The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Gowon: Could History Absolve Him(2)

    Gowon: Could History Absolve Him(2)

    Truth remains that both Gowon and Ojukwu made the resolution of the crises leading to the civil war impossible, but while Ojukwu could use the July 29 coup and the pogroms that followed as a pretext for his actions, Gowon had none, save for the fact that he was merely a “Yes” man for our British overlords. Even if Ojukwu wanted a kingdom of his own, as is mooted by certain scholars, Gowon’s haughty like obstinacy gave much fuel to Ojukwu’s decisions, as he, (Ojukwu) sought to give the East cogent reasons for its secessionist attempt.

    In retrospect, Gowon had accused Ironsi of wanting to force the federation into a Unitary system, a major reason for the bloodbath of July 66, but the same Gowon was a member of the Supreme Military Council, SMC which acted as the clearing house for all of the policies and decrees enacted by the Ironsi administration, matter of fact the SMC had more Northerners in its fold than Southerners, how then the likes of Gowon could glibly talk of Ironsi imposing such a policy on him and his accomplices should baffle any right thinking human being. Ironsi, perhaps might have being a bit naive but surely the likes of Gowon cannot wash their hands totally off such a decree.

    Aburi offered the nation, some promise of lasting peace. Accounts of such event as illustrated by the scholars such as John de St Jorre in his book ‘The Nigerian Civil War’, describes General Gowon again as behaving like some cavalier soldier, notwithstanding the loss of innocent lives and properties had sought simply to wish away such gory occurrences. It is believed that Gowon had expected Ojukwu to simply banter away whatever real concerns the Eastern Region had as regards the previous incidents and the security of the Easterners, to him it seemed that the lives lost didn’t really matter for as long as they were all in the saddle of power and had shared some form of camaraderie, Ojukwu, who’s Region had borne the brunt of the killing spree was definitely not on the same boat with Gowon.

    The decisions reached at Aburi were expected to be honoured too but Nigerians know that General Gowon did renege on such agreement. Yes, Ojukwu may have ambushed him at Aburi, yes, Ojukwu may have outsmarted Gowon and his six other counterparts by insisting on regional autonomy and getting ironclad concessions on such and other matters, such as the exclusion of the use of force and the repealing of all decrees which tended to over centralize power at the expense of the agreed regional autonomy, however, was the flat refusal to implement what was actually agreed upon at Aburi in preference for what was never discussed nor agreed upon the way for Gowon to go? If he simply felt that the end result of what was agreed upon at Aburi was detrimental to the health of the federation then he should have initiated another round of negotiations rather than attempt to browbeat Ojukwu and the Eastern Region into submission, forcing the latter to declare the Eastern Region as the sovereign state of Biafra. Had Gowon the moral courage to seek renegotiation, even using the adhoc conference to achieve this, such an example would naturally serve as a salutary lesson for the future. Intoxicated with power he rather unleashed the civil war and the legacy of the cult of violence which has pervaded the nation’s psyche till this very day.

    Today, the demand for a Biafran Nation is presently in the offing bearing strong links with  its past existence, perhaps had Gowon averted such a declaration, who knows what may have followed? Definitely not a senseless civil war.

    Read Also: Atiku makes first public appearance after Supreme Court judgement

    Gowon still deserves some commendation for his Lincolnesque approach after the civil war or should I say his adaptation of such. However his announcement of “No Victor, No Vanquished” remains hollow, the millions who lost their lives, properties and even savings were indeed the vanquished while Gowon and his administration in Lagos were indeed the victors.

    Away from the civil war, the General Gowon administration was also to introduce corruption as an official practice in Nigeria. We first became witnesses to millionaire officers and officials in that administration. Military Governors in the various states merely enriched themselves to the consternation of the public, but then a trend had been set and successive administrations attempted to do ‘better’ than the Gowon administration.

    We remember his refusal to handover power to civilians as he had initially promised the nation by 1975(Gowon naturally reneged on so many things) without even fixing a firm date for the nation’s return to democracy. The cement armada, the gross examples of government inefficiency and the famous quote while in Jamaica stating that “ Money was not our problem but how to spend it”. At that time Nigeria’s out of school children stood at 9 million children, while nearly 69 percent of the nation’s population then which stood at 68.5 million people had little or no access to quality healthcare!

    The confidence in Gowon’s administration had by 1975 become so depleted that his own kinsman in the person of Colonel Joe Garba who also happened to be his Commander Brigade of Guards announced his overthrow while Gowon was attending the OAU summit in Kampala, Uganda.

    The fractious state of the Nigerian nation and its purported challenges faced even in these very days all lie with the Gowon administration, had he sought some lasting solutions to what the Aburi Accord offered, even some amendments, perhaps the Nigerian nation would not be in this permanent state of wanting to self destruct!

  • The passable view of roads in Southwest Nigeria

    The passable view of roads in Southwest Nigeria

    From time immemorial, the masses have relied on constituted governments to implement road projects for the socio-political economy of the society. Whichever government got the construction right would be praised while those who focused on the maintenance would also be eulogised by the masses. However, those who neither got the construction nor the maintenance right would be recorded in the psyche of the people. Hence the adage: ‘The king who sits on the throne in halcyon times, his name shall not be forgotten. Same for that whose reign is turbulent.’

    To say the truth, an emergency should be declared on the Nigerian roads. Without sounding alarmist, there is no road in any part of the country that is recommended, either as passable or standard; not even in Abuja, the nation’s seat of power. It is that bad! It is after we have accepted this that we may begin to appreciate the enormity of our problems. Whether “a minister has more than three Land Cruisers, Prado and other vehicles” or a Senator Sunday Karimi “spends a lot on” his N160 million Prado Jeep “because our roads are bad” is perhaps the least of our problems.

    For God’s sake, how can we be talking about movement of goods and services when our roads have become appallingly impassable? How can we relish the domestic economy or may attract foreign investments to the country when our roads have practically become death traps, and the standard of living is affected immediately? Exchange is inhibited locally and physically if and when movement is impossible on a daily basis. Energy sector is an important driver of growth but, talking about the wonkiness of our development, power outages have sadly become Nigeria’s middle name. Even the waterways that are supposed to bridge the gap are already filled with filth.

    Once upon a time in Nigeria, whenever we said that a contract has been given to the Germans, the thinking then was that the Germans were full of iron and that the job they would do would be solid. It used to be with former President Muhammadu Buhari but, now, it is President Bola Tinubu. The question is: is it in terms of the structure or quality of the job that’s being done? In terms of Buhari and Tinubu, what do we now have?

