The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

Understanding Buhari’s appointments
Gradually, slowly and steadily, President Muhammadu Buhari is putting the building blocks of his change administration together and the final shape and character is expected to emerge by the end of this month. And typical of Nigerians, a lot of people have been having their say on how the president has been going about this assignment since he assumed office on May 29.

To some, the speed at which the administration has been moving is too slow, annoyingly slow, while some others have issues with what they see as lopsidedness in the number of appointments he has so far made into key positions in his emerging administration.

Not a few also, have hailed the quality of the persons so appointed by him to man these strategic positions notwithstanding the part of the country where they come from. And no other appointments have been more warmly received by majority of Nigerians than the ones he made at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), that brought on board Ibe Kachukwu as Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production; Isiaka Abdulrazaq, Group Executive Director, Finance and Services; Engineer Dennis Nnamdi Ajulu, Group Executive Director, Refining and Technology; and Babatunde Victor Adeniran, Group Executive Director, Commercial and Investment.

Of particular note is the fact that some of these directors were drawn from the private sector with excellent pedigrees and work experiences that span decades and have earned them distinction and respect from their previous employers.

And since their appointments, Kachukwu and his team have hit the ground running and the NNPC, arguably Nigeria’s most important business venture is on the path to being run truly like a business in line with the Buhari administration new thinking for a better and prosperous Oil and Gas sector.

While some minor adjustments have been made here and there by the management to correct some anomalies in the system, some major decisions have equally been taken to cut waste, block financial leakages and set the corporation on the path to greatness. But like every good thing in Nigeria, some people are not always happy for reasons they alone can explain.

In the past few weeks an organisation that goes by the name Civil Society Network Against Corruption ( CSNAC) has picked issues with the appointment of Dr Adeniran, the Group Executive Director, Commercial and Investment on the ground of what it called conflict of interest.

CSNAC’s argument which was trending for a while on some online publications was that his former employer, Total E &P Nigeria Ltd had been in dispute with NNPC over a business agreement (currently at arbitration) which he (Adeniran) was privy to. The new GED, until his appointment at NNPC was the Senior Technical Adviser on Oil and Gas Commercial of Total E & P where he had been for over 22 years.

While at Total, Adeniran must have put in his best to have risen to that top position in a multinational company, and must have also impressed the scouts working for the Presidency who head-hunted him and others from their comfortable positions in the private sector to come and work for their fatherland at NNPC.

President Muhammadu Buhari being a thorough person must have done his due diligence on each and everyone of the appointees he has called upon to help him deliver the change that he promised Nigerians and for which we voted for him. So, for anybody or group purported to be fighting corruption or under whatever guise, to now want to rake up dirt where there is none in order to tarnish the reputation of a man of impeccable character and integrity is to say the least condemnable and tantamount to cheap blackmail. The era of pull-him-down syndrome in our country should be allowed to end with the previous administrations in this country. This is the change era.

This same pull-him-down syndrome is also rearing its head in other appointments, even those yet to be made by President Buhari. In the last one month or so, sponsored newspaper advertorials and television documentaries on some individuals believed to likely make Buhari’s ministers’ list have suddenly appeared in the media containing one form of allegation or another, trying to convince the president why such persons should not be appointed into his cabinet. The impact this could have on the President’s choice would only be known when he eventually sends the list to the Senate for confirmation this week or next, but being the person that he is, he is not likely to be swayed by the antics of those whose stock-in-trade is to destroy others so that they can grow. Buhari is not deceived or given to blackmail.

Coming back to the NNPC appointments; is it not better for CSNAC and its like to keep an eye on the new management and ensure that it does not derail or depart from its assignment? This it can do effectively by monitoring what it does henceforth and ensure that it does it very well.

And talking of ensuring the NNPC management sticks to its assignment, Kachikwu and his team has no choice but to do this if President Buhari is the one to be in charge of the Petroleum Ministry as feelers out there would want Nigerians to believe. If this eventually came to pass, the president will be on a familiar terrain having served in that capacity during the Murtala/Obasanjo military government in the 1970s. And the president taking charge of the all-important ministry might not be a bad idea after all for obvious reasons.

But if he decides to appoint a separate oil minister, the President will do well to look for another Nigerian of proven integrity to superintend over this national asset to work with the excellent team he already has in place at the NNNPC. There is a need for a round peg in a round hole in all appointments into public offices in this country. The era of mediocrity is over; we should stop giving in to sentiments, he that the cap fits should be given to wear it.

Like the NNPC, the Nigeria Customs Service is another critical revenue generating agency of government crucial and critical to the health of our economy and President Muhammadu Buhari has rightly noted that with his decision to appoint another Nigerian of impeccable character to take charge and cleanse the rot in the system. Though he had to look outside the service to appoint the new Comptroller-General for the Customs, the choice of Colonel Alli (retd) a one time Military Administrator of Kaduna State is seen as a bold step by the President to restore sanity and efficiency to the service. Again, this has not gone without criticism from some people who would rather have the new CG-Customs come from within the service and from another part of the country.

The argument has been going back and forth, but what should be paramount here to all Nigerians as in every other appointments made by the government is whether the appointees are capable of carrying out their assignments in the best interest of Nigeria. This is what the president has told us and we should understand his appointments as such.
- Nwachukwu, a Public Affairs Analyst, writes from Enugu.
September 24, 2015
Igbo leadership and the MASSOB ‘madness’
The cat and mouse game between the Nigeria Police and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) may be coming to end if the recent arrest of 22 members of the group across Igbo-speaking states of Anambra, Imo, Abia and Delta and a police operational order to clamp down on violent groups is indicative of a new resolve. Media reports on Tuesday, September 9, credited the Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, as stating that the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, had empowered the police to arrest anybody fomenting any act of violence or social disorder. According to her, “the directive becomes imperative owing to the recent activities of (some) members of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra and the Indigenous People of Biafra in some parts of the country”. Members of the nascent Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) had a bloody encounter with the Nigerian Navy personnel at Onitsha, Anambra state on Sunday, August 30, during a pro-Biafra rally that left some members dead.

MASSOB is an Igbo irredentist, politically motivated organization that has, for some time now, been daring the government by brazenly advocating the revival of ‘Biafra Republic’, a romanticized dream that collapsed with the surrender of ‘Biafran’ soldiers to federal troops 45 years ago – in 1970.

