The Nation Newspaper

Category: Comments

Contextualizing the Ogun development survey
- By Kayode Akinmade
In actualizing good governance, the place of data and science cannot be quantified. In line with both local wisdom and global best practices, governments that make a real change in the lives of the people adopt critique as a cardinal feature. Intent on delivering good governance, they are heavily involved in outcome monitoring. According to The Pew Charitable Trusts, many governments have in the past three decades developed systems to measure the performance of programmes that aim to improve key outcomes in areas such as job creation, child safety, and health. These performance management systems, it says, can help policymakers to ensure that publicly funded programmes are achieving the results that constituents expect.

In this connection, the decision by the Ogun State government to conduct household surveys towards developing a framework that will assist in planning, management, and evaluation of the multi-dimensional poverty human development index is quite in order.

Among other objectives, the survey, which is expected to transcend the bounds of the National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) multi-dimensional poverty index, will give the Dapo Abiodun government an opportunity to assess the impact of the various policies it has been implementing in the last four and half years in such areas as education, health, job creation, empowerment and other social interventions. As observed by the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Olaolu Olabimtan, the survey will also enable the state government to properly establish baselines on different data points in the state and allow for the implementation of the various strategies already earmarked for execution.

Olabimtan provides further context: “In the past five years, under the pillar of infrastructure, our administration has brought development to every ward in the 20 local government areas of the state. We have constructed, reconstructed, and rehabilitated over 500 kilometres of roads across all regions in the state in line with the administration’s policy of inclusiveness and determination to abolish erstwhile practices of prior administrations of developing one section of the state at the expense of other sections. Similarly, in the energy sector, the administration has installed over 500 transformers across communities through its Community Electrification Project and has improved power supply in the 20 local government areas.

“The administration has also rehabilitated the Arakanga Waterworks in Abeokuta to ensure a reliable supply of potable water and constructed new water storage facilities as well as expanded the water supply and reticulation network to many streets and neighbourhoods in the city of Abeokuta. These completed projects, which are already in use and being enjoyed by residents, will soon be formally commissioned. We are currently at the planning stage of expanding the reticulation network into new areas within the state while rehabilitating all our Mini Water Works in other parts of the state for improved water supply for our people.”

The benefits of the survey are not hard to decipher. It is perhaps axiomatic that in planning for development, state governments cannot rely exclusively on research by statistical agencies such as the UNDP, NBS, etc. They also have a duty, if they are to radically transform the society, to determine how impactful or otherwise their policies and programmes have been on the populace. Nigerians are well aware of the fact that in the last five years, the Gateway State under Governor Abiodun has initiated certain policies and programmes targeted at reducing/eradicating poverty and improving healthcare conditions and social wellbeing. It has made creating good roads, industrializing the state, opening it up for investment and creating channels of opportunities for the residents an article of faith. This fact has been acknowledged by a welter of agencies that typically endeavour to assist states with their statistics and findings.

For instance, last December, Economic Confidential, a subsidiary of PR Nigeria, showed that apart from Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, Ogun State is Nigeria’s most economically viable state. The report was compiled from figures released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). A recent report by BudgIT ranked Ogun State in the 7th position in the 2023 overall Fiscal Performance Ranking and the first in IGR improvement in the country, affirming the position of the state as the investment destination of choice. However, it is also important for the state to look inwards and determine how its policies have been faring, as determined by the people themselves. This will enable it to know the areas where improvements are needed. That, to a large extent, is why it initiated this survey meant to produce the indicators needed for the design and monitoring of the implementation of various State Development Plans (SDPs) and transfer capacity to the Ogun State Bureau of Statistics (BoS) to continue implementing annual CWIQ surveys on a regular basis. Handling the project is E-services Nigeria led by Professor Oladoyin Akinyosoye, the immediate past Statistician-General of the Federation and CEO of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The retired professor of Applied Economics and Data Management at the University of Ibadan is an accomplished economics researcher and a highly skilled statistician who has impacted younger scholars and practitioners.

Read Also: Navy uncovers 400,000 capacity diesel bunker in Lekki private residence

The government under Abiodun has provided solar street lights, solar boreholes and solar home kits to rural dwellers, built the Gateway Agro-Cargo International Airport, which, along with its aerotropolis, is expected to generate over 25,000 jobs; automated business processes to improve efficiency and the Ease of Doing Business Index in the state; renovated and constructed of over 1,200 classrooms and buildings across all 234 wards in the state; rehabilitated, equipped, and staffed 100 primary healthcare centres across the state; boosted the status of women by including them in politics, governance, and economic activities, as well as providing education for girls; grown over 50,000 businesses by women, with investment in women’s empowerment put at N1.5 billion; constructed 4,000 housing units; commenced the construction of 200 units of high-end duplexes at PMB Estate, Kobape, commenced development of Ibara and Idi Aba GRA Regeneration Schemes, the construction of 200 units of Affordable Housing in Gateway Aviation Village, Iperu and 250 units of Affordable Housing in Kobape Phase 3, and 100 units of mixed Housing units at OPIC Estate, Warewa, Isheri.

In the 2024 budget speech, Governor Abiodun spoke of his government’s installation of over 500 transformers across communities, deployment of CNG buses ahead of other states in Nigeria, launching of the Digital Economy Infrastructure Project aimed at providing 5000 kilometres of optic fibre cables across the state, highlighting key physical capital projects like the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Ofada-Owode Road, Lagos Garage – Ikangba – Ilese Road, Ota-Lafenwa-Itele-Ayobo Road, etc; extension of the Lagos Blue Line Metro Rail Project into Agbara and the Lagos Red Line Metro Rail Project to Ijoko and Ifo/ Kajola; introduction of two and three-wheeled electric vehicles in furtherance of its green initiatives, among others.

These are, no doubt, highly commendable projects. But it is even more commendable that Abiodun’s government is tracking policy initiatives for optimal delivery of democratic dividends.

•Akinmade is Special Adviser to Governor Abiodun on Media, Communications and Strategy.
April 4, 2024
Mr. President, fix security you fix Nigeria
- By Mike Kebonkwu
The state of insecurity in the country is real and has come at a huge cost with businesses folding up or relocating to neighbouring countries, farmers leaving their farmlands to urban centres to become mendicants, and people paying heavy ransoms. We now value palliatives as means of livelihood. The Muhammadu Buhari-led government and his predecessor were unmitigated disaster on the scorecard of security and the economy. Everyone is gripped in fear as security and law enforcement agents are themselves hunted and killed by criminals.

On March 27, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made history when he broke from the mould by going to the graveside of the slain soldiers gruesomely murdered by some criminals in Okuama community in Delta State to pay his last respect. The presence of the president was beyond politics and more than just a mere ceremonial. It was a bold and eloquent statement that indeed, he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic. It was a sombre occasion and testamentary to the state of insecurity in the country. It was not the burial of any other citizens but Nigerian Army soldiers and gatekeepers of our nation killed and mutilated in a Nigerian community. Days after that gruesome killing of the soldiers, six police officers were also reportedly killed in similar manner in same Delta State.

The life of every Nigerian matters; and the oath of service as president is to protect every citizen and the territorial integrity of the country without ceding an inch of our land to criminals. There should be equal treatment to everyone and no selective justice and anyone with grievances should ventilate it in a lawful civilized manner.

