The Nation Newspaper

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  • Between Obiano and Obaze

    Presently the reigning vibes in the Anambra State political terrain is this ear-boozing song – godfatherism. Most Anambrarians believe that the governor, Willie Obiano is evidently so desperate to clinch a second term berth that his followers, who are thinning by the day, are catching at straws like the proverbial drowning man.

    From the saying that the former governor, Peter Obi was demanding N7 billion from the incumbent governor as the money spent while the ‘godfather’ (Obi) installed Obiano to the fairy-tale that Obi left APGA on his own for pursuit of federal appointment, down to the fact that he betrayed APGA by leaving the party, and on to such concocted tales – all in efforts to make Obi abandon any interest in Anambra State politics of 2017.

    But Obi, even though not interested in responding or exchanging words with them amidst very tempting provocations, decided to cut across their ice by getting deeply involved with same election. Their disappointment could be felt, seen and even touched as the brazen accusations of all sorts of conjecture at very evident maligning could not debar the ex-governor from assisting in ridding his dear state of what many perceive as aliens in power.

    Right from when primaries were getting closer and hotter, Governor Obiano’s cronies were busy shouting, attempting to sow seeds of crisis into the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP just because it was then clear that former Secretary to the State Government, Oseloka Obaze was not only a strong contender but also being supported by Obi. From under table intrigues of clandestine nature to open rascality like arranging a handful of paid protesters in Onitsha, the Obiano camp went agog with what many call debasing politics of open blackmail and outright lies masked in propaganda.

    But recently, they seem to have settled on godfatherism. Their deep-like-the-ocean undercards yielded no fruits as Obaze cornered the PDP candidacy in flying colours. It then became very glaring to the Obiano camp that the man they dreaded most, even from the very day of handover, is poised to rock their boat. So they went wild with this new godfatherism chant. They force a move back to history by resurrecting the Dr. Mbadinuju days with Sir Emeka Offor, the Senator Chris Ngige days with Chief Chris Uba to mean godfatherism should not be allowed again in Anambra State.

    But they forget to bring in the king of them all – the late Eze Igbogburugburu, Dim Emeka Ojukwu. Wasn’t he Obi’s godfather? What about Obi himself? Wasn’t he Governor Obiano’s godfather?

    Let’s face it – Obiano himself confessed he was swimming in his pool when he was called home to govern. He was provided even the air ticket to fly home to that call. In all we hear about godfatherism, none has been as completely domineering in execution like the one Obi did for Obiano.

    Today, let’s agree that Obi is Obaze’s godfathe. As Secretary to the State Government (SSG) for three years, at least he inherited official cars he’s still using. He’s conveniently taking care of himself and family. He’s made enough savings as a very prudent man to purchase his own nomination and declaration of interest forms. He’s been funding his campaign team. In his fleet were vehicles he personally bought to boost his campaigns. His posters, literature, handbills, various meetings must have been sponsored by the man.

    If Obi was Obiano’s godfather, did Obi one day arm-twist his godson? When this godson and the other godfather, the former national chairman of the party, demanded for Obi to leave the party, didn’t Obi leave immediately? If there’s any truth in this propaganda-gone-sour, why didn’t Obi insist on being paid this sum before he left in the true ways of the godfather Obiano and his cronies want ndi Anambra to believe Obi represents? And the bold question should be – what manner of godfather would leave his godson’s party if indeed his interest hovered around recouping his campaign fund?

    But looking at the man Peter Obi, which state in Nigeria would not truly wish he was a godfather in anointing any governor? Can a good husband be a bad man? Not likely. Obi, in eight years of governing Anambra State developed all parts of Anambra via ANIDS. Poverty Alleviation; Education; Health; Security; Agriculture; Road Infrastructure; Public Utilities; Water; Judiciary; Housing; etc. – Obi scored first in all these. He brought the state to enviable positions in all departments that for once, ndiAnambra sang in unison that he was God-sent.

    What was Obi’s secret of performance? Professionals say it’s prudence and I can’t agree more. Obi is so prudent that they christened him Aka Gum. Yes, he aka-gummed Anambra’s scarce resources that he was able to give real governance to the masses. That’s why they love him….they shout Okwuteee anywhere they see him.. They still love the only real governor they’ve ever known… Ndi Anambra’s dream of another governor like their Okwute once more. If indeed he is a godfather to Obaze, it is to the latter’s huge credit. For if 20% would have voted for Obaze while standing alone, 80% would vote for same man with Peter Obi standing beside him. This is a huge advantage other candidates don’t have.

    This is the major set-back the other godson lacks that is driving his camp crazy. This is why they are lying to and cajoling ndi Anambra to reject godfatherism. There are godfathers and there are godfathers. Peter Obi is one godfather ndi Anambra will welcome with open arms. Already majority are saying – if Obi tells us to vote for Obaze we will gladly do so.

    Anywhere in Anambra, every of the 177 communities have more than one reason to welcome Obi with genuine love. He’s built schools, constructed roads, built hospitals and health centres, provided amenities, boosted industries, and provided poverty alleviation via agriculture and SMEs, and many others. Such a man should be called back to be a godfather any time. Because today, the hawks are back in governance. What the poor masses see is governance of enriching private pockets and denying the poor masses, despite being cripplingly overtaxed immediately Obi left. What they are seeing is a government where the only finished projects are located in one community – Aguleri, with its completed 35 roads and on-going stadium.

    The masses will want the Obi days to return. They are happy that Obi is interested in bringing those days back by being actively involved. In fact, they were afraid that since Obiano disappointed in continuing with good governance that Obi would abandon Anambra. But they now know how much their Okwute loves them. They will do everything to see those great days back.

    Love him or hate him, Peter Obi is one person great majority of ndi Anambra will welcome wholeheartedly as a godfather.

     

    • Akosa wrote in from Onitsha. 