One had thought that the remains of the dead republic had been finally interred with its founder, the late Ikemba, Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who led the ‘Biafra’ misadventure. But Ralph Uwazuruike, MASSOB leader, and his disciples are not daunted – they seem to have made a crusade of keeping alive the forlorn hope of ‘Biafra’. What is intriguing, however, is how these renegade, secessionist elements have been tolerated by successive federal governments and seemingly encouraged by the Igbo leadership that is concurrently seeking a firm foothold in Nigeria’s political space as well as sumptuous portion of the national cake. To some extent, the Igbo are a study in contradictions, a people blessed with great intellectuals, creative ingenuity and business acumen as well as some of the most vulgar people who celebrate acquisitive materialism with roguish bravura. The loud, boastful Igbo traders, who flaunt the material opulence of their illiteracy and the emergent radical renegades are attaining disproportionate prominence and intimidating their better educated, mainstream kinsmen into complicit silence. I have the testimony of an Igbo Lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in the early 1970s who lamented being shouted down at a community meeting by a naira-empowered and emboldened, illiterate, Lagos-based trader, with the Igwe condoning the insolence. The situation remains largely the same today. I digress.

Back to MASSOB and the reticence of the Igbo leadership to unequivocally call the separatist group to order. Recently, the Arewa Consultative Forum, (ACF) has upped the ante by demanding that the Igbo leaders stop the doom of another secession attempt. The federal government took the tepid step of jamming ‘Radio Biafra’ but which is said to be back on air spewing hate speech. What defies rationality in the MASSOB saga is that Igbo intelligentsia and political heavyweights have seemingly provided haven for these latter day secessionists. Two Igbo leaders stand out in terms of age, national and international prominence – Dr. Alex Ekwueme, former Vice-President of the Federal Republic and the suave diplomat, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Secretary General, the one with the mesmerizing Queen’s English who struts the corridor of power in Abuja, but is apparently disconnected from his Obosi homeland in Anambra State. The Igbo leadership failure is compounded by a crisis-ridden Ohaneze Ndigbo, hence the short-sightedness in appreciating that Igbo interest is better served in one Nigeria and thereby calling their ill-advised, secessionist “children” to order.

What seems to unite the Igbo – elite and the lower class – hence indulgence of MASSOB, is their shared feeling of ‘marginalization’, a word dubiously bandied by groups when seeking advantage over others. But how can the Igbos claim marginalization when barely nine years after the end of the Civil War, in 1979 – an Igbo, Dr. Alex Ekwueme became Vice-President of the country, just one heart-beat from the Presidency? Since the return to democracy in 1999, the Igbo have produced three Senate Presidents, one deputy Senate President, another Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the only Super Minister – the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, two governors of the Central Bank, Inspector-General of Police, Chief of Army Staff among other sensitive posts. And the Igbo dominate in the multi-billion naira retail business. The point being made is that the Igbo should learn to count their blessings.

A columnist with The Nation, Steve Osuji, an Igbo man, had in a January 20, 2005 column in the defunct New Age newspaper, of which he was editor, lamented the leadership vacuum in Igboland, with specific reference to Dr. Ekwueme, whom he accused of reverberating silence in moments of crises. He cited the instance in 2005 when a posse, led by a trader-politician, abducted Governor Chris Ngige of Anamra state and mum was the word from Dr. Ekwueme. “A similar scenario plays out today”, as “respected (Igbo) elders go on endorsement circuit”, he wrote in his Friday, February 6, column, ‘EXPRESSO’. He had concluded: “So sad that Igbo politicians of this era have proven to be poor, poor politicians. Poor as pimps”.

However, not all Igbo leaders or politicians are pimps. A refreshing exception is the former Minister of Science and Technology and pioneer Director-General of the Nigerian War College, Gen. Sam Momah. In an interview with The Nation Sunday newspaper of August 9, asked if he supports the call for Biafra Republic, the retired General had been emphatic: “ I do not. I think it is preposterous, subversive and felonious for some people to be talking about the revival of Biafra this time”. Such agitation, he pointed out, cannot help the development of South-eastern region of Nigeria. According to him, he had personally talked with MASSOB leader, Uwazuruike, to dissuade him that Biafra “is gone and gone forever”, but that he would not listen. “They should call off this madness”, he declared in the interview. Preaching secession is a felony and if at some point, the federal government musters the courage to throw the book at MASSOB, let the condoning Igbo leaders not shout PERSECUTION!
- Dr. Olawunmi, Lecturer, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State is former Washington Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria.
September 24, 2015
Driving Nigeria’s economy to G-10 status
Nigeria’s economy has all it takes to rank amongst the world’s top 10 economies. Driving the polity effectively towards that goal is the urgent task of the country’s present political and economic managers.

Nigeria’s 2015 general elections have been won and lost. The nationwide focus on politics for almost a year has however been detrimental to the economy and the financial markets. Despite being poised for fast growth, Africa’s largest economy is currently crawling on all fours.

Key economic and financial indicators are down year-on-year and year-to-date. Ditto for corporate earnings. The most significant being a 1.5% loss in GDP growth and speculative devaluation and volatility of the national currency, the Naira, which has lost at least 20% value against most benchmark currencies.

The year-end outlook is also not bright. Most investors and corporate players are coasting and seem to have accepted 2015 as a lost year from a productivity standpoint. Politics in Nigeria as clearly proven by recent events is driven by political cum personal interests. This is always at variance with the national economic interests.

The cumulative cost of perceived political instability, record low crude oil prices, and dipping confidence in economic and financial markets is estimated to be anywhere between US$25-30bn. Who is counting?

Certainly not the political class. They have not come to terms with the fact that a new budget cycle has commenced, and it’s clear that the only tangible approach the new government can take, is to start the process of amending the existing budget and delivering a brand new 2016 budget that reflects contemporary economic realities.

After hinting that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s currency controls were making Nigeria’s bond market transactions too complex to meet its rules, JP Morgan, the United States-based lender, has now moved to expel Nigeria from its Emerging Market Bond Index (EMBI) by the end of September, as a result of the illiquidity and lack of transparency in our foreign exchange market.

This exit will hurt Nigeria’s financial and economic ratings, putting the nation’s $31bn external reserves under threat of further massive sell-offs of Nigerian assets by foreign portfolio investors. The cost of borrowing will increase; access to the international financial markets for both sovereign and corporates will also become limited. More importantly, this exit will stem the inflow of portfolio investments which peaked at US$20.5Billion in 2013, that otherwise could help stabilize the Naira and balance of payments.

To state the obvious, the lack of articulation on policy and economic direction by the new government is not helping matters and is unsettling the financial markets. Time is money. And in the fast emerging global fiscal order, lost time and opportunities may never really be regained.

The next challenge the Nigerian government faces is the validation and structured financing plan for the current fiscal deficit, estimated at =N=6.5 trillion. The government’s actions on the fuel subsidy could significantly increase this figure. With the restructuring and swap of state government commercial bank loans into Treasury Bonds, the new government has increased the domestic debt profile by =N=1trillion overnight. Unfortunately state governments have not been compelled to execute conditional covenants, such as adhering to the tenants of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which stipulates provisions for fiscal discipline.

With a US$49bn domestic debt and US$10.8bn external debt overhang, Nigeria is now committing 23% of its fiscal revenues to servicing debt.

