The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Morals, leaders and politics

    Morals, leaders and politics

    There is an unwritten rule in International Relations and Diplomacy . It  says that there are no permanent  friends but permanent  interests  in the relations amongst nations . That  is the dictum in sovereign relations amongst  nations , big or small . However the opposite is true in human relations   where the morals , norms , mores and societal  culture ,   govern   human relations and habits . Today  I want to  dwell  on  human relations in   politics and will use  the ambitions and leadership  style of some leaders in Nigeria , Britain and France  as well as the nature of their political   culture  ,  to illustrate  the topic   of the day . In  these three nations elections loom on the   horizon  and political  ambition and  the quest  for power and authority show  how human    nature   reveals  itself most unexpectedly and unbelievably when political power  is at stake and is the big prize  to be won .

    In  Nigeria I look at  the emergence of presidential  candidates in the ruling APC  and  the declaration of the Vice President that he intends to contest the presidential  election in 2023  . In Britain  I  examine the call for British  PM to resign  because he broke the Covid health laws set  by his government  as well as his obsession with the Russian Invasion of Ukraine  in spite of his personal  domestic political  problems . In  France  I   screen  the French president’s diplomatic dilettante with the invader of Ukraine on the eve of the French  presidential  election  such   that even the French president himself  acknowledged that  he was late  into the campaign and the consequences of that for him politically .

    With  Nigeria the context and nature of the declaration of the Vice President needs  to be seen in the  light  of how he became  the Vice President in the first  instance . He  was  handpicked to represent the   former  governor of Lagos  state he   had  served loyally as Attorney General  because that former governor could not  take that post because of some political arrangement  in the politics of the party formed  then  by him and others from the North . That  leader ,  the Jagaban  has already declared his intention to contest   for  the   presidency  and has publicly  told the  outgoing   president , the leader of the party that he intends to succeed him . Now  the political ward of the Jagaban for so  long has also  declared he wants to be president . That  to me is treachery and political  betrayal .  There  is no other name for it in Yoruba culture and  tradition  , and both leaders are full  blooded Yorubas  Of course  this political  development is going to heat the political  environment  in the South  west  more than other parts of the nation . It  is not necessary to go into history yet  but this development  is more than a  mere  leadership or presidential  competition . Painfully  it reminds  one of the Awolowo/ Akintola  leadership  tussle  that led to the 1962 AG crisis  that culminated in the  first  military  Nigerian coup  of     Jan 15  1966 and the Nigerian Civil war  later . It  is not necessary  to say  more than that  for now   although  history  has a way  of  repeating itself  without anyone’s  approval , pleasure or  anger .

    In  the UK ,  the PM Boris  Johnson has  become the Houdini  of both EU and  British  politics   in the way  he has diverted attention from  his domestic political  problems by taking great strides in international relations and outpacing and  outshining  the EU on the handling  of the Russian  invasion of Ukraine . In  a way  as the architect  of Brexit  one can say he has reaped  where  he has sown . He has given more  military and logistical  support to Ukraine far  more  than the EU .Surely this would not have been possible   if  there  was no Brexit .  I   once teased   him  of wanting to be a war PM , a  role that the Ukraine   President  has played  so  brilliantly  like a round   peg  in a round hole but  Boris was not to be outdone . He  risked his life and went to war ravaged Ukraine  capital   Kiev  and  boldly  took a walk with the Ukranian  president and went back home .At  home there were calls for  him to resign  over Partigate ,the name of the scandal  that he had parties in 10 Downing St  when the rest of Britain was locked down over Covid lockdown protocols ,    but  he refused to resign  after being fined by the Metropolitan Police  for  the covid breaches .  His  Machiavellian  reply  was that  he intends to carry  out  the huge responsibility  of his election  mandate which  shows  the vintage confidence and love of power of a successful   politician . And  that has my  admiration . albeit  grudgingly  of  his arrogant  leadership  in weathering political storms effortlessly   and  quite successfully .

    Compare  Boris Johnson with  the French  President Emmanuel  Macron  who visited Russia to talk  in vain with the Russian president  who invaded Ukraine anyway  inspite  of Macron’s  many futile visits .Macron  was personally insulted as an unwanted visitor by the Russian president who discussed  with him on a long table almost the length of a room because of  covid distance protocols  .This   was said  to be  because the French  president on arrival in Russia had refused to take  covid tests at the Airport . Obviously he was a most  unwanted  visitor  of the Russian president . While  in Russia  however the French presidential election had gathered steam  in France and Macron’s  main opponent in the last  presidential election  Marie  Le  Pen closed the gap between them and the two will  meet  in the  run off   election later  this  month  . Unlike the British PM the French  president allowed international  relations to adversely affect  his reelection  chances and he has nobody but himself  to blame . Even  the Polish PM made  a mockery  of Macron’s  several failed  visits to Putin in Russia when  he asked what  the French  President  has achieved with his many Russian  visits when Russia invaded Ukraine so  decisively  and bloodily in spite of Macron’s  many visits . Surely  if the French  president is not reelected as expected ,  he has no one but himself  to blame for  allowing diplomacy to stand  extravagantly  in the way of his reelection chances .

    Overall  then whilst  we judge  these three  leaders on their  moral diligence or lack  of it on   the way they have performed  in their various political  cultures ,  we can  judge Russia  on the way it has treated the French  president . Putin  clearly showed France  that in International Relations   there are  no  permanent  friends  but permanent  interests .Macron  was scarcely  out of Russia before Putin  invaded Ukraine  in spite of Macron’s  diplomatic  shuttle  to prevent the Invasion   by Russia . It  is poor judgement on the part of the French  president that he did not read Putin’s  body language   as well  as  the  disrespect  and contempt  for both France and its President ,  inherent  in the long table discussion at the Kremlin  which  made   a laughing stock  of the  French  president when  the picture  was shown  to a global  audience . The  Russian president  knew what he was about to do and would  not be deterred by a French  president trying to show  the world that  France  was important  when that fact was lost on the invader who  wanted France out of his way  when his mind was fixed on invading Ukraine at all  cost  , anyway .That  is the nature of  morals  amongst  nations and it is indeed  very different  from  morals in human relations .

