The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Professor Bene Madunagu: The woman who lives

    Professor Bene Madunagu: The woman who lives

    Nigerians have become amazingly numb and inured to shock as regards the astounding and ever increasing scale of corruption in the country and this is understandable. Hardly have we been dealt heavy blows by revelations of monumental theft of public funds by those in positions of trust who are custodians of such resources than yet another even more stupendous level of criminal raping of the public treasury is unveiled that dazes and baffles the imagination. Last week, for instance, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) sought and obtained a court order for the forfeiture of 753 duplexes in a choice area of Abuja allegedly procured by a former top public office holder through corruptly acquired funds.

    Although the anti-graft agency understandably was silent on the identity of the culprit since nobody showed up to claim ownership of the forfeited properties in the course of its investigations, the papers it filed in court to prosecute the case pointed unmistakably at the immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, who is currently undergoing trial for sundry acts of alleged corrupt enrichment and abuse of office.

    Of course, it is so easy to laugh at and deride the former CBN Czar over his current embattled fate; to assume a posture of superior self-righteous indignation implying that we would never descend to such levels of venality if we were in his shoes. But have we not seen too many instances of former anti-corruption activists and social critics who do not hesitate to feed greedily on public resources in an orgy of ravenous rapacity once they are opportune to occupy public office? Who indeed is qualified to throw the first stone at indicted public officers for corruption just like the Lord Jesus asked the Pharisees who sought to stone to death the woman caught in the very act of adultery in accordance with the law of Moses?

    The menace of corruption has become an epidemic under which the country has been haemorrhaging to death. It is fed by the fear of the appalling poverty from which many seek to extricate themselves and their future generations through outright looting of public funds. ‘Accumulate! Accumulate without end’ is the driving mantra as many strive to live up to the excessively materialistic value system that pervades contemporary Nigerian society.

    That is why those who have been caught and convicted – a minuscule minority – for engaging in what is difficult to distinguish from armed robbery utilizing the weapons of their public offices to gorge on public funds are treated as heroes and heroines in their communities, churches, mosques, social clubs and other circles of influence.

    I have always been intrigued by, admired and fascinated by those veritable paragons of virtue among us who refuse to descend into the cesspit and sewers of mindless material acquisition of public funds for themselves and their families. This is almost always invariably to the detriment of the rest of the vast majority of the society who sink deeper into the mire of poverty and immiseration. This category of Nigerians, mostly inspired by the vision of a socialist reorganization of society, are absolutely and unrepentantly committed to the struggle for a fairer, more just, less unequal and more equitable society where, given the depth of our resource-endowment, nobody should live in the kind of grueling poverty that millions of our people have no choice but to endure today.

    One of these spiritually and morally ‘beautyful’ ones (apologies to Ayi Kwei Armah), Professor (Mrs) Bene Edwin Madunagu, took her exit from this side of eternity on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at the age of 77. Had she been some noisy and vulgar ‘socialite’ or emergency contractor moving around in convoys of luxury vehicles with official security cover to boot, her demise would have triggered clanging cymbals, sonorous ululations and grand perverse celebrations of a life of decadent opulence.

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    But Mummy Bene’s life was one characterized by virtue, character, integrity, compassion and empathy well lived for the benefit of humanity. Most certainly, long after the ‘living dead’ among us are gone and forgotten, the memory of this woman who, though departed, lives through a life of sacrifice, honour, decency, civility and dignity, shall resonate through the ages.

    Incidentally, I never met Professor Bene Madunagu personally but knew her by reputation. However, I had met and interacted with her husband, Dr Edwin Madunagu, the renowned mathematician, Marxist thinker, ardent revolutionary, fighter for social justice and compelling radical columnist both in person and by phone a number of times. Indeed, when she turned 70 on March 21, 2017, I wrote a review of a book of tributes in her honour edited by her husband, Dr Edwin Madunagu.

    The unflagging commitment of this couple to fighting for the poor and vulnerable, striving ceaselessly to banish poverty from Nigeria through revolutionary organization and action has never ceased to amaze me. For, the truth is that they were both first class scientific brains who could have pursued the accumulation of wealth in Nigeria or migrated to the numerous prestigious universities around the world where they would have been infinitely materially well off and professionally fulfilled than they were in Nigeria.

    Dr Edwin Madunagu is a brilliant PhD holder in Mathematics; a student of the great Professor Chike Obi at the University of Lagos. Professor Bene Madunagu holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany from the University of Lagos, a Master of Science degree in Mycology (Botany) from the University of Lagos and obtained a Doctorate degree in Phytopathology (Botany) from the University of Ibadan.

    Her courage, fortitude and tenacity are illustrated by the following narrative from one of her students and mentees. Both Dr Madunagu and Professor Bene had been dismissed along with 10 other academics by the military regime in Nigeria for their alleged roles in the “Ali must go” nationwide students protests of September 1978. One of her mentees reports that Professor Bene’s case was particularly harrowing because “Bene was instantly recalled from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom, where she had just begun a Ph.D programme on a fellowship. The fellowship was withdrawn, her salary stopped and her official quarters in the University sealed up. She was left stranded in London and had to be repatriated back to Calabar by the Nigerian Embassy”.

    The account continues, “Bene went to court to challenge her dismissal. She won the case, and almost simultaneously the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) forced the government to recall all the dismissed staff. Altogether she was outside the University for 32 months. Bene Madunagu was officially reinstated in April 1981”. Thereafter, she rose steadily through the ranks, became a Professor in 2000 and retired formally from the University in March 21, 2012, when she attained the age of 65.

    Among the groups and organizations through which she did mobilization and revolutionary work by playing leadership roles between 1973 and 1998 were Nigerian Youth Action Committee (NYAC), Society for Progress (SOPRO), Anti-Poverty Movement of Nigeria (APMON); Revolutionary Movement for the Liberation of Nigeria (REMLON); Calabar Group of Socialists (CGS); Women in Nigeria (WIN), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Movement of Peoples Democracy (MPD) to name a few. In 1993, she established and became Chair of the Executive Board of a Nigerian Non-Governmental Organization, the Girls Power Initiative (GPI) “to inform and educate girls of ages 10-18 years about their sexuality, their sexual and reproductive health and rights”.

    Professor Bene Madunagu writes and speaks with clarity and force about the multidimensional character of exploitation and oppression in Nigeria engaging in scathing critiques of their class, gender and other manifestations. In a paper presented to a group in 1985, for instance, she submitted that “There are some forms of oppression imposed on the working and toiling people of Nigeria by the neo-colonial (or peripheral) capitalist structure of the economy. On the most general (i.e abstract) level, working and toiling people of both sexes suffer these forms of oppression. This, we think, is the correct starting point for the consideration of the specific oppression of women in our society”.

    The Madunagus were a unique couple both in their joint and individual commitment to the cause of equity and justice in Nigeria and their participation in selfless struggles over decades against debilitating and dehumanizing poverty in Nigeria. Their fellow comrade and close friend, Professor Biodun Jeyifo, vividly captures the essence of their relationship thus, “If it is undeniable that part of the identity of Bene Madunagu derives from the fact that she is the wife of Eddie Madunagu, it is equally true that Bene stands so completely in her own shoes and in so many diverse areas of life that one can equally say that Eddie Madunagu derives part of his identity from being the husband of Bene”.

    And shedding further light on an aspect of their relationship in his tribute to his wife at 70, Edwin Madunagu writes, “All major decisions in our organizational, political, professional, occupational, financial and family lives since 1975 have been taken together and executed together- sometimes with one person above ground and the other underground. Beyond this, everything that can be called property (which, excluding literary acquisition is very limited) is collectively owned in a largely revolutionary sense – with the formal and legal ownership residing with Bene”. What utterly fascinating and awe-inspiring selflessness!

