The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • As Nigeria reels under epileptic national grid

    As Nigeria reels under epileptic national grid

    SIR: Not a few Nigerians are gratified by the improvement in the power supply across the country in the recent times.

    However, what is left to conjecture is whether the improvements have come to stay or a providence of nature.

    Whilst nature controlled events and occurrences are dictated by the interplay of seasons, technologically nuanced events are subject to scientific imperatives with experimental precision.

    The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, recently said that more than 40 percent of Nigerians now enjoy 20 hours of power supply daily across the country. Basking on this euphoria, he further said the feat was achieved through revolutionary measures taken by the Ministry of Power, with the support of President Bola Tinubu, as part of his renewed hope agenda to galvanise economy.

    Discerning consumers of power may not  be too excited about the surge in power supply without a verifiable proof that those revolutionary measures he said his ministry took are anything novel and not the hackneyed spikes always recorded during rainy seasons when dams including the popular Kanji Dam are retaining water at their peaks.

    These nature-induced spikes would aggravate a sharp drop in power supply during the dry seasons when the water at the dams begins to recede.

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    One would have expected the minister to speak on the efforts made on renewable energy sources in areas of solar and wind powered generation.

    The power transition is not a rocket science; new data has shown that renewable sources accounted for 51.6 percent of the U.K’s electricity generation between April and June 2023.

    Unless and until Minister Adelabu could anchor his enthusiasm on specific technological innovations towards renewable energy transition, celebrating the 20 hours of hydropower power supply is a fleeting carousal that will keep the nation in a chokehold of epileptic power supply, incessant collapse of National Grid and other dysfunctional outcomes that have bedevilled electricity production and distribution in Nigeria since independence.

    The grid collapse at the height of rainfall as we have it now is a telling sign of a difficult supply in the next quarter except the government begin to ramp up investments that can mitigate technological obsolescence in various power platforms.

    • ESV Bukola Ajisola, bukymany@yahoo.com
  • Dele Alake, the quintessential communications strategist at 68

    Dele Alake, the quintessential communications strategist at 68

    • By Kehinde Olaosebikan

    Having beautiful women is a way of assessment or a display of wealth by men in the olden, but not too long ago, days in the place where I come from. Up till the 60s and 70s in my part of the world, to prove or show that you are rich and have truly arrived, you must have a stunning beautiful woman as a wife or a courtesan.

    A Yoruba socialite elite must possess a beautiful woman to accompany him to parties and other social events. The sanmori as they are called, in Yoruba, flaunt their beautiful chicks at gatherings to the admiration of others. They all giggle, laugh, throw banters, and hug one another in the display of their mistresses.

    However, if there was any who did not attend a function with his beautiful lady or felt that his is not as beautiful as that of a particular friend, such men feel no shame or any embarrassment in demanding from the beautiful side chicks of their friends to get them a similar charmingly beautiful lady to keep or marry. They would simply ask the tempting lady of their friend ‘E ba wa wa eni kan to ri bi yin,’ meaning ‘Kindly find for us, a beautiful lady just like you.’

    As the practice later advanced, the elitists graduated from not just having beautiful ladies alone, they added brain and responsibility to the qualities of such ladies. Thus, in addition to having full lips, high forehead, broad face, small chin, small nose, short and narrow jaw, high cheekbones, clear and smooth skin and wide-set eyes, all the assets that make a stunning woman, their ladies must be intelligent and responsible as well.

    Late Tatalo Alamu, the Ibadan-based popular Dundun and Sekere Maestro, later promoted this in one of his albums to a means of ‘toasting’ ladies. Tatalo, eyeing one of the delightfully beautiful ladies in the city of Ibadan then, sang ‘E ba un wa obinrin to ri bi yin o, e ba un wa obinrin to ri bi yin; t’o gbe ounje f’egbe t’o tun gb’awo bo, e ba un wa obinrin to ri bi yin.’ This means:  Help me find a woman that is as beautiful, intelligent, dutiful and responsible as you.

    Tatalo, like most of the elites’ socialites, wanted not just a beautiful lady but the one that has all the best qualities in a woman. He was desirous of the vintage or the quintessential woman.

