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  • The stakes of the European elections

    The stakes of the European elections

    • By Thierry Tardy

    From June 6 to 9, the 27 European Union member states will hold the European elections, which will designate for five years 720 members of the European Parliament.

    The parliament does not stand as the most central EU institution, compared with the European Council (in which member states sit) and the European Commission (the executive arm of the EU). Yet the parliament has over time acquired a number of prerogatives, most notably through what is called the co-decision mechanism, by which it now adopts EU laws on a par with the Council (member states). Furthermore, the forthcoming elections have been presented in European media as the most important ones since they were initiated, back in 1979. The reasons are twofold and linked.

    The parliament elects the chief of the EU’s executive arm

    First, the elections are politically significant because from the new assembly’s distribution of seats will emanate the next president of the European Commission. Together with that of the president of the European Council, the position of president of the commission is central to the EU’s governance.

    In the turbulent period Europe is confronted with, most notably with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the EU needs cohesion and geopolitical clout, which are partly the result of the strength of its own institutions.

    The president of the European Commission is nominated following a proposal by the EU member states and then a vote at the European Parliament. The current president, Ursula von der Leyen, comes from the dominant political force within the parliament, the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), which is likely to remain the first political group following the elections (with approximately 170 seats according to polls).

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    Von der Leyen runs for a second term. It is not at this stage guaranteed that member states will propose her name for a second mandate, as the French may push for Italy’s former Prime Minister Mario Draghi instead. Whoever is nominated by the states, the EPP will have to cut deals with other groups to get a majority and have the nominee elected. This is where the second issue comes in. 

    The rise of populist forces within the EU

    The rise of extreme-right political parties in a number of European states over the last 10 years will likely materialize in a significant increase of their representation in the new European assembly.

    Some pre-election polls indicate that the populist forces could get close to 200 seats out of 720, versus approximately 160 (out of 705) in the current distribution.

    The Italian Fratelli d’Italia (brothers of Italy) and the French Rassemblement national (national rally) have been particularly visible in the campaign, with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and chief of party Jordan Bardella embodying the new face of Euroscepticism. For them to influence European politics will not be straightforward though. This is so largely due to their own divisions within the European assembly. Extreme-right forces are currently split into three different groups, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group, the Identity and Democracy (ID) Group, and the non-attached members.

    One issue is that Meloni’s party and Bardella’s are not sitting together, while Hungary’s Fidesz is non-attached. Those various forces are inter alia divided on the stance towards Russia, as illustrated by the rift between the anti-Russian Polish Law and Justice (PIS) party and pro-Russian Hungary’s Fidesz. Post-election day, France’s National Rally will no doubt try to move closer to Meloni to possibly constitute a bigger group, yet many observers see that as unrealistic.

    Giorgia Meloni is the prime minister and will be the dominant force in the ECR Group. Whether she will want to reach out to Viktor Orban’s Fidesz or Marine Le Pen’s National Rally remains to be seen. Poland’s PIS and others would most likely resist such a move.

    Nonetheless, were populist parties to join forces, they would become the second-biggest group after the EPP and before the social democrats. They would then be in a position to influence EU policy making on an increased number of issues as never they could in the past, at the expense of the EU’s cohesion and geopolitical strength that the current situation requires. 

  • Reflections on the new National Anthem as patriotism and hope renewed

    Reflections on the new National Anthem as patriotism and hope renewed

    The recent policy decision by the Tinubu administration to revert to Nigeria’s old national anthem has generated lots of furors on social media and in the public space. And this is for obvious reason. Many Nigerians are wondering as to the appropriateness of such a decision at a time when the governance indices are all seemingly on the downward spiral. The questions being asked include: why is this policy necessary now? What does it add to the urgency of articulating good governance policies around inclusive growth and sustainable development that can positively affect the lives of Nigerians? Even if we are to change the national anthem, why adopt one with colonial burdens?

    I agree that these are genuine concerns. No one can fault majority of Nigerians eagerly awaiting the dividends of democratic governance. And the Tinubu administration has set itself up as the harbinger of renewed hope that most Nigerians expect to have started yielding tangibles. And within the curves of this expectations, changing the national anthem is the least of the least of what Nigerians want to be saddled with. And the rate at which the new policy about an old issue degenerated into the butt of jokes and memes on social media seem like an indication of how many Nigerians thumped the nose of government for such an ‘inconsiderate’ policy. However, derisive comments by the citizens do not always come close to aggregating the best reactions to government decisions. We need do more to be able to situate one policy against the others in the grand architecture of what governance entails.  

    Nation-building is not a business that can be conducted with peripheral analysis. Or with social media mudslinging. It is a very serious business that demands both the government and citizens to explore intricate and nuanced implications and consequences of considered policy choices. And there is, as usual, no one single story as to what could or should have been done within the general architecture of governance policies. Governance is a complex business and the government of the day has to juggle so many seemingly contradictory policies that needed to be attended to even if the citizens do not think so. And many of us, as citizens, are only open to the outcomes of policies without a deep understanding of what goes on behind the curtain. This is the way all governments work, even the most transparent of them all. I take two issues to be crucial to democratic government: trust and transparency. Due to its representative nature, democratic government must necessarily be about trust. Citizens elected their leaders with a modicum of trust, especially with regard to certain policy choices. But then the government also owe the citizens a level of transparency that must often draw the latter into the policy design process.

    This brings us to the national anthem issue. Part of that nuanced analysis is that government everywhere need symbolic gestures and policies that might not immediately have any relation to the tangible matter of economics and development. And such policies also require that the citizens trust the government. The key issue about governance is simply that government cannot always be unilinear in its focus. While the fate of most nations is determined by economic policies and decisions, such policies are not mutually excluded from being side-by-side with non-economic intangible policies—like changing the national anthem. It might seem inconsiderate at this time to introduce this legislation, but it does not seem so if government needs an arsenal of ideological weapons around which to ground its developmental progress. And the national anthem is one such potent template for focusing the patriotic energy of the citizens.

    The second issue for me is what the government has the capacity to make of whatever it has inherited. In this sense, I see the old national anthem the same way I see the civil service institution and the English language, Nigeria’s lingua franca. These are all colonial inheritances. The discourses about the civil service structures and the English language still rage on in public administration and African cultural studies. And yet, we have made some national senses of these two structures. My point is that the old national anthem is equally a colonial inheritance that could be fashioned to suit our national ideological design. It was rejected by the Obasanjo administration in 1978 in the fervor of nationalism immediately after independence, and not for any other reason. And so, the fact that it originated from the British is a weak argument against its readoption. If the old anthem captures our national longing better than the current one, nothing stops us from re-adopting it.

    This argument therefore demands a serious philosophical analysis of the content of the old anthem. From the analyses that I have read so far, two items seem offensive to many—“Our own dear native land” and “Though tribes and tongues may differ.” The first two have been considered to possess the racist connotation that justified Britain’s colonial enterprise. I agree that given the provenance of the song, the term “native” would evoke the unsalutary connotation it accrued through colonialism. However, “native” has a simple lexical sense; that which belongs to a particular place by birth. And that is what we want to make Nigeria, a place where we all can call ours—a country we collectively built by dint of civic loyalty and unstinting patriotism despite all odds. The word “tribe” suffers the same racist connotation, unfortunately. But over time, we all use this word freely and have adapted it to our sense of ethnic identity. Both “tribe” and “native” have both been re-semanticized in ways that ought to dissuade us from the angst about colonial tutelage or overlordship. We can even further argue that the reference to “Our sovereign Motherland” and “In brotherhood we stand” constitutes a subtle lexical canceling out of any gender derogation that anyone might read into the old anthem. But even making this argument should not blind us to the lexical fact that both “brotherhood” and “motherland” are used to shorn off their gender connotations.  

