The Nation Newspaper

Category: Lawal Ogienagbon

  • Herdsmen killings: A post-mortem

    Herdsmen killings: A post-mortem

    THE killings did not start today, but in its characteristic manner, the government turned a blind eye to everything. As men, women and children were mowed down in some parts of the country, we only heard the wailing of the bereaved and not the action taken by the government to stem these killings. Until now, herdsmen and farmers skirmishes were a rarity. How and why things changed still remain a mystery. But some highly placed people seem to know more about the genesis of  these clashes than what is in the public domain.

    If we are to believe what the Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi 11 told the Sunday Punch a few days ago, the herders are on a revenge mission. According to the emir, they are avenging the killing of their fellow herdsmen in some states. These killings, he said, were not reported by the media nor did the states where the dastardly acts occurred take any action against the perpetrators. As a respected monarch, Sanusi cannot lie, but it is worrisome that he is saying this at a time like this.

    Sanusi’s remarks were revealing even though he said he was not justifying the herdsmen killings, but merely providing background information for what led to their action. From what he said, it is clear that some powerful people in the north are abreast of what the herdsmen are doing. If anything, the January 1 Benue killings have shown that we can only keep quiet over this issue at our own peril. The herders – farmers clashes will not disappear if we continue to look at them from ethnic or religious prism. Naturally, Emir Sanusi spoke like a Fulani whose kinsmen were being killed in some parts of the country, according to him, without the law enforcement agencies and the media lifting a finger in their aid. As he said in the Sunday Punch report, this is no time to play the blame game, but to look for a way out of these incessant skirmishes.

    These clashes will continue to fester if the herdsmen continue to take out their cattle for grazing as they presently do. Even those of us living in cities like Lagos, Port Harcourt, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan and Calabar shudder at how these herdsmen rear their cattle in full public glare without a care for others feeling. From nowhere, these herdsmen and their cattle will invade public places under the guise of grazing. In such a situation anything can happen if the herdsman loses control of his cattle.

    And this is what has happened in some instances when cows invade farms and eat up everything in sight. What should the farmer do in such a circumstance? Embrace the herdsman and his cows? A colleague of mine nearly lost his life a few years ago when a straying cow ran into his car in the wee hours of the night after he closed from work, damaging his windscreen. And on several occasions, motorists have had to compete for the right of way with cows on the Long Bridge on the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway. In most cases, these herdsmen feel that they can let their cows loose on the highway without a consideration for the lives of other road users.

    This is where trouble starts from. Rather than admit their wrong, the herdsmen will claim that they also have the right to put their cows on the road. But cows are not meant to be on the road fighting for space with man and machinery. We have gone past that age of nomadic grazing. That kind of grazing was excusable in the Nigeria of the sixties, seventies and perhaps, eighties. Nigeria has reached a stage where we can no longer allow cattle rearers to move about town, doing whatever they like.

    It is unfortunate that some people had to die before we woke up to the reality of the herdsmen menace. I do not have anything against herders, but truth be told their mode of operation is not the best at all. They feel that they have the right to graze anywhere even on private properties. Unfortunately, those who should call them to order do not see anything wrong in what they are doing.  If these people love them that much why did they not release their own land to the herders for grazing? It is one thing to support the herders with words of mouth, but another when it comes to walking the talk. These powerful people have all it takes to give these herders grazing land. They have vast land not only in their domains, but also elsewhere in the country.

    Will they have kept quiet  if they were in the shoes of those whose farmlands these herders’ cattle destroyed? I believe we should not be emotional in our quest to find a lasting solution to the problem. Let us forget whether we are Fulani, Hausa, Yoruba, Efik, Igbo, Bini or Idoma and do what is right and just to ensure peace in every part of the country. There will be danger, serious danger,  if any part of the country bleeds again from this crisis. Things started like this in 1967 before we slid into a three-year civil war in which one million people died. We do not pray for such a bitter enterprise again.

    What has happened has happened – 73 killed in Benue on New Year’s day; scores killed in Enugu, Adamawa, Plateau and Nasarawa not too long ago; while a former presidential candidate, Chief Olu Falae, was kidnapped on his farm. He paid an undisclosed ransom before he was released. These are annoying acts, which could lead to one section of the country rising against the other. Let us put all these behind us and chart a new path forward. Establishing cattle colonies is a good idea, but we should think the matter through before embarking on the project because of the cost implication.

    Is appeasement the solution? For how long will we watch people break the law – wanton killing and destruction of properties  – and allow them to go scot-free?   Should not those who kill intentionally be made to face the music? What happens to the bereaved families? Is the government considering compensating them? If we are thinking of building colonies for cattle rearers, we should also be thinking of what to do for the families of those killed and others whose farmlands were destroyed.

