The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • An anatomy of Lagos Apc primaries

    Is Nigeria Democratising?’ That question is hardly original. It is an adaptation of the title    of a public lecture, ‘Is Africa Democratising?’ delivered by the late Professor Claude Ake shortly before his tragic demise in an air crash in November 1996. The famous political economist contended that dictators in Africa legitimising their rule through farcical elections or citizens voting without choosing in mechanical and barren electoral processes could not be described as ‘democratising’. He argued that the periodic rotation of a fundamentally undemocratic state structure among competing sets of rapacious and parasitic elite  that ape liberal democratic motions has disempowering implications for citizens.

    Today it is even more pertinent to wonder if Nigeria is indeed democratising almost 15 years after civilian authoritarianism replaced a decade and a half of military dictatorship in 1999. We remain burdened with the crushing weight of an arrogant imperial presidency with scant regard for the rule of law. We are collectively humiliated by having in office today one of the most fascistic and embarrassingly insensitive Inspectors General of Police, Suleiman Abba, in recent memory. Critical national institutions such as the legislature, civil service and the judiciary at all levels remain servile and supine. Civil society is comatose as we daily exhibit an ever increasing capacity to absorb the most debasing treatment from oppressive masters who masquerade as servant leaders.

    We have largely inchoate, incoherent and ideologically vacuous political parties. In the biblical account, the dithering prophet Jonah is swallowed by the whale. Here in Nigeria’s fabulous centre, the presidential Jonah has swallowed the PDP whale – a far more stupendous miracle. Helplessly imprisoned in the belly of the presidency, the PDP behemoth has virtually crowned Dr Goodluck Jonathan as its sole presidential candidate. Yet, all hell is let loose. First term PDP governors are also insisting on a ‘right of first refusal’. Second term governors of the party want to either pick their successors or be handed automatic senate seats. These are all symptoms of an underdeveloped political system with a democratic content that is being systematically devalued.

    But in spite of all these, there is still a glimmer of hope. One of such promising flashes of light at the end of the tunnel is from the emergent opposition, All Progressives Congress (APC). Please don’t get me wrong. The APC is not immune from the virus of opportunism and mindless quest for power at all cost that is the bane of Nigerian politics. Yet, as it strives to displace the PDP from its position of dominance at all levels of the Nigerian polity, the contending factions, caucuses and tendencies within the APC are being forced to make necessary compromises to achieve organisational cohesion. This has made for greater democratic activism within the party, a development that may rub off positively on a complacent PDP that may be forced to sharpen its competitive edge with the emergence of a more vigorous opposition within the context of an increasingly conscious and sophisticated electorate.

    It is against this background that the APC House of Assembly and governorship primaries across the country this week acquires added significance. This is particularly so in Lagos, the jewel of the Atlantic and the Nigerian economy’s pearl of inestimable value. It was only natural that the battle for the APC governorship ticket in Lagos would be fiercely fought. It was so in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011. While Nigeria has degenerated on diverse fronts within that time frame, Lagos has recorded tremendous progress under the foundational leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (1999 – 2007) and the consolidating engineering of Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) (2007 – 2015). It was thus not surprising that at least 12 worthy members of the party threw their hats in the ring in the epic battle to succeed the widely applauded performing Governor Fashola.

    At least two tendencies were discernible in the Lagos APC governorship primaries. First, was the tendency in the party which felt that with Tinubu contesting from Lagos West Senatorial district, and Fashola from Lagos Central, the governorship ticket should be conceded this time around to Lagos East Senatorial District for fairness, equity and balance. This tendency was equally of the view that since both Tinubu and Fashola are Muslims, a Christian candidate be given an opportunity in 2015 without compromising merit. However, a more radical tendency within the Lagos APC contended that the ticket should be thrown open to all qualified aspirants as the megacity has become too cosmopolitan and urbane to be constrained by restrictive primordial considerations.

    I think a key factor that will ultimately assist the Lagos APC to overcome the inevitable fissures and frictions arising from its governorship primaries and prepare seriously for the general election was the wisdom in allowing the spirit of democracy to prevail by allowing all interested governorship aspirants to contest irrespective of their Senatorial District or religious affiliation. Thus, the APC must be proud that it could boast of such aspirants as the doughty and astute Adeyemi Ikuforiji who had offered wise leadership as Speaker of the House for eight years, Ganiyu Olawale Solomon whose experience spans the local government through the House of Representatives to the Senate, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, a brilliant systems engineer with considerable experience as an executive council member, Dr Leke Pitan, a high performing commissioner for health in the Tinubu administration, Dr Tola Kasali, another accomplished medical doctor and member of Tinubu’s cabinet, Mr Supo Sasore (SAN), a brilliant and clinical legal mind and my friend, Mr Tayo Ayinde, a skilled security strategist and shrewd businessman whose time I think still lies in the future.

    Among this array of stars, I think four factors stand the emergent candidate, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode out as the best man for the job at this time. First, Lagos has achieved tremendous infrastructural transformation over the past 14 years at inevitably high financial cost. Ambode’s skills as a chartered accountant with nearly three decades experience of managing the state’s finances from the lowest rungs to the apex of the financial system will enable him navigate the ship of Lagos safely in a period of declining oil revenues and growing economic depression. Second, his vast experience in local government administration will enable Ambode re-engineer governance at that critical level and stimulate inclusive growth at the grassroots. Third, he has a thorough knowledge of and enjoys the confidence of the civil service, which will enable him to effectively mobilize that critical work force to contribute maximally to taking Lagos to the next level. Fourth, Ambode served at critical levels in both the Tinubu and Fashola administrations and can thus be an effective bridge linking the past, the present and the future.

    Another key factor that will work in the APC’s favour at this critical transition period in Lagos is the continued restraint and maturity of key leaders like Tinubu and Fashola. Yes, they will inevitably have their own interests and preferences. But so far they have been subtle and sober thus leaving analysts no option but to second guess them or try to read their body language. This period will task to the uttermost their capacity to make necessary sacrifices and compromises to demonstrate their commitment to the progress of Lagos and the growth of their party.

    Of course, the quality of the APC candidature will also force the PDP to seek to bring forth its best material. In Senator Musliu Obanikoro, the PDP will have a candidate with considerable experience at various levels who may, however, have an uphill task explaining how he has productively utilised these opportunities to add value to Lagos and Nigeria. And in Mr Jimi Agbaje, the PDP will have a likeable candidate with negligible public managerial experience who seeks to lead a complex mega city in a time of critical global economic challenges. Can Lagos be an experimental school for leadership development? Surely, there are interesting times ahead for Lagos.

  • Rewarding failures

    If I have the opportunity to return to this planet again, I want to be a football coach. In fact, I want to coach the Super Eagles. I will strive to have the ears of the president. My friends would be those in government – governors, senators, security operatives who can reverse decisions slammed on me by overbearing employers.

    I also would want to have a minister who would pay me when my employers are being funny. Not forgetting having the president to revoke my dismissal, with my employers pleading with my successor to reject the job. I would resign my appointment in a foreign land and the whole country would beg me to return to the job with full national honours. I would coach the Eagles because there is always money to be shared after every game.

    My choice of Super Eagles is that other coaches are pushed out of their jobs without the president asking. Those sacked coaches run to the media to cry foul. Nothing happens. The best that they get are comments from concerned citizens. That is where it ends. Soon, the story is flashed in the media – the indebted coach is dead. Another great man is wasted. A page or two is published in the newspapers on the departed coach. That won’t be my portion as the Super Eagles coach, if I return to this planet.

    Our leaders surely don’t love us. They do things that suit their fancies. It doesn’t matter if such decisions run ultra vires to the laid down laws. Otherwise, how was it possible for the sports minister to arbitrarily pay a coach N14 million as salaries for two months, even as there is no contract?  For a coach whose previous salary was N5 million, what informed the increase by N2 million without the consent of the employer?

    Wouldn’t it have been appropriate for the minister to pay the coach what he earned last? Isn’t there a limit to how much the minister can arbitrarily approve? Nobody would have questioned this inappropriate decision here if the coach had excelled in his assignment. But for a man whose team failed to qualify for a big competition where we are the dethroned champions, the best the minister should have done was to pro-rate what the coach should get.

    If those who brought back the coaches had allowed NFF’s new coaching order the opportunity to rescue our qualification, maybe it wouldn’t have cost us this staggering N14 million. Add this N14 million to what was used to fly the team to and from Pointe Noire, not forgetting all the sundry expenses, then we will appreciate why the decision to repeal Decree 101 must have a clause that forbids ministers from spending NFF’s cash before it gets to the Glasshouse chieftains. Already, even before the NFF gets FIFA’s $9 million accrued to Nigeria for participating at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the body has lost $3.85 million and N14 million. This explains why the NFF is always cash-strapped and unable to account for what it gets to run the game.

