The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday

  • Pension woes

    Pension woes

    The image of the miserable government pensioner has existed for a very long time now in Nigeria. An extreme manifestation of it has been that of pensioners collapsing, fainting or dying while in queues awaiting verification for the processing of their meagre entitlements years after the effective dates of their retirement. Presumably to mitigate the suffering of these and other pensioners – people who had spent the most active parts of their lives serving the nation diligently – the Pension Reform Act was established in 2004 and repealed and re-enacted in 2014.

    According to a National Pension Commission (PenCom) 2020 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document, “PenCom is the regulator and supervisor of all pension matters in Nigeria. It licenses all pension operators; issues regulations and guidelines; and ensures effective administration of all pension schemes in Nigeria.” The 2014 system is a Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). About this, the FAQs document states: “Under the CPS, both the employer and employee contribute certain percentages of the employee’s monthly emoluments to build a retirement fund from which benefits are paid at retirement while under the Defined Benefits (DB) Scheme, total pension obligation is borne by the employer.”

    Moreover, the PenCom publication notes: “The main objective of the CPS is to ensure that every person that worked in either the public or private sectors in Nigeria, including the self-employed persons, receives his/her retirement benefits as and when due.” Going by the experience of retirees, including one who called as this article was being prepared, “as and when due” is currently around two years of waiting. This is unacceptable. PenCom also declares in its document: “Unlike a bank account, the RSA can only be accessed at retirement, loss of job, medical incapacitation or in the event of death.”

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    It is important here to note that PENCOM’s promotional is “NATIONAL PENSION COMMISSION … Pension Guaranteed”. However, hardly could a day pass without a personal narration or media report of pension woes. The story has often been that of delay in pension payment leading to the inability to meet basic needs, including cost of healthcare. This is important when it is noted that some workers, for example university Professors, retire at the age of 70. This is the age at which people are most susceptible to debilitating health challenges and weakened capacity to withstand the vagaries of life. 

    In a country in which life expectancy as at 2022 was fixed at below 60 years by the National Bureau of Statistics, delaying payment of pension entitlements for as long as around two years for federal pensioners is a sure way of committing them to a pitiable existence. At their very vulnerable age, especially those who retire at the age of 70, deaths before the payment of pension entitlements are increasing. The pension entitlements are therefore increasingly becoming more of items of inheritance than facilities for pensioners to live well after service.

    It is this worrisome development that motivated the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) to organise a webinar on “Pension Administration in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Way Forward” on 26 September, 2024. Opening the webinar, the President of CONUA, Dr. Niyi Sunmonu of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, noted that it is in its effort to contribute to the general good governance of Nigeria and the welfare of its members and other stakeholders in the Nigerian University System that the Council of National Officers of CONUA has deemed it fit to institute a regular webinar series.

    In these webinar series, important national issues are to be identified and brought up for interrogation by panels of specialists and resource persons and opportunities are provided for questions and answers by the concerned stakeholders and participants, and that the issue of retirement and pensions was considered as one of the most pressing issues facing public servants in contemporary Nigeria. The specific aims of the webinar were to prepare active workers for better life in retirement; to tackle obstacles retirees face; to proffer solutions to challenges of gratuities payment; and to ease the process of pensions payment.

    The webinar Moderators were Mrs. Romelia Esangbedo who is a Broadcast Journalist with Gemelia Consult Nigeria Ltd; Mr. Nelson Ayaebene-Nelson who is a Senior Programme Editor with TVC; Dr. Michael Awoleye who is a Senior Research Fellow, African Institute for Science Policy and Innovation, OAU, Ile-Ife; and Dr. Niyi Sunmonu who is CONUA’s National President. The Speakers and Resource Persons were Barrister Muhammad Sani Muhammad who is the Secretary and Legal Adviser of PenCom; Mr. Tobiloba Adenuga who is the Regional Manager (South West/South Central) at Stanbic IBTC Pensions; Mr. Femi Fagbohun who is Zonal Manager (South), Stanbic IBTC Pensions; and Mr. Ismaila Abdulsalam who is Head, Business Development (North), Premium Pensions.

    The Keynote Presentation was made by Barrister Muhammad Sani Muhammad of PenCom. He noted that in carrying out its regulatory role, PenCom carries along all stakeholders such as Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), National Union Pensioners (NUP), and so on. He further observed that the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) which was operated in Nigeria before 2004 was badly managed and created many problems and liabilities for both the government and pensioners. He also stated that in 2004, the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) was introduced through the 2004 Pension Reforms Act. He was of the view that the CPS has been a better, sustainable and fully funded scheme under the regulation of PenCom and activities of registered fund custodians and pension fund administrators (PFAs).

    According to him, the use of Retirement Savings Account (RSA) into which the employers pay monthly and the public servants also contribute monthly is one of the features of the CPS, and that the PFAs invest the funds and the accruals are remitted, consolidated and paid to the contributors at retirement. He said that Pensioners in the CPS can continue to draw their pensions while on post-retirement paid jobs. He however declared that pension regulations do not permit more than 25% withdrawal while still in service. He also identified the fact that PenCom is monitoring the investment of pension funds by the PFAs and that the security of the funds is guaranteed by this fact is an advantage of the scheme, but that the CPS is restricted to employees of treasury funded agencies.

    Barrister Muhammad also listed some of the notable problems with the implementation of the new pension scheme. These include the fact that (1) over the years, the government has not been up to date in its counterpart contributions, (2) residual legacy problems from the old pension scheme, (3) the National Assembly always cuts the appropriation meant for payment of pensioners, and (4) delay in releasing funds by the appropriate government agencies. Others are the fact that accruing benefits are not being easily harnessed by the contributors, pension accumulation and liabilities, lack of prompt remittance to PFAs, delays in promotions by MDAs, official corruption, and inadequate enlightenment about the Scheme.

    During the Question-and-Answer session of the Webinar, the following, among other issues, were interrogated: the need to increase percentage amount that can be withdrawn by RSA holder while still in active service from the existing 25% to 50%; the need for RSA holders to have information and say on the kind of investments that their funds can be utilised for; the need to ensure that PFAs do  not cheat the RSA holders from investment returns; the need for elasticity in the pension acts, laws and regulations; the need to consider right/choice of retired person to collect their full money at once after retirement instead of just 50% upfront and 50% as monthly pensions; the fear that the government may fail in the contributory pension scheme the way it failed during the pre-2004 period; and the possibility and ease of changing pension administrators by RSA holders.

    The Keynote Speaker from PenCom and representatives of Stanbic IBTC and Premium Pensions responded to these and other questions by allaying the fears of RSA holders. Among other things, it was emphasised that the CPS was introduced to protect the interest of retirees and that it is a work in progress which is open to constructive criticisms and capable of improvements in future amendments of its Act.

    The summary of submissions and recommendations at the Webinar include the following: (1) The government (executive and legislature) must treat pension fund appropriation as important as monthly salaries and wages. (2) The government must endeavour to promptly remit its counterpart monthly contributions to prevent failure of the CPS like its predecessor. (3) Wider consultations of stakeholders must be carried out in future pension reforms. (4) There must be voluntary agreement between employers and employees about alternative retirement benefits. (5) There must be regular reviews and reforms of pensions policies and regulations. (6) There must be multiple buckets. (7) There is a need to increase the percentage of retirement savings that can be accessed by contributors while still in active service. (8) There must be prior compilation of details of prospective retirees well ahead of the year of retirement. (9) Severance benefits must be mainstreamed and promoted by employers of labours. (10) All hands must be on deck to address the grey areas in CPS for more effective, seamless and timely payment of gratuities and access to pensions by retiring public servants. 

    In closing the webinar, the Chairperson of CONUA, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, chapter, Prof. Folasade Hunsu, noted that CONUA is poised for doing unionism with a difference and proffering solutions to problems facing the university education sector in particular and Nigeria in general; and this particular webinar was just the beginning. It is hoped that this town-and-gown effort would be sustained and the academia would continue to make itself more relevant to the efforts to make Nigeria a more livable country.

