The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Ekiti 2014 : Between jkf and mob

    Ekiti 2014 : Between jkf and mob

    I believe strongly that MOB remains essentially progressive and humane at heart. However, he has embarked on a political trajectory that may force him to collaborate with the same forces of retrogressionthat he has opposed all his life 

    The die is cast. The Rubicon is crossed. The line has been drawn and there seems to be no going back. Opeyemi Bamidele, former students’ union leader, pro-democracy activist, lawyer, commissioner in Lagos State and now member of the House of Representatives has obviously taken the decisive plunge to contest for the governorship of Ekiti State next year. Would he or would he not? That had been the question in many minds for some time now. Would Michael Opeyemi Bamidele defy the collective wisdom of his party, the promptings of his political mentors and the admonition of his ideological soul mates to contest against Dr John Kayode Fayemi in the next governorship election in Ekiti? Would he jettison the political tendency and platform he has identified with all his life in pursuit of his ambition? The answer to these questions no longer lies in the realm of conjecture. Opeyemi Bamidele spoke and acted decisively last week. He dumped the APC. He declared for the Labour Party. All things being equal, he will be a major contender against Fayemi next year.

    Until he took his apparently irreversible decision last week, I was firmly of the view that Bamidele would in the final analysis subordinate his personal ambition to the strategic collective interest of the progressive movement. For one, he had consistently stressed over the years that he is a product not necessarily of individual brilliance but of collective struggle. When he clocked 45, Bamidele launched a book titled ‘Errands of Progress’. In it he reiterated the position that he was a product of collective struggle. Reading through the book once again, Opeyemi came across as one individual whose personal interests and ambitions matter far less to him than his commitment to the struggle by progressive forces to liberate Nigeria from the stranglehold of underdevelopment.

    Again, I am of the view that there is really not much of a difference between Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB) and Dr. John Kayode Fayemi (JKF), the incumbent Governor of Ekiti State. Both men are cerebral. They are accomplished professionals. They have both devoted their lives and paid their dues in the struggle for progressive change in Nigeria. Either man would make outstanding governors of Ekiti or any other state in Nigeria. Yes, Bamidele is more of a populist in the likeness of an Engineer Raufu Aregbesola. Fayemi is more reticent and reflective in the mould of a Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). But both men are invaluable assets to the progressive movement. Much more importantly either man has achieved success in their respective spheres of endeavour irrespective of whether or not they govern any state. I thus did not believe that governing Ekiti State should be a matter of life and death particularly for Bamidele since it has pleased God that Fayemi should occupy the coveted position at least for now.

    Of course there are those who have insisted all along that MOB is an active participant in a script not just to oust Fayemi from power but to undermine the progressive forces in Yoruba land and Nigeria as a whole. They contend that he is nothing but a traitorous quisling bent on collaborating with the same nefarious and venal forces he has fought all his life all because of an inordinate ambition for power. I believe strongly that MOB remains essentially progressive and humane at heart. However, he has embarked on a political trajectory that may force him to collaborate with the same forces of retrogressionthat he has opposed all his life. That would be extremely tragic. For, there are too many examples of those who have chosen this path only to become no better than the living dead- veritable living corpses.

    There are at least three issues raised by MOB in his defection to the Labour Party which are worth commenting on. First, he claimed that his move was informed by the lack of internal democracy in his former party. This perception is no doubt informed by the decision of the APC leadership to endorse Fayemi for a second term based on his record of performance. It would appear to me that by his defection, Bamidele has made it impossible to prove whether or not the APC adheres to internal democracy at least in Ekiti State. Yes, the leadership has endorsed Fayemi but they have not precluded any interested member from participating in primaries.

    We will recall, for instance, that in the second republic, the Chief Obafemi Awolowo-led leadership of the UPN endorsed all the five governors of the party for an automatic second term. Yet, the incumbent governors faced stiff challenges in the primaries particularly in the old Ondo and Oyo states. Of course, the question is: with the endorsement of Fayemi for a second term by the party leadership, could Bamidele have a chance of triumphing in the primaries? It is highly unlikely. The Ekitis are very proud, principled and stubborn people. They worship no human being and their conscience is never for sale. If they are truly supporting Bamidele’s ambition, no force on earth would stop them from voicing their opinion.

    Despite Awolowo’s personal charisma and influence, for instance, the Ekitis even within the UPN staunchly stood by Omoboriowo until his politically fatal decision to defect to the NPN. Members of the UPN at all levels including members of Chief Michael Ajasin’s cabinet openly supported Omoboriowo despite Awolowo’s preference for Ajasin. In the case of MOB, I am unaware of any declaration of support from his ambition right from the ward through the local governments to the state level of the party. Not even a single member of the Ekiti caucus of the House of Representatives which he led has expressed support for his aspiration. Bamidele’s winning the party primaries will certainly be easier than a Camel passing through the eye of a needle. But then, will we have internal democracy only if Bamidele is guaranteed to emerge as governorship candidate?

    Again, MOB claims that his ambition is driven by a desire to extricate Ekiti from the clutches of poverty. This is an indirect insinuation that Fayemi has not performed. But is that an intellectually honest position to take? I think not. From easily verifiable indications, Fayemi has fundamentally elevated the paradigm of governance in Ekiti State. Just as Aregbesola has done in Osun, no more is the horizon of aspiration in Ekiti limited by the state’s paltry allocation from the Federation Account. Fayemi has blazed a trail in social security by paying a monthly allowance to aged citizens above 65. The efforts of his administration in the provision of infrastructure are there for all to see. For me, the most eloquent evidence of his performance is the open identification of the highly respected Chief Afe Babalola with the Fayemi administration. Ideologically and politically, Chief Babalola is conservative. Despite his personal closeness to Chief Obasanjo, Afe Babalola never appeared on a political platform with the Owu chief. He has openly supported Fayemi’s second term. It is unlikely he would do that for a non-performing governor particularly of the APC.

    Lastly and most sadly, MOB claims that the Labour Party is a genuine progressive platform for national emancipation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nigeria still awaits a truly ideologically driven Labour Party; one that will rigorously articulate the case for a new social order that will be beneficial to the working class and peasantry. The truth is that there is absolutely no difference today between the so called Labour Party and the PDP. Yes, both the PDP and the APC are essentially bourgeois parties but, with all its faults, a genuine Labour Party should be more in tune with the opposition than a self- styled largest party in Africa that has plunged Nigeria deeper into underdevelopment in the last 14 years.

    This column takes serious exception to MOB’s latest antics. But equally objectionable is the harsh language with which the Ekiti APC has denounced him. Nothing must be done to make it impossible at the end of the day for Bamidele to return to his true political family lending his considerable talents to the struggle for the liberation of Nigeria.

  • Don’t kick out Keshi

    Don’t kick out Keshi

    The storm is over for Stephen Keshi. He must be in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup, shouting out instructions as the Super Eagles gaffer. The World Cup appearance jinx has been broken, even though unholy whispers which suggest the need for technical assistance for the team is dead on arrival. We are NOT interested! It is the universal call and the Big Boss is relieved.

    The talk everywhere has been that the Eagles have not been convincing in their displays. A few people feel that the results earned by the team have been lucky breaks. I don’t think so. It takes more than luck to win matches. The point is that any country pitched against Nigeria on the continent gives its best, hence the Eagles’ hard fought victories.

    Again, it must be said that Keshi is still rebuilding the side, even though many feel that it is about time this house was built. What no one can take away from Keshi is that the Eagles are back to winning ways. No more “Super Chicken.” It is on this plank that this writer feels that the Big Boss shouldn’t be sacked after the 2014 World Cup.

    Will the World Cup in Brazil be a learning curve for Keshi or will we sacrifice the Big Boss on grounds of lacking the required tactical savvy to compete with the best? Have we factored into our plans for the 2014 show Keshi’s future after the World Cup? No country wins the Mundial on a two-year plan. Will Keshi be sensible enough to demand for afresh contract now that his word is law on Eagles’ matters? Does Keshi deserve another stay with the Eagles, irrespective of our results at the Mundial?

    Did I hear you say Ade is back with his controversies again? The choice is yours, but my fear is that decorum will be thrown out of the window whenever the Eagles exit from the competition. If it happens, we would be back to the proverbial drawing board. Will this drawing board have Keshi’s inputs? I see us returning to the chaos of the past. The fragile peace now in the system will erupt into tales of the unexpected which will consume everyone. Let’s not forget that after the Mundial are the NFF elections. As we stand, nothing will stop the current board from returning, the first in recent times. But will this winning trend continue? Will this board be allowed to remain in office, if things go awry in Brazil? We have suffered a lot from throwing away the child with the bath water after every World Cup.

