The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday

  • In the lion’s den

    In the lion’s den

    To Isapatoromoyan, the ancient Yoruba town, through the ancestral homesteads of Eko-Einde, Eekosin and Iwere-Ile for the annual pounded yam festival with the rogue Okon in tow. This annual festival is a Yoruba rite of passage and the equivalent of the American Thanksgiving which began centuries earlier when some intrepid descendants of Oduduwa settled in the northernmost fringes of the new empire among hostile tribes who viewed them with dread and trepidation as bearers of a new type of civilization.

      In gratitude to their mighty deity who had helped them to survive another season among implacable warlike marauders who were bent on exterminating them to the single person, they often gathered at this historic site among huge rocks and Olympian crevices with their best yams and the plentiful venison abounding in the sprawling plains to jollify and to make merry as well as to give vent to the more playful and gregarious side of their nature. Very soon, it became routinized and regularized as an annual festival of hope and renewal.

        It was an epic feast of a feeding frenzy beginning at sunrise and ending when even the cooperative moon began to complain of tiredness and exhaustion. It is all too reminiscent of the magnificent pounded yam festival in Things Fall Apart where it took three days for feeders on all sides to behold each other.  Replete with rare venison of extinct herbivores, wild mushrooms which tasted like upmarket sand grouse and some aromatic vegetables now out of historic circulation, it was a moveable feast indeed.

      But it was also a celebration of spectacular heroism, incredible self-sacrifice and the ancestral spirit of all those who gave up their life so that others can survive. It was the hazy beginning of armed empire and fiery battlements. Yet it resolves the post-Oduduwa paradox and the Oranmiyan Question: How a people who had conquered and grown their old empire through the force of persuasion and superior civilization could now resort to fierce conquest and slaying on an industrial scale.

       The empire rose like a comet, subduing and subjugating far and wide beyond the realm of possibility and human endurance, incorporating in its mighty and minatory embrace strange territories and even stranger people leading to an incredible miscegenation of tribes and human tributaries. Yet like all empires, it also eventually fell like an expired meteor as the auld enemies joined forces with superior cavalry and the bearers of a new civilization who felt that the old one was a threat and nuisance to its own version of history.

      Empires rise and fall. And the rest is history. History was the farthest thing on the mind this morning as a historic fog laid its icy fangs on the entire country. The motoring condition had become simply atrocious. You could hardly see beyond your nose. Even some international flights had to be diverted to neighboring and more inclement climes. With Okon in tow, history and harmattan were the least of the problems, human nuisance was.

      Before snooper lay an ancient map of the magic route. You journey from Lagos to Ibadan and then to Moniya, Iseyin, Okaka, Otu and then veer off through an old mystery route known only to old empire hands and noblemen which eventually led them back to the ancestral shrine at Ile-Ife. You then come back through Iseyin, the scenic and spectacularly picturesque Ado Awaye, Eruwa, Igbo Ora, the “Randa” intersection near Abeokuta and then back to Lagos through Ewekoro, Orile Wasinmi—Segun Odegbami’s ancestral hideout—- and Sango Otta.

    Read Also: Protest not solution to recent fuel price hike – NANS

       The journey had hardly started when Okon began making subversive commentaries in his rasping breathless monotone. Irreverent and caustic, Okon does not take hostages.

       “Oga, I just say make I tell you say dem  dey sell diesel for 245 naira for today. Petrol revenue dey rise and naira still dey fall. Na dis year we go know who get dis yeye kontri. If dem like make dem send dem soldier everywhere. When soldier don finis for barak, he mean say katakata don come be dat.” The mad boy yelled.

     “Okon leave me alone and leave the government alone.  At least they have started paying the very poor and aged people the money they promised”, yours sincerely snapped.

     “ Oga, no be yeye nonsense be dat one? Dem for build food shelter, employ Okon as Chairman for Belly Infrastructure make I dey feed dem old people. Na food dem people need. Na dis dem one –chance boys dem find  food for”, the crazy boy sniggered.

      “ By the way, Okon what do you think about the prophecies this year from the men of God?” snooper asked trying to steer the mad boy away from the path of subversion and sedition.

     “ Ha oga  dat one he be like say oversee come oversee overseer”, the mad boy crowed and burst into deranged hiccups.    

      By now we were approaching the bridge after the Shagamu intersection. All hell suddenly let loose as some hoodlums  jumped out on the road from nowhere, forcing the car to a screeching a halt just before a crater.

       “ Come out!! We are kidnappers!” one of the thugs screamed.

        “ We no be kid, so make you just go nap dem kids”, Okon bravely shouted at them.

        “ Shut up, you fool!” one of them screeched and hit Okon with the barrel of his gun. Snooper jumped up and hit the edge of the bed. Snooper has been dreaming. Yours sincerely has been hallucinating.

    First published in January, 2017.

  • Bravo and happy birthday Governor Segun Oni

    Bravo and happy birthday Governor Segun Oni

    With every due sense of modesty I can claim that there aren’t many  who have been more involved, and for as long as I have, in the politics of Ekiti state. I can, therefore, write as authoritatively as anybody on the subject of Ekiti politics, an aspect of  which is what I am doing here today. Interestingly, this is only the first part as I have traversed the subject so intimately since the 80’s when Ekiti was part of Ondo state, that The Nation’s commentariat once dubbed me the Ekiti columnist. That was during the Obasanjo years when the man believed he could ride Ekiti people roughshod and I felt, honour bound, to encourage our people, almost on a weekly basis, to stand, very firmly, on the straight and narrow path, politically.

    In making this claim, I am not oblivious of the crucial role played by that inimitable journalist, my dear aburo, Dare  Babarinsa, whose exertions as the State correspondent of  Concord newspapers culminated in his book, ‘The ‘House of War’, in which he generously devoted nearly a full page to my role in the state UPN. Needless to say, though, he was not directly involved in the politics of the state as yours truly was.

    This then means that I was right there during the Papa Ajasin years, that period which would best be situated as the very beginning of the crisis that has characterised Ekiti politics like forever. It was the time Ekiti politicians began their mutual loathing, and enemity, suspecting each other’s every move, every inch of the way, both inter and intra – party.

    While this was more pronounced inter party, it was not absent, intra party; and though now, happily greatly subdued – thanks to Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s uniquely accommodating, and reconciliatory – call it Omoluabi politics – which can, with considerable justification, be described as a re-incarnation of Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim’s ‘politics without bitterness’ of the Second Republic, it still simmers underground, somewhat.

    By the way, although I can pride myself as being amongst the earliest few to suggest to this Omoluabi politician, then the state’s Secretary to Government, that he should try contest the state’s governorship election slated for 2022, at a time it was fartherest from his mind as I once documented in one of my articles shortly before the election, I did not see him until well after a year after his assumption of office. One thing I am doubly sure about is that we are damn lucky to have ‘Biodun

    Abayomi Oyebanji, BAO,  as he is called, worldwide, as our governor in this critical times.

    As I told him during my visit to him at the Ekiti House in Ikeja, Lagos early July this year, I have already started the draft of an article with the title: ‘BAO – Mania: How Governor Abiodun Oyebanji Reset Ekiti Politics’, the publishing of which, God willing, may not be earlier than during the second anniversary of his assumption of office.

    The ’cause célèbre’ for this piece today, therefore, is not  the governor, but the absolutely fascinating, and highly commendable withdrawal from partisan politics, of the state’s former Governor, Engr Segun Oni, which he recently announced while addressing some journalists ahead his 70th birthday.

