The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

China, birthdays and values

By Dayo Sobowale

The Communist Party of China celebrated its birthday with pomp and ceremony on July 1 to mark its founding 100 years ago. July is my favourite month for no other reason other than that I was born on July 15, 1951 . You can therefore see that I am in the same mood with the Chinese in this month of July. That mood however, should not affect an objective analysis of the way that the Chinese Communist Party has led its people for the past 100 years,   as I intend to do today . If however, it turns out that my analysis seems favourable to the party, I assure you that would be a mere coincidence and not because of the fact that I was born in July the same month that the Chinese Communist Party seized power in China 100 years ago .

I intend to see China through a comparative political   and    cultural    analysis and   I will use the speech of the Chinese leader to his people to illustrate how the Chinese see themselves in terms of values , and the security of our world at large and their role now , and in the    future in   global politics. In reality, aside from the negative development that the pandemic started in China, there is no denying that China has arrived on the world stage with a bang .The fact that the last president of the US , Donald Trump spent his entire tenure fighting China on trade tariffs and intellectual property   makes the importance of China on the world scene abundantly clear . China has the largest market with a population of 1.5bn which it has promised to use as a security brick wall against any nation planning to attack it . China in the world at large can be compared somewhat, with the epitaph in Saint Paul’s Cathedral London, on Christopher Wren, the architect   and builder of the famous and   majestic Cathedral. The epitaph simply says –‘If   you must see his work, look around you’ . That much can be said   and   seen of the Chinese giant of a dragon in the ports, bridges, seaways, high tech, airports of the world at large . Even at home here in Nigeria, the Chinese company handling the 10 lane Badagry Express Way and the massive bridges astride the Marina going to Victoria Island from Ijora, show a vivid Chinese presence in terms amazing engineering and construction brilliance that makes me to doff my hat to the Chinese in terms of their presence in our midst here in Nigeria . My only fear is that we are paying their loans as and when due because the Chinese never give a free lunch and would seize Lagos, like they have seized some ports in Asia, when loans were not paid according to loan repayment schedule and agreements.

I now go to the speech of the Chinese leader President Xi Jinping to his people at Tiananmen Square. For the occasion Xi wore a Chinese tunic looking very much like Mao Tse Tung and did not wear his usual sleek suit. He reportedly warned foreign powers that they would have their heads bashed if they attempted to bully or influence China and China would not stand for any sanctimonious   preaching from any nation. He warned that China is bent on unification with Taiwan and would defend its   national   sovereignty and territorial integrity on that score. Of course there is no denying he was warning the US, the EU, and NATO, its military alliance. Russia is out of this as it   is a well-known China’s ally against these nations the Chinese leader is   warning so glaringly .

The issues here revolve around values and human rights . The nations of the west see human rights as the ultimate human values and have identified this in terms of sex , race , gender and the planned collapse of the family and the marriage institution . That was the excuse they gave in lambasting Hungary which has legislated that its children should not be taught knowledge that disrespect the family and recognizes mainly gender and not biological identity and cannot distinguish between a man and a woman. China , Russia hate such human, sexual and gender identification and Nigeria is on the same page with China with its anti-gay laws. To the Chinese, what is important is political stability,economic development and the security of its people with the use of legal institutions and the deployment of high class technology to protect its people and secure China’s presence in international waters and   globally .

China is unabashedly socialist and its leader reiterated this in his 100 year anniversary speech. You can compare this with the US where the Republicans are calling members of the new Biden Administration socialists, an unthinkable thing in the US before. But that is reality and the cause is not far- fetched .The pandemic created high welfare spending on health grounds to protect Americans and such government spending is the way of big government in a welfare state characteristically . On the other hand, small government is the way of capitalism, the hallmark of the Republican Party. So while Republicans berate the Biden Administration as socialist they too would have spent a lot of money to fight the pandemic if they had won the 2020 presidential election.

Meanwhile, China has no qualms on its socialist status over the last 100 years and the Communist Party of about 7m members has been lording it over its population of 1.5bn and that really is business as usual with China and it seems good for the people and the party, at least for the last 100 years.

It is necessary to take a look at the situation in Nigeria especially with regard to our values and culture, especially with our religious composition and religions. Two developments caught our attention this last week. The first was the capture of the Igbo leader of a secessionist group in the east with the aid of the Interpol in a foreign land . That is a good security feat for the security forces and should boost their morale given the prevailing   insecurity in the land, especially in the North where bandits are having a field day even in the president’s home state. But it was also reported that unidentified armed men attacked a Yoruba leader in his home killing people and abducting his wife . It is the duty of the security forces to protect Nigerians and not allow armed men to attack   people who have a different view from that of the government . The essence of democracy is that the majority should have its way while the minority has its say. Nigeria is a democracy and it should practice what it preaches as a nation under the leadership   of the government    of the day . Some people while applauding the arrest of the secessionist leader have called on the government to use the same zeal and strategy to stop or arrest the leaders of the herdsmen who are Muslims or Boko Haram leaders who say No to Western education in the North East and   the bandits in the North West and bring them to trial too. What is good for the goose should be good for the gander. That is the only way that we all can have a sense of belonging and the firm belief that the government will defend us all, regardless of our religion, beliefs and values.

Once again, from the fury of this pandemic, good Lord deliver Nigeria.

July 10, 2021
2023, PIB, zoning: Northern reaction versus southern agitation

UnderTow

On the two occasions the Southern Governors’ Forum met in Asaba and Lagos, the northern reaction to their decisions and communiqués has been strident and antagonistic. The division in the country may not be a neat, straight line between the north and south, for the north is not as monolithic as many deploy the word, it is nevertheless clear to the eyes and metaphorically palpable to the touch. The divisions are likely to endure beyond today until the country can produce statesmen to obviate the crises which the northern and southern dissonance has inflicted upon the country. The divisions are, however, not new; they have been with the country from its foundations, smothered no doubt by farsighted and benevolent rulers, but now vivified and exacerbated by inept political elite. In the Asaba meeting, the communiqué was notable for its bold opposition to the anachronistic and destructive open grazing practice by Fulani herdsmen. In the Lagos meeting, the communiqué was notable for its decisions on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), Electoral Act amendment, 2023 zoning arrangement, and timeline for enacting legislation against open grazing.

Strangely, rather than seek a neutral position and attempt to cobble a national consensus out of the many implacable positions taken by the north and south, the Muhammadu Buhari administration has openly sided with northern groups, embraced their positions, adopted their biases, and chided the south and southern groups for fostering disunity through their unilateral demands and resolutions. For the administration, the crisis of confidence it has engendered in the polity is not limited to its unusual adoption of northern groups’ positions; it extends to its attitude towards southern groups and states. For instance, the main thrust of the Asaba communiqué was its adamantine resolve to prohibit open grazing, of course among many other relevant decisions. However, the response by both the administration and other northern groups was succinctly framed by the president himself when he announced that he had instructed the country’s attorney general Abubakar Malami to search for the gazettes that enabled open grazing, preparatory to reclaiming grazing routes and reserves.