    Ilesa – Ijebu-Jesa – Ado-Ekiti Road! Lagos – Abeokuta Road! Lagos – Badagry Road! Lagos – Epe Road! Gbongan – Osogbo – Ilorin Road! The Southwest is the worst hit! From Ibadan – Ogbomoso – Ilorin Road which has been under construction since my days at the University of Ilorin, to Ibadan – Ile-Ife – Akure Road which has been under construction for over-15 years, the trouble is that there’s no vision; and, where there’s no vision, one can’t really move because concrete vision signposts development. Evidently, it is because governance has lost its meaning that we continue to eat our seed instead of sowing it. And if we may ask: interconnectedness in the Southwest, is it anything to write home about for a country that has become independent since October 1, 1960?

    Chief Obafemi Awolowo died on May 9, 1987. But isn’t it a big shame that, as of today, Saturday, October 28, 2023, people still refer to ‘Awo Roads’? Bisi Akande also governed Osun State between 1999 and 2003. This is 2023, yet Nigerians still refer to ‘Bisi Akande Roads’. Whereas elsewhere, people are talking about 14 lanes, what we have in the Southwest, which are mostly single lanes, remain unattended to. So, when exactly is Nigeria ever going to develop? If goods must exchange hands – and there must be exchange – how many roads are there, linking, say, Ijebu-Jesa to Ilesa in Osun State? We talk about Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, yet it is difficult to maintain it. So, where exactly are we developing into? Nigerians started fighting one another over subsidy and all kinds of indiscreet things. They strived to earn resources, but … they didn’t know how to spend resources; and that’s unfortunate! Take it or leave it, ability to spend resources wisely is in itself an innovation and a motivation for development. These are the issues!

    Read Also: No law in Nigeria forbids non-Muslim from becoming FCT minister – Rivers elite tell Gumi

    That Nigeria has no capacity to maintain its extant roads is a shame. It is also a shame that governance in this part of the world has lost its meaning. Of course, that’s what gave the military the effrontery that it could do and undo, and ignore the people. In his days as Nigeria’s Head of State, Yakubu Gowon didn’t know that Nigerians were so powerless until he was told that they were mere rabble-rousers, that they didn’t know much and that they were not in any way organised. Gowon was thankful to his informants. The rest is history! The military predators who came after ‘Jack’ only perfected the art. Is it any wonder that Nigeria has found herself in this mess?

    Back then, only in extreme cases would the military roll out tanks and fire one or two bullets in the air before everybody would talk to his or her feet because nobody wanted to die. As such, nobody wanted to know what his or her rights entailed, and that’s even if they knew that they had any rights in the first place. So, it is simple mathematics that where we have now found ourselves has a history. We are where we are because our leaders are asleep. But again, everything boils down to visionary leadership. It is the lack of vision that has brought Nigeria to her knees. Contractors look for higher pay in Nigeria, not because higher pay will make the job better, but higher pay will surely balloon the leisure; and that’s annoying. Until we change that orientation, nothing is going to change.

    Nigerians have been thrown into the mud due to lack of concrete knowledge. Tragically, to rise from the mud is a very difficult voyage. It is like a struggling man from the swamp. But it is achievable; and it is never too late. So, let the architects come with plain sheets of paper to, say, the National Stadium in Lagos or Liberty Stadium in Ibadan with a view to recalibrating the roads for the Southwest. What are we saying? That I used to go through this place in the past doesn’t matter. If we don’t have people who can dream, then we are in trouble. Surely, the entire roads can be redrawn to reflect modern reality; and that’s what development in the Southwest is all about. It is eternally on; and it will never stop. To stop is for development to stop. But nothing stops and rests except in docile societies.

    To sum up, it needs to be noted that, except one wants to be mischievous, the opposition now has a credible landing site. The Supreme Court said it; and that settled it. As things stand, nobody will say that the Atiku Abubakars and the Peter Obis of Nigeria ran away from the battle. No, not at all! Instead, they waited for the highest court in the land; and that’s all! They have fought a good fight and it has ended. Impliedly, Tinubu has no excuses again. Let him now get to work. Let him work diligently at fixing our roads. Those who can work with the president, let them stay while those who have nothing to offer again should look for where their expertise will be in high demand. And for Nigerians, the only hope is to keep trying and keep pushing until it bursts. After all, it is in the history of revolutions: even when one is not expecting things to burst, something will surely give.

    May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

  • Supreme Court Judgment: The Grim Lessons for Atiku Abubakar

    Supreme Court Judgment: The Grim Lessons for Atiku Abubakar

    • By Tunde Rahman

    After the Supreme Court delivered its landmark judgment in the appeals filed against the Presidential Election Petition Court verdict affirming President Bola Tinubu victory in the February 25, 2023 election, my mind immediately raced to former Vice President and PDP Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    What will now be Atiku’s next line of action, with the curtains now drawn on the 2023 election

    The former vice president, more than 24 hours after the verdict, has not spoken about or officially reacted to it. What will he say when he eventually speaks? Is this the end of a battle for the exalted office spanning 30 years and which had seen Atiku contest six times unsuccessfully? Will Waziri Adamawa contest again in 2027 when he will be 81?

    These are the issues that  agitated my mind. In my view, the former vice president should properly examine his present situation and take the right decision. In arriving at his decision, Atiku needs to draw appropriate lessons from his political trajectory. And there are enough lessons from the political to legal and moral in the entire Atiku political saga.

    First the political.

    Atiku has struggled for the presidency for all of 30 years, since 1993. One top politician at one time labelled him the Raila Odinga of our time and not the Abraham Lincoln who contested various elective offices in the US many times, before  eventually winning the presidency. Atiku came  close to the presidency, in 2003 when then President Obasanjo, a wily old man, had to beg his deputy to get the PDP ticket only to return to descend heavily on him.

    This last attempt at the presidency has been the most virulent and most expensive for Atiku. He contested the election on a broken political platform. First, his platform was weakened by a Group of 5 Governors called G5, who left the party on the cusp of the election, demanding the resignation of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as PDP Chairman. His platform was further weakened by the exit from the party of his ally and running mate in 2019, Mr. Peter Obi, who went to contest for the same 2023 election as the candidate of the Labour Party. One still wonders why Atiku for the sake of his lifelong ambition did not sacrifice Ayu before  the election, allow him to step aside to keep the G-5 Governors in the party?

    After losing the 2023 election to President Tinubu, Atiku embarked on perhaps the most expensive election petition in Nigeria’s history. He and his cohorts embarked on a voyage to the United States to authenticate Tinubu’s Chicago State University certificate, that the latter eminently earned in 1979. Atiku claimed Tinubu forged the certificate, but after the Chicago expedition, Atiku and his agents returned  empty-handed. Atiku spent a fortune on U.S. lawyers. It would appear the lawyers sold him a dummy to cash out. They gave the impression that he could ride to the presidency on the back of an allegedly forged CSU certificate, despite warnings that the mission of discovery would boil down to nought. As the Justices of the apex court held, the matter of forgery was neither pleaded at the election tribunal nor any attempt made to amend the plea to include it.

    There was no due diligence in the handling of the entire appeal and the original petition. Atiku filed 35 grounds at the Supreme Court on why President Tinubu’s election should be voided. He lost all. He claimed for instance that he won majority votes without adducing evidence on the superior votes he won.

