The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Wenger’s last hurrah

    How time flies. It started as an experiment geared to rejuvenate a football club that was tottering for balance, needing a unique identity which the owners, players, coaches and the fans would be proud of. Indeed, the owners wanted a brand equity for Arsenal FC that would resonate as an index of how clubs should be run as a business, without losing track of its objectives. Today, those who chose Wenger can heave a sigh of relief that the Gunners play inside its stadium complex among other marketing windows it has exploited to be one of the richest clubs in the world.

    Arsenal’s search for Arsene Wenger took them to the Far East, precisely Japan, long before the Asians hosted any big soccer fiesta. So, who spotted Wenger? Is the scout still with the Gunners to search for his replacement? Posers, as the media are awash with names which may be farfetched when the decision is made. Wenger fitted the business edge bill which the owners were looking for, resulting in the 22 years that the Frenchman spent at the Emirates. Besides winning trophies and turning rookies into household names in world soccer, Wenger believed in young Africans, a factor which pushed many from the continent to support his teams, not just Arsenal.

    From Wenger’s first African signing in the form of Liberian Christopher Wreh to his last Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon, the Frenchman’s liking of talents from the continent was always apparent.

    The 14 other African players to don the Arsenal shirt under his tutelage were Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Marouane Chamakh (Morocco), Kaba Diawara (Guinea), Quincy (Ghana), Emmanuel Eboue (Ivory Coast), Alex Song (Cameroon), Mohamed Elneny (Egypt), Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast), Emmanuel Frimpong (Ghana), Armand Traore (Senegal) and Gervinho (Ivory Coast).

    Before Victor Ikpeba became the “Prince of Monaco”, Wenger helped to shape the Nigerian’s game in France, culminating in Ikpeba being crowned African Footballer of the Year.

    Little wonder George Opong Weah invited the Frenchman to his inauguration as Liberia’s President.

    Indeed, Weah was quoted to have said: “When I started playing football, I never thought I would ever win the Ballon d’Or and emerge as the best player in the world. I just had a passion for the game and I worked hard. Everyday, I would rather train than eat or sleep.

    “When I moved to Monte Carlo [to play for Monaco from the Cameroonian club Tonnerre Yaoundé in 1988] I didn’t play for the first six months. But I was determined to showcase my talent, to prove to those back home, who thought that my coming to Europe was a waste of time, that I was a good player.

    “He [Wenger] was a father figure and regarded me as his son. This was a man, when racism was at its peak, who showed me love. He wanted me to be on the pitch for him every day.”

    “One day, I was quite tired of training and told him that I was having a headache. He said to me: ‘George, I know it’s tough but you need to work hard. I believe that with your talent, you can become one of the best players in the world.’ So, I listened and kept going on. Besides God, I think that without Arsène, there was no way I would have made it in Europe,” Weah  is quoted in The Guardian to have said.

    A tall skinny Frenchman kneeling on the sidelines puffing his cigarettes were the early pictures of his sojourn at Arsenal. But he knew his mission and sprang surprises early in his 22 years stay.

    Where was Wenger coming from? What attributes did the scouts see? Did Wenger’s innocent looks sunk inside an oval shaped pair of silver reading glasses show that he knew his goal when he said: ”I tried to watch the Tottenham match on television in my hotel yesterday, but I fell asleep.” Who says Wenger doesn’t indulge in mind games?

    In his very first press conference as Gunners boss in 1996, Wenger took this sly dig at local rivals Spurs.

    “One of the things I discovered in Japan was from watching sumo wrestling. At the end you can never tell who has won the fight, and who has lost, because they do not show their emotion because it could embarrass the loser. It is unbelievable. That is why I try to teach my team politeness. It is only here in England that everybody pokes their tongue out when they win.”

    “Before I start, I just want to say that at Arsenal we care and I would like to wish my fellow manager (Sir Alex) Ferguson well, very quickly. Thank you for having me for such a long time. I know it was not easy. But above all, I’m like you — I’m an Arsenal fan.

    “This is more than just watching football, it’s a way of life. It’s caring about the beautiful game, about the values we cherish, and as well, that something that goes for all our bodies in every cell of our bodies. We care, we worry, we are desperate, but when you come here, at the theatre of dreams, we realise what it means.

    “I would like as well to thank everyone at the club who make it so special. I would invite you, to really push and support these players and the staff who remain behind me. This group of players has a special quality. Not only on the pitch, but off the pitch. Please, as you follow this team, support them next season because they deserve it.

    “I would like to finish in one simple sentence: I will miss you. Thank you all for having such an important part of my life, thank you all, well done, bye bye.”

    Let me conclude with one simple word- ‘’I will miss you,’’ Wenger said.

    On a personal note as a Nigerian, one must commend Wenger for reviving Nwankwo Kanu’s career at a time other managers had ruled him out of the game completely. Wenger’s eyes were on Kanu until he was healed of his heart ailment. Today, Kanu is an Arsenal legend.

    Former Arsenal FC jewel Nwankwo Kanu spared no word in describing who Frenchman, Arsene Wenger is to him, and what he gained from his tutelage as a Gunner, stressing that: ‘’He’s been like a father figure for all of us.’’

    Kanu, not one to be left behind when it comes to giving honour to whom it is due, was part of   the audience which celebrated Wenger’s last game at the Emirates Stadium in London, with the Gunners whipping Bournemouth 5-0.

    In an interview with Arsenal.com, Kanu said: ‘’For me, when I was at Inter Milan he did everything to try to get me to Arsenal for six months. That’s the kind of person you want to be and want to support.

    “At the time, nobody believed in me. They were like, ‘You’re coming out from hospital, can you play football? But he believed in me and when I came here, I didn’t disappoint him. That’s why I’m here today.’’

    ‘’I love [the celebrations of him at the Emirates]. It’s a very good show of respect. I’ve seen a lot of people wearing red saying ‘Merci Arsène’.

    “After the game, nobody left their seat. They’re all here to support him, say goodbye and thank him for all he has done for the club.”

    Were the fans happy to see Wenger’s back? Many wept. Most of the them wore Arsenal shirts with number 22 written at the back. Wenger was shocked at the reception he received, unlike in the last few years when drones were hoisted seeking his immediate exit?

    All hail Arsene Wenger. And like the French say, ‘Merci Arsène’.

     

    Brand war in Eagles

     

    It is good to note that two of the biggest soft drinks brands are locked in the marketing fight for key Super Eagles players. Eagles Captain John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses are Pepsi Cola Ambassadors. But, Eagles are partners with Coca-Cola for the Russia 2018 World Cup. Did I hear you say that shouldn’t be a problem? Wait for it.

    Super Eagles’ photo-shoot for the World Cup has Coca-Cola branding. Mikel’s and Moses’ business managers cannot stand seeing their wards in Coca-Cola colours. They are kicking that it is in conflict with their contractual agreements with Pepsi Cola. Too bad.

    FIFA rules allow players to wear boots of their choice, not jerseys. So, Mikel and Moses must wear the brand which the team represents, since that is what the brand wants to give them the mileage for the massive sponsorship of the World Cup, especially through the qualified countries, such as Nigeria.

    If Nigeria had not qualified for the World Cup, it wouldn’t have mattered. Those who said that participating in the Mundial was a waste of money because Nigeria wouldn’t win the trophy must hide their faces with this interesting development from the biggest brands in the Cola industry.

    Moses and Mikel must wear the Nigeria jersey branded by Coca Cola since it is Nigeria’s national anthem that will be sung before matches, not NFF’s. Would Nigeria have qualified without Moses’ and Mikel’s contributions? Yes. Nobody is bigger than the country. After all, there were matches both stars missed due to injuries and we won. They are an integral part of the team, but Nigeria comes first at the Mundial. Chins up, guys.

    However, one must commend the two brands for changing the face of soccer in the country. No more war, please.

