Category: Dayo Sobowale

Dayo Sobowale

ACCORDING to  media  reports  Professor Doyin  Salami, Chairman of the Nigerian Presidential Economic  Advisory Council –  PEAC –  led  members of the Council to present a report  this week  to the Nigerian President in which they  highlighted the lack of synergy between various  Ministries and government  agencies  in governance in Nigeria. They   noted that this has affected  economic   growth  and government needed to create the necessary  conducive environment to attract foreign investment.  This  PEAC   observation  came   just  as I was about to write on the biggest news of   this week which was the acquittal  of US President Donald Trump  on  two  charges of abuse  of power  and obstruction of   Congress by the US Senate. Trump’s  consequent  celebration and indignation at what he labeled   an unwarranted and unfair trial  and  the opinion of the  liberal billionaire Soros at the World Economic Forum in Davos  in   which  he castigated the two leaders of the US and China as authoritarian   on the management of their two key economies,  attract our attention today.  Soros observed that Trump  has overheated the American economy and that it would soon explode  while   he    said   President Xi of China  has cooled  Chinese growth  and was  using Artificial  lntelligence    to  beat  his people into line as   a dictator.  Soros  then    promised to form a global ‘network university ‘  to enshrine  ‘critical thinking in a world beset  by intolerance ‘  and  he promised to see that through  in his life time and he is over 80 already. These  events and issues   then,  form the kernel  of our discussion today.

It  is necessary  to say   here   that all  these  events have an economic base. Of  course  most  world leaders want  their  economies to put food on the table and are unhappy  when the economy is not performing on  full  steam and as planned. It  is therefore understandable that the Nigerian President thanked the PEAC  for   the synergy  and foreign investment  advice  and even went on to adhere to the body’s advice to meet more often in six weeks and not the present quarterly  meetings. I  am  sure  that the PEAC report  by inference includes advice on security as  a  key  element  in creating an enabling environment for investment and business  generally  and   internally in the nation.

Here  too the issue of synergy between the  various institutions in our security apparatus  can  not be overemphasized. Critical  intelligence should be shared confidentially  and professionally and unhealthy competition or playing to the gallery to  please  the powers     that  be,  should  be avoided in the overall  national  interest and security. Economic  and  governmental synergy  advised by the PEAC is  a type of strategic management that has cohesion and synthesis   as broad  objectives to   achieve set government goals and objectives  More  importantly  when it functions efficiently , 2 plus 2  will  not necessarily be 4  but can  be 5. In  which  case  the whole  can  be bigger than the sum of its parts.  Federal  Ministers meanwhile   could   be asked to  make proposals or show evidence of successful coordination   or  potential  ones with other government  agencies in  furtherance of the achievement of government objectives and goals.  Perhaps a Co-ordinating  Minister like  the former Finance Minister from the World Bank,  Okonjo   Iweala needs  to be appointed urgently  by government to  facilitate the needed synergy  to stimulate the sort of growth needed  by our very  sizeable population  in order   to achieve  the  promise   of positive growth and change   that swept  this government to power in 2015  and 2019.

Again,  the US  economy’s good performance  has been one main reason Trump’s  supporters  have  never   listened to his critics or think  of deserting him  as their  leader. Indeed at his  State of the Union Address he boasted about the booming US economy  during his tenure. This was barely 24 hours to his Impeachment and his  approval  rating rose to the highest  on the eve of his Impeachment . He  has since celebrated his impeachment with newspaper headlines that  boomed ’ Trump  Acquitted ‘.  Just   like    President Harry Truman displayed  the headline ‘ Dewey Wins  ‘ in  the presidential  election that Truman  won when nobody  expected him to.  I  think Trump  is entitled  to his  celebration  and  indignation given his vindication by the Senate . As  to if that indignation is righteous is a matter of  opinion.  But if you  consider that if he had not been acquitted by the Senate  he would  have gone into political oblivion by   now,  then  you  can overlook  his  celebration of  the danger  of  removal  from  office that he has just escaped from.

We  now  go to George  Soros  observations on both Trump  and Xi both presidents  of  the US  and  China  respectively. Calling them  authoritarian   may  not be strictly   correct.  Indeed Trump  cannot  be said to be authoritarian given  the fact  that the US constitution is a presidential  one based on  separation of powers.  If  Trump was  authoritarian  he would  not waited   to be impeached  by  the US House of  Representatives which  literally stigmatized  him  as unfit  to lead  on the two  charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice   before impeaching him . But  for the principle of separation of powers in the US constitution the Impeachment  Managers worked  hard   till  voting  time  at  the  Senate  when  the resolute  House Majority  leader said the   charade  and abuses ‘must  stop  today ‘  as  the senate was created to famously   observed ‘stop such  recklessness ‘.  So  even  if Trump  wanted to be authoritarian the US constitution has firmly tied  his hand and that of  any  US president  in that  regard.

The  same however  can  not be said  of  President Xi  of  China  who  is  President  for  life and is using technology  to out run and outpace  the US  economy  as the leading economy  in the world today . Before  the coronavirus  the Chinese economy was running   full  steam under the control of the Communist  Party of China that  leads the Chinese nation  under the command of President Xi. It  has propped  up  phone giant Huawei  such that  that  company  is ahead of the US and  indeed  the EU  over the emergence  of 5G  technology.  America  has  been  rattled by this such that the US Secretary of State  recently announced that  the US  will  buy stakes in  two  leading  European phone companies  namely  Nokia  and Ericsson   to catch up with the support that the Chinese government was giving Huawei  financially  to  have an edge on 5G technology  globally.  Again  in China President Xi  has used  the fight  against  corruption to consolidate  power and recently  the Head of Interpol, a Chinese leader  was jailed in China for  embezzling 2m dollars and for  his opulent  life style even though the wife in asylum in Paris, France alleged that the charges  were politically  motivated. Anyway  Soros  has always  been  a champion of   human rights  and  Open  Society    and   I really look forward to how and where his promised university network on  critical  thinking   in  a world  obsessed  with  Intolerance  which  was so  much  at  play  in the Impeachment trial of the US president,  will  be like .Once  again  long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Dayo SOBOWALE

IT is no exaggeration to say that many Nigerians cannot boast of being sure of getting to their destinations any time they  go out, either to earn their living or even for any  outing.

