The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, Spare Us the Drama

    The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar led Nigerian Airforce is finally attempting to punch its weight in the counter-terrorism war; God be praised. His branch of the military service has been the weak link in the security infrastructure and a chain, as they say, is only as strong as its weakest link.
    The Nigerian Navy, since the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari has proven itself in the Niger-Delta, where working closely with the Army, it has taught militants that sabotaging economic assets is not a pastime to relish in. Even when the military operations against Boko Haram are mostly affairs in the dry Sahara Desert, the Navy ensured lake Chad is not of any benefit for the terrorists with the constant destruction of any vessel they attempt to deploy on the lake.
    The Department of State Services (DSS) has done a fair share of the job by constantly dismantling cell after cell of Boko Haram, in most cases before they are able to launch attacks on the innocent population. The Department’s strategy starved the terrorists of the financing they had hitherto gotten from raiding commercial banks to fund their operations while making such heists appear like the regular criminal robbery.
    The balance of the fight, a larger chunk, occur on ground battles with insurgents, who often have to be chased for several kilometers or repelled in the many surprise ambushes that are now their staple. In spite of the reported obstacles and challenges to the war, troops continue to give their best. The can-do spirit in the Army is such that Private Samuel Ernest, a soldier recuperating from his battle injuries, expressed his eagerness to return to the war front, even though he was barely getting back on crutches.
    Then the Airforce. The Airforce has not done much to assert its role in the counter-terrorism war under the present government. But for fairness, one would have accused the wings in the skies of flapping for the terrorists by not doing enough to decimate them from high up where the ultimate advantage lies. Each time troops have been ambushed on ground is a signpost to the failure of the Airforce to maintain eyes in the sky and coordinate with its sister services. Every time terrorists strike in a town and flee into the neighboring countries or the dessert it exposes the failing of the Airforce in trailing them and relaying their positions to those on the ground to do something about it.
    One would have thought that by now, working with the other services especially the intelligence arm, the Airforce would have chanced upon the terrorists making one of those their propaganda video so that it can blast them to the hereafter same way Russian Airforce has likely pulverized Daesh (Islamic State) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an Airstrike.
    What one has instead seen is an Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar who thought, of all times, the festive Sallah season is the best time to ply the populace with tall tales and bogus directives. First came his chest beating as to how the Airforce foiled an attempt by Boko Haram to breach the peaceful Eid-el Kabir celebration in Borno. He apparently did that by bombarding them – same thing he has not achieved in his two years of piloting the affairs of that service. It possibly did not occur to him that if he had lived up to billing in previous time the task of getting rid of these terrorists would have been 99 percent achieved by now.
    Next was the ridiculous directive for Sambisa Forest to be “completely” cleared. Again, a perfunctory perusal of the archives would remind the Chief of Air Staff that the 2017 Nigerian Army Small Arms Championship (NASAC) held inside Sambisa Forest in the wake of the flushing out of the insurgents. Had the Airforce been on hand on the scale that Nigerian expected the missing air support would have ensured that those that regrouped are trailed down to the last of their bolt holes before they had the time to recover and begin their current round of nonsense.
    Such statement, which the Air Chief has not done anything to refute, clarify or rephrase, is an aberration coming from him. Has anything changed about his inventory of aircrafts that will he use to clear Sambisa Forest? Since as civilians we know Abubakar to be the lord of the skies, is he by chance converting the Air Force into performing ground roles? Is he envisaging a scorch-earth operation that will yield a disproportionately high civilian casualty? Will his hype make terrorists drop dead and why the hype in the first place? What is he targeting?
    The Chief of Air Staff once pandered to celebrity protesters in such fashion when he flew Oby Ezekwesili and her band across the Sambisa Forest area. The trip turned out to be a pointless waste of taxpayers’ money with the only benefit being that it helps defined those that constitute Air Marshal Abubakar’s audience – jobbers that are desperate to roll with government.
    Such desperate publicity stunt from an organization like the Air Force would do Nigeria and the entire country no good as it will amount to playing God on the war against insurgency. When a man who should be making eyes available in the skies decides to rather engage in talkfests then the terrorists know they have not much to fear even when driving convoys of 50 Hilux Pickups across open terrains. They know that no matter sabre rattling Air Marshal Abubakar engages in he does not have boots on ground to take them on where it matters most.
    Air Marshal Abubakar has to be told in clear terms to concentrate and fight in the air. If he had performed his role effectively in the air by now Boko Haram could have been history. It is understandable that the military as a unified entity is communicating with Nigerians and the world to give perspective to the counter-insurgency war and curtail Boko Haram’s propaganda. But prancing around the place as if the air force is the entire military is in the region of an overkill, his noise it too much noise.
    As opposed to assuming the position of Nigeria’s military imprimatur, Air Marshal Abubakar should work on improving his service’s capabilities and clear all its challenges. This should include finding a way to accelerate the air coverage he has not provided in the initial two years he has been in office; he must pick up his slack so that the burden would be lighter on the other services and by extension bring about greater efficiency. In addition, he has to of necessity check in with fellow military chiefs to confirm where his input is needed as opposed to making beeline solo runs to the detriment of the war efforts.

    Suleiman is a freelance journalist writing from Yola, Adamawa State.‎

  • Sucker-punch, like Mexico

    Mexico is clearly not what you would call a fair match for the United Stares in many regards – not in military armoury or economic fortunes, for instance. But that Latin American country lately showed a markedly superior edge in moral high grounding over its illustrious neighbour.

    United States President Donald Trump, even before assuming office last January, had for much of his public life made a favourite punching bag out of Mexican immigrants (Latinos) in his country, and without sparing a breath for their home land of Mexico. He flagged his prejudice most luminously when he kick-started his stumping for the American high office on June 16, 2015 with diatribes on Mexico, as he said: “When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me…When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best…They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems to us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

    The xenophobic bluster did not stop at mere words, because Trump made the construction of a border wall to staunch the flow of immigrants from Mexico a signature promise during his electioneering. And the icing as he vowed, both while on the hustings and ever since he won the presidency, is that Mexico will pay for the $10billion wall. That vow was naturally galling to Mexico, and the country has repeatedly insisted it would not by any stretch of diplomatic gambit pay for the wall.

    Actually, the mere suggestion riled former Mexican President Vicente Fox enough to peer-match Mr. Trump with Adolf Hitler, and to use the ‘f-word’ as he riposted to the then Republican candidate that his country was “not going to pay for that f-king wall!” Fox later apologised on national television for using the vile word, and Trump’s response was to underhandedly rub in the umbrage by saying at a pre-election rally in May, last year: “Vicente Fox was on television last night and he apologized, and I accept his apology…Honestly, I thought it was very, very nice, because I was giving him a little hard time about something, and he apologised.”