Our land is soaked in blood and no one is living in safety but we are able to carry on because we do not just have any other choice. Those who can afford it have since voted with their legs and living in safety in other climes albeit as second class citizens. Innocent children are kidnapped from their schools and taken into captivity where they are traumatized; and some of them never make it back alive. Mr President should seize every such opportunity to send clear and unambiguous message to the world and to everyone that cares, that those criminals behind insecurity in the country will be pursued to the gate of hell.

Mr President, if you fix security, you would have fixed Nigeria. The insecurity in the country is both political and criminal, and the two are intertwined. The insurgents, bandits and cultists wielding automatic weapons and terrorizing the country today were political thugs of yesterday hired and bred by the politicians and used for rigging elections. Some of them are mercenaries from neighbouring countries brought into the country for sole purpose of election and now let loose as marauding herders and bandits abducting and kidnapping for ransom.

After the Okuama killings, the military has been accused of double standard in the face of what appeared like revenge or reprisal killings. Again, this criticism may not be entirely objective but it has merit. The army got itself caught up in the web of media campaign and propaganda by publishing pictures of the slain soldiers and circulating it in the media which had not been the practice. Many more officers and soldiers indeed have been killed in the past without any media hype. The military owes it a duty to wean itself from the Nigeria’s bad politics.

However, the point must be made that law enforcement and security agents should not be lightly attacked and killed and be expected to be ignored. In the same way, communities that offer sanctuaries to criminals to attack the symbol of the state should be ready for the consequences. We are losing the country to criminal cartels that have political connection and influence, with access to the media.

Moving forward, Mr President should demand from the Security Chiefs the proper security mapping of the country and task them on the blueprint to deal with it decisively. Reports have it that the insurgents in the northeast are still able to attack troops even in their locations. Bandits and herdsmen have gone berserk and are on the rampage in Kaduna State and the entire Middle Belt. The fear of the “unknown gunmen” is the beginning of wisdom in the southeast. We do not know the difference between the IPOB militants and the Eastern Security Network, a bunch of people that have almost formed parallel government. Niger Delta has become a boiling point lately and there is resurgence on the attack on security personnel. From Edo State to the entire West, abduction, kidnapping and ritual killings have become the order of the day.

By the way, we understand that the school children from Kuriga at last have been released but there has been hush about the figure or number released. We do not know whether the release was on a sweetheart deal without payment of ransom because the government itself is quite ambivalent. The reality of today is that the criminals are digging in and more emboldened; security has not improved. When we begin to travel without fear on the road and our farmers go and return from farm without incident, we will know that security is returning back to normalcy.

What should government do to deal with insecurity? First equip and motivate the police and the armed forces. Those who favour negotiation and pacification of the criminals may have their point but that is not the business of the military whose training and duties are well defined. When military commanders begin to argue for pacification, de-radicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration of criminals, they have lost the essence of their military bearing and veering into the realm of politics and religion; leave that for the Imams and Pastors.

Insecurity cannot be tackled by media campaign and propaganda on the number of criminals, bandits and insurgents killed. The insurgents, bandits, kidnappers are operating from bushes and forests belonging to known communities and their ranks are swelling.

Read Also: APC settles for direct primary to pick Ondo Gov candidate

They use motorbikes and sometimes even trucks; they restock and replenish their provisions; they use mobile phones and are connected to internet and social media. To claim that they are not accessible questions the integrity of our security forces and the police. We cannot afford to cede political power to criminals; the state should not discuss with them on their own terms. The security agents should softened them up sufficiently and they will submit at negotiation table and take the humble pie. It must be understood that whenever there is trade off with criminals, the state is weak.

Mr President, you have made history by achieving your life time ambition of becoming the president of the country amongst other solid achievements. Your victory did not come on a platter; you snatched victory from the jaws of lions. You do not need a second term; you already have your name in the Hall of Fame of Nigeria’s leaders even if you leave office today. If you have to write your name in gold, then fix security. You have what it takes to do that; it requires gut and steel heart which you possess with envy.

The scale of insecurity is spiralling out of control. Many people are screaming that the military approach is not the solution to fighting insecurity. But one dares says also that offering cake and chocolate to criminals is not the remedy to insecurity. As the pacifists will always argue that killing criminals has not been shown to reduce crime but at the same time they cannot also show that not punishing criminals has improved or reduced statistics of crime and criminality. Punishment serves as societal revulsion of acts that endangers the life of the society not necessarily that that it would be deterrent but a just desert, and punishment for the act done.

Mr President, do not entertain any more excuses, there is no much time left. Get brave, patriotic and courageous military commanders and intelligence chiefs who will take on the behemoth behind the insecurity without looking at religion and tribe and give them marching orders, and let them have your back. The security agents and police including the Department of State Services know where these criminals are; they are not spirits. People take ransom and provisions to them in their hideouts. They operate on motorbike; they do not have refineries in the bush.

If the national assembly could appropriate over one hundred and sixty million naira SUVs for each and every member, it should not be too much to invest in equipment and tracking devices to locate the position of these criminals and make Nigeria safe. We should get our priorities right. The government should not yield ground to criminals and their sponsors. Take on the criminals and their sponsors and the heavens will not fall; individuals and groups should not be greater than the state. Mr President, you can do it!

•Kebonkwu Esq is an Abuja-based attorney. He writes via mikekebonkwu@yahoo.com
April 4, 2024
Reforming real estate market using Dubai model
- By Collins Okeke and Kemi Onanuga
The Real estate business has proven to be a lucrative revenue-generating opportunity for countries worldwide.

Many nations have capitalised on their land and property assets to drive economic growth and diversify their income streams.

For example, in 2019, the real estate sector contributed $3.5 trillion to the United States GDP, accounting for 17.5 per cent of its total economic output.

Similarly, the United Kingdom’s property market generated £68.1 billion in revenue in 2018, showcasing the sector’s significant financial impact.

Nigeria’s real estate sector has enormous potential, given rising urbanization, uncensored population growth, and housing needs.

However, it remains bogged down by challenges like unclear or impaired land titles, exorbitant costs of available real property, bureaucracy, unnecessary and avoidable infrastructure deficits, and lack of transparency and inefficiency, not only in government but also with those involved in transactions.

The market needs extensive reforms across policy, legal, regulatory, and financing frameworks to foster greater structure, standardization, development impact, and financial returns.

Dubai provides a highly relevant blueprint. Within two decades, it transformed itself into a leading global real estate destination by strategically deploying location advantages, business-friendly policies, top-notch infrastructure purposely deployed to encourage and enable investors, and relentless government support and promotion of the real estate market.

This article explores the legal framework and strategies that have contributed to Dubai’s success and how Nigeria can adapt these lessons to unlock its own real estate potential.

Key features of Dubai’s exceptional real estate legal system

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), particularly Dubai, has developed a remarkable real estate legal system that has contributed to its success as a global real estate investment destination.

The emirate’s real estate laws and regulations are designed to attract foreign investment, protect investors’ rights, and ensure transparency in the market. Here are some key aspects of the emirate’s real estate legal system that make it outstanding:

Freehold ownership for foreigners: In 2002, Dubai introduced a law allowing foreign ownership of property in designated areas, making it one of the first Gulf countries to do so. This has attracted significant foreign investment in the real estate sector.

Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA): Established in 2007, RERA is responsible for regulating and overseeing the real estate sector in Dubai. It aims to protect the rights of all parties involved in real estate transactions and promote transparency in the market.

