The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Time to confront economy’s ‘cabal’

    As the country’s political and economic circumstances continue to deteriorate, nobody seems to have the courage to suggest or demand action against those who lead us into the escalating misery of Nigerians. There appears to be a strange kind of timidity that keeps us silent and passive in the face of obvious abuse from which the majority of our countrymen and women suffer. The question is, what makes us so timid? Why have we chosen to be passive in this situation of reckless rape of our well-being by the ruling elite?

    We may never find answers to these questions until we stand up to our rights and be prepared to defend them through peaceful but dynamic engagement with the forces of evil that burden us with misery. Now is the time to awaken from resignation and insist that things should be done differently. The docile nature of the Nigerian masses is adding fuel to the rampage of our leadership elite who are becoming ever more brazen in actions that lead Nigeria down the drain.

    We are particularly concerned about Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi both of who have direct responsibility for the economy, but under whose watch we are experiencing escalating misery in spite of increased earnings from oil. The case against these economic managers is simply that they are pursuing policies which are detrimental to economic growth and public welfare.

    Okonjo-Iweala’s presence on the economic stage in Nigeria is tragic. When she first surfaced in the Obasanjo cabinet, we were told she was the best thing to happen to Nigeria’s economy. But the facts on the ground speak to the contrary. She depleted our dollar reserves to exit the debt trap when she could have done the same thing with oil swap and saved us over $30 billion that she handed over to her principals at the Breton Woods Institution. Now the woman is here again through the roof and is piling up debt and saving our dollar earnings to once again give her IMF/World Bank masters while our people are dying for funds to develop the real sector and do other desperate things to exit poverty, unemployment and the education system collapse calamity we are in.

    The case of Sanusi is just as tragic. Since he swept into power to curb misdeeds in the banking system, our Central Bank governance has never been as erratic. Against rational advice, the CBN chief has continued to place the naira in hopeless difficulties with his never-ending mopping up of naira in circulation in an economy where the real sector is desperate for funds which the banks will hardly give.

    The government has persisted in its bizarre economic approach because of the complacency of the Nigerian masses. They suffer a degree of poverty that is amongst the worst type in the world, and yet they keep not only quiet but they go about like a mesmerized people sleep-walking. And because of this timidity, the government believes that it has the support of Nigerian masses to do what it is doing. At least the minister of information has expressed that disgusting sentiment recently.

    Those of us who are not mesmerized or sleep-walking have a grave responsibility to awaken our people from their lethargy and get them to insist on peaceful change just the same way the Rev. (Dr) Martin Luther King of the USA did for the black peoples of America. One man who has been in the forefront of a similar gigantic battle in Nigeria is Henry Boyo of the Lesleba fame. For over a decade now, this man has been fighting relentlessly for Nigerians to appreciate that their economic problem lies with a devalued currency.

    In a manner similar to Martin Luther King, Boyo has been fighting on the pages of newspapers, in seminars and talks, trying to persuade Nigeria that any country that allows its currency to be devalued, has in effect allowed the life of its citizens to be devalued. He therefore launched a spirited campaign tagged, “Save the Naira, Save Nigeria”. But as is usual with our country, he was ridiculed by those whose complicity in the criminal devaluation of the naira has brought them enormous wealth, while the masses have become impoverished over the decades since the naira was devalued.

    Boyo has been speaking in the last decade with prophetic accuracy that for as long as we do not save the naira from the catastrophe of devaluation, for so long will our economy remain comatose. He has been right and his critics have been wrong. The more this economic expert prescribes solutions to our economic problems – especially in the areas of finance, money management and the growth of the real sector of the economy, the less government and the people in charge care to listen. The situation has become so bad that the country appears to be living in an illusion of progress whilst the masses of its citizens wallow in abject poverty, and practically all its infrastructure and institutions are in varying stages of collapse.

    If those who have been in charge of our economy since 1999 have failed to move Nigeria forward with their policy prescriptions, for God’s sake, why should we continue with those policies, when alternative prescription – which remain credible is ignored while the country and its people suffer? In whose interest is this economic prescription of Okonjo-Iweala and Sanusi designed? Certainly, the political and business leadership elite of the country are feeding fat on it. The Breton Woods Institution – which by the way is entrenched in government in Abuja – has more than an ordinary interest in keeping Nigerian resources within its orbit of control to exploit, regardless of the effect on our citizens. They post growth figures in the economy, which only translate to suffering and misery in despicable poverty for the Nigerian masses.

    Nigerians have no choice but to fight their way out of the satanic misery imposed on them by a financial system that continues to impoverish them in spite of the enormous wealth of the country which the leadership elites in business and politics have appropriated to themselves in one of Africa’s (if not the world’s) most tragic manifestation of misery in the midst of wealth.

    There is a limit to which any human being should endure enslavement. Increasingly we are being enslaved by the ruling elites and their collaborators in our financial institutions. What belongs to all of us has been appropriated by them and our people are in painful poverty in the midst of wealth. Our silence and docility are now being construed by the heartless leadership as a sign of approval and satisfaction. Yes, in their sadism, they could be right. We are the ones who should prove them wrong.

    • Obafemi and Ojewale promoters of Leadership Search Initiative sent this mail from thelsinitiative@gmail.com

     

  • To restructure the Nigerian federation

    India is similar to Nigeria in many ways. Like Nigeria, it is a country of many linguistic nationalities. Like Nigeria, it is a former British colony. Like Nigeria, India inherited from the British at independence a chaotic federation – a federation that ignored the country’s many nations, and in which the nations were split and spliced for British purposes, and for administrative convenience. The only difference is that India is very much larger than Nigeria. In population and land area, India is about seven times the size of Nigeria. Whereas Nigeria has about 300 linguistic nations, India has about 2000.

    Like Nigeria, the Indian federation was very unstable after independence. Within three years, the far northern peoples seceded from India and formed the new countries of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Even then, what remained of India continued to be unstable. To stabilize the country, many Indians began to propose that the Indian federation should be restructured – in such a way that its states would be based on the linguistic nations and would respect the boundaries of the nations. The similarities with Nigeria in these respects are also clear. The Nigerian federation plunged into big troubles almost immediately after independence. Attempts by the eastern parts of Nigeria to secede led to a civil war. The victory over secession did not end Nigeria’s instability. In fact, inter-ethnic hostilities have been escalating and bloody inter-ethnic and religious conflicts growing. To stabilize Nigeria, many Nigerians then began to advocate that the Nigerian federation should be restructured –and that the linguistic nations be used as basis of its states.

    The details proposed (and ultimately adopted) in India are very similar to the details being proposed in Nigeria now. What the Indians proposed was that India should respect its linguistic nations (or the principle of “linguistic homogeneity”), use them as the basis for states of the Indian federation, preserve “linguistic homogeneity”,and eliminate the practice of splitting and splicing up the linguistic nations. What many Nigerians are suggesting now is identical. They are suggesting that we should stop splitting and splicing up our linguistic nations; that each of our large linguistic nations (Hausa-Fulani in the North, Yoruba in the South-west plus the Yoruba of Kwara and Kogi, and the Igbo of the South-east plus the Igbo of Agbor and Asaba) should constitute a state; and that the small linguistic nations of the North-east, Middle Belt and South-south should negotiate to form states – probably one in the North-east, two in the Middle Belt, and two in the South-south. This is precisely the kind of solution that the Indians finally adopted, resulting in a total of 28 states in the Indian Union. In Nigeria it will result in about eight states.

