The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • PDP and the Bourbon Spirit

    How are the mighty fallen? If you watched the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, during its pitiable rebranding conference last Thursday, you would be reminded of the Bourbon dynasty in France as it lost grip of power. As the story goes, through stealth and iron clad despotism, the Bourbon dynasty had bestrode much of Europe, controlling the affairs of state in France, Italy, Spain and other areas. Blinded by its seeming invincibility, it ignored the fact that its oppressive rule was breeding deep-seated resentment over the land. Like the foolish king who danced naked while his throne was being taken away, the Bourbons were eventually dumped from the throne.

    That was before Napoleon Bonaparte’s ascension. However, on the abdication of Napoleon, the Bourbons returned to power, only to lose it again, never to return. Reason: They had learnt nothing; forgotten nothing.

    Let us hope that unlike the Bourbons, PDP will quickly emerge from self-delusion and embrace the inevitable change without which President Olusegun Obasanjo’s prediction of the party’s death will come to pass. But if last Thursday’s conference of the party is anything to go by, one is left with the painful conclusion that the party seems doomed to be drowned in its crisis of self-delusion. We do not have to be reminded that this was a party that had arrogantly claimed that it was going to rule Nigeria uninterruptedly for 60 years. This was a party that had prided itself as the quintessence of democracy. But what happened?

    Confronted with the acid test of internal democracy, it crumbled like a park of badly arranged cards. Faced with the freedom of choice, it bungled it so much so that the outcry against the conduct of the 2015 primaries coupled with the denial of access to aggrieved contestants to redress, led to an internal revolt, the outcome of which was that the PDP became the first party in government to lose a general election in Nigeria.

    Last Thursday’s rebranding conference of the party was a fruitless and mediocre effort in self deception. It is not enough for the party to console itself that it undertook the electoral reforms that provided the atmosphere for it to commit political suicide; the important thing is for the party to address those undemocratic tendencies that sowed the seeds of its virtual disintegration. Unfortunately, rather than seek honest resolution of its problems, the party has been moving in circles, with members of the national working committee, NWC, shamelessly dodging the fundamental time-honoured practice which requires those who lead their parties to disastrous elections to quit without any prompting. That is the path of honour. That is the dictate of commonsense. But Uche Secondus has yet to step down so that the north-east can complete its tenure as chairman of the party.

    What makes this state of affairs completely untenable is the fact that Uche Secondus, as a caretaker chairman, ought to have stepped down three months after the resignation of the former chairman of the party, Alhaji Ahmed Muazu to allow for a new chairman to emerge from the north-east zone in conformity with the constitution of the party. The implication of this serious breach of the party’s constitution is that, in a strict sense, the PDP does not have a national working committee at this moment. Stretched to its logical conclusion, all actions taken by the leadership could be regarded as illegal, including the farcical show that was put up in the name of a conference.

    Here again, it is ironical that the party is notoriously refusing to learn the painful lessons of its obsession with impunity. Nothing can be more contradictory than High Chief Raymond Dokpesi’s apology to Nigerians over the PDP’s failure to field a northern presidential candidate for the 2015 elections while, at the same time, the party stubbornly refuses to allow the north-east to complete its tenure as chairman of the party. To throw the carrot of a northern presidential candidate for the 2019 elections as a smokescreen for denying the north-east its right smacks of barefaced deception. Much as zoning the presidency to the north could be the most logical option, PDP does not have to jump the gun; it should wait and get to that bridge before crossing it.

    For now, the most immediate challenge facing the party is restoring the confidence of hundreds of thousands of its members who felt shortchanged during the last primaries. But the party must lay the foundations for building this inclusive institution that commands the respect of all. This cannot be done by compounding impunity with illegality. That appears to be what the NWC is doing by frittering away the party’s funds on dubious public expeditions that yield nothing except to attract public ridicule to itself.

    For instance, is it not a grotesque exercise in self ridicule for the conference to spend unbelievably lengths of time castigating the APC-led federal government for undemocratic practices when it is yet to put its house in order? If not for self-conceit, why would the NWC put up such a shambolic display of mediocrity and shadow-chasing when fundamental challenges of restoring battered confidence, rebuilding derailed party structures, instilling accountability and undertaking a membership drive stare the party in the face?

    Some commonsense is needed here. Memories may be short. But PDP cannot afford to make the same mistake twice. If the five aggrieved governors had not left the party for the APC on the grounds that are similar to what obtains today, chances are that the party would have retained the presidency even if it did not field a northern candidate. Or put differently, if the party had not failed to listen to the voice of reason, just as it is failing again to do, it probably would have fielded a northern candidate, the five governors would not have left, OBJ would not have torn his membership card and the party would not have been boxed into this desperate search for its lost soul.

    Even if Nigerians were to accept Dokpesi’s confounding apology, what are the guarantees that the PDP is not yet sowing the seeds for another grand failure with the need for more apologies in the future? The time to answer that question is now. Not just because of the party but because of Nigeria. For the umpteenth time, the point needs be emphasized that a weakened PDP can only hasten the transformation of Nigeria into a one-party state. To avert this frightening possibility, elders of the PDP can no longer afford to distance themselves from the charade being paraded by some shameless egotists prancing all over the place in spite of the fact that Nigerians think very little about them presently.

    Where are the Alex Ekwuemes, the Adamu Ciromas, the Richard Akinjides, the Bode George, the Ken Nnamani and the Jerry Ganas etc? History beckons on them to intervene now and put a halt to this macabre dance that is about to sound the death knell on the party. We can take consolation in the realization that with men and women of some noble principles and pride, the situation in the PDP can still be spared the ignoble legacy of the Bourbons, of being hounded into the scrap heaps of history. A stitch in time saves nine.

  • Ogun : The real change

    Dateline: Friday, November 13. The Ibikunle Amosun administration in Ogun State brought the creme de la creme of government apparatus Into the expansive hall of the former Gateway Hotel Abeokuta , now Park Inn. The list of attendees included commissioners, special advisers, consultants and permanent secretaries among others. It was a one-day retreat to jump-start second term administration of Governor Amosun during which the helmsman was also seated throughout. The event took place barely a week after a similar one involving then would-be ministers in the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    The Abeokuta event offered a rare opportunity to brainstorm over such knotty issues as effecting modern transformational governance in Ogun State  embedded in infrastructural rebirth, investment drive and revenue generation while keeping an eye on people-friendly governance.

    For Amosun, it is not so much about what to do to memorably impact on the affairs of his people but how to sustain the present tempo of infrastructural hurricane he wrought on the state since 2011 when he assumed office. For reasons that are obvious, the helmsman’s throbbing headache is easily decipherable. Available records show convincingly that in four years he has challenged failure to a duel by embarking on unimaginable volume of infrastructural workload. His somewhat greedy onslaught on underdevelopment in Ogun State led many to reach the inevitable conclusion that he has, indeed, overdrawn his goodwill with the impatient god of accomplishment.

    Although his scorecard – particularly on successfully executed road infrastructure in many areas of the state – shocked many of his critics,  many of them are still in various stages of completion at the close of first term last May. His critics were unsparing in firing salvos his way for this reason and the fact that many residents lost property to the bulldozers. Criticism of the administration is most strident in areas where road projects await completion. Many hold the strong view that the governor should have bitten less for a mouthful .

