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  • Sixty years of public relations practice in Nigeria

    Sixty years of public relations practice in Nigeria

    Celebrating Diamond Jubilee in life of any individual or organization is no mean feat, considering peculiarities of Nigeria as a nation where life expectancy is barely 56 years.

    Sixty years of Public Relations in Nigeria is not by any perspective Uhuru. In fact, compared with advertising practice, any discerning public relations practitioner would conclude that they are miles apart. No thanks to misconceptions of what public relations is all about.

    Public relations is a profession that helps businesses and organisations manage their image and build lasting relationships with the public. As a public relations professional, you engage with customers and clients to ensure a cordial and trusting relationship between the company and its market. Knowing the duties and responsibilities of a public relations role and the key functions of the position can help you determine whether the profession is ideal for you.

    Every industry has challenges. The construction industry has bad weather. The medical industry has supply shortages. So does public relations world over. But just because challenges are inevitable doesn’t mean you can’t prepare yourself. Knowing what’s likely coming and planning the best way to tackle it will make you a better professional PR, work bestie, and more.

    We should not be fretting with technology. AI will transform public relations, making it easier to draft press releases. Chatbots will continue to improve the user experience and enable faster distribution of brand messages to the public.

    In today’s fast-paced and interconnected world, the art of Public Relations (PR) has become an indispensable tool for organizations to effectively manage their image, build strong relationships, and cultivate trust with their stakeholders. Public Relations encompasses a range of strategic communication practices that aim to shape public perception, enhance reputation, and drive positive outcomes.

    It is widely acceptable that Public Relations emerged from the United States of America, on the global scale in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This is because public relations-like activities were discovered in the early days of American settlement as each of the colonies used publicity techniques to attract settlers.

    However, the British Institute of Public Relations’ definition has come to be a household definition. The institute defines Public Relations as ‘‘the deliberate, planned, and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between organization and its public’’.

    This is the most popular definition among many practitioners. A careful examination of this definition reveals painstaking effort by the British practitioners to carve a niche for the profession and to remove it from the realm of an all-comers profession.

    A review of the above definition shows that Public Relations is planned. It is never haphazard or sudden. It is a well thought out and designed programme to warm an organization (government inclusive) to the heart of its publics. In a nutshell, Public Relations is everything done to improve mutual understanding between an organization and all those whom it comes into contact both within and outside. It is much more than just cultivating contacts. It is about devising and implementing strategic campaign, preventing and reacting to crisis, ensuring that an organization is always correctly and positively represented.

    The Biblical injunction, ‘see that you do not blow your trumpet’ does not suffice in Public Relations. One must publicize himself; his organization or nation’s good works and cloth it with personality. Currying favour of the public is the ultimate goal of management of every organization. I sometimes shudder anytime I listen to some of our leaders. And I would ask: where are the Public Relations practitioners?

    Perhaps, they tend to confuse Public Relations with propaganda. Undoubtedly, Public Relations differ from propaganda. Propaganda is an unwholesome message use in persuading people towards a particular cause. It is the dissemination of bias or mixed information with the aim of manipulating the views of the public. It is unlike Public Relations which is much misunderstood and under-valued management tool.

    Erroneously, to many people, PR is another form of advertising while others dismiss it as dealing with journalists (important though) and sending out press releases. The basic philosophy of PR involves timely management of information based on sound and effective skills in communication using media as basic outlets. Thus creating that enabling environment crucial for the day- to- day survival all organizations.

    I established the aforementioned in letting us come to understanding that Public Relations is not new. What is, therefore, new is the modern method of accomplishing it.

    For holistic comprehension, maybe we should look at the Nigerian experience as we celebrate 60 years of practice. During the First and Second World Wars, not much could be said about the development of Public Relations in Nigeria. But from available records, Nigeria, which was part of Her Royal Majesty’s Empire was known to have participated in the Empire Exhibition in 1924. This event led to the establishment of the first information office in Lagos with the primary aim of disseminating war information.

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    In 1944, as a result of the increased activities of the office, its name was changed to Public Relations Office in order to disabuse the erroneous impressions and opinions of the members of the public who regarded it as a war information office and centre for espionage. The new office (PR office) was headed by D.C. Fletcher with the main aim of exacting a favourable image to the outside world.

    By 1947, following the adoption of Richard Constitution, the PR office was changed to Public Relations Department, and in that same year, a regional office was opened in Ibadan, followed by another in Kano and Enugu in 1948 respectively. From then onward PR activities increased, as members of the press and the public at large could make inquiries about government activities.

    In 1954, the original aim of the PR department was changed to monitoring and interpreting social-political events as well as economic matters affecting Nigerians and foreigners alike. One of the indigenous employees at that time was Ben Enwonwu. Later E. Esua, (MBE) and Rev. Bishop Kale were later to join the Public Relations Department.

    There was improved information management and various advisory committees were constituted among others. The activities of these people led to the emergence of the press club by Lagos journalists. Nigerian Institute of Public Relations emerged from this club as Dr. Sam Epelle who was the father of the Nigerian Public Relations, was a member of this club.

    Today, there are a number of Public Relations consultancy firms holding forte and making things happen. As we celebrate Diamond Jubilee, the onus is on the government of the day to engaging core PR practitioners. Allow average Nigerians to understand that indeed there is a ‘Renewed Hope’. Just as we have tax reforms committee and other committees, let there be Public Relations committee headed by a core and seasoned PR practitioners.

    The world is on fire and the public relations landscape is more digital, more dynamic, and more maddening than ever.

    •Pastor Yusuf, PR consultant, can be reached via abovemedia@yahoo.com.

  • Are youths the panacea for Nigeria’s problems?

    Are youths the panacea for Nigeria’s problems?

    • By Temitope Tbog Omoakhalen

    In 2021, after the COVID-19 pandemic, my husband and I engaged in a pet project that required us conducting candid interviews with people on the streets to gain insight into their perceptions of Nigeria, their expectations of government and their sense of ownership of the Nigerian dream. It was an interesting season of my life that afforded me the opportunity to just hear first-hand what every day Lagosians were thinking. There was an encounter with a young lady, however, that left an indelible mark on my consciousness. She said to me, “At the tender age of six, I was called ‘the leader of tomorrow’. I just turned 40; yet, the promise of tomorrow still eludes me. When will my tomorrow come?”

    Her words touched me deeply because it echoed a sentiment shared by many who have long been called, THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW. “When will our collective tomorrow materialize, and what form will it assume?” many youths ask.

    As the years have passed and the vista of tomorrow appears distant, one cannot help but question the accuracy of the ‘waiting period’. Will the youth ever have their turn at power, or will it have to be forcefully grabbed? Are youths even ready to handle the reins of power or are we just too inexperienced to know what to do with it?

    Would Nigeria progress as a nation if it had an infusion of youthful energy to invigorate governance structures or would our much-touted inexperience cause us to falter under pressure, make costly mistakes, or succumb to the allure of power without proper accountability? If they had the opportunity, would the current crop of youths be any different from the older generation of leaders they fiercely condemn or would they become the breath of fresh air Nigeria needs? While these are burning questions on the minds of many, I am compelled to take Lagos, once again, as my model.

