The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • National Youth Investment Fund?

    National Youth Investment Fund?

    Justice Eyo

     

    SIR: At a Commonwealth meeting in 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari labeled Nigerian youths as ‘lazy’ and ‘entitled.’ His comments sparked anger among the youths. It is therefore a surprise that the administration would invest in the group which it believes only ‘sits and do nothing’ through schemes such as the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF), an initiative of the National Ministry for Youths and Sports targeted at financing youth-led innovations.

    No doubt, the youth fund is a noble idea. Problem is, the federal government has a disturbing history of recycling projects. Existing schemes such as the Agricultural Credit Support Scheme, the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Program (YEDP), the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) and the Targeted Credit Facility are struggling to achieve target goals despite having received billions of federal funding.

    For instance, YEDP and the newly introduced youth fund are both designed to work with young entrepreneurs between ages 18-35. It’s been said that the National Youth Investment Fund is a youth bank but its objectives only succeed in replicating SMEDAN.

    The fund proceeds from the premise that funding would fix the economy which is a blatant refusal to admit that the business sector is the target of tax laws and other barricading regulations from federal and state agencies. They include such fees as business registration, fire service, emblem levy, and trade permit. The business climate faces a perpetual deficit of power supply, other essential infrastructure, and incessant bouts of insecurity.

    Like others, the youth fund is fated for bureaucratic constraints. The Ministry of Youths and Sports already oversees the National Youth Service Corps, which consumes roughly 90 percent of the ministry’s budget and manpower, and the National Institute for Sports, which has suffered job losses since the pandemic. Rather than spread its jurisdiction, the ministry should invest its resources into reviving the sports industry. Also, the sustainability of the youth fund is in doubt bearing that it is planned for three years, and policy inconsistency and continuity are characteristic of governments in Nigeria.

    Much as the sports minister has mentioned that the NYIF will be secured from the ploys of politicians, federal intervention projects are typically havens of gross nepotism.

    An astute attempt to build youth enterprise in Nigeria should involve a coordinated approach—one body such as the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, overseeing one scheme. Alternatively, since the National Directorate of Employment was instituted to ‘implement programs to combat mass unemployment,’ its mandate should include the coordination of all youth empowerment schemes.

    Ad-hoc measures like the National Youth fund are abortive against issues of youth enterprise in Nigeria. With relaxed regulations, a central approach towards government funding would provide policy prioritization, consistency, and increased accountability.

    • Justice Eyo,

    tweets via @justice_eyo

  • Uba Sani gives Kaduna a strong voice in the Senate

    Uba Sani gives Kaduna a strong voice in the Senate

    By Kareem Musa

    It is not unusual but it is certainly not a regular occurrence during sittings of the Senate, for the presiding officer to slam the gavel and then proceed to eulogise a fellow Senator for a job well done, especially following the passage of an important Bill into law, at a record time.

    This uncommon scenario played out on the floor of the upper chamber of the 9th National Assembly on Wednesday, July 15, when the Senate passed the Bill seeking to establish the Federal College of Education, Giwa, Kaduna State, which was sponsored by Senator Uba Sani, who represents Kaduna Central in the Senate. “Distinguished Senators, I want to specially thank Senator Uba Sani for the hard work he put in to achieve the passage of this Bill into Law. This is exactly how I want us to work in this Senate. Congratulations, Senator Uba Sani,” Dr. Ahmed Lawan, the President of the Senate said and slammed his gavel. Prior to its passage into law, the Bill had passed through first and second readings on the floor of the Senate and was properly scrutinised at a well -attended public hearing before it then passed the crucial third reading on the floor of the Senate, after earning the endorsements of overwhelming majority of Senators and members of the public, including critical stakeholders, who attended the public hearing. The Bill was eventually passed after consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND.

    “My identification of education as a key priority was deliberate. Like I have said elsewhere, the immediate push and inspiration for me to take action in this crucial aspect of our being was Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s Education Revival Programme in Kaduna State. His holistic approach to reviving education has been widely acclaimed. Kaduna State has become a model of educational reform, all thanks to our focused, dynamic and resourceful Governor. I will never waver in following in the footsteps of our dear Governor. I am committed to doing all that is needed to ensure a better future for our children through education,” an elated Senator Uba Sani said when he received in his Office in Abuja, key stakeholders from Giwa Local Government Area who visited him to show their appreciation for sponsoring and ensuring the speedy passage of the Bill for an Act to Establish a Federal College of Education in Giwa.

    Led by the Chairman of Giwa Local Government Area, Hon. Abubakar Shehu, the delegation, also comprised such notable personalities as the member representing the Federal Constituency in the House of Representative,  Shehu Balarabe Bakauye (Birnin Gwari/Giwa Fed. Constituency), the Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Giwa Local Government, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa, Kaduna State House of Assembly members:  Yusuf Ibrahim and Rilwanu Gadagau, traditional rulers, religious scholars, ward councillors and executive members of the APC in Giwa Local Government Area. Members of the delegation were effusive in their commendation of Senator Uba Sani “for putting Giwa Local Government Area on the national map of education and for making the revitalisation of education a key priority.” Even more important, members of the delegation assured Senator Uba Sani of their total support and cooperation to ensure that the College of Education becomes functional at the shortest time possible.

    Back home in Kaduna State, especially in Giwa and neighbouring communities of Katangi, Kadaga, Kidandan, Yakawada, Shika, Pan Hauya, Galadimawa and Idasu, the people were jubilant when news filtered in that the the largely agrarian local government area would now host a Federal College of Education. “We are very grateful to Senator Uba Sani. What he has done will impact on the well-being of this local government on so many fronts: educationally, economically, socially, just to name a few of the benefits. It is a new day for us and we will remain grateful to Senator Uba Sani and our hard working Governor, Mallam Nasir El Rufai,” Mr. Idris Azeez, a secondary school teacher in Giwa enthused.

    Barely a week after this landmark achievement, Senator Uba Sani was once again the cynosure of all eyes on the floor of the Senate as he scored another big one.

    On Thursday, 23 July 2020, Senator Uba Sani paved the way for the long over-due reinvention of the banking and financial services sector in Nigeria as his Bill for an Act to Repeal the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2004 and to Re-enact the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act and Other Matters Connected Therewith 2020 was passed into law by the Senate.

    The passage of this crucial Bill which was co-sponsored by Senator Betty Apiafi (Rivers State) was after it went through the mandatory first and second readings on the floor of the Senate with Distinguished Senators making inputs. The Bill also was subjected to public scrutiny where all concerned persons, especially critical stakeholders in the nation’s financial sector made vigorous contributions at a well-attended public hearing. After the public hearing, the task of convincing the very profound Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to have the Bill read a third time and passed into law, once again, fell on the shoulders of one of the nation’s youngest Senators; Uba Sani. And he rose stoutly to the challenge, after all, it was his Bill and he has firm and deep understanding of the nation’s financial sector. After a robust submission to the Senate for the consideration of the report by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions which Uba Sani chairs, the Senators were swayed. The report recalled that the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at its sitting on Thursday, 27th February, 2020 read for the second time the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, Cap, B3, LFN, 2004 Repeal and Re-enactment Bill, 2020 and referred same to the Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions for further legislative action.