    The legal lesson: politicians should not allow lawyers to bind them into an electoral challenge that lacks a legal foundation, because when the chips are down the court will rule only on the basis of law.

    The last point is on the conventional wisdom that when you try to beat a friend in a contest and hard as you try, you are not able to, it’s time to give up. My advice to Waziri Adamawa is that it’s time to quit the quest to be president.

    The election petition filed by Atiku and the other filed by Mr. Obi of Labour Party which the apex court judges wasted no time in dismissing,  have nonetheless served useful purposes. The court did justice to all the major issues brought before it on the points and merits of the law, which was why the judgment was widely applauded. Once again, the court has proven that it is one of the fundamental pillars of our democracy.

    It is important to highlight a few of the issues the learned justices put to rest completely.

    One, the apex court held that non- transmission of the results to IREV portal cannot invalidate the results as IREV is not a collation centre. The court held that what is important is the sanctity of the results from the polling units. It said  the appellants did not demonstrate non-compliance or that the failure to transmit results to IREV portal affected the results of the election.

    Two, Justice Okoro-led panel held that it is not mandatory for any candidate to win 25 percent in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to emerge president and that such is not a constitutional requirement for the valid return of a candidate as duly elected president.

    Agreeing with the Presidential Election Petition Court or the lower court in the case, the court said if the framers of the constitution had wanted it that way they would have stated so specifically.

    Read Also: Indecent dressing: Solomon Buchi defends Maraji against internet trolls

    Three, the Supreme Court affirmed the 180-day limit for the hearing of election petition  and dispensing with it. Election matters are time-bound and must be heard and concluded within the time allowed. The court further held that filing of additional evidence, not pleaded at the court of first instance, runs foul of the Electoral Act.

    Indeed, Justice Okoro and his brother and sister  Justices did a wonderful job for which posterity will remember them for good.

    For President Tinubu, now that he has been handed a judicial clean bill, it’s time to concentrate on governance. This is not to say governance had suffered while the election cases lasted, but the cases were a distraction of sort. On that Thursday October 26 when the Supreme Court seven-member panel led by Justice  Inyang Okoro delivered its verdict, President Tinubu listened to the judgment in his office after which he quickly went back to work.

    But the unending flow of governors, both in APC and PDP, ministers and presidential aides to his office to congratulate him consumed  part of the day’s schedule. He eventually retired home to continue work.

    In his reaction to the judgement, the President affirmed that justice had been served and the validation of his election is a call to service and to more work.

    “The victory of today has further energised and strengthened my commitment to continue to serve all Nigerians of all political persuasions, tribes or faiths with honlour and total respect for the diverse opinions uniting values of our citizens, ” he said.

    ●Rahman, former Thisday on Sunday Editor, is a Presidential Aide.

  • Can Obi rebuild LP?

    Can Obi rebuild LP?

    Ahead of the February presidential poll, not many people gave him a chance. He was underrated by the two dominant  parties-the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), led then by Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Dr. Iyorchia Ayu.

    But, Obi nearly became the hero the 2023 poll. He made a phenomenal impact, scoring over six million votes, as a starter, to the surprise of the two experienced politicians, President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

    Obi came into political limelight when he won the Anambra governorship election in 2003 on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Although the poll was rigged in favour of Dr. Chris Ngige of the PDP, the stolen mandate was retrieved at the Supreme Court.

    However, after leaving office, he dumped APGA for PDP, where he paired with Atiku in 2019. His choice as running mate did not go down well with Southeast PDP leaders who complained that they were not consulted by the Waziri Adamawa.

    During the preparation for the 2023 poll, he hurriedly left PDP when he got wind of the fact that Atiku was no longer looking in his direction.

    Obi borrowed Labour Party (LP) and launched into the campaigns with enthusiasm.

    Three factors boosted his chance. He almost became the third force, inspite of the limited capability of his “structureless” platform and disorganised supporters because Obi  appealed to many youths who were not impressed by the performance of the Buhari administration.

    Indeed, many youths also gravitated towards Obi through peer pressure.

    The propaganda on the social media by fanatical loyalists was strong, effective, confusing and also largely deceitful, taking along many ignorant and gullible youths.

    Also, the campaign was divisive, anchored on a sort of religious bickering. While the political class was busy resolving the conflict triggered by zoning or power shift, many Christians were of the opinion that after Buhari’s eight years, power should shift from a Muslim to a Christian. The religious issue became popular among Christians who lacked an indepth understanding of the calculations that heralded the APC’s same faith ticket. However, the Christian population that endorsed Obi cut across Northcentral, Southwest state of Lagos and majorly Southeast.

    The third factor was ethnicity, as reflected principally by the bloc votes secured by the LP candidate from his native Southeast and other Igbo-dominated catchment areas in the country.

    Read Also: Infantino cleared of improbity in corruption scandal

    In the entire Southeast, APC and PDP were shut down, making Obi, more or less, a new champion of geographical expression.

    The demography of LP voters also revealed that affection for Obi contrasted with any consideration for LP. Evidently, in subsequent elections, LP could not fly, except in Abia, where Alex Otti, according to observers, was elected largely on his own merit.

    Obi’s adventure into court did not bear fruits. His prayers collapsed at the tribunal and Supreme Court. But, his behaviour few days ago reflected a product of bad companionship. After  Obi initially rejected Atiku’s post-election offer to team up with him, he deviated from his earlier position to fight alone. Like Atiku, he asked President Tinubu to re-introduce himself  to Nigerians who gave him majority votes. But the heat was soon turned on Obi. If as alleged by Lamidi Apapa’s faction his divided party, represented by Arabambi, Obi bears Peter on one certificate and Gregory Onwubwuasi on other certificates, does that not suggest an atom of identity crisis?

    Obi’s appeal at the Supreme  Court, according to the jurists, lacked merit. It meant that he was televised into chasing shadows.

    Many challenges will contront Obi and LP. The former presidential candidate does not know the party totally. He only hired the platform for the poll.

    Obi has defected twice from political parties. Would he may still defect from LP, faced with similar circumstances?

    Currently,  the party is divided. Apapa and Julius Abure, a lawyer, are at loggerheads. The two party stalwarts worked at cross-purpose during the electioneering. The leadership tussle is detrimental to the party’s unity and cohesion . There is an unfinished business of reconciliation.

    Obi also has to organise and encourage his scattered followers to also embrace LP.

    The party lack formidable structures  in many states. Therefore, the party has to embark on membership drive. Although the leadership of the umbrella Labour union endorsed Obi, workers were aloof. LP is not an ideological party. Therefore, it is not different from other parties.

    Another challenge that will likely face the party is defection of its few federal and state lawmakers who are swayed by carrots dangled by bigger parties.

