Violence is universal and destructive but varies in form and intensity from society to society. At its worst, it involves swift and intense force and may be exerted by natural or human actors. For example, thunder, storm, or volcano can destroy the immediate ecology and cause serious injury or death to the population. Their intensity has been heightened by climate change as recently demonstrated by heavy floods all over the country. Similarly, various destructive agents—terrorists; herdsmen; bandits; armed robbers; kidnappers; cultists; political thugs; security agents; and randy men, who rape their female victims—cause varying degrees of harm to their victims.

By the same token, the unjust or unwarranted exercise of power by a brutal regime can exert violence on the people as Nigeria witnessed during the Abacha dictatorship. In the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, we are witnessing the convergence of symbolic and physical violence in which one (physical) is being used to achieve and enhance the other (symbolic). The Russian leader’s ultimate goal is to exercise territorial control over the space occupied by Ukraine.

While natural agents of physical violence, employ the force of nature, human agents of physical violence often employ weapons to harm others in order to get them to surrender their property, themselves, or even their lives. Nigeria has been reeling from the insecurity caused by various human agents of physical violence. Within the last ten or so years, millions have been injured, killed, or displaced and property worth trillions of Naira have been destroyed.

In its milder form, violence may not involve the use of physical weapons but may still inflict harm in some other ways. This is symbolic violence as defined by French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu. It involves the use of power or a powerful tool, such as a dominant language or tacit state policy and social mechanisms to impose an ideology and control over a given society often to the point that the population takes their new condition as natural.

Yet, like physical violence, symbolic violence can be very harmful. Political corruption, verbal violence, misinformation, and the imposition of a dominant language are tools for symbolic violence. For example, political corruption allows those who have access to national resources to appropriate such resources and use them to control others, while limiting the people’s access to appropriate political goods. In Nigeria, for example, it is estimated that more money has been stolen from the state’s treasury than has been spent on necessary political goods. Recent revelations by the EFCC and discussions about fuel subsidy and pipeline vandalism are showing that more state resources might have been stolen than reported.

Fake news, falsehoods, and other kinds of verbal or pictorial violence are used to perpetuate the negative perception of their targets. For example, in the ongoing presidential campaign season, supporters of Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party, otherwise known as Obidients, are known to perpetuate false information about opponents of their principal. They often engage in outright verbal violence, involving derogatory and abusive language. They are known to misinform the public about the activities of the targets of their abuse, by distorting their actions and statements and doctoring videos in which such targets appeared.

As a universal phenomenon, violence is not unique to Nigeria. However, there are three peculiarities about violence in the country. One, there are far too many agents of violence. Two, these agents spur violence more or less concurrently, leading to a high rate of insecurity in the country. Three, sadly, there is neither a coordinated effort to curb violence nor a discernible plan to address its underlying causes. The result is a high rate of insecurity with all its consequences on personal safety and the economy.

True, Nigeria witnessed the most extreme type of violence in the form of a civil war; nevertheless, at no time in the country’s history have the various agents of violence combined to perpetuate the present scale of violence.

Read Also: Nigeria decries ongoing violence in Chad Republic

Of particular significance is the impact of these atrocities on food security as production dropped significantly in the affected areas. Reduced production of cash crops has also affected the nation’s export earnings. These developments do not bode well for a country in which agricultural export is being touted as an alternative to oil export.

Yet, no respite is in sight for these atrocities, although some of them appear to be in remission. Worse still, the government has not even begun to address the underlying causes of violence in the country. There are basically social, economic, and political causes. The social causes include ethnic and religious differences as well as illiteracy and its consequences. These social differences generate tension when social inequalities and injustice are mapped onto them.

The economic causes range from poverty and unemployment to poor governance and a mismanaged economy. Clearly, there is a correlation between a mismanaged economy and rising unemployment just as there is a correlation between rising unemployment and poverty levels.  Unemployed and poor youths are often ready recruits into violent groups.

Politicians are largely responsible for the political causes of violence, by breeding armed thugs and violent supporters. In Rivers State alone every election cycle since 2015 has been turned into a battle in which people are killed and property damaged as rival teams of thugs go at each other.

Clearly, the passivity of the present administration, the non-prosecution of offenders, and the lack of a coherent strategy of containment of violence have generated anxiety about the 2023 general elections. It is therefore incumbent on the incoming administration to embark on a comprehensive plan to contain violence from various sources.

Such a plan should begin with enduring measures to address the underlying causes of violence. All stakeholders must be involved, from schools to college campuses; from market women to businessmen; from traditional rulers to religious leaders; from security agents to judicial officers; from political office holders to public servants; from professional groups to civil society organisations; and so on.

Above all, the government must take steps to address the major causes of social inequality and poverty in Nigeria by creating opportunities for communities to realise their potential. Perhaps, no better measure could be employed to create such opportunities than the restructuring of the country. If well-planned, restructuring should allow for power devolution, fiscal federalism, and the creation of state police. The goal should be the development of more enduring and sustainable solutions, rather than ad hoc solutions, such as poverty alleviation measures.