    The report detailed the objectives of the bill, the methodology adopted by the Committee in carrying out its assignment, especially the highly successful public hearing which recorded impressive attendance by key stakeholders, and the updated recommendations of the Committee. The Committee, after a painstaking evaluation and analysis of submissions, observations and the preponderance of views expressed in support of the proposed legislation recommended “That the Senate do approve the attached recommendations of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions on a Bill for an Act to Repeal the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, CAP, B3, LFN, 2004 and Re-enact the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020.”

    In a nutshell, the bill seeks to update the laws governing Banks, Financial Institutions and Financial Services; enhance efficiency in the process of obtaining and/or granting of banking licenses; impose stiffer penalties for regulatory breaches in the financial services industry and also regulate the activities of Financial Technology Companies (FINTECHs). Impressed by the submission of Senator Uba Sani, the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan proceeded to put it to vote and demanded if it was the wish of the Senate that the Bill be read for the third time and passed into law. It was a unanimous “yes” from all the Senators in the Chambers. The third reading was promptly taken and the President of the Senate sealed it with the slamming of his gavel. And in the fine tradition of the Senate, the President of the Senate proceeded to, on behalf of the Senate, approve that Senator Uba Sani’s prayers: “That the Senate do approve the attached recommendations of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions on a Bill for an Act to Repeal the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, CAP, B3, LFN, 2004 and Re-enact the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020,” be granted. The Bill was read a third time and passed into law. For the second time in two weeks, the President of the Senate The Banking and other Financial Institutions Act was last amended/reviewed in 1991. It is therefore long overdue for review and amendment.

    Following the expeditious passage of two Bills sponsored by Senator  Sani into law , records at the National Assembly now show that one year into the tenure of the 9th Senate, Senator  Sani now ranks among the first three Senators with progressing Bills.

    In fact, Uba Sani’s legislative record is only second to that of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, the Deputy President of the Senate and is currently at par with that of Senator Michael Bamidel Opeyemi from Ekiti State.

    According to Order Paper, Nigeria’s leading parliamentary/citizen monitoring platform, the criteria adopted in the assessment of the performances of Senators in the first year of the 9th National Assembly was strictly based on the progression of their sponsored Bills to at least second reading stages. Only three of the eleven Senators with a number of Bills sponsored as at July 2020 made what Order Paper termed the ‘Productivity List.’ The appraisal covered all 109 Senators and the review period is the first year of the 9th Senate.

    In fact, among other Bills, Senator Sani  is currently vigorously pursuing the actualisation of the Bills seeking to establish a Federal College of Forestry Technology and Research in Birnin Gwari. He is also committed to the Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal University of Technology, Kaduna. This bill, once it becomes an Act, will elevate the famous Kaduna Polytechnic to a Federal University of Technology.

    Of course, working very closely with his dear friend and former boss, Governor Nasir El Rufa’i, Senator  Sani on resumption in the Senate worked tenaciously to achieve the approval of the delayed World Bank’s loan for Kaduna State. This loan had in the 8th Senate been scuttled. For what many perceived as rather very retrogressive political reasons, Kaduna State was denied the loan for reasons curiously orchestrated by some Senators that represented Kaduna State in the 8th Senate.

    It is also a well known fact that Senator Uba Sani’s constituency offices are the biggest, best equipped and most staffed in Nigeria. His huge presence in his constituency became apparent in the aftermath of the COVID -19 pandemic.   Significantly, the Senator’s provision of palliatives to his constituency during the COVID-19 induced lockdown is said to be the biggest effort by any politician in Northern Nigeria during the period. With the trail blazing efforts of Senator Uba Sani, it may well be a new dawn for Kaduna State in the Senate.

    • Musa, a sociologist, writes from Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State
  • 29 years after creation: Ugwuanyi keeping the enduring Enugu peace

    29 years after creation: Ugwuanyi keeping the enduring Enugu peace

    By Louis Amoke

    During the recent inauguration of a Bailey bridge across Nyama River, linking communities in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the former Governor of old Anambra State and Senator who represented Enugu East Senatorial District, Sen. Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo, utilized the heart-warming occasion to bare his mind on the existing peace in the state.

    Sen. Nwobodo, who said that Gov. Ugwuanyi has wiped away his tears by constructing the bridge for his community after decades of neglect, disclosed that one of the greatest achievements of the governor’s administration is the existing peace in the state, which he said has brought security and rapid development, especially in the rural areas.

    The deeply touched elder statesman said, “Since 1999, I have never been to Enugu and stayed more than two weeks. But since this governor came, I have been in Enugu for the past six months because of the peace he (Ugwuanyi) has entrenched. Thank you for this great honour you have done to me. I thank you for wiping away my tears”.

    Sen. Nwobodo’s telling observation, genuine expression of gratitude and sincere assessment of the birthing of an enduring peace in Enugu State present a compelling opportunity to reflect on and appreciate the governor’s untiring efforts, resilience and sacrifice in ensuring sustainable peace and good governance in the state.

    In Enugu State today, there is an existing cordial working relationship among the three arms of government. There is also a cordial government-labour relationship. This was responsible for the recent peaceful negotiation and payment of the new minimum wage without rancour or industrial action, for the first time in the history of the state – a rare experience which the state workers have continued to commend Gov. Ugwuanyi for.

    Significantly, besides Sen. Nwobodo, other prominent personalities in the state, from all walks of life, have also favourably assessed the governor’s uncommon leadership qualities anchored on peace and good governance.

    Former President of the Senate, Sen. Ken Nnamani, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Sen. Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, Sen. Hyde Onuaguluchi, Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, Ambassador (Mrs.) Justina Eze and a host of others, had eulogized Gov. Ugwuanyi for providing the platform for unity, peace and a harmonious existence.

    For instance, during the grand finale of the governor’s door-to-door campaign, held at Udenu LGA, ahead of his reelection in 2019, some of these stakeholders commended him for entrenching peace, tranquility and good governance, in a manner that has never been experienced previously in the history of the state.

    They described Gov. Ugwuanyi as a man of history, expressing delight that he has united everybody in the state, irrespective of political leaning. The leaders told him that the culture of peace and good governance he has entrenched in the state was unprecedented and will earn him a landslide victory at the polls.

    While Sen. Ekweremadu disclosed that “there is no bickering or quarrels among the political leaders in the state”, Sen. Nwobodo, who described Gov. Ugwuanyi as a son, thanked him “for bringing everybody together”.

    According to Sen. Onuaguluchi, “Gov. Ugwuanyi has brought uncommon peace to the state” and “all of us have come to learn from Gburugburu [the governor]”.

    Amb. (Mrs.) Eze joined the chorus in elucidating what the governor’s peace initiative means to the political stability and rapid development of the state.

    At the state government’s reception for the Nigerian Ambassador to Republic of India with Concurrent Accreditation to Bangladesh and Nepal, Major General Chris Sunday Eze (rtd) in respect of his appointment, the former President of the Senate and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Ken Nnamani, also applauded Gov. Ugwuanyi for demonstrating political maturity by creating an ambience of peace and tranquility in the state where everybody is accorded his or her due respect.

    On another occasion, the former Governor of old Enugu State, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, said that “Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has done remarkably well in the area of keeping the peace in Enugu State”, adding that “this is the first time, since the current republic, a regime has provided peace within the ruling party and across party line”.