  • Gridlock

    Gridlock

    IT WAS A terrible experience. Like other motorists, I least expected what I went through on the Lagos – Abeokuta Expressway on Sunday. As I entered the road from under the bridge at Cement bus stop, what I saw ahead was not amusing at all. It was a stretch of vehicles coming from God knows where. It stretched as far as the eyes could see. I panicked as I wondered how I would get to work in good time. It was about 2.30 p.m. Can I stay in this log jam? I wondered as I looked for a way, any way,  out to facilitate my movement to work.

    Then I saw an opening through the road median. I took it and turned back to pass through Dopemu, thinking it would be better. That was my greatest mistake. If only I had known I would have stayed on the express. Getting off the Dopemu road to connect Dairy Farm behind Oniwaya Road took some time. That did not bother me much because I thought once I leave there it would be smooth sailing to connect Agege Motor Road off the old Lagos – Abeokuta road. By the time I got to Dairy Farm junction, it was past 3 o’clock. I was still not bothered. The traffic would soon ease, I mused to myself.

    It was wishful thinking.  The traffic refused to move. For about 20 minutes, we were on one spot. Many motorists in front of me and behind me started to turn back. As they did, they created a little space for those of us still in the traffic, but it was no consolation. As we took up the space they left, we had no other room to maneouvre. Is this how I will stay in this traffic for the whole day? Won’t I turn back and go and take Capitol Road? Will that road be better considering the ongoing work on the Pen Cinema flyover? I ruminated as I thought of how to free myself from the traffic mess.

    After weighing all my options, I resolved to stay put on the Dairy Farm road, especially after listening to the Lagos Traffic Radio report  update on the chaotic traffic jam. It was total chaos. The express was jampacked; Dopemu was not better and the Agege Motor Road by Sule Street junction linking Ile Zik to connect Ikeja Along was a bedlam. I have been in bad traffic before but that of Sunday was in a class of its own. Agege was locked down. If I was not driving, I would have found an alternative way out. But I could not abandon my car and just take off like that. Even if I wanted to, there was nowhere to park because every available space was taken up by vehicles.

    As we crawled towards Sule Street junction to burst out on Agege Motor Road, an oncoming commercial bus driver who caught my eyes, said ”oga, if you are going to Oshodi, you better follow the express”. But how do I return to the express from which I turned back about two hours earlier thinking that going through Dopemu will be better. As it were, I was stuck. I gritted my teeth for what lay ahead. It cannot be worse than what I have experienced so far, I muttered under my breathe. After some minutes, we started moving again. And the time was flying. By 6 p.m., we started sighting Sule Street junction in front. The traffic, as they say in local parlance,  was not smiling at all. The police and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials were there.

    But they could not do much. They were overwhelmed by the situation. Getting out of Sule Street junction was a battle on its own. Those coming from Agege and others from the opposite direction were not ready to give way to those of us trying to join Agege Motor Road. The police and LASTMA officials came in here to restore order. It was one of the many rivers to cross. Few meters ahead were two or three other junctions from which vehicles were streaming out. Come and see people on the road that evening. Many passengers resorted to trekking after sitting inside buses for hours without movement. The kerb was brimming with people trudging to their destinations, while vehicles jostled for space on the road.

    At last, I got to Ile Zik and heaved a sigh of relief. From there to Airport bus stop, the traffic was still bad because of those either driving against traffic or turning on the main road. With ongoing work on the express and Pen Cinema, there is need for the law enforcement agencies to introduce traffic control measures to avoid the kind of mess we saw in that axis on Sunday. I learnt that it was not different last Friday. There is still a long way to go before the job is completed, which will ease traffic in that area. Between now and then, people should be able to drive without fear of sleeping or wasting too many manhour on the road. Over to the police and LASTMA.

  • Buhari and 2019

    Buhari and 2019

    TO REFER to Muhammadu Buhari as an accidental president will be a misnomer. He cannot by any stretch of imagination be so tagged. President Buhari was not asked to come and occupy that exalted office; he sought the job, not once, not twice, not thrice. It was after the third try that he said he was no longer going to contest because it seems the country was not yet ready for a leader like him. But on the fourth try, he made history by beating a sitting president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan. The history of how he became president is well known to all, so there is no need rehashing it here. The issue is : what has he made of his presidency? His first four-year tenure ends next year. He has since told some Nigerians living in Cote d’ Ivoire that he may be seeking their votes again in future. The President has the right to do that, just as the electorate have the right to vote for who they like. Should Buhari run again? His loyalists say he should; his foes do not see any reason for him to seek a second term because in their estimation he has so far not done well. In matters like this, others usually do the talking while those concerned maintain silence. On Monday, while we were discussing the matter, a colleague asked me who will the people vote for if they do not vote Buhari in 2019? I told him  some people also asked that question in 2015 when Buhari contested against Jonathan? Who did the people eventually vote for despite all that Jonathan’s men did? Buhari. Likewise, the electorate will know the choice to make when the time comes in 2019 whether or not Buhari runs.

