The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Succession, meddling and politics

    Dayo Sobowale

     

    THE  news  that the incumbent Nigerian President  Muhammadu Buhari   has  no plans for a third term may  surprise the international  community but it  certainly came as no surprise to Nigerians. This  is largely  due to the president’s character   and image as a man of integrity who  will not tamper with our constitution that prescribes two terms for any elected government.  Surely,  as some   have inferred,     it  has nothing to do with lessons learnt from  the aborted third term bid  of one of his predecessors. Compare  that with what  is going on in the US where  the incumbent President Donald Trump  started campaigning for the 2020   election to succeed  himself  a day   after he was sworn in in 2016.  While in the Nigerian scenario  the president opened the door in an orderly manner for competition to succeed him to unravel,  Trump breached all   protocol and ethics  in  beginning his succession campaign  and nobody  in the US raised  a voice.  It  is my intention today to bring focus on the US ‘ meddlesomeness in other  nation’s  affairs with impunity,  while it has no  political   or ethical  platform  to  put   its  own     house,  which  is its political  system, in order.

    I  intend  to   showcase  this by looking at events in Hong  Kong and Iraq  where political  protests  have been violent and endless in recent times,   or  even   days and one can  see  American   hand  and encouragement behind these unrests. I  will  compare this with the situation in Nigeria  which  somehow  is calmer and less explosive than the  American situation,  where a president trying to succeed himself is facing the prospect of Impeachment  at home while sowing the seeds of democratic discord  and violence abroad. Yet  there is  no denying that the succession  race in Nigeria even though undeclared yet,  has started in earnest and  members of the ruling party  know   which direction to turn to for  a leader to succeed the president who  has blown  the whistle for his succession by  declaring that he will not run in 2023. I  also  intend to peruse how  former  President  Barak  Obama handled  his succession  in both  party and nation  to see what  can  be learnt from that, both in Nigeria and the US by the Democratic Party in  power in Obama’s  era  and the APC in power in Nigeria now.

    Events  in both  Iraq and Hong Kong  show  the ugly  side of democracy  when protests  descend  to   violence   and   anarchy  and law enforcement becomes ineffective leading to  a breakdown of  law  and order.  We saw  both on display in both Iraq  and Hong  Kong in the global  village our world  has become thanks  to information technology. But  the US  is  the instigator and promoter in both places in the name of promoting liberty  and freedom inherent  in the concept and ideology  of democracy.  This  week the US President signed into law  with the full backing  of the US Congress  a law  that  literally backs the protesters in Hong Kong by tying  the hand of  China  against sending the Chinese  army   to Hong Kong to  stop the protests  and restore law and order in a nation  that has  been  rioting since March this  year.  Although  China has called the American interference ‘ bullying  ‘there  is  no denying that it  will  not do the needful  to contain  the violent  anarchy in Hong Kong because of the trade deal  it is negotiating with the US.

    In  Iraq the  protests  are against a corrupt Shiite  political  elite  supported by Iran and the people mostly  young people and  Shiite  are calling for an end to corruption and foreign interference in Iraq  by  the Ayatollahs in Iran. There  is rampant violence and instability in Iraq now and  some  20 protesters were shot in an holy  city this week. Yet,  before the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 Saddam  Hussein, a Sunni  Muslim which is a minority   sect  to the Shiite  in Iraq , provided stability as part of the US geopolitical  policy  of creating  peace and stability in that part of the Middle East. The  2003 Iraqi  invasion of George Bush Jnr blew  that apart by removing Saddam on  the  false premise of having weapons of mass destruction and the ambitious plan of planting  democracy,  which brought the majority Shiite, allies of Iran whose  leaders  called the US the Great Satan,   into power in Iraq.  The  planting of democracy in Iraq destroyed  the  geopolitical stability in the area and  led to  the rise of ISIS which  the US and Iraq claimed  to    have defeated at great human  and  material  costs just  recently. In  Iraq  the cost of democracy has  been  enormous, violent and murderous  but the US has been  the ready  and willing   midwife, house  keeper  and sponsor, whilst  Iraqis  are  being killed daily by the people they  voted to power in democratic  elections.

    Let  us now look at lessons to be learnt from how Obama handled his succession and what is about to happen in Nigeria in  terms  of succession.  I    stated before that Obama  was  not    comfortable   that Hillary  Clinton could win the Democratic  party’s  nomination and  succeed   him  and I will show  why. His  Vice President then,  Biden, the leading contender now for his party, wanted to succeed Obama. But his boss  forced his hand to concede to Hillary at a White House Press conference.  Then Biden insisted that whoever must  be the party’s flag bearer must  campaign on the Obama legacy.  That  was  the albatross    that  Hillary carried and in addition to being branded’ reckless ‘by the FBI she lost the 2016  presidential  election. Trump  gained favor  with the US electorate in 2016  because  they were fed up with the Obama legacy on which she was forced to campaign by Biden  who  is the front runner for the party in the 2020 election. How  Biden  himself will  succeed where Hillary failed with the Ukraine saga involving his son unfolding in  Trump’s Impeachment  process will  be the wonder of the world in this 2020 US presidential  elections.

