The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Buhari, Obama and the battle of ideas

    When  Nigeria’s  President Muhammadu  Buhari visits  US  President Barak  Obama next  week it will be a meeting of two titans or leaders  at  the crest of their popularity and  leadership  charisma. They  meet with their heads held high as proud  representatives of their nations  very  much in cordial relations in terms of diplomacy , economic cooperation, political  and   military  collaboration.  Indeed in  mind as  in  spirit  the two  leaders  are in harmony as are their two nations. It  is in the area  of ideas  however that they  must wrestle to fashion out a solution that will  not throw their bilateral relationship  into  disharmony or be an harbinger of discord or friction.

    The  two leaders meet at a time when terrorism or precisely Islamist militancy  is threatening world peace and harmony and in particular is attacking  global  democracy and the free market  economy which are the ideologies the US and its allies in Western Europe or the EU have been marketing around the world as the best  form of government in our time.

    The  two  leaders come with  impeccable  democratic credentials to their  meeting although their age and the experience in the practice of democracy  is inversely proportional. Obama is a young man compared to our president but the US is a far older democracy  than Nigeria. Buhari’s  tall  and stately figure is equally matched  by the  imposing  basket baller height  of the US  president. Both have arresting and dignified presence. Yet our president brings into this meeting the full  weight of  Nigeria’s  travails and challenges with democracy which  he expects the US president  to appreciate and understand and help without any loss  of face on the part of the Nigerian  people  and nation. That really  is the Gordian knot of this visit  as Nigeria goes  to  Washington to get help  not only to fight Boko  Haram  but to kick start  our  economy and our  presidential system  after an unexpected legislative hiatus so  soon after a smooth election that the US was amongst the first  nations to congratulate us on its  success.

    Let  me state clearly from the onset here that Nigeria and the US  face a long  and challenging  battle of ideas in their relations and this meeting is just  the tip of the icebag. Both  nations have a shared background in terms of their big size and  diversity and cultural  plurality. Nigeria’s  motto is Unity in  Diversity while that of the US is In God  we trust.  Nigerians  in  particular worship  God in mosques  and churches so  much that religion is such a booming  business nowadays  such  that pastors are  the  most   eligible bachelors amongst our youths, outpacing youthful bankers, oilmen and  IT magicians who  used to be favorites of our fairer sex before. That  however has not prevented the emergence of  Boko  Haram the terrorist  group  that has been  killing Nigerians with impunity  for some years now and whose blood  letting must be the priority  on the agenda of the meeting of the two presidents next week.

    In  the last  one month  Boko  Haram  has killed about  5OO innocent  Nigerians and this no doubt  has prompted  the replacement of Nigeria’s  security and military  chiefs  by the Nigerian  president. A move that has made Nigerians to heave a very heavy sigh  of relief  of  hope that Boko  Haram will at last be contained and destroyed  by the Buhari  Administration.

    More  importantly  and  unbelievable as it might sound Nigeria faces difficult  problems on the issue  of  democracy  as a concept and its understanding and practice  which  the Americans have  to be apprised of  before  it is too late. I presume it was some knowledge and anxiety in this direction that prompted the unpopular US prediction that Nigeria will  collapse in  2015. Now  Nigeria has seen  2015  and  has had a successful  election that has brought in a president of hope contrary  to this US doomsday prediction. That president  is needed  by the US to lead the ECOWAS region  in the fight against  ISIS  which  is the sole and  worst enemy  of the US in  the war on terrorism which  the US   has  finally, if belatedly,  admitted is a battle  of ideas stretching far beyond the global theatres  of war in the Middle  East  and the rest of the world.  Boko  Haram  is the proxy  of ISIS in the  Sahel covering Niger Republic, Cameroon and  Chad   and  Nigeria’s North  East  and has continued  killing Nigerians even  during Ramadan , the holy month  of  Islam.  Yet it claims it is,  together with ISIS, trying to establish  borderless caliphates in which  it hopes to practice its bloody  brand of religion that says No  to western  education.

    In  addition the two  presidents have to make each  other know the way democracy is understood and practiced in their two nations.  Former US President  Abraham  Lincoln defined democracy as government of the people by the people  and for the  people.  On  the other  hand  Tony  Blair the  former  British  Prime  Minister in his Memoirs called  simply ‘A Journey ‘ – in explaining  the creation  of New Labor  which kept him in  power  for  a decade as the  British  PM, identified  a situation whereby government was not for the people but above  them and  used  the correction of  that  anomaly  to change the Labor  Party and  defeat the Conservative  Party  led  by John  Major  at that time. Nigeria I  am afraid  is in that dismal  situation right now  whereby the  government has been  above the people and   not for them in anyway even though it got elected into office by them  in the 2011  elections.

    That  really was the  origin  of the  momentum of change and expectation  that saw President Buhari elected into office on the platform of his party the APC and  his assumption of office on May  29 2015. However  the  legislative elections of June 9  2015 which brought into legislative power a new leadership of the  legislature unknown or approved by the party in majority in the legislature has brought back  the hand of the clock in the progress made by Nigerians in electing the APC into power and Buhari as president. The  June 9 legislative leadership elections  in  Nigeria  has created what Tony Blair and  New  Labor  uprooted in winning the mind  of the British electorate which is government above the people  as  opposed  to the much needed government for the people and for the people which is what  democracy is all about.

    It  behoves  the US  president then to  direct  its  foreign  and  diplomatic  officials  as well as those of  its allies in the EU nations  to steer  clear  of  the leadership of the Nigerian legislature  until  it is democratically  sanitized  from the opprobrium it brought  on itself  from the June 9 2015  electoral  malfeasance.  This  is really  is to save the face of democracy as promoted  by the US and EU  as many Nigerians were  nauseated  by the trooping of Western  European and US ambassadors  to the legislature to congratulate both the Speaker and President of the Senate while the Nigerian nation was still in a very  deep  shock  and trauma over the manner of their emergence  and election.  Surely  democracy in  principle  as well  as  in practice either  in  Nigeria or  globally deserves better recognition and acclamation  than  the one put on display by those marketing it as the best and fairest form of government  in the world today given  their  reaction  to our last  leadership  elections in our  legislature.

    We  recall  that in August this year it will be 30  years since our new president left office as a military  leader.  He  has moved on since to contest elections thrice and losing before being elected last time around.  He  has paid  his dues in terms  of leadership  experience and he knows his nation and his people like the back of his hands.  He  is a devoted Muslim and has condemned  Boko  Haram in the strongest terms as anti  Islam.  Undoubtedly  on gay rights he will  not mince words in telling the US president  that that is a no go area in terms of any change of attitude   on  the part  of  Nigeria   which  he presides  over  and its  people. He  can say  this clearly and mightily because he was  just  newly  given  his mandate. Unlike  the US  president who is  fastly running out of time and tenure and has become a lame duck  president giving parting gifts  to the US electorate. Unfortunately  he has had to use threats  of presidential  veto to  cement his departure presents to the  US electorate such  as the threat to the US legislature to veto any  opposition  to the controversial Nuclear Deal  with Iran.

    Historically  however the two leaders saddled  with containing  terrorism globally  and  in their  domain remind me of one or two famous world  leaders.  Obama  reminds me of  Abraham  Lincoln who  fought the US Civil  War  to  free slaves  although  I wonder  how  Lincoln  would  react  in his  grave on the gay rights that Obama  has given legality  to.  Our  president reminds me in terms of  his  figure and stature  of Field  Marshal  Bernard Montgomery  of Alamein the Second  World  War British   military  hero  nicknamed  the Spartan  General  who defeated  Erwin Rommel  the  German  general in the same war. Which  really  is  my own way of wishing our new president every success in defeating , first  Boko  Haram, Corruption  and  false  democracy over fake election  rules.  Just  like Montgomery  became  the nemesis  of Rommel in the hot deserts of  Egypt in Alamein so many years  ago. Again  long  live the  Federal Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Security, democracy and the rule of law

    It  is a well  known dictum  in journalism that when  a dog  bites a man it is not news but when a man bites  a dog then it is news indeed. That was what came to my mind on hearing  and reading the news that the  new  Deputy Senate  President has criticized the Buhari  government for not doing enough  on  national  security  and expressed  great  concern that if  care  is not taken Boko  Haram may attack  Abuja and indeed  move down South to kill.  Just  as they have  been  doing in the North  East – a part of the nation that  the concerned senator confessed  as very  dear and close to his heart  because  of the scourge  of Boko  Haram  in the area.

    On  the surface the Deputy Senate  President – DSP – has expressed  a legitimate concern  and  a patriotic  one at that but  if you  agree  with  that then you  need  to be briefed  about certain issues hovering around the DSP  in  the last few days. Especially the fact  that the Police  have announced that he  may  be questioned by the Police over allegations contained in a petition  by aggrieved senators that senate rules  were  tampered  with in the controversial senate leadership elections  that  threw him up as the senate ‘s  DSP.