It is becoming clearer and clearer that Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party is not only desperate to be President but he also has little or no intention to be President of Nigeria as a whole. Rather, he wants to be President of the part of the country he comes from, namely, the North and he wants to represent and work for the ethnic group to which he belongs, namely, Hausa-Fulani. Observers had noted this aspect of Atiku’s politics all along but had shrugged it off until last Saturday, when Atiku showed his true ethno-regional colours.

Listen to Atiku, ironically after touting his role as a pan-Nigerian unifier: “What the average Northerner needs is somebody who’s from the north who also understands that part of the country and has been able to build bridges across the country. This is what the Northerner needs, he doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate, I stand before you as a Pan-Nigerian of northern origin.”

He then goes on to state his ultimate desire: “to see Northern Nigeria fulfill her potential in the not-so-distant future. We must build consensus on one goal: Northern Nigeria must have its prosperity restored. It must re-emerge as a vibrant, prosperous, and self-reliant economy, operating in a peaceful, secure, and disciplined environment. Anything other than this goal cannot be an option.” So, the goal of developing the South is not an option. Nor is the goal of developing Nigeria as an indivisible whole.

Atiku’s ethno-regional chauvinism began to show early during the present presidential election cycle, beginning with the PDP presidential primary in May. Before the party primaries, all Southern Governors across party lines met in Asaba and agreed that the presidency should rotate to the South in 2023. However, Atiku lobbied for a level playing field, leading to open competition for all PDP aspirants. Rivers State Governor, Nyesome Wike, was still billed to win until Atiku worked with his Northern cohort in the party hierarchy to prevail on Sokoto Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, to step down and instruct his delegates to vote Atiku. Once he emerged as the candidate, Atiku reneged on his promise that Iyorcha Ayu, the party’s Chairman, should resign, because he is also from the North.

In the final analysis, Atiku flouted two rules embedded in the PDP constitution: First, he flouted the party’s constitutional requirement for the rotation of the presidency between the North and the South. Second, he failed to respect the party’s rule that the presidential candidate and the party’s chairman should not come from the same region-if one came from the North, the other should come from the South. Even members of his party have repeatedly decried the Northernisation of their party under Atiku. If these actions don’t demonstrate Atiku’s disdain for the South, it is unclear what else would.

Read Also; Atiku‘s wild ethnic card

However, Atiku’s problems are beyond ethno-regional chauvinism. He is a man who does not keep his word and cannot manage political maneuvers effectively. For example, Wike has repeatedly pointed out that Atiku told him in person that if he (Atiku) emerged as the candidate, Ayu must resign. Atiku has so far reneged on that promise.

His handling of simple political processes is also indicative of his inability to govern effectively. Here is a man who set up a committee for the selection of a running mate for him. True, the committee’s recommendation is for him to accept or reject. However, in doing so, he needs the buy-in of the committee (or at least of its chairman), particularly since as many as 14 of 17 members of the committee recommended a particular candidate that Atiku eventually rejected. He also should have had a chat with the person recommended by the committee before the final announcement of his choice.

This lack of tact on Atiku’s part is indicative of his inability to manage political maneuvers. It is also a reflection of his governance inexperience. Come to think of it, Atiku lacks executive political experience. True, he was elected Governor of Adamawa State in 1999, he was not even sworn in before he was made a running mate to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He may have been a career Customs Officer and a businessman, although of questionable capital base; but he was never a ward or Local Government chairman or Governor of a state.

Atiku also does not appear to be reliable. It was widely reported that he promised the same position to two different people: He told his audience in Enugu that he would be the stepping stone to Igbo presidency in 2027, if he won the presidency in 2023. A few days later, he reportedly offered the same position to an Ikwerre man, namely, Wike. What is more, such a promise is beyond his powers as the choice of a presidential candidate rests with party members or delegates, depending on the mode of primary election.

Nevertheless, the promise reveals Atiku’s campaign tactic. His strategy is to tell different audiences what he thinks they want to hear rather than what he plans to do as President. This is where the contrast between him and the other candidates shows glaringly. For example, where Atiku used North or Northerner as the leitmotif for his speech at the Arewa Forum, Tinubu took pains to outline what he would do for the country, using Nigeria as the recurrent theme in his speech. He addressed, among others, security, the economy, corruption, restructuring, and state police. Without branding himself as a unifier, like Atiku did, Tinubu emphasised the need to maintain the unity of the country, by forging necessary consensus across different arms of government and various groups and divergent segments of society.

To be sure, Atiku has received a lot of flack for his ethno-regional biases. But this is not the first time that Atiku would tread the path of division or otherwise offend our sensibilities. He did so to President Obasanjo, who thought he had a faithful ally as Vice-President. He has done so to his party, from which he ran away twice. Today, Atiku has all but alienated the party’s traditional base.

Is this the man we need as President?