     Lagos State boasts of the most vibrant and dynamic population of young people in the country. Many of Nigeria’s young leaders and change-makers have their roots in Lagos, the likes of Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Olugbenga Agboola, Folarin Falana (Falz), Debo Adedayo (Mr. Macaroni), Tunde Onakoya, Hilda Baci, Debola William, Chude Jideonwo, Yemi Adamolekun among others who are all thriving in their various spheres of influence, from technology to arts and entertainment to media to civil society, placing Nigeria in global conversations. This suggests that the youth have the potential to make a difference if given the opportunity in the political arena. Thankfully, the current Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, is a young Nigerian whose inspiring story is traceable to the Centre of Excellence. Moreover, did you know that in Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s cabinet, there are young people in their 30s holding key positions? Some of his Senior Special Assistants were in their 20s when he took office and they have since grown to head agencies within the state, contributing their quota to the decision-making process.

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    For these ones, their tomorrow has come; they have become the leaders of today.

    Lagos has historically provided an enabling environment for young people to thrive across various sectors even as the political environment has been characterized by intergenerational integration and continuity of vision. This is a commendable model that other states must consider adopting. While there are indicators of increased youth participation in several states across the nation, to accurately measure inclusion, a Youth Participation Index that evaluates the gains of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Act and the involvement of youth in appointive positions would be a valuable additional contribution from civil society groups. While I believe that Lagos State would top such an index, I recognize that there is still much room for progress in the inclusion of young people in public leadership across the nation.

     Among public officials, there are two schools of thought on youth involvement in public leadership. On the one hand, there is the belief that incorporating youth in politics and governance would trigger a positive disruption through the introduction of innovative ideas, digital savviness, and a deeper connection with contemporary issues facing the populace. This school of thought holds that the idealism of youth as well as our passion for change offers a promising antidote to stagnant bureaucracies and the entrenched systems that currently impede transformative outputs.

    This school of thought further holds the opinion that since many among the present-day older generation of leaders began their leadership journeys as youths, it would be only just for them to yield the floor to the present-day younger generation.

    On the other hand, there are those who hold sacred the age-old wisdom of experience. The holders of this opinion argue that governance is a complex matter requiring the nuanced understanding and institutional knowledge that can only be found among seasoned politicians and administrators. They believe that youthful idealism could become a pitfall without practical wisdom gained through years of service and leadership.

     My thoughts regarding these two positions are very simple. Leadership is a skill that must be forged in the crucible. I do not think that the youths, in themselves, are the panacea to Nigeria’s problems. I do not think power should be given to anyone simply because they are of a particular age bracket. I think the making of the Nigeria of our dreams is the collective responsibility of the old and the young because we need the wisdom of the old and the energy of the youth to make this nation work. But this is also not an endorsement of the status quo. If we had to choose between the ebullience and innovation of the youth on the one hand and the conventionality and steadfastness of the old on the other, I would likely go for the former. But what Nigeria needs, beyond creativity and passion, is patriotism and people of character; people who love their nation and can defend her come what may. These kinds of people are first forged in the home before they are released to the nation. If parents do not rise to take charge of the value and moral components of their children’s growth and development, a pipeline of value-driven youthful leaders would be a pipe dream.

     As a youth, I may be castigated for even considering that the older generation should still have a say at the table, but life has shown me that there are unpatriotic and corrupt youths as much as there are nationalistic and reliable older leaders. As a Fellow of The Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, I have seen and worked with political leaders and bureaucrats who possess professionalism and integrity – value systems that I hardly thought that I would encounter in the public sector and that I never believed even existed among politicians. Among the old as well as the young, I have seen the propensity for the good as well as the inclination to the not-so-desirable. This has compelled a rethink of the notion of age as the sole determinant of leadership emergence in our nation. While it is my utmost delight to see more young people emerge as leaders in Nigeria, I am concerned that if the production process is not thoroughly curated to produce a generation of leaders who are passionate and patriotic and possess the character and competence required for governance, we would replicate the corruption that currently eats at the soul of our nation, except that this time, it would be with an exuberance that could bring our nation to its knees.

    •Omoakhalen is Fellow, Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy.

  • Internet fraudsters and the imperative of restorative justice

    Internet fraudsters and the imperative of restorative justice

    • By Mbang Confidence

    No society is free from crime, technological advancement and the uses of the internet of things (IoTs), have broaden the horizons of cybercrimes. In Nigeria, internet fraud is fondly called “yahoo” while persons involved are called “yahoo boys or girls.”

    Recently, Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), narrated his encounter with a young fraudster who wowed him by displaying his skill and expertise on internet fraud. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the anti-graft chief noted that the boy was able to decipher his banking details, including the Bank Verification Number (BVN), by just knowing his mobile phone number. When the boy was asked the reasons for indulging in same, he said he was the one feeding his parents and responsible for the tuition of his younger ones. What a revelation? This is truly the same reason why so many youths engage in fraud. The alarming rate of poverty amongst the youths is pitiable and regrettable.

     It should be noted that this not the first time a chief of the anti-graft commission is agitating for rehabilitation of fraudsters. In 2019, Ibrahim Magu, while delivering a paper titled: “Strategic Change Administration and Innovation to Curb Corruption in Nigeria,” noted that “internet fraudsters could be useful to the agency in the future, and that they will be rehabilitated.” This was around the period the EFCC reportedly arrested 94 internet fraudsters in a raid at a nightclub in Osogbo, Osun State capital.

    In 2022, during a meeting with Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre officials (CLTC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, while hinting on the need to rehabilitate convicted fraudster, said “I do not derive joy in the arrest, investigation and prosecution of thousands of youths in productive ages, but the job must be done.”

     Also, NGOs/CSOs have continued to agitate for the rehabilitation of fraudsters, and the need to alter the punishment to exclude imprisonment. In 2019, during the unveiling of Velma Action to Reduce Cybercrimes, the Director General noted that imprisonment term as punishment for fraudsters have not helped to address the problem, rather rehabilitation is the best. 

    Now, I should not be misconstrued to mean internet fraudsters should not be sent to prison – No. A recidivist internet fraudster can be sent to prison, this is because, he is no longer a first time offender, and still persist in the criminal act. But a first time offender should be given a non-custodial punishment, accompanied with rehabilitation. In other words, the convicts should undergo rehabilitation in the course of the non-custodial sentence if not he may not stop committing the crime. 

    Concerns may also be raised as to the fate of the victims, since justice is for the state, victim, and offender. It is recommended that lawmakers should also resort to restorative justice as the best bet to put the victim in the same position he/she would have been, but not for the fraud. If fraudsters reap not from the benefit of their work, and then undergo rehabilitation, they may naturally decide to give up on fraud. Relevant stakeholders should ponder on this recommendations and effect alterations on our adversarial and substantive criminal legislations, in the absence of which the courts should readily develop the law through judicial precedence. 

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    To appreciate this line of reasoning, it must be noted that our courts are empowered to exercise judicial discretion in sentencing, and same must be applied judiciously and judicially. The Administration of Criminal Justice Act, particularly section 401 outlines the objectives of sentencing; prevention, restraint, rehabilitation, deterrence, education, retribution and restitution. In addition, section 416 prescribes the factors a court must take into consideration, and of course, a first time offender should not be given the maximum sentence 416(2)(d), and by sub 2(k); sentencing to a term of imprisonment shall apply only to those offenders who should be isolated from society and with whom other forms of punishment have failed or is likely to fail.