  • Peace Mission to Taraba-Benue borders

    For Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, there is no sacrifice that is too much to make for Taraba State to enjoy enduring peace. He has consistently made such sacrifices at the risk of his personal comfort and safety since he became governor of the state. He again demonstrated that spirit of commitment during a 12-hour extensive and stressful tour of areas of potential border disputes between the Jukun of Taraba State and the Tiv people of Benue State on Tuesday September 5. His Benue State counterpart, Dr. Samuel Orton joined him on the trip which brought out thousands of people in the border communities cheering in excitement on the peace initiative. They were also accompanied by deputy governors from both states, Engineer Haruna Manu (Taraba) and Engineer Benson Abounu (Benue)

    At every stop during the tour, the governors delivered a message of peace to all the communities. They told the citizens on both sides of the divide of the need to live together in peace. Ishaku was emphatic on the point that border demarcation is only an exercise done usually for administrative convenience and not intended to split and promote hostilities among people living on either side of it. He told them he and his colleague from Benue share a common attitude on the border issue which is that the Tiv people who happen to be living on the Taraba side of the communities should regard themselves as Taraba indigenes while the Jukun living on the Benue side should also see themselves as belonging to that state. Both governors, Ishaku told a cheering crowd at every of the stops, would ensure that such persons are not denied any benefits or subjected to any form of inhuman treatment in their state of residence.

    The tour ended at Ugba, headquarters of Logo Local Government Council Area in Benue. There, a formal meeting was held and was attended by senior officials of the governments of both states and representatives of the communities in the border areas. It ended with a communiqué which announced the setting up of a committee jointly headed by the deputy governors from both states to further examine the issues involved in the disputes and to liaise with the National Boundary Commission in order to achieve a permanent solution. The governors through the communiqué advised citizens in the disputed border areas not to do anything that will further aggravate poverty in the area through loss of their valuable properties including farm produce which is the main revenue earner for most people in the two states.

    In Taraba State, peace is a cardinal agenda of the Ishaku administration. That decision is a product of experience and the reality of that time when Ishaku became governor. The administration inherited what Governor Ishaku has often described as a “state in pieces.” He came into the office of Governor of Taraba State at a time when ethno-religious and communal crises were rife and people who had lived together in the past as good neighbours were estranged and became sworn enemies. This was compounded by herdsmen attacks on farms and farmers, all of which resulted to the deaths of many people and in the destruction of properties. This informed the coinage and the popularisation of his peace mantra – “Give me peace and I will give you development.” It was an appeal to the conscience of the people in in the areas of perpetual conflicts in various parts of the state to stop the hostilities and to embrace peace so that government will be in a position to deploy its energies and resources fully to the promotion of development projects.

    The state is today relatively at peace. Farmers are back on their farms and food production is at its peak. Rice production is the greatest gainer in this respect. Rice production has quadrupled. Educational institutions which were forced to shut down due to the crises of those days resumed normal curricular activities. This and the other reforms carried out by the Ishaku administration in the sector have greatly enhanced the state’s performances in the West African Examination Certificate, WAEC. For the first time in the 26-year history of the state, Taraba recorded 67.3 percent in the examination. That was in 2016. This year, the state also came out shinning brilliantly as the eighth best performing state in the examination in the whole country. The result is the best attained by any state in the entire former Northern Nigeria this year. It is for this reason and more that Governor Ishaku would never want anything that would undermine peace that is currently being enjoyed in the state. It was also for this reason that he was out with his Benue State colleague for long hours on Tuesday September 5 on a mission to nip potential communal crises in the bud.

    The trip to the border communities in the two states was very productive. Apart from the setting up of the committee headed by the deputy governors, it succeeded in sensitizing the people on the need for peace at the borders. The people enthusiastically trooped out to see the most prominent political personalities from Taraba and Benue visiting together and to hear the message of peace that they brought. It is so far the highest ranking peace delegation to the borders and the people had no choice but to listen to their very loud and weighty voices that came asking them to give peace a chance.

    In the days and weeks ahead, there will be more concrete actions on the border issue. The committee of deputy governors from the two states are already warming up for action and soon, the issues involved will be resolved. It is unlikely, however, that the decisions of the committee and the Boundary Adjustment Commission will go the way that all parties in the disputes would wish for. This is not possible. What is possible is the determination on the part of the people to make sacrifices for peace to prevail. Peace must be allowed to prevail for the people, their children and their great grandchildren to have a home today and in the future. Peace is the weapon the people require on both sides of the border to fight and overcome poverty that is common to them. It is also what they need to be united against their common enemies who constantly invade their communities to kill them and maim and to destroy their farms and rape their women. They have heard more than enough from their governors. It is now for them to apply wisdom by doing only those things that will promote peace and stability in their various communities.

  • Dwindling reading culture

    The World Culture Score Index recently released the result of its survey on world’s reading countries in which Nigeria was adjudged as unreading. Appalling as it is, it is not surprising to any keen observer of our social milieu. What is surprising, however, is how it has to take a seemingly obscure organization to get our media frenzied about our retrogression in that respect despite similar revelations by our local researchers.

    A couple of years ago (May 15, 2013), Mahmood Jega, the inimitable Daily Trust columnist, did an interesting piece about a young boy who opted to hang himself than read his books when his parents insisted. That poor lad is just a microcosm of how deep is the anathema among particularly young Nigerians. As an instructor and bitter complainant of our miserable reading habit, I nearly go to war with my students to get them read a few excerpted pages from a book. By God, sometimes out of rage you feel like breaking down to tears. For, these students will rather watch football and movies than read a book. Yes. They will rather worship P-Square and Justin Bieber. Yes. They will rather swing and swagger on the street with their bushy hair and comical sunglasses. Yes. They will rather go on 2go, Facebook and WhatsApp than of course, read a book! Nothing can therefore be axiomatic than the adage: if you want hide something from, actually northern Nigerian youths, then put it in a book.

    Sometimes out of consternation, you find yourself asking: When will this region produce another Muhammad Bello? Who will be the Zungur or Yusuf Bala Usman of this generation? When Prof. Ibrahim Bello-Kano told us in the privacy of his office that he had so far read more than 6,000 books and was aiming for 10,000 before he dies, we were astounded. But I was completely shattered when I later discovered that Muhammad Bello had read more than 20,000 books under the tutelage of his father, Shehu. Similarly, Zungur, according to his biographer, jilted his wife, Marka, because of persistently prolonged stay in the library. While in A Life of Commitment to Knowledge, Freedom and Justice: Tributes to Yusuf Bala Usman, the daughter of the late scholar told us that her father was terribly sick and could barely recognize those around him, but ‘a few hours, he became much better, he became himself again, asking for books, that they should bring his books’.

