The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Vision for a peaceful Nigeria

    In 2001, my cousin Sadie Ette was among victims of the September 11 tragedy. It is now more than 13 years since that tragic incident changed our world, and even though there is still pain and anguish for me and other members of her family, I find the ideals of Peaceful Tomorrow (an organization established by family members of 9/11) as one that could be replicated in Nigeria to tackle the incessant strife, tribal conflicts, and terrorist attacks that have led to unnecessary bloodshed and property destruction in Nigeria in the past few years.

    The Peaceful Tomorrow’s organization (of which I am a member) was launched as a project of the Fellowship of Reconciliation – USA in February 2002. The name of the organization comes from a statement made by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that “Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.”

    What founding members of this organization share is “a belief that the violence that took their loved ones’ lives could spin out of control, and fear could be manipulated by politicians and the media to justify foreign and domestic policies that would increase violence while decreasing U.S. citizens’ rights and liberties over the years to come.”

    I believe these ideals can also be used as a peace-initiative template (either collaboratively or independently) in Nigeria, especially with a world that is now so interconnected in many ways.

    For instance, Sadie was born in the USA but her parents, who attended school in Georgia are from Eket, Akwa Ibom State. I am a first cousin of Sadie, and to emphasize how interconnected we are: My mom (who Sadie lived with while attending school in Ekpoma) is from Eket , my dad from Benin, I did my youth service at the Nigerian Military School in Zaria, worked in Lagos, travelled extensively across the country as a journalist before emigrating to the USA in 1989.

    And from these varied experiences the simple truth is we are all one; what every family desires is peace, stability, sustenance and a roof over their heads.

    One of the biggest challenges in this century will be how much attention our leaders pay to international integration as well as events in other parts (like the terrorist incidents in Nigeria) that could have a cascading effect on other parts of the world.

    In fact, President Barack Obama harped on this fact in 2009 during a visit to Ghana, when he said: “The 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra as well…This is the simple truth of a time when the boundaries between people are overwhelmed by our connections. Your prosperity can expand America’s prosperity. Your health and security can contribute to the world’s health and security. And the strength of your democracy can help advance human rights for people everywhere.” While this speech was intended for Ghanaians, I believe the message resonates for countries like Nigeria as well, which has in the last few years, been struggling with issues that threaten the countries security and stability.

    World leaders and organizations need to put more emphasis on introducing lasting peace initiatives on the African continent not just because of its importance, but also because it is the right thing to do.

    Africa is increasingly becoming important in this era of globalization, so it is crucial that the western World begins to invest in sustainable development initiatives here, and not just on only what can be derived from the continent. The fact that World Bank statistics identifies seven of the 10 fastest growing economies as being on the African continent places more importance on peace and stability.

    This point was also emphasized by former UN Ambassador and civil rights leader Andrew Young at a lecture I attended October 2012 in Oakland, California organized by the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center. In his speech titled “I Dream a World that Works” presented at the Barbara Lee (U.S. Congresswoman) and Elihu Harris (former Oakland Mayor) Lecture Series, Young projected that America’s leadership role will have to be intertwined with what it does to ensure success and stability in the African continent.

    I was in Nigeria a few weeks after that conference, and one of the items that dominated the news while I was there was an attack on a Catholic church in the northern Nigeria city of Kaduna that left scores dead and many others wounded.

    In fact these kamikaze-style attacks have become a recurring trend continuing into 2014, especially in the north-eastern part of Nigeria and have the potential of triggering a deeper ethnic conflict if not stemmed. In addition to this the Niger Delta region has been restive for some time now, too. In fact these attacks have now become so bloody, frequent and daring that Nigerians are now beginning to ask themselves: What is really going on?

    With an economy that the Economist magazine has predicted will soon outpace South Africa’s economy to become Africa’s largest economy, it is important that the world begins to pay more attention to this scourge in Nigeria.

    It is encouraging to see recent partnerships between Nigeria and the United States in tackling this scourge’ solidified by a Nigeria-U.S. Bi-National Commission meeting in Abuja in February.

    Following the meeting the U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, assured that with the backing of the U.S. the Nigerian government and its military will defeat Boko Haram.

    But the Nigerian government still needs to step up the pace and utilize every resource at its disposal in stemming this tide especially as we approach an election year.

    • Edokpayi is Nigerian-American journalist and strategic communications expert.

  • Attention: Fashola

    Thank you for the giant strides achieved in development and governance of Lagos State and for the accolades you’ve gained far and wide. My father was particularly proud of you except for some reservations that he had which will I mention later.

    My father and mother served the Lagos State government meritoriously for very many years at the local government level and upon retirement they complained for very many years as they felt short changed.

    I attended the last verification exercise in December of 2013 on the behalf of my father, whilst my mother attended in person despite her failing health, and with gratitude to God it was to be their last as my father died a few weeks after even as my mother was to follow two months after.

    They were paid N7,400 and N10,400 in December and neither one of them was able to make it to the bank and I doubt that such funds would ever be accessible to anyone and they died poor .

    I remember my mum always saying that she was rich and a millionaire, only if the state government would pay her all of her arrears, inclusive of the 142% which I grew up hearing about that had been either promised or allocated to them and my father on the 16th of December, 2013 still made mention of, he infact said he was expecting three years salary.

    Pray your Excellency tells us what the benefit of these yearly verification exercises are for.

    I will seek to have their accounts closed and go through the normal process for the government of Lagos to stop paying these pitiable amounts,it was never enough to do anything and it never came in on time anyway.

    Who knows, if the 142% or whatever was paid, they might have been able to afford a better life and treatment, they might have also gone to their deaths feeling so appreciative of your government.

    Your Excellency, my parents lived well devoid of their entitlements even though they expected more from the government of Lagos State, and it is on this note that I’ve written this.

    I have always believed in you and your government much as they did for you and the AD,AC,ACN and APC which they never ceased to support and vote for. They are dead, buried and will be buried, as the other sick and expectant ones whom I met at the last exercise.

    Please do that which you believe is right and is true and achievable. Sentimentally, you grew up in my dads neighbourhood and an uncle of yours who is also a pensioner stood as the best man my dad when he got married to my mum.

    All I ask in memory of my mum and all of those who died without their entitlements is that you see these other people off to their graves happy and fulfilled that their services were well recognised and their entitlements paid to them.