     

  • There we go again

    There we go again

    We have come down from our high horses. We are telling each other the truth about why Nigeria’s flag won’t be hoisted among the comity of nations at the Qatar 2022 World Cup beginning in November. It is obvious that something critical has to be done with the domestic league for it to remain the factory for producing future stars not what we have seen in the last decade. And changes in the leadership of the domestic game should be the pivot to herald new dawn if we want to be sincere with ourselves. A departure from the incorrigible past where the simple task of getting debtor clubs to pay their debts at the beginning of the previous season becomes the norm.

    There isn’t any way hungry sets of players would play at their optimum since they need the energy to complete breath-taking but competitive weekly league matches. Ill motivated players can’t give their best knowing that they would return to their houses looking for where to get the next meal with their families looking very frail and unkempt.

    The next set of administrators of the league should be told that there can’t be a league without the players and coaches. Hence paying them their wages, and allowance and securing their future through insurance policies and genuine welfare packages. No player would take the risk knowing the implication of sustaining career-threatening injuries. I marvel at the way players in Europe sustain terrible injuries yet return to the game within the season. Need I waste space to list such players?

    Nigerian coaches in the Super Eagles technical crew should be the best over seasons who have won most of the trophies not those who peddle influence across the country since we are unyielding in making Europeans the team’s Technical Advisers. Foreigners often belittle Nigerian coaches attached to them having seen the type of coaching drills they dish out to the boys and their closeness to the modern tricks of the game and how equitable to the foreigners’ innovations in training. You spot the alienation of our coaches from the way they watch daily training sessions in the Super Eagles from the sidelines as the foreigners take charge. They are the ones who interface with visiting government officials on the sidelines until the foreigners decide to stop the session perhaps at the prompting of the NFF chieftains.

    Our soccer chiefs couldn’t be bothered if our coaches are made to look like puppets in the scheme of things in the technical crew largely because they want to justify why they had to spend such colossal sums on them. Usually, these foreign coaches come in pairs. In no time one of the two Nigerians sent to understudy these ‘experts’ is either promoted out of relevance or removed for unknown reasons. This opening is smartly filled by these foreigners either in the name of goalkeeper trainers or match readers or even video analysis gurus. Interesting. What our soccer administrators don’t understand is that no foreign country would allow her best coaches or sports personnel to leave them for other countries. They find ways of engaging them in other aspects of the game.

    The colonial mentality of football chiefs is so nauseating that it took the sports minister’s prompting for the last Super Eagles technical team to have a psychologist. The former manager Gernot Rohr kicked against having one by saying that he could function as both the coach and psychologist, given his experience on the job. And our people bought that rubbish. When would Nigerians form the integral parts of the Eagles’ technical crew instead of their positions being taken away on the altar of inexperience? Is it by sitting at home or being sidelined that our coaches and other staff would learn the basics of the game which is very fluid, given the game’s dynamic nature?

    Rather than organise or/and send our eligible coaches on refresher courses to update themselves, there was talk by the federation’s chiefs to retrain Rohr by enrolling him for refresher courses. It is important to plead with the federation to tell us the model of backroom staff the Eagles would adopt, knowing that football nations such as England have 12 people whose roles are defined based on their specialities.  There isn’t any margin for error.

    The Three Lions of England, the English premium team like the Super Eagles has the following personnel starting with Gareth Southgate – (Manager), Steve Holland (assistant manager), Graeme Jones (assistant coach), Chris Powell (assistant coach), Martyn Margetson (goalkeeping coach), Steve O’Brien (lead performance analyst), Mike Baker (senior performance analyst) and Daniel Parker (performance analyst). Others include Peter Clark (performance analyst), Bryce Cavanagh (head of physical performance and nutrition), Dr Benjamin Rosenblatt (lead physical performance coach), Steve Kemp (lead physiotherapist) and Dr Ian Mitchell (head of performance psychology).

    Interestingly, Model Coaching now has Video Analysts and Opposition Scout/Researchers.

    We may need to write down the different subheads in which each specialised official handles specific assignments as a model of how the Super Eagles’ support staff should look going forward. It is instructive to always emulate good things which most times are enduring. The tendency for our administrators to be bowled over by sweet-talking foreigners has an untold effect on the local coaches’ psyche.

    It is good to know that the federation has arranged two Grade A friendly games for the Eagles against Ecuador and Mexico which should be taken seriously as a way of improving the country’s FIFA Ranking among the 209 affiliated nations. The World Cup is in November and most of the Europeans who have Africans in their group would readily prefer a test match against Nigeria for them to have useful notes to document how African nations play, beyond the usual physical approach anchored on fast, strong and intelligent wingers who like to dribble their opponents.

    It would have been very nice to have one of the subsequent international friendly games played here in Nigeria, preferably inside the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja. It would have the stadium officials the best opportunity to test the security architecture which was breached on March 29.

    It is true that Ecuadorians and Mexicans would insist on having Eagles Grade A players, our federation’s chiefs should impress it on the coach for the game to field one or two home-based players during one of the matches. After all, they are friendly ties. Nothing to lose. Nigeria’s preparations for the 2026 World Cup competition start with these two games.

    Countries’ growth in football is measured by the number and quality of home-grown lads. For us, it is the reverse. We chase those discovered and nurtured overseas. Unfortunately, nurseries and academies whose activities are not streamlined by the federation are the ones exposing our local kids through shylock agents to Europe, Americas, and the Diaspora. What a shame. Nigeria should stop playing domestic football if we can play a two-legged competition with only one home-based player who the manager said hasn’t reached the expected level to command a first-team shirt. This is unacceptable. It is a shame that a country that won the FIFA U-17 World Cup cannot sustain a renowned football nursery. This lacuna speaks to the actual ages of players we paraded in our age-grade teams in the past. If Nigeria truly had veritable nurseries to discover, nurture and expose the talents to the world, we would have been world-beaters at the senior level.

