The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • The European game

    What a week of contrasting scenarios. One cup final (UEFA Champions League) between two English teams, Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspurs. The other was a sham, not for the game, but for those who organised the final match between Wydad FC of Morocco and Esperance FC of Tunisia in Tunis . It was a return leg tie. The first leg had ended 1-1 at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, with the Moroccans needing an away win to become champions.

    The build-up to the 2018/2019 UEFA Champions League final was educative in terms of the facts reeled out daily in the media – what to expect before, during and after the game from the organisers and other logistics to ensure a smooth event. Things worked out perfectly because there were rehearsals, but no one thought of the invasion of the stripper. She came almost nude. The security people within the stadium handled that tactfully and the game ran its course.

    The best referees were picked. The centre referee’s decisions were spot on, especially the first minute penalty call against Tottenham’s Sissoko, who unwittingly stretched his hands to pass instructions, only for Sadio Mane to lift the ball towards his outstretched right hand.

    There were a few discordant voices from Tottenham players, forcing the centre referee to consult the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), using his handset. VAR ruled it was a penalty. Egyptian star Mohammed Salah stepped forward and struck the ball powerfully into the net for Liverpool’s first goal.

    The referees didn’t need the services of VAR to make their decisions for the second goal, which came off a goalmouth melee, with the ball pushed towards a lurking Origi to bury into the net with a left footer. Those who feared the antics of the English fans went home in peace. No incidents. The trophy presentation was colourful. Medals were enough. No confusion between officials and players or coaches.

    The players had fun, dancing on the podium. They took turns to take photographs of the momentous time. The winners spotted their family members and took pictures with them. It was a herculean task consoling the losers . Many of them wept. The beauty of sports came to the fore when some Liverpool players walked up to their counterparts in Tottenham to console them. Liverpool lost last year’s finals 3-1 to Real Madrid. So, they knew how it felt losing in a cup finals.

    Unfortunately, the African version of the Champions League was a sad testimonial for  the game, given the exploits of African players in European leagues. Need I waste space to list them? Our players have grown in geometric progression, but the officials are static, making the continent a laughing stock like it happened last Saturday.

    Esperance took the lead in the 41st minute through Mohamed Belaili, but the match was disrupted after the Moroccans refused to continue the game, claiming that their equaliser was a good goal. The Moroccans walked off the pitch, following referee Bakary Gassama’s refusal to review Walid El Karti’s disallowed strike for Wydad in the 58th minute. It was all at the Stade Olympique de Rades.

    The issues here are simple – only the referee has the right to signal for goals scored, not the players or their officials. Football rules are clear that on no account should a game be discontinued on such frivolous grounds. Rather, teams are allowed to lodge their protests which will be looked into after the game.

    We have seen good goals wrongly disallowed, with the referees admitting their mistakes later. Yet the game continued and such referees got punished by the organisers. Teams which suffered from such referees’ ineptitude lost the games but made their points. The Moroccans were desperate to get a good result, having drawn the first leg at home. They, however, shouldn’t have allowed their desperation to affect the beautiful game.

    The world awaits Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) chieftains to set the sanctions for the Moroccans (Wydad Casablanca) for this disgusting show. The players ignored pleas from CAF’s president Ahmad Ahmad to continue the game, even after wasting two hours sitting on the turf. The Tunisians were rightly awarded the game and declared champions.

    Something struck this writer in the course of getting the reports of the game when it was revealed that CAF didn’t provide a functional VAR at the match venue? Perhaps, the Moroccans wanted to get VAR’s interpretation on the disallowed goal. Hmmm! The game had been on before the advent of VAR. If the referee was sure of his decision, the Moroccans are condemned to accept his call, especially in the absence of VAR.

    Khalil El shamam, captain of Esperance, told @beINSPORTS_MENA after the match: “The referee had told us before the game there were problems with the VAR, but Wydad’s captain did not understand the language of the referee.”

    No excuse for Wydad’s unsportsmanlike attitude. It is also laughable because the official language in CAF, UEFA and FIFA is French and English. If the referee was communicating with the teams, he would have used both. Besides, modern communication gadgets make language difficulties less worrisome. The Wydad captain is culpable; if he didn’t understand what the referee said, he ought to have indicated such and would have been further debriefed.

    Sadly, CAF has ruled that the Esperance FC vs Wydad FC game be replayed, citing problems with the VAR system. Is that why CAF wants the game replayed? Pity. What if Esperance refuses to honour the game, insisting that the trophy had been given to them? Isn’t it shameful that CAF wants to conduct two trophy presentations? What if Wydad wins this replay? It means one trophy per week. This is disgraceful, dear CAF.

    According to Morocco World News, quoting television channel Arriyadia, ‘’the game will take place in South Africa.’’ ‘’The executive committee is considering if the Rades Stadium in Tunisia should be suspended as a consequence of the foul play from one of its referees in combination with the VAR being out-of-order during crucial moments of the match.

    ‘’There might also be a fine for Esperance and the Tunisian Football Federation (FTF). FTF requested that the match be scheduled after CAN 2019 in Egypt. That request has allegedly been denied.

    ‘’After a football scandal that Wydad Athletic Club chairman, Said Naciri, deemed a ‘total shame for African football’, CAF had convened an emergency meeting in Paris to examine the unprecedented controversies between Tunisian Esperance and WAC.

    ‘’The scandal was caused when the VAR was said to not be functioning when it was necessary to review critical moments of the match. By not having the VAR in functioning order, prior to the match, the referee allegedly breached several rules of the game, costing WAC the goal which would have tied the CAF Champions League 2018/2019,’’ CAF said.

    Very interesting, CAF chieftains. So when the VAR malfunctions in the course of the game, the results can be faulted? Did Khalil El shamam, captain of Esperance, not say that the referee told them that there won’t be a VAR system before the game started? So, which report should we believe? CAF should offer better reasons for this replay.

    Some informed sports gurus have responded to the laughable replay decision, raising posers which many hope will compel the soccer ruling body to have a rethink.