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    Outside of these two words, and the fixation on colonial burdens in our national affairs, the old anthem, like the current, is a fine piece of national projection. I even make bold to argue that the re-adoption of the old one portends a subversion. Scholars like Prof. Biodun Jeyifo have argued that English is now an African language (and demonstrated by Chinua Achebe), and I among public administration scholars have joined others in the long discourse over the reform of the colonial civil service system. This is the same subversive way the old national anthem can also be made ours through a deconstructed piece of national ownership that enable us to align the values and imageries embedded within the anthem to our understanding and aspirations about who we are as a people.

    Given the Tinubu administration’s drive to transform the Nigerian situation, grounding that renewed hope agenda on a national anthem that many excoriate for being a colonial fabrication would be a governance and symbolic coup of the century for Nigeria. That will be one way of saying we can reinvent ourselves as a people even through the structures and institutions that were meant to subjugate us. It further implies that we are by ourselves owning and molding our destiny in our own unique way by insisting that colonialism can no longer be blamed for what is wrong with us. 

    Overall, a dispassionate analysis demonstrates that this old anthem possesses an aspirational sense that could rally Nigerians towards the understanding of our collective identity as Nigerians. Taken holistically, and outside the anxiety about self-flagellation, the anthem possesses all the key lexical items that could carry the burden of valuating our collective desire to build one nation that would no longer be saddled with the albatross of colonialism and underdevelopment. While the current anthem is a call to action and a prayer, the old one is both an aspiration and a prayer. The first two verses speak to values and visions of what a great nation Nigeria can turn out to be if we dare to renew the hope that Nigeria’s founding nationalists had at independence. We hail a nation that is still a work in progress; a projection of unity in diversity. We hail a nation whose cornerstones would be truth and justice. We hail a nation where the politicians would develop generational proactiveness that govern with future generations in mind.  

    If there was once a country as Chinua Achebe lamented in his last lamentation of that same title, then there can still be one that we all can agree to build together—a nation where, with the concerted efforts of the government and the governed, “no man is oppressed/And so with peace and plenty/Nigeria may be blessed.” Whether we retain the current anthem or re-adopt the old one, the issue of colonialism should no longer feature in our collective will to make of Nigeria what we all together have patriotically decided to. We can make of Nigeria something all of us and posterity can be proud of.        

  • Isi-Uzo: Prototype of Enugu’s changing development narratives

    Isi-Uzo: Prototype of Enugu’s changing development narratives

    • By Obiora Obeagu

    Isi-Uzo is a rural area and one of the oldest local governments in Enugu State, sharing borders with Benue and Ebonyi States. It ranks low on the bottom rung of the ladder as one of the least developed LGAs in the state. Lack of requisite infrastructure has stalled its socio-economic development for over 48 years of its existence as a Council. The burgeoning agri-business of the agrarian populace of Isi-Uzo has equally been mired by insecurity: farmers-herders conflicts, banditry, and sundry criminalities. The lurking complexities of this underlying insecurity triggered a December 2022 unprecedented crisis that turned Eha-Amufu, in Isi-Uzo, into a ghost town. It saw the people – leaders, elders, youth, women and children – scatter across Isi-Uzo and neighbouring communities.

    Therefore, the 2023 general elections came at a time when the people of Isi-Uzo, like the psalmist wrote in Psalm 121, lifted up their eyes to the hills and wondered where their help would come from. However, though Isi-Uzo people were united in that prayer, they were divided in where the answer to the prayer would come from. But Governor Peter Mbah’s manifesto was laden with humongous and clear vision: To grow Enugu State’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion; to make Enugu the premier destination for investment, business, tourism, and for living; to eradicate poverty, just to name a few. Thus, it was not surprising that our people, in their thousands and against all odds, chose capacity over kinship. But the good news is that he has given those who stuck out their necks to fight for his victory causes to thump their chests about the choice they made. 

    Dr. Mbah’s ban of illegal sit-at-home a few days after his swearing-in was a signpost that it is indeed business unusual. The action sent a glimmer of hope to Ndi Enugu and the hopeful agrarian people of Isi-Uzo, whose economic potentials and freedom have been battered by over 15 years farmers-herders conflicts and banditry. This is because to the people of Isi-Uzo, their very vast and arable land resources remain their oil well. With our untapped land and natural resources, Isi-Uzo has the capacity to become the hub of agri-business in Enugu and neighbouring states if our agro-potentials are well harnessed.

    Today, Mbah is taking some unprecedented, strategic steps to address the age-long and hydra-headed security challenges in Eha-Amufu and Isi-Uzo. The context and content of his kinetic and non-kinetic actions mark a remarkable departure from the norm. He is deploying security, infrastructure, and agriculture produce city projects to confront these challenges. For instance, there is an ongoing 22km asphalt road, with drainages, bridges and culverts, from Agape area to Orie-Ogbete in Mgbuji farm settlement. It is the first in the history of our people by any administration in the State.

    The nature of the soil and dilapidated roads in Eha-Amufu and some other Isi-Uzo communities make the farm settlement terrains inaccessible and worse during rains. This mega project is already addressing problems of bad terrain and tackling insecurity, as local farmers, who hitherto deserted their farms out of fear have gone back, in their numbers, to farming this season. The project is poised to revive agri-business and bolster huge economic development with the re-establishment of the popular inter-state Orie-Ogbete market. It was abandoned over two years ago, after heavily armed and camouflaged bandits from neighbouring state swooped on our people and massacred them in their numbers on 6th January, 2022, burning them along with their shops and goods.

    What’s more? Presently, there is ongoing road intervention by the Mbah administration to link these vulnerable Isi-Uzo communities and enhance security operations from Ikpapkara Aguamede – Uzam Ado–Odoba–OnuAdo–Orenu – Ojeshi–Akpugo flushing out to Ikem-Nkwo road that links Enugu and Benue States.

    Very significant also is  the ongoing construction of the 40km Owo-Ubanu-Amankanu-Neke-Ikem dual carriageway. This road will now serve as a gateway to the North Central. For instance, those traveling to the North from Ebonyi and parts of South-South like Cross Rivers wouldn’t need to go through 9th Mile. Governor Mbah has also promised to open up the about 17.5km Ikem-Nkwo-Odenigbo Eha-Amufu-Ichama-Benue State road that will join the Owo dual carriageway where it terminated at Ikem. These projects will  spring up new businesses.

    The Mbah administration has equally set up a military camp at Ogbete and security buffer zones across the affected border communities and flashpoint areas in Isi-Uzo LGA. Presently, there are over 200 military and security forces across Eha-Amufu communities of Eha-Ohuala, Aguamede and Ikem-Nkwo in Isi-Uzo to sustain security operations around the forest zones and border areas. The planned military barracks and restructuring of local security will ensure proactive operations, while the innovative Enugu State Security Trust Fund activated by the government will enhance and guarantee sustainable security interventions. The measures are yielding positive results, as the usual stories of killings, kidnappings, and burning of houses and properties in Isi-Uzo are fast waning. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have also returned to their communities.

