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  • How civil servants’ political partisanship undermines professionalism

    How civil servants’ political partisanship undermines professionalism

    • By Tunji Olaopa

    In any seminal interrogation of the professional status of civil servant, we are bound to always return to the original dichotomy—the politics-administration distinction—that inaugurated the emergence of public administration in history. This is because the more one thinks about it, especially in the context of postcolonial politics of the state in Africa, the more one is forced to acknowledge the theoretical genius of the framework. To reiterate again. The dichotomy is meant to situate a conceptual and professional wall between the practice of politics and administration. Politics on the one hand is the space of policymaking, contestation, powerplay and governance. On the other hand, administration is a realm constituted by technical and technocratic expertise, professionalism, and legal-rational rules that determine impartiality and neutrality. These two spaces are supposed to remain separated from each other for the sake of protecting the one and the other from corrupt tendencies and influences that could undermine their efficient performances while enabling democratic accountability. One could immediately see the correlation between this dichotomy and the idea of the separation of powers in constitutional government. The framework insists that governmental authority between the legislature, executive and judiciary must remain separate as a means of preserving their autonomy and serving a watchdog that enables one to keep the other on its toes. This is the very essence of the politics-administration dichotomy, a framework of check and balance that articulate a framework of strict relationship between the two.

    This dichotomy is further reinforced by the philosophical concept of language games, postulated by the German philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein. The simplicity of this concept is brilliant: a language game is a system of rules and meaning that differentiates one language game, say, philosophy from another language game, say, religion. To impose the rules of one language game on another is to muddle the field of the other language game. In any social practice, a word, action or activities has meaning which it does not have when we introduce that same word into another social practice. Take scepticism. Philosophy by its very nature is a sceptical discipline. It enables its adherent to question all concepts, paradigms, ideas and issues. Religion on the other hand is not a sceptical endeavor; it is rooted in belief systems and therefore dogmatic. If one were then to introduce the sceptical activity into religion, one would be flouting the rules of that specific language game.

    In this Wittgensteinian context, politics and administration would constitute two language games whose relationship must be mediated with the utmost care and administrative wisdom and dexterity. Of course, this distinction has been the source of serious criticisms over the course of its emergence. The most fundamental of these criticisms is the one that insists that the dichotomy is abstract and unrealistic within the context of the politics of a state. And this criticism is right. At the empirical level, the distinction between politics and administration is very difficult and nearly impossible to achieve. The state is an administrative entity that demands the collaborative and synergistic energies and efficiency of the politician and the administrator to function effectively in governance matters. It is the politics of the state that determine the extent of the relationship that occurs between the politicians and the administrators in terms of the governance and policy structure of the state. The policymaking function of the government, for example, requires that the civil servants weigh in with their technocratic and technical expertise that allows the government to make informed and intelligent policy decisions in favor of, say, democratic governance and its dividends for the citizens. Thus, the public policy approach demands a synergy between critical stakeholders, including politicians and bureaucrats, in finding sustainable solutions to policy challenges in government. This approach does not therefore function on the assumption of a struct separation of functionality between politics and administration.

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    The argument is then to draw a line between a strict and a loose sense of the dichotomy between politics and administration. A strict separation is normatively and empirically very difficult to maintain. In fact, empirical evidences demonstrate that such a strict separation cannot be achieved. But a loose understanding of the separation is possible. When the Nigerian Constitution avers that all citizens have the right to participate in partisan politics, it makes a key human rights assertion that empowers all Nigerians. Here is a good point to speak to the larger distinction in government service, between the civil service and the public service. The Nigerian Constitution is very clear about the distinction between the civil and the public service. The “public service” is “the service of the Federation in any capacity in respect of the Government of the Federation.” On the other hand, the civil service “means service of the Federation in a civil capacity as staff of the office of the President, the Vice-President, a ministry or department of the Government of the Federation assigned with the responsibility for any business of the Government of the Federation.” This distinction is almost academic in the sense that it is undermined by several institutional and structural dynamics in government business. The key issue, however, is that the Constitution specifically states that, on the one hand, no such government officials can vie for partisan politics unless she withdraws from her post; and on the other hand, that such officials are subject to the code of conduct of their respective services. In terms of the 2003 Supreme Court judgment, we can then conclude that it applies across board to all government officials in terms of allowing the capacity to be political only to the extent of the most minimal political participation regarding voting in an election. The case of the members of the judiciary, especially the justices, is even more cogent and for more than legal reasons. Judges are excluded from any form of fraternizing by an ethical injunction that specify the norms of lethal impartiality. The judiciary cannot be a part of the arms of government, bound by a framework of power separation and then be seen in league with them. 

    The implication of the clarification above is simply that a constitutional provision, such as the one made by the Nigerian Constitution, must come to the reality of administrative relevance, especially in the case of the civil service, in the efficient deployment of technical knowledge to the management of the state and its business, especially its service delivery function. Every government is known by its ideological orientation. It is this ideological coloration of politics that determine the direction of policy formulation. A government can be conservative, progressive, Labour, Democratic or Republican.

    The question however is how normatively and constitutionally appropriate it is to adapt an ideological orientation in power politics to the necessity of achieving an administrative continuity in government. The very apparatus of administration and the civil service system is meant to serve as the administrative backbone of every government, no matter its ideological orientation. The status of the administrative apparatus is determined by anonymity, permanence and neutrality. The apparatus, that is, is the machinery that makes all types of governments and their ideologies work. The idea of administrative continuity all by itself speaks to a grounding for political stability. This is especially an urgent characteristic in a postcolonial state like Nigeria where the political order is subject to bouts of unstable seizures. Neutrality, especially within the ambit of the 1999 Constitution, requires a statement. To be administratively neutral does not imply that a civil servant cannot form political opinion or be a card-carrying member of a political party. It only means that such political affiliation must be suspended or held in abeyance in the service of a higher responsibility. Civil servants are not ordinary Nigerians captured by constitutional provisions. On the contrary, they are held to a more fundamental responsibility that does not violate the constitutional imperative. It is the availability of the Public Service Rules that ensure that public and civil servants are held to the fundamental standards of political and policy neutrality and impartiality. The rules insist that every government in power will receive the best policy intelligence, advice and implementation that has not been compromised by partisan political loyalty.  

    Thus, if an institution founded on impartiality and neutrality in mediating different politically oriented government is then found to have become unmitigatedly partisan, the first casualty becomes trust. When politicians and administrators engage in policy discussions, they do so within a structural space that is determined by mutual trust. In other words, politicians have the confidence to take the civil servants seriously based on the latter’s professionalism, technical expertise and impartiality. This trust space implies that any government in power can confidently work with any body of civil servants set permanently in place by administrative necessity. However, if a Conservative government knows that this body of civil servants has been compromised by its partisan collusion with the outgoing Labour government, the structure of administrative permanence and neutrality is breached. The incoming government is then compelled by a sense of political preservation to replace the body of civil servants with those politically loyal to its own political ideology. One can only imagine the consequences of such a circumstance in terms of political and administrative instability.

    The second casualty of a political partisanship orientation for civil servant is professionalism. Party politics functions on the dynamic of patronage. A government is compelled by the logic of patronage to reward those who have remained politically loyal. And what better appointment would be suitable than in the civil service. One does not need a lengthy disquisition to see immediately how political patronage can undoubtedly undermine civil service professionalism. Political patronage creates what has been called “a regime of favoritism.” This makes possible a body of civil servants that have been put in office not by their meritocratic credentials or technical expertise, but party loyalty. This automatically undermine the capacity of the government to achieve policy performance and governance distinction. Political interference in public administration undermines meritocracy and competence. Political allegiance and loyalty become the key factor in promotion and career mobility. Once the civil service becomes indistinguishable from a party machinery, that effectively is the end of the capability readiness of the civil service to technically and technocratically serve the end of policy advisory professionalism to government and service delivery to the citizens.