All pretence to the impartiality of government in a country supposedly running a presidential and federal system of government was promptly discarded. The administration’s position was not informed by the environmental and hugely disruptive impact of open grazing, not to talk of the concomitant effects of the outdated animal husbandry practice, nor by any concern to ensure that the best methods of livestock production was developed in which both north (used guardedly here and subsequently) and south would be gainers. Instead, in the expressions and actions of the administration, the dispute was allowed to degenerate into a conflict between north and south, and between ethnic nationalities. Having concluded that the administration had taken sides, and was desperately fishing for ways to advance the interests of the north only, particularly the Fulani, hitherto smothered demands for self-determination began to snowball into agitations for secession in the south. In turn, the open demands for separation began to bring out the prejudices and the worst in the federal government. The government’s violent response, many analysts suggest, was not caused by southern separatist agitations; it merely caused the Buhari administration to manifest in all its true, frightful and disturbing colours.

The Lagos meeting has stretched the divisions between the north and the south into a chasm. The division is accentuated by the dispute over zoning arrangement for the 2023 presidential poll, how the next general election poll result would be transmitted, and the PIB which contains different but skewed provisions for oil producing host communities (three percent, instead of the initially recommended five percent, of oil companies’ profit as contained in clause 240 of the draft bill) against the 30 percent of oil companies’ profit provided for in the bill to fund the search for oil in frontier basins, presumably in the north. There will be no end to the dispute, nor the bad blood it would create, nor yet the unrelenting accusation that the Buhari administration is unreasonably, flagrantly and irredeemably sectional. It is even likely that if the 30 percent provision is maintained, it could unleash a torrent of events that would climax in instability in the oil region, and possibly far beyond.

But what is certain to cause more acrimony between the north and the south is the informal zoning arrangement spoken to by the southern governors in their communiqué. As far as they are concerned, the arrangement must stand, regardless of the fact that it is informal and unconstitutional. They were vehement in their assertions in favour of the arrangement, as they urged the north to honour and respect it. Key northern leaders and politicians have, however, suggested that the southern governors should instead focus on persuading the leading political parties to adopt the informal arrangement rather than blackmailing the north into doing the south’s bidding. Having tasted the intoxicating benefits of total power, which Nigeria’s unusual presidential cum unitary system inspires, the north may be loth to relinquish the presidency. Using all sorts of subterfuges, constitutional logic, and legislative and administrative sleight of hand, the north will hope to win the argument against the southern governors.

While insecurity, which has reached astronomical levels under the Buhari administration, may put a spanner in the works of the next elections, other constitutional matters, including how elastic the Buhari administration may wish to test and deploy executive powers, may in fact constitute far more threat to the unity and stability of the country. The southern governors worry about how the administration has deployed the Department of State Service (DSS) in what they allege are clearly illegal nocturnal raids, but it is not clear that the administration feels the urgency to assuage their fears. The raids have been mainly targeted against the south’s separatist groups rather than the north’s ubiquitous bandits, kidnappers and insurgents. The north is in turmoil, and life has become miserable; but it is the south where only a few parts are seething that has elicited the most fearsome use of state coercive machinery.

Nothing suggests that the misunderstanding between the north and south, including their perspectives on politics, would be resolved before the next polls.

When it does not pass the buck to the states, the administration has been largely flatfooted in responding to the crisis clearly engulfing the nation. The southern governors are alarmed that the administration’s response has been slow, dismal, selective and often inappropriate. They have stepped up into the gulf created by a hesitant government at war with its own ruling party, at war with almost the entire south, at war with the Middle Belt, and insensitive to the fears and wailings of besieged Nigerians. But in stepping up to the void created by the administration, a void it is sometimes accused of deliberately creating to placate herdsmen and bandits, the south’s governors are likely to constantly clash with the Buhari government and the north’s governors in the lead up to 2023. For instance, in its Lagos communiqué, the governors insisted they must be informed of any plan to carry out a security raid in their states. The administration is unlikely to pay heed to the governors, notwithstanding the fact that state governors bear the consequences of the sometimes misguided raids.

The longer the insecurity crisis persists, and the more the administration remains shambolic in adequately, constitutionally and intelligently responding to the problem, the more likely distrust and enmity between states, regions and ethnic groups would flare to everyone’s pains and dismay. The suspicion between ethnic groups is ossifying. If the insecurity crisis continues, as it is almost certain to do in the months ahead, the competition for state power in 2023 could become quite nasty and challenging. Not only is there nothing to suggest that the crisis is being properly tackled, the administration is unfortunately muddling the waters by setting its face against the south and criminalizing their values, such as protests and free speech, and muzzling the expression and practice of their democracy. There have been suggestions as to how the administration could tackle these problems, but little or nothing will happen. There is no indication in fact that the administration recognizes the urgency of the crisis or the consequences of the crisis to national survival, given the excessive but obviously futile reliance on the deployment of force and military hardware.

The confusion is almost complete. With the administration paralysed by its poor understanding of the crisis and lack of capacity, with the north facing up to the south in a demonstration of lack of national cohesion, and with bandits, kidnappers and other criminals compounding the failings of the legislature, executive and judiciary, the coming months may prove to be truly apocalyptic.

July 10, 2021
Abiodun and echoes from Ogun APC

Sentry

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, urgently needs to pay more attention to the murmurings of some members of his All Progressives Congress (APC) if his now obvious plan to seek re-election in 2023 is to play out without much problem.

Sentry gathered that in spite of the commendable efforts of the Remo-born governor to take care of party members and people of the state, some APC chieftains are feeling side-tracked.

Sources within the party, many of whom said most things causing the grievances are unknown to the governor, told Sentry that some allies and aides of the governor are using his name to persecute others.

Read Also; Kwara APC factions trade words over Gov AbdulRazaq, Lai Mohammed

“That is why you still find people complaining in spite of the governor’s effort to unite the party and satisfy the greatest number with his approach to governance and policies. Abiodun needs to be warned about these persecutions going on behind his back,” one source said.

Sentry learnt that many members of sub-groups within the party like SIA group, Believe Movement and Matagbamole group among many others are unhappy as we speak. The Believe Movement, which is loyal to Gboyega Isiaka, in a communique issued Thursday, charged Abiodun to promote equity and fairness within the party. The accused some people of sabotaging efforts of numerous loyal party members.

Earlier in the week, at a meeting in Sagamu, members of the SIA group accused some allies of the governor of using his name to marginalise Amosun’s loyalists. Sentry can only hope Abiodun will heed these warning signs and take action.

July 10, 2021
Imo: Ihedioha, PDP say ‘shame to bad people’

Sentry

If you are one of those overjoyed by the recent rumour of a ‘very serious rift’ between former Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, and the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), this is for you.