    The U.S. president has also implacably bickered over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), by which he said his country was being shortchanged to the advantage of its southern neighbour, Mexico, as well as Canada to the north. He has insisted on renegotiating the trade deal or cut out of it as he did with the Paris Treaty on Climate Change.

    Then came Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in Texas penultimate weekend and swamped the oil state in torrential rains and catastrophic flooding. By last weekend, the hurricane had ravaged Louisiana, and no fewer than 40 fatalities as well as large-scale destruction had resulted from the elemental barrage. You could say ‘God’s own country’ was having its defining moment under the eight-month-old Trump era holding up the heads of citizens in the affected areas, literally, from under the waters.

    Amidst all that siege, Commander-in-Tweets President Trump made time to be active on his famous bully pulpit, @realDonaldTrump. Mid-last week, he restated his campaign to make Mexico pay for his proposed border wall. “With Mexico being one of the highest crime Nations in the world, we must have THE WALL. Mexico will pay for it through reimbursement/other,” he tweeted. And a short interval after, he shared another tweet, saying: “We are in the NAFTA (worst trade deal ever made) renegotiation process with Mexico & Canada. Both being very difficult, may have to terminate? (sic)”

    In obvious response to those tweets, Mexico’s foreign affairs ministry in a statement insisted it would “not pay, under any circumstances, for a wall or physical barrier built on U.S. territory along the Mexican border.” But apparently seizing on former American First Lady Michelle Obama’s famous credo that “when you go low, we go high,” the statement went on to say: “The Mexican government takes this opportunity to express its full solidarity with the people and government of the United States as a result of the damages caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, and expresses that it has offered to provide help and cooperation to the U.S. government in order to deal with the impact of this natural disaster – as good neighbours should always do in trying times.”

    In plain language, Mexico was offering to help Trump’s America mitigate the ravages of Hurricane Harvey. But it was an offer completely at odds with Trump’s crusade to build a border wall that will keep out Mexican immigrants, and not minding his regular jibe against Latinos already in the U.S. Many American media outlets couldn’t help recalling last week that following the devastation by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Mexican government had also deployed soldiers, medical personnel, engineers and aid to stricken residents of Louisiana and Mississippi.

    Mexico’s surprise gesture left the United States literally floundering last week, with neither a response from ordinarily rumbustious President Trump nor a clear policy on what to do with the offer. Texas Governor Greg Abbott was reported keen to accept the aid, but it apparently wasn’t exactly his call being a matter of relations between two countries. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did thank Mexico for the offer while welcoming his Mexican counterpart, Luis Videgaray, to talks on bilateral trade and security. “It’s very generous of the government of Mexico to offer their help at this very, very challenging time for our citizens down in Texas and now moving towards the border of Louisiana as well,” he was reported saying, without stating clearly whether or not the aid would be accepted.

    I hold that there are useful lessons to learn from this Mexican tack by Nigerian politicians in their typically adversarial partisan gamesmanship. And let’s just boil it down: Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose needs finesse in his one-man squad opposition politics. The governor has been a vocal critic of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency, and that to some extent has helped in energizing the democratic space. But it should by no means be a closed-minded advocacy.

    When President Buhari was recently away on his 103-day medical vacation in Britain, Fayose was hot on the button in demanding full disclosure regarding his ailment. In brazen affront of Nigerian cultural morality, he made rash claims about survival chances of the president; and when Buhari eventually returned to the country, not a few openly wondered if Fayose would fall on his sword now that his claims had been shown fatally false. But all that, in my view, wasn’t even where he went overboard.

    There is an axiom in Yoruba, and I suspect in many other Nigerian cultures, which interprets to saying our disputing isn’t sufficient to wish each other dead. When state governors paid Buhari a goodwill visit in Aso Rock upon his return, Fayose was alone in staying away, appropriating the authority of a physician – which he certainly is not – in declaring that the president wasn’t medically fit to continue in office. And late last week, he gave a scorch-earth censure of the president’s curious claim earlier in the week that the economy was looking up, even though the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) simultaneously issued a report showing food prices at an eight-year high.

    Fayose certainly needs schooling in the art of opposition politics. But the catch is: so does the Buhari presidency in politically engaging irritants like him.

    Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.

  • ASUU strike and “change begins with me”

    For the past two few weeks, the already suffering Public Tertiary Education in Nigeria has been grounded to a halt courtesy of the insensitivity of our leadership to the future of Nigeria which lies in proper investment in education. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had at an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of August 12, discussed among others the abysmal level of implementation of the 2009 ASUU/FGN agreement, 2013 MoU and the shortfall in salaries leading to fractional payment of staff salaries. After exhaustive deliberations, the NEC of ASUU declared a total comprehensive and indefinite strike action beginning from Sunday August 13. This means that while the strike lasts, there shall be no teaching, no examination, no supervision, no attendance of statutory meetings of any kind and other matters. This withdrawal of service will bring suffering to the lives of the lecturers and their families (promotion delays, truncated examinations), the students (elongated stay and frustration) and their parents (more spending, more troubles and delayed rest), those whose livelihoods directly depends on a functional university (printers, typists, photocopiers, barbers, campus cab drivers) and the entire nation (national and international embarrassment, loss of man hour, and other costs etc).

    If these consequences are known, why do we keep allowing strikes to happen? Why will a government breach trust most of the time? Why do we have to ‘struggle’ and sweat to get legitimate things in Nigeria?

    Aside from the one-week warning strike in 2016 to make government do the needful, the major strike which lasted about six months started on July 1, 2013 and did not get suspended until December of that same year. I should not talk about the lives of students lost to accident and that of ASUU former President, Festus Iyayi who died in a fatal accident while going to attend ASUU meeting where a decision to end the strike was to be taken. The strike was to force government to fully implement the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement. This agreement has provision for the payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) for postgraduate supervision with Lecturer I (N15,000), Senior Lecturer (N20,000) and Professor (N25,000) per student respectively. Unfortunately since these years, students are being supervised on humanitarian grounds without pay. Till date, majority of lecturers are owed up to seven years by federal government to the tune of about N128billion while the agreement made provisions for the payment of N80, 000 for examining a Master thesis and N105,000 for PhD (external) and for internal examiners (Master thesis/N45,000 and N65,000 for PhD) respectively. But here in South-west, top universities, for instance pay N10,000 and N45,000 and yet owe for upward of five academic sessions. In the same Africa, a professor at University of Ibadan assessed a PhD thesis from South Africa and was paid close to $1,000!

