The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • From the cell phone

    For Segun Gbadegesin

     

    Good morning sir, your article this morning is commendable but Mr. Governor should not relent on his transformation agenda. Thanks! From Kolawole, Ibadan

    Thank God for your observation of this good work going on in Oyo State cum West in general. Please do access other states and zones. From Myke, Enugu

    “Anikura baba omokomo, Akanmu baale jibiti.” The days of the hirelings are over in the West. Something good is happening in Oyo State. God bless Ajimobi and his fellow Southwest governors. From Akande, Ojoo, Ibadan

    Re: I see; therefore I know. Although before now, my flair was for Chief Rasheed Ladoja in sympathy for 2006 impeachment saga! With dramatic and sporadic infrastructural explosion by two year old administration of Governor Isiak Ajimobi, I am anxiously waiting to cast my vote for him and his candidates in the next elections; no controversy. From Lanre Oseni

    “I see; therefore I know” is reasonably encouraging to provoke further development of Oyo State.’yinni yinni,ki a le se mi in’. But the government must not rest on false glorification of acclaimed performance. We must continue to push him beyond limit, and above his vision or dreams. This will surely benefit, not the indigenes alone but all and sundry. From Alhaji Hon. ADEYCorsim, Oshodi, Lagos

    I cannot wait to read the good strides in terms of performance by some PDP governors analysis like this by you. From Fryo, Jos

    Not for publicity, Dr., l agree with you, it is very customary with the highly placed Nigerians attemping the distortion of facts weather deliberately or falsely, but the record will not lie, IBB or anyone can say anyting, but the record is there. Thanks for refreshing our memories, bravo sir! From Omo Oba, Lagos

    Dear Segun, to be candid, the Yoruba people are very wise for rejecting PDP. We in the South-south are hoping that INEC will register APC so that APC will deliver south south from the grip of the PDP. From Chuks, Delta State

    Opalaba would do well to visit our State of Osun and see wonders. Here is a state that has little or no financial resources, but is still being able to embark on monumental projects all across the state. It is indeed, ‘Government Unusual’, going by our indefatigable Governor’s slogan. May God continue to guide him. Anonymous

    Good day, sir. I read your interesting piece on the backpage of Friday’s edition of The Nation Newspaper. It was a good testimony about the good work embarked upon by the Ajimobi administration. However, I want to enjoin you to take a look at greater projects going on in neighbouring Ogun State where the entire state has been turned to a huge construction site with 17 major roads being reconstructed and expanded. Each of these roads have six lanes and about 10 overhead bridges are ‘growing up’ simultaneously. The first overhead bridge to be constructed by the state government in 37 years of existence had been commissioned in January with a six lane 2.4 kilometre road having all accompanying road furniture. I will be happy anytime you are chanced if you come around to see this massive reconstruction being executed under the Mission to Rebuild Ogun State of the Ibikunle Amosun administration. From Yusuph Olaniyonu

    For Olatunji Dare

     

    Its been 20 years now but you seem to nurture the general disaffection of June 12 to personal   bitterness. Castigating IBB everyday will not reverse the tide of history. Do you ever scrutinise the roles played by OBJ and others? Please grow up, after all, MKO was no saint. I hope you will be courageous enough to publish this text. From Suleiman Nwobasi, Port Harcourt.

    The truth of the matter was that IBB was not prepared to vacate office, but was forced by the Nigerian people. He cannot run away from the fact that he annulled the best election ever held in Nigeria and he created the foundation for the current political crises in the country. From Abdullahi Danja, Abuja

    Dare, good morning and thank you for your piece. What an apt title! But for your piece the self acclaimed evil genius would have succeeded with blue murder. All of us cannot be afflicted with collective amnesia. Anonymous

    Buhari and his northern parasites will still treat Asiwaju and his southern brothers, the way they treat Abiola and Awo. Dare, tell me what did Awo did not do to please these people? May history not repeat itself. Anonymous

    We have learned a lot from the annullment of June 12. As we all know, nobody is a custodian of knowledge except God. The deed had been done by the then military government headed by IBB, and consistently we keep on dragging on the same issues which is very dangerous to the unity of our nation. The man said he has taken responsibility of all that happened, so in that respect, let us forgive and forge ahead. If a man is running and he is looking behind, he is bound to fall. IBB is human not God, He is bound to make mistake. Let us forgive him. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa Lagos

    Thanks for your comment “IBB: A tormented mind at work”. If IBB has nothing new now Nigerians know better he should shut up. Anonymous

    Why does IBB think Achilles, the sleek Greek God- Man is most remembered for his heel? It is because that was his greatest weakness that ended his life. Insatiable love of power is IBB’s greatest weakness

    (Achilles’ heel), which was his reason for the annulment of June 12. That was his greatest offense against Nigeria as a nation. He will, forever, be remembered for June 12. From Jerome A. Adie, Calabar

    Your piece “IBB: A tormented mind at work” was another arrow well pieced at the man right at his heart if he has one at all. He is lucky he can be talking so sensely only in a nation like ours. For if it was like the Middle-east, one bad guy would have blown his head with just a bullet for what he has caused Nigerians. But let arrows like this continue to pierce through his heart. From Ayoga Obemnkpang

    I used to be an ardent and strong supporter of IBB before the anulment of June 12, 1993 Presidential Election. But, despite all the appeals and counsels from different quarters for him to de-annul the election, he refused, we need to pray to God on his behalf for forgiveness and failure to do that, posterity will judge him. From Laide Oguntimehin, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

    Uncle Dare, reading through your article, “IBB: A tormented mind at work” reminds me of what my History teacher said in my class one as,”History is the record of important events which has taken place in the past.” June 12 can never be wished away from Nigeria as generations will hear and read about it. From Akinlade Esther, Lagos.

     

    For Kunle Abimbola

     

    ‘Presidential anarchy’ has been the order of our govermental pattern. Our constitution intends a tyrannical democrat for our president. In Nigeria, the president, directly or indirectly appoints INEC, IG, CJN, COAS, and other notable appointments. So what do we expect? The National Assembly should rise up to her responsibities and save the nation. From Alhaj Hon. ADEYCorsim, Oshodi, Lagos

    Re: Presidential anarchy. Dear Abimbola, you raised some topical issues in your essay. President Jonathan, Mrs. Jonathan, Onyesome Wike, Mbu should tread carefully. Like every other things on earth, power is transient. They should tread carefully. Jonathan is moving to the wrong side of history so fast. Today is not for ever. Who will deliver us from this monster call PDP? Anonymous

    Olakunle, your Republican Ripples on presidential anarchy, hit the point. But, the jonathan presidency is suffering pschopatic lunacy, neurotic disorder inherited and political hallucination. But hear the prophetic truth; Jonathan’s presidency is doomed. It will keep sliding down until it expires in complete disgrace. Mark my words. From Samuel

