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  • Rethinking democracy

    Rethinking democracy

    • By Tunde Kolawole

    Today, democracy is popularly defined as a “government of the people by the people and for the people”. Presumably; according to Oxford Dictionary, this is a system of government by the whole population and/or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives and political parties.

    The political parties of today are clearly the opposite of what we used to have of old. Party primaries and who flies the flag of a particular party is no longer based on popularity contest or well-articulated programmes but financial standings. More importantly, it is the party that now presents a candidate and imposes the candidate on the electorate in an exercise that can be described as “take it or leave it”.

    Politics in Western democracies have become highly monetized such that it is only those who own the most or are supported by the propertied class that can effectively play the game of politics and win elections. The big businesses such as the arms dealers, who live on the blood of blacks and other racial minorities, come into purview here.

    In other words, those that emerge from party primaries can be described as winners of auctions and bazaars that have been conducted by a conclave of very ruthless and vested interests. It’s the products of skewed primaries that are thrown unto the voters to vote for by the different parties in spite of and in contravention of the tenets of democracy.

    Equally important is the pervasive role that the media now play in the democratic process. With the mass media, it is now possible and very easy for parties and their candidates to reach millions of voters without actually having any inter-personal contacts and social contract with them. This was not the case in the democracy of old or when democracy first evolved.

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    Furthermore, with the media, candidates picked by the respective political parties to fly their respective flags are sanitized, cleaned up and deodorized. They are thereafter packaged and sold to the electorate like a bottle of jam or a jar of ice cream. The characters, qualities, health status, integrity and programmes the individual candidates have to offer and the capacity to deliver on those programmes no longer matter in present day democracy. This was self – evident in the cases of Donald Trump of America and His Royal Majesty, Vladimir Putin of Russia.

    The present day democracy has also not been able to accommodate and fit into landmark developmental issues in contemporary human societies such as population growth and epochal scientific breakthroughs. For example, the influences of internet, social media and artificial intelligence, have become so intrusive, pervasive and dominant, in the democratic processes and in contemporary times than when democracy first evolved such that they can no longer be ignored.

    One other deficit of present day democracy is that it hardly accommodates the diverse cultures and values that could be found among different peoples and societies in the different parts of the world.

    Equally, account must be taken of the advent of electronics, robotics, artificial intelligence, cyber engineering and allied sciences and their impacts on democracy. The controversy and allegations that Russian interfered in the elections that made Donald Trump the president of the United States of America is a pointer in this direction.

    The constitutions and the electoral laws of most nations of the world are antiquated and not keeping pace with developments in the democratic arena and have therefore not been too helpful to the democratic processes. Most, if not all of these documents are skewed against popular participation and inclusive governance.

    These are some of the reasons why voter apathy has now become very prevalent in most, if not all, of the Western democracies and albeit around the world. The citizens of the world are becoming more and more conscious and acutely aware that they in fact don’t actually have a say or choice or franchise to select or vote for or determine those who preside over their affairs.

    Given the dilemma or conundrum that western democracies have become, the germane question now is: how can governance be put back in the hands of the people or how can societies return to the citizens or become people-oriented democracy? To realize these objectives, the first steps that would have to be taken is to ensure the constitutions, electoral laws and extant laws of the different societies and countries, provide a level playing ground for all citizens to be able to participate effectively in politics without let or hindrance no matter their material status in life.

    The creation of a level playing ground will also entail the abrogation of parties and professional politicking. In their places should be instituted people’s congresses as the basis for representation and say in societal management and affairs. This proposal should not be equated with a one-party state or a sort of communist structure. Rather, it is suggested that the People’s Congresses run as a bureaucracy of governance akin to but quite unlike government parastatals and ministries. The bureaucracy could be described and called Bureau for National Planning and Development; for want of a better appellation or description.

    For example, in Nigeria, there could be a Nigerian People’s Congress (NPC) to comprise, on almost equal basis, those who have emerged as leaders in a free and fair elections in the student, youth, teacher, health, market, old people, the army, the physically challenged, etc., associations and bodies. The members of this apex organ of state governance or more appropriately, management, are expected to be responsible or saddled with national planning and all important decision making in the different organs of the society: the executive; the legislature and the judiciary.

    Furthermore, referendum will also have a crucial role to play in this form of societal management. To take or arrive at final decisions and consensus on very important and crucial state matters, all citizens should always be invited to vote on issues by way of referendum albeit without compulsion as right not to vote and be voted for and even dissent must be guaranteed as an integral part of the new democracy.

    In the new democracy, very critical attentions must be paid to the justice sector of the society. The adversarial justice system should be deemphasized. In its place should be mediation, conciliation and arbitration. Punishment for crimes should be swift but not draconian. The prisons should become truly reformatory and correctional centres and not slaughter slabs and gulags for destruction or annihilation of errant members of the society. Protests and demonstrations should be jealously protected as a right and should never at any time be abjured or put in abeyance. Open display or promotion of violence by state actors, such as use of guns by security agencies should be of last resort while for non-state actors it should be totally prohibited.

    The present day democracy has become an atomic bomb ticking towards explosion. For humanity to escape mutually assured destruction it must admit that it is no longer sustainable and immediately jettison it. There is the urgent need to develop another system, rules and apparatuses for the management of affairs of men and societies. Inclusive governance has the added advantage of being able to evolve mechanisms for the banishment of poverty in all its ramifications among all citizens.

     •Kolawole, Esq. is a Lagos based Legal Practitioner and a Public Affairs Analyst.

  • Threats, FAAN and CBN relocation

    Threats, FAAN and CBN relocation

    The decision by the federal government to relocate the operational head office of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Lagos is no longer news. Of interest now should be what some northern interest groups want to achieve by the narrow prism they view the exercise.

    Already, about 1,500 members of staff of the CBN affected by the exercise are said to have resumed work in Lagos following their redeployment. That of FAAN should not pose serious challenge given the recent relocation of its operational headquarters from Lagos where it had always been to Abuja by the former minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika.

    It would therefore appear that the decision is a fait accompli despite the welter of criticisms emanating from northern groups, interests and individuals. As the opposition rages, all manner of motives have been imputed into a rather largely administrative exercise. There have been insinuations of an attempt through the relocation to move the Federal Capital Territory, FCT back to Lagos. Threats of severe consequences and allegations of an agenda have as well been bandied.

    The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF fired the first wrong shot when it alleged that the relocation was meant to under-develop the northern part of the country. These hackneyed sentiments were so much so that the presidency had to weigh in to correct the wrong motive being assigned to the exercise.

     Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the president on Information and Strategy had clarified that the movement of FAAN is an administrative decision to align it with the industry it regulates. Lagos being the hub of aviation business in the country; it is only proper that the regulator is close to those it regulates, he argued.

    In the case of some CBN departments relocated to Lagos, he said they are departments that deal with commercial banks. And with all the headquarters of the commercial banks located in Lagos, it is only apposite that the proximity of the regulator to the business it oversees is maintained.

    These reasons cannot be faulted. But in spite of the unimpeachable rationale for the relocation, some people will still not let go. Not before the fault lines of our federal order have been brought into the fray. 

    No less a person than the Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume launched serious umbrage against the decision alleging that it was influenced by a political cartel in Lagos that thinks Lagos is Nigeria. He said the decision will brew political crisis in Nigeria, threatening it “will have political consequences”.

    The Northern Senators’ Forum with their threat of legal action also added to the rank of groups and individuals from that section of the country that voiced strident opposition to the relocation. That is the extent opposition to the relocation has been. But the arguments by these groups have been largely sectional, unable to address the administrative issues of proximity and convenience that made the relocation inevitable.

    It is not in doubt that Lagos is the hub of aviation business in the country. Neither can the point be faulted that all the commercial banks in the country have their headquarters domiciled in Lagos. The administrative convenience and economies of scale that will ensue from the closeness of the supervising agencies to those they supervise will be quite enormous. These cannot be sacrificed on the altar of political expedience.

     But, these reasons may not have any appeal to northern critics like the NCF, Ndume and their like because everything must be viewed from narrow political confines. They see the exercise as an attempt to stall northern development. How?

    Ironically, such sectional arguments lose sight of their inherent contradictions; contradictions that interrogate the defective federal contraption we operate in this country.

     If relocating those departments is all it takes to stall northern development, what do we make of other key sections of the country that are practically bereft of federal presence? What do we make of the southeast that can hardly boast of any key federal establishment domiciled in the region?

    By extrapolation, what the northern interest groups are making the rest of us to believe is that locating the FCT in its current position was politically motivated to develop the north to the exclusion of the south. How about that dimension? And what should be the attitude of the south to that foreboding reality? That is the danger we face pursuing arguments tainted by parochial and sectional predilection.

    But the position of the north is nothing new. It has been the bane of the kind of politics played in this country. It accounts for why the country has not been able to record reasonable progress in all indices of development despite its huge human and material capital endowments. The ethnic card is the greatest undoing of this country and the elite are its major purveyors.

    Perhaps, we need education on how the retention of those departments in Abuja will improve the lives of the common man in Maiduguri, Kano or even Jos. Or how they will lift the north from squalor and abject poverty due to the selfish and uncaring attitude of these same leaders?

    But more seriously, those who canvass these sectional arguments are propelled to do so by the weird notion that Abuja is the collective patrimony of the north. It is their territory; not the federal capital it is meant to be. This is why some interests oppose the appointment of southerners as ministers of the FCT.

    That is the mind-set that propels the trite argument that re-locating those departments for efficiency would amounts to stalling northern development. It is all politics and has nothing to do with the guiding principles for the exercise. So Onanuga was right when he averred that all those pushing this campaign of falsehood are playing politics albeit, a dangerous one to pit the north and the south.

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    Curiously, this same group lost their voices when President Buhari skewed appointments into the commanding heights of key security and national institutions to particular ethnic and religious persuasions. They never saw anything wrong in the serial assault on our diversities that hallmarked that regime. Yet, nobody threatened anybody.

    But then, FAAN is by no means the only federal agency with its headquarters located outside the FCT. Neither is the relocation of some departments of the CBN anything strange.

    Other agencies of the government with their headquarters outside Abuja based on their mandate include the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA and the National Inland Waterways Authority NIWA with its head office in Lokoja, Kogi State.

    There abound other strategic national institutions located in parts of the same north. Perhaps, we need to interrogate the justification for their being located in their present positions when other regions lack federal presence. Are we now to believe that it was choreographed to under-develop other regions lacking in such federal presence? Or do we re-channel the Atlantic Ocean to Abuja and relocate the seaport there for it to assume the real status of a federal capital territory?

    More fundamentally, the opposition to the relocation is at the heart of the challenges stalling the development of this country.  More than ever before, it reinforces some of the imperfections of our federal order and the imperative to dilute the overconcentration of powers at the centre.

    Much of the challenges confronting the country including the bitter competition for political power have their roots in the convoluted federal structure that virtually controls life and death. Diluting that order through restructuring and fiscal federalism will reduce excessive reliance on the central authority and systemic disruptions arising from deadly struggles to control affairs at the centre.

    Then, the tendency by the north to see Abuja as their collective patrimony would have been whittled down. Then also, there will be no need for the warped view that all federal agencies must be in Abuja for the north to develop.

  • The Amazon in NNPCL: Beyond the noise

    The Amazon in NNPCL: Beyond the noise

    • By Bolanle Olukoya

    Nigeria’s state-owned oil company the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, is the very lifeblood of the nation’s economy, generating a major share of forex earnings and government revenues. As global energy dynamics shift, NNPCL has embarked on a mega transformation drive towards commercial orientation that can ensure its sustainability and competitive edge. This involved the transition to a fully commercial entity. The appointment of Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as pioneer vice president for upstream operations in the revamped NNPCL has signified a major milestone in this journey.

     With over 30 years of experience across NNPCL subsidiaries, Eyesan has essentially grown up with the institution and brings that wealth of institutional memory. Her previous roles have encompassed managing vital facets like planning, building external partnerships, governance processes, infrastructure development, contract negotiations, gas commercial models etc. She has been at the forefront of unlocking several billions of dollars in investments, leading record contract renewals, pioneering gas commercialisation and acquisitions to boost downstream capacity. Such extraordinary accomplishments saw Eyesan bag leadership awards from NNPC’s Group Managing Director, the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, NAPE and multiple bodies. 

    Eyesan is thus no outsider parachuted into the corporate stratosphere overnight by political patronage or ethnic connections. Few can match her dexterity in navigating NNPCL’s matrix or relationship rapport with its partners and global oil players. Appointing such a distinguished home-grown female talent to the vice president level also broke glass ceilings and signalled meritocracy in play. Against this backdrop, the waves of coordinated criticism recently witnessed stand astonishingly incongruous and begs the question – what triggered this turmoil? 

