The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Still on Nigeria and MDGs 2015 target

    SIR: September 2000, 189 heads of State and government adopted the UN Millennium Declaration. The eight key goals and 21 targets that were set and agreed to be attained on or before 2015 are eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women, reduction in child mortality rates, improvement in maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS pandemic, malaria other diseases, environmental sustainability as well to develop a global partnership for development.

    Thirteen years after, Nigeria’s attainment of the set goals has been rated differently from good to bad and to worse depending on who is saying it. What is glaring to all and sundry is that life has not been a bed of roses under the harsh economic climate.

    For instance, President Goodluck Jonathan, at the Water Summit, held recently in Abuja stated that Nigeria needs over N350 billion annually to meet its water and sanitation targets while Vice President, Mohammed Sambo, at a stakeholders meeting in Abuja also said that “Although Nigeria has made significant strides in reducing maternal mortality from figures that were above 1000/100,000 live births in 1990 to 545/100,000 live births in 2008, attainment of the health MDGs still remain a challenge in Nigeria, as the current annual reduction in under-five mortality of 4% is far below the 13% annual reduction needed to bend the curve to attain Goal 4 by 2015”.

    To the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Nigeria is among the 38 countries that have already met the internationally set hunger eradication targets ahead of 2015! According to the Director-General of FAO, José Graziano da Silva, “these countries are leading the way to a better future. They are proof that with strong political will, coordination and cooperation, it is possible to achieve rapid and lasting reductions in hunger”.

    On-track are the MDG 2 goal of achieving universal primary education; MDG 3 of promoting gender equality; MDG 6 of combating HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases; and  MDG 8, centered on global partnership for development.

    Off-track targets are MDG 1 that covers the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; MDG 4 – reduction in child mortality; MDG 5 – improvement in maternal health; and MDG 7 – ensuring environmental sustainability.

    The status of MDGs in Nigeria indicates that the country is unlikely to meet most of the targets. The incidence of poverty is reported to have increased from 54.4 percent in 2004 to 65.1 percent in 2010 while about 10 million children of school going age are out of school.

    In the 2011 elections, women representation at the National Assembly was found to have declined and the national average is about six per cent which is one of the lowest in Africa while climate-related shocks, as manifested by extreme harsh weather conditions, claiming livelihoods and exacerbated Africa’s food insecurity, resulting in a high incidence of strife, widespread hunger, underweight children and extremely low dietary consumption patterns in which the World Bank says over 70 per cent of Nigerian adults are poor.

    The post 2015 development agenda should recognize the changed context of the world, the changing geography of poverty and the need not only to improve the content but also put in place an accountability framework. Additionally, it must recognize the changed demographics of the world, youth issues and the challenge of terrorism.

    • Adewale Kupoluyi,

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

  • Aregbesola honours Olikoye Ransome-Kuti

    It the time amiable Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Nigeria’s one-time Health Minister, died in 2003, he had become a leading world figure crusading for the upgrade of the health system to cater for the poor. He proposed “an all embracing system to provide health-care in an integrated way, rather than through vertical disease-specific programmes.”

    He pursued this religiously and finally broke his philosophy into what later became known as Primary Health Care (PHC).

    Ransome-Kuti has since been known as the father of primary health care approach to the health problems of the nation.

    What is the kernel of PHC? It is simply that the solution to the mother-child (or community) health problems lies in the communities from which the people come, and not elsewhere.

    He proved this with an experimental family health clinic to assess the effectiveness of nurses in the direct delivery of preventive and curative services to mothers and children. It was this project that provided the impetus for the establishment of the landmark Institute of Child Health and Primary Care of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos and an academic programme as part of pre-service medical training.

    Professor Ransome-Kuti, health minister from 1985-1992, is now regarded as the best health minister Nigeria has ever had!

    And 10 years after his death, there is a nostalgic yearning for his ideals, following the serious slide in the conditions of the health sector notably in the rural areas. We would not have experienced the grave setbacks we have witnessed under successive governments in Nigeria if we had leaned on the submissions of this great son of Africa.

