The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Oshiomhole and faceless concerned members of Edo APC

    A body which describes itself as Coalition of Concerned Members of APC Edo State caused to be published in The Nation of Friday, May 10, an advertorial with the title Need to Call Comr. Adams Oshiomhole to Order before He Vitiates Edo APC wherein it accused the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adams Oshiomhole of bias in the administration of party affairs in Edo State.  Although rich in comical value, the piece is illogical, baseless and represents an assault on truth.

    This hurriedly assembled nature of this faceless group manifested in its shoddy statement, filled with many inconsistencies and ill-thought propositions.

    To highlight a few, this group claimed that the victory of the Edo APC at the state House of Assembly elections was due to the acceptance of Godwin Obaseki and the desire of the people to give him a rubber stamp legislature. If this were true, then it runs contrary to the subsequent claim of the group that Adams Oshiomhole manipulated the process by imposing candidates against the will of the people and Obaseki. It is impossible to credit Obaseki for the eventual outcome and in the same breath, divorce him from the process leading to the same outcome. If Oshiomhole was responsible for the candidates fielded, and they won so convincingly, then maybe his choice reflects that of the people and majority of the party.

    The apparent thing here, and the source of pain and sleeplessness to these unknown concerned members, is that party members, across the length and breadth of the state, are beginning to realize that to secure electoral victory, they must distance themselves from the failure of Obaseki who is on the verge of committing political suicide. This awakening came with the failure of the party during the presidential and National Assembly elections, even though the governor, who is supposedly popular, immersed himself totally in the process and put his own political fate on the line. So daunting was the defeat and the emotional trauma that followed, that the governor required a vacation away from the state as a coping mechanism.

    It is this realization and consequent action, especially by the grassroots leadership, that is upsetting Obaseki and his henchmen. With no one else to blame, they have conveniently laid the blame at the feet of Oshiomhole who at the time was busy with national assignments.

    Furthermore, all the claims of anti-democratic practices by Oshiomhole seem to be premised on the fact that the national chairman may not be blessing the second term ambition of Governor Obaseki. This point shows clearly that those masquerading as “concerned members” are merely just underlings of Obaseki with growing frustration at the looming rejection of their candidate by the party and the public. They may need a crash course on what truly democracy is. For to them, anything outside support for Obaseki is anti-democratic. This is an aberration. Democracy is founded on one golden rule: the supremacy of the majority. It is the same way Oshiomhole, from the pool of multiple aspirants, chose to back Obaseki in 2016 that even now makes him entitled to a choice and a political opinion as a party man and stakeholder of the state. If he is convinced that Obaseki, a man he brought from obscurity to political prominence, has failed to continue on the development path he instituted, he reserves the right to offer his political support to whoever he deems fit. If by way or persuasion or lobbying, the majority accepts his position, just like they did in 2016, then Obaseki has no choice but to bow to this as others, such as Gen. Charles Airhavbere, Pius Odubu, Engr. Ogiemwonyi among others did in the same 2016. These are clear party politics and only those poorly equipped and without records to show run from this to seek intervention from above.

    Oshiomhole has done nothing that deviates from the norm. On the other hand, it is Obaseki and his lackeys who have displayed intolerance and near tyranny. This is seen in the shoddy suspension of Gen. Charles Arhiavbere (rtd) who everyone knows is preparing to challenge Obaseki for the party ticket. There is an attempt, endorsed by the governor, to purge the party of divergent views and institute a sycophantic worship of Obaseki despite his unpopularity and undisputed failure. This is what is undemocratic. If the concerned members are truly convinced that Godwin Obaseki has done well, both to the people of Edo State and his party men, then they shouldn’t seek to silence opposition through force or expulsion, but should instead test their popularity by submitting to a popularity contest. This was how it was done in 2016. Why are they trying to reinvent the wheel?

    Finally, Obaseki must make his mind on the position to take in his baseless and veiled assault on party officials. While his underlings continue to throw tantrums like unfed children in the media, the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, released a statement claiming that the relationship between the governor and his predecessor remains strong, while warning “detractors” to desist from spreading fake news. Well, fake news and false alarm is what these convenient “concerned members”, who are quite unconcerned about the failure and intolerance of Obaseki, are spreading.

    Adams Oshiomhole isn’t one to run from a fight. He fought powerful establishments and vested interests to redeem his mandate and free Edo from the clutches of vipers and suckers – who Obaseki is now openly flirting with in a desperate bid to win re-election. This attempt to railroad, or embarrass, the national chairman into adopting a candidate is dead on arrival. He was first Adams Oshiomhole of Edo, before becoming the national chairman of the APC. While his position as the leader of the party demands of him to institute a free and fair process devoid of personal bias, an ideal he has displayed to the chagrin of those seeking to exploit their closeness to him for personal gain, he reserves the right, as an individual and political leader, to a private choice in a political contest. After all, when all is said and done, come 2020, the governor will join the rest of Edo citizens to queue at the ballot and place his thumb against a party away from prying eyes of the public.

    Godwin Obaseki should look in the mirror and call his stooges, moonlighting as party men and concerned members, to order. This macabre dance of shame must stop.

     

    • Mayaki is a chieftain of the APC and former Chief Press Secretary to Governor Obaseki.

  • Endangered university system

    The modern world is anchored to education especially at the university level, understandably because robust human capital – the gateway to socio-political stability and industrialisation can never be engendered without it (education). Industrialisation is the strong vehicle for sustainable economic growth and development in myriad of ways. In other words, education is basically about the promotion of skilled manpower for development within the confines of local, regional and trans-oceanic geographies. Given this scenario, Nigeria can only be an exception at its own peril. This awareness underscored the reason why the University College, Ibadan was established in 1948, following the recommendations of the Elliot Commission of 1943. UCI was affiliated to the University of London. However, the project had some teething problems or challenges such as low enrolments of students and high dropout rate.

    Consequently, the federal government set up in April, 1959 the Ashby Commission of Inquiry to advise it on the higher education needs of Nigeria for the next 20 years. It is on record, that before the submission of the Ashby Report, the government of the Eastern Region had quickly founded its own higher institution called University of Nigeria, Nsukka. University of Ife, Ile-Ife (later re-named Obafemi Awolowo University) and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria were established in 1962 (in line with the Ashby Commission’s recommendations) by the Western and Northern governments respectively. In 1962, University of Lagos was created by the federal government. UCI became a full-fledged university during the same year (1962). By this token, University of Ibadan and University of Lagos became the first two federal universities in Nigeria.

