The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • The truth about Nigeria(ns)

    On my way out of a birthday party of a dear friend a couple of nights ago, a neighbour confronted me thus, ‘what are we going to do about the Boko Haram on our street?’ To my question of ‘which Boko Haram?’ he retorted: ‘have you not noticed about six ‘Hausa boys’ who always converge at No 3? I was at my dismissive best and with my usual warmth I called him an ignorant bigot. I must say that everybody on his table sided with him! The very next day there was the unfortunate bomb blast in Jos with scores of lives senselessly and brutally terminated. I was inundated with messages on my phone with one saying, ‘this is getting too close to home, we must now all say what we have felt but refused to air – the northerners must be told to go!

    To me the two tendencies above are myopic and laughable. It would however appear that to many southerners who live either abroad or in the south of Nigeria, what is nonsense to me makes perfect sense to them. In the event that our country is being driven to the brink of anarchy by ignorance, it is the duty of the sensible patriot to broaden the narrative beyond the present tendency.

    If not for ignorance, how can we see northerners as Boko Haram members or sympathizers? Or is that not the same attitude we condemn as ignorance, when non-Nigerians glibly catalogue Nigerians as fraudsters? Surely we must appreciate that the same way we feel when we are stereotyped because of the actions of a tiny criminal minority must be the way northerners feel when they are referenced as Boko Haram. It is painfully illogical when those bearing the brunt of the Boko Haram devilishness are those being labelled as such. It is probably the case that the young boys on my street, ran away from Boko Haram to Lagos, yet they are the threat! How unthinking, how ignorant! I will advise my neighbour to have a chat with those boys for his own education.

    The penchant of scapegoating any group of people on account of actions of persons traceable to that origin is by no means a Nigerian phenomenon but it does not make it helpful or less combustible. After 9/11 many actual Arabs or Arab looking people were attacked and some killed as revenge. This does not make sense the same way the killing of innocent Igbos in 1966 as revenge for the actions of a few Igbo army officers will never make sense. That is why the proliferation of all these divisive groups with diverse motivation is very worrisome and why it behoves us to liberate our thinking so that we can educate our people to see through the present cloud of ignorance. Otherwise we will wake up one day and start killing ourselves senselessly.

    All these talk about the artificiality of Nigeria is counter intuitive. In life we never get to choose who we commune with. Even in the family setting, nobody has ever chosen fellow family members. Just like any country we are born into one. The families that thrive and live harmoniously together are those in which the members practice ‘live and let live.’ It is the erosion of communalism in our country that has now tuned our national conversation to the station of divisiveness and warmongering. We have allowed the few in the callous and selfish power class to appropriate our sovereignty and fan the embers of discord as part of their power and money games. The only message that makes sense for us as a whole is that we are all human beings and that it is the divisions that are artificial. We have found ourselves by whatever ‘mistake’ or happenstance in one country and given that we are blessed with sufficient resources for all, we need to build the spirit of communalism and enthrone a reliable organizational method to guarantee fairness to all irrespective of tribe or religion. There is no magic wand organizational method, be it parliamentary or presidential or whatever; any system can work provided it is operated fairly in the spirit of communalism. With the level of greed, impunity and territoriality in Nigeria, no system will work! And guess what? Divide Nigeria into as many countries as you want, agitation will not stop because it is wrongly directed, we should be agitating for fairness and good responsible governance not divisions.

    Let me take Akwa Ibom for instance, I understand that under the Eastern Region government, ‘my people’ were seriously marginalized by the majority Igbos. South Eastern State was created as a result of the agitation. The Ibibios were now majority but were soon agitating that they wanted out of South Eastern State because of marginalization! Akwa Ibom was created and with it the Ibibio, Annang and Oron divide was exacerbated. Now the agitation is that the Annangs have cornered all the resources and marginalized the Ibibios! I wonder if any ‘missing funds’ exist in the name of Annang people. Rather than agitate for good accountable governance we keep on chasing shadows! We should be more discerning and then perhaps we will discover that the agitation is being promoted by individuals who did not personally benefit from the squander-mania?

    There is no denying the fact that we live in a fragile country, but that is the more reason why well meaning patriots must rise to counter the ongoing deceptive and hypocritical narrative. The atmosphere of xenophobic hysteria is exactly what led to ‘Ghana Must Go’ about 30 years ago. We blamed Ghanaians for every societal ill including rising crime and unemployment. In mob fashion, we dispossessed them of their property and hounded them out of town in the most barbaric of circumstances with many of them especially children and women dying at the chaotic Nigerian border (choked and overflowing with a dehumanized multitude.) Yet the same Nigerians who have now flocked to Ghana have the temerity to complain that their ‘brothers’ are asking them to pay trading levies which they categorize as unfair! Did expelling Ghanaians solve any problems? Of course not, because they were not the problem but merely victims of misdirected aggression. We must direct our aggression at bad governance because that is the problem. Bad governance thrives throughout the country because we are focused on the wrong targets and the perpetrators from all sections are having a good time at our collective expense.

    Our soldiers of fortune have produced different maps including one by ‘The Southern Peoples Assembly’ comprising four new countries of Oduduwa, Sharia North, Middle Belt and Southern people. So these days, things have changed so much that the Niger Delta minorities desperately need to form a country with the Igbos only? Hopefully the capital will be in Uyo, whose people were dancing on the streets when Cross River State oil wells were ceded to it and as one taxi driver victoriously declared to me at the time – ‘Now let us see what they will eat?’

    Suddenly in a country where a child from Enugu State cannot because of ‘indigenisation’ enjoy free education in Abia State but will enjoy same in Sokoto State, we are glibly talking of Southern Nigeria!

    I would not have been so worried by all these inanities, but I am, because Nigerians are so shockingly gullible. All manner of stories are being bandied about and fact, fiction and fantasy are mixed together in a form of crude osmosis where ‘dem say’ is the only required proof of all manner of ‘evidence’.

    The Almighty loves Nigeria very dearly and perhaps why he has provided South Sudan as an example to warn us to retrace our steps and embrace the path of unity, without which there can be no progress. Also we must in serious matters draw the line between flighty phantasm and foolishness. We must take the admonition of Martin Luther King seriously -’We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools’

    • Ukpong is a Lagos based Legal Practitioner

  • America’s doomsday prediction

    One of Africa’s greatest figures, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, coined the term ‘neo-colonialism’ to encompass the yoke of expectational burdens imposed on developing countries by elements from advanced countries or former colonialists. Neo-colonialism is the idea that, even though the actual occupation and overt control of a country may have ended, some economic and political fingers of imperialism still seek to influence life in what is derogatively tagged the Third World. Elements of this continue to manifest in Nigeria’s engagement with the international community despite the lip service being paid the supremacy of the sovereign status of Africa’s largest economy and the biggest gathering of black people in the world.

