The Nation Newspaper

Category: Femi Orebe

Nigeria, no Africa, as the outside world sees US

One only hopes that the American system will prove resilient enough to stop a highly bigoted incoming President Trump from transmuting to one of these two

Nothing would have been more appropriate today than a discourse on the rise of nationalism in the United States of America, as exemplified by the victory of Mr Donald Trump in the U. S Presidential election; something some, otherwise, very knowledgeable Nigerians, but certainly with a gap in their knowledge of world history, have been celebrating. They need be told, or is it reminded, that the last time the world saw this in Europe in the mid-20th century, it quickly resulted not only in the rise of the likes of Mussolini and Hitler but in a war the world has not seen its kind since with the resultant death of 6 million Jews and millions more of other nationalities. One only hopes that the American system will prove resilient enough to stop a highly bigoted incoming President Trump from transmuting to one of these two. Not much hope here, anyway, as we saw the conservative party proved completely unable to rein him in during his highly inflammatory campaign.

However, the new emphasis by the EFCC on the $180m Halliburton bribe in which about four former Nigerian Heads of State and 89 prominent Nigerians are allegedly involved has turned the story you are about to read into a fait accompli for the week. Besides the Halliburton case, though, the fact of this column being essentially a moralising one is an added incentive for the story and even though it relates, primarily, to a compatriot from Ghana, the story is so symptomatic of happenings in Africa as a whole but, especially in resource-rich countries like Nigeria.

We would let the eye witness tell his story.

“Recently, I witnessed a tirade by a white man in the first class cabin of a mid-size airplane, admonishing another first class passenger, a Ghanaian, for begging for his seat.

‘What is wrong with you Africans, he bellowed? All you do is beg, beg, beg, for everything!! You can beg all you want; I am not going to give you my seat. Tempers finally down, I turned and asked him “what was all that about”? Apparently, the Ghanaian was travelling with his ‘wife’ who was seated on a separate row. He asked the other man to exchange his seat, so the couple could be close but the white man refused whereupon the Ghanaian persisted with choruses of “I beg you”; which eventually drew the white man to his boiling point.

“So what would it have cost you to exchange your seat?” I asked, and his response is the essence of this story. ‘You see,’ he replied, ‘I have just finished a month-long negotiation with your ministers and government officials over your god given minerals, and what my gold mining company should pay. I come to your country, saw all this poverty everywhere, but with wealth right under your feet. Your own government gives only foreign companies the rights and privileges to rape and steal your country blind. For a few thousand dollars, your government officials allow foreign companies to walk away with: (a) Perpetual tax holidays (Africa was cheated out of US$11 billion in 2010 through just one of the tricks used by multinational companies to reduce tax bills, according to new Oxfam report, ‘Africa: Rising for the few,’ . This is equivalent to six times the amount needed to plug the healthcare funding gap in Ebola affected countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Guinea Bissau)

(b) Duty free imports, (c) Bloated capital and operational investment costs,

(d) Under-declared mineral output, (e) Minimum wages for local employees doing all the work, but fat salaries and expense accounts for foreigners who do almost nothing; (f) Exaggerated cost of shoddy school blocks and boreholes instead of meaningful royalty to local land owners and communities;

(g) Destruction of local farm lands with pitiful resettlement payments; (h) Pollution of local drinking water; (i) Destruction of local infrastructure, etc.”

“My bosses have briefed me before my departure. I was asked to read your Osageyefo’s “Neo-Colonialism”, and told to be the first to offer the negotiating team, (a) a few thousand dollars each (b) a centre or a 6-room school block, or a few bore holes for the community and that there will be no mention of the normal royalties or any government oversight of our operations.

I did not believe them since I, a mere high school graduate, was coming to negotiate with officials having higher degrees. Imagine my shock when these officials, instead of demanding what is the internationally acceptable compensations and royalties only accepted 3% royalties but with all kinds of giveaways and, coming to me later , begging me to deposit ‘something’ in their foreign accounts, details of which they gave me on pieces of paper. The irony here is that these government officials, after short changing their countries with ‘something’ deposited in their accounts, would turn round to go and borrow their own money from the IMF, World Bank, or donor countries, and so-called development partners. It amazes me that your presidents, ministers etc, who have studied or have travelled severally overseas, still don’t know that there is no free lunch, no donor countries nor development partners. The foreign mining companies take your minerals for next to nothing, deposit their haul in their banks, and turn round to loan the same to your governments with some absolutely ridiculous conditions like asking you to discontinue welfare programmes or subsidies which help the poor.”

Surely, companies like Anglogold and Newmont are contributing to our economy, I managed to interrupt him.

“At what price, he asked? Have you been to Obuasi recently to see the devastation and destruction of a once a beautiful city? (The Nigerian reader should substitute with Ogoni and the Niger Delta in general). Newmont has over 740 sq. km concession in Ahafo: what did the Ahafo’s get in return for Newmont’s annual revenues of over $750,000,000? Almost nothing!!”

This is exactly what your first President, Nkrumah, was talking about in ‘Neo-Colonialism’. “Have you read that book?” He asked me. I was ashamed to answer no. “I don’t blame you; none of your officials at the negotiating table has read it. That book ought to be a must-read in your schools and colleges so that you can understand how foreign companies and governments strive to rob you blind like before. This time around, their methods are cloaked in one-sided agreements with the connivance of your presidents, ministers and managing directors.

“The big companies are not even ashamed to connive with your officials to sidestep paying the increased 5% royalty; they are paying based on ancient gold price of $300.00/oz instead of the current worldwide price of $1500.00/oz., short changing your people $75,000,000 in the process. Unfortunately, your negotiating officials are happy to look the other way.

“Even the Chinese are getting in on the act, albeit illegally. They are threatening communities with guns and firepower (it happened here in Nigeria before with Shell arming what they called security personnel) and your military looks on unconcerned. Your media is just as bad. With buffet lunches or dinners and a few cedis, your media becomes the propaganda arm of these mining companies. They tout the few miserable boreholes and the 6-room schools the companies gave as corporate social responsibility but forget the callous treatment meted to local employees and residents, and the destruction of the environment. Normally, a 50% annual return on investment (ROI) for the first 7 years is generally considered excellent but today , foreign mining/ oil companies in Ghana and the rest of Africa, are hauling home nothing less than 400% return on their investments, with scant regard to the plight of the indigenes.”

I feigned sleep, so he stopped talking but I was actually reflecting on that entire he had said. I realised that YES, we Africans are to blame: we watch our officials give away our gold, oil, bauxite, diamond, etc for their meagre kickbacks, while we collectively wallow in poverty. It is time we woke up from our deep slumber and take what is rightfully ours at the negotiating table. Then we will be able to tell Obama and May to take back their gays and aid.

November 13, 2016
What manner of men are Nigerian leaders?

If military governments, dominated mostly by Northerners couldn’t make it happen, what abracadabra would these civilians use to inflict a fulsome Sharia over all Nigerians, Christians and animists alike?

In thinking about how unlucky Nigeria has been with regards to its leadership, political and otherwise, I am easily reminded of her jealous British conquerors who, close to reluctantly granting her a flag independence, were reported to have sent a delegation to God to complain about how unfair He was to have so richly blessed the country with, not only abundant mineral resources, even in its very arid parts, but for also ensuring it has a near total absence of natural disasters. They were further reported to have pointed God’s attention to places like the Philippines which, with only some gold and copper, lose thousands of her citizens annually to typhoons and other natural disasters while Nigeria boasts of all kinds of minerals, amongst them, crude oil, though that was long before it turned to oil doom.To further convince God of their charge, they observed that He did not even spare the United States of America, which by the way, Americans themselves named after Him as ‘God’s own country’, with its plethora of disasters; an example being Hurricane Matthew, that dangerous and destructive Category 4 storm which recently devastated large swathes of Florida and the Carolinas after killing not less than 280 in poor Haiti. On, and on they were reportedly going until God smiled broadly at them and asked them to wait a minute. Declared the Almighty, according to the story: “but can’t you see the type of leaders I gave them”? On hearing this, and after doing a quick recap of the Nigerian story, the Brits were said to have apologised and departed heaven.

