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Category: Saturday

  • Executive/Legislative harmony: Fact or fiction?

    Executive/Legislative harmony: Fact or fiction?

    “All the State Assemblies are glorified cemeteries of silence, inhabited by puppets, munching on crumbs”. – Bishop Hassan Kukah

    In the nearly 25 years of the return of democracy in Nigeria, nothing better describes the status of the state houses of assembly than the above statement by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto diocese, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah sometimes in 2019. It’s almost five years of since that statement but nothing has changed. There is the general observation that the Nigerian political system throws up a lot of autocrats in the executive.

    The recent crisis between the All progressive congress (APC) members in the state and governor Siminilayi Fubara over the call for factional  APC members to initiate impeachment processes against the governor is not a novelty in Nigerian politics. Since 1999, the relationship between the executive and the legislature has always been fraught with instability. There have been few instances of  assault on democracy as very few assembly members sometimes below the constitutional benchmark of one third of members have gone ahead to impeach governors.

    In 2006, former governor of Ekiti state, Ayo Fayose was impeached under controversial circumstances in over allegation of mismanagement of state funds. He later contested and won election in the same state. Former governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi was impeached in 2007 over allegations of gross misconduct. The impeachment was overturned by the courts. Former governor of Plateau state, Joshua Dariye was impeached in 2006 over allegations of mismanagement of state funds. He was later prosecute and jailed but later pardoned by the Buhari administration.

    Former governor of Oyo state, Rasheed Ladoja was also impeached in 2005. Late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa was impeached in 2005 over allegations of corruption and money laundering. Former governor Muritala Nyako was impeached in 2014 over allegations of theft of public funds and money laundering.

    For the avoidance of doubt, impeachment is a legitimate democratic tool through which all elected officers can be removed when they flout the constitution or other extant laws in a democracy. However, the use of this tool in most cases has been less than satisfactory in Nigeria since 1999. More than a dozen deputy governors have been impeached in very controversial circumstances because their principals, the governors have used their powers to edge them out of governance as their roles are not clearly defined and as such governors see them as mere apendages.

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    The Roundtable Conversation believes that the growth of Nigeria’s democracy cannot be as rapid as necessary if the people continue to overlook the unprocedural deployment of impeachment in the wobbly democracy in a developing country like Nigeria. The instability that impeachment introduces into the system is too disruptive to be overlooked.  As the saying goes, when two elephants fight, the grasses which in this case are the people are the ones that suffer.

    Not many political analysts have dared to track and document the impact of political lethargy that happens during the politicking to either initiate or execute impeachment proceedings in what many  often see as very politically expedient merry go round by politicians for individual ego and not for the good of the people. The political intrigues that have led to the impeachment of most elected officials in the Nigerian political space would never fly in other stable political environments and Nigerians should be worried.

    The politics of impeachment have had very dire consequences on democracy and as such states that are supposed to be closer and more accessible to the people seem to have become a theatre of the absurd. Factions upon factions are stirred along party and godfather lines distracting the elected officials from truly serving the people. During the tenure of former governor of Edo state, now senator Adams Oshiomole, four speakers emerged in two years owing to incessant impeachment of elected speakers. The politics of it all pointed to the power play between the different power blocs of the political parties and the elected politicians.

    The question then is, during all the drama leading up to the series of impeachments in the Edo house then, how did the state fare?  How did the people, the mandate givers gain from the horse-trading? How developed is Edo state today where the former deputy governor, Philip Shuaibu who has been in a long drawn battle with the governor, Godwin Obaseki  was recently impeached? In the period of the political royal rumble, what sort of governance was going on Edo state?

    A step away in oil-rich Rivers state, governor Siminilayi Fubara has been trending literally since he was sworn in. The Roundtable Conversation has been amazed at the type of turbulence that has greeted the governor  few months after his inauguration.  There seems to be no love lost between him and the former governor of the state now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. Their no-love-lost relationship has been on the national space since 2023.

    But how did this conundrum emerge? The former governor Wike was a very influential member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he had thrown in his hat into the ring and contested for the PDP presidential primaries. He lost to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in what many saw as a deviation from the party’s unwritten agreement that the presidency be rotated on a zonal basis as had been done since 1999. He lost the primaries, allegedly lobbied for Vice Presidential position but lost to a fellow South-South former governor of Delta state, Ifeanyi Okowa in what many felt was a flawed political strategy.

    Having lost the two positions, Wike allegedly decided to form the G-five group that seemingly decided to work for themselves rather than their political party, the PDP. Other members of the G-5 were the Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde, former Benue state governor Samuel Ortom, former Enugu state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and former Abia state governor, Okezie ikpeazu.  Ortom, Ugwuanyi and Ikpeazu seemingly shot themselves on their political feet as they lost their bids to go to the senate. Wike did not seek a senate seat but found himself being confirmed a minister of the FCT under the All Progressive Congress (APC).

    During the election, a Wike had worked hard to ensure the success of PDP candidates in his state including the governor, Siminilayi Fubara. So in the Nigerian political ecosystem, a Wike is seen as Fubara’s godfather. It was not long before things fell apart between the alleged godfather and the godson.  Wike accused the governor of trying to destroy the structure that brought him to power. The political semantics of Nigeria would be interrogated to unbundle the real strategic import of this accusation.

    This quarrel seemingly moved to the house of assembly and loyalties of the members  allegedly determined by various political factors. Some supported the ex-governor and others supported the new governor. Then the die was cast.  Some of the house members allegedly decamped to the ruling APC. There was a conflict for the speakership and at some point two claims to the speakership. The climax of the crisis was a sudden demolition of the building housing the assembly. There was uproar about that political rascality but the governor claimed it was for a renovation or something to that effect.

    The crisis escalated and President Tinubu intervened and called for truce at Abuja. There seemed to have been a settlement but what had lasted as the silence of the graveyard soon fell apart a few days ago when the APC in the state alleged that the governor was acting in defiance of the President’s directive during his attempt to broker peace and called on its members to initiate the process of impeaching the governor. The governor, not willing to be a political victim of circumstance, is fighting back. The governor, in a now viral video had told a Bayelsa peace delegation made up of political and traditional leaders that even though he is grateful for being supported during the election, he would never ‘worship’ anyone. He went on to say, “The young people, those group of men who claim to be assembly members are not assembly members, they are not existing, I want it to be on record, I accepted that peace accord to give them a floating, that is the truth, there was nothing in that peace accord that was a constitutional issue, it was a political solution to a problem… ”.

    The reality of the situation in Rivers state is that there are two factions of the state assembly today, one group is made up of 27 who had earlier defected to the APC and the four PDP members and each group had elected a speaker. The governor seems to have decided midway to revert to a judicial solution seeing that a political route had fallen apart. The Roundtable Conversation is concerned about democracy not just in Rivers state but across the nation. The people must be the center of attention of elected members.

    Nigerian democracy seems to be retarded because of accountability issues in the political  processes. How did Nigeria get to a situation where governors have a history of being very imperial in a democracy? What electoral process makes it valid for governors to have electoral influence that determines their successors? Why the overwhelming influence on who gets elected into the legislature in their states?

    What kind of intra-party democracy does Nigeria operate? Looking at Rivers state, where does ego and political expediency  for all the factions and their sponsors end and where does the welfare of the people start? The Rivers issue is a mere metaphor, almost all states are sitting on this keg of gunpowder.  Nigeria must think beyond individuals and focus on institutional development. That is the sure way to an enduring and stable democracy.

