The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Amosun’s infrastructural revolution

    The above quote clearly pictures the on-going historic infrastructural revolution in Ogun which many eminent Nigerians have described as ‘phenomenal’, saying, ‘it is such that has not happened anywhere in the country.’

    Many residents of the Gateway State, as Ogun is known, are fast becoming the biblical Philip who confidently told his friend, Nathaniel, ‘come and meet my Jesus.’

    It is true that the thirty-seven-year-old state is among the famous in Nigeria but sad to note that it was one of the so called ancient states with little infrastructure before the inception of Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led administration.

    In the last two years, the story has been a total turn-around from what it used to be in a bid to bringing about industrialisation that would boost the state’s economy as the government is committed to the construction and expansion of over fourteen major roads and fly over bridges, including the 107km Ilara/Egua/Ijoun/Oja-Odan Road which cuts across four local governments in Ogun West Senatorial District,10km Ayetoro-Olodo Road, Mobalufon/Ejinrin/Folagbade Road in Ijebu-Ode, Oba Erinwole Road/Kara/Isale-Oko Road in Sagamu, as well as Ilisan-Ago-Iwoye Road,Ojere/Onikolobo/Panseke Road,Omida/Sapon Road,Enu Gada/Ago-Iba/Itoku/Sapon/Ijaiye/Iyana Mortuary Road and Abiola Road respectively in Abeokuta,among others.

    Even critics had to conclude that the state government ‘is committed to doing too many roads’ because the on-going infrastructural revolution cannot but be noticed.

    Frankly speaking, at the take-off of the projects, many people became doubting Thomases, saying, ‘how can these be possible? but Governor Amosun in his usual manner said, ‘when there is determination and God’s grace, you can achieve your dreams, no matter how big they are.’

    It is to our amazement in Ogun that our state is indeed becoming a centre of attraction as all the road projects are 70% near completion without leaving any stone unturned.

     

    Femi Onasanya,

    Abeokuta, Ogun State

     

  • The mathematics of oil (theft)

    The mathematics of oil (theft)

    Configured in the space of creation as a model of all that is tragic and ironic, the Nigerian state is undoubtedly fixated to a ‘scripted’ fate. Every evil, whether of minute amounts or cosmic scale, for as long as its nature is evil or even its incarnate, finds the space for expression in Nigeria-corruption, stiff-necked leaders and people, ‘wastes’ of space, wastefulness, illywhackers and grafters, ritual initiates, kidnappers, pedophiles, unlettered ‘fellow widows’ of groggy patience, madcap lawmakers and ‘jangy’ governors of strange mathematics (16 > 19) from the land of the ghouls, oil thieves and pipeline vandals and other nameless ones still on the queue of iniquities.

    The official disclosure was recently made that Nigeria loses 400,000 bpd (barrels of oil per day) to oil thieves, small and big; the hungry vandals that rupture the pipelines and the brazen elite that nurture the pipelines with sophisticated tools. Talk of small rogues, big crooks!

    The figure could be higher than the one given. Official figures are those captured by system documentation but the informal operators are never captured in the official recording. They have a way of being evasive and elusive. But let us play along with the 400,000 bpd released by the Federal Government as the loss we suffer daily to oil robbers.

    Incensed and puzzled that such huge waste occurs daily and our leaders feign helplessness and indifference, my natural reaction was that this nation needs urgent diagnostic examination, at least, to determine the degree of our collective madness. My curiosity encouraged me to have reflective insights into other nations’ details of oil production and management and the conclusion was an emphatic absurdity: Nigeria is a wastrel.

    The shocking discovery was that the 400,000 bpd that Nigeria loses to oil thieves are what about 16 nations, ones that we can somehow flatter with some greatness and pride, produce officially among themselves. The official figures released by International Energy Agency show what these countries produce daily and officially: Japan (132,700 bpd), Netherlands (57,190 bpd), Turkey (52,980 bpd), Cuba (48,340 bpd), South Korea (48,180 bpd), Austria (21,880 bpd), Singapore (10,910 bpd), Ghana (7081 bpd), Sweden (4833 bpd), Portugal (4721 bpd), Israel (3806 bpd), Switzerland (3488 bpd), Georgia (995 bpd), Ireland (431 bpd) and North Korea (118 bpd), Uruguay (997 bpd). When I did a mathematical calculation of these figures, the total figures amounted to 398,650 bpd with a balance of 1350 bpd that could still be shared among Kyrgyzstan (979 bpd) Tajikistan (221 bpd), Paraguay (31 bpd) and Sierra Leone (29 bpd) with little remnants still in transit.

