The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Apc and the courage for change

    Apc and the courage for change

    A department of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reportedly attempted to delay the registration of the newly formed APC. Ultimately, good sense, courage and Professor Attahiru Jega’s integrity prevailed and the APC became a legal and political reality. I therefore reproduce below a piece published in this column on June 22, 2013

    Look at the books which I have written, the lectures which I have given, and the many speeches and statements which I have made. You will find that there is no problem confronting or about to confront Nigeria to which I have not given thought and for which I have not proffered intelligent and reasoned solutions
    – Chief Obafemi Awolowo, 3rd of July, 1979

    The above assertion was certainly no empty boast by the great sage, Awo, as he assiduously sought the country’s presidency in 1979. Reading his vast collections of writings today, one is still amazed at the extent of his industry, the depth of his research, and the enduring relevance of his proposed remedies for the protracted maladies that have laid Nigeria prostrate for over five decades. That was a statesman, politician and leader avidly committed to transformational change and who made every possible sacrifice, even if ultimately futile, to help actualize his dreams for a country he loved passionately. I want to believe that the leaders and moving spirits behind the emergent new political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) have also given serious reflection to their decision to choose ‘change’ as the party’s slogan.

    This question is pertinent because the President Goodluck Jonathan presidency along with his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) apparently flippantly flung the phrase ‘transformation agenda’ before our too easily seduced eyes in the run up to the 2011 election. Having won a pan-Nigerian mandate, neither president nor party appears, two years after, to have any inkling what transformation is about. Thus, our existential realities only steadily worsen even as they trumpet their purported accomplishments from the roof tops. Things have clearly sunk to their lowest ebb in contemporary Nigeria. Despite the undeniable progress made in many states in the present dispensation, the centre that controls the bulk of the country’s resources remains largely rudderless and clueless. And even as poverty worsens, insecurity reigns and corruption struts our highways in majestic omnipotence, we have a presidency that is completely preoccupied with 2015 to the exclusion of almost all else. Yet, the darkest period of the night also marks the gradual transition to dawn. This may thus also be the beginning, fortuitously, of Nigeria’s march towards hermanifest destiny of greatness in spite, perhaps because of, the inexcusable ineptitude of the Jonathan presidency.

    There are great expectations and immense anticipation in the air. This is perhaps the most significant moment of political alignments and realignments in Nigeria’s post-colonial history. In sharp contrast to the perfunctory and half-hearted political alliances that failed woefully in the first and second republics, the opposition seems determined this time to forge a solid full scale merger to wrest power from the behemoth at the centre. Against all odds, the merging parties have come up with a common name, common logo, common slogan, agreeable constitution and are pacing premium on coming up with a national redemption programme rather than pursuing personal political ambitions. And the obsessive ambition of President Jonathan is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for the opposition. It has split the PDP down the middle bringing it to the point of implosion. It has ruptured the National Governors Forum and, very happily for the opposition, alienated many PDP governors who may work against their party in 2015 just as they bloodied a hubristic presidency’s nose in the May 24th, NGF election clearly won by the irrepressible Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State.

    But then, these are still early days yet. After all, 24 hours is a long period in politics. This is why the opposition leaders involved in the merger moves must be constantly challenged to reflect on their motives and incessantly interrogate their assumptions. This is exactly what my colleague, Mr.Olakunle Abimbola, did in his column of last Tuesday. He wanted the APC leadership to have a crystal clear idea in their minds on why exactly they want to ease the PDP out of power at the centre come 2015. If it is power for its own sake, he reasoned with characteristic incisiveness, the new party would not be much differentfrom the PDP it seeks to displace. For we all know the catchphrase of the ‘largest party in Africa’: PDP! POWER! It has monopolised power in the country since 1999 while increasing the powerlessness of Nigerians in the face of hunger, disease, ignorance, darkness and joblessness. I approach Abimbola’s concerns from a slightly different angle.

    What kind of change do the APC leaders have in mind when they advocate the need to lead the country in a different direction from the retrogressive one taken over the last 14 years? The ironic truth is that to bring about the kind of change that will fundamentally and qualitatively transform the country the way the PDP has completely failed to do, the new party at the centre must also place premium on ‘power’ a s a value. But then, I refer not to the arrogant, purposeless power associated with the PDP. No, I mean the power of self-discipline, the power of self-denial, the power of sacrifice and the power of selflessness. Let me explain.

    It will be all too tempting for a new party at the centre to want to maintain the current unhealthy asymmetrical relations between the federal and state governments. The government will be likely under the illusion that it will wield the immense powers at the centre more responsibly than the PDP has done. Nothing would be more false. Absolute power will always corrupt absolutely maybe it is the PDP in power or not. Fundamental decentralization of powers, resources and responsibilities from the centre to the states and regions is thus a necessary change that a post – PDP government must consider non-negotiable. Of course, such a federal government will take the lead in upholding the rule of law, transparency and judicial integrity to tame corruption and promote good governance.

    Again, if a post-PDP President emerges in 2015, he may be inclined to retain the dysfunctional, excessively expansive powers of the Nigerian presidency that has become a veritable albatross on the entire political system. Again, the outcome will be as disastrous as it has been under the PDP and positive change will remain pure fiction. All the nonsense of the President being the leader of a political party must go with the PDP. Critical national institutions must be relatively autonomous of the presidency. Party supremacy must hold everybody, no matter how highly placed in check while internal democracy must be the norm. To be fair to two prime movers of the APC, General Muhammed Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, they have demonstrated a remarkable willingness to forfeit selfish, personal ambition for the collective party and national interest. That is a commendable example of the power of sacrifice and self-denial.

    Furthermore, what will the APC do about the outrageous allowances, perks and salaries particularly of our law makers? That is one area where there must certainly be drastic change in the direction of greater probity and frugality. Let us heed the following words of Awo in this regard in the second republic. According to the sage on 27th January, 1980, “When the National Assembly expends so much time and energy in discussing the salaries of its members, while it does little about a reasonable minimum living wage or income for the working classes and peasants; when our parliamentarians conceive of something in the neighbourhood of N2,000.00 per month by way of salary and allowances each for themselves where the low-income group including policemen earn as low as N70.00 per month ( I don’t know how much the rank and file of the armed forces earn)…we can be sure that the end of democracy is in sight, even though, in our blinding self-seeking, we may not perceive it”. Surely, it is no easy task for the APC but the party can ill afford to dash the high hopes of Nigerians.

  • Good times for Eagles stars

    Good times for Eagles stars

    Why is soccer the king of sports in countries where it is like a religion?

    It is simple. The teeming fans’ passion, the players’ sublime skills, the enchanting ambience around the stadium before, during and after matches and the media blitz, which sends blue chip companies fighting for space for their products and services in the beautiful game. Soccer brings everything to a standstill wherever it is played.

    Such is the games’ immense followership that every new season brings forth expectations from the fans, who are eager to know how well their clubs will fare.

    Unimaginable figures fill the media as fees to lure big players to new clubs. Clubs that cannot splash the cash put their fans under pressure when new deals are struck in other teams. And with 2014 being a World Cup year, players are moving to clubs where they can get regular shirts. They want to play regularly to secure their national team’s shirts. No player worth his onions wants to sit at home from June, next year, watching his mates play on the big stage. The World Cup is the biggest platform for any player to rewrite his career.