  • Soludo’s LG subterfuge

    Soludo’s LG subterfuge

    Anambra State governor Chukwuma Soludo last Tuesday signed into law the contrapuntal Anambra Local Government Administration Bill 2024. He rests his assent on Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution, insisting that it complements or ‘operationalises’ rather than undermines the Supreme Court judgement on local government financial autonomy. Last July the top court had severed the LGs finances from the state’s umbilical cord. But judging by the prevarications of Prof. Soludo, the LGs could not be trusted with full autonomy. It is not clear where he read that the Supreme Court ordered the full autonomy of the LGs.

    In the Anambra LG law, the joint state and LG account bypassed by the Supreme Court in granting financial autonomy to the local governments has been reinstated in Sections 13 and 14 of the new law, and deductions of a certain percentage in favour of the state is also authorised. It is a complete return to status quo. How Prof. Soludo creatively interpreted the defiant Anambra LG law to be complementary to the Supreme Court judgement is hard to understand. However, the Anambra LGs are unlikely to challenge their re-enslavement. They are as impotent as the House of Assembly which railroaded the bill into law in a matter of days.

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    Prof. Soludo also hinges his action on sustaining the financial sanity he had managed to reintroduce into LG finances. If states could not be trusted over the years to maintain integrity in handling their joint accounts with LGs as provided for in the constitution, why do governors expect LGs to operate above suspicion? The Anambra LG law does not indicate the percentage to be deducted, and just in case in the future the state receives the allocation on behalf of the LGs, the undetermined percentage would be deducted at source. This amounts to a contemptuous dismissal of the court judgement.

    Prof. Soludo has drawn a line in the sand with his subterfuge, and dares any LG to cross it. If half of Anambra LGs had been won by opposition parties, would he be as eager to challenge the Supreme Court judgement? And if instead of the abominable revenue allocations from the centre the LGs had generated their own revenue, would the governor impound their money? The Anambra governor is seen as one of the promising faces of democracy, but like his fellow governors, he is squabbling needlessly over free LG revenue rather than agitating for truly beneficial and lasting financial federalism. Clearly the emancipation of LGs is still a long way off, particularly in the face of the continuing controversy over how many tiers of government should actually federate in Nigeria.

  • PDP crisis comes to a head

    PDP crisis comes to a head

    By now, after another foiled plot to unseat Acting Chairman Umar Iliya Damagum, the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) must be sick and tired of its fratricidal war. Ambassador Damagum is former Rivers governor Nyesom Wike’s ally, in fact his point man in the party, his main battering ram. Mr Wike himself must be having nightmares over the party’s relentless battles and plots mostly targeted at him and his allies. He may already be keenly aware that his perspective in the party has become jaded and untenable. Nevertheless, he obviously wants the ambassador to remain as national chairman until the end of next year in order to help checkmate the presidential ambition of former vice president Atiku Abubakar. He also wants to be acknowledged as one of the party’s main influencers, while hoping that most of the PDP governors would appreciate and probably be sympathetic to his point of view.

    Both Alhaji Atiku and Mr Wike are at the centre of the PDP crisis. Others, including PDP governors, Board of Trustees (BoT) members, and party leaders and executives, are a supporting cast. Given how the political dynamics in the party is playing out, the former vice president may seem to party elders to be the lesser of the two evils. He may exhibit poor judgement and his calculations remain almost permanently off-key, but party stakeholders probably consider him dangerous only when presidential politics come into view. Way before election, he is mostly absent or detached, while he is also never too keen on the contentious process of building or rebuilding structures, preferring to reap where he did not sow. He will not be too fussy about what the governors do or say, and will seldom take umbrage when they taunt his position or when they go at each other’s throats. More, he is not averse to alliances, and will as soon sell the party down the river as pulverise dissenting party leaders not awed by his wealth or smitten by his controversial reputation. Once presidential election politics begin, however, he will end his hibernation, shake the party up, demolish and dilute alliances and platforms, and hope that approximately one year of active and frenzied campaign can yield him the great prize. Indeed, his unwillingness to breathe down the necks of the governors makes him more tolerable than his fearsome rival.

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    Mr Wike is a tectonic force in the party. The party needed him years ago at its lowest point, and he stepped in, manned the ramparts, nursed the orphan back to health, showered her with love and attention as she grew in stature and comeliness, and finally thought of having her all to himself. It was, therefore, galling to him that someone else sauntered in before the presidential poll, plied her and her uncles and nephews with money and gifts, and tried to elope with her. The party was for a time naturally divided between Mr Wike’s politics of entitlement and Alhaji Atiku’s fecklessness and betrayal. For more than a year, the party was in a quandary, wondering how to respond to the former vice president’s amoral politics and the former Rivers governor’s sense of entitlement. They were indebted to Mr Wike, and had no illusion about Alhaji Atiku’s realpolitik, but they were also torn between repaying the kindness and constancy of the former and standing up to the exploitation, self-centredness and short-termism of the latter.

    What has worsened their dilemma is the increasing untenability of Mr Wike’s position. He is a federal minister under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, he was also instrumental to President Bola Tinubu’s electoral victory, but he has intensified his fight to retain the Rivers State PDP structure. The party naturally wonders what he needs the structure for: to deny Alhaji Atiku the Rivers vote again should the former vice president clinch the presidential primary, or lend it once again to the APC? Either would be counterproductive to the PDP, party elders reasoned. So, reluctantly, they have also begun to fight Mr Wike and his proxies, and have uncharacteristically started to support Rivers governor Siminalayi Fubara notwithstanding his appalling and amateurish politics. It is unclear too whether Mr Wike is not baffled by his own politics, by the choices he has made, and by the cruel and unforgiving options facing him from which he must chose sooner rather than later. He has been a revelation as minister, and is probably the best performer in the Tinubu cabinet. A practical man rather than an ideologue, he has won the president’s confidence by his unshakeable loyalty, far better than most APC ideologues, and has shown his dependability as a fighter and armour bearer. His politics in Rivers, not to say his judgement regarding the selection of his successor, might have been gross and outlandish, but he remains charismatic and a force to reckon with. Yet, there is a limit to how even a genius can manage politics riddled with contradictions.

    In many ways, the crisis in the PDP has come to a head. Mr Wike and his group, including the party’s acting chairman, now know where they stand. The PDP governors are also beginning to show their hands, indicating that they may be closer than ever to taking the bull by the horns, especially seeing that some of them harbour presidential ambitions. Alhaji Atiku is also beginning to be frantic, and has come out clearly to side with Mr Fubara, regardless of the abysmal politics of the governor. In fact, he has not forgiven Mr Wike for costing him the presidency, a blow he is adamant on avenging with his characteristic brutishness. Somnolent PDP elders who waited to see which way the cat jumps now appear sure, and are thus more eager than anyone to damn the consequences. They are tired of being beholden to Mr Wike and they want Amabassador Damagum out. They want their party back, though they may not be clear how to fund and sustain it. In short, all parties to the PDP crisis are readying themselves for a final showdown from which they may either emerge stronger or weaker. Given their current mood, they don’t seem to mind any outcome whatsoever. For them, it is anything but the inertia and indecision that had plagued them for years.

  • NNPP will not be outdone

    NNPP will not be outdone

     No one thinks that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) state chapters are free of bickering and rancour. If the rancour appears subdued, or if party elders still command respect and exert tremendous influence on quarrelsome rank and file, it is because the party controls the national levers of power and distributes patronage. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) are not so lucky. Since they lost the presidential election last year, both the PDP and LP have been at once strident in opposition and wracked by guilt and rage. Last week, this column explored the tangential issue of electoral cooperation between the NNPP and LP, wondering why instead of tackling their identity crises and internal conflict, they chose to focus on the more ambitious project of taking the presidency in 2027. The PDP, as nearly everyone knows, had lain in crisis since 2015. It is now the turn of the two other opposition parties to confront their fates.

