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  • The imperatives of state police

    The imperatives of state police

    By ‘Gbade Ojo

    Undoubtedly, one major glaring absurdity of Nigeria’s convoluting federal architecture is that of over centralization in all ramifications. Globally, there is no other federal state with power so concentrated at the centre as Nigeria. This has led to what students of federalism would regard as ‘federal immobilism’ with the concomitant effect of stress that has given birth to strident calls for both fiscal and political restructuring of the federation.

    It is ludicrous that the octopus federal government was contemplating chewing what it cannot swallow by nursing the idea of community policing in the face of palpable failure of the over centralized Nigeria Police. Now that the security reality on the ground has called for establishment of state police, one is shocked to the marrow that Inspector General of Police (IGP) who is supposed to be the arrow-head of the initiative, prefer the extant system of an octopus police structure under the command of one person called Inspector-General. A country of 120 million population by conservative estimate and land mass that can swallow many countries in Africa coupled with the gargantuan problem of hyper-ethnic instability syndrome in the midst of hundreds of ethnic nationalities where justice do not reign; the idea of state police becomes imperative which no doubt will promote community policing. Despite the benefits of technology and ICT; it is humanly difficult to police 774 local government areas (aside from the numerous local council development areas (LCDAs) all over the country. It is unimaginable for the IGP to ever contemplate being abreast of happenings in Gbada Efon village where I hail from in Ona-Ara Local Government of Ibadan in Oyo State. This is practically impossible. This is why most attacks by hoodlums and bandits are carried out in rural communities to embarrass the government.

    What the country needs for now in the face of an overwhelming security challenges all over the country no doubt is state police, which cannot be achieved by presidential fiat as some are made to believe but rather through careful constitutional amendments.  Presently, Nigeria as a federal state operates a central policing system. Article 2 (section 2) of the 1999 constitution (as amended in 2010) affirms that “Nigeria shall be a federation consisting of states and a Federal Capital Territory”. Article 214, section 2 however stipulates that “there shall be a Police Force for Nigeria”, which shall be known as the Nigerian Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section, no other police force shall be established for the federation or any part thereof”. The combined effect of these provisions, as our legal luminaries would say is that although the Nigerian constitution recognizes two tiers of power with authorities to make exclusive or concurrent laws on stipulated areas, only one police authority is recognized by law to enforce laws made by both federal and state legislatures! It is perhaps against this background  that the former Attorney General and Minister  of Justice – Abubakar Malami –was critical of the Amotekun , the security initiative in the southwestern states, which no doubt has being copied by other part of the country to combat security challenges.

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    It is imperative to note that the provision of central policing has thrown up many challenges in our fledgling democracy, as recently noted by a two-term former governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimbi (of blessed memory) in a perceptive lecture he gave at the University of Ibadan, Department of Political Science that the most fundamental being the unprecedented level of violence and crime in the country. As any international visitor may note, more so that anyone visiting Nigeria for the first time, perusing our national dailies or follow social media will definitely think that the country is in a perpetual state of war with the deluge of crimes and violent cases across the country on a daily basis: Boko Haram insurgency, armed robberies, kidnapping for ransom, mob killings and assassinations with the addition of herdsmen wreaking havocs nationwide.

    At the heart of this security challenges is the structure of our policing. How is the police organized? How are its men recruited? How is the force funded? What is the indoctrination of the force? Who does the force report to? How nimble is the reporting authority? How conversant are they with the culture and language of the communities they police, how familiar are they with the terrain they superintend over? What is the relationship of the police commissioner with the state governor whom he is supposed to serve as the chief security officer of the state? And above all, what is the population size of the police?

    It is often stated that the personnel in Nigeria is now barely over half a million. Whereas, the real number may be far less, the police management is unwilling or unable to give us the exact figure of its membership – so we are all guessing. The fact is that the total numbers of the Police both officer and men vis-à-vis the United Nations (UN) requirement is absurd. It is not a surprise that many Nigerians die daily with avoidable deaths!

    Rather than Nigeria to benefit from the experience of its peer in the international system (federal states) such as the United States of America, Canada, India, Switzerland and the likes, the policing system in Nigeria has no bearing to what it should be in a federal state. For instance, the constitution of the United States allows the federal, state, local and even special districts like universities to perform police functions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), for instance, investigates inter-state crimes, among others, the state police enforce state laws and even supervise federal elections, city/township police enforce local laws while police authorities of special districts like schools enforce regulations of their jurisdictions. The relationships between all the police services are properly coordinated for the exchange of intelligence and prevention of crimes.

    On comparative basis, the federal government of Australia maintains police forces alongside the federating units. In Republic of Germany made up of the 16 Landers (equivalent of states), German constitution concedes most of police powers to the 16 Landers even though the federal government is also allowed to legislate on the subject. The constitution of Switzerland empowers the federating units to share policing functions with the Federal Government, same for Canada and India. Coming nearer home, Ethiopia operates a federal constitution in which article 52 sub-section 2(g) of its constitution expressly grants each federating states the power ‘to establish and administer a state police force, and to maintain public order and peace within the state’.

    Be that as it is, it is evident from the foregoing that Nigeria’s refusal to reflect the required dynamism of federal architecture in its policing structure is the exception rather than the rule in comparative federal systems. Even in both pre-colonial and immediate post-colonial Nigeria police establishments were highly decentralized and localized. Many of the units that were amalgamated into Nigeria operated diverse system of policing. In the old Oyo Empire, public security was provided by the Eshos. In Igboland, communities enforced societal rules with the use of age groups while the Dongaris were the law-enforcement agents in most of the communities in the areas that became Northern Nigeria. Thus, under colonialism, the colonial power established different police forces across the country until it brought all of them together in April, 1930 to form the Nigeria Police Force, with headquarters in Lagos. However, the Nigeria Police Force existed along with Local Government Police in the Western Region (called Akoda), and the Native Authorities in Northern Nigeria. For instance, the Local Government Police Law 1959 of the Western Region confirmed existing police forces in the region and authorized every local government council with the approval of the Minister of Local Government to establish a police force. Also, Section 105(7) of the 1963 Republican Constitution empowered the regions to establish police authorities at local government and regional levels.

    It is unfortunate that this system was abrogated when the military took over power in 1966. In his maiden broadcast as the Head of State, General Aguiyi Ironsi pronounced that ‘all local government forces and Native Authority Police Forces shall be placed under the overall command of the Inspector General. The police forces of native authorities and local councils were put under the operational control of the Inspector General of Police. The reason for this abrogation was the use of the local police forces to harass, intimidate and oppress political opponents. It is unfortunate that this centralization of police functions has been sustained both in the 1979 and 1999 constitutions.

    •Professor Ojo, teaches Political Science at the University of Ilorin.

  • Critical perspectives on electricity tariff hike and energy transition

    Critical perspectives on electricity tariff hike and energy transition

    By Kola Ibrahim

    The recent increase in electricity tariff sanctioned by the government, has drawn the ire of many Nigerians; and rightly so. In an attempt to ward off criticism of the increase at a time of unprecedented hardship over cost of living, the government and its strategists, claimed that the increase is basically for the elites, otherwise tagged ‘Band A’ consumers. The increase, about 300 percent, was therefore aimed at dividing consumers along income line.

     But this excuse immediately falls like a pack of card when examined, even in its face value. The use of band system as a way of supplying and surcharging consumers is a form of economic apartheid. Giving a certain percentage of the population longer hours of electricity supply because of ability to pay is not only illegitimate and unjust but also anti-development. It clearly gives the electricity companies (Discos and Gencos) an alibi to avoid improving facilities, production and supply, since their profits are guaranteed from a certain layer of consumers.

    It is one thing to give some priority to certain critical sectors such as public institutions (health, educational, security, etc.) and important economic sectors, when there is limited production and supply; it is another thing to segregate consumers on the basis of ability to pay more. Even such a policy of prioritizing critical sectors will only be a temporary and short-term one, and not a permanent policy, upon which all other policies will be based.

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     Secondly, the idea that the tariff increase is only meant for those who can afford it betrays the real intention of the policy. There is no demographical data to show that poor and working class people do not live in areas designated as ‘Band A’. Even if the increase will affect only upper middle class and big businesses, simple economics make us to understand that this will be transferred to other social and economic strata, especially the working class and the poor. More than this, the increase is only a dress rehearsal for increase across the board, because the same argument used to justify latest increase applies to other categories of customers, only that the government wanted to test the water with ‘Band A’. It is not a new strategy.