  • Uzoho’s own goal

    Uzoho’s own goal

    Nothing hurts me any more whenever the Super Eagles have a game.  I always expect the worst. Not that I don’t love my country, I do. The presence of negative vibes in the  Super Eagles’camp before, during and after big games can, to say the least, suffocate anyone. The vibes that glamourise efforts and achievements, which pop up people’s adrenalin, are  not in sync with the can-do-it spirit of Nigerians when games are being played.  I’ve, since the France ’98 World Cup, developed a thick skin towards Super Eagles potopoto (rubbish in pidgin English) football . I discovered after the games, which Nigeria lost in France that the coaches, players and officials, NFF members inclusive couldn’t be bothered if Nigeria had just beaten and what the defeats or ouster from major tournaments meant to the Super Eagles’ teeming fans all over the world, especially on the streets in the 774 Local Government Areas of the country.

    Back home in Nigeria, during the France’98 World Cup,  there was the possibility that Nigeria could meet Brazil at another big sporting event, two years after the Nigerian Olympic Dream Team 1 had beaten the Brazilians in Atlanta.  If Nigeria had beaten Denmark in the second round game, Brazil was the next team, according to the fixtures. Sadly, the Danes beat Nigeria 4-1, expectedly but a lot happened back home. Fans, who had started making and distributing designed memorabilia and organizing warm up sporting activities for the match between the two teams (Nigeria and Brazil again) had their dreams thrown into the lagoon. Yes, Nigerians lost a lot of revenue from that fantasy pairing that never was. I digress!

    So, when I saw Francis Uzoho palm a harmless aerial ball into his net, it was something typical of the Super Eagles during matches. My mind raced back to Uzoho’s heart-wrenching fall, not dive as the goal scored by Black Stars of Ghana’s captain Partey rolled lazily into the net at the National Stadium in Abuja. Uzoho’s needless error cost Nigeria her place among the comity of nations at the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Only if Uzoho had followed the movement of the ball on the field before Partey’s lazy shot.

    Several posers ran through my mind. The first was to see Jose Peseiro’s reaction to the miserable effort by Uzoho, not forgetting the cynical look of the team’s captain Wilfred Ndidi. But for rules of the game, Ndidi would have removed, at least, four teeth from Uzzoho’s mouth. Thank you Ndidi,  for being the sportsman that you are. Ndidi, your look was captured by everyone who has seen the game.

    Peseiro left Uzoho on the pitch for the 90minutes duration because he didn’t have a better goalkeeper on the bench. Those on the bench sat there because they live in European countries close to Portugal where the team played their matches. The second question would be to ask Peseiro where he saw those goalkeepers such as Adebayo Adeleye (Hapoel Jerusalem, Israel) and Maduka Okoye that he was scared to field after Uzoho’s own goal against Nigeria.

    Of course, Peseiro was never going to field home-based goalkeeper Olorunleke Ojo (Enyimba FC) for all the money in the world. So, the Portuguese stuck with Uzoho in goal for the second friendly in Portugal against Mozambique. Was anyone expecting Uzoho to shine against the Africans? Certainly not. You can’t give what you don’t have, dear reader. What stands out clearly from Peseiro’s response to Uzoho’s  poor form is that we can measure the criteria used in picking Super Eagles players. The coach does whatever he likes by openly inviting benchwarmers and recuperating ones to camp. It is obvious that members of NFF’s Technical Committee are stooges who can’t expose Peseiro’s mercantile tendencies in selecting players for the country’ matches.

    Read Also: Amadi begs Nigerians for ‘fumbling’ goalkeeper Uzoho

    Incidentally, the NFF chiefs aren’t ready to dispense with Peseiro’s services even with the  team’s sickening outings over time. Indeed, those African nations that would do well at the Africa Cup of Nations  next  are using their friendly games to strengthen their squads. They have the nucleus of their first 13 players. What their friendly games are doing for the coaches is to introduce depth in strengthen, width in they play and ensure that they can play at least four systems in either halves depending on how well or how poorly the opposition would play during matches.

    Ironically, Nigeria has wasted the friendly games she has played so far if the team’s major problem is to search for a good goalkeeper when others have three equally good goalkeepers and more for some others such as Senegal. The NFF members and their choice of those who would function in key committees leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Had the technical committee been made of men of sterner stuff, they would have spoken to the two shambolic outings the Super Eagles played in the last ten days. We would have had an insight about howthe players were selected for the two matches against Saudi Arabia and against Mozambique.

    The fallout from the technical committee members’ revelation would have shown us if they were part of the selection exercise. Isn’t time for Nigerians to know the parametres for picking players for games. During the Clemens Westerhof era, you could bet that goalkeepers such as Uzoho and Okoye won’t be considered. You could offered to put your head on the guillotine if Kenneth Omeruo, Tyronne Ebuehi,  Joe Ayodele-Aribo, Chidozie Awaziem et al won’t go near the team’s bus let alone file out onto the pitch for matches given their performances in previous games. No prize, dear reader for guessing right that no benchwarmer would have made Westerhof’s list. Westerhof ignited the domestic league centres with his presence and young lads seized the stage to impress the Dutchman who took risk on those he discovered. Once Westerhof spotted a talent, he did everything within his power to expose them to European clubs. These boys returned to play in the Super Eagles much to the consternation of Nigerians who may seen the boys play the games years back. The transformation in their game was awesome. And made other young lads in the domestic league to take games seriously, while waiting for another Westerhof expedition to league venues.

    Westerhof wasn’t a renowned coach but he knew what he wanted to achieve and went for it from his first assignment against Cameroon in 1989, dropping the big-headed boys. Nigeria lost 1-0, but the lessons learned were such that showed the calibre of players he invited to the team to fight for shirts.

    No country’s football grows at the senior level. Growth in any soccer side starts from the nursery which is situated at the grassroots. Nigeria’s case can be found in the 774 Local Government Areas in the country, only with proper organisation. Sadly, all manner of people including the federation’s chieftains have corrupted the nurseries such that youth clubs now loan players to professional teams in the country. Youth clubs owned by top federation chiefs dominate the country’s age-grade squads with the squad’s coaches filling the few spaces left with their mercantile choices. Isn’t this why we don’t know how much the domestic leagues are worth in the country despite the Star Trek to Europe of our youth who strive to earn a living from playing the game?

  • Saint Atiku asmoral exemplar? (2)

    Saint Atiku asmoral exemplar? (2)

    In the run-up to the February 25, 2023, presidential election, specifically on Sunday, January 8, a former media aide to the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, imploded a veritable bomb beneath his erstwhile principal’s long-running ambition capable of blowing the Waziri Adamawa’s burning aspiration to smithereens. Michael Achimugu, who had been appointed media director for the Atiku Support Organization on September 5, 2021, and later a member of its presidential election technical committee aired a video tape on his YouTube channel which featured a telephone conversation he claimed to have had with the former Vice President. The clearly inimitable voice of Atiku was heard in the video of the PDP candidate narrating to Achimugu how, as Vice President, he had supervened the formation of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) through his cronies for the award of contracts. It was obvious this implied the diversion of public funds through contracts that could not be traced to him.

