The Nation Newspaper

Category: Gabriel Amalu

  • Fairer labour expectations

    Fairer labour expectations

    The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has declared the strike called by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), on Monday, as illegal. And he is right. But over the years, the Labour Unions do not rely on the legality of strikes to press home their demand. This is because, the rigorous procedure provided by the relevant laws to legally call a strike, makes it near impossible, to call a legitimate strike. So, the unions rely on strongarms tactics, to get government to accede to their demands.

    The letter by the AGF succinctly put forward the case of the federal government. Section 31(6) of the Trade Union Act, as amended, provides that no person, trade union or employer shall take part in a strike or lockout, if operating an essential service. The section goes on to list several other requirements, like the nature of the dispute, the requirement on arbitration, and democratic process of the affiliate unions. If those requirements are not met, any person, trade union or employer who participates in strike, commits an offence, and on conviction, is liable to imprisonment or fine.

    The AGF also referred to sections 41(1) and 42(1) of the Trade Disputes Act 2004, which requires certain categories of workers, to give a 15-day prior strike notice before embarking on strike, which the Labour Unions failed to do in the present circumstance. Of course, the unions usually don’t obey those rigorous measures, and that explains why one of the conditions to call off any strike, is that none of their members should be punished for acts done in furtherance of the strike.

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    So, invariably the solution to the strike is political, not judicial, except President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) administration is willing to drag the union leaders through the courts, damn the fallouts. That is not advisable. But as I argued last week, the NLC and TUC must be realistic in their demands, unless they have other motives, beyond getting a fairer wage for their members. The amorphous N494,000 minimum wage demand, is grossly unrealistic, whether for government employees or private sector workers. Agreed that inflation has made mincemeat of the naira, it has not gotten to the level of demanding such an amount as the minimum wage.

    The Information and National Orientation Minister, Mohammed Idris, has warned that the proposed minimum wage would balloon the wage bill to N9.5 trillion annually. Meanwhile, the estimated revenue for the 2024 fiscal year is N18.32 trillion. If the information minister is correct, that means that about half of the entire projected revenue would be used to pay the wages of the workers. According to the 2024 budget plans, even without the new wage bill, the country may need to source extra N10 trillion, to meet its budgetary estimates.   

    Should the government agree to pay the proposed minimum wage, the federal and state government may have to borrow massively to be able to pay, even when the glaring infrastructure deficit, plaguing the country would largely be left unattended. Meanwhile, the debt stock of Nigeria, made up of external and domestic debt, stood at N87.38 trillion, as at quarter two, of 2023. One can imagine what additional debts the government would incur, to meet the wage increase at N494,000, should labour have their way.

    Notably, any wage increase, usually leads to inflationary pressure, as the markets instinctively react to the news that there is more money in the system, chasing the available goods. Also, traders, artisans and sundry service providers, naturally increase the prices of goods and costs of services, to make up for the increase in wages for paid workers. So, while any wage increase ordinarily impacts inflationary pressure, it would certainly get worse, should the change be so astronomical as the unions are demanding.

    This column agrees that if that demand is made the minimum wage, inflation will further worsen the national currency. Indeed, many private companies would retrench their workers, while some may simply close down business. Even the federal and state governments may also resort to retrenchment, as a way out of the quagmire, with all the attendant impacts on the national economy. While those who survive may have more money in their pockets, a lot of their colleagues will lose their jobs, necessitating another round of strikes.

    But on its part, the federal and state governments, as well as the private sector, have to offer an improved minimum wage to the workers, to avert a prolonged strike action, which would have severe impact on the struggling national economy. Even a one-day strike, is not good for the economy, which grew by mere 2.98 percent, in the first quarter of the year, a drop from the 3.46 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.  Should the strike go on for days, the second and third quarter growth will be adversely affected.

    I call on the minimum wage tripartite committee to call the unions back to the negotiating table, in the larger interest of the national economy. The state governments representatives who have been acting as if the minimum wage is the challenge of the federal government alone, must come to terms that together they owe the nation as much responsibility as the federal government. Even though by section 34 Part 1, of the Exclusive Legislative List, 1999 constitution (as amended), the federal government has exclusive legislative powers on “Labour, including trade unions, industrial relations, conditions, safety and welfare of labour, industrial disputes, prescribing a national minimum wage for the federation or any part thereof, and industrial arbitrations.”

    The indifference to the negotiation, shown by the six governors representing the six zones, is unbecoming. Perhaps, because Nigerians are fixated on the federal government to resolve the wage palaver, the states act as if the fortunes of the federal government can be separated from the fortunes of the sub-nationals. Otherwise, how can one explain that majority of the state governors have shown insignificant concern about the burning issue of wage increase, as if it does not concern them?

    The Labour union has called for the direct intervention of PBAT, believing that he has the magic wand to resolve the impasse. This column hopes he has, and that when he waves it, the labour leaders would be operating on the same wave length, to positively receive his communication. In closing this column, let me reiterate the need for a fairer wage structure, across all sectors of the economy. For instance, it is absurd to have some fresh university graduates earn monthly, what the professors who taught them, don’t earn in three months. 

    Finally, the political class must tame their insatiable appetite, to leave enough resources, to gift every Nigerian worker, what is reasonable and a fair wage.

  • Fearless and compassionate

    Fearless and compassionate

    The one-year anniversary of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s (PBAT) administration, expectedly, is not drowned in pump and pageantry. While many Nigerians would say there is nothing to celebrate, those with acuity would say the building blocks are being laid. It is like digging the foundation of a multi-storey building, which the pilling going deep into the earth, are not seen. Of course, the majority of Nigerians, like the biblical Thomas, must see and feel, a rejuvenated national economy, before they believe.

    In fairness to that majority, the PBAT administration, which took off in a very turbulent weather is yet to reach the cruising altitude, and yet to stabilize. So, it will not be right to dismiss the penetrating discomfiture from the turbulent winds, assailing the ascending aircraft. But it will be unfair not to concede to the competence of the pilot, even when he has enormous credentials, the experience and boisterous bluster of “I can do spirit”. More importantly, it will be unfair to brush aside the testaments of his bold initiatives.

    Even as this writer is not insulated from the deprivations associated with the twin economic policies of fuel subsidy removal and the devaluation of the naira, he believes that perhaps, Nigeria would have been in the throes of social unrest, if PBAT didn’t boldly confront the double headed goliath. As became evident after the removal, Nigeria was actually subsidizing the fuel exports to her neighbours, and by extension, her neighbours’ neighbours. That was clearly unsustainable, by any stretch of imagination.      