They  will add that they are  not even sure of getting back home in one piece  each  time they  venture out. This  is not only because of the conditions of the roads,  which the Minister in charge has defended  as not being as bad  as being portrayed  by the media.

The  fear of a journey of no return on a daily basis for Nigerians  stem from the atmosphere on our  roads    as well   as their    dismal  conditions  and again this is not about climate change or the smoke smog that has darkened the skies in far away India. This  is about the violence, the road  rage as well as the pervading anger  and  the vicious   mutual  hostility of Nigerian  road users,  and  the dangerous conditions of the vehicles they  travel in to survive and eke  a living. That  is shown  vividly  in the ways  the tri cyclists  and okada riders turn round in front of  speeding vehicles  as if  challenging the vehicle drivers   to ‘get me if you  can ‘ or ‘  knock  me down  at your peril‘.  It  explains why danfo  conductors wave off with dreadful   abuses and  oaths, vehicles  moving  in legitimate   traffic  direction which   the danfos   violate daily with impunity,  often  using uniformed soldiers  and other military  personnel  as fronts for  illegal   passage security.

Overall,  it is as if there is a perennial  daily   class   war  going on,  on  a daily basis   on  Nigerian  roads. The  combatants  are okada  vs car  users,  danfo  versus tricyclists,  car  owners  versus okada  riders  and small vehicle owners  vs jeep  and big saloon  cars owners.  The  okada riders now dominate our main cities and they drive against the traffic,   block  road  junctions and descend in a  pack  to assault any motorist  that is involved  in any accident with them . It is not as if I  am  singling out the okada riders but  I want to show that both they and their customers view other three –  wheel or four   wheel  vehicles and their owners,   as enemies out to run both the okada rider and his customer out of the road and   they  are  ready to abuse and be violent  in protecting what they  perceive as their right of  way,  if not  existence. To  me this is a dangerous  development that  has created a vicious  daily  class  war on our roads   and   that needs to  be nipped in the bud quite urgently.

Let  me state clearly  that the okada rider and tricyclist  have every  right to  earn their living on our roads  and highways but they  do not have to endanger the safety and rights of other road  users and it costs them  nothing to be polite and ask  politely for passage from other vehicles,  instead of taking the law into their hands by violating traffic rules at break neck speed .  What  I am  after today  is that while the politicians and party leaders are  putting heads together to tackle the prevailing and sickening kidnap  of judges in the  nation there is  a daily  danger  that Nigerians  are facing  in terms of the violence and rampant abuse and misuse  of our traffic  rules, by  those in the lower  ranks of society who  probably  are doing this to register their anger with the social inequalities and the huge  economic gap  between the rich and the poor in our  nation.

In  the TV Documentary National Geographic,  wild  dogs  hunt  in packs and can  bring down large animals in a game  of  numbers.

That  however is in the jungle. Today  however I am  talking  about the fear of  Nigerians  that  our roads  are  looking more  like  the jungle  because those earning their living on them  and through  them,  are not obeying the rules of engagement and passage and they  are  endangering the security of  life  property and safe passage of  Nigerians  travelling to work  to earn  a   living. If  innocent  Nigerians are afraid to go out to  earn a living on our roads  they may  decide to form militia or  cartels to protect  themselves and have right of passage to their destinations.  But   such  formations  on protection  is the legitimate  work of the police and army . It  is my advice that it is  urgent  for politicians especially at the local government  level  to come together  to put sanity on our roads and enable people  to  have confidence that  they will go out to work and return  alive.

On  the condition of our roads it  is not surprising that  the Minister of Works  and  former Lagos  State  Governor  Raji  Fashola,  has  said  the situation  is  not as bad as people feel. He  should   however  not be  taken out of context or  vilified  for  saying that. All  he is saying is that    a lot  has been  done under his watch  and one cannot  blame him  for  that. The fact however is that armed  robberies   take place mostly at areas  where the traffic  is slow because  of bad roads  and construction work. Even  in Lagos  this week  those going home were  attacked by thieves and hoodlums on their way  home at night  because  of such developments.  Government  should provide  armed  security  at road  works and road maintenance posts at  night so  that  people can feel  confident  going home from  work.

This  issue  is one that I think  the two  major political parties should  bury  their  hatchets    on  and join forces to attack  and defeat. This is because if  the people who are the electorate cannot travel  on the roads to earn their  living   then  their  confidence  in the political system  will  be sorely   tried  if  not  eroded altogether. That  can lead to voter apathy  or  mistrust   and that  is not good for  democracy.  Good  politicians should  not ignore their environment of which  the roads are  an integral  part for economic and personal survival of those who  put them  in power. Even  in the very rich US  and Britain politicians  join forces to pass   bills on infrastructure   that will  alleviate the sufferings of their electorate  and improve their quality  of   life . In  the US  the Democrats buried  the hatchet  and forgot their  hatred of  Donald  Trump  to pass  his huge infrastructure  bill   on  safe American roads  bridges and highways. In  Britain and with the hullaballoo of Brexit, the Conservatives have promised to   ignore their notorious austerity of the past,  to spend immensely  more on the  roads  and highways  in Britain and the NHS, to  woo  the electorate, post  Brexit  and   surely  the December 12 election will show if the British  electorate  has  forgiven or  is   believing them. Here  in Nigeria it  is not   too  late  to make our roads  safe for all  Nigerians to earn  a living without  the fear that their  lives can  be snuffed out on our roads  through  no fault  of theirs  on a daily  basis.  A stitch in time   surely saves nine. Once  again long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