    Meritocracy and competence ensure that civil servants will bring their professional judgment to bear on the generation of policy intelligence and evidence-based policy research to be able to articulate significant policy options they can then advice the government on. A civil servant that has been appointed to a post based on her political allegiance and loyalty loses this professional capability since she has to circumscribe her administrative expertise by political discretion which compel her to do the biddings of her political overlords. Indeed, civil servants and public managers are often forced by partisan politics to become political entrepreneurs who are willing to sell their technical expertise to the highest bidders. And once the civil servants have been politically compromised in this manner, there is no framework in place any longer that allows civil servants to speak truth to power. A civil servant’s capacity to speak truth to power derives from her capacity to determine policy options, backed by incredible technical expertise, that counteracts the politicians’ short-term expectations with the bureaucrats’ oath to promote the long-term fundamental objectives of state policy and therefore the public interest.

    In the final analysis, protecting civil service autonomy demands a very high level of political will that sees the civil service, and the entirety of the public service, as a government’s legitimate claim to governance legacy. No matter its ideological orientation and the temptation to subdue the civil service under the weight of political patronage, a government would put in place a stringent structural and institutional framework that ensures a loose dichotomy between politics and administration. This was what Chief Obafemi Awolowo did in the old western region. And he succeeded! Every government needs a meritocratic, politically neutral, and administratively competent civil service that will backstop its governance aspiration. To undermine that meritocratic civil service in favor of party loyalty is to commit political and administrative suicide. It is a neutral, impartial and technically competent civil service that best serve the government’s desire for political, administrative and governance success, contrary to the short-term objective of having party stalwarts and loyalists in every arm of government.                 

    This becomes a path to a definite and concrete institutional reform direction for the Tinubu administration. Given the administration’s commitment to making Nigeria work, this discourse on whether or not civil servants can be committed to partisan politics is a trap that could derail the ongoing Renewed Hope Agenda. What that discourse should instigate is rather the commitment to institutionally reforming the civil service in ways that can enable it—make it capability ready—to serve the administration’s governance objectives and its performance effectiveness. It will be a grievous political miscalculation to allow the lure of political patronage to derail a good work that has commenced already.  

    • Olaopa is a Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission & Professor of Public Administration, Abuja

  • The matter with Ekiti National Assembly assessment

    The matter with Ekiti National Assembly assessment

    By Sunday Olajide

    Holding elected representatives accountable is a cornerstone of democracy. In principle, the initiative by the Justice Development and Peace Initiative (JDPI) of the Catholic Diocese of Ekiti, in collaboration with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), to assess the performance of the state’s National Assembly members is commendable. However, as it stands, this exercise is fundamentally flawed. A closer examination of its methodology, its apparent misunderstanding of legislative roles, and its disregard for the realities of government funding reveals that the assessment risks producing a biased and misleading report.

    Methodology as a confluence of biases

    The assessment relies on “random interviews” and a “Likert scale tool,” both of which are fraught with well-documented issues in social science research.

    •Social desirability bias: When people are interviewed face-to-face, they often feel pressure to give answers that are socially acceptable, not necessarily what they actually believe. This can lead respondents to overstate their satisfaction or dissatisfaction, providing a significant misrepresentation of their true opinions.

    •Respondent fatigue: A large number of questions on a Likert scale can lead to “respondent fatigue.” People get bored and may start selecting answers mindlessly thus compromising the accuracy of the data and rendering the responses unreliable.

    •Subjective interpretation: Terms like “somewhat” or “effective” are vague and open to personal interpretation. What one person considers “very effective” another may only see as “moderately effective.” This inconsistency makes it difficult to compare results across the board.

    •Oversimplification: Reducing complex attitudes and performance metrics to a simple Likert scale oversimplifies the reality of legislative work. It fails to capture the nuances and rich context of a lawmaker’s duties, leading to significant “information loss.”

    Misunderstanding the role of lawmakers

    A key deficiency in this assessment is a profound misunderstanding of the core functions of National Assembly members. While many Nigerians mistakenly focus on physical projects and handouts, a legislator’s job has three core constitutional responsibilities:

    •Law-making: Creating and amending laws for the “peace, order, and good government” of the federation.

    •Appropriation: Scrutinizing, amending, and approving the national budget.

    •Oversight: Monitoring the executive branch to ensure transparency, accountability, and proper implementation of policies and funds.

    An assessment that focuses only on the visibility of physical projects—which are often tied to the release of capital budgets by the executive—is fundamentally flawed. It ignores the legislative and oversight functions that are arguably more critical to good governance.

    Furthermore, a fair assessment must also account for the peculiarities of each National Assembly member. For example, the Senate Leader, as the number three official in the senate, has more opportunities and privileges than other senators. Similarly, a senator’s committee assignment gives them a comparative advantage. The senator from the north senatorial district, for example, is in charge of civil service and therefore has more privilege to give employment opportunities than their counterpart from the south. It is unfair and inaccurate to measure all senators with the same yardstick of success when their roles, ranks, and committee assignments provide them with different levers of power.

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    The reality of budgetary constraints

    Any fair assessment of a legislator’s performance must be grounded in the economic realities of the nation. It is a well-known fact that the Nigerian economy has faced significant challenges. As of August, less than 30% of the 2024 capital budget had been released. Holding legislators accountable for a lack of project execution when the funds for those projects have not been disbursed by the executive branch is not only unfair but also illogical. This demonstrates a deep ignorance of how government financial machinery operates.

    Is the Catholic Church’s approach justified?

    The JDPI’s decision to publish its findings without first engaging the individuals involved raises serious questions about its true intent. How is it justified for the Catholic Church to make such a public assessment without getting the side of the people involved? This approach seems designed to shame these elected officials rather than to genuinely promote good governance. If the church’s goal is truly for the common good, why did it not first get in touch with the individuals involved?

    This exercise also begs the question of whether the Catholic Church is now taking part in partisan politics. Is this the new role of the altar and the pulpit?

    A dangerous and unjust exercise

    An assessment based on a biased and uninformed methodology, without a clear understanding of the constitutional roles of the National Assembly and the prevailing economic realities, is dangerous. It risks creating a false narrative that could mislead the public and unfairly tarnish the reputations of elected officials. Such an exercise, no matter how well-intentioned, becomes a disservice to public discourse on good governance.

    If we want to build a truly accountable democracy, we must use the right tools for the job. This means adopting rigorous, unbiased research methods, acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the roles of our representatives, and grounding our judgments in the economic realities of the day. Without these crucial elements, this assessment is an unreliable and harmful exercise that must be called into question and condemned in its entirety. It is not about protecting the lawmakers but about protecting the integrity of the process and the public’s right to accurate information.

    •Olajide is former managing director/CEO, National Mirror newspapers.

  • Nigeria and her politicians

    Nigeria and her politicians

    By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

    Now, let’s face it. Despite all the empty (and, often, very exasperating) noise about being driven by patriotism and “desire to serve my people” that usually saturates the atmosphere at each election season, a careful, conscientious search on the political terrain can only yield about less than one percent (and one is being really generous here) of aspirants motivated solely by genuine desire to improve the lives of the citizenry and make society a better place.