Apocryphal as it may sound, only a story like the above can rationally explain what Nigerians have been going through in the hands of its so-called leaders – both military and civilians, elected and rigged-in. They are now so giddy, after so rapaciously looting the entire Nigerian enterprise that as the following short stories will show, they could, very soon, calmly incinerate it in a major ethno-religious conflagration.

CURRENT ATTEMPTS TO EXPAND CRIMINAL ASPECTS OF THE SHARIA NATIONWIDE

Following the grotesque machinations of our ‘leaders’ in the House of Representatives – forget meanwhile about Hon Jibrin – the following Whatsapp message, heavily précis-ed for space purposes, is what is trending in respect of the above topic:

“Coverage of live proceedings of the House of Representatives as covered by NTA2 on 27th October,2016 revealed that the bill for the extension of the criminal aspects of Islamic Sharia law to be applied throughout the 36 states of Nigeria and the FCT passed the second reading today, and though there are many Christians in the House, the Speaker inclusive, not a single one of them raised an objection. According to the Speaker, the bill will now move to committee level where it will be discussed before the House would take a final decision. Though the 9 pm NTA Network News reported other proceedings of the House for that day, this one, like the Grazing Reserve bill before it, was completely blocked.

What this means is that the bill to amend the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to make provision for the full implementation of Sharia Criminal law in both the Federal and states’ legal system has passed the second reading in the House of Representatives and no one is telling Nigerians anything about it. It is a no brainer to say that with the number of Northern members in the House, passing the bill is already a fait accompli. It also shows that Speaker Dogara’s May, 2016 claim that the report was the handiwork of people suffering from a ‘crass ignorance’ of the legislative process, is pure bunkum. Indeed, Bishop Matthew Kukah warned against this subterranean move only this past week.

I need not do a rehash of all the efforts by the North to have this accomplished since the second Republic resulting, in the end, to the commonsensical agreement to have only the Sharia Personal Law allowed but certainly not the criminal aspects in the country’s constitution How, in seeking to make it applicable all over Nigeria, are these people different from Boko Haram elements whose chief motivating factor is to be ruled completely on the basis of the Sharia? Are these people, by any means, aware of countries like Lebanon, even Sudan which for decades have known no peace? If military governments, dominated mostly by Northerners couldn’t make it happen, what abracadabra would these civilians use to inflict a fulsome Sharia over all Nigerians, Christians and animists alike?

I sincerely hope that President Muhammadu Buhari, a patriot of no mean order, will quickly move in to rein in those in the House of Representatives who will think nothing of incinerating Nigeria. I need not repeat that we presently have more than enough problems on our hands with Boko Haram and those down in the creeks, avenging electoral defeat, both of which have aggravated our economic problems.

BISHOP MATTHEW KUKAH AND MAIKARFI PDP CHIEFTAINS VISIT EFCC DETAINEES

Not many Nigerians would be surprised that the topmost echelon of the beleaguered Senator Makarfi wing of a rudderless PDP, intent on drawing attention away from their self-inflicted problem in Ondo State – they are the ones who, originally, went to beg Senator Modu Sheriff to come to Macedonia to help them – this past week went visiting the latest batch of their members detained in the EFCC cell in Abuja. Were these people self -respecting, they should have waited till those they claim are being maliciously detained have proved their innocence before going to celebrate them, even if they had to wear Aso ebi like their Lagos cousins did a while ago for one of their prized assets in the Southwest. But if one can pardon their gaffe, being Nigerian politicians, how do you begin to rationally explain the visit of Matthew Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, to those being held on charges of partaking in the squandering of huge sums of money; funds specifically appropriated for equipping the Nigerian armed forces involved in a duel to the death with a Boko Haram army that was armed with highly sophisticated arms smuggled in from Libya and other Maghreb countries? Had the Bishop sought advice, his attention would most probably have been drawn to the tens of thousands of soldiers, women and children who lost their lives as a consequence of that heinous misapplication not to mention the over two million Internally Displaced Persons some of who are being casually sexually abused on top of many other difficulties they experience on a daily basis.

What he said on the occasion drew one of the best comments I have ever seen on contemporary political events. Writing on the Ekitipanupo web portal on the visit, a member recently commented: “Bishop Mathew Kukah may be right to assert that the incarceration of the trio of Rueben Abati, Femi Fani Kayode and Obanikoro is divinely ordained. Did the scriptures not say “behold I come quickly and my reward is with me; to recompense every man in accordance to his work”? Did the holy book not instruct us on the ways of the wicked and that “the way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble”. Do we therefore need further proof that their captivity is divine?

Apart from the above can we ask why Bishop Kukah chose to visit the trio? Are they the only people being detained? The answer, of course, is NO. Then, why these three? “God is patient, indeed, otherwise, there are some ‘men of God’ that God ought to have dealt with publicly and miraculously if only to serve as a warning to those that use His Holy Name profanely”

I can, however, surmise the reasons for the visit: given Bishop Kukah’s love for President Jonathan and the government he ran, one in which stealing was no corruption, not many Nigerians would be surprised that the bishop visited to solidarise with top guns of the ancien regime with whom he must have socialised during his trips to the Villa then. And by the way, what better method to cast in stone, that balderdash of the Buhari government’s anti-corruption war being a selective endeavour targeted at the opposition, than for a high profile clergy to visit some ‘selectively’ detained members of the opposition?

November 6, 2016
Having again run their states aground, APC governors resort to blackmail

Before eagerly supporting the suggestion that government sells off critical national assets have they sold off the many bullet proof cars they bought for selves, wives and kids?

The “last hope of the common man”
Has become the last bastion of the criminally rich
A terrible plague bestrides the land
Besieged by rapacious judges and venal lawyers
Behind the antiquated wig
And the slavish glove
The penguin gown and the obfuscating jargon
Is a rot and riot whose stench is choking the land.”
– Niyi Osundare in My Lord, where shall I keep your bribe?”

Wonders, they say, will never end. Nigerians woke up this past week to hear totally unserious APC governors attempt to re-write recent history. Having, again, run their respective states aground, owing a minimum of six to eight months in workers’ salaries, needing another bailout but knowing not how to present their begging bowls before the president a third time, they had, in spite of all we now know of the sleaze of the Jonathan years, and in a classical case of blaming the victim, claimed that the APC government of President Mohammadu Buhari should be held responsible for our current mega suffering as a people. Were they not so kind, they would have attributed the recession to his government, conveniently forgetting that a nation’s economy does not suddenly go kaput. The reason for this attempted obfuscation, and volte face, is so simple nobody would have believed that a body of governors would be as sissy as to ever suggest it. It is as simple as, having again come a cropper, and desirous of a fresh infusion of huge sums of money into their haemorrhaging states, they decided it is time to have a fall guy. Unfortunately, having not judiciously, or transparently, utilised the earlier bailout funds, they considered it smart to present the president to the agonising citizenry as the cause of their pains; that man, who wants to force his ascetism down the throat of ordinary Nigerians hoping that he would panic and be the one to offer them money on a platter. This thought process is so jejune it speaks directly to our manner of leadership recruitment in Nigeria.

What exactly do they take Nigerians for and when did they come to the realisation that they had been wrong all these days holding the profligate and thieving ancien regime responsible for Nigeria’s parlous economic condition? Do they believe, even for a moment, that they can successively erase from our memory what we now know of the depravity of that government? If they were serious, would they ever attempt to hold responsible for our suffering, a President Buhari who had spent what must have been agonising days in office trying to rein in profligacy in all its ramifications? Knowing what they claim to now know, have they stopped raking in the hundreds of billions they collectively take monthly as security vote even as Nigerians now suffer their worst ever insecurity in kidnapping and armed robbery which have spiked beyond control with some states daily experiencing these heinous, life threatening/taking incidents? Do they now feed from the salaries they draw from the common purse like ordinary Nigerians? Before eagerly supporting the suggestion that government sells off critical national assets have they sold off the many bullet proof cars they brought for selves, wives and kids? Have they told their senate counterparts to stop, forthwith, their N29 million monthly salary and the billions they make from oversight functions which they have converted to an avenue for illegal enrichment? And didn’t it occur to these latter day confessors that they were making nonsense of the government’s anti corruption war when they so cavalierly exculpated the completely ruinous Jonathan government? Or why would ex-President Jonathan not gloat in far away Oxford, making nonsense of the government’s attempt to bring looters to book?

