The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • PBAT and the security challenge

    PBAT and the security challenge

    When he assumed office as governor of Lagos State in May 1999, the question of chronic insecurity was one of the most severe challenges that then-governor Bola Tinubu’s administration had to confront. It was at a time when banks were routinely robbed across the state with bank customers and staff losing their lives, being injured, or having humongous amounts of money snatched in dare-devil robberies carried out in broad daylight.

    There were incessant communal crises and violence in places like Ajegunle, Mile 12 market, Makoko, and Agege among others. Traffic robberies on the highway were a common occurrence in several parts of the state, a problem compounded by the derelict roads and ancillary traffic control infrastructure, a badly deteriorated environment particularly the menace of abandoned refuse heaps both in the rural and urban areas. Car snatching was also rampant across the state.

    The then governor Tinubu and his team worked round the clock to confound its several critics and lay the foundation for a safe and secure state. When the administration clocked 100 days in office, there were excoriating and scathing reviews of its performance in several newspapers as well as in the electronic media. The critics were not persuaded when the administration responded by stressing that it was impossible to bring about the much desired transformation in several sectors within a three-month timeframe even as it pointed out that it was relentlessly laying the foundation for the emergence of a new Lagos.

    It would appear that President Bola Tinubu thrives more when confronted with crises that compel him to draw on his inner psychological, spiritual, and strategic political resources to navigate treacherous terrain and come out triumphantly again and again.

    At the end, in 2007, of his eight-year tenure as governor in Lagos State, the mega city had evolved into a bastion of security of lives and property, rapid infrastructural transformation, and provision of social services especially to the most vulnerable segments of the population.

    I recall that, despite the hostility of the labour unions to his administration in its early phase due to differences on the national minimum wage, the leaders and members of the unions joined in giving Tinubu a resounding all-day-long farewell reception at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium in the state Secretariat, Alsusa. During his eight-year tenure as governor, President Tinubu ultimately snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and left in a blaze of glory. His successors – Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, and now Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu – have in various ways done commendably well in building on the foundation laid for the state between 1999 and 2007.

    Indeed, President Tinubu’s widely acknowledged exemplary performance as governor in Lagos State played a key role in his victory in the keenly contested elections of February 2023. Many of his admirers and supporters are eagerly praying that he will replicate for Nigeria what he did for Lagos. True, Nigeria is not Lagos even though the mega city has people from virtually all ethnic groups in the country residing and working there.

    The security situation in Lagos State during Tinubu’s tenure as governor was not on the scale being witnessed across the country today. But the same measures, methods, and techniques that were so successful in Lagos can be utilized to decisively end the spate of massive kidnappings in various states all over the country, armed robbery, ritual killings, assassinations communal violence, rampant cultism, Yahoo-Yahoo cyber criminality, albeit with the necessary adjustments that may be required to meet the far greater security challenge at the national level.

    Whenever school children and other people are kidnapped or armed gangs descend on communities burning down houses, burning down farms, killing relentlessly, and raping women, it is not the image of the security high command that is at stake. After all, it is the President who appoints those who occupy these positions and they maintain their positions at his pleasure.

    Since it is President Tinubu’s image, credibility, and capability that is at risk with every act of atrocious criminality successfully carried out and the perpetrators easily get away, then he cannot afford to allow his appointees in these high-security offices to lull into complacency. During the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, there were no consequences for the members of his high-security command no matter how glaring the incidents of criminality that exposed their sheer incompetence.

    After each act of criminality, Buhari would summon his security chieftains, hold meetings with them, and order that the victims of these kidnappers and bandits be rescued urgently. This was the vicious cycle that characterized the Buhari administration with security meetings held, the President’s order issued only for another even more atrocious criminality to occur with the lawless kidnappers demanding ever-increasing amounts of money as ransom and the President giving his wearying orders to his security chieftains to ensure the urgent rescue of those kidnapped. The bandits and kidnappers will surely be having a good laugh in their forest redoubts each time these presidential orders are issued.

    Can it be that the bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements are out-thinking and outflanking our various security agencies? Why is it that the criminals seem to be more proactive in their operations than our highly trained security agencies? Indeed, the operations of the bandits and kidnappers suggest that they are flexible enough to change their tactics as necessitated by unfolding developments. On the other hand, our security agencies have, in my view, adhered rigidly to the same tactics they have used since the commencement of the war against assorted acts of criminality over the last 15 years.

    President Tinubu should be interested in knowing what the humongous sums of money aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our gallant troops at the frontline, was utilized for. It is also no secret that the Buhari administration procured sophisticated weapons, especially aircraft, to enhance the operational efficacy of the military agencies. But why have these measures such as humongous funding of the military and the acquisition of modern weapons for the armed forces not impacted much in our ongoing war against diverse forms of crimes threatening the stability and cohesion of the country?

    We cannot continue to do the same thing repeatedly and yet expect a change, it is often said. President Tinubu’s administration should deviate from the path of the preceding administration in addressing the continually deteriorating security situation. Heads of the various security agencies should be made aware that the retention of their offices will be contingent on a marked improvement in the country’s security situation. Again, what is most glaring is that weak intelligence gathering and utilization is at the root of our security debacle.

    Like so many others have said, it is simply difficult to understand how large numbers of bandits could have attacked a school in Kaduna State, capturing and taking away about 280 school children and members of staff into their nefarious abodes in the forests without being apprehended by security agencies. The bandits are reportedly demanding N1 billion to free their victims within a time frame of 20 days or else they will be killed.

    President Tinubu has rightly said that no ransom will be paid for the release of kidnapped victims by his administration. Ransom payment only gives the criminals the funds to acquire more sophisticated weapons and a greater capacity to wage war against society. But then, with the lives of about 280 persons affected in the Kaduna school children kidnapped under threat, does the government really have sufficient room for maneuver?

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    I can understand the President’s dilemma. In my view, everything should be done to ensure the rescue of all those currently in the kidnappers’ den and then we can begin to plan for a future in which these criminal gangs are thwarted right in their planning period so their plans are nipped in the bud before being actualized. Of course, this will entail an urgent reengineering of the intelligence agencies for more effective delivery in the implementation of their constitutionally stipulated mandates.

    With every successful act of mass kidnapping or sustained attacks by rampaging gangs on villages and farming communities, the ‘stateness’ of the state is drained and it cannot credibly claim that it is the sovereign authority within a geographically defined boundary. When non-state actors brandish sophisticated weapons and, for instance, tax farmers before the latter can access their farms, it can be surmised that the state is withering away.

    This is why the administration needs to move at an accelerated rate to actualize the decentralization of the country’s security architecture, a previously contentious issue that all parts of the country are now supportive of. President Tinubu is well placed to achieve this objective as he has been a champion of deepening federal practice in Nigeria for several years before being elected president.

    Again, during the campaigns, President Tinubu pledged to establish a Forest Guards outfit to sanitize and maintain security in the country’s vast forests. Most of the kidnappings particularly in the northern states take place on highways or schools and the victims taken into forests where the criminals live. Establishment of the Forest Rangers will help in driving criminal elements out of these forests as well as prove to the public that Tinubu has fresh ideas and is willing to think outside the box in finding solutions to our security challenges.

  • BRF and national discourse

    BRF and national discourse

    Unpopular essays. That was the title of a slim collection of ten controversial articles originally published by the famous British Philosopher and Mathematician, Bertrand Russel, in 1950. He chose that title, according to an online resource, because “he argues against errors on both sides of the political landscape, debunking both the left and the right. He thinks his writing is unpalatable to many, possibly the majority, of people”. It is unlikely that many people will find the terse, pungent and blunt submissions of former governor of Lagos State and later Minister of Works, Housing and Power, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), on diverse issues in his newly minted book, ‘Nigerian Public Discourse: The Imperative of Empirical Evidence and Hyperbole’, very palatable.

    In writing this book, the author was obviously not in quest of popularity. He takes on and seeks to demolish popularly accepted notions and canons of what the economist, Kenneth Gailbraith, describes as ‘conventional wisdom’ with cold logic and meticulous empiricism. A compelling read, the intellectual offering runs into 218 pages fragmented into sixteen chapters and three appendices.

    When he addressed a press conference in Lagos on the occasion of the launching of his book, ‘The Strategy and Tactics of the People’s Republic of Nigeria on Friday, 31st July, 1970, Chief Obafemi Awolowo declared that he wrote the book and two other accompanying ones earlier published “to raise the level of our public debate on the subjects discussed in them, from the low and barren depth of inter-personal, inter-ethnic, and inter-party abuse and strife, to an exhilarating height where clearly stated ideals and programmes dominate public attention”.

    Awolowo averred further that “There is too much criminal complacency, intellectual indolence and superficiality in our approach to our many problems. It was also my aim, if possible, to try and rescue the afflicted from these dangerous maladies”. Fashola sets himself a no less lofty and arduous task in this book where he seeks to expose what he believes are no more than fashionable myths masquerading as irrefutable and objective verities.

    Stating the goal of the book in unmistakable terms, he declares “Governance is an earnest affair. Each government policy has the potential to profoundly impact the lives of citizens. Therefore, policy decisions must not be founded on assumptions, suppositions, or statistical facts of dubious origins. This monograph, therefore, endeavours to challenge our collective assumptions regarding various aspects of our country. It’s purpose is to inaugurate a new cohort of INTELLECTUALS who are driven by forensic facts that are both credible and reliable, rather than being swayed by mere populist sentiments”.