Escrow accounts: Dubai’s real estate laws mandate the use of escrow accounts for off-plan property sales. This ensures that developers cannot misuse investors’ funds and that the money is only released when construction milestones are met.

Strata law: Dubai’s Strata Title Law, introduced in 2007, provides a clear legal framework for the ownership and management of common areas in multi-unit developments, such as apartments and condominiums.

Real estate registry: The Dubai Land Department maintains a comprehensive real estate registry that records all property transactions, ensuring clarity of ownership and reducing the risk of fraud.

Dispute resolution: The Dubai Land Department has a dedicated Rental Disputes Center, which provides a streamlined process for resolving disputes between landlords and tenants. The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) offer specialized dispute resolution services for real estate cases.

Read Also: Israel Adesanya launches Real Estates business

Investment protection: The UAE has signed bilateral investment treaties with numerous countries, providing additional protection for foreign investors in the real estate sector.

Tax advantages: The UAE does not impose income, capital gains, or property taxes on individuals, making it an attractive destination for real estate investment.

Long-term visas: In 2019, the UAE introduced long-term visas (up to 10 years) for investors, entrepreneurs, and professionals, which are tied to property ownership. This has further incentivised real estate investment in the country.

Challenges:

The Dubai real estate polices have been successfully implemented because the government and the people of the country have collaborated to enable effectiveness leading to tremendous progress and profit.

The challenges with reforms working in Nigeria are numerous because of a lack of practical adherence to the rule of law.

We are hopeful that the government will implement favourable policies that uplift the sector, and also hopeful that corruption will not erode the gains derived from such policies.

Recommendations for Nigeria

Nigeria can replicate components of the Dubai framework to reform and unlock the immense potential of its realty ecosystem. Features of the Dubai model that can be adopted include:

Institutional Reforms

Establish a federal real estate regulator: Create an independent overseer (like RERA in Dubai) that will work with States to establish and enforce standards, provide title guarantees, resolve disputes, coordinate state agencies, and streamline the convoluted approval processes. Boost buyer trust and developer compliance.

Set up Infrastructure Development Fund: Lack of power/energy, access roads, drainage, and water infrastructure increases costs and delays projects.

Set up an integrated fund with public seed financing and private partnerships to fund infrastructure development on a user-fee/demand basis, or give economic or material incentives to private developers who can, and have the capacity to build these infrastructures.

Incentivize Free Trade & Business Zones: Provide tax holidays, single-window clearance, and customs duty relaxation for developers to establish Dubai-like self-contained townships integrated with offices, malls, and homes. Attract FDI into these zones to enable world-class development and catalyze wider market maturity.

Legal/Regulatory Overhaul

Real Estate Regulatory Bill: Draft comprehensive legislation covering consumer rights, standard project approval protocols, model buyer-seller agreements, dispute resolution mechanisms, and real estate transaction procedures to start with.

Title regularisation and digitalisation: Simplify and formally recognize existing land title mechanisms via a National Titling Bill. Set timelines for land agencies to fully digitise and integrate title records across states for transparency and efficiency.

Financial Reforms

Promote public-private partnerships: Mobilize pension funds, insurance companies, and foreign investment into real estate by amending guidelines to increase asset allocation. Develop fail-safe risk mitigation tools.

Housing Development Fund: Set up an integrated mortgage liquidity facility to offer attractive long-term home finance rates and incentives. Provide specific incentives for developing low-cost housing projects across urban and semi-urban centres through private and public partnerships.

Conclusion

Actualizing the above policy and regulatory changes can significantly elevate standards, increase participation, and encourage financial flows into Nigeria’s realty space over the next 3-5 years.

The Dubai example reinforces the fact that visionary leadership and business-conducive governance can profoundly boost the market. The fundamentals necessary to replicate such a success story locally, are strongly positive and possible in our environment.
- Okeke (Associate Partner) and Dr. Onanuga (Synergy Partner) are legal experts with Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL)
April 3, 2024
Ode to People’s President
- By Opeyemi Bamidele
Today, I celebrate a timeless doyen of democracy and an astute mentor of many leaders, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. By global standards, Asiwaju is truly a man of the people and the visionary of our times, who devoted his life to pursuing the greatest goods to the greatest number of people. This has been the core of his heart and life from when he was a boardroom guru in the 1980s to when he joined partisan politics in the 1990s.

Born on March 29, 1952, Asiwaju’s foray into politics in 1991 was never a mistake, though it came with a huge sacrifice that cost dearly. As a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I celebrate how Asiwaju firmly stood with the people rather than dining with the military oligarchy that annulled the outcome of the June 12, 1993 presidential election ostensibly won by Chief M.K.O Abiola (now of blessed memory), an annulment that set our fatherland back to the pre-colonial era.

I also celebrate how Asiwaju teamed up with the progressives to establish the National Democratic Coalition, a movement of like minds and progressives that fiercely challenged the regime of the late tyrant, General Sani Abacha; mobilised support for the restoration of democracy to our fatherland and campaigned for the recognition of Chief M.K.O Abiola as the winner of the June 12 presidential election. And this conviction and pursuit eventually earned him exile from the land of his birth. Yet, he was undaunted in his quest to see his fatherland liberated from the era of locusts that pitched us against the comity of nations.

I celebrate how Asiwaju returned to Nigeria in 1998 when the darkest era of the late tyrant finally folded into the abyss of extinction after fighting doggedly on the side of the people. The end of the dark era culminated in his election as the third civilian governor of Lagos State in January 1999. Though faced with diverse heinous challenges at the inception, Asiwaju came out strong and victorious, setting Lagos on the path of irreversible progress, reforming the coastal state to a globally competitive smart city and turning it to a constant destination of strategic investment. And the world can no more look away from Nigeria just because of the pro-people reforms he carried out in Lagos.

Asiwaju’s quest for the greatest goods for the greatest number of people pushed him to national politics, the kind of venture that consumed the nationalists and patriots who lived before him. At different times, he challenged the traditional forces that held our fatherland down. He first fought for the soul of our fatherland on the platform of the defunct Action Congress, and it did not entirely produce an enviable outcome. He later switched to the Action Congress of Nigeria, and banished the regressive elements from the six states of the Southwest. Full of hope, Asiwaju stretched forth his hands across Benue and Niger, and together, they rescued Nigeria from the hands of regressive forces.

Read Also: 17 things to know about Senegal’s youngest President Faye

At 72, as the President of Nigeria, Asiwaju has brought rare conviction and passion to the business of public governance, courageously daring the forces of regression and tirelessly pursuing the interests of over 227 million regardless of their faith, ideology and race. The task is truly daunting, but the victory is undoubted. Only within 10 months of Asiwaju’s ascendancy to the presidency, we have started witnessing the dawning of economic restoration and the ray of political renaissance under his watch.

As I nostalgically reflect on the journey so far, I remember his labour and toiling for our fatherland, even when most misunderstood. I remember his undying passion to lead the path to a greater nation, even when the future looks so bleak and always unsure. I remember his utter commitment to a movement of patriots and progressives eternally sworn to rescue our fatherland from the claws of the ageless vultures and the blood-thirsty beaks of mindless hawks that always seek to feast on the flesh of Nigeria. Despite their ferocity, he eventually subdued the enemies of our souls, even right in the midst of inferno they set ablaze for us all.