    The dialogue continues…

  • Tope Awosika’s blueprint for the born again

    Tope Awosika’s blueprint for the born again

    In his famous dialogue with the pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council, Nicodemus, who secretly sought him at night so as not to incur the wrath of the Jewish religious establishment, the Lord Jesus had declared that unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Although not an ignoramus in spiritual matters being a teacher of the law himself, Nicodemus was startled by the words of Jesus and wondered how a grown man who could not go back into his mother’s womb and experience a second birth could be born again. Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus as stated in the book of John was, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again”. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit”.

    Jesus, in essence was speaking of a spiritual rebirth when he utilized the ‘born again’ phrase. Of course, only those who are spiritually alert and conscious can make anything sensible and meaningful of the words of Jesus referred to above. For the ardent materialist, for instance, the supposedly spiritual does not exist. As far as he is concerned, man is no more than his physical, material make up that we can see. He cannot believe in a spirit world that cannot be seen, heard, touched or felt. This was probably what the great revolutionary intellectual, Karl Marx, meant when he famously declared that “It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being determines their consciousness”. Most avowed communist are thus inclined towards atheism. Many famous scientists and philosophers have also outrightly disclaimed and denounced any notion of the existence of the spiritual insisting that only that which can be concretely perceived is real, all else is illusionary and a product of man’s imagination.

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    Even then, there are hundreds of no less cerebral scientists and philosophers who believe in the existence of a God they have not seen and in the reality of the spiritual and supernatural. Indeed, those who do not recognize and believe in the existence of the spiritual, a realm that plays a critical role in the evolution of affairs in the material plane in which man exists appear to be a microscopic minority among the nearly 8 billion people that inhabit the universe. Indeed, it is their belief in a maker, a supreme being that created and sustains all that exists that unites adherents of various religions including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism among others. On a personal note, I have always found it difficult to believe that creation can exist without a creator or that the universe in all its diversity, complexity and the iron regularity of the laws that govern the material, natural world could have happened by chance.

    In his new book titled ‘The Believers Blueprint: Frontend and Backend Engineering’ published to commemorate his 60th birthday, Pastor Taiwo Modupe Awosika, Senior Pastor of the Army of David Ministries, elaborates on the concept of being born again and the requisite guidelines for growing in faith as a Christian. The book runs into 153 pages and is compartmentalized into eleven chapters. In his introduction, the author explains what he means by the concepts of backend and frontend engineering in relation to the Christian faith. In his words, “In this book, you will find a pattern of growth that will help you see that there is no height in God that is unattainable if you can just move steadily. You will also see that there are two aspects to our live in our journey as believers: the backend, which is our relationship with God and the frontend, which is our ministry to others and our service to God”.

    Expatiating on these concepts further, he writes that “The purpose of what I termed “backend engineering” in this book is to help you understand and take care of your personal walk with God. Designing, building and managing the server side of web apps is the job of a backend engineer. When put another way, a backend engineer’s main job is to build the framework of a software program. Your fellowship with God is supposed to be the structure for everything that goes on in your Christian walk. It should be at the very core of your walk with him. If this part of your faith is not well tended to, you cannot thrive at the forefront. The backend engineering of the believer is fellowship with God”. Thus, in discussing the backend of the Christian’s fellowship with God, various chapters in the first section of the book deal with such issues as ‘The miracle of being born again’, ‘Transforming your life through Bible study and prayer’, ‘Faith’, ‘Bearing the fruit of the Spirit’ and ‘Discovering your purpose and living in God’s will’.

    In section 2 of the book in which he dwells on the frontend of the Christian walk with God, Pastor Awosika focuses on such themes as spreading the good news through evangelism, manifesting the gifts of the Spirit, the importance of mentoring and discipleship, living out God’s vision for the believer’s life, financial stewardship and investments as well as nurturing marriage and family. Stressing the importance of the word of God, the Bible, for the transformation of the Christian, he writes, “In my personal work with God, I found that the more I look at the word consistently, the more I am transformed by it. Most times, I am not even conscious of this transformation while it is happening; the majority of us usually aren’t. We just know we were one thing before and after following God for some time, we realize we are another thing that God has made us. Some of us can’t even recognize the people we were before God did this marvelous work in us”.

    Despite the giant strides mankind has made in diverse spheres including science and technology, information and communication technology, medicine, the arts, humanities, and social sciences, etc, the world is still plagued by diverse ills that stem largely from the seemingly inherent perverseness of the human heart. Consequently, the world has to deal with the consequences of gross moral perversion, selfishness and self-centeredness, terrorism, hatred, humongous corruption and avoidable conflicts and wars all of which threaten the very survival of humanity. The world is thus in dire need of a new species of being, the equivalent of Pastor Awosika’s conception of the born-again Christian. Incidentally, this concept, although most prominent and pronounced in Christianity is also expressed in different ways even among non-Christians.

    Through their annual celebration of the Ramadan fast, Muslims are enjoined to cast off their former acts of sin and renew their walk with God in accordance with the tenets of their faith. Among the Yoruba, there is the saying that being born into the world is not as important as the individual recreating himself to become a new person adding value to society. And the motivational speaker and writer on success principles and the art of wealth accumulation, Napoleon Hill, asserts that “What I am is God’s gift to me; what I make of myself is my gift to God and to society”. The only difference is that the Christian believes that the fundamental spiritual and moral transformation of man cannot be achieved in his own strength but only through the power and grace of God as pastor Awosika demonstrates throughout this book.

  • Toying with World Cup ticket

    Toying with World Cup ticket

    Is Nigeria now a circus? Certainly not.  But our quest for a new Head Coach for the Super Eagles has made the NFF; with due respect, a colony of jesters. Yes, one would have thought that the football eggheads applied common sense in picking Finidi George ahead of Emmanuel Amuneke. One was therefore shocked to read a statement credited to Victor Ikpeba that the federation’s paucity of funds pushed the decision of a new coach to the local coaches who always come cheap.

    I was shocked by this cash-strapped hypothesis knowing what Nigeria stands to gain money-wise by qualifying for the 2026 World Cup slated to be hosted by three countries. The USA, Canada, and Mexico, all qualified automatically. The remaining 45 slots will be filled through qualifying competitions.

    Perhaps, if we had thinking federation chieftains, they ought to have thought outside of the box of ways and means to outsource cash, or is it sponsorship from the corporate world using the federation’s marketing Czar, not those lightweight companies ambushing the body’s franchise.

    The immediate past NFF President Amaju Pinnick, love him or hate him, raised the bar in the quest to make the federation solvent in conjunction with the body’s marketing company.

    Pinnick dragged several firms under different nomenclatures to finance ideas he thought the federation could run its activities without necessarily relying on the government.

    Qualifying for the senior World Cup isn’t an assignment for coaching upstarts no matter his pedigree as a player. Coaching is a different kettle of fish. One isn’t discrediting Finidi George, but his decision to recruit a foreign assistant who would add value to the team’s department puts a lie on those rooting for the Nigerian bench for the Super Eagles. This won’t guarantee Nigeria the 2026 World Cup ticket. It is looking like Nigeria won’t be at the 2026 World Cup even before the first ball is kicked.

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    Indeed, I chuckled at the story which stated that the NFF would pick Finidi’s assistants with names such as Emmanuel Amuneke and Daniel Amokachi being touted. Would NFF have done that to the foreign coaches? Impossible. Rather, the foreign coaches would openly isolate the Nigerian coaches attached to the team and work with those they brought from Europe. NFF members would be moping while the Nigerians are rendered otiose. After all, NFF adopted the alternate rule when they dropped Finidi and Ike Shorunmu from one of the team’s games to save cost. Hmmm!

