The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Enhancing the lives of millions Nigerians

    Enhancing the lives of millions Nigerians

    Within the hour in which you read this article, nearly 20 women will die in Africa.

    Those deaths will not occur from road accidents or flooding. They will not arise from sickness or war. Instead, they will happen to women in the prime of their lives through complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

    Sadly, those 444 women will lose their lives on the way to giving life; a carnage that is even more remarkable because it is avoidable.

    These deaths are taking place despite the fact that every African nation made a solemn commitment to reduce maternal death when they pledged their support to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    Nigeria’s maternal death rate is Africa’s highest. It is second in the world only to India’s. In fact, while Nigeria represents only two per cent of the world’s population, it accounts for over 10 per cent of the world’s maternal deaths.

    UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and its partners are working together to help African leaders deliver a future where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

    At country level, UNFPA is pleased to note that Nigeria’s Saving One Million Lives (SOML) initiative is improving health outcomes by facilitating the delivery of life-saving medicines.

    However, the National Survey of Modern Contraceptives and Essential Life-Saving Maternal and Reproductive Health Medicines in Public Health Facilities, which was conducted by the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Population Commission in December 2011 in 567 health facilities, reported that while there was increased availability of reproductive health medicines, key stocks of basic life-saving medicines for maternal health were all in short supply.

    To its credit, the Nigerian government has continued to work in collaboration with partners to support maternal and child health at all levels to achieve its goals and to advance efforts to achieve MDGs 4, 5 and 6.

    But if we are to really deliver for women and girls, we need effective policies, innovative financial mechanisms, enhanced accountability, aligned and transparent budgets, and systems and programmes.

    We also need dedicated people who will work towards clear and measurable targets to improve maternal health, and our efforts must be coordinated for maximum efficiency.

    Most of all, we need sustained commitment, and the support of leaders like President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, who is the co-chair of the UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children.

    As co-vice-chair of the commission, UNFPA wants to ensure access to the critical supplies needed to save women and children. We are helping increase financial and political commitment to the implementation of its recommendations, with strong support from leaders in the Global South, especially the government of Nigeria.

    We believe we have a strong ally in this government because President Jonathan offered his generous commitment in New York in September, when he spoke about the forthcoming high-level meeting this October in Abuja to discuss the commission’s recommendations.

    Their implementation is part of UNFPA’s broader mandate as the UN’s principal global inter-governmental organization addressing issues of reproductive and maternal health, including voluntary family planning.

    Achieving this vision will change the lives of millions of women and young people all over the world. Yet, support for these efforts is shrinking at a critical time, when the world population has surpassed seven billion, and with close to two billion young people entering their reproductive years.

    Some 222 million women currently have an unmet need for family planning in developing countries. Fulfilling this unmet need would cost $3.6 billion annually, but current data shows that this investment would actually lower the cost of maternal and newborn health services by $5.1 billion, resulting in a net total savings of $1.5 billion.

    UNFPA has also taken the lead in efforts to increase access to female condoms as part of its work to foster high-impact interventions.

    Condoms, both male and female, are currently the most available technology to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as unintended pregnancies among sexually active people.

    But female condoms, in particular, are hard to find. Its ready availability on a global scale is a challenge that the international community, political leaders and civil society must urgently address.

    The challenge before us all is to work together if we are to improve the well-being of women and children and help ensure Nigeria reaches the MDGs by 2015. To that end, we at UNFPA are calling upon all stakeholders, from government leaders to health-care workers to NGOs, to make voluntary family planning available to every Nigerian.

    This will make a positive contribution to Nigeria’s economic development. But even more importantly, it will significantly enhance life prospects and save millions of women and children.

    • Osotimehin is Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund.

  • Combating the threat of flooding

    Combating the threat of flooding

    Flooding is a global phenomenon that has continued to constitute a major threat to cities and indeed nations across the world. At present, in most major cities of the world people are being displaced and in some instances killed by ravaging flood similitude of the Noah period described in the Holy Bible. With the prediction of more rains by experts, most cities of the world are currently battling with the reality of a flood ravaged year.

    In Nigeria, the magnitude of flooding being presently experienced is, without doubt, beyond the scope of agencies and organisations responsible for handling national emergencies. Various parts of the country are currently grappling with the destructive consequences of flooding. In states such as Kogi, Plateau, Anambra, to mention a few, people are faced with various threats of different environmental hazards. In Kogi, for instance, the people now live in awe of dangerous reptiles such as snakes and crocodiles.

    The extent of the damage caused by flooding has made the federal government to come out with a ‘Marshal Plan’ of action to bring relief to victims of the disaster as well as guiding against future occurrence. In an early morning broadcast last week, President Goodluck Jonathan assured Nigerians of his government’s readiness to tackle the danger of flooding in the country. Aside from promising to release funds to three categories of states hit by flooding in the country, President Jonathan equally set a committee consisting of eminent Nigerians with the primary objective of raising fund to provide succour for flood victims across the country.

    From the foregoing, it is quite clear that flooding is no longer a situation that can be politicised. Recently when the Lagos Bar Beach experienced a surge, the opposition in the state tried, though unsuccessfully, to give the natural incidence political colorations. In its bid to find its voice, at all cost (even if it means being insensitive to the plights of victims of the ocean surge), the opposition ridiculously and callously called for the resignation of the governor state over the matter. How laughable! Now that almost half of the states in the country are in danger of flooding, do we call for the resignation of all the governors? Or better still, do we call for the resignation of the President?

    Moments of natural disasters offer unique opportunity for the people, irrespective of political and religious dissections, to bond together and collectively tackle the misery created by the force of nature. When the United States of America faced, perhaps, its darkest moment in the wake of the Al-Qaeda assault, its people were united in forging a common front against global terrorism. No wonder President Obama of the Democratic Party was able to finish what former President George Bush of the Republican Party started when he finally nailed Osama Bin Laden. This is a clear demonstration of the fact that human lives are too precious to play politics with.

    If not for the proactive measures which the Lagos State government has been taking with regards to the environment in the last 12 years, the flood situation in the country would have been more devastating. What we experience in Lagos anytime it rains is mere flash flooding which is natural to most coastal places. This is the outcome of the amount of work that the state government has done in sanitising the environment in recent time. Ironically, when the state government started its environmental regeneration programme, which led to strict enforcement of regulations that had been evaded for long, the same group of people that are now employing the flooding incidence to cause mischief were quite vocal in their condemnation of the programme. When the state government was converting hitherto abandoned loops into parks and gardens, they were the ones that thundered: ‘is it flowers we will eat’?

    Being a natural occurrence, flooding often time defies scientific solutions. Clearly, public safety and good sense call for scientific response to flooding. However, while upgrading environmental infrastructure is important, engineering fixes alone will not suffice. According to renowned ecologists Donald Hey and Nancy Philippi, despite the massive construction of levees throughout the upper Mississippi Basin during the 20th century, annual average flood damage during that time more than doubled. Consequently, what is needed across the country is a comprehensive plan to add ecological infrastructure to complement engineering infrastructure -specifically to expand wetlands and re-activate floodplains so as to mitigate future flood risks. Re-creating wetlands and re-activating floodplains in strategic locations will result in a more robust and resilient flood protection system. With more extreme weather and devastating floods likely in store in the months ahead, according to experts, public safety and economic security depend on enlisting nature’s defences along with our engineered ones. Instead of letting this ecological infrastructure degrade further, the federal and state authorities should work to expand and rebuild it.

    Furthermore, certain negative practices easily aid flooding. Despite, the availability of civilised options for waste disposing as provided by Lagos Waste Management Authority and its other PSP partners, people still turn canals, streams and drainages into refuse dumping sites. It is so bad that while it is raining, people come out to toss their refuse into the flowing water body. No matter the level of government’s preparedness at tackling flooding, such practices would continue to negate its goals. As much as the government is doing its bits, NGOs, Community Development Associations, the media, members of the Civil Society and all well meaning individuals and groups in the state should partner with the state government to achieve attitudinal change towards the environment.

