By Tunji Olaopa

 

The grand consensus by majority of Nigerians is that the Nigerian state stands on a precipice. Indeed, most people believe that this is the most critical point in Nigeria’s political history; the point that we are very close to imminent war, or even final dissolution. This opinion is shared by both ordinary Nigerians whose very lives bear the inscriptions of the failed governance process in Nigeria, as well as the elites who keep struggling to keep the state from tottering and falling. The imminent danger at the moment is not even the COVID-19 pandemic and its multidimensional implications. With the first wave, Nigeria somehow escaped the death statistics that went into millions across the world. And Nigerians escaped outside of any governmental attempt at providing a stimulus package which could have alleviated the pains and agonies of a lockdown protocol that was so out of tune with Nigerian socioeconomic realities. Now, the second wave of the pandemic is biting hard, and the death tolls are increasing.

And right in the midst of the pandemic, Nigeria’s national development problems are escalating. And they are escalating right at the most fundamental core of a state’s responsibility to its citizens—law and order. Since the turn of the twenty first century, the national anomalies created by the amalgamation of the Nigerian state started culminating in several dysfunctional consequences. Central to these structural and institutional dysfunctions is Nigeria’s status as a federation. Nigeria’s constitutional past was a careful consideration of Nigeria’s plural reality and what constitutional history teaches about dealing with such realities. And yet, political adventurism, induced by military intrusions, led to a unitary imposition that engendered acute centralization. The centralization of the law enforcement machinery of the Nigerian state, for instance, stands in acute contradiction to the semblance of federal framework the Constitution promises, to wit, the governor of a state shall be the chief security officer of such a state, and shall be responsible for preserving the live of the citizens. The result is that the president dictates an order to the Inspector General of Police that flies in the face sociopolitical realities in each of the 36 states of the federation.

The Nigerian security reality is presently accentuated around the evils of kidnapping, banditry, insurgency and multiple killings. The terrible combination of Boko Haram insurgency and the herdsmen conflict has brought the Nigerian state to a watershed in her history that is only matched by the pre-civil war tension of 1966. In fact, many Nigerians fear that we are on the direct path to an imminent civil war. News report and political commentaries and analyses in the public sphere are filled by lamentations and angers. For some, it is either that the Nigerian leadership is playing a dangerous game or that the state as guarantor of peace and security is overwhelmed. This amounts to the same thing: neither can the state get the work of development done nor are public institutions working.

It takes a little reflection to see how such perception from the citizenry could lead to acute and depressing pessimism. Even political elites are throwing up their hands in resignation. And those who have not resigned themselves to fate are engaged in unceasing interrogation of a state that keeps frustrating every attempt at resolution. One major capitulation to pessimism was by Chief Bola Ige, the late attorney general of the federation who, unfortunately, fell to the insecurity of the Nigerian state. He popularized the catchphrase “siddon look.” This is a pidgin statement that speaks to a decision to fold one’s arms and watch as political incidences and events unfolds—without making any attempt at intervention. This attitude of political apathy is not nonchalance. On the contrary, it is borne out of the experience of bitter frustration that borders on cynicism.

And yet, cynicism is most cowardly of all responses to political troubles. And it is because it obviates the politics of hope. Stephen Colbert, the American comedian puts it most aptly: “Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the furthest thing from it…. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness: a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say ‘no.’ But saying ‘yes’ begins things. Saying ‘yes’ is how things grow.” And there is one political commentator, and active participant in Nigeria’s national project, who has never given in to cynicism, but rather has consistently been saying “yes”: Professor Pat Utomi. As a public intellectual, he has never shied away from projecting his hope and patriotism about Nigeria and her latent possibilities. He does not just analyze, he also participated in national affairs. He believed so much in Nigeria’s future and his blueprint for bringing it to pass that he actively took fundamental steps to become, first, the president of Nigeria, and then second, the governorship seat of Delta State. For him, Nigeria is too significant to be cynical about. Founding the Center for Values in Leadership (CVL) ensures that he keeps pushing the boundaries of thinking and action about making Nigeria a great nation. This means that there was no way he could be an armchair critic.

Utomi’s way of “yes” to Nigeria and her possibility to is to retort a “why not?” to the anguished and resigned chorus of those in the “Siddon Look Movement” who ask why we should bother about Nigeria and her consistent failure as a nation. It was therefore so apt that he would make his optimistic retort the focus of a book aptly titled Why Not: Citizenship, State Capture, Creeping Fascism, and Criminal Hijack of Politics in Nigeria (2019). This is an autobiographical narration of the author’s immersion in Nigerian politics, and perspectives on how it could be better. It is a book that speaks in a timely manner to Nigeria’s current security and governance challenge, and how we should be begin to reflect on solution, even though it was published almost two years ago. In the Preface to the book, the author categorically states that “why not” is the response to “the question ‘why bother,’ which is posed by those who believed that criminal capture of political parties in Nigeria is complete and that those outside the league of cult members, 419ers and con men have no chance of breaking in.” The book is Utomi’s own way of recoiling from cynicism, and spelling out fundamentally his vision for retrieving Nigeria from imminent collapse.

Utomi’s thesis is simple: politics has underdeveloped Nigeria since the founding fathers calibrated a vision of how Nigeria’s plurality ought to be managed. Politics in Nigeria, rather than being emancipatory on behalf of the citizens, has rather become a cult of personality dedicated to advancing the selfish and greedy interests of those who are committed to siphoning the commonwealth. This led to the crowding out of legitimate and genuine participants and citizens who could contribute their quota to making politics work for Nigeria. And this, in Prof. Utomi’s reckoning, is the reason why so many had folded their arms and assumed the attitude of “why bother?” the “why not?” retort, Utomi insists, “should be a clarion call of a people determined to prevent their lives from being determined by a cluster of cultists, conmen, fraudsters and treasury looters masquerading  as politicians and political party leaders.” These people consolidated their fetish grip on politics with the terrible understanding that people do not matter, even in a democratic experiment.

To get the people, Nigerians, back into politics and reform the odious politics that exclude them and steal their commonweal through state capture, Prof. Pat Utomi has two solid recommendations. First, he demands that we hold the Nigerian middle class responsible. By “middle class,” Utomi has in mind the intellectuals, the professionals and the civil society—the academics, the business professionals, the religious leaders, the students, and the media professionals. The middle class is already complicit in state capture and the rape of the commonwealth because it has lost its moral authority. It has been reduced to an impotent and angry social media force that merely resort to name calling. The other side of the equation is to reform the political party dynamics that consistently make it practically impossible for those who genuinely want to participate to do so. Party politics has effectively become the competition of the rich and the wealthy.