    While the cancer gnawing at the liver of the PDP has festered for nearly a decade, some three weeks ago, the tremor coursing through the body politic of the LP assumed monumental dimension. Now, the NNPP, an otherwise fringe party controlling only Kano State, will not be outdone. Party leaders, led by the pugnacious and vengeful Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, have managed against the run of play to furnish themselves not only an internal crisis but also a war. No party has a monopoly of internal crisis, not even the APC, let alone the naturally fractious PDP, but the NNPP is determined not to be a laggard. The Young Turks in the party, though still scheming in the shadows, and working in concert with a smattering of old and calloused hands, have signaled the start of a rebellion. Their goal is to either dissipate the influence of Dr Kwankwaso or overthrow his suzerainty altogether. They feel his overbearing presence too constraining, and his diktats, not to say his malice, bilious and anachronistic. They also empathise with the ‘helpless’ Kano governor Abba Kabir Yusuf whom they are secretly nudging to extricate himself from the stranglehold of the party leader. But they do not yet have the courage to challenge their mentor in open fight. They know a thing or two about the unappeasable Dr Kwankwaso, with a few of them having at one time or the other been scorched by his fury; and they know quite well that he does not take prisoners. For now, however, they will fight him secretly, and even hide behind the thin flak jacket of the governor.

    This is of course not the first time the NNPP, which was founded in 2002 by the Anambrarian Boniface Aniebonam, will be engaged in fratricidal conflict. Since its takeover by the Kwankwasiyya crowd in 2022, the party has been ill at ease. Last April, Mr Aniebonam accused Dr kwankwaso, who is now informally described as NNPP party leader, of hijacking the party, changing its logo and flag, and mutilating its constitution. But that initial fight was half-hearted and stalemated. A new chapter in the fight has now

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    been opened. Unsettled by how the party leader has been riding roughshod over everyone in the party, particularly Gov Yusuf, a few party top shots reportedly schemed to throw off Dr Kwankwaso’s yoke. The alleged rebels refused to confirm the existence of any plot, but the state chairman of the party, Hashim Sulaiman Dungurawa, zeroed in on a few of the alleged masterminds and suspended them from the party ostensibly for disrespecting the party, disloyalty, and abuse of power. They are the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, and the Commissioner of Transportation, Muhammad Diggol.

    The story of the brewing revolt in Kano is, however, not the usual kind. Sources suggest that the so-called rebellion tagged ‘Abba Tsaya da Kafarka’ meaning, Abba stand on your feet, was plotted to put an end to the dominance and dictations of Dr Kwankwaso. The suspension of the two officials has since been rescinded, and both of them have disowned the plot, but the feeling persists around the seat of power in Kano that the party leader is unsparing and megalomaniacal. The party leader himself refused to comment on the matter, especially on the suspension of the two government officials, preferring instead that all inquiries be directed to the party chairman, but no one is deceived that his reticence means absolution. The plotters may have shriveled like worms on a hot plate, but everyone knows that it is a question of time before the silent war breaks into the open. The excesses of Dr Kwankwaso will make an open confrontation certain.

    Gov Yusuf is unlikely to join any rebellion now, regardless of how much Dr Kwankwaso needles him. Though it is clear to many Kanawa that the governor does not enjoy as much freedom as he would like, he would, however, continue to walk the tightrope for as long as is humanly tolerable. He has been made to inherit the party leader’s enemies, chief among whom is former governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. But he has probably seen why his predecessor fell out with the party leader. Whether his education is complete on this issue or not, he will nevertheless be wary of fighting his benefactor openly. Two reasons will account for his restraint. Firstly, he won the Kano governorship poll by a wafer-thin margin, scoring only 52 percent controversially upheld by the Supreme Court. If he is keen on reelection, he will try his utmost to accommodate the eccentricities of his mentor and party leader.

    Secondly, Kano has an unenviable history of godsons fighting with and alienating their godfathers, as exampled by the late Governor Abubakar Rimi versus the statesman and NEPU legend, Aminu Kano. The end result of that open warfare did not bode well for the former governor’s political career. Dr Kwankwaso probably exaggerates his influence and power in Kano, and by overreaching himself too many times, he may already have compromised the reverence in which he is held. But Gov Yusuf will not want to find out whether he would be undone by an open warfare with his party leader. More, seeing how the SSG and Transportation commissioner ate crow last week, no one in public office in Kano will be eager to flex his muscles anytime soon. Discretion, they say, is the better part of valour. Borno, Katsina and Niger States are some of the very few states where godfathers enthroned godsons without acrimony or subsequent interferences. Kano and Rivers States could borrow a leaf from any of those three states had godfathers Kwankwaso and Nyesom Wike been made of subtler and more nuanced stuff.

  • The advantage of a talent hunter

    The advantage of a talent hunter

    The week went by without much ado. The days were like those in the weeks past, only that the Presidency ran without the President on seat. Remember that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu left for a working vacation in the United Kingdom about eleven days ago. His spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, who announced his schedule in a statement on Wednesday 2nd of October, said it would be a two-week vacation, explaining it is part of his annual leave. The President needs “the two weeks as a working vacation and a retreat to reflect on his administration’s economic reforms”.

    However, his physical absence has not grounded the wheel of the State to a halt, as a matter of fact, like I have always pointed out, Tinubu, just like when he was the Governor of Lagos, is a talent hunter who has always surrounded himself with very brilliant and capable hands, he does it so well that each of the time there has been a need for him to excuse himself from the eye of the public, just like now, he always has not just someone, but people, trustable/capable lieutenants, waiting in the wings to support the Number One.

    So as the week went by, the Presidency continued being a beehive of activities, led by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, who while tending to his own official programme and engagements, had to represent his Principal at one or two engagements, doing so with so much exactness as though the President himself had attended to those events. He did not disappoint, offering quality admonition and views on how Nigeria and its aspects should work, the way Tinubu would always seize occasions to exert views on nationalism and ideas of a fit and working state.

    One such occasion was on Monday when he represented the President at the 6th Economic and Financial Crimes Commission/National Judicial Institute Capacity Building Workshop in Abuja. The focus was on ridding our system of corruption and the roles left to the justice system and law enforcement to play in sanitizing this Augean Stable of a social malaise. Speaking the mind of his Boss, Vice President Shettima, aside from pointing out what is expected of the relevant institutions, noted the need for all citizens to be ready to play a role in correcting what is wrong.

    The stigma of being deemed a nation of corrupt people has haunted not just Nigeria, but all of us who go out with the Nigerian identity, carrying the green international passport. Considering our potentials, talking economies, socials and regional politics, Nigeria has the potential for everything the advanced nations of the world have, but for the activities of those who will not be governed by decency and moderation, who think dishonesty equates smartness. One of President Tinubu’s targets in office is to subdue the monster of corruption, in all its manifestations, to the authority of the State.

    So on Monday, while representing the President and speaking to those who have been charged with the responsibility of taming this cancer and social disorder, Shettima said it is not left to only the Judiciary and law enforcement agents to fight this war, but a national responsibility, requiring all citizens to be part of the cleaning crusade. He said “no Nigerian is immune to corruption, a cancer which continues to deny the nation the full benefits of her God-given resources”, but he noted that only the enlightened collective interest of all Nigerians “to close ranks and aggressively tackle this common enemy” can make the difference, instead of looking up “to only the anti-corruption agencies for solutions to this malaise”.

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    Come to think of it, both the Judiciary and law enforcement agencies are populated by Nigerians, it is simple logic: if we are all looking to live in comfort, make insane amount of money, amass huge resources, without commensurate input of what can be regarded to be adequate and honest work, then we will all be cutting corners, bribing each others to get past the system, living the rat race for life. But if we see merit in allowing the system to run its course, knowing it is actually designed to aid good and quality living, just like other places where the people are not taking advantage of natural lapses of the institutions, then there will be no need to ‘force’ anyone to live straight and we will not be talking of pervasive corruption. It all starts from everyone seeing merit in being patriotic and forthright, the Justice system will not have a problem with curbing corruption and they will have less to do.

    But then, we have found ourselves where we are and we cannot continue losing so much to a negative perception. If some will not be circumspect enough to live right, let the system assigned to setting us all straight not be infective. It should be alive to achieving the purpose of its creation. Apparently, the Justice system has also been infiltrated, hence some rather unbelievable developments seen over the years. Corruption continues to fester because the system is steadily compromised. Although he noted there have been some recognizable improvements in the prosecution of corruption cases in the last few years, there are still cases of system abuse by some of the very people trusted with the sacred duty of dispensing Justice. 