•This piece was first published on November 9, 2019. It is being rerun because of the okada ban

By Dayo Sobowale

Real   change  came for the EU and UK during the week when the EU Parliament finally agreed the Brexit Deal and Britain left  the EU on January 31.  Also    while  the impeachment of the US President Donald Trump was gathering  steam in the US senate, the US President found time to announce his Middle East  Plan   midwifed by his son in law,  which was  nothing but a one sided plan  to buy out the rights of the Palestinian  with  huge American dollars, and create  the impression of looking for peace when all  that was being done was to provoke  the helpless Palestinians. During this same week over 40 Heads of Government gathered in Israel  to commemorate 75 years since the Germans under Adolf Hitler murdered over   one million Jews  at  Auschwitz  in the Holocaust just  as the Anglican Church Lagos Diocese at  the Marina  continued with its choice of the tune of Hitler’s Germany  as its Diocesan song.

All  these actions on the world stage this week  have   three things  in common.  They  are brazenly  political for the simple  fact  that politics  is ubiquitous   either  with diplomacy or in gas chambers. The three have a rich  historical  background that warns that  history  cannot  be ignored . And  all  three smirk  of impunity or  levity or even  callous  indifference  and I really  mean that and will  explain  the   harsh  words on the three issues.

First  on the conclusion of Brexit, there is no doubt  that the UK is deeply polarized as the Brexit vote was a  narrow  one   with 52 %  for Brexit and 48%  for  Remain. But  the  Remain machine tried to sabotage Brexit  and leaders like Boris Johnson and Nickel  Farage  showed  exceptional  tenacity and persistence  to see Brexit  through and they  should be commended  for their politics of  persistence in showing that  the majority  must  have its way. This has always been  the way and manner of British politics with its first past the post  democracy  which at  the end was what the consummation of Brexit was all about. From  Jan 31, 2020 the UK   became an Island unto itself, separated in word and deed from Mainland  Europe  geographically   as it   has always   been  by the  Ocean    but   now politically    too and it must now grapple and wrestle with the   economic and demographic consequences   of its actions in fulfilling the terms and conditions of its Brexit   strategies  and decisions.

On  the revelation of the Trump Middle East Plan in the middle of his impeachment, it is not difficult to fathom  why. One  could  call it  diversionary and  show  that even  the Palestinians have a price in spite  of their  hatred of the Israelis.  But  it is certainly  a bribe  which the Palestinians must perceive rightly  as an  affront  or insult,  because it  does not return their lands seized in 1967 during the Six Days War  to them.  In  addition both Trump and his  guest the Israeli  leader and current  PM Benjamin Netanyahu   have tenure  issues as they  are  both  not sure of being around for  sometime to implement their dollar  dangling bribe to split  the ranks of Palestinian leadership. Netanyahu is facing bribery  charges and has just been refused immunity by the Israeli  Parliament  and must   face  his  charges if he has any respect  for transparency  and the rule of law as he should as an elected leader in Israel.

On  Trump’s impeachment trial there is  no doubt that  history may repeat  itself  and he may  not be removed from office  as indeed no American  president  has  ever been so  removed in the senate.  But  again the fight to call or  not call  witnesses will  decide how fast or slow this senate  impeachment   trial  will  be.  Then  there is the issue of the Bolton book, ‘ the Room where it happens ‘.  It is only in the US that a security  chief  will  breach his oath of confidentiality  to publish  a book implicating a president who  recently  fired him. The Democrats  see things differently and would honor and give  credibility  to  any information from any quarters that  buttress  their impeachment charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice   against   the US President.  They  however meet  their match  in the Republicans lawyers  who  have rattled the democrats with searching answers and observations that  make the impeachment charges less than legal and credible.  Anyway  the impeachment  trial  continues and one   cannot    but wonder  if  at  the end, the Impeachment  Managers  themselves will not  be in the dock   for the   charges  they have so swiftly    and    hurriedly   made  available  to the senate  to ensure that Trump  will not contest the 2020 presidential  elections;  while shielding their presumed but not yet  elected presidential  candidate Joe  Biden  and   his  son from any questioning  when  the two  are  blatantly    and with impunity, at the center of the impeachment  charges against  the US president.

The 75th Anniversary  of  the deaths at the gas chamber at Auschwitz was a reminder to the world of man’s inhumanity to  man in the way the Germans  under  Hitler’s   Nazi  Germany   carried   out the  death of 6m Jews. This particular  remembrance came at a time when anti  Semitism  is on the rise globally.  The   German  nation since unification in 1990  has  been trying  to atone  and ensure that a horror and hatred like the Holocaust  never  repeats itself.  Retaining  the tune of its national anthem  is part of that  compunction and mortification.  Again  I do not see the sense in the Anglican Church in Lagos Diocese in Nigeria in 2020  singing  a new Diocesan tune set like  the anthem  that the Nazis used to  kill  6m  Jews in gas chambers  during  Adolf Hitler’s reign of terror  in World War 11.  I  say  the choice of that  tune and the refusal  to take another look  at  it, shows  a lack  of humanity on the part of those who  made the choice. It  shows clearly  an  insensitivity and   nonchalance for  history and  the horror  of the Holocaust.  I   feel  it is a Christian  duty to point this out and will  persist  if  the impunity  and  nonchalance  of those who  made the choice  persists,   for  the simple  reason that  the tune is a recall of horror  and a disgrace to  humanity in being used  as a compulsory  Diocesan  song.

