I start with a tribute to a Nigerian leader I never met  in his life time,  the former Chief of Staff  to our President the late Abba Kyari,  who died recently from the corona virus ravaging our world for now. He  died in harness and therefore  to  me  deserves a  national  salute and I   pay   this tribute, given the circumstances of his demise and burial,  with a quotation from Shakespeare’s  Julius Caesar,  from Mark Anthony mourning  the  body   of the fallen   Caesar –‘  But  yesterday  the word   of Caesar might  have stood against the world; now lies he there /And  none so poor to do him reverence . ‘May  the soul of  the   late  Chief  of Staff, Abba Kyari rest  in peace Amen.

    Let  us now go  back  to  deadly  predicament   we   are   in  with the corona virus and probe  ourselves within and without, as members of the human race on how  we can contain and defeat this  contagion before it makes ‘worms  meat  ‘of  all  of us –   to  which  I say   forcefully    God  Forbid.  Today  is not a time for any criticism on the above topic . My simple  mission here is   to say  that we must go on with our lives  here in Nigeria and the rest of the world in spite of the blind fury of the spreading corona virus . My  plea is   that  we cannot afford  to close shop  economically because of the virus because the aftermath of that  will  be more calamitous in social  and political  costs than even  the present  ordeal, which  fortunately    in our part  of the world  now  is less tragic than  those of the  nations in Europe and the US  especially.  I  acknowledge  that  the virus  falls in the domain of Medicine   which is a science   but  a solution  to it should not  be a  purely   scientific or medical  one, but a multidisciplinary  solution that weighs the containment measures along with the capability of society at   large to   absorb  such  measures  and  survive in one piece and not in mangled, angry  pieces  subsequently.  I will  illustrate  with some incidents over  the last  week  all over the world.

    In  Nigeria during the  lockdown  some mischievous people sent out false  news that some communities were being attacked or were about to be,    by a  group  called   ‘One Million Boys ‘   and      there   was panic  all over.   Indeed  I  thought  one million  boys were   really   on a march   against  all of us.  The panic became worse    when ordinary  citizens saw wildly  armed youths with machetes  and cutlasses  marching about  purportedly   to defend their community against   the so called ‘Im Boys’ . Of    course  the Police  had to intervene to disarm those who  would defend their community against hoodlums , ums and looters but it is clear  this is a recipe for anarchy and the   crazy  rationale for the miscreants fomenting and spreading the false news  was the  negative  economic impact  of  the lockdown. This has led to  more false news   or   thereabout,  of thieves looting locked shops for foods and snacks  and kitchens for  pots of soups and   meat.  Which   is  a very  hunger  driven   situation,  if really true.

    There  was also  the news that WASC  and  NECO  exams  have been postponed indefinitely  there by  creating unnecessary  alarm and confusion for  young people, youths in general and their parents over their  future. Such  announcements definitely  create an atmosphere of concern that society is collapsing or coming down and there is  no  way  one  can   predict  the reaction  or indignation of those involved.  Similarly  it was  announced that face masks will  be needed  by anyone venturing out during the lockdown or thereafter. That  certainly  calls  for concern  for  our Nigerian  community   which  is crime  prone  and    where the danger can be amplified when we become overnight a community of masked citizens. I  can only pity the Police and law enforcement agencies in identifying who  they are dealing with,   especially in identification parades.

    As for ordinary citizens, I am sure social distance will be automatic when it is obvious that you can’t see the face of anyone you see,  and they can’t see yours either.  How that will make for good public safety or law and order in our part of the world is something one can only pray for as we suddenly become a nation of masquerades in broad daylight and at night too. Yet for now WHO said the mask is not a proof of protection against the virus.

    I wish  to point out that  I  am not the only one bothered about life   during    the lockdown   but  after the pandemic altogether. I will  use the experience of Italy and the US  recently  to see how we can  learn something from their    present economic and    political predicament.  This is not to say that we need to run the gamut of their experience which was costly  in terms of thousands of deaths. The  two  nation’s scientists  worshipped  statistics such  that they waited willy nilly for a graph of deaths to peak in the hope that it will fall down and the lockdown  will be open with less deaths. We  do not need to wait to invoke such morbid statistics here, more so as we know that the two nations are already regretting and counting the costs of  allowing growing death  statistics while locking down their societies and ruining   their  economic strengths. In  the US it is the president leading the fight against the scientists to stop  the lock downs. In  Italy  there is  resurgence of the Mafia coming out to help Italians  struggling to feed themselves and  their  families during the lockdown when  government  did not live up to its obligations  and promises  to give lockdown   bail  out  to  such families.

    In   Italy the news is that  the Mafia  is back  and it is  because of the economic  hardship of the pandemic lockdowns. The  resurgence  of the Mafia has been so  recognized in the EU such that a German Minister warned that any Euro COVD-19 loan to Italy  will end up in  the hands of the Mafia because the Mafia has bailed out most Italians during the lockdown and they are indebted to the Mafia. Some  statistics from the EU nations recently showed that 25 % of Italians under the age of 20 are jobless, out of school  and any form of training   and   are easy prey  for jobs and deals to sustain their   lives  and future   with  the Mafia.

    So  with a  looming Mafia  future, corruption and crime will  rear  their  ugly heads   in Italy  again. That  is the price in Italy  of making the solution   or   cure  of the pandemic worse  than  the disease with  lockdowns.

    However, it  was  the US President Donald Trump  who  first  coined the phrase that  the pandemic ‘s  ‘remedy  should  not be worse than  the disease’   and  the US president has moved to match  his words  with action even going as far  as attacking his own chosen scientists on the matter. The reason  is not far fetched. This is an election year in the US   and  Trump  has watched the virus  disrupt and hammer down his three election boasts and campaign of a buoyant  economy,  a dominant foreign policy and a boisterous followership of his supporters which made him to   taunt  a  reporter recently that ‘people  love Trump’ .

    In terms of political survival Trump needs the Lockdown to be removed or eased out in   order  to have  a normal   election  he expects  to win. If  you add to this the oil tragedy  that has US oil on a negative price  recently  you will see why  Trump  has to crush the pandemic fear and paralysis  at  all  costs      to  get  American     politics  and   society  back on course. He  has gone ahead to encourage those   states’   governors    and  protesters    willing to follow his charge   to   stop  the lockdowns in spite of his adopting the advice of his scientists  to fight the pandemic   on lockdowns and social  distancing.   That  is  gritty pragmatism worthy of emulation by other nations and leaders including Nigeria.

    To  technically   resign  ourselves  as a nation and as a  people  to the unchecked advance of a blind pandemic is to  behave like   crazy  man standing in front of a raging bull. That  certainly  is suicidal particularly for  our economic needs and future  as well as our political stability. We  need to sidestep this  raging pandemic like  the Matadors in the  bull  fights in Spain, where  unfortunately they   forgot  or  ignored   their Matador   Bull   fight  strategy   this time  around.  The  result    is that   thousands of Spaniards  have been killed  in this  pandemic,     although      this   is a far   cry   from   the  50 million  killed     world wide  in  the Spanish flu   of 1918.  Let  us learn from history  and retool  our kits to kill this  virus at minimal   societal  cost   and     mortality.