    In both their online and offline political engagement, the youths boil with revolutionary fervour. They want to be seen as prime movers of change without, ironically, minding what it takes. How one can be another Shariati or Fanon without the equipment remains a mystery to me. When you read the biographies and autobiographies of our founding fathers, for example, you find out that they were all voracious readers – Sardauna, Balewa, Aminu Kano and co. Sardauna used to sleep for not more than four hours! He was either reading or politically strategizing. The Honourable Gentleman, on the other hand, was said to have read virtually all the books in their library at Katsina College. Perhaps that informed his eloquence. And his fictional Shehu Umar further vindicates his unquenchable thirst for knowledge. What do I have to say with regard to Aminu Kano? If Gumi could attest to someone’s commitment to learning, we can only say sadaqallahul azeem.

    To be fair, I think people down here are generally dis-informed about the fact reading can be a form of entertainment, something that can be done in leisurely hour; which consequently stimulates the mind and enlarges one’s worldview. But sadly enough, even students think about it largely in the ‘precipice’ of test or exam where they grudgingly swallow instructor’s notes and regurgitate it verbatim. For this, they’re handsomely rewarded notwithstanding the paucity of originality and diversity of sources. A pedagogy that favours rote-learning, according to the Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire, can only oppress rather than liberate the mind. The mind thus neither be creative nor critically reason. In a word, our educational system does not help matters in this regard. This probably explains our dismal performance in regional and international university rankings as well as repeatedly massive failures in Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations.

    Our public libraries aren’t better either, as they suffer aeon of neglect due to the cankerworm of corruption permeating not only the political stratum but the administration of public institutions. Hence attractive, up-to-date materials for academic and recreational purposes are sadly lacking.  However, the few classics of world’s literature available in such libraries, can be complemented with contemporary ones by personal efforts were we the reading type. For, despite precarious economic situation, people are still buying clothes, jewelries and other ornamentals. One therefore wonders why compromises are hardly made for the sake of books.

    Our upbringing may be another factor. Quite a lot of us didn’t have the privilege of growing up under such mummies as Chimamanda’s friend who ‘bribes’ her child with five cents for every page read. Nor did we have daddies like the one mentioned in Aaidh Al-Qarnee’s Don’t be Sad – a dad who would tell his child while returning from market, he should only rest before the shops of booksellers or newspaper vendors. We did not, again, have brothers like John Bright, a brother who would tell us that his greatest lamentation in the face of library shelves is that life is too short to allow him enjoy the treasures before him. Above all, we did grow up watching on TV, leaders like Abraham Lincoln, who ‘was devoted to verse (and) could repeat from memory whole pages of Burns and Byrons and Browning’.

     

    • Bukar wrote in from Gashua and can be reached at aabukar555@yahoo.com

  • A nation at a crossroad

    In 2015, Nigeria was like a sinking ship and citizens were disillusioned; corruption was so pervasive and nobody seemed to be in charge of running the state.  President Goodluck Jonathan was perceived as profoundly weak and incapable of reining in his ministers that were out of step and recklessly wasting state resources.  Things came to a head that even party members no longer believed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could hold the country together.  Under the circumstances, just any person could have won the Presidency against the PDP candidate notwithstanding the power of incumbency given the level of despondency.   At that juncture, Nigerians needed someone that was firm, courageous and capable of taking decision.

    It was no surprise therefore that the All Progressive Congress (APC), a party that was hurriedly put together seized the moment and fielded ex-military dictator, General Muhammadu Buhari who had almost a cult following, especially in the North and feared in other parts of the country.  He is patriotic, with Spartan-like bearing and very discipline.  He has however shown lack of ability to appreciate the dynamism of modern democratic norms in a multinational state like Nigeria – not being a philosopher king or an intellectual.

    It was not difficult for APC to win the presidential election with very good showing across the states of the country.  It has since become obvious that APC had taken a daring gamble at the elections probably not hoping to control the centre as it could not form a cabinet after six months of inaugurating the government. Nigerians saw Muhammadu Buhari as a monomania fixated at fighting corruption and indiscipline; perceiving him through the prism of his 1983/84 stint as a military Head of State as a no-nonsense.  Even though the President did very little after inauguration, but things picked up reasonably perhaps counting on his body language as someone who does not believe in hostage taking.

    Nigerians were prepared to give him time to choose his cabinet believing that change indeed was coming.  After six months, what the President came out with was far from the expectation of Nigerians.  It was not only lopsided, it was acutely lacking in temper of competent and smart people that could drive the nation out of the cesspool of corruption and build unifying government. The cabinet was made up of a bunch of nominees from politicians with different interests and agenda.

    Today, Nigeria is greeted with the harvest of industrial unrests across every sector of the economy.  The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is on strike, the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is on strike and our public hospitals are not offering services; the list is growing.  It is clear that the President has been demystified and his cabinet is made up of bickering strange bedfellows who have their loyalty to other powerful forces bent on deliberate sabotage to serve their inordinate personal ambitions.  This is the reasons he is being tackled on all fronts; from the National Assembly who have beaten him to submission and trade unions who have suddenly found their voice.

    The APC-led government lack the rhythm and harmony to pursue any positive change to conclusion as can be seen in three of the key areas the party promised to deliver on: security, the economy and fight against corruption. We cannot doubt the passion of the President to deliver but we are wrong to think that he can do it alone as an individual.  He needs a good team of smart, competent and loyal people that would reflect the diversity of Nigeria.  The APC lacks charismatic leadership as a result of which they are not able to cobble the different shades and characters together to deliver on their manifesto and sustain a government.  Even though they have clear majority in the National Assembly, there have been perpetual conflicts between the executive and the legislature.  Members of the National Assembly have their eyes set on jumping ship and abandoning the President to his fate after sufficiently exposing his weaknesses. It is now clear that there is nothing to choose from between the APC and the PDP but not to worry, the legislators have since passed the Bill for independent candidature if the new party they have put together through their minions would not accommodate their interest.