    During this period, Nigeria had a population of about 45 million. The newly created Mid-Western Region also established its own university in 1970. It was named University of Benin. All these regional universities later metamorphosed into federal institutions. They are popularly called the first generation universities up to now. The number of universities in the country has been increasing exponentially since this period. Today, Nigeria has 180 universities and more than 60 “janjaweed” or “wuru-wuru” (unapproved) ones criss-crossing our landscape. The Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC), first established by the Act No.1 of 1974, is saddled with the responsibility of approving applications for establishing universities in the country, based on general and specific guidelines. This service and regulatory body underwent some amendments in 1993 under Decree No. 10 of 1993.

    Currently, over 300 applications for the establishment of new private universities are being considered by the NUC. Certainly, more individuals and organisations will soon submit their forms. Our dear First Lady, Aisha Buhari was/is also legitimately planning to establish a university to be named Muhammadu Buhari University. This is to be located somewhere in the north in honour of her husband. I’m not unaware of the need to create a greater space for qualified young candidates to gain admission to the university, since the human population of Nigeria is now 201 million. But in doing this, we must not cast caution to the winds. Private universities are not an aberration provided high standards occupy a conspicuous position in the scheme of things.

    Thus, for example, some private universities are doing very well in the United Kingdom and United States of America. Those in the UK include University of Buckingham, Regent’s University and St. Mary’s University. Again, US has such prominent private universities as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology. They are some of the best universities on our planet. Some of the relatively prominent private higher institutions in Nigeria are Covenant University, Ota; Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti; American University of Nigeria, Yola; Bowen University, Iwo and Igbinedion University, Okada. Although the above-mentioned schools are struggling to improve on the standards of their programmes including teaching and research, they are still light years away from the expected level of excellence.

    Poor funding leading to a gross lack of facilities and inability to attract very experienced, world-class teachers/professors remain a devil to wrestle with. This is in addition to the imposition of a very regimented life-style on students. Excessive regimentation on students is an anathema to creativity and/or innovation. Freedoms of thought and expression within the framework of common sense are sacrosanct. Excesses or draconian measures in the name of discipline reduce most private universities in Nigeria to the level of secondary schools. Professor Oloyede – the Registrar of JAMB was thoroughly dismayed recently at the low standards in most private universities in the country. His complaint was/is rooted in patriotism. Where are the other stake holders? They don’t care a hoot! Mediocre university education has now reached epidemic proportions.

    Today, almost every lawmaker in Abuja is struggling to get a university approved for his village for political and/or commercial reasons. Sometimes, these politicians see private universities as a status symbol. Most candidates who write JAMB examinations are too academically weak to become university students. They should go for vocational education instead of making a nuisance of themselves in the long run.  Half or “quarter”-baked graduates would not be able to remain afloat the stream of modern development. Consequently, Nigeria would begin to experience more economic imperialism.  Chinese, Japanese, Britons and Americans among other foreign nationals even with polytechnic certificates would be ruling our industrial landscape if NUC failed to halt the drift towards weak university education. Even our public universities need greater funding so that they can enlarge and enrich the available facilities with a view to admitting more qualified candidates. Sub-standard education is a danger to the heart and soul of any society.

    Permit me to illustrate here, an aspect of the state of the nation’s university education. The recently approved curriculum by NUC for Archaeology was a retrogressive change. Old courses that had been expunged by the departmental/central authorities in Ibadan more than three decades ago are now being showcased as products of a new curricular reform. Such courses include Pleistocene Geography, World Prehistory including Archaeology of the Near East and Science in Archaeology. NUC wants us to be teaching “Archaeology of Jericho” in Nigeria in the 21st century. This is exceedingly ridiculous!  Indeed, this is the time we should be engaging more than hitherto in Archaeology as if society matters. That is, archaeology with a special emphasis on knowledge applications. West Africa has to be the runway as` we focus on archaeo-tourism and peace/conflict management among others. The “Walls” of Jericho-encumbrances to academic excellence and market-sensitivities must be dismantled now. We would be doomed to greater failure if the federal government refused to rescue Nigeria which is sinking fast to the bottom of the ocean of modern education and development. This simply means that Nigeria’s university educational system is in dire need of a radical overhaul involving federal, state and private institutions. Most of them are to a large degree, a mockery of factories for intellectual productions.

     

    • Prof Ogundele is of Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.

  • How to save planet earth

    The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth– Chief Seattle (1786 -1866), Suquamish and Duwamish leader.

    April 22 of every year is International Mother Earth Day, a day set aside for civic action and participation in protecting our environment and preserving planet earth. This day reminds us of critical action we need to take to protect our environment. Earth Day informs us about what we have and what we are losing by the impacts our activities have on planet earth. Earth Day is important in that it keeps man in constant check of how he has been diligent in safeguarding what nature has bestowed on mankind – all the creatures and the planet we live on.

    This year’s Earth Day theme, ‘Protect our species’, is a clarion call to man to protect threatened and endangered species. In the complex web of life, and by virtue of the way the cosmic Host has designed His creatures, all living things have an intrinsic value with each playing specialized role. These threatened and endangered species include but not limited to bees, whales, giraffes, insects, coral reefs and elephants. Human-driven activities are chiefly responsible for the rapid reduction and subsequent extinction of wildlife populations. Some of these species of animals become extinct as a result of habitat loss, pollution, poaching, deforestation and climate change.

    About five years ago, it was estimated globally that 41% of amphibians are facing extinction; 22% of flowering plants are at extinction risk; and about 13% of all birds are disappearing from the planet. These staggering figures of mass extinction are alarming because in the long run, we depend on nature for survival, so mankind is also at risk as nature depreciates or reduces. In reality, it is the world’s poorest people whose livelihood depends on nature that are mostly affected when nature is damaged.

    According to a study by Yale ecologists, in the Nature Climate Change publication, by 2070 increased human land-use is expected to put 1,700 species of amphibians, birds and mammals at greater extinction risks by shrinking their natural habitats. This goes to show that as man increases coverage of land-use, some species become extinct. By mere expansive migration of man, some plant and animal species are dislodged from their natural habitats. Humanity has wiped out and driven to extinction about 60% of animal populations since 1970, a report reveals. Man’s actions and inactions largely determine all or part of the extinction rate of these threatened species.

