The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • El-Rufai’s avoidable Labour missteps

    El-Rufai’s avoidable Labour missteps

     UnderTow

     

    HAD Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna possessed more tact, discretion and a well-rounded judgement of political issues, he would have been at the very least sufferable. He is somehow often able to identify the faults of others. He also has a penchant for diagnosing issues accurately, but treating them archaically with all the force he can muster. Unfortunately for him, his many quirks, including a propensity for hasty conclusions, a cold measure of apathy, and an innate pride bordering on obstinacy often overshadow whatever administrative acumen his admirers say he possesses. He made a most complete hash of the kidnap business and even succeeded in contradicting himself duplicitously while at it. With insecurity still smothering his state, he took up arms against the Kaduna labour force and, despite the exuberance of some of the labour bodies, which smacks of their having a political axe to grind, Mallam el-Rufai refuses to admit that he bit more than he could chew. Yet, he remains defiant.

    Sometime in April, it was his turn to announce that his state was up the financial creek without a paddle and that the solution to the matter was to downsize or “rightsize’ the state’s civil service. He complained that 90% of the state’s resources were being used to cater to about 100,000 public servants to the detriment of more than nine million citizens, and that was not indicative of a fair or just distribution of state resources. He also noted that the government could not sustain the large number of redundant workers, and so the state had no choice but to shed some weight and reduce the size of the public service.

    Read Also: Before El-Rufai goes ‘right-sizing’

     

    The labour, however, noted that he had violated the provisions of Section 20 of the Labour Act which requires an employer to inform the trade union or workers’ representative concerned of the reasons for and the extent of the anticipated redundancy. They claim that they were not previously consulted, adding that those affected by the governor’s previous retrenchment exercise in 2017 had not been paid. Indeed, they are not happy that the governor also does not respect the statutorily stipulated retirement age of workers. They therefore decided that they would go on a five-day warning strike.

    His response to the labour union’s displeasures was more force. He threatened to arrest labour leaders and promised not to pay striking workers. This was a tactless move. In turn, more trade unions joined the NLC planning to ground the state. According to the governor, medical workers attempted to join the strike. The law does not permit essential workers to join industrial actions especially as lives could be at stake, and the governor held fervently to this point.

    Where the Kaduna governor maintained a frightening degree of myopia to the damage his obstinacy was occasioning in the relationship between the state government and multiple labour bodies, the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, decided to mediate. Despite the minister’s mediation, the governor remained defiant and disrespectful to everyone. His churlishness is unacceptable. A wise governor would have followed the law and negotiated the terms of relieving over 4000 workers of their jobs with the labour union. Mallam el-Rufai may not be aware, but the unity of several trade unions against what they believe is his draconian policy is foreboding of a resentment of his style of governance. He cannot continue to pick unnecessary fights, for politics and governance, kith and kin of the same pod, are more about making allies than enemies. He has not displayed the appropriate acumen required to run and update the state’s public service, a body the impetuous governor has reduced to his sparring partner.

  • PDP: Ayade’s exit and Secondus’ future

    PDP: Ayade’s exit and Secondus’ future

    Sentry

     

    ON Thursday, exactly six months after his Ebonyi State counterpart, David Umahi, left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Ben Ayade of Cross Rivers State finally bid the opposition party farewell and joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The governor’s defection didn’t come as a surprise as talk about his possible exit had been rife.

    But that is not the news here. What is new is Sentry understands Prince Uche Secondus, national chairman of PDP, may pay for Ayade’s exit from his party with his position.

    Following Ayade’s departure to APC, sources within the party claim many PDP leaders and chieftains are blaming for frustrating the governor out of the party.

    Ayade had repeatedly complained about alleged maltreatment by the Secondus-led National Working Committee (NWC).

    Similarly, many party leaders, including serving and former governors, had urged Secondus to ensure that Ayade was not forced out of the PDP. Although the national chairman eventually made moves to placate the Cross River governor, it appeared his moves came a little too late. Now, Sentry learnt he has lost many of his die-hard supporters in the party ahead of an elective national convention.

    Read Also: We won’t follow Ayade to APC – C/River N/Assembly members

     

    Ayade announced his departure from the opposition PDP on Thursday while hosting six APC governors who visited him in Calabar, the state capital.

    The visiting governors were Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, Hope Uzodinma of Imo, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa and Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti.

    Now, it is left to be seen how Secondus will shake off the fresh hostilities occasioned by the development and successfully retain his position.

    Wabba: Who will bell the cat?

     

    DURING the week, the Kaduna State Government declared President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba and some other leaders of the union wanted over the just suspended five-day warning strike which grounded socioeconomic activities in the state. Governor Nasir El- Rufai announced the move on his Twitter handle on Tuesday morning.

    The governor said the labour leaders were declared wanted for economic sabotage and attacks on public infrastructure under Kaduna’s Miscellaneous Offences Act. He asked anyone who knew the whereabouts of Wabba and others to report to the Kaduna State Ministry of Justice. He assured such informants that they would be handsomely rewarded.

    But Sentry gathered that Wabba remained in Kaduna, the state capital all through the period El-Rufai was looking for him. It was even gathered that he held meetings with law enforcement agencies and met with some representatives of the Federal Government during the period in review. Yet, he wasn’t arrested and taken to the governor in exchange for the ‘handsome reward.’

    When Sentry asked why this was so, the common response was a popular rhetorical question – who will bell the cat? Anyway, the Federal Government has waded into the matter and called for dialogue. Now, the hunter and the hunted will seat at a table and talk.