    None , nevertheless,  would forget in a hurry the uninspiring state of infrastructure in Ogun State prior to May 2011 when Governor Amosun took over. As a matter of fact, the administration met a comatose civil service, dysfunctional economic plain, moribund infrastructural arena aside from near-death state of health and educational facilities.  The situation was  so palpable that as the new helmsman took his oath of office in Abeokuta, the state capital, many banks in the state shut their gates against customers. Reason? Intractable menace of armed robbers.

    Aside man-made challenges, nature-induced peculiarities instantly made the job in the hands of the new governor quite tasking. Birthed in February 1976, the state boasts of an estimated population of 4.3 million people occupying a land mass of about 16,409.16 square kilometres. Much as its proximity to the megacity of Lagos attracts advantages, the circumstances also imposes its spectacular challenges. This gory situation is most manifest in the area of crime. Fleeing hoodlums and social fugitives from Lagos found Ogun a homely environment during the tenure of Amosun’s predecessor. This was promptly tackled by the Amosun administration through massive procurement of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) deployed across the state.

    Schools that were closed in the state before the Amosun administration took over, either due to non-payment of salaries or failure of government to provide required facilities and aids for effective operation, sprang to life. Teachers were paid huge backlog of entitlements while instructional aids were provided. Existing facilities in the educational sector were either upgraded or rehabilitated. New schools – modern mega ones – were built in local government areas.

    In the meantime, the health sector in the  state of the Amosun era has increasingly witnessed remarkable upliftment.  Hospitals have sprung up in communities without none in the past. The existing ones have also been well-equipped while health personnel are currently enjoying never-before -experienced welfare largesse from government. Efforts of the government in this areas have greatly  resulted in renewed confidence of the  citizenry in public health policy of the government.

    The Amosun administration policy on urban renewal is a classic. It is anchored on five cardinal points. There is no doubting the fact that every efforts made in the area of modernization geared toward making life more meaningful for the people thrives only on efficient road infrastructure. Roads are the vehicles to take anyone to other government facilities.

    While most roads in Ogun State have failed by 2011, the fact that a great number of them have been constructed between 30 and 40 years ago worsened the situation. Many were, infact, inherited from the defunct Western region government following creation of Ogun State in 1976 when population figure of the state stood at not more than a quarter of current figure  while vehicular traffic was less than five percent of what obtains now.

    It is therefore understandable that modern day pressure on the roads cannot be sustained by these  old inadequate road network, a development leading to failure of these facilities. It is against this background that the Amosun administration has evolved the now famous Ogun standard roads. There are also massive efforts deployed into construction of link roads, community roads and rural roads.

    These roads, as a concept, must each have six carriage lanes with median and drainage on either side. Each should also be equipped with green belt, street lights, walkways, service ducts for cable crossing and grade separations. This type of road , an imposing legacy of the Amosun administration, is the Ibara-Sokori -Totoro road in Abeokuta. Another is Benin express junction-Oba Erinwole-Sabo-Kara road in Sagamu which traverses the whole of seven kilometres. They are found in all federal constituencies of the state. Altogether they all add up to 307 kilometres when completed. These roads also have a total of 14 overhead bridges.

    Propelled by the need to give fillip to the residency rule in tax payment on the one hand and extending a hand of partnership in development to hitherto almost forgotten rural residents, the Amosun administration embarked on huge construction of community roads in the state particularly border towns with Lagos State. Such roads include Ibafo-Mowe, Aseese, Magada-Onimale Magboro, Isefu, Ijoko, Opeilu and Ojodu roads among others.

    Under the rural road project scheme of the Amosun administration, 20 kilometres of roads were graded in each of the 20 local government areas of the state. In this project, still on-going, a total of 400 kilometres of roads had been opened up. De-flooding and channelization of water have also bee n carried out in many areas of the state . Link roads have also been constructed along with heavy deployment culverts and drainage geared towards ensuring free flow of water and longevity of the roads.

    In spite of this eye-popping record of achievements, the Amosun administration scored its most decisive goal in the area of fiscal management. It is widely known that all tiers of government have been     assailed by intractable cash crunch. Ogun is not exempted.The administration waded through the nation’s economic storm while still performing its transformational duties to the people without exposing the state to debts either in form of loan or unpaid services of contractors.

     

    • Lawal is Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress, Ogun State.

  • Sound of Change, similitude of Transformation

    I had been a faithful and christened disciple of Buhari much before the most recent presidential elections where many others, having been distressed by the colossal failure of the past administration found solace in the Buhari dream and decided to pitch their tent with him. On September 19, 2010, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) shared his popular ‘I had no shoes’ story. I figured out it was a racket on the Nigerian people. The racket was GEJ himself, and not his grass-to-grace recital.

    I was barely above the constitutional age required to vote in the country at the time, but I was convinced that a Buhari led administration was what the country needed. Many of my naïve and undiscerning critics would ride on utter sentiments and make comments like “The man has good intentions”, “we should vote a Christian who would not Islamize Nigeria”, the biggest sham being “we are voting GEJ not PDP, the man has a good heart”. However, after his unparalleled victory at the polls, we saw our ‘good intentioned’ president institutionalise corruption, our ‘Christian’ president explain to us that stealing isn’t corruption, and together with PDP, we saw the unprecedented depth of profligacy this country was subjected to. My greatest sympathy to those who still describe GEJ as their hero!

    In a conversation I had with a fellow Buhari-faithful after the former General lost his third attempt at the presidency, I recall saying that “I would do whatever I can within my powers to campaign for Buhari during the next election”. I believed he would win, but more importantly, I wanted to contribute my quota, such that even if he didn’t win, I would have cleared my conscience, knowing that I did what I believed was right for my country. Earlier this year, one of my most profound heart cry to God was “Give Nigeria new leadership” as I didn’t see a way out with the recklessness that characterised the GEJ administration. During the build up to the elections, I consistently campaigned for the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket within my little space of influence. I had all sorts of discussions and arguments, in defence of the retired general. I did make some enemies, and had new converts too. In all of these discourses, one significant question my pro-GEJ set of friends and acquaintance kept asking was “What if nothing changes if Buhari wins?” Of course as Buhari’s self-appointed local spokesperson, I quickly dismissed their fear, spilling and succinctly advancing different arguments explaining why a Buhari-led government would be remarkably different from what we experienced under GEJ’s administration. Alas, all of these are pleasant history now; we have a new government that at the very least offers hope, and a sense of purpose and direction. However, the question posed above has formed the basis of this submission.

    Like one hit with cupid’s arrow of love, APC’s campaign promises could be compared to a young man’s promises to win the heart of the woman he loves. “I will do anything for you” is the most commonly used phrase during this phase. But as soon as he gets a ‘Yes’, he believes he has conquered, and maybe needs a long vacation too. I have no doubt clearly and experience no sense of regret whatsoever in the choice of President Buhari as the leader of this great nation, but I am beginning to get worried, like other truly concerned Nigerians about the pace of this change we fought earnestly to attain.