    He is thus quitting partisan politics at a time when the ovation is loudest; thus recording a distinct rarity amongst Nigerian politicians who would, characteristically, rather die on the job.

    According to the report, his decision to quit was not driven by any immediate political ambition, but by his desire for a more reflective, and less active role in politics adding, however, that he would be available to give advice. He concluded by announcing  his endorsement of governor Oyebanji for the 2026 Ekiti state governorship election, premising it on the governor’s unique politics, and stellar performance.

    Vintage Segun Oni!

    Born 5 September 1954, and studied Chemical Engineering at the Great University of Ife, Ile – Ife, for his first degree, Oni was governor of Ekiti State from 29 May 2007 to 17 February 2009, and from 6 May 2009 to 15 October, 2010. He was a member of the PDP but in 2014,  defected to the newly formed APC where he was subsequently elected the Deputy National Chairman (South), a position he held from 2014 to 2020.

    He was governor at a very politically charged period in the state, with both PDP and the APC having an equal number of legislators ( 13 each) in the state House of Assembly and, having to contend with a  number of court cases, topmost of which was the long – running case instituted by Dr Kayode Fayemi against his election.

    Governor Oni would later step down from office on  15 October, 2010 after the Appeal court, sitting in Ilorin, Kwara state, declared Dr  Fayemi winner of both the 2007 governorship election, as well as the subsequent 2009 Rerun Election.

    Lest the reader be surprised, I authored about the most acerbic of articles against governor Oni during his tenure as governor of Ekiti state and, even as late as during the June 2022 governorship election when he was the candidate of  the  SDP.

    I would learn later in the course of his tenure, that his Media aides, many of  them very brilliant journalists, were on very strict instructions, from him, never to reply to “Brother Femi’s tirades” against his government, adding that he knew I was writing from  my personal convictions and that he, indeed, asked them whether they have seen me benefit anything from politics. His Uncle, my very good friend, Pastor Segun Fayemi, told me all these much later. This again is another testament to his being an ‘Eni Uyi, Eni Eye’, as we describe decent people in Ekiti. Despite the many years past, I still greatly appreciate him and wish, very fervently, that his tribe will increase amongst our politicians. It is my ardent hope too that his example here would serve as a teachable curve for many a Nigerian politician.

    To show how much I have always appreciated governor Oni’s person, if not his conservative, PDP politics, l  reproduce below, my reference to him in my articles ahead the referred governorship election; articles which were intended to vigorously canvass, not his candidature, but that of the APC candidate.

    In the article titled ‘Ekiti: I Ask Again Must Our Politicians Always Fight To The Death?’ of 10 February 2022, I wrote:

    But all these could not have happened had total strangers, the likes of former President Olusegun Obasanjo  and  Chief Bode  George  not,  like  a meteor,  suddenly  appeared

     and  insinuated  themselves, needlessly,  into  Ekiti  politics.

    That was way back  2003 when they overawed the almost faultless campaign of Chief  S. K Babalola, a highly regarded Ekiti elder, politician and gentleman per excellence, thereby  effectively muddling up our politics, like forever.

    That was exactly when rain started to beat us anew in Ekiti, politically speaking, eventuating in  the: “bo ba o pa, bo o ba o bu lese”, dangerous politics that climaxed in the Ido – Osi

    scorch-earth, ‘mini war’ of the 2009 Rerun election.  During that period, Ekiti had a one day governor, witnessed an Obasanjo – inspired, but inchoate impeachment, just as we saw Mama Ayoka’s infantile, political abracadabra, to mention but a few.

    Read Also: Tinubu accepts Ngelale’s indefinite leave request

    We have now come to that point in time when any true lover of Ekiti, among the  contestants, must ‘think Ekiti, rather than be consumed by self, because  he who fights and runs away, runs to fight another day. Fortunately, they all have age on their side.These Ekiti Patriots – yes patriots – must sit down and critically interrogate the question: Why, at every governorship election cycle, must Ekiti be in the news for the wrong reasons?

    Although this article is aimed, primarily, at helping to find a rapprochement within  the APC, I also feel concerned about the PDP, since the Ekiti bird cannot fly with one wing. For instance, insecurity has become so alarming, and commonplace, that we must not allow any insecurity entrepreneur turn Ekiti into a killing field.

    Our politicians must realise that no position is worth the blood of a human being.

    “That said, let me confess that I am personally delighted at the news of His Excellency, Engr Segun Oni’s imminent departure from the PDP.  I can see now why PDP can no longer sleep easy, both here at home, and in Abuja. Governor Segun Oni is a highly respected, absolutely incorruptible politician who would never stomach the chicanery that played out at the last PDP primaries which, but for eagle – eyed soldiers,  would have been inundated by  armed thugs who were being ferried there all the way from Ibadan. He and his supporters deserve to let PDP know that he is worth every bit of his name in gold”.

    I repeated these words, and more, in the article:’Ekiti ’22 -The Inevitability of BAO’s Victory For Uninterrupted Development In Ekiti’, dated 22nd May, 2022, even though I promptly went on to show why his party, the  SDP, would be unable to ensure a continuation of the state’s developmental trajectory.

    As it turned out, Ekiti rejected both the PDP and SDP, but not without affirming their respect for, and appreciation of governor Oni’s persona, by making sure that he soundly trounced the PDP candidate, Hon. Bisi Kolawole, who he outscored by having 82,211votes to 67,457,  while the APC candidate, and now Governor Biodun Oyebanji, got 187,057 votes to emerge winner.

    Concluding, I salute Governor Oni’s courage in quitting at the most appropriate time, that is, when the ovation is loudest; happy also that by the grace of God, he will be there, in very robust health, and available, as a reservoir of knowledge, from which future generations of Ekiti politicians can tap from time to time.

    Here’s wishing him a happy 70th birthday

  • Tinubu and Xi: Two reformers under one roof

    Tinubu and Xi: Two reformers under one roof

    The week in review met President Bola Ahmed Tinubu offshore. He arrived the People’s Republic of China on the first day of the week for a five-day long three-fold official visit. Right from arrival till he left the shores of the country on Friday, it was all activities; attending meetings to negotiate for Nigeria’s piece from the international cake of affluence. Like His spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, had hinted days before his departure, while in China, President Tinubu met with the Chinese business community, the ones who run the mega corporations making impacts in different parts of the world, some of which businesses already have presence in Nigeria.

    From Tuesday, when the real work started, after visiting two of the big businesses with established partnerships with Nigeria; China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and Huawei Technologies’ Beijing Research Centre, both of which leaderships he held in-depth discussions on partnerships and furthering existing agreements, President Tinubu met with his primary host, President Xi Jinping of China.

    Just like in past major outgoings, the Nigerian President did not go out there for just the cruise, it was always a serious business, which entire value must be explored and exploited. Right from the moment the two presidents shook hands on ‘welcome’ and ‘how are you doing’, Tinubu did not leave his host in doubt of why he agreed to honour the invitation. They went straight to supervising the very critical part of their meeting; signing of bilateral agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoU).

    The meeting saw the signing of five MoUs, all attending to various aspects of both countries’ national and economic lives. A statement by Ngelale, who witnessed the event, said the agreements signed included Cooperation plan between both countries on jointly promoting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the peaceful application of Nuclear Energy; Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening cooperation on Human Resource Development under the Global Development Initiative; Memorandum of Understanding on Media Exchange and Cooperation; and Memorandum of Understanding between China Media Group and the Nigerian Television Authority.

    Done with that business, it was time for both leaders to voice their minds, state their expected mutual obligations and expectation, as well ‘massage egos’. More importantly, it was another platform for Tinubu to sell the idea of Nigeria as the best investment destination and an ideal diplomatic partner to the Government and People of China.

