The Nation Newspaper

Category: Comments

  • Ogun rice revolution

    Thursday, December, 21 was another red-letter day in Ogun State. In one iconic gesture, unprecedented in the annals of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, the governor of Ogun State, unveiled the MITROS Rice Processing Factory and MITROS Rice.

    Against the backdrop of the role rice plays in the lives of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians and that close to one trillion naira of our money is expended annually on importation of the commodity, one cannot but agree with Amosun that the inauguration of MITROS Rice Mill and MITROS Rice was a “watershed”. This water should now flow over the arable land across the country with rice pyramids levitating in every nook and cranny till the nation achieves zero rice importation.

    Rice is like water in Nigeria. To appropriate the inimitable Fela Anikulapo Kuti, “Raisi, e no get enemy!” (Rice has no enemy). Tell me one house where rice is not a staple food and I will tell you no such home exists in Nigeria. It’s quite possible, but I’m yet to encounter a child who does not like rice. Fried, jollof or white, rice it is for millions of Nigerians!

    How rice became a staple food, attained a larger than life image in our country, is outside the scope of this exercise. It suffices to emphasize that a situation where humongous part of our scarce forex is expended on importation of rice is not sustainable.

    The current Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, once lamented the culture of rice importation: “We cannot afford $5m a day for rice shipments in this country. It has gone on for 40 years. And I assure you that it is our reckless policy of importation that has brought Nigeria down to where she is now. Those who keep talking of imports either do not mean Nigeria well or simply refuse to recognise the fact that we cannot afford the imports.”

    It is even more embarrassing that we import this staple from the strategic reserves of developing countries. Most of the imports are of doubtful nutritional value with some of the grains having been stored for upward of ten years. Why should Nigeria with unemployment problem continue to create millions of jobs for other countries through mindless imports? Why should we continue to put pressure on our foreign exchange by expending two billion dollars ($2 billion) yearly on rice importation? Can’t we eat what we grow? Can’t we grow what we eat? What about the vast hectares of God-given arable land to this country?

    President Muhammadu Buhari would no longer stomach the abnormal situation, hence the setting up of Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) on November 17, 2015 and later Presidential Task Force on Agricultural Commodities and Production. Governor Amosun as well recoils at this gargantuan amount of money used to fund the economies of other nations, hence his commitment to break the jinx and ensure we plant, process and package what we consume.

    According to Amosun, “Our past efforts at tackling poverty in all ramifications will amount to nothing if concerted efforts are not taken to ensure food security to people at all income levels. This is why today is a significant day, not just for Ogun State, but for Nigeria as well. The MITROS Rice Mill, the first of its kind in Ogun State, will create jobs for our farmers. From now on they will no longer need to travel far and wide in search of milling facilities.”

    The MITROS Rice, especially the popular Ofada rice, is of better quality, hygienic and fresh in comparison to imports of contentious nutritional value. The MITROS rice, apart from creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs, costs less than the imported ones and has been bagged for the benefit of every segment of the society – 1kg, 5kg, 10kg, 25kg and 50kg.

    Today, Ogun State joins the proud league of rice-producing states in Nigeria, and MITROS Rice becomes part and parcel of the unfolding story of Nigeria’s rice revolution. The journey of a thousand miles, it is said, begins with a single step. Today, we take that step, confident that the journey ahead of us will yield results and impact our people beyond our most ambitious expectations. We will be keen learners, and strive to get better with each passing day, and each planting season. And, we are extending our hand of partnership to the private sector; we welcome you to take the lead in this agricultural revolution that is unfolding in Ogun State.

    The Amosun administration has now blazed a trail in rice revolution. Big (and small businesses) should now take advantage of the enabling environment created by the current government by investing massively in rice plantation, processing and packaging in Ogun State.

    The Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, said the apex bank would give credit facility to farmers at five per cent interest rate as part of the Muhammadu Buhari government’s strategy to increase food production and self-sufficiency in the country.

    We congratulate Senator Ibikunle Amosun for another feather in his cap. President Muhammadu Buhari deserves all plaudits for walking the talk in agriculture. Things can only get better in Ogun State and Nigeria at large.

    • Soyombo, media aide to the Ogun State Governor, sent this piece via densityshow@yahoo.com

  • Wasting N10 billion on solar energy for varsities

    The federal government’s N10 billion proposal for the electrification of 37 federal universities and seven university teaching hospitals across the country came under intense criticism at the meeting of the Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, last week Thursday, December 14. And rightly so.

    At the budget hearing, the managing director, Rural Electrification Agency, stated that N10 billion has been earmarked for the project, “Rural Electrification Access Programme in Federal Universities.”  While the news media indicated that Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe-led committee was deeply concerned at the insensitive preference of streetlight for universities, amidst several other priority needs begging for government attention, the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (MPWH) has since come out with a correction stating that the budgeted N10 billion is for a “Rural Electrification Access Programme in Federal Universities” that is expected to “rejuvenate the education system.”

    I would suggest that the concern by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Power and his colleagues holds great validity, for the following reasons –

    First, A review of “Part IX – Rural Electrification” of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005 (EPSRA) leaves no ambiguity as to its focus on providing electricity to rural dwellers.  Indeed, a review of any definition of the word “rural” would indicate a consistency of such areas as being located outside of towns and cities.  Thus, the question arises, since when did universities and hospitals, typically located in the heart of cosmopolitan and urban centres, qualify to be considered under the Rural Electrification Agency (REA)’s mandate?

    Second, with an estimated 55% of urban areas currently electrified versus 35% electrification of rural areas, should the N10 billion not be put into the Rural Electrification Fund that is specified under Section 88.12 of the EPSRA to facilitate investment in the electrification of these areas that are typically not commercially viable, due to demographic sparseness and lack of affordability?  If we are to address the issues that typically bedevil our rural areas – lack of job creation, poor quality of life, fire, health and environmental challenges from the use of wood burning and kerosene lighting up rural homes, etc., surely, funding the electrification of rural Nigeria holds greater value for the use of this money.  The use of the N10 billion, would go a long way towards meeting the following objectives of the Rural Electrification Fund – a) Achieving equitable regional access to electricity; b) Expanding the grid and developing off-grid electrification; c) Providing subsidies for consumption that will stimulate innovative approaches to rural electrification, etc.

    Third, implementation of the delivery of solar powered energy to the universities and hospitals, comparatively, is not cheap.  On the average, wholesale price of solar energy is N39.9/kWh versus N16.9/kWh for on-grid electricity.  This fact is even more important when we take into consideration that fact that some of these institutions receive close to 24 hours of electricity supply, as premium customers, in most of the electricity distribution franchise areas where they are located.  In plain terms, why should the Nigerian taxpayers be saddled with purchasing a product for over two times the cost of what is readily available to these institutions?

