The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday

  • This SERAP ‘sef’

    This SERAP ‘sef’

    Doesn’t it know that law making is serious business; so our NASS lawmakers certainly deserve
    more than the little comforts they are asking for?

    I wonder what the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) hopes to gain from persistent criticism of our democratically elected leaders. Whenever they hear that the Federal Government wants to spend some huge sums of money, they kick. When our lawmakers in the National Assembly want to spoil themselves on our behalf, SERAP would complain. It is as if the essence of the group is always to kill the joy of our very important personalities.

    The latest problem of the group will shock you to the marrow. SERAP is threatening our National Assembly (NASS) members that they should perish the thought of buying very good cars for themselves. As a matter of fact, they told our almighty Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the House of Representatives Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, in unequivocal terms to drop the idea of spending “N40 billion on 465 exotic and bulletproof cars for members and principal officials and N70 billion as ‘palliatives’ for new members”.

    Just hear the deputy director of the busybody group, Kolawole Oluwadare: Akpabio and Abbas must “repeal the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act to reduce the budget for the National Assembly by N110 billion, to reflect the current economic realities in the country and address the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy on the over 137 million poor Nigerians.” That is not all. SERAP also told the senate president and the speaker to “request President Bola Tinubu to present a fresh supplementary appropriation bill, to redirect the N110 billion to address the situation of the over 20 million out- of-school children in Nigeria, for the approval of the National Assembly.” So, the group even knows the solution to our country’s out-of-school children better than our honourable lawmakers? What effrontery?

    Perhaps if the group had stopped here, the duo won’t have felt too offended. But the group still continued: “While N70 billion ‘support allowance’ is budgeted for 306 new lawmakers, only N500 billion worth of palliatives is budgeted for 12 million poor Nigerians. N40 billion is also allocated to buy 465 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and bullet-proof cars for members and principal officials.”

    As if all these are not insulting enough, SERAP threatened the lawmakers with law suit if they did not do its bidding within seven days. “We would be grateful (pocket your gratitude) if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter…” Please let me stop here. Despite not being the one that SERAP wrote, I am already losing my temper over the group’s impudence and lack of respect for our lawmakers.

    Is SERAP not aware of the saying that ‘all animals are equal but some are more equal than others’? What current economic realities is it talking about? What is new anywhere under the sun? What realities are Nigerians facing now that other people have not faced in other parts of the world? So, because the average Nigerian has been relieved of the burden of fuel subsidy which they were all the while carrying for a few over-pampered thieves in the country, and they are now carrying it for and by themselves, SERAP thinks that is enough reason for all Nigerians (including our lawmakers) to be living like paupers in a perpetually potentially rich country like ours.  SERAP please stop this rude joke.

    How can anyone in his right senses be asking our own lawmakers to use made-in-Nigeria cars, for example? Pray, if such very important personalities use locally made cars, what will ordinary Nigerians use? What is wrong if the ‘ogas’ at the top in the NASS have bullet-proof cars? Is SERAP not aware that it is only for the less privileged that life has no duplicate? Does the group know how much it costs Nigeria to produce one NASS member? So we should not make provision for more than one life for the ‘ogas’ there, having invested so much to be national lawmakers? Haba SERAP! We should even be grateful that they are not asking for bullet-proof cars for every member of NASS. SERAP and their co-travellers who don’t agree with this prudent decision had better retrace their steps before our lawmakers change their mind and decide to buy bullet-proof cars for all of them. Such antagonists should remember that the NASS members would take the cars away when they are leaving and we would have to make provision for the latest model for their successors.

    At this juncture, I implore all well-meaning Nigerians to join me in tendering an unreserved apology to Akpabio and Abass on behalf of SERAP. The almighty senate president and speaker should not mind the youthful exuberance of supposedly mature executive officers of the group. They should realise that no matter how good a child knows how to eat wrapped pap, it would always mess up his hand.

    At any rate, it would seem this is a season of apologies. Our own Mmesoma Ejikeme, the one who suddenly woke up on Sunday, July 2, and told us that she topped the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) with 362 marks finally apologised for lying to the world on Wednesday, at least two clear weeks after we had all known that she lied. She actually scored 249.

    I guess those who were tutoring her saw the danger in her not apologising, hence her change of mind. There was first the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) ban for three years which was dangling over her fate like the sword of Damocles. Her tutors also probably realised that this was even a slap on the wrist compared to the sentence Mmesoma would face if the matter went to court. Afterall, at 19, she is no longer a minor.

    If our NASS members did not reject this apology (mind you the ‘truce’ between JAMB and Mmesoma took place right in the NASS), there is no reason why they would not accept the one I am tendering on behalf of SERAP for its executive members’ audacity to talk to them as if they were talking to their mates.

    The problem is that some people do not seem to understand the limits of democracy.  They think democracy confers on the people the right to run their mouths ‘sho sho sho’ all over the place.

    My dear Senate President and Speaker, it is you I have to plead with. The kind of insult that you got from SERAP is not uncommon with people like you. But you have to understand that your exalted positions have more or less made you a dunghill where all manner of people come to dump all manner of garbage. At a critical juncture like this, you have to sip from the well of patience. I can understand how you feel. In fact, but for your loving kindness, the SERAP people who don’t know that honour must be given to whom it is due would have been cooling their heels somewhere now, eating half-boiled beans with gari and coconut. I promise on their behalf that this would be the last time that such  a thing would happen from the recalcitrant group.

    Ordinarily I should have marched them to the NASS straightaway so they can use their own mouths to apologise. But I must be assured your anger has simmered down. Who will such happen to that would not feel sufficiently embarrassed? SERAP’s director would lead the apology train with the letter of apology whose content has to be to your taste and in your humble image, followed by his deputy, Oluwadare, who behaved like the turning stick that does not know how to reject errand, by signing the insulting letter addressed to you.

    As a matter of fact, the apology visit would be well publicised. The world’s media leaders, CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and our own local media would cover the great event live, with the SERAP leader and his team prostrating while giving you the letter. They would remain in that position until you tell them to get up. The lesson from Nigeria should reverberate around the world; other recalcitrant persons and groups wherever they may be under the sun must have something to learn about how to respect people in power. If that must be Nigeria’s contribution to such topic, it is jolly well worth it.

    As I always say, a hunchback cannot appreciate what people who stand straight unaided go through until he decides to do same. My dear senate president you have to know that these people are behaving the way they are because they don’t know what it takes to have been governor for eight years in our kind of country where it is easier to make paradise than it is to survive the do-or-die battles that people fight before getting to such offices. Not only that, you had been minister; not one in charge of admin where all you deal with are files and piles of files, but in a juicy one like the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs which also is no mean feat. Now that you have, in the tradition of some of your predecessors, gone to the next level, instead of congratulating you for making it to this point, some misguided elements are not even allowing you to settle down to know what is where before threatening you with an ultimatum.

    I learnt you people are already contemplating quitting the office if this is the reward you will get from an unappreciative people who do not know the sleepless nights you suffer to make Nigeria great. But you can’t do that. The country still needs your service.

