The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • What has the word availed Nigeria?

    Since, The Nation berthed on July 31, 2006, it has grown into a household name in news venture in the country. While some dailies have made one or two of the economy, commerce and crime their foci, the paper’s forte has always been politics. Can this be faulted? Hardly. Is not politics the determiner of who gets what, where, when and how across ages and climes? Is not politics the driver of the economy, commerce and crime in an inextricably twined web of statistical interconnectivities? What aspect of our national life in Nigeria deserves better attention than that which has enabled self-anointed/appointed stakeholders across space and time more than a fair share of the proverbial national cake?

    Given such a situation as we lament daily and for the change we all crave, what have The Nation’s inimitable wordsmiths and others in some other news-based establishments not said that need to be re-said. Despite efforts of the Wole Soyinkas and now late Chinua Achebes, what has the word really offered Nigeria, a nation where milk and honey literally flow but where facts and truth have merged to affirm a minimum of 9 in every 10 of its citizens as living the unliveable and enduring the unendurable. Such horrifying litany of award-winning oddities the whole luckless lot daily endure!

    In spite of its 160 million population and a gargantuan wealth, petrol and non-petrol, electricity supply has remained far less than 10 per cent required capacity, and this after the billions of dollars sunk into revamping the energy sector; importation the only significant source of supply of petroleum products in a country in which the crude was discovered over 50 years ago; infrastructural facilities, including road and rail network, entirely fallen with no appreciable efforts at reversals.

    The hospitals, including so-called first rate tertiary ones, barely fortified to muster beyond primary roles of minimal diagnosis and drug dispensing;

    inflation at double digit and cost of staple foods infernally intolerable for a masses pummelled by a concourse of unfriendly measures by a federal admiralty that seems located in the moon.

    How can we have improved electricity, roads, rail system, education and health system, reformed police/revamped and redirected security system, reduced poverty, maternal/child/infant mortality/morbidity and desirable social security payments for the elderly and the teeming unemployed Nigerians when the proverbial national cake must go in slices to placate the ever ravenous

    gluttony of only the political leadership!

    What better explanation for the vanishing trillions and the under-performing economy between our so-called young democracy and our malformed hearts? Should we as Nigerians not begin to question the ages of socio-economic dislocations which fertilised foundations for the emergence of the Boko Haram?

    A recent comment by Joel Brinkley, former correspondent of the New York Times, was meant to be a stinker which failed to stink being too familiar. Opening his write-up on a piece he titled “Nigeria’s squandered opportunity”, Joel explained how 17 well-fortified ambulances meant to service only President Goodluck Jonathan during health and other emergences which had lain unused months in front of his office vanished into thin air just after being exposed through a newspaper photo publication.

    This is, according to him, while most healthcare centres in the country’s localities cannot afford ambulances and lacking in other basic enablement; despite a daily earning of 224 million dollars from oil.

    One seems needlessly worried to realise why it has always been Nigeria’s so-called leaders who see bloom/hope where doom/gloom reside; why it has always been the Minister of Finance who sees the economy performing and Gross Domestic Products (GDP) on the rise when an extreme majority can hardly manage one square (meaningful and health giving) meal on an average day!

    Remember, the now jaded conclusions of researchers and economists that majority of Africans live below the poverty line as they (on average) subsist on less than one dollar (about N180) a day. Really? But, I know single mothers whose entire family of four (mother and three children) live on less than N400 a day!

    Our leaders contend the health sector is comparable to any other while they, the purveyors of power, would junket to America, Germany and India each time they have headaches and other vamped emergencies. How can we believe our lives are not cheap when police bullets and trucks are sending us in scores to undeserved graves daily? Our courts have become punishment centres for ‘small mortals’ while the ‘big fishes’ who daily purloin the trillions off the common till in turns remain not just untouched but even better protected with state might!

    That lone woman, Ruth Adehwe Aweto, former head of the Federal Cooperative College, Eleyele, Ibadan in Oyo State and her lieutenant, are currently in jail for inflating the college’s staff figures. Yet, those who have stolen nearly Nigeria’s entire mint still strut the streets as free men.

    As the mortars maul the supposed insurgents, as the streets of Kano, Maiduguri, Sokoto and Kaduna are plastered in the blood of the enemies of the state, properly so-called, Nigeria’s political leadership should admit significant responsibility for the errors which engendered the mutation of humans to vampires. Indeed, from the famished jungles of Ibadan/Lagos, the despoiled creeks of Bayelsa/Rivers to the arid wastes of Sokoto/Kaduna, poverty, in its virulent consumptive power, has neither distinguished in colour nor spared in content. We must just admit there is a Boko Haram in waiting in one form or another across other settings in Nigeria’s much raped landscape!

    Yes, only a deeper-going and genuine overhaul of the traditional conduct of governance by governments in our country can meaningfully reverse the hate-filled atmosphere that we have today. But, is government attuned to such alerts and ready to do the needful? Messages seem to have been cast overboard alongside the messengers. Baby and birth water useless? The word might not have failed Nigeria but Nigeria has failed the word. In spite of ages of robust messaging through pre-eminent messengers in news dailies, weeklies and in printed forms of higher hues, Nigeria remains in flux and fixated: governance in shambles, corruption, which defines wilful defilement of essences, the commonest quality of public officials. Nigeria’s seems to be the story of the aberrant son whose conducts consistently inverse wise counsels of his father. Our figures (both petro-trillions and sheer population) have not affected our fortune: our politics is for poverty. We lament devaluation when we cannot produce common bolt; we complain of inflation when we have not learned how not to be fed by others. We talk of hoisting a satellite when we cannot fly common balloon!

    Most entities (where transparency in governance is a fixed certitude, where life counts and excesses bridled by impartial laws) have moved to the computer age and beyond when we have not entered even the machine age, a necessary start for masters of the art and science of survival in a world of competition.

    Our democracy has been a demon which only consolidates our location in the worlds of the undeveloped. Lo, what has the word availed Nigeria, a country where everything is available but where nothing is on offer? How really can the word be made to work for the country? How can politics be tuned to the cause of hope for the teeming disoriented 90 per cent? How can this country be steered away from a steady and predictable slide into an Egyptian/Tunisian Hobbesian status. Now nasty and brutish with all auguries of long and consistently sought cataclysm, life has stopped just of being entirely short here. The messengers may have to recast strategies if Nigeria must work.