    The argument from National Sports Commission (NSC) chieftains that the N14 million was paid to the coach for his colleagues is laughable. Is that how the other coaches get their pay? Don’t these other coaches have their own bank accounts? What was the ratio of payment and who ensured that they got what was approved? So many intriguing scenarios have been raised over the presence of one of the caches in Malabo. Sometimes when these government officials speak, they assume that we are all fools; otherwise since when did the coach become the team’s bursar?

    Incidentally, one of the assistant coaches whose salary ought to be part of the N14 million told The Guardian on Thursday: “I don’t know anything on the two months salaries said to have been paid to Keshi by the Sports minister. After the Eagles’ last game against South Africa, Keshi and I have not really been together. I’m ready to serve the Eagles anytime I’m given the chance.”

    So, who do we believe? Truth is the coach was paid N14 million for two months.

    Many would have thought that with the payment of the coaches’ salaries, they would stick with Nigeria. To imagine that one of the coaches is in Malabo says a lot about the hire-and-fire theory with coaching. It would be tragic if the coach sits on Equatorial Guinea’s bench next year while Nigerians sulk, watching the matches of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. I pray that it happens so that the true story about the change of decision would be known.

    The payment of N14 million ought to have shown the aforementioned coach that Nigeria is ready to do his bidding, except he is there as a guest of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). He richly deserves to be CAF’s guest, having won the Africa Cup of Nations diadem as a player and as a coach. It is true that the coach has a right to be where he chooses, especially as no deal has been struck with the NFF. Yet, he ought to have considered President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive to restore his job by shunning Equatorial Guinea’s FA chiefs’ quest for his services. He always told us that he could do anything for the president aside, the fact that he loves Nigeria so much.

    Some have argued that the coach is a friend to the head of government’s son and could have been invited by him. Correct deductions, if the argument is hinged on the fact that he still wants to work for Nigeria, having collected N14 million. But, the flipside to this poser rests with the fact that the coach travelled to Malabo without telling his employer that he would be there. If he told his employers, his travelling ticket would have been done by them and the trip made official.

    On the hindsight, he deserves to shun sentiments in deciding his future. But such sentiments informed his return to the job after his sack. He has had several running battles with his employers. He needs to move, if any opening beckons. We just hope that Nigerians can bear the pains of watching him run his new team while our dear Eagles sit at home.

     

    The President must hear this!

    The Nigeria Amateur Boxing Federation (NABA) is in the news for the wrong reasons. In the past, NABA produced boxers who distinguished themselves inside the ring, wining laurels for Nigeria. Many likened their exploits to athletics and we looked forward to watching them outpunch their rivals.

    Those glorious days are gone. The boxing gymnasium can be recognised only by the rusty equipment inside the place. The gym is home to rabbits, reptiles, rodents and other dangerous animals due to lack of competitions and practice.

    But, there is some form of resurgence in boxing here. The intrigues have been swept under the carpet. A new dawn beckons. With these new dawn have come medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. And President Goodluck Jonathan rewarded the athletes and coaches with cash and national honours.

    For the boxing coaches, the president announced N1 million cash reward. However, this writer was shocked to hear one of the coaches, Tony Konyegwachi, tell the world on television that he was paid N500,000 instead of N1 million. What could have gone wrong? Administrative charges?

    Why was such cash paid through the Boxing Federation? Why couldn’t the athletes and coaches send their account details for the money to be deposited? Who handled the cash reimbursement?

    One hopes that the minister can intervene and get those who did that ridiculous deduction to return the coach’s N500,000. It wouldn’t be a bad idea if those who tampered with the cash are reported to the EFCC. Or what do you think minister?

    Madness in the Glasshouse

     

    I thought these spurious arithmetic calculations where five people would impeach the speaker of a House of Assembly is restricted to politicians. I always have a good laugh when such topics are discussed at editorial conferences.

    I was therefore shocked to read on Thursday where a minority report has been made to cancel an election where the majority of the members voted. Four out of five members of the NFF Appeals Committee signed a document endorsing all that transpired at the body’s elections held in Warri. In this majority, the members informed us that the chairman’s minority report would be made public on Thursday.

    Since the majority upheld the elections, the media went to town with it. The aspect of the chairman’s minority report was included. Sadly, we are now faced with another round of controversy that should attract FIFA’s immediate sanctions, having been told by the world body that the last threat was our last warning.

    Why do we like to make Nigeria the laughing stock in the world? You don’t need rocket science to know that decisions taken and duly signed by four people out of five should be upheld. Can’t somebody call this man to order? We are tired of this madness. We must move forward. We are still ruing Nigeria’s failure to defend the trophy which we won last year in South Africa. Many have traced our ouster to the instability at the Glasshouse. This is the time to start working, otherwise, Nigeria will not be at the Russia 2018 World Cup. This is a warning.

  • Balance of power, terror and values

    THE presidential system in Nigeria is under serious stress nowadays and for obvious reasons. In reality it is normal for any system to have problems either structural, systemic or functional. When however, such problems threaten the very existence of a multicultural democratic society such as ours, then there is great cause for urgent concern. That was the situation in Nigeria in this last week as the nation prepared for the 2015 presidential elections with the incumbent president seeking re election. The political system is overheated with violent words and actions. The economic system is struggling with the widest income disparity in recent times even as our oil Minister becomes the president of OPEC in these times of falling oil prices. Which can only make our revenue fall and catapult our poverty stricken masses into deeper misery in the midst of plenty in the present governance dispensation.

    Our security apparatus too is in turmoil as the Army Chief refused at first to speak freely with legislators when summoned to the National Assembly while the Police Inspector General on his own visit simply refused to acknowledge the status of the Speaker, the head of the legislative institution that summoned him in the first instance. In the hallowed chambers of our Senate there are reports that 63 senators have signed on to impeach our president in a senate of 109 members. Mean while in Osogbo, the capital of Osun state, opposition leaders celebrated the second coming of the governor of the state, with the Colossus of South West politics Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu telling Nigerians to come out bravely and unseat the present president at the coming polls, as the nation has reached the nadir of suffering and frustration on the incumbent’s watch and he just must go in 2015.

    Yet, in the midst of all these high tension the presidential spokesman was reported to have said that the incumbent president is the best president that Nigeria has ever had and would be rewarded with re election in 2015. This was the same week that Boko Haram reportedly killed 48 Nigerian fish vendors at Dogon Fili, 15 kilometres from Doron Baga a fishing village on the shores of Lake Chad in Borno State. Doron Baga itself is 180 kilometres from Maiduguri and is the base of the Multi National Joint Task Force – MNJTF- made up of troops from Nigeria, Chad and Niger fighting Boko Haram in the area. Of course we still know that the over 200 abducted Chibok girls are yet to be found. Which certainly bring us face to face with the nagging question of how Nigeria got to this very sorry pass or situation, how to get out of the rut and those expected to bell the cat in this regard.

    Let me start by saying that our values in terms of morals and culture have nose dived a lot from the time we got our independence in 1960. In addition the many military interventions in our politics have polluted our political culture with corruption, lack of transparency and accountability and the political system has allowed our social capital to be destroyed by these value or cultural deterioration. By social capital I mean the beliefs, values and attitudes of a society and nation that make people trust each other and cooperate to have progress in their environment. I mean our Institutional Capital like our property and ownership laws, respect for the rule of law, our bureaucracy and government institutions, firms that employ and produce goods and services and train and compensate their staff; Knowledge Capital like universities, copy rights and think tanks; Human capital like skills, insights and capabilities and Cultural Capital which are our beliefs and goals of a society or a nation’s way of life. It is my contention that the trust of our founding fathers at independence has been betrayed such that our present leaders no longer trust each other to play by the rules and that is why our political system is so overheated that we cannot cooperate to stop Boko Haram or trust any one outside ourselves, our enclave or environment to protect us and our property. That explains why those in power rig shamelessly to stay in power and those without power rig to get in. Yet our motto as a nation is still ‘unity in diversity ‘which then at independence was based on trust which now seems to have deserted our political culture or cultural firmament for now.

    Nevertheless we can still hope that all is not lost and we should see some light at the end of our dark and gloomy cultural and political tunnel But first we must tell ourselves some home truths before the 2015 elections.