    Another major grouse is the underfunding of the tertiary education as evident is downward review of education budget. President Buhari has not done well in this regard. In a Vanguard report of May 28, 2015 entitled ‘What Buhari Promised Nigerians’, the paper quoted him as promising to “Fully review provisions of the Universal Basic Education Act with emphasis on gender equity in primary, secondary school enrolment whilst improving the quality and substance of our schools, through outcome based education, that address the individual, family, and societal roles in education; and the associative skills and competencies that go with these responsibilities; targeting up to 20% of our annual budget for this critical sector whilst making substantial investments in training quality teachers at all levels of the educational system”. This has not been the case. In 2011, education got N306.3bn, it moved to N400.15bn in 2012, to N426.53bn in 2013, to N493bn in 2014, to N492bn in 2015, and nosedived to N369bn in 2016. ASUU had thought the National Assembly would input their demands in the 2017 budget but they got a shock as only six percent was allocated to education. It was therefore obvious that they were deceived into thinking their interests will be incorporated into the budget. While the agreement reached provided for federal government to inject N1.1trillion in six years to be paid in phases starting with N220billion in 2013, government is yet to make any other injection to make university education worth pursuing.

    The registration of the National University Pension Management Company (NUPENCO) is another reason for the strike. The union claims that rather than the usual N150million, it was asked to pay N1billion for a license but two years down the line, the federal government has failed to release the license while holding on to the money. They believe it was a strategy to make retirement life difficult for their members. To them, the money would have yielded interest wherever it has been fixed by the federal government.

    While successive governments continue to say there is no money, recovered looted funds run into trillions of naira while exotic cars go to the National Assembly. It is hypocrisy for public office holders not to honour agreements freely entered into by unions particularly those claiming to be better than the PDP government. But why should they care about the plight of children of the masses mostly attending public institutions? The leadership of the country from the presidency to the National Assembly have proudly published pictures of their graduating children who studied abroad on the social media. These children are to benefit soon with the enactment of the ‘not-to-young-to-run’. Yet they cannot provide same for their countrymen. Why will the federal government take ASUU to court on the issue of University Staff School yet found it difficult to obey court ruling on same issue?

    Why should a lecturer be supervising students on credit as being presently done? How else can the federal government encourage corruption other than denying people their entitlements? What more can we say about a government who prefers to recover looted funds while creating loopholes to further corruption? ASUU fights for the future and not for today but those in government are interested in what they will see today while securing only the future of their family. Those the leadership failed to cater for in the past are the ones kidnapping and terrorizing the country.

    In the days ahead, we should therefore expect increasing social deviance and crime and other cadres of social problems should the federal government not re-write history by commencing the implementation of outstanding issues with ASUU. If those at the National Assembly are graduates, they should show further commitments to education. Whether ‘too young to run’ or ‘not too young to run’, the political class must carry along the masses if they hope to have peace in the future. As ASUU says, a time will come when the children of the poor will have nothing left to eat but the rich. It is shameful not to honor agreement. As stated by ASUU president, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi in his press conference of July 18, 2016 “total implementation of the 2009 ASUU/FGN agreement especially the funding for revitalization and other service-related conditions, registration of NUPEMCO will not only increase access but also ensure industrial harmony and sustainable scheduling in the system”. Now that the federal government through the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu has taken responsibility for the ongoing strike, let the change begin with the Muhammadu Buhari government for a positive turn-around in public education.

     

    • Dr Tade, a criminologist sent this piece from Ibadan.
  • Paying for our climate: Nigeria should do more on financing climate goals

    Paying for our climate: Nigeria should do more on financing climate goals

    Over the next 40 years, measures to adapt to climate change already built into the climate system could gulp between $0.7billion and $1.2billion each year, nearing $50billion in total according to the World Bank. While estimates of the level of investment needed by developing countries such as Nigeria varies considerably, Kristen Jack, formerly manager of “Cities and Climate Change” advisory teams at “Adam Smith International’s Nigerian Infrastructure Advisory Facility suggests that these may lie between $180 – $450 billion per year for mitigation and $30 – $100 billion per year for adaptation. To cope with this, Nigeria must exploit alternative funding means.

    Climate finance, as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines it, refers to local, national or transnational financing which may be drawn from various sources of financing – and could be public, private or alternative sources is vital in making significant progress towards climate objectives.

    It often requires large-scale infrastructure and the engagement of large segments of the populations, both of which can require high level of investment. These objectives Mitigation i.e. to limit or reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), gases that trap heat in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide to the atmosphere to reduce the risks and hazards of climate change; and/or Adaptation i.e. to help communities, societies and economies adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change.

    International / Multilateral Funding

    Till date, Nigeria has leveraged $63 million of multilateral funds for climate change projects. This might sound like a lot but the figure according to “Adam Smith International” is broadly equal to that of Rwanda, a country whose population is about 7 percent of Nigeria´s; and just over a tenth of the funding okayed for South Africa.

    Nigeria, unlike a good number of fellow developing nations has met limited success re: accessing available international resources to help meet these needs. This, according to Elijah Awojuola of the Department of Climate Change at the Federal Ministry of Environment is a result of “a lack of understanding of climate finance funding opportunities; difficulties in crafting concept notes and applications that reflect the requirements of providers; and challenges in coordinating activities across the government so as to present a coherent vision of Nigeria’s climate finance priorities…”.

    Local Financing Initiatives

    While much of Nigeria´s inadequate climate financing has been supported by multilateral funding, worthy of mention is that on the local scene some progress has been recorded (ie by the Nigerian government) in the last few years.

    Some of these initiatives according to Mr. Awojuola include the “Clean Technology Fund” which is supporting the development of transformative public transport schemes in the three main economic and political cities of Lagos, Kano and Abuja. Another is the pioneering Climate Finance Unit, also established by the Department of Climate Change and whose task is to enhance knowledge and information on opportunities for climate finance.

    Commitment of the Buhari Administration

    The Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has assured of the country´s resolve to implement policies aimed at addressing climate change. In a report monitored by Business Day (Nigeria), he states thus, “for us in Nigeria, the larger dimension of the challenge goes beyond emission rights. Survival rights are also at stake”. Speaking further he highlights increases in use of climate smart agriculture and diversification of our energy mix through renewable and efficient gas power as part of progress made.

    President Buhari also lamented the current situation re: the Lake Chad Basin which according to him has shrunk to a mere 10 per cent of its original size thus affecting the livelihood of over five million people.

    However to what extent has the government of the day been able to match its words with actions?

     

    The Ogoni Clean up

    Source: Logbaby Global Ventures Limited

    While efforts to develop a cross-cutting project concept to support the climate resilience of some of Nigeria’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens has begun, there is still a lot left to be done – prominent among which includes the clean up of Ogoni Land, a community in the oil-rich Niger-Delta devastated by extensive pollution of their environment owing to massive oil spills among others.

