The Nation Newspaper

Category: Gabriel Amalu

  • Minimum wedge

    Minimum wedge

    Since the value of the naira depreciated, this column has been clamouring for a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers, as it considers the present minimum wage unconscionable. For this writer, it is unimaginable that officials of federal and state governments in position of authority to affect a change in the nation’s minimum wage could go to church or mosque to ask for the mercy of God, when they are exceedingly merciless to the Nigerian workers, under their care.

    Even for a slave labourer, N30,000 a month, as wage, even before the present runaway inflationary pressure on goods and services is abysmally ridiculous. Now, with the value of the naira so badly depreciated, every genuine patriot in government and the private sector should contribute his or her best efforts to help the tripartite committee on minimum wage recommend a realistic new minimum wage, for necessary legislation.

    It is encouraging that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) has inaugurated a 37-member tripartite committee on national minimum wage, led by Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji. The committee is made up of representatives of federal and state governments, the organized private sector and the labour unions. In his address presented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, PBAT said “The minimum wage represents the least amount of compensation an employee should receive for their labour, and as such, it should be rooted in social justice and equity.”

    This writer agrees. The National Minimum Wage Act of 1981 came into effect in response the charter of demands by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in 1980. As provided by the Act, the national minimum wage undergoes a review every five years, but as recent events have shown, five years is a long time considering the inflationary pressure on the price of goods and services. But sadly, some state governments have not paid the present N30,000 minimum wage, signed into law five years ago by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The committee which has commenced work recently conducted consultations across the six geopolitical zones. The demands at the zones, show wide disparity across them. While NLC in southwest demanded N794,000, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) demanded N447,000 per month. The organized labour in the northeast proposed N560,000 per month. From the north-central, the NLC demanded N709,000, while the TUC demanded N447,000. In the south-east, TUC proposed N447,000, while NLC proposed 540,000. The NLC proposed N850,000 and TUC N447,000 in the south-south region, while in the northwest, NLC wanted N480,000.

    From the presentations, it is clear that the NLC is aiming hire than the TUC, for a new minimum wage. On its part, few state governments showed any form of interest in the public hearing. The few present proposed between N60,000 and N70,000. That is a far cry from the demands of the labour unions. In their presentations, some of the labour unions argued that they are relying on the prices of goods and services in arriving at their proposals, while the government representatives claim to be proposing what the governments can pay.

    Again, while the proposal by the TUC appears to be consistent across the geopolitical zones, the NLC made divergent proposals across the zones. The state governments which boycotted the sitting may be hoping that the farther they are from the sitting, the more likely they can wish away the trouble that comes with wage review. Whatever caused the boycott, it is important that the state governments participate actively in the negotiation for a new national minimum wage in obedience to the provisions of the labour law.

    Read Also: States reject Labour’s new minimum wage demands

    The NLC and TUC should collaborate in the spirit of collective bargaining if they wish to have a speedy resolution of a new minimum wage to be recommended to the executive which will in it turn send an executive bill to the National Assembly for enactment into law. Unfortunately, the NLC was looking at the short-run, when its president Comrade Joe Ajaero, justified going it alone, when he called the recent two-day strike action. Of course there is strength in unity.

    That is the principle behind collective bargaining, which is enshrined in the labour laws, and which is why the NLC and TUC have the right to bargain on behalf of their affiliate unions. To achieve a speedy determination of a realistic wage for Nigerian workers, NLC and TUC should propose a realistic new wage in the overall interest of Nigerian workers. When Comrade Ajaero was bluffing that it is only his national executive committee that he listens to, it may mean he and other leaders are not giving that organ a quality advice.

    Perhaps that explains why the labour union has made strike its best option, to express angst over the deplorable economic crisis inherited by the PBAT administration. While it is the responsibility of the present administration to cure the ills afflicting the national economy, the expectations from the administration should be situated in a historical contest. Again, while it is the duty of the labour leaders to push for a better working condition for its members, it should also guide their members to achieve the most enduring benefit.

    What this column expects from the labour leaders is to examine the economic programs of the new government: its short, medium and long term plans for the national economy. And depending on their findings, engage the government, on how to ameliorate its impact on the workers. Restructuring the national economy, and getting it to rebound in the long run is more important than the immediate gains workers can get from arm-twisting the government, through strike actions, at vulnerable periods like now.

    To arrive at a minimum wage, the three parties involved in the negotiation must work hard to gain each other’s confidence. If any of the three parties choose to become a wedge in the process, enacting a new minimum wage would become a tiresome process. And while the parties bicker, the workers suffer. Luckily, PBAT has reiterated his desire to have a new minimum wage, within the next month. This column hopes that the governors are also enthusiastic about paying workers a living wage as the president has enthused.

    The labour unions must also help themselves by making realistic offers. The figures from the public hearings are not realistic, considering the economic health of our dear country. While it is true that the politicians are criminally enriching themselves, the civil servants cannot rely on such a misnomer to fix their own wages, if they can. Instead of joining the league of sinners, they should rather work and pray for the sinners to repent. The private sector hopefully will as usual be the least problematic wedge in arriving at a new minimum wage.

    The negotiation of a new national minimum wage deserves minimum wedge, as the nation will become healthier, with a new minimum wage.

  • Southeast rising

    Southeast rising

    At long last, the much awaited 188MW Geometric Power Plant in Aba, Abia State, has become a reality. Thanks to the doggedness of Professor Barth Nnaji and his team who kept pushing despite many challenges. Even for bystanders, it has been a tortious marathon race, for the past two decades, from conception to reality. Many are now pointing at that power generation and distribution model, as the way out of the electricity crisis that Nigeria is facing. This column agrees with that postulation. 

    According to an analyst, the 188MW power plant is programmed to generate approximately 135,360,000 kWh of electricity per month, which at roughly 500 kWh per household would serve about 270,720 households. According to Professor Nnaji, the choice of Aba for the power plant was deliberate, considering the manufacturing potentials of the city. No doubt, Aba is a preeminent industrial centre in the Southeast and leads in leather works and garment production in Nigeria, and its products are easily passed off as made in Italy.

    So, the provision of permanent power could turn Aba to the industrial hub of the southeast and even parts of south-south considering its proximity to Rivers State.

    No doubt, the shortage of electricity is the greatest impediment to the economic prosperity of Nigeria. With the entire country sharing about 4,886.40 MW of electricity last year, which periodically fluctuated to less than 2000 MW, and zero, when the national grid collapses, as it often does, the Aba model is the way to go. The 188 MW serves a fenced off area, encompassing industrial and residential areas.