    But one of the major planks of this contribution is the argument for the increase: the need to end electricity subsidy and allow for cost- or market-reflective tariff.  This is flowing from the idea that subsidy is altogether bad and market fundamentals must not be interfered with. This is coming from the Structural Adjustment Programmes of the Bretton Woods institutions, which are actually in the service of global finance capital, the controlling arm of global capitalism. Yet, the most advanced economies and fast developing economies actually implement huge subsidy programmes across sectors to sustain the status of their economies or to move them forward. Even if a great part of these subsidies goes to the rich class, a large percentage is still directed towards expanding their economies. 

    Developing countries that mostly depend on primary product extraction are told to avoid all subsidies, even when they are important for spurring their economies towards development and human development. Indeed, the best era of improvement in human and economic development for the developed economies happened when state was directly intervening in the economy through essential subsidies, investment in important economic sectors and human development, and curtailing the excesses of capitalist class, and not excusing them as presently witnessed.

    However, we need to probe this argument that there is electricity subsidy. How do we even come about subsidy in the first place? Most factors for electricity production and distribution are relatively constant: the installations, transmission lines, landed properties, labour. The only variable is gas, which price fluctuates at relative price that can be accommodated within a stable tariff regime. Moreover, Nigeria, as a major gas producer, cannot be selling gas at international price for an economic-determinant sector like power sector. What a development-driven government would do is to allocate a percentage of its gas resources to important sector like power, which is sold at discount rate to power companies, who in turn are compelled to reflect this in reduced tariff, and invest in modern equipment.

     Rather, what you have is a continuous increase in tariff almost every year. Meanwhile, there is hardly any improvement in facilities, electricity infrastructures or installations. All the distribution companies (Discos), generating companies (Gencos) and even government-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) are short-staffed such that it will sometimes take days to effect repairs in damaged facilities. No investments in modern equipment to limit electricity loss and theft.  On the other hand, consumers are made to shoulder the responsibility of supposed private companies including paying exorbitantly for prepaid meters, subsidizing revenue shortfall of discos through outrageous estimated bill and paying for repair of electrical installations (e.g. transformers).

    Worse still, the same government that was talking about ending subsidy on electricity has given tens of billions of naira in dole-outs and financial supports to the Gencos and Discos. Interesting fact is that the government still have substantial share in the ownership of Discos and some of the Gencos. Yet, while the private majority shareholders are making profits and using government funds to pay off bank loans, government, as minority shareholder, cannot point to any gain or profit accrued to the public from these companies. Rather the same government is not only giving billions of public funds to bailout private business, but it is also helping them to milk Nigerians dry through continuous tariff hike.  Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which is supposed to defend public interests, serves more the interests of Gencos and Discos, who want to make huge profits with little or no investment.

    Furthermore, the failure of the government to fund alternative power generation and supply, especially through solar and wind energy, is part of the agenda to protect the profits of private businesses in the power supply network. If government embarks on a policy to power ALL public institutions with solar and wind power supply systems, this will reduce, on a medium and long term, government expenditure, reduce reliance on crude oil and fossil fuel, and rapidly increase renewable power supply uptake across the country. By directly funding production and installation factories for renewable power and establishing research centres/institutes for renewable energy, a new clean energy economy will be created that will have a multiplier effects on the economy.

    A deliberate focus on investment in stand-alone and non-grid renewable power for rural homes, low income earners and workers, whose income is fixed but spend significant share of their income on energy, will reduce cost of living and poverty, and further spur the economy, as more disposable income will be available for other needs. This will also reduce pressure on existing traditional electricity capacity, and also compel private electricity companies (Discos and Gencos) to be more responsible and competitive.

    Ultimately, to guarantee constant and affordable electricity will require Nigerian state putting the power sector under public ownership, with democratic and accountable management. The current failure of private-sector-led power sector makes this obvious than ever. But the biggest task is for the trade union movement to push genuine pro-people energy policies. It is in the interests of the working class to ensure that economic policies reduce cost of living and increase living standard, while narrowing wealth gap and inequality. This cannot be done through mere advocacy but as a cardinal aspect of trade union principle and agitations.

    •Ibrahim, activist, author, researcher and climate justice campaigner writes from Ile-Ife, Osun State.

  • Why Africa should embrace South Korea’s development model

    Why Africa should embrace South Korea’s development model

    • By Tunde Rahman

    To say the economy of the Republic of South Korea is a developed and strong economy is to say the obvious. South Korea’s economy had been vastly developed, and its economic structure radically transformed since after World War II in 1945 and the Korean War in 1953. The Korean War was a war of attrition between two brother-nations – North and South Koreas – accentuated by the Cold War era, and would appear not to have fully abated up till now.

    However, South Korea is not just a developed nation today; it is also a regional power. According to a report titled “The Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development,” a World Bank publication, authored in 2008 by the Commission on Growth and Development, 13 countries sustained 7% + annual growth for 25 years or more since 1950. Six countries among them joined the high-income group. They are Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malta, and South Korea. Prominent among the factors listed in the report for sustained development are stable macroeconomic policies exemplified in sound public finance and low inflation, smooth operation of the market mechanism, high saving and high investment rates as well as knowledge infusion and overseas markets.

    South Korea’s economic growth has been widely described as a miracle on the Han River. That economic accomplishment allowed the country to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the G20. Truth, however, is the South Korean achievement is not a miracle. It is a result of deliberate planning and execution of development strategies and sustained efforts at development. How was the Republic of South Korea able to achieve this feat with the destruction and devastation occasioned by the war with North Korea? Lacking in natural resources, the main vehicle for the economic development of that country is state-led industrialisation. Professor Taejong Kim of Korea Development Institute (KDI), in his presentation before a team of editors recently in South Korea, said the fast growth was sustained by inclusive policy measures – inclusive and sustained investments in human capital, natural capital and social capital. These measures, according to him, were designed to empower vulnerable communities and individuals.

    I have provided this important background in order to underscore the huge success story that is South Korea today. The country’s economy is ranked the third largest in Asia and the 11th biggest in the world by GDP. Goldman Sachs in “Beyond The Brics: A look at The ‘Next 11’ ” listed South Korea in the group of Next Eleven countries as having the potential to play a dominant role in the global economy by the middle of the 21st century.

    I was in Seoul on the invitation of the Korea International Broadcasting Foundation called Arirang to take part in a programme geared towards enhancing exchange and cooperation between South Korea and Africa. The visit took us (me and some 11 other African journalists and government media managers) to many important places. We had interactions with several top government officials and private business leaders. We were at the KDI Global Knowledge Exchange and Development Centre (GKEDC) and Korea Railway Traffic Control Centre.

     We participated in a dialogue for sustainable development and economic cooperation between Korea and Africa as well as in the high-level policy workshop on rural development administration. We gained valuable insights into the country’s model for agriculture and rural development through an interaction with the Director-General of Korea Rural Development Foundation, Kim Hwang-Yong, who spoke about the role of the foundation in addressing the issue of poverty and food sufficiency. According to him, the foundation helps to develop new technologies for agric development, which it transfers to farmers in the country.

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    Believing the country’s technology would be good for Africa, he said the RDA had been working with many African countries to ensure, among other things, increased rice production, disclosing also that the foundation presently has 26 varieties of rice in eight countries of Africa. We also had a meeting with the Executive Vice President Korean Foundation, Mr. Rhee Jong Kook, and another high-level meeting at the South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs where we had a useful conversation on South Korean foreign policy options with the Deputy Foreign Minister, Chung Byung-won.

    We undertook an excursion of the Lotte World Tower and the Hyundai Plant in Goyang where that company’s vehicles that are available in the Nigerian markets are being produced.

    Perhaps a more remarkable part of the visit was the tour of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), Imjingak Pyeonghwa Nuri Park and Third Tunnel. Established under the provisions of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953, the DMZ is the region on the Korean Peninsula that demarcates North Korea from South Korea. It is meant to serve as a buffer zone between the two countries. But there is still palpable tension around the zone as North Korea has reportedly dug up to three tunnels in a bid to violate the agreement and invade South Korea.