    The dilemma of the President is that he is not in the mould of a typical politician and does not have the gift of tactical diplomatic manoeuvres which his military training may not have availed him.  Courting support from an unusual quarter from traditional rulers certainly would not offer strategic advantage in the face of urgent expectation from Nigerians to deliver on democratic dividends such as power, employment, security, and the decrepit infrastructure across the country. The President should not deceive himself that he still has his party behind him as the intrigue and schism from the inauguration of his government has been very sharpened when he failed to seized the moment and rein in the ultra-ambitious  dissidents within the party ranks.

    It is not beyond the ordinary now for the President to sack his entire cabinet; they are lethargic and becoming a burden on Nigeria.  Most of them are not smart, competent, loyal, and are lacking in personal integrity.  This is the time too for the ordinary Nigerian to fight for the soul of the nation.  It is not about tribe and religion.  Restructuring may not deliver all the expectations of Nigerians when power arrogance and impunity still pervades our polity.  If we believe in Nigeria, we must interrogate the activities of the National Assembly; we must challenge the delivery of justice by the judiciary; we must take the federal executive to task and ask the right questions.  We must occupy Nigeria before the sword of Damocles descends on us at this crossroad.

     

    • Kebonkwu Esq. writes from Abuja.

  • What next, now that recession is over?

    On Tuesday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) gave a lot of Nigerians the news they desperately wished to hear – Nigeria is out of recession. After five consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth that started in the first quarter of 2016, Nigeria’s economy grew by 0.55% in the second quarter of 2017. Predictably, data once again became the hero and villain in a long-running social media battle of bias between the supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari and his critics.

    The optics of sneaking out of a 15-month recession apart, a 0.55% year-on-year GDP growth is hardly anything to cheer for Africa’s biggest economy. But as the NBS data reveals, the Q2 2017 growth is an improvement, even if marginal, on the GDP performance recorded in the preceding quarter (-.91%) and the corresponding quarter of 2016 (-1.49%). Beyond the numbers, however, questions persist about the long-term economic recovery prospects of the nation – questions that demand that all post-recession celebrations be suspended until further notice.

    Twenty-seven months into the Buhari administration, the patience of the Nigerian masses on the state of the economy and general standard of living is wearing thin, and understandably so. Inflation rate dropped for the fifth consecutive month in July, but the prices of goods and consumables which skyrocketed during the recession remain exorbitantly high. In reality, the recession persists for the economically dis-advantaged demographic of Nigeria’s 170 million population.

    Nigeria’s path out of recession is lined with commendable efforts in improving the ease of doing business through the Presidential Enabling Business Council (PEBEC). Chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the council implemented a 60-day National Action Plan on Ease of Doing Business and was able to tackle some of the critical bottlenecks and bureaucratic constraints that had hitherto defined the ordeal of doing business in Nigeria.

    Osinbajo, who assumed the role of acting President while President Buhari was away in the United Kingdom on medical leave, issued executive orders on port operations heralding a much-needed improvement in the operational efficiency of the nation’s airports and seaports. He also signed two critical bills on improving access to credit, a major stumbling block for businesses in Nigeria. As the NBS data just released show, Nigeria came out of recession the same quarter the implementation of these reforms started.

    The recession has also proved pivotal to Nigeria’s drive for revenue diversification and a rebalancing of the economy’s over-reliance on the oil sector. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for example recently revealed it generated N2.11 trillion as revenue in the first six months of 2017 and is on course to meet the N4.94 trillion revenue projection for the year. Similarly, the Nigerian Customs Service generated N486 billion as revenue in the first half of the year, surpassing the N385 billion generated for the same period in 2016.

    On the part of the Nigerian Ports Authority, reforms like the implementation of a Revenue and Invoice Management System has gone a long way in blocking revenue leakages and improving ports operations through the exclusion of unnecessary human interface in doing business at the ports. As a result of this and other reforms, the agency was able to surpass the N16 billion revenue projection for the first quarter of 2017, raking in N118 billion.

    Progressive reforms in the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, notably the introduction in April of a special foreign exchange window for investors and exporters have been instrumental in the journey out of recession and its sustenance is important for further economic recovery. The special forex window grossed about $2.2 billion of trade in the first six weeks of its introduction and its impact on the market capitalization of Nigerian Stock Exchange – which jumped from N8.748 trillion in April to N11.463 trillion in July – is undeniable.

    All these notwithstanding, the perennial issues of corruption, public sector bureaucracy and the high cost of running government, remain. The duplicitous arrangement of line items in Nigeria’s 2017 budget berates hope of its ability to shape any lasting change in the life of the common man. Businesses still face the hurdle of multiple taxations coupled with the obdurate challenges of power and bad roads.

    A good number of Nigeria’s 36 states are broke, largely dependent on monthly revenue hand-outs from the federal government. The bulk of these monthly federal allocations, in turn, go into servicing the salaries of civil servants with little or nothing left for the execution of capital projects and provision of social amenities. Yet some of these states offered subsidies for religious pilgrimages this year alone up to the tune of N50 billion.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, whose campaign was built around his anti-corruption stance, has set about recovering funds looted under past administrations with resounding success. Critics, however, berate the former dictator for not looking at the corruption going on within his own administration. It took some weeks longer than necessary for President Buhari to suspend a high-ranking member of his government after he had been indicted for tampering with funds allotted for the care of those displaced by Boko Haram insurgency.

    With the negative impression of an economy in a recession now dispensed with, the Nigerian government must keep its focus on providing an enabling environment to attract more investment and for businesses to thrive. Talks, for example, of reviving the defunct national airline, should take into consideration the huge drain on public revenue that South Africa’s romance with the same venture has been.

     

    • Ogunyemi, a media entrepreneur, writes from Lagos.