  • Democracy, justice and global security

    While  new  conflicts and squabbles  arise with   fury   around the world in recent times,  giving rising to  fearful  speculations that the  third World  War  is upon us, there is some comfort  in the fact that  some old quarrels are  being resolved in  unexpected  ways  that  redress  old political   injuries  in quite comforting  manner.  A  list  is not difficult  to  make. From   the  warm  welcome  Donald  Trump  gave to  three American  hostages  released  from N Korea as a precursor  to the   historic, meeting  between  the US  leader  and his N Korean  counterpart;  to the defeat  of the incumbent  PM  Najib  Razak of Asian Tiger  Malaysia  by his  godfather Manathir   Mohamad   aged   92,  who  switched  to  the opposition to win  a sweet  victory  against  a party  he led for 22 years;  to  the declaration of the Nigeria Police  boss as unfit  to hold  public  office;    and the  proxy  war  that suddenly  broke  out between  Israel  and Iran just  as the US president repudiated  the Iran  Nuclear  deal  signed  by his predecessor  and current members of the Security  Council  and Germany.

    The  first issue, which  is the release  of US  citizens  by the North  Korean leader  as  a friendly  diplomatic  gesture to the US and  its president,  is a personal diplomatic  victory  for the 45th  US president,  Donald   Trump     who  has   had    a    very  bad press in his nation.  No  one can  take that  victory  away  from  him.  This was  a leader  characterized  as a diplomatic  moron and war  monger in the way  he called  the bluff  of the N Korean leader in telling  him that he and his nation  would pay a huge price if  he continues his missile tests against International  law. The N Korean’s father  and grandfather  had always  threatened the world this way  only to be pacified  with  economic bounties  and  aid  once they  agreed  to relent on threatening   the civilized  world with  nuclear  annihilation. Previous  US  presidents from Reagan, through Bush  snr, Bill  Clinton, Bush  Jnr    and   Barak   Obama went through  this  carrot  and stick  motion  without  any permanent   or   peaceful  solution. Until  Trump’s  dare  devil  cowboy approach  which is now  evolving into  an  unexpected   regional   peace  and  unity   of the two  Koreas  separated  by war since 1953.  I have  called  for  Trump   to be given  the Nobel  Prize  for  peace  when  the news of  a meeting between  the two  broke. I  repeat  that call  with  more  vigor  and conviction now   as the great  conference  between  the two  leaders  appears imminent   on  June  12    at   Singapore   and is  indeed  turning   into  the most  wonderful  diplomatic  coup  for global  peace in our time.

    The  second  issue was  the victory of  a former  PM of  Malaysia,  Manathir  Mohamad  a  92  year  old  man who  defeated the incumbent  PM  Najib  Razak  after  abandoning the party both  led –  the  Barisan National  – [BN ] because  the old man  lamented  that  he could  not  stay  in a party  tainted  with  the stigma  of  corruption. In  addition  the old man’s  opposition  party  won  with  a huge majority.  He  has  said  he will  lead  for two  years and make way  for  the man  he persecuted  on trumped  up  charges of  sodomy,   Anwar  Ibrahim,    his estranged  Deputy   PM   when  he was in  power   and was accused  of  dictatorial  tendencies.  Manathir  made  a mark  as a leader  with economic insight  by making crucial  financial reforms  and  regulatory  interventions  in  Malaysia at a time when other world leaders led their  nations into economic  disaster  by allowing the so called  invisible hand of the free  market  to guide  economies  undergoing marketization  and democratic  change  at the same time. The  beauty  of this  unique  Malaysian  political  romance  is that Manathir  condemned  corruption in his  former party, joined the opposition  and won  power  back.  In addition  his promise to bring back  his former  Deputy, Anwar  Ibrahim    and  hand over  power  to him in two  years  makes  this  a great political   comeback    fairy tale  of all  time,   second  only  to  the   forthcoming  great  meeting between Donald  Trump  and the N Korean leader Kim  Jung Un on  June 12  in  Singapore.

    The  third  issue  in our Odyssey on this page  today   is the war  between  the Nigerian  Senate  and the nation’s Inspector  General  of  Police. Both  have  been quite  hostile  in their  condemnation of each other   and both  cannot  be wrong  or  right. First  the IG  has  the right to designate  any  one sufficiently senior  to  represent him  before  any  institution  including the Senate.  That is his inherent power of delegation of responsibility and it  is   his prerogative,  as long as he does  not delegate    his authority    and abandon  responsibility.  I  do  not think  the senate  is accusing him of this yet. For  the senate  to write  him  off    because  he has not shown  up personally is to personalize  the issue  and topic  for discussion.

     

    • Continued online www.staging.thenationonlineng.net

  • Stamp duty impunity

    Almost three years into the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, Nigeria continues to walk a fiscal tight rope. The punitive wages of economic recession from which the nation has only just fragilely emerged was partly the result of the horrific corruption of the preceding PDP years of the locust, which was compounded by the initial political inertia and policy lethargy of the emergent All Progressives Congress (APC) administration at the centre. Despite the Buhari administration’s substantial stanching of the massive haemorrhaging of public resources through its anti-corruption strategies as well as its herculean efforts to diversify the economy and enhance self-reliance, millions of Nigerians still remain in the stranglehold of mass immiseration.

    As the Federal Government has no choice but to intensify its quest for foreign loans in the face of its largely inherited fiscal crisis, the World Bank this week raised an alarm over the country’s rising external indebtedness along with other African countries. A majority of state governments owe several months of workers’ salaries, allowances and pensions and are unable to meet other obligations to the general public. The virtual paralysis of federal health institutions nationwide as a result of the ongoing strike action by aggrieved health workers over unmet demands illustrates the near state of emergency into which governance has been thrown in Nigeria due to severe financial denudation.

    Against this background, is it not utterly scandalous that about N20 trillion, being revenues from Stamp Duties which ought to have been long paid into the Federation Account for onward disbursement to the federal and state governments, continue to be illegally withheld by the requisite financial institutions and authorities that ought to know better? It is significant that the creative professional and financial engineering ingenuity that led to the generation of this fund is that of Nigerians and not any foreign experts. Specifically, the credit goes to the School of Banking Honours (SBH), an Innovative Enterprise Institution (IEI) and monotechnic registered under Nigerian law to research into banking operations and collaborate with banks and government on banking matters.

    On September 11, last year, this newspaper published an exhaustive investigative story by the Group Business Editor, Simeon Ebulu, detailing how the government and people of Nigeria had for several years been denied the opportunity of benefiting from the humongous funds reaped through stamp duties from the banking public but shrouded in suspicious bureaucratic secrecy. In the report, the SBH’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tola Adekoya, disclosed how, in pursuit of its mandate, the institution’s Job Creation and Research Department discovered that the country was losing gargantuan amounts of revenue, which ought to accrue to the Federation Account, as a result of the non-enforcement of relevant provisions of extant Stamp Duty laws as well as the Federal Government Financial Regulations (2009).

    To plug this loophole and correct the anomaly, the SBH approached the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) on 20th April, 2012, and intimated the latter of an unexploited opportunity in the Stamp Duties Act, 2004, to increase its internally generated revenue by affixing adhesive stamp on banking receipts as provided for in the law. On the basis of this initiative, the SBH entered into a Masters Services Agreement with NIPOST on September 14, 2012, to help facilitate the collection of Stamp Duties on banking receipts in compliance with the Stamp Duty Act, 2004. Armed with the Masters Services Agreement with NIPOST, the SBH approached the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for authorization to engage Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and other qualified institutions as collecting agents in the stamping and remittance of legally stipulated stamp duties. The CBN gave the required approval on December 3, 2012. And on October 15, 2015, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) issued the SBH a Copyright Certificate (No. LW1023) affirming its copyright ownership of the initiative on stamp duty collection.

    Before the initiative of the SBH, stamp duty on all Cheques with a value above N500,000 had been paid to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) since 1993 with the revenue allegedly not remitted to the Federation Account over the years as required by law. With the intervention of the SBH, however, the scope of the Stamp Duty was vastly expanded to encompass N50 per banking transaction covering manual and e-transfers from N1000 and above. The mandatory stamp duty payment was also extended to cover Local e-transfers, international transfers, internet-banking, ATMs, Point of Sale and e-mobile all covered under the CBN Act, 1991, but inexplicably overlooked until the lapse was pointed out by the SBH.