  • Call to the great people of Borno

    When the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) dashed to Maiduguri recently, it had two major assignments at hand. The forum under the leadership of the Elder statesman Alhaji Maitama Sule, the Dan Mansani Kano and the former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations came to commiserate with the people on the unfortunate Baga bloody incident that claimed lives and property; it also came to charge them to arise in unison and restore Borno back to its glorious era.

    At two separate meetings with the Borno State Elders forum (BSEF) under the leadership of elder statesman Shettima Ali Monguno and with Governor Kashim Shettima, the NEF reminded the governor and the elders of the leadership role Borno has played especially in the north and the landmarks, glories and honour it has brought to the sub region in the past that still subsists today. The NEF charged both the governor and the elders of Borno to belt up notwithstanding the prevailing security challenges to restore Borno back to its enviable status.

    Even, before the coming of NEF to Borno, Governor Kashim Shettima has been consistent in making the case for the unity of Borno people to fight the monster of insurgency threatening the foundation of the state in particular and indeed, the north and Nigeria in general.

    Now the great question: What is that Borno past glory and leadership role that continue to agitate, reverberate, and prick the mind?

    The Saifawa, (descendants of the Arabian hero Saif Bin Dhi Yazan) established a dynasty in Borno’s Kanem region around the eighth century and their rule lasted for nearly a thousand years. The Saifawa introduced Islam and consolidated it by the 11th century during the reign of Mai Uma Jilmi. Borno’s glorious history began in its Kanem region and this glory reached its peak in Borno region of the Great Caliphate of Borno that was a united entity comprising the two major provinces. The summit of Borno’s civilization was celebrated in Birnin Gazargamo, the famous Borno capital that became a centre of learning, an international melting pot.

    Gazargamo’s establishment in the late 14th century by Mai Ali Gaji marked a historical place in Borno’s international status as a Muslim Caliphate that resisted all efforts to displace it. In the ninth century, an international change of dynasty took place when El-Kanemi dynasty in Kukawa was established by Sheikh Mohammed Al-Amin-El-Kanemi (better known as Laminu), a scholar of vast learning and military skills who successfully defended Borno Caliphate from foreign invasion. His descendants who remained the rulers of El-Kanemi dynasty are called Shehus and their traditional status of ceremonial kings is still maintained.

    Borno in course of history has witnessed the reign of several world famous rulers like Mai Uma Jilmi, Ali Gaji, Mai Idris Alooma and many others who have made historical landmarks in the course of Borno’s over a millennium of existence. They were kings who were the pride of their followers, leaders who ere honest, learned and loved by their followers.

    Throughout its history, Borno has fostered international contacts and attracted scholars and diplomats to its cities like Gazargamo, Kukawa and others. Borno has established contacts with several important states in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. It established the first West African Foundation in Egypt, the Ibn Tashid School, where Borno students went to study.

    Historical records indicate that there had existed relationship between Spain and Kanem-Borno in the 14th century and that there was an ambassador of the Emir in Spain at the time. Some of the common Hispano-Borno heritages include the establishment of Islam in both Borno and Spain in the middle Ages and subsequent cultural development like Aljamiado tradition in Spain whose equivalent in Borno is still an important basis of scholarship.

    A significant Borno-Spanish intellectual bond is fostered by poetry of the Spanish scholar Abdurrahman Alfazazi whose Al-Wasial-al-mutagbala is literally revered in Borno State. This masterpiece panegyric forms the basis of the annual celebration that is performed in hundreds of places in Borno in the month of Rubiul-Awal marking the birth of Prophet Mohammed (S.A.S). Indeed it is very common to see many Borno scholars who have committed the text to memory in the recitation sessions of the Wasa’il popularly known as Ishirinva or Madhu. This is a monumental credit to Borno-Spanish relationship and above all to the bond of the course of history.

    The visit to Borno by the Spanish Monarch Juan Carlos Victor Maria de Robon and Queen Sophia in mid December 1986 was a golden opportunity to recall and commemorate the hundreds of years of Hispano-Borno relationship through the intellectual exchange and the common heritages since the Middle Ages lasting to the present.

    The first official visit outside Nigeria of the current Shehu of Borno Abubakar Garbai to Turkey is a reminder of Borno historical and diplomatic exploits.

    Geidam had an ancient history having inherited the glories of the great Saifawa city of Birnin Gazargamo. It was a centre of scholarship where scholars from the Maghrib al-Aqsa, the Nile valley and central Bilad al-Sudan converged in search of knowledge. They brought with them the ancient literature of classic Arabic, the history of Islam and the Muslim civilization. To this city, many scholars have brought with them the knowledge of Al-Azhar and the Kushite civilization. Education, scholarship and learning have therefore been a very long history in this city.

    Right from the emergence of Birni to the present day Yerwa, Borno’s position had been very outstanding in the field of Qur’anic or Islamic learning. There were names like Shehu Tar Geroma of Birni, or Shettima Ngalloma of Kukawa or M. Modu Njokkomami of Yerwa, all of whom were reputed to be so well learned that they were believed to be genies in their times. There were also the houses of the famous Imams of Borno whose descendants are among the most respected today. Moving close to our time, we have had people like Goni Zarami of Mafoni, Alhaji Baba of Hausari, Alhaji Mustapha Shehu Ajabe of Limanti, Alhaji Mohammed Abba Aji and Alhaji Idrisa Khadi all of blessed memory. This is not to mention Shehu Laminu himself. Among the living Malams who still hold the forts are Sheikh Ibrahim Saleh of Gwange, Sayinna Bukar El-Meskeen of Shehuri North, Alhaji Bashir of Fezzan, Sayinna Goni Umar Kaltummi of Budum, who makes very significant contributions to public enlightenment in the field of Islamic education.

