Category: Letters

Sir : The Seyi Makinde administration has been a blessing to Oyo State in the last four years going by its policies with human face and it led to the support it got from people which culminated in its victory in the March 18 gubernatorial election. However, the news credited to the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Oyo State, Professor Oyelowo Oyewo as regards the decision of the executive council of the state to amend the law governing the approval and granting of beaded crown to Baales in Oyo State should be a source of concern to the discerning citizens of the state.

Professor Oyewo, addressing press after the weekly meeting of the executive council, spoke about the decision of the state government to seek the amendment of section 28 of Oyo State Chieftaincy Law. The need for the amendment of the law according to Oyewo is that many Baales are seeking the government’s approval to wear beaded crown.

The extant law guiding the approval of crown sub 28 sub section 1 states that the governor can only approve application for beaded crown after consultation with Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs. The decision of the state executive council in this regard shows that the governor wants to usurp the functions of traditional rulers and this has no other name than dictatorship. It is doubtful whether the government sought the advice of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters on this. Even during the military era, such advice was sought and it went a long way to help the government in the implementation of its policies.

The issue of beaded crown cannot be taken lightly as the state government is doing. Beaded crown is the sceptre of authority of Obas in Yorubaland. As a matter of fact, during the colonial era, colonial authority had to seek the advice of the Ooni and Alaafin on such issues and their advices were strictly adhered to. For instance, in 1903, the governor of Lagos, Sir W Macgregor, had to invite Ooni Adelekan Olubuse 1 to Lagos to adjudicate on the festering dispute between Akarigbo of Remo and Elepe of Sagamu as whether Elepe was entitled to, by right, to wear beaded crown as Oba. It is in line with this that Western Region government in 1976 had to seek the advice of the traditional council when both Olubadan and Soun were to be granted the permission to wear beaded crown.

In actual fact, it was Alaafin Adeyemi 111 who recommended the two Obas for the right and this was backed up by the roles of the two towns in the development of Yorubaland. Ibadan, for instance, did not have a monarchical system as other Yoruba towns, but most of those who ascended her throne had connection with key Oyo Yoruba Obas. For example, Baale Fijabi was a great grandson of Onpetu of Ijeru. Soun on the other hand is related to two classical thrones of Igbon and Iresa. According to Ooni Olubuse 1, in a correspondence with Macgregor, any crown that doesn’t originate from Ife or has the approval of the traditional council is “anyhow hat.” Any Baale or “Oba” who wears such crown is treated as anyhow oba in the committee of Obas in Yoruba land. I hope the government understands. 

In addition, the reasons given by government for seeking the amendment of the chieftaincy law, which is that the state Council of Obas and Chiefs no longer meets, is spurious, preposterous and untenable. It is true that Oyo Council of Obas and Chiefs no longer meet but what has the government done in the last four years to make sure the meeting is convened? Crisis in the Council of Obas was premeditated by the politicians majorly of Ibadan extraction.

The question that readily comes to mind at this juncture is that how did Makinde administration whom God and ancestors used to bring sanity to Ibadan chieftaincy institution arrive at the idea of becoming sole authority on traditional institution in Oyo State? There is no doubt that Oyo State House of Assembly will amend the law due to its nature but history beacons. 

•Adewuyi Adegbite,

ayekooto05@gmail.com

Sir : With commissioning of some state-built airports in recent years, virtually all 36 states in the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) now have an airport. The exceptions are very few indeed. All but one of the last set of states created in 1996 now have an airport. They are Bayelsa International Airport, Yenagoa; Nasarawa Cargo Airport, Lafia; Agro-Cargo Airport in Ekiti State; Ebonyi International Airport, Abakiliki and Gombe International Airport.  Zamfara is the odd state. And it is also the only one of the total seven states in the Northwest without an airport. It has an airstrip of course, located in its capital, Gusau. Expectedly, the state government has plans for its own airport.

For the Northeast, Yobe State is the only one without an airport. But it has two airstrips which are in Potiskum and Nguru, that is, outside Damaturu, the state capital.   In the North-central, Kogi is the only state without an airport. It however, has an airstrip in Ajaokuta while the Ilorin International Airport (Kwara) is the only designated ‘international’ airport there, apart from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport, Abuja.