    Apparently exhausting its patience after waiting for three years with no stamp duty revenue reportedly remitted to the Federation Account and its legal entitlement on the project not met, the SBH issued a Demand Notice to the NIBSS dated 10th March, 2015, entitled ‘Stamp Duty on Electronic Receipts (2013-2014)’ alleging that the sum of N7.719 trillion accruing from stamp duty on electronic cashless transfer between 2013 and 2014 had been illegally kept with the NIBSS rather being transferred to the Federation Account for the benefit of the federal and state governments. According to the SBH, the over N7 trillion in question represents an average of N160 billion realized daily from the specified banking transactions in only five states in 2013 and 2014.

    The institution estimates that when account is taken of the amount that has inevitably accrued on stamp duty over an additional three-year period (2014-2017), the unremitted revenue to the Federation Account stands at about N20 trillion. This implies that the 36 states will be entitled to no less than N200 billion each from the first tranche of the inexplicably withheld revenue.

    In an editorial on the issue published in its 18th September, 2017, edition, this newspaper wrote: “For a country just getting out of the throes of recession and needing every kobo it can get to accelerate the rate of economic recovery and further growth, the SBH’s allegations are too serious to ignore. The appropriate authorities must urgently look into the issue with a view to unearthing the truth and recovering any due amount into the Federation Account if the SBH’s claims are found to be credible”. And true to his anti-corruption credentials, President Buhari reportedly authorized that the issues in contention be investigated and the verified facts made available to him expeditiously.

    It was certainly on this basis that the presidency on 12th October, 2017, approved the retention of the SBH in partnership with Messrs. International Investment Law & Arbitration LLC as the legal Stamp Duties recovery Agent/Consultant with a mandate to “recover over N20 trillion from Nigerian Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to the Federation Account in line with your patent right now in force”. While the Presidency assured the SBH that “the Federal Government will provide you and your partner (International Investment Law & Arbitration LLC) with adequate security during the assignment”, it however stated that “your consultancy fee is 7.5% of the total amount recovered as against 20% earlier agreed in the Master Services Agreement with the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST)”.

    And obviously to underscore its seriousness on the matter, the Presidency followed up with a written directive to the Central Bank Governor on 19th October, 2017, stating the official role of SBH and International Investment Law & Arbitration LLC in the recovery of “the sum of N20.0 trillion Stamp Duty through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc. (NIBSS)” and stressing that “The Consultants will introduce a sustainable template to meet the CBN directive of 3rd December, 2012, for Messrs. School of Banking Honours to sweep Stamp Duty accruing from banks and other financial institutions into Government coffers, as patented under the Law”. The apex bank was further mandated to “direct the Management of NIBSS, Banks and other Financial Institutions to cooperate with the Consultants to access all records relevant to the success of the assignment”.

    Despite the unequivocal presidential directive, the SBH claims it has met a brick wall in its efforts to commence work on its mandate particularly from the NIBSS. While the SBH met with legal representatives of the CBN on February 1st, 2018, its meeting with the NIBSS scheduled for 5th February, 2018, was reportedly aborted with the latter claiming to be still awaiting a directive from the CBN on the issue. As millions of Nigerians continue to wallow in ever deepening poverty, it is unconscionable to allow N20 trillion that ought to be paid into the Federation Account to ameliorate the plight of the people to continue to lie idle for no apparent just cause.

    If the NIBSS has alternative facts to render the claims of the SBH nugatory, it should make them available for the consideration of the presidency. To continue to stonewall as the NIBSS seems to be doing in the face of the SBH’s legal claims and the clear position of the presidency is an act of intolerable impunity.

  • Odigie-Oyegun, Oshiomhole and APC’s future

    BY the time he was through riding the emotional roller coaster of the past few weeks, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, had all but perished the idea of cobbling up a formidable coalition to retain his position as party boss. The deciding factor was President Muhammadu Buhari’s definitive statement indicating support for the younger and more agile former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole. Between January and March, it had seemed like it would take a herculean effort to unhorse the adamant party chairman. He had the support and encouragement of most of the party’s governors, many of whom seethed in revolt against what they termed the obtruding influence of some national leaders of the APC. Party executives at all levels also appeared to vote for continuity, arguing with engaging self-centeredness that stability was paramount in what to them is an election year. The ding-dong battle of wills and wits, much of it based on legal cum electoral sophistry, continued in favour of Mr Odigie-Oyegun until the vacillating president finally put his foot down.

    Now, with Mr Oshiomhole certain to enjoy coronation at the party’s national convention, probably sometime in June, Mr Odigie-Oyegun’s fate seems sealed, except he can make the heavens fall. But neither he nor any of the voluble governors who had sworn to stand by him through thick and thin has the appetite to take on the president. They had all hoped to sway the president by the massive support shown their nervous chairman, and had even made a show of opposing the president by citing many constitutional and legal provisions in support of their stand. As persuasive as the provisions were, and as copious and convincing as the pro-Odigie-Oyegun forces were, they all came a cropper once the president took a stand.

    In fact, when the ding-dong was still going on, the party chairman had made cynical allusions to the futility of the media campaign engineered against his person, obviously referring to this newspaper. But the smug was soon wiped off his face when the president, weighing his chances in the coming polls, and perhaps convinced that the legal ground on which the discordant options the party was inclined to embrace was wafer thin, found it enormously attractive to repudiate Mr Odigie-Oyegun and promote Mr Oshiomhole’s candidature. Given the age of the chairman, not to say his ineffectiveness in partisan politics at the local level and his inability to offer the party the inspiring leadership needed to overwhelm the opposition, he will probably retire into the background once this is all over. He fought a bold and courageous tenure elongation fight to retain his office for an extended period — or at least till after the next general elections — but in the end, the cards were heavily stacked against him.

    If Mr Odigie-Oyegun can somehow manage to efficiently organise the May-June party congresses and convention with the aplomb he claims to possess, the party might experience some lift, some renewal, some energy, even some added cohesion. But nothing is cast in granite. Many safe assumptions can still go wrong if the president does not continue to put his foot down as severely as he has done lately. The chairman’s supporters may have been cajoled into repudiating their previous objectives of either temporary tenure elongation or even four additional years for the party’s executives, but nothing suggests that their bitterness has abated, or that they have become resigned to admitting defeat or supporting the new officials who will be elected at the coming congresses and convention. In fact, they will now probably be more determined to ensure that the tendency represented by Mr Odigi-Oyegun should fill vacant positions and influence the thinking of the party in the foreseeable future. They know by instinct that as powerful as the president may be, there is a limit to how widely and how long he can ride roughshod over their feelings or the party.

    The party may at last have been coaxed into some form of peaceful resolution of the crisis ravaging their ranks, a kind of unity they are unaccustomed to, a unity they dare not hope is real or even achievable. However, that peace is unlikely to be more than tentative for reasons party leaders know all too well. The APC, despite its grandstanding and ideals, never seemed structured right from its foundations to unite or to operate as a formidable and enduring party. It is an agglomeration of strange bedfellows, competing ideologies, and frantic and quarrelsome leaders. That they won the last general elections was, among other factors, probably because the former ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), expired under its own weight of contradictions and lethargy. Since the APC could not invest itself with the energy and vision needed to crown its electoral effort with permanence and strength, it led to muted but bitter factionalism within the party, a division that is now vented through the fissures among party leaders, cracks which the president has now spread a thin veneer of normality.

    If the APC should assume its problems would be resolved by the exit of the disputatious Mr Odigie-Oyegun and the entry of the frenetic Mr Oshiomhole, they cannot be more mistaken. The current chairman is simply a manifestation of the lack of order and clear structure in the party. It is probably true that had he possessed the neutrality and political acumen needed to anchor the party firmly, both operationally and ideologically, he would have built the party into a formidable machine for electoral conquests as well as provided the balance the party’s ideological vacuum has made frustratingly slow in coming. Ordinarily, a president under the Nigerian constitution has tremendous influence in shaping the integrity and direction of the party. But the reluctance of President Buhari to help shape that direction and integrity in the last three years has partly led to the disarray in the party as APC leaders fight to fill the vacuum.