Most discussions of insecurity in Nigeria have focused on physical violence, perpetrated by terrorists (Boko Haram and ISWAP), bandits, armed robbers, kidnappers, cultists, and gunmen (as they are called in the Southeast). Recently, however, as the nation’s resources dwindle and the debt profile rises, attention has shifted to symbolic violence as another manifestation of insecurity.

Symbolic violence is often misrecognised, either because it occurs out of public gaze, such as political corruption, or because it is mischaracterised, such as verbal abuse. Like physical violence, symbolic violence is a form of insecurity because it also deprives citizens of access to necessary goods the state should have provided. In the final analysis, both forms of violence cause physical, emotional or psychological pain in varying degrees.

Pipeline vandalism is a good example of symbolic violence being perpetrated by thieves, who engage in the diversion of the nation’s oil resources largely by drilling holes in the oil pipes and connecting their own pipes, which ferry crude or refined oil to their depot or to illegal refineries from which stolen oil or fuel is sold. The pipeline breaks affect both crude oil and refined products across the country, with a high concentration in the Niger Delta area.

In addition to loss of revenue, the cost of pipeline vandalism includes fatalities, asset destruction, environmental degradation, collateral damage to national image, and loss of investor confidence. The revenue loss is huge indeed. Recent estimates indicate that nearly 50 percent of the nation’s oil has been stolen by pipeline vandals, thus reducing possible total oil revenue by half.

This has put citizens in double jeopardy. First, it deprives citizens of billions of dollars that the state could have used to fund education, healthcare, infrastructure, housing, and other state projects.

Second, in the absence of necessary funds, the state is pushed into heavy borrowing to the tune of over N40 trillion within the past 8 years alone! In order to understand the implications of heavy borrowings on the future of the nation’s economy, it is better to broaden the scope to 20 years. According to the 2021 Statistics Bulletin on Public Finance of the Central Bank of Nigeria, published in May 2022, the Nigerian government has borrowed N225.93 trillion in the 20 years between 2001 and 2021. This amount is nearly double the nation’s earnings of N114.464 trillion within the same period.

Although part of the recent borrowings has been used to fund infrastructure, the rest has gone either to defense (to fight terrorists, bandits, and other security threats) or to pay wages and fund selected social protection programmes, such as school feeding. Little or nothing has been spent on the productive sector. As a result, the revenue from which to pay off the debt remains limited. The implication is that the future of our children and their children’s children has been mortgaged. Unless the borrowing binge is checked and the debt is paid off, the future of the Nigerian economy will remain bleak at best.

That’s why it is important not only to catch the oil thieves but also to stop future stealing. But this is exactly where the problem lies. The truth is that the network of oil pipelines across the country is expansive enough to make detection difficult. There are well over 5000 kilometers of pipelines across the country, most of which transport refined products. However, as we shall see, the size of the pipeline network does not absolve the government from blame.

According to an oil executive, who had worked for various oil companies in Nigeria for over 30 years, pipeline theft has been a constant problem in the oil industry. According to him, various reports have been submitted to various governments, indicating the extent of the problem. However, little or nothing has been done to curb the menace. This has led to suspicion of government complicity.

That’s why the critical question now is not how much oil is stolen but who are the oil thieves? According to various reports, fingers are being pointed at highly placed individuals in government and business circles. Like herdsmen breeding cattle for powerful Fulani cow owners, there are pipeline vandals fronting for yet unknown or undisclosed Big Men.

Read Also: Suspected vandals blow up Agip’s gas pipeline

In this regard, the recent revelation by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is very pertinent. During its recent clampdown on pipeline vandalism, the company’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, disclosed that the company uncovered an illegal 4-kilometer pipeline from Forcados terminal to the sea as well as a loading port that has operated undetected in the last nine years! He further revealed that 395 illegal refineries, 274 reservoirs, 1,561 metal tanks, and 49 trucks were deactivated, destroyed, or seized during the same period.

The purported discovery has raised eyebrows, more so when Kyari disclosed in the same breath that “oil theft in the country has been going on for over 22 years”! Why did it take so long to clampdown on the thieves?

That’s why a thorough probe, like the one made into fuel subsidy years ago, should be conducted into pipeline vandalism and their sponsors revealed. However, before such a probe is conducted, it is important to carry out a thorough inspection, including excavation if necessary, of the entire pipeline network across the country and expose all the breaks by pipeline thieves. If so much was uncovered within six weeks, imagine how much more will be uncovered in six months of intensive investigation.

Against the above backgrounds, NNPC Limited deserves praise for looking into pipeline vandalism whereas previous administrations have looked away. This new enthusiasm no doubt comes from the privatisation of the company. Its predecessor, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation failed to investigate pipeline vandalism or act on reports of such activities, because it was only a government agency, which behaved like similar agencies by looking away from the theft of government property.

However, unlike its predecessor, which was notorious for losing money, NNPC Limited is anxious to make profit. It is not surprising, therefore, that it has been looking for ways to curb losses. Curbing pipeline vandalism is an important step in that regard. The company should be assisted and encouraged by the media to pursue it to its logical end.