  • Olubadan, history and ‘raw data of treachery’

    I am trying so hard to understand what part of the reformation of the Ibadan Obaship and chieftaincy institution some people are trying so hard to misunderstand. But let us even start the story from its very beginning. On Sunday, August 27, the governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, acting in accordance with the powers conferred on him by Section 28(i) Cap. 28 Vol. 1 of the Chiefs Law of Oyo State of Nigeria 2000, promoted 33 chiefs to Obas in Ibadanland. Twenty-one of the beneficiaries were physically present to receive their staffs of office at a public, not secret, event that was held at the iconic Mapo Hall, Ibadan. The government White Paper on the promotion of the senior chiefs was properly conveyed in Government Gazette No 14, Notice 27 Vol.42 of 23rd August, 2017 and Gazette No 15 Notice 28 Vol. 42 of August 24, 2017 respectively. Since that event of a fortnight ago, neither the government of Oyo State nor the traditional institution in Ibadanland has known peace. Many have even made out the historically significant event to be a huge joke.

    And what is the bone of contention? Most commentators on the issue have continued to argue as though Governor Ajimobi committed a sacrilege by doing what was and still is right.  They have argued as though it is unthinkable to weigh on the positive side of history and the people because a position/office appears to be larger than life and, therefore, untouchable. Worse, they have argued that the whole exercise was targeted at a single individual who is only still ‘aspiring’ someday, if it pleases God Almighty, to become the Olubadan, as if 41 people had not ascended that exalted throne. How big and potent is one man’s ambition that it should require the instrumentality of state apparatus to stop it?

    Perhaps the charge of a vendetta against Senator Rasheed Ladoja by Governor Ajimobi would have been easier to sustain if the idea of the review of the 1959 Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration made pursuant to the 1957 Chiefs Laws and other related Chieftaincies in Ibadanland had originated with the incumbent. Successive administrations from the old Western State to the present Oyo State had instituted various Commissions of Enquiry to, as Governor Ajimobi has argued, “redress the lop-sidedness in the number of beaded crown Obas in Ibadanland vis-à-vis other zones in the state.” The whole of Ibadanland has only one beaded crown Oba as against several in other zones.

    Does this justify what appears to have been an unwieldy number of beneficiaries that were crowned on the same day? Government did not on its own choose to elevate 11 high chiefs in the Olubadan-in-Council and 22 ancient Baales to the position of Obas. The decision was grounded in historical antecedents and requests for additional beaded crowns, as articulated in 91 out of 118 memoranda that were submitted to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by Governor Ajimobi on May 19, with a mandate to review the existing 1957/59 Chieftaincy Declaration of Olubadan of Ibadanland. The principles of equity and natural justice make it imperative that whoever the crown fits and is found to be fit and proper should wear one.

    Did Governor Ajimobi do wrong, as critics of the exercise would want the world to believe? No. Let’s not forget that Ajimobi is himself a part of royalty and has as much claim to the stool of the Olubadan as those shouting ‘murder’ for short-term, self-serving purposes. It is interesting that from 1993 to the present, Ibadan indigenes – from Kolapo Ishola to Lam Adesina to Rasheed Ladoja to Abiola Ajimobi – were governors of Oyo State. All were involved in issues that bordered on a review of Chieftaincy Declarations across the state during their tenures. Ajimobi is only different to the extent that he willingly offered to tackle the subject head-on regardless of its intended or unintended consequences. He offered to align himself with non-partisan calls for a modernisation of the traditional chieftaincy institution in Ibadanland, as championed over the years by the Ibadan Elders Council; Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) and eminent sons and daughters of Ibadanland, such as Chief T. A. Akinyele; the late Chief Omowale Kuye, the former Otun Olubadan and all but one member of the Olubadan-in-Council. If the anti-Ajimobi commentators know better, perhaps, they should come clean with their facts rather than attempt to demonise Ajimobi for his uncommon courage to do right, even when Ladoja, as governor of Oyo State and ‘Olubadan-in-waiting’ lacked the moral courage to implement the recommendations of the Adio Commission of Enquiry that he set up on the same subject matter.

    Is Ajimobi a revisionist? Not by any stretch of the imagination. But this question is, perhaps, best answered with supporting evidence from Dr. Festus Adedayo, who, for many years, was a Special Adviser to Governor Ajimobi. Although he has now chosen to help stand history on its head in respect of the Olubadan chieftaincy controversy, Adedayo’s words, which are reconstructed from his past interview with Vanguard newspaper, provide critical points of enlightenment on Ajimobi and his vision.

    According to Adedayo: “The best way to assess the (Ajimobi) government is to cast one’s mind back to what was before May 2011. Oyo State was one big violent theatre where chaos and disorder reigned. The pedigree of the governor as a hater of violence and one who would deal with any fomenter of brigandage has helped to stem the tide of violence. Are we saying Ibadan people are so in love with retrogression that if they see a governor that is developing their land and serving their interest, they will elect not to continue this spiral of development? The truth of the matter is that the elite are like fundamentalists who impose their enemies on God; that their enemies must be the enemies of God. The ordinary people of the state love development but the elite always like to renew their insatiable patronage and patrimony.”

    What has changed between 2014 when Adedayo made these assertions and now? Perhaps, nothing except a corrosion of values by self-interest. Like Adedayo, this writer is amazed at the “raw data of treachery” and human capacity for mischief; for the quantum of treachery on a daily basis is alarming.” We need to thank Adedayo for showing that Ajimobi is no flippant executive but one who takes service to his people as a serious job for serious-minded individuals. Nothing more to add.

     

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

  • No to hate speech, yes to restructuring!

    Those who governed well did not arm, those who were armed well did not set up battle lines, those who set up battle lines well did not fight, those who fought well did not lose, and those who lost well did not perish – Zhuge Liang, third century.

    It was the legendary essayist C.P. Scott who once wrote that ‘Comment is free, but facts are sacred’. This statement has endured over the years as the strategic point of reference for free speech and indeed free press in a democracy and it will continue to underscore the way individuals and political leaders conduct themselves in the public arena. However, recent hate speeches, messages and comments coming from the perfidious and distressed leaders of political parties, pseudo – intellectual analysts, ethnic extremists and the media is disquieting and awkward at this time of our nation-building efforts.