    Perhaps, more importantly, states being affected by flooding should judiciously make use of the federal government intervention fund. They need to take a cue from Lagos State which has been investing heavily in the recovery, rehabilitation and construction of several drains such as the Macgregor, Achapo, and Orile Canals that are constantly being cleaned up. A major channel called System 5, which runs all the way from Surulere, down to Apapa, through Orile and through Ajegunle, has equally been dredged. At the last count, aside from routine maintenance that runs into thousands, major construction and drainage works completed and on-going are in excess of 500.

    On a final note, to avert future disaster, there is need for effective collaboration among emergency response institutions, across the country, to ensure to ensure swift response thereby reducing the number of causalities. To those that have incurred one loss or the other through the recent flooding in the country, one can pray that the Lord give them the fortitude to bear the loss while those living in flood prone areas should vacate those areas for now. God bless Nigeria.

    • Ibirogba is Honourable Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lagos State.

  • Ondo elections and the Yoruba nation

    Ondo elections and the Yoruba nation

    The issues at stake in Ondo State as the governorship contest looms are quite dear to the discerming mind. It goes goes beyond the person of Dr. Olusegun or Aswaju Bola ahmed Tinubu. Any attempt to norrow the issue down to these eminent personalities totally misses the point. The central question is: What will advance the survival of the Yoruba nation in the tottering federation called Nigeria?

    International law clearly recognizes the right of nations within political states to self-determination and autonomy status.

    What is a “Nation”? A nation is a group/people with a common culture, language, destiny and social ambition. Where such a people finds itself clustered with other groups in a political state such as Nigeria, it is their right and prerogative to determine the terms of their association with such other groups. They may opt for integration and political participation into the political state by way of a federation or confederation if the circumstances are conducive. They may alternatively, opt for regional autonomy or self governance. Such a decision belongs to the group is a recognized and right under international instruments and principles – right to development, right to self-determination, control over natural resources, right of minorities etcetera.

    A political state also has its rights in international law – sovereignty and territorial integrity. The right of minorities and of political states have to be carefully managed and balanced and the path to achieving such balance is through discussion and negotiation. Where the discussion and negotiation are done in good faith, there is every likelihood that the political state will survive. However, where the negotiation or discussion is not done in good faith or even disallowed as in the Nigerian federation, then the result may be a collapse of that political state through war, terrorism or other forms political agitation culminating in secession as in India/Pakistan, Pakistan/Bangladesh, Sudan/South Sudan and Somalia.

    In the modern era, there is no truly homogenous political state. Most political states are an agglomeration of different people’s and cultures. One important hallmark of developed and successful political states is that they have managed the tensions of heterogeneity intelligently and sincerely. The United Kingdom went through its own period of political tension with the its Irish “tribe”. The Irish political organ Sinn Fein opted for armed struggle over a long period until the labour governments of Prime Minister Tony Blair and Gordon Brown agreed to regional self government for the Irish and the Scots.

    In Canada, the Quebec region consisting of the French speaking peoples of Canada has also achieved a measure of self-government leaving Canada in relative peace.

    In Spain, the Basque region has only recently worked out a truce with the central government and negotiation is being done to fashion out fresh terms of association.

    Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands have their own language and cultural divisions but these have been ably managed by the enlightened leadership of these countries.

    One common denominator in these various countries is that the nations with a nation have united themselves under a common political banner to advance their group interests and enhance their chances of stronger political bargaining and negotiation for the survival and advancement of their groups/nations.

    To my mind this is the raison d’etre for the existence of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) like its Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and Action Group (AG) predecessors. Many who complain that these are regional/tribal parties need to understand the political dynamics of heterogeneous political entities. Political parties are vehicles of advancing political interests and no party needs to apologize for this. The Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and at inception, up to a point, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had a core northern agenda. Late Sarwuan Tarka saw through the subterfuge of an ubiquitous “Northern Region” and formed, in the First Republic, a separate political entity to cater for the interests of the Middle Belt but myopically his successors did not follow through on that initiative and now they are reaping the results of their self-deceit with the present crisis in the Plateau. The Eastern Region had its NCNC, its Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) and now its All Peoples Grand Alliance (APGA). (Never mind, the inclusion a few persons firm other tribes to give it a national flavour). APGA’s inability to consolidate itself is one of the reasons why an Igbo Presidency will continue to be frustrated.

    For the Yoruba nation to advance its national, cultural and socio-economic interests in the Nigerian federation as presently constituted, therefore, all reasonable Yoruba sons and daughters should realize that their future, indeed their survival as a people lies in identifying with the ACN as a vehicle for ensuring the completion of the resuscitation and rescue of a Yoruba nation gasping for breath in the polluted by air political of Boko Haram, Northern irredentism, denial of equitable political participation, dwindling economic and social progress, and inept leadership.

    Consequently, the issue in the Ondo State elections is beyond Mimiko and the contrived personality disputation with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Personally, I am unable to comment on any alleged achievement of Mimiko in Ondo State as I have not visited the state in recent times, but I have been to Edo State and seen the giant strides of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and I do believe that the ACN does have a template for developing the states that fall under its sway so that a Rotimi Akeredolu, astute and competent as he is, works in tandem with a larger regional agenda..

    The issue is that the Yoruba need the ACN as a weapon of offence and defence against internal colonialism in Nigeria. Ondo people should not be the chink in the Yoruba armour.

     

    • Prof. Ibidapo-Obe is of Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.

  • The Governor as public intellectual

    The Governor as public intellectual

    In states with a history of display of intellect by their leadership, there is the tendency to dismiss the current leadership of Oyo State’s new-found romance with display of the cerebrum as a non-issue. In Oyo, renowned for its acronym as a Pacesetter but which had, over the years, lost both the pace and the setting potentials, as intangible as it may sound that its governor arrests national and international audiences with impeccable intellectual delivery, this is a major celebration for the people of Oyo State.

    In the recent past, Oyo State suffered terribly in the estimation of the world as one administered by a leadership that was everything but deep. Every anti-intellectual story that filtered from the state to the world then stuck as emerging from a familiar terrain. When miscreants of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW) reported to have permanent chalets inside the Government House, had their villainy and spillage of blood abetted by the state, this cohered with the perception of Oyo State as a state run by everything but intellectual leadership.

    But Oyo had not always been like that. For a state once run by geniuses like Bola Ige and Omololu Olunloyo to have relapsed that irretrievably became a song on the lips of dirge-crooners. Many analysts bemoaned the fate of Oyo, once administered by Ige, poet and literary icon and Olunloyo, mathematical genius and wizard of polemics, falling into the hands of such a vacant-minded leadership.

    Doubtless, this nostalgia to reconnect with a deep-minded past recommended the election of Abiola Ajimobi at the April, 2011 polls. Engaging polemicist and a man who can answer to a description of French author, Voltaire as one unusual brain homed in a human skull, his rich credentials as Managing Director of a multinational oil corporation persuaded the electorate that his could not be a replay of the vacuity of Oyo’s recent past.

    Having set on an even keel the construction of 199 roads, about 20 fallen bridges in the state, mobile health to the nooks and crannies of the state, treating almost half a million people in the process, Ajimobi, On September 20, 2011 set the ball rolling. His unspoken intention, no doubt, was to rebrand Oyo State as the intellectual capital of South West Nigeria that it had always been. Sitting on the same seat where Obafemi Awolowo sat to proffer those intellectual responses to the post-colony of Nigeria, it would be uncharitable of Ajimobi not to rekindle the flame of an intellectual incubator which Oyo had always been.