    But there is hope because in the State of Osun, the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has adopted precisely these principles: he is resorting to the policy of providing clean and good water for the rural folk (and of course to all the citizens) as a holistic health revamp strategy.

    For as the administration is proving, there is a linkage between the availability of water for all, and general economic and social development across all sectors.

    The state of Osun government is very much on course in its strategy to ensure that every resident in the state enjoys access to potable water supply for there is a clear synergy entailed in this objective. To use just one example, it would be frankly rather self- defeating to pour in money into the health sector without access- to- water – for- all at the heart of a holistic health revamp strategy. For as the late Professor Ransome Kuti emphasized continuously throughout his distinguished career, the momentum must start at the area of primary health care. Now, since most of the diseases here are water-borne, the availability of water resources is vital.

    This across the board synergy is why the Aregbesola administration has staked so much resource on the provision of clean water for all. We are not scoring political points but just stating the obvious in pointing out that the present government in the state of Osun is starting out from a very low base. When the government came into office, six major water works and 45 micro water works were operating below capacity in the state. The major water works which were designed for a combined capacity of 226,000 litres of water per day were producing only 23.7 percent litres per day, while the Micro water works with combined capacity of 13,400 per day, were producing only 18.6 per cent of their capacity. This situation is drastically changing.

    The Aregbesola administration, in the circumstance, had its work cut -out. Government has had to redress the balance from two fronts: putting in place facilities that will bridge the gap between demand and actual production, as well as putting in place the institutional mechanism that will ensure the sustainability of the facilities that will fulfil this objective.

    In order to ensure sustainability and continuity, the government is ensuring that personnel are well- equipped and trained for the maintenance of the facilities upon completion, while counterpart staff would be attached to each of the projects. Every avenue will be considered in moving things forward. Opportunities available will include twinning arrangement with experienced international water utility organizations, as well as to explore the possibility of Private Public Partnerships.

    Sustainability is of course vital which is why a pricing and payments system is strategic to the water access- for- all strategy. In view of the level of investments made by government, the authorities expect distinguished and responsible citizens to partner with government in paying modest water rates to sustain robust water initiatives: If the standard of the re-reinvigorated water policy is to be maintained, everyone of us, the governed and the government, must be willing and ready to play their parts very well. As a first measure, the state government is embarking on Consumers’ enumeration, after which a ‘’willingness to pay study ‘’ will be conducted. Even as the rehabilitation of this water works is progressing, government is supplying water through tankers to homes to ameliorate the pains of the citizens. The cost is minimal and bearable and the mode of payment to the banks simplified.

    We can see from the observations made above, that the Aregbesola administration is actually walking – the – talk. Noteworthy is the fact that the N 417m contract for the emergency work on Ede Water Works was awarded at the inaugural executive Council meeting, held at the executive council chamber of the Governor’s Office, just a few hours after the new commissioners were sworn in.

    At the 2014 election in Osun State, the citizens should identify candidates who in turn identify with them through their people-based policies to vote for. Their votes should not be wasted on those who would seek to impoverish them.

    Aregbesola is following in the footsteps of the man who struggled tirelessly to improve life in the rural community through a policy that entailed direct health care delivery on the platform of drinking water which would prevent fatal communicable diseases.

  • From the cell phone

    For Olatunji Dare

     

    Somebody should tell this president the home truth. Insecurity, kidnapping, oil theft and the like are the order of the day to which the president cannot find solution yet, he went ahead and constituted what I call ‘chop chop’ committee for dialogue. If the president means well for Nigerians and has no hidden agenda, he should make the country a safer place before any committee could be constituted. The president should tell us why sudden change of his mind on the confab. Jonathan should know that Nigerians’ integrity cannot be compromised. Nigerians are watching. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa, Lagos

    On Kaduna, I agree with you partly because the Middle Belt is more ideological and religious than geographical. At least half of the population of Kaduna is Christian. People of the Middle Belt are found in large numbers in states like Kebbi, Gombe and Adamawa. Many in the South do not know this because they only speak on Election Day. Anonymous