    With the removal of subsidy, the subsidized fuel imported into Nigeria, fell by more than 50 percent. According to a Punch newspaper report, three months before the removal of fuel subsidy, the NNPC reported that Nigeria was consuming 66 million litres of PMS daily, and N400 billion was spent to subsidize PMS monthly.  But presently, with the subsidy removed, Nigeria is consuming 33 million litres daily. So, but for the fearless determination of the president, Nigeria would still have been subsidizing fuel used in neighbouring countries, amongst other challenges in that sector.

    The other fearless economic policy was the removal of multi-layered exchange rate platforms, which the Central Bank of Nigeria, under Godwin Emefiele, was abusing. This columnist was amongst those complaining during Buhari’s era that officials and friends of the regime were feeding fat on the multiple exchange rate regime through unconscionable arbitrage. Going forward, PBAT and his team are also following up with the sanitization of the foreign exchange sector, with the streamlining of Bureau de Change operators, and the most resent ban on street trading of forex.

    This writer believes that this twin initiatives, while causing massive economic discomfiture to the masses, is ironically, perhaps, the saving grace why the masses are not in the streets demonstrating and calling for extra constitutional measures to change the government. For without it, Nigeria had reached the tipping point, where the fallout would be that states would not be in a position to pay salaries or engage in any form of economic activities. And of course, that would percolate to the local governments.

    On its part, the federal government, having the exclusive constitutional control over currency, was merely printing more money, like the government of Idi Amin in Uganda, to meet the most basic of its responsibilities, including payment of salaries and similar recurrent expenditure. Even when they were also heavily engaged in forward sales of crude oil and other assets of the country, the Buhari regime, could not only raise enough money to pay its matured debts. We had a situation where almost all the entire national income could only pay the matured debt obligations.

    Clearly those two scenarios were not manageable by any other means than to kill the monsters. Otherwise, the national economy was akin to pouring water into a leaking bowel. But having slayed the monsters that were terrorizing the national economy, this column admonishes that it is time to govern the people with compassion.  Since the removal of the fuel subsidy, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in street language has been smiling to the bank. Last March, the federal, state and local governments shared N1.123,391 trillion, compared to N860.04 billion shared in March, 2023.

    Since the removal, the federal, states and local governments have not only been receiving more monies, they have been sharing earned resources of the federation, and not monies sourced from the wizardly, ways and means, of the CBN. Some state governments, like Enugu, has been up and running in the payment of salaries and pensions. But some states are reportedly lagging behind, some even refusing to pay the old minimum wage, as reported by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

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    PBAT, who is in a joyous mood as his administration clocks one-year-old, has been urging the sub national governments to spread the fruits of his labour to their people. While on a visit to Minna, Niger State, last March, he pleaded with state governors, to pay wage awards, to their workers until a new minimum wage is promulgated into law. On its part the federal government last year, entered into an agreement with the Organised Labour, to pay N35,000 as wage award to workers, until a new minimum wage is legislated into law.

    While that award will not gift the workers, the life of opulence that government officials are living, it will ameliorate the debilitating economic hardship, the workers are facing. Sadly, many state governments shamefully are neither paying the old minimum wage, nor any form of wage award to their workers. Such states governed by men and women without compassion include Kogi, Zamfara, Anambra, Ebonyi and Sokoto. While all the concerned states should feel ashamed for being laggards, Anambra, governed by a professor of economics should hide her face in shame.

    President Tinubu, who showed fearlessness in dealing with the fundamental and structural defects of the national economy, should regardless of the brusqueness of some state governors, show compassion by ensuring that a new minimum wage, worthy of its name, is legislated into existence, as soon as possible. This writer had wanted to title this piece, “The joy of a leader” in solidarity with the president, who asked us to be joyous with him, as he flagged off the Lagos-Calabar highway, two days ago.

    At the commissioning, PBAT had enthused: “It will be a success for Nigeria and we will do more. I am a very happy man today. Share with me in the joy.” No doubt, the president has every cause to be joyous. Few leaders have the opportunity to start a legacy project, in the first year of coming into office. Some are so distracted that it is only towards the end of their regime, they remember that power is transit, and would soon leave them. Then, they start battling the wind of time.

  • Minimum Wedge (2)

    Minimum Wedge (2)

    Some nine weeks ago, as the work of the tripartite committee on minimum wage progressed, I wrote the piece titled: Minimum wedge, imploring relevant stakeholders to avoid unnecessary distractions, so a national minimum wedge can be agreed. I said: “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 appears my advice fell on deaf ears, as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), at the meeting insisted on its minimum wage proposal of N615,000, which even the most ardent supporter of the labour unions would agree is an unrealistic demand. As if to also show lack of seriousness on its part, the federal government last week offered a ridiculous minimum wage of N48,000, which the labour unions immediately rejected, and walked out of the negotiation meeting. The Bukar Goni-led committee has since written to the labour unions to return to the negotiating table this Tuesday.

    I recall that in his address to the committee at inauguration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had 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.” That advice was presidential and depicted a leader interested in what is fair and equitable for the Nigerian workers. To also show commitment to the welfare of workers, the president had while the negotiation was going on, approved a wage award of N35,000 as a stop-gap measure in the face of inflationary pressure.

    That intervention had stemmed the agitation of Nigeria workers, while they waited for the new minimum wage, to follow the legal process. Last week’s N48,000 offer must have turned a damp squib for the disconsolate workers. This writer agrees that the offer is a non-starter and the meeting scheduled to restart today should discuss a much improved offer that is rooted in PBAT’s social justice and equity. What this writer understands that to mean, is a wage that can sustain the least paid worker.

    Clearly, this writer is not enthused by the arithmetic prowess of the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, who gives the wrong impression that a first level entry worker, who is nonskilled, at the point of entry, should have four children, live in a flat, and make monthly expenses that would culminate in the unrealistic N615,00 that the union he leads is demanding. Unless the idea of the labour leader is to push his people to aim for the sky, while hoping to hit the ceiling, as the saying goes.

    Sometimes, leaders make unrealistic demands just to excite their followers and give the impression that they are on top of their game. Otherwise, how could the labour leaders hope to get a minimum wage higher than what sadly a professor who teaches in public university earns? That piece of information on the earning of the university teachers show the need for a review of the wage structure across board in our country. This writer is hopeful that PBAT will get to deal with that underlining cause of corruption in public service in Nigeria.

    Of course, to hope on the present administration is not misplaced considering PBAT’s antecedent in Lagos State, affirmed by the recent salaries, allowances and fringe benefits review for Justices and judges in the country. The Chief Justice would henceforth earn an impressive total monthly package of N5.39 million, while other Justices would earn N4.21 million. On his part the President of the Court of Appeal will earn total monthly package of N4.48m. To achieve that, PBAT sent an executive bill to amend Certain Political, Public and Judicial Officer Holders (Salaries and Allowances etc) Act, No 6, 2002, by deleting provisions relating to judicial office holders.

