The Nation Newspaper

Category: Dayo Sobowale

  • Budget, authority and leadership deficits

    A  writer  in an Economist of  London’s  publication some years  back identified  what  he called Authority deficit in global  politics leaving a  security  vacuum being filled  by Islamic  militancy. Having been used  to budget deficit in economic scenarios  and analysis, I  found  the terminology  fascinating and it has fired my imagination for the topic of today. I  will  therefore  shed  more light on the notion of authority deficit before going into the  more familiar budget deficit of Economic  Planning.  I will   then plough  back the two into  the arena of leadership deficit as  both fall under the purview  of political  leaders  both local  and global who  take decisions on them and are  thus to be held responsible  for the  consequences of their actions  and inactions, as  the buck stops on their powerful  tables  – as  the saying goes.

    The  Economist Analyst  spoke  then  about a decline of world order since the end  of  the Cold War   and  the hope  of the civilized world   that order  will  prevail  and  be sustained  in a  Unipolar world   led   by the US   after   the fall  of  the  Berlin Wall  and the  collapse  of the former  Soviet  Union. Unfortunately  America’s moral  authority  took  a fatal  blow  from the invasion of Iraq  on the false premise   of   the existence  of weapons  of mass destruction  and  human  rights  violation  at  Guatanamo   Bay. In addition  the analyst  wondered  at the justice  of a world  order and global authority based  on a UN Security  Council   made  up  of winners  of  a  World  War  which  ended  in  1945  and which pointedly left out  Emerging world players and new  powerful    world markets like Brazil  and  India who  are part  of the BRIC  nations namely Brazil, Russia, India, China  and  S.Africa.  This perception of an unjust  world  order has therefore led to a global lack  of respect  for an unfairly  constituted  global  authority.

    Thus creating the authority deficit  which Islamic  Militancy  has exploited and  this too  has led  to the emergence  of  ruthless terrorists groups  like Al Quada, Taliban, ISIS and  Boko  Haram which  are trying to create  borderless  caliphates in a world castrated by  an  authority  deficit  crassly  unable   to check and bring them to order.

    This  analysis  was  written in 2007 a year  before  George  Bush the 33rd  US  President  and the scapegoat  of the  2003  Iraqi invasion with  British PM at the time, left  office.  America’s  loss  of moral authority which created the authority  deficit we  are  talking about now,  created  the political  and electoral  climate  that made present US President   Barak  Obama the next and 34th president of the US   in  the 2008  presidential    elections. This week   in  2016 as  the presidential   election  campaigns  to  elect his successor takes  steam   US  President  Barak    boldly  if not  naively lamented  that the worst  mistake of his administration in foreign policy was in not planning for  the aftermath  of the overthrow  of the Muammar  Gaddafi, the former  ruler  of Libya. He  went  on to say that because  the US  and  its allies have  blocked  or chased ISIS  out  of Syria  and   Iraq, ISIS  fighters  are  now regrouping in Libya and  that is responsible  for  the present  state  of anarchy that  Libya  is experiencing. That  to  me is very brilliant  and candid  analysis  by the US  President. But  it  is also an admission of responsibility by  the leader  responsible  for the best illustration of the  notion   and   existence  of authority deficit in our time.

    The  Obama lamentation  on  Libya can  be appraised from  a troika  of perspectives,  all of which confirm his vintage credentials  as an exponent of authority  deficit in foreign  policy  and none  of which is pleasant for him,  his  legacy, his political  party and  the world at  large.  This  is not difficult  to see and that is why the lamentation was so  difficult  to believe that  he was the one saying it and not someone else and  I will clearly show this.

    Let  me  start by  looking at the impact  of the Obama Libya lamentation on the ongoing  US  presidential  election campaigns especially with the chances  of Hillary  Clinton, the front runner for Obama’s  party, the Democratic  Party.  Of  course there is no need to  imagine what  Donald  Trump, the Republican  Party front runner would  make  of the lamentation as he would certainly take Obama,  who  he once called a security risk  to the cleaners  on that. With  regard  to  the Democratic  Party which   Vice  President Biden literally asked  to  campaign on the  Obama  legacy  when he stepped  down from  contesting for the presidency to succeed Obama, lamentation  has  become a  political  albatross  or hemlock  for Hillary  Clinton and  Bernie  Sanders, the two  front runners  for the Democratic  Party’s Presidential  nomination. This  is because  a policy of mistakes on foreign policy is hardly  a good sales  pitch to sell a presidential  candidate not to talk  of a candidate  of the party of  the  outgoing president making an admission  of failure or mistake  in that regard. In addition the timing seems calculated  to harm the nomination chances of Hillary  Clinton as she was the Secretary of State with Obama  at the time  Gaddafi was deposed and Barak  Obama has hailed that as the high point of her foreign  policy achievements.

    Definitely  the president’s   Libya   lamentation  has given her achievements a kick  in the ass out of the  window  and  made  her a sitting duck  for wicked  jokes of lack  of leadership qualities and judgement  from,  first Bernie  Sanders her opponent in her party  and most dangerously  from the Republican’s Donald  Trump. But then  as Hillary’s  presidential  ambitions  take  a turn  for the worse her  boss  too must  accept  responsibility  for the authority and leadership deficit  so much  on display in this Libya lamentation.  This  is  because  after Hillary left as  Obama’s  Secretary  of State Obama  made  a worse  mistake in Syria than  the one he is now lamenting on Libya,  on  Syria by drawing a red line for that nation to cross  on the possession  and use  of chemical  weapons on  Syrians by their own President Bashar  Assad. The  Syrians  crossed Obama’s  red line amply illustrated by the famous  –  We  know – speeches  by  Hillary’s  successor as Secretary  of  State,  John Kerry  who  gave  graphic  accounts  of the use of chemical  weapons by the Syrian  leader against  his people and prepared the mind of the world and the Syrian  rebels  against air strikes against  the  Assad regime.

    This  however  never happened  against  the  observance  of violations  of American  values  going  on  in Syria because President Obama  lost the stomach  for the air strikes and  that led unfortunately to the rise  of ISIS, the  destruction  of Syria, the establishment of a Russian  base in Syria, and  the mass  flow  of Syrian  refugees  into  the  EU  nations,  which  has become  the huge  humanitarian  crisis  of our  time. Really  the  Obama  Libyan lamentation is unbelievable  but there   is no doubt on the real source of both the authority and leadership deficits and  the attendant  seen  and  unseen dire,  tragic   diplomatic   and global consequences.

    We  go  next  to the Nigerian scene this week on the topic  of the day. Two   issues strike my attention  for  comment and analysis. The first was   the  President’s trip  to China ostensibly  to seek funds or loans to finance our budget  deficit. The  second was  the statement  credited to the president   in  China  that he  would defeat  pipeline vandals  like he defeated  Boko  Haram.

    Starting with the China deficit  financing trip I think  it is a step in the right  direction and a welcome departure  from  IMF  and  World Bank  loans whose repayment terms  have ruined  not only our  economy but that  of several African and developing  nations. China has  a growing economy and the largest population and  consumers of goods and services in the world  and needs minerals, oil and many products that  we  have  for its population. It  is in order  for it to fund infrastructure loans to have access to the needs of its blooming population  and we certainly need  the money  to grow our economy and provide jobs  for  our  youths. In  addition  we are in the fight against  corruption  for which China has zero  tolerance and  has a penalty  of the death  sentence  for  corruption  which it regards as economic sabotage. We should  borrow a leaf there before China  gets wise on that and makes it  a  loan  conditionality. Looting of state funds  needs to  attract lethal deterrence  certainly  above  media ridicule  and  mere opprobrium  as  we  have  now.

    On  the  issue  of defeating  pipeline vandals like  Boko  Haram  we should  be more careful as  comparisons  can be odious and escalating where  terrorism  is concerned. Pipe line vandals are thieves  and not terrorists  we should  not  give them  importance they  don’t deserve so that it does not get into their heads. Boko  Haram started with youths on motor bikes  who  should have been  sorted  out speedily  by the appropriate security  forces  who  looked the other way.  Now  Boko  Haram  has gone international and is threatening not only  the Sahel  but even  Ghana. Pipeline vandals should be apprehended  and  dealt  with pronto  and effectively but  should never  be compared to Boko  Haram, please. As  at  now  the government  has  an authority  deficit  on  Boko  Haram if only because the   200 Chibok  girls  have  not been found for two years now and this government   has been in power  for almost  a year now.

    On  the budget and  leadership deficit as I have  analysed  the government  has my kudos and  is moving in the right  direction. Once again long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Global corruption, the law and the state

    It  would  appear-   from  the latest Panama Papers  Scandal involving the release of millions of deals by a law  firm  through  which the rich  and mighty use stolen funds by creating phony companies-  that  the  war  against  corruption in  Nigeria is just  the tip  of the ice  bag. Like  I  said  last  week  corruption  is  not  a distinctly  peculiar  Nigerian  malady  as some  people  would  have us believe. Indeed  the scale  of the  Panama Papers Scandal  seems  to  have  stolen   our  thunder and resolve to crush  corruption but   we  must  remain  focused  and resolute  as  a nation   and people   to   sanitise     and   cleanse  our  nation    and   society   of  the cancer   of  corruption.