Essentially, Utomi insists that Nigeria’s salvation demands the emergence of a purposeful new elite with new vision and new values that will become the foundation of new structures and institutions. The reformer in me rejoices at this recommendation. This is because it has been the focus of my agitation for institutional reforms for many years. Pat Utomi’s larger concern is to draw this new elite from the larger class of professionals and civil society, while I focus on new public managers with the capacity to birth new institutional philosophy on which democratic governance can be remodeled for development. This is the imperative of rehabilitating the Nigerian project and making it achieve its ultimate goal of achieving national integration and national development through a developmental Nigerian state.

To this end, Pat Utomi calls for the revolution of the enlightened leadership as a possibility that is only equaled by the revolution of the popular masses. When he wrote Why Not in 2019, the #EndSARS protest that shook the foundation of Nigeria was just a few months away. I suspect that Utomi would have been elated by the protest, but ultimately disappointed by its conclusion, as most of us were. But the protest gestured at the possibility of hope that has animated Prof. Pat Utomi and other concerned Nigerians for so long. The #EndSARS protest tells us essentially that Prof Utomi is right in his assessment of the Nigerian state, and that his vision is solid. We will need to reevaluate the politics that has kept us down for far too long. And we have started already. And why not?

 

• Prof. Olaopa is Retired Federal Permanent Secretary and Directing Staff, National Institute For Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos

tolaopa2003@gmail.com

    

 

By Tunde Rahman

 

If the 12th Bola Tinubu Colloquium to celebrate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s 69th birthday was organised in the ancient and progressive city of Kano purposely to demonstrate the unity and oneness of Nigeria, it would appear that, that purpose was achieved bountifully given the huge success of the conference. Not only was the colloquium immensely successful with a rich collection of important dignitaries and first-class panelists in attendance and the high quality of ideas and recommendations thrown up on the pressing issues facing the country, the selection of Kano as host city for the colloquium was also highly praised.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who chaired the conference virtually from the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, said taking the event to Kano demonstrated true statesmanship on the part of Asiwaju Tinubu, the former Lagos State governor. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said it was a pointer to the fact that Nigeria’s diversity is better harnessed as strength to further unite Nigerians. Commending Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, for hosting the colloquium, Osinbajo said the gesture would further deepen the essence of national unity. For the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, the selection of Kano to celebrate Asiwaju’s birthday was a “testament to his love and quest for a united Nigeria.”

Monday March 29 was the first time the colloquium, that has over the years become a veritable platform for the fraternal exchange of ideas and views about issues plaguing the country, was staged in the core North. For the first time in its 12 years of commencement also, the colloquium was planned as a hybrid, taking place simultaneously at the Bourdillion, Ikoyi, Lagos residence of Asiwaju Tinubu, International Conference Centre, Abuja, and, of course, Kano.

However, there was no doubt that Kano was the centre of attraction. Physically present in the city for the conference were dignitaries, which included the Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress who is also Yobe State Governor, Mallam Mai Mala Buni; the host, Governor Ganduje; former Interim Chairman of APC & ex-Osun State governor, Chief Bisi Akande; the celebrator, Asiwaju himself, Chairman of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam; former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, former National Vice Chairman, South-west of APC, Chief Pius Akinyelure; former governors, many senators and House of Representatives members.

Vice President Osinbajo, House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha, four state governors namely Dr. Kayode Fayemi (Governor of Ekiti State & Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum), Mr. Babajide Sanwo-olu (Lagos), Prince Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun) as well as some former governors, ministers and senators who were on their way to Kano were forced to halt the journey at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja because of the inclement weather which disrupted flights. The governors instantly joined the colloquium by virtual means at the airport while others simply headed back to their offices to hook up.

Among the panelists were President George Weah of Liberia and former President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone. Others on the impressive panel were Madam Finda Koroma, Vice President, ECOWAS Commission; Professor Dani Rodrick, Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Prof. Funmi Olonisakin, Professor of Security, Leadership & Development King’s College, London; Mr. Mohamed Yahya, Resident Representative in Nigeria, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Ms. Amaka Anku, Practice Head, Africa Eurasia Group, and Ms. Namdir Charity Namsoh, Founder/CEO, HoP Africa, Jos, Plateau State.

Another remarkable aspect of the colloquium is the high quality of ideas and valuable interventions on national issues thrown up this year as in previous ones. For instance, President Buhari who stated that the theme of this year’s colloquium was very apt and timely emphasized the need for the country to remain together notwithstanding its challenges. Chairing the conference, the president noted that despite occasional tension in the nation’s history characterised by diversity of ethnicity, culture, language and religion, “Nigerians are better off and stronger together.”

Lauding Asiwaju, the president said the former Lagos governor had always been an advocate of unity and cohesion in Nigeria. “This has been a constant factor in his outstanding political career, from the time he served in the short-lived Senate of the Third Republic to his involvement in the struggle for the actualisation of the June 12 mandate of the late Chief MKO Abiola, to his much-acclaimed period of service as Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007,” the president said.

“The ranks of Asiwaju’s political collaborators, whether as party members, comrades in the struggle, members of his cabinet, or his advisers, assistants and political associates, have always reflected a pan-Nigeria attitude. I believe all of us can also confirm that the same outlook of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other like-minded Nigerians eventually made possible the coalition of four political parties into what we now see as our great party, the All Progressives Congress,’’ he added.

Vice President Osinbajo spoke in the same vein too. According to him, what the country needs presently are patriots who are ready to work resolutely for a new Nigeria, “a tribe of men and women who are prepared to make the sacrifices and self-constraints that are crucial to building a strong society; who are prepared to stick together, fight for equity and justice side by side. A tribe consisting of professionals, businessmen, politicians, religious leaders and all others who believe that this new Nigeria is possible.” He said despite the various socio-economic challenges worsened by the fallouts of a global pandemic, Nigeria should avoid stoking tendencies, viewpoints and opinions that threaten the federation and Nigeria’s unity.

Some of the eggheads at the conference also harped on this matter of cohesion. Prof. Rodrik, in his keynote address, noted that the lack of social and national cohesion is a challenge for economic growth, explaining that although this problem is not limited to Nigeria or Africa as other advanced democracies also experience it, Africa only suffers more because of its ethnic-religious-linguistic divisions.

Professor Rodrik spoke on the topic: “Social Cohesion in Divided Societies. Answering the question “Is Diversity a Curse?” the Professor said the countries that are much more diverse or fragmented in terms of ethnic or linguistic groups tend to perform worse in terms of economic development. “The general message is that counties that are more fractionalised in terms of ethnic groups or with much more ethnic heterogeneity tend to have high levels of poverty and deprivation and low levels of economic growth and productivity. Many African countries fall in this group. There is evidence that ethnic-religious-linguistic divisions leads directly to racism, discrimination, low trust, poor social outcomes, under-provision of collective, public goods, inequality, low growth ethno-national chauvinism, divisive politics, nativist (right-wing) populism and bad politics.”

