Category: Gabriel Amalu

At a meeting of the Attorneys General of the 36 states, held in Lagos, last week, some burning challenges of our tottering federation came to the fore. Unfortunately, the chief protagonist for the maintenance of the doddering status quo of a false federalism that Nigeria has been practicing since 1999 was the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, SAN, while the antagonists wh#ere led by the inimitable governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN.

Regrettably, despite the glaring inadequacies of the 1999 constitution (as amended), particularly with regards to the centralisation of police and economic activities in the hands of the federal government, her officials still prefer the maintenance of a status quo that has almost torpedoed our national stability. The evident debilitating national crisis as a result of the overconcentration of power at the centre was eloquently captured by Governor Akeredolu in his presentation.

In his keynote address, the governor captured the twin challenge of insecurity and debilitating economy, which he rightly laid at the altar of the quasi-unitary system we practice in the name of a federal republic. On security he said: “The current spate of insecurity in the country leaves us with no room for equivocation on the right of the states to maintain law and order through the establishment of state police.”

This column like other patriotic Nigerians has made similar interventions in the past on the need to de-centralise the police, if the country hopes to stem the security challenges facing it. Indeed, it is strange that despite the challenges faced by the underfunded federal police, those at the helm of affairs are hell bent on keeping the centralised police structure with all the challenges.

Even more benumbing is the fact that most of the 36 state governors, have at several instances called for state police to alleviate the grave insecurity that has made most of them inefficient, without any positive result. As far back as 2018, Governor Nasir El Rufai, one of the most influential northern governors in the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), argued in support of state police.

In his remarks to members of Course 40 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, he observed that “the current number of policemen in the country is grossly inadequate, there is need to double the number of police personnel.” He stated that nine of his colleagues were strongly in support of state police. The APC government in fulfilment of its electoral mandate set up the El Rufai committee on federalism in 2018, and among the recommendations was the establishment of state police.

It is shocking that barely a year to the end of the second tenure of the Buhari presidency, Governor Akeredolu is still arguing with the AGF over the same issue. Only last year, during his independence broadcast, the president made a promise to recruit 10,000 policemen annually, when he has not resolved the dispute between the Police Service Commission and the office of the Inspector General over who has the right to recruit.

Of course, the president has not fulfilled the 2018 promise on increase of salary for policemen, perhaps because of the economic challenges facing the nation. So, when states demand for the decentralisation of the police, the argument is sound, considering the challenges faced by the centralised police managed by the central government. One wonders why despite these glaring challenges, those in authority are determined to maintain the status quo.

The other issue raised by Governor Akeredolu is the overconcentration of economic activities in the hands of the central government, which again this column had railed against on many occasions. The governor lamented: “the federal government getting 52 per cent of the country’s revenue allocation is the main cause of the problem. There are some funds at the federal level that they don’t know what to do with. And the states and local governments are being starved. This is a direct consequence of long military rule.”

Again Akeredolu is right in the above assertion, but the bigger challenge is that the central government’s dominance of legal rights over economic activities, have made it impossible for states to engage in any meaningful economic activity. With 68 items in the Exclusive Legislative List reserved for the federal legislature, spanning all spheres of economic activity, the states are left with little of value, to deal with. Of course, the result is massive unemployment and grave insecurity across the land.

Interestingly, one of the main discussions at last week’s conference is the issue of Value Added Tax (VAT), which a Federal High Court has ruled should accrue to states, and not the federal government which has been reaping what does not belong to her. The judgment by Justice Stephen Dalypop Pam that Rivers State government and not Federal Inland Revenue Service is entitled to collect VAT had left the federal government squirming in conceit, and boast, to overturn the judgment on appeal.

Of course while the federal government is entitled to pursue its appeal, it should pause and think of the debilitating effect of its excessive dominance of economic activities across the country. One of the commonest effects of the lopsided Exclusive Legislative List is that many states which sit on huge mineral resources squirt in poverty and overdependence on the hand-outs from the federal government. The AGF is from one such poor state, Kebbi, which generate only about N4 billion annually in internal revenue despite its rich potentials.

Of note, the AGF purchased the form to run for the governorship primary of APC in Kebbi State but chickened out, when he was asked to resign before participating in the election. One wonders whether he would have changed his position on state police and devolution of economic powers to the states, if he succeeded at the primary and the main election. After all, former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who treated call for state police with contempt as president, has recently become an agitator for state police.