    European managers will be in Brazil with their cheque books, seeking top performers ahead of the 2014/15 European season. So, who is the costliest player in the world after Christiano Ronaldo’s 80 million pounds sterling move from Manchester United to Real Madrid?

    Two players may break this record, given the way clubs are lurking around to strike, if one bid fails. In all the permutations before the European transfer windows shut down on August 3, Tottenham Hotspurs’ Gareth Bale is the most likely person to break the 80 million pounds sterling mark. Again, only, if Real Madrid of Spain live up to their tag as the Galaticos (big spenders on stars).

    A few pundits may place their bets on Liverpool’s Luis Suarez to beat the mark, in the event that Arsenal pulls out, now that the Reds are asking for 78 million pounds for the naughty but talented striker.

    It has been a festival of sorts for big players in Europe, with a sprinkling of South Americans and Africans being mentioned. So, where are Nigerian players in this transfer bazaar? Proudly, this writer can say that the trend this season has been our best, with Africa Cup of Nations’ best striker Emmanuel Emenike being the highest mover – if he accepts to join Fernebahce FC of Turkey.

    Reports from Turkey on Tuesday night suggested that Emenike’s club has agreed a fee of 13 million Euros, leaving the window open for Fernebahce to talk with the Eagles star. But there are moral issues on this deal, especially after Emenike has been accused falsely of being a match fixer. The court cleared Emenike, after a series of harassment on the Nigerian, everytime he stepped into Turkey. Will Emenike accept this offer, given what he went through? With such big cash on the table, you never can tell.

    Emenike should shun the offer and wait for bigger pies, in Europe, which would come with a superlative outing for Nigeria at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Cynics may argue: what if the Super Eagles do not qualify for the World Cup? It is far-fetched, given the way the team is playing. But the choice is Emenike’s to make.

    As I sat through Thursday night to write this column, word came in from France that Vincent Eneyama is Lille FC’s first choice goalkeeper. Good to hear that. Enyeama opted for a loan deal to Israel to regain his form, having been benched at Lille in the previous season. This confirmation is good for Nigeria’s quest for a fourth World Cup appearance in Brazil.

    I really don’t know who Godfrey Obaobona’s manager is. Oboabona’s bile at Arsene Wenger was ill-informed. If he is not careful, his uncouth utterance may sound his career’s death knell.

    Wenger is an institution. He is an international scout. Many managers respect him and compare notes with him. I wonder what he would say of Oboabona if his views are sought on the Sunshine FC of Akure defender. I wrote here in the past that Oboabona ought to have gone to Arsenal for trials, irrespective of what he achieved at the Africa Cup of Nations in January. I reckoned that if he trained with Arsenal – even if he didn’t make it – it would have been his meal ticket for life to brag his way into any European club.

    Wenger loves African players. Those who didn’t meet his marks at Arsenal he recommended to other European clubs. That is the window I thought Oboabona would have exploited. But he listened to his dumb advisers and parroted their tunnel vision thoughts in the international media. I wish Oboabona luck, but he should know that if things go awry, he doesn’t need to blame anyone but himself. Who is Obaobona in the catalogue of players to join issues so disparagingly with Wenger? Obaobona still has a chance to deny the Wenger blast to save his career. He should.

    Indeed, it is heart-warming that Uwa Echiejile is being chased by at least three clubs. Equally pleasing is the fact that Besiktas is seeking to woo him through a former player, Eagles Assistant Coach Daniel Amokachi. Besiktas has signed another Nigerian, Michael Eneramo for the equivalent of N511 million, although after initial fears about his health.

    The most sought after defender in the Eagles is Ambrose Efe. Three years ago, Efe was ruled out of football due to a heart ailment. He underwent corrective surgery. It is pleasing that he opted to remain at Celtic FC in Scotland than being involved in the nomadic seasonal movement. Good decision, especially as his club is in the champions League.

    This week has been one of favour for Nigerian internationals, the last being the working permit granted to Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo to return to England and compete for shirts at Chelsea. I pray that Jose Mourinho looks in his direction quickly; otherwise, he should sit with the wily manager and ask for a loan move out of Chelsea to a club where he can play regularly.

    For this writer, it is celebration time. Victor Moses and John Mikel Obi will jostle for shirts at Chelsea under Mourninho. I had canvassed here the need for the duo to look elsewhere for greener pastures. But they have chosen to take their destiny in their hands and I hope that they can prove their mettle when the chips are down. Good luck folks, but remember to hop out if you feel your chances are slim when the transfer window opens again in January 2014.

    Pictures of Eagles midfielder Joel Obi training with Inter Milan in Italy lift one’s heart at a time when Mikel is regaining his form as an attacking midfielder. Joel Obi will fit perfectly as the defensive midfielder for Mikel to get a free role in the team. Indeed, Oduamadi’s move from AC Milan to Brescia is his wisest. There is nothing like playing regularly – for a soccer star. It is not just earning the big bucks. And with Oduamadi’s superb outing for the Eagles at the 2013 Confederations Cup held in Brazil, it will be survival of the fittest in the Eagles when the players assemble for any game. Don’t forget, the home-based lads anchored by Sunday Mba are lurking around to give the Europe lads a run for their shirts.

    Ahmed Musa is back, scoring goals. Did I hear you hiss? Musa is an asset to the Eagles. He has this uncanny trait of scoring goals for the Eagles in key matches. He may be wasteful with chances, yet the team needs his speed upfront to destroy teams with slow runners. Now that Emenike is back and we are expecting Shola Ameobi to join them, some of Musa’s crosses would be converted into goals. The most important thing is that our players are fit and ready for the 2013/14 season. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Victor Anichebe and a legion of Nigerian players in the Diaspora would want to use the platform of the 2014 World Cup to fight for shirts in the team. Good times, indeed.

  • When leaders juggle impunity, growth and decay

    When global leaders overreach themselves  and abuse their legitimate powers and expect the society or political system to do  nothing, then they are indulging in what I call impunity . It  is a state of mind or attitude in which the leader is confident that even though he has violated the rules of the game he is invincible enough to avert any challenge  to his authority or any sanctions for his apparent  abuse of office. Which is like saying that such leaders know that they can get away with murder quite easily. Such cheeky impudence is plain, old, leadership impunity.

     To  me, on the other hand, growth is not just cold statistics on increasing quarterly returns or GDPs as is usually the case. The growth I have in mind on the above topic,  is meaningful growth that enhances and  promotes prosperity and social welfare  as well  as  the quality of life of the citizenry of any nation,  at any point in time. Decay, therefore, is the antithesis of growth and the absence of prosperity and indeed a dismal situation when mass and crass poverty predominate in the midst of plenty and filthy opulence.

    The role of some nations and their leaders in managing their political economies and their raison d’être is our concern here today. The nations and leaders are China, Egypt and Nigeria   and the concomitant situations  in nations like  the US  and Tunisia,  with particular emphasis on events that happened  in  these places this last week. We are therefore looking  today at how leaders have handled the issues  of leadership impunity, growth  and decay in these nations in recent times.

