The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Kaduna and telecom shutdown

    Kaduna and telecom shutdown

    By Emmanuel Oladesu 

    Kaduna State occupies a strategic place, not only in the North, but also in Nigeria. The state can be likened to a mini-country, judging by its diversity. It cannot be ignored because of its historic contributions to the making of the country.

    But, the state is now in distress. It needs help, like other states battling with insecurity. Kaduna State has become a den of bandits, whose nefarious activities have clearly overwhelmed the state government and upset its heterogeneous residents.

    Many lives have been lost. Many properties have been destroyed. Most people live in fear.

    Kaduna government has not folded its hands. It has tried its best, but the results have not justified the efforts. It is not the fault of the government. No state anticipated the current challenge. People were just caught unaware.

    The state government has never concealed any information relating to the colossal losses, in terms of deaths and destructions. Government’s handling of the anti-terror war evokes sympathy. Attention of the state is on the unfinished battle.

    Since banditry is common to most of the Northern states, federal security agencies are overstretched. Soldiers and police are barking and biting. Many soldiers and policemen have died on the war front, leaving their surviving families in agony, dejection  and depression.  But, banditry still grows in leaps and bounds.

    The destiny of the component units of the federation is now in their hands, having been disappointed by the highly centralised security architecture that has reduced governors to camouflage security officers in their respective states.

    Read Also: On shutdown of telecoms services

    The telecommunication shutdown imposed on the unhappy state underscores a strong call for genuine sacrifice and renewed strategy for combating banditry and violence that have made its hitherto ethnic and religious conflicts a child’s play.

    Who are the bandits? Are the Nigerians? Are they Northerners? Are they foreigners taking advantage of porous borders? Their identities cannot be ascertained. The motivation  for the  their onslaught is unknown. They use sophisticated weapons. But, their sources of funding are in the realm of conjecture. While the government claimed that it has uncovered those behind Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB and Sunday Adeyemo Igboho, it is yet to unravel those behind the tormentors of Northern Nigeria; the visible and invisible Boko Haram and other lords of banditry.

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who announced the telecom service ban, may have opted for the measure with great reluctance. It was a most painful decision. But, necessity has made it compelling. This moment requires adjustment and understanding by the people. Kaduna has to strategically move backward to regain its strength and move forward.

    Kaduna shares the same fate with other neighbouring state that have lost their peace. They are collectively hit by terror. Therefore, neighbouring states cannot lend a helping hand. It is a peculiar challenge. No state is insulated. Governments and people now have the fear of unknown.

    It is worrisome to the El-Rufai that while a similar  ban on telecom had been adopted by some Northern states, it has not been effective for obvious reasons.

    The effect is better imagined. The worsening insecurity has diverted government’s attention from other priority areas. Security is non-negotiable. Without it, there is no foundation to build on. It is only in an atmosphere of tranquility that government can plan, initiate and implement laudable programmes.

    The governor lamented that bandits who have nearly been rendered impotent by telecom suspension were coming from Zamfara and Katsina to Kaduna to make calls and demand for ransom from families of those in captivity. The economic factor is latent here. Bandits are businessmen. Banditry is their illegal trade. Since it is lucrative, it remains attractive.

    The slogan of Boko Haram is : ‘No to Education.’ Ironically, they make use of products of western education, including phones, bikes and vehicles, to wreck havoc.

    The dilemma is that while bandits rely on telecom facilities to perpetuate evil, citizens also need the same facilities to report crime, criminal hideouts, foil criminal tendencies and expose the activities of insurgents.

    The efficacy of the shutdown would have to be assessed in the weeks ahead. In Zamfara and in some some local governments in Niger, there is no evidence to suggest that the bandits were weakened by the shutdown.

    Residents, businesses and other stakeholders must adapt to the critical denial in the interest of the state. Kaduna is Nigeria’s 15th largest economy. The implication now is that communication will be at a low ebb, hampering effective business operations, reducing chances of socio-personal contacts and even slowing down certain bureaucratic processes in government. But, it is temporary.

    Few privileged people may consider moving to Abuja or other states in the Middlebelt and the South until the ban on telecom is lifted. But, there is no place like home.

    In this moment of anxiety and sober reflection, the capital of Northern Nigeria is in a tight corner. All the institutions that account for the fame and pre-eminent position of the state are partakers in the national burden. Their activities may be crippled in one way or the other. But, since the advice emanated from these security agencies directly involved in the war, it is a serious matter.

    Comforts and conveniences that are taken for granted will be sacrificed for the common good. The impact would be felt by all and sundry. Many official assignments and functions may have to be postponed. Institutions may need to adjust their programmes. Individuals will have to tinker with personal schedules. Kaduna, in terms of telecommunications, is back to pre-Nitel years. It an agonising experience. However, in a period of emergency, certain decisive steps by government becomes inevitable to salvage the state and pull it back from the brink.

    Little did the founding fathers of the North, and indeed, Nigeria think that Kaduna will be hit by an inexplicable tragedy. It is a rare blow of fate. The predicament is that an end cannot be accurately predicted to terrorism and banditry.

    Kaduna is the pride of the North. It was once the seat of colonial interloper Lord Fredrick Lugard. It was the political base of the legendary Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of defunct Northern Region. It is the adopted cradle of most Northern leading lights. It is the seat of the Kaduna Mafia. Therefore, an injury to Kaduna is an injury to the North.

    The most important military facility, the Nigerian Defence Academy(NDA), which was recently attacked by bandits, is located in Kaduna. So are other vital military installations,  including the First Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Nigerian Army School of Artillery, and the Airforce Pilot School.

    Instead of condemning the decision, the people of Kaduna should adjust to the transient reality and cooperate fully with the state government so that the intended objectives can be realised.

    There are many areas where government requires public cooperation. It is in the interest of the people to demonstrate patriotism. For 90 days, motorcycles are banned. Motorcyclists and other residents should comply. Weekly markets in frontline councils are suspended. Traditional rulers and community leaders should also take deeper interest in local security. People should expose criminal hideouts.

    Security is a collective enterprise involving the active participation of both the government and the governed. Residents should be vigilant. They should participate in intelligence gathering by furnishing credible and reliable information that will assist government in restoring security.

  • 61 years of glory, infamy and what not

    61 years of glory, infamy and what not

    By Igboeli Arinze 

    The podium, I was told housed several Independence heroes and nationalist juggernauts, speech by speech, the dignitaries at the event spoke about a new nation and a new dawn that had broken through the sheaths of darkness imposed by colonialism. That a new nation was birthed that day  was to be a watershed event in the history of Africa, however, the path she chose seems to be confusing for truly this nation called Nigeria has being a light of some sorts but like it’s negatively popular power operating corporation, PHCN and formerly NEPA, it has given such a light in an eccentric manner; Off and On and Off again to the cheers and jeers of its citizenry and the globe. Sadly, our light has been more of dimmed than we have let out.

    The nation at 61 can be said to be engaged in what a popular Yoruba scholar described as a ‘forbacki’ dance, a dance of a few forward steps and numerous backward steps, the country has wowed the world on a number of occasions but then has flopped, especially when many counted on it to fly high.

    For example, the nation stepped up into its calling as the Giant of Africa, by becoming a frontier state in rolling back colonialism and apartheid. It somewhat bolstered the African Spirit when it sponsored interventions into affairs affecting Africa.