    Barrister Sam Ahmedu, a basketball guru, wonders how CAF arrived at its decision. He said: ‘’No, I disagree on this. Morocco had a chance to play before their fans and so why deny the Tunisians that same right. It was CAF’S duty to ensure all equipment needed, including VAR, was provided. Was there crowd violence? Did the Tunisians provide the referee and Match Commissioner? Were the Tunisians to write the match report? Deciding in Paris without inviting both teams to argue their case is against all tenets of fairness. This decision cannot stand the test of fairness at all. The match can be replayed but at a neutral venue, haba?  I am not surprised anyway. I do believe there are extraneous factors propelling this subterfuge.’’

    Indeed, what will CAF do if Esperance FC’s players come to the field,  take the ball and allow Wydad do everything? They will only restart the game when Wydad scores a goal. Will CAF chiefs stop the game? What will CAF’s men do, if Esperance plays along only to boycott the game minutes before it begins? The embarrassing scenarios are there for CAF chiefs to decipher.

    But, like Ahmedu said, CAF’s men should have allowed all the parties to defend their decisions for fairness. What the soccer body has done isn’t for the good of the game – the FIFA mantra.

    Flying Eagles’ misadventure

    The Flying Eagles’ campaign at the FIFA U-20 World Cup holding in Poland was abysmal. Many soccer fans were happy with the country’s exit. They were unanimous in tagging the squad the worst ever paraded by Nigeria in the competition’s history.

    Flying Eagles looked confused. The team lacked all the ingredients that make soccer teams exciting to watch. The coach was a major disappointment having picked the worst set of boys, in a country of over 200 million people.

    Flying Eagles has been the feeder team of the Super Eagles. This group isn’t fit for that role because there was nothing to cheer about the boys. There was no outstanding player. The few who flapped to deceive were not consistent. Going to Poland, for Nigeria, was a misadventure. It is heartening that no player from this group will be considered for the Super Eagles. that is not enough. The coaches should not be considered for future national team assignments until they have shown proof of undergoing refresher courses. So much for mediocrity.

  • Dollar rain for senators-elect

    SOME weeks ago, members- elect of the incoming 9th session of the National Assembly held an induction course in Abuja. The purpose was to acquaint them with legislative procedures and ethics.

    There is no gainsaying the fact that it was a well-attended event. But the high point of the gathering was the dollar rain that greeted it. A senator- elect, who was still a governor at the time, “blessed his fellow senators-elect” with two million dollars!

    Was it to offset their campaign expenses? Was it to position himself for headship of a juicy committee, post-inauguration? Tough questions.

    SENTRY, however, learnt that the senators-elect went home satisfied.

  • Limping DAWN secretariat in Ibadan

    IT started as one of the brightest ideas conceivable by man when it was launched in 2013. With its basic objective as spelling out what the six states that constitute the Southwest should do to make them buoyant and self-sustaining with a view to fast-tracking the development of the entire zone, the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) became an instant hit in progressive circles.

    So impressed were some egg heads in the North with the agenda that they met with some of the brains behind the DAWN initiative to see how it could be adapted for the development of their region. They were obliged and they silently swung into action. A secretariat to push the agenda for the North was set up and has been working behind the scene.

    But in an instance of great irony, the secretariat of the northern version of DAWN today has more than N700 million in the kitty while that of the Southwest in lbadan is limping. Why? Southwest governors now simply perceive it as a burden.

  • Yari’s many dashed hopes

    MOST Nigerians were aware of the recent judgment of the Supreme Court nullifying the victories of all the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State in the recently conducted elections. They knew that all the party’s candidates from the governorship to the National Assembly and House of Assembly elections had their mandates revoked by the apex court because it declared the party primaries from which they emerged as candidates null and void.

    Among those who lost their mandates was the immediate past governor of the state who had won the senatorial election for Zamfara West. But not known to many is the fact that the former governor’s losses from the landmark judgment were more than the nullification of his senatorial mandate. Not only his hope of becoming a senator was dashed; also dashed was his hope of installing his successor as governor.

    Added to the foregoing is the former governor’s dashed hope of becoming the Deputy Senate President. While his plot to become the Deputy Senate President was not known to many, many of the senators-elect in both the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party were aware of his scheming. Although he endorsed Senator Ahmed Lawan’s candidacy for Senate President, he believed that he was more qualified than any other person to be Deputy Senate President, based on his years as a member of the House of Representatives and eight years as governor.

    While many of his colleagues in APC were unhappy that he was disregarding the party’s zoning of the office to the South-south, none could call his bluff because of his perceived deep pocket. But as fate would have it, the Supreme Court halted the aspiration.

  • APC openly embraces self-destructive bent

    AS the battle between the All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman and his detractors rages, some state chairmen of the party have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and coax a truce out of the combatants. They fear that if the struggle between the party’s titans festers, it could cause the ruling party to implode. On May 28, 2019, Lawal Shuaibu, the party’s deputy national chairman (North), had asked Mr Oshiomhole to resign his position for being complicit in the loss of Zamfara and four other states during the last general election. In his letter, he obviously derived his daring from the fact that APC lost five states during the last polls but gained only two — Kwara and Gombe States. Mr Shuaibu emphatically blamed Mr Oshiomhole for the loss of Zamfara to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The APC seems today considerably complacent. If, like the PDP, it had no president to run to for resolution of conflicts, who would be its conciliator and arbitrator? Does the party not have internal conflict resolution mechanisms? The PDP is of course not without its own troubles. But having exhausted itself years ago in internecine conflicts, most of them quite needless, and suffered severe electoral losses in consequence, it has suddenly become fairly mature, a little cerebral even, and, more ominously, increasingly quiescent. In contrast, the APC has seemed louder, pampered, bad-tempered, querulous and grasping. The president has waded into the fray to help his party present a common front in the coming elections of the National Assembly’s principal officers. And he is now being called upon to find the peace formula for resolving the conflict between the party’s cantankerous leaders.