    If anything, this N10 billion solar power proposal by the ministry seems to be another in the increasingly inexorable march by the federal government back into state-ownership of generation assets (on the back of the General Electric fast power project that is being funded by the federal government), contrary to the privatisation objectives of the National Electric Power Policy, 2001 (NEPP) and EPSRA.  The policy and the law resulted from a recognition that the government, due to decades of inefficiency, wastage of taxpayer funds and corruption, in operating the state-owned electric utility company, Nigerian Electricity Power Authority (NEPA), has no business operating in a sector that should be private sector driven.  Unfortunately, here we go again.

    Fourth, one is not sure how the expenditure of the proposed N10 billion equates to the rejuvenation of the educational system, as stated by the MPWH.  I agree that such rejuvenation is critically needed in a nation that has seen a dramatic decline in the quality of the education that its citizens used to enjoy.  I would suggest, however, that greater impact for such rejuvenation can be best achieved by investing in paying teachers better salaries, providing academic supplies, re-establishing higher standards of academic excellence, rehabilitating physical infrastructure, etc. These are the mandate of the Ministry of Education.  Additionally, if the objective of the N10 billion initiative is to “rejuvenate the education system,” does the MPWH also plan to subsidize private institutions, for equity and for the achievement of comprehensive results?

    Unfortunately, this proposal comes at a time when the power sector is facing critical and strangulating financial challenges to building the capacity for the sustainable electricity supply that will drive the growth of our economy.  The liquidity constraint means that the electricity value chain continues to be deprived of the funding needed to inject the efficiency that is desperately needed in the sector.  As a matter of fact, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) is burdened with a market shortfall that may eventually collapse the sector, without reasonable government intervention.

    In view of this, I would suggest that the N10 billion can be better and efficiently utilized by the government in expanding the national grid, by building up the capacity of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), a wholly government-owned company, to wheel energy sustainably and reliably, given its history of being consistently underfunded and its critical role in the value chain. Alternatively, the money could be applied to subsidizing the consumption of the lifeline electricity consumers, who struggle with electricity affordability issues, as seed money for the Consumer Power Assistance Fund (CPAF), which still has not be set up, as a fundamental requirement of EPSRA. REA, going outside of its mandate, endangers the hopes of rural dwellers for electricity that will improve their lives and creates opportunity for wastage of funds that are desperately needed for priority projects in the sector.  In this era of “Change” as a mantra or common refrain, we must move away from politicized and ill-thought out policies to that which holds the greatest good for greatest number of our citizens.

    Thus, it is easy to understand why the Senate Committee on Power, like many Nigerians and major stakeholders in the sector, cannot understand why REA wants to spend a huge amount of money to provide solar power in universities and hospitals when rural communities that require electrification, for which the agency was created, are left in darkness – whether its proposed N10 billion initiative is for street lighting or rejuvenating the educational system.

    • Samson writes from Abuja.

  • Leadership, labour and sustainable development

    The pursuit of sustainable development is the essence and singular objective of governance and the objective of every institution and organization within the state. This is the nation-building process which the entire people are engaged. The people could be classified into two broad classes: the political class represented by the government; and the people, represented by labour.

    The leadership initiates the nation-building process, by exhibiting a sense of nationalism and thereby inspiring the patriotic zeal of the citizens, with the singular objective of mobilizing them to build the nation. This is the basis of the modern state and the philosophy upon which the Nigerian nation was founded and the spirit with which her independence was fought. History reports the fact that Nigeria’s independence is result of the collaborative efforts of the nationalists and trade unionists.

    In the struggle for independence, strikes by trade unions facilitated the activities of nationalists. Strikes by organized labour, were justified and geared towards ending the exploitative socio-economic order of the time. At this time, there was popular nationalistic fervour to terminate colonial rule by all means. The objective was to create and optimize local opportunities for the benefit of Nigerians. The quest for self-rule was thereby considered fundamental to development; trade unionism was therefore popularized and strikes were therefore legitimized. For this purpose, blackmail, subversion and any action that could undo the imperial order of the time was justified. The attainment of independence notwithstanding, strikes have remained a re-occurring decimal in our national life and have indeed, assumed the benchmark by which the existence of trade unions and the performance of their leadership is measured.

    Several decades after independence, Nigeria is yet to be launched on the path of sustainable development. The political class is yet to achieve a common nationalism while the citizens are yet to be organized into a productive workforce. The reason is that the political class has been distracted by the inordinate quest for power. The non-recognition of this lapse and the failure to step into the gap by labour is the bane of our national development. The political class has since independence failed in developing the human capacity to run a productive system. This class abandoned economic development, which ought to be the objective of politics, for the inordinate quest for political power. Post-independence    labour leadership ought to have made the difference by generating ideas that could transform Nigerians into a productive workforce. Regrettably, labour activism has been focused on self-serving, unproductive and economic destructive activism, as it was during the colonial era.  This is excusable. In the light of the limited education of the labour leaders of the time, there were no viable options to strike actions. At this time, industrial unions were restricted to, and led by a class of citizens to whom the derogatory term, ‘Labourers’ aptly applied. By virtue of the limited education of the labour leaders of the time, there was no apparent alternative to populist mob actions, as these leaders could hardly engage intellectually.

    The gain of political independence notwithstanding, the resort to strike actions by trade unions did not abate. Due to the ideological war between the West and Eastern nations, labour leaders pitched tent with deviant, belligerent and ‘subversive’ socialist ideologues of the East. Part of the gains of this alignment however, is in the intellectual enrichment of trade unions vide the educational scholarship offered to labour leaders and which was extended to young and impressionable intellectuals. Thus, industrial activism was introduced to ivory towers through the activities of impressive adventurous young academics who enjoyed the benevolence of socialist ideologues. This explains the transformation that has taken place in trade unionism since independence, which period witnessed large scale unionization and admission of impressive academics and educational associations into organized labour fold.

    Current unionists and industrial activists are therefore well-informed and intellectually grounded. This notwithstanding, industrial activism has not transcended the boring and disruptive strike actions to something intellectually engaging, constructive and development-oriented. The resort to strikes is not only a betrayal of the level of sophistication of present day unions, it is also disruptive of our socio-economic development process. The labour leadership has not been able to overcome this lapse, because of the lack of understanding that the burden of leadership actually fell on her after independence, as the politicians got distracted with the inordinate struggle for political power to the detriment of economic development. Thus, while considerable enterprise is engaged in developing the electoral process, there isn’t a commensurate effort at establishing sustainable development systems that guarantees the socio-economic well-being of citizens.

    Sustainable development demands the mobilization, processing, deployment and access to the national human and natural resource potential for the optimum benefit of the citizens. There is need to evolve the systems required to institutionalize this process, which organized labour is most suited to do; and to define and prescribe the kind of leadership required to drive and sustain it. To be able to provide the requisite leadership, labour leadership need to appreciate the fact that the people (labour) is indeed, the centre and main object of development. Organized labour leadership ought to understand that;

    First, that the major national handicap is in our inability to be organized into a productive workforce; and the failure of our politics to produce the leadership type that appreciates the above imperative; and the imperative of developing and evolving a social system and infrastructure required to facilitate the mobilization and processing of ideas into consumable products and services which are accessible by citizens.