    “There is no gainsaying the fact that the judiciary is central to the success of the anticorruption efforts. The commitment, courage and patriotism of judicial officers are ingredients that make the difference in the fight against corruption. Though I am aware that prosecution of corruption matters has improved in the light of the justice sector reforms in the last few years, we are not oblivious of some challenges that continue to impede the speedy adjudication of corruption cases. They include frivolous applications and appeals, meant to delay the trial, intimidation of judges by counsel, and judgment based not on the facts of cases but on technicalities”, he said.

    A similar outing of the President happened on Tuesday when he was guest at the 54th Annual Accountants’ Conference in Abuja. Of course not in person because he is not in town, but he was, like they say, ‘ably represented’ by one of his cerebral lieutenants; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku Bagudu. It was a forum of those who should understand the steps and strategies of his administration, so it was a veritable platform to reach out to citizens with some explanations, not necessarily what he has not talked about the past.

    For the records, he explained the reason for the economic reforms his administration has introduced and worked with in the last seventeen months. If there is no ailment, there will naturally be no need for any treatment, the reforms, including those that have rather seemed hurting, became necessary because Nigeria has not made the sort of progress it ought to be making, considering our potentials. The good news, according to his representative, is that there already are signs that the measures are yielding positive results.  

    “The Renewed Hope agenda is our strategy for Nigeria to confront her reality: we are not where we want to be, we are not growing fast enough, and decades of underinvestment have limited the economy from delivering on its potential. The necessary choices, pleasant and otherwise, we made in the last 17 months were designed to stop the decline and put us on a path to higher, sustainable, and inclusive growth. It is encouraging that GDP growth for the first and second quarters of 2024 was positive while inflation turned downwards. The foreign exchange market is stabilising, and we see encouraging investment signals”, the President said.

    Like distance has never really been his barrier, he made a very critical intervention on Monday. You will recall that the political situation in Rivers State had become so over-heated during the week, following the council elections held the previous weekend. It got so scary that council secretariats and other public facilities became targets of destructive elements and arsonists, already terrifying residents of the state. It was getting so scary that social commentators on broadcast stations already likening the situation to the political upheavals of 1966 in the Southwestern part of the country known as Wild,Wild West.

    He did not just sit back in the UK idly, he gave instructions to security agents, especially the Nigeria Police Force, to bring the lawlessness to an end immediately and as though they were only waiting for him to notice that brothers have started hacking each other down in Rivers and say the order, the situation calmed, at least no more burning of council secretariats or attacks on the new council authorities. He restored order, even while abroad.

    “President Tinubu directed the police to restore and maintain peace, law, and order immediately. While instructing law enforcement agencies to bring the situation under control, he emphasised the need to ensure the security of public institutions. President Tinubu said government facilities built with public funds must be safeguarded from vandalism. He stressed that self-help has no place in a democratic system, especially after 25 years of continuous democracy. According to President Tinubu, the judiciary can settle all political disputes, and the outcome of this election should be no exception”, a statement by Onanuga said. 

    It should be two weeks this week since he departed, he should be returning to his desk soon. This feeling comes with expectations of renewed vigour in the President and that being so, some activities to wow. Welcome to a new week, people.

  • Oloyede: In a blaze of glory

    Oloyede: In a blaze of glory

    Professor Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (FNAL), reached the Platinum age of 70 on Thursday, 10 October, 2024. His retirement from the services of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Ilorin, Kwara State, as a Professor of Islamic Jurisprudence, was one of the landmarks of that epochal day. 

    Professor Is-haq Oloyede is a multi-dimensional personality. He was a member of the Students Representative Council, a National President of the UNILORIN Alumni Association, an Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) stalwart, an active member of the UNILORIN Staff Club, a long-term member of the Governing Council of the university, a Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), a Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) and a Vice-Chancellor (VC). He was also the Chairman of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU).

    On Wednesday, 9 October, 2024, marking his retirement, he was invited to deliver the University Lecture for this year on the topic “Artificial intelligence and the future of the humanities.” Then on 10 October, 2024, the public presentation of two books in his honour occurred. The first book is titled Islamics, scholarship and service to society: A festschrift for Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, edited by Mahfouz A. Adedimeji and AbdulGafar O. Fahm. The second book is titled Glimpses into the giant: A tapestry of tributes to Prof. Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede at 70 and is edited by Mahfouz A. Adedimeji and published in 2024 by the Consortium of Universities in Kwara State (KU8+) and the University of Ilorin.

    When a person has attained Professor Oloyede’s kind of status, controversy becomes part of his essence, or even his tonic. Following his distinguished service as UNILORIN VC, he was appointed the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in 2016. This national recognition was met with vehement protest by ASUU.

    In a 15 August, 2016 press conference, the President of the union at the time, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, said: “Given our inside knowledge of his anti-democratic and anti-union antecedents, Professor Oloyede is the last person that we expected to be so honoured with a national appointment of that status in the education sector.”  He also said: “The Union has resolved to lodge an official complaint with the appropriate authorities and to demand investigation into the activities of Oloyede while in office as VC of UNILORIN.”

    Some other critics had asked, “What can a Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies offer the nation in public examination matters?” Contrary to the expectation of cynics, Professor Oloyede has broken myths and shattered stereotypes; and his tenure as JAMB Registrar/CEO has proved to be indisputably the most innovative, most revolutionary and most prudent so far. Certainly, those who appointed him saw more in him than the ASUU hierarchy and his sundry critics could see.  

    Read Also: Tinubu eulogises JAMB Registrar Oloyede at 70

    He was also subjected to attack quite blatantly by ethnic and religious bigots. The seemingly misleadingly-named Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), was a classic example. An Igbo candidate Ms. Joy Mesoma Ejikeme had falsified her University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result to portray herself as the best performing student in the examination for 2023. Through JAMB’s diligence and efficient deployment of technology, the fraud was discovered.

    However, in its reaction, HURIWA framed the incident as that of a Muslim Yoruba head of JAMB who wanted to deny a Christian Igbo girl her well-deserved glory. Specifically, HURIWA, through its President, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said as follows at a press conference on 5 July, 2023: “The Islamic man that was made a JAMB head by former President Muhammadu Buhari is Igbophobic.” Other ethnic and religious bigots in high places jumped on to the HURIWA bandwagon. But as the English proverb says, “lies have short legs;” and so, in no time, the truth caught up with it, Mesoma confessed to the examination fraud, and Professor Is-haq Oloyede and JAMB were vindicated.

    Incidentally, Professor Mahfouz A. Adedimeji, the editor of the book of tributes and Vice-Chancellor of African School of Economics (the Pan-African University of Excellence), Abuja, noted in Professor Oloyede’s citation in the book: “Though well known as a devout Muslim, the former 1st National Vice-President of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria and current Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) is renowned for justice and fairness in dealing with people. Prof. Oloyede does what he preaches and preaches what he does. Ethnic sentiments have no meaning to him while merit is never sacrificed for religious affiliation.  For most part of his tenure as Vice-Chancellor, all of his Principal Officers were Christians.” As Professor Adedimeji further noted, “Prof. Oloyede has consulted for the World Council of Churches.”

    Moreover, the incumbent Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab O. Egbewole (SAN), observed as follows in the tributes: “The innovative streak of Prof. Oloyede is unbeatable at the University of Ilorin. It was under his watch that many Centres and Units were established. Indeed, the Centre for International Education and Advancement Centre were created for the advancement of knowledge and development of the University. As a man of law, he equally signed numerous Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) and Memoranda of Action (MOA) with many universities, international organisations and agencies and so on, to place the University on the global map. Professor Oloyede was also the initiator of the Association of West African Universities (AWAU) and a Board member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and International Association of Universities (IAU). Prof. Oloyede marketed the University of Ilorin locally, nationally and internationally.”