    Certain media outlets gave play to statements by ambiguous groups like ‘Niger Delta for Truth and Justice’, casting Mrs. Eyesan’s ascent itself under ethnic bias lenses, baselessly linking her Itsekiri heritage as securing undeserved spoils. Another proxy outfit dubbed ‘Arewa Intelligensia Caucus’ alleged she unilaterally awarded contracts to her ethnic group against rules. On closer scrutiny, these seemingly disparate allegations peddle the same underlying disinformation – portraying her decisions as dictated by ethnic considerations above national interests or corporate governance. 

    However, the allegations display clearly the trappings of sponsored hatchet jobs driven by vested interests. For one, NNPCL’s appointments follow standard procedures. There currently are no proofs to corroborate accusations that she grants favours or overrides executive leadership, when by hierarchy she directly enables delivery of their strategy. If there have been dissenting incidents under her leadership in the decades she has spent in positions of authority, retaining such vital positions would be counterintuitive and her rise up the corporate ladder could have been truncated. 

    In reality, however, Eyesan is renowned as a detribalised team motivator leveraging competence to extract optimal value. Her growth has seen her relate with diverse experts and operators across rungs united in pursuit of common goals. Far from the toxic work culture painted, her warmth and humility foster camaraderie and excellence at every level.

    Eyesan’s determination to stick to policies and rules may see her step on the toes of certain entities by ensuring ethics and standards are upheld above narrow interests, potentially earning their wrath. Forces habituated to extracting unchecked privileges now see their avenues blocked by her dedication to due process. Thus, they counter by framing her integrity itself under ethnic tags to fan divisive sentiments challenging her leadership. 

    In this context, the responsibility falls on discerning observers to parse through the noise and assess substantiated facts. If one reviews her decades-long trajectory, the qualities that distinguish Eyesan and equipped her for VP duties encompass sharp commercial astuteness, strong operational management, relationship building, ethics and efficiency. The trajectory reveals no moment of administrative mediocrity or misconduct that justifies the present vilification.

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    Rather than rush to pass biased judgements, well-meaning stakeholders must critique information sources and quality before internalising. That international oil investors reposed billions of dollars in upstream assets based heavily on her strategic planning and experience, demonstrates their evaluation of her commercial judgement. Statesmen from her native Delta who understand ground realities have denounced sinister agendas to soil her legitimacy. 

    The danger also lurks that blindly embracing divisive innuendo poses grave risks and consequences. If unchecked, weaponisation of ethnic sentiments can poison workplaces, divert policy from rational course, and pressure qualified, reformist figures from contributing. This undermines Nigeria’s immense potential by allowing partisan interests to prevail. Disinformation further fans societal fissures for political opportunism when truly inclusive, unifying leadership is the imperative. 

    It is thus our collective duty to stand up for truth – especially when forces shrouded in anonymity seek to derail progress by falsely framing equity as inequity. Every indicator from NNPCL’s operations signal Eyesan is competently driving the organisation’s vision as a key leadership team member. Vilifying stellar performers who check the abuse of systems damages Nigeria’s future. Those who appreciate this position will reckon that in Mrs. Eyesan’s elevation and performance, there is much to applaud.

     • Olukoya writes from Lagos.

  • When the war in Gaza stops, the political war in Israel will begin

    When the war in Gaza stops, the political war in Israel will begin

    • By Yaakov Katz

    The raid by Israeli special forces on Tuesday morning of the Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin legitimately made international headlines. In a video caught by the hospital security cameras, a group of Israeli commandos, disguised as Palestinians – some wearing headscarves, white medical coats, and nurses’ uniforms – are seen pacing the corridor with drawn assault rifles.

    Within 10 minutes, the commandos were back outside after eliminating three top Hamas terrorists said to have been in the midst of planning an October 7-style attack somewhere in the West Bank.

    But beyond the Hollywood-like drama of the operation, there is something more important to take away from it – what the IDF did that morning is a perfect illustration of the type of security reality Israel seeks to create in the Gaza Strip.

    It shows how, 22 years after Operation Defensive Shield, which saw the IDF return to Palestinian cities during the Second Intifada, the Israeli military continues to retain operational freedom and enter and operate in the West Bank when it deems it to be necessary.

    This is ultimately what Israel is looking to achieve in the Gaza Strip. Despite earlier declarations – according to which the IDF would destroy and eradicate Hamas – Israel understands today that this is not possible. Instead, it is focused on what seems like more modest goals of freeing the hostages, toppling the Hamas leadership, and creating a new security reality in southern Israel. What will make this possible is the ability to continue operating inside Gaza as needed.

    A victory in the way that we tend to think is not possible in this conflict. While Hamas can be toppled and the hostages returned, there will still not be a decisive victory. In a battle against terrorist groups like Hamas, there rarely is a victory in the Western sense. There can be a story about a victory, but the true win is creating a new security reality and being able to operate inside Gaza as the IDF operates in Jenin and elsewhere in the West Bank.

    THE BEGINNING of this new stage might be coming soon, based on reports coming out of Qatar, according to which a new hostage deal might be imminent and could lead to a reduction in Israeli forces in Gaza.

    Israel’s political war will begin

    In that case, while the large-scale portion of the war will be over inside Gaza, it will only be starting in Israel, where a deal will represent not just the end of the high-intensity stage, but also the point that Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot will likely withdraw from the coalition and begin calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down.

    Gantz and Eisenkot will be able to say that they stayed in the government to secure the release of the hostages and to see the war through until the end of the ground offensive. Now that Israel is focused on the post-war operations that will continue for years, they can pull out and go back to being the opposition to Netanyahu that they used to be.

    This will be the beginning of a new battle that will erupt in Israel, one that will be about Netanyahu’s political survival and whether he can succeed in staying in office. The ceasefire – whether temporary or indefinite – will also be the point when the protests will explode in a way that Israel has not seen before. It will be of a new scale and scope, one that could lead to mass public disturbances like the rallies around the legislation of the Reasonableness Bill last year that saw entire cities blocked for days. Protest leaders promise that those protests will be nothing compared to what is coming.

    People will vent their anger – at the government, at Netanyahu, at the years of neglect, and at the IDF. What Netanyahu does will determine what happens next, but the thought that protests, which he will immediately portray as being led by the Left, will be what gets him to step down is mistaken.

    Netanyahu’s options will be limited, but he will have options. His instinct will be to depict the protesters as left-wing and try to steer the conversation away from the October 7 failures and instead move it to a question of Right vs Left and who does the public want to see rule this country. This might buy time, but that alone is unlikely to be enough to stop the protests.

