The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Values, history and leadership

    I   read  on the internet  his  week  that  the man who  introduced queuing  into Nigeria is now  trying  to  clean up  the same nation. That  man  or leader of  course is our current  Head  of State President  Muhammadu  Buhari. This time around  however,  according  to  the  report,  he   was  trying to  change Nigeria or tell  Nigerians    to  change, by  trying to  change themselves by inculcating  the values  of honesty, integrity  and  transparency in  their daily  lives.

    On  the surface  and at  face value,  this is a very direct  political    and  moral, appeal.  But  in the context  of  world  politics,  and the topsy  tturvy  terrain   of  Nigerian  history   and  development, it  is  certainly   not  original.   To  me it  is  not  only   diversionary  it  is begging  the question  on the president’s   electoral  mandate  of   change     on which  he secured  the  presidency  of  Nigeria in the 2015  presidential  elections. It  is like telling  Nigerians the buck  does  not stop  on    his  table   but    it  is a collective  responsibility  of  Nigerians   to  change    in  terms  of the way  and manner    in  which      they  apply  the   tenets  of  honesty, integrity,  and   transparency to   their   work   and overall  way  of  life.

    Unfortunately    that  really  is not  the point   and  is indeed  a painful leadership  fallacy in  the context  of  Nigerian  politics,  given   the all  pervasive  culture of corruption  and   poor   leadership  that  have   brought  us to  our  knees  in terms  of  poverty  and    economic   deprivation  as a nation.  That  was  what  the war  on  corruption  was  supposed  to  be about and the pivot  or  Commander  in  Chief    of  the    war  was  supposed  to  be this  president.   So    what    happened that  all  of us  are  being  asked  to  take  the  bull  by  the horn when  we don’t have the means and  cannot  even  recognize  the  bull  in  the first  instance? It is like  asking  Nigerians to  commit  mass  suicide and  this is just  not   right  as  Nigerians  put the mantle of  change on this presidency when  they  booted out the   Jonathan  presidency and  chose  the APC and  President  Buhari in the 2015 presidential  elections. The  dog  should  wag  the tail  in the war against  corruption  and in  the  instilling of honest  and  progressive values in  any  society  including  Nigeria. The tail  should  not  wag  the dog as the slogan  that change starts  with  Nigerians clearly demands. That  is the issue  for  discussion today.

    I intend  to  illustrate  my  position    with  the  history  of  a social   club which  is  the   oldest  indigenous  club    in Nigeria  and which   celebrated  its  90th  anniversary  this week.   That  club  is  the Yoruba  Tennis Club   founded  on  September  15  1926. The  club  in  90  years  has  weathered  the  political  storm and uncertainties of first,  colonial  rule, independence, military  rule and  a pervasive  culture  of  corruption in  a nation that is  now  engaged  in  a war  on  corruption . Yet,  the Yoruba  Tennis Club  has never  in its  chequered    history    been  found  wanting in the values  of honesty,  integrity  and above  all   sheer human  courage.

    The   Yoruba Tennis   Club  celebrated  its 90th  Anniversary  with  a long  programme  that  included  several  events  including an anniversary lecture  by  the Vice  President   Professor  Yemi  Osinbajo,  yesterday and  ends   with  a Gala Dance  today. The  Vice  President’s  Lecture  provided a  genuine menu  of  change  that  the government promised  in  sharp  distinction  from the diversion of  asking  Nigerians to  change  themselves  and their  morals  in an environment  reeking from inescapable and  avoidable  corruption  and  poverty. indeed  the VP ‘s  analysis  of  the challenges  facing the nation in this recession goes  to  the point in making  Nigerians  know  that  government  is not sleeping on  change  and that  Nigerians can  expect  some  succour  from  their  sufferings  and economic  woes  sooner  than  later. Most  appropriately  the lecture  has  the title –  Revitalising  the Nigerian  Economy, the  Challenges  and  Opportunities.

    As   pointed  out during  the lecture,  the VP  noted  that  the club, the  YTC,  was  founded  by men  of  integrity and  courage  90  years  ago as  a protest  against  the racial  discrimination of  the colonial  masters who  barred  them  from  membership  of the  now Lagos  Lawn  Tennis  Club  whose  first  Chairman  was  Lord  Lugard,  Nigeria’s  first  colonial  governor. Ironically  and   rather   fortuitously,  the  present  president  of  the Lagos  Lawn  Tennis  Club, a  young  Nigerian   supervised  the  cutting of  the  cake of  the  90th  anniversary  of  the YTC  which  was  founded   on  September  15, 1926  by  bold Nigerians of  integrity  and honesty    who   resented  the  racial  discrimination  of  the colonial  governors  who did  not  allow  them   to  socialize  with  them.  Which    means     that  in  terms  of  social  and  political  change,  Nigerians   need no new  teachings or  masters  on  their  manners  and  values    and  only  expect  government  to  live  up  to  its  responsibilities in  2016, a year  after  the promised  change  of the election  victory  of  2015.

    The VP elucidated professorially on the  solutions  being  put in place  to revitalize  the  Nigerian  economy. He said  government putting in place fiscal  prudence to  curtail  costs; an Efficiency Unit is in  place to ensure  swift  service  delivery;  the  TSA  is  being  used  to  monitor  diversion  of  funds and  fraudulent  collusion between  government  officials and bank  managers; a  flexible  exchange  rate structure is being  put in place while  the Downstream  oil  sector  is being  deregulated.

    More  importantly,  the  VP said  government will  ensure  that salaries  of government  workers   at  state and federal  level  will  be paid  as and when  due. As    government   knows  now that the  states  cannot  meet  their  needs as they rely on government  allocation  which  has  dwindled as a result of  falling oil  prices in a mono  product economy.  He  said  paying  salaries  of  workers  would stimulate  consumer  spending and  confidence  and chase  away  recession  which  he admits is  peculiar  to each  economy in terms  of  causes  and  effect . Government  is planning  direct  creation of  jobs  for  about 500,000  graduates  to  get  jobs  by  September as  well as a Micro Credit Scheme  for 2m  market  women  and traders. In addition  government  is planning   a  500km  pipeline    to  be  embedded  in  the high seas to  stem  pipeline  vandalisation   and its   negative  effects  on  the economy  and  power  supply. Government  is stepping up on diversifying  the economy   and  is  funding  alternative  sources  of  power  while also working  earnestly  on  solar  energy  power  supply. Indeed  one  can  say  that  government  has woken up on its change sleep  and has put its  hands  to  the plow  to  save  the Nigerian  economy.

    Again,  on  the issue  of  morals,  the VP  commended the Chairman  of  the YTC, Mr  Dele  Martins, lawyer, as  a man  of integrity that the VP said  he  wanted  to recruit as a judge  when the  VP was the Attorney  General  of   Lagos  State. In addition, a Trustee  of the YTC, Alhaji Femi  Okunnu SAN, in his contribution demonstrated  the virtues of boldness and courage which  are  the hall  mark  of  the leadership  that  founded  the YTC.  He  said  government  must  cut  the cost  of governance at the legislative  and  executive  levels  to  improve  the economy.  He  said  the judiciary  has  not reflected  the federal  character in judicial appointments  from around  1978. He  asked  government  to  work  hard on  social  housing.  More  importantly  he said that the insurrection in the  Niger  Delta  will persist as  long  as  the issue  of Resource  Control, which is not the making  of the present Administration is  not  judiciously  resolved  and  urgently  too.

    Earlier  on at the anniversary,  the reviewer  of  the  Club  History,  Dr.  Femi  Olugbile,  commented on  several  aspects  of  the YTC 90  year  old  history.  As  a member  myself I  wish  to  highlight the part of  the club’s  history  that  says the Chairman  of  the club  can  do  no wrong. While  this  may  sound unrealistic and  impossible  at  once,  it  has  been  a   strong   catalyst   for orderliness and  control.  Especially   in   a  club made  up of professors, lawyers and eggheads  in various  professions  as well as captains of industry  and  business. It  is a salutation  that I  have personally  discovered makes for smooth  flow of obedience  from  members  to  tradition and  customs  of  the club as  well as   total  recognition of  the responsible  authority   of  the YTC   Chairman. It  is indeed  a  good  recipe  for political  stability in any  environment  and  not  only a social one   such  as  the  YTC  and is  highly  recommended.  Once   again,  long live  the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Needless comparisons

    Sports Minister Solomon Dalung enjoys controversies. He is easily excited when he comes before cameras. He loses control when he is swarmed by journalists’ microphones. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be entangled in this needless comparison of able-bodied athletes and the physically-challenged sportsmen and women participating at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. The Spartan fighting spirit is in every Nigerian, irrespective of his or her disciplines. It isn’t peculiar with sports.

    Indeed, given the Federal Government’s resolve to end of polio by 2020, we shouldn’t be talking about Nigerians at the Paralympics. Let somebody say a big “amen” to the prayer of a complete elimination of polio.  Most of these Paralympians don’t like their physically-challenged status. It shows in the zeal they bring into anything that they do. For them, there is ability in disability. It has also driven them to embrace sports and other activities that the able-bodied people can do. So, we shouldn’t abuse their sensibilities by this needless blame game.

    What Dalung should be telling us now is the government’s plan for the Paralympians when they return. The world isn’t surprised that Nigeria is doing well at the Paralympics. This is not the first time these magicians have outshone their able-bodied counterparts. It will, therefore, be wrong for any minister to bask in the euphoria of their feats, knowing too well that but for their feats in sports, not even Dalung knows how they keep themselves alive.

