The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Ending the Tiv/Fulani crisis

    “Forgetfulness, and I would even say historical error, are essential in the creation of a nation”-Ernest Renan

    I will begin this intervention on the raging tragedy involving the Tiv And the Fulani in my home State of Benue with Renan’s theory of anthropological “forgetfulness”. Not forgetfulness in the nihilist sense of altering moral values, religion, tradition and ethnics differences, but the kind of forgetfulness that rises above conflict and the reasons there in.

    I am a Benue indigene, but a part of my formative years were happily spent in Keffi, the then Plateau State, and now Nassarawa State. I shared my eventful childhood with the Fulani and several other ethnic groups; a veritable melting-pot situation that we took for granted

    As Renan’s disquisition on the subject of forging differences into nations found, some of the greatest countries in the world today are peopled by citizens who do not share lineages.

    For the purpose of this opinion, I would like to say there are two kinds of forgetfulness: the one that makes nations and the other that destroys unions long forged by trade, politics and other means.

    The latter kind of forgetfulness is the reason for the senseless and unabated killings in Benue State at the moment. It is shocking that in less than three decades of a carnage wrought by the Maitatsine in parts of the North-east and Kano State, a second round of Maitatsine is with us and leadership appears to be lacking to quell it.

    The persistence of this unprecedented crisis feeds on the acute lack of leadership, competence and decisiveness. Like the Maitatsine in the 80s, and unlike earlier land disputes between the Fulani and Tiv, these latest killings appear to be done by mercenaries from the neighbouring countries of Cameroun, Chad and some studies suggest from Mali, sponsored by highly placed individuals in the country.

    This time, the situation threatens to consume not just my beloved state, but there is a frightening possibility that this would soon spread to the neighbouring South-south state of Cross River and even the South-east through Enugu, which is just a few miles from the southern part of Benue.

    Taraba State, another Benue neighbour, is already revving to take the cue.

    Already, pockets of skirmishes have been recorded between the Tiv, Fulani and Jukun in the area, with the possibility that Jukunoid ethnic groups like the Etulo and the Nyifon in Buruku and Katsina-Ala local governments would soon join the fray.

    The tragedy is taking no prisoners. Not even the Benue people of the Guma-Makurdi-Gwer axis who have had long association with the Fulani dating back to 1943, through Mallam Audu Afoda are spared.

    In only three months, more than a thousand deaths have been recorded, with properties and crops worth billions of naira destroyed by the rampaging herdsmen and foreign mercenaries hired to torment, kill, torture, destroy our civilization and reduce our economy which began to pick up last year to rubbles.

    These sponsored marauders in cahoots with Fulani herdsmen, have gone as far as even attempting to take the life of our Governor Rt. Hon. Gabriel Torwua Suswam while he was on his way to one of the affected communities.

    The mercenaries and their internal collaborators have also taken their merchandise of blood to the Agatu, the first part of Benue State to embrace Islam and the Hausa-Fulani, long before 1928, when some part of Idoma was excised from the South-east and joined to Benue.

    The vestiges of our long association with the Fulani are there: for example the Yelwata area in Makurdi is named by the Fulani, same for Wadata and several others. But the politics underlying the willful forgetfulness of our political leadership would not allow sleeping dogs lie.

    These bandits and terror merchants working with powerful people in the country and outside it are threatening to break the legendary willpower, courage and resilience of the Tiv in particular, and the Benue people in general. They are bent on demonizing Islam and rubbishing the basis for a long association of peoples of the Benue valley and their neighbours.

    The economy of Benue State continues to slide, as death toll rises even with the recent intervention of the federal government. My own village in Guma Local Government has been sacked, same for the village of our paramount Chief, Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula. Makurdi, the state capital has become a huge refugee camp.

    As a member of the House of Representatives representing Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency since 2007, I have worked with other lawmakers to end the crisis in the state, but in the course of this patriotic and very necessary duty, I and my dutiful team, have found that there are underlying reasons for this conflict beyond the reasons of grazing routes.