All six states in the South-south host airports, Bayelsa being the latest entrant into the league. The other state-constructed airports are Akwa Ibom International Airport and Asaba airport while the ones in Port Harcourt and Calabar are owned by the federal government. Apart from having an airport, the Akwa Ibom state government also owns an airline (Ibom Air) which is fairly popular in the south.

For the Southeast, there were hitherto, two functional airports here, namely, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu and Sam Mbakwe International Airport, Owerri. The state funded Anambra and Ebonyi International airports came on board with inaugural flights in 2022 and 2023 respectively. So, Abia is the only state without an airport now in this zone. In the Southwest zones are Lagos, Ibadan and Akure airports. Ogun, Ekiti and Osun states are building their own airports. While Osun’s Moshood Abiola International Airport is stalled, the Agro-Cargo Airport in Ekiti and Ogun State’s Cargo Airport are very much on course. In fact the latter recently had an inaugural flight.

How justified, viable are these airports that are dotted across the length and breadth of our country?  The Cargo Airport in Ogun State can be justified on the grounds that that state is now an industrial hub with nearby Lagos congested.  The Uyo Airport is also being complemented by the Ibom Air that offers commercial flight services. But the federal government-owned Ibadan airport is perplexing from point of view of economic returns with Lagos, Ilorin, Akure airports around it.  Ditto other airports that are surrounded by airports in neighbouring states. I sense that a driving force for establishment of airports is the prestige that goes with it, being ranked as a state with an airport.

Another question is, how ‘international’ are these airports, given the trend of adding ‘international’ to their name. Again such designation seems to be borne out of prestige-hunting. Apart from Lagos, Abuja and perhaps Port Harcourt airports, it is doubtful if the plethora of ‘international’ airports in the country play host to international passengers. Many of the airports hardly have regular flights to such places and so rarely have regular Nigerian passengers. Most of those that patronise them are governors and the super-rich on chartered flights.  However some of these ‘international’ airports in the north serve the useful purpose of airlifting  their indigenes for hajj, thereby saving them the stress associated in travelling to another state for the yearly hajj . This is an occasional operation though.

I suspect that state governments that have built airports would be lobbying the federal government to take them over in order to save them their associated huge maintenance costs. Air travel   has advantage of speed. And with security concerns in parts of the country coupled with bad roads, it should be the preferred mode of travel. But its prohibitive cost puts it out of reach of the ordinary man/woman. For state governments in particular, constructing an airport, a capital intensive project, remains an elitist project for the elites generally.

•Victoria Ngozi Ikeano,

 Victoriangozii@gmail.com 

SIR: Seven weeks after elections ended in Nigeria, officers of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) who participated in the polls have not been paid their allowances. These were officers deployed nationwide to assist the Nigeria Police in the maintenance of peace and security during the elections. This is unconscionable. Employees deserve to be paid their wages as at when due.

In the first instance, customs officers have no business with elections. Due to the shortage of policemen and the security challenges across the length and breadth of the country, there was a need to draft customs personnel to assist the police in carrying out their statutory duties during the polls. These officers should not only have been paid by now, but also commended publicly because they went beyond the call of duty.

It has become an unfortunate reality in our country for security agencies sent on various assignments (including elections) to be owed their allowances. At various times, soldiers, policemen, immigration officers, even members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have reportedly protested about unpaid allowances. This is all shades of wrong. It sends the wrong signals that might discourage many from serving their fatherland.

Read Also: We are taking issues of electoral offenses very seriously – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) needs to speak out on this issue as it is within its purview. It knows the number of personnel it required and must have made provision for that number. What is responsible for the delay in the payment of the allowances for custom personnel? Has the money been paid to the customs authorities and somebody “sat” on it in the usual Nigerian style?

Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), assured Nigerians during the currency swap crisis that INEC had nothing to fear regarding the availability of cash for logistics and payment of allowances during the polls. Did he renege on his promise? These and many more are questions that require answers if we are to unravel this matter.