    The Geometric Power Plant also has its dedicated gas pipeline of 27km, and may not suffer the debilitating gas supply challenges that have made a mockery of the several power plants initiated during the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo in the Niger Delta area. So, the plant generates, and distributes to end use consumers. That solves the present challenges across the country, where power generation and distribution companies are perpetually quarrelling over who is responsible for the crisis in the electricity sector across the country.

    While the generating companies (Gencos) claim they generated about 14000 MW, the distribution companies (discos) distribute about 4000 MW, with part of the problem attributable to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which owns the national grid that collapses regularly. The Geometric Power Plant has its own localized distribution wires, cables, poles, meters and transformers. So, the problem associated with vandalized transmission lines across the vast unchartered Nigerian forests is solved with the localized transmission lines.

    This column has for years called for the decentralization of the transmission line, otherwise called the national grid. According to Punch, the national grid collapsed 46 times in six years. And most of the times, the reason given is that vandals have tampered with the line in difficult terrains. This column reiterates that the grid should be regionalized, so that interventions can be quicker and consequences of collapse reduced, to the affected areas.

    Of course, there is the problem associated with the existing contracts between the federal government and the existing discos, which seem to have covered the entire country, save for few exceptions like the fenced up area reserved for the Geometric Power Plant. Perhaps while taking steps to untangle the contracts in a way agreeable to both parties, to starve a long drawn legal battle, the ministry of justice should advice on ways to create more fenced up areas for other investors.

    Notably, the Gencos have breached many clauses in their agreement, and the 10-year initial privatization period has expired. There is also the paucity of investors willing to invest the huge resources required by the power plants and distribution networks to be efficient. One of the reasons for the disinterest by investors is the tight control of the tariff by the federal government agency, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). That leaves Nigeria is a difficult position.

    And because of the economic impacts of the removal of petroleum subsidy and the deregulation of exchange rate, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is unwilling to yield to cost-reflective electricity tariff. The administration is in a difficult situation, because without allowing the discos to charge cost-reflective tariff, investors would not invest to upgrade the facilities. On its own, the federal government cannot raise the capital required, to buy off the investors and upgrade the infrastructure required for efficient power supply.  

    The way out may therefore be to fence off more commercial centres and high-brow areas, where users can pay cost reflective tariffs, and hand them over to investors willing to go the way of Geometric Power Plant, in terms of upgrading the facilities, and charging commercial tariffs. After all, the discos are already operating what they call dedicated lines, but which are very expensive to access, because the customers are few and scattered.

    But with residents of some highbrow arears already getting regular power supply for which they pay higher tariffs, this column believes a lot of such possibilities exist to be tapped into. Of course, with many clusters making an alternative arrangement away from the Gencos, discos and TCN, the nation will be the better for it. And if there is improvement in the economy and inflation is tamed, the subsidy regime in the electricity sector can also be removed so that investors would have the confidence to come into the sector with their investments.

    Also, on their part, the discos, with the support of the federal and state governments can concession some of their concession arears to private equity investors, where the model of Geometric Power Plant can be replicated. After all, it makes neither commercial nor common sense for Discos to hold onto large area where they are hamstrung to apply commercial tariffs because of regulations by NERC. So, where possible they can parcel out part of what they hold to other investors, and collaborate to make better returns on their investments.

    Read Also: Oyebanji unveils local fabrics hub for job creation in Ekiti

    Hopefully, the southeast would tap into the Geometric Power model, for the economic renaissance of the region, as promoted by vice president, Kashim Shettima, who represented PBAT at the commissioning of the power plant recently. Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, who signed the Enugu State Electricity Bill into law last September, has promised to play in the generation, transmission, and distribution segments of the market. We await his style of play.

    Luckily for Abia State, they now have Governor Alex Otti, who understands how to make the state prosper, unlike the consumerism of the previous eras. As I have argued on other occasions, there is need for collaboration within regions. Hopefully, the Southeast Development Commission, if it becomes a reality, can tap into the burgeoning electricity market, and help reincarnate the region as an economic power house.

  • Neglected federal police

    Neglected federal police

    A heart-rending armed robbery experience of a professor friend led us to the police to seek for help only to discover that the police themselves need help. But before the tale about the damning neglect of the police which this column hopes would change under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT), let me share the story of my friend’s encounter with armed robbers which should interest the governments, law enforcement agencies and the general public. 

    My friend, a university professor was mopping up funds from all possible sources to help his son meet the financial requirements to migrate to Canada as a professional. To make things a bit easier, the monies where accumulated into one of his current account which has an internet banking application. According to him, he had planned to do the transaction with the accumulated funds last Friday, but shifted the business to this week’s Monday.

    The professor after working till about midnight went to bed, hoping to rise early in the morning to tidy up his papers. Around 2am, he was rudely woken up, with a gun pointed at him and his wife, by young men most likely in their mid-twenties. They were advised to cooperate, and bring out all the dollars in the house to avoid being hurt. Speaking in his native dialect, he asked the wife lying beside him, whether she did not lock the doors, and she said she did.

    When asked by the robbers what he said to her, he replied he was asking her to calm down and cooperate with them. The robbers numbering about five took time to search through the entire rooms of their children, who have all outgrown the house. While two of the robbers were searching other places, two were in his room interrogating him and searching his room. They asked for his ATM cards, after which they asked for the pin numbers.

    The fifth person with a POS was meticulously reconfirming the pin numbers against the cards, and recording them. Using accounts of the professor’s recent transactions, the robbers made minor transfers to reconfirm the authenticity of the pin numbers. With a few hot slaps, the professor gave out all the correct pin numbers. The robbers moved to his study and after searching for dollars, carried his laptops, and most-maliciously took all the hard discs containing researches and other materials saved in the past 20 years.         

    The robbers who climbed into the compound through the barbed back fence abutting the Festac Town canal, clinically removed the window burglary irons to climb into the house. Around 5am, after a gruelling three hours forced rendezvous, the robbers went out through the back door and the gate abutting the canal, without the house security man and neighbours being aware of their visit. In addition to some cash, ATM cards, wines, wrist watches, the robbers also took along a bag of rice. By the time professor and his wife were able to reach their son few minutes after the robbers left, for him to block the accounts, six million naira had been taken from two accounts.

    Five million was wired from Access Bank which had a limit of one million per day to UBA, and from there to an Opay account. Another one million left UBA to the same UBA account that received the haul from Access. From the professor’s experience, potential victims of armed robbery do not need to have cash at home to be robbed, with the largely untraceable online bankers, without office address, as unaccountable receiver-managers. Dazed and traumatized, he proceeded to the police to lodge a report.