    Some of these reasons are disunity among the Tiv and Agatu communities affected, lack of planning and the sheer vulnerability for such attacks, because of lack of adequate security measures by the state and federal governments. This now reinforces the All Progressives’ Congress(APC) call for state policing, and of course community policing, in line with the true spirit of federalism.

    The government of Benue State has worked hard to contain this crisis, but it requires the continued assistance of other leaders of the state and the federal government in the interim. This tier collaboration must not be half-hearted and must be sustained.

    The National Assembly must also enact a law on cattle grazing and vest the powers of enforcement of the law on veterinary officers and district authorities in all parts of the country, in line with the Uganda model.

    The East African country is one of the earliest in the world to enact a far reaching legislation on cattle grazing.

    The Cattle Grazing Act of Uganda, was enacted on October 31, 1945. The law prescribes punitive measures against indiscriminate grazing of cattle on unauthorised lands.

    Section 2(1) of the Act states inter alia: “no person shall cause or permit any cattle belonging to him or her or under his or her control to graze on any land in respect of which there is in force an order made by a veterinary officer prohibiting grazing or in respect of which there is in force any order or rule made by a district administration prohibiting grazing”.

    Another subsection goes further to prescribe for the impoundment of offending cattle by a veterinary officer or district authority. In the case of Benue in particular, or Nigeria in general, it could be a second class traditional head.

    In the case of the United States, we have the Bureau of Land Management established in 1946 to work with the United States Forest Service to oversee Public lands grazing in 16 states of the United States and issue sanctions for offences of indiscriminate grazing.

    We can also take these examples and produce tough sanctions against unauthorised grazing by herdsmen and also amend our immigration laws to raise tougher sanctions against border offences amd improve on border surveillance.

    But I will also suggest that the Tiv leadership must, as a matter of urgency, convoke a Tiv Ethnic Conference to wager a resurgence of our positive values, create a new and more progressive value pool, discuss ways of avoiding future attacks and displacements and chart the way forward for the Tiv people, to avoid a possible (God forbid) extinction of the Tiv race before the middle of this century.

     

    • Rt. Hon. Jime represents Makurdi/Guma FederalConstituency of Benue State in the House of Representatives.

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  • Tinubu @ 62: National Conference beckons

    SIR: I wish to express my humble birthday wishes to this great Nigerian, humanist and political icon who clocks 62 this weekend. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu requires no introduction in our clime, having started as a senator in the botched third republic; he was in the trenches against the military during the annulment of June 12 elections, one of the darkest spots of our nation’s history.

    On the advent of the present political dispensation, he became governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007. He has since then remained a leading political figure with progressive spirit in our country. More than anything else, his tenure as the governor witnessed a revolution-like development both in human capital and infrastructures. His revolutionary developmental strides range from road construction, e.g. Awolowo road, Kudirat Abiola road,(formerly Oregun road), Itire-Ojuelegba-Yaba road, Abaranje road etc, to the health sector where the story of the conjoined twin ended well and the popular ‘jigi Bola’ to the private sector driven gigantic power generation plants brought-in to improve electricity supply. Indeed his administration set the template for his high performing successor, Babatunde Fashola who today has raised the stakes even higher.

    More than Tinubu’s 62 birthday anniversary, I must impress it upon this detribalized Nigerian the need for his political party to reconsider its non-participation in the on-going national conference. That a political party with progressive credentials is missing from the conference does not augur well for our polity. In fact, if for nothing at all, we need people who will keep the conference on its toes all day and in my opinion this can be provided by the All Progressives Congress (APC). More importantly, the calibre of the members of the conference will surely allow for cross breeding of ideas on some of the contending issues like fiscal federalism, state police, revenue allocation formula, industrialization and employment generation etc.

    It is in lieu of the above that I call on Asiwaju to cause a re-think of his party’s non-participation at the National Conference on the occasion of his 62nd birthday for the sake of generations unborn, for something good might still come out of this conference. We need to give the conference the benefit of the doubt. Happy birthday sir!