    The foregoing should constitute indispensable factors in labour activism if organized labour is to play its leadership role in moving the citizens out of the current survivalist mode. Industrial activism must transcend its current agenda of organizing simply to scramble for resources for personal and group survival. The current state of its social sophistication demands that labour leaders re-construct the narrative of industrial activism, if it is to live up to its high premium. They need to appreciate the fact that labour which constitute the human capital of a nation, transcends those who earn fixed wages to everyone involved in the processes of;  Ideas, creativity and innovations, which are products of human intellectual enterprises, which deserve rewards; Production and processing of innovations and creative ideas, which are done through human entrepreneurial investments and engagements; The process of determining the volume and quality of production and the needs; and, the ability or capacity of the people to consume the benefits of the products and services.

    All of the above processes demand adequate incentives and motivation. This is by the development of appropriate process and scheme to harness and enable the citizens to engage in the four processes of; generating ideas, deploying resources to process or produce the ideas, ensure that the products are consumed; and to develop the capacity to consume the products of the activities at the various levels.

    The integrity and importance of industrial activism, therefore, is the extent to which it is committed to sustaining the above processes. The importance of these processes is that every citizen is involved in at least one or several of them, either as an inventor, a creator, innovator; producer, processor; or consumer. Leadership responsibility involves ensuring that citizens are incentivized and motivated to participate in these processes and thereby ensure sustainable development. This is the most and only viable way of empowering the citizens, sustaining economic development and thereby rendering industrial unions useful in the nation-building process. This is the leadership required at a time as this; and labour leaders have no choice if they are to remain relevant.

    • Iyoke, legal practitioner was a member of 2014 National Conference.

  • The dawn is almost here

    It occurred to me in Ilesa during the turning of the sod of Ilesa Water Project on Monday December 18, that after I had prayed in the Islamic way to also pray with my favourite Bible verses. This is Psalm 24. I am particular about verses 7-10 which say: Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

    8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

    9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

    10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

    The year is coming to an end and we must salute you for your perseverance, patience, sacrifice, dedication and labour of love. There is no better time to acknowledge and tell you this than now. You have done well so far. What is left is just to thank you, particularly the 28 per cent of you who have endured modulated salaries. These are the 20 per cent who earn 75 per cent of their monthly pay and the eight per cent who collect 50 per cent of their salary. The remaining 72 per cent, as you all know, have been earning their full pay and are not being owed any outstanding salaries, irrespective of the spin being given to this by our traducers. Even at that, we must thank everyone for the sacrifice you have all made in other areas. This is because your relationship as workers is contractual and I want to assure you that everyone will get his or her full pay when this is over.

    We are unfortunate to be in this situation because we are in strange and difficult times. Most of you do not know that what we are in today is the equivalent of a state of war. In a state of war, beyond the destruction of lives and property, there is also shortage of resources to live on. If you remove the destruction and physical devastations, the acute financial constraint is the equivalent of a war condition. We are therefore in an economic war situation.

    Interestingly, I never shied from telling anyone this. As far back as February 14, 2014, I told the world that we were in economic war situation. This was reported by The Vanguard. Nobody remembered that I said this then. Even at that, I was struggling to pay salaries then. But before then, in 2011, when salaries was being increased, I had warned that it would be unsustainable. Nobody knew that there would be theft of over 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day for 24 months or the glutting of the international oil market that would later crash oil price and cut Nigeria’s revenue by more than 60 per cent.

    Notwithstanding what we are going through now, as painful as it is, the reality is that it is impossible to do beyond what we are doing. If anyone is in doubt, consider these figures.

    From July 2015 – when we started paying modulated salaries, our income from all sources, including gross allocation from the federation account, internally generated revenue and two tranches of Paris Club Refund – to November 2017, is N121.6 billion. Meanwhile, our total personnel cost (excluding gratuities) within the same period would have been N104.4 billion if we had paid the full salaries of N3.6 billion every month. Our personnel cost therefore is 85.8 per cent of our total revenues from all sources.

    However, this is an academic exercise because before the allocations get to us, some deductions would have been made on commitments already made since as far back as the 1970s, up till now; and we are also paying modulated salaries.

    The reality, however, is that our net income is N61.7 billion while our real total personnel cost is N63.98 billion. This stands at 103.6 per cent of our total net revenue. I obtained these figures from the Accountant General of the State and you can individually verify them in his office. The implication of this grim statistics is that we have spent more on salaries and emoluments than our revenues from all sources.

    The question to ask then is how have I been able to pay salaries and other emoluments more than the government has received? If you want to be fair to me, that is the question to ask. It has been very difficult, yet we keep begging and appealing to workers. Beyond paying workers, we still have a government to run and a popular mandate of good and progressive governance to meet. We made campaign promises and we must also deliver on them.

    We know some of our opponents and traducers are hiding behind the salary issue and have been instigating the workers against us. But again, what more can we ask from a government that, without prompting, between December 2010 to December 2013 paid workers 13th month bonus salaries; which restructured leave bonus to be paid on a worker’s birthday or service engagement date; which without prompting quadrupled and gave vehicle and housing allowances to workers? How could we in all honesty categorise such government as being insensitive and anti-worker?

    It should go without saying that if we have the resources, we will provide flying cars for the workers. We will put our lives on the line to achieve that. Nobody should therefore fail to understand the circumstance that prompted us to pay modulated salaries to 28 per cent of our workforce.

    When this problem began, we had to keep taking loans, up to N25 billion, in order to pay salaries. But we must face reality; we cannot continue to give what we don’t have. I have extrapolated from the statistics I gave you earlier, that should we even want to give workers everything we have, it is still not adequate.

    Yet we must do other things. These figures show we are in a quandary. It is beyond the sentimental and emotional. The truth is: our state requires an extraordinary push to overcome the financial challenges we face currently. The infrastructure we are putting in place is part of this extraordinary push. The roads, for instance, are to open up the state for business and wealth creation. The schools are to provide the infrastructure of the mind needed for development. The social protection programmes we put in place are to lift the vulnerable portion of our population and prevent tension and crime.

    None of the roads leads to my house. They are to jumpstart the economy of the state. The Gbongan to Akoda Road, Oba Adesoji Aderemi East Bypass and Osogbo Old Garage to Ila-Odo Road will open up the corridors along which they passed and it will be amazing what turnaround these will bring to the economy of the state. Whatever we are getting as IGR today will be quadrupled. That is our vision and target.

    We are grateful that to a large extent, you have collaborated with us and supported us. We are simply asking for further perseverance, understanding, patience and sacrifice. You must not fail to recognise, as Chief Obafemi Awolowo admonished us, that the darkest part of the night is just before the dawn.