     Now this: in respect of internet fraudsters, can we say that other forms of punishment have failed or are likely to fail? Or are we now saying that an internet fraudster should naturally be isolated? 

    It is best we embrace rehabilitation which should involve psychological approaches to morality and cognitive sanity, literacy skills and work training. It is also necessary for lawmakers, the courts and other actors to think restorative justice. Moreover, in the light of the prison decongestion programme by the federal government, sentencing youths to prison for internet fraud would only help to further congest our prisons.

    Adopting the statement of Lord Denning MR, regarding the attitude of the Courts, which I deem necessary for our lawmakers: “If we do not do something just because it has never been done before; the law will stand still and will not develop; while the rest of the world moves ahead. This will be bad for both.” At this juncture, there is no gainsaying that our security outfits may benefit from these fraudsters if they are rehabilitated. There should be a strategic synergy between the relevant law enforcement agencies, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), and the judiciary on the way forward. Rehabilitation and restorative justice is better than imprisonment.

    •Confidence, Esq. writes via Mbangconfidence714@gmail.com

  • Southern Kaduna and the Church’s silence

    Southern Kaduna and the Church’s silence

    By Francis Damina

    The recent press statement by Dr. Bolaji Akinyemi, BOT chairman PVC-NAIJA and initiator, Concerned Nigerians for Security, Unity and Sovereignty, titled “On The Recent Release of Bandits in Parts of Southern Kaduna”, which went viral both in the print and social media, came to me as a rude shock. In the statement, Akinyemi raised an alarm that bandits responsible for various crimes including their alleged involvement in the burning of Saint Raphael’s Catholic Church Fadan Kamanton, leading to the death of Na’aman Danlami, a seminarian, had been released and back in the Ikulu community of Southern Kaduna. In parts, the statement says: “These same criminals are known to be responsible for why Southern Kaduna, particularly Ikulu land, has become a theatre of death, a cluster for kidnappers, and a harmful colony to both its people and would-be investors”.

    “It was the operations of these murderers, and later, their acolytes, that led to the murder of a former Director- General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Dr. Yakubu Sankey; Ardo Saleh Umar who was slaughtered like ram, and a retired Airforce Officer, Master Warrant Hamza Musa, among many others sent to their early graves “. Their release, which this essayist later confirmed to be true, “was marked by both celebration and mourning. Celebration by their families and friends, and mourning by the rest of society. In fact, in the last few days, particularly in Ikulu land, there have been impromptu migrations for fear of the obvious “, the statement concluded.

    As a student of religion and society familiar with the gamut of literature on the Church’s investment on humanity – particularly on the defence of human life and dignity, I am shocked that it now takes an Akinyemi from Lagos to speak in defence of the vulnerable children of God in Southern Kaduna. This is in a perilous time when the angel of death manifesting in these miscreants, has now become our guest. A time when human life has become nasty, brutish and short. A time when even men in cassock get sacrificed in fires set by venal men. A time when priests seek asylum outside the house of God. A time of real famine owing to the inability of ordinary people to access their farms. All because of the activities of the few who have vowed to make our earthly paradise a hell.

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    My argument is that, the silence of the Church, especially in Southern Kaduna, seriously indicates a loophole. Literature on Church and State relations shows clearly that the Church is a partner with government on matters of humanity and not a spectator. I cannot therefore understand the culpable silence of the Church in the face of these evil epiphanies. That the Church in Southern Kaduna appears more concerned about preaching heaven and seemingly undisturbed about the sufferings of the people.

    From the time of the Apostles, the Church is known for its consistent insistence for the establishment of a society where justice and peace are the major attributes. Or, is our Holy Book not replete with stories of confrontations between prophets and the rulers of their time much of which was on how society was to be governed for the realisation of the common good aimed at maximising opportunities to ensure the greatest good for the greatest number?

    Even in contemporary time, there are many clerics who abandoned the comfort of their Presbyteries to identify with, and to speak in defence of the common good. In the 1970s, we heard of Bishop Juan Gardi of Guatemala who was an outspoken critic of military rule.

    In the Philippines, the role Cardinal Sin played in ensuring local and international pressure in forcing Ferdinand Marcos to eventually flee the country needs no repeating.

    The most obvious example of the role of the clergy in bringing about a just society is probably that of Desmond Tutu during apartheid in South Africa. In recognition of the role he played, Tutu was, in 1984, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and during the presidency of Nelson Mandela, made the chairman of the famous South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

    Here at home, there are names such as Cardinal Okogie, Bishop Matthew Kukah, Bishop Joseph Bagobiri, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Sunday Mbang, etc, who are known for speaking truth to power irrespective of whose ox is gored. Of course, we know the price they have paid and still.

    In our present circumstance, I have watched how life has seemingly lost its dignity. I have particularly watched how my siblings, friends and neighbours got killed. How my house was rather unsuccessfully visited the first time; and my mother kidnapped on the anniversary of the first visit. I cannot forget the times they called and we negotiated for her quick release in view of the December cold that was at its peak. I cannot forget when granted the privilege to speak with her on the phone and she asked me not to again call her mother saying that I did not do enough to bring her back. Can I forget when my brother and I, in company of several others, went into the bush in search for our mother; and how he broke down in tears babbling and asking: ‘Is this Mom that we are looking for?’

    Many cassocks have been stained with blood. Many have lost their lives. Others today are either with one leg or one hand. All because of the few venal men. Only recently in my clime, like an apocryphal story, these miscreants kept ringing a victim they had released. They claimed that he  owed them N300,000. Yes N300,000 because his family was only able to pay N700,000 out of the N1million they were asked to produce. But thank God he has now settled them. How did it happen? A couple of weeks back, they re-kidnapped him in his farm claiming  that though he was yet to settle them,  he went about buying bags of fertilizer in preparation for the next farming season. Same bags of fertilizer were sold to settle the debt. These stories are many and frightening!

     The story of the gruesome murder of a former Director- General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Jos, Dr. Yakubu Sankey, needs no repeating. I was actually on my way to Port Harcourt when at dawn, my mother called to tell me. And since I was on my way to attend Bishop Kukah’s book launch in Port Harcourt, and knowing how he often called the revered academic “my brother”, and also familiar with his relationship with Mrs Elizabeth Pam – the late widow of the famous Major Yakubu Pam and mother in-law to Dr. Sankey, I quickly rang the Bishop. But he will ask me to shut up arguing that the story was too cruel to be true. But that was how we lost the revered academic with no words from government about his unambiguous killers.

    Amidst these evil, the Church cannot afford to act like a spectator if it must live true to its mission. At the moment, it is the hope of our vulnerable people. It must make sure that those who perpetrate evil in our society get punished. Because of the compromises that have over the years characterized the breweries of justice in our society – the courts and the law enforcement agencies, it should never be presumed that justice is already assured or automated. In fact, these miscreants, their families and sympathisers believe that with money, they have nothing to worry about.

    Apart from prayer, it is the social responsibility of the Church to teach the people how to protest against evil. Yes, they must learn how to aggressively and reflexively take to the streets in protest, and to bang on doors when they perceive injustice or a threat to their lives. And this is what distinguishes democracy from dictatorships.