    It would shock Dalung how these physically-challenged sportsmen and women push themselves to earn a living. Dalung’s focus should be how to cater for them after the games. They must not be allowed to return to their squalor until another four years. Dalung should let them know how they can get their drugs. He must tell us what the government is doing to ensure they can put food on the table, aside ensuring that they train adequately for subsequent assignments. These physically-challenged athletes don’t want us to pity them. They want to live like everyone of us. So, Dalung must plead with President Muhammadu Buhari to institute a welfare package, which should include a workable insurance policy that will cover them. Dalung should tell us how the government wants to create jobs for them to make ends meet.

    These world champions shouldn’t be allowed to return to the motor parks as touts? Surprised? Don’t be. Just visit the front gate of the National Stadium, Sururlere, Lagos, after the games. You will find some of them holding court to collect their fees at the bus stop.

    It wouldn’t cost the minister anything to allocate offices to the Paralympics body. They should have a large hall where they can relax after each day’s training. Nigeria’s anthem was sung eight times in Rio, which means they are worthy ambassadors of this country, who shouldn’t be seen touting in motor parks.

    President Buhari should also assure these athletes by announcing big cash incentives to their sports federations to help them attend competitions which would help them to improve on their performance by 2020. This idea of the Sports Ministry abandoning these athletes until a few months to the next Paralympics isn’t good enough.

     Iheanacho, this is your life

    Pep Guardiola needs no introduction either as a player or a coach. He seems poised to earn more respect as a coach than as a player. Good to know he cut his teeth playing for his pet club Barcelona and producing young talented players who have dazzled the world with their sublime skills and soccer artistry.

    Guardiola was Emmanuel Amuneke’s captain at Barcelona. Little wonder pundits are not surprised with Amuneke’s rich coaching dossier, in spite of the fact that he won the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup for Nigeria as a coach. He was assistant to Garba Manu in the coaching crew that won the FIFA U-17 World Cup for this country in 2013.

    Amuneke had a bad patch with the Flying Eagles but that experience served as a learning curve for him. It is quite gratifying that Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) chieftains are retaining his services with the U-20 squad. But Amuneke isn’t the reason for this column.

    Guardiola is set to nurture Kelechi Iheanacho as the next Super Eagles striker. And the world is waiting with bated breath. Guardiola thinks Iheanacho can fit into Aguero’s shoes in Manchester City’s central attacking position. And the Nigerian has shown that Guardiola’s instincts are right.

    Many wondered who Guardiola would unleash on Manchester United last weekend in the Manchester derby, with Aguero out due to suspension. This puzzle troubled the Special One, Jose Mourinho, who told everyone that Manchester City were more dangerous without Aguero. Trust Mourinho and his antics. He factored that Iheanacho could replace Aguero, though he couldn’t place a bet on it, given Guardiola’s pedigree as one capable of doing many things.

    Therefore, Iheanacho’s choice as Aguero’s replacement may have shocked Mourinho, because he didn’t plan for the Nigerian as was evident with his assist to Kevin De Bruyne to score the first goal. And Iheanacho’s tapped goal into an unguarded net from a De Bruyne rebound.

    This is the first time Iheanacho has scored goals for City. He may have shocked himself last season when he took advantage of the few minutes he had as substitute to score goal that made an instant choice for Guardiola, who replaced Coach Manuel Pellegrini.

    With the way things are at Manchester City, Iheanacho is Guardiola’s replacement for Aguero. Can Iheanacho cope? He answered that question on Wednesday night when he replaced Aguero in the second half. He scored a sitter, his first in the UEFA Champions League, but City’s fourth on the night. Manchester City beat Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0.

    Are we expecting a fierce battle between Iheanacho and Aguero. Hmm… Aguero, you have a bad rival who could bench you. First, he is younger. Secondly, he is a Nigerian with the can-do spirit. But above all, Aguero is too injury-prone such that in his absence, Iheanacho could make the striker’s shirt his.

    Is there the likelihood of Guardiola pairing Iheanacho and Aguero in a twin attacking formation? I feel so strongly, but in all these permutations is my joy that Nigeria may have found a striker who can lead our charge for the sole qualification ticket in Group B for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

    Iheanacho, welcome to the most challenging period in your bourgeoning career, especially as a former World Cup champion at the U-17 level in 2013.  If Nigeria makes it to the Russia 2018 World Cup and Iheanacho plays, he would have justified FIFA’s mantra of using grassroots competitions to produce world class stars.

     Thank you Mikel

     The furore that accompanied the choice of John Mikel Obi as Nigeria’s torchbearer at the 2016 Olympic Games was deafening. Those against his choice wanted Segun Toriola. They argued that since it was his seventh Olympic Games, it was just appropriate to crown his efforts with that privilege.

    Good point, except that Mikel was Nigeria’s biggest athlete at the games. There are very few footballers in the world today who can point at their wardrobe of laurels having all the medals Mikel has inside his. Asking Mikel to captain Nigeria was the best decision taken, irrespective of his previous tantrums. Mikel’s feats placed him ahead of Toriola and he made amends of his past sins by the way he rescued Nigeria’s Olympic Games’ bronze medal achievement by splashing 30,000 pounds on the players, when the government abandoned them in Atlanta.

    Would Mikel have done that if he wasn’t Team Nigeria’s captain? He would because he was the soccer team’s captain, playing for a coach (Samson Siasia), who nurtured him to stardom. Besides, Mikel is also the Super Eagles captain, who knows how to get his cash back from chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), including the minister.

    I’m glad that Mikel didn’t disappoint those who picked him. He was exemplary in both his conduct and play during the Olympics. If Mikel doesn’t have a national award, then he rightly deserves one when the next list of awardees is being written.

    Talking about national awards, Nduka Odizor doesn’t have one too. He revealed early this year that a sports administrator asked him to part with some cash, if he wanted to have a national award.

    Dalung sir, please google Nduka Odizor’s achievements in sports and see if he isn’t better qualified than many of those who are awardees today. Our star Olympians, whether or not they won medals, should be honoured. It is the best way to show that their efforts are appreciated. Their kids would love to emulate them too.

     Sorry please, Onazi!

     Oguenyi Onazi should accept the fact that perhaps those beasts who raided his home in Jos didn’t know the landlord. I am not saying that what they did was right. If they were not under hard drugs, they would have seen on the walls inside the house Onazi’s picture and spared his family their tortuous moments when they raided the place last week. Thankfully, the police have fished out the bandits in Lagos while they were about selling off Onazi’s father’s Toyota Highlander jeep. It is sad that those who strive to reshape people’s perception of our great nation can be rewarded in this manner by these wicked souls.

    Onazi should consider this a mistake. The idiots claimed they attacked his father because he lives alone and assists no one. Please, also ignore their ‘threats’ because they have been caught. Good luck in your weekend match. Best wishes to your dad, who is out of the hospital. God has healed him already.

    Tears for Papilo’s mother

    Nwankwo Kanu says he is still in shock following the death of his mother last week. Who wouldn’t be? Most of us who have lost our mothers still rue their absence. This isn’t to say that our fathers are less important.

    Kanu, Mama has gone home to rest; no more worries and aches. She lived to see you achieve greatness. She train your siblings to be worthy kids. She has played her part and needs to rest, like we will all do some day, when Our Father in heaven calls us up.

    Good night Mama, you left behind a great son, who would continue to rock the world. Laa nk’oma (farewell) Mama.

  • Open your eyes

    On Saturdays, I stay indoors to rest and
    follow sporting trends on television. I
    also relax by surfing the internet in the evenings for the big stories. But last weekend, I reluctantly sat up to watch the meaningless Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between the Super Eagles and their Tanzanian counterparts inside the Nest of Champions Stadium in Uyo.

    I wasn’t expecting a massacre of the Tanzanians. I knew we would be fielding a new team that needed time to blend. I wasn’t shocked that all our big boys reported to camp on Monday. See what it means to have a foreign coach? It also didn’t come as a surprise that those who had knocks with the European clubs came late but with evidence of receiving quality treatment.

    I was excited that we had Gernot Rohr to underscore the fact that our foreign legion knows when we are serious with any adventure. I shouted when I didn’t see Sports Minister Solomon Dalung doing the introduction of players and match officials. I was bowled over by the foreign manager’s decision to field Kelechi Iheanacho for 90 minutes, in spite of the fact that he reported to the camp, having not played for his English side recently due to injury – lesson number one for Nigerian coaches.

    I monitored how the manager pulled Iheanacho aside talking to him after watching him train on his own in the days leading to the match. Gohr knew Iheanacho would deliver but left the decision for the team’s medical crew. When the doctors cleared Iheanacho to play, it didn’t matter if he had not trained with others. With a Nigerian coach, the best Iheanacho would have got was a meaningless late substitution. And we would have been asking did Iheanacho play? Iheanacho’s club form was enough for Rohr to field him. And he justified that trust by scoring the only goal that separated Nigeria from Tanzania. Lesson number two for Nigerian coaches – fielding your best players at all times. No stories.

    Aren’t the Nigerian coaches surprised it took Rohr just three training sessions to know that our best right back is former Golden Eaglets Captain Mohammed Musa, who stood like the proverbial Rock of Gibraltar in the Eagles defence? He held sway on the right wing intercepting passes by the Tanzanians. He gave the hitherto wobbly Eagles defence the steel to ward off the visitors. Of course, Gohr said our defence needed fortification. It showed with the defenders’ outing last weekend.  There wasn’t any nervy moment in the defence. I was excited with the way our taller players came back to defend during corner kicks.

