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Sixty-eight garlands for Ajimobi

Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time. – Jean Paul Richter (German novelist 1763 -1825).

Today marks the anniversary of one of the most important days in the evolutionary story of Oyo State; it is the sixty eighth birthday of the enigmatic Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the first man ever to be trusted with two terms as its governor.

While the epigraph above speaks to the very many and countless feathers in the wide wing of time, it paradoxically raises the need to periodically pause and celebrate those feathers for their individual significance and even moreso, for the purpose of counting our blessings one by one so that we can truly appreciate what gift we have in the feathers given by the ageless owner of Time.

In this short celebratory tribute to my boss and mentor, I shall focus on only one aspect of this truly complex, intriguing and engaging personality; this being his penchant for and pursuit of excellence as the defining fulcrum for sustainable success.

One elementary definition of excellence is “ the quality of excelling; possessing good qualities in high degree”. Another definition is “the state of possessing good qualities in an eminent degree; exalted merit; superiority in virtue”. Yet another speaks of “dignity; worth; superiority”

What clearly and consistently comes across in each of these definitions is the notion of stretching beyond the limits of the ordinary, of working towards higher virtues, of walking upwards to perfection.

To those who know Senator Abiola Ajimobi, these defining attributes express themselves through his powerful personal examples: from the unique character of his conceptual frameworks, his paradigms and belief systems to his passions, work ethics and etiquettes. If you look closely enough you will notice an unrelenting penchant for all things beautiful; from a lifelong demonstration of exquisite sartorial elegance to his fastidious observance of due processes in the workplace. This unremitting squeamishness and proclivity to aesthetics finds expression in several other ways, including the seemingly mundane celebration of a well appointed window linen as it flutters in the wind; the unapologetic genuflection before some spectacular display of engineering wizardry as can be seen in the wondrously designed network of roads that he is putting across the nooks and crannies of the state; as well as in the development of a masterplan for the establishment of a modern, functional, suitably integrated and sustainably built environment for Oyo State.

A Yoruba saying translates roughly thus: when someone promises to buy you a garment, look first to the example of what he or she is wearing. Ajimobi’s personal taste and sense of refinement reflects in every aspect of his governance creed and culture.

When he came into government in 2017, the Governor’s Office was an eyesore. From the main entrance into the complex, you were welcome by a fountain that looked abandoned in a desert, The main building itself was washed out of its colours with electric cables strewn all over the windows and air conditioners vibrating ceaselessly while dripping the effluents on every inch of the walls like drunken sailors urinating across the deck. Inside the offices, the work processes were tardy, uninspired and unproductive. Even the civil servants dressed largely like an army of dishevelled stragglers, with green ties thrown over red shirts with yellow stockings to match. But no longer. Not after a week of Ajimobi in Office!

After witnessing a colleague or two being publicly upbraided by Ajimobi for his or her poor dress sense, no reasonable person wishes to be the next victim. Before long, the Governor’s penchant and preference for a well groomed, self-conscious and presentable workforce began to yield fruit. Now, most of the civil servants (especially at the State Secretariat) can pass off as corporate executives drawn from the private sector, especially the financial services arm like banks, insurance and the stock brokerages. Unlike before, these workers come out of their respective homes in dapper, well tailored, clean cut suits and native dresses that impress not because of their high costs but because of their sedate, well-coordinated colours and appropriately matching accessories. Today, this has resulted into a transformed cadre of workers who now project themselves with renewed self-confidence in their innate abilities and capacity to compete with their peers whether in Lagos, Abuja or Adiss Ababa.

Ajimobi’s punctiliousness has been made manifest on several fronts especially when it comes to the way his government, its officials and the people of his state are perceived by members of the public, both local and national. For him ,’iri ni si, ni isoni lojo’, perception ultimately determines value.

One example will suffice to make the point: when the current Olubadan, Oba Soliu Akanmu Adetunji Aje Ogungunniso 1 was to be installed in March 2016, the governor saw an opportunity to showcase Ibadanland to the whole world. On that occasion, he literally took out all the stops to organize the most beautiful, well attended installation ceremony ever record in the modern history of Ibadanland. Not only did he cause that the event be staged on the most elegant soundstage available in Nigeria, with the best and widest LED screens, he ensured the attendance of the most respected traditional rulers in the nation including the Alaafin of Oyo, Ooni of Ife, Oba of Lagos, Alake of Egbaland, Emir of Ilorin and the Sultan of Sokoto among several others.

The regal and royal attendance of these first class monarchs was matched by the colourful presence of very distinguished and eminent Nigerians including Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as well as several governors, captains of Industry as well as diplomats from across the world. The inimitable fuji maestro, Wasiu Ayinde KWAM 1 and some other bands were fully on stage across the road bellowing tunes to the ecstatic response of the mammoth crowd that spread beyond the horizon.

However, despite his best efforts as well as those of the committee saddled with the organisation of the event, the event was almost ruined by the tendency for gross display of indiscipline and unruliness typical of most Nigerians, be they mighty or tiny. Unlike other parts of the world where protocols are scrupulously observed at public functions, a mix of chaotic disorder, lack of any observable pecking order and visual harmony. Sometimes you wonder why our public events including university convocations, governorship inaugurations and musical concerts are so utterly disorganised and reminiscent of the bedlam that was Oshodi Motor park before Governors Tunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode managed to restore some semblance of order, peace and beauty to the relief of most decent Nigerians.

And so it almost was at the installation of Oba Adetunji; chaos had fully descended onto the stage: literally hundreds of photojournalists had overrun the stage; scores of uninvited masters of ceremony had thronged the space; aides, police orderlies and other miscreants had overcrowded every inch of the stage such that it was practically impossible for the celebrant to find his way up the coronation stage. It was the very definition of bedlam, a place where uproar and confusion prevails.

December 16, 2017
The legality of interim management committee of maritime academy of Nigeria, oron
In all fairness and sense of patriotism, it can be said that one of the most committed, pragmatic and effective Committees in the House of Representatives is the House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, ably headed by Hon. Mohammed Bago. This is especially in connection with the Committee’s genuine commitments in matters having to do with recurrent interests and the growth and development of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom State, which directly falls within its oversight function domains. For one thing, the conscious concerns perceptible in the periodic inspection visits to the Academy by the Committee are indicative of its genuine determination to sustain the vision and core mandate of the premier maritime training institution in the country, towards repositioning it as an active player in the competitive international space.