Perhaps, there are glad tidings for the twin debate over state police and devolution of powers to the states with the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as presidential candidate of the APC. As state governor, Tinubu was a strong advocate of true federalism, and he fought several battles with his then attorney general, and now vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. So, it is expected that if he wins the presidency, he will introduce executive bills to start our country on the march to modernity.

Our dear country cannot make any meaningful progress with the unitary structure imposed by the military in the name of a federal constitution, in 1999. Why AGF Abubakar Malami, SAN, cannot understand that fact, rankles this column.

An agent provocateur is defined as a person employed to induce others to break the law so that they can be convicted. Such a person(s) can precipitate an action which triggers a chain of reactions, which could have dire consequences for a group of people. He or she could be a member of a group in which the action and reaction takes place or he could belong to a competing interest group, who does the action to prompt the opponent group to react.

There are clearly such agent provocateurs at work trying to precipitate wars in Nigeria, in the past few years. Without argument, they lurk in large numbers in the northern part of the country, as ISWAP, Boko Haram, terrorists, kidnappers, cattle rustlers and the like. While these variant agents of war and destruction may not have a common agenda, they are likely hoping to gain from the anarchy they want to foist on the country. The kidnappers, cattle rustlers and similar groups may be interested merely in the immediate gain from their criminal activities.

Some pundits however argue that the potpourri of these incendiary elements form part of a common group with the agenda to foist a Fulani Islamic hegemony on the rest of the country. Indeed, some commentaries even claim that there are agent provocateur in government and the military, and that is why the war on terror in Nigeria is protracted. Again, they argue that while some of these military agents want immediate financial gains, some fight for the agenda to destabilise and occupy the Nigerian space.

In fairness to President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime, the Boko Haram which is the major agent provocateur in the north-eastern part of the country has been substantially contained. While there are occasional attacks on innocent civilians, the criminals are no longer foisting their flags across local governments like before, to show their presence. The ISWAP which for many Nigerians are one and the same with Boko Haram, are also no longer laying claims to regular successful atrocities to show their presence, as was common in the not too distant past.

But two recent incidents in the southern part of the country have precipitated a rash of arguments that the highly volatile criminal elements which hitherto operate in the northern part of the country have relocated to the southern part of the country to continue the agenda to destabilise, occupy and Islamize the rest of the country. There is also the lingering attacks in the southeast part of the country, which has left the governments and citizens debating over who, why, and what agenda.

The first incident was the kidnap of the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence, Samuel Uche Kalu, (and two other church ministers) who upon his release gave a startling revelation about the kidnappers’ operation. Shockingly within days, the second incident confirmed the alleged boast of the kidnappers when St Francis Catholic Church Owo, was attacked. According to some reports, the revered prelate revealed that his abductors are of Fulani stock, who had boasted that they are embedded in the forests of the southwest of Nigeria, fully armed, and ready to take action once the command is given.

They also reportedly boasted that the huge ransom of N100 million extorted from the Methodist prelate would be used to buy more arms which they would use to overrun the southeast region. The most worrisome allegation was that the Nigerian soldiers, manning the check points near the incident area, who are of the same stock as the kidnappers, may actually be complicit in the criminal activities of the kidnappers.

Since his bombshell of accusations against the Nigerian Army, no believable counter narrative has been given by the army, except the terse statement that the army would invite the prelate for debriefing. The prelate also claimed that from his interactions with his abductors, it was those who masquerade as herdsmen that are also operate the kidnappers. They use the cow as a decoy to deceive people that they are into a legitimate business, but the cows are also used to cause obstruction and slow down the cars on highways, so they can pounce on their victims.

Barely a week after the revelation by the prelate that the ‘pretentious army of occupation’ claimed they are across the forests in the southwest, they actually struck at the St. Francis Catholic Church Owo, is a most gruesome manner. The attackers who reportedly used grenades and very sophisticated assault rifles left about 40 worshippers dead, and several of them injured. They chose to attack the town and state of the most outspoken governor of the southwest region, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN.

The revered Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, talked about ‘the who, the why, the where, and the what’ message the attackers passed to the people of southwest. As far as he is concerned, the action is not a mere criminal incidence, but intended to put the region on notice. He on behalf of the region acknowledged the receipt of the dastardly message, and promises an adequate response accordingly. It is also intriguing that the purported message was passed on the cusp of the historic All Progressive Congress presidential primary, which the Lion of Bourdillon, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu won resoundingly.

The third denominator which has lost traction in the public consciousness is the issue of unknown gunmen in the southeast. While some state governments in the region and of course the federal government and its agencies blame IPOB and its affiliates for the atrocities going on in the region, the IPOB group denies any complicity in the abominable murders of Igbos and non-Igbos in the region. They claim that it is those working to foist Fulani hegemony on the rest of the country that are the unknown gunmen.

