The Nation Newspaper

Category: Hardball

  • Confusing situation

    Confusing situation

    What is the current status of suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Betta Edu? What is the situation report on her?  President Bola Tinubu, in January, suspended her “from office with immediate effect,” following corruption-related allegations against her.  

    The President also directed the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to “conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions involving the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as well as one or more agencies thereunder.”

    Edu’s troubles followed a leaked memo, dated December 20, 2023, that she wrote to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), saying N585.2m earmarked for vulnerable citizens in Akwa-Ibom, Cross-River, Lagos, and Ogun states be paid into the United Bank for Africa (UBA) account — 2003682151— of one Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola, described as “the project accountant.”

    “These are payments for programmes and activities of the Renewed Hope grant for Vulnerable Groups,” Edu said in the memo, adding that the payment should be made from the National Social Investment Office account.

    The OAGF had rejected her memo, pointing out that it was illegal to pay such beneficiaries through the private account of a so-called project accountant. Indeed, the memo violated Section 713 (under Chapter Seven) of Nigeria’s Public Sector Financial Regulation Act (2009), which seeks to prevent fraud.  It states: “Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private account.” It adds: “Any officer who pays public money into a private account is deemed to have done so with fraudulent intention.”

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    Against this backdrop, it was strange and inexplicable that the suspended Edu was reported to have sent a condolence message, using the ministry’s letterhead, to the victims of the recent Jos building collapse. She said: “It is with profound grief that I extend my deepest condolences on the tragic collapse of the school building in Jos, Plateau State, which has resulted in the loss of multiple lives and left many survivors grappling with unimaginable pain and suffering.”  She added: “May the souls of the departed rest in peace, and may the injured receive swift and complete healing. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and all those affected during this incredibly difficult time.”

    It is unclear in what capacity she sent the message, and why she used the ministry’s letterhead. Also, the state of the ordered EFCC investigation into her case is unclear.  Clearly, Edu and the EFCC need to clarify this confusing situation.

  • Restructuring – to which end? 

    Restructuring – to which end? 

    On July 11 came glorious legalism, from the Supreme Court,  on the local government “autonomy” front.  The Federal Government won.  The state governments lost. 

    The party is over: for states that fiddle local governments’ monies; and governors that whimsically sack elected council chair(wo)men, and impose “caretaker” councils.

    Problems comprehensively solved?  Hardly.  Just a case lost and won.  But that could well be solving one problem, but creating 10 others.

    So, you hardly can blame the Tinubu order for pushing hard the propaganda value of the win.  Flipped, the opposition would have gone no less ga-ga.  Why, Bayo Onanuga, presidential adviser on Information and Strategy, called out the ever-wailing Peter Obi, for losing his voice — using Atiku Abubakar, who hailed the judgment, as exemplar.

    In the euphoria of the moment, Bode George too, the Lagos PDP chieftain, has latched on the “autonomy” to rapidly push for total “restructuring”.  But this is where it gets interesting: restructuring — towards what end?

    By approving a direct shovelling of funds to the so-called “third tier”, the Supreme Court has well-nigh made the local government Abuja’s business.  That act “tears” the councils from the states where they are rooted — both by geography and by the federal ethos.  Grotesque? 

    By its “purposive and teleological” interpretation of Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, might the apex court then be — teleologically — tearing off the federal clause, from a supposed federal Constitution that in practice runs as a unitary one, no thanks to the humongous powers of the central government?

    So, towards which end is Bode George’s “restructuring”, using local government “autonomy” as push — federal or unitary?  That verdict sure pushes the balance near unitary than federal!  Is the old soldier in the Lagos politician craving just that?

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    Enter, the other tested combatants over restructuring — the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission and old warhorse, Ayo Adebanjo, though the old man pushed his ideas through Afenifere, which he no longer leads.

    Both have nailed — and brilliantly too — the Supreme Court judgment.  Though they condemn state governors pinching council funds and their wayward sacking of elected councillors, they insist a “third tier” has no place in a federal state, which conceptually recognizes two partners: the central government and the federating units, the local governments being the exclusive business of the sub-nationals.

    So, which way, “restructuring”? 

    The Supreme Court verdict may have scored the short-term — and hardly ignoble — goal of securing local government funding.  That, other things being equal, should ensure better municipal and grassroots services nationwide. 