    But the above represents only the first half of the task of restructuring our federation. The second half concerns the sharing of powers, responsibilities, and resources, between the Federal Government and the state governments. The principles behind this have been spelt out again and again by some of the highest and best of our lawyers. Here is how one of them, Professor ItseSagay, sums it up:

    In a federation, each government – – – exists, not as an appendage of another government (e.g. the federal or central government) but as an autonomous entity in the sense of being able to exercise its own will on the conduct of its affairs free from direction by any government. Thus, the Central Government on the one hand and the State Governments on the other hand are autonomous in their respective spheres.

    As Wheare put it, “the fundamental and distinguishing characteristic of a federal system is that neither the central nor the regional governments are subordinate to each other, but rather, the two are co-ordinate and independent.”

    Nwabueze has identified the following additional characteristics in a federal system:

    • The power sharing arrangement should not place such a preponderance of power in the hands of either the national or regional government to make it so powerful that it is able to bend the will of the others to its own.

    • Federalism presupposes that the national and regional governments should stand to each other in a relation of meaningful independence resting upon a balanced division of powers and resources. Each must have powers and resources sufficient to support the structure of a functioning government, able to stand on its own – – -.

    • From the separate and autonomous existence of each government and the plenary character of its powers within the sphere assigned to it by the constitution flows the doctrine that the exercise of these powers is not to be impeded, obstructed or otherwise interfered with by the other government, acting within its powers.

    The architects of the restructuring of the Indian federation were very powerfully motivated by only one thing, namely the objective of making their country orderly, stable and prosperous. Therefore, they followed the above principles of federalism very conscientiously. They set out the following list of “exclusive” powers for the states: public order; police; education; local government; roads and transport; agriculture; land and land revenue; forests; fisheries; industry and trade (limited); state Public Service Commissions; and Courts (except the Supreme Court of India). They also laid down another list of subjects, the Concurrent List, on which the states and the centre can make laws. This list includes criminal laws and their administration; economic and social planning; commercial and industrial monopolies; shipping and navigation on the inland waterways; drugs; ports; courts and civil procedures.

    According to Prof.Sagay, “ A Federal Government should exercise powers exclusively only in the following areas: National Defence, Foreign Relations, Currency, Exchange Control, Telecommunications, Immigration, Customs & Excise, Copyright, Patents and Designs, Citizenship and Naturalisation, Shipping in external waters”.

    In the matter of allocation of funds, Indians have from time to time reviewed the situation.In 1988, the share of the states was raised to 85% and the share of the Union was set at 15% – apart from the fact that each state can legislate and raise taxes of its own.

    By thus respecting their country’s various linguistic nations, India’s political leaders guided their country onto the paths of stability and progress. According to one of India’s most respected scholars, S.D. Muni, the “elaborate structure of power devolution has combined with the linguistic basis of federal unity to facilitate the management of cultural diversity in India and help mitigate pulls towards separatism and disintegration”. Muni adds that both at the central and state levels, Indians are dedicated to “a consciously followed approach to preserve and promote the cultural specificities of diverse groups”, and that that “has helped such groups identify with the national mainstream”. In addition, Indians have generally strengthened their country by consciously upholding the integrity of their democratic institutions and democratic politics.

    It is interesting that Nigerian leaders, particularly our northern political leaders, are fond of often pointing out that though India, like Nigeria, comprises many different nations, yet India is much more stable than Nigeria. But they never point out that Indian leaders took statesmanlike steps to structure their federation rationally, and to make their different nations reasonably happy to belong to India. The bottom-line is obvious: we can only have stability in Nigeria if we sincerely respect our different nations and make them feel respected and belonging.

  • From the cell phone

    For Olatunji Dare

     

    In the absence of transparency in every action, things will not be normal. Untill we get it right and stop politicising every issue, things will not be as it is supposed to be. A nation that does things with impunity always thrives in trouble. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa Lagos

    Sir, statistics is like a bikini; what it reveals is suggestive, but what it conceals is vital. The collective refusal by the larger society to stay away from a course that proved disastrous in the past is the direct reason for our failing state. If not, why is it that 53 years after independence, a country like ours, blessed with gifted citizens thriving in other coners of the globe, is being led by inept rulers? Our civil societies should please wake up. From O. O. Adegoke, Ikhin, Edo State

    Sir, thanks a lot for highlighting the fraud in Nigeria’s cencus! How on earth can Nigeria alone be equal to the combined populations of ancient nations of Egypt and Ethiopia, and less than half the land area? Areas within latitudinal belt often share similar population distribution. Nigeria can not be more than Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda combined! Our census is programmed inflation. We are far less than 100 million! The rest are ghost. From Engr. Idowu Ogedengbe, Abuja

    Re: Still planning and polling without facts. It is a disgrace and a faulty pillar-foundation when a nation either lacks statistics or swims in a faulty data. That is essentially the component of Nigeria’s underdevelopment. Again, an example: the national identification management centres are so far, situated in a place in only state capitals. Where do the Oyos, Okeoguns, Ojokus, Offas, Warris, Pankhsins, Epes, Sapeles, etc do their registrations? State capitals, as if they are undergoing pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem! However, enumerators see things you and I do not see on census. From Lanre Oseni

    Dare, thanks for your elucidation in “still planning and polling” on lies. Nigeria’s census problem came with her birth because the North demanded a favouring census as a pre-condition to be part of the country at Independence and Brittain granted it. So, why would Kano not have more people when a quarter of it is carved as a state? It is the normal weapon of neo-colonialisation of the South by the North. Jonathan’s increased performance rating is true particularly in infrastructural facilities which serve as bed rock of future improvements in other areas of the economy. The unsual rendering of his performance data gives credence to the facts on his positive thrust in governance. Leave politicians with their usual blindness to a performing opponent. On a closing stanza, North’s plan to hold others to political subjugation must be fought to a stand still or we might have USA’s forecast hold. From Lai Ashadele

     

    For Segun Gbadegesin

     

    Nigeria labour congress is not living up to the expectation of Nigerians over the citizen’s plight in the hand of our leaders. From Gordon Chika Nnorom

    Thank you so much for putting it to them (labour leaders) albeit mildly. It clearly shows whose interest they represent. Can we allow a Ghanian who is Black or an American or Indian who are Whites to come and even buy form not to talk of contesting? Please less talk. From Joseph Itse, Jos

    It is very unfortunate that the integrety of NLC has been compromised. During the subsidy saga, we all thought NLC was fighting for the whole masses, but it turned out to be contrary. A nation where the masses’ intrest is not protected that nation is doomed. Masses are now left at the mercy of government nobody is fighting to protect the masses’ intrest. The leadership of NLC has been compromised by those who feel threatened about their action. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa, Lagos

    Sir, I read your piece “NLC vs the people”. I am disturbed by the statements credited to the Vice President of the NLC. It shows that he has not been following the trends of things in the country. I have some posers for Mr. Isaa Aremu: is he so pleased with the bad leadership style in the country? Can he go to sleep with his two eyes closed given the security situation in the land? Is he also so pleased with the level of poverty in the country? Anyway what I know is that Mr. Aremu is only speaking for himself but not the NLC. He is still living in the past. From Ojo A. Ayodele, Emure Ekiti

    The NLC, as presently constituted, is not a serious organization. Upon hearing about the jumbo pay of NASS, it should have called out workers whose minimum wage of N18,000 is still debated. From Uche Lawson, Aba