    Once again long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Copycats, Empathy, and Security

    Copycats, Empathy, and Security

    Dayo Sobowale

     

    I  found  it rather confusing and agonizing to read the information from the boss of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission  Tony  Ojukwu that although the corona virus pandemic has killed  11 Nigerians, the nation’s  security outfits between them,  have killed 18  Nigerians in the first part of the two week lockdown, now extended by the Nigerian President   by another  two  weeks.  Certainly  this makes one to  wonder which is the greater danger  to Nigeria’s teeming millions of citizens between their security apparatus and  a  fast  killing  global  pandemic. This in a way confirms the American president’s retort   this week   to  a   press    conference question that asked  what would happen  if more people die if he reopens the economy. The media   beleaguered   president Donald Trump retorted that death is already the name of the game in lockdowns and he in particular mentioned suicides from unemployment and isolations. Already the US is the  epicenter of the global  epidemic but  the American  president is already  touting the notion of bouncing back by opening the economy  and ‘America bouncing back‘

    However  in   Nigeria   although   we  still  have the unfinished and un -won  battle with the   deadly Boko  Haram insurgency and  terrorism  even  as the army has been deployed to  Lagos  and Ogun states to make sure the now one month lockdown is effective according to the Presidents’ orders .Of course the President  is the Commander in Chief  but we  are not at war and if  our security forces kill more people in lockdowns than our invisible enemy of a pandemic, then there is need urgently to review the lockdown security of Nigerians,  generally.  Indeed there is urgent need to question the rationale for extending the deadline other than to make Nigerians die from starvation or be killed by violations of the lockdown or  both,  one way  or another. An unfortunate but good example of this pathetic situation is from India which has more unfortunate poor people than Nigeria. In   India,   desperately   poor and unemployed   people were trekking to their villages after lockdowns made them jobless in the capital Delhi. Most of them said they were   ready to die on the road because if they stayed in the capital they would definitely die of hunger. We are yet to hear of any being killed   for walking  hundreds of miles in violation of the lock downs which their PM has   callously extended till   early  May  without considering the plight of such people.

    In  consonance with  the topic of the day it is my view that  in   spite of the spread  of this deadly virus our leaders should show empathy for the suffering Nigerian  masses who   were  neck deep in poverty before the pandemic and are now being   sent on a date   with death by sheer hunger,   with  the extension of the two  week  deadline.  We do not need to be copy cats like the rest of the world in solving the problem with lock down of our economy.  If, as we have done,  we close Lagos  and Ogun states again, we endanger the economic and commercial arteries of our  economy and the result is economic death,  either before or after the pandemic.

     Fortunately, we  in our part of the world have lived with Malaria and AIDs and many deadly  suffocating  diseases and have survived as a nation and as a  people and the reason is not farfetched. It is because of the peculiar constitution of our people that has maintained our health and survival. Why can we not look for a solution from within and just stop being copy cats of other foreign models? When  anti malaria drugs were mentioned as a solution ,  the US President was all for it until the experts cautioned on tests and corroborations .But    here we know the  capabilities  of  our herbs to cure   Malaria, fever coughs  and difficult breathing which are the symptoms of the corona virus. Why  can’t we ask our people to step  up on their local respiratory herbs and drugs while observing the basics of  hygiene like we did during the Ebola crisis which we survived and whose memory is still  with us  as a battle won? We  can  add social  distance to that and ask people to go into self isolation while they expect treatment  once they have the symptoms. We  can as a community be   our brothers’  keeper in helping such people to get the attention of the health  authorities  in our immediate environment.

    In  Lagos alone,  even on Lagos Island on the major streets like Igbosere, Lewis Street, Freeman,  there are houses with six or ten people in a room and you wonder where is the room for  social   distance  or self-isolation. But remember we survived Ebola and   should survive  this corona virus  without dying of hunger from lockdown in this pandemic. In  addition we cannot afford to discriminate amongst  ourselves in finding a solution to this pandemic. We  should ask ourselves where is our former INEC  Chairman Professor Maurice Iwu? I know  he is busy with  the EFCC on other  matters but we need his expertise now. He proposed  before  or was associated  with using bitter kola to treat respiratory diseases or even ebola. We  can ask the EFCC to  allow  him to help find  a local solution to  this problem of a pandemic  which  is a matter of life and death for  Nigerians.

    I want to illustrate  the   need  and urgency of this local  or Nigerian solution with an   ancient   French  story    which is the name of a brand of vinegar called –‘Four Thieves Vinegar’. The  story is about four thieves caught stealing during the Black Plague in Franc  ages   ago.  On  arraignment  , the judge asked them that in exchange for their freedom they should tell the court how and why they were not infected with the plague while stealing. The thieves explained that they  used a potion   of  garlic  soaked in sour wine  called vinegar.   According to the   story  ‘variants of the recipe  were used  during the plague and were passed  on by  generations for hundreds  of years thereafter‘. I  doubt if the government of French President Emmanuel Macron remembers anything about Four Thieves Vinegar to consider it as a solution  for   the  pandemic  in this high-tech era. Yet the pandemic has killed thousands of French  people   without let and the lockdown has even  been extended till May. Both  French  and Nigerian leaders should not scoff at  herbal  solutions   especially    now  with  this pandemic. Moreso  in Nigeria where the deaths are minimal compared  to   France  but the lockdown persists.   However  many Nigerians know the efficacy  of garlic and onions in treating flu like symptoms and will  not  abandon these herbs or other such solutions to  survive  this    pandemic  in spite   of the lockdowns. This  is because  they know  if their  government  does not know,  that desperate  diseases  require   desperate cure and charity  should begin at home.

    The  other story on discrimination I want to highlight has been nipped in the bud from the same part of our nation. The  Northern governors met during the first lockdown and agreed that there  was no need for a lockdown in the North and they  were not ordering one because their people are   farmers who need to go out on a daily  basis to earn their  living. Which precisely is the situation in  Ogun and Lagos states  where the President ordered a lockdown and extended it later. What  is good  for the goose in the North should be good for the gander in Lagos and Ogun states. Cheekily the governors asked for funds to set up testing centers and other facilities to contain the virus in the North . They  however got a rebuttal  from a  group from the same North   called  Coalition of Northern Groups   -CNG -which asked the FGN not to give the funds as they would  ‘abuse ‘  it as they did with the FGN   funds to pay  backlog of workers’  salaries given the  governors some time ago. That  really  is a great indictment of the leadership  of the North in particular and Nigeria in general  on the sour  need  for integrity  and empathy  in governing in Nigeria.

    Even  here in the South it has been donations galore for the Corona virus fund and  right now when those who  need such funds don’t have it during the lockdown. Not to talk of where and how to access it after the pandemic.This is not to discourage the spirit of philanthropy.  But  charity   cannot be a substitute for  governance especially in a  nation that is observing the rule of law and is an elected one,  expected to look after the welfare of its people which elected it into power in an election in a democracy. The  prerogative of accountability and the rule of law  make it  mandatory for government to   financially take care of its people with apparent empathy and commitment and not rent  such  important  and essential   role out in the name of charity. That  makes accountability and transparency difficult to monitor and follow as  expected  in any worthwhile democracy  and  that is not a good  sign of good  governance in any democracy. Once again, long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria .

  • Lockdowns, Laws and Survival

    Lockdowns, Laws and Survival

    Dayo Sobowale

    Lockdowns  have become the new  global  life style of  human existence   nowadays . It was difficult to contemplate before,  when it was about foreign lands  but when you have lived in it for a week as we have done in  Lagos,  then you see clearly  that it is not at all a laughing matter .  Now you  understand why those indoors  on their  balconies  in Italy  shout  ‘idiots ‘at  people they see on the streets during lockdown not knowing some of them  are medical personnel. Italy  for now is second  only to the US  in terms of deaths in their thousands,  as  the center of the corona virus  pandemic  .  You  can  also   appreciate   why  in Lagos state a famous actress and her  husband  have been fined 1000 naira  each for holding   a   party during lockdown   while  the police is still searching for prosecution all  those  who attended the party. In  Scotland the Chief  Medical  Officer attending the  daily corona virus briefing with the PM was captured on social media on a visit  to her country home with her family; and after protests or maybe even without that.  The PM s  aked  she should just resign as a bad example on the safety and lockdown rules she daily proclaimed .

    In  real and grim terms,  the corona virus has shown that life  has no  duplicate and that viruses are  no respecter of persons. A good example of that is UK PM Boris Johnson who  was reported to be fighting for his life in the Intensive Care  Unit in the UK. He  warned  rightly at the  beginning of the epidemic that people will  die with the grim rider ‘without   sugar  coating it‘;     an  expression the US president Donald Trump later adopted when accused wildly  by the opposing media against him, that he had downplayed American leadership appreciation of the gravity of the pandemic initially. In Nigeria the Chief  of Staff  to the President at the powerful  Aso  Rock   has gone on self-quarantine after testing positive. At UCH Ibadan,  Nigeria’s  oldest teaching hospital the Chief Medical Director has tested negative, gone to  seclusion and resumed duty, while the Chairman of the board of the hospital has tested positive  a second  time and is again gone on quarantine. On this pandemic issue the rules are clear and as the Federal Government spokesman said on the convicted actress    case, nobody is above the law.

    However despite  the   real  dangers of death  by asphyxiation  and dry cough, the reported symptoms of this deadly pandemic, it  would   seem some part  of   the world is not facing it with a herd mentality inherent in the  favourite  strategy of lockdowns to  contain it. Examples abound of those who simply defy    the lockdowns and get away with it or  threaten those who try to effect the lock down by law. According to  reports there was  the usual massive traffic jam in Lekki during this week of lock down such  that even a medical  personnel allowed to move during the lockdown had to  turn back home because there was no road to his destination. The excuse given for the traffic jam was that the police were checking for those violating the lockdown   hence the traffic logjam.  But since thetraffic jam has always been a feature of the place it is apparent the logjam was caused by lockdown  violators . An   excuse has been given that those in Lekki are rich people and  have large  number of cars but they  are not above the law and the state should show that nobody is above the law like the FGN said. And  indeed,  the state should not make laws it cannot keep.

    In  Ogun  state  the Governor  Dapo  Abiodun , obviously got annoyed with protests over the clearance for Dangote trailers and   others  to ply its borders and roads during the lockdown and asked people to try and be like Dangote,  because to the governor,  Dangote  has  helped  on the virus  finance  support   and  is the richest  man in Africa. That peculiar observation on riches is not an original observation of the Ogun state governor as there is a  popular song by a rapper that  says Dangote does not have two  heads  to   be so rich   and he   prays   to  be like him. But that is not the point here and I think the good governor  has missed the point of the criticism. The Dangote trailers , tankers and different mechanical contraptions    have  been a menace on Lagos and Ogun  state roads  all  the time, and to grant them exemption during lockdown makes the public think they  are above the law in these two  states  on  which the Federal  Government  has, from Abuja clamped a lockdown for two  weeks . Already  the  Federal  Minister  of Information has  somewhat  gleefully  warned that the lockdown will  be extended if citizens or  residents in the two states  do not respond which is an unhelpful and  spiteful  advice in these  testy times. I  expect  Lagos state to have the same attitude shown  by the Ogun state  governor  on the  Dangote  issue  but one should  keep in mind that it is the same FGN which  said clearly that  nobody is   above the law on lockdown violations.

    Let  us now  move to Germany  and the US where  some people are  taking the law into their hands or challenging it in their intention to insist that life must  go on as usual in spite of the deadly pandemic . Let  me  note  again that Germany  has the lowest rate of deaths in Europe on the pandemic  and  the US has the highest,   being the epicenter of the virus . In Europe Germany has a rate of 1.5 %    while    Spain which  has the largest  deaths  has 9.5%  and Italy    has 7.5  percent. Germany’s  low death rates has been  ascribed to limiting tests to  those with symptoms as even  some  German critics of  even this fine performance, have said it would take three years to test all  Germans. While the German government has  insisted on the lockdowns a fanatic Catholic body  took the German  government to court on the issue because the government  insisted the Churches will not be opened for Easter  services this year. A German court backed the government and ruled that the lockdown and closure of churches   for Easter do not violate freedom of worship or religion in Germany.  The intending violators have argued that if people can be allowed to go out and buy food and beverages in lockdowns, they should be allowed to  go to  Church. The government lawyers however countered that people stay longer together in Churches and that can make even social distance unproductive in containing the virus. So, for now  the law has had its way in protecting lock  down and social distance on religious worship in Germany  which  I  hope  religious bodies  should  notice and  embrace  globally,  especially in Nigeria.

    In  the US,   too,  a court  ruled  in the opposite  direction to the situation in Germany on lockdown  with  regard  to the state primaries of the Democratic  Party in the state of  Wisconsin. The  Democrat  state  governor had ordered a lock  down   and  postponement of the primaries, because of the pandemic and was taken to court by the Republicans who  argued that the state  governor did  not have the power to postpone the election unilaterally . But    the State Supreme court which has a Republican majority on its bench ruled that the primaries must hold despite the lockdown this week. The Democrats   had wanted  voting by post  which  the  Republican  US President Donald Trump  called   ‘corrupt‘  in the circumstances.  The  Republicans could be accused of making an ass of the law or playing politics with it,  but undoubtedly in Wisconsin, the Supreme   Court or even the Republicans have put politics above public safety   and one prays or hope they  will  not pay a steep  price for  this later   with this pandemic. But then the basis of society is the law and it must be obeyed, lock down or no lockdown. Once again, long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

     

  • Fear, leadership and authority

    Fear, leadership and authority

    Dayo Sobowale

    Panic Leadership is abroad globally in the deathly wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Its  effect  has been pronounced in the way politicians and powerful leaders suspect each other  and  fret  in the quest    to  keep power  and authority,  in the face of the urgent need for self and total  quarantine,  once any of them is tested positive  for the deadly disease. This    is testing the established ,  though informal corridors of power in Nigeria’s mighty Aso  Rock. American president Donald Trump has accused the press  of trying to prolong the lock down to contain the virus in order to ruin the economy and prevent his reelection in the 2020 election in November. In Brazil the president has said the virus pandemic is exaggerated and some observers in the nations of Latin America have cynically  said that the virus is a class disease,  affecting  the rich  who  have travelled abroad and imported the disease on the poor  people serving them,  especially  in Brazil.  Which also  may likely  be the case in Nigeria where it is obvious the lock down has  dilly dallied   because poor  Nigerians who  have not travelled abroad must earn a living to survive in spite of the virus  and  just  must   go out to fend  for their families in the usual   desperate  ,  daily  do or die manner ,  before the emergence of the virus .We  shall  look  at the  actions of the Lagos  and Rivers state governments on the containment  of the virus in these two  crucial port cities .