    Professor Yusuf Ali (SAN), former Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Osun State University and former Chairman of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities in Nigeria (COPSUN), remarked as follows about Professor Oloyede in the foreword to the book of tributes: “Oloyede brings his ingenuity to bear on all the places and activities he led and has been called upon to render services. Mention the University of Ilorin, the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, you will be left in awe of how Allah has packed all the qualities described in the essays that make up this book in just one person.”

    In his case, Professor Salisu Shehu, the Vice-Chancellor, Al-Istiqamah University, Sumaila, Kano, and the Deputy Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), noted: “As Oloyede was beckoned by fate to become the Secretary-General of the NSCIA (SG), so was I similarly fated to be appointed in 2016 as its Deputy Secretary-General (DSG). … My appointment as the DSG … availed me the opportunity to work closely with Prof. Oloyede and indeed to be under his direct mentoring and tutelage. … Working with Oloyede would reveal that although he is a scholar that is truly erudite … he is not an arm-chair academic that enjoys pontificating in his own intellectual utopia. He is a very practical and down to earth leader and administrator. … He abhors mediocrity, he distastes … fraudulent behaviour and he is not given to cowardice.”

    Professor Oloyede never suffers laggards gladly. According to a tribute to him by Professor Lateef Onireti Ibrahim, the Director, Centre for International Education, UNILORIN, his demand for “perfection, promptness, diligence, and appropriateness in everything” accounts for the discomfiture of those who could not measure up. Professor Rhoda O. Oduwaiye, of the Department of Educational Management, UNILORIN, a former National President of the UNILORIN Alumni Association, noted, in this regard, that at the end of Professor Oloyede’s  tenure as VC in the university, when asked the question “’What do you want to be remembered for?’; he replied, ‘Discipline.’” To achieve this, among other objectives, he deployed technology. For example, to monitor attendance at Senate meetings, he introduced electronic entry into the chambers.

    Professor Is-haq Oloyede holds his personal relationships very dearly, and continues to be very comfortable in the company of even those with whom he attended the madrassa in his youth. According to Michelle Obama, former American First Lady, a position of influence doesn’t change who you are; it only reveals who you are. An amazingly empathetic, outstandingly generous, yet exemplarily prudent man, when it comes to speaking the truth, Professor Oloyede spares neither friend nor foe.

    In an 8 October, 2024 tribute by Mr. Kunle Akogun, Director, Corporate Affairs, UNILORIN, titled “Inside Prof Ishaq Oloyede’s 70 years of impactful service career, By Kunle Akogun”, in Premium Times, he said: “In the face of a national feeling of hopelessness, despondency and unending apprehension over whether anything good could ever come out of Nigeria, fuelled by a near general belief that the country is probably primed for failure or even decidedly doomed to perdition, the actions of a few exceptional Nigerians tend to elicit a glimmer of exultation. The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is one of these rare breed Nigerians, who have rejected the way we do things here and are frantically proving to us all that Nigeria … can indeed be made to work for Nigerians, function properly and take its rightful place in the committee of sane nations.”

    Similarly, Mallam Aliu Badmus, the Proprietor of Iqra Group of Schools, Ilorin, asserts in the book of tributes: “It is [people] like Professor Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede that move the world forward and he has shown this convincingly. Despite the great odds, under his watch, University of Ilorin became truly ‘better by far’ (ascended to the 1st position in web raking of Nigerian universities) and JAMB attained global reckoning among examination bodies. This gives us hope

    that Nigeria is not beyond redemption, if Allah spares the life of Professor Is-haq Oloyede for long with sound health to enable him to do more for the country; and also makes many more people in positions to emulate him.” 

    Kenyans call their late President Daniel Arap Moi “the Political Giraffe” for his capacity to see far politically; and Professor Is-haq Oloyede may as well be called an ‘Intellectual Giraffe’ for his capacity to project very far into the future academically. He has himself benefited from this gift of vision; and so have his family, friends, associates and mentees. He has met this Socrates requirement: “Let [those] who would move the world, first move [themselves].” Then he has lived by this Booker T. Washington principle: “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” Professor Oloyede has lifted up very many people and he has himself ended up constantly upward bound.

    As Professor Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede exits UNILORIN in a blaze of glory, this is wishing the trailblazer a grace-filled retirement life and renewed vigour as he continues to offer distinguished service to the nation as the Registrar/CEO of JAMB and in various other capacities.

  • BAO-mania: How Oyebanji reset Ekiti politics(in celebration of governor’s 2nd anniversary)

    BAO-mania: How Oyebanji reset Ekiti politics(in celebration of governor’s 2nd anniversary)

    Fourteen years ago on 31 October, 2010 shortly after the Apeal Court, Ilorin, ruled in the Fayemi Vs. Oni election case, and I was reflecting on the way forward for my Ekiti state, I wrote as follows on these pages in the article ‘Ekiti: Beyond Politics’:

    “As William Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.”

    You would think  the Bard of Avon had Ekiti in mind when he penned those memorable words as they fit us so uncannily, looking like a clarion call to every Ekiti, young and old, to take our destiny in our hands and blow off  the shibboleths that have stuck to us like  ‘amutorunwa spots’.

    The time is not now to ask how we got here. Rather, it is a time for total reconciliation: first, with our God, and then amongst ourselves, Ekitis. 

    The appropriate questions for us now are: what is the way forward? How do we rediscover, hold , cherish and nourish again, those pristine and immaculate Ekiti cultural traits which have served generations of Ekiti so splendidly? How do we get back that bonhomie, that espirit de corps that total strangers saw in us and thought we were all born of one mother?

    How do we begin to re- discover those economic traits that galvanized and enabled the poorest of our fathers to see his children and wards through college; how do we begin to seriously contend with the multi-faceted problems that today confront all of us, Ekitis, but especially our youth, educated  thousands of them, who are paving the streets of Abuja, Lagos and Ado-Ekiti in search of non-existent jobs? How do we take Ekiti back into the main economic artery of our nation? How do we get our respectability and honour back?

    Where do we go from here?”

    These are the questions, though  unknown to him, I imagine that governor Biodun  Oyebanji have, these  two years, been  answering with aplomb; and in ways that have greatly endeared him to Ekitis across board.

    It is my intention in this article, to examine what factors assisted him in breaking what can be described as ‘the circle of crises’, not only in our politics, but in everything pertaining to the state; a crises so all -encompassing we had a one- day governor, recorded, unlike any other Nigerian state, an inchoate impeachment and  witnessed series of politically motivated assassinations. 

    I shall try to unearth how the governor  birthed a  paradigm shift from Ekiti’s atavistic politics of many decades.

    Come 16 October, 2024 Ekiti state will go agog for governor Abiodun Abayomi Oyebanji whose nickname, BAO, and the way the people rhapsodise it,  reminds one of the old ACB advert: ‘ACB, e dey for every corner’.

    BAO is everywhere on the lips of literally every Ekiti, man or woman, young and old – thanks to an Omoluabi governor who, within two years, has done everythig to re- set the state’s highly divisive politics; an achievement so compelling two of his predecessors, from other political parties, namely, Governors Ayo Fayose (PDP) and Segun Oni (SDP)  have already endorsed him ahead of the state’s next governorship election which is not due until 2026 – a complete rarity in a state where politics used to be played on the basis of ‘bo ba o pa, bo ba, o bu lese’ – that is, extremely dangerous politics.

    As if in confirmation of the above, and to show that notice is being taken of this ‘BAO phenomenon’, even beyond Ekiti state, the management of Marketing Edge, Nigeria’s leading Marketing and Advertising Magazine,      foreshadowed this article when, this past week, it named him winner of its 2024 ‘Most Outstanding Governor of the Year in the Inclusive Leadership and Grassroots Development category.

    According to the magazine, “Gov. Oyebanji was unanimously voted winner of the coveted category after painstakingly evaluating his approach to governance, development and leadership, alongside other Nigerian governors. The award, the magazine further noted, was in recognition, and celebration, of his not only impacting the people of the state with laudable projects and policies, but for also using his exalted position to redefine governance by promoting peace, and uniting leaders, in the state irrespective of their political and social background”.

    Within two years, governor Oyebanji has  demonstrated the truism in Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s categorical assertion that the ‘raison detre’ of government, qua government, is the welfare and happiness of the governed.