    Fourteen months after the launch of the much talked about Ogoni clean up, which according to UNEP estimates will take 30 years by Nigeria´s Vice President, Professor Yomi Osinbajo, the extensive oil spills and antecedent damages on the environment of the Ogoni communities remain largely untouched. Since the launch of the clean up according to a Vanguard Newspapers report, a governing council and trust fund have been set up, and a project coordinator appointed, yet no equipment has been moved to the sites, residents say.

    The UNEP report on the Ogoni oil spill mentions that before any clean-up of the oil impact environment is done the Ogoni people be provided with potable water as their sources of drinking water is contaminated 900 times above what the World Health Organisation (WHO) considers pollution.

     

    Call to Action

    Nigeria must considerably expand financing sources locally to cover the gaps occasioned by the inadequacy of multilateral funding inflow. This should be addressed at each level of the three tiers of government. Each of these tiers must be mandated to allocate substantial portions of their share of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (founded in 2011 to replace the scrapped Excess Crude Account for the purpose of managing and investing these funds on behalf of government) as well as statutory monthly allocations towards financing the climate – both in joint and single relevant ventures.

    The country must also as a matter of policy, tax the big oil majors who through their harmful activities such as gas flaring continue to emit GHGs with reckless abandon thereby leaving a trail of devastation in the immediate communities where they operate.

     

  • Misau: Another Accidental Senator

    The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria continues to exude the airs of a circus. A place meant to be a hallowed shrine of democracy has been reduced into an assembly where the most ludicrous farce plays out not once but on a continual basis.
    No wonder, Nigerians upon whom the lawmakers continually play their crude jokes have learnt not to take the selected representatives seriously anymore. The place crawls with accidental senators who ordinarily should be pursuing careers on the dark side of human existence.
    The latest of such scam artists that dominate the lawmaking arm of government is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Isah Hamman Misau (Bauchi Central), who has decided to point an accusing finger while forgetting that his other fingers point at him.
    Apparently drawing from the opacity surrounding a Senator’s monthly earnings, which Nigerians have repeatedly heard is mind boggling, Senator Misau somehow became a mathematical wiz kid who arrived at a bizarre ballpark of N10 billion as what the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris makes on a monthly basis. That translates into N120 billion monthly or almost the equivalent of the annual budget of several states.
    Misau must have, as a Deputy Superintended of Police (DSP), been extorting his subordinates to expect that his fraudulent ways run through the entire system and that the IG being higher up must be earning billions. This implies that the Senator must have been the brains behind some of those notorious extortion by policemen at illegal roadblocks and checkpoints so that they can meet the target he set for the “boys”.
    In a country where it is generally acknowledged that the cost of running for election is too high, perhaps Misau wants to shed some light on how he was able to pay the N3.3 million for the All Progressives Congress (APC) nomination form in the 2015 elections using his earnings as a DSP. This is not factoring the tens or even hundreds of millions needed for the campaign trail.
    It is logical for Misau to claim that some benevolent sponsors foot the bill for actualizing his political goal only that this would be worse than committing robberies at checkpoints. Anyone that could sponsor a character like him to the Senate can only be from the crime world where they continually have a desire to have a stranglehold over the legislature, which ensures that no meaningful legislation that would stop criminality would ever be passed. Misau would have thus proving himself to be a proxy for criminals, an accident in the National Assembly, a mistake that must be corrected.
    Talking of correcting past mistakes, one must blame the police for not alerting Nigerians early enough to the accidental senator in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly. The police should have raised the red flag even before Misau’s inauguration to inform Nigerians that a police deserter was in the upper house. The failure of police to do this promptly has enabled the senator to add the crime of forgery to his resume that reads like a charge sheet.
    Whichever way the matter goes, the constituents of Bauchi Central Senatorial District must be the wiser now that Misau has exposed his true intent as someone fixated on attention seeking.
    He could have focused on representation of lawmaking which would have placed him in good reckoning with his people. Instead, he wanted to grandstand by making baseless accusations against men who are giving their best to make the society secured.
    If the police force or the position of IGP were as lucrative as Misau tried to make Nigerians believe, one wonders why he did not stay put to attain the rank of Inspector General of Police or even Assistant Inspector General of Police so that he too can cart billions home on a monthly basis. Also, if he is truly patriotic and concerned about corruption as he now claims to be, would it not have been preferable that he stayed in the force, rise to a leadership position and make a deference as opposed to playing to the gallery.
    Assuming he even somehow managed to sneak a resignation letter into the archives of the Police Service Commission with accomplices doctoring an acknowledgement letter to the same effect, the very fact that he ran away at a time when he could have remained to fight the perceived rot in the system is enough proof that he has a penchant for deserting his responsibility.
    Even the faceoff he got into with the police is evidence of a man who never sticks to what he signed up for. He got the mandate to represent his constituents in the Senate yet he has abandoned that very assignment to do the bidding of the highly place criminals that put him there, since his resources could not have paid for his political activities anyway.
    One must charge the police to eschew the rigmarole of dealing with these pieces of information as bits for media excitement. That would be sending the wrong signal to young officers in the Police Force who will be corrupted to walk in Misau’s way and see deserting as something that would be rewarded with a seat in the National Assembly while fraudsters will think that forgery is cool since the Police did not prosecute one of their own who is guilty of the same offence.
    The police must therefore dispense with this media brickbat and properly charge Misau before a competent court since there is evidence of his forgery.
    On his part, Senator Misau should do the Senate a service as an institution that Nigerians are constantly reminded of as being distinguished. Instead of replying to the media, who are not his accusers, he should dare step forward to the nearest police station to appropriately make his statement and hand himself in.
    By so doing he would get his day in court when he is charged as a deserter who engaged in forgery. He would get the chance to either clear himself if found not guilty and acquitted or pay for his transgressions in prison if convicted.
    Ainoko is a civil rights activist and contributed this piece from Barnawa, Kaduna State.
  • Insurgency: Rep Kamale’s wild and misguided utterances

