The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Nigerians should cry out to God for help now!

    SIR Going by the many calamities and tragedies that have been befalling the nation, I want to state prophetically that Nigeria’s problems are more spiritual than physical. Therefore we need to go spiritual first before human efforts can have the desired results.

    Nigerians must seek God’s intervention if we want peace, progress and prosperity to reign in our land. We have a case to answer with God and unless and until we settle our case with God, we will continue to live in fear and confusion.

    Nigerians have sinned greatly against God and He has turned His back against us and our nation, which is why we are contending with seemingly intractable problems, foremost of which is the Boko Haram insurgency.

    We take God’s grace for granted and engage in acts of vanity that are detestable to God. Life is very cheap in Nigeria. People are slaughtered on daily basis through accidents and for rituals.

    In Nigeria, everyone acts as he or she sees fit. No respect for laws. No respect for constituted authorities. No respect for parents and no respect for neighbours and fellow citizen. And, above all, no respect for God Almighty. Only one thing seems to matter to our people and that one thing is money. The only god many Nigerians are ready to worship fervently is the god called mammon.

    With all our sins, unrighteousness and shamelessness, the time has come for us to pay for our sins, through repentance and forsaking of our evil and unprofitable ways.

    When you have depended on your wisdom, on your own devices and that has failed you, is it not time to cry unto God for help?

    To what extent will we fall before we realize that we need help from above? As far as I can see, this is the time for every man in Nigeria to call upon God to come to our help, because our own efforts can no longer avail us.

    I see the Boko Haram insurgency as a metaphor and pestilence allowed by God to torment Nigerians to wake up to the reality that there are many things we are doing wrongly in Nigeria.

    As we have read in the Bible, when God allows pestilence to torment his people, it is to enable them repent of a particular sin or sins; the answer is spiritual action, repentance, acceptable sacrifice, atonement for the sins committed and a crying out to God for help.

    Pestilences have no human solution.

     

    •Prophet Oladipupo Funmilade-Joel

    Lagos

  • Kano’s action plan against malaria

    Tackling malaria, which is a major public health problem in the country, needs action not rhetorics. Previously, the issue was handled with levity but Kano State government under Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso takes everything serious. From healthcare delivery, education, water supply, infrastructural development— down to sports, every issue affecting the people receives government’s utmost attention.

    According to Malaria Fact Sheet produced by the US embassy in Nigeria, “malaria accounts for more cases and deaths than any other country in the world”. With Kano’s leading position in terms of population, one wonders the percentage the state accounts in the cases and deaths.

    Matching words with action, Governor Kwankwaso therefore developed a multi-pronged approach that will tackle the root cause, destroy the parasite itself and ensure general supply of effective and affordable drugs in the hospitals.

    The long-abandoned vector control fumigation of yesteryears has now been revived in Kano. Enough vehicles, chemicals and equipment were bought, just as enough personnel were employed to go through every street and alley of the ancient city.

    Apart from that, major channels in the state will soon be encapsulated and tiled. The famous Jakara stream will no longer bear its name, nor wear its ugly look, nor breed the parasitic vectors it bred for ages. The dream of the governor is to see that open drainages in the state, which are the breeding grounds of mosquitoes, are covered, tiled and become pedestrian walkways as obtained in the developed world.

    Against this background, Governor Kwankwaso formed drainages committee which will identify the blockages and suggest ways of improving free flow of waste water in the state. With this, the perennial flood recorded in the state can be tackled. In a similar vein, another committee on interlocking is also working assiduously to make the state look neater.

    Last week, the governor launched his administration’s flagship Malaria Control Programme, a few months after directing the state Ministry of Health to exit from from the 27 million US dollar loan obtained from the World Bank for the project by the previous administration.

    Sourcing loans is not the trend of Kwankwaso administration, just as buffeting public funds in the name of “security vote” is outlawed by the government. The governor’s reason in abhorring loans is obvious as debt burden retards economic growth.

    Known for brutal frankness and point-blank approach, Gov. Kwankwaso once told a World Bank senior official that Kano is exiting from the malaria loan. “As a matter of policy,” he told the official, “the state government is not taking any loan. What government is getting from IGR and other sources presently is enough to manage our health challenges. But exiting from the loan does not mean discarding the programme warts and all”.

    Of course the government opted out of the loan without discarding the programme as it has enough resources in its kitty to execute the project. Aware of the perils of throwing the baby with bath water, the governor then developed a homegrown strategy and married it with the World Bank action plan.