So, it is legitimate to ask whether the recent kidnap and the revealing interview by the Prelate of the Methodist Church, Nigeria and the confirmatory incidence of the bombing of St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, in the Southwest, show a confounding connection to the heinous crimes ascribed to unknown gunmen in the southeast. Or could these be three disparate agent provocateurs seeking to precipitate the destruction of our dear country?

If we still have national security agencies which are altruistic, and which have the interest of the survival of Nigeria at heart, then their jobs are cut out for them. Of course, if they fail to connect the missing dots in the puzzle, by arresting those who kidnapped His Eminence, those who bombed parishioners of St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, and the ubiquitous unknown gunmen who kill and maim at will in the southeast, the swirl of conspiracy theories could overwhelm the entire country.

The legal maxim delegate non potest delegare appears not to hold water in the Nigerian context, especially with respect to delegates to party conventions and congresses. The maxim simply means that a delegate cannot delegate his power to another. In its fuller meaning, it presupposes that the source of the delegated power has to define the mandate, and the delegate is supposed to exercise the directives of those who delegated him/her.

Learned author, Ese Malami, in his book on Administrative Law, defined a delegate as “a person who is appointed, authorised, empowered or commissioned to act instead of another person, usually the person giving him authority to so act. A delegate is a person who is appointed by another to act on his behalf.” He explains that “delegation is the transfer of authority by one person to another person to empower that other person to perform a task on behalf of the donor of the power.”

In political governance they are three types of power which can be delegated: the legislative, executive and the judicial powers. Under the 1999 constitution, the Nigerian people delegated their powers to the three branches. The legislature has the power to make laws, the executive the power of implementing the laws made by the legislature, and the judiciary the powers to interpret the laws, and adjudicate disputes arising therefrom.

The legislative powers are delegated under section 4 of the 1999 constitution. Section 4(1) provides that the “legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be vested in a National Assembly for the Federation, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.” Sub-section 2 provides that “The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative list set out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.” For the constituent parts of the Federation, section 4(6) provides “The Legislative powers of a state of the Federation shall be vested in the House of Assembly of the State.”

The executive powers are delegated under section 5 of the 1999 constitution. Section 5(1)(a) provides: “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of the federation shall be vested in the president and may subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the vice president and ministers of the government of the federation or officers in the public service of the federation.” The constitution goes ahead to define the extent those powers.

In section 5(2), the constitution provides “Subject to the provisions of this constitution, the executive powers of a state shall be vested in the governor of the state and may, subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by a House of Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the deputy governor and commissioners of government of that state or officers in the public service of the state.” The constitution also defines the extent of those powers.

Finally section 6 of the 1999 constitution delegates the judicial powers to the judiciary. While section 6(1) provides that “The judicial powers of a state shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established for the federation” section 6(2) provides “the judicial powers of a state shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established, subject as provided by this constitution, for a state.” The constitution further goes ahead to define the courts, and the extent of the powers conferred on them.

From the foregoing, the 1999 constitution defined the constituent authority which has been delegated powers, and the extent of the powers delegated to them, in other to avoid confusion and abuse of the delegated authority. Yet, despite the elaborate efforts of the constitution and other extant legislations made pursuant to the delegated powers, there is abundance of confusion, mismanagement and abuse of those powers unequivocally made pursuant to the delegated powers.

So, we can imagine when power is delegated without definition and control. In the past week, and perhaps as this column is published, the precise import of delegated authority has assumed a strange nomenclature in our legal and political lexicon. The recent political party conventions particularly that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), during which delegates turned themselves to political whores, in pursuit of personal aggrandizement, in the absence of a clear mandate as to the nature and extent of powers delegated to them, is a case in point. Of course what happened in PDP may likely happen in the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) convention.

Perhaps, the weakness lies in the inchoate legal provision of who a delegate is, and the extent of powers of a delegate, both in the Electoral Act, and of course, the poorly drafted constitutions of the political parties. Section 84(8) of the 2022 Electoral Act, viewed as revolutionary provides: “A political party that adopts the system of indirect primaries for the choice of its candidate shall clearly outline in its constitution and rule the procedure for the democratic election of delegates to vote at the convention, congress or meeting.”

In their tit-for-tat abuses of powers delegated to them, the National Assembly inserted a nebulous provision, of who a delegate shall not be. Section 84(12) of the Act provides: “No political appointee at any level shall be voting delegates or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.” The result of the poor legislative drafting on who a delegate should be, and the extent of the powers conferred has thrown up mendacious delegates, who turned the convention of political parties to a bazaar.

