The Nation Newspaper

Category: Comments

  • Gbajabiamila: Public life for public good

    Gbajabiamila: Public life for public good

    • By Aliyu Abubakar

    He is currently the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu. He has seen his political life course from the legislature to the executive. It’s not clear if Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila ever dreamt of this fortune as he stepped on the canvas of politics at the turn of this 4th Republic.

    By every yardstick, it’s fair to say that he has had his path paved with golden confetti. A path of distinguished public service. And at every turn, Providence has placed him in a position others wished they were.

    Elected for a record six times by the people of Surulere 1 Constituency of Lagos to represent them in the House of Representatives, Gbajabiamila is a man fated to political longevity. And he has represented his people creditably. In the House, he had a voice. He was respected. Neither dumb nor dim-witted, he showed mastery of legislative sagacity; displayed candour and intelligence. Functioned in committees with distinction. Never static or decorative, he showed pomp, panache and depth. While in the House, the lawyer in him manifested in full plume. He showed people skills, networking dexterity and was easily relatable. No airs, sided with the weak and was always smart to connect with his constituents in Lagos. This made him popular both in his Surulere base and among his peers in the Green Chamber. In Surulere, for instance, his constituents would gleefully give an arm to defend him. He was welfarist as a lawmaker as he was empathetic. To his constituents, it’s Gbaja (they love to address him that way) or no one else.

    Gbaja carries grace. He brought it to the House where he rose to become Minority Leader in the 7th Assembly and later the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 9th Assembly: Primus inter Pares (First among equals). As Speaker, he brought stability to the House, managing the high and low tides of boisterous men and women with organized stratagem.

    He did not quit the House on account of court verdict, neither was he not returned by his constituents. He resigned voluntarily to assume office as Chief of Staff to President Tinubu, a higher calling. Even this speaks to his relevance and political capital in the eyes of Tinubu, himself a political grandmaster. Emerging Chief of Staff indexes his trust equity and how much the president trusts him. Chief of Staff means he is the one who organizes the office of the president, determines who sees him and acts as clearing house (Secretariat) of the president himself. It’s a position only reserved for trusted friends of the president, not just any jobber or political appointee.

    Gbaja is trusted and trustworthy. Even the president attests to that. Tinubu is an intelligent political godfather who knows the place of loyalty in the political matrix. Every party in partisan politics places premium of fidelity of members to the creed and mores of the party. Gbaja, a student of Tinubu School of Political Leadership, has been faithful to Tinubu and his ideals. His collateral is his unrelenting loyalty and undiluted willingness to abide by the tenets of his party. Gbaja is neither treacherous nor lecherous. Some politicians mutate from one party to another in open show of political harlotry. Not so, Gbaja. He played the opposition with polished dignity, snubbed every bait to turncoat; was steadfast to his party and his leader, Tinubu. That is character. Gbaja has it.

    Tinubu, a man who does not hold back to reward loyalty saw all this and has rewarded him with one of the most powerful offices in the presidency.

     But this article is not about Gbaja’s fruitful political odyssey. An eventful public life, no doubt. This is about what Gbaja has done with his public life, not how he wielded power. Early this year, Nigerians were greeted with developmental news. An imposing architectural masterpiece, a 484-bed hall of residence was donated to the University of Lagos by Gbajabiamila. It was a fitting gift from a grateful heart to his alma mater. Gbaja is a law graduate of UniLag, proudly a Great Akokite!

    The hostel gift is just what the university needs now. Nigerian tertiary institutions are challenged in the area of providing decent accommodation for their teeming students. In the case of UniLag, Gbaja scored a bull’s eye. The university which prides itself as the University of First Choice has been unable, like most universities, to provide on-campus accommodation for students. Many students have had to live off-campus where they are exposed to the horror of cultism and cultists, robbers and other drug-addled crooks lurking in off-campus neighbourhoods.

    Read Also: At 64, I’m not afraid of death – Remi Tinubu

    There have been several cases across the country where off-campus students were abducted and killed by unknown assailants; in some cases, robbed and other times became victims of gruesome murder. This is why the Gbaja gesture should be seen in the context of what it is: using public life to do public good.

    Gbaja also built and donated to the Lagos State University (LASU), a state-of-the-art conference centre that not only adds grandeur to the LASU infrastructural landscape but also fills a critical void in the university’s event management routine. LASU, ranked as one of the best public universities in Law, has been growing in geometric leap. At the recent matriculation ceremony for 2023/2024 students, the Gbajabiamila hall was put to good use as the traditional hall for such event could not take all the students.

    Without any shred of doubt, public office has been fair to Gbaja. But he’s not the only one whom public service has showered benevolence on. Some Nigerian public office holders, past and present, have reduced themselves into receptacles; always collecting, never giving back. Not Gbaja. He has been giving back to society. He has impacted his constituents and by implication the larger Nigerian society in education, healthcare, entrepreneurship and direct empowerment of the frail and the poor.

    The vice chancellor of LASU, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, was exultant at the inauguration ceremony. She said the facility is a critical infrastructural intervention especially at this time when the need for conducive spaces to carry out administrative and social engagements has become imperative.

    She described the centre, inaugurated by Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as a beautiful edifice and a unique architectural monument that has enhanced the aesthetic landscape of the university.

    By these two stand-out acts of kindness to humanity, Gbaja has pointed the way for all persons of goodwill, especially those fate thrust into the public service arena. Your service is not to self or family. To think or act so is wickedness. Your service is to the larger community. Use your public life to do public good. Nothing can be more honourable or nobler than this. For long after you’re gone, humanity will not remember that you owned the choicest automobiles, but they will remember the impact you had on the rest of the people. Good deeds are never forgotten, neither are those who do them. The place of Gbaja in the boulders of history is already etched in gold: Indelible, in our hearts.

    • Abubakar, a policy analyst, writes from Abuja.

  • Skyrocketing drug costs: Before Tinubu’s Executive Order

    Skyrocketing drug costs: Before Tinubu’s Executive Order

    • By Calixthus Okoruwa

    This is a very bad time for anyone to fall ill. Prices of drugs have shot through the roof and medicines are now increasingly out of the reach of the ordinary Nigerian. It is particularly bad for the millions of Nigerians suffering from chronic illnesses like hypertension, diabetes and glaucoma, who are required to take their medicines for the rest of their lives.

    Sundry media reports indicate that in the circumstances, many Nigerians are now resorting to herbal and other concoctions, some of doubtful safety and efficacy.

    It is not a good time for the pharmaceutical sub-segment of the health sector, either. No fewer than two major pharmaceutical multinationals have since exited the country, in the face of the difficult operating conditions. With operational difficulties hallmarked by high energy costs, forex challenges, multiple taxes and hordes of bureaucratic hurdles, local pharmaceutical companies are in a tough battle for survival.

    In response to the dire situation, President Tinubu is reportedly working on an Executive Order to bring down the cost of drugs in Nigeria. 