    Indeed, fielding Elderson Echiejile at the left back gave the Eagles width at the rear as he joined the attacking onslaughts against the visitors. Interestingly, Echiejile showed he had improved in recovering when he lost the ball. But in the team’s central defence, Leon Balogun and William Troost-Ekong were peerless, although the Tanzanians hardly troubled them.

    What impressed me most about the team was the presence of younger boys as substitutes. It showed when the coach made his substitutions. Every change improved on the team’s performance. Who would have thought that Wilfred Ndidi, a former Eaglets star, would have fitted like glue when he replaced an injured Mikel? Lesson number three for Nigerian coaches – learning to take a risk on younger players. The Nigerian coach would have introduced Nosa Igiebor, hinging his decision on experience. When would the younger players grab this experience when they are always kept on the bench?

    Little wonder people are dreaming of Nigeria securing the group’s qualification ticket. We can, if the players exhibit the kind of resolve to win matches which they display when they play for their European clubs. The players’ mentality towards national team matches must improve. They must understand that they should leave the Eagles at the level where they met it – the top echelon in Africa, to say the least. It is laughable that the Eagles are 16th in Africa. No coach enters the field to play. Players interprete the coach’s tactics on the pitch. We have made several changes in the coaching crew with no movement forward. It simply means that the players are the problem. It shouldn’t be because these boys excel in European clubs. It is, therefore, the belief that with a European manager, a new dawn beckons for Nigeria. Let it start now. The players must secure this ticket for the teeming Nigerian fans.

    Was goalkeeper Carl Ikeme really tested? Rohr took a gamble on Ikeme, who arrived Uyo two days to the match. He didn’t trust those were in the camp. He opted for experience. Looking back, was Ikeme  worth the coach’s gamble? Not exactly, but we know his worth, although it is also wise for the coach to consider having a chat with the team’s former captain, Vincent Enyeama, to rescind his decision not to play for Nigeria. Rohr hasn’t worked with Enyeama before. He knows his worth and may be comfortable with Enyeama in goal than Ikeme. Rohr wants to close his eyes to the fact that his goalkeeping problem has been solved, with two renowned hands. I align with Rohr’s decision to have Enyeama back because the task of doing well at the Russia 2018 World Cup begins with the qualification matches.

    Some people have expressed reservations with Enyeama’s return. They are asking what would happen to Mikel Obi’s captaincy. Mikel has turned a new leaf with his output in the national teams. Rohr certainly knows these details. I also don’t think that Enyeama wants to be captain again. Enyeama left the team because of the rift with the former coach, Sunday Oliseh. Enyeama also has good relationship with Mikel and could ignore the captaincy band. He could return to spite Oliseh. A pointer to Enyeama’s return to the Eagles rests with his post-match comments of the Tanzanian game. Enyeama was quoted to have applauded his mates, urging them to increase the momentum as the struggle for the World Cup ticket begins. Enyeama couldn’t have been bothered about the Eagles when Oliseh and Samson Siasia were in charge. So, good luck to Rohr. I feel strongly that Enyeama should return akin to what Lionel Messi did with Argentina.

    I’m encouraged by Rohr’s resolve to invite others to the camp. His choice of Alex Iwobi and Etebo shows that he has been following our boys’ exploits in Europe. Players, such as Osimhen, Moses Simeon, Iheanacho, Moses, Muhammed, Shehu Abdullahi, Jamiu Alimi et al, capture the essence of developing the game from the grassroots. It raises the hope that Rohr understands the need for us to have a team with an average age of 21 years so that they can compete with others at the Mundial in Russia.

    I was excited watching the Eagles return to the four-man midfield play which ensured that we dominated the Tanzanians, although it didn’t reflect in the scores, largely because our strikers were too anxious to impress the new manager. Iheanacho, Mikel, Victor Moses and Oguenyi Onazi are very talented players. Perhaps, Rohr needs to drop Onazi, if Etebo is fit. Etebo has shown the penchant for scoring goals with his long range shots. If we have two boys who can shoot the ball hard from the distance in our midfield, it would go a long way in increasing our goals haul, especially when the opposition has a very good goalkeeper like the Tanzanians. Again, Rohr could start Musa with Alex Iwobi upfront. Iwobi is slow but swift with the ball. He also can be calm in front of the goalpost like we have seen him do for the Barclays English Premier League side, Arsenal.

    Odion Ighalo has been unlucky with the Eagles as our top striker. I agree with Victor Ikpeba that Ighalo should be more selfish with the ball. But Ighalo isn’t such a player. He could be introduced in the second half with specific instructions from the coach, having seen the first half. Brown Ideye and Sunday Mba were the pivot in Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations feat in 2013. The Eagles lost its balance when Mba and Ideye were excluded from the team’s camp. Ideye isn’t as flamboyant as Austin Okocha; nor does he have the sublime skills of Nwankwo Kanu. He does the dirty job in the midfield with his impact only recognised by a good tactician. If our players learn to shoot accurately in front of the goalkeeper, we may not rush the quest for a striker yet.

    Need I score the team? Rather, I’m impressed with the camaraderie Rohr has with his Nigerian assistants. He spoke glowingly about them. I was thrilled when an insider in the Eagles told me that Rohr assigned Imama Amamakabo to his match reading crew. Indeed, the source revealed that Rohr relied on this match-reading team’s remarks to chart his counter strategies as the game progressed. I wasn’t surprised, therefore, when Imama returned to Enugu Rangers, his Nigerian club, to guide the team to crush high-riding Rivers United 4-0 in one of the NPFL games.

    Imama, Salisu Yusuf and Alloy Agu represent the best of our coaches in the domestic league in terms of records. It is also important to state that they are ex-internationals. I hope they can open their eyes and ears to listen to how the Germans prepare the Eagles for matches. They also must scribble down points during tactical discussions. They must ask the Germans questions on puzzles they cannot decipher. Learning is a continuum.

    Salisu, Agu and Imama are gentlemen, not the boastful type. I expect peace within the group. They are not the flippant. There won’t be stories of infighting in the camp or tales of the unexpected. If Salisu, Agu and Imama understudy these Germans, they could be the Eagles’ next technical crew, who would have gained experience on the job and prosecuted a World Cup campaign, by the grace of God in Russia in 2018.

    It won’t be out of place if they can ask their boss to talk to German clubs for them to have attachment training with the clubs to enhance their knowledge. Our football needs a new direction. We could copy the German model. After all they are the World Cup champions.

  • Lagos and Nigeria

    Lagos and Nigeria

    Recently, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and now Emir of, Kano, Alhaji Lamido Sanusi, came down hard on the federal government’s economic policies. He specifically asked the central government to learn from Lagos. It is in this context that I represent this piece.

    For close to one hour July 3rd, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, was on his feet as he spoke to invited journalists about his last one year in office as well as his plans for the state in the immediate future. The venue was the banquet hall of the Government House, Ikeja. Mr Ambode exuded confidence and optimism. He recalled the achievements of his administration towards actualizing his promised ‘continuity with improvement’ in diverse sectors ranging from security, education, health; law, order and justice to massive electrification of the metropolis and roads rehabilitation/reconstruction among others.

    The governor is confident that Lagosians will, in the next one year, witness more of the development dividends they voted for when they opted for him and the APC at the last polls. He promises that there will be even more massive investment in security with the ultimate objective of ensuring that every street in Lagos is effectively policed and safe. This he says will be complemented by an increased aggressiveness in the ‘Operation Light up Lagos’ project and other policies deliberately targeted at making Lagos a 24 hour economy befitting a model Mega city.

    His administration’s Employment Trust Fund, he avers, will also take off fully offering entrepreneurial opportunities to large numbers of jobless youth. He assures that Lagosians will witness even more massive investment in education and health particularly with the creation of a medical park in Ikoyi that will take optimum advantage of the country’s bounteous medical specialists abroad, boost medical tourism and save scarce foreign exchange.

    Governor Ambode’s vision of Lagos transcends the borders of Nigeria. He envisages Lagos as a model African Mega city. He enjoins the support of the media and the generality of Lagosians in ensuring that Lagos plays her destined leadership role in Africa. This mood of confidence and optimism in Lagos contrasts sharply with that of dejection, despair and helplessness in the majority of other states in the country. At least 27 states owe their workers arrears of salaries of several months. A recent study indicates that no less than 15 states are technically insolvent as they will be unable to survive without monthly allocation from the Federation Account. Yet, not only is Lagos State paying workers’  salaries as well as allowances, pensions and subventions as and at when due, the state is also systematically increasing its Internally Generated Revenue to the extent that she is practically able to subsist independent of federal allocation.

    Mr Ambode gives an insight into his administration’s philosophy of public finance. There is absolutely nothing like government money he insists. What is popularly tagged government money in Nigeria is in fact tax payers’ money rightly belonging to the people. The key to the financial buoyancy of Lagos he explains lies in the sense of responsibility and accountability of government in utilizing public resources to deliver identifiable and verifiable services. The consequence is the steady and systematic widening of the tax net as an ever increasing number of citizens voluntarily pay their taxes.