In case they have forgotten, maybe we should jolt their memories and bring them back to reality.

In the 16 years of PDP’s stranglehold on the country, did it ever occur to the respective governments to diversify the economy and thereby stop the over reliance on a mono product, located in an area of the country where government has literally had to buy peace? Did those PDP governments sincerely believe that Nigeria should, forever, have to pay huge amounts of money, monthly, to elements who had maimed and killed in the past and could, as we have seen, easily revert back to those evil days of destroying the nation’s economic infrastructure? If the price of that commodity, oil, crashed from over 100 dollars per barrel to below 40, how was the Buhari government expected to make up for the shortfall in the short run given that there were no other sources of significant income to the nation’s coffers? One would have imagined that, in making their totally unreflecting statement, they would, at least, factor into their calculations the fact that a hugely expensive war is going on in the Northeastern corner of the country; a war whose expenses ballooned because of the theft and misapplication of the huge funds appropriated towards the war effort by the last administration.

But even these represent only the tip of the iceberg of the incriminating larceny of the Jonathan era and if APC governors have forgotten, we can help them by itemising a few. One of the earliest whistle blowers regarding the sleaze going on in that government was the then CBN governor who raised alarm over a missing 49 billion dollars oil money which he claimed was never paid into the federation account. President Jonathan’s response to that huge charge was that the United States of America would have known if that happened as if the U.S President was more relevant to our government financial situation than the sitting Central Bank governor. Of course, the same man would later inform his bemused countrymen that stealing is not corruption. The government would later commission a voodoo forensic auditing in which half the relevant books were not made available to the auditors. But long before then, thanks to the current senate President, Nigerians had become aware of the huge oil subsidy scam going on under the supervision of a former PDP chairman during whose time as chairman of the governing board of the relevant agency, the number of oil importers had more than quintupled. Nor did it surprise Nigerians when it emerged that sons of two former Chairmen of the lecherous party were among those who got paid billions in oil subsidy even where they did not bring a litre of petrol into the country. That scam claimed hundreds of billions of naira. So also was the pension scam which accounted for hundreds of billions with the hilarious aside that when the police authorities were claiming they could not find the suspect to arrest so he could honour a senate invitation, tens of their own men were giving him a 24-hour security cover and he was reported to have been present at the Abuja Airport, in a welcome party for the then president. But nothing would compare with the hordes of very important politicians of that era, as well as top military chiefs, that the EFCC have hauled, or is in the process of hauling before the courts for stealing amounts of money that must have now run into trillions. The names are today so common place that we do not need to repeat them.

It is amazing, therefore, that APC governors, well aware of these facts, and more, could still attempt to insult our intelligence by claiming that a government of just two years, is responsible for the consequences of 16 years of utter depravity. I am not, by any means, saying that the Buhari government could not have creatively remedied the situation because it could, way back two years ago, have started putting in place many of the things it started barely three months ago after the country effectively declared it was in recession. Given the abysmal nature of the economic circumstances he inherited, President Buhari should have treated the economy the same way he treated Boko Haram because in their respective spheres, the consequences of one was as deleterious to the country as the other as security is as key to the nation’s survival as the economy is. Therefore, whilst not totally exculpating the Buhari government from being partly responsible, it will be absolutely disingenuous, and unkind, to heap the entire responsibility for our current situation on the Buhari government of barely two years.

October 30, 2016
Still on corruption in the Nigerian Judiciary

Now, it is only if you want to be kind to these judges, that you would question only their competences; their training and experience but, without a doubt, much more is involved.

As in all sectors of the Nigerian society, corruption predominates the judiciary. It has become endemic and it did not start today. It has elicited this amount of hoopla simply because one had expected that these priests in the temple of justice should, at least, be the exception. And there are, of course, those members of the judiciary who over dramatise their unjustified angst against the method of arresting the judges even where extant laws are not breached. The following anecdotal story, the veracity of which I cannot guarantee, will confirm the above assertion even where the consideration was certainly not money, but friendship.

According to the story, the government of Western Region had just acquired a piece of land at Idi-Ose for the use of IITA in Ibadan. Some of the land-owners, not happy with the amount of compensation paid, threatened to go to court, which development Chief Ladoke Akintola reported to Awo and advised that the matter be resolved without litigation. Awo, the story goes, disagreed, confident that the government had a solid legal team in FRA Williams, Fani-Kayode and Bode Thomas. SLA replied in Yoruba, suffused with panegyrics: “My Leader, e fura o. Looto ‘Timi mo Procedure. Oba ni Fani ninu Constitution, beeni Thomas o kere ninu Evidence. Sugbon TOS Benson ni lawyer awon ti a n so yi. E si mo pe TOS mo Ademola o”- meaning yes, these are terrific lawyers, but TOS Benson and Justice Ademola, handling the case, are friends o.”

Awo got the message and opted for settlement.

Lesson of this: while the brilliant lawyer knows the Law, the successful one knows the Judge.

The above story should confirm that the article below, published on these pages on Sunday, 16 June 2013, but slightly edited for space, is/was not ethnically motivated but simply a narration of the evidence of our very eyes in an era when some demonic senior Yoruba members of the bar and the bench, serving and retired, wrote or vetted, decisions of Election Tribunals in Yoruba land, whose membership was composed, wholly of, or had, at least two members from the north.

NORTHERN JUDGES AS WEAKEST LINK IN A CORRUPT NIGERIAN JUDICIARY

Justice being so sacred and divine, I never thought a day would come when I would have to write about the Nigerian judiciary in this deprecating manner. Never. But what we have in Nigeria today is a mere caricature – a judiciary brought low by its own shenanigans; so nauseating you simply have no apologies. It is for this that Justice Hardy, in sentencing Ibori’s crime couriers in a London court, could not restrain himself from describing the Nigerian judiciary as one usurped by men of power: Obas, Obis, Emirs, former Heads of State and sundry men of money and power, including state governors. In spite of the federal character nature of the menace, in which no section of the country can claim innocence, one can, with considerable justification, claim that judges of northern extraction have proved to be extremely weak and pliable, proving without a shadow of doubt, that they constitute the weakest link in a weak and corrupt judiciary.

There are too many instances to cite from in support of this heavy charge against northern Judges but nothing will compare with the in-your-face sacrilege committed by the three northern judges who concocted the decision in the Aregbesola vs. Olagunsoye Oyinlola case at the Osun Election Petitions Tribunal nor would any judicial summersault ever thump what they did in their findings on the crucial issue of one Alhaji S.O Nofiu who signed Forms EC8B in nine out of eleven wards in Ife Central Local Government Area of the state. Curiously, but understandably, the tribunal would later request that the defence lawyers return the Certified True Copy of the judgment which they had proactively obtained immediately after the court’s pronouncement. We have an NGO, the JUSTICE NOW FOUNDATION, to thank for bringing this ringing judicial odium to the open. In an advertorial in THE NATION of Monday, 7 June 2010, the NGO wrote as follows:

“…on that page, the tribunal judges made two contradictory findings as regards the evidence of signing of forms EC8B in nine out of eleven wards in Ife Central Local Government Area by one Alhaji N.O Nofiu. In the upper paragraph, the tribunal wrote: ‘In respect of Ife Central LG, evidence was led in the open court and our attention was drawn to Form EC8B in 9 wards out of 11 in the LG, and after perusing we confirmed that the said Alhaji N.O Nofiu signed the forms EC8B and no reason was advanced by the Respondents to explain why that happened. We are therefore of the view that this is a clear case of irregularity.” Curiously, in the second paragraph which now subsisted, the tribunal made a somersault and shamelessly wrote: ‘In respect of the allegation that Alhaji N.O Nofiu signed 9 form EC8B in the Ife Central LG, the Petitioner referred us to the evidence of RW29 and RW42 who stated under cross examination that he is the PDP Secretary, and we have gone through that evidence, but we could not find where they were confronted with forms EC8B’s in relation to the said wards of the local government. There must be an oral evidence to link the documentary evidence which is lacking here.’