    Evident and obvious that these countries do not produce oil in the quantity that Nigeria does per day (2.5m), most, if not all of them, have harnessed and are still harnessing other potentials and resources that nature has bestowed on them. As nations, they are doing well for themselves. Some of them have the best infrastructure, technology, military capability, good welfare programs, sound health policy and very good Gross Domestic Product based on Purchasing-Power-Parity (PPP) per capita. Japan’s technology is rated one of the best in the world in terms of its quality and efficiency. Turkey is one of the most militarily powerful nations of the world wielding tremendous influence not only in the Middle East but also as a member of NATO. Cuba, as small as it is, has been able to withstand US economic blockade since 1959 without ever contemplating caving in to US pressure and Cuba’s communism is as vibrant as ever despite Soviet Union’s ideological retreat. Singapore used to be a third world country but has transformed dramatically to being a first world country with about the 3rd highest per capita ($51,162) in the world after Qatar ($99,731) and Luxembourg ($107,206). Georgia, a post-cold war nation, swaggered for some months against Russia’s military might in 2008 and has exhibited the potential to be one of the most powerful Republics to emerge from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Ireland may not be one of the erratic countries in world politics but with a per capita of $45,888, it shows why it has the best quality of life in the world index and why many Nigerian youths prefer to break the banks to sojourn there instead of staying back here at home with a scandalous per capita of $1,631. North Korea is not a good economic model for any country, but its face-off with the United States over its nuclear development programmes cannot be ignored. Its military strength and capability are awesome and intriguing with Japan, South Korea and United States catching cold each time it sneezes. South Korea is one country with a very strong technological and industrial base infrastructure that is the envy of advanced and developed countries like China, India and Japan. It has the highest ICT development index and the largest broadband network covered in the world. And of course, Israel with just 3806 bpd possesses a military capability that is awesome and unimaginable. In the unlikely event of an outbreak of war between Israel, a nation of 7 million people, and Nigeria with a population of 160 million, it will require the intervention of the hosts of Heaven for Nigeria to survive one week. Israel’s agricultural technology is also one of the best in the world and most nations in the world seek their expertise in this regard. Israel, for instance, has the highest production of milk per cow (12,240kg per year) and also compares favourably with other nations endowed with massive agricultural resources like China and Brazil.

    Let us shamefully assume that the Nigerian government cannot do anything to stop the 400,000 bpd that thieves cart away on a daily basis, but what good things has it done with the 2.5m bpd that it produces officially and of what benefits has this been to the citizens of the country?

    It is an inexplicable paradox that a country that produces and sells about 2.5m bpd is in communion with the poorest nations of the world. There is a collective understanding that a nation like Nigeria has no business with pauperism. But here we are, Nigeria is the undisputed leader of a thousand poor nations! All indices of poverty are in our favour. Our major and strategic highways are nothing but macadams that will make one think that we just finished fighting an invasion war. Our leaders fly in helicopters many feet above the sea level and therefore cannot feel what we feel on these roads. How do they do it in other countries where they have good roads and efficient transport system that boasts of subways and ferries as against Okada and Keke Napep? As at the time of writing this write up, a barrel of oil (brent) went for $107.45. With the money we make daily from oil, why must we be in this mess?

    The gristly motif through which corpses are stretchered off from what we call hospitals into the morgue is one of the reasons people with all kinds of ailment throng the church for healing. Those who should still be alive have been ushered into eternity by medical professionals whose perfunctory attitude to their job is complemented by lack of basic tools to work with. The Pentecostal Clan, a relentless promoter of divine healing, is rapidly expanding its clientele base because the people now find succor for their sickness in the sanctuary of GOD in lieu of the abattoir called hospitals. Nigeria is one strange country where a hospital can decline treatment for a sick person for pecuniary reason. Government and its vacuous health policy remain the harbinger of death to people who deserve and desire life. How do they do it in other countries where health facilities and medical attention are of highest standard? How do they do it in other countries where medical personnel with the full complements of the government are mobilised just to save a life while the deaths of a score in successive intervals are a regular spectacle in our own “consulting clinics”? With the money we make daily from oil, why must we be in this mess?

    Power, a major necessity for industrialisation and economic activities is predictably erratic and epileptic. Many industries are on generators. Many are building their own power plants and installing their turbines. Many companies and industries are battling to survive. Many have had a large chunk of their profits invested into the servicing, maintenance and fueling of their generators. Many factories had collapsed with churches springing up in their stead. The Ministry in charge of Power preoccupies itself with the ministration of megawatts by promising to increase and stabilize the megawatts before the second coming of Christ. In major cities where there is evident affluence, the noise of generators is an obvious nuisance to the inhabitants. The environment is further blackened and contaminated by dangerous chemical elements that are not health-friendly. How do they do it in other countries that they have power supply for 24/7 without turning megawatts into a campaign issue? With the money Nigeria makes daily from oil, why must we be in this mess?

    There is no light at the end of the tunnel that the standard of our education will improve. Not with the incessant strikes by all the unionized conglomerates in our universities. Without strikes, our education is in a sorry state. The facilities, real or improvised that can stimulate qualitative education are just not there. The quality of teaching and the quality of learning is very embarrassing. Lecturers and students operate with mutual cooperation in an environment that is very unfriendly to intellectual enterprise. With strikes, the situation is very pathetic. A learning process that is interrupted, not once, not twice in an academic year, is agonisingly disabled.