 

 

 

The 2023 presidential election cycle has generated a host of new terminologies, especially for social media enthusiasts. For example, supporters or followers of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, are known as the Batified. Those of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, are known as the Obidients, while those of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, are said to be Articulated. The terms are coined, using the initials BAT for Tinubu and the real names of Atiku and Obi. So much has been said or written about Batifieds and Obidients but little or nothing about the Atikulated.

Yet, Atiku himself is like an articulated vehicle, which, typically, has two compartments conjoined by a hinge or some other device. A typical articulated vehicle on Nigerian roads is what is locally known as a trailer with the driver’s cabin hinged to the load cabin for flexibility of movement. Usually, when one compartment derails, the other typically follows or is forcefully separated. Just like Atiku himself.

The point is that there are two Atikus conjoined by a single purpose-the ambition to be President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The ambition dates back to 1993 when he first ran for President under the banner of the Social Democratic Party. He was not even the runner-up in the primaries.

Since the return to democracy in 1999, Atiku has had his eye on the presidency ever he was made Vice President to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in that year. Indeed, his alleged ambition to torpedo Obasanjo in 2003 after one term in office was said to have set Obasanjo scamping for support the Nigerian way. That experience and other factors anecdotally mentioned by Obasanjo himself led to the strained relationship between them, which led Obasanjo to oppose him as his successor within the PDP fold in 2007. Since 2007, there has been no presidential election in which Atiku did not run, either as aspirant or as flag bearer.

Atiku quickly left the PDP and joined the Action Congress in that year and was given the party’s ticket. Again, he was not even the runner-up.

He returned to the PDP to run again in 2011. He lost in the primaries.

He left the PDP again in 2015 to join the APC principally to run for President again. He lost in the primaries and left the party two years later to rejoin the PDP

He succeeded in 2019 in securing the ticket of the PDP through some last minute maneuvers, allegedly with the aid of some powerful Generals. But he lost in the presidential election to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. Unconvinced about his loss, which was clear to all observers, he pursued litigation over the election to the Supreme Court, which validated earlier court rulings that he lost the election. He subsequently moved to Dubai.

Then came another presidential election cycle, beginning in 2022. Atiku roared back and somehow manipulated his way through the PDP primaries to become the flag bearer. The manipulations during the primaries and subsequently may well join other factors to cost him victory again.

All the actions described so far, including the presidential runs, were taken by Atiku One, the overambitious and desperate Atiku, who wants to be President by all means. His competitors should be wary of a desperate co-contestant.

Read Also: Ohanaeze dismisses Atiku’s succession promise to Southeast

In a nutshell, he sidelined the zoning rule of his party. He did little or nothing about the lopsidedness of top offices in the party, with the presidential candidate, the party chairman, and the Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, all coming from the North. Moreover, he got a Committee set up to assist him in choosing one of three Governors as his Vice President. 14 of 17 members of the Committee chose the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike. Without getting back to the Committee or at least inviting the person chosen for a chat, he went ahead to choose another person, namely, the Governor of Delta State, Ifeayin Okowa.

Now over to Atiku Two, whose duty it is to follow through on the manipulations by Atiku One by prosecuting the campaign. The choice of a running mate is the conventional starting point of the campaign. Besides, it gives an indication of the choices you are like to make along the line. Among other reasons, Okowa was chosen as running mate, because he is Igbo. His choice was Atiku’s attempt to placate the Igbo people, who have been clamouring for the presidency. But some Igbo leaders felt that Atiku should have crossed the Niger to choose an Igbo from the mainland. Others felt that if he truly believed in an Igbo presidency, he should not have usurped the turn of a Southerner, which could possibly have given an Igbo aspirant a chance. To placate them, Atiku went to Enugu to tell them that he would be the “stepping stone” to Igbo presidency in 2027. What audacity! Is the position his to give out? But wait.

A few days later, Atiku Two reportedly told Wike in a private meeting that he would support Wike for president in 2027. One Atiku: Two presidential candidates in 2027. One Igbo; one Ikwerre. Hmnnn.

But didn’t the same Atiku claim much earlier that he chose Okowa because he is a man ready to step into the Presidency any minute? Unless Okowa is the Igbo he had in mind in Enugu, then there may be three candidates for President in 2027, all sponsored, or is it chosen, by Atiku.

There may be a reason Atiku is desperate this time around, wading through a maze of breaking party rules and making promises that are outside his power to make. He might have felt that time is running out on him. Perhaps he thought that he would be President on his fourth try in 2015 all because he got elected as Governor of his state after a fourth attempt in 1999. Now that he is already into his sixth attempt to be President, he might have concluded that he should throw everything at it.

Well, good luck to the Atikulated. But they should be prepared to get a President in 2023 that they did not vote for.