    I speak in favour of the likes of Akinnawo, Ogunrombi, Shorunke, Alexander and a whole lot of others.

    I am expectant of a worthy response from Your Excellency and I will pursue all means possible to hear from you, Your Excellency.

    May God bless and keep you.

     

    Gabriel Adeyemi Onafowokan writes from Lagos

  • Ending the Tiv/Fulani crisis

    “Forgetfulness, and I would even say historical error, are essential in the creation of a nation”-Ernest Renan

    I will begin this intervention on the raging tragedy involving the Tiv And the Fulani in my home State of Benue with Renan’s theory of anthropological “forgetfulness”. Not forgetfulness in the nihilist sense of altering moral values, religion, tradition and ethnics differences, but the kind of forgetfulness that rises above conflict and the reasons there in.

    I am a Benue indigene, but a part of my formative years were happily spent in Keffi, the then Plateau State, and now Nassarawa State. I shared my eventful childhood with the Fulani and several other ethnic groups; a veritable melting-pot situation that we took for granted

    As Renan’s disquisition on the subject of forging differences into nations found, some of the greatest countries in the world today are peopled by citizens who do not share lineages.

    For the purpose of this opinion, I would like to say there are two kinds of forgetfulness: the one that makes nations and the other that destroys unions long forged by trade, politics and other means.

    The latter kind of forgetfulness is the reason for the senseless and unabated killings in Benue State at the moment. It is shocking that in less than three decades of a carnage wrought by the Maitatsine in parts of the North-east and Kano State, a second round of Maitatsine is with us and leadership appears to be lacking to quell it.

    The persistence of this unprecedented crisis feeds on the acute lack of leadership, competence and decisiveness. Like the Maitatsine in the 80s, and unlike earlier land disputes between the Fulani and Tiv, these latest killings appear to be done by mercenaries from the neighbouring countries of Cameroun, Chad and some studies suggest from Mali, sponsored by highly placed individuals in the country.

    This time, the situation threatens to consume not just my beloved state, but there is a frightening possibility that this would soon spread to the neighbouring South-south state of Cross River and even the South-east through Enugu, which is just a few miles from the southern part of Benue.

    Taraba State, another Benue neighbour, is already revving to take the cue.

    Already, pockets of skirmishes have been recorded between the Tiv, Fulani and Jukun in the area, with the possibility that Jukunoid ethnic groups like the Etulo and the Nyifon in Buruku and Katsina-Ala local governments would soon join the fray.

    The tragedy is taking no prisoners. Not even the Benue people of the Guma-Makurdi-Gwer axis who have had long association with the Fulani dating back to 1943, through Mallam Audu Afoda are spared.

    In only three months, more than a thousand deaths have been recorded, with properties and crops worth billions of naira destroyed by the rampaging herdsmen and foreign mercenaries hired to torment, kill, torture, destroy our civilization and reduce our economy which began to pick up last year to rubbles.

    These sponsored marauders in cahoots with Fulani herdsmen, have gone as far as even attempting to take the life of our Governor Rt. Hon. Gabriel Torwua Suswam while he was on his way to one of the affected communities.

    The mercenaries and their internal collaborators have also taken their merchandise of blood to the Agatu, the first part of Benue State to embrace Islam and the Hausa-Fulani, long before 1928, when some part of Idoma was excised from the South-east and joined to Benue.

    The vestiges of our long association with the Fulani are there: for example the Yelwata area in Makurdi is named by the Fulani, same for Wadata and several others. But the politics underlying the willful forgetfulness of our political leadership would not allow sleeping dogs lie.

    These bandits and terror merchants working with powerful people in the country and outside it are threatening to break the legendary willpower, courage and resilience of the Tiv in particular, and the Benue people in general. They are bent on demonizing Islam and rubbishing the basis for a long association of peoples of the Benue valley and their neighbours.

    The economy of Benue State continues to slide, as death toll rises even with the recent intervention of the federal government. My own village in Guma Local Government has been sacked, same for the village of our paramount Chief, Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula. Makurdi, the state capital has become a huge refugee camp.

    As a member of the House of Representatives representing Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency since 2007, I have worked with other lawmakers to end the crisis in the state, but in the course of this patriotic and very necessary duty, I and my dutiful team, have found that there are underlying reasons for this conflict beyond the reasons of grazing routes.

    Some of these reasons are disunity among the Tiv and Agatu communities affected, lack of planning and the sheer vulnerability for such attacks, because of lack of adequate security measures by the state and federal governments. This now reinforces the All Progressives’ Congress(APC) call for state policing, and of course community policing, in line with the true spirit of federalism.

    The government of Benue State has worked hard to contain this crisis, but it requires the continued assistance of other leaders of the state and the federal government in the interim. This tier collaboration must not be half-hearted and must be sustained.

    The National Assembly must also enact a law on cattle grazing and vest the powers of enforcement of the law on veterinary officers and district authorities in all parts of the country, in line with the Uganda model.

    The East African country is one of the earliest in the world to enact a far reaching legislation on cattle grazing.

    The Cattle Grazing Act of Uganda, was enacted on October 31, 1945. The law prescribes punitive measures against indiscriminate grazing of cattle on unauthorised lands.

    Section 2(1) of the Act states inter alia: “no person shall cause or permit any cattle belonging to him or her or under his or her control to graze on any land in respect of which there is in force an order made by a veterinary officer prohibiting grazing or in respect of which there is in force any order or rule made by a district administration prohibiting grazing”.

    Another subsection goes further to prescribe for the impoundment of offending cattle by a veterinary officer or district authority. In the case of Benue in particular, or Nigeria in general, it could be a second class traditional head.

    In the case of the United States, we have the Bureau of Land Management established in 1946 to work with the United States Forest Service to oversee Public lands grazing in 16 states of the United States and issue sanctions for offences of indiscriminate grazing.

    We can also take these examples and produce tough sanctions against unauthorised grazing by herdsmen and also amend our immigration laws to raise tougher sanctions against border offences amd improve on border surveillance.

    But I will also suggest that the Tiv leadership must, as a matter of urgency, convoke a Tiv Ethnic Conference to wager a resurgence of our positive values, create a new and more progressive value pool, discuss ways of avoiding future attacks and displacements and chart the way forward for the Tiv people, to avoid a possible (God forbid) extinction of the Tiv race before the middle of this century.

