The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Waiting for schoolboys

    Waiting for schoolboys

    What excites me about the Moroccan but now Spanish gazelle Laminr Yamal isn’t just his fascinating soccer skills nor is it his baby face. No. What bowled me over about Yamal is the fact that he is a proven schoolboy whose seamless ability to combine playing the beautiful game and his academics would no doubt encourage parents to allow their kids to combine both tasking professions to their wit’s end.

    Each time I sit at home or join my colleagues to watch FC Barcelona play their matches, I keep pinching myself to be sure I wasn’t in a dreamland or not hearing correctly the emphasis placed on Yamal being a student by the commentators either on television, radio or what have been written about the talented Spaniard.

    Still having doubts, I put the question across to Google if Yamal is a schoolboy, this was the response I got: ”Yes, Lamine Yamal is currently in school and is considered a schoolboy,” according to The Guardian. Despite his professional football career, he is still a teenager and has been actively pursuing his secondary school education. He even passed his secondary school exams, according to flashscore.com.ng.

    I probed further by again asking Google the name of Yamal’s school and this message popped up thus: ”Yamal was a member of La Masia, FC Barcelona’s youth academy. He is currently attending school, presumably in the fourth year of ESO (the equivalent of middle school) in Spain, according to reports Goal.com. He passed his fourth ESO exams recently. FOX Sports mentions that he was taking individual classes.”

    Satisfied with what I got from Google, I sought to find out if Yamal would be the only schoolboy at the U-20 World Cup? I didn’t have to consult Google, several names popped up such as Wayne Rooney. Rooney didn’t come with the English side which partook in the 1999 U20 World Cup hosted by Nigeria. Spain won the competition by beating Japan 2-0. The Japanese had the White witch doctor, Phillipe Troussier as their coach. You remember Troussier? Topic for another day.

    Quickly, my residual knowledge reminded me about this salient fact that as talented as Yamal is and a match winner for FC Barcelona, he won’t be included in Spain’s U-20 side to the World Cup? Did you, dear reader ask why? Yes, Yamal has been discovered, nurtured and exposed to world soccer thus giving way for others being prepared for stardom in the different nurseries in Spain. Foresight.

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    This writer isn’t pointing accusing finger at any player in te country’s U-20 side, the Flying Eagles because I’m not their parent, guardian or relation. It is rather a passionate plea to our soccer chieftains that those who would be flying the country’s flag in Chile are confirmed schoolboys like Yamal. The exceptional good ones like the Spaniard who have been exposed to make way for another talent. One is only stressing here that Nigeria has the the biggest chance to reinvent our football if our soccer administrator decree that those who would be picked to represent Nigeria in Chile must be schoolboys or those whose educational background can be tracked. In fact, Nigeria’s youth football must essentially be driven by verifiable data across the country. It isn’t enough for us to say that other countries are cheating. Foul.

    Those who qualified the country to participate in the next edition in Chile have been adequately compensated. If they haven’t, steps should be taken to reward them now. The time to turn a new page about how we administer youth football in Nigeria is now -youth soccer should be domiciled with the 36 States in the federation and Federal Capital City’s Ministries of Education and other tertiary bodies, not NFF, whose role should be to function as the clearing house as custodians of the beautiful game on FIFA’s behalf.

    What does it tell you about our football development here, if we splash cash as much as N192 million on kids under 20 years instead of offering them scholarships to improve on their education? It is this crazy cash rewards to kids under 20 that emboldens the young lads and their parents, guardians and relations to falsify their wards ages to the detriment of the growth and development of the game. Otherwise, how do you explain how any U-20 kid can’t spell his name correctly to necessitate assistance from the team’s secretaries to fill their passport forms?

    Need I waste space to list several spelling mistakes of otherwise simple names by team secretaries who would rather use their discretions to what they presume are the right letters to spell such names where Uan… is spelt as Van…? Interesting times in Nigeria’s soccer. The pain in this instance, is that the boy spelt his name correctly. The mistake came from one of the team’s officials.

    Civilised countries develop their sports through the neighbourhood system where facilities are built to engage the youth and push them away from social vices. Nurseries serve as the bases for storing the data of those discovered. Such information helps to nurture and monitor the good ones to stardom. Besides, nurseries lay the foundation where the athletes are taught the rudiments of the game. It is at such factories that playing styles and patterns unique to such countries are evolving.

    We have lost budding talents to mismanagement, even after the Federal Government had directed that past soccer federations nurture their future. Our administrators bask in the euphoria of being recognised in the world, leaving the game’s development on the lurch for shylock European scouts to exploit to the disadvantage of our young ones.

    We can’t be talking about growing talents at the nurseries without standardising the academies that abound in the country. The fraud committed by some disgruntled folks in the name of soccer academies can only be curtailed if the NFF through its state affiliates compel all such bodies to register with it. That way, the authorities can identify who the fraudster is if such allegations arise. This collegiate arrangement will eliminate age cheats because a kid discovered in Edo State, for instance, Ikponwonsa Ikponwonsa in 1988 as a 12-year old, cannot be Etim Etim in 2008 claiming to be 16. The details of his data from his first registration in Edo State will give him out even as Etim Etim.

    I’m not a fan of Nigeria’s age-grade teams across all levels and gender. The reason is straightforward. Our age-grade stars hardly make it to the pinnacle of their career because there is little willpower that can propel an ageing player to compete with younger boys. Indeed, the wholesale transition of most cup-winning age-grade teams to other teams leading to wearing the Super Eagles shirts regularly has been like a mirage.

  • DSS, Pat Utomi and misplaced priorities

    DSS, Pat Utomi and misplaced priorities

    In a nation facing serious existential threats one is forced to wonder or throw my arms into the air in exhilaration over the intention by the Department of State Security Services, DSS to sue Professor Pat Utomi following the latter’s announcement of the formation of a shadow government. This disproportionate focus on Utomi’s political activities reveals a concerning misallocation of security resources when far more serious threats to national security demand urgent attention.

    This is not the first time Professor Utomi has formed such an alternative political structure. Shortly after President Umaru Yar’Adua took office in 2007, Utomi established a similar shadow cabinet. That effort, despite initial media attention, gradually faded away without posing any threat to Nigeria’s democratic institutions or national security. It served primarily as an intellectual exercise and a platform for policy critique—exactly what shadow governments are meant to do in functional democracies.

    Shadow governments, or shadow cabinets as they are sometimes called, represent a legitimate democratic tradition in many mature democracies. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the opposition party forms an official shadow cabinet that scrutinizes government policies and presents alternatives. These structures strengthen, rather than undermine, democratic governance by ensuring robust policy debates and accountability.

    Professor Utomi’s initiative should be viewed through this lens—as an attempt to deepen Nigeria’s democratic culture rather than subvert it. His shadow government aims to offer alternative policy perspectives and hold the current administration accountable, functions that are essential to democratic health.

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    I know the man in question, as a student of the Great University of Benin, he encouraged my activities in student unionism, not once did he ever tinker or talk about violence as a means for rescuing our nation, Professor Utomi has long established himself as Nigeria’s political iconoclast—a man willing to challenge orthodoxy and propose alternative visions for national development. His decades-long career as an economist, political scientist, entrepreneur, and public intellectual demonstrates a consistent commitment to Nigeria’s progress.