According to him, “On average, participatory democracies produce greater economic stability and (perhaps) higher economic growth. They are better at avoiding large mistakes and they respond to external shocks better, especially in divided societies.” While arguing that democracy is the best way to ensure national cohesion, using the example of how democratic countries had responded better to the COVID-19 pandemic than authoritarian regimes, Prof. Rodrik noted that democracy is not only about elections, “it is about protecting the rights of the minority including the rights of the ethnic and religious minorities”. While arguing that the infusion of social conflict is not necessarily disruptive to any society, the professor advocated inter-ethnic equity, spatial integration and an all-embracing politics as panacea for peace.

Prof. Olonisakin from King’s College, London urged Nigeria to listen to the conversation from the youths, from the streets in building cohesion. Recalling the EndSARS protests by youths, she pointed out that by their protests and demonstrations against the excesses of the police and their demand for radical change, the youths were passing a message. “The Nigerian government should listen to and hearken to this conversation.”

In his remarks, the celebrator, Asiwaju Tinubu, urged the Federal Government not to inflict stiffer economic policies on Nigerians, pointing out that the citizens were already going through devastating pressure. Speaking extempore, he said: “What Nigerians need is economic stimulus and not austerity measure capable of driving the country deeper into poverty. Nigeria is under-policed. We are competing with armed robbers and bandits to recruit from the youths who are unemployed. Nigeria’s unemployment rate recently hit a new record high at 33.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020.

“With the high unemployment rate, some have feared that many youths who are out of jobs might turn to social vices and ills including banditry in the Northern parts of the country. It is time the Buhari administration addressed the situation so as to improve the standard of living of the citizens.” Saying Nigeria is a sovereign state and could engage in large stimulus spending without bothering about balanced budgets unlike states and Local governments, Tinubu advocated an employment policy wherein a vast number of the nation’s youths could be recruited into the army, police, other security agencies and all aspects of nation-building ranging from infrastructural development to agricultural modernisation.

In the end, the consensus among participants at the gathering was about the need for a new national integration and genuine rebirth to steer the country away from a threatening ethnic and religious fragmentation. The 12th Bola Tinubu Colloquium lived to its billing again this year. The conference was initiated in 2009 to celebrate Asiwaju, propagate his ideals and provide a platform for exchange of ideas on national issues. It has been held since 2009 except last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Asiwaju, the road to this year’s colloquium was laced with a plethora of activities from Kaduna to Kano. Two days to the event, he was in Kaduna where he chaired the 11th annual Arewa House Lecture on the theme “Reduction of the Cost of Governance for Inclusive Growth and Youth Development in Northern Nigeria in a Post-COVID-19 era.” On Sunday, the eve of the colloquium, he paid a courtesy call on the Emir of Kano where he again canvassed unity. He urged Nigerians to strengthen the bond of unity among them to ensure prosperity of the country. The nation, according to him, was at a critical stage in its history where unity and understanding were required to move it forward. From the Emir’s palace, Asiwaju proceeded from one part of the state to another to inaugurate the numerous projects put in place by Governor Ganduje.

 

• Former Editor, Thisday on Sunday Newspaper, Rahman is Media Adviser to Asiwaju Tinubu.

 

 

 

By Omolara Otuyemi

 

I had at one point taught in a school where I was opportune to meet children with their distinctive peculiarities. Some, I vividly remember, while some are hazy in my head due to the duration of time from then till now.  So, when I heard news about one of the obviously sound pupils sharing her suicidal thought with her younger brother, who had grown accustomed to the talk with her sister, it broke my heart. She didn’t deserve that; no child should ever be pushed into that state of depression.

Before the story of the girl broke, I and my friends had earlier shared a part of our childhood experience, which brought about the issues bothering on suicide. We laughed off the part where we had at a point in time had thought about suicide but couldn’t get through with it. We laughed it off and pegged at being silly kids who wanted things handed to them on a platter disregarding the severity of the issue which we had lightly brushed aside,

However,  tens of thousands of children are being faced with such thought on a daily basis in Africa, but is unattended to probably because of the way we are built, to give orders to children and have them not ask question or cage their thoughts or rather classified as the lesser human so their emotions or opinion do not matter. The chauvinistic ego of being elders has in many ways done a lot of damage to children.

These days, mental sickness has become more prevalent in our society. It hasn’t been absent but now, many circumstances have triggered the distortion in human’s mental space. According to the American Psychiatric Association, Mental sickness is health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.

The most common form of mental illness is depression. In Nigeria today, many young adults have resorted to taking their lives due to this morbid sickness. This is due mainly to the unavailability of quid, inability to conform to the social norm being represented on social media and so on.

Depression has become rampant in the Nigerian society, probably owing to the fact that the standard of living keeps skyrocketing, leaving a lot of people without hopes of making ends meet. Those with steady income have become unemployed due to socio-economic downturns.

Unnoticed are the increases in the number of children who have become riddled with the hounding sickness, owing to issues bothering on parenting and bullying by their peers.

It becomes very hard to notice a child going through depression due to the ever changing phases, which come with them transitioning from an age facet into another which truly comes with different attitudinal change in composure, emotions and reasoning pattern. Hence, it becomes somewhat difficult to notice a child going through troubles.

Many factors contribute to childhood depression, which is derived from inability to address issues that bruises the self-esteem of the victim, either by peers, older relatives, teachers or parents. The predominant cause of childhood depression is bullying, mostly from school.

Studies have shown that children that are bullied are most likely to have suicidal thoughts than those who are not.  Many a times, children are being emotionally abused by their peers in school and an unaddressed abuse sometimes leads to depression, which may plunge into suicide.

The school bodies are pivotal in the fight against bullying by blocking the loopholes and becoming more pronounced and consistent about the rules when it comes to matters on bullying.  Perhaps it is time for the Lagos State Government to disrupt the upheaval before it becomes a craze snowball.

Another factor that is likely to plunge a child into childhood depression is parenting. In time past, different parents have their preference when it comes to upbringing. In some homes, the female child is responsible for everything domestic, while the male child gives the rules irrespective of the age.

Some parents believe that it is the sole duty of the last child to take on all errands in the house, while others thrust the burden of the house on the first child irrespective of the gender.  More often than not, a child being exposed to either form of upbringing, feels the weight and most times interprets this form of upbringing to the emotional feeling of being unloved.

