The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niyi Akinnaso

  • President Tinubu: Six months and beyond

    President Tinubu: Six months and beyond

    In President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 100th day in office, he was in faraway New Delhi in India, attending the G-20 Leaders Summit to which he had been invited as one of nine guests of world leaders. I had argued before then that he should avoid the first 100 days jamboree and the attendant media blitz, given the plethora of problems he met in office and which he needed time to resolve (see History and mythology of the first 100 days, The Nation, June 14, 2023, and Avoidable trap of the first 100 days, The Nation, August 23, 2023). I submitted that the press should give him six months to set his agenda. Indeed, governance and development experts, from the late Dr Henry Kissinger to our own Professor Ladipo Adamolekun, favour six months as a good take-off trajectory. They argue that a leader, whose policies and governance direction are unclear after six months in office, is hardly worthy of the position.

    In Tinubu’s case, three major considerations led to the rejection of the first 100 days jamboree. First, President Tinubu needed time to unite the country, given the divisiveness that attended and followed the competitive election that brought him to power and the protracted litigation that followed. True, he won the election fair and square and according to all applicable laws. Nevertheless, with only 36.61% of the votes, nearly twice as many people voted against him than for him. Rather than close the divisions, the consecutive court judgments in Tinubu’s favour in the election cases further aggravated the divisions, partly due to the investment by his competitors in litigating his victory and partly due to the false expectations they had sold to their supporters.

    Read Also: Cash crunch hits Akure

    Second, although candidate Tinubu prepared an elaborate manifesto, detailing what he would like to do and achieve as President, he did so as an outsider. He needed to be in government to know what exactly was in store for his administration. And what he found was not pretty. A corporate accountant that he was before venturing into politics, it was one thing for him to know in advance that the economy he inherited was depressed. But it was another thing to realise that the national treasury was empty as the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, would reveal later.

    Third, although the National Bureau of Statistics claims to maintain a database on a variety of national issues, those figures are doubtful, largely because we don’t even know how many we are as a people since our last census, controversial as it was, went back to 2006! On the economic front he needed full access to the national accounts in order to fully grasp the enormity of the economic problems. As a result, time and care were needed to plan well.

    The above obstacles notwithstanding, Tinubu engaged in major activities and took consequential economic policy decisions within the first 100 days that could shape the development of the nation and the welfare of the citizens for years to come. Four of the policies included the removal of fuel subsidy; the unification of the exchange rate; the establishment of student loans; and the development of nation-wide palliative measures. Fuel subsidy had to go because the subsidy funds were going only into a few pockets. Similarly, the exchange rate had to be unified because the Central Bank, under disgraced Godwin Emefiele, had established multiple exchange systems to favour different categories of buyers! Both systems were a shorthand for corruption. A third policy was the establishment of an elaborate system of palliatives to cushion the effects of these two major policy decisions (see Akinnaso, The President’s speech on the economy, The Nation, August 2, 2023).

    Also, within the first three months, Tinubu appointed and inaugurated his cabinet and gave them mandates to work on over the next three months. He and Vice-President Kashim Shettima also took advantage of various meetings of world leaders to sell Nigeria to various investors, while also establishing bilateral relations and deepening existing ones. These engagements were necessary, given the gradual death of manufacturing and industrial production over the years as well as the level of infrastructural decay, resulting in the present depressed state of the Nigerian economy.

    Over the next three months, several more appointments were made, and the administration engaged in more preparations, leading to the game-changing cabinet retreat of November 1-3, 2023, in the sixth month of the administration. The retreat introduced at least three novelties to governance at the federal level, namely, (1) performance bonds, which outline the mandates for various ministries, the key performance indicators, and the timeline for performance evaluation; (2) a Results Delivery Unit, which details the evaluation mechanisms, including performance metrics and delivery tracking templates for periodic measurements of progress; and (3) a performance monitoring mobile App with which citizens can monitor the performance of particular ministers and projects, thus ushering in an era of accountability and inclusive governance.

    Unfortunately, however, the suffering masses, crushed by the economic impact of escalating inflation, fuelled by the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of multiple exchange rates, have been the focus of the media. It matters no more that the President was praised initially for these bold policies by local and international economic experts. Citizens, of course, don’t live in the past. They live in the moment and hope for a better future. Given the raging sting of the economic bite on citizens at the moment, they can only look into the future with squinty eyes.

    It is within this context that the outcry has been loud against certain government acts and practices people view as superfluous, if not profligate. They wonder, for example, why over a thousand Nigerians participated recently in the climate conference in Dubai, and why the Federal Government would sponsor as many as 422 of them in these austere times. There were also other teething problems reflected in appointments and in mixed messages.

    While questioning government intentions on these matters, it is also the duty of the press to educate the public about the nature of government and why government’s economic policies need time to mature. The government’s own communication with the public on its programmes also needs significant improvement. It is not enough to announce a policy, especially one that touches the people’s lives directly, such as the removal of fuel subsidy. It is even more important to follow it up with public education programmes, even in local languages, and to encourage Nigerians to hope for a better tomorrow.

  • The President and the Ondo truce

    The President and the Ondo truce

    “The President advised all opposing parties to bury the hatchet and embrace peace, eliciting commitments to this effect.

    “This means that Governor Akeredolu remains the Chief Executive of the State, Aiyedatiwa remains Deputy Governor, and members of the State Executive Council continue their respective duties, even as the leadership of the State’s House of Assembly and the APC Chapter in Ondo State is preserved.” — Presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, on Saturday, November 25, 2023

    Everyone had an opinion on the governance crisis in Ondo state in the last two months. But very few knew exactly what led to the crisis as everyone focused on the state Governor’s ill health. This is especially true of armchair columnists, sponsored reporters, and social media netizens. To be sure, the Governor’s situation had to do with the problem, but the real problem was with the Deputy Governor as I indicated in two earlier columns (October 18 and 25) in this newspaper. This is no longer the time and forum to go into those details.

    Given the tension the crisis had created, only an astute and experienced politician of the stature and experience of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could have successfully achieved the truce as stated in the above quotes by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale. Here is a President, who knew about Deputy Governors up close while he was Governor of Lagos state. Besides, he knows Akeredolu and Ondo state very well and has been on top of the governance crisis there since inception.

    It is important to stress that there were many parties involved in the governance crisis in Ondo state until the President’s intervention last Friday, November 24, 2023. The major actors included the Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, who is currently recuperating from illness; the Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who betrayed the trust the Governor had in him, when power was transferred to him as Acting Governor; the Ondo state cabinet and the tenuous relationships among its members as the majority aligned with the Governor, while a few aligned with the Deputy; the House of Assembly, which initiated the impeachment of the Deputy Governor, leading to various court filings by both sides; and the All Progressives Congress executive in the state, led by Ade Adetimehin, an erstwhile staunch supporter of the Governor, but who reportedly found himself under threat by the national Chairman of the party and started seeking new alliances.