    It is, therefore, not surprising that while much of America and people in other parts of the world continue to stand in solidarity with Nigeria, especially in the battle against a devious sect of terrorists called Boko Haram, Senator John McCain, who contested the 2008 United States presidential election on the platform of the Republican Party, is on the opposite side. In an interview with the Daily Beast newspaper, McCain rightfully spoke of supporting Nigeria’s fight against terrorists but he went overboard by advocating arbitrary raids on Boko Haram without regard for Nigeria’s territorial sovereignty. Truly, McCain inexplicably discountenanced our nation’s pains to reveal his utter contempt for Nigeria, America’s largest trading partner in Africa and Nigeria’s President whom he described as ‘‘some guy called Goodluck Jonathan’’.

    Former United States Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton is on the same page with McCain. Without doubt, the gaffes from McCain and Clinton do not represent the prevalent opinion in America about Nigeria and its anti-terrorism efforts. Nigeria has cause to really appreciate Americans’ solidarity and empathy with the abducted school girls and their families.  President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, US Congressmen, celebrities and countless other American citizens have been actively supporting us by tweeting, making telephone calls, supporting the Bring Back Our Girls campaign. Conclusively, most Americans have demonstrated the oneness of true humanity in the face of unusual adversity.

    But could anyone in America have given McCain’s statement any regard if it was the other way round, coming from a failed Nigerian presidential aspirant who seeks to deprecate the American people and their president? Back home in Nigeria, the past few years has witnessed heinous terrorism acts which some have described as a coded message being conveyed to President Jonathan – “Quit while you still have life”. Any leader who quits in the face of such unjustifiable blackmail risks being judged harshly by posterity.

    Just few years ago, several doomsday predictions assert with pseudo-divine finality that Nigeria’s house will fall by 2015. Although Nigeria has passed through several unnerving turbulent times, including a civil war, it has remained a resilient nation, forging ahead in spite of many odds stirred mostly by mischievous political forces.

    According to the Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, Michel Wormser, most investors in Africa now had enough sophistication to discern long-term opportunities despite a flurry of negative news, ranging from civil war in the world’s newest nation, South Sudan, to bombs by suspected Islamist militants in Kenya and the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria by Islamist group Boko Haram. “There is more understanding of the riskiness and more ability from investors to distinguish between what is media hype and what is the reality on the ground, and the likeliness of their investment to yield what they expect,” he added while describing Nigeria and some other parts of Africa as “a land of great opportunities.”

    Now, could it be the same Nigeria that McCain and Hillary had chosen to take to the cleaners as some jungle without any working system or any potential for the future? Clearly, that is far from the truth. Sure McCain and Hillary never ponder over these words despite the many years they have spent in the corridors of power. Why should they anyway? Is it not obvious that these folks are bent on working to an already predetermined answer?

    Yet while anarchists at home and ill-wishers from abroad are doing their mischief, Nigeria quietly continues to move forward under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan. For instance, the nation successfully recorded some measure of positive advancement. It hosted the World Economic Forum Africa (WEFA) from May 7 – 9. Some 1,100 people from 70 countries participated in making the most successful WEFA held in Africa. It brought in $68billion new investments along with multiplier economic effects for the continent.

    No doubt the abduction of over 200 school girls in Chibok, Borno State has attracted the attention of the international community not just to governance but also to the extent to which these evil minds can go to destroy the bond that has existed among a divergent set of peace-loving Nigerians for years. However, this temporary lapse in the journey to nationhood should not distract from the fact that Nigeria is a country of inherent destiny. Our character – who we are as a people – is being tested right now by the international world. How we go about resolving this knotty issue would be a defining moment in our history. It should be clear to all stakeholders in this Project Nigeria that this is the time to put aside dirty politics and show solidarity and compassion for our young girls, their families, their community and our country as a whole.

    At least, for the sake of posterity, this is the time for every well-meaning Nigerian, including the perpetual critics, to rally behind President Jonathan in the fight against those with terrorist inclinations. It is a sacred duty for all of us, as true citizens of Nigeria, to make sure that the doomsday predictions never come to pass for our dear country.

     

    • Udegbunam writes from Abuja

  • Adieu Sir Michael Agbolade Otedola

    Death, where is thy sting? This is the way the Holy Bible appreciates the harsh but real nature of death. Indeed, death is awesome and its finality is frightening. Perhaps this was why the legendary Williams Shakespeare, in one of his immortal works, ‘Julius Caesar’, harped on the harsh reality of death that “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, it seems to me most strange that men should fear; seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come”.

    Really, death and dying are, of a fact, an inevitable part of human existence. It is too sure to disbelieve but too daunting to ordinarily wish for. A lot of people have described death in many ways, but is death really wicked?  I think it is just performing a balancing function by ensuring that, rather than ageing, the world is refreshed daily.  Some people know ahead of time when their death will occur, for instance through terminal illnesses diagnosed ahead of time, and can, therefore, set their affairs in order, make relationships right, and say goodbye to loved ones.  However, not everyone has this chance, as many deaths occur suddenly, tragically and, most often painfully.

    Death, which Shakespeare describes as a necessary end, finally caught up with Sir Michael Agbolade Otedola, former Governor of Lagos State, in the early hours of Monday, May 5, when Papa slept and refused to wake.  His death has since been described as a great loss to Lagos State and indeed the country as a whole. It is, however, gladdening that Sir Otedola passed on at the ripe age of 88, having served God and humanity in various capacities and fields. A great entrepreneur and uncommon philanthropist, Sir Otedola touched and transformed many lives through his many business enterprises and philanthropic activities. A Knight of St. Sylvester, Papa Otedola was a very humane man and a symbol of decency in every sense of the word. He epitomised honesty, fairness and justice. He was a kind-hearted man that readily shared what he had with his people. There is a fable around town that the only thing that Otedola would not give was what he did not have. He was that kind and considerate.

    His foray into the murky waters of Nigerian politics climaxed with his election as the Governor of Lagos State in a nation-wide election held in 1991 under the platform of the defunct National Republican Convention, NRC. Sir Otedola was an unusual politician, who abhors violence in all its ramifications. His achievements while at the helm of affairs in the state remain indelible. Indeed, the Centre for Excellence that Lagos proudly proclaims today was his choice when he was invited among other governors to choose a sobriquet for Lagos.  It is also on record that his administration, which only lasted for 23 months, facilitated the establishment of a campus of Yaba College of Technology in Epe, his hometown.