     

  • Nigeria in 2018

    It is four days into the year today and the air is still suffused with greetings of Happy New Year. It is customary for us to greet ourselves in that manner at the beginning of a new year. It is not out of place to see a friend shouting out to another : “Old boy, I saw you last, last year o; Happy New Year”. The greeting is a show of love and gratitude to God  for surviving the previous year. 2017 was a mixed bag for many of us. At the beginning of that year, we greeted ourselves ”happy new year” the same way we are doing now.

    Beyond that wish, some people, especially pastors, have spoken on what the year holds for us. Their predictions are not that frightening really, considering some of the prophesies we heard in the past. To the Prelate of the Anglican Church, Primate Nicholas Okoh, it willl be a year of happiness for all. ”There may be life in descent. You have difficulties you cannot solve, probably with child bearing, in 2018, you will reap the fruit of your labour. The Lord will visit you and you will know laughter again.

    ”Do not be frustrated or unhappy as the Lord is working out a miracle. We will experience the mighty power of the one that created all things”, Okoh said. ”Corrupt people will fall this year”, predicted Dr Daniel Olukoya, General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry (MFM). I can hear a lot of Nigerians saying amen to that. He continued : ”2018 will be sad for rebellious characters and wasters; the pestle will defeat the mortar. God will demonstrate His raw power, kill rebellious kings and rulers and disgrace the strongman of terror and fear. Terror will swallow terror”.

    General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Pastor Enoch Adeboye said ”significant Goliaths will fall”, adding : ”Many people will wake up to realise that their future is not in the hand of any government and as a result a lot of loss ground will be reclaimed”; and ”sabotuers will be disgraced and displaced”. He brought some good tidings too, saying : ”Before the end of the year, there will be rays of hope that all will still be well”.

    My prayer has always been that all will be well with our country. It is when it is well with Nigeria that it can be well with the citizenry. If things are tough, there is no way that it will not reflect in the people’s standard of living. Many will be living from hand to  mouth though they may be working and earning salaries, which cannot take them anywhere. Those who are unemployed wil be worse off. In 2018, things are likely to look up for the employed and unemployed because of the improvement in our economy.

    Since the economy came out of recession in the second quarter of 2017, according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the outlook has been bright. Many businesses are picking up and producing at over 70 percent of their capacity unlike before when they were working below capacity. The horizon looks good for the real sector to play its leading role in revamping the economy and creating the much needed jobs to take many graduates off the streets.

    With the presidential order on the ease of doing business, the door is equally open for investors to come in and buoy up the economy. I foresee foreign and local investors capitalising on the provisions of the ease of doing business to set up businesses, thereby creating jobs. There will also be openings in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). Sources say there have always been openings in those places, but many could not get jobs there because of what they described as ”systemic corruption”. The Buhari government will tackle that frontally this year to ensure more jobs are created in the public sector.

    With the rebound in the capital market, which was hailed by the western media, the economy will go up, up and up in 2018. The market entered 2018 strong and it is expected to maintain that run, barring any unforeseen hitch. Luckily for us, ours is not an economy where acts of omission and commission by those in power can cause hiccup in the market. The market can only tumble from the underhand deals of traders. The traders hold the key to the continued prosperity of the market and so must be watched closely by the regulators for investors’ sake. As a corollary, the money market is likely to loosen up a bit so as to bring down the double digit interest rate, which is now killing business.

    Politics and sports will dominate 2018. Although the general election comes up in 2019, preparations for the poll will be made this year. Who picks the presidential tickets of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), All Progressive Grand Allianace (APGA) and the over 56 remaining parties is an issue that will be determined this year. Very soon, governance will begin to suffer for politicking. The APC governors are rooting for a second term for President Muhammadu Buhari, who appears not averse to the idea.

    At the African Union (AU) – European Union (EU) Summit in Cote d’ivoire the other day, he told the Nigerian community that he may be asking for their votes in future. That future is around the corner. I predict that he will run again in 2019 after picking his party’s ticket at its convention this year. Who will challenge him for the ticket anyway? Nobody. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who would have done so, has since returned to PDP. But will Atiku get the party’s ticket? He may be disappointed because the forces against him are more than he can imagine. Many in PDP see him as a liability and will not back him as their candidate. They prefer fresh blood, so to say, and they are looking towards former caretaker chairman Senator Ahmed Makarfi and outgoing Gombe State Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo. Former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido is also eyeing the ticket. But Makarfi has an edge over them.