    Dr. Nwodo who said that “this is very commendable”, pointed out that the governor has been “most proactive” in assisting the security agencies in Enugu State, as “all the agencies have been provided with massive logistic support to assist them in securing the state”.

    His words: “He [Ugwuanyi] has even gone further to create local vigilante groups and Forest Guards to help the police in their efforts. He is one of the first state Governors to set up community policing in Nigeria. When it comes to settling communities that have been at daggers drawn for many years, he has built a reputation for himself.

    “I am aware that the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators conferred on him an honorary membership of the institute in recognition of his efforts in conflict resolution and mediation. I wish him well in all these initiatives to make Enugu the most peaceful state in Nigeria”.

    Presenting his verdict on Gov. Ugwuanyi, Sen. Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, a former Governor of the state, opined that “his [Ugwuanyi’s] administration has prioritized justice and fairness to all, peace, security and prosperity to our people, economic empowerment and infrastructural renewal”.

    Sen.  Nnamani emphasized that the governor “scores impressively high on peace, security, rural development, urban renewal, political inclusiveness and forbearance, improvements in healthcare and basic education, industrial harmony as well as a workforce motivated by prompt payment of salaries and other incentives”.

    According to the Senator, “he has shown remarkable leadership in times of adversity and kept our state relatively safe from the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic”.

    On his part, the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma, while baring his mind on Gov. Ugwuanyi’s penchant for peace, said:  “In Enugu State, we have experienced peace and the era where people have political enmity and others, have all gone. Everybody is happy, the traders are happy, there is sympathy, there is concern, and there is respect for everybody, irrespective of class, religious or political affiliation”.

    During a special post-election Thanksgiving Mass at the Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), the Spiritual Director of the Ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, described Gov. Ugwuanyi as a rare, God-fearing leader who has continued to lead the state on the path of peace and good governance with uncommon zeal, passion and humility, even after his re-election to office.

    The cleric therefore commended the governor for continuing with his massive infrastructural development projects across the state as well as other remarkable achievements such as workers’ welfare. He equally lauded Gov. Ugwuanyi for his humility, passion for the wellbeing of the people, especially the poor “and kind-heartedness for being a father to his people”.

    Prior to that, Rev. Fr. Mbaka, had during Gov. Ugwuanyi’s Thanksgiving Mass for his victory at the Supreme Court, poured encomium on the governor, describing him as “an epitome of peace; an outstanding leader, a sanctuary of conflict resolution and model for rural and urban development”, stressing that this is the first time since he became a priest, that the state is experiencing peace.

    As Enugu State clocks 29, soaring in peace and good governance, the message is clear: that Gov. Ugwuanyi’s uncommon leadership style has kept faith with the dreams and aspirations of the state‘s founding fathers.

    This aligns with the stance of former Secretary-General and now President-General of Enugu State Development Association (ESDA), Chief Enechi Onyia, who had identified the promotion of the principles of love, unity and peace among the political, religious and traditional institutions, as one of the cardinal dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of Enugu State.

    Chief Onyia had also attributed the developmental strides in the state to the peace and good governance initiatives of Gov. Ugwuanyi, saying: “There is very significant peace in Enugu State; without peace there is no progress”.

    Interestingly, Enugu State under Ugwuanyi’s watch has continued to occupy its pride of place as one of the most peaceful and secure states in Nigeria, to live and do business, as well as the capital city of the nation’s Eastern Region; East Central State; old Anambra State; old Enugu State, when Abakaliki (now part of Ebonyi State) was part of it and the present Enugu State.

    It could be recalled that Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman, lawyer and philosopher who played an important role in the politics of the late Roman Republic once observed that “The safety of the people shall be the highest law.” If Cicero’s insight held true then, it certainly does so currently.

    Today, the country is witnessing challenges bothering on violence and insecurity, among others. But in the Coal City State, the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, leveraging on an inclusive vision of governance, discipline and regime sincerity has managed to keep the state on an even keel, safe and progressive.

    This peace being enjoyed today in Enugu State, which the leaders have endorsed in unison, is hardly contestable and must not be taken for granted. It needs to be further recognized and complemented by all stakeholders in the overall interest of the people and the state.

    • Amoke writes from Enugu
  • Golden question @70: How do you stand?

    Golden question @70: How do you stand?

    By Femi Kusa

    MAN: HOW DO YOU STAND? This is an ageless question in the spiritual work which has been my unfailing companion and guide for 43 years. It leapt before me again last Sunday morning as I rose from Saturday night sleep. Forty-three years ago, I would have replied in my thoughts: How time flies ! But I knew as long ago as 1977, at 27, that time does not fly. It is eternal, unswerving and immovable. In 1978, I was privileged to be the editor of CROSSCORPER magazine, published yearly by Youth Corps members in Cross River State. As the editor, I wrote  the lead article, Time Stands Still. It was a response to banters of How Time Flies among Corps members set to go home.

    Last Saturday morning, I remembered the beery voices, the dimly lit dance halls as Corps members bade their hosts bye. I remembered other striking events in my life, such as my first Out Of Body Experience (OBE) in 1974 at 24, the passage of my mother at 31 on  August 5, 1959 during her fifth child birth, the passage of my father on August 26, 1998 at the age of 76, the birth of my brother on  August 26, 1954, that is 66 years ago and the fact that August always had important messages of the two poles of life and death for me. It couldn’t have been an accident that I was born on August 23, 1950… I was 70 years old last Sunday.

    Please, forgive me for holding down the cat in the bag. There was no revelry. This is not only a  COVID-19 season. I am not a limelight person;  I am a chip of an old block as well. At 40, I yielded ground half-way to my wife and her uncle, restricting the gathering to only siblings and very close friends. By 50 and 60, she had understood me better. The old block I spoke of was my father. He declined a 70th birthday party. The day before his birthday, he travelled to his village. By 6.30am on his birthday, he was kneeling before the altar of the village church all alone, no Priest, no Sexton, but certain of the nearness of his Creator and offering thanksgiving prayer. Before noon, he was back to Lagos!

    For me, the setting for such a stage was provided in 1974 in my first OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE (OBE). It made me recognise that existence, especially on earth, was not just a question of being born, growing up, finishing school, getting married to just anyone, making babies, getting a job, hitting the pinnacle of a profession, becoming a grandfather or grandmother and…passing away someday.  In my first OBE, I not only came out of my body, I actually saw myself distant from my body, which was fast asleep in bed. In fact, I had to engage in physical scuffle with a darkly figure which wished to attack that physical, earthly part of me in bed. I was neither dreaming nor in a trance. I was DAY CONSCIOUS as I am now, writing this column. I was screaming. We were fighting. We ran into my writing table and one of the four legs broke. The standing KDK fan fell.  So did the refrigerator. I lived with other tenants in an eight-room bungalow. The residents gathered by my door. So did some of our neighbours in nearby houses. Somehow, I pushed him towards the door and managed to undo about three security devices. It was when I rushed into the corridor that I awoke in bed.