An example of the degradation of the delegate system, is exemplified by one Tanko Sabo, of Kaduna State, who reportedly spent N6.9 million of his ‘loot’ as a delegate on the less privileged in his community. Aping the famous Robin Hood, he spent the illegal earnings from his misunderstood duty as a delegate to do some good. He paid WAEC and NECO fees for orphans, gave money to elders, women and beggars, and supported footballing among youths.

The tragedy of our nation is that despite the abundance of evidence of bribery and corruption in the primaries, the anti-corruption agencies are indifferent. How Nigerians think we can elect worthy candidates and selfless political office holders from these fraudulent processes beats this column. Without hesitation, there is the urgent need to predefine a delegate, his responsibilities, and the extent of the delegated power if we want the nation to make progress.

This essay is dedicated to Professor Richard and Dr (Mrs) Cecilia Okafor, who celebrated the golden jubilee of their wedding anniversary in pomp and pageantry last Saturday. A biopic of the crescendo and diminuendo of the lives of Rich and Cey enthrals like the famous music drama, the sound of music. At the beginning in 1969, it was in their bucolic village, Amofia, under the shadows of the Nigerian civil war that the love story started, and by 1972 they were married.

Back then, Rich was a grade two teacher, and Cey a school certificate holder, with bleak future like other Igbos. But today, Rich and Cey are polished giant 24 carat gold. While Rich is a retired renowned Professor of Music Education and Ethnomusicology, who holds BA (Hons), from University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and a PhD from Queens University, Belfast, Cey is a retired Senior Lecturer, with a B.Sc from University of Nigeria, Nsukka, an MPA, M.Sc. and PhD from Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu.

Rich’s metamorphosis to stardom is indeed rich, and he rose on the sounds of music. As the choir master and organist of the renowned St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Choir, Ogbete, Enugu, from 1958 to 1976, Rich’s fame like Okonkwo of the Things Fall Apart, spread far and near. He was a famed star choral conductor, whose body movement and gyrations as he performed at several Catholic Diocesan Choir competitions, was a cynosure of eye and public enchantment.

Perhaps, it was the legendry of those great music performances that attracted Cey to Rich. But definitely so, for late Bishop G. M. P. Okoye, CSSP, who asked Rich to seek university admission with a promise to sponsor him. Rich got admission to study music few months after he married Cey. He had on his room door a statement of intent: “All those who have the wings of eagle, let them fly, I too shall arrive”. And he indeed arrived in style.

Cey on her part was also a dogged fighter for fame and fortune. With a child either in her tommy, or on her back, or beside her, she climbed the ladder of higher education with aplomb. Her second son Uchenna, describes her trajectory. While he was in primary school, his mother was a primary school teacher, while in secondary school, she had graduated and was teaching in secondary school, and by the time he became an undergraduate, she obtained her PhD and became a university lecturer.

Cey held on the tail of the high flying Rich, and together they soared like eagles. While Rich entered the university on the scholarship of the Bishop of Enugu, he soon won the university’s Foundation Scholarship as the best student in his department, and subsequently a national scholarship with which he completed his university education, obtaining second class (upper division). With a good degree, he went straight for his PhD at the Queen’s University, Belfast, while Cey studied for a Diploma in Montessori Method of Education.

As pioneers and exemplars of doggedness, endeavour and triumph, Rich and Cey pointed the light for their siblings, their relations and people who clustered around them as soon as they returned to Nigeria, in 1980. They started off at University of Uyo, where Rich was the head of department of music, from 1980-81, and later pioneer staff of College of Education, Eha-Amufu, 1981- 1989. He moved over to Anambra State University of Technology, in 1989, where he became a Professor of Music Education and Ethnomusicology in 1991. He retired in 2005, as Dean of Post Graduate School, and has over 20 books, and 76 peer reviewed journals to his credit. He subsequently became the pioneer director of General Studies Education, Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu, named after the Bishop who gave him scholarship in 1972.

On her part, Cey obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Education/Government from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1986, and Masters in Public Administration and Political Science in 1997 and 2003, and a Doctor of Philosophy in 2005, from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology. She joined ESUT in 1999 as a Research Fellow II, and was appointed Senior Lecturer in 2005. She became the Head of Department of Political Science for two terms from 2007-2011, before she retired in 2016.

