The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Opeifa and the rail challenge

    Opeifa and the rail challenge

    A lot is expected of Kayode Opeifa, Doctor of Philosophy in Transport Management and Logistics and new Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

    His appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been widely applauded and described by many Nigerians who know him as the right man for the job. His achievements attest to this. He lived up to expectations in his previous public positions as Special Adviser on Transportation in Lagos State, Commissioner for Transport, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Transport Secretary, or Leader of the Presidential Task Team.

    President Tinubu is confident about his abilities and expertise in the transportation sector. Outside government, Opeifa has remained a transportation curator, canvassing initiatives and policies that can significantly improve public transport and traffic management. He has lent his voice to the imperative of decongestion for laying an effective foundation for rapid urban development.

    Opeifa’s appointment is obviously by merit. The workers and the two dominant unions – the Railway Workers Association and the Senior Staff Association – perceive the versatile NRC MD as a comrade in pursuing a well-ordered, egalitarian society.

    Expectations about reforms and revitalisation of the rail sub-sector are now high under the new ‘Mr. Railway,’ a workaholic who is always receptive to new ideas and knowledge, a dynamic public officer reputed for problem-solving in assigned duties.

    Transportation is crucial to socio-economic development. It is an important aid to boosting commerce. The easy and speedy movement of people, goods, and services through efficient modes of transportation attests to a great breakthrough and wonders of the modern world.

    It contrasts sharply with primitive times of immobility, risks and frustration of long treks and the use of monkeys with the constraints of limited distance and loads, unlike the modern period of railway, which Dr. Opeifa has now been mandated to develop, expand, fortify, reposition and strengthen by President Tinubu.

    A justification for the simultaneous development of the four forms of transportation – air, water, road, and rail – is that they are complementary to one another. In particular, railway has the capacity to lift the burden off the road in easing the movement of people and goods, thereby reducing the dangers and threats to road infrastructure by heavy-duty vehicles.

    The news helmsman is taking charge at a critical time. Like the phoenix, the railway has risen from the ashes. In the 1970s, ’80s, and early ’90s, it was the toast; it was very comfortable, reliable, efficient, cheap, and reassuring. Many eminent Nigerians had illustrious careers in the railways of old, which was a pride.

    However, the sub-sector later regressed into decay with obsolete equipment, dilapidated offices, and staff quarters becoming its symbols. The ugly development demoralised the workforce and eroded public confidence. The scenario depicted the poor maintenance culture that has crippled most public utilities.

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    Efforts by the preceding administration to restore sanity yielded some positive results. The sub-sector took on a new life and, gradually, Nigerians began to heave a sigh of relief. But the population has grown in geometric proportions, warranting the urgency for upgrading the facilities and expanding the routes.

    Then, reality dawned on the country that the revitalisation plan had to be considered along with concern for the safety of routes. It was said that nobody dared to stand before a moving train. That aphorism did not apply to terrorists. On March 28, 2022, the evil minds stopped a moving train from Abuja en route to Kaduna at Katari. They fired bullets at passengers, destroyed rail lines, damaged the train, and abducted many passengers.

    The destruction of the train was a huge loss to the country. For many months, there was panic, and rail stations became no-go areas. Respite, however, came after some months. Some suspects were apprehended and sanity was restored.

    A heavy responsibility thus rests on the shoulders of the new Managing Director. He is in a familiar terrain, having served as a board member of the corporation. He has the background experience, and the benefit of hindsight is a vital asset. But he is expected to deliver beyond expectations.

    Opeifa is expected to upgrade the outdated railway system. This implies rehabilitating old lines and expanding the facilities to improve connectivity. Improved connectivity would boost commerce and foster anticipated economic integration.

    During its dark period, many Nigerians dismissed the NRC for being an inefficient organisation. The public perception diminished the confidence reposed in the corporation. The onus now lies on the MD to erase these negative perceptions about the NRC and its train services. The transformation of the railway should make the services more reliable, punctual, and customer-friendly. Also, the fear of Nigerians about unsafe routes should be addressed. To minimise risks, dilapidated infrastructure should be replaced. Decayed ones should give way. But there should be synergy with security agencies to ensure the safety of the trains and passengers.

    The NRC should not be a money-spinning corporation alone; it should be financially sustainable. Wastages should be curtailed. Loopholes should be plugged. Ticket racketeering should never rear its head again. It has been alleged that despite the electronic ticketing, unscrupulous workers in some stations still manage to smuggle passengers onto the train, collect the money, and pocket it. Grafts should be nipped in the bud.

    The corporation should not be allowed to slip into a cesspit of corruption. Nigerians expect the new management to put on its thinking cap and devise strategies for expanding the revenue base of the corporation without hiking fares that may constitute an additional burden to passengers. It is worrisome that the NRC currently contributes between two and three per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    On Thursday, Opeifa averted a strike the workers’ union was planning to embark on. The MD specially requested the union to apply the brakes, assuring its leaders that he would fight for their welfare as a rights activist. The workers agreed not to embark on an industrial action because they believe that Opeifa will work in harmony with them.

    Although he said at the handover ceremony that he would later unfold his vision and mission, Opeifa’s inaugural speech attempted to address the challenges confronting the “oldest and most impactful” transport corporation in the country. He promised to add value to the institution by repositioning it to fulfill its responsibility to Nigerians under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

    Achieving the 25-year Strategic Rail Modernisation Plan is among the goals of the new management.

    Opeifa has identified 19 priority areas. These are: security of lives and properties, modernisation and expansion, increased connectivity, service excellence, capacity building, inter-agency and inter-regional cooperation, project completion, private sector participation, improvement of commercial operations, and contributions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    Others are collaboration for service delivery, staff welfare, union relations, inter and multi-modal mobility, rail economy, job creation and skills acquisition, sustainability, and environmental protection, as well as strategic communication and media relations.

    Of the 19, two stand out. The first is collaboration for growth and development; partnership with the regional development agencies for the actualisation of the various regional rail systems and service master plans.

    The second is the rail economy. Opeifa said the railway should encourage tourism, link people to jobs, link farm produce to economic and activity centres and improve  national logistics and supply chain management.

    The real challenge is funding for ongoing projects.

    Private partnership for successful operations has to be considered. Experience has shown that private sector participation always yields better results. A great lesson should be learnt from the relative success of the aviation sector. However, the government must provide an enabling environment. Regional rail initiatives and federal/regional cooperation are also critical to growth in the sector.

    In five years, there will be an assessment of how far Opeifa has been able to transform the Nigerian railway. The hands of the clock have started ticking.

  • Need for royal reconciliation in Oyo Alaafin

    Need for royal reconciliation in Oyo Alaafin

    Royal scramble and squabble have been key elements in traditional succession politics in Yoruba land since immemorial. Wherever you look across the Southwest, you find traces of dissensions among contenders for a royal stool. Therefore, the stiff competition for the stool of Alaafin of Oyo is not new. The imbroglio is not peculiar to the ancient town. The acrimony is similar to the experiences of other towns with vacancies to fill their thrones.

    Four factors usually account for the bitter struggle in Oyo.

    First: The Alaafin is perceived as the first among equals in Yoruba land. In his October 15, 1881 letter to colonial Governor W. B. Griffiths, imploring him to intervene in the armed conflict between Ibadan and Ekitiparapo, Oba Adeyemi I described himself as “king of Yoruba” and his claim was not disputed, not even by Derin Ologbenla, Owooni (and Baale of Okeigbo). His forefathers ruled the Oyo Empire. Therefore, the Alaafin is a highly revered and prestigious title.

    Two: The Alaafin was the only ruler who presided over a vast empire comprising most Yoruba towns. His soldiers at Ibadan saved the Yoruba from invasion and subjugation by the Fulani forces, particularly the Emir of Ilorin who wanted to “dip the Qur’an in the sea”. Historians have always recalled the titanic battle at Osogbo, which frustrated the invaders’ plan. It is not out of place for the Alaafin to call himself the defender of the race.

    Three: It is the right of Oyo princes to aspire for the exalted throne whenever there is a vacancy. Only a few princes, like the Adesiyen, would decline if the opportunity arise. Adesiyen declined due to old age and illness. Over time, the royal house has grown in leaps and bounds as sections have evolved according to the order of births. Thus, the contest is stiff.

    Four: Apart from the prestige, the throne is a guarantor of permanent wealth, prosperity and invaluable privileges.

    In the days of yore, tributes (isakole) enriched the king, his wives, children and high chiefs who assisted him in ruling the kingdom. Today, the five per cent allocation to the palace from the councils fills the void. Therefore, the legitimate contest is highly competitive and rewarding. Naturally, it is a winner-takes-all.

    However, the onus is on the winner of the crown, Oba Abimbola Owoade, to set an agenda for reconciliation. The peace moves should be in layers. There is a need for reconciliation between the oba and the divided Oyomesi, the kingmakers and traditional ministers under His Supernal Highness, the Basorun, the traditional prime minister. This is important because they would play important roles in the coronation rites.