At  a time when  Nigerians especially  in our part of the nation are increasingly bothered about their  security and safety of life and property,   religious  institutions like the Anglican Church in Lagos should provide  succor,  sanctuary  and   spiritual  leadership.   A  Diocesan song is  like a national anthem and should be sung with  gusto,  love and respect.  Recalling the Holocaust  during such  a song in Nigeria is an avoidable  and historical distraction and an ugly one too because  it is in bad  taste  and  very  lacking in respect for human  dignity and love of humanity.  Once again long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

Dayo Sobowale

NOTHING illustrates the  right of dissent  more forcefully  than the Impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump  going on in the US  even  as he himself was at  the World Economic Forum  in  Davos, Switzerland,  blasting climate activists as ‘prophets of doom ‘  when the theme of the Davos meeting itself was Climate Change . Democracy  thrives on differing opinions, the management of which forms the kernel of political  stability in many  democracies in the world,  both old and new .  It  is in this light that I see the middle line opinion of APC Leader Jagaban Bola Ahmed Tinubu  on the Amotekun  issue  which  is the most  discussed issue in Nigeria today.  A  political  science  dictum  commends free speech  as the kernel of human rights and democracy  but nevertheless  warns for restraint by saying that  even   on free  speech, ‘your freedom ends  where  my  nose begins ‘.  That  is the guiding light of  our  discussion  of  today.

We shall look  today   at the proceedings at the US Senate on Impeachment   as  well  as the import  of Trumps’ climate  change  opinion.  We  shall    also  examine Tinubu’s opinion on Amotekun   in the context  of our regionalism  and state creating apparatus.

On  the US Trump Impeachment saga the Impeachment Managers  were presenting the case for Trump  to be found guilty for abuse of power and obstruction of justice at press time. That was boring and  just a rehash of what  transpired at the House of Reps culminating in the Impeachment verdict. The difference this time was that the US Chief Justice was moderating as required by the constitution and the venue was the US Senate  where Trump’s party holds  the ace in terms of majority. In  the US House   of   Reps dominated by the Democrats, the Impeachment proceedings  showed clearly that majority opinion can stiffen and  castrate dissent  mercilessly. The  Democrats  know this hence their near  violent language as Impeachment Managers  in  anticipating collusion of the senate majority  with the White House, when this was to be expected,  as a dose of their own medicine in the process of finding the 45TH US  president  guilty  of Impeachment in the Lower  House. The  US Impeachment  in both US forum  of legislative power has shown that dissent  can  be an orphan in the face of majority  power and that  while  success has many  fathers, failure is an  orphan.  This is the cruel  political  fact that the Democrats are  about to  find  out  after they have  finished their  jobs  as Impeachment Managers in the  US  senate.

On  the Jagaban’s  comment on Amotekun, the APC leader simply  and clearly  called for restraint on both sides which are the SW governors and the Attorney  General  of  the Federation –AGF. The   Governors  called his reaction objective, even  as they are aware  that he had in a way  chided and offered sanctuary  somewhat  to  the errant AGF.  Given   the  fact   that  the AGF   is  also  an  agent  of  the APC  government  in power,  and   with  the APC leader in harness, that   was   to  be expected.  That  was also   a good political  and diplomatic  statement  and the governors have reacted in kind.  Still  as they   say  in  socialist  circles in  those days of the Cold War – ‘ a  luta continua,’  which means  ‘the struggle  continues’ on the  realization of the goals and  objectives of Amotekun, a clear security and  survival strategy  in the SW environment  of the Nigerian nation and  federation.

Indeed,  the  Jagaban’s reaction  could   be likened to that of the Awujale   of  Ijebu  Ode during the Abacha regime when he visited  the  military dictator  in  Aso  Rock and watched a video implicating the No. 2 man in the military  regime in an aborted  coup.  The  tactful but  brave Awujale simply    and reportedly  said –‘  We  have seen  the video,  but he is our son’.  That  could  be the nature of the meeting point between the APC leader and the Amotekun issue.

Anyway,   in mentioning regionalism  and advocating individual  state approach to the Amotekun issue the  APC leader opened  another pandoras box on security and political  history of not only  of  the SW  in   particular   but Nigeria at  large.  With  that  comes  nostalgia  for Nigeria’s glorious years of Regions after independence  in 1960   when true and committed leaders led the nation till  the military  coup of January 1966. From  four regions we evolved into   first,  12  states under the military with its line command,  unitary  system  till  we  created 36  states  with   dubious census figures that defy demography and the   powerful,  incessant   but   unstoppable North – South migration  that  has made Lagos a congested Megacity and the South west a bottleneck of Nigerians  fleeing starvation  from the more hostile environments of our sprawling hinterland.

Yet  Nigerians living in our more arid, hostile environments   driven   out by the  creeping, deadly  Sahel  desert   are said  by the census figures to be more than the people in the areas they are  fleeing to down south.  Such  figures have been used to gerrymander and create states and allocate  national  revenue  and run the   policy  of federal  character on national  assignments and appointments. This    lopsided, inadequacy  and injustice  led to the clamor for restructuring by concerned Nigerians who  did not have the  guts to  call  for a Confederation.  Migration  creates the problem of identity and a threat of displacement and inadequate  resources.  It is driving the US to close its borders. It  created Brexit in Britain which colonially created our initial  regions and left  with the deadly  advice that those who seek power or were given  it should make it a game of numbers in the allocation and creation of polling booths for political  power, competition and participation.  That  has created  a security  situation in terms of  political  leadership today  and is at the heart of the many regional  groups that have emerged to  promote regional  interests and security  today.  That  indeed is the root  of the Amotekun   issue   that  has generated such  concern and which Myetti  Allah, a  Northern,   occupational, migratory but provocative body  is using for political blackmail especially with the 2023 elections.  Myetti  Allah   should  be told  that  its right   to  free  speech   ends where the nose of the SW begins. It  should mind its language   on Amotekun   and respect   the   obvious   fact,  which  nomads  may  not    know , value  or respect,  that a man’s house  is his castle. Surely,   the struggle continues on Amotekun  in spite  of the odds or avoidable obstructions.