    While it is unfortunate that things in the sector have come to this sorry pass, the situation, paradoxically presents Nigeria with a great opportunity to holistically redress the issues with its pharmaceutical sector and set the country on the path to self-sufficiency and vibrant economic growth.

    Nigeria’s current pharmaceutical industry is replete with depressing statistics. Many pharmaceutical companies produce at a fraction of installed capacity. Not surprisingly, the local pharmaceutical industry is unable to meet the domestic demand for medicines and accounts for less than 30% of medicines consumed locally. The balance of 70% comprises drugs imported from all over the world including China, India and interestingly, Bangladesh.

    Bangladesh used to occupy a prime position as one the poorer countries of the world. Slowly and surely, its pharmaceutical industry, together with its garment and leather industries are helping to putting a lie to this by collectively driving GDP growth in the country. 

    The Bangladeshi pharmaceutical industry in particular, portends a number of lessons that Nigeria can learn from if we are to considerably obviate if not completely eliminate the fundamental problems afflicting the pharmaceutical sector and by extension the health and wellbeing of millions of citizens in Nigeria and the wider West Africa sub-region.

    In the 1970s and early 1980s the situation of the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh was very similar to Nigeria’s. Its local pharmaceutical industry existed on the fringes of an industry that was dominated by the multinational drug companies. The multinational companies, were not only unwilling to set up manufacturing operations in Bangladesh but also flooded the country with all manner of drug products, many of questionable usefulness. Despite its huge population, Bangladesh like Nigeria, relied primarily on imports to the meet the majority of its drug needs.

    Things took a dramatic turn for the better from 1982 when Bangladesh developed and adopted a new drugs policy to radically overhaul the pharmaceutical sector. 

    The Bangladeshi 1982 Drugs Ordinance set out a number of prescriptions for the pharmaceutical sector. Fundamentally, it sought to protect the local pharmaceutical industry to enable it get a foothold in the country and drive its growth. For instance the law, as the ordinance soon metamorphosed to, drastically reduced the number of drugs in circulation, eliminating wasteful and spurious drugs of doubtful efficacy. In addition, only multinational corporations which had manufacturing operations in Bangladesh were permitted to sell their products in the country. Furthermore, drugs which could be produced locally or their substitutes were no longer permitted to be imported. Citizens had to make do with what was produced in the country.

    Faced with what they claimed was a hostile operating environment, multinational corporations either drastically cut down on their operations or like the then multinational, Squibb, exited the country altogether.

    With the onus to save the country’s pharmaceutical sector now resting squarely on its shoulders, Bangladesh’s domestic pharmaceutical industry picked up the gauntlet and went to work.

    Among a number of strategies the local industry aggressively strove to build domestic skill and capacity, this included transferring skill from those who had worked in multinational drug manufacturing firms to others. In addition, with government support, it laboured to enhance rural penetration of pharmaceutical products. Rapidly and steadily, the country’s indigenous pharmaceutical industry amassed cross-sector expertise and experience, growing in leaps and bounds in the process.

    Read Also: NAFDAC shuts down 10 substandard bakeries, eight water factories in Rivers

    Today, Bangladesh produces medicines to meet the needs of more than 97% of its population and exports medicines to well over 100 different countries around the world. In addition, more than 19 different domestic pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) the core ingredients used in drug manufacture. Nigeria only has one company in the throes of producing API. 

    Bangladesh is manufacturing packaging materials for pharmaceutical products, whereas these are largely imported in Nigeria. In addition, beyond producing the simpler medicines like syrups, tablets and creams, Bangladesh has long begun production of the more complex medications such as Insulin, human hormones, vaccines, anti-cancer drugs and many more.

     The Bangladeshi pharmaceutical industry has, on the back of the historic law which the country enacted in 1982, emerged as a wonderful success story for Bangladesh, helping it to meet the country’s drug needs, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly for its citizens, enhancing the country’s export earnings and contributing significantly to growing the country’s GDP.

    President Tinubu’s forthcoming executive order can imbibe a few lessons from Bangladesh’s success story. There is a need to protect the domestic pharmaceutical industry and challenge it but also to empower it with the wherewithal to solve the drug needs not only of Nigeria but the wider West Africa region. Borrowing a leaf from Bangladesh, the country can rule that medicines that are produced locally for instance, must no longer be imported.

    Government can also help to enforce order and professionalism in the drug distribution landscape, ensuring that prescription medicines for instance, are only dispensed on the order of medical doctors and pharmacists. Thankfully, the House of Representatives appears to have begun such a move. Streamlining distribution in this manner will in turn enhance traceability and regulatory oversight, reduce drug addiction and help to drastically reduce the prevalence of fake and sub-standard drugs. 

    President Tinubu’s Executive Order needs to deliberately embody a long-term perspective. Let it back the local manufacturing industry with the incentives and wherewithal to grow. It should empower the local pharmaceutical industry with an intelligent taxation scheme that promotes growth. A 5% tax on a thriving pharmaceutical industry worth N500b is eminently worth more than a 40% tax on a moribund pharmaceutical industry worth N10b. Taxation would need to be more futuristic and prepared to reap long-term gains.

    President Tinubu’s Executive Order should also facilitate systematic access to affordable capital. In return, it should make these domestic corporations accountable to the country by way of specific key performance indicators which can be jointly agreed by government and the industry. 

    Like the telecom industry which embraced rapid and widespread growth on the back of the revolutionary Nigerian Telecoms Act of 2000, Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry can unleash a strong wave of economic growth and development in the face of painstakingly crafted and expertly executed policy. President Tinubu must seize this moment to make a long-lasting difference.

    •Okoruwa, a pharmacist is also a communications professional. He writes from Lagos

  • Haiti on the boil again

    Haiti on the boil again

    • By Olabode Lucas

    Many Nigerians would remember a country called Haiti, as one of the four countries that recognized the secessionist Biafra during our unfortunate civil war in the late sixties. The other three countries were Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Zambia. Haiti was the only country outside Africa that recognized the ill-fated Biafra and this recognition was influenced by the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who was a personal friend of Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc), the then president of Haiti who ruled the hapless country from 1957 to 1971. The Haitian people have African origin and it is a Caribbean country that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Most of the people in Haiti still practice African traditional religion and the country is well known for a weird and frightening religious practice called Voodoo, which many people believed to have come from the present Republic of Benin, Nigeria next door neighbour.

    If there is any country that can be regarded as an utterly failed state, I think Haiti qualifies to be the one in every sense of it. It is hard to remember when Haiti had a stable and functioning government. This unfortunate and dysfunctional country is regarded as the poorest in the southern hemisphere. The standard of living in this country of just a little over 11 million people is characterized by decay and deplorable infrastructure with chaotic urban setting, similar to the situations in West Africa.

    The present political upheaval in Haiti started a few weeks ago when armed gangs organized and stormed the country’s country two biggest jails in the capital, Port- au-Prince and in Croix des Bouquet. About 3.800 hardened prisoners were released to carry out mayhem among the populace. This was followed by coordinated attacks on government institutions and police stations across the country. The country’s main port in the capital was attacked and vandalized by the armed gangs. The destruction of the port heightened the sceptre of hunger in the country because the UN agency could no longer bring in food to feed the impoverished and malnourished Haitians.