    •Damina, a student of religion and society, wrote from Kaduna.

  • One year after: Between Tinubu and the elephant

    One year after: Between Tinubu and the elephant

    By Kunle Oyatomi

    It wasn’t an easy effort for those who came back from an assessment visit to the elephant. Each returnee had something different to say about the animal. All one had to say of the mammal was that it had large ears. Others claimed the big creature possessed equally big legs that made the ground shake each time it moved. No, contradicted another; the elephant had a huge backside that blocked your view of its size. Still more: the behemoth had a trunk with an extended nose; there was a mouth ready to drink up a river; the beast could stamp a car into a small piece of scrap etc.

    The point is that these observations were all in order about the elephant. The problem the observers had was that the animal was too large to be captures from a single angle. So, as they individually viewed it from a stationary angle, they concluded that was the only world of the great creature. How wrong they were!

    And how wrong we would also be if, as we look at the first anniversary of Bola Tinubu’s Presidency, we allow ourselves a myopic view that doesn’t take in all his policies as he sets the stage for a promising future? We would be missing the fun if all we listen to is the jaded criticisms of the likes of former Vice President Atiku Abukakar. He is still a one-sided figure who can’t accept that he has missed the train taking Nigeria beyond where he left it battered years ago.

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    Before Tinubu, we were not talking of a huge coastal highway linking Lagos to Calabar and passing by some nine shoreline states with accompanying massive construction works creating numberless jobs for our fledgling economy. A year after, Tinubu’s administration is in the process of giving us Africa’s first superhighway. That’s the future. But critics are, unfortunately, stuck only in yesterday and today, refusing a bold attempt to use the challenges of the present to grab the possibilities of tomorrow.

    For the first time in the history of Nigeria, we’re going to be having one single project integrating with existing federal roads, promoting economic and social development across the country in addition to the integration at the national level for southwest, southeast and south-south, plus the Niger Delta region. Clearly, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road is beyond a one-off affair; it is an all-time composite template for the unification of the people of our federation. With this delivery by Tinubu, we can no longer talk of Nigeria agonizing under a weak infrastructural deficit.

    There have been other moves by the Tinubu administration that suggest a new dawn for the country. The Nigerian leader has interacted with foreign partners who, noticing his reforms, have keyed into his vision to incentivize investors in the oil and gas department of our economy. A directive Tinubu signed in February to engender growth in the oil sector is already attracting about $10b investments in the system. Finance Minister, Wale Edun, said of the initiative: “The idea is to create an atmosphere conducive to international competitiveness such that investment comes…We know it is foreign direct investment.’’

    Also in the past one year, we have seen steps taken by the Tinubu government to overcome the effects of the inevitable removal of the fuel subsidy. The president launched what he called the Presidential CNG Initiative in October 2023, promising that the project was ‘part of the many intervention programmes to reduce the burden of increase in pump price on the masses’. The CNG initiative is thus to deliver cheaper, safer and more climate-friendly energy. Its goal is to launch into the market compressed natural gas especially for mass transit. The central government promptly budgeted N500b palliative fund for the plan. Under it, 5500 CNG vehicles, (buses and tricycles), 100 electric buses and over 20000 CNG conversion kits will be purchased. From the end of May when he will be marking his first year in office, Tinubu will lead Nigeria into the league of nations with fleet of CNG vehicles. Such countries include India, China, Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan, Italy, and Iran. In addition to helping the masses through CNG, Nigeria would also be bringing down levels of air pollution as this is caused by the emission of gasoline and diesel engines. This is responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer, which nature provides for man’s protection.

    Tinubu has also been quite protective of the civil service. He has been receptive of progressive reforms ensuring worker-friendly incentives like pay rise, prompt payment of pensions and gratuity and job security for government employees without anxieties about fear of mass retrenchment. His government has put in place a series of committees working out a new minimum wage, policies for rapid promotion, retirement benefits with a human face etc.

    The federal authorities have also addressed the vexed insecurity issues. More police personnel are being recruited with a programme to kit the Force with advanced crime-battling weapons and technology. Government is also improving their morale to rhyme with modern techniques in addition to exposing them to intelligence-gathering models of taming insecurity. To be sure, while we hope to enjoy some of the positive outcomes now, in a year or two we should get into a paced gear in outsmarting the society’s crime rate.

    With the various forward-looking economic reforms in place over the past one year of the Tinubu administration together with a radical approach to taming insecurity nationwide, the experts are forecasting a turnaround for Nigeria. According to renowned global credit agency, Fitch, there’s now a ‘positive outlook for Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy with a GDP of $477.38 billion’. The agency attributes this forecast in part, to Tinubu’s ‘recent reforms focused on reinstating macroeconomic stability and bolstering policy coherence and stability’. It advances the argument that the government’s moves ‘have mitigated distortions arising from past unconventional monetary and exchange rate policies’. This, Fitch concludes, is ‘resulting in significant inflows returning to the official foreign exchange (FX) market’.

    Nevertheless, these welcome prospects have thrown back to us inevitable challenges. Can you have omelettes without breaking eggs? These problems are short term, however, which are typical of reforms that are necessarily introduced to deal with age-old problems left to fester by previous governments. Tinubu is boldly handling them to save us from the larger evils they would pose in the future. He needs our support and prayers to sail through in more years of his tenure, only one year of which he has much to boast of.

    •Oyatomi Esq. is a member of Independent Media and Policy Initiative, IMPI, Abuja.

  • A nation on circuit show

    A nation on circuit show

    By Mike Kebonkwu

    Our experience has always shown that the more things appear to change, the more they remain the same; we have remained stuck to our old ways.  We have continued rocking and swirling on the barber’s chair; all motion no movement. 

    From the first republic immediately after independence till date, we have remained enmeshed in divisive ethno-religious politics mired with official corruption and nepotism.   Extravagance opulence has remained official badge of public office holders while the masses are gripped in poverty, diseases and underdevelopment due to poorly thought out government policies.  The ordinary citizens have remained leashed and locked up in want and hardly able to make ends meet. 

    We are so dazed and confused due to endless circle of poverty that we appear not to even understand the source(s) of our problem.  We continue to eulogize and venerate our oppressors just to have money thrown at us and to received handouts and palliatives.  Our natural endowment in rich mineral resources, flora and fauna pale into insignificance and nothingness due to the rapacious greed of our political leaders who steal the country blind leaving the nation pale and anaemic. 

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    Today, we spend more time at the filling stations looking for fuel to buy than we spend in productive activities in our business places; the circle of scarcity has become perennial.  The official price of petrol is probably only enjoyed in the two cities of Lagos, the commercial capital of the nation and Abuja, the federal capital territory and seat of power.  The price in all other states is arbitrary and at the whims and intuition of shylock marketers of petroleum products with no control by any official regulatory agency. 

    Oil was struck in Nigeria around 1956 in Oloibiri in present day Bayelsa State and over 60 years down the line, we are not able to satisfy our domestic need of gasoline.  We have no infrastructural platform for sustainable refining of the products but prefer to export and sell our crude cheap and import finished products at prohibitive cost and thereby creating subsidy regime with all the appearances of sleaze ingrained in it. Our four refineries have remained decrepit and white elephant projects with huge annual turn-around maintenance cost without production and with huge workforce.  Then we ask ourselves what are the workers of the refineries and its NNPC subsidiaries doing, earning money for phony jobs?  