     

    • Badejo Adedeji Nurudeen.

    Surulere, Lagos.

  • Peter Obi came, and conquered

    I am proud of my brother, Governor Peter Obi. I entitle my talk on him: ‘He came, he saw, he conquered’. His governance of Anambra State was full of experiences worth-sharing and indeed worth capturing in a book (if not books). It is evident that he really conquered. It deals a lot with his approach to governance over the years. His ways compel us to appreciate his personal qualities, his quiet strength, his passion to make a difference, his dignified and dignifying carriage and conduct, and his never-say-die spirit. I also respect him for what he achieved as a governor of one of the toughest states in the country – Anambra.

    Alhaji Aliko Dangote said that even people in Yobe know that it is not easy to govern Anambra State. I agree with him. In fact the totality of Nigeria knows how tough Anambra State is; such that until Obi, no leader succeeded to offer them exhilarating leadership.

    I so envy what Peter Obi has been able to do here because he gained total control of the state after the initial storm. Many of the policies he tried here are the things we should be doing at federal level, both with our finances and policies, but, of course, we are totally hampered by the kind of structure we have. You know when Peter Obi tried to change the schools, he did not just throw money at them, he was very careful about how he spent the money. He only spent when he was sure he was going to get results and sustainable improvement.

    On the network of roads he constructed, I want to acknowledge the fact that few of the roads were completion of roads Senator Chris Ngige started; even though when you go there now, everybody calls them Ngige road. It does not matter to him that people would not attribute them to him, as long as the roads serve Ndi-Anambra. Elsewhere, some will abandon them and embark on their own projects. I think that he deserves a big applause. He also initiated and completed many road projects that today Anambra is regarded as having impressive network of roads.

    He attracted serious investors into the state. I knew when SABmiller came, he brought them to my office and they probably felt they do not know how much money they could make here. They made an investment of about N20 billion equivalent. They are now expanding in the state, building more factories and thinking of other investments they can make. There are many other such examples with companies like Distell, GlaxoSmithkline Beecham, Neimeth Pharmaceuticals, among others.

    What I love and admire most in what Governor Obi has done in Anambra State is the fact that he did not neglect the indigenous people who have invested here for a long time. If Innoson Motor Manufacturing Company is known by everybody today at the federal level, it is simply because Governor Obi made him a showcase. Such patronage is worthy of emulation. He has kept on soliciting federal support for him, as he himself has supported him through various ways. We have to remember such investors and support them because they invested here first. That is what Obi has done and I commend him for that.

    The development-oriented approach to governance which he has followed while pursuing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is again very important. I will tell you that we have special commendation of the World Bank, and other international agencies have endorsed the way Anambra State pursued its MDGs programmes.

    I see Peter as the true face of Igbo man, given the qualities for which he is known – the humility, the hard work and the prudence. He does not spend easily. He is very intelligent and extremely hardworking. These are quintessential qualities Igbo people are known for.

    As the Poet, Virgil says, love conquers everything (Omnia Vincit Amor), Peter conquers people by love. He can love you to death. If he has an enemy or somebody in conflict with him, instead of approaching them belligerently, he approaches them with respect and love so that even if they do not want him, they are won over. I think we should all look at those qualities. That does not mean that when the time comes to be tough, Peter runs away. I am sure people can tell stories of occasions Peter had been very tough. I know he has even bulldozed houses of people who did not do the right things. In Nigeria, you have to combine being kind and good with also being very tough.

    By the sheer power of his personal examples, Peter tells us eloquently the way we should behave and the way we should govern. Though Anambra State has one of the tightest federal allocations, he has been able to save a lot of money for the state. He has shown so much in development which some other states that receive more cannot boost of. Most importantly, he is leaving Anambra State with no debt but with huge savings. Let me tell you, at federal level, he is one of the few governors that came out clearly in support of our stand to save. We don’t just spend everything. Every smart and sensible person knows that no matter your income, even if it is one naira, you must keep something aside. You never know the day you will need it for your children. So, on his own, he has saved money for the state and I am very envious. Yes, we managed to save a little at the federal level, just a little, but we can do so much more. Even the one we managed to save, we have been spending, because somebody does not believe federal government should save anything.