With the levels of projected fiscal deficit, we might exceed the revenue-to-debt service best practice benchmark of 25% by year end. The alignment of fiscal and monetary policy which the economy befitted from over the last five years, seems to have been lost over the last several months.

The apex financial institution and industry regulator, the CBN, seems to have lost its independence and the intellectual fecundity central banks are renowned for. With an outflow of new policy pronouncements almost every week, the bank has struggled to articulate a well thought out strategy for managing the Naira. This misalignment of fiscal and monetary policy has started to impact the macroeconomic indicators as inflation creeps up into double digits. Unemployment also stands at a high 35%.

The effects of quantitative easing are manifesting on the Naira exchange rates as interest rates remain artificially high at 25%. This, despite the excess supply of the currency in circulation with M2 at =N=19Trillion, 25% or =N=4.75Trillion denominated in US dollars deposit.

Our commercial banks have also exacerbated the situation: about 50% of their loan books are denominated in US dollars. These artificially high rates, and the distortion it causes are not sustainable in the long run. Western nations over the last eight years have maintained rates at below 1% clearly aimed to spur economic recovery.

Nigeria’s financial intermediation rates at 25% cannot support productive investment and development; it will also stunt economic growth. Major reforms are therefore required in the banking system to support single digit rates. Banks also have to better deploy technology to reduce and manage costs. Their productivity and efficiency levels will consequently improve leading to a more competitive financial services sector.

Beyond the macro economy, we need to do a critical reappraisal of our trade and investment policies, we need to ensure they are properly integrated into the global value added system.

The domestic gains and success we have had in the cement sector with import substitution backward integration has primarily been driven by an individual and unfortunately not yet replicated nor institutionalized in other critical sectors such as agriculture, another potential engine room of Africa’s political economy considering its huge social development and value chain effect.

Drastic attention also needs to be paid to Customs and Excise reform and management to ensure proper implementation of Trade Policy, Industrial Development and Investment. The corruption menace of duty waivers, duty evasion, smuggling and weak import documentation also continues to affect the Naira, clearly disrupting and discouraging industrial development, investment and expansion.

Nigeria has been defined as a corrupt country with weak institutions, poor governance, and a compromised judiciary with consistently low scores in the ease of doing business and competitiveness rankings. Despite or in spite of all these quirks, the Nigerian economy with a GDP of US$535Billion is the largest in Africa with a global G20 ranking.

Until recent times, the Nigerian economy sustained a 7% annual growth rate, ranking it amongst the top three fastest growing economies globally.

Our substandard physical and social infrastructure needs to be upgraded; we need to make Power, Healthcare and Education sectors key focus priorities. Addressing the infrastructure deficit, corruption, good governance and the rule of law will no doubt propel Nigeria to realize its potential and capacity as a G10 economy.

Indeed, despite the absence of a cabinet, the euphoria the new government has generated, including its ongoing efforts to clean up the Augean stable is highly commendable. Restoring sanity into the polity was never going to be an easy undertaking. President Buhari’s recent working visit to Washington DC, USA left a good a good impression in the minds of our international business and diplomatic allies.

His top level meetings, appearances and the opinion pieces in the critical and pro-Western US media were obviously left a good impression. This was an African leader who seemed genuinely sincere, and genuinely concerned about Nigeria’s place in the global economy.

Going forward, the President and his ministerial team (even before he finally unveils them) must constantly balance the dual priorities of institutionalizing probity and economic management. Curbing high level graft must be accorded equal weighting as curbing hyper-inflation.

The Nigerian environment despite all its shortcomings and shenanigans is clearly a potential G10 economy. A recent Economist article highlights the “opportunity that knocks” with the new government in place, having endorsed President Buhari before the election. A 2013 article in the same publication cautions that Nigeria, “Africa’s giant is waking up but still looks unsteady on its feet like a heavy weight boxer who has gone too many rounds.”

The same publication has in the past enquired if “anyone has seen a giant” and warns further that the awaking giant eventually might fall flat on its face.

The Nigerian economy is a purposeful and powerful contraption akin to a Formula One racing machine. Unfortunately, the economy has in the past, been driven by a leadership and a political elite class behaving very much like a “Danfo Driver” in the driving seats of a Formula One.
- Adebajo, an investment banker & economist is CEO of The CFG Advisory.
September 21, 2015
JP Morgan: Bank or rating agency?
Sometime in December 2014, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced some policies to rein-in currency speculation and round-tripping by FOREX dealers, who were in the habit of hoarding foreign currencies to create artificial demand. The CBN took the decision to curb speculative attacks on the Naira by these unscrupulous elements that were bent on taking advantage of the steep dip in global oil prices, and its recent measure to defend the naira and national reserves by exempting 41 items from the forex window. Since then aggrieved local and foreign collaborators have taken up arms against the CBN.

Only recently, the JP Morgan Index Team in a statement released to selected media groups disclosed its decision to delist Nigeria from its Government Bond Index by the end of October. This is in spite of the fact that Nigeria’s apex bank had, at every turn, explained its policy decisions in line with its code of transparency. Little wonder many analysts see JP Morgan action as either blackmail or disrespect or even both. The reader may want to know: what is JP Morgan, a commercial bank among others, that, its assessment should be taken so seriously? How was Nigeria before 2012? And what is not working in Nigeria that justifies this action? Do they really have the morals to arrive at that decision? While the World Bank and the IMF, the real managers of economies are laboriously pursuing developmental goals and building institutions around the world, the JP Morgans of this world are busy pursuing selfish commercial interest. The action veils their real intention, which is purely commercial interest. It is quite obvious that the JP Morgan index team has refused to acknowledge the structure of Nigeria’s peculiar economy cum the strangulating effect of the oil crisis. The investment bank has also refused to respect the actions so far taken by the CBN as necessary at this moment not to allow the economy to crash. What works in a particular country, may not work in another.

Since the CBN decided not to further devalue its currency, these neo-colonialists and their local collaborators have embarked on tailored-made criticism crafted to suit their commercial interest. Precarious as the situation is, with the federal executive council yet to be constituted to complement the efforts of the apex bank, the CBN has been managing the economy.

The unreasonable attacks started from The Economist and later Standards and Poors and now JP Morgan, which had earlier given notice, in January, to phase out Nigeria from its Government Bond for Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) for lack of liquidity in the economy. This is nothing but a demonstration of arrogance by the international financial institutions that cares for no one but their selfish interest alone. What really is the concern of the JP Morgan in forex issues, which is global and not peculiar to Nigeria? It had earlier given a target date of December 15, to decide on Nigeria, and therefore the unanswered question is – why the sudden change to September 15? More so that, the bank is known to deal and trade in bonds and this makes clear their interest.

