The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Ticking clock of revolution

    Ticking clock of revolution

    SIR: I no longer have time for theories, neither do I have time to criticise President Jonathan which has become the past-time of most of us. Though Jonathan sure has his own share of the blame for where we are at present, it is the graveyard peace that we still enjoy that allows for Jonathan’s or any other public officer’s criticism at that.

    The revolt in Libya did not start in a day, neither, in my opinion, was it a revolt against Ghadafi. It was a revolt against the greed of the ruling class, which Ghadafi represented – the kind of greed that thrives unabashedly in surplus amidst wants and grueling poverty. This is the kind we currently experience in Nigeria, made far worse by the arrogance of the ruling class which believes that Nigerians are too timid to take their destiny in their hands.

    This arrogance makes them look like gods and the rest of us slaves who must lose our dignity in kneeling to lick from the floor the crumbs that fall from their tables. This arrogance has so blinded them that whatever they ‘generously’ dole out to us from our commonwealth is considered a favour for which we must grovel and beg. Even now, our hands drip blood from the wounds of yesteryears and the present, while they shrink in fear of the wounds of coming years.

    There is a saying that humans are to be valued while things are to be used. Unfortunately, the Nigerian ruling class value things they are to use and use humans they are to value and love. Houses and cars are of more value to them than humans. In their eyes, there is no drop of mercy. Their hearts and conscience are seared. Our existence or death draws no joy or pity from them. After all, we are all just statistics: more than 70% living below the poverty line, 23.9 percent unemployment rate etc.

    Statistics we are and statistics we remain while they continue in their acquisitive nature.

    What Nigerian politicians forget is that the poor man with no dignity has got nothing to lose. It is the rich who build empires and if the empires crumble, definitely their health and hearts crumble with them. The man who has for years been pressed down will someday find his voice and stand to his feet from his master’s table with his wounded and bloodied hands to demand justice. In the words of Martin Luther King Jnr: “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself…Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained.”

    Professor Femi Osofisan’s book “Red is the Freedom Road” best describes the situation. The poor man with bloodied hands has felt ceaseless pain from the soles of his master’s shoes so much so that pain now has its gains for him: it hardens and makes him heartless like his master. The mental picture of a heartless man (men) demanding freedom can be sickening to the point of vomit for the lily-livered.

    Freedom will sure be gained, but not without pain. As for the already dehumanised poor man, he has felt and mastered pain, but the spoilt rich man and his kids will feel it more and probably never survive it.

    • ‘Dimeji Daniels

    Ado-Ekiti.

     

  • The Onitsha River Port: Matters arising

    The Onitsha River Port: Matters arising

    At last things are beginning to look up in the maritime sector. The recent commissioning of the Onitsha River Port and President Goodluck Jonathan’s pledge that many more will soon follow suggest the determination of the present administration to restore water transportation to its pride of place. If vigorously pursued, marine transportation will become a huge foreign exchange earner for the nation.

    Water is about the greatest natural resource God in his wisdom blessed this country with but its potential for rapid transformation of a nation is not widely recognised in Nigeria. So vital is this resource to human existence that the earth and the human body are each made up of 70 per cent water. Some other nations that are similarly endowed have applied this resource to a great advantage in the areas of transportation, hydro-electric power generation, irrigation purposes, aquatic farming and recreation. But here, the reverse is the case. Since the discovery of oil in Olobiri in 1956, ‘the blue gold’ has been relegated to the background.

    The maritime sector is about the worst hit. Since the exit of the British, the sector has suffered serious neglect. A few Nigerians in the agencies entrusted with responsibility of growing the sector have been taking advantage of the prevailing situation to milk the nation dry. Dredging contracts invariably end up being abandoned with the connivance of the supervising government agencies and project consultants. Even when such contracts are completed, dredged silts are deliberately deposited near the channels knowing that with time the silt will surge back into the channel and pave the way for the award of fresh contracts. The stipulation that dredged silt be moved far away from the channel is never adhered to. All these have resulted in the unfortunate situation where some channels have been dredged severally to no avail and at huge cost to the nation. But despite its pitiable state, this sector remains the nation’s second highest revenue earner.

    The lackadaisical disposition of successive administrations towards marine development reflects in the fact that the Onitsha Port complex has been commissioned twice. The first was in the early 80s by the National Party of Nigeria (NPN)-led Federal Government, but soon after, the port became moribund as the dredging of the lower Niger River was incomplete at the time the port was opened. Ever since the Onitsha Port has remained idle. Nothing significant was done by any other administration, military or civilian, until the award of the 2009 contract which culminated in the recent commissioning of the complex after a full dredging of the channel. The Goodluck Jonathan administration must be commended for this feat and going by the optimism of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) officials, the inland ports of Oguta in Imo State, Degema in Rivers State and Baro in Niger State will soon come on stream. However, beyond reviving inland ports is the need to sustain them through periodic maintenance dredging. Any attempt to develop marine transportation without laying the foundation for its sustenance will come to naught.

    Encouraging as the return of the Onitsha port may be, it is disturbing that we are still not getting our priorities right. Developing inland waterways and ports when nearly all the main water routes leading to the Atlantic Ocean are in various states of disrepair is like putting a cart before the horse. The international ports of Calabar, Port Harcourt, Azumiri, Koko and Ibaka that served the British so well in their quest to colonise Nigeria and for movement of slaves and agricultural produce have for so long fallen into disuse. It is imperative to pursue the development of these routes with the equal zeal so as to complement the inland routes. By so doing, the government will be taking marine development to great heights and the nation will then be in a position to reap its full benefits. The maritime industry has the capacity of stemming rural-urban migration, stimulating economic activities and creating millions of jobs that can catalyse the rapid development of this nation. This is besides its tendencies to reduce the cost of living given that water transportation is by far cheaper than air or land, and to absorb the pressure on the roads prompted by the movement of cargoes on the highway.

