The Nation Newspaper

Category: Thursday

  • Buhari’s tepid anti-corruption crusade

    Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, former Foreign Affairs Minister, once argued only a few Nigerians multi-billionaires could be said not to have made their money through the state. With former political office-holders, such as ex-presidents, vice presidents, governors and lawmakers and their fronts as oil block owners, proprietors of private universities and those who clog our airports with private jets, it is difficult to invalidate Akinyemi’s thesis.

    With the resources in their hands, Nigerians have no illusion about the capacity of ‘corruption fighting back’. If anything, Nigerians are   offended by President Buhari’s endless moaning about corruption fighting back as the reason for not meeting their aspirations. Buhari, back in 2016, had during a Conference on Climate Change (COP22), in faraway Marakech, Morocco, complained to John Kerry the then American Secretary of State, about “how his government’s war against corruption had been grueling and how   the perpetrators of the evil against Nigeria were viciously fighting back.” And a few weeks back, he had, while throwing a jibe at former President Olusegun Obasanjo for spending $16bn on power project without much to show for it once again reminded Nigerians of ‘how corruption fighting back’, turned the hunter to the hunted back in 1984 when he was clamped into prison to take the place of those he had jailed for corruption.

    If the president is seeking the understanding of Nigerians who had fulfilled their own obligation by electing him a sovereign with awesome apparatus of state power to deal decisively with enemies of state, the opposite has been the case. Many Nigerians including the president’s fellow party men who know the buck stops at the president’s table are not particularly pleased with his approach to the anti-corruption crusade. His foot-dragging in the Maina’s reabsorption, his embarrassing silence in the cases of indicted Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who was found culpable by two different administrative panels and the reinstatement of Usman Yusuf, the suspended Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, have opened the president to allegation of selective anti-corruption crusade.

    And because corruption in our country is systemic, many believe “there is need for a holistic and formidable strategy that tackles the malaise from all fronts”, as against the president’s mindset which according to Archbishop Mathew Kukah of Sokoto diocese of “thinking corruption is all about stealing money”

    Many have also argued that fighting corruption must start with placing emphasis on the “virtues of discipline, honesty, truthfulness and patriotism” right from primary school as against current self-promotion by leaders like ex-President Obasanjo who often makes a virtue of his own honesty, patriotism, and Buhari of his own discipline, honesty and righteousness. Meanwhile our young ones who experience injustices first-hand even in the process of getting admission into Unity Schools or federal universities are in a dilemma.  While their counterparts elsewhere in the world are being groomed for the challenges of tomorrow through their governments’ investments in mathematics and science, our own impressionable minds are at the mercy of prosperity prophets who teach them how to pray and speak in tongues. Their role models are the likes of Senator Dino Melaye who says the source of his wealth is God and of course some of our half naked artistes who daily celebrate the power of money while remaining silent on the virtues of discipline, truthfulness and honesty without which society decays.

    But beyond all these, President Buhari as this column has maintained in the last three years, has been fighting common thieves without addressing the source of social menace that corruption has become. Without addressing Babangida’s liberalization and commercialization and Obasanjo’s ill-managed privatisation and monetization policies, the war against corruption cannot be said to have taken off.

    Happily, a Human rights advocacy group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, last Sunday, June 2, called on President Buhari “to order the probe of the five Directors General that manned the Bureau of Public Procurement between 1999 and 2012 for alleged abuse of office”. It is asking President Buhari to revisit the Senate report on privatization which after an initial foot-dragging, approved all the 45 recommendations of the Senator Ahmad Lawan-led committee that investigated the privatisation activities of the Bureau of Public Enterprises between 1999 and 2011. Part of the recommendation include the cancellation of sales of multi-billion naira federal government companies under former President Olusegun Obasanjo many of which the report alleged were fraudulently sold

    SERAP also called attention to some infractions claiming the “N900m that was used as loan to Nigeria Re-insurance Plc. for recapitalisation, was in violation of section 19(2) of the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act 1999; That “Folio Communications Limited pledged the assets of Daily Times Nigeria Plc. to obtain loan from bank(s) and utilised the loan to pay for the share of the company.” And that  ”Core investor converted the premises of Volkswagen Nigeria Limited into bonded warehouses for storage of contrabands mainly rice, vegetable oils, fertilizer, but was not reported by the BPE’.

    We cannot also claim to be fighting corruption without a revisit to the rural electrification scam, the result of “corruption fighting back”. The House Committee chairman on power, Godwin Ndudi Elumelu, his deputy, Jibo Mohammed, Senator Nicholas Yahaya Ugbane, and seven senior management officials of the Rural Electrification Agency were slammed with a 156-count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The rural electrification projects funds were allegedly shared amongst 150 companies. The participating companies allegedly got paid 85% of the purported contract sums for work that was never executed. 113 of the companies got contracts for “grid extension” projects while the rest were awarded contracts to provide solar panels in rural areas of Nigeria The speaker Dimeji Bankole, using some proxies, was said to have been a beneficiary of the scam.

    The travails of  Hon Farouk Lawan the charman of  the house Committee of the fuel subsidy scam who was caught on camera receiving $650,000 of $3m agreed bribe from Otedola  was also ‘corruption fighting back.”  Tambuwal, the Speaker had during the debate of Lawan’s 205 page parliamentary report had admitted the lawmakers “are fighting against entrenched interests whose infectious greed has decimated our people”, and reminded his colleagues to “be mindful they will fight back and they normally do fight dirty.”  Otedola who served as prosecution witness against Lawan was never asked why he decided to set Lawan up if his own hands were clean.

    And finally, President Buhari cannot claim to be fighting corruption if the weighty allegations made by former chairman of House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, are swept under the carpet. He had alleged that four principal officers of the House met secretly to allocate N40billion to themselves out of N100billion allocated to the National Assembly in the 2016 budget. This was besides their N20b constituency projects. As it is in the Lower House, so it is in the Upper House. Both houses are involved in budget padding.

    Government anti-corruption crusade against former presidents, governors and current lawmakers seem to be waged halfheartedly. There can be no other name for senators awarding themselves N13.5m monthly salary in addition to their official pay than corruption.

  • A time to be young

    IT was a long, tortuous journey, full of drama. But it was worth the prize. President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law the “Not too young to run” Bill.

    Now, a 35-year-old can run for president as against the former age limit of 40. From 30 years, the age limit for House of Representatives and House of Assembly has been reduced to 25 years. There is joy in the land, particularly among the youth, who are full of energy and remarkable creativity, and all lovers of freedom and equity.

    Suddenly, frontline musician Sir Shina Peters’ classic, “Ace”, is bursting the charts again. Remember the exciting lyrics? “Asiko awa youth re o, eye binu wa; For sure ni, young shall grow.” (It is the youth’s time; don’t begrudge us our success. Surely, the young shall grow).

    There is already an army of youths indicating interest in various electoral offices. Our youngsters have never had it so good.  Where are those who swore that Buhari does not like the youth, lying that he called them lazy? Where are those who did not understand that Buhari was joking when he advised/urged the youth to shelve their campaign till after 2019?

    What is even more inviting – to run you need a mere school certificate.

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) chief, Comrade Issa Aremu hailed the new law as “historic”. He said it would foster” inclusiveness of the youth in nation building as envisaged by the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030″.

    See what a   mere stroke of the pen can do?

    Unfortunately, like every other good gesture, the feat has generated a great deal of envy among armchair critics and unrepentant busybodies who will always cry more than the bereaved.

