The Nation Newspaper

Category: Comments

  • How Senate committee recovered missing FG’s N140bn

    How Senate committee recovered missing FG’s N140bn

    The Senate Joint Committee On Customs, Excise and Tariff and Marine Transport disclosed on Wednesday that total financial recoveries from companies being investigated by the committee amounted to a whopping N140 billion.

    The joint committee was set up by the Senate to carry out a holistic investigation into the activities of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) with a view to identifying leakages and irregularities in the system and come up with recommendations that will reinvigorate the revenue drive of the Nigeria Customs Service.

    Presenting its interim report on the Floor of the Senate, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma, disclosed that as a result of the exercise, some collection banks had made remittances to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the tune of N128 billion, while from the 60 companies under investigation, more than N12 billion payments had been made to the federal government.

    “As a result of this exercise, some collection banks have made additional remittances to the Central Bank of Nigeria to the tune of N128 billion and evidence of payment and receipt have been received by the committee,” he said, adding that “from the selected 60 companies, over N12 billion payments have been made to the government voluntarily by the companies, based on their own internal self-audit after receiving documented evidence of their culpability from our committee.”

    Senator Uzodinma, however, noted that despite all the payments so far made, none of the approved collection banks or the selected companies had fully cleared the established liabilities against them.

    He stated that in the course of its investigation, the committee identified 32 leakage channels as the major sources of revenue loss in the import-export value chain. He listed these leakage channels to include undervaluation, wrong tariff classification, abuse of waivers and concessions, abuse of diplomatic cargo and personal effects privilege to clear consignments to submission of forged documents for pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAARS) and Single Goods Declarations (SDGS) processing, Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) used for more than one Single Goods Declaration, non-utilization of Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) after Single Goods Declaration (SGD) cancellation and mismatch and discrepancies in consignees, goods description and Tariff classification.

    Other sources of leakage identified by the committee include falsification of import documentation such as pro forma invoice, final invoice, bills of lading, NAFDAC and SONCAP. There are also issues like Non-imputation of complete VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) in inspection acts and bills of lading in order to undervalue vehicles, clearance of new vehicles without form M or Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) processing in clear violation of Destination Inspection, abuse of temporary importation by conversion to home use without payment of import duties, falsification of factory production registers, inaccurate Unit Cost Analysis (UCA) and returns leading to significantly low excise duty collected as compared to actual large scale volumes of excisable commodities locally manufactured.

    Other sources of revenue loss include abuse of Fast Track Blue lane, illegal creation, amendment, and cancellation of Single Goods Declaration (SGDs), Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports (PAARs) and Bills of lading, and importation under pretext of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) privilege reserved for bona fide manufactures, leading to reduction in import duties payable among others.

    He noted that these infractions within the system have disproportionately distorted the economic profile of the country and placed extensive pressures on the nation’s scarce foreign exchange.

    “It also negates all Central Bank of Nigeria initiated foreign exchange management plans. This is because a distorted forex requirement does not essentially reflect the actual forex need of individuals and businesses in the country. This situation benefits only the purveyors of capital flight from the country and adds absolutely no value to the nation,” he added.

    Meanwhile, the Senate has commended the efforts of the committee in helping to recover such huge sums into the coffers of the federal government. Speaking on behalf of the Senate, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekeremadu, said the committee’s achievement should be emulated by other committees, adding that the upper chamber was proud of their efforts.

    In separate reactions commending the activities of the committee, some civil society organisations said the committee has passed the integrity test. The Executive Director of the Centre for Advocacy and Leadership Development (CALD), Joe Mesele, said the recoveries through the Senate Committee investigations have brightened the hope of Nigerians for effective and honest oversight activities in the National Assembly.

    “Some of us within the civil society community did not give the committee any chance of performance but we have obviously been proved wrong with these huge recoveries,’’ he stated.

    According to him, “what is left now is for Nigerians, especially players in the corporate world, to rally round by cooperating with the committee to conclude its assignment with more successes.”

    The Committee had requested for memoranda through newspaper publications and also invited key stakeholders to a one-day public hearing held on Thursday, July 20, 2017. Armed with concise data from its data handling process, the committee proceeded to invite the concerned commercial banks and handed them relevant data in soft and hard copies for their responses.

    After this, the committee went ahead to carefully select a set of companies from diverse sectors of the economy to validate its methods and present a reliable template for its assignment. The companies were then given ample time to study the records and counter the records with their own data or admit culpability.

    The authenticity of the data presented to them led many of the companies which through independent self-audit commenced the process of paying back to government transactions dating back to 2009 and presenting evidence of such payments before the committee.

    Senator Uzodinma in his report said a total number of 60 companies were invited in this first phase of investigations and that the widespread nature of the malfeasance had not only stunted the growth of genuine industries in the economy but has continuously weakened the nation’s  currency in comparison with other regional and international currencies.

    “A situation where the Central Bank of Nigeria, who is the administrator of the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) is handicapped by its inability to access empirical records of the country’s actual trade volumes, and have no concrete programme for ensuring the monitoring and compliance of their foreign exchange manual, prevents them from providing a concise forex utilization profile of the companies that source forex from them. This in our view indicates a much deeper problem than what has been uncovered,” he declared.

    The committee which sought for extension of its mandate to be able to fully complete its job was given eight more weeks by the Senate.

     

    • Meseko is the Consultant, Media Services to the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff.

  • WMGS alumni meet in Lagos

    Some of the members of Old Stufdents’ Association, Washington Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha, 1980 set in a group photograph

    The old students of Washington Memorial Grammar School (WMGS), Onitsha, Anambra  State converged on Rockview Hotel, Festac Town, Lagos, for the first edition of their alumni reunion.

    The members who  met 37 years ago, related as if they  were still at WMGS. They sang from their school hymn which was abridged for the purpose of the meeting by one of their own,  Nelson Nwokolo, who came in from Ghana.

    The 1980 graduates of WMGS took time to remember their colleagues who have passed on.  Some minutes of silence were observed in the late members’ honour as they reeled out their names. .

    The mood in the hall changed as many of them decided to tell their stories since leaving WMGS 37 years ago. It was the time to lay everything bare. While some of them told the stories of their successes and achievements, others who have experienced some challenges relived their accounts .

    The senior prefect of the 1980 set, Barrister Emma Momoh, was the rallying point among them. Though he was scheduled to present a paper, he dazzled all as he spoke extempore. He called for reconciliation irrespective of the ills, disagreement they might have done to themselves while in school.

    According to him, “whenever any opportunity comes, the WMGS 80 class should first of all be given consideration”.

    The officers to manage the affairs of the body was inaugurated.