    Aren’t NFF chiefs jokers? How do you in one breath tell the world that Finidi doesn’t have the requisite UEFA coaching licence to sit on the bench? Yet in another breath, the same NFF picked him as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles on a two-year deal. Wait a minute. Wasn’t it this Finidi, who as an assistant coach of the team was seen struggling the jersey of a top player in Portugal with one of his players? Can he earn the players’ respect? Which respect? Wasn’t it reported that big players in the team refused to shake hands with Finidi for daring to start them from the bench in a friendly game where many changes were allowed?

    My problem with those insisting on having a Nigerian coaching bench is that they are quick to multiply the going rate of the naira to the dollar when the figure of what foreign coaches earn comes to the fore. They forget the huge returns on this kind of investment if the team does well in such a major soccer competition as the senior World Cup.

    I’m a proud Nigerian. I believe in everything about this country with a whopping population figure of over 200 million. I’m a Christian, yet my first and middle names (Adetokunbo and Ohioze) are meaningful Nigerian words from the region where I was born. And of course,  my tribe. Everything about me is Nigerian. I have also visited all the countries where people ‘japa’ to, but I chose to return to my native land.

  • EFCC and fleeing White Lion

    EFCC and fleeing White Lion

    Ordinarily, for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and indeed other anti-corruption agencies, the fear of a mere mortal who christens himself the ‘White Lion’ of Kogi State, the political entity he presided over for eight years like a feral beast with neither conscience nor compassion, ought to be the beginning of wisdom. But alas, what have we seen ever since Mr. Yahaya Bello formally quit office in May last year and handed over to his minion and irredeemable stooge, Usman Ododo? The EFCC has turned out to be the lion-hearted and the self-styled white lion, Yahaya, no more than a feeble-hearted rat on the run for fear of having to answer questions the anti-graft agency has raised as regards the expenditure of over 80 billion Naira under Bello’s watch in the confluence state, one of the most richly endowed with natural and human resources in the country, yet whose long-suffering people are the most pathetically immiserated. 

    When he assumed office in a legally questionable manner following the death of the winner of the 2015 governorship election in the state, Prince Abubakar Audu, before the result of the poll was announced, Bello incessantly harped on the fact that he was the youngest governor in the country. He was a little above 40 at the time he became governor. But his performance during his eight-year tenure has proven, once again, that age cannot be the sole criteria for determining suitability for elective office. While you have many dynamic, gifted, focused, and result-oriented youth holding their own creditably in leadership positions in both the public and private sectors, there are also many who, like Bello, are hungry for public office but lack the discipline, character, vision, integrity, and capacity for the industry that such offices demand. Bello is surely the poster boy for this category of indolent and mentally vacuous youth.

    It is difficult to understand why Bello is creating so much needless drama and hysteria over his invitation to respond to allegations against him by the EFCC, which was acting within the bounds of its statutory responsibilities as stipulated by valid laws of the country. What exactly is so special about this ex-governor that he presumes himself to be above the law? I recall that after handing over to his successor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), on Tuesday, May 29, 2007, the former governor of Lagos State and now President of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, honored the EFCC’s invitation to clarify issues as regards the management of the finances of the state during his 8-year tenure. He reported at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja in the morning and left late at night after responding to questions by the commission’s interrogators on major contracts awarded by his administration and sundry matters. We can also all recall how a former governor of Ekiti state, Mr. Ayo Fayose, promptly reported himself to the EFCC after he left office and till date still has a case filed against him in court by the agency.

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    A former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Willie Obiano, also reported to the EFCC when he left office and is currently facing charges in court. Neither Fayose nor Obiano has been denied their liberty pending the determination of their cases in court. Under our laws, an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. What then is Yahaya Bello running away from? Is it that he has confirmed himself guilty of the grave allegations against him and is thus seeking refuge in technicalities of the law with the aid of unscrupulous judicial officers who are trying to prevent anti-graft agencies from discharging their duties as stipulated by statute? Why should the Kogi State High Court give judicial orders that in reality seek to bind the EFCC from pursuing the cause of justice in the Yahaya Bello affair? This is not the first time that the courts would give blanket orders preventing anti-graft bodies from investigating and prosecuting politically exposed persons who lose their immunities once vacating office as governors. The case of Peter Odili, a former two-term governor of Rivers State, is an example. It is inexplicable why an injunction issued by a court restraining anti-graft agencies from investigating and prosecuting Odili if need be has remained unchallenged and the ex-governor continues to enjoy what can only be described as judicial immunity over two decades after leaving office and losing his constitutional immunity.

    In seeking to bring Yahaya Bello to book in accordance with the laws, the EFCC is not just performing its statutory functions; it is also acting on behalf of the hapless and helpless people of Kogi State who remain bound to poverty despite the stupendous natural and mineral endowment of the state. The giant strands that could have been taken in Kogi had the amount of N80 billion allegedly misappropriated by the Bello administration been invested in infrastructure, qualitative social services, and poverty alleviation can be best imagined. The many analysts, pundits, and civil society activists, some of them accomplished professionals, who have gone on radio and television as well as in the pages of newspapers to defend Bello and excoriate the EFCC surely have no idea of the degree of suffering the majority of people were subjected to during the ex-governor’s tenure, the squandered years of the locusts.

    Neither the workforce of the Kogi State public nor those of the state’s local government service ever received their full statutory stipulated salaries during Bello’s tenure. Most of the critical roads across the state are dilapidated or totally eroded. The state remains one of the least secure in the country and yet some professional associations of journalists offered him awards for his imagined accomplishments in the area of security. It was these kinds of dubious recognitions that encouraged Bello to think that he was more than qualified to contest for the presidency of Nigeria, a misbegotten venture that cost the state’s treasury billions in local and foreign currency all in the pursuit of a megalomaniac’s delusional fantasies. Beyond raising questions as regards whether or not the EFCC followed due process in seeking to arrest the ex-governor, most of those who have spoken out vehemently and vociferously in his support have paid scant attention to the grave allegations for which the anti-graft agency wants to interrogate the fabled white lion.

    Of course, Bello is only one example of persons of mere moderate means who become stupendously wealthy after occupying ‘lucrative’ public offices such as state governor. Their suddenly acquired riches cannot be traced to any productive enterprise, special or unique natural talents or endowments or investments that add value to the public good. One of the sources of the immoral accumulation of wealth by state governors is the security vote. This is a humongous amount that, for inexplicable reasons, is shielded from public knowledge and is neither audited nor accounted for. While security is very critical and requisite amounts of funds must be allocated to ensure the safety of lives and property within given jurisdictions, shrouding the security vote in secrecy and making it immune to audit screening actually undermines the security of the polity. This is because, in reality, most governors simply convert such funds to their private purposes and their respective jurisdictions remain as unsafe and insecure as ever.

    As the famous author of the classic, ‘Black Man’s Dilemma’, the late Chief Areoye Oyebola, a radical journalist and social critic, scathingly put it in a 2012 publication titled ‘Grave Issues Nigeria must Tackle’, “To millions of Nigerian workers who wallow in abject poverty, sickness and hunger, especially the lowest paid workers in the public and private sectors who earn starvation wages of N18,000 and below per month, will regard the recent disclosure by Transparency International that N241 billion per annum was expended on Security Vote in 2017 as very sad indeed. This unconstitutional illegality called security vote which was transferred by the Military Government to the civilian rulers who joyfully accepted it…has provided a direct way of looting massive public funds by Nigerian rulers without any accountability or sanctions whatsoever.”

    Another means of illicit material accumulation by governors in Nigeria is the alleged hijacking and diversion of local government funds. Indeed, it is alleged that it is in this area that much of the funds allegedly misappropriated by Yahaya Bello came from. It is perhaps no surprise then that the ex-white lion chose and imposed as his successor, the current Governor, Usman Ododo, who was Auditor General of Local Government under Bello. The underfunding of local government councils has been identified as a critical factor in the continued poverty, decay, and underdevelopment of grassroots communities across the country. Yet, if their potential and trapped energies are unleashed, the grassroots can play invaluable roles in helping to actualize the possibilities of Nigeria in the direction of greater productivity, self-reliance, and prosperity.