    Speaking during the launching of the malaria programme last week, Governor Kwankwaso said the government decided to continue the programme because malaria remains a major health challenge in the state, accounting for an estimated 30 percent child mortality and 11 percent maternal mortality.

    “The disease has negative impact on the local and national economy by causing low productivity, absenteeism from school and work, resulting into economic loss of billions of naira annually. Because of the danger of malaria, we are putting in place our own Malaria Control Programme without any foreign loan. Action plan has been drafted and we welcome support from any well-meaning organization”, the governor stated.

    He revealed that the state government is working closely with metropolitan local government councils in the state to address the scourge of the disease, while the state refuse disposal agency, REMASAB has been provided with adequate funds to enable it discharge its responsibility of keeping the environment clean and mosquito-free. While 80 dumpsites were purchased recently by the government, thousands of dustbins, as obtained in cities across the world, have dotted the city of Kano.

    The governor therefore told the gathering that the state government recently awarded contract for channelling the Jakara River, which runs through five of the eight metropolitan local government areas, as part of deliberate strategies to address the menace of malaria, pointing out that a road would be constructed over the channel to improve transportation in Kano city. Contract worth N8.7 billion has been awarded for the Jakara river project.

    He also appealed to people of the state to ensure that refuse is disposed the way it should be done to prevent malaria and other killer diseases, saying it is also necessary for them to make good use of health facilities provided by the government, as well as to patronize its reintroduced “Lafiya Jari”pharmacies for quality and affordable drugs.

    Kwankwaso’s campaign promise of providing quality and affordable healthcare service to the people of Kano is steadily taking shape as not only those living in the urban areas but also the rural dwellers are benefiting. New urban and rural health centers are built, while the dilapidated ones are equipped and restructured. Government’s ambulances for the state’s Mobile Clinic Programme tagged “Kwankwasiyya Medical Outreach” are criss-crossing the state, covering major routes and strategic referral centres to reduce trauma associated with accidents and other emergencies.

    While Kano doctors are now fully equipped to carry out surgeries, the dilapidated health infrastructures in the state are undergoing reconstructive surgeries by Gov. Kwankwaso, the surgeon-general of modern Kano. Apart from general overhaul of the structures and equipment, there is now constant supply of electricity in the hospitals. The Intensive Care Units (ICUs) are also standardized and qualified anesthesiologists/intensivists are recruited to man the units.

    The government has also established a buoyant drug revolving fund to ensure steady supply of quality and affordable drugs to health facilities besides waging a war against prohibited and counterfeit drugs.

    In view of our competing demands in the state, Kwankwaso devised a way of tackling the paucity of equipment in our hospitals. Some of the hospitals are now equipped with medical equipment and consumables worth millions of naira obtained free of charge from MedShare, a US based NGO, during the governor’s visit to their headquarters last year.

    Of the 21 training institutes established by the present administration, three of them are health related. Additionally, government will establish two medical schools for Northwest University and Kano University of Science and Technology.

    The achievements of the present administration in the health sector are as myriads as the vectors themselves. Now that the no-nonsense leader has waged a war against malaria, the mosquitos are surely on their mark…

  • All for Super Eagles and Keshi

    All for Super Eagles and Keshi

    When Stephen Oke-chukwu Keshi said in January that ‘’white coaches are not doing anything that we (blacks) cannot do’’, some people thought he was a joker.

    In support of the above, Clemens Westerhof, the Dutch coach who won the Nations Cup for Nigeria in 1994 and qualified Nigeria for its first ever World Cup finals in USA ’94 and the man who made Nigeria the best football country in Africa before the plunge started when he left, spoke thus, ‘’I will send my regards and tell him how happy and excited I am that he is in the final of Africa Cup of Nations. When they appointed him, I told Nigerians to support him. As a player, Keshi had leadership abilities. When I was leaving Nigeria, I told him to get ready to take over.’’

    Keshi, the Illah (Anioma) Delta State-born saw his new appointment as a greater challenge to affect the Nigerian society more positively; he remained focused and eventually led the Super Eagles to victory.

    Immediately the tournament took off, when the Super Eagles were not exhibiting professionalism and excellence, many Nigerians started calling for the immediate removal of the coach, which was too early and had no foundation in reality. It is a truism and abundantly clear that through patience, Super Eagles’ victory has brought another good luck to all Nigerians.

    To this end, therefore, one can proudly and happily say that Keshi is vibrant, focused and result-oriented in piloting the affairs of the team.