    It was the commendable efforts of traders in Borno that enabled the province to occupy an enviable place in Northern Nigeria, indeed in Nigeria, in the 1950s and the 1960s. By the late 1950s and early 1960s many (about 50%) of the Permanent Secretaries, Residents/Provisional secretaries and other senior civil servants and professionals throughout Northern Nigeria were of Borno origin. It was the good leadership quality demonstrated by the Shehus, Emirs, Councillors, Districts heads and Heads of Department that produced the famous Mohammed Lawans, the Ahmed Talibs, the Bukar Shuaibs, the Umaru Shehus, the Damchides, the Dagashes, the Liman Ciromas, the Gujubawus, the Al-Ghazalis, the Ghaji Ghaltimaris, the Ma’aji Shettimas, the Kukawas, the Kyari Sandabes, Mahmud Ahmads and a host of them, all men of outstanding qualities, for the Federal, Regional, Provincial and Native Authority Civil Service.

    Some of the pioneers and best-trained Nigerian military officers came from Borno. These were the Zakariya Marimalaris, the Kur Mohammeds, the Largemas, the Mohammed Shuwas, etc. Also, the first best-trained police officers came from Borno. These include the Kam Salems the Mamman Maiduguris etc. There were also top Veterinary and Agricultural officers such as the Zarma Gogorams. There were top class, indeed world-class broadcasters like the Dunguses and the Abba Zorus. There were good lawyers such as the Shettima Liberties, as well as judges such as Mohammed Kaumi Kolos and of cause the Kyari Gadzamas.

    In the political arena, Borno produced top class, dedicated and single-minded politicians at federal, regional and provincial/divisional levels. These include Sir Kashim Ibrahim, the first and only indigenous Governor of Northern Nigeria, the Shettima Ali Mongunos, the Zanna Bukar Dipcharimas, the Waziri Ibrahims, the Ibrahim Imams, the Abba Habibs, the Ibrahim Bius, the Abdullahi Ndagaras and later, the Gonis, the Babagana Kingibes, the Shettima Mustaphas, and the Hassan Yusufs, etc.

    There were also famous educationalists such as the Hayatu Jeres, the Shettima Pindars, the Idrisa Khadis, the Mailafiya Shanis, the Slaihu Warkes, the Abba Rahas, the Captain Mahmuds, the Waziri Dikwas, the Ibrahim Geidams, the Sanda Dikwas, the Buba Chekenes, etc. Side-by-side are also top-level intellectuals like the Nur Alkalis, the Kyari Tijjanis, Njidas Gadzamas, Mahdi Bukars, etc. These people devoted their entire lives to serving people.

    Apart from the top administrators, politicians, intellectuals, educationalists, agriculturalists and health officers produced by Borno, there were also numerous middle level officials in many fields of human endeavour who worked in various parts of Nigeria. Most of them served with distinction.

  • The Lagos residents registration initiative

    Society has become more mobile and the information held electronically about persons and services by government agencies and other bodies have substantially increased. There is a growing need to integrate the residents of Lagos State into e-government initiatives to enable the services provided by government to be fully utilized and also provide an accurate picture for government policy and planning.

    The Lagos State Residents Registration initiative has the potential to address key challenges facing e-government and other initiatives. Various e-government initiatives have been enabled to collect electronic data and each operates autonomous of each other. To provide a more accurate picture for government policies and planning, a link must be established between these various stores of data.

    It is with a view to institutionalizing this process that the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency, LASRRA, was established in 2011 by an enactment of state law, by which it was fully empowered to implement a residents database and identification card program for Lagos State.

    The goals of the agency include, establishing a reliable and updateable database of all residents of Lagos State, providing useful information for social, political, business and financial activities, creating and documenting a unique means of identification of Lagos State residents, providing a highly secured identification card for all residents of the State and removing the veil of anonymity from every citizen of the state

    The Residents Register is an electronic database, currently being developed by LASRRA which contains demographic information of all residents of the state. It is a governmental, centralized, trustworthy and comprehensive source of information that would assist the state government with decision-making process and allocation of resources as it contains important and vital information about residents of the state.

    On the other hand, the residency card is an electronic means of identification and authentication that LASRRA undertakes to issue to all residents of the state. Using sophisticated technological features, the residency card is a safe means of identification of persons and verification of their identities. It contains a unique reference number (residency number) that links every individual to his/her own personal and biological data. The residency number serves as a reference for the respective individual in his/her identity-proved transactions with government bodies.

    It is instructive to stress that the card is produced and issued at no cost to all residents while registration is equally done free of charge to all residents.

    The residency card is a safe and precise means of personal authentication and identification. Its primary aim is to make it easier for the card holder to obtain all governmental and non-governmental services in the future. Among the most important benefits and features of the card are enhanced sense of belonging, protection of identity, ease and convenience and providing an integral database. The residency card is primarily designed for the administration of the services that the Lagos State government provides for the people that reside in the state. Its objective is to enable efficiency in the allocation of resources to meet the needs of the people. Using the contact details provided at the time of registration, all those that have registered and their cards are ready for collection, will be notified by SMS to collect their cards at the LASRRA LG/LCDA office nearest to their place of residents.

    It should be emphasized that biometrics simplifies identity verification as the 10 fingerprints, signature and face image of residents are captured as part of the registration process. A challenge for residents, mostly the needy, is the lack of documentation to establish their identity. Once these residents enroll for an identity number linked to their biometrics, they can afterward confirm their identity multiple times, anywhere in the state and to any agency, by providing their demographic details or biometric scan.

    It is important to accentuate that every one that is currently residing in the state is required to register. Once you have been residing in the state for six months or more, you are eligible to register. This registration would, henceforth, be a prerequisite to accessing the services provided by Lagos State government for its residents. In cases of people relocating from one place in Lagos to another, it must be stressed that people must be responsible for their own data and it is their responsibility to ensure that their data is up to date. If not, when accessing government services and there are discrepancies they will be sent back to update their data.After registration, quality checks are done followed by correction processes (where required). The data is then sent to the database, where the data undergoes various stages of screening and validations. This ensures that the source of data is authenticated ensuring that no duplicate exists. After which, the resident unique identification number is generated.In case of any errors, the record goes on hold for further enquiry. Corrective actions are taken on such as contacting the applicant via the contact information given. This may take over five weeks to resolve.If a card needs to be replaced due to loss, theft or change of information, the resident should contact any of the registration stations across the state and make a request.

