The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • NAF and fifth columnists

    Prosecuting a war is not a tea party. Certainly the battle against insurgency requires a lot of tact, borne out of deft planning and constant review of strategies. While the Nigerian Armed Forces is set to finally crush the cankerworm in the North-east, it cannot but be very distressing to see a few misguided elements trying hard to misinform the larger society on the conduct of the war against insurgency in the North-east as well as other threats to national security.

    The media is now awash will all forms of jaundiced analysis and ill-informed social media messages on the conduct of the operations in the North-east. Not the least annoying is the attitude of media practitioners who ought to know better and read between the lines before lending their medium to those who are patently out to do mischief.

    It may not be out of place to suspect that the writers of malicious articles against the military are sympathisers of Boko Haram terrorists. It is time for well-meaning Nigerians to interrogate the motives of those who are out to distract the armed forces from routing insurgency from the land.

    While every Nigerian has a right to show concern on the progress of the war against insurgency, it is unpatriotic to vilify the person and character of the officers and men saddled with the management of the theatre of war.

    It is trite to say that no war, no matter how small or big, in contemporary history can be determined without a dynamic and energetic air power. The greater duty of the air force, as indeed demonstrated by the Nigerian Air Force in the North-east, is to provide air-to- air cover for the ground troops when they launch into operation.  Indeed,  the various interdiction missions carried out by NAF have greatly contributed in degrading the Boko Haram forces while clearing the battle field for the ground troops to advance and launch devastating blows on the insurgents.

    More significantly, the NAF is also primarily engaged in ensuring re-supply of essential materials and logistics items to the men on the battle front, even as it also ensures the prompt evacuation of injured soldiers and those who pay the supreme price.

    It is curious that a civilian who loves his country will suggest ‘carpet bombing’ as a strategy to fight insurgents operating on Nigerian soil. Pray, how do you guide against collateral damages and avoid hitting innocent civilian targets? This is indeed a myopic suggestion based on warped comparison of different war situations in Syria and Nigeria!

    One finds it curious that a writer would be uncomfortable with the transparent   disposition of the Chief of Air Staff who, quite uncharacteristic of the military, gave a detailed account of the cost of prosecuting the war in the North-east. Pray, why will anyone quarrel with the Nigerian Air Force for disclosing number of sorties against the enemy base and the cost of aviation fuel consumed? In fact, it is discernible that such transparency has enhanced international confidence in the Nigerian military. It has apparently increased the level of cooperation from the international community.

    Although the principal duty of the air force, in any warfare, is surveillance, reconnaissance and evacuation; the Nigerian Air Force Special Forces are not only flying, they are engaged in active combat in the North-east. This is in spite of   several humanitarian interventions carried out by air force personnel

    Reports across the country indicate that the Nigerian Air Force, with demonstrable passion, has established field hospitals to cater for the regular healthcare needs of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who are victims of Boko Haram insurgency. To the admiration of beneficiaries, various vitamin supplements, eye tests, medication and glasses and even eye surgeries have been freely provided while over 150 other surgeries for various conditions have been recorded.

    The NAF has magnanimously provided antenatal and reproductive tutelage to mothers, especially young girls to curb Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) and child mortality. Indeed, the interventions of the NAF are far-reaching. The story of free medical services provided to indigenes and residents of Bameke area of Shasha, Lagos State, to celebrate the yearly Nigerian Air Force Day as well as the various medical outreach programmes in other IDPs camps in Maiduguri, Yola and Abuja.

    Education has not been relegated to the background for the IDPs with the establishment of NAF comprehensive schools and Air Force Military Secondary School, Jos. Widows have been receiving empowerment and support to enable them make meaningful living and take care of their children. Nigerians should read stories of how NAF is in the forefront of promoting the girl child education in the country by going ahead to commission a new girls’ school named Air Force Girls Comprehensive School.

    It is quite myopic to assess the efforts of the Nigerian Air force solely on direct combat. Winning the war is as good as keeping the peace. That is why NAF has sustained a night patrol over Maiduguri in addition to deploying its special forces to keep watch on the university in the town.

     

    • Kareem is a public policy analyst, based in Abuja.
  • Industrial Revolution: The Case for Gov. Obaseki’s investment visit to Asia

    Industrial Revolution: The Case for Gov. Obaseki’s investment visit to Asia

    Time was when agriculture was the backbone of the Nigerian economy. The agricultural sector was so huge and lucrative that not only did it sustain the regional economies in Nigeria in the early 1960s, it provided jobs for many Nigerians at the time.

     

    The economy was so well calibrated that agriculture underpinned development, as wealth creation was evenly dispersed in rural areas, where farm work was done and urban centers, where industries used processed produce in their plants. Revenue from agriculture was used to drive growth and development in a time that many have come to describe as the golden age of Nigeria.

     

    It is instructive to note that the Nigerian economy in those times was carefully designed such that each region grew industrial systems that prioritised the peculiarities of its comparative agroecological advantage. With this, cocoa served as the bedrock of the economy in the Western Region, groundnut and other cash crops were the cash-cows for the North and oil-palm ruled supreme in the Mid-West, later Bendel, a part of which is now Edo State.

     

    Though fortunes from oil palm production have ebbed due to the impact of poor policies and the detrimental romance with oil money, Edo State has retained a fair share of its industrial base, with the presence of oil palm and cement production companies.

     

    However, much of the state’s agricultural potential have not been fully exploited. More so, industries are not evenly distributed across the state, technical capacity is limited and the inflow of foreign capital is sparse.

     

    In a bid to overturn this narrative, the Edo State government led by Governor Godwin Obaseki, after ensuring that the right policies and investment-friendly legislations are in place, embarked on an investment tour to Asia, with stops in Singapore, Indonesia and India.

     

    There is a background to this drive. An astute investment banker, Obaseki came into government with a mission to grow Edo State into an industrial hub by leveraging his expansive network in development financing.

     

    For the trip to Asia, he intended to strengthen the relationship with some of the big companies in Asia, with whom he had worked to raise financial instruments for investments in the past. So, as governor, Obaseki hopes to drive Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) to engender a private sector-led local economy through investments in agribusiness, manufacturing, digital services, technical education and energy solutions.   

     

    This was the backdrop of the governor’s recent investment visit to the three Asian countries —Indonesia, Singapore and India — that are revered as models in the annals of development, having grown their economies through agriculture, manufacturing, science and technology and innovative governance. The visits are avenues to compare notes and take advantage of ideas and approaches applied by these countries for the benefit of Edo State and its people.

     

    Not only has the governor secured a $50million investment deal for the state that would create 50,000 jobs, he has struck partnerships that would see the state take the lead as a major producer and exporter of oil palm produce.

     

    Already, work is ongoing to revamp Benin Technical College to produce the desired manpower for the various aspects of the state’s economy and host the planned Benin Industrial Park, that will expand the industrial base of the state to include agricultural processing, data services, and manufacturing.