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    To take the air out of the protests, he will need to show the public that he is paying a price. He has two ways to do that. The first will be by appointing a state commission of inquiry, something he has never done in all his years as Israel’s prime minister. He might try to create a government-appointed committee that he can better control and could then pretend to succumb to public pressure by giving the protesters a state-appointed commission, one that is stronger and more independent.

    THIS IS what Ehud Olmert did in 2006 after the Second Lebanon War. Then, protesters took up positions outside the Prime Minister’s Office and demanded that Olmert resign and establish a state commission. He first set up a government committee to be led by a former head of the Mossad, but when the protests continued, he gave into the demand to have a state commission of inquiry, a move that ultimately took the air out of the protests.

    Netanyahu could try to do the same, although this time it will be hard to see how a commission of inquiry will be enough to stop the protests. Today, the public anger is at a whole different level than it was in 2006. Therefore, Netanyahu might have to do more, like announcing new elections.

    The way Netanyahu might do this is by giving people a few weeks to vent and then – after the commission stunt – announce that he has heard the people and has decided to move up elections to sometime in the summer, like in July or August. He will explain that, anyhow, it takes about six months to hold an election, and therefore the summer makes sense.

    The strategy here will be twofold. On the one hand, initiating a new election will reduce the intensity of the public protests and it will give people a feeling that their actions have paid off. Once elections are called, why would they need to continue protesting?

    The second reason is to create some distance between October 7 and the election. He wants people to move away from the disasters and failures – led by his policies – and focus on other issues once the summer comes along and they need to vote. What other issues? A Palestinian state is one example and his opposition, as well as normalization with the Saudis, which he will try to put back on track.

    Israel is heading into a complicated period that will test this country in new ways. A ceasefire might end the high-intensity offensive in Gaza, but for some, the real battle is just beginning.

    • This article was first published in www.jpost.com
  • Sanwo-Olu and the pursuit of a social market economy (3)

    Sanwo-Olu and the pursuit of a social market economy (3)

    Once upon a time, growing up in Lagos was akin to living in El-Dorado. Life in Igbosere Road and Lafiaji was tolerable, with good social amenities and infrastructure for the common good.  On a rather sad note however was the degeneration that became its lot due to rural-urban migration; and there was no town planning, which was more rigorous in the 1950s and the 1960s. These put immense pressure on public facilities and infrastructure to a breaking point, more or less turning the state into a looming disaster.

    Well, this situation could have been foreseen by those in government but partially so as the effect caught one government after another unaware. Moving forward to the present status and style of governance, that Lagos State has done well despite population explosion and its attendant debilitating consequences, the least of which are security issues, is no longer news. Be that as it may, one of the issues that led to the ‘Lagos is no man’s land’ slogan was that #EndSARS, which once turned the state into a contested space for mass demonstrations and vociferous violence, was not addressed. Tragically, this central issue hasn’t been properly addressed, still. Therefore, Sanwo-Olu needs to rejig the people’s confidence and rebuild their trust. He needs to do more in securing the state through continuous employment, training and retraining of security personnel in technology-based crime fighting techniques and frontline operations anchored on actionable intelligence. Lagos under Sanwo-Olu must continue to identify, isolate and bring to book any criminal fraternity kingpins with a view forestalling their growth and expansion.

    There were governors and there have been governors in Lagos State. On a day like this, Nigerians remember Mobolaji Johnson (1967-1975), Lateef Jakande (1979-1983), Buba Marwa (1996-1999), Bola Tinubu (1999-2007), Babatunde Fashola (2007-2015) and Akinwumi Ambode (2015-2019) for the quality of their social market interventions. But who remembers Raji Rasaki (1988-1991)? Who remembers Michael Otedola (1992-1993) beyond the melodious interpretation of his surname and the ranking of Femi, his son, as Africa’s 20th richest person by Forbes? So, Sanwo-Olu will be doing his tenure a great deal of good if he takes the noises of the marketplace for what they are: hustlers, even as he seeks more proactive ways of tackling the menace of Okada (motorcycle taxi) business owing to the danger it portends. For this class of Nigerians, things are almost getting to the boiling point and one can only hope that the governor would help change the narrative. Sanwo-Olu also needs to engage with the youths, for any policy that does not address youth restiveness in a democratic setting is not likely to fly in a cosmopolitan city like Lagos.

    Still on the ‘Area Boys’, it is on record that Fashola tried to handle this menace and there was relative peace in the state but, not unexpectedly, whatever achievement that was recorded at the time went away with his government. Since our major challenge as a country and people is continuity, the government that took over from ‘Èkó ò níí bàjé’ had its own plans and that’s how Lagos missed a vital opportunity. Sanwo-Olu is now in the saddle; and, since it’s about legacy trust, a very rewarding option will be to up the ante, not slow the flow.

    Let Sanwo-Olu be deeply alerted to the current security challenges in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for Lagos may most certainly be the target, ultimately. Though COVID-19 ravaged the entire country, Lagos was a special case. #EndSARS was also supposed to be a nationwide thing, but we all knew what happened in Lagos. So, let the governor revolutionize security matters by investing hugely in scientific and integrated technology crime detection and prevention; and ditto for a combat-ready force, to the extent that criminals will not have a place to hide. Installation of hoods and prevention of traffic bottlenecks will also go a long way in securing lives and immovable assets in the state. Although there are challenges even in the advanced nations of the world, hardly will a criminal escape without being caught, and this is not unconnected with what they have put in place.

    Lest we forget, there’s an urgent need for a review of the operations of government agencies like the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) with a view to bringing the best out of their operatives. From the look of things, it is as if there’s a disconnect between what some of these agencies represent and the real needs of Lagosians.

    Presently, Nigeria stinks “in the face of hunger, deprivation and ‘no gree for anybody” and the handlers of Lagos State cannot claim that all is well with the state. So, it’s time the Sanwo-Olus of Nigeria were alive to their responsibilities. In practical terms, it’s time they handled “political, economic and humanitarian bickering with care”, especially now that the ovation is still ascending.

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    For Lagos, building a social market economy starts with an improvement in public education and health systems. Thusly, preparing for the future must start with coding so that Nigerians can start getting computer literate at, say, age 5. This will make them competitive in, say, 20 years to come. Currently, public schools in Lagos are not up-to-speed even as it is sad to note that the state is gradually becoming a disaster zone in terms of health, education and allied social infrastructure. So, there is an urgent need for revampment.