    The governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has insinuated that members of the Alaafin-in-Council received gifts from a contestant, and it appeared that some problems ensued while sharing the gifts. The gifts were in the form of currencies, as alleged, unlike in the days of yore when aspirants gave out cowries, lands, crops, domestic animals, expensive clothes, and beads, and made promises to dispense favours, including giving their daughters in marriage to the families of the high chiefs, in a demonstration of gratitude.

     What may have been uncritically confused as bribes in some quarters could have been customary proceeds from guided selection politics before ifa divination stepped in to separate the wheat from the chaff.

    There is also an urgent need for a truce between Oba Owoade and other aggrieved members of the Adelu Agunloye royal family, who are his kith and kin, particularly the ardent supporters of his arch-rival, Gbadegesin Ladigbolu. The Alaafin is the father of all in Oyo, but he occupies the stool on behalf of the extended family of royals, nobles, and aristocrats. He is first and foremost a prince from the royal house before becoming the property of the ‘kingdom’.

    It is not new that the struggle has shifted to the court. The legal fireworks may be prolonged due to the slowness of the judicial system unless there is an accelerated hearing. Oba Owoade is fortified by the singular fact that he was a prince before ascending the throne, and his anticipated triumph at the temple of justice may be predicated on his inalienable right to the prestigious throne, like other princes.

    After the court case, the monarch would still need to reconcile with the rival, who the crown has eluded, as a matter of courtesy. This is a very challenging matter, more so when the Yoruba tend to believe that people do not renew friendships after a bitter court case.

    Embarking on reconciliation demands humility, courage, self-sacrifice, and abnegation. It is an attribute of leadership that would assist the Gen-Z monarch to stabilise and expand the scope of partnership required for propelling the town to progress.

    The people of Yoruba land also look forward to a synergy between the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and Alaafin Owoade as the two foremost monarchs in the Southwest who are expected to liaise with other monarchs of Egba, Ijebu, Yewa, Awori, Ijesa, Ekiti, Akoko, Ikale, Ilaje, Lagos, Agbadarigi, Popo, and Ajase in strengthening the bond of unity and defending the collective interest of the race. The old acrimony between past Ooni and Alaafin cannot reoccur because of the peaceful steps Oba Ogunwusi has taken in visiting Oyo.

    It is a new era in Oyo. The death of Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III marked the end of an era. He was the link between the old times and the new dispensation, characterised by the rise of educated kings who had to lead the ancient town to adapt to modern realities.

    Read Also: Protesting Oyo royal family welcomes new Alaafin, seeks implementation of 1976 declaration.

    It is doubtful if the old pattern of rites and rituals can be rigorously followed in placing the monarch on the throne. For example, if any Alaafin-elect is to pick Igba Iwa, he has to follow a guided process in this modern time, with the assistance of the wise ones.

    In the olden days, the Igba Iwa was said to contain two separate covered calabashes with similar shapes and sizes and identical decoration. They were brought before the oba-elect to pick his choice: one contained cowries (money), cloth, and beads, indicating a happy and prosperous reign. The other contained gunpowder, bullets, razors, knives, miniature spears, and arrows, indicating wars and turmoil.

    In his book, History of Yorubas, Samuel Johnson, a cleric and historian, recalled that Oba Adeyemi I chose the latter and his choice determined the fate of the Oyo Empire. His reign was full of tension. The climax was the 16 years of protracted wars between Ekiti/Ijesa and Ibadan, which led to the loss of Yoruba independence to the British interlopers.

    Also gone with the wind was the ‘crowning’ of the first son as ‘Aremo.’ In those days, Oyo produced reckless ‘Aremos’ who were despots, although some good ones also succeeded their fathers as Alaafin by popular acclamation.

    Those conditions that permitted the allotment of duties to an Aremo no longer exist in this modern era.

    The selection of the new Alaafin has confirmed the split in the Atiba lineage. It also affirmed the trend of rotation between the two extended families of Adeyemi Alowolodu and Adelu Agunloye, which were once a single family through their progenitors – Adelu and Adeyemi – being the direct children of Alaafin Atiba.

    In the final analysis, there is only one ruling house in Oyo, the split notwithstanding.

    Atiba had many other children, whose descendants may still be recognised as princes but have not been privileged to occupy the throne. These are the offspring of Adelabu, Adesiyen, Adediran, Adejumo, Olawoyin, Tele Agbojuloogun, Ala, Adewusi, Adesetan I and II, Adeleye, Adedotun, Afonja, Agborin, Tela Okitipapa, Ogo, Momodu, Adesokan, and Adejojo.

    Those who occupied the throne were not insulated from troubles. While Adelu, the Crown Prince, was widely tipped as the successor to Atiba, he was rejected by Are Ona Kankanfo Kurumi of Ijaye, who insisted that the Aremo should die with his father. It led to a war. Assisted by Ibadan forces, led by Balogun Ibikunle, the Alaafin won.

    Adelu’s death sparked a succession crisis. His crown prince, Amubieya Agogo-Ija, could not succeed him.

    Following the rift, Amubieya left for Ibadan, hosted by Aare Asubiaro Latosa, the then ruler of Ibadan. But after the demise of Adeyemi I, he returned home to be crowned the Alaafin.

    He ruled for six years, between 1905 and 1911. His children were Siyenbola Ladigbolu, Lawuwo, Agboin, Tella, and Owoade, the grandfather of the current inheritor of the throne.

    Agogo-Ija was succeeded by his son, Ladigbolu I, who was succeeded by Adeniran Adeyemi, son of Adeyemi I, who ran into political turbulence. After the removal of Adeyemi 11 in 1955, Bello Gbadegesin (Ladigbolu II) ascended the throne. He died in 1968 and a protracted tussle ensued between Sanda Ladepo and Lamidi Adeyemi 111, who eventually triumphed. He reigned for 52 years.

    It is now the time of Oba Owoade. The young prince is fulfilling his destiny. Having inherited the throne, he should be more condescending.

    His predecessor, Adeyemi 111, set a standard. He should strive to surpass it. May God give the new monarch the wisdom, like King Solomon, to reign in Oyo with the fear of God, and may his reign usher in a new era of peace, progress, and prosperity for the ancient town.

  • Addressing Nigeria’s ₦18tr road infrastructure deficit

    Addressing Nigeria’s ₦18tr road infrastructure deficit

    The recent disclosure by  Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, that the nation needs a whooping N18 trillion to address its road infrastructure deficit brings to fore critical questions about infrastructure financing and national development. This sober revelation, coming at a time when the country is grappling with various economic challenges, presents both an opportunity and a dilemma for policymakers and citizens alike.

    The magnitude of Nigeria’s road infrastructure deficit cannot be wished away. With over 2,064 inherited projects valued at N13 trillion in 2023, and with present realities pushing the figure to N18 trillion, we are confronted with a stark reminder that our nation has for decades neglected,  squandered and misdirected  our opportunities of making Nigeria an infrastructural hub. Presently, our  annual budgetary allocations through the National Assembly have proven insufficient to address this massive backlog, necessitating the search for alternative funding approaches.

    Building qualitative infrastructure is not merely about convenience; it remains a fundamental driver of economic growth and development with a massive multiplier effect,  road construction extends far beyond the physical infrastructure itself and as Minister Umahi rightly points out, road projects create diverse economic opportunities for an economic ecosystem like ours and could help address unemployment and stimulate local economies across the country.

    Moreover, quality road networks reduce transportation costs, facilitate movement and trade, and enhances productivity across various sectors. The agricultural sector, in particular, stands to benefit significantly from improved road infrastructure, as better connectivity between rural areas and urban markets can help reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmer incomes.

    The proposal on whether we are to fund road infrastructure via borrowing will naturally spark debates. This is due to concerns about our growing debt profile, which are quite valid, the nature and purpose of borrowing must be carefully considered, though Infrastructure borrowing, when properly structured and utilized, differs fundamentally from borrowing for consumption.

    First, infrastructure investments generate long-term economic returns which in turn can facilitate debt servicing. Efficiently maintained roads enhance economic  productivity and helps boost growth- all of which contribute to increased government revenue through various channels.

    Likewise, the cost of not meeting our present infrastructural needs now, may ultimately exceed the cost of borrowing. Poor road networks lead to higher transportation costs, reduced economic activity, and lost opportunities for growth. These hidden costs accumulate over time and can be more burdensome than the interest payments on infrastructure loans.