An even bewildering factor is the parents’ inattentiveness or attribution of these perturbed upbringing processes as a form of training, without recognizing the fact that the age at which the child is being subjected to accepting responsibilities is grossly unripe.

The question now is: At what point do parents need to know when training or upbringing is becoming too overbearing? Generally, Africans regard militia form of upbringing as training. This is deep-rooted in our culture. However, advocacy goes a long way in re-orientation. When a child becomes a bit rebellious, that is a red flag for parents to know that something is amiss.

In order to effectively manage depression among children, stakeholders need to take a cue from the Lagos State Government, which in 2020, started a laudable initiative via the creation of a Mental Health Wellness Centre for public servants in the State. This is to manage complications arising from mental health.

A similar facility could also be provided for the children with acute signs of depression. Similarly, mental wellness can be inculcated in schools to quickly identify and treat a child going through such a dreadful phase.

Detecting childhood depression can be identified by paying close attention to a child. A lingering unexplainable switch in a child’s pattern in social, academic activities is often a signal that a child needs to be taken care of.

Before ostracizing that child due to your inability to understand him/her, please make sure you are not a contributory factor to the surge in childhood depression in our clime.

• Otuyemi is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

By Freeman Datubo

My attention has been drawn to a write-up titled “Wike the Humorist”, published in the ‘Hardball’ column  of The Nation Newspaper, April 1st, 2021 and honestly,  one is at a loss to fathom what whoever wrote the piece was talking about.

The initial inclination which the title provoked, since  yesterday April 1st (April fool’s day), was to dismiss  it as one of those practical jokes often posted in the public space, to elicit some smirk or chuckle from an unsuspecting reader, especially when the name of a prime newsmaker who has captured popular imagination like Governor Wike was mentioned.

However, the pun (in the spirit of April fool’s day), which reeks and drips all through the entire write-up invokes an unpleasant, sardonic humour, which not only displays lack of rigour in misrepresenting the entire context and import of the subject Pidgin language interview which Governor Nyesom Wike gave to the BBC, but sadly exposes the mission of the faceless writer. Little wonder the writer derailed into a cesspool of annoying incoherence.

I do not intend to join issues with him, but let us, by way of elevating the illogical mishmash of the intended message, humor the article by conceding to a few observations.

First, it is glaringly obvious that the writer does not even know the real meaning of ‘Humorist’ and has typically exposed a pardonable ignorance by giving a street translation of the word. And so by way of educating the  columnist: “A HUMORIST or HUMOURIST is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit in writing or public speaking”, and that exactly is what Governor Nyesom Wike is, especially in the unorthodox context and platform of a pidgin English interview by an international news agency.

Read Also: Wike the humorist

Secondly, everything Governor Wike said in the BBC interview are not only incontrovertible facts, but are backed by verifiable evidence and instances, which anyone who live in Rivers State would concur instantly.

And, still on the subject and with particular reference to the tasteless insinuation of one ‘biting the fingers that fed him’, many Rivers people will quickly tell you that instead of the example of Governor Wike and President Jonathan, both of who quite happily enjoy a very robust, and mutually respectful relationship, politically and otherwise, this analogy rather fits perfectly and is aptly suited to the relationship between the Transportation Minister and the mercurial, ebullient, revered Sir. Dr. Peter Odili, the former Governor of Rivers State. Indeed Rivers people know only too well, those who have viciously bitten the fingers that fed them.

Sadly, what faceless writers like this hardball entrant have still failed to understand when they invoke Governor Wike’s name, is that the Rivers Governor is one of the very few leaders in this country, who speaks truth to power and calls a spade by its proper name.

Another unfortunate observation is that Newspapers like The Nation, which has attracted some modicum of professional acceptance, still allows itself to succumb to the temptations of presenting such illogical tomfoolery that gushes in articles from authors who are granted authorial licence to massage their egos and promote their failed masters, like this particular hardball installment.

As for the snide inuendo which the writer failed so woefully to convey with the ‘Humorist’ tag, we will forgive the misappropriated allusion and the attempted impression ignorantly evoked by the misplaced metaphor.

One can only wonder sadly how a writer,  who tries to impress as prose stylist, would  refer to a Governor known nationally as: “Mr. Quality Projects” and who has been showered with encomiums from across all divides and bestowed with a plethora of awards in virtually all sectors of human and leadership excellence, including: “The Governor of the Year for Infrastructure Development” the “Power of Sports, POS in Africa” and the “Extra Ordinary Man of the Year” Awards, as a ‘humorist’. The Nation Newspaper can do much better than this, surely.

• Datubo is a public affairs analyst based in Port Harcourt

 

By Nnedinso Ogaziechi

 

We can never say enough about leadership because the lives of each nation or group of people even if they are ‘stateless’ according to UN terms, depend on the leadership in that environment. If we reference past kings and queens in all empires, even the biblical ones are today and will always be referenced for good or for bad. In essence, each leader deliberately or inadvertently writes his or her history.

However, more often than not, a people define the leadership that emerges because leaders emerge from the people and the values of a people can most often be gleaned from the leadership that emerges from them and through their actions in a democracy.

So most times when people complain about bad leadership they often forget that they have a hand either through actions or inactions about the leadership that emerges. Political philosophers like Plato succinctly described this when he posited that, “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors”.

Very often especially in a developing nation like Nigeria, the elite often shy away from partisan engagement and involuntarily cede political leadership to the incompetent and people without the gravitas to drive productive leadership. The result of poor leadership is that like a relay race, the baton is passed from one group to the other and sometimes dropped in ways that development is delayed and everyone suffers and post failure analysis fill the air.

The RoundTable Conversation sat with Dr. Otive Igbuzor, Executive Director African Center for Leadership, Strategy and Development (LSD) a civil society veteran who has spent his life fighting under different local and international agencies for justice, gender equity and good governance, an author, researcher,  lecturer  and gender advocate who was appointed by the immediate past United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon into the Global Network of Men Leaders to End Violence Against Women.

Asked about each nation getting the leadership it deserves, he said that there is some element of truth therein because leadership is about influence. People can influence others in different ways. In Nigeria for instance, we talk about transactional and transformational leadership. You notice this in the ways the people often venerate leaders that dispense material and financial favors. The electoral process and the roles money play are all indicators of what one can say are the people getting what they deserve. When a people choose instant gratifications over planned nationhood and good policy drivers, they surreptitiously choose their leaders good or bad.

When the people with questionable character use money to win elections and their religious houses organize endorsements and thanksgiving services, their communities give them titles and the people call them excellences, honourables and distinguished in very adulating ways, you find that such leaders would remain deified without being held accountable. Yes, to some extent you can say that a people get the leadership they deserve.