     

    • Rt. Hon. Jime represents Makurdi/Guma FederalConstituency of Benue State in the House of Representatives.

  • Peter Obi came, and conquered

    I am proud of my brother, Governor Peter Obi. I entitle my talk on him: ‘He came, he saw, he conquered’. His governance of Anambra State was full of experiences worth-sharing and indeed worth capturing in a book (if not books). It is evident that he really conquered. It deals a lot with his approach to governance over the years. His ways compel us to appreciate his personal qualities, his quiet strength, his passion to make a difference, his dignified and dignifying carriage and conduct, and his never-say-die spirit. I also respect him for what he achieved as a governor of one of the toughest states in the country – Anambra.

    Alhaji Aliko Dangote said that even people in Yobe know that it is not easy to govern Anambra State. I agree with him. In fact the totality of Nigeria knows how tough Anambra State is; such that until Obi, no leader succeeded to offer them exhilarating leadership.

    I so envy what Peter Obi has been able to do here because he gained total control of the state after the initial storm. Many of the policies he tried here are the things we should be doing at federal level, both with our finances and policies, but, of course, we are totally hampered by the kind of structure we have. You know when Peter Obi tried to change the schools, he did not just throw money at them, he was very careful about how he spent the money. He only spent when he was sure he was going to get results and sustainable improvement.

    On the network of roads he constructed, I want to acknowledge the fact that few of the roads were completion of roads Senator Chris Ngige started; even though when you go there now, everybody calls them Ngige road. It does not matter to him that people would not attribute them to him, as long as the roads serve Ndi-Anambra. Elsewhere, some will abandon them and embark on their own projects. I think that he deserves a big applause. He also initiated and completed many road projects that today Anambra is regarded as having impressive network of roads.

    He attracted serious investors into the state. I knew when SABmiller came, he brought them to my office and they probably felt they do not know how much money they could make here. They made an investment of about N20 billion equivalent. They are now expanding in the state, building more factories and thinking of other investments they can make. There are many other such examples with companies like Distell, GlaxoSmithkline Beecham, Neimeth Pharmaceuticals, among others.

    What I love and admire most in what Governor Obi has done in Anambra State is the fact that he did not neglect the indigenous people who have invested here for a long time. If Innoson Motor Manufacturing Company is known by everybody today at the federal level, it is simply because Governor Obi made him a showcase. Such patronage is worthy of emulation. He has kept on soliciting federal support for him, as he himself has supported him through various ways. We have to remember such investors and support them because they invested here first. That is what Obi has done and I commend him for that.

    The development-oriented approach to governance which he has followed while pursuing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is again very important. I will tell you that we have special commendation of the World Bank, and other international agencies have endorsed the way Anambra State pursued its MDGs programmes.

    I see Peter as the true face of Igbo man, given the qualities for which he is known – the humility, the hard work and the prudence. He does not spend easily. He is very intelligent and extremely hardworking. These are quintessential qualities Igbo people are known for.

    As the Poet, Virgil says, love conquers everything (Omnia Vincit Amor), Peter conquers people by love. He can love you to death. If he has an enemy or somebody in conflict with him, instead of approaching them belligerently, he approaches them with respect and love so that even if they do not want him, they are won over. I think we should all look at those qualities. That does not mean that when the time comes to be tough, Peter runs away. I am sure people can tell stories of occasions Peter had been very tough. I know he has even bulldozed houses of people who did not do the right things. In Nigeria, you have to combine being kind and good with also being very tough.

    By the sheer power of his personal examples, Peter tells us eloquently the way we should behave and the way we should govern. Though Anambra State has one of the tightest federal allocations, he has been able to save a lot of money for the state. He has shown so much in development which some other states that receive more cannot boost of. Most importantly, he is leaving Anambra State with no debt but with huge savings. Let me tell you, at federal level, he is one of the few governors that came out clearly in support of our stand to save. We don’t just spend everything. Every smart and sensible person knows that no matter your income, even if it is one naira, you must keep something aside. You never know the day you will need it for your children. So, on his own, he has saved money for the state and I am very envious. Yes, we managed to save a little at the federal level, just a little, but we can do so much more. Even the one we managed to save, we have been spending, because somebody does not believe federal government should save anything.

    I want to strongly commend Obi for what he has done. Now, do not be deceived by Peter Obi. When you ask him who he is, he would say I am a trader. Maybe he is, but he is also one of the most enlightened governors in the country today. He has a strong intellect combined with practical grasp of real situation. The thing with Peter is that he can play both sides. It is not for nothing that the President invited him, among just the two governors that are Honorary Advisers on Finance. He is equally a member of the Economic Management Team. When Peter needs to show the intellectual side, he does, but when he needs to show the practical side, after we would have talked too much theory, he will say, ‘Wait, I talked with traders in Onitsha yesterday, and this is what they said.’ So he combines a strong intellect with very good grasps of realities on the ground. He is a good economist. Peter is a true leader and we always call on him at federal level when we need examples.

    I want to say something about the incoming governor. I hope you will continue to uphold the relationship at the federal level. We always advice Anambra to be part of federal programmes. The one we are working on now is the one on housing. We have launched the National Mortgage and Re-finance Corporation which by end of June, will start pumping money into primary mortgage institutions that actually lend to the people. We need to give hope to the young people in our country. So this country has to change. To put a programme like that in place we invited 14 states and Anambra was one of the first to enrol as a pilot state. The state has to meet certain criteria in terms of fastness in allocating land titles, working with us on land infrastructure so that we can get builders to come and build. This programme is going to take off by the middle of this year and we will want Anambra to be an example.

    All in all, by giving his End of Tenure Report, Peter Obi has shown another example in good governance. We applaud him and wish him well.

    • Excerpts of speech delivered extempore by Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during the presentation of “End Tenure Report” of the former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi.

  • Taking African infrastructure to the future

    One of the top developmental challenges in sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the shortage of infrastructure. Public sources alone cannot meet the funding needs and African countries are seeking strategies to increase private sector investment in infrastructure. Inadequate physical infrastructure covering transportation, power and communication is inhibiting growth and productivity while inadequate social infrastructure including water supply, sanitation, sewage disposal, education and health are adversely affecting the quality of life.

    Energy, water, transport, information technology services and other infrastructure require extensive renewal or installation in order to support the projected growth over the coming years.