     

    The visit to Indonesia is in acknowledgment of the country’s status as the number one producer of oil palm in the world. Hence, with Edo State being a major producer of oil palm in Nigeria, the governor intends to leverage the expertise of the Indonesians in repositioning Edo State, as the oil palm capital in Nigeria, while providing jobs for the state’s teeming youths.

     

    On arriving Indonesia, the governor headed to the 101-year-old Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute in Medan. He lauded the research capacity of the institute, seeing that Edo people would benefit from not just the advanced research on oil palm at the institute if deployed in the state, but that the institution would serve as good partner to its counterparts in the state.

     

    In his address, Obaseki said he was out to diversify the state’s economy, starting with attracting investments in sectors that the state has comparative advantage. Keen on diversifying the economy of Edo State, he said he intends to take advantage of the state’s oil palm industry as a catalyst for developing rural areas, adding that “with the present pace of research in the agricultural sector, oil palm can replace crude oil as a major source of food, industrial materials and energy.”

     

     During the visit, the state government entered discussions with the institute to help reinvigorate the oil palm sector in Edo State. This, the governor said, would build on shared technical expertise between Edo state and officials of the institute. The Indonesian research institute is made up of an oil palm plantation, processing plant, laboratories, nursery and oil palm refining facility. The oil palm sector is the country’s most valuable sector, as it accounts for 32 percent of its labour force.

     

     He explained that, “The choice of Indonesia for the strategic partnership was informed by these statistics, including the fact that Indonesia is a global leader in palm oil export and is followed closely by Malaysia which came to Benin City to collect oil palm seedlings several years ago, precisely from the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR).”

     

    He further said that institutes like NIFOR and the College of Agriculture in Iguoriakhi, are being repositioned to support the agricultural sector, and that the support from Indonesia would help kick-start a revolution not just in oil palm production but in its processing and marketing.


    The Edo State delegation headed to Singapore after an eventful outing in Indonesia. The visit to Singapore was aimed at harnessing the capital and expertise of industry actors in the country as strategic partners in the mandate to build viable industries in Edo state. These industries are expected to leverage on the state’s areas of competitive advantage, such as agriculture, manufacturing, technical service, among others.   

     

    As the first fruit of the visit, Governor Obaseki concluded arrangements for the Tolaram Group to invest $50 million in oil palm and cassava production in Edo, an initiative that is expected to create about 50,000 jobs in the state.

    Thereafter, the governor met with an expanded group of industrialists in Singapore. The August meeting was an opportunity for the Edo State government to sell investment opportunities to and build strong ties with leading companies in Singapore and encourage them to invest in the state’s manufacturing, agribusiness, digital services, food processing and urban development sectors.

     

    Obaseki unveiled ongoing reforms in technical education, with the revamping of Benin Technical College, a favourable business climate with investment-friendly laws and the rising profile of the state as a hub to reach other parts of Nigeria.

    The Benin Technical College, he said, would produce resourceful and technology-savvy workforce for industries, while the laws guarantee security of investments and profit repatriation.

     

    He explained that his government places high premium on the electoral promise he made to create 200, 000 jobs in the first instance, and assured that the state adheres to the rule of law and the adoption of cost-efficient, technology-driven processes.

    At the next stop in India, the governor got a preliminary report on the establishment of the Benin Industrial Park, which would fast-track capacity building for the youths in Edo State. The park is to be built in partnership with the Mahindra group.  

     

    The report outlined the project implementation plan, showing how the park will be used to draw up and implement models to be used in repositioning the state as a centre for technical training. This would benefit Edo youths, whose capacity would be needed in industries and factories to be sited in the state.

    “We visited the headquarters of the Indian company in March, this year, to share our idea of an Industrial Park with officials of the company. Three months later, the company came to Benin City for a feasibility study and today we are happy that we are ready to hit the ground running” Obaseki said.

     

    Osagie is the Special Adviser to Governor Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy

  • NANS as metaphor

    Members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) engaged in a free-for-all-fight, last week, at the Abuja unity fountain. The fight reportedly raged between the supporters of the strike by university lecturers (ASUU) and those opposed to it. Those opposed to the strike, apparently are sympathetic to the federal government, which have been negotiating a settlement with the lecturers. On the opposite side are those who want the demands of ASUU met fully so that they can go back to their classes.

    No doubt, the strike further compounds the precarious future of our undergraduates. According to Quartz Africa Weekly of January 2016, a survey puts graduate unemployment in Nigeria at 47%. It also said that Nigeria produces an estimated 500,000 graduates every year, plus those who study abroad. The survey also projected that substantial percentage of the graduates are unemployable, either because of poor quality of university education or because they did not acquire relevant skills, among other factors.

    Perhaps the undergraduates were fighting to correct these troubling statistics, or could it be that they are oblivious of the challenges, or that they don’t care, or even appreciate that it is their lives that are being further messed up? Of course, holding divergent views in a free society is legitimate, and that should be encouraged. But fighting to force an opinion is inappropriate. Whichever of the opposing camps that started the fight, should be condemned.

    Even though many of the fighters are beyond impressionable age, they must be told that they disgraced themselves and embarrassed their association. Members of the public who read the news see them as rabble rousers and hustlers. Those assessments may be fair, considering that as university undergraduates, they ought to conduct themselves properly and exercise restraint.

    If their lecturers and the federal government are both adamant in their opposing views, their interest should be how to encourage or compel a compromise. If there are differences in strategy, it should not degenerate to a fight, unless they are saying the years of study in the university have not taught them logic and reasoning, a first year course in many disciplines. An application of logic and reasoning at a meeting could easily resolve any differences.

    Unless of course, the modern NANS has become a tawdry bunch of hirelings ready to do the bidding of the highest bidder for whatever reasons – a group not much different from political thugs engaged by duplicitous political actors to force an opinion or an election. If that is the case, then the future of our country is even more precarious than what the political actors have made of it. After all, NANS represent the future elite of our country.

    But could it be that politicians have infiltrated NANS, through those kinds of students who actually didn’t go to the university to study but use it to pursue their dubious agenda? That would be a tragedy. But the greater tragedy is that majority who are in the university to study, allow the duplicitous minority to dictate their pace and their future. I have no doubt that majority of the students are determined and focused, yet it is not what the fight in Abuja depicted.

    In more developed democracies, and that is similar to what happened during the first republic, there are student activists who are sympathetic to different political ideologies, and their sympathy helps to build the feeder team for more stable political associations. If the ongoing dispute between the federal government and ASUU were based on ideological differences, while that will not excuse an open fight, by their supporters, it could at least explain divisions within the NANS ranks.

    What NANS displayed in Abuja last week, was akin to Fela’s Ojuelegba. Fela sang of the famous road intersection, where you had traffic coming from several directions and leaving even the traffic warden, not to talk of the pedestrian, spinning in absolute confusion. For those who may have been compromised to orchestrate the confusion, instead of a quick resolution of the crisis, their gain to cause the mayhem will be only transient. A few morsel of fish here and there.