INEC should as a matter of urgency sort out this mess. They should also extend it to other ad hoc personnel that they might be owing who haven’t spoken up or engaged in any form of protest to demand what is their legitimate entitlement. If this isn’t done soonest, it would dis-incentivize others who might be called upon to assist the electoral body in future. And this will definitely affect the smooth conduct of elections in Nigeria.

• Peter Ovie Akus,

New Jersey, USA.

SIR: Sudan is profusely bleeding on the strength of its current painful war. It is such a great country with an interesting history. The country has a huge land mass- third in Africa. And it’s strategically located- close to the Red sea- “….vital artery for the world economy.”

It is a beneficiary of the famous Nile- making it fertile for agriculture so much so that it has attracted investment from the rich Arab countries. It has abundant crude oil deposit until the secession of the South Sudan in 2011. Also, very rich in natural resources. It has the third largest gold deposit in Africa- aside other minerals like uranium, manganese, and chromite. Though, it has remained impoverished despite being so much blessed.

There’s so much to say about Sudan. Anyway, its economy went south in the aftermath of the secession of South Sudan which saw to the loss of huge oil riches. Oil revenues tapered off and adjusting to the reality became an uphill task. Omar al-Bashir who has ruled for three decades became the target of citizens’ frustration over the situation. The 2019 uprising led to his topple and the much-coveted transition to democracy was stalled with the overthrow of the transitional civilian government before the current crisis broke out between two guys that worked collaboratively against al-Bashir.

On the surface, it is a fight for power between two strong men with huge command of support outside the country; beneath, is the scramble for control of natural resources. However, there’s a tinge of ethnic and regional loyalties.  The Wagner Group with strong ties to the Russian government is reported have a strong interest in the Sudanese gold- in fact it is said to be operating a gold processing plant. It’s a war implicitly enabled by strong interests. The Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar is a known factor in the crisis so also are some western and Arab countries. The two warring groups are definitely going for broke.

The situation in Sudan reminds of the state of the natural resource rich Congo which has experienced interminable absence of peace on the back of myriad of extraneous interest sponsoring different warring groups at the expense of the development of the country. Poverty is pervasive amidst so much potential for wealth.

The jostle for the riches of the Sudan may push it to almost eternal doom without attempt for peace by the warring groups. The situation is shaping up to have a massive ripple effect, not from the huge resultant humanitarian crisis, but threat to peace of countries like Nigeria.

Read Also: Eight-month-old among 13th batch of Sudan returnees

Nigeria has its crises that have continue to cost so many lives. Coincidentally, like the Congo and Sudan, Nigeria is also a sprawling country with so much natural resources. To so many, the scale of the existing mindless violence in the country was a distant scenario altogether. Already, deaths from banditry and terrorism are only comparable to the civil war. Alarmingly, the huge gold deposit in Zamfara State is serving as a dark incentive for violence which should raise serious concern. This much was attested to, by the British newspaper – The Time, which reported the activities of the Chinese in financing terrorist groups in a bid to have access to the abundant precious natural resource.  And, it has long been speculated that outside forces are at work in Nigeria in term of sponsorship of the groups wreaking havoc.

Concern about the Sudan crisis should exist. Nigeria is not completely immune. Recalled that Libya war was a massive security threat to Africa. So much weapons flowed ceaselessly further sustaining the fire of insurgency and banditry in Nigeria. Several allusions have been made about it. We need to be worried about the situation. Our borders are to all intent and purposes open to all manner of things and people.

The abundance of resources under the climate of poor governance easily pitches a country into hot cauldron of violence and instability; the strong nexus between conflict and the abundance of mineral resources is better exemplified in Africa’s many crises which have led to extreme poverty and economic instability.

The recipe for existential crises is commonplace in Nigeria and was effectively accentuated by the concluded election in Nigeria. Nothing will work to calm the rising temperature in the country than a system that is fair to all. The next administration must go to work in instituting good governance that will ensure that every group feel that their interests are adequately represented- meaning that factors that threaten peace must be addressed. The country can’t afford any crisis that would pit the different nationalities against each other which easily will allow for destabilizing elements to waltz into the country’s affairs for self-centred purposes.