    Like America’s Patrick Moynihan, who served as both scholar and statesman, Utomi combines academic rigor with political engagement. Moynihan was known for his willingness to speak uncomfortable truths about social problems while offering thoughtful policy solutions. Similarly, Utomi has never shied away from diagnosing Nigeria’s ailments, even when his prescriptions challenge powerful interests.

    In the mold of Bernie Sanders, Utomi represents a persistent voice for systemic change and greater equity. Just as Sanders has spent decades advocating for economic justice in America’s political wilderness before his ideas gained mainstream traction, Utomi has consistently championed institutional reforms and social justice in Nigeria, often ahead of popular opinion.

    While security agencies focus on Utomi’s utopian like political activities, Nigeria faces genuine existential threats that demand urgent attention. Widespread insecurity manifests in multiple forms with Boko Haram and banditry doing a tag team in the NorthEast and NorthWest, in the SouthEast and South South kidnapping for ransom and militancy are ravaging these regions while killer gangs are leaving hundreds dead in their homelands in Benue and Plateau, areas which had in the not too far past had been abodes of peace.

    These threats represent clear and present dangers to Nigeria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and citizens’ welfare. Rather than square off with these challenges and for once deal with the perpetrators behind these monsters, the DSS feels it would better serve the nation by redirecting resources toward addressing these genuine security challenges and  monitor or rather attempt to bully the activities of intellectuals engaged in a form of political discourse.

    Far from silencing voices like Utomi’s, the Tinubu administration would benefit from engaging substantively with the ideas and critiques offered by his shadow government. The current economic challenges facing Nigeria—including inflation, unemployment, and currency instability—require diverse perspectives and innovative solutions.

    Professor Utomi brings decades of experience in economic management, entrepreneurship, and public policy to the table. His expertise could complement government efforts to address these challenges if the administration were to adopt a more inclusive approach to governance.

    Democracies mature when they embrace, rather than suppress, the opposition. The United States, United Kingdom, and other established democracies have institutionalized mechanisms for opposition voices to contribute to governance through shadow cabinets, congressional oversight, and robust public debate.

    Nigeria’s democratic journey remains incomplete without similar institutional frameworks for constructive opposition. The DSS’s reaction to Utomi’s shadow government suggests a concerning intolerance for political dissent that undermines democratic consolidation.

    I would rather urge the Tinubu administration to engage substantively with policy proposals from Utomi’s group, even if it chooses for constitutional reasons not to recognise it, this  way, this administration can show Nigerians that it is also not docile and desires to move the nation forward. By doing such we would have strengthened our

    democratic norms by showing that it is an administration that can tolerate and even encourage constructive criticism

    Pat Utomi’s shadow government represents an opportunity,not a threat, for Nigeria’s democracy. His track record demonstrates a genuine commitment to national development rather than personal aggrandizement or destabilization. The DSS’s focus on his activities reflects a misunderstanding of his intentions and a misallocation of security resources.

    In mature democracies, figures like Utomi are valued for their contribution to public discourse and policy development. Nigeria would be well-served by embracing such voices rather than treating them with suspicion. The Tinubu administration has an opportunity to demonstrate democratic confidence by engaging with, rather than marginalizing, Utomi’s shadow government.

    Nigeria’s security challenges are real and pressing. Let the DSS focus our national security apparatus on addressing genuine threats while creating space for the intellectual and political opposition that strengthens rather than weakens our democracy. Pat Utomi deserves to be heard, not hounded.

  • Issues in Lagos APC LG primaries

    Issues in Lagos APC LG primaries

    Not surprisingly, the just concluded primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Lagos State to select chairmanship and councillorship candidates for the local government elections slated for July 12 have been highly competitive and uproariously contentious in many instances. Critics of the party would readily attribute this to what they perceive to be a tendency within the party to impose candidates, stifle free intra-party contestation and promote the dictatorship of an emergent party oligarchy. That may not necessarily be the case. Rather, intra-party contests for the emergence of candidates to fly the party’s flag in elections in Lagos State are always fiercely fought because those who succeed would almost invariably go on to win the general elections.

    Thus, the primaries can be described as the election proper. And this is not limited to Lagos State, especially with regard to local government elections. There is hardly any state where the party in power does not go on to win 100 per cent of local government chairmanship and councillorship seats, given the control exercised by state governments over members of the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), electoral umpires that they constitute and administer. In the Lagos APC local government primaries, 432 out of 470 aspirants, who submitted nomination forms, were cleared to contest for the 57 Chairmanship seats across 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). This is apart from the thousands of others who competed to emerge as the party’s councillorship candidates in the 377 wards in the state, represented by a councillor each.

    It was no doubt a Herculean challenge for the electoral committee. Headed by respected Senior lawyer, Mr Babatunde Ogala (SAN), with wide acceptability across the various partisan groups within the APC in the state, the electoral committee was no doubt carefully selected. In the same vein, the Appeal committee to handle grievances arising from the primaries is headed by another respected lawyer, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), who is the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in Lagos State and he is assisted by four other reputable members. The appeal committee no doubt has its work cut out for it, as no less than 100 petitions arising from the chairmanship contest are reportedly pending before it.

    The number of petitions by aspirants dissatisfied with the primaries can certainly not be blamed on the incompetence or deliberate violations of the rules by the electoral committee, as understandably alleged by most of the aggrieved aspirants. There is no outcome of the contest that would not have elicited vehement protests in such a hotly fought intra-party exercise. This was obviously why the party leadership and stakeholders strongly pushed for the emergence of the candidates through consensus arrangements to reduce the incidence of bitterness and fractionalization that would arise from competitive primaries.

    However, this appeal for wisdom and caution through the adoption of a conciliatory, consensual method of selecting candidates fell largely on deaf ears, and this is understandable. The consensus approach would no doubt have favoured more the entrenched, pro-status quo forces in the party and was thus opposed by the younger and more impatient elements pressing for radical change.

    Consequently, only four LCDAs – Iba, Ijede, Lekki and Otto-Awori – opted for the emergence of the chairmanship candidates through consensus with delegates later affirming the choices for each of the LCDAS. With the exception of Yaba and Mainland Local Government Councils, which did not hold primaries, about 1,530 delegates voted for chairmanship candidates in the remaining 55 local government and LCDAs, which saw 27 delegates voting to elect candidates in each of the councils through indirect primaries.

    The forthcoming local government elections are very critical to the APC in Lagos State, especially against the background of the last presidential election in the state, where the party’s organisational lethargy and grassroots complacency were largely responsible for its worst electoral performance since the inception of this political dispensation in 1999. True, its control of the LASIEC can easily be utilised to manufacture an overwhelming victory for the party as happens in local government polls in virtually all states. But the APC needs a true and credible measure of its grassroots electoral strength in preparation for the critical 2027 state and national elections.

    In this regard, the party cannot afford the festering of otherwise avoidable intra-party fissions that can drive sizable numbers of its membership into the fold of the opposition or breed grassroots apathy that can prove electorally costly in contests mediated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The party must therefore balance the need to reward its eminent leaders who have rendered selfless service to the party and the state over the years, through the sponsorship of their nominees to appointive and elective positions, with the no less important imperative of not denying hardworking and dedicated party members who may have no prominent connections their right to also hold such offices.