    Our present constitution is based on the presidential system of government premised on the separation of powers among the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. Each arm of government is equal and they are to cooperate and operate in between and betweext. The security services and armed forces are under the control of their civilian and elected officers and the closure of the National Assembly to legislators by the police should not have occurred. It should be unthinkable for that to happen in any democracy where actors play by the rules and respect each other. Similarly the posture of a police Inspector General refusing to acknowledge the title and presence of a Speaker in his parliament is an official effrontery on the legislature and an assault on our democracy. It is a dangerous trend and the IG has to be purged of his disdain and disrespect for constituted authority. In Mexico where 43 students disappeared the Mexican president has called for police reforms on a massive scale all over Mexico. A similar measure could be put in place here at least before the 2015 elections as police actions in the legislative fracas and the attitude of the IG have ominously created mistrust on police impartiality on the count down to the 2015 elections. It is apparent our separation of powers is under serious challenges in the way we are operating nowadays. It could be pre election syndrome or jitters for our politicians afraid of losing power in the coming elections or pre power acquisition stress for power seekers. What is needed is urgently however is strong, dedicated leadership that has respect for our constitutional separation of powers, and wields enough deterrence to make those with scant regard for the rule of law to have a quick rethink or acknowledge that they cannot operate in the same environment with such leaders in control.

    Again I want to look at three leaders in the opposition APC party because APC is the credible alternative to the PDP which has led us to the present impasse where the balance of power has not been used successfully to deter and extinguish the terror, perfidy and insurgency of Boko Haram. Which makes it extravagant too to discuss what the candidate of the ruling party has to offer since their spokesman has already deemed him the best president Nigeria has ever had and we know the buck stops on his desk for the present impasse and political hiatus.

    The three leaders are retired General Buhari, former Vice President Abubakar Atiku and the usually red capped Governor of Kano State Rabiu Musa Kwankwanso. I am ignoring the other two presidential primaries candidates because I don’t think they have any chance of getting the candidature of APC .Again like I said before on our deteriorating democratic and social values some home truths have to be said. First I acknowledge that General Buhari is the front runner in this contest because he has been head of state before and has contested for the same office twice before. But that popularity too can be an albatross. Can he be third time lucky? Must he contest for a third time? And is there a dearth of leadership with his mettle and reputation for sternness and discipline ?My answer to the three questions are a resounding No. So unless the other two candidates step down for him I think the APC should set its presidential sights elsewhere.

    On Abubakar Atiku let me first of all congratulate him for his boldness and doughtiness in changing the views of the legislature, at least the House of Representatives that the state of emergency has not worked before and should not be extended in the three states of the North East presently affected. That has made him to secure his catchment area which is Adamawa state and that has given him a locus and relevance to contest for our presidency. Obviously from his published pleas on the plight of the Nigeria state and his renowned organisational ability it is clear he will be a strong candidate to contest for the presidency. But again has he the mettle to deter Boko Haram and shift the balance of terror and deterrence against Boko Haram? I honestly do not think so especially as his home state is still part of the Killaphate of Boko Haram. He has already said that he would work with anyone picked by the party. Which I think is sporty except that this is not a time for games.

    Which leaves us with the third candidate, Rabiu Kwankwanso the Governor of Kano who really I think is the man to beat in the APC Presidential primaries, and I say this with all seriousness. Again let us go back to our stand on decaying values on democracy and institutions and the need to say the truth. In terms of the Management of institutions and political development Kwankwanso has an edge over the other two candidates. It has been acknowledged in Sociological circles that ‘Culture Matters‘ which really is the title of a book I read recently. It is said that cultural values determine human progress in any environment especially when they are linked with innovation, competition and democracy. Kwankwanso who is 58 years old presents a new face with modern achievements in Kano State and should be encouraged to give a new face to leadership in Nigeria. To me he should be given a chance to lead just as the Americans stunned the world a while back by choosing Barak Obama the first black President and a Professor of Law. Kwankwanso is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, a two term Governor who has fixed and is re fixing Kano such that the masses of that state know – Kano is working. He was a Federal Minister of Defence. Let us look forward to man educated enough in engineering to fix machines, structures and systems to bring his immense practical and professional knowledge, experience and innovation to fix our decaying political system and institutions That is the change we need to be hopeful for the future from 2015. He, really, is the Man to beat. So let the Presidential Primaries of Hope in the APC begin.

  • Let’s face facts

    Nigerians are interesting when it comes to supporting the beautiful game. They spare no words in celebrating our soccer teams, especially the Super Eagles. Woe unto you if you dare express any form of warning anytime the Eagles are flying.

    For the Nigerian soccer fan, victory, no matter how it comes, is essential for the Eagles in every game. They are not concerned about details. This writer has been on the firing line since the Eagles began their campaign three years ago under this coaching crew.

    Yes, the results came, culminating in the famous Africa Cup of Nations feat in South Africa on February 10. But, there were flaws in the team, which pundits tried to highlight. If curses could kill, this writer wouldn’t have lived a second after the first tirade against the Eagles. The invectives came in torrents. The Nigerian fan is quick to commend anyone who dares to differ from popular views, if the Eagles stumble. Indeed, when such warning signals are ignored and the Eagles falter, many of them retract their comments and identify with the new trend. The team’s performances have been a disaster waiting to happen.

    The pertinent questions from readers who have lampooned me have been – Who is the Eagles chief coach? When will the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) name a new coach?

    Soccer-loving Nigerians must note that should we allow this lacuna in the team’s technical crew to continue till the end of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equitorial Guinea, Nigeria may as well forget about qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This is a warning. By the time the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations ends, at least eight countries would have a team in place to prosecute their World Cup qualifiers while Nigeria will be rebuilding with a jaded technical crew that has lost its direction, exhibiting poor knowledge of the game.

    How else can we accept the fact that Eagles’ coaches have failed when Nigeria is the only country out of the five that represented Africa at the Brazil 2014 World Cup that will be missing in Equatorial Guinea next year? So, who is insisting that the coaches should stay? One thing is clear – if we allow the coaches stay, we have prepared the stage for crowd violence at the stadium, if the Eagles continue to totter.

    Before the game against Sudan in Abuja, some fans pelted the coaches with stones, sachet and bottled water. Around the stadium were placards stating that the coaches should go. Supporters of these coaches alleged that the fans were rented to cause commotion.

    Some fans carried placards inside the Akwa Ibom International Stadium in Uyo. Those who were in Uyo when Nigeria crashed out of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations told of the motley crowd crying over the loss. Others threw objects unto the field.

    Are these not enough evidence to show that the coaches are not wanted anymore? Is it until the fans invade the pitch to stop the match in a bid to vent their anger on the players and coaches before we ask these men to go? Have we sat back at home to watch Eagles’ last two home matches to see placard-carrying Nigerians at the stands?

    Poor fans! They storm the stadium to watch the Eagles only to have their blood pressure raised by appalling displays.  Then we launch into useless post mortem.  Why can’t we be proactive? my advice to the NFF is for them to focus on our U-20 and U-23. They have started well by getting the right coaches to groom the squads for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the All African Games and the Brazil 2016 Olympic Games. They must not allow these coaches field players older than the stipulated age brackets.

    The players must be drawn from the domestic league. This can only happen if the NFF can insist on good officiating, which will come with adequate security at all the stadia before, during and after matches. NFF chiefs and indeed chieftains of the League Management Committee (LMC) must meet with the Inspector General of Police (IGP). It is about time we had security men trained specifically for crowd control at the stadium. This is the norm in other climes.

    How can a referee be protected when the security operatives in the stadium are wearing the home club’s jerseys? This is main reason why our domestic league is unsafe, even with the LMC’s laudable initiatives.

    Referees are human and they are prone to mistakes, so the NFF must ensure that they are exposed to courses where they can learn the basics. They are an integral part of the game. With adequate security, referees can handle matches properly. I could also task the NFF and LMC to ensure that all the domestic league games are televised either live or recorded. There must also be a platform where all the games are previewed and reviewed on television where the highlights of the good, the bad and the horrible are shown.

    Sanctions should be meted out without fear or favour. The NFF and the LMC must lobby the National Assembly for a law against beating up referees or causing a breach of peace. Until such a law is enacted, home clubs will continue to mobilise urchins in their areas to beat up referees. No stranger can invade a pitch to cause mayhem. Club chairmen and secretaries are culpable in this act of organising roughnecks to threaten referees before, during and after matches, in a bid to secure three points.

    The Barclays English Premier League is the most watched in the world because it is connected to the people and the corporate world through incisive television coverage. People sit in their homes around the globe to watch the Barclays English Premier League games. They also can contribute on skype, e-mail and on telephone to topical issues on the competition’s official television station. With this type of packaging, it is difficult for the big spending firms in the world not to network the goods and services on such a station since the people are the ultimate consumers of their wares.

    The NFF and the LMC must ensure that the coaches who handle the league clubs are eminently qualified. They must institute a system where renowned tacticians school our club coaches periodically about the new training methods in the game. This idea of former players becoming coaches is chiefly responsible for the poor standard of play in the domestic league. The LMC must from this new season ensure that the domestic league coaches are badge. Those unqualified ones should be shown the way out. Coaching is not an all-comers job. Great players often times don’t make great coaches. Therefore, ex-internationals must go to school if they want to transform from being players to coaches.

