Category: Letters

Sir: One held a British passport. The other held an African Union (AU) passport. Both sought entry into an African country for investment purposes. The former was admitted into the country, while the individual with the AU Passport was denied access due to the lack of a visa. It is worth noting that the AU passport is issued to a select few prominent individuals in Africa.

Ironically, the person who was granted entry is merely a consultant to the rejected individual, who actually possesses the funds for investment in the country. The person facing refusal was none other than Aliko Dangote, the wealthiest man in Africa. Dangote revealed this incident during an interview at the AfreximBank 30th Anniversary event in Accra, Ghana.

Dangote’s experience sheds light on the daily challenges faced by ordinary Africans as they attempt to travel within the continent. Despite the existence of treaties facilitating the free movement of people and goods, such as the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), African individuals still encounter various forms of harassment and extortion by border officials.

Where there are treaties in place for free movement of people and goods in the case of Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS); Africans are still subjected to all sorts of harassments and extortions by border officials.

In West Africa, where ECOWAS holds influence, one would expect a more mature system, considering it was the first regional bloc established in Africa. ECOWAS was founded on May 28, 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, aiming to promote economic integration and cooperation among West African countries. However, borders such as Nigeria/Benin, Benin/Togo, Togo/Ghana, etc., have become breeding grounds for corruption. Border officials openly demand bribes before stamping travellers’ passports.

As Africans, it is crucial for us to re-evaluate our priorities concerning poverty eradication and the empowerment of our young population. Erecting borders and implementing unnecessary checkpoints to impede legitimate travellers and traders will only lead to adverse consequences and exacerbate poverty for the majority of Africans.

Removing all barriers will unleash prosperity within the continent. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), intra-African exports accounted for a mere 20% of total African exports in 2022, significantly lower compared to other regional trade blocs such as the European Union or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

We must fully throw our weight behind The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The full implementation must start now. No delay. No dillydally. We don’t have the luxury of time. It is a crisis situation of significant proportions. Young Africans are losing their lives in the Mediterranean Sea.

Being united means that the borders must go down and free trade must take their place. The World Bank estimates that AfCFTA, could raise incomes by nine percent by 2035 and lift 50 million people out of extreme poverty, if fully implemented.  

To expedite the integration process and address any potential challenges arising from the free movement of people and goods, we must implement innovative security policies. AU member countries should collaborate and share intelligence. Border officials across the continent must undergo comprehensive training and retraining. They should be adequately compensated to discourage corruption. These officials should perceive themselves as partners in progress with entrepreneurs in the continent, rather than hindrances to job creation and progress.

Rwanda deserves commendation for its decision to open its borders to all Africans, allowing nationals from African countries to enter visa-free. This model of unrestricted entry should be embraced by other countries within the continent. We must embrace a future of unity, progress, and shared prosperity.

As we commemorate the African Integration Day today, July 7, I want to summon the spirit of Ronald Reagan’s famous speech in Berlin on June 12, 1987, where he called for the demolition of the Berlin Wall. I implore African leaders: If you truly seek prosperity for Africa and its people, tear down these walls. Let the borders crumble and be replaced by centres for trade and research. Again, I say, African leaders, tear down these walls!

• Samuel O. Adeyemi, amonsong@yahoo.com>

By Brendan Adigwu

One of the age-long fundamental problems impacting effective service delivery and beneficial governance in public service in the country is the issue of putting square pegs in round holes.

It’s a problem that has traversed different political dispensations and even during military administration, which was a complete aberration that stymied the growth and development of the country for years. 

In most cases, thrusting people with mismatched skills into critical leadership and governance positions are driven by ethno-religious considerations and other mundane factors, such as prioritising loyalty over competence and valuing brotherhood and friendship more than capacity.

The combination of all of these mundane considerations in the country’s leadership recruitment process has contributed in no small measures to retard the wheel of governance, whose by-product is the perennial inertia witnessed in almost every stratum of the country’s public service, be it at the state or federal level. 

For Nigeria to make measurable progress, there must be deliberate efforts to engage people with the requisite skills and competencies to man the various leadership positions in the public service, just as it happens in the private sector, where only those who have the skills and job aptitude are employed to drive and actualise the company’s organisational goals.

Time was when the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was arguably the star agency during the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who appointed the late Dora Akunyili, a professor of pharmacy to head the agency. NAFDAC, under Professor Akunyili, was vibrant and proactive in the discharge of its mandate responsibilities, which include ensuring food safety, and fighting drug counterfeiting, among other core functions.