    Everything is just not right about our educational system because our government itself is not getting things right. The budget for education is marginally higher than the one for the entertainment of our friends at home and from abroad who have come to have a feel of our grandiose hospitality. How do they do it in other countries that the quality of their education has never deteriorated and their lecturers and non-academic staff never went on a single strike? With the money Nigeria makes daily from oil, why must we be in this mess?

    Embarrassed and persecuted by the guilt of profligacy and corruption and their pharisaic purism, our preachy leaders now indulge in suspect gradualism as opposed to the radical change that the citizens yearn for. What explanations do our leaders have for this rare discipline and political will by 16 countries that built their militaries, economies, infrastructure and technology on mere 400,000 bpd in a manner that makes them compete for positive narratives in global politics and development while a country that produces 2.5m bpd wallows in unpardonable decadence and global irrelevance.

    Until everyone of us, leaders and citizens alike, holds certain principles and values so scared and resolves to uphold them even in the face of adversity, our nation cannot make the expected progress and development.

  • Nigeria’s open wound

    Sir,

    It is clear that none of the thieving political dinosaurs and neophytes alike parading themselves as leaders in this country can fix Nigeria. They are nothing more than brigands! Every time the opportunity comes to effect the desirable changes, they continue to leave the country worse off that they met it. And those who had the opportunity to serve more than once only succeeded in failing to effect the requisite changes conditioned by their previous woeful showing. Nigeria remains an open wound utterly deprived of orthodox or traditional medical treatment, or at least, any form of efficacious cauterisation.

    Consequently, suppuration has set in apace and the next stage of decay is that of gangrene. It is obvious that these demagogues cum reprobates are not on the same wavelength as the people with respect to how this country should be steered. While most Nigerians only seek employment opportunities and a business-friendly environment that would enable them to feed, clothe and house themselves, this bunch of neurotic and highly talented thieves are obsessed with looting the treasury with hyenas’ savagery, and a strength that more than equal that of the biblical Samson. They are extremely adept at stealing and negotiating soft landings for themselves.

    From my point of view, there are many categories of leaders in terms of their psychological make-up, temperament and conviction. Some leaders are futuristic in their thinking and are adept at seeing years ahead of their peers; they, more often than not, formulate far-reaching socio-economic policies with accustomed ease. The socio-economic cum political emancipation of their people is what they live and stand for. They are usually highly cerebral and self-effacing. Others are more at home with dealing with issues as they arise; but their responsive posture by no means constitutes slothfulness or inactivity. The third group comprises of those who desire to bring about positive change, but are either clueless as regards how to effect the change, or are utterly lacking any smidgen of leadership quality- President Goodluck Jonathan can be termed one of the doyens of this category.

    Lastly, and the least desirable, those who have no intention of affecting the lives of their fellow human beings positively, have no modicum of enlightenment in the real sense of the word, lead lives that are firmly balanced on moneyed interests, usually literate but unlearned, and educated but lacking real education in the actual sense of the word. Nigeria has been so unlucky to have the last category of leaders in endless supply. Most Nigerian politicians belong to the last group. Despite being rich in human and natural resources, this group of few reprobates are fast turning Nigeria to a dystopia, and there is seemingly no end in sight. Nigerians are in dire need of a change to be preceded by a revolution of the mind.

     

    Sordic Afis

    0808976967

  • Of FRESH Party and inec

    Of FRESH Party and inec

    Just as the nation is reeling from the comical saga of Senator Ahmed Yerima’s child marriage legislation, the shock victory of Rev. Chris Okotie’s FRESH Party against the INEC in the legal tussle over the party’s deregistration in an Abuja Federal High Court is creating ripples across the judicial and political landscape.

    FRESH has won what, in sporting terms, could rightly be called an upset victory. That is when an underdog inflicts a humiliating defeat on an acclaimed champion. INEC’s Attahiru Jega, backed by the mythical federal might has gone about deregistering smaller parties in an arrogant manner, making provocative pronouncements that clearly gave out the supposed neutral election umpire as a PDP Man Friday.

    Less than six months after the 2011 pesidential election, the commission, acting on a controversial Electoral Act 2012 (as amended) in collaboration with the PDP-controlled National Assembly, threatened to decree what it calls non-performing parties out of existence. About a year later, Prof Jega made good his threat despite widespread public outcry and went ahead to first deregister six parties, and then on December 6, 2012, brought the hammer on 28 political parties, including Rev. Okotie’s FRESH.