When Canadian media theorist, Marshall McLuhan, first coined the concept of “global village” in 1964, he was writing about the impact of the newer technologies of his day, namely, radio and television. Today, the concept can be said to have truly matured with the advent of newer technologies of communication, buoyed by the satellite; rapid transport technologies by air and rail; the globalization of economic linkages; and the increasing universalisation of world bodies, such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. As a result, a problem in one region often spreads quickly to the others. Such was the case with the COVID-19 pandemic, which developed in China and quickly spread throughout the world as passenger planes hopped from one international terminal to another.

It is not surprising, therefore, that three key problems, among others, bestride today’s world like a colossus. They are insecurity, inflation, and rising costs, including the astronomical hike in airfares. That’s why, today, all over the world, there is an ongoing outcry against high air travel costs, although, much less attention has been paid to the problem here in Nigerian than to the rising cost of road travel.

There are two interrelated reasons for the relative neglect of the issue in Nigeria. One, air transport is considered an elite mode of travel for a truly negligible percentage of the Nigerian population. It is believed that, whatever the cost, most of the travellers can afford it. Two, there are two formidable unions, the Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers and the Nigeria Labour Union, that are always ready to go on strike over any identifiable development that may increase the cost of road travel. Without a doubt, their activities and the

True, the key factor often cited as the root cause of the hike in air and road transport fares is the rise in the cost of aviation fuel and so-called premium motor spirit used to propel their respective engines, but the factors responsible for the hike in airfares are beyond fuel costs. They include increasing demand for air travel; capacity problem, following layoffs during the pandemic; and bureaucratic bottlenecks, including the failure of some countries to meet their financial obligations to foreign airlines.

The reason for higher demand in air travel is understandable. All over the world, the urge to renew social ties, enjoy vacations in distant places, and explore new business opportunities increased as the over two-year pandemic declined in spread and severity, following the production of effective vaccines. Airlines responded to this increased demand by slowly raising prices. As summer travel crept in by the end of May, the cost got even hirer. An additional factor here at home is increasing insecurity on the roadways and the railroads. Those who can afford airfares flock the airports, leading to increase in airfare.

This gradual hike in airfare took a leap when the aviation fuel crisis hit the airlines due globally to the oil crisis resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting boycott of Russian oil by European and other nations. This problem was compounded in Nigeria by reduced output in production due to oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

Read Also: World’s aviation unions unveil plan to end travel chaos

Another factor responsible for higher fares is increased demand, following removal of restrictions, such as COVID-19 tests and the wearing of face masks by major airlines and hotels. This has made it possible for group travels and school trips, cancelled during the pandemic, to resume fully. Besides, business and leisure trips are also witnessing an uptake in volume.

The pandemic came with more than reduced airline patronage. Early retirements and layoffs during the pandemic have led to labour shortages. Many airlines are meeting these shortages with trimmed summer schedule in order to ensure reliable operations. The result again is increased fare for the available seats. The revenue management systems used by major airlines are good at forecasting demand at different price levels and comparing it to the available seats to sell. When available seats are reduced, the system works by stopping the sale of low fares earlier in the sales cycle and make seats available only to those who are willing to pay higher prices closer to the flights departure. Besides, a number of airlines have raised prices to make for reduced profitability during the pandemic.

Like most everything else, universal problems tend to get negatively domesticated in Nigeria to everybody’s discomfiture. International airfares were suddenly raised recently beyond the reach of regular travellers, not necessarily in alignment with universal trends. The Nigerian government owes foreign airlines over $500 million in unremitted revenue. Even when the government said that part of the fund was remitted recently, no airline got enough to reverse the hike in fares. Because the airlines are forced to source funds on the parallel market, where the exchange rate is much higher, airlines are threatening to sell their tickets in dollar instead of the local currency. Even some airlines, such as Emirates, suspended Nigeria flights due to $85 million trapped revenue.

At the domestic level, local airlines initially doubled their prices in response to the high cost of aviation fuel and the need to recover profitability, following the pandemic restrictions. However, as demand rose, due to the prevailing insecurity on the roads and railways, the price went up even higher. Today, you could spend as high as N250,000 on a return flight on the Lagos-Abuja or Ibadan-Abuja route, unless you book well in advance and are willing to take early morning flight.

To be sure, insecurity, high inflation, and rising costs are universal problems, leading major world bodies to warn of impending global recession. Only those who are ignorant of global trends would blame the Nigerian government uniquely for these problems.

Where the Nigerian government deserves blame is in insufficient or delayed action in solving the problems, leading to their escalation. How come oil thieves have escaped detection in all these years? After all, as porous as Nigeria’s borders are and as large as the country is, the Customs and the NDLEA continue to trap illegal imports and drug traffickers.

Worse still, there is evidence of bureaucratic failure or gross ineptitude in the management of funds for foreign airlines. Or how else does one explain these airlines trapped funds, when passengers had already fully paid their airfares? Now that the present administration has effectively gone into lame duck session, it may well be up to the next administration to take necessary actions on skyrocketing domestic and international airfares.