However, there are leaders who emerge and are able to change the followership through who they are,  what they do, how they lead, their practices and soon, so it is not a one-way traffic of a people getting the leadership they deserve.  However, there are transformative leaders. We have equally learnt that leadership according to Amandla, the cultural wing of ANC once said that leaders are not born but pro duced during the course of the struggle.

Leaders can make the difference and that is why people say that everything rises and falls with leadership. In those days there used to be discourse about the fact that the people are the makers of history. But let’s take a trip back into history for instance the fact that Gorbachev sat over the disintegration of the former USSR and a Trump emerged in the last five years. We know the outcomes so scholars know that leadership matters.

We must be concerned with the type of democracy that can deliver dividends of development. There has been a lot of discourse about the democracy that is functional. May be thirty to fifty years ago, policies were almost analogue but the dynamics have changed in ways that democracy and development are now closer than ever. Policy science has developed in ways economic policies are more exact and somewhat inclusive, each leadership in making policies can now tell what outcomes to expect in terms of the different demographics. We all can calculate which policies can increase or reduce poverty, which ones can enhance gender, minority and youth inclusiveness.

Today we know what kind of policies can improve health, deliver progressive education enhance infrastructural provisions for  better productivity. So in essence, we all know what to do. We must match theory with practice because there is always a nexus. Many years ago, there were no mobile phones on a global scale, today we have it and the internet and leadership comes easier.

All Nigerians, including media people must understand that ideas rule the world today especially now that knowledge economy is so huge and there are projections into the future where artificial intelligence and robotics  will take over. We must move with the times but we must retain the core values that drive leadership and followership. The merchandizing of politics and erosion of our value system must be checked if development must come.

We must all have to patriotically own the society at all levels. But we also acknowledge that leadership has changed due to a multitude of things, our colonial history, the military interruptions that changed the ways leadership selection  processes where most politicians owe allegiance to an Abuja power hierarchy is not good enough for our democratic growth.

We must remember the effects of the truncated transition periods by Ibrahim Babangida the former military President.  When he was done and Abdulsallam Abubakar came, the people were exhausted and only ‘professional’ politicians took over government when activists, socialists, patriots and intellectuals refused to participate in a post military era  Nigeria in 1999. Before they realized what was happening the professional politicians had their tap roots rooted on ground and the policies over the years like Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) pauperized the people.

The most important solutions must be ‘organizing and not agonizing’ because there are enough patriotic people who are good and as Burke advised, evil triumph when good men do nothing. In Nigeria the only leadership problems are in the political field. You do not have many problems at the traditional, religious, academic or even corporate levels. It is always the political field. We have global leaders in all other sectors even at UN level.

The way forward must be for committed and patriotic and educated Nigerians to stop showing apathy for politics but go out there and get involved to run away from what Plato said about the good people and inferior leadership.

Again the middle class must get involved at party levels. They must stop and we must think seriously about integrating women into leadership seeing that globally, continentally and sub-regionally, Nigeria is far below in gender parity in the political space. Over the past twenty years, there has been progress in the world in terms of gender inclusiveness and all the world can see the progress being made by the Scandinavian and other countries where women seem to have access in the political space.

There must be a constitutional quota for women and luckily there is an opportunity for a constitutional review in ways that there must be implementable affirmative action for women. Everyone concerned about this must reach out to their legislators to facilitate action because it has been confirmed that when women are in positions of authority, they make better policies and programmes that touch on the lives of citizens and that is why the countries on top of the human development index across the world have many women at the political field providing various levels of leadership. You see countries like Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Norway etc. doing really well. To Igbuzor,  women movement must prioritize women participation in politics to help the country develop.

The RoundTable Conversation has equally identified governors that have been sensitive enough to integrate more women into their cabinets and is carrying out research on their progress in comparative terms. The Nigerian global percentage of women in parliament stands at less than ten percent while countries across Africa are all at thirty percent and above with Rwanda with the global highest of 61.3%.

There are no surprises about Nigeria being the poverty capital of the world when some of her best and brightest are forced out of the country by even less brilliant and less educated men whose only qualification is their gender. An Amina Mohammed faced hostility when she was nominated for a ministerial post, today she is at the United Nations as Assistant Secretary General. Arunma Oteh is now at the World Bank but was hounded by some legislators when she was the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Nigerians must, if they wish to face the task of development productively be more involved in the leadership evolution processes to select leaders with the necessary pedigree and qualifications that can make the democracy we all cherish more functional and development oriented. Transactional leaderships leave both the leaders and the beneficiaries of such formless transactions poorer and more disoriented in the long run.

Clutching unto some mundane and parochial socio-cultural and religious practices and views just so as to favour patriarchal longings would always hurt everyone at the end. Nigeria is too blessed to continue to fail its population. Good and functional leadership benefits everyone ultimately in ways that the future of the country remains assured. All stake holders in the media, civil society and governments must work together to birth more functional leadership that benefits everyone and chats a better path to the future.

The dialogue continues…

By Seyi Bakare

 

Last week, a major paradigm shift in the socio-economic development of Ogun State was hallmarked by the pronouncement by Governor Dapo Abiodun assuring the people of the state that the first phase of the Agro-Cargo Airport at Illisan-Remo in Ikenne local government area of the state would be ready by May next year.

Governor Abiodun, who gave this pledge while undertaking an on-the-spot assessment of work done on the 2.3km access road to the cargo airport, hinged the project on the plan of his administration to have a cargo airport that fully complements the agric value chain investments in the state. The project, he observed, was conceived in 2007 and had all necessary approvals, including the Environmental Impact Assessment from the aviation regulatory body, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

His administration, he noted, had designated the cargo airport a heteropolis (complete airport city) because it would have a special agro-processing zone, with factories where raw materials could be turned into final products for export, and would in fact be complemented with the first international testing centre where goods would be evaluated for export.

He said: “We bidded for the African Development Bank’s (AfDB)  special agro-processing zone and in that bid document, we chose this location to co-locate the special agro-processing zone here. The AFROEXIM Bank has begun the construction of the first African International Testing Centre here in Sagamu; that is, a centre where items for export would be evaluated and approved for export, so a cargo airport here is just very convenient and economically wise.,”

The foregoing indeed throws up some salient issues worthy of note. First, in trying to actualize the construction of the cargo airport project conceptualized by the Gbenga Daniel administration in 2007, Governor Dapo Abiodun and his crew are drawing attention to the vital need to shelve the discontinuity politics that has hobbled development in the country for ages, the practice of abandoning uncompleted projects by previous administrations for narrow, partisan reasons; the fact that governance is, and ought to be, a continuum; and the fact that a responsible administration should place premium on value for money.