    The   Panama Papers  leak involve transactions and  phony  companies’ fixed’ for the rich by a Panama law firm and  the import is even greater  than that of Wikki  Leaks  which  focused  on diplomatic information  and confidential  matters. Already  the  impact  has been global and volatile.  President Vladmir  Putin of  Russia who  was  not named but  whose friends were  credited  with  billions of dollars  has  rebutted  the Panama Papers  as transparent  but has nevertheless  said their release  was  a  plan by the west  to  destabilize  Russia. But  his  critics  have  pointed out that his friends and cronies  could  have been  fronting for him  and  keeping money  for  him   by proxy as is the practice  in tax  havens globally. Some  Nigerians  too  have been  named although I  will  not discuss  or name them  yet  as the  title  of this piece  has a different focus  on the state  and the law  in the face  of global  corruption which  I shall  look  at from the perspective  of the Nigerian state, the law  and its practice  in  Nigeria.

    Indeed  corruption  has gone global and  has already  claimed powerful leaders  as victims while preparing  to  gobble  others  even  more  powerful and  hitherto thought  to be untouchable  and  above  board. The  Panama  Leaks  has claimed  the Prime  Minister  of  Iceland  who was  involved  in cleaning the banking system  but had phony companies  owned with  his wife  while still holding public  office. In  Brazil  as noted  last  week  the  President  Dilmar  Rousseff  is  fighting  for her political  life and this week a Congressional  Committee  gave the nod for  impeachment  proceedings  to start  against  her. Even  Brazil’s Vice  President  who  should take over  from Dilmar  in case of impeachment  is also to face investigations  on  charges  of  corruption  too which  means that the Brazilian political  system  and state  is under  siege  from the scourge  of  corruption and  this is a testy time  for Brazilian  law  makers  and the nation’s  legal  system.

    Similarly  the S African  President Jacob  Zuma    this  week  survived an impeachment scare  in  Parliament in that   nation  mainly  on the  majority  strength  of his  ruling  ANC  in  Parliament. Before  that  he  had  apologized  to  the  nation claiming that as at the time he was using state  funds to  renovate  his country  house he did  not know  he was violating the  constitution. For  now  all  what  one  can  say  is that every  dog   has its  day  and  Zuma   has  definitely  had  his way  this time  around. No thanks  though  to party  loyalty  and    rather  dubious   party   discipline  that  has   not this  time served public  good, transparency, and    even   public  discipline, which  should  be the choice weapon  to fight  corruption  globally, including  in  Zuma’s  and sadly  the   incorruptible  and   immortal Nelson  Mandela’s  S  Africa. Which  really  is a  great  pity.

    It  is  on that  note and  mood  that I charge into the topic of today  and  the self – given assignment  of  two  eminent  Nigerian  lawyers   to  burnish  the   public   image  of  lawyers  in  Nigeria. The  first  is Abubakar  Mahmoud,  a Senior  Advocate  of  Nigeria who  is seeking  the office  of  President of the Nigerian Bar  Association who  openly  lamented  that Nigerians think  that 90%  of  Nigerian  lawyers  are  crooks and who  promised  to  change  that perception or  image  if elected  President of the NBA.  The  second  is  veteran politician and lawyer  Ayo  Opadokun, a  brave  voice  against military despotism in  Nigeria who reportedly lamented  that the anti  corruption  war  has shown that  the legal profession  needs  to rescue its hard  earned reputation as a learned profession from  the jaws of  the  opprobrium  of  corruption  and  criminality. It  is in the light  of the concern of  these  two gentlemen for  the image of  their profession which  is  called ‘learned’  by its practitioners  that  I  look  at the  issue  of global  corruption, the law  and the  state.

    I  start on the premise  that  the law  is  the basis of  the rule  of  law and the state  derives its security  and  stability from observance and enforcement  of its laws.  A  government  or  the state or the political system therefore  must  monopolise  the use  of force  in maintaining  its  rule within its given territorial  area to assure its  territorial  sovereignty and integrity  as well as ensuring  the safety of life and property  in its area of control and jurisdiction. In Nigeria  today government  or  the state is  a democracy  based  on the presidential  system  of government with  separation  of powers into  the executive, legislature and  judiciary. The  executive  is  the presidency  which rules  while the legislature makes  laws and  approves budgets and  war expenditure while the judiciary  adjudicates  in litigations involving individuals, the state and institutions. Today  our  focus  is on the third arm of   government the judiciary not  only as the  temple  of justice  but in the way lawyers  and litigants  operate  there and  how  that  is affecting the  political  system  generally and  the  war  against  corruption  in Nigeria  in  particular.

    It  is pertinent  to  note  that in Nigeria lawyers  are  well  regarded   as  well  educated  and  well  informed. It  is  not  unusual  to hear  admonitions asking if  you  are a lawyer on simple arguments  with a lawyer. Indeed  elderly  people  are  wont  to tell  you that you don’t argue  with a lawyer even if you  are an expert on a topic  that you feel a lawyer is dabbling into dangerously  ignorantly. It  is  therefore  highly  lamentable  that a SAN  is  seeking the presidency of the NBA on the platform  of rescuing the reputation of lawyers as  crooks  in society   and a much  older lawyer is sharing  that same concern.  But  then it is  not  a situation  to be wished away as it will  not, given the fact  that lawyers will always represent those involved in litigations with the EFCC on  corruption  charges  and over  50  lawyers  were said  to be present when  the EFCC  arraigned a SAN on  bribing a judge  recently. In  addition  the ongoing trial  of the  Senate  president as well as the way defence lawyers first walked out  and tried  to stall  the case on the issue of jurisdiction and  quorum up to the apex  court  and  tried  to repeat  the process after that cannot  but show  that lawyers  have  a penchant  for making an ass of the law in  Nigerian  and laughing all  the way to the bank  in  the process. How  that has  affected the image of the profession is the  root  of the quest of a SAN  for  the presidency of the apex lawyers  union and the fight of a veteran and  dogged  democrat  to salvage  the  remnants  of the reputation of  a profession  whose practitioners should  have known better that money  is  the root  of all evil. Lawyers  should  learn  that no  force in the universe can put  spilt milk  or  broken  egg  together,  and such  is the nature of reputations, even  of people and professions  of people claiming to be more learned  than  others in  the discharge  of their  duties  to  the state  and those  seeking their  services  in  the pursuit  of justice.

  • Power, corruption and impunity

    The  decision  of the highest  court in S Africa   this week  that the  country’s President  Jacob  Zuma  has failed  to defend, protect  and respect the constitution by  diverting  public  funds    up  to 15m   pounds to renovate his house   forms  the basis  of our  discussion today. The  court  likened  the public  protector that brought the case to court to the biblical  David  fighting the Goliath of  Impunity  that is corruption. That  is a description after  my  heart and should  be a source of encouragement to the anti  corruption brigade in Nigeria led by the EFCC  and  the   hard  working prosecution team of   the  Code  of  Conduct  Bureau [CCB ]    and   the Code  of  Conduct  Tribunal  [CCT]  in  Nigeria. The  judgement  in S Africa  has  serious implications  not only for that nation  but for the rest of Africa  and indeed  the whole world on the  workings  of  democracy, the rule of law and the establishment of transparency  in  governance in any part  of the world.

    A  youth  leader expelled  from  the ruling ANC in  S Africa and  now an opposition leader of the  party called  Economic Freedom  fighters, Julius Malema has declared in jubilation that President Zuma cannot continue as President and that  if he comes to parliament he will physically challenge him by pushing him. Whether  President Zuma  takes up the challenge or not is not an  issue here. What is important is that the court in S Africa has shown clearly that no one is above the law in a democracy. The  court  even went on to chastise Parliament for not doing its duty of checkmating the president on misuse of public funds as it should  have,  as part of its constitutional  duty,  and asked the errant president of S Africa to return the embezzled  money  within 60  days.

    It  is  necessary  to  compare  what  is going on in S Africa  with events in Brazil  where  the president is facing looming impeachment over corruption charges including the manipulation of budget deficit figures to  win reelection  for her second term and the resolve of the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari  to scrutinize the  2016  budget figures already  passed by our  legislature before fixing his signature of approval as the executive  authority. Which  sounds  like putting the cart  before the horse but  is really a case of once bitten twice shy.