    So to Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, Ajimobi moored the intellectual boat. The hall was filled to the brim. Could anything good come out of Nazareth, the audience seemed to be asking. From an Oyo State said to be possessed of a leadership that valued necklace and bleaching cream? Decked in the academic hood and gown of a Guest Lecturer, the Oyo Governor went on an academic journey that struck his audience as unique and scintillating. Speaking to the topic, Challenge of Progress In The Midst Of Plenty, Ajimobi pleasantly shocked the institution’s Vice Chancellor, himself a foremost scholar on federalism, Eghosa Osaghae, who listened as the governor cited his journal articles of yore with astonishing rapidity.

    Then Ajimobi went into the nitty-gritty of the topic, dissecting it as a cheetah would an impala. He dissected the concept of crisis, submitting that it is at the core of the Nigerian nation and that it is impossible to take a shuttle into the Nigerian past without giving an ample space to its conflictual background. Indeed, while summarizing the Nigerian situation, Ajimobi said that the country’s post-independence situation was a long drawn-out decay or decline, whose empirical features are political instability, a low level of national cohesion and economic crisis, stating that all these indices, as far as Nigeria was concerned, are mutually reinforcing.

    He went into the post-independence Nigerian situation, especially during the First Republic where crises among the political class tore the republic apart. Thereafter, he went comparative on African experience of crises and expatiating on the interwoven nature of crises in Africa. “What makes conflict or a conflicting situation at the core of today’s globalized world’s concern” he began, “is its tendency to leave its border, making an internal conflict to burst out of its seams, and refusing to be confined within the borders of a single country… A good example of this could be found in the recent conflict situation that sprung up in Liberia in the 1990s. This Liberian crisis sowed the seeds of conflicts that eventually spread to countries like Sierra Leone, Cote D’Ivoire and Guinea.” The audience was enthused.

    And he drew the crises situation home, to the Oyo State example. At this stage, the university audience could not hide its delight at the depth of his analysis. Encouraged by the enraptured silence of the audience, Ajimobi went on: “You will recall the periodic violent skirmishes that our state was renowned for under this regime. Blood was shed at will as if in appeasement of some blood-sucking deities. Politicians became indistinguishable from thugs and motor-park kingpins. Inside this vortex was the state government which was said to be in cahoots with the motor-park kingpins. The very sad episode of the death of a notorious NURTW kingpin, who, with the support of the state godfather, took over our State Assembly in 2006, is still very fresh in our memory. .. Indeed, an NURTW thug moved the motion for the impeachment of the then state governor, hitting the gavel on the table in a manner reminiscent of how it is done in a sane legislative House. And rather than pronouncing the governor, who was the target of his patrons, he “the Speaker is hereby impeached”. The rest, as they say, is history.”

    By the time the governor finished delivering the lecture, the audience gave him a standing ovation.

    No doubt due to the news of his intellectual intervention, Ajimobi was again invited to deliver a keynote address at the Town Hall meeting held at the Dusable Museum of the African-American history, Chicago, United States. “The Need for True Federalism in Nigeria: The Oyo State Example” was the topic he had to do justice to.

    Ajimobi first went into the history of the contiguous territories of Nigeria’s 350 ethnic groups and the constitutional history of Nigeria, from Clifford, Macpherson to the current effort at constitutional amendments. He itemized the four phases of the attempt at federalism in Nigeria which he named to be, one, under colonial rule when Nigerian nationalists struggled for the enthronement of a federal system as an integral part of the political independence agenda; the post-independence era when the political class debated the political architecture bequeathed by the departing colonial power; the third being under military rule when Nigerians rose against elements of military unitary system that ran contrary to their federalist expectations and final phase which began immediately the present democratic dispensation started in 1999.

    The governor then went into the anti-federal nature of the Nigerian federal practice. “Extant laws that are anti-federal include the Land Use Act; the Laws on Petroleum and Gas that give these resources to the federal government; the Federal Inland Revenue Act of 2007 which empowers the Federal Inland Revenue Service to collect revenue for the three tiers of government, the Monitoring of Revenue Allocation to Local Government Act of 2005, which compels states to set up joint local government account committees and empowers the federal government to deduct from funds allocated to States money they failed to pay to local governments in the previous year.”

    He also went experiential in his governance of Oyo State. “From my experience as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 2003 – 2007 and governor of Oyo State since last year, I make bold to say that there are too many responsibilities and resources at the federal level to allow for efficiency. The federal government has become so big that it is theoretically and practically impossible to guarantee efficiency… There is no way, given the capacity of the bureaucracy at the federal level, that efficiency can be guaranteed in the deployment of resources in this circumstance.”

    By the time he ended the address, he had succeeded in drawing the attention of the foreign audience to the wonky federal practice in Nigeria, especially through his conclusion that, “For me, the federal government should be limited to setting policies – after consultations with the states – on areas like road, agriculture, sports, etc. while the states are granted the powers and resources to manage these responsibilities that affect the lives of our people at the grassroots.”

    It was apparent now that Ajimobi’s renown as a public intellectual had reached a crescendo. This must have informed the London Chamber of Commerce and Industries’ (LCCI) invitation to him to address it on the business potentials in Oyo State. Held at the…., the governor, speaking through a power-point presentation, took his audience on a shuttle into the historical greatness of his state, the stasis it relapsed into and the promise it holds for investors. As usual, at the end of the presentation, the audience, which comprised white investors and friends of Nigeria, gave him a resounding applause for his mastery of the turf and his exhibition of high mental acuity.

    Two days after, Ajimobi was at the prestigious Chatham House. Asked to discuss, extempore, the topic, “Review and Reform: Key Elements and Implications of Nigeria’s Constitution Review Process,’’ again, he received a standing ovation of his deep understanding of the issues under reference. By the time, the second day, the governor arrived at the University of Oxford to talk on “Federalism and the Imperatives of Political Restructuring for the Development of Nigeria,” the audience had been convinced that in its midst was an emerging public intellectual who, at lecture podia, theoretically dissects knotty issues, while at home, in his Oyo State enclave, he brings solutions to a people who still have nostalgia for a state that was a complete package of a performer and one they could be proud of his élan.

    Adedayo is Special Adviser (Media) to Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State.

     

  • New leadership paradigms to achieve strategic transformation

    New leadership paradigms to achieve strategic transformation

    AT the risk of stating the obvious, the easiest means to become a leader is by inheritance – as a prince or princess already adorned with the title of “Crown Prince” or “Crown Princess”. A variant of this is in the political arena where following the demise (or incapacitation) of the President, the Vice-President automatically becomes the new leader as was the case in Ghana where late President Attah Mills was promptly replaced by his Vice-President and in Malawi where late President Bingu wa Matharika was similarly replaced by his Vice-President, the formidable and feisty Mrs Joyce Banda. However, it is instructive that within a few days of becoming President, Mrs Banda has not only reversed a significant number of policies which her predecessor held sacrosanct e.g. the prohibition of the President of Sudan from attending the meeting of the African Union held in Addis Ababa. The International Criminal Court had issued a warrant for the arrest of the Sudanese President but Matharika had assured him that he would be welcome regardless of the threat by major aid donors such as the United States of America; Britain; France etc to withhold badly needed funds meant to sustain debt-ridden and landlocked Malawi.

    Transformational leadership theories emphasize the task and organizational integrity and this helps focus one’s attention to more appropriately defining a task. The transformational theories emphasize cooperation, ethics and community in addition to the higher human values. Long-range goals are emphasized which leads to increasing the survivability of a system. It has been showed in studies, such as in gaming theory, that cooperation, as opposed to competition, is more successful in achieving goals.

    Transformational leadership theories are adaptive and can be tailored to support the fulfillment of the most pressing of needs in people. There is greater stability of a leader’s position, as there is greater support by those who are being led. Transformational leadership theories can bring harmony to a situation that could otherwise be exacerbated by a quarrelsome organization. If one has an educated population, transformational leadership theories are more likely to work.”