    If the students want to get involved in the politics of our country, they should go for the meaty angle. I have argued here that while the previous governments at federal and state levels were making a mess of higher education, the students can mobilize to vote out those who after sending their children to study abroad, treat education in Nigeria with utter disdain. Unfortunately, despite high hopes in the many governments across the country, not much has changed.

    Some state governments which do not have the resources to own universities create them to massage political egos, after which they leave them to wobble and fumble going further. In many instances, governors pay scant regards to the laws establishing the universities, in the appointment and sacking of management staff, and they also impose excessive junior staffs and students on them. Underfunded and overburdened, many state universities run like the old molue of Lagos.

    The solution to the challenges lies in increase in budgetary allocation to education and of course curbing the Nigeria nightmare, corruption. With three to five per cent budgetary allocation for education at all levels, there is no doubt that our universities are grossly underfunded. My argument elsewhere that to fully fund education, we must urgently increase our productivity, to generate more money, was countered with the argument that even with what is available, our country can devote more resources to education.

    Perhaps that is correct considering the obnoxious waste associated with public officials most of whom live beyond the resources due to them. But corruption, mismanagement and misapplication of national resources at state and federal levels, also applies to university managements. Most vice chancellors and their principal officials treat the scarce resources of the university as they would treat their private estates.

    To add to the bedlam is the prevailing confusion over the autonomy of universities, and in some cases that enhances corrupt practices. To make matters worse, some pro-chancellors and chairmen of university councils also seek to corner the scarce resources, through dubious contracts and excessive privileges. In fact, many of the universities have several uncompleted projects, even as each succeeding management and intervention fund, engage in new projects, in much uncoordinated manner.

    The university teachers, many of whom have been reduced to paupers, instead of concentrating on improving their learning and research, and their ability to impact their students, resort to all manner of tricks to survive. Some of them, in other to gain attention from the politicians who have seized even the academic space, resort to racketeering academic laurels and privileges.

    So, while some universities give unworthy persons, their honorary awards, some sell their degrees. All that impact on the value system of the students, and what happened last week in Abuja is a sad manifestation.

  • How did Nigeria exit recession?

    How did Nigeria exit recession?

    Nigeria’s economy, which entered into recession for the first time in two decades in 2016,has finally exit the period of recession in one year.

    According to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday, Agriculture and manufacturing were the two key sectors that rescued Nigeria’s economy from recession in the second quarter of 2017.

    The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report which was  released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Nigeria has exited recession with positive growth of 0.55 per. Agriculture recorded stronger positive growth of 3.01 per cent during the period.

    The NBS identified crop production as the major driver of growth in the agriculture sector.The growth in agriculture and manufacturing is gradually narrowing the gap between oil and non-oil GDP.

    The report showed that in real term, the Non-oil GDP contributed 99.11 per cent of GDP. The report showed that oil GDP hit 1.64 per cent in second quarter of 2017, up from -11.63 per cent in second quarter of 2016 and -15.40 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 while the non-oil GDP grew at 0.45 per cent, up by 0.83 per cent points from the record of the first quarter of 2016.

    Manufacturing grew for the second consecutive quarter in 2017 to stand at 0.64 per cent compared to 1.36 per cent in first quarter of 2017 and -3.36 per cent in second quarter of 2016.

    Trade also aided the exit from recession as its growth contracted from -3.08 per cent recorded in first quarter of 2017 to -1.62 per cent in the second quarter of 2017.

    Analysis of the report also showed that finance, insurance, electricity, gas, steam, air-conditioning supply and other services also aided growth of the overall GDP.

    Mining and quarrying also contributed to the positive GDP as they grew by 1.65 per cent in the second quarter, pushing up the growth of the non-oil sector.

    Some experts said this may not be unconnected with the federal government’s policies in revamping agriculture such as promoting local cultivation of rice, tomatoes and other agricultural produce.

  • Edo State: Revamping Traffic Management with a Touch of History

    Edo State: Revamping Traffic Management with a Touch of History

    When Europeans first arrived Benin City in pre-colonial times, they marvelled at the ingenuity of the city’s planners, who in designing the streets, roads, landscapes, and alleyways of the sprawling kingdom, developed a masterpiece that rivalled some of Europe’s best cities.

    The Guardian Newspaper of the United Kingdom, in a recent feature on the story of cities, wrote of Europeans’ perception of Benin City and called it the “Great City of Benin,” at a time when there was hardly any other place in Africa the Europeans acknowledged as a city.

    Indeed, they classified Benin City as “one of the most beautiful and best-planned cities in the world.”

    One of the defining features of the great city is its metropolitan nature, which often helps the mass of people, who are either settling, visiting or commuting through the city to other towns or city centres navigate it effortlessly.

    And so, from being the toast of all in those times due to its elegantly planned cities, Benin City, the heart of Edo State, has morphed, in the 21st century, into a sprawling hub for transportation. This has called for efficient traffic management that requires a coordinated action plan to ensure that the movement of people and goods are managed in such a way as to eliminate loss of man hours and other resources.

    When His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, the Oba of Benin, inaugurated the revamped Edo State Traffic Control and Management Agency (EDSTMA), on August 31, in Benin City, it bore some historical undertones. It was almost a playback to how the best of hands were recruited into elite guards to guard the city walls.

    Just as the great Benin Monarch ably took on the task of inaugurating the initiative, so had the officers of the agency undergone a stringent selection process that started in May this year and culminated in the best hands being thrust with the mandate to oversee efficient traffic management in the state.

    Reminiscing on Benin City’s envious town-planning heritage, Oba Ewuare II, said “the city has always had a well-designed layout of roads; feeder roads, streets and lanes since pre-colonial times.” He observed that “over the years, the increase in vehicular movement coupled with bad roads and poor traffic management resulted in chaotic traffic situations, made worse by some motorists with a penchant for disregarding traffic rules.”

    The imperative for revamping the EDSTMA is in recognition of the central role Benin City plays as a nexus to different parts of the country. The state is also home to a number of notable transport companies, which grew from nurturing their businesses from Benin City. Hence, increased activities from these companies and the large haul of passengers put immense pressure on roads, leading to traffic congestion and the need for proper calibration and management.

    As with many traffic agencies, EDSTMA, when it was first introduced, came into force to control traffic, maintain decorum and curtail the excesses of drivers and other road users. But with time, many complained that the agency lost its way because of the antics of its officials, who were accused of harassing road users and hassling them for pecuniary gains. To change all that terrible narrative, the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led government decided to retool the agency for optimal performance, with the thinking that better results can come from a reformed institution.

    “The officials of EDSTMA must not see their appointments as an avenue for enriching themselves by accepting bribes from motorists who may want to undermine traffic rules. I am glad that the government deemed it appropriate to create a Public Complaints Department for the agency, where members of the public can lodge their complaints. It is hoped that such complaints will be addressed speedily,” the Benin Monarch cautioned.