    Insurgency: Rep Kamale’s wild and misguided utterances

    The inherent mischief in some Nigerians has no limits. Those propelled by discernible forces of evil, constantly scheme to malign leaderships at other levels. But they pitiably forget their own status as leaders in the lower rungs, who have failed to play complementary roles to assist those they seek to rubbish, even though unconvincingly.
    Our current House of Representatives member, Hon. Adamu Dau Usman Kamale (PDP, Adamawa), representing Michika/Madagali Federal Constituency in Adamawa state strikes like one of such leaders with self-glorifying instincts and high capacity for mischief. Perhaps, Nigerians are reading his comments on the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast and specifically, in his home state of Adamawa for the first time.
    But Kamale, this apparent backbencher in the Green Chambers sought visibility, not in sponsorship of any active legislation for national development, but weird comments on Boko Haram insurgency in our constituency. He fruitlessly attempted to diminish the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) under President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) and the Nigerian military in the counter-insurgency campaigns by quoting imagined figures of deaths and properties destroyed by Boko Haram terrorists in the two local governments he represents at the National Assembly (NASS).
    Kamale was quoted as saying, “In the past few days, over 10 lives and over 200 houses have been lost again.” And referring to PMB, he said, “The security reports he gets on these two local governments are not detailed…The situation here is worse than the reports he gets from the military.” The true situation is that our representative has abandoned us.
    President Buhari has consistently maintained that the life of every Nigerian is important and worth protecting anywhere he is domiciled in the country. Therefore, Rep Kamale’s concern that 10 persons have been killed in his constituency could be appreciated from this prism. But what rubbishes his misguided utterances is the glaring inaccuracy with figures and the veiled intent to glorify and overblow the atrocities of the insurgents who are products of his neglect and lack of empowerment for our youths in Adamawa State.
    It is unbelievable to think or even agree that if Boko Haram terrorists have the capacity to destroy over 200 inhabited houses, the insurgents would  not have killed merely over 10 persons “in the last few days,” as claimed by this Rep.  How few are the days is another problem for Rep Kamale. It means he has lost touch with his constituency and is being breast fed with distorted information by a cortege of political hangers-on.
    At least a serious minded representative of his people should have devoted time to gather time-tested and credible statistics, to enable him raise a motion in plenary on the plight of his people from renewed Boko Haram terrorists attacks.  No! it is not in the thinking of Rep Kamale. On this score too, the Rep member has failed woefully.
    Nonetheless, Kamale should know that he cannot block the ears of Nigerians with his incensed hallucinations about an imagined festering of Boko Haram terrorism. To further scold the military and brand them as liars by claiming they are exaggerating or twisting the facts on the counter-insurgency campaigns smacks of self-indictment.
    Falsehood cannot replace truth and factuality; no matter the extent it is embellished. One is tempted to believe even a primary school pupil in Adamawa state, one of the three states embroiled in outrageous terrorism, before President Buhari’s soothing balm, would defeat Hon. Kamale to a debate. He will tutor his Rep Kamale that if terrorists can overrun 200 houses in a “few” days, the death toll would not just be10 lives.
    The kid will educate Hon. Kamale and his likes that the psychology  of terrorists is no longer a hidden secret. Boko Haram terrorists’ main targets are human beings; they cannot run or waste their arms and ammunitions on empty buildings or thatched huts. The calculation admits itself that even if terrorists killed just one person in each of the 200 houses, the number of the dead would have been at least 200 persons, as against Kamale’s 10 persons. That is the extent fabricated lies dumps someone naked in the marketplace.
    But Hon. Kamale failed to reason beyond his nose. And probably pushed by the forces of a re-election ambition, he decided to foul the air with figures he imagined or cooked from the pit of hell, in the bid to create an impression of effective representation of his people. But he ended up badly as an artificial voice of the voiceless constituents in Michika and Madagali.
    There is no disgrace any leader at any level should wrought upon self this consciously as done by Kamale. Imaginations have limits. When a man does not know such limits, he is doomed forever.
    The Nigerian military which is battling insurgency in the country can be excused for Kamale’s shortcomings; hence he also accused them of incompetence about the anti-terrorism campaigns. It is not expected that Hon. Kamale would have approached them to verify the figures he sat in his cozy house in Abuja and guessed.
    But his conjured news has refused to fly because traditionally, the military  does not conceal the figures of casualty from any incident of Boko Haram terrorists attacks. The Nigerian Military which leads the anti-terrorism campaigns is always plain, frank and honest with figures of casualties.
    And even where they make mistakes by wrongly quoting casualty figures, they retract the statements with apologies to the Nigerian public and update the figures. The recent incident is the Boko Haram terrorists’ ambush of geologists, NNPC officials and Civilian JTF members on research mission in the Lake Chad area attests to it.
    Therefore, if not operating from a predetermined mindset to smear the image of the Nigerian military and belittle their efforts in the counter-insurgency operations, a clear-headed Kamale would have attempted to verify the figures of the so called casualty of victims of terrorists in a “few” days from the police, civil defence, DSS or even the state government. Assuming he has dreadful enemies in all these security agencies, reaching out to the office of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) located in Abuja, where he resides and claims representation of a constituency far removed from his psyche and binoculars would have assisted.
    Certainly, this is disreputable conduct from a supposedly honourable member. But Nigerians regale in the mentality of freedom of speech and say anything that their warped minds contrive, paying little or no attention to the harm to society or the public. But a freedom of expression irresponsibly exercised as done by Hon. Kamale most times boomerangs. It stains the reputation of the person and taints his image. It exposes him to ridicule in the eyes of sane minds.
    There is no verisimilitude between what Kamale has said and the reality in his constituency. He may be visiting home for the first time since 2015, after his election to NASS. But to turn the Nigerian military and the FGN to scapegoats because he is seeking for another mandate is disheartening. He is indeed aware that we are not happy with him but it is not the right strategy to placate us ahead of 2019.
    Kamale should ask himself, before the Buhari Presidency, would Boko Haram raids affecting 200 houses have posted just 10 deaths? Even if one is tempted to align with his submissions and accepts it as reality; is this not an appreciable level of improvement?
    Mouthing in a manner that gives Boko Haram terrorists, sponsors and agents the illusion that they are indeed waxing stronger is disservice not only to his people, but humanity in general. If Yobe and Borno States have no such gory tales from terrorism, where has Kamale invented his tales? Or is it to unmask himself to Nigerians, as a Boko Haram sympathizer and agent?
    Hon. Kamale should know that the issue of security is not for the military alone; it is not for the FGN alone either. It is not the headache of the state governor solely. It is for everybody, particularly those in its furnace like him. Let Hon. Kamale unfold his scorecard on intervention measures to assist and encourage the counter-insurgency campaigns in the last two years in his state. Can he boast of any?
    Haske, a political scientist writes from the Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State.

  • Pension reform and legislative do-gooders

    It seems that Nigeria would have disappointed the rest of the world if the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) were to run unfettered without spanner being put in the works somehow, somewhere. Arguably, the CPS operating under the Pension Reform Act 2004 as amended by the Pension Reform Act 2014 has been the most effective and visibly successful programme of the federal government since the return of democratic governance in 1999.

    Needless to recount or reminisce on the plight of pensioners in the old defined benefit pension scheme adopted by the various tiers of government and even some private sector establishments before the advent of the CPS. The runaway success that the CPS has become is turning out to be its greatest burden. With amassed pension assets to the tune of more than N6.5 trillion and more than seven million enrolees, the centrality of the pension industry in the future development narrative of Nigeria is almost assured.