    He stressed the need to further strengthen the Nigeria-China relations to advance trade and economic development programmes, leveraging Nigeria’s position as Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation. He pointed out that Nigeria’s young population presents a driving force for economic growth and cross-sectoral programs, making it an attractive partner for China. He also announced the upgrade of Nigeria-China relations to a comprehensive developmental partnership, aiming for robust development, stability, and security in the West African sub-region.

    “This is an important visit for Nigeria and the rest of Africa, as I arrive in my capacity as the Chairman of ECOWAS. I thank you for the high-level of honour accorded to us. Relations between China and Nigeria have indeed lasted for over half a century and should be further strengthened to advance our trade and economic development programmes. Nigeria holds great potential as the country with the largest population in Africa and is the biggest economy with a very young population that can drive economic growth and cross-sectoral programmes.

    Read Also: Protest not solution to recent fuel price hike – NANS

    “We have upgraded the relationship to more than what is just strategic — but a comprehensive developmental partnership. This comprehensive strategic partnership should result in robust development, stability, and security in the West African sub-region. This is very crucial,” President Tinubu said.

    To reassure China that the deal he is selling is insured and that his administration is not static, but in the process of making Nigeria fit-for-purpose for investors, especially those from China, he reminded Xi that he is a reformer like him and that the fruits of his reforms are designed to benefit investors. He said his administration remains committed to sustainable growth through the effective implementation of ongoing economic reforms.

    “We believe that President Xi has demonstrably reformed the Chinese economy, and our reform programme in Nigeria is on a similar course. I am a reformer with verifiable antecedents. We have recognized the need to reform our economy, and we are doing so diligently across tax and tariff reviews, to various other segments of our nation’s economy. Trading and investment partners will have easy access to bring in their investments and seamlessly take their resources out”, the President stated.

    Then on Wednesday, Tinubu met with the Chinese Premier, Li Qiang, for a bilateral meeting. The message at this meeting was all about securing an equal stake and benefit for Africa in the alliance with the People’s Republic of China. Almost like passing the message before the third leg of his visit, which was his participation in the Beijing Summit of Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which is China’s rout into the deeper African continent.

    After all said and done, his message to China through Li, was “Africa is a huge opportunity for economic development. As great people, we are willing to partner for progress and development. What is most important will be the focus of FOCAC in areas on which we can collaborate to make the relationship mutually beneficial to all of us”.

    On Thursday, President Tinubu had a message to the rest of the world, considering the prevalent situation virtually globally, he re-echoed a call he has made severally and on different occasions, especially whenever he hosted emissaries of other nations at home or whenever he found himself addressing nations at multilateral or bilateral events, just like FOCAC.

    Those who have consistently followed him will remember that President Tinubu is a faithful Apostle of global collaboration and his philosophy for this is that “lofty goals are achieved through global collaboration”. So when he was speaking at the opening of the Forum, he noted that FOCAC had exemplified the importance of global collaboration in achieving shared progress and prosperity, highlighting its success and the broader partnership between China and Africa.

    He said global progress is not a zero-sum game, where one side’s gain is another’s loss. Instead, by working together and seeking win-win solutions, nations can create opportunities for sustainable development and shared prosperity. He said the China-Africa partnership, built on trust, mutual respect, and common goals, is a shining example of this collaborative approach and stressed the need to maintain momentum, with peaceful dialogue, transparent business practices, and diplomatic conflict resolution at the forefront of efforts.

    He maintained that this partnership is not just about shared history, but a bold collective vision for the future. By joining hands and pooling strengths and resources, Africa and China can unlock unprecedented levels of growth and development for their nations. Tinubu’s message resonates deeply when you consider the fact that the FOCAC partnership has already yielded significant benefits, with trade between Africa and China reaching an estimated $280 billion. It is believed that by the end of the Forum last Friday, both sides would have deepened their cooperation, embracing diverse perspectives and reinforcing a vision for a multi-polar world where cooperation is key to solving global challenges.

    Though he still participated on Thursday at a high-level FOCAC meeting on peace and security, in his capacity as Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, where he charged world leaders on the need to embrace multilateralism and cooperative partnership over protectionism in achieving global peace and security, the next meeting that held an immediate and intimate meaning for Nigerians was the meeting with members of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization in China (NIDO China) and the Nigerian community, held at the China World Hotel in Beijing on Friday.

    At this meeting, he addressed the situation at home and the reaction of most Nigerians to how things are progressing. He drew an analogy with the situation in the country of their sojourn. He did not deny knowledge of the fact that the effects of his reforms and process of achieving growth and development for Nigeria have been harsh and squeezing in many cases, but like he once said, weaning a child off breast-feeding does not come easy, but it must be done and the earlier the less embarrassing.

    “Nigeria is going through reforms and we are taking very bold and unprecedented decisions. For example, you might have been hearing from home in the last few days about fuel prices. But, can we help it? Can we develop good roads like you have here? You see electricity being constant in quantity and quality. You see water supply, constant and running, and you see their good schools. And we say we want to hand over a banner without stain to our children?

    “What is the critical part to get us there if we cannot take hard decisions to pave the way for a country that is blessed and so talented? So many of you are so talented, speaking very fluent Mandarin, it is what you contribute and tell them at home that will reflect in the attitude of our people. The more you want everything free, it will become more expensive and long-delayed to achieve meaningful development”, he said.

    Meanwhile, it did not mean that while he was in China he ceased setting things straight at home, as a matter of fact, he made appointments and responded to critical developments requiring presidential attention back home. For instance, besides reminding the world of his solid relationship with his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima, during the Number Two Man’s birthday on Monday, showering praises on him and describing him with the most ornamental language, Mr. President also made new appointments. For instance, he appointed a new Board for the Bank of Industry (BoI), which was announced on Monday.

    He mourned the matriarch of the Yar’adua Dynasty, Hajiya Dada Yar’adua, the mother of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, the late General Shehu Musa Yar’adua and Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yaradua, on Tuesday. He lauded the feat of Nigeria’s first paralympic medalist, Eniola Bolaji, at the Paris Paralympics, still on Tuesday, and he gave assurance to the victims and families of victims of terrorist in Yobe that they will get justice. That was on Wednesday.

    Then on Thursday, he directed Vice President Shettima to step in and get to the roots of the brewing crisis from the sudden fuel price hike as well as the scarcity of the product. The Vice President must have gotten back to him on that. Like they say, that buck stops at his table. When he comes Nigerians we will know what he thinks about it all. Same day he mourned the death of National Chairman of the Alliance of Democracy (AD), Chief Michael Koleosho, recalling his political sagacity.

    It is a new week from today and the President is expected to pull new strings in the new week. Let us wait to see what those strings will be.

  • A new dawn

    A new dawn

    I know that the above caption is not just unoriginal but inappropriate too. But out of a sense loyalty I have decided to use it as the title for this piece which has been fermenting in the vast, not to say dark recesses of my mind for more than twenty-four feverish hours. Even then, when I finally decided to tackle the subject, I still found some cob webs standing in the way of writing what could be considered the perfect article or at least, something close to it.

    In the depths of my retirement, I find the time to respond to WhatsApp messages even if I quickly discard most of them especially the video clips, many of which I find irritating, even annoying. The wrath is especially reserved for those clips which are accompanied by some maniacal bouts of laughter in the background. Most times such clips are not even remotely funny. But I have gone in front of my story which is not about video clips at all and the only thing remotely connected to video clips is that the story which captured my imagination as no video clip has done for a long time was that the item of news which elicited my inappropriate caption was delivered through a video clip.