    At present, 1500 people have been driven from their homes while 1500 people have been killed as a result of the political and social turmoil in the country.

    The present lawlessness in the country is perpetrated by collection of gangs called G9 led by one Jimmy Cherizier, a former policeman nicknamed Barbecue. The gang leader threatened that there would be civil war in Haiti if the former prime minister and now acting president Ariel Henry does not resign. Ariel Henry is currently being implicated in the death of the former president, Jovenel Moise, shot death in July 2021 by Colombia mercenaries. Also implicated in the killing of the former president, surprisingly was his widow Martine Moise who was also injured when her husband was killed by the mercenaries. She was accused of complicity and criminal association.

    At present, the beleaguered acting president, Ariel Henry has not been able to return to his country from his trip to Kenya where he went to push for the redeployment of a UN backed multinational police mission to Haiti. He is now in Puerto Rico after he had been denied entry by the neighbouring Dominican Republic. It is reported that the government of the USA is putting pressure on him to step aside. On the UN deployment of police spearheaded by William Ruto of Kenya, it is difficult to see the impact these ill-equipped policemen who could not speak the local languages of Haiti would have on the chaotic situations in Haiti fuelled by fiendish and long-standing criminal gangs. It is an ill- thought proposal by William Ruto. He did not even carry other African countries along. Since the agreement was signed to send Kenya police to Haiti, many Kenyan policemen and women had resigned.

    In order to understand the root causes of the present crisis in Haiti, and why Haiti is always on the boil, it will be necessary to make a little incursion into the history of this country which otherwise could have been a pride of every Blackman and woman because of its laudable and exemplary liberation struggle.

    Haiti became independent from the oppressive France in 1791 after a slave revolt. The leader of this revolt was Toussant Louverture who is now regarded as the father of Haitian Nation.  He and his troops defeated Napoleon in the Haitian War of Independence between 1801 and 1804. For this audacity, the Western power notably France and the USA made life difficult for this new nation and made Haiti ungovernable. For the Haitian nation to be recognized, France made huge financial demand from Haiti for the loss of its slaves, infrastructure and plantations. France demanded from Haiti 90 million gold francs for its so-called losses. The first payment alone from this punishing penalty was six times Haiti’s annual revenue at that time. Haiti was forced to pay this huge money from its agricultural products. This was the beginning of the present poverty and economic dislocation in Haiti that had blighted this hapless country for centuries. In 2003, the then president of Haiti, Jean Aristide demanded that France should pay back over $21 billion to his country which he considered to be the equivalent in today’s money, the 90 million gold francs that France forced Haiti to pay for its freedom. No French government has taken any action on this.

    Read Also: At 64, I’m not afraid of death – Remi Tinubu

    France should be held responsible for the abject poverty and political and economic dislocations currently afflicting Haiti. It was callous of France to demand such a huge amount from a fledgling country that was yet to find its feet. It is a well-known fact that French colonial policy was debilitating and characterized by economic subjugation of the colonized people. France tried this heinous colonial policy in Southeast Asian countries of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam where it was disgraced out. France then came to Africa to continue the odious policy where it installed its puppets as presidents of the so-called independent Francophone countries so that these puppets could further help it to subjugate the African people. It is a thing of joy that new leaders in these countries as we saw recently in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea are throwing out the suffocating French toga. In addition to the atrocities committed by France in Haiti, the United States of America also contributed to the woes of Haiti which it occupied between 1915 and 1934. During this period, the Haitians were brutally discriminated against and economically subjugated.

    The present travail of Haiti could also be attributed to past leadership failures in the country. The most famous ruler of Haiti was Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc) who ruled Haiti from 1957 to 1971. Duvalier trained as a doctor in Michigan in the USA and came back home to be a well-loved rural doctor. On getting to power in 1957, he became a brutal dictator. He institutionalized gang menace in his country, when he organized a death squad known as Tonton Macoute to deal ruthlessly with political opponents. This was the beginning of gang activities in Haiti that have blighted the socio-political life of the country till this day. After his death in 1971, his son Jean-Claude Duvalier known as Baby Doc took over the government of Haiti. It was a great misfortune of Haiti to be ruled for 15 years by this over bloated moronic man. It was reported that his wily mother was the power behind the throne. In 1986, he was overthrown and fled to France with a lot of Haitian resources.

    Subsequent leaders like Bertrand Aristide, a former Reverend Father who renounced his vow of celibacy to marry could not hold the country together as they were muzzled and immobilized by murderous gangs who held sway in many parts of the country. Hope for good governance rose with the election of Jovenel Moise in 2017 but he was assassinated. His assassination was said to have been engineered by his Prime Minister Ariel Henry and surprisingly his wife, Marine Moise.

    Nature has not been kind to Haiti also. In 2010, a powerful 7.1 magnitude quake devastated the country claiming the lives of 300,000 people with over a million homeless. There was a repeat in 2021. These earthquakes were reported to be one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. Haiti was in ruin and devastated as a result of these natural disasters. The damages caused by these earthquakes were estimated to be in billions of dollars, although there were allegations that millions of dollars meant to help earthquake victims were embezzled.

    Any black man and woman in the world would be worried about the unending political chaos in Haiti. As previously mentioned, Haiti has a proud history of freedom struggle. It is in this vein one can understand the motive of William Ruto of Kenya to help bring sanity to this beleaguered country, however he could not do it alone and the possibility of success is not high if one judges by the failures of past attempts of UN forces to bring sanity to that country.  Haiti certainly needs the help of the rest of the world to get rid of the unpatriotic fiendish gangs that have laid this black nation prostrate.

    •Professor Lucas writes from Old Bodija, Ibadan.

  • Another terrorists attack on school children

    Another terrorists attack on school children

    • By Mike Kebonkwu

    We are always under global headlines for the wrong reasons.  Another Chibok has happened; this time at Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, far away from Borno State.  Chibok has become a metaphor for mass abduction of school children which has become notorious and recurrent.   In the early hours of March 7, at about 0830 hours, bandits in their numbers invaded a state owned Local Education Authority (LEA) school in Kuriga and carried out wholesale abduction of over 280 primary and secondary school pupils with some of their teachers and herded them into the forest.  The attack was well timed and properly coordinated as the incident occurred on a bright Thursday morning after their assembly and the children were moving to their classes for the day’s activity. 

    The timing of the attack is quite instructive and gives a lead of a planned work by persons and elements with good knowledge of the school and its environs.  The figure is not fixed and specific, but reports have it that over 280 school children and some of their teachers were involved on that morning raid. This incident occurred just as people were struggling to make sense of a similar but wholesale abduction of over 200 women and children in an IDP Camp in Borno State.  This is the time to interrogate once again the state of insecurity in a comprehensive manner and declare a state of emergency on security without further hesitation.

