The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Bitterness,  trust and 2015 elections

    There  is  no  doubt  that  the postponement of  the February  14  and 28 ,  2015  elections  to March  28  and  April  11 has  created  a huge  political  divide  of  bitterness  and  mistrust  amongst Nigerians who  constitute  the electorate  of this great  nation. It is  a huge gulf of sharp  disagreement on the pros  and  cons  of the postponement and  tempers  run  high  on any discussion  on the postponement  depending on whether  you  are  for  it or  against  it.

    Today  I want  to do  some  fence  mending  quite  voluntarily  . Not because  I regret  any  thing  I have  written on  the  postponement for  which  I blame  INEC  for negligence and  inevitable disenfranchisement  of about  20m  Nigerians  if  the elections  had not  been  postponed,  but  because  of  the  admission  of the INEC boss  Professor  Attahiru  Jega at  his Senate appearance  this  week at  which  even  he admitted  that the post  ponement  has  been  a blessing . It  with  that  as a premise  that  I appeal  to  Nigerians especially  those    who  see  nothing wrong in  going  ahead as earlier  scheduled,  to  shield  their  hatchet  of condemnation of  the  other  side , and concentrate  on  pooling our enormous resources on  having a free  and  fair election as rescheduled  or open  themselves  to  charges  of  being more  catholic  than  the Pope  on the postponement .

    Perhaps  then  it  is with  this  background that I want  to  compare a  financially  beleaguered    nation  like  Greece that  has  used

    it  last  elections  to  position itself  against  austerity  measures  imposed  on it  because  it  borrowed  money like  Nigeria and other

    developing  nations from the IMF ,  and  in  the case  of  Greece from the EU  and  the  European  Central  Bank .  In  Greece  at their

    last election  in  January  this year  the  party    called  Syriza and  led  by  Alexis  Tspiras won    but  campaigned  on  an anti austerity agenda  to  renegotiate  Greece’s  loans  and won  the election massively  to move Greece to  the  left  politically .This has put  Greece  in direct  confrontation with  the EU and especially  Germany the  frugal and  very strong financial  member which  had  been  adamant  that the  Greeks  must  cut their  coat according  to their cloth and  swallow  the  bitter pill  of austerity  in  paying their  over due loans  and  debts However  it is in the way  that Greece’s  new  finance  Minister Yanis  Varoufakis  has been  pursuing the anti  austerity agenda against  a very  uncomfortable  and  highly  embarrassed  EU and ECB establishment  that has  caught  my  fancy . Especially  his  choice of words which can  provide succour  for us as Nigerians as we too face  an  election on which the main  issues to determine  who  to vote for are  corruption  and security . In  Greece’s  last  election the issues  were  austerity  and  corruptio. I  believe  that the issues  that  I  will  draw  out    from  the  Greeks  metamorphosis from  a  helpless  but  involuntary    austerity swallowing  nation to  an anti  austerity nation arising from a democratic  election, can  provide  some  impetus  for us  as  Nigerians ,  to  steer  our nation on a  decisive  corruption  free  and  secured  environment course,  similarly  arising ,  very  hopefully  from  the

    results  of a free and  2015  election  as  now  rescheduled.  It is  a tall  order  but  it is a possibility very  much  after  my heart . Let  me now  dissect  my admiration  of the new anti austerity  leaders  voted  into  power  against  all  odds in Greece .

    On  austerity measures  against  Greece  the  finance  minister Varoufakis  complained  that it is as if  the EU  has    decided  to place the greatest  burden  of bankruptcy  in human  history  on  the weakest shoulder  in Greece and that is the Greek  tax  payer and that is unacceptable . When  Syriza  won  the election Varoufakis said notably  that the Greeks have refused ‘to go  gently  into  the night’.  The  outcome  of the election  in  January  he said meant that the Greeks ‘ have angrily  refused  to allow anyone  to put out  their  light’.  On  the austerity  measures and loan agreements he  said  Greece  was like a customer  who  checked  out of an  hotel  but  can  never  really  leave  because  it  could  not settle  its  bill.

    The  Greek  Finance  Minister  has  since  become  a champion  of the masses  in  Greece because  of  the way  he  is brilliantly taking  on Greece’s  debtors  and  leading the way  to  renegotiate  the terms of Greece’s  loans  so  that it  does  not ruin all  Greeks

    economically  .  On the past  leaders  that brought Greece  to its present debtor status Yanis said  that  his  government  is  going to

    destroy  the  network  and  basis on which  for decades they  have sucked  the energy  and  economic  power  from  every  body  in society.

    Varoufakis  is a Marxist  Professor  of  Economics  who  has taught in Australia  and the US  before  returning to Greece  to  join  the party  that won 36%  of  the votes  to take  power  on  an anti austerity  ticket last January  . He  has  shown Greeks  and  the world  that there  can  be life outside  the IMF  conditionalities that  have ruined  nations  like Somalia and  have crippled  others fatally    and  economically  like  Nigeria. He  has shown  that nations can  renegotiate    their  debts  with  dignity  and that austerity  measures  can  have  a human  face without  the present very  high  social  costs.

    At  the outset  of the Greek  debt  crisis  I  gloated  that at  last the Europeans  were  having  a bitter  taste  of their  palliative for  repaying  debts  this  time in  the Euro  zone  their  own backyard . Varoufakis  has  shown  that the  past  and  present  fears of  the  developing world  that  IMF and  World  Bank  repayment terms were killing their  economies  were  human  and  genuine.  It  is economists  like  him that  should  run global  financial institutions  and bring debt  reliefs  that do  not cripple debtor nations  like  Nigeria  which  imported Nigerian  expatriate  World

    Bank  experts  on  austerity economics  to run and ruin our economy even  as they got paid  in hard  currency which  too  perhaps  was an  austerity  reward  for their  open  rape  of our  debtor  economy. For  now Varoufakis  had blazed  a trail in debt  renegotiation  and repayment at  low  social  costs and  I urge  Nigerians  to  take note    judiciously and  vote a party  in that reflects  that  way of running the  Nigerian  economy at the  2015  election .

    Undoubtedly  any  party  that favours the  present bunch  of Economic planners  and Coordinators  of our present prostrate  economy  should not  be allowed anywhere  near  the corridors  of power  in  Aso  Rock after  the elections.

    Again since  no less a person  than  the  INEC  boss  has  admitted that the  postponement  is  a blessing ,  one would assume  that this  is an opportunity  for  the  electoral  body  to  put  its house  in order  in terms  of getting as many as possible  PVCs  to the electorate  to maximise  voter  participation  in the elections.

    However the  scenes  or  pictures  of Nigerians  protesting on  not having  seen  or received  their  voters  cards have  multiplied  in the media  since  the postponement  .  Such  scenes  should  decline rapidly  if  INEC  fulfils  its  obligation and raise  further concern , mistrust  and distrust  of  INEC ‘s  intention  and capabilities  if they persist  too long into  the six week  relief  or postponement . In  which  case  what  has been  deemed  a blessing and accepted in  good faith as such  can  be  another  signal  for resurrecting    bitterness  and rancour.

    INEC  must  ensure that the social  capital  of trust  that the INEC boss  bought  for it  by calling the postponement a blessing  is not whittled  away by daily reports nation wide that  people  have not been  getting their  voters  cards or are  getting  them in trickles .

    That  will  erode  that trust which the INEC  boss has awakened d  and retooled  . It  is the type of trust that creates goodwill  and progress for any society especially in a  testy  election period such as this.

    It  should  not  however be allowed to degenerate to the  type  of trust that the Mafia  man  taught his son when  he took him  up a wall and asked him  to jump  down promising to catch  him when he did.

    When the son jumped the Mafia  boss  did  not catch him but allowed him  to fall. Actually what he wanted  his son  to learn is not to trust  anyone including his  family . With  these  rescheduled elections  Nigerians  need  no such  lesson  on  mistrust  and distrust . Our  rendez  vous with a free and fair  election requires that  we trust  ourselves  on  this 2015  elections and that every Nigerian  does  his or her duty  to  that effect,  especially INEC.

  • Beyond President Goodluck Jonathan

    Beyond President Goodluck Jonathan

    Will elections hold on the new dates of March 28 and April 11 announced by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, at the behest of the country’s Service Chiefs? Professor Jega told the Senate on Wednesday that he could give no such guarantee. His words while briefing the upper legislative house on the postponement of the elections from the earlier announced dates of February 14 and 28 respectively were instructive. According to Jega “I have said consistently that there are things under the control of electoral commission and there are things that are not under the control of electoral commission. For things that are under our control, I can give definite and categorical assurances. On what is not under our control, it is futile, it is fruitless and useless to give a definite guarantee on them. I think the question should be directed appropriately. The question of security, I will leave it. I don’t think I am competent to answer it sufficiently”.

    In terms of the preparations for the exercise, Jega is confident that INEC is fully ready. Indeed, when he briefed the last National Council of State (NCS) meeting in Abuja before the forced postponement of the polls, Jega had insisted that the commission was in a better state of readiness to conduct the election than it was for the 2011 election despite the logistical problems in deploying the Permanent Voters cards (PVC). However, the postponement of the election for six weeks on the basis of the claim by the Service Chiefs that they could not provide security as they intended to launch a full- fledged onslaught against the insurgency meant that it all now depends on the military when the elections will hold.