    As everyone and their dog  by now must know, the Dangote refinery will, at last soon, or maybe by the time you read this, be pumping high grade petroleum into motor vehicles all over the country. And for good measure to supply this commodity to petrol stations all over sub Saharan countries. I have no idea and I wonder if many people have any inkling of how much a litre of petrol will be sold for throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria. That, at this time is a secondary consideration if only because I recently had to cough up close to one thousand Naira for the dubious privilege of putting a litre of the volatile stuff in my car, which for some months now has strictly been restricted to local runs. Its powerful engine which requires a healthy quantity of petrol just to warm it lies comatose most of the time and if it had a memory would remember those long departed days of indulgence when a trip to Lagos nearly two hundred kilometres away was the work of a few rapid hours. What I know is that large volumes of petrol  are consumed in Nigeria everyday and this being the case, a few Naira profit on each litre of petrol purchased will soon mount up to billions of Naira in profit. I had it on reliable authority that one of the most buoyant petroleum giants in Nigeria was satisfied with making just one penny on each gallon of petrol that she sold everyday. Today, the quantity of petrol sold everyday is perhaps a thousand times more than what was sold in those long gone days. It stands to reason therefore that we should not have to break the bank to buy fuel. My optimism on this point has however been hugely dented by the news that the NNPCL, the same organisation that has not produced any fuel for simply ages has done the magic of inserting itself into the supply chain for Dangote produced petrol. I fear that this debt ridden contraption will try to squeeze every ounce of advantage from her position and so I am sure that pump prices are not coming down any time soon. But, that is another story.

    The politics of petrol sales in Nigeria over the last two decades or so has made it impossible for anyone to truthfully say how much fuel is consumed here on a daily basis. This is because the amount of money paid as subsidy to those hitherto amorphous if not anonymous importers of fuel into the country depends on the volume of fuel purportedly imported by them. This figure is justly shrouded in mystery because it is suspected that petrol meant for consumption here in Nigeria is simply transferred to other neighbouring states from where the wily importers now turned exporters, collect another round of subsidy payments.

    In the new regime, the painful but lucrative business of preventing petrol produced in Lekki from straying across our notoriously porous borders is no longer within the purview of our hard working but lamentably underpaid Customs officers.   Alhaji Aliko Dangote has staked a fortune on producing liquid energy with which to run our collective economy. Rich, no, fabulously wealthy as he is, his many financial commitments makes it incumbent on him to make a going concern of his refinery in as short a time possible so as to make his debt repayments as easy as he possibly  can. This venture is not a charitable venture. That is restricted to the distribution of bags of rice and some deodourised palm oil as palliative to the very poor. For that he will give all kinds of satisfaction  to a whole lot of people from different quarters. The refinery is however another matter entirely. It is a monstrously expensive business venture which must be more than capable of paying rich dividends from the shark infested waters of Nigerian industry. Every litre of fuel produced but unaccounted for is an irreparable loss to  Dangote and he must ensure that apart from some level of evaporation every litre of fuel produced is accounted for and added to the bottom line. I have a feeling that all the worm holes through which hitherto, petroleum products escaped local utilisation will soon be blocked through the deployment of the latest available technology. Dangote has not only brought us up to the age of the state of the art energy production but has brought us kicking and screaming into the age of the latest monitoring technologies. Other industrialists have this example in front of them and they will no doubt rise up to the challenge.

    Another example in front of us concerns quality control. To be fair to our industrial producers, they have always tried to build quality into their products but Dangote is taking this to a new high level. Only a few weeks ago we were informed by a cynical clear eyed official who stood in front of a nest of microphones to charge the Dangote refinery with negligence in the matter of the quality of her products. Dangote has come out boldly to announce to the world that for the first time in a very long while, virtually sulphur free petrol will be available on the Nigerian market, all of it produced onshore. Enhanced engine performance as well as pollution free environment are two of the advantages coming our way soon.

    Read Also: Protest not solution to recent fuel price hike – NANS

    Close to half of Forex allocations are for people to import petroleum products with. I am sure that with these products being pumped out of the refinery at Lekki, the demand for dollars will be pointedly reduced in such a way that the pressure on the Naira will ease, allowing it to taste the sweet air of freedom for goodness knows how long. The effect of this on the economy is both immense and incalculable making it possible for us to dare to dream of better times.

    Only  a few weeks ago, the news was that for the first time in his career, Dangote was not in the good books of the present government as he has been with all the governments that went before. Some were moved to applaud the situation because the charge has always been that Dangote’s outstanding financial success has been on the back of government handouts to the detriment of the rest of us. Strains of the applause for this situation were still floating around when news came that crude made available to all refineries operating in Nigeria would be paid for in Naira, taking out the dollar in our refining equation. The only company ready and waiting to take advantage of this decision in any meaningful fashion belongs to Dangote. The eternal government client has won out again even though there is absolutely nothing debarring any other businessman from taking advantage of this reasonable gateway to profitability. I can imagine that several groups and individuals are working their phones feverishly at this time, attempting to set up deals which will lead to building refineries. They will all follow in the wake of Dangote as they have tried to do with sugar and cement. And just as what happened to all the junks bringing in cement from all corners of the globe and clogging up our ports, the armada of petrol bearing mother, sister and daughter ships will soon be consigned as the saying goes to the unplumbed depths of the dustbin of history.

    With the Dangote refinery fully operational, we stand on the threshold of a new beginning throughout the continent of Africa. By the time Europe collided with Africa back in the fifteenth century, many empires were flourishing furiously in the heart of the continent of Africa. Some of them, the Oyo, Benin, Kongo, Bornu, to mention only a few were at their apogee. They were not as technologically advanced as the Europeans but existed at a level which was astonishing to the Europeans, almost always the Portuguese who made first contact with these African empires. But there were Europeans from other countries who came and found a degree of civilisation which not only exceeded their expectations but found that they exceeded what existed in their own countries. Unfortunately for Africa, the Europeans from wherever they came had guns which were superior and vastly so to whichever weapons were available to the Africans and it was therefore easy for the Europeans to impose their will on Africans they interacted with. They formed selective alliances following the fault lines which had existed within African groups long before their coming and through this arrangement undermined the development of African units. From then until now, the relationships formed between Europe and Africa  have been not just unequal but punishingly so for Africa. This has been especially so in the issue of trade. From that time Africa has always exported raw materials including human beings to Europe and the rest of the world and imported perishable goods in return. Those goods have disappeared with no trace. Whilst the Europeans steadily built up their countries on the backs of their African trading partners, the African units which existed before the coming of the Europeans began a long but steady state of implosion which hollowed them out so badly that the Europeans simply waltzed in at one point and colonised the whole continent. Since then Africa has been working for little returns to develop Europe to the detriment of her own development. This is how come Africa has settled into the mould of producers of raw materials and consumers of cheap manufactured goods from Europe. That has not changed and until we make concerted efforts to change the dynamics of our situation, it will not change.