    The Austrian political economist, Joseph C. Schumpeter, famously opined that the individual, when functioning in a crowd or mob tends to drop to a lower level of mental performance. This is all too evident in public discourse across the world today with individuals, no matter how eminent or learned, content to follow the easier path of mouthing popular cliches or jumping on the bandwagon of dominant public opinion especially in this age of the hegemony of social media.

    BRF in this book chooses not to follow the maddening crowd. He places on himself the burden of interrogating some of our strongly entrenched beliefs as a nation insisting that they must meet the stringent scrutiny of logic and fidelity to facts. It is a lonely and narrow path. The easier route of swimming along with the majority view, no matter how mistaken , may be broad and smooth but may eventuate in developmental perdition the author insinuates.

    Incidentally, I commenced my reading of the book from Chapter three on ‘The Imperative of Data and Statistical Analysis in Policy Formulation: A Scholarly Examination’ which, in my view, strikes at the thematic core of the author’s dilation. BRF’s central concern is the imperative of accurate data as a necessary condition for correct and appropriate policy formulation as well as effective and efficient implementation. He demonstrates on a variety of critical public policy issues how deficient data or misleading assumptions result in the distortion of policy outcomes and deepen the dilemma of underdevelopment.

    According to the author, “In the current epoch, humanity is ensnared within a global proliferation of data collection, mining and utilization. Data, in its myriad forms, has arguably ascended to the status of the most valuable currency worldwide, yet it is not minted by any nation’s Central Bank. Each sovereign entity is tasked with the generation and accumulation of as much data as it necessitates and the judicious employment thereof”. He argues that it is in the interest of every sovereign jurisdiction to ensure as much as possible the integrity of the data it utilizes in planning for the development of its diverse sectors to achieve accelerated transformational objectives.

    Although the author does not expressly say so, implicit in some of his submissions is the perception that data can be manipulated by vested interests to exaggerate the magnitude of our challenges thus intimidating policy makers as regards the possibility of overcoming them or leading to the acceptance of proposed solutions that serve the purposes of external forces than genuinely address the problems in question.

    In this chapter, for instance, BRF examines the often cited unemployment figures for the country. He contends that the data on unemployment released by the statutory statistical authorities tends to cite a percentage of the whole of the population as unemployed whereas “The fact is that the percentage should should only apply to those who are of working age and should exclude those who have achieved retirement age and those who are minors because we have laws penalizing child Labour”. It is because of the criticality of accurate data to efficient national planning and impactful development that he stresses the urgent necessity of reliable census figures as an indispensable factor in achieving our diverse sectoral objectives.

    As Chief of Staff to the Lagos State governor in 2006, he notes, he was one of those who coordinated the legal challenge at the Census Tribunal of the figure of 9,113,604 recorded by the National Population Commission (NPC) as the population of the mega city state in that year’s census exercise. Despite the invalidation of the census figures in about 11 local government areas of Lagos State by the Census Tribunal, he states, the NPC has not adjusted the population figures of Lagos State to reflect the figures determined by the Tribunal.

    According to him, “The current reality is that every development decision within the nation has been, and continues to be, predicated upon the contested 2006 census. This figure has also served as the foundation for all population estimates since that time. This situation casts significant doubts about the accuracy, or lack thereof, of population estimates and developmental decisions based on this 2006 population figure”. Incidentally, the non-implementation of the Census Tribunal’s amendment of population figures in 11 local governments of Lagos State has, curiously, escaped the attention of the media.

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    BRF raises a number of critical queries as regards current census estimates extrapolated from the 2006 figures as the baseline. Could the country’s population realistically have risen to surpass the over 200 million mark as currently claimed within a fourteen-year period from 2006? How can the claims of geometric population growth be reconciled with the apparently declining birth rate particularly among the emerging generation?

    Analyzing the attributed population size further, he states that “It is an incontrovertible fact that Nigeria has a youthful population. However, how many young couples are having more than three children in the past two decades on a scale of one to ten? How swiftly are these young people settling down and how many offspring are they producing to suggest that even in the absence of a census, the growth has remained constant at 3%”.

    He continues, “The argument being advanced here is that a census represents the most realistic methodology to delineate the size of the population and the demography across age and gender. In the absence of a credible census, the country is susceptible to encountering data which could be manipulated to accommodate whatever purpose suits the originator”.

    In another chapter, the author focuses his attention on the conclusion by the “Brookings Institute Report on Global Poverty” that “Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world”. This is a claim routinely and reflexively echoed by large sections of a seemingly uncritical Nigerian intelligentsia but which BRF subjects to close scrutiny. Of course, he does not deny that there is abysmal and unacceptable level of poverty in Nigeria. According to him, “Let me clear that my comments do not suggest that there is no poverty: Poverty is a global phenomenon which every society tries to manage and reduce. But given what I know about India and Nigeria, I was curious about the conclusions in the “Brookings Institute Report on Global Poverty Poverty” that Nigeria is the “Poverty Capital bog the World”.

    Fashola’s position, I surmise, is that the problem of poverty can be tackled seriously, as indeed it is in diverse ways, without exaggerating the scale, demeaning the self-esteem of Nigerians or assaulting their psyche. There are, surely, some Nigerians who take sadistic pleasure in constantly re-echoing negative narratives and portraitures of their country. This book indicates that BRF is not one of them and he is unapologetic about it. Rather, he brings a scientific mindset and a logistician’s disposition to dissecting the labeling of Nigeria as the ‘poverty capital of the world’.

    Is it true, he asks for instance, that the average Nigerian subsists on less than one dollar a day as some experts and institutions who measure the level of deprivation in this and other countries claim? He submits that “Another limitation of the one-dollar-a-day fallacy is that it fails to appreciate the purchasing power of the national currency vis-a-vis the dollar. While it might be practically impossible to purchase anything of value with two dollars in the United States, a full meal could be purchased with N1,000 in Nigeria”.

    Continuing, he contends that “…in the United States, a 0.33 litre bottle of Coke is sold for USD1.89 whereas the same 0.33 litre bottle of Coke is sold, pre-unification of the Naira, for USD0.32 in Nigeria. In effect, the cost of one bottle of Coke in the United States could purchase about 6 bottles in Nigeria then. Thus, whether it is assessed from the perspective of cultural relativity or from the prism of purchasing power, the claim of living in less than one or two dollars per day is of no help in determining the poverty or otherwise of the average Nigerian”.

    For him, the data proffered as regards the poverty indices in Nigeria are not adequately informed by a proper understanding and appreciation of the realities of the Nigerian economy within its socio-cultural context. “Even if telephone usage is employed as a rudimentary metric, the average Nigerian expends more than a dollar on telecommunication activities such as voice calls, text messages and data usage daily” he argues. He points out that, unlike western societies where the individual subsists on his monthly paycheck, the natural, cultural and social support system of the African family constitutes the backbone of the economy.

    “In addition to their pay-cheque”, he posits, “the average Nigerian has access to a robust network of social support on an informal basis. However, this is discounted in computing the disposable income of an average citizen to what is formally earned as income”. It is an urgent imperative, he suggests, that an exhaustive study be conducted to determine the actual dimension and reality of the poverty challenge in Nigeria within the context of the traditional, extended family support system and “Only then can the development of policies and interventions that are truly reflective of the needs and aspirations of the people begin”.

    Whether he is dissecting the claim that Nigeria has a housing deficit of 17 or 20 million; the statistics on out-of-school children in the country; the corrosive menace of corruption; the quantity of electricity generated for the population; the constitution as the alleged fundamental problem of Nigeria; the duties and responsibilities of the citizen; or the endlessly contentious issue of minimum wage etc, BRF is surgical in his approach and brings a rigorously critical mind to his mission. He forces the reader to consider factors beyond the conventional and generally accepted as the real challenges behind our problems. This literary work is a voyage in courage. It takes boldness and a steely disposition to challenge entrenched beliefs and mindsets. The fervent patriotism of the author is evident even though he does not deny his country’s weaknesses and failings.

    It was the Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, who in his interview with the journalist, John Agetua, in the early 70s described literature as a hand grenade which you detonate under a stagnant way of perceiving reality. This book with logic and facts as it’s weapons seeks to jolt contributors to public discourse out of stultifying complacency. The author eschews emotion in his application of cold reason and logic to his examination of public policy reminding one of Awolowo’s famous quip in his interview by the great Peter Enahoro that ‘electricity has no feeling’.

    Someone who once watched a BRF interview on television told me he thought the often dispassionate lawyer was “intellectually arrogant”. That was an accusation that was often leveled against Awolowo who always responded by saying he worked very hard to arrive at his position on issues and only superior arguments could change his mind. This book should stimulate intense debate, add value to public policy conception and implementation and enhance the quality of public discourse.

  • Thoughts on the Oronsaye report

    Thoughts on the Oronsaye report

    The Oronsaye Report, officially known as the Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions, and Agencies, was a comprehensive review of government agencies and the duplication of functions and roles within them in Nigeria. The report which was aimed at streamlining  government’s operations, the reduction of costs, and improved efficiency. However, since its release in 2012, the implementation of these recommendations has faced several challenges.