    But is it an “own goal”: creating sundry confusion on the path to re-federalization, the ultimate goal of “restructuring”?  What’s next — a “restructuring” civil war?

    Interesting times!

  • Silence on kidnappers

    Silence on kidnappers

    Good news:  Two journalists, Abdulgafar Alabelewe of The Nation and AbdulRaheem Aodu of Blueprint, who were abducted by bandits from their homes in Kaduna, on July 7, regained their freedom after one week in captivity.  So did their family members who were also kidnapped in that incident.

    A statement by Rabiu Ibrahim, Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, quoted Alabelewe as saying “I never thought that within a week of our kidnap, we could get out. We are grateful that the government swung into action and ensured that we were released.”

    Speaking when he received the two journalists from the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, the minister observed that “The security agencies under the coordination of the NSA are working tirelessly to ensure that all those who have been taken into unlawful custody are freed without paying any ransom.” The NSA was reported saying the victims were rescued following a search and rescue operation by security agencies.

    Curiously, neither the minister nor the NSA said anything about those who kidnapped the journalists and their family members. Also, they gave no information about how the so-called rescue operation was carried out.

     To say the victims were “rescued” suggests that they were taken from their abductors. If that was the case, what happened to the abductors?  A rescue suggests physical action on the part of the rescuers.  If the abductors released the captives, possibly after the payment of ransom, that can’t be described as a rescue.

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    It’s a familiar picture. In March, for instance, the schoolchildren who were abducted from LEA Primary School and Government Secondary School, Kuriga, Kaduna State, regained their freedom after more than two weeks in captivity. The authorities said nothing about the kidnappers.

    In that case, the minister had asserted that the official position was that “ransom will not be tolerated. Ransom will not be encouraged; ransom will not be paid by the government.” He said the country’s security agencies would not reveal “their modus operandi,” adding that they were “evolving new strategies of getting out these criminal elements and ensuring that our children or anybody who is kidnapped for that matter, is brought back safely.”

    However, when the authorities are silent about kidnappers in kidnap cases in which kidnappees regain their freedom after the intervention of security agencies, it suggests that the kidnappers are at large. If the captors are not captured, they may well strike again. That’s dangerous.

  • Ridiculous spin

    Ridiculous spin

    What a spin! Or is there another word for the response of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) to the multiple suicide bombings in Gwoza, Borno State, on June 29, which killed more than 30 people and wounded more than 40 others?

    Female suicide bombers had struck at a wedding, a hospital, and a funeral in the town. The bomb attacks at three different spots on the same day, by different attackers, brought back terrible memories, and triggered fears that suicide bombings, which happened frequently in the country some years ago, seemed to be returning.

    For instance, between June 2014 and February 2018, about 468 women and girls were deployed or arrested in 240 suicide attacks linked to Boko Haram, according to a report by the Counterterrorism Centre. In the period, about 1,200 people were killed and about 3,000 others injured.

    Curiously, Director of Defence Media Operations Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba was reported saying, “what happened in Gwoza is what happens at the ending cycle of terrorism.” Really? It looked more like a possible resurgence of suicide bombing, and continuation of terrorism, not a so-called ending.  

    He also said: “At this phase, the terrorists are carrying out their acts to attract attention, bolster relevance, mobilise support and to reduce support for the Armed Forces and the government at large.”

    But he missed the point. The terrorists should not be allowed to carry out their activities, whatever their objectives.

    None of the main terrorist groups in the country, Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), claimed responsibility for the latest suicide bombings. But the bomb attacks were a familiar signature of terrorism.   Boko Haram terrorists had seized the town in 2014, but were dislodged by the Nigerian military in 2015.

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     The anti-terrorism war demands community vigilance as well as the alertness of protectors, which were lacking in this case. The bombings exposed a failure of intelligence. The locals and security agents must cooperate, particularly concerning intelligence sharing, towards putting a stop to the activities of terrorists.

    Tragically, terrorism continues to claim the lives of many innocent people in the country, with the authorities seeming unable to do anything about it.  The authorities have failed to put an end to terrorism, since 2009 when it became an issue in the country. After its beginning in the North-East, where Borno State is located, it spread dangerously to the North-West and other parts of the country. It was estimated that between 2009 and 2023, Nigeria suffered no less than 35,000 terrorism-related casualties.

    The military’s attempt to put a spin on the Gwoza bombings was plainly ridiculous.