    So, when it was time for the state governor to deliver his address at the re-launch of the traffic agency, he was quick to note the historic role the Oba of Benin was playing at the occasion, stressing that the monarch’s presence not only showed the support of the royal father for the agency’s reform, but was a sign of the cordial relationship the government enjoys with the Oba.

    In his speech, Governor Obaseki expressed his delight at the presence of the Oba of Benin, which he described as an official royal visit and an honour to his administration. He said the rebranding of EDSTMA became necessary considering the fact that the state serves as a transportation hub to the country with heavy vehicular traffic.

    “This re-branded EDSTMA is made up of trained men and women who are more civil, operate within the ambit of the law and citizens are to relate with them as such,” Obaseki said, assuring Edo people that, with the establishment of a Public Complaints Unit, they would not be exploited by officials of the traffic control agency.

    He commended the immediate past governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who had the foresight to create EDSTMA to manage vehicular traffic in the state. The Managing Director of EDTSMA, Oloriegbe Dennis Ade, said the agency would adopt unique and advanced strategies to overcome the challenges that they may face.

    What has happened so far

    The presence of the EDSTMA officials have not only brought sanity to roads in Edo State, it has provided jobs for the teeming youths in the state. Standing sentry at traffic hotspots in the state, officials of the agency have now brought a new sense of dread to those who hitherto broke traffic laws. Hence, areas that are traditionally chaotic have been given a new lease of life by the watchful eyes of traffic officers.

    People in the state have started feeling the impact of the change of guards. They are basking in the new lease of life that has greeted the ever-busy roads in Benin City and its environs. Many commuters are delighted at the new state of things. A bus driver at the New Benin area of the city, Mr. Eghosa Omoruyi, hailed the presence of EDSTMA officials, stating that the reformed agency would instil fear in “bus drivers who are always in the habit of disobeying traffic light. I hope to see changes with the new EDSTMA that was commissioned by our Royal Father, the Oba of Benin. I believe they will be different from the EDSTMA of old,” he said.

    Traders, who ply the roads, are also upbeat about the state of the roads. Abubakar Sahidu, who trades at the New Benin Market, said not only was the state government deserving of praise, but the reformed agency would make living and trading in Benin City a delight.

    Osagie is the Special Adviser to Governor Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy

     

  • As Sonala Olumhense glossed over the sad truth

    Solana Olumhense’s article, “As EFCC confesses the sad truth” calls to mind the proverbial chichidodo in Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born, a bird that relishes maggots but abhors excrement with all its soul even when its meal would only come from the lavatory. There are writers that abhor corruption but the ink in their pen gush only from the fountain of corruption. An unwary reader would plod through the write up in question believing that Saint Olumhense is Nigeria’s magic pill to end all corruption and that by the way is for those that are able to reconcile all the unrelated issues dragged into the writer’s frantic attempt to render paid service to whitewash a fetid sepulcher.

    Olumhense, apparently at pains to satisfy whoever it is that is paying the piper this time around cast the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu in bad light, by deciding to contrast him with someone who wanted to be perceived as worse off. Sadly, for him, his choice was the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, whom he possibly has unresolved personal issues against. There is no nexus between the COAS and the EFCC.

    The kind of venom that oozed from the piece cannot just be the product of a paid hatchet job or driven by a fanatical love for the fatherland; it takes the vengefulness that comes from previous failed attempts on the same subject to marshal the intensity of hatred that manifested in the article.

    Had this been the writer’s first shot at assassinating the persona in question perhaps there would not have been need expending energy to set Olumhense on the right path. But to repeatedly tarnish the image of someone that is giving his best to the country and be allowed to get away with it implies that we will wake up one day and not have upright persons agreeing to serve the country again because of the likes of this compromised writer.

    He was categorical in declaring Buratai guilty even when there was never evidence to prove the flimsy allegations raised and this is despite the concerted efforts made in the past to nail the Army Chief. Even Magu, who was equally stylishly maligned in the piece, did not find the evidence to charge the Army Chief to court. There is of course no law that listed the position of the Chief of Army Staff as one of those granted immunity from criminal prosecution so Magu has no excuse for not putting him on trial if the many conjectures in the opening paragraphs were facts that could be taken to court.

    On the other hand, the accusations of failing to decisively crush Boko Haram or capture its leader, Abubakar Shekau is sheer mischief borne out of hatred for the COAS and based on ignorance and misinformation.

    When it comes to performance, Olumehense is apparently not at home with the reality that even as he was writing five Boko Haram commanders and at least 82 other high-ranking terrorists were neutralized. A lot of other terrorists’ assets- human and hardware, were decommissioned within the period Buratai gave for the capture of Shekau. This is not factoring in the other exploits of the Buratai-led Army such that the ridiculous piece was not enough to dwarf his achievement.

    The duplicity of the write up is best appreciated with the realization that it blatantly omitted to acknowledge the actual challenges that those entrusted with crushing terrorism and corruption face.Not the least among them is paid activists and writers like Olumehense, who for a pittance deploy their skills in furtherance of the agenda of those that want these twin evils to thrive. When sponsors of terrorism and Boko Haram want to distract the Army they procure the services of such unprincipled writers, whose only concern is getting the right price.

    Since Olumehense is playing the ostrich it may be necessary to give him a few hints, perhaps he would take the cue to at least ask those he is running errands for to make fair disclosure. They should tell him how their perceived and real grouse is that the war on terrorism is being prosecuted by Buratai in a manner that leaves no room for ill acquisition of money. What they enjoyed prior to the COAS’ coming was practically a bazaar that had rendered the army unable to fully perform as they stole and counter stole resources meant for procuring weapons to fight Boko Haram.

    The writer conveniently suffered a memory loss to the extent that he no longer has recollection of how President Muhammadu Buhari was chastised by the citizenry for seeking to engage only angels to head vital institutions. At what point did some of these same saints become as rotten as Olumehense wants us to believe? What is the use of rehashing a media trial that collapsed for want of evidence? It was the same media trial that Buratai was subjected to and at the end of the day the baying lynch-mob found nothing to hang him with. A popular portal based in Abuja at what time reported the clearance by the Code of Conduct Bereau issued not only to clear Buratai but others in Buratai shoes regarded as angels in the service of our fatherland but when the pay came calling, they betrayed their professional and ethical demands and still preferred to rubbish whatever credibility they had before their readers. Why then would Olumehense insist on being stuck in a rut that had led him nowhere in the past and certainly would not take him anywhere useful in the future.

    Olumehense must learn not to trivialize national issues by comparing instances and individuals that have no correlation. He needs to step back from the euphoria that bank credit alerts can induce to evaluate issues from the proper perspective. For one, he can allow some lapse in time between when he gets the brief and when he pens his articles so that the cloud obstructing his reasoning must have lifted.