    Really  it is not that difficult  to decipher  or see through the subterfuge and ruse  inherent in the alarm raised  by the DSP on  Boko  Haram.  This is  because a pattern  has been set by the opposition  PDP  which  on hearing about the impending Police investigation warned  that nothing should happen  to its highest placed  party man in the senate. The party went on to accuse the  APC  government   of political witch  hunting of the DSP because  of the way  he was elected. Which  was  a situation to be expected by  the PDP  given the fact that the DSP  was  not a member  of the APC  which  has the majority in the senate  and is definitely aggrieved  that it has been swindled out of the position  of the DSP  and  no  one in his right senses  should  expect  the party  to be quiet  about  it. That  really  was  the genesis  of the heat the new  DSP  from  PDP  is  facing and I believe  that it is just the tip  of the iceberg.

    Again  no one is deceived  about  the timing of the alarm raised by the DSPand  the expected  or  anticipated outcome  of that. Once  the Police move against the DSP  the  PDP  will  predictably  cry  foul and  accuse  the government of political  victimization of  an  opposition legislator  forgetting very conveniently  that  this is a legislator  on a borrowed seat which  has become very  hot and uncomfortable  for  him. It  reminds  me of Shakespeare’s  Macbeth  where  it was said that Macbeth  had murdered  sleep  and would not sleep  again. Certainly  that is the plight  of the new  DSP  on  this matter.  Again  the legislator is learning fast  that those  who live  in  glass  houses  should  not throw  stones.

    Any way we need  to  look  at  the issues  raised  by the  DSP  closely  even though his locus and official position are both suspect  and of dubious origin right from the way  and manner of his election. There  is need  to step  up our  security apparatus  and arrangement  such  that Boko  Haram is eliminated as quickly  as possible  before it gets  bold enough to attack either Abuja and or Lagos.  That  really  is a grim  prospect  that must avoided  at  all costs  by  our security  forces  by all  the force  and  means at their  disposal. The  security  forces  should not send wrong  or chilling  signals that can  cause  panic or threaten  security  such as the plan to move Boko  Haram  prisoners  to the South  East. This  should be scuttled  so  as not to amplify the theatre  of war  or insurgency as  we now call our terrorism.

    In  addition state  governments should spend more on security even as they pay  workers  salaries  from the Buhari  Salary Bail  out.  A  situation where state  governor’s  collect  huge security  votes  while security  lapses create  avenues for  terrorists, arsonists and  hoodlums to exploit,  can  no longer be tolerated  in the pervading  insecure  environment  that the  Boko   Haram menace has created nation wide. In  Lagos  in particular  the  Ambode  government must  be commended  for the way it is handling  the issue  of tankers  going to so called  oil  farms  in  Apapa  and creating  the avoidable traffic gridlock  that has paralysed  many businesses  in Lagos  state. The  fire  accidents involving overturned  and overloaded trailers became frequent in Lagos and people were suspicious that they could be deliberate .So   it is good that the state governor has moved in and allayed fears on this as people started hearing strange rumours on Boko  Haram in Lagos as most of the tanker  drivers  were from the North.

    Nevertheless  the menace, violence and nuisance  of  Boko  Haram  should  not prevent  the Police  from  doing its duty on the  allegations  of forged  rules in the election to office of the senate  leadership  at the last  elections which  brought in the man  now  shouting wolf  on the prospect of Boko  Haram attacking  Abuja  or  invading the  South. That  is a premeditated diversion to prevent the Police from doing its duty as expected in a system where the rule of law  is the norm such as our own.  Indeed  I  have  no doubt in my mind that the Police are up  to the task. This  is because the Nigeria Police  has so many  lawyers  in its officer  cadre and they  are aware  that in a system of separation  of powers that we practice legislators  especially senators are not  above  the law.  The  ongoing trial of high profile former governors by the EFCC  resulting in the accused  being remanded  in prison  cells gives  credence that the Buhari  government will  live up  to  its billing  to  root  out  corruption in  our  midst  or make life uncomfortable for those who loot  our  treasuries  while  holding  public  office.

    Of  course  we know that our legislators are not above the law  and they know that too.  But  the last  leadership  elections in  legislature  showed clearly that something fishy  is going  on that  is a strange bedfellow to democracy as we know it and on which  basis we elected our representatives  and senators.  That  is why the Police  must be allowed  to do  it statutory  duty to ascertain the truth about the allegation  of false  senate rules being applied in the leadership  elections in the senate. The  allegations  are quite serious  and weighty and if found to  be true then  the culprits  must face the full weight of the law.  For  if those expected to make laws break  or manipulate the rules  of their election in our temple of  democracy then  there is no  hope for justice in our polity and that is a situation  that must  scuttled  and stopped by all means. We  expect  our Police  to take up this challenge as it falls fully  under its purview  and we have no doubt  that it will  ensure that the truth will  be extracted from the senate no matter whose  ox  is gored. That  for now is the only way to save our democracy  and  ensure that security  and the rule of law are not mutually exclusive and  indeed go hand in hand.

  • Apc: Between people’s soverignty and party supremacy

    Apc: Between people’s soverignty and party supremacy

    Key leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continue to be understandably elated and pleased at the internal turmoil that remains the lot of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following the unexpected outcome of the National Assembly leadership election of June 9.  Despite the party’s numerical majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, the APC leadership failed to get its preferred candidates for Senate Presidency and Speakership of the House, Senator Ahmad Lawan and Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, respectively, elected. Rather, those who lost out in the APC internal mock election process for picking candidates for the positions, Senator Bukola Saraki and Honourable Yakubu Dogara, triumphed on the floor of both chambers with the support of the PDP leadership and legislators who naturally and eagerly seized the opportunity to humiliate an APC leadership that had engineered their party’s devastating defeat in the March 22 and April 12 national and state elections.

    To worsen matters, not only did the PDP’s Ike Ekweramadu emerge as Deputy Senate President through the connivance of a minority of APC dissident senators, a situation utterly unimaginable under the PDP, the rebel Saraki and Dogara factions continue to resist the party’s position on filling other principal offices of the National Assembly. This is a key reason for the APC federal government’s incapacitation to take off full blast a month after formally assuming power. Ironically, however, the APC’s initial setback in this regard is also an indication of how Nigeria is slowly but surely changing in a positive direction in the emergent President Muhammadu Buhari dispensation.

    Under the Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan administrations, the PDP was completely subsumed under the presidency. Both men exercised maximum control as the undisputed leaders of the party. The party was only another parastatal of government at the beck and call of the presidency. The President’s word and will was law in the party. Party leaders were elected and removed at the president’s pleasure. Intra party democracy was an illusion. Yes, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, with the support of the then opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) emerged as Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2011 against the choice of his party.

    Although the PDP hierarchy was irritated by this development, it tolerated the situation because Tambuwal and other principal officers of the House remained PDP members. However, when Tambuwal as Speaker decided to bite the bullet and formally joined the APC, the PDP bared its fangs. The party immediately sought an ultimately abortive judicial decision to oust the Speaker from the office. Tambuwal’s security details were withdrawn. In an incident with no historical precedence, the police tear gassed the National Assembly in another futile effort to prevent him from presiding as Speaker on the chamber’s resumption from recess. It was clearly the imminence at the time of the last election that saved Tambuwal.

    A fresh wind of change is blowing under Buhari. The president is not flaunting his position as leader of the APC by virtue of being number one citizen of the country. By declaring at his inauguration that he is for everybody and not for anybody, he signalled his determination to elevate his presidency above party partisanship. Buhari is President of those who voted for him, those who voted against him and those who chose not to vote at all. This stance enhances the dignity and credibility of his presidency. Does this mean he must not have a firm position on issues and a specific and clear sense of direction? That is certainly not the case. He has a decisive mandate from a majority of the Nigerian electorate to fulfil an agenda presented to the people on the platform of his party. It is his responsibility to pursue this agenda decisively without fear or favour.

    Does Buhari’s elevating his presidency above partisanship mean that he should be indifferent to and disinterested in matters of his party including those who hold key positions such as the principal officers of a National Assembly in which his party enjoys a clear numerical majority? Again this cannot be the case. It is neither practicable nor desirable. The APC leadership, in my view, could not have formally backed candidates for these offices without reading the president’s body language and enjoying his tacit support. Unlike the vulgar style of the Obasanjo and Jonathan PDP presidencies, Buhari obviously deliberately chose to be subtle and unobtrusive in his approach to the National Assembly leadership elections to protect the twin doctrines of separation of powers and party supremacy.

