The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • The Obasanjo/Jonathan brouhaha!

    SIR: The issue between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and incumbent President Dr. Ebele Jonathan has generated heated debates from several quarters. The end does not seem to be near.

    Did anyone ever know that the former President went to the President to counsel him on the Boko Haram escapades? When it seems there is no change in the ruinous activities of the sect, Obasanjo wanted us to know what he has done.

    By his political antecedents and happenings around the corridors of power, Obasanjo has overtime been regarded as President Jonathan’s political mentor. So, many hold the view that they know how to settle their differences and come together again.

    Let people stop over- blowing the matter. It is hoped that very soon, God the Almighty will show them what to do for peace to reign in the land.

    • Chief E.A Okunrinniyi, President of Egbe Omo Oduduwa, Festac Town, Lagos.

  • Shaping the course of higher education

    There is a sense in which it may be said that had the University of Nigeria not existed in the first place, the generation of post-independence leadership of the country would still have had to invent one. This is because, looking back now, the establishment of the university bordered on a historical mission, as encapsulated in the report of the Economic Rehabilitation of Eastern Nigeria (1955) which made the case for the immediate establishment of a full-fledged university in the region: “Such a higher institution of learning should not only be cultural, according to the classical concept of universities, but it should also be vocational in its objective and Nigerian in its content.”

    The dawn of political independence in Africa was all the more remarkable as it offered the new nations a context to dream lofty dreams. It needs be emphasized that, in the case of Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Nnamdi Azikiwe, the founder of the University of Nigeria, the original impulse for the establishment of the University ran far much deeper than the crush of independence. His was a date with history, a summons to enact ‘Renascent Africa’ in bold relief. I make bold to say that few public institutions of higher learning in Africa can aspire to the philosophical foundations, liberal and utilitarian ethos that gave birth to the university in October 1960. Fewer still have impacted the course of the development of higher education and nation building as much as the University of Nigeria in the past fifty years.

    The reason the University will for a very long time to come remain the reference point in the development of higher education hinges on its history as a catalytic influence in the diversification of knowledge and the democratization of access to higher education. The introduction of vocational courses and the teaching of General Studies (GS) have bred an academic tradition that defines the mission of the public university. Through thick and thin, this tradition has largely held firm and constitutes the connecting thread in the tangled web of the institution’s history.

    Twenty seven ago, the University celebrated its silver jubilee anniversary. It was an auspicious occasion to reflect on the institution’s history and to contemplate its future. Onigu Otite, a pioneer graduate of the University and by then a professor of Sociology at the University of Ibadan suggested at the time that the chequered origins of the school made its first 25 years appear to collapse centuries of the normal rise and fall of such institutions elsewhere. Inevitably, the ravages wrought by the ugly spectre of the Nigerian civil war have since become an integral part of the narrative of the University. Upon his return to the war-scarred institution in 1970, Dr. D.R. Duncan, an Inter- University Council adviser from Cambridge University made a sobering observation of the patent devastation and destruction, on the one hand, and a burning determination and purpose to create something unique from the tragedy of the past, on the other.

    Despite a succession of national educational crises punctuated by internal upheavals, the University has grown in exponential terms ever since. The take-off student population of 220 in six foundation departments in 1960 and an academic staff strength of 13, which, by the 1962/63 session had shot up to 1,248 students in 27 departments and colleges, and a total of 160 lecturers, pales in comparison to the current student enrolment figure of about 35,000, academic staff and faculty population of 1,785, in addition to non-academic personnel of 5,420. In fifty years, the University has graduated over 125,000 students in various degrees and diplomas (compared to the first set of 150 graduates in 1963) and today boasts 106 departments, 15 faculties, 10 centres and 3 institutes spread across four campuses- Nsukka, Enugu, Ituku/Ozalla and Aba.

    With research at the heart of the founding of the university, post-graduate studies stand out as a beneficiary of the exponential growth of the institution. Fresh from the ruins of war, the school conferred its first Masters degree in 1971 and its first Ph.D four years later in 1975. In the 1978/79 session when the School of Post-graduate Studies came into existence, the post-graduate student enrolment figure stood at 288, but by 1984/85 session, the figure had risen to 1,309 students. By contrast, with all academic departments presently running fully functional post-graduate programmes, a total of 2,226 new students enrolled for various programmes under the school in the 2010/2011 session.

    Much has been made of the ennobling dreams of the founding fathers of the university, but in reality those dreams might have counted for little without the commensurate sweat and exertions, commitment and conviction of the men and women in the arena of teaching and research. They surely deserve greater credit than they have received so far in any attempt at situating the arduous road travelled by the institution.

    Perhaps no less so, the foster hands of the Michigan State University, the Inter- University Council and the various streams of expatriate egg-heads who worked under difficult conditions towards nurturing values that underpin the idea. The Nsukka environment in its pristine rural setting, with the totemic parched red earth and swirling dust storms, has since given way to evolving modernization, physical transformation, aesthetic renewal and the introduction of new teaching and learning tools and aids. At this juncture, the University is fully braced for new frontiers and higher heights in a world of shrinking borders.