    Football nations globally insist on clubs in their elite leagues having good youth teams where they can spot talents who would replace aging players or injured one in their teams at short notice. These youth teams are engaged in weekly competitions like their senior sides. It is from these youth teams that their countries fill their age grade outfits. But can Nigeria ever learn from her past mistakes? You tell me.

  • APC, PDP: Pertinent lessons from Awo

    APC, PDP: Pertinent lessons from Awo

    WHATEVER may be their shortcomings and failings, the two dominant parties, All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are impressive political constructs that took considerable organizational effort to actualize. Rather than seek to discard them, every effort should be continuously made to strengthen their organizational structures, improve their internal democratic processes, deepen their philosophical and ideological underpinnings as well as sharpen their efficacy, first and foremost, as developmental agencies. Parties compete to win electoral victories and form governments primarily to implement policies within the framework of their manifestoes designed, presumably, to steer their societies on the path of ever increasing progress and development. Transcending her current abysmal underdevelopment is Nigeria’s greatest need of the hour. The country’s current existentially-threatening challenges with power supply, a dysfunctional petroleum sector, huge infrastructure deficit, insecurity, humongous corruption, mass unemployment, collapsed social services, de-industrialization, pervasive poverty etc are manifestations of underdevelopment.

    Both the APC and PDP, in their combined 23 years in power at the centre since 1999, have no doubt recorded a number of achievements in diverse sectors if we are to be intellectually honest. Overall, however, democracy in this dispensation has not been the handmaiden of development it was envisaged to be as most Nigerians are far worse off today than they were before 1999. Ours is a case of severe regression in diverse sectors rather than progress. If we are to begin to realize Nigeria’s immense but still latent potentials, the two dominant parties must be reorganized, refocused and repositioned to produce and guide governments elected on their platforms to chart a concrete, accelerated developmental course for the country. This is, of course, in addition to the urgent need for a third nationwide party structure capable of competing effectively against the dominant parties and keeping them on their toes. But this cannot be achieved through idle talk and grandstanding or sterile social media activism but can only be the product of hard, back breaking work to organize people and build structures across the country the way the APC and PDP did.

    If the APC and PDP are to be positively transformed in this way to become potent instruments of development, they have a lot of pertinent lessons to learn from Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was a consummate party organizer, a fact largely responsible for his still unrivaled transformational performance as Premier of Western Nigeria in the First Republic. His parties, the Action Group (AG) in the First Republic and Unity Partycof Nigeria (UPN) in the Second Republic, provided the ideological and philosophical framework to guide those elected on its platform as well as detailed policy plans to be implemented by its governments. Both the AG and UPN had very strong intellectual orientation, support and backing. The then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), was the intellectual bedrock of both parties. Awolowo was not only a sound and rigorous mind himself, he respected intellect and incorporated sound scholars of a progressive orientation in the running of his political parties and the formulation of party and governmental policies.

    In an interview with the late academic philosopher, Professor Akin Makinde, on Saturday, 4th April, 1987, Awolowo said of Professor Sam Aluko, his close confidant and adviser: “The professor is a very good friend of mine and I have a great respect for him as an economist and a great intellectual, just as I respect philosophers like you. My respect for intellectuals lies in their ability to see things differently and objectively, and comprehend salient details, apart from their research capability. That is why I always have a romance with the intellectuals”.

    According to Professor Sam Aluko himself in his contribution to a collection of essays in commemoration of the Obafemi Awolowo Centennial, “It was the need to articulate the four cardinal programmes of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) that brought the supporters in the universities into closer relationship with Chief Awolowo. He commissioned us to write the party platform on each of the four cardinal programmes which were to be implemented at all levels of government to be controlled by the party. I was the chairman of the programmes committee of the University of Ife”. Professor  Aluko noted further that “The ease with which Awo related to us from the universities and the respect that he had for intellect was amply demonstrated during the Action Group era but also much more during the era of the UPN in 1979-1983. Those of us from the universities, who were members of the National Executive Committee of the party, were the envy of many of the other leaders of the party, because Chief Awolowo would not close a debate on any major policy issue of the party unless and until he had obtained an input from us, and, in many cases, he almost always leaned towards our views”.

    Intellectuals, men of knowledge, ideas and superior insight, not the President or governors, must be the bedrock particularly of a viable, progressive political party. An accomplished scholar himself, Dr Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman of the PDP is well placed to help deepen the intellectual depth and orientation of the party if contrary political forces allow him to. The new National Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, says his focus is to carry out the “marching orders” given him by President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the party to victory in the 2023 elections. This is incredible. Why does Adamu need “marching orders” from anybody to do anything? I suppose the APC is a political party, a democratic entity, and not a military garrison.

    Again, Chief Awolowo was not obsessed with numbers as the PDP and APC seem fixated on. In its 16 years in power, the PDP boastfully proclaimed itself as the largest party in Africa. And Yobe State governor, Mallam Mala Buni, reckons as one of the achievements of the defunct caretaker committee under his leadership, the increase in the APC membership to 41 million. But what does presumed large party membership mean in concrete terms? What really distinguishes either APC or PDP members either from each other or from non-party carrying members of the populace in terms of philosophical outlook, ideological orientation or moral values? Indeed, how are we sure that a number of people are not card carrying members of both parties so that they can brandish either party card for private benefit as the opportunity may arise?

    At the inception of the AG in 1950, Awolowo relates in his autobiography, he was disappointed that less than ten persons attended initial meetings to which he had always invited between 60 and 100 persons. In his words, “As a result of the very poor responses, I had a feeling that our people were not ready for the new organization. In the circumstances, I saw no point in continuing with it. I made my feeling known to the meeting and said that it would be advisable to wind up the Action Group. Mr E. A. Babalola, who attended the meeting for the first time, supported by Chief Sowole and Mr Ajasin, opposed my suggestion. They argued that it did not need a large number of people to get a great movement started. In fact, the fewer men the better for the smooth functioning of such a movement. All the other seven members concurred in this view and I had no alternative but to agree that we should carry on”. It is not the size of party membership but the quality that matters. Qualitative membership will drive qualitative and productive governance, which will in turn enhance a party’s electoral acceptability.