  • Authority stealing, soft justice

    Authority stealing, soft justice

    Is there any measure of honour imputable to stealing? That is a question begged by the defence mustered by a former Director of Primary  Health Care in Nangere council area of Yobe State, Ibrahim Lawan, who is currently on suspension for diverting the council’s stock of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that RUTF is a packaged highly nutritious food supplement used in treating acutely malnourished children.

    Yobe State PHC Board on Wednesday, last week, announced indefinite suspension of Lawan for “diverting and misusing” the food supplement. Adamu Abba, the board’s spokesman, said in Damaturu that a five-member committee had been raised to investigate the matter. The board named an acting director, Ibrahim Disa, who will hold forth pending the outcome of investigations. Abba said the probe panel was also expected to recommend a strategy for ensuring accountability in the distribution of the supplement and other medical consumables.

    In an interview with NAN, Lawan admitted to misdeeds but suggested the gravity was lessoned by some honour he made pretension to. “Actually, I and some of my staffers tampered with some of the therapeutic  food supplements, but the quantity is not as much as they are alleging,” the news agency reported him saying. “The allegation was that I diverted about 120 cartons. This is not true. However, I take responsibility for all that happened since I was the leader at the time,” he further said, adding: “I am appealing to the state government to temper justice with mercy, since I have cooperated and made investigation easier for them.”

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    Lawan sounded like he was flaunting it as a badge of honour that he “took responsibility” for the theft he acknowledged leading workers under him to commit. It was bad enough that, by his own admission, he abused public trust by “tampering with” the item meant for acutely malnourished children kept his care. It was worse that he led a squad of staffers to do that. By their misdeed, they denied only-God-knows-how-many children the essential supplement and possibly their very lives, considering the socio-economic challenges in Yobe, among other states in the Northwest, that warranted making the provision in the first place.

    You would think Lawan took too seriously the cynical saying attributed to maverick politician, the late Arthur Nzeribe, that even among robbers there is honour. But he’s only lucky he faced soft justice. Had he operated in a place like China, he could have gotten death sentence for hazarding the lives of malnourished children.

    Still, he’s helped in making the work of the probe panel easy: just get him to name his accomplices and hand them the stiffest possible penalty under the law.

  • Gang-think from Kano

    Gang-think from Kano

    Want an inkling into a gang’s thinking?  And were that gang in government, with a manic obsession to extract revenge, no matter how horribly it bounces back to hurt it?

    Then, race to Kano!  There: what a shrink would find, examining Governor Abba Yusuf and his gang, government or top party hierarchs, would be interesting!

    Or how else do you x-ray this infantile, self-serving, unconscionable threat by Hashimu Dungurawa, Kano State chair of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP), linking the Emirate crisis, which Governor Yusuf has clearly bungled, to sweepstakes in 2027?

    Hear his blather to President Bola Tinubu: “Your perceived stance on the ongoing Kano Emirate tussle would surely work against you in the 2027 presidential polls,” he roared, “because if you think you can use it to secure grounds in Kano, when the chips are down it will dawn on you that you have made costly mistakes.”

    What does this empty yammer even mean?  But wait for the ultimate blackmail: the President should ensure that the “deposed” Emir is banished from Kano!  In other words, the desperado wanted licit forces to press illicit — or even putatively illegal — acts, since the so called deposition of Emir Aminu Ado Bayero hangs in the balance, in a legal challenge still running?

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    Were Dungurawa some playwright in some Ancient Greek drama, he would just work a deus-ex-machina into his self-serving plot — and the police made a forceful dash to Emir Ado Bayero’s mini-palace, and they forcefully ejected and banished him, and Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II reigned happily ever after!

    What a dream!  What a child!  Yet, this one is NNPP’s Kano chairman, throwing childhood tantrums?

    Well, reality check: Governor Abba and gang caused the Kano debacle.  Let them clear it in the court, as penance for trampling on the same law, which created the office of the governor.  Abuja was never part of it.  Let Kano clear up own mess.

    Still, Dungurawa’s blather is hardly surprising.  When Yusuf’s win was under legal challenge, an uncouth fellow in his cabinet threatened the tribunal judges.  When the self-entrapping Emirate crisis first broke out, Yusuf’s deputy ran his mouth, lying that Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA) was plotting against Kano, simply because the police won’t do the governor’s rash bidding.  Later, it was Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso himself hallucinating over some federal plot over Kano.