    For the majority, the sole incentive is the golden opportunity politics offers them to gain access to government coffers and cart away as much free money as they could possibly grab before their tenures elapse. This is just the raw, plain truth. Indeed, every politician in Nigeria if fully aware that most Nigerians know this. But they always bank on what I would like to refer to as the “collaborative passivity” of the citizenry.

    There is a very insignificant few who, although also inspired by the same primitive craving for the very selfishly remunerated political jobs, are content to just go home every month with only their abominably jumbo salaries and allowances. But their own grievous sin is that they do not find the very outrageously inflated pay packets they have allocated to themselves in the midst of widespread poverty and pain, very obscene and criminal, even though a few them are able to often recoil from the mad, free and fair looting that has become the distinguishing feature of political office in Nigeria. The brazenness with which the looting is perpetrated and the most revolting manner its prodigious proceeds are often flaunted before everyone underline the unmistakable impression that shameless stealing has received an official endorsement as part and parcel of governance, a kind of official culture.

    What makes the matter even more egregious is that these callous looters are always able to use some tiny crumbs or the usually very reliable intoxicants, namely, ethnicity and religion, to get the same short-changed and impoverished citizenry to rise in their defence each time there are attempts to pry into their hideous activities in office. It is only in Nigeria that this kind of thing makes sense – that someone among the populace would want to fight and even die for an unrepentant enemy of the people who has so wickedly exploited, dehumanized and grossly diminished him!

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    And that is why we hear our politicians always threatening blood and fire if they are “rigged” out during elections. But the tragic irony is that you would always find some poor, long-suffering human beings with brain in their skulls eagerly electing to be the murderous agents whose hands the out-rigged politicians would always deploy to shed the innocent blood of mostly their fellow impoverished Nigerians (who have not done them any wrong) and set fire on properties mostly obtained through honest labour by hardworking citizens in a country where life has become a nightmare because of the failure of character and leadership on the part of our largely wayward rulers at all levels.

    Now, look at it this way: a man is looking for access to where our commonwealth is dumped in order to plunder and cart away huge bags of unearned wealth, but he is outsmarted in the process by a more desperate and smarter opponent. And then the pathetic victim of all the devilish scheming will foolishly lay his life to fight for one of the prospective plunderers. Is this not madness?

    When will Nigerians wake up from their self-induced slumber and learn? When will they cure themselves of self-inflicted blindness? When will they come into the liberating awareness that the real power lies in their hands, and that what happened was that they only foolishly and willingly relinquished it to a few heartless men and women who are now using it to horribly oppress and impoverish them? But when will it settle in their hearts that just as they willingly gave away this power, they can as well easily take it back?

    The only election Nigerian politicians will claim was rigged is the one in which they lost. They would heartily declare on rooftops that the same election was “free and fair” if they had won! The point of this discourse is that politics has been accepted as the easiest and quickest, but ungodly, route to self-enrichment by many politicians, but instead of going about it in a quiet, unobtrusive manner, they would always seek to disrupt our lives by brutally dragging us into their conflict  each time they lose out in a game they had ensured we remained  mere spectators – yes, we have been shut out and denied the opportunity of helping to decide or even merely observe how our God-given resources are utilised.

    Let’s say it again with more emphasis! For many of these politicians, politics is just another very lucrative business enterprise from which they are hoping to reap jumbo profits. We, the masses, do not feature in their calculations at all. If you see them building any road or repainting a school building, it is either another opportunity to accumulate immense dividends from an inflated contract or something they felt they must hurriedly (and often very poorly) do to buy our support for the next elections.

    That is why such roads are often so substandard that the next rains after the elections would wash them off. Virtues like concern, compassion or altruism do not exist in the hearts of most Nigerian politicians. It is all about them, their relatives and friends, nothing more, nothing less. The whole ennobling idea about seeking to be treated fairly by history and earning and sustaining a good name are just strange, uninteresting notions that would never be able to win their admiration.

    Now that it has become all too clear to everyone that they are mostly in this for power and wealth acquisition, why then should a politician outsmarted by his opponents begin to threaten to make the country ungovernable which is a direct threat to our peace and existence? Imagine such audacity? What exactly makes him think that he is too important that his personal loss should become our collective problem? Ungovernable for whom, by the way? The most annoying thing is that by the time he is making these threats, his family has been sent far away to some very safe, well-run country and himself has made solid travel and security arrangement to escape once the country goes up in flames as the deluded people he is instigating to pour into the streets to fight for him start mowing themselves down.

    I seriously think that Nigerians have been deceived enough and should now put a halt to all this nonsense. They must realize that in the minds of these politicians, they are nothing but mere cheaply procured and dispensable instruments for power and wealth accumulation.

    Nigerians must, therefore, hasten to clearly underline this point to the political gladiators, namely, that Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians, and not to the few of them, and so, they have no right whatsoever to go ahead to threaten or unleash any form of violence because their more desperate and smarter colleagues had displaced them in the clearly self-serving race for Nigeria’s resources.  

    It is quite clear that what most of these politicians are merely bemoaning each time they fail to win an election is their failure to secure or re-secure looting rights, so I see no reason why they should cause any trouble in the polity and drag us all into their personal misfortune. This is what every Nigerian must know now, act aright and send the clear, correct message to these fellows who have become our country’s most malignant affliction.   

    •Ejinkeonye is a commentator on public issues.

  • El Rufai: Stirring discord in Northern Nigeria

    El Rufai: Stirring discord in Northern Nigeria

    By Yunana Shibkau

    The unfolding political scenario in Nigeria with respect to Kaduna State and the need to promptly respond threw up these apt responses.

    On Sunday Politics (Channels Television), Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, claimed that the federal government—via the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA)—was clandestinely paying bandits billions of naira to secure the release of kidnapped victims across northern states. He dismissed official responses as “fake, predictable hot air.”

    El Rufai labelled ONSA’s handling of terrorism and banditry a politicization of security and stressed that media narratives are being whitewashed to cover the true extent of insecurity in the country.

    If effective governance had been allowed to thrive as we all strive to sustain it in Nigeria, we wouldn’t have bother to raise a response or offer any criticism to the baselessness and emptiness of El Rufai’s puerile ranting, but that was not the case in the present dispensation, as the likes of El Rufai had constituted and continue to constitute himself as a nuisance of the first order, which continues to threaten our national security.

    After he left office as governor of Kaduna State, President Bola Tinubu submitted his name to the senate for screening as one of the ministerial nominees. But he was duly dropped. Since then, all hell has been let loose threatening brimstone and fire, exhibiting a sense of entitlement and heaping all blames on our dear president.

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    For instance, in early 2025, he publicly bewailed that President Tinubu didn’t want him in the cabinet, which was false. He appeared on Arise TV insinuating it wasn’t the senate but rather the president who changed his mind. Reno Omokri and other commentators, however, argue that El-Rufai was actually nominated, but failed security clearance and was deemed a diplomatic liability, citing both his “body bags” statement in 2019 and his alleged role in various controversies—including the Zaria Shiite massacre and demolitions of opponents’ properties.

    No one is spared of his uncontrolled tongue, including the person and office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He did not stop at that, like a bull in the China shop, he went after the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, and also descended on the office and person of the governor of Kaduna State, Malam Uba Sani.

    El-Rufai, no doubt is bound to continue with such malicious campaigns if not checked, promptly called to order or arrested, hence our patriotic clarion call to for the agencies involved to do the needful.

    As governor of Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023, El-Rufai’s tenure was marked not by peace but by accusations of ethnic cleansing, religious persecution and a chronic inability, or unwillingness, to stem violence in one of Nigeria’s most diverse and volatile states. Kaduna, under his leadership, became a flashpoint of ethno-religious bloodshed, and a killing field, particularly in southern Kaduna where minority Christian communities bore the brunt of incessant attacks.