Again we go back  to  Donald  Trump  and his views on  both  climate  change and more recently on  abortion given  the news that  he would be attending an anti abortion march  some where in the US in the coming days. The reality with Trump  on these  two  issues revolve around  the policies of the Obama Administration  that  Trump  succeeded. Trump  is against  any legacy of the Obama Administration  and  that includes  both topics. Calling for optimism on climate change  may  not necessarily  be an economic support  for fossil fuel  in Trump’s  case but another opportunity to put the lights out on another Obama legacy.

Which  in this case shows that dissent by a powerful  leader  may  change  world  views on some global  agenda as Trump  has shown so  powerfully  on Climate Change  at Davos  as well as Globalisation  and   World  Trade  in his now many,  famous  but  impactful  battles  on   tariffs with both enemies and allies  alike, especially  China.  Whether one likes  Trump  or not, his opinion matters on world issues both personally and  officially,  and that could  be a contributory  factor on how even  his impeachment trial  evolved. Especially with his  use of tweeter  to give opinions  and run  policies both domestically  and   internationally.  In  Trump’s  case dissent  may  be so  powerful that it can drown  majority power  and that  too  is  simple  pragmatic politics  that  one can only  marvel  or sneer  at, depending on how you  see the American president. Once  again, long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

By Dayo Sobowale

In Nigeria today the in thing or buzz word to  discuss is the Amotekun  issue which  is explosive because the learned Attorney  General  had dismissed the security outfit set up by the South West  Governors as illegal   and Nigerians, especially enlightened  ones too  are  literally asking for the scalp  of our No  1  law  officer  for saying the abominable  or  unthinkable.

I  have  no intention of mediating in this issue or  disagreement indeed  I  could  complicate it because I  do  not think it is an  issue  worthy  of the  furore it has generated. This  is because Amotekun is about  security  and no one in  the South West  needs  the permission of  a  lawyer  to arrange    the security of his life and property  not to talk of  Governors  who  were voted in and sworn in   to protect the lives and properties of those who  gave them  power.

The  Attorney  General  is not an elected leader but an appointee of an elected party just as the Governors he is mocking have appointed lawyers like  him as their  respective Attorneys  General.

On  this  Amotekun issue  I want to refer the AGF to  the National  Geographic Survival  Series  to  show  him  that  survival  is as much a case  of security  as it is that  of  life and death. The  leopard  or panther  chasing  his prey at  high speed is exerting energy optimally  so  that  he can catch that prey  and replenish  its lost  energy by  feeding  on the prey. If  he misses the prey  and his food he could die of hunger from  exhaustion. Bandits, kidnappers,  armed herdsmen  have stolen, looted and raped the South West  for long  such  that it  has become  weakened and enfeebled  such that it  does  not  die from  starvation and  exhaustion from looted and wasted energy. The  Amotekun outfit is an answer by the  South West  governors  to raise a fallen,    prostrate leopard  which  had  been  hacked  and    enfeebled   by hunger and anger  and is about to die in the process of living in an unproductive  and hostile  environment  which  had always given  food,  succor and shelter in abundance   to the Amotekun environment.

I  want  to  illustrate  the fact that  Amotekun is both a survival  and security  matter  with  two  international  but  topical  issues in three   nations facing  the twin  issues just  this last  week. The  nations  are Iran,  the US  and  Iran. These  nations  are  facing their own  politics and governance  and are  evolving solutions just  as the South West governors  did   for  the survival  and  security of their  environment.

In  Iran which  blundered its retaliation against  the killing  of General  Quassim  Soulemaini by the Americans by shooting down a passenger plane carrying  mostly  Iranians and people  from four other nations, the highest  authority in Iran  Ayyatolah  Khameini  absolved  the Military Islamic  Revolutionary  guards which  made the error of blame saying the Americans were happy  at the error  as they  were happy  at the assassination of the Iranian  general.  Does  that  make  sense  that  a military  out fit can be so  incompetent  as to be killing its people and yet go unpunished and scot free? But  then  the Ayatollah and the Islamic  state  depends  on the  Revolutionary  Guards   for their  security  and survival   against the rumblings and grumblings of the larger Iranian society.  Surely  the Ayatollah  does not need the Attorney  General  to tell  him the legality of his actions since what is at stake is a game of survival  and security.

More  interestingly in the  US the battle  has  been  a   planned one between the  law and  politics in the survival  game that US   President  Donald  Trump  has played  so  much  and   so   far  leading to his Impeachment  Trial  which  starts  next week  in the Senate. Donald  Trump  to  me  is the true  Amotekun of American  politics in the way  he has weathered the storm of opposition to his person and policies and the disgrace of Impeachment  by the US House  of Representatives.  Yet  he is hopeful  of surviving impeachment in the Senate where his party is in  the majority.  One  thing   I  want the Nigerian AGF to  study  is the dexterous  way Trumps’  lawyers  handle his politics and legal  tussles.  According to informed sources  the  lawyers  have agreed that  Trump  should  go  on with his numerous tweets and naughtiness  while they  sort  out the legal  angle  later.  Unfortunately  in the legal  condemnation of the Amotekun out fit  the AGF has  not allowed the   legitimate politics of Amotekun to  unfold before pronouncing it dead on arrival legally.  Such  hasty denunciation is  destabilizing and provocative  to  politicians whose  sole  aim here is to fulfill their  legitimate    commitment to protecting the survival and security  of their people.

We  round  off with Russia  where the cabinet  of President Vladmir Putin  resigned  to allow  him  to  conclude  constitutional  changes.  His  PM, Medvedev  has been  replaced. The  constitutional  changes are  supposed to give more  powers to Parliament and dilute the power of the president.  But  according to observers Putin  is  already  protecting his relevance  and power after another two  terms which  ends in2024  because the Russian president can run only  for two  terms.  The  Arithmetic of Putin’s  security  and  political  survival  is glaring and simple – President 2001 to 2008, PM 2008 – 2012    while Medvedev was President.  Now President 2016 -2024  and a weaker presidency in his absence to protect his survival  and  relevance in Russian power politics.