    We must understand as a people that our primary association firstly is as Nigerians before any other form of political association. Regardless of whether the APC or PDP continues to exist, Nigeria will remain one nation. We never had APC or PDP in 1960, but we had a country we could call our own and regardless of party divide we must be willing to speak up when the moral burden is laid on us.

    I think a burden is laid upon us now to question, howbeit with caution, what exactly the APC government has in mind for Nigerians. Or more succinctly maybe we should ask the president – are you the messiah or should we expect another? Quoting directly from the APC manifesto, they promised to “Create 20,000 jobs per state immediately (emphasis mine) for those with a minimum qualification of secondary school leaving certificate and who participate in technology and vocational training”. You don’t need to be a scholar of English lexicon to understand that immediately means ‘without delay’, or ‘instantly’. I would have expected that the APC-led administration already had all of these worked out before they made this promise to Nigerians, but here we are, six months after, we have neither seen nor heard anything in this direction. The APC government has spent about a tithe of its constitutional four years, yet the story hasn’t significantly changed from what we experienced in the past. Even if ‘immediately’ meant during the first one year, pro-rating the numbers across the 36 states as promised, we should have had at least 300,000 jobs created by now.

    I am not totally oblivious of the fact that Buhari apologists would swiftly come out in his defense and explain for the umpteenth time the reasons why little has been achieved. “He has been busy cleaning up the mess left in the NNPC”, “he is trying to ensure corrupt practices are brought to a standstill first”, “the realities of the current situation in Nigeria are preposterous” and the tirade of reasons could continue endlessly. But the sincere reality remains that there would always be a market for excuses, but unfortunately it is not a desirable commodity. If not, what would be the difference between the current administration and the immediate past? That the nation’s unemployment rate has in the second quarter (Q2) of 2015 risen to 8.2 per cent from the 7.5 per cent rate which was recorded in the preceding quarter leaves one to worry.

    I was too sure that by now, the Boko Haram menace would have been completely out of sight, or at the very least brought to the barest minimum. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like anything has changed significantly. Yes, the command centre was relocated to Maiduguri, Yes, we have new service chiefs, and yes, we have the support and commitment of neighbouring countries, but also true is that we have lost even more lives. In an interview with Christie Amanpour of CNN on April 2, Buhari had promised to tackle Boko Haram in two months. “We know how they (Boko Haram) started and where they are now and we will rapidly give attention to security in the country. And I believe we will effectively deal with them in two months when we get into office. We will need the cooperation of neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Chad and Niger.” Knowing that we have gained the cooperation of our neighbouring countries, the big question then is why the Boko Haram sect hasn’t been ‘effectively dealt with’, since ‘we know… where they are’. It’s understandable if an argument is posed to say that most times the reality of the crisis on ground is usually different from what you assume it to be from a distance. So it is possible therefore that President Buhari having assumed office was confronted with a different reality, but I believe the ordinary Nigerian would be satisfied if the results of consistent and intensified efforts at defeating this notorious sect were visible.

    Amnesty International estimates that at least 1600 have been killed by the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon since June. Clearly more than 80% of these killings have occurred on our soil. It’s a regrettable truth that the figures weren’t this bad during the last administration where deaths caused by the sect within 2013 – 2014 are put at 8,239 according to the United States. But this is not and should not be a debate of how many more people died during this administration compared to the last one, rather, firstly as citizens we should ask ourselves how we got to the point where the loss of human lives just seem ordinary, another casualty. If we appreciate the fact that when a life is lost, an investment is destroyed; time, emotions, financial, physical, all in one blast. Until we begin to realise that because it hasn’t happened to someone close to us doesn’t make the death toll any less significant, we may not be able to sincerely query our government when precious lives are lost. We can understand the constraint faced by the military and the joint task force, but the president is reminded of his promise, time is ticking.

    Without doubt the president has fared well above average in the fight against corruption.  But so our story wouldn’t be likened to the child who was being effectively treated for malaria but still died of malnutrition, we must concurrently fight the menace of corruption whilst improving the quality of life of the average citizen.

    The struggle to wrestle the presidency from the clutches of the PDP led administration was a major milestone in enriching our nascent democracy. However, we must continually and consistently be on the alert, speak objectively when we need to, hold the government accountable for obvious failures/un-kept promises and fairly criticise them as we continue this delicate sojourn. It is only then that we would not slip, either consciously or otherwise into the dark abyss that characterised the past administration. In all of these, we are reminded that they need our support just as much; commendation when it’s obvious, prayers for wisdom to steer the leadership correctly, and of course a lending voice of sincerity.

    • Prof Osuntokun returns next week

  • Ministers: Need for constitutional amendment?

    The need for a major overhaul of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended) is generally accepted. The importance and necessity of its overhaul was reinforced by the attempts made to amend the constitution by the last National Assembly. Despite the huge cost, time and energy deployed to the legislative exercise, it turned out a stillbirth. Whether the 8th National Assembly and the presidency will allow the revival the Bill for the Constitutional Amendment as passed by the 7th Assembly is a different matter.

    It is equally accepted and understood that owing to the dwindling revenue, the federal and the states as presently constituted, cannot be sustained if any meaningful development is to be expected from the new APC government.

    Yes, the President Muhammed Buhari has finally inaugurated the Federal Executive Council with the appointment of the ministers, but can it really be said that, the inauguration of the ministers reflect the compliance as envisaged by the constitution. How do we reconcile the expressed desire of the President to have a lean, compact and effective government with the appointment of 36 ministers?

    Despite the promise by the new administration to maintain a lean government, there is the corresponding provision of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) that’s demands that the President must appoint a minister from each state of the federation.

    Over the years, certain constitutional provisions seem to have created periodic dilemma as to the number of ministers to be appointed. Section 147 (1) of the Constitution specifically gives the President unfettered power to determine the number and nature of offices of ministers of the government of the federation. But the exercise of this absolute power seems to have been made subject to the provisions of Section 147(3), which demands that the appointment of ministers shall be in conformity with the provisions of Section 14 (3) with respect to the need to maintain the Federal Character by specifically ensuring that every state of the federation is adequately represented. Section 147 (3) also demand that, every minister so appointed shall be an indigene of that state. Therefore, there are only two constitutional Caveats in the exercise of this presidential power to appoint Ministers – (i) a minister from each state and (ii) the minister must be an indigene of that state. The word “shall” was used in the Section 147(3), which projects a mandatory obligation.

    But, is the President Constitutionally required to give effect to the provisions of Section 147(3)?

    Beyond these provisions, the President is not constitutionally encumbered in the appointment of his ministers. He has unfettered discretion.

    Therefore, except the President would want to take advantage of the Constitutional requirements of Section 147(3) to satisfy political considerations and expediencies, the issue is, how immune from attacks and charges of impeachable offences would a President who intends to maintain a lean Government be, without running foul of the provisions of Section 147(3), in the appointment of less than 36 Ministers, in view of the different positions already thrown up in the public discourse, on how to comply with the constitution?

    It should be noted preliminarily that, while there is no provision in the constitution with respect to the period within which the President must appoint all the 36 ministers; there is also no constitutional requirement that all the 36 ministers must be inaugurated on the same day to constitute the Federal Executive Council.