    His two years has reduced bile, and enemity, from within the people, especially from amongst politicians who, before now saw politics only as a slugfest, thus ensuring that Ekiti was always in the news for the wrong reasons.

    Truth be told, politics in the state had not always been that terrible or dangerous.

    While that is not to suggest that there were no fierce inter, and intra – party contestations,  especially during the UPN vs NPN days, politics in Ekiti was a lot more friendly as elders, the likes of Chiefs Babatola, Akerele, Akomolafe, Dr N.F Aina, Professor Banji Akintoye, Chief S.K Babalola and other leaders of the UPN, and their counterparts in the NPN, ensured that.

    Things, however, changed rapidly for the worse from around 2003 for two main reasons.

    Read Also: Oyebanji: Ongoing oddity?

    One of these can loosely be described as ‘sibling rivalry’, while the other, and much more virulent one, was the intrusion of busybodies from outside the state, spearheaded by none other than then President Olusegun Obasanjo, whose  one consuming ambition was to undo, and supplant, Awo’s esteemed position in Yoruba land. This past week, former Oyo state governor, Oba rashidi  Ladoja, whose illegal impeachment the former President engineered, gave a no holds- barred interview on President Obasanjo’s involvement in Oyo state politics; a near replica of what he did in Ekiti.

    Regarding what I describe loosely as sibling rivalry, it was a question of a good intention turned awry.

    E -11, a socio – cultural group from which a slew of Ekiti state governors subsequently emerged, was an

    ensemble of highly regarded, and well educated young Ekiti professionals who had started out intending to positively impact the state’s politics, and economic development. That was until there was a collision of ambitions.  The group thus floundered very badly, and its members headed into the two major political parties, and ferociously fought one another. E.11 was a group which, had the members remained ‘ad idem’, would have taken Ekiti to great heights.

    It was a missed opportunity.

    That fluid situation was what, together with external intervention, dominated the brigandage that engulfed the State House of Assembly when the two parties had equal number of members.

    President Obasanjo’s role in Ekiti politics, for instance, was completely deleterious.Together with Bode George, a PDP chieftain, and OBJ’s armour bearer, when they were not rubbishing PDP’s primary election results, picking the 3rd placed contestant as candidate instead of the first, they were scheming governor Fayose’s impeachment which would later turn out inchoate. All these eventuated in massive instability in the state. There were, for instance, cases of politicians within the same political party who, for years, did not exchange greetings. I should know because I intervened in one or two of such. Things were that bad.

    The above was  the state of affairs in Ekiti politics during the very contentious primaries that saw Oyebanji emerge as APC candidate for the 2022 election – contentious only because of the fallacious story which claimed that the incumbent governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, was determined to impose him on the other candidates.

    I remember interviewing Dr Fayemi on this and subsequently reported my findings on this column.

    What then are the factors that informed governor Oyebanji’s decision to attempt a paradigm shift to the debilitating situation?

    Oyebanji has been a long-term observer/participant in the affairs of the state, and there can be no doubt, he must have many times belly- ached over the state of permanent crisis, and its negative consequences on the state’s economic development.

    He had probably wished he could be part of the solution.

    With his, probably, unanticipated election  as  governor, he had probably thanked God for the opportunity to try bring peace to this very unique state amongst Nigerian states. For those who may not know, Ekiti state is the only mono- lingual state in this country. We speak the same language just as we eat the same iyan (pounded yam)- LOL.

    What personal factors then played a role in achieving his ambition.

    I’d like to summise that the following must have helped:

    UPBRINGING

    The highly perceptive Yoruba have this saying: ile lati nko eso rode’,meaning that good upbringing underpins good manners.

    Therefore,

    without a scintilla of doubt, governor Oyebanji has  a solid home training to thank for all he has been able to do.

    This is sure to be an  upbringing rooted in very strict discipline,  respect, not just for elders, but for everybody he may interact with, just as loving your neighbour which Jesus Christ taught us, must have been a key part of it. I also feel certain that his loving parents must  have schooled him in the essence of contentment.

    How do I know these?

    Governor Oyebanji demonstrates them in his interactions with people, no matter how lowly they are, in spite of his high office. I have not, for instance, once seen him angry, or raise his voice and I didn’t know him yesterday.

    Concerning contentment, my WhatsApp chat with him on 30 June, 2021, regarding why I think he should contest the state’s 2022 governorship election, and his reply, about which I once reported on these pages, show not only an inner contentment, but his implicit confidence in God as his Guardian. Not in him any hint of unrestrained ambition

    Work Experience,  Knowledge of Ekiti State & Tutelage Under Two  Governors.

    As a young man, Chief Deji Fasuan had tapped Oyebanji as Secretary to the Committee For The Creation of Ekiti state. That was, however, only the beginning of his always being in vantage positions to know the state probably far more than his peers.

    In the course of his service in the state, he was privileged to have worked with two of the most consequential Ekiti state governors, namely, governors Niyi Adebayo and Kayode Fayemi.

    He also served in the following positions:

    As special Assistant  (Parliamentary affairs) to governor  Adebayo to whom he later served as Chief of staff.

    He was Commisnerfor integration and inter-governmental affairs;  Head,  office of Transformation, Strategy and Delivery (OTSD); Commissioner for Budget, and Economic Planning; and, later as Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

    Apart from  the leadership and managerial lqualities these positions require, to be effective, he must have many times seen the governors he worked with seriously agonise over the terrible state of Ekiti politics,  just as he must have seen how all these were not helping  development in a state that has offered him so much.

    He must have decided, therefore,  to attempt to use his lofty office to change the direction of politics in the state.

    The one other  factor which must have heavily facilitated his efforts must be the critical role being played by his wife, the First Lady, a humble, respectful and solid University Professor off whom,

    he must, have bounced everything  to get the most honest advice, at every stage of the business at hand.   

    Her greatest contribution towards achieving the goal has, however, been how, energetically, she has ensured the empowerment of women, widows and the youth in the state, an agenda which has ensured the success of the governor’s programmes and acceptance across the length and breath of the state.

    Thanks to her efforts, governor Oyebanji’s government enjoys the pride of place as about Nigeria’s most gender friendly administration. This is because the government has been relentless in “investing in the well-being of women, advocating for better policies and programes that target widows, youths and women, with the goal of fostering economic independence and reducing poverty level across the state”, as  Her Excellency Olayemi Oyebanji, a University Professor, once perspicaciously put it”, adding that in “Ekiti state today, we have a Deputy Governor who is a woman, just as the SSG, the Head of Service, the Accountant General and Auditor General are women. There are six women in the House of Assembly, 33 councilors who are women, 15  Vice Chairmen of LGs and   seven  that are chairmen”.

    The governor’s modus operandi was simple. He started off by jettisoning partisan politics and extended a genuine hand of friendship to all his predecessors from other political parties. He showed them a level of respect that was absent even between  governors who were of the same party. For instance, governor Ayo Fayose once told me that he values nothing more than respect, and that he fought his successor, governor Oni, the way he did because he extended none to him. Opposition party members also came to accept and respect governor Oyebanji when they saw how he was treating their leaders with respect and decorum.

    By acknowledging, and respecting past governors from other parties, governor Oyebanji killed more than two birds with one stone as the decibel of state wide political antagonism became significantly reduced; meaning that  the simple act of respecting his predecessors, acted  like a magnet in enhancing his acceptance by the teeming members of other political parties as well as the citizenry in general.

    The governor also turned attention to the welfare of the people, ensuring that nobody is left behind. He made sure that  workers, as well as the long – suffering pensioners, women and the youth are all appropriately factored into governance.

    Concluding, there can be no better reset of politics, anywhere, at all, than these because once the people are happy, fringe politicians, capable of fouling the air, would have nobody to recruit into their asinine mala fide.

    As the governor begins his 3rd year in office this week, I wish him well, and pray that the good lord will keep him and his family and continue to give him the enablement to  positively impact our lives in ekiti state.