However, revelations at the last inspection visit to the Academy by the Committee, which took place precisely on Wednesday 13th December, 2017 left room for some observations, arguments and independent and complementary elucidations. That is with specific attention to the legality or illegality of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) set up by the Federal Government to join hands with the new Rector, Comdr. Duja Effedua (Rtd) who is also a Member of the IMC, to develop modalities for the restructuring and repositioning of the Academy. As part of his remarks on the last inspection visit, Hon. Bago had with unilateral authority and semblance of infallibility informed the audience that the Interim Management Committee is illegal. To quote him with the conciseness, “There is nothing like Interim Management Committee as far as management of the Academy is concerned. It is illegal. It is not constitutional. The Rector has the capacity to drive the Academy”.

If not for the overriding air of authority and justifications with which the Committee Chairman made his points, there was that temptation to dismiss Hon. Bago’s lopsided logic and see his position as largely opinionated and hypothetical. But in the interest of the gullible and poorly informed, there is the indispensable necessity for further explanations and enlightenment on the matter.

The story of Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, to say the least, is an interesting one; one that has since become a cocktail. This is because of how the many experiments for its development and sustenance have been cobbled over the years, calling for repeated calls for its restructuring, repositioning and holistic overhauling. On the whole, it is a recycled narrative on the endemic critical challenges facing the 40-year-old frontline maritime institution in the country. Therefore, on assumption of office as Minister of Transportation, having known, read about the dilemma of the Academy and been fully briefed and now having it within his statutory portfolio of responsibility, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi in his characteristic forthrightness was pro-active about finding a workable formula for sustainable solutions to issues in the Academy.

Thus, at one of the solution-finding deliberations, Mr. Amaechi was quoted to have said: “The situation in MAN, Oron will need a technical committee, or a consultancy firm to evaluate what the situation is on ground, agree on what to do with money coming from NIMASA and affiliate agencies, and agree on what to do about the institution. We need to carry out a surgery of that institution. We don’t need God in this one. God has given the enablement; so what is left is to go and do the work”. The Minister, in subordinate collaboration with the Federal Government, then began consultations with relevant individuals, intuitions and international agencies. The ultimate outcome must have informed the constitution of the initial 7- man Ministerial Committee made up of tested technocrats and highly professional maritime experts, headed by High Chief Adebayo Sarumi. The Committee’s mandate was to critically assess the situation in the Academy and report back to the Federal Government. The Committee which started its work on Wednesday, 25th January, 2017 with a facility tour of MAN and interface with stakeholders was given one month to submit its report.

The Ministerial Committee subsequently submitted its report to the Minister of Transportation who in turn forwarded same to the Presidency. Consequently, having gotten approval from the federal government, members of the Ministerial Committee were asked to maintain the status quo and were automatically inaugurated into the incumbent Interim Management Committee on Wednesday, 6th September, 2017 by the Honourable Minister of Transportation on behalf of the President.

The following facts therefore must be made clear: First and foremost, the Interim Management Committee, as the nomenclature appositely suggests, is a tentative or stop-gap mechanism with a life span of 6 months that will expire in February, 2017. The mandate given the Committee was definite: to set up modalities towards restructuring and repositioning the Academy. What then would make the Committee illegal? Just as the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Assembly has the right to set up Committees and sub-committees, does the Minister of Transportation not have such domiciliary rights? Of course, within the short time of its stay, the Interim Management Committee has recorded great strides that point to a greater future and justify its neccesity. The syllabus has been reviewed, courses and departments and staff schedule restructured to drive productivity and effectiveness, and there is a general feeling of improved discipline culture and orientation amongst Cadets and staff expected of a regimented institution. Of note too are the robust discussions with appropriate national and multinational agencies on how best to improve Cadets’ training. Such organizations include NLNG, Master Mariners and IMO.

All the Interim Management Committee needs now is support and cooperation to deliver on its mandate, not criticism so far as their days are numbered. Additionally, for the fact that Comdr. Duja Emmanuel Effedua (Rtd.) was appointed on account of his unblemished and diligent record of dedicated public service, backed up with his pro-marine military background, there can be no doubts that he is a round peg is in a round hole. The frank words of appreciation and commendation on the Rector by the House Committee on its last visit to the Academy also means a vote of confidence on the Interim Management Committee that has been working hand-in-hand with the Rector. This means better times await Maritime Academy of Nigeria Oron as it launches into the global stage. The driving interest of this piece is to guide the public.
- Edet Okpo is an Uyo-based journalist and Public Affairs Analyst
December 16, 2017
Slave trade: Treating the symptoms
The painful reality of self-made journey into slavery and its consequent harvest and trade in body parts of some of our compatriots has taken frightening dimension. The mass exodus of these able bodied youths through hazardous desert routes and tempestuous seas is a failure of epic proportion of the political leadership across most African countries. To find justification for the exodus in the arcane argument that our ancestors’ labour developed Europe, while the Europeans through colonialism and neo-colonialism underdeveloped Africa is an idle argument and shadow chasing. The historical facts of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is not lost to us but it would amount to mental laziness to say we are where we are today because of the epochal injustice of slave trade of centuries ago.

As if jolted from deep slumber, our leaders have suddenly realized that many Nigerians are in distress in Libya and indeed other countries of the world in dehumanizing conditions. I was amazed at the histrionics of the upper legislative house directing the President and Federal Executive Council to intervene fast because they feel for the poor marooned Nigerians in Libya. Nobody is as much concerned as to why our compatriots would rather live as refugees and slaves in other countries than stay in Nigeria in despondency.

These misguided youths are running away because of poor governance. They are running away because our political leaders are feeding fat on the wealth of the nation and are not willing to give back to the society. They are running away because our once decrepit infrastructures have finally collapsed and life has become agonisingly unbearable. They are running away because of unemployment and the government is doing very little to create the enabling environment for them to eke out a living. They are running away because their parents who once had opportunity of serving the nation are not paid their retirement benefits and pensions; and they watch them helplessly age in pain. They are running away because the few opportunities that would have offered succour in constructions industries are contracted out to Chinese firms who bring expatriates to do even the most basic jobs leaving our people with the short end of the stick.