    Apart from the dissension among party leaders, the young APC needed to make a commanding ideological statement as well as undergird its operations with unambiguous and solid philosophical frameworks. Since the president has remained a proud conservative, and since he has shunned the complexities of envisioning a transcendental philosophical direction for the party, the APC was left without a soul, not to talk of a soul it could call its own. To some extent, the country could tell what the president stands for, as confusing and simplistic and contradictory as these sometimes are, but no one can tell what the party really stands for or is prepared to even die for. Perhaps the 2019 campaigns would help the party forge that identity.

    It is against these yawning partisan lacunae that Mr Oshiomhole is sold by the president and many party leaders and faithful as the deus ex machina to vivify party organisation and activism, a redeemer to extricate the party from the confusion stultifying its vision and identity. There is some sense in sharing this partisan delusion. Mr Oshiomhole has a vibrant labour union background, once ruled Edo State with a fair degree of success, largely has a mind of his own, and possesses the instinct of an accomplished negotiator and dealmaker. But his unionism is mistaken for an ideology, for the former governor is really nothing more than an enthusiastic proponent of pragmatism, a pragmatism the party apparently hopes to profit from when it should really flourish more by the former governor’s inexistent but distinguishing progressivism.

    Though he is more likely to run the party much more firmly and perhaps far better than Mr Odigie-Oyegun, there is, however, nothing in Mr Oshiomhole’s background to indicate that he has the depth and vision required to recast the party’s wobbly foundation. The fundamental problem facing the party is not just its lack of a lofty and sturdy foundation, but the inability of the president himself to imbue the party with anything properly resembling a concise and coherent body of ideas, and his refusal to conceive a leitmotif around which the party’s competing factions could coalesce and draw breath. Given his aggressiveness and can-do spirit, Mr Oshiomhole should be able to make a dent on the problems confronting the party. But he is unlikely to fashion the APC into the inspiring and revolutionary organ needed to make it run as a disciplined political organisation, let alone one that can impose discipline and exert influence on its elected officials.

    Above all, by enabling the president to virtually singlehandedly determine who would be the party’s chairman, the APC may have inadvertently conferred on the president dictatorial powers certain to undermine the party in the long run. The PDP fell on that obsolete sword. If the APC will not discipline itself to find the right balance between its governors, party leaders and the presidency in electing and selecting its officials, especially given the almost total lack of ideological flavour and depth in the party, it is a question of time before they experience the withering rejection that is still causing the PDP so much distress.

  • Blockchain technology, Buhari and Trump

    Poverty  Alleviation  is pet  project  of mine and takes  a lot  of my time in terms of reading and research. My   abiding interest in the subject  is   based  on my belief  that the world will be a better place if each  human  being can eke  a  decent   living   above subsistence  level  and take care of his or her  family with an  assured income or means of  sustenance. You  may track my  obsession with poverty alleviation  to the Socialist  ideal  that the rich  man  cannot sleep  well  when  surrounded by  hungry  neighbours  and you may  be right. But  really  that is what  is at the back of my mind in treating today’s  topic   which emanated    from   three   events  that  happened  this last  week.

    The  first  was the   US  visit of the Nigerian  President Muhammadu  Buhari  and his warm  welcome by  his host, the American President  Donald  Trump.  The  second  is the Inaugural  Blockchain  Africa Conference taking place at The Wheatbaker in Ikoyi  Lagos  Nigeria on  Monday May 7 and the import  of that  for  both  Nigeria and the  US  and  of course  how that affects poverty  alleviation. The   third was the video I watched on Youtube  on the travails  and   shortcomings  of Globalisation  by well  known Peruvian Economist Horatio  de Soto  who  had    propounded  the theory or position that   the recognition of property rights  for  the poor   in developing  nations can  mitigate  the pervading negative effects of globalization  and lift  the  world’s  suffering masses  out  of poverty. Now   I  think  you can  see  how   and why  I am in love with this Peruvian Economist.

    To  me,  anyone who  can promote the creed of  poverty alleviation  and show that it is not an economic mirage certainly  has my  unflinching  admiration.  Indeed  I see  today’s  topic  in the context of  de Soto’s  theory  that the developed   world  evolved  from  the people as a nation, then the   coming  and exploitation   of   capital  and lastly  the rule of law. America in particular in the video evolved from, settlements in the frontiers, through the Industrial Revolution icon, the steam  engine and the railroads,  followed by property  rights, which created   and cemented   the rule of law.  De Soto  affirms  that two  thirds  of the population of the world is living in poverty because  of globalization  while only a third enjoys the fruits of globalization which  he insists are  abundant and economically rewarding  and beneficial  for the lucky  third of the world. The  rest, that is us in Africa, Asia, the Middle  East  wallow in poverty because we  have been  cut  off by our  lack  of recognition  and identification  of  property  rights for  our citizens, who in that state  of existence  constitute Dead Capital. In  giving  property  rights to  such  poor  citizens  they  can use  the property as collateral  to borrow  money  and invest and enter  the modern economy  and thereby  lift  themselves  out  of poverty.

    This  ties in beautifully  with  the nature  of the new  Blockchain   Technology  holding its Africa Confab here in Lagos  at  the Wheatbaker  in Ikoyi  on  Monday.  Blockchain Technology  is a revolutionary  financial technology   which  creates a  digital  financial  landscape  of records, registration  and distribution of information in a transparent  manner.  It  eliminates  third party  participation and makes financial  transactions available  to  anyone who  wants to be involved. For  security it uses private key cryptology   and the internet  for records  and  a    protocol  for authorization. Blockchain  Technology  like property  rights in de Soto’s  theory opens the financial  world not only to banks, lawyers  and accountants  but  to all  and sundry.  Indeed  Blockchain  Technology aims  intrinsically  to eliminate  middle  men  in  financial  transactions.

    For  clarity  of purpose   let  me define Blockchain  and Cryptocurrency  which  are some of the newest  words in the authoritative  Merriam Webster  dictionary. It  says   ‘Blockchain [n]is  a  digital  database containing information [such as records of financial  transaction ] that can  be  simultaineously   used  and shared   within  a large  decentralized, publicly accessible network  also;  the   technology  used to  create such  database, first  known use 2011 ‘This  dictionary  also   defined  ‘Crypto currency – any  form  of currency that only exists digitally, that  usually  has no central   issuing or regulating authority but instead  uses a decentralized  system  to record transactions and manage the  issuance of new units and that relies on cryptography to prevent  counterfeiting and fraudulent  transactions.  First known use 1990.

    With  this in mind let  us look  at  the visit of our   President to the US President  and the  import  of that for poverty  alleviation and  the  relevance  of  Blockchain  Technology  in all  that.   Aside  from their  distinctly  different  backgrounds   as   soldier  and   businessman, both  gentlemen  at  this point  of their chequered  political  career and leadership  of their  nations,  have a lot in common, which  may alarm   many Nigerians  and Americans alike.

    • Continue online www.staging.thenationonlineng.net

  • Albert Einstein, science and religioin

    There are so many enriching, stimulating ennobling and enlightening thoughts on diverse aspects of life – human rights, education, friendship, freedom, morality, politics, science etc. – in Albert Einstein’s collection of essays simply titled ‘Ideas and Opinions’. We have, however, chosen to focus today on the great scientist’s views as regards religion, morality, God and the relationship of these phenomena to the scientific vocation and imagination. Einstein’s essays which will inform the reflections in this piece are: ‘Religion and Science’; ‘The religious Spirit of Science’ and ‘Religion and Science Irreconcilable?’