    It is common knowledge that inland waterways are secondary channels and are dependent on the international routes to operate. This is because inland ports and waterways have certain inherent limitations that prevent ocean-going vessels from passing or berthing at the ports. For instance, inland ports are usually bordered by roads and bridges that make it impossible for big vessels to pass or berth. And with a draft of between 2.5 and 3.0 metres, inland waterways cannot accommodate big vessels that move on minimum draft of 8.5 metres. Consequently, mother vessels entering the country must first trans-load to smaller vessels which then will convey the goods through the inland channels to the river ports. The standard procedure is that mother vessels that are designed for a draft of between 8.5 and 10.5 metres ferry goods into the country and thereafter transfer the goods to barges, which in turn trans-load to smaller boats that can move on inland waterways and berth in inland ports.

    Making the international ports and water channels commercially viable will not only increase the volume of maritime activities but also reduce freight rates. Vessels approaching from the Atlantic Ocean will have several alternatives to explore. They may for instance enter the Lagos channel for Lagos Port or veer into Benin River for Koko Port. They may also follow the Forcados River to Warri Port; the Bonny River to Port Harcourt and Onne ports or Calabar River to Calabar Port. The horrible state of most of these rivers puts so much strain on Lagos and Port Harcourt ports with attendant congestion of the seaports, delays in the evacuation of ship as well as land traffic that results from the movement of goods in and out of the ports. No doubt the international channels require much more capital outlay to fix but in the long run, these channels contribute more to the purse of the nation, create more job opportunities and feed the inland waterways.

    This question that naturally arises is how to develop the international channels given the several unsuccessful attempts at making them navigable in the past. Happily, the Federal Government is already considering the ‘channel management’ option in respect of the Calabar Port and this appears to be the way out of the quagmire. Besides checking corruption and ensuring quicker returns to the government, the ‘channel management’ approach imposes on a dredging company the responsibility to ensure that the channels are in perfect condition all year round. Under this arrangement, channel managers owe all users of the channel a duty of care. If a vessel gets stuck in a channel or suffers any form of damage or loss as result of poor dredging, the negligent dredging company will be held liable and made to pay damages. Returns to channel managers are also dependent on the usage of the channel. In fact, the ‘channel management’ system has ensured the smooth running of the Lagos and Bonny channels; and will surely do the same in all other routes whether international or inland. The idea of engaging contractors solely for capital or maintenance dredging bristles with problems and has been the bane of marine development in Nigeria.

    • Dr Nnadi lives in Lagos

  • Nigerians and London Met University debacle

    SIR: If by November 23, the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA), refuses to reverse its revocation of London Metropolitan University’s visa status and the case instituted by the varsity strikes no chord , close to 1500 Nigeria students studying in the University who cannot secure alternative admission in other schools might face deportation from the UK.

    On August 30, the UK government revoked London Metropolitan’s highly-trusted status (HTS) for sponsoring international students, based on its findings that a quarter of students studying at the university did not even have permission to stay in the country. UKBA also revoked the existing visas of the University’s pre-existing non-European foreign students, which automatically terminates their studentship and left them in the limbo of seeking admission somewhere else irrespective of the number of years already spent.

    According to the UK Immigration Minister, 142 of 250 (57%) sampled students from London Met had attendance issues. Which means they hardly attend classes. Except Nigerians want to lie to themselves, how many of the youths who leave the country on the pretense of going to study abroad end up doing so? Admission abroad is usually an opportunity to leave Nigeria with its woes of socio-economic disabilities and the few that ends up in school had to take up menial jobs to cover their fees.

    This, to a large extent, may account for their absentism but UK authorities would be killing the vision and aspirations of these determined immigrants by booting them out. The authorities at London Met have established that non-European student in the University are just 11% but the school generates 32% of its income from them.

    Penalizing legitimate international students for the sins of London Met is disproportionate and damaging to UK’s international reputation.

    Until African leaders appreciate that higher education is key to sustainable development, they would continue to subject their citizen to ridicule of this magnitude. One thing we fail to understand in this part of the world is the destructive implications of brain drain. If our government claimed ignorance during the slave trade era, their prompting us to enslave ourselves and get abused and humiliated in this era of globalisation leaves much to be desired.

     

    • Sulaimon Mojeed-Sanni

    Lagos.

     

  • Ondo and the politics of intolerance

    Ondo and the politics of intolerance

    In the run-up to the October gubernatorial election in Ondo State, the nation has witnessed series of violence orchestrated by the government of the incumbent and re-election seeking governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, against the opposition political parties in the state. It all started on April 20, when the Ondo State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria organized a public lecture to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the death of the former governor of the state, Chief Adebayo Adefarati. The Oyemekun Road, Akure, venue of the lecture was reportedly stormed at noon by members of the ruling Labour Party who sang and danced provocatively to abusive songs against the opposition party.

    As the guests, mostly ACN members, began to arrive, the situation became rowdy as their supporters also stationed themselves outside the hall singing and dancing. The situation, however, turned violent when some invitees to the lecture, including former commissioners and special advisers who served under the late governor were prevented from entering the lecture hall by Labour Party members. The situation later spread into the town where pockets of violence were recorded but the quick intervention of the State Independent Electoral Commission which banned all forms of campaigns and rallies until July 21, saved the day. The Police Command in the state also took a pre-emptive action by banning all types of political gatherings in places where clashes had been recorded.