Ihedioha and Imo PDP say there’s no problem between them at all. If anything, the party and the former House of Representatives Deputy Speaker insist they are busy plotting their return to Government House as soon as possible.

Read Also: Imo PDP denies face-off with Ihedioha over Kanu

Stories about a looming face-off between the former governor and the leadership of the party in the state over the re-arrest of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, went viral during the week with opposition party chieftains claiming Imo PDP is about disintegrating. But the party has issued a disclaimer. Similarly, the former governor, Ihedioha has been denying the claims as false and unfounded.

PDP’s rebuttal, contained in a statement by Publicity Secretary, Ogubundu Nwadike, stated that Ihedioha has never had any dealings with Kanu. It said there was no betrayal and thus no fallout over a U-turn on Kanu’s re-arrest.

He said: “Talking about Ihedioha betraying Kanu is irresponsible propaganda and blackmail that failed on arrival. That makes insensible and meaningless the warped thought of “Imo PDP falls out with Emeka Ihedioha over u-turn on Nnamdi Kanu re-arrest”. There can’t be a u-turn when there was never a drive out.”

July 10, 2021
Between Matawalle and his deputy

Sentry

Last Tuesday, Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle switched from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), ending months of speculation about his intentions.

But the fanfare that saw him being welcomed to APC at the Gusau Trade Fair Complex by governors, ministers and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, could not hide a looming political face-off between him and some of his erstwhile allies, among them his deputy, Mahdi Aliyu.

Sentry gathered the governor’s decision may have escalated a crisis that was being managed before now.

It is no longer news that Aliyu will not be going to APC with his boss. What can now be revealed is that they have been at loggerheads over Matawalle’s defection plot for months.

“One major thing that delayed the governor’s move is the refusal of his deputy to buy into the defection plot all along,” a source said. The governor’s political family is sharply divided over the matter. “Many of our leaders are not happy with his move and they told him so,’ another source added.

Read Also: APC, PDP, APGA set for Anambra governorship

The governor’s men are currently losing sleep over what many described as the deputy governor’s ‘rapport’ with majority of the state legislators. “Many things will start happening from now; even the governor knows Aliyu is not a pushover politically. If you add his family background in Zamfara, you will understand what I mean,” the source said.

While the governor said his decision is part of his plans to move the state forward, Aliyu, son of a former Minister of Defence, Aliyu Gusau, said he chose to remain with the PDP to honour the mandate given to the party by the Supreme Court.

For now, all eyes are on Zamfara Government House.

Anambra 2021: A Dibia in the race

These are very interesting times in Anambra State as the November 6, 2021 governorship election draws closer. Not only are two blood brothers, Drs. Andy and Ugochukwu Uba, poised to confront each other as candidates of opposing parties, a popular herbalist and native doctor, better called Dibia in Igbo, has clinched the ticket of one of the political parties to contest.

The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), on Wednesday elected Nnamdi Nwanwuo, as its standard-bearer. “Before now, he was more known for his feats as a native doctor than for anything that has to do with governance or politics. But with his victory at the primary election, he has proven he is a serious politician,” a former state lawmaker told Sentry.

Announcing Nwanwuo as the winner, National Secretary of the party, Babatunde Ali, described him as someone well-acquainted with the grassroots and the man for the job. He said: “He knows them and they know him. The PRP’s flag is the next flag to be hoisted at the government house. He will defeat the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

Well, the people will soon decide which of three ‘doctors’ in the race they prefer as governor.

July 3, 2021
Blood everywhere at match venues

By Ade Ojeikere

I’m not an alarmist neither am I a prophet of doom. But blood stains are found at league venues with the organisers and their bosses casting an indulgent eye on the abnormalities in the domestic game. We don’t want to provide adequate security at venues before, during, and after games across the country. Urchins, thugs, beasts have taken over the venues to unleash mayhem on unsuspecting players, coaches, fans, and referees. What makes these unholy acts unacceptable is that the host clubs and State Football Associations are making these evil people look like spirits whereas they are known supporters of the home teams.

No person’s blood is worth being spilled at match venues before relevant changes could be reflected in the domestic league. Weekly matches are marred by violence with the culprits (hoodlums, urchins, etc) made to look like spirits due to inadequate security. Referees are beaten to a pulp regularly because the league venues don’t have close circuit televisions to track the beasts. When a referee is killed, we will constitute panels to find out how it happened, who did it, why, and how? Innocent souls will be arrested while the roughnecks will be walking the streets, free as air, with instructions from their principals not to be seen around any stadium. Of course, the noise over the dastardly act won’t last long; it will be buried with the victim whose family will be left to bear the burden of losing their loved one.

On Sunday in Jos, players of Enyimba FC of Aba was beaten groggy by fans of Plateau United for daring to hold the Jose side to a barren draw result. Enyimba’s players went home with broken heads, body injuries, and with many carrying injuries arising from the impact of sticks used to whip them like cattle as they ran away to safety. Sadly, no arrests were made. The idiots are roaming free on the streets while the victims are in severe pain. Where were the security operatives inside the stadium? Does the rule book of the league make provision for the presence of security people to prevent such violent conducts?

Whose duty is it to invite the security operatives to match venues? Or are we waiting for us to remove corpses from match venues like we have seen at Sambisa forest before we take the desired decisions to disband the organising body and stop the league until all the flaws are corrected? God forbid, if souls are lost, would these late decisions bring them back to life? No way. Why are we so cursed to always act late to issues which concern lives and properties?

Read Also: Putting separatists’ feet to the fire

Accounts from players of Enyimba stated that the irate fans wanted to attack the referee for not awarding a perceived penalty kick in favour of Plateau United. Having failed to vent their spleen on the match officials, the urchins turned their frustrations on the People’s Elephants’ players inflicted them with injuries. It is quite encouraging that security operatives prevented the beasts from attacking the match officials. Nobody has told us how the fans were allowed into the stadium premises, knowing that fans have been banned from watching matches at league venues.

The NFF had reiterated the fact that fans were barred from the stadium when incidents of crowd violence reached a disturbing level across the country in the leagues. Why did Plateau State FA chieftains allow fans into the premises if truly there was a circular barring them by the NFF? The argument that the fans overpowered 50 security operatives is weak because the FA chiefs ought to have locked the place up after both teams trained at the match venue. If the Plateau FA locked the premises, the fans wouldn’t have invaded the pitch after overpowering the operatives.

Who was the match commissioner of this game? Didn’t he see the fans inside the stadium before allowing the match’s kick-off? If he did, what was his reaction? If the match commissioner had refused to direct the referee to start the game on grounds of fans’ presence, the irritants would have been walked out of the place. Most of the league officials have been compromised by the kind of hospitality they get from the host teams. Hence they look the other way to breaches of the league’s rules and regulations.