    The EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has been accused in some quarters of being overly emotional at a press conference organized by the commission to state its position on the Yahaya Bello affair. Others contend that he had subjected Bello to what they describe as a media trial. But it is noteworthy as a guest analyst put it on a TVC programme that the EFCC Chairman had, until the Bello affair, not held any press conference since his assumption of office. He cannot therefore be said to be in pursuit of publicity and self-glorification. But the commission could understandably not stand idly by when Bello’s horde of mostly paid defenders were running rampant particularly in the electronic media, peddling falsehoods in a bid to muddy the waters and portray the former governor as a victim of harassment and unjust persecution. The EFCC obviously had to prove that it had concrete allegations necessitating the ex-governor to defend himself.

    In any case, Mr. Olukoyede had given a foretaste of the passion he was bringing to the job when he was screened by the Senate before his confirmation. On that occasion, he had told the Senators that a survey he conducted between 2018 and 2020 revealed that the taxpayers lost $2.9 trillion to contracts and procurement fraud alone in those three years. The amount, he noted, was enough to pay for the construction of at least 1000 kilometers of roads, and 200 standard tertiary institutions and educate about 6000 children from tertiary to tertiary levels at N16 million per child. In his words, “For Nigeria to earn a reputation for transparency and accountability, there must be a collective decision that, indeed, corruption must be eliminated.  We must build an international reputation in transparency and as an agency I can investigate even the Senate President because we must call a spade a spade, we must look at evil and call it evil, no matter who is involved”. It is a good thing that so far President Tinubu has not sought to influence the operations of the agency as Yahaya Bello so obviously wanted. It is critical that the President maintains this stance.

  • Musings on these Men of God (2)

    Musings on these Men of God (2)

    Jousting against the malaria vaccine, Oyakhilome has not only incited another  circle of conspiracy theories, he has once again pitted the Christian community against the achievements of science, this is likely to create what is known in health parlance as vaccine hesitancy, discouraging  millions from taking the vaccine and could result in slowing down the pushback  against malaria and other diseases that require such vaccines. Yes , Nigeria is still prone to what scholars largely term  as the absolute dependency on religion and for as large a percentage as 70 percent of Nigerians are absolutely dependent on their religions for thinking and living. That is why in Nigeria, a university will take a whole day in organizing prayer sessions while a visit to most government establishments will witness morning prayer meetings during the time scheduled for work. Such prayer meetings are bound to last depending on the overzealousness of the makeshift church members, sadly such spirituality has failed to transform the country and I recall a Canadian Preacher describing spirituality in Nigeria “as wide  as a river bed but only an inch deep!”

    Oyakhilome much to my chagrin insists that those pushing the malaria vaccine have another agenda and that vaccines have never worked! Wow! Just Wow!!

    He goes on to challenge the figures and declared without scientific fact nor rigor that malaria had never been the continent’s biggest health challenge, the same continent where 95 percent of malaria deaths all over the world occurs in and children under the age of 5 account account for 80 percent of such deaths!

    Malaria is a devastating disease that has plagued humanity for centuries, causing untold suffering and death in many parts of the world. It is caused by parasites of the Plasmodium falciparum , which are transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Despite significant progress in combating malaria over the years, it remains a major public health challenge, particularly in developing countries where access to healthcare and resources are limited.

    To Oyakhilome, vaccines are a way of depopulating the world and so I wonder why the numerous vaccines in existence hasn’t slowed down the world’s population? If anything seems to be slowing such, it should be attributed to factors like urbanization, knowledge and worsening economic conditions which have forced families to reduce the number of children and not vaccines!

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    For the malaria vaccine, Oyakhilome has repeatedly hounded Bill Gates , founder of Microsoft and one of the world’s biggest names in fighting diseases in the third world. From wrongly quoting Gates on his comments about improving healthcare services and its effect on parents and an informed choice about reproduction to accusing Gates of owning the World Mosquito Program facility in Colombia where he alleged was producing genetically modified mosquitoes to carry out the task of depopulation! Both allegations were both wrong!

    In this controversy, it is commonsensical to give Mr. Gates more credibility and expertise on the topic of malaria, as he has been heavily involved in funding research and programs to combat the disease through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Where lies the basis for Oyakhilome’s assertions? At what point can we justify such grim allegations since his expertise may not be as extensive as someone like Bill Gates who has dedicated significant resources to finding solutions for a number of tropical diseases which include malaria.

    Again, Bill Gates is a tech entrepreneur turned philanthropist who has dedicated significant resources to combatting diseases such as malaria through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates believes in the power of science, innovation, and evidence-based interventions to address public health challenges. He has invested heavily in research, development, and implementation of tools and technologies to prevent and treat malaria, such as insecticide-treated bed nets, antimalarial drugs, and vaccines.

    Bill Gates takes a different approach, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based interventions and public health strategies in tackling malaria. He argues that while faith and spirituality can provide comfort and psychological well-being, they should not be relied upon as the sole means of disease prevention and treatment. Gates believes that scientific research, data analysis, and innovation are essential tools in the fight against malaria, and that investments in research and development can lead to significant progress in reducing the burden of the disease.

    Now even if Oyakhilome has issues with the vaccine why not use a number of faith based medical institutions to assert such claims rather than making a mockery of the pulpit and the Church at large?

    This debate between Oyakhilome and  Gates on the issue of malaria reflects a broader conflict between faith-based and evidence-based approaches to health and development in developing nations.

    It’s not just malaria, I mentioned COVID and his false assertion that it was due to the introduction of 5G technology, then there is the talk against the vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus, HPV which has experienced tremendous success rates.

    However, can we imagine the cost, in terms of lives of millions of Nigerians and other nationalities who not only because of poverty and the obvious level of decrepit health infrastructure fall prey to such teachings and deny themselves access to such vaccines?

  • Bowing for BAO

    Bowing for BAO

    Six criteria can be employed for assessing the performance of Ekiti State governors. In an atmosphere devoid of subjectivity, the six conditions are non-negotiable. Their combination would almost set a pattern in leadership recruitment.

    The first is that an Ekiti governor is expected to be an ‘Omoluabi.’ Although a Yoruba axiom acknowledges that nobody can walk without swaying the head (a kii moo rin k’ori ma fi), it is a minimum criterion that the leader should be substantially morally upright. This, in part, is the foundation of patriotism.

    An Ekiti governor should be highly principled. This is more than the value of valour. His watchwords are honesty, integrity, and honour.

    The second is that an Ekiti helmsman should be highly educated. This is because as it was said in those days, education was the major industry in the Fountain of Knowledge. It, therefore, also implies that he should always be eager to defend the education sector and the pursuit of knowledge and learning by the younger ones who are projected as future leaders.

    The third is that no dictator can survive in Ekiti, where the founding fathers, having evolved the Pelupelu principle, subscribed to confederal democracy.

    It is instructive to note that through the “cooperative, joint effort” of the pathfinders, Ekiti sacked Ibadan colonial masters from its territory. The architects, motivators, and patrons of the Ekiti Parapo Army of Liberation were the traditional rulers, nobles, and traditional warriors. Their descendants fought for and achieved state creation in 1996.

    The corollary or elements of that confederal democracy of yore were independence and liberty. Thus, there is no single or dominant paramount ruler whose territory covers the whole of Ekiti. But group survival made mutual cooperation, inclusion, and democratic representativeness more compelling, based on equity, justice, and fair play. No appointed, selected, or elected leader can lord it over the state. There is no room for any lord of manor in the state.