    As we said earlier, the Madunagus possess the requisite skills, intellects, energy, creativity, opportunities and dynamism to have successfully sought to accumulate as much wealth as they wanted for themselves and future generations of their families. They opted to live self-abnegating lives giving their today for the tomorrow of the disadvantaged, poor and downtrodden.

    Other such unrecognized and little appreciated treasures who constitute preservative salt of the Nigerian earth include such heroes of the Nigerian masses as Bade Onimode, Eskor Toyo, Comrade Ola Oni, Baba Omojola, comrade Michael Imoudu, Bala Usman, Dipo Fashina, Okwudiba Nnoli, Raji Abdullah, Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, Beko Ransome Kuti, Alao Aka Basorun, Kayode Komolafe, Owei Lakemfa, , Tayo Olorode, Ibrahim Imam, Ikenna Nzimiro, Aminu Kano, Balarabe Musa, Bala Mohammed, Biodun Jeyifo, Segun Osoba, Gambo Sawaba, Mokogwu Okoye, Marshall Kebby, Omafume Onange, Ehiedu Iweirebo , Margaret Ekpo, Mahmoud Tukur, Jubrin Ibrahim, Segun Sango, Lanre Arogundade, Frank Kokori among several other progressive and pro-poor intellectuals and activists of the Nigerian people. Such selfless heroes and heroines do not die. They live on in history through the human memory down the ages. May Professor Bene Madunagu’s soul Rest In Peace.

  • The Youth Confab: A crucible for Nigeria’s transformative future

    The Youth Confab: A crucible for Nigeria’s transformative future

    In the complex tapestry of Nigeria’s socio-political landscape, the proposed youth conference emerges as a beacon of hope—a potential watershed moment that could fundamentally reshape the nation’s trajectory. As Nigeria grapples with multifaceted challenges ranging from economic instability to security concerns, the youth confab represents more than just a gathering; it symbolizes a critical opportunity for generational dialogue, strategic reimagining, and collective national rebirth.

    Nigeria stands at a pivotal crossroads. With a median age of approximately 18 years and over 70% of its population under 30, the youth are not just stakeholders but the primary architects of the nation’s future. The current socio-political environment—characterized by economic challenges, widespread unemployment, regional tensions, and governance inefficiencies—demands an unprecedented platform for young Nigerians to articulate their vision, concerns, and aspirations.

    The proposed youth conference is not merely a bureaucratic exercise but a profound mechanism for national healing and strategic realignment. It represents a rare opportunity to break the cycle of generational disconnect that has historically hindered Nigeria’s comprehensive development.

    Unlike previous national dialogues that often marginalized youth perspectives, this conference promises a genuinely inclusive approach. By ensuring representation across ethnic, religious, and socio-economic divides, the confab can create a microcosm of Nigeria’s diverse yet interconnected social fabric. Young Nigerians from Lagos to Sokoto, from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, would have an unprecedented platform to engage in direct, unmediated dialogue.

    The conference’s agenda must transcend rhetorical discussions. It should provide concrete frameworks for addressing critical national challenges:

    – Youth unemployment and economic empowerment

    – Educational reform and skills development

    – Technological innovation and digital economy opportunities

    – Conflict resolution and national unity strategies

    – Governance transparency and anti-corruption mechanisms.

    One of the most significant potentials of the youth confab lies in its capacity to bridge the profound generational divide that has characterized Nigerian political discourse. By creating a structured dialogue platform, younger Nigerians can constructively engage with existing power structures, presenting innovative solutions rather than merely critiquing historical approaches.

    The urgency of convening this conference cannot be overstated. Nigeria is experiencing unprecedented demographic and technological transitions. The youth population is not only growing but becoming increasingly politically aware, technologically connected, and globally oriented.

    Delaying this conference risks further alienation and potential social fragmentation. Each passing month without a structured national youth dialogue increases the probability of spontaneous, potentially disruptive social movements emerging organically.

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    The youth confab represents a strategic investment in national stability. By providing a structured platform for dialogue, Nigeria can potentially:

    – Reduce social tensions

    – Channel youthful energy towards constructive nation-building

    – Create collaborative frameworks for addressing complex national challenges

    – Generate innovative policy recommendations

    A successful youth conference should aim to produce:

    – A comprehensive youth manifesto outlining key national development priorities

    – Specific policy recommendation documents

    – Structured engagement mechanisms between youth representatives and government institutions

    – Regional and national action plans for youth empowerment.

    For the conference to achieve its transformative potential, several critical elements must be guaranteed:

    1. Transparent selection processes for participants

    2. Guaranteed implementation frameworks for recommendations

    3. Independent monitoring and evaluation mechanisms

    4. Media transparency and broad national communication.

    Beyond immediate policy discussions, the youth confab represents a profound opportunity to reimagine Nigerian nationhood. It’s a chance to move beyond historical ethnic and religious divisions, embracing a more nuanced, forward-looking national identity.

    The conference should not be viewed as a singular event but as a catalyst for ongoing national dialogue and collaborative governance. It symbolizes hope—a collective declaration that Nigeria’s future will be shaped by dialogue, mutual understanding, and shared aspirations.

    As Nigeria stands at this critical juncture, the youth conference emerges as more than an event—it is a potential turning point. It represents the convergence of youthful energy, technological connectivity, and genuine patriotic aspiration.

    The success of this conference will not be measured by the words spoken within its halls but by the transformative actions it inspires across the nation. It is an invitation to young Nigerians to become active architects of their collective destiny, transcending the limitations of past narratives and creating a genuinely inclusive, dynamic national vision.

    The time for the youth confab is now—not as a luxury but as an absolute necessity for Nigeria’s continued existence and prosperity.

  • Wanted: A new Alaafin of Oyo

    Wanted: A new Alaafin of Oyo

    Almost three years after the demise of Oba Lamidi Layiwola Atanda Adeyemi III, the stool of the Alaafin of Oyo is still vacant, no thanks to royal family squabbles, intrigues, lack of agreement on succession, division among the kingmakers, and government’s directive.

    The scramble is not beyond expectation. Alaafin occupies a prestigious position in Yoruba land and Nigeria, and the last occupant had elevated the enviable throne further while upholding the old glory of the empire and legacies of his illustrious forebears.

    Iku Baba Yeye Oba Adeyemi III was the bridge between the closing phase of ancient times and modernity, being the first western-educated alaafin trained and equipped for royal assignment.

    He fought hard to ascend the throne, assisted by the conservative Oyomesi. His choice as the successor to Oba Gbadegesin Ladigbolu II had the backing of his ancestors and Almighty God.

    He was a cultural nationalist; highly knowledgeable about history and tradition. He was fashionable and affable, extending tentacles of influence. He was insulated from the political pressures that created many huddles for his father, Oba Alhaji Adeniran Adeyemi II. Oyo grew in leaps and bounds during his reign, hosting many tertiary institutions and savouring the prosperity of a modern era.

    Never shy to make his opinion on national issues known, Oba Adeyemi III advocated a strong local government system and believed in restructuring to foster true federalism.

    At the twilight of his life, he undertook the duty of reconciling warring members of the Southwest political elite. But he could not accomplish the self-imposed task before he passed on.

    Since Awo and MKO Abiola could not make it to the Presidency, Oba Adeyemi had prayed for the enthronement of a Yoruba son as president. But by the time God answered his prayer and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was inaugurated, he and two other top monarchs – Soun Jimoh Oyewumi Ajagungbade of Ogbomoso and Olubadan Lekan Balogun of Ibadan – had joined their ancestors.

    Ibadan’s succession pattern has endured for centuries. Therefore, a new monarch emerged through seniority. In Ogbomoso, a cleric also ascended the throne. Oyo is not that lucky.