The fans didn’t start entering the stadium after the two teams and officials had commenced the game. Of course, the teams and their officials saw the fans inside the stadium. They also would have seen them trooping into the stadium on the streets. If this wasn’t the case, what did the match commissioner do to ensure the second half began without the fans having seen them in the first 45 minutes of the game? The story that the fans broke the fence of the stadium only to chase the referees around the pitch until the security men intervened is idiotic. How did the irate fans know that the referee ought to have sounded the whistle for a penalty when they were not inside the stadium?

Until some of the chairmen of clubs and key officials of the state host FAs are arrested and charged to court, the menace at the venues would continue unabated. These chairmen and the State FA chieftains know some of the hooligans since they reside in such cities where they wreak havoc. These heartless club officials and soccer association men constitute some of the problems with the league.

In saner climes, football albeit sports is run as a business, not the circus which our football administrators have turned it. Club owners who depend on 100 per cent patronage from the government are threatening to seize the league from the wobbling organisers, if they fail to get the league a sponsor. Rather than call the jesters’ bluff, a meeting has been scheduled between the owners (boys of the state governors) and the NFF. No word has been heard over what happened in Jos. It won’t come as a shock if we are told that the game ended. So what happened after the game could be overlooked and culprits, if any, punished later. This is the reason for the endless mayhem at venues. Justice delayed. Pity.

According to the club owners (how much can they muster without government funding): “The meeting observed with deep concern that in the last four seasons the NPFL had no sponsors which have indirectly affected the progress of the league, it, therefore, tasked the LMC to ensure that it secures sponsorship for the League before the end of the season, otherwise the club Owners would have no other choice than to step in.” Hahahaha! They have just woken up with seven matches to the end of the season. Why can’t the owners ask for their yearly stipends (N10 million per club and they are 20) running into billion which haven’t been paid in the last three years? Do this arithmetic and ask the club owners where they hope to get sponsors when they don’t have sponsors for their matches. They drive around the country most times in buses which have gone up in flames on the highway without any warnings. Need I waste space listing vehicles conveying players which have been burnt to ashes on the highways en route honouring matches?

The owners’ communiqué also stated further that: “The Meeting condemned in strong terms the spate of violence at some league venues and enjoined the LMC to strictly apply the rules accordingly. That state Football Association instead of clubs should be held accountable for any breach of the peace at league venues since they are responsible for the provision of security.” These club owners can’t be serious. Who do these thugs support during matches? Are the clubs’ owners not bigger than the State FA chairmen and their members? Those who beat up the referees, players, and visitors are the owners’ clubs. What have they done to fish out the urchins for punishment or are they saying they don’t know these beasts?

NFF would be foolish to sit in a meeting with these owners when they know the clubs’ financiers – the state governors. NFF should engage the governors with the problems, not these representatives who may not have seen their governors for God knows how long.

“The Club Owners after a Critical examination of the schedule provided for the 2021 Aiteo Cup, paucity of funds and congestion in the league fixtures, unanimously resolved to withdraw participation in the Aiteo cup except if otherwise provided with intervention funds.

“It further called on the NFF to immediately pay to Kano Pillars FC the outstanding prize money for the last Aiteo Cup.”

These club owners are clowns otherwise, how come chronic debtors like they are seeking outstanding payment of the Aiteo Cup be paid whereas they are still indebted to their players, coaches, and officials.

These club owners are clowns otherwise, how come chronic debtors like them are seeking the payment of Aiteo Cup’s outstanding prize money to be paid whereas they are still indebted to their players, coaches and officials.

July 3, 2021
Hope alive

By Segun Ayobolu

THERE are those who feel so utterly disappointed and outraged by the perceived hiatus between the actual performance of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration in the last six years and its soaring, hope-inspiring promises to the electorate to effect fundamental changes in diverse sectors, in the run up to the 2015 general elections. Those who are piqued by the administration’s alleged nepotism and skewed regional worldview in addition to its failures in governance thus advocate for restructuring, not as a simple tinkering with or amendments of aspects of the extant 1999 constitution to strengthen the country’s federal and democratic practice, but the total jettisoning of the current political system and the institution of an absolutely new constitution. At the very least, they call for a reversion to the 1963 parliamentary constitution of the first republic.

I have listened with consternation to some of the country’s brightest and best legal and academic minds advance this argument contending, misleadingly, that the current constitution is wholly a military imposition. They obviously do not pause to consider why the 1963 parliamentary constitution, were it to be the near perfect document it is now romanticized to be, did not prevent the ignominious collapse of the first republic on January 17, 1966. The transition in the second republic to the presidential system of government, which remains prevalent today, was as the result of the perceived shortcomings and failings of the constitutional and political structures of the first republic.

All the ills we complain about in the polity today including massive corruption, ethno-regional intolerance and conflict, election rigging, rampant political vagrancy of politicians jumping opportunistically from one party to another and mindless political violence, were all abundantly evident in the first republic under the 1963 constitution. The popular perception of the shift from the loose, largely decentralized, regional federal structure of the first republic to the current more centralized structure comprising significantly weakened states and a more powerful centre, as being the arbitrary decision of centralizing military regimes is erroneous and misplaced.

Rather, the change was reflective of the dominant climate of opinion at the time, which influenced the thinking and recommendations of majority of the all-civilian, expert and experienced members of the Constitution Drafting Committee ( CDC) and Constituent Assembly that debated and produced the 1979 Constitution under the superintendence of the Murtala/Obasanjo military administration. The current 1999 Constitution substantially mirrors that of 1979 with minor amendments. Were President Buhari to be so inclined, he could as well accept the demand to preside over the engineering of a new constitution before handing over to a new democratically elected administration. That would be a perfect strategy to elongate the tenure of his government. For, so fractured, divided and divisive are opinions on an appropriate constitution for the country that the debate could go on ad infinitum.

Read Also: Between Matawalle and his deputy

Yet, just as the transition from a parliamentary to a presidential constitutional structure did not eliminate the socio-political evils that resulted in the collapse of the first, second and aborted third republics, and which still thrive in this dispensation, a wholly new constitution will not necessarily result in the envisaged positive transformation in political behavior both on the path of the leadership and followership. The problems we have to contend with are as much ones of political structure as they are of political culture. The President Buhari administration has approximately two years remaining till the end of its tenure. It certainly makes eminent sense to let it run out its constitutional life span and allow the electorate to decide on its successor in 2023 rather than venturing recklessly now into uncertain and uncharted waters of constitutional adventurism with unpredictable outcomes.

One strong reason to keep hope alive as regards the promise and future of democracy in Nigeria is the continuous strengthening of the credibility, transparency and integrity of successive elections in this dispensation since 1999. Elections are much more closely fought at the federal and state levels now and electoral outcomes far more difficult to predict or predetermine than was the case in the 2003 or 2007 elections for instance. In its role as electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has continued to improve both in terms of operational efficacy and organizational autonomy.