    Some of the key recommendations of the report include merging, scrapping, or privatizing some government agencies to streamline operations and cut costs. However, the implementation of the report has been slow and faced with challenges.

    One of the major issues with implementing the Oronsaye Report has been the resistance from government agencies. Many of these agencies have vested interests in maintaining the status quo, as it allows them to continue receiving funding and resources. These agencies often lobby against any attempts to merge or abolish them, citing their unique mandates and the importance of their services. This resistance has made it difficult for the government to follow through on the recommendations of the report.

    Another challenge is the lack of political will to implement the recommendations. Many government agencies have powerful backers within the political class who are unwilling to see them dissolved or merged. In some cases, agencies have been retained for political patronage, with officials using them to reward political allies or secure votes in elections. This has created a situation where implementing the report would mean going against powerful interests, making it politically risky for the government to take action.

    Financial constraints have also posed a challenge to the implementation of the Oronsaye Report. While the report recommended cost-saving measures such as merging agencies and eliminating duplication, the initial costs of restructuring and the potential loss of revenue from abolished agencies have raised concerns about the feasibility of the recommendations. The government has been reluctant to invest in the necessary resources to implement the report, especially in the face of competing priorities and limited funding.

    Another issue with implementing the Oronsaye Report is the lack of a clear roadmap and timeline for reform. The report provided recommendations for rationalizing and restructuring government agencies, but it did not outline a detailed plan for how these recommendations would be implemented or when they would be completed. This lack of clarity has made it difficult for stakeholders to understand the process and track progress, leading to uncertainty and confusion about the government’s commitment to the reforms.

    Lastly, the legal and regulatory framework for implementing the recommendations of the Oronsaye Report is inadequate. Many government agencies are governed by legislation that would need to be amended or repealed in order to merge or abolish them. This process is time-consuming and complex, requiring legislative approval and political consensus. Without a clear legal pathway for implementing the recommendations, the government has struggled to make meaningful progress on the report’s reforms.

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    However asides these challenges there are schools of thought that believe that the said report may be incongruous with today’s realities, these thoughts hold that a thorough implementation of the report will not address the main issues such as  the cost of governance as believed some years back.

    Take for example, the report has called for the

    The National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) is to be subsumed under the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), but why should the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission  (ICRC) be merged with the Bureau of Public Enterprise and be renamed as Public Enterprises and Infrastructural Concession Commission?

    Why should a super agency like the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) with it’s superb acheivments in the area of pensions be  scrapped while its functions will be taken over by the federal ministry of finance?

    I need explanations on why a commission as instrumental to the guaranteeing of our basic rights that is the  National Human Rights Commission  be merged with the Public Complaints Commission?

    Again, why do we think that just merging agencies without plans to rationalize will help reduce costs of governance and aid efficiency in the public service, yes it may reduce the duplication of functions but then we would still be left with that bloatedness which initially informed the major reason for setting up the Oronsaye Committee. Such bloatedness naturally sees workers who aren’t effective in their places of work continue to  drain the state of it’s resources, resources which would have profitably  gone into other areas, sectors or ministries, herein lies the notion that implementing wholly the Oronsaye report is not in tandem with the present times.

    The task therefore before the Senator George Akume  Committee will be to carry out a  surgical implementation of the report , taking into cognizance the need to enhance the effectiveness of the service without reaping for the nation certain consequences that may further destroy the nation’s civil service.

    May Nigeria Succeed!

  • Herbert Wigwe: Tributes, paradoxes and revelations

    Herbert Wigwe: Tributes, paradoxes and revelations

    In the literary world, the greatest dirge ever written has to be that of Mark-Anthony in Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar.  The power of figures of speech was evident in the funeral speech of Marc Anthony as he stirred the people to mutiny through the powerful and effective use of words. The irony was that the conspirators that killed Julius Ceasar had warned him not to indict them in his speech. His effective use of sarcasm, metaphors, personifications and repetitions stirred the crowd and helped him emotionally connect to the people so powerfully that the conspirators were run out of town.

    It is therefore on record that in death in most cultures around the world, the living pay tributes to the dead through poetry, prose, music and dance. The intensity of any of the chosen art forms is determined by the status of the dead. As Shakespeare again wrote, “When beggars die, there are no comets seen, the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes”.

    This Shakespearean idiom was in full display as the family, friends, workers, business partners, colleagues and staff of Access Holdings and other companies the late Herbert  Wigwe had interests in pulled all stops to honour his memory, that of his wife Chizoba and their son Chizi’s in an almost week-long funeral obsequies.  Very few tragedies come close to the loss of three members of the same family in such a tragic circumstance. Herbert was well known in the financial circles due to his work ethic and patriotism.

    And so the tributes poured in from across the globe and many were held spellbound by the depth of his friendships, love, kindness, generosity, financial acumen, diversity and as many noted, fearlessness. However, the tributes formed a bouquet and have been as inspiring as it has been awesome. The Roundtable Conversation cannot remember any Nigeria that has been mourned with such intensity and whose influence and humanity was so borderless they expose the deepest hypocrisies of most of the Nigerian political class.

    Nigeria last year emerged from one of the most polarized elections in the country’s history. In Lagos state especially, there were instances of bigotry seemingly fueled or tolerated by politicians. Some tribal sentiments were easily whipped up and manipulated for electoral victories. Some people were stigmatized for their ancestry which of course stems from lack of wisdom as no human chooses where or who to be born by or what tribe to come from. There were exclusions, beatings and killings due to ethnic bigotry. Some voters were even prevented from voting for their preferred candidates in certain areas of the country.

    Even in some states like the South East, things as seemingly insignificant as geographic sub-communities like Enugu East Vs Enugu North were weaponized and have always been weaponized by politicians.  In states like Imo and Anambra, innocuous issues like Christian denominations of Catholicism and Anglican are manipulated by politicians to divide voters and set them against each other for the benefit of politicians.

    In the Northern part of the country that is predominantly of the Islamic faith, there is often a manipulation based on the religious sects. So sometimes, there are skirmishes between Sunnis and Shiites that in some ways, it baffles the world. In the Middle belt, there are issues between so called indigenes and settlers. The present bloodbaths in Jos has a long history traceable to socio-political manipulations by politicians. In the South South,  the struggle for the control of oil wealth pits the minority tribes against each other with some political colorations.

    And so, a Herbert Wigwe from the diverse tributes seems to hold a mirror even from his grave to each Nigerian of any tribe, religion, gender or even status. What value do you bring to humanity? What value do you bring to your professional and private lives? Wigwe is from the Igbo speaking area of Rivers state. He was born in Lagos island maternity and in governor  Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s tribute, he said that having been born in Lagos island, if there was a system of granting citizenship, a Wigwe would have been granted the citizenship of Lagos. In his words; 

    “Herbert was my friend, my brother, my adviser. He told me, we believe in you, we trust you, go ahead and change the face of Lagos, that’s my brother Herbert Wigwe…Herbert was one of the very first people that supported my ambition generously. We are all one big family now, Herbert has indeed transcended beyond borders, completely detribalized having the Nigerian story in his heart…we will cherish what he stood for, what he believed in and Lagos will not forget Herbert Wigwe”. He recounted their long friendship that preceded their individual successes in banking or politics.

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       Another remarkable tribute was that of the 14th Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.  Wigwe’s death seemingly brought out the human in him. Decked in his royal regalia, he was overpowered by emotions as he delivered his very heartfelt tribute. Again, a dead Herbert holds a mirror of our shared humanity to us. Corporate positions, political offices, tribes, religion, royalty, peasant, gender and all other ‘manufactured differences’ seemingly disappear when our/others’ humanity comes first.

    The tears of the former Emir came from a deep sense of grief from losing a very dear friend turned ‘brother’ who was there at his highest and  lowest. He recounted how over the years they had become family. It was not a predatory relationship. It was a mutually beneficial relationship beyond the corporate financial world. He recounted his admiration for the professionalism of Herbert and his business partner, Aigboje Aig-imoukhuede who have shown capacity and leadership from their days as mangers at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) till now.

    Emir Sanusi put value to a friendship that defied religion, region and tribe. The story of how Herbert and Aig-Imoukhede his closest friend showed friendship after he was deposed as Emir of Kano in 2020 by then governor Abdullahi  Umar Ganduje. Herbert  and his partner had displayed real friendship by rehabilitating the family in Lagos and provided the emotional support money cannot buy to both him and his children. The bond of family was so deep that his expectations were that he would likely die before Herbert being his senior in age. He was hoping that his kindness has shown him that his children in the event of his passing would be taken care of.

    Some people might erroneously assume that the kindness shown to the former Emir was based on corporate reciprocity but the diverse tributes from even beyond Nigeria shows the human and humane angles of the late Wigwe. There are still people who do not appreciate friendship no matter how much they had benefitted from others. Politicians easily forget the voters once elections are won and lost. They merely come back during the next election.

    The Roundtable Conversation feels that tragic as death is always inspite of the status of the dead, it brings our mortality closer and should make us more introspective. Primarily, Wigwe is of Igbo ancestry despite the political boundaries of state creation.  But moving tributes came from more people from other parts of Nigeria and even outside than anywhere else. The  stories of his interactions and love for family and friends where all similar.