Of course, there was no debate as to why Akunyili was able to achieve those remarkable feats during her tenure as the head honcho of NAFDAC. It was simply because she had the requisite skills, technical know-how and the will to make the agency live up to its responsibilities to the Nigerian people.

For a while now, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has been virtually in the news for good reasons, as the agency is trying to rid the country of illicit drugs and drug couriers with almost ruthless efficiency. The appointment of Buba Marwa, a retired Brigadier General of the Nigerian Army, by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari to head the agency marked a unique turning point in the life of the agency.

Similarly, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), under the erstwhile leadership of Dr Yemi Kale as its Director General, became the darling of data analysts, researchers, and policy formulators, among others, because of the vast impacts the DG made during his tenure in hugely transforming the bureau through various progress-laden initiatives and innovations. Dr Kale was able to make the massive transformation because he was in a place where his skills, intellect and degrees aligned with the core objectives of the bureau. His was a case of a round peg in a round hole.

In the last four years or thereabouts, the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has become a reference point for what sound and capable leadership could trigger in the life of an organisation, especially in the public sector where officeholders run government operations with a lackadaisical attitude, which often results in poor performance and ineffectiveness.

The appointment of Engineer Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad by former President Muhammadu Buhari as the chief executive officer and managing director of the agency in December 2019 made a substantial positive difference in the agency and has continued to do so because the renewable energy expert has the needed expertise and know-how to help the agency to meet the objectives for its establishment.

Like Dr Kale’s headship of the NBS then, Engineer Ahmad’s leadership of REA at this critical time when rural Nigeria and other hard-to-reach communities need electricity is a fitting appointment in the sense that the CEO and MD is conversant with the workings of the agency, which has helped in a great deal to help the agency to deliver on its mandate.

Founded in 2005 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the agency, whose maiden purpose is to help deliver electricity to the rural parts of Nigeria not connected to the national grid via alternative energy sources, was largely redundant and practically non-existent until Engineer Ahmad, a well-trained engineer and policy wonk, took over the organisation’s reins of leadership in 2019.

Since his appointment till now, the agency has been living up to expectations, meeting its responsibilities. Such was the significant impact the agency made in discharging its statutory responsibilities that the immediate past minister of state for power, Gody Jedy Agba, had to declare it the star agency in the ministry during his tenure in office.

Perhaps had ex-President Buhari not appointed Engineer Ahmad, 39, in 2019, REA might still be in limbo now, thereby depriving those currently benefiting from the contributions of the agency from doing so.

One’s persuaded to submit that the example of Engineer Ahmad’s headship of REA and the aforementioned trio of Akunyili, Marwa and Kale underscores the necessity by those in political authorities to always appoint people into positions that align with their expertise and knowledge base; otherwise, performance may be hampered, which will ultimately affect the overall productivity and efficiency of the organisation.

Given the stated desire of the administration of President Bola Tinubu to fix the country and get it working again, it is imperative to direct the mind of the President, who is reputed for appointing competent people, to not only appoint those who demonstrate capacity, their given responsibilities and roles must match their expertise and skill sets.

Brendan Adigwu, a good governance advocate, writes from Port Harcourt.

SIR: Former Niger-Delta warlord Asari Dokubo recently crawled out of his lair in Port-Harcourt and travelled all the way to Abuja to advise President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In a visit which culminated in a series of well publicized comments on June 23, Dokubo took aim at some of his perceived enemies and competitors whom he feverishly sought to paint as enemies of the country.

Firstly, he presumed to weigh in on a red-hot topic that has threatened to cripple the Nigerian economy in the last few years. According to Asari, himself a former Niger Delta militant and warlord, the Nigerian Army and Navy are responsible for 99 percent of all the oil theft in the Niger Delta. He also lashed out at the narrative that the Nigerian military is ill-equipped to take on terrorism, militancy, and banditry in the country. According to him, the military has everything it needs to fight, but instead prefers to cede ground to the terrorists running the country aground.

He had time to twist the knife further on the continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Movement (IPOB), whom he described as a common criminal who should face the full force of the law. According to Asari Dokubo, releasing Nnamdi Kanu would only fuel impunity in the Southeast.

Read Also: Kanu: MASSOB leader dissociates self from IPOB, Dokubo face-off

A former militant himself who must know a thing or two about those who vandalize oil pipelines in the Niger Delta, for Dokubo to call out members of the Nigerian armed forces so casually means that he has much more than he is willing to divulge. In any serious country, he will be getting grilled by security agencies.