    For this column, the new salary structure for judicial officers is an indication of what is possible where there is a will. That when hopefully the national economy is substantially revamped by this administration, salaries and wages would become more equitable and just. As the former labour leader, Senator Adams Oshiomhole advised the present labour leaders in a televised interview, the congresses should also be interested in the revitalization of the national economy, which in turn would enhance and guarantee the wage bill of workers, in both the public and private sector.

    The NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC), which are the main labour unions, should be interested in the economic blueprint of the federal and state governments. For instance, they should be interested in governments’ plan in the electricity sector. For clearly, unless that sector is revolutionized, the real sector would keep doddering. The unions should be interested in government plans to revitalize the key national industries, like the textile industry. They should monitor the macro and micro economic policies of the government, and its effects on the economy, so they can raise alarm when the government is going the wrong way.

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    Where the government is on the right track, they should give support and time for the benefits to trickle down to workers. In essence, this writer is urging the labour unions to collaborate with government, both at federal and state levels, in the overall interest of Nigerians. Considering the fragile national economy, and the severe negative impacts any major disruptions could cause, the national minimum wage committee must ensure that the labour unions are not pushed to engage in nationwide strikes.

    Of interest, Edo State government has pegged the minimum wage in the state at N70,000. While many have dismissed the gesture as a political deft of hand by Governor Godwin Obaseki, who is campaigning to elect his preferred candidate as governor, the gesture depicts what is possible, where the masses have an equal balance of forces at their disposal. Perhaps, if the labour unions can muster enough concerted pressure on the federal and state governments, they would also agree to a minimum wage that can sustain the minimum paid worker.

    This writer hopes the tripartite committee would do the right thing, by urging the federal government to make a substantially improved offer to the workers. On their part, the workers should tame their unrealistic wage demand. For this column, the minimum wage should not be less than 70,000. While the poorer states pay that, the richer states should pay more as minimum wage. The National Assembly members, who used their statutory powers to self-help themselves, to earn world class salaries, allowances and fringe benefits, should ensure a living wage for workers.

  • Fubara versus Wike

    Fubara versus Wike

    “Fubara me, I will Wike you” or “Wike me, I will Fubara you” may be a more tantalizing heading for this piece. Of course, that would be aping the age-long “Tarka me, I will Daboh you” by Gbolabo Ogunsanwo, of the Daily Times newspaper fame. Another potential title could be “Rivers State of confusion.” And unless the contending political factions put a break to their descent into anarchy, the next headline could be “Rivers State of blood.”

    Watching the governor of Rivers State, Siminilayi Fubara, ask reporters: “Is the Assembly quarters not part of my property? Is there anything wrong in going to check how things are going on there?” it dawned on me that His Excellency may be belabouring under a grave misconception about his powers and privileges. And that may eventually be his undoing, in the power struggle with his erstwhile mentor and godfather, and current Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nyesom Wike.

    Even as governor, the Rivers State’s public property does not belong to him; and so it was extremely foolish to utter those words in public. Another politically silly comment the governor keeps making, is that the peace deal made by the president and commander-in-chief, is merely political and not constitutional. Each time, he says that, I feel like drawing his ear, and reminding him that the process of his becoming the governor and how successful he would be as a governor will depend of politics.

    After all, there was no constitutionally provided aptitude test where he came tops before he was anointed by Wike as the preferred governorship candidate. So, choosing him, clearing out opposition within and outside the party, providing resources and campaigning for him, are all political actions. So, his political misdemeanour, by biting Wike’s finger that fed him, assumes another dimension when he keeps shouting that the agreement brokered by the commander-in-chief is of minor consequence.

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    As governor, while constitutionally he does not serve at the pleasure of the president, he needs the friendship of the president to serve pleasurably. Even as a veteran of several political fights, with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) as then Lagos State governor, never disrespected the former president publicly, even though his attorney general kept filling cases in court to whittle down the abusive powers of an imperialist federal government. For his own success as governor, Simi must project respect, even when displaying strength, in dealing with Nigeria’s presidential behemoth.

    But, as clear to the public, President Tinubu has not even been obtrusive. He had intervened, to mediate between Governor Fubara and Minister Wike. Following that mediation, the governor had only fulsome praises for the president. He never claimed that the president unduly influenced the outcome, but projected himself as a man of peace, who would keep his promises in the interest of Rivers State. If Fubara was properly guided, he ought to go back to the president, to complain of any infractions, or ask for renegotiation of certain issues, if he is finding it difficult to implement the agreement.

    But instead of laying the challenges before the president or even the general public, and scurrying sympathy as the oppressed, Fubara is thoughtlessly projecting the image of an aggressor. To further compound his image, he went to the Rivers State House of Assembly quarters, were the legislators live and temporary sit, to threaten another day of bulldozer. The first day of bulldozer, saw Governor Simi order the demolition of the state House of Assembly, after hoodlums allegedly sympathetic to him, torched the edifice.

    The arson took place following treats by the House to impeach the governor, and as if on cue, the governor quickly moved in bulldozers, when reports showed that the fire incident didn’t do much damages. While the governor is not expected to fold his hands, while his political enemies plan to remove his green biro, as he joked about the impeachment plans then, burning down and bulldozing public property, should not be one of the strategies to forestall a threatened impeachment, as alleged.

    Interestingly, the visit to the legislative quarters appears to have coalesced some Rivers elite against him. Over the weekend, political leaders and elders across party lines matched to the quarters on a fact-finding-mission, after the governor’s insinuation that the quarters need renovation. In public glare and before television cameras, the contentiously impeached Speaker of the House, Hon. Martin Amaewhule, and other residents confirmed that the Houses built about two years ago do not need any renovation, and that professionals engaged by the House confirmed that.

    So, what excuses would the governor offer, if he forcefully evicts the legislators from their quarters? Perhaps, the lame excuse that he wants to renovate them. As if to give impetus to his opponents who are alleging malice, the governor signed an executive order, to compel the House of Assembly, to sit within the government house. The illegitimate order is premised on the burning of the state House of Assembly last year, even though the House has been sitting since then within their legislative quarters.         

    In the midst of these faulty passes, the governor appears to have scored a potential win in the court. A High Court in the state, by way of an interim injunction declared the seats of the legislators who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressive Congress (APC) vacant, pending the hearing of the motion on notice. The court relied on the provision of section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 constitution (as amended). The section provides that a member of the House shall vacate his seat, if before the expiration of his tenure he cross-carpets to another party.