    There is indeed massive security failure.  How did these criminals get logistics into the forest to sustain the number of hostages and victims over a period of time?  How do they replenish their stocks of supply in provision?  What is the source(s) of their arms and ammunition?  Where do the intelligence and security people come in?  There are whole lot of issues but we are still playing the ostrich!

    This incident in Kuriga is inexcusable and an abysmal failure by both state and federal government after several such incidents in the past.  The poor Chibok school girls are still in captivity after 10 years while some of the Dapchi students are still in bondage.  The nation seems to have forgotten about Leah Sharibu who has turned a symbol of resistance when she refused to renounce her faith; she is now probably married off to a Boko Haram insurgent as we get from sources.  This singular act of bravery did not move the state and federal government to act.  Some  young female graduates travelling to Sokoto on their National Youth Service Corps programme had their joy and fulfilment cut off when they were abducted somewhere in Zamfara State and they have been virtually abandoned to their fate as they remain hostages with no trace of their where-about. 

    We have security men everywhere tormenting travellers on the roads and extorting money from motorists, and yet travellers are daily kidnapped on these roads even within earshot from the security checkpoints. At some points, the police and other security people were known to facilitate payment of ransom while government come out to tell the world that no ransom was paid. The spate of insecurity is not a problem for the north or northerners.  If one child in the North is denied the opportunity to go to school because of insecurity then all the schooling in the South, East or West have no meaning.  The government has to face the reality of the security situation; we should not look at this again as the handiwork of imaginary opposition that does not exist. 

    Who is responsible for providing this layer of protection to schools and communities?  Are they aware of their responsibility and are they given the requisite tools and equipment to carry out their duties?  Are they motivated and well remunerated? 

    School protection is not combat duty for troops of the Armed Forces and soldiers.  This is basic police duty. To this end, the police should be equipped to carry out their duties. The duty of actionable intelligence lies with the Department of State Services and other intelligence agencies; are they doing their jobs?  What about local intelligence gathering in our villages and communities, are they functional? 

    Are community leaders not aware of the presence of these criminals in their midst and forest?  What has the government done with its flagship policy of Safe-School-Initiative of the year 2022 wherein huge money is budgeted to provide security for vulnerable schools across the 36 states?  What are the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) who are to drive the programme doing? 

    Going to abduct and kidnap school children in their hundreds is certainly by no means  an act of spontaneity; it must have been well thought out and planned over a considerable length of time before execution.  This incident once again underscores the immediate need for state and community policing. This is not to also argue that the state and community policing is a cure-all for insecurity because for as long as you have military grade weapons in the hands of criminal elements and non-state actors, we are not safe and secured as state police is not a magic bullet.  The government has to take very drastic measures; members of the armed forces have to up their games and redefine and fine tune their strategies and operational tactics. They have to engage these criminals, bandits, insurgents and kidnappers not on a round table.  The negotiation and dialogue should be in military language and settled willy-nilly with lethal force in the field. 

    Read Also: Kaduna abductions: 28 school children escape captors

    Any unauthorized person carrying offensive military grade weapons and levying war on the state and law abiding citizens is an enemy and soldiers’ training is to shoot-and-kill the enemy. Rehabilitation and reintegration of criminals is not the business of soldiering; that should be left with the clergies and politicians. The military should go on all-out offensive without relenting against banditry, insurgency and other violent criminal activities across the country.  Those holding briefs and proselyting for these criminals are the ones running the network of the cartel. Members of the armed forces should be properly equipped to conduct their operations without excuses because good equipment makes good soldiering.  

    It is time the armed forces restored its pristine pride of place and glory and be properly focused. The new fancy of joint operations with the police and paramilitary agencies in theatres of operations should be comprehensively reviewed so as not to compromise and whittle down the lethal capacity of the armed forces that are trained for combat roles.  The level of synergy must be properly understood and each and every agency has its role carved out. While the soldiers conduct their clearance operations, it is the responsibility of the police and NSCDC to come in and secure the liberated areas and organize the civil populace which they are trained and best suited to do while the military continue their offensive action. The police and Civil Defence are to be in the communities to secure the people and not to compete with the military in combat duties in so-called joint operations. 

    Community leaders are not equally playing their roles; some rogue elements in some of these communities are complicit in activities of criminal elements that are tormenting their communities.  Why are they not able to identify strange people in their communities and report to law enforcement agencies?  Again, is it the fear as it is often the case that when they report these matters, elements within the security go back to tell the criminals those that came to report them?  These are all issues that should be looked into holistically so that the channels of reporting criminals and their activities will be better managed to protect informants to security agents.  Security agencies should not only provide phone numbers to contact in time of emergencies but they should respond promptly to distress calls.

    We are not succeeding in part in fighting insecurity because there is no proper coordination by the relevant government department of the agencies in joint operation. There are still rivalry and unhealthy competition amongst the agencies and their operatives jostling for attention. We should rise and demand for action. Engaging private negotiators to negotiate with bandits and criminals is a sign of weakness and system failure.  The state must be on the offensive and bring back all abducted and kidnapped school children and other citizens in captivity, this is the least and minimum demand; viva Nigeria.

    • Kebonkwu Esq is an Abuja-based attorney.
  • The dawn of a new order

    The dawn of a new order

    It is exactly 275 days today since the 10th Senate came into force. And it has been a period of active law-making, constituency engagement and strategic interventions amid socio-economic and political pressures in which our nation is enmeshed. Yet, we all recognise the place of collaboration in our response to issues of vital national interests.

    As an assembly of nationalists, patriots and progressives under the leadership of Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, CON, the 10th Senate has been strategically collaborating with key public institutions, especially the presidency, to defend our national interest; ensure economic stability; promote social cohesion and foster unity among ethnic nationalities that constitute Nigeria.

    This has become highly imperative at the time the regressive forces are working against our collective interests as a federation of over 227 million people. Their invisible hands are not just ominous, but also devastative to our collective interests as a nation. They all constitute the triggers of prevailing internal crises – economic doldrums, insecurity, food crisis, fiscal instability and socio-political disharmony – that are now undermining the livelihoods of our compatriots nationwide. They equally threaten the vision of our founding fathers to build a virile federation that would serve the interests of all.

    As complicated as these challenges are, the Senate remains resolute and undaunted, indeed methodical and pragmatic in our multi-pronged approach to restoring order to the economy, stability to the polity, prosperity to the people and confidence to the global interests that seek strategic partnership with us. This has been our preoccupation since the take-off of the 10th National Assembly on June 13, 2023.  

    This is evident in our diverse engagements with service chiefs to further guarantee security of lives and assets nationwide. Our inquiries into the regressive dynamics that plague our economy no doubt spurred stability in the fiscal space and largely restored investors’ confidence. Our prompt responses to diverse requests of national significance further deepened our pragmatic approach to the enactment of different legislations that redefine our governance frameworks.