    The sad truth remains that the likes of Olumehense, comfortably ensconced in the comfort of imperial nations that are behind the emerging world’s woes, have become the new problem for the trusting readers in search of information. His likes are abusing the sacredness of media platform and ridiculing their loyal followers by regularly slipping paid content into their columns and presenting same as gospel truths. This they do with such arrogance that suggest they never expect anyone to find them out. The fact that they are on the take to defend the interests of those seeking the downfall of the country should not translate into this level of arrogance that dispose of facts to wallow in inanities and believe that the rest of humanity should kotow to their perverted worldview.

    Ochada, is a Guest Columnist.‎

  • Buhari, Kachikwu And The Feeling Of Fulfillment

    I sat transfixed on my chair, as the hall erupted into a rapturous mood, when the recipient of this particular award, bowed his head twice before the cream of dignitaries staring at him. And a voice vibrating in stillness, howled; “I dedicate this award to President Muhammadu Buhari for giving me the opportunity to contribute my quota in serving my country and to my team.” The noticeably adorable simplicity, humility and frankness were potent tools to disarm the most hardened of hearts and strike instant admiration.

    The awardee was Nigeria’s Minister of state for Petroleum Resources’ and Chairman Board of Directors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), the effervescent and perpetually fabulous Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu. In the short poetic remarks, the feeling of fulfillment and recognition of team work assailed my senses. I felt in Dr. Kachikwu, the exhibition of the assets of positive leadership traits and inclination, quite rare with our people- Nigerians in such exalted positions of authority.
    I strayed into The Dorchester, from North of Westminster City that Friday evening, where I am a resident migrant to spend the weekend with an old acquaintance. That was when I had clues of the celebrations packaged by Nigerians, who operate the London-based online tabloid, The Nigerian. My host also intimated me that the programme advertisement also indicated some awards to eminent Nigerians and public institutions which have distinguished themselves in public service back in my home country.
    The revelations instantly arouse my interest and resurrected the “Naija” instincts in me. I remember we do freely gatecrash at events. So, I promised myself to experience the ceremony, even though I was not invited. “I don’t think, any Nigerian in a foreign land, can send away another countryman from an occasion simply because he has no IV card,” I assured myself.
    At the venue, I met warm, friendly and hospitable organizers. But I sat in the hall a loner, because I could hardly identify a face I knew closely. But the fraternity of Naija sustained me, anyhow.
    Of all the array of personalities recognized and feted with awards, Dr. Kachikwu’s mien and humility fascinated me most. I have never met him. But I have read much about him online about his efforts to sanitize the operations of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
    I have not been in Nigerian since his appointment to manage NNPC, Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, and his later elevation as Minister of State for Petroleum to deputize President Muhammadu Buhari who retained the Petroleum portfolio as Minister. But encountering Dr. Kachikwu online gave me an impression that he must have been a pretty focused man and good for the job.
    I could still remember vividly how management of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector had been in total ruins, with successive administrations until the Buhari Presidency. We are a country blessed with abundant oil resources, but embarrassed with scarcity of petroleum products frequently. Crude oil revenues were reportedly missing or remained unaccounted most times.
    Nigeria’s oil and gas sector was surrendered by a ravenous and rapacious cabal, which left a supposedly rich nation impoverished by choice. It heightened militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta region; the source of this crude oil, after years of neglect and demeaned us as people and the worth of our country in the estimation of sane nations.
    My thoughts stretched far, half concentrated on the event and also, thinking about the fate that had befallen my country. I knew President Buhari’s retention of the Portfolio of Petroleum minister was an expressed intention and determination to cleanse the management of NNPC and the oil and gas sector from its opaqueness. But presidential schedules are quite tight sometimes and it was expected that President Buhari would appoint a capable hand to oversee the day to day administration of this all important sector of the economy. And Dr. Kachikwu berthed on the scene.
    The appointment of Dr. Kachikwu, though a Niger Deltan was understandably devoid of the usual resounding applauses that greeted such appointees. President Buhari had hit the oil cabal below the belt, by opting for the choice of an assistant with a track record of excellence in the management of international oil business, outside the nominees of the cabal that had caged the oil and gas sector and chained Nigeria’s economy in perpetual stagnation. It was an unnerving experience.
    And quite impressively, in the last two years, the narrative of the management of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria has changed considerably. I learnt Dr. Kachikwu has launched reforms and innovations that have ensured transparency and accountability in the management of Nigeria’s oil resources and accountability for proceeds of crude oil sales, hitherto alien to operations of NNPC.
    I have heard that scarcity of petroleum products has ended in our dear country; I understand, pricing for petroleum products have been stabilized’. I am informed our moribund refineries have been revitalized and efforts have intensified to make them function to full capacity; while modular refineries are in the offing.
    What has gladdened my heart the more is that from a zero point, Nigeria’s foreign reserve has risen to over $31 billion in less than two years. Nigeria has been economically reinvented despite the sharp drop in the prices of crude oil in the international market, which nosedived to as low $28 dollars per barrel and in an economy deeply plunged in recession.
    Fortified with these facts, I was thrilled at the Westminster City celebration by The Nigerian raised for me a platform to experience this man firsthand. And in his persona, I saw a radiating spirit of a man with a deep -fathomed appetite to further serve his country; a leader who perceives this opportunity as rendering service to humanity, as against the general norm of personal enrichment and selfishness, peculiar to most of our privileged people.
    And in Dr. Kachikwu’s administration of the oil and gas industry, those who have keenly monitored him speak of a Minister who is not tied to the strings of ethnicity or party affiliations. There were testimonies that he operates on the tenets of merit, honesty and competence in his interface with all Nigerians who besiege him as the helmsman of the oil industry, the country’s main cash cow. He exuded every each the portrait of a de-tribalized President Buhari, which perhaps, accounted for his choice to serve in this sensitive sector, to say the least.
    The forum was beneficial to me in a number of ways, as it effortlessly served me great lessons about my country. In Dr. Kachikwu’s performance, it was easy to gauge the performance of the Buhari Presidency and how the nation has fared under his stewardship.
    And it was glaring that it took the President some bit of care, to wittingly dodge the implanted vicious cabal in the oil and gas sector to engage an impartial Dr. Kachikwu from the private sector. He is immune from the weird entanglements of the oil cabal in the country, which explains why he has made the difference.
    Today, Nigerian can proudly boast of a nation, whose oil wealth is not mindlessly squandered by a few elite and the political class, but devoted to the service of all Nigerians. It has rebirthed development across the country. The people of the Niger Delta region have mellowed on their restiveness and militancy because a committed and focused son and brother, Dr. Kachikwu has shown promise to teleguide the Buhari Presidency to solve the endemic problems of underdevelopment, impoverishment and the degradation of the ecosystem as a result of years of neglect of the region from exploration of its natural resources.
    I departed the venue of the celebrations, more elated, after attending the symposium lecture, which dwelt extensively on the economic prospects of Nigeria in the age of fading oil wealth. It was really incisive, insightful and instructive.
    What the lecture canvassed ardently was something akin to saying Dr.Kachikwu’s win in the management of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is a celebration of the Buhari Presidency’s triumph in the prudent management of Nigeria’s resources and the anti- corruption war which has earned him unreserved international recognition and accolades.
    Dr. Kachikwu struck me as a leader who pleasantly invades the mind of every personality that comes in contact with him. He is certainly a fulfilled man; a sense of fulfillment that buds from the expression of satisfaction with his service by a country and humanity he is rendering selfless and transparent leadership, like his boss, President Buhari.