    The new officials include: Barrister Emma Momoh, President; Mr Dennis Egbuche, Vice President; Sir Kene Obi, Secretary; Chief Donatus Egbuna,Director of Socials; Barrister Cele Ezeanochikwa, Legal Adviser; Mrs Cornelia Azike, Treasurer; Princess Ngozi Ezeuzor, Media and publicity; Mrs. Ngozi Okey Amalu, Provost; Ex Officio members are: Mr. Frank Nelson Nwokolo, Mr Patrick Chuks Onyebuchi

    The programme was later continued with a gala night  till dawn.

  • Kwankwaso: Of character and grace

    Scholars in leadership have since concluded that the most important attribute of leadership is not power but character. According to this school of thought, every leader is only as safe and secure as his character. Indeed, character matters essentially because it preserves a leader’s cause and legacy.

    Adjunct to the above perspectives is also the view that the currency of true leadership is trust. In other words, trust is the product of character. As noted by Theodore Roosevelt, character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.

    Thus as Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso turns 61, this background is a fundamental basis for looking at his life and essence especially as regards his leadership. One is particularly interested in this interrogation of Kwankwaso’s celebrated life at this point in time in relationship with the concept of ubuntu, thereby factoring in his contributions (ideas and actions) to society and development as we can also possibly learn from his leadership ethos.

    Ubuntu as explained by Nelson Mandela in his preface to the acclaimed intimate work on him by his autobiographer and former editor of Time magazine, Richard Stengel, is the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievements of others. Yes, this is crucial in understanding Kwankwaso’s leadership principles.

    From a humble beginning in 1956 to his ascendancy as a top bureaucrat in the civil service of Kano State to his foray into politics where he has made a distinct mark and legacy, there is a subsisting evolvement of clear correlation between Kwankwaso’s enigma and substantive leadership. A correlation encompassing in the main, the critical values of character, vision, humanity and a general sense of what and how a better society should be.

    A scion of the Mallam Aminu Kano School of politics, Senator Kwankwaso has so far carried on with impressive record of achievements, building on that remarkable footprint of Aminu Kano as a spirited public servant devoted to the talakawa, making it very important to tailor public policies to properly address pro-poor agenda for development.

    In achieving this altruistic goal, we come face-to-face with his modern day political philosophy otherwise known as Kwankwasiyya, a model which emphasizes the core of human development as a function of government’s sincerity to the people and in the process making trust the fulcrum of leadership.

    In an article published in 2014, I had advocated that Kwankwasiyya be made a national ideology based on first-hand experience of vast development initiatives during a visit to Kano towards the end of Senator Kwankwaso’s second term as Governor of Kano State. I joined senior editors who were taken round several projects across the state for two days and at the end, it was too clear to all that Kano had actually witnessed a major renewal: from sterling education to infrastructure, roads, bridges and underpasses, modern housing, power, integrative agriculture,  creative empowerment and a general sense of societal regeneration. What we also saw and assessed was the methodical way the then governor carried out his duties, anchored on the true spirit of Kwankwasiyya that ensures prudence, transparency and accountability. The results were everywhere and we saw how Kwankwaso’s noble deeds had elevated his accomplishments in the minds of the people, casting him in the mould of a messiah and hence his huge popularity and followership. Thus beyond the ubiquitous symbolic red caps, Kwankwasiyya was and remains a workable model the nation could borrow to rejig our national development paradigm with the main focus on two basic parameters:  leadership trust and true development.

    Grippingly, the leadership question subsists as a national albatross. But the situation is not insurmountable if we as a people are ready to confront the dilemma squarely and conquer our collective fear. Of course, we must necessarily break from our past by reckoning with and taking decisive steps towards practicable and effective leadership which also transcends the enlightened self interest of the elite formation in the society. But certainly this mentality cannot take us far, not even in the least towards making a meaning of what really should constitute the basics in our search for a new direction.

    The crux of my thoughts in the foregoing were reflective in Senator Kwankwaso’s manifesto of revival tagged “Change is Possible” which also formed the kernel of his address during his declaration for president in October 2014. And until we are ready to tackle the inherent issues in our leadership odyssey as encapsulated in that major address, the jarring cries of national rot may yet remain a constant.

    The situation is really sad. A nation so endowed is now practically run aground with mind-boggling revelations of scandalous graft in high places. Tell me what an individual needs 56 houses for, more so when we realize these houses were built from our common patrimony by virtue of being in public office!  Obviously we are very sick as a nation. Thus a reordering of our values is basic to a new sense of direction in our national life—the beginning of the healing process. This is why the concept of ubuntu referred to in the beginning of this piece needs a closer look so that we can share a sense of sanity, brotherhood and togetherness as no one is an island. We must begin to believe that we exist for others as others also strive to serve a noble cause in our shared humanity. In this kind of consciousness, the resort to such brazen kleptomania in high places will probably be reduced to a tolerable level in our national life.  This is the higher purpose we can also pick from Kwankwasiyya as a leadership model. Admittedly the leader of this movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso continues to inspire, matching noble character with realism and grace.

    Succinctly, we need to inculcate a new ethic of responsibility and selflessness in public service and go beyond platitudes and tokenism in our resolve to tackle the scourge of corruption and underdevelopment. We owe ourselves a duty to enthrone men and women of integrity who can actually commit themselves to a new set of social contract— binding and altruistic.

    We have so far seen in our national history that power itself does not guarantee good governance; hence we need to place emphasis on the character of the office holder, men or women of distinguished character who will do us proud as patriots, who see public office as a TRUST. These are solemn thoughts for national rectitude as we celebrate with Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso on the occasion of his 61st anniversary.  Change is possible!

     

    • Olutomiwa, a journalist and public affairs analyst writes from Lagos.

  • Ajimobi: Challenging the status quo

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State cannot be called a gate crasher in the comity of elites in Nigeria, having paid his dues in the corporate world at the highest level. With a father that played an active part in the politics of the South-west as a lawmaker in the Second Republic, the murky waters of Nigeria’s polity should also not be seen as an unfamiliar terrain to Ajimobi. Having risen to the pinnacle of the corporate ladder as Managing Director of Shell-National Oil after a 26-year distinguished career in the oil industry, the governor brought a wealth of experience into politics. Therefore, his desire to challenge the status quo by bringing his managerial acumen in the corporate world to bear on the governance of Oyo State would expectedly attract resistance from the old guards.