That is the reality in our fatherland today. Asiwaju is at the forefront of that reality. And we are all witnesses to this history, even from its making to its maturation. Now, as he graciously turns 72, I cannot, but earnestly pray God grants him longer life and inner strength to steadily paddle the ship of our nation to the coast of endless ecstasy.

Heartiest 72nd birthday, my leader and mentor.
- Bamidele, Leader of the 10th Senate, writes from Abuja.
April 3, 2024
A country without consequences
- By Ekpa Stanley Ekpa
To attain a state of justice, and by justice, I mean justice for everyone and according to the law; every state has a choice to make – a choice between two irreconcilable lines of the rule of law versus the rule of man. To avoid anarchy, every society strives to stick to the side of the coin that ensures that no one acts or is seen to act outside the borders of rule of law. To achieve this goal, the state has a right to insist that its citizens and all foreigners residing within its territorial space strictly obey its laws, by adopting a governmental social control means of enacting, communicating, and sanctioning its citizens who break the law. The subtle prevalence of the rule of man and lack of social consequences for people’s actions and inactions, erode the basic essence of a structured system that that ensures a fair, just and secured society.

A society becomes woven in a complex crisis when ordinary people become conscious of a prevailing reality that certain class of citizens can commit crimes, fail in their responsibilities, or outsmart others without manifest consequences. A state of affairs that reinforces the idea that might is right – and absolute power corrupts absolutely. An Animal Farm situation, where George Orwell tells us that all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. A trajectory of selective justice, survival of the fittest, and as Ragnar Redbeard suggests – where those whom we entrust with power and their cronies assume that they can do whatever they want and no one can stop them. Consequently, everyone struggles for power, or at least a link to it, to ensure that their actions or omissions are absorbed without consequences.

There are long lines of instances of incidents with grave degree of implications on society, pointing to Nigeria as a country without responsibility, accountability and consequences. It is inexplicable that since Nigeria’s independence, there is no single completed federal road connecting different regions of Nigeria – either from southwest to north, north to southeast, or south-south to any other part of the country, yet, billions of naira are appropriated annually for almost all federal roads with variations on contract sum as time goes by. Not a single history has been made for students as a case study of convicted corrupt contractors and their political allies. With electricity grid collapsing 99 times in eight years, yet through the entire period, no one is held accountable nor are there consequences for how N829.788 billion was budgeted from 2018 to 2023 for various electricity infrastructure projects by the federal government, yet nothing has changed in the power sector.

Kidnapping for instance, whether for economic or other socio-political reasons, continue to thrive because 10 years after 276 Chibok girls were kidnapped in 2014, with 96 girls remaining in captivity – there has been no clear consequences, with some of the kidnappers possibly still in the business of abducting innocent people. Almost 38 years after the murder of Dele Giwa, a Federal High Court has only in February 2024 ordered the federal government to re-open the investigation and prosecution of those involved in the murder case; this is the same thing with the case of Bola Ige, as it is with plethora of unresolved cases of social injustices, crime against humanity, institutional abuse of power in Nigeria – the noise simply dies down after the fuss. The ENDSARS victims’ case is not an exception, the reports of different committees have failed to prosecute anyone, while the justice and police system continue to operate in a manner that oppresses and dehumanize the poor.

But we cannot set our gaze only on the big narratives of social deviance. Little things matter too and we must all be held to the same degree of responsibility. It all starts with the littlest form of failure to observe the general rule that should apply to everyone.

According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), between 2017 and 2018 alone, 1,436 accidents occurred due to preventable tyre bursts, if only the drivers made sure that the tyres were roadworthy before travelling. As little as disobeying traffic lights seems, it has grave social implication – in 2013, WHO estimated an average of 35,641 lives were lost to road traffic accidents in Nigeria.

Out of the entire classes of governors from 1999 to 2023, alleged of corruption, the Nigerian state only succeeded in convicting two – Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame of Plateau and Taraba states respectively. After spending millions of taxpayers’ money to secure their conviction, the National Council of State granted them pardon, in contravention of Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution that makes it mandatory that the “State SHALL abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.”

Read Also: ‘There are consequences for non-compliance with filing tax returns’

Implying that the state encourages corruption, all you need to do is to steal public funds and claim you are unhealthy and aged – the only two conditions given by the presidency as a reason for the pardon. Nyame was 66 and Dariye 64, when they were pardoned – aged indeed! Others like Lucky Igbinedion, who was charged of looting up to $24 million, simply entered a plea bargain with the EFCC in 2008 and went home free. Thank God for foreign justice system that ensured the likes James Ibori was convicted, though he only served four years out of the 13 years sentence.

The list is endless. It is part of our daily lives, irrespective of our class, crème or contact. We simply feel there should be no consequences for our actions and inactions, yet we expect, analyse and complain of Nigeria’s problems as though we are not Nigerians. As I have always maintained, building a country that holds everyone accountable does not only have to do with the president, though the president has the highest moral and constitutional responsibility to ensure that Nigerian laws are upheld. Every public institution, all levels of government, all public officials and everyone entrusted with the mandate to ensure compliance and law enforcement, must ensure that everyone who fails, omit or commit a crime is held to the same degree of accountability as the law requires. This cannot happen unless the people and public officials form the basic canons of decency that define us as a civilized society – and the only way to do this, is to submit ourselves to the dictates of the law. Again, our country cannot pride itself on the rule of law unless every Nigerian – both the led or leaders alike, take pride in observing the littlest of our laws.
- Ekpa a lawyer and leadership consultant wrote via ekpastanleyekpa@gmail.com
April 3, 2024
From prison to power

Less than three weeks ago, he was in prison on charges of violations against the Senegalese state. Today, he is the country’s president-elect, having won the election held 24th March against stiff power of incumbency that could have advantaged the candidate of the ruling coalition. Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44, is a political newcomer who has emerged the youngest president ever of his country. He won at first ballot with 54.28 percent of votes cast over the ruling coalition torchbearer, Amadou Ba, who distantly trailed with 35.79 percent of the votes according to official tally announced at the weekend by the Senegalese electoral commission.

Faye will take power as substantive president few hours hence when the term of the outgoing president, Macky Sall, expires on 2nd April. His ascension in office by peaceful transition consolidates Senegal’s record as the most stable democracy in the West African sub-region, and should pull the country back from the brink of instability where it perched in the last three years of Sall’s presidency. The election penultimate Sunday held against the backdrop civil restiveness fuelled by the outgoing president’s attempt to delay the vote and, by implication, extend his tenure beyond the constitutional limit. Senegalese citizens resisted that attempt on the country’s streets and before her court of law, and they won the battle.

The new leader owes his poll victory in a large measure to the backing of firebrand opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who was barred from running as candidate due to a defamation conviction. He contested the elections as an independent following the dissolution last July of his Patriots of Senegal (Pastef) party by the Sall administration for fomenting civil unrest. Pastef party, founded by Sonko in 2014, endorsed Faye who in concert with Sonko had organised left-wing populist protests against Macky Sall, whose government they accused of corruption and failing to address chronic poverty in the country. Both men had been held in jail since 2023 and were released on an amnesty law only 10 days before the 24th March poll. They campaigned together on the slogan “Sonko is Diomaye, Diomaye is Sonko,” promising to fight corruption and prioritise national economic interests over France’s colonial affiliation. Faye was born 1980 in west-central region of Senegal and met Sonko, 49, while they both worked as tax inspectors in the government’s taxes and estates department where they were instrumental to forming a trade union.