    Firstly,   the way  the  S  African  political  system  reacts to the decision of Constitutional  Court will  be a  good  test  of the quality  of the rule of law and use  of democratic   power in that nation. Julius  Malema  has  asked that Parliament be dissolved, the president should be sacked and fresh elections held. But  that is largely wishful  thinking because the ANC would still  win because blacks  are in majority in S Africa  and would not lose that majority  for a long time. There  have  been calls for Zuma to be relieved of his duties and replaced like  his predecessor   Thabo  Mbeki, and that may be the real  workable political  solution .It would  also serve to show Zuma that corruption  does not pay   after  all, for it was  to preempt such charges against  him as Vice  President that he executed  the  palace  coup that removed his predecessor from  office   before  the end  of his second  term. Now  the chicken  has come home to roost  and the nemesis of corruption is  hanging on his neck  like the proverbial  sword  of Damocles. The  third  option is for the ANC to pardon Zuma after returning the money and to expect politics to go on as usual.  That  would be a tragedy  for the rule of law and   a clear  misuse    and   abuse   of democratic power.  Certainly  that would overheat  the S African political  system and polarize the ANC. It  may  indeed  be the death  knell of the sure majority  that made Zuma think  he could get away  with murder on the renovation  matter.  It  will also  send a clear  signal to the world that Africans are perhaps  not ready for majority democracy  and that would be most  unfortunate  indeed.

    With  regard  to Brazil  the president is fighting for  her political life, if  not indeed her personal  freedom as there have been  calls for her to be impeached for padding the budget   deficit   figures in her re election bid. So  padding the budget  is  not a distinctly  Nigerian corruption or malady.  But  after corruption charges at the Brazilian oil giant  Petrobas  swept the  Brazil,  involving the former President Lula da  Silva who incumbent   President   Dilmar  is protecting by making him her  Chief  of Staff, the coalition  partners of the ruling Workers Party of Dilma  and  Lula have withdrawn their support  in Parliament and the threat of impeachment is real for the incumbent Brazilian  president, Dilma Rousseff. Seven  of her ministers  have resigned and the cabinet  is wobbly while  the only silver lining on a  cloudy political  horizon  was the decision by  Brazil’s Constitutional  court to take on the trial  of  Lula which  was Dilmar’s original  ploy in bringing Lula to her cabinet in the  first  instance. Whether that court  will play  ball with  Lula and Dilmar and give them succor and longer political  life in Brazil or  like the S African court strike  a blow at  impunity and  corruption  is the interesting political  drama   unfolding before the world  in the next  few months or days in soccer  loving Brazil and we are watching very  keenly.

    With  regard  to  President  Buhari  going through the budget figures  even  after legislative  approval  he  should  not  be distracted by those calling for speedy implementation as what is worth doing is worth doing well. Even  the legislature which gave approval  was reported  to be still working on what it has approved  and  passed  to the presidency.  Of  course that is simply  to prepare a fall  back position for an  anticipated executive rebuke on padding. Nevertheless the  presidency should look at legislative fringe  benefits and constituency  allocations  and prune or jettison them  altogether as they cannot be executed without executive fiat. If  we lose revenue because of fall in oil  prices the best thing to do is to cut  administrative  costs across board on  all  arms of government   to  improve earnings  and  accruals to projected  budget revenue. That  is cutting your  coat according to your cloth and size. Once  again  long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Change, global terrorism and security

    Literature on the concept  of change   show  that change management is  an oxymoron   like   ‘ holy war ‘ as  change cannot be managed. The  experts thus  concluded that the best  way to confront change is  to be prepared for any eventualities  by  continually improving one’s  self  or  organization. Change  they  concluded can be faced by learning, growth  and  development. They  illustrate  this historically with the example of American President  Abraham  Lincoln who  fought the American  Civil War to free slaves  and became one of the most successful  and  impactful  US  president after a life dogged  by  failures and personal  difficulties  and mishaps. Lincoln famously  took change and difficulties  he faced with the  famous  statement – I will  prepare  myself and my time must  come.

    It  is from the perspective of this Lincolnian  statement  that I look  at  the topic  of today in terms  of the events that happened this week  which  we  will  focus on. The  first  is the killing of over 35  people in the Airport and Metro in Brussels the capital of Belgium  and that of the  European  Union and  the statement issued  by Turkey  that  it warned Belgium  when it deported  one of the suicide bombers involved when  he was deported  in July  last year.  Yet the man found his way to  Belgium to kill  innocent people  this week.

    The  second  was the visit  of the US  President  Barak  Obama to Cuba,  a very  historic  one for  that matter and  the import of his speech to  an audience in  Cuba  during which  he tried  to sell American market  economy, human  rights  and gay  rights to  the people  of  Cuba. The  third  is the reported  kidnapping of over 100  women  and  some girls by  Boko  Haram  in  Adamawa state  and the reported suspicion of people in the area  that some security  officials could be aiding  and abetting the terrorists  presumably  for a fee . The  fourth  is the reported Memorandum  of Understanding signed by the Lagos  state  government with Kebbi  state to buy rice and other agricultural  produce from that state  and sell in  Lagos  state  which  has  the largest  market  for such produce not only  in  Nigeria but in the entire ECOWAS  region. The  fifth  is the statement credited to the GMD   of  NNPC   Dr  Ibe  Kachikwu  that  the fuel  queues  giving Nigerians  nightmares nowadays  will  not  go away  till  May 2016, a statement that has fuelled a mad  rush  for fuel, hoarding,  and escalated  the black  market price of the scarce commodity. Let  us now  examine  how  the statement credited to Lincoln  could  be  applicable  in all  the situations  and events identified  this week.

    First  let  us look  at the intelligence gaffe that made the Belgians  to ignore the Turkish  warning. Was  it ought of incompetence, ignorance or arrogance or all of these?. Obviously  the Belgians could have downgraded the Turkish  warning because  Turkey  is not yet a full EU  member which has proved to be a costly  and  murderous mistake. Turkey  has  always  been  at the heart of Europe even though it is Muslim. But  it is not an inferior nation  to any EU  member including Belgium. Turkey founded by Kemal  Ataturk   in  1923  was an offspring of the Ottoman Empire that ruled  Europe  for centuries  and its security and intelligence institutions  are efficient especially  in fishing out the sort of people that the Belgians ignored  to their own peril  last week.  So  for  the Belgians they did not prepared  themselves to face change like Lincoln  did  and the result  was the bomb  disaster  that claimed innocent lives this week. The  same  can  be said  of the kidnapping of the  women in  Adamawa  state by  Boko  Haram  and the fears expressed  on intelligence  lapses or sabotage  by those expected  to protect fellow  Nigerians. The  government must  investigate  and bring such intelligence or field  officials  to  book.  They  are treacherous  to say the least  as they  are running  with  the hunted  and  shooting  with the hunters  and benefitting from the awful  carnage   This should  not be allowed  as it is the duty of the Nigerian  government to  protect  all Nigerians no  matter where  they live from any insurgency  especially that of the imfamous  and blood thirsty  Boko  Haram.  It  is not enough to say  terrorism  is a global   problem   not peculiar   to  Nigeria  and sit back. Our  intelligence  community  must  be on their toes to foil Boko  Haram notoriety  and mayhem and not only be reacting to them when  the harm  was done or  closing the stable doors when  the horses  have bolted  from the.

    Next,  let  us look  at the Obama  visit  to the US and its import  for world  peace and  security  especially  at this  point  in time. Obviously  President  Obama would  have prepared  himself  immensely for the Cuban visit like Abraham  Lincoln  thought and  Lincoln is  indeed Obama’s  favorite  US  president,  but  has  Obama’s time  come on this visit ? I  honestly  think  the answer is no which is unfortunate but I will  show why.  First except  for  making history as the first US president to visit Havana  in decades the visit is simply ceremonial  and does not create any economic opportunities  for the US  or  even  Cuban  citizens who view  it with  suspicion . I watched  the US president  trying to compare  the  American way of life – free speech, human  and  gay rights  to a socialist  nation where the gap between  the rich and poor is shorter  and where  the basics of life  -education, shelter and employment  are available and affordable  without the luxuries associated with American  life and  I really  felt  the US president lost his way to  Havana  and should  quickly  return  to the White  House in  Washington. He  dared  to incite Cuban  youths  and bravely too by referring to President Ronald  Reagan’s  speech  in Berlin  –  Tear  this  wall  down- at the Berlin Wall  which was believed to have been part  of the reasons  for the collapse of the Cold  War  but he asked Cuban youths  to build  new things rather  than  tear anything down.  I am  sure the wily old  man of Cuba and unrepentant socialist Fidel  Castro will  be wondering if American  presidents ever learnt anything new  in their dealings with Cuba except  to think of it as part  of the US backyard,  a notion that the US president’s  speech  has cemented  even more than  anything else.

     Anyway,   Cuban  youths  are  well educated and know what Obama said  in his Cairo  speech  that led to Tahrir Square  revolution  in   Cairo    Egypt  in 2011 and know how  the  same US president   abandoned  Egyptian youths  and their new  found  democracy  to their plight when  the  Army came to wipe them out and take over.

    In  addition  President  Obama is a lame duck  president under whose  watch someone like Donald  Trump  has  become  a front runner  for the presidential  candidacy  of the Republican  Party in the US. Trump  has  already thrown the typical Trump verbal  bomb by laughing at Obama that the Cuban president  was not on hand to receive him in Cuba which is true.  More  importantly Trump  has said  Obama is  a security  risk in the way  he has handled ISIS and  the  fact  that the Brussels  bombing happened when  Obama was  on a visit to Cuba  has not helped  matters as it portrayed US  president as fiddling in Cuba  like the ancient  Roman  Emperor  Nero  while Rome and  this time Europe  and Brussels were  burning which is not a good analogy at all.