    To tackle corruption China has   reportedly, finally decided to put on trial the former powerful  Party Chief of its wealthy Chongqing  Province  Bo Xilai. Bo is being charged with corruption and abuse of power, as Party Chief of Chongqing. His equally powerful wife had been charged with the murder of a Briton who served as consultant to British firms looking for business in China. This is in consonance with the new Chinese government’s policy of reducing corruption in China to zero level as far as possible.  Chinese President Xi Ping has made this fight against corruption a priority and Bo is the first example to show that nobody is above the law  and gets away with impunity in today’s China. Bo himself before his fall was amongst those leaders being considered for high office in China’s   recent once in ten years leadership change  and overhaul,  before he and his wife shot themselves in the leg with criminal acts of impunity that have led to their fall from grace to grass.

    To battle what it identified as slow growth in its economy China has announced new economic measures to create jobs and help small businesses. It has suspended value added tax and turn over tax for small businesses with earnings below $4000 and this is expected to create about 6m jobs and help millions of small businesses. The Chinese government has simplified custom procedures for small businesses and cut operational costs while making it easier  for small businesses to export their products  and create  and earn foreign currency in international business. The objective of the Chinese leadership is to ensure that the small businesses in China do not suffer unduly from the slowdown of the Chinese economy but are even given a soft landing to experience growth of their businesses and I think this is role model approach for any caring government in the world to adopt in looking after the people in its care.

    Egypt presents a different and almost opposite scenario to China. This is because in Egypt earlier this week at a military  graduation ceremony   the Egyptian Chief  of the Army  General al  Sissi called on Egyptians to demonstrate yesterday to give the ‘mandate’ to the military to counter Egypt’s  drift to what he called   ‘violence and potential terrorism’. The General also told his audience that he had earlier warned the Muslim Brotherhood not to contest the last elections that brought deposed President Morsi to power but he was ignored. Which showed clearly that Morsi‘s removal was premeditated and malicious and has nothing to do with his alleged dictatorial tendencies, mismanagement of the economy or the military bowing to public opinion in removing Morsi . Effectively then, the Military in Egypt has shed its toga of neutrality in Egyptian politics and has entered the arena as an interested political participant. Yet, the US which spurred on the demonstrators at Tahrir Square in Cairo two years ago to topple Housni Mubarak, is holding a Congressional hearing to determine if a coup had happened in Egypt when Morsi was removed. I tell the Americans candidly that  not only had a coup happened in bright day light , it has moved a step further from diarchy which the existing political arrangement represented, to open military involvement in the democratic process  given the call by the military chief for Egyptians to give the military power through street demonstrations yesterday.

     It is a situation similar to that in Nigeria during the Interim   government of  Ernest Shonekan   after the cancellation of the June 12 elections when Abacha was the Minister of Defence. Abacha eventually booted Shonekan out of office and assumed full powers as Head of State. Abacha later consolidated his rule and was on the way to becoming a civilian head of state as the NTA was already running the commercial on ‘Who the Cap Fits ‘before tragedy struck and Abacha died most unexpectedly. General  al Sissi is also the Minister of Defence in Egypt’s brand new Interim government but with his call for demonstrations you can bet that like Shonekan’s ill fated Interim contraption,  the days of the Interim government in Egypt are numbered and a return to the Mubarak   days  and ways are imminent in Egypt. Obviously the military in Egypt  has  acted with impunity that it seems no one can stop in that nation and economic growth and prosperity will take a back seat in the face of looming repression that will be used to justify  political stability. Again,  I wonder how the Americans will handle that,  given the fact that they had always used stability to justify support for past despotic leaders in the Middle East including Egypt.

    Lastly,  the report in the Economist of London that Nigerian legislators are the highest paid in the world  has outraged many Nigerians who have not seen any reason for the legislators to earn so much ahead  of their counterparts in the US  and Western nations . But the budget is the goose that lays the golden egg for Nigerian legislators. The Legislature approves the budget usually presented by Nigeria’s presidency according to our presidential constitution. But in Nigeria , the Legislature which prunes expenditure elsewhere as a matter of cost control ,  budget and fiscal discipline,  simply asks the presidency to add legislators personal emoluments   and fringe benefits to budget proposals before it or else it will not play ball and approve. Such additional benefits have been added by successive governments such that they have ballooned into the monster that has made our legislators the highest paid in the world .It  is   a sordid case of impunity in law making and crass abuse of office .Of  course,  funds for economic development and growth cannot be forthcoming when the legislators’ emoluments are the priority of budget presentation and approval by the executive .

    At  a different level of economic existence  in Nigeria, the picture of a Nigerian electrician and musician electrocuted on an electric pole in Jos is symptomatic of the comatose state of decay in the Nigerian polity  and economy. The Nigeria named  Chukwuebuka Eze   was trying to get power into his shop in Jos by climbing the pole  – obviously as usual –  before PHCN brought power as he was fiddling with the pole wires. Reportedly his shirt was burnt off him and he was electrocuted instantly. Which really is a pathetic situation. But then how many such Citizens Eze do we have in this nation today?  I daresay millions who are frustrated by incessant power failure but dare not like Eze take the suicidal plunge to fix the wires and have light . As an electrician Eze felt he had the skill to have his own back at PHCN inefficiency but paid with his life in that folly. Iwonder how Eze will be buried and how his family will cope and wish them succor over his loss.

    Yet, Eze’s case in Jos is not much different from that of Mohammed, the vegetable seller in Tunis , Tunisia whose burial sparked the Arab Spring revolt that has chased despotic leaders out of office in Tunisia , Egypt and Libya. Local government officials had been taking bribes from Muhammed at the site where he was selling his vegetables. At a stage he refused to any pay more bribes to sell his vegetables. When however the Local government officials seized his vegetable weighing machine Mohammed decided he has had enough. He bought a bottle of fuel and burnt himself in front of the local government office. It was his procession funeral that ballooned into the street demonstration that drove the   then President Ben Ali   of Tunisia out of office in 2011 .

    In effect then both Mohammed in Tunis and Eze  in Jos were driven  to desperation by greed corruption and institutional inefficiency and decay which in both instances claimed lives and created great pity as well as befuddlement in their respective societies . Impunity was also eminently present in both instances and one can only pray that global leaders will have compunction and not drive those in their care to suicide or premature deaths by their actions or a lack of it. Amen

  • Dodgy lawmakers versus sleepy electorate

    Current distractions at the national and state Assemblies point to one ultimate question: are our lawmakers the problem of the country or is it the electorate who reportedly voted them into power?

    Now, it has become quite clear that among decent folks making laws at the state or national levels, there is a frightening number well-disposed to everything shameful, uncivil and retrogressive. Rather than make laws, they break them. Rather than talk things over, they fight over things. Instead of canvassing superior arguments, they resort to clenched fists and weapons. They place brazen selfish-ambition over enlightened self-interest. They have blood on their hands but it is all the same to them. And they are all in the revered legislative assembly, all honourable men and women.

    But there is another side. Who took them to the otherwise hallowed Assembly?

    For much of the week, senators and many Nigerians have been distracted by the developments at the Senate. In the course of the processes of tweaking the Constitution, 85 out of 101 senators voted to remove Section 29 (b4) from the laws. By the way, that section gives a married lady, even if she is below 18, the right to renounce her citizenship of a country. Their reason for pursuing this line of action is that a lady below 18, at least in the eye of the law, may be mentally immature to understand or handle such matters as citizen renunciation. Their perception chimed with anti-early marriage activists who point out that there are health, social and other risks attending early marriages, and so should be discourages.