    Section 109(2) provides that the speaker of the House of Assembly shall declare the seats vacant, after presenting satisfactory evidence to the House that any of the provision has become applicable. The proviso to section 109(g) excuses cross-carpeting, if there is a division in the party, or a merger of the parties. It appears that the said proviso and subsection 2 have been used by guilty legislators, to defeat the implementation of section 109, as all manner of subterfuge is usually employed by the guilty parties. The Rivers State case is more intriguing, as the Speaker is amongst those said to have violated the provision.

    In the days ahead, the court would be expected to determine whether there was division within the PDP, to warrant the cross-carpeting of the assembly members. Also whether by the proviso, it is only the duly elected speaker who can declare legislators’ seats vacant, and whether the courts should issue an order of mandamus compelling the speaker to act, or usurp the powers to declare the seats vacant. Minister Wike, has derided the ex parte order as purchased, and vowed that it would amount to nothing, soonest.

  • Yahaya Bello as fugitive

    Yahaya Bello as fugitive

    Former Governor, Yahaya Bello, of Kogi state, who evaded arrest in Abuja last week, allegedly with the aid of his successor, Governor Usman Ododo, may prefer to be a fugitive, rather than submit himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The commission had accused him of laundering N80.2 billion, while he governed Kogi state. The attorney general of the federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, was short of naming Governor Dodo, as one of those who conspired to obstruct the course of justice, to aid Bello escape the EFCC’s drag net. 

    According to media report, while EFCC laid siege on Bello’s house in Abuja, Governor Ododo drove into the premises, and using official cover, scurried fugitive Bello into safety. There were reports of heavy gun shots as the governor drove out of the premises, and only the two men knows where Bello, is now hiding like a coward. Just like when he ruled Kogi, he seems to have coaxed Governor Ododo, to break the law.

    Governor Ododo and other beneficiaries from Yahaya Bello’s tenure, have been very audacious is declaring their former principal innocent, even before he faces trial in court. Before the recent attempt to arrest him, Ododo and company have been shouting from Kogi state’s roof top that no money is missing from the state coffers. Clearly, Ododo and his cohorts learnt no lessons from the James Ibori saga, where like Ododo, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, did everything humanly possible, to shield Ibori, from prosecution for crimes committed against Delta state.

    In Delta, like Kogi, the state officials kept claiming that no money was missing, to pervert the cause of justice, but woke up to demand for the returned monies, when after a trial in Britain, Ibori was convicted and millions of stolen foreign denominated monies, were returned to Nigeria. Interestingly, the trial of Ibori in Nigeria, yielded nothing, apparently because the state government may have refused to collaborate with the prosecution team, or even destroyed evidence needed to prosecute the various cases filed against him.

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    Such is the desperation of the governor of Kogi state to prevent the trial of his predecessor, that he had to abuse his office to ensure that a law enforcement agency, the EFCC, is prevented from performing its lawful duty. Interestingly, few hours after allegedly conspiring to flagrantly pervert the course of justice, Governor Dodo, was entrusted with presiding over the Ondo state All Progress Congress (APC) party governorship primary election.

    While he may have been penciled down for that responsibility before his display of undemocratic conduct in Abuja, last week, his performance in Ondo is stymied in controversy. Those who lost to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the declared winner, have called the party primary election that Ododo supervised, a sham. According to them, there were no elections in several wards across the local government councils. Whether the losers are merely sour, or are saying the truth, will be seen in the coming days.

    But for a person who was flagrantly willing to obstruct the course of justice, to be entrusted with birthing a free, fair and transparent election, is like asking a blacksmith to keep custody of a white linen cloth. Considering that the criminal code and penal code have substantially similar provisions, let’s take a cursory look at the criminal code, and what it portends for those who are preventing the EFCC, from carrying out its statutory duties.

    Section 145 of the criminal code provides: “any person who willfully obstructs or resists any person lawfully charged with the execution of an order or warrant of any court, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and is liable to imprisonment for one year, or a fine of two hundred naira”. Section 126 of the code also provides: “any person who conspires with another to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of justice is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.”

    Sub-section (2), further provides: “any person who attempts, in any way not specially defined in this code, to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of justice is guilty of a misdemeanor, and liable to imprisonment for two years.” Another provision which may interest the government officials, is section 123 of the code. It provides: “any person who, knowing that any book, document or other thing of any kind, is or may be required in evidence in a judicial proceeding, willfully removes, conceals or destroys it or renders it illegible or undecipherable or incapable of identification, with intent thereby to prevent it from being used in evidence is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for three years.”

    Governor Yahaya Bello’s saga, is not likely to end soon, as he appears determined to evade the course of justice. As this column is written, there are tales that he wants to flee the country, even though the EFCC had declared him wanted. The former governor who had called himself the white lion, is surprisingly behaving like a coward, and fugitive from justice. During Bello’s reelection campaign, he gave the impression that he was a fearless warlord, and people like the querulous PDP gubernatorial candidate, Senator Dino Melaye, were seen as wimps before the white lion.

    There was the insane allegation that Bello’s cohorts turned the sound of rapid firearms to a musical rattle, to scare their opponents. Sadly, in the run up to his second tenure as governor, there was so much violence in the state. While agreeably, Kogi is reputed to have several kilometers of ungovernable spaces, even before Bello became governor, his style of politics appears to have aggravated the already bad situation. Sadly, again, Bello failed to show gratitude to providence which trusted power to him.

    This column recalls the circumstances that threw the young Bello, who didn’t win his party’s primary, to power, after the sudden death of Prince Abubakar Audu, who apparently would have won the 2015 governorship election, which shortly after his death, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) declared as inconclusive. Perhaps, to consolidate the power trusted on his laps by providence, Bello choose to rule the state with iron fist. If the allegation by the EFCC, is anything to go by, he also ruled with his hands in the state’s cookie jar.

    By running from the long arm of the law, Bello gives the impression that the allegations against him are true, and he is afraid of going to goal. But for how long, and how far, can he run, from the Nigerian criminal justice system, which even favours his ilk? For he is deemed innocent, until proven guilty. Again, if ever he is convicted, he could still come out a hero of his people, if the experience of Ibori and the recently released kidnaper, Wadume, are examples to go by.

  • Misguided Yoruba agitators

    Misguided Yoruba agitators

    One wonders what the ragtag army of Yoruba Nation Agitators, sought to achieve with their invasion of Oyo State Government Secretariat, last Saturday. According to the Nigerian police report, the police “successfully thwarted an attempt by hoodlums suspected to members of the ‘Yoruba Nation Agitation Group’, driven by a separatist agenda in attempt to forcefully take over the Oyo State Government Secretariat, Agodi-Ibadan.” While speaking to the press, the police accused the misguided young men of treasonable felony.