    There must also be an improvement in staff training and conditions of service in line with international best practices. In this mould is the creation of technology parks and large-scale industrial hubs, like the ones in Bangladesh, so that spaces can be allotted for light manufacturing and all sorts. Fortunately, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state is rock solid enough to shoulder these expectations; only that it needs judicious spending. Take, for instance, if, in addition to other sources of IGR, there are 600,000 enumerated houses in Lagos, and if the state is collecting an aggregated average of N40,000.00 per house as Land Use Charge per annum, should Lagos not be like Singapore? If the signage fee also stands at N115,000.00 per board per annum, what stops Sanwo-Olu from replicating another Dubai in Lagos?

    Lagos State has to develop an indigenous, long-term financing system like the defunct Western Region Finance Corporation, which was reputed for giving long-term loans and equity capital to small-scale industries because, in the true sense of it, Nigerian banks are not known to be financial intermediators. It’s time the governor reflected deeply on these possibilities. After all, no man can get up walking all at once; a few attempts will have to be made.

    Lastly, Lagos, more than anywhere else, must take advantage of the electricity being out of the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list. Let the state look for private sector capital for the purpose of developing electricity. Give kudos to Tinubu! Had he not been stymied by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s shortsightedness, only God knows what would have come out of the Enron experiment! But again, it is not too late! Let Sanwo-Olu update the original plan and put it into fierce urgency. Over and above all, the governor should try and invest hugely in scientific and technological advancements that will make him unforgettable in Nigeria’s politics to the extent that even the national government will make Lagos State a reference point. Thank God he still has the sentiments of time on his side!

    ‘Ìgbéga Ìpínlè Èkó, àjùmòse gbogbo wa ni!’

    May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

    • Concluded.
  • US launches strikes in response to attack that killed troops in Jordan

    US launches strikes in response to attack that killed troops in Jordan

    The United States military has launched dozens of air strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq in the first retaliation for a drone attack that killed three soldiers at a remote US base in Jordan.

    “At my direction, US military forces struck targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack US forces,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement on Friday, referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

     “Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,” he added.

    US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its military forces struck more than 85 targets in the two countries “with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from the United States”.

    “The air strikes employed more than 125 precision munitions,” it added in a statement.

    CENTCOM said the facilities that were struck included command and control operations centres, intelligence centres, weapons storage sites and other facilities connected to the militias or the IRGC’s Quds Force, the Guard’s expeditionary unit that handles Tehran’s relationship and arming of regional groups.

    Three US soldiers were killed and about 40 others injured in a drone attack on the military base known as Tower 22 near the Jordan-Syria border on Sunday.

    The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-linked groups, claimed responsibility for the drone attack.

    Iran has denied directing the attack, saying the groups act on their own.

    “The US had said since the moment that attack happened that there would be a military response, and US officials like Joe Biden and Lloyd Austin said the response would come in multiple fashions. So this could very well be the first phase, but those retaliatory US air strikes have now begun,” said Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from the Pentagon.

    “This is the first step, I don’t think that it will be the last one,” she added.

    On Friday, Syrian state media said that an “American aggression” on a number of sites in Syria’s desert areas and the Syrian and Iraqi border resulted in a number of casualties and injuries.

    Iraqi security sources told Al Jazeera that six air strikes targeted a number of locations in the country.

    “These airstrikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty … and pose a threat that could lead Iraq and the region into dire consequences,” Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasool said in a statement after the strikes.

    ‘Dignified transfer’ of bodies

    While the US strikes did not target any locations inside Iran, they are likely to increase concern about tensions in the Middle East spiralling from Israel’s more than three-month-old war on Gaza.

    The strikes come hours after President Biden met with the families of the three troops who were killed on Sunday – identified as William Jerome Rivers, Kennedy Sanders and Breonna Moffett – as the service members’ remains arrived in the US.

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    Biden and his wife Jill visited the Dover air base in the US state of Delaware on Friday to honour the soldiers during the “dignified transfer” of their bodies.

    US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CQ Brown, also attended – their presence highlighting the importance, as well as relative rarity, of returning dead service members in the wake of US exits from major foreign conflicts.

    On Friday, Biden’s statement said the US “does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world”.

    But the US president added: “Let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.”

    Earlier this week, when Biden was asked whether he holds Iran responsible for the drone attack, he said, “I do hold them responsible, in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it.”

    US Republicans have been calling for a powerful response, including directly against Iran.

    The Biden administration has suggested that the US response to the drone attack would be prolonged, not a single strike.

    White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Thursday that it “will be a multi-tiered approach” over a period of time. “The first thing you see will not be the last thing you see,” he told reporters.

  • Tinubu and the quest to secure Nigeria’s natural resources

    Tinubu and the quest to secure Nigeria’s natural resources

    • By Temitope Ajayi

    For many decades, Nigeria’s move towards rapid development and economic growth was impaired by poor revenue despite the country’s abundant natural resources.

    The country’s unsavoury economic situation was also compounded by the almost crippling foreign exchange crisis of the last eight years, accentuated by insufficient supply of dollars into the economy. With demand outstripping supply, the fiscal and monetary authorities have been battling to control the declining value of the naira against the US dollars, which has now hit an all-time low of over N1400 to $1 at the parallel market. The local currency, at the official window, oscillates against dollar between N800 and N950 depending on demand per time.

    While the supply of US dollars has been grossly inadequate, largely because of our import dependency, the increasing demand for the greenback to settle tangible and intangible obligations by businesses, individuals, and the criminal speculation by some Nigerians, continue to exert pressure on the demand side.

    The volatility of the foreign exchange market has been a source of serious concern for the current managers of the economy who are being assailed by the citizens to rein in the downward spiral.

    Amid this unpalatable situation, questions have been asked why a country like Nigeria endowed with vast natural resources in solid minerals, marine economy, forestry, agriculture, and oil among others cannot generate enough foreign exchange. The country is constantly in financial and economic quagmire. In giving answers to the nagging question, many have attributed the decade-long dollar crisis to the monolithic nature of the Nigerian economy that depends, mainly, on oil and gas export to earn foreign exchange. There are those who also posited that the government should put in place deliberate policy actions to diversify the economy. The economic diversification argument may be tenuous because the available data sets show that Nigeria’s economy is highly diversified.

    In real terms, the non-oil sector driven by telecommunication, financial services (banking and insurance), agriculture, trade, construction, real estate and service industry contributed 94.52% to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product in Q3 of year 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). In comparison, the oil and gas sector contributed the balance of 5.48%.