    An interpretation of the combined provisions of Sections 14(3), 147 and 149 of the constitution assists us in determining the intents and purposes of the drafters of the constitution.

    In doing this, a literal interpretation of these sections shows that the constitution intended to give the President, full constitutional power to determine who exercises his delegated executive powers on his behalf; save for the checks and balances, with the confirmation of the Senate.

    It is quite incongruous that, while the President would be given an absolute power to determine the number and nature of offices of ministers of the federation, ‘’AS MAY BE ESTABLISHED BY THE PRESIDENT’’ in Section 147(1), the same President will now be mandated or controlled in the exercise of this seemingly absolute powers, by subjecting the powers, to the observance and compliance with the provisions of Section 14(3) of the Constitution, which incidentally is a provision within Chapter II of the Constitution that has been made non-justiciable by Section 6(6)c of the Constitution in Nigerian courts. Presumably to cure this inherent and obvious Constitutional defect in Section 14(3), the drafters of the constitution, through the provisions of Section 147(3),now tried to take the requirements of observing and complying with the Federal Character principle out of the purview of Section 14(3), by now specifically identifying and stating out, the two irreducible requirements of compliance as envisaged in Section 14(3)in the provisions of Section 147(3).

    We submit that, a closer scrutiny of the proviso in Section 147(3) ONLY tried to impose HOW the Executive power of appointing ministers can be exercised, ONLY WHEN the President decides to conform with the provisions of Section 14(3) of the constitution.

    There are two scenarios here –

    1. If the President decides to comply with the two requirements of each state appointment and indigeneship consideration, or
    2. If the president decides for whatever reason, not to conform or ‘’give effect’’ to the provisions of Section 14(3) and Section 147(3) respectively.

    What are the legal consequences of scenario 2 above?

    We submit further that, while Section 147(5) is a section of the constitution that also state the criteria in appointing a minister, its applicability is not made to be dependent on Chapter II of the Constitution. A combined reading of Sections 65, 66 and 147(5) of the constitution reveals the clear constitutional obligations of the President in his consideration of who to appoint as a minister. We state that the same cannot be said of Section 147(3) that makes its applicability on the constitutional obligations as stated out in Section14 (3). Unfortunately, Section6 (6) c of the constitution is still a constitutional hindrance in Nigerian courts, in any attempt to ensure compliance with the provisions of Chapter II of the Constitution.

    It is trite that, you cannot put something on nothing. The raison d’etre or the foundation for the compliance with Section 147(3) is Section 14(3), which is a provision of the constitution that cannot be constitutionally enforceable against the President, if he decides not to give effect to the two requirements of Section 147(3).

    We state further that, the restrictive provisions of Section 6(6)c of the Constitution cannot be deemed to have been removed by the provisions of Section 147(3) of the constitution, without a corresponding amendment thereto.

    We state that, what is required is an express constitutional provision extending or expanding the judicial powers of the courts to adjudicate on Sections 13-24 of Chapter II of the Constitution, which has not been done. In the circumstances, and in other not to create absurdities in the constitutional interpretation of Section 147(3), the word “shall” can only be regarded as being permissive and not mandatory on the President.

    From the foregoing, in as much that the President cannot be compelled to conform with the provisions of Section 14(3), the President cannot be regarded to be under any form of compulsion to give effect to the two requirements in Section 147(3) of the constitution in appointing ministers.

    Finally, instead on embarking on the cumbersome and expensive processes of a constitutional amendment of the provisions on appointment of ministers, we urge the Attorney General of the Federation to, as a matter of direct constitutional intervention, initiate proceedings at the Supreme Court, for the interpretation of the combined provisions of Sections 6(6)c, 14(3), 147(3) and 147(5) of the constitution for a judicial pronouncement, instead of this relatively safe and politically acceptable compliance, with the appointment of 36 ministers.

    • Olaleye is an Attorney practicing in Lagos.

  • Paris attacks: Four important lessons

    French President Francois Hollande has contended unambiguously that ISIS launched the Paris terrorist attacks Friday night, and ISIS itself has now claimed responsibility.  It is not too early, even now, to draw important lessons from this tragedy.  We do so both to prevent the near-term recurrence of more terrorist violence against the West, and to address seriously the broader, global Islamicist threat that has been growing, not diminishing, in recent years.  We certainly have at least enough information and experience to draw working hypotheses for the next days and weeks until more details become available.

    Indeed, this is a time for statesmanship, resolve and determination, not for sweeping the cruel reality of what has just happened under the rug.  Our ability to safeguard the future may well depend in substantial part on what we do and how we do it in just these coming days and weeks.

    First, the Paris attacks were not “senseless violence” as some media commentators observed as the news coverage unfolded.

    Nor were they “an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share,” as President Obama said late Friday evening.

    These Islamic radicals know who their enemies are, and have for decades. It is we — or at least some of our leaders — who have forgotten who is under attack.

    This coordinated, well-planned and, sadly, well-executed series of assaults on innocent civilians was deliberate, ideologically motivated, and carefully targeted.

    President Hollande was himself attending the soccer match at the Stade de France, where suicide bombers struck, and might well have been one of the targets.

    At a minimum, the terrorists showed they could strike in close physical proximity to the head of the French government.

    We should be immediately concerned that other attacks in prominent Western capitals, against senior European and U.S. government officials and the West generally may be in the offing.

    Second, we should not view the appropriate American and Western response as “bringing these terrorists to justice,” in President Obama’s words.  This is not a matter for the criminal law, as many American political and academic leaders, including the President, have insisted, even after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

    This is a war, as President Hollande has forthrightly called it, not a slightly enhanced version of thieves knocking over the corner grocery store within an ordered civil society.  And the mechanism of response must be to destroy the source of the threat, not prosecute it, not contain it, not hope that we will “ultimately” destroy it.  “Ultimately” is too far away.

    Third, in light of Paris and the continuing threat of terrorism it so graphically conveys, we need a more sensible national conversation about the need for effective intelligence gathering to uncover and prevent such tragedies before they occur.

    Knee-jerk, uninformed and often wildly inaccurate criticisms of programs (such as several authorized in the wake of 9/11 in the Patriot Act) have created a widespread misimpression in the American public about what exactly our intelligence agencies have been doing and whether there was a “threat” to civil liberties. Now is the time to correct these misimpressions, and to rebut the unfounded criticisms that have in too many cases become the conventional wisdom.

    Similarly, in the debate over immigration and refugees, it is time to take into account the national security issues at stake.

    • Bolton was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 through 2006.

     

  • Ugwuanyi and the antics of a bad loser

    I have been following with keen interest, the recent media war over the false and retracted allegation of gift of Padro jeeps to the members of Enugu State House of Assembly by the state government. The controversy started when the labour unions in the state made some reservations concerning the vehicles. At the time, they had no information of the new vehicle scheme introduced by the state government to save cost in response to the current economic realities in the country.

    Since the labour union has known the true position of things and has equally retracted its ill-informed allegation over the car scheme and apologized to the government, I would rather not dwell much on the matter but review some serious and shocking issues that were revealed in the course of the controversy.