    For the coach, permit me to quote the words of John Quincy Adams: ‘’If your actions inspire you to dream more, do more and become more, you are a leader.’’ No doubt, Stephen is a designer with a relentless appetite for excellence. He is what he repeatedly does. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit. Like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (of blessed memory), Stephen Keshi believes in the dissemination of light to the Super Eagles, leaving them to find their way to victory.

    Keshi has got a beautiful playing and coaching career, he was captain of the squad for the 1994 FIFA World cup and played in five different Africa Nations Cup tournaments. His last club was Perlis FA in Malaysia. In 2000, a testimonial match was arranged for him in Lagos.

    As part of his efforts to always demonstrating ability, agility, and professionalism, between 2004 and 2006 Keshi coached the Togo national football team, unexpectedly bringing them to their first World Cup tournament, Germany 2006. Having secured Togo’s unlikely qualification, he was promptly replaced by a German coach, Otto Pfister prior to the finals, after Togo showed a dismal performance and failed to advance to the knock-out stage in 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

    Whatever the case may be, Pfister did not last beyond a controversial World Cup campaign that nearly resulted in a players’ strike over pay and Togo remained without a manager until February 2007 when the Togolese government re-engaged Keshi in time for a friendly match against Cameroun.

    Stephen Okechukwu Keshi has got many awards, notably among them, Africa Nations Cup (ANC) 1994 (with Nigeria); West African Club Championship, 1983, 1984 (with new Nigeria Bank FC); Coupe Houphoet Boigny, 1985, 1986 (with Stade of Abidjan); Cote d’Ivoire premier division 1986 (with Africa Sports); Jupiler League 1991 (with Anderlecht); and Belgian Cup 1988, 1989 (with Anderlecht).

    Finally, for us to continue to perform well in all areas in Nigeria, we must not be ethnic-conscious and indulge in all manners of cutting corners to make money at the expense of the country. Kudos to Stephen Okechukwu Keshi for bearing this in mind and leading Super Eagles to victory.

    • Charles Ikedikwa Soeze,

    Effurun, Delta State.

     

  • On insecurity in the North

    On insecurity in the North

    Nigeria and its northern states have got an issue in their hands. In the last three years or so the north has been burning. There is bombing in the streets and slums of Maiduguri, Kano, Yobe, Bauchi, Kaduna, Adamawa and on the plateau.

    There are prison breaks in Bauchi, Maiduguri, Kogi etc. There are killings in police stations, schools, in the hospitals, in churches and even in mosques of rival Islamic clerics. The air is permeated with the sounds of improvised explosive devices and punctuated with trigger-happy and rag-tag insurgents baying for blood of the innocent and helpless masses. There is maiming, killing and harassment with impunity in the north. The north, it seems is at war with itself.

    This past three years the north has witnessed massive bloodshed. Boko Haram has killed more than 3000, bombed and burnt more than 150 churches and properties worth billions of naira have gone down the drain. This insurgency has delivered a punch that has hit the economy and social environment of the north and its fledging credibility of hospitality which is now politically and religiously wounded. This shows how politically inept the so called “northern leaders and elder statesmen” are. As this wind of insecurity blows across the north and continues to gather momentum – and its political, economic and cultural fortune begins to dwindle by the day- the sign of a failed political and religious leadership pollutes and dents the firmament of the legacy of the Ahmadu Bellos, the Tafawa Balewas and the Aminu Kanos.

    The northern elites and political leaders took the easy path; follow the political sentiment instead of showing the way of conflict resolution and religious harmony. In today’s north there is something cowardly about its leaders’ handling of the Boko Haram imbroglio; they take a French leave and look the other way when security fails. But the elites did just this, they abdicated their responsibilities by refusing to be arrow-head of cohesion when it was needed; the result of their inaction is the insecurity the north is harvesting. Think of the bombing, think of the absolute anarchy, think of the people at the mercy of joint military tasked force (JTF) and the insurgent and think of the failing northern Nigeria. Yes, the zone that cannot maintain law and order, a north that cannot enforce peace and protect lives, a north that can be overpowered and overwhelmed by a sect brandishing “jihadism” and “IEDS”, a north that appeases politicians and religious extremists at the expense of the masses.

    This insecurity in the north is sad and dangerous for Nigeria. But it’s worse and a tragic event for the north and families of those who died for no good reason.

    • Moses Sunday Ajehson

    Kubwa, Abuja.