    The obvious reason is that his pragmatic approach to issues is alien to them and is therefore regarded as an affront to their authority as wheeler-dealers in the political game. It is crystal clear that courage and sense of purpose are strongly required by any political leader desirous of effecting complete change in a political system as ours in Oyo State. Those bent on business as usual are often wont to confront the game changer with barrage of criticisms, campaign of calumny, blackmail, deliberate falsehood, mudslinging, vilification and the related.   Such embarrassing moments oftentimes pit such beleaguered leaders against their immediate and extended family members who, out of fear of the unknown, mount pressures on them to abandon the struggle, no matter how genuine their intentions may be. Governor Abiola Ajimobi may have unwittingly created more enemies for himself in Oyo State as a harbinger of a new social order. His altruistic style of governance attracts negative comments majorly from the opposition political parties. His sophisticated approach to governance is deemed complex and alien to the average citizens who are used to the superficial style of governance. It is indubitable that only the deep minded and far sighted can decipher and interpret correctly the laudable objectives of Ajimobi’s programmes and policies.

    For instance, his prudential principle of managing the lean resources of Oyo State leading to the cutting down of unnecessary expenditure and wastages has earned him the nickname “Ajirebi” (harbinger of hunger). Furthermore, his administration’s zero tolerance for street trading and erection of structures under high voltage transmission lines, as well as his insistence on strict adherence to building codes to prevent avoidable deaths, flooding and other environmental hazards are misconstrued as wickedness and acts of political victimisation. These misconceptions are predicated on ignorance and refusal of the citizens to change their old habits, whereas, the government’s intention is targeted at securing clean environments, as well as the protection of lives and property.

    The situation becomes more challenging as the opposition elements take advantage of the masses’ resistance to change by distorting facts and firing undeserved salvos in the direction of the governor. It is obvious that the governor’s attempts at changing the status quo in an apparently hostile political environment are daunting, yet, surmountable. I have no doubt in my mind that at the end of his tenure, Governor Abiola Ajimobi shall surely be appreciated by the populace for leaving behind an enduring and befitting legacy.

    The recent review of the Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration is another area where Governor Ajimobi has grossly been misunderstood. But, for his resilience, the fierce resistance from familiar quarters almost thwarted the exercise. Till date, it’s on record that only few opposition politicians have been stoking this ember of resistance to the review. Understandably, the revered Olubadan, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Saliu Adetunji, who had earlier disagreed to the review from the clip of a video that has gone viral, later agreed, only to turn back again to disagree with the governor on the move. Had Baba considered the many benefits of the review in the larger interest of the concerned parties, he would have given Ajimobi a pat on the back for elevating the status of the Olubadan chieftaincy. The call for the creation of Ibadan State can now be reinforced given its new status, unlike before when it had Olubadan as the only beaded crown Oba. Unfortunately, Kabiyesi’s misplaced fear of a whittled influence and the involvement of politicians that have axe to grind with Ajimobi have given the whole saga a new coloration.

    Little did many armchair critics and commentators on the issue know that the Olubadan Chieftaincy declaration was not cast in iron. For starters, the dynamism of the chieftaincy is manifest in the fact that between 1820 and 1929, the traditional ruler of Ibadanland was known as Baale, until 1930 when Oba Okunola Abass became the first holder of the Olubadan title. And not until 1976 did an Olubadan wear a beaded crown. More so, several attempts had been made by past governors, including ex-Governor Rashidi Ladoja, who set up the Justice Adio Commission of Inquiry, to review the chieftaincy declaration but they could not muster enough courage to see the proposed review through. Again, from what we have read and which has not been debunked, the move by Ajimobi was in response to clarion call by the members of the Olubadan-in-council, eminent citizens, respected elders of the land and the umbrella body of socio-cultural groups in Ibadanland, the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes.

    It is worth stating here that any leader desirous of changing the status quo must not only be daring, but must also be prepared to pay the price. Such a leader also needs courage, focus and perseverance, all of which, interestingly, are possessed by the governor. It is also gladdening to note that majority of the citizens have appreciated Governor Ajimobi’s efforts, which are directed at improving their lot in the state.

    The conflict of interests among members of the political class has always pitted the masses against the government, with the latter cashing in on the gullibility of the former. As Governor Ajimobi labours hard to give Oyo State a new lease of life, my appeal to the citizens, including political opponents, is to view his programmes, policies and projects from a wider compass rather than from a narrow compass of politicking. Let those beating the drum of war sheathe their swords in the interest of the generality of the people.

     

    • Adebiyi , a public affairs analyst, writes from Ibadan.

     

  • Plateau: Not again!

    Plateau State is one of the most spectacular places in Nigeria. And that in many ways. Let us begin with the natural features of it picturesque charming sprawling topography. Whether approached through Bauchi, Nassarawa, Kaduna or Taraba states by land or bird’s view from the air, its stunning natural scenery is simply breathtaking. It has temperate weather for the most part. What government institutions and commercial organisations elsewhere invest huge sums of money on to develop tourism, nature so freely endows the state. Sprawling flora, springs, water falls, mountain ranges and valleys, grandiose rock formations, grand caves, resplendent lakes, inselbergs and all, make the place so cosmic.

    So it should not be difficult to understand why one is worried that serious tension is brewing again leading to killings in the state in the past few days. For those that were born, who lived, schooled or spent some part of their career in Jos, the state’s capital or its environment before, a feeling of nostalgia about Plateau State is almost like their second nature. It transpires as it were that Jos itself was the permanent abode of some British colonial masters who resided there for their mining business as far back as the early 20th century. Even first time visitors often make up their minds to permanently reside in Jos for its ambience.

    In the time past one could easily point to some significant senior citizens including police, army, air-force officers or other senior civil servants in the country who felt good enough to own property there. Many leaders were groomed in Plateau State. If a list of great Nigerians and non-Nigerians who cut their teeth in Jos is made, it will simply be endless—from John Major, the former British Prime Minister to Nigeria’s second Military Head of State General (Dr.) Yakubu Gowon, President Muhammadu Buhari, General Ibrahim Babangida, Inspectors General of Police Muhammadu Gambo, Aliyu Attah, Sunday Ehindero, Mike Okiro, Hafiz Ringim, Mohamed Dahiru Abubakar and Suleiman Abba among others. For some of these top police, military and paramilitary and other personnel, their sojourn to Jos other than on tour of duty to various formations, obviously had a nexus with three major institutions namely the University of Jos, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, and the Police Staff College in Jos.

    There are many others in diverse fields including politicians like the second republic Deputy Senate President John Wash Pam, first civilian governor of Plateau State and PDP Chairman Solomon Daushep Lar, first women leader of the Nigerian’s People’s Party (NPP) the late Ngo Hannatu Chollom who grew up there. You can also trace legendary and great footballers like Aloysius Atuegbu, Celestine Babayaro, Victor Moses, Mikel Obi among others of the Green and Super Eagles fame to Jos. What about musicians? Bongus Ikwue, Dan Maraya Jos, Jude Abaga alias MI, Pankshin Zamani alias Ice Prince, Doug Kaze, Jeremiah Pam Gyang, Jesse Garba Abaga aka Jesse Jagz, Ngohide Ann Gyang better known as Rubby. Others include Innocent Ujah Idibia alias 2Face and Peter and Paul Okoye, the twin brothers who make up P-Square. We can go on and on, and only one book may not contain the list of celebrities that Plateau State has produced, perhaps mostly due to its cosmopolitan nature. Some hold the belief that its high altitude may have something to do with personality trait of some of these celebrities.