    Re: NLC vs the people. Before now, I had been an opponent of Sovereign National Conference or National Conference because it is both unnecessary and time-wasting. Whatever is agitating any citizen’s mind should be passed on to his or her Representative or Senate member to be discussed in the Houses. Although constitution is made for man, and not the reverse, there is need to respect that existing constitution rather than toying with it with SNC. SNC will be a resource-leakage, regional power-show and unreasonable demands from one another. NLC is correct by rejecting SNC. From Lanre Oseni

    This Omar lost contact with his contituency long ago. Imagine him campaigning on the podium for Mimiko during last election. Yes, he has the right to do so even when decorum forbids him. But, when this same governor refuses to pay teachers for five months, relegates health workers for no cause, sacks three quarters of government workers, impliments a non-existing constitution to sack every worker who left primary school at age nine, and more, where is Omar and his colaborators? Do not waist your time and energy on someone who already had failed in his dormain. From Demola Olaseinde, Ilaramokin

    Hello sir, Re: NLC vs the people. Sovereign National Conference is the key to addressing the systemic defect of our federated republic. That is what the proponents are agitating for: a new system that allows for developments according to the ability of each of the federating unit in a level playing field without any unit feeling being left out within an indivisible entity called Nigeria. From Olumide Soyemi, Bariga

    SNC is the answer to usurpation of power, land and oil resources shared among politicians and selfish NLC leaders excluding citizenry. From Edmund

    What a nice write-up from you sir on “NLC vs the people”! The move by the National Assembly to remove generation and distribution of electricity from the exclusive list is a means to enrich the Nigerian millionaires who have stolen our treasuries. Government regulatory agencies are ineffective hence, the poor bears the burden. From Eleshin, LASU quarters, Badagry

    Mr. Isa Aremu is living in ‘yesterday’. For people like him with unbridled conservative tendencies to be in NLC spells doom for the Nation. He lacks the global foresight, the openness and the dialogue oriented mentality that qualifies people for leadership positions in the NLC. No wonder the NLC under his leadership has lost its relevance and vibrancy in the scheme of happenings in the Nation. National Conference will signal a way forward. From Mr. Ezeokoli Agha Joekin, Lagos

    There must be a peace security in Nigeria in order to have peace. Anonymous

     

    For Gbenga Omotoso

     

    I pray the Almighty God of heaven, the Revealer of secret things to those who fear Him will expose and scatter and destroy the wicked camps. Please let us put the sentiments of politics aside and pray for heavenly intervention, we are in the darker age (evil) of the world. Nigerians should rise and pray North, South, East and West. Thanks! From Adegboyega

    To me, lack of quality statistics to identify socio-economic challenges in the country is the creation or manipulation of the operators who must have so constructed the distorted scenario, or purposely kept the valid data (if any) away from us to avoid being monitored by the general public. Covering confidential infomation meant for the public is a form of bad governance trying to shield people from knowing how their affairs are being managed. That there is no reliable pattern of population distribution or that nobody knows the quantity of oil produced and consumed in the country should not deceive anybody. The authorities and their agents know what they are doing. From Emmanuel Egwu

    Dear Omotoso, I always appreciate your Eìditorial Notebook.You make The Nation thick. Please, with reference to Education page of today, those pupils of Cardinal School should be reminded that NigeriÌa’s flag carries no logo. That one is a motor park’s flag. Please enlighten the general public. Thank you! From L. O. David, Abuja

    My dear brother Gbenga, it was a bloody birthday indeed. Blood! Blood! And indeed blood everywhere. Nowhere is safe except maybe prison. Jonathan is helpless and I pity him that he watches helplessly while this carnage is going on unabated. I only hope this evil thing called Boko Haram will not consume all one day as there is no solution right away. May God save Nigeria! From Chief Ayo Apelogun, Ilesha

    Killing has come to stay. There seems to be nothing anyone can do to stop it because those that Satan handed over to us as leaders are arrow-heads of murder; they do not see wanton waste of lives as anything out of the ordinary. In fact, they are not bothered about what is happening in the country. Maybe blood must continue to flow so as to ensure their stay in power, who knows. This is Nigeria where one cannot put anything above a politician. It is only in a lawless state that things go this bad without anyone being punished. Let us face it: since Boko Haram has been wrecking havoc, has any of their sponsors been arrested and prosecuted? Who are the patrons of Ombatse cult? Is it possible that no one has adequate information on the activities of these devilish groups and who their sponsors are? From Ifeanyi O. Ifeanyi

    For NCAA to sanction Arik for unruly behaviour of its passengers is an act of uncivilised management. How will you feel if you were to be one of the passengers? Whose fault? Who was the VIP? As the life of the president is important to his relations so is that of palmwine dealer. Until we come to terms with truth and honest we must always get issues amiss. Passengers that had been infuriated with anger and fear was supposed to be calmed rather than being provoked by VIP or PIP. From Peter N. Chukwudum, Aba, Abia State

     

    For Tunji Adegboyega

     

    RE: ‘Independence and an air crash’. Apart from occasional success stories in football, it had been stories of calamitous events in our dear country, Nigeria. Perhaps if our rulers listen to suggestions and implement, we would have been ‘high up’ now. All said, and done, the accused and the accusers are guilty of our underdevelopment – the rulers, the journalists, technocrats and the politicians – conservatives and acclaimed progressives. From Lanre Oseni.

    When some elders accused the President of running the country as a kindergarten president, the scavengers around him started shouting like a hungry lion. Let them tell us how best we should describe him when all we are celebrating is spilling of blood and crashing of planes. The President and his cohorts have abandoned their civic responsibilities for what I will call self-serving agenda. The minister of aviation should be removed because of her incompetence in handling the ministry. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa, Lagos.

    What was a good man doing in the company of bad men? That question would remain resonant as long as it takes the people of Ondo State to come to terms with the air tragedy, while struggling to define the true legacy of Agagu. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. From Kuteyi, R.R.,Ondo.

    Nigerians should believe that what we have in our airspace are flying coffins, not aircraft. Anyone flying here should pray hard because aircraft in Nigeria are not airworthy, compared with the foreign aircraft. The plane crash in Lagos is very unfortunate and sad. May the souls of the victims rest in perfect peace. (Amen). Investigation should however be carried out to ascertain the remote cause of the crash and find a lasting solution to the problem of constant plane crashes here. The regulatory agencies should sit up to stop all these flying coffins called aircraft to avoid tragedies in future. Cutting corners should stop in our aviation sector so that we don’t continue to send innocent souls to untimely graves. Why are such disasters occurring during our Independence anniversary? God bless Nigeria. From Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia state.

    Your column of September 29, titled ‘The one man, one term brouhaha’r refers. Jonathan would have broken the law if he should take the third oath of office just as the constitution does not recognise elected president or governor to spend above eight years in office, no matter the circumstances. The ‘doctrine of necessity’ was irrelevant at the time Yar’Adua died and Jonathan who had a joint mandate with him was sworn in. If Yar’Adua had died seven days after he took the oath of office in 2007, would Jonathan be qualified to run in 2015 after taking the second oath in 2011, to make 12 years in office as against the maximum of eight years in our constitution? My conclusion is that the judgment of the high court was got in haste or procured to test our senses. Our constitution is not a Father Christmas, I hope. From Akin Malaolu.

    My own concern is how Abati made a U-Turn now, even against his media colleagues. It is despicable of him to have done that. Have a nice day. Anonymous.