    While it is apparent from NBS figures that Nigeria’s economy is well diversified, the source of foreign exchange earnings remains yet undiversified. Over 80% of the foreign exchange that comes into the country is from crude oil export, whereas billions of dollars’ worth of exports in solid minerals, seafood and other forest resources are taken out of the country without record or direct benefit to the federation account.

     To address the problem of natural resources dissipation, illegal exploitation and sabotage of our national economy, President Tinubu at the last meeting of the Federal Executive Council, set up an inter-ministerial committee to draw up plans to maximise the economic potential of the country’s natural resources and secure them from those pillaging them. Members of the committee are Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, Defence Minister, Abubakar Badaru, and Environment Minister, Balarabe Abass Lawal. Others are Marine and Blue Economy Minister, Adegboyega Oyetola, Interior Minister, Tunji Olubunmi-Ojo, and Minister of State Police Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim.

    At the moment, Nigeria can boast of solid minerals deposits worth $700b according to estimates from the Ministry of Solid Minerals, while the Africa Blue Economy Alliance (ABEA), using information from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), puts the value of the country’s unexplored blue economy at over $300billion.

    Rather than these resources drawing massive foreign exchange earnings into the country, foreigners are carting them away in cahoots with their local enablers through illegal economic activities.

    The inter-ministerial committee set up to stem this colossal economic wastage met a fortnight ago to develop framework that will enable our country  harness the full benefits of its natural resources. The presidential committee which is chaired by Alake also had an expanded second meeting with Service Chiefs last week Thursday, January 25.

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    Giving highlights of the expanded meeting, Alake emphasized that the committee’s engagement with the Service Chiefs across all security outfits and Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was a follow-up to the maiden meeting of the ministers to get inputs for developing a workable strategy to effectively secure Nigeria’s natural resources, in line with the presidential mandate.

    On the outcome of the second meeting, which had the Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun and other security top brass in attendance, Alake said: “We have deliberated exhaustively. We have covered all the issues, all the grounds. Certain decisions have been made, and there is going to be another follow-up meeting because the security agencies are going to give us the framework of execution of our mandate.

    “That has been the crux of today’s deliberations. The security agencies, the service chiefs, NSA’s office, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) are going to form a smaller committee to give us the work plan, execution modalities and we will be meeting in another fortnight.”

    Apart from the IGP of Police,  Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr. Ahmed Audi,  Air-Vice Marshall Abdulkadir Abubakar and Rear Admiral I. Abbas represented the Chief Naval Staff and Chief of Air Staff respectively.

    With the renewed drive to protect the country’s natural resources based on new security arrangements, the nation’s economy will soon witness a new era of increased economic outputs and growth through the full utilisation of her natural resources.

    •Ajayi is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.

  • South Africa’s move to reshape global peace

    South Africa’s move to reshape global peace

    • By Samuel Akpobome Orovwuje

    “Whatever is currently happening to humanity, it is happening to all of us. No matter how hidden the cruelty, no matter how far off the screams of pain and terror, we live in one world.” – Alice Walker

    The world is currently facing a multitude of crises particularly the increased fragility and dysfunction in the international system and lately the geopolitical instability and conflict between Israel and Palestine.

    The pivotal of works of Hans Morgenthau’s Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace (Morgenthau 1956) and Hedley Bull’s The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics (Bull 2012) brings to question  the state-centric and anarchic nature of international politics and the growing moral concerns about the role of the United Nations in international peace and security and the broader issues of  the United State of America’s double standard in  the crisis between Israel and Palestine and their preparedness in instigating proxy wars in the Middle East.

    The Palestinian – Israeli question is a moving and deadly monster poised to threaten the peaceful coexistence of the world. As a long as America and other superpowers continue to deny the existence of native Palestinians in Gaza, the violence will fester and the current ineffective security arrangements will elude the world.

    The superpowers and their allies’ parochial interest and narrow agenda will continue to jeopardize global peace and security. This is even as they lie to the rest of the world about their democratic credentials of promoting peaceful coexistence and the common good. Furthermore, America’s rogue interventions and hypocrisy if not checked by other powers like South Africa through legal means, will eventually sink both belligerent  parties. Nations must tap into the unfluctuating button of no victor, no vanquished philosophy and rapprochement in dealing with vengeance on the people of Palestine.

    International power brokers must rethink their resolve to protect the interest of the international community. Mere political brinkmanship is no longer currency in the pursuit of international diplomacy and struggle for power. World leaders irrespective of their political persuasions should rethink the strategy for global peace and security. Israel must review her tragic sense of entitlement, which hinders the two-state solution.  On the other hand, Hamas/ Palestine must checkmate their aggressive tendencies in pursuit of their political interest in Gaza. 

    Interestingly, the South African government under the leadership of Cyril Ramaphosa has shown authentic leadership in international relations. It is no longer news that the South African government instituted a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the Israeli Government. They reasoned the Israeli government’s continued attack on Gaza amount to genocide.  The full determination of the case remains to be seen in the nearest future.

    Pointedly, the 1948 United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and article 6 of  the 1998 Rome statute of the  International Criminal Court  defines genocide  as acts committed with intent to destroy, either in part or in whole, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, including: killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about a groups physical destruction, in whole or in part, imposing measures to prevent births and forcibly transferring children.

    Sadly, the UN and its legal institutions over the years is not respectful of international law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Therefore, the principle of selective morality and double-standard has been a major challenge in the international system. While Israel’s national survival is a moral principle to pursue, nevertheless, ethical and moral judgment of the political leaders on both sides of the divide must understand the political consequences of their actions within the framework of international humanitarian law and international criminal law respectively.

     Going forward, the challenge of the ICJ ruling would be on how to enforce it and the respectability of court judgement. A case in point is that of Nicaragua vs the United States in 1986 where the USA would not respect the decision of the court. With the benefit of hindsight, Israel and its most powerful supporters would dispute and ultimately ignore the final decisions of the court. That will be in the realm of grave infractions against human rights and due process in international relations.

     Particularly worrying is the human pain suffered by children and the elderly in Gaza and other threats that prowl on the horizon, such as the possibility of further escalation of terrorism, profound humanitarian breaches and health emergencies due to lack of access to civilian population in need and the humanitarian dilemma therein.

