Category: Letters

SIR: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has hit the ground running since he was inaugurated. Tinubu has proven he is fully prepared to take tough decisions in the interest of the country. The supersonic speed with which he removed petroleum subsidy, the appointments he made all point to his readiness to launch the country into the pedestal of growth and development.  But no nation can develop with ravaging insecurity dogging its territory. While the country has recorded remarkable progress since the restoration of democracy in 1999, the deteriorating insecurity resulting in wanton killings of defenceless Nigerians by non-state actors and other criminals has eroded the gains achieved so far. There is virtual loss of confidence by Nigerians in the inability of successive governments to tame the monster of insecurity bedevilling the country particularly in northern Nigeria. While the immediate past administration was able to contain the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents, leaving remnants to attack soft targets, the emergence of banditry in Zamfara, Katsina, Niger and Kaduna states and farmers/ herders clashes has compounded and escalated tension in the region.  

 Northern Nigeria, the food basket of not only Nigeria but also African countries, has become a shadow of its former self. While the Northeast is struggling with Boko Haram, North-central is battling with farmers/herders crises. The once peaceful Northwest has since turned to the home of banditry. The intractable security challenges in the north have continued to pose threats to food security and educational development. Many rural farmers have deserted their ancestral homes as bandits impose levies, abduct and kill defaulters at will. Schools are frequently being attacked and students kidnapped. The horrible situation has discouraged parents from sending their children or wards to schools. The lamentable figures of school dropouts which is estimated to have hit over 15million children, coupled with activities of rapacious bandits paints gloomy picture of education in the region.

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Indeed, the region has become a killing field. Hardly a day passes without report of gory massacre of people in their villages, farms, markets or even on the roads. Though concerted efforts have been put in place by government to arrest the situation, the situation has defied lasting solution. However, with the new governors in the troubled states, one foresees an end to the lingering insecurity in the region. Already, the Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal Dare, held a close-door meeting with Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor, in a bid to tackle the menace of banditry in his state. Also, Kaduna state governor, Malam Uba Sani, in an interview granted to Channels Television, bared his mind on the need to create state police. He emphasised that only state police can address security challenges.

In Benue State, Governor Alias Mba has promised to review the anti-grazing laws implemented by his predecessor, Samuel Ortom. Katsina State governor, Dikko Radda, during his inauguration promised to exploit every avenue to confront insecurity in the state.

 The governors obviously have a good ideas and passion for the protection of their people from the activities of criminals terrorising their states. What remains is for the affected governors to liaise with federal government to achieve this feat. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should help the state governors through military and other logistics support. For a better policing, the president should invest heavily in intelligence gathering, scale up recruitment of security personnel, re-jig our security architecture and above all, work with neighbouring countries to eliminate the insecurity plaguing Nigeria.

•Ibrahim Mustapha,

Pambegua, Kaduna State.

Sir: There is a new sheriff in town. One who is a stickler for excellence. One who sees, who listens, who superintends, who manages, and who executes. This sheriff does not take a nap on the shift. His judgment is swift; his decision measured and calculated; his process thorough, incisive, and decisive.

Napping federal government agencies are suddenly angling to outdo one another in a show of performance. It is the Tinubu effect; the wand waking up dead matter. With President Tinubu, it is no longer governance by body language, but governance by bold language. It is clear to all that the president has no stomach for incompetence, indolence, and indiscipline. It is either performance or the heave-ho.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu obviously has a different aspect; a diligent one, to leadership. He has demonstrated the possibilities of change. He has chiselled an arc of possibility over seeming impossibilities. He has shown with purposive leadership, mountains can be moved.

With diligent leadership, ye can say to that mountain, be moved; and it shall be moved.

And President Tinubu has just begun.

President Tinubu earned the tag “Baba-go-fast” for the decisiveness, punctiliousness, diligence, and swiftness of his leadership.

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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 has 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 past 16 days have been motion. Movement. And acceleration. Good things happen when governance runs on the stimulus of hope.

Good governance is contagious in its effect. It is enthralling. It soothes everyone – supporters and opposition alike. The best form of political proselytising is performance. The evidence of good governance is in the performance. Nigeria’s trajectory is obvious to everyone – an upward swing. Citizens did not have to wait to decrypt the direction of the government; they saw the course the leadership was charting from the very first day.

The government has, essentially, earned public trust and goodwill. And I believe it will keep it.

Nigeria needs the rank of active citizens who supports the government but criticises it constructively where necessary. It will take the effort of all Nigerians to make Nigeria work. The leadership is already leading the way.

• Fredrick Nwabufo, fredricknwabufo@yahoo.com>

Sir: There so many things on the table, awaiting the Bola Tinubu administration. With insecurity topping the list, there is a great task of the realization of viable and sustainable economic alternatives, developing a decisive healthcare structure and of course, and battling an ever evolving overwhelming climate reality. It is certain that the Tinubu administration will be challenged by many of what its predecessors fought.