    Read Also: How Buhari, governors, others celebrated Nigeria’s 61st independence anniversary

    The nation has also produced some of the finest of leaders and administrators, men who started to build Nigeria into a nation that worked. The likes of Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. M. I Okpara, Tafawa Balewa, Aminu Kano and a number of others, space and time restrain me from mentioning. It has also churned out a plethora of scholars, writers, thinkers as well as sportsmen and women.

    What follows are our days of Infamy, these like Hitler’s tanks on a blitzreig roll in succession, suggesting where we missed it as a nation. We missed it when we played the dirty politics of the First Republic which saw the creation of a series of crisis which snowballed into the military coup of January 15, 1966. Otherwise, why would Balewa declare a state of emergency owing to a fight in the Western Region House of Assembly which was allegedly started by a strange dance by Akintola’s supporters but then decline to do so when the region was up in flames owing to the Operation Wetie crisis?

    The counter coup which followed remains another infamous epoch in our history, the killings that followed it potrays such a coup as a barbaric and was a great determinant in pushing the nation towards the Civil War.

    The corruption that has followed our successive leaderships and administrations from Gowon to President Muhammadu Buhari is again another blight on the greatness of the Nigerian nation. Corruption and its acts has so stolen from the nation’s future and has placed a nation which at independence was primed to do better than Japan and by 1964 was the fourth fastest growing economy in the same space with nations like Togo and South Sudan!

    What about the electoral abracadabra of 1964, 1965, 1979, the 122/3rd debacle or the supervised electoral heist of 1983? 2003, 2007 and 2011 follow in such trend and only in 2015 did we have some respite of sorts. 2019 did produce a number of unsavory moments thus demanding some improvement.

    Lastly, the level of impunity raised as a behemoth in which the average Nigerian has worshipped upon lies the same route in which our travails have been supplied.

    It is this impunity as seen in the pacification of the Tivs in 1964. It is such impunity that was witnessed in the pogroms and a number of other events where lives have been lost and those responsible still walk the streets as free men. It is such impunity that was displayed first hand in the annulment of the June 12 elections alongside a number of other events such as the deportation of Shugagba Abdulrahman, the humiliation of Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, the Umalokun, Zaria and Ife massacres as well as the Apo 6, the End Sars revelations and what have you.

    Where do we go from here? As a Nigerian I am so proud of the nation’s potentials and true, this country has all it takes or warrants to be the greatest not only of black nations but the comity of nations as a whole. This generation of Nigerians must therefore resolve to forge ahead not as strangers in the Nigerian project but as brothers bound by the lofty dreams of our founding fathers and all those who did  contribute to its independence as a nation. But such a new nation must be forged not in fear or in unevenness but in freedom, fairness, justice and economic prosperity.

  • ‘Women do not support women in politics’: The facts

    ‘Women do not support women in politics’: The facts

    By Nnedinso Ogaziechi

    The former President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to a one year jail term over campaign funding during his second term bid in 2012.  His status as a former President did not shield him. This shows the beauty of the rule of law. That is democracy in action. It is a system of government that ought to be played according to the rules.

    The political party system that is a vehicle through which candidates emerge to be eligible to contest for positions are supposed to be run by laid down rules.  In most cases the parties take preeminence during elections. They often control the campaign funds unlike what obtains in some third world countries like Nigeria where individuals and groups often usurp party roles especially during elections.

    The jailing of a former President over illegal campaign funds beyond the legal limit is an example of a viable democracy. One of the major huddles militating against inclusive politics and a level playing field in Nigerian politics is money. Democracy is expensive because a lot needs to be done. However, the free run and the shaky political structures in Nigeria and most other developing nations affect the stability of democracy.  Lack of strong regulatory financial policies makes it possible for politicians across the country to take undue advantage of their own financial muscles or that of their supporters.

    Lack of financial power, some socio-religious factors are some of the reasons women do not even have the confidence to play politics and the few that venture in always come out bruised literarily. The fact that Nigeria has the lowest gender parity in politics has clearly shown that there must be structural changes to make the process more accessible to women and youths.

    One of the greatest blackmail of women in Nigerian politics is the flawed rhetoric being bandied by men that women do not support each other. They easily cite the case of Dr. Sarah Jibril who is the first woman to contest for Presidency in Nigeria.  They easily mock women for not ‘supporting’ their own.  They often triumphantly celebrate their erroneous conclusion that ‘women do not support women’ But the male politicians have carved a false narrative that somewhat masks their strategies aimed at monopolizing  the political space, qualified or not.

    The Roundtable Conversation decided to have a chat with the poster woman of female audacity at the highest level of political contest.  Dr. Sarah Nnadzwa Jibril is the first Nigerian woman to throw her hat into the ring of Nigerian Presidential contest.  Her political career started in her teenage years as a class captain and sports prefect at different levels.  She is a renowned and passionate educationist, a social and religious evangelist for a return to our human and moral values, a politician whose first foray into elective position was in 1983. She had contested the Senatorial seat in her native Kwara state.

    Her life story as a woman in a socio-religiously influenced environment is as instructive as it is noteworthy. Both the socio-cultural and religious nuances influenced her decisions. According to Madam Jibril, as a sports and dormitory leader in her high school, she had experienced leadership at that basic  level and had her eyes on education and leadership. Her vast education in the UK and United States in sports, comparative, social policy, sociology, comparative education, a bit of psychology and women affairs made her came to the realization that leadership was pivotal to the development of women and the entire country.

    Beyond these educational and human experiences, she grew up reading and observing female political amazons like the late Gambo Sawaba, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Margaret Ekpo and the likes of other women in most communities that took part in politics and gave the men a run for their money. She therefore realized  that if those women could step in to provide leadership, she too  with her exposure and education can do better in reorienting the Nigerian woman about the things that are possible given the value she had acquired through her parents, environment and education in Nigeria and abroad.  Education, physical and sycho-social stamina were the pillars that equipped her to seek a paradigm shift in leadership in ways that women can put in their nurturing skills. The welfare of women both in her native Nupe and her marital state made her make up her mind to take up leadership.   A particularly profound experience for her was what transpired during an election in Kwara state when one Madam AbdulRasaq  was allegedly rigged out in a Kwara election and all the women were shouting Alleluya and Allahu al ‘Akbar  in protest and insisted on a repeat of the election.

    The lesson for her was that the women were united despite religious differences. So women would always support each other if the men do not interfere with divide and rule. This in addition to a global experience of the roles women play as mothers who birth and nurture children who grow into men and women was a motivating factor for her to venture into politics. To her, there is a divine provision for men and women to play complimentary roles in politics and women must stand up and sit at the table and men must also  recognize the fact that the women shed blood to bring life and as such they must be part of leadership for the welfares of all.

    The Roundtable Conversation asked her  about  her political odyssey being an alleged metaphor for women’s lack of  support for fellow women to access leadership.  Dr. Jibril debunked that fallacy by maintaining that politics in a democracy is very expensive and the name of the game in Nigeria is money and the men are more economically empowered than women. In her political life, she had fought against the idea of making the political process very expensive especially during the military era all in her bid to make the political space accessible to most people willing to serve including women.

    However, as a developing democracy, the Nigerian political space is monopolized by the men who have the economic power but beyond that , both men, women and children are guilty of not supporting women to be leaders because the society and religion all groom people to feel that women must not lead.  The men surreptitiously use money to distort the process and both men, women and youth could be victims of myopia in this instance falling to the lure of money. So blaming only women for not supporting women is the men hiding behind a finger or playing the Ostrich. She is satisfied that more women because of her are now taking steps to dare to participate actively in politics. To her the trail-blazing experiences are so instructive and must be built on by generations. The fact is that men and women are ordained to play complimentary leadership roles and nothing will go right in the nation until both men, women and children act.