     

  • Senator Mark and his African enemies

    Senator Mark and his African enemies

    President of the Nigerian Senate, David Mark, seems puzzled that many African countries are hostile to Nigeria. His evidence, he said, was observing how dignitaries in the state box of the FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, all rooted for Nigeria’s opponent, Burkina Faso, during the final match of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The support for Burkina Faso must be nearly so overwhelming that Mark and other top Nigerian officials couldn’t help but notice how either unpopular we had become or how enviously other African nations viewed us. Mark voiced his observations during a Senate special session to mark Nigeria’s unexpected and unusual victory in the 2013 edition of AFCON, about 19 years after we last lifted the prestigious continental cup.

    Senator Mark was not exaggerating, even though he refrained from adducing reasons for that envy or unpopularity. Indeed, there is hardly any Nigerian who is unaware of the Africa-wide hostility to Nigeria, with many of those haters actually indebted to us. The Senate President’s observation should, therefore, be a challenge to the government of Nigeria. Could we be doing so many things wrong vis-a-vis our African brothers? Are we intimidating our neighbours? Indeed, are we irredentist in any way, or are Nigerian citizens engaged in unwholesome activities in other African countries? Whatever the reasons are, it is perhaps time we examined all the factors that have made us to be loathed.

    As the experience of two brutalised Nigerian journalists showed on their last day in South Africa covering the competition, that Southern African country has a special dislike for Nigerians. And this is in spite of a remarkable history of solidarity and friendship between the two countries, one in which Nigeria virtually made the sacrifice and gained only a grudging initial thank you. Nigerians are similarly treated with scorn in Namibia, another southern African country Nigeria sacrificed so much to set free from the clutches of their white oppressors.

    With the exception of Liberia, where Nigeria is still somewhat regarded with respect, there is hardly any African country, north or south, east or west, where we are respected in proportion to the love we show other African countries, or the sacrifice we made for them. For instance, in spite of the huge sacrifice we made in Sierra Leone during their 1991-2002 civil war, the British calmly walked in towards the end of the war and took the prize after a very short and limited military engagement. Today, on the subjects of Sierra Leone and Liberia, some European chroniclers choose to remember only the contributions of Britain and the United States. The sacrifice Nigeria made is conveniently glossed over or denied.

    It is important to go beyond merely observing how poorly Nigeria is rated and scorned in many African countries. The Federal Government should call its foreign policy experts and historians together to examine the factors responsible for this anomaly. It is an anomaly that has lasted for far too long probably because of the incompetence of the government in planning the aftermath of our foreign policy actions. The problem should be arrested now, for on its own it will not go away, no matter how much we wish it.

    The place to begin, it seems, is to recognise that other countries will respect us only when we become the continental leader in instituting the highest grade of democracy and assiduously promoting it, achieving incomparable economic development feats to give Nigerians a very high standard of living, respecting human rights by eliminating extrajudicial killings and all forms of torture, and generally running an orderly and disciplined society, the toast and envy of the world. The loathing other African countries have for us may in fact be connected to how self-deprecatingly we have carried ourselves than what immeasurable contributions we have made for other countries’ comfort and wellbeing. Whatever the problems are, and whatever the solutions might be, it is important we never ignore the problems as if they do not exist.

  • A word for APC leadership

    SIR: The formation of the All Progressives Congress by major opposition parties in Nigeria is a right step in a right direction and timely. As a matter of fact, the inability of the opposition parties to forge a common front to challenge the behemoth that the ruling party is has afforded the PDP to roughshod on the nation. Therefore, the movers of the idea to form the APC deserve commendations for this feat.

    However, going by the history of alliances and merger of political parties in Nigeria, certain factors like ambition, insincerity, mutual suspicion, over-bearing influence of leading partners had always led to the collapse of such alliances.

    Therefore, for APC to succeed, its leadership should be sincere to one another and be modest in pursuit of their ambitions. In relation to that, the leadership should allow democratic principle to guide the party in its activities. In other words, they should promote internal democracy in the party. In this wise, dictatorship by the leaders, imposition of candidates, and factionalisation of the party along pre-merger parties should be discouraged. Members should be integrated as one and undifferentiated members of a family. This would create in members, a sense of belonging. Not only that, the leadership should be vigilant and prevent the ruling party from planting fifth columnists in the party to truncate the efforts of leadership and cause disaffection among the party leaders as well as party members.

    Last but not the least, governors spearheading the merger are advised to show the difference by making the welfare of the people the focus of their governments. This is because they will be the template upon which the prospects of the new party would be measured. Those whose policies have brought hardship on the people should make a redress because of the future of the party.