    What about “not too young to marry” law, which will, no doubt, reduce the incidence of “baby mama”? they ask derisively. What about “not too young to be super rich” under which Yahoo Yahoo will be legitimate, its practitioners no longer pursued like common thieves by the law? What about “not too young to drink” law, which will give the youth an unimpeded access to any drink of their choice?

    There is nothing their fecund minds will not conceive.

    Nevertheless, many fair-minded observers have been looking at the sunny side of the law and the gains of having the youth take the helm of our political affairs. In fact, some have been imagining the day – very soon, they swear – a handsome young man will be the maigida in Aso Villa.

    Farewell to the dull, drab and damp atmosphere induced by classical tunes. Bye Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, George Frideric Handel and the other icons. Sober days are over. Welcome hip hop. Davido.Wizkid.Olamide.Tiwa Savage. Falz, D’Banj.2Baba. Ruggedman.Dr SID. Welcome all.

    Just imagine Olamide’s chartbuster, “Science Student”,opening the floor at presidential gala nights, which have for long been the exclusive preserve of old musicians and cultural troupes.

    Kosewe kosegbo, kosewe kosegbo

     Won ti po’mi  gutter po

     Oju ti dirty

      Won tip o chemical po; awon omo science students

         Eemo wolu, enire lo

    Ore mi ti high.O my gosh!

    No more such pedestrian phrases as “fellow Nigerians”and those long protocols (Your Excellencies, Service Chiefs, my lords temporal, my lords spiritual, traditional rulers, all heads of agencies here represent or represented, all religious leaders, members of  the fourth estate of the realm, ladies and gentlemen) in state addresses.

    It will be simply “elders, brothers and sisters”. Short and sharp.

    Our elected officials will not be speaking through the nose and stressing every vowel like a London returnee. They will only need to address the people in the language they can understand – o sha prapra… Eyin omo wobe… .

    No more exotic wines imported from some far places to drain our hard-earned foreign exchange. Take your rightful place on the dinner table, indigenous drinks  – at last. Paraga, Jigijigi, Alomo, Kick and Start, Ori Malu, Kerewa, Ogidiga, Bajinatu and Opa Eyin. The conspiracy that killed Ogogoro, Kainkain , Sapele Water or Push-me-I-push-you will no longer affect you.

    Gone will be the days of senior political office holders riding some conservative Mercedes Benz brands. Girlfriends will have exotic Porsche as a sign of “assurance” that they are loved and adored. Wives will get the G-Wagon, strong and solid, the pride of German engineers and first choice of men who have taste, as a symbol of their men’s loyalty and renewed love, despite an avalanche of urgent state matters.

    Just imagine our president sporting a Gucci suit, a Rolex playing on his wrist, his fingers glittering with golden rings and three or more long golden necklaces dangling on his executive neck. Pairs of Brian Atwood, Jimmy Choo, Miu Miu and Christian Louboutin shoes. A pair of Gucci sunglasses. And, perhaps for effect, a white gold ring on his left ear.

    No long, embroidered native caps that remind us of those days when politics was for only the old, the elders. The common man can easily identify with Italian hats, like the Mafia’s, or better still, a bandana. There will be tattoos of various shades that will always make constituents screaming. Ah, the youth have it!

    Our leaders hardly show affection in public. Are they shy? May I gladly announce to the joy of women’s rights activists that with youths taking over, all that will belong in the past. Women will no longer “belong to the other room”. They will be hugged and kissed in public as it is done in the civilised world. Handshakes will not be enough.

    Governors who dine only with the high and mighty on long tables filled with varieties of local and continental dishes, wines and fruit will find no space in the coming arrangement. The grassroots will be the envy of all. Corn munching on the street, amala, gbegiri and ewedu with shaki and ponmo and orisirisi at roadside canteens, washed down at the nearby kiosk with paraga. Or any of the energy drinks that have flooded our towns and cities.

    The other day when a youthful governor went to the Assembly to present the budget, he wore a simple Polo shirt and a pair of trousers. He looked smart. No ceremony. No drumming. No singing. No long lines of officials accompanying His Excellency. He came with his own gavel with which he banged the table after asking the chamber if there was anybody who would not want the budget passed speedily. No dissent.

    “And the ayes have it,” he declared, and banged the table.

    What else can be responsible for such creativity if not the remarkable mental power with which the youth, our youths are endowed?

    Kudos Your Excellency Chief Ayo Fayose, the Executive Governor, Ekiti State.  And congratulations to all our youths.

     

    The World Cup is here

    IN just one week, one of the world’s biggest festivals will open in Russia. The World Cup holds every four years. The soccer feast lasts for about one month.

    For as long as the show lasts, many other things are put on hold. People rush home to sit in front of television sets. Some forget to have dinner. Wives are happy that their men are home. Fans of various clubs put aside their sentiments to unite for their country. Electricity generators’ sales rise as fans prepare to beat power outages to which we are yet to find a solution.

    Politics will be elbowed out of the front page. We will take a brief break from them all – lawmakers, lawbreakers, lawbenders, lawlessness and all that.

    Expectations are high. Nigeria is going to Russia with a team of young, skillful boys who are dying to excel for their fatherland. About 70 per cent of them, who are Nigerian-born, changed nationality to be in the team. Patriotism.

    In Austria, yesterday, the team lost 0-1 to Czech Republic in a friendly. But the match could not have been the true measure of the team’s strength.

    At home, the World Cup has become the subject of lively jokes in the social media. A sample: “Breaking News!!! FIFA rejects Nigeria’s 23-man World Cup squad, approves new team. Goalkeepers: Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan. Defenders: Lai Mohammed, Doyin Okupe, Nasir El-Rufai, Femi Fani-Kayode and Atiku Abubakar. Midfielders: Chibuike Amaechi, Jonah Jang, Yakubu Dogara, Rochas Okorocha, Ike Ekweremadu, David Mark and  Aminu Tambuwal. Strikers: Bukola Saraki, Buruji Kashamu, Dino Melaye, Kashim Shettima and Festus Keyamo. This World Cup go bloody o.”

    And this: “I’m calling on all my friends who are true soccer lovers. They should contribute money for me to go to Russia for the World Cup. When I return, I will brief them fully.”

    Good luck to the Super Eagles.

  • War by other means

    THERE has been no love lost between the Presidency and the National Assembly in the past three years. They have been barely tolerating each other since Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara became Senate President and House of Representatives Speaker.

    Three years down the line, Saraki and Dogara are waxing stonger and they have become thorns in the flesh of their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). For the first time in the history of this political dispensation, a ruling party is only so in name. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) occupies the deputy Senate president, through the handiwork of Saraki and his supporters, but  it has been able to retain the seat so far because of APC’s inability to mobilise its men to reclaim what rightfully belongs to it.

    For the 16 years that PDP was in power, it did not share the spoils of office with the opposition. So, why should APC’s case be different? Well, if it cannot claim what belongs to it from PDP, shouldn’t it be able to stop the Presidency and its National Assembly members from washing their dirty linen in public? For the umpteenth time, the lawmakers are threatening to invoke their constitutional powers against the President if he does not comply with a 12-point resolution adopted at a joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

    The planned  invocation of their constitutional power is euphemism for impeachment. Impeachment is a constitutional matter and for the President to be impeached he must have acted contrary to the Constitution, which he like the lawmakers, swore to uphold.

    In matters like this, we must draw the line between personal and national interest. The lawmakers are pursuing their selfish interest under the guise of protecting the Constitution. This is why they are lumping their personal complaints together with some major national issues on which they should have since acted. They kept quiet then because their interest was not threatened. If anything, the National Assembly should fight for the interest of the people who they represent and not their own selfish interest which we have come to see remains paramount to them.