    Some of the keenest intellects and most outstanding personalities of our time – scientific and non-scientific – have dismissed religion as utterly pre-scientific and mythical. In the same vein, they have derided the idea of God as a veritable illusion. Here in Nigeria, for instance, the late engineering genius, Professor AyodeleAwojobi, was a professed agnostic. He said he had no evidence to prove the existence or otherwise of God. The late Dr. Tai Solarin and BekoRansomeKuti were also lifelong atheists who denied belief in the existence of the supernatural. Yet, the trio were veritable moral exemplars and fighters for truth and justice whose lives showed that there is no necessarily ineluctable nexus between religious belief and a moral outlook on life.

    The British mathematician, philosopher and winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1950, Professor Bertrand Russell was also a professed atheist throughout his long life. I remember poring for hours over his treatise titled ‘One hundred reasons why I am not a Christian’ at the central library of the University of Ibadan as a student. A contemporary scientist who is a passionate advocate of atheism is Professor Richard Dawkins, is the English ethnologist and evolutionary biologist, whose explosive book, ‘The God Delusion’, published in 2006 has sold millions of copies around the world. He contends in the highly controversial and polemical book that the whole idea of God’s existence is a delusion and that religious belief is difficult to distinguish from some form of insanity. On a personal note, I find it difficult to believe that such a complex, intricate and well-ordered world like ours could have come into existence simply by chance or that creation can exist without a creator. Would it not be ridiculous if somebody claimed that Professor Dawkin’s book simply sprang to life by chance without an author that conceived, designed and wrote it? But then, mine is no scientific mind and my seeming ignorance may thus be permitted.

    Now, there are important points of convergence as well as fundamental divergences between Richard Dawkins and Albert Einstein’s conceptions of God, religion and morality. Like Dawkins, Einstein does not believe in what the former describes as an “interventionist, miracle-working, thought-reading, sin-punishing, prayer-answering God of the Bible”. Both men denounce the idea that there is a supernatural and personal God who interferes with the affairs of men and the universe. Another point on which both men are agreed in my view is their belief that there is no logically necessary relationship between religion and morality; that man does not need religion in order to be good. As Einstein puts it “A man’s ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education and social ties and needs, no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death”. This observation reminds us of the Sufi Muslim poet who wrote: “O Lord, if I worship thee in fear of hell, burn me in hell; If I worship thee in hope of heaven, deny me of heaven; But if I worship thee for thy own sake, withhold not thy beauty everlasting”.

    However, unlike Dawkins who mercilessly deprecates religion and launches a most vicious and virulent attack on the notion of God, Einstein demonstrates a greater respect and understanding of the role of religion in promoting the good and welfare of humanity. According to him, “For the moral attitudes of a people that are supported by religion need always aim at preserving and promoting the sanity and vitality of the community and its individuals, since otherwise this community is bound to perish. A people that were to honour falsehood, defamation, fraud, and murder would be unable, indeed, to subsist for very long”. Yet, he also laments the wide gulf between the lofty claims and ideals of religion and the actual lived experience of humanity. In his words “For while religion prescribes brotherly love in the relations among the individuals and groups, the actual spectacle more resembles a battlefield than an orchestra. Everywhere, in economic as well as in political life, the guiding principle is one of ruthless striving for success at the expense of one’s fellow men”.

    Einstein traces the evolution of religion from beliefs based on fear of the supernatural that characterized primitive human society to the social and moral conception of religion and a God who, protects rewards and punishes a human species that he loves and cherishes. This he says is found in Judeo-Christian religion as well as the religions of the peoples of the Orient. For him, however, the highest conception of religion is what he describes as the Cosmic Religious feeling – which he obviously favours personally. This Cosmic religion, he claims, is borne of “the sublimity and marvellous order which reveal themselves both in nature and in the world of thought”. Continuing, he avers that “In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views”. In other words, despite his lack of belief in a personal God who intervenes in human affairs, Einstein cannot believe that such a well ordered world as ours could exist without a designer.

    For Einstein, then, science is not necessarily a substitute for religion. He believes that both phenomena serve qualitatively different ends. Science provides man with the knowledge of what is; how various parts of an observable physical universe relate to each other but it cannot dictate “what should be the goal of human aspirations”. He argues that our fundamental ends, aspirations and purposes as human beings cannot be determined by scientific demonstrations, “but through revelation, through the medium of powerful personalities. One must not attempt to justify them but rather to sense their nature simply and clearly”.

  • Mourinho: Of lies and injustice

    Jose Mourinho is not one to look the other way when his reputation is at stake. He provides facts to correct untrue claims, which is good for posterity. Until Saturday, the notion was that Mourinho sold Egypt’s sensation Mohammed Salah to Roma FC to enjoy regular first team shirt.

    Last week, I alluded to this submission and thought it expedient to restate Mourinho’s new position on the matter for fairness. Mourinho told the international media that he bought Salah from Basle FC of Switzerland in January 2014 for £14million, branding the whole scenario a ‘lie’ and ‘another injustice’.

    Speaking to ESPN Brazil, Mourinho said: ‘’It is the first time that I  am going to say this, but it is another injustice that has been talked about me.

    ‘’People say that I was the one that sold Salah and it is the opposite. I bought Salah. I was the one that told Chelsea to buy Salah. It was with me in charge that Salah came to Chelsea. But he came as a young kid. Physically, he was not ready, mentally he was not ready, socially and culturally, he was lost and everything was tough for him.

    ‘’We decided to put him on loan and he asked for that as well. He wanted to play more minutes, to mature. He wanted to go and we sent him on loan to Fiorentina and at Fiorentina he started to mature.

    ‘’Chelsea decided to sell him, OK? And when they say that I was the one that sold him, it is a lie. I bought him. I agreed to send him on loan. I thought it was  necessary. I thought that Chelsea had wingers.

    Some of them are still there like Willian, Eden Hazard and all those players already in a different level.

    ‘’Effectively, I did buy Salah. I didn’t sell Salah, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that he is a fantastic player, and I am really happy for everything that is happening for him and especially because he scores against everyone and he didn’t score against us in two games.’’

    Well said Jose, even though we know that if you needed him, he wouldn’t have been released. All that is in the past. One thing is clear, Mourinho gave the English game the spark that made it the most talked about competition in Europe with his mind games, which help raise the stakes before such games.

    Mind games helped Mourinho unsettle inexperienced managers just as it gave the witty one an insight of what to expect from his opponents, for those who responded. I wonder what the English game would have been without Mourinho.

    In fact, any game involving Mourinho and Arsene Wenger was best illustrated with the caricatures of both men in gloves slugging it out inside the ring and Mourinho didn’t disappoint with his theatrics, which Wenger bought until he became wiser. Mourinho enjoyed seeing Wenger angry, which is the hallmark of his mind games. Lovers of Mourinho’s coaching savvy are glad that he gave Wenger cause to smile on match day last week, unlike in the past when we would have been talking about the fallouts of Sunday’s match at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester.

    Wenger will definitely remember last Sunday, although he would lament the late winner scored by Fellani. He would have loved a drawn game, more so, as another King of the Dugout, Sir Alex Ferguson, gave him a plaque, which he will cherish for life. Wenger’s 22 years of coaching in the English game ranks next to Ferguson’s. Together, they changed the face of the game with their unique approaches, culminating in all the momentous scenes in their era at Arsenal and Manchester United.

    Wenger stayed 22 years at Arsenal, winning three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups and seven Community Shield titles. Sir Alex Ferguson managed Manchester United 26 years, winning 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two UEFA Champions League titles.

    Unlike Mourinho, Ferguson was a gentleman who knew his onions and concerned himself strictly with the game, not its theatrics. Ferguson recognised Wenger as an old adversary at Arsenal, stressing on Sunday: “I am really happy for Arsene Wenger.”

    Sir Alex told ManUtd.com: “I have great respect for him and for the job he has done at Arsenal. It is great testament to his talent, professionalism and determination that he has been able to dedicate 22 years of his life to a job that he loves. In an era where football managers sometimes only last one or two seasons, it shows what an achievement it is to serve that length of time at a club the size of Arsenal.