    We import petroleum products from countries that do not have deposit of hydrocarbon and export our crude to them and thereafter we import and buy at double the price.  We behave as a people jinxed or under spell even in all our spirituality carrying the Bible and the Quran but acting wickedly and deceitful as individuals and corporate bodies.  We dance and donate money in the churches and mosques but leave the people hungry and deprived. What hypocrisy!

    Petrol queues have returned again with most filling stations not dispensing petrol due to non-availability of the product and worse of it is that where the product is available, we are paying double the price.   We do not know what is true about the supply chain and the reason for the scarcity. The recycled excuses of hoarding and sabotage by the opposition have since expired because you do not hoard something that is freely available, or that can be replenished without difficulty; and in any case, the opposition also runs on the wheel of gasoline. 

    We are simply being tormented by inefficient bureaucracy and very rapacious cabal that have hijacked the political space.  How long can we continue like this?  For commercial transport drivers, okadas, tricycles etc, they spend more time on queues at the filling station and have to sometimes pay extra money to some miscreants who disrupt the queues for impatient drivers and car owners without sense of order and discipline. What is now constant with us is chaos at the filling stations and market places with frustration on the faces of everyone acting aggressively.   At the end of the day it is the poor sapped commuter and traders who bear the brunt of the cost as everything is transferred to the common man.  

    Every government without exception has always called on Nigerians to tighten their belts and make sacrifice for a better tomorrow; but tomorrow never comes! This is where we are today.  We have been short-changed and fleeced with all manners of taxes and sometimes hidden charges for every consumable; goods and services.  We have become more vulnerable as a people that daily survival is difficult.  The masses are unable to buy food from the market as prices of commodities are prohibitive and farmers both commercial and subsistence have been driven out of their farms and businesses by activities of bandits and kidnappers. 

    We are at the mercy of criminals, gangsters and un-empathetic political class who literarily mock the poverty of the masses. On top of it is the fact that we have come under the eclipse of insecurity with everyone within the range and net of the criminal cartel. 

    The organized labour, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) which is supposed to fight for the protection of the entire labour force and Nigerians is busy with distraction on partisan politics and making very unrealistic demands of N615,000 minimum wage for workers.  They measure the wage and salary against the United States Dollar and came out with the arithmetic of the purchasing power of our local currency before arriving at the so-called N615,000.  This is just unreasonable; the NLC should fight to restore productivity in the key sectors of the economy by demanding that government fixes the necessary infrastructure, road and the power sector and improve on security.  They should also be fighting against multiple taxations and official corruption. Demanding for over N600,000 minimum wage is thoughtless because most state governments failed to implement the N30,000 minimum wage and NLC did nothing about it. 

    Again which private sector can afford N615,000 wage bill for workers and still remain in business?  The NLC has completely lost the organizing ability and articulation of demands based on logical analysis on solid economic terms. 

    The NLC fight against the petrol subsidy removal was also half-hearted, again due to poor leadership.  What government needed to do was to expose those behind the subsidy sleaze in the industry rather than increase the burden of the masses by making them to pay more for petrol.  If workers are paid one million naira monthly salary or wages, it would not translate to improvement of  lots of workers as it can only add to his burden by carrying a cartload of cash to buy only vegetable like the Zimbabwean experience. The Nigerian students and student union body, the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS) has also virtually lost its relevance due to lack of ideological clarity and knowledge of its historical roles as veritable agents of change.  They now mimic and ape the politicians in every sense of the word with student leaders having SAs (special assistants) of what? 

    The economic situation in the country has turned everybody to fine ‘bara’ (mendicant) in gentle posture. To survive everyone has to ask for lifeline simply to make ends meets. The masses have been stripped off honour and esteem. One thinks that what the organized labour, Civil Society Organizations (CSO), right groups and activists should be doing is to focus and demand for proper management of the economy, accountability of public officers and fight against official corruption and poor governance instead of campaigning for protections of former governors being called to account for moneys they allegedly misappropriated while in office. The circuit show has to stop so that Nigeria can move forward!

    •Kebonkwu Esq is an Abuja-based attorney.

  • University of Southern California and the attack on the intellect

    University of Southern California and the attack on the intellect

    History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” So said renowned philosopher, Karl Marx. One phenomenon re-enacting itself in different forms today in the United States is ‘McCarthyism’. Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “the practice of accusing someone of being a Communist and therefore avoiding or not trusting them.” It derives its name from that of a Wisconsin Senator of the 1950s, Joseph McCarthy, who latched on to the American phobia for the ascendancy of the Communist ideas and principles of the Soviet Union with which America was engaged in a race for world dominance. 

    A 23 August, 2006 account by Arthur Miller states: “Joseph McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two hundred ‘card-carrying’ communists had infiltrated the United States government. Though eventually his accusations were proven to be untrue, and he was censured by the Senate for unbecoming conduct, his zealous campaigning ushered in one of the most repressive times in 20th-century American politics.” Continuing, Arthur Miller noted: “Known as McCarthyism, the paranoid hunt for infiltrators was notoriously difficult on writers and entertainers, many of whom were labeled communist sympathizers and were unable to continue working. Some had their passports taken away, while others were jailed for refusing to give the names of other communists. The trials, which were well publicized, could often destroy a career with a single unsubstantiated accusation.”

    In a 9 June 1954 United States Senate document, the unraveling of Senator McCarthy is recorded as follows: “In the spring of 1954, McCarthy picked a fight with the U.S. Army, charging lax security at a top-secret army facility. The army responded that the senator had sought preferential treatment for a recently drafted subcommittee aide. Amidst this controversy, McCarthy temporarily stepped down as chairman for the duration of the three-month nationally televised spectacle known to history as the Army-McCarthy hearings.”

    The Senate document noted further: “The army hired Boston lawyer Joseph Welch to make its case. At a session on June 9, 1954, McCarthy charged that one of Welch’s attorneys had ties to a Communist organization. As an amazed television audience looked on, Welch responded with the immortal lines that ultimately ended McCarthy’s career: ‘Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.’ When McCarthy tried to continue his attack, Welch angrily interrupted, ‘Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?’ Overnight, McCarthy’s immense national popularity evaporated. Censured by his Senate colleagues, ostracized by his party, and ignored by the press, McCarthy died three years later, 48 years old and a broken man.”

    Senator McCarthy is no more, but he left behind a notorious legacy. As Britannica.com put it, “The term McCarthyism has since become a byname for defamation of character or reputation by indiscriminate allegations on the basis of unsubstantiated charges.” Dictionary.com also defines it as “the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism.” In today’s terms, McCarthyism is a combination of bigotry, fake news and hate speech.

    McCarthyist phobia seems to be the reason for the cancellation of the speech by the 2024 valedictorian scheduled for Friday, 10 May, at the graduation ceremony of the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles in the United States, citing unspecified security concerns. According to Collins Dictionary, “a valedictorian is the student who has the highest marks in their class when they graduate from high school, college, or university, and who gives a speech at their graduation ceremony.” Selection as a valedictorian is therefore honour for being the best graduating student for the year.