    Kunle, God bless you for today’s. We are watching where this lunacy we take us to. This is just the first stanza of a story of perfidy that can easily destroy a nation. From Tunde Akingbade

    A Master piece Abimbola even though you took a swipe at one of our revered elderstatemen Balewa. Dele Giwa timeless quote in one of his incisive article is still apt to this day: “power will serve as a burial ground for those who misuse it”. And to Gulak, Abati and co., a review of Ola Rotimi’s play may teach a lesson but truth is they never learn as those whom the gods will sacrifice will first make them mad. From A. A. Umar

    I hope the press will certainly save this country from sliding into anarchy. The press today has become trhe conscience of the natiom. It seems the President and his Dame have learnt nothing. Anonymous

    Sir, there is no other word that captures the heading other than presidential anarchy. You speak in metaphor which makes it an interesting reading. All what that are said therein are facts and facuals. Keep it up brother. Anonymous

    Dear sir, I enjoyed your write-up on presidential anarchy. There is no other word to describe it other than that. The truth is that Jonathan and his wife are very desperate for 2015 forgetting that no amount of compulsion or intimidation can earn him re-election if rigging is ruled out. He has performed so absmally bad that he does not deserve a re-election. Only time will tell. Anonymous

    You cannot be in Lagos and claim to feel the heat than we the Rivers people, leave Jonathan out of this! The truth is that we are tired of the tyrannical nature of Ameachi. He should stop using our allocation to water your likes! From Daboye Briggs esq., Port Harcout

    Re: Presidential anarchy. The Presidential rascality as being displayed in Rivers State’s issue must not be allowed to go unchecked. The President, his wife and some worthless politicians are the harbinger of the crisis. The Rivers’ issue is a replica of Bayelsa’s. The President is suffering from power madness/intoxication. 2015 and States elections are around the corner hence his excesses must be curtailed. The IG is a robot and ever prepared to play the script of his master and the reason the President is against state police. He must not be allowed to continue with his numerous undemocratic and insensitive actions, stop this monster. From Past Odunmbaku

     

    For Tunji Adegboyega

     

    Re: ‘The tragedy of victory’ (The Nation on Sunday of July 21). I commend General Alabi-Isama (rtd) for putting the records straight on the Civil War. However, why did he wait till now since ‘My Command’ was written? Hatred, envy and unnecessary cheap publicity which have made Nigeria to retard? A plus for the book. Finally, on the publicity for great contributors to Nigeria who linger in suffering – General Adekunle and Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi, I hope Mr Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives read their story at the book launch. Please help. From Lanre Oseni.

    Tunji, notwithstanding Brigadier-General Alabi-Isama’s misgivings about Adekunle and Obasanjo’s military exploits during the Civil War, the duo remain war heroes for their sagacity and military prowess. Please let the south-west governors come to the aid of General Adekunle before it is too late. From Barr. Moronkeji.

    You spoke our minds on Alabi-Isama’s book. But I wonder why the author failed to invite Obasanjo to the occasion; that aspect is faulty if he wants the public to believe him. OBJ is not a fool; he will reply him at the appropriate time. We need to appeal to Generals Gowon, Danjuma and Akinrinade to release their own memoirs and not go to their graves with the stories like Ojukwu. It is a shame the way the Federal Government treated Pa Akinkunmi and General Benjamin Adekunle. How do they expect to abate corruption? Let’s give kudos to Alabi-Isama for bringing one of the ills of the society- injustice – to the fore. Anonymous.

    I agree with you and I also said it at the book presentation that the real tragedy of the civil war victory is the neglected heroes. To the war veterans, it is survival of the fittest; it’s a nation’s waste of fine skills rather than opportunity for them to impart it. This used to be the desire of my late husband and war commander, Col Edet Utuk from Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. General Alabi-Isama should lecture young military personnel. They need what he carries. It is well. From Mrs Grace Utuk.

    The real tragedy of victory in war also includes the opportunity for opportunists to make egocentric distortion of facts. That, as I understand is the spur for Alabi-Isama’s pictorial account. From Kuteyi, R.R., Ondo.

    Your article on ‘The tragedy of victory’ is an interesting piece. However, I am surprised by your claim that Gen Benjamin Adekunle fought gallantly to preserve the country whereas he had been adjudged to have fought gallantly on both sides by killing …! My dad was a soldier under the 3 Marine Commando; was it not the same Adekunle that was quoted as saying he will shoot anything that moves in Biafra, including women, children the Red Cross, etc! A soldier without care for unarmed civilians! Gallantry indeed! As a journalist, you have access to information; so, correct me if I am wrong. Alani Akinrinade was a gallant soldier who demonstrated great gallantry to the extent that the Biafrans nicknamed him “Chinese” because they felt he was a hired Chinese mercenary. I am disappointed that Obasanjo abandoned his men. It’s a shame. Anonymous.

    Well done, Tunji for putting a soft side to the hard facts in your column last Sunday. Please help list out the ‘lies’ in My Command as exposed by Alabi-Isama’s new book on the Nigeria Civil War. From A. Oyeniyi.

    Your piece on Alabi-Isama’s Civil War memoirs is thought-provoking. It was a bourgeoisie war and not a class war which could have produced a society without the existing striking poverty. Nigeria under the present socio-economic order is a paradise for the bourgeoisie and an abyss of pain and penury for the toiling masses. From Amos Ejimonye, Kaduna.

    It is not in our leaders’ character to remember or take care of past heroes. They are only after how to enrich their own pockets. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State.

  • Stella Damascus blasts proponents of child marriage

    Stella Damascus blasts proponents of child marriage

    Nigerian movie star and singer, Stella Damascus, expressed her anger over the issue of child marriage being discussed in the Nigerian Senate in a video posted on YouTube on Monday.

    The actress expressed her deepest concern concerning the problem and found it appalling. She questioned why such matter should even arise in the house when Nigeria has better issues to grapple with (education, power).

    She wondered why a person like Senator Sani Ahmed Yerima is still a political office holder in Nigeria instead of behind bars.

    The Nollywood star also asked the Frist Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, why she has not done anything yet on the issue.

    According to her, the first lady has time to reply issues that do not concern her but chose to keep quite on the child marriage act. She described her silence as shameful.

    She urged Nigerians to stand up and address the issue as sitting down and doing nothing makes them partners to the crime.

     

    Click here to watch the video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c_knQ-XpR3s

  • Still on the state police

    The on-going political impasse in Rivers State and its implication on the socio-political stability of the country has once again brought to the front burner the need for a more scientific and better managed police force.  The fact that an elected governor of a state is not sure of his safety under the present arrangement makes it expedient for the creation of state police.  Indeed, if  it is true, as it is being alleged in certain quarters, that the Rivers State police authorities are guilty of complicity in the crisis, by joining forces with the powers- that- be to make the state un-governable for Governor Rotimi Amaechi, then it is time for us to give serious consideration to the whole question of state police.