    No single person can, of course, be made to shoulder the blame for the party’s loss of five states in the last state elections. Indeed, no two states share the same factors for the APC’s embarrassing dethronement. The reasons for APC’s defeat in the states of Adamawa, Oyo, Bauchi, Imo and Zamfara are as variegated as they are both internal and external. Rather than examine the reasons for their defeat in the 2019 polls and find ways to avoid a similar disaster in the next general election, party leaders, for private and other reasons, have tried to find scapegoats, with some of them seeing one in the fearsome Mr Oshiomhole. For a party that has become naturally and eternally fractious, it is hard to dissuade them from their self-destructive course. Should President Buhari wade into the fracas, it is uncertain that whatever magic wand he waves would bring a permanent solution.

    After Mr Shuaibu wrote his incendiary letter to the APC chairman calling for his resignation, other party stakeholders have joined him, including the smug, self-serving and illiberal former Communications minister, Adebayo Shittu, who tries to hang the Oyo defeat on his exclusion from the state governorship poll. Grandiose and full of himself, Mr Shittu even tries to put down the loss of Oyo State suffered by the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in 1983 to the conspiratorial manner he was denied the senatorial ticket in that election. He accused UPN leaders of collusion and despotism, just like, in his view, Mr Oshiomhole.

    Even former APC chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, has found his voice after what everyone sees as his disgraceful exit last June. Buoyed by the rising opposition to Mr Oshiomhole, Chief Odigie-Oyegun has vengefully waded into the party fracas by doing a very unsavoury character portrait of his successor. Said he: “Oshiomhole fails because he lacks the temperament that is required to run a political party. He lacks the capacity to manage the different interests and tendencies that constitute a political party. He acts in direct opposite of decisions taken by NWC. No minutes of NWC meetings which, in any event, take place outside the party secretariat. How would you not have crises in states with the confusion that Oshiomhole created when he gave the states freedom to choose their methods of choosing candidates for elections? Much of the crises in states arose out of sheer incapacity on the part of the current chairman…He (Oshiomhole) engages his mouth before engaging his mind, so he offends party members. Only a bad carpenter quarrels with his tools. Indeed Oshiomhole is degrading and ‘demarketing’ the party. Rather than seek to bring more people on board, he is chasing people out of the party with his agbero style of engagement.”

    But, contrary to what Chief Odigie-Oyegun thinks, there is nothing to suggest that Mr Oshiomhole has failed. The party chairman is under ferocious and relentless attack, and is portrayed by some party members and leaders as intemperate and impulsive. But no one among his detractors has shown conclusively that he is ineffective, a weakling, or a leadership failure. In fact, as party chairman, he has managed the re-election of President Buhari, kept the party’s majority in the states by 20 to the PDP’s 16, has a firm control of the National Assembly, and if the party plays its cards right, will have an even firmer control of the NASS leadership. The party may be instinctively fractious, but it has continued to keep a semblance of unity, a unity that appears to be anchored on unaccustomed internal discipline. The APC may not be as ideological as it has boasted for years, but under its new chairman it is less conservative and reactionary today than it has ever been. These gradual and indeed salutary shifts are in large measure due to Mr Oshiomhole’s intuitive and iconoclastic approach to politics. Undoubtedly, the party chairman still has a lot to learn, and has an even greater distance to go in reforming his often scabrous approach to politics, but he has not degraded the party like Chief Odigie-Oyegun did.

    In the face of the blistering attacks on Mr Oshiomhole, the APC spokesman, Lanre Issa-Onilu, rose spiritedly to his defence, particularly denouncing the former chairman for crass insincerity. Said he: “Let me agree that the NWC that led the party into the 2015 elections and continued till June 2018 did nothing different from what you would find in PDP. It was a period the party was seen as a mere vehicle to attain political office. The system accommodated impunity as certain members appeared to be superior to the party. Their interests were far more important than the collective interests of the APC, even when most times such interests are at variance with the ideals the party stand for…” He continued: “The leadership under Chief Oyegun, with due respect to him, condoned all sorts of acts of indiscipline from certain members. It is not surprising that the current National Working Committee inherited such a huge mess, where the party was struggling to differentiate itself from the delinquent PDP. We all know that PDP was practically dead following the devastating defeat of 2015. The PDP bounced back not because the party has changed its insidious way or did anything different, but because APC did not live up to expectations. It goes without saying that when an organisation is unable to enforce its own rules, it would suffer the consequences sooner than later. We should not be ashamed to say that our party’s leadership under Chief Oyegun lacked the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party’s rules…”

    The ongoing misunderstanding within the APC may turn out to be a storm in a teacup. Whether the president intervenes or not, Mr Oshiomhole is likely to survive this gale. But his enemies are unlikely to relent. His imposing style, which the party needs to restore normality and discipline, will grate on those who prefer a softer, more indulgent approach to party administration. And because Mr Oshiomhole is unlikely to moderate his stand, not to say his style, enemies will proliferate under him until one of the combatants blinks first. One of the dire consequences of Mr Oshiomhole’s affirmative handling of the party is the concomitant loss of influence by governors. That powerful but unconstitutional body is unlikely to give up its obtruding ways having themselves tasted the allure of power and imposition.

    If the APC is to survive in the years to come, it must rely paradoxically on Mr Oshiomhole’s strong-arm approach to party administration. The party is at the moment disunited, hesitant, and lacking in savvy and conviction. They must find and imbibe the virtues of a strong and cohesive political organisation faster than the PDP is reforming, if they are not to come to grief in 2023. The president must also not allow himself to be cajoled into aborting that refining process simply because some interested but aggrieved officials are reading to him a different and frightening narrative.