    Let me first of all commend the unions and the state government for resolving the issue amicably. It shows that they have the interest of the state at heart and are willing to maintain the existing cordial relationship between them and the government. I would have been surprised if the issue was not quickly and cordially resolved considering the fact labour has severally attested to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s unprecedented commitment to the welfare of workers in the state.

    But what is worrisome was the fact that after the issue was amicably resolved by both parties, political opponents of the governor cashed in on it by instigating a smear media campaign against the governor through strange and biased editorials aimed at unjustly undermining the integrity of the state government.

    Given the clarifications and defense put forward by the government on the issue, the matter ordinarily ought not to have attracted negative editorial attention. Indeed, contrary to the negative impression created, I was pleased when I read in national dailies that the whole idea was that since the state cannot afford the luxury of procuring new cars for the lawmakers as against the previous arrangement where they go home with the vehicles at the end of their tenure, government allocated its pool vehicles to them to enable them discharge their duties and return them at the expiration of their tenure. The reasoning     behind this is that the government will no longer spend a dime on vehicle allowance for lawmakers or political appointees, something that takes a huge chunk of government resources. The initiative is embedded in the sound vision of the governor towards innovation, prudence, transparency, accountability and fiscal discipline and therefore ought to be appraised rather than condemned. It is a worthwhile cost saving venture that should be emulated by the federal government and other states of the federation.

    One of the interesting fallouts from the develoment was the publication in some dailies by a group, the Enugu Peace Mandate Forum, EPMF, alleging the mastermind of the smear media campaign against the governor to be the individual behind the fraudulent acquisition of Enugu State landed property located at the Airport road, Abuja.

    The group charged that the particular individual “enjoys enormous goodwill from chief executives of some media houses in the country who were his colleagues during his days in the media, and has been leveraging on their relationship to sponsor and instigate negative and false reports against the governor in order to undermine his laudable vision for the state and ridicule him in the public for his selfish agenda.”

    That was not all: the group claimed that “the individual enlisted the support and assistance of a former commissioner in the state who is his close ally and a former editor in a foremost national newspaper. Another journalist with the same newspaper who comes from the same locality with the politician and was recently deployed to the state ostensibly to play out his master’s script.”

    In the circumstance, the group called on the state government and relevant security agencies to re-open the alleged unauthorised alienation  of Enugu State landed property by the unnamed Enugu politician.

    This writer is aware that the Enugu State Government through the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation recently placed an advertorial in some national dailies informing the general public that the corporation “lost the original letter of offer of Statutory Right of Occupancy to its plot of land known as plot 804 Cadastral Zone B03, Wuye-Abuja, File No. MFC7/LA/92/MISC-9765”.

    Could it therefore be the same land in question? If it was so, the context of the call by Enugu Peace Mandate Forum,  on the state government to take appropriate step to cause the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to re-open investigation on the land scam becomes understandable.  The group is of the view that “since the detractor has taken the people of the state for granted by daring to undermine the integrity of their governor through falsehood and incessant blackmail, it is important that the world knows who he really is.

    From the foregoing, it is clear that the SUV saga has opened a Pandora’s Box of allegations that need to be addressed and investigated thoroughly especially now that the war against corruption is receiving serious attention.

    Even though the group did not mention the name of the Enugu politician in question for obvious reasons, the fact that the state is looking for the document on the said property appears to give credence to the allegation hence the urgent need for the intervention of the security agencies in the country to speed up action with a view to investigating the circumstances surrounding the missing document – the Original Right of Occupancy of the landed property belonging to the Enugu State Government.

    The issue must not be swept under the carpet. The media in particular have a great responsibility to assist in digging deep into the matter and to come up with their findings on the weighty allegation.

    May I end this piece with the words of the leader of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Igbokwe C. Igbokwe, who spoke on behalf ýof other labour unions, after meeting with the governor on the SUVs allegation:  ”We did not have adequate information on the SUVs until our meeting with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. We met with His Excellency today who gave us clarifications on the scheme and at the end of the day we discussed and reconciled the issue. Let me commend His Excellency’s modus operandi because each time there are issues, he makes out time to bring people to make explanations. Governor Ugwuanyi discussed extensively with us on the SUV and we are satisfied with his explanations.”

    I am confident that Governor Ugwuanyi will overlook the antics of a bad loser and continue to move Enugu State forward.

    • Ameh, a public affairs analyst wrote from Uwani, Enugu

  • Biafra agitation as big business

    Only a few Nigerians are aware that the whole noisy affair about agitation for Biafra is just big business.  Starting from Ohanaeze’s dim-witted campaign about Igbo marginalization to MASSOB’s hysteria and IPOB’s war cry about self-determination for the Igbo, the agitation for Biafra is about the personal aggrandizement of the leaders of these groups that has nothing to do with the Igbo interest.

    As a matter of fact, the struggle of Eastern Nigerians (Igbo, Ibibio, Efik, Ijaw, Ekoi, etc) for self-determination concretely ended when Ojukwu (Ikemba Nnewi) contested the Onitsha Senatorial seat of the old Anambra State (Anambra, Enugu and parts of Ebonyi states), participated in the Sani Abacha national constitutional conference of 1995 as deputy leader of Ndi-Igbo delegates, and also contested the presidency of Nigeria in 2003 and 2007 under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) founded by Chief Chekwas Okorie.  Apart from 1967 when the Consultative Assembly of Eastern Nigeria made up of political, bureaucratic, cultural and business leaders, mandated then Col.  Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, to declare a Republic of Biafra as a means of ensuring the survival of the peoples of Eastern Nigeria, there has not been any platform (Igbo or otherwise) through which Ndi-Igbo, for instance, has mandated anybody or group to agitate for the actualization or realization of Biafra. All the noise about Igbo marginalization and actualization of Biafra today remain the antics of the leaders of Ohanaeze, MASSOB, Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), etc, to serve their private and selfish economic interests.

    Now, that is not to suggest that the Biafran dream is dead.  The issue is: What is the Biafran dream?  As Ojukwu himself pointed out in his book entitled, “Biafra: Selected Speeches”, published in 1969 by Harper & Row Publishers, New York, USA, “The Biafran dream is the creation of an African state that will act as a bulwark against foreign impositions.  Our struggle, therefore, is African nationalism conscious of itself and fully aware of the powers with which it is contending.  Biafra is about the creation of a black African state with; (a) common citizenship, with equal rights and privileges for all men anywhere in the country; (b) common laws and a common judicial system; (c) a common electoral system; (d) equal rights of all citizens before the law; (e) rights to acquire property and make a living anywhere in the country; (f) equal rights to employment anywhere in the country; and (g) equal rights to protection of life and property”.  In other words, the Biafran dream was, and remains, the building of a New Society – a progressive black people’s republic based on African nationalism, not on Igbo or Eastern Nigerian nationalism.  Biafra, as projected by Ojukwu, the symbol of that struggle, in 1969, is more than a government or a place; it is an idea about the freedom of the Black race.