    I was to learn years after, in the course of striving to discover the meaning of existence, that I may have had an ASTRAL or ETHEREAL experience. It was possible the body was roused by ambient noise and disturbed sleep as it often is with the banging of doors or knocks on the door. It was possible the embattled soul through feedback mechanisms was alerted that the body housing it was up and the Silver Cord pulled it in. The silver cord, like the umblical  cord which connects the foetus to the uterus, is the connecting link of body and soul at the solar plexus. What we call dreams are experiences of the soul outside the body which are transmitted through waves of energy through the Silver Cord to the solar plexus and from there through radiations of the blood to the back brain, the cerebellum, from where, in pictorial form, it goes to the frontal brain, the cerebrum, which decodes the impressions into thought or the spoken word. The degree to which we vividly remember our dreams or fail to do so is related to some variables in these mechanisms.

    Diet, atrophy of the back brain from disuse and position of the bed head away from the true geographic north are important factors. Another is the number of vectors (age of objects) which point to the bed, directing energy into it. Vectors throw off energy. The body and soul are forms of energy. Maintenance of energy equilibrium in the bedroom is crucial for restful night in which the travelling  soul can successfully and easily transmit its experiences to the body and the body can receive high fidelity communication. If the body was roused by ambient disturbance, a feedback mechanism automatically alerts the soul to return “home”. Failure to do so may weaken body-soul connection and even cause physical death. Sometimes, the soul does not key itself properly into the body on its return. That is probably why some people say they got out on the wrong side of the bed. Slight or serious headache, tiredness and laziness may be the tell tales when a refreshing night rest ought to have restored the physical vessels to equilibrium.

    To cut a long story short, I woke up. Spiritual events take place at faster speed than physical ones. Imagine that the speed of light is 186,000 miles per square second, that the light we speak of belongs to gross matter, that the spirit is far above coarse gross matter,  medium gross  matter,  fine gross matter (astral world),  and that it has its origins in  the spiritual realms,  where, as we are informed, one day is the equivalent of about 1,000 earth years! My co-residents called my grandmother who lived in the next street. A Christ Apostolic Church prayer warrior, she set the house alight with prayer and songs the rest of the night, joined by the residents. Next day, one of my uncles came for me. He was more experienced than anyone in the family about native solution to such experiences. He took me to his own apartment.

    I could not sleep day and night, afraid that my attacker would come again. My uncle procured a wooden device which had etched inscriptions. I was to keep it under my pillow. If you live in a neighborhood infested with armed robbers, you are likely to trust the Inspector-General of Police if you see hundreds of policemen on patrol than if he gave you assurance that they were “on ground”. So, I trusted the “juju” and slept well. But I had two problems with that. First, I was due to start higher education in three months at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. What would my roommates think of me if they saw “juju” under my pillow? I wanted to get to the bottom of the event and acquire that “power” of the unseen world not to harm other people or to disturb them, but in self defence.

    The OBE educated me that there was another world distinct and tangible like the physical one of which all of us are aware. The priests of my church could not help me out. I was not persuaded by explanation or cosmic mysteries made by many organisations. Finally, I turned to the LOBSANG-RAMPA books series. As I would later discover, he was limited to only the immediate astral environment of the earth. I got off his train when, he said GOD did not exist, and offered the Lobsang-Rampa touch stone for “protection”  and  “good luck”. That wasn’t what I wanted. What if I forgot to carry the touch stones in my pocket some day? I needed no-one to teach me how to induce an OBE. It came naturally to me. On one occasion, I became day conscious in a dream, knew my body lay in bed and I was somewhere else, that I did not have to walk but float, that whatever I wished automatically happened in The Law of Thought which we all trivialise on earth. So, I abandoned Lobsang-Rampa and went to Nsukka without my uncle’s “juju”. Memories of the OBE faded in the Nsukka years, but not to the point that I did not remember the experience once in a while. Some of my room-mates belonged to “esoteric” group.  About one month from my degree examination in 1977, I sighted an exciting advertisement in the SundayTimes newspaper at the news stand. It was about three volumes of a book titled IN THE LIGHT OF TRUTH THE GRAIL MESSAGE by ABD-RU-SHIN. I cut it out and kept it at the bottom of my box, with the aim of getting in touch with the publishers whenever I had a settled Youth Service Corps address.

    Youth Service took me to  Uyo and later to Calabar. I often left the Uyo camp to buy esoteric books at EDEKE’S BOOKSHOP. I acquired such titles as CHARIOT OF FIRE and SECRET OF THE ATOMIC AGE. One day, I asked RITA ANDREWS, the shopkeeper, if they did not sell more striking books. She said one set of the three volumes of the  GRAIL MASSAGE was available. I paid a deposit and went back for it the following day. I am a slow reader. I strive to form conceptions and pictures of what I read to properly understand and absorb it and, then, to apply its inherent lessons or principles. So, it took me eight long months to examine the GRAIL MESSAGE. I thought Rita was at the time more knowledgeable about it than I was, and so, asked her who, really, the Author was. I believed her when she said he was one of the three wise men, because the knowledge put forth was beyond intellectual conception.  I was to discover she either deceived me to protect me against premature judgment, or was ignorant.

    By the time I returned to Lagos, my perception of life and existence had completely changed, and I did not wish to slide back into the old. For example, I could no longer attend club shows of Aigbe Lebarty and  his semi-nude Sex Bombers. Wherever I turned, conflict tended to envelope me, with a view to pulling me back. Members of Christian scripture groups became terrible antagonist. They had told all sorts of lies about THE GRAIL MESSAGE to prevent me from reading it. One of them was that the MESSAGE denied the divinity of Jesus Christ. Yet there is no single lecture in this Work which does not acknowledge the Lord Jesus as the LOVE and SON OF GOD. I am yet to see a geniune Christian who has read explanations of The Ten Commandments and The Lord’s Prayer who had not wished to share them with fellow Christians.

    I was told, but did not accept, that only Christians would be SAVED from eternal damnation. But the Lord Jesus taught that the only passport to paradise was fulfillment of The Will of God. Islam means submission to the will of God. Messages brought by Zorasta to Iran, Lao-Tse to China, Bhuddah to India and Mohammed to Arabia all emphasise HIS WILL. The Grail Message informs us that all these messages were willed by God but were distorted after their bringers departed and converted their messages to religions which became instruments of power and influence in the hands of priests who did not necessarily know  God or serve HIM. Were this not the case, says the Grail Message, all teachings, by today, would have formed a single ladder from the earth to Paradise. Isn’t it instructive that Islam recognises Jesus as THE SPIRIT OF GOD and Prophet Mohammed as the Messenger of God? Many human beings have thus become prisoners of religions from which the Grail Message seeks to liberate them. I was liberated.

    Finding a wife was difficult thereafter. Even my father was shocked when, after graduation from the university, I insisted on paying house rent in his property. That was not heard of in Yorubaland. The MESSAGE taught me that children have no claims over their parents and that my father’s property is not mine but his. If I could see my father’s property in this light, why should I seek to plunder public property for self use? When I took a job and encouraged my colleagues and subordinates to work, it was often a tug of war. I invited them to take a cue from Creation which bears the Will of God. The Sun, the Soil and the Moon have not gone on a strike since I was born. They work at the command of the Creator to provide a hospitable dwelling  for us. So do the stars, the seas and oceans.