    Pretty late in the day! Just read your piece in The Nation on Sunday of September 22 titled ‘Like father, like son’. Apparently you missed the substance of Mr. President’s appeal to the people. Regards. From Mikayah.

  • National conference: Hurdles ahead

    The endorsement by President Goodluck Jonathan for the convocation of a national conference that would put in place an acceptable constitutional architecture to mediate the challenges of nation-building confronting Nigeria is most auspicious. This is attested to by the outburst of spontaneous expressions of happiness and support for the project by a vast majority of Nigerians that reverberated across the nation following the presidential proclamation. The critical mass that drives this conference and the need to provide a platform for citizens to freely engage themselves with a view of deepening national cohesion and evolving of acceptable governance modalities promises to enhance the content and quality of our federalism.

    Important as this conference is to our dream of a modern Nigeria, it would be naively presumptuous to conclude that it will be given the much desired cooperation and support by all and sundry, and that there are no roadblocks on the way to the actualization of its mandate. These roadblocks are complex in configuration because they cut across theoretical, conceptual, structural, organizational and operational issues and as such are desiring of urgent attention and remediation. It is important to stress that these forces are driven by a myriad of interests and ideological leanings that are at the heart of our nation-building travails. It is therefore important, for us to raise these issues as part of the processes to set the ball rolling for the conference.

    One, the time frame of one month given by the president for the advisory committee to come out with organizational modalities for the conference is too short for any meaningful theoretical and conceptual framework to be designed. One month means that by the first week of November the advisory committee’s life span is over. The committee should be given three months: October to December. Within this period it will consult widely with all relevant stakeholders-traditional rulers, the leadership of ethnic socio-cultural organizations, socio-political organizations, community and opinion leaders, academics, etc-and call for papers and memoranda from interested members of the public. All these could be done in October, while the analysis and propositions of policy options and frameworks of organization is done in November through December, culminating in the submission of the committee’s report. Anything short of this three month time frame may likely compromise critical inputs and rigorous thought in the design of the operational framework of the conference.

    Two, there should be no restrictions on the issues or matters to be discussed at the conference, whatever name it will be called, sovereign or national. From my readings of the responses to the proposed conference, two pathological tendencies are clearly decipherable: the southern tendency of placing all issues on the table for discussion versus the northern tendency of restricting issues to be brought to the discussion table. This dissonance in the philosophical conceptualization of the conference between the north and the south is a major sore point that needs to be decisively handled and addressed if this conference is to succeed. I am of the opinion that everything should be tabled and discussed without let or hindrance. The situation whereby once mention is made of ‘sovereign conference’ it sends down jitters and fears down the spine of some of our country men and women is totally and completely unfounded and misplaced. Is there something we are afraid of letting each other know about ourselves? Do we have a horse and rider federalism in Nigeria? Can any ethnic group claim to be the custodian-in-chief of our sovereignty? Nonetheless, the advisory committee should identify the ideological foundations of these pathologies and address them properly for the conference to take off smoothly.

    Three, the decisions arrived at the end of conference should be implemented. This could better be done by the president proposing a bill to the National Assembly to provide legal framework for the existence of the conference and its outcome. This bill could be undergoing parliamentary deliberations while the conference is on course. The bill should have anticipatory powers assigned to the outcomes of the conference, the understanding being that; once passed as an Act of Parliament, the deliberations and recommendations of the conference only require the signature of the President after due consultation with the National Council of State to come into effect. This issue of legal framework to secure the outcomes of the conference is a fundamental requirement if truly we intend that this conference is not to be a mere talk shop.

    Finally, there should be the political will to make this conference a massive success by rallying all the relevant stakeholders-institutional and extra-institutional-to support it so that we can at least for once address the national question that has lingered with us for a long time. This constructive and critical engagement is the only veritable way of realizing what Oronto Douglas, the presidential egghead on research and strategy calls: ‘a we the people’s agreement’. President Goodluck Jonathan has by the convocation of a national conference that draws its philosophical inspiration from the foundational and structural crises besetting the Nigerian federation demonstrated his commitment to charting a path for the realization of the dream of a just and equitable modern Nigeria where no one is judged based on his ethnic, religious and social affiliations.

     

    • Pine writes from Makurdi, Benue State

  • Leadership lessons from the church

    The Methodist Church started in Nigeria on September 24, 1842, more than 170 years ago. The Roman Catholic Church has been around for more than 2000 years. Leadership experts have always pondered the question as to how and why, beyond the issue of spiritual anchor, these two organizations have survived challenges that other organizations did not survive. How have they been able to survive a world order where the constant is change? How did they survive countless insurrections and revolutions? How did they survive the world wars? How did they survive Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini and other dictators?

    What leadership lessons can political leaders and other churches in Nigeria draw from their longevity?

    The critical lessons are embodied in the recent elections of the leadership of the two Christian organizations. In 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the new Supreme Pontiff of Roman Catholic Church following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. On September 1, His Grace, Most Rev. S.C.K. Uche, the Archbishop of Enugu was elected as Prelate of Methodist Church Nigeria to take over from his Eminence, Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde.

    The first survival lesson is that the Methodist Church and the Roman Catholic Church, by conducting successful leadership transition processes, confirmed that they have truly matured into non-personalized institutions that are bigger than their individual members. Lesson number two is that the transition processes are built around enduring constitutions or procedures that are not subjected to whims and caprice of individuals.

    The election of the new Prelate of Methodist church was done by an Electoral College that relied on section 470 sub-section 3 of the constitution of the church. Pope Francis was elected by a conclave of 203 cardinals from 69 countries. It is near impossible for individuals, however powerful, to bend or tinker with the transition processes of the two Churches. Even the Pope as Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church seldom tempers with the laid down meticulous processes of electing a new Pope.

    The third critical lesson is that election of new leaders in these churches, despite being political democratic processes, are deeply anchored on the strong spiritual foundation that the emergence of any leader is always a manifestation of fulfillment of divine will of God. Both churches emphasize guidance by the Holy Spirit. The emphasis revolves around the doctrine that God appoints specific leaders to fulfill His Mission at specific periods in history.

    Both churches have demonstrated over and over that survival or extinction rests with leadership question. Once the leadership issue is successfully addressed, the organization survives and moves forward. This lesson is of critical importance on the effort to build enduring institutional framework in Nigeria. To establish sustainable institution requires that the leadership question be successfully settled. The world is littered with stories of countries, organizations, churches and institutions that failed on the altar of shaky leadership processes.

    Lesson number four flows the transparent and due process nature of electing the new leaders. Both churches reached deep down to bring forth leaders that are well prepared to confront current realities and challenges irrespective of where they come from. Pope Francis is the First pope from Latin America. The impact is already obvious. In just seven months in office, he has succeeded in navigating attention away from the crippling scandals of priestly sexual abuses in the Catholic churches to the core value of church which is social justice.

    Archbishop Uche as Prelate elect has already made history as the first Prelate of Methodist Church from the South-east geopolitical zone of Nigeria. He was ordained Priest in 1982, became a Presbyter in 1990, elected Bishop in 1998 and Archbishop in 2009. He has held leadership positions within and outside the church including chairmanship of Christian Association of Nigeria, Kano State and membership of Imo State Secondary Education Management Board.

    The important lesson here, especially for Nigerian political leaders, is that in choosing new leaders to confront current and future challenges, the institutions of Methodist and Catholic churches did not pigeon hole their scope and span of choice to particular geopolitical areas, regions, race or ethnic group. They spread their net far and wide and allowed God to make His choice. Elections or no elections, both churches understand that God neither holds nor depends on popular votes. If he does, Saul would never have become Paul and Saint Peter would probably never have become the first Pope.