    There were a few who held back their votes but in the words of Senate President David Mark, “there was hardly any dissenting votes but once it got mixed up with so many other issues, (the senators could not) get the required 73 votes” to expunge that section of the Constitution.

    Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima of Zamfara State played a key role in mixing up the proceedings with those “other issues.” He and a band of protesters he apparently inspired, managed to halt the larger body in their tracks. Yarima’s thesis was that removing that section of the Constitution was anti-Islamic. He was trying to stir a religious storm by inferring that marrying underage girls was fine by every Muslim and that the intended excision of Section 29 (4b) from the Constitution was an attack on Islam. That is not true.

    That “blackmail”, as Mark called it, cost the Senate a lot. Many, including organisations overseas, said the Nigerian lawmakers had made a law legalising child-marriage. On these shores, criticism poured in, too, forcing the Senate president to make a statement. Addressing a team of activists, some of them renowned national leaders who denounced the outcome at the national Assembly, Mark said: “There was and there is still a big misunderstanding of what the Senate is trying to do. We are on the side of the people. That was why we put it that we should delete it; that is what the people want. We, in fact, were the first to take the step in the direction of deleting it. It didn’t go through because of other tangential issues that were brought to the floor of the Senate that are totally inconsequential and unconnected…A religious connotation was brought into it, it became a very sensitive issue. You must agree with me that in this country, we try as much as possible not to bring in issues that involve faith to this chamber.

    “I think the bottom-line is when people get sufficiently educated, we can do a rethink and if the Senate agrees, we can then go back and see whether we can get the required number once more, because that is the solution.”

    As governor, Yarima was the first to introduce Sharia in the North. In 2010 he reportedly brought home a 13-year-old Egyptian bride and was roundly criticised for it, though he denied the young woman in question was that young.

    Others including fellow Muslims have pointed out to the senator that his latest exertions are selfish and not in any way in the interest of Islam. Yarima does not need any reminder that many societies, even in non-Muslim countries, have seen the risks and dark sides of early-marriages and are changing their habits. The well-travelled former governor should know that several Muslim countries have put the health and well-being of their citizens and nations first and pegged the age minimum age of marriage at 18, even as they will not trade their faith for any other.

    Cases of VVF or vesico-vaginal fistula are consequently and needlessly widespread in the North, and otherwise enlightened leaders like Yarima should have been leading the campaign against such preventable diseases. The Senate would have been an ideal platform to campaign for a better deal for the North’s children and help them be the best they can be. But, clearly, Yarima has no such visions or persuasions.

    Sadly, there are many like him who are driven by wild passions. Some time ago, we found that some of our lawmakers were seeking to legalise gay relationships, even marriages. Thankfully, reason prevailed and their intentions were shot down. Still, it points to the fact that some people were sent to the legislature to do nothing but drag the country and its people back several centuries.

    That leads to an even bigger question. How do these sort of dodgy people get into the legislature? Do we vote them in, knowing they have very little to offer? Or are they still being imposed on us as their predecessors used to be?Or do they play the good boys and good girls long enough for us to take them where they want to be, only for them to shed their innocent garb and put on their true wear?

  • Dodgy lawmakers versus sleepy electorate

    Current distractions at the national and state Assemblies point to one ultimate question: are our lawmakers the problem of the country or is it the electorate who reportedly voted them into power?

    Now, it has become quite clear that among decent folks making laws at the state or national levels, there is a frightening number well-disposed to everything shameful, uncivil and retrogressive. Rather than make laws, they break them. Rather than talk things over, they fight over things. Instead of canvassing superior arguments, they resort to clenched fists and weapons. They place brazen selfish-ambition over enlightened self-interest. They have blood on their hands but it is all the same to them. And they are all in the revered legislative assembly, all honourable men and women.

    But there is another side. Who took them to the otherwise hallowed Assembly?

    For much of the week, senators and many Nigerians have been distracted by the developments at the Senate. In the course of the processes of tweaking the Constitution, 85 out of 101 senators voted to remove Section 29 (b4) from the laws. By the way, that section gives a married lady, even if she is below 18, the right to renounce her citizenship of a country. Their reason for pursuing this line of action is that a lady below 18, at least in the eye of the law, may be mentally immature to understand or handle such matters as citizen renunciation. Their perception chimed with anti-early marriage activists who point out that there are health, social and other risks attending early marriages, and so should be discourages.

    There were a few who held back their votes but in the words of Senate President David Mark, “there was hardly any dissenting votes but once it got mixed up with so many other issues, (the senators could not) get the required 73 votes” to expunge that section of the Constitution.

    Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima of Zamfara State played a key role in mixing up the proceedings with those “other issues.” He and a band of protesters he apparently inspired, managed to halt the larger body in their tracks. Yarima’s thesis was that removing that section of the Constitution was anti-Islamic. He was trying to stir a religious storm by inferring that marrying underage girls was fine by every Muslim and that the intended excision of Section 29 (4b) from the Constitution was an attack on Islam. That is not true.

    That “blackmail”, as Mark called it, cost the Senate a lot. Many, including organisations overseas, said the Nigerian lawmakers had made a law legalising child-marriage. On these shores, criticism poured in, too, forcing the Senate president to make a statement. Addressing a team of activists, some of them renowned national leaders who denounced the outcome at the national Assembly, Mark said: “There was and there is still a big misunderstanding of what the Senate is trying to do. We are on the side of the people. That was why we put it that we should delete it; that is what the people want. We, in fact, were the first to take the step in the direction of deleting it. It didn’t go through because of other tangential issues that were brought to the floor of the Senate that are totally inconsequential and unconnected…A religious connotation was brought into it, it became a very sensitive issue. You must agree with me that in this country, we try as much as possible not to bring in issues that involve faith to this chamber.

    “I think the bottom-line is when people get sufficiently educated, we can do a rethink and if the Senate agrees, we can then go back and see whether we can get the required number once more, because that is the solution.”

    As governor, Yarima was the first to introduce Sharia in the North. In 2010 he reportedly brought home a 13-year-old Egyptian bride and was roundly criticised for it, though he denied the young woman in question was that young.

    Others including fellow Muslims have pointed out to the senator that his latest exertions are selfish and not in any way in the interest of Islam. Yarima does not need any reminder that many societies, even in non-Muslim countries, have seen the risks and dark sides of early-marriages and are changing their habits. The well-travelled former governor should know that several Muslim countries have put the health and well-being of their citizens and nations first and pegged the age minimum age of marriage at 18, even as they will not trade their faith for any other.

    Cases of VVF or vesico-vaginal fistula are consequently and needlessly widespread in the North, and otherwise enlightened leaders like Yarima should have been leading the campaign against such preventable diseases. The Senate would have been an ideal platform to campaign for a better deal for the North’s children and help them be the best they can be. But, clearly, Yarima has no such visions or persuasions.

    Sadly, there are many like him who are driven by wild passions. Some time ago, we found that some of our lawmakers were seeking to legalise gay relationships, even marriages. Thankfully, reason prevailed and their intentions were shot down. Still, it points to the fact that some people were sent to the legislature to do nothing but drag the country and its people back several centuries.

    That leads to an even bigger question. How do these sort of dodgy people get into the legislature? Do we vote them in, knowing they have very little to offer? Or are they still being imposed on us as their predecessors used to be?Or do they play the good boys and good girls long enough for us to take them where they want to be, only for them to shed their innocent garb and put on their true wear?