    Even more startling was the revelation by Mrs. Banda that on assuming office she was shocked to discover secret files that left no doubt that her predecessor was actively enmeshed in the plan to assassinate her by sending a rogue lorry to ram into her convoy. Her salvation was that at the last minute, she had changed the car in which she was to travel while returning from an official engagement. Nearer home, there were allegations that the late General Sani Abacha the “maximum ruler” of Nigeria was neck deep in the plan to blow up a plane in which his second-in-command, General Oladipo Diya was expected to travel. Apparently, it was a sudden bout of “running stomach” that delayed General Diya from being on the plane to keep the appointment with certain death.

    Shortly afterwards, the tale developed a new twist. General Abacha charged General Diya and others with plotting a coup d’état.

    All alleged coup plotters were subsequently sentenced to death. It was only the sudden death of Abacha that saved them from the waiting bullets of the firing squad.

    In war-torn Ethiopia, the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who ruled from 1995 to 2012 took ill and died at the relatively young age of 57 years in a Belgian hospital on Monday 20th August 2012. He has been immediately replaced by the Deputy Prime Minister, Hailemarian Dasalegn who is expected to hold office until 2015 when the next elections are due.

    We should also reflect on the upheaval over change of leadership in Togo; Cote D’Ivoire; Senegal; South Africa; Democratic Republic of the Congo; as well as the trenchant cases of “Arab Spring In Africa” – Tunisia; Egypt and Libya.

    Of course we cannot ignore the marathoners – Robert Mugabe [Zimbabwe]; Angola, Teodoro Mbasogo (Equatorial Guinea); Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) who rule by fear and intimidation, combined with utter ruthlessness in eliminating opponents, rivals, potential successors or whoever is perceived to challenge their supremacy. They have no intention whatever of surrendering power under any circumstances!! Hence, the “Strategic Transformation” component in the title of my address is totally alien to this crop of dictators.

    “Of course, any thinking underpinning a system can be excessive and transformational leadership theories aren’t an exception to the rule. Whereas it can be argued that more can be accompanied through a collective action and this is justification for totalitarian states and one can also argue that any individual development, necessary for social competence, is reason to have a participatory society, such as a cooperative. Aristotle argued in his Politics that a society is strengthened with diversity in ideals and capabilities and as a result, democracy was a better form of authority. Game theory, as exemplified in the Prisoner’s Dilemma, supports the view that cooperation produces more results than competition and that the strength of the cooperation is enhanced when people of diverse backgrounds and capabilities are encouraged to participate in achieving the common goals and to make decisions collectively. The simple truth is that if everyone is involved in decision-making, they will be more committed to working to achieve making the ideal goal a reality.

    A test of the efficacy of transformational leadership theories could be how a group of island survivors fare. It is clear that if there is no cooperation, the chances of survival are greatly diminished. On the other hand, if the necessary tasks are of an urgent nature, there may be a need for a commanding person. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is an excellent scenario from which to draw lessons such as this. Transformational leadership theories could have brought harmony to this situation that ultimately turned out with the characters fighting each other to the point that some lost their lives because of the turmoil.

    The leader strives to exhibit the qualities of a good role model – must be paradigm of good character. S/he is the personification of the ideals of the system, its ethos and motivations driving the organization. The manner in which s/he leads is imbued with desirable human qualities, such as intelligence, compassion, noble ethics and exemplary courage. The leader is a counsel to the rest, lending his/her support to enhance the well-being of each essential member of the organization.”

    Regardless, we are obliged to deliberate on the profound issue of the search for “New Leadership Paradigms” which to my mind suggests that we need to define leadership and rise to the challenge of crafting a fresh road map that would hopefully lead to the emergence of new leaders who are distinctly different from mere rulers.

  • Ondo State is beyond Ukeh’s fantasy!

    Ondo State is beyond Ukeh’s fantasy!

    Our attention has been drawn to the vain and vacuous opinion essay, entitled: “Between reality and fantasy in Ondo guber” written by one Onuoha Ukeh on page 55 of Daily Sun of October 5. Reading through it, makes one to shudder at the lack of intellectual depth, thoroughness, balancing of unquestionable facts and figures and an unbiased perspective which should be the hallmark of the writings of a seasoned journalist. In fact, Ukeh’s lopsided essay, skewed in favour of the attention-and-sympathy-seeking governor Mimiko is a sad commentary on the quality of robust thinking expected of a public affairs analyst. One, who has failed, and woefully too, to substantiate his jaundiced opinion with credible empirical evidence. Even a paid piper should know which tunes to dish out at the village square of communal brain storming, meant for the good of all.

    For instance, he stated that: “I do not foresee an upset in the election. I do not foresee a change coming in Ondo state either. I only see a major opposition party talking tough, without making much effort to prove that it is a better alternative.” He added that: “In a free and fair election, it will be difficult to defeat a Mimiko in Ondo,” He went ahead to list the areas his Mimiko has achieved to include education sector, health, security and most laughable commerce!

    Obviously, he is not from Ondo State, nor has he visited there for an objective assessment and therefore, does not know where the shoe pinches us. He needs to be enlightened on Mimiko’s far below-the-par performance as a governor with the bare facts on ground. We know him for who he truly is-a profligate and prodigal son, whose antics we can no longer tolerate, if we want the indigenes to join the fast-moving train of the ACN–led progressives in the South-West geo-political zone.

    For instance, is Ukeh aware that over the past three and a half years Mimiko has not commissioned a single road project, and not even one in his home town, Ondo? That is, in spite of the whopping sum of N660 billion that has accrued to the state from the Federation Account during his tenure? Doesn’t he know that Akure where he built a water fountain lacks drinking water for the residents of the state capital, despite the N38 billion, his predecessor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu left in the coffers? Isn’t that fantasy in the realm of impactful governance? Has Ukeh not heard that the rural communities of Ondo state are groaning over lack of potable water and the impassable roads compared to that of the neigbouring Osun and Ekiti states, even after the N20 billion so far released from the N50 billion borrowed from the capital market? Has Ukeh not learnt that in spite of the much-touted Abiye Mother and Care Hospital in Akure, which he promised but characteristically failed to replicate in other Senatorial Districts, several hospitals and clinics scattered all over the state lack qualified medical personnel and quality drugs?

    Ditto for public primary and secondary schools in the state, lacking in solid buildings, state-of-the art laboratories and libraries,as well as the requisite number of qualified teachers. Yet, billions of tax payers’ money has gone down the drain in the name of wasteful Mega School projects. Otherwise, useful industries on ceramics, glass and tomato-paste production which he promised and for which huge sums have been allegedly expended are all lying prostrate across the state and you talk about commerce and industry?

    Truth is, the ill-informed Ukeh has rubbed salt on our open wounds and must listen to our total rejection for a self-aggrandizing governor whose pride of achievement is the building of market stalls and sinking of bore holes, inexpensive projects meant for local government councils. Here again, Ukeh made a controversial statement by comparing the successful re-election of Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state based on the parameter of sterling performance to what to expect in Ondo state come October 20. Contrary to Ukeh’s assertion, ACN’s “talking tough” will translate to votes for Barrister Akeredolu. For him to have stated that:” I have not seen anything that should sway voters to the (ACN) party” and that “ACN’s desperation to capture Ondo State …is because somebody wants to extinguish the Mimiko light in the South West politics” is a complete disservice both to his conscience and his self esteem.It stands logic on the head. Facts do not lie.

    Indeed, nothing could be more insulting for any Nigerian journalist who knows his onions not to have seen the monumental transformation that the ACN-led administrations in Lagos , Ogun, Osun, Edo , Ekiti and Oyo states have brought to bear on the quality of life of their people in less than half a decade. And that covers virtually all sectors of the economy; including solid infrastructure as visible in the motorable roads, water supply, environmental protection, healthcare delivery, education and transportation.

    These are the praise-worthy indices of good governance which respected Barrister Oluwarotimi Akeredolu’s ACN –led leadership is about to replicate in Ondo, for it to reclaim its lost glory to become the true Sunshine State . These, he has encapsulated in his well-received CREED FOR ACTION, the in-depth and well thought out manifesto made public as far back as April 11,while throwing his hat in the ring for the gubernatorial campaign. So sad, that while many respected media practitioners have hailed the verdant vision with the acronym of AKETI, Ukeh is still lost in the dark. Again, he and his ilk need to be educated on this.