    In the course of the conversation, for instance, it was revealed that the former governor of Plateau State, Mr. Joshua Dariye, had paid the sum of N100 million of his state’s funds into one of these shell companies, Marine Float.  Achimogu demonstrated in the video his close relationship with Atiku and even with the latter’s children as he also aired his telephone conversations with some of them. What may be perceived as his betrayal of his boss was immoral and indefensible no matter what the reason may have been but Achimogu’s action was just as unethical as the sordid revelations about Atiku’s alleged surreptitious financial dealings as revealed by the leaked audio conversations.

    What was more scandalous than the contents of Achimogu’s leaked audio tapes was the thunderous silence of dominant sections of the media on the matter. Scurrilous newspaper columnists and hypocritically morally sanctimonious television and radio talk show anchors, who pretended to be outraged by President Bola Tinubu’s alleged but unproven moral lapses, suddenly went deaf, dumb and mute as regards the smoldering ‘Atiku-gate’ unleashed by Achimogu. Even if he was playing to the gallery, an exasperated Festus Keyamo (SAN), who was one of the spokesmen of the Tinubu campaign at that time, took Atiku and the PDP to court over the matter possibly as a strategy of drawing an inexplicably complacent and indifferent media to at least investigate Achimogu’s allegations to ascertain their veracity or otherwise.

    But it was obvious from the media treatment of this scandal that most of the dramatic posturing in the media and in some other partisan and religious quarters on allegations against Tinubu were actuated by partisanship, self-serving interests and even malice than any principled commitment to the public good. For, if that were not the case, patriotic analysts and public intellectuals would not be selective in their choice of allegations against actors in the public arena to focus on.

    Although Atiku’s undoubtedly dynamic team of media handlers and political strategists tried strenuously to discredit Achimogu and distance him from their principal, their efforts were insufficient to effectively dispel the widespread notion that there was likely a substantial element of verity to his allegations. For, his revelations with regard to the issue of SPVs as creative public fund-siphoning vessels into private pockets, for instance, appeared to shed some useful light on earlier grave allegations against Atiku on his role as Vice President in the pervasive corruption that characterized the privatization of scores of public enterprises under the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

    During the first term of his administration between 1999 and 2003, Obasanjo largely left the running of the economy to his Deputy while he concentrated on salvaging the international image of Nigeria, re-positioning the country to regain its influence in global affairs and thereby making her more attractive for foreign investment. As Vice President, Atiku was statutorily the Chairman of the National Council on Privatization (NCP).

    As one report put it, “Needless to say that laudable as the objectives of privatization may have been, the exercise in Nigeria has been characterized by corruption in high places…The public were fully informed of the corruption that attended the sale of Daily Times of Nigeria, the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, the failed Pentascope purchase of NITEL, the controversial sale of Asaba Textile Mill, Asaba, and many more. Nigerians have been stripped of their national assets by unpatriotic political leaders and corrupt bureaucrats”.

    The report continued, “Besides, there was the accusation of fraud and rip off of Nigeria’s commonwealth in tonnes of billions of Naira in the sale of the Aluminum Smelting Company of Nigeria, (ALSCON), Ikot Abasi, Delta Steel Complex, Alaja and the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, Itakpe. The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Ms Onagoruwa, confirmed to the Senate Committee that ALSCON was sold to RUSAL Nigeria Limited for N39 billion even though the initial value was N480 billion while the Delta Steel Complex, Aladja, was sold to Global Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd, (GINL), at the sum of N4.5 billion as against the initial value of N225 billion”.

    Even though in his devastating criticism of his former Deputy in his autobiographical trilogy, ‘My Watch’, former President Olusegun Obasanjo painted a picture of Atiku as incorrigibly corrupt, a former Chairman of the BPE during his tenure, Mallam Nasir’el Rufai, testified before a Senate investigative committee in 2011 that both Obasanjo and Atiku put pressure on him to breach the rules and perpetrate unethical practices in the implementation of the privatization exercise; pressures which he claimed to have resisted when he occupied the office.

    It was quite amusing watching Atiku affecting to be a ‘born again’ moralizing Saint during his recent self-styled world press conference where he continued to raise questions about the authenticity of President Tinubu’s certificate from the Chicago State University (CSU). This was despite the clear deposition of the CSU authorities that the President graduated from their institution with honours in 1979 and was a male student who even contested to be President of the students’ Accounting Society. For, Atiku had hitherto not hidden the fact that ethical principles play a negligible role in his decisions and actions. When asked by an interviewer in 2019 to respond to allegations that he influenced the sale of public assets to his friends and cronies in the privatization exercise, Atiku turned a veritable national tragedy into a comic affair when he responded by wondering if he should have influenced the sale of those assets to his enemies!

    Read Also: PDP, aides mum over Atiku’s affidavit

    In another unabashed exhibition of his unrepentant indifference to ethics in his politics, Atiku has on a number of occasions publicly claimed the credit as being the mastermind behind the massively rigged elections that propelled the PDP to victory in the South-West states of Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti and Osun in 2003 with Lagos as the only state remaining in the control of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD). Indeed, Atiku has suggested that Tinubu owes his retention of his office in his second term to his benevolence irrespective of the fact that the former Lagos State governor won re-election after putting up stiff opposition to an Obasanjo presidency that deployed troops to Lagos in a desperate bid to ‘capture’ the country’s commercial nerve centre as repeatedly boasted by PDP chieftains.

    In his bid to damage President Tinubu’s character and denigrate his public image, Atiku embarked on his recent barren voyage to the United States in quest of an allegedly forged CSU certificate. Although he returned empty-handed, it is well within Atiku’s rights to do all he can to prove that the President was ineligible to contest the election if indeed he forged any certificate as alleged. However, it is ironical that even in the US, Atiku does not have a reputation that smells of roses. His name had been mentioned in a bribery case involving then US Congressman, William J. Jefferson, even though there apparently was no full-proof evidence of his culpability. Even then the Congressman, who was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on November 13, 2009, and released on October 5, 2017, had, according to Wikipedia, “told an investor, Lori Mody, who was wearing a wire, that he would need to give Nigerian Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, $500,000 “as a motivating factor “ to make sure they obtain contracts for iGate and Mody’s company in Nigeria”.

    Atiku’s image in the US could certainly not have been helped by the published outcome of an investigation by the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs titled “Keeping Foreign Corruption out of the United States: Four Case Histories”. The report, released in conjunction with the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on February 4, 2010, focused on the financial transactions of Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, son of the President of Equatorial Guinea, between 2004 and 2008; deposed President Omar Bongo of Gabon between 2003 and 2007; three Angolan Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) accounts and then Vice President Atiku Abubakar between 1999 and 2007.