    If the governor that is constitutionally regarded as the chief security officer of his state could no longer enjoy the trust of his state’s police commissioner, it is obvious that the system that is currently being operated is weak and faulty. One finds it rather absurd that the Rivers State police commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu, who was quoted in some national dailies to be calling Governor Amaechi a despot still occupies his seat. If the Inspector General of Police should by any means publicly insult the person and the office of the president, would he have stayed a day longer on that seat?

    A state governor, as the chief security officer of his state, in an ideal setting, ought to have the control of police stationed in his state. The current trend where the Police Commissioner in a state will have to take orders from Abuja concerning security issues in a state, is, to say the least, quite pathetic and unfortunate. Imagine the many agonies of Governor Amaechi as he helplessly watches the police authorities in his state, which is being partly funded by his government, turn against his administration. Imagine what he, as chief security officer of the state, could have done to stem the dangerous drift in his state. Poor man! What a frustrating experience it must have been for him when he could not even vouch for the loyalty of men that police his official residence and even his person.

    Paradoxically, almost all the governors in the country are investing heavily in the various police commands in their states. In Lagos State, for example, the government in the last 13 years has invested billions of naira on the state police command as well as other security organs in the state. In fact, the first Security Trust Fund to be established by any government in the country was initiated by the Lagos State government. Similarly, the governments of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, and Ogun states, to mention but a few, are examples of states that have invested hugely in security. Now, does it not amount to double standard that a governor bears such a huge responsibility, which in the first place should be that of the Federal Government, only for the system to turn around and deny him unhindered control of the same institution?

    It has been argued in some quarters that state police is nothing but a recipe for anarchy. Those who hold this view believe that it could lead to abuse of power and political vendetta by the various state governors. Others are of the opinion that it could lead to political turmoil. The reality, however, is that the present centralised structure has, over the years, been subjected to limitless abuse by the central authority. If state governors could manage other institutions of governance there is no reason why they cannot manage state police. The combined team of LASTMA, Federal Road Safety Commission officials along with the police are all collaborating and complementing one another on Lagos roads to maintain traffic and instil discipline in motorists. Just imagine Lagos roads with just only traffic police in control!

    The truth is that Nigeria is too large and complex to be policed centrally. In an ideal federal system, the issue of state police should not be a contentious matter, after all, in the First Republic, there were regional police and local police existing side by side the federal police. If we are really serious about overcoming current security challenges in the polity, the time to embrace state police is now. If our country must progress, the big question should be who is even afraid of state police and why?  Could it be that some people are comfortable harassing their real and perceived enemies with the current arrangement, or why is it that the police is always the ready tool of oppression whenever the Abuja lords want to settle scores with their opponents?

    State Police is an important component of true federalism and emblem of authority of governance, since sovereignty is divided between the central authority and federating state authorities.  It is not a new concept in Nigeria, but is rather a clamour for modification to the colonial legacy of Native Authority Police which successfully worked alongside the Nigeria Police Force till the 1970s before it was abolished and integrated into a single Nigeria Police Force by the military oligarchy (who had an infamous sojourn into politics) to achieve their unitary command system. The Native Authority police was very effective as a tool for combating crime and maintaining orderliness that time, though with some excesses and abuses typical of the party politics as it was played at that time.

    Today, party politics is more mature and robust than it used to be in time past. Though the 1999 Constitution provides for a single federal police, this precludes states from taking charge of the protection of lives and properties of their people as Chief Security Officer and denied them the emblem of authority.   It was this central nature of the police that gave the killers of the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Uncle Bola Ige opportunity to hatch their plan with ease. If Nigeria is really a federation, centralized system is a constitutional lacuna that must be addressed through constitution amendment to pave way for State Police.

    It has also been argued that many states cannot afford the cost of establishing and maintaining state police. It is worthy to note that the primary and most fundamental responsibility of any government at whatever level is the protection of lives and property of its citizenry. This is the cross they swore to carry and fortunately, no State has complained that it is too heavy for her to address.

    On a final note, State Police is a necessity in a federal system like Nigeria if we are to effectively combat crime as it is being practiced by other federating units the world over.  Given the required political will, we can successfully and efficiently operate State Police in the country. The time has come for us to give the subject the desired attention and we can no longer shy away from this.  God bless Nigeria!

    • Ibirogba is Lagos Commissioner for Information and Strategy

  • George Zimmerman, Not Guilty: Blood on the Leaves

    The not-guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial came down moments after I left a screening of “Fruitvale Station,” a film about the police-shooting death of Oscar Grant four years ago in Oakland. Much of the audience sat quietly sobbing as the closing credits rolled, moved by the narrative of a young black man, unarmed and senselessly gone.

    Words were not needed to express a common understanding: to Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin, the seventeen-year-old he shot, fit the description; for black America, the circumstances of his death did.

    The familiarity dulled the sharp edges of the tragedy. The decision the six jurors reached on Saturday evening will inspire anger, frustration, and despair, but little surprise, and this is the most deeply saddening aspect of the entire affair.

    From the outset— throughout the 44 days it took for there to be an arrest, and then in the 16 months it took to for the case to come to trial—there was a nagging suspicion that it would culminate in disappointment. Call this historical profiling.

    The most damning element here is not that George Zimmerman was found not guilty: it’s the bitter knowledge that Trayvon Martin was found guilty. During his cross examination of Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, the defense attorney Mark O’Mara asked if she was avoiding the idea that her son had done something to cause his own death.

    During closing arguments, the defense informed the jury that Martin was armed because he weaponized a sidewalk and used it to bludgeon Zimmerman. During his post-verdict press conference, O’Mara said that, were his client black, he would never have been charged. At the defense’s table, and in the precincts far beyond it where donors have stepped forward to contribute funds to underwrite their efforts, there is a sense that Zimmerman was the victim.

    O’Mara’s statement echoed a criticism that began circulating long before Martin and Zimmerman encountered each other. Thousands of black boys die at the hands of other African Americans each year, but the black community, it holds, is concerned only when those deaths are caused by whites.

    It’s an appealing argument, and widespread, but it’s simplistic and obtuse. It’s a belief most easily held when you’ve not witnessed peace rallies and makeshift memorials, when you’ve turned a blind eye to grassroots organizations like the Interrupters in Chicago, who are working valiantly to stem the tide of violence in that city.

    It is the thinking of people who’ve never wondered why African Americans disproportionately support strict gun-control legislation. The added quotient of outrage in cases like this one stems not from the belief that a white murderer is somehow worse than a black one but from the knowledge that race determines whether fear, history, and public sentiment offer that killer a usable alibi.

    The thousands who gathered last spring in New York, in St. Louis, in Philadelphia, in Miami, and in Washington, D.C., to demand Zimmerman’s arrest shared a narrative and an understanding of the past’s grip on the present. Long before the horrifying images of Martin lying prone and lifeless in the grass ever made their way to Gawker, he’d already begun inspiring references to the line about “blood on the leaves” from Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit.” Those crowds were the response of people who understand that history is interred in the shallowest of graves.