The year 2022 brought unprecedented climate crisis in Nigeria and the around the world. Floods have devastated communities in southern parts of the country and many communities in the North were displaced. The inherent consequences of climate related problems in our country are truly worrisome.

Over 12,000 farmlands across about 14 local government areas were completely destroyed in Kano State due to heavy and torrential rainfalls. In Jigawa State also, many homes were destroyed by heavy rains and floods. Numerous families had to be dispersed across schools which served as relief camps for the displaced. Some innocent lives were lost after being buried under water due to heavy rainfall. A substantial number of farmlands were destroyed too. These issues occurred while the President Buhari administration was nearing its end and political campaigns heightened.

Both the federal government and state governments rushed to cushion the effects by sharing palliatives to affected communities. Philanthropists also played important roles in supporting the victims. Many families lost everything including their only source of livelihood – farming. This challenge intensified living conditions for average Nigerians in these parts of the country as prices of commodities hiked and cost of living rose significantly.

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Now after a year, we’re back at it again. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) has forecast of what we would expect during this year’s rainfall season and indicators are absolutely frightening: the heavy rains and thunderstorms are the pointers.

Apart from heavy floods, the inconsistency of rainfall in the Northern part of the country is also another climate wrinkle. The inconsistency of rainfall if not managed with the right agricultural methodologies will only worsen access to food supplies. Policies of the just concluded government in terms of border closure and later ban on the importation of products like foreign rice has hit hard a large percentage of Nigeria’s population. Even with the supposed increase in agricultural activities as the alternative induced by the Buhari administration then, the prices are unbearable.

With the cut down of trees in the North, heat is now persistent. The excruciating effect has been felt by people unlike heat seasons before. This year’s Ramadan season was marked by excessive heat. Federal and state government initiatives at this stage must prioritize replanting of new and resilient breeds of trees in places set for infrastructural activities. Our experiences have highlighted that prior climate change initiatives in this respect are not enough.

Health problems are also being exacerbated as climate change continues to unravel.

A United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) 2021 study found that “Nigeria produces more than three million tonnes of waste annually and only 20 to 30 percent is collected and disposed of. Uncontrolled wasted burning, which is one of the practices contributes to deteriorating air quality in Urban centres”.

UNEP also in a recent publication this year also states that “In Nigeria, sachets have become increasingly widespread, especially in fast growing cities like Lagos. When you picture the whole Nigeria in terms of this indiscriminate act, you know a bigger problem lies ahead unless necessary measures are implored.

Nigeria is blessed with enormous human resources capable of producing excellent ideas to combat some of these issues. As part of the government’s obligation to serve, it must consider accepting solutions from communities and creative youths as well as start-ups. Many ideas can be supported with considerable investment to support the fight against climate induced calamities.

• Nusaiba Ibrahim Na’abba,  Kano.

Sir: Some of the inevitabilities of life are death, taxes, and rush hour traffic; the last two come with their own form of pressure on our health and might lead to the first one.

One of the reasons why we have such a low life expectancy is the number of hours we spend in sedentary life; while we are built for mobility, we aren’t built for extremely long hours in traffic. Then there is also the effect on family life. When you have to rush out of the house early in the morning and get home just before midnight, the only time you have to spend with family is maybe at the weekend.

Long road traffic can have several negative effects on the human body. Sitting for long periods in a confined space can lead to physical stress, particularly on the lower back, neck, and legs. Prolonged road traffic can cause mental fatigue, leading to decreased concentration and reaction times. Sitting in a cramped position for long periods can cause poor posture, leading to pain and discomfort. Staring at the road for long periods can cause eye strain, leading to headaches, blurred vision, and eye fatigue. Exposure to air pollution from car exhaust fumes can lead to respiratory problems, such as asthma, bronchitis, and other lung diseases. Prolonged exposure to road traffic noise can cause hearing problems, stress, and sleep disturbances.

In this part of the world, remote working has infrastructural challenges like power and the internet, but if we can get fewer people on the road on a workday, it would increase productivity for those that have the option of either coming to the office or staying at home. Those who have no options but to turn up five days a week should be made more aware of its effects on their health and try to get some relief through breaks, walks, exercise, and rest.

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The traffic situation is a function of poor urban planning, economic stagnation, and mass migration. One of the lessons from COVID-19 was that we can use technology for meetings; we don’t have to be rushing on the road to get basic information and reports. Another way is hybrid working, where some days work can be done from home.

By being more aware, Human Resources (HR) practitioners should come up with real solutions. They should be right up there crafting policies and strategy because it’s people who would execute them and someone in that meeting should be speaking up for the people.

