Category: Letters

By Felix Oladeji

SIR: Over the years, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has engaged in series of reforms aimed at making the Nigerian payment system formidable. These reforms were meant to enhance the overall economic performance so as to place the country on the right path and in tune with global trends.

The introduction of mobile banking, electronic banking and online transactions (cashless policy) has paved way for a new era where the use and demand for physical cash is gradually declining. The emerging Information Technology (IT), has made banking services become more and more automated with less paper work than in the past. Banks have realized that they would soon go out of existence unless they keep with the pace at which Information Technology (IT) has redefined the creation of value and worth for their customers.

However, the policy is currently challenged by financial infrastructure deficit. The cashless payment channels that are currently available are not adequate in terms of being able to cope with the demand even if it is to be implemented religiously. This means that the policy will require further investment of funds by operators and regulators. 

Electricity is a critical infrastructure for an efficient e-payment system. Sadly, Nigeria cannot boast of steady power supply across its urban and rural areas. This without doubt is affecting the success of cashless policy. The high charges and fees on some of the electronic channels are capable of generating resistance by the banking public.

For example, the recent re-introduction of charges for ATM withdrawals did not go down well with the users.

To operate successfully in cashless economy, some level of literacy is required in view of the technology involved. Therefore, Nigeria with high rate of illiteracy will certainly have some challenges in this regard. The illiterate population will obviously prefer to keep their money in cash.

More importantly, trust is lacking in Nigerian business environment. Businesses are done on cash basis as cheques bounce at will, hence people place less trust on the use of cheque but prefer cash instead.

The risk involved in rushing the programme without having all the infrastructures in place has been devastating as failure recorded has made people to lose confidence in the system. 

To sustain the electronic payment system, strategic measures must be taken to reduce negative effects of the problems identified as obstacles to the smooth functioning of the system. Both the government and CBN have a great role in the introduction, development and maintenance of cashless banking through policies, finance, infrastructure development and massive campaign for the awareness and acceptance of cashless banking among the people.

Above all, Nigerians have a greater role in accepting the cashless banking payment system, making use of it with the belief that it would improve their financial and economic life and boost the image of the country leading to booming economy.

High GDP under the cashless banking system would attract, encourage and build confidence of foreign investors, tourists and analysts which would on the long run, lead to further development and improvement of our economy.  

Electronic payment system is capital intensive, therefore banks should be encouraged to collaborate among themselves to jointly finance some of the infrastructures and share them amicably. This will help them to share the cost and reduce the initial cost of setting up the system. Government should provide adequate security to make people to buy into the policy fully.

•Felix Oladeji,

Lagos.

SIR: The plea by Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State to women of the state to save him from impeachment by voting for candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the upcoming March 11 state House of Assembly elections is equivalent to the shedding of crocodile tears.

While Obaseki isn’t up for re-election, it is obvious he has seen the handwriting on the wall following the woeful performance of his party in the recently concluded presidential and National Assembly elections where it failed to win a single seat in the National Assembly and came a distant third position in the presidential poll.

This was a man that his people rallied behind in 2020 when he sought re-election, against the seeming threat by external forces to impose a governor on the state, and used their supreme powers to return him to the Dennis Osadebey House. But he repaid his benefactors with betrayal, pain and failure.

It is pertinent to state that since 2019 when he fell out with his predecessor, former governor, Adams Oshiomhole, the Edo State House of Assembly has been comatose due to Obaseki’s fear of impeachment. The story of how 14 Edo lawmakers won the election but were forced to abdicate their responsibilities of delivering effective representation to their respective constituencies may once again come to the subconscious of the electorate who will go to their various polling booths this Saturday. They will speak loud and clear with their votes.

Those who took him in the PDP when he was rendered homeless by his former party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the build up to the 2020 governorship poll, are gnashing their teeth in regret as he ended up factionalising the party. Some of them like the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, whom he had publicly thanked and attributed as the major pillar behind his victory in 2020, are now his sworn enemies.

Aside from the fact that he has failed to deliver the dividends of good governance to Edolites, Obaseki supported the federal government’s currency redesign policy which has brought untold hardship upon his people sparking unrest and protests which has led to the loss of lives in his state. How much more anti-people can a governor be?