    All the affected parties, some of which were led by veteran politicians like Balarabe Musa, a second republic Governor of Kaduna State, and former Secretary to the Babangida military regime, Chief Olu Falae, cried out loud against this injustice, but the INEC would not burge. Some, like FRESH went to court to seek redress. While a Lagos High Court had earlier ruled in favour of the INEC’s position that it could deregister political parties based on Section 78(7)(ii), Rev. Okotie’s party ignored this obvious setback and pursued its case independently at an Abuja High Court.

    Notwithstanding the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the judiciary over some recent questionable rulings of its officers, FRESH kept faith with the system. This persistence finally paid off on Monday July 29, 2013 in an Abuja Federal High Court of Justice Gabriel Kolawole. After carefully considering the protracted arguments of the INEC and FRESH on the propriety or otherwise of the deregistration exercise, the Honourable Justice declared that the INEC’s action is unconstitutional and invalid. He went on to recommend that the offending Section 78(7)(II) be expunged from the constitution.

    One must give kudos to Rev. Okotie for his doggedness, a crucial quality of a strong leader whose grit would inevitably be called forth at critical moments; and without sounding patronizing, his two lawyers, Messrs Fred Agbaje and Kola Dopamu, deserve praise for their brilliant submissions that swayed the judge.

    The tardiness of INEC’s lawyers and the lacklustre attitude of the entire defendants who have a weak defence anyway, exposed their illegality in the face of legal fireworks by Okotie’s attorneys. These guys have written their names in legal history for this landmark judgment like Lord Denning said, “Justice must be done, even if the heavens fall.” The truth is that it is the earth that quakes, the heavens never fall because God always vindicates the just.

    I am not a member of FRESH, but I love the party’s boldness and its philosophy of paradigm shift in the running of the affairs of state. It strikes me as a party of the future. But the future starts now. It goes beyond proving a point by taking on the heavyweights of our polity as Rev. Okotie has been doing since he joined the fray in 2002.

    It is not easy to contend with the federal might. Aso Rock has a way of destroying its opponents, but so far, FRESH has proved to be a tough customer. This party could well pull the rug out of the feet of the almighty PDP, sooner than later. At least, with this legal triumph over the President’s party, FRESH has shown that it is a strong contender for power which can not be wearied by the arm-twisting and dirty tactics of a corrupt ruling elite.

    From the legal perspective, one cannot but commend Justice Kolawole for doing his job without fear or favour. That is precisely what the tenets of the profession demand of every practitioner: Dispensation of justice no matter whose ox is gored; no matter the stakes. Those who claim that the judicature is dead and buried, I say, you are wrong.

    This great verdict is a victory that resonates beyond our borders. It must alert those who have given up on Nigeria, including our fervent admirers that this country still has men of integrity in positions of leadership, in the judiciary, in the legislature and even in government. Our foreign friends must be happy that you never say never, with Nigeria. This nation, under righteous leaders, can redeem its battered image. Picking the pieces of our broken nation is an opportunity offered on a platter of gold by this divinely inspired verdict.

    We must seize this moment and begin to challenge those who want us to continue doing business as usual. The paradigm must shift, even from now; not just in politics; but in all aspects of our lives. Some folks in power who benefit from our current suffering will go any length to resist the change we all desire. But it is a well established fact that when change comes, nothing can stop it.

    This legal victory for our democracy is an encouraging signpost to paradise. Nobody is saying any change is easy. There’s never a royal road to victory. Nigerians must stand up for their rights. If we fail to do this against the foolish, child marriage legislation being promoted by some paedophile lawmakers, for instance, we’d end up with a huge moral burden. One is highly disappointed that our President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has not spoken out against this looming injustice against the girl child, when President Barack Obama has openly condemned the verdict of a jury which perverted justice by failing to convict a white murderer of a black kid.

    Selective justice is a subversion of the democratic process. That’s what FRESH fought for in this case of deregistration. Every Nigerian has a right to belong to a party of his choice regardless of the size, financial clout or popularity of such a party. A small party with purpose and integrity is better than a big party of corrupt, greedy elites.

    The survival of parties should be left for the electorate to decide; not the PDP. If that’s the only point from this verdict, I’m satisfied with it.

    •Ashiru wrote from Kaduna

  • Letter to Fela, 16 years after

    SIR: As you mark the 16th anniversary of your transition and communion with pan-African forebears, I feel obligated to write to you considering the inimitable doggedness and sacrifices you made for this country.

    Today, Martin Luther King’s America is a model and cynosure of human liberty, as even a black man is president, which more than fulfils his “I Have A Dream” project. Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana is now the paragon of progress in West Africa, and the streets of Lagos no longer stream with Ghanaian “shoe makers” (a “profession” which was the exclusive preserve of Ghanaians in Lagos throughout the 1980s and 1990s). They have all returned home; not because of the “Ghana must go” policy of the Nigerian government, but because the survival of small and medium scale business is guaranteed with stable electricity supply and workable economic policies in Ghana.