  • Gyrations in the Nigerian education system (III)

    Gyrations in the Nigerian education system (III)

    The first educational institution in Nigeria, a primary school was founded in 1843 in Badagry by Methodist missionaries from Cape Coast in modern day Ghana. The exercise was under the supervision of Thomas Birch Freeman, a mixed race English man, whose father was a formerly enslaved African. Coming to do missionary work in Africa was therefore something of a homecoming for him. Birch Freeman had arrived in Ghana in 1835 to begin missionary activities in the coastal area of Ghana and on to Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti kingdom. He was entirely self taught as there are no records of him attending any educational institution but made his mark as a botanist having started out as a gardener to a wealthy English family. However, his passion for education knew no bounds as he spread the gospel of his religion hand in hand with education, at least at the primary level. The pioneering work of Birch Freeman is therefore worthy of historical mention and deserves to be recognised as the starting point for education in the area that has come to be called Nigeria.

    Going back to this starting point is to establish the importance of religious bodies in laying the foundation for education in Nigeria because following on the heels of Freeman’s principals; the Methodists, into the field of education came the Anglicans, Baptists, Presbyterians and the Catholics, to mention the most prominent of them. They are all to be recognised as having put in a strong showing in the field of education. They did this as a means of attracting converts to their respective missions so their primary motive may not be as altruistic as it now sounds. Taking up this responsibility was especially important because there was no recognisable government to take a lead in this enterprise. After all, the only other recognisable organisations of the time were the traders, hard-headed men who were only interested in making profit from all types of activities including the slave trade which was still raging as fiercely as the civil wars which were making a mockery of life in the interior, away from the coast from where thousands of war captives were being exported. It was not until after the infamous Berlin Conference that a modicum of government intervention in the education and other affairs concerning the colonised people within their jurisdiction became apparent. Even then, it was not until 1909 when Kings College, Lagos was founded by colonial authorities that government as it could be recognised at the time began to show any interest in the field of education for the people who were referred to as natives. Putting them in this lowly category seemed to have absolved them of the responsibility of training their minds.

    The essence of this narrative is that the management of education in Nigeria was based on missionary activities. Over the years, the missions built up an impressive internal bureaucracy to take care of their educational institutions made up of primary, secondary and teacher training colleges, some of which were also responsible for producing the clergy men who were to continue to spread the gospel which after all was their primary interest. To the missions, the management of their educational institutions fell into the category of a business into which immense physical and mental energy were poured in order that success was achieved.

    Another aspect of missionary interest in education was teaching technical skills, carpentry, brick laying, farming and so on to bolster the earning capacity of their converts and in doing so, attract even more converts. It was at that point in time a question of number as success was measured in the number of converts who were making measured contributions to the growth of the various missions.

    Read Also: Nigerians deserve education system with good outcomes-UNICEF

    It must be established that education is an expensive enterprise for both providers and participants. Even the pieces of chalk used in every school was an item of purchase, not to talk of the impressive tomes of books which marked their owners as scholars. Above all, money to pay the rather modest salaries of the army of teachers who made the institutions tick had to be found at a time when salaries were promptly paid at the end of every month. This is unlike now when state governors who manage to pay teachers their salaries more or less on time use it as a plank on which their second term bids are built.

    From the outset therefore, the missions not only charged fees but solicited funds from their mother churches in their respective home countries. This is why for example the Church Missionary Society was in charge of those institutions with affiliation to the Anglican Church and the Wesleyan mission did the same for the Methodists. This made it possible to solicit for the funds which were needed for their schools in Nigeria. With money from the various sources available to them, the mission schools were able to educate their charges to an excellent standard. Besides, the missions attracted the best of their country to serve as teachers in their schools and the level of education on offer in those schools was superior to what was available in all but the very best schools in Britain in those days. By the time I became a ward of the Anglican and Methodist missions in 1962, the heydays of those missions had waned at the coming of independence but the residual quality was still high enough to ensure that what I got was excellent education. All throughout, I have basked in the radiance of the education I received from the secondary school at the height of my impressionable years. It gave me tools with which I have tackled the challenges which I have had to confront with a fair degree of confidence in my ability to do so successfully.

    Mission schools in those days were not just about academic matters. Their activities spilled into the sports fields to which the schools were invariably attached. For example, it was Anglican policy that each church school had to build a sports field before it could be recognised as a fully functional educational institution. It was perhaps the same mind-set with all other missions. This attitude to sports led to a fierce rivalry between all local schools. There were also opportunities for this rivalry to be extended beyond local boundaries to include institutions which were separated by considerable distances. This situation existed at all levels from the primary schools to secondary schools and on to all the institutions at the top of the educational pyramid. Both mind and body were trained to prepare for the challenges of life waiting beyond the confines of the school. Looking back, it is clear to me that the lessons that I learnt about socialisation through an active participation in sports are as important as the lessons I learnt in the classroom. Some may dismiss my judgement in this wise as subjective but I stand by it and always would because of the glow which suffuses my being at the thought of all those memories I acquired on the sporting fields of my youth and beyond.

    Even at independence, direct government involvement in education was limited to a supervisory role. True, there were some government owned institutions but they were so few as their number to be negligible. Government involvement was most visible in the area of supervision and the maintenance of the quality of education available within the colony. Schools had to conform to certain standards and were registered by the government in order to qualify for the subvention which kept the schools solvent. It was only in the period leading to independence that individuals were permitted to set up schools at both primary and secondary school level. Long before then however, community secondary schools sprang up as a result of community expression of their ambition to foster the growth of education within individual towns and a means of competing with their neighbours triggering a form of rivalry as to which community was progressing faster along the path of modernity.

    The ownership profile of our schools have changed drastically over the last sixty years or so. The first thing that changed in this respect after independence was the ousting of the missions from the ownership of schools. This brought to an abrupt end, more than a hundred years of missionary involvement in our educational system. It was a means of throwing away a hundred years of experience gathered step by step through thick and thin. The free education policy which was introduced just before independence rendered the missions impotent in the way of raising money with which to manage their schools and had no choice but to vacate the field which has since been invaded by both government and private entrepreneurs whose only motive is profit within a field in which profit has no place. As long as the free education policy was restricted to the primary schools, the missions continued to run their schools very much as before but not for long. In 1979, state governments invaded the secondary school arena and wrested those schools from the missions in their determination to make education free to everyone. It is now abundantly clear that education has to be paid for by someone as one by one those schools which in years past were providers of high quality education have now collapsed, some of them spectacularly into wrack and ruin. This situation makes me wonder how many of my contemporaries were able to send their children to the same schools that they attended. Our parents in their time struggled to pay our school fees and the best of us enjoyed the benefit of scholarships which they won on merit. As long as money was available within the school system, a large number of people were able to derive a great deal of benefit from our school system. The irony of a bad situation is that the free education policy has only succeeded in taking quality out of the reach of most people. This is because all the passably good institutions in the land are in the hands of entrepreneurs, some of whom do not have the benefit of good education themselves. They cannot give their clients what they don’t have and they have reduced the education of the present generation of learners to an expensive lottery. School fees have now become the single most expensive item for most families irrespective of class and there is little doubt that it is a powerful driver of corruption in the land. People who have access to go public funds at whatever level of government are diverting those funds into the education of their children and those who are forced by circumstances to send their children to public schools at whatever level live with the knowledge that they are simply wasting their children’s time. Unfortunately, those children would leave school with little if anything to show for their time in the custody of teachers in some dilapidated institution.

  • Toast to Oloyede At 70

    Toast to Oloyede At 70

    Love or hate Prof. Ish’aq Olanrewaju Oloyede, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, and incumbent Registrar/Chief Executive of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), there is something you cannot deny him of: credit for his sterling performance in his present calling.  But, unknown to many, Oloyede had been doing well long before his present assignment. And we cannot get a good grasp of the present achievements of this man that many have come to regard as a rare Nigerian public servant if we do not travel down the memory lane to see where he was coming from and how indeed he fared there.

    It would be uncharitable to dismiss his achievements at the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, where he was vice-chancellor from 2007 to 2012) as one of average performance. Most of what have come to popularise his activities at JAMB were started from the University of Ilorin. He initiated and indeed pioneered the Computer-Based Test (CBT), for example, for post-JAMB screening of candidates for admission into the university, as well as for internal large class examinations there. Then, he was heavily criticised for introducing something that many people thought were just not possible or sustainable. Today, not only is CBT adopted for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), many tertiary institutions as well as public and private establishments have embraced the idea in the conduct of examinations and for employment purposes.