    The legacy of Otedola in Lagos includes several people-oriented programmes and projects. The housing and transportation sectors, in particular, experienced huge transformation during the few months of Otedola’s leadership of the state.  Although some of the projects embarked upon by his administration were completed by succeeding administrations owing to the truncation of his tenure as a result of the botched transition programme in 1993, he could have gone far with them if he had more time.  The jubilee housing scheme that was initiated by the Otedola administration gave birth to the popular Abraham Adesanya Estate in Ajah, Jubilee Estate, Ikorodu, Epe and the one located along the Lagos/Ibadan expressway at the tip of the bridge now known as ‘Otedola Bridge’.  So were the Jubilee rail programme and the Jubilee Bus scheme conceptualized to become a sort of panacea to the chaotic mass transit in the city of Lagos that time.

    Otedola’s Jubilee mass transit scheme was hinged on alleviating the sufferings of the masses who daily struggle to chase the few available ‘Molue’ and other commercial buses.  Perhaps, because the  defunct Lagos State Transport Corporation, LSTC, had proved to be unprofitable to government, Otedola chose to give the fleet of buses his administration procured for public transportation to private operators who were to manage them on behalf of the state. The aim was to achieve accountability, efficiency and probity. This, perhaps, laid the foundation for the Public -Private Participation model which subsequent administrations in the state opted for in most of their infrastructure renewal projects.

    A man of honour, Otedola tried as much as possible to follow the path of decency even in the face of the disgraceful line that his party, the defunct NRC, toed in the wake of the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential elections. He demonstrated his sympathy to aggrieved pro-democracy activists in subtle ways. For instance, he stood his ground to ensure the release of the late Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti, human rights activist and social critic, when the latter was detained by the characteristically overzealous police during the public protest against the annulment of that (June 12, 1993) election. In the same vein, while some NRC governors gathered in Abuja to issue a communiqué condemning the nationwide protest that heralded the annulment, Otedola, who was not in Abuja for the meeting, issued his own communiqué which canvassed continuous dialogue between the Babangida military junta and the aggrieved pro-democracy activists and politicians in the interest of peace and progress in the country.

    That is the make- up of this distinguished and illustrious son of Epe. He was never one to stand in support of falsehood. Throughout his career both in the public service and in the private sector, Sir Otedola was always on the side of justice, fair play and transparency. In a society where people do all sorts of things to acquire wealth and fame, Otedola opted to be different, choosing only to maintain a good name.  As our nation grapples again with many crises, we could all draw vital lessons from the life and time of this patriot by daring to be different and endeavouring to stand by the side of truth and justice at all times.

    Adieu, Sir Michael Agbolade Otedola.   We love you, but God loves you more.   Continue to rest at the bosom of your Lord till we meet to part no more!

    Ibirogba is Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy

  • Nigerians and terrorism: Conspiracy of silence

    I know that silence is an ill-wind. Those who keep silent in the face of great moral crisis diminish humanity and the very essence of living. Nothing exemplifies this reprehensible culture of silence like the eternal words of Martin Neimoller, the great anti-Nazi theologian and preacher: “First, they came for the communist; I did not speak out because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics and I did not speak up because I was a protestant. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me”, Neimoller said in 1946.

    The anti-Nazi theologian made these timeless remarks while addressing German intellectuals and leaders of thought following the Nazi rise to power and the annihilation of their targets that triggered world-wide condemnation.

    Today, Nigeria faces global outrage on account of terrorism and particularly the abducted Chibok girls which still continue to dominate headlines across the world. To be honest, I feel low anytime the story and the accompanying horrific pictures of those innocent girls and their abductors are shown on international media. I do not think we need to overemphasize the fact that we live in a globalised world and that the voices of our neighbours matter. But we did not get here overnight.

    The principal role of government is the protection of lives and properties. When government fails in this responsibility it has a moral crisis of legitimacy at hand. The international community has expressed concern about the role of government in this whole saga but our people have maintained unusual and troubling silence. Government regrettably views every criticism, no matter how constructive, as voice of detractors. Religious, traditional, political and economic leaders have refused to speak out against government apathy and even against insurgents.

    We all appreciate the fact that the fight against terror in Nigeria has stretched the citizenry who are the real victims, and the government. Every day, from Maiduguri, Yobe and Yola to Jos, Bauchi, Kano and Kaduna, we watch helplessly as lives are snuffed and dreams aborted. Sadly, one could almost predict the hypocrisy and cyclic response that greet these bombings, abductions and arson that now threaten our country.

    Since this devastating act of extreme evil took a new turn on February 25, with the fatal raid on Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State where over 30 male students were murdered and undisclosed number of female students abducted, Nigerians have not known peace. Today, Boko Haram literally keeps everybody on the edge, creating fear, confusion and uncertainty in the minds of our country men and women.

    What is baffling for me, however, is our attitude generally as a people. I hasten to add here that this does not in any way preclude government of the day from blame. In fact, government is the chief culprit. Take for instance this unfortunate Chibok abduction. At the beginning, a deafening silence from government greeted news of the kidnap.  It took sometime before there was noticeable seriousness on the part of government, that is, after some of its apologists had openly expressed doubts over the veracity of the abduction. There are also a good number of Nigerians who claim that they have not seen enough will and commitment on the part of government to inspire confidence and hope.

    As Nigerians, a few people would argue the fact that as citizens, we have also not done enough to assist our law enforcement agents. Have we volunteered enough information that would necessarily support our embattled military and others in the law enforcement chain? Have we, in our thoughts and action genuinely shown enough patriotism and concern in seeing that we defeat this evil?

    What about this conspiracy of silence that is still lurking around us?

    The plain truth is that our armed forces and the police are not spirits, the bulk of their work depends largely on intelligence and if we hope to circumvent the antics of this deadly sect, we must be willing to go beyond the surface.

    I must commend the efforts of our vibrant civil society organisations and volunteers who are bracing all odds in an attempt to draw more attention to this needless crisis but there is still a huge deficit.

    I am nonetheless happy that part of this deficit is already been addressed by some groups. I am proud of the Oby Ezekwesili-led Bring Back Our Girls Campaign and must commend them for the now popular 10 questions for the federal government.  The 2Face Idibia’s Million Voices for Peace (MVP) Project also deserves commendation. Some artists under the umbrella of the MVP, in an attempt to draw attention to the global call for the release of the abducted girls have recorded a major song of peace and unity titled Break the Silence to raise funds to support the on-going campaign for the girls. But we must go beyond the MVP initiative if we truly hope to break this silence. We must therefore enlist the support and understanding of all Nigerians to defeat Boko Haram.