  • Ideas, migration and security

    Ideas, migration and security

    By  Dayo Sobowale

     

     

    To  those  of us living in Lagos, okada riders have become part and parcel of the living pain that Lagos  has become for not only those of us born and bred in Lagos but also the daily throng of migrants that enter Lagos in their thousands daily, to eke out a  living .

    Globally, people move around or are shifted from their abode by force, disasters, pestilence and famine. The Climate Change proponents have blamed this on a warming world and fossil fuel and are looking forward to a cleaner world as if they are gods or as if   science has mastered the forces of nature.

    In fact,  the   pandemic still  raging  has  taught all of us a violent  lesson that   a  viral disease can change  our world dramatically  and I did not include  diseases in the many things  that can make migration happen by force perhaps  because I am yet  to recover or believe that in my life time, an unexpected pandemic can cripple one’s  life  so  fiercely   and so  forcefully .

    Today, I want to  see the topic of the day in the light of human migration   and   ideas and with the theme  that ‘nobody  can stop an idea whose time has come.’

    In  Nigeria, the massive  state of insecurity revolve  around  migration either  with regard to okada traffic violence and intransigence  in Lagos and beyond,   or the herdsmen incursion  into  the south and middle belt and even the east and south  east  in  search  of food for their cattle and in the process destroying   the farms of farmers whose harvests  provide the bone of our food supply , availability , nutrition and security.

    In the US, immigration management has descended into a political abyss in which the current president is simply cancelling the immigration policies of his predecessor and new ideas are flowing based on racism, Black Lives Matter and White Supremacy.

    In Israel,  the fight between Hamas  and Israel  has its origin in the forceful  acquisition of  Palestinian lands in the 1967 Six Days  war  that Israel  won  and Israel too has  forgotten that its  existence is rooted in migration as it was injected into Palestine in 1948  by  the European powers as a compensation  for the pogrom it suffered  in the  Holocaust, under Germany’s   Hitler  during  the Second  World War.

    These are the issues we shall discuss starting with the okada traffic menace. Let  me  state clearly that  the okada  problem is a nationwide one but  since Lagos remains the centre of attraction  for Nigerians it is its impact in Lagos  that  we shall  consider in terms of public safety and security .

    Let  me again concede at the onset that  okada has invaded a lacuna in transportation in Lagos  created by a  successive  governmental incompetence in providing commensurate transportation   for  the teeming and ever growing population  and  migration into Lagos . As  such,  a ban of okada as a means of transportation  may be viewed  by the larger population of Lagos   as  an  act  of apathy and insensitivity to the plight and transportation needs  of such  people in spite of the danger that  okada  constitutes  both   to  the public  and even to  those it carries,  as an available and ready means of  transport in the sprawling mega city of Lagos .

    Still ,  okada  riders  are mostly   illiterates, aliens and  strangers  in the Lagos  environment who  exhibit  such  hostility to anybody  in their way either human or  locomotive and who  are ready  to fight at the drop of a hat and are  ready to take on even the last passenger  they  have just  dropped , once they  have received their pay  for the ride.

    I  am  sure  that we have more okadas in Lagos right  now  than cars and they  unlike cars are unregistered,  have no numbers, ride  rudely against   the traffic  and  at  night deliberately have  lamps that  make driving hell for other  vehicles  as they  blind them  with their flares as they race against  the direction  of traffic with impunity .

    With such hostile attitude, one  can  imagine the okada riders under arms. That  makes them a potential  armed  militia  already  embedded in the heart of Lagos against  an unwary population mostly surrounded  by a hostile okada armada  that it thinks is providing much  needed transportation need . Yet  it is the duty of the Lagos State  government  to  see this  danger of encirclement by a hostile  mob of okada riders and nip  it in the bud .

    Okadas have been banned in the past but mostly unsuccessfully. The Lagos State government should ban okada and see that its order or law on the ban is executed  to the letter in the public interest . Otherwise the government will be mocked as treating the okada issue   as an idea whose time has come and which no one can stop. That  surely is  a mockery  of governance  and not in the public interest or the safety and security of all  those living  in Lagos and expecting so much  from  a government they  voted to power with their  eyes wide open .

    On the US,  I want to use two  developments  to illustrate the pattern  of our theme of the day . These   are the utterances of a former president on migration and a city mayor on racism. Former US president George Bush  spoke  on the open and close border war between the Republicans who  built walls  to keep  migrants out and the Democrats who asked people  to feel  free to come to the US any time , from anywhere and  stopped building border walls . Bush  who launched a book  he wrote in 2020  said his nation’s  ‘ immigration system  is broken’  because Congress  has failed to act  and that the US , ‘can both be welcoming and insistent on border enforcement ‘ Which  is an  indictment  of the opposing and uncompromising stance of the two  major parties in the US especially  the Biden government which  is for open, uncontrolled borders . But then one must remember that Bush was a Republican president. All   the same, I     side   with   George  Bush   that  the Biden open  border issue can  still  not   be  seen as  an  idea  whose time has come  because  it can still be remedied  and  improved  if not changed altogether .

    While celebrating two years in office the Mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot announced that she would not grant personal interviews to white journalists but to brown and black ones. Her reason was what she called the ‘overwhelming whiteness and maleness’ of the city media .  The mayor is the first black and openly gay mayor of Chicago. She seems to have forgotten that two wrongs do not make a right and like Senator Tim Scott said in response to cancel culture you do not replace one discrimination with another.

    Of course, the city of Chicago deserves the mayor they elected of their own free will and exhibition of their democratic rights. But I really wish them luck as a city as I do not think this mayor knows what she is doing. Certainly new colour discrimination is as  bad  as any colour discrimination and  that cannot be said  to be an unchangeable idea  whose time has come .