    Now, in what way could it be said that today’s hysteria about Igbo marginalization or agitation for Biafra is or resembles the Biafran dream or vision just highlighted above?  Let us start with Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo.  This is an organization that was formed in 1978 by some Igbo politicians of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN).  All these years, it has embarked on activities that have nothing to do with the projection or protection of the Igbo interest.  Everything that Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo have done till date is about advancing the private and selfish economic and political interests of its members – retired or serving public officers, bureaucrats, military leaders, traditional rulers, few professionals, etc.  When Ohanaeze is not organizing solidarity visits to public officials to seek contracts or extorting funds from governments of the states in Igboland to fritter away in their so-called Igbo Day celebrations every September 29, they are scheming to have their members become ministers or Secretary to the Government of the Federation.  All the noise about Igbo marginalization from Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo is simply the craving for contracts and the positioning of their members for public office.

    Next is the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) led by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike.  Since 1999 when this organization was formed, it has been a troubling menace to the lives of Ndi-Igbo.  When MASSOB is not busy coercing Ndi-Igbo not to participate in activities like the census and electoral exercises that have the capacity to impact their lives in Nigeria because they are supposed to be Biafrans, Uwazuruike would be dressing up young impressionable Igbo in military fatigues and exposing them to the line of fire.  Of course, when Ndi-Igbo, especially those in the Americas (US, Canada, etc) and Europe, because of their emotional attachment to the name, Biafra, send monies to MASSOB to address matters arising from its so-called non-violent protests, the funds only end up in private pockets.  Today, Uwazuruike has a Helipad in his country home at Okwe, Imo State.

    It is not surprising that Chekwas Okorie, pointed out in a Pamphlet he released in 2009 entitled. “The MASSOB Misadventure”, that “The MASSOB project as being implemented is the greatest and most massive fraud and deceit that has ever befallen the beleaguered Igbo people since we were created on planet earth by the Almighty God”.

    Of course, the latest fads are the antics of Nnamdi Kanu of the so-called Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).  After breaking away from MASSOB, he set up Radio Biafra which he has used to spew hate speeches against fellow Black Africans who happen to inhabit the same Nigerian geographical space with the Igbo.  Perhaps, in the bid to test his popularity, he jumped into a plane and landed in Nigeria to the waiting arms of the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).  However, as an institution that believes in the rule of law, the DSS dutifully arraigned him (Kanu) in court where he was granted bail.  Unfortunately, the inability of Kanu to meet his bail terms has ensured that he remained in the custody of the DSS.  Now, instead of helping Kanu to meet his bail conditions, his hirelings are busy mobilising funds which they are allegedly using to fund the protests for his release in major towns and cities of the South-east and South-south.

    Let no mistake be made about the positions being canvassed here.  The Igbo really held the short end of the stick in the 70s.  This was when any Igbo account holder was given only Twenty Pounds, the equivalent of today’s N40, no matter how much he or she had in the bank.  This was when the Indigenization Decree came on stream and denied the Igbo any chance of buying into the economy of Nigeria.  This was when none of the industries in the Second National Development Plan, (NDP, 1970 – 75), was sited in the Igbo geo-ethnic areas.  But things have changed since 1979.  The Igbo have participated in the making of all the constitutions of Nigeria since 1978. The Igbo have been represented at all arms and levels of government.  The Igbo have been Vice-Presidents, Senate Presidents, Speakers of the House of Representatives, Justices of the Supreme Court, ministers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff, as well as Inspector-General of Police.  The problem of the Igbo is no longer marginalization or threat to his existence in Nigeria as happened between 1966 and 1970.  The problem of the Igbo is that they have refused to assert their rights as First Class Citizens of Nigeria as guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).  The constitution never provided anywhere that the Igbo are slaves or Second Class Citizens.

    When Igbo senators and honourable members in the National Assembly fail to ensure that federal projects for Igboland are not only accommodated in the national budgets but are also executed, rather than deploy the provisions of Section 69 of the Constitution to recall such lazy and unserious lawmakers, the Igbo looks askance and acquiesces in the stupid belief that their political leaders are untouchables who have been elected or appointed to take or “eat” their own share of the national cake on their behalf.  When state governors and local government chairmen openly mismanage or embezzle federal allocations meant for the development of the human and material resources of Igboland, rather than mobilise members of their Houses of Assembly to impeach such governors or remove such local government chairmen from office, the Igbo behaves as if they are slaves with no powers to force their state and local leaders to account for how their own share of the national resource is expended.

    • Ibekwe, is chairman, Mezie Ala-Igbo Foundation.

  • The Economist’s uncharitable view on LASG

    A recent publication by The Economist under the headline of ‘Why Nigeria’s Largest City Is Even Less Navigable Than Usual”, is at best unfair and uncomplimentary in its analysis of the traffic situation and the efforts of the State Government, under the leadership of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to address a perennial problem that the writer acknowledges as unfathomable.

    While it is not the intention to join issues, we wish to state categorically that it is uncharitable to describe, after acknowledging the administration as “new” (having been in existence for only five months) as ‘less competent’. Obviously, there are challenges of traffic hiccups. It is also true that it is not a new challenge. The traffic situation has been the story of Lagos – Nigeria’s land of opportunity and the land of our collective prosperity. Had past administrations banished or conquered the situation, the new administration will not have inherited it. But that is not to say anything beyond the preparedness of the administration to deal with it.

    Hitherto many strategies have been adopted by previous administrations. Of particular note is the restriction of movement based on plate numbers (Odd and Even). It failed because Lagosians simply bought new cars. Also the establishment of LASTMA to manage the traffic is a step towards sanity. By the admission and acknowledgement of the writer, LASTMA had become an organization out of control. This was vividly captured by The Economist: “Cars were terrified into order by a State Traffic Agency LASTMA whose bribe-hungry officers flagged down offending drivers”. The question to ask here is should the administration continue to condone the recklessness of some officers of the agency? What the author also failed to consider is the number of lives lost to the mode of arrest adopted hitherto by LASTMA. There were reported clashes with transport union members, drivers and many other groups. Oftentimes, it degenerated into violence on the roads. Was it then wrong for the governor to charge LASTMA to adopt more subtle Apprehend, Caution and Ticket (ACT) approach to undertaking its responsibilities?

    Like many others who have commented on the governor’s directive, the writer is also guilty of misinterpretation. For the author the challenge is “Policy deficiency by the Ambode administration”. He writes: “Mr. Ambode cut the powers of traffic controllers by banning them from impounding cars. In retaliation, officers have refused to enforce the rules”. It is a preposterous thing to adduce. LASTMA had not refused directives rather it is in fact “actioning” the governor’s directive. Really, it is to be stated that the pace of response may not be as fast. But that is to be expected. The change of guard in the agency is in essence, a follow up to the new expectation by the administration of the agency.

    It is here important to restate the governor’s directive. LASTMA officials should ensure free flow of traffic and should adopt booking of traffic offenders rather than apprehending their vehicles, a situation that occasionally results in violence.

    Governor Ambode did not just wake up with the intention to court mayhem on the roads. Far from it. Rather the thinking behind the policy is to treat drivers and commuters as human beings. As this perception gains ground, the city landscape, traffic-wise, will take better shape. It is still to be proven that this cannot be the case.