    To say the least, Jos was pure fun, so much fun back in the days, up to the late 90s. The city was not only serene but very safe. And you can underscore the word safe. And so was the entire state. There were few incidents of minor robberies and other petty thievery; but there were no kidnappings, bombings, mass killings, and attacks by Fulani herdsmen or reprisal by the locals. A retrospect of growing up days brings to memory several young men like Nzoh Ngandembou Zachee, the Cameroonian proprietor of EDEN newspaper who also owns EDEN FM and founder of CERUT (an NGO), Joshua Dariye former governor of the state and now senator, Simon Lalong, former Speaker of the House of Assembly and now governor of Plateau State, amongst others that are quite successful in life today who grew up there.

    Regrettably all that sanctity, all that tranquility and all that traditional placidity has since passed off. How sad it is that Plateau State’s honorific sobriquet has been replaced by mutual suspicion, political crises, incessant mass killings, herdsmen attacks, maiming, arson, occasional bomb blasts, kidnappings, heinous robberies and all kinds of violent crimes.

    The past few days have witnessed a number of such ugly incidents as in the case of the Monday, October 15, pre-down attacks in some communities in Bassa and Barkin Ladi Local Government areas respectively by gunmen suspected to be Fulani militia. Those and other attacks occurred despite the fact that the state government had pre-emptively  imposed  curfew in Jos North and South, Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government areas respectively due to mounting tensions to stem further nervousness.

    Sporadic attacks, counter-attacks and reprisals as phenomenal occurrences in Plateau State date back to the Jos riots of September 7, 2001. That particular conflict was immediately caused by the appointment of one Alhaji Muktar Mohammed as the coordinator of a local unit of the Federal Government Poverty Alleviation Programme. The violence lasted for almost two weeks resulting in the gruesome death of about 1,000 persons; many others got maimed, with so many property destroyed. A noteworthy issue here about the recurrent conflict in Plateau State is its remote cause to wit: lingering suspicion between the majority Christian indigenes and the so-called minority settler Hausa-Fulani Muslim elements, which has brewed into longstanding political misgivings. It is this lingering cycle of mutual suspicion and political misgiving that snow-balled into and culminated in the reprisal killing of about 600 persons in Yelwa Shedam back in 2004. The Yelwa incident resulted to the imposition of a state of emergency on the state by the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo in May 2004. By that time, over 2000 persons were alleged to have been massacred while over 5000 others were either displaced and/or severely injured in sporadic attacks.

    It is not only pathetic but thoroughly heartbroken and disconsolate that persistent and sustainably workable peace has since eluded Plateau State. Even more disconcerting is the fact that the state government has, with the support of the federal government, spent so much resources to no avail on security through the deployment of Operation Safe Haven; one of the longest internal security operations in the country. One of the most worrisome issues about the situation in Plateau State is the fact that the perceived root causes of acrimonious ethnicity, religion and political belligerence have seemingly defied all resolution efforts so far. In this lies the bigger fear of what could happen if the conflict is not curtailed, contained and resolved once and for all. The implication of allowing it to conflagrate can only be imagined. Whatever it would take therefore to resolve it once and for all must be employed to deal with the situation. And not again should things be allowed to degenerate to the 2001 or 2004 experiences.

     

    • Bassey, President, African Council on Narcotics (ACON) writes from Abuja.

  • Anambra’s imperial majesty?

    The mood at the arena was simply eclectic. Only a sea of heads was discernible, as humans milled around. They came in their numbers, like all such politically conceived gatherings are, consisting of all sorts: party men and women, youths with no clearly defined allegiance, traditional rulers and their spouses, presidents-general of various communities, civil servants directed to report for ‘duty’ at the venue, in spite of the day being a nationally recognized public holiday, and perhaps much more important, a hired crowd of countryside folks, for whom the availability of free ride, and a stipend of N3,000 was an almost irresistible bargain at these austere times.

    The venue was the Alex Ekwueme Square, more renowned for its deplorable conditions, which sharply contrasts with the iconic image of the man whose name it bears.

    It was Monday, October 2, and the governor of Anambra State, His Excellency, Willie Obiano, had chosen that date to flag-off his quest to rule the state for another term of four years.

    Amid the clanging of cymbals, frenzied drumming and general merriment, ndi Anambra everywhere and other persons who were watching the spectacle on live television broadcast waited with anxiety to listen to the governor reel out not just his scorecards, but also promises of what ‘democracy dividends’ would accrue should providence be gracious enough to gift him another tenure.

    Around high noon, the moment came. And to herald his appearance on the podium (as has become customary), Obiano’s Special Assistant, SA on Flute, a craggy middle-aged fellow from his native Aguleri community went to work. From across the mountain of loudspeakers strategically placed around the arena, the shrill echoes of the flutist waltzed forth, extolling the one who had transmuted from *Akpokuedike* Aguleri to *Akpokuedike* Global, conqueror of the Anambra political firmament.

    Just as the spirits hearken to the summons of the *surugede* dance, Governor Obiano sprang to his feet, took a few giddy steps, swirled around like an infernal being, before staggering forward like an Abriba war general, leaving the audience pondering if he was merely reacting to the flutist’s call, or some other stimuli.

    Finally, he came face to face with a horde of microphones which he had to speak to. The words rang out in staccato:  “The chairman of the campaign organization, Her Excellency, the Governor of Anambra State, my wife…”

    Pronto, a cold chill descended upon the hitherto boisterous crowd. Did their governor just cede his executive office to his wife, or could it have been an inadvertent slip? Some more implacable citizens in the crowd rationalized that should the reference to his wife be a mistake, they were certain, however, that naming her chairman of the campaign organization wasn’t. Rather, it seemed like a devious move to downscale the importance of former national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, who the governor had earlier named the Director General of the 87-member campaign committee on August 3.

    Yet, while Governor Obiano’s adulation of his wife as “the Executive Governor of Anambra State” might seem preposterous to other Nigerians, ndi Anambra and close watchers of affairs in the state are not in doubt that the governor truly wields and shares power with his spouse.

    At many state functions, including the one in review, the state’s deputy governor, the affable Dr. Nkem Okeke, is often not allowed to speak, while Mrs Obiano shares the limelight with her husband.

    Indeed, besides maintaining an office complex from which she operates, right inside Government House, Mrs Ebelechukwu Veronica Obiano can, to all intents and purposes be said to be the de facto governor of the state, leaving her husband with a de jure status.