    She believes education must be more functional in ways that from the basic levels, we must begin to teach children  their roles. At secondary and tertiary levels, there must be an introduction or Gender studies for both genders.   We have a shared humanity that must be cared for together. Women must stop being seen as mere reproductive tools that can only be given tokens as welfare officers,  women should  become party leaders.

    Iyom Josephine Anenih (mni), a former minister of women Affairs and renowned woman leader and gender and development advocate is a contemporary of Dr. Sarah Jibril. The Roundtable Conversation asked her views on the mocking cliché of ”women do not support women” always used to taunt women by men in politics. She said that men would always use any rhetoric to blackmail and sometimes bully women out of the political space. It is to their advantage.

    Men pitch women against each other in ways akin to cock fights in the local parlance. Sometimes men instigate the cock fights that often results in the death of the weaker one as a sport. The men enjoy pitching women against each other so they take the space. Women must learn to be together, women are not each other’s enemies, the men are the common enemy.  No woman should buy into the male blackmail at any level.

    The question is, how many women kill each other for power both locally and globally? Women can have disagreements but not bitter political rivalries that often result in assassinations and all forms of life-threatening issues. If the men are sincere Iyom insisits, let them step down at certain points for more competent women to contest with each other. Why do they blame women for contesting against each other, it is a contest not a sign of hatred.

    Iyom Anenih believes that the needed tool is massive education from homes to make people unlearn and relearn the leadership structures that harness all the human potentials of every gender because leadership is not about gender but capacity and the wiliness to use that capacity to serve. The jinx must be broken. Teach children the capacity of each gender.

    On the part of women, they must be willing to step up and step out. Believing the male rhetoric is accepting to be underdogs which is not natural. Every human is created with capacity and leadership potentials. Women had always provided leadership in Africa before the colonialists came with their system and when they left, the men continued the monopoly which has taken Africa down the development ladder. It is time for women to begin to detoxify the socio-religious impact of cultural and religious dogmas that make women see themselves as less capable of leadership. All the women who are historical figures brilliantly rebelled against that and their societies became better for it.

    Dr Sarah jibril and Josephine Anenih believe that education and a recall of leadership history by women and for women would change the false narrative by men to bully women out of political contests. The world and our nation need the complimentary leadership by the able across genders.

     

    The dialogue continues…

  • Fiscal Federalism: Before Wike won, Tinubu towered!

    By John Ekundayo

    “. . . ‘I tell you for certain that even before Abraham was, I was, and I am.’ The people picked up stones …” (John 8v58 – 59a) (Contemporary English Version)

    This week, the Followership Challenge is kicking off on a spiritual tone, comparing the scenario of this season in Nigeria’s political scene to an encounter in biblical times. As many people of that time were aghast and amazed at some of Jesus’ doctrines and miracles that were more or less mysterious and mind-boggling, they could not but queried his audacity and authority on certain critical and core matters of the law and state. In an instance, some legal luminaries testing the mental alertness of the Teacher demanded whether it is lawful to pay taxes or not to which Jesus retorted wittingly and tersely: give unto Ceasar what is Caesar’s and to God what rightly belongs to Him. They were stupefied and silenced! They congregated another time and were bewildered as Jesus told them plainly that their professed progenitor, Abraham, was glad to see him and swiftly they charged at him: “You are not even fifty years old!” they said. “How could you have seen Abraham?” (John 8 v 57). Then, Jesus, knowing their thoughts pointedly told them: “. . . I tell you for certain that even before Abraham was, I was, and I am.” The people picked up stones …” (John 8v58 – 59a).

    The aforementioned biblical scene is akin to what is breaking forth in Nigeria’s practice of federalism. The trajectory of the Value Added Tax (VAT) phenomenon of which was recently spearheaded by the seemingly enfant terrible among the southern Governors, His Excellency, Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike, the Governor of Rivers State. Looking at it from one perspective, one may say it is not unexpected of an opposition Governor. Wike is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The government of Rivers State took the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) to court and won a landmark judgement that awarded power to River State to collect and expend Value Added Tax (VAT). One needs to hear Governor Wike’s frustration in a seemingly skewed federalism: “Sometimes, you don’t want to believe these things exist …  People say that let heaven not fall but sometimes I believe that heaven should come down so that everybody will rest…When we do the right thing, heaven is at peace. So, the right thing must be done at all times.”

    It is high time the ship of Nigeria was steered towards true federalism and proper restructuring in such a way that each state should expend what she generates within her geographical context. On the heels of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt ruling, the Centre of Excellence, Lagos State, the commercial capital of Nigeria, decided not to head for the court like Rivers State did. The State of Aquatic Splendour, as Lagos is referred to, took it a notch higher by going to the State House of Assembly with a bill to authorize the State government to collect and consume its VAT without recourse to the government at the centre, the status quo ante.  Lagos, as somebody wondered, is not an opposition State as the government there is similar to the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the centre. Why then is this contention or controversy? Should not Lagos State align with the Federal Government in a matter like this since the Governor and President belong to the same party? Fiscal federalism is dictating the pace rather than partisanship.  Presently, the 36 States governors are in court challenging the government at the centre regarding the sharing of the stamp duties collection. Indeed, in Nigeria, this is a season of leadership with no easy answers in the words of a leadership scholar and author.

    Wike, Not Whittling Down

    The outcome of the Federal High Court judgement in Port Harcourt sent shivers down the spines of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) resulting in approaching the appellate court to set aside the ruling of the lower court. In a swift response, the appellate court ruled that the parties should maintain a ‘status quo ante bellum’ which leaves many observers in the quandary as to what the appellate court really implied! In a swift reaction, the Rivers State Government, not wanting to let down the steam, approached the apex court, the Supreme Court, to weigh in on the matter. This is getting more interesting and intriguing even as many analysts and legal luminaries are reading different meanings to the whole saga. To some, it is better for the Federal Government through the FIRS to continue collecting VAT as many States do not possess the machinery except for Lagos and Rivers. To others, there is the need for the legislature to amend the constitution in order for the Federal Government to be legally empowered. This columnist, with the lens of the law, sees these perspectives as not only defective but jejune, puerile, pedestrian and parochial. Is it not within the same Nigeria that the candidate who scored the highest votes in a gubernatorial election was jettisoned and the court awarded victory to the candidate of a party that came third in the same election? Heaven did not fall! Anyway, the Supreme Court as the final arbiter in the matter will declare who is right at the end of the day. To this columnist, Wike, even though to many observers and opinion molders, may be seemingly churlish, brash and unpolished in his demeanour, is a winner, in torch – lighting the way to fiscal federalism.

    Tinubu: Titanic Tinkering

    Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the erstwhile Governor of Lagos State is many things to many people. This columnist wants to look at issues analytically rather than personalities. As at 1999, Lagos was virtually at par with some States in Nigeria with an internally generated revenue (IGR) base of around N600 million per month. All of Lekki, Ibeju Lekki and Eko Atlantic were partly slum or non-existent. It is on record that as a technocrat, coming from the private sector into governance, he donned his thinking cap, working with the best of brains, unlike today when most of the men in the saddle in the states are surrounded with surrogates, lap dogs and bootlickers. Perusing through the book: “Asiwaju: Leadership in Troubled Times” edited by the trio of Segun Ayobolu, Tunji Bello and Sam Omatseye, it was pointed out that Tinubu was erroneously conceived as “baba go slow” at the inception of his administration. Many did not know that he had assembled teams of seasoned technocrats who were thinking and tinkering with ideas whilst simultaneously gathering data needed for planning and governance.