The youths are running away because our leaders are playing politics with their future; using them as touts, bodyguards and rigging machines during elections. They are running away because of the collapse of the social support system that the family used to offer which are no longer sustainable. Parents and relatives who contribute their life savings in order to send their loved ones abroad to bring ‘Dollars’ are complicit in the so-called slave trade. Everybody wants to make it fast. There is hardly any of those youths stranded in Libya who had invested less than US$1000 on this misadventure. A thousand dollars can start a modest business in any economy in any African state bad as it might appear to be.

Those African youths stranded in Libya are not migrants; they are refugees fleeing from wars, poverty, poor governance and waste caused by our political leaders. Migration is a necessary human phenomenon for self-actualization.

It is legitimate to migrate from one geographical location to another; and one does not have to use illegal routes and back channels. Migration is as old as recorded human history. The Holy Bible recorded Abram the father of faith to have left his home land and country when he was 75 years old. Abram was a skilled herdsman; what skill do the youths running away from Africa to Europe have to earn decent living? In their delusion, these youths feel that Europe as a land of opportunities would embrace them with both hands. Little did they know that there is also poverty in Europe and America and nobody plucks dollars from trees.

The youths prefer to brace the hazardous desert routes and tempestuous seas and possibly die trying to go to Europe than to remain in Nigeria where they do not see any hope. It did not end there; some of them trade their organs which are harvested for sale in hospitals across the Atlantic; that is how bad it can be.

Unemployment is not going to stop suddenly, not even with the political talks and empty electoral promises. To get out of unemployment, we have to seriously interrogate our educational system which is not functional enough to produce skilful work force.

To save our compatriots from needless death in this hazardous journey, the government should not focus on the symptoms but go to the root of the problems. We should stop blaming others for our failures; Libyan government did not give invitation to our youths who in the first place constitute socio-economic problems to them. The government needs to direct energy on human capital development. We should honestly and genuinely tackle corruption which is at the root of why we cannot deal with infrastructural deficit in our country. For the youths, they need not vote with their legs; they should vote with their heads and thumb prints for people capable of offering services and not merchants in government. This country belongs to the youths and they are the only ones who can bring about the desired change.

It is time to ignore the ethnic and religious refrains which the ruling class has perpetually used to divide the people. Those in leadership over us have no religion and tribe. They are from the North, South, East and West and work in tandem for their common good. Come back home my compatriots; north or south, east or west, home is the best. For our leaders, please, go to the root cause of the disease and not the symptoms.
- Kebonkwu Esq is an Abuja-based attorney.
December 15, 2017
Thoughts on Armed Forces Day Celebrations

Several nations of the world hold an annual Armed Forces Day Celebrations in honour of their military. Nigeria is not left out. The Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebrations in Nigeria is an annual event organized to honour members of the armed forces who fought in the first and second world wars. It is also an event to honour those who served or are still serving in various peace support operations worldwide as well as those who fought in the Nigerian Civil War.

The day is therefore to celebrate both the dead and the living heroes including all those who suffered various deprivations as a result of wars. The day was formerly marked on November 11 of every year to coincide with the Remembrance Day popularly known as “POPPY DAY” or “11 – 11” for the first and second world wars veterans in all commonwealth countries. However in Nigeria, in view of some significant historical events, notably the surrender of Biafran troops to the federal troops on January 15, 1970, it is celebrated on January 15 every year.

From thence, military personnel including the army, the navy, the air force and the Nigerian legion converge in different centres across the federation to celebrate the day and give honour to the fallen and living heroes who hazarded and continue to hazard their lives for the territorial integrity of the nation and for peace to reign worldwide. The event is held at the federal, state and local levels where either serving military officers reside or where living ex-service men occupy.

Several events including release of pigeons to symbolize peace, placing of wreaths, playing of the last post, Remembrance Day Parade, firing of 21 gun salute and others characterize this memorable day. The military officers are usually attired in diverse colours typical of their fields, be it navy, air force, army and the ex-service men. The event also witnesses religious services in both mosques and churches nationwide.

Looking at the historical background of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day, it is obvious that it is purely a military affair, since they are primarily saddled with safeguarding the territorial integrity of the nation.

However, the present internal security challenges on different theaters for almost a decade now has, without mincing words, stretched the military beyond its limits and expectations as is evident that the military alone could no longer handle the situation especially in the North-east where the Boko Haram held sway for some time.

This had led to a lot of alignment of forces, contributions, supports and collaboration from various security agencies to fight the series of insurgencies that have been confronting the nation. The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) for instance, has been known to participate in both peace keeping and peace support operations all over the world while to a lesser extent the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and the Department of State Security (DSS) have all contributed personnel on peace support operations in UNMIL in Liberia, UNAMID in Darfur and the UNMIS (United Nations Mission in South Sudan), during which lives were even lost.

I also wish to add that a lot of officers and men of the various security agencies that formed the Joint Task Force (JTF) to combat the Boko Haram insurgency have lost their lives in the process of performing military operations outside their statutory duties; just like the military is now fully involved in the internal security operations to secure the lives and properties of citizens in this country which is primarily the function of the Police. This synergy and collaboration is needed particularly at a time like this when the capacity of the armed forces is stretched thin. This is where the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) which has contributed significantly to the fight against terrorism and lost many of their men deserves a special place in the annual celebrations.

It is observed that Nigeria as a sovereign nation, considering her unique historical events and challenges changed her own Remembrance Day Celebration from November, 11 to January 15 of every year and also the form or scope of the celebrations to suit her own purpose and the dictate of the situation till date.

In as much as the essence of the Remembrance Day Celebrations is to honour officers and men either dead or living who served in various peace support operations worldwide, including those who fought in the world wars and the Nigeria Civil War; it is highly recommended that the scope of the celebrations be expanded to take care of the new security developments in the country especially those figting in the Boko-Haram war among other insurgencies ravaging the country. It is good and morally right that the leadership of the various security agencies other than the military and the police that have contributed to the achievement of international, regional and national peace especially in Nigeria where its corporate existence has and is still being threatened, be made to lay wreaths during the Remembrance Day Celebrations in honour of their own service heroes too.

The organizing committee of the event can schedule and incorporate the sequence of laying of wreaths by the concerned service chiefs in their programme for the day.