    In 2019, a massacre in Kajuru Local Government in Kaduna State resulted in the death of 141 people. The Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) reported over 4,000 deaths between 2011 and 2015 from 54 documented attacks in what many described as a campaign of ethnic and religious terror. Nasir El Rufai, rather than showing understanding or taking decisive action to protect the victims, was more concerned in managing perceptions of the people about him. In 2016, in one of the most controversial admissions of his tenure, El Rufai admitted to having traced and compensated foreign Fulani herdsmen—allegedly to prevent retaliatory attacks, a claim he later denied. However, the shocking revelation sparked outrage and reinforced suspicions of bias, with the likes of SOKAPU and other Nigerians accusing him of encouraging the very militias responsible for the killings.

    The accusation and allegations of involvement in the southern Kaduna massacres is not a political smear; it is a serious moral and legal indictment that hangs heavily over El Rufai’s legacy and leadership.

    Moreover, allegations of corruption and abuse of power continue to trail El Rufai’s political career. From his days as minister of the Federal Capital Territory, where land allocations and demolition exercises were flawed by claims of selective justice, to his shoddy handling of public finances as Kaduna State governor, El Rufai’s record does not inspire the kind of trust and integrity he now appears to demand of others. It is therefore hypocritical for him to suddenly present himself as a champion of good governance, particularly when he was reportedly dropped from President Tinubu’s ministerial list due to failing security clearance—a move many interpreted as a silent indictment.

    Under his watch as a governor, bloggers and journalists were incarcerated, protesters tear-gassed, and opposition figures characteristically harassed. It is not for nothing that human rights groups frequently listed his administration among the worst violators of civil liberties during that period. The case of Abubakar Idris, known as Dadiyata, the activist abducted in 2019 and is still missing to this day, remains a haunting stain on El Rufai’s time in office. He consistently disobeyed court orders and had no respect for the rule of law.

    For instance, in October 2022, traders and shop owners at Kasuwan Barci, Tudun Wada area of Kaduna metropolis trooped to the street, asking the state governor, El Rufai to obey court order by paying them compensation over their demolished shops and markets. This protest came after the Kaduna State High Court in September 2022, ordered the El Rufai led- government to sufficiently compensate the shop owners.

    In furtherance of his chronic abuse of human rights and dignity, on April 28, 2016, the El Rufai-led government ordered the arrest of Jacob Onjewu, a Kaduna-based journalist. The journalist was alleged to have written an inciting story that the governor, El-Rufai, was attacked with stone in Agwan Gado, a suburb of Malali axis in Kaduna North LGA. The Kaduna-based journalist was invited by the Kaduna Police Command and was remanded in custody without option of bail. He was however granted bail after spending seven days in detention.

    Thus, a man with such tainted record of service as El Rufai; a man who lacks credible leadership  antecedents, have no grounds to unjustifiably attack President Tinubu, Ribadu, Governor Uba Sani, despite their great achievements in office, which obviously towers above his own over-inflated achievements.

    Today, and sadly so, El Rufai is making futile efforts to make the nation ungovernable. He is envious of Uba Sani’s achievements within the shortest period of time; he is ashamed that peace is returning to Kaduna and people see that Uba Sani’s leadership is far better than his and becoming more popular by working to unite the people in the state. He is jealous of Uba Sani’s superlative achievements and he is trying to destroy the peace in Kaduna State. He is angry that he did not get ministerial appointment under the present administration; this indeed is an era of frustration for El Rufai.

    The loss of power and relevance of El Rufai and the intention to get back to the corridor of power promoting his new alignment and exploring ways to stir unrest and discord by his utterances and unholy mobilization in the northern Nigeria against the Tinubu administration, gave him away as a man with nuisance value. His mobilization of coalition and opposition in a country that is fragile and battling with terrorism and insecurity, should be a source of worry and concern to all patriotic Nigerians.

    The facts remains that El Rufai’s allegations against President  Tinubu and Malam  Ribadu are baseless, divisive, inflammatory and inconsistent with the administration’s dual strategy of kinetic operations and community engagement. El Rufai must refrain from framing security as a political tool, for to do so is to bear the consequences of insulting our sacrificial security personnel.

    Nigerians must recognize the political opportunism masked as activism. El Rufai is neither a patriot or democrat, but a chronic dictator and an opportunist. He did not find his voice in past administration’s failures when it mattered the most to be on the side of the people. We must stop Nasir El Rufai now, before his unwarranted antics aimed at destabilizing the polity!

    •Engr. Shibkau is president, Association of Arewa Professionals in the United Kingdom.

  • Remembering my mentor, hero, boss Gani Fawehinmi

    Remembering my mentor, hero, boss Gani Fawehinmi

    By Uba Sani

    In the early hours of September 5, 2009, Nigeria and indeed the entire continent of Africa lost a titan, a man whose life was a testament to courage, unwavering principle, and indefatigable commitment to justice and democracy. Chief Abdulganiyu “Gani” Oyesola Fawehinmi, GCON, SAN, passed into the annals of history, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire generations. His departure was not just the loss of a legal luminary or a pro-democracy crusader; it was the loss of a father figure, a teacher, and a mentor who transformed the lives of many, including my own.

    I first met Chief Gani Fawehinmi in a Nigeria shackled by military authoritarianism, a nation gasping under the weight of repression, censorship, and the truncation of fundamental freedoms. At a time when fear sought to suffocate hope, Chief Fawehinmi emerged as a beacon of fearless resistance, an unwavering voice in the wilderness. It was during the fraught aftermath of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, a watershed moment when the popular mandate of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola was cruelly annulled, that I encountered the formidable spirit of Chief Fawehinmi. The military junta’s cynical efforts to tribalise the struggle and cast the fight for democracy as a parochial Yoruba cause were all-too evident and divisive. Yet, Chief Fawehinmi’s vision was pan-Nigerian, and his commitment to justice transcended all ethnic and regional divides. And of course, Chief M.K.O Abiola’s June 12, 1993 mandate was pan-Nigerian.

    As a young man from Northern Nigeria, vocally opposing the annulment and deeply invested in the struggle for democracy, I found in Chief Gani Fawehinmi not just a comrade but a mentor who treated me with the warmth of a father and the wisdom of a seasoned General. His home in Lagos became my second sanctuary, where I happily shared a room with Comrade Femi Aborisade, one of his closest confidants, and where the seeds of my civil rights activism and  consciousness, already sown during my days as a students’ union leader, were fertilized and hence deep-rooted. It was in those hallowed chambers that I drank deeply from his well of knowledge, courage, and unyielding faith in justice.

    Chief Gani Fawehinmi was more than a lawyer; he was the “Senior Advocate of the Masses,” a relentless champion for the downtrodden, and an indomitable scourge of military dictators. His legal advocacy was a revolution in itself, demonstrating that law, wielded with determination, creativity, and consistency, could become a potent instrument of social and political engineering. In an era when many in the legal profession chose silence or complicity, Chief Fawehinmi stood firm, often misunderstood and isolated by colleagues who failed to grasp the breadth of his vision. But he never faltered. For him, self-help was not an option, and the wheel of justice, though often slow, was inexorable.

    His life was marked by sacrifices that few could endure. The prison cell was a recurring reality: his home away from home; yet even incarceration could not break his spirit. Chief Fawehinmi’s courage in the face of oppression became a rallying cry for millions. He led the Joint Action Committee of Nigeria (JACON), a coalition of pro-democracy groups that waged a relentless battle against military authoritarianism. I was honoured to serve as National Vice Chairman of JACON, working closely with him to expand the struggle into Northern Nigeria and forge a united front against dictatorship.