    You see, I am not worried about the larger NASS members because I know once both of you forgive SERAP, your colleagues know the group stays forgiven. Kindly fix a date for this great event. Even SERAP and its leaders are looking forward to it. I can tell you, Mr Senate President and Honourable Speaker, they are now remorseful. They have realised their mistake and would come not only with a letter of apology but also individual undertaking never to do such again.

    They have now known that people like you who represent others are there to enjoy on behalf of those you represent for better for better, for richer for richer, and in good health alone. The ‘for worse’ is reserved for the hoi polloi. SERAP and its co-travellers must realise that our lawmakers can only give their best when they have the comforts of life that SERAP in its ignorance wants to deny them. Lawmaking is enervating. Good lawmaking, like the one we have been having in Nigeria, is even more so.

    Less than two months into a four-year round of enjoyment in the first instance, and some people are already complaining. What kind of people are we? Please let no one truncate this ‘enyoyment’.

  • Targeting the Supreme Court

    Targeting the Supreme Court

    When it became clear that both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) would litigate their February 25 presidential poll loss, cyber warriors obviously beholden to both parties took on the campaign with a ferocity that has no precedent in Nigeria. Their primary objective was to ensure that the winner, the All Progressives Congress (APC), must not assume office; but if it did, it must not have peace of mind on the throne. To achieve this goal, the losing parties and their social media warriors, together with a host of silent and shadowy supporters in high places, briefly toyed with fomenting insurrection. That plot collapsed very quickly. It led the anti-APC conspirators to settle for the last and perhaps most vicious strategy left in their armamentarium: discrediting, blackmailing and weakening the judiciary in order to achieve a preplanned outcome. The plotters envisaged three main outcomes: secure total cancellation of the February 25 election, or secure a runoff, or get a declaration that either the PDP or LP won.

    The APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was the target all along. If there was a declaration today that the PDP had won, indicating that candidate Atiku Abubakar would be sworn in, the LP would quickly reconcile with that outcome and congratulate the ‘victor’. And if the LP were to be declared victorious, the PDP would respond amicably in kind. It is not certain how the political North would respond to an LP victory, given the ethnic and regional peculiarities of Nigeria’s history, but both the LP and the Southeast would be comfortable with an Atiku victory. Both parties have refused to attack each other since the poll result was declared on February 28. Instead they have focused on subverting the Tinubu victory, and failing that, attempting to bring the country down. Former senate president Ahmad Lawan did not clinch the APC presidential primary, and was even less likely to win the presidential contest; but had he won, the virulence on display against the APC presidential victory, a virulence given fillip by the inexplicable lack of unity in the Southwest, would have been considerably reduced.

    It is from the foregoing that the unethical and malignant campaign against the judiciary, particularly against the Supreme Court, the leadership of Chief Justice of Nigeria Olukayode Ariwoola, and the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), must be understood. The judiciary is merely suffering collateral damage. The courts are not the main target. CJN Ariwoola is in fact not also a target in the real sense of the word. The PDP, LP and cyber warriors are focusing on the judiciary to intimidate that arm of government into playing their script. The plot and the tactics being deployed to achieve a nefarious outcome are explicable. What is inexpiable is the seeming silence of the secret service and the law enforcement agencies in the face of the massive negative propaganda and unmitigated fake news being hurled at the judiciary. Until judgement is delivered in the case, the plots and campaigns will continue without let. It goes without saying that any verdict other than the three outcomes mentioned above would be unsatisfactory to the conspirators.

    The campaign to weaken and damage the judiciary began actively in late March when some online media outfits published photographs of Justice Ariwoola on wheelchair at an airport, according to them, in disguise, and pretending to be ill, but on his way to a London hotel for a secret meeting with the then president-elect, Asiwaju Tinubu. Not only was the face of the CJN quite visible and without any disguise, it turned out the president-elect was resting in France. The tendentious story was triggered and circulated to suggest that under Justice Ariwoola, a Yoruba man like the president-elect, securing justice in any petition would be far-fetched. The lawyer who took the photograph later apologised for his indiscretion and the innuendoes attached to the picture, but the opposition parties’ cyber warriors would not be placated. Since then, multiple stories have been deliberately and methodically concocted against the CJN and the judiciary to insinuate bias against them.

    President Tinubu was also alleged to have made a phone call to the CJN, and the CJN was in turn alleged to have mounted pressure on the Department of State Service (DSS) in order to subvert or obstruct justice in favour of the president. There were of course no calls of any kind. Then, also, counsels to both the PDP and LP, together with suborned media establishments, have sought to influence public opinion after every court session of the PEPC with snide remarks and twisted interpretations of the ongoing court hearing. The attacks are relentless and malicious, and there is apparently no stopping the opposition and their assignees. Worse, only last week, the cyber bullies reported the resignation, on the grounds of principle, of a member of the PEPC, Justice Boloukuoromo Ugo. It was another deliberate falsehood. There was no resignation but a calculated and orchestrated campaign to sow seeds of distrust and doubts among the justices and in the minds of Nigerians.

    Midway into the flurry of attacks and lies, and fearful that the plots were not gaining the traction they had hoped, the PDP/LP plotters raised a brief but furious campaign through the courts to secure live coverage for the PEPC trial. They hoped to make up for their lack of substance with copious application of drama, in fact melodrama. That inane flurry also petered out into fatuity. It was not clear to any rational person how 11 witnesses for the LP and 37 witnesses for the PDP could hope to persuade the election court that election malpractice took place in Nigeria’s over 176,000 polling units, let alone prove that there was substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act. Both PDP and LP leaders, not to talk of their cynical presidential candidates, knew that they were engaged in a quixotic enterprise to overturn the election. To remedy their failings, they have resorted to all kinds of legal and political tricks capable of destroying the judiciary. They have seized upon a few controversial past judgements of the apex court to drive home the point that the Supreme Court could not be trusted.

    The presidential election petitions have been consolidated. Try as hard as the petitioners may, it is hard to contemplate any outcome that would send them into raptures. The justices have been maligned and blackmailed. But it would require a greater leap of faith on their part, and a lot of contempt for the facts before them, for the justices to bend the law in favour of calumniators simply because they had the temerity to ridicule the courts and the justices. Unable to prove anything, the petitioners will still continue to rail at the justices before the judgement is delivered and after. The mystery is why the law enforcement agencies have not gone after those who concoct and spread deliberate falsehoods.

  • Ludicrous lab tests for air passengers

    Ludicrous lab tests for air passengers

    It may be time for Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to call their federal lawmakers to order over their love for sponsoring whimsical bills. Many months ago, a member of the 9th House of Representatives, Ganiyu Johnson (Lagos, APC), entered the eye of the storm by sponsoring a bill to compel fresh medical graduates to serve in Nigeria for five years mandatorily before travelling abroad. It was a silly, poorly digested and ill-conceived bill. But he stuck to his guns. Luckily he is not a member of the 10th House, and will not be able to pursue his dogma.

    As if Lagos was not jinxed enough, another lawmaker, Kalejaiye Paul, sponsored a motion to compel the Aviation ministry to test intending passengers for their blood pressure and sugar level. Since a statistically insignificant few diabetic and hypertensive travelers had collapsed at airport terminals, it has led Hon Paul to imagine that the way out is to test air passengers. The inanity of that motion is baffling. It beggars belief that the lawmakers would advocate cumbersome and unwarranted procedures before flight when the nation is not dealing with epidemic outbreak.