    Members of Boko Haram are not ghosts. But we must be vigilant because we have in our midst, their admirers, confidants, siblings and other relatives who know that they deal and live on the blood of the poor, the innocent and the vulnerable. This is the most disturbing part of our tragedy today. So, we are faced with the truth that many Nigerians would consciously support evil rather than repudiate it because they know the roles of their kith and kin, and this reality of the present says a mouthful.

    There are also those who fear to upset the apple cart because of the dire consequences. In our society, Boko Haram therefore thrives because men and women are afraid of any form of discomfort in their different comfort zones. Others regrettably see the sect as a distant phenomenon that is already constrained by geography and weather.

    But both the leadership and the led must urgently embark on attitude change because we are already reaping the awful dividends of insurgency. I also know there is a strong belief in some quarters that there is a colossal failure of policy and management of men and materials in the execution of this on-going war that is dragging for too long. For that reason, the executive must look inwards for solutions. The federal government should also be amenable to criticism. A situation where the executive misconstrues every critical point is further exacerbating the situation and widening the already existing gulf between the leadership and the led. The federal government in my considered opinion should also be magnanimous enough to accept criticism and desist from the practice of branding critics as opposition and detractors.

    This is, therefore, a time to stand up and be counted. After all according to Martin Luther King Jnr, “in the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends”.

     

    • Peterside, a member of the House of Representatives, is chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream).

     

  • Abia: Of development and succession

    Abia State governor, Chief Theodore Ahamuefule Orji assumed office as governor of Abia State in May 2007, 17 years after the creation of the state from Old Imo State. Within those years, military administrators were in-charge for eight-years, while their civilian counterparts held sway for nine years. Within this period also, the state received monthly federation allocations and generated Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) that ran into billions of naira with nothing on ground in terms of infrastructural, economic and social developments to show for it.

    Those who presided over the affairs of the state for the 17 locust years and their allies were never brought to book. During this era, the state haemorrhaged and decayed in all ramifications, while the looters of the era smiled to the banks, and even ploughed the loots into the state politics in 1999 to hijack the democratic process. They took charge, and decided who got what. By 2007, there was no concrete or solid foundation as the state was laid waste.

    That was the sorry state of affairs in Abia State in 2007 which one Uche Igwe in a recent article in The Punch of May 21 titled “The Struggle to succeed failure in Abia State” failed to acknowledge in his bid to run down Abia State governor and his family, his government, and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan ahead of 2015 general elections. It is said that a man who was not around when a corpse is buried would definitely exhume it from the head. I do not know when last Igwe came to Abia State before engaging in his fictitious article. However, every Nigerian familiar with Enugu/ Aba/ Port-Harcourt Expressway, a major federal road that has suffered severe neglect by successive governments in the country, will appreciate how much it has received and continue to receive attention since President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office. Several portions of the road have been removed completely and asphalted afresh, thereby making it accessible.

    The Aba axis of the road such as Osisioma junction which was an eyesore for several years before now is wearing a new look today with a well-flowered garden and streetlights courtesy of the present government in the state. The same effort has been extended to major intercity roads and federal roads in the commercial city of Aba and environs, a city that was once made a pariah by the rampaging kidnappers for months. The present government expended billions in tackling the kidnapping saga which brought about the restoration of peace and security in the state without minding whose ox is gored or apportioning blame to anybody. If such funds had been channelled into developmental projects, it would have gone far, but there will no development in an unsecured environment.

    To pontificate that nothing is happening in Abia state in terms of infrastructural, economic and social-cultural developments is the height of hypocrisy and cynicism as there are so many verifiable on-going and completed legacy projects across the state today. Among them are the Ubani Ibeku Modern market, Amuba Housing Estate, Isieke Housing Estate, Abia Diagnostic Hospital, Abia Eye Centre, Amachara General Hospital, Ohiya Power station, the International Conference Centre, the new Government House, 250 health centres in rural areas, 350 kilometres of roads constructed and rehabilitated, the radical reformation of the state civil service, the intervention in education sector with the building and rebuilding of state-owned public schools and tertiary institutions and other achievements. These legacy projects were non-existent before 2007. So the question should be; what happened to the state funds for 17 years before the present government came into office in 2007?

    The reality is that despite the initial menace of a godfather that hamstrung Governor Orji’s government for the first three years, the government has continued to turn the state round with massive infrastructural developments to the admiration and acknowledgement of the people, and disappointment and envy of the cabal who had always wanted status quo to remain. What the armchair critics of the state government have failed to realize is that the government since 2007 has been using state funds of seven years plus to address the ineptitude and failure of successive governments before it.

    As for allegations that Governor Orji’s son is one of the major contractors in the state, it is part of the Pull Him Down syndrome orchestrated by the known enemies of the state ahead of 2015. It is unfortunate that these days when Freedom of Information (FoI) Act has been signed into law, people still peddle fiction on the pages of newspapers.

    Clearly and expectedly, all these sponsored machinations against Governor Orji and his family are not unconnected with politics of 2015, and who succeeds him office. To douse unnecessary tension and political acrimony among the party stakeholders in the state, the governor, who also doubles as the state leader of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after due consultation announced that his party will be zoning the governorship seat in 2015 to Abia South senatorial zone. A good student of political history of the state since 1999 will agree that PDP’s decision in that direction is equitable and justifiable, considering that Abia South is the only zone that has not produced governor for the state since 1999.

    Orji and his party’s position on the governorship seat in 2015 is not far from what obtained in the last Anambra governorship election, and the position of Enugu State governor, Sullivan Chime and the state PDP ahead of 2015 gubernatorial election in the state. This is fast becoming a political trend in our polity, especially in states that are not dominated by one particular major ethnic group like Benue State that are predominantly Tiv against the minority Idoma.

    Again the State PDP and Governor Orji have not endorsed or anointed anybody as Orji’s likely successor, having known that such will amount to distraction and illegality at this point in time. Meanwhile, the senator representing Abia Central zone, Nkechi Nworgu has not said anywhere that she has been anointed by the wife of the President, Dame Patience Jonathan to succeed Governor Orji come 2015. Governor Orji has also not publicly or privately declared that he will be running for the senatorial seat in 2015 talk less of swapping seat with Senator Nworgu.

    On the issue of non-conduct of local government election by the state government, what needs to be borne in mind is that the exercise requires huge funds. Besides, the state government is yet to offset the huge debts incurred by the last council chairmen under the watch of the past administration.  Finally, measuring the performance in public office like that of a state governor in Abia requires assessing the performance of successive governments in the state before 2007, where were on ground in the area of infrastructural developments, the challenges and the human indices and then compare them with what are on ground now.