Yes, we need development partners but not as determinants of our fate. We are peculiar people with rich heritage and intelligence. If I may ask, what have we really benefitted from their so-called economic agenda? If, Nigeria and the CBN have decided to chart a new course for its people, who are the JP Morgans of this world to say otherwise. It is also interesting to note how every financial analyst, commentator, broker, institution, captains of industry and agencies within and outside Nigeria, especially in Europe and North America, is so fixated with Nigeria, and the call for devaluation of the Naira. Quite disheartening too is the fact that some Nigerians, many of whom lack the grasp of what usually plays out in such game as to who stands to lose, if Naira is devalued, have joined the financial blackmail train in piling pressure on the Central Bank to devalue the Naira.

What product are we exporting that we need to devalue the Naira to create market for? Is it the crude oil that has driven its value underground? Inasmuch as many are at daggers drawn with Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of CBN and his team, every country has to do what it has to do to protect its economic interest, and Nigeria should not be railroaded into a western designed strategy that will end up impoverishing Nigerians and enriching the pocket of investors. If Nigeria succumbs to the blackmail of international financial institutions and uninformed local analysts, the Naira will have a free fall and would not be worth more than what late Ugandan military leader, Idi Amin Dada, referred to as “toilet paper”. And recent was the case of the Zimbabwean dollar. Whoever is calling for the devaluation of the Naira has evil intentions as alluded to in press statement issued by the bank on the wake of the action by JP Morgan. As the statement said, “doing so would lead to an indeterminate depreciation of the Naira”. The consequence of this is dire, and should be left only to imaginations. Advocates of devaluation are not just what they are, but insensitive to the plight of many Nigerians who spend over 70% of their expendable income on food alone. Further devaluation of the currency will exacerbate the present high inflationary pressure, which will eventually erode whatever little gain the large population of the Nigerian masses, most of whom are already wallowing in abject poverty have, and this may trigger public unrest because of the abnormal high cost of food items that Nigerians are presently experiencing; the very worst time in history.

With this scenario playing out, the federal government should stop the usual rhetoric about economic diversification which stage we had long passed; rather it should radically diversify its source of income, and forge a strong partnership and collaborate with the monetary authority.

Let JP Morgan take its index elsewhere, as any promise made of a weaker Naira exchange rate that would promote industrial and economic growth is suspect. Though the CBN policies and its obstinacy to the call for devaluation may look quite unfriendly, but it is about patriotism and responsibility to protect our heritage, the Naira, reduce inflation, create jobs and grow the national reserves. No responsible country will heed the call for devaluation recommended by JP Morgan, given our economic vulnerability and weak productive base, and allow the Naira to crash to its own death. Supporters of JP Morgan’s misadventure to blackmail Nigeria into unprofitable devaluation to enable its cronies profit should understand that Nigerians are smart and intelligent to see through their selfish desire. Nigerians have resolved to carve a new and profitable course for economic renaissance. What the CBN needs from Nigerians now is support and understanding.
- Deepak, a social commentator wrote in from Akure
September 21, 2015
The case for concrete roads
Road construction has always been a conventional indicator of development in a country; it is a popular topic especially in developing countries including Nigeria. Road construction is so important that it is usually considered a yardstick for judging the performance of a particular administration. Over the years, dialectic assessments of this robust sector have swayed more towards the direction of exposing the nation’s specious statistics of quality road construction. While some few administrations have been lauded for their performances, most have been condemned for diverse flaws in this area. Various reasons for condemning these systems have been put up; some administrations have been slandered for constructing weak roads that barely last before taking to skeleton shapes.

The cost of executing some road projects has also been followed by scepticism. For instance, a one kilometre Nigerian road is claimed to cost one billion naira – a figure more than four times the World Bank’s valuation for constructing an equal road length. Irrespective of how this is viewed, the history of road construction in Nigeria is not impressive. It is expedient that subsequent governments adopt measures to tackle the clamant situation of the country’s resources and operation. Chief Executive Officer and President of Dangote group of companies, Aliko Dangote only recently suggested that the Nigerian government considers the adoption of concrete roads. This unpopular concept in Nigeria can prove to be one of the productive changes we should embrace from the neoteric society.

The asphalt road has dominated the Nigerian road network for decades and the nation’s cluster of matters arising has not allowed the administrators an opportunity to share the view of the evolving road systems across the world. The slash in the 2015 expenditure for the Ministry of Works by the legislative arm is also expected to reoccur in the 2016 budget. Hence, the department has to prudently manage the execution of projects.

In comparing the concrete roads with asphalt roads, the financial implication is most important. Research shows that the upfront cost of constructing an asphalt road is about 10% less than constructing a congruent concrete road. Concrete pavements have, however, been tested and confirmed to last longer than asphalt roads. The average concrete road has a design life of 40 years. When annual maintenance is factored, asphalt pavement can amount to about four to seven times as much money to maintain, thereby underestimating the long-term cost advantage of constructing concrete roads.

The executive secretary, Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, James Salako once made this claim. According to him, ‘In most situations when you compare asphalt road to concrete road, what you always get is that in some countries asphalt road is cheaper but in the long run for all countries asphalt road is more costly. In Nigeria, asphalt road is more costly both in the short and the long run as asphalt road requires more regular maintenance and also takes longer time to construct’.

Salako supposes that with silicon and some other technological innovations in the construction of concrete road helps achieve more kilometres per day in construction. Therefore, the longer the road, the more costly asphalt roads will cost. The secretary also argued that construction and maintenance of asphalt roads would be more costly because of the importation of this material into the country unlike cement which is available in different parts of the country.

The query, therefore is, why has concrete roads not been considered given that the materials are easily obtainable?

In addition to this, concrete roads are more durable than asphalt roads; concrete roads are more resistant to the extreme weather conditions like heavy rainfall or extreme heat that ultimately damages asphalt roads. This means that streets paved with concrete are less likely to have potholes, thus keeping commuters safe. For the record, concrete is 100% recyclable, and the most recycled construction material in the world at that. So rather than dumping it in landfills, it can be converted and used in new pavements, or for other construction purposes.

According to a Federal Highway Administration technical advisory, it takes over five times as much diesel fuel to make asphalt than it does to make concrete for a road designed for the same amount of traffic.

The Federal Highway Administration in the United States of America also reported that roughly 1.2 billion gallons of diesel could be saved every year if paving was done with concrete instead of asphalt. So how much fuel is 1.2 billion gallons, exactly? Enough to fill up the tank of a Ford F-350 pick-up truck every day of the year, for 86 years straight.

The fact is a vehicle consumes 15-20% less fuel, when run over a concrete road than on asphalt roads. This is because concrete roads do not get deflected under the wheels of loaded trucks. The implication of this is that Nigerians would consume less fuel by the adoption of concrete roads, and thereby save the country money from reduced importation of refined fuel. This factor would also ease the inconvenience caused by the unstable oil market in Nigeria.

Concrete roads are very environmentally friendly; using this road type means reduced pollution, unlike asphalt which produces lots of highly polluting gases at the time of melting for pavement construction. In comparing the appearance of both types of road, concrete roads are naturally more reflective; this could mean less funds are needed to provide lighting for the roads.