    The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), last year, said the country’s wildlife was under threat. The foundation revealed that 148 animals and 146 plant species found in Nigeria were threatened, with some species near extinction. The foundation therefore recommended that the National Park Service should be strengthened to enhance its capacity for wildlife conservation and protection: and to also increase awareness and education on intrinsic values of wildlife to the society. Swift penalties for illegal poachers and hunters would deter others from harvesting wildlife illegally.

    Some of these endangered species have however received succour at zoological gardens that  act as their safe haven. Although not all animal species confined to the zoos are endangered, some are being prepared for release into their natural habitats. Zoos help greatly in the protection of species facing extinction. Scientists have also said another way to protect endangered species is to create protective reserves where they can breed naturally. To this end, in the past and till date, these animal parks have helped thwart the extinction of threatened species. Gone is the era where animal parks were created for entertainment only. Modern zoos now focus on wildlife conservation, education and research.

    Some experts have argued that these caged animal species in the zoos have their natural ways of living distorted and eventually destroyed. This is because these endangered species will not enjoy the freedom they would enjoy in their natural habitats due to confinement.  Scientists who agree with this school of thought that zoos are not the best place for endangered species also believe animals born in the zoo would take a very long time in adapting to the environment when released to the wild.

    Protecting our species requires that mankind will embrace nature and its values. The safety or otherwise of threatened species in their natural habitats and indeed planet earth lies with us, given the impact of our activities directly or indirectly on the environment.

    We must radically change our relationship with nature in order to stem the rot of mass extinction. The best way to save endangered and threatened species is to protect the special places where they live. This way, we offer ourselves an unending protection not only for our environment but also for planet earth. The earth will then be a liveable place for others when we leave. Let me close with this Native American proverb, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

     

    • Ojewale wrote in via kayodeojewale@gmail.com.

  • When excuses and promises are not enough

    We have always found it convenient to blame everyone else but ourselves for our woes.  We close our eyes and ignore the lofty things that other nations are doing to make life comfortable for their citizens.  Our people live in fear; there is no security of lives and property. There is a huge army of unemployed youths.  It has gone so bad that some desperate youths are harvesting and selling their organs just to survive.  There is no friendly environment to invest.  Law enforcement is at its abysmal level and there is no redeeming feature in sight; although we may choose to remain in denial as is customary with us.

    We blame European Imperialism and colonial exploitation for our underdevelopment and lop-sided official bureaucracy and ethnic suspicion. We blame the military for the stagnation and distortions of our democracy. We have continued to blame the opposition and past regimes for the endless circle of corruption, unemployment and infrastructural deficit. Today, some traditional rulers are being fingered to giving security information to bandits and insurgents. Does the government truly share intelligence with traditional rulers and council chairmen, one would ask?

    We engage in ceaseless distractions fighting over political positions without an idea how to add value to the lives of our people while people in other climes harness their natural resources and talents for the good of their people. Pakistan and India both had similar colonial experiences like Nigeria but today, the two countries are nuclear powers and have gone ahead to join the league and race for space exploration. They have corruption in these countries too but what have made the difference are purposeful leadership, effective law enforcement and application of the rule of law without discrimination as to ethnicity and religion.

    How many foreign leaders and government officials from America, Europe or even Asia come to Nigeria to buy properties and hide stolen money meant for projects and infrastructure in their countries?   Our officials and their minions feel no qualms looting the treasury and stashing away their loot in offshore accounts with the money lying idle or used by those countries to develop their economies.  Most Latin American countries came under military rule at one point in their political history and have today put the vestiges of siege military mentality behind them.  For us, we are still romanticizing what appears like garrison diktat and military dictatorship in circumvention of the rule of law as a model to solve our socio-political problems.  There still remain large scale corruption, nepotism and abysmal failure of governance across all spheres of life.  We have political elite who will not let go the sectarian and clannish tendencies of religion and ethnicity that have robbed us the true Nigerian identity.

    There is hardly any country in the world that was not under the dominion of one conquering power or the other; the frontline countries of America and Britain inclusive.  After 20 years of civilian rule, we should get down to business and stop the blame game.  Our leaders should stop giving excuses and making promises but go ahead to deliver on good governance and their electoral promises.  As a nation, we seem to have the misfortune of a political leadership that is mentally lazy, preferring to go and be explaining our problems and what they are doing at home to America and Europe audience to get approval rating.   I do not know why our leaders feel compelled to go and be explaining to the Americans and Europeans that our elections were free, fair and credible.  One cannot fathom why it is an obligation to go and be explaining to the Atlantic Council of Chatham House that we are serious in the fight against corruption and insecurity. One cannot understand why it is imperative to go and be explaining to foreign governments that we are creating job and fighting unemployment.

    Our leaders owe it to the citizens of this country to give account of their stewardship and not to go on forum shopping to any foreign country or global financial institutions seeking for relevance, endorsement and looking for handout in the midst of our vast resources. They should convince us at home and tell the nation what they are doing with our natural endowment and huge resources. They should convince us that the strategy for dealing with security problems in the country is working. We should see actions in dealing with unemployment, infrastructural deficit etc.

    Since 1999, insecurity and insurgency have taken root very deeply that the state seem truly helpless.  Both the military and other security services including the police appear overwhelmed. Rather than being innovative, the military and the police prefer to manufacture catchy exercise code names and media campaign instead of carrying the battle to the domain of the bandits and insurgents.  With all the python dance and puff adder, it was perhaps only the elections duties fought like war that the security agents have fought and won. Commuters have virtually abandoned Abuja-Kaduna road due to activities of criminals who operate with the audacity of Mexican drug lords with territorial dominion. The Nigeria Police Force launched what it called Operation Puff Adder to rid the road of criminals but in less than one week in what appears to be like a road show, they have declared the road safe; same ad hoc and fire brigade approach to security.

    There are trails of tears and blood in Taraba State while Zamfara State has become a story of pathos and anathema from the scourge of the bandits.   Kaduna has remained a killing field.  In the northeast with the degraded insurgents as we are told by the government, bombs are still exploding, taking toll on vulnerable civilians while troops are still dying from booby traps, mines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The other day, during his First Quarter Conference in Jaji, the Chief of Army Staff was quoted as saying that the media should not give publicity to the insurgents. Well, the COAS may choose to patronize and cajole the members of the fourth estate of the realm but truth be told, he should go and destroy the terrorists infrastructure and platforms and deny them permanently of freedom of action.