    At the police station, he narrated his ordeal, and a sympathetic head of division told us that the FESTAC canal has become an albatross as a number of robberies have taken place along the axis. When I enquired what the police is doing about the burgeoning axis of crime, he said he has alerted the marine police, but they are hamstrung with no boats to patrol the waters. Further enquiries later about the state of police welfare opened the Pandora box. From multiple sources, I was informed that the police buy their uniforms and other official gears.

    The stations pay their electricity bills, and for alternative power, buy their own generator and fuel it. To pursue the necessary court order for Post No Debit on the indicted accounts, costs have to be incurred, and there are no budgetary allocations. The police lamented the nefarious activities perpetrated by internet robbers with the aid of so-called banks like Opay, which are regarded as online banks. We were told of several atrocities such online banks have helped fraudsters to perpetrate without trace.

    Read Also: Southwest speakers demand state police, power devolution

    The so-called online banks are opened with phone numbers, without the rigorous requirements of personal information associated with opening of bank accounts in registered banks. The online banks operate like bees which sting and fly away. Even before making efforts which would cost the victim some costs, the police were honest that the chances of recovering the monies were slim. They said if it were the regular banks, the recipient can easily be traced, but not an online banker.

    Ruminating over the ongoing political and legislative effort to decentralize the police structure, one wonders whether the fate of the federal police would get better or worse, after. It is strange that 25 years after the return of democratic rule, the police have not fared better that their experience under military rule. Under the military, the common belief is that the police are intentionally undermined, so as to justify the military doing police work and showcasing superiority. They are also supposedly undermined so that they will not be in a position to prevent military coups.

    If there were reasons to undermine the police during the military regimes, what are the reasons for underfunding and undermining the police during the two and half decades of civilian governments, since 1999? It is absolutely ridiculous that policemen have to buy their uniforms, maintain and fuel their operational vehicles, and incur other operational costs, and yet are expected to be efficient in the discharge of their duties. It is perhaps such debasing working conditions that make the policemen prefer to work for the big-men, who give them extra pecks for doing houseboy work.

    While working to gift the nation a decentralized police, the federal government must also fund the existing police reasonably. One wonders the fate of policemen in rural areas, if those in the urban centres are suffering the listed deprivations. While funding is a major constraint, the age-long neglect appears more as a premeditated determination to gift the nation an inefficient police, to allow the criminality amongst the ruling class, whether military or civilian, to fester.

  • Cost of governance vs cost of living

    Cost of governance vs cost of living

    Nigerians are going through harrowing times, and I believe the elected officials have taken notice. With food inflation roaring at 29.9 percent, many are predicting that the country is a tinderbox, and could descend into anarchy at the slightest ignition. My younger nephew, who has witnessed the price of basic groceries double in the past six months, asked me whether the prices would ever come down. Lacking the power of clairvoyance, I replied that I don’t know.

    But it appears that our political leaders know that there is fire on the mountain and unless drastic measures are taken, there may be no office to hold, if anarchy is loosened upon the land. One sign that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) took notice some months ago was his directive that the number of those who travel with him should be reduced. Another sign that some federal lawmakers have taken notice is the proposal by 60 parliamentarians to return Nigeria to parliamentary system of government, arguing that the presidential system is too expensive.

    While the two indicators show a concerned political class, there is little doubt that the executive and legislative arms of government hold the key to a new Nigeria. PBAT should consider setting up a presidential economic advisory council, drawn from the best hands that are available in Nigeria and overseas, to advise the president’s economic team on measures to halt the spiralling inflation that has made a mess of the lives of Nigerians. Such group would advise the team on how to stabilize the value of naira.

    Of course, no one is projecting for a group of economic miracle workers, but obviously, those presently in charge need help. Agreeably, there are global economic challenges ravaging most economies across the world, but Nigeria’s case is peculiar, considering the gross economic misadventures of the immediate past government, especially the monetary policies of Godwin Emefiele’s era. Apart from the unprecedented exposure of the apex bank, through ways and means, the CBN became a lender of first resort, doling out trillions to any group that caught Emefiele’s fancy.

    Perhaps, if the CBN is a licensed commercial bank, and its exposures are audited, it could go into receivership. Already overexposed, under the previous regime, the bank has become too weak to intervene on behalf of the federation, which is the primary reason for its existence. So, the challenge facing our national economy requires a pooling of ideas. Furthermore, the PBAT policies on housing, roads and other physical infrastructure projects that would put monies in the hands of labourers, artisans and less skilled persons, should start without further delay.

    The state governments which have received windfalls from the removal of fuel subsidy should turn their states to construction sites, so that their citizens can be engaged in pursuits that bring income to them. All over the states, there are roads, schools, hospitals and public buildings that requires patching, rebuilding, reconstruction and improvement which would keep their citizens meaningfully engaged, as well as increase their gross domestic productivity. Local contractors who use large manpower should gain priority in this era, over sophisticated big guns.

    This is not an era for all those big ticket projects like airports that put money in the hands of big contractors, who bring in expatriates to repatriate the money paid, and who don’t employ a lot of manpower but rather engine power and imported products to build fanciful monuments. Patriotic contractors who have been awarded big road projects should be encouraged to reduce machine input, while they increase human input, even if the delivery periods would have to be extended.

    Local government administrators should replicate similar industry at the local levels. Instead of sharing local government allocations to placate party stalwarts and engaging in dismal economic activities, the monies received should be channelled to infrastructure developments which will keep the people meaningfully engaged. The executive arm can engage in needs assessment of communities, mobilize the youths to work, while the state commissioners, and local council supervisors monitor the projects, sign completion certificates and ensure disbursements from relevant ministries and finance departments.

    On their part, the federal legislators should declare austerity for themselves. This column has written severally that considering the importance of the legislature as the blood of democracy, a compromised legislature is like a cancer in the blood of the political system. Such a legislature, instead of engaging in oversight functions, seeks filthy lucre from the activities they are supposed to oversight. As the engine room of the checks and balances that strengthen democracy, a compromised legislature rather becomes a vampire that sucks life out of the political system.

    So, while awaiting debate on the proposal to return Nigeria to parliamentary democracy, the National Assembly should shave what they have appropriated to themselves in flagrant disobedience to the provision of Third Schedule Part 1N (d) of the 1999 constitution (as amended), which provides that their salaries and emoluments should be determined by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission. This column believes that if they can turn a new leaf, they can effectively oversight the executive arm, where the bulk of the nation’s resources are spent.