    However, as earlier stated, the first residency card is provided free of charge, subsequent cards may be at a charge. For clarification purpose, the registration exercise does not confer any status other than that the card holder at the time of registration resides in the state and it is not an attempt to discriminate against non-Lagos indigenes as it is open to everyone that lives in Lagos State, irrespective of ethnic origin, nationality, religious affiliation, age etc. Till date, the initiative has been able to create over 1,000 jobs for the pilot scheme. In preparation for the commencement of its statutory responsibility of registering the residents of Lagos State, LASRRA organized a one day open forum for public and civil servants in the state. The purpose of the forum was to further enlighten the citizens about the project as well as share views with them.

    Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, who was represented at the event by the State Head of Service, Prince Adesegun Ogunlewe, said that his administration will continue to make itself accessible to the general public through regular such public engagements.

    On a final note, let me stress, once again, that the main purpose of the resident registration initiative is to ensure proper planning as well as efficient allocation of the state’s scarce resources. It should not be misconstrued as census.

     

  • Open letter to Opeyemi Bamidele

    Open letter to Opeyemi Bamidele

    Frustrated that a chance encounter with you was irritatingly turning into a protracted waiting game, I have decided to breach communication protocols and confidential niceties by communicating with you through this unorthodox channel. I can assure you my intentions were noble, honest and sincere. I never wanted any third party intervention but if it happens that this exchange degenerates to that level, the burden of public involvement should be borne by you having decided to be a public personality through your representation of the people of Ekiti Central at the House of Representatives.

    Different stories of strange happenings that I have read and heard about NIPOST would not let me move near that courier agency with a long pole. I therefore had no mischief for anointing the public with a disclosure that was meant to be strictly confidential. Kindly accept my explanation for this minor infraction. However, I expect people to show some decorum by not meddling into the affairs of two friends simply because one has employed this unorthodox medium to communicate with the other.

    I am discussing the state of Ekiti and its war of attritions. By this time next year, the governorship election in Ekiti would be in process. From what is on ground as at today you are determined to contest for the gubernatorial office with Kayode Fayemi, the incumbent. This is the crux of the matter. My intervention, which is personal, is to see how we can manage aspirations and ambitions without destroying fraternities. One of the reasons for employing this ‘column factor’ channel was that most of the members of the fraternities-Great Ife and the Tinubu Boys-that had discussed the Bamidele-Fayemi rift with me told me that all propitiatory overtures made to you were rebuffed. While I am not counting on any special relationship with you to guarantee a breakthrough, I believe that my intervention may be useful in the pool of various constructive preachments you would have received since the whole saga started.

    The genesis of the crisis is unfortunate. Three of you, Dele Alake, Femi Ojudu and you, all from the same Tinubu fraternity, wanted to be senator for Ekiti Central. The governor, also from the same group, found himself in a dilemma. Expectedly, there were intrigues, button-pressing, politicking, intensive lobbying, primordial sentiments and other things that politicians do. Finally, one intrigue outplayed the others. One interest was more important than the others. And Femi Ojudu, who eventually became the senator, was favoured. Dele Alake was furious. He withdrew from the contest. You were bitter but you never withdrew. You fought till it was obvious there was nothing to fight for again. Disturbed and worried by the implications of your exclusion and abandonment, the elders pacified you with the House of Representatives slot that was meant for another person. You collected it with unctuous pretension and concealed animosity against the elders and the governor.

    Let me make it clear to you that I was bitter too. Not because it did not go to you but because, of the three of you, only Dele Alake was not compensated or pacified with any political office. And I expressed this in a piece I did on the issue. For a long time, Dele felt betrayed and abandoned. But trust Asiwaju, he found a way to pacify him and explain things to him. Now, he is back into the fold.

    My dear friend, I ask: why is it so difficult for you to embrace reconciliation? I am asking because at this stage when all hands should be on deck for Fayemi’s re-election, efforts and energies are still being wasted in getting you to suspend your aspiration and extend your support to the governor in this battle against a common foe.

    From the body language of the governor, I know he is unfazed and unruffled about your stance and posturing but I am. Regardless of his confidence, Fayemi’s campaign machinery for re-election cannot operate with the same focus and effectiveness for as long as there are distractions from a “competitor within”. Why should you be the one to distract the governor of your party whose performance had been commended by all and sundry, indigenes and non-indigenes, scholars and illiterates men and women, children and adults and non-partisan assessors. Your present stance is sending wrong signals to the opponents and what do you gain if posterity records you as one of those who sabotaged the progress and goodwill of the party in Ekiti State?

    My dear friend, forget politics and tell me the truth if Ekiti, your state, was like this three years ago. In Unife in those days, when you were campaigning for Student Union election, one statement you made that won you a deafening ovation was this exuberant phrase: “I am a revolutionary who wants to revolutionise a revolutionary revolution”. Even though this did not make any sense and still does not make any grammatical sense, the rhythm alone and the word “revolutionary” was enough to send some hysteric students of little contents into frenetic jubilation.

    If you want me to tell you the truth, your letter to Fayemi after the landmark judgment of May 31, by the Supreme Court, should have been an opportunity for you to end all the suspense game about your ‘ambition’ or ‘aspiration’ and extend a hand of friendship to the government of Ekiti State. But instead, you were appealing for amnesty for looters of the State treasury. When did revolutionaries start indulging in absolution for rogues and looters. When did revolutionaries and reactionaries become dizygortic twin? A revolutionary advocating amnesty for looters of public treasury is not only putting his integrity in jeopardy, his own activities should also be subject to scrutiny to determine the credibility and sincerity of his revolutionary ministration.

    Even if you wanted to play ‘statesman’, was that an appropriate moment to do it? People were rejoicing and jubilating that God had at last vindicated the just and the righteous, you were preaching reconciliation with enemies of the government. If you were after genuine reconciliation of friends and foes, why did you not start it by reconciling with the governor openly and truthfully. You preached reconciliation but you failed to act it.