    In  effect then what I am  saying is that   the  deadly   effect of the virus should not be politicized to  castrate political  opponents through its handling and challenges by the  opposing actors  in the   political  class . It  is no exaggeration that Asian and Western nations are more  afflicted than the nations of the so  called third world  ,some  of which    recently   and unashamedly   called for debt relief from the rich nations  of the world whose economies will  certainly take a critical  blow  from the pandemic . This  is because  of  the way   these rich nations   are trying to cushion  the    negative economic   effect    of the pandemic by paying  for workers laid off or working from home and funding factories closed from production of goods and services ,  due to lock down over the virus .  Indeed these rich nations are bound to be offended by the call for relief from the poor nations but in International Relations there are no permanent friends but permanent interests and both sides certainly know what  to do on the pandemic .

    Undoubtedly,   world leaders have shown candor   if   not   outright brutality in exposing the danger in the spread of the virus and its high mortality rate to their   people. But telling people that they will die if they don’t obey lock down instructions can only exacerbate the fear of the virus   in the minds of the citizenry ,   whose welfare  and health is the goal  of governments in this pandemic. Such fears  have led to panic buying and stock piling   which  are signs of a distressed and  sick society economically and is bound to  multiply   the deadly effects of the economy on both  the citizens and the collapsing economy held  by the jugular  by the virus. It  is with this outlook that  I want  to  comment today on issues I have  raised on Aso  Rock, the US President, Lagos   and   Rivers   state   which   have   port   cities   and   are the goose that lays  the golden egg    in the Nigerian econ.

    In Nigeria some governors returning from abroad have gone on self-quarantine after testing positive or negative to the coronavirus tests. In the presidency the Chief of Staff of the president has tested positive after returning from   a foreign trip and has gone into self-quarantine.  They all have my sincere wish for a quick recovery and healthy return to their duties. This is especially   in spite of the rumour    on the   Chief of Staff   and the NSA who was widely reported to have usurped the powers of the president and was meeting directly with the security and military chiefs. This is not a time to gloat over anybody’s illness or incapacitation on account of power rivalry or tussle in the presence and danger of a pandemic. Indeed tests should be monitored seriously to ensure that they are not manipulated to sideline political opponents or rivals .Certainly  there is urgent  need for  vigilance by our ,   leaders  in  all  works of life that  virus tests are not used to put some of them  in or  out of power in this  pandemic and  I say this in very  good faith .   All the same politicians and legislators should know that this is a dangerous time for foreign engagements as their favorite destinations outside Dubai are the US and Europe which have  now   become the epicenter of the Corona virus . The warning,   buyer beware, is very apt in this instance.

    The  out burst of US  president  Donald  Trump  that the media and Democrats are using the prolonged lock down to  get him is not inappropriate  given the daily antagonistic questions that    he and  his team  have  faced since he started his press briefing . The briefings have shown that too much of anything is bad. This    definitely applies to expectations on political transparency and accountability provided by the US Federal government and the state governors and the questioning media on this pandemic.  The    question and answer   sessions have been fierce and hostile. It is as if either side is programmed to get the other, pants down on these two key democratic components   of  transparency  and accountability on the challenges of the pandemic and their containment . Any democracy that does not allow dissent is a bad democracy. But a democracy that enshrines dissent to the detriment of governmental action by elected officials is anarchy and that is where the US is headed on its handling of this corona virus and its containment in the last week.

    We now come back to Nigeria.   In Rivers state the Governor has closed its borders with neighboring states and have banned vehicles from entering till further notice to contain the effect of the virus. This is Nigeria’s major oil port and that means oil tankers will be affected. That was a bold move by a governor out to protect his people. In Lagos state the governor seemed even more concerned and asked for a partial lock down   later,  even though his press conference sounded like a total  one . But  can the Lagos state governor close the  state  to  oil  tankers and  trailers  who traverse  Lagos roads  with lawless abandon and impunity on their way  to the Apapa and Tin Can Ports which are the major commercial arteries of the Nigerian economy?   Who   will   test the tanker drivers and their handlers as they take over Lagos during the lock down or are they taken to be immune to the virus? Are they subject to any laws on lock down, partial or total? I presume this was the challenge the Governor was alluding to when he said that Lagos is a sub set of a sovereign and not a sovereign. He should clarify and take control of Lagos and call the menace of the tankers the oil barons and their drivers  to order. In a Federal state   like Nigeria, Lagos is not a sub set of any sovereign according to our law. The governor should not cede Lagos to the Federal government like Dosumu did in 1861.  This is 2020 , the year of the Corona virus and Lagos must  be protected not  only  against  corona virus but the trailers and oil tankers who do not respect its authority . Once again long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • A world on its knees, and at ‘ war ‘

    A world on its knees, and at ‘ war ‘

    Dayo Sobowale

     

    WHEN US  President  Donald  Trump this week suggested that he could be described as a ‘war  president’  given the  gravity of the Coronavirus which has locked down both the global  economy as well as that of the US, nobody  for once doubted that he was telling the truth. In Iran it was reported that an  Iranian  was dying every 10  minutes from the coronavirus while in New York  Governor Cuomo  was warning passionately that Misinformation and Panic on the virus are  as dangerous as the virus  itself. In Nigeria the South West  Governors took  the lead in closing schools and religious worship and banning gathering of over 50  people and that gave Nigerians  a lot of hope that we are not sitting on a  keg of gun powder in terms of complacency and benign   neglect  of a  pandemic  that has literally brought  the world  to its knees in  terms of the speed of its impact  on global  trade, communications and   sheer  human survival.

    These events  then provide  a prism to  look at the viral  ravages of this deadly  virus as it spirals around the world and creates  fear and panic at the speed of light in a world we once proudly  called a global  village . This was  then because  of the fast spread of  useful  information and knowledge  arising from the advent of the internet   and information   technology . However the    misinformation  and panic that have accompanied the dissemination of news and spread  of the virus globally in recent days, show  clearly   that  too  much information can be as deadly  as too little, and that in terms of quality  of  information with our present level  of  technology,  not all  that glitters  is  gold.  Simply   put, Fake news and misinformation have  made it very  difficult for  the global authorities  to  know how to contain the coronavirus  and its spread. Which  is a  terrifying  tragedy  indeed for  the entire world.

    Let  us  now  look at the topic of today  to illustrate how  the world  has  been brought  to  its  knees   and can  be described  as being at war .We  shall  look at the reality  of evolving situations as well as their  back ground  and  antecedents  and reach  our conclusions there from. We  shall  use the US President and the British PM to illustrate the irony of the war  situation . With Nigeria we shall see  how the exposure  of governors that were  once derided as’ foreign imports ‘to our politics have helped in grasping the enormity of the health crisis locally in Nigeria . In  the EU we  shall  examine  how closed  borders arising from the virus is  swiftly   eroding the empire building goal  of the EU just  as the Justinian plague  ages   ago  destroyed  the Ancient  Roman Empire  and  brought in the Dark Ages in Europe .

    On  a lighter note , if that is possible with this killer virus,  if  someone  had told the US  President  that  he will  be called a war  president he would have thought  that  the war would be with Iran, China, or  Russia,  nations with  which the  US  is contending to lead  the world .Now  Donald  Trump  is invoking war acts to protect his people  and   the economy, the apple of his political  eye  for reelection and the prospects  are not  that  lively  and that is making  the usually  boisterous deal maker quite  tired and looking morose  nowadays.  In   the same manner UK PM Boris Johnson  was  reported as wanting to be seen as a war Minister  in the mould of Winston Churchill,  Britain’s  legendary leader in WW2, with  regard to  Brexit . Now Johnson  has won his Brexit but  faces and unexpected war in the Coronavirus and it s not difficult  from his countenance and speeches on the virus  that  this is not the type of war  Prime  Minister he wanted to be. Unfortunately  unlike one of his  predecessors he cannot invent   weapons  of mass  destruction in a foreign land  with an American  president  because   both  of them  are in the same  boat nowadays ,   fighting for their political  survival in the way  they  fight  a virus  rather than the  much   expected  military  foe.