    His humanity shone through. His humility and empathy ran through most of the tributes. It’s quite ironic that while most people knew him for his professional banking accomplishments, his death even endeared him to more people because he was not advertising his accomplishments, his actions of love spoke for him. His behavior again gives credit to his aged parents. His father, Pastor Shyngle Wigwe was popular for his sterling public service at the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

    Most public officers in Nigeria especially politicians tend to have dysfunctional families because of the lack of personal values of most parents who often feel that material provisions are all children need in the 21st century.  Herbert himself has demonstrated that he is a chip of the old block. His admirable family orientation prepared him to become a good son, brother, husband and father. The testimonies of almost everyone included how dutiful he was as a son, husband and father.

    It was not therefore surprising that he succeeded both professionally and in his private life. He showed exceptional sense of leadership that most public office holders lack, reason why poor leadership is the bane of Nigeria’s development.  He equipped himself for all the tasks he accomplished academically and otherwise. On the contrary, most people just waggle through their ways and leave a trail of incompetence and inertia behind.

    The Roundtable dedicates this page to the memory of Herbert Wigwe and his wife, Chizoba and son Chizzy. Their tragic deaths should leave us the living with eternal lessons about the choices we make in our little corners. It is not just about Herbert’s humanity, that of others shone through too, he had loyal and loving family, friends, partners, colleagues and subordinates and it is uplifting to see that most of these people were very humane, loyal and loving as well.

    The tributes from all classes of people remind us of our own humanity, no office or position imbues anyone with certain values like empathy, charity, love and patriotism, it is the individual who makes choices and impacts on their world starting from family to community and nation. Wigwe’s love for humanity and  education inspired his philanthropy and the establishment of the Wigwe University, a project many of his friends and family have vowed to see to fruition. It is a legacy that remains his epitaph.

    The Roundtable hopes Nigerians especially  politicians, many of who were at the various Nights of Tributes would have a change of heart and understand that at the end of life, the only thing that stands in your name are the actions that positively impacted humanity not your tribe of religion.

    May the dead find peace and their families and friends, comfort. Adieu.

    The dialogue continues…

  • Politics of state creation

    Politics of state creation

    Opinion is divided on the agitation for state creation. To many people, it is a call for the proliferation of states. It thus becomes undesirable and unviable because of the economic realities of such persons.

    But to those who believe the creation of new states will be the answer to their yearnings, the push is legitimate and desirable. To such persons, having new states will redress grievances arising from their perceived structural imbalance in the federation and marginalisation in their present states where they are lumped with other non-compatible ethnic groups without linguistic affinity, contiguity, and cultural assimilation.

    There are many Nigerians who see the periodic constitutional amendment as a peculiar jamboree, a waste of time, energy, and public resources. To them, it is a fantasy and an exercise in futility. But they did not come to this conclusion without reason. Perhaps, it is because civilian administrations in the Second and Fourth republics were unable to create states, unlike the military, due to some impediments.

    Predictably, no region is leaving anything to chance. In the Southwest, old provinces and divisional councils are calling for an upgrade into states. In Ogun State, Ijebu and Remo divisions want a separate Ijebu State to be carved out of the Gateway State. In Oyo, Ibadan, and Ibarapa districts are mobilising support for the birth of Ibadan State.

    In Lagos State, some political leaders from the coastal areas are promoting the cause of Lagoon State.

    The leaders and people of Ile-Ife and parts of Ijesa are rooting for Oduduwa State.

    In the Southsouth, there is agitation for a New Rivers State. In the Southeast, some people want Wawa and Anioma states, while in Benue State, there are agitations for two new states.

    There are arguments for and against the creation of new states. For example, the Southeast is aggrieved that it has been shortchanged by what the indigenes call the lopsided distribution of states whereby the Northwest has seven states and the other four regions have six each. In contrast, the entire Igbo land has only five.

    Revenue allocation is majorly based on the number of states, which are federating units. The implication is that fewer resources, compared to other regions, are channelled to the Southeast. However, those who oppose this argument point out that a state in the Northwest, Niger, is bigger than the entire Southeast in land mass. Also, the population of Southeast cannot match other regions.

    The strength of federally-run countries lies in the sub-national units of government that are coordinate with the distant central government. States connote a sort of autonomy as they legislate on residual items in the federal constitution which prescribes that the national government can legislate on the Exclusive List, while both the central and state governments can legislate on the Concurrent List.

    The general principle of state creation also relates to the legitimate agenda for identity preservation and concern for the peculiarities in a highly heterogeneous country. More importantly, it is generally believed that state creation will bring government closer to the people.

    The post-independence era has been characterised by the intense clamour for more states. However, the only region that was democratically created was the Midwest. It was created after a plebiscite. Yet, the minorities of Edo, Itsekiti, Uhrobo, Ijaw, Isoko, and others who started cohabiting in the region remained distinctive. The mutual suspicion and fear of domination persisted. Evidently, the real reason the Midwest was created was to reduce the sphere of influence of the Leader of Federal Opposition, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. While a region was carved out of the West, the prayers of the minorities in the North and East for new states were rejected.

    Awo did not oppose state creation. He was irritated by the refusal of the Prime Minister to also carve out states from the expansive Northern Region.

    The next exercise was during the outbreak of the Civil War. The then military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, created 12 states out of the four regions. He also appointed military governors to administer them. It was a ploy to weaken the secession bid of the Biafran warlord in the old Eastern State, Col. Emeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu.

    Since then, the agitations for more states have intensified. The pattern of creation was lopsided, as the old Northern Region had more states than other regions. Besides, some Ekiti/Igbomina/Ebolo Yoruba towns were merged with other tribes to forcefully fuse with the old Northwestern State (in today’s Kwara and Kogi states).

    Since the premise was also population or numerical strength, the census became a casualty of the intense struggle. Thus, since then, the headcounts were usually rigged, thereby rendering the figures useless as they could not be used for proper revenue allocation and other relevant political and economic parameters.

    In 1976, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, who toppled Gowon in a bloodless coup, created a 19-state structure. During the exercise, more local governments and federal constituencies were also created, based on the numerical strengths of the states.

    The trend showed that state creation had become a major characteristic of military rule. States were created by force by the soldiers in power. To that extent, some of the states were products of imposition.

    In the Second Republic, moves to create more states did not bear fruits. There was no consensus to determine the number of people living in any particular area.

    The elite are coordinating the battle. Thus, observers perceive a hidden agenda. Although the agitators hinge their struggles on the need for easy administration and development, the  belief is that the elite are clamouring for more access to power and resources through state creation. They derive motivation from the fact that, if state creation is possible, each of the six geo-political zones will benefit from the exercise. Therefore, they are leaving nothing to chance.

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    The prayers of state creation champion were marginally answered by self-styled military President Ibrahim Babangida, who, on September 23, 1987, created two states: Akwa Ibom and Katsina. On August 27, 1991, he also created nine more states: Abia, Enugu, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi, Osun, Kogi, Taraba, and Yobe, bringing the number of states to 30.

    Indisputably, the agitation for state capitals was also a divisive issue, which the military tackled with an iron hand. Objectivity was sometimes jettisoned as personal interest took the central stage. While the Justice Irikefe Panel recommended Sagamu as capital of Ogun State, top military officers preferred Abeokuta. Some towns became state capitals as part of rewards for military attainments and gifts to in-laws. Some villages, hamlets, and streets were named headquarters of local governments to please traditional rulers and other military lackeys and confederates.

    The maximum military ruler, the late General Sani Abacha, who shoved aside the inept Interim National Government (ING), led by Ernest Shonekan, created six more states on October 1, 1996. This followed the recommendations of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) on the need to ensure balance in the number of states in each geo-political zone. Consequently, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Nasarawa, Zamfara, Gombe, and Ekiti states came into being. More local government areas were also created. Unlike the previous exercise, the states were not given any take-off grant. They shared the same allocation with their “parent states”.

    After the 1996 creation of additional states, reality dawned on the South that the North had profited more. This has led to a feeling of injustice, inequality, and lack of equity. For example, while Lagos has 20 local governments, the old Kano State, which comprised Kano and Jigawa states, has 76 local governments.

    Two problems thrown up by state and local government creation are asset sharing and boundary dispute. These problems generated bitterness and unleashed tension, with contiguous communities being decimated by incessant violent clashes.

    State creation under a civilian government is a hectic exercise. The obstacles are always insurmountable. These have reinforced the feeling that the federal legislators who are warming up for another round of piecemeal constitutional amendment may be chasing shadows.

    The states and local governments are listed in the 1999 Constitution. Therefore, any constitutional amendment targeted at creating more states is likely to meet a brick wall due to the regression to the subsisting North-South dichotomy and lack of consensus.

    Besides, so tedious is the process that the concurrence of two-thirds of 36 states is required for constitutionalamendment on core matters germane to the structure of the country. It is a tall order.

    But, how viable are the states?

    The majority of them can hardly survive on their own without federal allocation. There is lack of creativity by some state governments as they fail to explore alternative avenues for revenue generation. Governance in many states is at a low ebb with some governors converting their states into fiefdoms where they rule as Lords of the Manor. They delude themselves into thinking that the mandate conferred on them translates to the ownership, monopolisation, manipulation, and abuse of state resources. Thus, many states are not fulfilling the dreams of their “founding fathers” who fought many battles for their creation.

    A shortcut to meeting the yearnings for state creation is the creation of additional local governments, which some governors have attempted through the creation of Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). Through this approach, marginalised towns and ethnic groups can receive succour and achieve a sense of belonging.