Faye was arrested in April 2023 on charges that included spreading false news, contempt of court and defamation of constituted authority with a social media post. Sonko, for his part, was arrested in July 2023 on multiple charges including provoking insurrection, conspiring with “terrorist” groups, endangering state security and “immoral” behaviour towards individuals younger than 21 years. Both men were released late on 14th March, following which they plunged straight into campaign towards the election. Faye’s triumph marked a hard blow by Senegalese voters against Sall who though not on the ballot, backed Ba, 62, prime minister in his government who only resigned to contest the poll as the ruling coalition candidate. It also marked a generational statement of sorts by the citizenry where 60 percent of the 18 million Senegalese population are under 25 years.

Attempts to delay the vote by Sall, who had been in power since 2012 and whose second term was hobbled by civil unrest over the prosecution of Sonko, did not help Ba’s chances. Suspicions were rife that the outgoing president was angling for a third term, until July 2023 when he announced on the back of political riots that he would not seek re-election, though he argued that Senegal’s constitution allowed him to so do if he wished. Sall returned on 3rd February to pull the election that had been scheduled for 25th February, just few days before campaigns by candidates were due to get underway. He issued a decree to that effect, saying he acted to protect the integrity of the vote following allegations of corruption and disputes over the eligibility of some presidential candidates. But critics accused him of seeking to extend his time in office or hold up the poll to better prepare his candidate – accusations he denied. The Senegalese parliament , on 5th February, weighed in by voting to push the election back till 15th December, during which time Sall was mandated to remain in office.

Opposition actors led public protests against the poll delay and filed legal challenges before the Constitutional Council, which on 15th February overruled Sall and declared parliament’s law shifting the poll to December contrary to Senegal’s constitution. The council, Senegal’s top election authority, said the 2nd April expiration of Sall’s tenure could not be varied and ordered relevant authorities to conduct the presidential poll as would give effect to that term limit. After weeks of confusion, the government set 24th March as the new poll date, resulting in rushed electioneering that clashed with the fasting month of Ramadan in a country where 95 percent of the population are Moslem. Sall’s amnest by which Sonko and Faye were freed from jail on 14th March was widely perceived as targeted at softening public sentiment towards his administration and, in effect, the ruling coalition’s candidate. Only that the move didn’t help in winning public support for Amadou Ba or staunch Faye’s popularity momentum. Some 7.3million of the Senegalese population were registered as voters, and turnout for the election was about 71 percent according to official estimates. Reports said on election day, calm queues formed outside polling stations, with many voters having woken up to pray before daybreak and heading straight to where they would vote after breaking their fast.

Read Also: 2027: Obi, Obidients are not our concern now, we are busy with governing Nigeria – Onanuga

By the recent poll, Senegal not only has its youngest president ever but an anti-establishment civil activist. During electioneering, he pledged to weed out corruption, restore socio-political stability and prioritise economic sovereignty. His candidacy appealed to urban youth frustrated by high unemployment record of the Sall administration. He also said he would rid Senegal of the CFA franc inherited from the colonial era that is pegged to the euro, and proposed introducing a national currency in its place. Besides, with the country expected to start hydrocarbon production this year, Faye indicated plans to renegotiate mining and hydrocarbon contracts, though he assured that Senegal would honour existing obligations. When accused by establishment politicians of anarchism over his currency agenda, he soft-pedalled somewhat saying he would first seek to reform the franc, and it is when such reform fails he would dump the colonial legacy. But in a public address early last week, he displayed his hard anti-colonial bent in a Francophobic tirade by which he called out France to “stay off Senegal’s neck.” Many considered the address unduly blistering for the statesmanliness required of national leadership and hoped Faye would be more tempered by experience as he gets along in the high office. Meanwhile, the dripping resentment against France in that tirade does not portend a fighting chance for the franc in Senegal’s national life going forward.

Still, it was a resounding triumph for democracy in Senegal, one of few African countries in a region plagued by coups never to have experienced military intervention in power since her 1963 independence from France. That record was threatened sore by deadly political violence in the latter years of Sall’s tenure. Faye’s victory also reinforced Senegal’s credential on the potency of opposition – a trait that has seen opposition coalitions dislodge tight-sitting incumbents over past years in the country’s history. And it’s of no less significance that the Senegal experience proved the relevance of peer review. The country is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the bloc was in the forefront of nudging Sall to stick to the election timetable; when the constitutional council gave its 15th February verdict, the bloc spoke up to say it noted the court’s decision and “calls on competent authorities to set a date for the presidential election in accordance with the decision.” If ECOWAS posts proactive oversight on member-nations during political crises, that might go a long way to preempt intervention by military adventurers. All said, history will be kind to President Sall for submitting to the rule of law and allowing Senegalese voters to have their way by electing Faye.

•Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.

April 1, 2024
Burgeoning kidnapping industry: Whither governors?
- By Andrew A. Erakhrumen
It is no news that the already emaciated industrial and other productive capacity, for production and availing limited number of people legitimate jobs, are declining in Nigeria; that is businesses, companies, factories and other economic ventures that have had positive impacts on economy are crashing almost irretrievably; but this is not the whole story. With the increasing intensity of the economic downturn being experienced, the country has been ‘blessed’ (or burdened?) with another thriving industry – the crime industry! This seemingly ‘new’ industry is neither really new nor original to Nigeria but it is booming here and now. Although, it assumes different forms and shapes, it is not limited to any region of the country. One of such criminalities is kidnapping for ransom.

Sincerely, it is increasingly becoming difficult to describe this ‘lucrative’ venture as a criminal enterprise. This is because names of “big men” directly and indirectly involved in kidnappings are mentioned in the print and electronic media but nothing seems to be happening to them. A lot has been said about this societal challenge, however, the more the people cry, the more they are left unprotected, by the state, from the whims and caprices of kidnappers. As at today, no one is sure who the next victim(s) will be. The responses of national and sub-national governments to criminalities are still the same old predictable ineffectual pronouncements.

The governments always claim to be on top of the situation! Marching orders are always given to the country’s security personnel to get to the root of the matter. Have they ever been able to get to the root of the matter? We do not know! We also do not know if politicians are behind the massive criminalities enveloping Nigeria! What we know is that those holding political power including others in the corridors and bedrooms of power have been using the captured failing state to extract public resources and protect only themselves and theirs while others are expected to go to hell! Once you are not in government or not close to those in it, be rest assured that you are on your own; you are ‘technically’ excluded from the selective protection by the state.

This is not a new story. It is not a new reality. It has not been unique to a particular group in power. Only that those who criticised people-in-power yesterday are today, in power, contributing to the entrenchment of what they criticised yesterday! So, it has been deception all the way! We have always argued that a chunk of the possible solutions to a societal problem lies on the ability and willingness to recruit the ‘right’ political leadership that is ready to confront such problem. When we talk of political leadership, it is not limited to those at the federal level. In fact, more is expected from those at the state and sub-state levels. To say it as it is, many Nigerian state governors are terribly irresponsible!