It  is pertinent  to  point  out here that Governors in the South West of Nigeria  have always blazed  a trail  in pragmatic  and  developmental  politics.  One  of them Chief  Bisi  Onabanjo  of  Ogun  State  on a return  from a    medical  trip  abroad was asked  why  he did  not avail  himself  of the free health facility  of  his party. He   replied    pointedly    and simply  that  life  has  no  duplicate. The AGF  should  be told that  the issue of  Amotekun is not a legal option but a matter of  life and death in a situation where security of life and property  have  been  managed poorly in the current  situation to the   detriment of  the security of  life  and property  in the South Wes.  Since  as Ayekoto  presciently  noted  that life has no  duplicate     and  the people of the SW cannot  preside or  look aside at their own liquidation or extinction, Amotekun is the legitimate  answer without  any  legal  hindrances  and obstacles.

Dayo Sobowale

THERE is no  doubt  that global  diplomacy  and peace are under threat given the US –Iran assassination  and missile crisis and that world order is no longer a symphony in   terms  of peace. But  we must also admit that no matter how discordant the prospect and symphony of peace there  is for now a known conductor of the  escalation and de-escalation of the threat and danger to  peace  in our time. That  conductor  is the US President  Donald Trump and our aim today is to look at how he has handled the crisis arising from the assassination of Iran’s  military  top  shot   and how he was able to say that Iran is ‘standing down‘ with missile retaliation, after  dealing that Islamic nation a cruel, humiliating blow that left it in a type of  mass mourning rarely  seen in modern times.

Take  it or leave it,  Donald  Trump  is calling the shots on world  diplomacy  nowadays. You  may  want to  find out  why  and give reasons as we may  do later but  it is  better  to learn  and  accept that fact  in order  to be able to  live with it or be nauseated or squirm  seriously at   it.  The  spiral    effect  of the assassination of the Iranian  general  have been  world wide as security apparatuses all  over the world put on the red alert, more  so   in nations living with Islamic military insurgency.  Just  as  American  embassies in terror prone nations warned their citizens to flee nations like Iraq or watch  their movements especially  at night and avoid  crowded  places as the US embassy  warned  in   Nigeria.

It  is necessary to first  take a look  at  the significance of the  assassination   of   the  Iranian general  in terms of diplomacy and world  peace. Undoubtedly  it was a master stroke  by the US President  akin in importance to   Obama Administration  killing    of Bin Laden  and the killing of the leader of the Islamic Caliphate  and Islamic state Baghdadi.  Trump  called the killing a strike to stop a war and  not to start one and labeled  it a deterrent strike.  One   could recall  the Cold War  era  when  the US and the former  Soviet Union observed mutual  deterrence  by arming each other to the teeth  equally,   so  that they  never attacked each  other and the world was saved the prospect of nuclear  annihilation.  But  in this strike on the  Iranian general  there is no mutual deterrence in place because Iran and the US are not equal  partners in terms of military might. Trump  himself  boasted that the US has the best  military in the  world  but they  do not have to use it all the time.  Which  is sheer hypocrisy   by the American president.  It is also is a  poor apology for humiliating Iran, a boastful  nation like Saddam Hussein’s  Iraq  which boasted  to give the US and its allies the’ Mother of all Battles ‘only to succumb miserably in the battles of both the First  and Second Gulf Wars.  Even  the Ayatollah Khameini  wept at the burial of the general, a far  cry from the threats of annihilation with missiles against the US  after  the incidents of shooting tankers and seizing ships on  the Straits of Homuz  especially when the Iranians shot  down an American drone.  Now  a lone drone  has killed Iran’s  military  pride  and there is no doubt  on where the balance of military might  is,  no matter whatever international laws have been at play or have been violated.  In  many ways Trump  has served a great  shot in the fight  against  Islamic  insurgency  of the type promoted in East Africa and Boko  Haram  in Nigeria. But  in doing so the  US and its  allies have ‘ murdered  sleep  like Macbeth and would sleep  no  more  ‘in the fight  against  terrorism. Which  really  means that   nations   fighting Islamic  militancy    like   Nigeria should   never   rest on their   oars.  In  fact   they should    recall  the statement  that  ‘eternal  vigilance  is the price  of  liberty ‘   and adopt  that as their  motto  in stopping  or  muscling nations like Iran  that  promote terrorism  globally.

Some  have  said  that  the American president is trying to divert  attention away  from his domestic political  problems especially  his impeachment  but  no one can say  the assassinated Iranian general  was a saint. Indeed  Soulemani  was the face of Iranian opposition and antagonism  to American claim  of any military  or  cultural  superiority.  I admired him personally  for  standing up  to the US all the time and I did not expect the military apparatus he  headed  to  give way so  cheaply given   the way and   manner he was assassinated. That was a failure of  intelligence, a major  one too  in both Iran and Iraq that  both Suleimani  and his host  in  Iraq  were killed by a drone. I am sure that the leaders of both Hizbollah in  Lebanon and Hamas  in Palestine would  be wondering what happened that  the Americans  literally got away  with murder  in the easy way  they fatally ambushed  the Iranian   general who had  symbolized resistance against American hegemony  in the entire Middle  East. The  Iranians after the wailing and mourning  should  put their intelligence house in order because a failure of intelligence internally,  notably sabotage, connivance  or  even  collaboration,  must have facilitated the use of a drone so accurately  and so correctly in the killing of the two  top  military  shots of Iran and Iraq  on that  sad day in Baghdad.