    Without  mentioning names or even states,  many  Nigerians are relieved  by the speed  with which the SW governors  have moved positively  to contain the virus in our environment. I commend them for their proactivity, foresight  and care. Of course some have called them American and foreign products at the advent of primaries that eventually put them in power. With their foreign exposure  and experience   however, they  have read  the handwriting on the wall   in the way the virus is making the governments of the west and the US prostrate, and have not allowed procrastination to be the thief of time in moving against  the virus  here at  home. They  have overnight  to me  metamorphosed from foreign  products to good  Nigerian  leaders  and again I commend them and wish them and all of us luck  in grinding this virus to  a speedy  end     for good,  and in good time.

    Let  us  now use  a mix of modernity and history  to illustrate further the effect of this coronavirus on the world. I read of the  Justinian Plague  during the  reign of Roman  Emperor Justinian who united the Western Roman Empire with East whose  capital  was Constantinople. The plague historically killed half the population of Constantinople, now Istanbul,  and weakened the army  and people of the Empire such that they  were overrun and defeated by smaller but  stronger armies and that led to the  collapse of the Roman Empire and ushered in the Dark Ages. Compare that with the openborders and free movement of  people in the EU  which  was a thorny  point  in the Brexit Deal  or  No Deal talks.  Now  look  at    the borders being erected by EU member nations against   one another to prevent cross border spread  of coronavirus and  you  cannot  but see that unless  the virus is contained  speedily the EU  will  disintegrate just  like the Byzantine or Roman Empire on which it was modeled ;  several centuries ago .

    Lastly one  can   see  that it is possible  for some good  to come out of the coronavirus even   from  the hostile ,   rancorous  and partisan US politics .   This  was  revealed in the way that New York  Governor  Andrew Cuomo spoke in glowing terms of how President Trump  is prepared to  offer Federal   help  to the city and state of  New York . Cuomo  said Trump was  ready  and sincere  and has a good  and  competent team in place to help New York  tackle the virus . He cautioned against panic and fake news on the virus  but he never doubted the sincerity of the US president to help. Both  Trump and Cuomo are strange bedfellows on  the unity they  have  brought out to fight a common enemy  which is the virus because Cuomo is a Democrat and Trump is   Republican  who  just  survived Impeachment  by the Democrats. Indeed Trump recently  fled New York  to live elsewhere  because of the hostile Democrats administration of both the Mayor and Governor  of New York. Obviously the fear of Coronavirus  is the beginning of wisdom in tackling the common foe that this virus  has become not only in New York  but indeed our entire world. Once  again long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

  • Culture, democracy and coronavirus

    Culture, democracy and coronavirus

    By Dayo Sobowale

    It  will  be an  understatement to say that the world is held by the throat  and in throes of the deadly  coronavirus. This  deadly pandemic is redrawing human culture, diplomacy, business  and politics in a way that  no  one  could have    foreseen, even as early as the start of 2020, the year that it has chosen to scare the human race and make it scamper like a wet  chicken in its wake. Coronavirus is a disease with no known cure yet,  according to the World Health Organisation. I  pray   a cure is found for the virus urgently.  Today however,  I want to dwell on situations that  are man- made and have always  been  with us as a modern society, globally. These  are situations    which we have  ignored  and allowed to fester and rot  such that    at the end of the day, they  are having the same lethal  and murderous effect  on our civilization and culture. Just     like   the coronavirus that has sneaked in  on us, like a thief in the night, against  an unsuspecting and unprepared world.

    Let  me  start  with  the major  news items  of last week  aside from the coronavirus which  has shut down nations like Italy and is threatening the US and   world  economy.  It   has rattled the US President Donald Trump on his reelection chances which hitherto has hung on the performing economy he liked   to boast  so much about .In  Nigeria the famous and outspoken Emir of Kano,  Muhammadu Sanusi  was dethroned  by the Governor of Kano  State and banished to exile in  a town in Nassarawa State.  In  Russia   a modern communist state,  President Vladmir Putin   is tinkering with the constitution to  prolong his power and tenure. He     has weaponised  marriage  between a man and a woman as the basis of human  existence    and  Russian  culture  and    is using it as    a  political   tool to revamp  the Russian constitution.  He  is  backed to the hilt in this ploy  by the  Russian Orthodox  Church which  had been in the cold since the Russian Communist Revolution of 1917. In  the  EU  there is a clear clash  between lucrative sports competitions like football  and health, over the containment of the coronavirus.  Just  like a  European   commentator noted grimly   this week   that before coronavirus, the migrant was the enemy but now the corona  infected migrant  is the   enemy  of xenophobic   Europeans.  Which  really is  a dangerous development but which we shall  look at  in the way some EU  governments are handling  the pandemic so  feverishly  for now.

    We  go  back  again  to the rise and fall of the Sanusi Emirship  in Kano.  History  has just repeated itself because the grandfather of the dethroned Emir  was dethroned by the first Premier of the northern region, the  irreplaceable  leader of the North the Sardauna of Sokoto   Alhaji Ahmadu  Bello.   Sanusi’s  grandfather    dared    the   democratic power   of the Sardauna,  himself a prince who really should have been the  Sultan and   the  Sardauna   used   his legitimate   democratic power   to remove him and send him to exile. The  Sardauna  who   was killed  in the 1966  coup  remains the darling leader of the suffering masses   of the North  till    today  because  he was   a school  teacher   and political  leader  who  used   education  to accelerate  the development of the North  to  catch   up   with the  South. Since   his demise Northern leaders   have largely   feathered     their  own nest at the expense  of the Northern   poor  masses,  hence the suffering,   anger, violence  and   insurgency  all  over the North  nowadays.

    In a way  it  is  as if the former CBN governor now former Emir  of Kano,  was  dancing to the tune of banishment and disgrace from office,  given the way he lambasted  both traditiona and democratic institutions which   have political authority  over him  during his reign. He  reminded me of the Icarus   trajectory in ancient mythology  Icarus  was a famed engineer in ancient  times who built  flying  objects and was revered for his genius. This got into his head  and he decided to  build a machine made of wax and strapped himself   to it  for  a flight  to the sun,   which  of course melted the wax  and he plunged to his death.  The former Emir forgot that  we live in a democracy governed by elected officials and not royal blood. He  perfected the friendship of the cocoyam in the midst  of goats with those who  put him in office and  he     got   consumed   and lost  his throne. To  me this was a clear sighted   case  of  political  suicide or   regicide, as you like,  and I wish  him happy rest as a private  citizen  of  Kano  in Nassarawa.

    We  move   on to say  that  it   is now  possible  to compare   the  political  culture in the west  with  that of  Russia  a nation that was  the arch enemy of the US during the Cold War. Russia  was communist and atheist  during the Cold War and  the Russian Orthodox Church  was  to be seen  and not heard. But  either under the Marxists or the Soviet  Union, Russia  had  no sympathy  for  gay  rights  till  today, just  like Nigeria which has anti gay  laws in place.  Now  a Russian leader is using culture and religion which  he knows are popular with his people to elongate  his hold on power and you cannot blame him since he has carried his people along so  far.