“What is good for the goose is good for the gander”

December 15, 2017
Tackling public health menace of flavoured cigarettes
There are clear pointers to the resurgence of illicit trading in tobacco. For stakeholders, the resurgence represents a major setback given the huge successes recorded in reducing the volume of illicit cigarettes to less than 20 percent in Nigeria in the last few decades, through multilateral collaboration and consistent clampdown on the trade by regulatory bodies. Prior to this period, the average volume of illicit cigarettes smuggled into the Nigerian market averaged 80 percent of the product consumed in the country. However, the success recorded in stemming the trade is being rolled back as flavoured cigarettes flood the Nigerian market.

The sale and spread of flavoured cigarettes is, no doubt, an alarming dimension to the problem. They are outlawed in Nigeria and declared as contraband by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). Flavoured cigarettes give off a pleasant aroma when lit and have a strong appeal, especially for children, and may seem a safer alternative to conventional cigarette. However, the flavouring masks the pungent taste of the tobacco, which is manufactured in flavours such as strawberry, vanilla, orange, cherry, chocolate, etc. that are particularly attractive to the target demographic. For this reason, the health consequences for the youth and children can be very grave.

In different parts of the world, concerted efforts have been made through new regulatory provisions to discourage underage people from smoking. In the United States, for example, as part of a national effort to reduce smoking in the country, on September 22, 2009, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed a ban on cigarettes containing certain flavours. The ban was authorised by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA).

This special rule for cigarettes prohibits cigarettes or any of its component parts (including the tobacco, filter, or paper) from containing, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavour or a herb or spice, which is attractive to children.

FDA’s ban on certain flavoured cigarettes highlights the importance of reducing the number of children who start to smoke and who become addicted to dangerous tobacco products and should serve as a model for other countries where this menace is prevalent.

It is important to note that flavoured cigarettes are clearly outlawed via Nigeria’s National Tobacco Control Act (TCA). It is clearly outlined in Sections E and G of Part 1 of the TCA. Some of the major objectives of the Act include “discouraging smoking initiation” and ensuring that “tobacco or tobacco products are not designed in any way that make them more addictive, especially to persons who are below 18 years of age.” However, implementation of this regulatory provision is yet to gain weight.

Despite an alert by SON to the general public on the proliferation of the variants, sometime last year, importers of the brand have continued to trade the products. Quite worrisome is the extent to which some unscrupulous importers are willing to go in misleading SON and the general public by circumventing the law in a bid to hide the fact that their products are flavoured.

In the past, these importers had breached this provision through devious means by not properly declaring the products for which license is procured; for instance, by using a licence for a non-flavoured brand to import a flavoured product. SON has repeatedly confirmed that the constituents of these brands of cigarettes are not in conformity with the regulatory requirements.

The danger of flavoured cigarettes becomes clearer when viewed through the prism of illicit trade in cigarettes. Like illicit trade in conventional cigarettes, flavoured cigarettes are not licensed by regulatory authority and are usually trafficked illegally. The cigarettes have either been smuggled, counterfeited or have evaded duties after being legitimately manufactured in another country. They are priced much cheaper than approved cigarettes, and are not subjected to stringent regulation in the form of health warnings, product checks, or age verification before purchase. The greatest consequence is the fact that it robs government of its much-needed revenue as importers of flavoured cigarettes usually evade taxes.

Moreover, compliance with prevailing industrial hygiene and safety standards is usually low. It is also important to note that proceeds from illicit trade in tobacco are used by criminal organisations to fund criminal activities such as global terrorism, human trafficking and money laundering. A 2012 Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum further affirmed that “illicit trade is a big source of revenue for transnational criminal networks.”

Nigeria is losing grip on the battle against illicit trade in tobacco products as its porous land borders, poor intelligence network and corruption of due process have conspired to strengthen the sale of such tobacco products.

The problem requires concerted efforts by government, civil society groups and the private sector to tackle. There is a need for greater collaboration between agencies and stakeholders in the law enforcement business, which include the Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Police, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), in ensuring that smugglers and dealers trading banned tobacco products do not compromise health standards. Lately, there has been a noticeable relaxation of the strategy adopted by a special task force set up by SON and CPC in the past, which includes constant raids on dealers in illicit tobacco products in some parts of the country as well as distribution of flyers with visuals for semi-literate and literate consumers for public enlightenment on flavoured cigarettes. No doubt, through this approach huge mileage was gained in curbing the proliferation and consumption of the product as it served as a deterrent to other offenders.

The increasing call for the implementation of the NTCA 2015 should not be limited to only the restriction of public smoking, but should also take into consideration this critical element of the regulation, which protects children from the allure of cigarettes.
- Nwadike sent this piece from Lagos.
December 15, 2017
Donald Trump, Israeli’s friend or foe?
With friends like the 45th President of United States of America, Donald Trump, Israel possibly needs not worry about the danger posed by Hamas – the Palestinian resistance movement. Gaza is firmly under the heels of Hamas which unapologetically remains hard put to recognize the state of Israel. Last Wednesday, December 6, President Donald Trump acted true to character as a renegade President of US to unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. He even dared to announce the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem!

Of course there is already a bagful of his renegade policies; repeal of Obamacare, renege on Climate treaty, reversal of the deal with Iran, reversal of Cuba-America detente, ad infinitum! No country parades such a president mid-way in the first term! True to expectation, amidst global outrage which trails Trump’s diplomatic provocation, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya declared the US decision on Jerusalem as “war declaration against Palestinians”. He called for a new “Intifada”, an uprising.

The critical question begging for an answer is what manner of a friend of Israel is Trump, who through sheer political brigandage pushes Israel back to the brink of intifada (a Palestinian insurgency manifesting in series of violent acts and attacks against the Israeli occupation lasting from December 1987 to 2014 in which both the Palestinians and Israelis buried their dead)? A received African wisdom has it that “a close friend can become a close enemy”! With friends like Trump, Israel does not need to worry about Hamas leader Ismail Haniya. This is another paradox of Middle East’s intractable conflicts; both the enemies and so-called friends of Israel achieve same goal: keeping the state of Israel in perpetual war of attrition!