    Again, the APC in Lagos State must ensure that it balances the requirements of democracy with the equally important criterion of according the right place to merit and demonstrated competence in the emergence of candidates for public office, especially at the local government level, where there is a dire need for accelerated development. It is at the grassroots that the war against poverty can be most effectively and concretely waged with positive results. But the objective of the President Tinubu administration in pursuing the attainment of financial autonomy for the local government councils can only be realised if the best, brightest and most experienced hands are engaged to run the affairs of the councils.

    It is thus difficult to understand, for instance, how an aspirant for Chairmanship of Ojokoro LCDA like Hon. Mobolaji Sanusi, could have reportedly scored only two out of 27 delegates’ votes in a council where he had been recommended by no less than 12 reputable residents of the area, most of them former public office holders, as the most suitable consensus candidate. Prior to his appointment as Managing Director of the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LAASA), a position in which he served with demonstrable competence and exemplary integrity for four years, Sanusi had practised as a lawyer and respected journalist for over three decades without blemish.

    In addition to being a successful businessman,  he has also been actively involved in campaigns for the ACN and now APC in Lagos and at the national levels in all elections over the last two decades. Although he has accepted the outcome of the primaries with grace and equanimity and pledged his continued loyalty to the APC and President Tinubu,  Sanusi is certainly the kind of candidate that should be encouraged by any progressive political party.

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    Some of the petitions appear to be rather frivolous and unserious. For instance, a full-page advertorial against the outcome of the primaries in Alimosho Federal Constituency alleged grave irregularities in six local councils but was signed by only one person supposedly resident in Ipaja. One would have expected known names in each of these councils to have endorsed the petition. It appeared to be just a case of one power bloc protesting against being outwitted by another bloc without necessarily possessing superior democratic credentials.

    In Agege and Orile-Agege, the Presidential Council of the APC in the area alleged that “The political climate in Agege and Orile-Agege is uniquely troubling. For over a decade, a carefully orchestrated structure was dominated by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt.Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has monopolized power. He exercises unchecked power over local government executives and ward officers who, by design, form the voting delegation in primaries…The implication is clear -any primary process steered under such influence cannot, by any objective measure, produce a fair or credible outcome”. This is not a tenable or convincing excuse. Building and sustaining an enduring political structure cannot be a crime.  Those who want to dislodge the current structure in the area must build their own, especially if they claim to enjoy popular grassroots support.

    Petitioners in Ikosi-Isheri claim that the elected Chairmanship candidate, Samiat Bada, had served as Vice-chairman for five years and another six years as Chairman before winning the recent primary to contest the forthcoming election. But has she violated any law in contesting again, even though she had previously held office for a considerable length of time? But in Yaba LCDA, the son of a prominent chieftain of the party who reportedly currently represents Shomolu/Bariga Local Government on the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) is being allegedly imposed on Yaba, without any emotional, political or other ties to the council. The propriety of this, if true, should bother party leaders.

  • Oyebanji: A festival of endorsement in Ekiti

    Oyebanji: A festival of endorsement in Ekiti

    Since the return of civilian administration in 1999, Ekiti State has produced five governors: Otunba Niyi Adebayo of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and Engr. Segun Oni of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and All Progressives Congress (APC); and Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the APC.

    None has attracted or received huge adulation for style more than the incumbent. BAO, as the governor is fondly called, has become a brand, a reference point, and a home-boy leader in whom the indigenes and residents are well pleaded.

    Today, the blood of all Ekiti flows in the veins of the Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji government. The over 120 towns and villages are in one accord. Gone are the theatres of war and rumours of violence. There is peace in the ruling party, the government it midwifed, and the state. There is no scandal. There is no controversy. There is no bickering. There is no media confrontation. There is no protracted antagonism. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. Ekiti is not in the news for the wrong reasons.

    Twenty-nine years after its creation, the state is in the safe hands of its youngest founding father, who keeps the vision and hope alive. As Ekiti gazes at 2026, the collective focus is the continuity of good governance under the people-friendly governor who has demystified power and mobilised the people to take ownership of the administration.

    Nearly all the bigwigs in the Fountain of Knowledge state have endorsed him for a second term. They cut across the ruling and opposition parties. It is unprecedented. Greater is the number of townspeople, particularly the voters, who have endorsed him in their hearts without voicing it. In every district, constituency, local government, town, and ward where the endorsements have taken place, there is justification. It is just too easy to point to the imprints of the current administration in every neighbourhood.

    It is a big lesson to his colleagues in some other states, especially those who are distracted by the predecessor-successor crisis they brought upon themselves by their lack of knowledge, experience, foresight, hindsight, and tact.

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    Oyebanji stands tall in character, sincerity, and integrity before the common man who is more interested in the distribution of the dividends of democracy than plunging with the players into the murky waters of politics. Across the sensitive sectors, there are no letdowns in the scorecard.

    There is public trust because the governor is straightforward, loyal to the state, and genuinely concerned about the yearnings for improved welfare. Workers, pensioners, traditional rulers, top politicians, traders, and youths are perceptive that a new foundation for future prosperity is being erected.

    There is inclusion. There is an open-door style of governance. But Oyebanji has also been firm and decisive in decision-making, implementation, and evaluation of policies and programmes dictated by need analysis.

    The humility of his heart and soul is legendary. Never allowing power and the prestige of a transient position to draw the wool across his eyes, BAO is still the pre-2021 BAO – simple, tender, respectful, and wiser. He accords the elders due respect and encourages a system of problem-solving. The picture of a governor prostrating for his elders in public is not showmanship; it is spontaneous, voluntary, and cultural. It is an expression of the internalised beliefs, values, and virtues of an Omoluabi.

    The inclusive policies of his administration have birthed the expansion of the structures of participation and responsibility. The masses’ involvement has engendered commitment and fostered a sense of belonging among the people who are linked by historical factors as “One Zone-State” and not by accident of geography. A sense of involvement is a core and tangible dividend of democracy.

    As an Ekiti man to the core, the governor’s grassroots exposure is a vital asset in boosting communication and cementing the bond with the countryside. Since he is approachable, channels of information and feedback on government policies and programmes are also accessible. Equipped with the Ekiti dialect he enjoys speaking, there is no perceived aloofness and remoteness. Oyebanji does not forget that he needs to check on his old teachers, former barber, cobbler, old mates, a political ward, or those who played the game of draughts on the streets with him that a good habit is not only for the fun of it. Critics may impugn a populist tendency. But the governor, in the process, feels the pulse of the people in his environment and what good governance entails. He practicalises service delivery and he discovers the areas his administration needs to improve upon.

    Yet, BAO, the political scientist, is also adept at diplomacy, which he taught his students of Foreign Policy at the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, in the mid-nineties. The nucleus of his administrative style is the application of tact – to the extent that being diplomatic entails a problem-solving skill that enables him to restore order and normalcy in any situation without upsetting the two sides in a dispute.

    The corollary is native intelligence, which has greatly assisted the governor of the complex and politically sophisticated state in tackling challenges through reasoning, understanding, and judgment in a moment of grave anxiety.

    It is also a rare display of wisdom for someone who knows so much to also be so calm and reticent to the extent that observers are logically content that a slice of butter would not melt in his mouth.

    That image of a powerful man who nevertheless cannot hurt a fly has been helpful so far in his politics of penetration and consensus-building. Oyebanji became a unifying factor, with the past governors who never politically saw eye to eye now joining hands to build a protective shield around him.