    Hopefully, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas will inspire the 10th House into seriousness and rationality, instead of the frivolity they seem bent on with the baseless invitation extended to the misguided teenager, Mmesoma Ejikeme, to appear before them for forging her JAMB scores a few weeks ago and lying through her teeth. Surely, the lower legislative chamber can’t be so idle. 

  • Tinubu’s one stone to kill many birds

    Tinubu’s one stone to kill many birds

    THE week closed just the same way it opened; high sounding and mazed activities heralded his work week, same way another big declaration wrapped it up. At the start of the week, being Sunday, July 9, he was declared the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States‘ (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government, making sure not to leave the stage on that day without sounding a notice of what the sub-region and indeed, the whole of Africa should expect. Then as the week drew to a close, on Thursday evening, he alerted the world to a novel idea of solving two nagging concerns of Nigerians; hunger and unemployment. He declared a state-of-emergency on the nation’s food security.

    “Accordingly, in line with this administration’s position on ensuring that the most vulnerable are supported, Mr. President has declared, with immediate effect the following actions: That a state of emergency on food security be announced immediately, and that all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, be included within the purview of the National Security Council”, Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, disclosed the new way to go at a press conference held at the State House.

    Though both are very significant developments, analysts have tended to put the declaration of the state-of-emergency on food security ahead of the new task of chairing the ECOWAS decision-making body. To Bolaji Lawal, a finance expert who is also a stakeholder in the food production and distribution value-chain, the late-Thursday declaration by President Tinubu has become one of the most significant and far-reaching decisions of the new administration, which rippling effects will be felt even beyond West Africa.

    According to Lawal, the declaration has singlehandedly taken an aim a number of age-long issues, not just that of hunger and unemployment. As it will be fixing the primary concerns, it will play a role in fixing security in the country as it is expected to end nomadic herding, which is a major cause of many clashes in different parts of the country. It will serve not just Nigeria from the projected food sufficiency, it will usher in a new era in which the country will potentially become the ECOWAS food basket.

    “July 13th 2023 is a day the masses of Nigeria sing hosanna as President Tinubu unfolds his agenda to ensure food security for Nigeria and Nigerians. While several governments in the past have made attempts at food security, this is the single, most comprehensive effort yet as it touches on different aspects of food production across the value chain, up to the commodity exchange.

    “The effort of the Tinubu administration creates value throughout the value-chain as: one, targets farmers and the poor with inputs and foods to cushion the effects inflation; two, use its MDA’s to provide resources that ensure adequate production and availability of food all year round; and three, use the about-to be-created Commodity Board to ensure a stabilization of price while collaborating with several stakeholders.

    “The bold decision to set up ranches not only eliminate the incessant herder/farmer clashes but it modernizes the business in a manner that benefits the farmers and Nigeria as a country as this is the first step in Nigeria becoming an exporter of beef and other associated livestock products.

    “The ambition to create millions of jobs in the agricultural value-chain is a strategic effort at recreating the middle class, which will trigger an economic prosperity in Nigeria within a few years”, he said.

    The emergence of President Tinubu as Chairman of the ECOWAS’ Authority of Heads of State and Government, earlier in the week, has also been categorized as one very significant development. In the thought of many, the Authority deciding to yield leadership to a newcomer, who was just elected leader of his people just a little over a month ago, speaks volume. Some say besides the general recognition that Nigeria is the Big Brother in the sub-region (Nigeria is home to more than half of the population of the entire 16-country ECOWAS region), Tinubu as choice of the next Chairman also speaks to the fact that he is a respected leader, capable of retrieving the destinies of more than 387 million West African citizens from the doldrums. The influence of Nigeria on the rest of the region was recently tangibly appreciated with the removal of the ruinous petrol subsidy. That decision reverberated throughout the region, leading to protests in some neighbouring countries.  

    Almost immediately after he was announced Chairman, Tinubu reeled out details of a marshal plan for the region, including economic, military and political targets, just as if he was waiting to be unveiled.

    “In furtherance of my vision for our region’s economic recovery and growth, Nigeria intends to convene an ECOWAS Extra Ordinary Summit on Trade and Investment in October 2023. The event will provide opportunity for Member States to showcase their potentials and encourage match-making, in order to evolve business cooperation among the various organized private sector within the region,” he added while calling for the strengthening of the institutions of the body. In the area of strengthening our Organisations Institutions and ensuring effective performance, we underscore the need for the conclusion of the on-going institutional reforms of the organization. Given that Community Levy remained the biggest source of generating funds to run our organization, we must ensure that our citizens being taxed must be positively impacted by the programmes and projects of ECOWAS. This is in line with the shift of ECOWAS slogan from ‘ECOWAS of State’ to ‘ECOWAS of People’, the Nigerian President emphasised.

    Analyzing the import of the election of Tinubu as ECOWAS Chairman, an Abuja-based Public Affairs Analyst and an author, Daniel Oshubaye, said “in his speech as Chairman of the ECOWAS, President Bola Tinubu proclaimed ‘Nigeria…we are back!’. These words encapsulate the essence of a nation’s revival, charting a new course for Africa. Tinubu’s unwavering commitment to continental unity reverberates in his promises: protecting democracy, upholding the rule of law, and fostering inclusive economic growth in the region.

    “The World Bank’s latest data, unveiling Nigeria’s 52% share of ECOWAS’s population, underscores its pivotal role. This acknowledgment ignites fresh optimism for a brighter future, as Nigeria’s steadfast leadership propels Africa toward prosperity and solidarity. With closed borders, terrorism and heightened insecurity in the region, Bola Ahmed Tinubu will tackle these challenges head-on, while optimistic about the ECOWAS currency and enhanced trade ties among member states. Nigeria is poised to embrace its destiny as Africa’s beacon of progress”, he said.

    Of course, the week was littered with lots of events and activities, some of them rather nostalgic for the President, just as some of them elicited passion from him. For instance, on meeting the Class of ’99 Governors, a class he belonged as former governor of Lagos State, on Wednesday, the expression on their faces, including his, was priceless. The banters were much more. Walking into the Council Chambers, it was the leader of the visiting group, former Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion, that first caught his gaze and then he went “Lucky, Lucky”.

    During the meeting, the President, again, revealed the emotional side when he revealed he was not oblivious of the hardship the people are going through as a result of the some of the policies and decisions taken so far, assuring Nigerians that it is for the benefit of the majority. “I understand that our people are suffering yet there can be no childbirth without pain. The joy of childbirth is the relief that comes after the pain. Nigeria is reborn already with fuel subsidy removal. It is a rebirth of the country for the largest number over a few smugglers. Please tell the people to be a little patient. The palliative is coming. I don’t want cash-transfer to fall into wrong hands. I know it pinches and it is difficult. In the end, we will rejoice in the prosperity of our country”, he had said.

    Other events of note during the week will include his meeting with the leadership of the Senate, led by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, during which engagement he emphasized the importance of protecting democracy. On Thursday, he met with all the 36 Women Leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), during which meeting he declared that his administration was poised to retrieve the country from the stranglehold of those he described as ‘vested interests’.

