Category: Hardball

Hardball

Between the late Umaru Dikko and the now re-nabbed Nnamdi Kanu — any similarity?  That question must have pronged at the historic-minded, as the news of Kanu’s re-arrest punched the wires.

Well, Umaru Dikko belonged to a separate age.  He was super-minister under the late President Shehu Shagari, of the ill-fated 2nd Republic (1 October 1979-31 December 1983).  Like Rotimi Amaechi today, Dikko was Transport minister in his heyday.

But unlike new rail tracks and positive restlessness to grow new rail lines, Dikko’s over-arching influence was in “essenco” — essential commodities — after the Shagari government had run the economy aground; and even the imported “essential commodities”, with which that government had hoped to feed the hungry masses, had become a virulent hive of corruption.   Dikko was alleged king in that “thief-dom”.

But that wasn’t even his problem with the new military junta, under Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, that sacked the 2nd Republic.  Though Dikko embraced exile instead of arrest after Shagari’s fall, he always nettled the new military regime, in then “far-away” UK.

That annoyed the regime enough to drug and crate him, as expensive cargo, back to Nigeria to answer for his alleged corrupt practices.  But the plan went frightfully wrong.

Now, Nnamdi Kanu.  His story, and that of his IPOB, and its militant arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), is too fresh to bear re-telling.  Any outrageous rumour — outright lies, titillating half-truths, cross-ethnic slurs and threats, etc — was home and comfy with Kanu and his IPOB camp.

Even after breaking his bail terms and escaping abroad — first sighted in Israel and later, in the UK — the explosive stuff from Kanu never ceased.  Indeed, Kanu was main cause of the Federal Government-Twitter tiff, which ended in Twitter’s temporary, if indefinite suspension, from operating in Nigeria.  And that is not to count the huge costs in lives and limbs, particularly in the South East, allegedly traced to IPOB/ESN doors!

The good thing, though, between Dikko and Kanu, is that due process appears coming of age.  Instead of crating during the Dikko era, Kanu was reportedly nabbed via inter-agency collaboration, hallmarked by INTERPOL — the international police.

That process could have been easier though, since Kanu was already on trial before he jumped bail.  And in the midst of all of these, GMB had himself morphed into PMB — democracy and due process be praised!

Let Kanu have his day in court, since he has been promptly re-arraigned.  But whatever his fate, it is salutary that due process is being better served, no matter what.

From GMB to PMB, between Dikko and Kanu, and within the same political generation, Nigeria has moved from “crating” regime opponents to utilizing international structures of civil arrests.  That is a millennial leap that ought to be toasted.

Let the law take its course, after a fair and transparent trial.  That is the hallmark of a civil and civilized society.

Hardball

“All of us are thieves,” goes that ultra-cynical street quip, “but only the one caught is barawo.”

You can’t but recall that quip, as the conviction and gaoling, for seven years, of Farouk Lawan, former four-term member of the House of Representatives, during the entire PDP power years (1999-2015), hit the wires.

Lawan, tiny and diminutive, but as flamboyant as they come, made quite an impression as some pocket bomb — move over, Nasir El-Rufai!  Before the Otedollar scandal, he was darling of not a few — and for good reasons.

For once, he was a veteran and ranking member of the House from Kano.  For another, the former House Finance Committee chairman boasted a House banner without stain: the House leader of the formidable Integrity bloc — the all-mighty bloc that torpedoed Patricia Etteh, Nigeria’s first female Speaker!

All of us are thieves but whoever is caught is the barawo!

The Ette ouster was the zenith of Lawan’s “reign”.  As the power behind the throne, at powering Dimeji Bankole into the Speakership, Lawan was speculated as a shoo-in for governor, in his native Kano.  But then, Otedollar came and burst the bubble!

The Lawan scandal was really axiomatic of the preening corruption of the PDP years.  Lawan was chair of the 2012 ad hoc House Committee on Petroleum Subsidy Regime, probing alleged fuel subsidy payment abuse.

At committee sessions, Chairman Lawan was the thundering, archangel of probity, giving no quarters, brooking no nonsense, sworn to dishing out justice to the accused persons and firms, reaping loud applause in the streets!