    If the military high command claims that the security situation is still not conducive for elections on the new dates, what can Jega and INEC do? It is this frustration and helplessness that he betrayed during his appearance before the Senate. This is indeed one reason why some analysts have described the Security Chief’s action of aborting the election and forcing a six months postponement as a coup of sorts. The truth of the matter is that if February 14 and 28, fixed about a year ago for the elections were not sacrosanct, there is little cause for optimism that the May 29th hand over date will be sacrosanct.

    It is obvious that by forcing the postponement of the election by six weeks, the military high command was doing the bidding of the presidency. The General Muhammadu Buhari and Professor Yemi Osinbajo’s movement for change had become practically unstoppable. There is little doubt that if the elections had held last Saturday as previously scheduled, Jonathan and the PDP would probably be out of power at the centre by now. The postponement is thus meant to slow down the APC momentum and enable President Jonathan’s campaign gather more momentum.

    In a way, the postponement of the election has its own positive side. For one, it shows that an incumbent President and party are jittery about their performance at the polls and thus ensured it does not hold. This is unprecedented in Nigeria’s political history. The implication is that elections are getting more credible and government increasingly unable to manipulate the results. Again, it shows that the Nigerian electorate have become significantly more sophisticated and difficult to lead by the nose. Thus, all the intensive media campaigns and rallies by the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) likening Dr Jonathan to such world-historic figures like Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi or Barak Obama did not deceive the vast majority of Nigerians.  The tendency by power hungry politicians to divide the people on the basis of religion, ethnic group or region in order to rule them is also beginning to lose its efficacy. In a meaningful sense we have every cause to say that an appreciable degree of political development is being achieved in Nigeria in spite of all the constraints.

    Ironically, it is the opposition APC that has expressed readiness for elections and vehemently condemned the postponement of the polls. This is a sign of confidence in its capacity to wrest power from the PDP at the centre. On its part, the PDP, which controls and has not hesitated to misuse all organs of state coercion against the opposition is scared stiff of elections. Yet, this postponement is only likely to further anger millions of Nigerians and make them more determined to vote for change at the centre whenever elections are held. Even after the postponement of the election, the PDP and groups in support of President Jonathan such as Afenifere and the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA) have continued to vehemently denounce Professor Jega all in a bid to hound him out of office and enable the emergence of a more pliable INEC chairman who would do the bidding of the PDP.  Yet, it was this same Jega that conducted the 2011 elections, which President Jonathan won emphatically!

    If the elections are not held on the new dates as announced by Professor Jega, then the constitutional handover date of May 29th may no longer be feasible. In that case, we will have a constitutional crisis on our hands with President Jonathan being the prime beneficiary if tenure elongation is thereby achieved. But then, we must look beyond the person of Dr Jonathan to interrogate and understand the brewing constitutional crisis that is staring us in the face. Why is it that with the exception of General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1979 and General Abubakar Abdulsami in 1999, all other Nigerian leaders since independence, civilian and military, exhibited sit tight tendencies even though they always failed and the will of the people eventually triumphed on all occasions? Is there an iron law of Nigerian politics that compels leaders to want to continue in office by all means despite the constitutive and regulative rules of the game?

    I think the answer lies in the utilisation of state power as a means of material accumulation both by occupants of public office, particularly the President and governors, and their close friends and relatives. Those who are in power thus seek to continue in office beyond their constitutional terms or rig elections brazenly in order to continue to enjoy the honey of power. Incidentally even when the incumbent leader is willing to bow to the will of the electorate, he is held captive by a cabal which insists, for selfish reasons, that he is the country’s Messiah who must remain in office for the public good.

    In the case of Dr Jonathan, he is held hostage by an Ijaw cabal whose brash noisiness, stupendous accumulation of unearned wealth and utter lack of respect for other nationality groups, including the Itshekiri and Urhobo of the Niger Delta, have earned widespread opprobrium for Jonathan even in areas where he won an emphatic victory in 2011. If wisdom prevails, Dr Jonathan will allow the elections to hold on the new dates as scheduled and accept the will of the people whether he wins or loses. In the alternative, if he seeks to perpetuate himself in office, against the will of the people, that will also have its good side. It well help reactivate and re-energise a slumbering civil society to go back to the trenches to resist dictatorship and fight for democracy. For every action, there is always a reaction. Throughout history, fighters for democracy have always triumphed no matter how long it takes.

  • Lessons from the Elephants

    I’m excited that the country with the best players starring in Europe clinched the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. The Elephants of Cote d’ Ivoire have always been the favourites to lift the African diadem from the time the golden generation emerged in 1990. That generation had Didier Drogba, who must be sulking that he doesn’t have the gold medal of the Africa Cup of Nations in his wardrobe. But that career minus by Drogba doesn’t take anything away from the awesome contribution of easily the best African to have played in the Barclays English Premier League.

    Cote d’ Ivoire ranks among the few African country to have many of their nationals playing regularly in Europe. The difference between the Ivoirens and Nigerians is that they appear more committed than our boys to playing for their national team. Drogba, Yaya Toure, Salmon Kalou et al don’t hold their country hostage for trivialities. It isn’t a surprise that they have the Africa Footballer of the Year in Yaya Toure, who, with the way things are going in Europe and in Africa, will become the first African to be decorated as the best for five consecutive times.

    If Yaya Toure was a Super Eagle, maybe NFF chieftains would have been lying on the ground for him to walk past. Yaya walks away from Manchester City’s matches when it clashes with his country’s games. He plays no games with his English team to join the Elephants at his terms. Yaya hasn’t compelled the Ivoiren FA chiefs to give him concessions that make his English side bigger than the national team. No special arrangement for Yaya to fly in-and-out of competition venues like some of our big boys did with the Eagles in the past.

    The Elephants are as troublesome as the Eagles during competitions. But theirs isn’t about holding the nation hostage over allowances. They enjoy themselves during competitions. But in Equatorial Guinea, it dawned on them that this was going to be the last active appearance for most of their players and they made it count by winning the trophy. That is the difference between the Eagles and the Elephants.

    The flipside to this attitude is that Yaya reports immediately after his country’s matches to play for Manchester City in the next game. What this signifies is that he is a disciplined player. With such a man as captain, it is easy to explain the seeming stability in the Elephants side despite its bumbling at the Brazil 2014 World Cup. Yaya is such an incredible person to both club and country that it would be difficult to sideline one for the other permanently.

    On the pitch, Yaya is exemplary. He fights for the ball, directs his mates to give their best and doesn’t fail to watch the sidelines to take instructions from the bench. The synergy between Yaya and the coaches is notable. This explains why the team held its own during the penalty shootout against the Black Stars of Ghana, despite losing the first two kicks.

    Yaya kept motivating the next penalty taker that the game was retrievable, especially when they lost the first two kicks. He also held those who lost their kicks under his towering height to console them. Yaya kept talking with his elder brother Kolo Toure. That was emotional. The Ghanaians, also had two brothers, the sons of legendary Abedi Pele.

    The Elephants had a leader in Yaya, who led by example. The players respected him and listened to his counseling on the pitch. Having no leader on the pitch is the Eagles’biggest problem. Those who led did so because they were the oldest in the team, in terms of the period spent playing, not because they were the best. The captains who performed couldn’t control the others because the team, most times, was broken between those in the coaches’ camp and those who were oppressed.

    The only time the Eagles stuck together was when issues bothering on their welfare arose. Such a divided group cannot win laurels. It is true that the Eagles clinched the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, yet it must be said that the events thereafter seem to suggest that the feat in 2013 was a fluke, given the abysmal showing of the team less than 10 months after.

    The Ivoriens did as well as the Eagles at the Brazil 2014 World Cup.  But they returned home to appraise their performance and took drastic decisions, which helped to rejuvenate the squad to what it is today- champions of Africa. The Ivoriens changed their coach, introduced younger players into the squad and, most importantly, picked their best players on current form. Little wonder they improved with every game, largely because the new Elephants side was “work in progress.” A colleague of mine marvelled at the calibre of European clubs that the Ivoirens were chosen from. He noted that all of them played regularly for their teams.

    The Ivoriens went for the former Zambia coach who didn’t get the Zambians a World Cup ticket. But Renard had guided Zambia to lift the Africa Cup of Nations, a trait which showed that he understood the African terrain. Renard did the basic with the Elephants. He picked the best and made spot-on changes that strengthened the team during matches. Put simply, Renard is a good match reader, a trait Super Eagles coaches lack.

    Thank God the NFF has started exposing technically-minded people to refresher courses. It has also developed a programme that will integrate all that these people on refresher courses have learnt into practice with all our national teams.

    We expect to see the impact of these refresher courses soon. One only hopes that the Eagles coaches don’t jettison the information provided by these eggheads on grounds that they call the shot in the team and would be held accountable whenever things go awry.

    Can the Eagles coaches and indeed the NFF use the two friendly matches against Bolivia in Uyo on March 26 and the one against the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations runners-up Ghana’s Black Stars in London on March 29 to overhaul our senior team?

    Will the coaches invite only those doing well in their European clubs for the two matches? Can our coaches shun sentiments and invite Brown Ideye and Odion Ighalo, who plays for Watford FC in England and those young boys in Arsenal e.t.c to play for Nigeria?