    Read Also: Economic hardship: Tinubu inherited a failed economy – Gbenga Daniel

    The same role should be applicable to the state and local government legislative authorities. While most of the state legislatures have not shown the daring courage of the federal legislature to forcefully take a chunk of the available resources for themselves, they lack the courage to oversight the executive arms, as provided by the constitution. Many of them are just docile, awaiting the directive of the governors, for which side to turn their legislative heads. The result is that most governors are tin despots, with the requisite checks and balances that breed effectiveness lacking.

    While this column trusts the capacity of PBAT and his team to turn around the debilitating economic challenges we face as a nation, it admonishes that time is of essence. The regime must know that it has many political enemies, who are eager to conflate their political interests with the economic challenges faced by the masses. If they have the opportunity they would ignite fire to burn down the country, believing they are burning down PBAT’s regime.  Hunger, desperation and hopelessness on the part of the poor and downtrodden can be exploited.

    So, the president, state governors and local government administrators must join forces to pursue developmental programs to end the spiralling poverty ravaging the land. It would be a monumental tragedy if the country is allowed to burn down in an orgy of angry protests. The debilitating pains in the street, coupled with the harsh weather condition, are a cocktail for disaster. Those who don’t care about the country must not be handed over the initiative, to turn the country upside down.

  • Football feeds the soul

    Football feeds the soul

    There are many who can forgo food for football. Children especially. But as the Nigerian-South African semi-final match which Nigeria won from the valley of death showed, football not only feeds the soul, but also makes a banquet of it. One can say that the souls of four Nigerians were barbecued in the tension-soaked semi-final match. We pray for the repose of their souls in the line of duty as lovers of football and country. 

    One wonders how much the great exploits of Super Eagles may have helped to ameliorate the hunger ravaging Nigerians. While the tournament lasted, there is no doubt that the Super Eagles fed the souls of Nigerians, and one wonders what impact winning the cup would have had on Nigerians, if the Eagles had devoured the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire? But sadly, Nigeria lost at the finals.

    With football gone, will the souls of Nigerians return to the grinding impacts of poverty and hunger ravaging the land? Luckily, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) has ordered the release of grains and rice to ameliorate the challenges, and one looks forward to fall in the prices of these essential commodities. With the price of rice at nearly N70,000 for 50 kg, what happened to the rice pyramid that former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, regaled Nigerians with?

    Could it be that those bags contained pebbles, not rice? At the official launch, cynics had claimed that all the gra-gra about self-sufficiency in rice production was a fluke. But even if it wasn’t, could it be that the long years of insecurity ravaging the northern Nigeria and the abandoned rice paddies have been bearing fruits? With the insecurity not yet abating, should Nigerians brace up for longer years of hunger?

    Read Also; Food inflation a global phenomenon – Bwala

    Surely, this writer wished that the Super Eagles had won the Nation’s Cup, considering how close they came to embracing the tape. This is despite not giving them much chance at the beginning, with their lacklustre performance in recent matches. Their poor showing during the World Cup qualifiers dampened our souls, but surprisingly it was lifted at the Nations Cup.

    The success of the Ivoirians has shown the capability of African coaches, when compared to their foreign counterparts. Interim manager of the Elephants, Emerse Fae, who replaced the sacked coach, Jean Louis Gasset, who finished third in the qualifying stage, showed what indigenous coaches can do.  Similarly, the late Nigerian coach, Steven Keshi, took over a demoralized Eagles and went ahead to win the 2013 AFCON Cup, in South Africa. So, are there special spices that African coaches know which foreign coaches don’t know when it matters?

    The story of Emerse Fae’s triumph will make a good subtitle in the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series. It is absolutely stunning. The president of Cote D’Ivoire, Alassan Quattara, was all smiles as his soul soaked in the success. The $1 million the country spent to host the tournament turned a good investment. Sharing that huge amount amongst citizens could never have fed the souls of Ivoirians, the way success at the tournament did.

    Arguably, nothing could bring such spontaneous elixir to the people as football. The joy of winning is exhilarating, and the nation’s other challenges are temporarily forgotten while the joy lasts. For a fractured country like Nigeria, football appears to be the common menu across religions, tribes and regions. There are no demands for national character or ethnic balancing. At the football banquet, no one is bounced for failing to turn in a peculiar garment.

    The national dress code is uniform and the colour is green and white. Everyone speaks in tongue, like at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and each understand the other in his native language. Whether Hausa, Ibo, Yoruba, Ibibio, Kanuri, or Idoma, all stand wound together on one tapestry. They kick, cringe, embrace, shout, and exhale, in solidarity to one another, without remembering that tongue and tribe differ. Football turns Nigerians into one huge keg of smoothies.

    One wonders why we cannot gain such smoothness in managing the affairs of the country. Sadly, any attempt to blend a common national interest, when it comes to deciding what is best for Nigeria is waylaid by her political elites. While insecurity is ravaging every part of Nigeria, there is no agreement on what basic steps to take, to cure it. When an attack is carried out against others, some wait to hear the names of the attackers, to know whether they should be called criminals or victims.

    In the farmers and herders’ clashes, the same persons are villains who kidnap, steal, kill and destroy to some, while to others there are victims whose cattle path to pasture and water has been appropriated, and so deserves sympathy. Former president, Muhammadu Buhari called for the love of the enemies, when the issue of pastoralists is involved. He ignored those calling him ethnic irredentist in choosing those to be anointed to positions while he was president. But football is never a victim of such cleavages.

    Perhaps that is why the nation succeeds more in football than in other national endeavours. The worship of the god of football does not discriminate like in other religions. The god of football is not jealous of other gods, and no one is regarded as an infidel or unbeliever at the altar of worship. The offering for sacrifice is acceptable, as long as it would aid cooking of the banquet for the nation.

    At the start of every half of the match, the players gather and in one brotherhood offer acts of supplication. This writer wonders when the nation will learn from the players and observe the basic principles that united we stand and divided we fall. In the Nigerian political space, many are yet to accept PBAT as the chief priest. His every step is questioned. His motive is challenged. Threats are offered in place of reasoning together.

    Amidst the confusion, hunger is gnawing at our intestines. The price of basic groceries has doubled, while bread has quadrupled. Making a list before going to the market serves no purpose anymore. You will not buy all the necessaries; rather you will buy what your money can pay for. Conducting a market survey in advance is irrelevant, as the prices change twice or thrice every week. This column wonders whether the players were changing their appearance fees the way inflation was eating up the value of the fees.

    The challenges facing the nation are enormous, and many have called for restructuring as the silver bullet. One hopes such a talk shop will not be another temporal elixir like football. While football had fed our souls, we need food for the stomach. But, what will save the nation is the spirit of football.