    It is hoped that if the above factors are considered by the leadership of the party, the party will definitely win the support of the majority who are fed up with the maladministration of the PDP and looking up to the leadership of the APC to save the nation from the abyss that the ruling party has thrown the nation.

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    Apake, Ogbomoso

  • Uba Ahmed (1939-2012)

    In December 1983, my chummy with Alhaji Uba Ahmed (April 28, 1939 to December 17, 2012), prompted him to invite me to travel with him on a global tour.

    He was the national secretary of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and I was the National Assembly Editor for The Punch at that time.

    Goodwill and amity between politicians and reporters, is an old tradition. Reporters’ duty is to cover events and people while politicians have a duty to take decisions that affect lives.

    We have been friends for long – a relationship that began in 1975 when he was the Manager of Nigerian Tobacco Company in Jos and I briefly reported for the Kwara state-government owned Nigeria Herald at that time in Jos. I was in Jos to relieve a colleague who was on leave following an order from my then Editor, Peter Ajayi who asked me to proceed to Jos from Ibadan and report on a top Civil Servant who murdered his wife.

    Uba Ahmed was staying in a house near Tilley Gyado Place in Jos. The relationship blossomed when he was elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1977 to represent Tangale Waja constituency in the old Bauchi State and I covered the proceedings of the assembly.

    He was always a delight, a good friend indeed. I followed his political career till he was elected Senator in 1978 and in 1979 the then Senate President Dr. Joseph Wayas appointed him chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation.

    Through that journey, he courted the friendship of notable and reputable reporters who covered the National Assembly in the Second Republic. They include late Tunde Lisboa, Jimi Aderinokun, Labake Adebiyi now Labake Fawehinmi, Raymond Okiti, Yinka Guedon now in London, Alli Zubair, Idiat Abari, Demola Osinubi, Nduka Irabor, Eddy Ekpo, Gboyega Amoboye, Ronke Akinsete, Adebolu Clinton Oni, Ruffi Oladipo, Joke Sanyaolu, Nduka Obaigbena, Richard Amayo, Tony Idigo, Nkem Agetua, Frank Olize, Bayo Adewusi, Chris Anyanwu, Clement Iranola Akintomide alias CIA, James Bello, Gbenga Onayinga, Dupe Ajayi, Clement Eluaka, Anene Ugoani, Wale Oshodi, Moni Adebayo, Yomi Ajetumobi, Bolaji Macaulay, Isaac Oleleye, Chief Olugbayo Ogunleye, Dipo Akinsiku, and even state house correspondents like Toye Akiode, Wole Odunaike, and the Public Relations Manager of the Nigeria Airways at that time, Femi Ogunleye who is now the Towulade of Akinale in Ogun State.

    His devotion to his friends is unwearied and indefatigable. When Senator Joseph Sarwuan Tarka (1932-1980) was sick in London, Uba Ahmed travelled to see him six times. When he died eventually on March 30, 1980, Uba Ahmed was at his bed side. I was with him in London at that time and we brought Senator Tarka’s corpse in a Nigerian Air Force Hercules jet on April 7, 1980, to Lagos. He was a consummate politician who understood gamesmanship.

    In the Senate, he served competently introducing bills and motions. I remember he submitted a strong memorandum to the Abubakar Tuggar’s committee on creation of state in 1982, demanding for the creation of Gombe State from the former Bauchi State. He wanted Akko, Tangale Waja, Dukku and Gombe to be independent of Shira, Kantagum, Gamowa, Nissau and Jamari districts.

    Following the appointment of the national secretary of the NPN, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma as Minister of Agriculture in 1979 and that of his deputy, Dr. Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo (1941-2003) as special adviser by President Shehu Aliyu Shagari, the post of the secretary became vacant.

    The lot fell on the spokesman of the party Alhaji Suleiman Takuma (1934-2001), the Sarkin Malamai Nupe in Bida, the man with the golden voice to run the secretariat of the party in the absence of a national convention.

    An open convention was summoned by the party in 1982 to elect and re-confirm all the posts including the chairmanship of the party and the secretary. Alhaji Uba Ahmed came out to challenge Alhaji Takuma- the famous broadcaster. In an open election held at the National Theatre, Alhaji Uba Ahmed defeated Alhaji Takuma to become the national secretary. He later resigned from the Senate and his seat was won by his friend, Ambassador Ajuju Waziri, the spouse of Farida Waziri, the former EFCC chairman.

    As national secretary of the NPN, Alhaji Uba Ahmed became an automatic member of the Monday caucus presided over by President Shagari, which was the highest decision making body at that time.