At over 94, Chief Ayo Adebanjo is the only Yoruba Obidient of his age that I know. In other words, he is the only Yoruba nonagenarian, who has joined the social media youths to follow Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party. His reason for doing so is different from that of the youths, however. The youths are following Obi, believing he is an apostle of youths and a possible change agent, whereas Chief Adebanjo claims that the presidency should go to the East, the homeland of the Igbo nation, to which Obi belongs.

On the one hand, the youths seem to be following Obi for telling them what they want to hear, because that soothes their frustration with the present Nigerian situation. On the other hand, Chief Adebanjo is telling himself what he wants to hear. He does not seem to care whether anybody is listening. That may well explain why members of the group he leads are singing a different song, as revealed below.

Many Yoruba elders are surprised that Chief Adebanjo would take such a radical political position, given the candidacy of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress for the same 2023 presidential election. They are surprised because Chief Adebanjo is the leader of Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization, and Tinubu, the National Leader of the APC, is Yoruba himself. They expect a Yoruba leader, especially of Chief Adebanjo’s standing, to support one of their own.

Chief Adebanjo probably did not pay attention to the withdrawal of most Southwest presidential aspirants-Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Governor Kayode Fayemi, and Senator Ajayi Borrofice-from the race to make room for Bola Tinubu. Other Yoruba leaders, namely, Chief Bisi Akande and Chief Segun Osoba, laid the groundwork for their withdrawal, following the elders adage, Àgbà kìí wà ló?jà k’órí o?mo? tutun-ún wó? (Elders do not look on while others make grievous mistakes).

However, those who know Chief Adebanjo well enough or have followed his political trajectory closely enough, would not be that surprised. He is a man in search of answers to real or imagined problems that he considers important. It does not matter whether his people agree with him or not. As a result, he often departs from Yoruba mainstream political orientation or champions causes that may eventually backfire on the Yoruba nation.

For example, he was reported to be one of the arrowheads of the Obasanjo take-over of the Southwest from the then Alliance for Democracy in 2003, thereby killing the party birthed by the Afenifere, the organization he now leads. It will be recalled that, in the 2003 general elections, all the Southwest AD Governors were manipulated and rigged out of power by Obasanjo’s People Democratic Party. The only Southwest Governor, who withstood the onslaught, was Bola Tinubu of Lagos State. The last man standing then is the presidential candidate today.

This is not to deny Chief Adebanjo’s posture as a champion of selected Yoruba causes, such as true federalism and restructuring the organization of the country to facilitate the maximization of the potentials of each federating unit and provide self fulfillment to the different nationalities. In pursuance of this goal, he worked hand in hand with then Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, who mounted a series of restructuring workshops, preparatory to the 2014 National Political Conference. Mimiko eventually took Chief Adebanjo and other Afenifere leaders to meet with then President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014. The outcome was a pact to vote for Jonathan’s PDP, which Mimiko himself joined, leaving his Labour Party in disarray. Interestingly, by pitching his tent with Obi of the Labour Party now, Chief Adebanjo appears to be done with the PDP.

It remains unclear which new goal Chief Adebanjo would pursue and which political party he will seek in support of the goal, especially if his dream of an Igbo presidency is not realized with Obi in 2023, just as restructuring did not happen with Jonathan in 2014.

What is clear, however, is that Chief Adebanjo is on his own with the Obi alliance. Here is how Basorun Sehinde Arogbofa, the immediate Secretary General of Afenifere, put it recently:  “Chief R. F. Fasoranti whom Chief Ayo Adebanjo always refers to as leader told Priscilla Ediare in the Saturday Sun of July 20, 2022 on page 14 that … when Senator Bola Tinubu was the Governor of Lagos, he did very well. I think he can carry that into the Presidency. From all indications, if election will hold in 2023, this is where most Afenifere, who are the silent majority, are gravitating” (Vanguard, September 3, 2022).

I am not surprised that Yoruba leaders are gravitating toward Bola Tinubu. Afterward, they spent the last eight years or so complaining about Fulanisation, because a Fulani man has been in the saddle, who doesn’t appear to be empathetic or even care, while apparently looking on as herdsmen, bandits, and kidnappers rummage their farms and imperil peoples lives on the roadways. Now that they have a chance to put one of their own in the saddle, there should be no excuse not to support him. That’s why Tinubu began campaign in January by soliciting the support of Yoruba traditional rulers and elders.

This is the time to bury personal differences or animosities. This is the time to reject fabricated stories about Bola Tinubu, many of which claim that he owns what he does not own, that he bore names that they manufactured for him; and that he was what he never was. This is the time to look at what he has accomplished and what he will do. This is the time to educate frustrated youths that their frustrations are about to end with a leader who feels their pain, knows what to do, and will do it. Here is a leader whose ability to groom leaders has translated to the making of several state Governors, top Federal and state legislators, and five or six members of the present Federal cabinet.