    In the face of dwindling oil resources, our ailing economy and high rate of unemployment in the country, agriculture is the way to go. Governor Mbah has set machinery in motion for the innovative Produce City projects in Isi-Uzo and other parts of the state. This will, among others, harness arable and fallow land banks for commercial agriculture projects involving production, processing, packaging and marketing of farm products like rice, cassava, palm oil, yam, maize, among others. The government is gathering data with plans to integrate local farmers into the project and empower them with agricultural inputs. This will help them engage in large scale agriculture that will create wealth and improve their livelihoods. And only a few weeks ago, the administration sealed a N100bn deal with a private investor to revive the moribund United Palm Products Ltd palm plantations established by the Dr. Michael Okpara Government in the 1st Republic.

    Malcolm X, a US civil rights activist, described education as the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. I have always said that education is the sure road to freedom for our disadvantaged children, our hope for tomorrow, in rural areas whose only crime is being born into poor families in our local communities with a poor learning environment. But that is going to change with the smart school project initiative of Governor Peter Mbah, the first of its kind in the country and possibly in Africa. It will provide a world-class learning environment and equipment. Each Smart School comprises an interactive digital whiteboard, an internet system, robotics and artificial intelligence centre, modern ICT centre, two science laboratories (for primary and junior secondary), hybrid multimedia library, creative production studio, 25 inclusive classrooms and 700 Android tablets.

    Currently, Smart school projects, scattered across Enugu’s 260 wards, are ongoing in 9 out of the 11 wards in Isi-Uzo. The Governor said the smart school will provide free education for early years to Junior Secondary 3. This will drastically reduce the number of out-of-school children and curb the proliferation of quack private schools in education for business in the state. Teachers are being recruited and trained for the task ahead. The provision for teachers’ quarters will curb the menace of teacher absenteeism and lost teaching hours.

    Nelson Mandela said that Education is the most powerful weapon with which you can use to change the world. For me, the smart school project is the best revolution to not only Enugu State, but Africa and the Governor has laid foundation for human empowerment and legacy that will shape the future of our successive generations and give the state a quantum leap. 

    There is a popular saying that health is wealth. The Mbah administration is facilitating access to quality healthcare for our rural populace, especially women, children and the aged. Government’s plan to construct 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres is also rubbing off well on Isi-Uzo where such constructions, including living quarters for health workers, are ongoing. Aside from ridding the system of decrepit health structures, it will ensure access to modern medical facilities and healthcare with doctors and nurses on ground.

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    Governor Mbah is strategically opening up new economic corridors in our localities and Enugu State. He is leveraging on his enormous and digital wealth of experience in public and private sectors to reinvent governance in Enugu State. His 521.5 Billion 2024 “Budget of Disruptive Economic Growth” was a marked departure from the norm. With N414.3 billion capital expenditure over N107.2 billion recurrent expenditure, it carries weight with potential to positively impact the development trajectory of our dear Enugu State. It is, therefore, not surprising that BugIT ranked Mbah Administration the most prudent and least recurrent spender among the 36 states.

    My encounter with Governor Peter Mbah reveals a leader with intellectual prowess, who is passionate about his people and, who is ever poised to translate his vision into action. There is hardly anything more obvious than the fact that he is delivering on his promises. Enugu State is witnessing unprecedented projects and transformation across key sectors like Education, Health, Agriculture, Security, Roads Infrastructures, ICT, among others.  The 180 days commissioning and delivery of promised water, renewed the hope of a better life for Ndi Enugu. The revival of moribund assets like the abandoned Hotel Presidential and Enugu International Conference Centre, coupled with the recent flag-off of 5-Star Hotel project will boost tourism and the economy of Enugu State.

    One year is too short a time to determine if an administration has delivered on its four-year mandate or not, but it is enough to check if the proper foundations have been laid and if a government is on the path to deliver on its promises. So far, Governor Mbah has laid a solid foundation and is on a sure footing and path to transforming Enugu State. And his many completed, commissioned and ongoing projects  like roads where he recently commissioned 71 urban roads, the smart schools, Command and Control Centre, Primary Healthcare Centres, etc, bear testimonies to his commitment and determination.

    Obeagu, immediate past Council Chairman, Isi-Uzo LGA, is a Human Rights Lawyer and Fellow, Institute of Global Peace and Conflict Management

  • Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo—A lovely man

    Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo—A lovely man

    By Kolade Mosuro

    The conference call came in on the morning of May 24, from his daughters, Bunmi and Yinka, that their father, Prof Ayo Banjo, had passed on. The news was met with a moment of silence, my heart missed a beat, but I composed myself enough to comfort them. To the world, Prof Ayo Banjo, a star academic, had passed on. To them, it was their father who had passed, and these were two different matters. They sobbed from the weight of the loss. The personal bereavement was bound to transcend family because Prof Ayo Banjo was distinguished not only for his academics but also equally distinguished and lovely for his friendliness and the sweetness of his general disposition.

    I met him for the first time in 1963 at Government College, Ibadan, where he was a teacher. He briefly taught us English in 1964.

    Prof Ayo Banjo was an unmistakable personality. He was tall, sprightly and elegant. His writing was neat and clear. The writing had a special calligraphic loop to it which made it uniquely different and legible. It gave the picture of a reflective, precise and organised mind. And he was. In voice, he had a baritone, acquired from his father—deep, calmly, assuredly and inviting. It was a voice that characterised his persona. It was also a voice that distinctly conveyed his profession. English had to be enunciated with flex, tenor and tone. With him, the delivery was with a distinct voice.

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    I was in one of his many presentations as the vice-chancellor of the University of Ibadan, where he stood, as usual, tall while his voice reverberated, bouncing off the walls of Trenchard Hall, commanding the full attention of the audience and fascinating the listener. Late Professor Tunde Bajah, sitting next to me, was enraptured. He looked at me, ‘I will follow this man blindfolded’, he submitted. He was under the spell of good leadership and so was the entire university when Professor Banjo led them. There was that aura about him. He exuded leadership, grace, humility and charm. Whatever the assignment, you knew Prof Banjo was deep, measured and balanced in action. For that reason, the academic community across the country took their problems to him and he gladly obliged.

    In 1994, about thirty years after our first interaction, we met again, this time professionally. He had, of course, gone on to seal an outstanding career and considerable reputation as an academic and an administrator in the university while I was a burgeoning publisher. I was going to be publishing a book for him and Prof Ayo Bamgbose, another academic titan, titled New Englishes: A West African Perspective. That publishing assignment formed the beginning of a re-invigorated friendship that was to last to the very end.

    Some 22 or so years ago, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain, as part of her global cost-cutting measures asked the British Council to close down some of its libraries worldwide. For Nigeria, the libraries in Calabar, Kaduna, Ibadan, Enugu and Port Harcourt were marked to be closed. When word reached me, Dr Victoria Okojie, the British Council Librarian in Ibadan, and I went to see the late Prof Ladipo Akinkugbe, another academic giant, and then Prof Ayo Banjo. I argued rather than close the Ibadan British Council Library that we should take the British Council Library over. We should form a Society to run it. This gave birth to the Initiative for Information, Arts and Culture Development in Nigeria (IACD). Happily, the British Council acceded to our proposition and handed the Ibadan library to us. We turned it over, better than what it was, and it became more than a library for us. It became a Library and Resource Centre. At the start, the late Prof Ladipo Akinkugbe was our president, and then Prof Ayo Banjo before the baton was passed on to me.

    I remember vividly at its inception that Prof Ayo Banjo insisted that our mandate include a vision for the promotion of civilisation espoused through the written word. In very shrouded language, he was promoting the intercourse of knowledge across the world. Man’s advancement has been through rigour of thought and ideas, most of which have been documented. The library aspired to provide access and space for intergenerational interaction. That the Library and Resource Centre remains today, the only one out of the five marked to be closed 22 years after is a testament to his vision and an enduring legacy of his commitment to scholarship, his doggedness, and the resilience of the Society.