    Simply put, AKETI stands for his envisioned policy thrust on the cardinal administrative features of Agriculture, Knowlege, Entrepreneurship, Technology and Infrastructure. These are the noble capsules of life-changing governance which would percolate to the grassroots. Specifically in agriculture, he has promised to shift the current over dependence on oil revenue to the development of intermediate and finished products from abundant cash crops such as cocoa, coffee, cashew, kolanut, cassava, cowpea and yams. Others include timber, oil palm and rubber. With the plan to establish a modern sea port, most of these would be processed to international standards, to earn the state and the nation the much sought after foreign exchange from agriculture, as it was during the First Republic, under the memorable tenure of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. It is for this reason that the ACN is clamouring for the full integration of the South-west geo-political zone, going by the increasing demand for true fiscal federalism.

    As it was such Knowledge delivered in a qualitative and free platform that made the old Western Region the envy of others. Akeredolu, unknown to Ukeh, has convinced Ondo people that education will be free and compulsory at the primary and secondary school levels. That all tertiary institutions owned by the state government will attract greater funding. Emphasis will be for sound and sustained human capacity development. Unlike Mimiko who blatantly refused to employ one additional teacher or pay them the agreed minimum wage in three and half years, Akeredolu will not only employ more of them to equate with the UNO/UNESCO standard of teacher-to-student ratio, but get them trained frequently and pay them well to produce the best of brains as Ondo State was well known for since the sixties.

    On Entrepreneurship and job creation, Akeredolu has promised 30,000 jobs within the first 100 days in office. It would interest Ukeh that even now, over 10,000 Ondo youths have so far filled their forms in this regard. Unfortunately, Mimiko, who Ukeh is praising to the highest heavens promised 3,000 jobs within the same time frame but deliverance remains a pipe dream. Why is this difference? The truth is that those youths have seen what Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Dr.Kayode Fayemi,who reclaimed their rightful mandates from the PDP have done in their respective Osun and Ekiti states in term of job creation.

    Of course, these would go hand in hand with more empowerment in Technology, as Akeredolu wants Ondo State to toe the lines of India , Cuba and the United States to establish its own Silicon Valley . Products of these will eventually apply their knowledge to build solid Infrastructure that will take the take it to greater heights in solid mineral/oil and gas development, tourism and the aforementioned agriculture. With these, Akeredolu will not behave like Mimiko, whose stock-in-trade is to rush to Abuja, cap-in-hand every month end for huge monthly allocations which he cannot account for.

  • Mimiko’s anti-Christ-tic

    Mimiko’s anti-Christ-tic

    Stiff-necked and rebellious! This is the Bible’s apt description of the collective obstinacy of the Israelites concerning God’s original plan to establish them as a divinely-chosen Model Community of God–for the instruction of man.

    Spiritual fable had it that after the fall of man at Eden, it was God’s primordial plan that an exemplary community of “believers and doers” in any one corner of the earth was sufficient to infect the world and thus pave the way for establishing God’s will on earth. Peoples of different nations, according to the fable, would simply come, from time to time, to the model city of Jerusalem, and in the practical life and ways of the”chosen dwellers” observe and imbibe righteous living.

    By and by, it was hoped, man would recreate lost Eden-on earth.

    And this divine plan although it necessitated an inequitable concentration of a line of prophet-hood in a chosen tribe, it should have –if it had succeeded- practically eliminated the necessity for God to come down in the flesh; let alone to suffer at Calvary. It was thus the collective and repeated failure of the Israelites to build Jerusalem for the Lord (in spite of the agency of a long line of prophetic instructors), that necessitated the advent of the Son of Man with an initial mission, the Bible says, to reassemble “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” and to give them one last shot at the divine project! But even with God right in their midst to help them push, the Israelites lost it!

    The electoral battle for the “lost sheep” of the house of the progressives in Nigeria is only a couple of days away in Ondo State. And the irony of it is that the case of the South-west has never been, like that of “the house of Israel”,one of a stiff-necked and rebellious people. South-westerners, collectively, have never been obstinate, self-harming bums!

    On the contrary the South-west has consistently been on the experimental Bunsen burner as the veritable model community of progressives –and one from whence good governance, in an oft-betrayed Nigeria, may finally take its centrifuge. But the region, ironically, has always been held back, not by the failure of a ‘collective’but each time by the heady, cantankerous, self-harming antics of one political renegade or the other. A case of lone-political-cooks always angling to spoil the broth, you might say. What with an Akintola in the First Republic throwing spanner in the works; or an Akinloye in the Second Republic rocking the boat; or yet an OBJ, of most ignoble memory, playing Judas! And what now with a visionless, tribe-hating Mimiko playing the political anti-Christ!

    Yes the anti-Christ of the Progressive South-west. Because anti-Christs have no better reason for swimming against the tide of the Will of God than their retrogressive passion to sustain a sinful status quo in the world and to pull humanity down to damnation! Else how can anyone rationalize Mimiko’s obstinate stand in the way of an only chance for the bastion of the progressives to properly seal the proportions of defense in their life-long efforts to create Nigeria’s only model community of righteous political action. All is on throttle to power the shuttle of the leading opposition party, the ACN, to infinity and beyond but Mimiko opts to have his black leg right on the decelerator.

    And although Mimiko is less than deft and astute, politically; he is nonetheless not altogether politically naïve. He knows the consequences of his action and it appears he is prepared to pay the price –for pulling a lonely furrow in the face of a renascent South-west ardent at self rediscovery and whose disciple-governors have at last brought alchemy to the political science of governance. Because the question is: what does Mimiko want? A second term! And which every first term governor covets. Often at all cost. But the irony of it all is that Mimiko could have had it all at no cost; simply by keeping his word to his progressive-benefactors: and then leaving his pot-holed, capsizing boat to hop on board the ACN Saviora. But that he has chosen not to tow even this electoral line of least resistance, speaks metaphors especially for his anti-Chris-tic disposition to the collective will of the South-west and the long-term good of the nation.

    The Anti-Christ

    Mimiko has, thus far, already earned himself the infamy of the political anti-Christ who rather risks losing a second term than act collectively to move society a notch. He is a political boil on a fatigued national buttock that is an enemy of ease; the obnoxious pregnancy on the knee that is a hindrance to spiritual genuflection. Hell, Mimiko has become the proverbial lizard on the mouth of the earthenware pot –pelted at grave danger to the pot and ignored soon to sully the precious, scarce drinking water.

    In fact Mimiko has become the “igi gangaran” in the Yoruba riddle that is bent on poking the eye of the progressives. All hands, especially of Ondolites, must be on deck come October 20 not only to dodge this self-harming reed, but in deed once and for all to break its stiff-necked rebellion! This is the Armageddon before the Armageddon. The ACN cannot afford to lose. This is the battle for‘the lost sheep’ of the house of the progressives that the Jagaban, Asiwaju Tinubu needs the prayers of all lovers of country and the action of true sons and daughters of Ondo to win!

    This is the time to regionalize South-west; and to rid the zone of self-harming, mainstreaming bums-like Mimiko!