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    The fourth is that in whatever circumstance, an Ekiti State governor should be a rallying force. The reason is that Ekiti, a unique sub-Yoruba ethnic group, is fundamentally one zone, its division into three senatorial districts for expediency notwithstanding. An Efon man does not see himself as an alien in Ado or Ikere. A man from Ikole sees the people of Ijero as his kinsmen. There is no discrimination. The import of this is that the governor should oversee the affairs of the state, including the distribution of amenities without partiality or preferential treatment.

    The fifth is that an Ekiti State governor should never be a personification of corruption. Where would he say he inherited the vice from? There is a linkage between the first and fifth criteria. Graft and theft are antithetical to the Omoluabi spirit.

    Ekiti is struggling financially. There should be nothing to steal there. If the governor of Ekiti becomes richer than when he assumed the reins, it will be at the expense of the state. The sleaze will take its toll on public welfare.

    The sixth is that because the state is lagging in infrastructural provision, the governor that Ekiti needs – as a leader who wants to be remembered for a long time – is the one who focuses on infrastructural development. The corridor of power is not for the visionless and the indolent. Governance cannot be a tea party in Ekiti State.

    If the scorecard of ‘Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, incumbent governor of Ekiti, is assessed, based on these parameters, opinion is not likely to be divided. He will achieve a high rating and earn applause from the people of over 120 towns and villages who savour good governance under his dynamic leadership.

    The onus is on Ekiti indigenes at home and in the Diaspora to support the current administration to reposition the state for greater heights. To succeed in his transformational agenda, the governor also needs the support of the Federal Government and the private sector.

    Ekiti, which never got a take-off grant when it was created, needs special economic assistance from the Federal Government. Due to the facilities being put in place by the governor to enhance the ease of doing business, the private sector should also perceive the state as an investment destination.

    BAO, as fondly called by admirers from far and near, has succeeded in presiding over a peaceful state in the last one and a half years. There is no acrimony among the three organs of government as they cooperatively discharge their constitutional duties as partners in progress and under the mutual understanding of separation of powers.

    Also, Oyebanji’s style of governance has endeared him to leading opposition figures in the state, especially those who have joined forces with the leaders of the ruling party to appraise the administration and endorse him for a second term. The founding fathers who fought for state creation have nodded affirmatively in acknowledgment that the governor is fulfilling their vision for the state.

    It is a rare feat, and indeed an endorsement on its own, that Governors Niyi Adebayo, Ayodele Fayose, and Kayode Fayemi are building a wall around their beloved successor. Even, Governor Segun Oni is said to have no objection. Oyebanji is not destroying anybody’s legacies.

    Highly accessible, the governor has steered the affairs of the state with humility, decorum, and piety. He consults well and widely and he prioritises the distribution of developmental projects based on need analysis. The projects, and even the appointments, are evenly distributed among the local governments. There is a judicious allocation of resources, setting the pace in transparency, accountability, and credibility.

    Ekiti is not insulated from the effects of the economic downturn. Being a homeboy, Oyebanji feels the pulse of his people. He, therefore, rolled out genuine palliatives. The distribution was effectively and efficiently decentralised. The main targets were the rural poor. Civil servants and local government workers receive their salaries promptly. Retirees are not denied their pensions and gratuities. It is gratifying that Owo Arugbo, a novel social security, has been reintroduced for the aged. The governor paid N117 million to 1,950 people under the Ekiti State Social Transfer Programme.

    Also, loans, grants, and training have been given to artisans and peasants in various trades. The goal is to develop small and medium-scale enterprises.

    Agriculture is not neglected. There is the subsidy on improved seedlings, including cocoa, cashew, rice, maize and cassava. No fewer than 2,279 farmers have got farm inputs from the state government.

    There is the revatalisation of local government administration. Structures of participation and responsibility are expanded and strengthened. Improved funding for local governments imposes a duty on the chairmen and their councillors to justify their mandates. There is proper coordination and monitoring of council activities to ensure that the governor’s feats are replicated at the grassroots.

    The governor, the son of a retired teacher, is fortifying the education sector with improved funding. Parents and students showered praises on him recently, following the payment of N546.9 million WAEC/SSCE fees for 16,269 secondary school students. Oyebanji also approved bursaries for 167 indigenes studying at the Nigerian Law School.

    Infrastructural development is key. The state has experienced a deficit in this sector over the years. Federal roads are in a sorry state. The governor is implementing many intra and inter-township roads, thereby earning the applause of many traditional rulers and other community leaders. His decision to construct five kilometres of roads in each government is apt. But Oyebanji should sustain the pleas and pressure on the Federal Government, particularly the Works Minister, to come to the aid of Ekiti.

    Security of lives and property from harm’s way is essential. But, like his colleagues in other states, Oyebanji is a decorative chief security officer of Ekiti State and he does not directly control any security agency.

    However, he has decided to collaborate with the security agencies to secure the state. The crime rate has been reduced in Ekiti. Part of the collaboration is the donation of patrol vehicles, Armoured Personnel Carriers, helmets, bulletproof vests, tactical boots, batons, and other equipment to security agencies. The regional security outfit, Amotekun, is well-funded and its activities have generally contributed to a safer environment.

    Ekiti sons and daughters at home and in the Diaspora are proud of their state under the current administration. They repose a lot of trust and confidence in the governor. The people should pay their taxes and rates regularly. They should also take ownership of projects in their communities and team up with the government on their maintenance.

    Since 1999, no other Ekiti governor has been praised like Oyebanji by all and sundry. The governor is, therefore, in an enviable position. The onus is on him to sustain the tempo of his laudable performance and avoid pitfalls that can diminish his administration’s high rating.

    The governor looks poised to perform even better, if the people continue to support him in repositioning Ekiti to become a modern state of excellence.

  • Ministers: As we compile report sheet…

    Ministers: As we compile report sheet…

    Governments succeed or fail based on so many variables. Leadership is important, capacity and teamwork from cabinet members matter. In democracies around the world, Presidents always insist on the capacity of the people they would want to work with when they are elected. Most of them campaign on manifestoes they have worked on wth prospective nominees.

    The role of the cabinet is to help the president or head of government realize the campaign promises . In accepting to serve in any government at this level, appointees invariably sign a contract with the executive and the people. Their jobs are often well cut out. They lead their ministries and become the President’s pointsmen and women and must help him achieve his policy objectives and vision.

    In Nigeria however, lack of political education and illiteracy seems to have impacted the citizen’s perception of public service. While the Presidency is an important part of any democracy including Nigeria, there seems to be a disproportionate reliance on Presidents to seemingly become the nation’s sole burden bearer. Even the constituent states tend to look up to the federal government to literally wave the magic wand of prosperity and development.

    Make no mistake about it, the presidency has enormous responsibilities in a nation where due to structural flaws, the central government is often overwhelmed by expectations. However, the Roundtable Conversation believes that  capacity, deep sense of patriotism and commitment from cabinet members for any president can bring development to the country.

    Sadly though, since the return of democracy in 1999, just a few ministers have legacies to their names. Incidentally, three of the outstanding former ministers are today serving at both continental and global institutions. Nothing better gives credence to their professionalism and work ethic than their growth and globally recognized sense of service for development.

    Former Nigerian Minister of finance and foreign affairs, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is today the director General of World Trade Organization (WTO), Amina Mohammed, Nigeria’s former Minister of environment is serving as the United Nations’ Assistant  Secretary General. Akin Adesina is the multiple award-winning President of African Development Bank (AFDB). These are just a few of the former ministers whose works speak for them.