    About nine years ago, General Muhammad Buhari won the election for his first presidential term in office. As a result of this election victory and prior to assuming office, Buhari embarked on a goodwill trip around Nigeria to notable Nigerians who may have played a part in his success or whom he would be leaning on for support when he assumed office. The tour took him to Ijebu-Ode for a visit to the Awujale. To receive him, the Awujale, in turn, invited his chiefs and a few of his subjects to join him. I ran into Prof Banjo on the appointed date as we approached the big circular Lion Conference Room of the Awujale. This room was going to serve as a holding bay before proceeding to the Banquet Hall, all in the palace. By the time we got in, the room was filled up with only one empty seat available, which I nudged Prof Ayo Banjo to take. He moved to the seat and a few people came around to greet him while I stood by his seat so that we could engage in some conversation. Not long after, two courtiers from the palace politely approached him to let him know the seat he was on was the Awujale’s. Prof Banjo immediately sprang to his feet and joined me standing. For a brief moment, I told him he occupied the exalted throne, and I teased that in the presence of witnesses, he could well be described as a Temporary Awujale. He laughed heartily and those around who always thought he wore an unflappable mien were surprised to see him in that mood. Prof Ayo Banjo was full of humour and he could take a joke.

    A year after Prof Ladipo Akinkugbe died, about three years ago, there was going to be a memorial reception. I approached Prof Banjo as he alighted from his car at the reception hall. Suddenly, his legs gave way under him, and we both fell on top of one another. It was a wet day, and the dampness of the grounds cushioned our fall. We were helped up by onlookers. As he got up, he said to me, ‘Kolade, I want to sit at your table.’ ‘No, Sir. You are chairman of the event, and I will watch over you from a distance,’ I said to him. Those sturdy and agile legs that held firmly between the posts at Igbobi College, nimble feet that made runs between wickets at cricket, feet that moved stridently across the campus at the University of Ibadan were now wobbly. Age now was beginning to tell.

    If you were close to him, one of the most common words he used was, lovely. If you did anything right, he would say lovely. If you brought him anything, he would say lovely. If he engaged you in conversation, in closing, he would say lovely. He used the word lovely interchangeably as a synonym for good, thanks, affirmation and beauty. The truth of the matter was that he was the loveliest man you could ever find. What we will miss most about him is this boundless love for all and sundry. Love rang out loud, from mouth to mouth throughout the land on his demise, for the scholarship and happiness he supplied, in and outside the university, and for his pleasing disposition. He was a lovely, lovely man.

    •Dr Mosuro is a publisher and bookseller

  • Remembering Malam Aminu Kano

    Remembering Malam Aminu Kano

    By Abdu Abdullahi

    “Better to fight for something than live for nothing” George S. Pattern

    A political catastrophe occurred and engulfed Nigeria’s political environment on April 17, 1983. On that fateful day, the late political genius, Malam Aminu Kano departed to the great beyond at the age of 64. He left behind political thoughts, practices and philosophies which are still echoing, laden with great lessons for our contemporary politicians to deepen democracy and attain heroic status.

    Forty one years ago, his death marked the end of an intensive ideological operation to rescue Nigeria from chronic socio-political epidemic. Like a ‘political earthquake’, his exit was trailed by large scale dislocation of the political domain in terms of messianic vision and constructive mission. The politics of freedom which he championed, elevated and ultimately defined his life struggle was completely wiped out of the Nigeria’s political space in the aftermath of his demise. The giant striving for the enthronement of masses -oriented government had, therefore, been buried with the late Aminu Kano. Since then, it has been archaic and prosaic to canvass and spearhead a similar politics devoid of political brigandage.

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    Aminu Kano’s philosophical ‘ monopoly’ was never a false attraction but a planned redemption process to rid the talakawa of all forms of oppression. This propelling passion for his philosophical will could not weather the storm eventually owing to the reactionary forces’ busy occupation of the greater size of the political landscape. Albeit Aminu Kano’s entrenched ‘political fundamentalism’ did not yield a new nation, yet he succeeded in spreading the universal gospel of social re-construction.

    While showcasing his unbreakable desire of dislodging the established order, he lived the life of others instead of living his own life. This was his vested interest of subjecting himself to substantial self-denials in return for an egalitarian and vibrant society. His abundant ideological resources were the pillars of the masses’ hopes and aspirations. Political opponents were never his foes but the decadent systems, practices and beliefs which imprisoned the people and looted their real citizenship. The feudal system prevalent in Northern Nigeria then was included in Aminu Kano’s battle against conservative forces.

    These were his stupendous achievements of nurturing strengths in emotional resilience. Demonstrating his valid wisdom that never supported public betrayal, his insatiable desire for a masses-oriented government boosted with sustainable pains and endurance. His penchant for cementing ‘party supremacy’ acted as the bulwark of resisting the temptation of capturing power by all means. To provide a befitting platform to safeguard his towering politics and make it mandatory for a national re-birth, he profiled his politics to transcend ordinary challenges. This made the power of his political integrity more intimidating and its aura well fitted for the purpose of the changing times.

    Right from adolescence, radical politics began to find its way into his blood and running like water. Luckily, such politics neither looked ugly nor harmful, though it was destructive to the reactionary elements but awesome to the progressives. His proclivity to politics of irresistible ideology was designed as a function of noble purpose and direction. Aminu was captured deeply in romance with ideological ‘stubbornness’ to make his politics a thematic concern for generations.

    Consequently, some broad-minded Nigerians were captivated by this developmental politics and would not let it vanish without lending him their unwavering loyalty. The interesting list included Professors Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka. Others were Dr. Junaid Mohammed, Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, S.G. Ikoku, Uche Chukwumerije, Balarabe Musa, Michael Imoudu, Abubakar Rimi and Sule Lamido among others.

    Aminu’s articles of humanitarian faith and service were not in ‘monetary’ value but were resounding and effective in resolving the profound crisis of political insincerity. He spoke with a larger purpose thus: “In my attempt to practicalise politics, my lifestyle seems to indicate some self-denial. I feel that the needs of the body are simple and that devoting time and emotional energies on opulent lifestyle wastes the human spirit, thus distracting the self from realising full potential. So, pleasures of the flesh and self- indulgence are unimportant to me.”

    Aminu’s politics was highly moralistic in fulfilling our democratic needs and wants. His moral benchmark for a desirable leadership was incisive and resonating with powerful effects. He declared: “State leadership is not a source of amassing wealth, pomposity or self-complacence, but a trust for which the bearer will be accountable to both people and God. The true leader of a people is one who served them like a butler.”

    Sometimes, circumstances forced Aminu Kano to live with frustrated hope. However, his persistent ideological crusade remained the hope of the hopeless.  Aminu generated hard earned reverence which made the political opportunists too envious. Thus, the erstwhile Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) and the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) were the main chapters of life and times of Aminu Kano. To further navigate through his worthy political adventure, he emphasised: “A practical politician is one whose political reputation has reached a messianic proportion. My political philosophy includes making the world a better place to live through the exaltation and uplifting of life. I believe that self-sacrifice is for the collective good”.