    Will Nigeria be like France, whose players revolted and caused major embarrassing scenes in their camps before, during and after the Mundial? Will we wait until this scenario plays out before addressing the issues?

    We won the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa and we couldn’t celebrate because Keshi resigned his appointment in a radio station interview, even with the Sports Minister still in South Africa. It was laughable, more so when the minister heard of Keshi’s resignation from his driver, a South African, who listened to it on radio.

    One has read a lot of reassuring words from the federation’s chiefs. But those are familiar refrains, reminiscent of what transpired before the South Africa 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, until the cookies crumbled with Keshi’s resignation.

    Keshi doesn’t look a happy man. His body language suggests so. Watching him from a distance, he paints the picture of a man with pent up anger. He always wants to call his time with the Eagles. No one will blame him if he does. Would we be wise people if he goes the South Africa way?

    Truly, we need to negotiate Keshi’s future with him. And such discussions must be done with the hierarchy of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF). The outcome of this meeting must be made public with Keshi and NFF men telling Nigerians what was agreed. This parley must be done before the 2014 World Cup.

    I’m not a prophet of doom. Being a nosy reporter, I know a lot of what happens behind the scene. I feel it is only fair that I stir this discussion. Many will see me as an alarmist, but I must say that our football would be back in the doldrums if we fail to reap from the benefits of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Such benefits should start with the retention of the technical crew. They should be sent on refresher courses and made to immediately prepare for our defence of the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2015.

    Football is unpredictable, yet we shouldn’t use the outcome of the World Cup games in Brazil to stop a rebuilding process that we all can see is bringing results.

    When the Eagles struggled with smaller football nations with slim 1-0 wins and lack-lustre drawn matches, I joined issues with Keshi. Now that the team is playing better, I will root for him. No apologies for this shift in position. If the Eagles fumble in Brazil, I will say so and Keshi won’t be surprised.

    One is glad that the code of conduct for players, officials and NFF men has been given to the football federation to implement. Sincerely speaking, there is no big deal in the code. It simply spells out everyone’s duties. And our players have this code in their European clubs.

    I don’t expect any player or officials to be undisciplined during the competition, knowing its importance. Yet, the biggest challenge for the Eagles will be match bonuses and allowances. The NFF insisted on paying $5,000 for the qualification games. I expect the amount to be doubled. But the question would be, how much are the other countries being paid, especially the African nations? The players expect that as African champions, they should be paid the highest. No problem with that.

    If the NFF settles for $10,000, can our government officials allow the players earn what they negotiated by ensuring strict compliance. What we have seen in the past is government officials arbitrarily increasing the bonuses, especially if the team is tottering in its matches. It gets worse when the team hits crucial stages of the competition, with men in high places storming the venues to peddle political influence as if they were not in the country before the team departed.

    Such intervention leads to a crisis. It also belittles the NFF men, just as it ties their hands in executing other assignments since such needless increases is often deducted from their fiscal budget. Government officials must learn how to be team players.

    Thank God that the Sports Minister is not thinking of constituting any Presidential Task Force (PTF). Such bodies don’t help to galvanise the Eagles. In no time, members of such committees print cards which they flaunt about. They see themselves as the NFF and invariably sideline the federation people. This setting precipitates a feud. It also divides the players, with some disgruntled few in the NFF aligning with them.

    Rather, one aligns with the minister’s thinking of organising a Presidential Dinner with the President where the deep pockets and business moguls would donate to the country’s quest to lift the trophy in Brazil next year.

    Monies realised from the dinner can be disbursed by a three-man committee whose function would be to dish out cash for projects approved by the federation. Money from the dinner shouldn’t be used to search for a foreign coach. It is meant to prepare the team for competition and reassure the players that their countrymen appreciate what they are doing.

    Warning to CAF

    The time is already ticking fast ahead of the 2012/2013 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Player of the Year Award.

    With the show barely a month away, the expectation cannot be any higher. Players on the shortlist are looking ahead to the momentous occasion billed for January 9, 2014, in Lagos.

    The shortlist of the ten top players includes four Nigerians: Mikel Obi of Chelsea, Emmanuel Emenike of Fernabache, Vincent Enyeama of Lille and Ahmed Musa of CSKA, Moscow. Others include reigning African Footballer of the Year and Manchester City star Yaya Toure of Cote d’Ivoire. Didier Drogba also of Cote d’Ivoire and Galatasaray, Asamoah Gyan of Al-Ain (UAE) and Ghana, Jonathan Pitroipa of Stade Rennes and Burkina Faso, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund and Gabon; and Mohamed Aboutreika of Al Ahly of Egypt.

    While we do not question the expansiveness of the list, we make bold to urge for caution on the side of transparency so that the ghost and robbery of the past do not come back to haunt us.

    In some of the previous awards, we saw how Francophone sentiment was deployed to deny deserving Anglophone players the award.

    We also want to remind CAF and would-be voters, in case they have forgotten the parameters for the conferment of the award. These include a player’s feats at both club and country.

    This is where Mikel, Musa and Emenike feature prominently. Mikel had more than a stellar performance at the African Cup of Nations in South Africa, culminating in the Super Eagles of Nigeria wining the coveted diadem. This is not to forget his astounding showing at the Confederation Cup in Brazil. His heroics with his Chelsea of England club and the resultant Europa Cup victory are a loud testimony.

    It is on this strength that denying Mikel the CAF award would be tantamount to daylight robbery. The award is for the players’ exploits during the 2012/2013 season and the current season. This is where CAF needs to be reminded that it does not matter what any player, including Yaya Toure, may be playing and their goals harvest now; these exploits count for nothing as the award is not for the ongoing season. CAF and Francophone countries cannot continue to make a mockery of the award by baselessly swinging it for one of their own, including Yaya Toure.

    Even the blind and the deaf know that the January 9, 2014 award is Mikel’s for the taking. We will accept no magomago or jagajaga or thievery this time around. No.

  • Global politics, agriculture and  transportation

    Aside  the  realignment of political forces on the Nigerian political terrain inherent in the defection of five governors from the ruling PDP into the nascent APC,  two  issues on  the Lagos state style of governance engaged my attention and time this last week. The first was the way  the state  under its Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola  is handling  the issue  of achieving its set  goal of  food security through the strategies and plans of its Ministry  of Agriculture and Cooperatives. The second was  the focussed determination  of the Governor  to keep traffic flowing  in the Lagos  Metropolis  for the comfort of its citizenry.  In  stark terms and clear words  the  State Governor told a gathering of  Lagos State Traffic Management Authority – LASTMA  personnel, executives and stakeholders that if they have to choose between booking a traffic offender  and obstructing the flow of traffic, they should let the offender go and let the Lagos traffic  flow  like water at all times.

    Given  the merger of APC  and  PDP  mentioned earlier,  an immediate  media analysis of the political  spread, strength  and national power of the  two  major  political parties in Nigeria has 18 states for the ruling PDP, 16  for  the APC, one  for APGA in Anambra and one for the Labor  Party in    Ondo  State.  If  you do a mental arithmetic  that the governors  of Jigawa  and Niger State did not append their signature to the APC  merger  because they would rather wait till the new year,  together with the EFCC investigations   or  harassment of the Jigawa governor’s sons for  money laundering, you may safely add  two states  to APC’S 16  to  get 18. In addition,  if  you  recall that Ondo’s Labor Party  is closer to APC and  is indeed in its catchment area, then you  can give APC 19 states  out of 36  nationwide.  That  is really  over 50 per cent of the states in Nigeria and that is before the 2015 elections. Indeed the PDP  scribe in reacting to the merger of the New PDP  and APC seemed to  be accepting defeat before the elections when he said that the defectors would come back to the party after the 2015 elections and the PDP  would welcome them with open arms.Which  means that the PDP  has given up  on its defectors while acknowledging their strength and its loss in electoral  and voting prospects  in these  governors’ states.

    However  it  is with regard to the Anambra State elections on which a supplementary election is slated  for today that I want to make some observations. After  this I will  go  back  to  how  Lagos State  is tackling agriculture  and transportation  with focussed  innovation and commitment.