  • State police as panacea

    State police as panacea

    With national security on tenterhooks, the call for state police is getting more stringent. In the past few weeks, a day hardly passes without the nation being assailed by news of a heart-rending security breach. Kidnapping, banditry, arson, and killings have become the order of the day. Those engaged in the dastardly acts attack school children, traditional rulers, women, men, rural and urban folks and they make ritual, money and meat of them.

    Recently, governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) joined the call for state police. It is interesting that now the All Progressive Congress (APC) is in charge, PDP is asking for state police, but from the era of Olusegun Obasanjo to Goodluck Jonathan which spanned 16 years, the call for state police was ignored by the then ruling party. Not long ago, former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, who abused those that called for state police when he was in power, also called for state police to stem the worsening insecurity in the country.

    Of course, in the PDP era, the opposition party was in the forefront in calling for state police. Now that a coalition of some of the opposition parties under the rubric of APC is in power, the party hierarchy has not officially called for state police. So, instead of just arguing for state police, as has been done here severally in the past, this column asks, is there any reason why the party in power is usually not excited about the call for state police?

    Conversely put, is it a mere political gimmick for opposition parties to call for state police? Again put in another way, are there things those in the corridors of power know that they don’t tell the rest of us? For if there is nothing untoward with state police, now that repentant PDP has called for state police, when the former opposition coalition is now in power, a constitutional amendment to allow other layers of police structure should be a walkover.

    In the 9th National Assembly, the constitutional amendment to provide for state police was defeated. Many states in the northern part of the country stringently opposed the attempt to amend the constitution to allow state police. Yet, the Northern Governors Forum, in the twilight of Buhari’s administration in 2022, called for the amendment of the constitution to incorporate state police. The call was at the height of grave insecurity in the northwest and north-central. Interestingly, despite the support for state police by a panel set up by the ruling APC, headed by then governor, Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State, the National Assembly controlled by his party could not pass the amendment. Of course, many PDP controlled states which are now openly clamouring for state police voted against the amendment.

    Perhaps, the call for state police comes seasonally. Arguably, with respect to the safety of lives and properties, the dry season has become a dangerous season in Nigeria. In the past decade or so, the tragic clash between farmers and herders heightens during the dry season. Especially, under the immediate past regime of President Buhari, killings, arsons, dispossession of land, cattle rustlings and kidnapping turned to a national nightmare during the season. Many have associated the tragic order of the season to the determined effort by armed herdsmen to have temporal or permanent access to pasture and water.

    In this first dry season under PBAT, perhaps with the state security agencies including the police, army, local vigilantes, and state owned security organs rediscovering their heft against the armed herdsmen, as demonstrated in Plateau State last week, there has been a reduction in outright farmers and herders clash, but an increase in kidnapping for ransom and killings. Could there be a link in the transition from clash to access pasture and water, to kidnapping for ransom or killings as punishment? To worsen the situation, urban cities, including the federal capital, Abuja, have not been spared in the new wave of kidnapping and killings.

    The past week, has been tragic for Ekiti State and Ekitis in Kwara State. Traditional rulers and school children appear to have been targeted in the new wave of killings. In the structure and hierarchy of state functionaries, the position of traditional rulers is rather pathetic, on security issues. When there is security breach in communities, the state functionaries lean on them to proffer localized solution. Many of them have been threatened with deposition, by state governors and local government authorities, over security challenges in their domain; yet they are ill-equipped structurally to offer any remedy.

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    The two Ekiti monarchs murdered were reportedly returning from a security meeting when they were ambushed and murdered in cold blood. Significantly, with no personal security protection, they are soft targets unlike the other state actors at state and local government levels who are usually guarded by well-armed police. Sometimes, the traditional rulers are accused of condoning criminals in their community as if they are equipped to challenge the armed marauders. Of course, there are a few of them who either for personal gains or intimidation, succumb to the antics of the criminals.

    To stave-off the descent into anarchy, there is need for a national conversation and consensus on how to tackle the worsening insecurity in our dear country. The pre-eminent socio-cultural organizations in the southwest, southeast, south-south, and north-central have severally called for restructuring and state police. With two traditional rulers murdered and defrocked by alleged herdsmen in PBAT’s homestead, there is increased anger and frustration amongst the people. As if to give a vent to the capacity of the state or regional police, the Amotekun corps from Ondo State has reportedly routed the killer herdsmen in Ekiti.

    Eminent citizens, including Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, have recently lent their voice for state police. On his part, Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, has argued for wholesome constitutional amendment to incorporate state police. This column hopes the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) has not withdrawn its support for state police now that it is a possibility with PBAT in charge. If they withdraw their support, then calls for state police may be a political gimmick by state actors. Intriguingly, in the past week, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, argued against state police under the current revenue allocation formula.

    While Nigerians await the position of the 10th National Assembly, on the thorny issue of state police, and the collaborative stance of the required two-third states, to amend section 214, as provided by section 9, of the 1999 constitution (as amended), there is an urgent need for a solution to safeguard lives of Nigerians. For this column, the days ahead will show whether the political class are merely taking non-sate actors on a melancholy ride.

  • Senator Ndume as metaphor

    Senator Ndume as metaphor

    What ails Nigeria’s political leadership is the dearth of statesmen, and Ali Ndume, senate chief whip, epitomized that symptom the past week. Relegating his higher responsibility as a senator of the federal republic to the backseat, he projected himself as a northern irredentist. He gleefully claimed in a televised interview that transferring a parastatal of the aviation ministry and few departments in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), from Abuja to Lagos, amounted to anti-northern posturing by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s (PBAT) administration, warning that there would political consequences.

    The senator chose to ignore the sound reasons offered by CBN that “this initiative aims to ensure compliance with building safety standards and enhance the efficient utilization of our office space.” The bank reported that while the floor space was designed for 2700 personnel, the building is currently housing 4,233, and building controlling authorities have warned against the abuse. On its part, the Minister of Aviation announced that FAAN, which until 2020, was operating from Lagos, the hub of airliners, would return to their empty office space, instead of wasting public funds on rented apartment in Abuja.

    In pursuit of his narrow agenda, it never occurred to Ndume that by his stance, he was telling the rest of Nigerians that the claim that Abuja belongs to all Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic differences, is a ruse. He was in essence parroting that what guides his responsibility as the chief whip of the senate, is northern or even narrower interests, and not national interest. He was telling those who nominated or elected him as chief whip that he can never rise above parochial interest, damn common good.