    Also in the course of the week, the President had series of meetings, received different categories of dignitaries, including the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II; the Olugbon of Orile-Igbon, Oba Francis Olusola Alao, former Lagos State governor, Akinwumi Ambode.

    He has flown to Nairobi yesterday, being Saturday, let us wait to see if another shocker will come from there.

  • Chief Mike Afolabi Omotade: An unmatched legacy

    •  Honouring indefatigable principal of Federal Government College, Ido – Ani on 87th birthday

    “Before we had an idea of what life was all about, he was already at work, inspiring us to dream big, aim high, work hard and be disciplined, for nothing is beyond the realm of possibility, if only we will believe” – Simbo Olorunfemi – ex – student, Federal Govt College, Ido -Ani, in his essay on Chief Omotade’s 86th birthday Anniversary.”

    I have been opportuned, right here on this column to celebrate the life and times of several Nigerian icons, the likes of Chiefs Alex Olu Ajayi, Oladeji Fasuan, Dele Falegan, Deji Adegbite, Prince Juli Adelusi Adeluyi and academic luminaries like Professors Ladipo Akinkugbe, Bolaji Akinyemi, Jide Osuntokun, as well as legal icons, Senior Advocates, Makanjuola Esan and Wole Olanipekun.

    To those of these greats who have joined the Saints Triumphant, I pray that the good Lord will grant them eternal rest.

    It is my special privilege today to add to this ‘éminence grise’, the distinguished Chief Mike Afolabi Omotade, the iconic teacher, and founding Principal of Federal Government College, Ido – Ani, Ondo state.

    Having been privileged to have all my three children attend the school, with my tens of other ‘children’ in the school, and knowing Chief Omotade very well, what strikes me the most about him is how his life at the school, so uncannily mirrored that of  Canon L. D Mason, my own Principal at Christ’s School, Ado- Ekiti, the way he succeeded in moulding thousands of young children, aged between 10 -12 when they  entered FGC Ido – Ani, into an absolutely unbelievable commonwealth of dear ‘brothers and sisters’.

    At Christ’s School, no matter when you were there as student, we all relate like uterine siblings so much some people even describe us as a cult.

    Actually, as a proud product of Christ’s School, my utmost desire was to send my children to no other school than the ‘numero uno’ secondary school in the region, and without a doubt, one of the best in the country. Then something happened.

    From around 1981-82 when the political maelstrom was beginning to well up in Ondo state, especially in Akure, the other major news, besides politics, was the great revolution in education going on, not too far away in Ido -Ani, under the masterful, and pioneering effort of Mr, now Baba (Chief) Afolabi Omotade.

    What made it a daily talk amongst parents, especially at the Recreation Club, Akure, to which many civil servants retire after work, was the fear that the simmering political crisis, may soon affect government affairs, education inclusive,  and that if that happens, FGC, Ido – Ani, being a Federal Government institution would not suffer the deleterious circumstances that might befall state schools. Before you know it, especially amongst parents, and without his knowing it, Mr Omotade had become a hero of sorts.

    This should now explain to Chief Omotade, the amount of pressure he must have had from people seeking admission for their children and wards.

    That fact accounted for my eldest daughter heading to FGC, Ido -Ani, though I wasn’t privileged to meet the Principal until towards the end of  her first year.

    Yetunde’s experience, even as a very young girl in year one, with which she regaled her sister and brother, finally extinguished any thought of  sending them to my Alma Mater. Rather, they both ended up at the School Pa Omotade had given his imprimatur of  all- round  excellence. And we have had no regrets, whatever

    Bonding at Ido -Ani, given the foundation Chief Omotade laid, is akin to what we have in Christ’s School.

    For instance, a year ago in June ’22, the class of ’91, to which Kemi, my second daughter in the School belongs, came from all over the globe, for a  four day re-union; all ensconced at The AMBER RESIDENCE, (a hotel), in a very quiet part of the Ikeja, GRA. During her short stay, we only saw her twice, we had to visit her at Amber residence and seeing so many of her friends who all rallied around us you couldn’t miss the bond they all share, second time was on a fleeting visit to their abode after the reunion.

    Also, the fact that Chief Omotade’s birthday anniversary celebration in the past few years has become a global affair, celebrated here, and overseas by his Ido-ani family is a grand testimony to this bonding.

    Students who were in school during his time, as well as those who have, indeed, never met him, but know that he moulded their school in his own image, and ipso facto their own life trajectory, do not believe that they owe Chief Omotade less.

    Let us, for instance, hear, at some length, from Simbo Olorunfemi, one such student who was 11 on admission at Ido – Ani, as he reflects on this bonding phenomenon:

    “Chief Omotade did not come up with the idea of Unity Schools. He was not the one who decided on Federal Government College, Idoani, but the task became his to bring the dream, from scratch, to reality. And this he did with great success by all accounts. He, it was who made the school a citadel of unity, where young boys and girls from all parts of Nigeria lived as one, without   consideration for tribe, tongue or religion.

    Chief Omotade made Idoani home for everyone. He was a Father to us all. He was the Principal to us all, his children inclusive.

    The rules were the rules and were applied without discrimination. Not even the pressure from men of power and influence would make him breach any rule. You do not meet the condition for moving on to the next class, you simply have to repeat the class, no matter who you,  or your father is. And there were quite some big men as parents!

    Chief Omotade was quite strict. He knew us and what we could be up to. Somehow, he always managed to catch up with us.

    It will take us looking back now,  to truly appreciate all he did for us, what he stood for; and the values he instilled in us. Chief Omotade stood tall for integrity.

    As much as he wanted us to do well in the WASCE, looking forward to us setting records, he would never compromise on standards or integrity of the process. Yet, we were so far away from everywhere and, could have gotten away with just about anything.

    But not with Chief Omotade. Never.

    I look back now and can only imagine what it must have been like building from scratch, with nothing, in a town without electricity  or water supply, and the personal sacrifices he, and his family, must have had to make back then.

    We met in place, arrangement for independent power supply, with tankers daily supplying water. One can only imagine the logistics behind what we took for granted then. It is an understatement that we,  products of the school are extremely fond of our Principal. Each with his or her own recollection of the man, who has become our Father and a rallying point for us all. Indeed, Federal Government College, Idoani was moulded in the image of Chief Omotade. He nurtured the school like a baby. Years after his long stay as Principal ’78 – 85, the Omotade spirit continues to reign there; serving as a guide.

    Same way, the values he instilled in us continue to guide us, our steps and our outlook to life, many years after. Evidence of his great work is there in the many bright minds from FGC, Idoani, with his spirit of excellence continuing to be passed from one generation to the other. We are who we are because of the foundation he laid for us”.

    As Simbo  captured it above, Chief Omotade neither created, nor established,  the Federal Government College, Ido – Ani.

    Rather, Federal Government  colleges were  established, conceived as unifying institutions, to bring together young Nigerian boys and girls from diverse ethnic and religious divides, with a view to giving them high quality education in an environment of academic and developmental excellence devoid of ethnic, religious or social stratification.

    The creation of old Ondo State (now Ondo and Ekiti State) in 1976, coincided with the founding of the third generation of the Colleges, and FGC, Ido- Ani, was established with Mr Mike Afolabi Omotade as the foundation Principal.