    It is all too easy to attribute the prosperity of Lagos in a vast wasteland of national poverty and stagnation to a favorable geographical location, huge population or other fortuitous factors. The truth, however, is that there is nothing inevitable about the commercial nerve centre’s current financial solidity that contrasts sharply with the national narrative of impoverishment and deepening underdevelopment. Today’s Lagos is the product of deliberate leadership and policy choices right from the democratic restoration of 1999 through to the incumbent Ambode administration.

    Apart from the solid fiscal foundation laid for the state by the Tinubu administration, there has been a positive philosophical and ideological continuity that has seen Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) and now governor Ambode building constructively on the legacy they inherited. This type of continuity has been absent at the national level in the last 16 years. We will recollect that President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration had the National Economic and Employment Development Strategy (NEEDS).

    Rather than build on this, the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua launched his 7-point Agenda. President Goodluck Jonathan in turn initiated his Transformation Agenda, which had little or nothing to do with the policy initiatives of his predecessors. Governance at the centre has thus been characterized by radical discontinuities with negative consequences for incremental and steady development. This is unlike Lagos which has been carefully and systematically implementing a carefully thought out 10-Point Agenda over the last one and a half decades.

    Lagos State was to all intents and purposes practically insolvent as at 1999. The state’s monthly Internally Generated Revenue was approximately 600 million Naira barely sufficient to pay its workers and grossly inadequate to fund qualitative social services and critical infrastructure. The City-state was widely depicted and perceived as a veritable jungle with decrepit roads, decayed public schools, chronic water shortage, traffic chaos and mountains of refuse on major highways among others.

    The poverty and disorderliness fuelled several bloody inter ethnic and communal conflicts at Mile 12, Mile 2, Agege and Ajegunle. Eight years later, thanks to bold, courageous and imaginative reforms, Lagos State’s Internally Generated Revenue had increased to at least 6 billion Naira monthly and the foundation had been laid for the environmental transformation and radical modernization of infrastructure in the state.

    A man of details and methods, former governor Fashola built impressively on this legacy while his first year in office shows that Mr. Ambode is taking the vision to greater heights to the glory of Lagos. But this story of success in Lagos awaits a replication at the national level. Nigeria awaits a pathfinder that can lay a foundation for developmental democracy which others can build on. Restructuring and decentralization as being vociferously advocated in some quarters may indeed be a necessary condition for liberating the developmental potentials of Nigeria. The Lagos example, however, shows that they do not constitute a sufficient condition for national transformation. Equally critical are visionary and competent leaders capable of navigating the ship of state from turbulent waters of stagnation and lack to more steady weather of ever increasing prosperity, stability and development.

  • The global economy – voters expectations and frustrations

    As  reported  widely  this week  no  less  a person  than the nation’s Vice  President Professor Yemi Osinbajo  promised  that  the  Nigerian  economy  would  soon  be out of recession. This  was  in a week  that  the  rumour  was  rife that petrol  price  would  rise  further from  the 145  naira  it  now stands  after  being  raised  most  unexpectedly and astronomically from  86 naira. An  increase  that  Nigerians are  still  reeling from  its cruel  multiplier effect which  has led  to   massive  subsistence  living,   that  can  be  described  as  living  from  hand  to  mouth  for    those  who  can  see  any food at all. No  wonder  in  some communities thieves break into  houses  to  steal  pot  of soups and food while they leave clothes and  other  traditional  targets of  thievery  intact.  A  sure   sign  of  the prevailing  and pervasive impact  of  a very  unproductive  economy  which  fuels hunger, poverty  and now, most    unfortunately,   food  and kitchen  looting.

    However,   it   is difficult  to wage a war  against food and kitchen  looting with  the same   fury  and  vigour  with  which  government is pursuing  the war  against  corruption. Yet,  both  are  potent  signs  of  corruption in a sick  economy.  The  difference  perhaps is  that   treasury  looting cripples  the economy  generally,  while kitchen  looting   creates  hunger in  households  which  anyway  make  contributions  to  the GDP   But    such  contribution  may  not  add  up  to  the  overall    natural output   as  it   results   in  less  food or  no  food at all  for  the   affected  victims  of  kitchen  looting.

    It  did  not  therefore  come as surprise  that  there  was a  hostile   reaction  to  the proposed petrol  price  increase  from  some quarters   that  governors  and  government  officials in the presidency  should cut  their  kitchen  expenses  and approved  budget  in lieu   of  the    dangerous  proposal   to  increase petrol  price.  Luckily,  the  government  has denied  any  such  plan  to  increase  the  price  of  petrol further.  Which  really  is a step  in  the right  direction  to  salvage the good name  and image  of  a government  that  got  elected on a promise  of  change  and  a better  life for  Nigerians whose  expectations were  shattered  in one fell  swoop  by the fuel  increase  that  came in  by  the back  door  and wiped  out  the  goodwill that  Nigerians  gave the government  by  electing the APC’s  candidate  as  president  in the 2015  presidential  election.  So  while  the  Nigerian  electorate respects  the  Vice  President’s promise  that  the recession  will  soon  be  over  and also  respect  their  president’s  fight  to stop  or   lessen  corruption  and treasury   looting, they  also  expect  government  to  do  something so  that  the new  phenomenon  of  kitchen  looting does  not  become a way  of  life  like  treasury looting which  has  brought  our  economy  to its knees . The  only  way  to  do  this urgently,  is to  bring  more  food  to the table  for  the average  Nigerian  family by  putting  in place  poverty  alleviating   measures,   social  infrastructure    and    institutions that  help  families  get  out  of  poverty  and live   a life   of    dignified  existence  without  the   grim  prospect  and humiliation  of   descending into petty  kitchen   thieves   in  a nation   with  riches  and plenty,  cornered   by  a fraudulent  few for  their  private  consumption  at  the expense  of  the  larger  majority.

    On  the  global  level  the  management  of  the  economy  has  been  a great  source  of  concern because global    economic  resources  are  limited  and  are  therefore being  rationed  by  governments  to  make ends  meet  and  improve  the welfare of  the  masses that  have  elected  them in the  world’s  democracies  since  democracy  is  the  ascendant  political  ideology  of  our  time.   Indeed, the  militant  violence threatening  world  peace  today  especially  in  the Middle  East  where people  are fleeing  wars  and starvation,  stem  from  the planting of democracy in  Afghanistan  and Iraq  and  the removal  of  the despotic  regimes that  the  West  and  the US removed  to  put democracy  in  place.  The  whole  world  has  now  come  to  see  that  democracy  alone does  not  guarantee  political  stability,  national  or  regional  peace.  As an  hungry    man  in  any  place  and  time,  is  an  angry  man,  prone  to bad temper,   rough   behavior  and   ultimately  violence.

    It  is,  therefore,  the  prevalence  of  this  sort  of  dangerous social  and  political  disposition  on  a global  scale  that  is  the  concern  of  our  analysis today. The    Nigerian  Vice  President’s  promise  on  recession  being  contained,  and   the war  against  corruption, are  indeed  two  sides  of  the same coin to  create economic  development,    human  progress   and  enhance  economic  management  for  the overall  public  good.  It    follows  logically therefore  that  good  economic  policies lessen  tensions when  electoral  promises  are met and  voters expectations  realized. The  opposite  or  inverse  of  that creates  and breeds  voters and peoples  frustrations  leading  to  anger  at  the  polls  and the emergence  or  election of strange  parties  or leaders made  for  the times  and  the prevailing public   mood. It  is  a situation  that  creates  strange  bedfellows in  terms of  political  alliances  and  marriages  such  that  it  seems the electorate  or  voting  public  is prepared  to  throw the  bath  tub  away  with  the  baby.  This  is    a rather    delicate  and   dangerous  proposition  or  development  that threatens  the political  status  quo  and even  rejects it  outright  at  the polls   in  order  to  show  that new  values  and  feeling  have  emerged  to  warrant  a change  of  leadership or  government  and  reflect  the  new  and  emerging  status  quo and  political  reality.

    Indeed  this  was what  gave  rise   to  Brexit   and   led   to  David   Cameron   losing   his  position  as  the UK  Prime  Minister  to  be replaced  by  Theresa  May  who   must  implement   the Brexit  Mandate  even  though  she   voted  for  Britain  to  remain  in  the  EU.  Such  change  in  voters  attitude  and  perceptions   this week    in    Germany  led  to  the  Christian  Democrats,    the  party  of  the  German  Chancellor   Angela  Merkel   losing a local  election in her  own  constituency  and  backyard,  to  a small  party in Germany  that  hates migrants  and is against Angela  Merkel’s  well  known    disposition   and  policy  of  accommodating  migrants  fleeing war  and  violence  in  the  Middle  East.

    Even  before  this  German  development in  Merkel’s  area, the   UK   government  of  Tony  Blair tried  to accommodate  a  new  trend in  political  development   during  his tenure by  proclaiming  Britain  a multicultural  society to  accommodate  the rising population of  Hindus  and  Muslims  from India, Pakistan  and  the Middle  East.  This  crystallised in the election of a Muslim  Mayor  for  the ancient  City  of  London and Britain’s  capital  recently  and  well  after Tony  Blair’s  tenure.  However,   Multiculturalism  and  the recent  wave of  immigrants   from    the Middle   East  seem  to  have  angered  the British  electorate  and  may  well    have  been  responsible   for  the  success  of  the  Brexit  campaign.  Indeed  as  the  Brexit  voters  results  showed on post  election  analysis,   voters   in   London voted  massively  for  remain  while  the rest  of  the  UK   except  Scotland  voted  for  Brexit.  Definitely  Multiculturalism  is  facing  a hard  time in  the  UK,  no  thanks  to  the  present  migrant’s  crisis.