    The fifth important lesson is that the choice of new leaders inevitably comes with some degree of controversy. Some Roman Catholics hold the view that a Jesuit should never have been elected pope. The Jesuits were a militant order founded in 16th century by Basque soldier Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The leader of the Jesuits is referred to as Father General. Just before the convening of the conclave that elected him Pope, Cardinal Bergoglio celebrated his 55th year as a Jesuit. No Jesuit had even been pope. He is the first. This school of thought also believe that a Cardinal reputed to have cooked his own meals, rode public transport to work, paid his own hotel bills, gets his own coffee from vending machines should never have been made pope. They believe that he will compromise the aura and dignity of the Pontificate. That the Pope washed the feet of an imprisoned non-Catholic Serbian felon during the traditional washing of feet during the holy week and gives ordinary people rides in his Popemobile have added fuel to the controversy.

    In the case of Prelate S.C.K Uche, there have been remarks to that his election breached some constitutional provisions. The leadership lesson is on how the post election controversies are handled.

    The matter is neatly handled in the Catholic Church. Anything that happened in the conclave during election of a new Pope is a matter of utmost secrecy. All Cardinals, members of the election conclave and all staff associated with the processes swear to oath of perpetual secrecy. Once the white smoke announces the birth of a new pope to the world, all controversies related to the election are regarded as academic exercises and personal opinions. Most importantly, all issues, real or imagined, are regarded as family disagreement and treated as such. No member of the conclave comes out to circulate press statements on whether or not he agrees with the result of the voting or the process that led to the emergence of the Pope.

    It is unthinkable that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will one day circulate a press statement, addressed to person in particular, to the effect that that the election process that produced Pope Francis was flawed. This post election spirit of unity, love, peace and the belief in the divine will of God if not fully observed becomes a fatal flaw that nullifies all the gains and benefits of the leadership lessons enumerated above.

    The leaders and Trustees of Methodist Church Nigeria should therefore learn from the Catholic Church in terms of addressing post election controversies and take pro-active steps so that the church does not fall victim of this fatal flaw.

     

    •Onyechere, MFR is the founding chairman, Exam Ethics Marshals International

  •  Osun: Laurels for Opon Imo 

     Osun: Laurels for Opon Imo 

    At the debut of Opon Imo – tablet of knowledge – on May 13th this year, Governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola knew that it would be celebrated within and outside the shores of Nigeria. But he was unaware that it was going to garner laurels across the globe and in quick succession in torrential rapidity. Apart from being applauded by the World Bank, the Speaker of House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjor-Iweala, Opon Imo has become a metaphor as an e-learning device of all time.

    Ogbeni was right on point when he said: ”We are breaking a yoke of nothingness; the yoke of irrelevance that our continent has been under for a long time. Nobody expects anything from our continent but we are sending signals to the world that the Africans have arrived; that we no longer accept the tag of the a continent without a future. To me, that is the statement we have made with the launch of this hand held device.

    ”The idea of an electronic tablet is not our invention and we make no such claims.  But we have made something completely new and there is none like it in the face of the world.  Other tools do not have pre-loaded materials like this; you must get to the internet to upload.  It is a complete system that does not need to interface with others. It was commended by Harvard University. It is the first major learning device for self study.”

    Thus a science student, who has interest in literature and does not offer it, can still dip into literature texts at his leisure. In the same way, an arts student can learn about scientific concepts that intrigue him purely for knowledge sake, while the other modules in the Opon-Imo application are largely worked on by WAEC and JAMB examiners with the Osun State Teaching Service. In other words, the contents are all locally-sourced. Opon Imo, which was made to go through various levels of mechanical stress test, as this can be verified from UNIOSUN ICT Department, is the first of its kind ‘’stand-alone e-learning tool’ in Africa and arguably in the world.

    As expected, the news has filtered  in that the esteemed Opon-Imo (Tablet of Knowlegde) won a World Summit Award in the e-Learning and Science Category. The World Summit Award (WSA) is a global initiative for selecting and promoting the world’s best electronic media and applications. It sees the bridging of the digital divide and narrowing of the “Content Gap” as its overall goal and, as of 2006, it involves representatives from 168 countries on each continent.

    Putting its focus on cultural identity and diversity, the WSA looks for multimedia projects that effectively and creatively work with quality contents and digitise educational, scientific and cultural heritage. Eminent national experts from more than 100 UN member-states nominated 461 national nominees to compete against each other to win the World Summit Award 2013. There were five nominees of various WSA categories from Nigeria namely; Transparent Nigeria in the e-Government and Open Category, Locate Care in the e-Health and Environment Category, Opon Imo in the e-Learning & Science Category, Efiko Quiz Game in the e-Entertainment and Games Category, TWO TV Network in the e-Media and Journalism Category and i-Teller, Category.

    After careful examination of the entire 461 world nominees by 17 Grand Jury members, who converged for three days in the city of Tallinn, Republic of Estonia, Northern Europe to judge, 40 WSA winners were chosen for 2013 WSA Summit Awards and of the 40 WSA winner Opon Imo was outstanding in e-Learning & Science Category .

    The 40 WSA winners are to be invited to present their projects for the e-Content Creativity competition at the WSA Global Congress 2013 in Sri Lanka (Oct 23-26). Check http://infogr.am/WSA-national-nominees-2013. However, based on the project presentations at the WSA Global Congress in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from October 23rd to 26th, a Global Champion is picked and announced at the Award Ceremony and Gala Night.

    In the same vain, the innovative e-learning devise has also been nominated for the Nigerian Telecom Awards 2013. The Tablet of Knowledge was nominated under the category of African Most Innovative Product of the Year. The award comes up on September 20 at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan, Lagos. Other categories of the awards includes African Telecom of the Year; African Telecom Personality of the Year; West Africa Mobile Operator of the Year; Computer Brand of the Year among others. Besides, in the category of ICT State of the Year, Osun also got nominated alongside Ekiti and Bauchi States.

    The Opon Imo tablet, which was launched on Monday 13th May, provides three major content categories: e-library, virtual classroom and an integrated test zone. The e-library contains 63 e-books covering 17 academic subjects for examinations conducted by WAEC, NECO and JAMB as well as non-academic subjects such as History of The Yoruba, Sexuality Education, Civic Education, Ifa on ethics and morals, enterprise education as well as hints and tips on passing SSCE.

    In the integrated test zone of the device, there are more than 40,000 JAMB and WAEC practice questions and answers dating back to about 10 years and mock tests in more than 51 subject areas, which approximates to 1,220 chapters, with roughly 29,000 questions referencing about 825 images. Other sections of the e-learning device are an average of 16 chapters per subject and 823 chapters in all, with about 900 minutes or 15 hours of audio voice-overs.

    The state saved a whopping N8.4 billion from live textbook purchases and instead, just a sum N200 million was spent by the state government for the purchase of the 56 e-books on Opon-Imo with 150,000 user licenses from a major educational publishing company from the country. As it is structured, Opon-Imo ensures that each student has an e-textbook, not only in all the subjects he is taking, but also on every subject offered at secondary level. This in itself is revolutionary.

    The tablet was distributed free of charge to students of public schools in the Senior Secondary I and II categories in the state. Opon Imo has been commended as one of the veritable tools of advancing and promoting easy learning and democratising education system not only in the state but across the country and beyond wherever it is embraced.