    By rising to the defence of a few employees of the CBN and FAAN, Ndume was lending credence to the claims in the past that privileged Nigerians were flooding federal agencies and parastatals with their wards, while they lie to the rest of Nigerians that there was a ban on employment. It is such self-serving interests by power brokers that must have compelled the CBN to over employ such that a building designed to cater for 2,700 number of users, is now housing as many as 4,233.

    To protect the interest of the privileged few, the safety of the entire users was damned by the previous administrators of the CBN and by extension the presidency. As happens in the protection of parochial interests, Ndume is willing to risk the lives of entire CBN staff in Abuja, to promote his irredentism. But, a scratch of his promoted interest in the public domain, may show that it is his personal interest that he clothes as northern interest.

    It is possible he has a ward, some friends, or few relations that would be affected by the movement of the departments, or he merely wants to be seen as the protector of northern interests. Knowing that he cannot defend his opposition, against the sound administrative and economic reasons offered by the authorities, he chose to resort to base ethnic sentiment. But Ndume is not alone in pursuit of such narrow interest, which is at the heart of our nation’s underdevelopment.

    Whether as individuals or as groups, many leaders at the helm of affairs have little regard to national interest. But they smartly cloth their self-serving interests as national, tribal, regional or other group interests, and the undiscerning public jump on the bandwagon. One example is Farouk Lawan, formerly of the House of Representative, whose jail sentence was affirmed recently by the Supreme Court. One recalls that at the height of his public posturing, Farouk presented himself as an ultra-nationalist, determined to bring probity and transparency into public office.

    Back then, he was usually clothed in his white agbada, pontificating on how he and his ad hoc committee members were going to rid the fuel subsidy regime of the evil of corruption. Many swore that he represented the best of nationalists, but alas, all that posturing was to position himself to extort maximally from his victims. If not that Femi Otedola was his match, and exposed him for who he truly is, who knows what position of authority he would be occupying in government presently. 

    The same can be said of the recently disgraced governor of apex bank, Godwin Emefiele. At the height of his public posturing, he pontificated that his policies were the best thing to happen to the nation’s economy. While promoting his personal interest, including the ill-fated presidential ambition, he projected himself as the nation’s economic champion. He bestrode macro and micro economy of the country like a colossus. Until the bubble bust, many would swear that he was working for the best interest of Nigerians.

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    So, Ndume is not alone in creating a public illusion of his persona. In crying out against a mere routine administrative action, by the CBN and Ministry of Aviation, the self-serving Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) claimed the action was geared to underdeveloped the northern region of the country. Beclouded by parochial interests, they ignored the reasons offered by the authorities for the relocation. They rather stoked ethnic sentiments, and pushed the narrative that Abuja is a northern enclave rather than the Federal Capital Territory.

    Joining the bandwagon, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum also claimed that the administrative decisions were geared to the disadvantage of the northern region. Unfortunately, while pursuing a narrow agenda, they were claiming to be working for a national inclusiveness. According to them, since Abuja was chosen to promote national cohesion, the head offices of all federal government agencies must therefore operate only from Abuja. This column calls on their leaders to rethink such strategy, in the promotion of northern interest. 

    It also asks Ndume to review his aggressive pursuit of his political interests. The threatening of PBAT with political consequences, was debasing of his long standing in the National Assembly, first as a two-term member of the House of Representatives, and presently four-terms as a distinguished senator. He ought to know that the underdevelopment in the northern part of the country is not as a result of where the parastatals and agencies of government are located. Rather it is the mismanagement of the enormous resources the region had benefitted.

    If development results from mere political brinkmanship or siting of public offices, the northern part of the country would have been much more developed that the southern part. Part of the major challenge of the region, is the tragic sense of entitlement, which hinders the benefits of competitiveness. Ndume, should use his remaining years in the senate to promote national cohesion, opportunities for the teeming youth population and development of all parts of Nigeria. A united and prosperous Nigeria, will benefit the northern region more than where a few federal government offices are situated.  

  • Tinubu serenades southeast

    Tinubu serenades southeast

    Just before the re-election battle which Governor Hope Uzodimma won last year, this column had enthused in a piece titled: APC hopes on Imo: “No doubt, the people of Imo State would fare better, if the ruling party in the state, is the same as the one at the centre, more so, with the acclaimed performance of the incumbent governor, Hope Uzodimma.” Apparently, the people listened, as they resoundingly returned the governor during the November 11, 2023, gubernatorial election.

    Uzodimma won with a total of 540,308 votes, which is much more than the 127,370 votes garnered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, from the entire southeast at last year’s presidential election. As a political strategist, PBAT may have taken note of the invitation ad offerendum (inviting an offer), and has rewarded Governor Uzodimma and the people of the region with a presidential presence at the inauguration ceremony last week. This column had called for such rapprochement, after the Supreme Court victory of PBAT, in a piece titled: Southeast geopolitical interests.

    Tracing the disenchantment that propelled the vote harvest of the Labour Party and the potentials for PBAT presidency, the column said: “no doubt, the disillusioned electorate and the disaffected elites from the southeast region can be harvested for good or for bad, depending on the poaching skills.” It went further: “as the Tinubu era starts in earnest, following the Supreme Court verdict, the southeast political elite should engage in strategic analysis of the short and long term geopolitical interests of the region.”

    It concluded: “perhaps, the time for the much touted handshake across the Niger has come.” So, watching PBAT in his white attire with a befitting red cap stretching out his hand to acknowledge the two-handed clasp of former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the Dan Anyiam stadium, the venue of the inauguration ceremony of Hope Uzodimma’s second tenure, I acknowledged that PBAT has reaffirmed his masterly of political strategy. Presidents usually attend the inauguration of fellow presidents, but last week, despite a very busy schedule, PBAT darted to Owerri, Imo State, to reassure the southeast.

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    While the visit had the larger significance of giving hope to the southeast by identifying with Hope Uzodimma, who is arguably the preeminent leader of the southeast in the larger APC family, it was also a master counter strategy to have Obasanjo in attendance. Of major significance, Obasanjo had few days earlier held a meeting with the Ohaneze Ndigbo, the preeminent socio-cultural group in the southeast. This writer had ruminated privately after the media report that Obasanjo is posturing as a sympathizer of the region.

    While he may be, it was strategic for the president to also publicly show that he loves the people as much as, if not better than, the former president. In the mind game, the people of the region, seeing for themselves that in the present dispensation, the love from PBAT is more rewarding than that from Obasanjo, should make an informed opinion of which lover to go to bed with. For clearly, the jostle for 2027 is already afoot, and Obasanjo is hoping to have the last laugh, after the failed attempt to scuttle PBAT’s emergence as president in 2023.