    To whose benefit would it be if we parade the bulk of players who failed to get us to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations? We don’t need to camp 60 home-based players for months before major competitions, only to pick the same five players for the real team. We must do things differently, if we hope to improve on our poor past, otherwise we will achieve the same result- failure.

    It is barely 33 days to the two international friendlies against Bolivia and Ghana, yet no word on who will lead the Eagles. My advice to NFF chiefs is for them to allow Dream Team and Flying Eagles’ coaches to pick the best in their groups for the two matches.

    If this happens, Samson Siasia and Garba Manu will take charge of the team. What Siasia and Manu could do is to include those Eagles players doing well in their European clubs, such as Ighalo, Ideye, Ahmed Musa, skipper Vincent Enyeama, Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike. We need to introduce new players into the Eagles and it should start with the two matches on March 26 and March 29 in Uyo and London.

    One must commend NFF President Melvin Amaju Pinnick for touring Europe to speak with the parents of the Nigeria-born lads who have played for age-grade European countries on the need to play for Nigeria. The first advantage such a move gives to our football is that it guarantees growth, since we know the true ages of these Nigerians. The other gain is that they are well grounded in the rudiments of the game, making the job of grooming them very easy for the coaches. Again, these Nigeria-born lads will be coming with a new mentality that should rub off on our local players. One cannot but agree with ex-Green Eagles midfielder Friday Ekpo who said: “The national team cannot be dependent on a few players abroad. We are more than 150 million people in this country. The camp will not be in Europe, the camp will be in Nigeria. If Europe-based players are good, they will be brought in, but if the best players are in the local league, we should stick with them.”

    With adequate competition for shirts across all our national teams, no one will hold us to ransome nor would any group have the temerity to play pranks with invitation letters to play for Nigeria. NFF chiefs, please, let us turn a new leaf.

  • ‘Failure of logistics, weapons and morale‘

    I  write  with  relief that  the  INEC booby  trap  of  an  election slated  for  today  has  been  sprung harmlessly  without  catching any  prey  as  planned  and expected  by  the electoral  body. INEC  has  blamed  the security  chiefs for  the postponement, but in  stressing  that  and  ignoring its  own state  of  unpreparedness,  it  has  behaved  like  the proverbial  ostrich  with  its  head buried  in the sand.  For  that excuse  INEC  should  hang  its  head in  shame and  like  a chastened  dog  hide  its  tail  between its  hind  legs, for  letting  Nigeria  so  badly  down by planning  to  hold an  election  when  and where  over  20m  Nigerians were  yet  to  have  their  voters  cards.  It  was  a recipe, tailor  made  for post  election disputes on legitimacy  and  fair representation  – the very  essence  of  having elections  in  any democracy.  Again I  am  happy      that  those  that  INEC      could have disenfranchised  with  callous  impunity  and  indifference while  lying  to  the world,  now  have  a fresh  opportunity  and time  to  make INEC face  its  responsibility  squarely  and  allow them  to vote  in the rescheduled  voting  dates  of March  28  and April  11.  Let  me state  again  that  the onus  is  on INEC to prove  this  time  around that it can  conduct  a credible  free and  fair  election  in  2015 , given  the way  it has  bungled wittingly  or  not    the first  attempt  which    led  to the postponement.

    I  got  the  title  of  today’s piece  from  a BBC  interview  this week  of a Nigerian  soldier  in  the war  front  against  Boko  Haram.  At  first  I was  sceptical  about  the  motive  of BBC  thinking as usual  they  were  trying  to  put  down  the  Nigerian Army  in  its fight against Boko  Haram,  which  is  the  usual  past time nowadays    of foreign  media including  CNN  on this insurgency.

    If  that was  their  goal,  this  time they  were  disappointed. The Nigerian  soldier  bared  his mind without losing his gallantry, his  professionalism  and  especially  his patriotism.  Unidentified and  unnamed,  he  spoke in clear  baritone  in spattering English.

    He  shocked by revealing that  200  soldiers  sent as reinforcement to  his  unit  refused  to show  up and are  facing  court  martial for  this.  He  said  Boko  Haram  has  better  and  more  modern weapons than  them and are  more  in  number. That  where they  could muster about  500, Boko  Haram  had  3000  men ready. Asked  if he thought the Nigerian  Army could defeat  Boko  Haram, he  answered positively  and unhesitatingly  and stated  boldly  and  proudly.‘

    Yes,  I am  a soldier‘  and  my  heart went to  him for  the pride with  which  he said it. He  then  went to  say  that the Nigerian soldiers  fighting  don’t know  what  the problem  of  the Army  was because in  his English – ‘ Logistics fail, Weapons  fail, and Morale  fail ‘ – and  at  that  I was  almost  in tears  but  then I  decided  to  make his  pungent  and  moving lamentation,  the topic  of my essay  today.

    It  is  necessary  for  me to  say  here  and now that  I admire  the spirit    and  confidence of    that  Nigerian  soldier  a lot because of his pride  in his profession  and  his confidence  that Boko  Haram  could  be defeated  provided  the Nigerian  soldiers have the  enabling  environment  in  terms of logistic, weapons  and morale. I  leave  it  to  the Army  to  consider  this important information from  one  of its  ranks  and  to  treat  the suggestion  as a field  information  to  improve  its  battle readiness    to  combat and  hopefully  defeat  the Boko  Haram insurgency.  As  for  me    I want  to apply  the words  he used which  really  hooked  me,  to look  at some  issues today  namely the nature  of  politics  in the postponed    elections, the attitude  of  the US and  EU  to  the postponement  and the withdrawal of  US military  personnel  on  Ebola  from  Liberia  on  the orders of President  Barak  Obama because of  the  spread  of  the  disease amongst  the  Americans  posted  there. In  effect  then I  am looking  at  these  issues  in  terms of the    candid  but true lamentation of  my  Nigerian soldier  friend  though  unknown  hero –  Logistics  fail, Weapons  fail, Morale  fail!

    Starting  with the  attitude  of the two  parties, it  is apparent that  each  has  accused  the other of  abetting  INEC  for  the postponement but  it  is the  PDP  that  has  gone  out  of  its way to  show  figures  to  prove  it  while  APC  candidate  retired General  Muhammadu  Buhari  called  the  postponement  a coup. While the postponement frenzy  was  playing itself  out,  the  US  and  EU asked the contestants  to  sign an  agreement  on  no post  election violence  which    they  did. The  US  Consul  was even  shown  in the news  media  posing  with the APC and  PDP gubernatorial candidates  signing  the  non  violence  pact  in  Lagos. To  me, both  on  the part  of the parties  as well as these  foreign sympathisers  the cart was  definitely  put  before  the horse. The interest  in  post  election  violence  was  overshadowing the readiness  of INEC  for  the February  14  election  which  all  parties both local  and foreign  in  the post election  violence jitters,  conveniently  ignored. Now  with  the postponement  and the  overrated  state  of  INEC’s  position  and  posture  for  the Valentine  Day’s  elections  I think  they  now  know  better and would  be more circumspect  in taking  INEC  for its word  next  time around. Again  I say  to  them  like my  soldier  friend  lamented to BBC – logistics fail, weapons fail, morale  fail!

    With  regard  to the  attitude  of  the US  and  EU  to  the postponement  I  want  to  express  both    my  disappointment and sympathy in that  they  mistook it  as a ploy  to  sabotage  democracy simply  out  of  their ignorance  of  Nigerian  politics. They simply  did  not seem  to  have gathered  relevant and  correct information  on the issue  of INEC’s  readiness and if  they did  they did  not take  it seriously and  that is  an anormally that  they would  not have  ignored  in  their  own environment,  which  is a real  pity.  I  will  like  them to  remember  Blairism, the Doctrine  of  the  International  Community  formulated  in  1999 when  Tony  Blair UK Prime  Minister  and  former  US  President Bill  Clinton invaded Kosovo  without  a UN  resolution  successfully to  stop    Serbian  strongman  Slobodan  Milosevic  from slaughtering  Muslims  in  Kosovo. The  doctrine was based on the policy  of making  the world healthier, safer  and richer  by interfering in national  disputes  or problems  and  nipping them in the bud before  they  become  global  calamities  but  in  the process planting democracy  and capitalism  in the affected  nations.

    The  rationale  was  that genocides create refugees  which affect regional  stability as in Syria and Iraq. Corruption causes  global financial  melt down  which affect  the  world  economy negatively and  Nigeria  is a beehive  of corruption. Pandemics  too  can easily spread  like  contagions across  global  borders  and air space just  like  Ebola  has  gotten  to  the US  and  the US  is withdrawing  its  troops  in  defiance of the  Kosovo  Doctrine which happens  to be the foreign  policy of the Democratic  Party  in  the US headed  by President  Barak  Obama.

    US  Secretary  of State John Kerry’s  hurried  visit  to Nigeria  in retrospect  was in the spirit  of the Doctrine of the  International Community but it was a journey based on  misinformation and  the subtle threat not  to  postpone could  have  done more harm  than good to Nigeria’s  democracy if  it was heeded.  Although  some have criticised  the Doctrine as dictatorial  and that nations  should be allowed  to  evolve their pattern of governance  without US interference  or imposition  of democracy    and  capitalism,  the policy itself  can  be helpful  to  some nations  in  deep  trouble provided  the US  and  its  allies  read  the situation right  and not as roundly wrongly as they did on Nigeria’s  postponement  of its Valentine Day’s  election.