    Why do we grumble over small tasks and hunger after huge pay?  If I don’t like the pay, why do I not quietly quit the job? Work should be tended with LOVE. That is what Creation teaches us. I would not behave otherwise at work. The GRAIL MESSAGE hits hard at SPIRITUAL INDOLENCE. Man has become religious and not spiritual in the search for his Creator and Worship Of Him, although he is a spiritual being. The spirit is too lazy to ask questions when it is fed with obvious lies about his home and MAKER. He thinks worship in vigorous “prayer” and that prayer is a long prattling in words. As for womanhood, she has mistaken motherhood for the purpose of her existence on earth.

    Man has turned education upside down, believing that the intellect is the Lord in Creation. Forgetting that the intellect is only the perceptive capacity of the brain, which does not survive earthly demise, being, like his body, bound to space and matter, he has allowed the intellect rule over his intuition the “voice” of the Spirit. Inevitably, this has stunted the spiritually- receptive portion of his brain, the cerebellum or the “small brain”. The GRAIL MESSAGE explains that this is THE FALL OF MAN. By being no longer able to navigate the worlds beyond the earth with INTUITION, which now lies suppressed by the over-cultivated INTELLECT, the “large” or frontal brain, spiritual man cut himself off from his home, PARADISE. He cannot therefore obtain high values from home which would suffuse his earthly affairs.

    Marriage is thought to be compulsory, whereas it is not. Marriage is given merely as a gift for complementary souls to help them achieve the purpose of their existence on earth. This purpose is the attainment of self consciousness, which should lead to the recognition of GOD and his WILL in CREATION, followed by unconditional submission to this WILL. Every social institution is a gift to man to help him attain this goal, be it work, parenting or marriage. Where this purpose is unfulfilled, many people do not know, as even evident from mass media interviews, marriage is USELESS and a terrible waste of earth-life. Many people are imprisoned in marriage in the wrong conception that it is a MERGER, but the MESSAGE explains to us why it is a UNION. Even Gibran, author of THE PROPHET, would say a man and his wife may have a drink together, but not from the same cup, thereby suggesting a degree of distancing which permits healthy exercise of free will.

    In my view and those people who have examined it for higher values which transcend religion but nevertheless leads the way to God, there is no subject on the face of this earth that the GRAIL MESSAGE does not address. The teachings have been the foundation of my behaviour since 1978. I do not claim to be a saint. No human being is. One of the  reasons we are on earth is to recognise our faults or weaknesses and  work on ourselves to abandon faults and develop Spiritual attributes which still lie slumbering in all of  us. I have merely explained the driving motive of my activities and relationships. And, regularly, I release myself for inner self examination to see how far  and well I may have come near that flowering and fruiting spirit of this wonderful Creation that the Almighty Creator and Ruler of All the Worlds expects me to  be.

    So much has been invested on me in this regard. Thus, when I retire into sleep at night, I  like to visualise Creation , remembering the golden question the Lord asks all the time: MAN: HOW DO YOU STAND? Firmly or weakly? Progressive homewards or retrogressing low-wards? Sharing my time equally between earthly affairs and their external models, or cutting myself off more from On High? So, last Sunday, as I rose from sleep to yet another beautiful day, a Sunday such as the day I was born 70 calendar years ago,  I could not but remind myself of that golden question: MAN: HOW DO YOU STAND in respect of the fulfillment of the purpose of my existence on earth, and of my relationship with God. Then, I thought it should be worth sharing with you.

    Man, how do you stand?

  • The ‘VIP’ self-confessed serial killer

    The ‘VIP’ self-confessed serial killer

    By Dele Adeoluwa

    Criminal elements have their moments. Having been weaned into their game, after a spell of ‘apprenticeship’ under some entrenched kingpins, they take the stage by storm. They bestride their own spheres of influence in the convoluted criminal underworld like the overlords that they are. They begin to savour their new-found ‘stardom’, as their murderous escapades soon set off a bedlam in the outer world.

    Having perfected the art of manoeuvring through the labyrinth of the precarious criminal underworld, they most times succeed in evading the ‘landmines’ laid for them by the law; at least for a period. In these climes, most of the big-time criminal kingpins resort to fortifying themselves with native powers of all sorts. Those goad them into basking in delusion, feeling a tinge of invincibility around them. So, they prance and strut, roistering in self-importance and ego trip.

    However, the hide and seek between the law and its preys (criminal suspects) always lasts for only a fleeting moment. The law is a patient hunter. It crouches leisurely and hounds its preys by stealth. Then suddenly, it springs up and pounces on its preys. Oyenusis, Aninis, Shina Rambos, Ahmed Tijanis etc., were all students of this school of illusory stardom. They had their time but the law caught up with them.

    The ‘star’ of the moment in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, is Sunday Shodipe, the alleged serial killer, who, together with other members of a suspected syndicate, has had to tar the ancient city with the blood of his hapless victims. The 19-year-old suspect presents a deceptive persona in his quite benign, almost childish looks which belie his atrocious exploits. Eleyele local government area of the state has particularly been the theatre of this killing binge.

    Since May when the activities of ritual killers became pronounced in Akinyele council, the whole area has been tinged in a pall of gloom and doom. Death prowls and visits at will. The area has come under the siege of a menacing killer gang whose mode of operation is akin to that of the Badoo ritual killers of Ikorodu some years back.

    The gruesome murder of 18-year-old Barakat Bello, a National Diploma student of the Federal College of Animal Production Technology, Moore Plantation, Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State, appeared to have opened the floodgate of the gristly misadventure. Barakat was said to have been gang-raped before she was hacked to death on May 31, setting off a public obloquy.

    Her grief-stricken father, Kasimu Elepo, said nobody was at home when the killer gang visited and pounced on the innocent girl, but her body was found at the back of the house and the tell-tale signs showed she was mercilessly raped before life was snuffed out of her.

    According to an organised group in the area, People’s Awareness Initiative (PAI), other people killed in the area included Azeezat Somuyiwa, who was allegedly killed in Adisa area on June 5; Grace Osiagwe, murdered at Idi-Ori area on June 13; Mojeeb Tirimisiyu, killed at Tose area on June 23; Olusayo Fagbemi, who was despatched to her early grace at Sasa area on June 24. Other victims listed by PAI are: Dolapo Bamidele and her mother, Deola Bamidele, matcheted at Alaja area on June 29; an unnamed victim, killed at Elekuru on July 1 and Onitoke Grace, mowed down at Onikro area, Moniya on July 20.

    The agitated residents, however, heaved in relief and had a reprieve from the siege when some of the suspects, including Shodipe and his purported master, Adedokun Yinusa Ajani, 50, a herbalist alleged to be the one sending Shodipe on the ghoulish errands, were arrested and paraded by the police in Ibadan on July 17.

    Shodipe confessed to killing some of the victims and opened up on how his alleged master, Ajani, used to send him out to kill, after fortifying him with charms. And to show how worthless human life is to the suspected ritual killers, Shodipe claimed Ajani paid him a paltry N500 for every person he killed! But Ajani denied sending Shodipe to kill anybody. He claimed it was his (Shodipe’s) mother who brought the lad to him to learn how to become a herbalist.

    Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Joe Enwonwu, revealed how the suspects were nailed. He said the mobile phone of one of the victims was recovered from one Shehu Usman by the police. According to him, even though Usman denied any involvement in the crime, he gave sufficient information that led to the arrest of both Shodipe and Ajani.