  • As ECOWAS flunks democracy’s

    As ECOWAS flunks democracy’s

    The recent and erroneous decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to lift sanctions on Niger Republic is naturally bound to have a plethora of  far-reaching consequences for the military governed country and the region as a whole.

    Niger has been at the receiving end of a number of sanctions issued by the regional body  since its military forces overthrew the President Mohammed Bazoum administration last year. ECOWAS, which had much asserted it’s authority by enforcing it’s list of sanctions in which it had  hoped  to force the hand of the regime and reinstate the deposed Bazoum to.power took the policy summersault to the chagrin of a number of democracy enthusiasts who believe that there is nothing to gain from rapprochement with the unconstitutional government in Niger.

      While ECOWAS has cited the need for stability and cooperation as it’s justification for  its decision, the move has raised serious concerns about the organization’s commitment to promoting democracy and good governance.

    Let us explore the various consequences of such a  decision to lift sanctions on Niger.

    ECOWAS may have sent the signal to other nations within its sphere of influence that it is ok for countries to jettison the democratic form of governance for other less constitutional alternatives. By lifting sanctions on Niger, ECOWAS is effectively condoning the country’s democratic backsliding and sending a message that member states can flout democratic norms without  any consequences, setting perhaps a return to the dark days of the 70’s ,80’s and 90’s when a number of African nations, most particularly West African states were under the unimpressive regimes of the military boys.

    Then there is the issue of regional stability and security, with Niger located in a region marred by conflict, terrorism, and instability. The junta’s  crackdown on opposition and civil society groups could exacerbate tensions and create  breeding grounds for extremism and violence. ECOWAS’s decision may indirectly help fuel such  discontent and instability in the region, which could inturn have immense spillover effects on neighboring countries.

    ECOWAS via this volte face may have dealt its legitimacy as a regional organisation with the goal of promoting democracy, good governance, and regional integration in West Africa a moral blow, it’s failure to hold these member states accountable may seriously jeopardise it’s standing amongst other regional bodies and world powers. It further risks losing the trust and support of civil society groups, human rights organizations, and democratic advocates in the region undermining much the organization’s ability to effectively address regional challenges and promote peace and stability in West Africa.

    This sets a very  dangerous precedent and basically  undermines efforts to hold governments accountable for their actions. It also weakens the credibility of ECOWAS as a regional organization committed to promoting democracy and good governance.

    Some have even cited that the decision to lift sanctions on Niger could have been based on a number of economic reasons, if this is true then this can then be seen as inadvertently rewarding a government with a questionable human rights record and sending a message that economic interests take precedence over human rights and democratic principles. This could undermine efforts to promote good governance and rule of law in the region, hindering the growth of a number of institutions and downplaying the importance of democratic norms in a region such as ours.

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    While it is a commonly observed that on a number of occasions sanctions barely hurt the ruling classes who are the major targets of such sanctions but the rest of the population, what the West African regional body could have done was to fine-tune the sanctions as well as strengthen to their enforcement of such to deal more blows to the junta making it weaker and much more vulnerable to pressure from the regional body.

    Yes, Democracy’s cynics might thumb their noses at the type of democracy we practice in these climes, insisting that since we barely have democracy in these governments which profess to being a democracy, then the only option is to seek alternatives such as military rule, these persons haven’t sat down to count the costs of human rights abuses and the suppression of liberties lending credence to.that Churchilllian quote which says that ” Democracy is the Worst Form of Government but it is better than any other form of government.

    Besides these it is important to point out that democracy as a process is hindered every time it is interrupted, making its gains ineligible, can we imagine where Nigeria would have been without the interruptions of 1966,1983 and 1993?

    Niger  which has been repeatedly facing political turmoil in recent years, including a military coup in 2020 that ousted former President Mahamadou Issoufou is an example of the consequences of such interventions, ECOWAS however has chosen to sleep in the same bed with the junta flunking Democracy’s chances in this part of West Africa.

    We should also be ready to engage the likes of Mali,Burkina Faso and Guinea parting them.lighlty on the hands.

    By flouting its own democratic principles and rewarding a government with a questionable human rights record, ECOWAS has undermined its credibility as a regional organization committed to promoting democracy and good governance. This decision sets a dangerous precedent and sends a troubling message to other member states that they can get away with flouting democratic norms without consequence.

    Sad.

  • Who are those calling for coup?

    Who are those calling for coup?

    All Nigerians cannot be afflicted by collective amnesia. They could not have easily forgotten the pains of oppression and repression inflicted by jingoistic dictators. The scars of militarism have not healed. The memory of dictatorial brutality still haunts our collective psyche. The poser is: what prompted some Nigerians into suggesting the intervention of the military to resolve a transient economic crisis? Who are those calling for coups?

    In 1970, shortly after the civil war, former ceremonial President Nnamdi Azikiwe, who spoke at a symposium in Lagos, described military regime as the rule of impostors. Universally, the mandate of the military is never from the people. To whom are they (soldiers) accountable? Azikiwe queried.

    There is no accountability to the constitution and the people by those who rely on the barrels of the gun. It is a colossal assault on democracy.

    Despite the fact that many political leaders, particularly elected and appointed office holders, have not learnt their lessons – as they have continued to indulge in profligacy, theft, and graft in high places – their displacement by soldiers is not an option. Indeed, it is archaic to rejoice at the forceful seizure of power or at the hearing of martial music followed by a hoarse voice calling: “Fellow Nigerians”.

    In the current circumstance, it is gratifying that the highest military hierarchy has disowned the advocates of power hijack and reiterated the Armed Forces’ determination to tackle insecurity, defend Nigeria’s sovereignty, and the nation’s territorial integrity.

    The problem with a coup is that it breeds more coups and there will be instability.

    Barely six years after independence, some young military officers posed as modernisers and tried to convince Nigerians that they were driven by puritanical zeal. Some scholars even celebrated the putsch as an act of patriotism.

    The coup failed and senior officers capitalised on it to seal the fate of civilian leadership. Instead of clearing the mess, they compounded it through their own agenda, aptly driven by the craving for power, political relevance, and scramble for the state’s resources.

    The Head of State, Major-General Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, was in want of political experience. He leaned on some technocrats and scholars from his own part of the country and was advised to abolish federalism and impose unitary system through his faulty unification decree. Aguiyi-Ironsi, popularly called Ironside, acquiesced to the suggestion, and it dug the pit into which he and his government later fell.

    Already, there were complaints that the coup of 1966 had an ethnic connotation. Of the five majors, only one was Yoruba. Others were from the old Midwest and old Eastern regions, bounded by ethnic ties. While Northern, Southwest, and Itsekiri political leaders and Army officers were killed, those from the tribe of the coup leaders were spared.

    The military became a casualty at that point. It lost its unity, cohesion, and purpose. Barely six months after the first coup, some Northern officers staged a retaliatory coup to avenge the killing of their kinsmen. The retaliatory coup heralded a succession crisis.

    Since tribalism had crept into the military, the next in rank to Ironsi, Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe, was rejected. As General Yakubu “Jack” Gowon was assuming the reins, the military Governor of Eastern State, Colonel Emeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu, rejected him, insisting that the subsisting succession pattern should be followed.

    Within a year of military rule, a civil war was foisted on the country by its soldiers. It lasted three years. Many people died. Families were displaced and dislocated. A lot of resources went down the drain. Many soldiers perished. Up to now, Igbo land, which was the battlefield, has not recovered. The animosity has not disappeared either. A full national integration is still a tall order.

    After ruling for nine years with the help of experienced politicians, some of whom later took part in the corruption that further created a hollow in the records of military regimes in the seventies, General Gowon refused to leave office. He shifted the handover date.

    The third coup, led by General Murtala Ramat Muhammed and some other officers, was bloodless. But six months later, Colonel Bukar Suka Dimka and his gang assassinated the Head of State.

    Through his “retirement and dismissal with effect” whereby many honest, decent and promising young civil servants, including university lecturers who were dreaded as leftist ideologues, were swept by the wave of retrenchment, the Murtala Muhammed regime cowed and shattered the civil service. Consequently, civil servants jettisoned time-tested professional ethics and started to cut corners, thinking that their career stability could not be guaranteed. It was ironic because, following the coups, the civil service had to be positioned as a dependable ally of military rulers.

    The first 13 years of military rule were full of anguish, drama, superimposed theoretical stability and hypocritical transition to civil rule guided by several decrees from the Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, who said the best presidential candidate might not win the 1979 election.

    Either by design or predetermined accident, the military returned four years after, in 1983, following the failure of the civilian regime of Alhaji Shehu Shagari to live up to expectation.

    The second phase of military rule was full of horror. From January 1984 to August 1993, Nigeria suffocated under the rule of jackpot. Military decrees outlawed basic human rights. The media, which the soldiers knew could be a threat, became their target for liquidation. When reporters sought to know the position of the Head of State, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari on press freedom, he said: “I am going to tamper with that.” Decrees Two and Four were used to terrorise reporters. Some went to jail. Others were unjustly detained.

    Also, when a reporter asked when he intended to return power to civilians, Buhari said he had no plan. After a few seconds, he said: “May be, after 10 years.”

    Such was the nature of the military. Soldiers had a morbid fear of the ballot box.