    However, the sore point of this rapidly growing industry is the clearly perceptible lack of adequate public awareness on the workings of the scheme. This ignorance permeates even the very high echelon of society including the highly educated circles. This lack of awareness can be said to be at the root of the barrage of policy or statutory somersaults emanating from the legislative arm of the federal government. This however does not detract from the altruism and/or good intentions that could underlie the actions of the legislators behind the more than seven bills snaking their way through the chambers of the National Assembly. These bills aim to profoundly amend the Pension Reform Act of 2014. One would not believe that legislators deliberately set out to make laws to disorientate a scheme that has run without hitches for 12 years without any known case of fraud.

    The most contentious of the bills already in the works in the National Assembly is the one sponsored by Honourable Oluwole Oke on May 16, seeking to amend the Pension Reform Act 2014 in order to shut out some paramilitary organisations including the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Police, the Nigeria Prison Service, Nigeria Immigration Service and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). This bill has already passed its second reading and is being treated by the relevant committee of the House of Representatives. Another one is the Bill sponsored by Senator Aliyu Wamako of Sokoto North Senatorial Zone seeking to “…further amend the Pension Reform Act 2014 to Provide for Definite Percentage a Retiree can withdraw from his RSA and for other matters thereto.” This clause is recommending that retirees withdraw 75% of the total value of their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) while the remaining 25% remains to service their pension requirements.

    These two recommendations fall flat in the face of reason and operability. It negates the whole essence of individual participation and contribution that defines the CPS. It is this individuating element of the scheme that stands it out. Participation in the CPS is an individual thing and not a collective enterprise. Not even when pension funds are managed collectively. There is a fiduciary relationship between an RSA holder and his Pension Fund Administrator (PFA). The beauty of the scheme is the freedom of the worker to choose his/her PFA. This freedom would further be accentuated by the portability that would come with the impending opening of the transfer window by the National Pension Commission (PenCom). Railroading a group of workers into one pension option is evidently retrogressive. Also, returning paramilitary establishments to the Defined Benefit Scheme is a giant step backwards into the dark era of dysfunctionality and corruption that characterized pension. The commandism that characterizes the military and paramilitary organizations would not even help matters in managing both salaries and pension of their officers and men.

    It should be noted that the old Defined Benefit Scheme left a deficit of almost two trillion naira by 2004 before the commencement of the CPS. It is against the backdrop of this deficit that pension assets have been grown to more than 6.5 trillion naira. To manage the backlog of pension liabilities, the federal government set up the Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate (PTAD). With the annual pension liability of more than N388 billion out of which more than N255 billion constitutes unfunded liability, there is no doubt that the federal government is overwhelmed by crushing pension burden. This is the situation under which the legislators are proposing additional burden.

    The exit of all paramilitary agencies from the CPS would entail dismantling of all structures in those institutions including pension desk offices established to oversee compliance of those establishments with the scheme. It would also shake up the financial system considering the fact that pension assets are invested in various asset classes, the bulk of which is in government securities.

    The most devastating of all the consequences would be the ripple effect this ill-advised legislative proposal would have. What would prevent all the ministries and even all agencies of government from exiting or having their own PFAs? We should not forget that one of the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) in the ongoing nationwide strike is the establishment of a special pension scheme/PFA that would among other things allow professors and associate professors retire with their full monthly salaries. The CPS is indeed severely threatened by Nigerian peculiarities and unbridled impetuosity. The government can still bridge the shortfall in the pension of professors if need be without university teachers dabbling into pension fund administration.

    The other Bill proposing the withdrawal of 75% of the total value of RSAs by retirees is a clear manifestation of lack of proper understanding of the real essence of pension. The pension industry under the CPS is arguably the most regulated industry in the country today. The industry, intricate as its, operates under clearly laid down and airtight procedures and guidelines and the regulatory body, PenCom, has lived up to expectation in enforcing compliance.

    What matters is the amount a retiree goes home with as pension every month or what is called replacement ration. Pension replaces one’s salary in the whole arrangement. The replacement ratio in the current scheme is 50%. In other words, a retiree should be able to earn a minimum of 50% of his/her salary at the time of retirement as pension. How many workers would be able to amass Retirement Savings Accounts 25% of which would be able to fund monthly or quarterly pension worth 50% of their monthly salary for the rest of their lives? Pension administration in modern times is an intricate and highly technologically-driven enterprise.  It can survive policy reforms but certainly not politicization. There is need for a demonstration of proper understanding of issues and in-depth research before contributions are made to enrich or buttress government policies. Our legislators should tread softly even when they might seem to mean well for the citizenry.

    The contributory Pension Scheme remains the answer to the growing pension liabilities in the country and the unimpeachable social security safety net for Nigerian workers on retirement. It is participatory, all-inclusive and transparent. It should therefore be insulated from unnecessary politics and the excesses of meddlesome interlopers and latter day do-gooders.

     

    • Ezeala is a communication and development specialist based in Abuja.
  • Buratai: An Iconic Army General And The Nigerian Award