    “I am pleased that he has announced he is leaving at this stage of the season, as he can now have the send-off that he truly deserves. He is, without doubt, one of the greatest Premier League managers and I am proud to have been a rival, a colleague and a friend to such a great man.”

    Mourinho confirmed his class when he revealed: “If he (Wenger) is happy, I am happy. If he is sad, I am sad. I always wish the best for my opponents. I always wish the best.

    “For me, that is the point. If he is happy with the decision he made and looks forward to the next chapter of his career and his life, I am really happy for him. If he is sad, I am sad.

    “I am pretty sure that we as a club – especially because Mr Wenger and Arsenal were for many, many years the biggest rivals of the Sir Alex era – will show Mr Wenger the respect that he deserves.”

    Mourinho is an enigma. He is not in a hurry to change his ways. With Wenger out of the arithmetics of winning trophies in England at least, Mourinho has chosen another opponent, Antonio Conte, who he taunts before games against his former Barclays English Premier League side, Chelsea. Conte has all Mourinho’s sideline theatrics, except that he doesn’t kick objects in frustration  as Mourinho does to attract the officials’ wrath. The Italian fell for Mourinho’s match day mind games and it almost became a roforofo fight, apologies to  the late Afrobeat star Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

    Mourinho’s and Conte’s saga began after Chelsea whipped Manchester United 4-0 at Stamfrod Bridge in October 2016, with one Italian television station reporting that Mourinho told Conte: ‘’You don’t celebrate like that at 4-0, you can do it at 1-0, otherwise it’s humiliating for us.’’

    It was alleged that Mourinho’s frustration boiled over after the final whistle on grounds that Conte’s exuberant celebrations suggested that he had humiliated Mourinho, given the high score from the game.

    Mourinho knows how to win either the battle or the war. He likes delivering the last punch and he did when he described Chelsea’s last season’s Barclays English Premier League title win thus: ‘’Chelsea are a very good defensive team. I think in this situation a very defensive team wins the title with counter-attack goals and set-piece goals.’’

    Conte learned the mind games’ trick quickly and jabbed Mourinho last season after Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 in the FA Cup for spending over £150m only to finish sixth in the league.

    The Italian said: ‘’This season it’s very important to understand that it’s not always about who spends more money who wins. This season isn’t the only season both Manchester clubs have spent a lot of money. We know the difficulty of the next season and for sure we want to avoid the Mourinho season with Chelsea. Two years ago the team ended the league in 10th place and we want to try to avoid this.’’

    Curiously, both men meet again in the final of the English FA Cup at Wembley on the 19th of May. Will they tear at each other in the build-up to the oldest competition in Britain? Happily, Conte feels there isn’t any war with Mourinho.  “With Jose, we have clarified the situation. This is the most important thing,” he said.

    “There is not a problem between him and I. I think this final is a game between two great teams: Manchester United and Chelsea. For sure, in my mind, I can tell you that we played last season in the final and arrived as favourites against Arsenal. This season, we are arriving not as favourites. But, as you know very well, we lost the final despite being favourites in my mind.

    “We are talking about two managers with strong characters, and two winners. When in your mind and your heart and your blood there is the will to win, for sure, we want to try to win this trophy. The same way Manchester United want to do this. I repeat. I have great respect for United’s story, for Mourinho’s story. They have the same respect, I think, for Chelsea’s story and my story.”

    I don’t expect Mourinho to do any mind games. He must have read Conte’s comments and I expect one stunt from him – Mourinho may wait for Conte at the tunnel before entering the field to shake hands. That is Mourinho for you- the man for the big occasions . Take a bow, Jose Mourinho.

  • Leadership, bravery  and  security

    According to reports,  Nigeria’s  former  Head of State and  Military  ruler retired  General  Olusegun  Obasanjo, in Awka in the South Eastern part of Nigeria called on the Igbos  to vote  out incumbent President Muhammadu  Buhari in the 2019  elections if they  are to stop  the ethnic  cleansing and domination of the Fulani  they are experiencing under the present political dispensation in  Nigeria. That  was a bold  call and a challenge to  the Buhari Administration by a former Nigerian leader who obtained the surrender of the Igbos as the nation of Biafra at  the end of the Nigerian  civil  war. This then  is no cavalier talk  or  cheap   bravado.  It  is a challenge that cannot  be ignored as the 2019  elections approach.

    Similarly , the head of the Christian  Association of Nigeria  Rev  Olasupo  Ayokunle   called  on Nigerian Christians to protest by carrying placards    next    Sunday  at Church  services  nation wide over the killing of Nigerians by herdsmen culminating in the killing  of two  Catholic  priests in the   nation,  again by  murderous  herdsmen.  These  two  Nigerian issues  and the planned  meeting of the leaders of a divided nation, Korea, divided  by war  since the end of the Korean war  in 1953  engage  our attention  today. The  comparison  with  Korea  is at once instructive,  relevant  but  also  saddening.  This  is because  the  near   impossible  –   the prospect  of peace and unity    of the two  Koreas –  is happening  in the Korean  Peninsula ,  after the  very     recent  beatings  of drums of  nuclear  war  between  the US President Donald  Trumpand the North  Korean   leader  Kim  Jung  Un. This    was  something unthinkable  a few months  ago.  Just  as Nigeria  seemed  always      capable  of   easily  maintaining  her  peace  and unity  a few  months ago,  until the emergence  of the Fulani  herdsmen.  Who,  from all indications   now appear  to  be sacred cows  that  our security apparatus cannot  contain or  subdue , even  as they slaughter citizens  of our Middle Belt  with brutal  arrogance and barbarity cumulating  in the Obasanjo  political nuclear  missile  lunched  from the heart of the Biafran  rebellion that  he ended  on the battle field  in the 70s.   Really   Nigeria  is indeed in the grip of an avoidable  political    and security   crisis well  beyond  the elections of 2019. That  is a major  part of our discussion  today.

    Let us go back  to the Obasanjo salvo  urging the Igbos  to  reject Buhari in 2019  elections. He  really  did not mince words  and he did  not speak  from both sides  of his mouth as in the past.  He shot straight like the veteran general that he is and like the Palm Wine Drinkers Club of the Great  Ife  would say –  he  has spoken and he  has spoken  well.  That really means the government should  be bothered  and come  to  grips with the matter of the  Fulani  herdsmen  or be prepared  to be voted out not only by the Igbos  but  the rest of Nigeria in 2019. Already  the signs  of resentment   are brewing fast as the NASS from the senate floor has asked the President to address  a joint NASS session on security. Obasanjo  spoke the minds of Nigerians both leaders and followers   alike when he said ‘ Every Nigerian leader is  very much embarrassed   with  the state of the nation where  people are  attacked,  killed, raped and made refugees  in their  homes.  He  then  concluded bravely that the objective of his’ CNM  was  mostly on how  to sack   Buhari  from Aso  Rock in 2019  and ensure    that a visionary  government  is elected. Definitely  the ball  is in the court  of the present occupants of Aso  Rock  to nip  in the bud  this menace of rampaging  Fulani  herdsmen in order  to scale the  elections of 2019  or  they    should  be   prepared  to vacate the place for a new government  as advocated   so  loudly    and boldly  by   retired   General  Olusegun   Obasanjo.

    Similarly  the call by CAN president Rev Olasupo  Ayokunle   to Christians to hold peaceful protests in their churches on Sunday April 29    to ask  the Federal  Government  to stop  the killings  of innocent citizens  and  protect  all  Nigerians as  categorically stated in our constitution  is timeous    and bold. The  CAN  leader also asked   Christians to  write protests  like’ Enough  of  Bloodshed in  Nigeria ,’ ‘Enough  of  unlawful killings  in the country ‘. That  to me is   frank    and relevant leadership  for  Christians  in  Nigeria. Especially  in the South or even  Lagos where  at  the height of the Boko  Haram bloodletting and burning of  churches  and mosques  in  the  North  East,   the  Church  leadership cautioned on giving audience  to  fleeing bishops  from  the North asking for help   from  southern  churches   so  as  not to cause panic  in peaceful  and lucrative  Lagos  parishes  and dioceses,   with their grim  stories  of killings and persecution   in the  north. Now,  like Shakespeare  said in Merchant of Venice ,  this   CAN  leader  is like ‘ a Daniel  come to judgement ‘  for  Nigerian  Christians. He  has not  made  a call  to arms or  asked  Nigerian  Christians to Praise the Lord  and  pass  the ammunition as in the olden days  when the church  was the state  but  he has already shown  the way  to show the authorities  that Nigerian  Christians are peaceful  demonstrators  but certainly not  sheep  for slaughter hence forth. That again  is bold  leadership  in the direction of national  peace , stability    and  security  which   seem  to be fleeing our shores  rapidly   on this herdsmen crisis.