    On Saturday, July 28, however, the fragile peace in the state was again disturbed when members of the ruling party attacked a convoy of the ACN governorship candidate, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, (SAN), near the state secretariat on Oyemekun Road, Akure. The ACN candidate was on his way home after the party’s congress. There was a free-for-all fight in which dangerous weapons and ammunition were reportedly used and in the process several vehicles were vandalized while some passers-by were either robbed or wounded. Akeredolu, however, escaped unhurt but some members of the party were injured in the attack. Though the spokesman for the Labour Party, Femi Okunjemiruwa, alleged that members of the opposition party fired shots at the secretariat, the Special Adviser to the ACN candidate on Media, Idowu Ajanaku, said the incident happened at the Lafe Junction on Oyemekun Road when hoodlums blocked the convoy of Akeredolu who was returning home after he was elected the governorship candidate of the party.

    The hoodlums, according to Ajanaku, hauled stones and pebbles at the convoy prompting the security details of the candidate to take measures to ward off the hoodlums.

    A day before this attack, there was also a clash between members of the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and members of the ruling LP in Ode-Irele Town. According to the PDP Director of Publicity, Ayodele Fadake, the clash was sparked off when the state government decided to inaugurate a community-based project on the same day that the opposition PDP had obtained Police permit to hold a political rally in the town. According to Fadaka, some LP members planned to defect to the PDP but due to the calibre of the personalities involved, the ruling party quickly fixed its own event in the same town, apparently to cause confusion. These incidents are by no means the only ones since the campaigns started. Aside the series of unprovoked attacks and harassment of the opposition, the ruling party has also used other coercive means to prevent the opposition parties from making their impact and freely sell themselves among the people as the political campaigns gather momentum.

    But be that as it may, one begins to wonder why the re-election bid of Dr, Mimiko is witnessing such violence. This is a governor who has over the years sought to convince the world that he has performed in all spheres of the economy of the state. In education, in health, in agriculture and other sectors of the state’s economy, there have been claims of unprecedented achievements that had not been equaled by other governments in the country. While no attempt, whatsoever, is being made here to contest such claims, the series of state-orchestrated violence attending the on-going political campaigns cast doubts on such claims. If there is any lesson drawn from the 2011 General Elections, it is the fact that Nigerians have begun to demonstrate the freedom to make a choice of those who will lead them based on performance. Except in the few places where factors other than adequate political enlightenment played a dominant role, the elections were adjudged largely as free and fair by both local and international observers. The performance criterion was evident in the several states where governors of ruling parties failed to secure a second tenure. It was also evident in the few election petitions filed in against their defeat by the governors some of who later withdrew their petitions.

    So, why the violence in Ondo State? Why have the opposition parties suddenly become targets of state-orchestrated violence? Could it be that the much talked-about popularity of Mimiko is a fluke after all? Is the attack and harassment of the opposition an indication that the “Iroko of Ondo State” is suddenly afraid to face the opposition? Is the governor afraid to allow free flow of ideas for moving the Ondo State forward in terms of education and economic development?.

    There can only be one explanation to this action of the LP government in Ondo State. The government of Mimiko is afraid to face the reality of the present development in our democratic experience – the choice by Nigerians of the performance factor as the criterion for election. What is happening in Ondo State today may be reminiscence of what happened in Imo State in the 2011 elections where the boastful Ohakim claimed stupendous achievements only to be exposed and swept away by the gale of change in that state.

    What is happening in Ondo State is certainly a minus for a governor who claims to be an agent of change. It is a sad reminder of the events that took place during the 2011 political campaigns in states like Benue where the state government severally denied the opposition ACN the use of its facilities for political rallies, In Ebonyi where the PDP government of Elechi Amadi hounded the opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), led by Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, a son of the soil, out of the state capital, Abakaliki, with the lame excuse that the town was too small to host the party’s presidential rally and Bayelsa State where the former deputy governor, Mr. Peremibowai Ebebi, who was seeking a senatorial seat, was arrested by the police on a charge of an alleged offence committed in 2009.

    The truth of the matter is that beyond its undemocratic tag, this attitude of victimizing the opposition parties will expose Mimiko and his party, the Labour Party, as incompetent. If after four years of leadership, Dr. Mimiko is not willing and ready to face the challenges by the opposition, then, certainly his claim of performance is a fluke. Any governor who has performed will be proud to allow the opposition to come in and challenge his administration; because, aside the confidence it would build in the people, such a challenge will give him the opportunity to showcase his achievements.

    Again, Lagos State comes in here as a good example. The Peoples Democratic Party launched its presidential campaign at the Tafawa Balewa Square, in Central Lagos where it boasted that it would “capture Lagos”. Barely a week later, the ACN launched its own presidential rally on the same ground and had the opportunity to reply the PDP. The party told the opposition PDP that it would not only fail to capture Lagos but it stood the risk of losing the states which it still presided over in the South-west. That is the beauty of democracy.

    It is, indeed a sad commentary for Mimiko to resort to this method to secure a second term. The truth is that his intolerance of opposition does not allow for a free flow of ideas on how to move the state forward, Indeed, Governor Mimiko may have chosen a policy option that will , most certainly, see him out of office.

    Bakare wrote from Akure.