    Read Also: Tinubu hails Prof. Adebayo Williams at 70

    This team criss- crossed and traversed the length and breadth of Lagos consulting and contacting people of all strata in the society. The outcome was the setting up of many functional agencies or institutions that are still beneficial to the running of government till now. The Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) spanning 25 years was part of the outcome. It is noteworthy that successive governments have been building on this. Any wonder Lagos is now grossing on a monthly basis up to N30 billion. However, it was not a sweet song all along the way as the Federal Government of the day headed by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo apparently put a wedge in the strides of Tinubu. He, as a sagacious strategic leader that he is, navigated the way of his government off the storm to a safe haven. Obasanjo withdrew the monthly allocation from the centre meant for Lagos when Tinubu called off his bluff and created additional 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). The administration of Tinubu went to court and won but Obasanjo refused to release the allocation meant for Lagos while Lagos was functioning and running on all cylinders. The leadership acumen and sagacity displayed by Tinubu and his team, some of which are in the present government at the centre, rubbished the seeming subterranean schemes or shenanigans’ demeanor of the government at the centre at that time. Moreover, the Lagos State under the leadership of Tinubu, in testing fiscal federalism, initiated many cases against the Federal Government of that time and won virtually all. The present Vice President, a professor of law, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who was then Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, was in court many times with the Federal Government or her agencies being the defendants. In essence, Tinubu was the pathfinder for the States to stand for their right in a seemingly skewed federal structure in which the states and local governments are tied to the apron of the government at the centre. Expectedly, many States in Nigeria cannot survive, talk less of thriving unless they chorus “our father who art in Abuja”, doing contrary may lead them into the abyss. It may therefore be wise to say, without mincing words, in the struggle towards true fiscal federalism, Tinubu towered head and shoulder above, albeit Wike is the seeming de facto champion of fiscal federalism. However, the Supreme Court, as the final umpire and arbiter, will determine how far Wike will be celebrated in this VAT saga.

     

    NASS: Failing or Falling Forward?

    The coming months will determine the demeanor of the National Assembly (NASS) to Nigeria’s quest to true fiscal federalism. There are two issues: the ban on open grazing by the men at the saddle in the many southern States and the battle of VAT collection before the apex court. It is on record that the NASS has been approached to help by the association of pastoralists, the Miyetti Allah socio-cultural organization, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). In the past months, the issue of constitution review was on the front burner in which our distinguished men and women were apparently foot dragging. The eyes of the whole world would be on the National Assembly now to decipher the steps the red and green chamber would take in “helping” these entities to amend the constitution. Is constitutional amendment as easy as some are touting it? The process is herculean!

     

    Conclusion

    The onus lies on the men in the saddle in the states to test in the law courts some aspects of governance that will curtail the flexing of muscles by the government at the centre that some referred to as “federal might”. This act will stop the federal government from arrogating or appropriating certain rights and privileges to herself which the constitution does not confer on her ab initio. This will be a worthy cause in the trajectory towards true fiscal federalism and restructuring which many political pundits have been clamouring for. This 9th NASS, apparently, has not lived up to expectation as many analysts view her as more an appendage of the executive than an independent arm of government.

    There are three Governors that are in the forefront of the fight towards fiscal federalism – Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo) and Babajide Olusola Sanwo – Olu (Lagos). These three governors of PDP and APC respectively, who though persecuted, did not mind whose ox is gored, but are vehement on charting the way forward peacefully and proactively in a progressive manner in line with the dictates of true democracy, should be commended by the people of the region. Dissent, debate and dialogue are ingredients of true democracy for when we jaw – jaw, then we can avoid war mongering. This is the pathway to discouraging and dissuading separatists and secessionists’ agenda threatening peaceful coexistence in our country presently. Our leaders at the centre must embrace much of this while not pampering or spoon feeding one group against another or treating one with kid gloves. The President, Baba Buhari, is the father of the house. Nigeria is that big house containing all tribes and ethnic nationalities!

     

    John Ekundayo, PhD – Development Analyst and Leadership Strategist can be reached via 08155262360 (SMS only) and drjmoekundayo@hotmail.com

     

  • Fani-Kayode: What next after defection?

    By Yahaya Balogun

    What is Femi Fani-Kayode, lawyer, former Aviation minister and serial defector, up to?

    Two days ago, the ebullient and fork-tongued politician dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC). His antecedents suggest that he is always fond of ruling parties. A political trader or contractor, his next point of call, always, is where politics is rossy.

    Each time he defects, he stirs controversies. Nevertheless, he is never missed by the party he has dumped.

    Mixed reactions have continued to trail his dramatic u-turn on Thursday. Some have said that in politics, there is no permanent friend or foe, but permanent interest. Therefore, the vocal politician is at liberty to jump ship or change camp.

    However, other commentators are harsh on him. They likened Fani-Kayode to a political prostitute; an actor always unwilling to play a politics of principle, but always fascinated by certain political jobs and pecks, particularly during periodic electioneering.

    More objective observers are of the view that that peculiar style jollies well with a political class that operates in ideological vacuum.

    So important is the familiar defector that Caretaker Chairman Mai Mala Buni shunned his job in Yobe State and other assignments at the party secretariat as he led him to President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Villa.

    Is Fani-Kayode a big catch? Is he an electoral asset? Where is his political base? Lagos or Ile-Ife, the cradle of his illustrious father, Chief Remi Fani-Power, a brilliant rascal and trouble-making deputy premier of ‘wild wild West?’ The Fani-Kayode gene is so strong.

    This time around, it is forbidden for any inquisitive reporter to ask a question like “who is bankrolling the defection?” It is also a taboo to describe the subject matter as a rabblerouser.

    But, will Fani-Kayode defect in vain? What motivated his return to the platform he had jettisoned during the preparations for 2015 presidential election? Is it a matter of bread and butter, as being insinuated in the social media?What is the cost of defection? What is the anticipated gain of shift in alliance?

    Fani-Kayode has skills, particularly of communication. He played the roles of a political communicator and propagandist under Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan. Is he about to be hired by APC for that pastime?

    If he becomes a Buhari spokesman tomorrow, heaven will not fall. Nigerians are usually enveloped in collective amnesia.

    It is always easy for the former aviation minister to eat his words in the presence of current realities. He criticised Dr. Jonathan. He later worked for him. He has described Buhari as a corrupt leader. He is now his fan. The tragedy of the wordsmith underscores the danger of talking without thinking. But, as it is said, all is politics. Politics and morality exist in clear-cut antithetical relationship.

    In hush tones, some party men are saying that the Osun-born politician may be tipped for the APC national publicity secretary at the next convention. This will make him relevant in 2023. There may be no obstacle. He will be given a waiver.

    Read Also: Fani-Kayode lied, Ugwuanyi not leaving PDP, says Enugu

    Party sources who hinted about a role to Fani-Kayode could not elaborate on whether the selection into the various positions in the National Working Committee of the  APC would premised on zoning, although he suggested that a minister and three governors from the North are rooting for Fani-Kayode.

    The first impediment  is that despite the obvious grandstanding, potential party officers must, first of all, be delegates. It is a condition for eligibility.

    Therefore, pressure has to be mounted on Osun APC leaders to clear the way.

    “Whether we like him or nor, there are certain qualities Fani-Kayode possesses that can be positively deployed, especially in terms of perception and image building,” said the source.