    There will be governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states on July 14 and September 22, this year. The elections will be a straight fight between APC and PDP. Will PDP’s Governor Ayo Fayose overcome the APC threat in Ekiti? His party may carry the day if the APC does not get its act right. In Osun, outgoing Governor Rauf Aregbesola has a Herculean task returning the APC to power. Some say he has done well, but the people, especially the workers and pensioners, seem uncomfortable with his style. Will he succeed in installing his successor? Yes, he will, but at a cost.

    It is the World Cup year and Nigerians will do anything to see the Super Eagles win the mundial in Russia. How far can we go in the football tourney? Will we scale through the group stage where we are playing against Croatia, Iceland and Argentina? Our first game with Croatia matters and by beating them on June 16, we would have started off on the right note. Argentina?  Yes, they are the biggest threat in our group, but we can beat them. We may not win the World Cup, but we can make it to the quarterfinals. Oh! I almost forgot. There will petrol sarcity at Yuletide. You will say I said so. Happy New Year, dear readers.

  • ‘Doc., welcome to VIP Lodge’

    I was on the way to work on December 19 when my phone rang. I was in the car of a colleague,  Bunmi Ogunmodede. At the other end was my sister, Kudi, who wanted to know whether she should give my number to Jumoke, who she did not know, but who I know very well having been introduced to me by our brother, Rasaq, a doctor at the Presbyterian Joint Hospital in Uburu, Ebonyi State.

    Following my say so, she gave my number to Jumoke whose call came in as soon as I arrived in the office. It was bad news. She said she had been trying Rasaq’s number all day without success. When she eventually got through to him, she was alarmed by what he told her.   According to her, they spoke for only 50 seconds, but it was a conversation the poor girl will never forget. She said Rasaq told her he was in trouble. Trouble? What kind of trouble? I asked. ‘’Daddy, Rasaq told me he has been kidnapped’’, she said in tears.  He was kidnapped in the night of December 18 as he got home from work.

    After breaking the shocking news to some colleagues in the office, I promptly sprang into action to confirm what I just heard. I was in a daze as I did not know anybody in the hospital to call. Somehow, I got the numbers of some people who confirmed the kidnap of their medical director in the night of Monday, December 18. Then the longest five days ever of my life began. By Tuesday morning, the kidnappers had called, demanding N50 million ransom. The hospital secretary, Rev Eze Umahi, the accountant, Mr Chijioke Nwankwo, and former Presbyterian Church of Nigeria Director of Publicity Rev Emeh Kalu, now a parish priest in Umuahia, Abia State, who I interacted with, assured me that the hospital and the church were doing all they could to ensure that Rasaq came to no harm.

    I bombarded these gentlemen with calls daily, demanding swift action in the rescue of my brother. I told them that things were not moving as fast as they should, wondering if they were doing anything at all to rescue him. The kidnap saga was a big burden for me. I could not bring it to the attention of our aged parents because of its implication for their health. After informing Ganiu, my immediate younger brother, who lives in Abuja, about the incident, we both agreed that we should do everything possible to keep it away from them. We did not know that we were only deceiving ourselves. They got to know about it last Thursday when the kidnappers called them shortly after contacting me through Rasaq’s number.

    Between the hospital and I, it was tug of war as I continued to pile pressure on the secretary and the accountant to act fast as time was running out. From N50 million, the kidnappers came down to N10 million. In a fit of anger, I called the Prelate and Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Most Rev Nzie Nsi Eke, complaining about the hospital’s handling of the incident. The man of God calmed me down, saying everything was being done to get my brother out. ‘’Nothing will happen to him because he is into saving lives’’, the Prelate assured me, adding : ‘’we are all praying for his safe return’.

    Indeed, prayer warriors went to work for my brother. My father-in-the-Lord, Rev (Dr) M. A. Adegboye and Minister-in-charge, Christ Apostolic Miracle Centre (CAMC), Lagos 1 Rev Biodun Okunade (JP) and other ministers immediately embarked on praying and fasting as soon as I informed them of the matter. So also did my childhood friend, Pastor Yomi Ogbaro, who is now a regional overseer with the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry (MFM). The hospital too was praying. Everybody was praying for Rasaq.  I thank you all for your selfless act. And then what I feared most happened. The kidnappers called my parents after talking with me last Thursday. ‘’I have been kidnapped’’, came the whispering voice on phone as I strained my ears to hear the caller well. I knew the caller was my brother; I will recognise that voice anyday, anywhere and at any time. I was in my office with some colleagues discussing his case then. I hushed them to quiet as I attended to the call. I pretended I have not heard about the incident as I asked Rasaq where and when he was kidnapped.

    Before he could respond, his kidnappers took the phone from him. They told me that they have been holding him since Monday night, adding that all they wanted was N10 million. The hospital, they claimed, was ‘’playing games with us’’. I implored  them to reduce the N10 million ransom, but they refused. On Friday morning, the kidnappers called again, asking for the ransom.  That Friday night, the accountant and I virtually spat on each other’s face on phone. I was at my wits’ end.