    They are talents at the grassroots. The problem is that Nigerian coaches are lazy. They are fixated. They don’t understand that the game is dynamics. They are all-knowing and don’t think it is right for them to undergo refresher courses to equip themselves in coaching. Indeed, Nigerian coaches are bane of the game here. But for the game to really grow, the pitches must be lush green grass. The pitch must be well laid to enhance the players’ performance not these bumpy pitches which make ball control difficult.

    Sunday Oliseh, (you remember him?) summed up the precarious state of Nigeria’s football on his blog; saying: “Most of us played football as kids; we all have an opinion or idea about football. This, however, leads some to think they are experts of the sport. This is not only wrong, but dangerous.

    “Should you want to be a top coach, football administrator or technician, you have to study and get your certified qualifications and, even then, you are not guaranteed success.

    “Spain’s Football Federation recently banned Real Madrid’s second-team coach, Zinedine Zidane, from coaching because he doesn’t have the right qualifications.

    “If they can ban such a legend from coaching the second division, why should we hand over our national teams and first division club sides to people who just attended two-week seminars and pretend to be qualified?

    “It takes two years minimum to be a qualified UEFA-licensed coach via theoretic and practical exercises. It is a crime to air your opinion, give advice or suggestions on how to better the Super Eagles without the handlers throwing insults at you or crying out that you seek their job.

    “They probably do this because they got the job by back stabbing, hence they fail to understand that not everyone wants to coach the Super Eagles.

    “When you lack ‘raw’ quality in your team, you advocate and build success via team work, team play and a regular team to compensate for what you lack in individual quality.

    “The uncoordinated way in which the Super Eagles play, which triggered our recent elimination, is borne out of the fact that there were too much line-up changes. Not only does the team not play well or succeed, it is a ‘foreign’ and unknown team to Nigerians.”

    These views are coming from one of the most decorated Super Eagles player and ex-captain, Sunday Oliseh. Need I say more?

  • Emergency, insurgency and presidency 

    I  saw  a picture  of  local  hunters    armed  with  dane  guns  on a truck  going  to fight  Boko  Haram  in  a town  in  Adamawa  state alongside a  report  in the news media  saying  that Nigeria  is one of the five nations with the highest  fatalities  in the world  for terrorism  and  I  felt  real  pity  for both  the hunters  and the  Nigerian  army in the fight  against  Boko  Haram  here  in Nigeria. This  was the same week  that  the  Nigerian  President and  Commander  in  Chief  of the Armed  Forces  sent  a bill  to the  National  Assembly seeking  extension  of the  State  of  Emergency  in three states  in the North  East  of  Nigera  where  Boko  Haram  has been  conquering and  losing our  towns  and cities  with bloody  fanfare and impunity  whilst  joint  task forces  with  local  hunters and dane guns have become  heroes  in  towns  where  well  armed soldiers  took  to their heels before. Really  it is difficult  to know when
    to cry  or when to laugh  on getting news  from  the  War  front  in this carnage  of insurgency by  Boko  Haram which  has made  the  Commander  in  Chief  to ask  for  another  six  month  extension  because  the security challenges  in these areas  are  far from over,  contained  or ameliorated  in any way. Remarkably  the legislators  in the House  of  Representatives  have  rejected  the renewal  after  they  themselves  were subjected  to  some insurgency  by the Police  who tear  gassed  them  and almost  prevented  them  from  sitting to debate  the matter.
    In  line with  the spirit and  perhaps  the humour of hunters with dane guns facing a  Boko  Haram well  armed  with sophisticated weapons and winning, the Emir  of  Kano  His  Royal  Highness  Lamido  Sanusi  reportedly  waded  into  the foray by asking the people  of Kano  not to run away from terrorists but to take whatever steps were  necessary  to protect  their  lives  and property. Which  really  is the  attitude    or  spirit  I want to discuss today  and  that  is the spirit  of survival  ,  self  defence , and  protection  of life and property at  a period when  State  of  Emergency seems  inevitable  but    ineffective, against a  festering insurgency  that has turned  our vast  North East  into  killing fields . This  is  happening  even as  our President  prepares  for the  security  of his presidency  by seeking legitimacy in his  quest  to contest the coming  2015  Presidential  elections. Ominously  and    tragically  again AFP   reports  on the internet  on  Thursday    revealed  that  Boko  Haram  raided  the town of Azaya  Kura  40  kilometres  from Maiduguri  and  left 45  people  dead  after  the raid.
    Surely  the  Emir’s call  is bold, timely  and  relevant  and  is indeed in tune with  the  mood in  Kano where the  Governor  of the state Engineer  Rabiu  Kwankwanso is  one of the  Presidential  candidates  for the APC Presidential  primaries    due  on  December  10. Both  the Emir  of  Kano  and  the state  governor  have  become a  morale  boosting  arrow  head  in  the entire  North  to confront the terror  of Boko  Haram  in spite  of a bombing this last  Sunday  in  Kano .  It  is such  courage , such boldness, that confronts  bastardisation  of religion  with violence  and destruction  and takes  that  on with  steely  defiance  and  the  formation  of a force  of resistance  that fuses  modernity with  tradition,  that  I  want  to draw the attention  of other  leaders  in the North  and indeed Nigeria to today  in  confronting  the terror  of  Boko  Haram, conquering it  and moving  our nation  far beyond it.
    Even  on the  global  scene  we had examples  this  week  to show  that even  well  respected leaders  and  their nations  can be called  to order  if they misbehave. Russia’s  President  Vladmir  Putin  was  this  week given a cold  shoulder  and  isolated by the leaders  of the G20  Meeting  in  Brisbane  Australia  and  when  he  could  not  bear  the ostracism,  he left  the Meeting abruptly and  unexpectedly.  But  he got the message – You  can not violate international law by invading Ukraine a sovereign nation  and support  rebellion there and expect diplomatic rapport  with  fellow  leaders  of  the  leading nations  of the world.
    Similarly  US  President  Barak  Obama    first  threatened  to by pass the US  Congress  if it did not consider  his  pet  project  on Immigration granting full  citizenship  to  about  5m  immigrants who have been  in the US  for  some time with ad  hoc  papers.  Obama  went  on this week  to use  executive  powers  to pass  the  law  thus bypassing  Congress  This  of course  will  tax  the check  and  balance  of  power    inherent  in  the US  presidential  system  of separation  of powers especially  as the Republicans have gained  control  of the Senate from the last Mid term  elections results. But  it is Obama’s  way  of saying that desperate  diseases  require  desperate  cures  and  that while the  Republicans are  putting spanner in the  works against  his pet  project,  he can  find his way  through  to show them that his mandate was from the entire US  and  he will  not  allow a project that he feels is in the public good to be castrated  on the altar  of blind partisanship  and  stubborn brinksmanship  from  the Republicans.
    It  is in this light  that one should see the  call  to arms  against  terrorism  by  the  Emir  of  Kano  and  the elaborate women  and  girls  education programme  of the APC  government  of Governor Rabiu Kwankwanso  in  Kano. Someone  once said  if you  educate a boy  you  educate  a person , but if you  educate a girl  you  educate  a  nation  .This  is what Boko  Haram is fighting  against  by opposing western education  and  rubbing salt  into  our insurgency  wounds  by seizing over 200  Chibok  girls  and taunting  our  sense  of decency  by declaring that they  have  been  married  off. The  Emir  of  Kano’s  call  for massive self  defence  is one that should  be copied  by other rulers  in the entire  North  East  if not the entire  North. Such  a move will  suffocate Boko  Haram  and  show it that even  though it had killed Emirs in places  like  Gwoza  before,  it  can not be business  as usual  as it cannot  find refuge  in the   North  where, now,  even local  hunters with dane  guns are prepared  to take them on with  their  sophisticated  machine guns.
    It  was  this spirit of  constructive  and  salutary  defiance  that  saw  people  like  APC  presidential  candidate and  former  Head  of State  ex-General  Muhammadu  Buhari, APC  Chairman John  Oyegun  and Rivers  State  Governor Rotimi  Amaechi  take  to the streets  in Abuja  in  a Salvation March  demanding  to know why the  Presidency in Abuja must  be enjoying  in the capital  while    Nigerians are  being killed  by the Boko  Haram insurgency with  impunity. Of  course  ex  General Buhari knew  he was taking a  personal risk in  Abuja as  his  entourage  was  bombed  in Kaduna recently.  But  that showed  his bravery and commitment  to the Nigerian  nation and should  galvanize  his  presidential  candidacy in the APC  Presidential  primaries. To  me  that Salvation March  is a bold  statement  against  Boko  Haram and  against  the incumbent  in the  Nigerian  presidency  that Buhari  and of  course  Rabiu  Kwankwanso  of Kano seek  to unseat  in the coming 2015  presidential  elections. Those  who  must  lead  Nigeria must be those bold enough to say and do what has to  be done  to put fear  into Boko  Haram  in word  and deed. Indeed  the Presidency itself  and the President  must  know that  the coming 2015  elections are about  the defeat  of the  Boko  Haram  insurgency  and the security  of life and property in  Nigeria. It  is  only  those who can guarantee the safety  of life and property of  Nigerians who  deserve  to be elected and re elected as  President of the Republic  and  Commander in  Chief  of the Armed  Forces. These  are people who  can tell  off  and  kill  off  Boko  Haram with a clear  conscience,  a loud  voice  and  effective,  efficient use  of  the executive  powers  inherent  in  our  presidency  and  President,  as  the Commander  in  Chief  of our armed  forces. That  is the  sure sign  of  a  successful  president  in these days  of bloody  insurgency and  proposed  extended state  of emergencies.  Not  tear  gassing lawmakers  as they meet  to debate  renewal  of  the state  of emergency  which  they  have  rejected  anyway  while    the presidency  spokesman  bizarrely  claimed  that the  police was  just  maintaining  law  and  order. Again it is  difficult  to know whether    to  laugh  or  cry. But  really  one can  point  out  to  the presidency spokesman that  on some occasions  such  as  the spectacle  of law  makers turning  to emergency high  jumpers  just to enter  the legislature  to do their  work  because  police had  locked the gate, silence can be golden.