    In  the Nigerian  scenario the situation is a bit  cloudy   but  every  cloud has its silver  lining . Between  the two main parties, namely the  PDP  and the party in power the APC,   a lot of water  has passed under  the bridge   since  the 2015  presidential   elections. The PDP when  in power   thought it could rule for ever and got swamped with arrogance and corruption and is now not only rudderless but leaderless . I wonder on what platform it could stage a comeback in  2023  as it has been largely swallowed  by the  APC. It  is as if the PDP  cannot claim to be a credible  alternative to the APC which  is battling with massive insecurity and  trust  problem  with the Nigerian  electorate. The ace the APC holds  however  is that the President is not likely  to interfere with his succession  as Obama did and  Trump  has  been  doing since 2016. That  leaves the election and reelection machinery  of the APC intact for 2023. There is  no doubt  that  the Party knows the architect of the parties’ two last presidential  elections. The  2023  elections should   put an end to the era of political    surrogates   and substitution  and will  be the election that  will  remove the  mask from the face  of  Lagbaja   to  reveal  that  of the  Khalifa or successor.

    Once again,  long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

     

  • N3bn election largesse causes stir in PDP

    Sentry

    The governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states have come and gone, but the dust they raised may take some time to settle.

    A N3 billion largesse a governor doled out to some influential members of the party in Abuja is causing a stir as some aggrieved party members are clamouring for sanctions against the recipients of the said sum.

    Although it was difficult to know who got what, Sentry learnt that the errant party henchmen actually demanded for N6 billion to facilitate the victory of the party’s candidate but got N3 billion as advanced payment.

    It was not clear at press time whether the governor in question would be willing to pay the outstanding sum with the party’s loss of the election or demand a refund of the sum already paid.

    But it is more likely that the influential members would not get more than they have received even if they will not have to make a refund, because the governor who gave out the money is said to be peeved that the party’s National Working Committee has been “unduly quiet” about the results of the elections.

  • Bayelsa election highlights Wike, Dickson’s perennial rivalry

    Sentry

    One of the highpoints of the just concluded governorship election in Bayelsa State is the unending rivalry between the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, and his Bayelsa State counterpart, Seriake Dickson. It is a proof of the fluid nature of politics that the two governors swapped camps in the build-up to the election, supporting political actors they had previously opposed.

    It will be recalled that in the election of national officials of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the party’s national convention on May 21, 2016, Wike supported the candidacy of Prince Uche Secondus while Dickson rooted for the party’s former National Deputy Chairman, Chief Olabode George. Secondus eventually won the election and became the party’s national chairman.

    Then came the presidential primaries of the party in Port Harcourt on October 7, 2018 and Dickson supported the candidacy of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar while Wike was all out in support of the current Sokoto State governor, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal. Atiku turned out victorious and picked the party’s presidential ticket.

    But the rivalry between the two Niger Delta governors did not end there. In the build-up to the just concluded governorship election in Bayelsa State, Governor Wike was said to have worked with former President Goodluck Jonathan as both of them rooted for former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Timi Alaibe to pick the governorship ticket of the PDP while Dickson supported the candidacy of Douye Diri, who eventually became the party’s candidate.

    Sentry learnt that few days to the governorship election, there was a meeting between Jonathan and Wike, where the two statesmen perfected a plan to deal with Dickson. It was gathered that the poor showing that the PDP candidate had in Ogbia, the local government area Jonathan comes from, was a fall out of the meeting.

    Ironically, during his time as President, Jonathan had supported Dickson to oust the then Governor Timipre Silva, became the main backer of APC candidate and winner of the just concluded election, David Lyon. It is yet another testament to the fluid nature of politics.

  • Post-election row hits APC

    Sentry

    Given its victory in the just concluded governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states, the camp of the All Progressives Congress ought to be bustling with excitement. But while party members in the affected states are happy with the turn of events, it is not exactly the case in the party at the national level.

    Some influential individuals within the ruling party were alleged to have funded one of the governorship candidates of the PDP. One of such sponsors, who hails from the South-south, was said to have been motivated by petty jealousy, as he feared that Timipre Silva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and main backer of APC candidate David Lyon, would claim credit for the latter’s victory.

    One of them was said to have given the PDP governorship candidate in question the sum of N500 million; an action said to have infuriated some APC members from the South-south, who are now bent on reporting the culprits to the Presidency for them to take due notice in the calculations for 2023.

    Although Sentry could not confirm the payment of the said sum at press time, the allegation is nonetheless a threat to harmony in the ruling party.

  • Bello and Lyon as APC’s new political totems

    UnderTow

    Due to the vivid impressions they created in the November 16 governorship election, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) judged were convincing enough to enable them be declared elected, both Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and David Lyon of Bayelsa State have underscored and energised the quaint new politics and ethics of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Mr Bello, according to INEC, beat all rivals, including and especially his closest rival, Musa Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); and David Lyon also defeated, among other candidates, Duoye Diri of the PDP. APC leaders — from the president downwards — are ecstatic about the electoral feats attributed to the duo by the electoral commission. Both governors-elect are themselves thrilled that they had been declared victorious, in the case of Mr Bello, for another four years, and in the case of Mr Lyon for a first term as governor. They will be sworn in early next year.

    If the APC is disturbed by the victories they grabbed in Kogi and Bayelsa, they have not given any indication to that effect. The governors-elect and party leaders have suggested that their victories are a call to the party to entrench itself. In particular, in the case of Mr Lyon, Bayelsa party leaders suggest that winning the state would give their party a foothold (which they misrepresent as a footprint) in the oil-rich state. They see the state as a cash cow, not a prospective developmental lodestar. Though the same APC leaders have been less strident in celebrating their candidate’s victory in Kogi, they have nevertheless acted and spoke self-assuredly and confidently about the future of their party.

    Speaking on Channels Television, Kogi’s Mr Bello dismissed insinuations of a contrived victory or of his non-performance in his first term. He indicated very clearly what his second term would look like and what it would portend for the future of the APC. Sneering at sceptics, he argued: “All these reports of me owing salaries are lies. Past governors of Kogi State were owing salaries starting from Audu to my immediate predecessor.