    Beyond competing in elections simply for the purpose of winning power, Awolowo was more concerned about developing detailed, well researched policies to be religiously implemented by governments elected on the party’s platform. According to him, “In the regional elections of 1951, the Action Group was the only party that published policy papers as well as a manifesto. Dr Azikiwe himself condemned this innovation, and regarded it as an attempt on our part wantonly to deceive the voters. He was confidently of the opinion that policy papers were unnecessary and should never be published for the purpose of elections. It was when a party had won an election, he argued, that it should essay to declare and publish the details of the policy it would pursue in office”.

    Awolowo continued, “At every election since 1952, we had adopted the same method of publishing both policy papers and manifesto. Our persistent efforts yielded dividend only during the federal elections of December 1959, when both the NCNC and the NPC for the first time emulated the Action Group and published their own policy papers alongside their manifestoes. As a result, the last federal elections smacked much less of personal abuse and gutter electioneering tactics than was the case in previous years. Each political party strove more than ever before to win votes on the basis of the relative merits of its policies and programmes”.

    In his enthralling biography, ‘Memoirs of a Public Man’, the Commissioner for transportation in Alhaji Lateef Jakande’s administration in the Second Republic, the late Oba Olatunji Hamzat, recalls that before he was formally sworn into office, he had held extensive consultations with experts in transport geography at the University of Lagos to come up with a policy plan for his ministry. On the day he was sworn in, however, the governor handed over to him a detailed policy plan on transportation prepared by the party to be implemented by his ministry. It was the same for every other ministry and not just in Lagos but also every other state controlled by the UPN. Is it any wonder then that the UPN governors performed superlatively in that dispensation even within the context of a suffocating emergent unitarism and relative resource scarcity?

  • Yahaya Bello and his 2,000 millionaires

    Yahaya Bello and his 2,000 millionaires

    Numerous social media users on Facebook, Instagram and other platforms are asking Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to show the world the thousands of young millionaires his administration made out of Kogi youths.

    The governor on Friday stated that his administration had turned no fewer than 2,000 persons in the state into millionaires. Bello made this known in Abuja at the ongoing “Second Annual GYB Seminar for Nigeria’s Political and Crime Correspondents”.

    Hardly had the statement hit social media than the governor started trending with many commentators asking him to prove his claims. “2,000 millionaires in Kogi? Gov pls where are they? They must show love oo,” a commentator, @Lookma, said.

    A Facebook user, Onozasi Oches, wanted the governor to unveil the millionaires so they can motivate others. “It will be good you unveil them so we can be motivated,” she said.

    Bello, responding to a question about his economic plans for the country including his recent pledge to make 20 million Nigerians millionaires by 2030 if he succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari, said: “We have made nothing less than 2,000 millionaires in Kogi”.

    The governor had also stated that he intends to appoint Nigeria’s first female Vice President, if he receives his party’s presidential ticket for the 2023 elections and approval to choose his running mate.

  • NFF: It is finished (2)

    NFF: It is finished (2)

    THE long knives are out. The messages are the same – they MUST go. Nothing good has come out of their misadventures bla bla, bla. The logic missing in most of these tirades is the fact all these problems didn’t start today. We have been papering over the pitfalls waiting every four years to point accusing fingers at people without proffering enduring solutions to a simple problem. But on Monday this week, a soul searching session was held between the NFF chiefs and the sports ministry to look at the problems holistically. It was a session where people have told themselves the truth to their faces. No punches were thrown but the messages sank, I want to believe.

    It was agreed that the federation rolled out its election timetable to further assure those aspiring to replace them that indeed the exercise would be in 2022 not 2023 as most of them have erroneously argued to start the crises which have destroyed the country’s quest for another World Cup ticket to Qatar. Most of the cynics are celebrating as if it is a personal vendetta, forgetting that a whole generation of Nigerians eking out a living from playing the beautiful game has been denied the honour of playing at the biggest football tournament simply because a few people want to undo the other.

    Monday’s meeting with the Sports Minister Sunday Dare situated part of the problems to the subsisting court matters which have to be resolved otherwise nothing good would be realised. The federations held its board meeting where members urged caution and patience and assured that in tandem with the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, decisive steps will be taken in the next few days to reposition Nigeria Football in several areas, including the National Teams. It also disclosed that in line with the statutes, the roadmap for new elections into the NFF Board will be designed at the Annual General Assembly (AGA) of the NFF once the ex parte injunction suspends Congress from the meeting is vacated.

    Dear board members, most Nigerians had wished that you honourably resigned your membership on the board. But this writer knows such an action would create a lacuna that would have further destroyed the game. But this present board should consider the fastest way to approach the court to vacate the order with the next sitting is scheduled for 26th April, 2022. The committee has now proposed June 2022 for the AGA to statutorily set the roadmap for the NFF elective congress provided the order is vacated accordingly.

    The election is the heart of the problems at the NFF beginning with the board’s legitimacy – this includes whether to identify the federation as NFA which is what is known in the laws of the land or the contraption called NFF, which the government told FIFA years ago was the instrument we are using to run the game here. These legal issues are knotty with many people having judgments that they want to be enforced. But the truth in all of these legal dramas is that everyone with a judgment wants to be enthroned, raising the poser which of these stakeholders are legitimate?

    Did the government not tell FIFA that the instrument for running the game is through the statutes leading to the name NFF? Did the government not assure FIFA that the obnoxious Decree would be abrogated to make it in sync with what we have in the Nigerian Constitution? What baffles one is that each group has grounds to stalemate the running of the game until further notice. Unfortunately, they don’t care if the game is in abeyance.

    It is important to ask why it is taking so long to pass a bill into law knowing how over 200 million Nigerians are connected to the game. Everything stops here when our football teams are playing. The Muslims forget their religious differences to hug each other and sing Christian songs and vice versa. If we don’t get the government to fast track the process of enacting a law to govern the game in line with FFA’s set objectives those who lose out will return to the courts to stall whatever is in place. What suffers is the game. And the biggest losers are the boys and girls who would be denied the platforms to showcase their innate skills to the world.