    According to the Executive Summary of the Report, “From 2000 to 2008, Jennifer Douglas, a U.S citizen and the fourth wife of Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and former candidate for President of Nigeria, helped her husband bring over $40 million in suspect funds into the US through wire transfers and by offshore corporations to U.S bank accounts. In a 2008 civil complaint, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Ms Douglas received over $2 million in bribe payments in 2001 and 2002 from Siemens AG, a major German Corporation. While Ms Douglas denies wrongdoing, Siemens has already pled guilty to U.S criminal charges and settled civil charges related to bribery and told the Subcommittee that it sent the payments to one of her U.S accounts. In 2007, Mr Abubakar was the subject of corruption allegations in Nigeria related to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF)”.

    Continuing, the report stated that “Of the $40 million in suspect funds, $25 million was wire transferred into more than 30 U.S bank accounts opened by Ms Douglas, primarily by Guernsey Trust Company Nigeria Ltd, LetsGo Ltd Inc and Sima Holdings Ltd. The U.S banks maintaining these accounts were, at times, unaware of her PEP status and they allowed multiple, large offshore wire transfers into her accounts. As each bank began to question the offshore wire transfers, Ms Douglas indicated that all of the funds came from her husband and professed little familiarity with the offshore corporations actually sending her money”.

    The Report revealed that two of the offshore corporations wire transferred about $14 million to American University in Washington D.C over five years to pay for consulting services related to the development of a Nigerian university founded by Atiku. It noted that American University accepted the wire transfers without asking about the identity of the offshore corporations or the source of their funds because the university had no obligation to do so under the current law at the time. Does ‘born again’ Saint Atiku possess the ethical credibility and integrity to pose as a moral exemplar? The answer is blowing in the wind.

  • State where governor’s sisteris de facto chief executive

    State where governor’s sisteris de facto chief executive

    When the electorate in a Southwest state trooped out to elect a new governor about one year ago, the majority cast their ballots for a candidate whose only known credential was his ability to wriggle to any beat with such abandon that makes you fear that dancing might soon go out of fashion.

    Counsel from different political observers and analysts that the state needed an administrator and not an entertainer fell on deaf ears and a dancer was installed as governor. Almost one year after he assumed office, governance in the state has been at a standstill as the governor has practically yielded his seat and powers an elder sister who now bestrides the state like a colossus.

    Such is her grip on the governor and the state that she has ensured that the supposed chief executive not from the governor’s office in the state capital but in their family house in their native community. This is in spite of the billions the administration has spent on the renovation of the government house.

    And in their native community, the overbearing elder sister has ensured that the governor does not even stay in his own house but in an apartment in her own house where she issues directives to the governor on the steps he must take on a daily basis.

    Read Also: Why I remain strong as a sportsman at 64, Governor Otu reveals

    Reliable sources in the state’s ruling party informed Sentry that the Chairman must as a matter of routine make himself available for direction at her country home on a daily basis. On two different occasions, she was reported to have slapped two of the state’s commissioners for “poking their noses too much into the affairs of the state.

    It is also alleged that the governor, whose wife lives in a different town outside the state, must take permission before visiting her. The governor’s sister is also said to be the reason why he (governor) does not parade any of his wives as the First Lady because the wives are at daggers drawn with her in their bid to free their husband from her grip.

    As at today, none of the governor’s wives is allowed to attend official functions involving the governor for fear that they might clash with the woman.

  • Litigation, controversy and equity

    Litigation, controversy and equity

    Nigeria is witnessing the most controversial, sensational, and laughable presidential litigation since the Second Republic when it began the presidential system. Citizens look up to the highest court in the land to resolve the politically motivated legal riddle. Whenever the apex court pronounces its decision, no other opinion will count.

    At the close of the February 25 poll, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the historic poll that had polarised the country. Two rivals – Atiku Abubakar of the distressed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi, who had hurriedly hired the often “used and dumped” Labour Party (LP) as an emergency platform – challenged the victory of the president at the tribunal. That move posed a big headache to the layman.

    How can two candidates challenge the victory of one man with each laying claim to the Certificates of Return from INEC? It is a big dilemma, a somewhat maladaptive behaviour to the reality of electoral defeat and loss of political investment. The corollary of their claim, to a layman, is that at least, one of them is either lying, deficient in self-assessment or evading reality, or deliberately looking for an excuse to stir up mischief.

    Atiku, who came second, is challenging Tinubu, which means that he is opposed to the claim of Obi. In fact, the PDP has maintained that its former member, Obi, never won the poll as LP flag bearer. Also, since Obi, who came third, is challenging Tinubu and claiming victory, it means that he is also trying to attack or liquidate Atiku’s claim to victory.

    The long and short of it, as affirmed by the tribunal, is that victory cannot belong to three people at the same time in one presidential election. There must be only one winner while the others must be the losers.

    The tribunal’s verdict explicitly proved that Tinubu won. This means Atiku and his 2019 running mate, Obi, made spurious claims that collapsed like a pack of cards in the temple of justice.

    However, that robust and lucid unanimous verdict is not final. The case has now moved to the Supreme Court, the final arbiter. The two losers have the backing of the law to reject the poll result.

    At the tribunal, the main bone of contention was the lack of substantial compliance with the electoral law. Put succinctly, Atiku and Obi, in their separate claims, alleged ‘fraud’. Their prayers were the same: withdraw Tinubu’s victory and give it to us. The court declined because that victory cannot be sliced into two, with one half allotted to the Wazirin Adamawa and the other half given to Obi, former governor of Anambra State. That is the view of the layman.

    The true picture is that the tribunal dismissed the separate but similar allegations of Atiku and Obi and affirmed the president’s victory. The tribunal judgment dampened their illusory hope; yet, it nevertheless brought out the best of creativity in the two defeated candidates. The previous claims were dusted and tabled before the Supreme Court. But the memory of the tribunal judgment is troubling. Therefore, new claims had to be invented and brought to the front burner: Tinubu had to show evidence of his Chicago University days, including the attendance sheets he signed before taking lectures, to show that he was a student of CSU.

    Also, he needed to convince the court and, indeed, all inclined naysayers, self-appointed social media jurists, and incurable detractors that he never forged his diploma.

    Read Also: Respite as Tinubu okays payment of withheld ASUU salaries

    For Atiku, the desperation is obvious. And it is for a reason. The former vice president is bent on asking the apex court to assume trial jurisdiction in the presidential litigation, although the 180 days for the hearing of the election petition had elapsed.

    But why did Atiku initially fail to challenge the election result based on his allegation of forgery, no matter how unfounded?

    Did he know that the tribunal is a court of trial while the Supreme Court is a court of review? Is the difference not glaring? Why play the ambush game with the nation’s apex court?

    The approach, this time round, is different. It is a two-way attack. Atiku and Obi approached the apex court on appeal. They also took the matter to a court without setting any boundaries, and innocence – or ignorance – appears colossal.