    I was yesterday, Saturday, 15 July, ’23 here in London with my children, able to join this year’s edition of Baba’s birthday celebrations, holding  ‘tera firma’, in Akure, Ondo state via Zoom.  I was encouraged, by my Ido – Ani Girls, Nike & Ayo( née Owolawi) and Kemi( née Orebe) to speak on behalf of thousands of us, parents of these amazing products of the great School, who now all bond together as members of FGC, IDO- ANI Alumni Association under the inspiring leadership of  President Tope Akinlonu.

    This special celebration of Pa Omotade was put together by the FGC Ido-Ani Global Leadership Team. A group of exceptional individuals led by Dr. Felix Idolor and Rev. Nike Awosika, who are passionate about seeing effective leadership and success at all levels of life.

    The FGCID Global Leadership Forum exists to stimulate, develop and promote effective leadership at all levels of life.

    The Leadership Forum aims to achieve its goal of transformation by mobilizing the alumni of Federal Government College Ido-Ani, and by extension, the alumni of other federal government colleges, globally, to rise up to the challenges of effective leadership in all spheres of life.

    Leadership collaboration can be achieved globally as a result of the seeds of effective leadership, unity, and integration sown in the hearts of all alumni members in their formative years; the type done by Pa Omotade and other great teachers like him.

    Once more, on behalf of all of us parents, I say 87 Hearty cheers and Congratulations to Chief Omotade on his 87th birthday.

    Many Happy Returns, Sir.

  • Tinubuism: Touching the tangibles? (Part 4)

    Tinubuism: Touching the tangibles? (Part 4)

    “I am reminding you that your appointment is on probation of six months period after which a monitoring and evaluation team under my headship will be monitoring the performances of the ministry’s and those who performed well will be appreciated and those who under performed will be pulled out,” – Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State, Vanguard, Wednesday, 5th July 2023.

    Kickstarting his maiden cabinet meeting in the ancient city of Kano, the seemingly maverick man in the saddle in the state, Governor Abba Yusuf, pulled a surprise one that will jolt any developmental scholar and strategist possessed with penchant for performance in governance. The new helmsman has apparently been in the news for the wrong reasons since his inauguration as Governor. Howbeit, in succinctly and saliently rehashing in ears of the newly appointed commissioners of his intention, as the commander, to utilize the carrot and stick approach by monitoring and evaluating them and their ministries. This columnist recalls his strategy execution class experience in Harvard Business School (HBS) in which he was taught that the strategist in achieving his overarching goal for the organization could choose to wear any of four hats, or a combination. What are these four hats? The main driver of a strategy according to Professor Robert Simons of HBS could swing in – between being a coach; commander; boss; and facilitator – cum – sponsor. In this wise, the Kano helmsman has depicted distinctly, ab initio, in reading out the riot act to his team, that he is de facto wearing two hats, interchangeably: a commander and boss. The questions to ask are, but not limited to: will he set out the goals for each MDA? As we speak, does his administration possess any strategic plan thematically possessing vision, mission, core values, beliefs, goals, strategic boundaries, strategic uncertainties, etc? Are there sets of key performance indicators (KPIs) measuring milestones and targets? In any case, Governor Yusuf has demonstrated, albeit akin to a display of a mere tokenism as new helmsmen are wont to at the inception of their administration. Will he walk the talk as he promised to head the monitoring and evaluation team that will be tracking the ministries and their captains.

    On this page last week, the President was being called upon to specifically set targets for the service chiefs, the same thing reiterated at TVC News Breakfast in which yours sincerely was a guest reviewing the President 30 days in office (details available on YouTube). It was like Governor Yusuf read the last edition of this column or watched the TVC News production in charging his team. Mr. President and all Governors are enjoined and encouraged to develop mindsets akin to this line of tinkering of the Kano’s helmsman if it will not be business as usual in our country.

    Back to the subject of this serial musings. Is President Bola Tinubu touching the tangibles in his government approaching 50 days this week? Is like the frenetic speed is waning as the acclaimed “Baba Go Fast” is taking cautious steps, not wanting to puncture the goodwill his government has been riding upon since inauguration till date. However, the constitutional provision of presenting the ministerial list to the Senate within 60 days of his mounting the saddle is sacrosanct and should be strictly adhered to. Mr. President knows this as the back of his hand. Why is the delay in releasing the list of ministerial nominees?

    Meeting Ministers’ Material

    Is there any need rehashing it in the ears of President Bola Tinubu to courageously choose credible, cerebral, capable and competent men and women as Ministers not only to man the ministries but those that will task themselves with targets to strategically deliver. Ultimately, as round pegs are in round holes, and square pegs in square holes, these men and women coming from diverse expertise and experience will be able to deliver on the mandates of their ministries, and so overtime, actualize the Renewed Hope mantra of the Tinubu administration. 

    It was unexpected of many followers – admirers and adherents – of the President inclusive, that it would take up to almost 50 days for the man in the saddle tagged as “Baba Go Fast” to constitute his cabinet. Peradventure, the waiting and watching may well be worthwhile as the content of the list may signal and symbolize the expected tone and tonic, this season of dithering depicting a “fingers crossed” demeanour to governance. Will anything good come out of this Nazareth called Nigeria as she inches towards 63 years of existence as a country consisting of many nations? It is instructive to state simply and squarely that the much eagerly awaited ministerial list to be forwarded to the Senate for screening and confirmation should be accompanied with the respective portfolios of the nominees. This will enable proper grilling appropriate to the expected delivery associated with such offices. The President should be upbeat in objectively choosing his cabinet taking into cognizance the art of balancing, specifically from three perspectives, namely: firstly, capable politicians who contributed to Tinubu winning the highly competitive election; his longtime associates who have proved their mettle in the journey of life; and sagacious and savvy technocrats with uncommon, unblemished and untainted records of accomplishments that the naysayers will not be able to gainsay or grumble about. All said and done, when the chips are down, there should be a balance in regional reach in such a way as incorporating ‘national healing and reconciliation’, in the word of the President as contained in his acceptance speech aftermath of the keenly contested 25th February 2023 presidential election. Be that as it may, the onus lies on the head that wears the crown to chart the course of governance by mutually agreeing on milestones and targets in delivering on the Renewed Hope mantra that had been much mouthed to the electorate prior to the election. It is imperative for the President, in concert with his cerebral personae, to break down his Renewed Hope mantra into actionable strategic goals, impacts, outcomes and outputs. These should be accompanied with KPIs with appropriate timelines incorporating milestones. Then, the President can celebrate some salient milestones within 100 days, 200 days, etc.

    Most importantly, to make political appointees accountable and responsible, the Ministers should be reporting or answerable to the President whilst all other heads of bureaux, offices, agencies, departments, authorities, institutes, services, etc. should report and be administratively answerable to the minister. Under no circumstances, should these individuals see themselves as having the temerity to report directly to the President unless the constitution stipulates as such. Making all other appointees within the jurisdiction of the ministry answerable to the minister will erase any erratic or eccentric exhibition on the part of some pompous political appointees who are palpably influential and apparently larger than their offices; such could disrupt good governance if the system is not synchronized against these unscrupulous individuals. This has been the noticeable trend that was an avoidable pitfall of past administrations. The Tinubu administration should side step such banana peel, ab initio.