    Shouldn’t the government challenge its chief legal officer to ensure that this document scales all man-made hiccups for the game to thrive? We continue to allow aggrieved people to hold the game hostage through the law courts, soon the axe will fall. Many people may damn the consequences but you need to ask these cynics what would become of our budding stars? Simple. They will change nationality.  The game won’t be played here because Nigeria would become a pariah nation. The leagues would be dead because the outcome of their matches would be voided since the games were played without FIFA badge referees. These critics can afford to destroy the game here. After all their kids and relations don’t play the game. They have nothing to lose.

    Our young kids deserve to earn a living playing football. Those stakeholders striving to hold the game hostage should consider these innocent souls who ought to use playing soccer to change the narratives in their families as the Okochas, Kanus, Odegbamis, Amokachis et al. One hopes that when government gets the courts to grant accelerated hearings to the matters in court, a truly new dawn awaits us here.

    Besides, until we make the NFF less attractive, interlopers would continue to make themselves relevant by heading to the courts to stalemate the workings of the federation. NFF should strictly be a clearinghouse sort, leaving the 37 State FAs as the place where football operates.  So, for you to qualify to be on the NFF board, your work at the state FA would suffice. It wouldn’t be out of place if prospecting members go through examinations to pick the best. Need I say that the quality of ideas and debates at meetings at all levels of administration would be robust and truly address the problems in the federation?

    AND THIS…

    Saturday Vanguard newspaper’s Editor Onochie Anibeze, a renowned sports editor responding to this column last week titled It is finished (1) wrote thus: ”Another good piece. True, our system of electing football administrators has to change. We can’t get the right ones with the current system. Those there now are empty and cannot take our football anywhere no matter the funds they raise. How come the federation is getting richer and our football getting poorer? They lack the knowledge to develop the game and they misapply the funds raised. Simple.

    ”If they had the knowledge of the game they would know the right coaches who can help our game, the programmes to pursue and how to face squarely our domestic league which you have been hammering on for long. The guys there now don’t just get it. They may raise all the money but may not get it right simply because they lack the knowledge of the game. The question now is who will lead the way out of this mess? Please, don’t give up writing on this. That’s your contribution. And we appreciate it.

    Anibeze argued further that: ”Amaju Pinnick pulls all the strings in raising money, getting sponsors to be part of the game. I commend him for that. But it’s clear he is deficient in technical matters and needs help in that area. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have knowledgeable people in this area on his board. That’s the biggest problem his board has and it’s affecting our football. And it appears they don’t know where the problem lies for them to address it.

    ”We did not fail to qualify for Qatar because we lacked the funds. We failed because we did not take the right decisions. In one of my discussions with Amaju, he appeared frustrated not being able to implement one thing he planned to do. I told him he would be the one Nigerians would blame if anything went wrong and not superior authorities. Now the decision we couldn’t take, Ghana has taken it for us. ”SAD,” Onochie Anibeze concluded.

  • Politics, war and reconstruction

    Politics, war and reconstruction

    For  those of us who did  not witness  the last world war  but read about it , the daily  cable   news  tv  shows    of the carnage going on in Ukraine being bombarded in the Russian Invasion of that  unfortunate nation ,  is a grim and  present  recreation  or   simulation  of what the last two  world wars  had been . To  young people  all  over the world  the  carnage is a bloody  baptism  on what  the civilized nations of the world can do to each other  without  any serious  provocation . That  we all  ,  young and old,   are  witnessing this carnage first hand in our  homes world wide is  due   however   to   the   finesse , usefulness   and    beauty   of  technology  especially   satellite  technology    whose  beauty and vastness  can  become questionable at times   when you see the gory scenes of death , murder  and mayhem  bring brought home indeed  ,  to those thousands of miles  away ,  from  the  tragic   scenes  of war elsewhere .

    The  war  in Ukraine and its  spectacular  , technological   coverage,  thrives violently  globally  ,  including Nigeria because it involves  the nations that control  world politics  and  technology     in our present world . These  are the US , EU Russia  and  the nations of the former USSR .  Of  course  there  are  other  wars going on like  the one in Iraq , Syria where the capital Damascus is in ruins like the Ukrainian  cities  are  going to be sooner than later . But it is on Nigeria and our wars with Boko Haram , bandits and armed herdsmen  that  I want  to compare with the dazzling but heartless technological  coverage   of  the  war  called  the Russian Invasion of Ukraine .

    In doing  this ,  I will show that nations that   have  gone  to war with each other or have experienced civil  wars mostly  do not learn from the history  leading to such wars . Nigeria  has fought a civil  war but has learnt nothing from it and yet  military  historians have it on good authority  that no nation  survives two  civil wars .The  US and  the Allies fought and defeated Hitler’s Germany  ,   and the former USSR   was   on the same side as the nations of the present EU    and  US , but  the tide has changed and the EU has turned on Russia  the powerful runt of the former USSR which  invaded Ukraine  recently .

    Nigeria  on  its  part fought a  civil  war  under military rule  and  used  the three Rs   of  Reconstruction , Reconciliation and Rehabilitation  to redress  the ravages  of war . Yet  the animosities , ethnic  discrimination and injustice   that  provoked  the civil  war have  resurrected  so vociferously that agitated  and angry  Nigerians are calling for a restructuring or a confederation because they fear of being accused of treason if they ask  for a breakup of the Unitary government we run ,  when our constitution boldly  proclaims Nigeria , the Federal Republic of Nigeria .