    African countries, including Nigeria, have a lot to learn from South Korea, and interestingly, Nigeria and South Korea have something in common: both are a multi-party democracy with a free market economy and fledging private sector.  The Republic of South Korea places a high premium on research and development (R&D) and spends heavily on them. R&D is a key driver of economic growth and industrial development. Like South Korea, Africa, Nigeria, in particular, needs to continue to scale up research and development.

    There is also South Korea’s education system, particularly her educated populace, which is largely responsible for the high technology boom and economic development. South Korea maintains increasing enrolment in higher education with special attention paid to Science and Engineering. Meanwhile, the intellectual arm of the country used to power this outstanding growth is the Korea Development Institute. The KDI School of Public Policy and Management offers scholarship at Post-Graduate and PhD levels to African students where they undergo courses to strengthen their capacities and hone their academic skills in order to give back to their societies on their return home. It was at a dinner with some academics and students of the institute that I encountered Abdul Labaran, a Nigerian Master’s degree student of the institution, who commended the scholarship programme. Africa needs to borrow a leaf from the mandate of that institute.

    As indicated earlier, South Korea parades incredible economic growth and is today a high-tech industrialized economy. It has received accolades globally for value-added manufacturing and for her hi-tech companies. To aim at achieving this feat, Africa must invest in technology and innovation to enhance technological competitiveness.

    Of interest is also the patriotism of the South Korean people. Stories abounded of how many South Korean women sacrificed their trinkets and jewelleries during the difficult period in order to power the economy. Over two million people reportedly contributed. This is something that should be emulated in our clime because patriotism fuels growth and development.

     Indeed, there are many great examples to talk about in respect of the South Korea story, which Africa can further explore. Interestingly, a summit of Africa and South Korea is underway to offer a veritable opportunity for the exchange of ideas. The summit will also further cooperation and partnership in various areas. Slated for June 4-5, it will offer African countries a window into the huge economic advancement of South Korea. Speaking about the summit, the South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister described it as the biggest international conference to be initiated by the present administration in that country. It is aimed at creating and strengthening cooperation and collaboration with Africa.

     “The summit will be mutually beneficial and create long-term partnership between Africa and Korea. Korea seeks to strengthen economic cooperation with Africa, and the summit will offer the best opportunity for Korea to support Africa in enhancing economic growth. Leveraging each other’s comparative advantage will help to advance growth and sustainable development. It will be a win-win for both South Korea and Africa in terms of economic cooperation and partnership,” Byung-won said. Should African leaders attend this important and first-ever summit between Korea and Africa? I think so!

     •Rahman is a Senior Presidential Aide

  • On Atiku and the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project

    On Atiku and the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project

    • By Orji Uchenna Orji

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on April 7, criticized the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project award and  cost, which  he fallaciously  stated was awarded  to Hitech without  due process and at a cost higher than the initial  amount announced  by the immediate  two previous  administrations that attempted to execute  the project. Also, on May 6, Atiku criticized the Federal Government’s bold and visionary decision to  embark on a developmental journey  that would redefine the economic growth trajectory  of Nigeria, by raising two  issues, namely; that the contract was awarded  to Hitech Construction Company Nigeria  Limited because  of the personal  relationship  between  the President  of Nigeria and the chairman of Hitech, Chagoury, and that the demolition exercise  was done in a hurry and thus a threat  to foreign investment.

    These accusations or rather, viewpoints, are, to say the least, intrinsically superficial, baseless, self-serving and politically motivated to imprint malice in the minds of unsuspecting members of the public, especially the gullible. The Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi has in different media fora decapitated  the insinuations of the former  vice president and other desperate persons when he gave insights into the award process, the unit cost comparisons, the project  review dimensions, the demolition notices and compensation plans as well as those affected by the demolition.

    For the avoidance  of doubt, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project complied 100% with the provisions  of the Procurement  Act and was  awarded based on the EPC+ F procurement process, that is to say, the project is an unsolicited bid done on EPC+F. Under this model of procurement, the investor provides all the designs, part of the financing and construction, while the FGN pays counterpart funds. The bid of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project came through this process. The ministry received the bid, worked on it, and sent the same to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). The BPP worked on it in accordance with the stipulations of the Procurement Act and came up with a competitive price slightly lower than the ministry’s price and even lower than the cost of similar projects awarded five years ago, including the Bodo-Bonny project awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. The BPP issued a certificate of “No Objection” on the project to the Federal Ministry of Works as required by the Procurement Act. Consequently, the Federal Ministry of Works took the certificate of “No Objection” to the Federal Executive Council (FEC), and the FEC deliberated on and approved the same. It would be recalled that the FEC had first approved the project model on EPC+F before the process of procurement even started. This is a testament that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, section 1, followed due process.

    The claim of the former vice president that the son of the president has interest in CDK Integrated Industries Ltd is not tenable as the company that did bid for the project was Hitech Construction Company Nigeria Ltd which has a full legal personality, as it were. Again, this claim is nothing but a   digression showing absolute frustration of a false accuser who is bereaved of facts to substantiate his claims.

    On the cost of award of the project and even other projects under Senator Umahi, it is of public notice and a sort of judicial notice that Sen. Umahi is second to none in the history of the Federal Ministry of Works in effectively negotiating costs of projects, and he does that with the deepest sense of patriotism. The Minister of Works has within the shortest period in office, saved billions of Naira in the review, redesign and award of contracts. In the case under review, the minister had come up with a new and higher dimension of the project of which the design, dimension and concept were reviewed upward by the ministry and yet the cost was drastically reduced downwards.

    The project, which  was by the analysis  of the former vice president put at a cost of about N8.552 billion per km of  standard  gauge, was meticulously  and judiciously  reduced  to about N4.329 billion per kilometre gauge by the  minister under the new design and concept. The old concept  and design relied upon by the former vice president has a 52-metre corridor with asphalt, whereas the new concept as reviewed by the minister has a 100-metre corridor with a total concrete pavement of 59.2 metres and increased  size of 10 lanes and a provision for 25 metres for train track.

    The road standard used by the former vice president in his analysis cannot stand the test of time because of the high water table at the coastal area. The quality of road design and construction by the Renewed Hope administration for the coastal road is such that it will last for 50 to 100 years. In this regard therefore, it will not be immodest to state that the former vice president displayed the highest level of hypocrisy and was out to mislead and brainwash the unsuspecting members of the public, especially the gullible, for selfish political reasons.

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    Further to the issue of due process raised by concerned environmentalists and with the greatest respect to the concerns of Laila Johnson-Salami, there was a preliminary approval issued in December 2023 by the Federal Ministry of Environment and the same renewed in January 2024. As it is known, the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) certification is progressive with the project’s progress and final certificate issued when all issues are resolved. This means that the Federal Ministry of Works has a certified ESIA to start the project. Even the Federal Ministry of Environment has confirmed this position in their recent press release, whereof they stated, among others, that Preliminary Impact Assessment certification was issued for site clearance and scoping for compensation. The Federal Ministry of Works has redesigned the route to put human face to the decision to embark on the project and to minimize demolition of permanent structures. The route, as it were, targets the demolition of mainly shanties and this demonstrates the human face in action of the Renewed Hope administration. The process of ESIA involves constant stakeholders’ engagement, of which many have taken place, and the Minister of Works has even participated in two of the meetings in Lagos which were broadcast live to buttress his sense of transparency, openness, probity and accountability, which are the tenets of the present administration.

    Compensation is ongoing and those whose properties were affected appreciated the human face shown by the Minister of Works and they offered to make sacrifice as their contribution for the nation’s economic advancement. It need not be overemphasized  that the relevant notices were issued  and this led to a seamless compensation  process achieved without  rancour, except  in the case of the owner of Landmark whose  psyche was manipulated by politicians moments after he appreciated the efforts of the Minister of Works  in ensuring  minimum  damage to properties on the right of way for which he acknowledged that he had no valid  title in favour thereof.

    The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a historic project and Africa’s biggest super highway that is expected to be a major catalyst to Nigeria’s socio-economic transformation. Although it was conceptualized partly at the time Atiku Abubakar was the vice president, successive administrations failed to execute it because of lack of political will.