    Branding APC To A Political Party

    It is crystal clear that the leader of the ruling party is the incumbent President. Presently, there is virtually no political organization run as a valid political party in Nigeria’s context. This columnist sided with the erstwhile Governor John Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State when he pontificated that the extant political organizations are mere political platforms for people to express themselves. Saliently and succinctly stated in his own words:

    “It is about what would make a difference to our people. And none of our two parties (veiled reference to the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party), or any of the parties that we have; none of us is there yet. We are still platforms . . . What we need is an organic party structure that really speaks to the yearnings of our people, a lot more strongly than we do at the moment” – Punch, 2nd April 2021.

    Thinking along this same line, this column will want to advocate for a systematic transformation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to a real political party of “ideas and ideals” in the words of Fayemi. It is high time the ruling party, APC, was appropriately branded. It is timely for this piece of counsel as the health of a ruling party may be a determinant of the well-being of the country as the tree cannot make a forest; the President alone can do little. However, he can accomplish much more with his team tactfully thinking creatively and innovatively in tandem with the Renewed Hope mantra. The erstwhile President Buhari, an accomplished general, did not possess the political dexterity and sagacity needed to mold APC into a sound political entity. However, President Bola Tinubu, exemplifying extraordinary deft and distinctive moves in the election of the principal officers of the NASS laboured day and night to get this accomplished that would not have been necessary if APC has evolved overtime as a sound and structured political entity. It is therefore imperative for Mr. President to take steps proactively in positioning APC, as this week, the political association will be having its first National Caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings aftermath of the inauguration of Senator Bola Tinubu as the President of Nigeria.

     In going forward in the transformation or branding process, it is imperative for the party elders to address core, crucial and cogent issues to signal and symbolize direction, discipline, loyalty, and cohesion laced with code of conduct stipulating sanctions for errant and erratic members. APC, with Tinubu in the saddle, has a most auspicious time to transform the platform to a real political party. It is high time APC addressed this misdemeanour as the last incident witnessed in the election of the principal officers of the NASS exhibited eccentric exemplary mien on the part of some members that should not be condoned in going forward.

    Surmounting Subsidy Sufferings

    Surmising this piece without reverting to addressing concomitant effects on the followers regarding fuel subsidy removal and the anticipated governmental interventions that Mr. Dele Alake, the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy succinctly and saliently vouched for on behalf of the government will be a disservice. Alake was categorical in siding with the government providing interventions rather than palliatives in cushioning the negative impact of the removal of fuel subsidy on the poor-of-the-poor in the society.

    As at the time of going to the press, the last on subsidy intervention was to seek the NASS approval for the release of $500 billion to act as the succour. In explaining further, the government at the centre is targeting 1.2 million households with N8,000 per household for a period of 6 months. How the government will endure this is fairly shared is one big issue vis – a – vis the purchasing power of the amount; in any case, it is better than nothing especially for the poor-of-the-poor. How about government workers? Any intervention or provision for the businesses in the organized private sector (OPS)? Anything coming the way of the senior citizens of 60 years and above? Will the physically challenged be taken care off in the government intervention aftermath of removal of fuel subsidy? The questions are not exhaustive. Definitely, more will be heard from the followers on this trending topic.

    John Ekundayo, Ph.D. – can be reached via +2348030598267 (WhatsApp only) and drjmoekundayo@hotmail.com

  • The dead don’t read tributes

    The dead don’t read tributes

    The former Dean of the School of Communication at the Lagos State University, Ojo, Professor Lai Oso who died recently in an auto accident was buried last Friday amidst torrents of tributes from the very day his death was confirmed.

    At the various events leading to his burial and on various platforms, many friends, associates, former students and others paid glowing tributes to the distinguished media scholar and professional whose life and times is a model of pursuit of excellence, humility and kindness.

    So much has been said and written about the impact made by Late Professor Oso like many others that have died before him that one would have wished they were alive to know how much they were appreciated for their deeds.

    Unfortunately the dead cannot read or listen to tributes. Only their family members and others can appreciate how much people value their contributions and support which they may not know until the beneficiaries recount them on their demise. In an interview, the Late Professor’s wife said that it took her husband’s death to realize how much good he has done for mankind.

    If only people can be celebrated when they are alive as they are when they die maybe more people will appreciate the need to keep being as good as they are and do more.

    Since no one is sure of when anyone will die, it may be better for people to be acknowledged and appreciated as much as possible whenever there is an opportunity for it instead of when they suddenly die. I had to recheck the meaning of tribute to be sure it was not meant for only dead people.

    According to the Oxford Dictionary, a tribute is something that you say, write, or give that shows your respect and admiration for someone, especially on a formal occasion. Even beyond formal occasions, there are many opportunities we often miss in paying tributes to people who deserve them. Sometimes we hold back and are not as generous as we should in singing people’s well-deserved praise.

    Paying tributes to people when they are alive helps them see the value of what they are doing and why they should not relent. There are things people write about me on my birthdays on social media that always remind me, sometimes when I want to relax, that I cannot afford to do less than I have been doing over the years regarding especially my commitment to mentoring and coaching young journalists.

    People can be modest and say they don’t want to be commended for whatever people appreciate about them since they are just being their natural selves, but there is a motivating value in paying timely tributes which may not be obvious. I use to have a boss who does not want any public acknowledgement for his numerous accomplishments and the help he has offered people, including me.

    Without seeking his permission, I wrote about how he has been one of the main guardian angels in my career on Facebook and the only thing he could say when many of his friends started calling him about the post was that I shouldn’t have written it. I prefer to celebrate him while he is alive and not when he may not know how much I appreciate his support through the years.

    Even for others who read or listen to tributes, there are lessons for them which can positively influence them to be better in their ways knowing that someday people will write about them too.

    It’s not enough to enjoy reading or listening to tributes either for the living or the dead, it’s necessary to learn from them to have a better one written when it’s the turn of the reader. The best way we can remember our loved ones when they pass on is to learn from their life and do better than they did.

  • Come off it!

    Come off it!

    • Critics should wait for the full package of subsidy palliatives before condemning cash transfer

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu‘s announcement of N8,000 cash transfer monthly for six months to 12 million Nigerians to cushion the effects of petroleum subsidy withdrawal has been received with mixed reactions. This should be expected. Both its supporters and those who are opposed to it have their points. The president himself would have expected such mixed reactions before making the policy public last week. This is because his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, did the same thing when he was in power. Then too, not a few Nigerians criticised it.

    Tinubu had, in his inaugural address on May 29, announced the removal of fuel subsidy, a thing successive governments had seen its negative effects on the economy but lacked the courage to stop because of the possible backlash. The best some of them did was try to reduce the quantum of the subsidy. Interestingly, despite successive reductions, the subsidy figures kept ballooning. At the last count, it was said that Nigerians consumed about 66 million litres of petrol daily, a thing many Nigerians knew was just impossible. The subsidy payment as at the time Tinubu stopped it was said to be in the region of N7trn per annum.