    Despite these, it is important to note that any borrowing strategy must be accompanied by robust safeguards and clear implementation frameworks. The government must ensure:

    Transparent project selection and prioritization based on economic and social impact

    Strict monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to prevent cost overruns

    Efficient project delivery timelines to maximize economic returns

    Integration of maintenance planning into project design to ensure sustainability

    Asides borrowing, which is neccesary,  Nigeria may also have other means to addressing such  needs via a number of approaches such as Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) which can leverage private sector expertise and capital while sharing risks and rewards. Examples abound of successful toll road projects and other aspects of infrastructural development powered by PPP in countries like Rwanda, Botswana,  South Africa,  Morocco and even in Nigeria. A  demonstration of the viability of such an approach when properly structured.

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    Infrastructure bonds which could attract numerous domestic and diaspora investors readily provides  an alternative to traditional borrowing while giving Nigerians an opportunity to invest in their country’s development.

    Asset recycling, where existing infrastructure assets are privatized to fund new projects, could help generate capital while improving operational efficiency. This approach  allows for an influx of capital, where  a public sector entity can apply such  initial funding to invest in higher performing infrastructure.

    The success of any infrastructure development program depends not just on funding but on effective implementation. Nigeria must address several critical challenges:

    Procurement reforms are needed to ensure transparent and efficient project allocation. The current system often leads to delays and cost escalations that burden the public purse.

    Technical capacity within government agencies must be strengthened to improve project planning, execution, and monitoring. This includes better coordination between federal and state authorities.

    Maintenance culture needs to be institutionalized. Many existing roads have deteriorated prematurely due to poor maintenance, effectively increasing the long-term cost to the nation.

    Nigeria’s N18 trillion road infrastructure challenge requires a balanced and pragmatic approach. While borrowing may be necessary, it should be part of a comprehensive infrastructure development strategy that includes: A clear and prioritized framework for project selection based on economic and social impact

    Diverse funding sources to reduce dependence on any single financing method

    Strong governance mechanisms to ensure efficient use of resources

    Integration of local content to maximize economic benefits

    Regular maintenance programs to protect infrastructure investments

    The government must also improve its communication with citizens about infrastructure projects. Public support is crucial for any large-scale infrastructure program, especially one that involves significant borrowing. Transparency about project selection, costs, and benefits can help build this support.

    The scale of Nigeria’s road infrastructure deficit requires bold action, tempered however with fiscal responsibility. While borrowing to fund infrastructure development can be justified, it must be accompanied by strong safeguards and clear implementation frameworks. The focus should be on creating sustainable infrastructure that generates sufficient economic returns to justify the investment and support debt servicing.

    With proper planning, diverse funding sources, and effective implementation, Nigeria can begin to close its infrastructure gap while creating lasting economic benefits for its citizens. It is possible!

  • Trump, immigration and capitalism’s global crisis

    Trump, immigration and capitalism’s global crisis

    Right from his near-miraculous reelection to the White House as the 47th President of the United States of America, a possibility that appeared remote given the perceived threat he constituted to that country’s democracy demonstrated especially by the insurrection he instigated against his defeat in the 2020 presidential election as well as his unsalutary record as a convicted felon, Donald Trump has given indications of his intention to effect disruptive changes both within America and globally. From day one with his inauguration on January 20, he has hit the ground running with a plethora of executive orders and verbal pronouncements to set in motion the implementation of the key planks of his campaign platform.

    These include stricter immigration control, mass deportation of illegal immigrants, withdrawal of US support for the World Health Organization (WHO), rolling back regulatory policies designed to safeguard the environment, introducing retaliatory and punitive tariffs in defense of US trade, granting pardon to those convicted for their attacks on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and ensuring a speedy end to the Russia-Ukraine war among others.

    In many ways, Trump and the far-right ideology he has come to symbolize and benefit immensely from politically, are products of the ever-deepening crisis of capitalism and widespread uncertainty and insecurity as regards the continued economic prosperity of the advanced capitalist countries of the West. This is particularly so with the stiff competition that emergent aggressive economies like China and India continue to pose to America’s position as the world’s foremost economic power even if she still retains considerable dominance in terms of global military prowess as well as the technological innovation that sustains it. In the long run, however, economic decline can undermine military efficacy as the history of the rise and fall of great powers across time and space has all too frequently demonstrated.

    Trump was obviously right when he declared in his well-written and delivered inauguration address that “As our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda with dramatic increases in support from virtually every element of our society, young and old, men and women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, urban and suburban, rural and very importantly, we had a powerful win in all seven swing states, and the popular vote we won by millions of people”. With the emphasis of their campaign on reproductive rights, protection of gay, lesbian, queer and transgender sexual rights as well as the threat, Trump was seen as constituting to the constitution and democratic governance, Kamala Harris and the Democrats utterly missed the point that substantial numbers of the electorate were concerned about current economic hardships and were willing to believe that Trump had the keys to attaining greater prosperity no matter the moral baggage he was associated with.

    Indeed, the deepening crisis of capitalism is the key reason why far-right groups with their often extremist racist, nationalist and anti-immigration rhetoric have gained increasing political ascendancy not only in the US but also in many other advanced capitalist countries. Over three decades ago, a number of analysts had predicted the steady march of a character like Trump from the fringes of the American political system to general political acceptability and dominance. This was with the relatively impressive showing of non-mainstream candidates such as Ros Perot and Patrick Buchanan as independent or third-party contestants in the 1992 and 1996 presidential primaries and/or elections.

    Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in Britain had emerged as President and Prime Minister, respectively, in both countries and ushered in the neo-liberal capitalist revolution that sought to respond to the crisis that Keynesian capitalism and its extensive welfarist, interventionist state had run into as from the late 1970s after the latter’s ideological dominance since the end of the second world war in 1945. Under the intellectual suzerainty of the Conservative economist, Milton Friedman, and his disciples of the Chicago School of Economics, neo-liberalism and its orientation towards financialism, privatization, removal of subsidies for critical social services, de-funding of welfare support to vulnerable citizens, the rolling back of the state, deregulation of the economy and the subordination of large segments of society to the vagaries of market forces, maintained policy hegemony in advanced capitalist economies till the weakening occasioned by the global capitalist recession of 2008.

    The capitalist triumphalism that heralded the collapse of communism in 1989, with the fall from power of most Marxist-Leninist states in the Eastern Bloc, best exemplified by Francis Fukuyama’s prediction of ‘the end of history’ and what he saw as the unimpeded march of capitalism and liberal democracy into the unforeseen future, was short-lived. For, the defeat of a potentially viable political and economic alternative to capitalism and its liberal democratic accompaniment did not eliminate the fundamental, self-defeating contradictions of capitalism despite Karl Marx’s vivid description in his ‘Communist Manifesto’ of the historically unmatched creativity and capacity for prodigious production of the capitalist mode of production.

    Thus, it is the inherent contradictions of capitalism and its tendency to breed incessant cycles of economic booms and bursts and recurrent recessions with the attendant hardships that have created the conditions for the emergence of Trump and the serious danger that his ideas, temperament, disposition and bigotry constitutes to the survival of liberal democracy in a country, that despite its failings, has been a beacon for representative and responsive governance over the last two and a half centuries.

    Utilizing the Marxist geographer, David Harvey’s conceptualization of the contemporary crisis of capitalism in his book, ‘The Enigma of Capital’, Benjamin Kunkel writes that the origins of the crisis can be located “in the troubles of the 1970s, when the so-called Golden Age of capitalism following World War 11 – blessed with high rates of profitability, productivity, wage growth and expansion of output – gave way to what Brenner called “the long down-turn” after 1973…this long down-turn, with deeper recessions and weaker expansions across every business cycle, reflects chronic overcapacity – another variety of overaccumulation – in international manufacturing, a condition brought about by the maturation of Japanese and German industry by the end of the 1960s, and later compounded by the industrialization of East Asia”.

    Neo-liberal attempts to address the protracted crises of capitalism, Harvey argued, resulted in policies that curbed high wages to increase corporate profitability but also implied deficient demand with negative economic consequences. In his words, “Persistent wage repression therefore poses the problem of lack of demand for the expanding output of capitalist corporations. One barrier to capitalist accumulation – the labour question – is overcome at the expense of creating another – lack of market”. And how was the problem of lack of market addressed? Harvey cryptically observes that “The gap between what labour was earning and what it could spend was covered by the rise of the credit card industry and increasing indebtedness”.

    Read Also; Nigeria saved $10 billion from subsidy removal in 2023 – Deputy Speaker Kalu

    One of Trump’s greatest appeals to his teeming supporters is his stance on immigration as substantial numbers of Americans believe that their economic woes are compounded by the large influx of illegal immigrants who take jobs that citizens should have and endanger society through criminal activity. But capitalism as scholars like Andre Gunder Frank and Immanuel Wallerstein noted long ago has become a global economic system that generates development in one part of the globe in the same process that breeds underdevelopment and deepening poverty in another.