    Almost  all parties  that took part in the Anambra State  elections last Saturday  admitted that it was  and shoddily  organised and that  INEC  officials performed below expectations in terms of availability of materials on time and  on integrity. Post  election, however Anambra State outgoing Governor Peter Obi,  whose party APGA  won the elections said that his government only prevented the other  parties that wanted to rig from doing so and that if the elections were held ten times over APGA  would still win. Which  is not surprising given the fact that no less a person than the President of the Republic came to Anambra to campagn  surprisingly  not for the PDP  but for the return of Obi’s APGA  successor. The President even announced that he was not going to Commonwealth Heads  of Governments Meeting –  CHOGM –  in Sri LANKA    because  of the Anambra state guber elections. Since this was after the President’s pilgrimage to Jerusalem during which he was very much in the company  of the sole APGA  governor in Nigeria,  it is not difficult to guess  why personal loyalty has taken pre eminence over party loyalty. This is because even as the PDP,  the President’s  party  was announcing  that it will take part in the supplementary elections  today,  its candidate at the elections who could not find his name and that of members of his family on the ballot last  Saturday,  was  calling for fresh elections like the other parties that contested last Saturday’s Anambra  state  guber polls. Which  shows that the Anambra state elections has just  jump  the usual  and expected post election razzmatazz and rig marole peculiar  to Nigeria’s elections. These invariably end up in legal gymnastics at the law courts where lawyers and judges determine who wins  elections in a blantant usurpation of the rights of voters who in a free and fair election  in a genuine democracy should choose the winner  the ballot box as at last Saturday in Anambra State.

    As  elections in Anambra  State  were  making a mockery  of democracy in Nigeria, the two events I attended  in Lagos State this week provided a silver lining in the cloudy  horizon of Nigeria’s murky electoral politics, first in agriculture and secondly in transportation. An  army,  it was often  famously said  in ancient times, marches  on its belly. In  modern times however, so also do states, and nation -states, and no state in Nigeria knows and aims at achieving  this more than  the present BRF Administration through its Ministry of Agriculture under the leadership  of its permanent Secretary  Dr  Bashorun.

    I  got  a rare  insight  of  the lagos State food security strategy when  I attended  a retreat organised by the Favorites Club of Lagos under its flamboyant president and the State Commissioner  for Home Affairs,  Prince Oyin Danmole in Badagry last weekend.  The  theme of the retreat was – ‘Social Clubs and Economic Empowerment‘. The State  Ministry  of Agriculture’s  Permanent Secretary-PS-led a team of the Ministry’s Directors  on a presemtation on Agriculture in Lagos State  but it was the PS himself who  was the high priest  and

    high pitch salesman  of the State’s people oriented  approach  to agriculture.  This  strategy  has  the  sole aim of making Lagos State feed its awesomely large population from within the state in all aspects of food  availabilty, production  and sufficiency. More importatntly the state is asking anyone who cares to come and have a stake in the ‘food basket’ project as investors because it knows it cannot go it alone. Which is like asking Lagosians to  come and get wealth and prosperity on a platter of gold by investing in Agriculture with the state providing the infrastructure and helping out with the needed credit and facilities for potential investors and stake holders. To  me that was unbelievable and almost un Nigerian but then, when we  went to the Songhai farm project and I ate an harvested sweet corn,  uncooked  and so delicious, I  knew  something great was happening in Lagos state.  When  I saw Nigerian youths on  training on the farm on the YES- Youth Empowerment Scheme – then  I conceded that there is still hope for Nigeria  in    terms  of meaningful economic planning and development,  starting with the way  Lagos State    government is tackling  food security  pragmatically  and heads on  for positive, socio  economic  transformation of society and the environment in Lagos State.

    The  state’s  transportation strategy has been no less proactive than that in agriculture. I was at a ceremony at which the state governor inducted volunteers from a certain social niche like social clubs and professional bodies as Special Traffic Mayors -STMs.  More importantly the State government made  sure that LASTMA  personnel and officials were present  at  the ceremony. Before  that day my opinion of Lastma  and its officials  was that of  overzealous and crooked street and highway officials bent on ruinning the business land scape of Lagos through daily extortion of road users and business vehicles for one traffic violation or the other. Such  bad eggs in LASTMA – including  the one caught  on video soliciting for bribe mentioned by the governor who said his dismissal was  a fait accompli even though he was still on the run-will certainly sit up knowing that STWs  are on  the prowl and can identify them  if they are involved in corrupt practices . The  way the governor showed his commitment to flowing traffic  left no one in doubt that he knows the importance of transportation to the growth of trade and commerce and political stability of Lagos state and the entire Nigerian nation.

    It  is necessary to look  again  at what Lagos state has done,  from an historical and global  perspective. In  Egypt  where  the government is clamping down on  protests on the streets and in the universities because it deposedthe  elected government of President Mohammed Morsi, a  government  had  been brought down before by food riots in Cairo  and the major cities in Egypt. This was the regime of Anwar Sadat  who brokered peace with Israel.  Sadat  himself was assassinated by a soldier who was a member of the Islamic Brotherhood which resurfaced    recently to win Egypt’s first  free  elections in history. Before  Sadat  was assassinated his regime was unpopular because of the high prices  of bread,  the staple food of Egyptians.

    Since Sadat was a dictator he repressed the food riots until an assassin caught up with him. That clearly  illustrates the importance and relevance  of  food security to political stability in any political system.

    Similarly  in Brazil  during the  last  FIFA  organised Confederation  Cup  won by Brazil  there were riots in  many cities in that nation  as the competition approached  and during its duration. The  protesters were agitating that even though they love soccer their  standard  of living did not reflect that of  citizens of a nation hosting the  Confederation Cup  not to talk  of the World Cup which Brazil  is hosting next year and the Olympics  which it is hosting in 2016. Which  meant  all  the hard work Brazil’s former President Lula da Silva did to  secure hosting rights for Brazil would have come to nought because the Brazilian government did not carry its people along while gunning for  the highly  prestigious  sports

    hosting rights for their pleasure while they suffer in the midst of plenty. Really  what  did the protesters ask for? They complained of long hours – about 4hours- in commuting to work daily to and  fro, high food prices, poor infrastructure and high education costs. The Brazilian government has reacted favourably and has committed  a certain percentage of its new oil revenues to education and infrastructure especially transportation.  But really the Brazilian government  not need to wait for street riots before looking after the welfare of  its people by carrying them along  government  plans to  entertain  them  as  well as look after their welfare.  May  be the  Brazilians  need  to borrow  a leaf  from the Lagos State  book on agriculture and transportation  that I narrated before    Perhaps Lagos State can offer  a helping hand  to  our Brazilian brothers especially as they  and our Governor have a mutual love of the lovely game  of soccer . That will certainly be  a pleasure and  yet another people  and export-  oriented  approach following on the clear  success in agriculture and transportation  in Lagos State, here in  Obodo  Nigeria.

  • Health Minister, revolution and leadership

    Health Minister, revolution and leadership

    On Monday, in Abuja, Health Minister Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu cut a miserable picture. He sounded frustrated, not just with himself but also with the entire country and the way things seem to be going. He called for a revolution.

    Chukwu was speaking at the inauguration of councils and boards of health regulatory bodies, but as he seemed to contemplate what lay ahead of the new council and board members in the sector, he could not help but ponder the fact that the ministry of which he is chief is almost in tatters. Less than two months ago, doctors called off an industrial action which lasted over two months. As the new boards and councils were being inaugurated, three fresh threats of strike were issued by professionals in the sector and in fact lay on the minister’s table. Chukwu sounded overwhelmed and unhappy.

    The health sector is losing respect, he growled, before declaring that the sector has indeed lost respect. Only a revolution would salvage the situation, he concluded, managing, for effects, to throw in the ongoing university teachers’ strike.

    The ‘r’ word is not new in these parts. Lots of people mouth it, saying it is what the country needs to find its feet again in almost all aspects of its existence, not least integrity.

    So why does Chukwu’s revolution call matter? It is because leaders like him rarely call for a revolution, which is why the idea of sovereign national conference, for instance, irritates Nigeria’s presidents. It is also because Chukwu is hired and paid very handsomely to fix the problems which now seem to choke him.

    I believe that, bad as things may be in the country, there is nothing to suggest Nigeria’s challenges are insurmountable. I have made this point fairly frequently, convinced that the reason things seem to work in other places, and do not here, is largely because of leadership failure. My position has always been that we often fail to plan, and when we do, fail to enforce the rules. There are potential thieves everywhere, but they thrive where they are allowed to, where they are given a slap on the wrist or completely ignored.

    Chukwu wondered why government employees always fought with their employers even though government pays “twice” what the private sector pays. When he graduated as a doctor, he said, “the private sector was paying two to four times what we earned in government.”

    The minister conveniently glossed over the dwindling standards, choking existential challenges, unfriendly condition of service, incompetence of government officials, unflattering atmosphere in today’s workplace and unfulfilled promises, among other factors. Why are his colleagues leaving the country in droves? Chukwu has demonstrated that when leaders are bereft of ideas, they shift the blame. He has also joined government officials who believe that governing this country is tougher than rocket science.

    Indeed, the Chukwu revolution call inspired a flashback to a piece I wrote previously. The article entitled “Is Nigeria too difficult to govern?” is now reprinted:

    “Our leaders do not like to admit it, but it is clear all the same. They are finding the business of running this country too tough. You can tell from what they say, and how they say it. You can glean it from even what they fail to say. But above all, we can tell from the body of evidence that stares us in the face.