Some doubts have been raised about the suitability of the concrete road. It is believed that it is easier for a vehicle to skid off a concrete road than an asphalt road especially when wet. This can be answered by applying a proper finish to the construction of the concrete road. For instance, a coarse finish can be used for concrete roads to reduce the tendency of the skidding off the road. From the numerous advantages of the concrete road, it is not to say that the government completely abandon asphalt road as an option in future road projects; it is however, recommended that concrete roads be considered as alternative to asphalt roads only when they are more suitable for the intended purpose.
- ibironkeoluwatobi@gmail.com
September 18, 2015
…Devoted teacher, student’s delight
A month before Professor Ade Adefuye’s shocking transition on August 27, his name had cropped up in a conversation I had with two colleagues—Ademola Oyinlola and Ayo Akinkuotu—both of Tell Communications at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Victoria Island.

We were bemoaning what we saw as the less-than-edifying situation of our public educational institutions. We had complained about inadequate funding for scholarship in Nigeria, the corruption in the system, which keeps many of our scholars who went into diplomatic service or served in international organisations from returning to the world of research, teaching and publishing. We had expressed the hope that Professor Adefuye would at least create some platform through which he would periodically share with the academia what he has learnt in diplomatic service.

Now that he has gone the way of all flesh, we must hope that the family, in the fullness of time, would work with his associates to share with the public the benefits of his yet to be published writings.

As attested to by many who came in contact with him, I confirm that Prof. Adefuye was a great mind, who sought to bring out goodness in others. He was my teacher in 1976/77 at the University of Lagos, who made teaching fun, teachers respected, and the student’s delight who challenged many to rise above the average.

He was a teacher who came into the lecture room with two pieces of chalk and no notes. Amid banter, he would keep our two-hour East African History class engaged with penetrating wit and compelling arguments, reeling out authoritative references and sources. He did not give or sell handouts to students, but the attentive student was sure to write a minimum of four pages of notes at every lecture.

He was even more fascinating in tutorial classes where students are broken into smaller groups for more interactive sessions with their course mates and teachers. Initially, I did not take tutorial classes serious. There were a handful of mature students, probably older than the lecturer, who often dominated discussions at such tutorials. Before the lecturer said “a”, they had said “b”. They made some of us feel inadequate and for some strange reason three of these old men were in my tutorial group in two other classes. For me and two other friends, they were a vexation to the spirit and we felt it was better to avoid them. So, ignorantly, we stayed off tutorial classes, promising ourselves we would meet in the examination hall.

My ignorance about the premium attached to tutorial attendance was erased when Dr. Adefuye (as he was then) announced in class that all those whose names appeared on an offender’s list should see him in his office after lectures. Along with my buddies, Tunde Babarinsa and Kunle Bolujoko, we called at his office where he asked us why we were not attending tutorials. Looking dead serious, he told us he would not allow us to write the final exam if we did not score the required attendance at tutorial classes. Since I was the frailest among the lot, he said to me: “Smallie, so what do you do when you are not in class”? I blamed the vexatious older students for my absence. Unimpressed, he admonished me like an older brother would that I wasn’t in school because of them.

From then, the three of us turned a new leaf. But Adefuye was not done with us. If he asked the tutorial class six questions, three would be directed at us. He structured discussions in his class in a way that made sure everyone that had something to say had a day in the sun. The intimidating old men were contained and we all had enriched understanding of the course.

The teacher-student relationship soon developed into brotherly love. He watched out for our progress over the years and we kept in touch with him, exchanging correspondence. On two occasions, I requested him to contribute articles for publication in Thisweek, which he gladly did. He, in turn, offered regular critiques of Thisweek under my editorship.

A news buff, who appreciated the power of information, he did not rely only on the dispatches from the foreign ministry to keep abreast of developments at home when he was appointed Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Jamaica in 1987. He arranged with me to buy and mail to him in Jamaica every week, Nigerian newspapers. This was before the advent of the Internet and New Media, when postal correspondence was the conventional mode of communication. The arrangement went on for a year before he found a more reliable method.

I suspect that this drive to extend the frontiers, this thirst to engage, and this willingness to bring out the best in others explain his success and appeal in life. Whilst we mourn and celebrate Professor Adefuye, our lasting tribute to his memory should be commitment to his first love, quality education.

As he said in the 2011 S. O. Awokoya Foundation Lecture, entitled “The Imperative of Quality Education for Nigeria’s Transformation”, Nigeria must continue to compete with the best worldwide. “With quality education and a responsive, responsible and committed government, we can recreate and improve on our glorious past and fulfil our manifest destiny of being the leader of Africa and the black world. Yes, we can do it and by the grace of God, we shall”.

May the heavens accept his patriotic soul!
- Idowu is CEO, Diamond Publications.
September 18, 2015
Making Ambode’s directive on trailers work

It last, Lagosians can now sleep with their two eyes closed. The long-awaited implementation and total enforcement of the 2012 Lagos State Traffic Law which says that no trailer or truck other than petrol tankers and vehicles used in conveying passengers shall enter into or travel within the metropolis of Lagos between the hours of 6a.m and 9p.m has become a reality. Last week, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode gave the directive that the taskforce and agencies responsible for the enforcement of this law should swing into action immediately.

For many years, lives have been lost on Lagos roads, particularly in the metropolis due to the recklessness of trailer and truck drivers. Even when Lagosians staged several protests and made appeals to truck owners and their operators to find ways to minimise these series of carnages on the roads, they did not listen. Each time a trailer was moving near a vehicle or group of people in town, they all held their breath because people have come to see them as harbingers of death and ill-fortune.

The fear was always in the air that trailers constituted the worse menace to other road users in the state. But how else can this sordid situation be resolved if not the type of strong decision and political-will taken by Governor Ambode? What is the essence of these truck drivers who do not observe the traffic law in the state, when what they do most time is kill people with impunity?

Ambode has always felt that there is already a law in place to checkmate these people. Now that he has made it clear that the task force should begin to impound trailers and long vehicles plying the metropolis in day time, the atmosphere of insecurity on the roads orchestrated by these vehicles has come down considerably.

In all situations, life is sacred and it must be treated so. This is why it is imperative that all the government agencies and security apparatuses involved in this exercise must take the order seriously. In most sane urban places and civilized climes in the world, articulated vehicles are not allowed to endanger lives and property. They are ordered, based on existing laws, to operate within the stipulated areas for the convenience of the citizenry.

We, as citizens must also recognize and obey laws enacted for the supreme good of the larger society. No law in any society can be said to be effective or workable when the people for whom it is made blatantly refuse to abide by it. This night movement order given to trailers is for the good of all and sundry. The new law indeed should focus essentially on those who are meant to enforce it. They should be tutored properly on the need to see its total enforcement as a way to help and sanitise the system.