    Our global tour in December 1983 took us to Las Vegas, New York, Houston in U.S.A., Peking and Shanghai in China, Hong Kong and Bahrain. By the time we landed on December 30, 1983 we were all home sick and very anxious to come back to Nigeria having been away for 24 days. Moreover we wanted to escape the freezing London weather.

    Upon the insistence of his faithful and loyal aide Chief Fab Uche and much to our delight too, Alhaji Uba arranged for us to travel back to Nigeria. The schedule was for us to land in Lagos on December 31 and then to fly to Jos in the afternoon for the New Year celebrations. Jos was the second hometown of Uba Ahmed.

    But that was not to be.

    We headed for the Heathrow airport around 7.00 p.m. and tagged our entire luggage UBA AHMED so as to enjoy ‘executive clearance’. The WTO Nigerian Airways flight took off around 10.00 p.m. It was a smooth flight. We were given royal treatment aboard the flight. Drinks and food were served in excess. We dropped the Kano passengers around 4.00 p.m. and headed for the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos. I sat next to Alhaji Uba Ahmed in the first class compartment. We joked and discussed; we even fantasised on our scheduled trip to Jos later in the day.

    As were about to land, I became curious for I noticed that other airlines were fully packed; none took off and none on the runaway. Being first class passengers, we were the first to disembark. I looked through the window and saw soldiers surrounding our plane. I became uncomfortable. I immediately alerted Alhaji Uba Ahmed who was having discussion with the famous Ibadan trained unionist Alhaji Kola Balogun who was also disembarking too. He then directed me to find out what was happening.

    I rushed to the ground floor and saw the junior brother of a close friend who works for the security services. He shouted my name with respect and wondered what I was doing at the odd place and at that odd time. I asked him why he was asking and I informed that I was coming from London.

    ‘Are you not aware there is coup’, he asked? I became dumb. He said the voice of Brigadier Sanni Abacha was on the air, and advised me to get my luggage and flee the airport. I raced back to third floor to inform Uba Ahmed that there was a military coup and that the voice of Brigadier Sanni Abacha was on air.

    He was mute, rattled, confused and abashed. He just sat down and shook his head intermittently. By this time other passengers were murmuring about the coup and pointing at our direction. It was an embarrassing moment for us both. Ten minutes later, he regained his composure and looked directly into my eyes and asked “You mean Brigadier Bako not Abacha?” I insisted Abacha to which he then declared “I must escape; if this chap seizes me they will kill me. I must go, kajiko, I must go”.

    His escape was later designed and executed.

    I got back to the arrival lounge of the airport to collect my three luggages only to meet wild soldiers carting away all luggage including mine, tagged UBA AHMED. Wisdom dictated to me not to move near those wild soldiers, more so that they have just taken over power in less than five hours.

    I left the airport dejected that day, missing a friend and losing my luggage- a bad way to begin a new year, 1984.

    Six days later the security personnel came to The Punch premises at Onipetesi in Ikeja and asked me to report myself at their office at Alagbon in Ikoyi where I was detained for 27 days.

    That was where my ulcer became worse.

    My then boss Dr. Haruna Adamu, Managing Director of The Punch came to release me on bail, only for Dr. Adamu himself to be detained for 12 months by Major General Buhari’s government.

    In disguised voices, Alhaji Uba used to phone me from abroad. He came home in 1994 and lived with Adekunle Agunbiade alias LAKO in his Ikoyi Lagos residence.

    I did not see Uba Ahmed again until he was appointed Minister of Labour by General Sanni Abacha and shortly after I was engaged in the Presidency. We met often at the villa either for official assignments or during federal executive meetings.

    In February 2005, he was a member of the National Political Reform Conference headed by Justice Niki Tobi. A noble prince in Bida, Senator Dangana Ndayako, a common friend of ours phoned me of Uba’s demise in Germany on Christmas day December 25, 2012. Alhaji Uba Ahmed was a very friendly person. Very neighbourly. Very steadfast.

    My condolence is to his family and friends, for he was a good man.

    • Teniola, former Director in the Presidency lives in Lagos

  • Lessons of Pope Benedict’s resignation

    SIR: His Holiness, Pope Benedict stunned the Roman Catholic Church when he announced he would stand down – the first pope to do so in almost 700 years – saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to carry on. Just as the case of Pope Benedict, the Code of Canon Law states that a resignation must be made freely and properly manifested and that the pope resigning must be of sound mind.