• Ovigho Richard Okojevoh, <mrsafetyabc@gmail.com>

SIR: Two things among others that will be of utmost significance primarily in freeing up resources for the new administration in the arduous task of repositioning the country for socio-economic renaissance are the removal of fuel subsidy and the implementation of the Oronsaye Report. Thankfully, the former has just materialized.

Both thorny subjects have occupied the attention of the past administrations with committees set up, raising considerable hope in the attempt to plug waste but all soon ended in damp squib.

The path to the definitive removal of fuel subsidy wasn’t straightforward.  Recall when the apostles of fuel subsidy removal were only a handful- they were lone voices in the wilderness preaching the message of disentanglement from a contrivance that is bound to hobble the progress of the nation. For their foresight they got flogged. The Goodluck Jonathan administration’s attempt at pulling the plug on the scheme became a lightning rod for elite condemnation. The protest which was a parade of illustrious citizens forced the administration to cringe.

In the eight years of the Buhari administration, subsidy payment gulped about N11.4 trillion. They were periods of missed opportunities in light of the huge amount of resources that would have been invaluable were they to be channelled to critical sectors of the economy.

It’s a crying shame that knowing full well the extent of the heist perpetrated under the banner of fuel subsidy, nothing forceful was done in going against the few that worked against the interest of millions of fellow citizens.

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It remains to be seen how the government will act to sweeten the bitter pill. Already, disquiet is all over. Therefore, government’s intervention need be urgent and fast before desperation sets in.

The Oronsaye Report which recommended the merger, abolition and reduction of MDAs remains another difficult proposition yet significant in reducing the cost of governance in the country which is among the highest in the world. The past administrations wriggled out of the responsibility of its implementation despite making loud commitment.

The limp economy needs an urgent rejuvenating shot. The 2023 tells it all about the nation’s fiscal health. More than 60% of the budget will finance personal costs (N4.99 trillion), overheads (N1.11 trillion) and debt repayments (N6.31trillion) leaving little for investment in critical sectors of the economy.

Many difficult areas requiring the kind of courage that accompanied the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy exist. However, there’s no auspicious time to implementing the Oronsaye report. The reform and elimination of wastes which the implementation of the report will inaugurate would do a great service to the country’s financial purse. It would be a step in the right direction.

The last administration could have executed the report given its enormous goodwill but it evinced an unmitigated absence of the needed courage. So, I think the present administration will need to show the way by first running a singularly lean cabinet as token of  its commitment towards cutting the cost of governance before embarking on bigger challenges in that direction. 

•Abachi Ungbo,

abachi007@yahoo.com

SIR: Every valediction is usually a mixed bag depending on where one is coming from. There are typically tears for a chapter that will be missed and cheers for the uncertainties of a new beginning.

So, it happened that Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa stood on the floor of the senate for only a few seconds on Saturday, June 10 to bid farewell. But in that short time, he succeeded in jangling raw Nigerian nerves. In a short speech that spanned only what proved to be an apocalyptic few seconds, Bulkachuwa spoke of encroaching upon the freedom and independence of his wife, Zainab, who retired in 2020 as president of Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, and how she tolerated his encroachment and bent backwards to help some of his colleagues.

By the time Ahmed Lawan, the former Senate President hushed him, it was too late as the 83-year old senator who represented Bauchi North in the 9th Senate had said all he wanted to say and crucially, all Nigerians needed to hear.

Expectedly, following Bulkachuwa’s unbridled revelation, a wave of criticism from Nigerians has assailed both the former senator and the retired judge who sat atop Nigeria’s penultimate court for years.

For many Nigerians, all they have been able to muster is a knowing nod.

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Given that this is Nigeria, a country where anything goes; it is safe to say that no one will question either Senator Bulkachuwa or Justice Bulkachuwa who is now retired. Bulkachuwa’s jarring revelations also confirms the unease many people feel when the course of justice intersects with politics in Nigeria.

There is no telling that the Nigerian judiciary is a long way away from redemption. In a country where public life is marked by desperation, dysfunction and dirt, the judiciary, which is the third arm of government, was always going to struggle. And desperately struggled it has.

In the face of Bulkachuwa’s revelations, the Nigerian judiciary must again look at itself. Who, if any, is yet to be bitten by the bug of corruption that seems to find such a favorable breeding ground in Nigeria?

The fact that it is so difficult to tell portends such grave danger in a country teetering on the brink of collapse.

Ike Willie-Nwobu,

Abuja.

Sir : As the United Nations celebrates World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, the annual commemoration of what is such a vital day and the people that form such a vital demographic provides an opportunity for reflection and resolution.