    Today, the traditional and social media is being used by mischief-makers, conceited individuals and ethnic organisations across the political divide to threaten and taunt us with footage of their most horrendous and atrocious acts of communication barbarity and hateful messages.  Nevertheless, in my view, the most difficult new element is the attraction that a tiny but relevant majority of Nigerians have seen this hate speech to the point that they are ready to internalize the messages as true and sacrosanct. Therefore, it will require a much more difficult and long-term effort to win back the hearts and minds of people that today seek to destroy the society because of their selfish desires. Equally worrisome, is the government disregard for structured national debates and dialogue to unveil strategy and action plans to resolving the knotty issues of fiscal federalism, constitutional reforms, justice and transparency, which are the hallmarks of sustainable democracy.

    This article draws attention to a few of the complex interrelated issues of hate speech and propaganda rather than the fundamental issues of nation- building and the uncensored social media rape on our collective consciousness as people and a nation. The challenges ahead in my view are undeniably serious for our democratic enterprise and the likely fall-out of uncontrollable hostility cannot be ruled out and as people we must be vigilant not truncate this democratic milestone.

    For the avoidance of doubt, hate speech is one which attacks a person or group based on label, ethnicity, gender or religious persuasion. It can be propagated through spoken words, gesture or conduct, writing, or display, which, is forbidden in many countries because it incites violence or prejudice against a group or individual based on their membership of the group.

    While there is unprecedented interest in the devolution of power, fiscal federalism and restructuring and the fundamental rights of every Nigerian to defend their democratic principles and values as well as the expressions of solidarity for a better country, we should walk and speak cautiously and avoid the bullish media manipulations and the outward show of shame that has characterised the conversations for true federalism so far.

    Most nerve-racking of all in my view is the increasing socio-political affectation from the various ethnic groups and the untamed falsehood resonating from press releases, interviews, conferences and indeed the town hall meetings by their narrow-minded leaders and obscure supporters which can only predict trouble for the nation.

    Sadly, content analysis of the Nigerian media particularly newspapers could easily leave one with the impression of extreme anxiety by our leaders and the political culture of improbability that is evolving and the half-hearted speeches of a do or die restructuring that is spreading like harmattan fire and it is likely to consume us as a nation if self-regulation is not brought to bear in our national dialogue and conversations.

    Therefore, going forward, we must draw insights and lessons from other jurisdiction like Ethiopia. It is instructive to note that in 1996, the 14 historical provinces of Ethiopia were dissolved and nine autonomous regions and two chartered cities – Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa were created to replace them. Six of these regions are inhabited almost entirely by a single ethnic group each, with the three remaining regions more ethnically diverse. The federal authorities deal with issues of national concern, including economic and social development, national standards and policy criteria for health and education, defence, federal police, foreign policy, foreign commerce, and immigration. Therefore, the renewed calls of restructuring of the Nigeria state is a welcome development but a workable document, must be brought to the table and each groups canvass critical positions for the creation of autonomous regions in line with resource endowment and homogenous ethnic group through referendum, which is not in  the 1999 constitution.

    Disappointedly, the leadership at all levels in my view has not set the moral, ethical, social, motivational climate in their narratives and blueprint to earn the untainted trust of the average Nigerian. What is more is that their actions and inactions do not reflect the moral and reputational compass that we required as a people to retool this great nation.

    Besides, the quality of message, resources and presentation skills of what constitute the critical milestone for nation-building are totally absent from their body language and utterances. Reasonably, there are institutional frameworks and conference reports irrespective the conveners that address the core issues of our nationhood. Therefore, it is expedient that we adopt citizens’ diplomacy to lobby and take steps as pressure groups through the National Assembly to do needful.

    Pointedly, one of the damaging impact of hate speech on good governance will be the erosion of social and moral fabric of the Nigerian society which will weaken institutions, undermine leadership competency, accommodation of alternative views, diversity of opinions and more importantly, mediocrity is sacrificed at the negative altar of representation by constituent parts which has been one of the bane nation-building efforts in Nigeria.

    All things considered, the radicalization of the traditional and social media space and the complex phenomenon of Nigerians embracing subtle but radical ideology of ethnicity and hate, which are very disturbing trends,  must be checked, by deliberate and a sustained national conversations that put the nation above all interest and the time is now!

     

    • Orovwuje is founder, Humanitarian Care for Displaced Persons, Lagos.

  • Amani, brothers, amani

    Kenya made African history penultimate Friday when its Supreme Court voided the August 8 presidential election that had returned incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta as winner and ordered a fresh run within 60 days. That apex court ruled the East African country’s election management body, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), out of order in the manner it conducted the poll, which their Lordships held inconsistent with the dictates of Kenya’s grundnorm law.

    The verdict was historic, being the first on this continent of Africa where opposition challenge in court against declared victory of an incumbent contender carried the day. National Super Alliance (NASA) candidate Raila Odinga had red flagged the purported victory of Jubilee Party’s Kenyatta – not on account of suspected violations in the voting procedure or indeed the ballot counting, but for procedural infringements in the results transmission. And he succeeded in swaying the court to his trench.

    It was a first because whereas elections have previously been upturned in Africa, none of those was on account of opposition legal challenge. When the military in Algeria scuttled the second round of parliamentary elections in 1991/92, it was because the detested Islamic Salvation Front was strongly on course to win that poll. Our own Gen Ibrahim Babangida in 1993 annulled the June 12 election of Chief Moshood Abiola by diktat because he apparently was haunted by demons of impending civvies outside political power, which he eventually had to confront by hurriedly ‘stepping aside’. And in 2010, the Ivorian Constitutional Council overruled the result of the presidential election won by then opposition leader Alassane Ouattara to indulge the self-perpetuation agenda of Laurent Gbagbo, who presently cools off his heels in the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) can. And talking about lawsuits, Nigerian opposition contenders routinely challenge declared victories of incumbent candidates or candidates of ruling parties in court, but those calls hardly ever holds up in judicial adjudication.

    The Kenyan verdict set some other precedents that are likely to reconfigure the practice standards for election-related activities in African democracies and perhaps beyond.