    Between June 13, 2023 and December 31, 2023 alone, for instance, at least 338 bills were initiated in response to our quest for economic progress, internal cohesion and national greatness. Of this figure, 10 bills were fully passed into laws; 11 currently at the stage of committee; 179 awaiting second reading and 135 are yet to be laid before the committee of the whole for consideration and deliberation.

    Critics have even called us to questions for enacting only 10 laws within the time frame. Agreed, we could do much better especially at a time when critical legislative interventions are required to jumpstart our economy and stabilise our polity. Nevertheless, we should bear in mind that 2023 was the first year of the government of Renewed Hope. And the Senate, indeed the National Assembly, was preoccupied with diverse requests of vital national interests from the presidency and other public institutions.

    Besides the bills we have worked on or are still working on, the Senate entertained 90 motions. Each of these motions directly addressed the roots of highly critical issues that threatened the future of our fatherland. As well, we treated 21 petitions from different quarters; screened 123 nominees for different strategic national offices and provided diverse interventions at the time our economy was in doldrums; national security under threats and internal cohesion almost disintegrating. 

    With sustained collaboration with key public institutions, our interventions are already yielding optimal outcomes. We are winning the fight against bandits, kidnappers and terrorists, though mountainous and tedious. We are equally reversing negative tendencies that plague our economy and polity. We are gradually reuniting our brothers and sisters across the Niger and reinventing a glorious future that we all aspire and desire. And this aspiration will surely come to fruition definitely in our lifetime.

    But can these interventions alone guarantee a future we all crave for? We obviously do not need a soothsayer to tell us the limit of our initiatives and the exigency of providing pragmatic antidotes to our collective challenges. What we have been doing since the inception of the Senate was tailored at rebuilding trust in governments; reinventing a polity that fosters peaceful co-existence nationwide and stabilising our economy that enables collective prosperity.

    Read Also: Ramadan: IGP orders tight security, urges Muslims to embrace forgiveness, peace

    We are now forging ahead to another phase in our quest for a federation that serves the interests of all. That justifies a 45-man Constitution Review Committee that the Senate inaugurated on February 14, to review the grundnorm that governs our federation and work out a more efficient structure that can exponentially speed up our economic growth and redress all divisive tendencies that undermine our federation.

     Critics have however opposed our interventions on diverse grounds. Some believe the review committee is a ritual in every National Assembly. Many also question the capacity of the National Assembly to produce a new constitution that bears no vestige of militarism. Others even claim that it is a sheer waste of hard-earned public funds for the National Assembly to undertake another review of our grundnorm.

    We note the concerns of our critics, mainly the opposition, with a sense of duty. And this duty is founded on a conviction that the task of nation-building is not just collective, but should also be constructive in the way we engage. This conviction remains the key driver of the review of the 1999 Constitution and not the assumption of the critics. It is not another ritual or a waste of public funds. Rather, it was born out of the need of crafting a new socio-economic and political order that promotes efficiency and spurs accountability.

    This conviction is consistent with the power of the National Assembly under Section 4(1-2) of the Constitution. Under this section, the National Assembly is not just the parliament of the federal government authorised to enact laws for the purpose of federal governance. It is also the sovereign parliament of the Federal Republic of Nigeria vested with the power “to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof…”

    By implication, the resolve of the National Assembly to review the 1999 Constitution contravenes public assumptions. However, it is driven by the armed attacks on villages on the Plateau; the violent killing of traditional rulers in Ekiti and Kwara; the unlawful occupation of farm settlements in the Benue Basin, the abduction of pupils in different parts of the federation, the shadow enterprise of kidnapping nationwide and the waning capacity of the Nigeria Police to guarantee a functional public order.

    This drive is also spurred by our quest for a new framework for effective economic governance that will reflect the character and strength of our federation. And our intention revolves around recalibrating our federal governance structure and making all its federating units constitutionally responsible, economically viable, fiscally independent and globally competitive. This is our dream and not all those assumptions flying around in the public space.

    As our records have shown, the federation we are currently running is not what our founding fathers envisioned and operated before the coming of khaki men. No, it is not a federation we all bargain and crave for; neither is it the Nigeria our founding fathers handed over to the generations before us. It is not definitely the Nigeria of our dream.

    In this generation, our dream is not what we witness daily. Rather, it is a nation where peace perpetually reigns, a nation where our economy grows unfettered, a nation where social cohesion is an order and a nation where politics is a tool for socio-economic transformation. And as an institution, we shall not allow criminals to derail our lofty dream.

    The time is now to stamp out banditry, criminality and terrorism from our space. The time is now to spur investors and accelerate growth that will catapult into a glorious future we all desire. The time is now to raise an army of patriots who treasure our peace; who leverage our diversity for national growth and who handsomely prize our collective interests far above their parochial and pecuniary rewards.

    All of these occupy a prime place in our quest for review of the 1999 Constitution. And we shall be open to different ideas on how to restore order and promote human dignity. We shall also debate the possibility of reinventing our federal governance structure for the purpose of introducing a functional order that guarantees accountability and probity, efficiency and optimality, progress and sustainability.

    • Senator Bamidele, CON, Leader of the 10th Senate, writes from Abuja.
  • Soludo and the road to Dubai-Taiwan

    Soludo and the road to Dubai-Taiwan

    SIR: Expectedly, the anniversary tradition of Nigeria’s democracy has spurred proclamation of achievements of the Charles Soludo administration. In various media, exploits of the present Anambra State government in security, economic growth, infrastructure, social welfare, environment and industrialisation are being propagated as the administration’s second anniversary comes up March 17.

    But in the world of Anambra’s adversarial politics, the typical response of Professor Charles Soludo’s sworn critics to the administration’s two year achievements is “Where’s the Dubai – Taiwan?”

    Soludo in his 2021 manifesto, pledged to turn Anambra into a “destination African Dubai – Taiwan” after four years as governor. It’s only mid-term for the administration, so, why the severe assessment? Given the transitional impact in the life of a new government, even four years would be inadequate for a path-breaking mission of governance.

    Yes, up to a point, the vision of Dubai – Taiwan is about iron and steel. The dearth of standard infrastructural outlay in our states makes structural transformation an imperative in development journey. It’s notable that the mid-term score card of the administration shows 400 kilometres of stone-base roads. Ekwulobia and Awka flyovers, housing estates, urban water schemes, power generation and agro-chain projects are at various stages of execution. But while these and other sectoral capital projects are commendable, their eventual completion would not in themselves be the marks of Dubai-Taiwan.

    It would make little sense for anyone to seek to make Anambra State a metropolitan power without requisite economic base. A country’s profile is largely about the strength of its economy. Consequently, Soludo’s African Dubai – Taiwan mission is first and foremost about economic engineering. It’s about creating the conditions for economic growth. Economic prosperity, under competent leadership, would translate to influence and fame.

    Read Also: Soludo orders remand of suspected rapist

    And we find that economic transformation is at the core of the government’s programme. Soludo is obsessed with the task of creating hundreds of youth millionaires every year. Indeed, 4200 youths have been trained in two productive skills and empowered with N2b seed grant. Another 20,000 have acquired digital skills under the Solution Innovation District. A mixed use industrial city is underway at Ogboji to stimulate large – scale industrial complexes. If these entrepreneurial strategies succeed, the state would be set on a course of economic boom.