  • Enter, the Boko Haram State?

    Enter, the Boko Haram State?

    They kill. They maim. They rape. They kidnap and forcefully marry off innocent school girls. They slaughter human beings in obeisance to an inexplicably blood thirsty deity. They explode bombs in church, mosque, market, Motor Park or entertainment spot with equal aplomb. These and other atrocities characterise the murderous Boko Haram sect.

    But what is the defining element underlying the Boko Haram’s serial criminalities? It is certainly not the innocent blood they shed, the valuable lives they so brutally terminate or the pain and loss they inflict on thousands of families. No, their central crime is that they are children of impunity. They are denizens of Thomas Hobbes’ state of nature where life is short, nasty, brutish and solitary.

    Boko Haram does not respect the boundaries set by the rule of law to protect the sanctity of human dignity and preserve the essence of civilised humanity. For them, might is right. They do not recognise and thus wage unrelenting war against all institutions established to create order, discipline, restraint and humane conduct in society.

    Does it not follow that a Nigerian state that purports to abhor Boko Haram’s antics and is fighting a fierce war against the sect should at least exhibit higher moral standards than the malevolent gang? But then, what do we have? Yes, Boko Haram kills and rapes. But what do we say of a governor-elect, Mr Ayodele Fayose, whose thugs invade the premises of a court hearing a case of non-eligibility to contest an election filed against him, and allegedly right in his presence, beat up the judge, tear his suit to shreds and destroy the court records?

    Is such conduct any different fundamentally from that of Boko Haram? Is that not a brazen kidnap of court processes and a rape of the judiciary? Can we blame the Boko Haram hierarchy if they conclude that they have a worthy comrade-in-impunity in the architect and founder of the philosophy of stomach infrastructure?

    Under Fayose’s short watch thus far, a minority of seven members of the state House of Assembly (allegedly along with three non- members of the House) sat under heavy security cover to approve a list of commissioners and Special Advisers for the governor. Emboldened by this ‘success’, the same minority has removed the speaker and other principal officers of the Ekiti House of Assembly from office and appointed new officers in brazen violation of the house rules, due process and the rule of law. Again, they had massive security cover to perpetrate their illegality.

    Earlier, Fayose had sealed the petrol station of the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr Adewale Omirin, for purported environmental purposes, sacked his aides, locked up his office, frozen the accounts of the legislature and reportedly demobilised the Speaker’s vehicles all in a bid to intimidate and cower the APC-dominated legislature into submission.

    As all of these have happened to the utter embarrassment of the nation, it has been mum from President Goodluck Jonathan’s Aso Rock even though he is the leader of Fayose’s party and supposedly the number one defender of the country’s constitution. Is it a case of birds of the same feather flocking together? I can only answer the question in the affirmative.

    Or how do we explain the peremptory and arbitrary withdrawal of the security detail of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, by the Inspector General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, for decamping from the PDP to the APC? And this, despite the pendency in court of a suit to determine the status of legislators who defect from one party to another? This was a veritable terrorist attack on the judiciary. In the same vein, Thursday’s barricading of the National Assembly and firing of tear gas canisters into the hallowed legislative chambers by the Nigeria Police to prevent the House from sitting was akin to Boko Haram-type bombing of the National Assembly by the police.

    The virus of impunity and lawlessness characteristic of Boko Haram has clearly become contagious and the Nigerian state seems to have succumbed to the ultimately self-destructive ailment. It is unfortunate that under President Jonathan’s watch, the murderous Boko Haram sect and the Nigerian state now operate on the same ethical frequency of impunity, lawlessness and disdain for the rule of law.

    These thoughts came to my mind as I contemplated a paper titled ‘Development and Road Metaphor: An Extrapolative Theoretical Analysis of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy’, delivered by Dr Dapo Thomas of the Lagos State University (LASU) at a just concluded conference on ‘One hundred years of Nigerian nationhood’ at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. Dr Thomas’s objective in the paper is to interrogate the nexus between Nigeria’s foreign policy over time and her developmental aspirations as a nation.

    Tracing the historical trajectory of Nigeria’s foreign policy, he alludes to the tentative conservatism of the Tafawa Balewa years, the cautious nationalism of the Yakubu Gowon years, the aggressive and patriotic pan-Africanism of the Murtala Mohammed era and the seeming cluelessness that has engulfed the country’s current foreign policy. In this regard, Thomas laments the fact that Nigeria’s attributes such as huge territorial size, large population, rich natural and human resources as well as a sizable military capacity have not translated into a viable and vigorous foreign policy that can earn the country the respect she craves in the comity of nations.

    He cites as an example the recent alleged humiliating treatment meted out to Nigeria by South Africa, when that country seized about $15 million allegedly taken into the country from Nigeria in violation of due process. Thomas is, however, quick to point out that Nigeria’s past contributions to the liberation of South Africa cannot be a justification for our violation of the country’s laws as regards foreign currency transactions. And this is precisely my point. A country that perpetrates impunity and disrespect for the rule of law at home will most likely do the same abroad as happened in South Africa thus devaluing its esteem in the eyes of the world.

    But then, what is Dr Thomas’ solution to a problem he has so clinically diagnosed? His central contention is that the problem with Nigeria’s foreign policy is that it is not driven by a non-partisan national agenda as well as an overarching vision that transcends parties and ephemeral regimes. According to him, “What drives Nigeria’s foreign policy is uncharacteristically not a national vision but the individual desires of its leaders”. He thus advocates a foreign policy hinged on a non-partisan agenda “to be powered and driven by the vision of the state and the nation’s collective zeal for progress”. This vision, he avers, must be one of excellence “that is supported and embraced by all citizens”.

    I consider Dr Thomas’ panacea for a vibrant foreign policy as being excessively idealistic. He offers no concrete methodology for getting from where we are to where he thinks we should be as regards foreign policy conceptualisation and implementation. A fractured political class cannot produce a coherent national vision. A political class consumed by the quest for power solely for material accumulation can neither mobilise the populace behind a national vision nor summon the discipline to implement one.

    As the world observes Nigeria, it is my view that they see two competing impunities. One is that of a Boko Haram that bombs and kills innocent citizens. The other is of a Nigerian state that literarily bombs, decimates and devalues critical national institutions such as the judiciary, the national legislature and even the security agencies. The difference between the two is like that between six and half a dozen.

    This may be the reason why the United States is reluctant to sell sophisticated military equipment to a Nigerian ruling class – military and civilian – it has every right to perceive as thoroughly irresponsible. Yet, Dr Thomas has raised fundamental issues that should spur the political parties to formulate concrete foreign policy options for the consideration of Nigerians in the countdown to the critical 2015 elections.

  • Now … the future

    How can Nigeria be so big, yet so foolish? Who do we tell that a country with over 170 million people cannot qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations from a group that had Congo, South Africa and Sudan? How are the mighty fallen?

    Who can quantify how much would be lost by Nigerians, firms and others in the business of sports now that Nigeria is out of the Africa Cup of Nations? When Nigeria has a soccer game, the streets are empty. If we win, the talk everywhere the next day is on the victory. Everyone becomes a pundit. Nigerians put aside their religious inclinations and creed to embrace one another when the Eagles score goals. For the 90-minute game, Nigerians are united in their quest for victory. The urchins and roughnecks leave their vices to watch the matches. What would all these people be doing next year when the competition begins without the Eagles?  How would the domestic league grow when our national teams are populated by Europe-based players? Who would watch the local games without our idols?