    For instance, the country’s Supreme Court shook off the never once acknowledged but insidiously inhering code of practice – namely expedience – which apparently leashes the judiciaries of many countries from delivering radically upsetting verdicts. Take the issue of election financials: in cost terms, Kenya’s August 8 elections were reputed to be Africa’s most expensive on cost-per-voter basis, having gulped 49.9billion Kenyan shillings (KSh) – that is, some $480million – in public spending; and that is not counting private spending by political actors, which saw the cumulative expenditure topping $1billion. The apex court didn’t consider the cost factor sufficiently consequential to obstruct justice in its order for fresh poll.

    Also, Kenyan politics notoriously runs on ethnic rivalry and is easily prone to primal violence. That was what fuelled the global apprehension that heralded the August election, coupled with considerable slowdown in the country’s economy as investors pulled back in wary anticipation. Besides, Chief Justice David Maraga came to that office certainly by merit, but also with anointment by incumbent President Kenyatta. The Supreme Court was, however, not hamstrung by those considerations in throwing Kenyatta’s purported victory in the bin.

    Following the verdict, Kenyan stocks that had rebounded in valued after IEBC declared Kenyatta the winner returned to the downhill path. The Kenyan shilling as well lost its newly gained muscle against the U.S. dollar, while Kenya’s dollar-denominated bonds cascaded in value. But the apparent lesson from the apex court is that the imperative of delivering justice to a party truly aggrieved outweighs potentially adverse side effects; and I think it is a lesson that needs to be imbibed by judiciaries in other countries, especially in Africa.

    Then, you could bet that the procedures for observation missions and foreign commentaries on African elections will from now on be radically reformulated. The August 8 Kenyan poll had the full complement of eminent foreign observers from the United States, the Commonwealth, the European Union and African Union, among others. We perhaps need not mention reputed domestic groups who stomped the polling precincts also on observation mission. The foreign missions in particular were led by distinguished persons like former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who steered the respected American non-governmental organisation, The Carter Center, as well as former South African President Thabo Mbeki who anchored the AU mission. All the observer missions, almost without exception, submitted that the August Kenyan poll was free, fair and credible. Actually, Kerry’s report for The Carter Center was pleaded in court by the Kenyatta camp in its defence against Odinga’s petition. And it was apparently on the strength of the observer mission reports that The New York Times, on the heels of the elections, branded Odinga a bad loser and thumbed its nose at his claim of poll irregularity.

    Now the Kenyan Supreme Court verdict has splashed eggs on the faces of the observer commentariat, leaving them grappling with convincing explanations of their positive verdicts. The common line of defense was that they had commented on what they saw of the voting and ballot counting procedures, and not about results transmission before a winner was declared. I happened to have had some experience of how election observation works, and do believe they are likely right. But the Supreme Court verdict nonetheless knocked out the bottom from their credibility.

    Odinga, not unexpectedly, seized the verdict as a lightning rod to accuse the observers of having “moved so fast to sanitise fraud,” adding: “Their role must be re-examined as it is highly politicised.” The New York Times, in an editorial last week, ate the humble pie and retracted its criticism of Odinga. And the Financial Times, in an article, lit into the international observers “whose formulaic rubber stamping of results,” it said, “has become increasingly insidious – notably in undermining their own credibility, but also in spreading cynicism among the electorate.”

    With their sour experience regarding the Kenyan poll, you can wager that international observers, and perhaps local ones, will henceforth hold back on issuing reports on their mission until judicial processes run their full course in the courts. But that, in my reckoning, also has many downsides for the primary objective of putting African democracies under observation spotlight to ensure probity in their conduct of elections.

    Meanwhile the chief gladiators in the Kenyan poll have bunkered up once again in their trenches, digging deep into their mutually adversarial positions. The electoral commission scheduled a rerun between Kenyatta and Odinga for October 17, dropping six other candidates that had featured on the ballot for the voided August 8 poll. But Odinga early last week threatened to boycott that rerun unless the election management team was recomposed, and the date changed to October 24. IEBC chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, appeared to partly oblige his demand by naming a six-member squad to oversee the scheduled rerun. But while that move perhaps appeased the opposition alliance, Kenyatta’s ruling party raised the red flag later last week, rejecting the new nominees. As at the weekend, the team composition that would be acceptable to both sides was up in the air.

    But with the extremely brittle nature of armistice in Kenyan politics, the gladiators need large hearts for accommodation to forestall a return to the 2007-2008 Golgotha of wildcat violence. The Swahili word for peace is ‘amani,’ hence my plea to all Kenyans: amani, brothers, amani.

     

    • Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.

  • The Rivers run golden – Rivers @ 50

    Technically 3 states attained their golden jubilee in 2017, Kano, Lagos and Rivers. The 3 golden states are also in the list of top 10 richest states in Nigeria; Lagos is first with no close second. Of these 3, The Nation has written on Lagos in series so indepth that I dare not write one more word! And I would need an invitation to Kano for me to do justice to the subject!

     Rivers State, then comprising of current Rivers and Bayelsa States was created in 1967 from the then Eastern Region (see map).

    Fittingly called Rivers State, it is also rightly called the treasure base of the nation with its vast mineral deposits of oil and gas. Indeed Rivers continues to serve in that capacity and Nigerians from all parts have benefitted from the state. Funds from Rivers and all the oil-producing states have been critical for Nigeria’s development.

    But Rivers consists of ancient kingdoms. They had early contacts with the Portuguese dating back to the 15th century just like the Badagry people of Lagos.

    Kano too was 1 of the 7 ancient ‘true’ Hausa States– the historical Hausa Bakwai. Kano was founded as far back as the 13th century, a vibrant trading post competing with cities like ancient Mali. Those states functioned independently, having a shared mythology with its founders being sons of a Queen.

    Similarly Rivers people in ancient times were governed by chiefs, paramount rulers and kings in self-governing units devoid of a central government – a style that did not suit the colonialists.

    Rivers monarchs were rich, powerful and highly exposed. They controlled local trade, collected tributes and allocated land and trade rights as they deemed fit.

    They also controlled waterway transportation, with local chiefs owning their personal boats (flyboats) in addition to passenger boats. The main trade was in timber and palm oil/kernel also the slave trade flourished then waned.

    Seeing how lucrative trade there was, the British colonialists and middlemen were refusing to pay taxes and tributes and were simply helping themselves to the good of the land. They met with stout resistance from the riverine Chiefs who did not sell out their people for peanuts on pain of death or exile.