In the cause of their lives, Rich and Cey have mentored distinguished personalities from all works of life, and so last Saturday, friends, relations and well-wishers gathered to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in style. A couple with human milk of kindness, their homes even till now remains a welcoming nest for even distant relations. As teachers, all their adult lives, the couple has moulded thousands of successful people. Deeply rooted in the Catholic faith, the clergy and the religious came in their numbers to celebrate their golden jubilee anniversary.

The Catholic Bishop of Enugu, His Lordship Most Rev. Dr. Callistus Valentine Chukwuma Onaga, led the special thanksgiving Mass, at the Omnium Santorum Chaplaincy, Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu. In his homely, the vice chancellor of the university, and rector of the chaplaincy, Rev. Fr. Prof Christian Anieke, FLSN, FAL, described Rich and Cey as good people. He told of how Rich gives his all to the university, particularly in remembrance of his benefactor, Bishop Okoye.

Bishop Onaga guided the couple as they renewed their marriage vow to the excitement of the worshippers. After the liturgy of the word, the celebration moved over to the Peter Mbah auditorium beside the chaplaincy, for the liturgy of the stomach, an afternoon and evening of sumptuous lunch and dinner for over a thousand guests. Disregarding the failing national economy, the couple, their children, relations and friends, under the planning leadership of Professor I.J. Chidobem, former vice chancellor of ESUT, and in-law of the celebrants, organised a one-in-town anniversary.

In a toast to the couple, Chief Christopher Okafor, Ogbakokpo, retired Deputy Director of Central Bank of Nigeria, and younger brother of Professor Okafor, retold the humble beginnings of Rich. He recalled how Rich joyously went to Teachers Training College, to quickly equip himself to help his humble late parents Ogbueshu James and Mrs Veronica Okafor train his other 10 siblings, including himself. While Cey’s late parents Chief Michael and Uzodimma Amalu were of the middle class, the couple nevertheless bonded in love, from the beginning.

That love relationship has produced five wonderful children, who are all happily married. They are Engr. Chukwuweike and Ijeoma Okafor, Engr. Uchenna and Ijedumma Okafor, Chibuzor and Chioma Okafor, Nwadunobu and Christian Aneke (nee Okafor) and Ihezuakor and Chukwunweike Okechukwu (nee Okafor), with 19 grandchildren. This column wishes Ogbueshu Ugobelunoji and my sister, Oke omume n’egbu nma, the joy of unblemished love.

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has President Muhammadu Buhari to thank for her swelling bank account, courtesy of the N100 million presidential expression of interest and participation form, which about 22 aspirants have either purchased or are set to purchase, before the end of today, which is the closing date for submission of forms. Also, the APC is doing well in the governorship and legislative market, but the nation’s interest is glued on the presidential contestants.

While President Buhari may not allow the APC access to the vault of the Central Bank of Nigeria, like President Goodluck Jonathan did for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the run up to 2015 general election, it is clear that the president does not intend to leave his party financial orphans, as the 2023 elections approach. So, instead of authorising the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipriye Sylva, to emulate the erstwhile Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, who doled out billions of naira and foreign currencies from the NNPC account to prosecute the general election, he has invented a new tactics.

If the tales by those who have visited the president to gain his endorsement to participate in the presidential primary is half true, then the party should thank the president for his ingenious fundraising tactics. There is no aspirant who visited the president who didn’t come out to tell fellow Nigerians that the president gave him the encouragement to go ahead to participate in the presidential primary. And the outcomes of their participation have seen the party smiling to the bank.

In fact, the governor of Cross River State, Prof Ben Ayade in his usual dramatic manner, told the nation that he was encouraged by the president to join the presidential race. According to him, the president said to him: “you are governor from the south-south, go out there too and consult. I am happy that you didn’t come here to tell me you want to run; you came here to say you want to support me. Let me watch you as you go out there.”

And with such words of endorsement to contest, the APC’s bank account will be richer by another N100 million. If the governor quoted the president correctly, then we can hazard what the president told other potential contestants. In the southwest alone, among the frontline contestants, only Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu can be said to be running as his own man. Considering his status in the party and his personal effort to install the president in 2015 and get him re-elected in 2019, many took it for granted that the president would reciprocate in 2023.

But alas, many who can be correctly termed Buhari’s boys have all joined the presidential race from the southwest. Whether it is the vice president, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, the governor of Ekiti, Dr Kayode Fayemi, or Senator Ibikunle Amosun, the story out there is that they have been endorsed by the president as his preferred candidate. While the president is entitled to have his preferred candidate in the presidential election, it is not beguiling to have many candidates encouraged for a single position.