    The blunt truth is that given the immense powers and resources at the disposal of the Nigerian presidency, Buhari could easily have imposed his preferred candidates on the party and would also readily have had his way in the National Assembly. With the security agencies, the anti- corruption outfits and the country’s treasury all at his disposal, even a sizable number of PDP legislators could have been coerced, cajoled or bribed to do the President’s bidding. It is significant that Buhari has chosen a different path. He has opted to be a ‘President of precedents’ in terms of integrity and respect for systems, structures and processes. It is obvious that the likes of Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, in deciding to so brazenly violate their party’s position, have mistaken Buhari’s restrained, dignified and cultured presidential style as a sign of weakness. Beneath his unassuming exterior, however, those who think this way may ultimately discover that Buhari remains a shrewd military tactician who you can take for granted only at your peril.

    In defending his action, the Speaker, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, has reportedly made the interesting argument that the sovereignty of the people supersedes party supremacy. Yes, in a democracy, sovereignty belongs to the people. Government derives its mandate from their expressed will at the polls. But then, the people do not govern themselves directly as in the ancient Greek City states. They do so through elected representatives in both the legislative and executive arms of government. Again, however, these elected representatives are not elected on their personal recognition as individuals. The constitution as at today has no place for independent candidates. Rather, public office holders can only be elected on the platform of registered political parties, which are the only constitutionally recognised organs for the expression of popular sovereignty. It is thus those who violate the tenets of party supremacy that impugn the sovereignty of the people.

    The late Chief Obafemi Awolowo made this point with characteristic pungency on Saturday, 8th November, 1980, with reference to the 1979 constitution, which hardly differs from our current 1999 constitution. Whatever may have occurred in the past, we can only begin to strengthen our democracy as we urgently begin to adhere to the sage’s admonition. Permit me to conclude by quoting him at some length: “Members of the Legislature and the Chief Executive of any Government are, in the first place, candidates of the Registered Political Parties and, in the second place, in the case of those elected into the legislature, enjoined by the constitution, under pain of severe sanction, to remain loyal to the registered party which sponsored their election… Indeed, the Registered Political Party is the sole source from which candidates for election and elected members of the Legislature and Executive derive their life-blood for acceptability, public status, and legitimacy. Any elected party member or group of elected members of a Political Party who refuse to toe the party line – that is choose to break their link with the party source – must, of necessity, either quickly affiliate with another Political Party for a link with another party source, or be doomed to political dehydration or anaemia. In other words, by express provisions as well as necessary implications in the Constitution, the Registered Political Party is supreme and absolutely decisive in the conduct of our public affairs”.

  • Oliseh and the new mentality

    Oliseh and the new mentality

    It is increasingly clear that Nigeria is indebted to the class of footballers who got us our first World Cup appearance in the United States. We have them in all our male national teams. Unless we are told our level of indebtedness to this class of 1994, our football will stand still, recording arithmetic growth than geometric, despite our huge population. But can we make the right decisions to give the game the desired fillip?

    I hope that Sunday Oliseh’s appointment would be the last from this class. Oliseh is coming with one or two foreign assistants, who would interpret his tactics to the players. I hope he doesn’t come with a French-speaking assistant with passable English. I don’t want to believe the Belgian name being bandied in the media. I feel strongly that a big country like ours should have her new coaches heralded by the international media because of their pedigree in the game.

    I don’t want to be a spoilsport in this matter but I shudder to ask if Oliseh can fix our game that has fallen to its worst rating ever at FIFA. Nigeria is ranked 57th in the world and I’m not surprised. It is our worst placing with FIFA. It hurts because we were once ranked fifth on that FIFA ladder. How are the mighty fallen. But, doesn’t it serve us right?

    For the purpose of analysis based on NFF’s decision on Oliseh, which is irreversible, it is seems to me that something good is about to happen to Nigeria’s football. I hope I’m not hallucinating. Our soccer chiefs appear to know where the problem with the beautiful game lies. And I’m tempted to be excited because a new dawn for football in Nigeria, at this time, is the elixir other sports need to blossom.

    When our football is run seamlessly by the private sector, firms that cannot compete for the marketing windows in football will fall back on the other sports. The spiral effect of such a new dawn for soccer is that sports would be taken as the real business that it is in other climes rather than the recreational slant which has seen our governments and their officials using sports to siphon cash rather than as a life-changer for the youth at the grassroots.

    I wholly welcome this new dawn if it can be sustained because it simply means that the youth in the hinterlands would be effectively engaged in sports. This will invariably take them out of societal vices.

    In many villages there are no recreational grounds. The spaces in the primary and tertiary institutions have been built up. Yet the standard of education is falling. Perhaps with a new mentality towards sports, using footballas the litmus test, the private sectors and rich individuals and possibly local governments would see the need to invest in the industry. That will be the day. I digress!

    Oliseh is expected to come up with a five –year developmental plan, fashioning a unique playing and coaching philosophy for all the national teams, and will for this purpose, interface regularly with coaches of those teams.

    Current stand-in Coach Salisu Yusuf will also be in the new team, but with greater devotion to the home-based boys, otherwise known as Super Eagles B. He will be the interface between the technical crew and the home boys.

    “We are also looking at how he will periodically organise clinics and seminars for coaches of clubs in the Nigeria Professional Football League, probably once in a month, so as to strengthen the playing philosophy across board. A robust youth development programme, elite player development strategy and performance programmes to drive higher standards, among other core sustainable development programmes, are also part of the proposal,” Anyansi-Agwu added.

    The new mentality that I have craved for our football lies not with the recruitment of Sunday Oliseh or with NFF’s grandiose plans. Rather, the thought of getting two foreign coaches as Oliseh’s assistants is the clincher in this new arrangement.

    The key change in mentality in the Eagles rests with the mandate that the assistant coaches have – their job description will be development programmes and working with Clubs’ Youth Teams and certified academies towards developing the game from the grassroots.

    This has been the missing link with the Eagles, making the team’s performance look like pouring Andrews Liver Salt into a glass of water. Many players in the Eagles lack motivation. They have seen it all. They are not motivated by Nigerians’ quest for an all-conquering Eagles team. They are interested mostly in what they can get playing for Nigeria than giving their all to ensure we win games. Even if we lose games, our players’ effort could still make the fans applaud them as gallant losers as they walk out of the pitch.

    I’m excited. The foreigners would insist on the tenets of their contracts. There won’t be cutting of corners. The foreigners will insist on having all they need to perform because they have a reputation to protect. Oliseh, having lived overseas most of his adult life now thinks and behaves like the foreigners. It won’t cost him anything to shake hands with the NFF president and walk away if promises are not met instead of instigating players’ revolt or standing aloof when players refuse to train.

    Most importantly, NFF will respect Oliseh with the presence of the foreigners, who can return to their countries without recourse to the NFF, if things go awry. NFF know they have no reputation in terms of meeting with agreements. So, they would strive to prove their critics wrong.

    It won’t be business-as-usual. There will be written criteria for everything. No player will see himself as bigger than the coaches since they know their pedigree. This new plan promises to churn out new boys to fight for places in the Eagles. The Eagles would no longer be the platform for showcasing bench warmers in a country with over 170 million people. The Eagles would no longer be the rehabilitation centre for recuperating players nor would it be the platform for unsung players to increase our blood pressure with their uninspiring performance. Not a few Nigerians have died watching the Eagles play so unintelligently on the pitch.

    The Eagles we have watched in recent times think they are doing us a favour. Yet they hit the limelight playing as rookies for our kindergarten teams before making it to the big clubs in Europe and the Diaspora. We have seen players stroll on the pitch when they lose the ball instead of fighting back to gain possession. Yet when they get back to their European clubs, they do what is expected of them when they lose or gain possession of the ball. These instances of lack of seriousness on the part of the players lie with the absence of leadership from the bench, with our all-knowing coaches.

    The tardy arrangement of the past between the NFF and the coaches occurred because most Nigerian coaches sought the job on bent knees and never insisted on documentation of their contracts.  A hapless man cannot negotiate when faced with the chances of getting a good job. What counts is the fact that he can earn some bucks. At all at all na winch, like we say in the local parlance.

    One wasn’t surprised when Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Melvin Amaju Pinnick told the international media that the Eagles weren’t friends. The world was shocked to hear that none of the players had John Mikel Obi’s telephone numbers or contacts, including some who were his mates at Chelsea and those who play the game in England.

    Equally baffling was the story of Mikel not picking the telephone calls of one of the coaches who was then in London. Couldn’t such a coach head for Stamford Bridge to see his ward? What would it cost such a coach to insist on seeking audience with either Michael Emenalo or even Jose Mourinho, as coach of Africa’s biggest country?

    What do you expect of players who greet themselves on the pitch, only when they are wearing Nigeria’s colours? This explains the lackadaisical manner our players approach most games, most times after making promises to Nigerians in the media. I look forward to watching a new crop of players giving their all to make Nigeria regain her giant status in the game, beginning with the African continent.

    I look forward to the days ahead when 12 Nigerians would make the Confederations of Africa Football (CAF’s) Africa Footballer of the Year shortlist. I would be thoroughly enthralled watching a Nigerian beat two other Nigerians to win the award.Three Nigerians on the final list won’t be a bad idea. It won’t also be a dream but a manifestation of the workable templates that the new mentality would bring to our game.