You can be sure one of those Yoruba legal evil geniuses has intervened.

The NGO then asks: ‘Is this the way judicial minds work, finding irregularity in one breath and having a quick rethink and holding that there is no evidence in another, thus approbating and reprobating at the same time? Why did Alli Garba and the other Judges later shut their eyes, on the same page of the judgment ,to the glaring irregularity that they had earlier found in the signing of the forms by one person whom the Respondent’s witnesses confirmed was the Secretary of the PDP in Ife Central LG?’

In Agagu Vs Mimiko, the Court of Appeal held that the court has the power to take judicial notice of geographical divisions of the ward and in that case, the tribunal rightly took judicial notice of the boundary lines of wards and the distance between the collation centre and others and found that one of the polling agents of the appellant’s political party who signed Form EC8B for three electoral wards that are several kilometres apart could not have signed the forms at the ward collation centres because collation of the results of all electoral units into Form EC8B was supposed to be done at the same time at all the collation centres. The Court of Appeal therefore held that the Tribunal rightly nullified the results of the three wards. Concluded the Foundation: ‘Clearly, Alli Garba and his colleague Judges from the north, had to abandon their earlier finding which would have led automatically to the nullification of 53,882 votes from Oyinlola’s votes as against 3,883 from Aregbesola’s in that LG area alone”.

Now, it is only if you want to be kind to these judges, that you would question only their competences; their training and experience but, without a doubt, much more is involved. It is, therefore, suspected in serious quarters, that for purposes of gratification, initial decisions of judges from the north are most probably submitted to a cabal of their evilly minded senior colleagues from the south, where the latter had not, in fact, written it in the first instance, and merely submitted to their lordships for pronouncement. But they were not yet done as Justice Alli Garba and co had equally turned blind eyes to blank Forms EC8B, as well as unsigned and unstamped forms EC8A in Odo Otin LG, tendered as Exhibit R18 because that, again, would have led them to nullify another batch of 43, 606 unlawful and unmerited votes posted for Oyinlola in his native Odo-Otin LG. When you add the antics, and judgment, of Justice Bwala in the first Ekiti Tribunal which was unceremoniously thumped by the Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin, and the shenanigans of Justice Naron and the Hammar wayo in Ekiti, about which I have written copiously, you will be too generous, if not foolish, to ascribe these judgments to anything other than corruption.

Why is this article relevant today?

Simple. It is the fact that northern judges form a preponderance of those currently under investigation and that speaks to their mode of appointment to the higher bench which sees them barely reaching the mandatory ten-year post-graduation before appointment. They then quickly transfer to the federal judiciary where they, again, enjoy rapid promotion, a situation which has resulted in the north dominating that arm of government for like ages. Unfortunately, due to the hold of traditional institutions on northern appointees, punishing them has become very herculean. In order to correct all these, decisive efforts must be made to standardise appointments into the higher reaches of the Nigerian judiciary.

October 23, 2016
Sting operation against Judges: Onslaught, what onslaught?

With all the privileges extended to Nigerian judges, should they still be found pilfering the books, not to talk of merchandising justice?

In what could no longer have come as a surprise to Nigerians. NJC, in its 744-word reaction to the DSS arrest of the judges, did not, for once, mention anything about the cache of money, in millions, and in currencies which included even the Indian rupee, seized from their homes.

If the privileged class of the Nigerian judiciary – the senior bar and the bench, will not be contrite, subdued, for once, by the malodorous smell oozing from within its ranks, if the leading lights of a once respected judiciary as embematised by the greats – the Rotimi Williams of the bar, and giants of the bench, the likes of J.I.C. Taylor, Louis Mbanefo, Joseph Adefarasin, Adetokunbo Ademola, Akinola Aguda, Anthony Aniagolu, Kayode Eso, Mohammed Bello, Chukwuweike Idigbe, Andrews Otutu Obaseki, Augustine Nnamani, Adolphos Karibi-Whyte and Chukwudifu Oputa – a judiciary now overtaken by what the late Tunji Braithwaite, a distinguished member of the senior bar, would have described as nothing more than rodents, and if they will be too self-centred to dwell only on process while leaving out the heinous act of corruption in the temple of justice, by judges who have turned justice to a commodity to be haggled about by litigants; analogous to what happens at Jankara in Lagos, then decent Nigerians, totally nonplussed at what a once decent judiciary has become, would have no option than to leave them all behind, suffused in their make-belief world of un-touchability. If they are yet to know it, decent Nigerians, not given to a life of calling black white, are today, totally crestfallen at how crimson red the judiciary – one from which sister African countries once came to recruit the very heads of their own, has become.

It is unbelievable that any member of the Nigerian judiciary, at whatever level, could be counted amongst those who are belly aching over mode of arrest but refuse to express disgust at the unbelievable act of turning the temple of justice to a market place, haggling over the price of court judgments, completely living in a world of reverse reality. When a horde of members of the senior bar queued up, behind a colleague hauled before the courts on corruption charges, Nigerians thought they had seen the worst. That they now see them line behind judges in whose homes, tonnes of money – proceeds of crime – are found, like they live in a bureau de change, is nothing but a confirmation of the putrefaction that has overtaken the Nigerian judiciary. Come to think of it, how are judges in whose home millions are found, different from the Escobars of this world, Colombian drug tsars after whom battalions of soldiers are deployed for arrest in whatever circumstances? Are motives of one illicit act significantly different from another? Aren’t they all intended for personal enrichment or are rational persons ever opposed to having drug barons arrested? With all the privileges extended to Nigerian judges, should they still be found pilfering the books, not to talk of merchandising justice? What exactly can facilitate insecurity more than denying poor citizens justice simply because they cannot afford a judge’s financial demands? Does it ever occur to these judges, and their backers, that such persons could resort to self help which, in some cases, can very well include the use of fire arms, on a large scale, especially where the litigants are two communities fighting over a piece of land as we see regularly in many parts of the country? What can be more incendiary and can’t our protesting legal luminaries, calling President Buhari all manner names get this? Where in their training in universities is money mentioned as a factor in adjudication of cases and what do they think they are teaching the younger ones in the profession- I almost wrote business?

Despite President Buhari’s clear enough statement that the move was against abberant judges, and certainly not directed at the judiciary, Mike Ozekhome SAN, who has a knack for running to television networks or writing letters to the editor whenever any controversial issue erupts as he did on both the Channels television and in his letter to the editor of The Nation on Tuesday, 11 October, 2016, sounding thoroughly alarmist until another lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, took the wind out of his sails by drawing his attention to the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in regard to the arrest of suspects. That was after he had berated the president, calling him a dictator and a tyrant, rolled into one. Not for these people would the shame of judges turning their homes to commodity centres be enough to mitigate their efforts at inverse populism. Nor would they be aghast at the inherent merchandising of justice in the hands of these otherwise respected priests in the temple of justice. In his over dramatised angst, Ozekhome had in his letter to the editor, referenced above, claimed beyond the limits of exaggeration that, and here I quote him, “Governor Nyesom Wike, a sitting governor, was almost shot dead by fully armed gun totting DSS and Police …” For a respected silk to make this bewildering claim, you would think he was giving an eye witness account. I was, therefore, glad to see him red faced when Ogunye educated him even though he tried, laboriously, to wriggle out. Without a doubt, some highly regarded members of the higher bar, as conscientious objectors to the manner they believed the judges were treated, among them the likes of Olisa Agbakoba SAN, Wole Olanipekun SAN, Dele Adesina SAN, may feel truly aggrieved but they can be forgiven for having been found, severally, on the side of the people though that would hardly justify their classical demonstration of what the Yoruba would describe as leaving leprosy to fight craw craw. One would, ordinarily, have expected that these silks, who achieved their high status by dint of hard work occasioning long hours of study, busy researching their cases, should be at the forefront of railing against corrupt judges. It will not be farfetched, to believe that one or more of them must have, one time or the other, be a victim of judicial merchandising in these courts. Or isn’t it curious, as recently observed by Palladium of this paper, that in spite of the weighty jurisprudential issues thrown up by the Kogi governorship election, there wasn’t a single minority judgment at any of our three levels of courts. Were Nigerians being told the case was that straight forward or routine? Or was this the outcome of some form of corruption – financial inducement or governmental meddling? As I indicated earlier, when justice has to be purchased, wouldn’t the poor, without the means of buying justice, resort to self help? A significant portion of the complaint of lawyers, civil society groups and public analysts has had to do with claims that this whole issue is within the purview of the NJC. With all due respect, can anybody claim that the NJC has justified, not only its existence but the high regard Nigerians accord it? Hasn’t it been shielding judges caught red handed in corruption? For instance, in recommending the retirement of a particular judge which it claimed was punished for visiting a litigant demanding bribe, hasn’t it been alleged by the DSS that the judge actually collected the bribe and that NJC directed that he should pay back instalmentally? What honour is in this red-faced lying in protection of an indicted judge? Could the dark goggled general, not to talk of an incorruptible President Buhari, have considered a body like that a partner in an anti-corruption war?