    Women are excited anytime the Eagles are playing because they are sure that their husbands would come home to watch the match. Kids look forward to watching the matches with their parents. Young boys and girls use the viewing centres to rake in cash. All these are gone – no thanks to this avoidable ouster from the 2015 edition.

    So, Nigeria couldn’t beat Sudan and Congo home and away? Ah! Is it not a shame that we could garner only eight points from the designated 18? Is there any difference in the coaches’ World Cup matches where we secured four points from the possible 12? Rather than sack the coaches then, we pampered them and hounded the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) men.

    Countries have sacked their fumbling coaches and reconstituted their teams, midway into World Cup qualifiers and secured the ticket. Brazil used five coaches and 99 players during the qualifiers to the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan. They eventually won the trophy. So, what was that foolish talk about sacking ours with two matches left in the qualifiers? How has the reversal given us the ticket to defend the trophy we won in South Africa on February 10? The new NFF helmsmen wisely sacked these fumblers. Just when we were celebrating the soul-lifting change, the tide changed.

    Look at what a reversal of decision has done to the psyche of Nigerians. Nigerians are now forced to watch the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations slated for Equitorial Guinea on television; so sad.

    Sports, the only thing that unites us, is being used sadly to cause us pains because of our incompetent coaches and their players who made us a laughing stock at the Brazil 2014 World Cup, when they shamelessly refused to train until they were paid their appearance fees. Luck, which has been the basic ingredient in the Eagles’ past feats, eluded the team after sharing our collective wealth ($3.85 million) till the wee hours on match day against France.

    Super Eagles under these coaches have been living on the edge, a team bastardised by the inclusion of bench warmers, injury-hit players and recuperating ones. Indeed, the team has not been a platform to showcase our best. Rather it has become a rehabilitation centre.

    There was so much hoopla about the Super Eagles’ “comeback” from the dead in terms of the country’s chances of qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations slated to hold in Equatorial Guinea, simply because we beat Congo in Pointe Noire. We forgot that the Eagles are the defending champions. We were celebrating a feat where we are ninth in Africa and 42nd in the world. We did not see anything wrong with this euphoria in a group that had Congo, South Africa and Sudan.

    Imagine Sudan beating Nigeria! Just imagine. Sudan is the last team in the group table. We couldn’t grab all the six points allocated to this fixture. South Africa (our former wives, they say in soccer parlance) did. They won two of their three away games. Is there any reason for us to celebrate? Shouldn’t this period be for sober reflection, if we are truly the African champions? When would we stop this hail ‘him today, crucify him tomorrow’ style of running our football?

    It did not matter that South Africa beat Sudan and Congo at home to top the group. We were pleased with the fact that we beat Congo. But, did we take the pains to find out why we tottered all through the qualifiers? Indeed, we started the competition by losing 3-2 at home to Congo, though many have ascribed the loss to the impasse at the NFF.  What a weak excuse, especially as the Falconets emerged runners-up at the FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Canada. It is important to stress here that the Falconets barely made the trip because Nigeria was cleared for the competition by FIFA, less than five days to the tournament.

    Eagles’ campaign in the qualifiers was shambolic, unworthy of true champions. Swept under the carpet were the coaches’ poor tactics, their refusal to subject their players’ invitation list to scrutiny and the continuous inclusion of half-fit and recuperating stars in their squads. Is it not laughable that we invited Kenneth Omeruo for the two games against Congo and South Africa, in spite of the fact that he had not played a game for four consecutive weeks for his English Championship side Middleborough? Shouldn’t the coaches have asked Omeruo’s manager what the problem was? Omeruo was the worst culprit in the game against Bafana. He knew he wasn’t fit, yet he couldn’t tell the coaches to leave him out of the game. Today, his rating has fallen and it could affect his place at Middleborough. Omeruo shed crocodile tears after the game. Too late!

    Godfrey Oboabona’s in-and-out appearance for the Eagles is worrisome. Is it not time we asked him to undergo a surgery to solve this recurring injury, if we think he is integral to the coaches’ permutations for the team? Oboabona is our best defender. His absence due to suspension exposed the Eagles’ defence against South Africa on Wednesday.

    Word was rife that the coaches wanted to move Efe to the central defence position. Is it now that they have realised that Efe functions better in the position? Is that not where Efe plays for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League? So, why did the coaches settle for a rusty Omeruo? One of the sins of Nigerian coaches is the fixation about where players should and play and who does what. They are scared to take risks.

    Looking at the Eagles today, it is apparent that Ambrose Efe has lost form. The coaches must scout for his replacements. And the immediate place to find them will be from the youth teams, especially those who are now in Europe, pending when they would have come of age to play the game there.

    Credit must go to goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama for saving our blushes of not qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. His timely penalty save changed the face of the game in Pointe Noire. No team can win laurels if its best performer is the goalkeeper. Our coaches need to evolve systems that would invigorate the Eagles’ midfield to produce the passes for the strikers to score goals. The beauty of football rests with the goals. Only goals win matches.

    My problem with the Eagles is that the coaches have refused to use their matches to tacitly rebuild the team by introducing younger players. Hope Akpan is a wonderful addition to the Eagles but the coaches need to visit Arsenal to lure the Nigerian-born kids under Arsene Wenger’s tutelage. They also need to integrate some of our age-grade stars, such as Kelechi Ihenacho, into the team.

    The coaches must begin the process of getting the Eagles’ squad to represent Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup competition in Russia. They need to watch how other countries are replacing their ageing stars with younger players, ahead of the World Cup qualifiers next year.

    Enyeama’s heroics are heart-warming because goalkeepers get better as they age. But can we say the same for our strikers, defenders and midfielders? I don’t think so. This is the puzzle that the coaches must fix immediately, instead of waiting to restart the rebuilding next year.

    The coaches have no deals. They can take a walk, but we must ensure that only players who play in the European and domestic league make the country’s squad. No coach should be given the freehand to pick Eagles players. Coaches’ players’ lists must be vetted by the relevant people, if we must avert what caused our ouster from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. The reasons are the same when we also crashed out from the 2012 edition.

    I’m a fan of foreign coaches. We need one, but he must be prepared to live with us. He must have a culture for soccer academies to fish out talents in the grassroots. Such a foreign coach must be prepared to train and re-train our coaches. The European coach should be allowed to come with his men. They must work with our age-grade teams’ coaches as their Nigerian assistants. The reason for this change is that these Nigerian coaches (Samson Siasia, Manu Garba and Emmaneul Amunike) can take what they learnt back to their teams. This way, we can have a football culture and a playing style. This arrangement will settle the problem of replacing ageing players. I look forward to seeing Kelechi Ihanacho playing for the Eagles against Brazil on March 25 in Uyo.

    Our coaches are not knowledgeable enough for the Super Eagles. The talk of getting our past stars who played in Europe to handle the Eagles has caused us more pain than glory. Eagles is definitely too big for Nigerian coaches, especially ex-internationals.

  • Institutional performance, politics and discipline

    WHEN I read the headline credited to APC leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu this week that ‘INEC has merged with PDP’ I thought that was stretching the imagination of Nigerians too far even in our highly volatile and tension soaked political environment. But then, this was a week of unbelievable events. While Asiwaju Tinubu was raising a great alarm which turned out to be fortuitous since INEC made a u- turn on the creation of more voting booths in the north more than the south, other events and news were certainly no more alarming and provocative than the evil prospect of a merger of our major political institution with the ruling party of the land.

    First imagine the Chief of Army Staff Major General Kenneth Minimah refusing to answer questions in the National Assembly from the Senate Committee on Defence unless the place was cleared of, of all people, journalists. Similarly just fancy the cheek of the Americans announcing that they will not sell the sophisticated Jaguar helicopter fighter to Nigeria because they did not think our military can maintain it . Thirdly you find it difficult to believe or answer the question of the Igbo Cultural group Ohaneze which in announcing its support for the declaration for re-election of the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan rhetorically asked if because people are being bombed the president should not declare his intention to contest for re-election?. Fourthly you want to wonder how the Angolans, fellow Africans, found the courage to tell off the all powerful African Football Confederation that it cannot host the next edition of the African Cup of Nations which Morocco has refused to host because of Ebola in West Africa.