Reading through the 1250 plus word counts of President Donald Trump recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel reminds me of the opening sentence by Simon Seberg Montefiore in his preface to his best-selling “Speeches that Changed the World” (2005). According to Simon, a “great speech does not just capture the truth of the era; it can also capture the big lie”. President Donald Trump’s speech is comparable to Adolf Hitler’s demagoguery of September 1938. According to Donald Trump, his predecessors had invoked “waivers” refusing to move the US embassy to Jerusalem or to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city. Apparently, Trump did not invent the idea of Jerusalem as the Israel’s capital after all, contrary to his verbal appropriation and empty grandstanding. Why should Trump then be “holier than the Pope”, even when we have just witnessed many devilish details (tear gas, stone-throwing, shootings and killings!) in the aftermath of his unthinking self-serving diplomatic adventure?

Former American presidents correctly set their eyes on peace in a war-torn region. This explained their measured discretion in applying the controversial 1995 American Jerusalem Embassy Act. It is tragi-comedy that a trigger happy President Trump bent on diverting attention from his domestic woes needs a diplomatic blunder to prove his “courage”!

Elie Wiesel, a celebrated writer and Jew survivor of Nazi Germany had long warned us about the “perils of indifference”. It is refreshing the world had risen in unison to condemn President Trump for reinventing violence in Jerusalem and almost putting on hold the peace process in the Middle East. According to Pope Francis, Jerusalem’s status should be preserved and needless conflict avoided. At his weekly general audience at the Vatican, Pope Francis observed with “…a heartfelt appeal to ensure that everyone is committed to respecting the status quo of the city, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations.”

“Jerusalem is a unique city,” he added, “is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, where the Holy Places for the respective religions are venerated, and it has a special vocation to peace.”

To Secretary General of United Nations, Antonio Guterres, “Jerusalem is a final-status issue that must be resolved through direct negotiations between the two parties on the basis of the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, taking into account the legitimate concerns of both the Palestinian and the Israeli sides”. “In this moment of great anxiety, I want to make it clear: There is no alternative to the two-state solution,” he said. “There is no Plan B.”!

Only Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who hopes to politically profit from domestic Palestinian red-hearing, (just like Trump!) hailed Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Most peace loving Israelis are not as excited as Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump. For instance, notable Israeli politicians such as Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On, a serving member of Knesset from 1999 to 2017 observed that moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem could inflame the entire region. She warned that such a unilateral move could displace peace. “Moving the embassy could serve Netanyahu but could bring about an unnecessary explosion.”

Ayam Odeh, Chairman of the Joint List, said: “Trump is a pyromaniac who could set the entire region on fire with his madness” adding that Trump’s grandstanding “proves decisively that the United States cannot remain the sponsor or arbitrator in negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians”. The African Union Commission also rightly questioned the United States’ decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, noted with deep concern the decision. According to AU, the decision “will only increase tensions in the region and beyond and further complicate the search for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” He reiterated the solidarity of the African Union with the Palestinian people and its support to their legitimate quest for an independent and sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The chairperson spoke the mind of Africans in calling for a Middle East solution, “based on the existence of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security, within the framework of relevant African Union and United Nations pronouncements.”

It is really true that bad friends like Trump will prevent Israel from having good friends. By the way, I searched in vain for Nigeria’s position on the latest Donald Trump’s diplomatic reckless adventure in Jerusalem. It’s time President Muhammed Buhari worked his talk at the 2017 UN General Assembly in September on key foreign policy issues such as Middle East crisis. Increasingly, Nigeria’s voice is lost on topical international issues. At best Nigerian foreign policy has become reactionary, reacting than setting agenda for genuine global discourse.

Lest we forget – the late Nelson Mandela rightly observed that “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
- Aremu is a member, National Institute, Kuru Jos.
December 14, 2017
Minimum wage, maximum woes
Nigeria has exited from recession but Nigerians are yet to feel the impact. The benefits of the recovery from prolonged economic doldrums are coming in trickles but even the trickles can hardly form a drop in the surging ocean of pervasive poverty. Hardship bites harder as the year draws to a close with President Muhammadu Buhari charging the governors to ensure that workers in their respective states are paid before the Christmas holidays. In the last two years, the issue of payment of salaries has been such a thorny subject to the extent of forcing the federal government to accede twice to a bailout and further agreeing to special refunds to enable the states pay workers. Within the private sector, millions of jobs have been lost, while pay cut and outright retrenchment have become normal in industries striving hard and devising means to succeed.

Amidst this scenario however, a contradictory escalating call for pay rise rises to a fever pitch. Understandably, the brutally recessed economy has mercilessly reduced the purchasing power of the naira. And Nigeria is already running foul of the provisions of the International Labour Organization that stipulates a timely review of the minimum wage law. The nation’s five-year mandatory review has elapsed and the value of workers take home cruelly shrunken by galloping inflation which has obviously left workers with little alternative. The review of the national minimum wage is significant at this time but the stake is certainly very high. How will the states most of whom currently owing months in arrears of salaries and allowances cope with the new minimum wage? And how will the private sector already bruised by downturn and tiers of government battling with lean resources cope with the new wage bill? This and many other questions are troubling.

But the president while inaugurating the 30-man minimum wage committee clarified that the new wage should be anchored on the ability of the tiers of government to pay. However, that is where more troubling questions arise. Why is the federal government legislating on a new minimum wage for states and local governments in a federation? How can the committee on a new minimum wage determine holistically, the ability of different tiers of government whose resources differ across boundaries?

Can the minimum wage in Rivers and Lagos states for instance be sustained in Borno, Benue or Abia? Though the minimum wage is on the exclusive legislative list and the composition of the members of the minimum wage committee drawn on a tripartite basis comprising government at all levels, the workers and the job providers in the private sector to ensure a plural view and guarantee a composite agreement, matching the capacity of these respective tripartite groups with a realistic wage bar looks like a recipe for crisis. The reasons are obvious. The Yoruba socio-cultural group, the Afenifere observed recently and asked the federal government to allow states and local governments decide the minimum they can afford for their workers. Again, this patriotic opinion is not realistic without an amendment of the constitution to remove the minimum wage from the exclusive list.