There’s no better time than now to give Bola Tinubu a chance, and no better group can champion the course than Yoruba elders, who should know what is right and appropriate. Others should join them in promoting one of their own, instead of looking on or folding their arms. To be sure, Tinubu will be a national President, and not Yoruba President alone. But he will not look on while his people are attacked or their interest jeopardized.

 

Mischief makers, especially on various social media platforms, are always ready to pounce on their victims at the slightest opportunity. All that is needed for their dream to come true is some appearance, some statement, or some event that could be distorted and transmuted into some alternate reality. Senator Kashim Shettima, the Vice Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, provided them with such an opportunity at the recent Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association.

He appeared at the event in suit and tie and a pair of sneakers, which clearly mismatched his formal outfit and the occasion. Before the day ran out, Shettima’s outfit had become big news online. Obidients and Atikulated folks were already having a field day. By the following day, even some mainstream newspapers echoed the online distortions. In no time, some columnists and opposition politicians began to deride Shettima, while others abused him for disrespecting the NBA by appearing in such mismatched outfit.

I first smiled when I read some of the comments. My smile turned to outright laughter—a laughter of disdain, of course—when I saw a widely circulated Instagram post in which Shettima was excised from the NBA event—chair, outfit, sneakers, and all—and put on top of a yellow Mini to which a mop was attached atop a long stick! What on earth was Shettima doing on the street on top of a car? That photoshopped image was the mother of distortions.

Yet, by carrying the distortion too far, the image made it even easier to see through the distortions of the Shettima appearance at the NBA event. Was it not during this same campaign season that a famous politician’s flowing agbada was photoshopped and presented online as wet? I later watched the authentic video of that event and spoke with some of the participants, all of whom were amazed at the distorted photograph. “I was with him throughout that day. Nothing of the sort ever happened. O ga o”, one of them told me.

Now you may ask: Why these distortions and fake news? The primary purpose is to create diversion intended to make anybody forget about substance, in this case, what Shettima said during the NBA event about the qualifications of the APC ticket for the presidency and what the duo intended to accomplish on the economy, ecology, and security, among others. Who now remembers that Shettima made global references and cited figures upon figures (from memory) in support of his arguments?

One of the underlying arguments Shettima made at the event was the suitability of the qualifications and complementarity of the men on the APC presidential ticket. Each had corporate financial background. Each had legislative experience as a Senator. Each had executive experience in state governance for eight years. Shettima himself was Governor at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency and was part of the deescalation of their attacks. He knows about security. No other ticket has these combinations.

What is more, a close look at their cabinets during their tenure as Governor shows unparalleled diversity of talents from different states of the Federation. Both men are credited as true talent hunters with a knack for recruiting the best for the job, regardless of creed, ethnicity, and state of origin. We have come to know so much about Bola Tinubu in this respect but much less is known about Shettima. Here’s a glimpse: Shettima’s cabinet and closest aides in Borno included Christians from the Southeast, South-south, and Southwest as well as a Fulani from the Northeast and Hausa from the Northwest.

It must also be remembered that, although a Muslim, Shettima is neither Hausa nor Fulani. He is Kanuri, which partly explains his sensitivity to other minorities and minority issues. To those who know him, his accommodating disposition toward victims of terror attacks, IDPs, and out-of-school children is legendary. He was equally helpful to Christians in his state, which makes a sad irony of some Christians’ opposition to his choice as Vice President.

But let’s go back to distortions and fake news for a moment. This is important as we are going to have a lot more of them after open campaigns take off on September 28. It is important to remember that each campaign team has an army of online commentators with two opposing missions—to praise their principals and to condemn the opponents, using various methods—distortions, falsifications, and outright abuse.

Not every commentator is employed by a campaign team, however. There are millions of young men and women out there, who are half-educated, jobless, and ethically challenged. Their number increased recently with the ongoing ASUU strike, now in its seventh month with a possibility of continuing through the campaign season. If they can abuse anyone face-to-face, which they do from time to time, imagine what they can do online, when there is no one over their shoulders.

The big question is what’s the purpose of distortions and fake news? They are part of negative campaign intended to put the target on the defensive, by diverting attention away from substantive issues. Thus, Shettima was forced to explain why he wore sneakers, instead of shoes, at the NBA event. According to him, the intention was to snub adversaries, who were reported to have planned some mischief. It was not clear during the event if the jab at Peter Obi’s Lagos residency and not Akwa was part of the snub.

Yet, there are columnists, who chose to ignore Shettima’s explanation and even turned around to blame him. His dress symbolises confusion, they claim. Why else would he wear sneakers, when he went to work in suit, tie, and designer shoes for at least 14 years as a top-level banker? What entitles anyone to get inside another man’s head and reject his explanation in the light of all available supportive evidence?

In the light of the barrage of distortions and fake news witnessed so far, it is important for the public to brace up for more. It is also important to check the truth behind claims made on social media. At the same time, however, it is necessary for the presidential candidates and their running mates to reduce the opportunities for falsification and fake news. Dress appropriately. Stay on facts. No exaggerations. Avoid silly gaffes. And stay on message.