    In his address, PBAT called for unity of purpose to achieve more. He said: “I am glad we are showing to be a very united country and moving forward. The relative peace that you are enjoying here will be better and we will work hard with you to achieve that peace. Before now, every one of us was enveloped in fear to come to Imo State, but today Imo is safe and ready for business.” He went further: “what we learned from this is for us to work together, join hands and pay attention to our internal security.”

    PBAT is no doubt making a deliberate effort to reconcile the southeast with the APC political family, and that should yield result. Unlike his predecessor, he ensured that despite poor showing in the votes from the region, the region has Hon. Benjamin Kalu, as the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. Also, they are ably represented in national security apparatchik by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla. Again, Dave Umahi, the former governor of Ebonyi State, as minister for works, is heading one of the most important ministries.

    With PBAT playing the right politics in the southeast, there is the need for the governors of the region to latch on to the emerging economic opportunities of the administration for the well-being of the people. This column is unhappy that nothing has been heard since, after the Economic and Security Summit attended by the governors in Owerri, in October, last year. In a piece after that meeting titled: Southeast reawakening, this column had praised the proposed South East Economic Development Fund, announced by the state governors.

    While no one expects the fund to be in place, already, there should be clear signs that what happened in Owerri was not another talk shop. In her remarks at that summit, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala bemoaned lack of unity amongst governors as the reason why similar efforts did not yield much result. This column hopes that similar trends have not set in, with every governor going his own way, despite the difficult macroeconomic challenges affecting even the world economy.

    The governors should understand that under such difficult macroeconomic conditions, the economy of scale would be an advantage. One manifest area for collaborative effort should be the power generation and distribution sector, after all, they are already grouped together in the diseased privatization programme of former president, Goodluck Jonathan, with regards to distribution. Thankfully, the Electricity Act 2023, which replaced the Electricity and Power Reforms Act 2005, has unbundled the over-centralization policies of the past, and so, the governors should set up a think tank on how states can individually and collectively benefit from the new law.

    The governors of southeast ought to know that the deindustrialization of the region is one of the reasons for the rise in armed conflicts and general insecurity in the region. While trading in imported goods brings prosperity to a few, trading in goods manufactured within the region would bring greater prosperity to the greatest number. To achieve prosperity for all, the twin challenges of insecurity and availability of electricity must be solved, as quickly as possible. Neither can be achieved without a collaborative effort of the governors and the people of the region. 

    As the southeast proverb says, one can decipher the taste of the soup from the aroma. Since PBAT is preaching a renewed hope agenda, and has shown signs of seriousness, this column urges southeast political leadership and people to take necessary steps to tap into it.

  • Kidnapping in southeast

    Kidnapping in southeast

    During the Christmas holiday, while in the southeast, I heard some stories about kidnapping which I wish to share here, hoping it will elicit actions from the security agencies. The first is that some locals are collaborating with kidnapper herdsmen, who still operate freely in the region. A senior citizen told me of how at a meeting of Imezi-Owa/Eke/Oghe security committee, with police and Fulani leaders, they were told by the latter that their renegade members operate in concert with local associates who provide information on potential lucrative victims and their movement. Obviously, the Imezi-Owa/Eke/Oghe axis is their playground.

    The second is that some turncoat military personnel manning checkpoints connive with and condone the nefarious activities of the kidnappers. A kidnap took place, on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, within Imezi-Owa axis, and shortly after an escapee alerted the local vigilante, which quickly mobilized in hot pursuit of the bandits. As the armed vigilantes were closing on the kidnappers, they were stopped as they tried to cross the old Enugu-Onitsha road, within Udi axis, where there is a military checkpoint. All efforts to get the military personnel to assist in pursuing the criminals were rebuffed. 

    The military personnel also reportedly warned the vigilante squad not to cross the road in pursuit of the bandits, otherwise “they would be wasted”. Sensing affinity between the military men and the kidnapper herdsmen, the vigilante squad turned and went back the way they came. A similar incident reportedly happened along the Ugwogo-Nike to Opi-Nsukka road, a popular den for kidnapper herdsmen. After a kidnap incident, escapees ran to a nearby military checkpoint to request the soldiers to quickly intervene to save the kidnapped victims.

    The escapees were reportedly told by the military men that they needed to get approval from their headquarters before they can leave their checkpoint. The three incidents show that kidnapping in the region is festering with some local content. It is no longer criminal activity of herdsmen who invade from outside to destabilize the region. While originally, the invasion of herdsmen was to kill, main, destroy and incite national conflict, the offspring kidnapping, has become some form of commercial activity.

    The recent experience of high profile politician, Chris Uba, who was attacked in Anambra State, which claimed the lives of two policemen and four other persons, shows that the criminals operating in the southeast are emboldened and are very well armed. A friend from Abia State told me that a renegade IPOB group invaded his community last year, got everyone including the traditional ruler to swear an oath of secrecy, and thereafter operates from the community. When I asked why the people didn’t report to the police, he said similar attempt elsewhere resulted in ruthless reprisals. Some friends from Orlu, Imo State, stopped travelling for Christmas since 2021

    Moreover, following the attacks on rural police stations in 2022, many closed down, leaving the rural arears grossly under-policed. The state governments in the region, with the support of local communities, have since resorted to local vigilantes as alternative police. The challenge however is that the vigilantes are poorly armed, when compared to the killer herdsmen-kidnappers and their local collaborators. Again, there is the problem of sourcing the minimal arms they possess.

    In one incident, the arm possessed by one vigilante was traced as a stolen gun, and it took a lot of effort by the community to get the user released by the police. Of course, despite the best efforts of the state houses of assembly, across the federation, the vigilantes bear arms at the mercy of the federal government. By the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the Fire Arms Act, only the president or his authorized subordinate can authorize sub-national security agencies to bear arms.

    The clamours for state police as panacea to the insecurity in the states have not gained commendation from the present federal executive. Hopefully, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s (PBAT) Renewed Hope Agenda would address the issue of restructuring, including the thorny issue of state police, which many believe is key to ameliorating the challenges of insecurity across the country. As insecurity and criminal activities by armed non-state actors have become common phenomenon across regions, the need for state police is evident across the length and breadth of the country.

    This column hopes the emergence of new crop of leaders in the southeast would trigger a more collaborative effort in the region, especially with respect to security. It seems the new leaders, despite their differences in political alliances, appear more collaborative and transformational. In Enugu and Abia states, for instance, you have small men with big dreams. Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu, from the 2024 budget, surely has his eyes on transforming the state from what is derisively referred to as civil service state, to medium economic power, amongst states in the country.