    Kogi state is not owing any dime at the state level; what is left is the ten percent from the previous government.” He had done well, he said, in his first term, and therefore deserved re-election. He poured scorn on the import of Kaduna State governor kneeling to beg Kogites before the election, facetiously declaring, “As for El-Rufai kneeling, he was begging that Kogi people should forgive Bello for ensuring security and ensuring the state was peaceful and not because he could not pay salaries.” The governor’s logic may be warped and risible, but he has never dissuaded himself from proudly dishing out stuffs like that to the incredulous public.

    Continuing, and in particular referencing the violence that attended the poll, he argued:  “After I was declared winner, a PDP thug stabbed somebody and ran into the house of their women leader, but he was caught and dealt with. My deputy governor-elect’s wife was shot at but thank God she didn’t die, the police are looking into it and would bring the culprits to book.” Here he was defensive rather than remorseful and empathetic. On the whole, here is how he summed up the poll that has returned him to office: “The conduct of the election was quite very credible, a level-playing field was provided and it was free and fair.

    In every election, there is bound to be one issue or the other and you can’t take a pocket of issues to judge the general conduct of the election. Regarding the comment of the civil society organisation, they are entitled to their own opinion but let us know the parameters with which they are judging this election. How many polling units did they visit out of 2,548 polling units, 239 wards and 21 local governments across the difficult terrains of this state? How many people have they reached out to? Have they interviewed the electorate? So what are their yardsticks?”

    Indeed, more telling is the APC chairman’s opinion of the Kogi victory. Mincing words, without appearing to do so, Mr Adams Oshiomhole declared: “I think that for analysts and keen observers of Nigeria’s politics, particularly the geo-political politics, (whatever that means) you will agree that the victory of Yahaya Bello in Kogi State represents many things for those who truly believe that Nigerian politics should move away from sentiments, to dealing with people for who they are rather than where they come from. So, for us in the APC, we are very proud and we presented him to the president.

    The president was very proud, of course he congratulated him; he was happy to see his certificate and he has encouraged us to recognize that the reward for hard work as they say is more work. And I am sure that governor Yahaya Bello having passed through the learning curve is going to approach the second term with all the vigour with eye on posterity and legacy marks in the development of Kogi state.” It is engaging to see how Mr Oshiomhole said so much so little. Put differently, it is clear how he restrained himself nearly so expertly by asserting and defending the victory they have claimed in the Kogi State poll in terms that saw him admitting very little. Even for so uppity and definitive a chairman, the last may not have been heard from him on the Kogi and Bayelsa polls.

    Somewhat differently, the less cocky Mr Lyon considers his victory as dynamically incontrovertible. Said the governor-elect, his statement very likely edited for finesse by reporters: “I thank INEC for its commitment towards the election in spite of pressure to do otherwise. To all the people of Bayelsa, this is the time to come together to build our dear state; my victory at the poll is for the people and I am assuring you, my people, that I will not fail you. The APC led administration will be for a total change which Bayelsa is going to be witnessing in the next few months; my belief in this context is that everyone is a winner. Let us come together and ensure that the state is developed and there will be security for investors.” Buttressing the governor-elect’s enthusiasm, party chairman, Mr Oshiomhole raucously declared the APC victory in the Bayelsa governorship poll as deserving and indisputable.

    Minister of State for Petroleum and former Bayelsa governor, Timipre Sylva, was philosophical in assigning  meanings and values to the Bayelsa poll victory, a least as far as the APC is concerned. With flourish he describes it as a watershed. According to him: “We are happy with this victory because for us it is very significant. This gives our party a footprint (he probably means a toehold or foothold) in the Niger Delta, which is very key to us. It gives us more of a national outlook; we have always been a national party but this gives us even a bigger national outlook.

    I have always said that if our party doesn’t have this much of a footprint in the breadbasket of the country, it was not too good for us. But now we have it and I want to assure you that from a small seed, the biggest tree will grow. From here we will gradually grow the party in the south-south and the southeast. APC is a good product just like our governor and we intend to sell that good product in the whole of the south-south and the southeast.” Many of his claims and assignations are of course contentious, but in the flush of victory, who is to deny him his extraordinary flights of fancy?

    Whether anyone likes it or not, going forward, the APC may have already recognised how easy it is to secure electoral victory by any means possible. Bayelsa and Kogi may become, for the party, the new political totems, one which clears the way for future aggrandising politics, one devoid of scruples and laced with ethical booby traps. As President Muhammadu Buhari himself said in reference to the controversies he believed festooned his party’s poll victories, the losers must channel their grievances democratically by petitioning the courts. But he doubtless saw any effort in that direction as futile or superfluous.

    The Bayelsa and Kogi polls were the hardest for the party to win in recent times. The way the party sees it now, future polls will present a far lesser challenge to their uncanny expertise and effortless propaganda. The APC may not be as popular as they hope, and their candidates in the last polls probably not as spectacular as they had set out to get, but they now know how to get water out of a rock. Soon, they will be walking on water.

  • Power, values and corruption

    Dayo Sobowale

    I recall a popular Lagos  saying that  roughly translates to the conclusion that when you  see a slanted load on a k-legged person’s head,  the  fault is  not at the top, but the bottom.  I embellish that with another wise saying that   notes   that  when the fish is rotten, the fault is from the head.  These wise  cracks are also in a way scientific, in that they are based on empirical, observational  facts  and they  form the  basis   of my analysis of the topic of the day  from the various events that happened  in the world this week. I  intend to be coldly analytic and avoid   sentiment  because the issues involved are important and sensitive for the survival of ethical  standards and democratic values, which should   drive good  governance,  peace and prosperity in our time and age , especially in Nigeria.