    Let the Kano Emirate process play itself out in court.  As to the political fallouts, Kano voters themselves see, from the reckless acts of Abba and co — the initial demolition spree; and now, this avoidable Kano Emirate crisis — who is deserving or undeserving of their mandate.

    Meanwhile to Dungurawa, happy fresh 2027 hallucinations!

  • Flooding season

    Flooding season

    In the middle of the rainy season, there are serious questions regarding how much of the severe flooding experienced in many parts of the country is due to natural causes or human factors, and how much attention the authorities are paying to flood prevention or flood management.
    For instance, following severe flooding in Lagos, on July 3, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources in the state, Tokunbo Wahab, offered an unconvincing explanation. He said: “It’s not for failure to plan that we had what happened yesterday. No, it was nature taking its full course. And we are sorry for those whose lives were disrupted: they could not go to work, they could not go to their marketplaces, they couldn’t go to school.”
    He argued that “Nature will take its course,” adding, “What we have to do is to mitigate the impact of nature on the environment. And that was what we did yesterday.”
    The Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had on July 2 predicted heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms in many states from July 3 to July 5, including Lagos, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Taraba, Adamawa, Kaduna, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, and the Federal Capital Territory.
    The rains come and go. So, the federal, state, and local governments were expected to have worked towards preventing severe flooding in the country before the rains came this year.

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    Predictably, the authorities, as usual, will say defensive things suggesting that the main factors that cause severe flooding are beyond human control. They will play down the human factors, including arbitrary construction on natural flood plains and storm water paths, and poor drainage systems, which are compounded by weak enforcement of environmental regulations.
    Preventing severe flooding calls for proactive action not only from the relevant governmental structures at all levels but also the people in the various communities across the country. Ultimately, all levels of government in the country and the various communities within the national boundaries have a responsibility to take action to prevent severe flooding, or greatly mitigate its consequences.
    The disastrous floods of 2022 remain fresh in the minds of many Nigerians. Apart from the major issue of failure to prevent severe flooding, lack of preparation for flood control was an issue as floods described as the worst since 2012 devastated many parts of the country.
    The authorities should know that prevention is better than cure. This underscores the need for preventive action. But there should also be adequate preparation for flood management. Perennial excuses do not mitigate perennial severe flooding.

  • Refineries: Waiting for Godot

    Refineries: Waiting for Godot

    If frontline tycoon Aliko Dangote had under-gauged how heavily Nigeria depends on his private refinery that came on stream early this year, he got a hint from the panic over a recent  minor fire incident at the facility.

    The fire incident occurred penultimate Wednesday at the effluent treatment plant of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals located at the Lekki free trade zone in Lagos, sending chilly waves into Nigerians who mostly pin their hope on the facility delivering refined petrol to the local market to relieve the country’s heavy dependence on imported petrol that does not come cheap in view of foreign exchange dynamics, among other cost-push factors. The 650,000 barrels-per-day private refinery commenced production of diesel and aviation fuel in January, and was expected to add petrol to its product line by May.

    The firm confirmed penultimate Wednesday’s fire incident as minor and nothing to worry much about. Reports said emergency services responded swiftly to contain the incident. The cause of the fire was not immediately known and investigations were launched to ascertain the extent of damage and what started the fire. “We have swiftly contained a minor fire incident at our effluent treatment plant (ETP) today, Wednesday, 26th of June. There is no cause for alarm as the refinery is operating and there is no recorded injury or bodily harm to our staff on duty,” the Group Head, Corporate Communications, Anthony Chiejina said in a statement. Effluent treatment is a type of wastewater treatment method used in purifying industrial wastewater so to ensure release of safe water to the environment, and thereby preserve environment from harmful effects caused by effluents.

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    The panic over the Dangote refinery fire was against the backdrop of serial failed promises by government that public-owned refineries that are being refurbished were about resuming production. As far back as August 2023, Petroleum Resources Minister of State (Oil) Heineken Lokpobiri was reported saying the Port Harcourt refinery would roll out by December 2023. His promise during an inspection tour of the facility was re-echoed by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Group Chief Executive Mele Kyari while meeting with House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas in November 2023. But the promise never materialised and NNPCL has returned a couple of times to set new dates that also fell through. Mid-March, 2024, Kyari promised during an interactive session with the Senate that Port Harcourt would take off within two weeks, which never came. In May, an NNPCL report set September as the new date. Well, the thing about phony promises is that they always have an expiry date.