    Compare that with the west where you cannot publicly criticize gay people and   where the feminist movements  have ruined  the careers of men who had affairs with them or helped them in the past. President Vladmir  Putin is trying to reform the social life in Russia in terms of criminalizing gay rights while at the same time putting that  in  a package of political reform to amend the Russian  constitution to stay  longer in office after his present tenure expires in 2024. He  plans to  stay in power  till  2036  when   he is expected to be 83  years  old.  It  is  a plan    that is  Machiavellian in nature but it is a move popular in Russia and much supported by  the Orthodox Church of which 70 per cent of  Russians  are devoted worshippers. Putin  has somewhat managed to  put Russia on a higher moral pedestal  than the west on marriage and gay  rights and as a Nigerian whose people and government  share such values he has my  admiration, albeit    grudgingly    for his brand of democracy. Democracies worth their salt  should be governments   of the people by the people and for the people. Not the near anarchist   type in the US   and   EU  where the laws on hate  speech have literally silenced dissent and is now fuelling xenophobia because people  cannot say  their  inner feelings in public anymore. That  really  is the type of situation that breeds resentment against society and its mores and culture. It is a  sure  recipe for disorder and societal disequilibrium and  I do not envy the future  of Western culture  and civilization for now.

    We  move  on to the   coronavirus      menace   and    Europe   where  empty  stadia  have become more  common nowadays because of the corona virus in Europe, the seat  of  world sports. What started as a simple warning by the  young Chinese owner of   a  Milan  club that  his directors  should not place sports above health is now the vogue in the fight to stem the spread of the corona virus in world sports. It  is even feared that the  2020  Olympics  in   Japan  may  be affected  or postponed.

    I expect both fans and footballers  who  earn  fantastic weekly salaries should understand and know that  life has no  duplicate. The  only  solution is to pray  for a cure very  fast and I hope that  happens soon.  But  the ways different nations  have tackled the virus show t  a lot  about  governance and  the peculiar types of democracies. In  the US the  anti  Trump media  and   opposition Democrats  are  busy discrediting all  their governments efforts to contain the virus.  In Italy  where it has killed over one thousand people,  the PM has ordered regions and cities closed and sports suspended nationally  and everybody  is obeying and playing ball. In Germany, a true Federation,  the Chancellor Angela Merkel cannot just issue national instructions on the virus but  must leave it to the states or consult them before acting. In Nigeria even   though  some states are taking actions we know that when it comes to funding they  will go cap in hand to  Aso Rock  to  ask for  money  over a matter that revolves around  life and death and which  the states   should handle in a true federation and not the unitary system perfected by military intervention in our politics.  Sincerely  I pray  this corona contagion will soon go away  for us to live our normal life. Once again, long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

  • The military, politics and leadership

    The military, politics and leadership

    By Dayo Sobowale

    The death of Housni Mubarak, Egypt’s  president  for 30  years who was overthrown by the Arab Spring Cairo street riots and demonstrations of 2011, provide  ample  opportunity to reflect on the role of the military in politics in Africa nowadays  . Especially   in this era of  Islamic militant terrorism which  ironically  Mubarak  was able to contain to   claim political  stability    and internal   security as the  main    legacies of his    iron     rule   as  Egypt’s  leader   for many  years. Mubarak’s predecessor  as  president of Egypt,  Anwar Sadat  was shot at a military parade  in  1981  by Islamic Brotherhood  militants and Mubarak  himself  was wounded  in that  attack. His  successor after  the Arab Spring, Mohammed  Morsi, Egypt’s first  elected president  in open  democratic   election,   died   unceremoniously  after making a   public speech of defiance in a cage that brought him  to trial,   after  a military  coup that  saw the military  emerge after  the Arab Spring, to seize  power and continue  in the style that Mubarak used  to rule  Egypt  for  three decades. Egypt’s  army or  military played  politics with Mubarak’s  overthrow   and  in  retrospect, and with the power of hindsight,  one can say  it  bowed in the direction  of the violent storm  of  the Arab  Spring  to   survive   and save its boss.  So,  while  true   democratic  leader   President  Mohammed Morsi was allowed to die in a trial  cage,  the  Egyptian  Army   under   President Abdul  Fattah  Sisi  freed  Mubarak and he returned to his house in peace and was given  a military burial fit  for a king  and Commander  in Chief  of the Egyptian  Armed  forces  this week. The  military  in Egypt   has shown  that with its leadership  in politics,  dog  does  not  eat  dog,  and   we  will  today  ask  ,or see why  this is so, and how  that  phenomenon  is working out in some  nations in Africa including Nigeria.

    Of  course  we know that the era of random coups or military intervention   in Africa is gone for good  and we say good riddance to bad rubbish. We  however  contend  that  in Africa, the role of  the military in government  and politics   has not  diminished. This is because while politicians  in elective  offices  run  governments in Africa’s democracies, most  of the politicians in flowing gowns  are  no more than wolves in sheep’s  clothing.   They  have simply exchanged their  braided caps  and military  fatigues,  for flowing gowns and long caps  as in Nigeria and Sudan.  Of    political  leadership in  these  nations   you  can  safely  say   like  the deceived   Patriarch  Abraham in the bible,  that ‘the hand  may  be that of Esau  but  the voice is that  of  Jacob. The   effect   of this type  of political  leadership  metamorphosis, in the nature  of the  politics and democracy   we   practice   now, as well  as its repercussion for   the security   of African  nations involved    in  this   political   regurgitation,  is the  focus  of our attention today.

    Today,  Egypt  is under the democratic rule of Mubarak’s former Intelligence Chief President Abdul  Fattah   Sisi,  who won a presidential election after the unfortunate Mohammed Morsi was accused of treason and removed from power. You  can  say  easily  that all is calm and peaceful in Egypt. This  is  because    all  those  young   rioters for democracy  in the  2011  Arab Spring,    encouraged  to  come out  by the Obama Regime in the US and Sarkozy’s  France, have been   abandoned    by the West   and are either jailed or  killed  by the  Egyptian  army  which  played  ball  to avoid Mubarak being   killed  by  the Mobocracy of  the Arab Spring  and get  political  power back  for the military  establishment in Egypt.

    This trend  of power  regeneration and capture in the chameleonic pursuit of  democracy  is  quite  familiar in many  nations   in  Africa today. We  shall  look at Nigeria  and Sudan   for obvious reasons.  Both  nations  have  been ruled by  leaders  who  were former military  officers before.

    Nigeria’s  case of military dominance of our  democracy  is  quite  glaring and very  much in plain sight. Former  Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu  Buhari  were military presidents  who  were later elected to two presidential  terms of  office in subsequent   democratic  presidential  elections. In  the  case of President  Buhari  he  lost  elections before being elected in 2015.  And  although  there  are powerful  non military politicians in our democracy like  the Jagaban,  only a fool  will  say  that  the two  former military  presidents  are   not  the dominant factors in our political  system today. Indeed  the senior former  military  president has never  allowed his successors to  run the nation with a free hand since  his two  terms   of   office  expired.

    In  addition  to this,  Nigeria’s  legislature is filled  with former military  officers of various ranks  who  still see  themselves and their roles as that of an elite military officer cadre, bound together by their ethos of spirit de  corps  that  notes again,  like in Egypt  that  dog  does not eat  dog. Here     is why the issue of  security  comes in with  regard to the Boko  Haram  menace.  This  is because it is my honest  view that  until  Boko  Haram  is destroyed,  the Nigerian military both  past and present, in uniform or out of it, in Aso  Villa  or in the legislature,  cannot  boldly  claim  to  have done its duty of protecting the sovereignty   and  territorial  integrity  of  Nigeria . According  to reports, even  the Nigerian Information Minister  this week  admitted that Boko Haram  is trying to start a  religious war in Nigeria  by killing Christians. This is alarming but not  new, as CAN  has always  made  that tragic allegation. Indeed  some Nigerians who  recently escaped being killed by Boko  Haram have said the terrorists were asking for their names and looking for IDs with Christian  names  as well as being   on the look out for civil  servants who  are believed to be rich   to be kidnapped  for huge ransoms.