    Let  me now  show  why  we should be envying the North    and  South  Koreans  who  are now dreaming what we are afraid of losing in the last  few  weeks. Unbelievably  the controversial US President Donald Trump  set  the ball  rolling with his strong arm  tactics  on N Korean leader Kim  Jung Un  to denuclearize. They both called  each other moron and mad  then.

    • Continued online www.staging.thenationonlineng.net

  • Buhari, NASS and unlawful use of $469m ECA funds

    On April 9, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, lied to worried and inquisitive Nigerians that the president was yet to authorise the payment of $469m from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to buy 12 Super Tucano military jets from the United States government. It turned out that as far back as February, despite repeated denials, the president had both approved the said sum and authorised disbursement. It was only the Defence minister, Mansur Dan Ali, who somewhat truthfully hinted early February that the procurement had been done in order to meet the deadline set by the American government for the deal to be consummated.

    It is unlikely that Sen Enang, who is himself very conversant with legislative appropriations process, did not know that the approval had been given and the payment made. Nor is it likely that he does not know the gravity of the executive branch arbitrarily and unilaterally authorising the disbursement of funds not appropriated. The special assistant knew; he only chose to lie. Here is what he said when the public initially suspected that the president had made the unauthorised disbursement of ECA funds: “…That the said sum has not and cannot be approved for spending by Mr. President. That in accordance with best practices, Mr. President, having received approval of the sum from National Economic Council made up of all the governors, now had a meeting with the Minister of Defence, service chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police, among others, to collate the needs of each of the services and the money available for appropriation…As of now, the process of approving the money for use is inchoate and still undergoing executive standard operating procedure before laying same before the National Assembly for appropriation.”

    When Sen Enang told this open lie, members of the National Economic Council (NEC), the president himself, and the vice president already knew that the money had been disbursed. They chose to keep quiet, associated with the lie, and perhaps sought for ways to blunt both public and legislative reactions to the unlawful use of ECA funds. The governors who in December authorised the withdrawal of $1bn from ECA on the grounds that previous governments periodically accessed the account for one reason or the other also knew by experience in their states that the executive arm, in this case the president, could not spend a kobo without appropriations. Instead, they incredibly decided at a meeting headed by the vice president that their collective assent was as good as legislative assent because no one complained when previous governments made similar withdrawals.

    To put the whole matter at rest, and knowing that the infernal lie told by Sen Enang and connived at by the presidency could not be sustained for too long, the president finally wrote to the National Assembly this April to inform them that he had spent the money from ECA, and asked for their understanding. Other than implying that the urgency of the spending necessitated the illegality, the president offered no other substantial or persuasive reason for breaching the constitution. According to him: “I wish to draw the attention of the House of Representatives to the ongoing security emergencies in the country. These challenges were discussed with the state governors and subsequently, at the meeting of the National Economic Council on 14th December, 2017, where a resolution was passed, with the Council approving that up to US$1 billion may be released and utilised from the Excess Crude Account to address the situation… It would be recalled that, for a number of years, Nigeria had been in discussions with the United States Government for the purchase of Super Tucano Aircraft under a direct Government-to-Government arrangement. Recently, approval was finally granted by the United States Government, but with a deadline within which part payment must be made otherwise, the contract would lapse.”

    The president continues: “In the expectation that the National Assembly would have no objection to the purchase of this highly specialised aircraft, which is critical to national security, I granted anticipatory approval for the release of US$496,374,470.00. This was paid directly to the treasury of the United States Government. I am therefore writing, seeking approval of this House for the sum of US$496,374,470.00 (equivalent to N151,394,421,335.00) to be included in the 2018 Appropriation Bill, which the National Assembly is currently finalising. The balance of the requirements for critical operational equipment is still being collated from the different security services and will be presented in the form of a Supplementary Appropriation Bill, in due course.”

    There is no question that the president knowingly and subversively took the money from ECA. But nothing justifies it: no emergency, no urgency, no security situation. There was nothing to suggest that since the governors decided on that course of action last December, the president didn’t have enough time to present a supplementary estimate to be thoroughly scrutinised by the legislature. He missed the point by giving the impression that critics who denounced the executive arm for disbursing ECA funds were unmindful of the country’s security situation, or insensitive to the urgency of making the military purchases. Critics in fact sensibly suggested that though the motive of the purchase was sound, it was nevertheless wrong to eye the ECA fund meant for the three tiers of government, let alone make the disbursement outside due process. For neither the president nor the governors, nor yet the local councils, approximated the legislative assemblies of their various tiers. Moreover, even the seller of the jets, the US, would be privately appalled by the illegitimacy of the process through which the $469m was released. Such flagrant abuse could never be countenanced in the US. It also beggars belief that those who kept the money feigned ignorance of the proper process by which the funds are to be shared constitutionally between the three tiers of government

    It is disturbing that President Buhari, sitting at the head of a government that prides itself on being ethically different from its predecessors and intolerant of past abridgement of financial regulations, could countenance that constitutional affront. By his letter to the legislature, he seems to think that both the urgency of the purchase and the intensity of the insurgency problem justified the spending from ECA. It is even worse that he indicated in his letter that he expected the legislature not to turn down his request, hence his approval of the unlawful ECA spending. This unilateral action is truly shocking. How could he tell the mind of the legislature? Does he not know what the law say very clearly? The truth is that the Buhari presidency and the federal government under him, including the cabinet and security agencies, think very little of the legislature. They think that if the public were forced to choose between the executive arm headed by the ‘saintly’ President Buhari, and the parliament headed, for instance, by the Machiavellian Bukola Saraki, the public would sack the parliament and embrace the executive. This is the classical beginning of fascism.

    It is also strange that with all the lawyers and constitutional experts around the president, he could still subvert the constitution in the manner he has done. This speaks to the lack of cohesion in the government — in such a manner that suggests only a few people carried away by the importance of their offices take decisions for the presidency and present a fait accompli to the rest of the cabinet — or to perhaps the fear of confronting the president and educating him on the dangers of flouting the constitution and diminishing the importance of the parliament, as his government and cabinet have serially done.

    A far more disturbing truth is that, given the arguments and logic of some of the governors rationalising the ECA spending, there are indeed very few democrats presiding over the affairs of their states in this Fourth Republic. The Governor of Jigawa State, Muhammadu Badaru, for instance, simplistically argues: “We forget easily. If you recall, we have been battling with approval from America to buy these equipment in 2014. We have been begging America to sell this equipment to us. We tried Dubai, they could not allow us; we tried a factory in Brazil,  the federal government tried, we couldn’t get it. America still could not sell to Nigeria. Then luckily, President Trump said it was okay to buy. So we had to quickly buy before they change their minds. Because there is also deadline and this is a state to state transaction, no middleman, and we are all here concerned about security and they are raising questions on way and manner you protect people. This is an emergency situation.” The puerility of Mr Badaru’s logic is numbing. No less bewildering is the Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi, who sheepishly suggested that critics of the spending as well as the National Assembly  should not just look at the law but the interest of Nigerians. Awful!