    Since that policy, over 800 vehicles have been given tickets and fined. The fact is that there is a robust database that captures details of all 1.5 million vehicles that daily commute on Lagos roads. They have not been captured just for the sake of data but rather to provide critical information on which very effective transport management system can be founded.

    Again there is the issue of excuses, as the writer calls the explanation given about the traffic situation. The question here is – are they facts or excuses? For anyone familiar with Lagos, its topography disposes it to flash floods and consequently, to traffic. It is also a fact that there are many more people in Lagos. As the economies of many states suffer, Lagos becomes a destination of sorts where dreams are realized and fulfilled. One of the skills they bring is transport related. Serious analysis shows many enter without obedience to the law. Can we then say they should not do so.

    To refer to less fastidious people as the plank upon which the government is judged as weak, is to say the least a misnomer. Lagosians deserve to be treated humanely. It is the rule in other climes. Law enforcement agencies are responsible for dealing with those who fail to obey the law. Enforcement strategies give character to both the agency and the administration. Ambode has a right to be mindful of his legacies and public perception of his administration. We must acknowledge his right to dream.

    There is a need to allay the writer’s fears when he concludes his piece: The biggest concern is that the gridlock is a sign of a breakdown in relations between security forces, government agencies and the new governor.

    Our assurance is that the buck stops at the table of the governor. Not only has he demonstrated leadership but also has a listening ear when it comes to security and the state’s economy. He recently read the riot out to “Danfo” (yellow coloured commercial buses) and okada riders on the need to obey traffic laws. He has also embarked on massive lightening up of the Lagos roads as an immediate response to the robberies just as the various security agencies continue to move against criminals across the state. Recently, a “Zero tolerance for potholes” was launched by the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.  This has seen the ministry’s officials- engineers, mount a massive onslaught on bad roads across the state, along with Public Works Corporation.

    Running through the piece is a comparison with the Governor Fashola years. Eight years is compared to four months. Fashola has indeed given Lagos a sense of sanity. He brought order to things. He had used power to enthrone order but Ambode will rather engage the people and build an enduring culture of obedience and acceptance and respect for the laws; very much like a partnership based on self-reinforcing mutual respect. To start on that road from the early days of his administration is not the sign of a governor who has lost control but one who has started on a road that will lead all of Lagos to excel.

    The vision is to build a safe and efficient city. It is the vision of a new Lagos that people voted for and the governor is giving life to. The gridlock will be dislodged when tank farms build and operate parks, the road is laid bare of articulated vehicles, parking indiscriminately on roads, and an electronic platform managing the presence of this category of vehicle on our roads, is put in place.

    Lagos is a victim of its prosperity. For its prosperity to remain, it is to this same governor that we must look. All who mean well must provide a plank of support rather than distract him with less-than-fair criticisms that do not suggest an atom of the direction he must go. Talk they say is cheap. It is our hope, that all of us will drive on the road to Lagos’ prosperity by being law-abiding. The intermodal transportation system will emerge under Ambode’s watch. It is the obvious solution; it is being pursued.

     

    • Fagunwa is of the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Alausa, Ikeja.

  • National Carrier: Go big or go home

    Nigerians like things big. Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa. Nigeria has the largest population in Africa. Lagos is one of the largest (if not the largest) city in Africa. The fleet of private jets owned by Nigerians is also probably the largest in Africa.

    Yet… there’s no Nigerian airline that can lay claim to being close to Africa’s largest.  Our airports are – if anything – the worst in Africa.

    Nigeria should have the largest airline in Africa.  The logic is simple.  In Europe, Germany has the largest economy and Lufthansa is arguably the largest airline. If you say British Airways/Iberia is the largest, the logic still works when you add the economies of the UK and Spain.  There’s supposed to be a correlation between size of economy, population and size and/or importance of air transport.

    There is an ongoing debate over the proposed national carrier. Should it exist or shouldn’t it? Well this is not one of those arguments whether it should or not. I believe that the government is very serious about creating a national carrier.

    Everything we must do to build this new national carrier must be based on facts and nothing else. If you look closely at the industry, it is clear that success and profitability happens at the fringes and never in the middle. The most successful airlines globally are either full service premium carriers or low cost carriers (this doesn’t mean low fares). For the record, there is no low cost carrier in Nigeria, just low fares airlines. I’m very biased towards a low cost carrier because I believe that we need to democratise the skies and let flying be for anyone who desires to fly. To be a low cost carrier is also a state of mind and requires massive amounts of focus and discipline. Zero frivolity!

    Are we going to build an airline for the elite or for everyone else? I think the elite have plenty of choices with big seats in the front of the plane and even access to private jets. So we can deduce that they are well catered for. Change was the mantra our new government rode on. So let’s do something very different and choose to disrupt the market by forming a low cost carrier, focused on the average Nigerian and others who want to move about easily. This will make the other airlines feel slightly at ease because the government would be sponsoring an airline focused on growing the market and not cannibalizing the market of the current operators.

    In a study commissioned by jetWest using an internationally renowned market research firm based in Lagos, we found that the road travel market in Nigeria is almost 10 times the individual air travel market.  Seven million Nigerians fly on average 2.5 times a year which accounts for the nearly 18 million passenger movement. The same study showed that approximately 70 million people travel the roads each year. That’s half of our population! Imagine if you convert 10% of that 70 million to fly because it is now within their reach? That’s seven million more flyers. And if those new flyers travel twice a year? You guessed it, you have in fact just doubled the Nigerian aviation market and everyone will gain!

    The biggest issue all airlines face is fuel. Right now prices are low, so no one is complaining. What happens when they spike again? You’ve got to be on top of your game and make sure you enter a hedging contract well before prices peak again because they will.

    Cash is king!  This saying is true in most businesses but even more critical in the airline business. How you manage your cash is critical.

    Don’t tie up all your cash buying aircraft. I know, as Nigerians, we love to own things but think about it like this: aircraft are tools to earn revenue. We want an airline that has high dispatch reliability (the percentage of departures that leave within a specified period of a scheduled departure time) and can help keep our costs down, right? Plus we want to put our best foot forward so we want brand new aircraft, right? We also know that the older the aircraft gets, it generally starts to cost you more to maintain etc. So here’s what we do; we make a down payment for the new aircraft, get all the benefits from the aircraft manufacturer (crew training, spares support, technical training etc.), then smartly do what’s called a sale lease back with a reputable lessor. This frees up much needed cash and allows you to get into new aircraft every seven years. Did I mention that if the negotiations go really well, the company can actually make a slight profit in the sale lease back, which means more cash at hand? This is a possibility. This allows the national carrier to have a very young fleet, which correlates to passenger confidence and perhaps critically keep your costs down. Again see the aircraft as a means to an end, not the end in itself.

    Let me get to it. The government has no cash, so everyone can pass on that angle. But here’s how I propose that they can get this funded. Issue a Sovereign Guarantee for the project cost. This will give everyone a lot of confidence. The equity and debt can be raised a lot easier and probably a lot cheaper with this in place. If the management is smart they can leverage this position to allow the new entity access to the kind of cash it needs to be successful. Think about it this way: the two most successful start ups I know, JetBlue and Azul started with $140m and $200m in equity respectively. They were able to leverage this equity to get amazing equity to debt ratios. This allowed them access to brand new aircraft and systems that gave them an advantage from the onset. They had other things but this was very important.