    On Saturday, my nightmarish five days ended, with calls from the secretary, the accountant and Offia Matthew, another official of the hospital. They broke the news of Rasaq’s release to me around 7. 25 a.m. After I missed his call, the secretary sent me this terse message at 7.36 a.m : ‘’Rasaq is back’’. Was I relieved? I shed tears of joy when I spoke with him on phone few minutes later to confirm his release.

    We are happy over Rasaq’s return and his first act upon his release is worth recalling here as told by the secretary. “From where I sat, I saw an Okada coming towards the hospital with Rasaq on it; I could not believe my eyes until I saw him disembarking. I was getting up to receive him when he breezed past me and went straight to the chapel and I said see Rasaq has become born again’’. Who won’t after such a terrible experience? How will anybody feel being surrounded by four gun wielding men? How will that person feel being bundled into the boot of his own car after being blindfolded with his singlet? They took him to a clearing in a thick forest, where he was ushered in with these words :

    “Doc., welcome to VIP Lodge; we will give you VIP treatment. Just stay there; if you want to piss, piss there, if you want to shit, shit there.” Throughout his stay with them, they gave him only one pure water a day.  His freedom did not come easy; it came by divine intervention. What a terrible experience for a young man just starting out in life.  As he did following his release, we return all the honour and glory of his safe return to God.

  • ACAOSA 77/78 Set: Celebrating a milestone

    ACAOSA 77/78 Set: Celebrating a milestone

    IT IS ALWAYS fun whenever we gather. And so it was when we converged on R & A City Hotel in Ikeja last Saturday to round off the celebration of our 40th anniversary of leaving Anwar-ul Islam College, Agege (ACA).

    Our journey which started 44 years ago when we entered school has seen us through thick and thin. For five years, we lived together, played together, ate together, slept and woke up together, worked together and read our books together.

    We were either in the same class or in the same dormitory. Even where we were not in the same class and dormitory that did not make us enemies. We bonded together not on the basis of religion and ethnicity but on the basis of our humanity. We treated ourselves like brothers and it is still like that up till today. Though we have our quarrels now and then, but before you know it, we would have put such fights behind us and moved on. Long after we left school in 1977/78, the paths of many of us did not cross again. As we headed into the world to make out something for ourselves, we went in different directions.

    From ACA, that is the shortened form of Ahmadiyya College, Agege, the name by which our school was popularly known before it was changed to Anwar-ul Islam College in 1976, we dispersed into the world in pursuit of different interests. But our training at Ahmadiyya – aah,  many of us love that name – stood us in good stead wherever we went. It could not have been otherwise since we had Alhaji Jimoh Adisa Gbadamosi aka Oga as our principal. The principal emeritus, who groomed us and the generations before us remains our beacon of light till today. Oga was 90 in March and we pray that he will remain with us for more years to come. Abubakar Adenle of the 1979/80 Set represented Oga at  Saturday’s event.

    Today, under the aegis of Anwar-ul Islam College  Agege Old Students’ Association, ACAOSA 77/78 Set, we are reliving our school years. Even though we cannot turn back the hand of the clock to 1973 – 1977/78, our reunion at our meetings often evokes memories of the past. Last Friday as part of the celebrations of our 40th anniversary, which was ably packaged by Wasiu Bawalah and Rahman Alarape and their team, some members of our set gave career talk to pupils of the school. Yomi Ojo spoke on engineering; Mufutau Ottun, taxation and Alarape, human resources. Then followed the novelty match between ACAOSA and Ansar-udeen High School Surulere Old Students Association (AHOSA), where the Diyya Giants led by Alarape , with Dr Tajudeen Afolabi in goal, ran rings around their opponents.

    It was a full house at Saturday’s show-stopping event. Many of us were there, with our President-General Lawal Pedro (SAN) taking the lead. Pedro noted that ‘’these past 40 years have been full of mixed memories for us…however, our supportive friendship and enduring relationships over the years have kept us together…over the past four decades, we the then young boys have established ourselves and grown to become great men…I still remember those days with nostalgia…and 40 years later we are still together with different stories to tell’’.