     

    • Chukwu, wrote Bende, Abia State  

  • #BringBackOurGirls campaign, evolution of Hashtag activism

    #BringBackOurGirls campaign, evolution of Hashtag activism

    Hashtag online activism has continued to prove critics wrong in the amazingly unique way it amplifies disconsolate unheard minority voices, suppressed or subdued by a repressive and despotic government.

    It draws attention of millions to a horrific story. It gets better when world leaders and celebrities latch onto the hashtag as it nudges other countries to weigh in or even intervene in the crisis.

    Granted, a lot of persons may not know the complexities of the political, economic or security problems associated with such hashtags, and don’t bother to know, but still join the sentimental global train to amplify such stories helping to raise awareness to tales of horror. It is sometimes regarded as a wave of superficial momentary sentimentality because it is not in any way a real engagement in any attempt to resolve a complex or violent threat. However, the voice of minorities is amplified by sharing their stories in a way even the most sophisticated and networked print or electronic media platform cannot achieve.

    Like #OccupyNigeria protest of 2012, #BringBackOurGirls campaign is another case in point.

    The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag went viral worldwide sparking global awareness to the almost 300 schoolgirls abducted in the predominantly Christian community of Chibok, a small village on the outskirts of Borno State. Celebrities and global politicians – among them, world leaders – have united behind a cause to bring succour and hope to the families of the abducted girls by the Islamic fundamentalists who started out as a small salafist sect in Borno but have over the years morphed into a monster threatening to take control of some North-East states of Nigeria.

    Before now, many people outside the shores of Nigeria have never heard of Chibok or Borno State. The awareness the hashtag raised brought to public knowledge, the horrendous atrocities the religious zealots have inflicted on a nation now at the mercy of their mindless and wanton killings. While the #BringBackOurGirls movement has drawn attention to the plight of the Chibok families, we’re still faced with the stark reality of our girls still missing.

    Like everyone else, I had hoped that the campaign will be a tipping point for Nigeria’s war on terror. But subsequent attacks by the Jihadists in different states that have claimed over 250 lives and many more injured, has deflated such hopes.

    Critics of hashtag activism have drawn parallels between the#BringBackOurGirls movement and #Kony2012 campaign. Via a movie, Invincible Children, that went viral on the internet with over 8million views on YouTube within the first few hours of upload, global attention in 2012 was attracted to a Ugandan warlord, Joseph Kony, and his Lord’s Revolution Army (LRA), where children were made soldiers and used to perpetuate some of the most brutal crimes against humanity.

    Kony had been terrorising Uganda and Ugandans for decades but America and the rest of the world only got a glimpse of it when it became a convenient and popular hashtag. #Kony2012 trended for days and weeks on social media platforms turning the LRA Ugandan warlord into the most hated, loathed and wanted man. Despite the awareness that compelled the US to send some 100 troops to Uganda to co-ordinate the search for Kony, the campaign soon lost momentum and two years on, Joseph Kony remains at large!

    Not so impressed observers have described hashtag online activism as “a frictionless convenience, conducted from the safety of a computer screen or handheld device that often serves more as a flattering public symbol of concern than concern itself.” Complex and multidimensional nature of problems are otherwise meant to look too simplified by mere tweeting, filming, and changing picture profiles across platforms. They posit that beyond the awareness raised, hashtag activism does not solve the problem. Some others call it an exercise in “self-esteem”. True, the reaction of the outside world is mostly sentimental as it essentially revels in the moment but in the case of the Chibok girls, it has drawn global attention to their plight, ratcheting up the pressure that has led to some sort of international military intervention or assistance. But a hashtag campaign at the very least can’t hurt even if those involved in it know next to nothing more than the hashtag.

    Granted that hashtag activism oversimplifies the complexities of events abroad, and even if well-intentioned, rarely affect things on the ground but same cannot be said of the #BringBackOurGirls movement. Fillip and compass have been added to the rescue mission with the deployment of foreign intelligence personnel and some advance aerial surveillance gadgets by the US, Britain, China, Israel, France and a few other European countries joining the ongoing efforts to reunite the abducted schoolgirls with their loved ones.

    Sustained daily protests in the Nation’s capital, Abuja, by the #BringBackOurGirls movement have put the government on its toes. Western countries are rushing Special Forces and all their first-world paraphernalia to Nigeria in the hope of tracking the missing girls down.

    In spite of all the criticism against hashtag activism, the bring back our girls campaign has gone beyond borders, breaking barriers and doubts that the farthest hearts can be touched and leaders of world super powers can be forced to act.

    President Jonathan, the man in the eye of the storm, only came alive when he learnt the online campaign has drawn the attention of Western powers. He did not flinch since the religious extremists kidnapped about 300 girls from Chibok. Nigerians didn’t expect him to lift a finger though, after all, nothing now moves him considering how he danced away in Kano 24 hours after 74 persons were killed by a bomb blast at Nyanya.

    On this occasion, he began to act when the international community joined in the viral campaign. Wishing the uproar will go away quickly, same way his government moved on from the murdered school children of Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, who were killed by some unhinged monsters. John McCain, the straight from shoulder, critically outspoken Republican Senator, lampooned the Jonathan’s government slow response: “The United States didn’t have to wait until a practically non-existent government of Nigeria gave us (Americans, that is) the go-ahead before mounting a humanitarian effort to rescue those 276 abducted girls.”

    Hillary Clinton threw all diplomacy and prevarication aside to submit that “the government in Nigeria has been somewhat derelict in its responsibility towards protecting boys and girls, men and women in northern Nigeria over the last years”.

    But these campaigns and sustained protests have made us realise that people do actually care, even if they’re unwilling to hit the streets in protest. There is a new way injustice can be fought in the world where everyone gets involved in some way. It gives those who join the bandwagon a sense of belonging that they can play a small part of something immense to raise awareness about people around the world who are powerless, helpless and can do nothing about a dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation.

     

    Ilevbare can be followed on twitter, @tilevbare.

     

  • Appraising Osun’s O-Meals programme

    When the history of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic is finally written, one man, a public administrator of uncanny acumen, will tower highly on the pages of that account. He will be so specially recognised not on account of his volubility or seeming Spartan lifestyle. Reasonably, Governor Rauf Aregbesola will attract a huge focus in that chronicle because of his sterling performance and consistent delivery of good governance in Osun State, a once economically drab, socially sick, and politically explosive landlocked state.

    While not neglecting the evident changes taking place in other sectors of the state since the Aregbesola administration began in 2010, I must confess that I have been more dispassionately concerned with what happens in the education sector of the state. From the reforms, the innovative initiatives, to the hefty sum being sunk in the public education system of Osun, there can be no doubt that the interest of the Aregbesola government in the advancement of education as a vital element of enduring human and physical development is not superficial.