    Where do you think Jonathan got his substantial votes from? Why did he not get as many in states like Bauchi, Zamfara or Sokoto? If religion is included in the next census, Nigerians will be shocked by the make-up of many states in the North in general. Anonymous

    Re: An October surprise. To me, there was nothing surprising about the October 1st broadcast of which the proposed National Dialogue/Conference was salient. I commend Mr. President for acceding to the age-long yearning for National Conference. Whoever is again, opposing the President’s dialogue proposal is an enemy of this country, a pretender, selfish and a sponsor of anti-development. Simple or complex, let them go and dialogue and we see the output! Before now, I was an opponent of the conference. Now that Mr. President is conceding, what else do we want? From Lanre Oseni

    “An ‘October surprise’” is another voice amongst several voices advocating national dialogue. What some of the brilliant advocates have not exemplified is the mode of participation. Whether by selection or election, and if by election whether it will be different from those of our parliament. Whether the election will be flawless, and whether government will not influence the outcome. Again whether the conference will not amount to duplicity, and a further expenditure on our resources. Please educate us. Alhaji Hon. ADEYCorsim, Oshodi, Lagos.

     

    For Segun Gbadegesin

     

    This government by my assesment is a government of deception, wickedness, and vengiance. I have never seen any country in the whole world where insecurity is thriving and the government is constituting comittee for dialoque. The whole country is in comma still the president does not give a damn about the happenings in the country. The president should realise that, power is tracient that whatever he does now eigther good or bad will remain in the boook of history for him. The sudden change of mind of the president shows the hypocracy of the committee. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa, Lagos

    Sir, how will security be function, in the state that has no discipline! we need a discipline man like what Gen. Buhari did in 1983. From Talle Makaniki

    “Security and the national conference” are two issues that can help us shape our nation in the mode of a mature democracy. But sir, how do we determine participation at the national conference? Will it not amount to duplication of our parliament and a further waste of national resources? For those who claimed that state police will be used to harass oppositions, it must be stated that the present federal police is also being used by the federal government to harass oppositions. Ngige’s abduction while serving as a governor, and the current situations of Rivers State are glaring examples. From Alhaji Hon ADEYCorsim, Oshodi, Lagos

    Re: “Security and national conference”. Those who understood our problems and have been calling for a national conference to discuss them politically and economically after the first republic fell know the implications involved if we refused. Our third republic is threathened if care is not taken. Now that the president has acceded to these clamours, I hope our problems which are not insurmountable will be objectively discussed to fashion out a workable constitution with a self-determination clause entrenched for those who will want to opt out from the union in future without any acrimony or bloody fight. On the sensitive issue of security, we are afraid that states will abuse it if a state police is created, but in line with a true federal system which we know befit our structure, states must have their own police and not a national police as we have it now. From Prince Adewumi Agunloye

    Let us stop deceiving ourselves that governors will abuse the control of police, mechanics will surely be put in place to guide against such exceses and for funding, we all know that most states currently commit a lot of money to policing because the federal government is not doing enough. Also, taking police officers to terrains they are not acquainted with is actualy a diservice, police should work in places they are very conversant with to make them more proactive and effective. Simply put, Nigeria is over due for state police. From Olu-Adewoju

     

  • Nigerians too hungry to be civilized

    SIR: A critical observation of the situation in Nigeria will show that at the root of the nation’s problem is poverty.  The ill functioning of the government is basically as a result of people engaging in corrupt practices to survive.  The mushroom of religious groups in every street corner is mostly a consequence of economic hardship.  The perennial upsurge of regional crisis is traceable to insecurity of the natural resources.  These excesses of human behavior can be controlled by a country that can sufficiently provide for its citizens.  It is the principal function of an enlightened government to attain this objective.

    The anatomy of corruption in Nigeria can be dissected from a psychological impact of poverty.  The aggressiveness of most Nigerians in government to unduly grab the nation’s wealth as if it is vanishing could be attributed to the fear that they may not have the chance again.  This behavior stems from the reality that most families are generally one or two generations away from poverty.  The fresh memory of coming from a background where one has experienced an abject lack makes one desperate.  The scarcity of opportunity leads to a rush by any means to escape being a part of the downtrodden.