Yes, state governors do not have the powers of the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces but for what do they use the “security vote” they strictly keep secret? What is this “security vote”? It is an unknown large amount not legally appropriated! This is another means by which public funds are stolen! Since 1999, no state governor has denied the existence of the “vote” or given account of how it was expended! It should not be only about the federal government, Nigerians should also ask state governors questions! A lot of nonsense also pervades the states. The federal government may be a major beneficiary of the warped federal system of government practiced in Nigeria but the state governments cannot exempt themselves from the rot being experienced everywhere! Concerning the kidnapping, we had asked in an intervention in the past that “…..who would have imagined that kidnappers will, one day, take more than a hundred students (as hostages), from a boarding school, and ask relatives (of the hostages) to provide rice, beans, palm oil, salt and stock cubes to feed them (in captivity)?…..” Recent events make that question we asked in 2021 sound outdated. For instance, on February, 28, bandits killed two residents of Anguwan Auta in Gonin Gora, Chikun Local Government Area (LGA), Kaduna State, kidnapping and escaping with others into the bushes bothering the community.

Read Also: Call Ganduje’s attackers to order, APC chief tells Soludo

Four days earlier, in this Chikun LGA, 287 schoolchildren were reportedly abducted in Kuriga whereas on March 24, it was reported that the number of these Kuriga’s schoolchildren that were actually abducted but eventually rescued by the military in Zamfara state is ‘only’ 137. Kidnappings in many states, Kaduna inclusive, appear to be progressively more ‘normalised’ and less newsworthy! The ease with which these kidnappings are carried out is a thing to be seriously worried about! A very simple explanation to give is that Nigeria’s intelligence network has broken down while the job of securing the country has become overwhelming. So, whoever is ‘careless’ to allow himself/herself get kidnapped should ‘arrange’ for resources to get him/her out of kidnappers’ den! That is today’s Nigerian reality! That is the common people’s reality!

As earlier said, you are on your own! Or, what are we to say when what we complained about in 2021 is now less in negative intensity in comparison with this 2024 Kaduna kidnapping? Here, the abductors were alleged to have demanded N40 trillion, 11 Toyota Hilux vans and 150 motorcycles as ransom for the release of 16 kidnapped victims in captivity! This sounds preposterous but nothing is unbelievable in today’s Nigeria! Pretence and deceit are mostly unhelpful where things are fast falling apart! No one expects to be kidnapped but not being a victim of kidnapping should not be a reason for keeping quiet about it. Sadly, this crime does not respect religion, clan, ethnicity or region!

Kidnapping does not differentiate one political party member from another. It has a life of its own. Although, it is difficult to pointedly state, with certainty, the first school that was attacked by criminal elements in the northern part of the country. Nevertheless, since April 14, 2014 when 276 students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State were successfully kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents, it has been harvests of successful kidnappings by different criminal groups! Kidnappers have continued to do well; they have been operating unhindered in ways that suggest an absence of law and order in those states! We sometimes ask this question: are there executive governors in those states? This question emanates from the fact that state governors swore an oath of allegiance to the people, promising to protect them against harm from criminal elements. Thus, how does one explain the current reality in which criminalities are perpetrated freely in those states? The state governors and local government administrations are the closest to the people; therefore, more is expected from them concerning the quest for solution(s) to Nigeria’s insecurity challenges. They should not sit in their offices, embezzle “security vote” and give Nigerians the impression that federal government is the only problem.

•Erakhrumen teaches at the Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management, University of Benin.
April 1, 2024
Rivers: What manner of politicians?
- By Frank Boniface
Some days ago, a group of politicians, who were members of the Rivers State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council (PDPPCC) in the 2023 general elections, felt it was time to insult our intelligence. Aside from being members of the PDP-PCC, they were also united by their hatred for Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, a man whose significant role in their political careers is well-documented. These former Wike allies fell out with him and chose to work against everything he wanted, including candidates Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Siminalayi Fubara, who later won to become president and governor respectively.

Now, these men, who gave their all to ensure that neither Tinubu nor Fubara won their elections, suddenly declared their support for these men they said were not good for Nigeria and Rivers State. They capped it all by dressing Wike in a garb not his. They shamelessly claimed Wike has disturbed the state’s peace and ran a kleptocratic government as governor of Rivers State. They advised Mr. President to keep a close watch on the FCT Administration. Their aim is to paint him bad and get the president to fire him. Thank God, Mr President can decipher their motive and keep them at arm’s length.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is an extremely clever leader, a trait he shares with his Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.

The former Director-General of PDP Campaign Council, Dr. Abiye Sekibo, who spoke for ex-PDP chairman Uche Secondus and co, said since the Supreme Court has pronounced Tinubu the duly elected president, they decided to stand by the verdict. Their decision, coming months after the apex court’s ruling, gives them away as hypocrites trying to cause confusion and reap where they didn’t sow.

Tinubu would be naive to be swayed by this gibberish. Isn’t it clear? They didn’t support Tinubu or Fubara in the last election, yet now they show sudden affection for them and hate Wike who not only did everything possible to ensure Tinubu’s victory, but also did everything possible to guarantee Atiku Abubakar’s failure. Those who rejected them in 2023 are now rallying behind them to discredit Wike and aiming to challenge him in 2027.

If Wike emerged victorious in 2023 without Tinubu’s support; one can only imagine the outcome in 2027 when the duo will undoubtedly work hand in glove. Wike commands the loyalty of the people and no amount of propaganda can alter that fact. Interestingly, despite not aligning with Tinubu’s APC, these men are eager for Tinubu’s support to undermine him. More like expecting President Tinubu to provide the weapon and prepare the stage for his political crucifixion. Only a novice in politics like Fubara would fall for such a ploy. Even a three-year-old wouldn’t be fooled, let alone a sagacious seasoned politician and business magnate of Tinubu’s pedigree. We must x-ray these political manoeuvres with diplomatic finesse, and as Churchill aptly put it: “Diplomacy is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.”

If Sekibo, Secondus, and others don’t view Tinubu as a fool, why do they expect him to be fooled by their immature tactics? This must be is a gratuitous insult taken too far.

This ensuing episode in the political melodrama of Rivers State reminds me of the little snake and little frog story. The story tells us that “in order to take revenge on our fellow beings, we should never make friends with our natural enemies.” So, when an enemy feigns friendship and asks you to drop your weapons while holding firmly to his and desiring to kill you as soon as you drop your weapon, it is foolish to oblige them.

Meanwhile, they haven’t joined Tinubu in APC and would do everything to support Fubara and whoever emerges as PDP presidential candidate in 2027 to defeat President Tinubu and his APC, yet they want Tinubu’s support to pull that string. Again, what an insult! Perhaps, only a political neophyte like Governor Sim Fubara will fall for this puerile trick.

These men have forgotten that Mr President’s major sustaining power in politics and business is his love for surrounding himself with talents. He knows that Wike is a talent and an asset. He knows that Wike is clever. He knows he needs a development-oriented man like Wike to be part of his cabinet and especially to run the all-important FCT-Abuja that is a national melting pot and seat of power.

Read Also: 2027: Obi, Obidients are not our concern now, we are busy with governing Nigeria – Onanuga

They can say and believe whatever they may, but the real Rivers people know who their leader is. They know the man whose administration did projects their children’s children will benefit from. They know the man who stood and is still standing with them. That man is Wike. The people of Rivers State also know who the enemies feigning friendship are.

Going by Mr President’s pedigree, he has never been an ungrateful man. He has always stood by the people who identify with him at strategic moments. Till date, even fellow comrades who fall out with him are given room to retrace their steps, not to talk of allies like Wike who are ready to stand by his mandate with all they have got.