    He is an APC chieftain, but through his exceptional inter-party relations, Oyebanji, who also has many Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members enjoying appointments in his administration, is also reaping the partisan benefits of political tolerance and accommodation.

    It is gratifying that the multiple endorsements have not diverted his full attention from state duties to praise singing. The governor is focused on the implementation of people-centred developmental policies, programmes and, particularly, infrastructural projects that are evenly distributed across the three artificially delineated senatorial districts. There is balance. There is equality. Also, there is equity.

    There is the element of luck in Oyebanji’s political ascendancy. Being a true Christian, he understands that it is the special grace of God that has ensured his survival on the slippery political field.

    It would be strange, and indeed, counter-productive, if the governor changes this unique style, for whatever reason, with the passage of time. The character should persist so that he can also remain a man of honour.

    Next year, he is expected to break the second-term jinx. The feat would also make him a reference point in Ekiti politics.

  • JAMB: Beyond technical glitches…

    JAMB: Beyond technical glitches…

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is the government agency charged with organizing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) across Nigeria.  JAMB as an agency was a military creation by a decree promulgated by the Act (no.2 of 1978). Since then the agency has been in charge of organizing admission exams into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

     Like all human institutions, there have been challenges along the way. Many students and their parents have had stories to tell either of joy or sadness. There have been cases where due to either genuine mistakes or tacky acts of negligence, otherwise brilliant students have either had their results seized for alleged UTME center fraud or errors in the handling of the exam marks.

    However, it is equally notable that there have been recorded excellent performances from some students who have scored very high marks in the well sort after UTME exams. With the appointment of Prof. Ishaq Oloyeded by the Buhari government in 2016, notable changes have taken place around the organization of the UTME exams. It is now more digitized and for some time, the Commission has contributed huge revenues from the form sales to the economy.

    The JAMB registrar seems to have enjoyed something of a heroic adulation by many Nigerians given the improvements with the organization of the exams and the other improved administrative processes that have made it easier for the organization to minimize the series of flaws that have bedeviled the process like exam malpractices and late release of results. These improvements seem to have given Prof. Oloyede somewhat of a heroic acceptance in academic circles.

    Then with the UTME results that were recently released by JAMB, eyebrows are being raised. First there was disbelief amongst some students and their parents with the results. The social media had been awash with some students calling on JAMB to look into their results because given their academic records, they could not align their 2025 UTME results with their previous academic performances.

    Luckily, unlike many institutional failures in the country, JAMB was alerted and a stakeholders’ meeting held and a promised immediate investigation carried out. Over 387,000 candidates in most states in the South East and Lagos were affected. JAMB admitted that a technical error that compromised the integrity of the results in about 157 centers nationwide had occurred. 

    The registrar in a teary and emotional press conference said that the board discovered discrepancies linked to faulty server updates in its Lagos and South East zones which led to the failure to upload candidates’ responses during the first three days of the examination. The national outrage had been massive and there was even a protest match by some parents and candidates at the JAMB office.

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    Sadly, the gravity of the issue was such that a distraught candidate, Faith Opesusi allegedly committed suicide after finding out she allegedly scored 146 points out of 400, a mark that was possibly too low to get her any slot at her choice university. She was one of the 78 percent of students that scored below 200. Some other candidates must be undergoing levels of trauma and depression. They are young and impressionable and are in a society that often measures success by academic achievements

    The Roundtable Conversation believes that now that this tragic issue has happened, beyond retaking the exams, the Nigerian government and its education agencies must recalibrate in order to minimize such grave errors  that have earlier come in small forms and left unattended leading to this tragic loss of life. The education of our children must be prioritized in ways that there is better eaze of gaining admission and studying the chosen courses by succesful students. This is because most dreams of candidates begin to die from their being disenfranchised from UTME exams to admission nepotism into chosen universities. In a country with little or no statistics or research findings on the effects of admission challenges into Nigerian tertiary institutions, candidates feeling suicidal or depressed must be avoided for a growing economy like Nigeria.

    We spoke to Prof. Anthony Kila, a renowned educationist, a Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development and a political economist and the Centre Director, Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS). He is a veteran lecturer and public affairs analyst. He believes that the nation must learn from this very sad incident even if we all agree that humans cannot be seen as infallible. Errors will occur in human institutions but there must be efforts to avoid the avoidable ones.

    To Prof. Kila, there could not have been a deliberate attempt to sabotage the efforts of the candidates by the management of JAMB. What we must do is to try to improve systemic efficiency first by making sure that competence and diligence cannot be compromised in staff recruitment either in JAMB or any other institution. There must be a staff audit to determine competences that can drive human excellence  for both staff and contractors.  There must be efforts to make sure that the academic sector must, like Ceasar’s wife, be beyond reproach.

    A system must be in place for remedies that can assuage the anger and disappointment that comes with human and technical errors and they  must be swift, fast and reliable.  Again Nigerians must build institutions that can stand irrespective of who is at the helm.  The system must be such that each human in the system optimally functions. JAMB and other academic examination bodies must begin to institute measures that make the system accountable, flexible and credible. In the academia, there must be no room for errors let alone grave ones like the one that impact young impressionable candidates that often believe that getting academic achievements validate their existence.

    As regards the candidate that committed suicide,  Prof. believes that we must readjust our social values where there is an assumption that failure at any instance means the end of the world. He believes that parents and teachers must let young people understand that failure and success are two sides of the same coin of life. Failing is not an end and succeeding at the level of progressive exams like UTME does not crown anyone with life successes.

    There must be a reorientation of students to let people who had failed entrance exams like UTME several times but still succeeded in their dreams as professionals in different fields of life. Very often, there is a illusion that succeeding in getting admission at the first sitting is the magic wand for life success.

    There must be a more convenient way to come over such human errors and still maintain trust in institutions and calm down candidates and their families. The skepticism in the system can be assuaged if there is a set way that errors can be corrected with minimal discomfort. There could be an imediate remarking of scripts or a way that the exams can be re-taken. Good that JAMB is planning this.

    He also believes that we must let young people understand that admission criteria does not always end with high scores. Scoring high marks is good but in a competitive admission environment, high scores might be relative. A candidate might score 300 for a course that the admission cut-off mark is possibly higher. 

    The Roundtable Conversation observed that it was a very teary-eyed Prof. Oloyede that accepted full responsibility as the registrar of JAMB. How does his fellow Prof. analyze that in a society where crying is not seen as a ‘manly’ behavior? He believes that shedding tears is a human expression of emotions either for joy or sadness. In this instance, it is obvious that the registrar recognized the gravity of the errors that put a question mark on his integrity given the charismatic image he has enjoyed for his efforts at re-organizing JAMB to be more functional.

    However, while his acceptance of responsibility seems exciting in an environment where the social impact of not taking responsibility for systemic errors abound, his reactions are commendable  but he must go beyond that. There must be a thorough investigation of the incident that led to such technical glitches with so much impact that a life was sadly lost. There must be a forensic audit to establish whether  the issue was out of human negligence or an unavoidable technical problem. That is the only way to forestall future incidents.