  • Elections, succession and expectations

    Nigeria’s  former Democracy  Day or Obasanjo’s  Democracy Day, May  29, has  come  and gone with the fanfare of swearing in of   our   second term  President,  new governors as well as second term governors  all  over Nigeria. It  was  a fantastic day  for   first  ladies  and   families in the state  capitals as well  as the First Lady in Abuja, the outspoken  blunt lady,   who  stayed calmly and dignified as the husband our second term president took  the oath of office for a second term. However and  quite  inexplicably,   the    brooding  shadow   of Obasanjo  hovered around the occasion in Abuja  although Obasanjo  himself  was absent  at the event. The first time I think  he would  be absent  at  his   personally  decreed   and nationally   observed   May   29 Democracy Day. But  the reason was  not far to see. The new  second term  president had  changed  the Democracy  Day  from May  29 to  June  12,  the day  Obasanjo’s  Egba  kinsman, the irrepressible  MKO  won the election that was adjudged the freest and fairest in Nigeria and  that  did  not  go down well with Obasanjo.  That  could explain his absence  as a simple  case of sour  grapes  over  MKO who  he  bitterly  resented  as the   purported  ‘ Messiah  of  Nigeria’ in the heady days of the June  12  brouhaha.  Again,  that  could also explain  why the President did not give an Inaugural  Address  as usually  expected  on  May  29.  Ostensibly  that  would be done on the new and vastly  popular June 12 Democracy  Day  that    has become  Obasanjo’s  bitter  pill  to  swallow.

    All   the same, that was  not the only reason why the former Nigerian  Head of State was absent at the swearing in of the Nigerian President for  a second term. The  occasion  was  an event  or  a  record that Obasanjo  held in Nigerian politics  till  the reelection of President  Muhammadu  Buhari  for a second term in the 2019 elections. Until the reelection of PMB, Obasanjo  was the only Nigerian leader  who  had  been  both  a military  Head of    State  and an elected  and reelected  president.  Obasanjo     was elected president   20   years  after  his tenure  as a  military   dictator   and PMB  30 years   after  his  military    regime was overthrown.  Again, even   that alone could  not  explain the absence  of  OBJ  at  the  swearing in of PMB  this  week  and that is  a  major  part of our discussion  today.

    Before  the swearing in of PMB this week  Obasanjo  had thrown  spanner in the works  for the Nigerian president  in a manner that would have made  his presence  most  unwelcome and avoidable  at  the May  29  swearing   in, this week. Obasanjo  dropped  a  security  bombshell  at an  Anglican  Synod in Etsako,  Edo  state when he   said  that  the true  reason for the emergence of Boko  Haram was not poverty  or the Almajiri in the North  as we had thought  and  even  that  has evolved  into the’ Fulanisation of  West  Africa  and the Islamisation of  Africa ‘all  of which  have now metamorphosed into gun running, drug  running, human trafficking , kidnapping, all  dovetailing into  the high  security  risk  of regime  change.  Having  accused the reelected president of negligence  on  security  and collusion  on his watch  in his first term, Obasanjo  must  have deemed it safer  to stay  at a safe distance while   the man  he has lambasted  so  mercilessly  on connivance  on security  matters of the nation, is being reinvested with fresh powers  to  tackle the  pervasive insecurity bringing the nation to  its heels right before  our eyes. The  absence  could  not be called cowardice on the part  of Obasanjo  because  even  those who hate  his guts, and they are many all  over Nigeria,  agree and  applaud   that  courage is  one virtue  that the man  who accepted  the surrender of Biafra  has in  abundance.  This  time  however  I think  that  OBJ  simply decided that discretion  is the better part of valour  and  stayed  away  in the interest of national  security.

    Nevertheless,  Obasanjo’s bombshell  and accusation of the Nigerian  government and his charge of  Fulanisation   and  Islamisation are  the bag  and baggage  that  the Buhari  administration  is carrying  into its  second  term.  The  issues  raised are of  paramount  importance  and  the President  should  show  that  even  though he is  Fulani,  he is for all Nigerians and  he belongs to all  the ethnic groups in Nigeria and  not the Fulani  alone. The  issue of a dedicated radio to  communicate with the Fulani herdsmen  who  have a reputation for killing people more than tending their cattle,  must  stop in the national  interest. Similarly, Myetti  Allah, the umbrella  organization for the Fulani  herdsmen must  be called to order  by our  security apparatus and shown  clearly  that it is not a state  within a state.  The  statement  credited to the Chief  of  Defence Staff that the state of insecurity in the nation is such that  the unity of the nation is at risk,   must  be addressed  to prevent the break up of Nigeria. In  addition  to the war on corruption, the   Buhari  federal  government, at its second coming must show that Nigerians  are equal  individually  and in terms of their diverse ethnicity before  the law in Nigeria  and there is no ‘master  race’ before   which other Nigerians must tremble  and  cower as  the  Fulanisation and Islamisation charges  seem  to imply.

    Let  us now  look   some  election results in  India  where  the winner  was  reelected on a fresh  mandate  and his connection with the emergence of  nationalist leaders all over the world.  We   shall    look   later  at some unique  states  where new incumbents emerged  as governors  and the baggage they  have brought in with their  elections.  We  shall  look at  Lagos, Kano, Zamfara  states  and  explore  lessons to be learned  in the succession battles that  made  their  elections peculiar  and interesting. Today  however  we look at  Lagos state  and the emergence  of  Jide  Sanwoolu as the new governor.

    In  India the  Prime Minister Narendera Modi  won reelection on a huge  margin that consigned the former ruling party, the Congress Party,  to  the dust  bin of history. The  result effectively ended dynastic politics  involving  the Nehru and  Gandhi families that have produced at least three PMs in India.  According to Modi  in thanking Indians for his election – ‘there  are now two castes in India, the poor and those who  want  to get them out of poverty  and it is our  duty to empower  both’. In  addition according  to some voters they voted for Modi  although there  is little  development  but’ Indians  feel  safer  and  can  hold their  heads  high ‘.  Such  confidence  and patriotism is what Nigerians need  from PMB  on  his reelection and inauguration on June  12  when  he  makes  his Inaugural  speech as expected and  must, at least,  thank  Nigerians for reelecting him.