    As usual, the Labour unions and civil society groups kicked and threatened to shut down the country should the government go ahead to implement the subsidy removal. Needless to say that the impact of the total subsidy removal was huge; as fuel prices skyrocketed by over 200 per cent, from about N189 to about N500 per litre or more, depending on the part of the country the commodity is being bought. This immediately translated to increases in the cost of virtually everything as transportation is key in the movement of virtually all commodities.

    The president’s reaction was to assure the Labour unions and others that were threatening to ground the economy that government would do some things to cushion the effects of the subsidy withdrawal on Nigerians generally, and the most vulnerable, in particular.

    It was in furtherance of this that he wrote to the Senate on July 13 seeking approval for $800m palliative loan from the World Bank. “You may also wish to know that the purpose of the facility is to expand coverage of shock-responsive safety net supports for all and vulnerable Nigerians and the cost of meeting basic needs,” Tinubu said in the letter to the senators.

    He also explained how the funds would be disbursed. “Under the conditional cash transfer window of the programme, the Federal Government of Nigeria will transfer the sum of N8,000 a month to 12 million poor and low-income households for a period of six months, with a multiplying effect on about 60 million individuals.” He added that “In order to guarantee the credibility of the process, digital transfers will be made directly to beneficiaries’ accounts and mobile wallets.”

    The objective is to “stimulate economic activities in the informal sector and improve nutrition, health, and education outcomes for beneficial households.”  The president had earlier written the House of Representatives for the same purpose.

    One of the first objections on the part of those opposed to the policy had to do with the fact that the money for the payment was a loan. Loans, given our experience, will most likely be shared by public officials. We had a number of loans obtained for certain projects in the past and the money was disbursed. Yet, those projects never took off.

    Moreover, not a few wondered whether it is economically wise to borrow for consumption which, truly, is what the cash transfers seem to represent. Of course we are well aware of the aphorism that it is better to teach a man how to fish than giving him fish. Many Nigerians believe the money should have been spent on regenerative purposes rather than merely disbursing it to people, to enable them cope with the inflation caused by subsidy removal.

    Then there is the issue of accurate data which is a major problem in the country. We do not even know how many Nigerians there are. A country where such reliable estimates are not readily available cannot in all honesty be said to have the capacity to begin a demographic analysis of its population, not to now talk of knowing the poorest-of-the-poor; the people that the cash transfers actually target. One is however comforted here by the fact that the World Bank said it was pleased with the template that the Buhari administration used for the same purpose, when it ran a similar programme. Hopefully, it is the same template that would be used now.

    Even, assuming that we readily know the beneficiaries, how many of them have bank accounts? It is common knowledge that the money in the informal sector of the economy is huge. Many Nigerians simply prefer to keep their money with themselves or because there are no banking facilities in some of the remote areas of the country where most of the beneficiaries of the cash transfers reside.

    Then the amount to be disbursed. Other critics feel even if the policy was good, N8,000 in present-day Nigeria is valueless.

    Of course we should not forget the giant in the system: corruption. As far as many Nigerians are concerned, the money is simply pork for the boys. It is money meant to be shared by politicians and those close to them.

    However, we cannot dismiss any of these fears with a wave of the hand, given where we are coming from.

    But one can chip in one or two things, especially on some of the criticisms. The first is whether borrowing for consumption makes sense. Many economists would probably say no. But not in all circumstances because, really, nothing is cast in stone. In the instant case, the effects of withdrawal of fuel subsidy was immediate. It is almost six weeks old. While the impact of the inflation it triggered varies, there is no doubt that some people are feeling the pinch more than others. There is an urgent need to quickly fix the problem of the most vulnerable. This cannot wait, especially where the prices of a thing like foodstuffs have already increased. Even if the government has declared food emergency, it would take some time for the farm produce to materialise. What happens to the vulnerable in the interim? This is a big question. Yet, food is a basic need of man. A hungry man, as they say, is an angry man. The problem of poverty would be less when food is out of the question. Unless we want to suggest importation of food (which for me is indeed no solution because we have comparative advantage on the essential staples consumed in the country). Why then should we waste scarce forex on food imports? For me, a way of meeting the challenge half way is to give the beneficiaries some cash to take care of the immediate while medium and long-term plans continue. The beneficiaries can then spend the money on essentials like food, pending when other measures mature. A man that is being taught how to fish needs to feed while learning the art of fishing, lest he dies before mastering it.

    Moreover, in several parts of the developed world, there is one safety net or the other for the people. There are unemployment benefits in some countries; there are certain benefits for their old citizens; certain items are subsidised when exigencies demand. For instance, some countries subsidised energy cost which skyrocketed as a fallout of the Russo-Ukrainian war. We saw some countries that also gave cash handouts to their citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic, to cushion the effects of the pandemic. Nigeria has no safety net for nobody. Everybody is on his or her own.

    The point I am making is that there is nothing inherently wrong with cash handouts in certain circumstances, particularly in a country like ours where everyone is unto himself and God for us all. The fuel subsidy that should have served as benefits for the generality of Nigerians was only fattening the bank accounts of a few corrupt elements.

    This takes us to the amount of the transfers. Not a few feel that N8,000 a month is too small to make any impact on any Nigerian household, given the loss of value of our national currency. True, the Naira has lost significant value. But those of us passing  judgement that some amounts are ‘chicken change’ are not the ones targeted for the cash transfers. I remember when Governor Kayode Fayemi introduced N5,000 monthly such transfers for the elderly in Ekiti State in 2012, many of those of us in the towns and cities (including myself) felt the money was too small. Yet, we needed to see the impact it had on the actual beneficiaries who were full of prayers for the governor whenever they were going for the money.

    I also remember that sometimes in 2000/2001 while on the editorial board of a national newspaper we had cause to discuss a similar issue when (I think) the report of a survey allegedly showed that there were some Nigerians that never had N5,000 at any point in their lives. Of course they had spent more than that cumulatively but they never had such an amount as a lump sum at any point in time, whether at home or in the bank, for those of them who could maintain bank accounts back then. The loss of value of the Naira notwithstanding, it is still a thing that those the money is meant for would somewhat appreciate. That is not to say that the amount cannot be improved upon in the future. But let’s start from somewhere. Buhari paid N5,000, Tinubu wants to pay N8,000, perhaps in acknowledgment of the fact that what Buhari’s N5,000 could buy then cannot be bought for the same  amount today because of inflation. This is not necessarily a problem caused by the incumbent administration though, but by exigencies. At any rate, there are other measures that the government is coming up with in due course, to further reduce the pains of the subsidy removal on Nigerians.

    However, it is important that the government does more by way of public enlightenment on some of its policies and programmes, particularly the ones that were condemned under the previous administration. Indeed, the onus is more on the Tinubu presidency to run the government in a way that would convince Nigerians that it is no longer business as usual. This means the government must tackle corruption headlong. In view of its importance to national planning, the government must accord statistics its desired priority attention. A nation without vital statistics will only be groping in the dark. Nigeria has groped in the dark enough. The government must also robustly debate the other packages that are under way as part of the subsidy removal palliatives to ensure they would deliver the greatest benefit to the greater majority. The truth of the matter is that young as the government is, it has managed to engender more confidence in more Nigerians than it was immediately after the elections. Such goodwill is rare in our clime. It should not be taken for granted.