It was also illuminating to hear Dokubo’s position on Nnamdi Kanu.  To hear Asari say he should be condemned to the gallows hinted at a dark kind of rivalry with those he perceives as his competitors for Nigeria’s oil resources. And even resentment.

There is only very little doubt that as a country, the spectre of oil theft continues to scar Nigerians. Apart from the actual losses from the scandal which are immeasurable because there is no proper accountability, it wounds Nigeria deeply that those who continue to siphon the country’s oil continue to act unhindered and unchecked.

It is a good thing that a new administration is in office. It would be interesting to see if a new administration would mean a novel, far more successful approach in tackling the menace.

As for Dokubo, while it may be unwise to shoot the messenger, Nigerians must be wary of those who speak as though they have their best interests at heart while in truth they do not care if the country burns to the ground.

•Ike Willie-Nwobu,

Ikewilly9@gmail.com

SIR: The common instructional approach with which many of us were introduced to the English alphabet is a metaphor for all the anomalies and confusions that characterise Nigerian education at all levels.

First off, going from the minor to the major issue, one wonders what exactly is being taught when teachers say A for Apple. Are we being taught letter A or sound /Èæ/? When they say C for Cat, are we thinking of letter c or sound /k/?

Why can’t A stand for Agama which the African child can easily find on his way home from school?

Apple is the fruit for the well-to-do families. You must have a healthy esteem to say publicly that you prefer orange to apple. The metaphor of apple has a great ideological conditioning for Nigeria and its effect gets wider by the day. The negative implication of this analogy manifests in several perspectives– social, psychological, religious and educational.

Socially we have come to attach importance to anything that is foreign such that Italian shoes are for the socialites and “Aba made” for the poor. At the level of religion, the Christians and Muslims are entitled to several holidays in a year while the traditional worshippers have to beg for one day holiday in their own land. Psychologically, the Nigerian youth can call you all sorts of names if you think they need not “japa” (leave the country) to enjoy a good life.

Read Also: List of new iOS 17 features added by Apple

Now in Nigeria, you must be doubting the paternity of your children to let them have their tertiary education in Nigeria unless you cannot afford it. Well, let us not scratch the part of these children returning to practice law, journalism, medicine and other professions in Nigeria without native intelligence.

Shall we take a step farther? If our so-called international conferences must be one of the most talked about on campus, then you have to get the keynote speaker from South Africa if you cannot afford the cost of bringing one from South America. Remember too that even a local journal in Nigeria may reject your submission if you have not applied a “foreign” theory that may have no contextual relevance to your inquiry. And of course you are not a first-class professor if you have not published in those foreign high-impact journals. Your doctorate is a local piece if you have not got a post-doctoral fellowship from the white. Of course nobody sees your impact on your campus until you get a foreign validation when you travel for a conference or you are invited by the almighty white for a presentation. 

When will A stop being for Apple in Nigeria? When will we find our bearings? When will our education suit our purpose and solve our problems?

When will education mean more than certification in Nigeria? When will ingenuity be restored into our education? When will final year projects be aimed at addressing issues and stop being a ritual for graduation? When will we take clue from the Nigerian hip-hop artistes who have established throughout the world that the “Afro version” is a unique musical flavour? 

When will A stop being for Apple in Nigeria? 

•Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose,

Lagos State University, Ojo.

SIR: To be the director general of a campaign organisation, especially a presidential campaign council, is no mean feat, as it requires all the tact, resourcefulness, wisdom and political wizardry to get the job done.

To be sure, the DG is the live wire of any campaign. Apart from coordinating activities to facilitate the victory of the principal, the DG identifies likely threats and works out ways to take care of such immediately.

He personifies the campaign such that his aura -either positive or negative- rubs off on the campaign.

In the build up to the last presidential elections in Nigeria, the immediate past governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong, was the face of the campaign. Recall that immediately Lalong accepted to be the DG of the Tinubu/Shettima APC Presidential Campaign Council, all eyes were on him to see how he could deliver what was tagged a same-faith ticket.

He was assaulted with vicious campaigns of calumny second only to the ones unleashed on the presidential candidate and his running mate.

Fiery darts were hauled at the DGs to the extent that the opposition political elements relocated to his home base, to discredit and punish him for the role he played in selling the Tinubu candidacy.