    Owolabi, PhD is a University teacher and contributed this piece from the United Kingdom.

  • Expulsion Of Amnesty International Is Ripe, Nigeria!

    Worthy experiences are not only sourced from individuals. Nations of the world also provide veritable platforms which serve as rich fonts of great lessons which spur positive actions in reshaping the destinies of other nations. Even a heart infinitely prone to arcane impassiveness to issues would not escape notice of the glowing trend of negative perceptions of Amnesty International (AI) around the world.

    The suspect roles played in recent times by the so -called international human rights watchdogs, AI in the guise of protecting human rights of citizens of nations which have welcomed their operations is becoming a source of great concern.

    A world in the throes of terrorism is increasingly discomfited by the posturing of AI as veiled agents, sympathizers’ and covert mobilisers of internal or migrant terrorists in countries they have registered presence. An unsuspecting Nigeria is now inescapably confronted with glaring espionage and terrorism agenda of AI or, an AI that is prodded by external forces to work against the interests of a peaceful and unified Nigeria.

    Recounting Nigeria’s years of gory experiences with the multiple terror sects operating in the country is repeating the obvious. But Nigeria had for years contended with terrors sects such as the Iranian- sponsored extremists called IMN, Boko Haram terrorists; the aggressively murderous terror gangs in the guise of Biafran agitators and the cruelly criminal militancy in Niger Delta.

    The country has battled armed banditry and cattle rustling in the Northwest; ethno-religious cleansing in parts of the North, especially Kaduna; the Republic of Iran- funded Shiites Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and violent clashes between herders and farmers, particularly in North Central Nigeria. These are the layers of acts of terrorism which have descended and feasted on Nigeria. It is shocking why the country has not yet broken into pieces of unquenchable conflagrations.

    But in all these instances, AI neither sights anything wrong with the acts of terrorists nor is it ever concerned with the fate of Nigerians and the majority subjected to terrifying levels of human rights abuses by these terror gangs. At all times, any report released by AI on the state of human rights in Nigeria like the latest in 2017, yawningly indicts the Nigerian military and other security apparatuses as well as the Federal Government over apparently fictional and unsubstantiated accusations of human rights violations. They paint a portrait of gloom where none exists and posture as if they head the executive, legislature and judicial arms of government in Nigeria.

    AI sits in cozy offices in Abuja and churn out all manner of reports alleging human rights abuses in Nigeria. The most painful aspect of the damnable verdicts they pass is their overt helplessness in defending such reports on a neutral platform. However, overtime, when AI releases such falsified reports, the country either experiences a resurrection of repressed acts of terrorism or an upsurge in subsisting acts of terror unprecedentedly.

    Scores of high-profile Nigerians, leaders and civil society organizations have consistently frowned at the obviously dishonorable conduct of the AI. About three months ago, AI’s Abuja country office was besieged by protesters who insisted the Nigerian government expel the corrupted international human rights watchdogs. But President Muhammadu Buhari never gave it a thought.

    Today, AI’s gang-up with terrorists sects in the country has gone beyond pretensions. The organization is so obsessed with its sponsored role to assist terror sects destabilize and destroy Nigeria to the extent it has resorted to guess work in its resolve and determination to taint the image of Nigeria on human rights violations; but embolden terrorists with the feeling of protection.

    AI’s shameful and despicable outing at the 2017 “International Day of the Disappeared” in Abuja amplified their intention to keep Nigeria perpetually on the boil by ennobling criminal dissidents and terrorists to take control of Nigeria. It guessed almost every aspect of the submissions at the ceremony and passed it as its official position.

    Again, it lashed out at the Nigerian military for allegedly violating the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. AI also took a swipe at the FGN for failure to act, as it ordered the Nigerian government into action; arrogantly prescribing remedies, including compensation of victims for the perceived wrongs. The international human rights agency mouthed everything, but could justify nothing.

    The extent Nigeria has tolerated the excesses of AI is beyond comfort. AI has exposed its rotten underbelly and Nigeria has to stand to erect defend its sovereignty from its fangs. Time has come for Nigeria to desist from playing the “good nation” because the fate of millions of Nigerians is threatened by AI.

    Several examples are abound around the world where countries which failed to appropriately dissect and act on the evil agenda of AI timely suffered irrecoverable damages. These countries discovered belatedly that AI inspired toppling of the government and served as catalysts in the sustenance of acts of terrorism and consciously inspired the network of terrorism clients to torment such countries.

    Nigeria is not bigger than Russia. Yet, Russian authorities shut down the office of AI in Moscow. It practically vandalized it and deactivated all electronic gadgets over claims of AI’s rent indebtedness. And the notice pasted on the building which AI rented from Moscow’s City Government sternly warned against any attempt to enter the building without a Russian official, as the notice on the wall read it is the “property of a city of the Russian Federation.”

    AI’s proof it had no rent debt burden was not sufficient to compel a re-opening of the office and no one should think the AI office was sealed by mistake. AI had issues with the Russian Government over its operations in the country, which appeared to compromise internal security, as its operations in Nigeria have indicated.

    Morocco, an African nation also had running issues with the operations of AI in that country for several years since 1990. It peaked with the expulsion from Morocco of AI’s two experts, John Dalhuisen, Director for Europe and Central Asia and, Irem Arf, Refugee and Migrant Rights Researcher. They were hurled into flights bound for London and Paris.

    But it is instructive to understand that from 1999 to 1993, Morocco restricted AI’s visit to it. And in September 2014 the Moroccan government banned an Amnesty International youth camp, and AI acted suspiciously by voluntarily cancelling a scheduled visit of its fact-finding delegation to Morocco, when the country reeled out conditions under which it would undertake the assignment.

    But the expulsion mail to John Dalhuisen provided an official insight into his forced eviction and by implication AI, as it read ‘a threat to public order.’ He was thereafter accorded persona non grata in Morocco. Further inquest into the plight of AI in Morocco indicated that the government was piqued with its “Stop Torture Campaign,” of 2014 which exposed Morocco’s unabated use of torture. Plausible as it sounded, Morocco considered AI a threat to public order and acted accordingly.

    But no international exposure of AI that draws suspicious of its affiliation with terrorism than what happened in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey. The country’s court ordered the arrest of AI’s chairman Taner Kilic, with five other Attorneys in Turkey, over charges of affinity with a terror organization.

    Kilic was accused of using the ByLock device, an encrypted mobile messaging App allegedly also utilized by the network of adherents of the American -based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The application had been on Kilic’s phone since August 2014. But he denied ever downloading or putting the device to use.