    In a report issued in 2010, the World Bank found that the poor state of infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa reduced national economic growth by two percentage points every year and cut business productivity by as much as 40%. The growth in infrastructure needs to be transformational in order to have an impact. African development institutions and African governments have recognised that adequate infrastructure is critical to achieving the growth levels expected and required.

    According to the World Bank Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (2009), the infrastructure needs of sub-Saharan Africa exceed US $93 billion annually over the next 10 years. It is reported by the African Development Bank that less than half of this amount is being provided which leaves a financing gap of more than US $50 billion per annum to fill.

    It is widely recognised that the funding required to develop the required infrastructure cannot be met from public sources alone. African governments are implementing initiatives that are designed to increase the participation of private sector investors in infrastructure. The challenge is to speed up the process of reforms so as to hasten the availability of the much needed private sector investment.

    Public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements have emerged as one of the major avenues for channelling the participation of private capital and expertise in delivering infrastructure projects in recent years. A description of a PPP arrangement as captured in an OECD definition is:

    … an agreement between the government and one or more private partners (which may include the operators and the financers) according to which the private partners deliver the service in such a manner that the service delivery objectives of the government are aligned with the profit objectives of the private partners and where the effectiveness of the alignment depends on a sufficient transfer of risk to the private partners.

    PPPs have been hailed in many countries for providing the public sector with access to much needed private sector capital or construction expertise and efficiency.

    Is PPP the way for Africa?

    PPP arrangements could generate much needed funding for infrastructure projects that are appropriate for private investment. Some projects may be socially desirable but not economically viable as an investment by the private sector. PPP arrangements could be used to provide funding for projects that are bankable while allowing the government to apply public funds on non-bankable but socially desirable infrastructure projects.

    The Canadian and UK PPP models provide examples of PPP frameworks that ought to be considered in devising a unique model for an African country. Several other countries including Australia, France and Korea have PPP models that have produced infrastructure projects on schedule. Each model has its advantages and disadvantages.

    The Canadian model has been much celebrated due to the high level of standardisation in the procurement process thereby making the procurement process more efficient and cost-effective for bidders, reducing the period to financial close and increasing the number of pipeline projects. There may be lessons to learn from the Canadian experience. However, without diminishing the attractiveness of the Canadian example, the Canadian context must be borne in mind.

    Canada follows the ‘negotiated’ PPP path and does not have to, for example, follow the “competitive dialogue” procedure which all countries in Europe have to follow in compliance with a directive of the European Union. In Canada, bidders are given a design on which to give a price. The “competitive dialogue” procedure is meant to allow a public entity which knows what outcome it wants to achieve in awarding a public contract but does not know how best to achieve it to discuss, in confidence, possible solutions in the dialogue phase of the tender process with short-listed bidders before calling for final bids. This can be expensive but may be appropriate in the case of complex and high value infrastructure projects. Some may question whether the absence of a dialogue among the private and public participants as to the optimum design for a project (which obtains in the Canadian model) may result in the public getting less value for money from the project.

    Prospects for private sector investment in African infrastructure

    Investing in African infrastructure is challenging and the challenges are varied given that Africa is a continent with 55 countries of which sub-Saharan Africa has 48, each with a separate legal and regulatory system and all at different stages of development. The typical risks for investors are no different from those that would be experienced in other emerging markets.

    Notwithstanding the current challenges for private investment, there are investment opportunities at present for private investors in infrastructure. McKinsey reported in 2010 that African infrastructure will be worth US $200 billion in annual revenue to the private companies by 2020 and PEI (2011) “Infrastructure Investor Africa – An Intelligence Report” noted that that African independent power projects have earned investors internal rates of return of up to 25 percent, compared with 15 percent in Latin America and 12 percent in Eastern Europe.

    Investors wishing to take advantage of the current investment opportunities may be able to employ structured solutions to mitigate risks and ease the adoption of investment opportunities. The structured finance markets have a history of designing structured solutions to address the funding, credit and risk management challenges of western financial institutions and structured products that balance the needs of the originator against the risk appetite of the target investor. Examples of solutions that could be employed in Africa include:

    •Credit risk mitigation techniques (such as financial guarantees or partial guarantees from institutions better able to manage the credit risk) may be employed to deal with insufficient credit history and enable more entities to access the markets;

    •Structured finance techniques could be used to isolate risk into more manageable forms;

    •Derivatives and other hedging techniques may be used to better manage default, currency, market and other risks; and

    •Credit derivatives techniques (including risk sharing arrangements) may be used to align the interests of investors with other stakeholders and mitigate credit and other risks.

    The techniques mentioned above have been used in the more mature western markets to better manage a variety of risks. Such techniques can be adapted to the African context to devise creative solutions that address the unique concerns of the relevant transaction.

     

    The way forward It is critical that African governments double efforts to provide a policy and regulatory environment that promotes investor confidence and facilitates the growth of the debt capital markets and alternative investment markets. In addition, international financial institutions should be engaged to facilitate private sector participation and investors and other transaction participants should consider employing structured solutions to enhance investment opportunities.

    There is no “one size fits all” solution, and the road map to sustainable infrastructure development must be unique for each African country.

    Uwaifo is a Director, Africa Agribusiness Knowledge Centres Inc.

  • Ajimobi: Developing without oil

    If revenue from cocoa farming prudently managed by a discerning government under Chief Obafemi Awolowo was responsible for the yet unequalled accomplishments of the whole Western Region of Nigeria in the 50s and 60s of the past century which had endured up to the present era, then I do not see how tourism and an agrarian economy such as Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo is envisaging can not do the same now.

    Pundits believe that Nigerian governments truly interested in freeing the country from the vicious grip of an economy based on the vagaries of oil controlled by imperialist forces and their agents should take a cue from Ajimobi who has decided to turn to tourism to generate money and reduce unemployment.

    He is working on a project, Agodi Gardens, the state capital with the potential to put not less than half a billion naira into the till of the government annually. He says the project will be kitted with Water Park, slides and swimming pool, restaurant, events hall, open areas for picnicking, a nine-hole golf course, health farm and a boat ride facility among other recreational gadgets. It will be the choice of the citizen especially during festivities. The project is going to sit on an expansive 62-hectare land.

    It is not likely that Ajimobi would make this attractive venture an Ibadan affair only. Analysts say for the enterprise to be meaningful and make a lasting impact economically, he would need to duplicate it in other major towns of the state, even if on a smaller scale. This, they believe, would reap more revenue for the state. It is also so that he can stem the rural-urban drift and keep the rural area populated for his agrarian policy. It would also reduce the needless population explosion in Ibadan metropolis.