    Lastly  the fact  that the  US  is  withdrawing  its  troops  from Liberia  again shows  how short sighted US  African  foreign policy is.  The  US  has  the  technology    and  can  do  the research    to annihilate  Ebola  but it  is behaving like a global  big  cat  that would eat    fish  from  a pond    without  getting its paws  wet.

    Anyway  it will  not be the first  time the US  will abandon  Liberia its only  colony in  Africa  to  its  fate.  It  did so when Sergeant Samuel  Doe  took  over and civil  war  crippled the country till  ECOMOG  troops led by  Nigeria brought sanity  to Liberia. Now ebola  has seized  Liberia  and the US  which  initially  hurried to help  has  bolted.  Nigeria  meanwhile has  conquered  ebola  but is embroiled in controlling the  Boko  Haram insurgency  and  cannot help  Liberia  again. Surely  the spirit  of  the International Community is facing serious  challenges  in our part  of the world for now  and  some respite  would  be  most  welcome.

  • A President and his mediocre security chiefs

    A President and his mediocre security chiefs

    Unlike the parliamentary system of government, where the Prime Minister is only first among equals in a body of ministers picked from parliament, most of the key officials in government under the presidential system are appointed at the discretion of the President with the constitutional requirement of confirmation by the National Assembly. Under the presidential system, therefore, the quality of heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies will often reflect the intellectual capabilities, moral integrity, statesman-like wisdom and patriotic instincts of the President. A President with a high quotient of these qualities will naturally seek and appoint the ablest and most competent men and women to assist in achieving his vision for the nation.

    An intellectually challenged and patriotically famished Presidency which is deficient in vision and integrity is also naturally likely to attract men of the lowest intellectual, professional and moral calibre into government. For one, such a Presidency is most unlikely to appoint officials of superior capability especially when the outsize ego of the overall boss far exceeds his natural capacities. In such a situation, he is unlikely to be intelligent enough to realize that aides of the most sublime qualities in high office can only boost the quality of governance for which the President will naturally take credit. Furthermore, even those aides of high ability in the administration will most likely deliberately climb down to the Lilliputian mental environment in which they find themselves to keep their jobs. The implication will be a rudderless administration systematically descending from one level of absurdity to even more atrocious depths of theatrical tragi-comedy till it inevitably self-destructs.

    It is certainly only under a presidency like that of Dr Goodluck Jonathan that a country can be so unfortunate to appoint and keep in office such men of superlative mediocrity as the National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki and the current team of service chiefs. Under their collective leadership, a rag tag band of Boko Haram ragamuffins have consistently and continuously run rings round and routinely humbled an ordinarily invincible Nigerian military machine in the embattled North-east region of the country. Mutinies in the Nigerian military have been embarrassingly high in recent times. Stories have been rife of under-equipped and demotivated soldiers reluctant to engage insurgents they would normally rout in more auspicious circumstances.

    The way the military high command handled its recent collaboration with the Jonathan presidency to abort the polls previously scheduled for today and the 28th of this month only demonstrates the manifest ineptness of the service chiefs. Even if they wanted to help an embattled President fearful of a humiliating electoral loss, the NSA and service chiefs could have gone about it in a strategically smarter and less self-indicting way. First, the NSA publicly advocated postponement of the polls to enable a more widespread distribution of Permanent Voters Cards by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). When the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, was resolute on the preparedness of the commission to hold the elections on the scheduled dates, the NSA and service chiefs now informed INEC that they could not provide security for the exercise. They needed to concentrate their energies for the next six weeks, they claimed, to crush the Boko Haram insurgency.

    Did the military high command think through this move with characteristic clinical military precision? Their professional acuity was unfortunately blunted by wanton and irresponsible partisanship. What are the implications of the NSA’s letter to INEC? First, it amounted to an indictment of Dr Jonathan and the PDP which have been unable to provide the country with a police force capable of meeting its constitutional responsibilities over the last 16 years without the unconstitutional intervention of the military in the statutory responsibilities of the police. Second, it was a self-indictment of the military leadership, which has confessed to its inability to fulfil its constitutional obligations to the country.

    Third, if the military can crush in six weeks an insurgency that has festered for six years, it makes itself vulnerable to suspicions and insinuations that it had the capacity to do so all along but had deliberately failed to act till a moment like this for partisan reasons. If so, the military leadership can be held responsible for partisan dereliction of duty that has led to loss of thousands of lives as well as loss of Nigerian territory to insurgents. Fourth, in announcing to the whole world that it cannot provide security for elections in Nigeria for the next six weeks because it is concentrating all its energies and resources on fighting insurgency in the North-east, the military has sent a dangerous signal to unpredictable terrorists abroad that other parts of Nigeria may be vulnerable during the period. This is unpardonable military tactlessness.

    Fifth, the postponement of the elections is the greatest psychological victory the military high command has so unintelligently handed Boko Haram since the commencement of the insurgency. It shows that the terrorists are achieving their objective of disrupting normalcy not just in one region but the whole of Nigeria. They will greatly celebrate this victory. In countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, also faced by insurgency challenges, elections have been successfully held on schedule to deny terrorists any such satisfaction, which implies that they are winning.

    But then, are there any lessons the opposition can learn from the unfolding tragic episode? I think so. First, the Jonathan presidency has deliberately divided, bought over and severely weakened potent civil society groups in the last six years. The opposition should have been empowering and working with new civil society groups and coalitions to protect democracy at moments like this. Secondly, the opposition should have continued to step up the pressure for the deepening of electoral reforms particularly the measures suggested by the Justice Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reforms Committee to strengthen the institutional autonomy of INEC. Dr Jonathan has only capitalised in the slackening of the struggle for deeper electoral reforms to seek to manipulate existing weaknesses to his electoral advantage. Third, neither the opposition nor the media has any excuse for not monitoring INEC’s handling of Permanent Voters Cards more closely and blowing the whistle early enough for identified anomalies to be addressed.

    Can Dr Jonathan get away successfully with his current efforts to manipulate the elections in his favour? I do not think so. The weight of public opinion is too much against him. Indeed, his complicity in the postponement of the elections has only further exposed his administration’s vulnerable underbelly. The truth is that the all-powerful Nigerian President has demonstrated a visceral fear of people’s power by desperately trying to avoid elections by all means. A President who won and celebrated a pan-Nigerian victory in 2011 is obviously scared of a pan-Nigerian defeat in 2015. It is a grand irony. This unprecedented presidential fear of elections is itself a great victory for the Nigerian people. Dr Jonathan cannot postpone the ever increasing momentum for change forever.

    Furthermore, history is not on Dr Jonathan’s side. All Nigerian leaders before him who tried one form of tenure elongation or the other failed abysmally. He will not be an exception. In attempts at electoral manipulation and tenure elongation of this nature, there are always unanticipated consequences that the manipulators are not prepared for. For instance, are Dr Jonathan and his accomplices sure that all PDP members are with them on this project? How are they sure that some PDP members are not silently rooting for a Buhari presidency?

    Again, have those engaged in these manipulations pondered the implications of the brazen utilization of the military for partisan purposes? A cardinal lesson of Nigerian history is that it is when partisan politics intervenes in the Nigerian military through the nefarious activities of unscrupulous politicians that the military are opportune to intervene in politics. Let no Nigerian politician, least of all Dr Jonathan, think that the Nigerian military has any special love for them. The military professionals are trained experts in the art of camouflage. As Chief Adisa Akinloye perceptively noted in 1983, there are only two political parties in Nigeria – the politicians and the military. A word should be sufficient to the wise.

  • The Super Eagles of our dream

    It’s Saint Valentine Day. It’s Lover’s Day. No celebration because I will be remembering my son Oloruntoba Falode, who was killed in Dubai in one of the most bizarre circumstances on February 15. My son, you must be wondering? Oloruntoba Falode is Aisha Falode’s son who was pushed down from a 17-storey building in the aftermath of last year’s Valentine Day.

    Sad to think it is already one year with no trace of Oloruntoba’s killers. But on Sunday (February 15), I will attend the special one year thanksgiving/remembrance service for Toba at trinity House, Zion Centre, Water Corporation Road, off Ligali Ayorinde Street, Oniru beach Area from 9.30 am. I’m still in shock even though it is over a year since Toba’s demise. I hope I can find the courage to meet with Toba’s mother’s Aisha. Take heart Aisha. Toba is in safe hands and resting in perfect peace. I digress!

    Most of our players and indeed coaches think they are doing us a favour by playing for the country. The players reckon that they are leaving their European clubs which have better match bonuses to play for the country for pittance, which is what the $5,000 or $10,000 they get amounts to. Many would have dumped the Super Eagles for their European clubs but for the international clause which makes it mandatory for them to have played at least 75 per cent of their national team’s matches to qualify for a new deal.

    Eagles have been tottering because most of the players are no longer motivated to give their best. Many of them have been through two World Cups; others three. These groups have won the Africa Cup of Nations, played in the semi-finals and have at least two bronze medals in their wardrobes from third-place finishing at previous Africa Cup of Nations.