    Other popes known to have resigned include Pope Celestine V, who only reluctantly accepted his election in 1294 and fled the Vatican after just three months to ‘wander in the mountains’. The bishop who became his successor, Boniface VIII, was intent on ensuring that Celestine V did not become an example for future popes, and ordered him seized and imprisoned as he was about to sail to Greece. He eventually died in custody in 1296 at the age of 81, and was declared a saint in 1313.

    The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII in 1415. He stepped down to end the “Great Western Schism”, during which there were rival claims to the papacy. Several popes in the past, including Benedict’s predecessor John Paul, have refrained from stepping down over their health, because of the division that could arise there from by having an “ex-pope” and of course, a reigning pope alive altogether.

    Despite that, Pope Benedict has decided to do the ‘right thing’ by stepping down when he knew he will not be capable of effectively administer the church.

    No doubt, he will be remembered for his unblemished leadership, selfless service, frankness, tolerance, humility and large heart that endeared him to many faithful, as well as people of other faiths and religions.

    The pontiff, who always maintained that he never wanted to be pope, was an uncompromising conservative on social and theological issues, fighting what he regarded as the increasing secularization of society, which theologians believe contributed immensely to the moral decadence bedeviling us today.

    Despite his firm opposition to homosexual acts, his reign saw gay marriage accepted in many countries. He has staunchly resisted allowing women to be ordained as priests, and opposed embryonic stem cell research, although he is said to have retreated slightly from the hard-line stance that condoms could never be used to fight AIDS.

    There are a few lessons to be learnt from the proposed exit of Pope Benedict. First, positions should not be seen as a do-or-die affair. Leaders should not hang-on to power at all costs. Secondly, not matter the circumstance, leaders should use every given opportunity for the service to humanity. Thirdly, leaders must be courageous and faithful to admit their shortcomings when they are in positions of authority, bearing in mind that no one is perfect.

    Fourthly, humility should be imbibed by all. As the pope will be retiring into low profile lifestyle, world leaders should know and acknowledge the transient nature of earthly positions. Lastly, honesty and discipline should be the watch-word of leaders. There should be limitations to crave for ephemeral desires.

    In this season of Lent, it is the supplication of all that his successor – who is expected to be named before Easter – will do more to make our troubled world a better place.

    • Adewale Kupoluyi

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

  • Odemwingie spirit won AFCON for Nigeria

    SIR: According to Russian football chief, Alexie Sorokin, Locomotiv Moscow FC supporters’ problem with Osaze Odemwingie, had nothing to do with racism but that they had often accused him of playing better for his country than their team. Rashidi Yekini of blessed memory never played for any giant club in Europe. But Nigerian strikers who plied their trade in big clubs were no match for him in the green and white colours because he was a national team player. These rare attributes the “gangling” former African Player of the Year shared with ever-recurring decimal Garba Lawal, bulky but astonishingly swift Danny Shittu (unarguably Nigeria’s best defender at AFCON 2010) and Odemwingie who were and are always at their best playing for their national team.

    Coach Keshi won AFCON 2013 because he had bestowed on him the grace of an unusual collection of boys possessed of the Osaze spirit. Perhaps for the first time, John Obi Mikel played for his national team with greater commitment than he does for his foreign club. At any point in time, Germany will present a machine-efficient soccer squad because they are never “rebuilding” a structure that never collapsed but only maintaining. For any occasion it is required, the US will present a formidable basketball team because they are never “building a new team.” That is working philosophy.

    That was the philosophy of Shaibu Amodu whose major undoing was dearth of players with sustained right attitude. This is why he took over from the wobbling Bon Fere Jo in 2001 and dramatically qualified Nigeria for the 2002 AFCON and World Cup. He came again in 2008 and qualified the country for the 2010 AFCON and World Cup, winning his first seven matches (home and away) scoring 12 goals and conceding none! That was the world of the one, whose two World Cup postings in only as many attempts with two AFCON bronze medals as fringe benefits, was described by French legend, Alain Giresse, as “massive feat.”

    But how long will the Osaze spirit in the Super Eagles last? What happens when the Omeruos, the Oboabonas, the Emenikes and the Onazis suddenly remember their uncles who slumped and died while waiting endlessly for their well-deserved pension that had been captured and swallowed by “patriotic Nigerians” now expecting their own share of the notorious cake national honours? Thank God for the Osaze spirit in Victor Moses who magnanimously agreed to serve, with his heart, a nation whose hands are soiled in the callous murder of his precious parents, even as a little boy!