It is manifestly clear that the proposed cargo airport is a project designed to lift Ogun State’s agriculture and business potentialities into a phenomenal level; a giant leap for an administration seeking to harness the Gateway State’s full economic potential and turn around the fortunes of millions. And this is certainly worthy of applause. That the project will open a vista of opportunities is a given. Industries will spring up as soon as the airport commences operations.

And, what is more, it is strategically located to reach commodities across the state and parts of the South-West. In any case, Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, will also take advantage of the airport because it has no such facility; it has only passenger airports.

Governor Dapo Abiodun, speaking recently when he received the Senate Committee on Aviation led by Senator Smart Adeyemi at the Exco Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan , Abeokuta, placed the extant issues in perspective. According to him, the agro-cargo airport project conceptualized by the Gbenga Daniel administration in 2007 has lots of potential for the overall development of Ogun and the country in general.  As he reiterated, what Ogun State is yearning for is an airport that will support its massive agro-development potentials. Governor Abiodun could certainly not be faulted in insisting that the Ogun populace entrusted his administration with qualitative representation to create an enabling environment for public/private sector partnership, which is fundamental to the creation of enduring economic development.

In any case, the decision to continue with the agro- airport project, located in Ogun East Senatorial District, was made by the state’s joint inter-ministerial committee. It is heartening that a lot of verifiable work had started on the agro-cargo airport project, which has the imprimatur of the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Governor Abiodun articulated the issue very pungently: “This administration is deliberate and methodical. After a thorough evaluation, the choice of the Airport cargo location in Ilishan was unanimous. It complements the Agric/processing factories eco system in that corridor with access/egress road network.

To that extent, our decisions are guided by the principles of good governance; is it fair, just and equitable to all? Is the process transparent and inclusive? Did the people input? Is it of economic important/value? Will it possibly impact the life of our people? As we must hold ourselves accountable at all times. After all, the people are the essence of Governance and we are only holding the office in trust for them.

The point has been made that the cargo airport project has been the missing link in Ogun State’s development over the years, the final part of the jigsaw puzzle that will successfully harness all the state government’s investments. It will, among others, provide efficient and effective connectivity for international, regional  and local cargo and scheduled air traffic,  especially to the Southern  part of Nigeria and the West African  cluster. It will complement Ogun’s status  as the foremost  industrial hub in the country while optimising the logistics and distribution value chain, thereby improving competitiveness and enabling  the state to take full advantage  of AfCTA for economic growth  and development.

Located within an aerotropolis with a land allocation of c.5,000 hectares comprising facilities for commerce, industry, cargo handling and logistics, it is projected to consolidates Ogun State’s competitive advantage in the agriculture/ agro-allied and manufacturing industries. Having already received regulatory approvals in 2008 from both the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), it would facilitate real estate developments, fully integrated through shared infrastructure and services for synergy and value chain benefits.

As noted by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, Mr ‘Tope Armstrong Akintunde,  it is significant that in the face of the dwindling fortunes of revenue from oil, Governor Abiodun  has deemed it fit to build a strong economic base for Ogun State through the resuscitation of the Agro-Cargo Airport project as well as the massive investment in agriculture and infrastructure. According to him, “It’s a project with huge potentials to redefine positively the socio-economic dynamics of the state. It will create jobs in their thousands, open up the state for more investment, increase revenue generation for the state, boosts the agricultural sector and ultimately enhance the economic prosperity of the residents of the state.”

The importance of the cargo airport indeed lies in its utilitarian value as a catalyst for economic growth and development. It is a brilliant initiative deserving of utmost support, and must be brought to fruition.

 

• Bakare sent this piece from Plot 232, Ibadan Road, Abeokuta, Ogun State

 

By Mallam Abubakar Waziri

Beyond old fissures being randomly exploited by a motley crowd of deviant traditionalists, clerics, political actors and the like, few tendencies are now as pronounced across Kaduna state as the common quest to overcome insecurity and affirm ongoing economic development in place of past years of losses.

Over the years, banditry has severely impacted the rural economy across the NorthWest geo-political zone and shaken the confidence of citizens across Nigeria. Perhaps,if all the governors in Kaduna and neighbouring states had worked with determined resolve since 2015, today’s insecurity would have been nipped in the bud in a timely
fashion. In June, 2015, the Kaduna State government initiated collaborative efforts with Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi and Niger states to design a collective approach to tackling security challenges posed by the dangerous Kamuku Forest.

Governor Nasir El Rufai who called the meeting in Kaduna urged the states to come together to fight terrorism and other criminal acts breeding in the forest that straddles their boundaries. According to El-Rufai then: “The forest which is in the middle of Kaduna, Niger, Katsina,Kebbi and Zamfara has been of serious security concern.
So, we need to address it because that forest is capable of breeding future Boko Haram,”

Untold number of kidnap victims and herds of rustled cattle from several towns and villages had disappeared into the Kamuku-Kuyambana forest range on a regular note until Kaduna state, along the military and federal security forces jolted criminals in the ‘evil forest’ with unprecedented raids.

In recent years, fly-by-night groups of shady traders and marauding bandits crossing into Kaduna State – the epicentre of Arewa business and politics – from various neighbouring states had perpetrated a number of communal clashes, cattle-rustling, kidnappings, robberies and murders,especially between 2016-2019.

According to data gleaned from the state’s 2020 Annual Security Report presented to various stakeholders by Governor Nasir El-Rufai at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna some days ago, banditry had severely
impacted the rural economy and shaken the confidence of citizens.

“It has driven farmers from their land, putting food security at risk, displaced communities,stolen property and deprived people of their right to life,” El Rufai said while acknowledging how the malevolent challenges gave birth to new ideas,strategies and logistics for long-term combating of insecurity amidst ongoing efforts for massive economic growth across the state. One of these is the deepening of intelligence gathering from communities, using a 24-hour Operations Room.

Indeed, hardly more than one or two other northern states currently boast of the same level of vigorous activities of domestic and international development partners as well as new business initiatives as Kaduna Sate. The World Bank, European Union, Islamic Development Bank, African Development Bank, UNICEF, UNODC, UNFPA, UNDP, UNIDO, Afrexim Bank, USAID, France’s Agence Francais de Development, Indian EXIM Bank, Global Fund, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,Aliko Dangote Foundation,
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and several others are actively working in various parts of Kaduna.
According to several expatriates and Nigerians working with these international organisations, the uncompromising disposition of the state government, traditional institutions and other stakeholders towards banditry and crime facilitates a reassuring sense of confidence.