    Opon Imo was the butt of the day at the Edo Information Communication Technology, ICT, Day, a few weeks ago. The State of Osun’s Director of ICT, Mr. Bambo Bashorun, stole the show at this year’s event held between  12-13 of September, in Benin City. Addressing a panel with the topic, “Fostering Governance with Technology”, Mr. Bambo reeled off the advantages of The Opon Imo to the captivated audience that drew applause for the novel initiative of Governor Aregbesola.

    As it stands, Opon Imo has come to stay. We only hope that Governor Aregbesola’s successors sustains the laudable scheme, which was the major fear of Mr. Bambo’s co-panelists and everyone that graced the occasion.

     

    • Ikhide writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

     

  • A President without balls

    A President without balls

    Permit me to begin this contribution by reproducing a portion of an essay that I wrote on 26 September 2011 which was titled ‘’On Goodluck Jonathan, David and Goliath’’. The essay reads as follows.

    ‘’A few days ago from the sacred pulpit of the hallowed chambers of the National Christian Centre in Abuja and in the prescence of the entire leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan proclaimed as follows- ‘’I am not David….I am not a general…..I am not a lion…..I will defeat the Goliaths in our land’’. These are deep and instructive words yet I do wonder whether Mr. President understands the spiritual and practical implications of what he is saying.

    If he says that he ‘’is not a David’’ how can he then possibly slay the ‘’Goliaths in the land?’’ If he says that he ‘’is not a general’’ how can he be an effective Commander-in-Chief who commands the respect and confidence of his army and his officers? If he says that he ‘’is not a lion’’ how can he overwhelm the animals in our jungle that seek to destroy and ravage our land? The lion is a noble and courageous animal that defends it’s pride and family and protects it’s own. That is why it is known as the ‘’king of the jungle’’ and that is why our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself is known as the ‘’Lion of the Tribe of Judah’’.

    Every king worth his salt must have the spirit of the lion and the warrior in him to a certain extent. It is a fundamental pre-qualification for good quality and inspirational leadership and that is what distinguishes the pretender and the usurper from a real king. May the spirit and weakness of Ahab not be our President’s portion even though his words seem to have ensnared him. History proves that weak kings and weak leaders always pull down and destroy great empires and strong kingdoms.

    If you have any doubt about that consider what happened to the Roman Empire under Nero, Claudius or Caligula. If you still have any doubts after that then read up on Russian history or watch an excellent old film called ‘’Nicholas and Alexander’’ about Tsar Nicholas the 1st, the last Tsar of Russia and how his strong-willed wife and his consistent display of weakness shamed and brought down imperial Russia, destroyed the 300 year old royal dynasty of the Romanovs, led directly to the First World War (which in turn led to the Second World War and then later the Cold War), caused the communist revolution, led to the Russian civil war, resulted in the murder of his whole family and ended in the establishment and creation of the most evil and godless empire that has ever ruled half of the world- the cold and all-powerful Soviet empire.

    That is what weakness, prevarication, inconsistency, cowardice, emotional slavery, inexplicable fear and the celebration of indecision can do. Worst still you don’t boast about such qualities because there is nothing to be proud of in them. Always remember, whether you are a king or a subject, that courage is the greatest of all the virtues. This is wisdom. Would someone please tell our President’’.

    Once again, please take note that the contribution that I have reproduced above was first written by me and published on 26th September 2011, almost two years ago to the day.

    With the killing of 62 children by Boko Haram in Damatru yesterday morning, the slaughter of 140 Nigerian troops by Boko Haram in Borno State last friday, the massacre of 41 school children in Borno State by Boko Haram two months ago, the mass murder of no less than 7000 thousand Nigerians by Boko Haram in the last three years and the raging war that is going on in the northern eastern part of our country between Boko Haram and our military today, those words and that counsel that was offered two years ago seem even more relevant today than it was even at that time.

    The carnage that we are witnessing in our country today has come as a direct result of the manifestation of weakness at the top. When a President tells the world that Boko Haram are his ‘’siblings’’ whom he ‘’cannot move against’’, as he did earlier this year, he is asking for trouble. When a President keeps offering Boko Haram amnesty even when they kept rejecting it and whilst they were murdering his people, as he has been doing for the last three years, he is asking for trouble. When a President installs and supports a party National Chairman who describes Boko Haram as ‘’freedom fighters’’, as he did earlier this year, he is asking for trouble.

    When a President announces to the world that he is ‘’not a lion or a David’’, as he did exactly two years ago, no-one should be surprised when his people are killed like flies before his very eyes. May God bring us a real leader that can save our nation and may He take away this one who feels no pain and has no empathy when Nigerian blood, nay even the blood of innocent children, is shed with impunity. Under the tenure of our ‘’lamb’’ President more innocent Nigerians have been slaughtered by terrorists than at any other time in the history of our country except during the Civil War.

    What a mess, what a record. I continue to ponder about one thing though- would the President have been so unperturbed and detached from the whole thing if the children that were killed in their school yesterday morning had been from his Niger Delta area or from the east. It appears to me that simply because those kids were northern muslims this President just ’’doesn’t give a damn’’. What a tragedy. Whether Christian or Muslim, northern or southern, these are only children and they are NIGERIAN children each of whom is entitled to the full protection of the Nigerian state. I have said it before and I shall say it again, Nigeria has become an abbatoir of human flesh and blood under the tenure of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and all those who support him should bury their heads in shame. The blood of all those innocent people is on his hands because he swore to an oath before God and the Nigerian people to protect them from such evil. Instead of getting on with his job and doing so, he has spent the last few days boasting to the world about ringing the bell in the New York Stock Exchange and receiving irrelevant, illusionary, self-serving and absurd commendations for absolutely nothing from President Barack Obama. May God deliver us.

    Permit me to end this contribution with a painful observation. I was thoroughly appalled about the fact that when our lamb President was asked about the latest round of killings during his live ’’Presidential Media Chat’’ programme on Sunday evening, he not only told a lie to the world by claiming that only ’’21 or 22 students were killed’’ at a time when the BBC and CNN had confirmed that at least 45 bodies had been found (more were to be discovered later) but he also failed to express his condolences to the families of those that had lost their loved ones. He made the same omission when he failed to commiserate with or express his condolences to the families of the 140 soldiers that were killed in Borno State last friday whilst fighting Boko Haram simply because they ran out of bullets during the course of the battle.

    By way of contrast, not only was he quick to offer his condolences to the government and people of Kenya for the terrible carnage that was inflicted on them by Al Shabab last friday when 68 people were killed (I guess that to him Nigerian blood is not as expensive or as important as foreign blood) but he was also quick to offer, the Kenyan government military assistance. If President Uhuru Kenyatta decides to accept his offer let us hope that our lamb President will give enough bullets to the soldiers that he will send. Our boys are deeply courageous fighters and they certainly deserve that much. They also deserve to have a Commander in Chief that inspires them, that watches their back and that gives them the very best. May the souls of all those that have been killed by Boko Haram in the last three years rest in peace and may the Lord take the leadership of this nation from the lamb and give it to a lion king.