    With  Nigeria’s brand  of democracy  in which politicians have  immense military and security  background as in Egypt, Boko  Haram  should  be history  by  now.  Just    like  the Egyptian Army has  literally  neutralized the Islamic Brotherhood  that  killed Anwar  Sadat  and  which  Mubarak held under  lock and key  as it were,  to make life and property safe in Egypt  until  he was removed in the  Arab Spring streets riots of 2011. Our  leaders  with military  background should  be our  best assets and main deterrence in defeating Boko  Haram. It  should not be otherwise. Surely  a word is enough for  the wise.

    This is because it is my honest view that until Boko Haram is destroyed, the Nigerian military both past and present, in uniform or out of it, in Aso Villa or in the legislature, cannot boldly claim to have done its duty of protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria

    In     Sudan’s  case the former  military president Omar  Al  Bashir  who ruled for almost the same 30 years like Mubarak  has not  been  so  lucky. The  rioters in Khartoum, Sudan’s  capital,  last  year,  were unyielding in asking that he must go  and eventually  he was brought to trial  again in a cage. His  successors, fellow former military  officers tried to  give him a soft  landing but could not and he is still in jail. Worse  still, the International Criminal Court which  has a warrant on him  for genocide in  Darfur, has  been assured by the new rulers in Sudan  that  he would  be released  to face trial for genocide at the World Court in the Hague. Which  really is a lesson to all world leaders, especially in Africa, that they  hold power in trust to protect the people that elected them. If  the Sudanese former  president eventually faces his nemesis on trial  for genocide, then one  can  very  well   say that  ‘ the mills  of justice may  grind  slowly, but they grind  exceedingly fine.  Once again, long live the federal Republic of Nigeria.

     

     

     

     

  • Between, anarchy, resignation and responsibility

    By Dayo Sobowale

     

    It  was not  surprising to  hear the President of  the Christian Association  of Nigeria say  that Nigeria was heading towards anarchy   given  the dismal  security   situation in the nation, as widely reported in the news media this week.

    It  was equally   not  unexpected of the Minister of Information  to   shout  that the president would not resign because  of the  security  situation    because of  he was elected to be in power till   2023.

    In  Germany   this week,  a  mad man went on rampage and  killed 10  people suspected to be either Turks or  Kurds  and the German  Chancellor addressed   the state  that  such an action  cannot  be allowed  in  Germany  of today, while the President  of Turkey  issued a stern  warning asking for  details of  the killings involving  Turkish  citizens  in  Germany.

    In  a debate of  the Democratic Party  presidential  candidates  expected  to unseat  President  Donald Trump  in the US,    billionaire Mike  Bloomberg  was harassed and shouted  down by  other  candidates   such that  he ended up  charging in frustration that the real  winner of the debate  was   indeed  their  absent  opponent, Donald  Trump.

    It  is my  contention today  that confusion   and frustration precede  violence  and anarchy which really  is a breakdown of law  and order.

    Similarly,  political  chaos can  occur when  cultural  values change  unexpectedly and  become so unmanageable  that  people do  not really  know what  to say  or  do and instead turn a blind eye to events they  cannot  manage even though  they  see and know that  aberrations are staring them  right in the face.

    Such  is the case with most of  the issues  highlighted today  and it does not  matter whether they  occur  as security or  shooting  issues   in  Nigeria or Germany  or in presidential  debate   in    the US  of an opposition  party confused about how  to get power or get  a president out of  power.

    In  all  these instances confusion and anarchy beckon in the face   of    failure of leadership  as well as dodgy  ability  to  accept  or take responsibility,  for  real  or potential  lapses.  Let  me now look  at  the issues in the light  of our headline.

    We  start with the situation in Nigeria on  alleged  looming anarchy  and  a refusal  to  resign  on account of   tenure  of  office.

    However the CAN president  never asked the president to resign on account  of  insecurity  and he was not  shouting  wolf  when  there is none.

    Insecurity  is pervasive in the land and he was calling on the president to take on the forces of insecurity on behalf of all Nigerians so they could sleep  well in their  beds at  night,  move around in their nation to earn a living  and live   a good life.

    That does  not in any way  question  the security of tenure of an elected president given a mandate  to  protect the lives  and properties of Nigerians.

    To  call  that a call  for resignation is to miss the point  and just  beg the issue.  Overall  the president should  seize  the bull  by the  horn   on  security    to  prevent a slide to  anarchy,  not necessarily   because CAN is asking   for  this,  but  because   that  is what  the insecurity  in the nation at  large demands and there is no  need chasing  the mirage of   resignation which is just  fake news.

    In   the case of  the shooting in Germany by  a migrant terrorist,   the  reaction from the leaders  in  Germany   and  Turkey   instructive and in both cases confusion and responsibility were at play.

    In  the case of the German  Chancellor there  was responsibility tinged with serious concern from  a previous action that led to the influx  of migrants into Germany in 2015  when  Chancellor   Angela  Merkel  allowed one million refugees fleeing the war in the Middle East  into Germany as an act  of  mercy.

    She  hoped then that they  would integrate into  German society as the Turks And Kurds  has managed somewhat  to do.

    But  that was a futile  hope and it  has cost  her the leadership  of  Germany  as  she had promised on account  of the  fury  in  Germany  over  her migration error  not  seek  reelection again.

    In  the  case of  Turkey  the President of that nation Tayyip Erdogan was   breaching protocol and diplomacy in interfering in Germany’s internal  affairs   to  score a cheap  political  point at  home.

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    This would not be the first time he would  do this  as he  sent his ministers to campaign in Germany during the last Presidential  election  he won in Turkey  but  the German authorities refused his campaigners  access and  he has harbored a grudge  against  Germany on account  of this.

    German leaders  have always  insisted  that  Turkey  should respect  German  sovereignty even  though Germany  has the largest Turkish  population in the EU   whose      security   anyway    is the responsibility     of  Germany   and  not  that  of Turkey   as Erdogan’s   interference   and    concern  inferred.

    Either  way  both leaders of Germany and Turkey  have shown that migrants   should  not be allowed to  cause confusion and insecurity that can  lead to  anarchy in which their  citizens  are killed  by lawless   assailants whether citizens or  foreigners.

    That  is a sense of responsibility   that  can  forestall  anarchy  or  a slide into  violence   and massive  insecurity   in any nation.

    In  the presidential  debate of  the  Democratic  Party there was and still is confusion on the emergence of Mike Bloomberg as a presidential  candidate firstly  because of  his wealth and experience as a Mayor  of New  York.

    Which  really  is  confusing to  me because  I feel  he is the candidate  that Donald  Trump  is afraid  of and would not  want  to be his opponent in the 2020 US presidential election.

    He  was shouted down  in the debate  this week by other  candidates.  But  he made his point in the hostile reception he got  by saying that Sanders socialist posture and program   was the surest  way  to  assure that Donald Trump  is reelected.