    His patriotism was profound and all-encompassing. Chief Fawehinmi’s humanitarian vision was not confined to any one tribe or region but embraced the entire Nigerian nation. Among his many legacies was a scholarship scheme that reached brilliant but indigent students across Nigeria. I had the privilege of working with him to extend this initiative to Northern Nigeria, where educational deprivation was most acute. This scholarship, initiated in 2000, has empowered over a thousand young Nigerians who have since blossomed into doctors, lawyers, scholars, and leaders. Through this programme, Chief Fawehinmi’s commitment to education became a living, breathing force for national development.

    With the eventual return of democracy, Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s fight did not cease. Alongside comrades like Femi Aborisade and myself, as Deputy National Chairman (North) of the National Conscience Party (NCP), we waged a legal battle to broaden Nigeria’s political space. We challenged efforts by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister political parties; an affront to the pluralistic democracy we all sought. Our efforts culminated in a landmark Supreme Court ruling affirming the constitutional protections for political parties and safeguarding democratic participation. Our efforts widened the political space and ultimately led to INEC’s regular and periodic registration of new or emergent political parties today. This victory was a testament to Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s enduring belief in the law as a tool for justice. I recall that the lead plaintiff in this matter was the indomitable Mallam Balarabe Musa, the leader of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP);  we were also supported in this legal battle by another formidable political activist, the late M.D Yusuf, the dogged leader of the Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ).

    Even now, years after his passing, Chief Fawehinmi  lives vibrantly in the hearts and minds of Nigerians. He remains an icon of resilience, an exemplar of integrity, and a paragon of selflessness. The countless lives he touched, the many he mentored, and the ideals he championed continue to shape Nigeria’s democratic journey.

    Personally, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, GCON, was more than a mentor: he was a father who imparted not only civil rights wisdom but also the ethos of principled struggle. From him, I learnt that the fight for justice demands courage, patience, and strategic engagement. He taught me that democracy is not merely the absence of dictatorship but the presence of justice, accountability, and inclusivity.

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    Today, as Governor of Kaduna State, guided by my reverence for Almighty Allah, a deep fidelity to conscience, and the solemn duties imposed by my oath of office and the Constitution of our great nation, I have remained steadfast in doing all within my power and capacity to honour the legacy of my mentor and teacher, Chief Gani Fawehinmi. It is a path I have embraced with conviction — and one I am resolutely committed to walking for the rest of my days in public service.

    Nigeria and Africa owe Chief Gani Fawehinmi a debt of gratitude. His relentless crusade against military tyranny, corruption, impunity, and human rights abuses paved the way for the freedoms we enjoy today. His life reminds us that democracy is fragile and must be vigilantly protected.

    The challenge before us is to sustain and build upon his legacy. We must continue to expand democratic space, uphold constitutionalism, and remain steadfast in our commitment to social justice. Chief  Fawehinmi ‘s vision was not merely for a moment in time but for a Nigeria where liberty, fairness, and the rule of law are the birthright of every citizen.

    As we commemorate the sixteenth anniversary of his passing, it is not merely a remembrance but a reaffirmation of our commitment to the ideals he embodied. May the soul of our departed mentor rest in eternal peace, and may Almighty Allah grant him the rest befitting a man whose life was a sacrifice for justice and democracy.

    Senator Uba Sani, CON, is the Governor of Kaduna State

  • The Tinubu phenomenon: Lessons in political durability

    The Tinubu phenomenon: Lessons in political durability

    By Muhammad Musa-Gombe

    In a Fourth Republic littered with fallen giants and broken alliances, Bola Ahmed Tinubu stands out not just for surviving, but for building Nigeria’s most enduring political machine.  In recent weeks, I stumbled on a thought-provoking article lamenting the North’s decline, how a region so rich in people and resources could still be weighed down by poor leadership and self-sabotage. It struck me that while the Arewa endlessly debates its failures, one man from the Southwest has against many odds, built and sustained a formidable political machine for over two decades. That man is Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    Tinubu’s story as I see it is not just political history it is a study in structure, loyalty, and resilience. In a Fourth Republic where many political “giants” rose and fell quickly, Tinubu has been the constant, more like the builder whose network has outlived terms, quarrels, and federal pressure.

    When Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, Tinubu emerged as one of six governors elected under the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the South-West. By 2003, five of his colleague-governors, had lost their states to the PDP tsunami. Only Lagos stood firm.

    Alone, Tinubu carried the burden of opposition, consolidating his base and re-engineering his political family. That survival instinct became the seed of what is now Nigeria’s most enduring political structure.

    Recall his tenure as governor was not without battles. When the Lagos State government created 37 new Local Council Development Areas in 2003, President Olusegun Obasanjo’s federal government retaliated by withholding local government funds for nearly five years. Many expected Lagos to collapse. Instead, Tinubu turned the crisis into reform. He pushed for aggressive tax reforms, professionalized revenue collection, and made Lagos less dependent on federal allocations. Salaries were paid, projects continued, and the standoff only strengthened his image as a fighter who would not bow.

    Unlike many of his colleagues who fell out with their chosen successors, Tinubu cultivated a culture of loyalty and continuity. He invested in young aides and technocrats, lawyers, accountants, engineers, media strategists many of whom have since become governors, ministers, or national leaders. His former attorney-general, for example, rose to become vice president; his former Chief of Staff, a two-term governor; others became federal ministers and party leaders. It is this continuity that has kept his political machinery alive when others’ collapsed after leaving office.

    Tinubu’s genius was not just in defending Lagos, but in widening his circle. He midwifed the transition of AD into AC, later ACN, and eventually into the All Progressives Congress (APC), which merged in 2013 to challenge the PDP. Two years later, the APC made history by defeating an incumbent president—an achievement unthinkable without the discipline and negotiation Tinubu brought to the table.

    The Lagos succession tells its own story. In 2007, Tinubu handed over to Babatunde Fashola, his Chief of Staff, who expanded on his reforms. In 2015 came Akinwunmi Ambode, who after one term was replaced by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, following a push by party elders. The lesson is simple: in Tinubu’s world, loyalty and alignment matter more than sentiment. Candidates are chosen not just to win elections but to sustain the structure.

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    Of course, Tinubu’s style has not escaped criticism. Many Nigerians see his dominance as “godfatherism” that stifles internal democracy. Questions have been raised about revenue transparency in Lagos and the blurred lines between politics and business. During the #EndSARS protests, anger at the system was partly directed at him. Yet, despite the controversies, his political structure has never collapsed. If anything, crises have tested and refined it.

    In 2023, Tinubu finally became what he had long prepared for: President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The kingmaker became king. But the presidency is a different battlefield; Nigeria is not Lagos. Consensus is harder, legitimacy is contested, and the expectations of 200 million citizens are far weightier than those of one state. Already, tough economic reforms have tested his popularity. The question now is whether the habits of political survival, tight structure, loyalty, negotiation can translate into effective national governance.

    So why tell this story against the backdrop of northern lamentations? Because there are lessons. Tinubu’s rise was not luck; it was structure, investment in people, and the courage to confront adversity. The North, with its vast resources and numbers, cannot continue to excuse failure. Leadership is not about lamentation; it is about building, planning, and sustaining. Tinubu built a machine in Lagos that survived federal hostility, opposition landslides, and internal betrayals. Arewa, with all its advantages, should reflect: why has it failed to produce such enduring structures?