    Oba Adeyemi was from Alowolodu Royal House. It is therefore, the turn of Agunloye to produce his successor. No fewer than 82 princes contested for the crown. Although it was said that a name was forwarded to the kingmakers, and later to the government, it was disputed by a section of the Oyomesi, which cried foul that due process was not followed.

    The Oyo State government, therefore, decided to delay the installation until the institutional framework for the emergence of a new king was followed.

    Expectedly, the process shifted to the court.

    There is a need for further consultations among the royal house, the kingmakers, and the government for consensus building. The throne should not be vacant for too long to prevent the Ijebu-Igbo scenario whereby a replacement could only be found, 28 years after the demise of Oba Sami Adetayo, Ikupakude IV.

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    The two ruling houses of Adeyemi Alowolodu and Agunloye trace their roots to Alaafin Atiba, who founded the present Oyo.

    Atiba had many children. The two prominent children were Adelu Agunloye and Alowolodu Adeyemi. After Atiba passed on, Adelu Agunloye became the king. After the death of Adelu Agunloye, Alowolodu Adeyemi I became the king.

    Adelu Agunloye’s son, Lawani Amubieya Agogo-Ija, became the Alaafin in 1905; he ruled till 1911. His son, Siyanbola Ladigbolu Onikepe, became the king after him. According to historians, because Agogo-Ija’s reign was short, his son, Siyanbola Ladigbolu Onikepe, was asked to succeed him.

    Siyanbola was succeeded in 1945 by Adeyemi II, who was succeeded by Bello Gbadegesin Ladigbolu, who died in 1968. There was an interregnum of two years due to royal rivalry.

    The number of aspirants to the throne has now increased. Other descendants of Atiba, whose fathers, grandfathers, and even great-grandfathers ( Adelabu, Adesiyen, Adediran, Adejumo, Olawoyin, Tele Agbojuloogun, Ala, Adewusi, Adesetan 1 and 2, Adeleye, Adeotun, Afonja, Agbonrin, Tela Okitipapa, Ogo, Momodu, Adesokan, and Adejojo) never became Alaafin, are trying to press for their rights and asserting personality. It is up to the Oyomesi to resolve the logjam. All the princes are qualified. But only one of them will ascend the throne.

    Throughout history, most occupants of the throne have portrayed themselves as true kings of Yoruba and defenders of the race, beginning from their progenitor, Oranmiyan, the grandson of Oduduwa, progenitor of the race.

    As makers of history and heads of an empire stretching to the Benin Republic, they shouldered the burden of resisting external aggressors, particularly from the northern and western neighbours, before colonialism finally broke the empire.

    The next Alaafin is expected to take after his predecessors in valour, wit, and patriotism. Besides the general expectation that he should be a blue blood, he should also be highly educated and have a vast network. The next Alaafin should also be a mixer like Adeyemi III, a man of colour, immense intellect, and native wisdom. He should be the collective choice of the majority and not an imposed candidate with divisive and destabilising tendencies.

    An alaafin should be a unifying factor. He should be willing and ready to work with other prominent natural rulers – Ooni of Ife, Alake of Egba land, Olubadan, Awujale of Ijebu land, Akarigbo of Remo land, Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Deji of Akure, Osemawe of Ondo, Owa Obokun of Ijesa land ( recently vacant), and Oba of Benin, who is also a descendant of Oduduwa – in articulating the interest of the Yoruba nation within the federation.

    In history, the exploits of past alaafins have served as a source of inspiration. Sango was a revered ruler, and his background cemented the diplomatic ties between Oyo and Tapa, his mother being the daughter of Elempe, king of Nupe.

    Abiodun has remained the best Alaafin. He ended the rascality of the military leader and Prime Minister in the Old Oyo Empire during the 17th and 18th centuries, Basorun Gaa, and presided over a prosperous kingdom. There was no economic hardship. He ruled with the fear of the gods.

    Ajagbo was a creative ruler who created the office of the legendary generalissimo, Aare Ona Kankanfo, to secure the kingdom and defend personal interests. Knowing the implications of what he had done, he decreed that on no account should any Aare wage war against Iwere, where his mother hailed from. He was sure that no Kankanfo would be up in arms against Oyo, the capital.

    Atiba was a peaceful ruler, whose son, Adeyemi I, presided over the years of turbulence in Yoruba land. Fed up with the tribal wars, violence, and commotion, Adeyemi I invited the British to intervene in the Ekiti Parapo war between Ibadan warriors, led by Aare Latoosa, and Ekiti forces, led by Ogedengbe of Ilesa and Fabunmi of Okemesi.

    As colonialism was winding down, tension arose between traditional rulers and their subjects over the sharing political powers. Such was the case between Alaafin Adeyemi II and Chief Bode Thomas, the Balogun of Oyo. The rest, as it is said, is history. The colonial lords hijacked power from the traditional rulers and later restored it to the political elite, who first accommodated them as partners in progress but much later relegated them to the backgrounds.

    Leaving an ancient town without a head is counter-productive. The supremacy of the constitutional order over the traditional institution is acknowledged, but the performance of a myriad of traditional roles at the grassroots by the royal fathers, including the settlement of land disputes, communal crises, and marital rifts, the preservation of identities, intelligence gathering in aid of security, and general maintenance of order and peace are complementary. If there is a void in these areas, and a particular community is in a crisis, peace across the state cannot be total.

    The traditional institution is the cornerstone of the local government system. They are the intermediaries between the government and their people, who serve as channels of communication and enlightenment.

    Oyo needs the traditional institution to sustain its position as a respected Yoruba town. The installation of an Alaafin is central to achieving this. The earlier the revered traditional ruler is installed in the ancient town, the better for all the parties in the imbroglio. A peaceful resolution of the matter is urgent and necessary.

  • Petroleum and Nigeria’s underdevelopment conundrum

    Petroleum and Nigeria’s underdevelopment conundrum

    Once again, we are back to where we have all too often found ourselves in our developmental trajectory nearly six and half decades after the attainment of flag independence. I refer to the return of fuel scarcity, the resultant long queue of vehicles at fuel stations in towns and cities across the country with dire consequences for economic productivity, the inexplicable hide-and-seek game by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on the root cause of the problem before its belated admittance of its humongous indebtedness to oil marketers and, again, another round of increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) signaling further negative implications for inflationary spirals. I have lost count of the number of times that the pump price of fuel has been raised since my youth as successive administrations purport to remove a seemingly never-ending subsidy attendant on the continuous exportation of crude oil with which the country is abundantly blessed and the importation of refined petroleum at humongous cost.

    In the run up to the last presidential election, the major presidential candidates all pledged to remove the subsidy which one of them, Peter Obi, claimed he would do on day one if elected, describing the scheme as an elaborate scam. Yet, with President Bola Tinubu taking the decision on his inauguration on May 29, last year, to remove the subsidy, an unpopular policy option his predecessor had kicked down the line, his defeated opponents in the last election – Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi- have opted to play politics with the issue grandstanding that they could have pursued a different path. In truth, the country had hardly any room for maneuver. A sinister and cynical cabal had seized on the inexcusable non-functioning of local refineries for decades to turn the importation of refined petroleum into an expansive criminal self-enrichment enterprise.

    The option of the government continuing to bridge the gap between the combined associated costs of fuel importation and the relatively affordable price it was sold to consumers was unsustainable. The government had had to resort to incurring humongous debts in foreign loans to fund its operations with sizable amounts of dwindling total revenues dedicated to debt servicing.