  • Suspending or ending the banknote controversy

    Suspending or ending the banknote controversy

    Spokesmen of the Presidency and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Reuben Abati and Ugo Okoroafor respectively, on Wednesday issued separate statements announcing the suspension of the currency restructuring exercise that would have seen, among other things, the issuance of N5000 banknote. The statements indicated that the suspension would enable the CBN to do a lot more in persuading the public on why the restructuring was needed. Given the apparent suddenness of the decision, it was thought that the massive opposition to the new policy was persuasive enough to make the President yield to pressure. The CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, not being a politician himself, and therefore inured to the danger a disaffected electorate could constitute to the President, had been unyielding. He and his team had given the impression the opposition to the new banknote was uninformed.

    It is unlikely the opposition to the currency restructuring exercise, which had taken many frenzied weeks to crystallise, would weaken anytime soon. At least two former Heads of State, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Gen Yakubu Gowon, had suggested the policy was misplaced and needed to be jettisoned. But Sanusi had uncharitably countered by arguing that while former President Obasanjo, whose opposition to the policy received wide and dramatic publicity, was a good farmer, he was nonetheless a bad economist. That Sanusi counter itself was to generate another round of intense debates and helped tickle the imagination of comedians. A rough estimate of the distribution of opposition to the banknote policy showed that more people were opposed to it than supported it. And while Sanusi stood, and still probably stands, unreasonably inflexible on the policy, it is unlikely anyone can revive it, no matter how ingenious the apex bank’s economic arguments and propaganda are.

    The most remarkable thing about the government’s volte face is how suddenly the Presidency changed its mind. It was evident to everyone that the National Assembly was dead set against the CBN policy. The President himself uncharacteristically read the mood of the legislature well. With the fire of the fuel subsidy brouhaha still burning, and an angry National Assembly still seething, it would be impolitic of the President to goad the eminent parliamentarians into more fury. By finally disapproving the N5000 banknote, the Presidency was both saving itself further confrontation with the legislature and helping Sanusi avoid a parliament that was still eager to cut him to size. The National Assembly, it will be recalled, had on resumption from recess made it a priority to draw a red line over the banknote controversy. The Presidency correctly read the legislature’s foul mood and sensed the hopelessness of fighting a battle it could not hope to win.

    The National Assembly’s motion against the N5000 banknote makes the public wistful. Had the legislature joined the people in fighting the fuel subsidy withdrawal policy when the government heedlessly announced it on January 1, that battle would also probably have been won. Unlike Sanusi and the CBN, the legislature read the minds of Nigerians quite brilliantly and sensibly stood by them. It should be an alliance that must be nurtured if democracy is to survive and flourish. If the unwritten alliance between the people and the legislature worked this time, as indeed it should always do, we must wait to see whether the parliament could be trusted in the face of threatening controversies not to undermine the republic when it occasionally but recklessly indulges in moments of policy narcissism.

  • What about being the most criticised President?

    SIR: Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is, to me, the luckiest President. I can’t recall any of those folk-stories, with which our Yoruba elders had given us orientations about life, which portrayed success as a self-imposing attainment in a manner reminiscent of our current President’s.

    The zeal-inspiring stories of Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, our own Obafemi Awolowo, Aminu Kano, MKO Abiola and other listless sages that have featured, at one point or the other, in the leadership histories of nations have combined to differently confirm the life of man as being, generally, more of failure than success. Perhaps, if I were not a living witness to how that seemingly unattainable ambition that legends like the Great Zik of Africa, the irrepressible Awo, the indomitable Aminu Kano, Abiola the martyr and their ilk meritoriously laboured for eventually became an unsolicited gift for Dr. Jonathan, I would, probably, have cast off such narratives, as his, as mere fables invented by pure imagination.

    It is on record that, in our 52 years as an independent nation, the emergence of this President has been the only event in history that has ever given Nigerians the cause to hope as against the pessimism to which prolonged military rule and recurrent civil illegitimacy had betrothed us as helpless brides. Even the reigns of all the pre-2011 civilians that interrupted the military foray in the corridors of power only succeeded in heralding a departure that was only a difference between figure six and half-a-dozen.

    President Jonathan certainly got it wrong in attempting to whip up sentiments for himself, by describing himself as the most criticized President in the world, and conjuring the dream of a better tomorrow which the present day is not, in the least, indicative of.

    Perhaps, Dr. Goodluck needs reminding that Nigerians are, today, not really bothered about bad roads, for the roads have always been bad; we are neither complaining about the perpetual darkness that has always lightened our national character. It is only a people who have the slightest hope about their existence tomorrow that would bother about all those infrastructures which the President referred to in his speech.

    I do, in no way, doubt the efficacy of the Biblical prophecy that the rejected stone can become the cornerstone of the house, as indirectly alluded to in the prediction of Jonathan that ‘would leave office as the most praised President’. But, it suffices to ask a self-imposing question here – of what use would stable electricity, spotless roads, safe skies, functional education and all other desirables, which are mere life accessories, be to a population steadily bombed into extinction?

    The truth is that the current tenant at the Aso Villa has been a subject of deeply-rooted anger of Nigerians simply because the opportunity that the “smart” ones had hitherto robbed us of, particularly during the June 12 tragedy, was, for the first time offered through making of His Excellency as the first-ever President we can truly call ours. Then, isn’t it morally and logically valid that the manner one scolds ones child is not the same one does another person’s?

    Therefore, our President would do himself some great favour by resisting the temptation to measure up to his critics, either by reinforcing his external voices or crafting personal eloquence in self-defense. The buck stops at his table!