    He added:”The opposition PDP is planning to heap a lot of lies on us and we are ready to face them with facts in a more decent and coordinated manner that cannot be relegated to second position. Fani-Kayode is up to the task.

    “Already, they are working on the governor of his home state to see what could be done to make him a national delegate

    so that he can be made national spokesperson.”

    A lot of scheming and permutations in the ruling party. Another source said Fani-Kayode may emerge as the coordinator of a think-tank, the National Concensus Project (NCP), sponsored by the influential cabal.

    The group may start preaching national unity, without a conscious consideration for diversity. Already, these are speculations that some APC leaders are trying to deemphasise rotation and zoning while canvassinggenerational shift. It may be a prelude to politics of exclusion.

    Fani-Kayode is on a “self-service” lane. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father was a regional and federal legislator, a regional minister and defacto premier. He was a great and highly celebrated lawyer, unlike Femi Fani-Kayode.

    In the meantime, the brand new defector may resume his tour of Government Houses or Governors’ Offices, with particular focus on APC Governors; to commission projects and brainstorm on strategies towards 2023.

    Fani-Kayode has said that he has held talks with more PDP governors who are likely to call it quits with the opposition party.

    It is being speculated that Dr. Jonathan is also coming on board. Is his former spokesman now in the APC as part of his advance party?

    Nobody can predict the future. Who knows whether the former minister will still defect to PDP, now or in the future.

  • Remembering our Mamaláwo, Professor Sophie Olúwolé

    Remembering our Mamaláwo, Professor Sophie Olúwolé

    By Yahaya Balogun

    In the late 80s, I was a staffer at the University of Lagos, Akoko, Lagos, Nigeria, before I decided to further seek knowledge in the citadel of learning. Then, through the inspiration of people like Professor Sophie Olúwolé, I knew that nothing in the cockpit or cocoon of determination is unbreakable and unachievable if you are willed or determined to break the jinx!

    Once upon a time, it was one of the good old days in the chilling and dry wind at the University of Lagos. The dry wind is also known as harmattan in the tropical region of Nigeria. The weather was harshly cold and unfriendly. As the cold wind blew intermittently from the northeastern seaboard of the University on the beautiful morning of December 1993, the new students, including this writer, were scampering to get ready for the first lecture ever on our journey to becoming members of the literati or intellectual community.

    The course for that day was General African Studies coded GST 101. The lecture was held at one of the vast amphitheaters of the University. The enormous and brand new class was to be lectured by a Professor of Philosophy unknown to some Jambites (Jambites are nicknamed rookie-new students) being conscripted into the academic environment. In a wink, and with no “African time,” the intelligent and disciplined female lecturer surfaced with her unique figure and ebullient, amplified, and rotund voice. When she introduced herself from the podium as Professor Sophie Olúwolé from the Philosophy Department, her active and audible voice was embellished with her noticeable nervy stature. The uncontrollable noisy and rowdy class (students) suddenly became quiet and wrapped in their rookie season of expectations.

    The agile Professor Oluwole of the University of Lagos was always a super dandy woman in her traditional Ankara outfits. Her dressings tailored in Ìró and Bùbá outfits always complimented the African and Yoruba cultural heritage. As a former staffer of the Unilag bookshops, Professor Sophie Olúwolé’s intellectual image and presence anytime she came to buy or window shop for books at Unilag Bookstores had always captivated my intellectual curiosity with an insatiable quest for education. If you, ordinarily as a man, don’t understand the Professor’s mien can intimidate or rattle your showmanship or what we know as patriarchy power or masculinity. Professor Olúwolé was always a cynosure of all eyes in the university community. “Mamalawo,” as the active Professor was popularly called in the literary circles, was Arogidigba (a timber and caliber) in the academic town. Her voice and disposition commanded respect among all her contemporaries in the unique University of Lagos environment.

    Interestingly, the University of Lagos is situated and luxuriously dwells in chaotic metropolitan Lagos. The University of Lagos, strategically located in the circumference and confluence of some inhabitants in the suburbs of Akoka. It is virtually the only University in Nigeria bestowed with uncommon sociological principles and psychedelic leanings. Unilag is second to none! When Unilag coughed in those days, other universities usually caught colds in various forms. In those good old days, Unilag was popularly known as the “only University and others” in Nigeria! Lol! Up till today, despite the mercantilism of religious and private ventures in the Nigerian education sector, Unilag has maintained the coagulation or coalition of its impeccable professors with outstanding credentials. To obtain admissions into Unilag is a dream come true, and it’s like winning the Visa lottery to America! The late Prof. Sophie Olúwolé’s intellectual understanding reflected the University’s exceptionalism and one of the literary representations of the University of Lagos. Prof. Olúwolé’s proficiency in cultural and social nuances contributed to the uniqueness of the University of Lagos. Great Akokite, you would say!

    Read Also: ASUU hails Olatunji-Bello’s appointment as LASU’s new VC

    Prof. Olúwolé was a pan-Africanist. Some of her wailing students even christened her as Iya Aje (witchcraft) because of her proactiveness, incorruptible and disciplined persona. She was highly versed in African culture and history. Mama Sophie Olúwolé was a traditionalist and an African cultural renaissance. “Iya Aje” Sophie was an African sophist and a philosopher queen who would effortlessly dissect the nitty-gritty of African religion and tradition.

    The Late Prof. Sophie Olúwolé was the first female doctorate holder in philosophy in Nigeria. She was a vintage and astute practitioner of Yoruba philosophy. An ambassador and a cultural icon who inspired everyone with a particular interest in Yoruba mythology. Mama Olúwolé had a unique way of beautifully expressing her beliefs in our cultural and traditional religion. Mama’s suggestion for our political office holders to swear with Ogun-the the god of Iron sent jitters to the spines of these children of corruption in Nigeria! With trepidation, our politicians ignored the ‘big idea.’ Instead, they prefer to pseudo-swearing with the holy books and the balkanization of the Quran and the Bible! But the only thing our politicians are existentially answerable to is Karma, which is Mama’s prescription for the consequences of corruption! Karma has always been their inescapable reality in Nigeria!

    Born in 1936 in Igbara-oke, Ondo State, the Late Professor Olúwolé studied history, geography, and philosophy at the University of Lagos. She produced several books on philosophy, including Ifa and Orunmila which aimed to correct the misconception and neocolonialists’ mentality about African rich cultures. She succeeded in changing the narration of Western philosophers that Africans too, have a philosophy.

    Mama was an ideal Nigerian intellectual and a quintessential sophist who relished in her beliefs, traditions, and Mores! She will be greatly missed by those who have read or met her vintage and verbiage person. We must ensure that Mama’s extemporaneous responses to issues of education, religion, and other social nuances are archived in the national library, universities, and our collective conscience and consciousness. Mama Professor Olúwolé will be sorely missed and greatly mused!

    Mama Sophie Olúwolé was one of those who morally mentored this author’s passion and interest in freelance writing. I remember this woman every day. It is pertinent to use this medium to express our condolences to Mama’s family, colleagues in the global academic community, and the entire University of Lagos staffers and students. Our Mamalawo died at 83 in 2018! The literary community has lost a cultural icon—a woman with specious cognition with impeccable reasoning. Our cultural icon is mused and sorely missed!

    Goodnight to our amiable sophist and the “Mamaláwo” and “Ìyá Ãjé” of Yoruba cultural anthropology!

    May her gentle and beautiful soul continue to be beatified in our culture, and may Mama rest in perfect peace!

    • Balogun wrote from Arizona, USA.