    The prosperity of the West cannot be understood or explained without reference to its profiting from more than five centuries of slavery and colonialism largely responsible for the backwardness of those underdeveloped countries that Trump derisively referred to as ‘shit hole’ countries in his first term. After the attainment of ‘flag independence’ as from the 1960s, John Perkins, an investment banker, in his book, ‘Confessions of an Economic Hitman’, reveals how Western banks, some of which he worked for, coaxed and lured African countries into taking huge foreign loans and when the lending countries ran into economic crisis, they imposed huge interest rates on the debtor countries resulting in a protracted debt trap that compounded their indebtedness and grounded their economies.

    As the economic crisis in Africa worsened in the mid-1980s, the International Financial Institutions imposed Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) demanding the devaluation of national currencies, privatization of state-owned enterprises, liberalization of trade, deregulation of the economy, retrenchment of public sector workers, removal of subsidies on fuel and essential services among other policy prescriptions that worsened poverty and deepened inequality. The resultant deindustrialization of these countries, astronomical inflationary spirals, increased unemployment and descent into political instability and internal strife created conditions in which large numbers of their citizens sought to escape their woeful existential realities and seek succour in more prosperous advanced countries such as the US.

    Teresa Hayter notes the grand irony that the Western imperialists who, as European imperialism expanded, obtained labour by force transporting between 10 and 15 million African slaves to work for plantation owners and emergent industrial capitalists thus creating the conditions for the pathetic state of these dysfunctional countries today. According to him, “So-called globalization, or latter-day imperialism, has created or helped to create new pressures to migrate. But the situation has changed. The governments of the rich countries, rather than forcing people to migrate against their will, are now intent on stopping them migrating when they wish to”.

    And as the late radical economist, Professor Bade Onimode, wrote “…the major sponsors of liberalization, globalization, in the North are strongly opposed to migration of labour. From France, Germany, the USA and other OECD countries, we read incredibly depressing tales of the harrowing experiences of immigrant workers…Why, this being the case, should the governments of developing countries not be allowed to exercise any controls on the entry of manufactured goods, capital, investment and technology into their countries, while the countries of the North stoutly shut out migrant workers from the developing countries…Why should free trade, liberalization and globalization be good for manufactured products, capital and technology (intellectual property rights) and be bad for labour?”.

    Trump has promised to end the ‘Green New Deal’, revoke the electric vehicle mandate, promote unfettered drilling of American oil all in a bid to promote manufacturing and prosperity in America. He has withdrawn the US from the World Health Organization which means stoppage of American funding for vital health programmes of the WHO many of which are of immense benefit to developing countries. Yet, the lesson of the Coronavirus pandemic is that not even the most powerful countries in the world will be immune when pandemics spread from one part of the globe to others.

    If his policies worsen the menace of climate change with the poor countries being the most adversely affected, this will only deepen the problem of poverty in these countries and heighten the desperation to migrate to more prosperous climes. Enthusiastic that America’s golden age has begun, Trump averred that “Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens. For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues. There will be massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury coming from foreign sources”.

    This may well be a legitimate national aspiration. But Trump apparently does not realize that, no matter how powerful she may be, America’s prosperity cannot assure her security in a world in which she is surrounded by increased impoverishment and heightened inequality. The contradictions of capitalism are global and must be addressed by international cooperation with America best placed to play a leading role in the quest for a fairer, more just, equitable, safer and kinder world for all humanity. To make America great again, she does not have to strive to be mean again.

  • Big for nothing Eagles

    Big for nothing Eagles

    Listening to NFF President Ibrahim Gusau pledge the federation’s commitments to ensure Eric Chelle succeeds as the Super Eagles, I thought I was dreaming. As a person, Gusau keeps to the few words he mutters. But when he speaks on NFF matters, he reads a script. I’m reluctant to hold him to what he read at the ceremony because it was the board’s decision. Make no mistake, Gusua is knowledgeable. He can discuss off the cuff.

    When Gusau spoke penultimate Monday in Abuja at Chelle’s unveiling, he showed that he was a good student of history. He gave nothing away. His utterances were guided. Native intelligence.

    According to Gusau: “I see in the new Head Coach the right spirit and the right attitude, and I have faith that he will take the Super Eagles to the next level. He sees the job of leading the Super Eagles as his dream job, and that is a huge motivation in itself.

    “Coach Chelle recognises and appreciates what is ahead of him, and he says he loves the challenge. We will be there giving him the necessary support all the way,” Gusau said.

    Indeed, I won’t delve into Chelle’s promises to change the Eagles’ 2026 World Cup fortunes. I didn’t expect anything less. Rather, I would wince to ask if Chelle would have the balls to plead with his employers and those agbada wearing government officials who crowd the team’s dressing room at half time, to remain seated at the State Box area. Give the coach space to discuss with his boys, and the time to identify their flaws and get to hear on the way forward.

    In the past, these government functionaries led by the NFF people, crowded the dressing room at the interval, giving the coach no time to discuss his countertactics based on what he had seen in the first half. The 15 minutes allocated for pep talks isn’t always enough because these people take turns talking to the players and even the coaches. Can you beat that? The coach needs to have all of the stipulated 15 minutes set aside for half-time talks to his players to himself. Indeed, messages from well-meaning Nigerians such as telephone conversations with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can be delivered to the boys via Zoom before the match, preferably in the hotel.

    Read Also: All exams in Nigeria will be 100% CBT by 2027, says minister

    These are the biggest opponents that Chelle would have on match days not their opponents, especially if the Super Eagles have not scored a goal or are trailing with a goal or two (God forbid).

    Chelle’s second obstacle would be the criteria for inviting players to prosecute the last six matches. Looking at the semblance of names on the players’ list when they are released gives this writer the impression that their invitations to the games are done by outsiders, not the team’s coaches. My fears become stronger when injured players are invited. It gets worse when benchwarmers populate the list as if we don’t watch European football matches in the 774 LGAs in Nigeria weekly. Even if we don’t watch European games weekly, they are available on YouTube to be downloaded if you choose that option.

    Chelle’s third obstacle would start with the amount of control he would allow the NFF technical committee members to have in his team’s selection processes. Besides, would Chelle take instructions passed to him by his employers or government functionaries urging him to substitute a particular player or players not playing well in their naive opinion in a game?

    Would Chelle allow his selection of players to be hijacked by agents or influencing peddling people? Chelle should make sure that agents are kept at bay and not allowed to mingle with the players in the hotel. These agents shouldn’t be given unfettered access to the team’s buses, especially, their itinerary. The team’s Chief Security Officer must be one who thinks on his feet. Movement in and around anywhere the Super Eagles delegation are spending time should be watertight in surveillance. Chelle should, in his interactions with the players in their different abodes in Europe, urge them to plead with their relations to stay away from the camp for maximum concentration considering the precarious placing of the country in her 2026 World Cup group.

    Nigeria’s previous World Cup outings have been dogged by allegations of the easy access of all manner of visitors, with many of them eating and relaxing with them at the poolside.

    Would Chelle introduce a Code of Conduct in his camp for his players as way of instilling discipline? Or would he cast an indulgent eye and say that they are adults who know what to do? Would he have the guts to be unsparing and fair in meting out justice?

    Would there be a deadline to report to the camp? Would Chelle allow those extraneous issues such as delayed departure, bad weather, or the airline ‘untrue’ technical hitches influence his decisions? Who buys the players the flight tickets? NFF or the players? Answers to the question of who purchases the flight tickets would determine who decides when players should report to the camp. A situation where players buy their flight tickets with promises from the federation to refund creates the setting for them to report to camp as they wish without apologies for being late. Need I say that it is the major reason the team plays disjointedly during matches? The team only gets to train with its regulars 24 hours before the game.

    Do we start to define to the NFF the reasons for paying players monies in which all the parties in the discussion agreed should be paid? So, how has it been possible for the critical partner in such discussions to renege on their role over 29 times? It is ridiculous to note that our players have on record outstanding bonuses and allowances of 29 matches, yet, they keep honouring the country’s invitations. How did we get to this disgraceful stage and no heads have rolled?

    Why do we thrive in leaving things very late before they are done properly? It seems to me that this fire brigade approach to resolving sporting deficiencies benefits some people. We are always in one form of controversy or the other at the NFF, yet we expect corporate sponsorship. No chance. This cap in hand leaves sponsorship for sports at the doorsteps of the government. What a shame!

    The biggest sporting brand in Nigeria should never be presented to the world with a beggarly status. Are Super Eagles being tagged big for nothing? It really hurts.

    Those who have described the NFF as being toxic have their reasons. But are they? You tell me.

  • Transience of power (2)

    Transience of power (2)

    Power is alluring. Public office at whatever level is captivating. At any gathering, the presence of men of power and influence is usually electrifying. Power opens doors; power is the key to the doors. Indeed, power is the door.

    But the exercise of power could also entrap. It could become risky for those who allow power to corrupt them and draw the wool across their eyes. The first casualty of power is humility. It takes wisdom for those in authority to appreciate that power is ultimately transient and that no condition is permanent. Even kingdoms and empires have expiry dates.