    On  the side of those involved in the Invasion of Ukraine ,  the US  used  the Marshal  Plan  to rebuild Europe and Germany especially  after  WW2  . Yet  the US  entered late into WW2 as it was foot  dragging    until  Japanese planes bombed American  ships at Pear Harbour . Just  as the US  is still doing on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine where its president says US troops will  not fight in Ukraine and this  has emboldened  Russia and has demoralized  Ukraine which  is fighting for its life and  has asked the US to do more  than just imposing sanctions . Obviously  the Americans are seeing the carnage going on in Ukraine and are thinking of another Marshal  Plan  which  will  be good business for the  military  industrial  complex  that   have always  dominated and directed American  wars  globally  .  Otherwise  why  cant  the US  and  EU dare the odds and give  a No FLY  zone  over Ukraine  Especially since Russia has attacked  while the US and NATO have refused to give Ukraine NATO membership   . And yet Russia has attacked Ukraine in spite of or in the light  of the NATO membership  denial  to Ukraine .

    Again , in Nigeria the government is facing massive challenges on insecurity  to its   political   control  or authority   but  the government claims it is in control  . The  good works o f the three Rs  in the aftermath of the civil   war are  being lost in the resurrection of secession in the East where agitators now set fire  to police stations and attack  government prisons   with  impunity  .  A  former Head  of State  , a former military  ruler and elected president  , who as an army  commander obtained the surrender of Biafra recently  claimed  boldly  that the government is overwhelmed by the insecurity  challenges facing it in recent times . Yet  again the government spokesmen deny  any shortcoming .

    Anyway   the  civil  war  was predicated on the counter coup of July 1966 which  was a retaliation for Northern military officers killed in the Jan 15 1966 coup that was the first  military  coup  in Nigeria . The  North  has always  been in power in Nigeria except  for some brief  periods but insecurity in Nigeria  today  is rampant in the North   even  though the Nigerian security apparatus is manned and led largely  by well trained Northern  Nigerian security  officers .Most  Nigerians do not like  the daily  killings which  are reported more in Southern based National  newspapers . To  Nigerian    southerners ,  the newspapers , radio  and private  tv stations  bring  the news to their  homes just  like the CNN , BBC and other  big  cable news outfit  bring the Ukraine carnage to the global audience including those in Nigeria who can afford DSTV and its competitors  . In  effect  then ,  Nigerians know that Northerners are being killed by bandits and terrorists and we see the displaced people in our cities and in the traffic and our hearts go out to them for our leaders and nation to do the needful and stop the carnage . Is  that  too much  to  ask for ?  More especially   that  even former military  leaders  are lamenting that security wise things could  be better handled to save  extravagant and unwanton   loss of Nigerian  lives in the North  .  Certainly  prevention is better than cure,  although  that never seems to be the lesson  of history learnt by those nations which  have seen wars before .

    Some  time ago  as a staff writer  in the former  Daily  Times   I went on   a sponsored tour  to the    former W Germany with its capital  in Bonn . This was well after the WW2  and capitalism was thriving  in that  nation . I was told   proudly   then   that German cities were [ and still are  ]  the most  beautiful  cities in Europe because they  were rebuilt after  the war by the Americans .  I was particularly  enthralled by Dusseldorf and the City  state of Hamburg .  That  time  the Germans were pacifists and would not hear of the formation of a large army . Two  things   have  changed that  now ,  namely  the destruction  of Ukraine cities with  the prospect of their being the most beautiful cities in Europe after the  end of this Russian Invasion . Secondly  United Germany  has more  than doubled its defence budget  after  the Russian invasion of Ukraine .  Certainly  if  Germany  had been more careful with Russia in recent   times   or learnt  from history  that the leopard does not change its  spots,  the prospect of Ukrainian  cities  being blown  up before  our eyes  and being rebuilt like German cities     after    the  WW2   ,  would never  have arisen . Surely  history is repeating itself  in  a very  sarcastic  and awful  manner   right  before  our eyes .

  • Osun 2022: Lasun labours on

    Osun 2022: Lasun labours on

    Determined to realise his ambition of governing Osun State, Hon. Lasun Yusuf, former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, during the week defected to the Labour Party (LP) to enable him to contest the July 16 governorship election.

    Sentry gathered that the former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant told his supporters that it was compulsory for his name to be on the list of gubernatorial candidates in the state this year.

    Sources claimed that majority of those Lasun called to a stakeholders’ meeting before joining the Labour Party actually told him to forget the idea of winning this year’s election in the state on the platform of any other party outside APC or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). “But Honourable told us that he must contest the governorship election this time around,’ a source told Sentry.

    Yusuf was immediately affirmed by the party as its governorship candidate same day he joined the Labour Party in Osogbo. With that, he appears ready to actualize his dream of being a governorship candidate this year.

    He had earlier resigned from the APC on March 25 after losing the governorship primary election to Governor Gboyega Oyetola on February 19.

    During the direct primary, Yusuf scored 460 votes, while Moshood Adeoti, preferred candidate of the Minister of Interior and former Governor in Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, scored 12,921.

    “If I emerge victoriously, my administration will focus on subsidizing education, farming, infrastructure, health, and exploitation of mineral resources,” he said after being handed the governorship ticket of his new party. Lasun immediately picked Mr. Adeola Atanda, from Iwo as his running mate.

  • In search of a frugal electoral process

    In search of a frugal electoral process

    It boils down to systematic exclusion. How many party chieftains can afford the cost of nomination forms these days, except the typical moneybags in the corridors of power and aggressively ambitious businessmen?

    Many patriotic Nigerians with genuine intentions to serve are easily discouraged by the humongous fees for parties’ forms.

    Since government is where the money is, the struggle for power has thus become intense. The scene remains dirty due to stiff competition and peculiar antagonism. Politics and morality exist in clear-cut antithetical relationship. Politics is the domain of a privileged few, and their few allies, lackeys and confederates. Democracy in Nigeria, as it is being practised now, is a system of government run by a few, dictated by a few for the people.

    Politics is becoming increasingly monetised. It is no more perceived as a vocation but an occupation of high economic and social value. It has become an investment. To that extent, political investors would have to garner returns.

    Besides, the cost of organising the elections by the umpire is worrisome. In 2019, the electoral commission spent N242 billions. For 2023 polls, the agency has proposed N305 billion. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been rattled in the past by the excesses of political actors who plotted to cripple the electoral process through indulgence in monumental fraud. The country, therefore, has to invest in innovations for the purpose of sanitising the electoral system.