For a man whose only achievement in power is the commissioning of street lights and the signing of MOU’s, the appeal to sentiments is an old tactic which will no longer work. The people are tired of bad governance and will do the needful even if it results in the eventual impeachment of the governor before the expiration of his tenure next year.

•Peter Ovie Akus,

New Jersey, USA.

SIR: Since 1999, Lagos State residents have consistently elected governors of the progressive extraction and bearing any upset on account of a bandwagon movement ravaging the political landscapes, it is expected that the political nomenclature of Lagos would remain intact.

However the election promises to be the most competitive in the chequered history of electoral democracy in Lagos State.

The successive switch of baton from one governor to the other proselytizing the same ideological credence, professing a congruence of developmental objectives and running on analogous party manifesto have combined to place Lagos ahead of other states in economic metrics and cosmopolitan barometer of a mega city.

Lagos has been able to forge a master plan which has made infrastructure development seamless and made it easier to appraise the stewardship of every governor against the preceding administration without the usual rivalry of who does what and on whose Imprimatur of initiatives.

The absence of this type of wholesome developmental structure in other states have slowed down growth oftentimes leading to imprudent policy options that foster many abandoned multi billion Naira projects initiated by preceding administrations.

This Saturday elections in Lagos are elections that bear no comparative stakes with any other state of the federation as it could trigger a transition that can make or mar the developmental trajectory of the nation’s commercial capital.

Weighing on the best among the three front liners in the Saturday’s election and with a bipartisan barometer that takes cognizance of tectonic experience, administrative profundity, institutional memories and the dispassionate grasp of what needs to be done, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu towers far above Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran (Jandor).

Read Also: Monarch mobilises Igbo for Sanwo-Olu’s re-election

This amiable governor has no air of superciliousness and has displayed unrivalled ability to listen, introspect and multitask. These attributes are rare among men with executive powers and must be considered by Lagosians in exercising their franchise on Saturday.

Recruiting a fledgling hand through the ballot to manage the huge tectonic project like Lagos would definitely be counterproductive as the new inexperienced hand would need time to learn the intricate loop of executive nuances; these may consume the first two years of that administration thereby setting developmental agenda irretrievably backwards.

The hallmark of democracy is freedom of choice and the fecundity of that freedom is an outcome that produces the best candidate.

A freedom of choice that produces a mediocre outcome though recognizes the supremacy of the majority over the debility of the minority even when the minority is better informed and ingeniously guided, makes the overall majority, including those who will not come out to vote the ultimate victim.

Fellow Lagosians are therefore implored to exercise their franchise with utmost perspicacity and elect the best among the three frontline candidates.

Not coming out to vote this Saturday would be crass negligence of our civil duties which may lead to unintended mediocre outcome.

Using our votes to procure another term for Babajide Sanwo-Olu would translate into a greater Lagos of our dream.

•Bukola Ajisola,

bukymany@yahoo.com

SIR: Nigerians voted for you because of your message to renew the hope of the country. It is crystal clear that every Nigerian wants hope: hope for better life and prosperity. Just a few days ago, I saw you on live TV when INEC issued you the certificate of return as the president-elect. I saw that you’re delighted to begin the renewal journey in the next few weeks as promised during your campaign period. As you had assured Nigerians of a better country, we would be happier if your wishes come true. 

However, I want you to remember that Nigeria is a heterogeneous country battling crises of insecurity, kidnapping, extreme poverty among others. Since no one will expect you to tackle all the crises, Nigerians will hope that you dedicate your administration to genuine renewal work, at least to let Nigerians see and feel the difference, however little. Because I am not the person who thinks Nigeria’s woes can be tackled overnight, it is my hope that you bring to the table the expertise required to inspire hope.

It is visible that the 2023 presidential election would go down in Nigeria’s history as the most heated contest. The election, unarguably, reflected the yearnings of people for good governance. Aside from the fact that people were very tired of the situation of the country, President Muhammadu Buhari hasn’t lived up to the expectations of many Nigerians as their massive support for your party, All Progressives Congress (APC), showed in 2015. But it is strongly hoped that you would be better than him.