    Oyo State will not be the only state where tourism rakes in good money for massive development and employment opportunity. A United Nations body which compiled the list of non-oil producing and tourism-dependent states rates Switzerland among 25 of such nations. Its population (eight million) is only slightly higher than that of Oyo’s 7.5 million. Its per capita income is $80,276, the fourth highest in the world compared to Nigeria’s poor $1,640 at 134th in the world. It has no domestic oil production as we have in Nigeria. So it does not export it for petrodollars to fund its project or take care of the welfare of its people. But tourism is listed among its main industries that makes it rank higher than the United States in some economic indices.

    It is the same with Hong Kong. The world’s ninth biggest trading economy; it has a population which is less than that of Oyo. It draws enormous wealth from tourism, which makes its dollar the eighth most traded currency in the world. Its skyscrapers outclass New York’s in the United States of America. These verifiable facts about non-oil Switzerland and Hong Kong scaling the peak in the world economy through such local industry as tourism offer hope that Nigeria can do without oil if we have the right leader to push through-forward looking ideas. Awo did it with cocoa in the sprawling Western Region some decades ago. He achieved much that can still be seen today long after his departure.

    It is proof therefore that what Ajimobi is attempting with Agodi Gardens is also capable of giving fillip to our wilting economy without the aid of petro-naira. All that he needs to do is fine-tune the idea and couple it with an aggressive agricultural perspective and let them have a life of their own. Indeed he can use proceeds from these sectors to erect other money-spinning superstructures.

    That was how Pa Awo did it. He got a lot from the money cocoa brought. Then with administrative and political adroitness, he pumped cocoa cash into the development of the education sector, the fulcrum of all human existence. All other things followed: a well educated citizenry to man the bureaucracy, to operate the industries, to attend to government business, to set up complex entrepreneurships, to teach in schools, to run the economy (formal and informal etc).

    When we talk of today’s South-west being the leader in the professions and in political and bureaucratic exploits, we must look back to the man who laid the foundation and built on it without oil money. By the way his impact then reached as far as Ughelli in the present Delta State, where a hospital he built still stands in its stately condition! Let’s do it all over again now through tourism.

     

    • Adeboye is a retired civil servant in Iseyin, Oyo State.

  • Unemployment as a time bomb

    The recent botched recruitment exercise of the Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS) has once again brought to fore how terrible the unemployment situation in the country has become. With thousands of candidates turning out at various locations across the country for an exercise that was meant to employ just a tiny fraction of the applicants, it is obvious that the joblessness condition in the country is no longer a child’s play. For the first time in the history of the country, candidates vying for employment in a government institution were so desperate and disorderly that some were actually trampled to death with countless injured in the ensuing pandemonium that exemplified a shabbily organised recruitment exercise. It was, indeed, the shame of a nation and a reflection of how bad things have gone in the country. Many analysts and commentators have already written to condemn the primitive approach of the NIS to its employment exercise, and rightly so, hence that would not form the basis of this piece.

    However, in Nigeria today, growing unemployment has become a major concern. Official figures from the Bureau of Statistics puts it at about 20% (about 30million), but this number still did not include about 40million other Nigerian youths captured in World Bank statistics in 2009. By implication, it means that if Nigeria’s population is 140 million, then 50% of Nigerians are unemployed, or worse still, at least 71% of Nigerian youths are unemployed. This is particularly disturbing and counterproductive because at least 70% of the population of this country are youths. Viewed from the perspective of the recent events in the Middle East where unemployment and poverty, among others, played a key role in the uprising, one can only conclude that Nigeria’s unemployment poses a threat to its development, security and peaceful coexistence.

    Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, recently revealed that while the Nigerian economy grew at the rate of seven percent for the past five years, unemployment has actually doubled at same period. He stated that the present security crisis and internal uprising across the country are products of chronic poverty and mounting joblessness. In times past, things as choice jobs were selected by graduates and consequently unemployment was low or at best non – existent. Then, in Ibadan, Lagos, Onitsha, Kaduna, Enugu, Port Harcourt, there were industrial complexes where factories produced goods for both local and export purposes while an army of workers (skilled and unskilled) earned a living from these factories. The industrialisation wave of the 70s in Nigeria was so phenomenal that government had to introduce a number of measures, including the Land Use Act, in order to remove obstacles in the path of industries. Companies rushed to the universities every year and later to the National Youth Service Corps, (NYSC) camps to recruit skilled workers. That time, a certificate guaranteed a job, and hence a better life. Even artisans had jobs to do.

    Unfortunately, the reverse is the case now. Everywhere, it is an army of unemployed youths that define our communities while many graduates have turned to Okada riders, labourers at construction sites, etc to make ends meet. This is why there is so much youth restiveness and insecurity in the land. The trend and level of public insecurity in our country now portend a serious threat to our nationhood. Already, some foreign countries have begun to issue travel warnings to their nationals. This is strange as nobody wants to live or do business in an environment where there is much crime, violence, strife and political instability as the country is gradually turning into. Public security and safety is a necessary foundation for economic growth and social development of any society. It is therefore necessary for us to give more attention to security for the world to take us serious. A situation where violent killing of innocent souls by or in the name of Boko Haram is now a daily occurrence is not in our best interest, especially since they have now mastered how to unleash terror on our military barracks with impunity. It will not attract investors (local or foreign).

    As a nation, we need to urgently fix the economy, most especially the power sector. A survey of recently apprehended criminals in the country will reveal that most of them are unemployed artisans whose businesses have been crippled by the energy crises in the country. The best systematic approach to reducing crime in any society is through the provision of an enabling environment for entrepreneurship to thrive and catalyze employment generation. It is therefore not out of place to consider massive employment generation as an issue of major focus on national development and economic growth plan of the Nigerian government.

    All levels of governments in the country must redouble their efforts in taking off our teeming youth off the streets. Proactive steps must be taken to induce job creation initiatives that are capable of providing employment opportunities to our restless youths. The agriculture sector is one area where governments across the country could creatively provide employment opportunities. Interestingly, the Lagos State government is already leading in this direction with its Marine Agriculture Development Programme for Accelerated Fish Production. Till date, the programme has created over 6000 direct jobs and over 35,000 jobs indirectly to cage manufacturers, fingerlings producers, feed millers and sellers, fish marketers, processors and storage personnel amongst others with the possibility of specialization.