    When a man falls from the Olympian heights of power, discerning mortals take caution; they heed the mute echoes of precaution. The lessons are plenty for those willing to learn. Learning, as it is said, implies a change in behaviour due to experience or exposure.

    Also important are the psychological tools of realistic self-assessment and public perception of those who exercise power and authority. Wise leaders always avoid getting themselves used by power instead of using it for all good.

    Lagos State has produced five Speakers – Olorunnimbe Mamora, Joko Pelumi, Yemi Ikuforiji, Mudashiru Obasa and Lasba Meranda. If Obasa had learnt useful lessons from the fate of two of his predecessors, perhaps, he would have been wiser. Pelumi, a lawyer, was kicked out after two years. Ikuforiji spent 10 years as a Speaker only to spend the next 10 years answering charges in court. Up to now, there seems to be no respite in sight.

    Those who survive in politics are rated as assets, but those who fall are perceived as liabilities. In some settings, it is always difficult to rise after a fall from power. This is the reason those wielding the power of incumbency should tread softly because theirs is a more slippery ground than that of the people they lead.

    Perhaps, Obasa now understands the meaning of reality. He had jetted to the United States, obviously with pomp, as Speaker. Disrobed in absentia, he will now be returning to the hallowed chamber, not as the presiding officer, but as a floor member, having been rejected by his colleagues and majority of party leaders.

    A month ago, a vote of confidence was passed in him by all the lawmakers, but the same lawmakers have drawn the curtains on his tenure as Speaker through an impeachment. He had his eyes on the Governor’s Office in 2027, so it was said. In the first month of 2025, the ambition collapsed like a pack of cards. His flame of ambition suddenly flickered into a nightmare.

    The handwriting was boldly on the wall; perhaps, the former Speaker chose to ignore it. Obasa’s sins include the delay in passing the budget and screening of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) members. Open confrontations with colleagues who are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and his disdain for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu have never gone well with key party leaders. The media report on the feud between Obasa, who wielded the big stick, and his four colleagues – who were made to crawl before him – drew negative attention to the Lagos Assembly.

    Obasa had suddenly announced the removal of two principal officers of the Assembly: Chief Whip Rotimi Abiru (Somolu II) and Deputy Majority Leader Olumiyiwa Jimoh (Apapa II) and pronounced indefinite suspension on two other members – Moshood Oshun, now a federal legislator, and Raheem Olawale. The offices of two of the lawmakers were sealed on the order of the erstwhile Speaker.

    Read Also: Normalcy returns to Lagos Assembly after Obasa’s impeachment

    The Governance Advisory Council (GAC) leader, Prince Oluyole Olusi, was inundated with multiple complaints about the cracks in the House. He reasoned that the timing was bad, as it coincided with the period some party stalwarts were plotting to remove the then National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, in bad faith.

    Olusi felt that insinuations might be made that the Lagos APC had also been seized by internal contradictions and a self-inflicted crisis. He berated the lawmakers for their insensitivity. In his view, if the crisis persisted, it would be illogically interpreted as an implosion in Tinubu’s Lagos political base by “frenemies” who deliberately planned to blow the matter out of proportion. Also, the former state chairman of the party, Tunde Balogun, reiterated that the punishment was too harsh because the lawmakers were loyal party members. Nevertheless  suspended lawmakers were not allowed to return to their principal offices.

    In the last five years, evidence of friction between Sanwo-Olu and Obasa abounds. This is known to the party leadership and other stakeholders. The former Speaker had always shunned most state functions, fueling the feeling of ruptured Executive/Legislative relations. The governor has been absorbent and reticent about the brickbats the erstwhile Speaker had been hurling at him in the public glare. The public was not unmindful of the governor’s uncommon maturity and philosophical calmness. Sanwo-Olu never allowed the direct parliamentary onslaught to cause any distraction in his focused style of governance. He demonstrated top-notch leadership traits.

    The miniature gap in the list of commissioner-nominees was capitalised upon due to the fugacious uproar it initially generated in some local governments. To observers, the sensitive issues could have been ironed out indoors in an atmosphere of brotherhood. But the list was thrown out in mockery and an unnecessary tension was created between the community of politicians and comity of technocrats. The former Speaker, in a derisive manner, created a scene in social media where he made unguarded statements against the governor.

    The drama in the House during the budget presentation was an eyesore. That day, cordiality was thrown overboard the ship of camaraderie. It was as if Sanwo-Olu and Obasa came from different political parties. The governor’s advance party was dazed when it discovered that the parliament was not welcoming. When the lawmakers arrived, the usual conviviality was absent. Although they are not cultists, the honourable members appeared in customised dark goggles. They did not accord the state Chief Executive the conviviality he deserved on such an auspicious occasion. It was a raw deal he got instead, something akin to what is called in parliamentary parlance the treatment of a “stranger”.

    Sanwo-Olu walked in, like an ordinary figure, while a lawmaker was making a speech. The lawmaker tried to pause; the Speaker beckoned on him to continue. The ‘Budget of Sustainability’ was delivered in an atmosphere of obvious discord.

    After the House had passed an imaginary vote of confidence in the Speaker, he made a fairly long speech, which implied the arrogance of power and parliamentary recklessness.

    It was one moment of intimidation, ignorance, rascality and failure. The former Speaker likened the Lagos House of Assembly to “a sanctuary and temple.” Obasa said no one would violate any temple and expect the gods to accept his or her sacrifice. He added: “If such happens, there must be an appeasement to the gods to accept such atonement. This institution remains resolute. We will never be disgraced, abused, or ridiculed in the name of creating a seamless working ambiance.”

    Then, discarding any kind of pretensions or diplomacy, the ex-Speaker retorted: “Those who live in glass houses must not throw stones, as the saying goes. This also brings to my mind, according to our people: eni ba yara l’oogun ngbe – meaning: the god of iron aids the swift).”

    The interpretation any observer would give the statement is: “Attack is the best form of defence.

    Then, Obasa spoke on his governorship aspiration, which he said he had not given serious thought to, despite the complaints by “blackmailers”, “detractors” and “naysayers,” who he claimed had distorted facts and “misconstrued” his intention. He said the focus of his mobilisation was to build support for the Lagos APC on the platform of Mandate Caucus, a rival to the older and influential “Justice Forum”.

    Obasa boasted that “nevertheless, that does not mean I am too young or lack the experience to run,” adding that after all, “those who have been before me are not better off”.

    Many were taken aback because those who have been elected governors of Lagos are: Lateef Jakande, Michael Otedola, President Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode, and Sanwo-Olu. Past military governors are: Brig-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson, Col. Adekunle Lawal, Admiral Ndubusi Kanu, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, Group Captain Gbolahan Mudashiru, Admiral Mike Akhigbe, Brig-Gen. Raji Rasaki, Brig-Gen. Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa.

    To critics, who alleged that Obasa was trying to rent a family through bribery, he said: “I do not need local validity to contest or run. If eventually I am contesting, I will do so from Agege.”

    The outburst was the last straw. The Party Leader reportedly lamented that an emperor had emerged in the Lagos Assembly. Also, the GAC suddenly realised that the privilege of a long tenure as head of the legislature had been abused. On that note, Obasa’s days were numbered as Speaker.

    But the impeachment is not the end of the matter. The burden of labelling and indirect ostracism is real. It may lead to adjustment difficulties due to the sudden status change and loss of treasured privilege as a power broker. Already, there is a predictable threat to his structure, and it is unlikely Obasa would be relied upon by the party as their Agege pointsman.

    The erstwhile Speaker would need to be reconciled with the governor, who has said he has no hands in the removal of the embattled lawmaker. Obasa also needs to appease the party elders who felt that he had disrespected them by disrespecting the governor. 

    His colleagues have said he was sacked due to alleged gross misconduct: misappropriation of funds, high-handedness, and lack of transparency in the management of the Assembly’s affairs. Therefore, the former Speaker also needs to mend fences with his colleagues whose support and forgiveness would facilitate his adaptation to his new role as a floor member of the House.

  • The crisis of tertiary education funding in Nigeria

    The crisis of tertiary education funding in Nigeria

    Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy, faces a critical challenge in its tertiary education sector. The persistent underfunding of universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education has created a cascade of problems that readily threaten the nation’s academic standards, workforce development, and its  potential for economic growth.

    The roots of Nigeria’s tertiary education funding crisis can be traced to the 70’s when the military began making significant cuts in the budgets for tertiary education. By the 80’s, this had become the norm which then led to a number of disagreements between the Academic Staff Union of Universities,  ASUU , other academic pressure groups and the Federal Government. Alongside these cuts came the establishment of more tertiary institutions leaving many Nigerians puzzled as to the rationale  for the creation of more institutions while the existing ones were largely underfunded. While the number of tertiary institutions has grown substantially since Nigeria’s independence—from just one institution as at 1947 to in over 670 today— funding has not kept pace with this expansion. The federal government’s allocation to education consistently falls below the UNESCO-recommended 26% of national budget, often hovering around 7-8%.