    The Renewed Hope administration, being private sector and FDI friendly, saw the need to execute the project and on time through ECP+ F model of funding. Again, this project was appropriated by the 10th National Assembly and extra-ordinary funding, as permitted by law, was required to execute  the project, hence the ECP+ F Hitech  contract. This is a legislative practice that is well known and very consistent with the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as Amended. This super highway will trigger economic boom, raise the GDP, create greater  tourism  potentials, create wealth and job opportunities, attract  wider Foreign Direct Investment, boost coastal businesses, trade and market  development, and promote industrialization, especially along  the coastal  corridors with far reaching impact on the  social-economic activities and safety along the feeder routes and spurs.

    The Honourable Minister of Works, Dr. Nweze David Umahi is unwavering  in his passion  and commitment  to Nigeria’s road infrastructure  revolution and he is ahead of the detractors  who do not see anything  good in having a country, we can all be proud of. As a nation- builder, he is committed to reflecting the ideals of these aspirations in all his private and public dealing irrespective of the person’s religion, tribe, tongue or political affiliation.

    •Hon. Barr. Orji is Special Adviser (Media) to the Honourable Minister of Works

  • Ethnic nationalities: Key to ‘true’ nationhood?

    Ethnic nationalities: Key to ‘true’ nationhood?

    • By Andrew A. Erakhrumen

    Nigeria, forced into serving as a large theatre of the absurdities, is unceasingly offering pig-ignorant theatrics, for amusement, in the midst of series of dreadfulness requiring serious attention and actions! Perhaps, this is why Nigeria is considered, in some quarters, to be a huge joke; they may actually be right! Sincerely, there are many jokers here! Hence, there is continuity in entertaining and lulling those expected to engage in perpetual vigilance to sleep! Unfortunately, both the comedians and audience appear permanently unserious! The audience particularly appears incapable and/or unwilling to pick out, and act on, some sense from apparent senselessness.

    After all, not all senseless acts offer outright senselessness! For decades, especially since January, 1966, the quest for nationhood in Nigeria (if there is still any modicum of genuineness in it) has been unsuccessful. Before the 1914 amalgamation, the imperial British government, being already in control of a small Niger Coast Protectorate, purchased the territories which eventually became Nigeria, specifically in 1899, for £865,000 from George Dashwood Taubman Goldie (1846–1925) and his Royal Niger Company! Interesting!

    Was Nigeria treated as a commodity at a point? It appears so! Is it still commodified? You should answer that! So, might was right; and it still is, at the present? Over the years, many people in Nigeria have been enabling and reinforcing cracks and failures.

    The poor in Nigeria have been empowering and strengthening those enslaving and punishing them! We wish all the disenfranchised, that have been working hard on lawful undertaking with zilch to show for it, happy 2024 International Workers’ Day! Like it is said colloquially in Nigerian pidgin “…..monkey dey work, baboon dey chop…..” This is Nigeria’s current reality but if it is considered a problem, solution is not unavailable for the serious-minded. Regrettably, the country has been bedevilled with a “leadership” cadre that believe in repressing the people. Of course, this is a recipe for dissenting voices! It is for “stupid” rebellious actions!

    On April 13, a group of armed persons suspected to be Yoruba Nation agitators (in ‘military’ camouflage) were alleged to have invaded Oyo State House of Assembly complex. Concerning the camouflage, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti (1938–1997) says “…..uniform na cloth, na tailor dey sew am…..” Anyway, news reports have it that they lowered the Nigerian flag and hoisted that of Yoruba Nation agitation on the building housing the state House of Assembly. Consequently, no fewer than 20 suspects were arrested there for engaging in the botched suicide mission.

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    There is no doubt that this action by those “disgruntled elements”, which gives an impression of insanity on their part, will be treated (among other accusations) as a treasonable felony in the law court. They will surely be prosecuted. Now, 29 suspects have been arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court in Ibadan on April 17.

    Irrespective of what appears as lunacy, as displayed through the mentioned agitators’ bravado, it is imperative that sanity is extracted from what is seen as complete insanity before vital information is lost in a crowd controlled by wild emotions and sentiments. Respected opinions have condemned this action by the above-mentioned suspects. We, also, align with those condemning criminalities! Who will not, except criminals?

    Well now, without justifying this failed “coup d’état”, it is clear that there are people that are unhappy with the way the “business” called Nigeria is currently being run! The reason(s) for the discontent may be altruistic or criminally self-centred; whichever or whatever it is, necessary questions must be asked and collective answers found. Nigeria should stop sweeping dirt under the carpet as there is so much of it already gathered there breeding more negativities! This is what is continuously being done in this country. It is often said that same actions/interventions are not likely to produce different effect(s) and/or outcome(s). Mentioning 1966 earlier was not indeliberate! During the ensuing chaos after the first military coup d’état of January 15, 1966, Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi (1924–1966), a Major-General, seized power and later promulgated the Unification decree No. 34, which came into force on May 24, 1966, leading to the abolition of regional system of government in the country.

    This decree, and other steps, led to the unitary government introduced by Aguiyi-Ironsi, the main reason –according to Godwin Alabi-Isama – for which he was killed [on July 29, 1966, at Ibadan]. Thenceforth, all the governments that were formed (including the one by those who killed Aguiyi-Ironsi) fell in love with his (Aguiyi-Ironsi’s) unitary system that is still masquerading as “federal government” today!

    Ironically, “civilian” administrations, particularly since 1999, are still holding on to a “patch-patch” version of this system of government. A painful aspect is that when most Nigerian politicians are seeking for office, they speak vigorously about this lop-sidedness; they criticise it, keying into the several calls for “restructuring”. However, once they get into office – like their predecessors – they “blend” with the hitherto well-criticised “patch-patch” system and start asking the people for the meaning and constituents of “restructuring”. How can one be more ingenious in Nigerian politics? What are we getting at here?

    It is that the Nigerian political elite have been doing the same thing, playing the same politics, over the years pretending to be expecting different results. This may be part of what is causing frustration for those claiming to be the mouthpiece for the different ethnic nationalities; some might have been going about their agitations peacefully, nonetheless, for explainable and unexplainable reasons some do go overboard!

    Again, this piece is not – in any way – meant to endorse any criminality which definitely includes treason but to call attention to the fact that there is a critical need for sustainable truthful accommodating platforms to be enabled, allowing various (ethnic) nationalities to discuss how they wish to live together! Also, the Nigerian state should find ways to engage in constructive discussions with the people. These are suggestions those benefiting from the current chaos do not want to hear! We recognise how politically “incorrect” these suggestions can be in the circles of hero worshippers! We may not be able to say, for certain, who can be called a “Nigerian” but we believe that many of those being referred to as such do not really want the country to split; may be the country has gone far for its dissolution to be unneeded! Nevertheless, not listening to peoples’ grouses, invoking the cliché “Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable” that sounds much like imposition, is self-deluding now and needlessly risky later! Nigeria’s amalgamation of 1914 is more than a century old without the country achieving nationhood, yet! There is/are reason(s) for this challenge that should be found and sincerely worked on, together, as a team instead of this master-servant relationship that has always led to crises in the world. It must be ensured that there is no repeat of the costly, fierce and bloody 30months “One-Nigeria” struggle for which well over two million humans perished! Surely, with a sincerity of purpose, differences can be peacefully resolved amongst “Nigerians”.

    •Erakhrumen teaches at the Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management, University of Benin.

  • Africa: Time for sankofa

    Africa: Time for sankofa

    By Oluwole Ogundele

    It is a truism that today’s Africa has almost completely fallen from grace to grass.  Archaeological and ethnographic evidence has it, that ancient Africa made great strides in the search for scientific and technological progress. These peoples also had challenges which they tried to manage with much success. Therefore, we are not giving a romanticized picture of the African past here. Salute to our remote ancestors for crafting an extraordinarily rich and varied heritage during the pre-European period! Thus, for example, these African societies practised cultural astronomy beyond the sphere of “knowledge for knowledge” sake.  Early sailors depended on the behaviours of stars and the moon for a wide range of navigational operations. This celestial knowledge was also applied to agricultural and medical practices.

    Unknown to most Africans today, our remote ancestors were also great soil management experts. The contributions of ancient Egypt to astronomical studies on a global scale cannot be sufficiently appreciated let alone appropriated, without some critical analyses of the roles of the peripheries with a special emphasis on West Africa.