    Buratai: An Iconic Army General And The Nigerian Award

    By Ayodeji  Abiola
    History tells a story of time past, but first, shapes the story in time present. But it never lies. It truthfully romances men and women of exceptional endowments and preserves them to inspire today’s generation. It provides today’s stamina for the anointed to excel and exceed the accomplishments of yesterday’s historical heroes.
    Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai is certainly an iconic African Army General of Nigerian descent. When President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him the COAS and consecrated him to lead the counter-insurgency campaigns in Nigeria, the clarity of his irresistible choice never dawned on many country men and women until now.
    But Gen. Buratai unmistakably knew of the dauntingly sacred and delicate task entrusted in his hands. His briefs were clear and understood, as defeating and terminating the reign of terrorism in Nigeria and in specific terms, the Northeast region, where it ferociously raged uncontrollably.
    A lot has happened positively in this direction. And this day in history, at the City of Westminster in London, The Nigerian, an online news portal, compellingly toed the path of scores of other revered institutions and governments around the world in celebrating Gen. Buratai with a unique award as the “2017 The Nigerian Man of the Year.”
    Nigerians and the world converged on the famous City of Westminster, housing the Buckingham Palace to again celebrate Gen. Buratai. He is one Nigerian Army General who has proved his mettle as conqueror of terrorists, beyond conjecture in tandem with the famous words of famed English playwright, William Shakespeare in Julius Caesar; as he came, he saw and he conquered terrorists en masse in Nigeria.
    He was anointed on a rescue mission of Nigeria manacled by terrifying and soulless, bloodsucking terrorists. Boko Haram terrorists had gone berserk for years and defied all efforts of the then military to repress it for succour and peace to berth in Nigerian communities and cities.
    Tales of sorrows and pains; torrents of tears and wailings from fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, men, women, school boys and girls, parents, relations, friends, aunties, uncles, Nigerians of all persuasions, the international community gazed into the skies artificially darkened each time Boko Haram terrorists detonated mass bombs at targets. The agonies and anxiety of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) intensified and confusion replaced reason, as insurgents freely and boastfully multiplied heinous atrocities against Nigerians.
    But the ombudsman cap on the head of Gen. Buratai perceived it as a difficult task, no doubt; but not beyond his professional competence in leading Nigerian troops to wipe away the sorrows and pains at break of dawn. He has fulfilled every word of promise to Nigerians in the counter-terrorism campaigns to the amazement cum excitement of all Nigerians and the international community.
    He has proven himself a soldier of the strong breed who does not issue empty promises; Nigerians know his credentials as a warmonger with bags of unbeatable tactics and strategies. They know him as a soldier who perceived his designation as leading the rescue of Nigeria as a patriotic, sacred vow and therefore, inexcusable to fail.
    Gen. Buratai reminds us of the war exploits of the legendary French war hero and later, Leader of the French Government, Gen. Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970). Memories of his liberation of France in circumstances similar to Gen. Buratai’s emancipation of Nigeria from terrorists have refused to fade in the people’s psyche nearly a century after his demise.
    The French Resistance Army was subdued by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi forces in World War II, and Germany captured and took over Paris. Native French soldiers were hesitant to enlist into the crucial battle to regain the freedom of French Government.
    Gen. de Gaulle patriotically picked up the gauntlet by reaching out to French colonial territories in Africa and recruited thousands of fighters of African descent into the French Army. Thus, fortified, Gen. de Gaulle launched an epic battle against Hitler’s forces that chased away the German forces that conquered the French Empire and reclaimed Paris from the invaders.
    In this historically brave act of Gen. de Gaulle, one sights the portrait, shadows, patriotism and commitment of Gen. Buratai in courageously leading Nigerian troops to decimate and defeat Boko Haram terrorists. Gen. Buratai and his men are being appreciated because they made a lot of sacrifices to come this far in breaking the chains of terrorism servitude on Nigerians.
    So, it is rare to find any conscionable Nigerian, who has restrained an applause for Gen. Buratai or any reasonable platform in Nigeria that has not celebrated or intend to uniquely celebrate his remarkable feat on Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria. Nigerians and the international community are not just elated with Buratai’s milestones in extinguishing the venom of the Islamic extremists; Boko Haram sect, but the Army Chief’s splendid eradication of other evolving internal acts of terrorism in Nigeria.
    Gen. Buratai led troops to also quench terrorism in the guise of dreary armed bandits and cattle rustlers in parts of Nigeria’s Northwest and North central regions; he rescued Nigeria from criminally violent separatism campaigners in the Southeast and eclipsed the lethal militancy in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region.
    Many today stand on the podium to loudly bash Gen. Buratai with edifying sobriquets like “Hero of Heroes”, “Boko Haram nemesis”, and “The Peoples General”, among others. As the Army Chief regales in the celebration of his success; millions of men of conscience have also conscripted into the celebration with him and they do it with elations.
    And with this reality Gen. Buratai feels an aura of a fulfilled man. Mr. Howard Schultz, the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Starbucks, a multi-billion dollar company, one of the largest and successful coffee companies on earth said; “Success is empty if you arrive at the finish line alone. The best reward is to get there surrounded by winners”. Therefore the victories and successes of Gen. Buratai in the counter-terrorism war are celebrated with him by hundreds of millions around the world as exemplified with the latest in Westminster.
    And like most heroic figures of his ilk, Gen. Buratai has been able to etch his memory on the psyche of the world for his discipline, hard work and dedication to all duties. His uncommon transparency, accountability, humility, knack for excellence and purposeful leadership of the Nigerian Army, laced in the constant overriding concern of patriotism for Nigeria were the pillars that sauntered him on the ladder of successes and victories over terrorism.
    These are no doubt a wide range of qualities and virtues, quite difficult to find in sufficient measures in a single leader. But Gen. Buratai exhilaratingly epitomizes all of them, which unconsciously stands him out tall among equals.
    But briefly, Gen. Buratai’s timeline as leader of the counter-insurgency campaigns in Nigeria exposes that he promised to substantially decimate Boko Haram insurgents by December 2015, after he assumed office in July of the same year. He wasted no time in setting the machinery in motion.
    The Army Chief met troops whose morale in the battlefield was dampened by poor or lack of arms and ammunitions to battle insurgency; a condition further worsened by poor welfare packages of troops in the battlefront; arrears of unpaid salaries and allowances of army personnel and zero initiative on incentives to fighting troops. He toured Army formations and heard from the horses mouth and instantly corrected the wrongs to stabilize the psyche of troops.
    A man of his words, as Gen. Buratai promised, by December 2015, Nigerian troops had decimated Boko Haram terrorists and by early 2016, Buratai’s troops had reclaimed the 16 local government areas in the Northeast annexed by terrorists and returned them to Nigeria. By mid-2016, insurgents had been pushed back incredibly and confined to few areas of sporadic bomb attacks in the Northeast, a feat acknowledged by former US President Barack Obama and later, the United Nations (UN) former Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon.
    The victory streaks against insurgents intensified as in December 2016, Gen. Buratai pleasantly astounded Nigerians with an unexpected New Year gift; the Nigerian troops’ demystification and invasion of the dreaded Sambisa forest to Camp Zero.
    Sambisa forest is reputed as terrorists’ most secured fortress of recuperation and plotting venue for atrocities on Nigeria. The feat marked the defeat of Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria, as IDPs returned to deserted homes and
    The feat marked the defeat of Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria, as IDPs returned to deserted homes and life in the Northeast advertised incredible normalcy. And with the restoration of respite and peace, the rebuilding process in the Northeast is also progressing steadily.
    Beyond it, the Nigerian troops led by Gen. Buratai have been instrumental to the voluntary surrender of Boko Haram top commanders and thousands of adherents who have renounced terrorism, de-radicalised and re-integrated into the society as sane beings. Actions of troops in the last two years served as a springboard for the rescue of over 20, 000 persons abducted by Boko Haram insurgents, including the released Chibok schoolgirls.
    Gen. Buratal is in the last phase, by leading the battle for the final termination of Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria, as he has issued a directive for the capture of Boko Haram sect’s factional leader Abubakar Shekau “dead or live; Himself and other colleagues have relocated to Maiduguri in compliance with Presidential directive to end the recurrent suicide bomb attacks on soft targets in the region; a mission that has started yielding fruitful results.
    His transparent and accountable leadership of the Nigerian Army has earned him uncontested loyalty from Army officers and personnel, which has fostered unity of purpose, mutual interactions with the civil populace, respect for human rights, patriotism and the passion of love for their country, Nigeria, as evident in the sacrifices to free Nigeria from terrorism.
    Suffice it to say, President Buhari is a blessed leader and father of modern Nigeria, privileged to see the crop of decent and disciplined officers and soldiers that God gave him the foresight to nurture with the appointment of Gen. Buratai as Nigerian Army’s helmsman. Congratulations, Gen. Buartai, “The Peoples General” for adding another feather to your cap with this well-deserved award.