    There was, as such, righteous indignation when the Muslim-American valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, who studied biomedical engineering, was denied the honour to deliver her valedictorian’s speech on account of her views on Israel, which were presumed to be ‘anti-Semitic’, and also because of USC’s authorities’ fear of what she might say in the speech. Tabassum was reported by CNN to have lamented deprivatively: “I am both shocked by this decision and profoundly disappointed that the University is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice. … I am not surprised by those who attempt to propagate hatred. I am surprised that my own university – my home for four years – has abandoned me.” It is to be underscored that as at the time the speaking engagement was cancelled, the speech had not yet been written.

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    The cancellation is reminiscent of the world of Oceania in George Orwell’s novel 1984. Oceania has the Thought Police, who ensure that ideas that the government doesn’t agree with cannot be incubated. If people were to incubate them, Orwell says they “had committed – would have committed, even if [they] had never set pen to paper – the essential crime that contained all others in itself. Thoughtcrime, they called it.” As Study.com puts it, “The Thought Police symbolize the overpowering and overarching control that the government has over the citizens of Oceania. They had the capability of arresting people based on supposed and suspected thoughts they may or may not have ever expressed.” It is ironic that, as in Oceania, USC, America’s 28th Best University, by one rating, at which the tuition and fees are US$68,237, would not allow the free exercise of the intellect by the best student it has produced for 2024. This is antithetical to the development of scholarship.

    Dr. James Herbert, President of the University of New England, Armidale, Australia, articulated this point beautifully in a November 2018 presentation, at Portland, Maine, in the US, titled “Universities as the marketplace of ideas.” Dr. Herbert said: “Colleges and universities have many different functions, but, most fundamentally, they are designed to be places where ideas can be explored, debated, discussed in the pursuit of truth. And in that sense, universities can be thought of as the ultimate marketplace of ideas. … Looking back now, I realized that the most important part of my education was developing the ability to deal with ideas through the process of critical discourse. In fact, it’s that kind of discourse that afforded me the intellectual humility to realize that I don’t have all the answers and I have a lot to learn from other people. I’m worrying that we’re beginning to lose the integrity of that kind of discourse at college campuses across the country. If everyone comes to the table with the same biases and if the answers to the important questions are all preordained from the beginning, the marketplace of ideas can’t function.”

    Using aerobic exercise imagery, Dr. Herbert continued: “If you want to develop a muscle, you have to stretch it beyond its normal functional range. You have to stretch it and challenge it. And so it is with the mind. If you want to develop your mind muscles, you have to stretch them to deal with uncomfortable ideas, stretch them beyond their normal comfort zone. In fact, the university can be thought of as a sort of gym for the mind; a place where one’s mind muscles are stretched and tested and challenged with the goal of becoming a deeper and more critical thinker. … It’s only at universities where the full panoply of ideas are open for discussion and debate, and when universities abdicate that function, they do a disservice not only to their students but to society as a whole.”

    A key component of any good university is a well-stocked library. About the content of libraries, Jo Godwin is widely quoted as saying, “A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone.” According to Felice Belle of Brooklyn Public Library, this “means that if a library is truly committed to representing different viewpoints, then there are going to be books on the shelf that you don’t agree with. And that just means that it’s a really good collection of books.” Hopefully, the authorities at USC would not find the need to screen the university’s library for ideas they disagree with, expunge them or burn the books and related media bearing them.

    The foregoing raises the question, “Where is the commitment to ‘free speech’ as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States?” The amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” What constitutes freedom of speech as well as its abridgement in America has a long history of controversy.

    In one instance, on 3 April, 1968, Martin Luther King Jnr said as follows, about an injunction against a planned protest march: “We have an injunction and we’re going into court tomorrow morning to fight this illegal, unconstitutional injunction. All we say to America is, ‘Be true to what you said on paper.’ If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn’t committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. So, just as I say, we aren’t going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around; we aren’t going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on.”

    Rather than nobly reversing its intellectually retrogressive decision of depriving its best student her hard-earned day in the sun and appropriately enhancing its security arrangements, USC sank deeper in the bog of intellectual retrogression by deciding to cancel the scheduled presentations by other invited speakers. That action constituted an expansion of the range of ideas the university was seeking to suppress or attack, even if the ideas were yet unformed. This raises the question, “Is ‘anti-Semitism’ the excuse for McCarthyism today the way Communism was in the early 1950s?”

    One point that has been established with great clarity by the USC incident is that there’s no value-free education. Education is, largely, gilded indoctrination. The protests by the students of the university against the decision to cancel the valedictorian’s speech indicate that there’s a misalignment between USC’s efforts to inculcate intellectual docility and the students’ desire to develop a muscular intellect. USC is a marketplace of ideas. In that market, let no one vandalise the wares they don’t like.

    Erratum: In this column last week, “a popular Lagos-based Yoruba Pentecostal Pastor” was written instead of “a popular Yoruba Pentecostal Pastor”. The error is regretted.

  • President Tinubu and that petition against NCDMB

    President Tinubu and that petition against NCDMB

    • By Kazeem Adeagbo

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a task of ensuring that though corruption fights back, he must be focused and consistent in his resolve to stamp out corruption from Nigeria. Though his administration is making frantic efforts at recovering looted funds from previous administrations, he must see it through.

    The consolation is that he has the staminar and commitment to deliver.

    Aside from the President, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr .Olanipekun Olukoyede also has a Herculean task of not allowing himself to be intimidated.

    That is why Mr Olukoyede, who is the 5th chairman of the EFCC, must see to the petition brought before him by one Mr Israel Sunny-Goli.

    Mr Sunny-Goli is a former member of the House of Representatives who represented Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency in the 9th Assembly.

    Interestingly, this is not the first time the NCDMB will swirl in corruption controversy.

    Already, the House of Representatives is carrying out a public hearing into how NCDMB continues to disburse funds on projects that appear not to be completed.

    Revelations contained in the petition before EFCC are not new. They were first made during an investigative hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Local Content.

    The latest allegations against the NCDMB leadership are weighty, especially coming from a former lawmaker.

    As regards the latest revelation by Sunny-Goli, the anti-graft agency must carry out a thorough investigation into the controversy surrounding the disbursement of funds by the NCDMB.

    Sunny-Goli has pointed out some alleged discrepancies in the disbursement of funds meant for the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Limited, the Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, as well as the Brass Petroleum Product Terminal Limited.

    Though no longer a member of parliament, Sunny-Goli holds the view that “given my years of active political and communal leadership, I am by all standards qualified to express concerns about the overall development of my people and to protect same.”

    According to him, the current status of the project suggests that nothing tangible has been accomplished on this project.

    Unfortunately, this makes its delivery uncertain and gloomy.

    Nigerians are wondering how humongous funds meant for certain projects will be alleged to have been squandered by some individuals who believe they are above the law.

    For example, Sunny-Goli, in his petition, gave a background on the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Limited.

    In his petition, he said: “The project was conceived to establish two trains of 5,000MTPD methanol Plants and one train of 500MMscf per day processing plant and associated infrastructure to be sited in Odiama, Brass Island, Bayelsa State.