     

     

  • Need for unity of Christians in Borno

    Need for unity of Christians in Borno

    By Victor Izekor

    It imperative to state here that if Christians in Borno would make meaningful impact and be accorded the deserved respect and attention the state branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) must not only be up and doing, but must be seen to be doing so. Petty dirty politics, run-down syndrome among leaders, mistrust, avarice and allegations of corrupt practices and compromise among the leaders are abound. Added to these is the doctrinaire differences among the blocks that make up CAN in Borno as well the nation.

    CAN exist in five blocks; TEKAN/ECWA (including ECWA, EYN, COCIN AND LCCN) Catholic Secretariat, (all Catholic Churches) PFN/PCFN (Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria including PBCC, Living Faith, Deeper Life and all other Pentecostal Churches founded by Africans), the OAIC (which stands for the Organization of African Instituted Churches, popularly known as the white garment Churches), and lastly the fifth block consisting of the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), membership of the CCN include the Anglican Churches, Baptist Churches, and the Methodist Churches. Theses blocks made up what is CAN today in Nigeria.

    According to the Borno State Chairman of CAN, Bishop Mohammed Naga, the doctrinaire differences should in no way affect the unity of the church as these are man’s creation that has no biblical injunction. Besides, said Bishop Naga, “we are all as true believers worshipping the same God”.

    Similarly, the formation of Northern States Christian Elders Forum which tend to create class consciousness or stratification leading to dual authority as well dual loyalty between the state CAN and Elders Forum is another problem militating against Christian unity in Borno.

    As stated above petty dirty politics, mostly externally induced into the operations of the state CAN has created mistrust to the extent that the hitherto united front of the state CAN yester years has now become a system where the falcon find it difficult to hear the falcona. Borno state CAN has become a house silently divided against itself as a result of the divided and rule tactics of the power that be in the state 15years back. The power that bet at the period in question not able to bear the pressure of the state CAN was alleged to have substanranally created a division among the members with the threat that the state authority would have nothing to do with the Christian body any longer if the state CAN is not chaired by the state indigene.

    Read Also: The Vindication of Kashim for endorsing Zulum

    Whether by design, default or coincidence, indigenes of the state has retained chairmanship of the state CAN for over a decade now. Feelers from prominent members of the Christian community in the state clearly show that many are not happy with this development. It must however be pointed out here that there is no fuss so much if indigenes continue to chair the state CAN, provided they do what is expected and refuse to compromise the affairs of Christiandom is the state for a pot of porridge as being presently alleged is some quarters. It is however on record, that when Reverend Ishira Garba an indigene and of COCIN church, Maiduguri was the Chairman of the Maiduguri Metropolitan CAN, he was highly respected, rated and tagged “Incorruptible” by many. It is not the origin or state of the leader that matters, but the stuff he is made.

    Added to this is run-down syndrome among some Christian leaders in the state. For example, the current state Chairman of CAN, Bishop Mohammed Naga explained in his book “At the Appointed Time: Naga the Making of a Bishop” Page 85 revealed how he was maligned by some Christian leaders when he was contesting for the state Chairmanship of CAN. According to Nag in the book “Infact, one faceless group wrote a petition against Bishop Naga, but after verifying, the claims were not only found to be false, but the petition was not owned up.

    Allegation of lackadaisical or slipshod leadership approach in serious issues affecting the Christian community has been of concern to many. For example, the non-committal effort in the handling of compensation to Christian victims of February 18, 2006 sectarian revolt in which several souls were lost and property officially valued at N1.5 billion were destroyed Maiduguri leaves much to be desired.

    The distribution of hundreds of seats yearly allocated by the state government to Christians in the state to the Holy land (Israel) has been of concern to Christian community in the state who alleged that some areas in the community have been short charged by the concerned Christian officials in charge.

    The combination of the above coupled with allegations of avarice, corruption and self-preservation rightly or wrongly among some members of CAN and some Christian officials or leaders in government appeared to have gradually eroded the confidence of the generality of Christians in the state in the leadership rightly or wrongly.

    It is therefore imperative for CAN and all Christian stakeholders to make appreciable impact on issues affecting the Christian fate in Borno, there must be unity of purpose that must be deliberately planned, sustained and maintained.

     

    • Izekor is a journalist and public affairs analyst and write at victorizekor@gmail.com

     

  • And Fani Kayode returns to his vomit

    By Igboeli Arinze

    Save for myself, the actions of an average Nigerian politician no longer surprises me. No, i am so done allowing myself to be wowed by any politician, whether he be young or old.

    Thus, i wasn’t taken aback when visuals of President Muhammadu Buhari appeared together with Nigeria’s basketmouth politician, in the person of Femi Fani Kayode as the latter had gone to pay Baba Buhari a visit in Ask Rock as well as cement his reentry into the All Progressives Congress, APC.

    Trust social media, they have began to cheer and mostly jeer, for here was a man who had repeatedly, right from 2014 been taking the APC and who was who to the cleaners. If the APC according to Fani was not planning the islamization of Nigeria, the party was surely planning its fulanization with Buhari as its henchman.

    He became the toast of many Nigerians who had chosen to blame Buhari for every of their problems under the sun, including someone’s goat which had gone missing. Fani Kayode became the official critic of the APC/ Buhari. He courted his fellow mavericks and any body who openly disagreed with President Buhari. In doing so, he deployed every arsenal, every known medium and every style of language. He employed sentiments and propaganda together with all known forms of theatrics. He wowed his audience and wooed them with more yabis. and knocks, He dipped his pen into hell’s kind of vitriol and penned away words borne with acerbic reasoning. APC to Fani was a poisoned chalice and he would rather die than return to the party he had even boasted.

    Read Also: Buhari is a man one can work with, says Femi Fani-Kayode

    Fani even danced dirty, at many points he was like an Agbero in a “roforofo” fight who had thrown all decency into the winds and wouldn’t mind wrestling naked with his ugly sights vieed without requiring any pay per view, even at that, society still celebrated the mad man, for as long as Buhari and the APC were Fani’s whipping boys, he could throw all decency to the dogs too, this set of Nigerians cared not much.

    These Nigerians do not know or perhaps they knew but gave excuses for Femi Kayode’s background or should i say history, otherwise they would have known that Fani’s Father. Remi Fani Kayode had also been a tic- tac-toe politician, changing platforms and even professed ideologies at the slightest whim.

    Again, perhaps i may be wrong to have connected his(FFK’s) forward and backward dance to his DNA, but then i am not sure i will be wrong should we revisit his antecedents: Can we forget how Fani Kayode lampooned Obasanjo in the hey days of our return to democracy only to become Obasanjo’s chief noisemaker when they appointed him as a Special Assistant on Public Affairs before he became Minister for Culture and later for Aviation where he was only notable for calling our former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, “Ole” in FEC meetings.

    Not done, FFK took swipes at Umaru Yar Adua but then joined the APC and began acting as the party’s spokesperson. He raised a storm against the then sitting President, Goodluck Jonathan, describing him as a man with no balls and leaving a legacy of destruction and disaster. He attacked the Igbo nation in the heat of the Anambra guber elections of 2013 courting immense umbrage.