    I told labour leaders in my recent meeting with them what Comrade Hassan Sunmonu said in a public function, that something told him that we will be out of these difficulties by March of next year. I agree with him. It will come to pass Insha Allah!

    I may not figure out how this will happen now but I am reminded of the passage in the Bible where Prophet Elisha, at the height of a terrible famine his nation faced, prophesied that by the next day food would be abundantly available and for cheap, but an unbelieving nobleman guffawed and quipped that even if the heavens were to be opened, the prophecy would be impossible to come to pass. The Prophet replied him that he would see it but he would not be part of it.

    True to God, it happened but he was trampled to death under the feet of the exultant people in their most joyous moment. I believe it will happen and you will all be part of it. Our own season of famine will be over by March of 2018. Aamin!

    I am pleading with you; don’t let the enemy of our race deceive you. You have patiently borne the brunt of this situation to be able to patiently wait for another three months. Don’t be persuaded to change course.

    Remember that we have other options, which include rightsizing the workforce and living within our means. We have not done this, but have decided to weather the storm together until we dock at safe harbour. Let us keep it at that.

    • Ogbeni Aregbesola is Osun State Governor. This piece is extracted from his address to workers during the civil service week.

  • Curtains 2017

    Another timeline in conventional calendar is on the verge of expiry, as we here post the last outing for this column in the year 2017. And all we want to do with this piece is think back and be thankful, because there are many things to thanks Heavens for.

    Today is Christmas, and humankind is with near unanimity in celebratory mood despite the different religious persuasions of the diverse peoples. Permit me to seize the opportunity availed me by this platform to say ‘Merry Christmas!!!’ to you, my dear reader.

    From the North Pole to the South, today’s event is customarily an entrée of sorts for the grand exit of an ebbing year. With barely a week to see off the year 2017 into the annals of history, therefore, we must acknowledge and be thankful that it is great grace to have come this far in spite of the enormous rigours of living – particularly in a clime like Nigeria.

    And, trust me, living has been quantumly rigorous on Main Street where most Nigerians reside, if perchance it’s not been much so on Privy Street. It was widely reported, of course, that the country’s economy exited recession in this outgoing year, while the latest statistics cited by official minders showed rouge inflation to have tracked back for several months in a row. But the practical effect on Main Street was that there has been scant upswing in general living standards, which turned dismal as it could get in recent history. As at the close of last week, for instance, many Nigerians were locked in sheer existential forage for gasoline at filling stations where the famous Hobbesian dictum about survivalist instincts making life nasty, brutish and short seem a gross understatement.

    That you are out there reading this piece, however, means you survived the experience. And for that we should be thankful. It goes without saying, among other things, that many people we personally knew severally looked forward to the incoming 2018 and indeed saw the year within reach, but they demised just before its dawning and aren’t here at this time to partake of the crossover. So, we really must thank Heavens.

    Even at the collective level, we should be thankful that the Nigerian nationhood is not in turmoil as to have uprooted most us from our comfort zones. Just take a look at the hapless victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast. It needs no arcane insight to see how much of a horrid experience they are having, occasioned by basic incapacity of the governance system in our country to redress even the most elementary pangs of their displacement.

    And yet, the entirety of our very nationhood sometime in the year verged on imploding along the lines of ethnic loyalties. President Muhammadu Buhari by his own testimony fought his fiercest battle with ill health this year, pitching the forced unity of Nigeria’s constituent nationalities on tenterhooks owing to primordial tensions over the open-ended pendency that then surrounded his return to the saddle. That was despite the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, very ably holding fort in his absence. Well, the president is now back with obvious vigour and healthily throttling at the helm, and some calm has been restored to the polity. The portents of a counter scenario for Nigeria’s fragile unity were simply too grave, and we must be thankful for having avoided these.

    Also, separatist hotheads inspired by fiery crusader, Nnamdi Kanu, threatened our collective peace to some considerable extent. But thankfully, Kanu has now been forced to burrow underground amid security crackdown – deflating his breakaway agitation and restoring some calm to the southeast geopolity. Just before that happened though, you would think the region was beyond rescue from the secessionist high road, as could have compelled another recourse to force of arms in safeguarding the territorial status quo. Taking from the lessons of Nigerian nationhood history, we should be thankful for being spared such a grim recourse.

    As it seems now, moderation by the majority appears to have prevailed in the southeast region, while Kanu has submarined from relevance in the scheme of things. His followers denied that he fled, though. They hold the military liable for his disappearance and have demanded that he be produced, whereas the military insisted that he slipped away before they could apprehend him. The salient point here is: whatever may be the truth about Kanu’s fate, it would be a grave error if the Buhari administration leaves the issues at stake in his separatist agitation too long in abeyance. Those issues are only simmering now, to be more rabidly canvassed by another arrowhead in the near future unless the government avails itself of the present armistice to begin redressing the grievances. Meanwhile we should be thankful for the present peace.

    This outgoing year leaves a major dent in the anti-corruption armour of the Buhari administration, but we must acknowledge its modest efforts in staunching the deeply ingrained culture of graft in our national life. It was in 2017, for instance, that the president – for the first time since taking office – moved against persons in his inner ring when they came down with corruption indictment. He removed former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir Lawal from office, along with former National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Director-General Ayo Oke over graft allegations. The catch, however, is: whereas Oke is already being fiercely hunted for prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lawal curiously seems out of the prosecution radar and it’s been a defiant mum from the presidency.

    But easily the biggest smear on the graft war has been the endless fudging by principal officers of government on who is liable for recalling fleeing former Presidential Pension Task Team chairman, Abdulrasheed Maina, into civil service despite his being wanted for prosecution on multibillion-naira pension fraud by the EFCC. Maina till date has remained in hiding, while denying any guilt and laying it on thickly against the integrity of the Buhari administration. He openly insists, among others, that the president actually is privy to the game plan of his restoration to the civil service. And only last week he once again spoke from his hideout, citing EFCC chief Ibrahim Magu as being in the know of his whereabouts contrary to public affirmations by the anti-graft czar.

    “When I heard him that day, I laughed…because Nigerians were being taken for a ride. How could Magu that I respect so much say that? Because he lied! How could you say you were going to fetch me in Dubai, USA (or the) UK when you know I am here in Nigeria with you, when you know I have been in Nigeria for ages, when you know I have been working with you? Come on, come on! I am tired of this and I feel I am not getting justice,” Maina was reported to have said by the Sun newspaper. But again, it’s been a resounding mum from the presidency.

    All in all, the outgoing year has as much been fair as it’s been foul, and we should really be thankful for outliving its tides. As I rest this piece, therefore, kindly join me to say: ‘Fare thee well, year 2017!’