    For one, she is known to have a convoy which trumps that of the deputy governor; routinely flies on chattered aircraft to her many trips to Abuja, the nation’s capital and other cities, and generally lives off the state, in the costliest and choicest hotels within and outside the country.

    For those who worry over the funding for her ostentatious tastes, they may have to make do with the allegation by a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Onyebuchi Offor, that Governor Obiano pockets a princely sum of N1.45 billion monthly as security vote. Till date, there has been no official reaction disproving the charge.

    But were the Anambra First Family’s ‘sin’ centred around only finances, not many ndi Anambra would have seriously minded. Rather, it is Madam Excellency’s obtrusive conduct that reeks and irks ndi Anambra who pride themselves as “the Light of the Nation.”

    As a matter of fact, in her October 2 speech, instead of focusing on serious matters of state, Mrs Obiano elected to dwell on banalities.  Added to her intemperate disposition, which has seen her publicly slap drivers and aides, many fear that Her Excellency’s acerbic tongue might in the long run do her husband in, much in the same way as former First Lady, Patience Jonathan’s cantankerous electioneering drove a wedge between her husband and several of his erstwhile admirers.

    Consider this. On April 10, Mrs Obiano had visited Ukpor community, home town of the Speaker of the state’s legislature, and engaged in a shouting match with some indigenes.

    Trouble was said to have started after Mrs Obiano claimed that the administration built the Nkwo Oha market in the community – a lie which an APGA chieftain who hails from Ukpor openly repudiated.

    Despite adorning an APGA uniform, Chief Osigwe Aghochukwu had shouted, “Madam, it is a lie”.

    Shocked by the seeming impudence, Mrs Obiano allegedly walked up to Aghochukwu and dared him to repeat his assertion, and he promptly did by insisting, “I said it is a lie”.

    Casting executive decorum aside, the governor’s wife upbraided the man, calling him “a devil in APGA uniform”.

    For a woman who largely turned out in long ankara gowns, with a Catholic scapular always around her neck back in 2013 during the campaign that brought her husband into office, Osodieme Obiano appears to have turned full cycle: from the meek Sister Ebele next door, to Anambra’s Imperial Majesty, before whom all else, including her husband, the governor must kowtow.

     

    • Hon. Ogene, was deputy chairman, Media and Public Affairs, in the House of Representatives, Abuja.

  • Lagos’ new lease for education

    According to famous American scientist, George Washington Carver, ‘education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom’. Really, education is critical to the growth and development of any society. It empowers the individual with necessary knowledge and set of skills to actualize potential and maximize opportunities in life.  It is for this reason that governments across the world devote a good chunk of available resources to the development of the educational sector.

    Lagos is unarguably the state with the highest number of public schools, students and teachers. It has consistently been churning out the highest number of candidates for public examinations in Nigeria since 1967.  As a melting point with a bourgeoning population in excess of 20 million, provision of qualitative education in Lagos State has been a daunting task.

    The current administration in the state clearly understands that the task of making Lagos State “the model of excellence in the provision of education in Africa” requires meticulous attention. To this end, the sum of N92.4 billion, representing 11.37 percent was allocated to education sector in the state budget for 2017.

    Government has directed the policy toward ensuring equal educational opportunity in the state, encourage parents who might otherwise neglect their children’s education to send their children to school and making education affordable for everyone. So, within the half- time of the administration’s tenure, the wheels of what is mutating to be a historic education revolution in Lagos were rolled off with aggressive rehabilitation of public schools throughout the length and breadth of the state.  Several hundreds of classroom blocks have been built and renovated while thousands of students and teachers furniture supplied to various primary and secondary schools.

    In line with the commitment of the present administration to expand access to knowledge for Lagosians, the state’ science laboratories are now better equipped and the enthusiasm of students to be science inclined has become very high with a lot of success recorded. Equally, the state government has completed the renovation and upgrade of public libraries in 18 secondary schools across the state with top class facilities. Lagos Digital Library, an online repository of education content, is ready and will as well be launched in February 2018.

    The Lagos State government appreciates that as much as physical infrastructure is important, adequate and quality teachers in schools are as important.  Thus, as part of measures to bridge the gap in the teacher/pupil ratio in the state, the government recruited 1,300 teachers for primary schools while another 1000 teachers were recruited for public secondary schools in 2016. Similarly, government has been paying attention to teachers’ welfare.

    Also, since April, Code Lagos centres have been launched in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions (private and public) across the state, as well as in all public libraries and ICT spaces. The ultimate goal is for one million students in the state to have access to the coding system by the year 2019.

    Cheeringly, the dividend of the state’s investment in education is paying off. For instance, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was declared the “Teachers Most Friendly Governor” by the Nigeria Union of Teachers during the celebration of the last World Teachers’ Day in Abuja. The same day, President Muhammadu Buhari rewarded the hard work, high performance and high productivity of three Lagos State school teachers and administrator with the “President’s Teachers and Schools Excellence Award”. Nominees of the state clinched three out of the nine categories of award available to contestants from 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

    The awardees, Mrs. Lufadeju Dolapo Olufunke received the Best School Award on behalf of Ojodu Junior Grammar School, Ikeja. The “Best School Administrator Award” (Senior Secondary School category) went to Mrs. Oluderu Bilikisu Oluwaseyi of Magbon Alade Senior Grammar School while Mrs. Adelegan Moronike Sarat of Civil Service Junior Model College, Igbogbo was selected as the First Runner up, Best Administrator of the Year 2017.

    Earlier, five students of Lagos State public secondary schools had excelled at the Y2017 National Robot Olympiad and qualified to represent Nigeria at the World Robot Olympiad to be held in Costa Rica. It is worthy of note that Lagos State has been representing Nigeria in this competition since 2015.

    On September 22, Oluwasegun Durojaiye of Lagos State Model College, Igbokuta qualified to represent the South-west zone at the National Finals of the NNPC Science Quiz Competition and Atabo Ufedejo of Model College, Kankon emerged one of the best students at the national finals of the 2017 Oluwole Awokoya Chemistry Competition held in Kaduna from September 17 -22.

    Lagos State took the first position in the National Free Choice (Senior) Project presented by the students of Government Technical College, Agidingbi at the 2017 National Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists (JETS) competition in March. The state won 10 trophies and 10 medals at the event and seven of the trophies won went to state public schools students.

    Also, seven students/teachers from the state public schools were awarded medals and certificates at the 2017 edition of National Mathematics and Science Olympiad award ceremony organized by the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja.

    The Key Performance Indices of the education sector is not limited to competition awards as the state has made tremendous progress in external examinations since Y2015. The result of the state’s performance at the 2017 WASSCE is put at 66% pass in at least five subjects including English and Mathematics, compared to the 50.41% in 2016, 37.27% in 2015 and 21.22% in 2014.