    He confirmed that the suspects were responsible for the killing of some of the victims. They included Wasilat Adeola, Barakat Bello, Grace Osiagwu, Mojeeb Tirimisiyu (a five-year-old). The CP said the suspects also allegedly attacked Adeola Azeezat and her daughter, Dolapo Oyeyemi, but they both survived.

    However, the tendon of reprieve enjoyed by the people with the arrest of the suspects soon snapped following the controversial escape of Shodipe from the police custody after he had been charged to court. The CP, who announced the escape through a statement issued by the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Fadeyi Olugbenga, a Superintendent of Police, vowed to deal ruthlessly with those involved in the embarrassing escape.

    Expectedly, the controversial escape touched off a momentary national alarm. It stirred immediate outrage, as stakeholders flew into a rage. Enraged youths mobilised and marched on the state Police Command Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, to register their displeasure against the pernicious situation. They carried placards bearing inscriptions that queried how such an important suspect could have escaped from the police custody.

    The organised group, PAI, was more vociferous in their verbal protest. In their strongly worded statement, they decried the worsening security situation in Akinyele council, leading to the “incessant killing of innocent souls”.

    “Definitely,” they rued, “the manner and sequence of attacks, the seeming perfect coordination of all assaults, the inability of the security agencies to curb the ceaseless brutal murders, the immunity of some ‘fingered VIPs’ from arrest; all these give much to ponder on the seeming invincibility of the syndicate.

    “It’s risky to live or move around within Akinyele LGA… Are we animals? How do we manage seeing our next door neighbours being raped or axed to death for rituals almost on a daily basis? The fear of who is the next victim is the beginning of wisdom for us.”

    The group then declared that they would lock down Akinyele council on September 1 by observing a sit-at-home as a civil way of protesting the security situation if the suspect is not re-arrested on or before August 31.

    The police immediately launched a state-wide manhunt for Shodipe. The pressure sent the state police command back to the drawing board, to redouble its efforts to track down the fleeing suspect. The CP went further to place a N500,000 bounty on his head. The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, despatched a crack team of detectives, including operatives of the dreaded Intelligence Response Team (IRT), to the state to strengthen the manhunt.

    Monarchs in Akinyele council also mobilised members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), hunters in the council and Agbekoya members to hunt for the escapee.

    The manhunt paid off on Sunday. The law bore its fangs and trapped its prey. Shodipe was re-arrested. He was said to have been nabbed at his grandmother’s house in Bodija area of Ibadan, where he had been hibernating after his dramatic escape.

    The feat is highly commendable, but it should not end there. From all indications, Shodipe is just a fry in the whole killing game. He appears to be fronting for a powerful syndicate, beating the drums of the insidious evil behind the curtains. The police need to exploit the same zeal and zest with which they hunted Shodipe down to ferret out members of the suspected syndicate and bust the ring. That is the only way ritual killings in Akinyele could be said to have successfully been exterminated from the roots.

  • For a law to compel buying of Made-In-Nigeria

    For a law to compel buying of Made-In-Nigeria

    Victor Ikhatalor

     

    SIR: Conscious of the nexus between thriving indigenous businesses and job creation amongst others, President Buhari has signed two Executive Orders – Executive Order 003 entitled “Support for Local Content in Public Procurement by the Federal Government” and Executive Order 005 entitled “Presidential Executive Order for Planning and Execution of Projects, Promoting of Nigerian Content in Contracts and Science, Engineering and Technology”.

    Hitherto, Nigeria has only ever tried to bolster local content through the singular legislation that gave birth to the – Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010 (NOGICDA). The president’s intervention through Executive Orders is a recognizable attempt to extend local content policy beyond the Oil and Gas industry to other sectors, thus translating the perceivable gains of indigenous businesses in that sector across other sectors of the Nigerian economy.

    I will argue that ours is not a problem of lack of laws for indeed we could just by accepted procedural policy enforce the strengthening of indigenous businesses as has been done in other climes. Alas, what inhibits us is the spectre of a legion of laws mined with trapdoors that practicing public actor illusionists will always find during acts of escapism. At the height of the lockdown brought on by COVID – 19, arising from a proclamation by the president directing patronage of Made-in-Nigeria – the echo of the president’s voice was barely gone, when the Federal Executive Council approved a procurement contract of foreign products for the NPA!

    The omnibus Local Content 2020 Bill presently going through the processes, like both Executive Orders –  Signpost: convenience, preference, desire – the continuance of when it’s okay by us we go local content mantra. Therein lies the crux of the matter – the ever present trapdoors for political actors and public officials to pervert laws at their whim and caprice.

    There should be nothing discretional about strengthening our indigenous businesses. It should not even require laws for us to altruistically accept and propagate local content as it makes social, economic and political sense to do so. It is not the multiplicity or lack of laws or Executive Orders or guidance that ails us. It is the preponderance of magicians who wander around our public spaces. The trapdoors must be taken out entirely.

    There must be no ambiguity! There should be no trapdoors for anyone to wriggle through. The provisions of any new legislation must be iron clad – to compel the– Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS) to mandatorily buy, source and contract made in Nigeria, save that it cannot be made, sourced or done locally.

    Consequent upon any breach of this law, which should be considered as economic sabotage/terrorism, we propose that offenders should be liable to termination of employment/office – and for political office holders – a life ban from holding public office. A seven year term of imprisonment without the option of a fine should also be concurrently imposed. Without ambiguity, infringement of this law will be the easiest to prove – National Assembly and Citizen Oversight will be a mite easier than is the norm in our country where laws are laden with – “trapdoors”!

    The direct consequence of this legislation will be to lock in stone – backward linkage development, sustained creation of employment opportunities, infrastructure development, increased indigenous business participation and capacity building. It will also put us firmly on the path towards evolving forward linkages. The very nature of the legislation will force and bring about – sound regulatory policy monitoring and good resource management.

    The president has shown his strong desire for the strengthening of indigenous businesses through good intentioned – Executive Order 003 and Executive Order 005. That is the extent to which he can go and in a country where political and public officials have not made it an art form to pervert the system – presidential executive orders would ordinarily bring about swift policy compliance.

    The National Assembly must pick up the gauntlet and at no time in our history – in these novel times of COVID 19 does that responsibility weigh more heavily.

    We must grow capacity and grow jobs and government must be with and not by the Nigerian people in this lifetime endeavor. Our salvation and the sustainability of the Nigerian enterprise demand it! We must open up sustainable pathways for job creation.

    • Victor Ikhatalor, <kingjvic7@gmail.com>
  • UEFA Champions League deserves that one more game!

    UEFA Champions League deserves that one more game!

    Dr Cosmas Odoemena

     

    SIR: After a spectacular night in Lisbon, the German club Bayern Munich beat the French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) by 1-0, to take home the 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League Cup, capturing its sixth Champions League title, having won it last in 2013.

    The game lived up to its billing. Two tough teams that have made winning their domestic leagues a birthright. PSG had a lot of scoring chances which they squandered. And they were left to rue those misses. Bayern seized the game by the scruff of the neck and showed why they are the best club in the world today.

    The COVID-19 pandemic had initially disrupted the match schedules. After resumption, the format for playing the quarter-finals was altered to only allow for a single match knockout at neutral grounds in Lisbon, Portugal, as against the usual two-legged encounter home and away between the two teams.