    People go through tremendous prayers and visits to powerful pastors including voodoo doctors, and by a supernatural endeavour, they are freed from the demonic bound of poverty.  Living in hopelessness in a country where there is no social safety net leaves the citizens in the phenomenal dispensation of a miracle.  A young woman graduates from the university and could not find a job.  Her parents are too poor to support her; probably it was a lover that assisted her through her education.  She feels the pressure to make money to bring her family out of suffering.  She turns to prostitution.  Before she could settle to the easy life, she contracts HIV.  A pastor comes and assures her that she could be delivered from the afflictions of the devil.  The pastor wins her soul and also her tithe.  She expects a miracle, other than that; she will whittle away and die in silence.

    Youths agitate about their plight. They live in communities with abundant natural resources and yet they are severely deprived.  The revenue generated from their region is grossly expended in places they have never been and by people they do not know.  The industrial consequences of producing this wealth dispose their community to all sorts of danger.  No one comes to their aid when they start suffering the harmful effects of these exposures.  The fatal instinct to survive sets in as they observe the exploitation of their livelihood. They go on a rampage burning down the effigies of their torment.

    It is unfortunate that the Nigerian government is paying lip service to solving the economic woes of the masses.  The foundation to elevating the country to a civilized society lies in poverty alleviation.  The elite are dismayed when the West looks down on them about the country.  A situation where the leaders of the nation are roguishly rich reduces everybody to the rule of the jungle.  If the government can put the abundant resources of the country to good use and seriously create a large middle class society, one will find out that majority of Nigerians will prefer the luxury of basking in the sun in a beach to the demeaning lifestyle of hustling for a living.

    Pius Okaneme

    Umuoji, Anambra State.

  • Six weeks to reimagine Nigeria

    How poorly President Goodluck Jonathan is rated on believability was again evident when he took the nation by surprise with his brainwave on “national dialogue.” The negative stock response from some quarters not only demonstrated the magnitude of Jonathan’s credibility crisis; it also raised the question of what he could do to polish his image. Ironically, Jonathan must have calculated that his move would be redemptive, given his record of opposition to a national conference on the country’s form and content. Perhaps he deserves sympathy, even pity; for trustworthiness, which appears to be a major deficiency for him, is integral to successful political governance.

    However, it is food for thought that his critics see him only in one-dimensional terms, refusing to concede the possibility of reform, even if remote. If those who promote such flat characterisation of Jonathan would be restrained in their prejudice, they might appreciate that illumination is accompanied by blindness. Furthermore, it amounts to a gambler’s fallacy to foreclose change based on observed history. Who, among his antagonists, could have imagined that Jonathan would choose the country’s 53rd Independence anniversary to make a reversal on the need for a national conference? It was a masterstroke, and the fact that quite a few minds on “the other side” considered it a positive made a statement about Jonathan’s redeemability.

    Whether he was merely being politically correct, it is noteworthy that Jonathan attributed his volte- face to people-influence, saying, “In response to the yearnings of our people, we had decided to take on the responsibility of decisively and genuinely exploring the option of a National Conversation.” Even more significant is the membership of the 13-man committee he set up to draw up within six weeks “ a feasible agenda”, and make recommendations to government on “structure and modalities”, “representation”, “time frame” and “legal framework,” among others. At least two members of this advisory panel are interesting for their personalities and image, which would seem to endorse Jonathan’s seriousness.

    The group chair, Dr. Femi Okunrounmu, an engineer, former university teacher and senator (1999-2003), who is of the progressive school with a reputation for straightforwardness, should be given some credit for accepting the role in the face of general frigidity on the part of the opposition. There is no doubt that he must be conscious of the political risk involved in his association with the administration’s contentious project, and the possible impact on his image in the progressive camp should things go awry. The fiery Col (Retd) Tony Nyiam, famous for his part in the failed April 22, 1990, coup that sought to redesign the country and, like Okunrounmu, an outspoken campaigner for a Sovereign National Conference (SNC), is another member deserving of notice because of his contrariness.