    The Ikorodu Fish Farm Estate, which has been fully subscribed, is currently producing at 70% of its capacity. An average of 3,000 tonnes of fresh fish is produced annually from the estate with over 400 jobs created directly and over 100,000 others indirectly. The Rice for Job initiative has equally successfully offered employment opportunities for over 5000 youths that are currently engaged in rice cultivation and sales across the state. In the same vein, the AGRIC-YES initiative, designed to produce first class entrepreneurial elite farmers, is a three-phased intervention programme that has so far produced over 3,000 elite farmers in the state. Equally, through the state’s greening programme, a total of 12,000 people are directly employed while the cleaning exercise has generated over 6000 jobs.

    To forestall a looming disaster in the country, governments at all levels need to ingeniously devise programmes that would incorporate the youths into the centre stage of the nation-building process in the country rather than debasing human value through a primitive and selfish programme like the shameful NIS recruitment. For this to be effectual, the course of action must commence with a fundamental revamping of the education sector. We need to alter the curriculum of our tertiary institutions to do away with courses that no longer fit into the present day’s socio-economic reality. Indeed, we need to lay more emphasis on technical education as well as courses that de-emphasise the craze for non-existing white collar jobs. Similarly, we should make efforts to promote social entrepreneurship among the youths. This could be done through the establishment of internship programmes aimed at giving youths the opportunity to learn valuable skills in contemporary fields such as Information Communication Technology, (ICT), fund development, public relations, programme development, project management and such other courses that are in high demand for now. Equally, corporate organisations, NGO’s, individuals and government institutions should be committed to mentoring of the youths to choose rightly in line with the contemporary needs of our society. God bless Nigeria.

     

    •Ibirogba is Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lagos State

  • Reflections on World Tuberculosis Day

    Today is world Tuberculosis TB day. This year, the theme is “Find TB, treat TB, working together to eliminate TB”.

    A decade ago, little attention was given to the problem of TB in Africa and reasons adduced to this was that TB incidence was low and falling in most of the parts of the continent. In actual sense, the burden of TB in sub Saharan Africa is very much far from what is observed in the developing nations. Progress towards global target for reduction in TB cases and deaths in recent years has been impressive.

    After the Alma-Ata declaration in 1978, emphasis has been on infectious communicable diseases in population health programmes for developing countries. Initiatives and focus have been directed at Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS with observed decrease and death rates achievement globally.

    Worldwide, Tuberculosis is second only to HIV/AIDS as killer disease due to single infectious agent. Over 95% of TB occurs in low and middle income countries and it is among the top three causes of death for women aged 15 to 44 years. TB is a leading killer of people living with HIV causing one quarter of all deaths. People infected with TB bacteria have a lifetime of falling ill with TB of 10%. However persons with compromised immune systems such as people with HIV, malnutrition, diabetes or people who use tobacco have much high risk of falling ill. When a person develops active TB disease, the symptoms (cough, fever, night sweats, weight loss etc) may be mild for many months. This may lead to delay in seeking medical care and results in transmission of the bacteria to others. People with TB can therefore infect up to 10-11 other people through close contact over the course of year. The most significant thing to mention here is that young adults especially those at the productive phase of their lives are mostly affected with the socio-economic brunt of TB.

    Tuberculosis is inextricably linked to conditions associated with poverty and more precisely socio-economic inequalities for instance poor housing, inadequate nutrition, unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene as well as unsafe sex have linked individuals with infectious agents. The aforementioned conditions are prevalent in societies where there is inadequate access to financial resources, information and basic amenities. Consequently health systems in sub Saharan Africa that are still battling with infectious diseases are potentially faced with a fresh challenge namely double burden of disease. The definition of the burden of diseases as determined by WHO incorporates the effects of diseases on premature death and disability. The connotation of term burden can however be extended to describe the effects of disease on the livelihood of household and on society.

    It is very evident from many public fora and national journals and literatures that TB has placed considerable financial and economic burden on patients and households in sub-Saharan African. The patient cost can be particularly burdensome for TB affected household where poverty is high.

    It must also be stressed that Tuberculosis is treatable and the vast majority of TB cases can be cured when medicines are provided and taken properly. Patients with TB are treated with a standard six months course of four antimicrobial drugs with needed information, supervision and support to the patient by a health worker or trained volunteer.

    The current understanding of risk factors leading to emergence of TB crisis provides opportunity for action. Smoking as a major risk factor can be modified. Evidence has shown that these risk factors act cumulatively over the life course of individuals.

    Today, as we join the rest of the world in recognizing world TB day, all stakeholders must wake up to their responsibility and strife to recognize not only the role of external regulations or partners as one of the central impetus to the management and control of infectious and non-infectious diseases, but also creating innovative strategies to improve testing and treatment among the high risk population with the potential impact to double burden diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. Such strategies and approach must also consider the benefits of human developments. Committed evidence based in this direction will be well worth it.

    Historically, this annual event commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch surprised the scientific society at the University of Berlin Institute of Hygiene with the discovery of bacterium tuberculosis – the bacillus that cause TB. The world TB day was announced on March 24, 1982 of the centenary of Dr Koch’s appearance by the international Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung diseases (IUATLD). In 1996 world Health Organization WHO joined the union and other organization to promote the date by raising awareness about the burden of Tuberculosis worldwide.

    Over the years, progress towards global targets for the reduction in TB cases and death has being impressive. Governments and stakeholders at all levels must continue to recognize that better health care and public health policies are vital to local populations when fighting TB and other diseases in Africa.

    With regards to infectious diseases, the fall in prevalence in developed countries has been linked to improvements in standards of living encouraged by national income growth and provision of social amenities.

    Therefore all stakeholders must continue to ensure policies aimed at improving water sanitation and housing and general welfare of the citizenry especially the lower social economic status of the population, since the effect of a health problems at household, community and overall societal levels can be detrimental to overall human development. It is undeniable that health leads to massive difference in how well a country manages to develop as a society and it has unspeakable impact not only on humans lives but also on the economy (through the loss of productivity in work force).