    You must be wondering what is happening in Nigeria especially with the military rascality and brigandage that reached a choking crescendo when you left. Well, the soldiers have returned to the barracks and Nigeria now practices democracy, but let me quickly add that only the jersey has changed; the players and tactics remain essentially the same.

    By the way, please when next you see Ken Saro-Wiwa disturbing the peace of Hades with the cry of marginalization of his people; tell him to stop living in the past as his kinsman is now the emperor. Tell Ken his kinsmen are fully in charge and the “blood vessels” that sustain the Nigerian nation have been entrusted in the care of goons from the creeks. In fact every Tom, Dick and Harry from Niger Delta today is a major stakeholder in the Nigerian project whose view must be seriously considered.

    Electricity, water, food, house are still in the realm of imagination and hope (where you left them); unemployment is still employing Nigerians in millions (about 70% now); basic health care system remains elusive. Our roads continue to railroad people to your end of the divide and our aircrafts have been re-christened “flying coffins”.

    Authority stealing has never been this prominent, as Niyi Osundare aptly asserts that corruption has become “the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic.”

    I listened to your track “Authority Stealing” and shuddered when I got to the part where you maintain that the big thief in Nigeria is allowed to go home, while the small thief who probably stole to escape the pang of hunger is condemned to jail. I wonder if you composed that song for those days or for these days, because it aptly describes the reality of today where a man who stole a governor’s phone has been sentenced to 45 years in prison, while an official who stole over five billion naira police pension fund has been asked to “pay tax” and then go home to enjoy his loot.

    Nigeria today is like a rudderless ship trapped in a whirlwind at sea. Our captains continue to perform circus shows in the name of salvaging the ship; the senior captain, surrounded by his menacing lapdogs, looks and acts clueless, yet scorns at every voice that seeks to correct. The passengers have been mummified and converted to inmates who must contrive some smiles to endure suffering – “Suffering and Smiling.”

    While our “Ogas at the top” continue to fritter our commonwealth on frivolities, we give our battle to the lord; so we continue to throng Lagos-Ibadan expressway and Idi Iroko-Ota road every Sunday to entreat God, and continue to pay out tithes so that our pastors can fly our prayers to heaven in private jets. We are optimistic that our miracle on the way whether you believe it or not.

    The Lagos state government has built a museum in your memory to preserve your legacies – at least that’s good news. But as you assume mantle as the “diviner” of Hades, please make it your first duty to entreat the oracle on our behalf, as we have spent eternity entreating Western gods to no avail.

    • Banire Abiodun.

    University of Ibadan

  • The price of social change 

    SIR: In different parts of the globe, many people are working and campaigning for social change and transformation. They campaign for provision and improvement of social amenities, for education, human rights and humane laws. But the fact is that achieving social change-positive and progressive change- does not come easy. It has a price -and comes at a cost-sometimes the cost of one’s life. Very often people desire change, they demand for  improvement of their society but they do not know that change has a price. It requires hard work and struggle. People want change but are not willingly to pay the price for it. They want social progress to fall like ‘manna’ from heaven. And that is why the promises and possibilities of social transformation elude –and continue to elude many around the globe.

    Some of us may wonder:  Why is there a price on a good that benefits everyone? Why is it that some people are killed, framed, imprisoned because of their quest, work and struggle for human rights, equity and social justice? Why do we have to labour and sacrifice to win social acceptance and approval for social goods?

    Social change has-and comes at a price because there are people and powers with vested interest in the prevailing situations of inequity and injustice, and they are not ready to let go. There are people or institutions that benefit from the stagnation and rot, from the oppression, persecution and discrimination against others. And these people and powers fear change. They resist change. They feel threatened by any call for change. They hate people demanding for change. So when people are demanding for change in a society, they should bear in mind that there are forces who want the status to remain. And these forces use their propaganda tools to make people believe that the status quo is the best the society can attain, when it is not. They incite and mobilize the people against those working and campaigning for progress. They make people believe that those seeking positive change are the enemies of the society and sometimes the enemies of god.

    They do so because they think they will lose out if change happens. They think they will lose their position and power including the privilege and benefits that go with it. So when we are calling or working for a change we should know we are up and against forces and powers with vested interest in the status quo and who will do anything, go to any length to stop or undermine the process. But as we saw in Arab Spring and in other places around the world, forces with vested interest in tyranny, oppression and exploitation of the people always and will eventually bow to the pressure of popular power and demand. So, all campaigners for social change should draw strength from this.

    Those who have vested interest in the pervasive criminality and illegality are opposed to progressive change. Those who have their political, traditional and religious power base on witch hunting and other harmful traditional practices are against any efforts to eradicate this cultural scourge. But we cannot give up the task of changing the society due to opposition, threats and intimidation. Instead we must forge ahead and press on bearing in mind those thoughtful words of the African American thinker, Frederick Douglass. He said:

    “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favour freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle.”

    And I add, it must be a struggle at a price.