    It would be too smooth to rationalise the inclusion of these fighters as Jonathan’s way of seducing the opposition, without appreciating the fact that they have minds and also have their integrity to protect. Indeed, it is interesting that Okurounmu highlighted Jonathan’s “sincerity and commitment”, which he said “are further buttressed by the fact that he has not established any so-called “no go” areas for this committee.”

    The committee’s variegated structure certainly promises a captivating tension of perspectives, which is invaluable in the effort to reimagine Nigeria. Essentially, the appeal of this project is the opportunity it provides to take another look at the country’s design for a possible reinvention. It is, therefore, premature to conclude, as some observers have done, that Jonathan’s initiative is a continuation of attempts by past leaders to throw a red herring, not actually focused on restructuring but exploiting the public mood to drive personal ends. The serial insincerities by previous leaders in connection with restructuring the polity cannot logically invalidate Jonathan’s experiment. In addition, it is simplistic to label the committee as “diversionary”, with the paradoxical suggestion that its work is of little relevance, while insisting that redesigning the country is of urgent importance.

    Not surprisingly, politics of the negative kind is visible in the counter-response to the committee, with allegations that Jonathan’s overriding objective is to prepare the path for his second-term dream in 2015 by using the mooted national dialogue to perhaps soften resistance to his ambition. This logic is abstruse because, on the contrary, fundamental governance issues are expected to determine voter behaviour; and it would be shallow thinking for Jonathan to believe otherwise. In case he didn’t think of it, Jonathan, by his historic action, has further opened his administration to the certainty of barbs that would follow should it turn out that he was just posturing.

    Perhaps it needs to be stressed that the process of reworking the country would require not only commitment, but also time. It would be surprising if there are those who reckon that the loose ends can be tied before the next general elections, which are under two years away. Certainly, there should be no rush, and continuity of the course should not depend on whether Jonathan returns. This is a systemic challenge, and it will test the patriotism of the political elite.

    The clamour for restructuring has refused to go away since its beginnings decades ago; and the failure, particularly of the democratic structures, to correct the perceived errors over the years has contributed to its longevity. Those who are obsessed with SNC as well as those who are fixated on the status quo are guilty of tunnel vision. “Whatever is given can always be reimagined,” wrote the Irish Nobel prizewinning poet Seamus Heaney in words that are apposite for Nigeria.

    The insistence in some quarters on a conference is fascinating, for not only does it preclude other creative possibilities; it also presumptuously suggests that the rigid proposal is a silver bullet. Similarly, the argument for “things as they are” is not only short-sighted; it is also unconstructive. However, there must be a way out of the labyrinth.

    Whatever the outcome of the committee’s work, it would have advanced the search for nationhood, and that is important. In the end, the challenge is to dream again, which is a necessary condition for having any dream come true.

    • Macaulay is on the editorial board of The Nation

  • Air crashes and regulators’ dilemma

    SIR: The October 3, crash of Associated Airline plane in Lagos which claimed about 16 lives out of the 20 on board has diminished the great works the regulatory agencies have been doing to make Nigeria’s airspace safe. Since the ill-fated Dana plane crash of June 3, 2012 in Lagos, the aviation ministry and agencies under it have been intensifying effort to enforce compliance with policies and procedures guiding the operations of the airlines. Not only that, many of the airports dotting the Nigerian landscape has been receiving facelift with the Akanu Ibiam Airport in Enugu recently upgraded to international status.

    Aviation experts are wont to saying that the sector is the most regulated of all the means of transportation. Unfortunately, in spite of the perceived strict regulations, air crashes is gradually becoming a perennial event in Nigeria. What is missing? From what has been in the public domain since the latest mishap, it would seem some of the airlines have been cooking the books and doctoring their certifications. Everything looks good on paper – maintenance done as at when due, pilots well trained, etc. However, in reality, those documentations may have been forged. There is insinuation that the crashed Associated Airplane may not have valid insurance. Last Friday, a Commissioner with the Accident Investigation Bureau, Capt. Muktar Usman revealed that information gotten from the black box retrieved from the crashed plane showed that the pilots ignored the automated warning from the onboard computer voice, alerting them of a possible problem with the aircraft flaps and right engine. Should this claim be true, the competence of the pilots who flew the plane is in doubt.