    Tinubu is not flawless, and he might not be universally loved. But his political story is a phenomenon worth studying. In a democracy where many fade after one term, he has remained relevant for a quarter of a century. That endurance is no accident. It is proof that leadership, when matched with vision and structure, can outlast storms. Nigeria needs more of that resilience, and the North if it truly seeks renaissance must learn the same discipline.

    •Gombe, a media practitioner writes from Abuja.

  • A jinxed coalition

    A jinxed coalition

    By Mike Kebonkwu

    Time is ticking already for 2027 general elections; the stakes are high.  The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) is poised to remain in power and consolidate while the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  remains in  tethers.  There are no signs that the splinter groups and rumps of the party will come together because there appears to be irreconcilable differences.  The coast appears clear for APC, and 2027 a done deal in the wave of defections and endorsements.  The Third Force could not pull the string in 2023 elections as widely expected although there was a noticeable rumble that jolted the status quo, the Obidients movement’s incursion.

    Lately, there is a movement and gathering of politicians who no longer command attention and relevance trying to strike and form a coalition.  They prefer to commandeer the African Democratic Party (ADC) with a bully method which does not appeal to members with real consensus.    The gathering is made up of mostly aggrieved members of the ruling All APC and the PDP, with others that have lost relevance in their different parties; displaced after the 2023 general election. 

    In spite of its goodwill as a party with broad national spread, the PDP that was in power for over 16 years could not manage the loss it suffered after the 2015 general election. The party leadership completely lost touch with reality and took Nigerians for granted and they paid a huge price for it. 

    The ADC, emerging from relative obscurity is willing to accept all comers, after all the gladiators are mostly politicians with deep pockets, and they need the money.  The objective of the coalition is to unseat the ruling APC and rescue Nigeria from an entrenched, deep seated behemoth that eats and breaths power. These are people with no appetite for endurance and resilience that are unable to manage the crises in their party where they are stalwarts.  They are not even able to whip errant members engaging in anti-party activities into line, but want to charge at a moving train in their divisive schemes. Their manipulative antics and treachery fuelled and facilitated the emergence of the coalition that birthed APC in 2015.

    The budding coalition has no new face, but the same old war horses that have been unhorsed. They are mostly migratory and itinerant politicians roving from one party to another like nomads foraging for green pastures.  A rolling stone gathers no moss!  They are settling to be served meals they have not prepared.  We have a history of multi-party democracy which has not changed de jure.  However, we are witnessing a metamorphosis into a one-party state because the bunch of parties has lost direction and leadership. They are bickering and infested with moles, eating up its structure from the inside. It is only the ruling APC that appears to have semblance of functional structure and leadership.    It is little wonder therefore that the politicians embark on herd-movement into the APC through defection and endorsement because they lack ideological clarity and   fidelity.

    That the coalition that birthed APC succeeded was not a miracle.  The coalition that was cobbled together had clear objective which was to unseat the PDP from power.  They settled for “mai gaskiya” (Mr Integrity), late General Muhammadu Buhari as their choice to be the flag bearer of the party and they all queued behind him.  He had cult followership among the hoi polloi in the entire north.  He was perceived as disciplined and modest amongst the middle class, and in the south.  Coalition is all about group goal and common objective, not pursuit of selfish interest and blind ambition. 

    The PDP once prided itself as the largest party and boisterously boast of staying in power for 60 years unchallenged. Today, the party is a shadow of itself almost rudderless and undisciplined pack that cannot agree on any single issue.  They lack democratic credentials and are responsible for the introduction of electoral banditry into our polity, allocating ballots without voting and declare results according to their whims and intuition.  Sadly, to his eternal dishonour, it was General Olusegun Obasanjo that introduced electioneering as “a do or die affair” in Nigeria.  Our politicians of today are all students of that inglorious school without exception, desperate and despicable power mongers. 

    Take a good look at the people who are behind the mega coalition to rescue Nigeria.  They have something in common: dishonest schemers who do not keep promise, driven by power and revenge.  If they do not have it, no one else should.  They are not builders but prefer to move from one platform to the other in political whoredom.  Their vision in politics is to remain perpetually in government as VIPs of waste, vacillating like the ocean.

    The ADC is not fated to rescue Nigeria even in the face of obvious challenges.  This is because the gang behind the ADC are very impatient, divisive characters who are individualistic, ambitious schemers, and betrayers.  Some are moles and untrustworthy, and like Delilah will betray Samson.  Rented crowds at rallies do not translate to electoral victory. The orchestra at party events are mostly paid entertainers for show not party faithful.  We have a terrible political culture that domiciles absolute power in the hands of political office holders who appropriate and deploy the coercive arm of government for self-preservation.   That is why an individual will hold the entire state hostage as his political structure and nobody is seeing anything wrong with it.  Instead, we are seeing it as disloyalty of a godson to the oath of his godfather.  Our party system builds tyrants and emperors and so we are paying the price in underdevelopment, insecurity and wholesale looting of the treasury.

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    How far will the coalition go? Not too far!   It is full of sound and fury signifying nothing!  Where are the structures and the moves; election is just two years away! Press releases and advertorials will not galvanize the masses to the polling centres.  The ambitious people driving the coalition are not noted for endurance; jumping ship whenever they lost the primary.  Such men don’t build party and don’t sustain relationship just like a harlot.  If Atiku Abubakar were a calculating politician, at age 79, why would he want to contest for president?  Those supporting him know his chances are slim or nil but they encourage him to run just to fleece him because he has deep pocket.  Money does not earn you loyalty; it has not in the past.  Rotimi Amaechi wants to contest because he is convinced that what money cannot buy does not exist in politics. Nasir El Rufai is imperial, cocky and divisive and incapable of building enduring relationship if he is not in charge.  Rabiu Kwankwaso could have made a good pair with Peter Obi but Kwankwaso has legendary arrogance and pride and like El Rufai, a tribal irredentist.  David Mark is not known to be a good mobiliser; not even charismatic.  He has no command in his Oturkpo where he could not even fix the infrastructure for his people.  Peter Obi has just the right cut but viewed with suspicion because of his ethnicity.  He has endearing attraction but his obidient crowds are too toxic and intemperate to be tolerated. They have no limit and boundaries in their venom; they are his albatross.  This is the mirror image of 2027 with APC poised for victory but there could be surprises.

    The person that will recue Nigeria is going to come as an iconoclast with capacity for good judgment and clinical execution to clean the Augean stable.  He is not in any of the existing political parties.  He is not going to be a religious person but with abiding faith in God and humanity; he is going to be a detribalized person with Nigeria as his constituency, giving equal measure to all.

    •Mike Kebonkwu Esq is an Abuja-based attorney. He writes via mikekebonkwu@yahoo.com

  • Why fiscal transparency could make or break tax reforms

    Why fiscal transparency could make or break tax reforms

    • By Gbenga Oyebode Falana

    When President Bola Tinubu signed into law the 2025 suite of tax reforms – the National Tax Act (NTA), the National Tax Administration Act (NTAA), the Nigeria Revenue Service Act (NRSA), and the Joint Revenue Board Act (JRBA), the nation celebrated what many experts described as a “new dawn” for revenue generation. These laws consolidate tax rules, streamline administration, unify the tax authority, and create stronger federal–state coordination.

    On paper, the reforms address some of Nigeria’s oldest fiscal headaches: a chronically low tax-to-GDP ratio (about 10.8%), poor compliance, fragmented systems, and rampant illicit financial flows (IFFs). Yet, Nigerians know that “beautiful laws” alone do not translate into better governance. The country has a long history of passing ambitious reforms only to watch them falter in implementation.