    Over 100 Chibok school girls are still in captivity after five years of their abduction. We are still mired in deep security challenges across the country and the approach of the government and the security forces appear skin-deep and cosmetic; blaming opposition and promising after every incident to bring perpetrators to book.

    In some parts of Nigeria today, citizens pay protection fees to criminal groups while the security people look the other way.  Like the PDP before it, the APC led government is fixated on the campaign that they are not able to deliver on security, infrastructure and the economy due to the opposition.  If PDP failed and was clueless for their inability to handle the deteriorating security challenges and allowed over 200 Chibok schools girls to be herded away in broad daylight, the APC-led government is no less guilty in allowing the same experience to be repeated in Dapchi where the redoubtable martyr of faith, Leah Sharibu has remained in captivity.  Why would a serious country allow young school children, girls to remain in captivity without following the terrorists with rain of sulphur and thunder?

    Is the next level likely going to bring reprieve to the nation?  Are we going to see a more robust way to deal with security issues and drive the economy towards a purposeful direction? Just the other day, we woke up to see a return to fuel queue at the gas station because IMF had advised the total removal of fuel subsidy. Which subsidy again I asked myself after all we have been told before the current regulated price of N145 per litre of fuel?  Oil has remained a beast of burden of our economy and the government has ignored the maintenance of our refineries.  We have not considered building new ones for the purpose of refining for local consumption instead of this unproductive policy of giving out the crude cheaply to foreigner companies and import at a higher tariff and being exploited by the local compradors and their collaborators in government.  It is time for the government to settle down to business and stop the excuses and blame game.

     

    • Kebonkwu Esq, writes from Abuja.

  • Nigerian state and its many orphans: reflecting on Helen Paul

    Almost every Nigerian knows who Helen Paul is. She is that star comedienne. Just one out of the few ladies in the trade, who burst the male dominated genre to prove the age-old saying that what a man can do, a woman can do even better. And Helen Paul is very good at stand-up comedy. I have listened to her jokes several times. Her uniqueness derives from her capacity to mimic the piping voice of a teenage girl. One that is widely celebrated is where she presented herself as a child who caused trouble between her parents because she told her mum that when she called her dad, it was a female voice that responded. On hearing this report, the mother went into a fit of tantrum: “This man is cheating on me!” Helen Paul delivered this “mother’s” lament in a mother’s voice before reverting to the child’s voice. When properly queried by a neighbour about what the female voice on the phone said, the “child” responded that the female voice always says “the number you are calling is not available at the moment.” This is hilarious! And what is all the more so is the perfect mimicry of innocence the comedienne is able to generate through the voice of the child.

    However, Helen Paul is far from being an innocent child. Or, to put it more brutally, her innocence was dashed immediately she surfaced into the world from a society that stigmatized those who have been unfortunate to have fallen to society’s twisted sides. From her own testimony, her mother gave birth to her as a child of rape. We live in a society that is so puritanical but so hypocritical that it polices rape and immorality which it permits within its dark crannies. This is a society that allows the raped to be traumatized while the rapist goes free. When the woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus, the man she committed adultery with was not there for persecution. When a rape occurs, the victim is compelled by the prospect of society’s scorn and stigma to hide in shame and remained traumatized by forced silence and the consequent inner psychological agony. The society forces the victim of rape to blame herself. All those who take delight in Helen Paul and her comedy would never have known about her mother’s many years of pain and shame. They would never have been able to imagine the horror of giving birth to a child conceived out of rape. No one would be able to imagine the pure agony of raising Helen in silence and without the full joy of being able to narrate the circumstance of her conception. Maybe only mothers would be able to imagine the trepidation with which the mother behold her child every day, always wondering what she would turn out to become.

    Well, Helen Paul broke free of that stigma and rose high as a stand-up comedian. She brought laughter to many hearts and home whereas her mother never had the benefit of laughter while raising her. If this story had ended here, it would not have merited more than a first glance as one of those stories that come out of Nigeria as a postcolonial state. We came to know about Helen Paul’s mother’s situation because Helen herself bagged a doctorate in creative arts at the University of Lagos, the first comedian that I know to have achieved this feat. And she went on her Instagram page to celebrate and dedicate the degree to her longsuffering mother. I cannot reproduce the message here, but it is a piece of heart-wrenching message that speaks beyond her mother to the Nigerian state at large: “I Helen Paul dedicate this to my mum. You gave birth to me out of rape. They told you I wouldn’t amount to anything.” She narrated that she grew up being called a bastard, and people taunted her always that she would not amount to anything in life. Yet, she declared, her mother was confident that if the child of the mentally challenged can survive, God will watch over Helen. Well, that God watched over her not just to grow to be tops in her chosen profession, but to be able to get a doctorate as well, and to dedicate it to her mother.

    Helen Paul’s story is just one out of thousands that comes out of Nigeria. Indeed, her success is just a rare one out of millions of children—abused, helpless, hapless, orphaned, homeless, raped and born out of rape—that are narrated on the daily news as a staple for already bruised consciences. Nigeria is home to abandoned children, single mothers, pregnant teenagers, miscreants, vagabonds, the mentally, physically and visually challenged, armed robbers, thugs, touts, destitute, drug addicts, party hoodlums and so many other socially impoverished persons that now serve as the badge of Nigeria’s profile of misery. Despite Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, and the flag off of democratic governance, there is no definite transformation of the country’s productivity profile in ways that could empower its citizens to transform their own conditions. Unfortunately, democratic governance in Nigeria comes with the added crises of unbridled killings from ethnic rivalry, unmitigated bloodshed as a result of terrorism, unending electoral violence everywhere, and the unceasing looting of the common weal by those saddled with the affairs of state.

    In the 2018 Hanke’s Misery Index, Nigeria is rated as the sixth most miserable country in the world, behind Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Iran and Turkey. This Index demonstrates that the happiness of the citizens of a state, and their prosperity, is linked to the state’s capacity to generate economic growth. This point is made in a much more expansive manner by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson in their 2012 bestseller, Why Nations Fail. The authors’ simple argument is that the difference between prosperity and poverty in nations is a function of the kind of politics and decisions that the leadership of those countries decide to play and to make. If a country decides to open up its political space and therefore build participatory democracy, it would lead to democratic institutions and probably generate good economic decisions. On the other hand, if a country decides to close up its political space and become authoritarian, there is the likelihood that it will build an extractive structure that will impoverish the state and its people. This argument tells us a lot about those nations that have failed. And the Misery Index is the profile of failed states in which the leadership have consistently made decisions that consigned the citizens to untold misery.