    But at the time President Tinubu announced the ‘final’ removal of the subsidy, the new administration was not totally in the picture as regards the sharp decline in volume of crude oil production due to industrial scale oil theft, the large amounts of crude oil that had been sold upfront in the futures market with the revenue collected and expended in advance and, of course, the deceptive illusion of expectations that the Port Harcourt refinery would be functional by April 2024 as repeatedly confidently affirmed by chief executives of the NNPCL. The new target date of the Port Harcourt refinery commencing local refining and sale of fuel was set for August and yet we are now in September and there is no indication of the pledge being redeemed anytime soon. Remarkably, the NNPCL celebrated its achieving what it considered to be an appreciable level of profitability in the last financial year only for its huge indebtedness to oil marketers responsible for the current acute scarcity of fuel across the country to be made public. Is this not a contradiction in terms – high profitability co-existing with humongous indebtedness?

    Only the mischievous and crassly partisan would blame the a little over one year in office Tinubu administration for the complications, challenges, and mostly self-inflicted woes of the petroleum industry and the associated sufferings inflicted on the Nigerian people as exemplified, for example, by the fresh fuel price increases. Yet, the administration must take it as a cardinal responsibility to undertake a surgical organizational procedure on the NNPCL to sanitize and reposition the company to offer productive service to the Nigerian people. The NNPCL should not be immune from the kind of forensic audit conducted on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the aftermath of Godwin Emefiele’s reign of impunity for which he is currently facing the due process of law.

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    Despite the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the purported transition of the oil behemoth into a private company, its operations and processes are widely believed to be as opaque as ever. Some experts contend, for instance, that the cost of producing a barrel of crude oil in Nigeria is the highest in the world. The controversial but knowledgeable Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has publicly averred that the efforts of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, and the CBN governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, cannot bear optimum fruit without a more transparent operation of the NNPCL and a more accurate data on the country’s crude oil sales and attendant revenues.

    The quagmire in which our petroleum industry finds itself today was quite avoidable had the country’s leaders at various times listened to and worked more closely with Nigeria’s conscientious and patriotic progressive intellectuals. For instance, as far back as 12th February, 1971, the late Dr Bala Usman had, in a paper titled ‘Petroleum in the Economy of Nigeria’ had undertaken an incisive analysis of the problems and prospects of an industry so critical to the country’s development. As he put it then, “All the proposals and plans for post-war Nigeria are based on certain assumptions about our oil. From the government which, according to its Commissioner of Finance, expects a revenue of several hundred million, to the foreign businessmen licking their lips and assuring us of our rosy economic future, to the ordinary man and woman – oil has become a basis for optimism about the future. This widespread awareness of our wealth in oil is combined with gross ignorance about the operations of the petroleum industry and its international context.”

    It is the unfortunate truth that ignorance about the operations of the country’s petroleum industry including the actual amount of crude oil extracted from the bowels of our earth and sold as exports by the oil multinationals has persisted for the most part of our post-independence history. In his submission over five decades ago, Bala Usman had pointed out not only the impunity of the international oil companies in their mode of operation in the country but even the reckless flaring of gas which he had identified as a major problem even then. In his words, “Put against the great potentialities of the oil industry as a generator of both industrial and agricultural growth in the whole of our country, what we have gained so far from the industry is paltry. The government in the seven years 1958 to 1966 received a sum of £68.7 million, cash, since that time this sum might now total up £150 million. A few Nigerians (actually about 5,000) have got jobs, mostly semi-skilled and unskilled. A few contractors have made a fortune. But the price of petroleum products from petrol and kerosene to fertilizer, drugs and nylon have gone up. The crude oil is sucked out of our sub-soil, piped straight to the tankers and taken straight to Britain and Western Europe to feed their expanding refineries and petrochemical works and fuel their industries”.

    Of course, there is a lot that has changed in the petroleum industry terrain since Bala Usman penned those words. It has generated much higher revenues for the economy over the years but the developmental impact of this has been mitigated by astronomical corruption. The Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Company (NLNG) has emerged as a viable, profitably and relatively efficiently run company indicating better utilization of the country’s gas resources and with many suggesting this as a model for the NNPCL to follow. To some extent, the current travails of the petroleum industry are also partly a function of the perhaps inevitable politicization of what ought to be essentially purely technical economic public policy issues. On the decision to construct the Kaduna refinery, for instance, Cliff Edogun, in his study, ‘The structure of state capitalism in the Nigerian petroleum industry’, noted that “The issue was whether another expensive refinery situated hundreds of kilometers from crude source was necessary, especially when the mode of withdrawal was to depend on pipelines that are vulnerable and subject to sabotage. The technocrats were arguing for cost-saving but the bureaucrats concluded that it would be politically expedient to site a refinery in Kaduna to justify federal character”.

    The roll out of locally refined petrol this week by Dangote Industries Limited is good news from an embattled sector but the much sought-after relief that this is expected to provide consumers may not be immediately forthcoming due to continued inefficiencies and opacity in the industry as well as complications associated with the interplay of market forces. Beyond this, how much of the monumental Dangote Refinery is reflective of local knowledge and domestic mastery of the industry’s technology thus stimulating confidence in Nigeria’s enhanced capacity to autonomously optimize its potentials for the country’s future transformation?

    Even as we daily suffer from our incapacity to refine crude oil locally, we read and see daily in the media how security agencies ceaselessly destroy hundreds of illegal refineries operated by enterprising locals to refine the commodity admittedly in a rudimentary and crude manner. But can’t they be empowered with the requisite skills to refine the crude more professionally and thus add their output to our legal stock of local capacity? I recall once again the words of the late Professor Pius Okigbo at the First Obafemi Awolowo Foundation Dialogue in 1993 that during the civil war, the Biafran scientific community, among other feats, “succeeded in building out of entirely locally fabricated materials a giant petroleum refining facility and thereby made the technology so diffuse and more universally understood and applied than anywhere else in the world”. Surely this should not be unattainable rocket science to us in today’s Nigeria.

    •This piece was first

    published September 7, 2024

  • Crowd control in NPFL

    Crowd control in NPFL

    I’m frightened. With each passing week across the globe has come agonising times, with the Europeans providing the solutions to what many people here in the Nigeria ecosystem would tag as ‘unforeseen circumstances’. In fact, in Guinea last weekend, 56 people, yes human beings, died in the repulsive circumstances of poor crowd control at a match centre where Guineans celebrated the birthday of their leader.

    A soccer match in southeast Guinea turned deadly, leaving 56 dead after violence and a crush erupted during a tournament honouring military leader Mamady Doumbouya. The tragedy unfolded in Nzerekore, one of Guinea’s largest cities, where a controversial refereeing decision sparked chaos. Yes, what was meant to celebrate a leader resulted in needless political bickering, with the 56 dead people lying prostrate in the morgues. Of that number, many may have taken the corpses of their dead relations, including kids, women etc who went to watch the stalemated game, to be buried while typical of most African settings, government has engaged the people in buck passing utterances.

    What was so special in this game that a few naughty Guineans chose to turn the stadium into a battle field instead of a platform to celebrate a leader, if he truly deserved such a gathering.  How could some beast have taken the laws in their hands with no immediate response from the security architecture in place at the stadium for a game meant to honour a military leader? In fact, visuals capturing what went down last week are disturbing, going by the type of weapons of mass destruction used to maim and kill these scores of people who had gone to satisfy their craving for soccer, not chickens or reptiles.

    The stampede broke out on Sunday afternoon at the Nzerekore City stadium during the final of a local tournament between the Labe and Nzerekore teams in honor of Guinea’s military leader, Mamadi Doumbouya, Guinea’s Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah said on the X platform.

    “The government condemns the incidents that marred the match between Labe N’Zerekore,” Bah posted on Facebook, reiterating a “call for calm, so as not to impede hospital services from aiding the injured.”

    “This (the disputed penalty) angered supporters who threw stones. This is how the security services used tear gas,” the local Media Guinea reported.

    Media reports further revealed that: ”People were running as they tried to escape from the stadium, many of them jumping the high fence. Videos also showed many people lying on the floor in what looked like a hospital as a crowd gathered nearby, some assisting the wounded.”