    Apart from the above, African societies (up to the early European period) engaged in mathematics, medicine, and metallurgy among others. In this context, the Ishango bone with some evidence of mathematical calculations in Congo was dated to over 22,000 years ago. Similarly, a discovery of a bone artefact with evidence of the use of numbers (by the settlers of the Lemombo hilltop site between South Africa and Swaziland) was made. This was dated to 35,000 B.C.E.  These traces of mathematical calculations pre-dated the Egyptian civilisation. However, the earliest textbooks on mathematics were written by Ahmes and others around 1650 B.C.E.

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    Again, a lot of ancient Africans were masters of iron metallurgy-a scientific and technological exercise involving the separation of slag (impurities) from iron ore, inside a combustion chamber otherwise known as a furnace. In this regard, Lejja and Umundu were some of the most popular smelting sites in eastern Nigeria in antiquity. Isundunrin and Taruga in western and northern regions of the country respectively, also had robust archaeological evidence of large-scale iron metallurgy. These were authentic African accomplishments. They were a symbol of evolution from stone age culture to iron age civilisations. These were just a few of ancient Africa’s contributions to science and technology on a global scale.  Africa was not static before Europeanisation.

    These facets of African history have been deliberately buried by the powerful colonial/neo-colonial oligarchs. Most Africans are oblivious of their true cultural selves and/or identities despite the numerous university degrees they possess. Maximum historical ignorance is an anathema to progress. Africans must try as much as possible to capture the drama and excitement among other things, of the different forms of ancient heritage of the continent.

    Africa (the original homeland of all humans, regardless of skin colours and geographical locations) also doubles as the richest continent in the world. This is with respect, to natural resources.  It is on record, that about 40 percent of the world’s gold and 90 percent of chromium and platinum are found in this continent. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Africa has about 65 percent of the world’s arable land. But painfully, today’s Africans (with the exception of the greedy, corrupt leaders and their gluttonous business associates), are desperately hungry. Indeed, Africa is now the poorest continent in the globe.

    Our robust and diverse natural resources are being cheaply harvested by the developed regions of the world. This is a tragedy of monumental proportions! From the slave trade era to colonisation, and later neo-colonisation, the narrative has remained fundamentally the same. Political and economic exploitation and oppression in new forms continue to bedevil Africans.  Africa’s ancient epistemologies and/or knowledge systems were deliberately paralysed by Europe in order to keep the peoples of the continent in a perpetual state of underdevelopment.  This paves the way for Europe, US, and Asia to continue to exploit our natural resources. African leaders consistently fail to appreciate the centrality of continental cooperation otherwise called, pan-Africanism. Some of these local leaders are afraid of the West, well known for assassinating or frustrating charismatic African leaders. On the other hand, some of these African leaders have a genetic make-up, engineered with threads of insane greed, reactionary ideologies, and callousness. They do not bother about the robust survival of Africa. Looting the public treasury like lunatics is their stock in trade.

    Sometimes, African followers were/are used by the West, against the few serious leaders. That was how Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was finally mowed down after five assassination attempts. He was an irritation to the European political oligarchy for fighting against neo-colonial tendencies. Time has now vindicated this pan-Africanist colossus. Indeed, today’s Africa faces fiercer neo-colonisation due among other factors, to the rise of China to global power.  

    African peoples are not yet in control of their destinies in the face of over-dependence on the developed nations of the world. Therefore, Africa’s independence is an illusion. The continent remains a farmland for the powerful foreign countries. Africa must unite in order to wrestle neo-colonial machinations to the ground. No individual African nation can successfully accomplish this. A divided Africa is a blessing to the developed countries.  Even at the sub-regional level, there is no practical demonstration of seriousness. In this context, the ECOWAS is thoroughly disunited. Some former French colonies like Burkina-Faso and Niger are now approaching Russia for all kinds of imaginary assistance. From the frying pan, into the fire! According to a Yoruba proverb, “the cane that was used for beating the senior wife has been kept in the ceiling of the house for the new wife.” Time will tell! The motive of the developed world is to continue to rape Africa.

    After several decades of paper independence from Europe, African leaders have woefully failed to craft critical Africanisation agendas critically rooted in the continent’s epistemologies. In most cases, they (African leaders) are merely running errands for the neo-colonial overlords.

    Africa has no voice in such global institutions as the World Bank and IMF which are indeed, a Westernisation agenda.

    Historical and cultural education must not be glossed over in the scheme of things. Charity begins at home. Outsiders will continue to treat Africans with disdain, so long as our education is not indigenous culture-loaded, in a critical fashion. That is the basis for self-confidence and creativity. Sankofa (an Akan word in Ghana) means a critical assimilation of the past. In this context, Africans have to exhume or re-capture their deliberately buried glories, in order to remain afloat the turbulent ocean of modern globalisation. Currently, the more educated (in the Western sense) an African is, the more detached he becomes, with respect to his heritage and history. We have refused to appreciate and appropriate the extra-ordinary and of course, transformative capacity of history and culture.  Today’s Africa is like a house without a strong foundation. This has to change through the lens of thoroughgoing de-colonisation and by extension, Sankofanisation. Our leaders should shatter the stereotypical image of backward Africa, as the political clock ticks. No more time for empty rhetoric!

    •Professor Ogundele is of Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.

  • Air Peace and international conspiracy

    Air Peace and international conspiracy

    By Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye

    Since the beginning of Air Peace’s Lagos-London route operation, there have been several conspiracies from international airlines that can be pegged as an act of conspiracy against Nigeria, even though some tagged it ‘mere’ business competitiveness. The recent events surrounding Air Peace and its operations, particularly the deliberate delays and obstacles faced by the airline at Gatwick Airport, London, raise concerns about the integrity of Nigeria’s aviation industry and the broader implications for national security.

    As patriotic Nigerians, It is important to acknowledge the critical role that Air Peace plays in Nigeria’s aviation sector and its recent broader contribution to the country’s economic development. As one of the leading airlines in Nigeria, Air Peace has helped Nigerians with the new operational route with fair ticket prices. Any effort, either locally or internationally trying to undermine or sabotage the operations of Air Peace must be viewed as a direct attack on Nigeria’s economic interests.

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    For the past six years, foreign airlines have been exploiting Nigerian passengers with unholy  ticket prices, only for us to witness a sudden crash in fares following the introduction of Air Peace’s Lagos-London route. Before Air Peace entered the market on March 30, 2024, airfares to London remained prohibitively high, prompting regulatory bodies like the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) to call for foreign airlines to open up their ticket inventories to Nigerian passengers.

    The sudden reduction in prices, coinciding with the launch of Air Peace’s Lagos-London route, suggests a calculated attempt to disrupt the airline’s operations and undermine its competitive advantage. As at last year, international tickets were sold at exorbitant prices, attributing the hike to the depreciation of Naira. But before the devaluation of Naira, these airlines maintained the same prices for their tickets, until Air Peace took the big leap.

    Suddenly, there is a huge price slash, following the drastic reduction in ticket prices just a few weeks after Air Peace’s entry into the market, Nigerians’ questions have been left unanswered. Just recently, a one-way economy class ticket from Lagos to London on airlines like British Airways and Lufthansa commanded prices as high as N3 million, while business class tickets soared to N11 million. However, since Air Peace began its Lagos-London route operation, and its N1.2 million, these prices have plummeted to N1.7 million for economy and N6.8 million for business class on British Airways, and similarly reduced rates on other airlines.

    The sudden crash in ticket prices, with economy fares dropping to as low as N585,620 on EgyptAir, is enough to raise suspicions among industry insiders. Isn’t this a strategic avenue for foreign airlines to undercut Air Peace, forcing the Nigerian carrier to sell tickets at a loss and eventually exit the route. What would then happen if Air Peace is forced out of its new patriotic operation to ensure Nigerians pay the appropriate value for what they got? Would the foreign airline prices remain the same? I doubt it. It will further equip  foreign airlines with the ability to reclaim their dominance and continue exploiting Nigerian passengers, as they have done for the past six years. But this time, calling the home-land carrier a failure for being ejected out of business by  their conspiracies.

    Personally, I will say that the implications of this price manipulation extend beyond ‘mere’ competition in the aviation industry as stated. These actions could have far-reaching consequences for Nigeria’s economy and national pride. Air Peace represents more than just a business entity; it symbolizes Nigeria’s aspirations for self-sufficiency and sovereignty in the aviation sector. Any attempt to undermine Air Peace’s operations should be viewed as a direct affront to Nigeria’s economic interests and national dignity.