     

    • Leo Igwe,

    Bayreuth, Germany

  • A septuagenarian and his money are soon parted

    It is said that the curse of mammon is that you never could have enough and indeed, the real tragedy is that the more you have, the more you crave. This encapsulates the story of a 73-year-old man named simply Steven by the press (do they mean Simple Steven?). The sad saga of this Central Bank of Nigeria retiree is that he has lost about N10 million apparently of his pension benefits to phone fraudsters. Why would a septuagenarian gamble away so much money in search of more money? What would a man in the twilight of life want to do with N350 million, which was the jackpot he sought to hit will trading the N10 million he had in hand?

    It is true that nearly every man would want even more money even when he had no need for it, Mr. Steven’s was a pathetic case that we all must reflect upon if only to avoid falling victim. As the story which happened in Lagos, Nigeria goes, Pa Steven received a text message on his mobile phone that he had won N2 million for using up N200.00 airtime in two weeks in an Airtel promo. This was in September 2011. He was given a number, purportedly of an officer in the telecoms company, Airtel.

    The ‘Airtel staff’ of course confirmed Pa Steven’s winning, he took all his particulars, including banking details. This was followed by a request that he would have to pay 4.8 per cent of the winning as “Charge on Turnover, COT”. This amounted to N264, 200 which Pa Steven paid most excitedly, as he recounted. If you thought they would pay him the balance of the N2 million then beware for you are a candidate for a cheap scam too. Of course, it is all a set up to pick the old man clean. Soon enough they told him he had been listed in a mega promo which superseded the peanuts he had ‘won’.

    And pronto, Papa had won N350 million bumper raffle in the Airtel Club 10 promo. He was provided a name and number to contact at the Airtel head office in Lagos for the harvest of his life. The old man was beside himself with joy. What good fortune in the evening of his life he thought. But he was soon asked to pay N2 million ‘functional fee’ and after he made ‘confirmations’ according to him, he was again glad to pay. What is paltry N2 million to 350 big ones? Pa Steven promptly dashed over to GTB and paid up. As he warmed up to begin to draw from his pot of luck, not so fast, they told him: another ‘small’ N3 million is needed; and yet another N4million… his alarm finally went off. What a rusty alarm it must be!

    It was at this K-legged juncture more than one year after he started this voodoo business that it dawned on him that he just might have been suckered. At least Papa still had the presence of mind to approach the police. Operatives of the Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Ikoyi, Lagos, directed Papa to play along with the scammers by paying into one of their accounts in Keystone Bank. As one of the shadowy fellows, a 22-year-old tried to cash the money, he was nabbed. The miscreant had opened the special utility account with forged particulars but he lied that he was merely helping friends to receive. He had also lied that he was an orphan but his mother was soon to show up at the police station.

    Why you may wonder why Pa Steven fell for the cheapest trick in the con book, how do we explain the role of the banks mentioned in this sordid tale? One had some comfort when transactions were carried out through the banks but not anymore. And the moral of this is that a little kobo in your hand is worth more that the big naira you are dreaming about.

  • Anambra guber: Why Ngige’s the man to beat

    When Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige emerged the governorship candidate of the PDP in Anambra State in 2003 and subsequently declared the winner of the election in the state by INEC, many who did not know him could not believe that anything good will come out from his government. Only those who knew him from childhood and his tortuous path to greatness knew that his emergence signified a new dawn of an era in the politics of Anambra State.

    As Ngige was about to settle down as the elected governor of the state, the buccaneers who had held the state ransom for their selfish interests struck again, causing confusion and distracting his government and the people of Anambra State. Anambra, known as haven for political absurdities and experiments since the return of democracy in the country 1999 returned to the familiar path again. The people were helpless and vulnerable. Those being looked upon to fight for the people against the rampaging renegades went under and kept quiet for selfish political and economic interests.

    The state was yearning for a liberator and selfless leader to fight the godfathers and provide good governance, a missing link in the politics of the state from time immemorial. Ngige, the governor was the target of the godfathers for his refusal to allow them access to the state’s treasury.

    His life was put on line and he was under pressure from the powers- that- be to settle the godfathers with public funds and enjoy his seat as governors for two terms unhindered. He resisted without minding whose ox was gored and continued with the provision of good governance in the face of the overwhelming distractions by the cabal. That was how a new chapter of responsive, responsible and people-oriented government was opened in the politics of Anambra State. Those who never believed in him marvelled and that was how he became the people’s hero in governance.

    It is worth recalling that at the inception of Ngige’s administration on May 29, 2003, the state treasury was empty and his predecessor owed workers several months of salaries and arrears. There was no single kobo to run government business, not to talk of paying salaries. Banks and other financial institutions were owed by the government. The state could not even service her counterpart funding for various projects. It was not until the end of June 2003 when money trickled in from the Federation Account that his administration re-engineered the finances of the state that enabled the government to pay staff and start paying pensions at 142% rise-the first state in the South-east to do so.