But in the shadows, he was the execrable Mr. Hyde in the dark, soliciting for bribe; the pole opposite of the beloved Dr. Jerkyll growling for justice, against the subsidy creamers!

In any case, that was the accusation.  Femi Otedola’s firm, Zenon Petroleum and Gas, was alleged a subsidy payment cheat, to the tune of US 1 million.  Otedola claimed that to get Zenon off the hook, Lawan demanded a US$ 3 million bribe.

Otedola went calling on the DSS, got marked dollar notes, a sting camera planted at the scene of alleged crime — and the Otedollar scandal was born!

In a stunning end, a case that had dragged for nine years — no thanks to technicalities and allied bad faith, rightful appeal from ICPC, and the blackmail of at least a judge to recuse — ended in a shattering denouement: gaol for Lawan, all seven years of it!

And he is to refund, to the Federal Government, the US$ 500, 000 bribe he collected, from the alleged US$ 3 million he demanded!

All of us are thieves but the one nabbed is the barawo — good riddance to bad rubbish!

The mass poverty of today springs from the blind stealing of yesteryear.  It’s a good day — justice for the perpetually raped, long-suffering Nigerian people, by privileged parasites!

Hardball

Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany Yusuf Maitama Tuggar was reported to have blamed “negative media reports” for fuelling insecurity in the country. It’s unclear what he meant because he didn’t explain.

“Insecurity is most unfortunate… the government is doing its best to bring this to an end…And the negative media reports sometimes fuel these acts of violence, the kidnapping, the terrorism,” the ambassador was quoted as saying in an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW).

At the same time, he said “the root causes of insecurity and violence happen to be poverty, lack of effective governance,” adding, “especially when we have experienced years of underdevelopment which this administration is looking to reverse.”

It was convenient to blame “negative media reports” for fuelling insecurity in the country, and emphasise the government’s efforts to develop the country.  He should have supported his claim by providing a definition and examples.

Was he referring to media reports of political corruption? Was he referring to reports of the country’s apparently ineffective fight against corruption?  Did he mean that bandits, kidnappers and terrorists are encouraged by media reports showing that the country’s political players have failed to improve socio-economic conditions?

It is noteworthy that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo implied that the government was not doing enough to fight the conditions that encourage insecurity at an executive-legislative leadership retreat held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja last year. He told the participants: “It is time to focus on what we have been elected or appointed to do. This is the welfare of our people… Our people just want food on their table, shelter over their heads, clothing on their bodies, healthcare and education for their children and themselves.”

Also, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Ekiti State governor Kayode Fayemi, has attributed the country’s security challenges partly to its 33 percent unemployment rate.

Notably, the World Bank, at its Nigeria Development Update virtual event last year,  projected that the number of poor Nigerians would be 100 million by 2022, about half of the population. Nigeria’s population is about 206 million now. This is just two years away. It is a disturbing scenario that has security implications.

The point is that the media has to perform its reporting role, even when the news is negative. If there is no negative news, there won’t be “negative media reports.”  The media shouldn’t be blamed for performing its responsibility.  The government should perform its own responsibility by improving bad socio-economic conditions that ultimately fuel insecurity.

Hardball

If fresh complaints by university teachers in the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are valid, the Federal Government comes across as an unreliable partner to strike a deal with. A memorandum of action it signed with the union last December to end an industrial action that lasted nine months appears to have stalled and the teachers are threatening fresh hostilities. The protracted strike last year was itself a culmination of failure by successive administrations to implement agreements reached in the past with ASUU, and it seems this latest pact is headed down the same road. No, not again!

The Chairman of University of Jos branch of ASUU, Dr. Lazarus Maigoro, raised the red flag last weekend, alleging refusal by Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) to pay salaries of some university teachers and remit check-off dues to the union, and threatening that another strike was imminent. According to him, the AGF is withholding salaries for several months on insistence that teachers enroll into the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS) mandated for all public officials, in violation of a waiver granted ASUU by government which had promised to consider the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) developed by the union for implementation. Maigoro accused the AGF being bent on withholding salaries of over 1,000 members of ASUU spread across the country, “with more than 100 being members of our branch in University of Jos.” He added that the AGF was refusing to remit deducted check-off dues to ASUU in “deliberate attempt at preventing the union from  being able to assist its members whose salaries have been unduly and illegally withheld,” thereby forcing them to  submit to his office’s “underhand tactics” to compel enrolment on IPPIS. This, he noted, was a betrayal of the 2020 memorandum government signed with ASUU.