Chris Ngige is an experienced administrator and an astute politician having been governor of his home Anambra State as well as senator in the seventh Senate and now the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment. He said that by the new minimum wage, the federal government was determined to eliminate “poverty pain” which according to him occurs when worker’s earning could not guarantee him a good living. In spite, more questions hang on this move by the federal government to live up to its constitutional responsibilities. The governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike for example, has argued the current exercise would come out futile. Wike in a broadcast television interview thwacked the charge by the president to the governors to clear all arrears of salaries owed workers before the Christmas holidays, dismissing it as political. He asked the federal government to shed weight so as to demonstrate its genuine sympathy for the plight of the state civil servants. He further punctured the case for a new minimum wage in the absence of a review of the federal revenue sharing formula, wondering how states that could not pay N18,000 minimum wage can afford the new pay rise.

Many have argued that the basis of the on-going wage crisis is the de-structured fiscal federalism where the federal government takes 52% of the revenue of the federation, states 22%, and 774 local governments 26%. The total wage bill of Benue State for instance is about N7 billion with its total monthly revenue standing way below N5 billion. By the time, the minimum wage gets to say N56, 000 (factional leader of the organized labour movement, Joe Ajaero is demanding for N100, 000 minimum wage) from the present N18, 000, what becomes the fate of the state? Even the federal government will not be left out of the pending crisis. By last count, a total of about eleven organized labour unions have gone on strike over wage related issues and unmet agreements spanning close to a decade.

Containing the cascading labour unrest has so far been as a result of the outstanding performance of some of the cabinet ministers in the Buhari administration. Ngige though without a prior labour background has by sheer brilliance, masterfully engineered a proactive labour diplomacy that held the nation from sliding the way of Venezuela. There is no disputing the fact that the socio-political and economic milieu that made a Venezuela have been staring the nation on its face in the last two years. Therefore, that the ever sensitive and easily restive labour has neither snapped its patience nor triggered a social upheaval is to the credit of the Minister of Labour and Employment.

Seething discontent is widespread. Though the federal government has relatively met with the demands of workers, there is palpable apprehension as to what the future holds. Your guess is as good as mine. The bottom-line is that the nation is headed for further doom unless the economy grows. Resurrecting the dying value of naira and through that, restore the value of wages and income is a smarter way to achieve better working conditions for workers. Pay rise will lead to rising costs of goods and services, making it easy for inflation to eat away the added value.

Importantly, which private sector organization can afford a wage increase in an environment where businesses are posting losses and retrenchments at the centre stage? With the 2017 budget performing woefully at 15%, where is the assurance that 2018 will be better? The mass discontent in the land can easily be measured by a recent warning by the leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu that hunger is ravaging the length and breadth of the nation. And with the governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, another leader of the ruling APC, declaring that 85% of Nigerians are unhappy, which better way expresses the muted upheaval at hand? Minimum wage looks more of a recipe for maximum woes!
- Udekwe writes from Abuja.
December 14, 2017
Snippets from NDIC workshop
Expectations were quite high that the 2017 workshop for the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) held in Kano from November 23-24 would yield solutions to current challenges in the financial system.

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) organized this year’s workshop on the theme “The Nigerian Banking Sector: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward” for business journalists, regulators, operators and other experts in the financial sector. Over 120 Business Editors and Finance Correspondents nationwide as well as representatives of over 10 civil society organizations (CSOs) attended the workshop.

An inspiring ambience for the event was provided by the venue – Coronation Hall at Government House, Kano – which was provided free of charge by the state government. For effect, the government also facilitated a tour of landmark projects by participants.

The Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, was unavoidably absent, but was represented by a powerful team led by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Usman Alhaji, who delivered the governor’s message. In it, Dr. Ganduje reeled out several accomplishments of his administration, including reforms in financial management that promotes transparency and accountability. He added that the state’s anti-corruption agency had been strengthened to boost citizens and investors’ confidence in government, resulting in. its selection as one of the two states piloting the Open Government Initiative. This involves open budgeting, tax transparency, ease of doing business and access to information. To enhance its transparency policy, Ganduje said the state regularly published its financial statements in newspapers and on the website of the state Ministry of Finance.

A variety of presentations were made at the workshop by an array of seasoned professionals from the banks, regulatory bodies; other financial experts and the media as well as eminent personalities from the National Assembly.

The paper titled “Rebuilding Financial Infrastructure in the North East” was presented by Dr. Mudashiru Olaitan, Director, Development Finance Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and moderated by Sen. (Dr.) Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance & Other Financial Institutions. Dr Olaitan was represented by a Deputy Director at the apex bank, Sani Mohammed.

Justifying the need to rebuild financial infrastructures in the North-east, Olaitan said the region was key to the Nigerian economy, as it was a bastion of commerce and trade with prominent local enterprises and well-established trade routes across the Sahara.

In his remarks, Senator Ibrahim said the National Assembly was committed to the development of the North-east region.

NDIC Managing Director, Umaru Ibrahim, called on the governors in the region to collaborate with the CBN toward rebuilding economic infrastructure in the area: “I think that there is the need for more collaboration between the governors of the North-east and the CBN. I will like a situation whereby we sit with the governors and go over all decisions because without them, not much can be achieved on this issue.”

A former Minister of National Planning, Prof. Ode Ojowu, facilitated the paper titled “Insulating the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) from Political Storm”. In the paper, he contended that as the ERGP was the government’s instrument for pulling the economy out of recession into the path of sustainable growth.” He stressed the need to insulate the ERGP implementation from partisan politics.

Olufemi Fakeye, chairman, House Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, who chaired the session, called on the executive to drop a proposal sent to NASS on the recall of all unspent capital expenditure as at December 31 of every year in view of late submission and passage of the budget.

The paper by Adedapo Adeleke, Director of the Bank Examination Department at NDIC was titled: “Curtailing the Growth of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) in Banks – The Role of Regulators and Supervisors.” Dr. Effiong Essien, Senior Special Assistant to the President on ERGP moderated it.

Dr Kabiru Katata, Deputy Director of Research, Policy and International Relations (RPIR) of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), presented a paper titled “Financial Disruption of Digital Currency & its Consequences on the Banking System & Deposit Insurance System (DIS)” in which he addressed the two concepts of digital currency and “FinTech”. This engaged much of the attention of many participants.

In his paper titled: “Cyber Crime: Nature & Trends”, Pattison Boleigha, Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), Access Bank Plc. traced the evolution of Cyber Crimes to “the swift expansion of computer, mobile and internet technologies,” noting how the nature and pattern of Cyber Crime incidents had become more sophisticated and complex. He called for increased security awareness for employees and customers of banks.