    The  swearing  in of Jide Sanwoolu  as  Lagos  State  governor was  a festive occasion in  Lagos at  the Tafawa  Balewa Complex which  was built for such state pageantry but neglected when the capital  was moved to Abuja.  Yet  Lagos  remains the commercial  heart throb of Nigeria  and its  politics  matter in the scheme  of things. Sanwoolu  as governor  should  build  a bridge for Lagosians and his  party in terms  of  continuity  in  government and control  of  Lagos  state  by the party.  That  bridge was broken when  his predecessor failed  to  get  a second term  and he Sanwoolu  was drafted as it were  to fill  a leadership  vacuum. He  must  boldly complete the projects his  predecessor put on the ground in terms of the people’s  welfare  and claim  credit for  completion of such  projects because  they  were built by the Lagos  tax payers and the electorate  and not the personal  wealth of his  predecessor.  Lagos  is  not like some states where  governors  built   sign posts that – this  road or  bridge   was  constructed by Governor X or Y.  In   addition,  the new  governor  should remember that he is fulfilling the second term of a governor from his party  based on the need  for a Christian  governor  for Lagos state. He  must  not forget that mandate and  should  govern  as such, as  the buck  stops on his table.  He should be in control  and make consultations but  there is no room for a two  in one governor   as   the  new  governor  must respect the wisdom of the party elders  and leaders  who  made the arrangement possible   for  a Christian  governor  in the last two  guber  elections in the state. I wish  the new governor  a happy  and  successful tenure .Once  again  long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

  • PDP and 9th National Assembly leadership

    Although the All Progressives Congress (APC) controls a reasonably comfortable majority in both houses of the 9th National Assembly, the numerically disadvantaged opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) actually poses a more potent threat in terms of determining the outcome of legislative elections to determine the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives. This was demonstrated during the process of electing the leadership of the 8th Assembly when the PDP outsmarted the APC and ensured the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Honourable Yakubu Dogara, Senate President and House of Representatives Speaker, respectively, thus thwarting the preferences of the majority party. Even though the APC leadership is obviously determined to avoid a repeat of such a scenario this time around, it is still difficult to offhandedly dismiss the possibility of the PDP pulling off a surprise.

    True, rank indiscipline within political parties in this dispensation is not limited to any party but the APC is far more culpable in this regard, which makes it more vulnerable to being outsmarted in elections to pick the leaders of the legislature. Despite the APC leadership having made its choice of legislators to fill the various leadership positions known, for instance, other interested members of the party are going ahead with their campaigns to contest the elections on the floor of both chambers. Thus, if the APC splits its votes in the contest among multiple aspirants from its ranks, a minority PDP voting as a bloc may determine the outcome of the contest.

    The PDP is obviously a more cohesive political party in contrast to the APC. Indeed, it is the cohesion and relatively stronger organizational resilience of the PDP that made it possible for the party to hold the reins of power for 16 years since 1999 before its catastrophic defeat at the centre in the historic 2015 elections. Had the PDP been as fractious and crisis prone in the first 12 of its 16 years in power as the APC has been in just four years in control at the centre, the consequences could surely have been unsavory for Nigeria’s democratic evolution.

    For, an unstable ruling party unable to keep unavoidable intra-organizational disputes within reasonable bounds could have been a grave danger to the political system within the context of fragmented and fragile opposition political parties incapable for the better of the last 20 years of organizing to compete effectively for power. Formed essentially to conserve and stabilize Nigeria’s unjust, unequal and dysfunctional status quo in the post-military era and backed heavily by the retreating military high command in 1999, which had skewed the handover process in its favour, the PDP was primarily concerned with controlling and maintaining its grip on power rather than utilizing it for any ennobling end. It succeeded handsomely in this regard until increasing organizational sclerosis compounded by the sheer venality of the President Goodluck Jonathan years, which had disastrous consequences for the economy and the existential conditions of millions of Nigerians, resulted in its 2015 electoral implosion.

    On its part, the APC was hurriedly cobbled together as an election winning coalition barely a year to the 2015 elections. Furthermore, its key coalition partners are disparate and barely compatible ideologically. While the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) strand has a strongly federalist and welfarist disposition, which presupposes far-reaching adjustments in major spheres of the country’s extant structure, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) tendency firmly believes in maintaining the current structural status quo believing only in enforcing greater asceticism, fiscal prudence and discipline in the country’s moral life. On its part, the nPDP’s presence in the APC coalition was driven only by a desire to kick the Goodluck Jonathan administration out of power rather than any pretentious philosophical concerns.

    When the nPDP saw itself marginalized in the distribution of key positions in the APC administration in the aftermath of the 2015 APC victory, it quickly moved to hijack the leadership of the National Assembly and successfully did so with the support of its old allies in the PDP. Of course, the nPDP shortly found itself back in the PDP but even then the remaining coalition partners in the APC did not see this exit of perceived strange ideological bedfellows from its ranks as an opportunity to forge a more disciplined, harmonious and focused party. Various tendencies, fractions and individuals within the ruling party continued to strive hard to marginalize and neutralize one another politically. With the approach of the 2019 elections, most party members and leaders closed ranks once again and worked together to achieve victory at the polls.

    Hardly were the polls over than party members began to aim for each other’s jugular. Brick bats are exchanged constantly in the media. Some elements in the APC are already fixated with the 2023 presidential elections even as the party is just about commencing its promise to take the country to the Next Level. Deadly infighting has begun in the party as individuals and tendencies intrigue to outmaneuver and vanquish each other before 2023. It is against this background that the June 11 inauguration of the 9th Assembly will hold and leaders of the legislature elected. Shunning the APC’s position, Senator Ali Ndume is pursuing his Senate Presidency ambition aggressively while Senator Danjuma Goje seems to be adopting a more subtle approach.

    In the House of Representatives, Honourable Umaru Bago Mohammed is the leading contender against Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila for the Speakership even though the party leadership has backed the latter. If enough APC party ‘dissidents’ refuse to toe the party line and split their votes  on the floor of the two chambers and the PDP vote as a bloc, the opposition will surely, once again, play a fast one on the APC as regards the emergent 9th leadership.

    From the Machiavellian perspective on politics, the PDP should indeed pursue and indeed relish the possibility of outmaneuvering the APC and preventing candidates of the majority party’s choice from emerging as leaders of the legislature on June 11. After all, does the end not just the means? And did the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) not also strategically align with a colluding faction of the majority PDP to ensure the emergence of a Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives that was not the choice of the PDP leadership in 2011? But that is precisely the point. Today the ACN is a key partner in the APC that is suffering the discomfiture of being at the mercy of a minority party that has sufficient number of members to prevent the emergence of legislative leaders of the majority party’s choice once significant numbers of the majority party defy their party.