    There are allegations that pilots and engineers in some airlines are being owed salaries and allowances and as such may not be in good frame of mind to perform their delicate duties. This is aside the accusation that some spare parts used in the repair of some planes may be obsolete. The regulatory authorities need to do more to sanitize the sector.

    • Jide Ojo,

    Wuse 2, Abuja

     

  • Hardball returns to school

    I woke up today to discover that I am a dullard and I have vowed to return to school. And make no mistake about it, in this re-education of yours sincerely he is going to start as a fresher in the 101 classes. Not as a graduate student or as a senior but a starter through and through. And he will not be learning such stuff as he was taught at the good old University of Lagos, UNILAG, but will pursue a brand new philosophy; a whole new world of learning and education. We will return to the details of this new age curriculum shortly.

    Hardball has been sent into this serendipitous discovery of the urgent need to return to school by a report that our dear Mujahid Asari-Dokubo has established a university in neighbouring Benin Republic. Before you begin to eat your heart out in case you are learning about this for the first time, he also lives there now. You may now exhale. And while you ponder whether you want to go ahead and set up your own Ekotedo Veranda Force or you want to call up Mujahid and join up with his Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF), Hardball has determined to return to school.

    Hardball will of course apply to Mujahid University, Benin, MUB (not sure what the real name is yet) to begin my re-education. That would be upon the understanding that MUB would devise easy-to-apply curriculum and introduce niche, avant-garde courses suitable for failed and failing nations. Having determined that Nigeria and half of African continent is semi-jungle and would inexorably devolve into a vast Hobbesian wasteland before it would repair if ever, one had better get equipped to survive in the years ahead. As it is, it has become foolhardy hanging on to the classical British education we acquired from conventional tertiary institutions.

    For instance, Hardball has been writing and reporting the activities of Mujahid for over a decade and see where we are today. The blighter has proven to be far more perspicacious and ahead of his time by dropping out of Nigeria’s so-called university (of Calabar); electing to fight for his freedom and very life from an inept elite starkly incapable of running a country. Today he has not only managed to carve a safe haven for himself, he has created a university in his image. Today, our wonky universities have been shut for nearly four months as if we never needed them in the first place, but Mujahid University will not only never experience such misfortune of an indefinite closure, it will teach only life skills and survival tactics in a crazy new world.

    Again, consider that your brother Hardball cannot tell with 100 per cent certainty, the difference between the nozzle of a gun and its butt. And should an emergency come upon us today, he may face the danger of holding a pistol with the nozzle faced to his heart or worse, his scrotum (well, depends on which you consider worse!). Now you see the urgent need for him to get off his ill-educated bum and enroll quickly at Mujahid University, Benin. There, he is sure to encounter such courses as Practical Political Science: apart from the usual stuff from Harold Laski, will entail courses in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat tactics in a free-for-all parliamentary bust-up.

    At MUB, the study of History will no longer be a subject about empires and personalities but about coup d’etat, guerrilla wars and freedom fighters. No verbiage and tales anymore as a course in Practical History will entail courses in the quick assemble of IEDs, simulated assault rifles combats and how to identify and overwhelm weak governments with a small army.

    Hardball will return to school soon because in the years ahead, the world will no longer have room for couch potatoes and supine fellows who claim to be writers. The world will not have mercy on men who cannot forcefully take what they want from their environment. This is the moral of Mujahid Asari-Dokubo’s tale.

     

  • The dialogue Nigeria needs

    SIR: The amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates by Lord Lugard in 1914 was said to have lacked the imprimatur of all the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. It was viewed as a marriage of convenience aimed at fostering ease of administration of the two protectorates by the colonial masters but turned blind eye to the uniqueness, differences, complexities, needs and aspirations of the ethnic nationalities.