    With Israel, it     has been difficult so far  for  the US Biden Administration to rein in the PM of  Israel Benjamin Nethanyahu  and stop the bombing of Gaza . I mentioned my fear of that last week. But who will rein in Hamas launching rockets into Israel incessantly? Definitely not  Iran  which   is an implacable enemy  of  Israel   and the  patron  of Hamas nor Saudi  Arabia which is an American  ally and  so, the people of Gaza bear the brunt of the daily killings . The US must find a way of ending the unfair war and spare the civilized world the sight of daily deadly bombings and deaths. It does not matter how, but the shooting of rockets into Israel and the bombing of a hapless and helpless Gaza must stop immediately.

    Once again- From the fury  of this raging pandemic Good Lord deliver Nigeria .

     

     

  • Recriminations , Diplomacy  and Reality

    Recriminations , Diplomacy  and Reality

    By  Dayo Sobowale

     

    Name calling and finger pointing   are the hallmarks of recriminations globally  . Whether  you are talking of the stand of the 17 Nigerian Southern governors to ban grazing and the agreement   of the Northern Arewa Consultative Forum  – ACF –  with  that   ,  or  the shooting of rockets into Israel  by the embattled Palestinians and the air raids into Gaza  by the Israeli Air Force  ;  with  the call for international  intervention involving diplomacy , you will see clearly that those involved in all  these issues and altercations hardly  see the other side’s  point of view in  their blind haste to  just  make their  point of view  the dominant   topic  to be discussed and given attention .It  is to such issues and attitudes which most times are belligerent ,  rather  than  courteous  ,  or  polite ,   that we address our minds today .

    We  shall look  at issues and events in Nigeria ,  Israel , the USA  and analyse how  politicians in these nations sell their view points while deploring and rubbishing  opposing views  both  nationally and on the international scene .In  Nigeria we shall examine the various  viewpoints on  insecurity , grazing and restructuring . On Israel ,  we take on the latest  disputes between Jews and Israeli Arabs  on forcible ejections of Arabs from their ancestral lands and   the   ensuing  violence  over the rights of both Jews and Arabs to worship on their holy sites at the   ancient Al Aqsa Mosque   in Jerusalem housing such    holy  sites .In  the USA   we examine  the interpretation  of the June 6   2021 Insurrection at the US Capitol , first   by  the  Democrats who  won the presidential  election and  the Republicans  whose candidate lost but charged  that the election was rigged and is moving on in  terms  of that attitude which their opponents  have branded  as the Big Lie , especially  on CNN .

    We  start with our dear Nigeria where insecurity is rife and where grazing has brought hostility like a potential  civil war between the North and South  . Arewa  has responded in kind saying that those who  want restructuring  want  to break up Nigeria .This  is an evolving political culture  emerging from those who  benefit  most  from the lopsided federation that  we run  ,which benefits the North at the expense of the South in all key political  appointments . It  is also a repetition of the retort of the presidential  spokesman  who said those criticizing the government on the pervasive insecurity in the nation are planning a coup .On  insecurity both attitudes represent the best example of the ostrich  with its head buried in the sand thinking no one is seeing it . It  is a misrepresentation of the grim insecurity situation in the nation and is  so  ineffectually diversionary  since the insecurity is still there sticking out willy nily like a sore thumb.

    On  the issue of restructuring , I  doubt  if this Administration  can ever  do that  , as it is like asking it to commit  political  hara-kiri and surrender  its legitimacy which comes from the last  two  elections . Those  calling for restructuring  know this ,  but  still blow hot   on it   anyhow  ,  and   quite  unrealistically  on this  in my view  and perhaps  ,   just  for record purposes. Yet  the injustice and inequalities  they  want rectified  persist and   are  not lost  in plain sight  . I wonder at their capacity to indulge  in’ a dead on arrival ‘ project with a government that  has turned its back on restructuring   and will  not yield  .  Just  as it has not shown willingness  or  hast  to use its  great  might and  military  arsenal  to crush the insurgents , terrorists  and   kidnappers challenging its authority across  the length and breadth of the  Nigerian  nation .

    On  Israel ,  it is difficult  not  to  have sympathy or empathy for the Palestinians who  are the underdogs  in the fight against Israel  whose military is  one of the best   in the world .The Palestinians are   ironically  like the biblical David against  the Israeli  Goliath   but  it is doubtful  if this  Palestinian David  will ever slay this high  tech modern fighting power  of   a  Goliath ,  Israel  , with stones  and rockets , as the biblical David  did . And that  is very  sad . Yet  Palestinian  youths  have   never given  up as they  indeed throw stones at Israeli  tanks  in the many battles that  have killed  far  more Palestinians than  the Israelis  . But  the Israelis   have   their head aches too  diplomatically   and   with the USA . Donald  Trump was a staunch  ally of Israel  and was so chummy with Israel’s PM Benjamin  Netanyahu . But  Trump  is gone and Netanyahu and Israel  are suspicious of   the  new US president  ,  Joe  Biden ,    even  though Biden has already   stated that  Israel   has the  right to defend itself  when  rockets are fired into it from Gaza . So  observers say Israel will  not be hasty in heeding a  call for peace  from the Biden Administration .Which is a transferred suspicion of the Obama Administration as the Israelis  know  too well that the Biden Administration  is  a resurrection of the Obama  one,  in all  ramifications . How  that plays  out diplomatically   is the next  diplomatic drama involving  the new   US     president   Joe  Biden .