    With a new dawn and the target given to the foreigners to develop the local league by discovering and nurturing rookies at the grassroots, it won’t be long we have European clubs doing business with our local leagues as we have in South Africa, for instance.

    I hope I haven’t beaten the gun. Let’s hope that Oliseh and his two wise men accept the job and all things promised them given for the good of the game in Nigeria.

  • Heartaches for Eagles

    It’s the transfer period in Europe. Players, coaches and club officials who did well in the previous season get lucrative offers from clubs in dire need of reinforcement. Mind boggling figures are being offered to strikers, mostly, although midfielders, such as Paul Pogba, who plays for Juventus in Italy, may surpass what many strikers could get in this new season’s transfer window.

    Goalkeepers and defenders are not excluded from the crazy figures being bandied to lure them out of their former clubs. Goalkeeper De Gea of Manchester United, for instance, wants to play for his home country’s team Real Madrid in Spain. But Manchester united’s manager Louis Van Gaal has rejected anything like that, even though he has Valdes on the team’s pay roll, who could fill the void if De Gea quits. But Van Gaal is an old fox in this business. He knows that allowing De Gea head for Spain could haunt him when the chips are down for the 2015/2016 European Champions League matches.

    Real Madrid chiefs know that Casillas has passed his prime. He conceded cheeky goals last season that cost Real Madrid many games. They want De Gea, knowing his recruitment will effectively seal one of its weak links and set the stage for an all-season chase with bitter rivals Barcelona FC, reigning UEFA Champions League winners, not forgetting the other tittles that Barca grabbed in its treble feats last season.

    Goalkeepers who did well last season are enjoying the free season, although many have opted to remain in their old clubs, knowing that it guarantees them a regular shirt. For some others, such as Petr Cech, who has seen it all with the European game, winning every title that there is to be won in Europe, the move out of Chelsea to London rivals Arsenal was one that the team’s cantankerous manager Jose Mourinho won’t want to happen. Mourinho has a running battle with Arsene Wenger.

    Mourinho recruited Cech. But Mourinho’s second coming to Chelsea is one Cech wants to forget about quickly, largely because of the second fiddle role he played last season. Mourinho recalled Thibaut Courtois, who was on loan at Athletico Madrid, back to Chelsea, for effective competition. That annoyed Cech. Courtois became the number one choice, leaving Cech with cameo appearances, most times, if Courtois was injured or fumbled in the preceding game.

    Cech is a Gunner and has spared no word in getting back at Mourinho. Interestingly, Cech has the best opportunity to hurt Mourinho, when Arsenal meets Chelsea in the Charity Shield game at Wembley Stadium in August.

    It hurts to look at the transfer trends in Europe without highlighting how Nigerians are faring in it. In the preceding season, goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama had several news items on his likely movement out of the French Ligue Un. He was arguably one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, if not the world, given his incredible performances both for the French team and Nigeria at the Brazil 2014 World Cup tournament.

    Today, the story isn’t the same for Enyeama, not his fault though. The Super Eagles and indeed his French side have been appalling this last season. This has affected Enyeama’s rating and the quest from teams with goalkeeping problems to look in his direction. Enyeama is still a very reliable goalkeeper, commanding the number one shirt for club and country. No mean feat, by any stretch of imagination.

    Big moves for defenders are far and wide apart as the dentition of a 90-year-old. The game is essentially about scoring goals, leaving defenders with short end of the stick in any transfer season. Only Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos is involved in a meaningful discussion. He is being chased by Manchester United. But the English side must bow to Real Madrid’s quest for their goalkeeper De Gea, if they hope to get their man. Again, the transfer rules are such that give the players the final say on where they want to be. So, Ramos may insist on joining Manchester United at his terms in the same way as De Gea is heading for Real Madrid. Let’s see how these two transfers play out for the game.

    Where do I start from in evaluating Eagles defenders in Europe? Only Juwon Oshaniwa appears to be in the transfer net with Hearts of Scotland being his next bus stop. For a boy who cut his teeth in European football in 2012, going to Scotland from Israel is a notch-up.

    Others, such as Godfrey Oboabona, Ederson Echiejile and Efe Ambrose are stuck with their European clubs. Will they drop into the reserve bench? With sparing appearances for their European clubs last season, the trio lack the bargaining power in the current transfer market. Their poor records make them a hard sell for even the best managers.

    Kenneth Omeruo needs divine providence, if he hopes to play in Europe from next month. His game has dropped that he isn’t sure of a place at Middleborough FC, where he was loaned to from Chelsea. He cannot return to Chelsea for any look-in; he must wait, perhaps on the new clubs promoted to the Barclays English Premier League for succor or those relegated to the second division, who may wish to scout for defenders who have played in the elite league. Such is Omeruo’s stand in the transfer market that he needs plenty of prayers. May be, his ‘regular’ appearance with the Eagles could serve as a clincher for European clubs looking for internationals in Africa to export. Ordinarily, the kids who lifted the U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ought to have been the subject of major transfer moves, had they done well at the U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, which Serbia won. Those boys have fallen into the obscure leagues for this season, except those who had European league jobs before the intermediate World Cup in New Zealand.

    Kelechi Iheanacho is in Owerri awaiting the next directive from Manchester City. Lucky boy. Chidera Eze is in Porto in Portugal. Flying Eagles captain Musa Mohammed has finally signed a three-year contract with an option for an additional year with ambitious Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir FK.

    It is in the midfield department that the Eagles have players being mentioned in the transfer market. For instance, John Mikel Obi, has decided to stay at Chelsea until 2017, when he can walk away from Stamford Bridge, a free agent to any club of his choice like Frank Lampard et al have done. Inter Milan want Mikel, but Chelsea won’t sell the Nigeria because Mourinho feels strongly that he is part of his highly criticised defensive formation during matches.

    Another Nigerian in the transfer market of note is Victor Moses. Moses loaned to Stoke for the last season. He had an uneventful loan spell with Liverpool, the previous season. But at Stoke last season, injuries kept Moses on the sidelines.

    Interestingly, Moses feels slighted by the talk that he should be used in the sale of Stoke’s goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to Chelsea in a swap deal.  Vexed, Moses wants a move to Tottenham FC, another London side who want his services. Take a bow Moses for such a courageous move. He feels he can play at Tottenham, which is playing in this year’s Europa League than returning to Stoke as a make-good player. At least we have a Nigerian player who knows his worth and isn’t ready for pittance to survive. It remains to be seen where Moses would be if he fails to land the Tottenham deal.

    Joel Obi, who plays for Inter Milan FC of Italy, has been sold to another Italia Serie A side Torino, for 2.3 million pounds. He underwent a medical on Thursday. Easily one of Nigeria’s most skillful midfielders after Austin Jay Jay Okocha, he has been unable to lift his game to Okocha’s level due to a recurring injury. It is expected that he makes the breakthrough to show the world what it has been missing, when the new season starts for Torino, aka Old Lady, another alias for Juventus. I can’t wait to watch Joel strut his trade against Juventus!

    Sadly, the Nigerian whose goal gave the Eagles the Africa Cup of Nations diadem in South Africa, Sunday Mba, is now in oblivion with his move to a second division side in Turkey – wait for it Malatyaspor. Anyway, Mba moved from a third division side in France CA Bastia, a promoted side from third division to second division in the Turkish league. Some form of movement abi? I dey laugh o! See how Nigerian coaches ruin some of our best players. I will leave the Mba story for another day.

    Who are the strikers for the Eagles in Europe and how many goals did they score last season to merit any meaningful transfer? A difficult question, if you ask me. But the answer is best seen with how they are being excluded from the big movements in Europe now.

    Ikechukwu Uche has moved downwards from Spain to Mexico to play for UANL Tigers. This is looking like a retirement move than a career clincher which Villarreal FC offered Uche with regular qualification for the UEFA Champions League. This Mexican move effectively rules Ike Uche out of the Eagles. But you never can tell with these Eagles coaches.

    Osaze Odemwingie could be counted as one of the few Nigerians who have scored goals in Europe. He has just recovered from a long term injury playing for Stoke. He will be with the club this new term. We hope he plays regularly. He renewed his Stoke deal by another year deal on Thursday. Ahmed Musa has been our best scorer in recent times. He did well for CSKA Moscow last season. He is still there. He can repeat his goal-scoring form for both club and country.

    Come in Emmanuel Emenike, Nigeria’s hottest striker until the goals dried up for both the Eagles and Fenerbache FC of Turkey.

    We cannot forget fledgling Odion Ighalo who is making his debut in the elite league in England with Watford United. Ighalo’s goals helped Watford seal a place in this season’s Barclays English Premier League. He opened his goal account with the Eagles against Chad in Kaduna from the penalty spot. Ighalo was literarily wrestled to the ground by his Chadian marker, prompting the referee’s intervention.