    This funding gap has created a severe strain on the system. In 2023, Nigerian public universities received less than 60% of their budgetary requirements, forcing many institutions to operate with deteriorating infrastructure, outdated laboratory equipment, and insufficient teaching resources. The situation is even more worrisome  in  our state universities, where funding is even more precarious due to competing demands on state resources.

    The implications of this funding shortage are far-reaching and multifaceted. First, the quality of education has suffered significantly. Overcrowded lecture halls, where students sometimes stand or sit on windows to attend classes, have become commonplace. Laboratory sessions in science, engineering and medicine  programs often involve students watching demonstrations rather than gaining hands-on experience due to the dearth of  equipment.

    The funding crisis has also led to a “brain drain” among academic staff. Unable to secure competitive salaries and research grants at home, many qualified Nigerian academics have sought opportunities abroad. This moden day exodus of talent has created a shortage of experienced lecturers, particularly in specialized fields like medicine, engineering, and technology.

    Again, there is the negative impact on the quality of research output, which is a crucial indicator of academic excellence, has been severely affected. Nigerian universities struggle to fund quality research projects, maintain current journal subscriptions, or participate in international academic conferences. This limitation has affected the country’s propensity to effectively contribute to global knowledge production and innovation. According to recent data, Nigeria’s research output per capita remains significantly lower than other major African economies like South Africa, Egypt and Tunisia.

    Such lack of research funding has particularly impacted postgraduate education. Many potential graduate students either abandon their studies or seek opportunities outside the nation’s shores, creating a gap in the pipeline of future academics and researchers. This brain drain perpetuates a trend of declining academic standards.

    The underfunding of tertiary education in Nigeria also has broader socioeconomic consequences. With such limited resources, universities cannot adequately prepare graduates for the modern workforce. Employers often complaining about the wide skill gaps among Nigerian graduates has become a recurring discussion, these employers now have to add  training investments costing them more than what they ought to expend, such mismatch between education and industry needs is an indicator of the country’s high youth unemployment rate.

    Furthermore, the funding crisis has scapegoated the ordinary Nigerian who now has to pay through his nose to acquire an education as the schools transfer the costs to students and their families. As institutions struggle to cover operational expenses, they often transfer these costs to students through various fees and charges. This has made higher education increasingly unaffordable for many Nigerians, making worse the existing state of  social inequality.

    Read Also: ASUU warns against abolishing TETFund, says it’s a threat to tertiary education

    Various attempts have been made to address the funding crisis. The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was established to provide additional funding through a 2.5% tax on corporate profits. While TETFund has made some impact, its resources are stretched thin across the growing number of institutions. Private universities have emerged as an alternative, but then their high fees also make them inaccessible to most Nigerians.

    Addressing Nigeria’s tertiary education funding crisis requires a multi-faceted approach. Firstly, there needs to be a significant increase in government spending on education to either meet or cap the UNESCO-recommended benchmark, accompanying this should be thorough reforms in fund allocation and utilization to ensure efficiency and transparency in the tertiary  education sector.

    Again, there is also need for our institutions to diversify their funding sources through research commercialization, partnerships with industry, and alumni networks.

    The consequences of continued underfunding will remain severe towards our nation’s race towards development and self sufficiency. Without ensuring  that tertiary education is matched with quality funcing, the nation’s  desire for development will be nothing but a fleeting illusion and we risk  falling further behind our peers.

  • PBAT, hunger and the fierce urgency of now (2)

    PBAT, hunger and the fierce urgency of now (2)

    The radical political economist, Professor Claude Ake, wryly noted in his classic, ‘The Political Economy of Africa’ that “It is true that man cannot live on bread alone. But it is a more fundamental truth that man cannot live without bread”. Although Ake was taking a subtle dig at the Lord Jesus Christ’s contention that man needs spiritual nourishing as much as material sustenance, the truth is that implicit in Christ’s cryptic assertion is the realization of the vitality of food to human existence. Such is the degree of hunger in the country today largely as a result of the soaring prices of food items beyond the rich of the vast majority of Nigerians that a special report in the Vanguard Newspaper yesterday that many families are being forced to resort to desperate, unhygienic and dangerous means of feeding themselves with negative consequences for their physical, psychological and mental well-being.

    The insufficiency and unaffordability of food can constitute a huge security risk in a fragile democracy like ours where elements of the opposition are all too eager to exploit all means to discredit not just the government in power for which they harbour visceral hatred but also delegitimize democracy and destabilize the polity. For instance, the Tinubu administration’s implacable adversaries attribute the unfortunate deaths as a result of stampedes for food palliatives in some parts of the country during the last festive period to the degree of poverty created by the government’s policies while others derisively refer to the queues in front of the President’s Bourdillon residence in Ikoyi, last December waiting to collect Christmas and end of year handouts as indicative of the negative implications of his policies.

    Yet, this had been the practice during festive periods since the inception of this dispensation in 1999 long before Tinubu became President. Indeed, I recall that in the 1970s in the GRA area of Ilorin along Police Road where the late Senator Olusola Saraki had his residence at the time, large crowds always gathered at his house both at festive and other periods to benefit from his generosity. I am sure that this practice has been replicated across the country over time and has as much to do with our cultural orientation as a people as with the unacceptable degree of material deprivation and inequality in our society.

    In the same vein, rushing for food or other items as well as our penchant for poor organization during social, political and other activities involving large gatherings of people has been well known and has routinely resulted in avoidable mishaps, sometimes tragic, long before now. Even then, the government in power particularly at the centre will sound like giving untenable excuses if it resorts to offering such explanations. Rather, it should utilize the immense powers of the state to mobilize the people to produce food in abundance and allow the interplay of the forces of demand and supply to substantially force down prices when there is a superfluity of food available. The truth of the matter is that given the munificence of fertile land and Favourable climate in large swathes of the country, there is no excuse for our inability to feed our population or the continued high level of food imports in Nigeria.

    True, the administration has made large allocations of funds available to the state governments in several tranches since the removal of the fuel subsidy. As at the first half of 2024, for instance, it was estimated that no less than N570 billion was released by the federal government to the 36 states to expand livelihood support to their citizens in addition to the direct distribution of food items and cash disbursement to the vulnerable by the central government. While a few of the states have performed creditably in making food and other palliatives available to large numbers of their people, most of the sub-national units of government have been adjudged as being ineffective and making a negligible impact in this regard. In any case, the distribution of palliatives is too susceptible to corruption and diversion and can, even in the best of circumstances, reach only a limited number of people to be a sustainable policy is all too obvious now.

    There is thus no alternative to taking necessary measures by all levels of government but especially the sub-national units to dramatically ramp up food productivity to bring down food inflation considerably thereby mitigating current poverty levels. Here again, the Tinubu administration cannot be credibly accused of not making desirable and well-meaning efforts towards achieving this objective. For instance, during the week, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, disclosed that 255 tractors of the 2,000 to be supplied to the country have been delivered and the remaining are expected to arrive on schedule.

    Along with each of the 2000 tractors, he explained, 2000 harrows, ploughs, seeders, planters and boom sprayers will be supplied. Accompanying equipment included in this procurement are 1,200 trailers, 9000 sets of spare parts and 10 combined harvesters of 330 horsepower. According to Senator Abubakar Kyari, “These are huge combined harvesters that will be able to do about one and a half hectares per hour. So, if you just imagine, in one hour you’ll be able to do nothing less than 10 hectares. 10 hectares is like 13 football fields…We also have service vehicles, about 12 service vehicles that will come, it’s a mobile workshop with all the items that will be placed in all these areas that we’re going to have those tractors.”

    Again, the Agriculture Minister said work was in progress towards the recapitalization of the Bank of Agriculture (BoA), before the end of the first quarter of 2025 to enhance funding of smallholder farming activities. Noting that the recapitalization of the bank had been stalled for several years, Senator Kyari stressed that repositioning and strengthening the bank would ensure adequate funding of commercial agriculture to redress a situation whereby the highest commercial loan to the agricultural sector between 2014 and 2021 was N1.04 trillion, a meagre 5.15 per cent of overall commercial bank loans for the seven-year period. In the words of the Minister, “BoA has branches in all the 109 senatorial districts and can reach out easily to those farmers. Smallholder farmers lack capital. We are reorganizing BoA to support what the government is doing in the sense of public financing in the budget and what have you.”

    In a similar vein, the sum of N132 billion was provided in the 2025 budget to support farmers through the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) being set up to address identified impediments to the effectiveness and productivity of the agriculture sector. The Fund would be channelled to achieve improved seedlings through targeted interventions as well as provide grants and subsidies to promote mechanized agriculture, storage facilities and advanced agricultural facilities.