•Abachi Ungbo,

abachi007@yahoo.com

Sir: An indication of the depths to which societal values and morality have sunk, is the legitimisation of ‘yahoo’ in the eyes of the average Nigerian. To the uninitiated, ‘yahoo’ is the Nigerian slang for cybercrime. Worse still, is the proliferation of ‘yahoo’ schools across the nation. These are schools where youngsters are taught the rudiments of ‘yahoo.’ Shockingly, these ‘yahoo’ schools are owned by youths in their mid to late 20s, and their “students” include people barely out of their teens.

Cybercrime remains one of the dangers of digital transformation in Nigeria and across the globe. Reports show that yearly loss to cybercrime globally hit $6 trillion at the end of 2021. The domestic instrument Nigeria is using to fight this menace is the Cybercrime Act of 2015. The provisions of that law, however, have not by themselves served as a deterrent to cybercriminals as their rank appears to be swelling, to the point of being systematised with ‘yahoo’ schools.

Interestingly, the knowledge and energy used to perpetuate fraud online can also be used to make money online legitimately. Instead of engaging in ‘yahoo’ and establishing ‘yahoo’ schools, why don’t the youths channel such knowledge and energy to make money online legitimately and establish Information Technology schools so as to impart their knowledge to others?

The societal worship of money, whether licit or illicit, is responsible for this ugly trend. Mothers of ‘yahoo’ boys now have associations and were reported to have protested some time ago demanding the release of their wards who were arrested by the anti-graft agency. Prominent musicians sing the praises of ‘yahoo’ boys who flaunt their ill-gotten wealth on social media, and have now become the role models of many youths in Nigeria. We need a reset of the societal value system, which will elevate integrity and hard work above easy and ill-gotten wealth. And stiffer punishment by the judiciary to dissuade those who might be inspired to follow in their footsteps.

•Peter Ovie Akus,

akuspeter@gmail.com

Sir: The embrace of technology worldwide in institutions and organisations in this modern age, no doubt, has transformed the way things are done; and tasks are accomplished effortlessly for increased productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of operations. It has made institutions in the private and public sectors able to deliver on their mandate.

However, most of the government agencies in Nigeria are yet to embrace and deploy technology in their operations for effective administration, management and service delivery.

It was therefore surprising to learn that a government agency, the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), has taken a leap forward to embrace technology, with the launch of an online learning platform for its staff, code-named “DIGITAL ACADEMY.”

I was curious, as a tech freak, to find out what the Commission is up to that informed such a laudable initiative. I logged in to the website of the agency where I was able to have a peep into their pages that contained a lot of information I never had before about the agency. I realised that the mandate is broad-based, covering the overseeing of issues relating to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the coordination of Migration Development as well as to coordinate the national action plan for the protection and assistance of Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Returnees, Stateless Persons, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Migrants.

Also, their mandate is to Provide Durable Solutions, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, Care and Maintenance for Persons of Concern (POC’s) in Nigeria. Given the above, the reality dawned on me that the agency is such that it requires a lot of capacity building for its staff to be able to cope with the challenges of administration and management of humanitarian affairs. Honestly, there is no other way the agency could be able to perform better in the near future if it does not quickly embrace technology now, which it has found in “Smart Commission” with Digital Academy platform.

In my opinion, the effort of the head of the agency, Imman Sulaiman- Ibrahim, the federal commissioner, and her laudable initiative in this direction, deserves commendation. With the Digital Academy Online Learning platform meant for staff, management and partners, employees can have access to learning materials, policy documents, process manuals and take courses on any devices, from any location at any time.

The platform will surely improve staff skills and knowledge in areas such as planning for the Return, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Re-Integration of all Persons of Concern (POCs), technical area personal development and, more importantly, leading to better service delivery and internal efficiency.

As much as this development is applauded as a laudable initiative, the Commission and the federal commissioner should not rest on their oars by looking forward to work and plan towards the sustainability of its various initiatives, programmes and projects. The provision of internet connectivity in the offices during office hours and, most importantly, computers, cannot be over flogged for the Digital Commission and the Learning platform to function properly. This will help in keeping the dream alive, and ensure that a good legacy is bequeathed to those coming behind.