I am very sure you are aware of the loopholes of this incumbent government which I believe should be your target. Addressing loopholes is not tantamount to fighting the past; rather, it means you should learn from the past administration, which, of course, you’re part of, to address the crises now for a better Nigeria. It’s not too much to say that you have a lot to do to convince huge swaths of the youth who have shown dissatisfaction with the performance of your party in the past eight years.

I want to plead for one thing on behalf of Nigerians and that is, you should do everything within your capacity to end the insecurity that’s ravaging our country. The hydra-headed menace has undermined the propensity of our beloved country for progress. No country, in other words, develops in chaos. That is why you should, as the first step to renew the hope of a country long trapped in hopelessness, pay attention to the security situation.

I don’t want to dwell on countless promises contained in your manifesto. It’s unfortunate that Nigerians have been deceived by politicians’ beautiful promises on paper. But, candidly, this is not the time to play politics as usual. I will strongly advise you to serve Nigerians in ways they can feel the presence of good governance. Most importantly, you should be particular about how to rejig the country’s education system on which the future of the country depends. This goes down to how prudently you manage the country’s resources at your disposal in the interest of development.

On a final note, this victory has come to stay with you for another four years. The onus is on you to serve, not rule, Nigerians. You should show compassion for the vulnerable. You should be different from those rulers who see the plight of the masses as nothing. Under your watch, we want Nigeria to be a country governed by the rule of law. Much as I am aware that a better Nigeria can only be possible through collective efforts, I charge you to be the servant of the people. May your tenure be a blessing for Nigeria.

• Babatunde Qodir, babatundelaitan@gmail.com

SIR: Now that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has retained its majority in the National Assembly based on the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the struggle is on for which geopolitical zone should produce the senate presidency. I believe that it is the turn of the South-south.

While there are political insinuations that the position should be zoned to the Southeast to foster inclusiveness and national cohesion, I beg to differ. Since 2015 till date, the Southeast has shown hostility and hatred towards the APC. Members of the party have been attacked for supporting the party and if the videos on social media about voting in the just concluded elections are reliable, there was massive voter suppression in the region due to threats and intimidation of members of other parties, principally the APC. This is despite the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari has carried out a lot of infrastructural projects in the region.

Some of these projects include the Second Niger Bridge, the Enugu –Port Harcourt road, the Onitsha – Enugu road etc. By its votes, it has shown that the APC can win the presidency many times over without securing a single vote in the region. Why should the APC zone a powerful and sensitive position like the senate presidency to a region that has consistently given it dross in return for gold? Why should they produce a senate president that will have almost zero followership in his region?

Politics is a game of numbers not sentiments. The only reason why President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu went for a Muslim-Muslim ticket was because he reasoned that was the only way to emerge victorious at the polls. His political calculations turned out right. The South-south delivered close to a million votes to the APC compared to the measly a hundred thousand votes that the party secured in the Southeast in the presidential election. The South-south also delivered the required 25% across all the states in the region and produced seven senators compared to the Southeast which failed to deliver 25% in any state and produced six senators.

The APC currently has more elected officials in the South-south than the Southeast. This shows that the APC has more acceptance in the region and the people are beginning to turn their backs against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which hitherto, had a stronghold in the region. Zoning the senate presidency to the South-south will help the APC to increase its national spread as it will serve in no small measure in converting the zone to an APC stronghold.

Since the advent of the Fourth Republic, the South-south has yet to produce the senate president. The highest position the region has gotten in the National Assembly is the deputy senate president; yet it has done wonders with that as the number of senators in the region recorded an increase in the recent polls. Imagine what would happen should the APC decide to zone the senate presidency to the region.

The South-south is the goose that lays the golden eggs which feeds the Nigerian federation and it would be unfair for us to be cheated in the sharing of power after we have exhibited political maturity by not putting all our eggs in one basket unlike the Southeast. We deserve the senate presidency.

•Peter Ovie Akus,

New Jersey, USA.