    I  will  illustrate my   observations today with events in the US, Nigeria,  the UK, and Israel. In  the US there  is a  hostile,  legislative    albeit  verbal civil war,  going on in the US House of Representatives in the name of the Impeachment proceedings against the 45th  US president, Donald  Trump.  In  Nigeria the Nigerian President  who  got elected on an anti corruption reputation  and integrity, finally  found  his voice  and spoke out against  the waste of budget  padding with lawmakers additional  costs on budgeting, which has slowed down the economic  progress of Nigeria in the last ten years. In  the UK the coming Brexit   election of December 12 has  pitted a very socialist Labor campaign   against  a  high   spending  Tory one in a manner that both parties seem  to have thrown caution on cost  control and well  tried  austerity measures to  the wind in trying to woo  the British electorate,  one  which  has become disenchanted  with the last Parliament and politicians in general,   over the  last  Parliament’s foot dragging and dilly dallying  on   the  manner  of  implementation  of  Britain’s exit from the EU .In   Israel  where  an election was held recently and where the  result  was close, both  front runners  have not been  able to form  a government  and   now  the PM, Benjamin Netanyahu has been found guilty of corruption,  but has accused  his prosecutors  of  a coup  against   his person and government.

    Before going to the issues involved in today’s analysis let  me put on note,  the underlying sovereign reputation of these  nations in the comity of nations,  as well  as a brief observation on how they came to the present dispensation.  We  start  with the US which  is the world’s leading presidential  system with the principle of separation of powers that    seems to  be falling to pieces in the Trump presidency with  the Impeachment  proceedings showing clearly  that the US may  not really be  USA  but  a  very  polarized and Divided States of America- DSA.  In  Nigeria the reputation of politicians have always been  that of very corrupt leaders and even right now former  high  ranking  officers and   military  governors literally run the political system  especially  the legislature.  And   even though  the present president has waged an  anti  corruption war based on his honesty  and integrity, there is no denying that corruption is fighting back, even  as more revelations show that  it is becoming more difficult for politicians and bureaucrats to steal and siphon public fund under the  Buhari Administration.

    In  the case of the UK and the Brexit election, it  is clear  that Britain  can  no longer cut its coat according to its cloth or size. The cost of running the British Empire and  Colonialism  has made immigration   a political  nightmare  in  Britain and has led to Xenophobia and Islamophobia  culminating  in the Brexit referendum of  2016   and the next  election of December 12, 2019. In  the case of  Israel  the reputation of that  nation is that of a bully  state of the Arab  world   in the Middle  East  now getting  even  more  violent with  the support of the US  President   Donald   Trump  in making life  more difficult  for Palestinians  and making peace between  Israel  and the   Palestinians  an  impossibility in the Trump  era.

    Let  us  now look  at the issues involved in each nation,  starting with the US   where  you only  need to look at  the opening statements of the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, a Democrat  and see  how violently it portrays the US  president to witnesses  and  how it encourages and glorifies pro Democrats  witnesses to  the world and its audience even before they have uttered  a word.  Of  course the ranking Republican  in turn characteristically runs down the Democrats on their Russian interference allegations, the lies and insults on Trump culminating in what  he calls a  phony Impeachment process   that  he  thinks  lacks  merit  and is aimed at disturbing Trump  in running a government  he was elected to run by the US electorate,  and even making sure that he does not get elected in 2020.  Either  way the bitterness has so  deteriorated to the level  of  real  personality  clash and hatred  amongst  the members of the Intelligence  Committee and it is difficult  to  see a peaceful resolution of the process before it goes to the Senate  where Trump’s  Republican  hold  the ace . Definitely  in the US  Lower  House for  now,  one can say  that between the Republicans and the Democrats on this Impeachment process,  there  is no love lost and   it is ‘every  body  for  himself  and   the  devil take the hindmost  ‘in the pursuit  or  defence,  of  President Trump on Impeachment.  That  however is not the spirit of the separation of powers and checks and balances  supposedly   inherent  in the US  Constitution, as the US founding fathers  spelt  out at the beginning of the American  Republic.

    In  Nigeria the report of the ICPC   together   with   the Office   of the  Secretary    to the government   showed  clearly  that  the  anti  corruption  body  has  its hands  full  in exposing corruption in all arms of  government  in Nigeria. The  murk  of  corruption is really  deep  and the fact that the President  can  tell the legislature that it has nothing to  show  for the over   one trillion naira it has spent on constituency  projects it has forced on the government to have the budget passed, over the last ten years,  showed  that  the government  is  not succumbing to blackmail and has not  gone  to sleep while the thatched house  of  governance  and budgeting in   Nigeria,   is on fire.

    In   Britain the  new election has given the Labor and  Conservative  Parties new opportunities to go back  to their ideological  roots  and even  to adapt  or change their political  course to get power at the elections. Labor is brazenly socialist  and  almost  Marxist in  terms of   planned  nationalization of parastatals  and infrastructure. This is in contrast   to the privatization and marketization of the Thatcher era  that  made the   fear of  nationalization  an  issue  that gave her power then. The  Tories  have promised to spend money on welfare like they have not  done before. To  me pragmatism  and reality  have fused on  either side  and the  British  people will  profit  from this Brexit  or No  Brexit  election of December 12, no  matter who  wins.