    It was this old Yoruba rich men’s style of demanding from a friend’s lady of her like in beauty and intelligence and the music of Tatalo Alamu that played in my subconscious at the special party put together to celebrate the 68th birthday of the incumbent Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Henry Oladele Alake, at the Benue Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja Friday night.

    As every normal human being loves beautiful things, men and even fellow women do watch admiringly, when they see stunning ladies and this is the case of Mr. Dele Alake as a communications strategist. He is admired, loved, respected and wanted by all, keenly.

    In my practice as a consultant in internal and external communications management, Dele Alake is the model when people are looking for spokespersons. A number of state governors including two from my state, Oyo, had asked me to look for “somebody like Dele Alake” for them to serve as either information commissioner or chief image maker for their states. In fact, it is usually the case when governors and chief executive officers of big organisations are in search of communications experts. ‘Can you get us somebody like Dele Alake’ is always a challenge.

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    No doubt, Nigeria is blessed with many great communications specialists and we have seen them practice their trade outstandingly. However, Dele Alake is Dele Alake. Nobody can be like him.

    As the Yoruba elites graduated from having just beautiful ladies to searching for courtesans with beauty, brains and good conduct; wanting the best in their women, people in authority are now on the hunt for communications experts who are all-rounders.

    Rising to the peak of his career in journalism as Editor and thereafter becoming Chief Press Secretary, Commissioner for Strategy and Information and CEO of global media organisations, Dele Alake is an embodiment of success in journalism and communications strategy. He is indeed the quintessential Communications Strategist in all ramifications.

    However, now that the owner of Dele Alake or his buddy (as Mr. Bayo Onanuga described him), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu refused to make him the Minister of Information and Strategy, we may, on a lighter note, help the  President too, to look for somebody like Dele Alake. E je ki a ba President wa na wa eni kan t’o da bi Dele Alake!

    Happy birthday, sir!

    • Olaosebikan is the CEO of Midas Communications Ltd, a global public relations firm.
  • Integrate optometrists into Primary Eye Health Care

    Integrate optometrists into Primary Eye Health Care

    Sir: In a country as populous and diverse as Nigeria, healthcare challenges are a familiar reality. Yet, often overlooked in the broader healthcare conversation is the crucial role of eye care. Vision impairment and blindness affect millions of Nigerians, yet primary eye care remains underdeveloped and under-appreciated. This situation calls for re-evaluating the role of optometrists, whose indispensable presence in primary eye health care can be the difference between sight and blindness for many Nigerians.

    Globally, it is estimated that over 2.2 billion people suffer from some form of vision impairment, and Nigeria is no exception. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), at least one billion of these cases are preventable or have yet to be addressed. In Nigeria, the burden of visual impairment is staggering, with millions affected by conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, refractive errors etc. What makes this even more concerning is that many cases could be prevented if treated on time and if there were adequate primary eye care services.

    Nigeria’s healthcare system faces numerous challenges but access to eye care shouldn’t be one of them. In seeking to resolve this challenge, we must make eye healthcare accessible to all, especially in primary healthcare centres everywhere. Optometrists are an essential part of this solution because they offer critical services that can prevent minor eye conditions from becoming major health crises.

    Optometrists are primary eye care professionals trained to examine, diagnose, and treat visual disorders, manage eye diseases, prescribe lenses and also help in early detection and management of visual problems. They are vital to preventive eye health services, offering screenings that can catch issues early on, often before symptoms even appear. Yet, their services remain underutilized, particularly at the primary healthcare level, where they could make the most significant impact.

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    The importance of preventive eye care cannot be overstated. Many of the leading causes of blindness, such as cataracts and glaucoma, can be treated if diagnosed early. Optometrists are trained to detect these conditions in their early stages, providing timely interventions that can save sight. By including optometrists in primary care, Nigeria can shift its focus from reactive to proactive eye care, preventing many cases of vision impairment before they become debilitating.