    All their frictions with the President have always bordered on personal issues. They are either fighting the President because some “distinguished” and “honourable” members of the National Assembly are being probed or tried for corruption or because they are not given the funds meant for the execution of  projects in their constituencies. Ask them what happened to the funds they were given in the past for such projects and they will threaten the President with impeachment. Yes, they have the power of impeachment, but they are not constitutionally empowered to abuse that power. This is why the Constitution states in Section 143 (2) (b) that the President can only be removed from office if he “is guilty of gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office”.

    From the National Assembly’s 12-point resolution, it is hard to identify what could be termed as “gross misconduct” for which the President should be impeached. Do we really need to go through this route at a time like this? With elections around the corner, should the National Assembly start anything that can overheat the polity?

    The National Assembly is an arm of government and it should play the role expected of it in governance. It is not a socio-political or pressure group, but a lawmaking organ. It comes after the executive, with the judiciary as the third arm of the government. The National Assembly cannot exonerate itself from what the country is going through today. Heaping all the blame on the executive cannot work. What has it done to help the executive in fostering good governance? It cannot play the role of a critic in a government in which it is a part. That will be playing the ostrich burying its head in the sand. And what is this about working with civil society organisations, trade unions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) “to further deepen and protect our democracy”.

    If it cannot work with the executive, how can it work with these pressure groups, which thinking and ideology differ from its? It is just a way of getting these groups on its side in its fight against the President. The National Assembly cannot hoodwink the people, who know those that are for them and those that are against them.  Threatening to invoke its power against the President because of what it called ‘’the systematic harassment and humiliation by the executive of perceived political opponents, people with contrary opinions, including legislators and judiciary by the police and other security agencies’’ cannot work.

    Should the President stop the police and other security agencies from doing their work where lawmakers are concerned? The answer is no because nobody is above the law. The law is no respecter of person, position and power. As the Americans will say: “if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime”. The lawmakers should let the President be. They should not resort to blackmail to hang him. Those of them with cases in court should allow justice take its course. That is how societies are built.

     

    June 12, 25 years after

    HOW time flies. It will be 25 years on Tuesday that the June 12,1993 presidential election was held. The late Bashorun M. K. O. Abiola won the election hands down, but his bosom friend, Gen Ibrahim Babangida, who was then military president, annulled the election without any plausible reason.

    Abiola
    Abiola

    With that annulment, Babangida truncated the third republic and denied Abiola the fruit of his electoral victory.  Abiola died in detention in 1998 after a bitter struggle to reclaim his mandate. Today, we are enjoying democracy watered by the blood of Abiola and others who died in the struggle for the actualisation of June 12. Abiola deserves a monument in his honour for what he did for democracy. We should not allow him and others to die in vain. Abiola lost a lot to that election. His wife Kudirat was killed  and his  business empire crumbled. What a price to pay for democracy. It is not too late to honour Abiola.

    • Last night, President Muhammadu Buhari awarded the late Abiola the highest national award of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) and declared June 12 Democracy Day

     

    Dariye’s date with the law

    JUNE 12. That date again? That is former Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye’s date with the law. On Tuesday, Senator Dariye will know his fate on the corruption charge against him.

    Joshua Dariye

    The prosecution has stated its case and he has made his defence. The ball is now in Justice Adebukola Banjoko’s court. Remember her? She sentenced former Taraba State Governor Jolly Nyame, a reverend, to 28 years imprisonment on May 30 for corruption. All eyes will be on Her Ladyship as she delivers judgement in Dariye’s case. How will the verdict go? Nobody can say until it is delivered, just as nobody knew which way the pendulum would swing until she delivered judgement in Nyame’s case. One thing is for sure : justice will not only be done, it will be seen to be done.

  • Moving to a new capital in Abuja

    Now we have a bright new capital whose construction has ruined the country financially because of the corruption that surrounds the entire project  from planning  to execution. It is only in Abuja that  people have become billionaires by using their positions  in government to acquire acres and hectares of public land which were then sold at humongous prices to others whose sources of income are not ascertainable . Estates have been developed by shady characters who charge exorbitant rents or leave the houses locked up unused while the middle level civil servants have no where to stay .

    One cynic said half of the houses in Abuja are vacant! The master plan of the city has been so distorted many times that each new administration starts by bulldozing buildings built without approval . It is a moot question if we have made a success of our new capital in  Abuja. The city was planned for about a million people, it is now six million and still growing . The insurgency in the northeast of the country  and in Plateau and Kaduna states has added to the unplanned migration  to the city of people in search of security .The infrastructure cannot cope with the crowd of villagers not used to urban life .

    Surrounding the city are unplanned settlements running for miles but unseen by casual visitors. The cost of land or housing is beyond the reach of even  the middle class who have no access to the public treasury . Abuja is an artificial city without an urban soul and politics is killing the place whose residents and power brokers are totally disconnected from the rest of the country. The problem with Abuja  and its future lies in the belly of time . What will happen in five  years time to its ten lane expressway running for about fifty kilometers from the airport to the city when Nigeria’s oil would not bring in the kind of money our government is used to? What will happen to its infrastructure when those with huge estates  or their successors who are not paying taxes are asked to cough out capital gains tax? How does a huge city survive without industries ? Many of the inhabitants are traders and influence peddlers who have no idea about the sustainability of their city.

    The thirty states structure of the country is generally known to be economically unsustainable. Workers are not being paid in many of the states. In spite of this it is an incontrovertible fact that the capitals of these unwieldy states have witnessed some planning and development. It is not unheard of to see gaudy mansions in the middle of nowhere especially in the Eastern part of the country or in some of the state capitals. Some of the governors’ official Residences are bigger than  Aso Rock ,the Residence of the president of Nigeria. New roads have been constructed in some of the state capitals . Some have even witnessed urban renewal involving pulling down of ancient houses, burial grounds and shrines .

    Lagos has witnessed beautification  with flowers and greening with exotic flowers and palm trees .Some of these examples have been copied by other states and there seems to be a race among state capitals of which of them will have the longest traffic flyover.! As uncoordinated and chaotic  as our planning may be, there’s no doubt that there is no African country that has spread developments this widely . What we need to do is to improve on our infrastructure, build better roads , rail lines, airports and better communication to link up our cities seamlessly and support this development with massive industrialization and diversification of the economy . This will allow people to stay in their states instead of migrating to Lagos and other cities in search of ever elusive jobs !This is of urgent necessity and  it is a matter of life and death  in view of our galloping population which is projected to make us the third most populous country after India 1.4 billion , China 1.3 billion and Nigeria 1billion people in 2050.