    Some have questioned the President’s decision that all the parties should maintain the status quo. As I hinted above, only those who are ignorant of the facts, are acting on sponsorship, or are simply mischievous would make such a recommendation at this point. I am sure no one would think that the President and other party leaders, including the national Party Chairman, in attendance on Friday were ignorant of the Nigerian constitution and the constitution of their political party at the time the President made his recommendations.

    I use the word “truce” in the above title in its true sense of temporary cessation of hostilities, although the President meant to put an end to them. Nevertheless, I fear that maneuvres and intrigues will continue underground and may possibly come to the fore later. The driving forces will be greed, lust, and the upcoming governorship election in the state, which fomented the loss of trust in the first place.

    It is very important to examine news reports and opinions on events in Ondo state in order to separate facts from fiction or mere delusion. For example, despite the clarity of the President’s recommendations and the agreements reached last Friday, there are reports still pushing the Deputy Governor’s agenda. A day after the truce, a popular mainstream newspaper put the Ondo case on its front page with various headlines, most of which were false. A close look at the newspaper’s position since the inception of the Ondo crisis easily betrays its leaning. Such false stories must stop as must sponsored stories parading measures that depart from those on which the various parties agreed at the President’s instance last Friday.

    The question is whether those measures, based on a politically expedient compromise, are workable. I strongly believe they are, provided the leading actors put the state’s business ahead of their individual ambitions. However, the measures require that the lines between the executive, the legislature, the civil service, and even the political party leadership in the state be partially blurred for the next one year. They must find ways of working together to move the state forward in these rather exceptional circumstances.

    Read Also: Ondo Assembly fails to declare Aiyedatiwa Acting Gov

    I happen to know that there are projects and programmes that Governor Akeredolu planned to accomplish during his second term. One of them is the take-off of the newly established Local Council Development Areas, which the Governor signed into law on September 9, 2023, shortly after his return to the country. Salaries and pensions must be paid. University subventions must be paid. The infrastructure projects must continue on roads and school facilities. There are also issues that have come up, which need the government’s attention. For example, the distribution of palliatives to cushion the effects of subsidy removal, which has been going on smoothly, must continue until completed. From now on, the people must see the face of the government.

    Finally, the ball is also in Governor Akeredolu’s court. He should order the state executive to meet as soon as possible. If he cannot attend in person, he should order his Deputy to chair the meeting.

    On his part, the Deputy Governor should seize this opportunity as a second chance. He should summon a meeting of the leaders identified by the President and also invite the Attorney General and the Commissioners for Finance and Information to such a meeting to review how best to implement the terms of the agreement reached with the President. With such a meeting, to be held from time to time, he can begin to rebuild trust. He should henceforth spend time on state matters, rather than seeking sanctuary or succour in Abuja. He has a chance to show his leadership skills, and he should seize opportunity. Besides, it is in his best interest to honour the President’s recent intervention and ensure the successful implementation of the recommendations to which all parties agreed last Friday.

  • The dimensions of poverty in Nigeria

    The dimensions of poverty in Nigeria

    In response to economic depression in Ghana, following a global slump in cocoa prices in the 1960s, Ghanaians began to migrate to Nigeria in droves in the 1970s to take advantage of the oil boom in Nigeria during that period. Within a decade, Ghanaians were everywhere in Nigeria. They were teachers. They were artisans. They were labourers, gardeners, cooks, and house-helps. They would do anything to make ends meet. As they heeded the Nigerian government deportation orders, once in 1983 and later in 1985, their emigration back home was a pitiful sight as they carried or dragged their rectangular plaid woven bags we have come to know today as Ghana-Must-Go bags.

    The evacuation order by the Nigerian government followed economic slow-down in the country, largely as a result of prolonged governance deficit and growing corruption for which Ghanaians were not responsible. Today, Nigeria and Ghana literally have swapped position. Of course, all is not well with Ghana yet; but it is much better for Ghana today than it was over forty years ago. Nigeria, on the other hand, has fared much worse. True, there are noticeable improvements here and there, but the economy has nosedived, leading the government to live on borrowed funds.

    A clear indication of Ghana’s economic recovery is its current poverty rate of 23.4% vis-à-vis Nigeria’s of 40.1%. Moreover, only 9% of Ghana’s population lives in “extreme poverty” (that is, less than $2 a day), while as much as 32% of Nigeria’s population lives in extreme poverty. That’s about 70 million people, which is more than twice the entire population of Ghana.  On her part, Ghana has been able to take more and more people out of poverty over the years due to improved governance and superior management of funds derived from cocoa, gold, and more recently oil. Of course, Nigeria is endowed with much greater quantities of these resources than Ghana. However, they have been poorly managed and the funds derived from them have gone into a few pockets.

    In addition to mismanagement and direct diversion of funds, two government policies—fuel subsidy and multiple exchange rates—were used to mask some of the corrupt practices, which deprived the masses access to necessary political goods. That’s why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s first line of attack at corruption was the reversal of these policies during his inauguration on May 29, 2023. He has also rightly gone further to probe the activities of the Central Bank and to improve security around the nation’s oil wells and pipelines, recently leading to increased oil production. Moreover, the administration has embarked on a policy of giving back to the people some of what has been stolen from them, by establishing an elaborate palliative policy which makes funds available for farming, infrastructure, transportation, housing, and entrepreneurial training. Cash is also being made available for the poorest of the poor.

    The problem, though, is that the multiple dimensions of poverty in Nigeria have hardly been properly assessed. Besides, periodic poverty alleviation measures cannot translate to poverty eradication. Yet, proper assessment of the dimensions of poverty in the country has to be done if appropriate policies were to be established to take more people out of poverty on a permanent basis.

    A good starting point is the Multidimensional Poverty Measure created by the Global Poverty Working Group out of the various dimensions of poverty developed by the UNDP, the Oxford Poverty and Development Initiative, and the World Bank. The four major dimensions and their indicators (in parentheses) are: (1) Health (nutrition and child mortality); (2) Education (literacy level, often measured by years of schooling); (3) Living Standards (housing, electricity, drinking water, sanitation, cooking fuel); and (4) Monetary (daily consumption or income. Any person who suffers major deprivations in three or more of these indicators is said to be multidimensionally poor.