    Bayern goes home with the ultimate prize and gold medals, PSG as runner-up get compensated with silver medals. There is no third-placed team or fourth-placed team as you have in the World Cup.  But, the Champions League has come of age. It deserves a third place match! Even in the Olympics there is a third place match.

    Some think having a third place match in the Champions League serves no purpose. Some also feel that the Champions League usually happens towards the end of the football league season, with the players tired, it will add more stress to them. And that they could also risk injury for a game that is thought not important.

    But there is a way around that. The third place match could serve as an opportunity for players who are not first team players to showcase themselves. The regular players may come into the game if there is a need. This reduces the chances of the players getting stressed or getting injured.

    Fans want goals. Third place matches have been known to be exciting and not economical with goals. The match between Bayern Munich and PSG was exciting, yet cagey. In the World Cup, final matches too are sometimes cautionary and stingy with goals; third place matches often produce more goals, with little defending and more forward play. After all, there is nothing to “lose”. Often the third placed team is happier than the second placed team. The reason is obvious.

    People watch third place matches. I enjoy them. A 2009 book “Soccernomics,” by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski said a third place boosted World Cups television rating by 4.9 percent. A Champions League third place match stands to do the same. Some might use the fact that the UEFA European Championship had to stop the third place match in the 80s because there was not much interest in it. But that was then. Things have changed. The interest in football has continued to grow worldwide. According to a 2018 Gallup poll, 7% of Americans preferred football to any other sports. In the United States, interest in the Major League Soccer (MLS), the top domestic league, has grown by 27% since 2012, according to Nielsen Sports Sponsorlink.

    Third place matches are often a chance for “Cinderella teams” to steal the limelight. A third place match will give fans something to whet their appetite before the final match. It will also give UEFA more money. Football is about teams squaring up against each other to know the better team. Even if there is no prize attached to it, the satisfaction of triumphing over another team is joy itself.

    For football fans it’s another chance to watch their team play. That’s why we never get tired of watching again, and again matches that we have seen before. As Michael Elliot, a former TIME editor in an essay about being a fan wrote: “We fans like to describe our passion in religious terms, as if the places our heroes play are secular cathedrals. It’s easy to see why. When you truly, deeply love a sports team, you give yourself up to something bigger than yourself, not just because your individuality is rendered insignificant in the mass of the crowd, but because being a fan involves faith. No matter the current form of your team, your team is worthy of blind devotion – or will soon redeem itself.”

    There can only be more football, and not less football. The more fans get it the merrier football is. And adding a third place match is one sure way of doing it.

    • Dr Cosmas Odoemena, Lagos.
  • 2023: What about North-Central?

    2023: What about North-Central?

    Gabriel Alewo Agude

     

    SIR: It is bewildering that all the open talks and surreptitious moves about which geo-political zone produces next president is still about Northwest, Southwest and South-south; the regions which have literarily monopolized political leadership of our country at the centre since the beginning of current democratic dispensation in 1999.  Undoubtedly, this is where the whole affair of who leads Nigeria at the expiration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term in 2023, becomes interesting and thought-provoking, especially, for North-Central Nigeria.

    It is stating the obvious that North-Central Nigeria has been condemned to playing the third fiddle in the political affairs and configuration of our great country in the current dispensation.

    This uncomplimentary historical development, which, of course, dates back to the first, second and the aborted third republics, is the encumbering group albatross which North-Central should no longer accept from those who believe that the political leadership of our great country at the centre is their exclusive preserve.

    North-Central Nigeria cannot not continue to be the slave-partner in the Nigerian Project because the 1999 Constitution, is unambiguously and explicitly against inequality in running the affairs of this nation. In particular, Section 17, subsection 1 of 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria states: “The state social order is founded on ideals of Freedom, Equality and Justice”.

    Implicit in the quoted portion of our constitution is the question: Where is the ‘ideals of freedom, equality and justice’ in a situation whereby three out of six geopolitical zones, believe and scheme in perpetuity, to be the ‘men on the horseback’; while the North-Central and other two zones remain on their knees as beasts of burden forever?

    It was Dr. Nelson Mandela who once told the world that, “As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, no one of us can truly rest.” Of course, Mandela’s warning is rife in that none of us can truly rest in Nigeria as ‘injustice and gross inequality’ persists in power-sharing as well as in all affairs and political configuration of our great country.

    The counsel here is that all political leaders concerned with what the shape or shapes of things will be in 2023, should take the recoil to their drawing boards and patriotically consider those other geopolitical zones that are yet to produce the president since 1999, especially the North-Central. For indeed, and as Aristotle immortally established, “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal”.

    • Gabriel Alewo Agude, Jos, Plateau State.
  • El-Rufai, NBA decision and the backlash

    El-Rufai, NBA decision and the backlash

    Fola Aiyegbusi

    SIR: I have been a keen observer of events in the Nigerian Bar Association since 1978, under the presidency of Chief B.O. Benson. The Nigerian Bar Association has contributed immensely to political development of contemporary Nigeria more than any other professional body in this country. The closest to it in my opinion is the Nigerian Medical Association of the Beko Ransome-Kuti years. All through the tenure of past NBA presidents, the presidency of late Mr Alao Aka-Bashorun in 1987-89 was remarkably special and widely acclaimed for its human and democratic rights campaign. He was an activist even as president. His NBA leadership took on the military administration of General Babangida on all known infractions.  The NBA became the voice of the common man under him. Aka-Bashorun had good companies in late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Olisa Agbakoba, Femi Falana and other courageous colleagues who fought the government to standstill on all issues ranging from increase in fuel pump prices to labour issues.  It was like the NBA and NLC were Siamese twins.

    This is in no way a prejudice or disrespect to the tenures of Fadairo, Prince Bola Ajibola, all through to Ebele Nwokoye before Aka-Bashorun. But the tenure of Aka-Bashorun was distinctly different.  Maybe because he was Fela’s friend and lawyer, his life was dedicated to the common man just like Fela’s. Therefore, the interest in NBA issues grew beyond lawyers who are technically the only qualified members of the Nigerian Bar Association.

    In my humble opinion, the presidential tenures of Mrs Priscilla Kuye, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, Mr Olisa Agbakoba SAN and Mr Rotimi Akeredolu SAN also endeared the public to the NBA and its activities. As it stands today, the issues of the NBA is beyond the NBA, especially its elections, conduct and annual conferences. It will be foolhardy for the NBA not have seen that the association has been politicised as it stands today.

    And one could ask why it should not, when it is its members that are the dramatis personas in the current Nigerian political space. So if, or when the current political dispensation collapses, God forbid, the NBA should be partly held responsible. Suffice to say that the association should also be duly credited too if the political dispensation succeeds and flourishes.

    Now to the issue of the annual conference invitation extended to politically exposed persons. The NBA to me is right in the first instance to have invited Governor Nasir El-Rufai to deliver a key note address at its annual conference. Almost all professional bodies do equally invite the governors of the state where their annual conferences are scheduled to hold. It is a honour done in good faith in regards to due protocols. Whatever qualifications required for other invited speakers are exclusive to the NBA. I am therefore shocked that the NBA did not envisage the backlash its decision to withdraw the invitation given to Governor El-Rufai has generated within the association. Any close watcher of events around Nigeria’s political sphere in the last decade of our democracy should expect this reaction.  And the big questions are, whether NBA was right in its action to withdraw the invitation based on a petition against the invitation?