  • A word on Okagbare

    A word on Okagbare

    Let’s move away from the sport whose actors are treated like gods, yet they cause us more pains when we bank on them to shine. Let’s consider athletes who bring us glory through their exploits in sports that we often derisively tag lesser sport. Let’s acknowledge these athletes who toil to make others perceive Nigeria from the prism of endless stream of producing world champions and not a polity of jesters.

    For us as a nation, soccer is it. Other sports can hit the roof with their exploits, we cannot be perturbed. But when soccer runs into a stormy patch, heads roll. There is panic in the land. Top government officials push and shove to get picked for trips. The Presidency is anxious. Task forces are inaugurated to avert disasters. Not so for the lesser sports.

    In the last ten days, one woman has put Nigeria’s imprint in the world of athletics. She has left the pack of world-beaters in the sprints panting behind her. They have watched in awe as she strides towards the finish-line with grace and aplomb. Their coaches have started studying the way she outpaces the pack, with one objective- stop this Nigerian from winning the top prize in big competitions, such as the Olympic Games and, possibly, World Athletics Championships.

    Blessing Okagbare is a potential world beater, the foreign media are screaming. Their thoughts are real, especially now when drug cheats are being fished out like lice in the dirty hair.

    Athletics pundits are convinced that it would be a travesty if Okagbare doesn’t win one of the big competitions, given her potentials. But can she achieve her best with the kind of people who run our sports? I don’t think so, not with the way she discredited them when she participated in the country’s trials last month.

    Okagbare didn’t shock anyone when she revealed that she had been abandoned. Many argued that she was an ingrate, based on what she had been given. But you ask: did she not work for those gifts? Is this not a new year? Shouldn’t we fund her the way her peers are funded? Is she not our best prospect for glory in athletics? Are the Super Eagles rated the best in the world like she is in athletics? Is it not about time that Okagbare became a project that is bigger than the Eagles?

    Okagbare, we are told, won the Long Jump event in the Monaco leg of the Diamond League penultimate weekend. She called Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to say: “I’m approaching our target and, God willing, we’ll get there. I dedicate this to you, sir.” Surprised? Don’t be, because the governor bankrolls all her activities. What does Nigeria do for her? You may say that the governor represents Nigeria. Hmmmm. Can we say this of the Super Eagles?

    At the opening of the Diamond League event in Monaco penultimate Saturday evening, the women’s Long Jump turned out to be a competition of the highest quality as Russia’s European indoors champion, Darya Klishina, produced a second-round leap of 6.98m, just seven centimetres off her personal best, only to see Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare outdo her with successive seven-metre jumps.

    Okagbare warmed up with 6.86m for a first-round lead, produced a wind-assisted 7.04m (2.1m/s) in round two and followed up with a third-round PB of 7.00m (0.0m/s).

    Okagbare is very hot and the world knows so because they are at her feet. What are we doing to help her beyond giving her our tracksuits and kits? Shouldn’t we sit down with Okagbare to chart her programme from now till after the 2016 Olympic Games? Is this not how others do theirs? Or are our sports administrators waiting for Minister Bolaji Abdullahi to think for them again?

    The enthralling part of Okagbare’s current form is that she looks poised to win the gold medal in women long jump at the 2016 Olympic Games, 20 years after another Nigerian Chioma Ajunwa, did it in Atlanta ’96. But will she? Again, I doubt it. Why? Okagbare is being left to burn the tracks unguided. She is beating everyone but losing steam for the big dance. Who will stop her from participating in these events when she needs the cash from such competitions to make ends meet?

    This has been Okagbare’s dilemma. This is where Okagbare’s manager and coaches must show that they are true professionals. But does she have such people around her? Read my lips.

    Okagabre’s post-race conference in Monaco tells the story of a talent running her affairs and it is dangerous at a time that other countries are plotting her fall in bigger competitions. She said: “I would say nine times out of 10. It’s a PB for me. My fourth and fifth jumps were better, but I fouled them. My seven metres jump was far from perfect and we’re working on a lot of different things.”

    Shouldn’t we help her now? Twice she has hit the running board in the long jump event for the 7.00 metres mark. Yet she appears to be more comfortable with the 100 metres.

    One only hopes that Okagbare’s feats in Monaco won’t be likened to that of the proverbial deer who danced itself lame before the real dance. Are our coaches studying the tapes of the Jamaicans, Americans, Britons, Germans and others to see if they are saving their best for the last? Have our coaches worked out a plan that would ensure that she doesn’t give everything away for other coaches to exploit? Have the coaches worked on her movement out of the starting bloc?

    These questions may look pedestrian but when the race is over, we may be told that if we had addressed some of these posers, Okagbare would have been the fastest woman in the world. Want to take a bet?

    It hurts to think that Nigeria, which made her Olympics debut in 1936, can only thumb her chest on Okagbare’s medal potentials. It explains our penchant for Fire Brigade approach to important issues. Okagbare needs a regime of experts to handle every detail of her training programmes, like big stars, such as Usain Bolt, have. She is our best and must be guided to excel while wearing the country’s colours in big competitions and not running her races for cash. This writer isn’t averse to her running for cash. No. She could compete in such races, provided they add value to her.

    It will be of more benefit to Okagbare more if she enters big competitions as Olympic Champion or/and Commonwealth Games champion than the also-ran status she presently enjoys.

    Asked by a BBC reporter which between long jump and the 100 metres is her favourite event in a post-race conference last year, she paused but quickly said that she was comfortable running the 100 metres. Yet it was in the long jump event at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 that Okagbare won the bronze medal. It was in her debut appearance.

    Many would want to ask who Okagbare is? She told her story to the BBC last year before the London 2012 Olympic Games. There were plenty of interesting twists, including the fact that she spent over nine months in her mother’s womb.

    Many had given up on her birth and expected the worst but the family trusted God for a miracle. When, eventually her mother gave birth on October 9, 1988 in Sapele, Delta State, her father aptly named her Blessing.

    Blessing, daughter of Margaret and Francis Okagbare, has lived up to the meaning of her name so much so that she has grown to become one of Nigeria’s gold medal prospects at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

    She told the BBC: “I asked my daddy why I was called Blessing and he said that I spent over nine months in my mother’s womb. When I was delivered, he named me Blessing. Since that time, I have brought joy, hope and aspiration to the Okagbare family. I have seven step brothers and seven step sisters. My family is behind me and keeps track of what I am doing. I would have loved to have them in London during the Olympics. But in Nigeria, such luxuries don’t form part of government’s obligation to athletes. I agree with the sense that they could distract me, but I will remain focused.”

    With seven step brothers, Okagbare’s first contact with sports was football. She played with boys and later soccer clubs. But it is in soccer that she is writing the name of Nigeria in gold and making her parents proud.

    Athletics is an individual sport and it cost less to run than football. While footballers earn so much as match bonuses, an athlete merely needs less than half of the aggregate bonuses paid to soccer players.

    So, isn’t it time we reconsidered our passive interest in athletics? Food for thought for those in charge of our sports! And for Okagbare, let’s not forget that an early bird, they say, catches the worm.

  • Dangerous delusions

    Dangerous delusions

    The year was 1965. Western Nigeria was paralysed by riots, protests and bloodshed.