    Over the last fifty years or so, Nigeria and indeed, most parts of Africa has had to import all her petroleum products from Europe. The Dutch for example have no crude oil but they have built up a refining capacity which is able to supply refined petroleum products to all parts of Africa. Dangote has been able to set up a single facility to rival the Dutch masters at their game and broken a five hundred year mould which dictates that Africa must depend on other people to refine our raw materials. We now know that we can become masters at industrial production of virtually everything we put our mind to. We are capable of buying the technology we need for our own development as Dangote has done so painstakingly over the last decade. Besides that, we have now seen that apart from buying technology we can borrow or even steal technology from wherever it is available. We can even develop it whenever it is necessary. What Dangote has done with this refinery goes far beyond the production of refined petroleum products. Handled properly, it has opened our eyes to endless possibilities in the same way that he has done for cement and sugar. There was a time when sugar was squeezed out of the cruel and unpaid labour of millions of Africans but today we can produce sugar from scratch and export it to the rest of a sugar crazed world and we can do that for whatever we want. What we have lacked over the last five hundred years has been the confidence in our own ability to be industrial producers of the things we need. I am confident that in the next fifty years, if we boldly follow on the path hacked out of the jungle by the single expedient of that refinery, the largest single one of its kind on earth,  we will become formidable exploiters of technology.

    I have often wondered why a man would want to be a dollar billionaire when he cannot live long enough to actually spend a thousandth of that humongous sum of money. Now, I know that you can buy a slice of history and you need many billions of dollars to do that and that to me is what is so impressive about what Dangote has done. He has bought for himself a large slice of history. More than that he has set the world on a new path, if only we as Africans are ready to see the path which has been opened for us. Seen in this light, perhaps the heading of this article is appropriate after all, a new day has risen over Africa.

  • SNAPSONG 231

    SNAPSONG 231

    Randon Snaps

    As clearly as the Future
    Predicts the Past
    So boldly as forthcoming rains count
    The teeth of unborn droughts

    Like the tendril which foretells
    The tribe of the tuber
    And the yarn of the yam which
    Echoes the narrative of the barn

    What seems
    Is not always what is
    What is is hardly ever a faithful fore-
    Print of what is to be

    Read Also: Can Wale Edun, Yemi Cardoso, Taiwo Oyedele save the Nigerian economy?

    The lobster which swaggers
    Like a dreadful scorpion
    Let it take another look
    At the fire in its rival’s tail

    A thousand stars cannot outshine
    The majesty of the moon
    No matter how hard the lake may strive
    It can never outsize the mighty ocean

    Let the fawning tailor
    Mind the appetite of the scissors
    A cap too large may make a mockery
    Of the owner’s head

  • Who will lead the North? – A Reaction

    Who will lead the North? – A Reaction

    In a 2 -part article deployed primarily, I suspect, towards asphyxiating the entire Southern Nigeria into a state of somnolence ahead the 2027 presidential election when, because they are born to rule, the North would, again mount the presidency of Nigeria even if President Muhammadu Buhari – a Northerner – spent his two full terms (2015 – 2023), gentleman ILYASU GADU, got published in the Daily Trust, his article, ‘Who Will Lead The North?’ Interested readers should please see the Daily Trust of 6 & 13 August, 2024.

    For ease of reference, I paraphrase Gadu’s main beef below in what was, essentially, a Tinubu put down.

    In my part of the country we say that even if you were sent a message befitting a slave, you deliver it like a freeborn.  No, not Gadu, who cut President Tinubu no slack whatever.

    For instance, in Gadi’s words:”From the tenor of the nationwide protests, Nigerians now see President Tinubu as the signature image of Nigeria’s current tribulations”, even if that selfsame protest was dominated in the North solely by uneducated urchins, who know practically nothing, besides shouting whatever it is they are told to shout, Putin inclusive; and regardless of whether Tinubu had, himself, earned their angst only in the process of  trying to clear the Augean stable of the clueless eight years which preceded him.

    Rather than honestly bemoan the North’s loss of political power, our friend chose to write:”Now that Tinubu has finally ascended the presidency of Nigeria by the instrumentality of the same northern political elite, it is ironically the north that is groaning most from the harsh economic policies of the Tinubu administration”.

    And concerning his Northern political elite he believes that President Tinubu has locked out, ‘benched’ he called it, most Northern APC leaders, Nasir El Rufai, the erstwhile, powerful Kaduna state governor, inclusive.

    As I used to do during the tenure of governor Jonah Jang of Plateau state when I usually exchanged ideas on critical issues of state with Elder Tony Sani, then ACF Publicity Secretary, and also to eschew any notion of any personal prejudcces, I contacted a regular reader of this column, a University Professor, to ask for his views on this very important article.

    Read Also: Smart schools: Mbah flags-off experiential learning centre

    His comments which are also paraphrased for space constraint, reads as follows:

    Ilyasu Gudu’s article captioned ‘Who will lead the North?’ and published in the Daily Trust of 6 & 13 August, 2024 is , in my view, a very unfortunate one, reflecting as it does, the mode of thinking in the North.

    To describe it as horrifying will be an understatement. It portrayed a mind left behind in the primitive morass of feudal nostalgia, and delusional pomposity, earnestly celebrating  excessive entitlement mentality; something that has become an epidemic, of sorts, with our Northern politicians. It defies logic and benumbs reason but, unfortunately, yet persists.

    The author, therefore, must have captured the minds of many of his Northern compatriots which, to say the least, is a shame because he deliberately ignored many obvious, and undeniable, facts.

    He failed, for instance, to mention the North’s proclivity for primitive existence which places heavy encumberances on the average northerner’s path to growth or progress. The fact that they deliberately keep their people down is of no moment to the writer, at all. He equally ignored the fact that Northern leaders clothe the talakawas with a garb of ignorance, poverty, destitution and other forms of human degradation. This is perhaps to ensure their amenability.

    With millions of children, and youth, roaming the streets – with no education, no skills, no parental guidance, no direction, no control, no hope, and nothing to live for – why wouldn’t their existence be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutal and short”, (apologies, Thomas Hobbes).

    In blaming the Tinubu administration for the hardship in the north, Mr Gadu feigned a blissful ignorance of  the atrocities and misrule of the past in the hands of Northern rulers, civilian and military alike.

    Or come to think of it, hasn’t the North always held the levers of power in Nigeria? Have they not always been in total control, even when a  Southerner is on the seat, as

    Dr Yusuf Datti Baba – Ahmed once had the occasion to gloat about? Or aren’t  Southern Presidents often subjected to threat, intimidation and blackmail till they are compelled to do the bidding of the North? Obasanjo was no exception, nor was Goodluck Jonathan who was literally ran out of town with some Northern leaders of his party, the PDP, eagerly working for his defeat. Or aren’t  they now doing it to Tinubu?

    Conversely, when a Northerner is in power, all is well, and they keep the peace. Which was why no one heard from Ilyasu Gadu during the depredation, and chaos of the immediate past regime – an era that berthed a multi billion Naira crime industry in kidnapping and banditry.

    What, too, of an ethnic militia – ‘Fulani herdsmen’- recognised by the World Global Terrorism Index, 2023 as the third most dangerous terrorist organisation, worldwide, operating freely and leaving a huge trail of blood and tears across the country during the entire Buhari administration? How many Nigerians  live in IDP camps today simply because they were driven out of their ancestral homes by local invaders and murderers?

    Mr Gadu is here representing  the voice of predators which is why he did not mention the scorch-earth greed and insensitivity of the northern elite.

    An elite that cares only for itself and promotes the comfort of a few at the expense of the many. An elite so unfeeling, so merciless, indeed, so   conscience-less it steals from orphans and widows, from the weak, the infirm and the dying.

    I find the article totally  repugnant. All the North wants is power, power without accountability but power to control and denigrate; the reason Gadu wrote the article now, eagerly awaiting the next Northern Emperor.

    The Leaders of the First Republic had great plans for their respective regions and  the country as a whole. And they worked towards its realisation. Up north, the Sardauna worked hard to take his people out of the morass of the dark ages. But today,state capture remains the ultimate goal of those who inherited his power, the reason Ilyasu Gadu is so agitated he wants to know who would next lead the North and, ipso facto, rule Nigeria the way they want.