    The Roundtable Conversation totally agrees with Prof. Kila. If we agree that education is the bedrock of any society, then we must be more deliberate in handling academic processes. This incident is not new, the scale might be massive but it is not a one-off one. Possibly the role of social media in highlighting the issue through first person narratives helped.  The academic future of our children must be of international best practices if we must catch up with development.

    Beyond re-taking the exams which by the way might be neither here no there because of trust deficiencies in the system by affected candidates, some might be too disoriented to do as well as they might have done in the initial exam. The affected candidates might need therapy to address the trauma the issue might have caused them.  There must be a thorough investigation and the culprits identified and if there are punishments stipulated in the law, that the law takes its cause. The acceptance of responsibility and the tears of the registrar might not just be enough.

    The academic world runs on high levels of credibility, diligence and integrity. The young who are the future and the victims of the system must be reassured if they see that the people who caused their traumatic experience if culpable face the law. That way, they too would grow understanding that actions or inactions have consequences. Is there room for justice with JAMB in this instance?

    • The dialogue continues…
  • Fielding adults as kids

    Fielding adults as kids

    Suddenly, it has dawned on those who make the decisions concerning our football to drop the serial coach of the country’s U-20 side, the Flying Eagles, for another tactician who has qualified the team for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. This hitherto unsung coach in qualifying for the World Cup beat the defending champions of the Africa leg of the competition, Senegal, on penalty kicks 3-1 after a barren 120 minutes draw. A breath of fresh air, many people have said. But the reason one has refused to join the bandwagon of celebrating fans is the thought of the players’ true ages. This has been the albatross of the beautiful game in Nigeria.

    Yes, I’m not the players’ parent or guardian to authenticate their ages, but it would help the country’s football in leaps and bounds if we make it our mantra to always parade players with the correct ages – in this case, secondary schools and those being nurtured by credible football academies. It would be foolhardy if any of these players’ age verification documents were sworn affidavits, otherwise known as “Oluwole” in sports circles here.

    Any player who produces sworn affidavits as his age certificate should be screened out of the team. Any child born in the last 25 years in Nigeria ought to have an authentic birth certificate,  or those screening the players should insist on the birth certificate. Perhaps, track the players’ ages from their educational background. With a population of over 200 million people living in the 774 Local Government Areas of the country, it is only fair to state here that one of the reasons our football is in a coma rests largely with the dearth of nurseries here. For Nigeria to reinvent its dominance of the beautiful game globally, our football chieftains must eschew the must-win approach to competitions by not encouraging or casting an indulgent eye on our coaches who cheat by picking over-aged players in their squads. This has been the death knell of the beautiful game here.

    Nigeria shouldn’t win all the competitions she enrols for, though that is usually the essence of participating. But at the age grade tournaments, whose priority is to discover, nurture and expose budding talents in the country, it is important to deemphasise victories but embrace the big picture of releasing young and trainable boys and girls for the game’s good.

    It is disturbing to note that despite all the FIFA U-17 World Cup Nigeria has won. The Atlanta’96 Olympic Games gold medal in the soccer event, we haven’t been able to qualify for the quarter finals of the senior World Cup, which was what Senegal achieved in her debut outing at the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup which Brazil lifted.

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    What am I saying? What made Principal Cup tick back in the years were those school boys who played for our domestic league clubs in the country. They brought the rivalry and stiff competition for first team shirts in these clubs to the Principal Cup which made it very exciting for fans who aligned with the schools-based on their club preferences. That is, if their Alma Mater wasn’t among the competing teams. Such school boys as Henry Nwosu, Haruna Ilerika, Tarila Okoronwanta, late Stephen Keshi, Sam Okpodu, Clement Temile, Davidson Owumi, Edema Fuludu, Friday ‘Elastic’ Elahor, Daniel Amokachi, Yakubu Ayegbeni, Sunday Edema Benson, the late Wilfred Agbonibvare, Ikponwosa Omoregie, Baldwin Bazuaye, Humphrey Edobor, etc.

    What this striking relationship with the schools brought to the fore was connections among the fans. I wept literarily watching the absolutely poor display of the Flying Eagles against their South African counterparts. The docile atmosphere around the place where I sat to watch the game explained the disconnect between the team and Nigerians, as many people didn’t know their sports stars. A few of the fans were miffed about the calibre of players Nigeria fielded, with many of them vowing that this squad wouldn’t beat boys of their age in many parts of Lagos and its environs. Indeed, the South Africans were not good. But the Flying Eagles were hopeless with what they displayed throughout the game on Thursday.

    Nigeria can produce 200 different sets of U-20 players across the nation, but their innate skills need to be harnessed properly by knowledgeable coaches with the pedigree of grooming boys at that level to trophies. This idea of rotating coaches within the country by way of balancing the quota system is ruinous. This is the difference between our national teams at all levels and genders and those nations that keep on winning soccer competitions.

    It isn’t too late to draft a competent technical crew for the Flying Eagles, irrespective of the sentiments of allowing the coach who qualified the squad members to enjoy the fruits of their labour to play at the FIFA U-20 competition. Ordinarily, the U-20 boys should be drawn from recognised soccer academies who are products of the NFF’s youth football ecosystem,, not what we have now. Bad coaching makes good and talented players look ordinary.

    Being a good player for the domestic teams and/or playing the game at the highest levels in Europe doesn’t translate to being a coach. You must have enviable coaching credentials and track records of producing teams that play fluid, exciting soccer with boys who score goals with aplomb. Not former games masters. Time was when YSFON served as the template for discovering, nurturing and exposing youth players to the world through different age groups around the country. In fact, YSFON’s exposed kids through such tournaments as the Gothia Cup of yore formed the bulk of those Golden Eaglets players, or should I call them kids who won the FIFA U-16 World Championship trophy in 1985 in China. Nigeria won the inaugural FIFA U-16 World Championship, held in China, in 1985. They defeated West Germany 2-0 in the final with Victor Igbinoba scoring a spectacular long-range shot.

    Academies, which are nurseries for warehousing the game, have been standardised to protect the sector and backed by law for effectiveness. It is at this level that countries’ playing patterns evolve depending on what the coaches feel could bring the best from their nationals.  Standards are set for owning such academies, including their curriculum, to shut out quackery. These academies are registered by the country’s FA with the right synergy struck, where players’ movement in and out of the country is documented.

    The serious-minded soccer nations expose players from academies who also have the template to monitor those who did well and have juicy packages in big clubs in Europe, the Americas and the Diaspora. These academies ensure that the players’ career paths are cut to fit their ambitions. Those of them eager to combine playing soccer with going to school are enrolled to be educated. They also have drawn up training schedules to suit their schools’ curriculum, knowing the importance of education when their career as soccer players are over. Nothing happens in such countries by accident.

    The beauty of this system is that it also provides a platform for coaches to be trained and retrained on how to handle kids until adulthood. In fact, many of these coaches end up specialising in training young ones. They won’t be persuaded to handle clubs since they enjoy doing the job. It is, therefore, easy for these countries to name age-grade teams’ coaches, not by guesswork or sentiments but by their achievements in the local competitions in such countries. This academy system ensures that players’ data is accurate. They are stored and used in subsequent editions as the players grow.