    When you drive along any major Nigerian highway, in itself a glaring index of underdevelopment, you will see Nigerians in various states of misery—young children either begging for money or selling wares and running after potential customers; mentally ill Nigerians in various level of nudity and degradation; poverty-stricken Nigerians trying to make ends meet; and a horde of the unemployed and the unemployable, together with thugs and touts and pickpockets. The fundamental question which goes to the very heart of Nigeria’s policy architecture and governance framework is: How many of these miserable citizens are able to rise above the limitation of a postcolonial context like Nigeria? How many deaths does the Nigerian state record daily from existential limitations and from pure misery and poverty? The trajectory of misery is that it represents a vicious cycle: misery and poverty reproduce themselves in Nigeria. A child born on the street or into poverty stays in it till death.

    The Helen Paul narrative is a story of grit and determination, and of breaking free from the shackles of social limitations. It is the story of running with a vision in a postcolonial context where the state is incapacitated but hostile and rapacious. On the one hand, the mother who suffered the agony of rape believed that her child would turn out as a star, despite society’s shaming and stigma. On the other hand, the child born of rape somehow took the baton of hope and ran with it until she got to the point of applause. Helen Paul made herself a solemn promise not to be incapacitated by the Nigerian state and her gloomy youth unemployment statistics. She picked up on her passion of comedy and her intellectual aspiration for a doctorate. Today, she has both, and the sky and Nigeria are no longer a limit to her glory. But the story is also a warning to the leadership of Nigeria. For every Helen Paul that rises to the top out of the dark depth of postcolonial obscurity and crippling deprivation, there are many more that perish in silence and in the dark places of the silenced graves. Let us then imagine what happens when the Nigerian leadership wakes up to her responsibility over her citizens. Imagine how many Helen Paul would be capacitated to emerge as the base from which Nigeria can launch a new productivity paradigm. Imagine how many parents would be empowered to nurture children who will turn out to be good citizens of Nigeria.

     

    • Prof. Olaopa is Executive Vice-Chairman,

    Ibadan School of Government and Public

    Policy (ISGPP), Ibadan

  • Appraising reforms in Lagos’ justice sector

    For any government to achieve a safer, secured, nonviolent and more prosperous society, a functioning justice sector that guarantees human rights and freedom, protects investments and encourages economic development is a necessity.

    In view of this reality, the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, under the watch of the current Attorney General and Honourable Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Kazeem Adeniji, SAN, has embarked on significant reforms that have greatly helped in enhancing the administration of justice in the state. One of such is the establishment of Mobile Courts through which quick dispensation of justice is being ensured.

    The courts summarily try traffic as well as environmental offenders and mete out immediate punishments to those convicted. This has helped in decongesting the courts, thereby reducing occurrence of indecisive cases.

    Also, an online platform where the Laws of the State could be easily accessed was created. Investors and prospective investors have tremendously benefitted from this as it enables them to make informed decisions about investing in the State. Aside this, it has also helped them to appreciate the various legal protections available for their persons and investment. This is particularly a reflection of a strong desire to drive the administration of justice through innovation and technology.

    As part of the drive to embrace technology in combating criminal tendencies in the State, a Crime Data Register (CDR) was created. CDR is an electronic repository of information about suspects and offenders who pass through any of the prisons in Lagos State.  It involves the participation of Stakeholders in the criminal justice process, namely; the Lagos State Judiciary, the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, the Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Police and the Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Prison Service. Any convicted offender in the State will thus have his/her details electronically registered.

    Furthermore, the inauguration of the Lagos State Law Reform Commission is a major step towards deepening democracy and the Rule of Law in the state as well as the country. This Commission has the statutory mandate to facilitate the process of reviewing our laws with a view to making appropriate recommendations for the repeal or amendment of such laws or provisions that have become obsolete and bring them in tune with current realities.

    Similarly, the state’s Anti Land Grabbing Law reflects the thinking of the state government in using the instrumentality of the law to reduce the stress that Lagos residents pass through in the hand of land speculators. Interestingly, the state government has been enforcing the anti-land grabbing law against anyone found wanting, no matter how highly placed in the society. This, no doubt, is good for the society.

    Similarly, in line with the commitment of the state government to provide adequate support to the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) on its mission to ensure that tax payers comply with tax laws and ensure full tax compliance through prosecution of defaulters, the Rapid Tax Prosecution Unit was set up at the Ministry of justice. This has ensured some level of compliance with tax defaulters approaching LIRS to offset their outstanding tax liabilities.

    In an effort to eliminate cases where criminals escape justice due to non-availability of facilities to conduct necessary forensic tests and keeps records of evidences. The state government inaugurated the Lagos State DNA& Forensic Centre which has aided and assisted law enforcement in the investigation of crimes. The Center has equally helped in training security agencies on methods to secure the crime scene; document same with photography, video and diagrams to ensure the appropriate collection, identification, handling and packaging of forensic evidence. It is important to mention that in the first six months of operation, the LSD&FC received over 350 applications covering different cases and has resolved over 50 of such cases as at December 2018.

    Other laudable reforms in the state justice sector include the establishment of a Sexual Offences and Child Justice at the State’s Ministry of Justice to monitor the prosecution of Sexual Offences in the State, the introduction of Lagos State Real Estate Litigation Electronic System, the promulgation of new laws such as the Anti-Kidnapping Law, the Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Law, Lagos State Electric Power Reform Law, among others.

    While the state has not really reached Eldorado in terms of adherence to law and order, it is, however, crucial to stress that much has been done to accelerate the dispensation of justice. Perhaps, a major reason why the Lagos success story has not been told from the justice sector’s perspective is because, in our clime, the yardstick for measuring government’s achievements is largely based on physical development.

    Ironically, the actual engine that oils the wheel of socio-economic development and growth in the State is at the Ministry of Justice. People pay tax, which is the golden key to economic development; because the law demands they do so. Equally, physical and social infrastructure development, environment, health, business investment, education and tourism development all have a significant input from the justice sector. Herein lies the significance of far reaching reforms in the state judicial sector.

     

    • Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

  • Eighth NASS and tobacco regulations

    The promise by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara that the 8th National Assembly will speedily adopt the draft National Tobacco Control Regulations communicated to it in December 2018 by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) is commendable and should be actualized as a parting gift to Nigerians.