    Ironically the south east without a history of urbanization may do better than any of the other parts of Nigeria in modernization of its built environment . This is because apart from  Port Harcourt, Aba and Onitsha the towns there are relatively small and may be easily redeveloped.  In fact in recent times Calabar the capital of Cross River State is assuming the accolade of the most livable city in Nigeria .The people  of the Eastern part of Nigeria are also used to living close to nature in the bush and the spatial culture  of their settlements would lend itself to small  planned towns . These communities can then provide a paradigm of development for the whole area. The north and the west are not going to be easily redeveloped. The towns like Ibadan ,Kano  ogbomosho,  Kaduna , Katsina, Ilorin, Ilesha , oyo , Oshogbo,  and Maiduguri are too large and over populated . To pull some of the areas down will cost dislocation of families and prohibitive amount of money to rebuild and may lead to rebellion. Ibadan ,Kano and Ogbomosho are over one million . Yet we do not have the technology to make these cities work . The best country in the world in terms of urban development is Germany . With all their know how only Berlin and Hamburg have more than one million people . That is why the country is regarded as a model green country. It takes enormous money and technological  know how to run a country efficiently and successfully. There is going to be less and less money  in Nigeria because of advancing technology that may make hydrocarbons   Export on which our economy depends, unattractive as energy source within the next few years . This will present Nigeria with a challenge unless our governments take the bull by the horn and make citizens pay  adequately for municipal services .  Even If the money is available we  do not have the technology to run modern cities . It is a no win situation. Already sixty or more percent of our people in the Southwest are living in  cities and by 2050  ,80 percent of Nigerians will be living in the  largely unplanned cities. The import of this is that we must find solution to this massive urbanization before it is too late  . The obvious noticeable result  of this is that the urban environment in the South West seems the most degraded in today’s Nigeria partly because of bad governance , lack of foresight and systematic planning and of course the pressure of population growth in the cities due to rural urban migration.For example the city of Ibadan described by a visitor from Canada in 1970 as “the biggest slum he has ever seen “could have been  better than that  this if the government were conscious of its responsibility. The opening up some outskirts of the city by the expressway from Lagos to Oyo could have been accompanied by well laid out plan of development rather than the continuation of the antediluvian ways of building houses any where spaces were available without respect for town planning regulations which were obeyed in their breaches. The erstwhile active and efficient Town planning department of the 1960s seemed to have gone to sleep or have become moribund in the city of Ibadan .The apparent death of town planning is exemplified in Ibadan by the fact that as soon as expressways are constructed in the city ,unplanned markets usually spring up across the  very motorways to make nonsense of such planned easy movement of vehicles .This dynamic chaos has led to rapid growth and attraction to the city where as far as town planning is concerned all things illegal are permissible! Added to this is relative peace in the region and consequent migration from the distressed areas of Nigeria in the Niger Delta, the land hungry eastern Nigeria and the northern part of Nigeria afflicted by religious violence . Nevertheless, the northern cities are faring better because of the strong political hold on the country by northerners who can divert resources there to ameliorate the decaying urban environment. Unless there is a restructuring or devolution of power to release more funds to the periphery in the states or regions it is going to be downward spiral for the urban areas of Nigeria as a whole and the more urbanized west and north of Nigeria will be more exposed to the inevitable urban decay.

    In conclusion unlike for example  in France , Italy and Spain we cannot see any unique Nigerian architecture emerging in our towns and cities . This may be because the concept of Nigeria has remained a geographical expression, if this is so ,we can at least begin to see emerge Yoruba ,Igbo , Hausa  architectural designs just as we see in our arts and crafts .It is of course true that modern architecture in Nigeria has a relatively recent history . But it does not seem the voice of architects is heard when new estates  are planned . It is doubtful if the body of architects made much or any contributions to the planning and development of Abuja. It seems Nigerian architects define their profession narrowly to mean designing houses , colleges , institutions and offices but not the built urban environment. The architectural association needs to be a little bit more vociferous in urban planning and development in Nigeria as was the case in other known civilizations like those of Greece and Rome. In the meantime we  as individuals and our governments  should embark on tree planting in our cities in consonance with world wide demand for environmental enhancement to mitigate the effect of global warming occasioning climate change .Nigerian cities through tree and flower planting can be made beautiful and environmentally sustainable. We do not need to wait for foreign aid or technical expertise to plant as our fore fathers were doing in our distant past.

  • What Buhari could learn from José Mujica

    If Muhammadu Buhari were truly a humane ascetic, he would seek greater ennoblement of his role as President, in conduct, speech, according to benign tenets . He would shun the sycophancy of his media advisers and re-election campaigners, and seek direction via personal relationship with the people, on the streets.

    Let him be guided by rare wisdom and example set by true leaders of men, like former Uruguayan President, José Mujica. Now 83, Mujica served as leader of Uruguay between 2010 and 2015, in his 70s. As President, he scorned the grand presidential lifestyle and donated 90 percent of his salary to the impoverished and small scale entrepreneurs.

    He shunned the vulgar opulence characteristic of contemporary presidencies like Nigeria’s, to live in a farmhouse, off a dirt road in Montevideo. There, he and his wife worked the land cultivating chrysanthemums for sale, having declined to live in the lavish State House or use its staff and official motorcade.

    Mujica earned $12,500 a month, but reportedly kept only $1,250 for himself. “I do fine with that amount; I have to do fine because there are many Uruguayans who live with much less,” he argued in a newspaper interview.

    He lamented that: “As soon as politicians start climbing up the ladder, they suddenly become kings. I don’t know how it works, but what I do know is that republics came to the world to make sure that no one is more than anyone else. You need a palace, red carpet, a lot of people behind you saying ‘Yes, sir.’ I think all of that is awful.”

    As President, Mujica rode a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle car. In 2010, the value of the car was $1,800 and represented the entirety of the mandatory annual personal wealth declaration he filed for that year.

    Of course, he wasn’t perfect, but he improved quality of life for the citizenry via populist economic policies. Uruguay thus enjoyed an impressive GDP considering its position as the second-smallest nation in South America.

    He was also known for speaking his mind, defending basic human values and attacking the darkness of modern life. He did so in a remarkable speech at the sustainability summit in Rio de Janeiro. In September 2013, he reiterated his philosophy of leadership and humanity to the United Nations General Assembly.

    As a Colombian newspaper said, it was “the speech world leaders did not want to hear.” The speech has been called poetic, prophetic, romantic, lyrical and flat-out weird. It’s not exactly your 16-minute TEDtalk, but it definitely projected ideas worth reliving.  

    Excerpts of the speech:

    “We have been talking about sustainable development, about rescuing the masses from the claws of poverty…I ask this question: what would happen to this planet if the people of India had the same number of cars per family as the Germans? How much oxygen would be left for us to breathe?

    “More clearly: Does the world today have the material elements to enable seven or eight billion people to enjoy the same level of consumption and squandering as the most affluent Western societies?

    “Are we ruling over globalization or is globalization ruling over us? We come into this planet to be happy. Because life is short and it slips away from us. And no material belonging is worth as much as life, and this is fundamental.

    “If consumption is paralysed, the economy stops, and if you stop economy, the ghost of stagnation appears for each one of us, but it is this hyper-consumption that is harming the planet. And this hyper-consumption needs to be generated, making things that have a short useful life, in order to sell a lot. Thus, a light bulb cannot last longer than 1,000 hours. But there are light bulbs that last 100,000 hours!

    “But these cannot be manufactured, because we have to work and we have to sustain a civilization of ‘use and discard’ and so, we are trapped in a vicious cycle. These are problems of a political nature, which are showing us that it’s time to start fighting for a different culture.

    “I belong to a small country well endowed with natural resources for life. In my country, there are a bit more than three million people. But there are about 13 million cows, some of the best in the world. And about 8 or 10 million excellent sheep. My country is an exporter of food, dairy, meat. It is a low-relief plain and almost 90% of the land is fertile.

    “My fellow workers, fought hard for the 8 hour workday. And now they are making that 6 hours. But the person who works 6 hours, gets two jobs, therefore, he works longer than before. But why? Because he needs to make monthly payments for the motorcycle, the car, more and more payments, and when he’s done with that, he realizes he is a rheumatic old man, like me, and his life is already over.

    “And one asks this question: is this the fate of human life? These things I say are very basic: development cannot go against happiness. It has to work in favor of human happiness, of love on earth, human relationships, caring for children, having friends, having our basic needs covered. Precisely because this is the most precious treasure we have; happiness. When we fight for the environment, we must remember that the essential element of the environment is called human happiness.”

    Mujica is a farmer. Buhari is a farmer. The difference between both men’s touted simplicity is that, while Mujica governed humanely and practiced what he preached by scorning the trappings of presidential office, Buhari seems unable to do so.