    As for the coaches, they have seen it all for club and country. They feel that the country is perpetually indebted to them, simply because they played football in their youthful days. How about the other athletes? What of the soldiers who get killed defending the country? What of the policemen and women who get killed by bandits in their duty posts?

    What our players fail to understand is that most of them rose to stardom using our national teams. Rather than damage the podium through heart-wrenching performance, isn’t it advisable that they bow out honourably?

    Indeed, it is about time chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) planned send forth matches for our ageing stars. It is ridiculous and unfair that stars, such as the late Rashidi Yekini, Stephen Keshi, Sunday Oliseh et al were not pulled out of the national team with pomp and ceremony, given their awesome contributions to the game. It is also laughable that the ceremony designed to send forth Austin Jay Jay Okocha from the Super Eagles turned out to be a water polo game than a soccer match because of the waterlogged pitch at the Warri Stadium.

    Except we celebrate our stars through such send forth games, those deserving of such a ceremony would remain in the Eagles, not to contribute but to influence the younger players. These long-serving players are the ones who introduce the bad things of the past into the team. Truth be told, Eagles are perpetually enmeshed in crises because of the “landlords,” who remain in the team because of their past contributions, not what they exhibit now.

    Except we clear the Eagles deck of its rot, nothing enduring would be achieved. We must punish those who held us hostage at the Brazil 2014 World Cup. It is the only way that we can show them and indeed others that what they did was unacceptable. The bane of the Eagles is indiscipline. They are quick to protest for reasons that bother on a systemic failure. The leaders of these crises should know now that things cannot change. So, if they must be members of the Eagles, they should be made to sign codes of conduct to guide their activities in camp, just as it is done in their European clubs.

    The NFF must offer what it can easily afford than playing to the gallery. It is foolhardy to tell the players that they would be paid $10,000 each for matches won and later pay $5,000. And the only way the players/NFF feud can be resolved is for the Glasshouse chiefs to disclose the details of the Code of Conduct to Nigerians. This way, it will be easy to apportion blames during crises.

    Nigeria is blessed with talents at the grassroots. The problem starts with having the template to fish out the players through competitions and training programmes. It is through such programmes that games masters are trained to teach the kids the right way to play games not only soccer. With such awareness around the country, it becomes expedient for the NFF through the state FAs to have data bases for the players discovered.  Those exceptional ones can be nurtured and exposed to all the national teams.

    We have wasted seven months since our exit from the 2014 World Cup trying to find out what went wrong with the Eagles in Brazil. The government chose the wrong option by hounding the last NFF President, Aminu Maigari, out of office. The fallout of that decision massively impacted on how the Eagles prosecuted the qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, which the Elephants of Cote d’ Ivoire lifted in Malabo on Sunday night by beating Black Stars of Ghana 9-8 on penalties after the 120 minutes encounter.

    Seven months on, nothing has changed for the Eagles, with no one sure of the next man to handle the team for the friendly games in March. NFF’s Technical Committee boss Felix Anyansi Agwu told the media in Abuja on Tuesday that he body recommended the retention of Stephen Keshi as the chief coach. But the Big Boss said he had not been spoken to about the decision – as at Tuesday.

    Agwu ought to have told us if the contract with Keshi is a continuation of the N5 million monthly salary or the improved one of N7 million, which was paid to the coach by Sports Minister Tammy Danagogo? Agwu should have told us the duration of the contract. Will NFF go ahead with its plan of a pay cut for Keshi since the team isn’t busy now? How will the coaches’ salaries be paid? He should have told us these – and more.

    Whispers from the Glasshouse suggest that Keshi won’t be given a freehand to run the team, like in the past, as he would have to work in tandem with the NFF Technical Committee. Again, Keshi won’t pick his lieutenants. He will work with assistant coaches picked by his employers. These are very tough conditions. Will Keshi accept the offer?

    My suggestion to the NFF is for them to give Keshi the job since they are stuck to him but all our age-grade coaches should serve as his assistants. Keshi won’t frown at the decision to work with Samson Siasia as his assistant coach. Garba Manu will be the second assistant coach.  Emmanuel Amuneke should also be in the Eagles’ technical crew since he monitors the youth in our domestic league. A quartet of coaches – Keshi, Siasia, Manu and Amuneke – is one many African countries don’t have. They excelled as Eagles stars and played the game at the highest level, especially Amuneke who played for Barcelona. What this setting does for all our national teams is that the coaching techniques will be the same and it will be easier for the Eagles to fill gaps noticed in the team, using the exceptionally good players in the age-grade teams.

    An Eagles bench that has Keshi, Siasia, Amuneke and Manu putting heads together will get results. I also think that Keshi will not discard suggestions from Siasia and/or Manu in the course of matches since he knows their level of competence.

    There won’t be any leadership tussle under this arrangement because everyone has his team. What happens is that if the Eagles have a competition and the others are not busy, they will join Keshi in preparing the team. The essence of this arrangement is that the Eagles need a player in any position, Siasia and Manu will contact the player(s) who can fill that position at short notice.

    Nigeria is the only country where the senior national team is not measured by the number of domestic league players in it. This doesn’t encourage growth since the exceptional players in the domestic game fall easily for slavish contracts from shylock agents, all in the name of being tagged foreign-based players.

    In the event that any of the coaches isn’t comfortable with the arrangement, the NFF should wield the big stick because they are in the national team jobs because of their pedigree as ex-internationals, not because they are not eminently qualified to hold such exalted positions. None of them has a UEFA Grade A licence, which they could acquire if they truly want to be professional coaches. NFF could enroll them for the course and ensure that they complete.

    The Eagles need a thinking bench not a docile one from which the players cannot draw inspiration when a game is going awry. A thinking bench is never bereft of ideas to unlock any stubborn opposition.

    Nigeria is the only country without a home ground for its national teams. This idea of playing our matches around the country is good, but it doesn’t give our players the home advantage which other countries’ players enjoy when they play in front of their nationals.

    One of the things that worked against the Eagles in grabbing the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations’ qualification was the frequent change in venues. When the Eagles made the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar home, they never lost a game. The Eagles may have lost to Congo DR at home in the one of the games of the qualification series, but that wasn’t enough reason for the change of venue because that defeat was the fallout of the coach’s clash with the officials of the former NFF, who boycotted the game. Are we set for our dream Super Eagles?

  • A shaky election on corruption and security

    The  coming  presidential  election  of  February 14  has  thrown Nigerian  voters  into  a quandary of  sorts,  between  the devil  and  the deep  blue  sea. The quandary  is  not  a matter  of choice between  the two major  parties or  the presidential candidates.  It  is    the fear  of  what  to  do on  a calculated disenfranchisement  that  could  be mistaken  for  voters’ apathy and an  INEC  that  seems  bent on making  the  terrain  safe  only  for the  sort  of  shaky  election  that the Council  of State has endorsed  for  it  to  conduct.  Predictably    this  unexpected political  contraption  can  only  midwife a  controversial election  result and a dangerous  future  for our fragile  democracy. This  is  not  just    pessimism,  it  is  a  realistic assessment of  our  political  situation  and  can  only  be illustrated  with  an    analogy.  That  is  that  for  now,  with this  February  14  presidential  election,  the  Nigerian  polity has  been  positioned  by  INEC, like  a suicidal  man or  a sacrificial  lamb standing in the way  of  a moving  train.  The result  is  predictable.  Again  I say  this  is  no  exaggeration and  I will  prove  that  today.

    I  start  by  identifying  the  institutions,  personalities  and issues  involved  in  this election and  how  they  have brought  the nation  to  its  knees  with  this impasse  that threw  the ball  in the court  of a body  like the Council  of  State to  decide on  the postponement  of  the  election, a  task  it deftly  passed back to  the electoral  body  responsible  for  our  elections, INEC. The institutions  are INEC, the  Presidency,  and  the  two political  parties. The  issues  are  the  two  major  campaign issues  in this election  namely  corruption  and  security  and  the personalities  are  the two  presidential  candidates  and  the conduct  of their  campaign  for  power.

    It  is  my  contention  that  INEC  has  been  deliberating pussy footing to  conduct a free  and fair  election  in  Nigeria and  the fact  that about  a third  of the  registered voters  will  not be eligible to vote  with  the  required  voters  card  is  ample proof of that. It  is that  simple.  The      fact  that INEC  is  not prepared  to postpone  the  election  to  accommodate  and  increase eligible  voter  participation  in an  election  the  nation spent over 98bn  naira  of tax  payers’  money  to organise  and  for which  INEC  has four  years  to  prepare,  is  not  only  a shame but a lesson  in negligence  and  irresponsibility. INEC  officials should  go into  the field  nation wide  and see  uncollected  voters cards because  local  INEC officials  unbelievably and clumsily  told voters with  the 2011  voters  card  that they  should  go to INEC office  because the  computer  used  for  2011  had  broken  down  and polling booths have only cards  for  those  who  registered  in December 2014. Yet  this same INEC  has  boldly  and  brazenly  told the nation  and the  Council  of state  that the election  must  go on  without a third  of registered  voters  available On  the Council  of  State  involvement  which brought  attention  to its  composition  I can  only  wonder who  advised  the Presidency  on that  because  it was  a callous  public  mischief. How  can a Council  of state  made  up  previous  coup  plotters and  those  they overthrew, as  well as those  who  cancelled  elections,  be asked to  decide  on a touchy  issue  like  postponement  of  an election like  the one we are  talking about?. The  Council  from  its composition has  no  locus  or  legitimacy    in this sort  of thing because  its  composition draws  back  the hand  of  the clock  in our march  towards  democracy, as the pictures  of  the  members  at the  meeting in the media  brought  back  painful  and  bad  memories of our    political  past as  a nation. That  the  matter  was brought  before  the Council  could  only  have occurred  because  the Presidency  wanted  to  mischievously  highlight  the fact  that the  APC  candidate  was  a member  and drive  home    the point it has made sumptuously in its many    media adverts  that the  APC presidential    candidate  was  a former  dictator  in  power. That however  seemed  a last  ditch,  desperate  and  belated  effort because  the momentum  of change  is  moving in the direction  of this candidate regardless  of  his being  a member  of this same Council  of  State whose  role    we    found  quite  objectionable in this  matter.