    Unfortunately, it’s like the South and the Middle Belt are both cursed, and will never, ever find accommodation for each other. They can complain together about their misfortune and mourn their tragedies together. But no. They never sit together to articulate a proper response to those  snapping dangerously at their heels. They are embroiled in their own little wars and big hates, giddy peskiness and endless shadow chasing. 

    And what’s more? There is no end in sight. For without that response, nothing will change.

    Yes, Nigeria needs leadership.  But not leadership blinded by ethnic irredentism, religious bigotry and tribal exceptionalism. Not leadership mired in corruption and rhetorics and self service. It is time to look for leadership with vision, empathy, wisdom and the strength to pull back from the brink. Nigeria needs leadership that can bring hope back to the largest black nation on earth. It needs leadership that can look across the mountain and see hope. Leadership that can cast its glance across the ocean, look beyond the seas, and tell the people: “there’s hope. Let us go forward together in amity and brotherliness”.

    May that day come.

  • The British vote for change VI

    The British vote for change VI

    The first time I made the media acquaintance of Boris Johnson, he was far from being on his best form. Indeed, he looked somewhat ridiculous, a clearly overweight, if not decidedly portly figure perched rather precariously on a bicycle which looked too fragile to carry the weight to which it was being subjected. At that time, Boris Johnson, a passionate cyclist was trying to convince the people of London to pick up the healthy habit of navigating the traffic choked streets of their city on a bicycle provided by the city of which he was mayor. Being mayor of the city of London was Johnson’s first major political post . Over the next few years, he not only won three London mayoral elections but was appointed to senior ministerial appointments by two Prime Ministers and topping the lot by becoming Prime Minister in his own right. Not finished with political stardom, Boris as Prime Minister won a general election and in the process gathered in 43% of votes cast; the highest percentage won by any Prime Minister in the long history of electoral contest in Britain. Johnson has aroused my interest as no modern politician, except perhaps Trump who appears to have been cut from the same cloth,  so much so that when he had to resign from his post as British Prime Minister, I celebrated him in an article with the title, ‘The rise and rise of Boris Jobson’, not in tribute but in wonder as to how a man of his obviously deviant character could have climbed the political ladder, indeed any ladder to the dizzy heights which Boris had reached.

    Like Cameron, Boris was born with some quite attractive privileges. He happens to be the first and indeed the only British Prime Minister who was born abroad; in the United States of America to be precise. He also spent enough of his childhood in Brussels to have learnt to speak French and acquiring a second language which is not something you associate with the British. Also, against the run of play, Boris had the early experience of living in Europe, the very capital of the European Union  but as his career unfolded, he wasted this opportunity to cultivate an understanding or even appreciation of basic European feelings; preferring instead to live permanently in his restricted little England environment, albeit in his head. A less charitable observer may even describe him as living entirely within his mind which in spite of early exposure to salutary other world experiences, was as close to a closed mind as to make no difference. This would be an apt description of a bigot, misogynistic and racist, all adjectives which at one time or the other have justifiably been hurled at him from different quarters.

    Boris was not only privileged by his upbringing, he, like David Cameron had a mind which suggested that it was eminently amenable to cultivation. He won various scholarships to Eton and Oxford and had the application to make sense out of Latin which made him an example of a scholar of the  Classics but he was cynical enough to appreciate the value of the common touch which for him could not be separated from the vulgar. If Brown with all his studiousness could be said to lack people skills, Boris had these in spades and leveraged on these skills to overachieve in the field of politics. He had an instinctive knowledge of what people wanted to hear and made sure to give them only those things. Like Trump, his unlikely look alike, he was a media celebrity who won a whole lot of votes by pandering to the lowest public values. He was a journalist who attached little value to the truth as many other successful politicians have done and will continue to do until we find a way of accessing the real worth of people who from time to time come out to ask us for our votes. Boris Johnson occupied several important public posts during his glittering political career but left no lasting foot prints in any of those positions. It is as if he was just passing through without having been anywhere.

    Read Also: Alia’s Priesthood anniversary: Tor Tiv warns Benue politicians

    Perhaps the greatest event in Johnson’s career was Brexit, even if this has been a disaster of huge proportions to other British politicians especially to David Cameron who supervised the original referendum as well as Theresa May who could not get Brexit done. Without Brexit however, it is unlikely that Boris would have got the chance of becoming British Prime Minister. It is doubtful that he wanted to be Prime Minister other than that he fancied to be Prime Minister. His performance during the Covid pandemic supports this contention and the fact that he could not survive the pandemic clinches the argument. The pandemic demanded masterful leadership, something which was beyond his capacity to deliver. His response to the pandemic was slow and indecisive and it is not surprising that the casualties reported from Britain was high, much higher than what was expected from a resource rich country like Britain. It is clear that those resources were not exploited by Johnson to ameliorate the effects of the virus on the people of Britain. It is not unlike Johnson that the seriousness of the situation was completely lost on a man who did not have the capacity of seeing the serious side of any situation. For a start,  he could not be persuaded to respect the simple rules which were designed, reluctantly put in place by his own government to reduce the spread of the virus. Social distancing was anathema to him and masks were just a nuisance which should be discarded on a whim. He went around shaking hands with anyone within his visual range and did not allow the virus to curtail his enjoyment of a good but unnecessary party. As for rules, they were not to stand in the way of his personal enjoyment even when other members of the public were hibernating in various places of restricted confinement, waiting  impatiently for the end of the pandemic. The British, faced with the austerity measures since the Tories came to power in 2010 when Cameron  took over the captainship of the ship of state, were suddenly confronted with the harsh realities of the depleted status of their beloved National Healthcare System as well as other structures through which welfare benefits trickled down to that all important mythical man on that equally mythical street on which he lived.

    Long before COVID became an issue, Johnson had his hands full with the matter of Brexit. It was something of poetic justice because even when Brexit was still in its gestation period, Boris had been one of those stoking the fire under its incubator. He was one of those who sold the idea of leaving the European Union in order to achieve an indefinable independence and freedom to exercise the sovereignty which they had supposedly surrendered to the faceless bureaucrats in Brussels. Boris staked his political future on an exit vote in the referendum and must have thought that he had hit a jackpot when, so to say, his number came up in the lottery of the Brexit referendum. When Theresa May appeared to be dithering over getting Brexit done, Boris was one of those demanding that the will of the people, those who had no time for remaining in Europe had to be respected. Under the pressure from many sides including Boris Johnson and other members of the May cabinet, the hapless Prime Minister had to call for an election which she won with very little to spare,  after which she saw the hand writing on the board and threw in the towel, one of those who had stabbed her unmercifully was none other than her Foreign Minister, the golden haired   Boris Johnson who had been calling for bringing an end to British membership of the European Union.

    As Prime Minister, Boris tried everything including the use of bullying tactics to get Brexit done but even though he failed in getting good terms for getting out of Europe, he was, in the end undone by the weakness of his character. A liar, philanderer and rule breaker, his inability to respect truth and common decency lost him the support of his own party members of which began to see him as a political liability who was likely to make it impossible for the party to win the next general election. Given this situation, many senior members of his cabinet resigned their posts and having no leg to stand on, Boris had no choice but to resign his position as Prime Minister leaving the way clear for Liz Truss to become the third female Prime Minister of Britain.

    The ascension of Truss to the office of British Prime Minister was the stuff of tragedy or comedy, depending on which side of the political divide one stood on. All that need be said about that debacle is that it lasted only forty-nine days and paved the way for Rishi Sunak to become the first ethnic Asian and Buddhist to become the British Prime Minister.