    Due to the highhandedness of the regime, it was toppled by those who later did not fare better. The gap-toothed successor, military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida always beamed an infectious at a nation he held captive with subterfuge. He became an inveterate military fabulist who hoodwinked the nation into the false belief that he was in office for Nigerians. It became evident that Babangida was overstaying his welcome in office. The military leader took Nigeria on an experimental journey that led to nowhere. Nicknamed the Evil Genius and Maradona, IBB, as he was popularly called, pretended for over eight years as a man of the people and went on a wild goose chase.

    As politicians and civil society groups challenged him to a duel, he bought more time with a dubious transition programme, shifting the handover date three times. He banned, unbanned, and banned vociferous political actors, lawyers, and rights activists.

    IBB survived a phantom coup, allegedly masterminded by his long-standing friend, General Mamman Vatsa, and the Major Gideon Okar putsch.

    As the clamour for transfer of power intensified, the military president imposed two political parties – Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC) – on Nigerians. The manifestos were drawn up by the military.

    The last straw that broke the camel’s back was the criminal annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election. The National Electoral Commission (NEC), chaired by Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, conducted a free and fair election. But the transition programme was truncated. It became a waste of time, energy, and huge financial and human resources; it was a national flop.

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    Babangida boasted that although he did not know who would succeed him, he knew those who would not. He also boasted that he was not only in office but also in power. That posturing reflected his reluctance to honestly dispense a self-acquired power and mandate secured by tricks, cajoling, and deceit.But, power, although alluring and intoxicating, is nevertheless transient. IBB was compelled to step aside in ignominy.

    But he had foisted on the country an inept and illegal Interim National Government (ING), led by the late Chief Ernest Shonekan, who was effortlessly shoved aside by General Sani Abacha, whom IBB deliberately left behind.

    Abacha had been a principal actor in all the coups that occurred post-Second Republic. His voice ricocheted throughout the country as a soldier of fortune. He gave tonnes of reasons for toppling every government and midwifing a new one in his broadcasts after each coup.

    Of all the military dictators, Abacha was the most difficult and complex. He successfully manipulated the divided political class to an advantage, stabilised his regime, used and dumped politicians and tightened his grip on the country. The hope of revalidating the June 12 poll results became illusory. In a twinkle of an eye, the maximum ruler mooted the idea of transmuting from khaki to babanriga.

    It was an era of state-organised bombings and killing of pro-democracy crusaders who were in the trenches. Civil rule agitators were falsely accused of plotting coups. Once they were roped in, prison was their next destination, if they were not hanged.

    Abacha cowed Nigerians into submission. He raised a team of chorus singers, lackeys, and confederates who campaigned for self-perpetuation.

    Also, he turned attention to the media, closing down newspaper houses, detaining editors and trying innocent people for phantom coups. Over two decades after his sudden demise, the Federal Government is still recovering Abacha loot, which runs into billions of naira. Military regimes became more corrupt than the civilian authorities they upstaged.

    After Abacha passed on and General Abdulsalami Abubakar began the implementation of his transition programme, old soldiers who dictated the tune in blissful retirement foisted one of their own, General Olusegun Obasanjo, on the country. The rest, as it is often said, is history.

    What memorable past of the soldiers of fortune in power would recommend them as a viable option in the nation’s search for a better future?

    Is it their destruction of the federal principle, which guarantees unity in diversity for the amalgam of incompatible tribes or ethnic groups?

    Is it the typical assassination of targeted political leaders and colleagues during the ritual of coups? Is it their intolerance of opposition and opinions of “bloody civilians”?

    Is it their pillaging of the state treasury, their divide and rule tactics and enslavement of the polity?

    Obviously, those threatening the polity with a coup are either principal actors in the corruption conflagration the current administration is working hard to douse or are beneficiaries of the evil system that has tied down the nation’s development. They are the corrupt elements who now see a bleak future as the current government makes things work for everybody and not where a few reap bounties from entrenched grafts and diabolical pomposity. 

    As psychologists would say, those calling for a coup now are suffering from cognitive dissonance, a feeling of conflict between their values and beliefs. They need help.

  • Is Nigeria developing?

    Is Nigeria developing?

    This week, President Bola Tinubu held his maiden meeting with members of his newly constituted Economic Advisory Committee (EAC) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. In its editorial on this issue, a national newspaper insinuated that the President took too long to constitute the committee since he has been in office for approximately nine months. But there is a scant empirical or logical basis for arriving at such a conclusion.

    For one, in constituting the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and appointing heads of other key agencies of government, President Tinubu had already brought in accomplished technocrats to help him chart the course of the ship of state out of current turbulent waters to a safe harbour of peace, prosperity, and stability.

    These include the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun Minister for Budget and Economic Planning; Mr Olayemi Cardoso as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); and Mr. Zach Adedeji as Head of the Federal Internal Revenue Service. And it should not be forgotten that the Vice President, Mr. Kashim Shettima, statutorily heads the National Economic Council (NEC) which comprises all state governors and the CBN governor and has the constitutional responsibility “to advise the President concerning the economic affairs of the Federation, and in particular on measures necessary for the coordination of the economic planning efforts or economic programmes of the various Governments of the Federation.”

    Thus, there has been no vacuum in governance or management of the economy since Tinubu assumed office. However, the composition of the new EAC has the potential to help the administration in achieving its key objectives of diversifying the economy, strengthening the national currency relative to foreign currencies, enhancing agricultural productivity, boosting manufacture, substantially improving power supply, generating jobs for the teeming number of idle youths and translating millions of Nigerians from inexcusable poverty to prosperity.

    Indeed, the idea of a tripartite EAC comprising members from the federal government, the sub-national governments, and members from the Organized Private Sector is an innovative one. It reinforces the view that governance in a federal system like ours must necessarily be a collaborative enterprise among different levels and arms of government as well as the private sector.

    The heavyweights of the OPS represented on the committee – Aliko Dangote, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Tony Elumelu, Wale Tinubu, Bismarck Rewane, and Segun Ajayi-Kadiri – have considerable clout and could be great assets in the Tinubu administration’s relentless striving for massive foreign and local investment. It could be argued that since they have themselves become stupendously wealthy in this system, they must thoroughly understand its dynamics and can help translate their individual success stories into helping to lay the foundation for a successful, stable, secure, and prosperous Nigeria.

    Of course, one is aware of the obverse side to the argument and this is that many of those who have accumulated humongous wealth allegedly did so by manipulating loopholes in the system. Will such people be willing to support requisite changes in the same system that made them who they are today? Time will tell. But we should, in my view, eschew such instinctual cynicism towards our country and our leaders.

    One of the governors on the committee, Prince Dapo Abiodun, had a rich entrepreneurial track record investing in diverse spheres of the private sector and achieving tremendous success before opting to go into public life. There is no doubt that his vast private sector experience coupled with his ongoing saga of quiet but systematic implementation of his developmental agenda in Ogun State will make him an invaluable asset on the President’s economic team.

    The other governor on the team, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Anambra State governor, is undoubtedly eminently cerebral. He can be quite charismatic when he passionately expounds his theoretical economic postulations in his charismatic and arresting baritone voice. But there are also those who believe that the former CBN governor’s eloquence in articulating theories has not been matched by a comparable capacity to perform and redeem his campaign promises in Anambra. Only the people of Anambra can declaim authoritatively on this. But his sound academic credentials and his career trajectory over the last two decades, in my view, make Soludo eminently qualified to be on the team.

    However, it is this column’s view that President Tinubu’s Economic advisory team should be more diverse, particularly in terms of ideological orientation. If virtually all members of the EAC have the same neoliberal dispositions, then its meetings will most likely be dull, drab, and manifestly unproductive. It is only through intense debates at this kind of Think-thank, which the ECA is, that the best policy decisions can be reached in the interest of the teeming masses of Nigeria.

    In addition to the brilliant, largely neoliberal economists on the team of the  EAC, it is my view that there is also a need for sound political economists on the economic advisory team. These could come from academia or even from the ranks of intellectuals of the Labour movement. For instance, an economist like Dr. Peter Ozo-Ezon of the Department of Economics, University of Jos, is one of Labour’s intellectual resource persons.

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    Even though I have never met him but I have seen and heard Dr. Ozo-Ezon dilate on issues affecting the NLC and the economy on television and you cannot be but impressed by his erudition and grasp of the rather obscurantist outlook of contemporary neoliberal economists. A sound progressive economist representing Labour on the EAC, will help to some extent to improve the relationship between the Tinubu administration and Labour.

    The title of this piece is not original to me. It is a chapter in a book, ‘Path to Nigerian Development’ edited by Professor Okwudiba Nnoli then of the University of Nigeria,  Nsukka. Nnoli has three enthralling chapters in the book that throw light on the root causes of the country’s protracted economic crisis as well as worsening underdevelopment. His views are still relevant and remain quite pertinent today even though it was published in the late 1970s.

    One of Nnoli’s chapters in this book is titled ‘Development/Underdevelopment: Is Nigeria Developing??’ One of his arguments was that, contrary to the claims by mainstream pro-establishment economists that the country is indeed developing, there is a wide gulf between that view and the pathetic situation of substantial numbers of Nigerians living in abject poverty.

    He contended that continuing to equate development with growth is wrong and misleading just as the mere accumulation of modern artifacts such as luxury vehicles, imported modern furniture, imported electronics, airports and airplanes, high-heeled shoes, lipsticks,  etc, cannot be described as constituting development.