    Have you sat down to calculate the political cost of your uncooperative attitude to the Ekiti governor? If against all your expectations and calculations, the governor goes ahead to win the re-election without your support, what damage will that do to your political rating and overestimated ego? I have not carried out any study on you and your group to be able to determine your popularity empirically, but I am warning that you do not underestimate the capacity of others to diminish your political machine. You almost caused confusion with your “amnesty for rogues” appeal. At a stage, a spokesman for the government said the government had handed all treasury looters to GOD to deal with them. There must have been a spontaneous outrage by the people because in less than 24 hours, the government denied it saying that there was no truth in the story. It stated in a statement: “the administration would not drop the plan to probe the Segun Oni administration because doing so would give others corrupt persons the leeway to embezzle government fund”

    Though as a Christian I believe in forgiveness, this should not be extended to looters of state funds whose serial frauds and misappropriations have brought misery and hardship into many homes. Many have also died because of their criminal engagements. So, if a revolutionary like you is now canvassing for amnesty for rogues, what then becomes of the revolution?

    Another critical look at the statement you made in Ife during your campaign tends to suggest that “you will undo the revolution that a revolutionary has done. Please read it again to see the import. I hope you are not acting it. People have tagged what Fayemi is doing in Ekiti a revolution. So, that makes him a revolutionary. If you now want to “revolutionise a revolutionary revolution”, does that not suggest that you want to undo what he has done? That statement was made some 28 years ago, but your present attitude is giving it some prophetic relevance.

    You may be wondering how you can fulfill your aspiration if you do not go for it now. You need some patience, my brother. The goodwill you have now and the will of God for you are all the ingredients you need to realise your dream of serving your people as a governor. That is why you should not fritter away your present goodwill in your haste to serve the people. This is a period when you should be consolidating and building on your political leverage within and outside Ekiti. If you fail to suspend your ambition for the re-election of the incumbent who is a member of your party and it affects the fortunes of the party in anyway, there is no way it will not affect your political career in the future. In our haste to fulfill our ambitions, we must be guided by the stories of men in history who raced and rose to power through intrigues and traitorous conspiracies but ended up becoming villains of history because of their downward trajectories.

    Godhas been very good to you. Since you returned from “exile” in America in 1999, you have been occupying one political office or the other. You moved from Special Assistant to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to become one of his commissioners. And for almost 10 years you were a commissioner in Lagos state which is not even your state of origin. You occupied a position of a commissioner for that long not because the state did not have qualified people to occupy that office but because both the political leadership and the indigenes of the state created a conducive atmosphere and environment for you to function unhindered. It is worrisome and strange that in your own state you found it difficult to work with the government in power despite the fact that you are from the same party. Strong societies are built with the collective spirit and character of their citizens. But here in Nigeria, building a national spirit and character is a major problem because of some peculiar ironies. Overwhelmed by our collective iniquities, the foundation of the nation is further weakened by the irrationalities and eccentricities of parvenus who have suddenly developed a jumped-up mentality that makes it possible for social reprobates to place the nation under a virtual siege.

    If indeed it was the Senatorial issue that caused the rift between you and the governor, I am enjoining you to forgive and forget and cooperate with the government in order to consolidate the revolution that Fayemi had started in Ekiti. When a “revolutionary” distances himself from the revolution of another revolutionary, it shows that there is misjudgment or misperception about the identity of the revolution we are talking about. In that case, we need to make some conceptual clarification. Is the revolution the type that brings total change to a system or the type that accommodates those who are the targets of the revolution thus polluting the system further through some strange political alignment and corruptible integration. The former seems to enjoy universal acceptability while the latter appears more of a political contraption developed from unconscionable prebendalism and philanthropic opportunism.

    I accidentally came across a copy of “The Mirror”, a campus journal you edited in Ife along with people like Bunmi Oyewole, Ajayi Owoseni, Sola Bolomope, Tayo Alabi, Sumbo Agbaje, Olumide Adeyinka, Debo Olagunju, Kehinde Bamigbetan, Raji Ahmed and Biodun Owonikoko. It was a product of an amateur bunch because it carried no date and volume number. I found it very interesting, not the contents, but the collection of people on the Editorial Board who are now influential and powerful members of the Nigerian State. Then, the editorial caught my attention. It was an appeal to the students body that seemed to be in disarray at that time to come together to fight a common enemy-the federal government which was contemplating the introduction of school fees.

    Let me copy and paste the conclusion of the editorial titled: “Onward Match: As The Storm Settles” to see if it is a food for thought in this Fayemi’s scenario: “Having viewed the past and the present, “The Mirror” now appeals to those still in war mood to ‘kulu temper”. The survival of our union is paramount over and above other interests. Now that it is confirmed that the FMG intends to introduce fees next session, it will only be in the best interest of the enemies of Nigerian students to meet our house in disorder and disunity. In the words of Balarabe Musa ‘we are living in times of great changes, the old order is fast crumbling, giving way to new opportunities, it is our responsibilities to understand these new opportunities and utilise them for human progress”. Let’s bury the hatchet and move forward was the final admonition of the editorial which you signed as the editor-in-chief. I rest my case.

  • The truth of the matter

    For some time now, the media has been awash with the news and analysis of Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s clash with not only President Jonathan but the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) .

     What was worrisome in the whole brouhaha was that no commentator was reflective enough to question the relevance of the so-called Governors Forum and the much ado about its election. Taxpayers’ money is wasted each time state chief executives hop into the plane with their army of aides to Abuja for a meeting of NGF, which was neither provided for nor envisaged in the constitution.

    Instead of focusing on the enormous problems of their respective states, they are driven almost insane by an inordinate desire for power and influence – so much so that they have lost touch with reality. The forum is unwisely being allowed to become too powerful that it has become a blackmail organisation, whose bidding the president can only ignore at his peril.

    Let Nigerians not forget in a hurry that it was under the leadership of Governor Rotimi Ameachi that the Governors Forum was branded as the greatest constituent of corruption in this country! Firstly, the Governors Forum was forcing every succeeding government, starting from Obasanjo, to be performing illegal acts by asking the Presidency to remove money from the excess crude fund and give to state governments at their whims and caprices.

    There is nowhere in the constitution where anybody – either government or any agency – can spend any money of Nigeria without appropriation. Now, the governors will sit down, shout on the president because he has no political base and tell him that if he does not dip his hands into the excess crude funds and allocate money to them, heaven will fall. Without appropriation, without legislative approval. All thanks to our intelligent President Ebele Jonathan who refused to dance to their evil plan, this is being resisted.