    Related to the requirement of a thriving economy is the factor of leadership. Every development success story is traceable to the intervention of great leadership. Some may find his sense of political administration somewhat aloof, but there’s no doubt that Soludo is brilliant and decisive in running the affairs of Anambra State. It’s remarkable that the government has not taken any loan in two years. Equally notable is the 70 percent capital expenditure ratio of the 2024 budget in a system where recurrent expenditure dominates state and national budgets. In two years of his leadership, Soludo has insisted that laws and regulations are not made for formality sake but must be upheld for the good of society. Now, residents are gradually taking to cleaning their environment, vendors keeping away from the roads.

    In a word, then, the Dubai – Taiwan destination is of a productive and prosperous society, disciplined and liveable. But while many indices indicate appreciable progress on the journey, the administration should make conscious efforts to carry more citizens along by listening and being more responsive to the voice of the people. There is need to evolve a more considerate taxation policy for small and medium businesses, especially in these hard times. The administration will also do well to intensify civic training for and supervision of the various enforcement teams as they engage with the public.

    • IfeanyiChukwu Afuba, Awka, Anambra State.
  • To Obaseki: Between empathy and impeachment

    To Obaseki: Between empathy and impeachment

    SIR: I make a humble and passionate appeal to Governor Godwin Obaseki. I entreat him because I regard him as a civilized and enlightened man. May it not be in the annals of Edo political history that there was once a deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, impeached under his watch for his aspiration. It will be perceived as a sting of “betrayal” and it will invariably redefine “loyalty and aspiration” as antithetical. Please, don’t get me wrong because this is far more polite than one can imagine. This is the kernel of my entreaty: Leave your deputy alone to deal with his issues and resolve them without initiating impeachment. Reconciliation is always a prosperous option. Listen to your kind heart. I am not insinuating he must be governor.

    Yet, we cannot justify an impeachment without putting a wedge on the path of positive advancement in other spheres of life. Please, Mr. Governor, talk to Edo State House of Assembly to discontinue the impeachment process. Honourable members must ensure that legislation prohibits any move that bears the semblance of retaliation. Do yourselves a favour because you don’t know the next victim in sudden political twists and turns.

    Read Also: Obaseki to parley Fed Govt on concessioning of Benin/Auchi road

    Dear Mr. Governor, here is the point: Bear with Comrade Philip Shaibu, not for his sake but for the sake of your own indomitable spirit. What I see in you is what I see in your deputy – a resolute spirit. We often say only God can determine who gets power. This saying should not be personalized and meaningful only when it is to our advantage.

    When you were at your lowest point and facing your political trials, your rock bottom foundation was the support from Edo people and your deputy, who you used to call your brother.

    I am pleading. Your silence has been golden. Continue to be a big brother to him. Feel for the number two man who seeks power so passionately and determinedly without your support. A man whose level of determination makes him literally stressed out, worried, burdened, spending strength and resources, deserves empathy not impeachment. Hear my humble plea for mercy.

    • Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Andrew Obinyan, Benin City, Edo State.
  • NCDMB staff redeployment:  Lokpobiri’s dangerous intervention

    NCDMB staff redeployment:  Lokpobiri’s dangerous intervention

    • By Boniface Chukuemeka

    A very troubling news emanated from the oil and gas sector on Wednesday last week, in which it was reported that the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development Board (NCDMB), Felix Ogbe, are currently at loggerheads over staff redeployment.

    As a matter of fact, one would have dismissed the report as mere social media gossip, but it was embarrassing to find out that Lokpobiri actually wrote a letter to Ogbe, nullifying the redeployment of staff at the NCDMB. The minister didn’t stop at that; he allegedly went further to ensure that all the staff were copied in the email directing the executive secretary to rescind the decision. What a shame and complete display of pettiness!

    The situation is an embarrassment to the government and an assault on corporate governance. It is also detrimental to the ambitious plans of the administration to restructure and reposition the oil sector for significant growth, as exemplified by the president’s signing of executive orders on oil and gas reforms.

    More so, this will not only undermine the authority of the executive secretary, but has opened the window of opportunity for all manner of indiscipline and bad blood in the organisation, which no doubt would negatively affect productivity. The NCDMB is one of the few government agencies that have excelled because of its independence and its steadfast commitment to the growth of local content in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. It has remained stable and over the years enjoyed the benefit of professionals at its leadership as executive secretary, with little or no interference.

    Regrettably, with something as little as staff redeployment, Lokpobiri has shown his hands, signalling that he may not have good intention for the organisation.

    Lokpobiri, in the letter which is now in the public domain, is accusing the executive secretary of flouting extant rules. According to the minister, no part of the NCDMB Act empowers the executive secretary to redeploy or appoint management staff.

    He argued that the NCDMB management is answerable to the board led by him (Lokpobiri), explaining that Ogbe therefore does not have the power to redeploy, appoint or employ management staff.

    The minister’s letter reads: “The personnel announcement signed by the Executive Secretary (ES) NCDMB dated 4th March 2024 with Ref No. NCDMB/ES/1/001/03/24 redeploying some management staff of the board refers.

    “It has become imperative to empathically state that the Nigeria oil and gas industry Content Act 2010 does not empower the executive secretary to redeploy or appoint management staff.

    “Section 8 (2) (b) of the Act states ‘that the Executive Secretary is responsible to the Council for the execution of the policies and the administration of the daily affairs of the board,” part of the letter read.

    In the official communication, Lokpobiri urged those impacted by the decision of the executive secretary’s decision to redeploy and appoint to maintain status quo.

    “The ES therefore does not have the power to redeploy, appoint or employ management staff. Accordingly, the executive secretary does not have the authority to overturn deployments/redeployments made by the minister and the chairman governing council of the board.

    “Furthermore, Section 101 of the Act states that: ‘The minister shall make regulations generally for the purpose of carrying out or giving effect to the provisions of the Act.

    “The executive secretary is strongly advised not to usurp the powers of the governing council on any subject matter. In the light of the above, the redeployments announced by the ES to all staff on March 4, 2024 is hereby overturned,” Lokpobiri wrote.

    It is however, not clear if Lokpobiri consulted President Bola Tinubu, who is the substantive Minister of Petroleum before taking the action.

    Indeed, the NCDMB was established to drive the development of Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry by expanding the footprint of Nigerian-led initiatives. This includes the development of the local supply chain through direct capacity development interventions and support for investors.  By encouraging a balanced, market-friendly approach to local content, the agency has since its establishment, fostered a generation of African entrepreneurs.