The reason is easily discernible. As the former chairman of Northern Governor’s Forum, he had championed the popular advocacy of power shift to the Southern candidate after eight years of northern presidency, with critical support of northern governors, to the chagrin of advocates of retention of power in the north, drawing admiration from majority of proponents of national integration, including key opposition elements from the major opposition parties. 

He came under heavy attacks from the Christian block, many who labelled him a sell out for agreeing to work for a same faith ticket.

Now that the election has been won, it is shocking to see those who castigated the APC ticket and worked against the interest of the party, being at the forefront of lobbying for positions!

The opposition party in cahoots with the some mischievous elements have embarked on a well-orchestrated media campaign to demonize Asiwaju’s campaign Director General for selfish political gains.

Lalong is no stranger to the paying price for ideals and can take the bullet for a leader he believes in. He survived the first recall process in the history of Nigeria’s democracy when he refused to lead the plot to impeach former Governor Joshua Dariye while he held sway as the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly. 

Read Also: Insecurity: Pray for Plateau, Lalong urges Nigerians

He also stood for President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC when there were campaigns of calumny against them.

The story of how he accepted to be Asiwaju’s DG when it wasn’t safe for a northern Christian leader to do so need not be retold here.

Just like Asiwaju, where the factional leadership of Afenifere and a former president from the South west, his homestead, led the onslaught to discredit him, history is repeating itself in the case of Lalong, except that with Lalong, the characters are different as the onslaught is led by two former ministers, some National Assembly members and a former governor that Lalong staked his political career.

More unfortunate is that unknown entities that rode on the goodwill of Lalong to seat at the National Assembly have unwittingly been recruited to undermine Lalong thereby biting the finger that fed them; politics is a bitch!

Their resort to create acrimony between Lalong and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume fell like a pack of cards when the SGF invited Lalong among his designated five guests to witness his official swearing in at the Villa.

They are hand in glove with the Plateau PDP government’s attempt to dismantle democratic structures at the grassroots, by illegally sacking 357 elected LGA chairmen and councillors. 

To their chagrin, Lalong’s presence as an invited guest at the civic reception in Lagos clearly indicated that President Bola Tinubu can separate the wheat from the chaff.

Asiwaju is fully aware of these characters that are friends at day and enemies at night.

•Yakubu Dati,

Jos.

Sir: It has been 30 days of the Bola Tinubu administration, and it has been a bustling and eventful one. President Tinubu has rightfully earned the ticket “Baba-go-fast” for the decisiveness, punctiliousness, diligence, and swiftness of his leadership. The past 30 days have been motion, movement, and acceleration. Good things happen when governance runs on the stimulus of hope.

Upon assumption of office, he did the derring-do – axing petrol subsidy; averting a national strike and giving the naira the muscle to find its fortune in the agora of trade.

According to JP Morgan, a US financial services firm, the naira is expected to appreciate, and trade at N600 to the dollar over the coming months.

The firm said: “While it will take a few days for USD/NGN spot to settle, we fully expect an initial overshoot towards the parallel market rate of -750 or higher, after which, we expect USD/NGN to settle in the high 600s over [the] coming months.”

Bloomberg, an international news agency, reported that investors were excited about Nigeria owing to the president’s swift reforms. It also reported that Nigeria’s equity market witnessed a boom – a corollary of the incipient policies, signalling a return of confidence in the market.

Reuters reported that investors were stunned by the quick reforms of the president. Reuters reports: “Nigeria’s new president, in office, for less than a month, is pushing to put Africa’s largest economy on a reform track that investors have eyed for decades, fuelling excitement that money could flow to the nation that many had deemed uninvestible.”

Governance is not rocket-science after all. It takes courage. Audacity. Diligence. Purpose. And forthrightness. Bold decisions take bold leadership.

The President signed four seminal bills into law. The bill harmonising retirement age for judges and stipulating uniformity in pension rights for judicial officers; The Electricity Act which effectively decentralises power, empowering states, companies, and individuals to generate, transmit and distribute electricity; The Student Loan Act which allows students in tertiary institutions access to interest-free loans from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, and The Data Protection Law which protects the privacy and liberties of citizens.

The President made some critical appointments as well. He appointed service chiefs cognising Nigeria’s diversity and geopolitical balance.

In the past month, the president attended the New Global Financing Pact Summit in France where he made firm and bold declarations. He said his ongoing reforms – removal of fuel subsidy and streamlining of exchange rate – would be sustained for a more competitive economy that would attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country. The president warned that ignoring Nigeria, with its vibrant population and economy, would be perilous for the world.