    I want to strongly commend Obi for what he has done. Now, do not be deceived by Peter Obi. When you ask him who he is, he would say I am a trader. Maybe he is, but he is also one of the most enlightened governors in the country today. He has a strong intellect combined with practical grasp of real situation. The thing with Peter is that he can play both sides. It is not for nothing that the President invited him, among just the two governors that are Honorary Advisers on Finance. He is equally a member of the Economic Management Team. When Peter needs to show the intellectual side, he does, but when he needs to show the practical side, after we would have talked too much theory, he will say, ‘Wait, I talked with traders in Onitsha yesterday, and this is what they said.’ So he combines a strong intellect with very good grasps of realities on the ground. He is a good economist. Peter is a true leader and we always call on him at federal level when we need examples.

    I want to say something about the incoming governor. I hope you will continue to uphold the relationship at the federal level. We always advice Anambra to be part of federal programmes. The one we are working on now is the one on housing. We have launched the National Mortgage and Re-finance Corporation which by end of June, will start pumping money into primary mortgage institutions that actually lend to the people. We need to give hope to the young people in our country. So this country has to change. To put a programme like that in place we invited 14 states and Anambra was one of the first to enrol as a pilot state. The state has to meet certain criteria in terms of fastness in allocating land titles, working with us on land infrastructure so that we can get builders to come and build. This programme is going to take off by the middle of this year and we will want Anambra to be an example.

    All in all, by giving his End of Tenure Report, Peter Obi has shown another example in good governance. We applaud him and wish him well.

    • Excerpts of speech delivered extempore by Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during the presentation of “End Tenure Report” of the former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi.

  • 2015: Open letter to Prof Jega

    SIR: When you were first appointed as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), by President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigerians went berserk with joy and elation because of your

    record as the chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the fact that you were able to face the threat of the then military government of Ibrahim Babangida in the early 1990s. Nigerians saw you as an astute intellectual with a strong sense of ethics, morality and a man of his words.

    As a Nigerian, I believe you are very conversant with what is happening in the country. Nigerians are being oppressed everyday by politicians who do not have anything to offer to move Nigeria forward.

    They want to win elections by all means and thus, could be looking to put pressure on you to compromise and go against the wish of Nigerians.

    Many groups had written to you to redeploy the top management and other officials who had been

    accused of electoral misconducts and bring in people of your calibre who can be trusted but you paid deaf ear and opted to work with the old firewoods which your predecessor left.

    That was not actually the problem; the problem was that you made a lot of pledges and that no misconduct would be tolerated. The notable one was the pledge you made that if the number of vote supersedes the number of voters registered in any state, such vote would be cancelled but sir, there were cases like that especially in the presidential election. Why did you not cancel the vote?

    The election that took place in Anambra state, in 2013 was marred with irregularities that even you, the electoral umpire publicly admitted, why did you not cancel the election and conduct fresh

    one?

    In 2011, your INEC was given an elephantine amount of money based on your request, and when you were asked to provide the ballot papers in the election petitions tribunal for cross examination, you could not. Ordinarily, if the money were channelled to some sectors of the economy, perhaps, education, it would have helped improve it tremendously if properly utilized.

    Sir, I hereby use this avenue to call on you to rise up to the big task ahead of you. The politicians are desperate; the president and his party are desperate too; all that Nigerians require of you is to create

    a level play ground for all parties that may be involved.

    Nigerians are hoping that you get it right come 2015; that may be the only chance you could get to re-polish your image and reputation which you took many years to build.

     

    • Waziri Mohammed,

    IBB University Lapai, Niger State.