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    Nigeria has consistently scored low on the various indicators, especially in the rural areas, where most of the population lives. What government after government has done was to throw money at the problems, often without the benefit of accurate data. We don’t even know how many we are since no census has been conducted since 2006! We’ve relied on population estimates, often by major world bodies, such as the United Nations and the World Bank, which is why many facilities are inadequate for the populations they serve. Many projects were abandoned due to inadequate funding, lack of clearly laid out implementation plans, lack of supervision, or outright corruption.

    But Nigeria’s problem is even deeper than these evident measures and indicators of poverty. There is also a general planning deficit, resulting from poor governance. Fortunately, the Tinubu administration has shown signs of improvement in these areas, going by the outcome of the cabinet retreat in November, which featured performance bonds with key performance indicators, a Performance Delivery Unit, and a performance monitoring App.

    What remains is a comprehensive plan to take a certain number of people out of poverty in a certain number of years. In designing such a programme, the starting point is knowing in which indicators of poverty people suffer the most deprivations and the number of people affected. In this regard, the Tinubu administration has something to learn from India, which took about 135 million people, about 10% of India’s population, out of poverty in the last five years alone!

    Of course, India did not achieve this feat overnight. Since the 1950s, the central government has been working with regional governments, non-governmental organisations, major businesses, and local communities to initiate and implement several programmes to alleviate poverty. The programmes include subsiding food, housing, and other necessities; increasing access to loans; improving agricultural techniques and price supports; promoting education and family planning; and accelerating entrepreneurial and ICT training. These measures have gone a long way in reducing or eliminating famines, developing technological skills, and reducing illiteracy, malnutrition, and joblessness. The results have been steady reductions in poverty levels.

    India’s case shows that poverty reduction or eradication is the result of sustainable programmes that are transferable from one government to the other, rather than of one-off poverty alleviation measures in moments of crises. Indeed, sustainability and self dependency should be promoted as integral parts of a successful poverty eradication policy.

    The Indian case also shows that poverty eradication is not just a top-down project. It is a project that succeeds only when it is decentralised from conception through implementation. This brings to the fore the incessant calls for decentralisation.

    It is high time a comprehensive policy was designed to eradicate poverty in Nigeria in order to derive the full impact of the new economic measures the Tinubu administration has developed.

  • The President, performance bond, and service delivery

    The President, performance bond, and service delivery

    No one doubts that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a bold, courageous, determined, focused, and astute politician. For those who still doubt his governance credentials at the national level or doubt that he means business as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the cabinet retreat held Wednesday, November 1, 2023, through Friday, November 3, 2023, offered a glimpse of his governance acumen and preparedness. Coming in the sixth month of his administration, the cabinet retreat shows that the President has completed his homework and is ready to roll.

    What the press missed in reportage of the retreat is that it was the capstone of a series of preparations in the last six months. Those who wanted the retreat to have held earlier forgot that the most useful retreats are those for which sufficient background work had been accomplished.

    That’s why the President took his time to work through such background preparations. Thus, during the past six months, the Central Delivery Coordinating Unit, in collaboration with the offices of the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination and the Head of Service, held bilateral engagements with all heads of ministries, and the Head of the Civil Service to develop the mandates or deliverables that would facilitate the actualisation of the major priorities and focus areas of the administration, 2023-2027. The major priorities were derived from the Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Development Plan 2021-2025 and various sectoral plans. The bilateral engagements were followed by robust technical sessions, involving many technical partners, including KPMG, McKenzie, and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

    Furthermore, each minister has met with the Permanent Secretary and top civil servants in his or her ministry and informed them of the Renewed Hope Agenda and the President’s mandate and areas of priorities. Some have even held their own retreat, while others will do so shortly. Besides, shortly after assuming the duty, the ministers also had to work on and defend their budget for 2024, bearing in mind their mandates and priorities.

    The cabinet retreat came as a capstone of all these activities and was divided into four major phases on (1) administrative processes; (2) managing relations with relevant stakeholders; (3) technical presentations; and (4) panel sessions on major focus areas. These sessions were followed by a detailed presentation on the performance evaluation mechanism of the Results Delivery Unit. The final event was the signing of the performance bond. The remainder of this essay focuses on these last two events.

    The main purpose of the ministerial performance bond is to ensure collaboration between ministers, who are the arrowheads of government policies in their respective ministries and their permanent secretaries, who are responsible for coordinating other civil servants in the implementation of the policies. Without a working synergy between political officeholders and career civil servants, policies and their implementation will remain poles apart.

    An even broader context, which the President elaborated upon in his opening and closing addresses, is the tendency for civil servants to see political appointees as come-and-go officials. Ministers coming into government circle for the first time could be dribbled by dubious civil servants whom one Governor once described as “evil servants”. Those among them who view public service merely as ise ijoba (government job) could be particularly dangerous. Their behaviour was recently demonstrated in the encounter between former Governor David Umahi, now Minister of Works, and the civil servants in his ministry, who did not show up for work on time.

    Another context for the performance bond is the provision of a reference point for future evaluation of the ministers’ performances by the Result Delivery Unit. The ministers and the civil servants need to be on the same page regarding the mandates for their ministries, if they were to achieve desired results. The tripartite bond cements the relationship between the two, on the one hand, and between them and the President, on the other hand. Once the bond is signed, neither can deny knowledge of the other or of the tasks they must accomplish together.

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    The performance bonds are not just signatures on paper. Each performance bond articulates key mandates or deliverables for each ministry; establishes key performance indices; provides timelines for accomplishing particular tasks; and establishes the basis for quarterly performance measurement, beginning in the first quarter of 2024. This is precisely why a Delivery Unit is necessary.

    The Unit, headed by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy, Hadiza Bala Usman, consists of a group of specially trained technocrats in service delivery mechanisms. In consultation with the National Bureau of Statistics and with performance bonds in mind, the Unit has developed performance metrics and delivery tracking templates for periodic measurements of progress in achieving the deliverables according to defined priority areas. It has also developed bottleneck resolution mechanisms to resolve bottlenecks and sundry issues that may occur in the course of service delivery.

    Even more importantly, the Unit has developed a dashboard for performance content management. The dashboard provides a bird’s eye view of results achieved across all priorities and focus areas at any given time. Such a dashboard will provide an early warning system that triggers timely remedial actions when targets are not met.

    Even more interesting from the point of view of citizen participation is the Presidential Delivery Tracker, a mobile App that enables third party monitoring, by allowing citizens to monitor and report on key projects of the ministries. By including citizens in performance monitoring through a mobile App, we may be entering an era of inclusive governance and accountability we’ve never seen before.

    The take-aways from the retreat are unmistakable. The President is ready to lead and he has used the retreat as an occasion to inspire and charge his cabinet and top civil servants to be ready to serve. He wants everyone working with him to share the same vision and possibly work at the same pace, hence the performance bonds. As the opening quote clearly shows, we also see a President, who is not shy to hire and fire. Moreover, this President clearly values data as the basis for planning and performance evaluation and he is thoroughly in tune with the technology of modern governance. The clarity of his thoughts and vision is symbolised by the clarity of the opening and closing addresses as well as the content of the cabinet retreat.