    The question that comes to mind from the above is this: Is there a nexus among these various achievements? The answer, of course, is yes! Teachers’ training and staff welfare have been given priority attention with teachers’ salary being consistently paid regularly on the 23rd day of every month.

    It is also on record that all eligible teachers since 2015 to date have been promoted as at when due while 2,320 officers were trained between May, 2016-17 and many more have been done thereafter.

    Car loans were awarded to 425 beneficiaries to the tune of N30, 302, 252.75k, N30 million housing loan was approved for 55 beneficiaries in the teaching service and 4601 pensioners on the payroll of the Teachers Establishment and Pensions Office were paid regularly.

    To further encourage service delivery, Education Merit Award is organized annually in honour of outstanding performers in the various categories of award in the education sector of Lagos State. More than 100 education merit awards are given out with the star prize being a brand new car awarded to the best teacher in both the primary secondary school categories.

    Apart from improved teachers’ welfare, the state government’s huge investment in education infrastructure contributed immensely to the improved status of education in the state. Fortunately, the state government isn’t resting on its oars as it is poised to do more in the months ahead.

     

    • Ogundeji is Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

  • Oba Ewuare II: Towards Benin renaissance

    Tomorrow October 20, it will exactly be one year that Omo n’ Oba n’ Edo, UKU AKPOLOKPOLO,  Ewuare the Second, Oba of Benin, ascended the majestic throne of his forefathers. October 20, 2016 was a day the stars stood still for yet another great Oba of Benin as he assumed his responsibilities as the monarch of the Great Benin Kingdom. It was a day a new peace, a new Benin nationalism and a new Benin ancestry was born.

    I have watched the Oba, listened to him and admired his majestic finesse which he exuded in the last one year, and I am basking in the euphoria that the Benin nation is once again flourishing with a 21st century monarch who is equipped with the intellectual depth, moral high grounds and spiritual dexterity to lead the modern Benin people to greater heights. Oba Ewaure II, on assuming powers on that fateful day, gave a roadmap of where he is leading the modern Benin person to. His maiden speech brilliantly articulated the prospects and challenges of the Benin people in particular, and Nigeria in general. He talked about his plans to restore the glory of the old Great Benin, touching on the economy, administration, cultural revival and restoration of the Edo language, promotion of the ethics, values and morals of the Benin people which great historians of the Benin civilization gladly recorded in their various works. Oba Ewaure II comes to the throne with a great sense of the history of Benin. His grasp of the historical trajectory of the Benin people seemingly guided his sense of mission which was articulated in his coronation speech as he called for the development of the Gele Gele port, an ancient port with which Great Benin reached out to the world for trade and advanced international economic relations way back in the 15th century. Dr. Ekhaguosa Aisien, a retired consultant surgeon and an eminent authority on the Benin history in his recent work, entitled; Ughoton described the GeleGele port, which is adjacent to the Ughoton Beach on the banks of the Ovia River as the “window on the world” for old Benin for 400 years. The Benin scholar-doctor-historian sheds light on the pre-eminence of the Gele Gele port in Ughoton further: “And much of what old Benin was known for was propagated through Ughoton and her Beach. Then 120 years ago, this port, through which Benin interacted with the wider world, was destroyed, along with Benin City itself, during the Benin-British war. After the war the new victorious rulers of the land turned their backs on Ughoton and her beach, and inadvertently converted Benin artificially into a landlocked kingdom, a kingdom without any access to the sea”.

    Oba Ewaure II Knows very well that Benin is not a landlocked kingdom. The artificial landlocked status imposed on the Benins by the British was sustained in post-colonial Nigeria as one of the consequences of the forced integration of old Benin Kingdom into the modern Nigerian state by the British imperialists. Also, the majoritarian politics which drives the contested Nigerian federalism and its neo-colonial political economy is yet another reason for the abandonment of the Gele Gele port which is the oldest port in the West African sub region. It operated since the middle of the15th century. The politics of majoritariaism and its short-sighted leadership ensured the subjugation of other ports in the country while sustaining the Lagos port and ensuring its boom economy in international trade to the detriment of the Benin Gele Gele port and other ports in the Niger Delta region. Today, only the ports in Lagos flourish. This is at the expense of the Gele Gele port in Ughoton. It is time for ports in Warri, Koko, Port Harcourt, Benin and other parts in the Niger Delta to flourish. The monarch’s call’s as many well-meaning Nigerians have noted is not political. It is purely economic. Commerce and economic prosperity from international and domestic trades are the imperatives here. It sits at the apex of the logic to rebuild the economy of the Benins and Nigerians on a larger scale. The Gele Gele port will flourish afresh, open up the agro-based economy of Ughoton and environs and create the new industrial hub in Benin and Nigeria.

    The development of the Gele Gele port will open new frontiers for the prosperity of Benin and her neighbours in the much marginalized Niger Delta. This is crystal clear in the light of the centrality of trade in contemporary world economy. Trade, the engine of growth of the developed countries, looms large as the engine of growth for the developing economies. The prosperity of the European, American, Japanese, and recently the Chinese economies with other Asian tigers is a testimony to the fact that Benin, and indeed, Nigeria can reconnect to the world, and the mystery that made the Gele Gele port in Ughoton to flourish for over four centuries is very much alive. The Benins are on the threshold of history. And so, Oba Ewaure II has set the pace. He has made a clarion call. We must all respond to his call.

    An accomplished diplomat, administrator, humanist and lover of his people, Oba Ewaure II has in the last one year given us a roadmap on how Great Benin can recreate itself and re-enact the mystique surrounding Benin civilization which knowledgeable historians claimed is as old  as the creation of the world by Osanobua (Almighty God). The monarch has opened new vistas on a cultural renaissance as he mobilizes the Edo man and woman to return to the promotion of the Edo language and the beautiful culture of the Benin people. Edo n’ Imose!

    I listened to the monarch respond to welcome addresses of his subjects from the various Benin communities since he embarked on his appreciation tour of his kingdom;  I have seen the  Oba pray fervently for the progress, peace and development of his people in the communities he visited so far. I have watched the Oba passionately begging Osanobua and his ancestors to have mercy on his subjects. I came to the conclusion that there is a renaissance in Great Benin. The circle of Benin greatness is anew in the digital age with a digital-compliant Oba. The monarch’s zeal for good governance, development, justice, fair play, rule of law, maintenance of law and order is remarkable. No doubt, his background as a diplomat, indeed, as Ambassador Plenipotentiary to several countries including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Angola, Italy and Albania, and his academic training in the United States and the United kingdom foreground his enviable prowess for decorum, equity, protocol, and of course, orderliness in line with the Kingdom’s cosmology and the heritage of inimitable and self-respecting Benin people.