  • Celebrating eminent journalist, Dare Babarinsa, at 70

    Celebrating eminent journalist, Dare Babarinsa, at 70

    On May 9, one of the most accomplished exemplars of journalistic practice in post-independence Nigeria, Mr Oluwadare Babarinsa, attained the significant milestone of marking seven eventful decades this side of eternity. It can be said with no equivocation of Mr Babarinsa that journalism is his life. The graduate of the University of Lagos has not looked back since putting his hands on the plough of journalism at the commencement of his career over four decades ago. Of his education, Babarinsa said, “I went to Anglican Grammar School, Ile-Ife, from 1969 to 1973. After that, I was a teacher briefly at Ire-Ekiti and Ikole-Ekiti before I gained admission to the University of Ife in 1976. I was there for two years before crossing over to the University of Lagos to study Mass Communication. Since 1981, after my graduation, and after I finished my NYSC on July 15, 1982, I have been into journalism”.

    From editing the Corps Torch, a magazine of the NYSC during his youth service, he was employed by Drum magazine, from where he joined the Concord Group of Newspapers in November 1982. A master wordsmith and meticulous craftsman, he joined the then trail-blazing Newswatch as a staff reporter in 1984 and rose to become Associate Editor of the magazine. Of his Newswatch years, he recalls in an interview that “It was a great experience working with Newswatch. You cannot get a better environment to practice journalism. Journalists were in charge; we were not beholden to any moneybags”. He was one of those writers whose delectable and arresting prose, along with icons such as Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed, made Newswatch a weekly must-read for undergraduates like me.

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    As Executive Editor of the TELL Magazine, of which he was a co-founder, Babarinsa continued his service to Nigeria and humanity through the medium of journalism. Not given to self-promotion, he courageously but quietly contributed his quota to the struggle against military dictatorship in Nigeria through his fearless articles at the Newswatch and TELL magazines. An author, his book, ‘House of War’, captures vividly in gripping prose the struggle for power in Nigeria’s Second Republic with particular focus on the intra-party conflicts within Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). His publishing company, GaskiaMedia, published Chief Bisi Akande’s epochal autobiography, ‘My Participations.’

    As an unapologetic and proud Yoruba patriot who embodies the best of the ‘Omuluabi’ ethos, Mr Babarinsa’s response to a question on why his company is named GaskiaMedia is insightful and interesting. His words, “Yes, Gaskia is a Hausa word. Gaskia has a very high-level universal aspiration; it means truth. It is not a Fulani word; it is one of the best-used words in Africa, and therefore, it carries a deep philosophical meaning. It means, it also means the truth”. To a deeply reflective and broad-minded journalist and a great human being, we say ‘a happy, blessed and fulfilled birthday sir.’

  • Nigeria’s foreign policy, from Afrocentrism to ambiguity?

    Nigeria’s foreign policy, from Afrocentrism to ambiguity?

    Nigeria as the most populous black nation in the world has for some time now been punching under its weight for some time now. In the complex theater of international relations, Nigeria’s foreign policy evolution tells a story of adaptation, ambition, and at times, ambiguity. As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu completes his second year in office, a critical examination of his administration’s foreign policy thrust reveals a landscape where historical foundations meet contemporary challenges, raising important questions about Nigeria’s place on the global stage in 2025.

    Nigeria’s foreign policy has undergone significant transformations since independence. Under Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa and subsequent military administrations, Nigeria adopted a non-aligned stance during the Cold War, refusing to be drawn into either the Western or Eastern bloc. This position allowed a young nation to assert its sovereignty while navigating the bipolar international system. In addition to this, the Balewa government navigated its foreign policy in favour of Africa as a continent and to this end it faulted the French Nuclear test in the Sahara desert leading to the nation’s protest and the expulsion of the French Ambassador.

    By the 1970s, under General Murtala Mohammed, Nigeria’s policy evolved into what scholars term “Africa-centrism” – declaring Africa as the “centerpiece” of Nigerian foreign policy. This principle manifested in Nigeria’s leadership role in the formation of ECOWAS, its anti-apartheid stance, its recognition of the Augostinho Neto’s MPLA government as the authentic government of the people of Angola and significant contributions to peacekeeping operations across the continent. The oil boom provided economic leverage that amplified Nigeria’s voice in international affairs during this period.

    The administration of Ibrahim Babaginda to his credit did attempt to raise the tempo, his regional interventions in Liberia was revolutionary whilst his attempt to create a concert of medium powers was largely a scheme to give Nigeria alongside other developed nations which were not amongst the big five a place under the sun.

    The democratic transitions of the late 1990s and early 2000s saw Nigeria attempting to repair its international image after years of military rule. President Olusegun Obasanjo leveraged his international connections to reintegrate Nigeria into the global community, focusing on debt relief and foreign investment.

    President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua introduced a more deliberate economic emphasis to Nigeria’s foreign policy through his “citizen diplomacy” approach. This framework positioned the welfare of Nigerians both at home and abroad as the central consideration in foreign relations decisions. His administration sought to use foreign policy as a tool for domestic economic development, aligning diplomatic initiatives with poverty reduction goals.

    Despite Yar’Adua’s brief tenure, his economic diplomacy orientation laid groundwork that influenced subsequent administrations. President Goodluck Jonathan continued elements of this approach, particularly in seeking foreign investments and regional economic integration.

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    When Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in 2015, he inherited a foreign policy apparatus weakened by numerous domestic challenges. As correctly noted, terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, and endemic corruption had severely damaged Nigeria’s international reputation. The refusal of several Western nations to sell military equipment to Nigeria for counterterrorism operations highlighted the country’s diminished standing on the global stage.

    Buhari’s foreign policy adopted a pragmatic stance focused on three priorities: combating corruption, addressing security challenges, and diversifying the economy. His administration sought to rebuild international confidence through anti-corruption campaigns while pursuing regional security cooperation to address the Boko Haram insurgency. The appointment of Geoffrey Onyeama as Foreign Minister brought stability to diplomatic engagements, though critics argue the administration never fully articulated a coherent foreign policy doctrine.

    Since taking office in May 2023, President Tinubu’s approach to foreign policy has displayed both continuity and change. Working alongside Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, the administration has shown signs of prioritizing economic diplomacy while attempting to restore Nigeria’s regional leadership position.

    However, nearly a year into governance, observers continue to question the coherence and direction of Tinubu’s foreign policy. Several patterns have emerged, such as an  economic focus with limited strategic

    framework.

    Tinubu’s foreign engagements have heavily emphasized investment attraction and trade expansion. His administration has launched diplomatic initiatives aimed at positioning Nigeria as an investment destination, particularly following domestic economic reforms including the removal of fuel subsidies and exchange rate adjustments.

    Minister Tuggar has frequently articulated the “Renewed Hope Agenda” as driving foreign policy, focusing on Nigeria’s economic interests. Yet, these economic engagements often appear reactive rather than flowing from a comprehensive strategic framework. The administration has yet to publish a formal foreign policy white paper outlining its long-term international relations vision.

    The Tinubu administration like past administrations initially signaled a return to robust regional leadership, particularly in responding to democratic backsliding in Niger and other West African states. Nigeria’s stance on ECOWAS sanctions against coup leaders demonstrated willingness to assert regional influence.

    However, this assertiveness has been inconsistent. The administration’s response to similar situations across the continent has lacked uniformity, raising questions about whether a coherent Africa policy exists. Furthermore, Nigeria’s economic challenges have limited its capacity to back diplomatic positions with substantial resources, undermining its traditional leadership role.