    Nonetheless, he seems Nigeria’s best hope at the moment, amid the pack of hounds masquerading as ‘Change Agents.’

    As he seeks re-election, Buhari should avoid treating the electorate with contempt. He should scorn god-complex and embrace the finer aspects of tact, humility and sacrifice in the interest of the people.

  • G.A. Akinola: Distinguished historian, patriot

    The news of Dr Akinola’s transition came to many of us as a shock. We felt a terrible sense of loss. He was for a short time in the University of Lagos in the 1970S but he spent most of his life time teaching history at the University of Ibadan until he retired.  While at Ibadan he was known for his sense of perfection. He would never send a paper for publication until he was sure it was perfect. He shared this attitude with my classmate Benson Mojuetan of the same Department who despite his erudition and being the first person in the graduating set of 1966 to get a Ph.D, he refused to publish and be promoted. The late Dr Bala Yusuf Usman of Ahmadu Bello University simply refused to submit his papers for assessment in spite of the fact that we knew he had done enough to earn a chair of history at his university. Universities the world over have strange but interesting characters. Nigeria also had its fair share. I remember reading a seminal and well researched and written paper by Dr Akinola in the Journal of Historical Society Of Nigeria ( JHSN) on the important topic of Benin-Ile Ife Relations  in pre-colonial times . As far as I am concerned it is the most authoritative piece on the topic. This is because  he threw illumination on an historical event  that has been so much  politicized that  what could have been celebrated as positive inter group relations has been reduced to superiority contest. He never subscribed to the concept of “publish or perish” determining promotion in academic institutions. Unfortunately no other criterium has been found at least in the humanities to assess excellence and academic output. But in the sciences, technology, and medical sciences, breakthroughs could be measured in terms of technological discoveries or in the treatment of certain diseases or pharmaceutical innovations as contributions to knowledge. In other words if for some strange reasons an academic shuns publications, it will be difficult for the system to appreciate the excellence of such an academic.  In the USA there is what is called teaching professorship. Perhaps Akinola would have earned a chair of history under this rubric. There is no doubt in my mind that Dr Akinola was worth more than some of our professors in terms of academic knowledge, scholarship and clarity of expression.

    Akinola comes from Igbole in Ekiti, the same town that produced the professor of physics of Ekiti academic mythology. “Ojo ugbole” in my childhood was mythologized as the poor child who had no money but whenever he entered a book shop he would move into a corner and by the time the bookshop was about to close the precocious Ojo would have read a couple of books and would repeat this until he would have finished reading most of the books he wanted to read. Later the same Ojo went and got a doctorate in physics with his specialty in the broad area of Sound. Stories were told about how he ran around with bells tied round his waste while he measured perhaps the speed of their sound. Later I met the same Professor Ojo who taught and retired in the then university of Ife. He was actually married to the sister of my friend Fola Adediran. He turned out to be a normal venerable academic but everyone of my generation knows the Ojo Igbole story. Dr  Akinola did not have the mythology that surrounded the professor of physics. But I must say Akinola was cut from the same Ojo Igbole cloth. He left Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti before my time but we met the fame of the Christ School boy who got excellent grade in English language which was very rare if not impossible especially in a rural environment in which the school was located . Our school had no problems doing exceedingly well in the traditional sciences and the humanities but English language was in its own special category. That was the rarified academic height Akinola belonged. He wrote what was adjudged an excellent thesis for the doctorate of philosophy in history in 1971 of the University of Ibadan.Unlike most of his colleagues he did not revise the thesis for publication as part of the Ibadan history series under the general editorship of the late Professor J.F. Ade – Ajayi.

    Our paths crossed in Hamburg in 1968 when he and I were carrying out our field research in Germany. We stayed together in an Hotel- Pension in Hamburg. I still remember the interesting discussion we had on European people and their politics and history when we challenged the owner of an hostel of discrimination against us by not renting rooms to us in his hostel. The German without knowing the import of what he was saying told us he did not mind having people of other races in his hostel and to prove it he said he had Italians living in the hostel. In other words he lumped Italians with us blacks. This reminds me of how the English used to treat Irish people up to the 1960S when they would advertise for tenants and clearly state “ No Irish , No coloured , No Chinaman (Chinese), Jap (meaning Japanese ) ok”. Racism would always ruin human relations.

    I remember when I was on Sabbatical leave in The University of Ibadan from 2001 to 2003  I used Professor Ajayi’s office and I saw how Dr Akinola read with relish all newspapers and news magazines he could lay his hands on in order to write his occasional interventions in the newspapers which were laced with much erudition . He critically examined the 2011 elections which brought President Jonathan to power and dismissed the whole thing as a farce and a joke carried too far. He said Delta, Rivers, Cross River and Akwa Ibom States returned between 85 to 100% of their registered votes and that this was statistically impossible and was a global record if it truly happened. This was the kind of painstaking task he set for himself even in newspaper contributions.

    When he retired I was worried for how he would meet his pecuniary needs. I suggested to him, in fact I pleaded with him to take a contract job in one of the new state universities. He laughed and said how could he do that after complaining that standards had fallen in his dear University of Ibadan. If the universities in Nigeria had the necessary freedom Akinola should have been retained on contract to impart not only knowledge but to teach students and staff of old time scholarship and use of language which have unfortunately departed from our universities.

    In retirement Akinola kept to himself. He was not the clubbing type. He did not attend parties and the usual frivolous celebrations in which much money is wasted in Nigeria. I do not remember him wearing voluminous agbada like most of his contemporaries. He had no need for them. His simplicity was simply overwhelming. One is more likely to see him in his short knickers strolling along the roads of new Bodija and minding his own business but absolutely disappointed about the lack of progress in Nigeria and how the country is on a slippery slope to violence.

    Adieu Oga. Rest In Peace. You lived an unblemished life. There was no scintilla of scandal where ever you worked. You left a good and imperishable name which your children should be proud of and I am sure in the eyes of the Almighty you have earned your rest.

  • National Assembly, redeem thyself

    LAWMAKING is critical to the democratic process. Without law, the society will be in a state of anarchy. Governance is grounded on the social contract, which is the constitution either written or unwritten, collectively agreed to by the people. The constitution is a body of laws put together by the people for the people. Though the 1999 Constitution opens with these words: “We the people”, the fact remains that it did not come to be through our collective will.

    It was put together by people chosen by the military just as the 1979 Constitution was written by those referred to as “49 wise men”. The need for a constitution  is based on the fact that there must be a set of rules to guide the people. These laws are for the common good and they are supreme to any other law in the land. When God created the earth, He set His own rules and the rules or the laws, if you like, are contained in what He told  Adam.

    A constitution also contains  do’s and don’ts. But unlike the Divine Constitution, the people operate their country’s constitution in order to achieve its objectives. Lawmakers are the chief operators of that constitution. They are elected to make laws for the good governance of their country and also ensure the smooth operation of the constitution. Lawmakers are the live wire of democracy. They are the ears and eyes of the people who they represent in the National Assembly or by whatever name their chamber is called. They act as a check on the executive. To show how strong lawmakers are, they are the only ones constitutionally empowered to impeach the president.

    They have other powers, such as appropriation of funds, passing the budget and clearing the president’s appointees, especially ministers. These powers entail that lawmakers be people of high integrity; people who cannot be induced. Lawmaking is not a money making venture but an avenue to make society work for all. Unfortunately, from the Nigerian experience, many get there and forget the reason for coming there. Of late, we have heard a lot of stories about corruption in the National Assembly. Honestly, these stories are not new. We have been hearing about them for years now, except for those who were not in their country then.