    The horrifying scenes smack of irresponsibility on the part of the West often mouthing human rights and democracy. Besides the humanitarian concerns, the United Nations and other western powers’ inability to broker a definite cease-fire and pronouncing a two-state solution over the years remain problematic in international conflict resolution mechanisms. 

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    Furthermore, the lack of political will to resolve this age-long war puts a scar on the United Nations, and the USA in particular.  The Israel – Palestine war will continue to divide the world and fuel global terrorism if not checked. Therefore, world leaders should adopt a restraint – based policy regime that reverses the slide toward the current crisis and long-drawn-out conflict.

    All efforts must be rooted in international human rights, international humanitarian law and above all, international criminal law. Political commitment and efforts on both sides to build a cooperative muscle to put behind the historical past with a view to having peaceful trajectory to a two- state solution would be a sweet -smelling savor in reshaping peace and security.

    While there are sceptics on both sides, it is the responsibility of   both leaders to demonstrate to their people that peaceful and inclusive coexistence is possible within the framework of international law and they must come to terms that the west is exploiting them to sustain their war industry. The United Nations and the global north must depoliticize diplomacy and sustain strategic channels of communication and make them regular features of crisis management framework in Gaza and elsewhere in the world.

    The commitment necessary for conflict resolution by the United Nation Security Council with no clear- cut resolution mechanisms for ceasefire and the political will to bring forth the two-state solution is provokingly worrisome.

    One of the challenges of our time is the question of selective international morality and double standard by the established institutions of western liberal democracies. The culture of cruelty and savage capitalism is gradually pulling the world apart particularly the acts of violence against minorities across the globe.

    All things considered, clear people-to-people channels of communication should be explored to address the misinformation, disinformation and misunderstanding of the conflict between Palestine- Israeli actors.  Small to medium powers should support the cause of South Africa. The world has seen enough of selective morality and double standard. Therefore, the world needs to build a community of inclusive coexistence through the promotion of global peace recovery and solidarity. 

    •Orovwuje, founder Humanitarian Care for Displaced Persons, writes from Lagos.

  • Ayobolu’s diamond milestone and lessons in leadership

    Ayobolu’s diamond milestone and lessons in leadership

    • By Tayo Ogunbiyi

    My first encounter with the compelling and versatile writer, Segun Ayobolu, was quite memorable. I have been his fan for quite some time. His writings, for me, are always enchanting, persuasive, analytical and educational.

    As fate would have it, we were to later work together. He had been appointed by the then governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as Special Adviser/Permanent Secretary, Information and Strategy.

    In that capacity, he also doubled as the editor-in-chief, ‘Alausa Alert’, a monthly newspaper of the Lagos State government produced by the ministry.

     Ayobolu loved working late into the night. He probably got the trait from his newspaper’s background. On that fateful day, around 9pm, I had my first real encounter with him.  It was my first participation in the editorial conference in his office. 

    About five of us were in his expansive office. The dummies of the newspaper’s edition for that month littered his desk. We had gone through almost every page, arguing here and there on what should either be retained or removed.

    Now, it was time to take a look at the cover page. With his bat like eyes, he systematically probed the copy in front of him, grimacing intermittently. He seemed not to be contented with the headline. After about two minutes of deafening silence, he asked if anyone had a better concept for the front-page.

    I was the third person to speak. I offered my view. Suddenly, he became unusually animated. The conference ended. We left his office, while he told my immediate boss to wait a little bit for some private discussion.

    The following morning, my boss called me into his office, saying how impressed the big boss was with my contributions the previous night. To underline this, my boss brought out an envelope, containing some money from his drawer.

     He looked at me enthusiastically and said:

    “This is for you. It is from the big boss. He was impressed with your contributions last night”  

    That was about 15 years ago. Ever since, I had maintained a cordial relationship with Segun Ayobolu as a mentor, friend and brother.   In a society where good people are hard to come by, I can confidently say that he is a good man. 

    A humanist to the core, he loves making people happy. His ears were ever opened to the yearnings of the people. Though he didn’t have much, he was willing to share the little he had. Unlike modern day’s counterfeits, he is a real comrade who does not believe in undue craze for wealth. He is quite content with what he has.

    One thing that particularly strikes me about him is the depth of his intellect.  Ayobolu’s intellectual prowess is quite remarkable. He is a deep thinker and a pragmatic philosopher in his own right. He combines unbelievable intellectual depth with amazing philosophical profundity. His bat-like eyes prod deeply at every written word in sight with the calculated precision of a predator going after its prey. This is, perhaps, responsible for the depth of his thoughts.

    In my view, cerebrally minded people like Ayobolu should be at the university lecturing. We once had a discussion on this, which actually showed how brilliant he was while at school.

    He earned his Bachelors’ and Masters’ degrees in political science at the University of Ibadan, between the ages of 21 and 24. He was so good that some of his lecturers actually wanted him to have his doctorate degree at the school, as a prelude to pursuing an academic career.

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    Ayobolu is an avid reader. His collection of books is phenomenal. He talks fascinatingly about the books he has read, sometimes offering to lend some of them out to me. I was quite young then and also loved reading. Indeed, one of his legacies at the Ministry was the establishment of a well-stocked library. He loved the library as a mother does her child. 

    Ayobolu is also a hard worker. Sometimes, he worked so late in the office that one wonders if he really has time to rest. He was to pass the same bug to those working with him. He is also a motivator. He was always encouraging us to do more. He believed in our ability.

    Sometimes, he would send some of his write-ups to me, asking for my input.  The first time he did that I went to his office to find out if he meant to send it to someone else. No! He retorted. It was meant for me. He insisted. I couldn’t really fathom the logic behind this.

    Later, he told me that he was merely trying to boost my learning aptitude. That is Ayobolu for you. He is a builder of men, always willing to leave a lasting legacy in people’s lives. Till date, he calls me whenever he sees my write-ups in the dailies, emphasizing how proud he is, while also encouraging me to do more. 

    From his model, I have learnt a great lesson about leadership. Leadership is about improving the lot of the people around you. It is about getting the best out of them. It is about making them better than you met them. It is about making an indelible impact in their lives. It is about understanding their pains and the struggles. It is about having a listening ear. It is not about putting people down. It is not about making them feel deficient.

    No doubt, Ayobolu has had a fulfilling journalistic career. He was at a time political editor and Editorial Board Chairman in the Daily Times. He also edited the Sunday Times. He was once the Chief Press Secretary to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu when he was the Governor of Lagos State (1999 and 2007).