    Until this period, the rumour mill suggested that Swansea wanted Ighalo to strengthen its attacking options. But that story has melted away like ice cream in the scorching sun. Ighalo is condemned to make his mark with Watford in the elite class.

  • Presidential mandates and new global order

    As  US  President  Barak  Obama  was  being expected  this week  at  a  White  House briefing with Brazilian  President Dilmar  Roussef  a  commentator  noted that  the US  president could  arrive with  some spring  in his steps at the event  because  the US Supreme  Court  had just endorsed  two  of the issues  dear  to  his lame duck  presidency. These  are gay rights and  Obama care  and  I would  add the resumption of diplomatic ties with Cuba cut short  since 1962  over the Cuban  Missile Crisis. Of  the three issues  the gay rights Supreme Court  ruling of 5 to  4  has great human and diplomatic implications far beyond the shores  of the US  which is also a leading global  power and promoter  of democracy  and the free  market  economy as a way  of life anytime  and every where.

    The  spring was palpable in Obama’s steps  when he eventually  arrived at  the press  conference but  it is in the  implication  of the Supreme Court  decisions  for the rest  of the world that I am interested in today.  I  am  also  looking at that  as a consequence of the Obama  presidential mandate for the eight years he has been in  power. I  make  bold  to say that that  of  all US decisions  taken  during Obama’s  presidency the gay rights issue is the  most  controversial  matched only in that regard  by the decision in Syria not  to strike that nation  when it was confirmed  that  the  Assad  regime was   using chemical weapons  to  kill  its own  people. That  decision,  with  the help  of hind sight ricocheted into  an  escalation  of the Syrian  Crisis by creating a crisis of confidence on the US loyalty  to its allies  in the Middle  East. This unfortunate situation gave  birth to ISIS   to which  many   global  terrorist Islamist groups  have claimed  alignment and affinity  with in creating borderless caliphates  including  Nigeria’s  deadly  Boko  Haram  which  this week  alone  killed  over 100  people  in mosques  and villages  in  Borno  state  in the North  East  of Nigeria.

    We  will  also concern  ourselves  today  with the mandate  of Nigeria’s  much  respected new President Muhammadu  Buhari and  the euphoria  that accompanied his emergence from  the last presidential elections. This is not withstanding the   obvious  and cruel  fact that the high  expectations of that election victory  of his party  has been befuddled  if not stigmatised  by the way and manner the elections  of the  leaders of the Legislature were  hijacked by APC  members who  did  not toe the  party line on the matter,  but teamed up with the opposition PDP  to elect  both an APC President of the Senate and Speaker  of the House  of  Representatives. This definitely  was  an unexpected legislative and  political  development but  it is one crisis  that would not go away anyway  or any how, and it is one that is destined to shape  the direction and destiny of the mandate of the new Nigerian  president no matter how one looks at it.

    Another  world leader that we shall  look  at  today alongside the Nigerian and US  presidents is  Russia’s  President  Vladmir  Putin who  has  been accused by  the West  of violating  International  law by invading the Crimea  in  Ukraine and  is still  having Russian  soldiers  in  Ukraine  while the  US and  EU  have  imposed  economic  sanctions  against his regime and its key  personnel  by closing their  accounts all  over Europe.  It  is necessary  to  bring in the Russian  leader for the simple fact  that he has never seen eye  to eye  with the US president on many issues especially  the gay rights one  and  he has been  able to successfully  manage  and manipulate  his political  mandate in his nation such  that he has outlasted  two  US presidents with their combined two terms of 16 years  which  is really amazing.

    To  appreciate the presidential  mandates  of the three presidents  one  can take  a look  at their  respective  background.  President  Barak Obama was a law professor  like  our  own  Vice  President  Yemi  Osinbajo. He  however  came into politics  from  the background  of a social  worker,  a fact  which  has enhanced his mobilization capacities  to raise campaign funds and galvanise people at campaigns. The  same  asset  has  however been  deemed a set  back in taking tough  decisions especially  on global  security  and military matters. This  weakness  some have pointed out  has been  seen  by the Russian  leader hence the confrontational foreign policy of Russia in the Middle  East and Europe to  bring about the Cold  War  bi polar world  dominated by the  former  USSR which  the  Russian leader is nostalgically  trying to resurrect by  deliberately  flouting international law  in  Ukraine.

    In  Nigeria’s  case  the  Nigerian  president came into  office with  a massive mandate  and goodwill of the people.  He  ruled  as a military  leader before but no one doubts  his democratic credentials  having  contested for the presidency on three earlier occasions and lost. Boko  Haram has been his priority as he initiated regional security and  military cooperation between Nigeria and its neighbours  facing the brunt  of  Boko  Haram’s  murderous menace.  His  military  background has  been useful  here and he has  even been asked by the EU  at the last G7 Summit  he attended to provide the needs of the region  for the EU  to  help out.

    Yet  Boko  Haram  is still on rampage and  this  week  killed over 134 Nigerians  in fresh  attacks in Borno state in horrendous  manner, attacking mosques  and killing women  and children. Obviously  the new president has to lead the onslaught  against  Boko  Haram  in a  more productive and  deterrent   manner and  direction. Nigerians  need  to be protected  from being  killed  in  large numbers on a daily  basis by Boko  Haram. The last  president  lost the election because  he could  not contain  Boko  Haram  and he could  not bring back  the 200 missing  Chibok  girls who  have not been found  to date. The  military  background of our new  president gives one hope that Boko  Haram’s  days  are numbered but  the military  have to be given the riot act  and  marching orders  to do this and stop the killings fast  as  he  was  and is still  the Commander  in Chief of our Armed  Forces  and that experience really counts.

    With  regard  to  Russia’s   President   Vladmir  Putin he was a KGB officer or a spy, if you  remember  those  James  Bond  007  films,  before he was handpicked  as Vice  President  by Boris  Yeltsin  Russia’s  president  at the time.  Putin  was Russia’s  president during the time of President  George  Bush the 43rd  president from 2001 to 2008.  He  became Russia’s PM  from  2008  to 2012 when  he yielded  way to his hand picked puppet as president because the Russian constitution allows only    two  consecutive terms of  four years.  He  came  back as president in 2012. Which  means  he has outlasted George Bush  who invaded Iraq  and captured Saddam  Hussein  and  he is  seeing out Barak  Obama with  whom  he never saw eye  to eye  on any issue.

    With  regard  to their  mandates and its success  or failure one  can say or hazard  a guess or two. I  am  happy  with the outcome  and success of  Obama Care  and the opening  of relations with Cuba. The  rapprochement  with  Cuba clearly  shows  that in international  relations there  are  no permanent enemies  but permanent  interests. The  Obama  Administration should  remember  this as it rejoices  over the gay rights US Supreme  Court  judgement  which  some  people  in other parts  of the world think  is  an abomination. In  particular the  US  should be wary in the way it equates gay rights with civil  rights and the way  and manner it ties observance of its beliefs on this with the way it gives  out  aid. Especially security and military largess to nations fighting terrorism like  Nigeria  which urgently needs such attention to contain Boko  Haram an ally  of ISIS which  the US knows  and acknowledges  as a mortal  enemy to be destroyed by  all  means.President Obama has utilized  his mandate in the  US but the gay rights issue and the containment of terrorism will outlast his tenure. Both will determine his legacy and his place in world history.

    Similarly  President  Muhammadu Buhari has a date  with  history in Nigeria and  he should  not  allow his mandate to be distracted by the unexpected political  digression of  the leadership  elections in the legislature.  He  must  put his foot down to arrest indiscipline  in his party and clean up the Augean stable of corruption in our nation  and  the economy. That is his mandate and that was why  Nigerians voted for him. That is in addition to the belief that he especially  can lead or shove our military in the direction of giving Boko  Haram  a kick in the ass to send them packing into oblivion and stop murdering innocent Nigerians at night, in broad  daylight or even as they  worship  in our mosques. That  is our hope in the Buhari  Administration even  as we learn  to live with the fact that it will take time for him  to make our world better. We  are confident our choice is right and that sooner than later he will rein in the wild horse  of a political  economy  he inherited with an empty treasury. We wish him God’s speed to realize our hope and his mandate.  Again, long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Resolving apc’s National Assembly crisis

    Resolving apc’s National Assembly crisis

    It was exactly 100 days after he was sworn in as governor of Lagos State on May 29, 1999. The media was near unanimous in their condemnation of the performance of the new governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Columnists, editorialists, feature writers, news analysts and cartoonists portrayed the governor as too slow and clueless. They condemned the gaping pot-holes on impassable Lagos roads, the skyscrapers of refuse on major highways across the state, dilapidated schools, lack of potable water throughout the state, chronic insecurity and much more. It did not matter that these problems had been allowed to fester over two decades of largely visionless military rule. They had no sympathy for a governor who had inherited a fiscally insolvent and near bankrupt state. Like instant coffee, the critics wanted instant change – no excuses.