    Lastly  we look at  the  efforts  of the  Lagos state  government to create food  security  and the NNPC attempt  at transparency that  backfired.  Actually  both  are good preparations except  that one achieved its objective and the other backfired which  means its time has  not really come. In  the case of Lagos state the state can be said to be following the moral  of the Chinese statement which said – Dig  a well before you  are  thirsty. This is because  food insecurity  puts  Lagos state in a perilous security situation as the recent  Mile 12 riots showed  that even security  forces can  be partisan when  it  comes to  food  matters. So  one  can salute the effort of the Lagos state  government  which  would create jobs for Lagos   youths  and unleash  a new breed  of Ibile rice  distributors  to  ginger the busy  economy  of the state.

    In  the case  of the NNPC MD’s  forecast  of the truth  of regularization of the availability of  fuel; the former  Mobil executive probably thought he was  in the  US. He  was  even reported to have said he was not a magician to produce fuel  from  the blues which has led to the Unions calling for his head or resignation . Obviously  he  should  know  better now  or  go for a refresher course with a former Mobil executive now the ultimate Nigerian  politician and former governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Dr Bola Ahmed Tinubu on  how  to play  politics in Nigeria. Unavailability  of fuel  can lead to social  upheaval and political  instability  and insecurity  and the GMD of NNPC   must  look  before  he leaps and also  know that  a stitch  in time saves nine especially  when tempers  are  frayed at the fuel  stations  where  Nigerians spend the better  part  of their days looking for fuel  to  take them  to work  to eke out   a precarious  experience even  as they expect a change for the better. Again  long live the Federal  Republic  of Nigeria.

  • Strategies on using the law to floor corruption

    A  lecture  at the prestigious  Island  Club and the amazing unfolding political   events in Brazil, where  a  former President  has been brought  back  to  the cabinet  by the incumbent president to circumvent a corruption trial,  form  the theme of our discussion  today. The  lecturer  at  the Island  Club  was legal  luminary Professor Itsay  Sagay SAN   and   his given topic was  ‘ How  to fight  and Win  the  War against  Corruption; Challenges  and prospects ‘  which  he changed to  the juicy  and highly  educative  topic – Confronting the  Scourge  of  Corruption.  This  is the  topic  on which  I will  dilate  extensively today given  the very bright light  and hope it generated  in me,   that at least,  there is one man standing,  ready  and willing to use his enormous erudition  and learning  to  sing the death knell of corruption in the current war on corruption embarked  by the Buhari  Administration.

     Professor  Sagay  spoke  in his capacity as  the  Chairman. Presidential  Advisory Committee Against Corruption  and his lecture threw  immense  light  on the  strategies  on  hand by this administration to fight corruption  according to the rule of law, taking great  cognizance  of the challenges and obstacles inherent  in the Nigerian  environment  and context, both  historical  and potential,  and ways  to  see the strategies through to achieve their objectives.  In effect  Professor  Sagay  analysed the issues involved pragmatically, empirically and  practically in such a way  that one can only tremble at  the fate and dire  prospects facing treasury looters caught in the act by this administration  in the priority  it has  set  in using the ant I  corruption war  to sanitise  our economy  and  society by  identifying and punishing those who  have used  public office to loot our common  patrimony  to  feather their own private  pockets while  Nigerians live in squalor  when indeed the country  is  a very  wealthy  national  entity.

    Amazingly, while  Professor   Sagay   was postulating on giving corruption a punchy  legal  upper  cut, sequel  to  a  boxing  knock out   in the Island  Club,  a different situation  that  he  already  foresaw and was warning  against  in his lecture was  unfolding in far  away  Brazil. That  soccer  loving nations’s  president, Dilmar  Roussef  was  appointing her former  boss  and  former   president Lula  da  Silva    to  the same position  of  Chief of  Staff  in which   she served  him so  that   the former   president   would not face charges  for fraud  and money  laundry   that  had  been  brought  against  Lula  and were   widely publicized  in Brazil.

      I  had written  earlier  on this unfolding drama  and  had  commended  incumbent  Brazilian president   Dilmar  for her guts in allowing the charges of collecting bribes from oil  contractors of  Petrobas  against  Lula  to see  the light of day and  wished our own  government had  the same  guts to charge our former  president to court if found   culpable on the  diversion  of money  meant for arms revelations which we have aptly called  Dasukigate. Obviously  not only myself but   Brazilians   and indeed   the whole world  had  been taken  for a ride   by  this  Brazilian lady  President.  She has sworn in Lula  as  her  Chief  of Staff thus giving him  immunity  from  prosecution from Brazilian  federal  courts and prosecution  only by the Supreme  Court. A  court in Brazil  has ruled the position  illegal  but   the Brazilian  president has appealed against  the ruling . What  happened  in  Brazil which  is also  fighting its war  on corruption   is   precisely   what  Professor  Sagay  highlighted  as   a major  challenge to the war  on corruption posed  by very senior defence  lawyers who  use all  their  experience and  knowledge  to frustrate  the prosecution  of their clients  by unethical  methods. One  of such underhand  methods  he highlighted was – political rehabilitation   of accused  by  high profile political appointment and electoral  victory into public  office and –compromise  of the court of the prosecution  or both. This  is what the incumbent Brazilian president has  done in bright  day  light  and Brazilians  have taken to the streets in protest.  But  it is something quite  common in Nigeria given  the ongoing trial  of the Senate president by  the CCT  and  the huge numbers of former two term  governors now  distinguished  senators in our National  Assembly.

     It  is  pertinent  at  this stage to   highlight  the major parts  of the Sagay  Island  Club  Public  lecture on Confronting the Scourge  of  Corruption.  The  lecture  had sections on – The  Negative  Impact of  Corruption; The  Emergence of  President Muhammadu  Buhari  as someone who  has zero tolerance for corruption  and how that has  set the tone of the war  on corruption;  The  means for  combatting corruption namely the ICPC  started  by the  Obasanjo  Administration in  1999 and  provided  a legal  framework called the Corrupt  Practices  and Other  Related Offences  Act  in  June  2000;  the  EFCC established in  2000; the  Code  of Conduct Bureau  and  Tribunal in 1989; the  Code  of Conduct  Tribunal and the Presidential  Advisory  Committee  Against  Corruption – PACAC in August 2015.

    The   Duties  of the PACAC  headed by Professor  Sagay include  the following – promotion of the anti  corruption struggle by  developing comprehensive interventions  in Nigeria’s  Administration  of  Criminal  Justice  System; Engendering Inter Agency  Cooperation and  Information  sharing; promoting the  efficiency and  effectiveness of the anti corruption  agencies; Examining the workings of  the present system of the Administration  of Criminal  Justice;  Seeking to put an end to all  orders of  Perpetual  Injunctions  against the investigation, interrogation, arrest and  prosecution of anyone  for corruption with  the objective that such  persons must defend  themselves in court and  such  cases must go through  the full trial  process;  the  lifting of all  existing injunctions protecting anyone from  investigation, interrogation, arrest and prosecution for corruption;  and revisiting  outstanding cases  of egregious corruption and  impunity which  have  been  stalled or  suspended.

    PACAC   has  a four  point strategy to  achieve its objective and ensure that the  Administration  of justice  achieves its anti  corruption war objectives. These  strategies  are efficient investigation, effective  prosecution, speedy  adjudication  and  effective  sanctions. The  lecture  also  identified a  National  Anti  Corruption  Plan, Assets  Recovery,The  Recovery  of Public  Property ( Special Provisions Act  2004 ), and  The Administration  of the Criminal  Justice  Act  of 2015.

    With regard  to  effective prosecution, the Professor  called for the prosecution  of any  person who  has compromised  the prosecution process either as a judge, a prosecutor  or investigator and  that  such  people  should  be jailed if found guilty. He  highlighted in particular  a set  of consultants called  specialists  who  are retired  judges at all  levels -high court, Court  of Appeal or  Supreme  Court who  make  themselves  available  to corrupt  judges. He  asked that such  people  should be jailed  if found culpable.  All  of  them, he  averred, SANs, Consultants  and  judges who  compromise trial  proceedings need  to be charged,  prosecuted and imprisoned if found guilty.  According to  Sagay – a  few  cases of imprisonment of this category of unpatriotic  Nigerians is necessary for  honour and integrity  to return  to the judicial  process. I  cannot  agree more.

    However, it was  in the question and answer  section  of the lecture  that Professor  Sagay  proved  his mettle  and  commitment  as  an  unrepentant  anti  corruption  warrior,  both within and without Nigeria’s  temple  of justice. To  the plea from a questioner  that the government should  concentrate more on improving  the plight of Nigerians   rather   than the war  on  corruption, the professor admitted  he was fed up with such  suggestions which betrayed  that that  those  holding such views  could be corrupt too. On  a view that  judges were poorly  paid he countered  that that was not  sufficient excuse  to be corrupt  as judges know their salaries  and  should  live within  their  means.  On  the view  that  the EFCC  was  slow he explained  that the volume  of revelations  from on going statements by suspects  has  created   a huge number  of inter related frauds and new  cases  that the EFCC has  had  to take  on. On  going  back to past  governments   on  the anti  corruption war he  said  that was not  feasible  as there  was  enough on the plate  already with the sordid  level  of  revelations of   corruption  of the last  administration.