  • Aketi, Lucky, and the future of Ondo state

    Aketi, Lucky, and the future of Ondo state

    These are not the best of times in Ondo state. They are not the worst of times, either. Nothing in the governance crisis in the state in the last few months comes remotely close to the 1983 political crisis being invoked by some commentators. In that crisis, the state was totally paralysed. Some people were killed and their property destroyed. Others ran away from the state or went into hiding, while the majority held their breath. I was as much a witness of the 1983 crisis as I am of the present governance crisis in the state.

    Without a doubt, the current situation in Ondo state could have been better than they are but for the behaviour and selfish actions of a few characters, notably, the Deputy Governor, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa. However, before I get to his case, it is important to briefly examine the facilitating factors that brought him to the fore.

    The key factor is Governor Rotimi Odunayo Akeredolu’s illness. It is easy to blame him now that the state also has caught his illness. However, he did what was necessary to ensure that the state remained healthy. Basically, he did major two things.

    First, he did what he could to move the state forward in key sectors. A few examples will suffice. One key area is the growth of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue from about N670 million to over N3 billion per month. He worked hard at it, by developing new policies and structures, such as the ODRIS building complex opposite the famous Dome, and hiring a whole complement of staff for tax collection. As of the latest assessment, Ondo had the fastest growing IGR among the 36 states. Interestingly, at least in terms of traffic and patronage, Akure Airport is also the fastest growing state airport in the country.

    With available resources, Governor Akeredolu was able to construct or renovate over 500 kilometers of roads and over 800 primary and secondary schools throughout the state. He also constructed a fly-over bridge at Ore to ease the heavy traffic flow and accidents at the junction of the Sagamu-Benin and Ondo-Okitipupa roads. Similarly, he commenced the very first flyover bridge in Akure, the state capital, to ease traffic congestion. He piloted the University of Medical Sciences at Ondo and the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology at Okitipupa to full accreditation of all their programmes. He also established the UNIMED Teaching Hospital Complex, by converting the State Specialist Hospitals at Akure and Ondo into Teaching Hospitals. This was complemented with a 200-bed building complex each at Akure and Ondo. Over 500 hospital staff, including about 200 doctors, were also hired.

    He took similar strides in Agriculture and the Blue Economy, by ramping up on Public-Private Partnership in agricultural and industrial production. For example, he developed the Red Gold Project, focusing on large scale palm oil cultivation and processing in partnership with the National Oil Palm Producing Association of Nigeria. Accordingly, an oil palm plantation was birthed with over 12,000 hectares of newly planted oil palm. In addition to the Ore-Irele Ondo is fast emerging

    Other projects have also taken root at the Ore Industrial Park. One is the Gas Inland LPG Terminal developed in partnership with Alles Charis LPG to produce large inland storage. Another is the Linyi Hub, which has so far developed five industries, with additional three underway. To boost the industrial plans, license was obtained for a deep seaport. The fact that none of these projects is located in your neighbourhood or that the road leading to your house (like mine in Idanre) has not seen the hand of the government at all does not mean that the government has not been doing anything as some in the media would like to make us believe.

    The second major thing Akeredolu did to ensure that the state remained healthy, while he was away, was to transfer power to his Deputy. Unfortunately, however, the erstwhile trusted Deputy became so over-ambitious as to have betrayed the trust. Once power was transferred to him, his focus shifted from the state to himself. He focused on how he would be the substantive Governor after the anticipated demise of his boss. He also started work on he would win the governorship election next year. In service of these objectives, he started obtaining, or making requests for, funds, which are all documented in the allegations against him by the House of Assembly. He even started doling out positions, including that of his Deputy, in anticipation of electoral victory. It was even alleged that he promised the Deputy position to more than one person!

    What is worse, he allegedly released his boss’s medical records and maligned him through his aides, who engaged in a negative media blitz against the Governor. Those records were said to have been obtained surreptitiously through female aides close to the Governor. Trust politicians! Aiyedatiwa’s moves quickly led to divisions within the administration, especially among the cabinet members. Following his footsteps, those who were interested in the governorship race were forced to start making moves. The result was an unnecessary governance crisis.

    It was not total failure, however, as alleged in the press. Many projects are going on, including the construction of the flyover at a dangerous intersection in the state capital. Wale Akinterinwa, the Commissioner for Finance and Chairman of the Palliative Committee, is also driving a robust, 11-point, Subsidy Relief Programme across the state.

    Aiyedatiwa’s various moves were not lost on his boss. Similarly, all his financial requests were documented, including his alleged foray into Local Government funds. Perhaps to divert attention from their boss’s actions, Aiyedatiwa’s media aides focused on the Governor’s ill health, pontificating and fabricating lies. No wonder then that Akeredolu fired them on his return, while the House of Assembly initiated impeachment proceedings against the Deputy.

    It is to be expected that Aiyedatiwa would seek to defend himself. He has been going about it in a frenzy. He filed several court injunctions, corralled the support of the party at the national level, colluded with lawyers and various groups, and got some media outlets to put pressure on his sick boss. In the process, words, such as “incapacitated” and “unfit”, are being used in describing the Governor. Aiyedatiwa acknowledged all his “supporters” with a post, thanking them all for “standing by me”. There was no single acknowledgement of his boss in the post, because it is apparent that the boss is the target of his fight.

    How did Governor Akeredolu come about this guy? His wife is said to have suggested Aiyedatiwa to him. Or how else would Aketi have chosen as his Deputy someone who has neither executive nor governance experience and was repeatedly rejected by the party and his own people in previous runs for membership in the National Assembly, once as a Representative and once as a Senator? Even his nomination to serve on the NDDC Board was rejected.

    Akeredolu should have known that Ondo state could not be lucky with Lucky. He should be impeached to give room for the state to breathe.

  • Ondo state on my mind

    Ondo state on my mind

    Two confessions at the outset: First, my heart goes to Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, Governor of Ondo State. He has my full sympathy for his illness, which has kept him from full-scale performance of his statutory duties. I was in a similar situation abroad, and my university fully supported me for the entire six months of treatment and another six to recuperate. Those who are throwing brimstones over Akeredolu’s decision to take a rest after his return to Nigeria last month either have no idea of his health condition and state of mind, lack empathy, or are simply mischievous. You do not play politics with a person’s health misfortune. I even praise him that he was able to meet with members of his cabinet, the legislature, and party leaders within days of his arrival. He has since assumed duties, although from Ibadan until he completes his medication regimen for this crucial phase of his treatment.