    Yet the problem is not that this case marks a low point in this country’s racial history—it’s that, after two centuries of common history, we’re still obligated to chart high points and low ones. To be black at times like this is to see current events on a real-time ticker, a Dow Jones average measuring the quality of one’s citizenship.

    Trayvon Martin’s death is an American tragedy, but it will mainly be understood as an African-American one. That it occurred in a country that elected and reëlected a black President doesn’t diminish the despair this verdict inspires, it intensifies it. The fact that such a thing can happen at a moment of unparalleled political empowerment tells us that events like these are a hard, unchanging element of our landscape.

    We can understand the verdict to mean validation for the idea that the actions Zimmerman took that night were those of a reasonable man, that the conclusions he drew were sound, and that a black teen-ager can be considered armed any time he is walking down a paved street. We can take from this trial the knowledge that a grieving family was capable of displaying inestimable reserves of grace.

    Following the verdict, Sybrina Fulton posted a benediction to Twitter: “Lord during my darkest hour I lean on you. You are all that I have. At the end of the day, GOD is still in control.” The Twitter account of Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father, features an image of him holding Trayvon as a toddler, a birthday hat perched on the boy’s head. At the trial, they sat through a grim procession of autopsy photos and audio of the gunshot that ended their son’s life. No matter the verdict, their simple pursuit of justice meant amplifying the trauma of their loss by some unknowable exponent.

    There’s fear that the verdict will embolden vigilantes, but that need not be the concern: history has already done that. You don’t have to recall specifics of everything that has transpired in Florida over the past two hundred years to recognize this. The details of Rosewood, the black town terrorized and burned to the ground in 1923, and of Groveland and the black men falsely accused of rape and murdered there in 1949, can remain obscure and retain sway over our present concerns.

    Names—like Claude Neal, lynched in 1934, and Harry and Harriette Moore, N.A.A.C.P. organizers in Mims County, killed by a firebomb in 1951—can be overlooked. What cannot be forgotten, however, is that there were no consequences for those actions.

    Perhaps history does not repeat itself exactly, but it is certainly prone to extended paraphrases. Long before the jury announced its decision, many people had seen what the outcome would be, had known that it would be a strange echo of the words Zimmerman uttered that rainy night in central Florida: they always get away.

    • Culled from The New Yorker

     

  • Police and Rivers’ crisis

    In any democratic society, the police are the organ of government used for enforcing the law or maintaining public order or preventing and solving crime.  A major instrument or strategic devise that the police use to realize its law enforcement goals is its investigative powers.  The investigative powers of the police enable them to pry into any criminal matter, real or imagined.

    Equipped with its investigative powers, the police can invite anybody for questioning in matters related to the commission of crime.  The powers of the police to invite citizens for questioning are not even limited to cases directly reported to it.  The police can invite a citizen for questioning even for the mere suspicion of being a party to the commission of, or intention to commit, a crime. In fact, in Nigeria, the constitution grants the police the powers to investigate public officials who are even protected from criminal prosecution under the immunity provisions of section 308.

    However, just like every other thing in life, the investigative powers of the police are not absolute and open-ended. The police, for instance, do not have the right or power to investigate citizens on matters that border on their civil liberties which include the right to free speech and expression. Section 39 (1) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) maintains that, “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference”. What this means is that an invitation to a citizen for questioning by security agencies on the basis of what he or she published in a newspaper is tantamount to an assault on the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    For the avoidance of doubt, the phrase “Civil liberty” is “a person’s right to say or do what he or she wants provided it is within the law.”  Of course, when a citizen says or does (writes, etc) something outside the bounds of the law, the issue becomes a libel case.  Now, the word “Libel” means “a false written or printed statement that damages somebody’s reputation or to harm somebody’s reputation by publishing a false statement”. Yes, once a published material slanders anybody or institution, it becomes a libel. However, a libellous material, cannot under any circumstances, become a criminal matter for police investigation.

    The truth is that in spite of the enormous investigative powers of the police in crime matters, the police cannot investigate a libel case. An aggrieved party in a “libel case” can only sue for damages, if the offending party refuses to retract a false statement or tender an apology to the party offended by a publication which veracity cannot be vouched for.  The position canvassed here holds because libel cases which originate from the interpretation given to a published statement or opinion by an aggrieved party can only be decided by the courts, not by the police. There is no provision anywhere in our statutes for the police to criminalize libel cases and investigate them.

    The issue in contention here is the published statement by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly that appeared as an advertorial in The Nation of Wednesday, May 15, page 12, titled, “Disruption of Democracy and Rule of Law – Anarchy Looms in Rivers State,” addressed to the President. Amongst other things, the advertorial pointed out that “the situation in Rivers State has reached a fever-pitch, as there are strong indications that the Governor; Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the legislators and prominent government officials have been marked for assassination, following series of reported nocturnal meetings held in the neighbouring state and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory  (FCT)”. This quoted paragraph of the advertorial probably captures the essence of the matter for which the Rivers State Commissioner of Police decided to invite the Rivers’ Speaker for questioning.

    However, a critical appraisal of the headline, including the phrases used in the advertorial, indicates that the Speaker was only drawing the attention of the public to the activities that have the potential of engendering anarchy in Rivers State and disrupting democracy in Nigeria. For instance, the use of the phrase “strong indications” in the advertorial only means a “suggestion that such incidents are possible or likely to happen” whenever the security details of the affected officials are withdrawn. There is nothing in the statements to suggest that the advertorial was reporting a definitive plot by some people to assassinate the Governor of Rivers State or other government officials, to warrant an investigation by the police.

    From the arguments made so far in this discourse, it should be clear, even to the uninformed that the advertorial in question was just an opinion expressed by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly on the deteriorating state of security in Rivers State. It was not a report to the President or the police about the commission of, or intention to commit, a crime by some Nigerian citizens. It must therefore be the height of duplicity for Joseph Mbu, whose activities in Rivers State should be the subject of a presidential inquiry, to turn round and invite the Speaker for questioning, as if the published advertorial, on its own, is a criminal matter for police investigation.

    It is difficult to see how any rational mind could fault the contents of the published advertorial and successfully pursue a libel case.  For instance, where the advertorial suggested that there where plans to withdraw the security details of prominent government officials in Rivers State, as a prelude to their possible elimination, the evidence was all over the place with the reduction in the security apparatus of the Speaker and the withdrawal of the police guards attached to the Chief of Staff to the Governor and some local government chairmen. Who does not know that once the security details of government officials are withdrawn from them that they may be prey to violent attacks from criminal elements or even prone to assassinations?  And this was the point the Rivers State Speaker made in the published advertorial for which Mbu wants him investigated and prosecuted.

    Now, if the police that has the constitutional duty to provide security so that the state assembly can carry out its responsibility to the people have refused to do so, who does not know it may have to do with the fact that the Rivers State police command may be a party to the grand plan to ground activities of the state legislators until they recall the suspended Nsirim-led leadership of the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area? And this, again, was the point the Rivers State Speaker made.