    Starting with the reported heated challenge the Chairman of the Defence Committee of the Senate, Senator George Sekibo gave the Army Chief, one is left with no choice but to sympathise with the army boss. He was told to his face that his army, our army was not performing but he refused to speak until journalists have been shown the door. His excuse was that he would not discuss war strategy on the pages of newspapers, which I think is tenable and should have elicited a prompt apology from a senate committee on defence which should have been security conscious but which later yielded to the General’s stand and banned the press which has always been the whipping boy of those in authority globally but especially in Nigeria. Really the Senate Committee rubbed salt in the festering wound and pride of the army over this Boko Haram disaster. It should not be that way. The army should be encouraged to retrieve its mettle and capability to send Boko Haram packing in a jiffy as we all thought and expected, before Boko Haram blossomed and metamorphosed from a domestic cat on Okada in Maiduguri to a very lethal full blown tiger on armoured cars and anti aircraft weapons in Mubi, right before our eyes. I am sure the Army boss used his armoury of discipline to maintain his cool before that Senate Committee. He must have remembered that story of a servant of a mighty sultan in those days of yore when power was arbitrary and absolute. Then, the servant touched his head on leaving the presence of his boss. That was the certain way of making sure he has survived the meeting because he still has his head on his shoulders. But then time changes and this is our democracy. With regard to the hatred of the army boss for journalists I assure him it is quite misplaced. He will need them very soon when the tide turns against Boko Haram and the army is victorious. He will then know why failure was an orphan.

    With regard to the sale of helicopter fighters I think the Americans are simply having a good laugh, very publicly and most undiplomatically because of the intelligence they have on corruption in high places in our security establishment. They even asked us to buy elsewhere as they are not the only sellers and that given the human rights record of our military we could use the helicopters to kill civilians not to talk of our army. Well it is really not their fault. When the cat is not at home mice would play. If our army had wrung the neck of Boko Haram like chicken we will not be the butt of this nasty and humiliating American jokes. But then every dog has his day and the Americans can make merry with our present predicament till of course they shoot themselves in the leg with their rude mirth which will be quite soon. This is because given their prediction based on nothing that Nigeria will collapse in 2015 which they have not denied they can be accused of being the devil’s advocate by not helping us with needed ammunition in our of need when we are an integral part of their global war on terror and their national values include respect for the sanctity of human lives which Boko Haram is trampling on with impunity in our besieged North East. I pray really they have a change of mind and very soon to.

    With regard to Ohaneze ‘s support for the PDP flag bearer and our President, the support is in order but it need not be couched in blood like the Spokesman did. People die every day whether elections are coming or not. When however young students are bombed on school assembly lines, humanity is disturbed and the milk of human kindness flows in empathy and sympathy for the victims. That is just natural. Just as people are still demonstrating in Mexico after the killing of 49 students by Police and drug gangs in that nation. That was the trait lacking in that question of the Ohaneze on the re-election bid. The living cannot or should not stop it. Neither can the harmless and innocent dead. Support can be given to the reelection bid as required without devaluing the worth and sanctity of human life. That question lacked humanity and was just extravagant.

    However Angola’s rejection of the hosting of the 2015 African Cup of Nations was a lesson in cost control and budget management. The Angolan Spokesman on the issue said his nation had not applied to host and should therefore not be forced to do so. In addition he said the notice was short and Angola has just approved its sports budget and was not ready for extra budgetary expenditure. Which is a lesson in fiscal discipline for all African nations which use presidential fiat to exceed their budgets and fly in money on presidential jets to pay footballers who refuse to play at semi final or finals of CAF Competitions as our Super Eagles have done several times in recent times. Incidentally Angola too is awash in oil like Nigeria but is using our tragedy in mismanaging our oil wealth as a lesson and lamp post not to repeat our mistakes. As for the Moroccans I am happy CAF has expelled them from the 2015 edition they have dropped because of Ebola. Which I think is racist and shows that African solidarity is a sham with North African Arabs who only tolerate Africans outside their nations and maltreat those inside especially those migrating to Europe in recent times. CAF should censure such nations seriously and expel them like they have done to Morocco to show that a friend indeed, should be a friend in need.

  • Re: Banire, Aregebsola and Osun Polls

    Re: Banire, Aregebsola and Osun Polls

    I have been eagerly awaiting a critique of  my paper of last week titled ‘Osun Election: A Pathway to Nigeria’s Democratic Growth’. At last, I got one in the reaction of my friend, Segun Ayobolu, on the last page of The Nation, Saturday, November 8, 2014 edition. As usual of such reactions (some patronage here and there before the slicing knife is applied), Segun introduced his discussions of my paper with some pejoratives and later took a descent into his opinion of what is right.

    His allegation that “Banire treads treacherous and slippery analytic terrain” (whatever that means!) was supported by what he thought did not make sense in making a distinction between a party and his candidate. I am sorry to say that while that assertion might appeal to ordinary consciousness, a good understanding of politics would prove otherwise. In any political clime where a party fields an unpopular candidate, there is no assurance that the electorate would gullibly buy into the party’s craze. A good understanding of Osun politics reveals that Aregbesola’s emergence in the first term was kindled by his political records in Lagos and the declining popularity of the government then in power whose policies the people were clamouring against.

    It is to that extent that the fate of a party and his candidate may roll into each other. If the Action Congress had produced a candidate of less public approval in 2007 in Osun, the story could have been different as the people would not see any difference between the government in power and our offer of redemption. There, I believe my friend did not get the purport of our analysis. If in 2014, we had presented in Osun a candidate not better than the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, the outcome would probably not worth the celebration of today. That emphasizes the need for our political party to be more pragmatic in its choice of candidature.

    Segun queried what would have been the incentive for the electorate to vote against our party in Osun. What was the incentive for the electorate when they voted against our party and candidate in Ekiti on June 21 (not August 9 mistakenly stated by Segun in his article)? Whether the party and its candidate are gnashing their teeth now is not the issue but that our party would have been out of power just as happened in Ekiti. The fact remains that popular programmes of Aregbesola largely retained political patronage from the masses in favour of our party and no emergency gospel of ‘stomach infrastructure’ recklessly flaunted by the PDP would have dissuaded the masses.

    Segun did not seem to follow the opinion poll conducted by some reputable organizations before the election which justified my assertion that the popularity of the candidate overwhelmed the rating of the party in Osun. The politics of today requires every candidate to organize direct grassroots interaction with the people which we did on the basis of door-to-door campaigns by which we distilled our facts and got better acquainted with the feelings of the people. It was a direct practical approach we adopted and not an armchair analysis of events. We practically learnt from the less-privileged who did not seek any political appointment and are not in any vantage position to seek political appointments. They are political followers of many aspirants at the grassroots level who felt disappointed by the pranks of such leaders and a fortiori, the party, but expressed great satisfaction about the policies of Ogbeni. Segun’s stance that probably those who condemned the party were political appointment seekers did not come out of reality but mere conjectures. Such conjectures would not align with the factual situation which we encountered during the preparations for the election.

    The reference to Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Lateef Jakande is greatly misplaced. If those leaders had failed in their performances, they would not have secured the eminent and glorious positions they retained today in history.

    Segun also asserted that why Aregbesola was able to contest in the first term was because the party fielded him. This contention smirks of childish historical conclusion as the process by which the party fielded Aregbesola in the first term is what we are concerned with and not merely that the party fielded him. Is Segun suggesting that Aregbesola was imposed on the Osun people in his first term? Far from that! Aregbesola won the primaries of the party in 2007 fair and square. So many candidates came up and a credible primary election was organized in which he emerged winner. The same process was embarked upon in 2014 even when Aregbesola was the only one who purchased nomination form on the platform of All Progressives Congress. He was not imposed on the people and nobody hid the form from any other aspirant and neither was anybody prevented from aspiring for the job. The party still ensured that a primary election was organized in line with the Constitution in which Aregbesola was given the party’s banner following a popular affirmation process.

    The reference to Babatunde Fashola is grossly misplaced. The fact that the party gave a credible candidate an opportunity to run in the first place does not mean that where the party is engaging in political suicide, we must all remain complacent or coldly indifferent. Such attitude would only be a mark of sycophancy or political indolence. This we eschew, as we are loyalists of the party and not sycophants.

    Interestingly my friend said that “it is difficult for one to scientifically determine the meaning of imposition in a situation in which, for instance, over 20 aspirants are gunning for a given position and each believes that if he does not win, it is because the winning candidate has been imposed on the party!” this is a completely naïve appraisal of our paper and the political situation in our party. One would not expect such a political conclusion from Segun since we both served in Asiwaju and Fashola’s governments. I recall that Segun was press secretary to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and he ought to know better notwithstanding that he would claim livelihood in journalism and not politics.

    The allegation of imposition in our party is not as jejune in nature as Segun tried to paint same. Our understanding and definition of imposition is more scientifically determined than Segun’s understanding of it. Where in a primary election, an aspirant scored the majority votes and the loser was rather imposed by an overlord, can Segun give us a worse instance of scientific imposition than that? As a leader of the party, I received petitions against imposition on a daily basis during any electioneering process and yet some people would prefer that we must keep quiet. What is the usefulness of featuring candidates rejected by the members of the party only to satisfy the political gusto of some few individuals? This menace has wiped away the needed sense of political responsibility among our office holders and now people have been comparing us negatively with our political opponents.