My advice to Secondus, who couldn’t have become PDP chairman without Wike, Sekibo, who benefitted a lot from the ex-governor, Tele Ikuru and others whose biographies will be incomplete without a mention of the Ikwerre-born minister, is that they need to take the chill pill. Wike calls the shot and will continue to until God says it is another’s turn. He has put in the work and their attempts to destroy him will further alienate them. And to Fubara, these men are featherweight and sore losers. They can’t help you. They are toothless bulldogs and can only bark. They lack the bite required to win this political battle.

He who has the people, has the structure. Unfortunately, they don’t have the people and as such the structure is off their hands. As Sun Tzu opined, “victorious warriors win first and then go to war, but defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”

Every reread of their speech at the press conference has made me laugh so much that tears almost cascade down my cheeks, not because of anything other than its comic value. They’re clowns (or political Uncle JBs, to use a local parlance) and time will show them to their rightful place – the trash can.

•Boniface writes from old GRA, Port Harcourt.
April 1, 2024
Adebayo Okunade: Ode to an exemplary teacher
- By Tunji Olaopa
When Henry Adams, the 19th century American historian, states categorically that “A teacher affects eternity,” he translated his observational experience into what millions of people all across the world today can relate with. According to him, either good or bad, “he can never tell where his influence stops.” Teaching is a vocational calling that radiates through many generations. And this is one grateful member of one generation demonstrating immense gratitude for the gift of many teachers who impacted my coming-of-age. I contend that there should be no memoir that does not dedicate a chapter, at least, to the immense influence of teachers in the formation of anybody that considers their lives worthy of autobiographical projection. I do, and my memoir dedicates such a chapter to the myriad of influences on my intellectual and professional maturation. Prof. Adebayo Okunade—teacher extraordinaire, distinguished professor, erudite academic and astute administrator—is definitely exemplary.

I could almost bet that my old teacher will turn 70 this year. Of course, he is one mentor that I have been looking for the best moment to celebrate for a range of reasons that will be obvious in a moment. It however turned out that his septuagenarian attainment is still one year away, as he clocked 69 and not 70 a few weeks ago. By the time I reached out to him to confirm this fact, I had finished penning this tribute. And why not, he deserves to be celebrated in advance. I am not just celebrating Prof. Okunade’s pre-septuagenarian achievement, I am also wrapping that together with our shared clan affinity. We both hail from Aáwé town in the Afijio local government area of Oyo State. For me, there is a way I read the hands of Providence in my sociocultural evolution, my intellectual maturation, my professional path in life and those that have been put on my paths in life.

It is not surprising that Prof. Okunade came from a teaching parentage. But his parents were not just school teachers, but they were one of those who brought the best of their sociocultural and moral experiences into the molding of their children and the wards under their care. Being an ọmọlúwàbì is the best moral and pedagogical framework that the Yoruba allows for the upbringing of children, and the molding of a good society. I benefitted from such an upbringing too, and I know what it means to see the world through that prism. Add that moral package to a sound pedagogy, and you immediately understand how influential Prof. Okunade was to my intellectual development.

I came into first contact with Prof. Okunade at the Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo, easily one of the best secondary schools (in my time) in the entire Oyo zone, stretching from Oke Ogun to Ogbomoso. I had just resumed for my Higher School Certificate (HSC) in 1978. And he was my Government subject teacher. With him, the study of government became by far one of my very best learning formative moments. It was with him that I first became conscious of the Socratic method of interlocution—a pedagogical engagement that enables students to grasp knowledge without assaulting their minds with facts. Okunade’s pedagogical excellence consisted in transforming our numerous engagements in and outside the classroom into seminal spaces for processing discourses, discussions and debates. Given my growing reputation as a bookworm, it was almost inevitable that I would be noticed by this smart teacher who was well-versed in both national and international politics and governmental processes. And so, it became something of a constant ritual for us to gather around him, especially outside of the classroom, to pick up significant items of public discourse or current affairs touching on government policies, national politics or international incidence.

The 1978/80 years were a most significant period in Nigeria’s political development, and the second republic was about to get underway. The study of government in secondary school was also animated by the prospect of a return to civil rule and the much-awaited Nigeria’s greatness. On the intellectual part, there was an ongoing ideological discussion on the nature of the Nigerian state. Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Prof. Billy Dudley were at the forefront of the attempt to unravel what it means to say that Nigeria, despite political independence, was still “a mere geographical expression.” This furthers our discussions in those upper secondary school seminal engagements around the nature and meaning of federalism and the role it could play in Nigeria’s unfolding political development. On the political part, we were witnessing a reprise of the pre-independence rivalry between the Action Group (AG), the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in the shape of the Unity Party of Nigeria, the National Party of Nigeria and Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) and others. And Awolowo’s democratic socialism and Azikiwe’s neo-welfarism were already in the public domain as ideological templates.

And we have in the then Mr. Okunade an astute Socratic interlocutor who could play the devil’s advocate with the many contending and contrary political and ideological positions on offer by the different political parties. He would be a Zikist in one session, a robust leftist in the mold of Tunji Braithwaite’s National Advance Party the next, and then go on to defend Awolowo’s democratic socialism thereafter. This capacity to robustly engage with contending ideas and arguments left a very deep impression on me that would come in handy when I made up my mind to study political science at the University of Ibadan, and met him again as my teacher. While engaging us on the subject matter of Government, he had just his first degree in political science, and was already on the academic trajectory, studying for a master’s degree in the same department. By the time I would join the department as an undergraduate student, he was already on his way up the ladder that would eventually lead to his becoming a professor in due season. We did not miss a bit in picking up from where we left off in terms of critical engagement, and even more at an advance stage as an undergraduate student and even at graduate studies. His academic and research profile was already shaping up in terms of public administration scholarship and specifically local government studies, and was further broadened when he went to the University of Essex in the United Kingdom to study for a LLM in International Human Rights Law.

My lifelong relationship from Olivet High to the University of Ibadan means that I would keep drawing on his influence and wisdom all through my professional development. Apart from being critical to shaping my doctoral thesis and my post-doctoral research direction—including facilitating a path-shaping relationship with the late Professor of Philosophy, Olusegun Oladipo—he is also a significant influence and support in the establishment of my pet project, the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP) in 2016.

Prof. Bayo Okunade’s scholarship must have been taking shape since he began engaging us in discourses around Nigeria’s national political development in the twilight years of the 1970s. There is no political scientist in Nigeria who would not be drawn into Nigeria’s federal-federalism debacle, and especially those who were there from the beginning like Prof. Okunade. He is very emphatic, for instance, and contrary to the outcry, that restructuring does not constitute the expected panacea to Nigeria’s federalism predicament. For example, he argues, restructuring is not an ideological construct with one objective for Nigeria, conceptually speaking. Different power blocks and elite interest want the concept to achieve different things for them. And this speaks to the fact that even if restructuring becomes constitutionally entrenched, its success will be dependent on concessions that those who have the capacity to manipulate the system for their selfish interest give to the delivery of the Nigeria development project and purpose as give and take.