    Let’s start from the most basic of things. The impossible roads have humbled everybody including the leaders; the roads have had the better of our cars and our motorcycles. The loss of life and property on them leaves everyone in torment. And so does the unremitting destruction brought on vehicles. Perhaps, the only ones smiling in this are the auto mechanics whose industry has since been elevated to a vibrant money-making enterprise, no longer a fringe job for school dropouts. The very fact that their workshops are crammed with broken-down or badly battered vehicles leaves them in good cash and better spirits. Things have been looking up for Nigerian mechanics.

    We have also found it impossible to convert our plentiful water into usable household commodity. And this has thrown up all manner of water industrialists and merchants, wholesome and unscrupulous, all extracting handsome profits from the poor consumer.

    In the same way, generating and distributing electric power has become a mystery no one can crack. And as in the case of water, a whole new alternative but very expensive power industry has emerged. Almost every home, no matter how small or economically challenged, has a power generator whose maintenance and running costs far outstrip the meager resources of the breadwinners.

    Security of life is an eternal challenge. Increasing population and joblessness seem to be breeding more outlaws than the police can handle. But beyond that, even the high turnover of the police leadership and the circumstances surrounding their retirement do little to allay our worst security concerns. Almost every Inspector-General of Police leaves office in a cloud of one scandal or another. It is unclear yet how Mr Hafis Ringim, the incumbent, will ride the storm gathering over him since the terrorist attack on the police headquarters penultimate week.

    Now consider the anguish of Nigerians over kerosene and petrol. In the days of President Olusegun Obasanjo, no effort was spared in trying to ram fuel subsidy removal down Nigerians’ throats. At every opportunity, the President’s foot soldiers reeled out statistics and charts to convince Nigerians that sustaining the subsidy was inimical to the country’s resources. They also went on to tempt us with the idea that the billions of naira that would be saved from the subsidy removal would be used to resuscitate our comatose infrastructure. Obasanjo’s men often fell into a chant. Hospitals would be built or rebuilt, they sang. Drugs would be available in the hospitals. The insufferable roads would be fixed.

    Without shame they told us why ought to pay more for what God gives freely and in such awesome abundance. Even in the pre-Obasanjo era, the argument has been running. They used to ask in the late 80s why a bottle of soft drink should cost more than a litre of petrol. We have been paying more ever since, and still suffering.

    The latest round of suffering is experienced right from the kitchen to the filling station. Cooking stoves empty, lamps dry, women and children, and sometimes men, have mounted a sustained search for kerosene. Failing to find it in the neighbourhood where it has gone for anything between N250 a litre and 600 for two and a half, the searchers have often ended up at filling stations. There, a waiting queue curls round the facility or even outside it, cutting a picture comparable only to fuel lines and traffic gridlocks. A man narrated how he went from one filling station to another, keg in hand, searching for precious kerosene. His search covered a few miles before he located the cooking fuel, he told me. Then he walked all the way back. When these terrible things happen, it is always the poor that suffer.

    Why has it been impossible to build just one refinery in the country, or make the existing ones work? Perhaps, there is no end to the incongruities of Nigeria. Otherwise, why should a country be so blessed with such resources and yet remain so cursed and afflicted? Why should so much money be sunk into so many projects (electricity, roads, refineries, etc) and yet nothing works? What is the logic or wisdom of extracting crude with foreign expertise, only to export it for refinement and then import it into the country?

    Perhaps, running the country is truly tougher than some of us imagine.”

    •First published on June 26, 2011

  • Mercantile coaches

    Are we a cursed nation? I don’t think so, even though some charlatans portray us as such with their devious acts. Some of us have this penchant for seeing every avenue as a money spinner. We hide under the cloak of being business-minded people, especially when we are in vantage positions.

    We bend the rules to suit ourselves, not minding how this affects other parties. We are blinded by greed, which prevents us from looking at things objectively. This attitude won’t stop because the guilty ones always get a slap on the wrist.

    The first enemies of our football are the two Golden Eaglets’ coaches who ‘kidnapped’ Kelechi Iheanacho from his parents for three days. It took Iheanacho’s father’s outcry about his missing son before one of the shameless coaches linked the son with his father. What a country!

    In truth, Iheanacho is a minor because of his football age as an Under-17 boy. It means that he has between three and four years to play in the junior cadre of big European clubs to be groomed for the bigger task ahead.

    Such long-term project should involve Iheanacho’s parents and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), not the coaches; except such coaches want to link the boy with their former clubs, in this case, the renowned Barcelona FC of Spain.

    If the story is that one of the coaches was using his contacts to secure Iheanacho’s future through Barcelona, not a few Nigerians would have been pleased.

    I’m sure that Iheanacho’s father would have loved such a move that might offer his son a big opportunity to play alongside Lionel Messi. He would also learn a lot at Barcelona.

    Even then, Iheanacho’s parents ought to have been briefed about the move. Such uncivilised way of doing things is only informed by greed and the usual Shylock agreements that some of our coaches and clubs have with European scouts. This is why we couldn’t track the Under-17 kids that the late Yemi Tella used to win the trophy for Nigeria in 2007.

    What this disgraceful conduct shows is that the coaches were only exploiting the route of short-changing Iheanacho. In other climes, the template for transfers is known. No coach can trade a player without discussing with the country’s FA chiefs. Such discussions will help the FA know where the player is being taken to. They also would ask key questions about the programmes in the place for him and the arrangement made for his welfare since he is an underage player. Need I add that the FA chiefs will want to ask the player’s parents if they are comfortable with the plans made for their son? Such attention to welfare issues will, undoubtedly, do a long way in ensuring that the boy has a life after playing the beautiful game.

    What is clear about this needless mercantile morass is that the NFF don’t have a plan for the Eaglets. If there was any positive arrangement for the stars among them, it would not have been possible for the coaches and their Shylock agents to ‘kidnap’ Iheanacho. We do not know how far this rot has gone. We are privy to this one because Iheanacho’s father cried out. We won’t be shocked if no one knows the whereabouts of Isaac Success. Those fingered in this Iheanacho saga must never be allowed to have anything to do with the team. If they want to be agents, they should drop their coaching jobs and take the necessary examinations. They can’t be both coaches and agents.

    It is sinful for agents to be coaches, for such coaches are unlikely to be fair in their selection of players. They will probably always pick their candidates first. Coaches who are agents of big clubs do so through proxies, of course, to avoid the flaks from botched deals and to keep their integrity intact.

    Many sneered when the story broke that some of the disqualified Eaglets that featured in the Africa championship came from one of the coaches’ academy. No problems with players coming from the coach’s academy if he isn’t the owner. But where he is, the NFF ought to have investigated the matter and taken stern action. If they did, we won’t be struggling to get the coach off the back of the Ihenachos.

    It is this impunity exhibited by most of coaches that has scuttled the process of getting age-grade players to graduate to the Super Eagles. This new set of Eaglets won’t be any different, given what we have on our hands.

    It is instructive to note that Iheanacho won the MVP in UAE, just as Ronaldinho did in 1997 in the same competition in Egypt. Messi won it at the U-20 level in 2005 in Holland. Need I waste space to enumerate what Ronaldinho achieved and what Messi has achieved? It is about time a Nigerian followed this developmental path, and I feel strongly that Iheanacho could even become the World Footballer of the year someday. Did I hear you say “Amen, Amen”?

    I still weep over the way we have buried the late Yemi Tella’s efforts with the 2007 Eaglets. Tella’s boys were U-17 World Cup champions, yet the majority of them have not graduated into the Super Eagles team for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

    In 1999, Spain came with their U-20 side to Nigeria for the World Cup tournament hosted here with Casillas, Xavi and a few others. They lifted the trophy by beating Japan, under the tutelage of Phillipe Troussier, 2-0 in Lagos. Members of that youthful squad constitute the current World Cup and European Cup champions. We need to emulate this type of growth.

    The lesson from the Iheanacho saga is for the NFF to immediately place a caveat emptor on all the Eaglets, warning clubs not to do transfer business with either the players or agents, except the NFF. The important aspect to this warning is that the players are underage and wouldn’t be ready for club football until after two to four years.

    In addition, NFF must reorganise its international department- the body that deals with inter-club and intra-club transfers of Nigerian players. This department should be the NFF’s revenue base, if effectively managed.

    Personnel in the international department should not constitute themselves into travel agents, visa racketeers and bureau de change operators. They should be knowledgeable people who at the touch of a button in their office will tell us the location of any Nigerian player who left for Europe, Asia, the Americas or the Diaspora.