    In Nnoli’s words, “In fact, it may not even matter if these artifacts are procured from or created here for us by foreigners. It is considered only practical for them to provide the goods and services since we do not have the capacity for ourselves. And we need these products!“

    Given this heavy external dependency and psychological disposition to dysfunctional consumption habits, Nnoli submits that “The inevitable consequence is our powerlessness to use our own resources to transform our internal and external environments in the ways we need and desire.”

    He avers that the accumulation of these artifacts of modernity which we often mistake for development, “reflect development only when they are the end-product of the efforts of the population to apply their creative energy to transformation of the local physical, biological and sociology-cultural environments”.

    Continuing, the eminent political scientist said “This is the situation in the advanced Western and Eastern countries. They cease to mirror development when they are provided by foreigners. In the latter case, the local population is merely acquiring the products of others’ development. This has been the experience of Nigeria.”

    Even as the EAC sets out to work with the requisite Ministries and Agencies to urgently address the hardships being endured by millions of Nigerians as a result of the protracted economic crises, it must not lose sight of the fact that there is a more fundamental and deep-rooted challenge of underdevelopment which must also be addressed. In other words, it is easy to achieve better stability and enhanced value for the Naira in due course, stabilize interest rates, curtail inflation and achieve rapid economic growth while still remaining pathetically underdeveloped.

  • Why is Southwest neglecting agriculture? (2)

    Why is Southwest neglecting agriculture? (2)

    The rainy season is here. But, how many people are willing and ready to till the soil? There is no shortage of arable farmlands, but farmers are becoming fewer.

    The huge population of youths avoids the farms like a plague. It is a no-go area. They loathe the early morning dew and the insects in thick forests where lie the dignity of labour. The price of laziness, to some people, may be hunger, even in the rural areas.

    Reality may have now dawned on the Southwest that it cannot adequately feed itself without relying on food supply from other zones. This is worrisome because farming was an age-long, inherited occupation in the zone; it was a culture into which able-bodied youths were inducted from a very tender age.

    In the glorious days of the Southwest, farmers were perceived as dutiful, responsible, and successful people who could conveniently feed their usually large polygamous families, pay taxes, and educate their children, some up to the university. Many who became lawyers, teachers, accountants, engineers, bankers, professors, and civil servants were children of big-time farmers.

    When the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo was premier, agriculture was the mainstay of the region’s economy. The least of the problems was food. So surplus was food that it was often wasted. The era of “buje-budanu” (eat well and throw away the excess) was prevalent then. There was no canning or storage facility. But, the barns, despite the threats and attacks by animals, sustained households throughout the year.

    Cash crops also fetched a lot of revenue. Cocoa and coffee were chief crops. Now, countless economic trees of old are nowhere to be found. The relics of farm settlements only remind residents of the region about where and how they missed it.

    Today, the story is different. Awolowo and his regional Ministers of Agriculture – Chief Meredith Adisa Akinloye and High Chief Gabriel Akin-Deko, Lisa Abejoye of Idanre – may be turning in their graves. The labours of the region’s heroes’ past appear to be in vain. It may be because there are few worthy latter-day successors to build on their legacies in the critical sector.

    The few farmers in remote farms are in pain. They complain about the lack of access roads in the rural areas to facilitate the transportation of farm produce to urban markets. Many crops decay because they are perishable. This discourages many farmers.

    Some years back, a sort of food crisis was orchestrated to the detriment of the three Southern regions. Some aggrieved Northern farmers and herders blocked the roads to the South from the North. They were protesting the alleged maltreatment of their kith and kin during the isolated crisis in the South.

    Vehicles conveying foodstuffs to the West were stopped from completing their journey. The traders and the lorry-loads of foodstuffs were stuck on the highway. For a week, the South was enveloped in anxiety. They lamented the shortage of foodstuffs which they could have easily harvested in their backyard gardens if they had not neglected agriculture to their peril.

    The lessons are instructive. The blockage was a wake-up call. Up to now, the region has yet to heed the call. The Western Region that previously relied on agriculture and reaped huge benefits from it in the fifties and sixties became a casualty of a curious shift or neglect. The children of Oduduwa became helpless. The import was not lost on discerning leaders of the region.

    It was a brief moment of agony at the Mile 12 Market in Ketu, Lagos. For a few days, prices of yams, tomatoes, peppers, onions and fruits went up. Momentarily, there was panic buying. The news about the blockage had spread, sparking anxiety.

    Up North, there was agitation among farmers too. Their articles of trade – the farm produce – are perishable. Northern farmers needed the Southern market to quickly dispose of their produce and earn money, in the absence of an effective canning system. If they are not sold on time, the foodstuffs will rot away. Therefore, the prospects of revenue loss also created apprehension for the farmers.

    It would, therefore, mean that food sufficiency in the Southwest through the development of agriculture has implications for the North. It is either Northern farmers would reduce the prices of foodstuffs from their region or look for an alternative market elsewhere. But that is only possible if the Southwest takes the mockery seriously and returns to the basics.

    The six Southwest states of Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, and Lagos are blessed with vast arable lands. Most lands in Yoruba land have remained uncultivated. Geographers describe the zone as tropical rainforest. Tilling the land in Yoruba land may not require irrigation and fertilisers, unlike some parts of the North, which are semi-arid.

    In pre-colonial Yoruba land, food was surplus. Even warriors, during intra-tribal wars in Yoruba land, knowing that their expeditions might last months or years, would plant maize and yam, which they harvested to augment food supplies from the home front.

    During the 16-year Ekiti Parapo war involving Ibadan/Oyo and Ekiti/Ijesa/Akoko, warriors on both sides went to battlefields with seedlings. As they were prosecuting the wars, they were planting. They had bountiful harvests with which they complemented food supplies from their home bases.

    Back home, the Alaafins of yore, who reigned over the Oyo Empire, were big-time farmers. Food sufficiency was a source of pride and security. In Ijesa land, for example, it was said that plantain, which was in abundance, was only meant for birds! In Ekiti axis, the farm was likened to a paradise: (Aye oko, ajed’oba ni – a farmer’s life is savoured like royalty); (Aye oko, ajedorun – a farmer’s life is savoured from the earth to heaven)

    The story was said about how the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) founding evangelist, Apostle Ayodele Babalola, stormed a crusade in Ilesa with some plantains. As he raised them up, he predicted that a time would come when the berry would be expensive. Many members of the congregation never believed him. The reality later caught up with their offspring.

    Indeed, time has changed. In Ijesa, and indeed in many parts of the region, bananas is now expensive, sometimes beyond the reach of the people.

    Ace musician King Sunny Ade saw the danger coming. In one of his albums in the eighties, he warned about the consequence of neglecting farming: ‘Ko s’agbe mo loko, ara oko ti dari wale.’ (No farmer is left on the farm again; they have returned home).

    Southwest can only boast of a few farmers at the moment, relative to the general population. The tribe of farmers is fading. Southwest farmers are aging. The youths, in pursuit of elusive white-collar jobs, see agriculture as a highly laborious, less economically rewarding, and dirty occupation. Some prefer to operate commercial motorcycles, popularly called ‘Okada’, to make ends meet. Many follow politicians around for crumbs falling off the tables of big shots. Deviant youths engage in advance free fraud, cybercrime and armed robbery. Since rural areas are not conducive, they migrate to the cities in search of imaginary employment.

    In fact, the Yoruba elite who go into farming are not proud of being addressed as farmers. They are, as Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo once said, “agric businessmen.” Even at that, their agricultural activities are restricted to poultry and small-scale, backyard animal husbandry.

    Where are the farm settlements of the Awolowo era? Is there anything like an extension service again? Between 1955 and 1990, nearly all the rural Southwest public primary and secondary schools had school farms or gardens. Children were inducted into agricultural practices from the onset. It was a tradition. Many schools even had poultry and piggery. Some had fish ponds. In the rural areas, after the close of school on Friday, many day students would proceed to the farms to join their peasant-farmer parents. Today, there are pupils in the Southwest who think that yam tubers are plucked from trees.

    Also, teachers and other government workers in the towns and villages were given lands on lease for farming. Apart from achieving food security, they sold to earn money to augment their income.

    Read Also: Food security: Reps urge FG to urgently subsidise agriculture

    In the old Western Region, Awolowo used proceeds from agriculture to develop the region. There was no oil money. Yet, the government provided free education and free health services. Many roads were constructed. Housing and industrial estates sprang up. Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, the first television station, Cocoa House, and Oodua Group are legacies of the administration. Up to now, the feats of the government have not been matched by successive administrations.

    The size of a farm conferred class and distinction on the owner in the olden days. Men’s crops included yam, maize, rice, beans, cocoa, coconut, palm tree, kolanut, orange, and mango. Women’s crops were vegetables, pepper, and garden eggs, among other berries.

    In those days, modern farm implements were scarce. Is it not pathetic that a sort of food crisis hit the Southwest, despite its fertile land, opportunities for mechanised farming and improved seedlings?

    Lamentably, farming is also threatened by banditry and cattle rustling. The few farmers do not have respite on their farms. In Yewa, Ibarapa, and Oke-Ogun areas of Oyo State as well as some parts of Ondo and Ekiti states, farmers are harassed on their farms by strangers from other climes. They are kidnapped, maimed, raped, killed and sacked. Their crops are destroyed by cattle rearers and their labour has become a pain due to the activities of kidnappers.