    The saga of the development of the University of Nigeria embodies the legend informing the narrative of its traditions and culture as an organic institution with a soul and life of its own. As we mark the 52nd Founders Day this year, preparatory to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the pioneer set of university graduates from a Nigerian university in October 2013, I cannot but register once more my appreciation of the tortuous journey that started with the singular vision of the Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, former Premier of the Eastern Region, former President of Nigeria and foremost nationalist.

    • Professor Okolo is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

  • Shock, shock! Men are not all they are cracked up to be

    Tt used to be that when a woman failed to conceive after many attempts, her male counterpart self-righteously blamed her and began proudly to look for alternatives. After reading the current edition of a scientific journal, Human Reproduction, men are unlikely to be so sanguine about their masculinity, not to talk of their pride. The reason is that according to the journal, between 1989 when a research into male reproductive health began and 2005 when it ended, scientists discovered a worrisome indication of a substantial drop in sperm count. In statistical terms, the researchers found out that “sperm count (concentration of sperm per millilitre of semen) declined progressively by 1.9 per cent a year throughout the 17 years – from 73.6 million sperm per millilitre in 1989 to 49.9 million/ml in 2005.” Worse, they said, even “The proportion of normally formed (that is, healthy) sperm also decreased by 33.4 per cent over the same period.” This is double jeopardy for men who think they are seldom to be blame for infertility.

    That, sadly, is not the only bad news for men. According to the research conducted at the Institut de Veille Sanitaire, St Maurice, France using samples from 26,000 men whose average age was 35, “Although the average sperm count of the men was well above the threshold definition of male infertility – which is 15 million/ml – it was below the World Health Organisation threshold of 55 million/ml which is thought to lengthen the time to conceive.” The report then compounds the nightmare for men. It says: “The worldwide fall in sperm counts has been accompanied by a rise in testicular cancer – rates have doubled in the last 30 years – and in other male sexual disorders such as undescended testes, which are indicative of a worrying pattern.” In order words, men are not just becoming more sterile; they are even becoming diseased as a result of that sterility. It means to save themselves from disaster, men must simply be fertile; sterility is not an option. Call this triple jeopardy, if you permit that lexical licence.

    It does not require deeper analysis to appreciate that men who love to sow their wild oats, (the predatory libertines who consider themselves as gifts to womanhood), will find it more difficult to impregnate a woman. Assuming their frustrations do not make them desperately indiscrete, this new reality should begin to engender a salutary cultural metamorphosis: men would become less inclined to put away their wives hitherto blamed for infertility. But as if the bad news is not enough, with men not knowing what is going on down there, their historical pride is now being affected by factors they neither understand nor have significant control over. According to the study, “Something in our modern lifestyle, diet or environment is causing this and it is getting progressively worse. We still do not know which are the most important factors, but the most likely are … a high-fat diet and environmental chemical exposures.”

    Now that we know that men are no longer what history and culture tell us all they are cracked up to be, perhaps we should appeal to women to show more understanding and not delay childbearing, for any delay on their part could worsen the woes of men. If the worrisome trend continues, however, women could start to relish the tantalising prospect of Isaiah 4:1 being reversed. “In that day,” said Isaiah, “seven women will take hold of one man and say, ‘We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!’” Consider this role reversal: “In that day seven men will take hold of one woman and say, ‘We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!’” Does anyone imagine seven men gently taking hold of one woman? Of course, there would be war, and six men would die, for it is obvious that the world, as we know it, is more tolerably and safely polygamous than polyandrous. But if a man is not as fertile as he used to be, how can he even contemplate polygamy? And who can tell, would it not sometime in the heretical future require seven polyandrous men to put one woman in the family way?

  • Nation in darkness and PDP greed

    Nation in darkness and PDP greed

    Mr Segun Agagu and Dr Chris Ngige have much in common. Both share PDP world view. Both were once closely linked with the power sector; one as a minister of power and mines and the other as a contractor to NEPA. They were both beholden to god- fathers; with one looking up to Aso Rock Villa, the seat of government and the other to the high priest of Okija shrine. Both won controversial governorship elections in their respective states of Ondo and Anambra. Both were unceremoniously removed by election tribunals.

    From their antecedents, it is apparent that their recent blame game as to who contributed more to the nation’s energy crisis, is a continuation of PDP war of attrition and bitter struggle over sharing of our common wealth among its members, rather than genuine concern about the party’s legacy of darkness in the past 13 years, even after billions had changed hands.

    Ngige, current deputy chairman, Senate Committee on Power Generation had alleged that “the Papalanto, Olorunsogo, Geregu, and Omotosho power plants built by the government of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 to 2003 were wasteful ventures” Ngige also insinuated political consideration in the siting of the plants.

    Agagu, his former political ally has shot back, claiming that ‘between June 2000 and December 2002, ‘our electricity generation capacity increased from 1,425 to 4,300 megawatts.’ The establishment of four plants under attack, he said were completed within 24 months from contractors’ mobilisation, making them the fastest of deliveries in the history of Nigeria. ‘For all the four plants, a concessionary funding programme were negotiated with the Chinese Exim Bank through which Nigerian government paid only 35 per cent of their cost for the plants to be delivered. The balance of 65 per cent, he explained, was to be paid over a seven-year period at six per cent interest rate and two years moratorium’.