    Dogara at a recent Interactive Session on the National Tobacco Control Regulation organised by the House Committee on Delegated Legislation in Abuja, said that the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015, has widened the areas where tobacco smoking is prohibited in Nigeria in furtherance of the right of every person to a clean and healthy environment and protection from exposure to second-hand smoke.

    He quoted a recent report by the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) which estimated that the Nigerian government spends as much as $591 million yearly on treatment of patients suffering from tobacco-induced diseases to justify the need for prompt action.

    For the public health community nothing could be more reassuring than this pledge at a time that public confidence in the Parliamentary approval for the Regulation seems to be waning. The National Assembly had indeed been quiet on the Regulations since 2018 when the FEC communicated the draft document to it for consideration.

    The euphoria that has greeted this news notwithstanding, Nigerians do not want a flat regulation that does not address the crucial recommendations of the World Health Organisation – Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WH0-FCTC) as captured in the NTC Act.

    This is why the work of Simon Arabo-led committee on delegated legislation on the tobacco control regulation must be commended for seeking the input of civil society and other stakeholders to ensure the regulations reflect popular yearnings.

    On its part, the Federal Ministry of Health being the custodian of the health of Nigerians has carefully crafted the draft regulations in consultation with other stakeholders to ensure that it is of the same standard as is obtained in other parts of the world.

    One of the draft regulations requires that tobacco product manufacturers, importers or distributors submit a report to the Federal Minister of Health at the end of every calendar year, and not later than at the end of the first quarter of the succeeding calendar year, stating among other things the quantity of tobacco products produced; quantities exported from Nigeria and their audited annual statement of account.

    This requirement, the Ministry believes, is in tandem with recommendations of the WHO FCTC that Parties institute record-keeping mechanisms as part of strategies to monitor tobacco use and prevention policies. For a nation like Nigeria already inundated with unregistered tobacco products that are openly sold in the open market, no less a recommendation is required.

    On cigarette packs, the Ministry wants the age-long text warning which says ‘The Federal Ministry of Health warns that smokers are liable to die young’ to be replaced with a combination of text and graphic pictorial health warning messages. These messages are to be printed on 80% of the principal display surfaces of all tobacco product packages, as is practised in other nations that have equally signed, ratified and are now implementing the WHO-FCTC to the letter.

    India and China for instance, apply 85% combination of text and graphic pictorial health warning messages on their tobacco packages. African countries like the Gambia apply 75% of text and graphic pictorial health warning messages on their tobacco packages. Cameroon, Chad, and Senegal apply 70% each. The aim of this is to reduce the attractiveness of tobacco products, eliminate the effects of tobacco packaging as a form of advertising and promotion, and increase the notice-ability and effectiveness of health warnings, among others. Tobacco products will also not contain any other text, images, symbols, colours, signs, or other contents, including any trademarks or brand imaging, in whole or part.

    To ensure that the nation’s tobacco control policies are insulated from the tobacco industry meddling, the Regulations reinforce the fact that infiltration of tobacco control by any entity with conflict of interest will jeopardize the goals of the public health policy and sets the basic standard for public officials engaging with tobacco entities.

    For violation of the law there are financial penalties also.  Section 37 of the Act states that property forfeited to the State shall be channeled into a Tobacco Control Fund (TCF) established. Examples of countries that are implementing such measure are Botswana, Egypt, Iceland, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Romania, and Thailand.

    With the far-reaching nature of the draft Regulations on public health, it is not out of place to express fears that the tobacco industry might throw spanner in the wheel of its progress. Their aversion to licensing of tobacco products in the country and graphic health warnings the size that the Health ministry is proposing might just be snippets of what they may be cooking up to possibly derail the approval of the regulations as the June 2019 expiration of the 8th National Assembly nears.

    If that should happen, God forbid, the entire process of getting the FEC to approve the draft put together by the Health Ministry will start all over again and possibly take another four years to reach the point we currently find ourselves.

    There are no better words that capture the moment as what is credited to the Minister of State for Health, Professor Osagie Ehanire in the Health ministry’s memorandum to the House Committee that, it is clearly better and cheaper to prevent tobacco-linked diseases than to cure them. This is what the approval of the Regulations mean and this is what Nigerians demand of the 8th National Assembly.

     

    • Achike writes from Minna, Niger State

  • Improving JAMB’s conduct of UTME

    The just concluded 2019/2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which had over 1.8 million registered candidates, conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), was not hitch-free as some candidates complained of inability to be verified by the thumbprint scanner during the biometrics verification exercise. Since the only condition for allowing candidates in to the exam centres is by the biometric verification process, those whose thumbprints could not be confirmed by the computer were not allowed in the exam hall, while others were delayed but later allowed in after several attempts. Other irregularities that marred the UTME were poor functionalities of network servers of some Computer Based Test (CBT) centres and late kick-off of the exam. It was in fact worse at some CBT centres where candidates experienced abrupt network cut-off midway into their exam only for the network to be restored few minutes to the end of the exam. These candidates couldn’t complete their exams within the given time as the time was running while network went off and they watched helplessly.

    One would have expected JAMB to do better than it did given the ample space of time it had to prepare after the initial exam postponement occasioned by the general elections. With the exam board’s experience over the years in conducting CBT exams after phasing out the paper and-pencil test, one would expect smooth conduct but it wasn’t so. Few weeks before the commencement of the examination, JAMB declared full readiness for the conduct, yet there were many complaints of hitches at some CBT centres. It will be recalled that some accredited CBT centres were de-registered early this month by JAMB on grounds of infractions like technical hitch, deceit and fraud. All these measures taken by JAMB were apparently not enough as some CBT centres still had many challenges, particularly thumbprint scanner rejection of candidates, network issues and abrupt system shutdown.

    Candidates and other keen observers of this year’s UTME have accused JAMB of double standard in their mode and method of fielding questions to different batches of candidates who sat for the exam this year. It is not new that the exam body, in a bid to curb exam malpractice and other forms of cheating during exam, had long adopted the “different-type-question” method. And this has been in use for a while. This method involves setting many questions in a particular subject and then randomly dishing out the required number for each candidate. This implies that two students writing the same subject at the same time may likely not have the same questions. This is good and highly commendable. But the allegation of double standard may have indeed played out when, for example, in Physics, some candidates claimed they had many calculation-based questions, while others said many of their questions were non-calculation related. Now juxtaposing these two claims, one can infer that some candidates may be lucky to get easy questions and others, difficult ones. Although the double standard allegation may not be justified since all questions (whether calculation-related or not) were taken from the required JAMB’s syllabus for that year.