    Governor Tinubu’s media team was under severe pressure. They understandably turned the heat on the governor to at least begin some publicity hugging mesmerising moves even if of little concrete substance. For instance, they suggested, he could begin patching roads state wide amidst a blitz of publicity. Tinubu staunchly refused. He insisted on a methodical and systematic manner in the resurrection, revitalization and re-development of the state. Two years later the story began to change. The same critics began to appreciate what they saw as the beginning of the radical modernisation of diverse sectors of the state. Today, Tinubu is widely acknowledged as having laid the foundation for the remarkable progress recorded under his successor, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) and which freshly elected governor Akinwunmi Ambode promises to elevate to new heights. Lagos has taken giant strides in the last 16 years.

    It is a similar story in President Muhammadu Buhari’s Nigeria of 2015. Buhari has just spent a month in office. But there is urgent demand for the immediate fruits of change. Of course, this is understandable. The rot and decay of the PDP, particularly President Goodluck Jonathan years, was deep and of epidemic proportions. Consequently, the intensity of the nascent opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) for change was unprecedented in aggressiveness and creativity. The expectation and desire for change became pandemic. Just boot Jonathan out and positive would automatically commence in Nigeria – many people believed.  This belief was reinforced by Buhari’s record of decisiveness as a former military Head of State as well as of impeccable personal integrity and incorruptibility.

    Contrary to public expectation, things have been rather slow in the early morning of the Buhari dispensation. For one, this is a democracy. Action must follow due process, which can be slow and cumbersome. Secondly, as Buhari himself has forthrightly and courageously noted, his pace at 72 cannot be the same as it was three decades ago. Even then, Buhari as a younger and draconian military dictator was never impulsive. Even the harshest actions of the Buhari/Idiagbon regime then were taken only after appropriate laws (military decrees) backing them had been enacted. That he has chosen to be methodical, reflective and restrained rather than playing to the gallery through cheap heroics since formally assuming office on May 29 shows Buhari’s graciousness, decency and maturity as a leader. A man of lesser character would have chosen the noisier, more boisterous and sensational but ultimately less useful path.

    This is not to say, however, that the Buhari administration, despite the scale of the mess it inherited, ought not to have proceeded at a faster pace even at this time. For instance, there is no excuse that key offices that do not require legislative approval such as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) or Chief of Staff (COS) have not been appointed. Since he has obtained legislative approval to appoint 15 Special Advisers, nothing ought to have stopped the President from doing so pending the appointment of ministers.

    It is obvious that President Buhari’s administration is clearly being hindered from functioning more efficiently and effectively by the intra APC post- election crisis that blew into the open following the National Assembly leadership election fiasco. Contrary to the decision of the APC leadership, a minority of the party’s legislators teamed up with the minority PDP members to throw up Senator Bukola Saraki and Honourable Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House respectively. To add insult to injury, Saraki conceded the office of Deputy Senate President to Senator Ike Ikweremadu of the PDP. Even worse, both Saraki and Dogara rejected the party’s nominations for other principal offices of the two houses taking their rebellion even further.

    An acceptable resolution of this crisis is clearly a necessary condition for the Buhari administration to be able to take off at full throttle and commence the much awaited change agenda. As I pen these words, the party’s crucial National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting is holding in Abuja. But then, what is the genesis of the crisis? The magnitude and unprecedented manner in which the APC dislodged an incumbent PDP gave the budding party the illusion that it had become a cohesive whole. In truth, there are three tendencies within the APC. Firstly, is that tendency committed to genuine change from the ideology and direction in which the PDP had led Nigeria for the past 16 years – a tendency represented most prominently by Buhari and Tinubu.

    Secondly, there are those members of the n-PDP who defected from their former party not because of ideological or policy differences but due to their inability to fulfil their political ambitions on the platform of that party. These include former Vice President Abubakar Atiku and most of the governors that quit the PDP in protest against Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s authoritarianism. These are the forces behind Senator Bukola Saraki and they will as is so obvious, dump the APC as readily as they did the PDP to satisfy personal ambitions.

    Thirdly, there are those like Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, former governor of Kano State who, although quit the PDP along with the other governors, has remained fervent in his commitment to his new party and its agenda of change. Governor Rochas Okorocha and Senator Chris Ngige, who come from the hard core PDP ethno-regional Igbo South-east zone have also remained steadfast in their fidelity to the APC.

    It is true that none of these tendencies on its own could have dislodged the PDP without the other. However, it is a more fundamental truth that left to the likes of Abubakar Atiku and Bukola Saraki, Buhari would never be President of Nigeria. Not only did the Tinubu tendency mobilise the South West in support of Buhari against strong opposition from groups within the South West like Afenifere, OPC and certain Christian elements, Tinubu worked hard to help change the minds of some powerful northerners who were scared of the implications of a Buhari presidency. If Buhari had not made a head way in the South West, a feat he could not achieve on three previous occasions, it is unlikely that he could have won that election – at least not on the first ballot. If he does not retain the support of the South West, it will be easier for his opponents both within and beyond the APC to cripple and ultimately undermine his government.

    The formation of a harmonious ‘team of rivals’ among the three main tendencies within the APC is imperative for the party’s success as Nigeria’s new ruling party. Let me, however, quickly correct the erroneous impression in many quarters that a tendency within the APC tried to foist Senator Ahmed Lawan and Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila on the legislature as leaders of the National Assembly. Rather, the party leadership opted for mock intra-party primaries among interested aspirants. The Saraki/Dogara group, however, opted to shun this process and instead worked with the opposition to undermine their party in the National Assembly.

    However, there is no use the APC crying over spilt milk. This is no time to apportion blame. If the party hierarchy accepts what has happened in the National Assembly as a fait accompli, the Bukola/Dogara tendency should also make meaningful concessions to the other tendencies so that the APC can quickly put this crisis behind and move on.  Or is this a tactic to paralyze and compromise Buhari’s government even before it takes off?

  • Separation of powers, politics and the violence

    Three  incidents  from the US, Nigeria’s National  Assembly  and  that of the Benue State, as well  as the death  sentence  of the Islamic  court  based in Kano State  provide  the background for the topic of the day. In  the US  a 21 year old white man shot  dead nine people at a bible study in church   famously  used by black  people  in  Charleston  in the state  of South  Carolina. In  Nigeria’s House  of Representatives legislators  fought over the election  of key  legislative  officers leading to the postponement of  the  session  to  July 21  to allow  tempers  to cool   down  by then.  Before  that we watched in horror  as legislators in Benue  state  House  of  Assembly wrestled in the  House  before  a prime time TV  audience over  the same issue of election  of their legislative leaders.

    These  three events throw up  constitutional and historical  perspectives from their environment and culture  all   at  once. Separately  each  on its own  brings   in some concepts  and  ideas on governance, social  cohesion  and  democracy  in practice as well  as a cost benefit  analysis of that  prevailing world  ideology as at  this moment  in time. The  violence  in  Nigeria’s  legislature invite another look at the concept  of separation of power  derived  from the  presidential  system  of  checks  and  balances  which  we  borrowed  from  the Americans.  The  slaughter  of blacks  in South  Carolina   once  a slave colony  inspired by the   Confederate  flag at the Capitol in Columbia in that state   and  reluctance  of the state  governor   to  bring  it down  even as a mark of respect while  burying the victims, raised  serious  issues on the rule of law and  the morbid  impact  of racism in interpreting the law in such  an environment. Similarly  the  sentencing in Kano cannot  but bring to  mind   vivid fears on the rise  of a situation similar  to   that of ISIS in  Iraq  and Syria which  can  also  be seen  as a ploy  to placate Boko  Haram when indeed  all  hands  including that of  the Sharia  judicial  system in Nigeria and Kano  especially, should  be on deck  to put an end to  Boko  Haram as  announced  by  the president   determinedly  when  he assumed  office recently.

    Starting  with  violence  in our legislature I want to take that on from the perspective expressed by the presidency  that the president will not intervene  just as it was made clear  by the same source that he did  not interfere  in the intra party politics leading  to  the emergence  of the Speaker and the President  of the  Senate. That  to  me is an expensive  mistake  on both issues. This  is because the presidential system thrives  on a principle of  checks  and  balances  and is predicated   on  majority  rule.Since  the president  is  from the ruling  APC he is  the leader  of the party  and not the Chairman or the NWC  of the party and  he  should  be interested in those members  of his  party  aspiring for      legislative honors and  leadership. This  is because  his party  has  the majority  in our legislature. To  do otherwise   as  the  presidency  is doing now is to  be seen like the  proverbial  ostrich  with its head buried in the sand. In  the presidential  system of checks  and  balances the three arms  of government, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary are independent  but  they intertwixt  and intertwine in checking the excesses  of each other in governance. In  fact  the independence  comes into play once the  three arms are in place after elections by the electorate and  appointment  of judges. The  executive should  not interfere once the leaders of the legislature are in place after their election. It  should not then  have folded  its hands while the election of legislative leaders of its party was being done only to frown later at the way and manner it was done  and the emergence of  the leadership the legislative  elections threw up. Again  the  presidency  looked  like the cat  that would eat  fish from a pond without getting its paws wet.  Such  indifference can  be counterproductive in politics as the president is seeing right now as he prepares to   announce  his  much  awaited  list  of  ministers  which  he  has kept very  much  close  to  his chest. Without  mincing words I say  that it  is the duty of a majority party in the legislature to ensure  that it is not taken by surprise in legislative elections and that is the duty of the leader which  in the case of the APC in  Nigeria  is the president   on  whose  the table the buck stops in a presidential system  of checks and balances  such as we run in Nigeria today.