    If you were in this country about 15 years ago, you would have been a living witness to the bribery scandal which rocked the Senate over the confirmation of ministers. The scandal led to the ouster of Senator Adolphus Wabara as Senate president in 2005. In 2003, former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nasir El-Rufai alleged before the Senate Ethics and Privileges Committee that former Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu and former deputy leader Jonathan Zwingina demanded N54million from him to facilaite his confirmation as minister. The senators denied his allegation, but El-Rufai, who is now Kaduna State governor insisted that both senators promised ‘’to recruit an army of senators to act as my defenders, and stated that about N54million would be needed to secure the support of a majority of the senators’’.

    Nothing has changed since then, going by revelations by another former minister Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former electoral umpire Prof Attahiru Jega. Okonjo-Iweala, former finance minister, claimed that the National Assembly refused to pass the 2015 budget until an additional N20billion was introduced as election expenses for its members. ‘’We insisted that the amount be dropped because it nullified the 13% cut made for their statutory budget of N150billion but we managed to reduce the N20billion by only N3billion to N17billion. This became the price to pay to have the 2015 budget passed”, she claimed in her book: Fighting corruption is dangerous: The story behind the headlines. 

    Jega, in a lecture to mark the 2018 Democracy Day, hit the lawmakers hard. He accused them of asking for bribe before passing the budgets of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to beam his corruption searchlight on National Assembly committee chairmen, who engage in this act. “I wonder here what is happening with the intelligence and investigative responsibilities of security agencies in policing our National Assembly. Some chairmen of the committees in the National Assembly have become notorious on this issue of demanding for bribe with impunity…”, he said.

    Without doubt, there is cause for concern. In the 19 years of our democracy, many do not have anything good  to say about our lawmakers. Till today, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, despite his own failings, cannot stand the National Assembly. He derides the lawmakers at any given opportunity because in his words ‘’they are corrupt’’. Coming from Obasanjo, we cannot discountenance that tag. The National Assembly put itself in this bind. Rather than work for the progress of the country and push its constituents’ interest, it has always been itself first. Its members collect jumbo pay for working for only 181 days in a year. A senator goes home with N7.5million monthly  in a society where those he represents can hardly feed. This is minus other allowances and benefits which are not known to the people.

    The National Assembly should be the bastion of democracy and not the den of corruption. Sadly, it has written itself into the bad book of Nigerians, who believe that nothing good can ever come out of the place. Can the National Assembly change? Yes, it can. It will cost its members nothing to change their ways and resolve to work for the people who voted for them. They should remember that they did not put themselves in office but were sent to the National  Assembly  for the sole purpose of making laws for the betterment of our country. Things cannot continue like this. The people’s patience may be elastic, but it will snap if it is stretched too far.

    As a reminder, power, they should know, resides with the people and not with them, as lawmakers. If push comes to shove, the people know what to do. We only hope that it would not get to that.

  • A chance encounter with Obasanjo

    FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has been busy lately. He is full of energy, the type that makes a young man envious. Since he announced the formation of a Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM), which has morphed into the African Democratic Congress (ADC), he has been travelling, pushing hard for  President Muhammadu Buhari’s defeat in next year’s election. He had earlier advised Buhari not to run.

    Obasanjo has been in Benue to mourn the victims of the bandits’ attacks and he was in Akure to woo Afenifere leaders. While on the recruitment shuttle, the former President was hit with the allegation that his administration spent $16b on power without any result.

    Of course, Obasanjo replied in a vitriolic manner.

    Just before he settled down to do some other things, the former President was reminded of how his administration allegedly removed governors from office in a reign of sheer impunity. He is yet to reply to this. Besides, videos of his appearance on the BBC programme, “Hard Talk”, have suddenly flooded the social media – all in a bid to puncture his anti-corruption credentials.

    What are Obasanjo’s thoughts on these and other matters? What is his next move likely to be? Does he really believe that he is on the right track? Will he change his mind about Buhari?

    Nobody has answers to these and many other questions being asked in town. Will an encounter with the former president provide answers to these questions? Let us conjure up such an encounter with reporters at the Lagos Airport.

    Obasanjo saunters into the hall on his way to the Presidential Lodge. Reporters rush to interview him. He looks at them and frowns. He continues to walk away.

    Reporter: Good afternoon,Your Excellency. May we have a minute with you on some national issues?

    Obasanjo stops. He waves  at the horde of reporters and walks away. One of the reporters repeats the question. The former President beckons to him, draws him close and knocks his head twice.

    “Oya, two questions. If you ask me more than two questions, you get two more knocks. Is that clear?”

    Reporter:” Sir, this allegation about your administration spending $16b on power without result and you boasting about that; are you really proud of what you did in that sector? Don’t you smell corruption here?

    Obasanjo (Raising his right hand and pointing a finger at the reporter): “I hope nobody sent you to embarrass me or get me angry unnecessarily. What do you know about corruption? (Hmm…hmmm… hmmm. He clears his throat). You see, Mr Reporter or whatever they call you or you call yourself, for there to be corruption, there are certain conditions that must be present. There must be the bribe, the giver and the taker. Tell me, all the probes that had been conducted on this matter, have I, Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Obasanjo, been indicted?

    “I have nothing to say; go and read my book. I have answers for you and people like you who, with due respect, talk nonsense about what they know nothing about.

    “If they say there is no power, let them go to the ports where the equipment were left to rot away. If they are not pleased, let them go to the various sites of the projects. If they still can’t find the power they are looking for, dat na dem toro. For me o, anytime they are ready to probe the matter, I dey kampe; I’m ready.”

    “Sir, you were in Akure the other day to plead with Afenifere leaders to join you in the rescue mission you claim to be leading. Now, people are saying, how do you want the leaders to trust you after deceiving them in 2003 when the PDP swept the Southwest and rolled back its progressive credentials?”

    Obasanjo (raising his right hand and frowning. He adjusts his glasses.) With due respect; I’m sure you were sent. How can anybody say I deceived them and that my coalition is on a mission to deceive?  Absolute nonsense. As for PDP, I resigned from their party a long time ago to become a statesman and … .

    “Yes, Your Excellency. That is the point. People say what you’re doing now is beyond statesmanship and that it is pure politics. They say you’re attempting to tell Nigerians who to choose. In fact, some say it is an attempt to cover your failure as a president.”

    “Really? I dey laugh. They say I failed? Well, let them say whatever they like. I remain a statesman. Will I say because I’m a statesman I should allow Nigeria to drift? No way. Anybody who says I should keep quiet is trying to insult me and I won’t take that. I won’t. Go and tell them at the Villa or wherever they say they are. Anybody who says I should keep quiet about Nigeria, I am ready to go konko bilo with the person.”

    “Sir, Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) is quoted as saying that if you’re put on trial for alleged corruption, heaven will not fall. In fact, he said your administration has been one of the most corrupt in Nigeria’s history, that you act like a saint when you are ‘the most stained’”.

    “Sagay? Who is that? He said that? When? You see, that is absolute nonsense. I fought corruption. I set up the EFCC and put that boy, emm…emm Nuhu, Nuhu Ribadu in charge. I set up also the ICPC. How then can you say I’m corrupt? I’m the only leader who has been examined by the anti-corruption agencies and found to be clean. Yes.”

    “Your Excellency, people allude to the Halliburton scandal over which some people have gone to jail in the United States. They say it happened under your watch and it was a monumental case of corruption.”