    Obasanjo, who inherited only a total power capacity of 1,500mw in 1999, had also said while inaugurating the Nigeria Integrated Power Project (NIPP) that the scheme would add 10,000MW to the national grid before the end of his term in 2007. He had hoped his successors would be driven with the same zeal and move the planned target up to 20,000 MW by 2015.

    To kick-start, besides the Chinese loan facility, the National Council of State and the National Assembly also approved an initial $2.5 billion for NIPP from the “Excess Crude Oil Account” (ECOA) in August 2005.

    It is not unlikely that PDP legislators, some of who publicly claimed they sold houses to contest election soiled their hands in the process. But the greed of the new set of legislators that came in 2007 was without measure. From insight, we now know they derailed the project because of greed.

    Dimeji Bankole, the then speaker of the lower house, (he was to be later arraigned for fraud at the end of his tenure as speaker by EFCC) was the first to claim that Obasanjo administration frittered away $16bn on the energy sector. Then President Umaru Yar’ Adua, Obasanjo’s imposition came out with a much lower figure of $10b as the amount frittered away on the power sector “without commensurate result”.

    Godwin Elumelu, representing the PDP new breed legislators, as House of Representatives committee on power chairman was spitting fire while swearing he was going “to expose corruption in the power sector even if that would cost him his life”. Of course not totally unexpected in PDP ‘dog eat dog’ brand of politics, the Elemelu committee claimed there was indeed evidence of corruption in the process of awarding the contracts. But Instead of correcting the observed aberrations in Obasanjo’s contracts, they chose to throw out the baby with the bath water. The scheme was put on hold until Jonathan went back to it in 2010.

    If we had any doubt about the real motive why PDP newly elected members were hell bent on probing the NIPP contracts, that became clear when an opportunity to spend N7bn of excess REA fund came. They had only two weeks to prevent the money from returning to government coffers.

    Elumelu and his law ‘breakers’ ignored ‘due process’, allegedly nominated nine contractors by proxy, authorised the MD of REA to award them the contracts, and prevailed on the permanent secretary of the ministry who was also the acting minister to grant approval for the contracts and the payment of 15 per cent of the fee. The balance of 85 per cent was equally withdrawn from the REA account and lodged in the banks where those contractors had their accounts. (This is similar to the scandalous withdrawal of entire contract money before their commencement by Oyinlola’s PDP administration in Osun State).

    But the EFCC was soon to prove that like Farouk Lawal, a ‘self proclaiming’ Mr. Integrity, Godwin Elumelu, and, Senator Nicholas Ugbane, his counterpart as Senate Committee Chairman on Power were men with feet of clay. On June 14, 2010, EFCC accused both of misappropriating over N10 billion public funds.

    EFCC claimed Elumelu and Ugbane exhibited ‘undue interest in influencing procurement processes to obtain undue advantage in contract award in Rural Electrification Agency’. Ugbane was said to be one of the members of the National Assembly that initiated the Grid Extension and Solar Electrification contracts and inserted same in the 2008 budget of the Rural Electrification Agency. EFCC therefore concluded that the exercise “were used as conduit pipes with which funds of the Rural Electrification Agency were siphoned and were awarded to companies either not prequalified to be awarded the contract or were phony or existing companies”,

    When the embattled PDP men, instead of defending themselves, sought protection from the court , EFCC added other offences- ‘misappropriation of N500million to buy houses; diversion of REA’s funds; flouting of government’s rules on award of contracts and award of fictitious and unnecessary contracts without following due process.’

    But Justice M.G Umar of Abuja High Court was not persuaded. On March 24, 2012, he absolved all the PDP men and their collaborators, claiming ‘he was unable to find a prima facie case or complaint disclosed in the proof of evidence against the respondents’.

    In the midst of this theatre of the absurd, with the legislators, their friends in the judiciary and the press, as leading characters, President Goodluck Jonathan who inherited about 2,800MW on assumption of office in May, 2010, went back to the abandoned Obasanjo NIPP. With about $8bn spent so far, output from the four already commissioned out of the 10 under construction took our total energy capacity to 4,439MW.

    Sadly, this figure recently celebrated by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Mrs. Dere Awosika, is only a marginal improvement on what Agagu claimed we achieved in 2002 and far below Obasanjo’s projected figure of 10,000MW for 2007. The projected figure of 4,774MW when the remaining six are completed in 2015 is scandalously below the figure of 20,000MW projected for the same period by Obasanjo, the unrepentant father of PDP buccaneers.

    For 13 years the nation remains in darkness. PDP men who have contributed to our tragedy and are said to be above the law, are now entertaining us. As Lamorde, the EFCC boss put it three weeks back, ‘several cases involving top politicians, accused of stealing public funds, have lingered for years after an initial public fanfare with’ some of the indicted officials still roaming the country as kingmakers, lawmakers, and political gladiators.’

    This is the challenge before President Jonathan today as he makes steady progress towards liberating Nigerians from the darkness that his greedy PDP buccaneers inflicted on the nation. Nigerians voted for Jonathan and not PDP. He can ill-afford squandering the goodwill of Nigerians.

  • Africa’s predicaments have spiritual foundation

    SIR: “Africa: The Glory, The Curse, The Remedy,” a 274-page book by Anthony Agbo, gives deep insight into the biblical perspective of Africa’s troubles. Comprising six chapters, the author explains with clear illustrations from scriptural and historical standpoints, how Africa, the oldest and most stable land-mass on earth, known for its glory of ancient heritage and greatness, fell from grace to grass.