    Turkey had earlier pointed accusing fingers at Gulen as the mastermind of coup in that country and leading a terrorist’s sect. But Gulen profusely refuted it. Of course, no one expected the duo to plead guilty to the allegations anyway. And AI responded by claiming there was no substantiated evidence; yet is the same organization that bandies up falsehood on human rights violations against nations of the world without supporting evidence like in the case of Nigeria.

    These experiences are enough to prod Nigeria into action. Countries that have taken such proactive measures to defend their sovereignty and protect their citizens against looming mass crisis and genocide arising from AI’s instigation and support of terrorists’ sects are also member-states of the United Nations (UN). These countries are also signatories to the human rights conventions AI accuses them of violating, just like they partially and wrongly accuse Nigeria, in protecting their terrorists’ clients and dampen the morale and resolve of the military to battle terrorism.

    It is not sound logic for Nigeria to keep running to foreign nations for assistance to battle terrorism; while it retains and sustains individuals and international undercover organizations’ which actively deploy their energies for the festering of terrorism in the country. Peace may continue to elude Nigeria and her peoples unless Amnesty International which has certified itself as the patron cum godfather of all terrorists sects or incendiary dissident elements in the country is expelled.

    The Federal Government of Nigeria under President Buhari cannot afford to keep glossing over this sensitive security matter or sustain its indifference to the disguised atrocities of AI . And this is a wake-up call to all civil society organizations’; activists, students groups, youth groups, the religious, traditional leaders; political leaders; public- spirited individuals and Nigerians generally to rise to save Nigeria from the satanic and destructive grip of AI now.

    And the message is simple and clear; AI must be expelled from Nigeria for the peace and unity of the over 180 million Nigerians on the danger line from its atrocious operations in the country. They must leave for Nigeria to finally salvage itself from terrorism. Nigeria’s expulsion of AI would neither by abnormal or awkward decision because more influential countries in the world which could no longer bear AI’s evil agenda expelled them, but the world did not cease to function.
    Ejiro is a forensic psychologist at the Centre for Peace and Strategy, Lagos.

  • Salutary lesson from Kenya

    Kenya, a former British colony like Nigeria has many things in common with Nigeria apart from our colonial overlord and so we Nigerians should spare a moment from our over-heated debate on the restructuring of our country’s system of governance to look towards east of Africa and applaud the judicial pronouncement of Kenya Supreme Court on the recent presidential election in that country. Like Nigeria, Kenya is wracked with overheated polity, acute ethnicity problem, entrenched endemic corruption in high and low places and terrorist attacks with the dreaded Al Shabaab with headquarter  in Somalia operating in Kenya and the education hating Boko Haram in Nigeria. In both countries these evil terrorists visited the people with gory bloodshed and tremendous social dislocation. However unlike Nigeria, Kenya was never plagued with military rule.

    The last presidential election in Kenya was held on August 8 this year and was keenly contested by two rivals, Uhuru Kenyata of the Jubilee party and Raila Amolo Odinga of the National Super Alliance (NASA). It has to be pointed out that these two men represent two rival political families in Kenya. Uhuru Kenyatta is the son of the first President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, ‘the burning Spear’ of Kenya politics during the struggle for Kenya’s independence while Raila Odinga is the son of the fiery Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who was the Vice- President of Kenya under Jomo Kenyatta until 1966 when the two powerful Kenya nationalists parted ways. Since that time, the political rivalry has intensified. Jomo Kenyatta belonged to the Kikuyu tribe which is the largest tribe in Kenya and Oginga Odinga belonged to the Luo tribe, the second largest tribe in Kenya. As a result of this tribal difference between these political giants in Kenya just immediately after Kenyan independence, Kenyan politics had been characterized by tribal acrimony with attendant political tensions and unimaginable violence.

    Elections in Kenya like those in our country always generate tensions and violence. Before the election of August 8 in Kenya, there was palpable tension and many people both within and outside Kenya feared that the outcome of the election no matter who won would lead to horrendous violence and mayhem like what happened after the election of 2007 in which there was a lot of bloodshed leading to the death of 1300 Kenyans and displacement of 600,000 people. Predictable tension rose as the results of the election were being released. Raila Odinga, the NASA candidate cried foul. He told the whole world that the results were being manipulated in favour of Uhuru Kenyatta the Jubilee Party candidate, through the hacking of the electronic devices for transmitting the results. Odinga who had cult-like followership in the vast slum area of Nairobi and Kusumu promised not to accept the results of the election and even before the final results were announced, riot broke out among his supporters and 23 people died as a result of the riot in different parts of the country. The final results gave Uhuru Kenyatta victory over Raila Odinga with a margin of 1.4 million votes. The results were endorsed by international election monitors from European Union, Commonwealth Office, African Union and Carter Centre in USA.

    Unusually, Raila Odinga known to his numerous supporters as ‘Agwanbo’ (Act of God) or Baba appealed to his supporters for calm when the results were released and he lodged a petition against the conduct of the election with Kenyan Supreme Court. The court subsequently in a majority decision vindicated him by declaring the presidential election of August 8 in Kenya null and void. The court found that the electoral commission did not act in accordance with the law and ordered a new election to be conducted within 60 days. Raila Odinga in his reaction to the court’s ruling predictably hailed the nullification of the election and felt that the election marked an historical day not only for the people of Kenya and by extension for the people of the continent of Africa. Not surprisingly he called Kenyan electoral commission as ‘rotten’. On his part Uhuru Kenyatta, known to his supporters as ‘’digital President” because of his age was ambivalent about the ruling. In one breath, he said he respected but disagreed with the ruling. In another breath, he described the Supreme Court judges as crooks and thugs and he promised to fix the court. This statement is taken by many people as a threat to the judges. This should not be taken lightly because in Kenya, it is common for judges to disappear. It is unfortunate that Uhuru Kenyatta has resorted to abusing the judges of the Supreme Court who in 2013 upheld his election which was disputed by the same Raila Odinga.

    Raila Odinga now 72 years old is a very consummate and colourful politician who is deft in putting together alliances with political heavyweights in order to get to power. In this election and because elections in Kenya like in other parts of Africa are subjected to tribal permutations, he put together in his National Super Alliance (NASA) top politicians from his own Luo tribes and other tribes like Luhya, Kalenjin and Kamba. Odinga’s first attempt to be President of Kenya started in 1997 and this present court ruling has now given him another chance to achieve his ambition, however it is not yet ‘Uhuru’ for him because his opponent who is the current President is from Kikuyu tribe that has dominated Kenya for a long time. Uhuru Kenyatta also comes from a rich family with vast business interests in newspaper, television and mineral explorations. Thanks to his father Jomo Kenyatta, the first President of Kenya.