    Section 41 of the Criminal Code provides:

    Any person who forms an intention to effect any of the following purposes, that is to say – (a) to remove during his term of office otherwise than by constitutional means the President as Head of State of the Federation and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces thereof, or

    (b) to likewise remove during his term of office the Governor of a State, or

    (c) to levy war against Nigeria in order by force or constraint to compel President to change his measures or counsels, or in order to put any force or constraint upon, or in order to intimidate or overawe any House of the National Assembly or any other Legislature or legislative authority; or

    (d) to instigate any foreigner to make any armed invasion of Nigeria or of any of the territories thereof; and manifests such intention by an overt act, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life (emphasis mine).

    In their reaction, the Nigerian Army reported that “upon encountering own troops, the Yoruba nation adherents engaged the troops in a shootout. Troops, utilizing superior firepower, successfully subdued the attackers, who subsequently retreated in disarray.” The X (formerly twitter) message went on: “as a result of this engagement, nine members of the irredentist group were apprehended while one Semi-Automatic Pump Action rifle and ammunition were recovered.” The army went on to assure the public that measures have been taken to bring the situation under control.

    The Oyo state police command subsequently reported the items seized from the 20 suspects arrested following the incident. They include “three Pump Action guns, 291 life cartridges, two expended cartridges, 67 cutlasses and five bulletproof vests.” Other items recovered include “six pairs of boots, 10 megaphones (public address system), three Oodua Nation Army camouflage uniforms, one unregistered Nissan Urban Caravan Bus and three TVS Motorcycles.” Unless there are more surprises, could these be the war chest with which the agitators sought to overawe the federal military power, to establish the “interim government for the Yoruba Nation”?

    According to this paper on Sunday, Professor Banji Akintoye who washed his hands and that of Chief Sunday Igboho off the “treasonable felony” offence, said the information available to him is that the agitators had appointed “interim government for the Yoruba Nation.” He however properly situated it, when he said “I learnt they are engaged in some sort of insanity in Ibadan.” He reiterated that “we are the people fighting for Yoruba nation freedom and we will win the war peacefully and in an orderly manner.”

    But for the hunger pangs and the heat pains, which are real, Nigeria, sometimes portrays as a comedy of illusions. It will be interesting, if one could pry into the minds of the starry-eyed young men, who were involved in the invasion of the secretariat, to understand their mental acumen. How did they conceive in their minds, or get convinced by another person that with their motley crowd, and scanty arms and charms, they could overawe the government houses across the six states that make up the southwest?

    Perhaps, they hopped to charm the Yorubas, as their modern day saviors? Or in their delusions, they hoped that the people will rise and join their bouts of insanity, apologies to Professor Akintoye? If they were recruited by a woman from a prominent family in Lagos, as Prof suggested, what could she have promised them, that such outlawry would achieve? Prof described them as a lunatic fringe, vowing that those of them in their type of struggle would not engage in such a manner.     

    Read Also: Presidency warns on Yoruba agitators, IPOB alliance

    The days ahead will determine what happens to the alleged lunatic fringe. Would the state move against them and charge them with the high crime of treasonable felony, or with minor offences from which they could get out few months down the line? Regardless of what they are charged with, it is worrisome that these young men have been trained to handle weapons, which shows that theirs was a premeditated action. And the fact that they had flags and uniform, suggest that there may be other persons of like mind, perhaps working with them.

    So, while charging them to court may be the easiest thing to do, the southwest states must brace up for more challenges, if they have other members embedded within the public space. Also important, is to find out what motivates them, and why they decided to engage in the high risk of taking up arms against the state. There actions can not be wished away as violent reaction to the economic difficulties assailing Nigerians. Unless of course, the ragtag team are deluded that they could easily take over the government and be in charge of governance.

    Across the Niger, under the banner of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) a lot of young men suffer similar delusion; that with a ragtag army they can overawe the government and take over power. While the armed wing of the IPOB are far from their motive, the devastating impact of their sundry activities have left the states in the southeast gasping for economic breath. What initially stated as a joke sooner than later turned to a monster, as their strange decrees soon became diktats, obeyed by the people.

    Hopefully, the southwest states will learn from what happened in the southeast, and take necessary measures to end the mutating danger, if it is not already too late. While localizing the challenge to the southwest, the federal government should worry that the number of non-state actors, with access to arms and ammunition, and with intent to cause havoc in the nation, is increasing. Virtually all the other zones are already inundated with security challenges, with southwest until now, considered relatively peaceful.

    Hopefully, the national economy would rebound, on the wings of strengthening naira, and stanch the descent into anarchy, as portrayed by the Yoruba Nation Agitators, last week in Ibadan. While economic hardship is not an excuse for criminality, there is no doubt that unemployment and hopelessness associated with it, increases the vulnerability of the youths to crime. It is hoped that the federal, state and local governments would make hay while the sun shines.

  • Abandoned Enugu coal mines

    Abandoned Enugu coal mines

    Enugu, in the southeast of Nigeria, became famous at the beginning of last century, following the discovery of coal, in Udi Ridge, by Albert Kitson, a British mines engineer in 1909. To mine the coal, which became the main source of energy for the booming industrialization in England and other parts of the world, mining tunnels stretching several kilometres were dug under the ground. Shipped through the newly created port, in Port Harcourt, coal fired Enugu to regional and national prominence.

    Coal was used domestically to fire the wagons as rail transport developed across the country. Also, coal became a major source of energy to fire electricity power plants as Nigeria inexorably matched to modernity. The Ogbete mine came on stream in 1916, with the production of 24,511 metric tons of coal. The Nigerian Coal Corporation (NCC), was incorporated in 1950, and with the opening of other mines within the area, coal production hit an all-time high of 790,030 metric tons in the fifties.

    Following the discovery of oil in Oloibiri, in 1956, federal government’s interest began to shift to the use of that other hydrocarbon, for the locomotive engines, and for the production of electricity. A further blow to coal production was the Biafra/Nigeria civil war, from 1967 to 1970. And the production and use of coal continued to plummet until it stopped completely in 2010. At the height of its glorious era, coal was a major source of revenue and foreign exchange for the country.

    The NCC which managed coal was one of the most iconic places to work, before and after Nigeria, gained her independence, in 1960. And many leading lights in the country, particularly from the Eastern Region, are scions of the employees of the NCC. At that time, working as a clerk in the NCC, was akin to working in an oil company, in modern time. Just as the quantity of coal export expanded, so also the tunnels dug underground what became the city of Enugu and the surrounding communities.

    Sadly, the effort to mechanize coal production did not yield much result, and as revenue from oil increased, interest in coal dipped.  By abandoning coal production, the several kilometres of underground tunnels and mines, littering Enugu-underground and the surrounding communities, have also been abandoned. The abandoned Nigerian coal deposit is estimated at about 2.8 billion metric tons.