It is, however, fascinating that in all these thoroughly nauseating circumstances, the senior bar can still be proud of the Itse Sagays, the Akin Oyebodes and the Femi Falanas of the profession. These are distinguished members of the bar who do not believe that they are, in any way, obligated to sink or swim with disreputable acts of members of the judiciary, however otherwise respected. I think it is only fair that others, so understandably obliged, possibly because of the posts they had previously held, or currently hold in the profession, will from this time on begin to make the critical distinction between issues and go ahead to call a spade by no other name. That way Nigerians will continue to accord them the respect they have duly earned.

October 16, 2016
How will APC avert the Otedola syndrome in the Ondo guber election?

If these APC dramatists deserve their positions in the party hierarchy would they be working assiduously towards its immolation?

Having last week counselled against the sale of national assets as a way of getting out of recession, I was this week going to advise President Buhari to, instead, go after those the late legal luminary, Tunji Braithwaite, called ’rats and mosquitoes’, in his highly principled political escapades of the 2nd Republic. I was going to draw the president’s attention to the patriotic struggles of Hon (Dr) Abdulmumin Jibrin, on the massive thievery going on in the National Assembly. I was going to plead with the president to immediately stop this shame of a nation and compel immediate payback with interest because if the allegation is correct, their senate counterparts must have collected double. And to the citizens of Kiru/Bebeji, I was going to suggest they immediately head to court to ask Dogara to show cause as to why the interests of a highly compromised arm of government should supersede theirs’. That way, they can help stop Dogara’s creeping autocracy to which members have unexplainably consented to. It is a shame that what, by now, should have become a mass movement still remains a solitary, one man battle.

I digress.

I am yet to be convinced that the Ondo State APC primaries are, anywhere, near what the Dr. Kayode Fayemi-led 27-member APC National Convention Committee faced in 2014. Yet we saw him stamp on that exercise, his well-known perspicacity, and incandescent integrity, which ran right down the committee and enabled the fledgling party emerge from a very sensitive assignment, smelling like a thousand roses. So what went wrong with the party of change in Ondo state? Do the party leaders know they are playing dangerous games, and working real hard towards a rehash of the famed ‘Otedola syndrome’? Have they forgotten how titanic the recent Edo governorship election turned and that it was won almost solely on Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s performance which is not the case in Ondo State where the party is in opposition? If these APC dramatists deserve their positions in the party hierarchy would they be working assiduously towards its immolation? With the all-pervading cry of hunger, do they know the party’s current rating amongst Nigerians?

I honestly believe that the party’s failure to put a Board of Trustees in place is beginning to hurt seriously.

APC, as the Ondo debacle has shown, lacks competent management hands and I think this is due, largely, to fears of insecurity on the part of the chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun, a man, albeit, of incontrovertible integrity. He has apparently permitted himself to be cowed, if not browbeaten, by one of the contesting caucuses and can no longer be a lodestar for truth and fairness. He has chosen loyalty to the perspective which most guarantees his office rather than be loyal to the party. That is why, for him, five can be greater than six. And this is only a repeat of his weird position in the Kogi debacle where he served as a foot soldier for hegemonic interests. A leadership like his, so afraid of standing by the truth, can only lead the party into a cul de sac.

What Chief Oyegun’s dilatory leadership would ensure is a ruling party in a permanent flux, completely drained of trust amongst its leading lights; a situation which is guaranteed to spread to the state chapters, making it no better than today’s soul-less PDP. I will be surprised if that is what Chief Oyegun’s would like to be remembered for. Or why will a party chairman be willing to be used to cut a national leader of the party to size? I did not ask this question out of ignorance of the prevailing undercurrents. I have written copiously on these pages, pleading with the protagonists, who I know all read this column, to sheathe the sword. To Asiwaju, who I know had given a leg and an arm for his junior subalterns, who I also know reciprocated with unblemished loyalty, I suggested he invite them to resolve all the issues. I know that concerning the APC formation, Asiwaju, unarguably, led the way, but these gentlemen were not far behind. They put in massive effort which included convincing their colleagues on the Nigerian Governors Forum, particularly those Madam Patience had declared persona non grata. I pleaded with Asiwaju, in two or three articles on this column to invite them, scold them, if necessary, but apologise for attempting to deny them their just rewards, convinced that they will, in turn, like the Omoluabi’s I know them to be, accept and come to appreciate him the more. Failure to do that allowed the proverbial broken wall to fester; a situation which total strangers have now taken advantage of , to trouble the House of Oodua. As I mentioned in my forthcoming book: SIMPLY A CITIZEN JOURNALIST, which final editing I completed in Houston, Texas, a few months ago, I have always prayed the good Lord to lead our leaders aright. Or why does the Yoruba historically take one step forward and immediately go ten backwards?

Had Asiwaju called in those he, unfortunately, wronged amongst his ardent lieutenants, we all won’t be in this mess which has spread to nearly all APC state chapters in the Southwest.

But better late than never. A way out must be found because things can get far worse. This, after all, is the first time the Yoruba nation is having any say at the federal level unlike other parts of the country that have severally prospered by that very fact. Asiwaju must make the move for reconciliation: ‘nitori pe, agba ti o binu, l’omo npo jojo’.

And now to the critical Ondo State matter.

Owing to Chief Oyegun’s mistake, the party lost the chance to have the most equitable solution to the crisis, that is, a repeat primary election. But the party must now look beyond that. The exit of Chief Olushola Oke, a stranger to the progressive cause, should make reconciliation easier if the contending individuals/caucuses really mean well for the party. I warned not too long ago on these pages that you can only take Governor Mimiko for granted at your own peril. This becomes more crystal clear when you remember that the president will never permit the use of state power to rig elections.

The fissures in this crisis are so deep, and variegated, that party elders, under the lead of the president, and leader of the party himself, must be involved in its resolution. It is totally unacceptable that the party, represented by its chairman, could be adjudged, even remotely, to be involved in trying to undermine any of its national leaders, and that, in his primary constituency. The president must therefore plead with Asiwaju to see this as one more sacrifice on behalf of the party. For Asiwaju, and the aggrieved contestants, it must be peace with honour because that is about the only condition that will stop their supporters from voting for opposition candidates. This should be taken as an opportunity to settle the party’s most troubling problems and, both the president and the party, must not hesitate to make concessions to Asiwaju, especially with respect to federal appointments. It should not take a leg and an arm to achieve this given the calibre of personalities suggested for the reconciliation effort.