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     After President Tinubu inaugurated his cabinet in August  2023, 84 days after taking his oath of office, he made a remarkable statement, “…serve Nigeria, not states or regions, get to work, Nigerians would not tolerate failure”. This was with the expectation that each of the Ministers is to serve the federal republic of Nigeria patriotically. The president realized that he made campaign promises and the people are looking up to him to deliver and having picked his team, they can rapidly help him deliver on his campaign promises.

    In November 2023, the government organized a cabinet retreat where he again reminded the ministers to deliver on their responsibilities or be sacked. He urged them to ensure they do not become clogs in Nigeria’s wheel of progress. So far, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Youth Development and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Beta Edu seems to have fallen off the boat due to allegations of impropriety with financial transactions. Investigations are reported to be ongoing in her case.

    Former Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Shamusideen Usman recently at the Second Chronicle Roundtable with the theme, “Tinubu Administration’s Economic and Social Agenda: How it Will Transform Nigeria” urged the President to match his words with actions by sacking some ministers in his cabinet to serve as deterrent to other non-performing members and heads of agencies that are performing below average. He was very concerned about the power sector. He recalled that the President had warned the cabinet members during an earlier retreat.

    Many might claim that it is too early to assess performance of cabinet members but the former minister cited the example of a Malaysian Power minister that challenged himself to fix the power problem of the region in six months or resign and he achieved his target. That to Dr. Usman should be the mantra of active cabinet members. It is not about perfection but about showing the commitment and patriotism to change the situation from what they met.

    The Roundtable Conversation spoke with Anthony Kila,  a Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development and the Institute Director General  at Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS). We asked him his assessment of the charge to the President by Dr. Usman given the retreat instruction to the cabinet members.  He believes that having a presidential adviser on policy and coordination is a good idea the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan equally embraced through then Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as a coordinating minister of the economy.

    He believes that the idea is good but that strategically, it is supposed to be a monitoring unit that should help cabinet members organize performance goals and itemize them into the achievables in the short, medium and long terms. The unit must not wait for long term evaluation to seemingly mark performance sheets. They ought to be active in monitoring and guidance for success. He believes that with more than forty cabinet members, the ministries of Finance/CBN, Power and Works are the major one in the news and that’s because of the fluctuating currency, epileptic power supply and the now controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway. 

    However, Prof. Kila believes that while the unit might be doing their best, there are systemic problems that have to be sorted before cabinet members of this and subsequent administrations can make real progress towards speedy development given the socio-economic challenges of the country. The political system must have to change in ways that the country does not continue to do the same thing and expect a different result.

    Every Nigerian especially the political class and the media must begin to make adjustments for development.  When there is a system that encourages politicians to spell out their vision, goals and the hows and when their administrations would begin to deliver on specific deliverables, both the presidents and their appointees would come to office with clear vision with time tags. During campaigns, politicians and their political parties must be literally given blank posters to wrte out with their specific goals, how they will finance such projects and the timelines.

    Nigerians should be ready to hold candidates to specifics rather than some amorphous and vague manifestoes. After elections, nominations into cabinets must be on individual quality and ability to key into the vision of the president or governor. Prof. Kila believes for instance that if the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway was a campaign issue, the furor over the project would not have happened because the whys and hows would have been clearly explained to the citizens. 

    Again he believes that the system of recruitment/screening of cabinet members must change. Candidates must begin head-hunts during campaigns by working with various interested parties with capacity that can buy into their vision. Nominations must be on the basis of Professional capacity and individual vision and mission.

    The jaded idea of randomly screening candidates without requesting for portfolio is a strategic flaw in recruitment. A brilliant structural engineer might mess up in the Agriculture ministry. This has been a major problem in the Nigerian public service sector. Arming nominees with portfolio gives the senate clarity and enhances the screening process because that then makes it impossible for nominees to be randomly sent to ministries and agencies where even if they are educationally qualified might lack the industry knowledge specific to areas of operation. Specific industry technical questions can be asked by senators as is done in other climes.

    Competence and passion is an individual thing. It then goes to show why most people change the ministries or agencies they are posted to within a short time. A late Prof. Olikoye Ransome Kuti , was a brilliantly active Health Minister, a late Prof. Dora Akunyili changed the face of NAFDAC, an Akin Adesina gave the Agric ministry a new image even if we have not heard much from that ministry since he left. Citizens would for instance expect a vibrant Agriculture minister to seize the food crises period since he came  to innovate and inspire productivity.

    Nine months is enough for the minister to have made impact given the food insecurity that has made war-torn Ukraine to donate food to Nigeria. There are low-hanging  food or cash crops he would have introduced since or encouraged farmers or researchers to plant and that would have made a huge difference. There must be a systemic change that can herald the emergence of workable system that gives verve to personal capacity.

    This in effect would give rise to a culture that rewards achievements rather than evaluating every cabinet member  on the same pedestal. The media he insists must do more to hold politicians to honour their social contracts rather than just wait to recount their misses when it becomes too late.

    Performance must be accessed periodically and methodologically. Prof. Kila feels it would be a breath of fresh air to see some future candidates promising to attach portfolio to cabinet nominees. That might seem trivial but in a system that has been dysfunctional, it can be a huge turning point for the nation. There must be a radical departure from a system that has not fully worked. So a systemic change backed by individual vision and capacity can help usher in the needed change that can aid our development. Productivity in each sector is an individual thing and the totality of a cabinet defines the outcome any administration so the country must have a systemic realignment.

    The dialogue continues…

  • Sanitising party primaries

    Sanitising party primaries

    Following the disenchantment of most of the aspirants who participated in the April 20 governorship primaries of the Ondo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with the outcome of the exercise in which governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa was declared winner and their rejection of what they perceived as a flawed verdict, the national leadership of the party moved swiftly to assuage bruised egos and massage frayed nerves. Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State as Chairman of the Governorship Primary Election Committee had declared Aiyedatiwa winner with 48,569 votes with Mr. Mayowa Akinfolarin coming a distant second with 15,343 votes. Incidentally, Akinfolarin had reportedly collapsed his structures into that of Aiyedatiwa before the primary. Most of the aspirants including Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Mr. Olusola Oke (SAN), Mr. Wale Akinterinwa, Mr. Olugbenga Edema, Dayo Faduyile and Jimi Odunayo among others dismissed the exercise as farcical.

    A former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon. Bamidele Oloyeloogun, described the conduct of the primary as a ‘fraud’ against the party and its members in Ondo State. In his words, “It is on record including that of the INEC that there was no ward out of the 203 wards in the state that election was held, they just manufactured figures. The evidence is that today, our members are not jubilating because the process that led to the announcement and declaration of the winner was a fraud perpetrated against them”. At least five aspirants have reportedly forwarded their petitions to the Governorship Appeal Committee headed by former Bauchi State governor, Mohammed Abubakar, seeking for a cancellation of the primary and the conduct of a fresh exercise. At a meeting to reconcile all participants in the primary, the APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, appealed to aggrieved aspirants to sheathe their swords and rally round the winner to guarantee the party’s victory in the November 16 governorship election in the state.

    According to Ganduje at the peace parley, “The purpose of this dialogue is to appeal to you. This dialogue is not to dwell on what has happened, or what did not happen, what is correct and what is not correct during the primary. If we dwell on that, it can lead to what we call too much analysis, which will lead to paralysis. Our own is to appeal to you. The party belongs to you and only you. Our prayer is that our party should be the ruling party in Ondo State. It is already a ruling party. Our prayer is for it to continue to be a ruling party in Ondo State.” To achieve this objective of the APC continuity in governance in Ondo State, Ganduje obviously realizes that the party must contest the November 16 election as a cohesive whole. It was thus resolved at the reconciliation meeting that Aiyedatiwa should constitute an all-inclusive government by making sure that the interests of all aggrieved aspirants are accommodated. In the same vein, all shades of opinion and diverse interests will be catered for in the constitution by the governor of local government caretaker committees.