    It  is in  Denmark  and  Norway,  however,  that multiculturalism  seems  to  taking  the  harder   knock.  According  to reports, Danes  and Norwegians  expect  migrants to  integrate into  their society, learn  their  language  and acquire  basic  peculiar habits  like  riding  bicycles and are  aghast  to  see   new  migrants in peculiar  Islamic  dresses  and attires.  This  has  led  to  voters  hostility  leading   to  the victory  of  anti-migrant  parties    at  recent  elections. Most  Danes  and Norwegians   have  been  reluctant  or  afraid  to  speak  out  so  that they are  not  accused  of  being  racist. Recently,  some  people  have come out  to condemn migrants  who  have refused  to  integrate  into  their  new  societies  in   Europe  and  the  argument  is that it is   wrong  not  to speak out  and  if  it is  racist  they  do  not  mind  being  so  branded. More  importantly   a Danish  politician  gave  a  new   explanation  or  definition   that  reflects  the  changing mind set  and  mood  that is affecting  elections, political  participation  and  the quest  for  power  in  the area. He  admitted  that Norway  is  developing  into  a multiethnic  society  but  it  is  never  going   to  be multicultural.  Which  is a major  way of saying  that  migrants  who  cannot  adapt  to  European  way  of  life  should  go  away.

    Which  in  another  way  was what  the  same Angela  Merkel  was  saying   albeit  in  a different way  on Turkey’s  ascension   as a member  of the EU.   Merkel  said  then  that  Europe  is Christian  and  Turkey  is Muslim  and  you  cannot  have a Muslim nation  in  the heart  of  Europe  like  Turkey.  That  was  said when  Merkel  had  just  become  Chancellor of  Germany.  Today  she  is at  the heart  of   Turkey    feel  wanted  and   Germany  has  made  a lot  of  funds  available  to  Turkey  which  is the first  port  of  call  for those fleeing  war  from  Syria  on their  way  to  Europe.  How  that will make  her  lead    her party   to  electoral  success  in  the next  elections  in  Germany  in  two  years  time  is a matter  for speculation and that  is quite  dicey.

    Lastly,   the emergence  of  Donald  Trump  in  the  US  is  based  on  similar attitudinal  change  against  the  society  or  government  of  the day.  But  that  is work  in  progress  in  terms  of  discussion  and  analysis, till  the  US presidential  election is  consummated this  year. Once  again  long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Soludo and Sanusi

    Soludo and Sanusi

    The statistics as regards the health of the Nigerian economy are grim.But there was absolutely nothing new or novel in the figures and facts reeled out by Professor Charles Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at a lecture this week at the fourth Progressives Governors lecture series in Kaduna. According to the dismal but indisputable assertions of Professor Soludo, Nigeria’s economy is in deep trouble as a result of the substantial decline in per capital income and our dwindling Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    The ex CBN governor’s lecture to the Progressive Governor’s Forum was titled ‘Building the Economies of States: Challenges of Developing Inclusive Sustainable Growth’. Soludo posited that the country’s GDP compressed to 50 per cent from $578 billion after the famous rebasing Program of 2014 to $290 due to huge deterioration in key economic indicators. Consequently capita income has also dropped to $1,500 from $3,100. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has also confirmed this despairing and frightening portrait of the national economy.

    According to the NBS, the economy contracted by 2.06 per cent to record the lowest growth rate in three decades. The economy, the bureau also found, shrank by 0.36 percent in the first quarter of 2016 to hit its lowest point in the year, while unemployment grew from 12.1 percent per capita in the first quarter to a record of 13.3 per cent unemployed in the second quarter.

    No less a personage than the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, admitted as much when she appeared before the National Assembly. Cautiously describing the economy as being in a state of ‘technical recession’, however, the Minister has continued to sound optimistic about the prospects for quick economic recovery. Of course, it is difficult to understand what a technical recession is against the background of the mass unemployment, pervasive hunger, deaths from easily curable diseases, teeming number of out of school youths, high maternal and infant mortality rates and the stratospheric rise of sundry crimes that can be traced to widespread and deep rooted poverty and  endemic economic dislocation.

    Proffering his solutions for the country’s chronic economic ailments with the confident authority of a skilled economic physician, Soludo contended that agriculture, which is currently receiving massive attention from the federal and state governments, may not, after all, serve as a means of economic diversification, because many people will be forced out of the business when mechanical farming is fully in place. As he rightly notes, no state can develop sustainably if overall governance and the economy are in crisis.

    I think the professor is right when he avers, if I read him correctly, that diversification of the economy through boosting agriculture as an alternative foreign exchange earner to oil will not necessarily address the structural distortions responsible for our protracted foreign exchange dependency. The same can be said of mineral resources if our aim is limited simply to develop them into alternative foreign exchange earners.

    Such a limited goal will only deepen our technological, economic and cultural dependency making us nothing but pathetic mimics of those countries which, according to the late scholar, Eqbal Ahmed, “are addicted to armaments and dependence on suppliers. All are littered with machines but command no technology…They lack the will no less the Know-how to transform wealth into capital, importance into influence, resource into power”.

    In Soludo’s words, “Nigeria is facing unprecedented and tremendous political and economic challenges with global and local dynamics. The key to achieving this is to have a development plan that is anchored on achieving inclusive growth”. It is on this basis that he strongly recommends “a restructuring of the economy from consumption-driven to production-based” and consistent micro economic policies. Not only is he silent, however, on the historical trajectory that produced this kind of debilitating, esteem eroding socio-cultural, economic and technological dependency, he offers us no clue for transforming the country into a genuinely productive and self-sustaining political entity.

    The radical political scientist, Professor Okwudiba Nnoli, hit the nail on the head when he noted that “Colonial occupation put an end to the economy as most people had known it in pre-colonial times. Most importantly, the new economy replaced production with commerce. It was an import-export economy not based on the satisfaction of the basic needs, traditional consumption habits, or the use of local resources in manufacturing”.

    Professor Soludo surely is an accomplished economist with wide local and international experience. But his brand of ‘Soludonomis’, which is nothing but a rehash for a country like Nigeria of worn and jaded World Bank/ International Monetary  Fund (IMF) Neo Liberal  ideas can hardly help Nigeria out of the woods. Of course, Soludo’s blueprint for the country’s economic redemption with its grandiose projections and objectives, the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) was dead on arrival and has since been jettisoned. So incompetent and lax were his banking consolidation policy that his successor, Alhaji Lamido Sanusi was forced to bail out failing banks with over 400 billion Naira of public funds. This was despite Soludo’s policy of forcing incompatible banks to merge so as to meet up with his arbitrary N25 billion capital base.

    Most astonishing is Soludo’s calling on the Buhari administration to stop what he calls the blame game against the Dr Goodluck Jonathan presidency and start on a clean slate. Here, he sounds like a former Head of State who declared at a public forum that to get to a desired destination, you must study where you are and begin moving forward towards your objective. The late Dr Bala Usman later retorted that if you don’t carefully study how you got to where you are, you will simply move about in circles and may soon find yourself in an worse predicament. Yes, the Buhari administration was not elected to lament endlessly about the past. But on the anti-corruption war, however, it is necessary to continuously remind Nigerians of the terrible venality of the immediate past so that we will know how we got here and hopefully not find ourselves in such a disastrous pass ever again.

    Also speaking this week at a form in Kano, another former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, who is also now the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Lamido Muhammed Sanusi II also warned the Buhari administration against toeing the non-listening footsteps of former Dr Jonathan’ s administration. An accomplished economist and investment banker, Alhaji Lamido Sanusi surely knows his onions. According to the Emir, “We should not just keep blaming the the previous administration. We also made some mistakes in the present administration. They have to retrace those steps all the way. We should not fall into the same trap we fell the last time when the government was always right”. Most disturbingly, Alhaji Sanusi stated that “We have created another set of millionaires since 2015 from foreign exchange”.

    The Buhari administration cannot afford to turn a deaf ear to a credible voice like the Emir. It is important not to forget that Sanusi blew the whistle on the missing $20 billion that was not remitted to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); a public disclosure that led to his ouster from office by President Jonathan. Today, Emir Lamido Sanusi is being proved right. No wise leadership should trifle with such consistent and courageous voices.

  • Left behind by founding fathers

    They probably hoped that the next crop of leaders would outthink and outpace them in due course. But how wrong the founding fathers were. Decades after they left the scene, all the people did was moan and groan about how big the founding fathers’ shoes were for their successors’ small feet to fit.

    The other day in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, that lamentation was heard afresh from no less a person than Gbade Ojo, chief of staff to the state governor. Speaking on a topic focusing on Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s remarkable welfarist policies, Dr Ojo said the present crop of politicians had not matched the late leader’s achievements. Dr Ojo, an associate professor at the University of Ilorin, also explained why. Chief Awolowo, he said, was a visionary whose legacy spanned education, health and agriculture, among others.

    “What Awo did,” to quote him, “was to strengthen the production of cocoa. With an efficient marketing board cocoa production output improved…Today, where is Nigeria in terms of agricultural revolutions?”

    The answer is obvious, and tragic: nowhere. The late icon would be spinning in his grave because since he transformed the Western Region some six decades ago, it has been impossible to match his record, to say nothing of surpassing it.