    A columnist, member of the editorial board of The Nation newspaper, “Editor-at-large”, The Nation newspaper, Ayobolu has been published in several journals and books, and has presented papers at several conferences.

    On the occasion of his diamond celebration, here is wishing him more fruitful and rewarding years ahead. Congratulations, boss!

    • Ogunbiyi is Director, Features, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.
  • What Nigerians need to know about China’s claim on Taiwan

    What Nigerians need to know about China’s claim on Taiwan

    • By Olalekan A. Babatunde

    Keen observers of global affairs would notice that there have been threats to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait recently. This is because of the separatist activities of Taiwan like the election it held on January 13, despite the “One-China principle” and the Chinese government’s position of opposing “Taiwan’s independence” and the international community’s position, upholding the principle. But looking at history, both the Mainland China and Taiwan are the same people with same traditions.

    Since context is about everything, including in every human issue, it is important in enhancing our understanding on the position of China to reunify with its kith and kin, build one prosperous nation and de-escalate the rising tensions and fears in the region. It is also important to shed light on why foreign powers should cease interference in the internal affairs of these people, and what the simmering superpower rivalry means for the island and for the world. So here is a look at everything that needs to be known.

    First, Taiwan’s first known settlers were Austronesian tribal people, believed to have come from modern day southern China. Secondly, Chinese records appear to first mention the island when an emperor dispatched an expeditionary force to it. Third, the island was annexed in 1683 by the Qing dynasty of China.. The Republic of China, which had overthrown the Qing in 1911, took control of the island following the surrender of Japan in 1945 after World War II.

    Fourth, in the following few years, a civil war broke out in China, and then-leader Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist troops were defeated by Mao Zedong’s Communist army. Chiang, the remnants of his Kuomintang (KMT) government and their supporters numbering about 1.5m people fled to Taiwan in 1949, dividing the two sides, to become the Republic of China (ROC) as against the Mainland’s the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Chiang established a dictatorship that ruled Taiwan until the 1980s. Following his death, Taiwan began a transition to democracy and held its first elections in 1996.

    Fifth, despite all efforts of Chiang’s government to lay claim to the whole of China and even held China’s seat on the United Nations Security Council, the rest of the world did not recognize Taiwan. This is because from the 1970s, some countries began to argue that the Taipei government could no longer be considered a genuine representative of the people living in the Mainland China. In 1971, having guided by history, the UN corrected itself by diplomatically recognising Beijing as the sole representative of Chinese people. From 1979 with its opening up and reform programmes, more countries including the United States recognized China and established diplomatic ties with it. Nigeria established relations with China in 1971.

    Consequently, the number of countries that recognized Taiwan fell drastically with about 12 countries recognizing the island today. That is, almost all the countries in the world recognise and have established diplomatic ties with China. Nauru, a tiny Micronesian island, became the latest to ditch Taiwan, less than 48 hours after the election. Also following the election, the US Secretary of States, Antony Blinken reiterated the US’s position on its One China Policy.

    Weeks back, Nigeria reiterated its commitment to the One China Policy as recognized by the UN in a statement issued by the Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Nigeria-China Relations, Honourable Ja’afaru Yakubu. The statement read: “There is but One-China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.” Meanwhile, amid the crisis, there are some Taiwanese who are constructive to the Chinese claim and favour closer relations with the PRC.

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    Lastly, China has severally demonstrated its willingness to embrace its breakaway province back through “peaceful reunification.” In 2019, President Xi Jinping reiterated China’s long-standing proposal for Taiwan on its incorporation into the mainland under the formula of “one country, two systems.” On the other hand, it does not shy away from applying force to accomplish the goal as it had in 2004 passed what can be described as anti-secession law, declaring China’s right to use “non-peaceful means” against Taiwan if it tried to “secede” from China. Such option would plunge the region and the rest of the world into crises. Nevertheless, 2049 has been set by President Xi for the unification with Taiwan to achieve the Chinese Dream and restoration of China’s great power status.

    This is the morality of this issue. But the experience of the benign big-power China has shown that morality is ineffective in determining foreign policy. The more it wants to have the island back, the more the island gets support from the foreign powers notably the US, UK and Japan. But as Tom J. Velk writes on Asia Times on January 10, “national interest, say pragmatic thinkers, is a more certain guide and standard for foreign policy.” It is in the interest of China and indeed most of its allies the world back its sovereignty claim and indeed to have One China. This is the sense of China’s claim.

    So given the historical trajectory and contemporary politics and diplomacy, the so-called complexity and controversial aspect of the dispute needed not to have arisen. Groundless and fearful geopolitics is to blame. This is because the US that is leading support to Taiwan despite the Chinese interest has not broken relationships with China but harms it. An example of this could be witnessed in the election that produced Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), a party vigorously championing Taiwan “independence”. His emergence has pushed the island away from Beijing and his clamour for independence could trigger a war.

    So we need to know that though the US sells weapons to Taiwan to defend itself against any invasion, it also partly respects the overwhelming prevailing consensus on upholding One China Policy. This is one of the most contentious issues in China-US relations, with Beijing condemning any perceived support from Washington for Taipei. The visit to Taiwan by the former US Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022 received an unprecedented show of force around Taiwan by China in retaliation. Beijing was also upset by US President Joe Biden’s comments in 2022 suggesting that the US would defend Taiwan if it was attacked. China’s military drills are an ongoing exercise in the air and in the Taiwan Strait, the sea that separates Taiwan from the Chinese mainland.

     So China is desirous for a peaceful resolution of the dispute. That is, the split between the PRC and Taiwan that is fast becoming a crisis as a result of the Chinese Civil War should be resolved. As far as China is concerned and what is entitled to, the breakaway province will eventually be part of the country, and it has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this. That is more reason the great power competition with China can be approached through dialogue and cooperation, in order to avoid hegemonic tendencies that can lead to escalated conflict in the region. As nations strive to achieve national reunification, so does China.

    Therefore, in making comments on China’s claim on Taiwan, we need to understand their shared distinct history, and interests and the position of almost every country of the world including the UN. For us here, “Nigeria opposes any separatist activities aimed at ‘Taiwan’s independence’ and foreign interference in internal affairs of other states and fully supports China’s strive in achieving peaceful reunification.” The enormous scale of the crisis   over Taiwan in the past couples of years has put the responsibility on the international community to intervene and support China. Pretending the problem is not there will only make it worse. To address China’s concern on reunification and ensure global peace and security, the core principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty of China must be respected by all countries.

    • Babatunde, PhD, is a fellow at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Abuja.