And for Asiwaju, he must appreciate the critical need of winning this election and having Ondo State back in the progressive camp. With Lagos State now a member of the Oodua Investment Group, resource-rich Ondo State must join the dominant political perspective in the region so as to jump start the wonderful work Dipo Famakinwa and co have been doing towards southwest regional economic integration. A lot was achieved in this regard between 2010-14 but much more can be done. Asiwaju must consider this far more important than whatever personal inconveniences this crisis may have cost him. After all, how long ago was it that Rotimi was his main man in the state? He should accept that these things happen and that it is the fate of statesmen to take the higher ground. He must forgive and forget.

May good counsel prevail, as failure to reach a rapprochement could very well see APC snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

God forbid.

October 9, 2016
President Buhari erred in his endorsement of Local Government autonomy
This, in spite of the mess we daily see local government chieftains make of local council funds resulting in their being, individually, richer than their respective councils and with no meaningful impact on the lives of the communities that make up the councils.

First, Re: SENATORS CALL FOR SACK OF MINISTERS:
1. Then what should happen to the Senators, if not simply guillotine them?
They deserve to suffer the worst fate possible, given their dismal level of competence, performance and integrity- Ayo Omowumi.
1. Saraki should address cost of governance which is not sustainable with, or without recession by removing the beam in his, and his colleagues’ eyes. The senate should lead in adjusting to these austere times. – Okan Adetunmbi.
2. Fascinating, seeing alleged treasury looters knocking the anti-corruption war, claiming its sweeping approach was scaring investors away. Will these people, ever learn, purge themselves, disgorge all they have allegedly stolen and help Nigeria out of recession?
Given the huge misuse to which all Nigerian military Heads of State had put local governments during their time, especially during the administration of the ‘allocation snatcher’, it would have tantamount to a Pauline conversion to see President Muhammadu Buhari do anything other than endorse local government autonomy. I had read, and casually dismissed his endorsement until something else brought me back to the need to urge him to re consider his position. That was the short birthday lecture Dr Olusegun Mimiko, the Ondo State governor, gave this past Monday, at the 70th birthday celebration of Chief Ishola Filani. Brilliant, tactical and, ever calculating, reasons the APC should waste no further time in putting its house in order ahead of the Ondo State governorship election, Mimiko gave an extremely poignant lecture, devoted mostly to restructuring but with emphasis on the place of local governments in a federal system. Given their historic misuse as earlier referred to, it should not be a surprise that all manner of potentates have grown around local governments, feeding fat and, cornering to themselves and their cronies, huge portions of the funds coming in from the federation account. So massive is the level of corruption in local governments that during the administration of Dr Kayode Fayemi as Governor of Ekiti State, a traumatised elder statesman told me about how certain categories of local government officials in the state were not only making a monthly contribution of not less than N1million, but owned – as at the time- most of the hotels and gas stations in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, which information I promptly passed on to the governor and who, in turn quickly fast tracked his government’s introduction of the e-payment system to check mate this mother of all corruption.

Governor Mimiko was categorical in denouncing federal involvement in a matter that should, absolutely, be a state affair, drawing attention to how military Heads of State deliberately gifted the north an abysmally disproportionate number of local governments, using such nebulous parameters as some sterile land mass. To buttress his point, he cited the specific case of Kano State which, even after Jigawa State had been carved out of it , still dwarfed Lagos State, three or four times, in the number of local governments. You only have to mentally calculate how much money goes to each state monthly from the federation account, to fully appreciate the wicked, but deliberate intent of that treacherous act. However, in order not to get subsumed in the muddle of present day Nigerian politics, let me very quickly excuse Governor Mimiko and invite, far from the great beyond, for further elucidation on this matter, unarguably Nigeria’s foremost political commentator ever: the evergreen Uncle Bola Ige, legal luminary and former governor of Oyo State who wrote , mutatis mutandis, on what he captioned: “Man -Made Avoidable Local Government Troubles”, in his column in The Sunday Tribune of 27 April, 1996 from which I shall quote at some length. Wrote Chief Ige, “anyone who has a good knowledge of the local government system, its history, theory and practice, not only in Nigeria but also in civilised countries, cannot be surprised at what is happening in various parts of the country since the Federal Military Government announced the “creation”of new local government areas. I personally have been shocked and pained by the violence that has been unleashed in some places and I am apprehensive that the tinder box is waiting to be ignited in some places where uneasy calm exists. There are modalities that govern local government systems all over the civilised world. The first is that a local government must be truly government at local level. In other words, the people of a given area must be allowed to come together, of their own accord, and in a spirit of agreeing to some sort of social contract, to run their local affairs. The community must of course be easily identifiable – usually they must be people of the same stock, or citizens who inhabit a town, or a village or a quarter as existed both during the colonial times and when we had regions. That was also what happened when I was governor of the old Oyo State. Local government system was based on emirates where they existed or administrative units where there were no emirates in the north; in the west, it was based on the combination of the Obaship system and innate democratic inclinations of the peoples of Western Nigeria; in the East where the people were largely republican, the local government system was based on the clan. Unfortunately, the Murtala-Obasanjo Federal Military Government began the nonsense that has remained with us. Pretending that they wanted a better local government administration, they set up a Commission, headed by Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki. In my opinion, the recommendations of that commission were the worst disaster to have happened to local government system in Nigeria. For instance, it was from there that the idea of uniformity in size, scope and administration was introduced. I confess that I suspected a hidden agenda in the recommendations: in order to strengthen the administrative stranglehold of the emirates, all of Nigeria was advised to base its local government system on defined populations and elaborate administrative system. Also, the military wanted to be able to manipulate the local governments, and ipso facto, the entire country. Fortunately, it did not work, nor will it ever work.

Concluding, the legal luminary wrote: “In a federal set-up, the federal government must have nothing to do with the creation or running of local governments. Nigeria is the only federation in the whole world where the federal government decides how, where, and when a local government council must run. In all civilised countries, and in all democratic countries, it is the state or provincial or regional government that legislates on local government.” As solution to the unending problems of local governments in Nigeria, “the federal government must hands off local government affairs. State governments should formulate guidelines for the setting up of local government councils. They must be of universal application and not tinkered with. Once any community satisfies the criteria in those guidelines, they should have their own council. What a people or community always want is a community of interests-not handouts by the authorities. Only then shall we be saved from man-made avoidable local government troubles.”

It will be describing President Buhari’s endorsement very mildly, indeed, to suggest that it is a huge surprise that a whole 20 years after Chief Ige made those Socratic suggestions, the president comes round, with his endorsement of local government council autonomy, obviously expressing his preference to have local councils set up as competitors with state governments which, the world over, has full and undiminished authority over them. This, in spite of the mess we daily see local government chieftains make of local council funds resulting in their being, individually, richer than their respective councils and with no meaningful impact on the lives of the communities that make up the councils. In voicing this endorsement, President Buhari has the good fortune that, as my co-columnist, Olakunle Abimbola, recently put it: his ‘sheer moral authority, powered by his unchallenged integrity’ to thank, as that forbids us from accusing him of political opportunism as he made the remarks while receiving the leadership of the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON), one of those bodies that have perennially, unduly, profited from our wayward local government system even as the communities atrophy.
September 25, 2016
About economic development in Ekiti State
Ekiti State is faced with three fundamental problems

The 1st Ekitipanupo Colloquium which held in Lagos, Thursday 8 September, 2016, was a high octane event, featuring papers by reputed academicians, professionals and seasoned politicians who have served Nigeria with distinction. Among them was Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi who presented a technical, but very robust paper on: “Economic development and contemporary issues of concern to stakeholders in Ekiti-State”. Because of the paper’s relevance to Pan-Nigeria, and the grim picture of Ekiti it presents which, it is hoped, should make Ekiti wannabe governors, come 2018, sit up and thoroughly re-examine their capabilities , or otherwise, I have decided to publish it as presented, barring a mild abridgment for space, because therein lies the critical issues of who becomes the next governor of Ekiti; not the leisurely talk about the Senatorial district he/she comes from or whether or not he /she has spent all his/her years on earth in Ekiti, never as much as venturing outside of it, as some are known to canvass.