    The second disclosure: Ondo is my native state and I live there now in my retirement. I have been close to the Ondo state government since the days of late Governor Adekunle Ajasin on whose cabinet I would have served but for a fellowship and study leave abroad. Since that time, my ears have always been close to the ground about the state’s social, economic, and political developments. I have monitored Akeredolu’s administration from inception and written about it, criticizing, supporting, or praising it as appropriate. I also speak with the Governor or send text messages from time to time.

    With regard to the ongoing developments in the state, it is very clear that they have been laced with political undertones for which there are many culprits, ranging from the former APC Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, who made an explosive statement about Akeredolu’s health situation in Abuja, based on exaggerated media reports, to Akeredolu’s Deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who allegedly aided such sensational media reports within and outside the state. The role of Aiyedatiwa’s media aides in propagating negative information about Governor Akeredolu’s health situation led the Governor to sack them on his return. One unprintable material they circulated, and later withdrew, on the Governor’s health situation was an anticipatory obituary, laced with a dirgeful song.

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    It cannot be denied that Akeredolu and his family contributed to the Deputy’s perceived hurry to become Governor. Before relations between Akeredolu and his Deputy turned frosty,  the former had said or implied publicly that the latter would succeed him. However, Akeredolu’s son and his mother (the First Lady) reportedly have not made it easy for Aiyedatiwa to function effectively as a Deputy Governor.

    The present problem with the Deputy reportedly began with his access to the Governor’s health records through aides close to the Governor. He and his own aides quickly translated what they saw as the Governor’s imminent death. This heightened the Deputy’s campaign within the cabinet for the Governor to transfer power to him, even when the Governor was still functioning, if only minimally.

    Once the Governor went abroad for medical attention and transferred power to Aiyedatiwa as Acting Governor, he assumed Governor Akeredolu was probably not coming back to power or even alive. He allegedly went full throttle not only to exercise power as Acting Governor but also to plan his own election as substantive Governor. In no time, the cabinet was fissured. Those who were promised “juicy” positions, including deputy governorship, quickly aligned with him, while those who were also planning to run for the office of Governor fell into another camp with their supporters.

    Of course, it is the Deputy’s legitimate right to want to become governor as it is for other qualified residents of the state. However, how he went about it and what he did during the brief period as Acting Governor raised eyebrows within the administration and across the state. From all available reports from within the administration and from the media, he was naïve about governance and lacked leadership qualities. He reportedly focused on grabbing power and using it for selfish ends than in exercising it for the benefit of the citizens. For three months, he did nothing tangible except to ask for this and that for himself. And this did not go well with some of his colleagues. Nor could the state legislators condone his excesses. Ultimately, they moved to impeach him.

    In a letter addressed and delivered to the Deputy Governor on September 20, 2023, the House raised fourteen (14) allegations against him, including gross misconduct, misappropriation, and embezzlement. Aiyedatiwa later responded to the House’s impeachment process with two court filings, one in Akure and the other in Abuja seeking an order to stop it and from harassing him. Nevertheless, the House moved ahead with the impeachment process, which has now developed a major delay, pending the vacation of the order of the Abuja Court, which has postponed judgement till October 30, 2023. Understandably, this led the Ondo State Chief Judge to decline to set up a Judicial Panel to investigate the allegations against the Deputy Governor.

    These developments are unfortunate for a number of reasons. First and foremost, governance is at its lowest ebb in the state and will remain so until this matter is resolved. On the one hand, the Governor is certainly still not well enough to function optimally. On the other hand, the Deputy Governor can no longer be trusted to do the right thing, if power were again transferred to him. He cannot function even in the capacity of Deputy Governor in view of these developments.

    Second, the perceived vacuum in governance has generated anxiety within the state, leading various groups to mount protests, some for or against the Deputy governor and others against the Governor. The ultimate goal is to seek ways of restoring normalcy in the state.

    Third, no matter how the matter is resolved, it has generated so much bad blood that good relations can no longer be restored between Governor Akeredolu and his Deputy; between the Deputy and his colleagues on the cabinet; and between the Deputy and the House of Assembly.

    Fourth, because of the protracted nature of the matter, the National Working Committee of the ruling party has found it necessary to intervene, by inviting the state House of Assembly to Abuja. Such intervention is motivated by Nigerian party culture, which sees disputes at any level as a family affair. Unfortunately, however, this particular intervention contravenes the relative autonomy of the state House of Assembly in a federal system. Compare the situation with a case in Chicago, when Mayor Harold Washington suddenly died of a heart attack in his office. The Democratic Party at the national level refrained from intervening in the ensuing fight between two members of the party to succeed him.

    In the final analysis, there appears to be only two options to resolve the Ondo impasse, without impacting on party unity. One is to allow the House of Assembly to move forward with impeachment. If his hands are clean, he would be exonerated. The alternative is for Aiyedatiwa to resign from office. Either way, the earlier the matter was resolved the better for ensuring party unity before election about a year away. The option of pacification being attempted by the NWC cannot heal the wounds that have already cut deep. If anything, it may exacerbate distrust and party disunity within the state.

    Whatever path is followed, it must be remembered that, in good health, Akeredolu did his best for the state, for the Southwest, and even for the entire South. Now that he is temporarily down, we should not trample on him. I hope he gets well soon.

  • Atiku: How much is in the glass of discoveries?

    Atiku: How much is in the glass of discoveries?

    Perhaps no story emanating from the 2023 electoral cycle in Nigeria demonstrates the divisions in our society and in the media than the fishing expedition in American courts over President Tinubu’s qualifications to contest Nigeria’s presidential election. The expedition was spearheaded and sponsored “at great cost” by one of his political opponents, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.

    On the one hand, there are those who see a half full, if not full, glass in Atiku’s fishing expedition into Tinubu’s qualifications for President, especially his claim that he graduated from Chicago State University. They claim that they found many things incriminating by focusing on ancillary matters. These are Tinubu’s opponents in politics and the media, who ignored the evidence and proceeded to claim that Tinubu forged CSU certificate. Specifically, they claim that the person, who graduated from CSU, may not have been Tinubu at all, because (a) the transcript from the College from which he transferred to CSU indicated female gender; (b) there are contradictory entries of year of birth in the candidate’s records, although day and month or birth were the same; and (c) Black-American was checked out as the applicant’s ethnicity.

    Yet, the CSU Registrar dismissed (a) and (b) above as possible clerical errors, which he had seen occur several times as Registrar. More importantly, he insisted with evidence that Tinubu’s letter of admission was addressed to a male, as “Dear Mr. Tinubu”. Besides, he confirmed that the same Social Security Number on the transfer College is the same as the one on Tinubu’s CSU records. The opponent’s reference to (c) above demonstrates sheer ignorance of the American social system. Even until now, Black- or African-American is the category of choice for “a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa”, according to the US Census Bureau.