    Specifically, the vastly improved Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, famously regarded as Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme (O-MEALS) is one of the areas in the education sector of the state that the incandescent light of good governance has been determinedly beamed. The success of this programme brings to mind the indisputable fact that the sector-wide development being witnessed in Osun is a product of the robust resourcefulness, rugged will, uncommon prudence, and practicable vision of the Aregbesola administration. O-MEALS has been sustained for two years. It is a stirring testimony to the inspiring ability of the administration to provide invaluably enduring programme.

    This free school-feeding programme covers some 500,000 pupils enrolled in grades one to four of all government-owned elementary schools. It is firmly founded on the objectives of alleviating hunger and malnutrition among school children; addressing specific micronutrient deficiencies in school-age children for better school performance; motivating parents to enrol their children in school and have them attend regularly; and stimulating job creation, local goods production and to boost local farmers’ incomes.

    On every school day, these pupils are fed with highly nutritious meals made up of yam with fish stew and orange; rice and beans with chicken; beans porridge and bread with whole egg and banana; and cocoyam porridge with vegetable soup and beef, with a slice of pawpaw. This initiative, as reports indicate, has seen to the gainful empowerment of over 3000 women who serve as food vendors in all the schools across Osun. The disbursement of about N3 billion annually by the state government to sustain the programme is itself a marker of the power of vision and what only a responsible government can do.

    The O-MEALS programme is a resoundingly well-restructured idea. And this is no frivolous claim. This assertion can be substantiated by looking at the quality of international supports and acclaims the programme has engendered, its implications on the education of children in the state, and the economic spinoffs. All of these prove that the programme is not a misbegotten idea.

    With respect to genetic predisposition to intelligence, good nutrition plays an immeasurable role in cognitive development of children. Studies have shown that nutrient deficiency in children often affects the development of their brain, the engine room of the human body.  Children who are deficient in nutrients and are poorly fed will not only be sickly and look terrifyingly gaunt; they will equally have weaker brain power coupled with a demeaning lack of confidence. In class, they will do everything but give meaningful attention to learning. They will listen to teachers desultorily. Rather than remember the salient thrusts of their lessons, they have the rumbling worms in their stomachs to remind them of the pang of hunger.

    This is the hell from which the Aregbesola administration has rescued the school children. With the nutritious meals, provision of modern learning facilities, conducive learning atmosphere, and qualified teachers, there can be no doubt that sound and round education is the lot of these children. The children now look healthier, more robust, and more confident. Their brains are being energised for effective performance on a daily basis. It now matters little, if any at all, that these children attend public schools.

    The government in Osun understands that nutrients are quite critical for optimal brain development, hence its unwavering commitment to the free-feeding initiative and uncompromising provision of functional education. Those who steer the ship of governance in Osun understand that it is with well-fed, well-groomed, well-bred, and well-educated minds that society attains great heights in development.

    As a full package, the O-MEALS programme has positive impact on the economy and agricultural sector of Osun. Cocoyam farming (aptly tagged ‘Cocoyam Rebirth Farming’) has taken a new dimension and many hands are already being gainfully engaged in that area. Cocoyam, especially the pink species, is said to have higher nutritional value than yam. Its inclusion in the menu of the school meal is a sensible decision.

    Similarly, poultry, livestock and catfish farming now thrives in the state, improving the quality of life of farmers and reinflating the domestic economy of Osun. It can be safely concluded that the quest of Osun for economic development benefits richly from the active involvement of its people. They not only benefit from government’s programmes, they also play important roles in their execution. That is evidence that people-oriented government is what subsists in Osun in the last three years.

    It is equally noteworthy that the restructured O-MEALS initiative under the watch of Aregbesola has attracted international attention. The international acclaims and backing from organisations like the Partnership for Child Development (PCD) UK, the World Bank, and the World Food Programme are strong proofs that out there in Osun is a responsive and responsible government. Given that the Osun State government has by action shown it is responsible, serious and prudent in the management of resources, it will be good judgement on the part of these international organisations to further support and help to expand the coverage of the programme to include both Middle and High School students. This will make for a complete programme.

    This is a programme that will do all of Nigerian children good – not only those in Osun. It is, therefore, a welcome development that the federal government has found the need to copy this programme and make it an essential part of the Universal Basic Education programme. It is even more encouraging that roundtable discussions are being organised on how to get the programme going in all the states of the federation.

    Nigeria needs the kind of revolution that has reshaped for good the public education system in Osun. Let those in charge rouse themselves to action, demonstrating the right will, translating vision into reality, and providing good governance through prudence and creativity – all of which are the hallmarks of the Aregbesola administration. They should know, as Confucius enlightens, that ‘[n]o nation goes bankrupt educating its people’. Every naira spent to make the Home-Grown School Feeding programme work would be worth it.

     

    • Oladeji writes from Ede, Osun State.
  • Rauf: The responsibility in power

    Rauf: The responsibility in power

    Those who have encountered the City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism, authored by that former Associated Press’ Correspondent in the Persian Gulf, Jim Krane, would easily reconnect with the story of how that hitherto isolated Village grew to today’s centre of commerce and tourism, that is the destination for all from across the globe.

    Really, the aborigines of present day Dubai, were dismayed to learn that no part of the world knew about their existence (despite their glorified exploits in fishery and other aquatic activities) until the architect of that modern heaven, Sheikh Rashid Makhtoun, decided to change that course through purposeful leadership; challenging his power with the responsibility to change the history of his people. No doubt, the Dubai’s story today stands tall among those who have demonstrated in practical terms the fact that in power really lie some heavy responsibilities.

    Rauf Aregbesola, 57 today, sits atop the affairs of Osun, the almost 4 million strong populated area in the South-West of Nigeria. With an epic and tortuous journey to power, what manifests majorly in more than three years of being in the saddle are the responsibilities that accompany his position of power.

    Arriving as a leader in a state that not many seeking peace and pleasure would want to live, there is a grandiose display of the realization that the power pails into insignificance if it does not translate into a tool for changing history from an unenviable past to a new world of possibilities.

    The very grim scenario Aregbesola met in Osun is worth remembering! It was story of a people boxed to an unfortunate corner of misery, hopelessness, want, violence, injustice occasioned by lack of functional education, jobs, dangerous environment, uncoordinated plans of actions and total failure of leadership. They had equally but painfully resigned to fate given the dearth of choices away from the misery.

    Any leader who fails to confront these multiple under-development evils with coordinated plans of actions must realize ab initio that he has written his name indelibly in the hall of infamy.  Thus, what would be tools to confront these maladies with were no more than some six cardinal objectives that on their own appeared comprehensive enough to have taken care of the various dimensions the Osun challenge presented.