    In appreciation of their support to the association and the school, some members were honoured. Among those honoured were Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (the most popular ex-Diyya Giant ever – we are privileged to have him in our set),   Hakeem Ogunniran, Managing Director, UAC Property Development Company (UPDC), Afolabi and two of our seniors, Maj-Gen Tajudeen Olanrewaju and former national team Coach Tunde Disu. How can I end this without mentioning our man at the secretariat, the indefatigable Kamoru Tijani and his soulmate Ganiyu Eleha. Kudos to Prof Gbenga Ojo, Moshood Bakare, Abass Obatolu, Dr Nurudeen Bello, Lateef Adams, Dipo Oyetayo, Hafeez Kareem,  the judge in the house, Bankole Kaffo, who is now based in Canada, Prince Ademola Akitoye, Ahmed Rasaq aka Konjo, Mukadas Akinwande,  Tajudeen Smith, Tunji Sogbesan, Muyideen Pereira, Azeez Sanni, Clerk of Lagos State House of Assembly,  Ibukunoluwa Olaide Peter aka Jugnu, ace musician Kunle Dizzy K Falola, Bola Anifowoshe, Omotunde Pinheiro and a host of others  for your steadfastness. It is impossible to mention everybody because of space constraint, but surely you all know that I hold you in high esteem.

    It was a night to remember and as we look forward to the school’s 70th anniversay next year and our own golden anniversay in 2027,  we pray that ACA will continue to wax stronger. As our school motto reads: Aut Optimum Aut Nihil (either the best or nothing), our school deserves nothing but the best. Thank you Oga for making us who we are today. We are eternally grateful to you sir.

  • Libya’s death chambers

    Libya’s death chambers

    The search for the golden fleece or greener pastures did not start today. In the past, our fathers embarked on journeys to distant places to better their lot. They travelled to the United Kingdom (UK) or the United States (US) mostly. Those countries were then ever ready to welcome strangers and a lucky traveller could end up taking up the citizenship of either country. But the trips were planned ahead of time. The traveller did not just wake up and embark on the journey.

    It was something the entire family even knew about. Thus, in some cases, it was done with fanfare. “Our son is travelling to obodo oyinbo”, the proud parents will announce to wellwishers, who will in turn pray for his safe return after a successful sojourn abroad. But now, things have changed. Many of our youths travel out of the country without their parents’ knowledge. To them, there is nothing wrong in that. Their argument is that since the society has failed them, they should be allowed to take their destiny in their own hands.

    Nobody is quarrelling against that since their parents took similar actions in the past in order to make it in life. What many are saying is that these youths should look before they leap. Unfortunately, they are just taking the plunge without a deep thought. Whereas in the past, our fathers had well laid out plans before going abroad, the same is not the case today. The difference is in our youths’ craze for fast buck. They believe that the streets of London, New York and Rome are paved with gold, which are there for the picking.

    And without giving it a thought, they jump at any invitation to travel to Europe – where they believe it is very easy to make it. In the past, our fathers had their credentials with which they could further their education abroad. Again, the same cannot be said of many of our youths who are desperate to go abroad to seek better life. What better life are they going to look for without first laying the proper foundation at home? The sordid tales by returning Nigerians from Libya in the past few weeks have brought to the fore our failure as a nation.

    In many of our compatriots’ desperation to cross to Europe, they went through Libya or the Mediterranean Sea. Before leaving home, they are told that they will pass through Libya because it is an easy route to Europe. Since they are already dreaming of Europe, they accept what the intermediaries call the ‘’terms and conditions’’ of the trip. The terms are usually killing, but because they think they are smart, they do not bat an eyelid before agreeing to them and by so doing, they unknowingly sign their death warrants. It is when they get to Libya that the reality of their foolhardiness usually dawns on them, but by then, it is too late to reverse the situation.

    They end up in slave camps, prostitution houses and other dark places where life is brutish and short. They found themselves in trouble because they wanted a short cut to Europe. There is no short cut to greatness. It is either you work and pray for it or go through hell if you want to short circuit the process. It is a shame that as big as we are as a country, we cannot cater for our citizens. This is the reason for the mad rush abroad. But it is not enough reason for people to walk into fire with their eyes wide open. This is what those trying to cross into Europe through Libya or the Mediterranean are doing. They are paying a big price for their actions. A girl said she slept with 18 men in one night and was paid N15,000 out of which her sponsor took N10,000, leaving her with N5000. Yet, she did not get to Europe, the continent of her dream.

    A man said he watched Nigerian girls being raped by some Arabs. Many were impregnated, with some returning home, clutching their babies. Many are wont to blame the government for their nasty experience, like one of the returnees, who noted ‘’…the truth is this country has nothing to offer us. Those that have various degrees are on the streets, no jobs for them. The attempt to travel to foreign land is as a result of bad leadership…’’ If things are rosy at home, many would not seek to go out in search of a better life. We are a blessed nation which should be the envy of others. But we have misused our God given resources and made our citizens objects of ridicule  in Libya and other parts of the world.

    Many of our compatriots’ experience in Libya should ginger the government into action to turn things around for the betterment of society. If virtually all the returnees’ plaintive cries do not touch the government’s heart, nothing will ever move it to reshape the country for the greater good of all.