Further reassuring at this time is Governor NasirEl-Rufai’s tough stance against treating criminal elements with kid gloves through negotiations that only empower them further in their unconscionable plots against societal peace. Said El Rufai: “Our position in Kaduna State has been clear,unequivocal and consistent; bandits, cattle
rustlers and armed militias must be degraded and decimated to a state of unconditional submission to constituted authority.”

The quest for peace, enhanced economic development and a vastly improved lease of life for all – in predominantly Christian Southern Kaduna, the largely Muslim parts and for indigenes and other Nigerian
residents alike – is not a monopoly of the state government as many stakeholders continue to play significant roles, even at the grassroots.

Emirs and Chiefs across Kaduna State are now officially acknowledged as leading and influential anchors of peaceful coexistence in the state’s various communities. Peace Commissioners, the House of Kaduna Family, Local Government Chairmen, District Heads, Village Heads, the groups of Ardo and Gora throughout the State now play exceptional roles in promoting better communal relations and peace-building.

While some individuals sometimes criticize security agencies for not doing enough, in view of their generally covert operational roles, the Nigeria Army, Air Force, Navy, Police, Civil Defence Corps, State Security Services, the Kaduna State Vigilante Service, Kaduna State Traffic and Environmental Law Enforcement Authority (KASTLEA)
consistently collaborate with the state’s Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs in daily efforts which have vastly improved the security system.

Long ago,in February and also, in May, 1992, disagreements over relocation of a market in Zangon-Kataf generated disturbances in other parts of the state; learning from all such incidents, the state now has a sustainable arrangement, with peacekeepers in Zangon-Kataf, Jema’a and other local government areas working to eliminate communal clashes, enhancing compliance with the rule of law and denying criminals a mischievous refuge in religion or ethnicity.

One of the recent major investments in Kaduna State is the $150m Olam poultry and livestock feed investment.In Kagarko local government area, a firm of international investors is working on a $600 million steel plant that would create 3, 000 jobs. Also, the Tomato Jos tomato processing company in Kangimi, Igabi local government area aims to invest N10.2 billion on farming,processing and marketing activities over five years.

According to documents made available at the Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency, the state’s Development Plan for 2016 – 2020 places priority on realising major capital boost in agriculture and mining as
priority investment sectors while housing, retail, ICT and others are also being targeted to create conditions that facilitate investments that will create jobs, improve internally-generated revenue and provide resources to develop all parts of Kaduna State.

So, what other initiatives and strategies could be working to boost investor confidence in a state known as the gateway to the Northern Nigeria market? For one, a CCTV network being deployed in Kaduna metropolis and the vigorous arrangements for consistent operations of the drones (UAVs) commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari almost to years ago are being explored. The state is also building and equipping a world-class forensic laboratory to assist security agencies in the detection, investigation and prevention of crimes.

More importantly, collaborative efforts with Niger state and other states in the North West is pooling funds and other resources to increase operations against bandits in the Kamuku-Kuyambana forest range that straddles the region. The failure of earlier regional efforts had emboldened bandits in the region to develop a near-nationwide footprint that currently endangers national cohesion.

With backing from grassroots interest groups and the Kaduna State government, Senator Uba Sani introduced four bills in the current Senate towards amending the Constitution and related statutes to enable the establishment of State Police that would complement the efforts of the Nigeria Police. In the north, Kaduna State is vigourously leading efforts towards the introduction of state and community policing.

Presently,Kaduna State has a Peace Commission which is empowered to engage various communities and incline them towards a peaceful resolution of differences.

While the sheer criminality of outlaws has affected people of diverse backgrounds in Kaduna state, various narratives had tended to view each incident from a different perspective coloured with ethno-religious or regional hues, depending on the identity of victims.

Communication from trusted peacemakers working across various communities significantly curbs this potentially explosive threat now.

Nonetheless,according to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, converting the national consensus against insecurity as well as the state’s broad consensus for development and economic prosperity is of paramount importance.

“Converting this national consensus into decisions and actions in support of our armed forces, police and other security agencies with human and material resources cannot wait,” he had told a gathering of
traditional rulers and other stakeholders.

No doubt,there is serious need to further empower security and intelligence-gathering outfits operating across Kaduna state with additional armament technology, funds and required personnel. In spite of occasional jolts from criminal elements, it is of extreme significance to effectively defeat criminals and eliminate daily risks
of peril being faced by individuals, especially in an era when the local economy is expected to thrive further towards realizing economic prosperity for Kaduna State and its people.

Mallam Waziri writes from Zaria, Kaduna

Nnedinso Ogaziechi

 

There is a popular saying that each society gets the leadership it deserves. That statement in no way absolves those who steal the will of the people through flawed electoral processes from party primaries to general elections. It does not support those who seize power through the barrels of the gun. It simply redirects our attention to the fact that the people who emerge through the democratic processes in free and  fair elections are the voice of the people who choose them or who aid and abet illegalities through  the system.

Politicians emerge from the people and so when people point fingers at politicians as the only corrupt people in town it becomes laughable. On the other hand, civil society try to do their best to mediate between the people, agencies and governments in ways to make life more just and equitable while holding governments to account. Civil society organizations in developing countries like Nigeria equally face a lot of challenges. They are from the society and are not immune to socio-cultural and religious issues that affect the larger population like the lack of gender parity in the political economy.

The RoundTable Conversation sat with Olufunke Baruwa, a Gender and Development expert, feminist and public speaker with focus on public policy and governance and the Program Officer for Ford Foundation for Gender, Racial, and Ethnic justice in West Africa.

We asked her the challenges she has noticed as one coming with a civil society background to her present position. To her, Civil Society cannot change the dynamics in Nigeria. Civil society is a tiny percentage of the people and a reflection of the larger society. To her, civil society is trying but there is so much that needs to be addressed in a holistic way by everyone. We have an entrenched socio-religious culture that is very resistant to change.

On gender issues for instance, most people  grew up with some interpretation of roles for the genders and it is a herculean task trying to explain to most people that their views might be old but not functional in a 21st century. Even some in the civil society are instinctively plagued by the socializations that they took from home. Some of the social norms are embedded in them. For instance some of them bring their personal experiences and  culture into their daily lives in ways that pose stumbling blocks to any form of change into the civic space.

To be a functionally productive activist, you must unlearn some of those cultural nuances that hold society down and most of them are gender based. It is not a field you pick one over the other. You can’t say for instance that you are fighting for social justice and equity but you are in the vanguard of those with gender biases that say women must not be in the political space for instance.

You must not compromise on certain standards whether or not you are comfortable with them but that is not saying you confront your socio-religious views in an unhealthy way. For instance, you can’t speak from both sides of your mouth on issues. You cannot be in the field advocating for gender equity in education and at home you choose to send only your sons to school alleging that the girl would just be married off. The Civil society is doing well but there must be a deliberate effort to identify and readjust from implementing or propagating gender biases that are retrogressive.