    In  spite  of  his strong  convictions I found  it unbelievable  that Professor  Sagay  was against capital punishment for  corruption  as widely canvassed  by  commentators  at  the lecture. He  simply  dismissed it by saying once a  man  was  dead that was it.  All  the  same  I  found it commendable  that he recommended  for use in the fight  against corruption  the adoption  of Decree No 3  –                    Recovery  of  Public  Property    of 1984  promulgated  by  the present Head  of State  when  he was  a military head of  state.  This  is because the  decree   which  is still  valid  stipulates prison  sentence   up   to  21  years  for corruption as against  our present laws  which  stress seizure of assets which  he  said   is not deterrent  enough .

    The  Island  Club Public  Interest Symposium is  an  initiative  of the Club’s  Chairman the  ebullient Dipo  Okpeseyi  who  revealed at the lecture that he was a student of  the lecturer . The  Chairman at the lecture was  the legal  sage and former  Supreme  Court judge Justice Sola Oguntade who  showed  a bias  for picking lawyers at  question time as if anti  corruption war  was  an all lawyers  affair which  is a fallacy that could provoke another war this time not on corruption but  against  discrimination in favor of lawyers von  such  matters .  Any way  I was aggrieved as I was not  called to ask  any question  at  the event  even though  I had my hand up  like  a flag  all  the time . Again  I   doff my  hat to the brilliance  and commitment of   a Nigerian Professor of law  to  the all  important war  on corruption and  the hope  it holds for all  similarly committed and patriotic Nigerians.  Once  again  long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria

  • Political decay, development and change

    To  say  the least the  last few weeks  have  been  very hard days for Nigerians all over the nation. No  light, no water,   no  fuel, and  traffic snarls  caused by those buying fuel blocking the way  of  those   who  have and  wasting the rare fuel  in their tanks.  That   sounds  a  bit like Shakespeare’s ‘ As  You like  it ‘  on the last stage of the seven stages of the life of  a man. Without eyes,  without  teeth, without  anything. The  difference here being   however   that we  are talking of the life of a man and that is quite  distinctly  different  from the life of a nation. Yet  there is no denying that even if  a nation  is like a cat with nine lives there  must still be a limit to the suffering and  forbearance  of its  people.  Honestly  Nigerians  have survived  so far on one crucial gruel  and that is hope  and the  fact that we have just elected a new government on a platform  of change. That single fact and the  fight against  corruption together  with  the heady  spectacle  of the revelations    from  the EFCC on the massive looting of our treasury with impunity  by the high and mighty  of the last administration,  keep  Nigerians going, in the hope  that God  is not finished with Nigeria  yet.  Like Jesse  Jackson loudly  reminisced  when  he lost the presidential  nomination of the  Democratic  Party  in the  US some time ago.

     So  in a way  Nigerians seem resigned to their fate which  fortunately is not hopeless.  It  is simply a teeth  gritting admission that things have got to get worse before getting better.  In  essence some political  decay is necessary  and  admissible before we can make progress and realize  our  hope.  You  may  say that is poor consolation or even  accuse  me of exaggeration of the plight of the masses because  I  am  a journalist and  the  EFCC has  accused journalists of being against the war on corruption  like lawyers .But let me tell  you  what happened at  the  launch of  a professorial  chair funded by the a traditional  ruler with an intellectual  bent, the illustrious Awujale of  Ijebu  Ode , Sikiru  Adetona Ogbagba  11    and  you  will see  that even  the high  and  mighty know  that there is political  decay  in the land.  You  will   see  that they  know  there is need to change not only our present style of leadership  and institutions but   our political and socio  economic values  and orientation to create meaningful  development  for our people.

    Let  me also  add here that bad  leadership  creates political decay and corruption just  as weak leadership engenders threat to the political system,  its   security  and it stability. That  in essence is  what  Dasukigate  has  been  all  about  with  its sordid revelations  on looting, abuse  of power  and fraudulent  diversion  of state  funds.

    However  at   the  professorial chair  launch the  former Governor  of the Central  Bank and now Emir of Kano, the cerebral Muhammadu    Sanusi reportedly  said   that 80%  of  the enormous  resources of the nation are  being squandered   to maintain the leadership  infrastructure  of the political  class  while the remaining 20%  is what is left  to cater for the needs  and wants of over 165m    Nigerians remaining. The  guest lecturer at the  launch a well  known  and  brilliant Urban  geographer  gave an analysis of the  Nigerian problem  as that of decayed institutions that have  not moved Nigeria forward in terms of progress and development. Also  at  that  launch Obas  from  Ijebu  were said  to  have  donated 125m  naira as  first instalment  of the 250m naira  they  have pledged  to fund the chair.

    Apart  from  these events and issues at the chair  launch there was an interesting suggestion  from the Senate leader Senator  Ali  Ndume  worthy of our attention and comment here with regard  to the topic of the day. The  Senate leader reportedly said  that   the last president should be tried by the EFCC if it is found that he secretly  gave the order that the funds meant for arms should    be  used  for campaigns. This  according to the senate  leader was  because he suffered as a result  of this as his house  was burnt in the insurgency. He  wondered if arms were  ever bought at  all. Yet  his most interesting  observation  and challenge was that  the  trial  of the Senate  president was given  publicity whereas his own  trial  for being a sponsor of Boko  Haram  has  been in court  for four years and  has not  been given much  attention.

    These  then are the issues  I  want  us to  digest  today   to  see a way  forward from  our present  predicament as a nation which I have  highlighted with due acknowledgements from those  who should know. I will  also  bring in the comment by  Donald  Trump  that Islam  hates America and similarly look  at the visit of the S African  president to  Nigeria  and the importance  I attach  to his addressing the Nigerian  National  Assembly.

    First  let  me start with the events  at the professorial chair  launch at  the Oriental  Hotel in  Lagos. The choice  of venue  is  instructive  for a university chair  for a university  located  in  Ago  Iwoye in Ogun state. I commend the Awujale for his promotion  of governance  and education but this  chair  must  be one of the best funded in the world. It  surely  must  be the envy of other chairs  in the university but  really part of the fund could  have  been used  to  develop a new  university  altogether. In  addition  I know the Ijebus  are bound to ask their  Obas  how they  managed  to pledge  so  much  and  have even paid  half  of it in a land with  so much poverty  and neglect  of social  facilities  and infrastructure.

    Similarly  the  observation  of the Emir  of Kano cannot  be ignored and it is in that light that  I wonder  why the  visiting President  of  S Africa  was accompanied  to the  National  Assembly  by  our president. Who  initiated that  and  for  what  purpose?  It is a well known  fact  that the president is at  logger heads with the  senators  over the new  luxury  official  cars they want  to purchase  and the case  of the senate  president is in court over false  asset  declaration. Would  the senate  president  attend court  after receiving  a head of state led to the senate  by  the president?  I doubt given our separation of  powers and  the earlier  excuse  of political intimidation.

    On  the lighter side  however I would  say  that the S African president was in good  company as   opposition  legislators who heckle him  on  corruption and  diversion  of  public  funds, anytime  he addresses the S African  National  Assembly  are  normally  thrown  out and  many  of  our own legislators  too are  on the books of the EFCC  for  similar offences. Which  brings  in the comments  of  the senate  leader  on  publicity  competition between  the senate leaders trial  on sponsoring Boko  Haram  and the Senate president’s trial  on false  asset  declaration. My  view is that both are the same side of the same  coin. It  is only  in Nigeria that both can still  be in office in  spite of going to court for their  trials. It is a potent sign  of our political  decay as a nation and as a people but both are trials we  must  see through in the courts in spite of booby traps, mines  and obstacles in the way  of justice to  see the right thing done to clean our legislative  Augean stable.