The Nation, in its report, got confirmation from ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, of the claims by Maigoro. “As we speak, they are owing many of our members in many of the branches between two to 16 months’ salaries without pay by the Accountant-General’s office. They are using that to blackmail our members to enroll into the IPPIS…We have met with the Minister of Labour and Employment. We even escalated it to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, but they (AGF’s office) seem to be adamant on punishing our members,” he said inter alia. Osodeke assured that the union has a procedure of exhaustive consultations before hitting the strike button, but Maigoro had dampened optimism on available time when he said: “While our leaders have prevailed on us to await the outcome of their engagement with the Chief of Staff, we are sorry to report that at our branch, we cannot wait any further as our members are going through very harsh conditions.” When contacted, Labour Minister Chris Ngige expressed shock over the bottleneck and promised to find out the true position of things towards resolving the matter.

The omens are inauspicious for survival of industrial peace in the university system and government must rise now to honouring its pledges in the truce deal.

Hardball

President Muhammadu Buhari, on June 19 in Zaria, Kaduna State, slammed advocates of restructuring and secession as not only “asking for the impossible”, but also as “mischievously dangerous”.

It was at the Zaria, Kaduna State, launch of the Kudirat Abiola Sabon Gari Peace Foundation, at the 25th anniversary of the 1996 assassination of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, by agents of the Sani Abacha regime, while campaigning for her husband, MKO Abiola’s presidential mandate of June 12, 1993, which Gen. Ibrahim Babangida had annulled; and Gen. Abacha had sustained.

The symbolism of the Zaria launch was clear.  Alhaja Kudirat was born and raised in Zaria by Ijebu parents of the South West.  That is representative of millions of other Nigerians, born in a part of the country but have found permanent homes in other areas.  To many of such, secession along ethnic lines makes no sense.

The president, speaking through Mohammed Bello Shehu, executive secretary, Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, declared: “You are telling us to dissolve a system and call for an obscure conference to come and discuss how we can move forward as a nation.  That can never be done and no country will agree to that.”

Not true.  At the zenith of its political problems, the neighbouring Republic of Benin agreed, after the government was pressured into holding a sovereign national conference (SNC).  By that, Benin cobbled together a new set of agreements that laid the foundation for its present democracy, which has been surviving new knocks and fresh challenges.  It was this prototype that the late Aka Bashorun and co hailed and pushed for, at the nadir of IBB decayed transition programme.

And no: there is nothing “obscure” about any talk to make things better, even if, by Nigeria’s sad experience, previous talks had been mere elite jamborees that consumed much public cash but returned little result.

But again, that was because of the humbug of the sponsoring authorities — three of them, so far: Sani Abacha, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan — whose insincerity ensured the talks didn’t amount to much.

Now, it is understandable if the Buhari government is reluctant to go through that arid and wasteful lane.  But that does not vitiate the fact that Nigeria is at a critical juncture, at which it needs to pause, make a painful x-Ray of itself and map a sustainable path forward.

And no: “restructuring” does not equate secession, even if the failure of one could spark the other.  Still, there is no denial that between “restructuring” (which Hardball admits means different things to different people) and “secession”, there is a lot of confusion, nay mischief, in camps for and against.

By the way, PMB’s reaction has been set regime response: Abacha, Obasanjo and Jonathan reacted exactly that way, before their cynical granting of “national conference” for own ends.  But regime disavowal has never stopped the agitations.  On the contrary, the agitators have dug in, and become more rigid and fixated in their call.  The present security challenges are giving the agitation more traction.

But the pro- and anti-restructuring camps need not be parallel lines that can never meet.  There ought to be a middle point, pushed by “what is right” and not “who is right”.  On both sides, more flexibility is called for — better messaging, stressing more concord, less discord.

Nigeria craves a serious makeover.  Only sincere and genuine talk with one another — not the present screech at each other — can make that happen.  A sitting president, should harbour greater stakes in making that happen, for the good, glory and survival of beloved country.