    Although aviation experts said they had anticipated the price slash from foreign airlines following the commencement of Air Peace Lagos-London route, as they would try to counter-effect and continue to dominate flights on the route. As Nigeria is a cash-cow for these airlines, It is no news why they had the support of their government.

    When I listened to Bankole Bernand, former president of National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) speak on Channels TV sometime ago that there is an unspoken alliance between foreign airlines to eject Air Peace from Nigeria-London operations, I vehemently agreed with his statement. What was the logic, reasoning, or which new guidelines have been put in place that could have factored the huge slash of ticket price if not the fear of Air Peace dominating the market and stripping them of the outrageous profit margin they are so used to? These actions not only threaten the viability of Air Peace as a business entity, but also jeopardize Nigeria’s reputation as a reliable and competitive player in the global aviation industry. A huge debt Nigerians would pay if Air Peace is forced out of the market.

    Also, the deliberate delays and obstacles faced by Air Peace at Gatwick Airport cannot be far from the broader geopolitical tensions and rivalries. Why was there a change in the allocated space that led to delay? Conspiracy.  It can be seen as a bid to paint the airline unprofessionally to passengers, thereby discrediting the airline’s service. Air Peace came as the savior Nigerians needed during the unholy cheating Nigerians had to withstand for over six years, and this is how we pay them back?

    As much as government cannot decide ticket prices for airlines, it is important for government to take a firm stance against any conspiracy or attempt to undermine the operations of Air Peace. Any conspiracy against Air Peace should be treated as a conspiracy against the Federal Republic of Nigeria and met with the full force of the law. This includes conducting thorough investigations into the motives behind such actions, holding accountable those responsible, and implementing measures to safeguard the interests of Air Peace and Nigeria as a whole.

    Nigerians should come to an awareness that deliberate delays and obstacles faced by Air Peace represent a grave threat to Nigeria’s economic interests and national sovereignty. Any conspiracy against Air Peace should be countered by the government. Nigerians standing with Air Peace regardless of any sabotage would send a strong signal to international bodies of our solidarity and support for the boost of our homeland economy. Nigerians must rally behind Air Peace and show their support for the homegrown carrier, as it strives to provide affordable and accessible air travel for all citizens.

    •Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye, a Communication-for-Development Consultant, sent this piece from London. He can be reached via maxwelladeleye@gmail.com

  • So, where is Nigeria Air?

    So, where is Nigeria Air?

    • By Chike Okolocha

    Gradually, Nigeria Air, the country’s brand-new national carrier, is receding into oblivion. This is our usual practice: at the outset, there is a lot of noise on any contentious issue in the press, especially social media. In response, those who should say or do something about the subject matter keep mute and soon everything is forgotten.

    Recall that in December 2018, our new airline was unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show in the United Kingdom in a colourful display with attractive finery and a characteristic grandstand by government officials. In line with the country’s new policy of private-sector led growth, we were told that government will only retain about 4% of the ownership of the company. After a prolonged search for foreign investors, government announced that it had offered 49% of the company’s shareholding to Ethiopian Airlines, as the technical partner. Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s largest and most successful airline. However, from public reaction, it was obvious that some Nigerians felt hard done by this deal. Nevertheless, government soldiered on, promising that the new national carrier will go into operation on 29 May, 2023, the very first day of the new administration of President Bola Tinubu. Naysayers were confounded when a Boeing 737-800 aircraft in Nigeria Air’s livery landed in Abuja airport on 26 May, 2023, ostensibly in preparation for action three days later.

    But hell was let loose as both government and Ethiopian Airlines were accused of deceit, fraud and conspiracy. Stakeholders in the aviation sector specifically pointed out that the new airline was yet to be issued an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC). In the midst of an extremely hostile reception, Ethiopian Airlines scampered out of the country with the aircraft it brought to begin operations by Nigeria Air.

    The bitter reception of Ethiopian Airlines betrays Nigeria’s call for foreign investment and our averseness to the rule of law. If the agreement with the foreign operator was deemed irregular or unfavourable, there is an acceptable way of seeking redress. And, if the new airline did not have an AOC, we should have used the legal process to delay the start of operations. But Nigerians embarked on cheap media blackmail and those that actually took the matter to court were not patient to allow the legal system take its course. There was no such bedlam when Nigeria sealed a similar deal with a British in the short-lived Virgin Nigeria airline. Therefore, you can hardly blame Ethiopians if they now believe that they were harried out of Nigeria because they are Africans. I am sure Ethiopian Airlines will eventually seek and obtain legal redress.

    For those who think that the private sector is the panacea, we should remind ourselves that, without exception, Nigeria’s numerous private airlines have proved to be grossly incompetent and incapacious. They have perished in their dozens and, right now, there is no hope of reprieve as there is nothing to write home about most of those still flying. It is difficult to rationalise the motive of those who literarily chased Ethiopian Airlines out of the country, for retaining the status quo is absolutely unthinkable. Right now, we are all elated by the successful entry of Air Peace into the lucrative Nigeria-UK route. But Arik Air was once proudly there with brand new wide-body aircraft. So also was the semi-private Virgin Nigeria and Jimoh Ibrahim’s Air Nigeria. They all failed and disappeared. While we all look forward to the sustenance of the success story of Air Peace, the truth is that it lacks the capacity to cater for Nigeria’s huge travelling population, probably the biggest in Africa.

    Moreover, we should inform ourselves that Ethiopian Airlines is 100% owned by the Ethiopian government and it has continued to operate profitably since April 1946, outperforming many private airlines. Similarly, Royal Air Maroc is a successful airline wholly owned by the government of Morocco, just as Egyptair is owned by the Egyptian state. The reader is invited to note that the prosperous Emirates, Qatar and Ethihad airlines were all established by governments which still own them. So, why is that some Nigerians think that government airlines are doomed? What is there among Nigerians that make us incompetent, corrupt, inefficient, ineffective and incapable of operating an airline? There is urgent need to do some soul-searching instead of deceiving ourselves that the private sector is our only salvation. The private sector is populated by Nigerians who attended the same schools as those in the public sector. Nigerians who ran down public sector companies have done as much harm as those who ran down private sector companies. Can you say that Nigeria is better off now that the president and virtually all state governors are products of the private sector? Have they really done better than First Republic leaders who were mostly teachers? Let us admit it: we are all Nigerians and we are afflicted by a malevolent contagion known as the “Nigerian factor”, an offshoot of market forces which has extinguished public good. Is it not ironical that Nigeria’s wealth and institutional power are domiciled in the public sector, yet we expect the private sector to save the country?

    We are always wont to cite the United States where the private sector is alleged to control the economy. But the truth is that America is dominated by what Wright Mills, a sociologist, termed the “power elite”, which is comprised by a small coterie of top business leaders, top military brass, intellectuals and political office holders including bureaucrats as well as major landowners and company owners. This pot-pourri of powerful people can hardly be classified as the private sector and, often times, they unite to salvage American companies to protect the country from unemployment which usually ensues from company failures. America has a very long history of salvaging failing private companies with public money. In the airline industry, the most recent example was in 2020 when a whopping US$25 billion was doled out to airlines. Even the monumental Silicon Valley was kick-started with public funds. Indeed, Americans hardly emphasise any dichotomy between the public and private sectors as the latter almost invariably depends on the former.

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    Whereas the American government intervened to save the country’s ailing airlines, the Nigerian government liquidated its famous Nigeria Airways, once described as the fastest growing airline in Africa. In 1999, the Jonah Jang Panel set up by government indicted 12 past chief executives of Nigeria Airways while in 2002, the Justice Obiora Nwazota Panel found 20 former staff of the airline guilty of the selfsame gross mismanagement and corruption. Justice Nwazota also discovered that N6 billion had been stolen from the company and N25billion could not be accounted for while unpaid salaries had increased to N70billion. Rather than recover the monies and prosecute the indicted staff as recommended by the panels, government liquidated the airline with numerous aircraft in custody of creditors around the world. Thousands of jobs were lost and a new boon era was opened up for foreign airlines. It is a most confounding irony that we blame the fall of Nigeria Airways on corruption and mismanagement while those corrupt individuals who mismanaged the company and stole its monies are set free.