    The PDP can take a higher path and respect the right of the majority party to determine the leadership of each House. That way it would demonstrate its confidence that there is every possibility of its becoming the majority party once again in the near future especially given its remarkable resurgence in the last election. And should it one day command the majority in the National Assembly again, the PDP would have laid a morally impregnable precedent that a future minority party will breach to widespread opprobrium.

    In any case, the strained relationship between the legislative leadership of the 8th Assembly who belonged to the minority party and the presidency cost the country so much in terms of policy paralysis and a replication of the same situation this time around could have even more severe consequences. But then, this does not mean that a legislative leadership from the majority party should then make the law making arm of government subservient to the executive. That would ultimately have negative implications both for democracy and development.

    A key deciding factor of how the legislative leadership election of June 11 will go will be the House Rules to be used for the exercise. Both the PDP members and dissenting APC members who intend to defy their party will prefer the 2015 rules, which were adopted in controversial circumstances, and provides for secret ballot mode of voting. Those APC members who are toeing the party line will want rules that make for open ballot.

    Should a legislator elected on the platform of a party seek to vote in secret if he has nothing to hide from the platform through which he became a legislator? Should the rules of a preceding legislative assembly be binding on its successors? Can newly elected legislators amend the House Rules that will determine the process through which the legislative leaders will be elected before they are sworn in? It will surely be a battle of wits as these issues are decided on June 11.

    Of course, the PDP also has its own challenges as regards its choice of minority leader in the Senate. By far the most ranking, qualified and deserving candidate for the position is Senator Ike Ekweramadu, the current Deputy Senate President. But Senators Dino Melaye and Ayo Akinyelure are said to be interested in contesting. This is improper.

  • In sports administration, no cheers

    It is a new dawn in Nigeria with the return of President Muhammadu Buhari for his second term. The President showed keen interest in the country’s participation in competitions in his first term. He spared time to talk with the athletes before key games. He rewarded winners and approved stipends for those who didn’t win. The President showed remarkable understanding of the dynamics of the industry. He resolved the intrigues associated with various facets of the games much to the consternation of the departing minister. Need I remind the President that everything stops temporarily when our sports ambassadors are engaged in tournaments?

    However, Nigeria would have gained more from sporting events if the President had appointed a damn good minister for this sector. The last minister did his best, but it wasn’t good enough (catastrophic to say the least) because of the needless controversies, which crippled the industry. Solomon Dalung hid under the cloak of fighting corruption to make the country a laughing stock. If he had enough evidence indicting sports officials, he ought to have taken them to the EFCC and/or ICPC. Rather than allow these bodies do their jobs, he cried blue murder when those he wanted out remained in office.

    The minister’s penchant for deriding those in the sporting industry as corrupt blocked effective marketing for those who had sporting programmes and competitions, which they thought corporate bodies could finance. These people failed because the few firms willing to do sports business were worried by the consistent cries from the man who should have led them in the marketing of sports brands. Nigeria joined the league of countries who got walked-over for competitions we began the qualification series two to three years ago.

    To avoid such a shameful reputation, the President of the Wrestling Federation, himself an Olympic gold medallist for Canada, even though he is a Nigerian, borrowed money for our wrestlers to attend qualification tournaments, ahead of the All Africa Games and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. It was that bad. The few wrestling tournaments Nigeria hosted or attended arose from the Olympian’s contacts with his state governor and others. In fact, the Rivers State Government has been very helpful to the federations just as Bayelsa, Edo, Delta, Lagos and Akwa Ibom states to mention a few.

    In fact, Nigeria attended more tournaments – courtesy of governors’ benevolence, more than government funds. If we rely on governors for survival, how do we hope to host sporting events? Little wonder, government owned facilities are derelict, with the minister unperturbed about them. How does the ministry spend the money budgeted for infrastructure? Every succeeding minister leaves our facilities worse than he met them.

    We are forced to beam our searchlights on Nigeria-born sportsmen and women to represent us in competition, in spite of our  over 200 million population. The ministers shamelessly accept such developments because what counts, in their view, are the laurels won. Needless to ask if they reflect on how these athletes were discovered, nurtured and exposed to competitions, before we come for them flying the kite of patriotism towards their fatherland.

    Most of our ministers have brought us shame, with stories of Nigerian sports contingents sometimes being walked over in competitions due to lack of funds; other times, due to denial of visas. Even the few sports federations which attend competitions do so due to patronage from sports-friendly governors, who incidentally are governors where the federations’ chairmen come from.

    Is it that government doesn’t provide funds for such events, especially where we are defending champions? After all, when we excel, ministers easily ascribe the feats to the government, rushing to the Villa to present the victorious squads to the President. The governors who hosted the events or bankrolled the trips hardly get mentioned. A few brave federation chairmen mention the governors and other sponsors, if they are allowed to speak.

    Several federations are divided, with some having two leaders. Those who supervised the worn-out elections claim they brought change. Indeed.

    Most people can’t understand the reluctance of the past minister to take the IAAF matter to EFCC or ICPC for an incident as glaring as refusing to return $135,000 to the international body. The body mistakenly paid $150,000 into AFN’s accounts instead of $15,000. When the body discovered, it wrote the ministry and AFN. They acknowledged receiving such an amount, yet it hasn’t been refunded. Two years on, Nigeria hasn’t returned the $135,000 to IAAF. If this isn’t corruption, what is it?

    Many are looking forward to reforms that will bolster many facets of the economy, sports inclusive. The sporting industry is a goldmine in countries where it is properly administered. In fact, some of these countries’ GDPs are bolstered by the inputs from the sportsmen and women. The volume of business from sports towers above what some of them earn. Spain’s economy relies heavily on revenues from the activities of, among many others, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Valencia.

    At the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, Nigeria was a pariah nation – no thanks to the brutal reign of the late General Sani Abacha. But the world stood still in amazement when Chioma Ajunwa outjumped favourite Fiona May to win the gold medal. After the feat, Ajunwa looked around and couldn’t see Nigerian officials with the country’s flag. She spotted a young American girl who was waving a Nigerian flag. Ajunwa quickly ran to her to collect the flag and proceeded on her lap of honour. The world media made a feast of that momentous moment.