    Next    is  the  role  of Presidency  in  this  postponement  saga. It  seems  the presidency  has  forgotten  that the President is  a member  of Council  of State even  though it  was  the same presidency that convened  the meeting. The  President  is  a candidate  in this election and his party the PDP  has  been  campaigning  furiously that the campaign should  be post  poned because  INEC  is  not ready.

    Does  the same  presidency think that the Nigerian  public and members of the Council  of State do  not  know  that  the President Goodluck Jonathan  of the Presidency and  the  Council  of State is the same person  as  the  presidential  candidate  of  the PDP asking for election postponement through the numerous  paid adverts that Nigerians  have  been  bombarded with  bombarded  with  in  the last one week? One  can  say  the voice  is the voice of  Jacob but  the hand  is the  hand  of  Esau but  in this  particular  instance Nigerians  are  not blind  and can see  very clearly. The  president should  know  he can not  be a judge  in his  own  case. The presidency simply  mishandled    this postponement  matter.

    On  the  two  political  parties  I  have nothing  but  commendation for the robust  campaign  they  have  mounted  against  each  other in  the quest  for  power. In  terms  of expenditure  and costs  of advertising  however  I  think  the PDP  campaign for its presidential  candidate  must  be  one  of  the most  expensive  in this  part  of  the world. Especially this week  when they  focussed on the achievements of their  candidate and  took on expensive, choice,  special  cover  position  media space in  a way  that showed  that money  was  no  problem. One  can  only wonder  if public funds  were    not being used  to  promote  their  candidate which  is an illegal act and which should  be the subject  of a probe in a  new  government. Moreso  as they  too should know  by now that  change  is imminent  given  the   public    mood  of disenchantment    and  disgust  with  their  very  extravagant media buzz  and  overbearing  razz  mattaz.

    Undoubtedly  the  major  issues  in  this election are corruption  and security.  Just  as the personalities  dominating  the elections are the  PDP  candidate, incumbent President  Goodluck  Jonathan and APC candidate retired General  Goodluck  Jonathan.  The personality  of  each  candidate  has  certainly  affected  the nature  and  content  of  the campaign. The PDP  candidate  is loquacious  and  has  shown  this  virally  on  the campaign trail.

    The APC  candidate  is taciturn  and is  not  a man  of  many  words. However,  in an election  dominated by corruption  Buhari  is truly  a five star  general  compared  to a  Lilliputan  Jonathan who  allowed  his regime  to be swamped  by  massive  corruption to  which  he  diligently  and copiously  turned  a blind  eye.

    This    has been  the hallmark  of his administration and  has now skyrocketed  to  become a huge election albatross and      the looming  nemesis  of  his  incumbency.  On  that score,  this president  has no one but himself  to blame.

    On  the handling of security, Buhari’s  credentials  speak  for  him while  the President’s  handling of  Boko  Haram  also  say volumes  on  his  capacity  in  that regard. While  Buhari  had  a military  record  of  having  driven  insurgents from  our  borders and  pursuing them into  oblivion the  incumbent  President’s handling  of Boko  Haram  has  not  in any  way  been  commendable.

    As  Commander In  Chief  he has presided  over  the loss  of our North East  to Boko  Haram’s  borderless  caliphate and  his negligence  has led  to the  AU creating  a  regional  force  to help drive  Boko Haram away from capturing more Nigerian towns  and killing our citizens  in the process. The  only valiant  thing this president has done  against Boko  Haram  insurgency  is  that he risked  his own  personal  security  in campaigning  in the North East which  he  did  not  visit when the 200 Chibok  girls  were abducted last  year, and  to where  he has  not gone since  the insurgency began. Obviously  the lure  for votes  and  political power  transcend the  loss  of  thousands  of  Nigerian lives  lost in the North  East  as  well  as  the kidnapping  of  the 200 Chibok girls  who  have  not  been  found  till  today. It  is  simply preposterous to  seek  re election  under  such  circumstances and the PDP  candidate  should know what  to expect  from Nigerians on February 14.

  • Buhari’s hour cometh?

    Buhari’s hour cometh?

    Since I wrote my piece, I have learnt that Dr. Clement Isong was not CBN governor at the time. But the substance of my write up remains unassailable.
    Enjoy.

    He is a veritable enigma. A most unlikely and unusual politician. He is a reticent, retiring persona. Politics is a very public vocation.  He is sparing with his words. The successful politician is often loquacious. Like the trained soldier, the skilled politician is often a master of intrigue and deception. He can be blunt and truthful to a fault. I write of none other than the man of the moment – General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    In approximately six weeks, the ascetic General leads his party in an epic electoral encounter with the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). In his discipline, focus, tenacity and stubborn commitment to principle, Buhari reminds one of the immortal Chief Obafemi Awolowo. But unlike Awo, there are strong indications that Buhari is unlikely to end up as “the best president Nigeria never had”.

    In spite of his prodigious talent, Awo never succeeded in building a national pan-Nigerian platform to actualize his ambition of leading Nigeria. In the APC, Buhari has such a platform that has made his candidacy a viable proposition and his emergence as President a very real possibility. Buhari’s fate has in many ways been tied with that of Nigeria over the last several decades.

    He fought in the civil war to preserve Nigeria’s territorial integrity. He was once Military Governor of the North-Eastern State that now comprises Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi and Gombe states. He led the clinical military operation that decisively crushed the Maitatsine extremist Islamic uprising in Kano between 18th and 29th December 1980. When rebels from Chad invaded part of the country during the second republic, the General’s troops not only repelled but pursued them right up to Ndjamena until he was recalled by a dithering President Shehu Shagari.

    By 1983, the politicians had effectively dug the grave for democracy by the sheer scale of their corruption, impunity and utter disregard for the rule of law. General Buhari emerged as the Head of a corrective military regime that dislodged the leprous political class and sought to restore the country to sanity.  Unable to cope with the alleged puritanical rigidity of Buhari and his deputy, General Tunde Idiagbon, the regime was overthrown by successors who led the country down the slopes of economic, political and moral debauchery from which she is yet to recover.

    Ever since the return to civilian rule in this political dispensation, the promise of democracy has largely continued to elude Nigerians substantially because of the lack of competent, visionary, disciplined and morally untainted leadership at the centre. The General has offered himself for service three times at the polls without success. Not only has all kind of mud been thrown at him, he has often been the victim of brazen electoral manipulation.

    At last it appears that the Daura-born General’s hour of fulfilment is at hand. He has emerged as his party’s presidential flag bearer in transparent, credible and competitive primaries. All his opponents at the primaries have rallied to his support. He is running on a platform more viable and formidable than he has ever done before. He seems tailor-made to counter the twin demons of insecurity and corruption that constitute the greatest bane of the country today.

    It is impossible for Buhari’s opponents to credibly question his personal integrity and unblemished record of incorruptibility. His light in that respect shines in the darkness. The darkness can neither comprehend nor extinguish it. Buhari has kept a disciplined distance from the PDP since 1999, a rare feat in a polity where everyone scrambles to identify with the resource-laden centre and to be in opposition is anathema. He has refrained from joining those northern politicians clamouring clannishly for power to return to the north. He has put himself forward for service simply on the basis of his personal merit.

    As is always the case, Buhari and the APC should expect their opponent to viciously attack his person and character. Anyone in their shoes would do the same. They cannot win in a campaign based on issues. They will thus dredge up the General’s alleged ‘past sins’ and seek his political crucifixion. Luckily, the renowned virologist and consistent social critic, Professor Tam David West of the University of Ibadan has responded copiously to these allegations, ruthlessly debunking them in his book, ‘The Sixteen ‘Sins’ of General Muhammadu Buhari’.

    Like the meticulous and clinical scientist that he is, Professor David West itemises the allegations against Buhari and effectively debunks each and every one of them. The APC must find a way of getting this book to as many Nigerians as possible before the election. Professor David West’s weapons are facts, figures, photographs and incisive logic. His capacity for documentation and record keeping is as impressive as that of the legendary late Chief Gani Fawehinmi. Now, is Buhari a saint? No. Let that mortal without sin cast the first stone. Was the military government led by Buhari without fault or blemish? No one says so. But Buhari’s alleged ‘sins’ pale into insignificance beside the gross impunity and moral perversion being witnessed in the country today.