Meanwhile, the type of vision that produced this initiative serves as a challenge to all other chief executives of government establishments.  There is a need to automate the institutional machinery of the government, and embrace technology in the management, administration and delivery of service to the citizenry.

This singular effort is worthy of emulation as a quick pathway to the dream and vision of becoming an e-Governance compliant country.  

•Tunde Oyasanya, tundeoyas@gmail.com

Sir: Virtually all the 36 states of the federation, and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), now have an airport. The exceptions are very few indeed. All but one of the last set of states (six of them) created in 1996 by the late head of state, General Sani Abacha, now have an airport. They are Bayelsa International Airport, Yenagoa; Nasarawa Cargo Airport, Lafia; Agro-Cargo Airport in Ekiti State; Ebonyi International Airport, Abakaliki, and Gombe International Airport.  Zamfara State is the odd state. And it is also the only one of the total seven states in the Northwest zone without an airport. It has an airstrip, of course, located in its capital, Gusau. Expectedly, the state government has plans for its own airport.

 Thus, we have Sokoto, Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi, Dutse and Katsina international airports. Also in this zone is Zaria airport (Kaduna) military airport (Kaduna) and Tunga airstrip (Kebbi). For the Northeast zone, Yobe State is the only one without an airport in this zone. But it has two airstrips which are in Potiskum and Nguru, that is, outside Damaturu, the state capital.   

In the North-Central zone, Kogi is the only state without an airport. It, however, has an airstrip in Ajaokuta while the Ilorin International Airport (Kwara) is the only designated ‘international’ airport there, apart from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

 All six states in the South-South zone have airports, Bayelsa being the latest entrant to the league of state-owned airports. The other state-constructed airports in this zone are Akwa Ibom International Airport and Asaba airport while the ones in Port Harcourt and Calabar are owned by the federal government. Apart from having an airport, the Akwa Ibom State government also owns an airline (Ibom Air), which is fairly popular in the south.

 For the Southeast, there were hitherto, two functional airports here, namely, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, and Sam Mbakwe International Airport Cargo Airport, Owerri. The state-funded Anambra and Ebonyi international airports came on board with inaugural flights in 2022 and 2023 respectively. So, Abia is the only state without an airport now in this zone.

In the Southwest zone are Lagos, Ibadan and Akure Airports. Ogun, Ekiti and Osun states are building their own airports. While Osun’s Moshood Abiola International Airport is stalled, the Agro-Cargo Airport in Ekiti and Ogun state’s Cargo Airport are very much on course. In fact, the latter recently had an inaugural flight.

 The question is how justified, viable are these airports that dot the length and breadth of our country?  The Cargo Airport in Ogun State can be justified on the grounds that that state is now an industrial hub with nearby Lagos state congested.  The Uyo airport is also being complemented by the Ibom Air that offers commercial flight services. But the federal government –owned Ibadan airport is perplexing from the point of view of economic returns, with Lagos, Ilorin, Akure airports around it.  Ditto other airports that are surrounded by airports in neighbouring states. I sense that a driving force for the establishment of airports is the prestige that goes with it, being ranked as a state with an airport.

 Another question is, how ‘international’ are these airports, given the trend of adding ‘international’ to their name. Again, such a designation seems to be borne out of prestige-hunting. Apart from Lagos, Abuja and perhaps Port Harcourt airports, it is doubtful if the plethora of ‘international’ airports in the country play host to international passengers. Many of the airports hardly have regular flights to such places, and so rarely have regular Nigerian passengers. Most of those that patronise them are governors and the super-rich on chartered flights. 

However, some of these ‘international’ airports in the north serve the useful purpose of airlifting their indigenes for hajj, thereby saving them the stress associated with travelling to another state for the yearly hajj. This is an occasional operation, though.

  I suspect that the state governments that have built airports would be lobbying the federal government to take them over in order to save them the associated huge maintenance costs.

Air travel has the advantage of speed. And with security concerns in parts of the country, coupled with bad roads, it should be the preferred mode of travel. But its prohibitive cost puts it out of reach of the ordinary man/woman. For state governments in particular, constructing an airport, a capital-intensive project, remains an elitist project.  

•Victoria Ngozi Ikeano, Victoriangozii@gmail.com