    But, the diverse expansive assets of the coal corporation, especially buildings and landed properties, was an incentive for corrupt practices, as those appointed to manage the corporation, especially during the military era, were more interested in asset striping than improving the mining fortune of the corporation. While the country can choose to abandon the enormous coal deposits, which could be used to generate electricity, amongst other benefits, it cannot abandon the tunnels which pose existential danger to those living in Enugu, and the surrounding communities. 

    Presently, one of the challenges bedevilling the coal industry is the ownership structure, after the attempted privatization exercise. Like most other solid minerals across the country, the much needed private capital, is not attracted to the coal industry. The effort by the federal government, since the advent of democratic government, to give fillip to solid mineral development, has not yielded much result. The campaign by industrialized countries, against the use of hydrocarbon sources of energy, is also fuelling campaign against coal, to fire electricity production. 

    Yet, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal was the third largest energy source, for the U.S. electricity generation in 2022, which is about 18%. Until electricity generation system was decarbonized, few years ago, coal used to generate a third of Britain’s power, and presently, gas and coal power plants made up a third of the UK’s electricity supplies in 2023. Within the European Union, coal generates about 25.6% of electricity, and while the numbers are low in some countries, it is higher than 50% in some, with Germany having 42.7%, as recent as 2015.

    Conversely, in Nigeria, despite the abundance of coal, and the paucity of electricity generation, only 570 gigawatt hours of electricity, were generated from coal in 2022. The neglect of coal in Nigeria is not likely to change in the foreseeable future, as there are no known plans of the federal government, which by law, owns all mineral resources in the country, to use coal, as a major source of electricity production. The state governments of Enugu and south-eastern states, which could benefit from coal, to generate electricity, appear too timid to push their common interest.

    So, the abandoned underground tunnels of the coal city of Enugu and surrounding communities pose existential dangers to the people living above the ground. According to the Journal of Environment Science and Technology, examining the impact of the tunnels on the water bodies, with respect to coal mining in Enugu, “the quality of the water is significantly influenced, by acidic mine drainage and its impact on human health could be severe”.

    Also, Enugu State is reputed to suffer the worst erosion in the entire country, and the report attributes that to un-reclaimed mines and unregulated artisanal mining at abandoned mine sites, scattered across the state. The danger posed by the abandoned coal mining tunnels, appear to have awaken the interest of a socio-cultural organization, substantially made up of the communities most impacted by the abandoned mines. The forum, known as Agbaja Leaders of Thought (ALT), organized a zoom meeting, where, Hon. Uche Ani, an environmentalist discussed the looming dangers.

    Read Also: Police rescue victims kidnapped on Easter Sunday in Enugu

    Among the concerns raised is that the “long abandoned coal tunnels created some voids and vacuum causing underground flood and water saturation resulting into vertical soil movement to the topsoil of some parts of Agbaja landscape giving rise to possible landslides in places like Ngwo and Nsude”. He also said “some dangerous chemical constituents in these open underground mine tunnels arising from mining operations years back have mixed up with flood water and found their way into some of the major rivers/streams in Agbajaland and other places”.

    These are grave issues, which require the attention of the federal government, which own the mines, as well as Enugu State and local governments within the area, considering that the security and welfare of citizens, is the primary responsibility of government. This column has in previous write-ups, argued for the exploration of the abundant coal in the region, for the benefit of the people and its government. Now, with the Electricity Act of 2023, allowing subnational governments and private investors, stake in electricity generation and distribution, the southeast states, should consider the revitalization of the Oji River power plant.

    To achieve that objective, southeast governments can enter into a mining lease agreement with the federal government, to operate the cluster of coal mines within Enugu State, to feed the revitalized power plant with coal.

  • Politicians abhor Easter

    Politicians abhor Easter

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT), governors, former presidential aspirants, and various cadres of party leaders, have all profoundly espoused the message of Easter which is sacrifice, love and charity. Some have even called on Nigerians to emulate the sacrificial lamb, Lord Jesus Christ, who willingly laid down his life for the salvation of mankind. In their epistles, they prop Nigerians to emulate Jesus, so the nation could make a quantum leap to overcome her many challenges. But do they heed their own message?

    In his Easter message, PBAT praised Nigerians for their resilience in the face of harsh economic challenges, associated with his reform agenda. His spokesman Ajuri Ngelale, puts it succinctly: “The President strongly commends Nigerians for the sacrifices they have made in the past few months for the nation to be steered to the path of recovery and sustainable growth, assuring them that the seeds of patience which they have sown are beginning to sprout and will in no time bring forth abundance of good fruits.”

    In his message through his special adviser on media and publicity, Eseme Eyiboh, the senate president Godswill Akpabio said: “Just as Jesus Christ in His humility and love offered Himself for redemption of mankind, I admonish us to emulate Him and make sacrifices for one another.” Governor Siminalayi Fubara, in his message enthused: “At the heart of Easter is the triumph of light over darkness. It is a season that reminds us that the Almighty God can turn an unpleasant situation around for the good of His people.”

    The Minister of the FCT Nyesem Wike, postulated: “In the story of Easter, we find the ultimate symbol of sacrifice in the selfless act of Jesus Christ, who laid down His life for the redemption of humanity.” Similar good words for the nation were delivered by former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and that of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, who attended the Easter Mass, organized by the Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Valerian Okeke, at Onitsha Correctional Centre.  

    Read Also: Why we did not recover $69.4 million electricity debt, by NBET

    But despite these profound messages of love, charity and sacrifice, one wonders why all the wars going on between our politicians? For example, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Governor Simi Fubara, presently, are mortal enemies. Is it that they don’t hear their own messages and that of their other colleagues, who are pontificating on the essence of Easter? Or is it, a case of doctors who don’t use their own medicine? Clearly, the trouble between Wike and his former protégé Fubara, can be solved if they imbibe the spirit of sacrifice embodied by Jesus Christ.

    While Wike is claiming that Fubara is working to destroy the political structure that brought him to power, Fubara is alleging that Wike is overbearing and seeking to remote-control his government. The fallout of the war has been enormous on the state, with the most visible being the burning down and subsequent pulling down of the legislative building of the state. The temporal peace achieved by the intervention of President Tinubu appears to be yielding to pressure, with the state House of Assembly threatening to resume the impeachment proceeding earlier halted.

    Again, in the Labour Party, a civil war has broken out between the party’s executive committee and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), which claim to be the owners of the party. In what the NLC has described as a kangaroo convention, Julius Abure, was conveniently returned for a fresh tenure as party chairman. While Abure is saying the convention met all the requirements of law, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has technically declared the convention invalid, by saying, INEC, did not monitor the convention as required by the Electoral Act.