    With  regard to Israel it  is clear  that Benjamin Netanyahu  is digging in against the rule of law  and the political  establishment in Israel. It  is clear  he has learnt  a few things from his mentor in Washington who is the US President. Show  me your friends and I will tell you who you are is an applicable  saying here. But  can he last and can  he act with the same confidence that has made him the longest serving Israeli  PM? Corruption corrodes authority and  leadership,   and  Netanyahu knows his people  are battle hardened and will  not cower in challenging his mettle  and integrity  to lead  Israel with the sword  of Damocles of Corruption  hanging around his neck. Just  as that of Impeachment  has become a luggage  of  contraband on the back of his mentor in Washington. Once  again long live  the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

  • Bayelsa, Kogi and the moral high ground

    Segun Ayobolu

    Which of the two dominant political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), can claim to occupy the moral high ground as regards its conduct in the just concluded November 16, governorship elections? Unfortunately, there is none in my view. In Bayelsa State, Governor Seriake Dickson has vehemently condemned the conduct of the exercise alleging that soldiers of the Nigerian Army as well as compromised electoral officials colluded with the APC to rig the polls in favour of David Lyon through intimidation, violence and fraudulent thumb printing of ballot papers. He has thus called for the outright cancellation of the votes in large swathes of the state and the PDP candidate, Senator Douye Diri, is most certainly proceeding to the Election Petition Tribunal to seek redress as is always the case in Nigeria after elections.

    But then, Dickson has minuscule moral right to complain as he also used the whole weight of state power, particularly the state’s financial muscle as incumbent governor, to rail road his candidate through the PDP governorship primaries. And even in picking the Deputy Governorship candidate, the governor refused to take into account the interests of other critical stakeholders in the state, including former President Goodluck Jonathan. Dickson is thus not protesting because he believes in the integrity and credibility of elections as a deeply held personal value. Rather, his lamentation stems from the fact that this time around, his party was contesting from a position of weakness with the APC in control of the centre and thus being able to exert greater influence over the security and electoral agencies in addition to enjoying better fiscal fecundity.

    What happened in Bayelsa was a case of a substantial number of disaffected PDP leaders and members voting against their party with the APC as the beneficiary. There is absolutely nothing that the APC did in Bayelsa last Saturday that the PDP had not done throughout the Niger Delta during elections since 1999. The reaction of prominent PDP members and indeed the general public in Bayelsa to the outcome of the election indicates that the polls, despite its flaws, reflected the will of a majority of the electorate. It is difficult to sympathize with Dickson.  As my colleague, Festus Eriye, noted in his column on Wednesday, our all powerful state governors are not invincible deities after all whose command must be obeyed in elections. The incremental demystification of incumbent Chief Executives in future elections at both the federal and state levels is a necessary condition for the accelerated positive development of our electoral process.

    I am unaware of any analyst who claimed before Kogi’s governorship election that Yahaya Bello deserved to be re-elected for a second term based on his performance. His deliverability as regards the dividends of democracy was near zero.  But hardly are elections won anywhere in Nigeria simply on the basis of performance. Factors like ethnicity and other sectional considerations, religion, financial power, superior capacity for violence, party loyalty, and degree of control over the electoral umpire among others weigh much higher than performance in determining voter behavior generally in Nigeria. Kogi was thus not an exception in this regard. It is just that Bello outclassed the mediocrity of his predecessors particularly because of his inability to pay workers salaries for prolonged periods plunging thousands of families into misery in a largely civil service state.

    Journalists who covered the election in Kogi with whom I was constantly in touch informed me of the unprecedented level of violence that characterized the election in the state. This was confirmed by several groups of election officials and much of the chaos was also shown on television and ran viral on social media platforms. There is just no way free, fair and credible elections could have taken place in that atmosphere. Could Bello have still won the election without the widespread violence that clearly aided his victory? It is doubtful. The governor’s level of incompetence in terms of performance is highly despicable and condemnable. However, as noted by Eriye, he demonstrated admirable political ability in making amends in aggrieved quarters and cobbling together a coalition of a good number of his former fierce foes.  Even then, winning for Bello in genuinely free and fair elections would have been a camel passing through the eye of a needle.

    Given his combustible temperament and evidently force-inclined disposition, the APC leadership must have considered it a huge risk to field another candidate to contest against Musa Wada in the election with Bello still on seat as the incumbent. There is no indication that Bello cares a hoot about the APC as a party. His loyalty is clearly to President Muhammadu Buhari as a person. In fact, he had reportedly effectively left the APC after losing in the primaries for the 2015 elections and it was only the late Abubakar Audu’s death that landed the plum seat of governor on his laps on the APC platform.

    Had he been denied the return ticket, Bello is the kind of person who would have brought the house down on the party in the election and actively worked for the victory of the opposition in a state where the APC cannot pretend to have the kind of sturdy roots the party has in a state like Lagos. No wonder, the party treated him with kid gloves and an ordinarily arrogant and unyielding Nasir El-‘rufai went on his knees at the campaign rally in Lokoja to beg residents of Kogi to give Bello a second chance. One would have thought that Bello himself would have been flat on his belly in remorse on that occasion. No sir. He was ramrod on his feet, his face as inscrutable as ever! Na dem sabi.

    The PDP’s Musa Wada is also obviously on the way to the Election Petition Tribunal to contest the outcome of the election. Surely, the party has a more solid case to present in court in Kogi than is the case in Bayelsa. But will the courts overturn Bello’s victory? It is highly unlikely going by the trend of election case verdicts in courts in recent times. In any case, here again, the PDP has little moral capital to credibly condemn the manipulation of the elections in Kogi. For, even its own primaries were marred by violence and alleged subterranean manipulations, that made it impossible for the party to contest the election as united as the APC was despite Bello’s gross performance-deficit. And the PDP had been no less eager to deploy its control of the security forces to advantage in elections, just as it alleges the APC did in Kogi, during its 16 years in power.