    Cultivating the tu quo que (what about you?) leadership is resignation to fate while accommodating the harshest of criticisms in policy flexibility may just be the bail-out for a leader in dilemma.

     

    • Rasheed Olokode

    Lagos

  • Kwara and its changing political environment

    Kwara and its changing political environment

    Change is constant. This truism best describes the political situation in Kwara, a state gradually shedding its political image as the Sarakis’ fiefdom. Until the 2011 general elections when they nearly lost the governorship seat, the Sarakis were the lone voice in the state politics, dictating the way of life. Opposition parties, their candidates most time disenchanted lackeys of the Saraki political clan, would contest election, lose and disappear. They would resurface in four years, weakened and discredited. That would leave the Sarakis holding the yam and the knife, caring little about human capital or even infrastructural development and waiting to manipulate their way back to government in future polls.

    Today, the Sarakis no longer have a field day in Kwara State; their disregard for public sentiments are now being exposed by a consistent, strong and credible opposition led by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) whose governorship candidate in the 2011 poll, Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN), has remained a strong (and alternative) voice in the state politics. Kwarans now have opposing views on how their state is run – the absence of which was largely responsible for the way the Sarakis had run the state like a fiefdom over the years.

    Evidences abound that Kwarans, including many in the government, are happy about this and are latching onto the bravery and outspokenness of the ACN to let out what was clearly a pent-up anger at the misrule, oppression and corruption of the past years.

    It is now commonplace to see hitherto shy Kwarans storm the street to protest the impunities of their government: fuel subsidy protest, looting and destruction of PDP secretariat in Ilorin, the motorcyclists’ protest and the IEDPU’s well-coordinated opposition to the government’s land policy and the open protest by Malete communities against the government’s ‘land grabbing’policy are a few examples. The people are no longer intimidated by the powers and influence of the Sarakis because attention is now easily turned on them –thanks to the opposition and the social media.

    This is not to say that they have been defeated. No. But the days of barefaced impunities seem gone. For instance, it is no longer easy (it was the norm before) to lay claim to some blanket achievements. On May 28 when the state government claimed to have tarred over 600 kilometres of road in one year and were even bold enough to list some of them, the opposition quickly rushed to the media in a detailed advertorial to expose the lies with incontrovertible facts. It was the same thing on twitter, where young Kwarans spent days dismantling what they call the edifice of lies by the state government.

    This ultimately leads to the question of 2015. It is interesting that even the Sarakis are now forced to acknowledge the existence of political opposition in Kwara, despite the initial denials. They now blame everything on the opposition. It is not certain who will win the crown. What is certain however is that the Sarakis would go to the 2015 election more fragmented, more discredited and therefore less powerful to orchestrate the sort of rigging that marred the 2011 general elections.

    Contrary to the claims made in commissioned newspaper articles and manipulated video clips on television screens, Kwarans still cannot feel the impact of governance. They are annoyed even the more by bogus claims in the media. It is like committing two grievous sins: the sin of poor performance and the sin of lying against the people. The poor showing of Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed and claims that former governor Bukola Saraki presides over the sharing of the state allocation have made nonsense of their appeal to zoning in the 2011 poll and hence give fillip to the opposition’s claim that the only reason Saraki Jnr picked Ahmed as successor was to cover his ills. The events of the past months especially the N9.2b loan scam involving Saraki Jnr have helped this insinuation. The opposition has also raised many instances of corruption, controversial loans (as in the case of the N10b the PDP-led government obtained to execute the same projects for which Saraki Jnr had raised and accessed N17b bond) and poor governance. Unfortunately for the Sarakis, their support base (the uneducated, old and dying, but large men and women voting public) is waning by the day and the ‘money power’, long relied upon to sway poor voters, may no longer save them because the youths, now forming the largest voting bloc, have learnt to collect money and still vote against them. The booing of Ahmed at the recent Eid-el fitri praying ground in Ilorin, the attacks on Saraki Jnr at Ilorin Airport by some PDP dissenters, and the outpouring of emotions on Unilorin FM (on August 15) against the government stopping of Belgore free holiday coaching programme are dangerous pointers for the PDP and the Sarakis.

    Ahmed and Saraki Jnr might have parted ways after all. The denials notwithstanding, two main camps have already emerged within the PDP: loyalists of Saraki Jnr and those grumbling about the godfather’s arrogance and poor leadership. The latter believes Ahmed should assert himself. Who wins is a matter of strategy. The cold war between Ahmed and Assembly Speaker Razaq Atunwa is a symptom of this rivalry. Saraki’s loyalists believe Ahmed had released incriminating documents about their leader to those seeking his head. It is also believed Ahmed was behind the recent allegations of fraud against Atunwa. The Sarakis are not known to take prisoners. They will fight Ahmed to a standstill. And another group is emerging on the sidelines of the two above: those routing for the former PDP National Chairman Kawu Baraje as the next governor in 2015, an ambition riding on ‘omo oko and omo ale Ilorin (bona fide Ilorin indigene)’ sentiment sure to truncate in its embryonic stage the Saraki Jnr’s emergence as the new godfather.

    In case Saraki Jnr used the PDP structure to sideline Ahmed in the 2015 race, and that is likely if the infighting continues, that would combine with Ahmed’s poor showing to make Kwara South a no-go area for the PDP. So far the expectations of the Kwara South elite, especially those of Igbomina stock, who ditched their traditional opposition to bad governance and alleged Saraki’s oppression, have not been met and they could use the 2015 to retrace their steps.