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    “The total NCDMB equity contribution for this project is $200m. With an initial payment of $20m made in May, 2021, and an annual payment of $60m over the period of three years.

    “Available information indicates that nothing tangible has been accomplished on this project, thus making its delivery uncertain and gloomy.

    Atlantic International Refinery & Petrochemical Limited: This project was conceived for the establishment of a 2,000bpd Modular Refinery, a jetty facility, and a 2MW power plant in the Brass Free Trade Zone (FTZ), Bayelsa State.

    “Its target completion period was 24 months from the date of financial close. A full investment amount of $35 million was released in one bullet in October 2020.

    “The project has stalled and has little or nothing to show for the disbursement made. Delivery timeline is also uncertain.”

    On the Brass Petroleum Product Terminal Limited, the former lawmaker came up with abither revelation that “the investment was for the establishment of a 50 million-litre facility with a two-way product jetty, automated storage tanks, and loading bay in Brass, Baylesa State. The project was initially conceived to have the NNPC Limited and the NCDMB as shareholders with the private company but was curiously financed by the NCDMB alone.

    The project for which funds were disbursed in September 2021, according to him, “has not progressed as expected, and its completion remains not only uncertain but funding by the other shareholders is also not assured.”

    Buttressing his petition, he said: “As can be deduced from the information supplied above, these are well-meaning projects aimed at creating jobs for our teeming unemployed youths, as well as increase the nation’s revenue.”

    He was, however, of the opinion that “to ensure our great nation is not short-changed, and our teeming unemployed youths denied gainful employment opportunities in line with the Renewed Hoped agenda of President Bola Tinubu, I hereby request that your commission immediately institute a thorough investigation into the projects listed above, and prosecute without delay, anyone found culpable in the event of any misappropriation of funds.

    Please find attached pictorial evidence and other documents in support of my claims.”

    We expect the EFCC to swing into action and ensure that those found culpable are made to face the music.

    We expect that the EFCC Chairman will  not forget Section 7: (1) of the EFCC Act which states that “The Commission has power to – (a) cause investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organization has committed any offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes; (underlining is mine for emphasis);(b) cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.”

    ●Adeagbo, an architect, sent this piece from Texas, USA

  • Can the judiciary save local government system in Anambra?

    Can the judiciary save local government system in Anambra?

    By Chekwube Nzomiwu

    Another opportunity has beckoned for the judiciary to resolve the prolonged impasse in local government administration in Anambra State. Since 1999, Anambra State has witnessed only two democratic transitions at the local government level. Within the same period, there were transitions to five democratically elected administrations at the state-level under different governors. The governors were Chinwoke Mbadinuju (May 1999 to May 2003), Chris Ngige (May 2003-March 2006), Peter Obi (March 2006-March 2014), Willie Obiano (March 2014-March 2022) and Professor Charles Soludo (March 2022 till date). All these administrations had their democratically constituted legislative arms, comprising elected members of the House of Assembly who make laws for the state.

    But, at the local government level, the opposite was the case. Rather than conduct elections to elect chairmen and councillors for the 21 councils and 326 wards in the state, respectively, governors ran the local government administration with handpicked officials, in contravention of the law and a subsisting judgment of a competent court, which held that the state government cannot impose leaders on the local government areas.

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    Section (7) 1 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) guarantees a local government system by democratically elected councils. The constitution further imposes a duty on the state government to ensure the existence of such democratically elected local government. In Anambra State in particular, the Local Government Law of 1999, provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of the local government councils, and for related purposes.

    It will be recalled that the Federal High Court Enugu in a landmark judgment in suit no. FHC/EN/CS/90/2005, declared that the Anambra State Government has no power to appoint officials to govern local government areas. Justice A. L. Allagoa entered the judgment on September 26, 2006, in favour of an activist and politician, Dr. Ifeanyichukwu Okonkwo who was the sole plaintiff in the matter.

    The judge held that by the combined effect of Section 7 (1) and 318 (i) (c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Governor of Anambra State has no power in the appointment and approval of caretaker management committee, or in whatever name so called, to administer respectively, the 21 Local Government Council Areas in Anambra State.

    Okonkwo had complained to the court that he was being denied the right guaranteed him in the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right, Cap A, 9 Articles 13 (1) 24; 28 and 29 (2) of the L.F.N.2004 vol. 1, to participate in his domestic government in Idemili South and the third tier of government-the Local Government Council-which Section 7 (1) of the 1999 Constitution decreed.

    In his judgment, Justice Allagoa held that the Anambra State law providing for caretaker committee is inconsistent with Section 7 (1) of the Constitution. “Looking at the provision literally, it is clear that the constitution of the local government by democratic system is guaranteed by the constitution itself. The constitution then imposed a duty on the state government to ensure the existence of such democratically elected local government,” Allagoa said.

    He further made it clear that the powers of the State House of Assembly under Section 7 (1) of the Constitution, to legislate concerning local government councils, clearly did not include power of the state government to appoint caretaker committee to run local government.  Consequently, the court ordered the 2nd, 3rd and 4th respondents-the Governor of Anambra State, Anambra State House of Assembly and Commissioner for Justice, Anambra State-to pay the sum of N5 million as exemplary damages to the plaintiff. The defendants complied with the judgment and it subsists till date.

    Regardless, 18 years after the judgment, governors in Anambra State continued to run local government administration with undemocratically elected officials, wearing the garb of transition committees. The last local government election in Anambra State was held 11 years ago at the twilight of the Obi administration in November 2013. Incidentally, it was the only council polls held during the eight years of Obi administration, which ran the councils with transition committees.

    Piqued by the obstinacy of the governors, Okonkwo recently dragged Soludo and three of his predecessors to the Federal High Court, Awka Division, over alleged use of undemocratically elected officials to run the councils. In the fresh suit brought through originating summons, he is requesting for nine consequential reliefs/directing orders, premised on the interpretation of the previous judgment of the court in suit no. FHC/EN//CS/2005, delivered on September 26, 2006.

    Listed as 1st to 8th defendants respectively in the latest matter are the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Governor of Anambra State, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Anambra State and Anambra State House of Assembly. Others are former governors, Ngige, Obi, Obiano, for themselves and on behalf of their transition chairmen and councillors, and Livinus Onyenwe for himself and on behalf of transition chairmen under the Soludo administration.

    Besides redefining local government administration in Anambra State, the suit has wider implications. For instance, having acted contrary to the constitution which they swore to uphold, the governors risk being barred by the court from contesting election or occupying public office or seeking for re-election under the 1999 Constitution. In particular, the suit constitutes a threat to the second term ambition of Soludo.

    The plaintiff is also asking for an order to compel the 2nd to 8th defendants to render public account before the court, of all funds, illegally expended by them or agents and privies, during their respective administrations, while executing their illegal and unconstitutional usurpation of offices at the local government council areas in Anambra State, by tampering with public funds, excluding salaries and allowances of local government council employees and workers expenditure. If the court grants the orders, it will serve as deterrence to governors from usurping the functions of the councils and scare people away from accepting illegal council appointments. It will equally encourage the conduct of local government election.

    The plaintiff is further asking for an order, directing the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 8th defendant to publish before the Honourable Court, the FAAC Allocation to the respective 21 local government areas in Anambra State from 2006 to 2024. This will improve accountability in the councils.