    But before one could say Casa in Casablanca, Fani Kayode had returned to his vomit and President Jonathan became the next best thing after ofe Oha( Oha Soup) and a ball-less Jonathan was now an “endowed” president (Apologies to Dbanj)

    Even an Atiku Abubakar who Fani Kayode had openly called all manner of unprintable names was given a clean bill of health and hailed as a patriot by the same Fani Kayode when the former vied for the office of president in 2019. Atiku automatically became a Saint

    So you see why Fani Kayode’s return to the APC isn’t surprising, this has been his trend for the past 22 years and to add insult to injury, he ascribes his waka waka to bridge building! Pray what will happen to the bridges Fani Kayode sought to build with NdiIgbo when he urged them to declare the Republic of Biafra, promising to follow suit. What bridges would those Yoruba and Igbo youths who died heeding Fani Kayode’s call for seccession ply now that the same Fani is in bed with their alleged traduces?

    In civilised climes, Fani Kayode would be.the buzzword for tomfoolery, as well as for treachery and pricinple-less politics, sadly here, he will still be celebrated

    But why blame Fani Kayode for exhibiting this kind of madness? Why belabor the clowning for which we have repeatedly cheered as a people? Why are we denouncing him when lo and behold he is the making of our society and its nauseating love for principle-less politicking!

  • The Vindication of Kashim for endorsing Zulum

    The Vindication of Kashim for endorsing Zulum

    By Victor Izekor

    They are both leafiest. It is a case of leafiest handing over to a leafiest. They call each other boss. They attended the same University, being the University of Maiduguri. They are both from Borno Central Senatorial zone.  While one hails from Maiduguri, the other comes from Mafa town. Both are achievement personified and they are risk takers. They respectively inherited the bane of Boko Haram insurgency as Governors. They were at one point or the other University lecturers and they taught in the same University being, the University of Maiduguri, their Alma mater. Both were Commissioners in different administrations before becoming governor of the same state at different periods. They rode to governorship of the same state in the same political party.

    They are both Kanuri by tribe. As Governors they are award winners, workaholic determined and result oriented. One handed over the baton of office to the other having completed a two term tenure of four years per term. The other is still running the race. Both the predecessor and successor are well acclaimed for service delivery, despite the security challenges that engulfed Borno, their state, the epicenter of insurgency.

    Writing the article captioned “WHERE DID THIS ZULUM EMERGE FROM” Mr. Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, who accompanied the President to Maiduguri on his recent official visit to Borno was in wonderment on the landmarks of achievements recorded by Professor Zulum’s administration in the limited time, despite the serious security imbroglio, Borno is experiencing.

    Parts of Femi Adesina’s article read, “President Buhari, who was a military governor of the old Borno state, had very kind words for Zulum when he visited. A man parsimonious with praises, the President said the host was forthright, resilient, and committed to development, despite the security challenges confronting the state.

    “The President said the Governor takes huge personal risks to promote peace and development, spending nights with the vulnerable and displaced. And I ask again: where did this man emerge from? It’s never done like that here.

    “Ask me for one of the ‘poster boys’ for the All Progressive Congress (APC), and I’ll gladly show you Governor Zulum. It takes a heart dedicated to service to build roads, schools, hospitals, mass housing, and many others, that the President commissioned when he visited Borno. And the half has never yet been told.

    “With public officers like Zulum, confidence is rekindled in Nigeria. Not everyone is a thief. Not everyone is a plunderer. Muhammadu Buhari, honest, straight as an arrow, is replicating himself in many people. Zulum seems to be one, and it makes one glad.

    “If what we see in Borno now happens under the miasma of insecurity, what will then happen when peace and amity returns, which will inexorably happen? Kashim Shettima, the immediate past Governor took great strides. He had bequeathed to the state a man taking giant strides. That’s the way it should be. You don’t succeed without a worthy successor.

    Throughout his two term tenure as the Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima remained nonpredictable with regards his possible successor. This, he kept to his chest keeping many wondering, tell tales, murmuring and gossip napping. Even few days to the All Progressives Party (APC) governorship primaries in the state Kashim remained incommunicado on his possible successor. The situation became more fluid, uncertain and complex when the Daily Trust of September 16, 2018 P43 reported that Borno State APC Governorship aspirants spent N425 million on forms. At the last count over 20 aspirants came up making Borno governorship primaries of APC, the most competitive throughout the nation.

    And before the shout of Jack Robinson, came the unexpected bombshell from Governor Kashim Shettima. The statement from the Governor titled “Why, I Endorsed Prof. Zulum to succeed me as Borno’s Governor” speaks for itself and even the doubting Thomas understood the implications. Parts of the statement read:

    “In the last couple of days, I have come under intense pressure from many stakeholders insisting that I should anoint a successor. In all discussions, I have maintained one divine statement, which is, only Allah gives power to whom he pleases and at the time he pleases. I, Kashim Shettima am but human, a first amongst equals, I do not and cannot give power. I can only make recommendation based on my own human, but informed analysis. Even at that, my recommendation cannot foreclose the fundamental right of any legitimate aspirant to contest the primary election.

    Read Also: Boko Haram: Agrarian settlement rises again

    “From the generality of feedbacks, there is no doubt, that what will define political debates in Borno’s 2019 Governorship election will be promises in the aftermath of brutal conflict, deaths and destruction of communities.

    “Everywhere in the world, post conflict rehabilitation, restoration, reconciliation & resettlement are complex, composite and interwoven.

    “With humility and absolute respect for all aspirants, I will like to say, that from overwhelming opinions and feedbacks, the aspirant with an edge in understanding the peace-Development Nexus of Borno’s post conflict future is Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, mni, FNSE.

    “As Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement since September 2015, Professor Zulum has been in the thick of our recovery and restoration efforts. He has proved to understand the dynamics. He has established enormous amount of contact in the post conflict development sector and has earned the confidence of local and international stakeholders, Borno needs such confidence in the task of completing our ongoing social and economic recovery of communities and livelihoods.

    “For our peculiar situation, Professor Zulum has shown the potentials to take Borno state to the next level. His age is also an advantage. At 48, Professor Zulum is in his prime, he is head & shoulders above me in terms of intellect, capacity & indefatigability. Zulum is without the slightest doubt, a workhorse! Professor Zulum’s story in the struggles of life will connect with electorates. Professor Zulum fought his way from grass to grace. From a humble beginning he hawked firewood to finance his education. Thought unusual courage and determination, he is today a Professor of Irrigation Engineering and member of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies.

    “It is easy to market Professor Zulum before delegates. If we succeed, In-Sha Allah, we shall round Borno state, to remind electorates from Gwoza to Chibok, Bama to Damasak, Konduga to Kaga and all over Borno state. We shall tell electorates to look around their neighborhoods and see how Professor Zulum was able to rebuilt their communities from thousands of homes, hundreds of schools to healthcare centres and restored their livelihoods at the risk of being attacked by Boko Haram.

    “No one would expect a Professor to become a stooge of any government. Professor Zulum has always been one with his independent mindset. Fortunately, his mindset has proved to be highly progressive and productive. His records as Rector of Ramat Polytechnic in Maiduguri have stood him out as much as what he so much achieved in our ongoing reconstruction and resettlement of internally displace persons and refugees affected by Boko Haram crisis. In choosing Professor Zulum, I know, that I will be remembered for placing Borno above my personal interest. This is what informed this article. The vindication of Kashim Shettima for endorsing Professor Zulum as his successor and the aftermath of this. Though the endorsement of Professor Zulum by Kashim before the APC governorship primaries in the state raised some stir or dust by some of the aspirants, rightly or wrongly, but Kashim had his way, while the aspirants have their say. The APC governorship primaries nevertheless still took pace among the aspirants, but Zulum won. This is now story and has become another past.