    In addition, government must seek to reduce income disparities and absolute poverty through job creation and empowerment of teaming populace beyond political motives. Also there is an important role for everyone and civil society organizations in reaching the vulnerable and underserved populations with health care, advocating for policy and monitoring policies, initiating mechanism that stop the spread of fund mismanagement within the donor and receiving agencies.

    For world TB day 2014, partners must call for a global effort to find, treat, and cure all people with TB and accelerate progress towards the bold goals we expect to see in TB strategies post 2015, a world with zero TB deaths, stigma and infections. We must recognize that world TB day theme 2014 has challenged the state and local programmes to reach out to their communities to raise awareness about TB and partnering with others who also are caring for those most at risks for TB such as people with HIV infections or diabetes and the homeless.

    As highlighted earlier on, the estimates of the number of people falling ill with TB each year is declining, although very slowly which means that the world is on track to achieve the millennium development goals to reverse the spread of TB by 2015. Further progress will therefore be dependent on addressing the critical funding gaps of the economy.

    On a final analysis, since it is agreed that the fall in prevalence of infectious diseases in the developed economies has been linked to improvement in standard of living, encouraged by robust national income growth and provision of social amenities with a strong political will and passion, for us what is at stake is our health as a population, our wealth as a nation, and our development as a region.

    • Faremi, a medical laboratory scientist is of the Osun State Hospital Management Board.

  • APC governors beware!

    Since about July last year, the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory have been starved of funds through a drastic reduction of 40% of their statutory allocations attributed to shortfall in oil revenue. For instance, the state of Osun which used to receive monthly allocation of between ¦ 4.4 – 4.6bn now gets ¦ 3.2bn, a shortfall of a whopping ¦ 1.2bn – ¦ 1.4bn per month. Consequent upon this, some states have not been able to meet their obligation to workers in the payment of salaries and pensions as and at when due.

    For this strange development, the affected governors all over the country should raise local and international alarms about the coincidence of the alleged 40% cut in statutory allocations, just at the time some states’ elections (Ekiti and Osun) in 2014, and general elections in 2015, are anxiously being expected. Precisely what is the motive of the PDP led federal government for starving state governors of much needed funds at this time? We can hazard a reasonable guess. While the $20bn which ought to have gone to the states have disappeared into thin air, the coincidence of its disappearance at this time when elections are around the corner is highly suspect. The governors should cry out to find out the whereabouts of this whopping amount of money, especially as it is more than the nation’s budget for one year! With this kind of hard currency disappearing at election time, we are faced with the possibility of too much money in the coffers of the federal government to prosecute elections in some states this year, and especially the 2015 general elections, with money that belongs to all the states of the federation going to finance one party to the exclusion of other parties. I say this because the issue has been raised that the billions of dollars missing oil money, “largely from bumper oil revenue, have either been stolen by officers or mismanaged outright” through inflated contracts and phantom oil and kerosene subsidies that would usually be used for stock-pilling of funds for the state elections this year and, more especially, the Presidential and state elections next year. Those who would benefit from the missing oil money are the governors, National Assembly members as well as members of The House of Assembly of the ruling party, the PDP. All PDP candidates would share in this gigantic loot while the purported 40% shortfall to the PDP governors would be nothing compared to their portion of the unremitted (missing) billions of dollars already diverted to campaign funds, to the disadvantage of opposition parties

    From the look of things, the leading opposition party, the APC should feel worried about the damage money can do to them through hungry electorate and greedy, inconsistent and unprincipled politicians including those who may have defected to the APC, and may want to defect again to the PDP, for money. If the APC is not careful, the federal government could buy over as many as possible those now parading themselves as APC politicians from its incredibly huge war chest already stock-piled from unremitted oil money. My advice is that the APC and well meaning Nigerians should cry out daily to the people of Nigeria and the international community about the $20m missing oil money.

    This is against the background that the House of Representatives Ad Hoc committee on fuel subsidy reportedly discovered that the NNPC paid itself ¦ 847.94bn even after it had been paid another ¦ 844.94bn by the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency in 2011, a discovery that revealed how the company had been making criminal double withdrawals from the treasury for many years!

    The Economist of London once noted of the ugly scenario in the oil industry:”Information about Africa’s biggest industry is an opaque myriad of numbers. No one knows which ones are accurate; no one knows how much oil Nigeria actually produces. If there were an authoritative figure, the truly horrifying scope of corruption would be exposed”. And the World Bank has said that about $400bn of oil money has been stolen since 1960, while companies like NOC of Malaysia, ARMCO of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and many others make about $10bn profit yearly, with investments in western countries and Asia. But in Nigeria, its NNPC incur a loss through missing money last year of between $10bn – $20bn to government officials and private companies who would plough the money back into some individuals’ private accounts from which some political party would eventually benefit for the purpose of prosecuting the 2014 and 2015 elections.

    Now, for the APC governors: be prepared for further withholding of statutory allocations, including allocations for the PDP as cover up for what the PDP governors’ would get from the missing oil money. This is the evil machination by the federal government to make it difficult, if not impossible, for you to pay workers’ salaries so that they would be turned against you before, and during, elections. The federal government hopes to benefit from this wicked strategy of starvation as a weapon in war. Apart from creating bad blood between APC states and their workers, the federal government may be trying to deprive affected states of financial assistance rendered to political parties by their governors from whom it is withholding substantial allocations. It is a new form of rigging which the APC governors must cry out loud and clear about to Nigerians and the international community. With the incredible amount of public fund amassed by the presidency and party officials, we can understand why President Jonathan boasted that the PDP would “use the polls to reclaim lost states at the coming elections”, even in the face of mounting unpopularity of his government and party. For all this, you should go to every corner of Nigeria, to cities, villages, the deserts, and mountain top to shout about this wicked strategy of the Jonathan administration, in all your campaigns to the good people of Nigeria whose wealth has been looted by wicked and ungodly politicians seeking a return to power by all means and at all costs.