    Everything stopped in Georgia when Nigeria’s soccer side overpowered the Brazilians in a historic 4-3 semi-final victory. Dream Team 1 went on to win the gold medal by beating Argentina 3-2 in the final game. The talk in the world at that time was that Nigeria was using sports to change the global perception about us. Something good coming out of Nigeria, beyond the bestial acts of the late Abacha’s regime.

    Nigeria lost the opportunities to leverage on Dream Team 1’s feats, for instance, when the then sports minister refused to allow the team play against Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina etc who wanted a revenge. The minister’s myopic statement that he didn’t want any country to beat the dream team destroyed all avenues of seeking more cash for the football federation.

    Countries with thinking administrators exploit marketing windows to promote their nations through sports. Some of these countries bid to host big sporting events to help revamp their economy. Such bids compel the government to reinvent their cities to be in sync with what operates elsewhere. Until the 1994 World Cup in the USA, soccer was a novelty game which most people couldn’t differentiate from the traditional America football, which was more popular.

    Said Wikipedia: ‘’In 1988, in exchange for FIFA awarding the right to host the 1994 World Cup, U.S. Soccer promised to establish a Division 1 professional soccer league. In 1993, the USSF selected Major League Professional Soccer (the precursor to MLS) as the exclusive Division 1 professional soccer league. Major League Soccer was officially formed in February 1995 as a limited liability company. MLS had originally planned to begin play in 1995 with 12 teams. However, MLS announced in November 1994 that it would delay its launch until 1996 and began with ten teams: Columbus Crew, D.C. United, New England Revolution, NY/NJ MetroStars, Tampa Bay Mutiny, Colorado Rapids, Dallas Burn, Kansas City Wiz, Los Angeles Galaxy, and San Jose Clash.

    ‘’The league had generated some buzz by managing to lure some marquee players from the 1994 World Cup to play in MLS—including U.S. stars such as Alexi Lalas, Tony Meola and Eric Wynalda, and foreign players such as Mexico’s Jorge Campos and Colombia’s Carlos Valderrama. Before its maiden season and inaugural draft, MLS allocated four marquee players across the initial ten teams.’’

    The American government used the 1994 World Cup to rebrand soccer, having already lured retiring soccer stars to their country in the build-up to hosting the USA’94 World Cup. On Monday, America beat Nigeria 2-0 in one of the Poland 2019 U-20 World Cup, which would have been considered a taboo in the past. One of the benefits of hosting the Mundial. Revenue from the 1994 Mundial grew the American economy. The government didn’t stop at hosting the football event, it also hosted the biggest multi-sports event, the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. The Americans hosted the Olympics in 1984 in Los Angeles. Need I restate the revenue generated from basketball, athletics, lawn tennis, golf etc to America’s GDP?

    It is part of the government’s obligations to its citizenry to build sporting infrastructures and create the enabling environment for the industry to thrive. Besides, sports can be used to engage the youth, taking them off crime. The masses can do sporting activities to improve their health. Of course, international bodies won’t favour countries not renowned for particular sports to host anything. For these international sports bodies, hosting their tournaments is another way of spreading the game to such countries. It helps such nations to upgrade the facilities that they have to be in sync with what operates globally.

    The World Cup reinvented Russia but the beauty of the two halves of the cities was that money was properly utilised so much so that it won’t come as a surprise if the older structures are not modernised after the Mundial, given the contrasting outlooks of the two halves. In Russia, high-rise buildings are in vogue and symbolise the housing estates for the people. The buildings are structured in such a way that the over 140 million people are accommodated.

    Hosting the 2018 World Cup was a commercial success for Russia, the government and its citizenry as they milked the benefits of a huge influx of people into the country for over 38 days. The average income per capital per head of a Russian must have risen. The citizens’ purchasing power would be increased. The volume of cash and investment which came with hosting the Mundial for the Russian government is unquantifiable. Indeed, all the cities in Russia has become construction sites with massive modernisation of the infrastructures to the benefit of the people.

  • Popular church battles sit-tight spiritual leader

    A POPULAR church with headquarters in Lagos, which emphasises its African roots, is at daggers drawn with its spiritual leader for refusing to quit the position after surpassing the new mandatory retirement age set by the church.

    Ironically, the clergyman was said to have been part of the body which some years ago took the decision that made it mandatory for the spiritual leader of the church to quit once he clocks the age set for retirement.

    But he was said to have protested when he was reminded recently that his time was up. He made it clear that he would not step down because he was yet to hear from God that he should do so. He said he was appointed by God and that only the one who appointed him can tell him that his time is up. SENTRY recalls a popular minister of God who took on the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in the wake of the controversy that church leaders, whether founders or inheritors, who have spent 10 years in the supreme bodies of their churches should resign. “What nonsense. How can you ask a man you did not employ to resign? It doesn’t make sense.”

    To some other leaders of this popular church, their request to their spiritual leader makes sense. It was a collective decision of everybody, including the spiritual leader some years ago. The matter is said to be tearing the leaders of the church apart as they are now divided into two camps: those in support of the continued stay of the spiritual head and those who are against it.

    Pastor Enoch Adeboye caused a stir in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in 2017 when he stepped down as head of the church in Nigeria in line with the nation’s Corporate Governance Code. The code, proposed in May 2015, limits the number of years heads of corporate organisations can stay in office, with churches falling under the non-profit making category.

  • Fed Govt embroiled in definitional quandary

    INFORMATION minister, Lai Mohammed, presidential spokesmen, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, and to some extent the president himself, Muhammadu Buhari, constitute the main public face of the federal government. The national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, now and again also blurts out statements and sprouts philosophies on behalf of the government to indicate he belongs to the same league. Each is a part of the rich facial tapestry of the government, and all of them are ardent spokesmen of the government in one form (and severity) or the other. However, all of them have managed to define their concepts and terms in ways that puzzle, agitate or sometimes amuse the citizenry.