    “Halliburton? Yes. Did they mention my name? If it happened under my administration nko? Did anybody find any bribe in my sokoto pocket? Am I responsible for the corruption of every Nigerian? If they say Nigerian officials collected Halliburton bribe, tell me, is that Obasanjo? Please, don’t annoy me. With due respect, can you see a former European leader and ask him such questions? Halliburton my foot! Besides, that is an allegation. I don’t dwell on allegations, but solid, concrete evidence. If anybody has such evidence, a proof of my involvement, let him bring it up. I’m ready to face him in any court.”

    “Is it true that you said those supporting the Buhari administration are morons?”

    “Are you a moron? If you are not a moron, why bother about that? Why do you want to know what I said and what I did not say? Don’t I have a right to say what I like?”

    “Sir, what people are saying is that that is hate speech, which is unexpected of a statesman like you.”

    “Hate speech. What do you know about hate speech?  How old are you? Once I have spoken, I just move on. Chikena!. If anybody is offended, that is not my problem. In any case, what is your problem; are you a moron?”

    More questions, but Obasanjo walks away. No smiles and no byes as the reporters turn back.

     

    Love conquers all

    HOW do you assure and reassure a woman that you are head over heels for her? Do you just sing some romantic songs or compose some moving poems? Do you take her on a walk, holding her by the hand and telling her beautiful stories, laughing and blowing kisses? Or sit there in a restaurant, dimmed lights, slow songs wafting softly through invisible speakers and half-filled wine glasses? Hugs and kisses?
    That was then. Love has since found its love in more seductive phenomena. Call it cash or materialism or whatever suits your fancy.

    Davido
    Davido

    When songster Davido decided to give his girl Chioma “assurance”, he rolled out a N45m Porsche for her to drive round town. Then some busybodies said it was a used car that cost far less than the announced price. The musician reached for the receipt and flaunted it in the social media. Were they pleased? No. They said the crooner may have been scammed.

    Davido has held his peace. Why not? After all, Chioma has got the “assurance ” she wanted and the singer has got the love he badly desired. All is well that ends well, according to the Bard, who himself was love-struck at one point or the other.

    Another public figure, also love-struck, has given his woman “assurance”. On her birthday, he landed her a brand new G-Wagon that cost a fortune. The lucky woman and her excited friends were happy. They danced and danced.

    The limo was said to have cost N100m. The social media was on fire: Why should he do that in a country where many go to bed hungry and angry, their tummies rumbling and their hearts grumbling? Why that when many are out of school for lack of school fees?
    It is to his credit that House Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila has taken it all on the chin. He has remained tight-lipped in the face of the unwarranted assault on his freedom of choice. Who is he who has never been in love? Let him cast the first stone.

    Love conquers all! Ask Samson, the biblical superman. Ask Clinton. Ask the former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Khan. Ask former World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz. Ask former United States President Bill Clinton. Ask President Donald Trump.

  • Need for reflection in a season of anger

    Wondering why I was so angry after reading my last week piece on nPDP and PDP, a friend, tongue in cheek congratulated me for trying to outdo Lai Mohammed, the versatile Culture and Information Minister who has no match in his trade. But then are we not in a season of anger? I am not sure there is anyone in Nigeria today, young or old who is not angry. The target of our collective anger is President Buhari, an elected sovereign, supported by awesome apparatus of state power to deal decisively with enemies of Nigeria, who instead of action, chose to dwell on problems he inherited as if that was not the reason 17 million Nigerian miracle seekers desirous of an end to thirty years of Babangida, Abacha and Obasanjo’s deceit, mischief and mismanagement in just three years, elected him.

    Nigeria elder-statesmen like Anyaoku, Balarabe Musa, wole Soyinka who have asked the president to wake up from his deep slumber are angry. Younger Nigerians who traded their freedom and liberty for his protection after reading his 1983-1985 exploits are angry. Our frustrated highly trained young professionals are angrily moving away to Canada in droves. Others left behind by the system are trying to escape through the Atlantic and the desert at their own peril.

    Ortom of Benue like other helpless Middle Belt states governors are angry. Thousands of those who lost their loved ones and have now become refugees in their own country because President Buhari cannot protect them are angry.  Roman Catholic faithful who lost two of their priests and 17 worshippers inside their church to those security reports now say may not be Fulani herdsmen are angry. The Fulani herdsmen and their leaders are no less angry.

    Now President Buhari, the target of everyone’s anger and on whose table the buck stops is himself angry. Besides being overwhelmed by our crisis of nation building and serial betrayal by some of his trusted close aids, I think what probably irked taciturn Buhari who revels in his own sense of righteousness is the intrigue and hypocrisy of Babangida, Obasanjo, Jonathan and nPDP led national assemblies, all architects of the nation’s current nightmare.

    This perhaps explains why an embattled old and frail-looking General Buhari (rtd) has now challenged into an open duel, an equally old frail-looking General Obasanjo and Jonathan, his god son he alleged jointly spent $16b on power without anything to show for it and those law makers he dismissed for having nothing to show for their over ten years in the national assembly.

    Apparently, while Buhari who once admitted ‘corruption fighting back’ jailed him for three years and his mother had to die for him to secure freedom, was ready for the frustrations from the legislature, the judiciary and the media, in his current crusade, he is not prepared to allow Ex-Presidents Obasanjo and Jonathan, his godson to continue with their hypocrisy and intrigue at his own expense.

    Here is Jonathan who has not been able to defend the involvement of his embattled wife and family members in alleged fraud against the state, and a man who has been fingered as the mastermind of illegal deployment of $2b arms funds to fighting the 2015 election by some of his associates already charged to court, eulogizing Ayo Fayose who EFCC claimed received N3b of the mismanaged funds. And Fayose’s achievement:  he took loans to build bridge over land in Ekiti where most inter-city roads are in state of decay.

    It was more tragic that in Ado Ekiti, Jonathan addressed a crowd of mostly shortchanged  okada (motor cycle) commercial riders and political thugs, creations of  his god father’s  mainstreaming which destroyed the educational legacies of first and second republic south west visionary leaders such as Awolowo, Ajasin, Enahoro,  Bola Ige, Ambrose Alli and Onabanjo.

    And then as if to prove Buhari’s anger was not misdirected,  an audit firm, KPMG commissioned by NEC gave a damning report about how Eighteen Federal Government’s revenue generating agencies failed to remit N526bn and $21bn into the Federation Account during the Jonathan years, 2010 – 2015.

    And just as he was swearing never to lobby the National Assembly for sitting on the budget for over six months, a book by Okonjo Iweala, former Minister of Finance, titled “Fighting Corruption is Dangerous”: The story behind the Headlines” which confirmed the fears of Nigerians about the manipulation and sabotage of the national budget by the David Mark/Ekwerenmadu led 7th Senate, was released to vindicate his resolve.

    Okonjo Iweala revealed how Jonathan’s administration (with its hand probably soiled) was blackmailed to part with N17 billion to pass the 2015 budget. This according to her was besides the NASS N150 billion annual ‘standard’ budget which they refused to reduce despite dwindling oil revenues but to which they in fact  reintroduced  an additional N20 billion later reduced to N17b after some horse trading, as election expenses for National Assembly members. Okonjo-Iweala also added, “The NASS leadership, working through the various committees, “sought to add more to individual projects or create completely new, unappropriated major projects, thereby distorting the budget”.

    As for ex-President Obasanjo, his combative cronies who claim President Buhari lacks capacity to read and comprehend anything beyond newspaper cartons have not said monies budgeted for power was judiciously used. Their claim is that the bulk of the monies were disbursed after Obasanjo had left office without admitting he appointed those who derailed the power sector projects. That many of those recommended for EFCC’s investigation by a House probe today populate his new coalition is enough evidence Obasanjo has no apologies for the short changing of Nigeria. By his PDP boys.