    On  Donald  Trump’s  provocative and insolent remark  that Islam  hates  America one   can only attribute that to the mentality  of Americans  that the whole  world  is made  up of  Americans and  no  one else. Are  there not  American Muslims and do they practice a faith  that hates  them?  Certainly  that  statement  does  not  make sense.  But  Trump  has  said he does not want  to  be politically  correct  but  just  correct. This  time he got it wrong  and  is not  correct, even  if that has  not affected his  popularity rating which  is soaring as the primaries  continue. Donald  Trump  has  become the enfant  terrible of  US  politics and is getting popular  by  the day. Whether  that is a good  thing or a sign of political  decay is for the Americans to decide on their own.  What  we know and say is that the world is  bigger  than  the US  and  Trump needs  to be educated on that before  it is too late.  Again, long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Public mood, expectations and anger

    The  revelations of blatant misuse of public funds by the EFCC at the trial of former  Chief of Defence Alex  Badeh was  the most provocative and nauseating one, in the orgy of looting  of  public funds  that has been let loose on the Nigerian public in recent times. The details are  suffocating and will  not be repeated here,   but suffice it say  it has dented the image of not only the Nigerian air force,  as I told a friend who happened to be  a retired AVM   a  few  days ago  but  that of the entire  Nigerian  military. My  military friend’s defence was   a feeble retort   after  which  he kept  thunderously    quiet    and  ponderous  in my company.  His   reply  was that politicians too are corrupt to which I told him that that was well known and that was why Nigerians welcomed the military in the several coups  that have truncated our fragile  democracy.  I  told   him  bluntly   that today the military’s  image or capability  for such welcome intervention has become an  abomination and a thing of the past given the way top Airforce  bosses  have used  money  meant   for ammunition and fighter jets,  to buy properties  and  had kept such  money with  their  wives  who  are now returning the loot to  in millions  of naira and  dollars  to  the   emptied  treasuries  of  a  raped nation. That  reply or  rebuke  of the military  is  the mood I am  in as I  tackle  the topic of  the day.

    Public  mood is a human  phenomenon that  moves with the times, with no apologies to those unleashing it or those  at its receiving end. It  is like a fashion  or  fad, here today, gone tomorrow. That is the context in which  I want to  look at the issues and personalities  I want to deal with on this page today.

    The  first  is  the meteoric rise  of the Donald  Trump presidential candidacy  for the Republican party in the US and  the concern of that party leadership  and hierarchy,   with   the  disturbing prospect  of the possibility  of not only a Trump Republican  presidential  candidacy  but the prospect  of a Trump victory and presidency in the November presidential  elections  in the US .

    The  second was  the news  that the Brazilian Police have raided the home  of former President Lula  da  Silva as  part of the Inquiry into  corruption  at  Petrobas the Brazilian oil giant  and equivalent of our own  NNPC. The  inquiry code  named – Operation  Car  Wash-is following trails that Lula  bought  houses  for his son like  our Badeh  who also renovated the house with 60m naira of looted funds.  In addition the Police  in Brazil are working on the intelligence that Lula’s  famous ranch had been built from bribes from  contractors handling Petrobas sprawling and lucrative oil  business.

    Let  me  now  go back  to the greedy  use  of public funds  by the  former Airforce Chief and Defence boss  Alex  Badeh. I  go  into the archives  to recall some utterances of this military  leader in order  to reconcile them with the exposures by the EFCC.  First  it was under this man that some Nigerian military officers  and other ranks were put on court  martial for cowardice  and refusing to fight because they  complained of lack of equipment or supply  of poor and inferior  ammunition. Badeh  insisted then on the trial and but for people like Femi  Falana  some of these people would  have been summarily executed.

    Yet at Badeh’s military retirement pull out ceremony he revealed that he fought the  Boko  Haram insurgency   during his tenure without adequate arms and ammunition. If  you look  back at the court  martial and the admission  of inadequate equipment by  this Air  Marshal  and compare that with the acquisitions  he made with money meant for arms to fight Boko  Haram, you see such inconsistencies, greed and unbridled acquisitive tendencies  that propels you  to want  to register his name in the Guinness Book  of Records for acute mendacity and  you can imagine the public  mood of rage  and fury over the   sordid  and  ongoing   revelations  at his trial.

    Next  is the Donald  Trump prospect  for US presidency which has  sent  jitters around the US  and indeed the  entire  world  including Nigeria.  My friend Eric Teniola an ace and veteran journalist himself sent me a text early one morning this week ,which said – It  looks as if America will  not accept a possible  Donald  Trump presidency. I  replied Eric who I fondly call Erico – Nobody  can stop an idea or a man whose  time  has come.  That  really is my view on Donald  Trump  and his present  robust  foray into presidential politics in the US . I have written  this way before and  I stand by it even now that Mitt  Romney the last  presidential candidate of the Republican party has   come  out to condemn Trump  as  a ‘fraud‘ and as phony.  I will explain.

    The  fact  that Mitt  Romney  has used such  words on Trump showed  that Trump is important in the presidential  race  for  people like Romney to want him abused and disgraced out of the way. Unfortunately Romney has used language that Trump had  been condemned for and that makes them birds  of the same feather.  So  if Romney could contest for the Republican Party why  cant Trump who  is richer than him in a party of the rich and wealthy and who also  has the gift of the garb which Romney obviously lacked against  Obama when they contested for  the presidency last  time around in 2012, when Trump endorsed  Romney?

    More  importantly,  the public mood in the US is for a  change  from the usual  politics of business as usual,  as well  as  the   dynastic politics of the Kennedys, the Bushes and the  Clintons. That  explains why Hillary  Clinton  is finding it tough suppressing Bart  Sanders in the Democratic Party Presidential  candidacy race  as  widely anticipated  before. This is because  Sanders is presenting himself as an outsider like Trump and both are campaigning on the rhetoric  of failure of leadership  by the present political establishment of the two major parties in the US. That  coincidence of strategy, the politics of the outsider in both parties , is the dominant and resonant theme in this 2016  US presidential  elections and the reason is not far  fetched.

    It  is  simply a reaction  to the performance of the Obama Administration in the last 8 years. The  record  is there for all to see. Poor performance of the US economy, the  global  rise of Islamic  State and  Boko  Haram, global  hatred and  mistrust of Americans and feeling of insecurity  by Americans in their home land. That  is the Obama legacy which Hillary is sworn  to continue if elected president. That to me alone is enough to make Donald  Trump the sweet  bride of the majority of the US  electorate especially as he was  bold to call  a sitting US president a security risk  and he got even more popular for saying that . Surely  Donald  Trump  may be a very  crude  maverick yet it seems that the time and tide are made for his brand of politics and rhetoric and that would be difficult for anyone to change or stop at the 2016 presidential campaigns  and elections in November.

    Lastly we  come to  Lula da  Silva my favorite  Brazilian President till  now.  Lula  was a trade unionist and working class person but he made it to become president of his nation. He  was much  loved  for his common and simple background. The  nearest  thing to Lula in terms of  oratory and defence of workers  rights in Nigeria is Adams  Oshiomole, the fiery  governor  of Edo  state and  I wish him  the same  trajectory   as  Lula, minus the present unfortunate Petrobas  debacle.

    Lula  was a president after my heart for  bringing the 2014  World  Cup  and the 2016  Olympics  to Brazil. He  canvassed  personally  for the two bids and defeated bids from the US and  Britain even when US President  Barak  Obama  and   Britain’s  Prince of Wales, Prince  Charles  were present at such  bids. He  also  had the leadership  foresight to pick his successor Dilmar  Rusself who is the present president of Brazil in her second term. Dilmar  was Lula’s  Chief of staff  when Lula  was president of  Brazil. Now  things have turned sour over corruption charges  against  Lula in a Dilmar presidency and that is politics. The  Brazilian public mood  has  changed as in Nigeria and there is anger against corruption in high places no matter  whose  ox is gored.

    For  Brazil the misfortune started with the 2014  World Cup  when Brazilians  who normally love  football  took to the streets to protest the inflated and exorbitant prices of construction of stadia for the World  Cup as well as the corrupt and expensive life styles of Brazilian soccer  officials. That disrupted the soccer fiesta and earned Brazil a bad name in terms  of organizing successful sporting events. The  worst  part was that  Brazil, the host nation confident of lifting the World Cup built a fragile  team around an even more fragile  and much inexperienced Neymar and  got knocked out in disgrace  by Germany who  beat them by 7 goals  to  one.  Now  the government of Dilmar is probing  her  former  boss in what they have called Operation  Car  Wash  which  is the equivqlent  of our Dasuki gate.  Except  of course  for  the fact  that  we  are yet  to  muster  the courage to question  the  man on whose  table  the buck  stopped while  the  NSA reportedly gave out funds  meant  for arms for  campaigns  during his tenure as Dilmar  has done on her predecessor.  Again  long live the Federal  Republic  of Nigeria.

  • Corruption and the rumble in the jungle of justice

    Ibrahim  Magu, the acting Chairman of the  EFCC is  the anti corruption czar  of  Nigeria and  the helmsman  of the new government’s war  against corruption. This  week he unmasked himself as a man ready to die in the fight against  corruption  because corruption ruins any society with impunity and must be stopped by all means. Let  me state clearly here  that  I not only  believe him, I admire his courage  and pray  that he does not die in harness. Which means that he does  not die in the course of his duty and to ensure that,  I  feel,  is the duty  and  responsibility  of all right thinking Nigerians.  It   follows  therefrom,   ipso facto   that he utterances  of the Nigerian anti  corruption czar this week  form the kernel  of our discussion  today.