    Similarly in South  Carolina many people believed that the Governor should have brought down the Confederate Flag  which  represents  racism, slavery and  secession  in  American  history and  which the 21 year old white  racist murderer said inspired  his hatred and murder of the nine black  worshippers which included a state senator and preacher,  whose  funeral  the US president was preparing to attend. The  governor   of  the state claimed her hands were tied as she had  no power to bring down a flag which had inspired a mass murder   called  the  Charleston  Massacre which  the governor too had condemned very  eloquently. Legal  experts  have however disagreed  with the governor   citing a precedent  in another  state with such a problem  which  invoked  a legal  provision  that the  flag  could be brought down  for washing for some days and that  could be invoked at least  to  allow the funeral  of the hapless victims  of  the Charleston  Massacre and put the racist  murderer  to shame.  Obviously  the S Carolina  governor  was  making out as if  the law was an ass  on the flag  issue  when indeed it was her racist sympathy that was at play and not the law  being any ass, willingly or not.

    Undoubtedly the killing in S Carolina  came  about  because a black president is in power in the US  and  even President  Barak Obama has admitted that  racism is still a problem in his  nation fondly called  God’s  Own country. Which   really  is unfortunate  and  very  sad.  However  the charismatic  US president was  to give the eulogy  at  the funeral  of the slain preacher and senator  Clementa  Pickney in   Charleston   in S Carolina and  I bet that would  be another classic on the wickedness   and futility  of bringing back racism or  any form of discrimination by the backdoor  of violence  in  today’s  modern society especially in  the US, the  global  promoter and champion  of democracy  and  human  rights.

    It  is in such  light  that one should see the death sentence   for  blasphemy   by the Islamic Court  in  Kano  on the nine people in the state.  My  own  plea  here  is for mercy  and clemency.  In  South  Carolina  the families  of the victims  said  they forgave the killer of their  loved  ones. That  is to show the superiority  of love, mercy and tolerance over hatred and violence. These  are virtues that all  religions preach and not only Islam  and  Christianity.  Pardoning  these people  in  Kano  would send a strong message  to ISIS  and  Boko  Haram – which both Saudi Arabia, the champion  of Sunni Islam and Iran, the Shiite  champion are  fighting both in their regions and internationally –  that  blind and reckless  violence  has  no place in this modern world  we live in   today. That  simply  is my plea on this matter- even in this era of post election violence which we have  just  averted and the new phenomenon of legislative   trickery   and violence which we thought we had put behind us. Again, long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

     

    Editors Note;   We  apologise for the error of calling late Senator Abubakar Sola Saraki a Senate President in his time.  He was indeed a  Senate Majority Leader. The mix  up on George  Bush instead of Jeb Bush later in  the  column is  also  regretted.

  • Return of Iheanacho

    I have never met Kelechi Iheanacho or his father. But I have been enchanted with the sublime skills Iheanacho displays during matches. The world watched in awe as Iheanacho showed tremendous abilities on and off the ball. His deft dribbles, quick interchange of passes with his mates and his telegraphic vision in releasing thunderbolts that left many goalkeepers sprawling on the turf, made Iheanacho, the kid that big clubs wanted to have in their academies until he attained the age to play the beautiful game at the top.

    Two years ago, Iheanacho was the world’s best kindergarten player. European teams struggled to sign the new kid with some of his coaches allegedly angling to be his agent. Some have even said that some of the federation chiefs were part of the managing Iheanacho saga, until the boy’s dad rightly demanded to be his son’s manager. Nothing wrong with that decision by the father, but it ruffled feathers of the coaches who felt they brought Iheanacho to limelight – as if they bought him the first ball that he kicked around his father’s house.

    This writer started feeling worried by comments of top brass in our football over Iheanacho’s conduct since he joined Manchester City. Listening to them, I wasn’t convinced but the bile in their utterances showed that why Iheanacho must not play for Nigeria. I was sad but prayed that God should touch these folks’ hearts and allow the boy achieve the feat of transiting from U-17 through U-20, U-23 and the Super Eagles.

    Indeed, I thought that no coach would drop Iheanacho from the Nigerian side, if he wants to win trophies. It didn’t come as a shock that Iheanacho was dropped, until he resurfaced in New Zealand. I wanted to see if his replacements were truly better. I had no doubt that the grassroots have many Iheanachos and would have celebrated if the coaches discovered one better than Iheanacho.

    Of course, any adventure done with malice falls flat on the faces of the executioners. I hope that the coaches and their cohorts now know better. It is pertinent to remind these national team coaches that they can’t discover any player at the grassroots because the national camp is not a nursery to groom players. Players at the national level were discovered by the local coaches. It is, therefore, wrong for any national coach to claim ownership of one, except he has an academy that nurtured such a player.

    I’m excited that Iheanacho will not be another Chrisantus Macauley, the Nigerian U-17 at the 2007 World Cup, who earned all the accolades like Iheanacho but couldn’t play for other national teams because of coaches’ biases for their discoveries.

    The talk by the team’s assistant coach Nduka Ugbade that Iheanacho lost form during the World Cup is a lie. Ugbade has forgotten that we watched the matches of the B sides in England. Iheanacho was spectacular, leading to rave reviews of his exploits in the last season. It would pay Ugbade a lot if he goes online to watch clips of Iheanacho’s last six matches before coming to the Flying Eagles camp to appreciate how inappropriate his submission is. How can anyone call Iheanacho a brat when he was the first to report in New Zealand, immediately after a crucial game for Manchester City in England? The Nigerian contingent met him in New Zealand.

    Thank God Manchester City So many contrasting reasons have been given for sidelining Iheanacho. Those who said he was big-headed must understand that he knows as much as they do about the reason for their unbecoming conduct towards him. The coaches have pushed Iheanacho to the wall by their antics. He fought back, knowing that he is appreciated at Manchester City. Our coaches must understand why some of our big players don’t like playing for Nigeria.

    These exposed players qualify to play for their European clubs when they play regularly for their countries. So, keeping Iheanacho on the bench reduces his value before his employers. And with such a competitive platform, it is only fair that our coaches field players they have invited to the camp on current form and not bench them because of issues that would later haunt them like we saw at New Zealand.

    I hope that Manchester City releases Iheanacho to Samson Siasia for the country’s 2016 Olympic Games’ campaign in Rio de Janerio, Brazil – to allow him prove his mettle and show everyone that he was victimised in New Zealand.

    Enyeama must change

    The big news this week has been the startling revelation from Vincent Enyeama that he wasn’t sent any letter to appear before any disciplinary panel. Ademola Olajire’s counter claims that the letter was sent to Enyeama through his club is laughable because the European leagues are on break. Players have embarked on holidays outside their bases.

    This shocker puts a line on arguments from cynics that Enyeama shunned the meeting, thus setting him against the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF’s) eggheads. It showed that if Enyeama received such a letter, he would have appeared before the NFF panel. Thank you, Enyeama for showing that you are a disciplined person.

    Again, I was bowled over by the panel’s decision not to aggravate the matter by advising the NFF to handle the issue internally. The panel warned about the ripple effect of any harsh decision against Enyeama in order not to jeopardise our chances of qualifying for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

    It simply means that the NFF men learned a lesson from what befell the country when Samson Siasia rigidly stuck to his decision not to invite Enyeama to the camp, following his botched attempt to rally his mates not to board a small aircraft to Europe.

    Many pundits still believe that Nigeria would have qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, had Enyeama manned the goal in the last group game against Guinea, which ended 2-2. This is debatable though, but it offers a platform for many to hinge their submissions on why Nigeria didn’t qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. But Enyeama must learn to behave like one whose certificate reads that he has been found worthy in character and learning.

    Wise decision Chelsea

    I’m excited that Chelsea FC of London’s chiefs rejected Al Ain FC of United Arab Emirates’ bid for Nigeria international John Mikel Obi. Mikel sought for an exit from Chelsea because of his lack of first team shirt. This is a wise decision by Mikel, especially as he wants to be a true professional by playing regularly.

    But the big snag in my view and perhaps that of Chelsea would be the choice of a team in UAE. Manyplayers who go there are in the twilight of their careers. Not for Mikel, who could easily play for teams like Liverpool, Southampton, Tottenham etc in the Barclays English Premier League.