It is, in fact, barbaric and totally incongruous to wake up every day to see or hear that many lives have been lost due to the insensitivity and carelessness of drunken trailer drivers. Let these drivers be made also to appreciate the core value of lives and the importance of this law vis-à-vis the people themselves. The people cannot be living in perpetual fear because a set of die-hard and obstinate drivers have inadvertently chosen to be law unto themselves. The state must take charge.

What Governor Ambode has taken the courage to do shows that it was not a fluke when people voted en-masse for him. His rare sense of urgency in matters pertaining to the people has singled him out as the first among equals. His avowed love for the people is truly consistent with his people-oriented programmes and actions within these 100 days in office. While people from across other states seem to be celebrating confusion and inadequate leadership, Lagosians are daily being assured of safety in a state where the leadership is in total control of the affairs of the people.

What we in the state should do now is to encourage the governor to concentrate more on issues that will better the safety of the people. This directive ought to place more emphasis on the flawless flow of traffic, while traffic offenders are made to face the full wrath of the law. In compliance with this, all the leaders of various transport unions and other associations related to this sector in the state should make it a point of responsibility to allow this law to work. Indeed, the workability of this all-important directive depends entirely on the readiness of the concerned parties to be partners in progress with the state government to safeguard the lives of millions of Nigerians and foreigners resident in the state.

It is heartwarming to see some trailers moving in compliance with this law within the stated hours. It is not only that this shows some certain level of compliance as it is presently, but this has to be followed with the consistency it deserves. So far, only few trailers are seen on the road in day time. Even the Apapa Road end of Lagos State has been decongested within these few days. However, the tempo has to be maintained and followed up with the urgency it deserves.

This is the only way the people involved will really understand the fact that the state government means business, and that the movement of machinery with reckless abandon can never be more important than the sacredness of lives. If the governor himself can always display his milk of human kindness in every given circumstance, why wouldn’t the people who are involved in this traumatisation have a change of heart? What it portends therefore, is that the governor is worried about these incessant occurrences to let the people concerned come back to their senses and make the metropolis safe and secured for everybody.

Most motorists and road users who work in Apapa and such other places where trailers have terrorized people for many years on end, now have a sigh of relieve. Many now spend less number of hours to get to work and are therefore thankful to the state government for this wise decision. They all gave kudos to a man they described as specially chosen to salvage the state and who has solved a rather knotty situation within a fear months in office.

The sanity on Apapa roads, within the adjoining streets, both off Wharf road and Burma Street and indeed other busy streets in the area calls for celebration. It is now that the total aesthetic beauty of that area of the state has been fully restored. In fact, most people whose offices are located within these precincts are yet to come to terms with this modern development.

The joy of it all, is that a sensitive and result-oriented governor is in control. When the right leader is in-charge the righteous rejoice. This is the time for Lagosians to do so. But they must continue to give the governor the support he needs to make things work for good continually.

September 17, 2015
Dogara: Using diplomacy for nation-building
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, recently brought his diplomatic prowess to bear when he pushed Nigeria’s interest before world leaders at the highest level of meetings of world heads of parliaments. He was one of the heads of parliaments from across the world who converged on New York, United States of America for the Fourth Conference of Speakers of Parliament organised once every four years by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at the United Nations Headquarters.

IPU is the umbrella organisation of leaders of parliaments with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and such meetings are only held, to underscore its importance, once in every four years. The summit was a unique forum for dialogue and cooperation between parliaments at the highest level, with the overall theme of the conference focused on peace, democracy, and development as seen through parliamentary lens.

The conference was part of the series of high-level meetings leading up to the UN Summit which will hold late September, where new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be launched. It was preceded by the Tenth Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament, which held in August.

Speaker Dogara didn’t confine himself to the historic UN General Assembly hall where plenaries took place but went steps further during breaks and sometimes, even late nights, to hold bilateral meetings with Speakers of parliaments of different countries from Africa, Asia and Europe. The first of such legislative diplomacy held on the eve of the conference was the Speaker’s bilateral meeting with delegation of Chinese MPs led by Chairman of the National People‘s Congress (NPC) Mr. Zhang Dejian. There he used the opportunity to solicit for China‘s support for Nigeria‘s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

“We appreciate China for its effort to democratise the institution of the United Nations and appeal that you support our bid to occupy a permanenr seat on the security council,” Dogara told the Chinese team. In response, Mr. Dejiang agreed that there must be a better representation of developing countries in the United Nations and that Nigeria, being an influential country in the world, deserved a seat on the council. “We support the legitimate demands of Nigeria for a permanent seat on the UN security council, together with the reform of the UN,” Mr. Dejiang said.

Also, agreements were reached on the establishment of a parliamentary friendship group between Nigeria‘s National Assembly and the NPC of China.

The Speaker had also appealed to the Chinese government to review its five percent tax on Nigeria‘s agricultural exports and he agreed to take up the issue with the their authorities back home, in addition to another promise to attract Chinese investors to Nigeria. They also pledged to support Nigeria in the fight against terrorism, describing it as a global scourge.

In another bilateral parley, Dogara secured a commitment from the state of Israel in Nigeria‘s recent efforts to rout Boko Haram insurgents before the end of the year. Speaker of Isreal‘s parliament Knesset, Mr. Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, gave the nod when he met with Hon. Dogara who had solicited for Israel‘s support to Nigeria to help end Boko Haram and other security challenges, in addition to attracting investment in agriculture, solid minerals, energy and tourism.

Edelstein said while responding to the demand made by Rt Hon. Dogara that Israel will continue to support Nigeria‘s fight against terrorism as according to him, there must be global action against terrorists. “We must unite to fight terrorism and not to divide them into their terrorist and our terrorists. Israel is committed to fight against terrorism because terrorists use divisions between nations and even democratic countries,” he stated.

Dogara had told Mr. Edelstein that the international community must find a global solution to terrorism as no nation is insulated from its scourge. He said Nigeria‘s North East region has been under Boko Haram terrorists and the scale of devastation was unimaginable while further urging the Israelis to invest in Nigeria‘s agricultural sector which has the potential to create wealth and generate employment for millions of jobless youths.

He noted that the Israelis were able to transform a desert nation into one of the most agriculturally viable nation on earth and that other sectors such as solid minerals, energy and tourism have a lot of potentials waiting to be tapped.

The Speaker also solicited for technical support from the Isreali parliament Knesset to enable the National Assembly establish its own security outfit by equiping the Sergeants-At-Arms. He said plans are underway to transform the Sergeant-At-Arms into a modern and sophisticated security outfit as it obtainable in other parliaments even as he disclosed that Nigeria-Israel parliamentary friendship group will soon be established.

Coming closer to home, Dogara held bilateral meetings with president of Niger‘s National Assembly, Mr. Amadou Salifou. Part of the outcome of the talks is the reiteration of the Nigeriens of their commitment to supporting Nigeria‘s fight against Boko Haram, with Mr. Salifou saying Nigeriens will continue to support the big brother (Nigeria) until Boko Haram is extinct. He said Niger had already won the war on its own side of the border.