     

    • Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.
  • Dogara’s golden heart

    Dogara’s golden heart

    As I clock 50, what is uppermost to me, really, is not longevity, I want to see how well I have invested the 50 years that God has given me. You know, when you are alive, you can choose to invest in yourself, or in others. I think honour is when you serve others”. That was Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, the 14th Speaker of the House of Representatives at a charity football competition organized to raise funds for Internally Displaced Persons and the less privileged last week in Abuja to mark his golden jubilee. He was born on December 26, 1967 at the then Tafawa Balewa province, Northeast Nigeria.

    The story of Dogara’s 50 year sojourn on earth is that of abundance of the grace of God almighty. It is a true story of how the invisible hands of the almighty and His guardian angels have been watching and guarding him all the way. His life journey is a manifestation of God’s unfailing love.

    In all his adult life, Dogara has never celebrated his birthday. He had always said that he won’t celebrate until he reaches 50 years of age and all efforts and attempts to make him do anything symbolic of celebration proved abortive. He has faithfully kept to his resolution. I recall that on December 26, 2015, at around 9am at his family home in Gwarangah, Bogoro Local Government Area, Bauchi State, his wife, Mrs. Gimbiya Dogara, had prepared a cake on a table for him to cut and all of us waited so we could join him but to our shock, as soon as he sighted the cake, he turned away from it went on to greet visitors in the living room. She then beckoned on their eldest daughter who joined her to cut the cake on his behalf.

    That is the character and person of Hon. Dogara. His yes is yes, his no is no and people who know him will tell you that if he gives you his word, you cannot only take it to the bank but you can as well go to bed and sleep with your two eyes closed. His integrity and credibility are his greatest assets and this has been attested to by all and sundry including the general overseer and founder of Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, who two months ago said of him: “I have zero doubt about his integrity, I will stand with him anywhere.”

    To mark his golden jubilee tomorow, instead of the pomp and pageantry that usually charaterise birthdays of people of his status, the Speaker has rather opted to hold a thanksgiving service in the church and visit 19 orphanages and motherless babies homes where he will wine and dine with the children, speak to them and give them words of hope and encouragement and also offer his token donation of food, clothing, and other items.  No wonder Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man has extolled the virtues of the Speaker and commended him for choosing to celebrate his birthday by embarking on philanthropic and humanitarian activities to help the IDPs and less privileged.

    A highly devoted Christian who fears God and does not take that which is not his, he is also a prudent manager of resources and at the same time, a generous man. Friends, foes, and even his worst critics, admit that he is an embodiment of leadership. Nigeria’s eminent jurist and legal luminary, Professor Ben Nwabueze, said that each time he sees and listens to the Speaker presiding in the House, it gives him hope that all is not lost in Nigeria and that we still have people who can be entrusted with the affairs of Nigeria.

    To Dogara, public office should never be used for personal elevation or gain but should be seen as a call to duty, to serve God and humanity. His philosophy and belief is that leaders are like the moon whose light should radiate and reflect in their followers like the stars and that leadership is not a zero-sum game and that the primary purpose of government in a democracy is to serve the common good of the people. Every government decision must be one that is anchored on delivering greater good for the greatest number of the people.  To achieve this, it is his conviction that education must not only be free and compulsory, but also of the highest possible standard. It must also be given priority over and above all other considerations as the cornerstone of development of every society without which no progress can be made at both societal and individual levels.

    It is also his belief that democracy – which is the best system of government to have ever been invented by mankind – should deliver on its promises of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He would openly admit that the challenges confronting Nigeria is a direct result of failure of leadership. Thus, leaders, according to him, must collectively admit that they have failed the people and then chart a new course for the socio-economic and political development of the nation.

    His dream, vision and aspiration is that sooner rather than later, a better Nigeria will emerge where both the haves and the have-nots will have a place that will accommodate them in the system; where room will be available for all.

    The House of Representatives under his able leadership is making giant strides and has broken all previous records of performance since independence in 1960. In two years, about 200 bills were passed,  work is in progress on 1000 others, over 1000 resolutions covering different spheres of our national life have been passed, in addition to almost a thousand public petitions from Nigerians which have been addressed. This has surpassed records by all previous assemblies and was made possible by Dogara’s foresight when he commissioned a team of legal luminaries and experts to reform Nigeria’s outdated and obsolete laws that dates back to 1800s.

    He believes and practices politics of give and take, consensus building and compromise, accommodating both friends and foes, putting aside that which is personal for the collective interests of all. His quality of being peaceful and one who strongly believes in building bridges of friendship and love across the divides have in no small way, helped in bringing the desired stability in the House. He has continued to enjoy enormous support and loyalty from his colleagues, who acknowledge his transparency and open-door policy.

    The Speaker pushed for passage of the #NotTooYoungToRun bill aimed at reducing the minimum age required by law to stand for elections in Nigeria. He is also a strong advocate for the autonomy of local governments in Nigeria. As a legacy and to his eternal credit, his North East Development Commission Bill is now an Act and the commission that pioneer the work of rebuilding the region has been created.

    The Speaker’s honesty, patriotism, sterling leadership qualities and political sagacity are being recognised, commended, thus earning him awards and honours and recognitions too numerous to mention.

    Even President Muhammadu Buhari was full of praises for the Speaker after working closely with him in these past two years. He has said that the Speaker’s performance had reinforced his confidence in the country’s youths, noting especially that “with Dogara’s performance as Speaker, fears that the country’s younger politicians have been pushed into background are unfounded.”

    Dogara prides himself as a beacon of hope, icon of transparency and progressive leadership. He is a determined go-getter, an embodiment of moral rectitude, epitome of humility and repository of knowledge and a man of destiny. As Josiah Holland Gilbert prayed about 200 years ago, we too in this challenging pace in our nation can only borrow his prayers and say – God give us more men like Yakubu Dogara… A time like this demands strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands; Men who possess opinions and a will; Men who have honor…”

     

    • Hassan is Special Adviser on Media & Public Affairs to the Speaker.
  • Kaduna is 100, hurray! + matters of the heart (2)

    Kaduna is 100, hurray! + matters of the heart (2)

    The centennial anniversary of Kaduna city took place recently, and from reports, it was a great outing.

    President Buhari was represented by the FCT Minister as the Governor MALLAM NASIR EL-RUFAI revealed the historic importance of Kaduna, the first Northern Administra-tive headquarters.

    Many dignitaries attended the durbar to mark the event; and do I wish I had been there!

    As a girl in Zaria then, our favorite weekend trip was to Kaduna: the week our Dad said we would be travelling again would be a whole week of joyful anticipation. Kaduna was (is) a city you cannot explore all in one weekend. Plus, my uncle in Kaduna had a horse – so horse riding and swimming were part of the bill! Some school friends lived in Kaduna too, so it was always a ‘visiting day’ as well.

    Today, when my sister and I tell the children that we used to drive down to Kaduna and have meat pies the size of the children [Idris Morrow Bakeries] – they laugh in disbelief, imagining we are exaggerating.