    Is a person not presumed innocent until found guilty again? If the petitioners against his invitation claimed that El-Rufai has violated human rights, has he been convicted yet? Are the petitioners themselves not acting based on “ethno-tribal-political- religious bigotries”?

    Are some of them not apologists of a particular opposition party and former political office holders in the previous administration?

    Are their intentions genuine in restoring piece to Southern Kaduna if that were to be the main reason for the petition?

    I have read the reaction of the NBA president in the media and I sympathise with the innocent man while I am shocked and surprised that he didn’t expect what he got as backlash. The association stirred the hornets’ nest with the invitation and much more with the withdrawal. I am not a lawyer, but the petition against the invitation should have been thrown out in my opinion. This would have saved the association the unnecessary distraction it had found itself. I am still at cross roads that the NBA as an association does not know it is a MINI NIGERIA, where every issue under the sun is now seen from ethno-tribal-religious and political “eyes”

    • Fola Aiyegbusi,  hefzibar2006@yahoo.com.
  • Losing the education war with strike actions

    Losing the education war with strike actions

    By Ike Onyechere

    In the past, public universities (and other tertiary institutions) were held in high esteem as reservoirs of knowledge and wisdom and incubators for intellectuals and thinkers who were looked upon to chart new courses, to create new paradigms. From the bowels of tertiary institutions came professors who, from time to time, launch thunders of well-researched revolutionary solutions to social, economic, political and other societal problems. Ideas that transformed societies, institutions, systems, and lives. Lecturers worked and researched hard to be at the cutting edge of knowledge in their fields of study. Institutions were centres of excellence where lecturers served as mentors and role models to students and set examples of zero tolerance for academic dishonesty, examination malpractice, corruption and cultism in words and actions.  Lecturers commanded respect and students flocked to them to drink from their pools of their wisdom! They appreciated their jobs as higher calling for service to God and mankind.

    That was in the past. Today, the story of public universities is that of tragic decline, decay, incompetence, inexperience, lack of research, Doctorates for sale and loss of glory. Please don’t just take my word for it. In addition to stories of alarming events in public universities, please Google and read Prof. Steve Okecha’s 2008 ground-shaking book ”The Nigerian University: An Ivory Tower with Neither Ivory nor Tower”; a recent article by Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, vice-chancellor, Alex Ekwueme Federal University in Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State captioned ”Are Our Public Universities Going the Way of our Public Primary and Secondary Schools?”;  and the Report of Committee on Needs Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities presented to the National Economic Council by Prof. Raquayyatu Ahmed Rufa’I, the then Hon. Minister of Education.

    The decline is such that academic and non-academic staff in public educational institutions (primary, secondary and university) no longer wants their children to school in the public institutions in which they work. They prefer to send their children to private institutions.

    Nothing exposed the gap between Nigeria’s public and private universities like the current Covid-19 pandemic. Only a few public universities have been able to utilize open and distance learning systems to keep their students engaged during coronavirus pandemic. And only a few of them continued with research and development activities. On the other hand, private universities “have been operating at comparatively higher levels, having lectures online, taking tests and exams, having matriculations and even convocations, organizing webinars” as Prof Nwajiuba observed in his article.

    On August 7, some media houses carried the news of report presented by NUC to the effect that a total of 32 universities in the country were carrying out research on solutions to coronavirus in the country. One of the highlights of the report is that the Centre for the Genomics of infectious diseases at the Redeemers University (a private university) served as pioneer Covid-19 testing and screening centre.

    It is also noteworthy that The Times Higher Education World ranking of Universities (the best global university ranking system of 1400 universities across 92 countries audited by Price WaterhouseCoopers) ranked Covenant University (private university) the best in Nigeria for 2020 and 401 globally. University of Ibadan is ranked number 2 in Nigeria and 501 globally while University of Lagos ranks number 3 in Nigeria and 801 globally.

    Numerous pundits and scholars, including Prof Nwajiuba and Prof Okecha, have attributed a major reason of the decline to incessant strike actions with attendant negative consequences of: shutdowns of universities; disruptions of academic calendars; elongation of duration of courses; little time left for teaching; examinations without adequate preparations; awarding certificates for knowledge, skills and character neither gained nor acquired; low quality human resource base that falls short of learning and character requirements for transformational performance.

    To drive the point home, an overview of frequency of strike actions in tertiary institutions is in order using ASUU as an example. Between 1992 and 1999, ASUU went on strike seven times lasting an average of five months per strike. The 1992 strike lasted nine months while the strike of 1993 lasted five months. The strike of 2009 was total and indefinite. The 2013 strike lasted six months, 2016-one week and 2017-one month. The strike of 2018 started on November 4, 2018 and ended February 8, 2019. The 2020 strike started in March is still on. The Daily Trust of August 6, reported that The Joint Action Committee of Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSASU) declared strike action effective from the date of resumption of work after lifting the coronavirus lockdown. In effect, public universities will still not function even if the ASUU strike is called off because NASU and SSANU strikes will kick in.  Meanwhile I have not heard of any strike action in private universities.

    Many parents (including leaders of education ministries and agencies and academic and non-academic staff of public universities) frustrated by not being sure of graduation periods for their children due to instability of public universities are now increasingly migrating their children away from public universities to private universities, despite the cost. While some public universities have carrying capacity spaces to spare for new students, top-grade private universities are not able to admit all students seeking admissions. Surveys also indicate that private sector employers of labour now prefer to employ graduates of private universities.

    The only thing that now prevents parents from sending their children to private universities is money. If and when students loan become available in Nigeria, many public universities may close shop, as I envisage public universities going the way of public primary and secondary schools that are now attended by only the poorest of the poor.

    Let us be clear about one thing. Labour unions in the education sector play important roles in the progress and development of education in Nigeria in terms of fighting for resources for transformation of education. Without the role of unions in negotiating Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) and fighting for their implementation, the plight of workers in the public education sector may possibly have been worse.

    Yes, education unions have power and responsibility to fight for: making lecturers and teachers the highest paid workers in order to attract and retain the best and brightest; allocation of highest proportion of federal, state and local budgets to education; release of appropriated funds as and when due; implementation of CBAs; implementation of the universities autonomy act to liberate universities from the bureaucratic entanglements of civil service systems; etc.

    But the questions and puzzles for education unions to resolve include: how can unions secure, protect and defend the interests of their members without further damaging the public education sector that employs them? Are there alternatives to strike actions as collective bargaining strategy? Will strike actions achieve any meaning impact in the coronavirus and post-coronavirus era of dramatic decline in government revenue?

    The post-coronavirus era will be marked by worsening recession and increasing inability of government to fund its financial obligations including funding of CBAs and provision of sufficient grants. It will be an era of conflict escalation as interest groups struggle to get their fair share of available resources. Will strikes achieve anything when and if the government has no money, when sources of government revenue are in decline, when lenders are no longer willing to lend more money? Will education unions just shut down the sector with strike actions in a situation of formal or informal declaration of coronavirus force majeure by the government?

    Educationists and their unions are trained to think. And this the time for them to put on their thinking caps.

    • Onyechere, MFR is founding chairman, Exam Ethics Marshals International.