    Nigerian kids leave this country in droves, many sadly with forged documents, making it extremely difficult to track them. Of course, shockingly too, Nigerian kids who are taken away from their parents in their pursuit of bigger cash most times have several Nigerian passports. Remember the story of a boy known to everyone in the domestic league as John Akhimen, who became Richard Eromoigbe and played for the Eaglets with no one bothering to ask questions about the change of identity? I digress.

    The NFF chiefs must interface with the parents of the current Eaglets’ squad in deciding their future. Together, all the parties must ensure that these talented lads don’t go the way of others before them. In doing so, these parties must encourage the brilliant ones to combine education with playing football. This arrangement guarantees their future, given that the life span of any athlete is short, barring injuries.

    Aminu Maigari must put the machinery in place to identify the football academies, standardise their programmes by ensuring that the right personnel work in such academies before registering them and then monitor how their players grow in their professional careers.

    The implication of this exercise is that the documents taken from these academies serve as data bases for the future. This way, a boy (Ade Ojeikere, for instance), who was registered in Government College, Ughelli, in 1990 as 11 years old, cannot emerge as Emokpaire Ojeikere in Hussey College, Warri, in 2013 as a 16-year-old footballer, simply on account of his small stature and baby face. Such a person would easily be detected through his biometric taken in 1990. However, such infallibility, of course, would depend on the integrity of the process because some corrupt people in the system could tamper with the data.

    There is no doubt that Maigari has excelled in the task of changing the face of our soccer. Our national teams’ feats under his regime have been unbelievable. But he needs to reinvent the structures within the NFF by organising training courses where they can update their knowledge. Facilities in the NFF must also be modernised to be in sync with what obtains in other climes.

  • How elections create legitimacy

    As Nigerians go to the polls today to elect their legislators it is necessary to dwell on the issue of legitimacy again as I have done in recent past in the hope that this time around Nigerians will not vote in vain as in the last three elections of 1999, 2003 and 2007 in our great country. Legitimacy is the legal authority for power of rulers or political leaders. In a democracy, elections are the main rituals for elected leaders to obtain legitimacy. The more transparent the democratic process especially in terms of free and fair elections the better the quality of legitimacy and respect for any political system in the comity of nations and vice versa. Especially nowadays when democracy is the fashionable and ascendant ideology after the collapse of the defunct USSR under Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost and perestroika which focused on openness and transparency in government. By the way a birthday concert was held last Wednesday for Gorbachev’s 80th birthday in London’s Albert Hall at which a prize named ‘The man who changed the world’ named after Gorbachev, who was the last head of state of the defunct Soviet Union which collapsed in massive street demonstrations similar to the on going ones in the Arab world, in 1991.

    There is no gainsaying that in Nigeria the 2011 elections and campaigns have generated more interest and excitement amongst the competing contestants and the political parties than among the electorate which is supposed to vote the contestants for power into office.The reason for the apathy and apparent suspicion of the Nigerian electorate is both historical and sociological. Elections have rarely been free and fair in Nigeria and a political culture has evolved around the pattern of a prostrate electorate acquiescing with the results of a manifestly rigged election in the hope that this time around the crumbs from the table of power of the new or renewed government will be more generous than hitherto. This has made rigged elections acceptable as a way of life, albeit a bitter pill to swallow, so that the business of governance can go on as usual in all tiers of government in the name of our unique democracy.

    The difference this time around however is that those organizing the elections have promised that the electorate will not be shortchanged in terms of rigging and that the elections will be free and fair. I hold four centers of power in the electoral process responsible for this promise based on the crucial role of their antecedents predecessors in earlier elections in this nation. These centers of power or institutions are the Presidency, the Police, INEC and the judiciary. The Presidency, Police and INEC are largely credible in my estimation of their preparations but I can not honestly say the same of the judiciary and I will explain.

    The President of the Republic who is a contestant has gone out of his way to say that people should not rig, but just vote for him and I believe him for the simple reason that no incumbent seeking reelection has ever said that in this nation before. Some of his supporters say he is suffering from inexperience and naivety and that he has shot himself in the leg for disowning the time tested weapon of re -election in our unique brand of democracy. All the same I believe this incumbent president and presidential contestant.

    The Police Inspector General has moved Police State Commissioners unexpectedly out of their domain to new places for the duration of the elections and I believe these movements will stem the tide of rigging somewhat. Although the ACN has called for his removal over events in the South East I doubt if that is possible for this 2011 elections. Also the fact that the INEC Chairman has called on the SSS to help monitor INEC staff at polling booths nationwide to ensure they follow the electoral process to the letter shows that INEC will not cover up for its erring officials as has been its modus operandi in the past .

    It is with the judiciary sadly that I see the Achilles heel of our latest electoral odyssey of great expectations for a free and fair election starting today. The leadership of the Nigerian judiciary as at the start of this election is a divided house. The Chief Justice of Nigeria has a petition against him on corruption from a colleague the President of the Federal Court of Appeal who has also refused promotion to the Supreme Court. The two are the leading lights of the temple of justice in Nigeria and are expected to deploy judges to handle election petitions arising from the elections starting from today Nobody has spoken so far of their being removed or suspended for conflict of or divided interest so as not to rock the boat of the electoral process which is bound to hit a judicial rock sooner than later with such litigious captains in charge.

    Yet, the judiciary is the vehicle expected to give legitimacy to our electoral process. It is expected to adjudicate in electoral disputes and its high priests in the temples of justice at all tiers of government are to swear in elected officials according to our constitution. The law says he who comes to equity must come with clean hands but I do not think that is applicable to the Nigerian judiciary at the beginning of these 2011 elections and the consequences and prospects of that are quite grim to contemplate for now. In judicial terms one can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst in terms of justice in our electoral system this time around.

    Nevertheless , every cloud has its silver lining and our 2011 elections can not be an exception. Nigerians like all electorates globally have an opportunity that come once in four years to elect their leaders. Fortunately or otherwise we are doing this at a time when the Arabs of the Middle East have taken to the streets to throw out their leaders for corruption, dictatorship, autocracy and decades of misrule. The street demonstrators have found sympathy with the leaders of the democratic world led by the US, and EU nations namely France and Britain. Indeed at the EU and NATO Conference on Libya attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week it was resolved that Libya’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi had lost all legitimacy to rule his people and should just go. This is in spite of the UN resolution which is the mandate of the Coalition, saying explicitly that the Coalition forces are in Libya to provide a no fly zone over that country and are not there for regime change.

    Since then no less a person than US President Barak Obama has said in a state broadcast in the US that living Gaddafi in charge after Coalition intervention makes Libya a dangerous place for world peace. Obama stressed that it is the duty of the international community to protect unarmed Libyans against Gaddafi but it is the responsibility of Libyans themselves to determine the manner of his exit. Both David Cameron the UK ‘s PM and Obama have stressed that UN resolution restraint not withstanding, they will not rule out giving arms to Libyan rebels to dislodge Gaddafi. Which means the die is cast for the Libyan leader and his days are very numbered since he cannot match the fire power, experience, military skills and technology of the Coalition out to save his people whom he called rats and varmins at the start of the Libyan uprising.

    In terms of our own elections and the choice of who to vote for we can learn something from the reasons and causes of the fury of the Middle East masses against their dictators and political leaders. From Tunisia to Egypt to Saudi Arabia to Yemen to Bahrain to Libya and now to Syria the ruling elites and families have been in power for too long and have remained insensitive to the economic needs and yearnings of their people. Instead they used the police and a highly motivated quasi- military security apparatus to monitor their people; to cut them to size and jail any dissident without trial while using torture with impunity as a form of deterrence against any opposition. This was the situation in Tunisia under Ben Ali for 24 years; in Mubarak’s Egypt for 32 years; in Saleh’s Yemen for 32 years to date; for decades to date under the ruling House of Saud in Saudi Arabia; and in the 41 years of late Haffez Assad dynasty and his son who has been in office after succeeding his father 11 years ago .So the fury that drove the Arab masses into their streets and squares which the dictators built for celebrations consisted of corruption, nepotism, tyranny, high handedness, aloofness, and lack of respect for democratic values generally.

    To me then the virtues we should look for in choosing who to vote for in these 2011 elections are the opposite of what led the Arabs to revolt so massively against their leaders in the on going street revolution convulsing the Middle East as we know it today. Which means that Nigerians should from today vote for leaders who hate and do not practice corruption and nepotism ;leaders who have respect for democratic values of the rule of law ,accountability and transparency; leaders who are responsive to the wishes of those who elected them.