    For Tinubu’s supporters in politics and the media, Tinubu has no case to answer, meaning that Atiku returned from Chicago with an empty glass. After all, the Registrar testified (1) that Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended CSU and graduated in 1979 with Honours in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting; (2) that the Tinubu, who graduated from CSU, is the same Tinubu, who is the current President of Nigeria; (3) that there was no copy of Tinubu’s certificate on file, meaning that he picked it up on graduation; (4) that the university does not print certificates but only outsources the printing to outside vendors, meaning that only the vendor, which issued the certificate, can authenticate it; and (5) that certificates carry no weight whatsoever in the American system, because, like academic gowns, they are only ceremonial papers—that’s why, according to the Registrar, many students don’t bother to pick them up after graduation.

    Read Also: Why my SSCE certificate bears Sadiq Abubakar – Atiku

    I can attest to some of these claims as a student and professor in the American educational system, having received doctorate training and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, and having taught in three American university systems for nearly 30 years. In particular, it remains true till today that outside vendors print certificates and make academic gowns. Any student can order replacements or replicas from the vendors, once they are satisfied that you graduated from the university involved. The size and format of the certificates are generally the same, typically 8.5×11 inches, across disciplines and across universities.

    Atiku’s claim of forgery requires close examination. He and his lawyers seem to have moved beyond contesting Tinubu’s attendance at CSU or his graduation from the university. They are silent on the confirmation that he graduated with Honours, meaning with distinction, with a high GPA. They ignored the corroborative evidence by a classmate of Tinubu’s who swore on oath that they even contested the same position for student leadership and graduated in the same year. Rather, they are focusing on his replacement certificate as a forgery, only because the CSU Registrar says he cannot attest its authenticity since it was not a document in the student’s file. Why would he when the certificate was printed by an outside vendor? The Registrar rightly testified only to the records on the student’s file.

    But Atiku and his lawyers found a glass full of forgery and proceeded with their newfound evidence to the Supreme Court, claiming that it “was not in existence or available at the time of filing the petition or the hearing of the petition”. It is better at this point to leave the matter to the Supreme Court.

    It is pertinent, however, to reflect upon Atiku’s mission and whether or not he is truly interested in the truth. Why the recent overzealous pursuit of this matter, when Atiku had over a year to do so? It is the same answer that was given to his baseless petition in the first place. The goal was not necessarily to win but to throw dirt on the winner, delegitimise the election, and distract his attention from governance. Atiku gave a hint of his animosity against Tinubu in his so-called world press conference, when he claimed that Tinubu was responsible for his own loss in the election, by abetting the balkanization of his (Atiku’s) political party. Who knows whether his marabout has advised him to avenge the loss any way he can?

    But, come to think of it, Atiku has every reason to be upset. This is his sixth unsuccessful run for President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria—in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023. He is the only Nigerian with that record. He is also the only one who has run for President under four different political parties. How could he be floored by someone, who ran only once and won, despite all the obstacles on his way? Besides, Atiku must have figured out that he may not be able to run again in 2027, when he will be 81 years old. So, if he cannot get it this time around, he must damage the person, who won and delegitimise the election.

    It is for the above reasons that Atiku should not be blamed for internationalising the fight with his adversary, by going all the way to the United States for evidence. After all, didn’t Peter Obi’s supporters carry their protest over his loss to the White House? However, questions remain for Atiku as to why he ignored the evidence that Tinubu attended CSU and graduated in flying colours. Can someone forge the certificate of a degree he actually earned? Why focus on a paper that is considered worthless in the country of issue to the point that its printing is outsourced?

    While Atiku’s statesmanship has been called into question by these developments, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has remained focused on governance. The American comparison is also striking here: President Joe Biden has focused on governance, by neglecting former President Donald Trump’s shenanigans. That is what statesmen do.

  • Tinubu: Five major speeches in less than five months

    By September 29, 2023, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had spent exactly four months in office, he had delivered four major speeches in which he variously outlined his agenda (or parts thereof) for the country and his vision of Nigeria’s role in West Africa, Africa, and the world. The four speeches were (1) the inauguration speech on May 29; (2) the Democracy Day speech on June 12; (3) the speech on the economy (some see it as the speech on palliatives) on July 31; and (4) the speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 19. In addition to these speeches, he delivered a fifth one last Sunday on the occasion of the nation’s 63rd independence anniversary on October 1, 2023. That was at the beginning of his fifth month in office.

    As usual with the Nigerian press, plenty of noise is made about each speech within days of its delivery and the noise dies down within a week. Some analyse each speech for what it actually contains, while others analyse it for what it does not contain. Some see a half-empty glass in each speech, while others see a half-full glass. Yet others, blinded by pathological hatred, see nothing at all—they go on a rant on what they would have liked to hear but was not in the speech or they twist what was said to suit what they wanted to hear. Few ever go back to the speeches in the bid to remind the President of his promises and nudge him on the path of achieving them, forgetting that the success of his administration is our collective success.

    Yet, the speeches are a call for action by all arms of government. However, citizen participation is also necessary for the implementation of government activities. One of the functions of the press is to inform citizens of the government’s agenda and educate them about their role in their implementation. After all, citizens are the beneficiaries of the agenda. Of all negative criticisms that could be raised against the Tinubu administration, failure to state its agenda is not, and should never be, one of them. He has left nothing unsaid, from the Renewed Hope manifesto to the speeches mentioned above. What is more, the speeches have grown with his administration, from his vision for the country in his inaugural speech to his view on global cooperation in the UNGA speech. And with the growth of the speeches is the widening of the President’s horizon from Abuja to the far corners of the globe via New Delhi at the 18th G20 Summit and New York at the 73rd UNGA meetings.

    True, all the speeches have one thing or the other to say about domestic policy, the first three speeches as well as the Independence anniversary speech focus largely on domestic issues, while the UNGA speech takes a leap to the world at large.

    Although the inauguration speech is now remembered for the aftermath of the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the multiple exchange rates, it also reiterated the President’s manifesto on various sectors beyond the economy, including security, agriculture, infrastructure, jobs, and foreign policy.

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    Above all, it was an inspirational speech, in which the President pledged inclusivity and collectivity. In particular, he reached out to political opponents, who “shall forever be my fellow compatriots … represent(ing) important constituencies and concerns that wisdom dare not ignore”. Moreover, “I shall serve with prejudice toward none but compassion and amity towards all”. Never mind that some political opponents continue on their wild goose chase of ever elusive victory, while others continue on their agenda of delegitimising the election and throwing dirt on the victor. 