    In chapter one, for iinstance, Agbo noted that “Colonialism, which most African commentators, in escapist indulgence pour the guilt of underdevelopment, agreeably had its adverse retardation effects in terms of among other things, unbeneficial exploitation of a nation’s resources…But Africa took only the negative impact of colonialism, and this and other appalling elements of our psyche have combined in effect to make the glorious continent the dreg of the nations.” Chapter two looks at Africa in the primeval family tree, thus: “The Patriarch Noah had three children, namely Shem, Ham and Japheth, who begat the three human races of the world – the Caucasoid, Negroid and the Mongoloid. Ham is generally believed to be the patriarch of African family tree. This consensus belief is among other reasons established by the fact that the children of Ham at the dispersal of the early human family after the flood were the ones that took habitation in the continent of Africa, first in the north and north east Africa, before they multiplied and spread all over the continent. He (Ham) is believed to be the black son of Noah and the father of the black (Negroid) race.” The erstwhile legislator in the third chapter discussed the glory of ancient heritage of Africa under four subheadings: Human organization and city building; Knowledge, Science and Philosophy; Industry, Commerce and Agriculture; and Religion. On human organization and city building, he made reference to Nimrod, the grandson of Ham and the great grandson of Noah. According to Agbo, Nimrod whom he referred to as the great African was the first King of Babylon, the city he established and built. Noting that Nimrod initiated and built nations, kingdoms and empires, the author maintained that the most sensitive and sensational of all his works was the Tower of Babel. The building of the Tower, in the words of the author, was extremely sensitive to God and particularly remarkable to man as it was the first mass mobilization of men for a collective task.

    The glory of nature’s endowment to Africa is the focus of chapter four, where the ex-parliamentarian critically examines the African continent and its natural wealth.

    In chapter five, the author analyses the curse of Africa, observing that “under deep spiritual and even temporal reflections, one realises that Africa as a continent and Africans as a people are cursed, and are still being weighed down by the lingering consequences of this curse.” He highlighted the symptoms of the curse to include: absence of imagination; ignorance; poverty; base characters; laziness, excuse and dependency prone; poor leadership; enjoyment and entertainment prone; and disposition to lawlessness. Agbo went further to identify four reasons God cursed Africans. They include: (a) the curse of Ham (b) the Sins of Babylon (c) Slavery of the Jews and (d) idolatry.

    However, in the last chapter, the politician indicates that all hope is not lost on African’s predicament has remedy. While showing the route to Africa’s new glory, he stated: “Despite the torrents of anger and the attendant plethora of curses which God pronounced on Africa, all of which have indeed come to pass, God by His abundant mercy still gave an indication in the Bible that He will heal Africa and indeed make Africa His beloved.” He quoted Isaiah 19 V 19 – 25 to buttress his position. In conclusion, the author asserted that, “Africa should position itself as the new moral sign post of the world as well as the new world headquarters for propagation of undiluted Christian values and re-Christianization and Evangelization of the entire world.”

    For the former lawmaker, the greatest curiosity of his life had always been: why Africans are different from other races of mankind in all facets of human personality and engagement indices.

    •Michael Jegede,

    Abuja-based journalist

  • Really, what is Saraki’s legacy?

    There is an established norm in Africa that you do not speak ill of the dead. That probably flows from the fact that death is one inevitable debt every mortal owes the creator. But I remember that the late Gani Fawehinmi once defied this time-tested African tradition when the late dictator Sanni Abacha died. In the midst of sheer hypocrisy and crocodile tears being shed by so-called prominent personalities, Gani instead dismissed Abacha’s death as good riddance to bad rubbish – a comment he premised on the many atrocities the goggled general committed against the people of Nigeria.

    Since the death on Wednesday November 15 of former Senate Leader and strongman of Kwara politics, Abubakar Olusola Saraki, I have read and heard comments that amount to downright hypocrisy and undeserved insult to the silenced majority in Kwara State. I have also read obituaries in the papers that ran foul of basic facts about Saraki and the socio-economic and political status of Kwara in Nigeria. In what amounts to further attempt to rubbish recent history, the Senate has approved a motion calling on the Presidency to rename the Ilorin International Airport after the late Saraki.

    I have no doubt that Saraki was a great politician – but in a context. That he deftly manipulated the people for selfish political ends for about 40 years spoke volume of his political/manipulative skills. But we must ask some questions, answers to which would determine whether we really want to move forward or not as a people in this country: what is the legacy of Saraki in Kwara where he held sway? How did Saraki affect the lives of Kwarans and the status of the state in his four decades of political leadership?

    It has been established that Saraki single-handedly installed four governors in Kwara. Plus hundreds of commissioners, special advisers, board chairmen and members, ambassadors and so on. But to what end?