    It was also observed that the poor computer skills of some candidates may have affected their effective use of the computers assigned to them. JAMB is exonerated from this as it is not the board’s statutory responsibilities to teach candidates how to operate and handle computers.  This challenge can be tackled head-on from the grassroots – compulsory teaching of computer studies in all primary and secondary schools!

    JAMB has also created some form of worry and concern by the delay in releasing the results even days after the completion of the whole exam as against the previous years when results were released within 72 hours of taking the exam. The exam board however said it is screening the results of candidates, hence the delay. JAMB said the screening was informed by the fraudulent activities identified during the exam.

    JAMB’s head of media and information, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, few days ago said: “No results have been released yet. Yes, the results are all ready, but we are yet to release them because they are still being ratified. The board is carrying out all the checks and balances regarding these results by way of viewing the CCTV camera as well as attend to all findings brought before it while the examination lasted. The release of the result will be publicised as soon as we are through with all the board has set out to achieve. We will let the public know. Candidates should not bother themselves going to any cyber cafe to check any result. Our result check has been standardised. We will forward the results to the respective telephone numbers of those candidates who are deserving of it.”

    A weekly official bulletin published by JAMB during the exam stated that, as a result of its intelligence gathering mechanism, the board was able to uncover and arrest over 50 fraudulent persons who are professional examination writers in centres spread across the country. These arrested impersonators were mainly Master’s degree holders and tertiary institutions graduates. According to the bulletin, the development led to the decision of the board to revalidate all biometrics of candidates that have taken the board’s examination in recent times. The bulletin further stated that the timely action will enable the board to not only fish out and dismantle this registration cartels and racketeers but also bring them to book along with their collaborators.

    How long will the said screening of candidates’ result take? Why were the perpetuators of the fraud and malpractice not nabbed during the exam? What will be the fate of candidates who were disallowed from taking the exam because the computer scanner could not verify their thumbprints? What about those affected by internet failure and malfunctioning computers in some CBT centres? These questions are waiting for answers from JAMB.

    For smooth conduct of subsequent examinations, I urge JAMB to be more proactive and ensure that contingency plans are always put in place to immediately address any form of challenge that may arise in the course of the exam. The examination board should carry out a thorough evaluation and reassessment of the conduct of this year’s examination and look into areas where there were hiccups. Genuine and substantiated complaints from all quarters should be well examined by JAMB for improvement in the years ahead.

    The examination body is also advised to post candidates to centres close to them. The late kick-off must also be addressed in subsequent examinations by the board. If these complaints are thoroughly perused and worked upon, a repeat of all the irregularities that marred this year’s UTME will be averted.

     

    • Ojewale wrote in from Idimu, Lagos via kayodeojewale@gmail.com

  • Inquisitorial vs. adversarial legal system (1)

    The Nigerian legal system is in deep crisis not because the Code of Conduct Tribunal controversially convicted Rt. Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen, who until recently was its chief shepherd. That is just one manifestation of the deep moral crisis facing the country. The challenge is more fundamental and deeper, and it is surprising that the major political operators are wishing to harvest cereal from a root crop.

    President Muhammadu Buhari for one has perennially lamented the inability of the legal order to meet his expectations in the war against corruption. Of note, many consider his best efforts as a huge joke. On the lower rung, the ordinary man complains about a duplicitous legal system which keeps him in prison awaiting trial without end. While the ‘big man’ gets away with murder, the ‘small man’ could get imprisoned for walking on a lonely road at night.

    So, when President Buhari bemoans the failure of judges to convict with dispatch, manifestly corrupt defendants, he is merely expressing ignorance of the criminal justice system Nigeria inherited. Again, when the ordinary man is left languishing in jail for decades awaiting a lawyer he can’t afford, to prove his innocence, he is merely a victim of an awkward legal system too expensive for his poor pockets.

    This column believes the underpinning crisis the Nigeria legal system face lie in the adversarial legal system we practice. Of note, the Nigerian laws derive principally from received English laws, statutory enactments and judicial precedents. On the periphery are the customary laws and Islamic legal practices. Understandably, Nigeria being a child of the British Empire, her laws are modelled after the English legal system which is adversarial in philosophy. Similar legal system applies in what is regarded as common law countries, including the United States of America.

    On the other hand is the inquisitorial legal system which is applicable in civil law countries, including France, Italy amongst several others. The inquisitorial legal system is defined by Wikipedia as “a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case.” Perhaps that is what the president wishes for when he laments at the slow pace of the courts to get into the arena to get thing going.

    Perhaps also that is what will aid the poor detainee awaiting trial, a trial forsaken by the lawyer he could not afford, and a court awaiting the legal fireworks necessary to reach a judgment in adversarial legal system. Interestingly, section 35(5) of the 1999 as amended provides: “every person who is charged with criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty.” (Emphasis mine).

    In what appears to be his determination to fight corruption, the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay out of frustration scuffles with that constitutional provision. At a recent workshop organised by PACAC and National Judicial Institute for judges, the learned SAN lamented that while corruption cases against prominent politicians linger, the culprits get elected into higher offices with immunity against prosecution.

    While one sympathizes with Professor Sagay over the incongruity of allowing an alleged bandit gain promotion and immunity from prosecution, he forgets that some of the former governors who finished their second term in 2007 and were immediately charged to court are yet to be convicted in 2019, despite the huge resources expended by the state in prosecuting them. Unlike the poor who are however left in prison awaiting their own trial, the political elites Professor Sagay referred to are freely roaming the major capitals of world on bail, and with the constitution presuming them innocent, they can get elected into higher offices. No doubt, such incongruity pooh-poohs the legal system.

    To make matters worse, section 135(1) of the Evidence Act, 2011, provides: “If the commission of a crime by a party to any proceeding is directly in issue in any proceeding civil or criminal, it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.” So by a combination of section 35(5) of the 1999 constitution as amended and section 135(1) of the Evidence Act, the ‘big man’ charged with corruption case is deemed innocent, and allowed to deploy his stolen resources to make it extremely difficult for the state to prove beyond reasonable doubt his guilt, even when a blind can see the huge resources from corrupt practices.