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    Interestingly, before this reconciliation meeting, Governor Aiyedatiwa seemed to have adopted a triumphal stance as his victory parade through the streets of Akure, the state capital, following his declaration as winner of the primaries indicated. Incidentally, from the visuals that I saw, there was not much excitement on the streets as his convoy drove through suggesting that not too many residents were interested in the spectacle. Given the circumstances that enabled his ascension to the office of governor following the transition of his boss, the late governor Rotimi Akeredolu, one would have thought that Aiyedatiwa would adopt a soberer mien in his carriage and demeanor. It would appear that he has a ruthless Machiavellian streak and it will be interesting to see how far this takes him in the complex political and cultural matrix of Ondo State and Yorubaland in general.

    It is understandable that Ganduje wants whatever lapses that characterized the Ondo State governorship primaries to be glossed over and that the aspirants should close ranks to ensure the party’s continuity at the control of the levers of governmental power in the state. That is logical. But the political analyst has the duty to interrogate the deficiencies in organizing and conducting intra-party primaries which has become one of the most serious challenges confronting the polity today and indeed a continuous source of political instability. Lack of integrity in intra-party polls, which is a malaise that cuts across parties, is partly responsible for the apathy that has been witnessed in general elections during which, in a vast majority of cases, only a microscopic percentage of the electorate turn out to cast their votes. Free, fair and credible general elections must be rooted in transparent primaries in which the candidates that emerge genuinely reflect the will of a majority of the rank and file of party members.

    While political parties are given a cardinal role in the operation of the political system in the extant 1999 Constitution, no provision is made for them to have formal organic and functional institutional structures. Thus, the leaders of the executive – president and vice president; governor and deputy governor – are elected on the platform of political parties. Members of the legislature can also not contest as independent candidates. They must pursue their ambitions as members of political parties. The concept of independent candidacy is alien to the constitution. This means that the mechanism of the party choosing its candidates for executive and legislative elections is the most critical aspect of the electoral process. Yet, this process is currently conducted in a most unstructured and informal manner. That is why, in the absence of proper institutionalization of structures for the conduct of primaries, parties appoint ad hoc committees headed by otherwise busy state governors to oversee the process.

    The lack of proper institutionalization of party structures played critical roles in the failure of Nigeria’s first and second republics. The collapse of the first republic was catalyzed largely by the fissure within the Action Group (AG) in the Western Region and the attempt of the breakaway faction led by the Premier, Chief Ladoke Akintola, who formed his own party, the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), to hold on to power at all costs against the will of the people who backed Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s AG. Popular and violent uprising in the West against the massive rigging of the 1965 regional elections by Akintola’s NNDP with the backing of Ahmadu Bello’s Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) in control at the centre led directly to the January 17, 1966, coup that torpedoed the first republic.

    In a similar vein, intra-party crises particularly within the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) mostly arising from grievances over the picking of candidates in states like Oyo and Ondo in particular for the 1983 governorship elections compounded the general instability that led to the collapse of the second republic on December 31, 1983. The ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) had capitalized on the cracks within the UPN to massively rig the elections in Oyo and Ondo states again with ultimately disastrous consequences for the stability of the polity and the sustainability of democracy. At that time, Mr. Akin Omoboriowo, erstwhile Deputy Governor to governor Adekunle Ajasin of the UPN in Ondo State had defected to the NPN because of his rejection of the decision of the party that its incumbent governors be given automatic second term tickets for the 1983 elections. Omoboriowo contested for governor against his former boss on the platform of the NPN and was declared winner by the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) in a massively rigged poll which was later reversed by the courts.

    With the declaration of Omoboriowo as winner of the election, the streets of Akure and other major towns in the old Ondo State erupted in an orgy of flames, tears and blood and a fleeing Omoboriowo surfaced at the studios of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in Lagos hours later claiming he was the winner of the election. I can vividly remember an obviously mischievous Frank Olize asking the flustered supposedly victorious NPN gubernatorial candidate on national television what he was doing in Lagos when he should be celebrating with his teeming supporters in Akure! Interestingly, it was the military president, General Ibrahim Babangida’s transition programme that tried meaningfully to address the problem of properly institutionalizing political party structures. Its prescription was the formation of two government-created parties, the National Republican Convention (NRC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) a little to the right and left of the ideological spectrum respectively. These parties had functional ward, local government, state and national secretariats with an emergent party administrative bureaucracy. Although critics dismissed the NRC and SDP as government parastatals, the truth is that the politicians took ownership of the structures and there is no way, for instance, that an MKO Abiola would ever have emerged as presidential candidate of a major party but for that unorthodox arrangement under IBB.

    To sanitize party primaries in Nigeria today and consolidate the gains of our ongoing democratic evolution, we must urgently adopt the proposal for the formation of an Independent Political Parties Administration Commission to be organized and run along the lines of INEC. It will be responsible for the registration, monitoring, supervising and auditing of political parties including conducting party primaries. That way the present situation where hegemonic cliques seize control of party structures and turn intra-party polls into cynical farcical exercises will become with time a thing of the past. Right now, with the systematically expanding institutional autonomy of INEC and the automation through technology of the electoral processes of general elections, the latter is far ahead of the standard of intra-party polls. Efforts must be made to concretely bridge the gap.

  • The more you look…

    The more you look…

    The English are the owners of the beautiful game otherwise known as football or soccer in some other climes. In fact, they always try to rub it off on other countries anytime they are doing well in any soccer competition and are on the verge of lifting the trophy with their usual slogan: ”Football is coming home.” The English are dogmatic in their beliefs, yet they bent over backwards to accept the fact that at one time in their football history, they didn’t have the quality of a coach to handle their national team, The Three Lions of England.

    Rather than embrace the sentiments of ours by hiding under the cloak of nationalism, the English swallowed their pride by naming Italian soccer tactician Fabio Capello to handle the Three Lions of England. Heaven didn’t fall. Capello was formally appointed as manager of the England national team on December 14, 2007.

    As far back as 2001, 23 years ago, Swede tactician Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed as the team’s first-ever overseas manager, he coached England’s ‘Golden Generation’ — the likes of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, and Steven Gerrard — to three major tournaments between 2001 and 2006, though never progressed beyond the quarter-final stage.

    Sven-Goran Eriksson, who managed the golden generation of England men’s football team at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup, has revealed that he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. So, what is all the fuss about the Super Eagles being handled by another competent foreign manager, if that is what is best for us in the prevailing circumstance?

    Indeed, England chose the Eriksson and Capello options because they felt it answered the nagging questions surrounding their soccer team during those desperate periods to reinvent the English game.

    The present bunch of Super Eagles are being managed by some of the brightest tacticians whose instructions have reshaped their styles of play and their approaches to the changing trends as the weekly games progress. They, therefore, would be taken aback and show acts of insubordination if they return home to find a coach who can’t distinguish between his left from his right hand as the Super Eagles coach.

    Pray, the more this writer tries to search for local coaches to handle the Super Eagles without rancour, the less I can point at the one who would be able to live with the players’ big egos which have always been the bane of domestic coaches with the boys. The late Stephen Keshi had issues with Joseph Yobo and Osaze Odemwingie before the 2014 World Cup held in Brazil. Both players would have been dropped from the squad but for the intervention of highly placed Nigerians who prevailed on the coach to temper justice with mercy on issues of indiscipline, whatever that meant then.

    How can we forget in a hurry the infamous encounters between Coach Sunday Oliseh and the team’s goalkeeper and Captain Vincent Enyeama in France preparatory to an international friendly game? How about Mikel Obi’s unsavoury comments on Sunday Oliseh in his podcast recently? It must be said that Oliseh showed maturity by not honouring Mikel’s uncouth statements with a response.