    The coming together of the Sarakis after the 2011 poll is not in any way an added strength for them. It is for many Kwarans, including many top former Sarakite politicians who went to ACPN, a confirmation of deceit and conspiracy to sustain the Saraki political dynasty. Many of them with integrity may seek to take their pound of flesh as seen in the recent defection to ACN of the influential Chief Ayeni faction of ACPN. The so-called Saraki/Idi Ape reconciliation is at best a fluke. It has not, will not and cannot address the core issues of the dispute.

    The scenarios above have given the lie to some sponsored newspaper articles which attempted to place the Sarakis in firm control of the state. They are not. The happenings in the state show waning influence of the Sarakis and explain why opposition may cling the governorship seat in 2015 if they intensify the effort of rallying the people against the perceived past and current impunities of the Sarakis. As for whether they will change: you cannot teach old dogs new tricks.

    • Ishaq writes from Ilorin, Kwara State capital

  • Lessons from Indonesia

    Lessons from Indonesia

    Nigeria and Indonesia share a lot in common. Both are emerging economies bugged down by weak currency, corruption, unemployment, poverty and poor infrastructure. But placed on a scale of one to 10, Indonesia is much better off. For instance, although the Indonesian media, especially Jakarta Post newspaper, continues to report incidents of corruption among politicians in Indonesia, the incidents pale into insignificance when compared to the magnitude of the massive corruption in Nigeria.

    But Nigeria has its own areas of strength as this article would try to highlight. However, this analysis is meant to compare the two countries in terms of socio-economic parameters and thereafter draw conclusions and make recommendations for improvement in Nigeria.

    My analysis would be based on what I saw and heard during my recent visit to Indonesia, as well as facts and figures from secondary sources. To begin with, let me state that Indonesia is older than Nigeria. It got its independence in 1945 while Nigeria got hers in 1960. My visit happened a week after the country celebrated its 67th independence anniversary on August 17.

    The entire country, urban and rural, was awash with the country’s white and red colours, mounted everywhere on the roads, buildings, bill-boards, etc or used in decorating shopping malls, super-markets, corporate offices and so on. You could see a people so proud of their country, so patriotic in defending their country and its values, cultures, language and foods! This observation was a big contrast to Nigeria.

    Right from the Jakarta international airport, you would see a positive image of Indonesia. You would see orderliness in immigration formalities. You would encounter officials who are smart-looking and professional in their job.

    In contrast, as you arrive MurtalaMuhammed international airport Lagos, what you experience is confusion, tardiness, and too many officials in various uniforms, many of whom seem less interested in their official functions. The branding of Nigeria must start at Nigeria’s entry points with these first-line officers, and good systems and procedures!

    In terms of population, Indonesia is almost twice the size of Nigeria. By 2010, the country had a population of 237.6 million. Nigeria has about 167 million. Nigeria has 36 states and a federal capital territory, divided into 774 local government areas. Indonesia has 27 provinces divided into 357 districts, which I am told, runs Nigeria’s kind of local government administration.

    But the difference is that those elected at district levels are like a task force for rural development. My team visited many rural areas and saw that although their roads are quite narrow, they are tarred and maintained. You could see poverty but rural folks are happy with their agriculture and plantations. Rural folks are happy with their small made-in-Indonesia commercial buses, majorly driven by ladies. They are so proud of their foods and local black tea!

    Indonesia knows how to cut its coat according to its cloth! Despite its size and population, it has a unicameral legislature – the Indonesian House of Representatives. This helps them to reduce the cost of governance.

    At the economic front, Nigeria is many poles away from Indonesia. As at 2011, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Indonesia calculated on purchasing power parity, according to the World Economic Factbook (2012), stood at $1.121 trillion. That of Nigeria was $414.5 billion.

    Calculated on the basis of per capita, the GDP of Indonesia is $4,700 while that of Nigeria is $2,600. Unemployment rate in Indonesia is estimated at 6.7% while that of Nigeria is 21% as at 2011. Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has recently released new statistics that are frightening. The population of Indonesians living below poverty line is estimated at 13.33% while that of Nigeria is 70%.

    What really struck my team was the level of industrialisation in Indonesia. In Purwakarta, Cempaka and Bandung where Indorama Corporation has sprawling industrial complexes producing polyester filament yarns, polyester staple fibre, polyester chips, PET resins, all types of fabrics including laminated ones, etc, you see production plants everywhere, producing various consumer/industrial products shipped to various countries of the world!

    These companies employ millions of young and old Indonesians. You could see people working at the plants; producing goods/services of value. In Nigeria, I look back at Apapa Industrial area, Ikeja industrial area, Ilupeju industrial area, Kirikiri industrial area, Ogba industrial area – all in Lagos – almost all the companies there have closed down, and sent all their employees into the labour market.

    I look at Trans-Amadi industrial area in Port Harcourt – all the companies have closed down. I look at the many industrial areas in Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Jos and Sokoto – most of the companies there have closed down. It is the same with companies in Onitsha, Aba, Enugu and Nnewi. Years ago, Nigeria threw its doors wide open for all manner of imports.

    President of the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr. Herbert Ajayi recently cried out that 800 companies closed down between 2009 and 2011 due to harsh business operating environment (The Nation, September 12, page 9).

    As usual, Nigeria copied the concept of trade liberalization and global competitiveness from the West, without any policy to protect local industries. Nigerian industries couldn’t cope, and all died of economic asphyxia. The lesson the world has leant from the so-called “Asian tigers” including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc, is that countries grow economically by protecting their local industries and strengthening their manufacturing sector.