Similarly  I  recommend  a similar in house  introspection   and     foresight  in the way Nigeria handles its fight against  Boko  Haram.  We  do not  need  to  wait  for an    institutional  beheading such as the Americans have done to the Iranian military  apparatus  even  though we know that beheading of captives have been a strategy   of  IS  and  Boko Haram. Since it is apparent that  Boko  Haram would be furious  over the  Iranian  general’s death the Nigerian  army  should be on full  and extra alert to preempt  any  attempt to strike at its  bases especially in the far flung North East  which has  always  been difficult to  monitor   and secure  because of its  vast  size and scattered, sparse population. In  this regard Boko Haram  is more  likely  to be more  Catholic than the Pope  in showing  that IS and Boko Haram  are  infuriated  even    more  than  the Iranians in avenging the death of the slain Iranian general. We  should be on our toes to  ensure  that they do  not catch our security apparatus pants  down in their  terrorist  pursuit of vengeance  especially on our soil. Once  again  long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

By Dayo Sobowale

Nowadays it has become a tautology to say that Power not only corrupts but it does so absolutely. Nowhere is this more absolutely so than in the Nigerian political system. It is not as if Nigeria is the most corrupt nation on earth, it is just because of the political culture we have evolved and engrained in stone as it were, that politicians in Nigeria are expected to live and get rich by siphoning public funds into their pockets and those of their cronies and relatives. Nothing typifies this anomalous situation more vividly than the statement credited to our Attorney General this week that 22 former governors in Nigeria are under probe or on trial and three of them have been jailed. Certainly the situation would have been worse but for the fact that the incumbent Nigerian president was elected on a personal anti-corruption reputation and disposition which was a fall back on his anti-corruption posture and policies during his tenure in office as a military dictator. No matter how you look at it the administration must be commended in getting so many governors tried on political and financial accountability even as we condemn it unequivocally on its penchant for disobeying court injunctions and ruling thereby casting aspersion on its stated objective on abiding by the rule of law. Any government that drives a sitting judge out of the court cannot claim to be a law abiding nation more so a democracy for the simple fact that democracy thrives on respect for the rule of law.

Given our presidential system of government the judiciary is the third and equal leg of the tripod of politics in a presidential system of democracy. The other two being the government or executive and the legislature. The three arms of government are intertwined and inter twixt and exist as equal centres of power in a system of checks and balances in a presidential democracy which Nigeria certainly, is by theory given its constitution and but which in practice it is not, given the way a judge was chased out of his court recently by armed security agents of government. Certainly the rule of law must exist side by side with the war against corruption as both are not mutually exclusive. That explains the topic of the day and we will focus our sights on how corruption has become a cancer in many political systems in the world today.

Let me state clearly that the nature of corruption in the world’s democracies depend on the type of political ideology in each political environment and system. I will highlight some nations and their ideologies broadly and their types of corruption in holding on to power and later zero in on the Impeachment of US President Donald Trump this week. I will also examine the relationship between Russia and the US pre Trump and pre Vladmir Putin, the Russian president now and how that has played a part in the eventual impeachment of the American president.

Let me proceed now to categorise corruption in various nations as well as the nature of their democracies. Charity begins at home here with Nigeria which runs a presidential system and its nature of corruption is in embezzlement, nepotism and tenacity of office. Politicians in power in Nigeria don’t want to leave power and office and want to enjoy the perquisites of office for life, just like long serving corporate retirees or pensioners who had made the sacrifice of a contributory pension scheme. Of course that is unjust for politicians who have enjoyed two highly lucrative terms of executive power only to migrate from state houses to the senate in Abuja. That however is the nature of executive political corruption in Nigeria.

I will illustrate again with China the wealthiest Communist state in the world involved in a fierce trade war with the US, the leading world democracy in terms of liberal democracy. Neither nation regards the other as a true democracy but that is none of our business here as we discuss corruption in China first China is ruled by the Communist Party of China whose member ship is just a few millions and which rules over a nation of 1.5bn Chinese. Corruption in China is in the political culture that makes Communist Party leaders a special breed in society. The political corruption in China is in the total monopoly of political power by the Communist Party of China They dominate Chinese society and wield enormous and pervasive political influence. The present President Xi is an anti corruption leader and China is governed by 5 –year party conferences that map out state policies and economic programs. Many top Chinese leaders have been sacked for corruption and the Head of the Tax body was sometime executed for corruption. The Chinese president has however made himself president for life and that has dented his image externally as he has been accused of making those who oppose his ambition scape goats for corruption and subsequent elimination. This however does not detract from the fact that China under the communist party has made great economic progress and is a world power in information technology and artificial intelligence. That explains why the US President Donald Trump is busy trying to cut China down to size in economic and trade terms and slow the momentum of an economic rival that is bound to outpace the US as a world leader in finance, trade and technology, sooner than later.

The political corruption in Russia too has to do with tenacity of office, cronyism and manipulation of tenure politics. That explains why Putin was president from 2001 – 2008 and PM between 2008 – 2012 while his Vice President, Medvedev was president only for Putin to return to power from 2012 till now.

It is time, now, to highlight the issue that led to Trump’s impeachment this week as the foundation was laid during the Obama era, when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State and the US government supported the opposition in Russia in the 2011 elections that were organised for Putin to regain power as president in 2012. Vladmir Putin never forgave Hillary Clinton on that issue hence his support for Donald Trump, her opponent, which ultimately led to Trump’s impeachment even though he has all along insisted that there was no collusion with Russia. Obviously the Democrats never believed him and have now impeached him on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. His fate now lies in the senate where his party, the Republican Party is in power and he is expected to be cleared and thus be able b to retain power and compete for reelection in the 2020 presidential elections.