The increased correlation between the will of the electorate and the results of elections was reflected, for instance, in the outcome of the 2015 presidential election, which saw an opposition party displace the party in power at the centre for the first time in the country’s history. Those who want an abridgment or abortion mid-stream of the current political process to accommodate sweeping structural changes do not, it appears, reckon with the fact that the Buhari administration can be dislodged through the electoral process just as its predecessor was if that is the will of the electorate. What is paramount now is to mount pressure on the legislature for the necessary amendments to the Electoral Act to enhance the autonomy of INEC and the credibility of the electoral process.

Of course, this is not to imply that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) does not have a bright opportunity of continuing in power after Buhari. In spite of the disastrously worsened security situation under its watch, which is the ruling party’s most vulnerable point, a not insignificant number of the citizenry still believe that it offers a better alternative than the major opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). For instance, the price of crude oil in the international market shortly before the APC’s assumption of power in 2025 dropped substantially compared to the favorable prices of the commodity for much of the PDP years in power. Yet, even though this parlous economic situation was worsened by the unanticipated Coronavirus pandemic, the Buhari administration has made more developmental impact through its massive expenditures on critical infrastructure and poverty alleviation measures than the PDP did in 16 years although account must also be taken of the, perhaps inevitable, resort to massive borrowing by the APC government.

Even if the APC has, disappointingly, not been able to evolve meaningfully from a loose election winning coalition to a more cohesive organizational structure, the PDP does not appear to be in any better shape as evidenced by the continued defections of key members of the latter’s ranks to the APC. Given the glaring failings of both major parties in governance thus far, it remains to be seen if a viable third political force, largely ideologically anchored, can emerge to challenge plausibly for power.

Much of the frustration of aggrieved sections of the polity with the Buhari administration is the President’s little disguised personal antipathy to the increasingly vehement calls for restructuring across the country. Even significant opinion molders and key groups in the north, previously indifferent or lukewarm to the restructuring advocacy, have joined in the calls for urgent changes to a political status quo that has become dysfunctional and self-destructive. Yet, in his recent public utterances during two television interviews as well as at the launch of a Foundation in honour of the late Kudirat Abiola in Zaria, the President sounded rigid and unyielding on such issues as calls for the banning of open grazing of cattle across the country or the establishment of state police among other components of restructuring. Even then, there is still reason to keep hope alive as regards the possibility of effecting necessary and widely demanded constitutional reforms under his leadership.

For instance, contrary to the President’s body language that some believe suggests contempt for and even hostility to the South-East, he recently despatched a high-level delegation led by the Ministers of Defence and Interior, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magaji and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, respectively, to dialogue with the leaders of the region. The outcome has been positive as, in the aftermath, credible leaders of the zone have strongly dissociated themselves from any secessionist agitations reiterating rather their commitment to the quest for justice and equity for the Igbo within the framework of a united Nigeria. Surely, Buhari may not be as rigid as he appears and he may still be persuaded to make more concrete, conciliatory gestures towards the South-East in the spirit of mature leadership and sportsmanship as well as in the best interest of healing and stability in the polity.

Again, President Buhari recently received elders from the Niger Delta as well as leaders of the Ijaw National Council (INC), at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and listened attentively to their 10-point agenda including their advocacy for a restructuring of the polity. On restructuring, Buhari told the group that “In addressing your call for immediate restructuring, the National Assembly, whose responsibility it is to ensure that our constitution responds to the call for a restructured Nigeria, has already concluded regional consultations and as soon as they finalize the process, necessary action would not be delayed on my part”. The President also said, “In the same vein, your call for the creation of two additional states and more local government areas for the Ijaw people is a legislative matter, which should naturally be handled by the National Assembly and seeking concurrence at the state levels”.

This offers a window of opportunity for aggrieved and other interest groups to pursue their causes through constitutional pressures holding the President to his word to keep faith with and implement whatever comes to him through due legal process. The greatest responsibility, however, lies on the eternally warring factions and tendencies within the APC to cast aside shortsighted and self-serving power tussles and come together to pressure President Buhari to abide by the party’s pact with the electorate particularly on constitutional restructuring. The party’s electoral fate after Buhari may largely depend on this.

July 3, 2021
Putting separatists’ feet to the fire

By UnderTow

For the most part, separatists are likely rethinking their options all over the country. After the apprehension of Nnamdi Kanu and the close shave of Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a Sunday Igboho, the myth of invisibility surrounding separatist agitations would have simmered down. A cursory examination of the announcements that informed Nigerians of the capture of Mr Kanu and the perturbation of Mr Adeyemo conveys the euphoria of federal authorities at the level of damage they have done to the separatist dream. First, they allowed Mr Adeyemo run free with occasional, half-hearted raids on his residence. Then they set up and apprehended Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mr Kanu at an undisclosed location. He was lured with the promise of a huge donation, but found himself holding the short end of the stick when the dust settled. Concerning the full details of his arrest, Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who proudly made the announcement, kept his cards very close to his chest.

Said the AGF triumphantly, “Self-acclaimed leader of the proscribed secessionist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has been arrested through the collaborative efforts of Nigerian intelligence services. He has been brought back to Nigeria in order to continue facing trial after disappearing while on bail regarding 11-count charge against him. Recent steps taken by the Federal Government saw to the interception of the fugitive Kanu on Sunday the 27th day of June, 2021.” While the AGF was more restrained and discreet in the disclosure of the federal government’s apprehension of the IPOB leader, the Department of State Service, which tried but failed to capture the Southwest secessionist agitator, Mr Adeyemo, celebrated its almost-had with more vim.

A statement by DSS PRO, Peter Afunanya, read in part: “Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a Sunday Igboho is now on the run. Igboho may run as far as he can. He may hide as long as he wants. He might have attacked security operatives as his strength carried him. But this will be the end of his shenanigans. Soon he will not have a hiding place. His strength will sure fail him. And the law will catch up with him. The law may be slow, but it will be steady… He or anyone can never be above the law…”

It is not uncommon for public announcements or briefings to be delivered with more emphasis on the thrust of the message than the style or poesy of the thing. It is, however, not a crime that the elevation that such poesy may potentially lend to their messages has not been appreciated. The country is long-suffering enough to receive and put up with volumes of rough-hewn public announcements. In the same vein, it is understandable that employees tend to blow their trumpets to their employers while they take immaculate care to cover up their missteps. Indeed, should an employee’s misstep lead to an unexpected accomplishment, he would again find a way to take the credit for it and talk up his abilities. The federal government, an unconvincing employee of the Nigerian people for the purpose of administering and governing national interests, has stuck boldly to this principle. Nigerians have therefore been treated to the spectacular irony of the DSS bluntly preaching the rule of law when it ran roughshod over several court orders and refused to release former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, a retired colonel, from custody for years. Nigerians have also been amused by the grating irony that the DSS, which invaded the Federal High Court in Abuja on December 2019, perpetrating every degree of contempt of court imaginable, and causing a sitting judge to abruptly suspend sitting and flee, could prophesy that the rule of law would prevail over outlawed separatists’ interests. In the business of circumventing the law, it is a Darwinian dog-eat-dog world.