    In  the USA,  the Jan  6  2021  protests at the US Capitol  was branded an insurrection from the first  day it occurred . It  was a bad  political  development for the then  president Donald Trump  who asked his supporters to go to the capitol and protest against  the certification of the 2021 US presidential elections which were to certified in terms of electoral  votes in an event  presided over by US Vice President Mike Pence . The  protesters chased out legislators and  they had to be hidden  for  some time .  They  resumed later to do the required constitutional  duty and Trump  had since been vilified  for inciting the commotion widely labeled an insurrection . Some Republicans abandoned Trump  to his fate and condemned him roundly . The leading senator accused him of lying to deceive his supporters  that the election was rigged . But  that was then . The Republican  Party has now recovered  to say that  the Democrats  are  making a mountain out of a mole hill and the disturbance of Jan6  was not an insurrection  bigger than the riots in Democratic  controlled states  where  Antifa  ,and   rioters burnt shops , public buildings , police stations and looted stores   while  the Democrats turned a blind eye and did not  condemn  such destructive  violence .

    Now  the Democratic  media led by the CNN   is  crying foul as Republicans at House  sittings  are rephrasing and rewording   the so called Jan  6 Insurrection  while  the CNN is busy  replaying the violent images that  made  for  the disturbance to be called an insurrection . Now  too,  the CNN is grieving  more passionately than the berieved when the Republicans removed one of their leaders Liz Cheney   who lambasted Trumps’  role at the event and voted for him to be removed .Now  that the Republicans are growing their party around Trump  CNN commentators are alarmed and refuse  to believe Republican leaders who  now say the election of Joe  Biden was legitimate now  , even though they said it was rigged before .Can  the CNN dictate to the Republicans who  they want to lead them when  they  have rallied  round their defeated  leader   Donald  Trump who  said the election was rigged and the CNN branded  that  , the Big Lie ? Surely  the CNN cannot  eat its cake and still have it . It  cannot  be fleeing with  the hunted and still  be hunting with the hunter . A  media  house should be objective in presenting political view points . CNN threw that overboard  in the way it covered the Trump  presidency and the 2020  presidential elections so  unprofessionally and so very partisan . If  it can ,  it should retrace its steps,  if only   at  least    to save  face   and   redeem its  fallen  reputation   for  objective news reporting   and    news  analysis . Once again –From  the fury of this pandemic Good Lord Deliver Nigeria .

  • All hail King Mahrez

    All hail King Mahrez

    By Ade Ojeikere

    In Europe, the game of soccer is beautiful to watch. You can spend hours watching games live at home or at the stadia. You can equally be excited watching recaps of major matches at home or any gadget you choose to watch the matches, yet you will derive the same excitement as if you are watching a live game. Today, winners have emerged in Italy (Inter Milan), Manchester City (England) and in Germany (Bayern Munich).

    Spaniards are fighting to the finish. Three teams Atletico Madrid, their rivals Real Madrid and the dreaded FC Barcelona have made the quest for the La Liga title the toughest in recent times. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona would take the lessons learned from this season’s matches to the transfer market and shop very well to make next season better than what they have seen to date. One man who must be having a swell time this season is former Liverpool FC of England’s striker Luiz Suarez who got the boot from FC Barcelona through a very brief telephone call despite his contributions to the team’s winning fortunes last season.

    Followers of the game were shocked when Suarez was shown the exit door at FC Barcelona. But the Spanish side’s manager Koeman stuck to his guns in spite of entreaties from the club’s fans urging him to do a rethink on Suarez’s sack. Suarez went to Atletico Madrid and raised his game further by scoring goals with aplomb. Suarez returned to the Nou Camp last weekend with Atletico Madrid and troubled his former mates who had a tough time warding off the goal merchant. It was quite a spectacle watching Suarez and Pique trade words and almost moving towards having a fisticuff although Suarez laughed at the scene. The game ended on a barren note with lessons learned on both sides.

    It is the English game that provides all the entertainment and tension both at the top and among the bottom rung teams in the quest to avoid the drop. At the top Manchester City relied on Leicester City to hand the trophy back to them for the third time making the remaining games in the EPL, one to follow as it concerns the European slots. The Foxes beat Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford, the Theatre of Nightmares, sorry of Dreams, although the Red Devils would finish runners-up behind the Citizens.

    Already, Sheffield United, Fulham with four Nigerians who shone during the club’s games and West Bromwich Albion have been relegated. What a pity Sam Allardyce (Big Sam) hitherto tagged the man with the magic wand to rescue teams from being relegated. Hard luck Sam. Nigerians would have to wait until the 2022/2023 season to see if Fulham would return to the elite class with thier countrymen. It is most likely that one or two of them could be poached by newcomers into the elite league next season though Norwich and Watford are returning to the league where they were relegated last season.

    A picture Tuesday night emerged of the club’s manager Pep Guardiola, the team’s captain Fernandinho, chief executive Ferran Soriano and more City staff members celebrating together with a replica trophy and specially made champions T-shirts. It only took a minute or so for the City players to take to social media to rejoice at their achievement, with Raheem Sterling leading the celebrations on Twitter. ”It’s the champions babyyyy”, Sterling said after reacting to the club’s Premier League champions confirmation tweet. Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Ferran Torres followed suit, celebrating their new status as champions of England.

    While the Cityzens’ rivals Manchester United’s players sulked on the pitch on Tuesday night following the 2-1 home loss to the Foxes, Manchester City gave fans a glimpse of the Premier League trophy on the Etihad pitch by posting a video of a drone making its way in and around the 55,000-capacity ground before finishing at the centre circle where the famous trophy sat on top of a podium, dressed in City blue and white.

    What makes the Premier League the most colourful and the most competitive rests with the fact that with three matches to go, only two teams, Red Devils and the winners the Cityzens are sure of the ticket to play in the 2021/2022 UEFA Champions League. This new trend arose on Thursday night when Liverpool beat Manchester United 4-2 at Old Trafford. It means that should Liverpool win all of its remaining four matches and garner 69 points, the loser of the game between Chelsea and Leicester could fall off the Top  Four perch.