    The National Assembly knows that it can only cry itself hoarse over this needless controversy. To impeach President Buhari, even if the divided legislature can be coaxed into unity, will be nigh impossible, not because an impeachable offence has not been committed but because the presidency seems to be counting on the masses who can neither understand the illogic of the ECA spending nor appreciate the role of the parliament in sustaining democracy. Had the people been educated enough to know that it is the parliament that sustains democracy — not the executive, not the judiciary, as important as they are — they would have found a way to force the resignation of the government. But the government is counting on the people’s ignorance to constitute a deterrence to the legislature, or if push comes to shove, join hands with the Buhari presidency in sacking parliament.

    The NASS will have to find a way of saving face on this appalling matter. The cards are stacked against them. Meanwhile they can legislate away the temptations that so easily take the Buhari presidency prey, such as ECA itself. There is no reason for the dedicated. If President Buhari cannot discipline himself and his government to find legitimate and constitutional ways of raising money to execute their agenda, and the governors are either too obtuse or too timid to think straight, and the people will not eschew sentiment in public discourse, it is time for the legislature to anticipate other possible temptations beguiling the presidency and remove them.

  • Salah: Breath of fresh air

    These are interesting times for the beautiful game in Africa. An hitherto unheralded Egyptian is breaking records to the consternation of pundits, who didn’t reckon with his talent, when the European leagues began last August. Indeed, this Egyptian literally failed in his first sojourn in England, with Chelsea, leading to his sale to Italian side Roma FC.

    Jose The Special One, Mourinho sold him off to Roma on grounds of immaturity, believing that with regular appearances in Italy, this prodigious talent would blossom to earn his stripes. The result of that foresight a few years ago stares us in the face, with the rave reviews he has enjoyed this season.

    Step forward Mohammed Salah, the left footer who prefers to operate from the right wing with a good eye for scoring goals, in a selfless manner. Salah’s strength is his fondness of working with his fellow strikers Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. This trio have scored 88 goals (still counting) in all competitions. Having warmed his heart to his colleagues upfront, getting balls whenever he is free to score goals is like second nature to Salah.

    What do I mean? Salah has provided 13 assists to his mates (Mane and Firmino) to score goals. He has scored 43 goals from 47 matches and 13 assists. Awesome statistics for a  debutant at a top club such as Liverpool. Mane has contributed eight assists to Salah and Firmino, scoring 18 goals. Firmino has 13 assists like Salah but has scored 26 goals. They have also reciprocated the Egyptian’s gesture. Little wonder that Salah has scored this season 40 goals, 31 of them in the Barclays English Premier League.

    Had Salah, Mane and Firmino been competing for the highest goals scorers’ award, it would have affected their potency in front of the goalpost. The thinking that strikers are selfish has been thrashed by the trio, with the complimentary manner in which they have scored goals this season. And with a total of 43 goals this season, Salah has overtaken Cristiano Ronaldo as the top scorer on the continent in all competitions as we enter the final stages of the season.

    Salah’s 43 have come in just 47 games, although Ronaldo beats that with an incredible 42 in 39 appearances. Roma’s fans in Italy were stunned not to see Salah celebrate after scoring two goals against his former team. They appreciated his humility, knowing that he didn’t sell himself to Liverpool. Roma FC’s management did. Don’t be surprised if Salah gets the fans’ reciprocal deafening ovation next Wednesday in Italy.

    It would be a travesty to do a wholesale comparison between Salah and Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. These twosome are soccer greats who have averaged over 40 goals per season in the last decade. This is the difference with Salah, whose ground breaking feats offer a breath of fresh air for soccer pundits.

    Whereas Salah scored 43 goals with 13 assists, Lionel Messi netted 39 goals with 14 assists. Ronaldo had 39 goals and eight assists before Wednesday night’s Champions League cracker against Bayern Munich. Inter Milan’s Ciro Immobile’s 36 goals and nine assists highlight how prolific these strikers have been this season.

    It is looking like a Real Madrid vs Liverpool finals at this year’s UEFA Champions League – a good prospect where the best two scorers come head-to-head. I can’t wait for the incursions of both strikers in the course of the final game. This final prediction is hinged on the outcome of both first leg matches at Anfield and in Germany. Anything is possible in football. It may not happen as I have predicted. But, if it does, then it would be a final game to remember, should Ronaldo and Salah play to their full potential.

    Mohamed Salah
    Mohamed Salah

    Ronaldo is the man for the big moments. Salah is new on this terrain but Liverpool’s pedigree in the competition and instructions from coach Jurgen Klopp, should propel Salah to greatness.

    Is Salah all about scoring goals? What does he do in his spare time? Is he the routine soccer star who enjoys life to the zenith? Salah told it all to CNN on Wednesday.

    Speaking to CNN, Salah plays down his importance, talks nutrition and eating Egypt’s national dish – kushari – as soon as he lands at home, and how his footballing experience has enabled him to deal with pressures of life.

    ‘’Kushari’’ is made from rice, lentils and pasta mixed together, with a spiced tomato sauce and garlic vinegar. On top, you have chickpeas and crispy fried onions. Hot sauce, garlic vinegar and garlic juice are all optional extras.

    ‘’Nutrition is so important, it’s part of the game,’’ he says. ‘’It has helped with my recovery, allowed me to sleep better and helped my body adapt quickly. My nutritionist says that because I don’t have any fat on my body, I can eat what I want. I also don’t drink so it’s fine. When I go back to Egypt, I call my friend from the airport to buy kushari for us to eat in the car. I pull my hoodie over my head, jump into the car and then I’m eating it straight away.’’

    ‘’If you talk only about Egypt, we are 100 million,’’ Salah continues. ‘’I have to be natural and not doing anything fake, not lying on social media, in interviews and life. This is my life, it’s an easy life. It’s not complicated. I have nothing much to do during the day but it’s a responsibility in the end.

    ‘’You have to take it easy and carry on. I’m not nervous about that,’’ he adds. ‘’It’s also a little bit difficult because you don’t have the freedom to make mistakes or something wrong. That’s pressure but when you’ve been under pressure for many years you can deal with it. It’s fine,’’ Salah tells CNN.

    Will Liverpool sell Salah for the  big cash? Liverpool made it clear after beating Watford in March that they would not consider any approaches for Salah and his remarkable form — he has scored seven times in his last six appearances, including Tuesday’s double against Roma — has strengthened their resolve.

    Liverpool want to keep Jurgen Klopp’s side together and Salah is central to that. They are also committed to agreeing a new deal with Roberto Firmino, who, like Salah, scored twice in the 5-2 victory over Roma in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday. There are plans to overhaul Madrid’s squad but the fact that Salah has no buy-out clause in his contract complicates their pursuit.

    So, will Salah stay at Anfield next year? don’t bet on it. The transfer season is filled with intrigues, especially when the players decide to go for the cash.

    Mail online’s writer Pete Jenson analysed the other scenario of Barcelona FC’s management looking to torpedo Real Madrid in the quest for Salah’s signature next season thus: ‘’Barcelona are unlikely to make any attempt. Why buy the Red Messi when you have the original? They don’t have €200m. And they also have Antoine Griezmann on his way for half that amount.’’

    ‘’Real Madrid will be the buying club if anyone swoops this summer. The problem for Real Madrid is how they juggle the long-held desire to sign Neymar with a move for someone who would swallow up the budget to bring the Brazilian,’’ wrote Jenson.

    What do fellow Liverpool players think of Salah?  ‘’Forty-three goals, guys,’’ said Lovren, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘’Forty-three goals! F****** hell! I believe he should be regarded as one of the best three in the world at the end of the year. But, for us? He is the one.’’

    ‘’He’s becoming the superstar,’’ says Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren. ‘Maybe I couldn’t look into the future in pre-season and think he could do this. But now? They should be talking about him for the Ballon d’Or. When people talk about Messi and Ronaldo, they should talk about Salah.’’

    This is not a statement made for effect. Lovren might be one of Salah’s closest friends in the squad — the two frequently engage in winding each other up, whether at Melwood or on the social media — but his words reflect the levels to which he has climbed.

    Next week Tuesday and Wednesday are key dates for players of Real Madrid and Liverpool. The odds to qualify for the final game favour these two teams. But, football is a crazy game when it comes to predicting true winners.