    Sunak, the son of Indian immigrants through Kenya and Tanzania was born into a middle class family in which the father was a doctor and mother a community pharmacist who ran her pharmacy in Southampton. No extravagant privileges here but he was brought up in a household which demanded sterling academic achievement, a demand to which the young Sunak responded splendidly. No surprise he got a first  from Oxford where he took the PPE course which has become the field of study for virtually all aspiring British politicians. He rounded up his education with an MBA from  Stanford on a prestigious Fulbright scholarship. He certainly is brighter than most and must have intimidated many people with the power of his intellect. But he failed in the office of Prime Minister because he just could not make the necessary connection with the British public. There are several reasons why he failed. He could have alienated the people because he was young, only forty-two when he became PM, Asian, Buddhist or even a staunch supporter of the unfashionable Southampton FC. All these negative attributes paled into insignificance in the face of his academic prowess and his marriage to a billionaire’s daughter. Anyone richer than the king of England can’t be connected to the king’s subjects and so, he was an outsider looking in but not because his parents were immigrants from East Africa. Allied to these, he represented a group of people, the Conservatives who were seriously out of touch with the British people who in their turn were desperate for a change. Sir Keir Starmer of the Labour Party promised them a change and was swept into power on a land slide.

  • Not for babies

    Not for babies

    If WASC is required for admission purposes, then those sitting for it must be mature

    Barely six weeks after stakeholders discussed the issue of minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions in the country at this year’s Policy Meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), on July 18, in Abuja, another debate has come up on a related matter, this time about what age students can sit for the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).

    Whereas the government was looking in the direction of 18 years minimum for admission into our tertiary institutions, and to take effect this year, the stakeholders, comprising virtually the who is who in the institutions – vice chancellors, rectors, provosts, registrars, the civil society, computer centre owners, the media, etc., felt it would be unfair to begin implementation of the policy from this year. Why? Because those that would be affected who sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) earlier in the year were not aware of this when they wrote the examination. Hence, it would be unfair to allow the policy take retroactive effect, as it were. It was based on this argument that the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, agreed that the policy be allowed to take effect from next year.

    But, barely six weeks after, Prof Mamman’s announcement on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’ that the Federal Government has instituted 18 years as the minimum age requirement for candidates intending to write the secondary school leaving certificate examinations is, quite expectedly, generating another controversy.

    We seem to love controversy a lot in Nigeria. If anything, and, as the minister and some other observers have said, there is nothing new in the policy. It has always been there. It is just that it is now that the government wants to implement it.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a new policy; this is a policy that has been there for a long time.

    “Even basically, if you compute the number of years pupils, and learners are supposed to be in school, the number you will end up with is 17 and a half – from early child care to primary school to junior secondary school and then senior secondary school. You will end up with 17 and a half by the time they are ready for admission”, the minister said. However, those with better suggestions on how or when to implement the policy can continue to press. But for now, that is the position of the government.

    So, why the hullabaloo?

    Read Also: PAP boss dedicates award to Tinubu, hails commitment to students

    The summary of the argument of critics of the policy is that age is only a matter of numbers; and that it has nothing to do with academic pursuit.

    But the National President of the Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (PTA), Haruna Danjuma, disagrees. “I expressed my support for the education policy…When students sit for WASSCE or NECO at 18 years old, they have reached an age of maturity. Such exams are not for immature students or under 18. You shouldn’t expect underage students in universities or sitting WASSCE and NECO.”

    He added that “If they are old enough, they will be fully prepared and mature enough to face the challenges that come with attending a higher institution.”

    One person whose opinion I really craved to see was the National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, for obvious reasons. Although, like the Secretary-General, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, who said that vice-chancellors would meet this month to take a stand on the policy, but personally supported it, Osodeke too is in full support of it. Indeed, he questioned the rush to enter university: “Why are we focusing on university at such a young age? How many years do you spend in the university? For most courses, it’s four years; for Medicine, it’s five. We can’t reduce these durations.

    “They should allow the system to function as intended and give their children time to rest. Adulthood begins at 18, so why force a child to go to the university or rent an apartment at 15? We need to consider the well-being of these children,” Osodeke added.

    Perhaps of all the critics of the policy, only the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Dr Mike Ene, at least partially gave what I regard as the authentic reason why many critics do not see anything good in the policy. Even then, his too was a veiled reference to the reason, buried under other secondary reasons. He told The PUNCH in an interview that “However, things have changed. Nowadays, due to economic pressures, parents enroll their children in crèches early, which means both parents have to work.” Every other thing that he said like “Teachers at these crèches begin to educate the children, and they start learning quickly. You can’t stop them from learning because the brain is structured to keep developing—once learning stops, the brain stagnates,” seems to me ancillary matters. Why must the children ‘learn quickly’? Where are they rushing to?

    We thus have in our hands a situation where people whose parents backed for years are so busy they cannot even wait to wean their own babies off breast milk before pushing them to day care centres, then nursery school, etc. They leave the home before their children wake up and return long after they had slept. All in the name of economic pursuit. They leave their children with house helps, with all the attendant risks and we end up blaming the government that things are not okay with us as a country.

    A related factor is the penchant of the elite among us to boast that their children graduated at 16, or even less!

    The other leg of the critics’ argument is that age is not the most fundamental problem with our educational institutions or the education sector. Well, may be they are right. But challenges are in categories. There are small, medium and big challenges facing education, like any other sector. But, as a Yoruba proverb says, ‘ti igi ba re lu igi, ti ori e la koko gbe’ (if trees fall on themselves, we start by taking off the ones on top). It is not for fun that we have short, medium and long-term plans. There are some challenges that can easily be tackled. Some others are not. There is nothing wrong with addressing the age question now as it does not require any especially elaborate plan beyond the announcement.

    Anyone who believes that children can start school even from the womb is entitled to their opinion. But I disagree, without fear or favour, and without fear of contradiction.

    I have no problem when people criticise government’s programmes or policies. This is a part of human existence. But, I have problem with people who criticise for the fun of it.

    It is preposterous for anyone to suggest that those implementing this policy did not think it through. Whether we want to talk of the minister or the JAMB registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, both men are eminently qualified to take informed decision on this matter. Prof Mamman is a former vice-chancellor of Baze University, Abuja and former director-general of the Nigerian Law School, from 2005 to 2013, among others.

    Oloyede, on the same hand also parades intimidating credentials that make him eminently qualified to speak authoritatively on the subject-matter. A former vice chancellor of the University of Ilorin, he had also been Chairman, Committee of Directors of Academic Planning in Nigerian Universities; President, Association of African Universities (AAU); he had served on the Board of Association of Commonwealth Universities and International Association of Universities (IAU); an International Advisory Board Member of International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA) as well as a former Board Member of Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC). He had also been chairman, Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities as well as the Committee of Vice-Chancellors, among others.

    In their respective capacities therefore, both men have had cause to deal mainly with youths who are products of this age issue that we are talking about.

    Indeed, I had to run through what obtain in other climes to see if they are significantly different from the 18 years that we are talking about here for WASCE. To my surprise, they are not. In the United States, for instance, children begin formal education at age five or six. Their students normally attend 12 grades of study over 12 calendar years of primary/elementary and secondary education before graduating and earning a diploma that makes them eligible for higher education. This would also be about 18 years to get an equivalent of West African School Certificate (WASC).

    It is not significantly different in the United Kingdom too where students normally enter higher school as undergraduates from age 18 upwards.