    Take refractive errors, for example. These are some of the most common vision problems globally, affecting millions of people. A simple prescription for corrective lenses can drastically improve the quality of life for those affected. Yet, without regular eye exams, many Nigerians remain unaware that they need glasses, living with impaired vision unnecessarily. Optometrists can address this gap by providing routine eye exams in primary care settings, ensuring that those who need corrective lenses receive them.

    The recent World Sight Day commemorative event provided an important platform to emphasize the significance of protecting our eyes and vision, raise awareness about vision impairment and blindness, and promote eye and vision care. This year’s theme, “Children, Love Your Eyes,” focused on child eye health. The WHO stressed the need for accessible, available, and affordable eye health services, particularly for children.

     For optometrists to have the greatest impact, it is also essential to raise public awareness of the importance of eye health. Many Nigerians do not seek eye care until their vision is severely impaired, often because they are unaware of the signs of eye disease or the availability of treatment. Public health campaigns promoting regular eye exams and the role of optometrists in primary care can help change this mindset, encouraging people to seek preventive care.

    The indispensable need for optometrists in primary eye health care is clear. By expanding the role of optometrists within the Nigerian health care system, the country can improve access to eye care, prevent vision impairment, and ultimately reduce the burden on more specialized services. Optometrists have the potential to transform primary eye care in Nigeria, offering affordable and accessible services to millions of people who would otherwise go without. For Nigeria to achieve universal eye health, the government must take deliberate steps to incorporate optometrists into its primary health care strategy.

    •Dr Iroghama Davina Edobor-Osula,Lagos.

  • A call for reforms in governance

    A call for reforms in governance

     Sir: In recent years, Nigeria has stood at a pivotal juncture in its democratic evolution. Our country, rich in both natural and human resources, has grappled with challenges that threaten to undermine its democratic institutions. While there have been successes, particularly in the peaceful transfer of power and the continuation of democratic processes, there remains systemic issues that call for reflection and reform.

    At the heart of these challenges is the question of participation. Democracy, in its ideal form, seeks to empower every citizen, granting them a voice and ensuring that the structures of governance are responsive to the needs of all.

    One of the core pillars of democracy is the ability of its citizens to participate meaningfully in governance or at least that what the famous scholar Plato believes. While voting and elections form the bedrock of this participation, they alone are insufficient to ensure that the broader goals of justice, equity, and empowerment are achieved.

    Nigeria’s political landscape, shaped by decades of military rule and the influence of elite-driven politics, often falls short in translating electoral victories into genuine empowerment for its citizens.

    The current administration, like many before it, has embarked on a series of reforms aimed at stabilizing the economy and addressing issues of security. Yet, these efforts, while commendable in intent, highlight the complexities of governance in a diverse and multifaceted society. The rising cost of living, coupled with increasing insecurity, suggests that reforms must be more attuned to the lived realities of the people.

    Nigeria serves as a poignant example of the disconnect between democratic theory and practice within the country’s political landscape. As noted by BBC reporter Simi Jolaoso in a publication on Wikipedia, Nigeria is experiencing “the worst economic crisis in a generation,” marked by soaring inflation and skyrocketing food prices. This crisis has been exacerbated by economic reforms introduced under the current administration, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the devaluation of Naira. While these measures were ostensibly aimed at liberalizing the economy and attracting foreign investment, they have instead intensified the hardships faced by ordinary citizens.

    Protests erupted on July 29, with demonstrators taking to the streets, brandishing placards proclaiming messages like “Enough is Enough” Such sentiments highlight the erosion of social justice and the exclusion of the masses from meaningful political participation, reflecting the theories posited by Dewey and others that underscore democracy’s essence as a system of values rather than merely a political framework.

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    Reforms must also extend to the institutions that safeguard democracy. A robust judiciary, a free press, and an active civil society are essential components of a functioning democracy. Strengthening these institutions will not only protect the rights of citizens but also ensure that the government remains accountable to the people it serves.

    Furthermore, the concept of democracy as merely a political system, defined by elections and power transfers, must evolve. Democracy, at its core, is about fostering a system of values—justice, equity, and social progress. A democracy that fails to address the socio-economic disparities in society, or that marginalizes large sections of its populace, cannot fully claim the mantle of democratic legitimacy.