    Corruption and government meddlesomeness are also blamed for the collapse of the Nigerian National Shipping Line, the Nigerian National Supply Company as well as paper mills in Iwopin (Ogun State), Oku Iboku (Akwa Ibom State) and Jebba (Kwara State) and the Nigerian National Shrimps Company, Sapele (Delta State). The same story is told of the once vibrant automotive assembly plants in Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Enugu and Ibadan and the monumental steel companies in Ajaokuta, Ovwian-Aladja, Katsina, Osogbo and Jos as well as the Machine Tools company in Osogbo. The list is almost endless. These companies did not collapse by themselves. Nigerians ran them aground. Rather than being in prison for their sacrilege, the undertakers of these companies are prancing about in political space blaming government involution. Such red-herring justifies government inability and unwillingness to come to the rescue of these companies, just as we continue to wallow in our blind faith in the private sector which has been curiously shielded from government petrochemical companies in Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt.  

    Unwittingly, we now have a folklore which blames every failure in Nigeria on corruption. But this alibi cannot be sustained because corruption is not an autonomous social fact. It does not exist on its own. If, as the philosopher says, nothing happens without a sufficient preceding cause, then it is very arguable that corruption in Nigeria subsists because the authorities allow it. There are appropriate laws and regulations which should prevent corruption but cannot do so because they are not enforced or implemented. Nigeria Airways and all other public companies may have survived if those who betrayed them were brought to book. Rather than blame corruption, the new national carrier should immediately be rescued from those responsible for its imminent failure. If we take advantage of democracy and insist on the rule of law, the impunity and blinkerdness of those holding back Nigeria Air would be a thing of the past. Government can no longer plead the alibi of corruption for our failures while those indicted, suspected and accused of it are free to enjoy their ill-gotten wealth. To shore up the can-do of Nigerians and upstage the “Nigerian factor”, the new national carrier should not be allowed to fail. Those presently in power may delay it but, sooner than later, somebody will take due credit for actualising the dream.                   

    •Professor Chike Okolocha writes from the University of Benin.

  • IGP’s U-turn on state police

    IGP’s U-turn on state police

    • By Olabode Lucas

    At the recent dialogue on state policing organized by the House of Representatives, all the political heavyweights in the country like the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, former Head of State Abdulsalam Abubakar, Senate President Godwill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, the Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam and others all lent their support to the creation of state police. The only major voice of dissent at the dialogue on this issue came from the Nigerian Police Force through the paper presented by Assistant Inspector General of Police, Ben Okolo on behalf of his boss, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.

    In the paper, the IGP raised the issues of funding, welfare of the police, procurement of adequate and serviceable equipment as factors militating against the establishment of state policy as of now. The clincher in the paper, however, came from its stricture on our present intolerant political setup. It said: “It is the submission of the leadership of the Nigerian Police Force that Nigeria is yet to mature for the establishment of the state controlled police.”

    Further on our political intolerance, the Nigerian Police Force in the paper buttressed this with the following, “there is potential for abuse of power by state political leadership. State governors could use the Police Force within their control for political and personal gains and compromise human rights and safety,”

    On seeing that his views, as expressed in the paper presented on his behalf, were at variance with those in the political class, the IGP promptly made a complete U-turn on the issue within 24-hours. In a statement released by the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerians were told that the views expressed in the paper were solely the views of AIG Ben Okolo and that the stand of Nigerian Police Force on the issue would be made known later. This retraction is a bit curious because it is difficult to imagine that AIG Okolo would go to such a high profile gathering with his personal views on such a sensitive matter without clearance from the IGP.

    I was not at the Dialogue, but it would be interesting to know from people who attended how AIG Okolo introduced his presentation to his audience.

    My only quarrel with whole issue is that the decision on the creation of state police lies with the political class as it is a political issue, and the Nigerian Police Force, being subordinate to the political class cannot dictate whether state police should be created or not. If the Force has any view, it should be given in private to the relevant political class. However, despite this reservation, I think Nigerians should examine critically the views expressed in the paper presented by AIG Ben Okolo. We should not throw away the baby with the bath water.

    The issue raised in the paper on the possibility of state police being used by state governors for personal and political gains, thereby compromising human rights and safety is very pertinent in our present political dispensation. Judging by the present political situations in virtually all the states in Nigeria, where everything revolves around the governors, it is my view that state police would certainly be used by governors in their states for heinous political purposes, as was the case during the First Republic. During the First Republic, we had Local Government Police Force in Western Region controlled by the regional government and the Native Authority Police in the Northern Region controlled by the Northern Regional government. It was only the Eastern Nigeria Government that did not have any regional Police Force. These regional police establishments in the western and northern regions were used as sordid political instruments to oppress political opponents, like Adegoke Adelabu, Mojeed Agbaje and Richard Akinyemi in the West and Aminu Kano, J. S. Tarka, Ibrahim Imam and J.S. Olawoyin in the North. Many innocent people were sent to their untimely graves by the heinous activities of these regional police in the northern and western regions of those days.

    In addition, many political opponents went to their graves with scars of being ex-convicts as a result of political victimization instigated by the people in power in those two regions through the use of the combination of the local police and customary courts which were another instrument of political victimization then. I am not saying there was no political victimization in Eastern Region where there was no regionally controlled police.  E. O. Eyo an opposition leader was victimized by the government of Michael Okpara in the Eastern Region through another means.

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    How do we guarantee that we are not going to have a repeat of what happened in the First Republic if we again introduce state police? Our political situation may likely be worse with the present political dispensation where in most states, the governors have turned themselves to local dictators. In the state, the governor muzzles the local government councils, pocket the state Assembly and the judiciary. In most states, local government elections have become a farce where the governing parties usually win 100% of the seats. This even surpasses what happened at the local council elections during the First Republic.

    During the Dialogue, Emeritus Cardinal Onaiyekan warned that the issues of funding, welfare of the police and procurement of equipment should be addressed before the establishment of state police. This is achievable if there is money but with our torrid economic situation, this may be difficult to achieve presently. However, apart from all these issues, the most formidable obstacle to the successful implementation of state policing is the attitude of our politicians. Our politicians like to take the advantage of their positions to entrench themselves in power to the detriment of their opponents and political norms. President Jonathan also in the Dialogue rushed ahead of himself by saying that “the issue today is not whether to establish state police but how it should be operated”. This is well said but it is a well-known fact that in this country, a well-articulated system has a way of being rendered ineffective and manipulated by our self-serving politicians. We all know that we have one of the best electoral laws in the world, but our politicians are known to manipulate the laws for their advantages.

    There is no doubt that Nigeria is beset by numerous security challenges, such as kidnapping, banditry, fiendish Boko Haram insurgency, armed robbery, rife political agitations and cultism and ritual killings, all of which needed to be tackled by more policing. We need more policemen and women, but I think we should not because of this rush to establish state police until we can sanitize our political system.

    In the meantime, the way forward is for the federal government to employ more policemen and women as the present police/people ratio in our country is abysmally low. In addition to the massive recruitment in the Police Force, the Police Council where the state governors have statutory roles and functions, should be revived and made more functional. The Council should meet regularly unlike the present situation. We should not be in a hurry to rush into a trap of creating another security octopus that can be manipulated to heat up our searing and unstable politically system.

    •Professor Lucas writes from Old Bodija, Ibadan.

  • Afenifere: A new beginning

    Afenifere: A new beginning

    On 17 April, 2024, an iconic image was splashed across television screens and newspaper pages. It was that of the Chief of Staff to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Right Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, wheeling the nonagenarian Leader of the Yoruba socio-cultural group – Afenifere – Pa Reuben Fasoranti, on a mobility aid, in the inner recesses of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, with the kind of care with which eggs are carried. That picture is worth more than a thousand words. The picture is complemented by another one in which, in a crescent-shaped arrangement, a delegation of Yoruba elders led by Pa Fasoranti posed for a photograph with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on a visit to him at the Aso Rock Villa. Those pictures are indices of changing times.

    When Yoruba elders congregated at Premier Hotel in Ibadan on 7 February, 2013, for a meeting convened by the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), it was to lament and protest Yoruba marginalisation by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. At least one of the key personalities at that meeting, Chief Olu Falae, was also present at the 17 April, 2024 meeting with President Tinubu. The Vanguard of 14 February, 2013, in an article by Charles Kumolu entitled “Now we’re the marginalised – Yoruba elders”, reported Chief Olu Falae, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and former Minister of Finance, to have remarked as follows: “the degree of marginalisation of the South West zone borders on attempts to excise the zone out of the federation”.