In the southeast, there are also interesting tales woven around the governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi, the Minister of Technology, Dr Ogbonaya Onu, Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, and that of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, regarding President Buhari’s endorsements. Reading the stories in the social media, one would think that the president has made a choice from amongst them, and what is being awaited is the coronation ceremony.

The other south-south candidates like the Cross River State governor are also claiming endorsements from the president, if we are to believe their supporters. Leading the pack of course, is Rotimi Amaechi, who many canvassers claim was drafted into the presidential race by the president in gratitude for the rail line that traversed Katsina to Niger Republic, amongst other infrastructure cited in the president’s state. There is also Godswill Akpabio, and the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, whom many have sworn is the one that the president was afraid to mention, so they won’t harm him.

Of course, it will be unfair to claim that these eminent persons are not qualified to vie for the exalted position of the president to which they all aspire. But of course, only one person will win the single chance available to APC, in the upcoming presidential election, and who would that be? If the president had played coy from the beginning by obviously showing support for one or two aspirants, the party would have been poorer for it.

But while APC is richer in naira and kobo from the floodgate of alleged presidential endorsements, will the party not pay a bigger price with the schisms that could arise from the free-for-all endorsements? There is the chance that such may happen, especially if the process is tainted with unfair tactics. So, the president whom many of the contestants are claiming endorsed their expression of interest, has an onerous responsibility to ensure that the primary election is free and fair, if the party would go into the presidential election as one family.

Talking of endorsements, this writer believes that in a free and fair contest in the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu stands taller than the other contestants, and the reasons are not far-fetched. While nearly all the other contestants have been direct beneficiaries of the party coupled together in 2014 or thereabout to wrestle power from the PDP, Asiwaju, the chief mechanic has personally been more concerned with servicing the engine, until now. Indeed, many of the aspirants, especially in the southwest are direct beneficiaries of his hard work.

So, Asiwaju Tinubu can legitimately look most of the APC stalwarts in the eye, from President Buhari down, and say to them, I supported you in 2015 and 2019, support my ambition now. While politicians are not gentlemen, and those he supported may refuse to return the favour, there are many who would readily support him for the favours received. Again, if the testimonies from many top party officials are anything to rely on, Asiwaju may have helped so many that it would be difficult for the other contenders to stop him.

Perhaps, it is that understanding that the balance tilts in Asiwaju’s favour that prompted most other contenders to cast their ambition in the potpourri of President Buhari’s cocoon. They understand that for them to defeat the Jagaban Borgu, President Buhari has to descend into the arena, as we say in legal jurisprudence, when biased judges get interested in matter before them. So, the question is, will President Buhari descend into the presidential primary arena for his preferred candidate?

Last week, I wrote about the rise of destructive tendencies amongst some Nigerians, under the rubric of a national quagmire. In this piece we draw attention to the emergence of a bandit economy, arising from, as well as fuelling the instability assailing Nigeria. Last week, the respected Christian cleric, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, refuelled the news item that huge quantities of Nigeria’s crude oil are being stolen. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) also affirmed the sad development.

The cleric raised two fundamental questions: “Who is stealing the oil?” and “Where is the money going?” While stealing of national assets is not new, the audacity to steal 90 per cent of harnessed crude oil for export, over a period of time, without an alarm from the managers of the crude oil, or security agencies arresting the bandits, shows that an alternate national economy may have been sanctioned without ordinary Nigerians knowing about it.

A report released by the newly created agencies under the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC), confirmed that between January 2021 and February 2022, Nigeria lost about $3.2 billion to crude oil theft. The report confirmed that in January, about 90 per cent of total crude oil produced at the Bonny Terminal was stolen. In the words of the NNPC helmsman, Mele Kyari, “activities of oil thieves have got to a limit we haven’t seen before, almost bringing down this industry to its knees.”

Understandably, the man whose alarm rang the farthest Pastor Adeboye, warned: “It is an open secret and not denied that more than 90 per cent of our income from the leftover of the oil stolen is being used to pay interest on the money we borrow. We are borrowing more, meaning we are moving steadily into bankruptcy.” As if on cue, President Muhammadu Buhari, the same week sent a letter to the National Assembly, seeking approval to borrow more money to fund the huge deficit budget, approved for his government few months ago.

So, it means that while the Nigerian economy is going into bankruptcy, the bandit economy is booming. This development should worry our leaders. Another arm of the bandit economy that is ‘doing well’ is the kidnap and outlawry sector. While kidnapping for ransom was initially restricted to one or few individuals at a time, it has since metamorphosed into a huge rogue industry. Previously, Evans was considered the poster boy of the kidnappers; but not anymore.