1.0    Ekiti state is faced with three fundamental problems

1.1       It’s all about people: What is the state of our people Lowest SGDP in the region.

Not enough businesses to create jobs and income – highest ratio in the region

4/10 young people drop out of tertiary institutions

Lowest tax index <N2000/ citizen which is in tandem with SME population, IGR and GDP

Therefore, sound economic management in state is crucial to meeting national targets.

2.0       The Fiscal Challenge of states

November 2011, I was privileged to raise a motion on the floor of the Senate on the looming danger of insolvency and bankruptcy in states. The danger no longer looms, it’s here.

5 years ago 20 states face the prospect of unstable and unfavorable financial standing, given the high percentage of their wage bill to the total revenue.

As at that time the bulk of the revenue of states was being spent to on pay roll of the civil service which constitutes less than 4% of the total population in all states.

It is therefore not surprising that today, there are indications of insolvency in 27 states

23 states received a bail out cash of N689.5 billion[9] from the Federal Government and recently 5 states[10] have been prequalified for another round of conditional bail out from the FG.

3.0       Six practical steps for action by states

3.1       Baseline for economic growth and human livelihood improvement: state of the state

This involves a rapid assessment and understanding of the economy and of livelihood conditions of the state.
- Estimation and analysis of state GDP. This will provide the canvas for creating MTSS for economic growth poles in state.
- Agriculture – replicating the new value chain approach on rice in Kebbi and Jigawa.
- Solid minerals mapping of the state and areas of immediate-medium term opportunity.
- Youth development & mobilization: Entertainment, ICT & sports
Concentric economy model with Ondo and Osun states.

Institutionalise multi- year state development planning as the basis for public expenditure

3.2 Lay the foundation for growth: planning for 2017-2019
- Establish and or strengthen State Bureau of Statistics, Planning Commissions and Budget Offices or ministry of Budget and Planning
- Develop 4 year medium term development plans for state and local governments and align with global and regional frameworks Emphasis will be on private sector led growth in Agriculture, Health, Education sectors; Infrastructure and enabling environment for PSD.
Set performance targets in poverty education, health, agriculture/agribusiness, strategic infrastructure, environment and climate change

3.3 IGR reform

Ramp up internal revenue drive,

Implementation of the FIRS/DFID/DFID/NGF state specific IGR reports.

Expansion of tax net and efficiency of collection

Land and property titling reform e.g. FCT, Lagos, FCT, Anambra, Enugu etc.

Replicating Lagos, Ogun and Kano states experience

Federal support and incentive for TSA adoption

3.4 Improved PFM and fiscal transparency in states

Review current FRA to reflect best practices of Brazil and India.

Develop framework of MTEF for 2017-2019

Fiscal prudence and cost control:
- Salary bailout versus forensic audit of payroll and worker productivity
- Overhead cost review to shave off all non-value adding and avoidable expenditure
- Critical look at General Administration expenses – cost of running government houses, governors offices and political office holders
3.5 Budget process reform

First step is to regain fiscal sanity by ensuring that revenue matches expenditure.
- Massive cut in cost of governance and focus more on essential public services particularly in public schools and primary health care delivery.
- Commence ZBB to justify and bring down cost
Reset ratio of recurrent and capital budget

Pursue value for money, avoid contract inflation, institute effective price monitoring and public procurement policies.
- Exploring and creative financing windows
- Prioritizing the completion of on-going infrastructure projects in roads, rail and power
- Mobilizing private capital for public infrastructure – expanding and speeding up concessioning process under PPP arrangements.
3.6 Public service reform

Necessity to right-size their public service; this could mean all or a combination of shedding jobs, outsourcing, cutting pay, trimming benefits and other creative ideas.

There are models for managing labour unions during such drastic reforms to ensure collaborative rather than antagonistic labour relations.

The public service consumed 60-120% of total revenue in some states.

Use IGR as a proxy for worker productivity, some states are not generating enough to cover the minimum wage of N18,000 per month per worker.

3.7 Making government work for the people: Focus on delivery
- Development of State’s Key Results Areas SKRAs
- Set performance targets for SKRAs in priority sectors
- Set up M&E framework
- Set up delivery unit within Governor’s office
4.0 Conclusion

These practical solutions can build the capacity of state government for turnaround management

The current realities in the country indicates that states will have to look inwards and solve their problems rather than rely on the FG

Therefore the state needs a new economic development agenda that rely on its youths to drive economic growth, create jobs and improve livelihood of citizens.

Fiscal openness with rational application of states resources will in aggregate terms be contributory to overall economic performance.
September 18, 2016
Ekiti panupo colloquium – restoring ekiti enterprise values and defining the pathway to lasting development

In my opening remarks as moderator of the first session at the Ekitipanupo Colloquium on the above topic, I said, inter alia: “A look at the array of speakers who will be talking to us today, unmistakably points to the fact that the Ekiti conundrum of one week, one trouble, is not the making of the gods; certainly not of the Almighty God who, indeed, gave us a surfeit of excellence in literally all areas of human endeavour. We must, therefore, take this opportunity, not only to critically examine what exactly is wrong with us as a people but begin the process of finding solutions to whatever the demons are that are tearing us apart. We cannot have a more qualified assemblage of Ekiti people to begin that divine assignment. And I am sure Ekitipanupo, to the last man and woman, is ready, and willing, to be guided by our elders who we hope know that whatever it is that we all do, at this juncture of our lives to help Ekiti out, is what we will be remembered for; not our riches, not our chains of university degrees nor how many chieftaincies we were given while on this side of the divide. We must, therefore, all serve Ekiti with an eye on eternity.”

Bolaji Aluko, Professor of Chemical Engineering and the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Otueke, further reinforced this theme when, as lead speaker, he opined that “the issue of Ekiti should be beyond politics or party affiliation– and if they are, then there should be certain minimum standards below which we must not allow either politics or partisanship to be played.” The reality, he further said, was that as a 20-year old state, “if we had elections every four years, we would have had only five governors –or just three if two of them were re-elected – but since our state’s existence, we have had ten governors, two of them military administrators, which is a clear indication of political instability.” He went on: “As a state with a land lush with rolling hills, rivers and water falls, vegetation and mineral resources – not to talk of the hardy and highly educated people, Ekiti State should be a veritable tourist destination and prime candidate for energy, food and economic self-sufficiency and sustainability.”

Speakers at the one day event which took place, Thursday, 8 September, 2016, at the Anchor Events Centre, Agidingbi, Ikeja which was packed to capacity, included the elder statesman, Professor (Senator) Banji Akintoye who gave the key note address, Prince Julius Adelusi-Faluyi, Chairman, Juli Pharmacy, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, Banji Ogungbemi, a former Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Products Ltd, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, Professor Julius Faluyi of the University of Ife, Ile-Ife and Dr Biodun Adedipe, Chief Consultant, B.Adedipe Associates while Professor Modupe Adelabu, former Deputy Governor of Ekiti state ,moderated the second session. The event was chaired by Chief Afe Babalola OFR SAN and Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti who was ably represented.

Ideas ranged far and wide but so were chilling statistics. For instance, one of the findings at the event was that while it is obvious that our fractious politics has been our greatest undoing, so also has our workforce which, instead of being the facilitator of economic activities, oiling and helping the growth of the private sector, it is abysmally huge and inefficient as the following statistics which compares Ekiti with its Southwest neighbours eloquently attest to:

https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/profile_mask2.png. A good reading, and internalisation of the above facts by any Ekiti government, should have informed a re-orientation of priorities. As was also made evident at the Colloquium, the time has come for us as a people to determine what economic activity our government should lay emphasis on. For instance, the indices identified by Professor Aluko in his paper as gifts of nature should be the starting point. But on a much larger scale is agriculture which for a very long time was the mainstay of not just the Western Region, but Nigeria as a whole.

It must be a surprise that while so much emphasis is being laid on Kebbi State and rice production today, hardly a thing is heard about Ekiti State and its sumptuous and extremely nourishing Igbemo rice. Although this did not come directly into the discussions as Ekitipanupo did everything to make the occasion sans politics, we must encourage the state government to maximally leverage on the federal government’s diversification programme to enhance all the possibilities of Igbemo rice down to its value chain. A move in this direction will have tremendous positive effects on the state ranging from youth and women employment, increase in the number of SMEs in the state just as it will enhance security by keeping some jobless youths engaged.