    • Akerele, a media consultant wrote from Abuja

  • FROM THE CELL PHONE (part 2)

    FROM THE CELL PHONE (part 2)

    For Olatunji Dare

     

    The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and its partners in June 2012 announced a $12 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for a yam improvement project to enhance the incomes of three million yam farmers in West Africa. Its initial focus was on 200,000 smallholder farm families in Nigeria and Ghana, 90 percent of whom cultivate less than two acres-The Nation Friday, June 22, 2012 page 17. It is time to ask from the programme coordinators, the catchment areas in Nigeria this project will target and whether the project has taken off already and who are the beneficiaries, and how were they selected, and the information supplied to the public as well as the channel used. The word is “transparency”. The lesson the rampaging floods should teach us is that there will be lean years and prosperous years in the output of foodstuffs. Are our planners listening? From John Jimoh, Ijebu-Ode

    If the governors had been proactive in matters of channelisation of our water ways, the disasters we are witnessing would have been averted. In this regard, Governor Aregbesola of Osun State merits not only a credit but a distinction. From Barr. Moronkeji

    Re: A nation under water. I think whatever Vice President Sambo does must be taken as being done by Mr President. The public must be educated/enlightened. Sambo’s sympathy and empathy should be taken as the President’s! However, why did we have all these agencies for emergencies? The government should have a speedy emergency response arrangement and implementation. Water, fire, as good as they are, are too destructive, hence, faster response level. Those negatively affected should urgently be rehabilitated and given good livelihood. Neighbouring nations should cooperate. From Lanre Oseni.

    In addition to your write-up on the floods, what can non-governmental organisations and individuals do? Is there a central place to donate clothes, food items, money, and other things for the flood victims? From Nkiru

    The picture used in your article of 2/10/2012 is a scene in Makurdi. Anonymous

    Dare, you are such a thoughtful and wonderful writer! From Ihemeje, Abuja

    My name is Prince Hassan. I enjoy reading your piece and I thought it is wise to draw your attention to this; your piece entitled A nation under water had a photograph with a wrong caption. That area is in Makurdi and not Lokoja. Stay blessed. Anonymous

    What can political opportunists foraging for the next meal do to genuinely assist the “communities of the beleaguered across the nation”? Nothing reasonable, except to exploit the victims further. All the victims of flood should know that adversity is a great teacher. Men who travel on a smooth road all their lives do not develop strength. May God touch the hearts of our “leaders” for good. From Adegoke O. O. Ikhin, Edo State.

    Again, you have spoken my mind. Kudos, and read me in The Africa magazine every month. From Julius

    Thanks so much for your beautiful piece A nation under water. The flooding and its attendant loss of lives and property is a clear manifestation of how unprepared and insensitive our leaders are to the plight of their citizens; like all other problems they have been caught napping. From Ojo A. Ayodele, Emure Ekiti

    I read with trembling heart your piece A nation under water. Dr Jonathan needed a Godly direction and not manly direction. In years past, our president was usually being pushed around all because of second term. He knows what he is doing. Let us continue praying for a revolution and not a leader. Revolution will bring about a dynamic and sound leader and not a leader that will be dancing even to ant’s tune because he wants a second term. From Ms Elegbede, Lagos

    Still on Ideas that live: I wonder what kind of history the present generation of leaders read. Can’t they take a cue from past cruel events to right the present ones? Indeed, humanity will remain cruel to each other till eternity, especially the black race. I love your writings. From Olumuyiwa

    The present administration is made up of people that never take matters of the state seriously. Indeed, they are all sleeping ministers, legislatures, ministries and agencies. No little preparation for a disaster that was so clearly foretold. God help Nigeria. Anonymous

    Before Katrina, New Orleans had defensive levees; it is just that the levees which had worked well in the past failed. This means they had preventive measures in place. We on the other hand are only talking about contingency planning and clearing of drains without considering real defensive measures as well. It appears anything that starts in cosmopolitan Jos seems to spread. The large-scale ethno-religious crises started in Jos, this year flooding also started there. Bombing in states also started there. Someone has even suggested that world war three may start in Jos. The picture in the comment A nation under water is the golf club at the golf course at north bank, Makurdi in Benue State and not a flooded area in Lokoja. Anonymous

     

    For Segun Gbadegesin

     

    Sir, in Nigeria, politics and politicians are above the law. But what is the role of the NJC, NBA in this? Even the Senate and Reps fix their own law, contrary to law and reason. The press can only expose the evil in the society. The people will one day rise up to defend their constitution. From Remi, Ikorodu

    You inspire us with your incisive and prolific writing. Justice Salami’s continuous suspension has shown that the President is a pretender. Those who perpetrate injustice will sooner or later become victim of same. It is a question of time. From Onobhamioya, Abuja

    Re: Politicising justice. Please, I do not know the type of President we have in this country, Jonathan is the worst President we have ever had. May God Almighty save us from his hand! Anonymous

    Nigerians do not need (TI) to gauge whether Nigeria is fighting corruption or not. All we need is one high profile conviction, be it a plea bargain conviction or full sentence conviction. Just one. A situation where lesser sentences are earmarked for confirmed killers who are terrorists while armed robbers who may not have killed are given the death penalty, says a lot about our justice system. Very soon, robbers will start claiming they are terrorists. Anonymous

    Your write-up was very interesting. My question now is: what will happen to any judgment given by the impostor, at the end of the day? From Paul Imadoemu. Benin City

    Do you know the meaning of insubordination and its consequences? From Don Akagbusi, Ibadan.

    Thank you for your piece: Politicising justice. I do not know when discipline will return to our national life. From A.T. Mozie, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

    On Reps to probe Otedola: They are idle illiterates and have nothing to offer Nigerians. Farouk and Hembe are yet to clear themselves. Please, ignore them. From Ezenwa Onyire.

    Your article Politicising Justice is marvelous, well articulated and precise to the point. Is there any integrity left in this government? None. It is very sad and unfortunate that Jonathan all pleas and representations made to him to reinstate Justice Salami fell on deaf ears. One definite thing is that no condition is permanent and the only permanent thing is change. All the bad advisers and hypocrites surrounding him will have their nemesis waiting for them. From Ayo Apelogun, Ilesha.

    Re: Politicising justice: The case of Justice Salami is a monumental shame and a mockery of Nigeria’s judiciary! The acting PCA who himself knows his position is illegal cannot step down, the NJC that has the power to remove him and re-instate Justice Salami under the law, just cannot summon the courage to do what is right and the President just doesn’t give a damn! If this is happening in the hallowed chambers of justice to a respected and upright justice, it then means whoever goes to seek justice from these people must speak the ‘language’ they understand! As it is, I’m ashamed of people who cannot defend themselves in the face of unmerited provocation! They should all bury their heads in shame and await Karma. From Kayode A., Abeokuta.

    Re: Politicising justice. Many times, governments or institutions see what individual citizens do not see, to act! Other times, citizens see what governments do not see. Why don’t we wait and see the end of the whole drama. Is it not in this country that somebody would not win a primary of a political party yet he is declared the winner and becomes a tin god todate? Is it not in this country that an opponent won a local government area election and was upturned by the ruling party although, out of providence, he won it back after 11 months? Write on those issues. Your write-up is politicised. From Lanre O.

     

    For Gbenga Omotoso

     

    Sir, instead of tackling Niger problem of insecurity they want to pull down Otedola by all means. God is watching them for whatever a person or group sows they must reap, if not now then later. From Ita Basi, Uyo.