  • PDP’s pangs of rebirth

    PDP’s pangs of rebirth

    Since the conclusion of its convention in Abuja on Saturday, all has not been well within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Those who lost out in the power game are still seething with anger. Many chairmanship candidates are not happy with how things played out. They should have known better. I do not pity them. The contenders from the Southwest should have known that there was no way the governors, who are mostly from the Southsouth and the Southeast would have supported them.  The well known ambition of Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, who had earlier thrown his hat into the ring for the party’s presidential ticket, spoiled their chances. As usual, he was clowning.  He knew the ticket cannot go to the Southwest after the party had zoned its national chairmanship to the South. The Southwest contenders, who wanted the post micro zoned to their region, so as to exclude the Southsouth and Southeast from running, also did not help their own case when no fewer than seven of them showed interest in the race. None was ready to step down for the other. In that wise, what is the essence of micro zoning? Uche Secondus, who emerged chairman, has embarked on reconciling with them so that they will let bygones be bygones. It is all a ploy to use them in 2019 to win election in Southwest if they can, but after that what will be the region’s fate?

  • The Maina saga

    The Maina saga

    The civil service is the citadel of bureaucracy. It does not joke with process, procedure and discipline. You must go through the whole gamut before being employed there. Unfortunately, the time and energy spent on recruitment do not reflect in the workers’ output. Our civil service, which should epitomise the best in service delivery, presents the worst case scenario when compared with the private and informal sectors.

    Many Nigerians do not see anything good in the civil service. They refer to it as a cesspool of corruption. Their assessment may not be wrong because of the activities of many civil servants, which we are aware of. There is no difference between the senior and junior workers when it comes to tampering with the commonwealth, which they hold in trust for us all. Files suddenly get missing when people do not do the needful, which is euphemism for bribery. The messenger will refuse to announce your arrival to his boss if you do not ‘see him’ nor wll the boss attend to you if you do not part with 10 percent of that contract sum. It goes on and on like that.

    Our civil srvice should comprise the best and the brightest because it is the engine room of government whether at the federal, state or local government level. If we can put in extra effort in recruitment, why can’t we double that effort in the discharge of duty? The Abdurasheed Abubakar Maina saga clearly shows that our civil service has become an Augean stable. A civil service of anything goes.

    Even with Servicom, the almighty formula for getting the service to work, Nigerians have yet to get the best out of this all-important sector, which is the hub of governance. Maina was dismissed from service in 2013. He was then an assistant director in the Ministry of Interior. He was also chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reform in which capacity he was said to have recovered a lot of money and properties. He was said to have helped himself to some of the recovered assets. He ran into trouble with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) because of this. The EFCC invited him for questioning. He refused to go and went underground. The agency declared him wanted and following his long absence from work, he was dismissed.

    Suddenly, he resurfaced last month and returned to work at a higher level as a director. How did this happen? The Head of Service (HoS), Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, whose office is the clearing house for the posting, promotion and dismissal of top civil servants, said she did not know how he got back to work, contrary to the Interior Ministry’s claim that she was in the know. Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), said his office advised the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) to recall Maina based on a court verdict, which voided his dismissal. Malami later told a bewildered nation that he met with Maina in Dubai. Of course, it goes without saying that Maina’s recall was signed, sealed and delivered at that meeting. Just imagine, the nation’s chief law officer meeting with a fugitive in a foreign land!

    Granted that the court voided Maina’s sack, but did his reinstatement follow civil service rules? This is the poser from Mrs Oyo-Ita, which many in the corridor of power cannnot answer. Maina’s dismissal, according to her, passed through the HoS office in line with procedure. His reinstatement too should have followed the same process, she argues. No, says the Interior Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Abubakar Magaji, who told the House of Representatives Committee investigating the matter that he unilaterally reinstated Maina. The almighty Perm Sec seems to forget that he is answerable to the HoS, who is the overall boss of the civil service. Who is a Perm Sec to bypass the HoS in a serious matter like this? Who is Magaji by the way to talk as if he is the alpha and omega of  the civil service?

    The Maina matter is too grave to be trifled with. Magaji acted wrongly and he knew that what he was doing was wrong but still went ahead to do it because he knew nothing will happen to him. He knew his godfather(s) will come to his aid. But should Magaji be allowed to go scot-free for breaching service rules and also publicly disrespecting the HoS? We should not set a bad precedent with the Maina case. We should do what is right by punishing all those who had a hand in this messy affair. The world is watching to see how we will handle the matter. It is not an open and close case because the more you look, the more you see. There is more to this issue than meets the eye. From Malami to Abdurahman Danbazau to Magaji, they all know something that we do not know. Will they tell us? You can bet your life they won’t. The most we can get from them is what we have heard from Magaji.