    For the soccer game, the end of the season throws up certain puzzles surrounding who the best players, coaches, etc are with different parameters used in picking different winners. Such subtitles as the best striker, best defender, best goalkeeper whose prize would be a golden glove,  best midfielder, best winger, highest goal scorer (men and women), young player of the year, you name them. But it is the best footballer of the year male and female that attracts the fans’ applause and attention the following season.

    Robert Lewandowski easily stands out as the next world footballer of the year with his eyes on breaking Gerd Muller’s 40-goal record in a single Bundesliga season. Lewandowski has scored 39 goals with two matches to the end of the season. He has bagged the Bundesliga top goal-scorer award in five seasons. Indeed, the sixth time of winning this award is just a matter of completing the season.

    Erling Haaland will kiss the headlines during he 2021/2022 season’s transfer with staggering figures thrown at Borussia Dortmund, having discovered gold when they signed Norwegian goal-poacher. With 35 goals and 10 assists in 36 appearances so far – the 20-year-old has more than delivered for the club and currently linked with a move to the biggest teams in the world. Haaland would at best be an also-ran contender for the World Footballer of the Year award. The cap fits Lewandowski looking at the available statistics from the season.

    Frenchman Kylian Mbappe’s citation for this season isn’t rich enough to override Lewandowski’s. Mbappe has scored 35 goals and 10 assists in all the competitions this season. He was pivotal in PSG’s appearance in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League although he wasn’t truly fit for the challenge and it showed in the way the Parisians played. PSG lost the two-legged tie to Manchester City. It should be stated that Mbappe was part of the French World Cup-winning squad and has not disappointed soccer pundits and purists who tipped him for greatness in the game.

    Kevin De Bruyne is another player who deserves a mention. The Belgian has been instrumental to Manchester City’s season with 16 assists so far as they look set to win their first-ever UEFA Champions League having reclaimed the Premier League title from Liverpool.

    Bruno Fernandes is another player that will be in the running for the Ballon D’Or this season following his outstanding contributions for Manchester United since his arrival from Sporting Lisbon. The Portuguese has scored 27 goals with 17 assists in all competitions this season and helped the Red Devils to the Europa League final.

    One good thing about the game in Europe when it comes to picking the best players of the season in the last three years is that the world is beginning to periscope the leagues without limiting it to the duo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. How best can anyone talk about development than this scenario, having witnessed a decade of both players’ dominance of the Ballon D’Or awards. Messi has a rich resume this season but it appears that Lewandoski’s feats rank higher than the Argentines.

    For the African continent, it appears Riyad Mahrez could be crowned the Africa Footballer of the Year going by his contributions to Manchester City’s season, winning the Carabao Cup and the prestigious Premier League trophy. It means that Mahrez’ crowning glory would come if Cityzens lift the UEFA Champions League’s diadem. Riyad Mahrez won his first award in 2016. Of course, Chelsea’s fans would sneeze at this prediction since the game would be played on May 29 in Portugal and the Blues could spoil Cityzens’ fun. Head or tail, football would be the winner.

    Riyad Mahrez has scored 14 goals in all competitions and three of those goals came in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals against Paris Saint Germain (PSG).

    Genk forward Paul Onuachu has scored 34 goals in all competitions this season. Napoli forward, Victor Osimhen has 10 Serie A goals and three assists despite his struggles with injuries and Covid-19 related issues. Simy Nwankwo has grabbed scored 19 goals for Crotone this season in all competitions. Kelechi Iheanacho has notched up 17 strikes for Leicester City this season.

    For Iheanacho, his feats this year with the Foxes may be overshadowed by Mahrez’s contributions to the Cityzens, except Leicester wins today FA Cup final game against Chelsea at Wembley stadium. Chelsea are bad customers when it comes to final day games. The odds favour Chelsea to beat Leicester. But with soccer anything is possible.

  • Imo cabinet and Uzodinma’s olive branch

    Imo cabinet and Uzodinma’s olive branch

    Sentry

     

    LAST Wednesday, Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, dissolved his cabinet, relieving 20 of his 28 commissioners of their duties. He said the dissolution became necessary to re-jig and reenergize the system for maximum productivity.

    But inside sources told Sentry that the move was part of the governor’s efforts towards ensuring peace and strengthening the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

    It was gathered that following widespread consultations within and outside the state, the governor was of the opinion that he needs a new cabinet so as to allow for more input from other stakeholders within and outside the ruling party. This informed the retention of some of commissioners.

    “The governor has a great team. He appreciates all of them and will still be happy to give them opportunities. But there is a great need to open our arms and welcome diverse opinions in the administration of our dear state,” an aide to the governor told Sentry on Thursday.

    The ministries whose commissioners were retained are Finance, Science and Technology, Health, Works, Information, Youths and Sports, Women Affairs and Tourism. We hear that majority of those dropped may not make their way back into the cabinet as the governor is very willing to allow the party, APC chieftains and other interests make suggestions on how the cabinet should be re-jigged.

    Read Also: IPOB’s fatwa on Uzodinma

     

    Edo: Why the  cookies are crumbling

     

    DURING the week, the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) practically declared war on Governor Godwin Obaseki when it reported him to the party’s National Working Committee (NWC). It pointedly called for the resignation of Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu as part of a power-sharing agreement.

    The PDP in Edo also called out some of the governor’s men, accusing them of trying to hijack the party through the back door. “Chief Osaro Idah, Chief Charles Idahosa, Chief Henry Tenebe, Senator Ehigie Uzamere and Mr Theo Okoh are the key culprits here. Edo State PDP will not be cowed into any illegalities by the state government,” the party stated.