Similarly, Speaker Dogara also met with his Senegalese counterpart , Moustapha Niasse, who delightfully informed him that he is half-Nigerian as some of his cousins are from Sokoto State. Dogara lauded Senegal‘s smooth democratic transition in recents years as an example for other African countries to emulate.

In the same vein, talks were held with the Second Deputy Speaker of Burundi‘s National Assembly, Hon. Nduwimana Edouad, where Dogara called on African nations to look inward and find solutions to their problems instead of relying on foreign nations. He said Nigeria must, as a matter of necessity, maintain an afrocentric foreign policy because of its commitment to peace and stability in Africa.

In yet another engagement, Speaker Dogara held talks with Speaker of the Serbian parliament, Ms Maja Gojkovic, where he assured her that Nigeria will neither forget nor abandon its old friends who offered helping hands during the civil war. An agreement was also reached to also establish a parliamentary friendship group between the two nations.

At the end of the conference, the Speaker spoke passionately about President Muhammadu Buhari‘s fight against corruption and pleaded with the international community, especially Western nations, to help return billions of dollars looted from Nigeria. He said Western nations have both moral and legal obligation to Nigeria and other African countries to ensure that monies stolen from Africa are repatriated. According to him, the return of such funds will help create jobs for millions of jobless young men and women and ultimately reduce to the barest minimum, the surge of migrants to Europe from Africa.

Before leaving America, the Speaker took a trip to Washington DC where he met with some key members of Congress and other stakeholders. During the visit, he asked them to pressurise their governments to make the necessary military hardware available to Nigeria in order to rout out Boko Haram terrorists among other issues discussed.
- Hassan is Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to Speaker Dogara
September 17, 2015
Ambode: 100 days of a governor

LAGOSIANS must be able to speak about the kind of government they want.The bottom line has always been that we should carry out programmes that will be of benefit to the people of Lagos. We must also be accountable to them.”

-Governor Akinwunmi Ambode (Speaking with a delegation of the U.K.’s DFID)

Leadership styles come in different shades and colours; from the autocratic (the dictators and despots who call all the shots, make all policies), through the Laissez-Faire (those with ‘let them alone’ attitude) to the democratic( people-friendly,all-inclusive). The aim, according to Morreale et al is to exhibit the ability of the leader to influence and inspire the followers towards set objectives and goals. Every government therefore, needs a set of competent and committed helsmen to succeed in meeting the aspirations of the led majority. The global perception is that of the three main types, democracy provides the most viable platform for these to be achieved.

For the good people of Lagos State, another defining moment in the evolving democratic dispensation came with the swearing of the amiable, people-loving top technocrat as the governor on May 29, 2015. He may not have cut the picture of a famed politician until in recent years but they remember him with fond memories. He was the man who, as the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance/Accountant General deployed his creative ingenuity that kept the state afloat above the troubled economic waters when the allocations for local government were withheld by the then federal government, led by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. In addition, under him the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) experienced exponential rise. The youths have been motivated by a man who rose up the ladder of the civil service from being a treasurer of several local government councils to becoming an Accountant-General, within a short span of 27 years.

They have been waiting, with mounting curiosity to find out just how he would wave the magic wand again. So far, residents of Lagos State have been watching with keen interest what unique attributes the new governor is bringing to the table. With the new All Progressives Congress (APC)-led party in place in most states of the federation, people’s expectations are high that the ‘change’ mantra would become a reality. They need an Ambode, especially now that revenue from oil was plummeting and with his promise to institute infrastructural development and create jobs for the teeming youths. And so far he has started keeping faith with his electoral promises.

Said he:”As we collectively face the challenge to make Lagos a better place to live in, we must recognise our strength in diversity. A common national identity where everybody counts. I shall run an open government of inclusion that will not leave anyone behind. No matter your age, sex, tribe or any other status, as long as you reside in Lagos, we will make Lagos work for you.” This is inspiring.

Good enough, Ambode has kick-started this with the full implementation of the state developmental agenda, which the permanent secretaries were working on. He has re-jigged the Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs) to infuse a great dose of dynamism, pragmatism and cost-effectiveness in running state affairs, for the first time in 22 years. Gone with the wind is the Ministry of Rural Development. In comes the more people-oriented Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment Generation. The new office of Civic Engagement is saddled with assuming the responsibilities of the erstwhile Office of Political and Legislative Powers Bureau. That is not all.

The former Office of Transformation has its scope expanded and rechristened the Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation to engage and unleash the mental capacity of our talented youths. Now also, the Ministry of Finance takes over the mandates of the former Debt Management Office, DMO and Special Adviser on Taxation. The Former Ministry of Home Affairs and Culture, no longer undertakes cultural affairs, hence the rechristening to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

In a bid to make his government more people-oriented, the former Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs has since been expanded with the additional mandate of community affairs. Its focus on Tourism, Arts and Culture falls in line with his campaign promise to make the Centre of Excellence the haven of Tourism on the African continent, nay the world. All these are geared towards improving the internal management of the state government and reasonably so.

Similarly, recognising the strategic significance of good road network in enhancing socio-economic activities in the state, creating jobs and boosting productivity, the new government has commenced work on the rehabilitation of some 90 roads by the Public Works Corporation. Interestingly, 70 percent of these are in the rural areas. Some of these places include Ikotun, Ejigbo, Ayobo, Ijegun, Badagry; in fact cutting across the entire state.

That is notwithstanding the fact that this is the rainy season, with flooding still a persisting challenge, no thanks to the sandy nature of the coastal state. And some unpatriotic citizens dumping refuse right into the gutters. What with a tough topography of an average of 2 metres below sea level. Notably, the past government left over 9,000 roads paved in Lagos, spent some N5 billion on federal roads.

Still, Ambode’s administration is already building on this. But he recognises that there must be a workable marriage between infrastructural development and the people’s welfare. There comes his humane and compassionate nature which has started unfolding to the great admiration of millions of people resident in Lagos State.

By directing the officials in charge of traffic laws, environmental sanitation and tax collection to handle people with the courtesy they deserve and demonstrating same, they have been inspired to see themselves as part and parcel of government.

For instance, his speedy response to distress calls from victims of fuel tanker explosions in Iyana- Ipaja and Ikotun soon after mounting the pedestal of political power was instructive. Next came the heart-rending, true-life tale of Mrs. Uche Ruth. She was abandoned by her husband soon after she gave birth to the last pair of three sets of twins. The piece of good news however, is that she has been placed on welfare by the Lagos State Government under the directive of Mr. Ambode the ever- caring and compassionate Lagos State Governor. His desire is to see that the children grow up comfortably to become responsible citizens. Said he: “It is only when such children are properly taken care of that they can achieve their full potentials in life and become responsible citizens in the future.”