    By naming a federal monument after Saraki, are we really convinced that a culture of politicians doling out N500 and pap and bean cake to the people is worth encouraging in this age? Are we convinced that politicians who specialise in giving fishes to the people are better than their counterparts who teach people how to fish? If Saraki’s politics was really worthy of emulation, how come many political pundits (including many of those praising him to the high heavens) sarcastically dismissed Kwarans as ‘Saraki’s serfs?’ Or is it a good thing to be a serf? Why should we honour a politician who ran a fiefdom in the 20th/21st century when he had the opportunity to use his influence to better the lots of the people? Anybody who cares to know should check the level of development in Kwara against those of its fellow first generation states created in 1967. I will give an example: the GDPs of each of all the second and third generation states (created in 1976 and 1987) are higher than that of Kwara under the grip of Oloye. Kwara of course is no match for any of its fellow 45-year-old states. This means Kwara under the watch of Oloye fared worse compared to each of the first, second and third generation states in Nigeria. His politics practically killed the spirit of enterprise in the people he was privileged to lead because he kept giving fishes in exchange for political relevance. I read in one of his interviews (reproduced after his death) that he used his money to distribute water to Ilorin in the 70s when there was scarcity of same. He said failure of the government to provide such basic amenities made him venture into politics. Good. Today, in 2012, Ilorin the state capital suffers water scarcity and lacks basic amenities. My younger brother (currently on his four-month internship) who schools in Offa, a metropolitan city, recently told me what hardship his colleagues would be going through now on

    account of water scarcity. If things are this bad in big cities, can anyone imagine what the situation is in the remotest villages where people live in Gothic era? So how has he brought development to his people? Whereas whatever leverages the Yoruba have today (some say they are regressing now) they owe to the foresight and right-thinking of Awolowo, can we possibly compare Saraki to Awolowo for instance? History stands Awolowo out for his free education policy, for being the brain behind Africas first television station, and for establishing the still-surviving Oduduwa Group and so on. Perhaps nothing confirms the foresight of Awolowo than claims that the Western Region under him attained socio-economic development comparable to what obtained in the Eastern Europe. Or Saraki to Sardauna? Not known to have any house or bank savings despite being Northern Nigeria’s Premier, Sardauna lives in the hearts of Northerners today for conscientiously leading the regions self-discovery in education and development. If the North was once monolithic, it owes that to the great Sardauna.

    These two (Awolowo and Sardauna) will continue to live in the hearts of the people not because they were giving them porridge but because they gave them lasting legacies for which their people became distinct, even long after they were gone. I have read an article by a former aide to Saraki who likened him to the Kennedys and the Gandhis. Americans and Indians would never pardon such comparison. It is an insult. The late Ted Kennedy spent his entire life worrying about affordable and sound healthcare delivery for the ordinary Americans. President Barack Obama, in recognition of Ted’s influence in this area, repeatedly appealed to his memory to rally Americans when the hawkish Republicans seemed bent on stopping his healthcare bill. Ghandi is revered globally for his non-violence politics, his support for the oppressed, and is a role model for several world leaders including Obama. He led India to independence. That is leadership. That is what working for

    people means, not giving them N500 or paying their wedding bill. What tangible project or ideal would Kwarans remember Saraki for? When people hailed Saraki’s philanthropy, they failed to put it in perspective. Beyond going round villages with sacks of money on the eve of elections to poor farmers who struggle to pay their workers and Femi Fani-Kayode’s incoherent and contradictory narrative about his (Oloye) NADECO-era gesture to a widow, how many selfless gestures can we remember Saraki for? If that is philanthropy, then all Nigerian politicians are great philanthropists without global equals because they all buy cars, feed people, pay school fees and even send people on the holy pilgrimage for reasons we all know! Bill Gates is a philanthropist. Our own Moshood Kashimawo Abiola was.

    Some might argue that Saraki never had executive powers and so could not have achieved much like Awolowo and Sardauna who were at some points chief executives. Such argument falls flat when one considers the fact that Oloye reigned more or less like an emperor who enthroned and dethroned chief executives. He wielded more power than his proteges who held office.

    I have heard and read people paying glowing tributes to his ‘selflessness.’ Of course nothing confirms such selflessness than the attempt to make his daughter succeed his son as Governor of Kwara State! Equally selfless (or transformational) is his son Bukola who deemed his fathers attempt to crown his sister the governor a selfish gesture but saw nothing wrong in him (Bukola) succeeding his sister as Senator representing Kwara Central. And were Saraki’s peculiar politics truly worthy of emulation as our professional praise-singers would have us believe, then we should never condemn beggarly attitude. Truth be told, Saraki would be remembered for supervising Nigeria’s most enduring poverty-oriented politics which fed fat on the helplessness and gullibility of the people! For me, I see the torrents of praises from outside Kwara as a deliberate mockery of the victims of Sarakis politics. The people qualified to hail Oloye are the ordinary Kwarans who yearned for freedom.

    Aso Rock, in granting or rejecting the Senate resolution on Saraki, may wish to answer the questions above especially whether Nigeria should embrace his patronage brand of politics. Also, is it desirable to give people money to offset their bills rather than secure for them an environment in which they need no big man to get basic amenities or pay their bills? The government should name the airport after Saraki if the answer to that question is in the affirmative. Else it would send a wrong signal to the world about what our values truly are as a people.

    Anybody willing to gauge public opinion of the late Saraki should read people’s comments posted under each of the stories the papers have published since Saraki died. Most instructive indeed are the comments posted under The Punch story of November 15, Saraki dies after five years battle with cancer. That way, the Federal Government would know whether Saraki was a hero or villain to the people of Kwara. And if you care to know more, you may well ask those who lost their entire life savings, and in some cases breadwinners, to Saraki’s Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN) bankruptcy.