    As political parties warm up for primaries ahead of next year’s elections, most of the contestants are the familiar faces who know the tricks, who understand the process and who can endure the storm and stress. The bulk of the money they expend on politicking is sourced from the system, and invariably ploughed back into the system for the benefit of recycled leaders and their gullible followers.

    The commercialisation of tickets is the legacy of the new breed. The buying and selling started in the Third Republic during the two-party experiment of military President Ibrahim Babangida. Party members were no more paying dues, which was the hallmark of participation and membership in earlier dispensations. The burden then shifted to the new crop of politicians who were in a hurry to acquire power, following the sidelining of the old breed through ban.

    Delegates were organised, mobilised and holed up in hotels. They were policed to prevent defection or desertion. Freedom was curtailed. Money was speaking. And conscience was on sale.

    That was the scenario during the conventions of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) where Baba Gana Kingibe and Tony Anenih, as well as Tom Ikimi and Hammad Kusamotu were elected as national chairmen.

    It was a wide departure from the previous congresses of First and Second Republics’ NPC, AG, NCNC, NPN, UPN, NPP, PRP and GNPP. Then, ideology was in vogue. Apart from NPN, which was well organised and fortified, nevertheless, other parties had great ideas and sweet promises with a special focus, not on wealth accumulation but service to the people.

    Early leaders were not driven by the morbid desire to build private mansions. On the part of political parties, there were self-regulation and restraints. The ticket was never for sale, either to the highest bidder or commoners in their folds.

    But, the recent convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has built on the Third Republic pattern. In a poverty-stricken country where petty traders are in want of N20,000 to boost their businesses that most prop up subsistence living, the national chairmanship form was N20 million.

    Only former governors who are now senators, and few businessmen in politics, could afford it. Forms for lower layers of party offices gulped between N15 million and N5 million as well. Thus, when consensus was being forced down the throats of many aspirants, in favour of some anointed candidates, cries of despondency filled the air.

    Earlier, aspirants on the platforms of ruling and position parties in Ekiti and Osun states obtained their governorship forms for N20 million.

    The forms for Expression of Interest and Nomination in the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), by each presidential contender is N40 million. No fewer than 13 aspirants have purchased the forms ahead of shadow polls. In the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), the form goes for N25 million.

    As from this month, the parties are likely to announce the fees for state and federal parliamentary forms.

    The implication is that only career politicians, and not those who make money through honest labour, can cough out the huge amount. Yet, the expenses do not end there. The cost of campaigns and campaign materials, logistics and emotional cost of suspense and anxiety during electioneering are burdensome.

    That may account for the desperation of many contestants during the primary and general elections. These days, delegates look forward for a bumper harvest during electioneering. It is difficult to check the wheeling and dealing. Competence, expertise, experience and character are factors. Without money to back these virtues, the aspirant is empty, lonely and meaningless. This has led analysts to submit that the pattern of leadership recruitment and followership enlistment is faulty.

    Three factors may be responsible. The corridor of power is too fascinating because it throws up emergency billionaires, who are only interested in the huge pecks of offices and who have obtained the licence to pillage public treasury. Those outside struggle to enter the class and partake in mindless exploitation and recklessness.

    The second is that society also worships the political class as comprising custodians of public resources who they now depend upon for the proverbial crumbs falling from the tables of power barons. If a councillor, lawmaker, commissioner or minister decides to be different by sticking to moral values while in office, his community would treat him like a leper after leaving power. Society no more upholds moral values. Politics has become the greatest corrupter of society.

    The third factor is associated with the type or system of government. In the First Republic, the cost of electioneering was not so much an issue. Under the parliamentary system, candidates were selected by political parties, based on certain criteria. These include character, contributions to the community and the platforms, age, working experience, success in chosen careers and hierarchical requirements.

    Parliamentary candidates only limited their campaigns to their respective constituencies. After the polls, the party with the majority of seats in the Parliament produced the Premier and formed the government. The ministers were selected from the legislature.

    But the presidential system practised in the Second Republic was not as expensive as the current experience shows. Political parties were effectively in charge of nominations and they prescribed rules and conventions that were enforced. When the wealthy Chief Moshood Abiola sought the NPN presidential ticket in the Second Republic, he was told that the ticket was not for the highest bidder.

    Having purchased expensive forms, only few aspirants would not want to cut corners. It becomes the survival of the fittest and the richest. Delegates are targeted for inducement. What is more important during the usually tensed primary is not the vision, ideas or manifestos of aspirants, but their deep walletes. The last minute campaign speeches by aspirants are a non-issue. What matters is the amount delegates can take home.

    The naira and dollar war later shifted to the day of the general election. A dangerous dimension now is the art of vote buying. Poll results seldom reflect the interest and wish of the people.

    Those who collect money from aspirants and their agents never asked for it. But, they cannot also reject or resist bribery because they are poor; they are in want of means of livelihood and survival.

    Democracy is the best form of government. Election is critical to democratic consolidation. But the monetisation of politics makes nonsense of the democratic experience.

    The corridor of power is too attractive. There is need to reduce the pecks of office and block the loopholes. If political office is redefined in a way that prevents primitive accumulation of wealth, only selfless people will aspire to public offices.

    Political parties should exercise moderation in the way and manner they raise money for party activities. They should encourage their members to pay dues, instead of solely targeting periodic nomination forms.

    In 2023, INEC and security agencies should police the votes. Only jail terms can stem vote buying and other electoral malpractices to enable the nation have a sanitised electoral system. This should also be the focus of electoral offences tribunal.

  • Adeboye: Admonition from pulpit

    Adeboye: Admonition from pulpit

    It was an unusual intervention. But timely. The current circumstances-the lean period and boring social condition-made it more compelling.

    Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer of the  Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) spoke truth to power last Sunday. It was at  a  thanksgiving service at the National Headquarters, Throne of Grace, Ebute-Meta, Lagos. It is up to the government to listen and  reflect on his honest admonition or dismiss it with a wave of the hand.