    But then, does the PDP years of electoral perfidy through its control over the coercive and electoral agencies justify the continuation of the same trend under the APC? The answer is an unambiguous no. For, when it first contested for power at the centre in 2015, the APC presented itself as a party of change. One would have thought that the promised change would also include radical and positive changes in the institutions, processes and mechanisms of conducting elections. What has happened however is that the heavy monetization, outrageous militarization and disputed credibility of elections continues apace even under the APC. Some would argue that the situation has worsened considerably particularly under Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s hugely unimpressive leadership of INEC. The party’s Next Level Agenda must, therefore, be revamped to bring in the implementation of urgent electoral reforms to sanitize elections and raise them to technical and moral levels far higher than obtained under the PDP as an urgent priority.

    If the APC plans to rely on the kind of strong arm tactics witnessed in Kogi to win the next set of elections in Ondo and Edo states, it would have set itself on the self-destructive path trod by the dominant NPC/NNDP coalition in the first republic, NPN in the second republic as well as PDP in the first 16 years of this dispensation. Surely, the ruling party’s leaders are far smarter than to allow history to repeat itself in this regard.

    It is curious that the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, has claimed that the acts of violence perpetrated particularly in Kogi State last Saturday were by fake policemen. So, fake policemen could operate fully armed to disrupt elections in a carefully planned and organized manner in large parts of a state to which the IGP had deployed about 32000 policemen to guarantee security during the elections? Surely, the mastermind behind the admirably efficient operation of these fake policemen in Kogi must be urgently sought and identified – but not for punishment. No. The IGP urgently needs his services as a Special Adviser on security during elections.

  • For Akpeyi, Awaziem et al, it’s time to go

    Ade Ojeikere

     

    Moments after the Crocodiles of Lesotho opened scoring on Sunday in Maseru in one of the qualification games against Nigeria’s Super Eagles for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations’ ticket, with Eagles wearing the all-green jersey, a superstitious friend of mine said: ‘’ Go and write it down, Lesotho will shock Nigeria with this green jersey. It brings bad luck to the Eagles.’’ I was dumbfounded. I promised him not to watch soccer again, should Lesotho beat Nigeria with our armada of stars.  What has a jersey got to do with winning soccer matches? What won’t some fans say in the name of football?

    I didn’t call my friend after Nigeria whipped Lesotho 4-2. For sure, voodoo has no role to play in football. I can understand jinxes (having jinx teams), not juju or anything else influencing the outcome of matches. I was disturbed that Lesotho could open scoring against a star-studded Eagles side. But that underlined the character of our team’s defence,  which has many bench warmers and a few others who make cameo appearances for their European clubs. I’m still puzzled about Gernot Rohr talking about the inactivity in the domestic league. Yet, he keeps inviting benchwarmers and/or recuperating players from European teams to man the Eagles’ defence.

    The National team isn’t meant for average players, but the exceptional ones  who make their marks once they are fielded.Players, such  as Daniel Akpeyi, Chidozie Awaziem, Brian Idowu, Tyronne Ebuehi, Shehu Abdullahi, Jamiu Collins, et al, should be eased out to allow for new recruits, preferably from the local league. Why not? Friday Elaho, Benedict Iroha, Uche Okechukwu, Isaac Semitoje, Finidi George et al played for the Eagles as home-grown prospects before Clemens Westerhof  took them to Europe to sharpen their skills. Westerhof took most of them to Europe where they became instant success stories.

    What the Westerhof experiment did to the domestic league was very instructive. It challenged the equally talented boys in the league to aspire to playing for the country. Unlike now when they know that sneaking out to any country qualifies them to be invited to the national teams since their designation will read foreign-based – even if they play in Ghana or some of these novelty leagues in Europe.

    The national team isn’t a rehabilitation camp for recuperating players who don’t play regularly for their European teams. Injury-prone players should be allowed to remain with their clubs instead of using Nigeria’s matches to get new clubs. The National team isn’t the platform to teach players the basics of the game. It is the platform for the very best  who do things on the bench on impulse to the delight of fans. A classical example of a national team player is Victor Osimhen, whose performance with the Eagles has been exciting, beginning with his ball skills and the seamless manner in which he has struck an unbelievable understanding with established stars in the team , such as Wilfred Ndidi, Troost-Ekong, Samuel Chuwkuweze, Joe Aribo and Alex Iwobi.

    It hurts when one sounds like a cracked record weekly, looking at the Eagles and not finding the squad to take our football to the level where only big football nations will scramble to have international friendly games with them.  We cannot continue to develop our game from Europe and expect to dominate soccer competitions in the continent and the world.

    The Eagles side is handicapped by the few good players in the team and with our  population of over 200 million, Rohr doesn’t need to stay permanently in Europe to monitor Nigeria-born lads when they exist in the 774 local government areas here.

    The Humbled One indeed!

    Jose Mourinho is an enigma. He knows how to raise the stakes during press conferences, leaving his critics admiring him after such sessions. Mourinho knows his rights and insists that his boundaries are kept when it comes to evaluating his coaching achievements. He knows when he is being ridiculed and isn’t scared to walk off such press conferences to press home his conviction. Mourinho’s theatrics on-and-off the pitch makes him the reporters’ delight.  He throws jabs as much as he receives. But, he appears wiser now, given his utterances on Thursday.

    Mourinho’s English isn’t the best. But he leaves you without any iota of doubt what his mission is. He has no space for apologies. But he surprised many on Thursday when he accepted some mistakes while at Manchester United. The football community welcomes Mourinho to the most popular European football league.