    The need to project the party in favourable light to the people has made some us compulsory advocates of the truth. If Segun’s analysis of what transpired between Awolowo and Akintola in the First Republic is actually correct, must we still promote the politics of self interest at all costs which Segun has pretended not to see its negative impacts? If, as argued by Segun, that development brought the crisis that engulfed the West and reverberated all over Nigeria leading to catastrophic consequences, must we now perpetuate same simply because it is not the same characters of the past that are in the saddle today?

    It is this kind of attitude among followers that destroys leaders and glorious institutions they profess to build but which over time they tried to pattern along their personal ego. How on earth can Segun justify zoning and religious considerations above merit? Reference to federal character in the Constitution does not justify Segun’s argument as the approach we condemn in Lagos State does not fall in line with theories that dictate progress in plural societies. If such balancing as argued by Segun is a necessity, then today our party must not be celebrating Tambuwal whom we identify as a great asset and align with against the zoning arrangement. Would Segun rather have preferred the PDP-sponsored Speaker? Why must we give fillip to negative sentiments by quoting redundant political theories rather than project the best interest of the people?

    Pandering to suggestions such as made by Segun would only justify the negative aspects of our living. We all must endeavour to save our party and even our political overlord from self-destruction as we are loyalists and not sycophants.

    By the volatile nature of this issue, I expect further discussions, dissensions and distended dissertations. If telling the truth could be regarded as treachery, then I admit otherwise as always said, truth is bitter and change is usually resisted but constant. The earlier we jettison the unfashionable practices in our party, the better for us.

    Dr. Muiz Adeyemi Banire

    Principal and Founding Partner,

    M. A. Banire & Associates and

    National Legal Adviser, APC.

  • Going to Pointe Noire

    Today is significant in our quest to defend the Africa Cup of Nations’ diadem that we won in South Africa on February 10, 2013. It is not enough for the players to make promises. It is important to ask the coaches if they have reconciled the warring factions in the team.

    Has the chief coach truly forgiven Ikechukwu Uche? How would Uche feel today, if the coaches place him on the bench? Will Uche give his best if introduced? Is it true that Emmanuel Emenike and the coaches don’t talk to one another? The coaches have to face the fact that players must be prepared to play.

    Aggrieved players cannot give their best. The coaches and the players must, therefore, embrace peace. No squabbles. What Nigerians crave for today is victory. We must leave the pitch today with the same seven points as Congo. This will only happen if we beat them. It is possible only with a united house. It will be a big shame if Nigeria doesn’t qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations from a group that has Congo, Sudan and South Africa. More ridiculous will be that we couldn’t finish among the best two.

    My poser to the players and coaches: What will the 2015 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations look like without the defending champions? It certainly won’t be the first time this is happening. But the Super Eagles have their last chance to qualify for the next competition. The coaches and the players must forget about their internal problems and stop the Congolese at home in Point Noire today.

    Is this an insurmountable task for the Eagles? No. Our players have been through such tough terrains before, for club and country. We have many big stage players, who know how to raise their game when they need to. Now is the time for them to win a game for the teeming fans, many of whom will be fasting so that they can watch their Eagles shock the continent again, like they did in South Africa on February 10, 2013.

    Have the players and coaches thought about what they would be doing, if Nigeria fails to qualify for the 2015 edition? What would they be telling their admirers, if asked what happened to the Eagles? What do they want Nigerians to remember them for? Wouldn’t pundits sneer at us when the games begin next year and the Eagles are not part of the best 24 teams in Africa? Is that what the players want to bequeath to their successors?

    Our players’ scorecard for their European clubs last weekend was awful. Vincent Enyeama conceded the 12th goal in 13 outing. Austin Ejide conceded the seventh goal. If the coaches are to judge Chijoke Agbim’s outing last week Friday at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium against Ghana’s U-23 players, they would be apprehensive. But with the Eagles, Enyeama has been outstanding. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Enyeama has been listed in the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) African Footballer of the Year’s nomination.

    How can Enyeama be talking about an injured shoulder? Where did he sustain the injury? He mustn’t be risked for the game. Only very fit players should wear the jersey today. Ejide is an efficient goalkeeper, except that he is prone to injuries. Don’t ask me about Chijoke Agbim being asked to start the game in Pointe Noire? Many Nigerians won’t watch the game. Look at the way Agbim was fidgeting in the ceremonial game to open the Akwa Ibom International Stadium last week Friday in Uyo.

    Until recently, the Eagles’ defensive four-man group had been the pivot of the team. Not so any more with the silly goals the team has been conceding, especially in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations’ qualifiers. Efe Ambrose and Kenneth Omeruo have been sidelined by their clubs for weeks. Not many can vouch for Oboabona’s form. Only Juwon Oshaniwa is playing for his Israeli club. Many have, however, asked about the quality of strikers in the Israeli league to give Juwon the type of challenge that he will face today. The flipside is for the coaches to rely on experienced Elderson Echiejile, who, incidentally, has played for his French side in the last two weeks. Again, the coaches will be happy that these bench warmers are not nursing injuries.

    Eagles’ leaky defence makes a mockery of the commanding display of the team’s chief coach, Stephen Keshi, when he played for Nigeria. Could it be the absence of regular first team shirts in their European sides that has affected their sterling performance, like we saw in at the South Africa 2013 Africa Cup of Nations? Keshi was awesome. He managed the team on the pitch. He took responsibility by stepping forward to score vital goals. Keshi ‘arrested’ troublesome players in the opposition, a trait missing since the Big Boss was appointed.

    Whereas our opponents plot how to mark out our dangerous players, Eagles stars just strive to win matches without planning to stop the opposition’s best. Congo has a dangerous striker who plays for Almeria in the Spanish La Liga. He scored a breath-taking goal against Barcelona last weekend. Indeed, he scored against the Eagles in Calabar, which makes it imperative for the coaches and the players to take him out of the game before 45 minutes.

    Fair and foul means are employed to stop our big players. The Italians took out Emmanuel Amuneke and Daniel Amokachi at the USA’94 World Cup; remember? Should I remind you about how the French roughened out Michael Babatunde and Oguenyi Onazi at the Brazil 2014 World Cup? The exit of these players at accounted for Nigeria’s early exit at both World Cups in 1994 and 2014.

    If Keshi and his crew fix the Eagles’ defence, victory in Pointe-Noire would be achieved with plenty of goals. The Congolese need a win, even though a draw would still fetch them the qualification ticket. But an early goal would do the magic for the Eagles, provided the defenders stay with the Congolese. If they do that, the hosts will be frustrated. They will be struggling to even the score. This panicky setting will expose the hosts at the rear. We just hope that the midfield arrangement will have boys who can be selfless during the game by giving the balls to those who are free to score goals. Goals alone win matches, not fanciful displays or selfishness by any player(s).

    Will the coaches have the courage to bench either Mikel Obi or Oguenyi Onazi? Both players play in the same defensive positions for their European clubs. We, however, saw a better playing Mikel in the country’s last victory over Sudan, largely because Onazi was deployed to play at the right back position. I hope the coaches can stick to this game plan so that younger boys can do the marking in the midfield for the Eagles while Mikel sprays the passes like he does at Chelsea.

    Most games are won in the midfield. Besides, coaches use the midfield to plot their counter strategies, especially in the second when the opposition would have given all that they have to offer. Our coaches leave the changes too late. I hope that the coaches have jettisoned the archaic 4-2-4 formation. Our players know how to play in the 4-4-2 format or 4-5-1 or the 3-5-2 style depending on what the coaches want them to adopt. Modern day soccer is played in the midfield by the team that outnumbers the opposition with thinking boys in that department, who create openings for their strikers to convert.

    Eagles must learn how to effectively utilise Ahmed Musa’s pace by giving him the passes early. Such early release of passes gives Musa the edge to outrun his markers. Musa, happily, has started scoring goals. Musa has grown to understand that he can be the team’s undertaker where designated strikers have been marked out of the game.

    Given Emenike’s status as a prolific scorer, no country pitched against Nigeria ignores him. He is a marked man. But Uche’s return is the coaches’ trump card. Having been out of the team for two years, it is only proper that Uche starts the game from the bench so that he can observe how his new mates play.

    I hope that the coaches have perfected set pieces with the players in training. We have failed to utilise our corner kicks, free-kicks and set plays into goals. Well executed set pieces can catch the Congolese off guard. The beauty about goals scored from set plays is that they are indisputable.

    Incidentally, Keshi and Daniel Amokachi were in the Eagles squad that beat Congo in Pointe Noire. The winning goal was a long pile driver by the late Rashidi Yekeni. Unlike then when the pitch was bumpy, what the Eagles will see today is a synthetic pitch. It shouldn’t be the reason for any excuse at dusk today. The Congolese are used to playing on astro turfs, but they came to Calabar and inflicted the first defeat on the African champions playing on a grassed pitch. Good luck Super Eagles; up Nigeria. Oba khato Okpere, Ise!