    For the 33 months Ngige was in the saddle, his works in numerous sectors that spread across the three senatorial zones of the state was an eloquent testimony of a leader with vision and people at heart. Everything turned around for good in the state. Within the period, his administration built 44 inter-local government, state and federal roads, spanning all local government areas in the state. Also built were 10 township roads in Awka, including an on-going massive dualisation of Nnamdi Azikiwe Avenue, 14 township roads in Onitsha, and eight in Nnewi. All of these roads were accompanied by concrete drains and erosion checks to make them last. It was properly supervised by Ngige himself in order to ensure that they met the required standard.  In all, about 72 roads were constructed and reconstructed by his administration. Today these roads are just as if they were constructed yesterday and the people of the state are attesting to it.

    At the time of leaving office in 2006, the Ngige administration left in the state coffers N12.8 billion. This is made up of a strategic reserve of N7.5 billion for road construction, N1.5 billion for the development of the new Anambra State University. There was another N1.3 billion for housing development programmes and N2.5billion as recurrent account for salaries, wages and pension. These were aside from the N0.3b billion in the state/Local Government Joint Account, dedicated to the construction of Inter-local government roads. In addition, the government had kept N2.5 billion in the recurrent account to ensure that salaries and wages of civil servants as well as other perks of office are addressed as and when due, without waiting for money from the Federation Account.

    Ngige had appealed to his successor not to fritter away the painfully gathered savings already tied to specific projects such as the following: the Onitsha –Atani-Osomala-Ogwu-Ikpele Road with a spur to Ozubulu – one of the most dilapidated roads in the state (Contract for this already awarded); Amansea-Ebenebe-Awba-Ofemmili Road ( also awarded); Anaku-Ifite Ogwari-Omasi Road; Umueze Anam-Orom Anam-Nzam Road; Nibo-Umuawulu –Awgbu-Odor Bridge-Amaokpala-Oko Road.

    These roads were already slated for flag-off before the verdict of the Appeal Court that removed Ngige from office was delivered. Even though considerable earthworks had been moved on each of them before then, today almost eight years down the lane, it is left for the people of Anambra with what is ground to say that the saved fund was frittered away or not. It is pertinent for people of the state to ask questions on how the present government has managed the monthly Federation Allocation and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) that accrued to the state in the last seven years plus coupled with the money it inherited from her predecessor.

    That the Ngige administration epitomised prudence, transparency and accountability in the management of public fund within the 33 months he was in saddle is stating the obvious. In spite of the cold relationship between him and the Presidency under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the then chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu gave him a clean bill of health at a time almost all his colleagues were under investigation or facing trial over money laundering.

    Despite the high wire politics and intrigues that trailed the Appeal Court Enugu Division judgment that removed him from office on March 15, 2006, Ngige accepted the outcome with equanimity and urged the people of the state to extend the support they gave to him to his successor.

    On leaving office, Ngige, known for his thoroughness, grassroots clout and strong will pitched tenth with some formidable politicians like Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Vice President Atiku Abubakar and others to form Action Congress of Nigeria. Since then, despite pressure from PDP for him to rejoin the party, Ngige has remained himself by keeping faith with God, the people of the state and his party. In spite of the opposition massed against him in the Anambra Central Senatorial election in 2011, the people voted and stood by him. Today he is reciprocating the people’s support by offering them jobs and attracting federal projects to the state. What else do the people of Anambra need, if not a leader like Ngige as the clock ticks for Anambra governorship election slated for November 16.

     

    • Onwulegbu, a retired civil servant wrote from Onitsha, Anambra State

  • No room for complacency

    There is no doubt that the on-going massive military offensive against the Boko Haram terrorist group, attendant on the declaration of a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states by President Goodluck Jonathan has substantially crippled the capacity and capability of the extreme sect to wreak violence on the horrendous scale hitherto witnessed, particularly in the North-East zone of the country. Yet, the multiple explosions that rocked the Sabon-Gari area of Kano on Monday night, claiming at least 45 lives, according to community leaders, shows that it is still a long way to victory over terror in the country, and there must be no room for complacency.

    As their fortified strongholds in the North-East are routed by the Nigerian military, the Islamic extremists will naturally get more desperate as well as operate more randomly, arbitrarily and unpredictably in a way that can maximally undermine the country’s cohesion.

    It is certainly not by accident that the explosions in Kano were targeted at the Sabon-Gari area, mostly populated by non-indigenes. The Kano State Governor, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, was thus right when he described the barbaric act as an attack on Nigeria. In his words, “This attack on Sabon-Gari is an attack on Nigeria because Muslims and Christians are involved. Several people of different ethnic extractions have either lost their lives or are critically injured. Whoever did this thing targeted Nigeria”.