    The judgment passed by the ‘street court’ or court of public opinion is always instant because of the presence of jurists without an idea about the modus operandi of the judicial system. Yet, they are more vocal than the learned men and women who have perused so many cases to draw legal inferences from them in tandem with the issues at hand.

    Atiku and Obi may win with the pedestrian jurists, but the subjectivity will not lead to the achievement of political power.

    Thus, the burden shifted from Tinubu to his alma mater, which confirmed that he attended the school and graduated in flying colours. The disclosure may be detrimental to Atiku’s newest or additional evidence, which may now become a fable before the highest court in the land.   Many commentators – experts, tyros, and ignoramuses – have been dissecting the evidence on the pages of newspapers and the studios of radio and television stations.

    But will the apex court rely on such opinions, sentiments, and half-truths that belie logic, law and precedents? Any further comment may even pale into contempt of the court.

    Despite these obvious limitations, the creative Adamawa politician and his former running mate returned to the street to whip up emotions during their separate media briefings. Atiku challenged Tinubu to bring out more details about the schools he previously attended. He beckoned on Rabiu Kwankwaso of the crisis-ridden New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Obi for a curious post-election collaboration. Kwankwaso of Kwankwansiyyya Movement declined outright. Obi, who initially was undecided, dragged his foot for a few days. Maybe, he later agreed to hold an inexplicable press conference, following tips by ‘Ahitophelian’ advisers who have a score to settle with the president.

    Obi’s mentors these days include a General and a cleric. Both have the Ota connection.

    Also, Atiku and Obi claimed that they never knew Tinubu: erstwhile Mobil treasurer, Third Republic senator, National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) chieftain, former Lagos State governor who was leader of the Action Congress (AC) that fielded Atiku for President in 2007, and National Leader of the APC, whose presidential ticket Atiku once competed for.

    They allowed whatever hatred they harboured against the President to becloud their sense of honesty. They insisted that the Number One Citizen should ‘reintroduce’ himself to almost nine million Nigerians who endorsed him at the poll. As they drew the president out, Nigerians also asked them to do the same by re-introducing themselves to the world and clearing their identity question. 

    There is nothing Tinubu had submitted to INEC that is new and, according to his party, indefensible. If, as alleged by Lamidi Apapa’s faction of LP, represented by Arabambi, Obi bears Peter on one certificate and Gregory Onwubwuasi on other certificates, does that not suggest an atom of identity crisis?

    From the scattered and ‘disarticulated’ Obedients, mum is the word. Many Nigerians have also turned the heat on the former vice president.

    Politicians should be aware of the unintended consequences of their actions. A searchlight was beamed on Atiku’s WAEC. There appeared a discrepancy, which caught attention. Who is Sadiq? Atiku, in his response, said: “I used Sadiq Abubakar to sit for my WAEC and after passing my exams, I went to swear to an affidavit to say I am the same person as Atiku Abubakar. I went to ABU as Atiku Abubakar and passed my exams as Atiku Abubakar. Interviewed as Atiku Abubakar by the Federal Civil Service Commission and hired into the Customs Service as Atiku Abubakar. So, where is forgery there?”

    This is logical. But the illogicality there is that while Atiku has an affidavit, his supporters do not want to hear that Tinubu also has an affidavit.

    Does that mean some people live in a glass house and continue to throw stones? President Tinubu, it can be said, thrives in adversity. He has cleared himself. Attention has now shifted from his documents to the certificates of Atiku and Obi.

    A faction of the LP has insisted that Obi should reintroduce himself to Obidients and the general public. Whenever you point a finger at a foe, remember that four others are facing you with question marks.

    The lesson is Instructive. Let us be circumspect even in our moments of desperation. Let those who demand equity clean their hands thoroughly before setting out. You never can tell who might spot the stains of yesteryears in your fingers. 

  • General Gowon @ 89: Couldhistory absolve him? (1)

    General Gowon @ 89: Couldhistory absolve him? (1)

    It was Fidel Castro who once used such an expression  while facing trial for the July 26 attack on Moncada Barracks, Castro who defended himself at that trial declared “Condenmade, no importa, la historia mi absolveria” in English it simply means “Condemn me, it does not matter, history will absolve me”.

    For General Yakubu Jack Gowon , Nigeria’s Second military leader, History as well as posterity must be hearing his ‘Closing Statements’ as he clocked 89 recently, even celebrating his birthday amidst the ugly rumors of his demise just a week ago, the man who once declared that to “ Keep Nigeria one was a task that must be done” will certainly need no soothsayers or pastors  to tell him that his time with his maker will surely come.

    So what verdict will history pass on General Gowon, this one time Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army and later maximum ruler for 9 solid years ? There are a number of strands of thoughts or should I say answers to this question, each possessing a different tangent to the rest, each conceived as a result of one’s perception which has been shaped probably by a number of singular and  aggregate factors.

    For me as an avid student of our nation’s history and politics, I very much possess a view about Gowon’s place in our history and It is my intention to share such a view here with the admonition to those who may choose to disagree to do so or even write their own!

    Yes,  even though General Gowon wouldn’t naturally fit in to the description of a statesman by Mark Hatfield. Here in Africa, most especially Nigeria, by virtue of serving in some high office, even if you where thrust there and wobbled and fumbled while in office, you would naturally earn the appellation of an Elder Statesman. It is in this context that we may grudgingly confer such on the founder of the Nigerian Prayer Movement and kudos to him Nigeria recently emerged as the Second Most Prayerful country , losing the first position only to the Taliban controlled Afghanistan. I am sure the Nigerian Prayer Movement led by Gowon must have contributed its quota to such a feat!

    Now asides the Nigerian prayer movement, General Gowon also has a number of enduring legacies to his name, legacies such as the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC which has sought to create avenues within the nation for national cohesion and unity.

    The creation of states within Nigeria is another legacy of the Gowon administration which has much influenced the pattern and operational dynamics of the Nigerian Federation or Quasi Federation as it actually is.

    Read Also: Waheed Ekun: How General Gowon gingered my historic table tennis victory in 1973

    The creation of more Unity Colleges is another befitting legacy to Gowon, who in his attempt to patch through the elusive threads of unity within Nigeria established more of such schools all over the Federation.

    Gowon’s biggest feat would be his prosecution of the Nigerian/ Biafran War which he presided over. Notwithstanding the resultant horrors that came with the 33 months struggle, his singular mandate to keep the Eastern Region within the Federation by force of arms could be chalked of as successful and while one may not resent a number of his actions as regarding the war, since the pervading situation  at that time demanded such of him, however, the same war as well as the taxing events that led the nation to that war  also remain as a tarred brush to Gowon’s statesmanship stature.

    General Gowon came at a period the Nigerian nation needed a leader, even after desecrating the military tradition or dictates of military command and succession, by assuming power while Brigadier Babafemi  Ogundipe his senior in the army was muscled away, Gowon despite his avuncular like mien and gentleman officer posturing behaved more like a member of the mob and engendered forever that indiscipline Nigerians witnessed in the military even to this present day.