Presently, Boko Haram, ISIS West Africa, and sundry northern based terrorist organisations have turned kidnapping into a huge economic racket. They initially started with kidnapping students in isolated schools who were considered vulnerable, but has since ricocheted into storming a train and carting away prime targets. And as parents of the Bethel Baptist College, Kaduna, and several other students who have been ransomed would confirm, it doesn’t come cheap, to free a loved one from the den of armed kidnappers.

But the likely huge gap between what was paid to free a student and what was paid to free a top bank executive kidnapped from the train may be worth the malevolent bravado of storming a train, to kidnap. So, the security agents must rise up to the challenge that the bandits operating the kidnapping racket, may henceforth go for bigger targets, regardless of the huge risk that may be involved.

If I may again paraphrase Pastor Adeboye: “Who is organising these high profile kidnappings?” and, “Where is the money going?” This column urges the security agencies to worry about the potential uses the proprietors of this emergent bandit economy can put their illicit gains into. While the president has lamented about the inflow of light weapons from the Maghreb, following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, they should note that the thriving bandit economy is sustaining the inflow.

Most likely, these nefarious activities provide resources used by even the lesser bandits who have foresworn to make our nation space ungovernable. Whether as armed robbers, armed insurrectionists, or armed herders, the bandit economy that has been allowed to thrive fuels more insecurity. So, merely lamenting that weapons from the Maghreb are destabilizing our nation is not enough; urgent action must be taken to stem these national challenges, if the nation will have peace.

This column wonders what the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) has been up to, in the face of these gruelling challenges facing our country. It is strange that the office of the NSA would wait for the president to give directives, to deal with those stealing 90 per cent of the oil in Bonny Terminal. This column considers it a wry joke that the president need to give directives before the security chiefs would mobilize to the Niger Delta to deal with the massive oil theft going on there.

Again, it is strange that the Group Managing Director of NNPC would wait for public outcry over the huge quantities of the crude oil being stolen, before he would ask the so-called critical stakeholders to join forces to stop the theft. In his words: “We currently produce an average of 1.2 to 1.3million barrels of crude oil daily from a capacity of about two million barrels of crude oil per day.” He went on: “Reconciliation/Fiscalisation at Bonny terminal shows that between five and 10 percent of crude oil metered from the operators gets to the terminals.”

What a tragedy! If I were the alter ego of his employer, I would query him on why it took public outcry before he raised alarm. And if he had raised alarm as soon as the banditry started, and no action was taken by the relevant security agencies, I would query the security chiefs for dereliction of duty. It is strange that all we have got from the public outcry so far is a belated directive to the security agencies to take action, and a lukewarm press release from the GMD of NNPC.

Perhaps, the president needs to read some of the scurrilous allegations against his government and security agencies with regards to some of these challenges. There are many who believe that the crude oil theft going on is a deliberate ploy by government connected officials to steal enough resources to fund the upcoming 2023 general elections. There are also those who believe that allowing the terrorist a free rein in the northern part of the country is deliberate, and is geared towards a bigger agenda to destabilize and overrun the entire country.

While the conspiracy theories may be farfetched, it is totally strange that while the bandit economy is booming, the national economy is contracting, and those in charge appears to be clueless about how to stem our nation’s slide into socio-economic chaos and anarchy.

Those at the helm of affairs in Nigeria, whether as president, governor, minister, or local council chairman, particularly those who have made conscious efforts to improve the nation’s physical infrastructure, despite the debilitating economic challenges facing the country, must be confounded with the destructive tendency that seems to have overwhelmed our nation’s consciousness. The tragedy that has befallen Kaduna State in recent days draws attention to this national quagmire.

In terms of physical infrastructure, Kaduna State is the envy of other states, whether in the northern or southern part of the country. Many northern elites, particularly those who have used their positions in government to help themselves, have their homes and investments in Kaduna State. Also, as the political capital of the old northern Nigeria, the northern power oligarchs who have held federal power longer than their southern counterparts, favour Kaduna State in the citing of infrastructure in Nigeria.

Even recently when Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, was to be closed, President Muhammadu Buhari’s government used the opportunity to further improve Kaduna airport to world standards. Also, when President Goodluck Jonathan was in charge, he also prioritised the development of modern railway tracks from Abuja to Kaduna. So, after many years of comatose train services in Nigeria, the resuscitation programme effectively started from Kaduna.