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    Under the previous administrations, governors in the region could not make much progress with their regional security project, called Ebubeagu. Even before it was fully conceptualized, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) hijacked the project and started a caricature. They could not even meet together, as the former governor of Anambra State, Willy Obiano, accused an unnamed colleague of engendering insecurity in his state. It was only Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, the current minister of works, who trudged on to form Ebubeagu in his state, albeit amidst controversies.    

    So, to stem kidnapping and other forms of insecurity in the southeast region, the governors need to collaborate, and pull resources together to deal with the challenges. Luckily, they have in power, a president who has foresworn to change the trajectory of governance in the country for the better. PBAT though an astute politician, has shown that he is determined to ensure the progress of the country under his care. The fears of the previous era, where commissioners of police for instance, were sent to states with dubious agenda seem to have ended under the leadership of IGP Kayode Egbetokun. 

    One area the federal police and vigilantes should collaborate is intelligence gathering and dissemination. There should be a reporting line, between vigilantes and police, which can be monitored and accessed. With operational guideline, the interdependence will ensure greater efficiency. The federal authorities can also embed intelligence officers amongst the police and military men sent to man checkpoints in the region. The stories of alleged collaboration with kidnappers which I was regaled with are heart-rending. And the complainants see the security men as occupying forces.

    Finally, it is hoped that enhancing efficient security architecture forms part of the grand plan of Governor Peter Mbah? For not much progress can be made in an unsecure environment.

  • New year resolutions for leaders

    New year resolutions for leaders

    We begin the year, by urging Nigerian leaders in politics, economy, religion, and society to introspect and make resolutions to lead better in 2024. While on holiday, one question that I was asked severally by those who know about my exertions in this column, was whether Nigeria would ever be great again? When I answer affirmatively, those who knew that I supported the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT), lampoon me about the state of the nation.

    They point at the economy, insecurity, and social disharmony, and ask whether anything good can ever come from an APC-led administration? Despite my affirmation, some adjudge that while Buhari put a heavy yoke on them, Tinubu has added to the yoke, and they say that while Buhari chastised them with whip, Tinubu is chastising them with scourge. Every effort to sift the chaff from the grain and explain that Tinubu needs time to clear the Augean stable left by the previous administrations is derided as mere propaganda.

    Of course, the economic indices lend credence that majority of Nigerians are in distress. Food inflation, leads the pack of challenges that political and economic leaders, must wrestle to the ground in the new year. At above 30%, it is a miracle that Nigerians are not dropping dead on the streets because of hunger, or are they? The last quarter of the year was particularly assaulting, as food inflation reached 32.84% in November, forcing the national inflation rate to 27.3%, an 18-year-high.

    With an estimated 88.4 million Nigerians living in extreme poverty in 2022, that means that there was an increase in the number of Nigerians who could not afford one meal in 2023, when their leaders live in affluence. While grappling with multi-dimensional poverty, they are assailed with the news that the National Assembly has approved a N28.77 trillion budget for 2024. Many had asked me if it is not better that the approved budget is shared, so that everyone can manage his or her entitlement as he/she deems fit.

    Any explanation that the nation’s budget of about $34 billion is not enough for the amorphous responsibilities facing the country is met with disdain. And before further effort to break down the responsibilities which the budgeted expenses cannot not meet, one is assailed by allegations of monumental corruption in the Ministry of Social Development, Disaster Management, and Humanitarian Affairs. While the former Minister under President Buhari, Sadiya Umar-Farouk, is under investigation by the EFCC, the current minister Betty Edu has just been suspended over allegations of corruption.

    How those in government feel comfy to mismanage resources earmarked to lift suffering Nigerians from poverty should assail any person with any sense of moral rectitude. Does it mean that those concerned have no worry about consequences of their misbegotten actions? Have they no fears that the curses from these deprived fellows they have stolen from could harm them and their families? Have they no worries that there is a supernatural force that could punish them for their malevolent actions? And yet these fellows pretend to be faithful Christians and Muslims.  

    Tragically, while a lot of attention is focused on the federal government, the rot going on in the states and local governments are hardly noticed. Most state governors treat the state as a private fiefdom, and with weak state houses of assembly, the resources put in their care as a private chest. What happens in the state also replicates in the local councils, where once the interest of the governor is taken care of, the rest of the resources is shared like war booty.

    The governors sadly also treat the 1999 constitution with respect to the guarantee of democratically elected officials at the local government with levity. Section 7(1) provides succinctly: “The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the government of every state shall, subject to section 8 of this constitution, ensure their existence under a law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.” This clear provision is observed in breach across political parties and states, as if the constitution is inconsequential.

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    Sadly, in most states, where there is semblance of elections at the local government levels, what they practice is a caricature. Even within the same party, there is no trust, as we see in Ondo State. There, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa who was the deputy governor under late Rotimi Akeredolu is determined to ensure the departure of the caretaker chairman and councillors appointed before his emergence. In Benue State, Governor Hyacinth Alia is determined to sack the elected 23 local council chairmen and legislators, using the House of Assembly as a decoy.

    Interestingly, in the election held barely one year to the 2023 general election, which the ruling party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost, the former governor and his henchmen ensured PDP cleared all 23 local government areas council seats, as well as all 276 councillorship positions, beating the APC and other parties in the state. In the general election, Governor Samuel Ortom could not win his senate election, and his party was roundly beaten by the APC which is now trying to regain control of the councils through caretaker committees.     

    While the political leaders have no qualms about what is fair and just in their area of jurisdiction, buccaneers masquerading as economic leaders employ all means, fair or foul to advance their business interests. Whether in banking, telecommunications, airlines, food industry and other sundry businesses, the basic rules of fair trade are turned upside down. One glaring act of impunity is in the transportation sector, where both the land and air transporters choose to make a kill against travellers. This column is looking forward to the impact of PBAT’s laudable palliative for those who travelled by rail and motor transport during the yuletide.

    Strangely, air fares to the eastern part of the country during the yuletide were doubled and in some cases tripled by the airlines. The reasons for the discriminatory increases against travellers to eastern part of the country are not in the public domain. Of interest, Nigerians protest against such practices by foreign airlines within the country, but local airlines are freely practicing similar discriminatory practices within the country. Just like the airline operators, motor transporters also jacked up the cost of transportation during the yuletide.

    The ordinary Nigerian is also abused by religious and traditional leaders through sundry means. While religious leaders use fake prophecies to exploit the poor and the gullible, traditional leaders exploit them through all manner of levies. This column urges leaders across all strata to make resolutions to change for the better in 2024.