    At the time of his triumphant entrance to become the nation’s number one helmsman , the nation was much in crisis. The Head of State, General Aguiyi Ironsi  and Governor of the Western Region, Adekunle Fajuyi were missing, brother officers were reportedly slaughtered in their numbers while Igbo and minority  civilians who had no say nor participation in either of both the January and the July 1966 coups were also massacred in their numbers. Gowon had not only gone on to betray his Supreme Commander but also a number of moderates in the military then who were shocked at Gowon’s inveterate dawdling while these pogroms occurred.

    Even his half hearted attempt at finding a solution to the crisis via the Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference of 1966 appeared to be a ruse as it only encouraged further killings in the North under Gowon’s watch. He was later to suspend the conference after tinkering with the ideas of secession, confederation and then one indivisible unitary cum quasi federation(Another legacy of his)

  • Refereeing is a hobby

    Refereeing is a hobby

    Club owners are funny people otherwise how could they be suggesting to the honourable sports minister Senator John Enoh on the need to reduce the number of referees handling the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) for efficiency. Really?  The Club owners among other reasons hinged their claims on the laughable submission that the referees don’t handle enough matches to improve on their level of officiating. Honourable minister, sir, can these meddlesome interlopers tell us when last we played the full league of 380 matches in a 38 weeks format in Nigeria? These people spearheaded the abridged league format calling it a child of circumstance to cover up all the obstacles that have bedevilled the league in the last few years, beginning with their failure to comply with the Club licensing requirements. We need to encourage younger boys and girls to embrace the hobby called refereeing. It isn’t rocket science.

    What these all knowing people didn’t tell the sports minister is that those referees that CAF have complained about or excluded from their competitions  in the past were some of the best Nigerian referees, putting a lie to their purported assumption that with a reduction in the number of referees for the elite class, officiating would be perfect. Foul. This submission, honourable minister sir, creates the impression of having professional referees for the domestic league and a recipe for match fixing. Nowhere in the world is there a functional league with professional referees. Do we have more referees than England, Germany, Italy, France, Holland etc? No. So how do they keep their referees busy? Simple. These countries have several soccer competitions to engage their referees. Need I waste space to list the levels of football competitions in England? Limiting the number of referees who handle the elite league in Nigeria creates the platform for disaster through crowd violence. Rich clubs would pollute the referees and we would be back to the trenches. A distinction has to be made here between the Centre referees and the First and Second Assistant referees. The question is how many centre referees do we have to necessitate an unholy reduction simply because club owners want it their way? Not acceptable please. Why didn’t these owners tell the minister that there aren’t good playing pitches in the country? In fact, the country’s representatives to one of CAF’s inter-club competitions is playing outside its home ground?

    I had thought that these so-called group would have sought the sports minister’s intervention into the existing crisis between the previous league board and broadcast rights holders to the league. What can be more laughable than for Nigeria’s domestic league matches not being beamed live while hitherto smaller nations have theirs shown live on Supersport for everyone to watch? Referees won’t fumble during matches if they know the games are being beamed live on television. Club owners won’t cast an indulgent eye on home teams’ supporters who wreak havoc during games where their teams are wobbling.

    Read Also: Sit-at-home has left Southeast empty, says Deputy Speaker

    The immediate response to this suggestion is that the concept of refereeing all over the world makes the whistling assignment a hobby, with only CAF toying with a proposal of selecting 23 referees from all over the continent to train them with the view of making them professional referees. The angst by this club owners like other Nigerians is that there isn’t any Nigerian referee among these chosen 23. Our referees not chosen failed the stringent conditions which CAF used to pick their 23 based on how the Nigerian referees fared in the federation’s inter-club matches. The dropped referees were not shown the exit based on how well or how badly they handled our domestic league’s matches. They fell short of the desired points to make the mark and such poor outings were recorded outside the country.

    Some of the mistakes made by our referees at CAF tournaments would have been corrected had the previous league board made the issue of showing our league games  live on television a priority. There could have been sessions where videos of games would have been reviewed and erring referees shown their mistakes and told what to do in the future to such situations. The talk to reduce the number of referees in the elite league in Nigeria is cheap.

    If the club owners truly wanted progress in the league, they would have pleaded with the honourable sports minister to intervene in the seeming impasse mitigating against  the NPFL matches being shown live. The live streaming currently in session by the Gbenga Otolorin Elegbeleye-led board is commendable, although having the games live on terrestrial television would have been the real deal. Perfect.

    We have seen referees handle games brilliantly in the first half only to return for the second half to misbehave, especially in the second round where every game points to either a good or bad future in the competition for teams. Investigations have shown that such diligent referees are given the beating of their lives by irate fans of the home team desperate to have the three points at stake for the game. Courageous referees have remained inside such dressing rooms where fans have invaded at half-time to bring their horrible experiences to the fore.

    These killjoys’ operations are targeted at the match referees, especially when their clubs and fans fail to coax the match arbiters to award frivolous penalty kicks against the opponents. Over 30,000 spectators can’t watch a game and an insignificant six people can’t run the rule on the referees’ performances. Indeed, I have looked out for the reports in the newspapers since week seven’s games were played and they haven’t hinged their reports on the referees’ poor outing but on the missed goal-scoring chances by the two teams.

    The referee is the sole judge of time and other things concerning the game. If in the opinion of the referee, a purported call for penalty isn’t worth his time and he decides to cast an indulgent eye on such incidents, so be it. Unfortunately, all our match venues don’t have CCTV devices built into the premises at strategic points to help fish out these people who love to smell blood at venues. I’ve seen a few games on camera and I’ve not been impressed by the security architecture of the venues. I only hope that the IMC isn’t waiting for the worst things to happen before allowing irritants to know what lies ahead of them in the event of crisis before, during and after games.

    The Police are our friend, we have been told. Therefore, the IMC ought to hold critical meetings with the Inspector General of Police (IGP), State Police Commissioners and other security agencies to secure the stadia before, during and after matches. After all, the primary job of security operatives is to secure the lives and properties of the citizenry. Plainclothes operatives need to sit among the fans so that it would be easier to spot those with unsportsmanlike conduct to face the full wrath of the law. It is done in civilised climes. We have seen instances where roughnecks are bundled out of the stadium with every uncouth act inimical to the people around such a repulsive yoyo.

    These merchants of death who have as their mantra do-or-die are growing in their numbers and need to be checked before they wreak havoc at match venues by inciting innocent fans to share in their perilous comments. It is the only way to nib the violence since the unwanted weapons come from the spectators. If the first person who throws his or her empty bottle onto the pitch is caught red-handed and taken away to the parked Black Maria vans, other urchins would be advised to be of good conduct. The language which criminals understand is force. Indeed, acts of violence start from the fans at the stand who have objects such as umbrellas, sachets and/or bottles of water, food packs etc which come in handy as weapons of mass destruction during mayhems.