    On it part, the president of NLC, Joe Ajaero, is also not sitting comfy, as the presidency has declared him a politician in labour’s clothing. This column has earlier warned Ajaero, that the NLC was moving into the slippery terrain of party politics, with all its consequences. Now, while the NLC president, unabashedly claims to be the owners of Labour Party, the president of the party, tutors him that the party is an independent legal entity, under the law, and cannot be owned by the NLC.

    Stirring in Kaduna State, is another potential war between the former governor of the state, Nasir El Rufai and his protégé and successor, Senator Uba Sani. Firing the first salvo, El Rufai’s son, Bashir El-Rufai, claimed that Governor Sani, is incompetent for disclosing the heavy indebtedness of the state publicly, and how it has impacted the payment of salaries. His elder brother, and House of Representatives member, Bello El-Rufai, who appears more amenable to the message of Easter, disagrees with his brother.

    In his intervention, the Honourable affirms loyalty to the state governor, nothing that there is nothing wrong in the governor publicly declaring the financial health of the state. In pledging his loyalty, he noted that his father, the former governor, declared the money handed over to the incumbent governor, in the handover notes. Other former friends turned foes, who have abandoned the message of Easter, are Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, and his estranged friend and deputy, Phillip Shuaibu, presently facing impeachment threats. Interestingly, when Obaseki was warring with his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole, the deputy governor, Shuaibu, abandoned his mentor, Oshiomhole and sided with Obaseki.

    There are several other examples of politicians across the country, showing that while our politicians pontificate about the enduring sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which as one of them noted is the reason for the season, their actions are far from their words. But how can they be preaching sacrifice, when they are not ready to make the littlest of such sacrifices. Jesus whom they ask us to emulate, in case they don’t understand, was sinless, but willingly gave his life for the sake of sinners.

    Throughout his ministry, Jesus showed empathy and love to the poor and the downtrodden. He fed and cured them at no cost. When the powerful forces of the day sought to put heavy loads on them, he sided with the lowly of heart. He eschewed violence of any sort, and even when his disciples sought to defend him with violence, he rebuked them, and replaced an ear that was caught off. Above all, he gave his life, in atonement for the sins of others.

    So, clearly while their messages at Easter resonate, their actions enrage the people. They cannot ask the people to emulate Jesus, the reason for the season, when their actions show them as enemies of the teaching of Jesus Christ. No doubt, if they can practice a modicum of the love espoused by Jesus, the nation would be the better for it. Perhaps, 2024, will herald a new beginning.

  • KSM walks for life

    KSM walks for life

    Across the country, last Saturday, the Knights of St. Mulumba (KSM), campaigned on the streets against killings and domestic violence of any sort. The annual program is even more significant, considering the violent killings, by bandits, kidnappers, agitators and abortionists. Tagged “prolife walk”, Knights and Ladies of KSM mounted loud speakers, shared banners and engaged in one-on-one campaigns, proclaiming that life is scared and no one should take another person’s life, which is a gift from God. 

    The prolife campaign should assume a national vigour, considering the gruelling experience of victims of kidnapping, especially children in the northern part of the country, where mass abductions have become a weapon in the hands of kidnappers, terrorists and allied bandits. Last Sunday, the macabre dance with the fate of 137 abducted Kaduna school children ended. The children abducted from LEA Primary Secondary School, Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area, Kaduna state on March 7, were taken into the forest while a ransom of N1 billion was demanded for their release, with March 27, as deadline for payment.         

    Significantly, there was confusion about the actual number of abducted children. While some media organs reported that 280 persons were abducted, the Kaduna State government announced that the entire abducted children have been freed. The Director Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Edward Buba, in a statement claimed that 137 abducted children from LEA primary school were rescued in Zamfara State.  He also announced that 16 pupils taken hostage in Gada LGA of Sokoto state have also been rescued.

    While we give thanks to God for their release, there are many more kidnapped children whose lives are in the hands of these anti-life elements. Of note, the media briefing did not mention whether the abductors were captured or killed in combat operations.  Last weekend, troops of the 7 Division also rescued 78 hostages made up of 35 women and 43 children in Borno State. According the military, enclaves and villages where the elements of the Islamic State of West African Province and the JAS in northeast are, were cleared in the mission.

    There are other violent activities that have made life very cheap across the country. One common cause is communal clashes. Recently, four officers and 13 soldiers said to be on a peace mission in Okuama community in Ughelli, Delta State, were ambushed and killed. While there is a debate about the mission of the soldiers, the concern for this piece is that lives have been wasted. The aggrieved soldiers have occupied the community and vowed to fish out the killers, and there are worries that many more lives may be wasted.

    Again, the perennial communal clashes in Plateau state have resulted in several losses of lives. The most recent over the weekend happened between the Taroh and Motola youths in Mikang Local Government Area of the state. Of course, Plateau is the epicentre of industrial scale killing, burning and wanton destruction of lives and properties resulting from the clashes between farmers and herders. There are reports that over 60,000 have died in the farmers/herders clashes across the country as at the beginning of this year. Fortunately, the spate of attacks seems to have reduced.

    According to Nextier SPD Policy Weekly, terrorism and activities of Fulani herdsmen escalated during the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari. The medium reported that between 2017 and 2020, suspected Fulani herdsmen carried out 654 attacks and killed 2539 Nigerians. The report further claimed that despite the huge expenses of about N12 trillion on security, under Buhari, insecurity got worse, with banditry spreading across the northwest, and north-central, while unknown gunmen spread across the southeast, and kidnapping in the southwest and south-south.

    Read Also: No ransom paid for school children’s release – Fed Govt

    The KSM campaigners also walked against domestic violence. According to several reports, domestic violence is on the rise in Nigeria. The CLEEN foundation reports that one in every three respondents identified themselves as victims of domestic violence. The violence takes many forms including physical, sexual, emotional and mental abuses. The Foundation’s 2021 National Crime and Safety Survey demonstrates that 31% of national sample confessed to being victims of domestic violence. It reports that common forms of violence against women in Nigeria include rape, acid attacks, molestation, wife beating, and corporal punishment.

    While traditionally, it is a permissive culture for men to “discipline” their wives, resulting in the higher numbers of domestic violence against women, there are also cases of domestic violence against men, in some cases leading to outright killing. According to a Guardian newspaper report in 2021, at least once a week, there is a case of a man beating, maiming or killing his wife, and in rare cases, a woman dealing with the husband in like manner.

    The report indicates that because Nigeria is a patriarchal society, men have the notion that upon the payment of bride price, they own their wives and take steps to chastise or discipline her, as they wish. Sadly, domestic violence is predominant within the lower income earners, perhaps because of the economic pressure associated with it. There are also reports that substance abuse, infertility and unemployment are factors that are linked with domestic violence. While there are efforts to curb the menace, through legislation and advocacy, a lot more needs to be done.