    Pity. Would all these remarks from the government through the Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah and the different media outlets bring back the dead? Guinea isn’t a small soccer nation, making it imperative to ask who organised the game? What role did the Guinean FA play before; during and after the game to avert what happened? Or where they left in the dark?

    The figure from the Sunday show of shame was 56, though words was rife that true figure could be 135 based on scoops from the homes of those who died. But I have chosen to stay with the official 56, with my other posers being what CAF and FIFA are saying if the Guinean FA chiefs have been mum. As we await what government’s reactions would be with the outcome of the expected investigation reports, my thought went straight to our domestic football, though the government isn’t military.

    The current sytem in Nigeria would have allowed the authorities running sports in the country to supervise the game and just provide the necessary logistics based on the calibre of people expected to be in the stadium on that day.

    At the domestic league level, my fear rests with the issue of quality of crowd control mechanisms in place for different stadium in the country. My other worry has to do with the fact that we still don’t know the sitting capacity of every stadium in Nigeria to determine how to control the crowd. What interests those who own clubs in the country is the euphoria arising from the owners’ spur of the moment declarations that the gates be thrown ajar to test their political popularity. Other consequences don’t matter to the real owners of the clubs until the unexpected happens.

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    How many of the entrances into the stadium’s terraces in the country are functional and who ensures that overzealous club owners don’t sell tickets to the fans above the stadium’s sitting capacity? Are those manning the gates been trained on what to do when there is the urgent need to evacuate the place when any crisis occurs? Would the gatemen be taught how to throw the gates ajar with 15 minutes to the end of games as we witness in countries where the game is organised as a business?

    I’ve seen the mammoth crowd at Kano and Enugu for instance this year and the crowd control mechanisms left much to be desired, going by the way fans were allowed to sit around the inner enclosure of the stadia. It showed at a glance that both organisers sold tickets above the sitting capacities of both stadia, to the glory of God. One only hopes that those whose duty it is to ensure that the right things are done do so to avert any carnage, if left undone.

    The current leadership of the domestic league should use the interlude of the competition to task clubs to provide the detail of their stadium’s sitting capacity before matches of the second round begin. The organisers could use the league’s interlude to inspect the stadia to ensure that uncompleted structures are fixed, such that the materials don’t become weapons of mass destruction whenever unpleasant incidents occur as we saw in Guinea last Sunday. Indeed, tickets for matches must tell the fan where his or her seat is located. Such a spectator should be able to invite any of the security operative to intercede on his behalf if his or her seat has been taken over by another fan. In Nigerian stadia, one ticket can be sold to two people. No big deal. All you will be told by fellow fans would be ‘Oga make we manage like that. Hey, oya shift make we create space. Up Nigeria!’

    Any time a game is played in serious football playing nations, you are told how many people watched the specific game. That way, one could tell how much was realised from the gates. This way, club loyalists know which stadium has the largest capacity per game. Not so in Nigeria because the administration of football isn’t seen as a business concern here.

    Those who run our football are either too forgetful (forgive me please) or they intentionally cast an indulgent eye to imminent pitfalls ahead, only to say when such problems arise, ”but I warned earlier, you thought you knew it all.”

    This is the premise of all issues, not only in football but all the sports federations. The countries that excel in sporting events have systems that guarantee enough funds for the sportsmen and sportswomen to compete with the best, such as tax rebates on sport-friendly firms, lotteries, and businesses owned by wealthy nationals who know what is in such a sponsorship that benefits them by the sitting government. Such financial taxes are spelled out to companies and wealthy citizens after agreements have been reached. These cast-in-stone policies are binding to all the parties to such an extent that breaches are adequately addressed to allow either of the parties to seek redress in court.

  • Lagos House of Drama

    Lagos House of Drama

    TO many Nigerians, the Lagos State House of Assembly is the best in the country, judging by its democratic and progressive antecedents.

    Its immeasurable contributions to robust legislative governance, right from when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the governor between 1999 and 2007, remain indelible.

    Therefore, it is in the state’s interest that the Executive and Legislature stay focused and collaborative, and do away with any form of acrimony that can jeopardise separation of powers and checks and balances.

    Slso, the Lagos progressive bloc should tap from the ideas and experience of the old order, particularly its enduring and rewarding belief in the supremacy of the Party Caucus. The idea is that the party is supreme under the parliamentary or presidential system. No premier, governor, speaker, or lawmaker can grow wings. The corollary is discipline.

    Thus, a crisis between a governor and the speaker is supposed to be nipped in the bud through early and prompt intervention by the elders who are perceived as the conscience of the party and custodians of its ethos, ethics, and traditions.

    The semblance of that highest party leadership structure held in reverence in Lagos is the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). It is naturally expected that the gerontocrats in that elevated class would wade into the crisis between the heads of the two organs of government.

    There is no smoke without fire. The drama that played out during last week’s budget presentation clearly showed that something is amiss. The peace within the party is incomplete when there is some inexplicable misunderstanding or communication gap between the governor and the speaker.

    It is generally agreed that the achievements of the four governors – Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode, and Babajide Sanwo-Olu – were possible due to the robust vision and focus on the 24-year-old development blueprint and support of the state legislature as a partner in progress.

    There have been a few occasional unsavory moments in the Assembly. We recall when the 1999 set of lawmakers threw chairs and the hallowed chamber became a curious house of commotion, and much later when the relationship between Fashola and Speaker Yemi Ikuforiji momentarily turned sour and when Sanwo-Olu’s commissioners’ list was rejected. Yet, the Lagos Assembly has been the bastion of democracy, ever ready to defend the interests of the highly heterogeneous residents.

    Lagos has also been lucky to have a legislature midwifed by the progressive parties – Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and All Progressives Congress (APC). Up to now, the progressives have been in the majority. Even, lawmakers elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) always defected to the ruling party.

    Although there is the eclipse of ideological politics in Nigeria, there are allusions to the time-tested ideals of welfarism in the Assembly and in the State Executive Council (Exco), which the founding fathers of the defunct Western Region held dear.

    In the last five years, evidence of friction between Sanwo-Olu and Speaker Mudashiru Obasa abounds. This is known to the party leadership and other stakeholders. The governor is calm and reticent about it in the public glare. Sanwo-Olu does not have the traits of Serubawon of Osun, who instigated the invasion of the House of Assembly by thugs, disrupted plenary, and sacked the lawmakers.

    The governor is not combative. Unlike OBJ, he is not angling for a third term. For him, it seems there is no cause for alarm.

     However, those conversant with Lagos politics may find out that whenever any Speaker dares the governor, the entire matter may be beyond b the Speaker. The partridge that dances by the roadside has a drummer in the bush.

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    During the first term, the party leadership waded into the unknown rift the way it should. But the feud reared its head at the onset of the second term when the House sent back the list of commissioner-nominees to the chief executive. It indicated that there was no free flow of souls.

    But last week’s theatrics during the budget presentation make an urgent and strategic intervention by the party leadership more compelling. The reason is that a crisis breeds more crises.

    The display at plenary revealed a sort of suppressed infighting within the ruling party. Many were taken aback. In most cases, a budget presentation is like a partisan festival of reunion, a pledge to rededicate and reiterate commitment to service delivery; a mandatory request for parliamentary approval for appropriation.

    On that day, there was no cordiality. It was as if the Exco and the legislature came from different political parties. The parliamentary culture may have conceded to the lawmakers the line of protocol because the House of Assembly is its territory. The governor’s advance party was dazed to see that the parliament was not yet in session. When the parliamentarians arrived, the usual conviviality was absent. The lawmakers are well educated, intelligent and vibrant children and protégés of the old war horses; a composition that shows that Lagos politics is somehow designed, partly, for the projection of the children of legends.