    Sir Hugh Clifford, the British Governor of Nigeria described the nation in 1920 as “… a collection of self-contained and mutually independent native states separated from one another…by vast distances, by differences of history and tradition and by ethnological, racial, tribal, political, social and religious barriers.”

    Sir Clifford’s apt view captures the real essence of Nigeria, the pivot and the apparently ignored differences which have had enormous bearing on the psyche of individuals and nationalities, thus; the imperative for a national dialogue. Calls for a national dialogue whether sovereign or not is not new in the political lexicon of Nigeria but it gathered momentum after the annulment of June 12 elections.

    Why agitation for dialogue? Nigeria in the eyes of many is simply glued together only by the map but has since been religiously, tribally and psychologically divided. Beside socio-cultural conflicts, religious crises- mainly inter-religious – have since become an enduring feature capable of dismembering Nigeria. There could be a correlation between socio-religious crises and the poor economy, which has been the landmark of Nigeria since the second half of the 1980s.

    The political crisis which unfortunately plunged the nation into a 30 month civil war, the military rules that accompanied it, lopsided allocation of government largess, and the annulled June 12 election have pitched the nation against each other. This breeds suspicion and has continued to pitch the north against the south. It is obvious that the pendulum of government presence in infrastructural development and even political appointments either at federal, states and local government levels tends to swing to the ethnic nationality of the man at the helm of affairs. Were there purpose driven leadership, good governance and even good followership, mutual suspicion would not have surfaced. The mutual suspicion has virtually turned every ethnic nationality in Nigeria into marginalised entities.

    Moreover, Boko Haram insurgency and demand for an Islamic State in the North, a call for the Sovereign state of Biafra in South-East; the demand by South-West for Oduduwa State and a clamour by militants in the South-South for 50% derivation of oil resources are germane enough for a dialogue. The list of why we should jaw-jaw is endless. Therefore, this platform offers the timely opportunity.

    What kind of dialogue does the nation need at this moment? It is that of sincerity of purpose, of patriotism and constructive approach to national rebirth. The nation has outlived parochial sentiments and ethnic jingoism which rendered the previous two attempts useless. We should be bold to call a spade a spade. The time ticks. Those who do not know where they were drenched by the rains will not even know where it dries up. With patriotic approach to all issues that will eventually crop up at the conference, Nigeria will be redeemed. Others might have failed but this one must not for the sake of Nigeria. From the political fireworks pervading the polity, there is no auspicious time for this dialogue than now.

     

    • Sunday Onyemaechi Eze

    Zaria, Kaduna State

  • Re: In support of Fashola on Tobacco

    SIR: The above titled piece published in The Nation of Thursday October 10, page 18 refers. Intellectual honesty requires a declaration of interest. This writer in spite of his lifelong opposition to capital punishment has inadvertently sentenced himself to death by indulging in tobacco smoking for over four decades. I will therefore like to save others from an indulgence which does not do anybody any good. Mr. Adebayo Thomas, the writer of the piece in reference, should also show the same intellectual honesty. He should have stated whose interest he is serving.

    The inconvenient facts which Thomas glosses over include the well known fact that tobacco use is the leading cause of death worldwide. The grim reality is that tobacco uses cause more than five million deaths per year. This is serious stuff. Even more disconcerting is that with the market drying up in the developed countries, the tobacco merchants (of death) have shifted their marketing focus and campaign to the third world.

    This marketing strategy makes sense. The developing world has a demographic bulge tilted in favour of a younger age group. It is an enticing promising market. The problem here is that these are also countries which have weak institutions. They cannot stand up to the tobacco companies and stop them from marketing or advertising. More ominously these countries simply do not have the public health facilities to cope with tobacco related diseases. Their public health budgets are already inadequate and the medical personnel are fleeing to the developed countries for a myriad of reasons.