    In all honesty, the advertorial is simply an opinion expressed by the Speaker on the unfolding political and security drama in Rivers State.  It was not even a report to the President of Nigeria to investigate a matter.  In this wise, the police cannot deploy its investigative powers to invite the Speaker for questioning over a publication that he simply used to exercise his right to free speech or expression.

  • Wande Abimbola, the Ifa corpus and Yoruba culture

    Wande Abimbola, the Ifa corpus and Yoruba culture

    Any discourse of Yoruba culture in today’s global world of cultural flux generates both awe and worries. On the one hand, the Yoruba culture constitutes one of the significant international cultures. Yoruba culture is diasporic in terms of substance and influence. Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico, the United States of America, Benin Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mexico, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, and even unusual places like Italy, Germany, and Japan host not only people of Yoruba descent, but also Yoruba music, religious practices, dance and arts, etc. The awe of the Yoruba culture therefore derives from its multifactorial yet unique manifestations all over the world. However, the same Yoruba culture faces a serious dynamics of national and religious dissonance aggravated by the dominance of Christianity and Islam in national and global affairs.

    Yet, we live in a world taken over by terror and pain and war in which the function of religion has been critically bastardised and very little credible space seems left to hang on to. Any talk of religion is usually met with a loud rebuff of scorn and doubt that doubts the possibility of religion contributing anything but discord to human affairs. This is especially so within the Nigerian context which is torn apart by religious strife that has taken many lives and further damage the fragile national project of national unity.

    Yet diversity is for us no more a slogan, its reality. Indeed, even to be able to harness the value of transformational leadership, we require team spirit and teamwork. To realize this strength, it should be obvious; we have to demonstrate respect and tolerance towards the opinion and beliefs of others while holding on to the good things in us. We however cannot respect a belief that we do not have even modicum of knowledge about, a measure of ignorance which breeds suspicion and distrust which is at the root of terrorism and murder in the name of faith. If we are to teach tolerance to our children, they must know and appreciate the views of other people. In fact, every religion teaches man to be good and therefore, has its positive aspects. Our education system must take a lead in this regard.

    It is within this confounding context that Prof. Wande Abimbola—scholar, teacher, administrator, author, founder of the Ifa Heritage Institute, Nigeria and pioneer historian of Ifa—wants to inject the therapeutic message of the Ifa corpus, the core of the Yoruba culture, as the spiritual panacea for a humanistic reconsideration of our unity.

    However, a certain concrete and persistent apprehension remains. On the one hand, the Yoruba culture, in spite of its diasporic strength and achievements, is fast declining due to the lack of pedagogical and curricula backstopping of its relevance. On the other hand, any attempt at pursuing what seems like an ethnic project in Nigeria today remains vastly unpopular. Yet, like Francis Bacon, Prof. Abimbola would argue that “All colours will agree in the dark.” In other words, for him, since Nigeria faces a dark time in which the national project confronts its worst fear since the Civil War, all plausible national remedies should be considered. Abimbola’s remedy is simple: the Ifa corpus contains a cultural/religious dynamics that could inject a spiritual elixir into the embattled national project?

    Cultures generally serve an anchoring function that enables a person to cope with the vicissitudes of one’s human condition within the context of familiar cultural experience and those who make it happen. In this sense, we become who we are by virtue of some form of cultural moulding. Any culture therefore serves a two-fold purpose—as a framework by which we perceive events, and as a compass for navigating the future. For Amiri Baraka, “‘culture’ is simply how one lives, and is connected to history by habit.” For most people today, however, religion seems to be taking over as the prism through which we perceive and orient ourselves.

    I understand the dynamics of a cultural and religious interface, having grown up in Awe—with its own unique place in Yoruba history—at the intersection of the Yoruba cultural and Christian religious upbringing. In fact, I benefitted from the mutual toleration which allowed me not only to go to church or follow my grandmother to the mosque (and participate in all the ceremonial and religious exercises demanded by the two religions), but also to be educated in a deep cultural training rooted in the very essence of Yoruba heritage, for which reason I celebrated Ali Mazrui’s Triple Heritage concept. I learnt and practice a social reciprocity which excluded no one. Hence my worry about the impending demise of a cultural heritage that has so much to contribute to our sense of belonging as one people in Nigeria.

    The religious and philosophical dynamics of the Yoruba culture constitutes its resilient core in a world of cultural flux. The core can be specifically located in the migratory element that is intrinsic to Yoruba cosmology itself which links its diasporic spread to its unique history. For instance, the founding of the world is a function of a migration of the deities from Olódùmarè to the earth and their consequent dispersion all over the world. Furthermore, there is also a historical rendering of a myth which sees Aláàfin Aólè (c. 1789-1796) placing a legendary curse on the Yoruba: “the Yoruba people will be taken as slaves all over the earth”. This was followed by the firing of an arrow each to the four corners of the world.

    The challenge of this cosmological and historical fact of migrating Yoruba cultural values is essentially our ability to harness their utility for a Nigerian renaissance which facilitates a tolerant framework presently missing in the national project. Professor Abimbola’s entire life is dedicated to the enunciation of the intrinsic worth and relevance of the Ifa Corpus as a philosophico-religious panacea for religious and national harmony in Nigeria.

    The Ifa corpus lies at the heart of the Yoruba thought system. It contains not only the ground for validating Yoruba cosmological beliefs, social norms and cultural practices, but also serves as the basis for pathological, emotional and pharmacological diagnosis for the body and for the society. In this regard, there are two senses of Ifa which Wande Abimbola’s reputation as a sound scholar has lend credence to as a veritable framework for resuscitating a sense of unity for Nigerians. The first is Ifa as a body of knowledge and wisdom incorporated into the Ifa literary corpus established on historical, cosmological and mythological bases, and Ifa as a divinatory process that feeds on this body of wisdom. Thus, apart from its intrinsic value as a repository of traditional knowledge among the Yoruba, the Ifa literary corpus also serves, according to Prof. Wande Abimbola, as a pragmatic framework for rethinking the moral vacuum that has endangered politics as a noble profession in Nigeria: “Our indigenous ideas, values and religions are beautiful. And they work.”

    Wande Abimbola would recommend the tolerance principle or cognitive openness embedded in the Ifa corpus as a genuine indigenous cultural property which could stimulate the diversity project in Nigeria. We are many people attempting to be one. For instance, the Òtúrá Méjì poem illustrates Òrúnmìlà’s openness to his children becoming Muslims. Thus, for Abimbola, Ifa recognises the possibility of many people united in their respect for the individual humanity and collective destiny. In spite of my religious affinity as a Christian and avowed belief in God, I am still willing to recognise and celebrate the immanent humanism underlying the Ifa cultural framework, its deep well of values and classic wisdom gems as well as the significance of a well-founded cultural upbringing. It serves as the basis for relating and tolerating our multidimensional humanity within the context of the Nigerian state.