    Today, Indonesia can boast of multi-billion-dollar companies including Indorama Corporation, Jardine/Astra International, Salim Group, Sinar Mas Group, Wilmer International, Djarum Group, Phillip Morris International, Bakrie Group, Lippo Group, Uniliver, and many more which are making billion-dollar revenues and swelling the country’s economy. Indeed, the August edition of Globe Asia, Indonesia’s No. 1 Business magazine, listed 100 Top Indonesia-based companies whose 2011 revenues have helped to insulate Indonesia from the global economic crisis.

    Indonesians consume goods produced locally but Nigerians consume goods produced abroad (in Indonesia, China, Malaysia, etc). Nigerians like to live big, while Indonesians like to live moderately. Despite Nigeria’s trillion-Dollar oil revenue, Nigeria likes foreign loans and aids while Indonesia likes savings and investments!

    Another contrast between Nigeria and Indonesia is that Indonesia-based companies are relatively unencumbered by national politics and bureaucracy. In Indonesia, there are laws regulating industrial operations. Governments at the national, provincial and district levels create conducive environments for businesses to thrive and flourish. Fiscal policies are aimed at attracting foreign investments, protecting local industries and creating more employment. Tax incentives are part of the fiscal policy. Lending rate for strategic sectors is lowered. Our country has something to learn here. In Nigeria, state governments seem to breathe down on small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and make them to close down.

    In Nigeria, investors complain of multiple taxations, overbearing regulatory framework, and regular political interferences. Yet, such companies are expected to provide their own infrastructure: road network, electricity, water and security. These hinder economic development and growth.

    As a result of economic boom in Indonesia, crime rate is very low. Indonesians seem to be at peace with themselves — happy and contented with what they have! Ironically, Indonesians are not as “religious” as Nigerians. You may not see a church or mosque, but you see a people that are respectful, hard-working and honest.

    Jakarta, the Indonesian capital is a beautiful city of high-rise buildings and apartments, thousands of shopping malls, international hotels, and well-paved roads and toll-gates. It perhaps boasts of the highest number of motorbike riders in the world, all well-kited but daring. All businesses are conducted in Indonesian language, not English language as in most countries. The mantra seems to be “If you live in Indonesia, you must speak Indonesia!” Talk of national pride!

    The Indonesian people have a culture of keeping everywhere clean: roads, buildings, offices, name it. Government offices are sparkling clean, mostly painted in whitecolour. Indonesia has high maintenance culture, which is lacking in Nigeria. Indonesians are not crazy about made-in-Europe- and America fashion. I didn’t see the “sagging” and nudities of the Nigerian fashion revolution. What has happened to Nigeria’s traditional wears and attires?

    Indonesia is a tourist destination. What beats my imagination is how they turned a volcanic eruption site into a tourist centre! You cannot visit Indonesia without vising that site – about 130 miles from Jakarta, the state capital!

    Nigeria, I think, has a lot to learn from Indonesia, one of the Asian Tigers!

    · Nkwocha, a company executive writes from Port Harcourt.

  • Between NIMASA and Ihenacho

    Between NIMASA and Ihenacho

    Recent arrest of former Minister of Interior, Capt. Emmanuel Ihenacho by officials of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and armed forces personnel attached to the Global West Vessel Specialist Limited (GWVSL) over allegation that his company received stolen petroleum products in its depot is bound to elicit considerable public interest.

    For one, Ihenacho was until recently, the minister of interior, an office that superintends over the internal security of the country. Thus, any action directly or indirectly connected to him which has the prospects of sabotaging the collective interests of the country, is bound to attract measured public indignation.

    Secondly, in the wake of the recent fuel subsidy scandal, the nation has been fully sensitized to the monumental fraud that goes on in the oil sector. More so, with the chilling revelation that several companies and personages received huge sums of money in foreign currency in the name of subsidy payments for fuel purportedly imported into the country even when no drop of the commodity was brought in. Many of such companies have since been charged to court and the nation anxiously waiting for the outcome of these cases.

    Again, oil is very central to the survival of our economy. Given our sole dependence on it for the execution of our development programmes, any loss of revenue from it is bound to have deleterious effects on our economy. For this, any clue as to why Nigerians are not taking full advantage of this gift which nature has bountifully endowed them is bound to arouse the interest of the famished, poor and deprived masses of this country. Thus, the allegation is not only serious and weighty but equally very sensitive.

    For all these, the controversy between Ihenacho’s company, Integrated Oil and Gas Limited and NIMASA, just like the fuel subsidy scandal, is bound to be in the domain of public opinion for quite sometime to come. More so, with some searing issues raised by the company that have further thrown up questions regarding the propriety in singling it out in a business relationship and transaction that involved other agencies of government including the NIMASA itself.

    The offence of the company was that it received a consignment of allegedly stolen fuel brought into its depot by a vessel. Director-General of NIMASA Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi said the vessel which has been impounded is used by pirates to hijack oil-bearing vessels and steal their fuel. According to him, it was run by a cartel whose activities have been under the agency’s surveillance.

    But the company is not denying it received the fuel which is now said to have been stolen. It is equally not denying that the now controversial consignment was brought to its storage facilities. But its contention is that the rules guiding such transactions were not observed in their breach. Its argument is that the fuel was received in its depot on a throughput basis and that all the necessary clearance documents were obtained before that consignment was received.