    But we’re not. Life was fun back then.

    The beautiful thing is that from sustained reports Governor Nasir El-Rufai is doing a great work to position Kaduna for its pride of place- in the future.

    Matters of the Heart (2) This series, Matters of the Heart, is for the light – hearted reader, it is all on a lighter note; it’s certainly not for the big-big professors of anthropology and scholars of archeology!

    Bianca & Ojukwu contd – Alright, I admit the Ojukwu/Onoh age gap was exaggerated but with Ojukwu coming in only 6 years later than Onoh’s righteous indignation was at the thought of giving his daughter’s hand in marriage to a very possible schoolmate! Or was Bianca to call both her father and her husband: Papa?!

    It took Bianca many years to convince her father. Love prevailed, the former beauty queen and the former Biafran leader were married and lived happily together for many years, displaying their love for all to see.

    Theirs was the Nigerian romance story till the end, when Ojukwu passed on at a ripe old age. He was given a state burial and Lady Bianca was thus widowed at her young age.

    Then it happened.

    PM News ran an article they titled Ojukwu and Bianca: The Secret not shared. To be more exact, that caption should have been Ojukwu: the secret Bianca never knew.

    This was Bianca whose father was on the verge of disowning her for daring to speak of wanting to marry Emeka Ojukwu.

    Bianca will probably never get over the shock she received when Ojukwu’s will was read. A secret love child was named, and given great property!

    Chief Ojukwu named Teni Haman in his will as his daughter (his other children were well known to Bianca). He willed Jubilee Hotel, Zaria to Teni, and also gave her a share of his landed property in Nnewi.

    Oh, the warnings of a father!

    With that singular act, Ojukwu proved right, the misgivings of C.C. Onoh.

    Note that its not the having of the child I detest: it is the deliberate failure to disclose crucial information of the existence of a whole human being: and the person is one’s child, one’s own flesh and blood!

    To think that every day we were inundated with images of Ojukwu’s love displays with Bianca – not knowing there was something hidden so underhand, so deep!

    On this one I would give my thumbs up to the OBASANJO MODEL – no dramatic displays of affection:- straight up he would tell of his “battalion” (20 children from over 10 women): take it or leave it, shikena!

    (Well today, 5 years later, Bianca is in court contesting Ojukwu’s will. She is demanding more property – for her own children).

     

    1. ORJI UZOR KALU OUK – In his biodata, this Chairman of Slok Holdings, chairman of Daily Sun and New Telegraph Newspapers and former Abia State Governor has 3 children, listed as Neya, Olivia and Nicole. But I can tell you there are 7, all girls from his wife Dr. Ifeoma. The former Governor is a very engaging personality and a good conversationalist but for some reason he does not like to talk about his family.

    I had even asked him once about his wife (see picture).

    She’s fine, she’s in the U.S, she was here for Easter, – that was it.

    He was referring to his first wife Dr. Ifeoma Orji Kalu. She’s a reserved but brilliant woman, an A Student with multiple Masters’ degrees.

    She comes from a family which has 13 medical doctors; Dr. Tim Menakaya, one-time Nigerian Minister is her uncle.

    Something though, is not quite right; is very hush-hush there. My suspicion is she has Bipolar Condition. She lives permanently in the U.S now, not quite herself, I’m afraid.

    OUK has really managed the situation all the while, as best as any man could. But this has led him to find another – along with the obvious male-child syndrome!

    Today he is married to the really lovely, leggy beauty Ifunnaya. She lives in his beautiful house in London where her primary duty is: to bear him children! They have 2 sons and a daughter already and Ifunnaya is still as slim and elegant as any single girl!

    By the way OUK previously had American Residency; he gladly gave it up to contest political office in Nigeria. His house in the US then was in a neighborhood where everyone had their own helipad.

    OUK is one of the few Nigerian billionaires listed on Forbes, and owns Nigeria’s most expensive private jet. The Gulfstream G650 is said to be the fastest private jet in the world. OUK has 4 other jets besides – making him the Nigerian with largest fleet of private jets, more jets than Africa’s richest, Aliko Dangote. But just ask him his most prized possession and quickly he will tell you that nothing is – vanity of vanity, all is vanity, he says!

    • Last line – Merry Christmas to you, from Princess!

    07055547031 whatsapp / SMS

  • Fighting Boko Haram and ISIS with $1b

    Why is ISIS targeting Mali, Nigeria, Chad, Niger and others? The fall of its de facto Syrian capital Raqqa signalled the death of the Islamic State (ISIS) in the Middle East. As the group flees the Middle East, the greatest lifeline for it might come from the jihadists that form the large chunk of ISIS in Africa. State governors recently approved the removal of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to fight the Boko Haram insurgents and others after a national security summit organised by the National Economic Council. The Vice President said: “It was after a national security summit of the National Economic Council that governors at their forum decided to approve some money for national security.” The money is meant to fight Boko Haram, ISIS and others who are shaking up security sector in West Africa.

    Up to 6 000 Africans who fought for the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group in Iraq and Syria could return home, the African Union’s top security official warned calling on countries to prepare for the threat. Smail Chergui, the AU’s commissioner for peace and security, said African nations would need to work closely with each other and share intelligence to counter returning militants. “There are reports of 6 000 African fighters among the 30, 000 foreign elements who joined this terrorist group in the Middle East,” Chergui told a meeting in Algiers, according to the Algeria Press Service news agency.

    France has gone into alliance with the G5 Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad) to help them deal with security challenges. About EUR 800 million of financial assistance is planned for the 2017-22 period, half of which will be used to acquire new equipment. The focus will be on high-risk areas in countries situated in the crosshairs of terrorist attacks. France also highlighted its determination to strengthen its military co-operation with the police of Sahelian countries in order to facilitate better and more efficient Special Forces interventions in the event of a major terrorist attack. As part of Operation Barkhane, which was launched in August 2014, France aims to “help the G5 Sahel partners take ownership of the fight against armed terrorist groups (ATG) throughout the Sahel-Sahara region.” About 3,500 soldiers from the French Army are currently deployed on the ground.

    “The return of these elements to Africa poses a serious threat to our national security and stability and requires specific treatment and intense co-operation between African countries,” he said.  Tens of thousands of foreign fighters joined the Sunni extremist group after it seized vast swathes of Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate in 2014. But the group has suffered a host of losses to both its territory and military capabilities in the last year.

    Backed by a US-led coalition, Iraqi forces gradually retook control of all territory lost to the jihadists, declaring that the country was now liberated from its control. In Syria, the group faces western-backed Syrian rebels, jihadist rivals and government forces that are supported by Russia and Iran. But the losses have sparked fears that ISIS’s remaining foreign fighters may now relocate, bringing their extremist ideology and violence with them.