    The people were up in arms against electoral robbery and political oppression. Trouble started when, just as it is happening in Rivers State today, the Federal Government of Alhaji Tafawa Balewa interfered illegally in the affairs of the region to destabilize the Action Group (AG), incapacitate Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the leader of opposition, and impose an unpopular Chief Ladoke Akintola on the people as Premier.

    Capitalising on a contrived crisis in the Western Region House of Assembly, the Federal Government declared a State of Emergency in the west, appointed an administrator for the region while detaining Chief Obafemi Awolowo and several AG chieftains. The October 1965 regional election in the west was then horrendously rigged to return Chief Akintola to power against the will of the people while Awolowo was put on trial and subsequently sent to prison for alleged treasonable felony.

    Everything was going very well for Akintola and his friends at the centre or so they thought. Balewa was told that the west was burning and he should do something urgently to pacify the people and arrest the situation. The velvet voiced Prime Minister and darling of the western world calmly responded that he could see no smoke in the west.

    On January 15, 1966, the flames got to him. Democracy came crashing down in the country and Nigeria descended into anarchy and ultimately civil war. Balewa, Ahmadu Bello and Akintola had been dangerously deluded. They did not survive the fiasco.

    Fast forward to the Second Republic. Just as is happening today, the President Shehu Shagari administration was pretending that the country was making speedy progress under his lacklustre and utterly visionless, inept leadership. In his 1982 budget presentation to the National Assembly, President Shagari told the lawmakers that “The enumerated setbacks in our economy in 1981 notwithstanding, our GDP has shown a slight improvement…available indicators show an encouraging growth of 15% in the manufacturing sector. There is a 3% rate of growth in the agricultural sector. Furthermore, there are increases in investments. These are, without doubt, expressions of confidence which investors have in the resilience of Nigeria’s economy. This confidence has remained unshaken, despite prophesies of the local forecasters of gloom and doom, who do not know the difference between resilience and buoyancy.”

    The reader can surely see the similarities here between this speech and President Goodluck Jonathan’s mid-term report that suffocated us with statistics indicating that we are all faring very well even as hunger, poverty, disease, joblessness, violence and ignorance stalk the land and public infrastructure lie prostrate across the country.

    The ‘forecasters of gloom and doom’ referred to by President Shagari in the budget speech cited above was none other than Chief Obafemi Awolowo who, in mid-1981 had warned in an open letter to Shagari that the economy was fast approaching a precipice and that urgent steps be taken to salvage the situation. Suggesting several measures that could be taken to safeguard the economy, Awolowo also criticised certain actions taken by Shagari and asked: “Shehu, do you ever ask yourself the question ‘Cui bono’”?

    In a scathing reply, most likely authored by his political adviser, the late Senator Chuba Okadigbo, Shagari told Awo: “My dear Chief, I never ask myself questions in Latin. I only ask myself questions in Hausa or English”. Ah! Those were the days! Shagari’s Economic Adviser, Professor SM Essang addressed an international press conference in London lampooning Awolowo and declaring that the economy was in sound health.

    To cut a long story short, in a matter of months Awo’s prediction came true. The economy was in deep crisis. Eating humble pie, Shagari addressed the National Assembly seeking special permission to introduce austerity measures. I promptly and very urgently threw my high school economics text book authored by Professor Essang, ‘Intermediate Economics’ into the waste bin telling myself, ‘teacher stop teaching me nonsense’!

    That economic crisis signalled the beginning of the end of the second republic. Both Shagari and his economic advisers were dangerously deluded. The second republic did not survive the debacle.

    Fast forward to 2013 Nigeria. The more presidential aides deny such a glaring fact, the more the vast majority of Nigerians are convinced that the Jonathan presidency is bent on destabilizing the Rivers State government and getting the governor, Rotimi Amaechi, out of office at all costs and by all means no matter how foul.

    Having successfully hounded Governor Timpre Sylva of Bayelsa State out of office and imposed Seriake Dickson on the state as governor in a highly militarized election, Jonathan and his inner clique obviously believe they can do the same in Rivers. Amaechi’s sin? He is believed to harbour ambition for higher office in 2015 – an aspiration which Jonathan strategists think can hurt the President’s second term ambition.

    Thus, the police in Rivers State provided security for five members of the 32-member state House of Assembly to sit and attempt impeaching the Speaker illegally but for Amaechi’s timely intervention. The same police looked the other way as a mob attacked four northern governors who paid a solidarity visit to Amaechi in Port Harcourt. Mr Mbu John Mbu, the Rivers State Police commissioner, obviously reading the presidency’s body language, has been openly rude to and disdainful of the governor without rebuke.

    President Jonathan, received the arrow head of the anti-Amaechi forces, the Minister of State for Education, Mr Nyeson Wike, and the five minority members of the House whose violation of the 1999 constitution sparked the recent violence in the legislative chamber, at the presidential Villa in Abuja. This was a tacit recognition by the presidency of Evan BapakayeBipi, who has been absurdly, preposterously and ignominiously parading himself as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

    Dame Patience Jonathan openly told 16 Bishops from the South-South, who visited her in Abuja that Amaechi defied her request that some structures should not be demolished in her hometown, Okrika, and that he removed the Chairman of a local government who held a reception in her honour. Does this not suggest that these are part of the causes of Amaechi’s travails and that the presidency is deeply involved in the Rivers crisis?

    Despite the clear danger that the Rivers crisis portends for democracy in Nigeria, presidential aide, Dr.Doyin Okupe, avers blissfully that all is well. In his words, “The crisis in Rivers State in no way poses any threat to the nation’s democracy. Nigeria remains peaceful and cannot in any way be threatened by political developments in the state…The situation in Rivers State is purely a localized political matter and has no dangerous or far reaching consequences for the peace and security of the nation”.

    This is a very dangerous delusion. Has Dr. Okupe pondered what would happen if Governor Amaechi drops dead today even if of natural causes? Has he considered what would have happened if northerners had retaliated against South-South indigenes in their states for the treatment meted out to their governors in Port Harcourt? Is he not disturbed that an ordinarily taciturn General Abdusalam Abubakar has uncharacteristically come out to warn publicly that the Rivers crisis may torpedo the country’s democracy if not quickly checked? Does he not think that there may be something the General knows that he does not?

    Is Dr Okupe aware that there are currently military task forces operating in at least 28 states in the country – an indication of pervasive instability? This column sincerely hopes that President Jonathan does not share this dangerous delusion. It is heart- warming that the President on Thursday vowed to curb political excesses in the country while receiving the leadership of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) at the Presidential Villa. The earlier he does that the better. For, the degeneration of the Rivers crisis may signal the ‘Nunc Dimittis’ of this democracy. God forbid.

  • Democracy, corruption  and austerity

    I thought of calling this piece – Between Cairo  and PortHarcourt – but changed my mind. This was  because that would reduce my concern and overall effort to a mere call for a protest or a demonstration when indeed there are other issues involved in various parts of the world that illustrate the problems of global governance in more realistic, if painful ways. It  may sound funny or unbelievable, but some of the events that happened this week simply beggar description in the way they have stood logic on its head .What  I am  saying here is that the concepts I  have eventually  chosen as the topic of the day have been stretched to their limits in terms of understanding  and   meaning judging from the way they  are being applied  or practiced   globally,  in recent times.