    As the APC lawmakers stormed the hallowed chambers, people suspected something was fishy. The honourable members are not cultists. They only appeared in customised dark goggles. They exercised the freedom and right to choose that dress code.

    Then, Mr. Governor 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. After that, there was no time to waste. The ‘Budget of Sustainability’ was delivered in an atmosphere of sustained discord. The document was laid before the House. Then, the deputy governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, left the chambers.

    The Assembly passed a vote of confidence in the Speaker. Then, a momentary tension engulfed the Assembly as Obasa started making his speech. The environment became a platform for venting anger. It was apparent that the Speaker was reacting to some issues that were beyond the comprehension of the uninitiated. However, it was not clear whether the governor was the exclusive target.

    Obasa affirmed the Independence of the Assembly, which he likened to “a sanctuary and temple”. He said just like every other temple anywhere where we all worship, 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. No amount of intimidation or coercing will disintegrate or change the belief of all the members of this institution.”

    If the temple had been violated, how it happened or whether it was about to be violated was not disclosed.

    As if he was responding to a threat from the Exco quarters, Obasa also stressed: “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 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). In other words, those who facilitated or planned to interfere in this House or destroy the cohesion of the institution should also be prepared for the same fate.”

    The interpretation any observer would give the statement is: “I will strike you before you strike me.”

    In the last 21 years, Obasa has been a member of the Assembly representing Agege. Now, there are speculations that the Speaker is warming up for the Lagos APC governorship primary that will hold in about three years.

    In a breath, Obasa said he had not given serious thought to it, despite the complaints by “blackmailers”, “detractors” and “naysayers,” who had distorted facts and “misconstrued” his intention. He explained that the focus of his mobilisation within the chapter was to build support for the party on the platform of the entrenched and powerful caucus, Mandate.

     Incidentally, the governor belongs to Mandate.

    Naturally, the mobilisation by Obasa may upset the older and influential caucus, the “Justice Forum,” and to some extent, the “Ideal.”

    But, in another dimension, the Speaker boasted that “nevertheless, that does not mean I am too young or lack experience to run”.

    Obasa declared that if he becomes governor, “those who have been before me are not better off.” Those who have been elected governors of Lagos are Lateef Jakande, Michael Otedola, Tinubu, Fashola, Ambode, and Sanwo-Olu. Past military governors are Mobolaji Johnson, Adekunle Lawal, Ndubusi Kanu, Ebitu Ukiwe, Gbolahan Mudashiru, Mike Akhigbe, Raji Rasaki, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and Buba Marwa.

    Indigenship has never been a major factor in Lagos politics, as far as the governorship slot is concerned. The Speaker fired salvos at undisclosed persons trying to blackmail him on the basis of the factor.

    He said: “It is also important to correct the impression from some naysayers who have been insinuating that I made payment to seek for blood relation in Ojo to validate my candidacy to run as governor.

    “Of course, I have never denied that I am Obasa. Rather, I have never claimed to be related to Onikoyi, Oniru, or any other popular Lagos families, as the case may be. I can never run from the fact that I am related to my Obasa family in Ojo. But I do not need local validity to contest or run. If eventually I am contesting, I will do so from Agege.”

    The scenarios all pale into politics; this is about conflicts, the struggle for power, and competition for influence.

    What can also be deduced from all of the above is that all is not totally well in Lagos APC where the heads of the executive and legislative arms seem to be at loggerheads.

    This should not be allowed to continue. Chieftains should be in one accord. Combatants should pull the brakes and sheathe their swords. There is a need for a truce.

    Also, there is much to be accomplished by the Sanwo-Olu administration. The governor needs the support of all.

    As it is often canvased by political scientists, the ruling executive should also conduct the business of the state in utter sensitivity to the presence of a very active, strong, united and virile legislature. In the same vein, the parliament has to be less inflexible and more condescending. These are critical to the building of a harmonious Executive/Legislative relationship.

    Reconciliation can be brokered by the GAC. But the only leader who can really whip all to line, enforce compliance and restore peace is the Commander-in-Chief. He is the President of all Nigerians. Besides, Lagos is his base. A stitch in time saves nine.

  • Headaches for two Southwest governors over airport projects

    Headaches for two Southwest governors over airport projects

    Airports, no doubt, are critical social infrastructure without which any nation cannot function. That perhaps is the reason why virtually every Nigerian governor wants to be involved in the project once they assume office.

    Many would argue, however, that their preference for airports above other critical social infrastructure is informed by the huge platform it offers for diversion of state resources into private pockets.

    That may explain why some state governors are falling head over heels to launch airport projects in spite of statistical assertion that only four of the 29 existing airports in the country are viable.

    At the moment, two Southwest governors are in the eye of the storm over issues that border on the construction of airports in their states.

    One of them, according to reports, has drawn the ire of some indigenes of the state who are threatening fire and brimstone over his decision to relocate the airport project begun by his predecessor from their community to his home town.

    The enraged indigenes of the affected communities have already issued a strong warning to two ministers invited by the governor to flag off the foundation laying of the new airport to stay away from the ceremony.

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    Another Southwest governor is under intense pressure to probe his predecessor over the billions of naira the latter claimed to have spent on the state’s airport project with nothing tangible to show for it.

    A very influential legal luminary in the state, who is said to be highly interested in actualisation of the state’s airport project, is said to have mounted intense pressure on the sitting governor to probe his immediate predecessor’s spending on the project.

    He is said to be particularly miffed that a very close person to the immediate past governor won a N750 million contract for the proposed airport’s fence and the said sum was released without the contractor laying a single block.

    Ironically, the former governor is at the vanguard of people that are now pontificating on good governance for the country.

  • The need to rejig Nigerian Football Leagues

    The need to rejig Nigerian Football Leagues

    Football or soccer as it is commonly called is more than just a sport in Nigeria; it is a cultural phenomenon that has united millions across diverse ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic strata. Asides this, it has raised many from poverty, made towns, generated revenue and helped create employment as well as legends, inspiring generations after generations.

     Despite producing world-class talents who have achieved remarkable success in international leagues, the Nigerian domestic football ecosystem remains critically underdeveloped. This piece therefore explores the urgent need to invest in and develop Nigerian football leagues, highlighting the profound economic, social, and sporting benefits that such development can bring.

    The Nigerian football landscape is characterized by immense potential but is then marred by systemic challenges. In the past, particularly the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, the Nigerian league was the stuff of dreams, from it the Green Eagles and the  Super Eagles  became African power houses, winning multiple African Cup of Nations titles and making significant impacts in a number of international tournaments. This same domestic leagues which produced the likes of  Thunder Balogun, Segun Odegbemi, Yisa Sofoluwe,  Christian Chukwu, Dimeji Lawal, Felix Owolabi, Emmanuel Okala, Peter Rufai, Bright Omokaro, Henry Nwosu  Stephen Keshi,  Nduka Ugbade, Daniel Amokachi, Kanu Nwankwo, and a host of others were household names produced within our shores. Nigerians, i mean those above the Gen Z age will relish the days of Challenge cup  and league duels and the tension soaked rivalry between clubs like Flash Flamingoes, Stationery Stores, Mighty Jets, IICC, Leventis United, Abiola Babes, Ranchers Bees and Rangers International. Today, the Nigerian league is a shadow of itself,  suffering from chronic underfunding, poor infrastructure,  lack of professional management and institutional corruption.

    Most Nigerian football clubs struggle with inconsistent funding, preventing them from developing robust infrastructure, training facilities, and competitive player contracts. Even today, despite the fact that football is a money spinner, most clubs  operate on shoestring budgets, making long-term planning nearly impossible.

    Asides the issue of poor funding, many Nigerian football club stadiums are in poor condition, lacking modern amenities, proper maintenance, and essential facilities that would attract fans, sponsors, and potential investors.