Sustaining the current trajectory is, however, important. It is a fantastic start. ‘’Wailers’’ are becoming ‘’hailers’’; some ‘Obidients’ are becoming disobedient to their creed of vicious propaganda and malice, jumping ship, and supporting the government’s reforms. Citizens are buoyed by the clear direction of the government and the speed at which it is beginning to deliver on its promises.

The leadership has earned public trust and goodwill, which are not easy to come by for any government. Goodwill and public trust are sacrosanct and basic for driving plans and programmes; hence the leadership must work to keep it.

The sense of urgency to national matters, the mindfulness, the decisiveness, and the alacrity should be sustained.

The leadership should keep the arteries of communication alive, informing and educating citizens persistently on the essence of the reforms, and should keep dispelling misinformation and disinformation intelligently and aggressively when and where necessary.

It should guard against any form of complacency and should be pre-emptive about the possible exploitation of citizens’ concerns by some misanthropes for inordinate political tolls. The leadership should remain thirsty and hungry for governance.

It is essential that the current steam of hope is sustained.

• Fredrick Nwabufo, <fredricknwabufo@yahoo.com>

Sir: Four months after the elections and one month into the new administration, it has become necessary to remind our leaders and our people of the great need to double up commitment to the task ahead. 

It’s no news that our region is at the bottom of the ladder politically.

It needs no saying that our zone craves and actually needs altruistic and proactive leadership. 

It is also obvious that lack of these brought us to where we are today. 

Isn’t it about time we square up to reality and begin a new journey towards positive political growth, prosperity, infrastructural development and economic boom? 

Leadership is usually hard and complex. A new beginning is necessary. A new template is desirable. A template anchored on commitment to true federalism and devolution of powers to the federating units.

A new tomorrow built on sincere leadership.

Fifty three years after we lost a war, our region mistreated and marginalised, the younger generation expects sober and sacrificial leadership now. 

What with the powerful message passed by the agitators.

Southeast leaders need to sit up now and redirect our tomorrow by correcting the mistakes of yesteryears. 

The key is to work together as a team.

 In that regard Hope Uzodinma and Chukwuma Soludo must show leadership by bringing the new guys in Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi on board a stronger Southeast Governors Forum. Not the kind where Okorocha and Obiano serially avoided meetings. 

The two-pronged agenda should be pursuing the restructuring of Nigeria and pressing for core infrastructural development such as boosting power supply, seaport in the region, railway services, especially East/West rail link, cargo dry port, export processing centre, functional International Airport with Cargo wing, etc.

The anger in the soul of the younger generation should be enough to warn current leaders that the masses are angry and disappointed and that all is not well. 

The culture of leaders placing personal interest over group interest hasn’t helped the region since 1970. Leaders placing their individual political ascendancy over and above the welfare of the people brought us where we are today.

Does anyone really want to be reminded that we must change and mend our ways for the good of the land?

For how long will the Southeast remain laughing stock in the land?

In that regard, Peter Mba of Enugu is hereby reminded that over-confidence usually leads to avoidable errors. He should quietly firstly engage with the agitators in order to earn their confidence and trust and then get Mondays working again. 

Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi should know that without stamping his feet on the ground and asserting his authority, he’ll not succeed. 

Alex Otti of Abia should not burn enormous goodwill he is enjoying today by embarking on a fruitless unhelpful war with his predecessor. He should leave the last administration alone and transform Abia. 

He should face the enormous challenges facing Abians and really make a difference in the life of the long-suffering masses of Abia, instead of dissipating energy fighting the immediate past administration. The distractions may cost him the peace, tranquillity and support he needs to succeed. 

Uzodinma of Imo should kindly ask himself: “What do my people want? Am I working in line with the hopes and aspirations of my people?”. The answer he gets, will lead him to the truth. 

Anambra’s Soludo has just learnt that leadership is not academic, and semantics is distant from reality. We advise him to seek group interest and work towards a united Southeast. 

For the avoidance of doubt whatsoever, our people desire a restructured Nigeria built on true federalism and devolution of powers. Our people want infrastructural development that will grow the economy of the region. They also know that without our leaders working together, Ala Igbo will not make meaningful progress. 

Sacrifices must be made to salvage ala Igbo. 

Finally, we challenge our elders, senior clerics, traditional rulers and opinion leaders to ask themselves, “Where, how, when and why did we lose the trust and respect of the younger generation? How do we regain their trust and respect?”

Answers will be found only when and if we sincerely interrogate our past.

• Evangelist Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko Deputy Secretary: Igbo leaders of Thought.