    Thomas’ analogy on prohibition is also incorrect. No one is asking for an outright ban on tobacco. It is not practicable to set up the necessary administrative mechanism to enforce such a proposition. Such an action will not even be compatible with the spirit of a democracy. What is actually needed is enlightenment and moral suasion. This is why the greatly admired and much respected Governor Babatunde Fashola should not have inadvertently conferred a veneer of respectability on the tobacco lobby and companies by granting them audience. It was a faux pas.

    Everyone is in love with the get-up-and-go Fashola. Like his predecessor he has made giant strides in uplifting the quality of life in Lagos state. Nevertheless, every human being has the occasional off-day. So did the great soccer exponents, Pele, Maradona, Lionel Messi; fantastic players but occasionally they miss an open goal scoring opportunity which my grandmother might have tucked in. That however is the nature of the human condition. Humans are error prone.

    Governments at all levels have a moral imperative to distance themselves from the Public Relations antics of the tobacco companies. It is not just a question of moral suasion. It is also predicated on even the most rudimentary of cost/benefit analyses. Since Thomas is not going to help Fashola to fund his health budget, he should face up to inconvenient facts. This is that Fashola simply does not have enough funds or the personnel to cope with tobacco induced or related diseases. And let’s face the facts, the World Health Organisation projection is that by 2030, 80% of projected tobacco related deaths will be in the third world.

    Adebayo Thomas should do Governor Fashola a favour. He should give him a paper on how he and his successors will fund the public health sector. The use of tobacco is a dangerous, suicidal indulgence and should be discouraged. I have made a declaration of interest as a victim. Thomas should declare his own interest. Whose side is he on?

    • Ayo Badmus

    Lafiagi, Lagos

  • Marginalisation of Kogi West

    SIR: The endless journey of marginalization in Kogi State since its creation in 1991 (22 years ago) began with the people of the Central and the West Senatorial Districts occupying all the available seats in the train driven by a winner-takes-all driver. The Central Senatorial District have decided to collectively alight from the train leaving only the Okun people of West Senatorial District in the aura of helplessness occasioned by our inability to speak with one voice amidst the divide and rule tactics in governance that has unfortunately been achieving the desired result to the disadvantage of our people.

    Today, the people of the Central Senatorial District are in the position to sing a different tune on the political terrain of Kogi State if their upward movement in state appointments today is anything to go by. This is happening right under our eyes and as opposed to the backward movement of our people in the scheme of things fuelled by self-centredness to which we have myopically remained glued.

    How feasible is the possibility of our alighting from this train in spite of the avalanche of eggheads and the who is who in all fields of endeavour known to man in and outside the shores of Nigeria in the face of our contentment with eating of falling crumbs from the state’s political table?

    Here is the distribution of political appointments in the state as at October 2013. Whereas the Igalas have 19 commissioners and the Ebira 10, the Okuns have only four commissioners! As for Special Advisers, the Igalas have 57, Ebiras 33 and the Okuns eight. The Igalas also take the big chunk of Senior Special Advisers with 32, flowed by the Ebiras 24 and four for the Okuns. The same picture of lopsidedness is reflected in the number of permanent secretaries where the Igalas have 32, Ebiras 24 and the Okuns four.

    Although Kogi East represents only 45 per cent of the 3.3 million Kogi State population in the 2006 national census, with Kogi West and Kogi Central accounting for 55 per cent of the population, successive governments from Abubakar Audu through Ibrahim Idris to Idris Wada, have always used a sharing formula that varies between 70:30 to 80:20 ratio of state resources and political offices between the East and the remaining two senatorial districts.

    Yet Kogi East contributes the least internally generated revenue (IGR) of seven per cent, compared to 72 per cent from Kogi Central and 21 per cent from Kogi West. As much as 80 per cent of all capital projects go to Kogi East while Kogi West gets 15 per cent and Kogi Central gets a paltry five per cent.

    Of the 28,000-strong state civil service, Kogi East alone has 24,621 as at November 2012 while Kogi West has 6,519 and Kogi Central 4,069.

    How long will this trend continue?

    • Odunayo Joseph

    Lagos