    What the party didn’t say is that the said power sharing arrangement was reached before the last governorship election in the state. Sentry gathered that Obaseki’s camp may have agreed to an arrangement that will see Shuaibu quitting the deputy governorship seat shortly after the election for a nominee of PDP leaders to replace him.

    Party sources claim the whole face-off between the two camps is largely about the refusal of Obaseki and his men to abide by the said agreement. But some of the governor’s men are insisting that although there were talks in such direction during the electioneering process, there was no concrete agreement on the matter.

    “Obaseki will never agree to sacrifice his deputy. We didn’t have such agreement,” the source said.

    Many, within and outside the state, are watching the unfolding drama with bated breath.

  • Southern governors provoke controversy on national dialogue

    Southern governors provoke controversy on national dialogue

    UnderTow

     

    FRUSTRATED by the lethargy and intransigence of the federal government in addressing the existential crisis facing Nigeria, lawyer, educationist and eponymous proprietor of the Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Afe Babalola, announced that he would be joining other worried patriots to hold a national dialogue to address the issues fracturing Nigeria. The presidency took the announcement in bad faith, condemning him and many others who advocate a conference, and even suggesting that the call for a national dialogue was treasonous. Presidential spokesmen incredibly anticipated the outcome of the conference and insisted that one of the chief reasons for the national dialogue Chief Babalola was planning was to pass a vote of no confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari. The agenda for the conference was yet to be drawn, and the attendees at the conference remained moot, but a presidential degree of second sight had judged the meeting to be gloomy and foreboding.

    Remaining comfortable, therefore, in its denial and operating under the false impression that Nigeria was blossoming into a species of Utopia under their administration, the presidency carried on, to the dismay of the general populace and detriment of life, limb and finance all over the country. Issues were treated symptomatically, rather than holistically, and secessionist cries soon increased to frightening decibels. It was therefore no surprise that 13 governors of the southern states, and an additional two represented by their deputies, came together last Tuesday in Asaba, Delta State to lend their voices to the call for a national dialogue as a “matter of urgency”. That the governors of the federation have been polarised along southern and northern lines is troublingly reminiscent of pre-Lugardian amalgamation politics. However, Nigeria has since moved beyond that level, and governors often meet, straddling geopolitical and partisan boundaries. Not even the placative constitutional review that the administration dangled before Nigerians last week could prevent the governors’ meeting.

    No one can fault the governors. It is surprising that certain governors from the North and the Middle- Belt, going by their progressive and even radical views, were not in attendance. The meeting and the ensuing Asaba communiqué read by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu must serve as a timely reminder to the presidency that Nigerian politics is ideally organised as a federation and not a unitary government. For too long, component units of the federation have allowed diversity and politicking to disunite them, consolidating federal might to a frightening degree of absoluteness. Now, the governors have come together to pressure the federal government to dialogue on issues it had long since neglected and relegated. The issues are: urgent and bold steps to restructure Nigeria; full enforcement of ban on open grazing and cattle movement from North on foot; president Buhari should address Nigerians on insecurity; concern over Oshodi/Apapa Road gridlock, activation of more ports across the states; concern over economic implication of another Coronavirus pandemic lockdown; review of appointments into government dept/security agencies to reflect diversity; and united Nigeria on basis of equity, justice, peace. It is hoped that somewhere in the national dialogue they will find time to address the disaster that the stagflating Nigerian economy has become.

    Restructuring, had it commenced a long time ago, would have prevented many of the issues Nigeria now grapples with. During the Jonathan administration in March 2014, Justice Idris kutigi oversaw a national conference that came up with a 10,335-page report which the government of the day promised but failed to implement. Had the federal government implemented it as promised by former president Goodluck Jonathan, or had it even commenced the implementation of the conference, then there would have been more hope of a united Nigeria than there is the current public despair of a disunited Nigeria. That Nigeria can accomplish more is evident, but only if the country is restructured with more foresight than was deployed to achieve the Japanese post-war economic miracle. Should the administration approach issues of restructuring with the insincerity of the Jonathan administration and the ungallant show of force that has characterised the current administration, things can get worse than they already are. The level of support that has attended the Asaba communiqué is too extensive for the presidency to ignore and too pointed for it to deflect. The constitution will eventually be rewritten to accommodate emerging realities in Nigeria’s socio-political ecosystem.

    Read Also: Lawan, Gbajabiamila, Adamu: Southern governors wrong

     

    It is that fading hope of a united Nigeria that Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila clung to when they addressed the Asaba communiqué. Said Senator Lawan: “I believe that, as leaders, especially those of us who are elected, should not be at the forefront of calling for this kind of thing because, even if you are a governor, you are supposed to be working hard in your state to ensure that this restructuring you are calling for at the federal level, you have done it in your state as well. What you may accuse the Federal Government of, whatever it is; you may also be accused of the same thing in your state. So, we are supposed to ensure that we have a complete and total way of ensuring that our systems at the federal, state and even local government levels work for the people. We should avoid regionalism. We are all leaders and we are in this together. The solutions to our challenges must come from us regardless of what level of government we are, whether at the federal, state or the local government level. I believe that Nigeria is going to come out of these challenges stronger”.

    His appreciation of the issue is academic. Indeed, the theoretical blame should be shared equally between the state governments and the federal government, but that is not the be all and end all of the matter. The federal government, especially the executive, has found ways to appropriate and vest so much power in the centre that the state governments have become virtually useless. Section 215 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) makes the state governor the chief security officer of the state but the power is heavily derogated by the presidency’s oversight function on such power. How then can such a governor tackle insecurity, especially when many of the governors and the presidency are divided on the issue of open grazing? State governors have to defer to presidential directives on the administration of the economy, and have for a long time felt like puppets and figureheads in their various government houses, hence the call for restructuring and a national dialogue. The senate president only needs to step off his high horse to understand that he offends them by appropriating equal blame to a negligent federal government (of which he is conspicuously a part) and helpless, and sometimes castrated, ceremonial state governments.