    Things are probably far worse on the eastern flank of the country. Take the late Chief Sam Mbakwe, who ran a much larger Imo State than the current geographical space of the same name, between 1979 and 1983. In those short years, Chief Mbakwe set up three electricity generating plants across the state, one in each of its zones, namely Okigwe, Umuahia and Orlu. Many saw and savoured electricity for the first time during those years. Under the Mbakwe administration, clean water ran for the first time in many communities too. Chief Mbakwe paid close attention to education, opening up multiple campuses for the state university to encourage people who would have simply preferred to sit back at their shops and wait for the next buyer. It worked. Many traders embraced education.

    High revenue-yielding palms sprang up under him, as did estates to accommodate residents, and financial institutions to boost business. In the schools, living quarters were built to encourage teachers to stay and help build up the pupils. By the way, those estates and quarters were built with glass and burnt bricks made in Imo factories, not imported from elsewhere.

    A genuine leader, Chief Mbakwe inspired those he led, proving to them that better life and credible governance were attainable. He gave hope.

    Now the tragedy. The facilities Chief Mbakwe built, including the iconic Concorde Hotel in Owerri, started to wear out for lack of maintenance as he was eased out of power. Decay set in, and soon they were sold.

    In the space once named Midwestern Region, now broken up into Edo and Delta states, Brig.-Gen Samuel Ogbemudia (Retd) remains an indisputable hero. As administrator, General Ogbemudia tapped into the region’s abundant resources and set up rubber plantations and research institutes, alongside farms and fish ponds. At Agbede he built a cattle ranch, in Asaba a textile factory, in Ughelli a glass industry, a cement factory in Okpella, a zoo here, a stadium there. Gen Ogbemudia also linked up the region’s communities with a network of roads.

    The North also rose with its inspired first leaders and fell with them. Its best roads were built in the days of yore, as were its academic and hospitality infrastructure. The great groundnut pyramids of Kano, for instance, have disappeared, its historic tanning industry a far cry of what it once was.

    What does all this mean? Simple: our fathers have left us behind, to grope in the dark. The younger generation is unable to attain the standards of the older.

    The politicians will not put it that starkly, of course. They will mention a thousand and one things they have done, invoke the forebears’ names, even copy their dress styles, but everyone knows that they fall far short.

    What do we lose? Plenty. The facilities the founding fathers built have collapsed, throwing people who once worked there into the streets, jobless. No prizes for guessing the roles unemployed youths play in militancy, robbery, kidnapping, even as male partners of young baby-factory mothers.

    Last week, states created 25 years ago marked their anniversary, trumpeting puny achievements, lamenting paltry finds and still dreaming of how to diversify their economies. Delta, one of those states, was reminded by finance minister Kemi Adeosun that it had everything it needed to thrive. It has industrial clay, kaolin, silica and limestone, among other raw materials needed to make bricks, ceramics, bottles and glass and other things.

    The tragedy is threefold. The younger generation of leaders does not look after the structures built by the older breed, does not equal old standards, and suggests that the child cannot outshine his father.

  • Can we ever change?

    My ears are full. The noise over Nigeria’s poor outing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is deafening. The reasons range from the serious to the laughable and the ridiculous. Were we expecting medals, when only a few of our athletes are world-ranked?

    Nigeria will always fumble at big sporting tournaments, unless we adopt a model which accommodates the sports calendar year budget, not the fiscal budget we run here. The reason is simple. Countries that excel in events such as the Olympics don’t operate a yearly budgetary system like ours in sports. What they have is a sports calendar system where cash is earmarked by the government over four years, which is the time limit between big tournaments, such as the Olympics, World Cup etc.

    A critical example why we should run the sports calendar system is the politics being played between Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Dalung begs NFF to pay Samson Siasia and NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi says Siasia’s outstanding wages have been delayed by the new government policy – TSA. Dalung keeps quiet instead of urging Siasia to wait a bit longer. Most ministers like Dalung make issues out of NFF’s affair, yet worse things happen in the other 28 sports federations. We haven’t heard Dalung cry out the way he is doing with the NFF for all the cases of humiliation to other federations’ contingents who were refused entry visas to compete, leading to Nigeria being walkover in major competitions.

    Dalung, unlike other ministers, is the problem with our sports. Anytime we have major soccer competitions, he creates problems where there are none. He is fueling the Siasia salary saga as if he doesn’t have the powers to pay him from the ministry’s contingency cash and then withdraw at source from NFF’s monthly subventions which pass through his ministry.

    We need to ask the minister if it was wrong for the NFF chiefs to impound the official vehicle driven by the coach’s wife. What does the rule say about those who can drive an official vehicle? Does it include the wife driving it in her husband’s absence? Is there any rule that gives the official’s wife permission to drive his official car when he is away on national assignment? Honourable minister sir, you know the truth. You are the problem with our sports, with the derisive decisions you have taken since your assumed office.

    Dalung denied knowing about the Dream Team VI’s stay in Atlanta only to swallow his vomit. It didn’t matter if he knew that NFF employed Rohr as Super Eagles manager. Basketball and table tennis federations, for instance, have foreign coaches grooming. Need I waste space to celebrate their feats?

    Dalung’s meddlesomeness in NFF’s affairs is the reason we didn’t win a gold medal at the Olympics. Dalung’s comments about the NFF have been awful, making it impossible for the federation to generate revenue to drive its operations outside government funding like it is done in other climes.

    Dalung must tell Nigerians what he did with these anomalies listed below to see if he has been fair with the NFF. For instance, Turkey denied visa to the Nigerian wrestling team to participate in the Rio Olympics qualifying tournament. Funds prevented the women team from participating at the 2016 World Championship in Malaysia. The men’s team sponsored themselves to the tournament.

    The Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) admitted that lack of funds hindered its preparation for the 2016 Olympic qualifying tournament. This stopped the team from fielding quality athletes for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, for the first time in the last four editions of the games.

    The Spanish embassy in the country refused to issue entry visas to the national women U-17 basketball team, which was billed to feature in the 2016 world championship hosted by Spain.

    Lack of fund stalled the Handball Team’s participation in the 2016 Nations Cup in Egypt. Dalung, sir, if all these had happened in NFF, its members would have been languishing in cells.

    We have in the last ten years had over nine sports ministers, who discarded the jobs done by their predecessors. Policy summersaults is chiefly responsible for the dearth of talent hunting programmes. In the past, National Sports Festivals were held in years preceding any major competition, such as the Olympics. Governors now jostle to host it to win it. Several events are dropped because the host cannot provide the facilities or have states hoping to use those medals to win the multisport event marooned. The National Sports Festival was a carnival, where new talents emerged to replace ageing stars. Athletes now beat their chests to have attended several Olympics because the nursery has been destroyed. Schools sport is dead because it isn’t in their curriculum. The open spaces and parks around the cities where kids recreate have been built up. Schools hardly have play grounds. There are no more Colleges of Physical and Health Education to produce the games masters and mistresses who teach the kids the rudiments of games.

    The Ministries of Education in the states are idle. Sports councils are relics, simply because most governors don’t think that sport is central to their programmes for the people. It is customary for some states not to attend national sports competitions, with the state governors not perturbed. I digress!

    Those who excel in competitions run models learned from others. But the common dominator is the sports commission idea led by technocrats with business-minded ideals that help to raise funds outside government. Countries with such a model only get cash from government for competitions. The cash, needless to say, come as when due. What we have in Nigeria is a situation where sports, which is a money spinner, is kept as an arm of the Youth Ministry. Isn’t it the youth that participates more in sports? Isn’t it the youth that have the energy to burn in sports? If we engage them, won’t that create more jobs for people across the 774 Local Government Areas?

    For those yearly sporting events, these countries have evolved cash-driven initiatives anchored on sports lottery schemes, which mostly is all encompassing in the sense that everyone participates in contributing cash to the scheme. Besides, these countries’ governments create the enabling environment for sports to thrive by providing the facilities, which will go a long way in attracting the attention of blue-chip companies to contribute their quota towards stabilising this industry.

    Companies don’t jump into sporting events for the fun of it. They are into any enterprise for business. In the case of sports, the people oil the operations, making it imperative for companies to deploy their CSR personnel to consider some sports for support, most times because their top men play the games. But the government can make many companies bankroll sports if they offer big rebates to them. Tax reliefs, for instance, help these companies’ books at the end of the year, since they are in business to make money for their shareholders.

    The Nigerian Paralympians will always do well because many of them are record holders. They are the ones to beat. Ironically, they don’t prepare well for competitions like their able-bodied counterparts. We have a systemic problem which can only be resolved, if we are professional in the administration of the industry. After the Olympics and Paralympics, nobody remembers the athletes until it is time for another tournament. I digress.

    Indeed, 209 countries were at the Rio Olympics. The multi-sport event is the platform for the best among the best to compete. A competition for champions, not upstarts. It isn’t a podium to celebrate mediocrity, which was what Nigeria’s presence at the Games meant, given our usual shambolic outing at big sporting events.

    Perhaps it is time for our sports administrators started considering the option of making each region concentrate on producing athletes in areas where it has comparative advantage over others.

    For instance, Plateau state is known for its high altitude; hence, the state should be made to produce athletes for the long distance races and marathon. The South-South region, blessed with huge water resources, should produce swimmers; the North, known for men with good heights, should be encouraged to produce basketballers, high and long jumpers. There may be raw talents, but grooming them over a period of four to eight years, with adequate exposure to local and international training and competition, will do the magic.