Despite the relative sparsity of the weapons and ammunition retrieved from the house of Mr Adeyemo in comparison to the arsenal of the Nigerian Army, the DSS perfected its statement with the allegation that seven AK-47s, three pump action guns, five cutlasses, one jack knife, traditional body armour and other sundry ammunition constituted stockpiling of ammunition and that they (the separatists) were well-armed and determined to undermine public order. Indeed, by the dictates of the law, the evidence appears sufficient to indict Mr Adeyemo and his associates as being determined to undermine public order. Moreso, where the arms and ammunition were obtained through illegal means, all the odds are stacked against them. But to allege that a force thusly armed is well-armed to wage a violent insurrection against the Nigerian state is taking things hyperbolically. Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who for all the country knows, is the subject of the DSS’s hospitality can affirm that there were criminal herdsmen and bandits more heavily armed with anti-aircraft guns. So far, the government has not appeared interested in apprehending the possessors of those exotic weapons.

But government’s discretion is a rummy thing. Public officials are elected on the strength of the fact that their judgements are sound and their ability to navigate the country through tricky straits is top-notch. They will deploy that discretion in the treatment of Messrs Kanu and Adeyemo, the latter of whom remains at large and on the run. His supporters will not appeal to him, as the DSS cynically advised, to relent. They will urge his feet to be fleeter in guiding him to safety. Meanwhile, the federal government will toy with the IPOB leader. The immediate temptation before them would be to make a proper scapegoat of him. That may be consistent with the current administration’s style of governance, but is it really in their best interests? If the caliber of advice the federal government has been receiving has improved, then there is the likelihood that Mr Kanu will simply remain in detention and perhaps become a political tool for controlling other IPOB forces still at large. It was, after all, the same method that was used to capture him.

One of the charges brought against him is terrorism. Precedence reminds the country of a time when one such terrorist leader, Mohammed Yusuf, who in his day led what used to be the deadly Boko Haram sect, was in the federal government’s detention. Somehow, Mallam Yusuf was summarily executed and upon his expiration his deputy, the deadlier Abubakar Shekau, assumed power. He would remain elusive, putting the government to shame severally several times, until he was upstaged and put to the sword by a more extreme terrorist group, ISWAP. There is no evidence that making an example of Mr Kanu would do any good. When he is arraigned on July 27, the public will have a peek into federal government’s plans for him. Treasonable felony would be the least of his worries at that time. Will the south-eastern separatist leader cut a deal if offered one? Or will he do what his predecessor did not do and offer himself a martyr for the Biafran cause?

Mr Adeyemo, meanwhile, remains undaunted. He has laughed in the face of the DSS and scorned the message asking him to turn himself in. No one, not even the DSS, expects him to heed the offer. In fact, his spokesman, Olayomi Koiki, has claimed that the separatist leader still plans to stage a mega rally in Lagos today. Every side is talking tough, but while the federal government has the force of law and controls the state’s instruments of coercion, it would appear that the best Mr Adeyemo has is the support and goodwill of a good many people. Whether that would avail him when the showdown occurs today, if indeed he goes ahead with his planned rally, remains to be seen. Nevertheless, these are warm times for all separatists. Every leader of a revolution has to deal with such a time when the prospect of losing his life for a cause looms largely and fearfully before him. The events of the next few weeks will, however, play a crucial role in determining the future of Nigeria, hence the niggling feeling that it has only just begun.

Hisbah board headaches

Continuing its show of piety, the Hisbah Board in Kano prohibited the use of mannequins by tailors, supermarket stores and boutique owners to display clothes in the state. The appropriately titled Commander General of the board disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, which read in part: “Hisbah prohibits the use of mannequins at shops, commercial and private residences, and other public places; this violates Islamic provisions. It is also responsible for inciting immoral thoughts amongst some members of the public, all these are against Islam.”

The message, shrouded with all the encryption of the Commander General, Haroun Ibn Sina, did not disclose how they came to know that people were walking all over the place, throat deep, in immoral thoughts. What constitutes immoral thought? If there were, in fact, such immoral thoughts consuming people, he did not disclose how he was sure that the mannequins were liable for these. It is a sad and mortifying thing that mannequins now have to grapple with bearing liability for the indiscretions of human beings in Kano State. More, it is perfectly shocking that of all the religious woes dogging the north, mannequins occasion the Hisbah Board headaches. Last year, the Hisbah Corps in Kano destroyed over N200m worth of beer. They then decided to embark on door-to-door searches in the state to fish out sinners.

All this in spite of a country that spells out clearly in its constitution that there shall be no state religion. No state in the federation is also allowed to have its own religion. Every person is allowed to practice their own religion and in the case of a change of religion, such a person is statutorily protected from persecution. What the Hisbah Board has done is to make the state very uncomfortable for citizens and residents of Kano. The board purports to speak the religious mind of the people and in doing so, makes ordinances for them to follow. Misplaced priorities will ruin the Hisbah Board which ordinarily should not exist, but if left unchecked, the board will ruin the state.

July 3, 2021
In the shadows of Einstein and Galbraith

By Segun Ayobolu

At the beginning of the new millennium in Y2000, leading writers and editors in the stable of the defunct Concord group of newspapers were assigned to write full page discourses on who they perceived to be the most influential man or woman of the preceding millennium.

Mr. Tunji Bello, who was Daily Editor of the newspaper at that time, chose the great, Nobel Prize winning physicist, Albert Einstein, as his man of the millennium. In doing so, he adduced as the reason for his choice, Einstein’s relativity theory, which not only changed the way scientists understood the world, but also transformed fundamentally the focus, theories and concepts of scientific research.

Writing on the influence of Einstein on the intellectual landscape of the last millennium, an online medium states “The impact of relativity has not been limited to science…. Einstein’s 1921 Nobel Peace Prize for Physics (awarded for his work on the photon nature of light) as well as the popular perception that relativity was so complex that few could grasp it, quickly turned Einstein and his theories into cultural icons”.

Another scientist avers that Einstein’s relativity theory “Transformed physics and astronomy during the 20th century, superseding a 200-year old theory of mechanics created primarily by Isaac Newton. Far from being simply of theoretical interest, relativity effects are important practical engineering concerns. Satellite-based measurement needs to take into account relativistic effects, as each satellite is in motion relative to an earth-bound user and thus in a different time frame of reference under the theory of relativity”.