    If Governor Ameachi has problems with his party, a party that brought him to the current position that he found himself in, why will he be so rude. His actions are nothing far from being that of a back stabber. It is clear that one cannot eat his cake and have it. Ameachi should know that he is just a governor of a state not a governor of the 36 states of Nigeria; that his jurisdiction powers should remain in Rivers State and Rivers only.

    Mahmud Bello

    Mungani A Kasa Initiative,

    Kaduna.

  • Spooks, kidnappers and saviour Obama

    Spooks, kidnappers and saviour Obama

    In an attempt to apprehend the 30 year old American whistleblower, Edward Snowden, a plane that was carrying the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, was diverted to Austria on its way back to Bolivia from Russia. France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, based on intelligence reports from the Americans, closed their airspace to the plane because they believed that Snowden was on it and that he was being secretly smuggled back to Bolivia.

    This was a plane that was part of the Bolivian state’s Presidential fleet and that was carrying the President of that country. Bolivia is a sovereign state which is not at war with anyone. This act was not only grossly disrespectful to the Bolivian state but it also violated international law and all the norms and rules of international diplomacy and decency. It was a clear breach of the Vienna Convention on international flights which says that the aircraft of the leader of any sovereign state has immunity and cannot be treated in such a manner. To make matters worse the Presidential plane was searched and President Morales, by his own words, was treated as if he were nothing more than a ”common criminal”. I would have to agree with the Bolivian Vice President that in actual fact Morales was actually ”kidnapped by America, her European allies and the forces of imperialism”.

    He was eventually released and allowed to fly home but up until then President Morales was holed up at the airport in Vienna for no less than nine hours even though it immediately became clear to all that Snowden was not on his plane. This was a truly shameful episode. When the Americans and their allies treat leaders from the smaller and weaker nations of the world in such a way simply because those nations and those leaders have stood up for truth and justice and have resisted their ignoble quest to persecute the innocent and conquer the world it diminishes us all.

    From this incident alone it ought to be clear to every right-thinking and discerning person that America, under President Barack Obama, is a nation that has literally been driven mad by its own paranoia and obsessions and that is completely drunk on power. Their ultimate objective is to control the entire world and to impose their will on each and every one of us.

    I commend the courage of those truly progressive nations and leaders that have condemned the Americans and their allies on this issue, that have defied American imperialism and that have stood up for Snowden for exposing the illegal and immoral acts of the Obama administration. These nations include Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Cuba and a number of other Carribean and Latin American countries. I also commend some of the key figures from the political left in Ireland, France, Germany and a number of other European countries and Julian Assange’s Wikileaks organistation for standing by Snowden as well and I commend Russia and China for refusing to hand him over to America. The Scandanavian nation of Iceland has gone even further in their support for Snowden than any other by actually considering and debating the possibility of conferring him with Icelandic citizenship even though he has never set his foot on their soil and even whilst he is still in hiding in Russia. It is the courage of those world leaders that are strong enough and that have cultivated the fortitude, the resolve, the decency and the humanity to rise up to the occassion, to stand up for the weak and defenceless and to look the American bully in the eye and say ”thus far and no further” that keeps the rest of us going.

    Yet the revelations of the excesses the American state did not stop there. During the course of the week they were also caught spying on some of their own European friends. The fact that the American National Security Agency (aka ”No Such Agency”) have bugged the telephones and internet activities of government officials, government buildings and foreign embassies of their closest allies in the world was brought to the attention of the international community. The Europeans, quite rightly, have not taken the matter lightly. The reaction of the French President, Francois Hollande, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, has been one of absolute outrage and each and every one of them have wholeheartedly condemned the behaviour of the Americans in very harsh terms. They even went as far as to suggest that this matter could affect the massive deal on trade that the two economic powerhouses were about to begin negotiations on. All these illegal acts and dark secrets by the American state were exposed by Edward Snowden’s revelations about the new PRISM system that the Obama administration is now using to spy on every single individual that has a phone and that is on the internet and every government in the world.

    The implications of this are frightful and obvious to even the dullest amongst us. It sounds like a scene from George Orwell’s book titled ”1984”. And frankly speaking it is disgraceful. Such is the angst that even the most powerful intellectuals and true patriots in America itself such as the celebrated author Professor Naom Chomsky and the reverred film producer Oliver Stone have condemned it. On July 4th at the Karlovy Vay International Film Festival Oliver Stone said ”it is a disgrace that Obama is more concerned with hunting down Snowden than reforming these George Bush-style eavesdropping techniques. To me Snowden is a hero because he revealed secrets that we should all know,that the United States has repeatedly violated the fourth amendment. He should be welcomed and offered asylum but he has no place to hide because every country is intimidated by the United States.This should not be. This is what is wrong with the world today. And it is very important that the world recognises and gives asylum to Snowden. Everyone in the world is impacted by the United States’ Big Brother attitude towards the world. We need countries to say no to the United States”. These are courageous words spoken by a true American patriot. And in my view he is absolutely right. Where are the defenders of America and the Obama-lovers now? Will they seek to defend this illegal, despicable and treacherous act of the Americans who have shown that they are prepared to go as low as to spy on even their own allies as well? I say shame on them and kudos to Snowden. He has exposed the illegal and indefensible acts of the American state and he has proved to the world that they seek to secretly watch, monitor and record the activities of every single non-American on the planet. It is left to the rest of us to either resign our fate to God and accept it sheepishly or to resist it as best as we can with our loud protests until we get our privacy and our security back. I am deeply encouraged by the fact that even our very own President Goodluck Jonathan was also taken aback by this appauling spying scandal and that, through one of his officials, he actually cultivated the courage to ”warn the Americans” about their unacceptable excesses and spying ways.

    This brings me to the issue of Obama’s visit to Africa. There can be little doubt that when President George W. Bush was in power he did a lot for Africa with his President’s Emergency Plan For Aids Relief (PEPFAR) initiative which pumped in millions of dollars that saved the lives of millions of Africans and protected them from aids. He also provided more financial aid and grants to African countries than any American President that ever came before him and he supported Nigeria’s bid for debt relief and and debt cancellation between 2005 and 2007. Quite apart from that he fully implemented the provisions of the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) which helped African businesses to grow, created jobs and wealth and reduced poverty on our continent by opening up the lucrative American market to some of our consummer and agricultural products. These are just some of the things that George W. Bush did for Africa. By way of contrast President Barack Obama has done next to nothing for us and has in fact dramatically reduced American aid, trade and support for our continent.