    As Nigeria looks to the future, the question that must be asked is whether the current reforms are truly working for the greater good of all Nigerians. While the challenges are many, they also present an opportunity—a chance to redefine governance in a way that is more responsive, more inclusive, and more attuned to the aspirations of its people.

    The strength of Nigeria’s democracy will ultimately depend on its ability to adapt and reform in ways that bridge the gaps between policy and practice, between the elite and the grassroots, and between political ambition and the needs of everyday Nigerians.

    The decisions made today will shape the Nigeria of tomorrow. It is a call to action—not just for those in government, but for every Nigerian who believes in the promise of democracy.

    •Alamin Musa Muhammad,<alaminmusamuhammad@gmail.com>

  • Housing: Overcoming the finance challenge

    Housing: Overcoming the finance challenge

    Sir: With a population of over 200 million people, Nigeria has been rightly identified as the largest market for real estate in Africa, yet housing shortage is one of the most serious developmental challenges presently confronting the country. There is a shortage of housing for low-income earners and constantly growing housing demands that are not met. Over the years, successive administrations in the country had tinkered with policies in a bid to deliver mass housing, but due to lack of reasonable commitment to it, achieving the goal has remained elusive.

    The major issue is funding, getting appropriate funding for housing projects remained the biggest problem in the sector. The right type of money needed for long term project like housing is not available. Something that can really work for affordable housing can be akin to what the Federal Mortgage Bank offers which cannot go round.

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    We must be able to raise so much of insurance money in this country, though we have at least tried to raise a reasonable amount of pension fund. These are monies that are put into the kind of uses, such as housing anywhere in the world. We should find a way. It’s not enough to just be putting these monies in paper transactions and stock markets,we should find a way by which it can find its way into the real sector. The on-going private sector housing projects are progressing slowly owing to non-availability of funds.

    The problem has remained intractable because our government is not taking housing as an important matter. There is no serious step or programme by the federal government to jump-start activities in the sector.

    Stakeholders and industry operatives have unanimously concluded that the home-ownership regime needs a change of strategy. Innovative thinking would bring about better outcomes that will enhance housing delivery in the country. We just need to take a cue from other countries where the cost of mortgage for first time home buyers are low, with small down payments and easy terms especially, a single digit interest rate.

    Housing policy instrument in the form of legislative changes of laws to reduce the country’s housing deficit must be embraced immediately. There is need for speedy review of the present regulatory and legal framework for delivering cost effective and quality social housing programme.

    •ESV Idehen Edith Judith,Benin.

  • Amaechi’s new romance

    Amaechi’s new romance

    Rotimi Amaechi is an angry man. He is a not ashamed to show it. The last time he showed that kind of public indiscretion for a perceived wrong was when he “wept” to news men in the open that the former managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Hadisa Bala Usman did not give him cake or flower.
    Many people wanted to know what was the connection between cake or flower as gift with her performance of her job. Why was he so particular? Was it just because he was a supervising minister? Hardball still needs some form of clarity as to why he wanted flower and what place it had in policy or in the passage of goods through our ports.
    But be that as it may, the former transport minister and governor of Rivers State is at it again. This time his anger is against his fellow citizens and youths especially. He is calling for uprising. He certainly was not happy that the last EndGovernance campaign did not go far enough, in spite of the bloodshed, the destruction of institutions of value and paralysis of activity.
    He should tell us exactly why he is angry.
    He said, “The people should be angry. There should be protests against anybody but against the politicians, that “we won’t vote.” That is what people should be saying. The rate of hunger now…if people like us cannot afford diesel, you can imagine what is happening to those who do not have children like us.”

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    He needs to explain a few things. Is he angry with politicians, because he is one of them? Or is he angry with democracy? If he is angry with politicians, and he says they are stealing the people’s money, then he should provide evidence of those who are stealing. But if he cannot make that distinction, then he is saying politicians steal money. We know it is not today that politicians have been accused of stealing money. So, if we follow his logic, then he is opening himself for indictment. As an APC chieftain noted, Amaechi has been a politician most of his adult life, for over two decades and he has gone the whole gamut as two-terms as lawmaker culminating as speaker; he was governor for two terms and he was minister for two terms. The math adds it up to 24 years. So, does it mean he was stealing money then? Is it not disingenuous for him to say he cannot afford fuel? Who is he lying to?
    Two, he said the object of the protests should be that they wont vote. That is not just a protest against politicians, it is a call to anarchy. Yet, he calls himself a democrat. Amaechi was nowhere to be found when many men and women were fighting the military. He was a mere personal assistant in a hospital and he came to “chop” when the food left the kitchen. So, he does not know how democracy is cooked. Hence, he can say they should say they wont vote. It was fine when he was winning elections, but after he lost the primaries, the man does not believe in polls anymore. He has now joined Sowore and company because he lost. The former minister is acting like a bad student and he probably needs to listen more in class to his law professors in Abuja about rule of law and democracy. Or else he will repeat the class.
    When he is not looking for flowers and cakes, he is turning his love to anti-democratic romance.

  • Imperative of Local Govt. elections commission

    Imperative of Local Govt. elections commission

    Sir: Since the recent Supreme Court judgement granting financial autonomy to local governments in Nigeria, state governors have been racing against time to beat the court deadline and avoid stoppage of grants by the federal government. So far, many states have conducted their local government elections while others have set time for it.

    However, it has remained debatable whether the elections conducted by those states have passed the integrity test and reflected the wishes of electorates or not. Those who have been monitoring the outcomes of the elections are of the opinion that the elections are a sham and far from being free and fair. The win-it-all syndrome usually characterised the conduct of local government elections did not only play out but become worse in most of the elections conducted recently by SIECs. State governors ensure only candidates from their parties are declared winners. We have seen how PDP won all the chairmen and councillors seats in Adamawa State and same played out in Benue State in which the ruling party swept all the elective positions.

    If you are still optimistic about the conduct of local government elections in Nigeria, what happened in Rivers State will compel you to change your mind. An unknown political party with the name APP was declared winner of 22 local governments in the state. While Governor Sim Fubara might have cleverly planned the whole scenario to outsmart his political godfather, Nyesom Wike, one imagines how APP managed to coast to home to victory in a PDP stronghold within few months of its existence in the state.

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    When Senator Sani Musa (Niger South), sponsored a bill for the creation of Local Government Independent Electoral Commission, Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief. According to the bill, the body will be an autonomous body to organise, oversee and conduct elections for the office of local government chairman and councillors in all 36 states and the FCT.

    The Bill could never have come at a better time than now when majority of Nigerians have passed vote of non-confidence on the local government elections being conducted by SIECs. Not only do the SIECs dance to the tune of their governors, unwholesome practices have dampened the morale of electorates and created huge voters apathy.

    In order to deepen democratic participation at grassroots, accelerate development and above all reduce poverty, there is the need for quality leadership at local governments. To achieve this, there is the need for free and fair elections hence the call for the creation of Local Government Independent Electoral Commission to conduct seamless and transparent elections across the 36 local governments in the country.

    •Ibrahim Mustapha,Pambegua, Kaduna State.

  • The monsters in the Middle East

    The monsters in the Middle East

    Sir: Israel’s ongoing offensive against Palestinians in the Lebanon and the Gaza Strip is plunging millions into impossible situations, exposing the fairness of all in war as an atrocious injustice.

    Who is the monster in the Middle East? It should be Hamas, the militant Iran-backed pro-Palestine group. On October 7, 2023, it launched an unprecedented attack against Israel, breaching its supposed impenetrable security, killing 1200 Israelis and taking many others hostage.

     The monster in the Middle East should be Israel, which has since the attack launched an unprecedented crackdown against the Gaza Strip. More than 42,000 people have been killed, thousands more injured, and life irreversibly altered even for unborn Palestinians.

     The monsters in the Middle East should be the US and UK which continue to back the devastating Israeli offensive — and the international community, which choosing the easy escape route of international law, prefers largely to stand by.

     The monster in the Middle East could yet be Iran, which backs Hamas, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has been drawn into an increasingly complicated war. 

    The monster in the Middle East could yet be the vagaries of history, which seems to give each of the parties in the renewed hostilities a slice of justification for digging it their heels and putting millions of women and children in harm’s way.

     The monstrous conflict in the Middle East is a product of warped histories and complicities which are conspiring to sentence innocent Palestinian women and children to a living hell.

     But of all possible monsters in the conflict in the Middle East, Israel stands out for its complicated engagement with the history of the region and its egregious refusal to countenance any arrangement that may bring lasting peace to the region.

    Israel has starkly and strenuously refused to make significant concessions for peace, stubbornly clinging on to the land it has annexed, and blindingly branding all who disagree with it as enemies.

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     In this expedition of enmity, it has been actively backed by the US in what is actively a collaboration of death against many innocent women and children.

    No matter how superior a party to a war is, once the first shot is fired, there is no certainty how it will end or who would suffer what casualty. This is what makes the unpredictability of war so dangerous.

    But what is going on in the Gaza Strip cannot even rightly be described as a war. Rather it is a genocide perpetrated by the colonizer against the colonized. This oppression and operation streaked with blood has been decades in the making.

    Israel’s annexation and subsequent occupation of Palestinian lands did not inspire as much horror in the rest of the world as it should because of the staunch support of the USA and UK, and the unflinching hypocrisy of the international community.

     But it was always going to inspire fierce resistance from a people suddenly turned to strangers and slaves on their ancestral lands. That is undoubtedly what has happened.

     Through invasions, displacement, curfews, embargoes, airstrikes, horrific psychological and emotional persecution, generations of Palestinians have been born into the struggle, lived through it and died in becoming generations of martyrs for their cause.

     There have also been poets like Mahmoud Darwish and Fadwa Tuqan who have deployed literature as resistance, resilience, and rebellion against a ruthless foe with Darwish famously asking, “where should we go after the last frontiers, where should the birds fly after the last sky?”

     Much like the Rohingya who have been left at the mercy and butchery of the immeasurably cruel state of Myanmar, the Palestinians have been left at the mercy of Israel, a state that does not know what mercy is.

    Peace is the only option that can guarantee lasting security for Israel in the region. Experience has shown that those fighting for their land are willing to continue writing their names with scarlet steam to achieve their cause.

    The hostility and humiliation of the world will not break them neither will the hypocrisy of the international community.

    •Kene Obiezu,keneobiezu@gmail.com

  • Is Nigeria’s problem one of failure of leadership?

    Is Nigeria’s problem one of failure of leadership?

    Sir: Every Nigerian seems agreed on this: that the trouble with Nigeria is squarely a failure of leadership. It was Chinua Achebe, the novelist and iconic writer who espoused that thesis in his pocket-sized book, The Trouble With Nigeria.

    We all know that good, purposeful, visionary, competent, and accountable political leadership is a fillip to a country’s development. The absence of good political leadership in a country will cause the country to experience economic recession, technological backwardness, slow industrialization, infrastructural rot and deficit, and political stasis. There is always a nexus between national development and good political leadership.

    Thankfully, now, we have enjoyed, uninterruptedly, twenty five years of democratic leadership in Nigeria. But we have no concrete achievements to show for those long years of democratic governance. Since 1999, when the fourth republic dawned in Nigeria, each new civilian government seems to have fared far worse than its predecessor.

    So it seems that bad political leadership is at the roots of our national malaise. Truth be told, the successive civilian governments, which have led Nigeria from 1999 to the present time, have failed to transform Nigeria, positively. Those successive civilian governments could be likened to the Abiku phenomenon: the democratic government has kept on dying and reincarnating in different grotesque and malevolent forms, bringing sorrows and suffering to us.

    However, much as almost every Nigerian has concurred that Nigeria’s underdevelopment is traceable to bad leadership, which has been our lot for six decades, I beg to differ with those, who espouse that thesis. The reason is not far-fetched. If the citizens of a country have moral scruples, they can band together to thwart the efforts of their leaders to game and pervert the systems of doing things in their country. A morally regenerated populace can constitute a counter-force to a tyrannical, corrupt, and soulless civilian government that is bent on ruining their country.

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    But that is not the case in Nigeria. Millions of Nigerians, who are deeply religious, acquiesce in our leaders’ definition and perception of political leadership. In today’s Nigeria, millions of people, who are outside the loops of political power, view the political and moral degenerates, who masquerade as our political leaders, as clever and smart persons. And they are waiting their turns to become political leaders in order for them to start looting our collective financial tills. Here, in Nigeria, good is perceived as bad; and bad as good. As a result, corruption, which is the cankerworm choking life out of Nigeria, has become normative in our country.

    Nigerians are so morally bankrupt that they can’t turn down inducements given to them by occupants of exalted political offices. For a loaf of bread, a Nigerian, who professes either Christianity or Islamic religion, will help a corrupt politician to power. We circumvent the processes for securing government jobs by offering bribes to those who are in charge of recruiting workers for government establishments. Meritocracy has been dethroned by mediocrity in Nigeria because we are without moral scruples.

    Nigeria has become a laughing stock among the comity of nations, because of the misdeeds of Nigerian leaders. But if a majority of Nigerians insist on doing things in the right ways, and refuse to compromise on their positive morality-codes, our leaders will be compelled to turn a new leaf so as to escape the wrath and vengeance of the people. When we have chosen to live by good personal examples, and resist the temptation of perverting our systems of doing things, we will set our country on the trajectory of positive transformation.

    Nigeria’s parlous economic state, technological backwardness, and infrastructural rot and deficit cannot be divorced from Nigerians’ non-possession of moral scruples. Let us insist on doing good deeds, no matter whose ox is gored.  When we become the change we advocate, Nigeria shall realise its potential and manifest destiny, and become the true giant of Africa.

    Nigeria’s problem is not solely and chiefly a failure of leadership; we are the problem, which we seek to extirpate in our polity.

    •Chiedu Uche Okoye, Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State.

  • Soludo’s nuclear option

    Soludo’s nuclear option

    It is common wisdom that you do not hide behind a finger and hope you’re hidden. Neither do you seek to repossess by guile what was taken from you and hope not to be seen through. The recourse Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo has taken with the financial autonomy of local governments in his state is like jacking back by local legislation what the Supreme Court took away with its recent judgment.

    The Supreme Court had last July, in a suit brought against state governments by the Federal Government, affirmed the financial autonomy of the country’s 774 local governments. The court held that councils should, henceforth, receive their allocations directly from the Accountant-General of the Federation; and that it is illegal and unconstitutional for governors to receive and withhold funds allocated to councils in their states. The verdict gave three-month deadline for states in default to conduct elections into their councils, and empowered the Federal Government to withhold allocations of local governments being administered by appointed officials. 

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    Many state governors were not happy with the verdict and some voiced their displeasure openly. But they had no choice than democratise the councils as the apex court mandated – with many states where local governments were administered by appointed caretakers stampeding in recent times to conduct elections. Anambra State in particular had not conducted elections into its councils in 10 years, but gave 48-day notice for the poll to be conducted on 28th September.

    Now, Professor Soludo has authored a legislation compelling Anambra councils to remit a portion of their federal allocations into a consolidated account controlled by the state. The bill titled Anambra Local Government Administration Law 2024 was enacted by the House of Assembly last week. Among others, it prescribes that the state shall maintain a “State Joint Local Government Account” into which all federal allocations to local governments must be deposited; and that the councils must, within two working days of receiving their allocations, remit a state-determined percentage to the consolidated account. This requirement applies even when the allocations are received by the councils directly from the federation account.

    Critics noted that the new legislation undermines the financial autonomy of councils that the Supreme Court judgment affirmed. But the Anambra government insisted it acted within provisions of Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended) that empowers state legislatures to enact laws for administration and financial regulation of local governments. Commissioner for Information Law Mefor argued that the bill aligns with the assembly’s constitutional mandate, urging those opposed to the legislation to challenge it in court.

    Well, the judiciary has another intervention to make. Because you could bet if the Anambra governor has his way, a gale of similar legislations would be unleashed across the states to undercut the Supreme Court’s verdict.