    As  reported widely  in the media Ibrahim  Magu accused Senior Advocates of  Nigeria – SANs-, and  journalists  of trying to sabotage  the war against corruption by blackmailing the EFCC by accusing it of selective prosecution  and violating the rule of law in prosecuting those  being arraigned on charges  of  corruption.  He reportedly  said that SANs  are being paid from  the proceeds of corruption  which  are   invariably used to pervert the course of justice when  judges are bribed on the  corruption cases before them. The  anti  corruption  czar  went  on to accuse  journalists of taking bribes to write against  the EFCC   and by  accusing the body of selective prosecution  and flouting the rule  of law.  Magu  went on again to stress  that his organization does its home work well before dragging suspects to court and has not violated any rules in the fight against  corruption.

    He  cited boldly the case involving a  SAN accused of obstructing the course  of justice in which 113  SANs  showed  up  in court where only one of them  appeared before the judge and in  which the  EFCC defeated the armada of SANs in court on that case.   There is therefore  no  doubt  that the EFCC boss is mad at both SANs  and journalists  as  stumbling blocks or road  blocks in the fight against corruption which must  be confronted and dismantled  all costs.

    Again  I agree  totally with  the EFCC boss  that  such  journalists and  SANs  should  be dealt  with  if they  are doing such  nefarious and odious things like shielding treasury looters and corrupt  people. But then,  the  EFCC  boss must  be told that   bluntly   that he is committing a fallacy of generalization in  making  such sweeping statements. This  is because in reality  not  all SANs  are  corrupt and not  all  journalists  are  corrupt  too. In addition the  EFCC needs  to  adopt  a strategy  of collaboration rather than  one of confrontation which appears  to be his working strategy  for now and which is exacting a price akin to that of a suicide  mission. I  will elaborate.

    The  law, anywhere,   operates in the temples of justice which  are the courts spread  over our  towns  and cities   spread  all  over Nigeria. The  way  the EFCC boss  has spoken  about SANs  and lawyers in the fight  against  corruption  informed my calling the courts a jungle of justice instead of  temples  and  that is an unfortunate  development in the fight against corruption. It  is unfortunate  in that the EFCC  cannot  operate outside the courts in the fight against  corruption simply  because  that is the nature of our  judicial  system  and the rule  of law. The judiciary is the third arm of government and is equal in power to the executive which the EFCC  represents, and  the legislature. The  judicial  system includes the judges, the Lawyers, including SANs – 113  of which the EFCC boss  says  are ganging up against the anti  corruption war. This  is  a division in the house  of justice and it   is an extravagant  waste of energy. There must  be synergy between the EFCC, the  legal profession and judges for the war against corruption  to succeed. They do not have to agree as litigation is about disagreements and disputes but  they  must all  be devoted to the pursuit of justice and  constitutionalism.  Anything else is dissipation of energy and does  not help the fight against corruption when justice is delayed and made too expensive in terms of time  and money.

    While I  will not  hold  brief for both SANs  and  journalists  on the charges made against them I  cannot  resist a rare  opportunity to make  some  observations on the two very  important professions especially  in the fight against corruption. Let  me start  with the SANs  where  I  think  the EFCC boss mistook  a solidarity  or class issue  for conspiracy.  I  think  the way  so  many SANs  showed up in court was not necessarily to fight EFCC or to intimidate the court.

    But  the SANs  are  Nigerian  enough to  know  that such a show of solidarity could be interpreted as  judicial  blackmail.  No  SAN certainly is above the law and that is what the EFCC has  boldly shown and that is quite  commendable.

    On  the allegations that SANs benefit from  the proceeds of corruption I leave it to SANs  to defend themselves  on that. One  thing is certain  though. Lawyers  and SANs  live  on the briefs  they get and  in the Nigerian  context  there  is a lot of  money flowing  from those fleeing from the strong arm of the war against  corruption.  All SANs  need to do in the name of transparency and  show of integrity in the fight  against  corruption is to publish their clients payments on the anti  corruption  cases  and  the taxes they have paid. I am  sure that  Nigerians would  appreciate such patriotic and salutary gesture immensely  as we pursue the fight against  corruption.  It  would  certainly show on which  side of the law our legal luminaries  are in the fight against  corruption.

    With  regard to the charge  against journalists, I  think  Chairman Magu was exaggerating as both  need to work  together  against corruption. That  does not mean there should be media trials which means suspects  are condemned before court trials. That is not fair.

    While I agree that the odium or stigma  of stealing should be used to deter people from  stealing that should be used as a means to an end and not the end itself. Magu  admitted this as much when he lamented that Allison Madueke’s  aide  had  been in their  custody  for three days and he wondered how he had managed the publicity.  What publicity? Obviously the bad news that the man  was in EFCC custody.

    Which  means that the  EFCC expects, as a matter of course that any news of arrest must be front page news. If  the  suspect is found guilty in court that is quite okay.  If  not,  that is media trial and that is unfair  because our law presumes a man innocent until proven  guilty. The  war on corruption needs to  be pursued  with this in mind and journalists  don’t  have  to take bribes  to point this out anytime, anywhere. Indeed  journalists don’t  have to agree or endorse  everything government or EFCC does  in the fight against corruption as long as they  are  committed to  the fight. Which really  is their  responsibility as the Fourth  Estate  of the realm, the meaning of which I urge the EFCC  boss to find  out before his next  outburst.  Again  long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

  • Legacy, pragmatism and idealism

    Today’s  title stems  from the   post – debate   categorization   by analysts  of the world views of the leading two US Democratic Party presidential candidates this  week. Senator  Bernie  Sanders  was labeled idealist, and Hillary  Clinton as pragmatist based on her exposure and stint  as Secretary  of State before. Both  were sworn as  it were  to defending the Obama legacy although Hillary  took a swipe at her  opponent by wondering what the Republicans would be left to say given the way the Senator was attacking the Obama legacy especially on the state of the US economy.

    I take  issues today with  this simple branding of the contestants as well  as the concept  of the legacy they are both beholden to defend because their  party has been  in power  for the last eight years in the US.  Consequently  and  ipso  facto   they  must  accept responsibility for the state of both the domestic and global  economy as well  as global  security  and  foreign  policy given  the  US leading role in world politics.  That  in reality means that as they sell  their  candidacy  they must  articulate  new ways that  they have in their arsenal to make things better  for the  American electorate  which  is their first  constituency  and vote catchment environment.

    In  contrast however  one   must  bear in mind that the Republican Party  has no such  responsibility  or  albatross on its neck  because it  has  been out  of power  also   for eight years.  However,  if Donald  Trump’s  views on the Obama Administration are representative of that party’s  judgement  of the performance of the Obama  tenure, then the two terms have been a mere waste of time and the US government needs to be rewound, reset, rejigged under an  angry Trump Administration, the prospect of which is giving even the Republican establishment nightmares and jitters  on how Trump or have gotten to such an  alarming   head  or  situation.

    In  addition  to  these  I  intend to measure some of the actions of the Buhari Administration in Nigeria in terms of these  concepts as well  as well  as the legacy  bequeathed to  it  by the Jonathan Administration it succeeded after winning  the 2015  presidential election.  I will  take  a look at the workings of our separation of powers, our 2016  budget and the decision  to take a  loan  from the World  Bank  to  finance our huge deficit in the face of falling oil prices.

    Now let  me air  my views  on the categorization  of  Sanders as idealist  and  Hillary  as pragmatist  as well as the political capital  that either can make with the American  electorate over the Obama legacy. Personally  I found Sanders  more profound and interesting  than  Hillary. The  debate looked as if Hillary  was taunting Sanders who looks  like an old man but has a lot of fire in his belly given his utterances on new ways to create jobs and improve the lot of a stagnating middle  class  as well as looking after the lot of the old and war  veterans.

    At a stage in the debate Sanders roared at Hillary  that you  are not president yet. Undoubtedly  if Sanders had his way he would not be defending the Obama legacy but the party potential  candidates  had been roped into that when Vice President Biden dropped his bid to contest and was literally policed by his boss to the venue where he announced his withdrawal  from the presidential race. Biden insisted   then  in his   speech that whoever gets the Democratic  Party’s  nomination  must defend the Obama legacy.  But  he also pointed out that the party must reduce poverty and the gap between the rich and poor  which  he said had not been that high in the US  history. That really  is what Sanders  has been saying and that doesn’t  sound as a  sound  legacy  of  the Obama Administration two terms of eight years of which Biden was the  No 2 helmsman.  The  debate  and battle between Sanders and  Hillary  will eventually  unravel whether  Biden’s admonition to sell the party  on the Obama legacy  was  given  in good  faith or was just   sour grapes and his    way of throwing spanner  in the works  for those who did not allow him to succeed  his boss.  Surely time will tell  between now and July when the convention to select the party’s  candidate will take place this year.

    One  thing that is clear from the  debate is that Hillary  looked and sounded  tested –  like  someone  who  knows  the limitations of power having been a president’s wife and  Secretary  of State. Undoubtedly the Democratic  Party is still the darling of the minorities in the US whose demographics  have swelled  such  that calling them minorities has  become a misnomer and  anachronism given their numbers  and polling might in the US today.  Such  political capital  appears to be Hillary’s  for the taking but  a formidable Sanders stands in her way.  She  should  be careful for that was what  happened eight  years ago when a virtually unknown senator stole  her thunder  at  the convention  to become the first black  US president.  History  has a way of repeating itself   for good  or bad if care  is  not taken.