    Minister Tuggar has pursued engagement with various global powers, including traditional Western allies, China, Russia, and emerging economies. This approach reflects a multipolar worldview appropriate for the current international system. Yet, the administration appears reluctant to articulate clear priorities among these relationships.

    The result is a foreign policy that sometimes appears to chase multiple opportunities without that strategic selectivity. This is particularly evident in Nigeria’s positioning regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict and US-China competition, where the administration has avoided firm alignment while attempting to extract benefits from all sides.

    Of a truth, the  Tinubu administration inherited a Foreign Affairs Ministry suffering from years of underfunding and declining professional capacity. Despite Minister Tuggar’s diplomatic experience, the ministry’s effectiveness remains constrained by structural limitations.

    Diplomatic missions abroad continue to face operational challenges, limiting Nigeria’s ability to project influence and protect citizens’ interests overseas. The promised “diplomatic architecture review” announced early in the administration has yet to produce visible reforms in foreign service operations.

    What ultimately remains unclear is whether the Tinubu administration possesses a distinctive foreign policy doctrine that defines its approach to international engagement. Previous administrations, despite their flaws, established recognizable principles: Africa-centrism under the military regimes, shuttle diplomacy under Obasanjo, citizen diplomacy under Yar’Adua, and Buhari’s security-focused pragmatism.

    Tinubu’s foreign policy, by contrast, appears predominantly transactional – seeking economic benefits and diplomatic capital without articulating a coherent worldview or grand strategy. This approach offers flexibility but sacrifices the consistency and predictability that international partners value.

    Minister Tuggar’s emphasis on “Nigeria first” rhetoric suggests potential parallels with economically nationalist foreign policies seen elsewhere globally. Yet, the administration has not translated this concept into a systematic framework guiding Nigeria’s international engagements.

    For the remainder of his term, President Tinubu faces the task of transforming tactical diplomatic engagements into a coherent foreign policy architecture. This requires addressing several fundamental questions:

    1. How can  Nigeria balance regional leadership aspirations with domestic economic imperatives?

    2. What principles will guide choices between competing international partnerships?

    3. How can our diplomatic capabilities be rebuilt to effectively project Nigerian influence?

    4. Where does Nigeria position itself in evolving global governance structures?

    The opportunity exists to develop a foreign policy that genuinely serves national development while restoring Nigeria’s international standing. This demands not only diplomatic skill but strategic vision – the vision we saw with the Garba’s and the Akinyemi’s something critics suggest has been notably absent in Nigerian foreign policy formulation for decades.

    As Nigeria navigates increasingly turbulent global waters in 2025, the Tinubu administration stands at a foreign policy crossroads. While economic diplomacy provides a practical focus, a comprehensive foreign policy requires more than commercial opportunism. It demands clarity of vision, consistency of principles, and capacity for implementation.

    The historical journey of Nigerian foreign policy offers valuable lessons for crafting a more effective approach – drawing from the principled non-alignment of the early years, the continental leadership of the Africa-centric era, and the citizen-focused pragmatism of more recent times. Whether President Tinubu and Minister Tuggar can synthesize these traditions into a coherent doctrine that addresses contemporary challenges remains one of the defining questions of their administration’s legacy.

    Nigeria’s international partners and citizens alike await clearer signals about where Africa’s most populous nation is steering its ship of state in global affairs. Until then, Nigerian foreign policy under Tinubu appears to be a work in progress – with the blueprint still very much under construction.

  • Foreigners planting grass

    Foreigners planting grass

    Whatever hasn’t happened in Nigeria’s sports doesn’t exist. The latest of such bizarre incidents in sports here is the laughable sight of foreigners planting grass on playing turfs in our Federal Government-owned stadia around the country. We have seen video clips of a top sports official in Nigeria watching how a pitch in one of the European country’s football pitches was being re-grassed. It was quite preposterous watching this dangling government official stepping on portions of the re-grassed pitch while nodding in approval. I ask again, who cursed Nigeria like this?

    Of course, we would be told soonest that these foreigners would be importing special specie of grass into the country.  Which, sadly means the grass would also come from Europe, with special soil after several failed soil tests in the country. Manure, which is commonplace in the country from animals’ dung, would be jettisoned in preference for imported fertiliser. That is what it is here – personal agenda towering over national interests, even if it means bleeding the establishment to its financial death.

    It is only in Nigeria that governance isn’t a continuum, otherwise during Chief Sunday Dare’s tenure, the immediate past Sports Minister, he brought a Nigerian who resides in Owerri to re-grass the National Stadium’s pitch in Abuja and the big players commended the quality of the pitch when they came to country for an international assignment. Again I ask, where is that Nigerian from Owerri who did that magic? Shouldn’t he be given another chance to prove his mettle?

    What has this government official done to ensure that all our stadia have functional boreholes where water can be used to wet the grass? Not forgetting the presence of an uninterrupted supply of electricity in the premises? What all stadia with good playing pitches have going for them is the presence of a large land mass, which has grass being nurtured as nurseries, which they use to patch up balding areas on the main pitch. At half time and immediately after games, sprinklers underground throw water to give life to the grass. Need I repeat what these pitches enjoy for countries that have a prevalent maintenance culture? Cars, trucks and all manner of heavy containers are not allowed on these playing turfs. Of course these grounds aren’t used for political rallies or/and musical carnivals like ours. Playing turfs are handled and nurtured as kids by proven horticulturists, not just any person serving as gardeners as we have in Nigeria.

    In fact, shouldn’t this government official have come back to Nigerians to think for him instead of the illiterate option of bringing foreigners to plant grass in pitches around the country? Is this government official saying that there are no lush green turfs in Nigeria? How about the golf grounds? A religious outfit in Nigeria, located in Igieduma in Edo State, has lush green lawns which help beautify the place whilst you drive past Igieduma throughout the year.

    What those who run our sports should routinely do is to throw open bids for things like this, and pick the best. Planting grass isn’t rock science. It is most unwise to do, given the calibre of trained horticulturists in the country.

    Curiously, one is tempted to ask those who refurbished these stadia the type of agreement they reached with those who refurbished them. Most times, these stadium builders insist on agreements where their workmen groom people who can handle any emergencies within and inside the place to avoid wanton destruction of sensitive gadgets within the stadium.

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    Where are all the agreements reached after refurbishing the stadia in the past? That way we would know whose fault it was to have abandoned the stadia to their present deplorable conditions, such that we would be talking about a rebuilding of the entire structures.

    The ruination experienced at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos; Liberty Stadium, Ibadan; Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, and Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna is largely due to the dearth of competitions at the domestic scene. The four stadia used to host great sporting events. But our junketing officials watched the gradual destruction of these edifices and used their disused condition to buttress why they must take Nigerian athletes overseas to train. Sadly, it didn’t occur to them that the government would save cash from their jamborees by fixing these facilities.

    Piecemeal repair works of parts of the edifice called the stadium aren’t what we need. What is desirable now is the urgent need to rebuild two brand new stadia fitted with modern-day technologies and gadgets. The government alone can’t provide all the funds without collaborating with the private sector.

    If we must achieve excellence and meet the objective requirement for the rapid development of our sports industry, then we must broaden the financial base of the industry and create the right conditions for private sector funding and investment in sports.