    Those mortally afraid of a Buhari presidency have over the years sought to tag him as an Islamic fundamentalist. Incidentally, Professor Tam David West, a Christian from the Niger Delta was Minister of Petroleum in the Buhari/Idiagbon administration. Other Christian Ministers in Buhari’s military government include General Domkat Bali (Defence), Dr Onaolapo Soleye (Finance), Dr Emmanuel Nsan (Health), Commodore Sam Omeruah (Information), Patrick Koshoni (Works) and Chike Offodile (Justice). Dr Clement Isong, a Christian was Central Bank Governor. These were certainly key offices.

    Christians appointed as Military Governors under Buhari were Allison Madueke (Anambra), Jeremiah Useni (Bendel), Michael Bamidele (Ondo), Oladipo Diya (Ogun), David Mark (Niger), John Atom Kpera (Beune), Dan Archibong (Cross Rivers), Ike Nwachukwu (Imo), Oladayo Popoola (Oyo), Bitrus Atukum (Plateau) and B.L. Letimah (Rivers). Of the 19 military governors at the time 11 were Christians, seven were Muslims and one, Gbolahan Mudasiru of Lagos State was a Grail Messenger.

    Professor David West tells the following interesting story on page 22 of his book, “In 1984 (Geneva), as a Christian Oil Minister, and consequently the leader of the Nigerian delegation, I made OPEC to halt its conference (meeting) for Christian members to go home and celebrate Christmas. A meeting was scheduled for 25 December 1984. Their Excellencies obliged, but not without some objections by some member countries. On my return from Geneva, I reported to the Head of State, General Buhari, what happened in Geneva.  He did not object at all. He even sent me handsome Christmas presents”. Would that be the attitude of a religious fanatic?

    Equally enlightening is the following account by Professor David West on page 26 “In early 1984, at a State Banquet at State House, Marina, Lagos, in honour of a visiting ‘Number Two’ in a North African intensely Islamic state, General Buhari was most generously offered $4 billion interest free financial aid. Buhari in his characteristic humility expressed very sincere appreciation and gratitude to our brother North African Head of State. But he most elegantly refused to accept the generous, huge financial assistance: ‘We (Nigeria) will pull ourselves up by our boot traps’. The $4 billion generosity was double what the country was negotiating with the IMF under Shagari with all the terrible conditionalities”. Ah! Just imagine if Nigeria had persisted on that path of discipline, self-reliance and sanity.

    It is unfortunate that the manipulation of religion for political purposes has reached unprecedented heights under the Jonathan presidency. But as Professor David West also rightly noted “The pleasant Nigerian reality is that no Muslim Head of State can make Nigeria an Islamic state; and no Christian Head of State can make Nigeria a Christian State” because “the essential or the constitutional secularity of the Nigerian state has not changed”. The good thing is that things have degenerated so badly under President Jonathan’s watch that religion is unlikely to serve as the opium of the electorate in next month’s election.

  • A bad dream

    Tomorrow in Malabo, a new Africa Cup of Nations champion will be crowned. Will it be the Elephants of Cote d’ Ivoire or the Black Stars of Ghana? The winner won’t be Nigeria’s senior soccer team, Super Eagles. And no reference has been made about the Eagles since the Africa Cup of Nations began in January beyond being the defending champions. It has been a bad dream for soccer-crazy Nigerians.

    Many people don’t watch the AFCON matches because it would remind them of the Eagles’ shambolic showing in the qualifiers. Some have taken solace in celebrating the fall of Congo and South Africa to massage their egos since both countries ensured that the Eagles watched the competition on television.

    Despite the Eagles’s absence, the continental soccer tournament didn’t lose its excitement – the upsets, suspense and drama. Winners celebrated. Losers took their fate on the chin, except for the Tunisians, who have been the spoilsports of the competition with the way their players and officials have handled the controversial penalty kick awarded the hosts, Equatorial Guinea, to tie the game at 1-1 in one of the quarter-finals.

    The Tunisians took the law into their hands by beating the referees, their opponents and their fans. They destroyed properties within and outside the stadium premises. The organisers of the competition, the Confederation of Africa football (CAF), are toying with banning the Tunisians from the 2017 edition. CAF chiefs also want to ban the guilty players and officials.

    The Tunisians alleged that the Equatorial Guineans were favoured by the referee because they are the hosts. Very interesting, if you ask me, given what happened in favour of the Tunisians in 2004. Let me remind you, dear readers, that Tunisia hosted the 2004 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. And what happened last week Saturday was the diabolical replay of the injustice which the Tunisians enjoyed in 2004, when they hosted the championship.

    So, it hurts, dear Tunisians? The Tunisians have forgotten how they refused to play Nigeria’s national anthem before the semi-final game between the Super Eagles and the Carthage Eagles at the Rades Stadium. The Tunisians played our old anthem “Nigeria we hail thee, our own dear native land…” We were all shocked because we had played matches before that semi-final game with the correct anthem “Arise o compatriots…” But this isn’t the story I want to tell, dear readers.

    In that semi-final game, Austin Okocha shot a depleted Nigerian side ahead in the 64th minute after Nwankwo Kanu had waltzed through the Tunisian defenders only to be brought down inside the 18-metre box. Okocha stepped forward to convert the kick into a goal. But Republic of Benin referee Coffi Codja had other ideas when he whistled for a dubious penalty kick in favour of the Tunisians, which resulted in the equaliser. The equaliser came in the 76th minute raising the poser why the referee was in a hurry to save the Tunisians.

    History has an uncanny way of repeating itself. The Tunisians have by the conduct shown that they are bad students of history; otherwise, they should have taken what happened against Equatorial Guinea with equanimity.

    Codjia was condemned by the international media, with tapes of that game going viral. Dear reader, you can still watch this game on You-tube to see what happened on that ill-fated night. The decision highlighted major discussions for a very long time because Codjia at that time was rated the best African referee. Nigerians didn’t take the laws into their hands. We left the stadium for our homes while our players still exchanged jerseys with their opponents. Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha et al took the

    traditional photographs and signed autographs.

    The tape of Codjia’s show-of-shame in favour of the Tunisians must be in CAF’s archives. I wish CAF chiefs could show the Tunisians the tape to show them how their fans misbehaved during the game. The fans had whistles, which they blew to confuse our players. Aside, these fans had laser torchlight, which they flashed into the eyes of the Nigerian players during the better-to-be-forgotten game. Indeed, each time a corner kick was to be taken, the rays from several torch lights which the fans hit the eyes of the Eagles goalkeeper. It was part of their ploy to score a goal as the game went through its course.

    I still feel that the penalty kick which Osaze Odemwingie lost was because of the tense atmosphere inside the stadium and the unsportsmanlike conduct of the home fans using their whistles, cat calls etc to distract him. If Nigeria hadn’t sent home Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Victor Agali and Celestine Babayaro for indiscipline, Eagles would have won the game because these three lads would have ignored the fans’ antics to score their penalty kicks, like Okocha did.

    Nigeria lost the game on penalties. Most of us (Nigerians) in the stadium were ironically happy that the Eagles lost because that was the reason why we left the premises without injuries and even deaths. Yes, it would have been that serious, given what we faced entering the stadium and what we encountered in the course of the game, starting with the Tunisia FA chiefs’ refusal to play our correct national anthem. Many people argued that the act of playing the wrong anthem was a ploy to insult out sensibilities since we had played three group matches and a quarter-final game in the competition before the Tunisian tie. For the Tunisians, all was fair in warfare. Rightly so, Nigeria protested to CAF on two grounds; the organiser’s refusal to play our national anthem and the Tunisians’ conduct before, during and after the game.

    Nothing happened from CAF; nor was there any apology for not playing our national anthem. The referee (Codjia) continued handling matches until he retired, despite that ignoble penalty that helped the hosts tie the game against Nigeria. If you ask me, it serves the Tunisians right, what happened to them in the game against Equatorial Guinea. When referee Cudjia favoured them 11 years ago, the Tunisians called it human error and celebrated. I wonder why they are not seeing the referee’s decision now as a human mistake. Different strokes, you may say, dear reader.

    Recall again in 2006 AFCON semi-final in Egypt where the hosts locked horns with Senegal. No prize for guessing who the hosts were. The Egypt versus Senegal game had a Cameroonian referee Divine Evehe, who overruled himself after pointing to the penalty spot for a kick to be taken against the hosts Egypt.

    It was a blatant foul play on Senegal’s Diomansy Camara in the dying minutes of the game with scores at 1-1. Egypt eventually won the game 2-1. So, why are the Tunisians trying to make what happened to them in Equatorial Guinea look like a deliberate attack on them?

    Expectedly, CAF’s disciplinary board has fined Tunisia $50,000 for “insolent, aggressive and unacceptable behaviour of the players and officials of the Tunisian team” during the quarter-final match against host country Equatorial Guinea. They will also pay for the damaged property at the Estadio de Bata last Saturday.

    CAF ordered Tunisia to send a letter of apology, or provide evidence of the unfairness of CAF and their officials, before midnight Thursday. Failure to do so will lead to additional sanctions, including a possible ban from the 2017 Cup of Nations, according to the communiqué to the Tunisia FA. But the Tunisians refused to apologise. The world is watching to see what CAF chieftains will do to the Tunisians. CAF also condemned the conduct of Tunisian Football Federation President Wadie Jary, who entered the pitch to criticise the referee.