    We can only imagine what life would have been like if UTME candidates were still to be writing the examinations the old way.

    Oloyede also began weekly publication of the report of the university’s financial transactions in the university’s bulletin. This is a rarity in our kind of country where even websites of some major public institutions are left without being updated for years.  Oloyede has maintained this tradition at JAMB. The board’s weekly record of income and expenditure are in the domain for anyone who might be interested in having a look at them. This is accountability and transparency at work.

    In a sense, his experience at the University of Ilorin somewhat prepared him for the role he was later to play at JAMB. For instance, on CBT, it was only a question of expanding the scope nationwide instead of its being localised to the university campus in Ilorin.

    Read Also: Oloyede as living expression of positive force 

    Oloyede, as vice-chancellor turned the fortunes of the university around from an unranked institution to one of repute in Africa and the university of first choice in the country. Kunle Akogun, the director, corporate affairs of the university has this to say in this regard: “Professor Oloyede was the first alumnus of the University of Ilorin to become its vice -chancellor…Among the crucial areas in which he made his marks, which, in turn made the University of Ilorin to become the talk-of-the-town and the toast of admission seekers, were his uncompromising attention to time management, keen focus on technological development, relentless attention to staff training and retraining, commitment to clean and green environment, massive infrastructural development, unprecedented commitment to staff and students’ welfare, strict enforcement of discipline, as well as unwavering attention to innovation”, Akogun said.

    He added that Oloyede ” also instilled academic integrity, financial prudence and general fiduciary transparency in running the affairs of the university. Professor Oloyede also placed the University of Ilorin on the technological super highway with his deliberate policy of putting Information and Communication Technology on the front burner.”

    So, for Oloyede, charity truly begins at home. Most of what he is doing at JAMB today he already started at his alma mater. JAMB only provided the larger platform to announce his capabilities, thus elevating him to global relevance from the local champion that he might have remained perpetually if he had not got the opportunity to serve as chief executive of the board.

    The Professor of Islamic Studies came into JAMB in August 2016, at a time when everybody knew that all was not well with the board. Its primary assignment of organising the annual UTME was characterised by chaos. Virtually everyone knew that the examination was holding whenever it was slated to hold because of the commotion that attended it. Candidates would be running helter-skelter in search of their centres. When they eventually found them, they had many other hurdles to cross, due mainly to the preponderance of human interface in the examinations.

    But Oloyede came and changed the narrative. Unlike some others who would request for eternity to make impact, Oloyede’s transformation began with the very first UTME he conducted. It was a marked improvement compared with previous experiences. By the time he conducted the second exercise, most of what seemed to be intractable problems had become history and stakeholders began to heave a sigh of relief that, at last, Nigeria has found someone who truly understands the system and is ready to turn things around. Every other UTME has been a marked improvement compared with the other because of the unrelenting efforts of Oloyede, leveraging largely on technology.

    He introduced the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) that automates the admission process; E-Ticketing for complaints, Integrated Brochure and Syllabus System (IBASS) for prompt delivery of admission requirements as well as the use of biometric authentication to confirm validity of registration. His other innovations include expansion of the capacities of CBT centres for standardisation purposes as well as ensuring that they all have CCTV for monitoring of the examination online, real time.  He also introduced E-slip printing; the introduction of management dashboard to monitor registration and admission exercise real time, and instituted the Equal Opportunity Group for the conduct of UTME to make life easier for blind candidates, etc.

    Another major area where Oloyede has stunned many is in the management of resources. Despite reducing examination fees, he has succeeded in turning in billions annually to the Federal Government’s coffers since he took over. This is unprecedented in the history of JAMB. As a matter of fact, when he remitted the first billions barely a year after assuming office, the then Minister of Finance wondered whether there was no mix-up somewhere. He has continued along that line. As at last year, the board, under Oloyede, had remitted about N55 billion.

    Perhaps it is for this reason of being easy for some of us to forget where we are coming from that many Nigerians were piqued that the House of Representatives’ Public Accounts Committee had to order JAMB to remit N3.6 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), following a complaint by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) that the board had failed to respond to letters demanding the remittance of operating surplus. There had been argument back and forth about what percentage the board should pay to the (FRC), but the committee, in the end, found JAMB culpable and ordered it to pay N3,602,605,277 as demanded by the commission. The committee may be doing its job, but what actually piqued many of us is whether the House could have ordered the board to refund a dime in the years of the locusts that the board was in 38 years of its existence before Oloyede took over. I am here talking about the time when JAMB laid no eggs and hatched none.

    Where were both the FRC and the House committee? But that is life for you. To whom nothing is given, much is expected!

    Oloyede also in 2018 instituted an annual award tagged the National Tertiary Admissions Performance Merit Award (NATAP-M) Award for deserving institutions to encourage compliance with the admission guidelines and healthy competition. Huge prizes had been won by some of the institutions, with the emphasis however on the first position which carries the chunk of the prize. This, according to Oloyede, is to ensure that the award has an impact on any institution that comes first.

    He has also improved on welfare packages for members of the staff of JAMB because he realised that without boosting their morale, he cannot go far. 

    In all, Oloyede has been able to transform JAMB beyond expectations, beginning, as I said earlier, with his core mandate of organising the UTME. Just like Nigerians no longer need ‘bench for siddon’ in our banking halls; UTME candidates no longer need scratch cards. They no longer need pencil as the exam is now computer-based.  Today, we hear of concepts like the CBT, IBASS, E-Ticketing, biometrics, etc.

    Even his critics would by now have admitted that Oloyede’s appointment as registrar/chief executive of JAMB was ”divine appointment” as he himself said back then in August 2016. Only the mischievous would see an elephant and say it seems he just saw something. When we see an elephant, we should say so. (Ajanaku koja mo ri nkan firi; ti a ba ri erin, ka so). Oloyede is an elephant of sort in his chosen career.  Considering the good job he has been doing in JAMB, it is evident, as this newspaper noted in its editorial on him on Friday, that President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed him in that capacity obviously took his eyes to the market when shopping for someone to head the board.

    Oloyede was born on October 10, 1954 in Abeokuta, Ogun State. He graduated in 1981 with a First Class Honours from the University of Ilorin where he also bagged his Master’s and Ph.D degrees in 1985 and 1991, respectively. He became a Professor of Islamic Jurisprudence in 1995.

    As a matter of fact, I have always wondered how an expert in Islamic Studies could be as conversant with technology as Oloyede has been. I doubt if today he would not floor some people who did computer in the university because virtually everything he does has a tinge of the computer technology.

    In all, what Oloyede’s appointment tells us is that there are many qualified and competent Nigerians out there. All that is required is for the country’s leaders to take their eyes along when shopping for heads for public institutions. It amazes me when top government functionaries parrot, albeit with glee, the jaded expression that government cannot run business profitably. That being the case, why do we waste so much money to keep people who we already know cannot deliver simply because they are doing it for government? Why not outsource most government functions?

    Even as the nation ponders this question, I join millions of Nigerians in wishing this distinguished Nigerian a happy 70th birthday and pray that God would continue to guard and guide him in the service of the fatherland.

  • Snapsong  235

    Snapsong  235

    Wish I were the answer

         Which comes before the question

    The hidden star in the firmament

         Of your night of magic murmurs   

    What happens when your massive wealth

         Flows freely from the misery

    Of the swindled millions plodding city pavements

         In search of their absent dreams

    What happens to those

         Who measure their height

    By the genuflection of those

         Who pray to absent gods

    What happens to the missing Amen

         Of their frantic prayers

    And the vulpine Shepherds

         Who break their fast on tender loins

    Read Also: Tinubu, Wike, commended for improving infrastructure

    What happens to the compass

         Which loses its way

    And legacies which hit the road

         With crooked legs

    What happens to the pod

         Which comes without a seed

    What happens to the masquerade

         Which loses its mask in the marketplace?

    Snapsong-235Download