    Aminu Kano was often labelled as the Gandhi of Nigeria. Drawing a similarity between Aminu Kano and Gandhi, Professor Chinua Achebe had this to say, “Gandhi was real; Aminu Kano was real. They were not angels in heaven; they were human like the rest of us in India and Nigeria. Therefore, after their example, no one who reduces the high purpose of politics which they exemplified down to a swinish scramble can hope to do so without bringing a terrible judgement on himself.”

    Eventually, Aminu Kano’s productive life conferred on him the prestigious rank of a revolutionary. Alan Feinstein, an American actor and researcher on African politics had documented a positive view about him in his well-orchestrated and famous book, ‘ African Revolutionary: The Life and Times of Nigeria’s Aminu Kano’. At their first meeting in New York, Feinstein was moved by Aminu’s formidable force of ideological persuasion. To back up this assertion, the one-time colonial Governor of Northern Nigeria, Sir Bryan Smith in his book, ‘But Always As Friends’, depicts him as “compelling conversationalist with an original mind and considerable organising ability”.

    It was, indeed, the end of political discussion when the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe paid a condolence visit to the family of the late freedom fighter. Zik was astonished that Aminu had only one house, two sets of ordinary clothes, one television set and an old Peugeot car. In high bewilderment, Zik then turned to the late Adeniran Ogunsanya and whispered to him, ‘We ought to have come here and learn politics’. In the same vein, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, also moved by Aminu’s Spartan life, declared, ‘Nigeria has cheated this man’. Influenced by Malam Aminu’s political decency and legitimacy, some foreigners concluded that Aminu Kano was ‘too good to be a Nigerian’.

    In a brilliant tribute to Malam Aminu, Professor John N. Paden observed: “He will be remembered for many contributions and qualities. He was truly extra-ordinary in both his political and personal life. He served as a bridge or gateway within Nigeria and beyond: between young and old, rich and poor, men and women, nations and regions, Western and non- Western, African and non- African, Muslim and the People of the Book.”

    In the end, Aminu Kano lived for us and gallantly fought for the restoration of our stolen dignity. He will be remembered for the following prophetic statement: “Nigeria will know no peace until the son of a nobody can become somebody without knowing anybody”. Where are we now?

    •Abdullahi writes via aaringim68@gmail.com

  • Lessons from South Africa’s election

    Lessons from South Africa’s election

    By Paul Ejime

    The results of South Africa’s 2024 elections further illustrate what pro-democracy groups have always affirmed: good governance/leadership is tribe and race-blind.

    South Africa comprises people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions, including Indian South Africans, who constitute 2.7% of the population, the 8.2% coloured South Africans, and the indigenous majority Blacks who make up more than 81% of the nation’s estimated 62 million inhabitants.

    Much of the atrocities wrought by the authoritarian, minority white regimes that dominated the political, social, and economic life in the former apartheid enclaves of South Africa and South-West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s, are irreversible. Indeed, no one expects the damage of the institutionalized racial segregation unleashed by the White South Africans on the Black majority population to disappear within 30 years.

     After decades of anti-apartheid struggles waged internally and internationally, led by African countries, the then-Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Commonwealth, the African National Congress (ANC), an off-shoot of the liberation movement, emerged as the dominant political party in South Africa from the first multi-racial elections of 1994.

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    The legendary Nelson Mandela, alias ‘Madiba’ the icon of the anti-apartheid struggle gave expression to the axiom “from prison to the presidency,” by winning the presidency in the 1994 elections after his incarceration for 27 years for challenging the apartheid system.

    Revered and praised for his conciliatory, non-violent philosophy even in the face of inhumane provocations, Madiba did not only succeed in relatively uniting a racially divided South Africa to create a “Rainbow Nation” that attempted to harness its diversity, he also led by example, stepping aside after serving for just one four-year term in office. He died a global statesman in December 2013.

    Unfortunately, African leaders, including those from Mandela’s home country, have failed to emulate or follow his example.

    Under South Africa’s constitution, the party or coalition that wins a majority vote and at least 201 of the 400 parliamentary seats produces the president of the republic.

    From the 1994 elections, Mandela became South Africa’s President as the flag bearer of the ANC with a majority vote of 62.5%. The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which also draws much support from the black homeland of KwaZulu, came third, with 10.54%.

    The then-main opposition white-dominated National Party (NP) came second with 20.39% vote, and later morphed into the Democratic Party (DP) and now the Democratic Alliance (DA).

    Given the dynamism of politics, there have been realignment of political forces since 1994, when the voter turnout was 86.87%, but the much expected positive transformation of black lives under the ANC has failed to materialise.

    Mandela’s then-deputy, Thabo Mbeki, more an academic than a typical politician, succeeded his boss as president of South Africa following the 1999 elections, after an ANC win with 66.36% vote. This was at a time when the opposition parties were in disarray, with the IFP getting 8.54% and the DP, just 9.54% of the vote, from a record voter turnout of 89.30%.

    Mbeki was re-elected president in 2004 but could not complete his second four-year term due to serious disputes within the ANC. This resulted in Mbeki’s replacement as ANC leader and president of South Africa, by Kgalema Motlanthe from 2008 until the election in 2009.

    At the 2009 election, the ANC fielded veteran and combative trade unionist Jacob Zuma, President Mbeki’s deputy who led the move for his boss’ ouster. Internal wrangling within the ruling party worsened, resulting in the formation of the Congress of the People (COPE) by disgruntled ANC members and the strengthening of the opposition.

    Consequently, the ANC got 65.9% of the vote in the 2009 election, while COPE ate into Black votes with 7.24% leaving the main opposition DA with 16.66%.

    A combination of the intra-party differences exacerbated by ANC’s inability to deliver on its promises of Black empowerment and the creation of equal opportunities to make the lives of the majority population better have dealt a lethal blow to the black-dominated ruling party.

    Zuma was re-elected as South African President in 2014 but, as a controversial persona dogged by scandals, his vigorous attempts to stamp his authority on the ANC divided the party the more.

    The erstwhile party of the Great Madiba has thus, seen its share of popular votes in steady decline, to 62.15% in 2014, while that of the main opposition DA rose to 22.23% with another ANC breakaway group, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), getting a slice of 6.35%.

    Voter turnout declined to 73.48% in 2014 as a further demonstration of disaffection among the population towards the ANC-led government.

    However, even after being replaced as leader of the ANC by deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, a business mogul, who succeeded Zuma as President of South Africa after the 2019 presidential election, the veteran labour leader does not want to go down alone.

    In the 2019 election, the ANC won with a further reduced majority of 57.5%, while the DA got 20.77% and the EFF 10.8%, with voter turnout of 66.05% – the lowest since 1994.

    Meanwhile, with several allegations of corruption still hanging on his neck and after serving a term for contempt of court, Zuma would appear to have reinvented himself politically.

    In his determination to become a life-long ANC member, the 82-year-old hijacked the uMkhonto weSizwe (Zulu for ‘Spear of the Nation’), or MK Party founded in 2023 and named after the paramilitary wing of the ANC.

    At the 2024 election last Sunday, Zuma ran as the presidential candidate of the MK Party, and came fourth with 7.62% of the vote, according to provisional results announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

    The main opposition DA, which had John Steenhuisen, 48, as its flag bearer, made further gains by scoring 26.34%, while the EFF, led by Julius Malema, 43, got 8.1% of the vote.

    Ramaphosa is seeking re-election on the platform of the ANC and as widely expected, the black-dominated ruling party has for the first time since 1994 failed to win parliamentary majority of votes in South Africa. The ANC managed less than 43% of the vote, and will now be forced to enter into an uncomfortable arrangement with rival parties to form a government, an uncharted course in the country’s political history.