    As the self-proclaimed Islamic State loses more territory in Syria and Iraq, will it lash out elsewhere, and what about al-Qaida? How are nations responding to the prospect of Islamic State recruits returning from Syria and Iraq, and how permanent are new security measures designed to protect against lone-wolf terrorism and domestic radicalization? Federal government needs more than one billion dollars to fight 6 000 African fighters among the 30 000 foreign elements who joined this terrorist group in the Middle East.

    While Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) was on the defensive militarily in Iraq and Syria, its fighters, fleeing beyond those borders, were expanding their attacks to Europe and Africa, the United Nations political affairs chief warned in the Security Council recently, urging action to combat the rise of terrorism. ISIL had enabled other such actions by providing guidance, assistance and inspiration through propaganda.  It had also reinforced its presence in West Africa and the Maghreb, and its affiliate Boko Haram was attempting to spread its influence by committing terrorist attacks beyond Nigeria with the several thousand fighters at its disposal.

    Funding and manpower remain a problem for the multinational force fighting Boko Haram in Northeast Nigeria. Nigeria, Chad, Cameroun, Niger and Mali wanted to stop the militants from crossing the long, porous borders between the five countries and kidnapping people – which was affecting tourism. Boko Haram has caused more than 10 million out of school children in Nigeria. There is rise in the internally displaced people in the five West Africa countries. ISIS have made civilians legitimate targets because they voted for the government that declared war on the group.

    Nigerians are asking themselves many questions. Key among them: Could the attacks have been avoided? Many see it as a failure of not just intelligence, but also a result of the security forces’ slow response. But the northeastern part of the country has not been adequately protected, with the region’s small Muslim population there often paying the heaviest price of killing of people in the five countries have become daily rituals.

    As Boko Haram continues to lose ground in Nigeria, its attacks inside Niger, Chad, Cameroun, Nigeria are becoming more brazen, frequent and gory. The group seems to have found in five countries the perfect ground to advance its ideology of violence and bloodshed. It has established within the country sleeper cells mainly made up of young radicalised youths, whom it’s using for such attacks. This, of course, helps it to show al-Qaeda and ISIS, to which it is affiliated and which is a key source of finances, that it still is a force to reckon with despite its losses in Nigeria.

    Our most powerful weapons against Boko Haram, ISIS, Al Qaeda and jihadists in our homeland are economic security and inclusion. It is doubtful that many of our countries can repel zealous invaders. We should fear ISIS, Boko Haram, and Al-Shabaabs of this world. However, the real nightmare is what will follow after them.

    The Islamic State group is looking to expand its global terror efforts deeper in Mali, Niger, Chad and other African countries, according to a new report. While the militants have already established a presence in both East and West Africa, it is now looking to the North amid reports it continues to be pushed from its Middle East strongholds. Nigerians should encourage the government to mobilize resources and fight ISIS, Boko Haram and others.

    • Donald writes from Benin City

     

  • South Africa: Will Ramaphosa Play?

    South Africa: Will Ramaphosa Play?

    Can Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, 65, newly elected leader of the African National Congress (ANC) who’s likely to emerge as the next South African President cleanse the Aegean stable? Will his assumption of the ANC mantle of leadership prepare the way for the recall of Jacob Zuma just as it happened to Thabo Mbeki? These are troubling riddles, writes Tony Iyare.

    As the frills and thrills of the recently held national conference of South Africa’s dominant party, the African National Congress (ANC) recedes, the reality of whether its newly elected leader, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, politician, businessman, activist and trade union leader can deliver to cleanse both the party and one of Africa’s most prosperous countries from the wrought of the Jacob Zuma years dawns.

    Ramaphosa, one of South Africa’s richest men whose wealth is put at $675 million by Forbes had defeated his rival, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former chairperson, African Union and ex-wife of President Jacob Zuma with 2,440 delegates to 2,261 to emerge President of the ANC in a hotly contested election at its 54th conference, evoking the fractious nature of the ruling party.

    No doubt, with the endorsement from heavyweights like Zweli Mkhize, Bheki Cele, Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, former Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, former KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Senzo Mchunu, Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) as well as Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng provincial ANC leadership, Ramaphosa was visibly poised to clinch victory in an election in which Jacob Zuma also backed his former wife.

    In fact, since his election as deputy president of the ANC in 2012, speculations have been rife that Ramaphosa, who was born in Soweto, Johannesburg on November 17, 1952 would run for the presidency of ANC and eventually succeed Zuma. His elevation as South Africa’s deputy President in 2014 and subsequent appointment as chairman of the National Planning Commission were like some dress rehearsals.

    Will he commence the process of social re-engineering to reposition the ANC? Quite frankly, many are now beginning to set an agenda for the post Jacob Zuma years.

    Ramaphosa’s election as ANC President perhaps should hopefully provide the basis for house cleaning of the ANC itself and make a leeway for the possible recall of Jacob Zuma who is harangued by 700 corruption charges and has been fingered for the raging “institutional collapse” in the country. Zuma has also virtually enmeshed the party in the mud.

    Unfortunately, he prefers to blame the trade unions for his undoing. “In an unprecedented move, we saw in the past few months our alliance partners marching side by side with right wing forces who are historical opponents of our democratic revolution, calling on the President of the ANC to step down”, Zuma fumes.

    Members of the ANC cannot also be exculpated in the slurred party’s image for consenting to keep a heavily soiled Zuma as their leader for this long. But whether Ramaphosa, ANC chief negotiator during South Africa’s transition to democracy who is said to have 32 properties and sits on the board of major companies, can walk his talk on corruption is another kettle of fish. Even the process that produced him was fraught with accusation of “intimidation, bribery, cheating and murder” from both sides.

    That’s why Zwelinzima Vavi, secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions does not think there was anything to chose between Ramaphosa and Dlamini-Zuma. This he reasons is a choice between the devil and the blue deep sea.

    “The only difference between the two main contenders was that Ramaphosa represents mainstream monopoly capitalism, of which he is a member while Dlamini Zuma represents the thieves and murderers of the corrupt cabal around her former husband”, he says.

    Task ahead is visibly daunting. “This conference has resolved that corruption must be fought with the same intensity and purpose that we fight poverty, unemployment and inequality”, Ramaphosa told delegates at the end of the five-day conference. “We must also act fearlessly against alleged corruption and abuse of office within our ranks”.

    Not particularly heart warming, is the position of the conference on the raging land question, which is not only ambivalent but reflects a deliberate attempt to steer off the minefield by ingratiating itself to the black majority and at the same time avoiding the banana peel that got former Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe into trouble with the West and big business.

    “The conference has resolved that expropriation of land without compensation should be among the mechanisms available to government to give effect to land reform and redistribution”, the new ANC President said, disclosing that “It has also been resolved that we ensure that we do not undermine the agricultural production or the economy – that is what is important”.

    The expectations are certainly very high. The ANC needs to be salvaged from its putrid image that occasioned the strings of electoral defeats which saw it lose control of vital constituencies in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

    Its political manoeuvres and “opportunistic brinkmanship” which saw the sidetrack of the land reform programme by Nelson Mandela, Ramphosa and key elements of the ANC in the negotiation for majority rule is seriously haunting the party.