  • 53 years of hypocrisy and systemic failure

    Perhaps more than ever before in Nigeria’s history, we live in a society which is aware of its vulnerability, but is deeply not too worried about it. That is to say, in spite of the worries that Nigerians would ordinarily have, the government seems not to worry in a particularly intense way about how things are out of control. Since 1960, nothing much has changed. It is somehow unthinkable that the colonial era which was characterised by plundering of the country’s resources and divide-and-rule politics of the British is still manifesting; an indication that the leadership of Nigeria has slept for so long and driven by greed and blurred vision. The founding fathers of Nigeria did not contemplate such a slow motion growth that we celebrate every year, rather they engineered a virile nation that was endowed with all it needed for a catalytic growth in all ramifications of life. They sacrificed their future and well being to jumpstart a country that was designed to bring succour to the suffering people of Nigeria. Fifty three years on, we are on the same spot!

    Granted, every year and perhaps every day in the history of our nation brings a new test. Sometimes our strength as a people is tested and in recent times it has been our security. And it is not just security of life but of food, jobs and good leadership. Those human rights that are commonly referred to as fundamental are no longer sacrosanct. The right to worship has become fearful and dreadful as worshipers now attend religious gatherings with their hearts in their mouths. It is disheartening however that as many as these challenges are, successive governments have not been able to tackle at least one of the nation’s challenges successfully. The effects of inept leadership have hit people so hard in the past 53 year such that Nigerians have nothing good to remember about their severance from British rulership.

    Sadly, since the nation’s independence and through 2013, we worried so much as nation about the state of infrastructure such that we got used to eating, reading and sleeping in the dark as a result of continued underperformance of PHCN or NEPA as I still call them. The roads are still death traps while education is degenerating. We worried about our continued existence as a nation during the last general election when zoning almost caused ‘war’ within the ruling party. The attendant killings and maiming were heights of insecurity in the land. The worries were too many to live with and they might be the fears of coming years. The story is not different at the moment going by how the polity is being heated by selfish ambitions.

    As we opened our eyes to see October 2013, there is no shortage of things to be genuinely worried about: we still worry about livelihood; whether we will be able to meet our daily expenses in a country where there is no social support from the government. We still think so much about our health considering the status of the public hospitals and the influx of improperly regulated private hospitals. Young men and women of marriage age do not only worry about, but fear relationships. The number of single women who desire marriage is alarming because of lack of wherewithal on the part of the male counterparts to enter wedlock. Married couples and single parents worry about children – and still fear whether they will be able to keep them safe and how they will turn out in life because government, at all tiers, keeps depriving them of the instruments of leadership such as access to quality education. Parents whose children have graduated fear that the children might not get jobs because of cronyism. Many young children roam the streets and hawk when they ought to be in school. What then does Nigeria’s independence signify?

    Ours is a nation where a few people who run the state continue unashamedly to plunder public resources while the escalation of poverty and the civil service structure become bloated. The social service delivery and the productive sectors of the economy have crumbled at the hands of gross mismanagement. Yet, we are celebrating! As it is, apart from the astronomical hike in the prices of petroleum products, we have no idea of exactly what we will experience in the next few years. Whatever we think we will experience is only a projection from the awful past experience foisted on us without justification. And for the worries of the past 53 years not to constitute the fears of the future, there is an urgent need to bring on board fresh brains who can proffer selfless solutions to the myriads of problems that have confronted the nation. The older ones who have featured prominently before and after independence up till now should give way for the younger generation to enable them chart their future as quickly as they could. Granted the old broom knows the corners and might sweep cleaner yet, in our instance, the old broom has always swept just its own side ignoring the need for other part of the room to be clean.

    The government should get the right young people to fast-track job creation for the teeming unemployed in order to forestall crisis. The elderly should be supported to live the remaining part of their lives in dignity. National Assembly should enact law to enable local councils establish old people care trust. The lingering crises in education sector at all levels should be meaningfully and purposefully addressed with a view to bringing back the schools to life and relevance. If the worries and fears would reduce, government must act fast and create an enabling environment that will give people a better lease of life as against the present the-rich-have-it-all system of government. No doubt, our leaders’ smugness and disconnection is personified in the government and its ragbag of officers. At the moment, Nigeria, for certainty, is plagued with avalanche of problems that cripple us as a nation and our common priority should be how to fix some of these avoidable and self-inflicted problems. A good manager would not be expending billions of naira yearly on a ceremony that has no bearing on the people while the staggering amount could be used to fix part of the problems.

    Instead of celebrating, we should be cataloguing our failures and begin to fix them. We should look back and see where and how we derailed. We should take stock of our woes and bring to book those who took us to this point. We have no basis to roll out the drums if many of us could not afford average and decent living, when our young men and women are jobless, when both old and young are sickly and malnourished. What is the basis of the celebration when the government lacks the will to turn things around for better?

    The inaction of the poor cannot continue forever; they will soon get to the brink!

    • Osunnuga writes from Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.

  • Junaid Mohamed’s threat over national conference

    Most Nigerians must by now find it puzzling that, any time any change in the structure or direction of the Nigerian federation is proposed or even mentioned, Dr. Junaid Mohammed comes out threatening war. Is this some sort of personal weakness in Dr. Junaid Mohammed, or is it really the way the Fulani leadership, whom he often claims to represent, think of Nigeria’s affairs?

    I can’t believe the latter. After decades of the existence of our various nationalities together in Nigeria, most of us educated and exposed Nigerians can claim that we know our Fulani compatriots fairly well. They certainly are not the sabre rattlers that Dr. Junaid Mohammed often makes them out to be. Every one of our nationalities brings some asset into the building of Nigeria. As for the Fulani, I would say that one of the greatest assets they bring is a capacity for calm and focused consideration of issues. As a young Nigerian in the 1950s, I was friend to Hausa-Fulani youths of my age in college. Later, in the Second Republic, when I was a Nigerian Senator, I had northern friends in the Senate as well as in President Shagari’s executive government. I would rate people like Senator Jalo Waziri, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of Senate (to whom I was vice-chairman and frequent companion on international assignments), and my close friend, Adamu Ciroma, Minister in the Shagari presidency, as among the best statesmen who have ever participated in the governance of our country. In spite of our political and policy differences, President Shagari won admiration across party lines because of his calm, warm, and friendly leadership qualities. Therefore, when he came visiting my part of Nigeria as President, I very gladly led the welcome committee in my Senatorial District – and very proudly helped him to put on, in front of an enormous welcoming crowd, the big Yoruba agbada that a king in my Senatorial District presented to him.

    I think that Dr. Junaid Mohammed is being unfair to the Hausa-Fulani leadership of Northern Nigeria by presenting them often as people who have only war to offer as solution to Nigeria’s problems – or as people who can think only of war as the way to get their position upheld in the politics of Nigeria. What we often witness in him – his almost invariably threatening war – can only be a personal weakness, even though he always comes posing as a significant leader among his Hausa-Fulani people. There are people who, even though they are intellectually gifted, have a natural predilection, when considering difficult issues, to jump lazily or impatiently over all available options and go straight to the last, and least sensible, option. In the history of societies, such characters might be useful when conflicts have actually started; but when society still has the chance of sorting its problems out in calm and civil ways, such characters simply do not belong.

    Among the present generation of Nigerians, Dr. Junaid Mohammed deserves to be regarded as one of our country’s intellectuals. It is therefore shocking that he would dismiss something that very important segments, and probably most of the leaders, of Nigeria have openly endorsed and are openly demanding. Nobody reading Nigerian news in the past three weeks can fail to see that a Sovereign National Conference is an idea whose time has come among our people. Admittedly, a strong groundswell of support for an idea does not necessarily prove that it will succeed, but leaders of society should not simply reject such an idea off-hand. Nigerians have a right to expect a prominent citizen like Dr. Junaid Mohammed to examine deeply and dispassionately this major development concerning our country. The idea of a Sovereign National Conference may have its risks, but if we are united and determined to make a success of our country, and if we are determined to use a Sovereign National Conference for that purpose, we can do it. Since we all accept that our country is buffeted by terrible problems, any individuals or groups among us that choose to resist change stubbornly are, in effect, saying that the collapse of our country is acceptable to them.