    Even by South African standards, the ANC’s 2024 electoral performance from some 27.6 million registered voters and a turnout of 58.64% from the country’s estimated population of 62 million speaks volumes.

    There was great hope and expectations that Madiba’s would re-write South Africa’s dark history. But it has failed most spectacularly to deliver good governance after wresting political power from the apartheid minority white rulers.

    Acknowledging the party’s underwhelming performance as a development with potentially dire consequences for its relevance and continued existence as a big player in South African politics, ANC senior officials are now suggesting the formation of a National Unity Government even as the main opposition parties position themselves as king-makers.

    The world is watching with a keen interest the political development of South Africa.

    A strong message for African leaders is that as the majority of Blacks in South Africa voted out the obnoxious apartheid minority White regime in South Africa, people of all races can/will punish bad governance/leadership, anywhere irrespective of race or colour!

    •Ejime is a global affairs analyst

  • Tinubu’s first year as planting time

    Tinubu’s first year as planting time

    l will be considering President Bola Tinubu’s one year in office from the prism of a farmer who devotes awesome time to planning ,planting, nurturing and harvesting the crops.  For the benefits of those who do not possess or are not familiar with the practice of farming which is the preserve of rural dwellers, l will also leverage the analogy of engineering construction that is right in the alley of city dwellers and the elite, to drive home my optimistic review of President Tinubu’s first year in office.

    Avery critical factor that has defined the administration of president Tinubu in the past 365 days, is time.

    Even the scripture in the Holy Bible emphasises the criticality of time as detailed in Ecclesiastes chapter 3:1-2:  “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, …”

    Given the critically valuable role that time plays in planning, it would be difficult to carry out a fair assessment of the first year of President Tinubu without taking into cognizance the counsel encapsulated in the scripture earlier cited.

    As an astute politician, President Tinubu recognizes the criticality of time hence he seems to be in hurry to make quick impact.  More so because, the total time allocated to him based on the provisions in the 1999 constitution before he seeks a renewal of his mandate is a mere four years.

    We see that in how he announced subsidy removal on petrol on his inauguration day and the quick passage of the law to revert to our old national anthem which was not subjected to public debate, as the attorney general had proposed, but was over ruled, simply because it was good to go since the national CONFAB had debated and green lighted it in 2014.

    That has been attested to by renowned lawyer, Mike Ozekhome who is a proponent of the national anthem change.

    l imagine that Mr President had to optimally allot the limited time that he has to the different aspects of his development plan (Renewed Hope Agenda) in order to generate maximum benefits for the electorate, before the expiration in 2027 of his four years occupancy of Aso Rock Villa.

    Eschewing politics, we would all agree that it will take time for the seeds planted to sprout as crops before maturing and bearing fruits after which it would be harvest time. To plant crops that have four years gestation and expect to reap the fruits in just one year, would be magical, would it not?

    It is for the reasons above that one is of the conviction that the declaration of Tinubu’s presidency in a mere one year of four years mandate as a failure by critics is hasty.

    Let us think about it in a manner that is devoid of emotion.

    We were able to judge ex-president Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure as disastrous and locust years in the life of our country only after his two terms tenure of four years each had been completed. Likewise, it was claimed by some Nigerians that Goodluck Jonathan was clueless as president after his six years of our country being under his watch.

    Is it not rather preposterous that some Nigerians are romantically recalling the Jonathan and Buhari days and some members of the commentariat are even comparing Tinubu’s only one-year reign to Buhari’s eight years and Jonathan’s six years watch?

    Even more ridiculous is that some are claiming that since life was better off that time for the average Nigerian by comparing the cost of living then and now, the incumbent president should reverse all the new policies so far introduced and revert to the status quo ante.

    That proposition reminds me of how the Israelites were clamouring for Moses to let them go back to their slavery in Egypt after their exodus that he was leading suffered initial setbacks.

    The question to ask is : are the temporary pains being experienced in the course of our journey to socioeconomic freedom led by President Tinubu bad enough to warrant a wish to go back to the torment of economic policies that were slowly but surely going to strangulate our economy and asphyxiate our country ?

    Without a doubt, if the subsidy on petrol and naira were not removed, the income from crude oil sales that has gradually been drying up due to lower international price, dwindling international demand owing to adoption of electric vehicles in the industrialized world and low production of the commodity in the Niger Delta due to policy inconsistency (Patrick Pouyanne ,CEO of Total Energies during the Africa CEO conference held in Rwanda recently cited it as reason for investing $6 billion in Angola instead of Nigeria), not forgetting complications from massive theft of the commodity by international oil syndicates; our cherished country was surely going the way of Venezuela -a country rich in oil but suffering from resource curse.

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    By and large, my optimistic assessment is that President Tinubu’s policies, although imperfect,(which is not unusual of new rules that often require being fine-tuned after being operationalized)  are meant to steer the ship of state of Nigeria off the violent currents and rapids that could result in the wreckage of the vessel sooner than imagined.

    At best, it is an interim assessment that could be carried out because he has only done 25% (one year) of (100%) four years tenure.

    Take for instance the two major policies that have spiked the cost of living- subsidy removal from petrol pump price and the merging of the multiple exchange rates of the naira.

    The new higher education loan funds that would boost the pool of skilled workforce in our country is also a product of subsidy removal. That policy amounts to subsidy on production as opposed to consumption which subsidies on petrol and the naira represent. Also, by ending petrol subsidy, more money is accruing to the subnational governments for the development of the rural areas.

    The federal government is currently tackling the state governments in court with a view to making them spend the huge funds accruing to them responsibly by compelling governors to hands-off funds that should managed by local governments for the upliftment of lives of folks at the grassroots level.

    The floating of the naira by those who took over from Godwin Emefiele, as Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) governor was wrong-headed. So, it didn’t work, and it got reversed by the new CBN leadership that is trying other options. The fall out of the effort is triggering temporary instability in the market, causing some multinational manufacturing firms with low financial thresholds to exit Nigeria.

    But as the economy becomes more stable, perhaps Nigerian investors can fill in the vacuum left by the foreign firms that exited in the manner that a consortium of local investors (Renaissance group) have bought over the assets of International Oil Companies, IOCs, particularly Shell that have recently divested from onshore Nigeria exploration activities .

    The removal of subsidies on petrol is also driving the Compressed Natural Gas, CNG initiative that has been ramped up with a view to powering mass transit buses and cars for commuters, representing an evidence of silver lining in the horizon for commuters who may be relieved of the burden of high cost of transportation. The reforms in the electricity sector are also accelerating investment in natural gas recovery, instead of being flared as has been the case.

    That is not all, as new investments in oil/gas processing facilities, not just in crude oil extraction, as we have been doing since 1967, would boost productivity and create more jobs for teeming Nigerian youths. Apart from Dangote mega refinery that came on stream a few months ago, multiple refineries are also being set up (although they are modular and of small capacity) to fill the local supply gap that has been depleting of our treasury  .

    One can go on and on but my point is made by the fact President Tinubu has spent the first one year working on policy formulation, hence we  have seen him tweak and calibrate some policies with a view to make them fit for purpose, which is a trait that some pundits are railing against.

    There are promising signs that President Tinubu’s administration is on the right path regarding policy formulation. Nevertheless, it needs to focus more on implementation as it enters its second year, even as the task of revitalizing the economy remains ongoing.

    •Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, a former commissioner in Delta State, sent this piece from Lagos.