    The Southwest needs to face the reality of the danger of hunger that lies ahead. The six state governments should intensify efforts on how to encourage the youth to embrace agriculture. More incentives should be provided. More rural roads should be constructed to facilitate the transportation of farm produce to the cities. The region should go back to basics.

    There is an urgent need for the region to return to the days of agricultural cooperative societies. Through these, the farmer can access soft loans to boost their business and focus well.

    Farmers also need security. The fear of being seized on the farm by daredevils looking for the shortest road to wealth through kidnapping gives farmers nightmares. No one wants to be abducted while doing his/her legitimate job.

    With an urgent return to the Awolowo days in the Southwest, the region can conveniently feed itself and even export the excess. It is time for the residents to roll up their sleeves and guard their loins for food to return to the table. The region has the manpower and the land. It only needs an effective organisation of the people to ensure success.

  • PBAT and unrelenting opposition (2)

    PBAT and unrelenting opposition (2)

    So bitter were opposition elements, particularly those of certain ethno-regional and religious affiliations, to the outcome of the 2023 presidential election that some had the temerity to openly call on the military to overthrow the democratically elected government of the country. It is surprising that such utterances that border on treasonable felonies were treated with kid gloves by the security agencies which ought to have apprehended those responsible and brought them before the law. Even right up to the swearing-in of President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, many bitter Nigerians continued to cast doubt on the possibility of the transition process successfully taking place. So-called men of God demonstrated that they were not more than ‘gods of men’ with feet of clay, their claims to hearing directly from God turning out to be purely fictional.

    Such people continue to harbor deep-seated grievances against the administration, lay all the blame for the current situation of the country at its doorstep, and pray for its failure. Even the current harsh sufferings of millions of Nigerians partly as a result of the largely inevitable economic reforms of the Tinubu administration is most welcome to such people. It is easier for them to blame the administration for years of humongous corruption on the part of successive governments, dysfunctional policies, inexplicable indebtedness, gross infrastructure deficit, and debilitating import dependency among other factors responsible for the country’s post-colonial economic crisis and underdevelopment.

    The PBAT administration must not underestimate the degree of bitterness against it in certain implacable quarters. It should not assume that the continuing deteriorating and fluctuating fortunes of the Naira relative to the dollar, the sundry threats to the security of lives and property across the country or the astronomical surge in the prices of basic necessities of life, for instance, are not informed by some elements of deliberate sabotage. Thus, it must put its security agencies on their toes to nab and prosecute those who may be minded to derail governance and destabilize the country.

    All of this is not to say that much of the current hardship is not a function of the consequences of its economic policies. The administration must therefore continue to recalibrate these policies not just to restructure the economy in the long run but, as much as possible, to ease current pains. Perhaps mindful of the federal constitution which we run, despite its unitary features, the administration has largely left states to their own devices in the design and administration of palliatives. And this despite the humongous amounts of money it made available to state governments for this purpose.

    Unfortunately, only a handful of these sub-national units have come up with meaningful and concrete palliative measures to cushion the pains of their people. Happily, an increasing number of states are forthcoming with positive initiatives in this regard. As noted in the first part of this piece last week, the efforts to soothe current pains must be a collaborative effort on the part of the three tiers of government especially with the sharp increase in Naira revenues accruing to them as a result of the removal of the fuel subsidy.

    One key reason for the administration to speed up the process of decentralizing the security architecture of the country preferably along geo-regional lines as suggested last week is the intimate link between pervasive insecurity, food scarcity and the attendant high cost of essential food items. Large numbers of farmers have abandoned their farmlands and whole farming communities dislocated by large scale kidnappings, banditry and attacks by rampaging herdsmen. These communities and farmers must quickly be restored and rehabilitated for agricultural productivity to improve appreciably.

    In this piece, I will quote the views and ideas of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo at some length because his views on agriculture, industry and other aspects of economic policy are still cogent, relevant and pungent. In this regard, it is my view that the administration ought to reconsider its position on food importation particularly with respect to rice and other essential grains. If the administration can take drastic steps to bring about a crash in the price, for instance, of rice which has become a stable food consumed in most homes, a substantial part of prevailing pains will be mitigated. If this will mean food importation in the short term, so be it.

    Achieving this objective will lead to an immediate soaring of the administration’s image and goodwill. Despite the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s massive investment in local rice production through such policies as its Anchor Borrowers Scheme, it did not appear to have the desired effect on local rice productivity. Consequently, its closure of the borders and ban of the commodity had substantially negative consequences on living conditions.

    Speaking extensively on his approach to economic management in his address to his party, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) on the 20th of May, 1979, Chief Awolowo said “This brings me to the issue of bans on various items of imports, the aim of these bans is to conserve our foreign exchange, but in the process we have intensified the inflationary pressure at home. We have even done worse; we have encouraged smuggling on a large scale, which ipso facto involves illicit dealings in foreign currencies also on a large scale, to the utter detriment of our foreign earnings and the frustration of our aim to conserve Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserve. In spite of all the ban on imports, in spite of all the controls and monetary manipulations, our inflationary rate is steadily on the increase, and our balance of payments position is continually on the decline. In the circumstances, the Unity Party of Nigeria will have no hesitation at all in lifting all the ban on imports and abolishing all the existing controls.”

    Continuing, Awolowo noted that “In our approach to the problem of inflation, we have, in our mental indolence, tended to base our solution mainly on monetary manipulation and price control. The Unity Party of Nigeria will strive to do much better than these. Firstly, we will, under our integrated rural development scheme, produce much more food at home. Fortunately, most of our foodstuffs are yearly or twice-yearly crops. We will abolish price and other controls and produce more foods, more houses, more clothing material, and more consumer goods generally. Experiences over the years have demonstrated beyond any doubt that much control breeds much inefficiency and much corruption. Secondly, we will deliberately seek to export part of our international inflation to foreign countries. “

    Even if importation of staple grains becomes inevitable to ease food costs in the interim, the country needs a more radical, even revolutionary approach to agricultural productivity if she is ever to attain food self- reliance and convert the sector into a massive earner of revenue through agricultural exports. The ideas of Chief Awolowo in this respect also remain substantially relevant and valid in my view. He advocated the organization of farmers throughout the country into farmers’ cooperatives which would be equipped for large scale mechanized farming and given generous financial and technical subsidies.

    In his words, “From all that has been said, it is crystal clear that, whichever way you look at it, the present system of farming condemns the average Nigerian farmer to grinding poverty, to degradation and abjectness. This is a situation which must be terminated with the utmost sense of urgency and unabating Vigour.”

    Read Also: PBAT and unrelenting opposition (1)

    He proposed that “If it is our determination, as we often profess to lift the farmers from the morass of social degradation and economic miseries, at the same time help to raise and improve their standards of life, the immediate introduction of certain programmes is absolutely imperative. First, the state governments should take immediate steps to mobilize and organize our farmers into cooperative societies throughout the country. A cooperative unit of between 100 to 200 practicing farmers, all depending on the type of crops to be cultivated, could be the optimum. In this regard, it must be constantly borne in mind that the individual farmer, except a rich landowner, is not a viable proposition. Secondly, each state government should provide the co-operating farmers with areas of farmlands which are adequate for the fulfillment of their aims and objectives. Thirdly, revenue should be allocated to the states in such a manner as to enable each of them to give massive financial and technical assistance to co-operating farmers who must, of course, register their organizations as limited liability corporations under the co-operative law of the state”.

    Some of these ideas on managing the economy must certainly be of some value to members of the President’s economic advisory team. Awolowo was of the view, for instance, that “In this connection, I would like to state that what indigenously owned Nigerian industries need is not injudicious tariff protection which does more harm to many more people than the good it does to a few. What they need is assistance in various forms to enable their products to compete effectively with imported goods. Such assistance will take the form of cheaper and more dependable infrastructures, lower customs duties on imported materials, lower excise duties on finished goods, subsidized technical assistance, direct financial subsidy for food production, and so on and so forth.”

    On import levies, for instance, some business people are of the view that import duties on specified varieties of non-luxury vehicles should be drastically scaled down. They argue that such vehicles used for public transportation, for example, will have the salutary effect of reducing transportation costs and mitigating high living costs. Renowned human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) has also identified over 20 sources of corrupt enrichment by public office holders that can be blocked with a significant positive impact on public revenues and reduced need for reliance on foreign loans. The Tinubu administration should be acutely aware of the danger of the humongous amounts of corrupt funds in private hands to its regime’s security and national stability.

    For instance, a number of those who were stupendously enriched through the alleged illicit accumulation of public funds during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari are known to have, directly or indirectly, worked against the emergence of Tinubu as President. The administration should be ruthless in going after the recovery of such funds. Even though Buhari’s anti-corruption credentials and integrity remain unblemished, one weakness of the former President was that he was too trusting of his close aides and many allegedly hid behind his ascetic image to commit atrocities detrimental to the economy.

    Equally critical to the ultimate success of the administration’s economic reform efforts is the need to deliberately and consciously cut the current exorbitant costs associated with governance. The existing disparity in living conditions between a microscopic minority of affluent Nigerians and the vast majority of poverty-stricken Nigerians is another source of the grave insecurity that is the responsibility of the PBAT administration to address.