    This is where the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) comes in. Born out of international consensus and adopted by governments across the world, GIFT champions three principles that can make or break Nigeria’s tax reforms: transparency, public participation, and accountability. The real question is not whether Nigeria’s new tax laws are ambitious, but whether the government can operationalise GIFT to make them work for ordinary Nigerians.

    Nigeria’s tax paradox

    Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, yet one of the continent’s weakest in tax mobilisation. While the average tax-to-GDP ratio in Sub-Saharan Africa hovers around 15–17%, Nigeria lags below 11%. This means the government struggles to generate enough revenue to fund infrastructure, healthcare, education, and social protection. Part of the problem lies in complex, overlapping taxes and a fractured administration. Businesses face multiple levies from federal, state, and local governments, creating confusion and incentives for evasion. Citizens often perceive taxes as unfair, especially when basic services remain poor.

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    Worse still, Nigeria loses billions each year to illicit financial flows from aggressive tax avoidance, profit shifting by multinationals, and outright capital flight. According to Global Financial Integrity, Nigeria loses over $15 billion annually to these leakages. Against this backdrop, the 2025 tax reforms are Nigeria’s boldest attempt in decades to tidy up its fiscal house. But without embedding transparency and accountability, the laws risk becoming another “paper reform.”

    What do the new tax laws actually do?

    •National Tax Act (NTA): consolidates tax rules into a single modern code, replacing outdated, fragmented provisions.

    •National Tax Administration Act (NTAA): provides the administrative backbone, setting rules for compliance, filing, payment, and enforcement.

    •Nigeria Revenue Service Act (NRSA): establishes a unified national tax authority, merging existing agencies into one professionalised body.

    •Joint Revenue Board Act (JRBA): creates a platform for federal and state governments to coordinate, reducing multiple taxation and disputes.

    Together, these Acts promise simpler rules, stronger enforcement, and better coordination. But laws, no matter how well-drafted, cannot rebuild public trust in taxation. Nigerians have heard it all before.

    Why GIFT matters

    GIFT is not a donor programme, nor a foreign imposition. It is a globally recognised framework that says that governments should open their books, involve citizens, and answer for outcomes.

    Applied to Nigeria’s new tax regime, this means:

    1. Transparency: Taxpayers must know how much is collected, where it comes from, and how it is used. Publishing real-time revenue and expenditure data will demystify government accounts and reduce corruption.

    2. Participation: Citizens and businesses should be consulted in designing tax rules and monitoring implementation. This can be through public hearings, digital feedback platforms, or civil society oversight.

    3. Accountability: Agencies like the Nigeria Revenue Service must be held to performance benchmarks, audited independently, and sanctioned when they fall short.

    This presupposes that without these; the reforms will be “laws without trust” technically sound but socially empty.

    Bridging the trust gap

     The greatest obstacle to taxation in Nigeria is not just weak administration, but a trust deficit. Many Nigerians believe taxes disappear into private pockets rather than public goods. This perception drives evasion, fuels resentment, and undermines reform.

    Embedding GIFT principles can bridge this gap. Imagine a system where:

    •Tax collection figures are published monthly, broken down by sector and state.

    •Citizens can track how tax revenues fund roads, schools, or hospitals in their communities.

    •Businesses can lodge complaints through a transparent, time-bound mechanism.

    •Annual reports show not only how much was raised, but what impact it had on jobs, growth, and services.

    Such visibility would change taxation from a coercive burden into a shared civic duty.

    Learning from others

    Countries like South Africa, Kenya, and Brazil have adopted aspects of fiscal transparency to boost compliance. South Africa publishes detailed tax statistics annually, earning credibility with citizens and investors. Kenya’s eCitizen platform integrates tax payments with other government services, improving efficiency and reducing leakages. Brazil’s participatory budgeting experiments show how citizen input can guide spending priorities. Nigeria can adapt these lessons but must go further. With digitalisation and open data tools, it can leapfrog old models and create a world-class transparent tax system.

    Policy steps forward

     To ensure the new tax Acts succeed, Nigeria should:

    1. Mandate open reporting under the NTAA and NRSA: monthly online publication of revenue collected, disaggregated by source.

    2. Institutionalise citizen engagement: create structured consultations with business groups, civil society, and labour unions before major tax policy changes.

    3. Use digital platforms: expand e-filing and real-time dashboards where taxpayers can track payments and receipts.

    4. Strengthen oversight: empower the National Assembly, Auditor-General, and anti-corruption agencies to review tax administration transparently.

    5. Tie taxes to services: earmark visible projects (schools, clinics, roads) financed directly from tax revenue, to demonstrate value.

    The bottom line

    Nigeria’s new tax laws are a bold step, but they are only half the journey. Laws without transparency are dead letters. GIFT offers a way to turn reforms into reality by opening the books, inviting citizens to the table, and holding officials accountable. If Nigeria gets this right, it could finally break the cycle of weak revenues and debt dependency. If it fails, the reforms will join the graveyard of unfulfilled fiscal promises.

    In the end, taxation is not just about numbers. It is about trust, fairness, and shared responsibility. With GIFT, Nigeria has a chance to prove that tax reforms can deliver not only revenue, but renewal.

    • Falana, PhD is Commissioner, Tax Appeal Tribunal, Abuja Panel and Senior Fellow Researcher, African Centre for Tax & Governance.

  • Nigeria’s reward systems in crisis

    Nigeria’s reward systems in crisis

    • By Oluwole Ogundele

    Leadership from the family stage to the national level is a serious engagement. It is about fine-grained service to society. By this token, a leader is a public servant of huge dimensions. That is to say, that robust service to the followers, is a pre-condition for the sustainable socio-economic development of a country or system.

    Similarly, the led must play their own roles by embracing constructive criticisms, devoid of partisanship or moral bankruptcy. In this regard, giving information to the relevant authorities is a task that must be accomplished at all costs. Some privileges and/or allowances are given to leaders through the lens of the constitution (written and unwritten). This arrangement is made with a view to cushioning the effects of their extra-ordinary service to the people. However, these privileges become poisonous when leaders fail to perform optimally. Again, a disequilibrium is created, thereby paving the way for a series of crises.

    It is too easily forgotten especially in Nigeria that the political authority across the board, is not a platform for threatening, cutting down and belittling the ordinary citizens, as if they are a group of sub-humans. Therefore, it is very disheartening whenever our leaders decouple from us, often due to bad advice and/or haughtiness on a monumental scale. Leadership without commensurate service to the citizens is tantamount to parasitism. This can be understood against the backdrop of the fact, that the citizens are the producers of the wealth of Nigeria. Top government officials as well as members of the National Assembly have no good reason to continue to shortchange Nigerians, who are now majorly diminished due to economic hardship or financial toxicity.

    The distribution patterns of the public wealth by ‘the powers that be’ are clearly lopsided. In other words, the Nigerian reward systems lack symmetry. It is a pity, that most university academics including professors (robust knowledge producers) are living from hand to mouth, in a country so richly blessed with natural and cultural resources. I’m humbly appealing to PBAT to begin to overturn these absurdities in the interest of peace and progress. The existing order (embedded in reactionary ideologies) which implies that the politicians must take everything, has to be dismantled through a revolution by education. A child that says that his mother should not sleep, would also remain awake.  This is one of the age-old, time-tested Yoruba epistemologies. No leader or follower is an exclusive preserve of wisdom.  Everybody is in a school.

    Wages/salaries and allowances of workers need to be increased given our current inflation-ravaged economy.  Desperately poor citizens are a big threat to society. Currently, most Nigerians have lost their weight without taking slimming pills. Food shortages and high cost of living are leading to very poor public health.  Poor nutrition is an invitation to ill health especially in the face of outrageously high hospital bills. Death is now very cheap! Who says that Nigeria is not gradually becoming a hell on earth? 