    We are therefore immediately alerted to the necessity of a pan-Nigeria consciousness springing from a sense of reciprocal spirituality that sees the humanity in another first before getting a glimpse of their differences. That is the sole message that Wande Abimbola preaches through the Ifa literary corpus. Just as his 1997 book states, Ifa Will Mend Our Broken World—the deployment of the wisdom gems contained in the Ifa corpus possesses the capacity to serve as one of the spiritual dynamics of tolerant accommodativeness we can call upon in a world dominated by terror, heartbreak, poverty, religious hatred and ethnic jingoism. If I am asked about the ultimate value of the Ifa corpus which Prof. Wande Abimbola preaches, I will say with conviction: It is the search for a spiritual bond of oneness.

    – Dr. Olaopa is Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Abuja. tolaopa2003@yahoo.com

  • A nation of perverts and paedophiles

    A nation of perverts and paedophiles

    Senator and former Governor Ahmed Sani, the Yerima Bakura, has finally had his way. The Nigerian Senate has bowed to his will and agreed to be silent about the age that young girls can get married in Nigeria.

    What this means once it is followed through and enshrined in our laws and constitution is that girls that are as young as 9 years old, providing they are deemed as having been ‘’physically developed enough’’ by their suitors, could be lawfully bedded and married in our country.

    That is the sordid level that we have now, as a people and as a nation, degenerated to. I weep for Nigeria and, perhaps more appropiately, I weep for the Nigerian girl child. Yet we have no choice but to live with this new reality and to accept it as it is.

    After all, our representatives in the sacred halls of the Senate were not sensitive enough or ‘’man enough’’ to shoot down the whole thing, to stand firmly against the unholy agenda and to say boldly and firmly that ‘’come what may’’ our children must be protected from sexual deviants and reprobates.

    And since the Senate, in its infinite wisdom, has now endorsed the “Paedophile Charter” which essentially seeks to make it lawful and constitutional for very young girls to get married and to have sex, it is my view that we have now become a nation of perverts and paedophiles.

    Every Nigerian should bow his or her head in shame as from today because what the Senate did yesterday, and seeks to do in the future, by beginning the process to amend our constitution in order for it to cater for the filthy appetite and godless fantasies of child molestors and sexual predators is sordid, ungodly and unforgiveable.

    Surely we ought to be seeking to protect our children and not seeking to bed them. Yet it appears that not everyone shares our outrage and collective sense of shame. One Uche Ezechukwu made the following contribution which went viral on the social media networks and which I think speaks volumes. He wrote-

    “Those who are railing against ‘paedophile’ senators, like Yerima Bakura, must be told that a Muslim can’t go wrong while imitating the examples of the Apostle of Allah himself and the founder of his religion, in the same way a Christian cannot be criticised for following the examples of Jesus Christ. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) married Aisha at the age of six and consummated the marriage when she was nine. So, why are we judging Muslims by our own standards?”

    I am appalled by these words. The truth is that I have never heard such a self-serving and specious argument in defence of the philosophies and beliefs of the Ayatollah of Bakura, Senator Ahmed Sani, the practising paedophile who married and bedded a 12 year old Egyptian girl, as this one.

    Ahmed Sani himself could not have argued it better. Yet I think that it is an utter shame. And this is more so because the individual that is putting the argument is supposedly a Christian. The Old Testament of the Holy Bible prescribes ‘’stoning’’ for adultery but that does not mean that Christian countries, or indeed secular states like Nigeria, should stone adulterers.

    Neither does it mean that we should preserve the institution of slavery or crucify petty thieves simply because the Holy Bible endorsed both practices in the Old Testament. We must accept the fact that the interpretation of biblical and koranic provisions are evolutionary and are ever changing. Jesus Himself said ‘’laws are made for man and not man for laws’’.

    The suggestion that paedophilia has any place in any modern and decent society simply because it was once practised in the distant past is not only a despicable argument but it also does not make any sense. After all, cannibalism and child and human sacrifice were once widely practised and were held as being perfectly acceptable throughout the world as well, but that does not mean that we should practice any of those terrible vices today.

    The man, Uche Ezechukwu, who appears to be defending child rape in the name of Islam, should either let someone lay with and ‘’marry’’ his own 6 or 9 year old daughter or he should seal his lips forever and stop trying to defend the indefensible.

    His assertions, and I daresay those of Senator Ahmed Sani and anyone that shares their primitive views, are not only utterly immoral and reprehensible but they are also intellectually dishonest. I say this because the truth is that there is NO Muslim country in the world that has adopted the “paedophile charter” where 6 or 9 year olds can marry and be bedded except for possibly Saudi Arabia and Iran.

    Every other Muslim country in the world, including Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Egypt, Jordan, Senegal, the Sudan, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Qatar, Bahrain, Dagestan, Albania, Bosnia, Somalia, Algeria, Libya, Mali, Azerbijhan and Syria have specifically banned child marriage, paedophilia and child rape in their various constitutions and laws and some have declared it ‘’repugnant’’, ‘’unacceptable’’ and ‘’un-Islamic’’. Are these people not Muslims too?

    Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam is a noble, pure, honourable and ancient faith that seeks to protect the weakest and most vulnerable in society, including children. No-one should use the misinterpretation of its provisions to try to justify or rationalise what is essentially depraved, shameful, disgusting and barbaric behaviour and the most sordid and filthy expression of sexual deviance and perversion. Even animals do not marry or bed their own infants. The bitter truth is that paedophiles have no place in any civilised society.

    I am constrained to say that in the light of their “yes” vote to child marriage and their green light to paedophilia, every single member of the Nigerian Senate should bow their heads in utter shame and they should be compelled to offer their own infant and under age daughters for marriage. I repeat, they have turned us into a nation of perverts and paedophiles. I say a pox on all their houses.

  • Counting the cost of insecurity

    Counting the cost of insecurity

    Mali has made a peace deal with the Tuareg separatist rebels which hopefully will pave the way for lasting peace and order to return to the troubled country. In Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan has made overtures to the Boko Haram insurgents to end the three-year war they have levelled against this country, but the insurgents have rebuffed every olive branch dangled by the federal government.

    So, now the question: What does Boko Haram want? This question becomes pertinent after they resumed their attacks in a more ruthless fashion, when the government’s military offensive against them abated. The insurgents have invaded primary schools, killing scores of children and their teachers in savage attacks that must not escape the radar of the International Criminal Court, ICC, which someday may summon these guys to answer for their crime against humanity. Terror groups elsewhere do not target children or schools the way Boko Haram is doing.

    Apart from the estimated 5,000 deaths recorded in attacks by various terror groups, including the military offensive, the cost to our already dysfunctional economy is unbearable. The Nigerian led African intervention force spearheaded by France when Mali was about to fall to advancing Tuareg rebels, to save that country from being seized by the Al-Queda back rebels.