    In the pattern of President Tinubu’s pre-election Emilokan speech, Chief Falae was reported to have recalled: “In the dying days of the Yar’Ádua administration, when there was a lot of reluctance to make Jonathan the acting President, it was predominantly Yoruba activists who led the march to the National Assembly to force our lawmakers to pronounce Jonathan acting President.” He was also reported to have said: “when the then-Acting-President Jonathan chose to run for president, he got the enthusiastic endorsement of many Yoruba progressives, especially the leadership of YUF, die-hard Awoists who pushed his acceptability to the Yorubas by portraying him as a fulfilment of an earlier Awolowo prophesy about the Ijaws and the presidency.”

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    In spite of the best efforts of Yoruba elders’ groups like YUF, Afenifere has remained the most enduring and most well-acknowledged Yoruba leadership group. In fact, at its beginning in the 1950s, Afenifere was an ideologically pristine Yoruba-interest-promoting group. Due to this perception, even Yoruba personalities who were not actively involved in its activities could at least identify with it spiritually. And members of other ethnic groups saw it as the quintessential Yoruba voice. However, with time, the group began to slide. It started treating those who were outside its fold as inconsequential and began to treat Governors of Yoruba states and other government functionaries with condescension.

    It was at this stage in its development that Afenifere led most of the Governors of the Yoruba states into the infamous and treacherous agreement for the Southwest Governors, who belonged to the Alliance for Democracy (AD) at the time, to work for President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2003 presidential elections, while he would work for these Governors to ensure that they retained their seats on the platform of their party, AD. It was only one of the AD Governors, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Lagos State, who saw through the game of the foxy old General. For their pains, the Governors lost their seats to the governorship candidates of Obasanjo’s PDP. Rather than acknowledge and appreciate his political perceptiveness and foresight, some sections of Afenifere subjected Tinubu to what may be called ‘generational opprobrium’ which had its greatest opportunity to be manifested when Tinubu went into an alliance with General Muhammadu Buhari to unseat President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

    Self-acclaimed political ‘prophets’ predicted that Tinubu would regret his alliance with the Hausa-Fulani and that he would emerge battered and bruised and as an utterly damaged political product. So, when after the commencement of the Buhari administration, it appeared as if Tinubu was being deliberately shut out of the Presidential Villa by some aides of President Buhari, the political prophets were fast to claim the “we-said-so” credit. Then the preparations for the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries began, and with it came all of the shenanigans which appeared to be targeted at ensuring that Tinubu did not win.

    But then, some Northern Governors of the APC came out in the nick of time to say that they supported that the presidential ticket of the party be given to a Southerner. Tinubu emerged the beneficiary of that historic consensus. All the same, the prophets of political doom still had high hopes when a series of measures were taken seemingly to ensure that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu lost the election. This was when the then-Governor Nasir-el Rufai of Kaduna State issued the patent declaration: “I want to say that those of us from Northern Nigeria honour agreements. We do not violate unwritten political agreements…” Meanwhile, an Acting Leader for Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, had been appointed in 2021, in the light of the quite advanced age of Pa Fasoranti, and the most combative elements in the group seemed to have gained ascendancy. Some key members of the group failed to live by the Yoruba proverbial principle that “Àgbàlagbà ma ñ yá’jú ni, àgbàlagbà ò kìí yá’nu” (‘Elders are swift to see, but slow to speak.’) They also seemed to discountenance the proverb, “ÌÌrÍÌ níí yÍ obì l’ápò, ÍÌrÍÌ níí yÍ Ífà nínú apó.” (‘Words draw kola nuts from the pocket, and words draw arrows from the quiver.’) In fact, some tendencies within Afenifere seemed to relish shooting verbal arrows, thereby alienating significant sections of the Yoruba elite and large swathes of some other ethnic groups.

    The most self-deprecating act in this regard was the following widely-reported spiteful and undemocratic declaration by Pa Adebanjo, as Acting Leader: “I don’t have to consult him.” He said this in respect of his seemingly unilateral decision to declare that Afenifere’s choice for the 2023 presidential election was the Labour Party candidate Mr. Peter Obi, without consulting his principal Pa Fasoranti on behalf of whom Pa Adebanjo was acting.  

    As the mercurial part of Afenifere continued to predominate, many things were going amiss in Yorubaland. Even those things for which the Southwest was easily given credit started to elude the zone. One of such things is religious tolerance. Before now, it used to be axiomatic to say that “in Yoruba society, hardly can you find a family without Muslims and Christians living together in harmony.” Today, this claim has become more like a means of sedating and incapacitating Southwesterners who wish to protest religious injustice. And it is those who are guilty of the injustice or those who benefit from it who resort to the increasingly vacuous refrain. There are all sorts of tendencies now which belie the axiom.

    One is the formation of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) which describes itself as follows: “The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is an Islamic human rights organization. … As a major mechanism in our operations, we open dialogue with institutions, employers and agencies in order to intervene on behalf of aggrieved Muslims. … Our adoption of dialogue has often doused tension in Nigeria and reduced the incidence of violence.” The organisation is headed by a now-retired Professor of Islamic Studies, Ishaq Akintola. The rather anti-intellectual, kneejerk reactions to the mention or positions of MURIC on religious issues are often amazing. It is also strange that some members of the non-Muslim elite propagate the stereotype that MURIC is a fringe, one-person outfit. It is not.

    Another index of the widening religious gulf in Yorubaland is the formation of the “Association of Christian Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (AOCTRON)” to which the Tor Tiv, Professor James Ayatse, emerged as Head in October 2020. One enquiry showed that the registered office of the group is in Ogun State, and a Yoruba traditional ruler is one of its key sponsors. Decreasing religious accommodation in Yorubaland is also shown in the public spat that occurred not long ago between a popular Lagos-based Yoruba Pentecostal Pastor and his family members over what was perceived as the mistreatment of a vulnerable Muslim member of the family, including the desecration of the corpse of that family member by the Pastor.

    Currently, the most disturbing index of religious disharmony in Yorubaland is the open conflict between the Soun of Ogbomoso, His Royal Highness Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye (a Pentecostal Pastor) and the Chief Imam of Ogbomoso, Sheikh (Dr.) Talhat Yunus Ayilara. In those days in Youbaland, four personages, working together, superintended over the peace, harmony and well-being of the society. They were the traditional ruler, the Chief Imam, the Pastor and the Head Teacher. This makes the Ogbomoso feud unacceptable. Ironically, Afenifere which should have been in the best position to intervene has in the recent past portrayed itself as a pseudo-evangelical outfit, considering the utterances of its then-Acting-Leader, Pa Adebanjo, during the campaigns for the 2023 presidential elections.

    For example, he was widely reported to have said: “Obi is leading the crusade to get us out of the bondage of serious oppression. … We will give it what it takes. It is either bend or break. If Obi does not win, forget a country called Nigeria. If we lose this election, there will be no opportunity for a non-Christian (sic), a non-northerner to be president again.” In a 3 February, 2023 report, by Samad Uthman, entitled “Ayo Adebanjo: If Obi loses, a Christian southerner may never be president again”, The Cable newspaper put in context the Afenifere Acting Leader’s misadvised statement.

    Afenifere has splintered, resulting in the creation of the Afenifere Renewal Group in 2008. It has also understandably lost considerable public respect even within Yorubaland, and the erstwhile almost sacred group started to be the object of caustic puns. The most telling one was the reference to “Af¹ìnif¹ìre” (which may be translated as ‘well-wishers’) as “Af¹ìnif¹ìbi” (‘evil-wishers’). Respectable members of the Yoruba elite then started to publicly confront, criticise or simply stay clear of anything that had to do with the group.

    If Afenifere must regain its mystique, its relevance and its prestige, especially now that the office of Acting Leader has been abrogated, it must recognise, respect and accommodate diversity within contemporary Yoruba society. The pictures of Afenifere that came out of the Presidential Villa show that the group has come full circle, and is setting out on a new beginning. The emerging new Afenifere must be introspective, align its actions with its declared objectives and must not depend on verbal darts to establish its authenticity.