     

  • Taking African infrastructure to the future

    One of the top developmental challenges in sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the shortage of infrastructure. Public sources alone cannot meet the funding needs and African countries are seeking strategies to increase private sector investment in infrastructure. Inadequate physical infrastructure covering transportation, power and communication is inhibiting growth and productivity while inadequate social infrastructure including water supply, sanitation, sewage disposal, education and health are adversely affecting the quality of life.

    Energy, water, transport, information technology services and other infrastructure require extensive renewal or installation in order to support the projected growth over the coming years.

    In a report issued in 2010, the World Bank found that the poor state of infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa reduced national economic growth by two percentage points every year and cut business productivity by as much as 40%. The growth in infrastructure needs to be transformational in order to have an impact. African development institutions and African governments have recognised that adequate infrastructure is critical to achieving the growth levels expected and required.

    According to the World Bank Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (2009), the infrastructure needs of sub-Saharan Africa exceed US $93 billion annually over the next 10 years. It is reported by the African Development Bank that less than half of this amount is being provided which leaves a financing gap of more than US $50 billion per annum to fill.

    It is widely recognised that the funding required to develop the required infrastructure cannot be met from public sources alone. African governments are implementing initiatives that are designed to increase the participation of private sector investors in infrastructure. The challenge is to speed up the process of reforms so as to hasten the availability of the much needed private sector investment.

    Public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements have emerged as one of the major avenues for channelling the participation of private capital and expertise in delivering infrastructure projects in recent years. A description of a PPP arrangement as captured in an OECD definition is:

    … an agreement between the government and one or more private partners (which may include the operators and the financers) according to which the private partners deliver the service in such a manner that the service delivery objectives of the government are aligned with the profit objectives of the private partners and where the effectiveness of the alignment depends on a sufficient transfer of risk to the private partners.

    PPPs have been hailed in many countries for providing the public sector with access to much needed private sector capital or construction expertise and efficiency.

    Is PPP the way for Africa?

    PPP arrangements could generate much needed funding for infrastructure projects that are appropriate for private investment. Some projects may be socially desirable but not economically viable as an investment by the private sector. PPP arrangements could be used to provide funding for projects that are bankable while allowing the government to apply public funds on non-bankable but socially desirable infrastructure projects.

    The Canadian and UK PPP models provide examples of PPP frameworks that ought to be considered in devising a unique model for an African country. Several other countries including Australia, France and Korea have PPP models that have produced infrastructure projects on schedule. Each model has its advantages and disadvantages.

    The Canadian model has been much celebrated due to the high level of standardisation in the procurement process thereby making the procurement process more efficient and cost-effective for bidders, reducing the period to financial close and increasing the number of pipeline projects. There may be lessons to learn from the Canadian experience. However, without diminishing the attractiveness of the Canadian example, the Canadian context must be borne in mind.

    Canada follows the ‘negotiated’ PPP path and does not have to, for example, follow the “competitive dialogue” procedure which all countries in Europe have to follow in compliance with a directive of the European Union. In Canada, bidders are given a design on which to give a price. The “competitive dialogue” procedure is meant to allow a public entity which knows what outcome it wants to achieve in awarding a public contract but does not know how best to achieve it to discuss, in confidence, possible solutions in the dialogue phase of the tender process with short-listed bidders before calling for final bids. This can be expensive but may be appropriate in the case of complex and high value infrastructure projects. Some may question whether the absence of a dialogue among the private and public participants as to the optimum design for a project (which obtains in the Canadian model) may result in the public getting less value for money from the project.

    Prospects for private sector investment in African infrastructure

    Investing in African infrastructure is challenging and the challenges are varied given that Africa is a continent with 55 countries of which sub-Saharan Africa has 48, each with a separate legal and regulatory system and all at different stages of development. The typical risks for investors are no different from those that would be experienced in other emerging markets.

    Notwithstanding the current challenges for private investment, there are investment opportunities at present for private investors in infrastructure. McKinsey reported in 2010 that African infrastructure will be worth US $200 billion in annual revenue to the private companies by 2020 and PEI (2011) “Infrastructure Investor Africa – An Intelligence Report” noted that that African independent power projects have earned investors internal rates of return of up to 25 percent, compared with 15 percent in Latin America and 12 percent in Eastern Europe.