  • Azu’s talisman for media adventurers

    Azu’s talisman for media adventurers

    By Louis Odion

     “So, what do I get for my labour and when?”

    That was often the next question by the hitherto “public-spirited” contributor who, after getting published twice or thrice, had apparently started to bask in sudden “fame.” S/he would become less shy.

    As the manager of a start-up national newspaper some 16 years ago, such solicitation — legitimate, no doubt — from many a stringer was never easy for me to consider. It simply meant further tightening the fiscal noose around our slender exchequer amid fiercely competing costs.

    The operating climate hardly left you an option. However formidable your editorial faculty, there was always some external contributor who wanted to add that “extra something.” They sometimes bring illumination in uncharted waters. Let us face it: other than those pushing special “interest”, it would take exceptional altruism — if not material comfort — for a good many others to readily agree to invest ample time and energy to write for free for long.

     If compensating such a category outside the normal staff was financially tough 16 years ago, one can only imagine tougher choices current media managers now have to make under a far more asphyxiating operating condition today.

     Circulation figures are crashing, while production costs are mounting stratospherically. Added to the troubling mix is the sheer “outlawry” of the new media, which seems to normalise intellectual theft, whereby stories are brazenly lifted by “e-rats” from the established traditional media without the minimum courtesy of attribution.

    It is why Azu’s soon-to-be-unveiled offering entitled, Writing for Media and Monetising It, is, in my view, a game-changer for the media industry. The book outlines a sustainable win-win balance for platform-owners and content providers. 

     The plight of creators in the music industry is different. Thanks to music streaming platforms like Spotify, for example, Nigerian musicians of diverse genres shared N25 billion royalties in 2023 alone. This is apart from revenues from other platforms like YouTube music, Apple Music, Amazon Music, among others. A significant shift from the recent past, when musical creators virtually slaved for pirates at Alaba market, Lagos.  

    But as things now stand, media veterans can only recall with nostalgia the relative “boom” enjoyed before the crunch came. As an intern in Concord Press in the early 90s, I made steady income from contributions to its three titles weekly. That created an extra incentive to be prolific. But such opportunities have dried up today as most media houses struggle to pay staff salaries. Stringers are largely on their own.

    Azu’s book, arguably the most audacious effort yet to bridge the gap between editorial business and editorial independence, is the fruit of almost 40 years of hands-on experience and practice. The multiple-award-winning columnist is giving away practical secrets, curated in a 259-page tome, not just on how to ascend career zenith, but also secure financial success for anyone fascinated by the possibility of the written word.

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     What’s more? His nugget, with an enthralling foreword by Dapo Olorunyomi, is further garnished with success tips from other accomplished media professionals he had interviewed including Nigeria’s only Pulitzer Prize winner, Dele Olojede.

    If someone offers to clothe you, it is axiomatic that you first evaluate the condition of the shirt on their back. Azu surely lives his words. Of course, he is perhaps not just the most syndicated columnist in Nigeria today but also the one with the most by-lines in reputable media addresses across continents.

    Those close enough to him will attest that he is, therefore, a mobile signage of the prosperity he preaches… (In order not to expose a dear friend unduly to the predatory proboscis of the tax-man, let us stop there.)

     But suffice to note that Azu’s confident smile, that Kwale (Delta) swagger, is partly rooted in forex harvested from such affiliations offshore. As a buddy of more than 30 years, I should know.

    I think Azu confesses this a little bit on page 89: “I have written articles for a fee, and also for free, for the Argentina-based Clarin magazine; Press 24 and Mail & Guardian in South Africa; The Ghana Chronicle; and also, for online platforms such as Daily Maverick in South Africa; and the Europe-based Indepth News, and more recently for Bird, a South African-based private-owned news agency, amongst others.”

     To play in that elite league, you have to get a copy of  Writing for Media and Monetising It.

    Azu’s prescription should, in fact, stir up a new consciousness in the larger literary community for just compensation for those engaged in the knowledge economy. Perhaps, I should share a personal story to illustrate this point.

     At an event in the United States not too long ago, an acquaintance I was introduced to marvelled, after a quick, on-the-spot online check on my past works and he found that there were over 197, 000 views of a piece entitled “Regulating Anambra’s Obituary Economy” on just TheInterview.com alone.

     “Men!” he exclaimed. “You must be earning fantastic bucks weekly from merely writing if such a mammoth number follow you on just one platform alone. I can see dozens of platforms publish you weekly and simultaneously too.”

     That should happen where there is a strong culture of the media economy and reward.

     However, I disappointed my acquaintance by reporting that writers don’t yet have the structure in Nigeria to help derive a just compensation for their creativity and sleepless nights; the sort of opportunity Spotify now creates for Nigerian musicians.

     On the contrary, writers enthusiastically forward their works to platform-owners (traditional and new) to use for free as “public service.” Otherwise, widely read and syndicated weekly columnists in Nigeria like Segun Adeniyi, Lasisi Olagunju, Sam Omatseye, Reuben Abati, Simon Kolawole and Festus Adedayo would be multi-billionaires today.

     But with Azu’s prescription, things are not likely to remain the same again.

     •Odion, FNGE, a former commissioner and also presidential aide, is one of Nigeria’s most accomplished journalists.

  • Nigeria’s move into AI’s large language

    Nigeria’s move into AI’s large language

    By Kosidichimma Anyanwu

    The year 2024 has seen landmark events in the growing knowledge and embracing of artificial intelligence (AI) around the world. Researchers, scientists, software developers, and several stakeholders have continued to announce advancements and innovations in AI technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, and robotics across laboratories in different continents. What we are experiencing is a surge in algorithm developments, increased computational power, and the expanding application of AI set to advance various sectors from digital media; to healthcare, education, finance, business, real estate, governance, and so on.

    This sudden shift and integration into daily lives and global systems is also raising smoke within the social and political environs where there is an increasing need to revisit relevant ethical considerations and regulatory frameworks, while continually monitoring societal impacts. However, throughout history, culturally unfamiliar evolutions in society, such as seen in the resurfacing of AI, have attracted cynicism — and understandably so. Therefore, amid an ongoing technology shift, there is a salient urgency for government and stakeholders across all sectors to conscientiously engage with the current trends as a signal of collective control over its potential societal impacts.

    While the largest nation in Africa, Nigeria, is grappling with multi-faceted socio-economic challenges, it is important to acknowledge and reinforce its timely interventions in the scurrying global advancements in AI. Despite its domestic dips and spikes, Nigeria continues to contend as one of the largest economies in the world. Hence, it is rightly positioned to make a significant global impact in this field given its largely underestimated advantages.

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    According to the OECD report, one out of every four Africans around the world and one out of every five persons of African origin is a Nigerian. Its population represents about 2.6 per cent of the human population accounting for a relevant global labour force and a large domestic market with potential to influence international economies. Nigeria also has the highest population of African immigrants in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, extending the country’s impacts to global economic powers.

    Moreover, one peculiarity of Nigeria’s leverage over its global counterparts lies in its undocumented yet thriving informal sectors. The country has one of the most significant and booming informal economic sectors of the world. Officially, IMF growth estimated Nigeria’s GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms at $1.116 trillion by the end of 2023. However, Nigeria’s informal economy is estimated at approximately $1.230 billion in size, representing 58.2 per cent of overall GDP PPP levels. Consequently, World Economics’ Research’s updated database estimates Nigeria’s GDP to be $2.113 trillion — 89 per cent larger than the official figures using 2023 data, given the impact of the informal economy.