    The Nigerian government made that timely move because it was reported that the Boko Haram insurgents were involved in the broad coalition of terror groups in the Islamic Mahgreb, who were helping the Tuaregs to try and topple the Malian government. The French-led rescue force arrived to push back the rebels when they were about to storm the Malian capital, Bamako.

    The Nigerian military operations in Mali cost this country millions of dollars. This is no wasteful spending considering the pre-emptive nature of the intervention. The anti-terror war against Boko Haram , MEND and other armed groups is taking a heavy toll on our finances. Just recently, the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, advised the Jonathan Administration to resist the temptation to overspend on the current military operations in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states because of its dire implications for the economy.

    Sanusi said: ”The committee noted with caution the high gross domestic product growth projection in view of the extant risk factors such as widespread insecurity, weak infrastructure and probable flooding from the projected heavy rains in some parts of the country.”

    The state of emergency in the North-East and the accompanying military operations in that axis have the potential to adversely affect economic activities generally, including agricultural production and food prices as well as consumer demand. The economy of the north has virtually collapsed because of Boko Haram activities.

    Let us pray that the Mali peace holds together. But there’s the larger threat of prolonged instability in the entire Sahel region, where Al-Qaeda’s influence appears to be growing. Though seriously weakened after the killing of Osama Bin Ladin and some of his key lieutenants by U.S forces, the terrorist network appears to be regaining capacity with the enlisting of regional terror groups like Boko Haram, the Tuareg islamists and Al-Shabbab of Somalia into its ranks.

    The Arab Spring has created a new wave of instability in the Middle East. Several splinter groups fighting in Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria and Egypt are now in possession of heavy weapons. With the war not fully over in places like Libya where remnants of pro-Gaddafi forces have retreated to the deserts and villages up north, there are chances that Al-Qaeda could infiltrate those guerrilla forces and launch terror wars in vulnerable states of Sub-Sahara and East Africa.

    Therefore, beyond our successful peace-keeping efforts in Mali, the federal government must begin to fashion out a comprehensive long-term anti-terrorist strategy to checkmate likely extension of an international terror campaign to Nigeria. We cannot be sure that the peace process in Mali will last, given the experience of Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood government was toppled. To this end, President Goodluck Jonathan must begin to think outside the box concerning our country’s long-term security because ultimately, we can’t depend on foreign super powers to protect our territory.

    Although no one doubts the belligerence capability of the Nigerian Armed Forces, its track record in the local fight against Boko Haram shows that they do not have the expertise in this highly specialised, sophisticated war against terrorism.

    Unlike Mali and the Ivory Coast which still enjoy some political affinity with France, we have no such strong defence ties with Britain or the United States that could prompt a direct military intervention from them if our country’s security is in such a grave danger.

    Even though the commander of the U.S African High Command, AFRICOM, Gen. Carter Ham has visited this country twice in the last twelve months in the wake of the Boko Haram insurgency, nothing concrete has come out of those visits beyond some feeble pledges to help Nigeria. AFRICOM, meanwhile, is based in Stuttgart, Germany, not on African soil.

    Like Paul Collier of the Oxford University said: “Europe is still willing to kill for Africa, but its militaries have no appetite to die for Africa”. President Jonathan must find a way to benefit from America’s know-how in counter-terrorism warfare either through technical assistance, training of our forces or direct military cooperation without compromising the sovereignty of our country.

    •Rev. Okotie, a pastor-politician, wrote from Lagos.

  • Opeyemi Bamidele’s selective amnesia

    Opeyemi Bamidele’s selective amnesia

    In a democratic dispensation, anyone has a right to aspire to any political office so far he is constitutionally qualified for that post. I have watched for a while now the political developments in Ekiti State, especially within the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) where a member of the House of Representatives, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, seems to be lurked in a battle for the governorship seat with the incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

    Without being unnecessarily critical of Opeyemi’s ambition, the constitution allows him to realize his ambition and this is despite entreaties from his party leadership to forgo it so that the party can consolidate on the achievements of Fayemi which many daily applaud. The party leadership has also acted within its rights by endorsing the incumbent for a second term for two reasons, I guess: (1) it is always dangerous and politically unethical to rock the boat from within, as it could ruin the party. So by stepping in, the party leadership is only trying to keep its house in order and not lose what it presently has; (2) allowing an incumbent to go into primaries could greatly polarize a party and leave aftertaste of unamenable differences. This is why in the United States of America, an incumbent has a right to a second term in office unless he wishes otherwise.

    As much as I do not begrudge Bamidele the right to contest as Ekiti Governor, I am not however comfortable with most of the statistics he has been bandying about in his bid to sway public opinion in his favour.

    Opeyemi, in an interview, stated the following: “The Ekiti State that I see is an Ekiti of 494, 000 buildings and out of this we still have a situation where only 64, 000 houses have water closets. And over 219, 000 houses still rely on the use of pit latrines and over 34, 000 still rely on nearby bushes to defecate. That is the Ekiti that I see. Again it is not about Dr. Kayode Fayemi but we must face the kind of situation that we know. The Ekiti that I see is that one that out of the 494,000 houses only 90,000 houses have pipe borne water; over 214,000 houses still rely on well and fetching water from nearby streams and rivers. The Ekiti that I see is where only 23,000 houses use gas and electric cookers and 207,000 houses still rely on the use of firewood to cook their meals. The Ekiti that I see is one where only 18,000 houses can boast of electricity while over 289,000 houses lit their lanterns with kerosene. That is the Ekiti that I see. People should then understand if I am not on the street celebrating like some other people are doing. But I feel that the least I can do is to continue to encourage those who are there to put in their best rather than us trying to mislead them. The Ekiti that I see is one that still grapples with the problem of over 25,000 people who are blind, over 7,000 people with hearing defect and over 9,000 people, according to the population census, with speaking defects. The Ekiti that I see is one with over 6,000 disabled people in the area of mobility and one with 1,700 mentally ill persons in the various rehabilitation homes and on streets in the state. That is the Ekiti that I see.”

    Listening to Opeyemi reel out these statistics, the unintelligent may applaud him for being brilliant with numbers, but the truth is that these statistics are based on 2006 census and Opeyemi must be saying there has been no development in Ekiti since 2006 to still be going about with the outdated figures. Worse, the outdated statistics-garnished statement of Opeyemi is now being selectively posted on several sites on the internet and one cannot but wonder what correlation these 2006 statistics have with the present realities in Ekiti and why Bamidele is trying to be clever by half with such statistics. For instance, in 2006, 539, 825 were never married. Will this statistic still be relevant in 2013? Are there not people who got married in Ekiti since then?