    Thank God for the spirit of a rebel, an enfant terrible, who, even as a ‘big boy’,would still be genuinely bitter at being stopped from serving his nation. He almost single-handedly qualified the country for the 2010 World Cup. At the finals, he was made a spectator! Which genuine patriot would not be cross in the circumstance? He might be going through some terrifying psychological trauma on account of such unfortunate events leading to his current infection by the deadly disease of Twitter-rant-tiasis, but to him goes the credit of the new-found spirit. May he savour quick deliverance.

    • Dele Akinola,

    Ikorodu, Lagos.

  • Finally, Chime comes clean about his health

    Finally, Chime comes clean about his health

    Four days after he returned to Nigeria from a four-month vacation/medical trip, Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has finally briefed newsmen on issues relating to the trip, the utterances and motives of his detractors, and matters relating to governance of the state during his absence. During the briefing, Chime came across as angry, cynical and misadvised. For someone who claimed having cancer and treating it made him a changed man, it was hard to see that change, at least that disciplined appreciation of life’s vanities that evokes soberness, satisfaction with life’s gentle mercies, and indifference to provocations. His words were copiously quoted by reporters, and those words unfortunately for him tell more stories than the governor dared hope.

    It is of course a relief that Chime returned home in one piece. Though he may have his doubts, the truth is that most Nigerians, not excepting the good people of Enugu, actually wish him well, believing they stand to gain nothing from his incapacitation. But sceptical and abrasive as ever, the governor dwelled more on the provocations authored by his opponents than on the lessons he and his aides should learn from the controversies and misrepresentations surrounding his over four months trip to London to treat nose cancer. This column does not wish to worsen his pains, but it is unlikely Chime has learnt or will learn anything from the health controversy.

    By giving reporters a very lengthy explanation of his London health trip, almost a blow-by-blow account, he misses the point. What the public, or at least the Enugu electorate, desired was that while he was away, and as his vacation changed from purely one of leisure to that of medical attention, he should have carried along those who voted him into office. But here is his own explanation for not carrying anyone along: “I wrote a letter to the speaker in accordance with the constitution, informing him of my decision to proceed on leave and, of course, sought his co-operation to work very well with the deputy governor who will act as governor in my absence … I didn’t know it would be the business of people to know what my activities would be during my vacation. A lot of you here, I am sure, you all go on vacation, you don’t tell us what you do. So, if I decide to utilize the period of my vacation to take care of myself, I don’t see why it should concern anybody. I don’t see why we should owe anybody any apology.”

    It is unbelievable that an elected governor could argue it was not the business of anyone to know what he did with his vacation, especially when that vacation turned into a health scare. It is even more incredulous that the governor compared his vacation as an elected official with the vacation of someone else not elected. Perhaps the governor is overrated after all. He should not only be able to tell the difference, if he really cared about his people, and if he was as altruistic as he seemed to feign, he should also have known they deserved more than an explanation and some humility from him.

    But what is even more worrisome about the press conference is his dismissive characterisation of the Nigerian print media as proponents of charming falsehood. Hear him again: “Throughout the period of treatment I was an outpatient. All the publications about the governor being in one hospital or the other were all false. I was never admitted in any hospital; all my treatment I took as an outpatient … So, when I started reading in the papers how I died in India, to us, it was a source of entertainment. Anytime we felt like being entertained, we open the website and we will be reading and laughing.” So, here was a governor who rather than give information out, waited until his condition was misrepresented. And then to top what seemed to him morbid recreation, he and other unnamed officials saw the misrepresentations as entertainment. There must surely be a limit to coarseness; there must be a limit to cynicism and macabre delight in falsehood, especially when a governor is dealing with the press of his own country.

    Mr. Chime was kind enough to excuse his aides from the shoddy information management that undermined his peace. They didn’t know the truth because he didn’t tell them the whole story. And he didn’t come clean with them at the time because, to him, it was nobody’s business. Shock! Shock! Shock! More astonishingly, when it came to question time, Chime was even more acerbic, more abusive, and was railing and denouncing. It made us ask whether the change he said was triggered by cancer treatment had made him less sanguine about life and more resentful of his polarised publics. If there was any misrepresentation of his condition, if anyone sought to misapply the constitution, if anyone told any lie against him, if anyone spread rumours about his health, the fault was entirely his.

    This column wishes him permanent recovery and a cancer-free life. But the truth is that he has neither acted with the dispassion and maturity expected of a governor nor acquitted himself as one imbued with the kind of judgement we would be glad to offer an eye.