Africa is a continent steeped in culture and tradition. Even superstition. Perhaps, it is the way Africa stubbornly clings to the past and her links to the ancient ways that feed the false narrative that Africa is a continent steeped in impenetrable darkness.

In Africa, one key institution that is still approached with much respect and even awe is the institution of the family, which is widely recognized as the cradle of life. In the image of a father, a mother and a child or children as the case may be, life takes off in Africa and had never stopped for many years. The whole talk about polygamy and extended families comes from this concept.

The African family, which comes with a history and is steeped in its culture and tradition, also provides an anchor in the society. Men, women, and their children are all protected within the institution of the family. But so are the aged. Those who have paid their dues and are approaching the end of their lives, having seen time take its toll on their minds and bodies.

For those who are elders, wisdom often comes with age and of age in their lives. But so are challenges. Having lived so many experiences, some good, and some bad, they are usually primed to make worthwhile contributions to the society. However, they are also prone to be neglected and abused.

Between 2000 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years will double from about 11% to about 22%. The absolute number of people aged 60 years and over is expected to increase from 605 million to two billion over the same period.

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Around 6% of older people in developed countries have experienced some form of maltreatment at home. Abusive acts in institutions include physically restraining residents, depriving them of dignity (by for instance leaving them in soiled clothes) and intentionally providing insufficient care (such as allowing them to develop pressure sores). The maltreatment of older people can lead to serious physical injuries and long-term psychological consequences.

In developing countries, the experiences are sobering. The number of older people who can no longer look after themselves is forecast to quadruple by 2050. Many of the elderly lose their ability to live independently because of limited mobility, frailty, or other physical or mental health problems. Many require some form of long-term care, which can include home nursing, community care and assisted living, residential care and long stays in hospitals.

The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was initiated by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and World Health Organization at the United Nations.

The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a deeper understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect.

In addition, WEAAD is supporting the United Nations International Plan of Action acknowledging the significance of elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue. WEAAD serves as a call-to-action for individuals, organizations, and communities to raise awareness about elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

The abuse elders suffer from may range from caregiver neglect, emotional/psychological abuse, financial exploitation/fraud, general abuse, neglect, and physical.

In preventing elder abuse, it is important that the fields of medicine, gerontology, health services, psychology, and policy all come together to build a strong support for elders.

In Africa, Nigeria and the world over, it is important that everyone take the issue of elder abuse seriously. If people must aspire to a ripe old age, if the world must become a better place where justice and equity guide the affairs of men, then the elderly can neither be abused nor ignored.

When the elderly are free from abuse, they can contribute their bit to building a world that is in dire need of their wisdom.

To do otherwise and fail to enshrine a culture of love and respect for the elderly would be to risk a demographic disaster that would have far-reaching consequences.

No country in the world can afford it. Certainly, not Nigeria.

• Ike Willie-Nwobu, Abuja.

SIR: Shortly after take-off, what started as a trickle of rumour that the aircraft used for the take-off belonged to Ethiopia Airlines soon became a tidal wave. As the Senate, House of Representatives and media waded into the growing controversy, it soon became clear that the whole Nigeria Air affair was nothing but another desperate attempt to hoodwink an entire country, one which has however backfired spectacularly dragging the Buhari administration and Hadi Sirika, the former minister for aviation in particular, into the muck.

It is beyond belief that, like many national projects embarked upon by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, when Nigeria finally awoke from its slumber to float a national airline, it soon became a national subterfuge.

Or could there be more? In a country afflicted by corruption, was the entire Nigeria Air shambles an elaborate scheme to defraud Nigerians?

Again, it breaks the heart that shortly before the last administration left office, a coterie of corrupt and inept officials decided to turn their jarring insensitivity towards an aspect of Nigerian life that has been a source of boundless national tragedy in the recent past – air travel.

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On Saturday, December 10, 2005, 60 students of the Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja boarded the Sosoliso Airline from Abuja to Port-Harcourt with many days of sunshine filled Christmas holidays to look forward to. Their dreams of a wonderful time with their families, and tragically their lives, were however cruelly aborted when the plane crashed before bursting into flames. It is doubtful that there will ever be another time in the history of Nigeria when tears flowed as much as on that day.

Those behind the charade must be probed, prosecuted and incarcerated. One of the reasons Nigeria remains firmly where it is today, stuck immovably it appears in the mire of underdevelopment, is that all those who have milked the country dry in the past have got away with their deeds or at best with just slaps on their wrists. For a country that aspires to more, this is clearly intolerable.

If Nigerians are alarmed that the Nigerian Air farce has become public knowledge, one only wonders what more is yet to come to public light. It is common knowledge that there are within the Nigerian system people who are desperate to milk Nigeria dry and are working day and night to achieve that.

They must be identified and prosecuted.

•Kene Obiezu,

keneobiezu@gmail.com