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    In the last two weeks, Samson Siasia has been stirring the hornet’s nest with his views in the media while reflecting on his tenure as the coach of the different national teams he handled.

    He has called out some of his players. He should be reminded that they would have their day soon in the media for balance. Siasia ought not to have said he could not tolerate Mikel’s stubbornness or was it appropriate for him to have informed his interviewer that he deliberately left out Mikel from his best Nigeria 11. Granted it was his opinion, he ought to have been more diplomatic on the subject.

    Only recently did we read about the cold shoulder the big boys gave to stand-in coach Finidi George for not fielding them the way they would have wished in the team’s last game. Is anyone surprised by the players’ conduct? Well, this writer isn’t. Rather it is one of the reasons foreign managers have an edge in my scale of preference for coaches. The foreign coach would have prepared the big boys to be dropped in the morning before the game. He would have told them his plans and why he would rest them. Our coaches forget that these boys find it difficult to return to their teams’ first 11 if they don’t play for their country’s first team regularly which is why they were recruited in the first instance.

    Peseiro had problems with some of the big boys, whom one of his assistants listed as Ekong, Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Kelechi Iheanacho. The face-off wasn’t so obvious, especially when Ekong as captain, confessed that he wasn’t on speaking terms with Peseiro in the period leading to Nigeria’s participation at the Africa Cup of Nations held in Cote d’Ivoire. Yet, Peseiro gave him the team’s captaincy badge. The Nigerian coach wouldn’t have been as mature in handling the impasse the way Peseiro did. The Nigerian coach would have taken his pound of flesh. He wouldn’t have bothered if he spilled Ekong’s blood to settle scores with the defender. Ekong was rightly adjudged the best player in the competition. The Ivoriens beat Nigeria 2-1 in the final game to lift the trophy.

    Nigerian coaches need to be educated on how to handle such clay pot and rat situations without breaking the pot. Being coach of the Super Eagles isn’t all about playing the game to score goals. It also includes man management among other indices. One would have thought that our former internationals having played for big European teams would have outgrown the pettiness of bruising the younger ones’ ego on the altar of instilling discipline. It has shown clearly that our ex-internationals learned nothing from playing in Europe. Chairman Christian Chukwu didn’t play in Europe but his interpersonal relationship with the new generation of stars was top-notch. He didn’t need to remind them of his exploits as a player for the Green Eagles. Who says that respect doesn’t beget respect? You tell me.

    Playing for the Super Eagles should be the platform to showcase excellence not to exhibit mediocrity. This has been the bane of the team recently. All kinds of players are invited to the team; such all-comers’ tendencies lower the team’s standards soonest. In the past, it was to identify which player to be dropped. Not so anymore. Super Eagles camp is now a sick bay. Players are invited when they aren’t playing for their European teams. The NFF no longer interrogates the team lists submitted by our foreign coaches.

    Countries’ growth in football is measured by the number and quality of home-grown lads. For us, it is the reverse. We chase those discovered and nurtured overseas. Unfortunately, nurseries and academies whose activities are not streamlined by the federation are the ones exposing our local kids through shylock agents to Europe, the Americas, and the Diaspora. What a shame!

  • Professor Gaius Igboeli (1939-2024)

    Professor Gaius Igboeli (1939-2024)

    My hopes are with the Dead; anon

    My place with them will be,

    And I with them shall travel on

    Through all Futurity;

    Yet leaving here a name, I trust,

    That will not perish in the dust.

    The Scholar by Robert Southey

    If I have always admired scholars and professors, Professor Gaius Igboeli would naturally serve as the lightening rod for such enthusiasm. Others such as Professor Wole Soyinka, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Professor Babs Fafunwa, the late Chu Okongwu, Professor Godwin Oshodin, Professor Okonufua, Professor Stella Okunna, Sam Aluko, Patrick Wilmot , Bala Usman  and a host of others endeared me the more to the world of academics and has made me an advocate for better working conditions for members of the academia who I believe have all it takes to rid this country of the numerous challenges besotting its trajectory as a global power.

    Uncle Gaius, whom we fondly called ‘Prof’ was born into the family of late Catechist Joseph Igboeli and was the last of his sons. Gaius we were told showed a love for academics at an early stage. As a child, Gaius would spend hours poring over books in the village library, fascinated by the worlds that lay within their pages. He thus excelled in school, impressing his teachers with his intelligence and drive. Despite the financial struggles his family faced, Gaius never wavered in his commitment to his education.

    This keen interest in learning was encouraged by his parents and Gaius from primary school was to pursue his academic success in Government College Umuahia , a school presently dubbed as the Eton of Nigeria. In GCU, Gaius not only excelled in his subjects, he was also an avid sportsman dominating the sports of football, Hockey (In which he was colored ) and Cricket, another sport he dominated so well that he was the Captain of the cricket team of Government College Umuahia.

    After completing his secondary education, Gaius earned a scholarship to attend the prestigious University of Ibadan, where he proved his mettle by bagging a First Class Honours in Agriculture, an impressive first in the Faculty and that area of study. Upon graduating, he was to further his studies in the prestigious Cornell University, Ithaca New York where he bagged a PhD in Animal Genetics.

    At Cornell, Gaius delved deeply into his academic work, exploring the intersections between animal husbandry, biology and scientific dimensions of that field with an interest in improving the science to the benefit of the newly independent nations of Africa. He pursued a brief stint in Zambia, but was to later return to Nigeria where he took up a lecturing job with the University of Nigeria Nsukka.

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    As an academician, Gauis’s Igboeli’s trajectory was one of many firsts. Within years he had risen to become a professor of Agriculture, establishing himself as an authority in that field and a number of conjoining areas. A number of his works were regularly cited by scholars at home and abroad and he was a regular guest of sister universities where he spoke on ground breaking discoveries in the field of Animal Science as well as agriculture. By 1980 he was appointed as the first Vice Chancellor for the Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, where he also made a name for himself as a brilliant and astute administrator. He was to later return to UNN where he again became Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration. On retirement, the Anglican Community in Anambra needing a firm hand in shaping the future of its newly established university, St Paul’s University in Awka beckoned on Professor Gaius to steer the ship, an assignment he discharged meritoriously.

    Despite his busy schedule, Gaius always made time for his family both nuclear and external. He was a devoted husband and father, cherishing the moments he spent with his wife and children. Gaius was also a beloved mentor to his numerous students, guiding them with wisdom and compassion as they navigated the challenges of academia and life. To say he was a family man is not enough, Gaius Igboeli was a communal leader even though he never aspired for any kind of leadership, yet he was always accessible and his achievements can be seen in the lives of numerous persons from Abagana, Anambra and Nigeria as a whole.

    In addition to his academic work, Gaius was a prolific writer and reader. I recall my numerous discussions with him where he would query a number of  my political leanings. His thinking was characterized by its clarity, rigor, and humanity, capturing the essence of complex ideas in simple and accessible language. Despite his numerous achievements and immense popularity, Prof was never given to the ostentatious and naturally impressed us with his lifestyle.

    In penning this tribute, I cannot claim to have captured half of Prof’s feats in life, like a colossus he irrefragably stood taller than his peers, he was just not only brilliant but he exhibited a robust value system that is lacking in the system today.

    I pay tribute to this soft talking giant, I will surely miss talking to him and seeking his opinion on a number of matters. To his lovely wife, Dr Claribel Igboeli and his wonderful children, I join in grieving but also celebrating a life well spent,  in service to mankind, country and God!

    Note to.my readers: I will continue last week’s series Musings On These Men Of God next week.