Read Also: Adebayo, the General with hearty laugh

Here, we begin to see the outline of Okunade’s argument—the subject of is celebrated inaugural lecture—about the leadership challenge in Nigeria. According to him, the resolution of Nigeria’s national question is impossible without an antecedent determination through the recalibration of the leadership deficit. The leadership issue, which he calls on fellow political scientist to elevate to the level of curricular program, significantly encapsulates Okunade’s constructivist perspective on social engineering and how this impact the establishment of a well-ordered society founded on public administration, human right, the rule of law and good governance. The relationship between public administration, human rights and democracy therefore situates Okunade’s research portfolio squarely within the context of Nigeria’s political development. And we are able to see clearly why the leadership deficit constitutes, as his inaugural lecture’s title suggest, a big challenge. And for someone steeped in the studies of federalism and democracy, I suspect it was not too radical to opt for a federal system that empowers local governance as a critical arm of democratic governance that empowers the people. I have like him published lots of opinion pieces on how the principles of social capital and subsidiarity could enable the grassroots as the most proactive context for democratic participation and developmental mobilization. The leadership deficit therefore goes right to the very heart of Nigeria’s constitutional anomaly.

The near-septuagenarian professor has an influence that spans many generation of students each of whom can write pages about the indelible humanity of Adebayo Okunade and his pedagogical direction. I struggle to accept Michael Morpurgo’s words that “It’s the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom.” This is because a good teacher can be undermined if the classroom or pedagogical dynamics are not right. An Okunade placed within the classrooms of both the Olivet Baptist Hish School and the department of political science, University of Ibadan, significantly to my academic and intellectual endeavors. And as he climbs on to the seventh floor by God’s grace in the months ahead, I can boast that he does not just wear the medal for my teacher for all time,s he is also my friend, brother and co-conspirator in institutional re-engineering.
- Olaopa is the Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission, Abuja tolaopa2003@gmail.com
March 31, 2024
Gabriel Yakubu Aduku: An icondeparts with passion for humanity
- By Theophilus Abbah
Not desperate, never agitated, not rebellious, not a mischief-maker, Chief (Architect) Gabriel Aduku exited this world of desperation, agitations, rebellion, and mischief on March 10, 2024, few weeks after his 80th birthday He was an unexplored treasure to humanity, a rare human resource and a man with a candle that shone in Nigeria’s pitch darkness. His calmness, his speeches, salted with grace, and carefully chosen diction could calm any storm.

It is on record that before he was elected as the Chairman of the elite Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in 2023, a body that conceived developmental agenda for the whole of northern Nigeria, the late Chief Aduku had conceived and enumerated an avalanche of projects that could elevate the North from being the country’s poverty capital to a prosperous, viable and enviable region in Nigeria and Africa. For him, the potential for the emancipation of the North was embedded in its natural endowments: waterways, mineral deposits, human resources, and pragmatic politics.

Over the brief period he served Nigeria as Minister of State for Health in 2007-2008, Chief Aduku set in motion the process of eradicating one of the major killers of the young and old in Nigeria – malaria. But his plans could not be implemented as Chief Aduku’s tenure was truncated by controversial charges of corruption, for which he was later discharged and acquitted by both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court on November 9, 2009.

Chief Aduku’s passion the for the development of the North and, indeed Nigeria was not killed. In a press interview, the late Chief Aduku expressed his discomfort at the half-hearted dredging of the River Niger and Benue, considering the economic benefits of the two rivers that spread across Nigeria. In the interview Chief Aduku said, “I have written to our colleagues, the Arewa Consultative Forum, to take it [dredging of Rivers Niger and Benue] up with President, Muhammadu Buhari. But from the records so far, especially since the beginning of Independence till now, every government has been saying that it would try to dredge the river. But over the years, the dredging has not seen the light of day. I have been on this issue since 2012. I personally would like to see Rivers Niger and Benue come upstream. All Nigerians must think about it because the fruits in it are enormous…”. He expressed concern about the moribund iron and steel company in Kogi State, the abandoned Jeba Paper Mill, and the failure of state governments to harness over 40 mineral resources in the North.

Chief Aduku was never dormant politically. Active over the years, he left some remarkable footprints. He was not only a member of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) but served as the State Chairman in Benue and pioneer Chairman of NRC in Kogi State where his contributions led to the emergence of the late Prince Abubakar Audu as the Governor of the state under the flag of NRC. He was also a member of the defunct Democratic Party of Nigeria; and one of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). To his credit, the late Chief Aduku designed the logo of the PDP, as it is known today. He could be simply described as a silent political juggernaut.

Apart from being involved in politics, he was an entrepreneur, having established several companies. He was an active participant in the Organized Private Sector (OPS) in Nigeria. He chaired the boards of several national companies. His roles in some of the entities included Senior Partner, Archcon Nigeria (Architects), 1972-84; Chairman, Nigeria Merchant Bank Limited, 1977-80; Chairman, United Nigeria Insurance Company Limited, 1980-83; Director, Beecham Limited, 1980; Executive Chairman, Archcon Nigeria (Architects); Chairman/Director, Kapital Insurance Limited; Chairman, Benro Packaging Company; Executive Chairman, ARCHCON Nigeria Limited; Chairman. AGY Nigeria Limited; Member of Council University of Maiduguri, 1976-80. The list is endless.

Many young Nigerians may have heard about Chief Aduku being described as an architect, but they are unaware of the impact he had made in the sector. He was one of the earliest architects to emerge from Northern Nigeria and had served as Vice President and President of the Nigerian Institute of Architects. He would later become the Chairman of the board of the Nigerian Institute of Architects. He also served as Council Member, International Union of Architects (1993 – 1999). Some of the outstanding architectural projects his company Archcon Nigeria executed include the followings: 500-bed General Hospital at Gbagada, Lagos; master planning and design of faculty buildings at the University of Sokoto; Bauchi State Government Secretariat; multi-storey building at Northern Nigerian Investment Limited, Kaduna; residence of the Nigerian ambassador in Germany, Bonn; and private residence of the late President Shehu Shagari.

The late Chief Aduku hailed from Anyigba in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State. He was born into the family of the late Pa Aduku Agwuye Aga and Mrs Ajetu Aduku on February 3, 1944. He was the Amana Ogochi I of Igalaland, a title bestowed upon him by Atta Igala. He attended Qua Iboe Mission School, Idah; Okene Secondary School, Okene; and the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained both B.Sc and M.Sc Architecture in the 1970s.

Read Also: ACF removes its chairman, Aduku, appoints Osman

He devoted the later part of his life to the service of God and humanity. He led several campaigns against political violence, armed thuggery and other vices in Igalaland. He was Chairman of Kogi East Elders Council, a post he held till his passage to glory. A very notable role he played for the Igalaland was his challenge of the 2006 population census in which the Igala were shortchanged in their majority population position in the state and Nigeria at large. He stood for and spoke the Igala voice up to the Appeal and Supreme Courts, until the case was thrown out. However, this did not go down well with a section of Kogi State.

The late Chief Aduku was happily married to Lydia Iye Aduku. The union is happily blessed with six children. He was a loving husband, a caring and darling father and a philanthropist who put smiles on the faces of orphans and widows. He saw many indigent students through school via admissions and payment of tuition fees, both at home, abroad and across religions. The late colossus equally contributed immensely to the growth of the church having served as an Elder in the United Evangelical Church till his exit from this world. It is on record, too, that he sponsored many Muslims on Hajj. He was widely travelled, having visited many countries of the globe. He loved playing golf and reading, especially at his spare time. May his soul rest in peace.
- Abbah resides in Abuja
March 31, 2024