    Investors wishing to take advantage of the current investment opportunities may be able to employ structured solutions to mitigate risks and ease the adoption of investment opportunities. The structured finance markets have a history of designing structured solutions to address the funding, credit and risk management challenges of western financial institutions and structured products that balance the needs of the originator against the risk appetite of the target investor. Examples of solutions that could be employed in Africa include:

    •Credit risk mitigation techniques (such as financial guarantees or partial guarantees from institutions better able to manage the credit risk) may be employed to deal with insufficient credit history and enable more entities to access the markets;

    •Structured finance techniques could be used to isolate risk into more manageable forms;

    •Derivatives and other hedging techniques may be used to better manage default, currency, market and other risks; and

    •Credit derivatives techniques (including risk sharing arrangements) may be used to align the interests of investors with other stakeholders and mitigate credit and other risks.

    The techniques mentioned above have been used in the more mature western markets to better manage a variety of risks. Such techniques can be adapted to the African context to devise creative solutions that address the unique concerns of the relevant transaction.

     

    The way forward It is critical that African governments double efforts to provide a policy and regulatory environment that promotes investor confidence and facilitates the growth of the debt capital markets and alternative investment markets. In addition, international financial institutions should be engaged to facilitate private sector participation and investors and other transaction participants should consider employing structured solutions to enhance investment opportunities.

    There is no “one size fits all” solution, and the road map to sustainable infrastructure development must be unique for each African country.

    Uwaifo is a Director, Africa Agribusiness Knowledge Centres Inc.

  • Thoughts on 2015 elections

    SIR: The disdain that some of our politicians have for the people exhibited in anti-people policies like fuel scarcity in the midst of abundant crude oil, suffocating economic policies, lack of consideration for people’s plight in policy formulation, total disregard for people’s right in execution of government policies etc, stem from their realization that Nigerians are easy to manipulate either by ethno-religious sentiments or crisps of naira notes. If not, petroleum scarcity or illegal increase of petroleum pump price would not persist without official reaction from government, few months to general elections.

    My position is that illiteracy, poverty and docility of Nigerians have contributed immensely to the pitiable state of our nation today and the hell which living has become for majority in Nigeria.

    Invariably, in advanced nations of the world, where level of literacy is high, people are conscious of their fundamental human rights including the right to vote and be voted for. Election is taken serious and the elected are conscious of the power wielded by the electorate hence the interest of the voters and the nation are taken into consideration in policy formulation, execution or implementation. The absence of the aforesaid is responsible for the underdevelopment in our clime.

    The coming elections bring another opportunity on the doorsteps of Nigerians to determine the fate of our present political office holders from national to the local level. It is a rare privilege to determine their fate whether to continue to wallop in abject poverty or have a new lease of life. This is a wake up call on Nigerians to make use of the opportunity either to make or mar their livelihood. Consequently, reflections by every Nigerian on the state of the nation and state of individual are imperative at this juncture. I agree not every one could do this, but those who could do should assist those who could not.

    Reflections should be on the quality of life they live in the last three years as well as before that period. They should reflect on their representatives at all tiers of government, are they representing them or themselves?

    Is the development witnessed in their communities impacting on their lives or mere cosmetics? Those in the rural areas, are they feeling the impact of government? When last did the governor, local government chairman, honourable member of the state house of assembly visit them to identify with their plights in order to cushion them?

    Can you enter the residence of your representative to discuss the plight of the community without dogs barking at you or fierce looking security men or thugs chasing you with horsewhip? Reflections on these would help Nigerians to know whether their government is for them or against them. The implication is to be able to decide either to vote for continuity as they say or a new beginning. This is what 2015 elections offer Nigerians, and unless the offers are judiciously used, the suffering would continue notwithstanding the few crisp of naira notes, okada gifts, bale of ankara, even tokunbo cars dolled out as empowerment or dividend of democracy out of billion of naira stacked in foreign and local banks

     

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    Apake, Ogbomoso.