    Godot is the phantom figure in Samuel Beckett’s two-act absurdist classic who never came. We’ll sooner than later know how much of Godot the refineries are.

  • Whodunnit

    Whodunnit

    The sheer quantum of arms and drugs, with a combined duty value put at N13.9 billion, will make you break out in cold sweat!

    Thank God the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) intercepted the lethal armada.  What might have been, had the deathly cargo made it through the ports?  Ha!  And here, NCS has earned fulsome praise.  More of that!

    Again, the chilling details: 844 units of rifles, 1222, 500 pieces of live ammunition, with a cocktail of dangerous drugs — codeine-laden cough syrups, Tramadol and other stimulants that simply jade your mind, pushing you to lethal derring-do, as you went after manic harvesting of lives and limbs!

    Pray, what would it gain anyone to “lose” — or rather, pay — N13.9 billion (a princely sum in any currency) just to inflict death, tears and woes on fellow citizens?  Isn’t that some lunatic ensemble?  But again, that’s the illogic with terrorism: that penchant to kill first, think later.

    But that seized assorted cargo shows both the anatomy and scaffolding of terrorist operations.  First, is the wanton arms, procured from anywhere.  That’s wayward arms pushed into reckless hands.

    Then, the drugs — to impair the mind, cripple the brain and set the hands on a reckless, lethal, fatal mission. 

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    With the two “missions accomplished”, a brazen killing field is all but assured!  But again, thank God that NCS, on July 1, checkmated the importers and impounded the arms and drugs at the Onne Port, in Rivers State.  More of that intelligence network, even in foreign ports, that pulled of that remarkable seizure.

    Still, whodunnit?

    That’s the eager question in everyone’s lips.  As a follow-up, it’s good to hear that the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) has taken possession of the arms; and pledged to fully document them, prelude to destroying the entire arsenal.

    We expect the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to do the needful, as dictated by law, on the seized hard drug components.

    Still, the destruction of arms and drugs won’t achieve much without a credible answer to that all-important question: whodunnit?

    The lead of three arrests, linked to the importers, is good.  The authorities should press that lead before it turns cold.  That massive seizure would only make a meaning if it leads to big-time terrorism sponsors and financiers.  Jail awaits them prompt and fast. 

    That’s why a swift investigation is called for.  The earlier these felons are behind bars, the earlier the rest of us will sleep easy.

  • Salaries and fraudsters

    Salaries and fraudsters

    It’s one thing to read about the scandalous salary fraud in the Federal Civil Service involving people who had relocated abroad but were still earning salaries. It’s another thing to read about one of such people.

    Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF) Folasade Yemi-Esan said the fraud was discovered following a verification exercise that required everybody on the nominal roll who was receiving salaries to appear physically. The objective of the exercise was to stop the salaries of those who had left the service without proper documentation but were still earning remuneration.

    It’s unclear how long the discovered fraud had existed, and how many people were involved, directly or indirectly. Obviously, it could not have existed without collusion between those who fraudulently received salaries they never worked for and those who were supposed to ensure that such payments did not occur.

     She also said the number of people unlawfully earning such salaries was “more in the parastatals than in the core ministries.” But the issue is that such fraud should not have been allowed to happen in the federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in the first place.

    Interestingly, a BBC report drew attention to the case of a Nigerian who relocated to the UK two years ago. The 36-year-old man, who works as a taxi driver in the UK, said he was still receiving N150, 000 monthly from a federal government agency in Nigeria without showing up at work.

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    According to him, he didn’t resign from his position before relocating abroad “because I wanted to leave that door open in case I choose to go back to my job after a few years.” He said he was able to perpetrate the fraud because “my boss was a relative.”

    The exposure of the fraud attracted President Bola Tinubu’s attention. His position on the issue highlighted the circle of collusion.  He said: “The culprits must be made to refund the money they have fraudulently collected. Their supervisors and department heads must also be punished for aiding and abetting the fraud.” Both consequences should send a strong signal that fraud is unacceptable. The authorities must put the President’s words into action. 

    This discovery of fraud in the middle of reforms under Yemi-Esan shows that there is a need for more reforms in the MDAs. She has been credited with reforms towards improving civil service welfare. She must also introduce urgent reforms to ensure the prevention of fraud in the civil service.