Similarly, only the previous Monday, the governor alighted from his vehicle to assist in the rescue of an accident victim. The voiceless victim, Miss Anukam Angela, was driving alone in a wine-coloured Toyota Corolla car with registration number EKY 415 CG, at about 8:15am, when she lost control and rammed into the median of the road along Osborne Road, Ikoyi before the vehicle somersaulted.

The governor immediately instructed the ambulance attached to his convoy to convey Miss Angela, who was in a state of shock, and could barely move or talk, to be taken to the Lagos Island General Hospital for treatment, free of charge on the order of the governor.

No longer do we have to see government and those who run it as dictatorial, despotic or throwing themselves around as the philosopher kings who know it all. This had in the past pitched the people against the government. Ambode has come in as the humble but determined game changer to reverse the ugly trend. To him, everybody counts as encapsulated in his Inaugural Speech. Now, over 40 multi-national companies are jostling to do business with the Centre of Excellence.

So far too, Ambode has shown the attributes of one conversant with the art of good governance as predicated on the unfailing factors of vision, courage, character, commitment, compassion and being a good team leader. Besides, he is hardworking, humble and comes with an honesty of purpose.

All Lagosians must therefore, assist this government to succeed by playing our own part without being compelled to do so. And this is because Ambode has proven within a short time to be the people’s governor; the one with the human heart and human face.

September 13, 2015
Buhari,Tinubu and hatchet men

The piece “Buhari beware of Tinubu” in Daily Sun September 2, comes from the depleting arsenal of the forlorn amalgamation known as the PDP. At least we can say that the newspaper has remained faithful. It was propaganda vehicle of the PDP prior to the election and has decided to stick to that role.

This article can be cited as an exemplar of graveyard journalism, its author an unabashed necromancer. For he disinters and romances old lies and falsehoods that have been investigated and buried because they were unfounded. No person so publicly and fervently revives old lies to express new truths. The author’s motive shall not be found in the codex of honesty and fairness. The purpose is as murky as the PDP and the former government it led.

Nothing these people do is straight. The arrows they shoot are crooked; the bow they use is warped. Nothing they say can be taken at face value. Every time they speak, they increase their inventory of lies by at least one per word spoken. While in office and with all the power of state at their disposal, all they could do was break the nation while defaming our collective intelligence by telling us all was getting better by the day. Instead of leading the nation to fine pastures, they led us into a dark cul-de-sac. Now they have the gall to castigate Bola Tinubu in order to distract the people from all the wrongs they have done and the money they squandered. Had they governed the nation as well as the APC’s progenitors governed Lagos, Nigeria would be a much better place. They know this. More importantly, the people know it.

In the article, a so-called guest columnist accuses Tinubu of having amassed an unimaginable fortune. The writer claims that Tinubu cannot be part of any progressive change and that President Buhari must disassociate himself from the former Lagos governor. This author is the latest to ply a transparently slanted and incredible theme that seems to have become a psychological life rope to the PDP and its mercenaries. “If we can only get rid of Tinubu” goes their salacious dialogue.

Implicit in this sinister plot is the belief that driving a wedge between President Buhari and Tinubu will not only take Tinubu out of the picture, it will leave President Buhari politically isolated and vulnerable. They seek to politically kill a progressive political actor in Tinubu and Buhari’s progressive government with one regressive stone. We could not reasonably expect a strategy any less treacherous from this group and they did not fail to live down to our low expectations of them.

None of the accusations made against Tinubu are new. They are a rehash of a rehash. All of these things have been investigated and discovered to be acidic lies. The writer tried to explain away the case that the Jonathan administration opened but lost against Tinubu. But the writer could not intelligently tell why the Jonathan team would have let Tinubu off the hook if they had incriminating, potentially incarcerating evidence against him. When they took him to trial, they were acutely aware of his political stand and the threat it posed to their hold on office.

They knew him to be the prime strategist behind the political merger that became the APC that would eventually unseat the PDP in the 2015 elections. While no person is indispensable, the APC would not have been established with the form and capacity it assumed had Tinubu been sidelined. The history of the elections might have been different and more beneficial to the PDP incumbent. Jonathan and his team knew this.

With so much at stake, there is no way that the Jonathan team would not have closeted Tinubu if they had the chance to sideline him with criminal culpability. They would have relished the chance because it would have come as close to sealing the election as any one singular act could. The decision not to pursue Tinubu did not result from a largess of spirit. The decision was based on the realization that they lacked evidence to pursue the contrived suit.

In any case many of the allegations made in the hatchet piece are already issues of libel in the law court against AIT and similar organizations.

That this story appears now is predictable. For the last few weeks, the regressives have tried their hardest to cause acrimony within the APC, publishing fiction that Tinubu was at war with important APC figures, particularly in the South-west. Try as they might, those lies could not gain traction. Facts and common sense rebutted the machinations. The APC stalwarts were too wise to take the bait. Having exhausted that approach, the provocateurs quickly switched to see if they could pit President Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu against each other. The attempts to tarnish Tinubu’s relationship with the President and with other APC stalwarts have been recurring tactics pulled from the PDP’s bag of tricks.

Having destroyed their own party from within, they now seek to destroy the APC. The observations we can make about them is that they excel at failure and are creative in destroying things. By their wiles, we know them. By the results their conduct has produced in Nigeria, we reject them.

Overripe with lies and falsehood, the article says more about its author than about Tinubu. The writing is a sad testimony to barrenness of the PDP. The party is slowly disintegrating before our eyes. Yet, they stubbornly refuse to change their ways. Like thief gravediggers they venture into the cemetery in broad daylight to dig up old, refuted calumny and defamation. As the opposition in an open democracy, they have free and wide latitude to offer alternative policies recommendations and a different vision for the nation. They can’t take advantage to this option because they could not produce one credible new idea if the whole lot of them gathered for a year of deliberations. After all they did not do it in 16 years of blatant misrule.

We know now that the regressive conservatives who comprise the PDP and its allies are a stubborn brew. Their stubbornness so deeply envelopes them that it has affixed itself to them as terminal blindness. They refuse to see what is plain to all others. They lost the election because the people rejected their policies and the corrupt, mean way they implemented them.

These blind men now go thrashing about feverishly, trying to engage a battle already lost. They boast that they shall make the government and governing party quake. However, their desperation is palpable. While they rudely hector at the democratic procession passing them by, deep down they know their voice is weakening; they themselves are but apparitions, fading as a new and progressive political economy takes shape despite their futile efforts to halt it.

Try as he might to ridicule the President Buhari and Tinubu, the author of this piece merely showed the bankruptcy of his own mind and of those who asked him to sign his name to public libel and false witness. Instead of being aware of Tinubu, they ought to be aware of the hole they have dug. It appears they are close to falling into it.

– Dare is the Media Adviser/Chief of Staff to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

September 11, 2015