    Political leaders and security strategists should, therefore, expect that the extremist sect will, in future, most likely strike in ways that can incite inter-ethnic, religious and regional animosity and strife. It is important to keep on enlightening Nigerians to see through the sect’s antics and refuse to fall for any such bait by maintaining the peace no matter the provocation.

    Also instructive is the observation of a community leader in Kano, Prince Ajayi Memaiyetan, that “What happened is that for the past two months, we in Kano have been enjoying the peace of the graveyard. We are waiting for security agencies to give us details on what really happened … The truth is that the security is not as effective as before because of the lull in attacks”. Increasing successes of the security agencies in containing the Boko Haram menace will, therefore, breed fresh challenges of its own that the authorities must be ready to tackle by continuing to fine-tune their anti-terror strategies in accordance with changing situations. At no time can we afford a lull in security alertness in any part of the country because the war on terror cannot be over until the extremists are completely subdued.

    The recent arrest of 42 Boko Haram suspects in Lagos and Ogun states adds a dangerous dimension to the saga of terrorism in the country. It is an indication that the sect plans to extend its destructive activities, so far limited to the North, to other parts of the country.

    We commend the vigilance of the security agencies which, acting on intelligence reports, apprehended the suspects at Ibafo trailer park and Ileke new trailer garage in Ogun State, as well as such locations as Aviation Quarters, Mafoluku, Oshodi; Ketu/Mile 2 Motor Park; Orile Trailer Park and the Bar Beach, all in Lagos. This kind of efficiency was also evident in March and June, respectively, when Boko Haram suspects were arrested in Ijora-Badia and Kotankowa areas of Lagos before carrying out their alleged plan to bomb specified designations in the state.

    While urging the security agencies to remain vigilant as well as continue to sharpen their intelligence gathering and counter-insurgency skills, we also call on the political authorities to expedite the pace of economic recovery in order to create jobs, boost prosperity and reduce the capacity of terror groups to recruit new members.

     

  • Lagos and homeless 70

    The news that the Lagos State government dumped 70 beggars of South East origin at Onitsha, Anambra State, has upset many, especially Nigerians from that part of the country. That development is unfortunate and should be decried.

    Inasmuch as Lagos faces the dire prospect of its facilities being over-run by economic migrants from other parts of the country, the solution is certainly not dumping citizens in their suspected places of origin as it was the case with these 70 beggars.

    Yet, the Lagos action and the consequent emotional angst are only mere symptoms. The real challenge is to locate the real problem; and solve it, once and for all, to avert a future recurrence. To do this however, both the Lagos State government and the aggrieved citizens must quit the emotional game.

    To start with, the ‘Onitsha 70’ was not the first case of Lagos destitute shipped back to their states. There were earlier reported cases of 160 “northern beggars”; and even Yoruba hinterland destitute sent to Oyo State.

    These were very drastic actions, no doubt. But the rational reasons that fuel it must be tackled: an economic pull that though drags virtually the whole of Nigeria to Lagos, while Lagos in return is not equipped to cope with the flood. That is the crux of the matter.

    Because Nigeria’s federation is structured on elite consumption and hardly productivity, there is little or no attempt to create economic hubs all over the country. In the absence of that, there is always the long treasure pilgrimage to Lagos.

    Lagos, to the bulk of deprived Nigerians, is the magic city that solves all economic problems. But that grand illusion to economic migrants is dire straits to the government, as it tries to manage its limited facilities, stretched to breaking point, to cope with the explosion.

    Indeed, it is a grand failure of state in which Lagos is as much a victim as the destitute it expels. Destitute streams into Lagos because of little or no opportunities in their locale, leaving their home government free of their woes. Lagos, on the other hand, picks up the extra burden when its burden is crushing enough, as it is. Meanwhile, the Federal Government, in Nigeria’s skewed federation, sits on idle funds better needed in the states to avert the migration catastrophe that Lagos faces.

    Meanwhile, when Abuja was decided on as the new federal capital, Gen. Murtala Muhammed, the then military head of state, made a firm pledge that special provision would be made for Lagos, because of its peculiar status as the nation’s economic capital. But that has been observed in the breach as even extant federal infrastructure in Lagos has progressively decayed with almost no hope of resuscitation.

    Even value-added tax, the consumption tax, the bulk of which is generated in Lagos, is redistributed with a skewed formula that prevents the state from benefiting from its own tax sweat.

    To prevent future recurrence of destitute expulsion therefore, the Nigerian federation must, as a matter of urgency, be restructured. But that is in the long run. In the short run, the country must give Lagos special funds to cope with the extra burden it carries. Also, state governments whose natives stream into Lagos must wake up to their responsibilities. It is ingenious, to say the least, to pass your due burden to a sister state and yet mount the mountain tops to scream when that sister throws back at you your original problems.

    So, a tri-partite – Lagos, Federal Government and other states – initiative is called for to think of equipping Lagos for its extra burdens, while also trying hard to reduce the influx of migrants by creating economic opportunities in other parts of the country.