    Even in Canada where age requirement into primary school seems somewhat relaxed, international students below 18 can be admitted into the university. But it comes with a proviso that such students must be accompanied by a custodian who must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident. Those 18 and above do not need this requirement. There must be a reason for such waiver. If such a policy obtained in Nigeria, some people would still want to find out the basis for that. Even when told, they would still shop for reason to discredit the policy.

    What these examples tell us is that those who are now seeking to enforce a policy that has been abandoned for years in Nigeria are not doing anything wrong.

    It is true that Nigeria has been bedevilled by so many bad policies (a reason I may sympathise with critics with genuine fears), this, obviously is not one of such policies.

    Although the many vices, like cultism, in most of our tertiary institutions, may not be attributed to the age factor alone, age plays a crucial role. It is easier to lure too-young-to-go-to-university students into cultism and other vices than it is to bring them on board when they fully understand the import of the satanic invitations.

    Finally, I leave you with the thoughts of Prof. Ochefu, regarding the issue of exceptionally gifted children that some people are using to nail the policy. Before then, however, let me ask the question of how many people we are talking about here. If they are many or too many, then they no longer qualify for exceptional children. They are few, worldwide. Now, hear Prof Ochefu: ”Yes, there are exceptional children, but they can be enrolled in schools for gifted children once they demonstrate such abilities.”

    Even in the U.S., U.K., Canada, etc., special provisions are only made for such geniuses without disrupting the system. We can only provide for our geniuses, we cannot make policies in their image. Unless we want to witness once again a situation where undergraduates were bedwetting like some of them did years ago when admitting under-aged children was the vogue in one of our first generation universities.

  • Ajaero’ll destroy NLC

    Ajaero’ll destroy NLC

    Apart from heavily politicising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), its president, Joe Ajaero, is now also turning the union into a militant movement. To answer a simple police invitation regarding a tenant of the Labour House suspected of terrorism financing, Mr Ajaero disconcerted the law enforcement agency with antics of the most vexatious kind. But when he finally honoured the invitation of the police, he cajoled union members into swarming police commands in their states over a matter that had nothing to do with workers’ welfare. And they all obliged. When he was battered for playing partisan politics in Imo State last November, he also cajoled the union into shutting down the country. A man so naturally and relentlessly disposed to using strong-arm tactics over the least provocation, he is also upending the Labour Party, unable to draw a line between labour matters and the partisan woes his private yearnings have elicited.

    Read Also: E-commerce platform revolutionises online businesses, empowers SMEs

    By the time Mr Ajaero is through with the NLC, unionists will no longer recognise their organisation. It is becoming militant, opinionated, uncompromising and partisan. Former labour leaders have a responsibility to restrain him, but they won’t, especially in the age of social media where dissent could be demonised as supporting the hated ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). And the government itself, acutely aware of its unpopularity, is increasingly loth to confront the NLC for deploying militant and politically partisan tools for union ends. Unfortunately for the country, the police invitation and the interview ended anticlimactically, lasting just a few minutes, and focusing mainly on the suspected Labour House tenant. Perhaps he and his supporters and lawyers will think their mobilisation and scaremongering tactics compelled the police to relent. That they are intimidating security agencies, working towards a partisan end, and probably gradually predisposing the country to anomie mean nothing to Mr Ajaero and others like him not civilised or nuanced enough to recognise the dangers of their anomalous and cantankerous methods.

  • Insecurity: CDS should broaden request for tips

    Insecurity: CDS should broaden request for tips

    In an address read of his behalf in Abuja at a conference last week, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, insisted that curbing insecurity should not be left to the military or security agents alone. Last June, at a town hall meeting on security, he had also advised Nigerians to be deeply involved in combating insecurity, regretting that the country allowed asymmetric warfare, which is complicated and nightmarish, to take root. He said: “My advice always is no country should allow asymmetric warfare to commence. It is difficult to eradicate. Why? You are dealing with ideology. And once you have that ideology built in, it is difficult because (when) you see the person, you don’t know what he is thinking about. We have seen people that we have told them (they are wrong), they are still telling us that we are wrong and they are right. So, we need to come together as a country to be able to tackle this.”

    In the Abuja conference, he also restated his advice to Nigerians to own the fight against insecurity. In his view: “Security is everybody’s business; everyone must be involved. It should not be left to the security agencies alone. People must give us useful information.” The general is right that asymmetric warfare is difficult to stamp out, but there are examples of countries that have managed to face the crisis and won eventually, including Sri Lanka in 2009 in the fight against the Tamil Tigers. Nigeria has no choice but to face its hydra-headed internal conflict and win. Having allowed the Boko Haram insurgency to fester, it was a question of time before other non-state actors sensed the state’s weakness and began to provoke a fight. Had the Boko Haram/ISWAP war ended fairly quickly, and the state firmly reestablished dominance, banditry was unlikely to break out, regardless of its socio-economic underpinnings.

    But far beyond the issue of Nigerians owning the fight and providing useful tips, Gen. Musa must find an answer to the allegation that banditry has festered because of a lack of political will to combat it, rather than the paucity of tips. There was nothing he said in Abuja last week or in June during a town hall meeting that is misplaced. His analyses on both occasions are sensible; but they are not far-reaching. After the March 7, 2024 Kuriga combined schools abductions, during which some 137 pupils and students were taken from Kaduna by bandits and rescued weeks later in Zamfara State, community leaders confidently traced the movement of the abductors, including their rest areas and terminal hideout, and even mentioned names of some of the bandits. Victim communities, according to community leaders, know the bandits, their genealogies and their redoubt. So, what tips exactly does the CDS want?

    Read Also: Can Wale Edun, Yemi Cardoso, Taiwo Oyedele save the Nigerian economy?

    In nearly all the local government areas where banditry is rife in Niger State, for instance, particularly in Mashegu and Shiroro LGs, not to talk of the recent attack on Allawa community, residents and bandits know the borders between victims and assailants. It is inconceivable that the communities would know where the bandits hide and the military would not. Even during ransom payments, victims and their families always located the bandits’ hideouts. The security forces have an idea of where the bandits are, the provisions merchants who service them know, and arms dealers also know the hideouts. The terrain may be difficult, and informants may sometimes compromise counterinsurgency operations, and appropriate weapons to stamp out banditry may also be in short supply, but if the political will is present, Nigeria’s security forces will make short work of them. The military may be spread thin complementing police operations in different parts of the country, but it is unlikely they lack the capacity to exterminate the menace.

    In the past one decade and more, insecurity in the Northeast and Northwest had ebbed and flowed in a bloody pirouette. The rhythm may no longer be as predictable and constant as before, but in recent weeks, it has once again become priority concern. The Bola Tinubu administration must avoid being consumed by a ragtag army of young outlaws who have continued to wrong-foot the security services and give the administration a bad name. Ariel surveillance should reveal where the bandits hide. Thereafter, if the political will exists, the military should mobilise on the scale they did during the civil war. Total and probably prolonged siege may also be an option. One after the other, bandit cells in Kaduna, Zamfara and Katsina will be snuffed out. It is not an option to sustain the current near inertia. After all, the recent bandit attack on Allawa community in Niger State was suspected to have been motivated by revenge against government informers. The problem is not whether informants are unavailable for the military, nor is the problem the reluctance to take ownership of the battle, as hundreds of Sokoto people demonstrated late last week in reaction to the District Head of Gobir’s murder. The problem appears to be political will. If the administration does not do something big and radical soon, the rampaging non-state actors may be used by those still embittered by the outcome of the last elections to undermine the government’s legitimacy. The choice is mercilessly stark.