    Perhaps the difference between what happened in 2004 and 2006 is that the Referees’ Committee of CAF has suspended Seechum Rajindrapasard for six months, following his shambolic handling of the quarter-final game between hosts Equatorial Guinea and Tunisia.

    The decision was taken at an extraordinary meeting held at the CAF headquarters in Bata, Equatorial Guinea on the 2nd February, 2015, where the CAF Referees Committee reviewed the performance of the referee.

    The Referees Committee noted with regret the poor performance of the referee, including an unacceptable failure to maintain calm and ensure proper control of the players during the match.

    The suspension is immediate, which means Rajindrapasard will no longer officiate at the Orange AFCON 2015. His name will also be removed from the CAF “A” Elite Referees panel. Good decisions, no doubt, but I hope this would be the last of a referee’s inefficiency at the Africa Cup of Nations.

     CAF chiefs must be praying for an end to the competition’s bad dream following the appalling conduct of the Equatorial Guinea players and officials over a purported bad call from the referee in the 82nd minute in the second semi-finals against Ghana’s Blacks Stars on Thursday night. The Ghanaians were leading comfortably. The conduct of the players and coaches instigate their fans to storm the pitch in search of the referee’s head. The game was held up for 20 minutes during which the fans rained all manner of objects unto the pitch.

    The referee commenced the game in line with the rules to allow for the remaining eight minutes and Ghana held their 3-0 lead till the end. Another big decision for CAF for a troubled competition which had to be shifted to Equatorial Guinea, when the previous hosts Morocco backed out of hosting the event because of the deadly disease Ebola.

     The first backlash at Nigeria’s absence from the 2015 edition is likely victory for Yaya Toure as the next Africa Footballer of the Year. His first goal in the tournament came in the semi-final game and it was a thunderbolt that left the DR Congo dumfounded. If Cote d’ Ivoire lift the AFCON trophy and Yaya continues to steer Manchester City through its matches in the Barclays English Premier League, then he will be the obvious choice for the award, his fifth consecutive feat.

  • Pace, strength but no stars

    Pace, strength but no stars

    Equatorial Guinea has shown that Africa has what it takes to host big soccer competitions at short notice, with the remarkable manner the matches of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations have been played without hitches.

    The few hitches so far have resulted from the pressure on the pitches in two centres, no thanks to the hurried manner in which the facilities were completed. Consequently, two matches will be played today and tomorrow. Indeed, today at Bata, hosts Equatorial Guinea will seek to grab a quarter-finals ticket by beating Tunisia. The game had been slated for Ebebiyin but was moved to Bata. And Sunday’s quarter-finals between group c winners and Group D runners-up would be played in Malabo instead of Mongomo.

    Interestingly, the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF), in a statement on Tuesday, said: “The two matches (in Ebebiyin and Mongono) have been adversely affected by the combination of wear and tear from six games played or to be played in each of them and the unstable weather conditions seen lately.”

    Good talk CAF.  This is a departure from the buck-passing of the past. CAF knows that the hosts saved it the embarrassment of postponing the event, had they opted out of hosting it like Nigeria and two other countries did.  Until the competition began, some Europe-based African players launched subtle protest about the possibilities of hosting the event in Malabo and its cities because of the fear of the dreaded Ebola disease. Most of them asked CAF to postpone the competition. Others demanded another country should host the event at a later date.

    But CAF stuck to its guns. The event has turned out to be a thriller and easily the most competitive Africa Cup of Nations, with the closeness in the qualification race. A couple of games will be decided by the toss of the coin, one of the technicalities used to determine eventual winners of competitions when all the known indices fail to produce a winner.

    The results have been very close, even as pundits have marvelled at the pace of the matches. These purists point at the fighting spirit of the players, their passion as well as their determination and dedication. Countries with big ego players have been taught the lessons of their lives as they have been made to dig deep to secure draw results in games where they were tipped as favourites.

    The classic between Cote d’ Ivoire and Cameroon must have told the Ivoirens that they need to rebuild their team if they hope to make any impact in the game. Players, such as African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure, can no longer produce the form that we see him exhibit with Manchester City while playing for his country. No disrespect to Yaya, who tries to give his best during matches for Ivory Coast. But there is a limit to what a tired body can give.

    The Cameroonians may be out of the competition but they have a new team that can reproduce the golden era of the country’ football, if the new boys are kept together and exposed to quality matches. What this trend shows is that there are a lot of players in the continent. The problem with local coaches across Africa is the difficulty in picking these rookies at the grassroots in preference for the established stars. Our local coaches have refused to update their knowledge to complement the players’ skills, especially those of them who are in Europe.

    Little wonder we are talking of Equatorial Guinea, Congo Dr and Congo Brazzaville Little wonder we are talking of Equatorial Guinea, Congo Dr and Congo Brazzaville qualifying for the quarter-finals. What this also shows is that the game is growing in Africa, more so when some established countries, such as Senegal, are at the African soccer showpiece without some of their celebrated stars, most of whom were dropped because of their attitude, loss of form or being bad influence on the budding youths in their squads.

    Besides, most of the countries that qualified for the quarter-finals were coached by foreigners – a fact that lends credence to the claims that African coaches need to undergo refresher courses to learn the tricks of the game. It also shows that African players have grown in their trade, making it absolutely impossible for our domestic coaches to impact the kind of knowledge that they are exposed to in their European clubs.

    The dearth of players at the grassroots is also traced to the fact that African coaches don’t take the time to teach the young boys and girls the basics of the game. The result is that most of the new lads that we have seen in Equatorial Guinea have pace, strength and the will to give their best but no skill to excite the fans. This lack of skills – except for a few of the players – has accounted for the low score results of matches.

    I’m not surprised by the glut of foreign coaches among the African countries. The trend is in sync with global best practices where if you don’t have the men to do the job, then seek quality tacticians until such a time when your nationals can compete favourably with these better exposed foreigners.

    It must be noted that most of the countries with foreign coaches have had them take charge for the first time in this competition. What it means is that these countries could get better, especially those countries that have qualified for the quarter-finals, making the race for the five tickets allocated to Africa for the 2018 World Cup in Russia one to follow with keen interest.

    It is difficult to state categorically the best African team in this tournament. But countries like Algeria and Cote d’ Ivoire have built on the gains of their participation at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. They either changed the coaches or dropped bad influence players or both to rejuvenate the sides that we are watching. They may be slow to find their rhythm during the three games they have played. But you could see a bright future. The Ivoirens would be happier for it watching their coach change Yaya Toure in the closing stages of the game against Cameroon, yet the Ivoriens still won. Such an action would have been tagged a taboo in the past.

    On paper, Algeria looks like the odds-on-favourite to replace Nigeria as the next Africa Cup of Nations winners. Both they have to beat Cote d’ Ivoire, easily the game of the four quarter-final matches. If the Algerians win the trophy, their template will serve as the model for confused countries like Nigeria to copy. The Algerians have rebuilt their team from a fallen dynasty of spent stars which they held on to. It dawned on the Algerians that something radical had to be done with their senior national team when they were beaten by hitherto rookie football nations in Africa.

    But is anyone missing the “big-for-nothing” Super Eagles in Malabo? Who will miss players who specialise in protesting against everything without thinking of the odium such acts pour this country? Who will miss players who cause their nationals heartaches enroute winning matches? Who will miss the Eagles whose coaches are all-knowing and impervious to change? Who will miss the team where coaches sell wrist watches to players at exorbitant rates? Who will miss players who love to mix the serious business of playing soccer with attending discos?

    In Malabo, we have not heard of cases where football federation chiefs and the players or coaches are quarrelling? We have not been told of instances where players are talking on telephone with their country’s presidents before and after games? We have not read stories where players and coaches bar their countries’reporters from reporting their activities the way ours do?

    No stories of players jumping the hotel’s fence to boogie at night clubs. No football federation chief is keeping vigil to prevent players from sneaking into other rooms to visit girlfriends like our Eagles did at the Tunisia 2004 Africa Cup of Nations. There are no threats of players and coaches seeking audience with the FA chiefs, sports ministers and highly placed government officials to know how much they would be paid for matches not yet played. No scenes where coaches blatantly wear sports apparels in conflict with the country’s attires at training sessions and pre-match and post-match conferences. Not at all. Oh! How we miss our dear Super Eagles.

    Everything emanating from Malabo and the smaller cities where the matches are being played bothers on football. Government officials are not flying into Malabo in droves to support their national teams.

    Have we learnt a lesson from missing out on the Africa Cup of Nations? No. We have spent the last three months toying with the simple task of sacking the team’s coaches. A lull exists that may continue until a clearer picture emerges on the political scene. By October when the 2018 World Cup qualifiers begin, we will still be rebuilding when the last eight nations at the quarter-finals stage at this year’s edition of AFCON would have found their range, scoring goals with aplomb.

    These quarter-finalists will spend the next six months correcting the flaws they have noticed through international friendly games while Nigeria will be struggling with who should coach the Eagles or not.

    If Nigeria is to participate in the crucial soccer competitions for 2018, beginning with the Africa Cup of Nations, then the government must allow the NFF pick a coach it can control. This is the key to success as a ship cannot have two captains.