    Pastor Adeboye expressed great concern over the national drift. He focused on politics, economy, particularly oil, insecurity and social disorder, and grand preparations for next year elections in an atmosphere of uncertainty, threats, apprehension and pandemonium.

    The exposition was partly a reassessment of the administration, based on its promise of economic revitalisation, security and anti-corruption.

    Nigerians are closer to religious leaders than to the distant government. They do not erect barriers because they, unlike government, leave the channels of communication open. Thus, pastors and imams are in a vantage position to better feel the pulse of the people.

    Yet, the 80-year old highly respected cleric avoided highly inflammatory statement. His words edified. His homily was devoid of partisanship. He spoke in national interest.

    But, he first of all cleared the air on the Directorate of Politics and Governance by RCCG. He clarified that he is not a politician, adding that he has never, and he will not, steer the congregation to a particular political direction. He emphasised that all politicians who are members of the church are his children.

    He urged members of the congregation to perform their civic responsibilities and vote for parties and candidates of their choice.

    Pastor Adeboye expressed deep worry over the worsening insecurity. There is no solution in sight. Land, sea and rail transportation have become nightmare. There is suspicion everywhere. No sense of safety. The North, like other parts of the country, is in turmoil.

    Worseh it these days is Kaduna, old political capital of the larger North.  Pastor Adeboye said: “Kaduna is on my mind.”

    There is justification for the worry. Even, the Defence Academy, Kaduna, has not been spared. People are being murdered daily. Many have been kidnapped for ransom. Young men come in bikes, invade towns and villages, kill and maim at will, capture innocent citizens and get huge ransom.

    Kaduna Governor Nasir  El-Rufai, is overwhelmed. The state is helpless. In frustration, he said the services of mercenaries would be required. It paled into a vote of no confidence in the Federal Government, its armies and other security agencies.

    In the same country where Amotekun, the Southwest security network was initially resisted, Northern leaders are now thinking about foreign fighters to bail them out.

    Palaces of monarchs are not insulated. Schools are victims. Places of worship are attacked. Both the rich and the poor cry in the city.

    That reality also led the man of God to ask:”Why Kaduna? Who is trying to isolate Kaduna?”

    Without waiting for an answer, Pastor Adeboye also queried:”After Kaduna, which is next?”

    Amid the slaughtering innocent Nigerians, politicians are gazing at 2023. Will there be election next year? The General Overseer said the political class is warming up for political battle, without even considering whether rapture will take place.

    He said he has not heard yet from God whether 2023 polls will take place. He did not say the contest will not take place.  I have not heard from the Creator, Pastor Adeboye said.

    The eminent mathetician delved into the hidden politics of oil, which has been a bone of contention because of the distribution of the proceeds.

    The general overseer , who is not given to frivolity, claimed that 80 percent of Nigeria’s oil is stolen.

    It is an understatement. If a case of direct theft has not been established, illegal bunkering is undisputable. If  illegal bunkering has persisted, unpatriotic elements may have really graduated into direct stealing. Part of the fraudulent framework is that the actual production and proceeds are unknown.

    Nigeria solely depends on oil revenue, having failed to really diversify its economy. The issue now is that not only is oil stolen from source, the income from the leftover is also stolen.

    The dangerous dimension is that countries that make a fool of Nigeria buy the stolen oil.

    Lamenting the rot, Pastor Adeboye said:”It is in the news that the oil we are producing is being stolen. And nobody has denied it. That leads me to several questions. Who is stealing the oil? Where is the money going to?

    “Eighty per cent of our money is going into the hands of some people. Who are the foreigners buying this stolen oil? How many of these foreign nations are your friends?

    “It is an open secret and not denied that more than 90 per cent of our income from the leftover of the oil stolen is being used to pay interest on the money we borrow, meaning we are moving steadily to bankruptcy.

    Borrowing is an issue. There is wise borrowing for the purpose of funding capital projects that will alter infrastructural deficit and promote economic development and job opportunities.

    There is also unwise borrowing for the purpose of misappropriation and embezzlement. The leaders can swim in opulence.  But, the burden is shifted forward. The inheritors of the liability is the future generation, which may lead Nigeria to devise a new plea for debt forgiveness or live under the bondage of debt, thereby becoming a laughing stock in the comity of nations. Surely, they will not be proud of the older generation that left a legacy of debt. Neither would they render honour and justice to their memory.

    Pastor Adeboye warned that “We are moving to bankruptcy,” adding:”You can see the reason why I am more concerned about what is happening now than what will happen a year from now.”

    Is the hope lost? Pastor Adeboye is not in government. He can only do what his calling recommends-admonition and prayer.

    “We must pray for Kaduna,” he said. But, he also added that other states needed prayers.

    It is not an ordinary prayer or noise making. The prayer should be properly focused.

    To the bewildered nation, he said:”Pray that God will expose those who are stealing our oil and that God  will have mercy on our nation.”

    Pastor sAdeboye said Nigeria was once debt-free under the Obasanjo administration. Therefore, he added:”God can still do it. If God does not intervene, out great-grandchildren will still be paying debts.”

  • The return of Lady Obiano

    The return of Lady Obiano

    There could be a happy ending to the Anambra ‘dirty slap’ saga after all. The major protagonists in the drama are making up and moving on in the course of political endeavours.

    Sentry can now tell those who may not know that Ebelechukwu, wife of former governor, Willie Obiano, has swallowed humble pie and apologised to Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, ‘Ndigbo and friends of Ndigbo’ over her fight with Bianca Ojukwu, a former ambassador and widow of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

    She reportedly extended the proverbial olive branch to Bianca, as part of her ongoing peace moves. In the midst of all, the former First Lady also declared her intention to contest for the Anambra North Senatorial district seat.

    “The incident, to say the least, was most unnecessary, unfortunate and I regret my action. It was an unintended action as violence is never in my character. My interest to join the senatorial race is in response to overwhelming pressure and calls from my people to represent them at the National Assembly, Abuja,” her apology letter read in part.

    With this humble turn of the former First Lady, many observers of the politics of the state are eager to see how her surprise senatorial ambition will be received by the electorate.