    We can of course add the Nigerian flavor by pointing out or reminding ourselves and our political contestants of our present needs and problems which could lead to street democracy and demonstrations like those in the Middle East if they are not attended to by the elected leaders in the elections starting today. These are rampant lack of electricity for good quality of life and for growth of industries leading to unemployment and redundancies; lack of security of life and property in our cities and villages; poor health facilities; poor and dangerous roads and infrastructure generally. Since election times are times of great promises by power seekers and great expectations by the electorate we ask Nigerians to vote wisely and pick new leaders who will be responsive to their needs as promised during campaigns. For now at least electing our leaders through the ballot box is infinitely better and less rowdy than the ongoing massive street democracy of the Arab world.

  • Professor Jega’s burden

    Professor Jega’s burden

    Last Saturday’s botched and inconclusive governorship election in Anambra State raises salient fears as regards the possibilities of democratic sustainability in Nigeria. There is indeed justifiable cause for deep despair as political actors demonstrated, once again, scant regard for legal or ethical rules in their desperate bid to control state power at all costs, and irrespective of the popular will. The supposedly impartial electoral umpire, the Independent National electoral Commission (INEC) descended to abysmal levels of partisanship and incompetence in its conduct of the election.

    And, of course, the security agencies deployed for the exercise were not left out of the stiff competition to excel in impunity. The massive show of force particularly by the Nigeria Police was apparently no more than a gimmick, not only to create an environment conducive to the perpetration of electoral fraud, but also to suppress popular expression of discontent at an incurably and inexcusably flawed exercise.

    The kind of brazen lawlessness exhibited by virtually all stakeholders in the Anambra election suggests strongly that the grave of democracy in this dispensation is already being aggressively dug and we are only grimly awaiting 2015 for the final denouement – an elaborate burial ceremony. For, if a successful and credible governorship election cannot be held in only one state, how do we hope to conduct acceptable nationwide polls in a country already substantially immersed in severe socio-economic, political and security crises?

    Yet, despite the colossal setback to our democratic evolution by the Anambra governorship election fiasco, certain aspects of the exercise offer some hope that the prospects for the survival and strengthening of responsible and accountable government in the country are quite bright. Yes, the anti-democratic elements are alive, well and active in their determination to subvert the peoples will. But the popular forces, fiercely committed to upholding and protecting the will of the people are also strong and unrelenting.

    For instance, a vibrant civil society represented by the various election observer groups ensured the effective monitoring of the Anambra polls. This was a key factor responsible for the exposure of the grave flaws that marred the exercise. It is thus understandable that a number of the election observers were harassed and even detained by compromised police authorities while others incurred the open hostility of INEC officials. That the majority of election observers were able to play their roles against all odds inspires hope that those intent on electoral fraud in future polls will have even more formidable obstacles on their path.

    Again, the media deserves commendation for its vigilance and professionalism in the coverage of the Anambra polls. This was why telling images and stories of disenfranchised voters and compromised officials were vividly brought to millions. Impunity, criminal complicity and incompetence had no hiding place in the Anambra election thanks to the media.

    Mention must also be made of the hundreds of brave women of Anambra state who severally protested their disenfranchisement and disempowerment by INEC. They were not deterred by the intimidating police presence. Not even the fumes of tear gas could break their will. It is this kind of courage and resilience that will help to consolidate democracy in Nigeria by ensuring that every vote counts and the popular will triumphs.

    Now, what about the role of the embattled INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega? So much has been written and said about this. As a result of the huge fund of moral integrity and credibility he brought to the job, many expect the good Professor to perform miracles and move mountains of electoral fraud and impunity. The credible conduct of the 2011 election further raised the hope that, under Jega, it was only a matter of time before the country holds elections of the requisite international standard. Such hopes have been dashed. The degree of impunity has worsened with each subsequent election held under Jega’s watch. Something is certainly dreadfully wrong.

    Some have completely written off Jega and even called for his resignation over the Anambra debacle. They contend that his robe of moral integrity is irredeemably stained. As far as they are concerned, the professor cannot extricate himself from blame for the functional inefficiency, operational mediocrity and moral laxity responsible for the current electoral gridlock in Anambra State. This column begs to differ. I believe that Jega remains a decent, competent and well- meaning patriot committed to the best interest of Nigeria.

    It is as result of his essential sense of honour and intellectual honesty that Jega has admitted INEC’s responsibility for the botched polls. He has even tendered an apology to Nigerians. Can you imagine how a Maurice Iwu would have reacted in similar circumstances? He would have insisted on the sanctity of the discredited elections and even offered Nigeria’s assistance to the rest of the world on how to organise credible polls! Till date, the voluble Professor Iwu is still living in denial as regards the atrocious and utterly disgraceful 2007 elections, which he supervised. Against such irresponsible and anti-intellectual hubris, Jega’s humility is a breath of fresh air.

    The question is, having summoned the courage to be humble, decent and truthful on the Anambra poll, what is the way forward for Jega and INEC towards resolving the electoral logjam in the state? It is certainly most unhelpful, immoral and insufficient for INEC to contend that no matter how tainted, the subsisting results in the botched Anambra polls can only be upturned by a court of law. Surely, Professor Jega should know that the responsibility for conducting free and fair elections rests with INEC and not the courts.

    Holding so called supplementary elections in a minority of polling units when the credibility and integrity of the entire exercise has been called to question will simply not do. The supplementary results will not cure the grievous defects arising from mass disenfranchisement, questionable voters register, the late distribution of materials, poor logistics and general organisational inefficiency that marred the integrity of the election across the state.

    If the electoral umpire knowingly supervised the deliberate delay or complete denial of voting materials in certain areas to the detriment of some candidates while at the same time ensuring the timely arrival of manpower and materials in selected areas to favour particular candidates, the credibility of the entire exercise across the board is incurably infected. It means the whole process was strategically planned to arrive at a predetermined outcome. There is no guarantee that the choice of electoral officers down the line and other decisions were not tainted to manipulate the process.

    Just as it did in the April 2, 2011, National Assembly election, INEC can only safeguard its integrity by cancelling the entire exercise and conducting a credible and generally acceptable election in Anambra. The onus should be on those who seek to profit from an exercise acknowledged by INEC to be defective and discredited, to seek legal validation for their claim in court. As The Guardian newspaper declared in its editorial yesterday, “Having accepted responsibility for the present quagmire arising from the election, INEC has a duty to correct the identified and the hidden anomalies and sanction those responsible as appropriate. Above all, it must ensure that the election ultimately and fully reflects the genuine desire of the Anambra people”.

    Even more to the point, The Punch in its editorial of Thursday, November 21, was unequivocal. In its words “As the nation grapples with yet another shoddy election, this time the Anambra State governorship poll of last Saturday, it is incumbent upon the Independent National Electoral Commission to do the right thing: summon the courage to cancel the flawed election…Decidedly, the election failed the test of credibility, which critically determines the acceptability of an electoral contest”.

    This then is Professor Jega’s burden. Before him are enduring honour or a gradual descent to infamy. The choice is entirely his. At the end of the day, it does not matter who wins in Anambra as long as the process is transparent and credible.

  • Showers of blessings

    Showers of blessings

    It is finished. The heavens opened its up and poured down on the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar, signifying our triumph over the Ethiopians on a 4-1 aggregate. We have secured the 2014 World Cup ticket and there is celebration in the land. As usual, we are partying, with praise singers angling for slots in the mass movement of Nigerians to the samba nation from June 2014. Did I hear you say another jamboree? Is that not a way of life in Nigeria when the national cake is about to be shared?

    The victory over Ethiopia didn’t come like a piece of cake. The Eagles laboured for it. The Ethiopians stuck to their entertainment football, which kept the fans on the edge of their seats for much of the game. If Saturday’s game was a boxing bout, the visitors would have nicked it via a technical knockout. But it was no boxing.

    In football, flair not directed towards scoring goals is sheer entertainment. The Ethiopians realised this when the referee blew the final whistle. Goals win matches, not the number of passes strung together by players. The visitors dominated the game, such that the fans had to embark on the Mexican waves to warm themselves, having watched in awe as the Ethiopians ran ring around our boys. That is how cruel the round leather game could be.

    And when the heavens opened up at the end of the game, it symbolised the need for everyone to critically assess the squad in order to fix the lapses noticed before the Brazil 2014 World Cup.

    Where I sat in the stadium, I told those around me before the tie started that the Eagles would not give their best because of the Italian game in London. Someone challenged me insisting that I disliked the Eagles. I listened as he scolded me over past my columns. But the fact stared him in the face when the Eagles struggled. He abused virtually everyone on the field. Yet when a goal was scored, he celebrated. But who will blame such fans who denied themselves food and the luxuries of life to pay their way to watch the game.

    As the game rolled through, I wanted to see how Stephen Keshi’s changes would improve the trend. Keshi’s changes were brilliant, culminating in the perfectly struck free-kick. Yet it was Keshi’s post-match comments that stirred the hornet’s nest. He recognised the fact that the team didn’t play well and hinged it on the players’ nerves and hunger to score goals. For professionals of our players’ stature, the argument was awful. On hindsight, it could be that Keshi didn’t want to berate them publicly. If that was the case, it was the best thing to do.