    The ingenious manner with which the Aregbesola administration’s banishment of poverty, hunger, unemployment, restoring healthy living, functional education and communal peace and progress have been pursued has produced only one result: transformation.

    With doggedness, Osun is fast transforming to what Lisa Jones describes as “a model of progressive urban development” in her article, “The improbable story of how Bogota, Colombia, became somewhere you might actually want to live.”

    Giving one of the reasons for awarding Aregbesola the Daily Independent’s Man of the Year 2013 honour, the national daily’s Editor, Rotimi Durojaiye, had cited the drift back to Osun as one strong illustrative point that the state where those who lived there were without choices is where dwellers of metropolitan Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and others now want to return.

    After three years of exploits, not a few are coming to terms with the potency of the Osun experiments under Aregbesola. There is a fascinating way in which the media, the voices of the people, appear to be amplifying what Daily Independent called “Symbol of Alternative Perspectives” and The Nation newspaper just last week simply dubbed “The Osun Example”. It was what PUNCH’s erudite columnist, Prof Niyi Akinnaso, referred to as “Unravelling the Nigerian Paradox”.

    Of course, the isolated case that “The Osun Example” has become in the face of national development tragedy appears to be the reason for clamour that Nigeria needs to look into that tiny fraction of its geographical spread to see how an application on a national scale could help provide answers to some of the nagging national questions.

    In another article, I once made reference to Waller Newell’s The Soul of a Leader: Character, Conviction and Ten Lessons in Political Greatness. “What, the author asked in his book, “are we looking for in a leader?” Given the Nigerian experience, what we must be looking for in a Nigerian leader is salvation through the deployment of those creative strategies that have practically solved some puzzles such as unemployment and its concomitant offspring, promotion of justice and fairness, commitment to the welfare of the people through people-centre, people-focused policies.

    Jettisoning political sentiments, the Peoples Democratic Party-led Senate had recommended in very clear terms to Nigeria the latest education policies of Osun as pragmatic solutions to the current national education policies that produce more illiterates than educated minds.

    What, for instance, is in it for Nigeria as a whole adopting the Osun initiative in youth empowerment just as The World Bank has compellingly suggested? The scheme that takes 20,000 idle but able-bodied youths out of the job market every two years definitely has the magic to ward off youth restiveness, insurgency and other crimes. What is in it for Nigeria to restructure its agricultural policies in a way that causes positive ripples in jobs creation, food sufficiency and other value chains? Is there anything in it for Nigeria if it dedicates its resources to massive infrastructure upgrades in nationwide roads networks, energy generation and distribution and provision of adequate security to investments to thrive? Are these not the requirements for igniting an industrialization revolution that will engage more hands than the current army of idle hands? Is Nigeria not fertilizing the pull from which insurgency draws its Army of mindless attackers by failing to adopt a method that will erode that pull?

    Perhaps, Nigeria’s main problems stem from that acute ignorance of the responsibilities that lie in power before those in leadership positions take it. The many decades of failed leadership in Nigeria buttresses Gary Hamel’s argument in The Purpose of Power where he claimed, and rightly so, that “Power has long been regarded as morally corrosive, and we often suspect the intentions of those who seek it.”

    I am more than convinced that many of those who passed through Osun as leaders in its 23 years of creation must be asking themselves whether it is the same Osun they governed that Aregbesola is currently handling. Compelled by the responsibilities he believes lie in the power he holds, Aregbesola has demonstrated that his eyes can be open where others are blind and that he can hear where others are deaf and dumb. That, to me, seems to be the layman meaning of The Nation Newspaper of last Tuesday when it succinctly said that the state has shown that “there is ability in disability”.

    And the lesson here! Power is empty and of no use when it is stripped of its responsibilities. Every genuine leader must subscribe to that Martin Luther King’s position that “I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.”

    This appears to be what Aregbesola, 57 today, has sworn to and for this, salute to his motto where he proudly and daily declares: Power is Responsibility!

    •Okanlawon is Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Osogbo, State of Osun.

  • What does it mean to be Nigerian?

    When I arrived in London from Nigeria in 1982, one of the major challenges I had to deal with was the feeling of isolation – not seeing people who look like you. While I did not let that feeling derail my plans to study and pursue my legal career, I became very appreciative of the sight of others of my colour, I developed a bond with Africans and a special bond with Nigerians, I felt we were kindred spirit. The recent unfortunate events in Chibok, Borno State has forced us as Nigerians to hold a mirror to ourselves, look in it and decide whether we like what we see. If we do not like what we see, what do we do?

    Stories abound of atrocious killings inflicted by Nigerians on Nigerians – by Boko Haram, ritual killings and otherwise. Why would we as Nigerian inflict such pain and suffering on other Nigerians? We will not ordinarily inflict such atrocities on our own children or those we love and care about. Perhaps a rediscovery of our consciousness of our bond as Nigerians will facilitate respect and love for one another.

    I feel strongly about our finding what unites us as I believe that this spirit will help us pull together to greater success as a nation. I wish to hear the thoughts of fellow Nigerians on this subject and I will start the discourse by sharing my personal perspective.

    I really became appreciative of my Nigerian heritage when I came to England. I am Ishan from Edo State and left Nigeria for England at the age of 21. Before leaving Nigeria I was not particularly conscious of my Nigerian heritage. My nationality was what it was. I had no reason to think about it whether positively or negatively. I had issues and challenges to address and my nationality did not feature among my concerns.

    On getting to England and realising for the first time that those in my new community did not look like me or speak like me, it became heartwarming to see faces like mine and comforting to hear an accent or a name that I recognised as Nigerian. I came across very few Nigerians – less than five that I was aware of at my university, none at my block of residence and only a handful known to me socially. I felt a sense of solidarity with the Nigerians I got to know.

    In my loneliness I yearned for home; for the Nigeria I left behind. I had a sense of pride about where I was from. There were times when I would be frustrated by the fact that I was not communicating effectively with those around me. When others expressed difficulty in understanding me I would say to myself – I come from a country where people all speak like me and they are fine. As I struggled to get through the cold weather, rain and snow to get to my lectures, I picked up on the negative images that were portrayed in the Western media about Nigeria and I felt protective of my country. They did not know Nigeria like I did I said to myself. They did not know the hardworking, resourceful, brilliant, kind-hearted and empathetic Nigerians that I knew. I was driven to show that I had received quality education in Nigeria which placed me in a position to compete with the best in England.

    My Nigerian heritage gave me a sense of identity, a comfort and a feeling that there was a group of people to whom my success mattered. During that period, I would request traditional Nigerian music – music by Sir Victor Uwaifo, Osayomore Joseph, Sunny Okosun, Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Ade, IK Dairo, Rex Lawson and Onyeka Owenu to name a few. My friends and siblings in Nigeria were at the time into Western pop and soul music and thought I was crazy. I loved to collect carved wooden ornaments and pictures of people in Nigerian traditional clothes. They not only reminded me of home but they also represented my identity which I guarded jealously.