Mrs. Temitope Akin-Fadeyi, Head of the Financial Inclusion Secretariat, CBN spoke on “Financial Literacy in Nigeria: Achievements & Challenges”. She identified the factors that compelled the development of Financial Literacy Framework in the country such as the integration of national economies through trade and investment; increasing innovation in financial products and services; market sophistication; weak or non-existing consumer protection regimes and market indiscipline.

The last paper titled: “The Role of the Media in Enhancing Financial Literacy and Consumer Protection”, delivered by Jerry Uwah, editor, Southern Operations of Blueprint newspaper pointed out that the concept transcended owning a bank account and covers other areas of the financial services sector such as pension, insurance, mortgage, bonds, treasury bills windows and the capital market.

The guided tour of developmental projects and historical sites in the ancient city of Kano took the participants to the ultra-modern Skills Acquisition Centre at Amana City; and the two-kilometre fly-over bridge at Murtala Muhammed Way. They also visited the Bukavu Barracks Under-pass along Katsina Road constructed to decongest traffic and enhance ease of doing business for travelers from Daura, Katsina and Niger Republic, as the ancient Gidan Makama Museum built in the 1440s.

The NDIC-FICAN workshop series was pioneered 15 years ago and has been transformed into a platform for increasing the capacity of the media to dissect critical issues affecting the financial sector. At the end of it all, there was this feeling that NDIC must both sustain the workshop and ensure that it continues to attract quality resource persons.
- Hassan, a public affairs analyst writes from Abuja.
December 13, 2017
Udom’s silent revolution
There is a silent revolution going on in Akwa Ibom State. And it centres on development and people empowerment. The recently released mid-term report of the President Muhammadu Buhari government most eloquently attests to this. The voluminous report which captured the achievements of the present administration across the nation lent itself to the aphorism that a goldfish has no hiding place. it brought to the fore the laudable landmarks recorded not only by the federal government but also the milestones achieved by the state governments. The report was bipartisan and focused on all state governments irrespective of political parties.

What would strike anybody poring through the report is the state of the states. Though Nigeria has 36 states but it is all too obvious that all the states are not equal. By extrapolation, not all the states are as blessed even in leadership as others. This is where the story of Akwa Ibom looms large. A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state, it occupies a huge swathe in the development index recorded in the report of an All Progressives Congress (APC) government. About 30 pages of information in the document were devoted to Akwa Ibom State and achievements recorded by Governor Udom Emmanuel. So what? Well, if we consider that some governors, especially those on the other side of the political divide, had just two pages of achievements over the same period of 30 months, then we would appreciate how remarkable this is.

Credit must go to the APC-led federal government and chroniclers of the report for overlooking mundane issues of party affiliation in the compilation of the achievements. But the greater credit should be reserved for Governor Udom who has consistently said that his mission in government is to offer service that engenders development. The truth of the matter is that development is not partisan, not racist, tribal or discriminatory. Development announces itself and does not need propaganda to push it through. This is evident in Akwa Ibom. Even the opposition parties in the state at the height of their show of political shenanigan do acknowledge that Udom has upped the ante in various aspects of development.

Strangely, the governor does not mount the soapbox to mouth his achievements. He does no draw undue attention to himself in showy self-aggrandisement as is customary with Nigerian public office holders. Almost self-effacing, he prefers to take the backseat while allowing his works to speak for him. Many people wonder why Udom does not throw himself into the public arena and make loud noise like the typical Nigerian politician even when he is eminently justified to do so given his stellar performance in a space of barely two-and-a-half years. The answer is historical. History has shown that most outstanding leaders in government, entrepreneurship, and social change or otherwise are persons who prefer not to hug the limelight by pulling off stunts and hysterics in the public space but those who silently envision, plan and execute their programmes. They are those who lead by doing, not by talking. Great doers make great leaders. Lee Kuan Yew, the father and architect of modern Singapore alluded to such leadership style in his bestselling memoir, From Third World to First – The Singapore Story.

The success stories of nations or any people never happened by accident. They happened because at a point in their history somebody decided to lead by doing not by a show of oratorical sophistry. The late Shimon Peres is today regarded as the Father of Innovative Israel. Loathed and loved depending on which side of the divide you are, but even among his staunchest critics, nobody denies his voluble appetite to break new frontiers. His energy, optimism and inquisitiveness translated to the birthing of a new generation of innovative Jewish nation.

Recall that as prime minister in 1985, Peres presided over an economic stabilization plan which led to the birth of Israel’s modern economy. Today, Israel, a land without natural resources, is described as a ‘start-up nation’ because Peres fostered an entrepreneurial culture among the people.

“All my life I have worked to ensure that Israel’s future is based on science and technology as well as on an unwavering moral commitment”, Peres once said in a speech when he laid the cornerstone for the Israeli Innovation Centre in Jaffa. “They called me a dreamer. But today, when I look at Israel, we all can see clearly that the greater the dream, the more spectacular the results.”

Without his admitting it, this is the kind of momentum driving Udom. He is a dreamer in the mould of Peres. He is an awakener of the docile mob. He believes that anything is possible, that any height is attainable. Since arriving at Government House in Uyo, he has rallied the spirit of the people to dare, to believe and to conquer. Is it any wonder that Akwa Ibom has not only become the nation’s Mecca of sports but is the home of trophy-winning Akwa United Football Club? Are we surprised that Akwa Ibom has attracted the highest volume of foreign direct investment (FDI), next only to Lagos State in Nigeria? The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says so.

Deploying the Dakkada (Rise up) philosophy, Udom is building a modern economy in Akwa Ibom State which centres on agriculture, tourism, improved standard and quality of education, a culture of ICT application and innovation, improved power delivery at a time the rest of the country wobbles in gross darkness, and above all, a strong drive at industrialisation. At a time other states are still at a crossroads over salary and gratuities, Akwa Ibom is diversifying its local economy from dependence on oil proceeds from Abuja to agriculture, industrialisation and birthing of a knowledge economy.

Governor Udom’s leadership style mirrors the template of great leaders across the globe. It is the leadership that sees opportunity in every adversity; that breaks new frontiers and turns vision into reality. It is a leadership that is silent but effective.

Nigeria has had a sordid history of poor leadership typified by noise-makers, lawless military goons and a ravaging political mob. This has left the nation tethered to the manacles of under-development such that 57 years after independence, our actions are still governed by such medieval creeds like quota system, ethnic considerations and religion. Worst of it all, Nigeria has remained a nation of immense potential and a poster-child for everything wrong with the black race especially in the aspect of leadership.