    The sports ministry, backed by the might of the government, can have an arrangement with corporate bodies for sponsorship of such discovered talents. This will take a huge financial burden off the government, which will only reciprocate sponsorship deals with tax holidays or rebates for the sponsoring firms.

    I align with President Muhammadu Buhari if he is happy with our outing in Rio. The president was definitely comparing notes with what happened in 2012 Olympic Games in London. Nigeria didn’t win any medal in England. The bronze in Brazil is good but the president knows better, considering our status at the Olympics when things were right.

     

    Where is that (Nigeria)?

     

    I’m a proud Nigerian. I get easily irritated when the media celebrate foreigners who don’t recognise us simply because they are achievers for other countries. It typifies what the late Afrobeat king, Fela Anikulapko Kuti (the Ebami Eda of exciting memory) tagged colonial mentality in one of his songs.

    Most of these so called Nigeria-born kids have single parentage and perceive any link of them to our great country as a taboo. Little wonder, they are quick to ask when Nigeria is mentioned to them: where is that? We must learn how to develop our talents at the grassroots by providing the facilities for them to train. This has been the missing link between homegrown talents and those “foreigners” we annoyingly call Nigerians. This must stop.

    Nigeria is too big to be tagged “where is that?” not with the exploits of our compatriots in all fields of human endeavour. It is the reason their so-called parents find it difficult to convince them to play for us. They come up with all kinds of reservations, as if we are in a jungle.

    Many of these so-called Nigeria-born won’t represent us except they can’t secure a place in those countries. But we hurry to admit them to compete. And the results are there for everyone to see especially in athletics.

    We must never run to them. The future of our sports is here, not with any Nigeria-born tokunbo athlete. If they must compete for us, it must be done on their own volition.

  • Fighting corruption- guilt, politics and deterrence

    While  it is  apparent  that in   global   democracies, elected representatives gain power  at  the ballot box, that responsibility  also   confers  or  imposes  on  them the need  to play  by  the rules or  the  law  of  the land  or  nation in  enjoying  that power. Misuse or abuse  of that power is political corruption at  first and corruption in  stark terms as  a cancer  that can cripple any economy  and its  governing institutions   in the final    analysis. In  the book , ‘Culture  Matters,‘the argument  was made that while the culture of a society influences its morals and values,  it is  the political  system that drives the overall  effort  to  tackle corruption and create  human progress  and  development. Culture   or  morals  may  therefore very  well  matter,  but it is  government  that  creates  the enabling environment for  compliance  with  the rules  of  the game  by  powerful  political  participants  and those in control  of government  and its institutions in  any  polity.

    In  Western  European  nations  and  the US, the two  centers driving global  democracy as the major  ideology of   world  governance, observance  of  human  rights  have  developed  and grown  to  such an extent  that  human  rights  now takes   precedent,  over  even  state  security.  A good  example  is in  France where  a law on what  women  should  wear  to swim and  their right to do so   took  precedence  over  security  concerns because  of  the religion  of a certain  sector  of  society from  among  whom   terrorists seem  to  have   sprung from  in  recent  times. Yet,  the duty of a state or any  government is to protect the lives and property of its  citizens while  guaranteeing   their  right  of  freedom  in a secular  state.  Similarly,  Europe   and especially  France, was   mainly  Christian  before  colonisation  and globalisation  which  brought  in a Muslim  population  that is now  the largest in the EU  and  it  is  from  the ranks of the Muslim  population that the jihadists that  have been recruited  as Islamic  militants that  have made  terrorism  a nightmare  for  the French  people have sprung  from .  According to  French  President, Francois  Hollande,  France  will  never  give in to terrorists nor  compromise its  way  of  life to suit French  citizens who  want  to  impose  Sharia in the mode  of  bloody  terrorism  of  the Islamic  State killing French  citizens  in blatant  acts of  terrorism  in  French  cities.  That    really is the duty of any  democratic  government.  For  terrorism  is a form  of  military  corruption that  must  be put  down  by  the state at all costs and in all  places. Such  military corruption  can  only  be   matched  by the emergence of an enemy  within   a  state  such as the one that  emerged  from Nigeria  where it  was revealed  that military  officers sold arms  to  Boko  Haram, the  Nigerian surrogate  of Islamic  state.  This is an odious  act of corruption equal in magnitude to  the  funds  diversion  scam   involving  the office of the Director  of  State  Security  in which  funds  meant  for arms  to  fight   Boko  Haram  were collected  or  given  out  to  cronies  of  the Jonathan  administration    to  campaign  for its reelection  in  the 2015  presidential  elections. More  on  this later.

    Today,  however,  we  look  at  events   around global  corruption  and  the fight  against  it in  some countries   this week.  We  examine  the context of corruption, the proof  or onus  of  guilt,  as well  as  the  manner of its admission  or  denial. We  also  examine  how  the law  has fared  in its application  and  how   the  issue  of  deterrence  is resolved. This  is  because  deterrence is the ultimate objective  of any fight  against  corruption  in any  political  system.  It  is the duty  of  government  in  fighting  corruption to make an example of  those who  flout  the rules  of  governance   or loot  the public treasury  in  the performance  of their public  or state  functions.  This  means the penalty  for the offence must be such that  should deter real or  potential  offenders from  taking that course  of  action  again or if  ever.

    On  that premise  we look at Brazil where President Dilmar  Roussef  was  charged  with  corruption, suspended  from  office for six months and finally  tried  in the  Brazilian  Senate. There, two thirds of  senators voted for  her impeachment and she was  removed  from  office and  the  Vice President  sworn as her replacement .We  look  at the  US  where Donald  Trump went  to  Mexico  after  calling Mexicans rapists  and drug  users and  the case for  libel  brought by his wife  Melanie against  a blogger and the UK  Daily  Mail  for calling  her a sex  worker  before  marrying her  husband.

    We  take  a  look  at  Nigeria where  huge amounts  have  been  seized  from  treasury looters who  have not  been named  and  the statement  credited to a military  general in  the frontline in  the  North  East  where the  Army   is fighting Boko  Haram  that  those army  officers  who  sold  arms to  Boko Haram  are  being  tried  by the  military. As well as the statement by  the general that  he did not know when  Boko Haram will  be defeated  as insurgency   could end  today, 10  years  or 25  years.

    Obviously  we have enough  food  for thought today  and we can  now start a sequential  analysis  of  these  events. We  go  back  to  Brazil  where  the president  was removed by  impeachment  in  the Senate  and  she called  it  the nearest  thing  to a coup. But  that is not  the issue.  It  was her  defence  that was revealing.  She  did  not  refute  the charges of  padding the budget to show  that it was performing well to get reelected in  2014  for a second time. All  she said  in defence  was that  previous  governments in Brazil  have done  so and  hers  cannot  be an exemption. That  makes her roundly  guilty  in  my books  in  spite  of  all  her  achievements  in  lifting millions  of  Brazilians out  of  poverty. Her     impeachment  is   therefore   well  deserved.

    To  say  she lost  to  forces  of  anti-corruption she unleashed is  poor  defence if  she too   broke the rules  of  budgeting like her predecessors.   In  law,   those   who  come  to equity    must   come with  clean   hands   and   like   Caesar’s  wife,  this   Brazilian  president,  an   accomplished     Economist     a lady   at  that,   should    have     been  above    reproach  on  such    matters.  Her  impeachment  provides  a good  lesson  for those  handling the  budget   padding accusations in  Nigeria’s  House  of Representatives   where  at last it has been  reported that the anti-corruption  outfit headed by Professor Itse Sagay  has met  with the  main  accuser  of  the Speaker in spite  of earlier  reports  that  claimed  that the Speaker noted  that  padding was  not an  offence  and  the presidency had  agreed with  that.  The  accusations  by  the  accuser  of  the leadership of the House were  so  detailed as he was an insider  as former  Appropriations  Committee Chairman, that   they  can  never  be ignored by  any  government fighting  corruption  like the Buhari  administration. We  therefore  keep  our  fingers crossed till  the results  of  the investigation are made  public.

    Next  we  look at  the Donald  Trump  visit and  wonder  why  it  took  place at all during the week.  Before  going to Mexico  the next  day  he  had reiterated all  the negative  things  he  said about deporting Mexicans   and building  a wall  to  block  out  Mexicans entering the US  illegally.  I  found  out  that  the visit  was  based on a tradition  of presidential  candidates of the  US visiting the  Mexican president  before elections as the two  nations are neighbours and Hillary  would  follow  suit  later. That  notwithstanding I expected  the Mexican president to have  refused to  see Trump because of the hostile  things he had said  about Mexico  and Mexicans in this US election  campaign  for  President. But  I also  found  out that if the Mexican  president  had  done this,  that  would  have  favoured Trump,  as Americans  especially  Republicans  don’t  like foreign  leaders  looking down  on their  candidates.  Which  shows  clearly  that again Trump  had  gotten  away  with  murder on  the  Mexican visit  where you  could say  he bearded  the Mexican  lion  in its  den.