    One of the core pro-life interests of the KSM is the fervent opposition to abortion. The group passionately professes, promotes and defends the Catholic doctrine against abortion. For them, life starts at conception and nothing must be done to alter the divine wishes of the creator from conception to delivery. According to a Guttmacher Institute, there are an estimated 456,000 unsafe abortions done in Nigeria, every year. Luckily, the Catholic Church and the law of the land are substantially on the same page on abortion, which is illegal in Nigeria.

    Both the Criminal Code and the Penal Code criminalise abortion. Section 228 criminalizes attempt to procure abortion, and provides for a sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment. On its part section 229 provides for seven years for any woman who tries to commit abortion by herself or submits herself for abortion. On its part, section 232 of the penal code provides that any person who voluntarily causes a woman to miscarry, except for saving the life of the woman, shall be punished for a term of imprisonment extending to fourteen years or more.

    The Knights and Ladies of St. Mulumba, walked to draw attention to the Biblical assertion that life is sacred. By preaching to the public, they seek to impact positively on the rising incidents of killings across the country. Hopefully, they draw the attention of the governments at all levels, to put necessary measures to abate the killings. In the season of Easter, they propagate love, charity and almsgiving.

  • Divide and rule in senate

    Divide and rule in senate

    The senate has become a laboratory for divide and rule tactics. While the House of Representatives which passed the same 2024 national budget that the senate passed is enjoying tranquillity, the senate almost boiled over last week over the passage of that same budget. Of course, this column will not hold brief for either arm of the National Assembly which over the years passes perhaps the opaquest budget any country that claims to be practicing democracy, can pass.   

    But the fact is that the hullaballoo about padded budget is merely a subterfuge because every year the National Assembly determines what goes into the national budget, regardless of the protestations of the executive. And more so, Senator Abdul Ningi, who raised the alarm has recanted the claim, knowing that what himself and his colleagues engaged in this year, is not different from the mishmash of cutting and pasting, which the National Assembly has done over the years. He knows also that over the years, members of the National Assembly add some shameful subheads to the budget in the name of constituency project.

    So, nothing is different, except that the forces he represents are not comfortable with the leadership of the National Assembly residing in the south, just like the executive. The forces merely used the northern senators’ forum as a springboard to divide the senate, with budget-padding as the catalyst. Interestingly, the Northern Senators’ Forum is an amalgamation of senators from different political parties, and if he had succeeded in pooling the wool over the eyes of other senators, the group could have been working for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is presently a minority in the senate, or other interests.  

    As espoused by political philosophers, divide and rule is a tactics used by a dominant power to maintain dominance over those it has control or wishes to have control over. It is used in politics, military and foreign policy to achieve the same purpose. In politics, the sovereign can use it to maintain control over the subjects, by promoting some over others, and engendering enmity and unbridled competition within the subjects. 

    Similar tactics can also be used in the military, to create doubts in the mind of the enemy over the loyalty of the commanders. The tactics through propaganda can also be employed in foreign policy, to weaken a military alliance, and gain advantage. The tactics of divide and rule has been used from time immemorial to gain advantage over opponents. For example, during the Nigerian-Biafra civil war, Gen. Gowon created 12 states out of the Eastern Region, to turn the minorities against the separatist agenda of Biafra.   

    Within the National Assembly, since 1999, the senate appears to be the laboratory for the practice of divide and rule, each time a southerner is elected as the senate president. The tactics was most effective in the senate, when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) zoned the senate presidency to the southeast. Within eight years, the senate had a turnover of five presidents. The power fingered for that irregular turnover of senate presidents was President Olusegun Obasanjo, who allegedly was seeking for a senate president he could manipulate.

    But since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu supported the emergence Godswill Akpabio, which power is seeking to divide the senate, so Akpabio can be removed or weakened in the performance of his duties? There are various pointers: Hausa-Fulani oligarchic power, which wishes to regain the leadership of the National Assembly. The sympathizers of PDP, who are in All Progressives Congress (APC), teaming up with the members of the PDP. Or a coalition of various groups teaming up with those who lost out in the elections, to Akpabio, and even to PBAT, during the presidential election.

    As should be evident to senators (1999-2007), especially those from the southeast, who acquiesced to the incessant changes in the senate during the Obasanjo era, they were mere pawns in the hands of forces bent on dominating them. Employing divide and rule tactics, the forces were able to keep them in disarray and ensured that they were unable to exercise the enormous constitutional powers granted them by the 1999 constitution. Until they bonded and starred back at Obasanjo, they remained a pawn in President Obasanjo’s hand.

    The 10th senate is in similar quandary, even though the forces at play are different. While not holding brief for Akpabio, it is strange that while some people wanted to set the senate on the boil, the other arm of the National Assembly which passed the same budget was cool. I don’t believe that members of the House of Representatives would be smiling, if their colleagues in the senate took them for a ride, by padding the budget for their own benefit while they were left out.

    That is not the character of the National Assembly that Nigerians are carrying on their back since 1999. The two arms of the National Assembly operate on a quid pro quo basis, and nothing appears to have changed. Perhaps, the leadership of the southern senators have realized the power of unity, prompting their revitalization of the southern senators’ forum, as a counter foil to the northern senators’ forum, which Senator Ningi, tried to use to achieve his political agenda.

    Read Also: Senate condemns killing of Army personnel in Delta state

    Most likely, the forces around Akpabio, employed similar tactics of divide and rule to get the northern senators to renounce their leader, one after another, which eventually led to his capitulation. Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Senator Ningi, after his suspension for three months, also resigned his leadership of the Northern Senators’ Forum. Having failed in the ultimate plan, to destabilize the senate, and perhaps force a change in leadership, Senator Ningi has been recanting his assertion about the claims on the 2024 budget.

    He denied that he ever claimed there are two budgets, one made up of N25 trillion, and another N28 trillion. He denied alleging that the senators padded the budget, as if the national budget is a product of the senate alone. In solidarity, his collaborators in the senate are all owing up to benefiting from the constituency projects running into hundreds of millions, information they have always shied away from giving out.

    There is no doubt that the National Assembly members have minimal interest in the affairs of the down-trodden masses. A firm proof is the unlawful budgetary allocation they enjoy, in flagrant disobedience to the provision of the Third Schedule, Part N, of the 1999 constitution (as amended), which gifts the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the power to determine senators’ salaries and emoluments.

    Unfortunately, the power tussle in the senate has nothing to do with that abuse of the constitution. Obviously, Ningi, was merely pushing to foist a hegemonic interest.