    To add salt to the festering state injury, laid waste by corrupt practices, subsection 2 of section 135 of the Evidence Act provides: “The burden of proving that any person has been guilty of a crime or wrongful act is, subject to the provisions of section 139 of this Act, on the person who asserts it, whether the commission of such act is or is not directly in issue in the action.” So after laying waste the state through corrupt practices, the bedraggled state is further dragged through a duplicitous adversarial legal system to gain conviction against the culprit.

    Lamenting, President Buhari at the workshop for judges by PACAC and NJI, said: “when cases are not concluded the negative impression is given that crime pays.” In Nigeria, hefty corrupt enrichment surely pays. Playing the blame game, the president sought an escape goat when he further said: “so far the corruption cases filed by government are not progressing as speedily as they should in spite of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015 essentially because the courts allow some lawyers to frustrate the reforms introduced by law.”

    Apparently his advisers failed to inform him that while ACJA has made significant provisions on how to improve the time spent in the administration of justice, the problem lies more with the provision of the Evidence Act, which places the burden of proof on the state, even when the case made against the defendant is clear and straight for a lay man. Of course the ACJA did not seek to place the burden of proof on the defendant, and as such his paid counsel or counsels would do all that the law allows to gain an acquittal.

    Indeed, section 255 of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act 2015, provides: “subject to the provisions of any other law, the examination of witnesses shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Evidence Act.” While ACJA is silent on who bears the burden of proof, the Evidence Act 2011, Act No. 18 expressly provides in its preamble thus: “an Act to repeal the Evidence Act Cap. E. 14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, and enact a new Evidence Act which shall apply to all judicial proceedings in or before Courts in Nigeria; and related Matters.” (Emphasis mine).

  • Bola Malogo: The boisterous soul

    Something nudged me on Sunday afternoon of March 3, 2019 that we were at a tipping point. Was it the way she lay, almost lifeless, on the bed or her near-inaudible speech? That day, I knew she was not the Bola I had known for more than two decades. She was pale and withdrawn, devoid of the boisterousness that made her Bola Malogo. I was afraid looking into her eyes; once clear, playful and penetrating, they often bore into you as if seeking a deeper meaning to every word and gesture. That afternoon, the eyes were void and depthless, drained of their rove and sparkle. I also noticed her lips were parted, as if poised for the usual daring, friendly smiles but they were too heavy for audible speech. No banters, no accusations of me not always calling. None of the deep affectionate charges of “Brother Wole, you have abandoned your sister”. Just plain, void stare.

    It was a very scary stare. Scary for what I guessed it portended; that Bola my sister, the dear and supportive wife of my friend, Bruce Malogo, might be crossing the Rubicon; the imperceptible line between being and not being. It was scary, very scary that this unspeakable illness she had fought with every fibre of her being for more than a decade was now having the upper hand.

    But I am a man of faith; faith weaves hope and hope springs eternal. Even in these days and times, the dawn of Artificial Intelligence, where medicine thumps its nose at nearly all ailments and man boasts of being able to give life to the machine, I believe prayer could still work even after the doctors might have hung the stethoscopes and their body language suggests despair. That Sunday afternoon I prayed Bola would vanquish the unspeakable ailment. I prayed the boisterousness of soul would return with the can-do, daring eyes. I prayed for God to heal her now heavy lips for the friendly, sunny smiles. I prayed for the voice to regain its pitch so I could hear “Brother Wole” again, asking after my family, so I could listen again to the endless lectures on why I need to feed properly and stop gnawing at food as if it were poison.

    It was important to pray the slipping soul should stay to witness the manifestation of the future for which it had endlessly toiled. The future was perceptible, there right in front of us. The children of yesterday’s toil had grown into adorable adults. You could see in them that the yells of the days of pruning, the seemingly endless school-runs, the prayers had started paying out; in them you could see tomorrow unveiling its face. It promises to be a greater future for the toddlers of yesterday who had already started carving career niches. The future was pregnant for the things Bola herself cherished; the growing family, the weddings, grandchildren learning to take their first steps, tots running around the copious space. How Bola loved to tell stories and the future was also holding out promises that she could tell her stories to a brand-new generation in grey hairs; on the power of hope and the place of hard work in the trajectory of success. She sure would have loved to tell the grandchildren stories on the staying power of faith and virtues of perseverance.

    I remembered she told a part of that story a few years back to a gathering of friends, when she came back from a major brink of that illness. She told of her infectious courage through chemotherapies, how she kept latching on to hope by just thinking of how she would hold her grandchildren. She told of her optimism and determination and how it inspired even the doctors. She promised to persevere no matter what and she fulfilled her promises. Bola was deft at practically making lemonades out of every lemon thrown at her by life. She was an encourager to family and friends. For the more than one decade she was also a counsellor to those who wrestled with similar aliments.

    When medicine fails and faith too seems to have failed, we often ask why and wonder What-If. We do because we are rational beings. We often query the paths taken and second-guess what might lie in the alternative paths we forgo. At such times, we may even question why heavens that had once honoured our faith suddenly go blind, deaf and mute. But if we care to take a deeper gaze, we will see a gleam of heavenly grace shines through even amidst the dark winter of our souls. We wonder why the departed had to leave, and just when the future was within grasp. Such conjectures; the Whys and What-Ifs would endure as long as we live. Bruce would wonder the logic of it all tonight as he drifts to sleep alone and contemplates the Boisterous Soul that once compensated for his own restrained soul. So would the children especially when time calls for maternal counsel.

    Emily Levine, the fecund Jewess, was a poet, a philosopher, a comedian and a study on differing, unusual aptitudes. The philosopher part reined free at the sunset of her life, especially whenever she addressed the subject of death. She reminded a rapt audience on TED Talks one of those moments in May 2018,”I am just a collection of particles that is arranged into this pattern, then will decompose and be available, all of its constituent parts, to nature, to reorganize into another pattern. To me, that is so exciting, and it makes me even more grateful to be part of that process.”Levine had Stage IV cancer in her lungs as she spoke those words to the audience. She passed away on February 3rd, 2019 predating Bola Malogo by a full month and ten days.

    Bola too would want us to be grateful for the life and times we shared together, and to dwell less on the future she would not see. She would want to be remembered for the immense possibilities she created and nourished, especially the beam of sunlight she exuded in the face of that adversity. She was a veritable gift of God to our friend Bruce and they raised a beautiful family through innumerable thrills and odds.

    We shall remember the smiles and unquenchable spirit, though they now belong to the Angels.•

    Akinyosoye lives in Lagos.