The Trump Impeachment however process illustrates the nature of corruption in American politics. Partisanship, the dark, blind kind that the Democrats showed the Republicans in the two committees that handled Trumps’ Impeachment this week, namely Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, is the bane of US politics. It showed its ugly face in the way the Republicans were able to get two judges confirmed as US Supreme Court judges recently and was on display at Trump’s Impeachment this week and would continue in the Senate later. Already the Republicans have called the impeachment process in the House a one – party impeachment but it is their turn to try the impeached president and they will just repeat what the Democrats have done on the impeachment in the house – rail road the process and make the Democratic Minority in the Senate have its say while the Republican Majority have its way in allowing its party president continue in office. After all what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Partisanship is indeed the red flag in US politics and is the flagship of the corruption at the heart of its democratic system of checks and balances. Once again, long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

I start today on the premise that the morals amongst individuals as human beings differ greatly from that amongst nations. Relations amongst nations revolve around diplomacy and it is well known that in International Relations there are no permanent friends but permanent interests. In human relations however the virtues of loyalty, love and respect hold sway over that of treachery, hate and disrespect or insolence in making good relations amongst friends and acquaintances. It is very necessary to get this dichotomy between human relations and diplomacy right because today we are going to highlight political situations involving leaders and nations involved in international relations where human relations have been confused for diplomacy and diplomacy misconstrued for personal relations, in making important state decisions as well as very personal decisions.

A good starting point for our discussion today is between the US President Donald Trump now about to face a two point charge of Impeachment for abuse of power and Obstruction of Congress in the US House of Representatives and Nigeria’s First Lady Mrs Aisha Buhari who accused the husband’s Spokesman of taking instructions from the husband’s nephew who wanted her position of First Lady abolished. The intention here is to show that these two events in the US White House in Washington and Aso Rock in Abuja live up to the billing on relations that we have identified before, for both diplomacy and human relations and that they are indeed mixed up so much so that they form the subject of our analysis today in the context of today’s title. Another interesting matter in this manner is the relationship between Turkey and the EU and the way and manner Turkey is trying to buy military equipment from Russia, the EU’s enemy when for over 50 years Turkey has been trying to be a member of the EU, which really is a marriage that Turkey really looks up to till now and I will explain this later.

In the Nigeria’s First Lady’s case it is clear that she is protecting her marriage and status as the First Lady even though technically she is not in government. She nevertheless has the locus to protect her husband’s policies and government although she has even gone further to criticize her husband’s support staff and policies too. It is not difficult to see that she has crossed the line between matrimony and governance and has in so doing mixed up her role as wife and critic and there is therefore a blur between her official and personal roles. But then this is a woman whose voice cannot be ignored. You may say she has not been diplomatic enough but that is begging the issue. She had in the past called her husband’s government to order by saying that those who campaigned with her husband to get power are not seen in his government now run by strangers. This was in the first term of her husband. She is saying again that her family is under pressure from those about to wrestle power from her husband. She is not saying nonsense and I believe she is not crying wolf where there is none and she should be taken seriously by both her husband as a dutiful and concerned wife, and by Nigerians as a patriotic First Lady. All I ask her to do for us all is to persuade her husband and perhaps the cabal that she has apprehended as usurpers to let the Buhari government take a U turn on its now established style of government that defies court orders. The Attorney General has promised this should change but that is not nowadays credible enough. We earnestly call on our First Lady to come to the rescue and help save Nigeria like she is trying to save her family and marriage from the Aso Rock cabal she has identified so clearly.

Similarly, Donald Trump in calling on NATO members to pay their financial dues mixed up personal and corporate accountability with diplomacy. Just as he thought he was conducting diplomacy in pressuring the Ukrainian president to investigate his opponents’ son so that the US financial clout to help Ukraine is not lost in a corrupt environment, Trump’s telecom diplomacy has earned him by default the charge ‘of abuse of power ‘ with US Lower House. Yet he must as President of the USA conduct diplomacy with or without domestic politics. Unfortunately this has now been turned on its head by his opponents to impeach him personally of abuse of power.

Anyway, Trump himself is to blame for the use he has made of Twitter to conduct both personal matters and diplomacy. Yet the twitter technology which is great innovative technology in his time has made him more powerful than any US President before him and with the Senate trial as the concluding part of his Impeachment trial, Trump should literally get away with the murder of Impeachment and his peculiar cheek of using tweeter to mix diplomacy with personal and political matters during his hitherto turbulent tenure as president.

In the case of President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and NATO or EU, it is a clear case of a marriage hitting the rocks even before consummation. The EU has been loath to grant Turkey membership for over 50 years ostensibly because Turkey is Muslim and Europe is Christian and Islamophobia is at the back of EU mistrust of Turkey. But diplomacy in the Syrian crisis and the refugee problem involved has strengthened Turkeys hand such that it has threatened to open its borders and flood Europe with refugees largely Muslims, if Turkey’s membership is not given urgent attention. Still, if Turkey insists on buying arms from Russia as it has vowed to, there is no way NATO nations can grant Turkey EU membership it so desires. It remains to be seen how NATO will call Turkey’s bluff and how Erdogan can eat his cake and still have it by becoming Russia’s arms customer and still hope to get EU membership. Surely there is no marriage made in heaven in Turkey’s suspect ambition for membership of the EU and NATO.

Lastly the exit polls in the UK December 12 elections showed a victory for the Conservative Party and a painful loss for the Labor Party. Both Leaders have responded with the Brexit Champion and PM Boris Johnson thanking voters for their trust which he promised to repay by working for all Britons including those in Labor who voted for the Tories. Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party on the other hand has conceded defeat but has said he will not lead Labor in the next campaign election. The election results and the reaction of the Party leaders show the nature of political marriages in any democracy and the role of elections in cementing the marriage between those in power and the electorate or in making a divorce possible at election time by voting parties out of power. In Boris Johnson’s case the victory has affirmed Brexit as a true divorce from the EU and the wish of the the British electorate in spite of the dilly dallying of the last Parliament which is now under the control of a Brexit majority. That really is what democracy is all about in spite of the rhetoric of diplomacy. Brexit and the Brexit election victory puts the hammer firmly on today’s topic that in diplomacy there are no permanent friends but permanent interests as the UK parts company with the EU even as Boris Johnson and his Brexit companions have been called liars in the way they brought Brexit about. Morals amongst nations are definitely different from those of humans, even as leaders.