    • Ishaq writes from Ilorin, Kwara State capital

  • Unemployment has turned monstrous in Nigeria

    SIR: At political independence in 1960, Nigeriashowed a lot of promise. And, many people expected that Nigeria would become an economically prosperous country with its stupendous human and material resources.

    In the 1960s and 1970s, our economy boomed. The northern region had the groundnut pyramid; the west, cocoa, while palm oil business boomed in the east. Then, Nigeria was exporting cash crops to other countries. The mainstay of our economy was agriculture. Unemployment problem was unheard-of in our country. Later, crude oil displaced agriculture as the main-stay of our economy. Successive governments in the country, both military and civilian had millions of petrol dollars to play with. Money is not the issue, but how to spend it. So, it is an indisputable fact that corruption is linked with our oil wealth.

    Our political leaders believe that their occupation of high political offices is a licence for them to loot our economy. For decades now, our economy has remained continuously pillaged by its minders and there is high rate of graduate unemployment in the country.

    It is estimated that about 30 million Nigerian youths are unemployed. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people pass out of the NYSC programme, and join others in searching for the elusive blue and white collar jobs.

    When a company advertises for five vacancy positions, seeking qualified people to apply to fill the vacancies, thousands of people will submit their applications. Daily, Nigerian youths walk the streets searching for employments. The worn–out soles of their shoes are tell-tale signs and testimonies of the journey they embarked on foot to secure employment.

    Recently, Dangote Transport Company put up advertisement for driving jobs in the company. Surprisingly, six doctorate degree holders were among the applicants.

    Now, people with high university degrees have lost their dignity on the grounds of their state of joblessness. People who can barely write their names compete with lettered men for menial and undignifying jobs. So, after spending much money and years to acquire University degrees, one’s lot in life is to work as a labourer or factory hand. Highly educated Nigerians do menial jobs, owing to scarcity of jobs befitting their persons.

    But, securing plum jobs now in Nigeria is akin to finding a virgin among prostitutes in a brothel. People whose relations hold high political offices are clandestinely recruited into FRSC, Immigration, Prisons, Federal and state civil service and other establishment. Cronyism, nepotism, and bribery and corruption are factors that determine people who secure jobs in Nigeria. So, mediocrity has dethroned meritocracy in Nigeria.

    Consequently, Nigeria is stuck in the mud of underdevelopment as corrupt and incompetent people occupy positions they‘re undeserving of. These people without active restrictive mechanism loot our economy, and formulate Jejune policies for us.

    But, the issue of unemployment, if left unsolved, can spell trouble for Nigeria, and undermine the cohesiveness and political stability of the country. Agents of destabilization, who are ethnic chauvinists and religious bigots, recruit their foot soldiers from the pool of the unemployed people. No gainfully employed person will put his life at risk by executing the plot to kidnap a prominent rich person for ransom. A man who earns big sum of money monthly will not embrace the devil’s alternative of hara-kiri for the chimerical promise of possessing 70 virgins in heaven upon his death.

    But, our leaders appear to be unaware that the unemployment problem is a time –bomb waiting to explode. When politicians steal our oil –money and use them to purchase jets, it causes anger to well up in our breasts. Leaving the unemployment issue unsolved is a portent of doom for our country.

    It behoves our political leaders to think out ways of combating the menace of unemployment. In other countries, leaders that fail to fix the problem of unemployment will be voted out of power during periodic elections. They should diversify our mono-based economy so as to create employment opportunities for the teeming population of unemployment people.

    If the government can resuscitate agricultural practice in Nigeria, as well as our waning interest in it, it will help to reduce the number of unemployed people in Nigeria. Many people will embrace farming, and the rural-urban migration, which stretches our social amenities to the limits in the urban centres, will be checked. Government should give loans and incentives to would-be farmers, subsidize the costs of fertilizers and seedlings, and introduce mechanized agriculture.

    More so, Nigerians are with the erroneous mindset or belief that possessing university degrees is the open sesame to landing lucrative jobs in the government or the private sector. But, in addition to their possession of certificate, they should acquire skills and learn trades, which can make them self-reliant. And fixing our security challenges will in turn help to reduce our escalating unemployment problem.

    • Chiedu Uche Okoye

    Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State

  • Living in denial

    Living in denial

    Early in the week, newspapers regaled their readers with an indescribably unrealistic statement from government describing the country as safe, notwithstanding relentless terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, suspected Boko Haram militants timed their attacks on churches and a border post in Gamboru Ngala, Borno State to coincide with the government’s statement. In the past few years, terror attacks have been so massive and dispiriting that Nigerians do not require anyone to tell them how to place their country on the safety index. It is instructive, however, that the government statement was issued by Dr Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, probably the most thoroughgoing contrarian the country has produced in recent times. Variously described as an attack dog or a battering ram, Okupe is a man who enjoys needling Nigeria’s humourless public and their harassed media with startling statements.