Dr Biodun Adedipe, as Chief Consultant of B.Adedipe and Associates, is already very involved in assisting states other than his own Ekiti in fashioning out these priorities and would be only too willing to put his expertise at the state’s disposal. He is, for instance, currently working with the State of Osun in training thousands of graduates in skills acquisition. There are thousands and thousands of our incredible Ekiti compatriots out there, both at home and in the Diaspora, who will be ready, and willing, to help take Ekiti out of its self-inflicted cul de sac. And this is the more reason why we have to de-emphasise politics in the state, going forward. It has ill-served us this past decade and a half. Enough is enough. After all, we are the most homogenous people and state in the entire country. Today, it is not an overstatement to say that three out of every five youth in Ekiti want a role in politics, even as toughies. It has not always been like this as sons and daughters of very poor farmers are now not only university professors, but top executives of large organisations and self-employed titans. My father is poor was not an excuse in Ekiti, it shouldn’t be now. And Professor Akintoye did not fail to tell us at the event that even in Education, we were late starters because of our distance from the Atlantic coast but for over half a century now, Ekiti has been rhapsodised as the home of professors, with no family without a doctorate degree holder.

I have chosen not to resort to a historical narration of the event but rather to emphasise my take-aways. In concluding therefore, I must go back to Professor Bolaji Aluko who emphasised the following four key ingredients for our revival: Courage, Prudence, Temperance and Justice. While space constraint will not permit my elucidating on these as he did in his paper, I will be too remiss not to quote his conclusion. His words: “I strongly believe that these virtues should be given both civic and religious under-girding in our educational system – from primary to university levels. The get-rich quick, situational ethics that currently pervade our young people –brought on by decades of public graft in the Nigerian polity – is disturbing and must be reversed. Adults who violate them –who show no courage to confront the real needs of the community, are unwise, intemperate, and unjust – should not be hailed in society – and should not be elected to govern the people.”

September 11, 2016
Ekiti panupo colloquium – restoring ekiti enterprise values and defining the pathway to lasting development

It must be a surprise that while so much emphasis is being laid on Kebbi State and rice production today, hardly a thing is heard about Ekiti State and its sumptuous and extremely nourishing Igbemo rice

In my opening remarks as moderator of the first session at the Ekitipanupo Colloquium on the above topic, I said, inter alia: “A look at the array of speakers who will be talking to us today, unmistakably points to the fact that the Ekiti conundrum of one week, one trouble, is not the making of the gods; certainly not of the Almighty God who, indeed, gave us a surfeit of excellence in literally all areas of human endeavour. We must, therefore, take this opportunity, not only to critically examine what exactly is wrong with us as a people but begin the process of finding solutions to whatever the demons are that are tearing us apart. We cannot have a more qualified assemblage of Ekiti people to begin that divine assignment. And I am sure Ekitipanupo, to the last man and woman, is ready, and willing, to be guided by our elders who we hope know that whatever it is that we all do, at this juncture of our lives to help Ekiti out, is what we will be remembered for; not our riches, not our chains of university degrees nor how many chieftaincies we were given while on this side of the divide. We must, therefore, all serve Ekiti with an eye on eternity.”

Bolaji Aluko, Professor of Chemical Engineering and the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Otueke, further reinforced this theme when, as lead speaker, he opined that “the issue of Ekiti should be beyond politics or party affiliation– and if they are, then there should be certain minimum standards below which we must not allow either politics or partisanship to be played.” The reality, he further said, was that as a 20-year old state, “if we had elections every four years, we would have had only five governors –or just three if two of them were re-elected – but since our state’s existence, we have had ten governors, two of them military administrators, which is a clear indication of political instability.” He went on: “As a state with a land lush with rolling hills, rivers and water falls, vegetation and mineral resources – not to talk of the hardy and highly educated people, Ekiti State should be a veritable tourist destination and prime candidate for energy, food and economic self-sufficiency and sustainability.”

Speakers at the one day event which took place, Thursday, 8 September, 2016, at the Anchor Events Centre, Agidingbi, Ikeja which was packed to capacity, included the elder statesman, Professor (Senator) Banji Akintoye who gave the key note address, Prince Julius Adelusi-Faluyi, Chairman, Juli Pharmacy, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, Banji Ogungbemi, a former Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Products Ltd, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, Professor Julius Faluyi of the University of Ife, Ile-Ife and Dr Biodun Adedipe, Chief Consultant, B.Adedipe Associates while Professor Modupe Adelabu, former Deputy Governor of Ekiti state ,moderated the second session. The event was chaired by Chief Afe Babalola OFR SAN and Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti who was ably represented.

Ideas ranged far and wide but so were chilling statistics. For instance, one of the findings at the event was that while it is obvious that our fractious politics has been our greatest undoing, so also has our workforce which, instead of being the facilitator of economic activities, oiling and helping the growth of the private sector, it is abysmally huge and inefficient as the following statistics which compares Ekiti with its Southwest neighbours eloquently attest to: https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/profile_mask2.png. A good reading, and internalisation of the above facts by any Ekiti government, should have informed a re-orientation of priorities. As was also made evident at the Colloquium, the time has come for us as a people to determine what economic activity our government should lay emphasis on. For instance, the indices identified by Professor Aluko in his paper as gifts of nature should be the starting point. But on a much larger scale is agriculture which for a very long time was the mainstay of not just the Western Region, but Nigeria as a whole.

It must be a surprise that while so much emphasis is being laid on Kebbi State and rice production today, hardly a thing is heard about Ekiti State and its sumptuous and extremely nourishing Igbemo rice. Although this did not come directly into the discussions as Ekitipanupo did everything to make the occasion sans politics, we must encourage the state government to maximally leverage on the federal government’s diversification programme to enhance all the possibilities of Igbemo rice down to its value chain. A move in this direction will have tremendous positive effects on the state ranging from youth and women employment, increase in the number of SMEs in the state just as it will enhance security by keeping some jobless youths engaged.

Dr Biodun Adedipe, as Chief Consultant of B.Adedipe and Associates, is already very involved in assisting states other than his own Ekiti in fashioning out these priorities and would be only too willing to put his expertise at the state’s disposal. He is, for instance, currently working with the State of Osun in training thousands of graduates in skills acquisition. There are thousands and thousands of our incredible Ekiti compatriots out there, both at home and in the Diaspora, who will be ready, and willing, to help take Ekiti out of its self-inflicted cul de sac. And this is the more reason why we have to de-emphasise politics in the state, going forward. It has ill-served us this past decade and a half. Enough is enough. After all, we are the most homogenous people and state in the entire country. Today, it is not an overstatement to say that three out of every five youth in Ekiti want a role in politics, even as toughies. It has not always been like this as sons and daughters of very poor farmers are now not only university professors, but top executives of large organisations and self-employed titans. My father is poor was not an excuse in Ekiti, it shouldn’t be now. And Professor Akintoye did not fail to tell us at the event that even in Education, we were late starters because of our distance from the Atlantic coast but for over half a century now, Ekiti has been rhapsodised as the home of professors, with no family without a doctorate degree holder.

I have chosen not to resort to a historical narration of the event but rather to emphasise my take-aways. In concluding therefore, I must go back to Professor Bolaji Aluko who emphasised the following four key ingredients for our revival: Courage, Prudence, Temperance and Justice. While space constraint will not permit my elucidating on these as he did in his paper, I will be too remiss not to quote his conclusion. His words: “I strongly believe that these virtues should be given both civic and religious under-girding in our educational system – from primary to university levels. The get-rich quick, situational ethics that currently pervade our young people –brought on by decades of public graft in the Nigerian polity – is disturbing and must be reversed. Adults who violate them –who show no courage to confront the real needs of the community, are unwise, intemperate, and unjust – should not be hailed in society – and should not be elected to govern the people.”

September 11, 2016