  • Sani Yerima, Gumi on amnesty for bandits

    Sani Yerima, Gumi on amnesty for bandits

    In his visit to President Bola Tinubu last Monday, former Zamfara State governor Ahmed Sani, the Yariman Bakura, unreflectively advocated amnesty for bandits terrorising Nigeria’s Northwest. Speaking to reporters after the visit, Mr Sani did not, however, indicate how his host responded, whether the president seemed persuaded about the merit of negotiations and amnesty or whether he was tentative or dismissive. All he quoted the president as saying was that the former governor should return to Zamfara and try to stabilise the state by managing the fractious relationship between the governor, Dauda Lawal, and immediate past governor, Bello Matawalle.

    Read Also: The other side of Sani Yerima

    Mr Sani did not give irrefutable reasons for advocating amnesty for bandits. But he managed to draw a parallel between the amnesty granted Niger Delta militants and the one he was asking for regarding Northwest bandits. Here, again, he offered nothing capable of illuminating the subject matter, whether the negotiation with bandits implies the inclusion of the humongous payout integral to the agreement with the Niger Delta militants, or whether it was only a ruse to give the bandits a soft landing. The presidency is yet to give an account of the meeting with Mr Sani. But the former Zamfara governor’s visit appears to indicate that top members of the Nigerian elite have confidence in President Tinubu to give a listening ear to complaints and advice. Mr Sani and others like him will test the waters to see how far the president can be mollified.

    What is not in doubt, in any case, is that the former governor obviously got his historical equivalence wrong. He likens the aggravation in the Niger Delta to the provocations for banditry in the Northwest. But they do not seem to be comparable. The Niger Delta groaned over the despoliation of their land and the expropriation of their crude oil wealth to develop other states in Nigeria while leaving the oil rivers polluted and impoverished. Their main weapon was blowing up pipelines and occasionally attacking troops. The Northwest on the other hand presents a totally unrelated provocation. Two main reasons – there are dozens more – account for the distemper in that region. One is the ‘civil war’ between the Hausa farmers and Fulani herdsmen over grazing and farming lands. Thrown into the mix is cattle rustling and destruction of cattle herds. The bifurcation of the Northwest crisis is of course not very neat, especially considering that kidnapping and other malicious conduct crept in and muddied the picture, but on the whole the crisis started as farmer-herder conflict and quickly morphed into unmitigated criminality.

    The second reason is the abundant mineral resources in the Northwest, particularly Zamfara’s gold deposits, over which natives and foreigners are waging a bloody conflict. Even long after peace has been restored, the temptation to continue illicit mining will be too powerful to resist. And for as long as state and federal governments are remiss in their responsibility to regulate solid mineral mining, non-state actors in collusion with external cartels will jostle for control over those mineral-rich regions, including throwing in occasional abductions. There is no reason on earth to compare the factors that predispose the Northwest to banditry with the reasons that fueled Niger Delta militancy. It is difficult to understand why Mr Sani imagines the same outcome of negotiated and monetised peace for Niger Delta militancy and Northwest banditry.

    Days after Mr Sani made a case for amnesty for bandits, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Taoreed Lagbaja, suggested a different approach to the crisis. Said he when the new Zamfara governor, Dauda Lawal, visited him in Abuja: “So, I want to appeal to Your Excellency that as we come up with a strategy to address the issue, the state government should be disposed to the implementation of the measures that we will recommend so that together we will address the activities of these criminal elements. We also have the issue of the amnesty programme that has been instituted, and which has failed, not only in the North but also in many other states. I think we need to look at this issue of the amnesty programmes. The agreements have proven to be untenable and so amnesty has created an avenue for them to reorganise and launch attacks on defenseless citizens. So, I think we need to look at that.” The army chief is right. Both Zamfara and Katsina States had dialogued with and granted amnesty to bandits, while Kaduna State initially tried to placate them by paying them off. All the efforts collapsed in a heap. A frustrated Katsina State even swore at a point never to dialogue with bandits again. Mr Sani appeared worried that air strike could lead to heavy collateral damage. He is right. But such fears should not ineluctably lead to negotiations or paralysis, but to carefully planned military operations.

    Two Saturdays ago, Islamic scholar, Ahmad Gumi, also offered to be a part of any negotiating team if the presidency is persuaded about dialogue. According to him, “We need the involvement of emirs, scholars, and university professors who have conducted extensive research on these matters. Let’s all sit down together so that we can achieve peace and enable people to return to their farms.” It is not known what the opinion of the presidency is on the matter, or how the public will react to Sheikh Gumi’s call for dialogue, seeing how he was publicly pilloried for seeming to prioritise bandits’ interest over national interest, and how his associate, Tukur Mamu, who set himself up as negotiator between families of Kaduna-Abuja train attack victims and their bandit abductors, allegedly ran afoul of the law. Both Sheikh Gumi and Mr Mamu were described as bandit sympathisers.

    The presidency is aware that previous negotiations failed after initial promise. They will be reluctant to risk being ridiculed. The military may already be planning operations against all insurgents, whether they are unknown gunmen, ISWAP/Boko Haram, or bandits. Troops will be anxious not to be embarrassed again. It is curious that in all previous negotiations, the victims were neither consulted nor even involved. The government knows this, and to avoid repeating a despicable history they will be more interested in pacifying the restive regions before calling in experts to help elucidate and address the crisis. Nothing justified the mindless killings that took place, and are still taking place, in the unknown gunmen, banditry, and Boko Haram territories. That the killings went on for so long, regardless of migration pressures, shrinking Lake Chad, desertification, political alienation, and poverty, was a huge disservice to the image and reputation of the previous administration. The Tinubu administration will be wary of going down that parachute.

  • The Mmesoma Ejikeme pardon bubble

    The Mmesoma Ejikeme pardon bubble

    Mmesoma Ejikeme, the young secondary school JAMB candidate who sexed-up her UTME scores, is quite obviously not the first student to be punished for cheating in examinations. But having made the indefensible mistake of first ethnicising, politicising and excusing her crime, a host of commentators are now engaged in a plea bargain for her. Had they left the matter in the hands of JAMB, she would have attracted less publicity, mitigated the damage to her psyche, and endured lesser punishment than the global opprobrium to which she and her ethnic defenders have dragged her.

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    Miss Ejikeme’s sentimental sympathisers want JAMB to treat her with kid gloves, and for the public to forgive her. Have they thought of how JAMB would manage such a dangerous precedent? Scores of past offenders have received varying degrees of punishment; why should Miss Ejikeme get just a slap on the wrist? Would this give retroactive justice to those who received severe punishment, and would it exculpate future offenders? JAMB should be careful not to lay a precedent they cannot follow. Miss Ejikeme and her dad need counseling and moral anchors; the society, including Anambra State, should be magnanimous to afford them one. Would this depressing case prevent a future occurrence? Unlikely. There will still be cheats trying to circumvent the system, and there will be incorrigible students, like thieves and burglars, hoping to get away with their crimes. The society has a responsibility to uphold standards and ensure that bold and lying cheats do not get away with egregious affront to civilised norms.