SIR: The blame for non-compliance with the March the 3rd judgement of the Supreme Court cannot be laid entirely at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari because the Apex Court had to rebuke him for usurping the function of the CBN by making a national broadcast on monetary policy contrary to the order of the court and unabashedly directing the CBN on its operational duties.

The CBN governor has maintained a contumacious body language never before observed with any apex bank governor. His silence after the judgement is palpably insolent and contemptuous of the highest court of the land. A chaotic denouement being promoted by the president.

The president by keeping undignified silence on the Supreme Court judgement is obviously in acquiescence with these breaches and has putatively assumed a vicarious blame for jettisoning his constitutional function as enshrined in Chapter 2 section 14 of the 1999 constitution which says:

“(1) The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice.

2) It is hereby, accordingly, declared that:

(a) sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority;

(b) the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”

The Supreme Court by the same judgement only adverted the executive and by extension the presidency to the enormous duties they owe the federation which they have treated with utmost carelessness and observed in the breach thereby leaving Nigerians to exist at the mercy of nature.

Many Nigerians including the president’s admirers are left to wander if the president hasn’t administered an esoteric oath to end his laidback governance with aggravated mass sufferings in the land.

Authoritative sources have it that the Nigerian economy has lost over N20 trillion to this misguided, misbegotten and disarticulated policy.

The merits imbued in the policy as laid out by the CBN and reiterated by financial cum economic experts have been eroded leading to a huge productive headwinds across all sectors.

Again the buck stops at the president’s table to uphold the rule of law by simply compelling the Attorney General And The Minister Of Justice who is in the habit of cherry-picking judicial pronouncements to obey to do the needful, though it is incumbent on both the AGF and Godwin Emefiele as functio officio to obey without any presidential imprimatur.

It would be a gratifying novelty and a welcome development for Supreme Court to grant contempt hearing against the two public officials (The AGF and the CBN governor) as being demanded by some state governors.

This would not only serve as a deterrence for future abuse of public trusts but also restore the diplomatic respect that is eluding Nigeria in the comity of nations.

•Bukola Ajisola,

 bukymany@yahoo.com

By Ahmed Adoke

SIR: The past few weeks have ushered in myriads of horrifying trials and tribulations among Nigerians. From the new normal of insecurities across the country, to fuel scarcity, incessant power outages, economic faux-pax, Naira notes redesign, and the recently conducted electoral ignominy, it is indeed evident that Nigerians are survivors of man-made tragedies called bad leadership!

Critical analysis of present conditions of an average Nigerian is piteous and sympathetic in view of the hardship caused by fuel scarcity and change of Naira notes. 

Resultant consequences of such terrible policy have turned an average Nigerian into unwitting beggar(s) at all level of social sphere. Those of us who care and go around, mingle with the downtrodden and shed dry tears, sometime overtly or covertly because of the dehumanizing manner the rich treats the inevitable begging poor have become victims too.

As a result of the ignoble naira shortage and CBN’s disastrous policy, on Friday, March 10, a groom had to pay the bride price of N25, 000 only for his about-to-be wife through bank transfer. Few months before now, such an action would have been seen as insulting by the family of the bride. Such experiences are red flags to our religions and traditions as a people. The deliberate impoverishment of Nigerians by those in the corridors of political power has been unimaginably deploring, unholy and against all dictates of the holy books.

Our poorly paid security agents are not helpful in the present condition of piteous Nigerians. The poor always pray for those dehumanizing them, instead of frowning at those oppressing and suppressing their smile. Most Nigerians are suffering and smiling as Fela sang in one of his many visionary songs 40 years ago.

Ethnically induced hatreds among Nigerians persist since the misadventure of the tribally biased coup of 1966. This unforgiving spirit of ours radiates in our daily relationships and consequently affects the downtrodden.

Sadly as it is, the so-called cashless policy is supposed to be no respecter of the average Nigerian have or have not. However, the same policy makers and law enforcement agencies have admitted to ‘seizing’ millions of new Naira notes, yet nobody is being named to be owners of such money, neither is anyone being prosecuted. 