This is why Udom’s leadership style provides a redemptive window for a nation that has been mired in the stasis of administrative despair. A good leader is a dealer in hope. Every good leader must at all times give hope to the people. This is where Udom towers above the class. He has given hope to his people by providing them opportunities. Democracy, Reverend Jesse Jackson once said, does not guarantee success but it guarantees opportunity. Udom’s focus on effective and affordable healthcare, infrastructural development and quality education will ultimately engender a broad spectrum of opportunities for his people. This is what good leadership is all about. Asian leaders are adept at it; they start by giving hope to their people, shifting their mind from probability to possibility. Udom has shown that good leadership is possible in Nigeria. He will do well to stay the course.
- Ekong writes from Uyo.
December 13, 2017
Paying to slave

With young Africans getting entrapped into modern slavery in their desperate effort to access the glamour and economic opportunities of the developed world, I wonder what Walter Rodney, the Guyanese scholar, would say if he were alive today. In his book: How Europe underdeveloped Africa, Rodney, made succinct argument how slavery and colonialism in the previous centuries, forced Africa to its knees. His treatise showed the remarkable political and economic successes made by various ancient kingdoms in Africa, before the insidious impacts of slavery and colonisation. He argued that Europeans made a huge success of the exploitation of the human and material resources of Africa. For example, the Belgian government at a time relied solely on millions of dollars from the exploitation of the minerals resources of the Congo to survive.

He argued that Europe and America made economic transitions, literally cultivating on the back of Africans. He quoted historical data, showing the correlation between the demand for more slaves and exploitation of the rich resources of Africa with greater development in Europe and America. Before colonisation, slave trade in a way prepared Africa for conquest by the colonial powers. In depopulating Africa, slavery took her prime human assets, the young men and women that ought to be its work force and army. With firearms, Europe enforced uninterrupted supply of slaves to its plantations across America until machines were invented to supplant the need for slave hands.

Presently, Europe and America have transformed exponentially in economic and technological development while African remains the world laggard. Indeed, if Africans who were captured and transported to the slave plantations were to wake-up from the dead, they would be shocked that young men and women from Africa are now desperately paying to go into ‘modern slavery’ in Europe or America. Unfortunately, just like in the earlier slavery, the road to modern slavery is very perilous – perhaps more perilous than before. Unlike in the era of vast plantation, the present ‘Africans slaves’ are more of nuisance than assets.

From Libya, the federal government has repatriated several hundreds, even as many more hundreds are stranded, waiting to be ferried home. Yet, to pay their way to Europe, through the desert, many of these young men and women sold off their businesses, family inheritance, or prostituted for years, to raise the money. Among the returnees, there are girls with pregnancy, or with children, born out of multiple rapes. Male or female, all the returnees bear varied tales of horror, with the social media as witness.

Despite the horror tales, many more young Africans would follow the same trajectory in spite of the sad experiences of their compatriots. Again, even as Libya and the Mediterranean have become the sore point of a blighted continent, there are several thousands of Africans especially blacks, stranded in Europe and America. You see such lost generations at train stations, across Europe, trying to obtain under false pretences from their visiting compatriots.

The economic crisis facing Nigeria makes it even more likely that her share of the stranded will only increase. Significantly, while Europe and America are working hard to transit from the use of carbon fuel to electricity to power their cars, Nigeria still relies on income from petro-dollars to survive. Indeed, about 90 percent of the entire national income is predicated on the sale of crude oil. So, as the demand for our oil plummets, the tragedy of trans-Saharan slave trade will only get worse in Nigeria.

The signs are already there, with unfunded budgets and unpaid salaries and pensions across the country. Again, because oil is the main source of our nation’s income, the war to have access and control of this nation’s artery, will get worse, and will further fuel the unimaginable corruption holding our country down. Furthermore, the desperation it engenders is at the root of the do-or-die politics that makes good governance, a near impossibility, across board.

With the selected or elected few having disproportionate control over the nation’s resources, the driving force for politics, moves away from any scintilla of public service to personal or group aggrandisement. This is also the root cause of god-fatherism in politics, as those who have the capacity to promote others, in most cases promote mainly those with the capacity to feather their nest. This cycle will be difficult to break, as long as politics confers undue economic advantage to those in power.

A further tragedy is that other mineral resources, apart from oil, are also nationalised in order to cover the nation’s desperation for the oil resources. Across the country, many states cannot pay salaries even after receiving its share of the proceeds of the oil resources. Recently Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, speaking metaphorically stated that Edo State is sitting on gold. The gold he referred to is probably the huge deposits of limestone, the primary raw material for cement.

Dangote of course got it wrong as the limestone, being a mineral belongs to the federal government, not Edo State. So, while Edo owns the land, the mineral belongs to the federal government. Again, while Edo people suffer the environmental pollution, the federal government owns the mineral and will determine by whom and when it will be exploited. As such, while Edos sit on ‘gold’, it still suffers the shame of relying on the disposition of the federal government to create wealth from the natural resources it sits on.

The challenge faced by Nigeria is not different from that faced by other laggard African countries, and that is why her youths are desperately paying their way into slavery, in Europe. Where the mineral resources is not causing civil war, the disparate sub-national contenders for the natural resources can only be held together by force of dictatorship. Walter Rodney argues that poor leadership, particularly the trenchant variant of capitalism practised by the elite off-takers from the colonial powers are the current scourge of the continent.

To save Africa, her youths have to be saved from the death beds that the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea have become; and also the scourge of despicable inhuman organs harvesters. While our gullible youths have to be educated and if possible forced to stop their foolish desperation to go to Europe, there is the urgent need for African leaders to engineer new political, economic and social variables, if Africa, is to survive this modern tragedy.

In the meantime, the shame of stranded citizens in war torn Maghreb countries, should be quickly brought to an end. The horror films of black Africans, including Nigerians, held in sub-human conditions, allegedly in Libya, has not roused the kind of outrage, from the national governments of the victim countries, or even their fellow blacks, as the world expects. The federal government of Nigeria, must rise up to the challenge, and do whatever is needed to bring home our citizens, to wipe our collective shame.

December 12, 2017