    Mikel still has some more years playing at the top level for other clubs with very few quality players. Mikel should emulate goalkeeper Petr Cech who crossed over to Arsenal from Chelsea. Such horizontal movement is what Mikel should aim at, not a sharp slide to irrelevance which is what the UAE move represents.

    June 27, 2004

    June 27, 2004 was the saddest day of my life. No prize for guessing right. On that day, the least news that one expected to hear was the demise of my mother Abigail Isevbua Ojeikere. No premonition that something bad would happen later in the day. But it happened at about 5.45pm when my phone rang.

    Looking at the phone, I recognised that it was an international call. I wasn’t taken aback because such calls came from my sister Aima and then conversations with my ailing mum and my dad who was also in Philadelphia, US.

    I picked the call but this time it wasn’t Aimalohi but her husband Tolu. My heart sank but I braced for the worst. And when Tolu asked me if I had eaten, I knew it was a script that had not been perfected or was being poorly delivered. Tears rolled down my cheeks when the phone went dead.

    When Tolu called again, I asked him if mum had passed on. He paused and confirmed my fears. Abigail Isevbua Ojeikere had gone home to rest. She died at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. The conversation was short. It had to.  Quietly, I packed my things at work and headed for the Managing Director’s office to break the sad news. I couldn’t tell him what happened as I broke down in tears. The MD didn’t need any more word from me as he consoled me. We talked about my mum’s condition regularly. And so when I cried, he knew that the worst had happened.

    Eleven years; just like yesterday. My mum and I shared the same birthday – September 9 – and each time the day comes, I remember her.

    As she rests in the bossom of the Lord, it is important that she is celebrated by those she left behind. May God in His infinite mercies continue to keep our dad S.J Ojeikere as fit as a fiddle. As for my brothers (Oare, Ejemai and Imonike) and sisters (Ronke and Aimalohi), today is one day we should spare a thought for our wonderful mum.

    Mehen nosen, the late Dame Abigail Isevbua Ojeikere.

  • Saraki’s gross irresponsibility

    Saraki’s gross irresponsibility

    There is something serene, calm, unflappable, almost other worldly about him. Like Mahatma Ghandi or to a lesser extemt, Obafemi Awolowo, he cuts the figure of a secular saint – ascetic, disciplined, self-sacrificial. I refer to none other than President Muhammadu Buhari, who on March 28th was emphatically elected by Nigerians to clear up the mess of a decade and a half of PDP misrule and lead the country in a new direction through positive change.  Of course, it is great to have saints in politics. But the sad truth is that there are more non-saints in the vocation – political actors whose intellectual patron saint is Machiavelli and their cynical motto: the end justifies the means. This is probably why Winston Churchill once famously remarked that in politics, the truth is often protected by a body guard of lies. The starry eyed idealist is unlikely to make much impact in the cloak and dagger terrain of politics.

    This is why by his taciturnity and seeming inattentiveness to partisan political issues, President Buhari is allowing another serene looking and cherubic but far more tricky, manipulative and amoral politician, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, current torch bearer of the Saraki dynasty and former governor of Kwara State for two terms to run rings round him and begin to place himself in a vantage position for the 2019 presidential election.  In a desperate pursuit of his limitless personal political ambition, Senator Saraki defied his party and connived with the minority PDP and some APC renegade Senators to emerge as Senate President.

    Saraki’s legislative coup against his party was reportedly executed with the support of another key party chieftain, former Vice President AtikuAbubakar. It is surely an interesting tag team. Both men are hugely ambitious. In his quest to occupy Nigeria’s apex political position at all costs, the peripatetic Atiku has traversed diverse political parties including the PDP, Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) back to the PDP until he finally landed in the All Progressives Congress (APC). If tomorrow the PDP offers him a platform to run for President, Atiku will dump the APC like a hot potato. In that sense he and Saraki are Siamese twins. All that matters is their personal interest, their acquisition of power no matter how and irrespective of the character or moral integrity of the platform.

    For now, between Atiku and Saraki it is a blissful marriage of convenience. If they succeed in ultimately outwitting those tendencies and individuals within the APC that they consider common enemy today, it is so obvious that the duo will turn on each other with unprecedented fury. The smell of blood flows in the lavender mist of the afternoon to quote the poet, Christopher Okigbo.

    When Saraki announced shortly before the APC presidential primaries that he was withdrawing from the race in the larger interest of the party, I thought I was seeing and listening to a new Bukola Saraki. Party cohesion, fidelity to principle, a commitment to the consolidation of the APC as a formidable political party – all these I thought weighed on his mind. This was not certainly the Saraki who so ruthlessly confronted his late father, the illustrious Dr Olusola Saraki, on the issue of his successor resulting in a shock from which the senior Saraki reportedly never fully recovered until his demise.

    But Bukola Saraki has shown his true colours. He has not changed one bit. Bukola has not batted an eye lid even as he stabbed his party so viciously in the back in the Senate Presidency election. It was the same way he was completely emotionally detached from the agonies caused his father by the handling of the 2011 succession in Kwara. Like electricity, Bukola apparently has no feelings. Of course, no one is saying the elder Saraki was right in wanting his daughter, Gbemi, to succeed Bukola. But the issue could have been handled more subtly, deftly and delicately to minimise the psychological trauma of the great Oloye.

    Some analysts have argued that the APC has no right to complain about the emergence of Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and House Speaker respectively against the choices of the party leadership. After all, they contend, was it not the opposition ACN that enabled Aminu Tambuwal to become Speaker of the House against the wish of his own political party? There may be some merit in that argument. But the important thing is that the two national assembly leadership positions as well as all other key offices of the two legislative chambers were occupied by members of the ruling party. What do you make of a situation in which Bukola Saraki sold out the critical position of Deputy Senate President to Senator Ike Ekweremadu of the PDP just to secure his own ambition at the expense of his party?

    Apparently accepting Saraki’s emergence as Senate President as a fait accompli, the party leadership sent its approved list of candidates for other principal offices of the legislature to both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Not only did Saraki refuse to read the letter from his own party chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun, in the Senate chambers, he unilaterally announced his list of occupants of the various offices – a list at variance with that of his party leadership. This is the height of irresponsibility. It reinforces the position I took last week that Saraki is obviously through with the APC. He is either fully back in the PDP or he is now running a one man political party.

    So confident has Saraki become that he has even turned a deaf ear to the APC governors’ forum, which called on him to respect the supremacy of the party. As Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole convincingly put it, “Basically, what we are saying is that the senators should adopt the position of the party. We were all elected on the platform of the party. We are not just a collection of individuals. We are a political party and when the party has spoken we must listen. Otherwise, if it was a game of individuals like golf, then individuals can go their ways. I think it is very clear at this point that the party has the responsibility to keep the system going…We as governors, we listen to the party and we also expect our Senators to listen to the party.” It is clear that such homilies cut no ice with Saraki. His haughtiness is so evident in his carriage, conduct and demeanor. In a chamber in which the Senate President is only the first among equals, Saraki’s unbridled arrogance may end up being his banana peel.

    The ascension of governors of average or even below average performance to the Senate is one indication of the country’s continuing political underdevelopment. Saraki was not in any way outstanding as governor of Kwara State for eight years.  His so-called agricultural revolution through the attraction of white farmers from Zimbabwe to farm in Kwara State has turned out to be unsustainable and a veritable waste of funds. It was under his watch that the Societe General Bank was run aground with thousands of depositors becoming impoverished for life. Before the advent of Saraki as Kwara state governor, the state owned Trade Bank was one of the most profitable and viable in the country. The Saraki administration killed the bank.

    In 2009, the Saraki administration in Kwara state obtained a N17 billion bond from the capital market. Among others, the money was to build an International Truck Plaza, construct a brand new state secretariat, embark on phase 2 of its commercial agriculture programme, uplift the Asa Dam as well as establish a cement facility.  To the best of my knowledge, none of these has been implemented. Where then has all the money gone? Senator BukolaSaraki is yet to convincingly explain his role in the acquisition and ultimate liquidation of Erastus Akingbola’s Intercontinental Bank. Is it true that a N39 billion debt owed the bank by Saraki was written off in connivance with certain key elements of the Central Bank after Akingbola’s forced exit as the Bank’s Managing Director? It will be quite interesting to see how President MuhammaduBuhari’s promised anti-corruption war will fly with a Senate President like Saraki as head of the National Assembly.

    Even as he openly defies and despises the leadership of his party at the national level, Saraki maintains a tight grip on the party structure in Kwara state.  For instance, he has just allegedly instigated the suspension of 22 members of the party in Kwara state including a former Secretary to the State government for purported anti-party activities allegedly including being rude to Saraki! Let Saraki be careful how he manages this victory of the moment. For, if humpty dumpty has a great fall, who will put humpty dumpty together again?