    Ayodeji, is a columnist at THE NIGERIAN.

    He writes from 199 Watford Way, London, United Kingdom.

  • Edo rolls out drums for Aba Festival

    Edo rolls out drums for Aba Festival

    It has been four days of a spectacle of unadulterated culture for culture enthusiasts, domestic and international tourists in Igarra, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State as the much awaited Aba Festival got underway on Monday, August 21, 2017.

    The week-long event parades the rhythmic dance steps of the Igarra people, their songs that are rich in symbolisms, the age-long drumming sessions and the colorful and very significant initiation rites, amid feasting and an accompaniment of side attractions.

    This year’s outing is living up to the expectations of the organizers as the State Government made true its promise to raise the profile of the 228-year-old festival to attract more foreign tourist receipts. This is in line with the resolve of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration to reset the tourism sector in the state for the optimal socio-economic benefit of the Edo people.

    Obaseki’s holistic approach to the development of its culture and tourism sector, is weighing  on the development of a master plan for the sector, in line with global best practices, to ensure that all culture and tourism events such as the Aba Festival, impact on the Edo economy through hotel receipts, patronage of food and drink  vendors, collection of art works and memorabilia by art enthusiasts, boom in commercial and private transport activities and visits to cultural sites and destinations, amongst others.

    The state government’s endorsement of the ABA Festival has since paved the way for the placement of this colourful event on the country’s festival calendar by the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC).

    Speaking on the festival recently, the Chairman Central Organizing Committee, Obed Alli, assured of an unforgetable Aba Festival outing this year. He explained that the festival was rated by energy giant, Total E & P in 2006, as the sixth most indigenous cultural festival in West Africa.

    According to him, the festival started as “a celebration of victory by hunters over the initial settlers of the land now known as Etuno (Igarra). The Aba Festival is the most spectacular singular event in the celebration of the Irepa Festival. It is the highest crowd pulling of all Irepa Festival events. It marks the climax of activities as it indicates the end of a seven-year traditional administrative tenure and the beginning of the new one.”

    The uniqueness and distinct appeal of Aba Festival have earned it a prestigious place on the country’s festival league table, as corporate bodies, governments and individuals jostle to be a part of it and this year’s is no different.

    As the drummers and dancers thrill visitors and Edo people to the rich cultural heritage of the Igarra people, until Saturday, August 26, our doors and hearts are open to receiving you in Igarra, Edo State.

     

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

     

  • Youths still restricted, regardless of “Not Too Young to Rule” 

    Youths still restricted, regardless of “Not Too Young to Rule” 

    Congratulations to Nigerians on the passage of the ‘Not Too Young to Run’ bill.

    The bill in its campaign stage sought to reduce the age limit for running for presidency from 40 years to 35 years; for state governor from 35 years to 30 years; for senate from 35 years to 30 years; for the House of Representatives from 30 years to 25 years; and for state House of Assembly from 30 years  to 25 years .

    This vote is particularly important because the population dynamics are shifting globally; half of the global population is under 30, and yet 73% of countries (including Nigeria) restrict young people from running for office, despite being qualified to vote.

    To some extent, the senate has received an undeserved applause from Nigerians. However, the passage of the bill is a technique employed by the senate to divert the attentions of Nigerians from other important pressing issues that requires the prompt attention of the legislatives, to make better the lives of the general public. The bill quite rightly succeeded in setting a minimum age; however it failed to set a maximum age eligible to contest. In as much as civil servants have set an age when they must retire considering an expected decline in their service, health, and productivity, likewise political office holders must have a retirement age.

    According to the CIA world fact book report in 2017, the total Nigeria population is estimated to be 186,053,386 people, out of which 112,000,000 live below poverty line, which is living on less than a dollar per day. Ages 14-24 make up 19.48%, 0-54 makes up 92.92%, with unemployment rate at 14.20%.  On March 30, the senate passed the Electoral Act No 6 2010 (Amendment) Bill 2017, and one of the things it will do is to abolish arbitrary fees for nomination forms fixed by political parties. By 2019 general elections, prescribed limits for each elective office would be as follow:

    • N150, 000 for a ward councillorship aspirant in the FCT;
    • N250, 000 for an area council chairmanship aspirant in the FCT;
    • N500, 000 for a house of assembly aspirant;
    • N1, 000, 000 for a house of representatives aspirant;
    • N2, 000, 000 for a senatorial aspirant;
    • N5, 000, 000 for a governorship aspirant; and
    • N10, 000, 000 for a presidential aspirant.

    ‘The Not Too Young to Run’ bill was proclaimed to be made for the youths. However, the irony of it is that majority of the youths are not fit to run because of the huge financial demands of running. What chances does this guarantee an average Nigerian youth? Is the bill meant for the unemployed youths? How possible is it for a person under the current minimum wage structure of N18, 000 to afford a presidential or governorship form? Are we still practicing democracy if there is no fair chance given to all? Should it always be about money or the quality of person? It is clear that political offices in Nigeria are meant for the elites, because in an estimated population of 186,053,386, an estimate of 112,000,000 are below the poverty line, and the total number of millionaires are estimated to be less than 20,000. Hundreds of youths are perishing in the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea in the process of migrating away from the hardship in the country; yet our law makers feel they have given a generational gift.

    Recently, the ministry of education acknowledged that Nigeria has more than half of the world’s population of out-of-school children. The permanent secretary for the ministry of education Hussaini Adamu said that: it is sad that 10.5million Nigerian children are out of school. The consequence of this is that: the futures of the country are the children who are currently out of school. What kind of country leaves her future out-of-school? How would the ‘out-of-school children’ be eligible to be political office holders in future if they are not educated? Isn’t this another governmental strategy to keep the masses out of the decision-making process of the country in future by making their children vulnerable and uneducated?

    The plans of the lawmakers by not setting a maximum age is to avail them the opportunity of eligibility even when they have become too old to function; and the high cost of running on the other end, is an elitist strategy to exclude the majority from governance. Nigerian youths must not be distracted by the false gestures our law makers. They should advocate for a maximum age boundary, and most importantly, reduction in the cost of running that would be relative to the current minimum wage structure.

    Dada resides in Lagos and can be reached on: dadabenjaminopeyemi@gmail.com