People must  detach themselves from some parochial views that have negative impacts on society. Everybody is equal before the law and that includes even at home. The toxic patriarchal views must give way to more progressive ideas that uplift the society whether rich or poor. Olufunke believes that we must think back to the era that had women contributing to leadership and recalls how the Funmilayo Ransome Kutis, Margaret Ekpos, the Gambo Sawabas contributed to Nigeria’s independence but donor agencies are being stretched too thin so we must have a system that supports our development.

Oluremi  Chiroma Ardo is the Head of Unit/Gender  Independent National Electoral Commission  (INEC) office in Kwara state and believes that what INEC has been doing is encouraging fair play with the political parties and encouraging men to support the women and stop bullying women out of the political space through the subtle barricades.  The unit is presently working on pushing for electoral laws and if possible a constitutional review that can make for justice and equity in our electoral processes.

She say that the governor of Kwara state, Abdurahman Abdurasaq for instance has a sizeable number of women in his cabinet and that is very encouraging. Oluremi believes that women should support each other and not give vent to the idea that women cannot work together. INEC has a programme ‘Catching them Young’ all over the country to groom young people to look at leadership as not for one gender. Political participation must be fair to women so they can participate. The unit  organizes seminars and workshops aimed at enlightening even traditional  and religious leaders on the value of gender justice. The unit also sensitizes the staff that gender equality is not just rhetoric but must be practiced as example to others.

In Kwara state, the Unit has made successes as quite a number of women are in the government. At INEC, the target is to improve the quality of elections in ways that there is equity and fairness. Political parties are being re-orientated to readjust. Organizing nocturnal meetings by political parties for instance tend to discourage a lot of women from being politics and is being seriously worked on. The political parties must be more  sensitive and fair in their activities.

It is in the interest of the country that political parties realize that giving access to women to have an equal chance at political contest would really develop the country and both men and women would benefit. Nigerian men must realize that they are better off supporting qualified individuals for a better structured institutional growth and that means giving women access to education and healthcare. The women are not telling the men to give up and allow themin  but to create a level playing field where every woman who is capable and willing to contribute to leadership is discourages by some mundane laws and considerations.

Support for women is not restricted to the political space. It has to start from homes where the girl child must be loved and given an equal opportunity that can make her achieve her fullest potential. INEC gender policy is in the works so that we can make progress. Rwanda is making progress and that would help everyone given the recourses and human capital available in the country. The gender Unit equally encourages women to be out there in the political field and support each other . There must be mentorship from the older women in politics so that the younger women can learn the ropes. There must also be a collaborative effort from the men too because development helps everyone.

The RoundTable Conversation sees the map above as very instructive. If Nigeria is so low on the global, continental and sub-regional statistical table in terms of the percentage of women in parliament which is a strong pillar of democracy, is there any wonder Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world? The subtle exclusion of a greater number of women in the political space of course is like cutting one’s nose to spite the face. All hands, the people, governments, Civil Societies and agencies must  collaborate to make Nigeria a better country for all.

The dialogue continues…

By  Igboeli Arinze

 

I have been following events in Kwara State, where it much seems that a religious war is in the brew over the decision of the state government to introduce the wearing of hijabs by female students who choose to do so.  This decision has sparked protests from both quarters of the religious divide, for the Christian section, the decision is again an attempt to continue the unfinished conquest of Uthman Dan Fodio and his commanders who initially mopped up Ilorin, which originally was a Yoruba vassal state and before tsetse fly and Yoruba warriors turned them back. They see such a policy as the continuation of Ahmadu Bello’s boast that he would one day dip the Koran in the Atlantic Ocean. Such fears and accusations have been fueled and refueled by the false belief that there is indeed a plan to forcefully  Islamise Nigeria under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari and so when the policy was broached it was time for Nigeria’s Onward Christian Soldiers to pitch her tents against Islam’s perceived encroachment.

I for one have always frowned at the numerous   entanglements religion seems to bring us into in this country or continent, for example, I am a Christian but I grew up with Muslims as friends and neighbors in Surulere Lagos. I witnessed families where the husband or father was a practicing Christian while the mother and a couple of her children were Muslims and vice versa. I never witnessed any recriminations for belonging to any of these faiths, I myself naturally enjoyed celebrating the Muslim holidays with my Muslim friends, while we shared our chicken with them during the Christmas festivals.

To dissect this issue properly, one must first agree that Nigeria is a Secular State as stated clearly in Section 38 (1) of the 1999 Constitution and frowns at the imposition of a religion on any person. Then in line with a number of conventions, such as Article

2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , our constitution agrees with the freedom of worship for its citizens and demands that no citizen be harassed because of his religious profession. Moving on, we must also establish the propriety of the schools in question. Are these schools missionary schools? Run and funded by the

remnants of the missionaries that set up such schools for the joint task of educating and the proselytizing of our dark souls or are they run by government as well as funded by them?

If we then agree that Nigeria is a secular state and that every citizen is free to worship whatever deity or a pantheon of deities, then one finds nothing wrong with the Hijab policy since it is not asked of non Muslims to wear such. I mean if a Muslim feels that she has a religious duty to adorn herself with a hijab then so be it, for as long as she does not infringe on the right of her counterpart students or on the school authorities.

Even if these schools in question are missionary schools, owned and operated by Christian missionaries of the strictest rectitude , it is still very wrong to deny an individual the right to practice his or her faith in a country that professes to being a secular nation, now as the case maybe these schools though were missionary in outlook or at its establishment are

presently been funded by the Kwara State Government, how then can people deny others the right to express their faith in a setting that is largely secular?

If we say that the government of Nigeria is a secular one and this secularity is entrenched by the constitution in all governments whether they be at the state, local or Federal levels, then is it appropriate for the government to fund and administer schools that then turn around to segregate against its own citizens? Is it fair?

Had the State Government sought to compel every citizen in Kwara to don a hijab or turban whether they be Christians or Muslims, then yours sincerely would be up in arms against such a government but this is not the case and as I argued with a friend, a school is neither a Church or a Mosque, it is a centre for learning! I thus disagree with the argument that a child wearing a hijab in a school  is a desecration of the Christian Faith, in what world?

As Christians, our Holy Book preaches tolerance and understanding, it is indeed however sad that at this point in time, certain persons  are over heating the polity over an issue that has no importance to our growth or development as a nation.

At a point where the United States and number of nations are jostling to put a man in Mars, we here are fiddling with overt religious issues with no import to our well being or our souls.

 

We cannot continue like this!

Nigeria Will Succeed!!!