    Why did they bring back Maina through the back door? If they meant well for the country and knew that what they were doing was right, they would not have shrouded Maina’s return to work and promotion in secrecy. Now that everything has backfired, they are telling us cock and bull stories and looking for a way out of the mess they created for themselves. Well, they have found a fall guy in Magaji, the Perm Sec., who rather than bow his head in shame for bringing his high office into ridicule, is trying to justify an action for which he should be dismissed from service. It is crystal clear that he did not act alone, but since he has chosen to die alone, so be it. His dismissal should serve as a lesson to others who think that they can circumvent procedure to please the powers that be.

     

    Who becomes PDP chairman? 

    On Saturday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will hold its convention in Abuja to pick its national chairman. Former Kaduna State Govermor Ahmed Makarfi has been acting in that capacity for a while. Makarfi is not in the race. He is eyeing the presidential slot for which Atiku Abubakar has just returned to PDP. The party’s Southsouth governors are behind their man Uche Secondus for the chairmanship seat. Candidates from the Southwest have shouted foul over the governors’ stand.

    Their cry certainly cuts no ice with the governors who will do anything to push Secondus’ candidacy. Who gets the chair? Secondus? Bode George? Tunde Adeniran? Taoheed Adedoja? Gbenga Daniel? Raymond Dokpesi? Jimi Agbaje? We will know in 48hours. May the best candidate win.

  • The Atiku gambit

    The Atiku gambit

    His ambition to lead the country dates back to 1993. Then, he had age and the support of those that matter politically on his side. He was in his late 40s and he was a close ally of the master political strategist, the late Maj-Gen Shehu Yar’Ardua whose structure, the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), he would have used to clinch the presidential ticket of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the other half of the National Republican Convention (NRC), which made up the  two parties decreed into being by the Babangida junta.

    Atiku Abubakar threw his hat into the ring long before the late Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola, who eventually emerged from the SDP convention in Jos, Plateau State, as the party’s standard bearer in the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was annulled by Gen Ibrahim Babangida. Atiku reluctantly withdrew from the race after being prevailed upon by Yar’Adua, who had initially given him the nod to run.

    Since 1993, Atiku has matured politically, building bridges across the country in his determined bid to be president. When the country prepared to return to democracy in 1999 he oiled the old PDM machinery and moved into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He was set to fight for its presidential ticket when circumstances intervened. Some retired generals, who once ran the country, felt that a member of their constituency should take the first bite at the plum job. After a long search, they settled for Gen Olusegun Obasanjo, who was then in prison.

    The Obasanjo presidency faced challenges within because of Atiku’s ambition. Atiku had won election as Adamawa State governor and was waiting to be sworn in when Obasanjo picked him as his running mate. But he was not satisfied being number two. He was reportedly plotting to be president. His relationship with Obasanjo became sour because of this. The presidency became divided and the crack was visible during the countdown to the 2003 election. Atiku, with the backing of PDP governors, who did not see eye to eye with Obasanjo, was ready to challenge his boss for the party’s ticket. The crisis was somehow managed and they ran again on the same ticket. But the seed of enmity was forever sown between them.

    To realise his ambition, Atiku has been jumping from one party to the other. In 2007, he dumped PDP for the Action Congress (AC) when he was deprived of the then ruling party’s presidential ticket. When Obasanjo heard of his plan to contest the election on AC’s platform, he sneered: I dey laugh o. He lost the election to former President Umaru Yar’Adua, who died in office in 2010. Towards the 2011 election, he ran back to PDP when he realised that AC, which metamorphosed to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), will not give him its ticket. The party fielded the former anti-graft czar Nuhu Ribadu, who lost to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Atiku found his way to the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the 2015 election when it dawned on him that PDP would give Jonathan a second term ticket. The former president lost to President Muhammadu Buhari, who is likely to get a second term ticket for the 2019 election. Having seen the handwriting on the wall, Atiku last week left APC. It is certain that his next destination is PDP, which has been swimming in crisis since it lost power in 2015. Atiku’s ultimate desire is not only to pick PDP’s ticket, but also to become president. Getting the ticket may not be easy considering the various interests within and outside the party.

    Many from the north are also interested in the ticket and it is certain that they will give Atiku a run for his money. Can he get other aspirants to subsume their interests under his? Won’t his coming further polarise the party? Of what electoral value really is Atiku? Does he have what it takes to lead PDP to victory in 2019 if he eventually joins the party? Besides, he has a big hurdle to clear in Obasanjo, who though no longer a card carrying member of the party, still packs a lot of weight within the fold. Will Obasanjo bury the hatchet and allow Atiku be? Can Jonathan, who is propping up Atiku, get Obasanjo to change his mind about the former vice president, who will be 72 by the time of the 2019 election? It will indeed be interesting to see how things play out for Atiku in what appears to be his very last chance at having a shot at the presidency.