    In addition, he is urging the court to order the 1st respondent (the Federal Republic of Nigeria) to put into the effect the unanimously passed resolution of the Senate, asking the Federal Government to halt the statutory allocation of funds to local government area councils, where chairmen and councillors were not democratically elected. Okonkwo demanded for exemplary damages of N100 billion in his favour, against the 2nd to 8th defendants. 

    Finally, the case will impact positively on the traditional institutions and town unions in Anambra State, which have been bedevilled by crisis as a result of imposition of leaders, giving rise to grassroots autocracy and financial malfeasance. The plaintiff wants an order, nullifying/setting aside all the purported directives,  financial expenditures, presentment of “Igwe elects” by town unions to chairmen of transition councils, and issuance of certificates of recognition to them as His Royal Highnesses (H.R.H) for government recognition, purportedly made by the illegal and unconstitutionally constituted caretaker/transition committees with effect from September 26, 2006 by the 2nd to 8th defendants, having not been democratically elected.

    •Nzomiwu writes from Awka, Anambra State.

  • Can we let Ajuri Ngelale be?

    Can we let Ajuri Ngelale be?

    By Yinka Adaranijo

    Against the backdrop of their aroles in the management of media and communications during the campaigns of President Olusegun Obasanjo, a few names were already engraved in the public consciousness who could possibly lead his communication team. Dele Alake, Bayo Onanuga and Tunde Rahman were at the very top of the list. Alake and Onanuga indeed had very long relationships with Tinubu beginning from their years as editors of major newspapers and magazines. They were potent operatives with Tinubu and concerned Nigerians opposed to the better forgotten fistic rule of General Sani Abacha. They were the arrowheads of the “underground press” which reported the despondency of the Nigerian socio-political situation to the international community under the famously repressive reign of Abacha.

    Alake served as Tinubu’s topmost publicist in the latter’s years as governor of Lagos State. Alake it was who affixed the schedule “strategy” to the primordial brief of information commissioner. This has since been widely adopted by many who barely understand the origins of the initiative. Onanuga was director-general of the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN), under Buhari, courtesy of Tinubu. Rahman succeeded Sunday Dare who would later serve as sports minister under Buhari as Tinubu’s media adviser, all the way into Tinubu’s presidential project. All three gentlemen could confidently and confidently stake their curriculum vitae in the quest for the job of presidential spokesperson.

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    The dynamics of politics is oftentimes unpredictable. For all his good works and professionalism as presidential spokesman during the presidential campaign of Obasanjo in 1998 and 1999, Onyema Ugochukwu, the legendary journalist was tipped indisputably for the job of Obasanjo’s media adviser. In working for Obasanjo, Ugochukwu incurred the wrath of his kinsmen in the Igbo country who thought him a betrayer. Alex Ekwueme a former vice president was also running for the presidency. Why would Ugochukwu choose to work for a Yoruba aspirant? One of the very first appointments Obasanjo made immediately after his inauguration was that of Doyin Okupe, a medical doctor as his media adviser!

    As it turned out, whereas Alake was at the very fore of presidential communication in the early weeks of the Tinubu government, the president’s sights were on Ajuri Ngelale as his media points man. A familiar face on television during his years in the African Independent Television, (AIT) and Channels Television, the young Ngelale had also served in the office of the immediate past vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. He is the son of Chief Precious Ngelale, from Rivers State who was Minister of State for Water Resources during Obasanjo’s first term. The president apparently had another crucial brief for Alake to handle, in developing the nation’s solid minerals sector as potential alternative to oil. Petroleum has remained the mainstay of the nation’s economy over several decades. Tinubu had his name on his ministerial shortlist close to his chest. He also had his ideas about how to accommodate and deploy the media human capital resources around him, variously.

    Tinubu would subsequently appoint Bayo Onanuga as Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, (remember Alake), and Tunde Rahman as his Senior Special Assistant, (SSA) on media matters. For the purposes of clarification, the Special Adviser and SSA are at par in terms of ranking and entitlements. It was suggested for adoption into the Nigerian presidential organogram in 1999, by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Obasanjo filled up the quota of advisers approved for him by the National Assembly. He was still left with substantial numbers of technocrats to integrate into his new government at the advisory level. Atiku came to the rescue with that ingenious suggestion, probably borrowed from the US presidential system.

    Tinubu is the first president to operate with a tripod of key media aides. Obasanjo maintained just one in the State House, while other media specialists were assigned different designations. Ugochukwu, was in-charge of the Office of National Orientation and Public Affairs, while the respected Dr Stanley Macebuh (of blessed memory) was SSA Special Duties. Ad’Obe Obe who succeeded Ugochukwu as editor of West Africa magazine in the UK was on the speech writing and foreign affairs schedule, while Tunde Olusunle managed Special Services. All these operatives, however, collaborated with the Media Adviser seamlessly. Buhari adopted a two-pronged system which comprised of Femi Adesina, Special Adviser, and Garba Shehu, SSA, and they complimented each other without glitches.

    While the Tinubu administration has brought the Ngelale, Onanuga and Rahman triad together and they collaborate on their assignments, there seem to be ghost agents perennially opposed to Ngelale. From the incident at the United Arab Emirates, (UAE) and the NASDAQ, United States incident last year, to the more recent Maersk incident, certain tendencies seem to be consistently baying for his blood. They seem to detest his youthfulness and self-confidence. They are thus never tired of innuendos and insinuations calculated to undermine his hardwork. Ngelale did not appoint himself to his job; President Tinubu did. And he evidently did so on his convictions even at that time. Those who watched the television shortly after the Supreme Court upheld Tinubu’s election in October last year would probably remember the president’s words when Ngelale visited him in his office. “Ajuri, congratulations. Your job is secure,” was Tinubu’s comment. Ngelale had been with Tinubu for just a few months and was convinced enough by Ngelale’s services that he reassured him of his retention on his desk.

    Sources in Aso Villa will tell you that beyond packaging and managing the public perception of the president, Ngelale also functions as master of ceremonies for events held in that complex. Elsewhere and at other times, this in itself is a full portfolio at the pedestal of an adviser. The daily schedule of the president as articulated by the Department of Protocol in conjunction with the Chief of Staff, (COS), should be served to the official manning this outpost regularly. His work could indeed involve some research work to keep the compere updated about what to say in specific terms, displaying situational and spatial awareness. Just in case the president was receiving in audience say Anthony Blinken the US Secretary of State, introducing the dignitary and situating the context of his visit are beyond spontaneous conjuration.

    Beyond rhetoric, Tinubu is conscientiously committed to grooming the younger generation to become leaders of the future. The likes of Betta Edu, the ostensibly 37 year-old medical doctor, who was entrusted with the crucial Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation might have failed the president. His faith in the younger generation, however, as baton-collectors from the older dispensation remains unshaken. This explains his entrusting the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, (NASENI), to the 33-year old Khalil Halilu as Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive, and the 38-year-old Jamila Bio-Ibrahim as Minister for Youth Affairs. Ngelale is 37 and fits the profile Tinubu wants to groom for the future.

    •Adaranijo a renowned journalist and seasoned public affairs analyst, writes from Lagos.