    In April, the Nigerian government announced its commitment to leveraging the power of AI systems. This aims to foster inclusivity by integrating indigenous knowledge systems and language bases through the launch of its multilingual large language models (LLMs). The country’s initiatives, including the formation of the Nigeria AI Collective, the launch of a multilingual LLM, and substantial investments in computing infrastructure, have far-reaching implications, particularly in the areas of content diversity, an inclusive digital economy which considers informal sectors and international trade expansion.

    Given factors including its demographic strength, economic diversity and size, and potential for comparison with global economic powers, its move into developing LLMs is a pivotal achievement in the international AI field that cannot be ignored.

    The development and deployment of Nigeria’s multilingual LLM stand as a pivotal moment for content diversity in AI. Traditional AI models often focus on high-resource languages, predominantly those spoken in the Global North, thus marginalising many languages and dialects spoken in Africa and other parts of the world. Nigeria’s LLM, trained in five low-resource languages and accented English, challenges this paradigm by ensuring these languages are represented and preserved in the digital age.

    This inclusion has profound implications. First, it enriches the AI training datasets, leading to more robust and versatile AI systems capable of understanding and processing a wider array of human languages. This diversity in language representation can drive innovation in AI applications, ranging from more accurate language translation services to culturally relevant content generation. It democratises access to AI technologies, empowering local communities and ensuring that the benefits of AI are more equitably distributed.

    Furthermore, this move can inspire other nations to prioritise their linguistic heritage, fostering a more inclusive global AI ecosystem. As Nigeria leads by example, other countries with diverse linguistic landscapes may follow suit, contributing to a richer, more varied digital content repository worldwide.

    Nigeria’s AI initiatives have significant potential to reshape the global digital economy by promoting inclusivity. The establishment of the Nigeria AI Collective and the enhancement of the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR’s) capacity with support from global technology leaders like Cisco underscore a commitment to achieve this robust goal. 

    The goal of inclusivity is highly attainable if the stakeholders maintain a strict ecosystem that is open to participation, including AI enthusiasts, students, start-ups, and civil society organisations (CSOs), apart from elite researchers or tech giants. Such inclusivity ensures that the benefits of AI are accessible to a broader segment of the population including stakeholders who operate outside the purview of formal economic sectors.

    Nigeria will signal support for grassroots innovation at a global level by giving local researchers and companies access to cutting-edge computing infrastructure. The democratisation of AI technology may result in the creation of solutions for regional problems in a variety of fields, including banking, agriculture, healthcare, and education. Nigeria can therefore provide an example for other countries by concentrating on creating AI with moral guidelines specific to its socio-economic environment.

    Nigeria can manage the possible downsides of AI, like employment displacement and privacy problems, in a way that puts its citizens’ welfare first by developing its ethical frameworks. This strategy can be used as a model by other countries, contributing to the global development of a more just and equitable digital economy.

    The multilingual capabilities of Nigeria’s LLM also have significant implications for international trade. Language barriers often pose substantial challenges in global commerce, particularly for businesses and entrepreneurs in non-English-speaking regions. Nigeria’s LLM can promote smoother trade relations and negotiations by facilitating more effective communication across linguistic boundaries. This increases local Nigerian enterprises’ access to global markets.

    To increase their reach and accelerate economic growth, entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can interact with overseas partners and customers more effectively. Additionally, as international companies try to get a foothold in Nigeria’s expanding market, the improved communication capabilities may draw in foreign collaborations and investments.

    Nigeria is poised to improve its trading prospects and make a positive contribution to a more integrated and cohesive global economy by overcoming linguistic barriers through investments in AI systems.

    Despite the optimistic outlook on Nigeria’s adoption of AI and LLMs, there are significant concerns that continue to warrant careful consideration. These range from a potential threat to human labour when not meticulously implemented, to contradictory ethical standards often dictated by the Global North, which may not align with the unique socio-cultural contexts of countries like Nigeria, and so on.

    •Dr Anyanwu, a tech and media expert, writes from Ireland

  • Resolving MMA2 regional flight operations conundrum

    Resolving MMA2 regional flight operations conundrum

    By Rufus Ajewole

    In a clime where the dearth of public infrastructure, engendered by inconsistent government policies is endemic, it is highly unlikely for its economy to blossom. Nigeria, blessed with abundant human and material resources, has, unfortunately, fallen into the deep valley of decaying infrastructure, a situation which has created an unimaginable gap. Unbelievably, no sector of the country’s economy, including the aviation industry, is spared in this infrastructure dryness. Although the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is introducing all kinds of well-thought out reforms to close the infrastructure gap, bringing the hope of a better tomorrow, there is the need for it to maximise the yet-to-be-neglected facilities in public space for a secured future for the country.

    For instance, one of such public utilities under the management of a private operator, which is still standing strong till today, 17 years after it was opened for public use, is the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Lagos, a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative. However, a section of the facility is craving for maximum utilisation for the purpose for which it was built.

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    According to David Williams, “All human life can be found in an airport.” Ironically, the reverse has been the case in the section marked out for regional flight operations at MMA2, operated by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited. The facilities earlier procured in readiness for intending passengers to routes in the West African sub-region have now been covered, regrettably, by cobwebs; a sad reminder of the way past administrations handled the issues of private investments that could wake up the slumbering economy with levity.

    I was on my way to catch a flight to Port Harcourt recently and had to arrive at the airport terminal on time to do some little tasks here and there. My movement round the terminal before my flight showed me a sight I could not behold for long. Despite the fact that I use this terminal frequently, I never knew that such facilities were available in readiness for regional flight operations there. With this, one could conclusively say that the dilemma of Bi-Courtney over its inability to put all the facilities it acquired for regional flight operations to use is a testament to what many private investors face in Nigeria’s wobbling economy and this is scary. It is one of the reasons many foreign investors are leaving the country in droves, leading to job losses.

    Realistically, the behaviour of any private investor is in consonance with the admonition of a serial investor, Phil Town, who says, “When it comes to investing, we want our money to grow with the highest rates of return, and the lowest risk possible. While there are no shortcuts to getting rich, there are smart ways to go about it.”

    The situation of the humongous investment in the aborted regional flight operations at MMA2 is a pathetic one that no investor would pray for. However, if high-wire politicking that has grounded the planned regional flight operations is jettisoned, it will be a win-win situation for the federal government, Bi-Courtney, the airlines and the intending passengers. While the government will rake in more revenue through the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Bi-Courtney, domestic airlines, such as Ibom Air and Air Peace, currently operating their domestic routes from MMA2, stand to gain notable savings in operational costs by consolidating activities within a single hub. As a result, the hassles of going to the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMIA) by intending passengers on the West Coast will be eliminated.

    Since the government is a continuum, the approval Bi-Courtney said was granted it by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration for regional flight operations since 2014 must not be frustrated under whatever guise because many Nigerians work in this firm. Bi-Courtney said the approval was halted under the regime of former President Goodluck Jonathan after the operator had invested over N600 million to provide all the necessary facilities that could make for seamless and effective coordination and operation of regional flights from the terminal.

    It further added that the Ministerial Committee on Airport Security, in 2016, certified MMA2 fit for the commencement of regional flight operations after it revealed that it had invested the money for the purpose in 2014 by providing the required facilities and is yet to recoup a dime from its investment. This is very disheartening!

    Government must do all it can to support private investors to grow the economy. It must embrace policy alignment to attract the much-needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to enhance economic growth and stability. This is the only way Nigeria can pull out its economy from the gorge it has slipped into.

    •Ajewole is a journalist and public affairs analyst.