    Let  us now  go back to the Nigerian  context of this analysis.  The first  is the legacy  of the Jonathan Administration that the Buhari government inherited. It is a legacy  of profligacy  and corruption on which it appears nothing solid can  be  built  and  for which  the new government  seems  sadly   ill prepared to address. That  really  is the truth. You only need to read the papers on revelations on Dasuki gate and  the properties  being seized  from  military  chiefs who own state  of the art  hospitals  to know that the government is in dire straits. It must prosecute and punish to  deter, but it must also govern and fulfill its promise to the masses  which  elected it.  But then does  the government have the requisite  manpower and resources for this? Given the present   pace of policy formulation  I doubt this and  I stand  to be corrected.

    On  the workings of our separation of powers I see a separation of ways emerging between the three tiers  of  government. This  week the Chief Justice defended the Supreme Court judgements which overturned some election victories  and reversed some other judgements. That is how it should be because the Supreme Court is the court of the highest  arbiter and its word must  be respected as the law.  So  for the Chairman of the ruling party to wonder aloud at some judgements of the court is in bad taste and is not good  for constitutionalism.

    Similarly the legislature and the executive  are on collision course largely because the executive did  not do its home work well  on the budget  and also  because  the legislature  is trying to make  a meal of its oversight function  of approving the budget. The  legislature has highlighted discrepancies  in budget  figures  but that is part of its function and the executive should reconcile its figures. But  it was lazy  of the executive to have prepared its first budget  along the lines of the  paraphernelia,   values  and  life style  of its extravagant and  inept  predecessor which created the war  chest  of the fight against  corruption.

    There should  have  been  a departure to cut costs in the face of dwindling oil  revenue  and to call on the judiciary and legislature  to  do  like wise. Worse  still  is the decision to take World Bank loan to finance our deficit. Taking a loan to finance a productive deficit  meant  for   infrastructure, jobs and  poverty  alleviation  is in order. But  taking a World Bank  loan at this time is like walking blindfolded  again back  to where  our former  Minister of  Finance, an  agent  of the World led us and our economy into the woods  while  she was rewarded by the Bank with promotion at her first  calling and juicy  consultancies at her last outing.

    At  a time when we should be asking Okonjo-Iweala to explain why she gave the NSA the recovered Abacha  loot that crystallised into Dasukigate, we  are like  a dog returning to her vomit and playing into the hands of the World  Bank  and its infamous and inhuman loan  conditionalities. I really  feel we should  look elsewhere to finance our deficit. Perhaps  China while  making sure we monitor  our loan disbursement critically. Surely we are in dire straits economically and in terms of security but its high  time we learnt  to cut our cloth according to our size  in all facets  of our responsibilities  and obligations. Once  again long live the Federal Republic of  Nigeria.

  • When anger drives politics, leadership and justice

    Coincidentally  this week Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi  Osinbajo and US President  Barak  Obama spoke to a Muslim audience in their respective nations to drive home their  commitment to justice  and  the  objectives  of their governments. The  Nigerian  Vice  President reportedly  told  a delegation of  Muslim  Congress of Nigeria that although some elites were trying to put pressure on the Nigerian government to relent on its anti corruption war, he insisted that this would not happen because the President and himself are focused on the war and know that that is the wish of the ordinary Nigerians who  elected them to office and not the elites alone.

    Similarly  the US president visited a mosque in Baltimore for the first  time in his presidency and  called on those preaching hatred against Muslims to stop as American  Muslims are part of the American dream and heritage. Today  I want to   observe that there is a common thread that knits the utterances of these two statesmen  together. It  is  my  contention  here  that   for  now anger drives world politics   as   we  know it  today and that is the context in which I will  look at the two  statements made  by the two leaders in their respective nations.

    Undoubtedly in Nigeria anger is driving the anti-corruption campaign and  the reason is not far fetched. The campaign  had hardly started before the leadership election in the senate stole the thunder of the ruling party that won the 2015 presidential election.  Then came  the unbelievable revelations that   $2. 1bn –  which  is money meant for the  purchase   of arms  for  the  prosecution of the Boko  Haram  insurgency – had been diverted  for  other purposes by the  office  of the National Security  Adviser from  where key  members  of the  last administration  collected campaign  funds while  the armed  forces lacked funds and equipment  to confront the insurgency.  Obviously  a mood of righteous  indignation has pervaded  the whole  nation ever since with the masses calling for the heads of culprits who had betrayed the nation in its hour of need in nailing Boko  Haram which has been killing thousands of Nigerians with impunity  and had even kidnapped  the 200 Chibok girls without trace till  today.  That was the argument of the Nigerian VP before his Muslim  guests and  that is quite important in that Boko  Haram has  been condemned by  all  reasonable Muslims both in  Nigeria and globally. The VP’s  observations therefore tally eminently and realistically with the mood of Nigerians on crushing both Corruption and Boko  Haram simultaneously  or  concurrently as a clear  deterrence to both real and potential rebels  or insurgents as well as treasury looters and others  who  have  made it their way of life to feather their  private  nests at the expense  of the  commonwealth  of the Nigerian   nation and people.

    Similarly  President  Barak Obama’s  speech  at  the Baltimore mosque  was a sermon on tolerance and justice  for US  Muslims at a time when  no less a person than Republican Presidential  candidate Donald  Trump  had called obviously in anger that Muslims should  be banned from coming to the US on account of the rise  of global  terrorism especially that of Islamic state  and the terrorism that has reared its head on the  hitherto safe and sancrosant  US  homeland. Obviously  the emergence of a candidate like Donald  Trump in the Republican  Party  and even Senator Bernie  Saunders challenging  Hillary Clinton very  competitively  for the Democratic  Party presidential  nomination,  has  been predicated in the US   media  on anti – establishment  politics  bordering on hatred  for Washington which is US government in broad  terms and  Wall  Street which  essentially  means big business and banks. Even Bernie Saunders this week accused Hillary Clinton of being beholden to  banks given the huge money  —  $675000  – Goldman Sachs a leading US investment  bank paid  her for speeches she made on US government activities during her tenure as Secretary  of State. Hillary  was miffed and asked the Senator  to be bold to accuse her of corruption which she vehemently  denied.

    Indeed   l  stumbled on  an analysis on the internet  which  listed five reasons why the mood of the US electorate is anti-  establishment  and fuelled  by anger at present.  The  first is that most  US citizens feel  that the politicians  have  short  changed them  on the economy and that the rich are getting richer while the middle class and the masses are worse off. The  second is the issue of immigration which Obama promotes but which given the Migrants  crisis outbursts across the Mediterranean to Europe  has created panic in the western world including the US and  has made some state  governments in the US to clash with President Barak Obama  on providing refuge for those fleeing foreign wars.  Which again clashes  with the US political values as a leading democratic nation or champion and exporter of global  democracy.  The  third is that government in Washington looks after the interests of public servants to the detriment of outsiders and those not in the political class. The  fourth is the global  hatred for the US  that the war on terror has created globally  especially in the Middle  East fuelled  by implacable Arab anger over  US  age  long policy    of support for  Israel  against  the Palestinians and  the concomitant rise  of Islamic  state and its bloody, beheading borderless caliphates  now  horrifying the world and showing special hatred  for the US  and its  citizens globally. The  fifth is the deep division in ideological  terms  between the two main US political parties –the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. It was  stated clearly that the Republicans  have become more  conservative while  the Democrats have become more liberal leading  to  a deep division or gulf  between the two now threatening the social  cohesion that has sustained the political stability of the US hitherto. Given  these scenario it is not surprising that a politician like Donald  Trump  who claims  to be angry with the establishment has emerged  on the  political  scene.

    However what I find  commendable is the  way the US president has  confronted the systemic  anger that Donald  Trump  is fuelling for political  purposes.  In  reacting to  Obama’s  visit to the Mosque  in  Baltimore, Trump was even more aggressive and  contemptuous.  He  said  he – Obama- has more important places  to go  and he went  to a mosque.  But  Obama has  stood  up for the underdog which  Muslims  have  become because  of the terrorism  and security threat created  by Islamic State globally. If  one  recalls that  Obama in his biography recalled how  he followed  his step father to a mosque in Djarkata, Indonesia  for  which  some later called him a Muslim sympathizer and  some mischief  makers also called for a fatwah on him as a former  Muslim,  then one  should  appreciate his courage in taking on Donald  Trump  and stemming the anger  against Muslims  while  soliciting for tolerance for them in spite of the horror and terrorism of IS. President Obama has shown  rare  courage  on this Baltimore mosque visit.  He has  shown  clearly that  when duty calls  or danger no  leader  worth  his salt  should  be found wanting. That is a lesson that Donald Trump  should  learn in spite of his anger against Muslims   coming  to the US  which  he called a security issue and  not  a religious one. Obama  has shown leadership against  all odds and at great personal  risk. That is an example worth emulating by good world leaders and he  has my undiluted admiration this time around . Again  long live the  Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.