    And that the rules guiding such transactions requiring that necessary inward clearance documents be issued by the Nigerian Navy, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the supervising NIMASA were fully observed. They also claimed that the vessel that brought the fuel to their tank, MT Grace is owned by Messrs Akoto Ventures/Danyomile Marine Services Limited well known to both NIMASA and Integrated Oil and Gas Limited.

    They further claimed that MT Grace passed through NPA channels and facilities enroute to their jetty and was cleared for discharge by both the DPR and the Nigerian Navy even as the cargo was officially consigned to Messrs DPR/Capital Oil PlC and not their company.

    The issues raised by the company are very weighty as they have brought to the front burner a lot of posers that are very germane to the resolution of the alleged oil theft. First, NIMASA claimed that the vessel which has been under surveillance is used by pirates to steal fuel from oil-bearing vessels and that its activities have been under surveillance for sometime now. But Integrated Oil and Gas argued that the identity and ownership of the vessel is very well known to NIMASA itself.

    If that is so, the following questions beg for very urgent answers:

    *Why was the vessel allowed to pass through the facilities of the NPA enroute to the jetty without being arrested?

    * Is it true that after passing through NPA channels both the DPR and the Navy cleared it to discharge at that jetty?

    *Is it true that the alleged stolen fuel is fully served by the availability of the necessary inwards clearance documents issued by the Nigerian Navy, the DPR, the NPA and the supervising NIMASA?

    *And at what point did NIMASA discover that the said fuel was a stolen consignment especially since it claimed it has been monitoring the pirate vessel?

    * From where was the oil stolen and why was the ship not apprehended at that point?

    * What are the identities of the owners of the vessel and the oil consignment?

    *And why were they not arrested before the invasion of the final point of the vessel’s destination?

    These posers are very central to the resolution of the nagging issues that have been thrown up by the manner this matter has so far been handled. More so as Ihenacho, whose company is at the center of the controversy has imputed political motives and an attempt to destroy his business into the whole saga. They have also raised issues with the development of an armed unit within NIMASA that is under the operational control of parties who are neither trained nor constitutionally empowered to command federal forces under arms. That such a situation could lend itself to abuse goes without saying.

    Had the invasion of the tank farms and offices of the company been cleared through our regular security command, the commando operation that left officials of the company handcuffed and thoroughly humiliated may not have taken place.

    Then also, the litany of questions that have been thrown up by the issue would have been addressed before action is taken on who and who to hold culpable for the said malfeasance. It remains a big puzzle why the owners of the MT Grace vessel, Capital Oil PLC to which the alleged stolen oil belongs were not arrested. We are yet to be told what has been done to the Navy, NPA, DPR and NIMASA who cleared and documented the controversial consignment for discharge at the tank farm.

    Unless and until these claims are proven to be false, there are definitely more to the stolen fuel scandal than ordinarily meets the eyes. In the circumstance, the federal government should institute with great dispatch a high-powered probe into the matter. The issues that have been raised are damn weighty and only through a thorough inquisition shall we get at the root of the matter. For now, the way the matter has been handled has been less than tidy.

  • Retaining Niger State on the peace map

    SIR: One of the factors that has assured and sustained the atmosphere of peace and stability which Niger State enjoys is the respect for and recognition of the plural nature and multi-ethnic composition of the state.

    For those who believe that peace and stability are some of the most important ingredients for progress, Niger state under Dr Babangida Aliyu provides an ample case study.

    At a time when some states in the North are enmeshed in violence triggered by petty sentiments, Dr. Aliyu has obliterated such primordial differences in Niger State. Between 2007 when he came to power and now, he has turned Niger State into a monolith of peace in the way he has wiped out all forms of divisions in ethnicity and religion. For his administration in Niger State, everybody resident here is a Nigerlite and enjoys every amenity or provision of the government without discrimination. The concept of state of origin does not exist.

    Every school child in the primary school and students in the secondary school in the state enjoys free education without discrimination; every child up to the age of five, as well as all pregnant women and the aged are entitled to free and quality medicare without discrimination.

    The fears of ethno-religious disturbances that are threatening some states in the North would hardly have a perch in Niger State mainly because of the governor’s belief that encourages peaceful cohabitation among persons irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliation.

    This belief was reinforced last July when he inaugurated the Committee on Peace Building for Sustainable Democratic Culture in Niger State. The committee, which is made up of distinguished citizens of the state, representing diverse interest groups, has the mandate to forge a common purpose of peace and harmony for the state.

    The terms of reference of the Barrister Abraham Yisa-led committee include” to create awareness of the social, economic and political potentials and challenges facing the state and its people; consider and integrate issues like elections, media challenges, youth empowerment, rural urban migration, security and welfare etc into the subject of peace building.

    During the inauguration of the committee, Dr Aliyu struck the right note when he admitted the existence of serious security challenges in the country, especially in the North where the situation has presented alarming trends which have resulted in the loss of several lives and properties

    Essentially, the committee’s main assignment is peace building and conflict prevention/resolution activities with a view to creating a platform for the promotion of smooth communication between and among all stakeholders in Niger State, since confidence building and mindset change are important components in preventing conflicts.

    The good news is that the Governor Aliyu-led Northern Governors Forum took the fight for peace a notch higher when it inaugurated the Northern States Committee on Reconciliation, Healing and Security late last month. The initiative, which received applause from across the country, has been regarded as a bold attempt by the forum to tackle the growing insecurity and the fratricidal conflicts in the region.

    Niger State under the Chief Servant therefore presents a good template for other stakeholders to copy in being proactive in finding solutions to contemporary challenges.

     

    • Danladi Ndayebo

    Minna, Niger State