 The indifference of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank governor, Emefiele to the Supreme Court judgement for the continuing use of the old and new naira notes has not helped matters.

It is not hate speech to say President Buhari has not kept his promise of keeping/obeying law and order. If President Buhari does not care a bit about the “silent death before death” of Nigerians, and continues to flagrantly disobey Supreme Court orders on the usage of old Naira notes, what then, is the fate of the downtrodden?

• Ahmed S. Adoke, Nagazi Uvete, Adavi LGA, Kogi State.

By Fredrick Nwabufo

SIR: It may just be a bubble. A castle on quicksand. It may not take long before the house caves in. The Labour Party electoral rendition is a thrilling experiment of what could be; of political possibilities, of change, but it appears the party is doomed to crumple under the weight of its own afflictions and internal contradictions. 

The Labour Party has won 40 National Assembly seats so far — according to records by INEC. Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the party, put up a notable performance in the presidential election, though there are disputations over votes from the states he won as there are allegations that they were ballooned in his favour.

But are these sputters of fortune enough to keep the party afloat? I think not. The party is becoming vigorously ethnicised, rigid, and anti-intellectual. I believe the party may end up like APGA – a failed experiment and poor attempt at building a people’s forum.

There is no guarantee that those who were swept into parliament on the wave of juvenile anger, will remain in the party afterwards. And even if some of them do, there is no certainty that the same wind will blow again in subsequent elections.

At parliament, the beneficiaries of the ‘’Obi phenomenon’’ will fight for survival, opportunities, and trade interests. There is the likelihood that some of them will cross into other parties for whatever interest they hold.

So, that the Labour Party has 40 seats in parliament today is not a guarantee of political sustenance or survival in the long run. It is not a guarantee of anything. The party remains a rustled-up vehicle without organic and deep roots. It lacks intellectual bearings, and its supporters are vacuous, angry, and menacing. It is only held together, at the moment, by youthful anger, but what happens when the rage tapers off?

The much-vaunted Obi phenomenon will fizzle out as soon as the elections are done, and the youth have other worthy distractions. I do not see Peter Obi sustaining the momentum long after the elections. He may retreat to his business and wait for another happenstance. It is the reason I said it will be historic if Obi extends a hand of fellowship to the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu rather than chasing apparitions and chest thumping while at it.

APGA used to be that party – the third leg. It held some promise. The party came on stream as democracy returned to Nigeria in 1999. It won some elections. But over time, the party became rigidly regional. It became defiant to political evolution. While the ACN which was founded much later was able to build from its base to the centre by attuning itself to the times and evolving accordingly, APGA was closed and straitjacketed. 

APGA lost its oomph and quickly took on the brand of a sectional party. The dream of the revered Igbo leader, Odumegwu Ojukwu, was for the party to become a national brolly – a stamping ground for all Nigerians. To build from the base and levitate to the centre. But the party failed to realise this dream. It was racked by internecine squabbles, greed, lack of foresight by subsequent managers, insularity, and sabotage.

The Labour Party is not inoculated against the APGA contagion. The party is becoming rigidly ethnicised. Ethnic irredentists have seized the party, branding it after themselves – recreating it in their own image. Some of these irredentists who take up residence on social media are quick to establish they ‘’own’’ the Labour Party, shutting out divergent interrogations.

Even Aisha Yesufu, a prominent voice of the Obi campaign, was not spared of the noxious epithet by these sudden appropriators of the Labour Party. She was reminded, ‘’you are not one of us’’ – despite her immense support for their candidate.

These appropriators of the Labour Party should take the pain to study the ethos of their party. It is conventionally a workers’ party. But I guess, anger and bigotry drive anti-intellectualism. There is no place for bigotry in an intellectually fecundated mind.

I am of the view that this new-fangled mob is a latent threat to our democracy. Our conversations on politics have never been this contaminated. In reality, this problem stretches beyond the Labour Party mob. But I would advise those who care to listen to desist from spreading poison and freely trading bigotry.

There is no trophy, but damnation for being a loud-mouthed bigot.

• Fredrick Nwabufo, fredricknwabufo@yahoo.com