But why would Mr. Bello, a political scientist and lawyer by training, choose Einstein as his man of the millennium rather than some towering figure in the social sciences or law? This is certainly a reflection of his wide reading and broad outlook in the quest for knowledge. It is also not improbable that he was deeply influenced by some of the core courses offered in the Political Science Department of the University of Ibadan, where he obtained his first degree. These include ‘Logic and Methods of Political Inquiry’ and ‘Modern Political Analysis’. For the latter course, the physicist,Thomas Kuhn’s book, “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions”, was compulsory reading.

Thomas Khun’s book depicts the evolution and development of science and scientific research as an essentially cyclic process. Introducing and popularizing the concept of “paradigm”, Khun explains how the pursuit of scientific knowledge and breakthroughs is conducted within a set of paradigmatic assumptions that determine what research questions are posed as well as the methodology that is followed in the conduct of scientific enquiry.

Normal science, argued Kuhn, occurs when scientists undertake research within certain framework or paradigm, which continues to be prevalent for as long as it enables researchers to raise and solve practical problems both for the sake of the scientific enterprise as well as for the benefit of society.

Thus, it has been submitted that “Einstein’s theory of relativity became the new paradigm, and the study of motion and gravitation entered upon a new period of normal science…When, during a period of normal science, it turns out that some problems cannot be solved using existing theories, then new ideas proliferate, and the ideas that survive those do best at solving those problems”.

In this piece, we do not limit the concept of intellectual to those in academic institutions whose place in the functional specialization of society is to teach, conduct research and produce new knowledge. Rather, we agree with the Italian Marxist theoretician, Antonio Gramsci, of the early twentieth century, that “This means that, although one can speak of intellectuals, one cannot speak of non-intellectuals, because non-intellectuals do not exist. But even the relationship between efforts of intellectual — cerebral and muscular-nervous — effort is not always the same, so that there are varying degrees of specific intellectual activity.

“There is no human activity from which every form of intellectual participation can be excluded. Each man, finally, outside his professional activity, carries on some form of intellectual activity, that is he is a “philosopher”, an artist, a man of taste, he participates in a particular conception of the world, has a conscious line of moral conduct, and therefore contributes to sustain a conception of the world or to modify it, that is, to bring into being new modes of thought”.

That Mr. Bello loves knowledge and relentlessly strives to expand his mental horizon is vividly illustrated by his pursuing and acquiring a B.Sc. degree in political science, a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy as well as obtaining a Bachelor of Law (LL.B Hons.) from the University of Lagos, and also qualifying as a Barrister at Law from the Nigerian Law School.

As a practicing journalist for more than two decades, he was at various times, feature writer, Assistant Features Editor, Politics Editor, Editor, Sunday Concord and Editor, National Concord as well as serving as Editorial Board Chairman of THISDAY. In these roles, he reported and analyzed the news while also maintaining widely read and highly respected columns that helped to elevate and illuminate public discourse. He was a public intellectual par excellence.

He gave an early indication of his commitment to the principles of democracy, the rule of law, equity and social justice when, as Vice President of the University of Ibadan between 1983 and 1984, Mr. Bello led the struggle of the students against what they perceived as the betrayal of the union leadership, which they accused of corruption and an undue romance with the university authorities. The epic battle led eventually to the dissolution of the union and the appointment of a caretaker committee to run its affairs. His principled commitment to the cause and welfare of the students and his refusal to sell out to the authorities enhanced his moral integrity and standing in the minds of the majority of students.

It was no surprise that years later, he took the side of the people and was at the vanguard of the struggle against dictatorship as a member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which worked assiduously for the de-annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election and the swearing into office of the undisputed winner of the election, Chief MKO Abiola.

Despite the danger to his life as a senior Editor with the Concord Group and personal assistant to Chief Abiola, Tunji Bello never sold out or betrayed the cause of the struggle. Here again is another hallmark of the conscientious intellectual – a fidelity to truth and the cause of justice no matter the consequences.

In his contribution to the book, “Asiwaju: Leadership in Troubled Times”, Mr. Tunji Bello gives an insight into his conceptions of what should be the attributes of a good leader. In his words, “One of the hallmarks of leadership is the ability to assemble a good team of advisers and cabinet members. History has shown that great leaders have been those who had a good crop to work with. Usually they are brilliant minds and self-assured people who will be ready to tell the leader not just the way things should be but also what others will hide from him or what they lack the courage to say. Former President Lee Kwan Yew, the builder of modern Singapore, remarked in his book, ‘From Third World to First’, that having good crop of minds in his cabinet was central to the success of Singapore”.

Here again, Mr. Bello places premium on the quality of the human mind and intellect in appointing or electing people into public office. But then, a critical factor militating against good governance in Nigeria is that we, more often than not, have leaders who are not knowledgeable and thus do not attract the bright and best minds to serve in government. The consequence is the continued prevalence of bad governance that compounds and worsens the country’s protracted crisis of poverty and underdevelopment.

Tunji Bello’s ideological vision and philosophical orientation is clear. His is a progressive vision of governance that emphasizes the greatest good for the greatest number of the people. Thus, he has consistently supported and brought the quality of his intellect to bear positively on the governments under which he has served with distinction. It is not surprising that one of his favorite intellectual mentors and role models is the late progressive economist, Professor John Kenneth Galbraith. There is hardly any of Galbraith’s books that he does not have in his library. That is why, in his political thought, Bello prioritizes promoting the welfare of the human being as being the justification for the state’s existence in the first place.

The late revolutionary economist, Professor Baran, makes a distinction between the intellectual and the intellect worker. The former, he submits, is a fierce and uncompromising critic of government; one who speaks truth to power no matter the consequences for him personally. But the intellect worker is one who is content with simply doing the tasks he has been assigned without questioning the status quo. While the role of the intellectual as social critic who puts governments on their toes is indispensable to good governance and meaningful development, we certainly cannot discount, as Baran does, the role of the intellectual in government who utilizes his skills and intellect to help contribute to the pursuit of the common good by the state. This certainly is the way in which Mr. Tunji Bello has been contributing to adding value to governance through the various offices he has held in Lagos State over the last two decades.

Being excerpts from a new 308-page book entitled “In Pursuit of the Public Purpose – Essays in honour of Tunji Bello at 60”.

July 3, 2021
Bishop Oyedepo, Twitter ban and social media regulation

By Segun Ayobolu

IN incisive and pungent critiques of the ongoing consideration in the National Assembly of Executive Bills seeking to amend the Nigerian Press Council Act and the National Broadcasting Commission Act, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), have pointed out the fascistic inclination of the proposed legislation to regulate the media and the dangers an emasculated press poses to the evolution of a stable and accountable democracy in Nigeria. As has been noted by several analysts, the non invitation of these key media organizations to the public hearing on the Bill to allow for public input into the proposed law gives a hint of a suspicious lack of transparency in the management of the process possibly for underlying ulterior motives or hidden agenda.