    We must accept that there is a need for us to have the political will to make sports a big business, which inevitably will create the platforms for unemployment. We need to cultivate business concerns to embrace sports, but with a caveat: transparency and accountability. There was a need to create an enabling environment for business concerns to key into sports patronage, first to change the way it is run in Nigeria and then to get Nigerians to know that sports help increase the country’s G.D.P as seen in other climes.

    Sport is a big deal. It unites nations and enchants people. Besides, it has a global appeal, pulling fans and sponsors in a unique force that impacts businesses and health. These positives can best be evaluated when the government has a template that makes it possible for businesses and philanthropists to key into the nation’s vision for sports.

    Governments of sports-loving nations entice the businesses with relief packages, such as tax rebates on their investments in sports. Given sports’ global appeal, governments effectively utilise the platform as their public relations tool to change people’s perception of their entities.

    Grassroots development can be actualised through the hosting of international and continental sporting events. Most countries use these big competitions to woo the blue-chip industries to identify with sports. Besides, these competitions open up the hinterland with the facilities constructed, creating jobs in the locality. The facilities would attract the villagers to learn the games and, inadvertently, improve their health.

    Big sports competitions generate revenue, create jobs, improve financial bases and provide the best opportunity for foreigners to have first-hand interaction with Nigerians. Such competitions improve tourism, a sure money spinner. Need I state the benefit that business concerns will gain from the volume of foreign exchange during such competitions?

    Is sports all about funding and administration? Not exactly. Without the athletes and the coaches, no sports events can be held. Athletes and coaches form the fulcrum on which sports thrive.

  • What future for APC, PDP, LP?

    What future for APC, PDP, LP?

    Under the extant 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), political parties form the pivot around which the machinery of governance revolves. Members of the legislature who make the laws and the head of the executive which implements the laws are elected on the platform of political parties, as independent candidacy is not recognized by law. Even appointments in the judiciary, which constitutes the third arm of government, are made by the executive, sanctioned by the national or state judicial service commissions and confirmed by the legislature. Despite the central role of the political party in the governance process, the party system under the constitution is largely amorphous, loose and unstructured.

    As things are currently, the vibrancy, vigour, vitality and efficacy of political parties will have to depend on the quality of party leadership, the strength of the relationship between parties and their grassroots bases, the degree of internal party discipline, respect for the regulatory laws of the parties and the effective functioning of various party organs. The reality is that none of the political parties today, at least the three major ones, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), which performed beyond its own expectation in the last presidential election, live up to the ideal of capably led, efficiently organized, party machines with intimate organic linkages with their grassroots membership.

    While the PDP and LP are bogged down by protracted and debilitating internal crises, the daily haemorrhaging of elected and other prominent members of the two parties to the APC has engendered a sense of triumphalism and self-satisfaction in the latter and alarm bells of panic among the former.  The beleaguered opposition parties raise hysterical cries that President Bola Tinubu is deliberately destabilizing their ranks through alleged inducement or intimidation, and blackmail by anti-corruption agencies.  The aim, they say, is to foist a one-party dictatorship on the country, shrink the democratic space and make the President’s reelection for a second term a fait accompli.

    But then, the large-scale defections of opposition party members to the party in control of the state and thus the power of patronage at the centre or in the states has become an entrenched feature of our political culture that predates the assumption of office of President Tinubu in May 2023. For instance, in 2021, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, who was elected as governor of Zamfara State in 2019 on the platform of the PDP, dumped the party and joined the APC. Earlier, Engineer David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi State and Professor Ben Ayade, governor of Cross River State, had equally defected to the ruling APC. And as noted last week, as at May 30, 2007, the PDP controlled 31 of the country’s 36 States although this was later reduced to 30 states when the courts sacked Andy Uba as governor of Anambra State and Mr Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was sworn in as chief Executive of the state.

    Although the major political parties in focus here have been dismissed by many as essentially opportunistic vehicles which exist for the sole purpose of winning elections and accessing power for largely extractive, exploitative purposes as well as lacking in ideological distinctiveness that undermine their capacity to promote development, they are the most viable party structures we have for now. As our electoral structures and processes continue to improve and elections more and more reflect the will of the people, they will incrementally be compelled to improve their organizational structures, respect internal rules, uphold intra-party democracy and put governments elected on their platforms on their toes to seriously implement party manifestoes and thus be concrete developmental agents.

    And this may be the only option until youths who actively advocate change through social media militancy as well as radical intellectuals who wax rhetorically revolutionary only in theory learn to engage personally on the political terrain and get down to the hard, back-breaking work of forming and nurturing viable political organizations capable of winning elections and charting alternative trajectories for the country. But any tendency towards a one-party system will not be in the interest ultimately of the ruling party, the opposition, democracy or the country. But it is up to the opposition parties to put their houses in order. Neither President Tinubu nor the APC can do this for them.

    The greatest challenge confronting the PDP right now is to resolve the current crisis that pitches the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike, against the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Waziri Atiku Abubakar. A member of the party’s Board of Trustees, Chief Olabode George, has canvassed the expulsion of both chieftains from the party for anti-party activities. It is impracticable and unworkable. Despite his frequent abandonment of the party in his desperate quest for the presidency of Nigeria, expelling Atiku from the PDP will have serious negative implications for the party. As for Wike, it is well known that he almost single-handedly sustained the party and ensured its survival during an earlier crisis that nearly spelt its irretrievable implosion.

    An amicable solution must be found with Wike and Atiku remaining in the PDP but ready to struggle for control of its structures through the party’s internal democratic processes at its next elective national convention. The party’s stakeholders – governors, states’ party executives, national Assembly caucuses, BOT members and those who belong neither to the Wike nor Atiku factions should summon the will and resourcefulness to get the party out of its current bog and enable it to regain its squandered glory. As for the LP, the way forward lies neither with the Julius Abure nor the Nenadi Usman-led factions.

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    It would be wise for the sponsor of the LP, the NLC, to extricate the party from the grip of both sides and begin to nudge the LP to reclaim its original mission and identity as an organization of the toiling Nigerian masses committed to charting an alternative developmental path for the country rather than an opportunistic Special Purpose Vehicle hired by all manner of unprincipled politicians to contest elections for a price. It is instructive that neither the voluble Peter Obi nor the incurably academic Pat Utomi has been able to proffer practical solutions to the LP conundrum.

    The defectors to the ruling APC have cited President Tinubu’s policies, the near tripling of the fiscal receipts by the sub-national units under his administration, as well as the protracted crisis in their parties, as reasons for their joining the party in control of the centre. These defections cannot be attributed to the organizational efficiency of the party in galvanising grassroots support and winning over new members, and here lies the great challenge confronting the APC. It must urgently ensure that its various organs begin to function seamlessly.  It must reinvigorate its grassroots machinery by ensuring that the party executives are active, especially at the ward and local government levels.

    Significant as the current defections to the party by opposition politicians are, no less critical to the party’s performance at forthcoming polls will be the impact of its policies in achieving evident objectives and improving lives. The party should thus have a ready pool of experts and progressive intellectuals to pay attention to the policy of governments elected on its platform with a view to contributing to making qualitative inputs to the policy process, which is one of the key functions of a serious and purposeful political party. It should prioritize winning and mobilizing new grassroots membership over receiving decampees from other parties, even if it will understandably readily welcome the latter.