    Read Also: No Nigerian should be in captivity, Speaker Abbas tells security agencies

    It also initiated strategic national programs to build capacity and locate industry activities within Nigeria.  The NCDMB’s success over the years includes the establishment of a number of highly impactful funds. With the creation of the USD350 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF,) for example, the NCDMB was able to provide affordable credit for Nigerian oil and gas service companies and local contractors. It also launched a fund to drive local manufacturing of oil and gas industry equipment and components, a research and development fund to solve energy industry problems, and a working capital fund to help oil and gas companies overcome the damaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In addition, its $40 million Women in Oil and Gas Intervention Fund, created in partnership with the Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank helped to benefit oil and gas firms where women hold majority shares or manage the companies. It also ensured increased indigenous participation in oil and gas contracts, and drove investments in local manufacturing and skills development, just as it forged strategic collaborations with international oil companies, universities, and training institutions to enhance local capacity building and technology transfer. And he implemented initiatives to improve transparency in NCDMB operations and combat corruption within the oil and gas sector.

    Interestingly, the reasons cited by the minister for his action are also being challenged by stakeholders who described it as a narrow and self-serving interpretation of the enabling legislation.

    The Act which empowered previous heads of the institution to make appointments similar to the one made by Ogbe states that the executive secretary as the chief executive and accounting officer is “responsible to the (Governing) Council for the execution of the policies and the administration of the daily affairs of the Board.”

    It was clearly silent on redeployment and no part of it talks about getting approval from the minister or the Governing Council for redeployment of staff.

    Lokpobiri must understand that he is trying to set a bad precedent in an agency that has over the years been focused on delivering its mandate. He must understand that with the action he has taken, he has opened the floodgates for indiscipline, unruly behaviour by civil servants; he is encouraging disorderliness and disrespect to the rules and regulations of the organisation and a situation where staff would now seek to place their personal desires above the overall interest and needs of the organisation.

    • Chukuemeka is a public policy analyst.

  • Why restructuring remains elusive

    Why restructuring remains elusive

    •  By Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye

    Nigeria faces persistent challenges stemming from its complex political and economic landscape. Among the numerous issues plaguing the nation, the call for restructuring has remained a point for debate and agitation amongst Nigerians for years. The governance structure in Nigeria has been under criticism for their ineffectiveness in addressing the country’s challenges over the years. According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, Nigeria consistently ranks poorly, reflecting the deeply rooted nature of corruption that has plagued the country’s institutions since independence. The centralized model of governance, which was inherited from the colonials, continues to enable corruption by concentrating power and resources in the hands of a few, thereby facilitating rent-seeking behaviour and patronage networks. This centralized governance can be said to be hindering developmental efforts, as decisions made at the federal level often fail to account for the diverse needs and priorities of Nigeria’s heterogeneous population.

    For instance in 2019, the World Bank estimates that by 2040, Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit would amount to approximately $878 billion, with high to zero similarities between urban and rural areas. The lack of localized decision-making highlights these disparities, leading to neglect of critical infrastructural projects in marginalized communities. Moreover, without restructuring, Nigeria’s centralized governance system will continue to be poverty and hunger-stricken, particularly, in rural areas where access to basic services and economic opportunities are limited.

    A World Bank report states that Nigeria’s poverty rate stood at 40.1% in 2019, rising to 49% in 2023, with rural areas experiencing higher poverty rates compared to urban centres which has stifled grassroots development initiatives, promoting cycles of poverty and underdevelopment.

    I have been studying the decentralized systems of governance used in countries like the United Kingdom and the United States, which empowers local authorities to address community-specific challenges and allocate resources based on local needs. For example, in the UK, local councils have significant autonomy in areas such as education, healthcare, security, transportation, allowing for more responsive and efficient governance. Similarly, in the US, states have considerable authority over matters such as taxation, law enforcement, security, and infrastructure development, resulting in tailored policy responses that reflect the diverse needs of local communities.

    Another obstacle that constantly arouses the need for restructuring is Nigeria’s centralized policing model, which is overseen by the central government. This has remained a subject of considerable critique due to its inefficiencies and susceptibility to political interference.

    The management of infrastructure, particularly roads, remains a hassle, reflecting the shortcomings of Nigeria’s centralized governance system. Unlike in countries such as the UK, where local councils are empowered to maintain roads within their jurisdictions, Nigeria’s road network is divided among federal, state, and local council roads. This fragmented approach to infrastructure management has resulted in bureaucratic inefficiencies, inadequate maintenance, poor maintenance, and uneven development across regions.

    Nigeria’s tax system and fiscal centralization represent significant barriers to equitable development and governance. According to data from the World Bank, Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio stands at a mere 6%, significantly lower than the global average of 15%, indicating a shortfall in revenue mobilization efforts. This tax revenue is further worsened by the country’s reliance on oil revenues, which are susceptible to fluctuations in global oil prices. This centralization marginalizes local governments, depriving them of the resources needed to address critical infrastructure needs, healthcare services, and educational initiatives at the grassroots level. Moreover, Nigeria’s tax system has been criticized for its complexity and lack of transparency, worsening compliance challenges and hindering revenue generation efforts.

    According to the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), the multiplicity of taxes at the federal, state, and local levels, coupled with inconsistent enforcement mechanisms, creates an environment ripe for tax evasion and informal economic activities.

    Read Also: Tension as Senate meets over N3tr alleged padding of 2024 budget on Tuesday

    Restructuring Nigeria’s governance framework is of utmost importance in addressing the root causes of fiscal centralization and to empower local governments by granting it autonomy. Socio-political groups like Afenifere, Ohaneze, and the Middle Belt Forum have been seen clamouring for restructuring, emphasizing the need to devolve power to the grassroots level and foster inclusive governance. In fact, in 2014, in a National Conference convoked by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, a platform for dialogue and deliberation on restructuring was provided, resulting in comprehensive recommendations for reform. Even with the clamour, call, and apparent need for restructuring, the actualization of this dream remained far-fetched as it was met with political resistance, particularly from northern elites who perceive decentralization efforts as a threat to their entrenched interests. This can be seen in the defeat of Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election, a well-crafted move orchestrated in part by northern voting blocs, which stressed the challenges of effectuating substantive governance reform in Nigeria.

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s dismissal of the 2014 National Conference report further reflects the reluctance of the northern political elite to embrace restructuring, but rather continued disagreements between the North and South make it hard to move forward and create fair rules for everyone.

    Central to the restructuring debate is the issue of resource control and the devolution of powers to the subnational level. Proponents argue that greater autonomy for states and local councils would enable more effective management of resources and promote equitable development. However, resistance from some interests, particularly in the North, has hindered progress on this front.

    President Bola Tinubu has been a champion of restructuring since the early 90’s but despite his stance on the need for restructuring, Nigerians await the huge steps to be taken by him, to drive forward his Renewed Hope agenda. Tinubu’s advocacy for restructuring reflects a broader recognition of the need for decentralized governance to address Nigeria’s diverse socio-political realities. However, the translation of this advocacy into effective policy reform remains elusive, with Tinubu’s political manoeuvring constrained by a lot of factors, including intra-party dynamics and vested interests. It is important for Tinubu to leverage his political influence, as the father of Nigeria, to garner support for restructuring measures. The ability to navigate intra-party dynamics and forge consensus among factions remains an indelible attribute crucial in advancing the restructuring agenda, which only President Tinubu possesses. Tinubu’s strategic alliances within the APC, coupled with his grassroots mobilization efforts, could serve as catalysts for substantive governance reform. As the sitting president, the realization of this vision hinges on Tinubu’s ability to translate rhetoric into action, navigate political complexities, and garner support for policy reforms that would be effective to drive change.