    In September 2017, to the bemusement of the whole world, but convinced it was doing the right thing, the federal government declared the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) a terrorist organisation. It was clear that the government had a different but possibly pragmatic definition of terrorism from the rest of the world. They knew they were treading on quicksand, and would draw aggressive and unrelenting flak, but they proceeded nevertheless to redefine the term, terrorism. Here is how they did it using IPOB as the guinea pig: “The acts and utterances of IPOB were acts and utterances of terrorists. For instance, Nnamdi Kanu, the IPOB leader was caught on tape saying that they want Biafra and not peacefully, but by force. He declared that if they did not get Biafra, Somalia would be a paradise with the kind of mayhem they would unleash on Nigeria. The group openly embraced arms and ammunition and the leader set up Biafra National Guard, Biafra Secret Service and openly attacked army formations.”

    This engaging definition of terrorism was offered on a BBC Focus on Africa programme in September 2017. Even the anchor of the programme was gobsmacked. He asked why other militant groups like the Fulani herdsmen were not declared terrorists. The Information minister deadpanned: “Acts of criminality should not be confused with terrorism acts.” With his parallels neatly drawn, and indifferent to any other person’s perspectives, the minister gave the impression that the government was not afraid to defy the world in the use of English. But dismayed by the sweeping use of a term that has clearly become a major security concern all over the world, the governments of France, United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) threw back the definition of terrorism in the face of Nigeria. Herdsmen, they chorused, were terrorists, and IPOB was not.

    Defining herdsmen as terrorists had been a tough and long struggle, with many top northern leaders insisting that the Fulani were being unnecessarily stigmatised, despite the inexorable link between the ethnic group and the violent methods of herding cattle in Nigeria. In the same vein they had many years ago stubbornly resisted defining Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation, believing that it was a ploy both to restrict and stereotype the northern part of Nigeria and to put a general obstacle in the path of innocent Nigerians who might want to travel abroad. Nigerians would be subjected to additional scrutiny at international borders, they cautioned. Up till today, the government has waffled considerably in delineating Boko Haram. They are just criminals, they say, and are not even Islamic, they smirk.

    Mr Shehu, one of the president’s spokesmen, caused an uproar early this month when he likened the umbrella body of herdsmen, Miyetti Allah, to some southern-based socio-cultural organisations like the Yoruba Afenifere and Igbo Ohanaeze. It did not occur to him that both southern groups and others like them have nothing to do with the economic activities of their people, nor ever openly agitated for a break-up of the country, nor sanctioned violent migratory practices, nor even promoted ethnic supremacy. Indeed, after Mr Shehu spoke, it finally became clear to many observers that nothing could make the government declare herdsmen as terrorists, as it continues to regard their often militant approach to herding cattle as a minor misunderstanding over grazing lands and practices. As a matter of fact, many government officials, including security chiefs, have refused to denounce the herdsmen’s violent approach to grazing.

    But the government’s definitional puzzles are not limited to hard issues like herdsmen and IPOB. The president himself, on his return to Nigeria in May after a ‘private visit’ to the UK, equated efficiency with weight. There was neither scientific nor philosophical underpinning to what is clearly a puzzling definition. For the 10-day period the president was away, during which the country witnessed some horrendous attacks by bandits, Boko Haram insurgents and herdsmen, it became urgent for Nigerians to find a solution to their security nightmares. The president knew he was expected to offer something drastic, particularly, as some suggested, replacing his security chiefs who were considered a little tired. But suborning the concept of efficiency to the argument, the president mused that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, who was standing before him as he disembarked from the presidential plane, had lost weight, an indication of how hard the police boss was working to regain control of the country’s security situation. Many were appalled by the unorthodox equation, but the presidency simply moved on. The government had given an insight into the definition of the term, and was satisfied with it, even if in the government’s cynical opinion some Nigerians bespattered it with politics.

    If the president meant equating efficiency with weight as a joke, critics said, it was both bizarre and misplaced. But the trouble is that no one else these days seems to know when the president is joking or serious, especially given the gravity of some of the issues confronting him and the country he presides over. Topics like mass murders and frequent abductions, everyone seems to agree, do not admit of jokes of any kind. So, according to some of the president’s critics, he was probably serious in the deployment of that definitional cocktail. Whether the IGP took the definition both seriously and as a compliment or not, no one knows, for Mr Adamu is so taciturn that there does not seem to be a light side to him.

    But no definition took the biscuit quite like the president’s view of the rule of law. Speaking during an inappropriate dinner with senior members of the judiciary, the president pledged to abide by all judicial decisions. “I respect the institution”, he intoned. “I came before you three times before I got here on the fourth run for the office. Your word is the last word on any given issue.” Even though this is the first time he would indicate that he was pleased with serially litigating his defeats, partly because he eventually won without litigation, his previous position had been that the third arm of government was irredeemably corrupt. Does this unusual definition of the rule of law — that their word is the last on any issue — mean that he will henceforth abide by judicial decisions, seeing that he now proclaims an epiphanic respect for that institution? Or does it mean he in fact truly believes that he had always understood the concept, without needing to redefine it, and always obeyed court judgements? It is hard to say.

    What is, however, clear is that until now, and in line with his redefinition of the rule of law, he had always chosen what court judgements to obey, as evidenced by Sambo Dasuki V. Federal Government, and El-Zakzaky and ors V. Federal Government. If he chooses to obey court decisions now, could it not be interpreted as resoluteness consequent upon his achieving or contriving the desired leadership of the judiciary? Whatever the case, his definition is suspect and untested until his government comes face to face with adversarial judgements, especially those that strike at the root of his government or question the legitimacy of his actions and policies.

    Having immersed itself in a deep definitional quandary in the past three years and more, the present government will encourage the Information minister, Mr Mohamed, to continue to pick up the broken pieces of its non-sequiturs and mop the sodden floors of its policy and primordial biases, especially if he is retained in the cabinet, as indeed seems plausible. For only Mr Mohammed, quite unlike many Information ministers that preceded him, appears capable of arguing two contrasting and contending positions with detached plausibility. No one holds the candle to him, not even Tom Ikimi, nor Uche Chukwumerije. But Mr Shehu is hard on his heels.