     Thirdly, the administrative structures of many Nigerian football leagues and clubs are often informal, lacking the professional management practices necessary for sustainable growth.

    Such factors are thus reasons why a number of young Nigerian footballers frequently seek opportunities abroad at very early stages of their careers, depriving local leagues of their most talented players and creating a perpetual cycle of talent migration. Again, the near fixation on foreign leagues by the Nigerian audience and even using participation in such leagues as a determinant for who features in the national team has continued to do great disservice to the growth and development of our league. Today, we see our youths clinging to ‘Fandoms’ of foreign owned clubs whilst ignoring that which is in their own backyard! While such remains distasteful, these youths are not to blame as our local parlance  naturally suggests, ” Who no like better thing?” The Premierships, La Ligas and Bundesligas have readily invested in their leagues and their brands and so the audience will always go  there.

    Investing in Nigerian football leagues is not merely a sporting endeavor but a significant economic opportunity. A well-structured, professionally managed football ecosystem can generate substantial economic benefita such as job creation which will create robust football leagues can create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, including:

    – Professional players

    – Coaching and training staff

    – Stadium and facility management personnel

    – Sports marketing and administration professionals

    – Merchandise production and sales teams

    – Media and broadcasting professionals. Also,  well organized football leagues can transform local economies by attracting domestic and international sports tourists which could help boost our foreign exchange earnings not only via revenues from ticket sales but also through patnerships that would  create opportunities for local businesses around football infrastructure as well as help develop sports-related hospitality and entertainment sectors. Asides as an investment opportunity, a well structured football league system creates alternative pathways for youth development, opportunities for social mobility, and serves as positive engagement that can reduce youth unemployment and social tensions.

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    To realize these potential benefits, a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach is required, such as

    infrastructure Investment, by modernizing existing stadiums

    developing world-class training facilities, creating regional/state and local football academies.

    These efforts must go in hand with  governance and management reforms which include entrenching of transparent, professional management practices, the establishment of  clear regulatory frameworks, the implementing of  robust financial monitoring systems and the encouragement of quality corporate governance standards.

    Developing Nigerian football leagues is not a luxury but a necessity. It represents a strategic investment in the nation’s sporting potential, economic diversification, and social development. By adopting a holistic, long-term approach that combines infrastructure development, professional management, and a commitment to youth empowerment, Nigeria can transform its football landscape reaping the potential rewards – economic prosperity, international recognition, and a united, inspired nation – make this endeavor not just worthwhile, but essential.

    The time to act is now. Nigeria’s football future awaits transformation.

  • The PBAT administration and the national question

    The PBAT administration and the national question

    This is one of the most critical periods in the history of Nigeria particularly since the commencement of this dispensation in 1999. The old Nigeria, sustained largely on fuel subsidies that had become hardly sustainable and parallel exchange rate markets that bred criminal and humongous accumulation by a privileged elite, is dying. A new Nigeria is struggling to be born under the midwifery of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration which has introduced far-reaching reforms to correct fuel subsidy and exchange rate distortions, with painful birth pang consequences for the populace.

    Sections of the citizenry have severely criticized international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, which have endorsed the economic policies of the administration as being essentially on the right course and admonished that current hardships manifesting in inflationary spirals in food, healthcare, fuel, transportation, and electricity costs among others, be borne as a necessary condition for the economy transitioning to a more productive and prosperous phase. Beyond reflexive ideological opposition to the reforms, perceived in some quarters as IMF and World Bank inspired, there have been little of alternative pragmatic and realistic policy offerings to transform the nation’s economic course and unleash her latent potentials, by vehement anti-reform voices.

    Meanwhile, the administration continues to intensify its efforts to make palliatives available to cushion the sufferings of the most vulnerable sections of the populace while an increasing number of state governments are channeling their significantly enhanced revenues as a result of the fuel subsidy removal to ameliorate the plight of substantial numbers of their people. It is important that the federal government periodically briefs the public on the impact the various amounts it has channeled to micro, small, and medium enterprises are making towards boosting their operational and job-generating capacities.

    It is only natural and understandable that at a time of harsh economic hardships such as the country is currently experiencing, challenges around the national question will become more accentuated with some anguished voices questioning the rationality, desirability, and utility of our continued national coexistence. This is particularly so against the background of the intensively competitive and contentious nature of the last presidential elections, the outcome of which some are yet to come to terms.

    The national question refers essentially to the conditions for and dilemmas arising from the exigencies of diverse ethnocultural groups cohabiting in a complex, plural polity like Nigeria. Only recently, the Yoruba ultranationalist gadfly, Sunday Igboho, led a seemingly theatrical procession to No 10 Downing Street in London in a quixotic quest to seek support for what was described as the desire of the Yoruba to exit Nigeria. The group has not responded to queries on what confers legitimacy on it to speak for the Yoruba and at which forum such a mandate was given.

    On its part, the most clamorous and insistent voice for the secession of a part from Nigeria, the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), has apparently modified its strategies, for now, to secure the release of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, from detention from where he is currently facing trial for treason. There is no guarantee that should it succeed in this endeavor, IPOB will not return to its erstwhile uncompromising and sometimes violent campaign for the secession of eastern Nigeria even though the degree of its support base among the Igbo people is difficult to ascertain.

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    Given his antecedents not only as a pro-democracy activist but even more a fierce advocate for true federalism and the affirmation of state rights as governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, there are those who expected a radical disposition to the resolution of the national question by President Bola Tinubu. The President has however been quite cautious and tentative on the issue since his assumption of office and the reasons are understandable. For one, he is the custodian of a national electoral mandate comprising disparate political constituencies with divergent attitudes, understandings, and orientations to the national question. His must consequently be a balancing act, particularly in a democratic context in which his party needs broad pan-Nigerian support to retain power at the centre.

    If there was any doubt about the unwavering commitment of the President and his administration to Nigeria’s continued cohesion, the Minister of Defense, who was a former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, dispelled any such notion at a recent peace meeting among feuding communities in Plateau State. Reaffirming the indivisibility of the country and the unwillingness of the federal government to permit any form of balkanization, the Minister said, “The federal government will not entertain such demand capable of causing division and disaffection among Nigerians. Therefore, living together is not an option but an obligation. This is evident in Mr. President’s resolve to fight any secessionist agenda in any part of the country. My presence here is to fulfill my mandate as the Minister charged with the responsibility for the protection of our national territory both from external and internal aggression. Therefore, I will not relent until the Federal Government and the Ministry of Defence deploy all assets to ensure our people sleep with their eyes closed”.

    There is nothing new or strange about Badaru’s submission. An elected government does not have the mandate to endorse the balkanization of the country. Referring to his oath of office to defend the territorial integrity of the United States, President Abraham Lincoln, in his first inaugural speech on March 4,1861, bluntly told those seeking to secede that “In your hands my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not mine, is the momentous issue of civil war…You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to ‘preserve, protect and defend it’”. Continuing, he argued that “Plainly, the central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy. A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it does of necessity fly to anarchy or to despotism”.

    However, the PBAT administration must not create the impression that the component parts of the country are being kept together by compulsion and the force of arms. It is a far more costly and ultimately unsustainable approach to nation building. Rather, the idea of Nigeria must be made such an attractive and mutually beneficial proposition that its components will not only willingly and proudly identify with it but will also be at the forefront of voluntarily defending its continuity.

    Current disaffections with Nigeria by diverse groups stem essentially from the steadily worsening economic crisis of the last two and a half decades and the deepening impoverishment of the vast majority of the people. This is why PBAT struck the right note when he recently told a delegation of the eminent group, The Patriots, which visited him that his priority was seeing his economic reforms through before dealing with their demand for a new constitution.