    However, the foundation of this hellish space was laid much earlier. But President Tinubu must do something about it urgently.   It is submitted here, that poor public health slows down national economic development.  

    When government workers across the board are paid reasonable wages and allowances, all other categories like carpenters, electricians, plumbers and food stuffs sellers benefit tremendously.  Their financial statuses improve. Rate of crimes and criminality necessarily drops. Indeed, Nigeria will not enjoy peace or political stability when the ordinary people are desperately poor and hopeless, as the government looks the other way. The Nigerian working class does not need to protest or go on strike before their salaries are reviewed upward.  Empathy and mutuality of respect are serious principles that our leaders must embrace.

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    In my opinion, it is most unacceptable that the Nigerian university staff members are getting the lowest salaries and allowances in the entirety of West Africa. This disturbing situation did not start today. However, this current government has to change the narrative with immediate alacrity. Our leaders have to listen to the voice of reason. It is not an act of weakness to listen to the led. No basis for an ego trip! The government has to learn from the past so as to succeed.   ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities) members have to be motivated in order to put in their best. This is a global reality that cannot be contested. Those European and American governments paying good salaries to their intelligentsia are not stupid. They know that human capital development is critical to sustainable economic progress.

    Nigeria has enough resources to make every hard-working citizen reasonably comfortable. But sadly enough, most of our politicians are busy ravaging the country’s collective corn field like a bunch of baboons. I’m still wondering how our political class members are able to sleep in the face of agonies of the toiling masses.

    Hedonism has become a fetish for these special Nigerians who behave as if they are going to live forever. Moderation, responsiveness, responsibility and fiscal discipline that characterise the British and American political landscapes, do not exist in Nigeria.  A dangerous signal is being sent to the youth who are growing up in this corruption-laden environment.  Aside from the issue of genetic inheritance, every human is largely a product of his social geography.

    Certainly, Nigeria is in dire need of socio-cultural revolution capable of re-connecting us with the age-old African epistemologies or values in a critical way. One of these values and value systems is enshrined in the concept of giving and taking on the basis of mutuality of respect. Succinctly put, the culture of caring and sharing between the leaders and the led, has to be creatively exhumed. Thus, for example, most owners of cleaning or sanitation companies around, are worker-unfriendly. After using their connections here and there to get contracts, they usually end up giving (in many instances) as low as #15,000 monthly to a cleaner. The “powerful” business man goes home every month with millions of naira.

    This is one of the major reasons why insecurity and all kinds of prostitution go on unabated in Nigeria. Extreme poverty dehumanises. Immorality now reigns supreme as a coping strategy. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should focus more than hitherto on the current situation, in order to pave the way for sustainable progress in Nigeria. There is no doubt that he inherited this mess, but a new platform can still be created for posterity to celebrate the Jagaban of Nigeria. 

    Change beyond the domain of rhetoric must begin now. The existing reward systems have to be overturned as quickly as possible. In the final analysis, sustainable economic development will be a wild goose chase in the face of unprecedented material poverty and hopelessness. Leadership by example, is of the essence. Nigerians (with the exception of the political class members and their business associates) are groaning more than ever before, despite the fact, that they are the producers of the wealth of the country. Even the cerebral university professor is not spared. What a country!    

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

  • Securing Africa through cooperation and people-first strategy

    Securing Africa through cooperation and people-first strategy

    • By Kennedy Elaigwu Awodi

    President Bola Tinubu recently called for a new era of collective action among African nations to tackle the continent’s complex security challenges, from terrorism and cybercrime to transnational threats. Speaking at the maiden edition of the African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit 2025 in Abuja, the president, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, emphasized that these issues do not respect borders and neither should the response. He challenged the continent’s military leaders to create a new “doctrine of continental defence” built on trust, shared intelligence, and a coordinated strategy.

    This call for a unified African front aligns with the transformative, people-centric military strategy being championed by Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa. His leadership marks a significant shift from a purely force-based approach to one that prioritizes troop welfare, community engagement, and a modernized, self-reliant defence industry. This forward-thinking blueprint is not merely a policy directive but a living strategy being implemented across the nation, as evidenced by recent operations in places like Benue and Nasarawa.

    General Musa’s strategic outlook is built on the belief that enduring peace requires addressing the root causes of conflict while modernizing the military’s operational capabilities. A clear example of this is his push for ranching as a sustainable solution to the long-standing farmer-herder crises. He frames ranching not as a forceful imposition but as a win-win business venture that benefits both livestock owners and farmers, demonstrating a non-kinetic and economically sound approach to resolving a core security threat.

    Furthermore, his commitment to national defence manufacturing is a testament to his vision of a self-sufficient and capable military. By rebranding the Defence Industries Corporation and promoting the procurement of military hardware like armoured vehicles and drones from local firms, CDS Musa is not only enhancing the military’s operational readiness but also stimulating Nigeria’s economy and fostering indigenous innovation. This strategic pivot reduces dependence on foreign suppliers and ensures the military is equipped with resources tailored to the specific challenges of the Nigerian terrain.

    The recent joint land and maritime security tour conducted by Major General Moses Gara, the Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), in Benue and Nasarawa states is a perfect on-the-ground manifestation of CDS Musa’s grand vision.

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    The tour, which involved a river patrol and an assessment of troop performance, shows a commitment to multi-environment operations and a comprehensive understanding of the operational area. More importantly, the tour highlights the crucial link between leadership, troop welfare, and mission success.

    Maj. Gen. Gara’s commitment to fast-tracking housing projects and deploying essential field gear like all-terrain bikes directly mirrors General Musa’s public pledges to safeguard the well-being of military personnel. This is a powerful demonstration that the CDS’s vision is not just a pronouncement from Abuja but is being actively implemented in the challenging frontlines of the nation.

    Perhaps the most impactful aspect of this new military strategy is the emphasis on civil-military relations. CDS Musa has repeatedly ordered commanders to shift from an “occupying force” mentality to one that prioritizes community partnership. He believes that the military’s first layer of defence is intelligence, which can only be secured through the trust and cooperation of the local populace.

    This approach was powerfully validated during the OPWS tour, where community leader Mike Ejiwo’s positive feedback on the soldiers’ conduct and his statement that the community has enjoyed over five years of peace are a direct result of this strategy. This success story demonstrates that a disciplined, well-cared-for, and community-oriented military is the most effective tool for long-term regional stability. The peace in Gidan Pepa is not just a result of military presence but of a military that is seen as a partner and a protector, reflecting a fundamental principle of CDS Musa’s leadership.

    In his address, President Tinubu echoed this sentiment, calling the summit a “convergence of uniforms and titles” and a convocation “of Africa’s guardians to the village square of ideas.” He urged the defence chiefs to ensure the summit results in lasting change, proposing the establishment of a permanent African Chiefs of Defence Staff Forum for continuous dialogue, strategic foresight, and operational coordination.

    General Christopher Musa’s tenure is defined by a bold, integrated strategy that acknowledges the multi-dimensional nature of security. By focusing on troop welfare, local defense manufacturing, and, most critically, a people-centric approach, General Musa is not just commanding an army—he is cultivating an institution capable of both winning the war and securing the peace. The success of operations like OPWS in Benue and Nasarawa serves as a beacon, proving that this new blueprint for military engagement is not just theoretical but is already delivering tangible, life-saving results for the Nigerian people.

    •Elaigwu Awodi wrote from North Carolina, USA. Email: awodikenoutlook.com