  • Ajimobi: Developing without oil

    If revenue from cocoa farming prudently managed by a discerning government under Chief Obafemi Awolowo was responsible for the yet unequalled accomplishments of the whole Western Region of Nigeria in the 50s and 60s of the past century which had endured up to the present era, then I do not see how tourism and an agrarian economy such as Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo is envisaging can not do the same now.

    Pundits believe that Nigerian governments truly interested in freeing the country from the vicious grip of an economy based on the vagaries of oil controlled by imperialist forces and their agents should take a cue from Ajimobi who has decided to turn to tourism to generate money and reduce unemployment.

    He is working on a project, Agodi Gardens, the state capital with the potential to put not less than half a billion naira into the till of the government annually. He says the project will be kitted with Water Park, slides and swimming pool, restaurant, events hall, open areas for picnicking, a nine-hole golf course, health farm and a boat ride facility among other recreational gadgets. It will be the choice of the citizen especially during festivities. The project is going to sit on an expansive 62-hectare land.

    It is not likely that Ajimobi would make this attractive venture an Ibadan affair only. Analysts say for the enterprise to be meaningful and make a lasting impact economically, he would need to duplicate it in other major towns of the state, even if on a smaller scale. This, they believe, would reap more revenue for the state. It is also so that he can stem the rural-urban drift and keep the rural area populated for his agrarian policy. It would also reduce the needless population explosion in Ibadan metropolis.

    Oyo State will not be the only state where tourism rakes in good money for massive development and employment opportunity. A United Nations body which compiled the list of non-oil producing and tourism-dependent states rates Switzerland among 25 of such nations. Its population (eight million) is only slightly higher than that of Oyo’s 7.5 million. Its per capita income is $80,276, the fourth highest in the world compared to Nigeria’s poor $1,640 at 134th in the world. It has no domestic oil production as we have in Nigeria. So it does not export it for petrodollars to fund its project or take care of the welfare of its people. But tourism is listed among its main industries that makes it rank higher than the United States in some economic indices.

    It is the same with Hong Kong. The world’s ninth biggest trading economy; it has a population which is less than that of Oyo. It draws enormous wealth from tourism, which makes its dollar the eighth most traded currency in the world. Its skyscrapers outclass New York’s in the United States of America. These verifiable facts about non-oil Switzerland and Hong Kong scaling the peak in the world economy through such local industry as tourism offer hope that Nigeria can do without oil if we have the right leader to push through-forward looking ideas. Awo did it with cocoa in the sprawling Western Region some decades ago. He achieved much that can still be seen today long after his departure.

    It is proof therefore that what Ajimobi is attempting with Agodi Gardens is also capable of giving fillip to our wilting economy without the aid of petro-naira. All that he needs to do is fine-tune the idea and couple it with an aggressive agricultural perspective and let them have a life of their own. Indeed he can use proceeds from these sectors to erect other money-spinning superstructures.

    That was how Pa Awo did it. He got a lot from the money cocoa brought. Then with administrative and political adroitness, he pumped cocoa cash into the development of the education sector, the fulcrum of all human existence. All other things followed: a well educated citizenry to man the bureaucracy, to operate the industries, to attend to government business, to set up complex entrepreneurships, to teach in schools, to run the economy (formal and informal etc).

    When we talk of today’s South-west being the leader in the professions and in political and bureaucratic exploits, we must look back to the man who laid the foundation and built on it without oil money. By the way his impact then reached as far as Ughelli in the present Delta State, where a hospital he built still stands in its stately condition! Let’s do it all over again now through tourism.

     

    • Adeboye is a retired civil servant in Iseyin, Oyo State.

  • Jonathan’s agriculture testimonial

    SIR: All across the country, a revolution in agriculture is taking place.  Under the Jonathan administration, agriculture has seen a new day.