    Read Also: FG, states, LGAs share N1.424trn in January 2025

    No less significant is the report by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, that the Federal Government has approved a N30 billion grant to 30 public universities of agriculture to commence mechanized farming. Stressing that agriculture is a key sector that must be integrated into academic and research frameworks by these institutions to address rising food insecurity, create jobs and stimulate the economy, Dr. Alausa said each university would receive a take-off grant of N1 billion. This is indeed a radical initiative that will set the pace for the mobilization of the country’s underutilized intellectual resources to achieve set developmental objectives in diverse sectors. For instance, the expertise in the universities of agriculture can be tapped to promote mechanized agriculture and the much needed storage facilities to address the menace of pervasive food spoilage.

    Despite the destructive flooding in some states and continued insecurity that affected agricultural harvest in 2024, experts report a continued impressive level of food production in the country hampered, however, by logistics difficulties in transporting food produce from farms to markets across the country. In a statement during the week, the Nigerian-born founder of the Canadian Black Farmers’ Association, Tosin Ajayi, cited the excessive exportation of food as one reason for the food shortage in the country.

    He said that the high demand for Nigeria’s staple food items by the country’s citizens in the diaspora has led to a substantial amount of food produced in the country being exported. The problem with agriculture in Nigeria is thus not insufficient productivity but sustainable preservation and local retention of most of the food produced for domestic consumption.

    The government should certainly consider Mr Ajayi’s advice on the need to obtain accurate data on the volume and types of foods exported from Nigeria with a view to putting in place measures to control food exports. But then, the impressive policies and structures being put in place by the administration will not automatically translate into improved agricultural productivity without diligent and meticulous implementation as well as the effective mobilization and organization of critical stakeholders, particularly farmers to be active participants in the process. This much is a lesson to be learnt from public policy in the agricultural sector by successive administrations since independence.

    Contrary to the oft-repeated view that agriculture was neglected by government in Nigeria with the discovery of petroleum, considerable resources continued to be channelled into agriculture by various governments with only marginal results and the country remaining as food-dependent as ever. In a review of agricultural policy in Nigeria prior to the adoption of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in the mid-1980s, Abdul Raufu Mustapha, asserts that “the problem of Nigerian agricultural investment from the 1970s was both relative neglect and wasteful expenditure”.

    Mustapha notes that “There was the ‘mass exhortation’ programme, Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), which expended much money and effort in getting ill-prepared university undergraduates to go to the rural areas to ‘teach’ the peasant farmers how to farm. Secondly, there was direct government involvement in production through programmes like the National Accelerated Food Production Programme, the National Livestock Production Company and the National Grains Production Company. Thirdly, massive irrigation schemes were constructed under the River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs). Fourthly, World Bank-sponsored Integrated Rural Development Projects (IRDPs) were initiated in many parts of the country. Finally, there was the encouragement of large-scale capitalist farming through the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund…”.

    Under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, for instance, humongous funds were pumped into the Anchor Borrowers Programme to boost local rice production and achieve self-sufficiency in the product. It remains unclear if there was any correlation between what was achieved in this regard and the amount of resources channelled into the scheme. The Tinubu administration would do well to study why previous efforts at positively transforming the agricultural sector in Nigeria failed so as to avoid past errors this time around.  Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s advice in August 1980 on the urgent imperative of organizing Nigerian farmers into modern Cooperatives must be taken seriously and pursued by the current administrations at the federal and state levels as a necessary condition for enhanced agricultural productivity and self-reliance.

    If we are to lift the farmers from the prevailing morass of social degradation and economic miseries in order to make them maximally productive, Awolowo argued, “Firstly, the State Governments should take immediate steps to mobilize and organize our farmers into Cooperative Societies throughout the country. A Cooperative Unit of between 100 and 200 practicing farmers, all depending on the type of crops to be cultivated, could be the optimum. In this regard, it must be borne in mind that the individual farmer, except a rich landowner, is not a viable proposition”. He advised that the cooperating farmers be provided with areas of farmland adequate for their aims and objectives as well as massive financial and technical assistance with the proviso that cooperating farmers must “register their organizations as limited liability companies under the Cooperative Law of the state. “

  • What did Chelle say?

    What did Chelle say?

    Chairman of the National Sports Commission Shehu Dikko likes exhibiting his neatly knitted national dresses with matching fez caps, shoes, and/or slippers at public sporting ceremonies. I couldn’t, however, understand his presence at the unveiling of the new Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle in Abuja on Monday. I thought Dikko could have waited for the NFF team to bring Coach Chelle to his office instead of crowding the media event on Monday.

    Why the hurry, my dear Dikko, in attending the unveiling event? Perhaps, it has become necessary to remind you that you are no longer a member of the NFF. You have been elevated to be the face of sports in Nigeria, not football in your capacity as the NSC Chairman. Your ubiquitous presence at photo ops sessions gave the wrong impression that you are not busy which isn’t true. You are full of ideas to lift Nigeria’s sports into its Eldorado. Please sit in your office and work the talk.

     Indeed, when England unveiled Thomas Tuchel as the Three Lions manager, the photo session didn’t have suit-wearing administrators like we do here. Tuchel and his assistants had the day. The pictures were about them, not the crowd that almost choked Chelle at his unveiling. Not so for NFF. Everyone in NFF who was in Abuja on Monday imposed himself on the coach. The picture of the day when Austin Eguavoen was being introduced to Chelle was done behind the federation’s President and the commission’s Chairman, success has many fathers. We wait.

    Read Also: Nze-Jumbo rates Keshi Nigeria’s greatest footballer ever

    Back to Chelle’s unveiling. NFF President Ibrahim Gusau disclosed that the tactician had signed a two-year contract, with the option of another year, if he qualifies the Super Eagles to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals. Chelle has also come into the job with three assistants and will work with the crew on the ground to enhance the Super Eagles’ brand. He will be with the Super Eagles B – which is preparing for the upcoming 8th African Nations Championship – only in a supervisory role.  

    Those who thought that the NFF bigwigs were infallible with their sacrosanct pronouncements should cover their faces in shame. Gusau has reversed himself by saying that Chelle will work with the Nigerian coaches in the Super Eagles. Gusau also stated that Chelle would work with the CHAN team in an advisory role. These two policy reversals have restored the dignity of the Nigerian coaches and recognition of their tactical savvy. After all, they would be paid with taxpayers’ money. How would Gusau have felt if he stuck to his earlier decision that Chelle should handle the CHAN assignment now that CAF has postponed the tournament from February 1 to August this year? Eggs on his face definitely.

    Our dear NFF President, is it true that Chelle would be paid $55,000 monthly while his assistants would receive $5000? Will the federation still pay Eguavoen N10 million monthly? Yet, he is the federation’s Technical Director, a position that makes him the boss to the assistants, even if being boss to Chelle would cause chaos. A topic for another day.

    Gusau’s statements on Monday truly addressed the issues of the day, except that he didn’t tell his listeners if he had paid the players, team officials, and coaches their outstanding entitlements as he promised in December. Chelle’s problems would start with the players playing the game against Rwanda in Kigali on March 17 with caution knowing that their European club matches tower above playing for the country in terms of handling matters concerning their welfare.

    A team that will qualify for the 2026 World Cup needs at least four years to establish its spine through competitions. We can safely call Victor Osimhen in the attack but Wilfred Ndidi is almost gone in the midfield. The Eagles’ defenders have aged and are easily outrun by the opposition’s attackers. Need I highlight the hopelessness in the quality of our goalkeepers? They aren’t world-class and leak goals while manning the goalposts for their European clubs. Ademola Lookman is a different kind of striker from Osimhen, he comes as an addition to Nigeria’s total and has a complete playing spine.

    Chelle has only Osimhen in the Eagles’ spine except he wants to draft Ola Aina to the central defence with the believe that Ndidi would find his range and energy to marshal the midfield like he did in the past. I have my doubts since Ndidi is no longer the pivot of Leicester FC’s midfield. Playing regularly for the Foxes helped polish his game in the past. One could easily have drafted Alex Iwobi as the Eagles’ spine even if Ndidi is playing. But it appears that our coaches don’t know how to deploy Iwobi like his Fulham FC England’s manager. One hopes Chelle changes the Iwobi narrative during his reign.

    Chelle, Nigeria doesn’t have a reliable goalkeeper. Nwabali isn’t in his best form. He panicked in Nigeria’s last game. And with Francis Uzoho out injured, it is almost certain Nwabali would be Chelle’s choice with Okoye being the reserve goalkeeper. Yes, Chelle must insist on picking those playing regularly for their European clubs to prosecute Nigeria’s remaining six matches, no matter their pedigree in the Super Eagles.

    Interestingly, giving the players their dues should be spontaneous not kept in abeyance on the altar of the NFF being broke. How do you plead with players to pay for their flight tickets with a promise to refund monies spent. Then you renege on such payments not for one game but for several matches. The question would be why did the NFF men allow the coaches to invite 24 foreign-based players when only 16 can prosecute each game? I can list at least seven players who have been repeatedly invited to the camp and ended up not playing the matches. The federation looks the other way to such wastage because they want to give the coaches freehand to invite whosoever they like.