    These values which separate the Benins from other tribes and ethnic groups are being eroded by the younger generation, perhaps, due to urbanization and migration leading to the mix-up in Benin land. But these values, as our Great Oba Ewuare II has demonstrated and instructed, must be restored. I salute you my king! Our land must be saved from the downside of globalization. And so, all Benin elites and mass of the people must join the ship of progress which the Great Oba Ewuare II has commissioned. We must re-conceptualize globalization, and fashion it to meet our local needs and common destiny. So, it is glocalization that can rescue from the “elephantine” fangs of globalization.

    It is a mark of the king’s flair for excellence in development and the upliftment of the lives of the people that he recently honoured the former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, for his great works as governor of Edo State from 2008 to 2016. The reception of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole should send the message to all and sundry especially members of the political class that our Oba and the great people of Nigeria are in search of persons on the political space who can bring about socio-economic development and uplift the lives of the people. The Oba’s reception for the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is a wake-up call to the political class in Edo State to return to the drawing board, put on their thinking caps and commit to the socio-economic transformation of Edo State

    . Omo n’ Oba n’ Edo, UKU AKPOLOKPOLO, Ewuare the Second, Oba of Benin has unveiled a new wave for good governance. We must answer this clarion call. Oba ghator, kpere, ise!

     

    • Honorable Obahiagbon is former chief of staff, Edo State Government, Government House, Benin City.

  • Anambra: The case for Obiano

    Someone brought to the office a video clip of Tony Nwoye campaigning. Since  the man is the APC candidate in the November 18 Anambra governorship election,  the urge to view  his message was overpowering, especially as he had been  rather taciturn since the contentious primary election that threw him up as his party’s candidate.

    What was his governorship ambition all about? Decked out in a dark suit, a cordless microphone appeared glued to his lips. “Willie Obiano is a thief,” shouted Tony Nwoye. He mouthed this abuse for the second and third times. Like a repeater station, the voice of an unseen fellow echoed his foul words. A few of his listeners clapped. In a minute the  clip ended. What an anti-climax, I thought.

    Tony Nwoye’s  sacrilegious tongue apart, there was the more serious tenor of malicious prejudice in this unsubstantiated accusation. Was his fulmination the sum total of the APC’s manifesto? One assumed that, in soliciting for political endorsement, effort must be made to portray the candidate as deserving of support. Did the outpouring of invectives ever solve any society’s problems? I immediately reckoned with the link between Tony Nwoye’s diatribe and the standard fare of the PDP in Anambra State, that has converted into a fine art the usage of the social media for mendacious effusions.

    We will return to these aberrant behaviours. In the meantime, an introduction of Chinua Achebe  integrity is important. When Abuja toyed with investing the distinguished novelist with a national honour, he struck a resounding blow for the oppressed, and demonstrated that real Ndigbo never put forward their conscience for sale.

    In a letter addressed to President Obasanjo and dated October 15, 2004, Achebe said inter alia: “I write this letter with a very heavy heart. For some time now I have watched events in Nigeria with alarm and dismay. I have watched particularly the chaos in my own state of Anambra where a small clique of renegades, openly boasting its connections in high places, seems determined to turn my homeland into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom. I am appalled by the brazenness of this clique and the silence, if not connivance, of the Presidency…

    “Nigeria’s condition today under your watch is, however, too dangerous for silence. I must register my disappointment and protest by declining to accept the high honour awarded me in the 2004 Honours List.”

    Well, Anambra has come a long way since the heady days of PDP’s governance of the state. Therefore, Governor Willie Obiano was able to deliver this proclamation last year:  “Ndi Anambra, when I assumed office with my team on March 17, 2014, we took over a state that had no landmark infrastructure and no clear-cut strategic vision for the future. And perhaps more importantly, we met a state that was heavily traumatized by violent armed robbery, kidnapping, child-trafficking and endless cases of drug-related crimes. This crime-ridden scenario discouraged investments and successfully cut off the state from the grid of modern development. Ladies and gentlemen, my  team and I inherited a state with an average ambition but through strategic refocusing and a commitment to excellence, we have repositioned Anambra among Nigeria’s leading states today!”

    Now, Obiano is seeking re-election, to consolidate his administration’s legacy. The imminent governorship election means that the elephant’s carcass lies prostrate on the ground, and everybody has reached for their knife, to cut themselves a helping of its meat. Not surprisingly, there are more than 30 candidates primed for the contest. Of course, most of them are in it for keeping up appearances. But Oseloka Obaze and Tony Nwoye, PDP and the APC candidates respectively,  deserve some attention, if only because they are of parties with some grounding in Nigerian politics.

    You expected these dudes to say in concrete terms what they would do differently if they attained the political power they are hankering for. Governor Obiano has restored the peace and stability of an Anambra State previously reduced to a criminal fiefdom, as  Achebe put it. He has transformed Awka into a real capital city. He has attracted investments both local and foreign. He has revolutionized agriculture in the state. He is taking particularly good care of government employees and retirees, paying their salaries and pensions and gratuities promptly and regularly. He has given back to Ndigbo their pride.

    Now it is the place of those challenging Governor Obiano for Anambra’s governorship to, at least, have the good sense to state what they intend to do differently to further improve the lot of the people. Instead they are throwing curses and falsehoods about like confetti. If Tony Nwoye knows no better than to excoriate Anambra’s Number One Citizen, Oseloka Obaze, given the fact that he worked under Governor Obiano, should restrain the lying excesses of his campaign loudspeakers.

    Perhaps, he has bounded himself up a dilemma, knowing that the world knows that he would not be in politics today had Peter Obi not commandeered him godfather-like into the gambit. Even Peter Obi himself knows that the world knows that his self-imposed objective of dethroning Governor Obiano is nothing to do with principles. Otherwise, they would not aggregate and deploy mudslingers and quasi-journalists in the demeaning fixation with interminable lies on the Internet, the newspapers and frequency modulated wavebands.

    I recently met with Anyanwu (Mrs.) Bianca Ojukwu who professed an inability to get over Peter Obi’s betrayal of APGA because it was in front of her eyes that he solemnly vowed before her husband, Dim Ojukwu that he would forever keep the APGA flag flying.

    How should Ndi Anambra respond to the contingency of their salvaged state being handed over to the political party on whose watch cultists thrived and Barrister Barnabas Igwe and his pregnant wife, Barrister Abigail Igwe were murdered and mutilated? Isn’t the prospect of the return of those that abducted a siting governor and turned Anambra into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom too hazardous to contemplate?

    What is there to say to the traitorous, the folks that see public office as an exclusive club only for the initiated, who have no time to appreciate that governance is about the welfare of the people rather than a religion of rules and protocols?

    The good news is that Anambra’s choice in the impending ballot is unambiguous.