    Although the House of Reps has sprung to the defense of its speaker, his controversial statements initially left Nigerians in doubt concerning whether his loyalty lay with the people he represents or the president he had just finished praying with. Almost echoing the senate president, he said: “If truth be told, we all have equal shares in the blame for what is happening today. Whatever challenges we have, we must all come together to make sure that we resolve these issues we are facing. We must imbibe that spirit of oneness, togetherness, unity and love that would take us through this.” As the English say, “Fine words butter no parsnips.”

    Indeed, it is easier to defend the speaker than it will be to defend Senator Lawan, but the expensiveness and urgency of the need for a national dialogue and restructuring make the trading of blames more irksome than desirable. As a matter of fact, contrary to his feeble stance, the federal government, not the state governors, should have been the ones advocating for the national dialogue. The federal government is, however, more willing to take control of natural resources than it is to take responsibility for national woes. This will become manifest if the offensive RUGA policy and the comical Water Bill are juxtaposed with the presidency’s stance on whose job it is to prosecute banditry and kidnapping. No sensible government with a clear path should have allowed the insecurity in the land to fester and gangrene to the odious sore it has become. And why does Sen Lawan preclude regionalism? Should he not allow Nigerians to have the last say, even if they seem nostalgic?

    Despite its insistence, the presidency has not displayed a deep enough understanding of the economic crisis convulsing Nigeria. The wilted giant of Africa was already in a bad place prior to the advent of COVID-19. Following the destruction and impoverishment of the national lockdown and the following EndSARS protests, the presidency continually toyed with the idea of another lockdown, while arbitrarily shutting and opening borders to economic activity and placing bans on legitimate sources of livelihood. Until thinkers with foresight direct the presidency, there is no hope that it has the professional resource to chart a course of recovery for the Nigerian economy. The governors hope that the national dialogue will push the presidency to open more ports and decongest the Apapa/Oshodi gridlock. Those are lofty expectations from a federal government that is too obsessed with oil, including exploring it in regions that do not hold too much prospect.

    Importantly, the hope of Nigerians is that the state governors’ meeting and the resultant resolutions, which were a hair’s breadth away from being a vote of no confidence in the Buhari administration, will shock the presidency into constructive and progressive action to revivify the socio-economic reality of the country. It would be futile for the presidency to exhibit its characteristic intransigence by taking on the governors. It must mull the situation with all the care and depth of reason the problem deserves before venturing to make any replies. When in fact it makes those replies, the hope and expectations of the governors will be that the response comes from the president himself, repentant of his previous obstinacy to calls for restructuring, and armed with cogent plans for the phoenix birth of a new Nigeria; for already the country is in an uproar.

  • When Melaye stirred the hornet’s nest

    When Melaye stirred the hornet’s nest

    Sentry 

    Senator Dino Melaye’s tweet urging people to always seek to improve themselves educationally has stirred the hornet’s nest on Twitter with some of his followers lashing out at both the Kogi-born politician as well as the political class.

    Of recent, Melaye has posted more motivational tweets than political messages on his social media handles, leading many to dub him a ‘coach.’

    So, last Tuesday, when the former Kogi West senator tweeted that “It is better to have a degree that you don’t need than need a degree you don’t have. Please go to school as no time is too late,” it came as one of his now common motivations for those following him.

    Read Also; Buhari should speak to Nigerians over insecurity — Melaye

    While readers promptly responded appreciatively to his charge, the party soon turned rowdy as more and more respondents started taking on him and the political class over what they described as the bastardization of education and academic certificates in the country.

    One wrote: “And after graduation, one gets educated with no job. What’s the need for the degree? You people should better create jobs for those that went to school if you support education.”

    Another simply said: “I hear you. What about those of us who cannot afford to pay school fees?

    Arinze Chukwuneta with @ArinzeChukwune4 posted: “Going to school isn’t the problem sir. A lot of youths out there are unemployed, and you people are still advising us to go and spend more money.”

    From Dr. Tijani Lukman Adebisi, it was a blow below the belt for the former senator. Going sarcastic, he tweeted: “Even if it will take many years to pass a geography course, just try to get a certificate and not so bad to get at the eve of Senate waivers – let my people go!”

  • Communications, power and security

    Communications, power and security

    By Dayo Sobowale 

    Communications   is power’ is a well-known statement and ‘power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely is another. Both form the kernel of our discussion on the above topic today. Misinformation, disinformation, fake news, woke culture, cancel culture; these are   the ingredients and jargon of our information era. My  self-given assignment today  is to show how these innocuous words have shaped our  world for  good  or bad ;  and how they have led to the use, abuse and misuse of power  especially  in the realm of politics  where power is domiciled  in  the elected and unelected governments of the world. I will use some world leaders, events and personalities to illustrate this assignment, and  I assure you  of an interesting outing.

    Donald Trump, America’s former president has just launched his new communications platform after being cancelled to lose his reelection bid and his story on this topic is worth telling, again and again . Nigeria’s Communications and  Digital Economy Minister Isa Pantami   has refused to resign as this column and many Nigerians have asked  him to, because of a terrorist religious  past  but the government spokesman  has defended him  by saying his opponents want to use the cancel culture to  dismiss him from office.