    As Nigeria grapples with issues of corruption, underdevelopment, and political instability, the need for restructuring becomes increasingly urgent. In essence, the discussion surrounding restructuring reflects Nigeria’s deep-seated political and socio-economic divides, highlighting the complexities important in effective governance reform. While the road ahead may be filled with challenges, the need for change remains clear. Only through collective action and unwavering commitment to inclusive governance can Nigeria realize its potential as a truly democratic and prosperous nation.

    •Adeleye, a communication-for-development expert, sent this piece from London, United Kingdom.

  • Reps and amnesty programme

    Reps and amnesty programme

    • By Ken Ugbechie

    The House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta Affairs led by its chairman, Hon. Eugene Okechukwu Dibiagwu, visited the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Barry Tariye Ndiomu, a retired Major-General, recently. The meeting brought the committee face-to-face with the realities of the moment.

    At the end, Dibiagwu explained that the essence of the visit was to interact with the interim administrator and his team on issues verging on the PAP mandate, mission and vision, policies, programmes, and projects as well as the impact of the programme on the ex-agitators, the direct beneficiaries of the initiative launched by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2009.

    Members of the committee were taken through the labyrinth of the programme and its various activities which under Ndiomu has extended beyond payment of monthly stipend to ex-agitators to making professional masterminds, tech whizzes and entrepreneurs out of the once-neglected ex-agitators. They are now critical stakeholders and active participants in the oil exploration, production and marketing value chain.

    After the meeting, members of the committee were unanimous on the following: That Ndiomu and his team have discharged their duties effectively with evidence of sustained peace in the once-upon-a-time volatile Niger Delta region; that Ndiomu deserves to be confirmed the substantive administrator having proven his mettle with sterling display of character and leadership in the management of one of the most challenging, yet critical, agencies in the nation’s wealth-creation mill; that Ndiomu has demonstrated good judgment and judicious deployment of scarce resources in meeting the programme’s increasing obligations.

    The committee members acknowledged the straggling inflation and its effect on the static annual budget of the programme. They, therefore, called for increased funding of PAP to enable it absorb the corrosive effect of inflation and the value-challenged naira. Increased funding will help PAP meet its many obligations which includes capacity-building of ex-agitators both at home and overseas, funding the cooperative scheme that has turned some ex-agitators into entrepreneurs and wealth-creators as well as sustain the skill-up initiatives at vocational training centres.

    In his presentation, Ndiomu took the Reps through the contours and crevices of activities of PAP since he assumed office as chief executive in September 2022. Barely a year and six months in the saddle, Ndiomu brought stability to what used to be an Amnesty Programme blighted by a chaotic mix of administrative tardiness and fiscal heist.

    The General who has contributed immensely in building the respectable international clout ascribed to Nigerian military during his days in the battle grounds of Liberia in the era of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) is truly on duty. His imprint as Garrison Commander, Nigerian Army Headquarters; Chief of Training and Operations (CTOP), Army Headquarters; and study odyssey at the prestigious NIPSS, among other trainings at home and overseas, has made him a rounded man for his present station. A very disciplined retired military top brass and lawyer, he has brought his calm and firm military persona to bear on the programme, and by implication on the Niger Delta region. He did not only widen the frontiers of peace, he also deepened the well of active stakeholder engagement among the critical actors in the region.

    This has come with some rewards for the nation. On account of the peace wrought in the oil-bearing region within the period he has been piloting the programme, there has been a remarkable increase in the volume of crude oil produced by the nation. Going by statistics recently shared by the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, crude oil production rose from 1.22 million barrels per day (mbp/d) in Q2 of 2023 to 1.55mbp/d in Q4 of 2023. This was the period that Ndiomu was actively engaging the ex-agitators, giving them hope, equipping them with relevant skills and seed capital to start a new journey in entrepreneurship.

    This rise in oil production is essentially because all is calm in the Niger Delta. With the renewed drive by the President Bola Tinubu government to revive dormant oil fields, net crude oil production output is expected to nose up this year, an expectation that will add more cash to the national till. Peace is critical in the Niger Delta for the economic survival of the nation. But birthing and sustaining such peace is expensive. Several voices including traditional rulers in oil-bearing communities, ex-agitators and their leaders, civil society organisations, some past leaders of PAP and sundry beneficiaries of the programme have in times past advocated for increased funding of the programme.

    Ndiomu himself confirmed what these voices, including the House Committee members, have been saying when he declared that “the purse of the programme is currently stretched to the limits due to forex challenges. This has made the cost of both local and foreign education and other training schemes highly exorbitant.”

    Read Also: Tension as Senate meets over N3tr alleged padding of 2024 budget on Tuesday

    If you factor that PAP is in partnership with 18 universities and maintains synergy with 61 non-partnering universities, then you will appreciate how much the programme spends annually on education and capacity building alone. By last count, a total of 1,659 students’ beneficiaries under the PAP scholarship scheme have graduated from overseas universities. This is aside the more than 19,000 beneficiaries trained by the programme in vocational skills.

    Truly, peace is expensive but it is economical in the long run. The absence of peace is far more expensive because it leads to destruction and reduced productivity which translates to low income. For the government to meet OPEC quota for 2024, it must ensure pervasive peace in the Niger Delta region. It must ensure that the incidence of force majeure on account of violence or threat of it is stemmed significantly, if not completely eradicated. Achieving this will require more funding for PAP to meet the increasing demands and obligations.

    In his early days at his duty post, Ndiomu raised the alarm on the existence of N41 billion debt linked to projects in vocational trainings and empowerment between 2017 and 2019 which he inherited. He also inherited another N14 billion debt from unpaid stipends to beneficiaries, an amount he has since offset.

    Add to this basket of liabilities, vocational training centres in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Ondo states in various stages of completion; the Bayelsa centre at Boro Town-Kaiama which was the only one completed, equipped and ready for take-off was, unfortunately, broken into, vandalized and looted. This, alone, officials say would require about N8 to N10 billion to rehabilitate and re-equip.

    The House Committee members are right. Nigeria needs sustained peace in the Niger Delta to keep the oil flowing. The safest and most reliable way to ensure such peace is to keep the ex-agitators engaged. And PAP has proven a smart vehicle for achieving this. The programme, therefore, deserves more attention, especially funding, than it is currently getting. Having acquitted himself brilliantly, I concur with the House Committee that Ndiomu deserves to be confirmed as the substantive administrator of the programme, for even the Holy Writ says that ‘a labourer deserves his wages.’

    •  Ugbechie, a publisher, writes from Lagos.