    It is ironic that Bush, who has no links with Africa and who is a conservative Republican, did so much for us whilst Obama, who is of African descent and who is a liberal Democrat, has done very little. Other than a relatively paltry pledge of 7 billion USD for the generation of power on a continent which is home to over 500 million people and in which there are 53 independent countries, the only things that Obama appears to want to export to Africa are “homosexual rights”, “same sex marriage”, “same sex parenting”, drones and drone bases, AFRICOM and the PRISM spying system. His utter disdain and contempt for Nigeria in particular, though cleverly veiled, is interesting and significant. Despite our size, our standing and our relative strength on the African continent he has snubbed us twice on his two visits to Africa by not coming here. Worse still he has simply refused to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation even though they have butchered no less than 5000 Nigerians in the last two years and even though he has put a bounty on the heads of three of it’s leaders. Why the contradiction? If the leaders of Boko Haram are terrorists then surely the whole organisation is a terrorist one as well. Had Boko Haram been responsible for the deaths of even one American anywhere in the world I have little doubt that the following day they would have been officially designated terrorists by the Obama administration. Yet that courtesy has not been extended to us even though thousands of our people have been slaughtered by that same organisation in just two years. The question is why the double standards? Is our blood not red as well? Are our lives not as important as that of others? If Al Shabab in East Africa, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in Algeria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Al Qaeda in the north African Sahel and in the Middle East, the Mehdi Army in Iraq, Abu Sayyaf in the Phillipines, the Janjaweed in the Sudan, the Lords Resistance Army in Uganda, Hamas in Gaza, Islamic Jihad in the West Bank, the Islamic International Brigade in Chechnya and the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan are labelled as terrorist organisations by the Americans then why is Boko Haram of Nigeria exempt from that same label? These are just some of the contradictions of Barack Obama when it comes to his policies and attitude to Nigeria. Yet his attitude towards us is nothing new. Between 2005 and 2007 whilst he was still in the Senate, he was one of the few American senators who openly opposed the campaign for debt relief for our country. Thankfully despite his opposition we still got that debt relief and by 2007 Nigeria had paid off all her foreign debts.

    Yet we are a very generous, forgiving and large-hearted people. Despite Obama’s indifference and his lukewarm attitude towards us the African people generally, and the Nigerian people particularly, continue to idolise him and slobber all over him as if he were the Messiah Himself, citing the fact that he is a black man, that he is ”one of us”, that he has a beautiful pepsodent smile, that he is ”drop-dead gorgeous” and that he is a great orator that delivers brilliant and inspirational speeches as some of their reasons for doing so. Goodness me. What a country and what a people we are! Those that are moved by Obama’s Adonis-like looks and engaging oratory forget that Adolf Hitler delivered beautiful, inspiring and powerful speeches as well and that he was idolised in a similar fashion by the German people until he showed them his true colours. Of course by that time it was too late and 50 million people, including 6 million jews and 20 million Russians, were killed as a consequence of nazi aggression and World War 11. So much for powerful oratory and beautiful speeches.

    For those amongst our people that still insist on fawning over Obama the questions are as follows. Do we have to bring sentiment into everything? When will we be governed by our heads and not by our hearts and our emotions? When will we appreciate the fact that a man ought to be judged by what he does and not by the colour of his skin or by what he says? They say that actions speak louder than words. Is that truism totally lost on us? Some say Obama is the ”saviour of the world” and the greatest thing since sliced bread, yet the same Obama has killed over 4000 innocent women, children and civilians in secret drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the last 4 years. This represents a 200 per cent increase in the number of civilians that George W. Bush killed with similar drone attacks in the same area in the period of 8 years.

    The same ”saviour” Obama is supporting the most ruthless brand of wahabbi-inspired, Al Qaeda, islamist, salifist and jihadist forces in Syria who call themselves ”Syrian rebels” but who are in actual fact nothing more than a bunch of heartless and cannibalistic beasts that slaughter women, children, moderate sunni muslims, shia muslims, christians, secularists, priests, nuns, ethnic minorities and anyone else that does not share their barborous world view. They do not just kill their victims but they go a step further by cutting out and eating their hearts, organs and private parts after they have done so in the full glare of television cameras. These ”people” are Obama’s friends.

    As a final pointer saviour Obama has just appointed Ambassador Susan Rice as his very own National Security Advisor. She is the pretty lady that flew to Nigeria and served our very own President-elect MKO Abiola a strange cup of tea at a secret meeting on July 7 1998 after which he coughed violently and dropped dead before her very eyes and at her very feet. Perhaps we should all take a moment to ponder on the implications of that. Saviour Obama must love us very much. With friends like him who needs enemies?

    Permit me to end this contribution with a word on Egypt. Nothing exposes the sheer duplicity, deceit and doublespeak of saviour Obama more than his attitude and words about the tumultous events that occured in Egypt last week. Robert Fisk, the celebrated columnist with the U.K’s Independent Newspaper, captured it all very well in a brilliant article titled ”When A Military Coup Is Not A Military Coup”. He wrote ”For the first time in the history of the world a coup is not a coup. The army take over, depose and imprison the democratically-elected President, suspend the constitution, arrest the usual suspects, close down the television stations and mass their armour in the streets of the capital. But the word ”coup” does not- and cannot- cross the lips of the Blessed Barack Obama”. Fisk has hit the nail on the head. ”Blessed” indeed. May God deliver our world from ”saviour” Obama.

  • Please, pay our gratuities

    After years of meritorious service and resignation since 2009 from the employ of Pharma Deco Plc, Agbara Ogun State, contrary to labour laws, we have not been paid our gratuities despite the fact that we were all cleared of all wrongdoings after rigorous screening.

    Our families have been suffering many financial handicaps as a result of the company’s failure to pay our gratuities.

    All efforts, till date, have not yielded any positive result.

    We seize this medium to appeal to the management of Pharma Deco to act swiftly and save our souls.