    Tottenham Hotspurs have chosen the right coach, if their target is to win trophies. Mourinho is a serial winner, no matter what anyone says about the way his team plays. What counts in football is the result – winners are always celebrated. No excuses for Mourinho. Indeed, Spurs’ stock will increase geometrically, except that the club’s management must be prepared to meet Mourinho’s ambitions by splashing good cash on talented players. Coaches are as good as their last game and Mourinho knows this doctrine so well.

    Celebrity managers, such as Mourinho, are bound to ruffle feathers, thereby incurring the wrath of the owners of the game. Many call Mourinho controversial, but one would rather see him as the catalyst needed to raise the game’s profile. On Thursday, in his typical manner, Mourinho declared himself The Humbled One, with many doubting if he can ever be humbled. Many have predicted that he would be sacked soon, when things go awry for him and Spurs’ owners won’t be looking the other way, having spent a fortune.

    The pain on Tottenham’s owner would be the nuisance value Mourinho’s utterances would bring on the team, unwittingly. Press conferences will be battlefields for the owner, if he isn’t given grand rules on how to approach such situations.

    Asked on Thursday if he had learned from his Manchester United spell, Mourinho said: ‘I think so. These last 11 months have been used to think and to prepare. You never lose your DNA.

    ‘’You are what you are – for the good things and the bad things. I know in my career that I’ve made mistakes. I am humble. I am humble enough to try to analyse my career. Not just the last year but the problems and the solutions. The principle of my analysis was not to blame anyone else. I was always humble. The problem was that you didn’t understand that. I was always humble but it was in my way.’’

    He was then asked if he had his ‘mojo back’ . Mourinho jokingly replied: ‘’I have to go to Google translate to know what “mojo” is.’’

    He went on: ‘’When I don’t win I’m not happy. I cannot change that. If you are happy by losing football matches, it’s difficult to be a winner in any moment of your career. But the emotional control to keep the self-esteem and confidence and in those around you is very important.’’

    One thing no one can take away from Mourinho is his resolve to do things he is convinced about. Since his appointment as Tottenham boss, the ever critical English press have made an issue about how the Portuguese takes the jobs of his friends. Could this be a coincidence? Why have his friends not taken his? Well, Mourinho said at Thursday’s press conference when this matter was raised: ‘’I do it with a bit of sadness but I have to speak about Mauricio. I have to congratulate him for the work he has done. This club will always be his home. This training ground will always be his training ground. The door will always be open for him. He (Pochettino) will find happiness again. He will find another club again.’’

    Mourinho won’t leave such a momentous event without throwing jibes at those who made him uncomfortable in his last job. He  said sarcastically: ‘’Yes, that was before I was sacked! I hope there is not a bigger [Spurs] fan than myself. Chelsea is past – just the past. Two periods of titles but that is past. No one will want to win more than me.’’

    Isn’t Mourinho an interesting character? He is. His appointment at Tottenham signifies new things for the London side, especially after losing in the finals of the most prestigious European football competition, UEFA Champions League. Spurs lost 2-0 to Liverpool in the final game.

     

     

     

  • Lagos Deputy Governor causes commotion on aircraft

    Sentry

    Passengers on board an Abuja-bound aircraft from Lagos sometime last week were thrown into commotion at the sight of the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, in the economy class of the aircraft.

    The deputy governor was scheduled to attend an official function in Abuja on that day but all the airlines contacted said that only tickets for economy class were available. Determined to make the trip, Hamzat told his aides that he did not mind flying with economy ticket.

    As he stepped into the aircraft, the passengers he met on board could not believe their eyes. They whispered to one another in curiousity, wondering if the passenger they beheld was indeed the deputy governor of Lagos State.

    Curious passengers who had managed to keep their composure later swooped on Hamzat as soon as the aircraft landed in Abuja, to ascertain that they were not seeing a ghost.

    “Your Excellency, what is going on?” one of them asked in a tone of genuine concern. “Is Lagos so broke now that the Deputy Governor is flying economy? Is it really true that someone has gone away with all the money?”

    An amused Hamzat smiled in response, explaining that he needed to make an urgent trip and got the seat that was available. “What is important is that I wanted to be in Abuja and I am in Abuja,” he said.

  • Celebrating mediocrity

    Ade Ojeikere

    If Nigeria must consider herself as a soccer-crazy nation, then Super Eagles must qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, to justify our massive population of over 200 million people, with vast potentials to reach for the zenith in any profession. Anything short of a quarter-finals ticket in Qatar would make a mockery of the quality of players available to the country and their exploits with their European clubs.

    Our players have grown in stature in Europe, wresting shirts from other nationals in their clubs. They enjoy weekly rave reviews based on their performances, with many wondering why these boys can’t replicate their clubs’ form playing for Nigeria. Whereas our players have grown in geometric proportions, our administrators and coaches are tottering arithmetically, thus creating a lacuna which ought to have been fixed after the country did well in her maiden World Cup appearance in United States in 1994. Nigeria didn’t make it to the quarter-finals in 1994, but our second round ouster came with a lot of gains, chiefly among them was Nigeria being ranked the fifth best playing nation in the world.

    The rebirth of the USA’94 World Cup Super Eagles side came with radical changes which pitched Clemens Westerhof against his critics, most of whom wanted a predictable team of players based on their pedigree, not their current forms. Westerhof wasn’t going to be stampeded into sticking with unruly players simply because they rescued the country in previous competitions. Westerhof thought about the future. He visited the domestic league centres. Took pride in living with us here, eating our food, learning to cook some of them and seeing games by himself, not relying on newspapers’ reports or jaundiced commentaries in the electronic media.