    The question now is has Zulum justified his endorsement by Kashim? Contemporary issues, incontrovertible evidence on ground with regards achievements of his administration in the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement programme, the mass oriented programme of the state government, youth empowerment and development of infrastructure both economic and social testified to the successes recorded.

    More importantly, are unrelenting efforts of the administration in taking back home the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) scattered all over.

    Suffice to say that Zulum has justified his endorsement by Kashim. Above all, Zulum’s success is Kashim’s success.

    • Victor Izekor is a journalist and public affairs analyst and write at victorizekor@gmail.com

     

  • The Vindication of Kashim for endorsing Zulum

    By Victor Izekor

    They are both leafiest. It is a case of leafiest handing over to a leafiest. They call each other boss. They attended the same University, being the University of Maiduguri. They are both from Borno Central Senatorial zone.  While one hails from Maiduguri, the other comes from Mafa town. Both are achievement personified and they are risk takers. They respectively inherited the bane of Boko Haram insurgency as Governors. They were at one point or the other University lecturers and they taught in the same University being, the University of Maiduguri, their Alma mater. Both were Commissioners in different administrations before becoming governor of the same state at different periods. They rode to governorship of the same state in the same political party.

    They are both Kanuri by tribe. As Governors they are award winners, workaholic determined and result oriented. One handed over the baton of office to the other having completed a two term tenure of four years per term. The other is still running the race. Both the predecessor and successor are well acclaimed for service delivery, despite the security challenges that engulfed Borno, their state, the epicenter of insurgency.

    Writing the article captioned “WHERE DID THIS ZULUM EMERGE FROM” Mr. Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, who accompanied the President to Maiduguri on his recent official visit to Borno was in wonderment on the landmarks of achievements recorded by Professor Zulum’s administration in the limited time, despite the serious security imbroglio, Borno is experiencing.

    Parts of Femi Adesina’s article read, “President Buhari, who was a military governor of the old Borno state, had very kind words for Zulum when he visited. A man parsimonious with praises, the President said the host was forthright, resilient, and committed to development, despite the security challenges confronting the state.

    “The President said the Governor takes huge personal risks to promote peace and development, spending nights with the vulnerable and displaced. And I ask again: where did this man emerge from? It’s never done like that here.

    “Ask me for one of the ‘poster boys’ for the All Progressive Congress (APC), and I’ll gladly show you Governor Zulum. It takes a heart dedicated to service to build roads, schools, hospitals, mass housing, and many others, that the President commissioned when he visited Borno. And the half has never yet been told.

    “With public officers like Zulum, confidence is rekindled in Nigeria. Not everyone is a thief. Not everyone is a plunderer. Muhammadu Buhari, honest, straight as an arrow, is replicating himself in many people. Zulum seems to be one, and it makes one glad.

    Read Also; Boko Haram: Agrarian settlement rises again

    “If what we see in Borno now happens under the miasma of insecurity, what will then happen when peace and amity returns, which will inexorably happen? Kashim Shettima, the immediate past Governor took great strides. He had bequeathed to the state a man taking giant strides. That’s the way it should be. You don’t succeed without a worthy successor.

    Throughout his two term tenure as the Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima remained nonpredictable with regards his possible successor. This, he kept to his chest keeping many wondering, tell tales, murmuring and gossip napping. Even few days to the All Progressives Party (APC) governorship primaries in the state Kashim remained incommunicado on his possible successor. The situation became more fluid, uncertain and complex when the Daily Trust of September 16, 2018 P43 reported that Borno State APC Governorship aspirants spent N425 million on forms. At the last count over 20 aspirants came up making Borno governorship primaries of APC, the most competitive throughout the nation.

    And before the shout of Jack Robinson, came the unexpected bombshell from Governor Kashim Shettima. The statement from the Governor titled “Why, I Endorsed Prof. Zulum to succeed me as Borno’s Governor” speaks for itself and even the doubting Thomas understood the implications. Parts of the statement read:

    “In the last couple of days, I have come under intense pressure from many stakeholders insisting that I should anoint a successor. In all discussions, I have maintained one divine statement, which is, only Allah gives power to whom he pleases and at the time he pleases. I, Kashim Shettima am but human, a first amongst equals, I do not and cannot give power. I can only make recommendation based on my own human, but informed analysis. Even at that, my recommendation cannot foreclose the fundamental right of any legitimate aspirant to contest the primary election.

    “From the generality of feedbacks, there is no doubt, that what will define political debates in Borno’s 2019 Governorship election will be promises in the aftermath of brutal conflict, deaths and destruction of communities.

    “Everywhere in the world, post conflict rehabilitation, restoration, reconciliation & resettlement are complex, composite and interwoven.

    “With humility and absolute respect for all aspirants, I will like to say, that from overwhelming opinions and feedbacks, the aspirant with an edge in understanding the peace-Development Nexus of Borno’s post conflict future is Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, mni, FNSE.

    “As Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement since September 2015, Professor Zulum has been in the thick of our recovery and restoration efforts. He has proved to understand the dynamics. He has established enormous amount of contact in the post conflict development sector and has earned the confidence of local and international stakeholders, Borno needs such confidence in the task of completing our ongoing social and economic recovery of communities and livelihoods.

    “For our peculiar situation, Professor Zulum has shown the potentials to take Borno state to the next level. His age is also an advantage. At 48, Professor Zulum is in his prime, he is head & shoulders above me in terms of intellect, capacity & indefatigability. Zulum is without the slightest doubt, a workhorse! Professor Zulum’s story in the struggles of life will connect with electorates. Professor Zulum fought his way from grass to grace. From a humble beginning he hawked firewood to finance his education. Thought unusual courage and determination, he is today a Professor of Irrigation Engineering and member of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies.

    “It is easy to market Professor Zulum before delegates. If we succeed, In-Sha Allah, we shall round Borno state, to remind electorates from Gwoza to Chibok, Bama to Damasak, Konduga to Kaga and all over Borno state. We shall tell electorates to look around their neighborhoods and see how Professor Zulum was able to rebuilt their communities from thousands of homes, hundreds of schools to healthcare centres and restored their livelihoods at the risk of being attacked by Boko Haram.

    “No one would expect a Professor to become a stooge of any government. Professor Zulum has always been one with his independent mindset. Fortunately, his mindset has proved to be highly progressive and productive. His records as Rector of Ramat Polytechnic in Maiduguri have stood him out as much as what he so much achieved in our ongoing reconstruction and resettlement of internally displace persons and refugees affected by Boko Haram crisis. In choosing Professor Zulum, I know, that I will be remembered for placing Borno above my personal interest. This is what informed this article. The vindication of Kashim Shettima for endorsing Professor Zulum as his successor and the aftermath of this. Though the endorsement of Professor Zulum by Kashim before the APC governorship primaries in the state raised some stir or dust by some of the aspirants, rightly or wrongly, but Kashim had his way, while the aspirants have their say. The APC governorship primaries nevertheless still took pace among the aspirants, but Zulum won. This is now story and has become another past.

    The question now is has Zulum justified his endorsement by Kashim? Contemporary issues, incontrovertible evidence on ground with regards achievements of his administration in the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement programme, the mass oriented programme of the state government, youth empowerment and development of infrastructure both economic and social testified to the successes recorded.

    More importantly, are unrelenting efforts of the administration in taking back home the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) scattered all over.

    Suffice to say that Zulum has justified his endorsement by Kashim. Above all, Zulum’s success is Kashim’s success.

    • Victor Izekor is a journalist and public affairs analyst and write at victorizekor@gmail.com