    While the fans celebrated, I listened to their songs. They spent close to 40 minutes singing Nwankwo Kanu’s praises and you wondered if Papilo actually played the game. He didn’t, but the fans wanted to show their appreciation for all he had done to thrill them. Of course, the message from the fans’ praise was lost on the players. Kanu made Nigerians smile with his sublime skills, which produced goals for himself and others. Perhaps, they nursed the dream that drafting Kanu to the field to add spark to the team’s sloppy movement against the Ethiopians was something worth contemplating. But then everything – and everyone – has his time and season. There is no way we can reenact Kanu’s season again. We just have to live with the fact that we have come to the end of Kanu’s era.

    On Tuesday, I wasn’t surprised that the Eagles stood up to the Italians. They knew that such a big stage was for any player to showcase his best. Even with the seeming depleted side paraded by Keshi, everyone fought for the ball and ensured that his position wasn’t used by the Italians to score goals. The Italians were good but must be pinching themselves back home how the Nigerians outplayed them in their defence.

    Keshi showed courage in fielding home-based boys in the defence, except for Godfrey Oboabona. The Big Boss’ foresight has instilled the confidence that the home lads need ahead of the CHAN 2014 competition in South Africa.

    Fielding Shola Ameobi raised hope that he could play alongside Emmanuel Emenike, although one has observed that Keshi has done otherwise. Keshi could consider this option (Ameobi/ Emenike) while in camp for the Mundial. Again, Bright Dike’s robust style reminds me of the Atuegbu brothers of yore. Only energetic players, such as Dike, could have scored Nigeria’s first goal. He smartly outmuscled his Italian marker to score the goal from Ameobi’s nifty cross. A half-chance goal and the assist that produced the first goal earned Ameobi my Man-of-the-Match tag, not forgetting Oguenyi Onazi’s yeoman showing during the game.

    Victor Moses showed why he is the toast of Liverpool. He troubled the Italians with his pace and tricks on the ball. Surprisingly, Mikel had an off-day. Big games bring out Mikel’s best, like we saw at the Confederations Cup in Brazil. Not so against the Azzurris. He wasn’t sharp. He didn’t stamp his authority on the game the way Moses did. Perhaps he was tired and no one will blame him. Keshi must warn Moses and, indeed, his players not to take off their shirts after scoring goals. It really sickening that players, knowing full well that there is always a reprimand for taking off your shirt in celebration, still go ahead to commit such an infringement. Such action attracts a yellow card. Such needless card could scuttle a coach’s tactical plan. Moses should learn from Dike, who hesitated in removing his short after his goal, realising the implications.

    The Italian friendly should signpost the new direction of international friendlies for Nigeria. The drawn game was the best exhibition of our game to the top ten countries in FIFA rankings to play us anywhere in the world.

    Conventionally, most European countries set up games with African teams to prepare them for the daunting task against any African opposition at the Mundial next year. I won’t be surprised if the Spaniards decide to confront Nigeria in a high profile friendly. The significance of playing such big ties is that it improves Nigeria’s rating on the FIFA log. It also opens a new vista for our football because European scouts would nurse the desire to visit the country in search of talents to expose to big clubs in Europe.

    Such Grade A games also help our coaches to develop. It helps them to gain the confidence to prosecute subsequent matches. It raises their profile and provides them with enough tactics to outwit weaker opponents. Our coaches learn new tricks thrown at them in the course of such ties. They could use such platforms to exchange notes and ideas with coaches whose system they admire.

    The talk of getting a foreign technical adviser to do recce jobs for Keshi is cheap. Rather, we should choose between seeking an arrangement where Keshi and his men can spend time with some of the big European coaches to see how they prepare their teams for matches or get them to attend regular refresher courses. Our coaches would use the opportunity to watch how these coaches handle half-time pep talks. Matches are won from the decisions taken at half time by the technical crew.

    However, it is good that the sports minister insists that only Keshi can ask for the recruitment of a technical adviser, who in any case would be the Big Boss’ subordinate. The import of this ministerial directive is that Keshi could remain as the Eagles tactician after 2014? Why? The experience from the World Cup will enhance his work ethics and make him a better coach. We must learn to encourage continuity. Let’s hope that Keshi keys into this arrangement, irrespective of our inability to pay his wages regularly.

    Our players have taken their trade to Europe and have clinched shirts from other nationals. Our coaches need to step up, starting with exposing Keshi et al to refresher courses and clinics to update their knowledge. To compete with the best, you must have the ingredients that make them tick. And they do not come by sitting at home or embarking on long holidays, eating buggers and guzzling beer.

    The World Cup is a serious business. Our fifth appearance would be appreciated if we become the first African country to qualify for the semi-finals. At that stage, anything is possible. After all, who would have thought that Nigeria would win the gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta? Senegal didn’t need a pilgrimage of World Cup appearances to hit the quarter finals in their debut outing at the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup. The Senegalese are not as talented; neither are the Cameroonians.

    Nigeria will be a super power in soccer, if the Eagles excel in Brazil next year. We are World Cup champions at the U-17 level for a record fourth time. And it won’t be out of place, if we emerge as champions in Brazil. It is possible. We must set the template to achieve that feat.

    Good night Austin Agbare

    I don’t like being a harbinger of bad news. But this sad story concerns a friend who follows this column religiously. He is the first to praise any good column and also points out those he has issues with.

    Walking through the The Nation’s newsroom on Thursday evening, I was accosted by the Acting Business Editor, Simeon Ebulu. He wore a forlorn look and I asked what the problem was. He hissed and shook his head. I immediately knew something terrible had happened.

    Ade, I just received a text message stating that Austin Agbare died in India on November 20. I held him, mouth agape. What did you just say? I asked. Yes, his assistant just confirmed it. I wept. I knew Austin at the Government College, Ughelli. He was in Oleh House. He played badminton and was a silver medalist at the 1975 National Sports Festival.

    Austin has joined his friend Nnamdi Anazia in the bossom of the Lord. It really hurts. Good night Austin Agbare. Mehen nosen!

  • Technology, the Military  and Disasters

    The  typhoon that hit  the Philippines so  cruelly this week has shown in stark terms that  the war between man and nature is far from over. It  has also  shown that  even though  technology can identify disasters  like typhoons as well  as their deadly speed-  which was 310 km per hour in the Philipines typhoon – no technology can as yet predict the level and volume of human and physical disasters to follow. That  was what made the Philippino disaster so gruesome  and awesome to beholdand  its fury brought to a global audience suck in by the unique majesty and brilliance of information technology and  the unique  ubiquity  of the internet. Global  empathy was instant and profuse and whilst one wept at  the sight of nature  making nonsense of humanity with impunity,  right before our eyes,  the US military

    shown like a million stars  in the gallant way its cargo planes brought desperately needed relief materials and succor to  the far flung areas of the Phillippines devastated  by this highly destructive   typhoon.  From  the bottom of my heart I say ‘ God bless America’ for that and I  really mean that,  no matter what I may have written about the US  of recent especially with regard  to  its policy on Syria.

    Let  us  put  emotions  aside  now  and look  today at the good, the bad and the ugly side of the Phillipines disaster  and the reaction of its government , and  the international community. We shall also  appreciaite  the satellite TV stations whose reporters brought the carnage wrought by nature to us  all in our living rooms and places of work. The  role  of the military  in Egypt where the imprisoned former President Mohammed Morsi has issued a letter through his lawyer telling Egyptians that Egypt will never regain stability unless the  rule  of  the military that removed him from office is terminated by the Egyptian people. Which is like a call to arms. This call will be examined along side the news that  the Russians are talking with the Egyptian military on many issues including the sale of arms. Which  means that in diplomacy  as in life itself,  nature abhors a vacuum given the fact that the US recently stopped arms sale of F16  fighter jets to Egypt in protest  at the military coup  in Egypt. We  finally examine the implications for Nigeria of the US designationg Boko Haram and Ansaru  militant groups  as foreign terrorist  organisations and thereby blocking all US  financial transactions with them.