    Within two weeks of inauguration, the President again gave a major speech on the need to continue on the path of democracy, in honour of Chief MKO Abiola, whose election was inexplicably annulled by the military government, and died in pursuit of his mandate, while also honouring the sacrifices of those who fought for democracy (some with their lives), following the annullment of the election. Nevertheless, the President never took his eyes off the economy as he reiterated the key measures he had taken so far.

    The third speech on the economy was primarily a follow-up to the removal of fuel subsidy and the provision of palliatives to cushion the effects of the hike in fuel prices that followed. In the speech, the President spelled out a range of measures that would ameliorate the effects of the economic policies (for details, see Akinnaso, The President’s speech on the economy, The Nation, August 2, 2023). Admittedly, a number of the measures need longer gestation periods as is usual with socioeconomic measures in general.

    Unfortunately, the labour unions have chosen to allign with the opposition, and the press has not been helpful in properly educating union leaders and the public about the usual delay for economic measures to take effect. Even in the United States, where President Joe Biden developed various economic measures two years ago to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, some states are still reeling from the effects and the measures have yet to fully mature.

    It was in the UNGA speech that President Tinubu rose to the level of a global statesman. He spoke for Nigeria, West Africa, and the African continent as a whole. The speech sought to place Africa on equal footing with the rest of the world  in the negotiation for economic benefits: The rest of the world should be prepared to do business with Nigeria and Africa “in a equal, mutually beneficial manner” (for a comprehensive review of the speech and the President’s other activities at the UNGA meetings, see Tunde Rahman, 78th UNGA: President Tinubu and his defining moment, The Nation, September 30, 2023).

    In the Independence speech given last Sunday, October 1, 2023, the President revisited the economic measures and rolled out new ones. He also outlined new measures on monetary policy and tax administration. Furthermore, he emphasised key investment funding for small and medium scale enterprises. Other key measures include the expansion of the social register to involve additional 15 million people; boosting employment rates; and equipping the security forces. Despite the clarity of the President’s speech, the Peoples Democratic Party saw or heard nothing (see Tinubu’s Independence Day speech was empty, bereft of ideas, The Cable, October 2, 2023)!

    What is missing in all the speeches is review of the civil service, which is sorely needed as that is the arm of government primarily involved in the implementation of government programmes at federal and state levels. Equally needed is a clear, free-standing agency, department, or commission, dedicated to the evaluation of job performance, according to verifiable key performance indices. These are subjects to be taken up in a subsequent essay.

  • Why the MOUs with Cuba should be implemented

    Why the MOUs with Cuba should be implemented

    The relationship between Nigeria and Cuba is deeper than most citizens of both countries appreciate. Historically, twice as many slaves were shipped to Cuba alone than to the entire United States of America, making Cuba the largest slave colony in all of Hispanic America. At their peak around 1838, there were as many as 400,000 slaves in Cuba. That’s why, today, the Cuban population of just about 11 million is highly mixed, with approximately 37 percent White, 11% Black, 1 percent Chinese, and a whopping 51 percent mulatto (that is, persons with White and Black ancestry). Majority of Cuban slaves were from West Africa, largely from Nigeria. That is why, today, a Nigerian visitor to Cuba will easily see another person, who looks like himself or herself or looks like his or her relative, friend, or neighbour. The cultural resemblances are even more striking, from art and food to various cultural practices.

    In view of this historical relationship, I found it surprising that it was not until July 1974 that Cuba and Nigeria established diplomatic relations, with the Cuban Embassy opened in Lagos in that year and the Nigerian Embassy opened in Havana the following year. Today, relations between the two countries cover education, health, economy, trade, culture and sports. However, these relations have been more nominal than functional. True, diplomatic relations between both countries have been sustained over the years, there isn’t much to show for it in any of the sectors highlighted above, save for private individuals, who go to Cuba for business or to train in medicine or biotechnology.

    It is against the above backgrounds that we should explore the two recent Nigerian delegations to the Republic of Cuba in the last two years, the first in April/May 2022 and the second in September 2023. The first delegation was composite. Some delegates went there to attend the international conference on biotechnology, which held from April25-29, 2022, while others went there to inspect Cuba’s biomedical facilities. Yet others went there to explore business potentials, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. The outcome of the delegation was a Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria and Cuba to collaborate on contract manufacturing, technology transfer, vaccine production, and sale of Cuban biopharmaceutical products in Nigeria.

    Read Also: Nigeria, Cuba sign MoU on food security, agric advancement

    I organised the media briefing by the Nigerian delegation at the Cuban Embassy on their return from Cuba (see Akinnaso, Why collaboration with Cuba is important, The Nation, July 6, 2022, and Emoriken, Nigeria, Cuba explore prospects of local vaccine production, The Nation, July 5, 2022).

    The more recent Nigerian delegation to Cuba was even more elaborate and high-powered than the first one, being led by Vice President Kashim Shettima himself. Although the primary mission was to attend the G77+China Leadership Summit, major advances in Nigeria-Cuba relations were made on the sidelines. Two major MOUs were signed. One was to enhance collaboration between the two countries in innovation, science and technology.

    Admittedly, 2022 MOU on same was signed during the lame-duck session of the previous administration and toward the end of the tenure of the previous Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Clara Pulido-Escandell. However, given the overlap between the 2022 and 2023 MOUs, the next logical step is to consolidate both MOUs and move forward. It will be mutually beneficial for both countries to fully implement these agreements. Indeed, Nigeria has more to gain from their implementation. Cuba’s biotechnology industry, which developed in response to the US blockade in the early 1960s, is among the best in the world. It is made up of more than 30 research institutions and 45 companies (31 in Cuba and 14 abroad), under the supervision of the state-run conglomerate, BioCubaFarma.

    Today, Cuba is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of biopharmaceutical products, especially vaccines. It was Cuba that developed the world’s first meningococcal B vaccine in the late 1980s. Currently, Cuba’s biopharmaceutical industries have 110 production facilities, producing 996 different products and hiring over 190,000 workers. It is no wonder that Cuba has alliances with over 60 countries in the manufacture and distribution of biopharmaceutical products.

    Besides, Cuba’s investment in medical training and biomedical research provides a global model, which allows the country to have one of the highest doctor-to-patient ratios in the world. That’s why Cuba can afford to dispatch healthcare professionals all over the world to combat disasters and epidemics. They were in Haiti during the cholera outbreak in 2010; in West Africa during the Ebola crisis of 2013-2016; and in Italy when COVID-19 peaked in 2020. They should have been invited to Nigeria as well.