    “I see in the new Head Coach the right spirit and the right attitude, and I have faith that he will take the Super Eagles to the next level. He sees the job of leading the Super Eagles as his dream job, and that is a huge motivation in itself.

    “Coach Chelle recognises and appreciates what is ahead of him, and he says he loves the challenge. We will be there giving him the necessary support all the way,” Gusau said.

    Gusau, Chelle is a professional who by the NFF’s reckoning knows his onions. What this writer found interesting was his insistence that he could be unsparing with lazy players and very strict in metting out disciplinary measures. He said he would be fair to all, but we know that the big boys would get a slap on the wrist. It didn’t start today.

  • John Mahama’s second coming

    John Mahama’s second coming

    Nigeria has a lot to learn from Ghana. In the last two decades, the country has savoured credible, transparent and democratic elections that have rekindled citizens’ faith in civil rule.

    No political process is perfect, but some enduring democratic features, if emulated, could consolidate popular rule. That has been the experience of the 68-year-old independent country.

    Of course, Ghana also has many things to learn from Nigeria. Under the corrective Tinubu administration, Nigeria is taking bold socio-economic reforms that would yield enormous dividends across the sectors for the citizens.

    Unlike in Nigeria, the key political actors in Ghana have invested confidence in the electoral process and its capacity to throw out and throw up leaders. This underscores a level of democratic maturity. The implication is that the institution is developing and waxing stronger, and the virile political culture is stable with minimal tension.

    Ghanaians have learnt to restrict the battle for presidential power to the ballot box, instead of filing frivolous petitions at tribunals or courts against rivals after the polls, despite the substantial compliance with the Electoral Act, the constitution and due process. Those who lost elections in Ghana have not resorted to vulgarity and uncouth language, unlike in Nigeria where sore losers become vindictive and pedestrian.

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    The masses, who constitute the majority of voters, are conscious of their obligations to themselves and the country. Thus, if a ruling party misbehaves, its misdemeanour is not overlooked. It would face a severe penalty on polling day. There is no remedy. The opposition takes its place.

    Sixty-six-year-old John Mahama, who bounced back during the week as Ghanaian leader, had seen the ups and downs of politics in his country. He has passed through the process that threw him up, rejected him, and reaccepted him.

    As vice president, he succeeded the lawyer and scholar, Prof. Atta Mills, who died in office. After spending the residue of the tenure, he contested for the highest office and won. But, he was rejected four years later because he failed to meet public expectations.

    After failing at the poll, he never rocked the boat. He accepted defeat, returned to the drawing board, strategised, and kept hope alive. Eight years later, he threw his hat into the ring and defeated former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s anointed candidate, Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

    It is interesting that the candidate of the ruling party also accepted defeat. He put the nation first instead of dragging his people into a crisis or invading social media with miscreants to discredit or pull down the process.

    The Ghanaian President was barely two years old when the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah governed with a latent ambition to make his country a model in Africa. A nationalist and an ideologue, Nkrumah felt he could make progress under a one-party system. He set Ghana on the path of steady progress. However, the first Ghanaian President was not sensitive to the overly ambitious and murderous soldiers of the time. When Nigeria’s Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was violently toppled and killed on January 15, 1966, Nkrumah lampooned the Nigerian incident. A month later, the same tragedy befell him while he was outside the country.

    Like Nigeria, the military started to toss Ghanaians around. There were harvests of coups and counter-coups among top military officers – Joseph Ankrah, Akwasi Afriffa, Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, and Jerry Rawlings – leading to intermittent displacements of civilian rulers, like Kofi Busia and Hilla Liman. The country started enjoying stability from Rawlings through John Kufuor to Mills, Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo.

    Yet, during that period, Ghana continued to play a leading role in the African Union, formerly the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and in mediation and conflict resolutions in Nigeria. During the civil war, General Ankrah hosted the Nigerian Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, and the Biafran warlord, Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, for a peace conference.

    But Ghana ran into economic turbulence from the late 1970s to the late ’80s and many able-bodied youths – professionals and other experts – fled the country. Many stormed Nigeria to eke out a living. They were industrious and never violated the rules of descent where they sojourned. It was ironic. In the 1950s and 1960s, many Nigerians who had relocated to the Gold Coast came back with fortunes, skills and opportunities.

    But Ghana soon lapsed into decay, mainly created by political adventurism. As the topsy-turvy reared its ugly head, Jerry Rawlings led a blind and bloody revolution, sweeping away past leaders who allegedly contributed to the economic and political adversity. Rawlings and his Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) first ruled for 112 days and arranged the execution by firing squad of eight military officers, including Generals Kotei, Joy Amedume, Roger Felli, and Utuka, and the three former heads of state – Acheampong, Akuffo, and Afrifa.

    Opinion is divided on the violent approach. Many leaders across the world condemned the execution. Ghana, it must be noted, took off from that clean break from the past.

    As from 2000, Ghana started rebuilding. It tried to embrace international best practices in re-setting its critical sectors. The country attempted to curb corruption. It also fought an infrastructure battle with a measure of success. Security of life and property became a priority. Its education sector became a reference point to the extent that many Nigerian parents started sending their children to schools in Ghana, and, above all, the sanctity of the ballot box was restored.

    On account of these, some investors tried to turn attention to Ghana; a few relocated to the country. Although the size of the Ghanaian economy could not surpass the potentials of what Lagos State had, Ghana, a country of four main regions and other settlements, appeared more serious to teach Nigeria a few lessons. It was because Ghanaian leaders attempted to build, rebuild and strengthen their institutions, particularly those of democracy. Instructively, when he visited Ghana, former United Stpates President Barack Obama, who never visited Nigeria, urged Ghana to sustain the tempo. He fired salvos at Nigeria, which he dismissed as a country of graft.

    With the situation today, Mahama could be said to be returning to an unfinished business in a country that is full of hope. He is returning to power and to a big responsibility. There is a need for him to build synergy with the parliament, whose cooperation he will need to drive his reforms. The legislature and the executive should cooperate and achieve more for the country but must be guided by the principle of separation of powers and the accompanying checks and balances.

    The country has not been insulated from the hard times. Incomes are shrinking. Towards the end of last year, inflation in Ghana rose to 23.0 per cent.

    In the past, the country suffered from military coups, political instability and jihadist insurgencies. Now, an economic crisis is staring the people in the face. The number of the jobless is soaring in geometric proportion. The nation thirsts for economic and constitutional remedies.

    Expectedly, Mahama, having dissected the challenges, has also proposed solutions to guide his policies and programmes in the next four years. The four critical areas of his administration are economic restoration and stabilisation, improvement of the business and investment environment, governance and constitutional reviews, as well as accountability and war against corruption. It means that the critical infrastructure for guaranteeing the ease of doing business should be in place. These include stable electricity, a modern road network, investment-driven policies, equitable justice, and the absence of political tension.

    The Ghanaian leader is not inheriting a dilapidated economy, despite the long-lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the peculiar cost-of-living crisis, the resort to bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the sovereign debt default.

    Being an experienced president in whom much trust and confidence have been reinvested, Mahama would be under pressure to deliver on his campaign promises. The onus is on him to restore trust in government.

    Africa, with its vast arable land, should not be hit by food shortages or inflation. The neglect of agriculture is proving costly to the continent. Africa needs to have a deliberate programme designed to boost agriculture. Food security should be prioritised in the overall consideration for a comprehensive national security programme. Mahama should bear these imperatives in mind.

    Nigeria and Ghana have cordial relations which predated the pre-colonial days. It should be sustained. Ghanaian and Nigerian leaders should defend democracy in Africa and continue to insist that coups are old-fashioned and military regimes are outdated.

    In the days of colonialism, Nigeria and Ghana were a pair in the struggle for independence. Successive leaders of the two countries have maintained cordiality. It was, therefore, sad that a few years ago, many law-abiding Nigerians resident in Ghana became victims of inexplicable, subtle, persistent and violent xenophobic maltreatment.

    In particular, Mahama has personal ties in Nigeria. He has been hosted by four towns – Offa, where he is a chief; Ilorin, where he has delivered a convocation lecture; Ado-, where he has fans in the government and among other Ekiti notables; and Lagos, where he is perceived as a friend of Bourdilion, the power house and indomitable centre of influence.

    The Ghanaian President is endowed with interpersonal skills. He is affable and his attitudes generate unconditional positive regard to many statesmen on the African continent and beyond, as evident in the attendance at his inauguration as the country’s 12th president. The diplomatic friendliness could be rewarding in boosting cordial relations

    Many Nigerians wish him success, hoping he would not allow any crack in his administration. Besides, Nigerians pray for him not to have a gulf between his people’s expectations and the realities that lurk in the corners of inevitabilities in the next four years.