    It is intriguing how the Black population, whose condition have largely not gone beyond that of hewers of stone and drawers of water, can be fundamentally empowered without addressing the land question in a country where over 70 per cent of choice lands are owned by the White population?

    This absence of massive opening in the economy to the Black population since majority rule more than two decades ago has led to the back clash and misdirected aggression on fellow Africans particularly Nigerians and Zimbabweans whom they accused of taking over their jobs.

    How the ANC can remain prostrate on this vital issue particularly with the challenge of the younger population who are pushing for free education and other social benefits including land reform remains to be seen.

    Ramaphosa’s inextricable marriage with the atrocities of big business may render him spineless in vigorously pursuing any radical reform. He was chairman of the telecom giant, MTN during the Irancell scandal when officials in Iran were given huge bribes.

    There’s is also his joint venture with Glencore and allegations of benefitting from coal deals with Eskom during the period when Glencore was in the spotlight for its insipid business activities involving Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister in the Middle East.

    More condemnable is his role as director of the mining firm Lonmin during the bestial massacre by the police of striking mine workers in 2012. On August 15th, 2012, he called for action against the Marikana miners’ strike which he called  a “dastardly conduct”.

    Although Ramaphosa who also had sizable ownership in McDonalds South Africa later regretted what was perceived as his “treacherous” role in the affair, the damage was already done. His reputation of haven built the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the biggest and most powerful union in South Africa was greatly impaired by his sordid role.

    Writing in the Socialist Worker, Charles Kimber in his “New leader for the ANC in South Africa but the political rot runs deep”, maintains that “Ramaphosa’s victory is an insult to the memory of the 34 miners massacred at Marikana in 2012”.

    “We cannot endow any longer the slow pace of land reform or the process of economic Black empowerment. It cannot be business as usual”, Ebrahim Rasool, former South African Ambassador to the US puts it succinctly on “The Heat”, a popular discussion programme on Chinese Global Television Network (CGTN).

    Sean Jacobs, associate professor of International Affairs, The New School, New York says,  “It may be necessary to ignite the process of Zuma’s recall like was done to Thabo Mbeki, former President so that Ramaphosa can assume the Presidency and immediately begin the process of cleansing. “The ANC needs to be rescued from itself”, he says.

    Being an astute businessman is not enough for one to be hopeful that Ramphosa, also a former secretary general of the ANC can follow through an anti-corruption programme. “Has US President Donald Trump or former Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi who are also businessmen provided any enviable slate for us to be hopeful”, quips Jacobs

    Kimber does not think the ANC has the political will to economically empower the Black population. “The ANC has ceased to be any sort of a liberation force. Instead, it is widely regarded as institutionally corrupt, unwilling to confront corporate power, repressive towards poor people who complain, and cahoots with business”, he says. Little wonder that some are already working on floating a workers’ party as a counterpoise to the ANC.

     

    • Iyare is Editor-in-Chief, The Gleaner News Online

     

  • Absent at Christmas

    They are women. They live in isolation. And they represent a chaste and austere lifestyle. They are also selfless and give their substance to others. They do not fit into the classic targets of kidnappers in this society.

    But of late, we have witnessed the abductions of nuns. The latest episode gained international notoriety when the Catholic Pontiff Pope Francis intervened with his sacerdotal voice. The latest victims are six ensconced in their religious community in Iguoriakhi, Ovia Southwest Local Government Area of Edo State. Gunmen reportedly stormed the place and made away with the six women identified as yet by their first names. They include Veronica, Frances, Roselyn, Vivian, Mariam and Anna. The last three names have not been confirmed as nuns but were aspiring. They belong to the Eucharistic Heart of Christ.

    The unfortunate incident took place at about 11pm on November 13. Neither the media nor officials of government have raised any voice or shown concern over the disappearance of the religious persons. Is it because they are women, or because they are nuns and therefore removed from the society?

    This is inexcusable since the incident occurred over a month ago. The abductors have remained silent, and they have not been reported to have asked openly for any ransom for their release. The women are not just religious but they belong to a rare breed of citizens in that they care for the vulnerable among us.

    According to a source in the convent, “They live in the place (community) and do charity work. They go about teaching children and praying for people. But we do not know why they (kidnappers) had to pick on them.” The hope is that they are still alive. But information about their whereabouts and conditions is virtually nonexistent. According Sister Agatha Osarekoe, “we do not have the details. But we are asking that they should please release them.”

    The Pope drew the attention of the international community to their plight, appealing to the hoodlums to release the women. He uttered those words when he was addressing adherents in St. Peter’s Square in Rome.  While praying for the nuns he also included “all the other persons who find themselves in this painful condition” to be free in time for Christmas.

    It is painful indeed that while many Nigerians will be spending their yuletide in joy and jollification, the nuns would not even be permitted to enjoy their austere life in peace during the festive season. Testimonies of persons in custody indicate that they are usually in perilous conditions. Although most tend to come out alive, we have heard of a few deaths. Hence the fears and prayers for the nuns.

    Although the story of the six nuns in Edo State has gained much attention, there are others in the abductors net.  Three other nuns were kidnapped by hoodlums on their way to Abuja a few days after the Edo incident. They were not the only victims, the driver was also taken away. The names of the abductees are Mother Angeleen Umesurike, Sisters Anabilis Onuoha and Kate Nweke. According to a release from Sgr. Gerard Lopez, the vicar general of the Diocese of San Bernardino: “We do not yet know who are responsible for this terrible act and the hoodlums have not yet indicated what they want for their release. All the sisters are praying seriously for God’s interventions for their immediate release.”

    The Abuja incident is still relatively muted and it has also indicated that hoodlums find the prospect of holding nuns attractive.

    In Kogi State, Sister Blessing Olowojoba has also been reported kidnapped in Okene. This incident predated the others as it happened July 7 this year. She belongs to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

    The nuns do not fit into the standard fare of victims. They are not money bags. They do not work for any politicians. They are not in the showy club of Nigerians who want to be seen, heard and praised. Nuns are humble, unobtrusive and socially reclusive. They do not seek anyone’s attention except to help or proselytize.

    Hence the silence of the Inspector General of Police should be condemned. Not even the Commissioners of Police in Edo and Kogi States as well as Abuja have engaged the public on the subject.

    People don’t expect nuns to be attacked because of what they represent. The recent spate of kidnappings calls for the Catholic Church to work with the Nigerian government to step up security for their religious order.

    The fear now is that the Catholic Church may be compelled to restrict the activities of the nuns in order to protect them for the ravages of hoodlums.

    Last year, two nuns were rescued in Ondo State, but it is a risky business to rely on armed strategy to get these women to safety. Hence preventive measures should be stepped up in convents around the country.