    Ndi Anambra knows the antecedents of the candidates and the sleight of hand masquerading as god-fatherism. They know those with bloodstained hands and others whose “good morning” should inevitably induce a retirement for the night. They know that it is anathema to ditch General Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s party and settle for an alternative that grudgingly ceded to our people a miserable seven percent of democracy’s dividends.

    They understand that the equitably arranged zoning principle that should see the governorship in  Anambra South in 2022 will be irredeemably compromised if unprincipled conspirators and recidivists forced the hardworking Willie Obiano from office. Those, blessed reader, are the reasons I will cast my vote for Governor Willie Obiano on election morning.

  • The coming anarchy

    The above is the title of a book written by Robert Kaplan, the celebrated author of “The Balkan Ghosts”. In the book, Kaplan looked thoughtfully at the future of global peace after the end of the Cold War and beheld worrisome scenes suggesting that new forms of tension would engulf the world from several important forces. He made far-reaching predictions on the role of religion, tribalism, resource misuse, demographic youth bulges, rampaging national pride and a host of others in pushing global peace to new tipping frontiers.

    In a lengthy cover story he published in the Atlantic Monthly of 1994, Kaplan shed more light on his fear for the future of peace. Among his many worries was the place of post-colonial strong men using inherited state system to cultivate dictatorial administrations and foster a culture of perennial internal conflicts notably in Africa. Even though, he admitted that strong men are now scarce on the continent given the series of healthy political developments within, nevertheless, pockets of them do exist still as major threats to peace and stability of both national and subnational governments in Africa.

    Recently, Ibadan, the political capital of the Yoruba experienced the touch and threat of its own strong man when the governor of the empire-state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi decided to topple the chieftaincy apple-cart by synthesizing 21 new Obas in a coronation ceremony reminiscent of a catholic marriage. Of course, the city reacted. Recipients of new chieftaincy bouquets rejoiced endlessly singing choric chants to the new hero of the land. On the other side of the spectrum, the losers groaned and cried blue murder. Notwithstanding the hues and cries, the deafening and palpable outrage in some instance, the strong man characteristically stood his ground invading the state television station to give hint of the finality of his action and the total readiness of his administration to crush any opposition in the way of his epochal chieftaincy reform.

    However, just as the hostile outbursts were simmering down almost in response to the chest-thumping, the city came alive again this time, in distinct battle arrays. Reason: The paramount ruler dared the rage of the strong man by approving the appointment of new chiefs, part one in grade, and subsequently fixing their installation for his palace on Monday, September 25. However, a short while into the splendid occasion, some strange guests popularly known as ‘eru iku’ (servants of death) attended the function to witness history and present their own royal gifts of AK-47 rifles. In the typical nature of such influential guests, the party immediately felt their presence as terrorizing deluge of gun shots shattered the peace of Popoyemoja, the proverbial street of the mermaid, throwing the entire installation ceremony into panicky convulsions.

    By and large, since this murderous attack, there had been claims and counterclaims on both the identity and constituency of the hoodlums and their sponsors. On the one hand, government came out to condemn the heinous act pointing accusing fingers at a leading politician in the state for masterminding the invasion in his desperate search for political relevance ahead of the 2019 polls. From the camp of the accused, the lame theory of sabotage fire was roundly heckled while it insisted also that the raid was a premeditated action to bring home the consequences attendant to government’s earlier warning against disobedience. But beyond these, individuals in the ancient city are getting sensibly worried on the broad security implications of the attack for a number of reasons. On the one hand, the synthetic Obas are now moving around with armed thugs showing substantial loss of faith in conventional security agencies and the growing preference of private  armies while on the other hand, the violated in the palace invasion are mobilizing their killing instincts for deadly reprisals. In all, troops are forming and the front line is becoming well-defined and well-horned for battle by the day.

    For Ibadan, the cautionary Yoruba adage “those who know the work of darkness will not injure the moon” is fast holding true. For sure, the moon of communal peace in the land appears broken and nothing but the darkness of war is looming with frightening insistence. The dynamics are fairly fast and right now situation has reached a new low with the alleged briefing of the President on the unbecoming conduct of the Olubadan by the governor in an action many suspected was aimed at getting the support of the presidency for the final onslaught such that anytime from now, His Imperial Majesty may be teed off the throne like a solitary golf ball in another historic act of firsts by the colourful governor.

    Obviously, these disturbing developments are dangerous portents on the way of peace and do not point to a clear, swift and predictable resolution of the lingering crisis. In fact, given the city’s pedigree of political violence and with the 2019 elections rapidly approaching, the fear of a rocketing anarchy marked by the possible return of the past when troublesome warlords bestrode the landscape has seized each and every one.

    Although, the state government has promised to track down the attackers and come clean on all suspicions,  this assurance has not yet correlated well with the governor’s imperious perception and utterances all of which have denied him the needed dose of humility to visit the Kabiyesi, whom he calls his father, to express his concern at the unfortunate incident. Perhaps, here, we are on a journey to some moral utopia after all; strong men don’t make peace at the cost of their ego. Instead, they allow the house to fall if it must and in this tragic display of power and pride, we see the pernicious effects of personalization of public authority on meaningful state building in much of Africa. We see blatant occlusion of the moral space by which power holders defy long-standing stereotypes-secrets of social cohesion, in favour of personal preferences; we see occlusion of due process that often precipitates calamitous self-help and finally, we see occlusion of sovereignty whereby stewards of power become the sovereign themselves: all-conquering and perfect in actions.

    But then, there are consequences for power and pride that prevent societies from evolving to customary standard of decency which Kaplan simplified as a continual rebellion or more vividly, a possible “transformation of war into increasingly irregular form-making it indistinguishable from terrorism”. Thus, while it is easy to win war relatively quickly on other fronts, the tendency of war on the chieftaincy turf acquiring the character of endless urban guerilla disorder must not be lost on the strong man of the moment. Accordingly, if Ibadan will not fly away on the wings of avoidable travails, all hands must be on deck and speedily too. Very clearly, the chieftaincy face-off has entered a new phase where further escalation could prove unimaginative and reasonably costly. Essentially therefore, all efforts must concentrate on closing the polarities and in this wise, the momentum of ongoing mediatory moves initiated by the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes in spite of its own vast credibility erosion, must be genuinely supported and strengthened by all.

    More importantly too, the Ibadan Elders Forum which currently enjoys the patronage of the governor must leave the path of partisan diplomacy to be part of honest, frank and sincere efforts to reconcile the palace and the state’s helmsman so as to resolve the chieftaincy imbroglio in a win-win manner. On its own, the Presidency must be timely in its actions by using its clout to call the two sides to order and decorum and prevent a repeat of the possible build up of debacle that terminated the nation’s First Republic.

     

    • Adisa is an Ibadan-based public affairs commentator.