    Of course, the administration must pay attention to the need to amend or reform those aspects of the extant constitution that hamper optimal economic productivity and efficiency, particularly of the sub-national units just as it has done with seeking greater financial autonomy for local government councils. But its central focus must be strengthening and fine-tuning its economic policies until the economy turns the tide and begins to deliver prosperity and dignified living standards for the vast majority of Nigerians.

    At the root of dilemmas posed by the national question are the economic problems of pervasive poverty, debilitating inequality, widespread ignorance and illiteracy, mass youth unemployment, desperate hunger, corrosive disease, chronic infrastructure deficit, inadequate and inaccessible power supply among others. As Chief Obafemi Awolowo asserted with characteristic perspicacity over five decades ago, “My case then is that, in order to keep Nigeria harmoniously united, and, at the same time, fulfill the natural, ultimate, supreme, and inalienable purpose of that unity, the present and future rulers of this country must place the most crucial emphasis on, and attach the utmost importance to, the advancement of the economic prosperity and social well-being of the individual Nigerian citizens”.

    Apart from staying the course in the implementation of its core economic reforms, the PBAT administration must also urgently address ancillary issues that have implications for the economy. For instance, if the cultural, psychological, bureaucratic and structural impediments to the speedy implementation of state police are proving difficult to surmount, the administration should fast-track its promised establishment of well-equipped, trained, and motivated forest rangers to protect farmlands and farmers across the country and help boost agricultural productivity to stem current food costs spirals.

    Again, the anti-graft agencies should be further motivated and spurred not only to proactively prevent corruption but also to trace and retrieve humongous amounts of stolen funds in private hands. The President has shown a commendable sensitivity to public opinion in his recent cost-cutting reforms to the machinery of government and reshuffling of his administration’s personnel. It is a path that should be maintained and intensified.

  • National sports calendar, please

    National sports calendar, please

    Today is Tuesday with no issues or trending events to discuss on Nigeria sports. What one would have truly loved to write about is the National Sports Commission (NSC) beyond the facade surrounding the document and the two men chosen to pilot it to completion. I don’t want to discuss both men, going by the deluge of congratulatory messages sent by Nigerians acknowledging their pedigree in sports.

    What our sports need is a calendar of sporting activities starting from the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) through the 36 States and Abuja. This calendar would have competitions hosted by sport-loving, companies with the NSC men telling these firms what they stand to gain. Both NSC men should note that the commission has no athletes. Rather, they rely on the products discovered, nurtured and exposed from the grassroots. This nursery is dead.

    Nigeria needs to depart from the fiscal yearly budget to bankroll to that which provides a bigger cycle where funds for sports are given as bond with the NSC told to account for what the government provides. Such cash should be refunded over specific periods. Sporting competitions cycle are usually, annual, bi-annual, and four yearly, such as the Olympic Games, and World Cup across all genders and different age grades. Failure to adopt this method of bulk cash earmarked for sport, our athletes would continue to suffer.

    Both men should strive to get the states to re-establish the synergy between them and the different states’ ministry of education where the bulk of the new talents at the grassroots would be discovered. Again, these platforms are comatose with the few places where they exist and are handled by poorly trained coaches and administrators who produce badly trained sportsmen and women. It is the reason the pool of talents has dried up forcing us to recruit Nigeria-born athletes from Europe, the Americas, and the Diaspora.

    So, if both men want us to take them seriously, Nigeria must cultivate the culture of hosting big sports tournaments. This is the only way the government can upgrade the rustic sporting infrastructures across the country. The NSC should ask the sporting federations what they do with grants from their international bodies for different aspects of the sports. We must stop this tendency of attending competitions outside the country for lucre, leaving our sports centres littered with debauched conditions.

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    Both men should as a matter of importance revive the moribund competitions of yore; especially those targeted at age-grade athletes who must be in schools. When our NSC men talk big about their plans, I always ask where the athletes, coaches, officials, and competitions are at the grassroots?

    When Dikko was appointed as NSC Chairman, I recall going to the Daily Editor of The Nation Newspapers, Adeniyi Adesina, asking to know if Dikko was made to know his designation. I did this for a purpose knowing Dikko’s closet style of doing things.

    The Federal Government’s gazette which was sent to the offices described Dikko as NSC Chairman meaning that the Federal Ministry of Sports had become extinct. When eventually the seven federal ministers were screened and sworn into their offices by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja, it was also apparent that Dikko wasn’t a minister. I waited a bit more to find out if Dikko would attend FEC meetings. None to date to my knowledge.

    I, therefore, looked forward to the day when Dikko would be called the Sports Minister at any forum to see if he would raise objections. I also wanted to know if Dikko would be a team player and not personalise feats. I didn’t have to wait for too long since Dikko told the international media that he personally wrote the NSC document 16 years ago when he was the Consultant to the National Assembly. How does he now think that his thoughts and solutions to sports policies and problems haven’t grown beyond what he scripted 16 years ago? Sport globally is fluid with dynamic changes for us to be guided by 16-year-old thoughts. We wait.

    Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, in a press release on a delegation that Dikko led to NNPC management on Thursday 21 November 2024, addressed Dikko thrice as the ‘Minister of Sports.’ There has been no “correction” made.

    “Addressing the delegation which was led by the Chairman of the National Sports Commission and Minister of Sports, Shehu Dikko, the GCEO, said NNPC Ltd. was ready to be part of the initiative to revamp the nation’s football,” the release stated.

    “No mistakes there. Dikko was at NNPC to discuss the revamping of football, note, not sports.

    “NNPC will be a prime partner in the journey to bring back value to our football, to reshape it, re-engineer it, and bring happiness to our people”, (Mele) Kyari stated.

    Writing in his weekly column, Ikeddy ISIGUZO in the online portal dailyquery.com.ng, writes: “Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the National Sports Commission and Minister of Sports, Shehu Dikko, said football was fundamental to the economies of the best football countries in the world, adding that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for immediate action to revamp the game.

    “He said the multiplier effects of football were enormous and could facilitate the revamp of related industries across the value chain.

    “The Minister noted that IMG, which promotes the English Premier League, was invited as a technical partner to leverage their experience in the sport,” according to the NNPC release.

    Dikko, also the Minister of Sports, without a Ministry, was at NNPC to seek help for football as “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for immediate action to revamp the game,” Isiguzo wrote.

    “Only Dikko knows what the President told him about his mandate and the supplementary title to get his work done. When he goes to NNPC, with all its muscles, to market football, where and when he will pitch for sports?

    “More than anyone, Dikko knows that football with its consuming structures will not come to much good even if a sponsor pours billions of Dollars into it. How has NFF managed the millions it gets from FIFA and CAF?

    “The chaotic contraption called National Sports Commission Act 2023 has such inconsistencies that nobody should have worked with it. A quiet review and amendments would have cured the confusion that Dikko has embraced to keep his office and take the heat off the President who appointed him.

     “A high possibility is that the 2023 Act was used without anyone reading it or those who did felt that Sports was too unimportant for any diligence in its regulation or administration.

    “Dikko’s defences were admissions that the Act was faulty. The appointments he claimed to be based on the Act must have been made elsewhere.

     “National Sports Commission Act 2023 envisages a Ministry of Sports as it mentions “Minister responsible for Sports” and has board seats for the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sports, and the Director responsible for Sports in the Ministry. No further excuses are permitted for the aberrations in the so-called National Sports Commission.

     “Appointments should not be made in breaches of a law on which they are supposedly rooted, and those appointed are the ones to amend the law to legitimise their appointments.”

    If I was to be in Dikko’s shoes, I would have sent the NSC Act for public vetting while making plans to organise a symposium to discuss the Act’s content if it exists. It would be highly preposterous for anyone to toy with either a 17-member board or an 11-member contraption which be too bogus,

    I don’t want to believe that the NSC Act is stillborn.