    Last week’s alarm by the NASS about the embarrassment Nigeria national library has become seems to further support Buhari’s expressed contempt for leaders who think leadership is delegation by abdication

    In a November 6, 2017 update of their earlier report on the state of Nigeria National Library, Ajuri Ngelale and Ronke Sanya  of Channels television titled ‘Nigeria National Library: intellectual sanctuary in ruins’, they claimed that beyond the National Library’s rotten structure, the books, gazettes and official documents dating back to 1800 and pictures dating back to 70 years are rotting away.

    According to the same Channels report, a contract for a proposed new library was initially awarded at an original cost of N8.5billion with an initial completion timeframe of 21 months from the date of first mobilization to site on April 29, 2006. From N8.5bllion, the contract was upwardly revised to N17billion before being revised up again to N38.7billion. It was finally revised upward again to a staggering N78billion. The library is only 40% completed after 12 years.

    Compare the fate of Nigerian National Library to Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) whose contract was awarded also in 2006. Of the N7b projected cost of (OOPL) Obasanjo raked in about N6b during the launching on 15 May 2005.The list of donors include  Dr. Mike Adenuga, of Globacom Communications, Alhaji Aliko Dangote of  Dangote Group,  Mr. Femi Otedola, of Zenon Oil  and $20 million (about N2 billion from oil firm majors operating in the country. Others include Chief Arisekola Alao and Olorogun Michael Ibru. In all, the 36 State governors contributed N360 million, the private sector, N622 million and the Nigerian Ports Authority, $1 million;

    Today, OOPL advertises its museum, “ a white magnificent building, a gleaming steel and concrete structure housing exhibits that illustrate the life and times of Olusegun Obasnajo”; a green legacy houseguest resort made of 153 room suites; an amusement park, nightclub; Wildlife park which houses over 140 indigenous and exotic animals including collection of lions spotted and stripped hyenas, archives containing genealogy, education, birth family and achievements and legacies of Obasanjo in war and in government.

    The Guardian newspaper had in in a recent editorial described Nigeria’s failure ‘to respect and nurture the basic elements of nation building and to have a proper archive of their evolution, as a disgrace”. Nigeria’s loss is Obasanjo’s gain.

  • Ambode’s blooming

    Governor Akinwumi Ambode looms admirably as the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s only effectual governor perhaps. He isn’t a complete administrator. Not yet. But he is on the path to becoming a leader Nigeria could be proud of.

    This is the point at which pro-APC cyber rats and pulp-maggots chew on cud, to summon angst they do not feel, in defense of the governor. It is what ‘mad money’ and ‘unearned largesse’ does to you. But that is a discussion for another day.

    Today, I simply wish to commend Ambode for his rare display of vision and spunk, at Lagos State University (LASU)’s 22nd convocation.

    Ambode’s adoption of Fuad Adetoro Ogunsanya resonates as an inspiring physical and mental caress; it induces hope.

    There is a sense of dignity and humaneness in the governor’s action. For the first time ever, since he assumed the mantle of leadership in Lagos, I see in Ambode the making of a matured, charismatic leader. Ambode apparently understands the value of scholarship and youth empowerment, to Nigeria’s progressive enterprise.

    Unlike his peer in the southeast, who cavorts and splurges state treasury on perverts created by DSTV/Multichoice’s Big Brother Naija (BBN), Ambode would not squander Lagos’ coffers on the likes of BBN’s Anto, who impersonally ‘f…ks a lot of niggas’ for sport, or Teddy A, whose moral compass led him to ‘appreciate’ Bambam, a pastor’s daughter, by having sex with her in a public toilet, soon after fellow inmates’ Miracle and Nina’s depraved sex,

    The likes of Fuad, not the BBN rat pack, should be celebrated. Had Ambode not taken the initiative to honour him by adopting him and giving him a scholarship, the brilliant dude would simply fade unnoticed, in a society maddened by filth and institutionalised mediocrity.

    Fuad graduated as LASU’s overall best student with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.78 in Business Administration. In appreciation, Ambode gave him N5 million, and pledged to sponsor his postgraduate studies in any school across the world.

    ”The Lagos State government does not generally give scholarship anymore, but your story is too compelling and is a reflection of my own story. I will adopt and sponsor you anywhere you want to go for your Masters. I will personally be responsible for it.

    “In addition, for emerging the overall best student, I will give you N5 million. An occasion as this deserves serious attention as the education of our youths is paramount to us,” said Ambode.

    Such doggedness and genius should not go to waste thus Ambode rewarded Fuad for his tenacity, despite the health challenges that delayed his education.

    In his valedictory speech, Fuad narrated how an affliction of cataract in both eyes, affected his performance in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).

    The 24-year-old, who lost his father in 2015, said he had to do a second surgery to remove the defect when the first failed before he was able to make his ‘O’ Level papers.

    He “wanted to study Accounting,” LASU but at the period, “the course was not accredited and Business Administration was available.

    “Today, see where that impromptu decision has brought me,” he said. It has earned him the ‘fatherhood’ and goodwill of a Lagos governor.

    Yes, Ambode deserves applause for spending out of his purse in honour of LASU’s finest but Lagos deserves more progressive forms of humaneness and visionary policies from the incumbent governor. His developmental initiatives at LASU are commendable likewise his commitment to revolutionise the coastal city’s infrastructure.

    Some of his efforts are however, hindered by poor management and supervision, probably his underlings. None of the street lights along old Lagos-Abeokuta expressway is functioning at the moment. From defunct Mobil filling station/Mr. Biggs, Abule Egba to AMJE/Ajegunle, Lagos is cast in perpetual darkness. Some of the bypasses and link roads are also in need of Ambode’s intervention.

    The Adetola bypass that connects Ijaiye/Jankara road to Olaniyi street is a pedestrian/motorist’s nightmare; the heavily cratered road has destroyed several vehicle wheels and shock absorbers.

    Even as nearby streets and roads are rehabilitated, Adetola, Jankara, Agbado-Crossing roads remain severely potholed and abandoned. These become serious blemishes on Ambode’s infrastructure regeneration drive.

    Notwithstanding, Ambode’s fervour to improve Lagos’ infrastructure is praiseworthy. He should also pay good mind to facility issues in Lagos schools and hospitals. The services are dire, in bad taste.

    Ambode’s Lagos State Employment Trustfund (LSETF) initiative is impressive but he should monitor the process to prevent underlings from sullying it with favouritism, poor supervision and other negative externalities, like the desertion of recipients/participants to Microfinance loan sharks.

    It is not the intent of this writer to demean the value of Ambode’s administration, I simply wish that he understands that some parts of Lagos stew in government neglect despite his appreciable strides.

    His work will resonate at higher decibels if he could focus on the areas currently neglected by his administration. I could publish a list of such areas in a sequel to this write-up, if he wants.

    This is not a veiled plea for patronage; I do not seek an audience with Ambode. I simply need him to rise to the task of fostering a Lagos, where facilities match those that he enjoys on his several trips abroad. Only then can he truly become a governor worth celebrating and a leader to treasure.

    Comparing him to his colleagues in APC and PDP is akin to smearing him with cow dung. I would rather compare him to ace administrators at home and abroad, when the progressive in him fully matures.

    As Ambode evolves, Lagos hopes to progressively unfurl – across all sectors – to his nurturant touch.

    Someday, post-2019 perhaps, Ogun State too, among others, would enjoy the rare boon of a visionary, brilliant governor – until then, the townships and human elements will die a slow, unnatural death, in the hands of mediocre, underperforming governors.