    Amazingly this new candidate donated millions of dollars in the Mid Term elections recently when the  Democrats regained the House of Representatives and were almost able  to  remove Donald Trump  from seeking reelection through impeachment   just a few weeks ago.

    Now  Bloomberg  is treated with   derision  by even  a gay candidate and mayor of a small  town  who is a man  with a husband  who  also  is  man.  Yet  no presidential  candidate  on both sides can make a joke on  this  and be able to  compete  to  be president.

    Even  Trump  dodged the issue by saying that he has nothing against  gay  marriage while the gay  candidate accused thrice  married Donald  Trump  of  having  no respect    for  family  values when  he has a male husband with  whom  he cannot raise a family biologically.

    Really  something is rotten in American politics and political  values to  get power have  become so  confusing that  they can  lead to anarchy  now  or in the very  near   future.

    How  far the gay presidential  candidate  can go without any  presidential  competitor can  make a joke about his marriage   is  the light  at  the end  of  the   tunnel  of this US 2020  presidential  election which in my  view  for  now  is a descent into avoidable  confusion and anarchy.

    Especially  with the opposition Democratic Party’s   confused  effort  to  have a candidate  to oust  the much  hated but durable and volatile Donald  Trump, the incumbent  US president.  Once  again,  long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

     

  • Traffic control, security, and politics

    By Dayo Sobowale

    Traffic control in simple terms is the control of goods, vehicles and people efficiently and safely. Nothing illustrates its failure more vividly  and tragically,  just   this last    week, than the killing of 30 people and the burning of vehicles by Boko  Haram in a village  where travellers  had   taken refuge   for   the night  because the  5 pm  time for them to go through the major gate to  Maiduguri    had  passed. Closed  city gates are an ancient  phenomenon and are  not expected in modern times, but  they, like closed borders have become the vogue  because of terrorism, Islamic insurgency, crime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and drug peddling   nowadays. Let  me say  that the Maiduguri    massacre  while  quite  unpardonable and condemnable    is not peculiar  to  Nigeria.  Just  as the banning of Okadas in   some Lagos environs recently was a hangover from  security  concerns on road safety   and traffic control   one  can  see why  Donald    Trump  is building walls  against Mexicans he called criminals and drug peddlers.  And why  nations like Poland, Hungary, Czech and Slovak  Republics are building e electric   and     barbed  wires  to shut out migrants or  terrorist  they  perceive  to be dangerous to the safety and movement  of people,  goods and  vehicles in their nations.

    Today I  take another look at  the Maiduguri Gateway massacre,  as well  as the manner of traffic  control   in Nigeria’s  commercial  capital Lagos,   and lean  on the shrewd  observation of a Lagos  legal  guru who  told  me in plain terms in a discussion recently,  that  traffic  control and the rule of  law  on our roads  have  failed  dismally  and government  should  do  a fast  rethink. The  Maiduguri disaster showed the failure of government and security in Borno  State  and the Governor  has asked for a quick  and decisive military  solution  from  the  Federal  government   to  resolve the bloody issue  and stop   the killings.  The  fact  that the Chief of Army staff recently  told his audience recently  that Boko  Haram are everywhere    and even in  Lagos should  embolden the Lagos  state  government  to  tighten its Okada  ban  as the massive traffic congestion that has taken  over Lagos  since the  ban  is a contrived fight back  or  backlash  by those who  have a stake in having  the state at the  mercy  of  Okada  riders .It   is good   that  the state  has rightly  identified   Okadas   as a danger to traffic  safety as well as a security risk  in  Lagos   state. The pragmatic  thing for the state government  is to make the ban durable  and  sustainable  in every   sense   of its implementation    and  not succumb  to  the blackmail of the orchestrated traffic  congestion,   which should  fizzle  out once the government puts in place a good traffic control plan  that  takes cognizance of traffic  congestion spot s especially at  peak   traffic   times.

    The  goal  here is not to make road  users and their vehicles sitting ducks for massacre by  criminals and terrorists  like Boko  Haram in a  busy  traffic   mega city like Lagos. Toll  gates and highly  congested traffic routes like Third Mainland  and Eko  bridges as  well  as the toll  gates at the Lekki  Express  way  shoud  be decongested and policed at  peak  go  slow traffic  periods  to ensure safety  and security of our citizens and their  vehicles  because  that is the duty of  government. As at  now Mile Two on the  way  out of  Lagos to Badagry  looks like a war  zone with a trailer blocking the  three  lane route   to Apapa and  Tin  Can  Island. Dozens   of  Okadas  and their  riders  are packed menacingly on the Expressway   as the route  is not covered   by the Okada  ban  but  the menacing and defiant  looks and rough riding of the Okadas   there can  only    buttress  the     government’s  wisdom  and rationale  for  the ban  in some parts   of the megacity. Of    course  Traffic  control  in terms of  law and  order   seems  totally   absent  in such     an  environment.

    One can therefore without the president saying a word deduce that he is distraught at the massacre at Maiduguri gate. The governor too has shown his grief. But in a presidential system that we practice the buck stops on the table of both the state governor and the president and they must accept full responsibility for the killings and make amends

    Let us now revisit the Maiduguri  Gateway  massacre of travellers taking refuge in a village, Auno, because the road had  been  closed for  the night.  Let  me state that  I appreciate  the fact  that the  President  has visited Maiduguri on his return  from the African  Union  Conference of Heads of  Governments in Addis  Ababa,  Ethiopia.  It  is   however the duty of the  Borno  state and the Federal  government   to  ensure  that such a  road  massacre  does  not  occur  again. If  the gates have  been closed as reported,  the government or the Army  should  have provided  visible security to  those who  could not beat  the closure  deadline.  Even  refusing access after the closure time could produce a Trojan Horse scenario when the gates are opened   the following day  for latecomers   penetrated     by  insurgents and terrorists to come in.  In  this  Maiduguri massacre, Boko  Haram  came out of the Trojan  Horse   on  the   outskirts    of  Maiduguri and  massacred innocent  Nigerians   shut  out  in the cold  at  night  by their  own  security  outfit  because they  came late  to  the road  gate. This  was a reckless  way  of controlling road traffic   and  should  be replaced by a new  security  strategy  that  puts the safety of  life and property  of  road  users as its top  goal  and objective.

    On  the political  front  it has been  pointed out that the president  had the largest  votes in this election and reelection in the Borno  state environment even  with the bloody  distraction and menace of  Boko  Haram to  peaceful  voting in the area. One  can  therefore without  the president saying a word deduce that  he  is distraught  at  the massacre  at  Maiduguri  gate.  The governor too has  shown his  grief.  But  in a presidential  system  that we practice the buck  stops  on  the table  of  both  the state  governor  and the president and they  must  accept  full  responsibility for  the killings and make amends. This  they  can  do  by taking  actions  that will  deter Boko  Haram from thinking and acting as if it can  kill Nigerians  with  impunity  and get away  with it.  The  US    president Donald  Trump is known  by American  enemies as a leader who  does not joke  with American   lives and would retaliate if  Americans are killed  anywhere. It  is high  time that both  the Borno  State governor and our  President took  the   fight  to Boko  Haram to  really   hurt  it  in order  to deter and stop it  masterfully  from  killing innocent  Nigerians. We  have   had  enough of the handwringing  and mourning.  We  need protective  action  that will  deter  and  stop the killings of  innocent Nigerians like   the one at Auno  village    outside  Maiduguri  recently.  That  surely  is  the duty of any  elected government including both the Borno  and the Federal  governments. Once again long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.