    The  same  cannot   however  be said about   the   $150m   libel  suit  brought  by his wife against the Daily  Mirror and a blogger  for  defaming  her by calling  her  a sex  worker  because the wife  has  really  been  maligned. This week  the Daily  Mail  and the blogger  recanted which  means they  published falsehood. Which  makes them  liable unless  of course they apologise  or  offer  to  settle  out  of  court.  Which  is  a good lesson    for  those  who  see  nothing good  in  anything associated  with  the  Republican  presidential  candidate including  his wife .  No  news  media  has  a duty  to  publish  news  without crosschecking the    facts in   spite of the advent  of    the pervasive      and ubiquitous  social  media which  is bound to  have  problems    given  that this is its notorious modus  operandus.   This  is  simply  not  fair to the victims of  such  unverified and untrue   stories  and  the  editors  of  the well  respected  Daily  Mail  of  the UK   should  have known  and done  better  investigative  reporting,  even  on  the wife  of an hated  presidential  candidate   like  Donald  Trump.

    Now  the chicken  can come home  to roost with  Nigeria  and  here I  will  simply  make some  postulations. On  non publication of  the names of  looters  who  have returned  stolen  funds I  totally  disagree. Return of stolen  funds is an  admission  of  guilt  and publication of  such names  casts  immediate  opprobrium and  stigma  on those  involved and  that creates  a very  hurtful  deterrence  which  I said  is  the goal  of any  fight against corruption. To  say the rule  of  law  is breached  by  such  name publication  is sheer  fallacy. Where  was the rule  of  law  when  the offence  was  committed and  the decision  to  return  stolen  funds  made?  If  people who return  stolen  funds  sue for libel, the best  they  can  get  is  a contemptuous  award  for  one  kobo  as in Leon  Uris  best  seller QB V11.  As  they  cannot  get  redress  for  a reputation they  don’t  have or  have inadvertently destroyed by   admitting   and  returning  stolen  money.

    Lastly,  the Nigerian  army must  publish  the names of  officers  on trial  for selling  arms   to  Boko  Haram and  if  found  guilty  of  such  treason  maximum  punishment  must  be meted out.  The same goes  for military  officers  who  converted war  funds  to  their private  use  in building hotels and hospitals  and malls  for  their  sons. In  addition,  the  army  must  crush  Boko  Haram  now as  the general  first  said, not  in  10 or  25  years as he later  added  so  that the army  does  not suffer front  fatigue  which  can  make victory over Boko  Haram    elusive.  Quite    like the mirage,  very  common  in   hot   sun   on  the long  highways  of  our Northern  cities,  especially  in the North  East.  Once  again, long  live  the  Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • All eyes on Ondo APC

    All eyes on Ondo APC

    Ah! How time flies. 24 hours can be the equivalent of a million years in politics. It seems just like yesterday when there was the 2012 epic battle for the much coveted governorship seat of Ondo State. Yet, another contest for the prized position is barely two months away. Today, the political terrain both of the nation and that of Ondo State is fundamentally transformed. In 2012, the mercurial Governor Olusegun Mimiko was seeking a second term on the platform of the Labour Party. The then opposition but now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria ( ACN), riding on the momentum of its resurgence in the South West, gave him a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful challenge.

    While most bizarrely spurning its own candidate, Mr Olusola Oke (SAN), the ruling party at the centre, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), threw its weight behind Mimiko. With federal might on his side and the attendant, even if barely disguised, support of the security agencies and the electoral umpire, Mimiko cruised home to victory. Although he secured victory in three Local Government Areas, ACN’s Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) was placed third to the PDP’s Olusola Oke who won in just two local governments. This was clearly a clever ploy to preempt any successful legal contestation of the polls by the ACN.

    Nearly four years after, Dr Olusegun Mimiko has spectacularly failed to convert his 2012 victory, despite popular speculation at the time, into an opportunity either to rebuild and strengthen the Labour Party or reposition himself as a principal arrowhead in the ebullient politics of the South West. This has not been due to a lack of charisma, intellect or even a degree of relative performance. Mimiko seems to have been the principal victim of his personalist, imperial ambitions in the South West, his consequent nonchalance towards his region’s much desired regional integration and his dismal reading of the tone and tenor of national politics. Thus, he abandoned the Labour Party virtually in tatters and pitched his tent with a PDP that has now not only been dethroned at the centre but is barely struggling to survive as a viable entity. Mimiko’s saving grace in the politics of Ondo State, the South West and Nigeria now largely depends on the APC shooting itself in the foot and snatching defeat from the jaws of imminent victory in the November 26governorship election.

    It is against this background that we can best understand why over 50 aspirants showed interest in the APC governorship ticket and at least 24 of them will be slugging it out in next Wednesday’s primaries. The APC has all the odds in its favour and is clearly the party to beat in the next Ondo governorship election. A wily strategist, Mimiko has endorsed his former Attorney General, Mr Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) to fly the PDP’s ticket in the elections. In backing a candidate from Ondo Central Senatorial district, his own electoral base, Mimiko has thrown a spanner in the wheel of the state’s unwritten zoning agreement for the governorship position and will definitely be counting on the zone’s voting population strength to ensure victory for his party. If the APC gets its act together, however, a combination of  votes from Ondo South and Ondo North Central districts, at least in the primaries, will most likely neutralize the Ondo Central factor particularly so because a significant proportion of residents of Ondo Central are from the South and North Senatorial districts.

    The APC’s advantage in being the party in control at the centre this time around is not unlikely to be mitigated by the widely perceived lethargic and below par performance of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration close to one and a half years in office. However, Mimiko himself is widely adjudged of attaining a tame and barely average performance given the relative resource endowment of Ondo State as the only oil producing state in the South West reaping substantial derivation revenue from the Federation Account. Again,  Mimiko’s PDP faces an even greater inhibiting factor of being torn down the middle in the fight unto death struggle between the Senator Ahmed Makarfi and Senator Ali Modu Sherrif factions with the strong possibility that there may be no amicable resolution of the intra party crisis before the election. It is thus not impossible that Mimiko will have a likely surrogate candidate in one or two of the other parties. Given his strategic skills, he may even be waiting to endorse an aggrieved party from the APC if the latter does not maturely and skillfully resolve any conflicts arising from its primaries.

    Interestingly, a highly cerebral but most unlikely candidate to emerge in the APC primaries, Dr Tunji Abayomi, appears destined to play a key role in the eventual outcome of the intra party contest. Abayomi is a veteran of several governorship electoral contests in Ondo State. His integrity and progressive credentials are impeccable. However, he does not appear to have been able to build a political structure formidable enough to ensure the achievement of his enduring ambition. Dr Abayomi has publicly accused the National leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of having endorsed another aspirant, Chief Olusegun Abraham. Not only has Tinubu denied this while reiterating his democratic right to support any aspirant of his choice, the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Oyegun, has affirmed that endorsement of an aspirant by any leader of the party is not tantamount to imposition. This is because free and fair primaries will be conducted by the party in the open glare of the public and the media. In any case, Dr Abayomi was silent on whether or not some other aspirants enjoy the support or endorsement of other leaders of the party.

    But Dr Abayomi’s vituperation against Tinubu raises at least two key issues. First, it suggests that Tinubu’s support or endorsement is critical and capable of weighing the scales in favour of any aspirant. In a state as enlightened and with a proud and independent minded people as Ondo,  the Tinubu factor cannot be solely a function of financial muscle. It must also partly have to do with a track record of leadership integrity, consistency and credibility. Secondly, if true, it is certainly reasonable to ask what about Chief Segun Abraham endeared him to Tinubu, especially as some of the other APC aspirants including Dr Abayomi  are known associates of the APC chieftain. My discussion with some keen observers of Ondo State politics, including Dr Paul Akintelure, who was Mr Rotimi Akeredolu’s running mate in the 2012 election,  indicate that Abraham is an astute grassroots canvasser, organizer and mobilizer. He is an international business mogul of repute who is believed to have the organizational acumen to lift Ondo State to a higher economic and developmental pedestal even though, like the great Obafemi Awolowo, he may not be a gifted political orator.

    Even if he has Tinubu’s support, however, Segun Abraham cannot afford to rest on his oars. He faces a field of many other no less competent, able and formidable aspirants. Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) was the APC candidate in the 2012 election. He is an outstanding legal practitioner of sound character and integrity. It is not, however, unlikely that Governor Mimiko will be quite comfortable to confront his well known foe once again in political battle. Mr Olusola Oke, another legal practitioner, proved himself as a keen and intelligent debater and a hard fighter in the last election. Not only does he hail from Ondo South Senatorial District while the APC informal zoning arrangement is in favor of the North, voters may not be able to make any significant distinction between him and the PDP.

    I personally know Professor Ajayi Borrofice as an academic of high intellect from my days at the University of Ibadan. He is an experienced administrator and a tested electoral combatant at least in Akokoland. Apart from reported deep rooted disaffection with some key political leaders of his Senatorial District, he is said to have pledged not to seek the governorship seat when campaigning for re-election to the Senate. Chief Tayo Alasoadura is another major aspirant. As his name suggests, he will need to clothe himself with a lot of prayers to achieve his ambition. All eyes will certainly be on the Ondo State APC in next week’s titanic battle for the party’s ticket.

    Improving power supply?

    I have noticed a not insignificant improvement in electricity supply in my area of Lagos in recent weeks. My inquiry from some other residents of the state suggests that this is not an isolated trend although it could be limited to urban centers. Even then, it is a good beginning and possibly an indication of better things to come. There must certainly be something that the three in one Minister (apologies to Sam Omatseye), Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) is doing right and it will be intellectually dishonest not to say so. Well, as he is wont to say, the result of hard work is more work! Keep it up sir.