    Abiola Ogunbewon

    Agege, Lagos

  • The Lagos education reform

    The impact of qualitative education as the strongest weapon to fight poverty and a useful pillar for nation building and economic prosperity cannot be over emphasised. Considering the generally acclaimed status of education in the development of the society, the Fashola Administration has accorded education the attention it deserves.

    An integral part of the state’s educational reform is the EKO Education Project which has been a huge success thus far. The way the project has been adapted to suit the Lagos experience has promoted accountability and openness through its approval of discretional grants by schools. The Eko Education Project enjoyed an unprecedented high rating from the World Bank, which is a partner in the project. One aspect of the Eko Project which is fascinating is the volunteer teachers’ scheme which has injected about 20,520 hours per month into the schools system, an equivalent of 183 full time teachers.

    In its characteristic innovative style of governance, the state government, with a view to involving other stakeholders in the funding of education in the state, instituted the now popular ‘adopt a school policy’. Through this policy, well meaning individuals, corporate organisations, and religious bodies among others are encouraged to pick and develop a school in their choice location.

    Currently, the state government operates free education programme in all public primary and secondary schools across the state. It should also be stressed that Lagos, unlike other states, does not limit its free education programme to only the indigenes. Aside running free education at these levels, the state government has equally invested heavily in the upgrade of infrastructure in public schools in the state through rehabilitation of classrooms, provision of well equipped libraries and laboratories, provision of free text-books, provision of modern teaching devices and other vital school furniture. Till date, the state government has provided over 2,876 new classrooms in the state.

    In order to reduce the financial burdens on parents, the Fashola administration has sustained the payment of the West African Examination Council and the National Examination Council (NECO) for all of SS3 students in public secondary schools in the State as part of the support for education of the people. The special intervention programme for 495 trainee-teachers to assist WASCE candidates with extra coaching was also introduced.

    Similarly, the State Governor recently presented a cheque of N252 Million to 126 junior and senior secondary schools, who have displayed improved performances over a period of time in the first Governor’s Education Award. With the competitiveness that the award will bring into the educational sector, the result would be for the benefit of all stakeholders in Lagos State.

    Despite its huge investment in public primary and secondary education, the state government remains committed to creating an enabling environment where indigent students in the tertiary institutions would not in any way be short-changed. This is being done through periodic increase of bursary awards, scholarship and grants. Equally, government is currently working on the overhauling of facilities at all the state owned tertiary institutions in order to guarantee qualitative education. Guests at the 2200 days event of the state government, which took place at LASU few weeks ago, would readily attest to the fact that a new LASU is presently evolving.

    True democracy cannot exist in a society incapable of supporting the aspirations of its youth, and indeed its people. A truly representative government must be able to create the enabling environment for its citizenry to freely express itself in positive ways so that the diverse potentials of its people could be easily harnessed for growth and development.”

    With the kind of reforms that has been started by the state government through its steadfast focus on upgrade of school infrastructure and teachers’ improvement; a significant progress has undoubtedly been made. However, considering the peculiar challenges of the state, all hands must be on deck for the current tempo to be sustained and further ground covered.

  • We must fight corruption

    Nigeria needs a strong pressure group with a large broadly based nationwide membership that will link up with the civil society groups, the labour unions, and other anti-corruption groups that will coordinate a mass action against evil and corruption in high and low places.

    Using the Dan Etete, a former minister of petroleum and other accomplices in the Malabu oil deal as the focal point that will unearth other buried deals, the street will be occupied until those indicted are speedily brought to book.

    Simultaneous action in all the 36 states will produce the desired result that has eluded the nation since independence. The telephone numbers of all groups published in the dailies will assist the joint effort and the mass action such that the acquiescence or betrayal of one section cannot upset the action of the whole.

    If the current rumour making the rounds is anything to go by, then such a group with a large membership made up of top veterans that are capable of strategizing and coordinating the mass action are already spoiling for action.

    Research is still on-going for an alternative apolitical force that is capable of checking tyranny and despotism and third –rate governance through the barrel of street protests.

    Enough of the rubbish going-on in this vastly endowed country with enough human and material resources to make it become a world-beater in every facet of human endeavour but for the two- faced Nigerian politicians whose values and methods are totally at variance with generally accepted principles and practice of democratic governance.

    John Jimoh

    Molina, Ijebu-Ode

    Ogun State

  • Mr. President, military pensioners are starving

    SIR: Only an individual burning with patriotic fervour would readily lay down his life for fellow countrymen and indeed fatherland.

    But the irony, however, is that in Nigeria, patriots, who have devoted the better part of their lives in defence of their country have either died unsung, and for the lucky few still alive, pine under the yoke of poverty simply because they just can’t afford the basic necessities of life, no thanks to an uncaring but spineless system!

    The foregoing anecdote, if you may, becomes apposite in describing the plights of Nigerian military pensioners, who for over three years, are still waiting to get the much promised enhanced allowances by the Federal Government.

    In 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan had approved the upward review of salaries of federal civil servants including pensioners. In fact, while flagging off the payment of outstanding arrears, the president had directed the Minister of Defence to ensure that military pensioners be included in any future review.

    Expectedly, federal public servants including serving military personnel have been receiving this new remuneration since July 1, 2010. The sad thing however, is that majority of us, including retired Army, Navy and Air force personnel, who have paid their dues for the country, have been left in the lurch.

    To say the least, we are seriously agonizing over the non-payment of our accumulated pension arrears three years after it was approved for payment by the Federal Government. But we are however at a quandary as to why the Federal Government is behaving like the proverbial ostrich and pretending as if everything is on the mend, when trouble is indeed brewing.

    At different interface and discussion sessions with fellow service men under the aegis of Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Officers Association of Nigeria (RANAO), we are usually regaled with sad tales of our men who have fallen on evil days and can’t find peace at home as they grapple with one intractable problem or the other in their daily lives.

    As we ponder over the problem of unpaid arrears, here are some posers for the authority to peruse carefully. Does the Federal Government want us to take up arms against the state as some aggrieved individuals are wont to do before they will accede to our request? Are we being plain silly for asking for our rights and seeking for what to my mind, are our dues? Is it a crime to have served our fatherland at the time we did?

    As a government which prides itself as an apostle of the rule of law, the time to act is now to prevent any untoward happening.

    • Major Yusuf Abdulkadri (rtd.)

    Lagos