Furthermore, the Abuja-Kaduna highway is priority in terms of maintenance, and resources are not spared to ensure it is in good state. This column can attest that unlike the Enugu-Port Harcourt, Onitsha-Enugu, Onitsha-Owerri, Ibadan-Ilorin, Lagos-Abeokuta highways and perhaps many more, the Abuja-Kaduna highway was never left to decay as those earlier mentioned, since the living memory of this column. So, unlike some others, the Abuja-Kaduna highway has always lived up to its name as an expressway.

Moreover, in the past few weeks that Kaduna has witnessed a resurgence of attacks by terrorists and their allied forces, the list of national assets, including military and para-military assets cited in Kaduna State, has been trending. The list include, 1 Division Nigerian Army, Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Nigerian Defence Industry, Nigeria Airforce Training School, Nigeria Police College, Nigerian Navy School of Armament, Nigerian Army School of Legal Services, Bassawa Zaria, Nigerian Defence Academy, Nigerian Army School of Artillery, Nigerian Army School of Military Police, and Army Operations Base.

Many of the commentators described the state as no different from a military fortress, considering the concentration of military and paramilitary institutions in the state. Yet, ironically, despite all the advantages, Kaduna State has become one of the most unsafe places in the country to live. While the Southern Kaduna has become a killing field, because of the malicious activities of a murderous gang, who has been accused of an ethnic cleansing agenda, the Kaduna metropolis is also unsafe. Some few months ago, the attackers took their devilish agenda to the NDA.

Few days ago, the attackers in a most brazen manner stormed the Kaduna International Airport and stalled the take-off of an air craft. While the nation was yet to get over that rude shock, the terrorists bombed the rail track and successfully derailed an Abuja-Kaduna bound train. Storming the derailed train, the terrorist kidnapped some passengers and killed a number of others. Some hours after the nation woke up to that horror, the criminals boldly menaced the Abuja-Kaduna highway, which was already turning to a death trap for travellers in the past few years.

Considering the destructive tendencies of these terrorists, especially in Southern Kaduna, there are several conspiracy theories about the motive for these incendiary attacks. While alleged Fulani elements have been accused of an evil agenda to depopulate the place and take over the ancestral lands they despoil, other theorists ascribe the attacks to those hell-bent on carving out an Islamic Caliphate for their extremist agenda. As plausible as these theories may appear, we must take note of similar destructive tendencies outside the domain of the alleged evil agenda.

One recent example is the destruction that greeted the Moshood Abiola Stadium following the ouster of Nigeria from the Qatar 2022 World Cup, by Ghana. While Nigerians may have shown emotional imbalance in the past over loss of a match, the malicious determination of the Abuja fans to destroy a stadium that took the ingenuity of the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare to repair, shows a deeper malaise than what happened in the past. These fans are aware that but for the intervention of Aliko Dangote, following appeal from the sports minister, the stadium would still be in a dilapidated state.

Yet the fans were determined to destroy the newly installed infrastructure. Of course, I believe that a similar vicious determination to destroy whatever the rioters could see, after the highjack of EndSARS protest, is still fresh in the minds of my readers. In addition to the penchant to destroy physical infrastructure, there is also the growing vicious predilection to kill or maim for little or no provocation, which is a matter for another discussion.

While making effort to improve infrastructure development across the country, those at the helm of affairs must worry about the perverse mass discontentment, especially amongst the hoi polloi. For this column, it is not enough to send security agencies against the unhappy and destructive Nigerians. Indeed, it should be instructive that despite the huge emotional and financial investment of the Buhari’s government in the maintenance of law and order in the past seven years, chaos and disorder is on the rise. Perhaps, the problem is far deep-rooted?

Could the trigger just be economic hardship, or a complete disenchantment or breakdown of the current social order? When despite 23 years of democracy, the nation still boasts of about 10 million Almajiris, does it mean that the abundance of disenchanted citizens has become a permanent feature of our country? When the statistics indicate that about 90 million, out of about 200 million Nigerians are unemployed; in the midst of double digit inflation, collapse of the power sector, amongst other challenges in the factors of production, will things get worse than it is?

With the northern Nigeria in particular, degenerating rapidly, it is shocking that the practice of such perversions like Almajiri is still allowed to fester. If we heard the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi, correctly, it will require about N8 billion to restore the losses arising from the bombed rail infrastructure. With the bombers yet to be apprehended, are we in a vicious circle?

This column believes that if we don’t get the human capital right, all the investments in physical infrastructure could be turned to waste by the disposed and disenchanted. Could it be that Nigeria is facing a peculiar national quagmire, without any answers in sight?