However, the NGE, NPAN and NUJ are also to blame for seemingly treating the proposed law with levity as reflected in their absence at the public sitting of the Bill because they were unaware of the event. As the sponsor of the Bills, Mr Odebunmi Olusegun, explained to the media, his committee’s placement of newspaper adverts inviting members of the public to the hearing was sufficient notice to all stakeholders and other interested persons. These media organizations needed no special invitation to attend the public sitting and make their robust contributions.

Coming shortly after the indefinite suspension of the Twitter online platform in Nigeria, the attempt to give media regulatory agencies what the NGE describes as ‘draconian provisions’ to regulate the media industry through several new regulatory powers as well as more severe sanctions for infractions by media practitioners and organizations, this move reinforces the perception that the government has concluded that the media is its enemy. Criticism of government and public officers by the media is indeed critical to democratic sustainability and good governance. It does not imply hatred for a given government or deliberate attempts to destabilize and undermine it as Information Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, suggests in his public communications. Indeed, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, as opposition spokesman prior to 2015, used the media to devastating effect against the then ruling PDP federal government.

As Lord Acton’s immortal aphorism states, ‘power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. This truth has been proven right across time and space wherever man is governed by mortals and not infallible Angels. A weakened, frightened and strangulated press, as these proposed amended legislations seemingly aim at achieving, leads to increasingly unrestrained, unaccountable and insensitive governments with the enhanced vulnerability to the possibility of power drunkenness on the part of public office holders and the attendant proneness to debilitating corruption. Nothing can, therefore, be more dangerous in an evolving and still fragile democracy like ours than the strangulation and weakening of the media.

Among other provisions, the proposed amended legislation seeks the establishment of a National Press and Ethical Code of Conduct for media houses and media practitioners, which shall come into effect and be disseminated after approval by the Minster of Information and that the code shall be binding on every media houses and journalist. The NGE laments that, “Again, apart from the fines for journalists or media houses that violate the Act, the Bill also says that in an extreme case, the council shall order the striking out of the name of the journalist from the register and suspend the person from practice by ordering him not to engage in practice for a period not exceeding six months; as may be provided for in the directive”.

No less worrisome is the inclusion in the proposed laws of a clause, which states that “…any person who carries news established to be fake thereafter, commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a fine of N5 million or a two-year jail term imprisonment or both, and a compensation of N2 million payable to the person(s), group(s), corporate bodies, government or any of its agencies whom the news was against”. The law also provides that any print media whose medium was used to carry such news is liable on conviction to a fine of N10 million or closure of such media house for a period of one year, or both, and compensation of N20 million to the person, corporate body, government or any of its agencies.

The problem here, which the NGE, NPAN. and NUJ point out, is who determines what is fake news? Can the government be the accuser and at the same time the judge on what constitutes fake news? Can successive illiberal governments in future not exploit the expansive regulatory and punitive provisions in the proposed law to emasculate, strangulate and render the media impotent to the detriment of democracy, the rule of law and good governance? Do we not have sufficient laws in our statutes to deal with these alleged ills of the media such as laws against sedition and libel?

As the NGE rightly submits, “This kind of media regulatory council will neither serve the interest of the media industry, strengthen its constitutional role – of holding public officers accountable to the people nor serves the general interest of the public – who are the original trustees of the media”. The association also stressed that it dies not need the approval of the Minister of Information to establish and disseminate a National Press Code and standards to guide the conduct of print media, related media houses and media practitioners and approve penalties and fines against violation of the press code, as provided for in the Bill. A pertinent question to ask, however, is if the media has engaged in rigorous self-scrutiny and regulation to check and punish media practitioners and organizations who publish or broadcast patently false, malicious or incendiary material capable of unjustly damaging personal and corporate reputations or societal peace, harmony and stability?

The answer to this question is, in my view, a sad no. The truth is that if the media does not check itself by engaging in constant peer review, maintaining the highest ethical and professional standards among its ranks and enforcing disciplinary measures on erring practitioners, governments will always be tempted to do so for them. And the result will always be to suffocate and enfeeble the media with negative implications for democracy and development. The media has so much power over minds that it cannot indulgently allow some of the errant, false and combustible information disseminated routinely by many media organizations. The privilege of exercising the immense powers of the media must be accompanied by a habitual demonstration of rigorous adherence to the highest ethical and professional standards by media practitioners.

In his autobiography, published in the 70s and titled ‘Timebends’ the playwright, Arthur Miller, wrote about how the publisher of the New York Times at the time invited 100 leading personalities in the city to a brainstorming session on what should be done to ensure that the newspaper did not wield its tremendous powers without the appropriate sense of responsibility and in anyway detrimental to the public good. It is this kind of deep appreciation of its powers and its critical role in helping to achieve a good, peaceful, stable and prosperous nation that the Nigerian media can be self-censoring and restrained as well as cautious in its handling and dissemination of information especially in the kind of troublous situation in which the country finds itself today.

And still on social media regulation, the General Overseer of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, has thrown his weight behind plans by government to regulate social media. Of course, the respected man of God is not a fan of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. He has, from his pulpit, launched vehement salvos against some of the administration’s policies and actions. In fact, his continuous usage of Twitter just like many other religious leaders, suggests that the fiery cleric is not in support of the current Twitter ban by the federal government. His views on the planned regulation of social media by the federal government is thus important and cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand.

In his address last week on the occasion of the seventh convocation of Landmark university, Omu-Aran in Kwara State, the Bishop was of the view that urgent steps be taken to check unrestricted access to social media arguing that mindless and ceaseless chatting on several online platforms is robbing millions of youth of their future. In his words, excessive preoccupation with social media “unconsciously robs people of their future – no time to think; no time to plan; no time to programme… This generation may lose her heroes to social media disaster. Here is one creeping serpent that is eating up the destinies of many individuals. The social media saga has eroded the substance of destiny of most youths today. What is supposed to be a plus has suddenly become a major minus, because everything delivers through investment of time”.

Bishop Oyedepo noted further that “We must wake up fast from our slumber to deal with this monster. Young people beware! Addiction to social media is like addiction to drugs. It can render a whole destiny useless…Many youths spend less than 10 to 20 percent of their time on their tasks per day. They can never match a generation that spends 70 percent to 80 percent on their tasks. We must devise means to put a check on social media, particularly those that are not adding values. Life is a race. Everyone should get on the track, ready for the run of their lives”.

Here, the Bishop is taking the debate beyond the ban on Twitter to questioning the role that social media plays in fostering waste of valuable time through an addiction to its usage that is detrimental to the future success particularly of the youth. There is thus the need for self-censorship on the part of individuals and deliberate and conscious decision to be made not to be ensnared by social media. In the final analysis, self-regulation by media organizations to ensure adherence to professional ethics in the industry as well as self-restriction by individuals on their usage of the social media, are much more critical and advantageous than government intervention and high-handed regulatory measures that can be abused to violate the individual’s right to free dissemination and receipt of information, which is a vital necessity in any open, liberal democratic polity that we are still striving to be.

June 26, 2021