    It is shocking too that Dr. Mohammed seems to say that national sovereignty conferences always fail. He may be right that it failed in some countries. But there are very many countries where, in spite of the risks inherent in it, it has succeeded. The 13 American colonies rebelling against Britain in the late 1700’s used a National Sovereignty Conference to forge themselves into a new country – to produce a Declaration of Independence and a federal union. In Britain, a Sovereign National Conference produced the agreement that allowed the Republic of Ireland to come out of Britain in1921. In more recent years in Britain, it has produced agreements that have given Scotland and Wales their own national governments inside Britain – what the British call “Devolution”. In India in the 1950s (after Pakistan had seceded from India), a Sovereign National Conference produced the agreement whereby Indians restructured their federation, made the linguistic nationalities the basis for their states, created 28 states, made the federal government weaker and the state governments stronger than before, and allocated a lot more revenues to the states together than to the federal government. In Indonesia, Sovereign National Conference is now producing the effect that the Indonesian government has abandoned the practice of automatically declaring war against provinces seeking to secede, but, instead, now pursues a policy of granting them local autonomy. In the Union of South Africa in the 1990s, National Sovereignty Conference created the agreements whereby, surprisingly, Black and White South Africans amicably became one country. There are tens of other examples in various parts of the world. A Sovereign National Conference can be a very powerful instrument of nation building – if it is sincerely pursued and carefully organized and managed.

    Dr. Mohammed repeats the old cliché, often heard from the North, that all who are demanding a Sovereign National Conference are really seeking to dissolve Nigeria. Wow! When will the proponents of this camouflage give it up? There might be some who want Nigeria dissolved. But all? Isn’t it time we began to deal in sincerity with one another in this country?

    Finally, Dr. Mohammed says that a Sovereign National conference cannot solve Nigeria’s problems such as illiteracy, corruption and poverty. But certainly, he must know that the real argument for a Sovereign National Conference is that it can solve the fundamental problem of Nigeria – namely, the awful uncertainty about the basis of our nations’ relationships in Nigeria, resulting in a chaotic federal structure and instability. If we sort this out and have a stable country, we will increase our chances of beating our country’s secondary problems.

    The temptation to hold resolutely to narrow ethnic ambitions is strong in Nigeria. If it does not yield, we will have to part – even if that involves, as Dr. Mohammed says, wars. Dr. Mohammed loves saying that his own nation is not afraid of war. Well, I don’t know of any Nigerian nation that is afraid. I know that most Nigerian nations think, rightly, that wars are needless. He also loves to say that, in war, his North has advantages over the rest of Nigeria. Well, Hitler was sure that his Germany had irresistible advantages over the rest of Europe. Such thoughts are always expressions of folly.

  • Singapore: Lessons for Nigeria

    The legendary Lee Kuan Yew was 90 on September 16. Regarded as the father of modern Singapore, he was the foundation Prime Minister of independent Singapore from 1965 till 1990. For the period of 25 years that he held office, he transformed Singapore from a third world country to a first world status, from developing to developed and from a consumer nation to a productive one, relying virtually on self confidence, discipline, respect and indigenous ways. Singapore is a country of three million people consisting of Chinese (75.4%), Malay (13.6%) and Indian (8.6%) respectively. It is an island flanked by Indonesia and Malaysia with a population of 200 million and 29.24 million people respectively. Singapore is a country that was not given a chance to survive; but not only has it survived, it has also become one of the countries with a leading per capita income and an investor’s destination.

    Singapore was originally part of Malaysia, and significantly a British marine outpost that depended mainly on tourism and local manufacturing. In spite of minimal land mass and development, Singapore chose to go independent of Malaysia in 1965. It was a decision taken by Lee Kuan Yew and his team fraught with a huge risk, but with faith and hard work they stuck to their decision. As Lee Kuan Yew stated in his books, some countries are born independent while some achieve independence. In the case of Singapore, independence was thrust upon it by circumstances. From the beginning till he finally stepped down in 1990, it was the hard decisions taken by Yew and his colleagues that made Singapore a financial hub and an investment destination.

    His book, From Third World to First World: The Singapore story, 1965-2000, is segmented into three broad parts; “Getting the Basic Right”, “In search of space- Regional and International”, and “Winding Up”. Yew and his team showed determination both in public and private to move their country forward. Beneficial diplomacy, trade by barter, technological transfer and robust human capital development were measures that contributed to Singapore’s success story. We could see the effect of determination of one man’s wish to build a country from scratch; the building of the armed forces, industries and reserves for the development of the people. Singapore looked inward for the development of the country. Land was reclaimed to build a gigantic airport; a former colonial naval base was converted to a dockyard (for ship repairs and building), a former colonial settlement was turned into an industrial estate generating employment for numerous Singaporeans, former military complex converted into a university, also a military airfield converted into a civilian use for small cargo planes and commercial aircraft and British tunnels and bunkers preserved and building turned into a clubhouse for leisure and recreation. It is noteworthy the institute of Technical Education Services of Singapore is today supporting Nigeria’s Industrial Training Fund (ITF) efforts towards efficient training for Nigerians.

    Yew not only wrote about Singapore but also about countries contiguous to it. Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, Philippines, East Timor and Hong Kong with a special mention of Malaysia where 90% of water for Singapore comes from; and Indonesia with which it seems to be having a running battle. His writing is illuminating for the valuable information provided on the happenings within Southeast Asia. One could see how a country like Cambodia had faced intractable conflicts for over 27 years. Also, how Vietnam tackled the US. More pronounced is his focus on the hegemony of communism in Southeast Asia which Singapore was able to overcome.

    Singapore’s relations with superpowers- USA, Russia, Britain, China and France were given prominence in the narration, with greater commitments coming from USA than others. The Singaporean economy was modeled on the American economy but with guided regulations to protect citizens. He discussed extensively the country’s relations with Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India and Commonwealth countries. However, he delivered negative judgment on Nigeria and Ghana, countries he thought will be powers of Africa because of their resources. Yew had hoped Nigeria would rise to the commanding heights economically in the comity of nations. But the giant has remained in slumber. Ghana on the other hand, has recorded giant step through prudent economic management, infrastructural development and human capital development.

    One of the high points of Yew’s leadership was when he took a short sabbatical at Harvard University, USA in the autumn of 1968 after being in office for 8 years to recharge his batteries and faced the challenges ahead. That it is good for a leader to leave when the ovation is loudest cannot be over-emphasized. Yew knew this and did the right thing; he stepped down as Prime Minister in 1990 after being in the saddle for more than 30 years. This is an oddity in Africa. He is today a minister mentor while is son the Prime Minister. What makes Singapore work are social cohesion through the benefits of progress, equal opportunities for all and “meritocracy”, with the best man or woman for the job, especially among leaders in government. Singapore, a country of 640 square kilometers with no natural resources is today one of the Asian tigers with a resourceful economy, human capital and infrastructural development. This is a huge lesson for Nigeria. Nigeria can work given good and effective leadership, economic growth and infrastructural development.

    • Badejo is a staff of The Nation