    Every time I read your article Of terrorism and terrorists, I come to one conclusion; that the President is protecting his political interest in the North at the expense of the wellbeing of Nigerians, including the northerners themselves. Running away from the truth will not make anyone more popular. By Biblical principle, any practice you support (in this case, defend), you are part of the proponents of that practice. Thanks. Anonymous

    I am shocked that the presidency did not verify the claim that Nigeria is the second most improved country in fighting corruption before blowing its trumpet on the roof top. Would the presidency have equally rushed to believe the report, if any news magazine, no matter how credible the magazine is, reports Nigeria as slowest in tackling corruption without proper verification? These are the problems with us: selecting which news to believe and which not to, which law to obey and which not. We sincerely need to grow beyond this level of reasoning. Long live Nigeria. From Mandy A. Abuja

    It is very important that Nigerians should know if Femi Otedola actually paid the said money or whether his friendship with the President is at work. It is equally good to know how he raised the money. From Dykecee

    Once again Gbenga the Nation man of the year. The President said he cannot change Nigeria alone that shows his incompetence, what does he expect from his subjects? An incompetent leader will automatically lead in a disorganised system. The presidential speech has raised a lot of dust. He said there are many Nehemiahs in the National Assembly, Judiciary, but he has forgotten that he is the Commander-in-Chief. The President has belittled himself and his office. Since he cannot do it alone, he should resign and allow competent hands who can lead the country to the promised land. From Hamza Ozi Momoh Dockyard, Apapa Lagos

    We are living in a country where men are beasts who feed on rots and maggots like hens. Anonymous

    You should have known where the ‘interest’ is pointing at! Help me ask them If ‘they’ want the money? Let our Reps do what we voted them for. Lives are gone. From Favour

    I wonder how some of these people think. They just want to give a dog a bad name, nothing more. From Awe, Osogbo

    Otedola is one of the rogues we have in this country. If he could afford to pay off his huge debt just like that, why did he wait this long before paying, if not for selfish reason? I am in support of the House probing the authenticity of his payment. Enough of using high connection to defraud the society. Thanks! From Comrade Suleiman Olusegun Adeterigbade, Kaduna

    I hope your idea on the proposed payment of Otedola’s debt is not founded on the “Parapo” syndrome. N140 billion cannot be procured in a jiffy by just anybody. Let the truth about the deal be known; whether it is for Farouk’s sake or not. Anonymous

    Re: When the President speaks. I think Nigerians are not patient enough to see the rapid transformation that has taken place in Aso Villa (A mini Nigeria) for those statistics are realistically logical only in Aso Rock! In the larger Nigeria, where we have majority of Nigerians domiciled, those statements are neither realistic nor logical which is why the President did all the celebrations in Aso Villa, even in an army general’s gear. The larger Nigeria should patiently await the transformation train. Until then, it is every man for himself and God for us all. From Kayode A., Abeokuta

    House of ‘Representathieves’, this is what the seventh house is, a house that has abandoned its primary assignment and is busy with oversight function, defrauding and extorting money from innocent Nigerians. The Speaker is DIG, all the committee chairmen are CPD. Anonymous.

     

  • Ondo 2012: Before the voters decide

    Ondo 2012: Before the voters decide

    Less than three weeks from now, the governorship election in Ondo State will be history. Already preceding these are campaigns of different nature. Much as there had been attempts to narrow the campaigns to issues, the exercise had been shrouded in filthy politics, thus leaving the electorate more confused than they should have been in deciding their choice candidate in that election.

    But with the debate thrown up amongst the various candidates in the election, perhaps, the time is right to bring up constructive and issue-based engagement in lieu of the election. As one who is in government and understands the nuances as well as the complications that dot policy execution, it is only trite that the present Ondo State government is accorded some benefit of doubts in the posers that will be raised in this very engagement while hoping that in subsequent interface, some of the issues raised herein would have been laid to rest with facts and figures as it were.

    Thus, beyond façade of sterling performance being accorded the governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, are some of the issues I intend to bring up here with a view to genuinely igniting a gubernatorial debate.

    Sometime in early 2010, at one of the cabinet meetings, the executive council agreed to enhance agricultural produce by purchasing 100 units of 72HP Massey Ferguson Tractors. The then Commissioner for Agriculture, Chief J.A Akinnigbagbe, Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Rotimi Adelola, and Commissioner for Finance, Yele Ogundipe, were consequently mandated to source for  viable banks that could purchase the items on lease finance loan for a good period of time before the expiration of the government’s first term in office.

    Also at the meeting, Dynamic Agrosol limited, was consulted to supply the tractors. The negotiation with Dynamic Agrosol Limited for the 100 units and the implements of the 72HP Massey Ferguson Tractors was negotiated and reported to cost N594,819,915.60 (five hundred and ninety-four million, eight hundred and nine thousand and nine hundred and fifteen naira sixty kobo) only.

    Adelola, therefore, reached out to First Bank Plc, in February 2010 for the deal. He wrote to the bank after his informal discussion with First Bank’s officials at their Alagbaka branch in Akure, Ondo State. Several other meetings were held after the bank headquarters had agreed to finance the project.

    However, at another meeting, the bank and the government officials agreed to reduce the 100 unit of Massey Ferguson Tractors to 62 units at the same cost of N594,819,915.60 kobo. Furtherance to actualising the deal and the willingness of First Bank to formalise financing of the 62 units of tractors, the bank sent a Product of Offer letter to the government through the office of Dr. Adelola. The letter dated April 12, 2012 with reference number Aku 121395/L/ was sent from the bank’s Alagbaka branch office. The bank agreed to provide finance lease with payment tenor spread across 33 months. It was billed to commence in April 2010 and expire this month, October.  The usual lease finance loan proposal and condition of terms were attached with the Product of Offer letter as well as the Acceptance of Offer sent to the office of Dr. Adelola. Thus, at the executive cabinet meeting of April 2010, the cabinet was pleased with the outcome of the interface with the First Bank on the deal. Subsequently, Dr. Adelola was assigned to finally seal the deal with the bank, while the fund was to be released to the Ministry of Finance, which in turn would liaise with the Ministry of Agriculture and the tractors’ supplier, Dynamic Agrosol Limited.

    Surprisingly, while negotiation with the First Bank was ongoing, another was initiated by the governor’s kitchen cabinet with another bank. The deal, with the same proposal of 100 units of same 72HP Massey Ferguson Tractors with the same implements, was being negotiated. The kitchen cabinet at a meeting in July 2010, mandated Akinnigbagbe and Ogundipe, the state Commissioners for Agriculture and Finance, to reach out to Fidelity Bank Plc and discuss the financing through the same process like the one Adelola had successfully struck with First Bank.

    For a certain period of time, the duo of Akinnigbagbe and Ogundipe was slow to act as directed until the governor allegedly reprimanded them at one of their meetings sometime in November, 2010. Following this, the two men met with Adelola who had advised them to go ahead as instructed by His Excellency.

    Thus, on November 19, 2010, the Agriculture ministry wrote another letter to Dynamic Agrosol Limited, giving the approval to supply Ondo State government the 100 of Massey Ferguson tractors with reference number AEH11851259. Having equipped themselves with information from Adelola, an erstwhile banker, Akingbagbe and Ogundipe subsequently wrote to Fidelity Bank’s Managing Director through the Ondo State Ministry of Finance letter headed, requesting the bank to finance purchase of 100 units of 72HP Massey Ferguson Tractors with the following set of implements; Ton Hydraulic Tipping Trailer, Disc Ridger, Disc Harrow and Disc plough.

    The response from Fidelity Bank Plc on the request was not, however, encouraging as evident in a letter the bank sent on November 25, 2010. Left with that situation, Akingbagbe and Ogundipe jointly wrote and signed another letter to Fidelity Bank on December 2, 2010 with reference number SCF 29/28, requesting the bank to now finance the same tractors and implements for N954,819,915.60 Kobo, however, for 62 units of the same 72HP Massey Ferguson Tractors with same sets of implements attached.

    The attention of one Dr. Musa was drawn in the reconfirmation letter, while the supplier, Dynamic Agrosol Limited, was copied that a full Advance Payment Guarantee (APG) was still required in the transaction.

    ONDO 2012: Let the debate begins ….

    With the fresh negotiation still ongoing, it is worthy of note that only seven units of tractors and equipment sets were supplied to the state government at the cost of N594,819,915.60Kobo, as against the 100 units proposed at inception with First Bank. And since April 2010, First Bank has been collecting repayment for the entire transaction from the government. Unfortunately for government, Fidelity Bank has discovered the trick being played on the banks.

    I can reliably inform that even the seven tractors supplied to government in 2011 were manufactured in 2009. The Seven tractors were supplied with implements’ set that included Alico-Disc plough 3 Discs, Alico-Disc Harrow-16Discs (Disc 2411) and Alico Rigger-3 Furrow through Mac Tonnel Nigeria Limited, Apapa, in Lagos State. All these were at the cost of N594,819,915.60kobo.