    The court ruling in Kenya also put the searchlight on the role of international election monitors. When Raila Odinga complained about the irregularities in the election and the hacking of electronic system for transmitting the results, all the monitors without exception dismissed his claims. John Kerry, the former US Secretary of State and the leader of the monitoring team from Carter Centre in USA was contemptuous of his claim and was rude to Raila Odinga when Odinga described the election monitoring as cosmetic. With this ruling, Odinga is now having the last laugh. However despite the fact that the international election monitors got it wrong in Kenya, it is my belief that we need international organisations to still continue to monitor elections in Africa because unfortunately elections in Africa has turned to do or die business.

    The CNN described the ruling as the first in Africa in which a presidential election would be nullified especially the one involving a sitting President. We should take interest in this ruling in Nigeria. In our country elections are usually acrimonious especially the presidential elections and most of the time the final arbiter is the country’s Supreme Court. It is unfortunate that our judiciary has not risen above board in the adjudication of disputes on presidential elections brought before it. Here we can allude to the ‘122/3’ judgement of the Supreme Court on the 1979 presidential election  which breached all legal and moral premises of law and condemned by legal experts all over the world. The election that brought the late Umaru Yar’Adua to power in 2007 was faulted by him as having a lot of irregularities despite the fact that the Supreme Court gave it a pass mark. The late Yar’Adua later set up a committee under a former Chief Justice, Uwais to look at ways of preventing such irregularities in our elections. It will not be unpatriotic to say that our judiciary has one or two points to learn from the judgement given by the Kenyan Supreme Court. Election results should reflect the wishes of the people and the judicial should help to achieve this lofty ideal by giving judgement in election petitions without fear or favour. Kenya has shown the way to the rest of Africa.

     

    • Prof. Lucas writes from University of Ibadan.

     

  • Between hate action and speech

    The threat by the federal government to criminalize the bizarre fad of unbridled demonization of other ethnic groups, religions, cultures and even neighbourhoods, by ethnic champions, schizophrenias or mere social scallywags, has thrown up several contradictions.

    One of the challenges is how to differentiate between a hate speech and a fair comment especially with the wide-spread bad governance that induces anger. But also condemnable and deserving attention is hate action, especially by those in authority, considering that it could be more insidious and treacherous than hate speech.

    Of course, a fair comment does not connote favourable comment, unless one is guided by the obnoxious provisions of the infamous Decree 4 of 1984 – one of the sully remembrances of President Muhammadu Buhari’s earlier incarnation as military head of state. But significantly, this time, it was Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo, an erudite constitutional law teacher who pushed the argument to link hate speech to terrorist conducts, while serving as acting President.

    Perhaps the promoters of the proposed law intend to promulgate a new federal act to curb the scourge, or as some have advocated they will rely on the provision of the terrorism act, by equating statements that could arouse hate-conduct, to actual terrorist conduct, to achieve their objectives. In fairness to the promoters, some of the statements credited to the ethnic warlords, including the musical variant, rankles.

    But, some of the supporters of the criminalization of hate speeches are pushing for an elastic criminalisation of speeches so long as it will conflagrate a hated ethnic group or culture or religion or persons. Those on the opposing side despise the champions of criminalizing hate speech; and are quick to refer to variants of hate speeches, made in the past by those now in government, especially in their effort to win the last election.

    So, between the promoters of a law against hate speech and the opponents of criminalizing hate speech, there appears to be incipient hatred and contempt for the other. In essence, even before the law is promulgated, or the term is clearly defined, the effort has already further polarised the society instead of uniting it against a bad cause. A comparable dilemma in the Nigeria menu is what does restructuring mean?

    But even as we contend with the definition of hate speech and what to do about it, I think it will be fair to treat hate action similarly. Let’s use a husband and wife that fight as a template to set a comparison. As is most common, whether arising from biological or cultural make-up in the home when there is a quarrel, while a wife engages in a ‘hate speech’, a husband engages in a ‘hate action’. Usually a wife would curse and spew ‘hate speeches’ against the husband, and that is bad.

    On his part, the husband will usually act a taciturn, but when determined to engage in hate action, will lock up the doors, pummel and abuse the wife without uttering a word. Of course with the wife kicking and cursing the husband and his generations, a neighbour who refuses to come to her aid or peep through the window will go away with the impression that the wife is the worst culprit in the imbroglio.

    The above scenario can be juxtaposed with what is happening in Nigeria in many instances. Take the issue of restructuring for instance. While the weaker party in the Nigerian marriage is kicking and cursing in an attempt to force a redefinition of the terms of the marriage, the stronger party, with the stronger political muscles under the current arrangement, is acting dumb and pretending not to understand the meaning of restructuring.

    Yet, the stronger party has pinned the weaker party to the ground, and while uttering few words, is however pummelling the weaker party to submit. In the meantime those incapable of reading the situation objectively are arguing that the weaker party is merely looking for trouble and raising unnecessary dust. One example is the use of disputed census numbers, number of local governments and other disputed criteria, to determine the sharing formula of the revenues forcibly appropriated from the states while pretending that it is normal in a federal system of government.

    Another example is ignoring the constitutional provisions on the spread of appointments, by concentrating appointments in the appointer’s region, while pretending that it is based on merit. For instance, at the inception of PMB’s presidency, the government was accused of appointing nearly all the security chiefs from a part of the country and completely leaving out the south-east geopolitical zone. While the presidency played the taciturn, some of its sympathisers made lame excuses in attempt to justify the conduct.

    Recently, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) reorganised its top management. Again acting unconstitutionally, disproportionate majority of the appointees came from a part of the country, and the south-east was again left out, even when a part of it is an oil bearing state. The consternation over that conduct which is trending in the social media describes the hate action as going well beyond the proverbial red line, set by the President with respect to hate speech.

    Similar hate action took place recently in the Nigerian LNG employment saga. There, the Finima community whose land was forcibly taken over by the federal government to build the conglomerate and its allied infrastructure was relegated in the employment opportunities. While the land owning community got scant chance, communities in far flung areas, which do not suffer Finima’s inconveniences, but which control the levers of government, got preferences.

    Of course, if the Finima or any of the other abused groups should raise their voice in demand for a fairer and more equitable treatment; and where they are ignored, they become trenchant and abusive of those oppressing them by hate actions, they run the risk of being accused of engaging in hate speech. If they raise the ante and call for a renegotiation of the rules of engagement, they stand the risk of being accused of working for the disintegration of the country.

    Furthermore, if their demand for renegotiation is ignored or they foresee the futility of such approach, and they rather ask directly for a dissolution of the unfair union, they stand the risk of being accused of engaging in treasonable felony; with the consequences that the coercive powers of the forces they complain against will be unleashed on them. Of course, with many unable to follow or choosing to ignore the sequence, starting from the maltreatment, before the abusive tantrums; the abused is considered the trouble maker.

    For me, the challenge before those in authority working assiduously to criminalize hate speech is to first criminalize or eliminate hate action. Unless they don’t give a damn, there is the possibility that more despicable hate speeches will continue, to add to the disgusting hate actions and induced crisis facing our dear country.