    The reality is that over 400, 000 people have so far benefitted from the free health mission of the Fayemi administration while over N125 million has been doled out to financially handicapped persons to take care of surgical and chronic ailments within and outside the country between October 2010 and April 2013. When Fayemi took over in 2010, the maternal mortality rate was 420 per 100, 000 live births as against the current figure of 135 per 100, 000 live births. The value of drugs dispensed in the state has increased from N11, 038, 007.77k to N25, 926, 398.93k due to increase in demand and utilization. In 2010, only 45% percent of women in Ekiti had more than 4 ante-natal care visits from pregnancy to delivery, but as at July 2012, 10, 787 women had registered for ante-natal care under the Fayemi administration free health programme. This is just a fraction of the 112, 395 people who had registered for the programmes by July 2012. Of this figure, the aged account for 51.15%. Besides all these improvements in the health sector, the state’s Unified Drug Revolving Fund has been adjudged the best in the country, as attested to by NAFDAC boss Paul Orhi when he paid a visit to the state.

    Everyone conversant with the present-day realities in Ekiti is aware of the increasing number of households and that houses in the state must have surpassed the 2006 census figure of 494,000 houses. Bamidele’s house in Iyin-Ekiti was at least built after 2006. One also knows that the minimum wage in 2006 was N7,500 as against N19,300 (an increment of 1,500%) currently enjoyed in the state. With this, the living conditions of many have improved, so is the number of houses with water closets, thus bringing about a reduction in the number of people who defecate in the bush. Those bushes are even fast disappearing, especially in major towns, with the increasing number of houses. How then did our governorship-fixated representative come about the 219, 000 who still rely on pit latrine and 34,00 who defecate in the bush?

    Anyone who is familiar with happenings in the Land of Honour will in good conscience know that more aged people who had hitherto been going to bed hungry are now living well because they are given N5, 000 monthly stipend by the state government. The number of needless deaths, especially maternal mortality and infant mortality, has also reduced owing to the free health policy of government for the aged, pregnant women and children under the age of five. Crime rate is also reducing because the youth are gainfully employed in schemes such as the Ekiti Volunteer Corps, Ekiti State Traffic Management Agency, the Fire Services and many more. Many of these youth who could have been drawn into crime are gainfully engaged by the state government. Presently, more of these youths are being absorbed into the teaching service.

    Roads are being constructed and rehabilitated. New structures are springing up. Ikogosi Warm Spring and Ire Burnt Bricks Industry, which have been abandoned for years have been revived, renovated and remodelled, thus providing employment for more people and drawing tourists into the state.

    These are what we see. These are what other states see and are emulating. The Ekiti State social welfare scheme for the aged, first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, has been implemented in states like Osun and Bayelsa.

    These are the current statistics in Ekiti State, not the 2006 census statistics Opeyemi Bamidele is maliciously spreading.

    • Olufemi writes from Igede-Ekiti, Ekiti State

  • Kwankwaso’s example in discipline

    Much unlike the wedding ceremonies of the high and mighty, the wedding Fatiha of the son of Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Mustapha RM Kwankwaso, went almost unnoticed. There was no display of ostentation or flamboyance. To most residents of Kano and scores of government officials, the wedding could have been a rumour due to total absence of media hype and the low-key manner of event.

    This event is a lesson to our party-loving leaders who do not only squander public funds on jamborees at home but go an inch further to junket abroad and organise wedding bash. The new dismaying craze is junketing to Dubai, UK or America to tilt the till in the name of marriage ceremony. Ideally, ceremonies are private matters that should be handled privately, but in Nigeria it is elevated well above state matters. While other governors use the opportunity of ceremonies to flaunt both their affluence and influence by inviting innumerable notable personalities to add glamour to the event, Gov. Kwankwaso thinks otherwise as only a handful of political associates and close relatives and allies attended the low-key event.

    However, it is not only on the occasion of his son’s wedding that Kwankwaso displayed sense of simplicity and frugal management of public funds; he is one person whose sense of discipline always manifests in every facet of his life. Kano’s financial discipline under Kwankwaso is second to none. He would rather give you a million from his pocket than to unjustifiably give you N20,000 from the treasury.

    The governor’s moral discipline is also very strict. You cannot see his son or other members of his family jumping from one office to another in order to secure contract, interfere with the official duties of government officials or curry favour. Kwankwaso is one person who does not brook indiscipline at home or in office. Towards safeguarding the image of his family and abiding by the dictate of the constitution, the general public may note that there is no ‘Office of the First Lady’ in Kano. Also, there is no any special allocation or vote in whatever guise that is channeled to his wife as obtained elsewhere.

    What interests me most in the penultimate Saturday’s wedding Fatiha of the governor’s son was that Kano roads were not blocked, the airwaves were not inundated with jingles, the television stations never got a simulcast of the event from government, the pages of newspapers were not adorned with bride and groom’s photos, no billboard was erected to show the beaming faces of the celebrants, no procession of motorcade of dignitaries. This is Kwankwaso’s Kano, a state where public funds bear their name — public funds. What is meant for the people will certainly go to the people as justified by the executed and on-going projects taking place in Kano today.

    As a member of the organizing committee of the wedding, we initially planned big, thinking that the governor would accede to our demand for a grand event. But the term of reference given to us left us rolling our eyes out: That government will not use a kobo from the treasury to finance the event, that invitation should only be sent to those residing in Kano, that the wedding Fatiha should only hold at the weekend in order not to bring inconveniences to the public, that no single announcement of the wedding should be placed on radio, TV or in newspaper, that vehicular movements must not be hampered around the city, that no contractor or public office holder should be consulted for ‘contribution’, that musicians (however low-profile) must not be invited… The list of the ‘dos and don’ts’ reeled out by the governor is just endless.

    Even the wordings in invitation card were also made to appear so simple and devoid of pride as the governor struck out titles of the family patriarch, a respected traditional title holder in Kano. It is the most artless wedding event I have ever seen!

    As American motivational speaker and author, Jim Rohn, says “We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.” The first American president George Washington capped it all as he observed that “Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.”

    No doubt Kwankwaso’s discipline in the discharge of his official duties, coupled with his selfless service to the people, is what makes that small number of his team “formidable” and as George Washington would say, “procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.”

    Because of the governor’s financial discipline, he saved about N3.2 billion on the cost of the Jakara river channelization project, which was hitherto estimated to cost N8.7 billion. When the project specification and estimates were submitted to the government, the governor ordered for a painstaking re-assessment of the project proposal, as a result of which the cost was reduced and the design was modified for good. According to the governor, the amount saved was channelled to payment of scholarships for students from the state studying in various local and international institutions.

    It is also the fruits of discipline that make Kano save N500 million monthly. This was due to the pruning down of the over-bloated overhead costs and other recurrent expenditures of the ministries and MDAs. The governor once explained that he could build a flyover (similar to the one currently under construction) every year with just the money he saved from overhead costs, which were hitherto embezzled by the previous administration.

    With 2013 budget allocating 75 percent for capital projects and 25 percent for recurrent expenditure, it is trite that Kano’s helmsman is deeply concerned about welfare of his people. Kano is the only state where there is no infamous security vote. Whatever is spent, however little, is appropriated and justified.

    • Sani wrote from Nassarawa GRA Kano.