    Again,  I doff  my hat to the US  military’s  humanitarian intervention  in the Phillipines  to save lives, although  given the US  military’s pedigree in logistics and movement  of men and material, one should not be that surprised. I  once read  a case study from Havard University detailing how the US navy moved men and materiel  to Saudi  Arabia during the first Gulf War  involving coalition of 15  nations mustered for the war by  the UN  and  US President George  Bush Snr  and it was the greatest movement of personnel  and equipment in history at that time. This time speed and size were also in dire need and the US military responded in kind. A war  ship was moved towards  the Phillipines to enable navy helicopters deliver relief materials faster  and in greater quantities . The US  military has shown its human face in saving lives and human dignity  by  its reaction to the typhoon in the Phillipines and it is   a  face of mercy and kindness  which is scarcely associated with the same military  that the Pakistanis and Afgans will  forever associate with drone strikes and missile attacks. More importantly the US has shown the Philippino  people that it is a friend in need while  China which promised half a million dollars but increased that to $1.6m has shown  that the typhoon disaster  has not built  bridges over territorial disputes it has with  the Phillipines .And that  really shows the Chinese in poor light in terms of humanity and that is really a pity.

    In  addition some Philippines  news media have criticised their President  Aquino and government for not reacting fast enough and I think  that was unfair given the fury and speed of the Typhoon which was said  to be the fastest and largest on land unlike Katrina that landed on water. This  is  because there is no way any human capacity can spontaineously meet  such a massive challenge of nature and the Philippines leadership is no exception . In addition when CNN’s seasoned  reporter Amanpour was interviewing a  Phillipino Minister immediately the disaster struck she was asking questions about corruption in the Phillipines which I thought  was uncalled for at that stage and I am happy that  that  trend of coverage was abruptly ended  by the  well respected network  . It was replaced by the stories of professional CNN reporters  who betrayed no emotions as they narrated and showed  moving episodes  and faces of those grieving for their loved ones . I salute  the devotion to duty of these reporters but I do not think some bit of emotion to show at least that they are not drained of it or,  are, at least not enjoying the tragic  spectacle,  would have been out of place .

    In  Egypt however the face of the military  which has seized power and is preparing its Commander in Chief to contest in the next presidential elections is  anything but inviting or humanitarian given the challenge posed by Egypt’s deposed but democratically elected President  Mohammed  Morsi. There  was no natural disater in Egypt this week but the  politics, events  and  demonstrations  of the last few months have claimed almost as many lives as the typhoon in the Phillipines.  Now  the military  have  lifted  emergency rule but  the elected president is on trial and has called for a jihad  to remove the military  which deposed  him  from  power  and is trying him in court.

    The  problem in Egypt is a ding dong battle between democracy and the miltary and the miltary are winning . The Americans were  supposed to check mate them but they looked elsewhere  instead and even refused to recognise  a coup in plain sight. Instead they  scuttled  an arms deal involving high tech F 16  war  planes . But  the  Egyptian military dont need war planes to disperse demonstrators. They  need batons and tear gas,  tanks  and masks  and they have them in abundance in Cairo. In  addition I am sure  that the Russians  will provide  any way the equivalent of F16 jets to the Egyptian military. The deal  will surely be consummated before the US  comes back from the diversion created by China and Russia over Iran’s nuclear sanctions talks  and change of attitudeby its new leader at the last UN General Assembly. However  by the time the Iran sanctions talks collapse ,as it will soon do,  it  will be clear that the Americans have been sold another dummy  as in Syria . By that time however  the Russians would have put their  feet in the door  firmly  at least to sell high tech jets to the Egypptian  military  and dig in as they have done with Assad  in Syria.

    Lastly the  immediate effect  of the categorisation of Boko Haram and Ansaru  as foreign terror groups to the US  is  to freeze the accounts of these groups and those associated with them. It  also means that it is not only the Nigerian army that is fighting them. More importantly it may mean that the US  may send drones to Nigeria. That then takes the war on terrorism to a new dimension in Nigerian terms. Which  to me shows that the Boko  Haram threat  has been  handled with kid gloves by Nigeria  and the US has taken the fight out of our hands. What  then are we having the  big ,  well trained military at our disposal for ? Even though some time ago the Nigerian president asked the US  not to  do what it has just done, I  have no doubt in my mind that it pays some vested interests  in our security  apparatus to internationalise the Boko Haram menace and they have surely succeeded. How  the army or the military will react to this Americanisation of the Boko Haram threat will define the success or failure of the Nigerian state in the months to come.

  • The Chimes’ marital tragedies

    The Chimes’ marital tragedies

    Of all the horrible consequences of the Chime and wife saga, its impact on marriage and traditions is the most devastating. For over one week, the world has been treated to unsavoury accounts of Mrs Clara Chime’s marital battles with her husband, Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime. At a time we were left to imagine what happened inside and also outside the Enugu Government House apartment to which the governor’s wife was restricted for medical reasons, according to the governor, or where she was detained, according to her. We have heard from the governor that his wife has mental challenges requiring medical seclusion, but the lady in question has countered that she is only suffering from depression, and not madness as the world was led to believe.

    The battle has attracted all sorts of attention, from the local to the international stage. The home media has been feasting on it. A notable lawyer has been briefed. Local artistes and civil society groups have picked it up, seeking justice for Mrs Chime. International organs may also have been informed of the ordeal of a certain state governor’s wife at the hands of her husband. Security personnel are deeply involved, if only to do the bidding of their master.  The folks, especially the traditional ruler, of Ozulobu community, Amuda, Umunneoche Local Council of Abia State, Mrs Chime’s hometown, have also heard it.

    We have equally heard that the governor and his security team have, at least once, tried to ship Clara back to her mother in an Enugu estate but failing to see the woman to whom to hand her over, they thought it was better to return her to the restricted apartment in Government House until the time was right. Then, we heard that the right time came a few days ago when Mrs Chime was successfully handed back to her mother, but there soon came another report that Clara has moved to Port Harcourt amid comments that she has finally been freed.

    That was quite an ordeal, not just for the woman but also for her husband. Nothing in the saga lifted her profile, nor could anything in it lend Mr Chime to any hearts. It did grave harm to Mrs Chime, who four years ago ascended the celebrity ladder when she married the love of her life and moved into Government House. When her image graced the pages of the newspaper, it was that of a beautiful woman, graceful in that cocky gele headgear with which our female celebrities make a statement or two. When she was shipped out a few days ago, she may have shaken off the shackles of the Government House, but indeed she was leaving a shrunken woman, toppled from the heights of power to the ordinariness of daily living.

    As for her husband, few things can lower a man before humanity. It may still be common for a man to see off his wife and take another woman to replace her but something dies in such a man, even if sycophants may whisper in his ear saying all is well. Such good-for-nothing companions may tell their misguided friend that there is nothing to be ashamed of and that indeed people can marry today and divorce tomorrow. Celebrities of all stripes have turned marriage and divorce into a queer art. Some sound a bit boastful when they say they have married seven times and divorced as many times. Today I say I do, tomorrow I say I don’t. At Chime’s privileged heights, women can be a dime a dozen, but when a man begins to inflate his lungs with such airs, doom is around the corner.

    As damaging as the ordeal is to Mr and Mrs Chime, the marriage institution and our traditions are the worst hit. What is happening in Enugu is the most devastating assault on marriage. It more than mocks matrimony. It ridicules love and questions marital union because as Clara departs, it is not apparent that anything has irredeemably broken the codes of their matrimony. I do not suggest that there are no difficulties in marriage. There are, and some may take the grace of God to resolve. But in the Chimes’ case, all that we heard is Clara’s mental challenge for which her parents should find a cure, as the governor reportedly said. Mrs Chime herself has said her problem is depression. Now, whether the problem is mental or merely prolonged sadness, lingering low self-esteem or loss of interest in what once made Clara happy, restraining her or sending her away is not the answer. What caused her problems in the first place? The unwritten code of matrimony demands that the couple sort out what has crept in to rob them of their joy. If it required the best doctors, psychologists, therapists or counsellors in the world, it was within the Chimes’ means to find an answer to whatever troubled Clara. When the love-struck Sullivan held his bride’s hand as they faced the priest, they heard something similar. They were told that neither sickness of the mind nor of body should warrant a separation. They were also told that poverty should not drive them apart. Nor should wealth of which they have plenty. The officiating elders at their traditional marriage would also expect that much from the couple. More so because they were not just another couple; they were the first family of the state. Everyone looked up to them to lead the way. To a large extent, they were the moral compass of Enugu by virtue of their position.

    Traditions expect that couples quietly work hard at their challenges, and should not launder their messy linen in public. Part of the burdens of public office is that the officers should labour to be above board. They fail sometimes, and that can be understood, but such brazen assault of matrimony as illustrated by the Chime’s marital tragedy is way outside the permissible.

    Divorce grounds are rare in Christianity; even then there were none in the Chimes’ case. The traditional setting may be more permissible but what steps did Chime take to meet the requirements, if indeed he and Clara have gone their separate ways?

    Their four-year-old marriage, stormy as it apparently was, produced a son, who, according to reports, is staying with the father, rather than the mother, as the former wished. As the boy grows up, he sure will ask questions. The father had better prepare to answer them.