    Starting from Russia you find it difficult to accept that anti corruption activist Alexei Navalny who called Russia’s ruling party United Russia ‘a party of thieves and crooks ‘and  led demonstrations against the reelection of Russia’s President Vladmir Putin was himself jailed for embezzlement by a Russian Court  in  a rather opaque manner that has made EU nations to question the rule of law in Russia. In Athens, Greece,  the home of democracy,  legislators were protected by police as they passed laws this week to lay off thousands of civil servants   who  voted   for them as part of the measures required for Greece to get a financial bailout to save the Greek economy from total financial collapse. Worse still the Greek government had to ban public gatherings in Athens the Greek capital and home of democracy because   Wolfgang  Schaeuble  the German Finance Minister was in town and he represents the face of Germany  a pillar  of the EU zone that  is applying the bitter pill  as it were to  recover the Greek economy. Lastly Nelson Mandela was 95 this  week  although he himself could not celebrate because of his health,  the whole world did because the S African  Jacob Zuma had assured all  and sundry that the old man was improving. Which really is a pity when you remember that Nelson Mandela is the global icon of freedom and human dignity and yet he was not there to celebrate his birthday and I find that very painful indeed.

    Let us retreat again to Russia where the power of the state has been used to silence a dissident. Alexei Navalny was jailed for embezzling   $ 50000 when he was Adviser to a state governor in Russia but the whole world knows he was jailed for daring to say he wanted to be President of Russia and he has filed papers to be Mayor of  Moscow in the next elections. In today’s Russia however President Putin’s word is law and his power is despotic and far reaching in Russian society and politics. Since Alexei has been jailed for 5 years he cannot contest according to Russia’s constitution. But it is the bravery and character of the Russian dissident   in the face of   adversity that has my admiration. He is on record as saying that he was not afraid to go to jail for his convictions and his family was ready for it. Men or women with such convictions and attitude are rare in any clime or nation and I doff my heart for his sacrifice to rid Russia of corruption. Indeed on his way to jail he fired the last shot by telling his crying supporters to do something because’ the toad will not voluntarily leave the oil pipeline. ‘Which really is a language that is quite relevant and meaningful in our part of the world.

    The political tragedy in Greece too is one that really bothers me in connection with the   concept of democracy, its practice and values. In terms of irony however I will compare it with the fracas in the Rivers State House of Assembly in which a warrant has been issued for attempted murder by the state Police Commissioner for the Majority Leader of the State House of Assembly. The irony in the happenings in the legislatures in Athens and Port Harcourt stem from the role of the concept of immunity in the two law making institutions. In Athens the legislators were voting to sack some of the thousands of their supporters that put them in parliament and they know that even though they have immunity in Parliament they will need armed escorts to escape the fury and indignation of voters outside parliament. In Port Harcourt the Majority leader was trying to prevent a blatant theft of his majority in broad day light,   got violent in the process but knowing fully well like the legislators in Athens that he was covered by parliamentary immunity. The cruel irony in the two scenarios is that   while the Greek legislators are confident of police protection outside parliament where they enjoyed immunity, it is the police in Port Harcourt which has declared the legislators wanted for actions or offences committed in parliament where they constitutionally have immunity. Quite interestingly though, the Greek parliament had its own violent display of temper  earlier  during the austerity debate  when a legislator slapped a lady member in the full view of a world audience but nothing came out of it because Greece respects the democratic concept of immunity on the floor of any legislature.

    Worse still in PH  it  is the state police command which has refused to protect the state governor according to reports that is looking for legislators over parliamentary fracas on which there is immunity. But can the police sidetrack both the legislature and executive in a state as is happening so brazenly in Rivers state according to our constitution? The answer is a simple no and the police in that state should allow wise counsel to prevail most urgently in the interest of peace in that state and to protect the sovereign reputation of the Nigerian nation   in terms of respect for the rule of law in the global comity of   states.

    On Nelson Mandela we say happy birthday to a giant of our time though that joy  is tainted with some grief  at his illness and approaching mortality. On this  I have written about twice now not because I long for his departure  but because I  do not want to  be caught pants down by the inevitable,  both  as a writer and as a sincere admirer of this gem of an African leader . Nelson Mandela is passionate topic for me and some of my friends and his sickness even though he is 95 still gives one goose pimples. But then let us rejoice now at his birthday without any thought of his obituary. Let us remember the tall man in double breasted suit with the sunny smile dancing at the stadium when S Africa became a republic in 1994 and he became the first president of post apartheid S/Africa. Let us remember the selfless president who served one term of office and retired to private life when he could have been S Africa’s life president just for the asking. Let us wish Nelson Mandela well and may he recover soon or go early enough and not suffer the fate of former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon who has been in similar condition for years now. We remain loyal and grateful Madiba though our eyes are foggy. But you remain our hero, forever. Happy Birthday.

  • Many rivers to cross

    Our lawmakers have demonstrated that they have a few other endowments and competences beyond the fine arts of making laws. When they fail to make the desired impressions by talking, they shout. When shouting does not make much difference, their fists take over. In Rivers State, even the mace, an otherwise revered symbol of legislative authority, has become a potent tool of violence. It can descend on a disagreeable head, draw blood and still remain the revered mace that it is assumed to be. Lawmakers in Port Harcourt sure know how to sidetrack the law, roughen up one another and deliver a well-timed uppercut.

    The tales and videos originating from there lately do not flatter the state or its leaders. They cannot lift up Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s spirits or cheer up the state legislature or reassure the people who supposedly elected them into office. Nor does the rest of the watching world have anything to gain thereby.

    Symbols of solemn authority are violated. Hallowed chambers are desecrated. Sacred blood is spilled and splattered. Supposedly enlightened leaders are having a hard time subduing their anger.

    A small, audacious gang of five took steps to unseat the Speaker of a 32-strong Assembly. That is bizarre. Presumed decent leaders are fighting back even with a broken mace in a possibly twisted interpretation of the kingdom suffering violence and only the violent taking it by force. That is weird.

    Law enforcement agents are pictured apparently providing safe passage for lawmakers out for battle and sometimes even seeming to join the battle.

    At some point, a tear gas canister, at the least, was said to have been fired into Government House.

    We have also seen how easy it is to mobilise youths and get them to do the bidding of leaders.

    And everyday since July 9 when the five-against-32 impeachment drama was staged, the crisis in Rivers has been worsening, not resolved. New angles and perspectives have been opening up. Accusations and counter-accusations have been made. The Presidency has been consistently accused of complicity in the crisis, a charge it has  continuously denied. In the week, First Lady Patience Jonathan traced the crisis to four years ago when she fell out with Governor Amaechi over whether to demolish or not to demolish a part of her community in Okirika land. The president’s wife referred to the state chief executive as a son, albeit a “hot-tempered” one. Before a team of visiting bishops, she catalogued the governor’s offences, then asked that peace reign. Amaechi’s camp contested almost every word Dame Patience said.

    It is a messy picture before us and before the world, which will ultimately judge.

    It shows the older we get as a country, the less mature we tend to become; the more we travel the beautiful, growing world, the less of that world we see, or if we do see, the less of it we fail to bring back to home. The older our so-called democracy gets, the less convincing or inspiring it becomes. When we take one step forward, we take many to reverse it.