    I am glad that Senator Bukola Saraki has noticed this wicked scenario when he “urged” President Goodluck Jonathan “not to stifle opposition states” (The Nation, March 10, p.5) and quickly followed by The Nation’s editorial titled “Jonathan’s subtle threat” (March 13, p.17). President Jonathan was reported to have warned opposition state governors “to stop abusing him and the federal government or they would lose so many things”. One would have denied this horrible presidential statement from Jonathan on his behalf, but events, as shown by withholding billions of Naira from states’ monthly allocations, confirm the president’s statement that they would lose many things, including more deductions from their legitimate full monthly allocations. So, APC Governors, be on the lookout and shine your eyes. The deduction of 40% from all the 36 states is a ruse, as eventually it would not affect the PDP states in terms of money that would be pumped into their coffers from the missing oil money. The pity of this all is that everything is happening just because of elections in which nobody knows who would take part, not to talk about winning. In the eyes of God political victimization, vengeance and witch-hunting could backfire, as God has a way of punishing the wicked, unrighteous and ungodly in the affairs of man, political intrigues and subterfuge included. Mr. President, Sir, you too must beware, for whatever you think will be may not be. In philosophy, we call this induction of caution.

     

    • Prof Makinde, FNAL is DG/CEO Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance, Osogbo, Osun State

  • Nnamani’s futile re-entry into PDP

    The ongoing political struggle for Enugu East Senatorial seat in 2015 is becoming more intriguing and interesting. What has made it more interesting was the recent alleged return of the former governor of Enugu State, and one time senator representing Enugu East district,

    Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after many years of political hibernation in his party, Peoples Democratic Change (PDC).

    Nnamani’s stage-managed return to the PDP reminded one of that his Abia State counterpart, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu who embarked on the same political shortcut to PDP sometimes last year, but hit a strong brickwall that has kept him out of the party till date. Not because he has no constitutional rights to belong to any association, but such rights have laid down procedures as enshrined in the party’s constitution – procedures that Kalu has refused to come down from the Olympian height to obey.

    It appears that Nnamani and his new found political allies in the state have not learnt anything from Kalu’s political misadventure in Abia PDP since last year.

    Was Nnamani not the one who founded PDC in 2010 on whose platform he sought for re-election to Senate in 2011, but was defeated by Gil Nnaji of PDP? So why was Nnamani abandoning the party he formed in 2010 again to force his back way to PDP without following due process? Has he forgotten that he is no longer the governor of the state and the party leader in the state?

    Many had expected or believed that Nnamani from experiences should have been a good student of political history, but his recent political move has proved otherwise. If he, and his political cohorts still believe that Nnamani has any atom of political relevance and followership in the state, such could be proven in his PDC in 2015. Nnamani’s desperation for a return to PDP appears suspicious and must be watched.

    What is even worrisome is that someone who is being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged corrupt practices would be forcing his way back to PDP with such heavy political baggage hanging on his neck which has made him a liability,

    instead of a political asset.

    Looking at his political antecedents since 1999 as a governor and Senator before defecting to PDC in 2010, it is obvious that he was more of a propagandist than a true leader of the people. Nnamani who represented Enugu East senatorial district for four years never called any constituency parley or even that of a smaller gathering like stakeholders of his constituency. What he did as a Senator was to carry on as a lord of manor who owed his constituency nothing, but saw his position in the senate as due compensation or retirement benefit. He only attracted only six water boreholes that he dug all in his native Agbani community. That is reason why it remains a puzzle to see the alliance of Senators Ike Ekweremadu, Gil Nnaji and Nnamani in their unfolding marriage of inconveniences in the state ahead of 2015. The sudden political marriage was not only a conspiracy against the interest of the people, it is also selfish and a self-serving move aimed at taking the state back to dark days of political insecurity and crisis.

    It is clear that the only thing that unites the three senators is their loss of focus and poor representation of their constituencies. If it is a continuation of their poor outings that they want to foster in the state, then their flight may have crash landed at the very take-off.

    It is becoming evident that the trio of Nnamani, Nnaji and Ekweremmadu are losing sleep over the adoption of the Chief of Staff to Governor Sullivan Chime, Ifeoma Nwobodo by the people of Enugu East Senatorial District to represent them in Senate 2015. Mrs Nwobodo, a clear-headed and diligent woman has been adopted to represent the zone after her successful assignment with Governor Chime. Her adoption by virtually all the stakeholders in Nkanu land did not come to many as a surprise given the plethora of her achievements in both human empowerment and infrastructural developments in the senatorial district. One good thing that cannot be taken away from her is her strong grassroots political machinery across the state, especially in Nkanuland. Presently, there are many groups falling on top of one another to campaign for her in Enugu east zone, stressing that Enugu east senatorial zone is the heritage of Nkanu clan occupying the Wawa heartland.

    It is worthy to recall that apart from Senator Isaiah Ani from Isi-Uzo who represented the then Nsukka zone in the Second republic, the zone had from 1999 since the senatorial district was carved out in the present democratic dispensation, produced to the same Senate the likes of former Governor of old Anambra State Senator Jim Nwobodo and former President of the Senate Ken Nnamnai and presently Senator Gil Nnaji. It is also remarkable that since 1999, no Senator has represented the zone twice in quick successions and 2015 will not be different.

    The melodrama presently playing out in Nkanu land is the quest for political leadership of the zone, since the zone will not produce governorship of Enugu State in the next eight years. Who would become the rallying point of the zone in post 2015? There is no doubt that presently, Nwobodo fills the vacuum, since Dr. Nnamani had played himself out of reckoning and demonstrated lack of leadership during his inglorious time. Mrs. Nwobodo has singlehandedly dictated the pace of political development in the zone in the last four years which gives her the leverage of winning in the Enugu east senatorial election in 2015.

    Majority of people of the zone also attest to the her attraction of both human and infrastructural empowerment to the zone. These and some other factors gave rise to permutations that Mrs Nwobodo would have an upper hand against the incumbent Senator Gil Nnaji who is mostly criticized for being a bench warmer at the National Assembly since 2003 when he was first elected a House of Representative member. Nnaji is therefore expected to move on without much trouble having conceded the seat through an alleged agreement, but Nnaji is again accused of connivance with former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani and Senator Ike Ekweremadu to undo the authority of Governor Sullivan Chime. Ekweremadu and Nnaji may be hoping to capitalize on Nnamani’s so-called value even when they are aware that the man has lost touch with the people.

    It therefore follows that lawmakers who deliberately decided to become lawbreakers cannot be allowed more chances of impunity. Since the trio of Nnamani, Ekweremadu and Nnaji are ignorant of PDP constitution, they should be referred to Imo State to learn from the Achike Udenwa experience of how best to make triumphant entry back to a PDP. The PDP constitution is clear on how a former member can return to the party without necessarily breaking party offices like some have attempted to do.

    • Nnaji wrote from Agbani, Enugu State