 

When a state is unable to discharge its responsibilities to the citizens, virtually every action of concerned individuals, groups, organizations, and other non-state actors provides a commentary on such deficiencies, either by seeking to fill the gaps or by taking advantage of them.

Such was the case last week, when Goodmus Learning Centre, in partnership with First New Generation Citadel, awarded prizes for the first edition of an academic competition. Ordinarily, such an event should have gone unnoticed. However, the GLC event stands out for its overt and covert recognition of notable deficits in university education in Nigeria, especially in public universities.

The competition aims at (a) detecting Nigerian students who attained excellence in their studies and (b) providing necessary mentoring and financial support that the government might deny them. What is more, the awardees are guided through admission into prestigious institutions at home and abroad. The competition and the award thus speak volume about the status and quality of university education in Nigeria today.

Although the criteria used were not disclosed, the awards were given to three candidates in order of merit. The best candidate was awarded a scholarship to study abroad—in the US, UK, or Turkey; the second to study in any African university; and the third to study in a Nigerian private university. The scholarships are on a scale—100 percent for the first place, 80 percent for second, and 50 percent for third. All three awards offer a commentary on the status and quality of university education in Nigeria, namely, that they are in shambles and of poor quality, so bad that they could not offer the best education to Nigerian best brains.

Accordingly, the first place awardee gets a full scholarship to study overseas, specifically in the United States, the United Kingdom, or Turkey. To be sure, the top-ranked universities in the world are in either the UK or the USA. However, the addition of Turkey by the scholarship sponsors reflects a Nigerian myth of Turkish academic excellence, popularised recently by the  attempt by Nigerian university vice-chancellors’ wives to attend a conference there. Yet, the highest ranked university in Turkey, namely, Istanbul University, ranks less than any of the three top Nigerian universities—University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, and Covenant University—according to the 2022 ranking by Times Higher Education.

The overseas orientation of the first place award speaks to the elite practice by which children are sent overseas for training. The practice began with university training but has since been extended to secondary education and even below for those who can afford it. This leads to significant capital flight, while also causing foreign exchange deficits realized in the scarcity of foreign currencies and the corresponding depreciation of the Naira. This is particularly noticeable around school resumption time in January and September.

The second awardee gets 80 percent scholarship to study in any reputable African university outside Nigeria. This not only admits that Nigerian universities are substandard; it also acknowledges that there are African universities, which offer better quality education than Nigerian universities could offer. This is of course true, especially of a number of universities in South Africa.

The third place award provides a direct indictment of public university education in Nigeria, by directing the awardee to private universities in the country. The GLC Director offers a cogent reason: “We deliberately chose private schools because we don’t want a situation whereby his education will be affected by government irregularities such as strike action”. To be sure, a few of the private universities are gradually climbing the ladder of global competitiveness, many of them still lag behind many of the public universities, especially in staff strength. Indeed, many of them rely on lecturers from nearly public universities, either as adjunct or sabbatical staff.

But who wouldn’t be wary of Nigerian public universities, when the Academic Staff Union of Universities has been on strike for one full year out of every five since 1999? This brings us to the ongoing strike now in its sixth month without an end in sight. What is worse, with an education budget hovering between 5 and 7 percent, the universities suffer shortage of funds, equipment, and infrastructure. On top of it all, university teachers are poorly and irregularly paid. To complicate matters, the government fails repeatedly to honour agreements it signed with the Union. This year alone, the government has repeatedly given its own agencies deadlines, all of which were never honoured, the latest being the 2-week deadline given to the Ministry of Education nearly a month ago. It remains to be seen whatever outcome will come out of it.

The GLC scholarship award is not the only recent event that brings the deficits in university education in Nigeria into sharper focus. There are other non-state actors coming to the government rescue on university education. About the same time as the GLC award, notable citizens of Ijesaland came together to pledge support for the new Ilesa University of Education recently established by the Governor Gboyega Oyetola administration of Osun State. In recognition of the state government’s dwindling financial resources, the Ijesa Development Group pledged financial support and partnership in the running of the university.

In Ogun State, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi has even gone further down the educational ladder by supporting the Yemi Ogunbiyi Anglican School, which comprises a creche, primary, and secondary institutions. Ogunbiyi has a lofty goal for the school: “I want to raise money for that school to become a major player in the education sector in Ogun State”.

It is high time Nigerian federal and state governments aimed at such an ideal for education in Nigerian public schools and universities. Otherwise, as the education industry sinks, so will Nigeria. As French Sociologist, Emile Durkheim, put it in his famous Education et Sociologie, education can do no more than reflect society.

Following Durkheim, I would advise the organizers of the Goodmus Learning Centre scholarship award to change the name of the award from Academic Idols to something else, such as Academic Icons or Academic Excellence Awards. The analogy of Nigerian Idols or American Idols is so striking as to make the academic award look like an entertainment gig. The hunt for academic talent should be distinguished from the search for entertainers.