    Clearly, there are many rivers to cross. And not just in Amaechi’s state. Across the country, though I concede there must be a few exceptions, there is a twisted sense of governance and leadership. Wisdom almost always seems to flow from the leaders down, not from the led up. Whatever the leaders want and decree stands. There is no room for dialogue. Even among the leaders, there is hardly any concession, compromise or consensus. To them, power is effective only if the wielder has his way all the time. Mrs Jonathan has said the Rivers crisis started with a disagreement between her and Amaechi. Some have said read political ambition into it, alleging that Amaechi is not showing much respect for, or loyalty to, President Goodluck Jonathan and may even be hurting the commander-in-chief’s perceived second term designs.

    Whatever the truth, what is happening hurts the country, its leadership and people. It further lowers our image before an eternally cynical world.

    Democracy may be expensive, it’s processes tedious but it is still the preferred system of governance. Its strongest point is dialogue, not force of arms. No matter the issue, the solution is in talk and more talk. Every week, our friendly foe, Prime Minister David Cameron faces the British lawmakers, some of whom with nothing but venom in their guts. But they manage to refer to one another as gentlemen as they thrash out the hottest of issues.

    I believe that is what maturity means: how to keep your head even under intense provocation. I know that politics seeks power and to hold it but I believe too that democracy which should drive politics, and not the other way around, thrives in  compromise.

    At 53, Nigeria has come of age, but even though its democracy is not as old, it is expected to be substantially mature. In the Obasanjo days in Aso Rock, federal lawmakers were not always at their best of behaviour. Fists and furniture flew in the hallowed chambers. In 2013, we should have crossed such waters.

    As things stand, there is more work ahead.

  • Could Boko Haram possibly be right ?

    Could Boko Haram possibly be right ?

    Make no mistake about it. I totally disagree with their methods. I abhor their violence. I loathe the taking of innocent lives. I detest their bestial, savage, barbaric killing of innocent school children. But then, could there possibly be something right about Boko Haram’s claim that western education is sin? The majority of Nigeria’s western educated elite so much vindicate Boko Haram’s position that the sect certainly does not need the current shedding of blood and wasting of lives to make its point. In any case what is sin? In my view it is a violation of God’s laws such as lying, stealing, murder, adultery etc. It is a breaching of moral codes. It is a negation of ethical standards.

    Most of Nigeria’s western educated elite particularly in public office exhibit these vices on an industrial scale. They steal. They lie. They cheat. Their wanton corruption has stunted a remarkably endowed country’s development resulting in the continuing avoidable deaths of millions of valuable lives. Yes, western education nurtures the intellect. It liberates the mind. It has led to the astonishing accomplishments of humanity in diverse spheres of endeavour. But it does not necessarily endow the individual with the moral values imperative for maintaining a decent, sane, humane and healthy society.

    Most of Nigeria’s western educated elite simply utilise their acquired knowledge and skills to commit the most heinous sins against their country and fellow country men and women. A good example are those bankers whose venality and moral depravity resulted in the collapse of several banks with severe, damaging implications for millions of depositors and shareholders and with consequences that continue to haunt the fragile Nigerian economy. But let us move to another set of Nigeria’s western educated elite whose actions amply validate Boko Haram’s position that western education is sin.

    The country has 36 governors. These eminent citizens represent the cream of the country’s western educated elite. Among them are medical doctors, lawyers, soldiers, engineers, architects, academics and so on. These respected citizens came together and voluntarily formed an association, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF). 35 of these highly enlightened citizens gathered in a room to elect their chairman. No one was coerced there. We assume that they knew the meaning of elections and the implications of democracy before participating in the election. They voted. The votes were counted. The process was electronically recorded. A winner emerged. He had 19 votes. His opponent had 16 votes. Yet, the minority claims to be the majority. To these eminent western educated Nigerians, 16 is greater than 19. The loser not only parades himself as Chairman of the NGF, his faction has opened a secretariat in Abuja! This is is lying. This is cheating. This is deceit. This is a form of robbery. This is brazen fraud. This is original sin. Boko Haram members must be having a good laugh. They are surely vindicated. Western education, at least in this case, is grievous sin.

    But let us go to a more tragic scenario. In 2011 we trooped to the polls and elected as President a man called Dr Goodluck Jonathan. As a child he had no shoes. We identified with him. He went to the redemption camp and publicly knelt down before the revered Pastor Enoch Adeboye. We admired his humility. Many also voted for him because he is the first Nigerian President to have a university degree, a Ph. D for that matter. The Ph. D is the highest attainment in western education. The holder is a Doctor of philosophy. He is assumed to be sound not only in knowledge but in character. He should be a beacon of integrity. But what are we seeing? This Ph.D holder is proving to be even more coarse, brutish and utterly disdainful of the rule of law, constitutionalism and the values of democracy than his rustic predecessor and benefactor who has now been publicly and irreparably deconstructed by General Alabi Isama as a blundering, cowardly and utterly incompetent General. But that is a matter for another day.

    This Ph.D holder, despite denials by his aides, is clearly the one behind the crisis in the NGF. He openly expressed his opposition to Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s re-election as NGF Chairman. The presidency actively sought to coerce and intimidate governors against re-electing Amaechi. The election held. Amaechi won. The Ph.D holder lost face. As an academic and supposed intellectual, would he accept the verdict? Not on your life. He publicly recognised the loser as the winner. He lent the weight of his prestigious office to falsehood. He encouraged deceit. He embraced lies. I hope the respected Pastor Adeboye is reading this in case somebody wants to play the kneeling game at the redemption camp sometime in future! Somebody has suggested that elementary arithmetic may not necessarily be a precondition for obtaining a most distinguished Ph. D. I disagree. For, it is not impossible that in the animal kingdom of Zoology, 16 is greater than 19. All hail! But then the tragedy got even messier.

    This admirable product of western education has done everything to undermine the legitimate government of RotimiAmaechi in Rivers State. He has divided the PDP in the state. He has caused mayhem in the state House of Assembly. He sanctioned, again according to the mysterious arithmetic of Zoology, the attempted impeachment of the Speaker by 5 members of a 32-member House. He has looked on indifferently as the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mbu John Mbu, continues to jeopardise the security of the state and compromise the personal safety of the Governor. To make matters worse, this Ph. D holder has allowed another Ph. D holder, Dr. Reuben Abati, to brazenly lie that the presidency has no hand in the Abuja instigated descent to anarchy in Rivers State. Luckily, the most amiable and adorable First Lady and co-President of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan, has exposed the highly cerebral Dr.Abati’s lies.

    She told a group of 16 Bishops from the South-South who visited her on Wednesday of her grouse with Governor RotimiAmaechi. We now know why there is such a desperate attempt by Abuja to pull down Amaechi at all costs even if it means destabilizing the country and endangering our democracy. I once described the Jonathan presidency as a distracted one obsessed with his ambition for a second term in 2015. Many of my readers from the Niger Delta were unhappy with me. But the unfolding scenario in Rivers State proves this beyond doubt. For, Amaechi’s only crime is that he is suspected to have higher political aspirations in 2015 that may jeopardise Jonathan’s political interests.

    Let us, therefore, apologise to Boko Haram. They have a point. In many ways western education is a grievous sin if a Ph.D holder can perpetrate, directly and indirectly, the kind of atrocities being witnessed in Rivers state. Is the Boko Haram leader, Imam AbubakarShekau, reading this? Or can anybody reach him? Please drop your guns. Your point has been effectively made.