    In Kogi State, over 7,000 hectares of rice have been cultivated in the dry season, the first ever in the history of the state.   The success story of rice production has given room for the upsurge of integrated rice mills. 14 private sector rice mills have sprung up with a total capacity of 240,000 MT.  Moreover, the reform that government initiated brought about an increase in the tariff on imported rice, thereby boosting the economic strength of local rice producers in the country.  The capital flight witnessed because of the importation of rice into the country has reduced considerably.  Today, consumer demand and preference for local rice has risen due to better quality, taste and price when compared with imported rice.

    Some of the international grade local rice that has hit the market include Ashi rice, Mikap rice, Umza rice, Ebony rice and several others.  A major foreign investor, Dominion Rice, is investing $40 million on a 30,000-hectare commercial rice farm with international grade rice mill in Taraba.  The Dominion rice farm which is linked to out-growers of young commercial farmers is expected to replace about 15 per cent of the total milled rice imported into the country.

    It is not only in the production of rice that the transformation agenda of the current administration has paid off. A peep into what the transformation has done to cassava production in the country is worth commenting on.  It is on record that Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world with a total production of 40 million metric tons.

    To raise production further to meet competing needs for cassava, 24 million stems of improved cassava varieties were distributed to farmers which were cultivated on 8,000 hectares of land.

    Additionally, through research and collaboration, 40 per cent substitution of cassava flour for wheat flour in bread was achieved in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the Federal Institute for Industrial Research, Oshodi, Lagos.

    Clearly, these commendable strides in the agricultural sector by the Jonathan administration have the potential to considerably reduce the number of unemployed youths in the country.  Gone are the days when agriculture was not attractive to young people. Now young people are going into agriculture because of the enabling environment created by the current administration.

    • Johnson Momodu

    Benin City

  • That editorial on Osun REC

    When a newspaper pens an editorial, it is expected to carry with it the dignity of integrity. But perhaps the greatest attribute of such writing in any newspaper or journal of repute is its fidelity to facts. As elementary students of journalism hear often to the point of flagellation, facts are sacred and opinions are free.

    The existential possibility of this assertion can lead to nunaced modification of the so-called aphorism. But all in journalism know that facts are indispensable to any newspaper report or comment. And that accounts for why Hardball frowns at a recent editorial of a newspaper of shrunken influence calling for the removal of Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, Ambassador Oloruntoyin Akeju.

    It is baffling that that piece of journalism might have undergone the traditional rigour of debate from a suite of cerebral minds who are supposed to reside in the editorial board. The essay in question was a travesty of law, of arithmetic and of the rudiments of the English language. So they discuss a matter that has already been heard in court, not once, not twice but at least three times. In law, it is called sub-judice. Newspaper editors know enough of this not to show defiance over a matter whose ins and outs are undergoing scrutiny in the court of law.

    Whether they don’t’ understand the difference between 25 and 11 or between 25 and one, is yet to be clear to Hardball when the editorial claimed that 25 parties in Osun State opposition walked out of a meeting in protest against Akeju’s continued appointment as the state REC. If APC is one of the 25 parties in the state, where is the phantom 25th in the opposition? That party in power cannot be an opposition entity, a point the editorial writer should understand as routine.

    But then if 11 parties dissociated themselves from the so-called walkout, how then could an editorial board still number the walkout at 25. The failure of law and the failure of arithmetic are appalling for a newspaper, even if it has abysmally lost its elite status in the company of Nigerian newspapers.

    Add to it the devastating stumble in the English language. It wrote that the “INEC Chairman averred that he could not be changing his officials based on the petitions against them.” For those who did not follow the statement of the electoral body’s head, it would seem the newspaper knew what he said. But in its collision against the facts, it lacked an understanding of the English language. What the professor said was that he could not change his officials based on allegations not proven.

    This three-legged flaw of law, arithmetic and English language falls short of a standard editorial. Or shall we say that If you lack these three, the editorial fails in logic. Apart from all of these flaws of failure of English, arithmetic, law and logic, it was a great editorial.

    This is bad for a paper whose original owner is a metaphor for rigour, development and character. That editorial is a classroom example of how not to write one.