    A  news leak  from Iran showed America’s former Secretary of State John Kerry  giving security information on Israel,  America’s  main ally in the Middle East to Iran’s  present Foreign Minister and it is well known that Iran is an implacable  enemy  of  the US, which   Iran’s  leaders, the Ayatollahs refer as  the American ‘Satan’.

    Again, on the home  front we  have a bizarre  development  where a   government spokesman  attacked  those criticizing the government  on the issue  of security; even as  a religious  leader asked  government to urgently  pay the 100million naira ransom to the abductors of the students of Greenfield University, Kaduna.

    Let  us now separate  the bizarre  from the obvious and unexpected, as we  look  closely  at each  of this developments starting  with  the new communications platform of  Donald Trump  who lost the 2020  presidential  election bid to the new found  power of big tech  companies like Amazon, Twitter and  Facebook and big media like CNN, New  York  Times and  Washington Post .The  big tech  companies blocked the Trump campaign from their platforms and donated handsomely to the Joe Biden  campaign because Trump  had promises to break their monopoly  over technology and stop  their anti-competition strategies  and malpractices . The  big media giants especially CNN simply  turned a blind eye to any  story that  was against their  candidate and disinformed the electorate on Trump’s handling of the pandemic  as well as the progress on having  a vaccine  until  Trump  had lost the election. There is no better example to show that communication is power and that power not only corrupts but absolute power corrupts absolutely.

    We  go now to the past  of the Nigerian Minister for Information and the Digital  Economy who was  born in 1972 and  is  49  years  old . Certainly   what he did as a religious leader is still very recent and not long ago. He is a brilliant technology expert as well as an Islamic scholar who has written books on both topics. There is nothing like cancel culture in asking him to resign for inciting terrorism  in his recent past  as that is  seeking  atonement and accountability for past  religious actions and responsibility  for a man who is  still  relatively  young at less than 50 years of age.

    He was the DG and CEO  for National  Information Technology Development Agency   from 2016  to  2019  when he was appointed a minister . Indeed,  there should be an investigation on how  he became CEO   of  our major technology  development  institution given  his religious affiliation to extremist fundamentalists  like Boko  Haram now ravaging our North East  with equipment said to be better than those  of our  army. Certainly both in the past and even  right now, the minister must have  affinity and  empathy  for Islamic extremists, and ideologists ,  if he is  still not one ,  and there is reason  to  find out if  our  technology  deployment  and   strategy  against terrorism have   not been compromised or betrayed on account of this . A word is enough for the wise.

    Similarly,  former US Secretary  of State  John  Kerry  should be investigated for  giving intelligence on Israel to the Foreign Minister of Iran who said  he was shocked  by the unexpected gesture given American  well  known commitment to Israeli  security. But  since Kerry  has just  been given a top assignment as  America’s Climate  chief and is a key  member of the new Biden administration, I doubt if this treachery on the diplomatic  front,  which  is akin  to Russian Collusion that  was used to  harass  the Trump  administration from the beginning to the end, will  not  be investigated  by the Biden administration .

    We end  up on the home front with the bizarre  and the unexpected on this information and misinformation exercise. Certainly it   is misinformation to say that those who criticize the government on insecurity are planning a coup. If,  as said  by the spokesman,  the DSS gave the information, then the DSS is in a position to nip the coup in the bud . That is the duty of the DSS and that really  is confidential  information not meant  for public dissemination .To  say  that those who criticize the government are seeking a coup is fake news . It is just like the Cancel Culture wrongly invoked to say that Pantami should not go. It is simply a misuse of power and misinformation. Government should live with criticism in good faith and act positively to remedy the security impasse and conundrum. It is intolerant to raise the spectre of a coup instead.  That   is  missing the point and is a fallacy .

    Even  more bizarre  was the report  that Sheikh Ahmad  Gumi   asked that the CBN should  pay the 100million naira to the kidnappers of the students  of the Greenfield University  or they  would be killed .The  authority for Gumi’s  bizarre order to the CBN is one of the fathers of the abducted students . Given the spate of abduction in the country the   CBN treasury will soon be turned over to kidnappers  as the violent  trade  has become lucrative . But  why did Gumi mention the CBN and did  not mention the government which  has  authority  over the CBN ?  Certainly Gumi feels  he is the government and the government should call him to order to stop his usurpation of power and the contempt  for the government  on this matter. It  is  dangerous  to submit to the blackmail of criminals , abductors and kidnappers at any level  and in whatever guise .

    Again, we say that  it is the duty of the government  to secure the safety of the lives and property of  all Nigerians and  it is not expected to open  the vaults of our CBN to  kidnappers and marauders at the behest of religious  leaders . That is setting  a dangerous  precedent . It  certainly   is a step too far .

    Once  again  From the fury of this  pandemic Good Lord Deliver Nigeria .

  • Ayade becomes beautiful bride

    Ayade becomes beautiful bride

    Sentry

    Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State is no doubt a beautiful bride sought many, especially within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Sources close to him says the governor intends to make use of the current attention he is enjoying to better the lot of the party in his state.

    In the last few weeks, amidst rumours that he had concluded plans to dump PDP and join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), leaders and stakeholders of the opposition party have been showering attention on Ayade to dissuade him from defecting.

    During the week, Ayade played host to the leadership of the PDP Governors’ Forum in Calabar. Reports claim the governors were in town to ‘rub minds on some issues bothering on party unity. Sentry, however, gathered that the parley was another opportunity for PDP leaders to appeal to Ayade not to jump ship.

    A couple of weeks before then, some party leaders were in the state to ‘visit’ the governor. Feelers were that the visit was to beg Ayade to shelve any plan of joining APC.

    Reliable sources say the governor is telling PDP leaders and colleague governors the same thing: he wants all forms of external interference in the running of the party in his state to stop, if he is to hearken to the plenty pleas.