    If things go remotely close to plan, this airline should be at 20-30 aircraft in three years (aggressive I know but hey, we got to go BIG) and should be doing north of $500m in annual revenues. Using a 3x multiplier, this means the airline could have a valuation of $1.5bn in three years. At this point, when it should have shown good corporate governance and a penchant for being the solid airline we have always wanted, if market conditions are right, this will be the time to do an Initial Public Offer. With the funds raised at IPO, the government guarantee can now be retired and the company will have to stand on its own.

    One more thing about the IPO and why this can be a true NATIONAL carrier owned by Nigerians rather than a national carrier for the state of Nigeria. The IPO can choose to restrict any individual or corporate entity from purchasing more than a 5% stake in the business. This should in principle give access to ordinary Nigerians who want a part of a Nigerian success story.

    Two more things.  The national carrier project will fail if we don’t address this issue immediately. The object of the national carrier is to carry traffic through the hub so that Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt can become the destination of choice for those transiting to other destinations in Africa. Later we can tackle the world if we like. Airports are the most critical part of the service chain. If Port Harcourt is truly the worst airport in the world, then we need to address that issue and not waste money trying to fight a CNN poll. We need to see what airports are doing these days and fix ours to get there in a hurry. Furthermore all the agencies from NAMA, Nigerian Immigrations and Customs service need to work towards making our airports truly user friendly and very welcoming.

    One last thing I have learnt in my time in airlines is that everyone has an opinion on how to run an airline or the things that affect an airline. For this National Carrier project let us make it fun. Please don’t give it a generic name like Nigerian Airlines or any other stodgy name that we can think of. Use tools like social media to engage Nigerians to come up with a name for the carrier. You would be surprised how that will swing momentum in your direction. Furthermore, make a contest out of the aircraft livery design, maybe the uniforms too. Make it fun, engage the numerous talented Nigerians who would love to say, “See that plane, I designed the livery”.

     

    • Nwachukwu is senior partner at jetWest Partners Ltd., an aviation advisory firm.

     

     

  • Real change Bayelsa needs

    Ideally, political contest for power is premised on superior arguments and ideas which the people, as the heart of democracy, could relate with as capable of truly changing their socio-economic conditions in a just society where institutions of government work in harmony with the rule of law.

    In an enlightened polity, such ideas are painstakingly evaluated by the electorate which informs their judgement and choices on the election day. And the ultimate objective would be to have a government which in the long run guarantees a social contract in the postulation of Rousseau or achieves Bentham’s utilitarian conception of the greatest happiness of the greatest number in the society.

    These are the considerations which should agitate the minds of Bayelsans ahead of the December 5 governorship election which pitches the incumbent Governor Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with his closet rival, Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Beyond rhetoric, I think the understanding should be reinforcing by now that the election is about the future of the state which is expected to dictate a conscious attention among the voters on the challenges they face and indeed the kind of leadership they deserve. Thus the destiny of Bayelsans is in their own hands to decide not just as mere civic duty on election-day but much more about a collective action for sustaining a rebirth.

    While Governor Dickson has been campaigning on his record of achievements in his first time asking the people to key into his vision of restoration as witnessed in the record changes in the various sectors of the state economy, Sylva’s has only been more of promises of “change” regurgitating  his party’s  campaign mantra.

    The former governor, curiously, isn’t making much reference to his past tenure as expected to perhaps corroborate and sell his convictions on the “change” he’s offering unlike Dickson who is boldly and assertively telling his remarkable story of success in education, health, infrastructure, roads and bridges, job creation, ambitious diversification of the economy as well as impactful governance culture which underscores transparency and accountability. A leadership audacity of performance which has made it possible to revive education through comprehensive scholarship and allied programs and policies now with impressive record of lifting Bayelsa from being in the bottom of the ladder before assuming office in 2012, to one of the best performing in the country today, jumping in successive incremental record from 2013 as having the sixth highest pass rates among Nigeria’s 36 states with 51 per cent pass rate, moved two places higher in 2004 becoming number 4 with 52.83 per cent as 34,242 students scored five credits and above including Mathematics and English going by WAEC records. Among the several feats in infrastructure provision, the historic Nembe road, against all odds, was constructed making it possible to drive straight from Yenagoa to Nembe for the first time since the idea was conceived over 50 years ago. Just this weekend, while on campaign in Brass, Governor Dickson gave assurance of his administration’s resolve to award the multi-billion Naira Nembe/Brass Road during the first quarter of 2016, if re-elected for a second term in office.

    The award of the contract as assured by the governor is in addition to the on-going Ogbia/Nembe road project and other developmental projects sited in the area.

    These are the real change in my reckoning especially by making education a priority as the basis for true development as against Sylva’s proposition of a vague “change” neither supported by his past nor can it be relied upon by his present characterized by inconsistencies.

    The scenario must be scary for Sylva considering his locust years as governor, when he left behind a whopping debt of N432 billion accumulated from an assortment of loans and bonds out of which Dickson has so far paid N242 billion. It is a sorry story the governor has been telling Bayelsans on his campaign trail that he’s still paying N2 billion monthly even in era of liquidity crisis and that the liquidation of Sylva’s debt won’t end until 2017. Now, is this the kind of change Bayelsans deserve, to further plunge the state into debt without concomitant development to show for it?

    These are the issues which informed Governor Dickson’s repeated admonition to all and sundry that never again shall we have a profligate attitude to governance in the state and the message is fast sinking in to differentiate true change from a vague promises of change.

    Interestingly, government’s success on multiple fronts anchored on integrity has continued to garner much goodwill, attracting incredible support base. We are beginning to see this possibility as indicated in the widespread approval and endorsements from core and strategic nucleus of the entire stakeholders and the generality of the people across the state, turning PDP rallies and the various town hall meetings into carnivals. If anyone is still in doubt, the rally in Brass, Timipre Sylva’s home base, has proven it all, with open and unrestrained, categorical endorsement of Governor Dickson’s re-election by every influential leader, paramount rulers as well as all strata of the Brass community who came out in such a large crowd as widely reported in the media to express their total support for their governor. It was clearly not about Dickson as it were, but for the good work he has done convincing them of the greater benefits his second term will afford their community compared with what their own son was able to do as governor of the state for almost five years. That is the manifest change we are talking about which can easily be recognized as a practical act of true leadership.

    Sylva’s case is now worsened by the series of defection to PDP by APC members across the state following the massive defection of the Forum of Authentic APC Delegates, Timi Alaibe’s core loyalists, ably led by Senator John Brambiafa and Chief Alex Ekiotenne.

    The finish line is already discernible which is an inevitable victory for Governor Seriake Dickson, a worthy mandate for acceleration of the restoration agenda in key areas including the Agge deep seaport, Brass LNG, slated investments in power generation, completion of the airport at Amassoma, now 60 per cent ready, on-going agricultural projects, the eco-industrial park at Gbaranmotu to create wealth for collective interest of all Bayelsans. This is the real change we can always trust the Contriman governor will deliver, the true change Bayelsa needs.