    The second MOU signed with Cuba in 2023 was on agriculture and food security. Specifically, the agreement called for ways of enhancing the agriculture value chain, from improving seeds and seedlings and biofortification of agricultural produce to agricultural mechanisation and reduction of post-harvest losses. Improvements in poultry, livestock, and fisheries were also included. Again, like the agreement on biotechnology, it is necessary to follow up on the agreement on agriculture as Nigeria has a lot to learn from Cuba. Despite its small land area, Cuba today is a global player in mechanised agriculture and the export of coffee, sugar, honey, and tobacco, notably the popular Cuban Cigars.

    Bilateral agreements with Cuba have both diplomatic and symbolic implications. Implementation of the agreements will bring Nigeria closer to understanding the plight of Cuba and Cubans as they struggle to survive the oppressive blockage imposed on them by the United States government since 1962. Unfortunately, Cuban Blacks suffer the most as a result of the embargo. As the largest nation of Blacks in the world, the Nigerian government should be keenly interested in the survival of Blacks anywhere in the world.

    The recent escalation in diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Cuba are more than welcome as it will bring mutual benefits to both countries. Fortunately, Cuba’s new Ambassador to Nigeria, Miriam Morales Palmero, is anxious to see the recent agreements through. She has been meeting with top Nigerian officials and touring various states, encouraging alliances with Cuba. During the presentation of her credentials to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the Presidential Villa on August 24, 2023, the President acknowledged Cuba’s advances in science and technology as well as the development of their health system. He agreed that bilateral relations between the two countries should be fully developed, especially in the interest of our youths. The Tinubu-Shettima administration has its reputation on the line regarding these bilateral agreements.

  • Parenting dilemmas today

    When I was growing up in Ajegunle village, a cocoa farming outpost in Idanre in the 1940s, my parents were not only respected, but they were also revered. This was especially true of my father, who was regarded as the king of the household. Neither of them went to school and neither of them was literate as they were too busy with their farms to take advantage of the colonial government’s adult education scheme.

    I was the first person in my family to ever go to school. However, my very first school was not the missionary or colonial government’s school. Rather, it was a divination school. I was apprenticed to a diviner to learn the art and science (yes, science) of Ifa divination. It was the establishment of cocoa farmers cooperative society that led my father to withdraw me from divination school for the missionary school. He wanted me to learn to read and write like the secretary of the cooperative society, who would “scribble something” during the farmers’ meetings and later read the minutes of their last meeting to them. This “magic” captivated my father, especially when he became the Treasurer of the society. He wanted me to keep track of the flow of money he needed to account for by keeping accurate records for him.

    Once I learned to read and write, I became fascinated by the widening of my horizon to include people, places, and things I would never have known. I read anything that came my way. As my education advanced, libraries and bookstores became my favourite locations to find something to read. I shared this with a close friend, who has a similar passion for libraries and bookstores, when we read about Vice President Kashim Shettima’s penchant to visit bookstores on his trips.

    Each book I read widened my horizon and improved my knowledge one way or the other. In particular, I learned new words, new sentence structure, and new ways of conveying meaning. I learned how to write and write well from reading books. I encountered some books at every level of my education up to the university, more so because I majored in English at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). For example, I came across a number of Shakespeare’s plays three times at primary, secondary, and university levels. Another book I encountered three times was George Orwell’s Animal Farm. At first, in primary school, it was a beast fable that fits well with the animal fables I learned in my village. I later learned in secondary school that the story meant something else (thanks to Coles Notes). It was a satire reflecting the events leading up to the Russian Revolution. It was in the university that I fully understood Animal Farm as a satirical criticism of Stalinism beyond the idea of revolution (George Orwell, the author, was a sharp critic of Joseph Stalin).

    I provide these glimpses to my biography to show how things have changed from my father’s generation and mine to the present overlapping generations of young people, which experts have styled Generation Z or Gen Z (children born between 1997 and 2012) and Generation Alpha (born between 2013 and 2025).

    The same experts refer to my father’s generation as The Greatest Generation (born between 1901 and 1924), while mine is referred to as the Silent Generation (born between 1925 and 1945).

    The characteristics of each generation vary slightly from one society to another, depending on their peculiar history and social formation. Here in Nigeria, the Greatest Generation is typified by traditional values; respect for culture; strong work ethic; self-sacrifice; determination; and dedication. They are trailblazers in many respects, although most of them never went to school. In my village, they were among the first generation to adopt cash crops—my father planted cocoa and coffee, but the latter did not thrive. The nationalists, who fought for Nigeria’s independence, were among members of this generation, who went to school at home and abroad.

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    My generation shared many of these traits in addition to goal-orientation; focus on self-fulfillment; and eagerness to shape society. My generation also witnessed the development of various professions and professional associations and occupied key positions in government, security agencies, and business. Members of the generation benefitted from the efforts and contributions of the preceding generation, especially in the development of human capital; physical infrastructure; industrialisation; and a virile civil service.

    In contrast, Generations Z and Alpha are children of the 21st century, with all its characteristics. They are the true Internet generations, otherwise known as “digital natives”. While Gen Z is more politically and socially aware, Gen Alpha tends to live in the moment. Consequently, Gen Z engages more in social activism, while Gen Alpha spends more time online. Finally, while the realities for Gen Z are ambition, money, and material acquisition, the realities for Gen Alpha are coding, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

    As a result of these differences, Internet and other money frauds gained prominence among Gen Z, while Gen Alpha tends to focus on the use of the Internet for homework, and chatting with friends from near and far. However, Gen Z tends to recruit members of Gen Alpha, especially girls, into their Yahoo! Boys fraudulent business.

    Both generations share the decline of values and sexual laxity, reflecting trends in the wider society and on the Internet. The escalation of teenage rape cases and the viral sex video of a 10-year-old schoolgirl during a school trip to Dubai last year are examples. Whatever they don’t learn from home and their immediate environment, they learn from the Internet and their peers in school. These preoccupations have led them away from reading like my generation.

    The consequences of the trends described above are far-reaching. First, Gen Z in particular is angry at the generations before them, starting from my own generation, for driving the national economy aground. That’s why a numbere of them believed in Peter Obi’s sweet tongue on turning the economy around.

    Second, the lack of adequate personnel and material resources in public schools have led to the decline in educational outcomes. Private schools escalated as alternatives. In both types of school, however, schoolchildren resort to the use of the Internet for their school assignments.  Just ask Google, they tell each other.

    Third, because their parents are also busy vending for themselves in a depressed economy, these children have a hard time finding appropriate guidance. Unfortunately, sending them to boarding school offers no better solution as peer pressure there could lead them astray.

    The truth is that times have changed, unfortunately, not for the better. Perhaps the beginning of a solution is awareness of these problems. That’s why I address this piece to the parents of both generations.