    Westerhof’s revolutionary changes ensured that Nigerian won the gold medal in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympic Games, with the bulk of the players he discovered doing the country proud. Many may not know that it was Westerhof who spotted Nwankwo Kanu in the domestic league and recommended him to Golden Eaglets’ Coach Fanny Amun. Kanu was part of the players used to reinforce the World Cup winning Golden Eaglets in 1993. In fact, the last set of players used before picking the USA’s 94 squad were members of the side that picked the Olympic Games gold in Atlanta, including Taribo West. Many have credited the feat to Johannes Bonfrere. But Westerhof did the spade work, not forgetting that Bonfrere was part of the instruments the Dutch used to reinvigorate the Eagles to winning ways.

    Westerhof’s side played with zeal and passion. They lasted the 90 minutes and walked tall out of the field to rousing applause because the fans knew they gave their best. Rebuilding the Eagles under Westerhof had its twists and turns, but it was apparent that the squad  would shock the world like they did in the US. Westerhof read the riot act to players who played for top sides in Europe, leaving the task of filling the existing vacancies in the team to home-grown players. This policy gingered the good ones in the league to give their best. Need I name them to save space?

    I’ve sat through Super Eagles’ matches under Gernot Rohr dispirited. I would only applaud his ability to spot talents in Europe. Rohr did well in a few games in terms of his tactics. However, he doesn’t look like the coach to qualify Nigeria for the quarter-finals in Qatar, irrespective of what he said about his penchant for making late changes in Eagles’ matches.

    This writer can’t understand what Rohr meant with his claim that he used goalkeeper’s experience with African nations in picking Daniel Akpeyi ahead of Maduka Okoye, who distinguished himself against the Samba Boyz, a game Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw by the Brazilians. Akpeyi was very poor at the Africa Cup of Nations, bringing him back is a big minus on Rohr’s path and it shows that the coach doesn’t want to develop the game at the domestic level. Rohr should tell us what African experience became a determining factor to pick goalkeeper to man the goalpost against a soccer minnow nation such as Benin Republic? Or is Rohr saying that African football would affect a goalkeeper, Okoye who plies his trade in Germany? If so, why did Rohr not pick an entirely home-based squad for the Benin game? How would Okoye gain the so-called Africa experience when he is kept on the bench? This is the way we watch in awe and allow European coaches destroy our game under the guise of giving them a free-hand to pick their players. What Rohr’s laughable Africa experience portends is that Akpeyi has been given a lifeline to return to the Eagles, making Okoye and Ezenwa benchwarmers for a goalkeeper who shouldn’t be in the squad following the law of averages playing for Nigeria.

    In reviewing Rohr’s contract, the coach should be told to  pick at least three home-based players. This idea of inviting 23 foreign-based players for a game that won’t require more than 14 men to prosecute is the easiest path for coaches to cut deals with agents and European club scouts. Besides, the remaining 10 Europe-based stars who don’t get fielded in particular matches just earn free cash doing nothing. Some of these benchwarmers have clocked over four consecutive games sitting on the bench watching games and celebrating with mates when goals are scored.  This writer would rather have at least two talented home-based players sitting on the bench, which is possible than foreign-based. The experience of training with stars they watch only on television is one experience that will linger for a very long time. Of course, such privileges to home-based players will spur those at home to aspire to sit on the bench, possibly play the game.

    More worrisome is the fact that Rohr may have surrendered the national team to players and if this was not the case, why would the German admit seeking the consent of players before fielding them. Ahmed Musa told reporters after the match against Benin Republic that he advised Rohr to use the same line up that started the Brazil friendly for last Wednesday’s game in Uyo.

    Indeed, Rohr told us that he wouldn’t field Joe Aribo because his trip from Scotland to Nigeria was sapping leading to his late arrival – hours to the game. Yet, Rohr handed the first team shirt to Aribo because he came with his father aside telling Rohr that he could play. What a football coach. It is also important to remind Rohr that his team’s defence is weak.

    Rohr said: “Joe Aribo told me he was not tired, despite the long flights to get here and I have confidence in my players when they tell me they are ready to play.

    “Also his father was here at the stadium and this was only his second time coming into the country, so it was important for him to play. And I think we can all be happy he was able to play because he contributed a lot to this win.”

    All attempts to fill the void with foreign-based stars have gone haywire beginning with Ebuehi, Idowu et al. Perhaps, he needs to watch league games here to pick big, strong and skilful defenders for the Eagles, the way Westerhof selected Uche Okechukwu, Benedict Iroha, Isaac Semitoje alongside midfielders, such as Edema Fuludu. These home-based players were part of the Eagles’ squad that lifted the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in Tunisia.

    When players start to suggest to coaches what they want, how the team should play and who should start matches, the coach has lost the dressing room as he will be courting chaos if he rejects others’ wishes. There can’t be competitiveness for shirts if a few people can influence how the team sets up for games. Gradually, such players constitute themselves into a mafia which would ruin the team’s structure and unity in the camp.

    Should Rohr go at the end of his contract? Rohr told everyone in Uyo in a post-match conference on Wednesday that: “I have to work, the contract is not a problem. I think by the end of the year, I’ll discuss it with the FA. No distraction for me, but it’s time to have a new project to win the next AFCON.

    “I start now with the AFCON qualifiers and don’t know if I will finish it but it’s not really a problem but our project must be made for at least three years because what we want to do is to also go to the next World Cup and also have a good philosophy too,” Rohr added.

    But will Nigeria retain Rohr’s services after June 30, 2020? Read my lips.