    This somewhat shoddy transaction soon took another turn, when the state government allegedly went ahead to insure the 100 units of the tractors with an insurance company (name withheld) at the cost of N25 million and yet, under-paid for the insurance.

    Coming from the analysis above, much as it appears more like a fraud being perpetrated by government, it is imperative to accord government some degree of response before conclusions are drawn. But the questions are: Why would government agree to buy 62 tractors for the initial negotiation of 100 at the same amount? Why does it have just seven since supplied despite the fact that repayment for full purchase is still ongoing? Of what basis was the need to involve Fidelity Bank when the deal had been signed, sealed and delivered with the First Bank arrangement? These and more, the Ondo State Government must answer as we engage it further in the ensuing debate.

    Without doubt, this is the kind of engagement that will enrich the voting power of the people as they file out on October 20 to either effect change or live with what presently obtains in the name of governance.

     

    •Raji is Special Adviser to the Lagos State government on information

  • Listen to the oracle called Kashim

    Listen to the oracle called Kashim

    There are some occasions in one’s life, one French philosopher once posited, “which neither time nor circumstances can change nor obliterate from one’s memory,” the administration of Borno State by Governor Kashim Shettima constitutes one of such occasions. Caught from the onset in the web of socio-economic hydra-headed problems compounded by serious security challenges, Kashim had to bolster through the debris of catastrophe. Poverty was staring its ugly face on the masses, unemployment surging, hunger looming and above all threat to lives and properties became manifest. If most governors who took the mantle of office on May 29, 2011 were jubilitating and dancing, Kashim couldn’t because his was a legacy of problems and blood stained banner. In short, he inherited a debit balance sheet interms of peace which is pivot and a hallmark of any meaningful development. Thus the assumption of Governor Kashim into office was indeed a watershed in the history of Borno as it was an era born into uncertainties to fend to certainties. The state was becoming a no go area due to Boko Haram onslaught and other security challenges resulting into deaths, arson and even assassination.. Borno was now begging for survival from downward precipice.

    However, not withstanding the enormity of challenges, Kashim chose to embark on this tortuous journey guided by the inspirational words of Edgar Guest who said “there are thousands to tell you it cannot be done; there are thousands to prophesy failure and there are thousands to point out to you one by one the dangers that lie ahead. Just take off your coat and go to it, just start to sing and you tackle the thing that cannot be done and you’ll do it.”

    Today, Kashim’s administration through various poverty alleviation programmes has put smile on the faces of many youths. While some of the dormant industries are getting lease of life employing new hands, issues of strikes by teachers of primary and tertiary institutions inherited have been resolved; students allowances increased, farming getting boost through provision of fertilizers and other equipment and victims of security onslaught gradually being rehabilitated and compensated. Inshort, in its relentless pursuit to good governance, Kashim’s administration has put in place interim and long term measures to address the socio-economic challenges facing the state. Some of the measures have yielded results, some are yielding and others expected.

    Inspite of the gains recorded so far, the security challenges are still very much around, though there have been some respite. Fully aware that peace is the cardinal point of all development, Kashim from the onset of his administration has been very outspoken and blunt in his address or meetings with the stakeholders in this regard. His persistent brutal frankness and disposition have endeared many to him and giving hope to the hopeless. Some are however not comfortable with this disposition of his while others are watching. For example, speaking at the Government House in Maiduguri recently when a delegation of the Military led by the Chief of Defense StaffAir Marshall Oluseyi Petirin called on him, Governor Kashim reiterated once more that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable. According to him it is not feasible to tell Christians in the north to leave just as it is not tenable to tell Muslims in the south to leave.

    In his major address titled “Islam and Peace in Borno” to the people of Borno on July 16th 2011, Kashim said, among others, “….. the current state of insecurity and deplorable state of affairs is not unconnected with the attempt to impose the opinion of a small group on a larger society, a situation which clearly abridges the freedom to freely hold and express one’s opinion which is fundamental and inalienable in any given society.”

    He went on “My fellow citizens, going by the present spate of things, how can a true Muslim explain let alone profoundly justify the current unfortunate cold blooded murders and bombings in the name of Islam? Islam means “peace and submission to the will of God” and should remain so, in both theory and practice. Islam never sanctioned the killings of non-Muslims and the destruction of their places of worship”.

    Governor Kashim then drew the attention of the people to history saying, “in the early phase of Islam, when Muslims were persecuted by the Makkan pagans, they sought refuge in the present day Ethiopia, under a Christian King Negus. The Muslims stayed in Ethiopia for 15years and all entreaties by the Makkan leaders for Negus to deport them were rebuffed.

    In the same address to the people, Kashim lamented, “ I am personally, deeply pained by the trend of events. I am a native of Maiduguri, born, bred and buttered right in the heart of Yerwa, from Nimeri Korongoso. Most of these insurgents are from the well known neighbourhood of Shehuri North, Shehuri South, Limanti, Lamisu, Gamboru, Fezzan and Hausari wards of the metropolis. I say unto you my brothers what Hamid Karzai, the Afghan President, said at the burial of his brother Wali Ahmed Karzai some few days back:

    “……. My message for them (Taliban) is that my countrymen, my brother, should stop killing their own people. It is easy to kill and everyone can do it, but the real man is the one who can save people’s lives.” At various fora, press interviews or meetings, Kashim has been consistent in calling stakeholders, especially, the governors and elite in the north to confront the security challenges in the north frontally before such confront them. To him, delay could be very dangerous. According to him, leadership failure is responsible for north’s poverty and its present predicament. In a press interview recently, Kashim made it clear that a problem in Borno, or any part of the federation if not properly handled, will certainly spread to other parts of the federation, adding, “right from the onset of this insurgency, I repeatedly said that if this is not contained, it has the capacity to snowball into bigger conflagration that might consume the whole north. Now I am afraid it is assuming a very wider dimension. But with the collective effort of all of us and with our prayers I believe we shall solve the problem. All those who are predicting doom for the country will not succeed.”

    Also speaking in Maiduguri during the presentation of “Excellence in Governance” award presented to him by the Nigerian Union of Journalists delegation led by its National President Alhaji Mohammed Garba, Kashim warned that those with vested interest in the perpetuation of the status quo and entrenched ills of the society will sooner than later discover their stand at best uncomfortable and at worst downright objectionable.

    In Kashim words, “Those of us who are privileged to be in higher positions may have saved as much as we can, build mansions in cities and sent our children to the most expensive schools in Abuja or outside the country, but I can assure you that the children of the poor who we have failed to provide employment for and give quality of life will one day turn against us.” Kashim pointed out that though he was not a prophet or apostle of doom but warned that if the extreme poverty presently plaguing the north is not fastly reversed, hell might be let loose. He predicted, “in the next five years the north may be in trouble because all our assets and infrastructure have collapsed”.

    It will, however be recalled that besides Kashim, some northern leaders including the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar, Alhaji Maitama Sule, the Dan Masanin Kano, General T.Y Danjuma (Rtd) have expressed utter displeasure at the deteriorating state of things in the north and called for urgent restoration. However, Kashim has been persistent and brutal in frankness in this regard. Let us listen to this blunt oracle from the Sahel so that we might not get to a point where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer.

    The present predicament of the north should inform its forward march. With collective will, dialogue, sincerity of purpose and prayers, the dark cloud will fizzle out and a shinning sun will emerge. This should be the ultimate. Let us remember the saying of Peter Marshall, “when we long for life without difficulties, remind us that Oaks grow strong in contrary winds as diamonds are made under pressure.” In the immortal words of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, “After rain comes sunshine; after darkness comes glorious dawn. There is no sorrow without its alloy of joy, there is no joy without admixture of sorrow. Behind the ugly terrible mask of misfortune lies the beautiful soothing countenance of prosperity. So tear the mask.”