    Except Okupe and his bosses, there is hardly anyone who thinks Nigeria is safe. Either at home or on the highway, by day or by night, Nigerians do not consider themselves safe. That perception, it must be pointed out, has nothing to do with whether they support or oppose the government. Okupe even admonishes the media, which he flatters as being nationalistic, to be more positive about events and developments in the country. As he put it: “It is in times like this that we need the fire of patriotism naturally within us as Nigerians, as individual citizens, organisations, including the media, to bring us together as a nation and rally round the government in its efforts to root out the criminal elements within our society.”

    A day later, the Director-General, State Security Service, Mr. Ekpenyong Ita, partially advanced the same thesis while declaring open a workshop for media professionals at the Institute for Security Studies, Bwari, Abuja. His explanation is that “Publicity is the oxygen craved by terrorists. When they carry out attacks, they want as much publicity as possible, and when the media sensationalise such an attack, the terror groups have achieved their objectives of getting wide media publicity which is aimed at intimidating and installing fear into people.” How Okupe and Ekpenyong hoped the media would underplay reports of terror attacks is hard to understand. It is true the media are patriotic, and that they also understand that news of terror attacks could gratify the vanities of terrorists, but they would be failing in their duties if they underplayed serious issues to, as it ironically seems, gratify the vanities of a complacent government. Let the issues come out in bold relief, and let the government and people of Nigeria know what giants lurk in the bushes.

    It does seem that what Okupe and Ekpenyong are expecting is for Nigerians to live in denial. But even if they want to, they can’t, for the problems are of such magnitude that they feel it much more than public officials who live behind the high walls of government reservation areas. Worse, Okupe even advances the illogicality of linking the increasing rate of attacks to the decline of terror groups. Likening recent Boko Haram attacks to the dying days of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Okupe suggested that terror activities in Nigeria could soon begin to wane. Even if that were true, he must by now have recognised that Boko Haram has become, as Ekpenyong colourfully put it, a big business. It has become a franchise spawning adventurous and autonomous terror cells. More than this, terror attacks are not the only reason for insecurity in Nigeria. Robberies, kidnapping, assassinations and murders, not to talk of the nefarious activities of security agents themselves, have all combined to make life a hellish one for Nigerians. No amount of media restraint, government whitewash, or living in denial can mitigate the feeling of insecurity unnerving the entire country.

  • Toll gates: If this is governance…

    Toll gates: If this is governance…

    While touring the North/South road on Monday, the Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolemenmen, confirmed to newsmen that the federal government planned to reintroduce tolling on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. This was necessary, he said, to “sustain and maintain (the) road so that it would not go back to the sorry state we met it and similar others across the federation.” The tolling would begin as soon as the expressway was reconstructed and expanded by the two firms handling the road work, RCC and Julius Berger, he concluded. But does palliative work lasting eight weeks include expansion work? It is hard to understand the Works minister. In fact, given his garbled statements in the last two weeks on the subject, it is doubtful whether he understands himself.

    After terminating the concession awarded Bi-Courtney Highway Construction Services to reconstruct and expand the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the government had immediately engaged RCC and Julius Berger to work on the road. It was not until questions were asked about the haste with which a modified form of the road contract was awarded the two construction giants that the government explained that the two-month palliative contract was to make the road motorable for the festive period. Moreover, if the ongoing work by RCC and Julius Berger will last for eight weeks, why would the government begin tolling the road? It will be recalled that part of the agreement with the original concessionaire was to toll the road after reconstructing and expanding it to four lanes to Shagamu and three lanes to Ibadan.

    During his Monday interaction with the media, the Works minister also gave the impression that tolling of roads would not be limited to Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. It is clear the government is confused, if not outrightly dishonest. There is obviously more to the expressway contract than the government is telling the public. Why would the government impose tolls simply because palliative work was done on a road? Is the government jettisoning concession policy? If that is not the goal, then why the haste? Why not wait until new concessionaires emerge, who would determine the appropriate toll fees to collect? In fact, it seems, as the injured Bi-Courtney insinuated after it lost the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway contract, that the concession agreement was intentionally wrapped in multi-layered subterfuge.

    In 2010, the federal government had through an official of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) announced that tolling would be reintroduced on some federal roads. The plan was to impose about five-per cent road user charge on the pump price of petrol and diesel through which the government could raise about N30bn annually to maintain the nation‘s 220,000 kilometres of roads. Nobody knows the current status of that plan. In 2004, the Olusegun Obasanjo government had attempted a fuel tax of N1.50 on every litre of petrol to raise funds for road maintenance, and had contemptuously presented a fait accompli to the public by summarily dismantling all toll gates. He failed to achieve his aims, though the toll gates were already destroyed.

    Now, in a clearly muddleheaded plan to repair the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the government has engaged contractors in a deal that is unclear both in scope and objective. If this is not deliberate mischief, it is at least incompetence. At any rate, this is certainly not the way to run a government. The minister must abandon his plans to toll the roads until concessionaires are secured and proper contracts, not palliative agreements, are signed and the destination clear.

     

  • ‘Time to stop paying lip-service to leadership’

    ‘Time to stop paying lip-service to leadership’

    Text of an address delivered by Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad  Abubakar at the convocation of Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State.