    Would I have felt so passionate about Nigeria if I had not left Nigeria? Or if my environment in England had not included so few Nigerians? Whatever the answer to those questions may be, the fact remains that my being Nigerian meant something to me and was a positive influence on me.

    Nigerians have been through a difficult period. Many families have experienced worsening economic conditions, poor infrastructure has made it difficult for average Nigerians to work their way out of the poverty trap and poor living conditions make daily life a constant struggle. Faced with challenges that compel us to focus on our needs we risk losing touch with our common bond as Nigerians. Furthermore, does our familiarity with one another put us at risk of losing our appreciation of one another?

    So what is it that connects you with other Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic origin, sex, religion, political affiliation or social status? Your thoughts are as good as mine.

     

    • Uwaifo, a partner in the international law firm Fasken Martineau wrote in from London.

  • Re: ‘A Case for e-Card Readers’

    Permit me to provide explanation on certain processes of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) related to the upcoming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, which formed the subject matter of the editorial comment in your newspaper issue for Tuesday, May 20, titled as above. Your paper argued in essence that the impending governorship elections might not be credible unless the commission deploys electronic card readers for the particular elections. I will proceed to show that the credibility of the said elections is not fundamentally linked to deploying card readers. In other words, the commission has put in place sufficient safeguards to make the Ekiti governorship election on June 21and Osun governorship election on August 9, free, fair and credible, even as electronic card readers will not be deployed. What is required now is for all stakeholders, especially the political gladiators, to commit themselves to scrupulous conduct in the processes of the elections.

    Your editorial cited a recent comment by INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, on multiple registrants in Osun State as the basis for your doubting the credibility of the impending elections unless card readers are deployed. First, a clarification about figures: The editorial credited the Osun REC with saying at a recent forum in Osogbo that no fewer than 800, 000 voters have been found to have registered more than once in the state. Well, I have checked with the REC and truth is that he said no such thing. The total voter registration for Osun State from the 2011 exercise, by INEC’s records, was 1, 355, 393. After subjecting the data to de-duplication with the Automated Fingerprints Identification System (AFIS) software, 37, 273 multiple registrations (representing 2. 75%) were detected and eliminated; leaving a balance of 1, 318, 120 voters. The Commission has some business rules for producing Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) that will henceforth be used for all elections, including the impending governorships in Ekiti and Osun states. Among them is that the biometric data of every voter for whom the card will be produced must contain at least four fingerprints – two from each hand – to make the card machine-readable when card readers are deployed in 2015. Upon the application of these rules, the valid number of registrants for whom PVCs were produced in Osun State came down to 1, 256, 569; meaning that 61, 551 (4. 6%) persons had defective data and needed to have come out for re-registration during the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) conducted from Wednesday, March 12,  to Monday, March 17,– along with persons who newly turned 18 years and those who did not come out for registration in 2011 even though they were 18 years and above. The data of 149, 089 persons captured during the recent CVR is presently being treated with AFIS, to arrive at the final voter tally for Osun State.

    Even though your editorial gave no figure about the voter population in Ekiti State, permit me to restate it here for public record. The total voter registration from the 2011 exercise was 766, 559. When the data was treated with AFIS, 77, 609 multiples (10. 12%) were detected and eliminated, leaving a balance of 688, 950 registrants. Upon the application of business rules for producing PVCs, the figure came down to 657, 256; meaning that 31, 694 registrants (4. 60%) had defective data and needed to have come out for re-registration during the CVR conducted in March simultaneously with Osun State. The data of 78, 875 persons captured during the CVR in Ekiti State has been treated with AFIS and the final voter tally is being announced in the state about now.

    You would see the point, I hope, that there could not have been 800, 000 multiple registrants in the pre-CVR voter population of 1. 3million. But, without doubt, the impunity with which some compatriots commit electoral offences has needlessly compounded the political process in Nigeria and makes the task of INEC in conducting free, fair and credible elections much more arduous than it should be. That is what motivated the present Commission to devise elaborate strategies to check abusive tendencies. The editorial asked: how did unscrupulous persons get to register more than once? They did so by going to different polling units in different geographical locations to register, for whatever political gains they had hoped to make; because no one could register twice on the same Direct Data Capture (DDC) machine given the software loaded on the machines by INEC. But the Commission has been able to check this abuse with the use of AFIS at the progressive levels of data consolidation and de-duplication. The Commission has the records of persons who engaged in the malfeasance and will prosecute as many as is possible within its limited capacity under the subsisting legal framework.

    INEC will not use card readers for the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections and has never promised to do so. And the reason for this decision should be obvious: the Commission will be introducing Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for the first time in Nigeria’s electoral process during the two governorship elections. These are major elections, with prospects of high contestation; and it would be overreaching to introduce electronic card readers at the same time with PVCs. The Commission’s plan is, and has always been: to introduce the PVCs in the upcoming governorship elections; pilot the card readers with PVCs in smaller by-elections that will come up before 2015; then, deploy the card readers with PVCs for the general election. The wisdom of this incremental procedure should be obvious from lessons learnt from other countries; for instance, the 2012 general election in Ghana where challenges that arose from simultaneous introduction of voter smart cards and card readers compelled the country to shift voting in some areas to the following day before the election could be concluded. Experiences are meant to be learnt from, and one way of learning from experience is to redesign approaches towards the same objective.

    But let us be clear that the non-deployment of card readers will in no way detract from the credibility of the Ekiti and Osun elections. The procedure that INEC put in place for collecting the PVCs was designed to ensure that only legitimate holders are handed the smart cards; and as such, only legitimate holders can present the cards on Election Day. No one will be allowed to vote with a PVC that is not his or her own; and no other card beside that issued by INEC will pass the test of identification at the polling units. The real challenge is to get every duly registered voter to collect his/her PVC before Election Day, as the Commission will not be accepting Temporary Voter Cards (TVCs) for voter identification in the governorship elections. The use of PVCs should also lay to rest the incidence of people showing up at polling units on Election Day and claiming not to find their names in the register. Every eligible voters must be in possession of his/her card before Election Day, and therefore knows for sure that his/her name is in the register.

    Rather than seek to pressurise INEC to deploy card readers in the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections (which it will not do), what stakeholders – including politicians and the media – can do to add value to the process is sensitise the voting populace on their civic responsibility, and mobilise persons who are yet to do so to collect their PVCs from designated points so at to be in good position to exercise their voting rights on Election Day.

     

    • Idowu is Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman