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Still on Gowon’s 90th birthday

By Ezra Yakusak

General Yakubu Gowon’s 90th birthday has come and gone; however, the memories will last a life time. The calibre of guests at the birthday reflected General Gowon’s esteemed reputation among Nigerians. Of most importance were the speeches and encomiums poured on the General.

Given my understanding of Nigerians, celebrating a 90- year-old leader who relinquished power 49 years ago would have attracted sharp criticisms if he had been found wanting. Satirical speeches laced with subtle innuendos would have been delivered at the event. If General Gowon’s character had been iniquitous or fraught with inconsistencies, there was no way his birthday would have been celebrated without some scathing remarks about his person from critics, social commentators or those that speaks truth to power. In Nigeria, these people are not in short supply.

Who knows; may be General Obasanjo would have written him a 50-page “letter” as a birthday gift. The likes of Col Dangiwa Umar rtd or Professor Wole Soyinka would have probably taken a daring swipe at the nonagenarian to commemorate the day. Instead of a letter, Obasanjo opted for a personal military salute and boldly declared Gowon “a man of destiny worthy of national celebration while still alive”. On his part, Col Umar stated that Gowon is “a bigger statesman than Mandela”. Professor Soyinka simply said of Gowon “Don’t mind that man. I was never his prisoner. He was merely my rent-free landlord in Kaduna”. As for General Ibrahim Babangida, “Gowon is a very decent man that is free from disruptive influences” while former President Buhari described him as “a man of credible integrity that understood the problems of Nigeria more than most Nigerians. The accolades were more. These notable Nigerians cannot be all wrong.

The consensus at the three day event was that, General Gowon is an honest and detribalised Nigerian leader, who is widely seen as the propelling force that cemented Nigeria’s unity and executed several infrastructural projects that accentuated to fiscal and economic development of the nation. No wonder, various speakers suggested the need to study, review or revisit Gowon’s economic trajectory. The lesson learnt is hinged on the fundamental and biblical truth that “a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches”.

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Any one that has interacted with General Gowon will concede to the fact that he lives a simple, austere and humble life. He diffuses some fragrance of humility that is worth not only emulating but researching upon. His interaction with people has been projected from the lens of our common humanity. Shortly after leaving office, Gowon shocked the world when he was sighted queuing to purchase food at a cafeteria in Warwick University where he was a student.

I have had the opportunity of seeing the humble side of General Gowon which left me stunned. Years back, the General had expressed the desire to see one of the ministers on a personal matter. When the minister was contacted, he opted to visit General Gowon instead. Gowon however insisted he had to go to the minister since the visit was at his behest.

On the scheduled date, General Gowon told me to personally drive him to see the minister. Suddenly, I started laughing hysterically. To me it was a huge joke. He smiled handsomely but remained firm and resolute. At that point reality set in. I began to quiver. I was enveloped with a mix feeling of uncertainty, awe and confusion. Suddenly, my hands became dampened with sweat. How can I explain to this man that my car had no air-conditioner? In what language should I tell him that the brushes of my kick starter were worn out and could seldom establish a solid connection with the communicator to kick start the car? Abeg which kind wahala be this? I wondered.

As I gathered some courage, I muttered an apology. He asked me “What for?” I told him that the car had no AC and there was no way I could drive him without an AC or with the car windows wound down. He responded “who told you I needed the AC? After all, the weather is not hot. More ever, if you can use the car without an AC why can’t I?” I had prepared my next line of defence, “Sir apart from the AC, I am having issues with my kick starter and I think the battery is a bit down”. He quipped: “Oh so you think I am not strong enough to push the car right? Come along, let’s go”. Before I could make further excuses, he opened the car door, hoped in and buckled the seat belt. As I was driving, only God knows the kind of thoughts that crossed my mind. Throughout the trip, no one waved or looked at the car with familiarity. No one could have imagined that General Gowon was a passenger in that weather-beaten car. Thankfully, we visited the minister and returned uneventfully.

Another trait of General Gowon is his forgiving and reconciliatory spirit which is large enough to have earned him a permanent seat among ordained priests. He made sure that he reconciled with almost everyone that wronged/offended him including those that betrayed or back-stabbed him in course of his life.

During Gowon’s 90th birthday, the picture of General Gowon and Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu trended in the media. In the picture, Gowon wore a white babariga and grey cap while Ojukwu adorned a maroon kaftan. The picture was taken in 2010 at Ojukwu’s residence in Enugu. General Gowon had visited Enugu for his Nigeria Prays campaign. On arrival he insisted on visiting Ojukwu. One year after the visit, the nation lost Ojukwu. It was the same picture that was widely circulated with the wrong impression that “the two war-time enemies” were meeting for the first time since the war ended. The fact is that General Gowon reconciled with Ojukwu in October 1975, shortly after his removal from office. The meeting was held at Montcalm Hotel, Mable Arch, London, with Frederick McCarthy Forsyth, a British Novelist and journalist in attendance. Both Gowon and Ojukwu maintained contact afterwards.

In 2011 when Ojukwu was ill, General Gowon placed a call across to him to console him. A young lady called Ebere picked the phone and informed the General that Ojukwu was asleep. In his humorous way, Gowon told the lady to inform Ojukwu that he shouldn’t even think of going anywhere because they still have unfinished business to take care of. I could hear the lady’s voice as she burst into laughter at the other end of the line.

One of the greatest assets of General Gowon is his ability to clinically severe any emotional attachment to the mundane and ephemeral things of life. He doesn’t lose an ounce of sleep for the sake of any material consideration. His contentment level is unprecedented. I remember many offers he had turned down or refused to follow up. Things that people will ordinarily want to kill themselves to acquire. Now it makes more sense that, despite ruling this country for nine years, no one has ever linked General Gowon with dishonesty or corrupt practices. The only disparaging allegation ever made against Gowon was by a British MP, Tom Tungendhat in 2020. He alleged that General Gowon “left Nigeria with half of the Central Bank”. Gowon immediately refuted the allegation as “rubbish”.

On hearing the allegations, Nigerians rose up in unanimous defence of General Gowon. Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah dismissed the claim as “unfounded, irrational and bizarre”. He stressed; “it is curious that he (Tungendhat) would have displayed such shameful ignorance and made such ill-conceived allegations with no scintilla of evidence, even when, at the click of a button, he could have had access to Gowon’s financial dealings in his over 45 years of living in the UK”. Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, asserted that of all his short comings, “Gowon was not a thief and neither did he amass wealth for himself when he was Head of State”. On his part, Senator Mohammed Abba Aji, a former Presidential Liaison Officer to the National Assembly, opined that Gowon has never been found wanting or accused of corrupt practices in Nigeria or anywhere else. In his November 24, 2020, article, Bayo Onanuga, who is now a Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, wrote after fact-checking the allegations; “the picture we have is of a former leader, who did not enrich himself unlike many others who did when they succeeded him.”

Love him or hate him, Gowon remains a great symbol of national unity who epitomises integrity, humility, transparency, honesty, contentment, credibility, consistency, accountability and corruption-free. Shortly after the coup that overthrew him, while in Kampala-Uganda, he left listeners dumbfounded when he said “Please take care of Nigeria for me.” As he turned 90, our prayer is that “God, please take care of General Gowon for us”.

•Dr. Yakusak wrote this piece from Abuja and can be contacted through: ezrayakusak@yahoo.com

October 30, 2024
Between Obasanjo’s half-measures and Tinubu’s bold leadership

By Chekwube Nzomiwu

A video of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s interview with News Central Television has been trending on social media platforms for the past week. In the interview, the former president, in a veiled reference to the current administration, said Nigeria has a president who came into office without a plan. Yet, the same ‘planless’ president is implementing a bold economic reform programme that Obasanjo initiated and abandoned mid-way.

This intervention is essentially about a tale of two leaders and how they both handled fuel subsidy removal, a very touchy issue every president of Nigeria has avoided since 1973 because of its disruptive nature and potential to precipitate a pushback that may lead to civil unrest. This serious matter in itself can make a difference between a bold and courageous leader from one that is pretentious and hesitant.

It is a fact of history that one of the things former President Obasanjo set out to do, among other reforms his administration embarked upon, was complete deregulation of the downstream oil industry. But hard as he tried, he failed to actualise it. Obasanjo faced so much opposition from organised labour and civil society groups that he abandoned a good policy that would have led to massive economic gains for the country. All he could muster the courage to do was to raise the pump price four times during his two-term tenure.

Twenty years after Obasanjo failed to implement complete downstream deregulation, President Bola Tinubu had the courage of his conviction to implement the policy, redirect the economy, and ensure efficiency in the management of public finance.

Despite his foibles and messianic complex, former President Obasanjo is no doubt a remarkable leader. His administration opened the economy and implemented essential reforms that his immediate successor should have continued with. What most critics find offensive about the former president is how he sees himself as the only saviour God created for Nigeria. As far as he is concerned, no other leader before and after him has been good enough. For context and clarity, it is essential to recall the former president’s position on deregulating the downstream oil sector when he was in charge.

In a national broadcast on October 8, 2003, President Obasanjo expressed his frustration and anger at the Nigeria Labour Congress for its opposition to the deregulation of the downstream sector to the point of accusing labour leaders of sedition thus:

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“As you are aware, my government has embarked on fundamental reforms designed to depart from the waste and unproductive exercises of the past and leave lasting legacies for the prosperity and improved welfare and well-being of all Nigerians. Since 1999, we have gradually but steadily embarked on the programme of liberalisation and deregulation of the Nigerian economy to promote efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. Most Nigerians and certainly all organised key stakeholders in the Nigerian economy, including the Nigeria Labour Congress, have endorsed the deregulation programme of government.

“It is a fitting symbol of our administration’s commitment to the welfare of workers and in an effort to cushion the effects of deregulation that the government provided 80 buses to the NLC in 2002. The trans-liner buses were delivered to the Congress for management without government interference. It is noteworthy that every step taken to deregulate the downstream oil sector has been dogged by, sometimes, irresponsible opposition by the Labour Congress. The result has been that we took too little steps to achieve no meaningful and satisfactory progress. We have tolerated all of these in the interest of promoting popular dialogue and informed dissent.

“Let me inform Nigerians that when government first came up with the deregulation programme, it was endorsed by the NLC and other stakeholders. In fact, the NLC had requested that we call it a “liberalisation” programme. It was thus more a matter of label than of substance. If we had been successful in implementing the deregulation or liberalisation of the downstream oil sector as earlier agreed by all stakeholders, including labour, we would not have been worrying about the periodic and unsatisfactory price-fixing which has led nowhere except to frustration. The failure to fully deregulate or liberalise has also cost Nigerians billions of naira which are currently wasted on millions of man-hours in queues at the petrol stations.

“The tens of billions of naira currently being lost in money that could have been used to increase capital spending in the universities, fund agriculture, repair and rehabilitate our roads, invest in education and health, improve security with extra police for security of lives and property.

“Realising that the investment of well over $400 million (excluding pipelines and depots) in the last six years mostly on Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) and repairs had not improved the performance of the refineries significantly, government had decided that it was unwise to put additional money into the repair of the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries before privatising them.

“What most Nigerians must know is that the contracts for the Turn Around Maintenance for the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries were awarded with 50% of the cost paid upfront before the advent of this administration in 1999. Allow me to add that two of the three refinery locations in the country today, were built by my administration as military head of state. This means that if for no other reason, I should be interested in keeping them working. Already, 18 private firms have been licensed to build refineries but they have been reluctant to go into the industry because of Government’s price control in the sector.

“If only 30% of these firms had been able to establish and operate private refineries, thousands of jobs would have been created and Nigeria would have been in a position to even export refined oil products. All these benefits and more have been denied to Nigerians by the stop-go approach to the deregulation or liberalisation programme, and only a few Nigerians are benefiting from the prevailing government-controlled system. In fact, the NLC’s approach has been counter-productive, and inflicted more pains on Nigerian workers. Each time there is a small increase of three naira or more, transporters have used the opportunity to jerk up transportation cost thereby making the ordinary worker poorer.

“A once-and-for-all total deregulation would have meant a once-and-for-all increase in transport cost and the pump price for petroleum products. Without a doubt, a once-and-for-all total deregulation would have resolved the problem of availability and thus bring down prices for those outside Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and their environs who have always paid much more than the official posted price. Pump prices arising from the present total deregulation would, in reality, amount to a reduction in prices of majority of Nigerians.”

Interestingly, excerpts from the 2003 national broadcast by President Obasanjo present a contrast between the former leader and President Tinubu. They also showcase two leadership visions. One leader saw the need to fight for the country’s long-term sustainability but chickened out because he lacked the courage to upset the status quo. Two decades later, another leader saw the damage the failure to make the right economic decision had caused the country. He decided to correct it to avert a looming calamity. While former President Obasanjo left the most challenging task of his presidency undone, President Tinubu tackled head-on what has become an existential threat to our collective well-being from his first day in office. He has remained focused on the bigger picture.

President Tinubu recognises the burden of leadership and responsibility he bears on behalf of Nigerians. In discharging this burden, he knew from day one that he would have to make the right but unpopular decisions that would ultimately serve the best interest of the country and her people.

It is certainly not correct to say this president came to the office without a plan. President Tinubu came into the office with a clear plan titled “Renewed Hope 2023: Action Plan for a Better Nigeria.” It was a well-thought-out programme, with which he canvassed for votes across the country and was elected by our people.

In the past 17 months, he has remained faithful to the document as he implements the distilled eight-point agenda. At the heart of President Tinubu’s economic revitalisation is gas development and expansion of gas pipeline infrastructure to enable Nigeria to compete with Russia in the European markets. In fairness to him, former President Obasanjo himself recently lamented he did not pay adequate attention to gas during his term of office.

Expanding the pool of available talents and human capital through granting of loans to young Nigerians who are the future of the country to enable them acquire tertiary or vocational education is part of the plans that propelled Tinubu into office. Consumer credit initiative that will promote local production and further stimulate the economy is also high on Tinubu’s action plan. To the President’s credit, these two important policy initiatives among several others are being implemented through NELFUND and Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp).

If there is one President of Nigeria that came prepared and well-armed with a clear cut plan to reposition the country across sectors for better outcomes, that president, undoubtedly, is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

•Ajayi is Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity

October 30, 2024
The anti-corruption power of digital governance

By Samuel Jekeli

Corruption has been a longstanding impediment to growth and development in Nigeria, siphoning public resources and eroding citizen trust in government institutions. In public service delivery, corruption distorts resource allocation, reduces service quality, and undermines social equity. However, as Nigeria navigates the digital age, technology offers a powerful solution to these challenges by enabling greater transparency, efficiency, and accountability in governance. Digitalizing public services could prove to be a pivotal step in tackling corruption, as technology has the potential to transform how citizens interact with the government and receive essential services.

Corruption in Nigeria’s public service sector is widespread, with many instances of bribery, embezzlement, and favouritism tainting processes such as issuing licenses, healthcare services, educational provisions, and more. According to recent reports, Nigeria loses billions annually to corrupt practices, impacting the country’s economic stability and the well-being of its citizens. Public service corruption disproportionately affects low-income families who rely on government-provided services for basic needs and hinders the country’s progress in achieving sustainable development goals.

Digitalizing public services refers to the adoption of technology in government operations, making processes more transparent, accessible, and accountable. When citizens interact with automated systems rather than individuals, there is less opportunity for corrupt practices such as soliciting bribes. Furthermore, digital governance minimizes bureaucratic delays and inefficiencies that often create loopholes for corruption to flourish. By moving towards e-governance, Nigeria can take significant steps in curbing corruption.

One of the primary sources of corruption in the public sector is the awarding of government contracts, often characterized by opaque processes that favour certain bidders over others. With an e-procurement system, all stages of the bidding process become digitized, creating a transparent and competitive environment. These systems allow public access to information on ongoing contracts, participants, and final bids, enabling citizens and watchdog organizations to monitor activities and report irregularities. This transparency ensures that government funds are directed toward capable contractors and are used efficiently for public projects.

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Social welfare programs, intended to provide support to Nigeria’s most vulnerable citizens, are frequently plagued by ghost beneficiaries and fictitious accounts. A unified digital identity system, such as the National Identification Number (NIN), can help ensure that only eligible individuals receive government benefits. By linking welfare programs to digital identities, the government can verify beneficiaries and eliminate fraudulent entries from the system. This approach prevents resources from being siphoned by individuals who exploit loopholes in beneficiary databases, ultimately ensuring that funds reach those who genuinely need them.

Taxation is an area where corruption is rampant, often due to a lack of accountability and manual processing. Introducing automated tax filing systems can simplify compliance for taxpayers and reduce direct contact between citizens and tax officials. Digital platforms can be designed to detect irregularities, ensuring that the correct taxes are filed and collected without the possibility of manipulation by corrupt officials. A transparent tax system is essential for building public trust and raising government revenue, which in turn can fund public services more effectively.

Cash transactions in government processes are often gateways for corrupt practices, as they are difficult to trace and lack transparency. Implementing electronic payment systems for transactions such as licensing fees, fines, and government services can help eliminate cash handling, thereby reducing the potential for bribery. When payments are made through digital platforms, all transactions can be recorded and audited, leaving a paper trail that discourages corrupt behaviour.

Real-time data collection and monitoring systems provide transparency in government projects and ensure that allocated funds are used as intended. By leveraging technology, public officials, media, and civil society can track the progress and expenditures of projects such as road construction, school renovations, and healthcare initiatives. For instance, mobile applications can allow citizens to report issues, upload photographs of stalled projects, or verify the completion of public works. This kind of accountability helps build a culture of transparency and strengthens citizen trust in public services.

Mobile governance, or m-governance, can enhance accessibility for citizens, especially in a country like Nigeria where smartphone penetration is growing rapidly. Mobile applications and SMS-based platforms can be used to provide information on government services, report corruption, and allow feedback from citizens. This increased accessibility reduces the need for intermediaries, who are often sources of corruption and empowers citizens to engage directly with government agencies.

While digitalizing governance has immense potential, challenges remain. Infrastructure limitations, especially in rural areas, restrict internet access and limit the reach of digital initiatives. Furthermore, cybersecurity is essential to protect citizens’ data from breaches and misuse. Another significant hurdle is the resistance from officials who benefit from existing corrupt systems. Transitioning to digital governance requires not only technological upgrades but also a shift in culture and the political will to push for transparent practices.

Digitalizing governance can be a game-changer in Nigeria’s fight against corruption in public service delivery. By reducing human interference, promoting transparency, and simplifying access to government services, technology can help curb the systemic corruption that has long hindered Nigeria’s development. However, achieving this vision requires a collaborative effort between government agencies, civil society, and the private sector. With the right investments in infrastructure, cybersecurity, and education, Nigeria can leverage digital governance as a robust tool for creating a more accountable, efficient, and equitable public service system. This transformation will not only improve service delivery but also restore public trust in government institutions, laying the groundwork for a brighter, more transparent future

•Jekeli writes from Centre for Social Justice, Abuja

October 30, 2024
‘Let’s kill all the lawyers’

By Mike Kebonkwu

Caustic, uncharitable but I am afraid, almost believably true of this aphorism from the inimitable playwright, William Shakespeare in Henry VI, Part II. He created two characters, Dick the Butcher and Jack Cade who were poised to overthrow the state through a revolt. The characters were anti-establishment and anti-intellectualism; perceiving the elite as merciless exploiters and oppressors. This pithy witticism is not only to disparage lawyers but also to situate his role and position as the defender of the realm.

What did Shakespeare have against lawyers that he would they were consigned to a soulless undertaker? Shakespeare the master artist could not have been a law-breaker or criminal but the conscience of his society through a very keen observation of the state. The Shakespearean aphorism of lawyers is multi-dimensional and everywhere you turn, you see the appropriateness of its reality.

The American master story teller, Mario Puzo in his famous blockbuster, The Godfather created a character, Don Corleone who said, “A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns”. In our street lingo here, we are no less uncharitable of lawyers when we quip that, “lawyers are liars”!

The lawyer may sometimes suffer credibility crises plying his trade, yet he belongs to the nobility of the society. He dazzles his client with arcane Latin phrases and tortured sentences to up his fees and probably win his argument, fair or foul.   The lawyer is the ultimate face of Janus; just like ‘esu’ the Yoruba goddess of controversy; wearing double face. The lawyer represents the state, he represents the law, and he represents the criminals.   Can you beat that!

With the lawyer and by extension the court system, the judiciary is never the last hope of the common man; it has never been, and at least not for now. In any case, the common man and the poor do not have access to justice in Nigeria. The existing law and morality are the law and morality of the ruling class that protect the oppressor.

The nation is buffeted with corruption and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is about the only performing anti-graft agency of government and institutions that is trying to thaw the block of corruption by politically exposed persons. Now EFCC has come under real siege and elite gang up to shoot it down with guided missiles from the lawyers sponsored and paid for by some sitting governors. The immorality of the whole thing is that this pack of wolves is led by none other than the Kogi State government. The same state whose current governor has been providing protective shield to its predecessor and former governor and fugitive, alleged to have siphoned over N80 billion from the coffers of the state. This is a governor who in decent climes should be facing the law for clear case of obstruction of justice; but here we clothe him with the toga of immunity and lawlessness. They are challenging the constitutionality and legality of the EFCC as well as the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).

Of all the agencies and departments of government, these senior lawyers and their state governors have singled out about the only two effective performing crime-busters tackling financial crimes and corruption by politically exposed persons.

The strength of their argument is that the agency being the brain child of the United Nations Commission to reduce corruption and graft in developing nations was not domesticated as required by the constitution. They ignore the fact that the laws setting up these two agencies emanated from the National Assembly empowered to make law for the good of the state. They find support in their argument by some pedantic formalist and senior lawyers who totally ignore public policy and welfare of the state in pursuit of public good. These are our elected state governors and public officials who do not want probity and accountability; they do not want their official public acts to be scrutinized. They received monthly allocations from the federation account but would not want to be accountable to the federal government how the money is spent under federal law.

Many senior lawyers and respected Silks have joined the fray pontificating that the EFCC lacks constitutional foundation and therefore illegal. In their learning and position and without reflection, and probably also in their haste, they forget or ignore the place of public policy in legal draftsmanship and interpretation.

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The legendary Reggae Maestro, Peter Tosh is a scintillating lyrical wax, “Equal Right” has the following lines, “…Everyone is talking about crime, crime, tell me who are the criminals, I really don’t know…”

In Nigeria corruption wears white linen apron and yet the criminals escape scrutiny and are never known. They tell us that there is a subsidy scam, yet the state cannot fish out those behind it. This is probably because those behind it are not wearing a common workman’s apparel but political garb of ‘babariga, agbada’, or a three-piece suits.

The state governors and their attorney generals want to kill the anti-graft agencies and the law and not reinforce it for effective performance. They want instead to create agencies at state levels that they can manipulate for political ends. The pursuit of this litigation is a perfidious act and those behind it deserve opprobrium of the highest order and should be consigned to the hall of shame. They have all the learning without knowledge, without conscience and without morality; they are not noble and honourable. If they succeed because of equally dearth of radical but philosopher lawyers at the Bench, it then follows that whatever the agency may have done from inception is a nullity. Again, those standing trial under the EFCC, and those still taking refuge under the veil of immunity at the National Assembly will go and do thanksgiving because the entity prosecuting them would have been judicially executed because it is standing on nothing.

The nation and its conscience are standing trial not only before the Supreme Court but also the court of public opinion. Posterity and history will judge this generation of leaders harshly. We are already a scorn and object of derision before international community. This litigation is a battle without morality and conscience. Nigeria has become a huge joke with sharks taking over the political space. Time is running out if we do not take urgent step to cure the insanity of these elements with desire to wreck the state. It is only a common criminal that will stop in the way of a law that is making positive impact on the society. We expect that every Nigerian should insist that we breathe life into the EFCC and ICPC to make them more effective and not to remove its life oxygen.   We need courageous people to oversee and drive the agency giving it impetus in fighting crime especially financial crimes that is pervasive amongst the elites and political office holders. We expect these governors and their lawyers to be challenging why the budgets are not performing; we expect them to prosecute the failed contracts and contractors. At the end of the day, it is not going to be about who wins the argument with pedantic legalism but about what country and future we want to build; that is if we truly believe there is indeed any future for Nigeria.

Just before we kill all the lawyers, take a breather and ask your conscience if you are not part of it or contributing to it when you sell your mandate for palliatives and rig election to bring in people who should have no business with public office. This litigation is about the only significant evidence of corruption fighting back. To my learned friends, the country is coming to the valley of decision; we must take a stand!.

•Kebonkwu Esq, an Abuja-based attorney writes via mikekebonkwu@yahoo.com

October 29, 2024
Grid of straws
They call it the national grid, and it ostensibly comprises a network of steel towers and high tension lines wheeling electricity from generating companies (GenCos) to distribution companies (DisCos) for onward delivery to end-users. But it could well have been a grid of straws, considering the spate of operational collapses that shut down power supply on the grid and leave swathes of this country in darkness. There were at least two collapses within a span of seven days in recent weeks that left government scrambling for explanation and remediation.

Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu summoned an emergency meeting of managers of the sector – the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) – to trouble-shoot frequent disruptions of the grid. He also raised a panel to unearth the root causes. A statement by spokesperson Bolaji Tunji said the minister was worried that the disruptions could rubbish improvements made over the past year that has led to increased generation and distribution of over 5,500megawatts – a record level of generation in three years. The statement made known that a six-member forensic panel raised by Adelabu was mandated to advise government on “necessary solutions to make the national grid robust and reliable, in addition to ongoing efforts of the government like the Presidential Power Initiatives (PPI) and the Nigeria Electricity Transmission Project (NETAP).” It is also to, among others, “holistically review the national grid stability and identify investments and technical capacities required to make the grid smart and resilient.” The panel is expected to submit its report by 1st November.

Against the backdrop of reports that three collapses occurred within a week, the minister explained that there were “more of grid disturbances than collapses” and just twice. According to him, there was a partial collapse on Monday, 14th October, due to the tripping of a line at the Jebba transmission sub-station and recurring fault at the Osogbo transmission sub-station. Efforts to restore, he explained, encountered a setback the following day that was widely speculated to be another collapse; but the system was fully restored by Wednesday, 16th October. He further said what was reported to be a grid collapse on Saturday, 19th October, was a deliberate protective shutdown of the grid following an explosion of the Jebba transformer, noting that power was restored within two hours.

In its own narrative, TCN gave a more clinical detail of node points of the disruptions and efforts made towards recovery. Also, on a national television programme, TCN Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sule Abdulaziz blamed the frequent grid disturbances on aged infrastructure: “The transmission system needs a lot of investment and for so many years in this country, that sector has been neglected. Most of the equipment we use are 50 years or 40 years (old), so it is not possible for those infrastructure to work perfectly.” What is needed to redress blackouts from grid failures, according to him, is a back-up system to which power can be transferred in the event that the main grid stops working. “Presently, we are working on a scatter system for the whole network and it is funded by the World Bank; and the project will take two years to be completed, but now, we have done 70 percent of the project,” he said, adding: “Once we have the scatter system, it will reduce the frequency of system disturbances.”

The TCN boss also made known that efforts were underway to upgrade the transmission lines. He noted, however, that government might not have all the money needed, and so TCN is exploring partnering with private companies to get the funds. “The honourable minister (of power) is now working with the Presidency to have that approval. This is what we call the super grid. By the time we have it, even if there is a fault on one transmission line, you can switch to another one so that we have an alternative. But now, the type of grid we have, once we have a problem with the line, you have no other line to switch to,” Abdulaziz said.

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It helps to understand how the grid works to appreciate the challenge hobbling the present system. The explanation is, of course, highly technical and detailed, but we’ll make it pedestrian here for easy understanding and summarise in view of available space. Here goes: Besides the steel towers and high tension lines, the grid integrates generating stations that load-on the power to be wheeled by TCN and distribution firms that off-take that power for delivery to end-users. But it is designed to operate within a ‘stability’ range determined by voltage and frequency of power on the wheeling lines. Whenever that range is breached, the grid’s operation becomes unstable and it may trip off. The tripping off is not necessarily a bad thing. It could be protective, just the way a circuit breaker functions by cutting off supply when the balance of a domestic electricity system is hazarded.

Grid failure could occur, for instance, when generating firms load onto the system power that is not wheeled by TCN owing to damaged or vandalised infrastructure, or when there is load rejection by DisCos. It could also occur when the distribution firms make demand in excess of available power without the system operator moderating timely by making the DisCos to load shed. It’s like when you load a 2Hp air conditioner and a refrigerator on an ‘I pass my neighbour’ generating set, and the circuit breaker shuts the generator down to protect the house wiring system. TCN shares power to distribution companies based on demand data provided by the National Control Centre. This process aims at balancing power supply with the demand volume; and where power supplied to the grid is insufficient to meet the demand, load shedding is triggered. Where load shedding is not timely synchronised with the power supply level, generators could begin to shut down, leading to grid failure. There are times when the system operator may deliberately shut down parts of the grid for protective or security purposes.

The point must be made that it is typically a sudden and major – not minor – breach in the grid stability range that leaves the system operator backfooted and unable to swiftly restabilise the network, thus leading to a collapse. One way of getting a handle on such exigency is by the use of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) facility that could make it possible for the system operator to react faster and avert grid collapse. When the Senate Committee on Power was at TCN headquarters on an oversight visit last April, the transmission firm made clear it did not have the SCADA facility and spinning reserve to control the transmission of electricity supply. It is unlikely it has acquired the facility since that time.

Speaking during the senators’ visit, TCN’s Executive Director on Independent System Operator, Engr Nafisatu Asabe Ali, explained: “We have one grid and several participants on that grid. Anybody who misbehaves can bring down the grid. For instance, if any load is introduced on the system without prior knowledge of players, it will bring down the whole system; and since we don’t have a SCADA system, it is difficult for us to know who started it or monitor the flow of the power.” She noted, though, that there were non-mechanistic ways of stabilising the grid, like when there was no record of grid collapse for more than one year – for 421 days. “And what did we do? We introduced an under-frequency load shedding scheme to help us limit this imbalance because that is what the system operator does for 24 hours, and it does not go to sleep, otherwise there will be a problem,” she stated.

It is reassuring that the power minister is concerned about grid failures and has raised a panel to unearth the root causes. But it isn’t as if those causes are a mystery right now. The present grid is too centralised and there is need for a back-up system that can be switched to whenever the main grid has issues; and it helps if the back-up system is by design decentralised into mini-grids. Besides, it should be easier to secure mini-grid infrastructure against vandalisation, unlike the sprawling and for most parts remotely located infrastructure of the main grid. Meanwhile, there is need for massive investment in modernising the present grid and equipping TCN with needed tools like the SCADA system. Government may not have all the money needed, but it can enlist private sector operators and multilateral donors towards upgrading the transmission network.

Things to be done seem fairly obvious. The question is whether there is political will to do them.
- Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.
October 28, 2024
Yobe’s new push for export
- By Sabiu Gaya
The governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, is dreaming industrialisation, empowerment for his people and how to grow the state economy in a sustainable way. And he’s not sleeping on his dream. Recently, he presented a certificate of occupancy and right of occupancy of a 300-hectare land to the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, NEPZA. It was a smart move by the governor.

By this gesture, it is obvious that Buni is not thinking local consumption alone. He’s thinking export. He wants Yobe to earn foreign exchange through export. And Yobe has so much to export. Yobe is rich in pastoral products – meat, milk, hides and skin, boasting the largest pastoral market in West Africa. It’s home to sesame seeds, gum Arabic, millet, sorghum, cowpea, maize and cotton, among other crops that are produced in commercial quantities. What has been lacking over the years is turning these crops into cash especially in the international market.

For a state blessed with a panoply of minerals, cash crops and pastoral resources, Yobe, like most Nigerian states, has no reason to keep depending on Abuja to share the national cake every 30 days. The reason states in Nigeria rush to Abuja for allocation is the absence of visionary leadership. This is what Buni is providing in Yobe State; a far-sighted leadership that lives for the moment but plans for the future.

While presenting the certificate to the agency’s Executive Director of Trade and Investment, Alhaji Usman Bakori, Buni urged NEPZA to use the land effectively and efficiently.

“You should ensure efficient and speedy use of the land to enhance development. Government deliberately allocated the land to the agency close to the cargo airport to stimulate trade and business activities in the state.

“You have a great role to play in promoting the export of agricultural produce, including sesame seeds, gum Arabic, livestock and other crops that are produced in great commercial quantities in the state. We look forward to seeing your presence and performance soon in the state,” Buni said to the NEPZA chief.

This is another case of development partnership. Recently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after a meeting between officials of the state and officials of Arab Bank for Economic Development (BADEA), Buni inked a partnership with BADEA on behalf of the state to foster growth in energy and agriculture development.

This latest on-site partnership with NEPZA complements the expected gains from the strategic BADEA partnership. While receiving the land document from the governor, Bakori pledged prompt action from NEPZA to “hasten development on the land.” This gesture is a masterstroke. The governor also ensured that the land area allocated to NEPZA is near the cargo airport, a fit-for-purpose land for an agency that will help the state drive its export market.

In the coming years when NEPZA sets up shop in Yobe, it would be helping the state to begin a journey into the lucrative export market. Just imagine what partnership with NEPZA would do to the state’s pastoral market. From the state’s rich resource of cattle, one of the by-products, hides and skin, would be put to optimal use, not only in the local market but will be readily exported into the international market where improved lifestyles and innovations have placed high demand on the raw material.

Contemporary researches have projected the global hides and skin market to grow from $129.14 billion in 2023 to $137.71 billion in 2024. By 2028, the market value of hides and skin is expected to hit $174.69 billion at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1 per cent. There is growing offtake of hides and skin and this has been attributed to the growth in the fashion and apparel industry, footwear manufacturing, automotive upholstery, furniture production and changing consumer preferences. Leather is climbing the ladder in the fashion industry.

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Such is the vastness of the hides and skin market. With effective partnership and support from NEPZA, Yobe and indeed Nigeria, would be cutting its own share from the global pie.

Aside pastoral produce, Yobe also has in its bowel, minerals like limestone, gypsum, trona, kaolin, diatomite, bentonite and crude oil in huge commercial quantities. A walk with NEPZA will enhance exploitation, processing and export of these minerals. NEPZA anchoring its base in Yobe has both immediate and long-term effects. It will create immediate employment in the state as well as create economies of scale for artisans, food vendors, professionals in science and engineering, project management professionals and others.

It bears restating that minerals in Yobe are in high demand locally and internationally. Trona, for instance, is used to manufacture detergent and in the production of Plaster of Paris (POP), glass, paper products, and in manufacturing of other chemicals, such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). The United States and Turkey are major sources of this rare mineral which is finding more uses as innovation advances.

Limestone, a base material in cement manufacture, will trigger the development of a buoyant cement industry in Yobe. Any cement factory located in that part of Nigeria will not lack the requisite raw material to sustain Nigeria and Africa markets.

Recently, a geologist based in Damaturu, Dr Garba Iliya, put the estimate of the reserve of gypsum at 141 million tonnes. He said the mineral was lying fallow in Gujba, Gulani, Fune and Fika local government areas of the state. The geologist said 247 million tonnes of limestone and 231 tonnes of kaolin were available in Gujba, Gulani, Nangere and Fika local government areas. Yobe has no fewer than 18 minerals in commercial deposits.

Yobe is one of the states that can sustain itself and other states because of its natural endowments. What has been lacking over the years is the vision and the will to explore and exploit these natural endowments for the good of the state and country. This is what Buni is providing at the moment, visionary leadership. He is quietly turning the sod in the state and it is only a matter of time, the seeds being planted today will germinate and grow into oak trees of investments and prosperity for Yobe State, and the nation in general. Buni is thinking and working. He should stay focused on the ball and on the goal.
- Gaya, an agronomist, writes from Abuja
October 28, 2024
Gbajabiamila and the resident forces
- By Nasiru Mohammed
Anyone who knows the Chief of Staff to the president, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, fairly enough, will always scoff at the many nonsense so far alleged against his name. At best, these false narratives have only fed the starving political hawks their desperate meals, in and outside government. But none truthfully speaks to who he truly is.

I’m one of the many people, who can confidently speak about the character of this man, both from close and remote quarters, and I take pride in it. I knew him from the moment he ventured into politics and I’d followed his trajectory up until now, even though we do not share any personal relationship. This, however, is why I have learnt to laugh off the swirling misrepresentation about his person.

On Tuesday, October 8, the THISDAY newspaper did an interesting piece on the ‘notoriously’ popular Chief of Staff to the President. I describe him as notoriously popular because if you’ve followed the sort of things said and written about him on assumption of his current office, there’s the tendency to believe he was some preternatural creature capable of the impossible.

But he is not. At least, if there was anything that the article did – as objective and critical as it was – it established that Hon. Gbajabiamila is just another passenger – like you and I – in the corridors of power, doing his job to the best of his ability.

This is not to say he is infallible. Of course, he is and does not pretend to be either. But if we must point out anything about him or his management of the affairs of his current office, we have a responsibility to be as honest as possible. After all, facts don’t lie.

The culture of demonising people, especially those in sensitive political offices in order to make others feel good, is a fiendish culture that everyone must rise in unison against, because it is definitely antithetical to our collective growth, progress and development.

The cliché: “There’s no smoke without fire” is as plain as it is tricky. This is why circumspection is instructive when leveling allegations against others. At the minimum, an average right-thinking individual is expected to build a level of safety into whatever assumptions they’re peddling or fondling with.

Unfortunately, in the case of Gbajabiamila, there’s no allegation so far leveled against him that has been established anywhere. Isn’t that curious? When the president came public to declare support for his chief of staff, doesn’t it suggest to any critical mind that such could have been informed by the findings of security investigations on the man?

Observing closely from a vantage position, it is becoming crystal clear that the forces against Gbajabiamila are a legion and may not give up easily or anytime soon. This is why I have identified them as the “resident forces” because they are mostly not just within but ‘living’ with him, somewhat.

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For the record, the forces are three in categories. The first category is made up of people I choose to call the “envious lot”. They do not hide the fact that they envy ‘the man’ that Gbajabiamila has become and desire to be like him. An average successful person goes about with such enemies, and it’s almost natural that such people accompany obvious success at all times.

This particular category of haters has followed his trajectory from day one, unknown to him, and had always wanted what he has. They could not comprehend why it has always been him because they consider his feats a function of luck and not hard work. Either way, they could not come to terms with why neither luck nor hard work gave them a chance, too.

Category number two consists of people who are trending at the moment. For the purposes of this intervention, call them the “Ambitious few”. They are the people who want his current job. Why must it be him again? After spending so many years in the House of Representatives with meteoric progression that saw him become the speaker, should he get this all-important job again?

Rather than ask his principal the reason he settled for him as against them, they aligned with those in category one to further escalate their enmity and make his work more difficult. But they forget that unless the man who appointed him feels otherwise, they have no say in the choice of his personal staff, more so one as critical as the chief of staff.

Welcome to the third category of the resident forces, and please feel free to identify this last but not least category as the “political mind-readers”. This is just another very interesting class of people. From Speaker to Chief of Staff, this third category has concluded, perhaps, having seen the future with their crystal ball, that Gbajabiamila’s next stop is the Lagos governorship.

For a man, who has neither mooted the idea nor shared it with anyone, least his wife, that he was interested in the Lagos governorship, this curious conclusion, which has accentuated the agitations by these hate groups, is to say the least, confounding.

Let’s drop the hate, antics, and political theatrics for a fleeting moment. Is he not qualified to be governor if he chooses to throw his hat in the ring? What more qualifications does it require to be Lagos governor? A former speaker, after several years in the House of Representatives and now the chief of staff to the president, coupled with his sound education as a lawyer, he is very qualified, I must say.

But that is not on the card for him. If anything, he wants to acquit himself as the chief of staff to a successful president, God helping his principal. If at the end of the day, the owners and people of Lagos root for him, that’s their call, not his. How is anyone even sure he would say yes to such a call to service?

Like the Yoruba would say, the one who does not get a breather from the world around him and constantly getting controversial mentions, is much better than the individual consigned to the obscurity of history whilst he is still living. It’s at this point Gbajabiamila must admit that such unprovoked and undeserving attacks come with the job.

More importantly, he must also learn to objectively and with a plain mind, sift through criticisms, and take that which seeks to help make him better, either as an individual or on the job. The fact that he is not perfect in humanity presupposes that he, too, might have poorly handled certain matters, which could have pitted him against some powerful blocs.

However, seeking to throw away the bathwater with the baby is a pre-civilisation predisposition, which never allowed room for improvement or gave people multiple chances. And if people really understand that life, as much as power, is indeed transient, they would be moderate in their chase of vanity.

Taken together, while it is expected that the chief of staff considers some of these attacks as a challenge to be a better person through introspection and self-appraisal, it is definitely not a call for him to let down his guards, while the enemies regroup for more devastating onslaught.

Certainly, the last has not been heard of the resident forces, as well as their machinations against President Bola Tinubu’s chief of staff.
- Mohammed wrote from Kaduna
October 27, 2024
Yakubu Gowon as essence of the Nigeria project and spirit
- By Tunji Olaopa
Between 1967 and 1970, Nigeria prosecuted a blood civil war, one of the bloodiest in the annals of modern history. And at the center of that terrible national tragedy is that man of destiny, General Yakubu Gowon, the head of the military administration—the second in the history of Nigeria’s chequered post-independence political history. After the deep euphoria of independence, the 1966 coup and the aftermath of civil war were too disjunctive for a state that was aiming for the status of a key player on the continent and on the globe; a nation state that was supposed to reverse the ills of colonialism and increase the well-being of her citizens. These series of national events were also something that no national leader should be saddled with. And this is because the position General Gowon was meant to defend—upholding the postcolonial status of one Nigeria even in the face of gross national inconsistencies — one which led to the 1967-70 civil war. But then, who would want to be associated with the dissolution of a state that destiny has called on one to protect?

General Gowon’s entry into the trajectory of Nigeria’s national project implies that he was called upon to supervise the direction Nigeria would go right from the commencement of nation-building. The responsibility to channel the political development of the Nigerian state was thrusted on his unwilling head, and from a critically debilitating point of extreme disunity. And it is in this sense that we can regard General Yakubu Gowon as the grand personification of the resilient Nigerian spirit. It is very difficult not to believe that Providence had a hand in inscribing Gowon’s life with a very unique purpose that came to finally intersects Nigeria’s. From the face-off with the late General Odimegwu Ojukwu to the crafting of the Aburi Declaration which broke down eventually because of contrasting interpretation of what the accord demands of the federal and Eastern regional governments. The entire trajectory of incidences and events constitute quite an interesting field of study not only for political scientists, but also political psychologists. For instance, what mix of political ego was responsible in tilting the critical situation into a pissing contest between the two national gladiators?

War is always a terrible business. In the Nigerian case, the variables involved are all too multiple and complex to make any coherent sense. From external business interests to the internal social and ethnic cleavages whose fissiparous tendencies were the primary causes of the conflict. And yet, that war had to be fought, and Gowon had to supervise the looming disintegration of a national project that had barely taken off. If we agree that Providence had thrusted this national destiny on Gowon, we should also know that it is not deterministic. He could have capitulated in following through with the divine responsibility. He did not. He accepted it as God’s will even if he might not have had that spiritual understanding at the time, and he brought Nigeria as far as he could with a mixture of sound and unsound decisions and judgments. Let me highlight just two that speak to how contradictory leadership decisions can sometimes be.

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On October 1, 1970, General Gowon promised to set in place a political and electoral process that will lead to the handing over of the rein of authority to a civil government by October 1, 1976. Unfortunately, the Supreme Military Council was forced to renege on its promise. And the reason was that the political class did not seem ready to take up the great task of moving forward a state that was still reeling from the consequences of the civil war, and the ethnic bitterness that attended it. That decision could be approached from multiple interpretive perspectives. One could ask what gave Gowon the messianic audacity to legislate on the future of Nigeria. After all, the political behavior of Nigerian politicians has not changed since then. Others could point at a key patriotic sensibility that did not want to scuttle the progresses made since the end of the civil war. No one who went through the gruesome war would want to ever have a repeat of it.

One of the infamous moments of the Gowon administration is the lost opportunity of transforming the public service system in Nigeria through the adoption of the Udoji Commission report and the implementation of its grand managerial paradigm shifting recommendations. The report was initiated as a result of a global managerial revolution that insisted that the old Weberian administration must give way to a new public service that will be flexible, economical, lean, effective and efficient in the achievement of service delivery. The new public service is meant to be modernized and boosted for an output-oriented performance that increase Nigeria’s productive base within a grand architecture of a developmental state – one with a hold on the ‘commanding heights’ of the national economy. Udoji was motivated in its critical assessment of the Nigerian public service by the Fulton Commission Report of 1968 that also took on the British Civil Service and the urgency of its institutional reform. The Udoji Commission was at once inaugurated to deal with the protracted wage and incentives issues that the civil service had been dealing with before independence and which final resolution the Adebo 1971 report passed on to the Udoji Commission for a holistic systemic reconsideration. Unfortunately, the Gowon administration (presumably as concession to the sentiments of his super-permanent secretaries) cling on to the wage components of the Udoji Report and left off the more fundamental dimensions of institutional reform that would have radically improved the capability readiness of the public service system. How could an administration that balked at handing over power to a bunch of unprepared political class not see the significance of preparing the public service system as a condition for national productivity and good governance? Professor Lars Konlind’s perspective on why institutions enter into irredeemable decline, attributed this sense to what happens when an organization shun changes at the peak of its success. Consequently, leaders (political and administrative) develop selective deafness, one which in the Nigeria’s case over-glorifies the ‘I am directed’ Weberian bureaucratic tradition by disregarding the innovations that managerialism portend, one that has earned Nigeria the reputation of the “hesitant reformer”.

And yet, without being flippant or hagiographic, General Gowon is in my assessment one of the most heroic of Nigerian leaders. He represents a sense of statesmanship that stands in sharp contrast to the intense sense of gratification that characterizes politics today. The trajectory of his statesmanship is significantly defining. To be born before the founding of such a combustible nation as ours, and to have matured to receive a calling to fight a war to elevate an artificial creation of the British colonialist—’a mere geographical expression’, to quote Chief Obafemi Awolowo—to the status of a state worth preserving, is nothing less than a defining trajectory. When as a nation we were confronted with a “to be or not to be” dilemma in our evolution, General Gowon chose Nigeria.

With that choice, General Gowon brought a significant dimension to the importance of the minority ethnic groups in crystallizing the Nigeria Project. That being a clarion call to the majority ethnic groups that Nigeria did not only belong to all of us; it is God’s divine project.

Despite the faux pas concerning the Udoji Commission Report and its momentous recommendations, the Gowon administration still left an indelible administrative example that replicate the Awolowo-Adebo administrative model in the old western region. The corps of the super-permanent secretaries significantly backstopped the Gowon administration in the policy space that was stampeded during the years of the civil war. I can hypothesize that without that fundamental model as a crucial fulcrum, the civil war would have been worse that it was. And so, as a testament to the possible greatness of the Nigerian state, we already have two versions of the politics-administration model that could be reinvented to stimulate good governance.

Besides, General Yakubu Gowon was not just a normal run-of-the-mill soldier. He was an officer and a gentleman. At a time when the figure of the solider or the image of the Nigerian army has dipped significantly in reputation, Gowon embodied the very essence of military professionalism and reputation for excellence. As a commissioned officer, he was minded about the educational and training extent so much so that he was ready to go the full lengths to prove his thirst for learning to be more and more professional. General Gowon was not content with his prestigious training at Sandhurst, Camberley and Latimer. He just had to eventually undergo the academic rigor of adult education to earn a doctorate degree at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. That might have been a personal vision of fulfilment, but it elevated the public perception of what and who an officer should be. With that accomplishment, Officer Gowon became a composite image of a true military professional that is not defined by his brawn or capacity to wield the gun, but by intelligence, intellect and humaneness in a profession defined by its unique masculinity.

In all, General Yakubu Gowon believes in Nigeria. Only the most wrong-headed critique would not take that as a consequential fact. Indeed, after he had left the corridors of power, General Gowon still holds on to a spiritual responsibility to keep up the Providential imperative that Nigeria is on a divine course to greatness. For being so politically, professionally and spiritually involved in the courses of Nigeria’s nation-building efforts, there is no other way to see General Yakubu Gowon order than as a patriot, and one of Nigeria’s eternal heroes. And there is no other way to cap his many efforts as seeing Nigeria fulfill her divine mandate than to explore his political and nationalist legacies while he is still with us. At ninety, our nonagenarian statesman and general deserves more than national accolades. He deserves to see the Nigeria of is dreams and aspirations.
October 27, 2024
Go on with one Nigeria
- General Yakubu Gowon, a statesman at 90
Anywhere in the world, long life is something that calls for celebration. People associate old age with wisdom and the aged are seen as repository of the history of the society. This is more so in a country like Nigeria where, for some time, life expectancy has remained around 54 and 56 years. So, anyone who crosses into the sexagenarian age is considered a survivor of sort. The few who move into the rank of nonagenarian are viewed as great even by virtue of age alone, except they had grievously hurt the society.

On October 19, General Yakubu Gowon, a former head of state, doctorate degree holder, businessman and Christian gentleman turned 90, and the government and people of the country turned out to honour him. It is an honour well deserved.

Born in Pankshin, in present day Plateau State in 1934, he was quick to identify his career path from secondary school as he decided to join the Army. He went to Ghana, India and the famous Academy at Sandhurst in the United Kingdom for training, and the departure of the colonial masters from Nigeria in 1960 helped many officers of his generation in running up the ladder.

Another thing that helped his ascent was the January 1966 coup. As a Lieutenant-Colonel, he was quite visible and became Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi’s Chief of Staff, but when the Commander-in-Chief or Supreme Commander as he was called then was killed in the July 29 counter-coup and the country was turned upside down, the coupists saw Gowon as a suitable replacement. By then, the likes of Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun, Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari, Col. Raphael Shodeinde, Col. Kur Mohammed, Lt. Col. Abogo Largema, Lt. Col. James Pam and Lt. Col. Arthur Unegbe had been murdered in January, and Col. Adekunle Fajuyi in July.

His seniors in the army, including Brigadier Femi Ogundipe, Col. Adeyinka Adebayo and Col. Hillary Njoku were sidelined as masterminds of the putsch went for Gowon, seen as a gentleman and the likely person to command respect of the rank and file, following the uproar in the country that had consumed both military and civilian leaders.

The pogrom and pervading ethnic distrust had suggested that General Gowon at his age could not succeed. It appeared that he was punching above his weight as he lacked the administrative, political and educational requirements to bear the country’s burden. A 31-year-old seemed not suitable for such a time. But the Head of State’s moves surprised both the political class and the international community. He swiftly courted the support of the aggrieved Western Region whose leader had been imprisoned by the conspiracy of the political establishment of the First Republic, by not only releasing Chief Obafemi Awolowo, but appointing him Vice Chairman of the Federal Executive Council. He also deftly neutralised the creation of the Mid West Region that had caused rumpus since the Northern minorities of the Middle Belt and Eastern minorities of Calabar- Ogoja-Rivers had also clamoured for regions of their own. So, Gowon, in a move that belied his age created 12 states from the four regions.

Although such moves did not stop the 30-month civil war that broke out on July 30, 1967, they calmed nerves among leaders of the West and the North. It helped earn support from the Niger Delta area.

During his rule, the country witnessed so much development, much of it attributable to the oil boom, but also his integrity and hard work. The National Development Plans helped in setting the country on the path of progress, and his style of inclusive leadership ensured that Nigeria attained a measure of respect in the international community. Nigeria was respected in the Organisation of African Unity (as it then was), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which he played a prominent role in establishing in May 1975, and even the United Nations.

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On the domestic plane, he was the brain behind the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps in 1973. He had envisioned it as a vehicle for cementing national unity.

As a man with a pure mind and motive, he assured the Easterners after the war ended in January 1970 that there was no victor, no vanquished and they would be treated as compatriots. Towards this end, he came up with the Three ‘Rs’ principle, Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction. For as long as he remained in power, he was faithful to the principle.

However, it is debatable if his successors, military and civilian, had carried through the plan in terms of provision of facilities and appointments into federal positions.

General Gowon who was overthrown in July 1975 could not have made a good politician. He once ventured into the murky waters under the Option A4 but failed flat as he could not understand the nuances of Nigerian politics.

When put through the crucible, he came out shining as he did not even have the fund to give himself a comfortable life when he enrolled for his degrees at Warwick University, United Kingdom.

The man has been blessed with the opportunity of living into grand old age and celebrated by his compatriots. We join others in saying that he is indeed a gentleman.
October 27, 2024
Waiting for Okpebholo to mount the saddle in Edo
- By Solomon Odemwingie
On November 12, a new sheriff will be in town in Edo, as Senator Monday Okpebholo is sworn in as governor of the Heartbeat state, Solomon Odemwingie writes.

Edo State will welcome its new governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, after his inauguration on November 12, about three weeks from now. Things will no longer be the same as the liberation movement towards true democracy where the welfare of the people matters begins to receive swift attention.

Okpebholo will identify with the hopes and aspirations of the people as against the antics of those who constituted a clog in the wheel of democracy and held the state by the jugular for years.

Some people fought for this day to come. They are former Governor Adams Oshiomhole and the unsung hero of Edo democracy, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, a former governorship candidate, the state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jaret Tenebe, and former Deputy Governors Lucky Imasuen and Pius Odubu whose immense contributions to Okpebholo’s victory cannot be forgotten.

Deputy Governor-elect Dennis Idahosa also garnered support for the party. Throughout the campaign, he was always on the move. Senator Matthew Urhoghide headed the frontline campaign team while the Deputy Chairman, Edo South, Benson Edosomwan was busy working the grass roots.

It is on record that Ize-Iyamu, a gifted and savvy politician, withdrew from the governorship race and urged his followers to support Okpebholo because of the understanding that it was time for Edo Central Senatorial District to produce the next governor.Many party faithful are waiting for more events to unfold in future to justify the confidence reposed in their leaders because of this singular gesture. After all, as the amiable pastor would often say, election is not a do-or-die but the triumph of the will of the people.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took the opposite path and that was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Armed with their voter’s card, the people were determined to prove the leadership of the PDP wrong. They did it in grand style. The presence of adequate security men prevented rigging and thuggery. Snatching of ballot boxes was checked as area-boys withdrew into their shells.

The beauty of democracy is in recognising where the power of individuals stop. The PDP leadership failed in this regard. Also, the leadership was found wanting over some questionable behaviour towards tradition and culture which Edo people do not joke with. This, to the people, constitutes a grave offence.

As a result, the PDP strong hold in Edo South became divided between those who accepted late apology through body language and those who were not in a hurry to forgive the party. In addition, top leaders of the party had broken away and pitched tent with the APC. Among such great politicians were Urhoghide, two former members of the House of Representatives, Omosede Igbinedion, and Ogbeide Ihama, and a host of others. Those who grumbled over the running of the party were there for the APC. In fact, the PDP was near empty. In Edo Central, the voters were divided by the two sons of the soil, the major contestants – Okpebholo and PDP candidate Asue Ighodalo.

The battle field then shifted to Etsako where Oshiomhole and the arbitrarily impeached Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, Obaseki’s estranged facilitator, who paved the way to his rise to prominence, teamed up to sweep almost all the votes. Whoever is talking of rigging should do a rethink. The PDP broke its own calabash, as they say. As for the Labour Party, it could not have performed more than it did because Edo people felt that its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, was not in a position to pick who becomes governor for Edo People. Moreover, the people remembered as if it was yesterday, the advice left behind by the late Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia that Edo people should learn not to be in opposition to the government at the centre.

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Okpebholo’s antecedents are well known. He is not likely to change now as a developer, public spirited character and man of the people who knows his onions, his soil and his tradition without pretences. His era will witness rapid developments reminiscent of the epoch of the late Ogbemudia and recently, Oshiomhole.

Education will receive more attention. So also will infrastructure. More roads will be constructed and the dilapidated ones reconstructed and well macadamised. Trade will boom as all forms of artificial scarcity would be stopped by the abolition of all cartels and unions inflating prices. More importantly, is Okpebholo’s arsenal against hunger. In accordance with his electoral promises, the Ekpoma Rice Mill and the cassava mills in the state will be revived to produce enough food for consumption and exportation to boost revenue.

He has promised to employ 5,000 teachers as soon as he assumes office. Okpebholo is not the kind of politician who would renege on his electoral promises. As a politician who worked closely with the late Chief Tony Anenih, he knows the danger of toying with the wishes and aspirations of the people.

He may not be an orator who likes painting the pictures of unseen things without much or nothing on the ground to show, but like Anenih would say, “it is better to listen to people carefully, gather ideas from them and enrich yourself with what they have in their heads. By the time you come out with yours, you become a very good political administrator and richer in wisdom.”

The election has been won and lost. It is time for governance. As a seasoned politician, Okpebholo will not discard what is good. He will complete projects started by his predecessors, especially those that concern youth empowerment, after a needs assessment. He will welcome ideas that will ensure his administration’s success and will not run a one-man show. Edo people are waiting for Okpebholo and the many good days ahead under his watch.
- Odemwingie was an editor in Daily Times
October 27, 2024