     

    I wish, on behalf of my fellow honorees, to extend our profound and deep appreciation to the Board of Regents, Council and Senate and indeed to the entire University Community, for the recognition accorded to us and the honour conferred on us this afternoon. We feel highly delighted. Our special thanks go to the founder and proprietor of this great institution, Chief [Dr.] Gabriel O. Igbinedion, CFR, the Esama of Benin, for his vision and pioneering effort in establishing the first private university in Nigeria. It has been a noble, courageous and strategic undertaking which left a permanent imprint on Nigeria’s educational landscape and contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of our people. The history of education in Nigeria shall never be complete without the honorable mention of Chief [Dr] Gabriel O. Igbinedion, the Esama of Benin.

    It is also fit and appropriate to congratulate the Vice-Chancellor, the University Management, Staff and Students, for their hard work, perseverance, and determination in transforming this pioneer institution into the centre of excellence that it is. This excellence is evidently manifest in the quality of its graduates, the creativity and relevance of its academic programs and the diversity and inclusiveness of its governance structures. The university has demonstrated, beyond doubt, the universality of knowledge and indeed the unity in diversity of Nigeria. The distinguished list of honorees at this occasion also bears testimony to this great quality. Honored here today was the former President of Ghana, His Excellency John Kufuor, a distinguished statesman and an accomplished political leader, who added both value and depth to Ghana’s democracy and socio-political development. We have on the list Alhaji Dikko Inde Abdullahi, the indefatigable Comptroller-General of Customs, and an astute administrator who brought vision, efficiency and purpose to the Customs Service. On this distinguished list is His Excellency Alhaji Abubakar Audu, the former governor of Kogi State who worked tirelessly for the educational transformation of his state. From the Organized Private Sector, we have Dr. Anthony Edoghogho, Chairman/Managing Director, Nosak Group of Companies; and from the legal profession, is the Benin based legal luminary, Chief (Sir) Alfred O. Eghobamein SAN, both of whom generously contributed not only to their chosen professions but also to the socio-economic development of our country.

    Your Excellencies, members of the university community, our distinguished guests, permit me to state that the quality of our leadership and governance and indeed of our national development, is a direct reflection of the quality of our University System. Our universities provide us not only with the critical manpower we require as a nation but they also bequeath us with the leaders who are expected to manage every stratum of state and society. This is indeed an onerous responsibility which must be discharged seriously and conscientiously. We must realize that our universities are our greatest national asset. We can neglect them only at our own peril. It is therefore imperative for us to endow our younger generations with the best knowledge and skills not only to realize their full potential as bona fide citizens of West Africa but also to take their pride of place in a globalized and competitive world and make us all proud. Our success lies not in reminiscing in the good times and great opportunities we had, but in ensuring that succeeding generations are better equipped to face the challenges of the future and to manage change more effectively.

    But distinguished ladies and gentlemen, how hopeful are we in achieving these noble objectives when the level of national investment in this critical sector remains inadequate and unsatisfactory? How can we aspire to achieving greatness in Science and Technology when many of our laboratories, especially in public universities, still subsist on outdated and outmoded equipment purchased in the 1960s and 1970s? How can we extend the frontiers of knowledge when our investment and engagement in research remains a marginal activity in our university system? How can we expect the younger generations to take up the challenges of leadership when we pay lip-service to character building and leadership development and in many instances, serve as the cause of their degeneration?

    Your Excellencies, it is a matter of great importance for us to begin a serious and concerted reform of our higher education sector and refocus it to safeguard the strategic goals of the nation and to protect its future. States and the Federal Government would need to rise to the challenge and raise the requisite financial resources that would make a real difference to the system. There is also the urgent need to improve organizational effectiveness, build capacity of lecturers and managers and put in place a robust regulatory framework. We can also not relent in calling upon the private sector to play its rightful role in the resuscitation of higher education in Nigeria. We must endeavor to incentivize corporate giving and build effective and meaningful partnership between universities and the private sector. Wealthy individuals and major corporations should also be encouraged to establish specialized colleges and universities where and when it is feasible and beneficial to do so.

    Your Excellencies, the time has also come for us to stop paying lip-service to leadership development in our tertiary institutions. We are a nation of rich cultural and religious values and we must strive to impart these values to our younger generations. We must endeavor to shore up the moral capital of our young such that they could make the critical choices of our national life with courage and confidence and in the firm belief that the choices they make are in the best interest of the country. It is a belief that I have held for many years that what has come to be called the Nigerian Factor could be regenerated to have a positive moral value which could serve as the driving force that could propel us to distinction and greatness.

    Finally, may I crave your indulgence to state that no nation can develop, educationally and otherwise, in a state of insecurity and Nigeria cannot be an exception. The current spate of ethno-religious crises, armed banditry as well as terrorist insurgencies can never advance the cause of development in Nigeria. We must put a stop to this wanton destruction and recklessness. Our developmental goals and community and interfaith relations must never be determined by the extremists amongst us. It is therefore, imperative for all well-meaning Nigerians to come together and work together to address the daunting challenges facing our societies. The pain of anyone of us must be a shared pain that should concern all of us regardless of creed or ethnic origin. The happiness of anyone of us should be a shared happiness, celebrated by all. Nigeria and Nigerians deserve no less.

    With these words, we once again thank you immensely for this great honour. I assure you, on behalf of my fellow honorees that we will strive to live up to expectations as members of the Igbinedion University family and to exert our best to see to the advancement of this great institution.

    Wassalam alaikum