    I daresay Nigerians would begin to see why the Rivers people fought very hard for the country’s independence.

    King Jaja of Opobo

    A well-known personality was King Jaja of Opobo, my hero (and not just because my mother happens to come from there!).

    King Jaja blocked foreign access to the hinterland and taxed all British traders commensurately. He insisted on value for produce. It is said that in those days the colonialists lifted valuable produce of some areas in exchange for.. mirrors, or even combs! Not so in Rivers Kingdoms where the exchange was for cannons (ikurushi in local parlance) from the British, because of the hard-nosed stance of the King Jajas of the times.

    King Jaja insisted that the right thing be done. In those days, there was the British Consulate building, not in Lagos or in Accra but in-Opobo! (pictured). It was a multi-level, multi storey building which really ought to be a Nigerian cultural heritage site.

    King Jaja became a sore in the thumb, to the British. He was invited for talks at Buckingham Palace with the Queen of England. After many troubles, King Jaja was banished to the West Indies where he died in exile. He died insisting on a fair deal for himself and his people.

    Today’s traditional rulers, all males fight to the death for ascension. The fight is never for the promotion of the people, but for the monarchs to live in luxury while their people wallow in poverty!

    It is now no wonder the struggle for Nigeria’s independence, as well as state creation welled up in Rivers in the 1930s.

    The struggle became pressing because of the total lack of basic social amenities, and retrogression. Each time the Rivers people made their well articulated demand for a state, it was thrown out of the Nigerian parliament for not being viable!

    Now something that is clear is that the state creation struggle predated the discovery of oil as some had dismissively thought. Oil was discovered around 1956, a good TWENTY years after the people started their demand!

    Rivers role in Nigeria’s Independence

    Riverians have always advocated a unified, independent Nigeria with all nationalities relating on the basis of justice, equity and self development.

    At the 1957 London Constitutional Conference on Nigeria, Rivers people under the RCPC, Rivers Chiefs & Peoples Conference were invited and made a separate submission to the British government.          One of the many people involved then was late Harold Dappa-Biriye OON. He was born in 1920, attended Kings College Lagos; he was a lawyer called the English Bar. Alongside Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa and others, he played an active role in the struggle for independence.

    NB:

    2017 is the jubilee year but the actual month was May. So why this piece now, one may ask. It’s because this is the 10th of September. Today is the birthday of Major Jasper Isaac Adaka Boro, OON. The former school prefect, UNN student’s union president and then Chemistry graduate and Technical Officer, Faculty of Science, Unilag.

    He got tired of the life-long wait for the creation of Rivers State. The young man resigned his job in 1966. Along with Capt. Sam Owonaro Nottingham Dick and others he led a revolution, declaring the Niger Delta Republic.

    The revolution was crushed; Boro was sentenced to death.

    Although the struggle for state creation had been on for decades with little impact, Boro’s armed struggle made the matter real and serious. Rivers State was not one of those created by military fiat but came after decades of agitation for its creation.

    Then, one year later Rivers State was created and Boro and the other leaders pardoned and released! So his revolution, though it failed, yet it succeeded.

    Boro said then “My men and I, with the creation of our state, are now free to help not only our people but also Nigeria to peace, unity, stability and progress. Boro made good his words. He fought on the Nigerian side in the civil war in 1967. One year later, Boro was killed.

    Major Boro was given the posthumous national award OON. Today he would have been 81, an Elder statesman with PROOFS!

    In Part 2-Modern governance and a bright hope for tomorrow.

    – Back in the day, the first Nigerian to own a private jet was – a Rivers person!

    07055547031 – sms or whatsapp.

  • A historical march into the future

    A historical march into the future

    •Celebrating with Prof. Ochonu on his endowment as Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in African History

    Of all the snarky and humorous comments about historians, one of my favourite ones is still the one by Samuel Butler: God cannot alter the past, only historians. The joke here, of course, is on the jester who deliberately misconstrues the role of historians in the society. I leave you all to wonder why I am on the defensive at all when the quote is, in fact, a compliment. Indeed, if historians can do what God cannot do, then historians should be given due reverence and treated as deities! But since I am a bit of an historian myself, I can authoritatively say that historians do not alter the past to prove that they wield God-like powers; nor do they transcend the shortcomings of God himself. Instead, historians have a far more noble task: they are the adventurers who light a path through darkened caves of the human past so that others may chart their futures and never stumble. Today, (September 6, 2017), I present before you all a historian and scholar who has distinguished himself by not only interpreting the past as historians do, but also by committing himself to the worthy goal of mapping the future. Ladies and gentlemen, that historian is Professor Moses Ochonu.

    Everyone who knows Moses also knows I am a great admirer of him and his work. I have worked with him in various capacities over the years, and I can say that he is a highly skilled researcher, scholar, and teacher, as well as an exceptional thinker and writer. He is an historian par excellence, the one who has the incredible ability to forge through troves of documents from the past to gain insight into how the present will shape the future. I cannot stop talking about him any and everywhere I go. I am fascinated by his brilliance and his conscientiousness with regard to his scholarly and moral duty to history. I have had endless stimulating conversations with him, and sometimes I in fact like to disagree with him simply to tease out the vast oceans of knowledge and wisdom that constitute his mind, including the walking encyclopaedic volume his head carries! I trouble him with questions, even if his answers do not always satisfy me. He is an engaging intellectual, a deep thinker, and an incisive critic whose contributions to African history are both seeds and a harvest at the same time. Most certainly, Moses’ work has planted large plantations of intellectual ideas, scholarly contributions, and pedagogical initiatives that will continue to reproduce bountifully for generations to come.

    Indeed, Moses, as I know him, has come a long way on the path of scholarly excellence. He did not just become the Professor Moses Ochonu whom we have congregated to celebrate overnight. There is an African proverb that says that a chick, which will become a rooster, can be spotted from the day it is hatched. That tells us that potential is always obvious in promising young people such as when Moses displayed his potential for great success right from his days at Bayero University, Kano, where he obtained his undergraduate B.A. degree in History. Throughout his stay at Bayero, he held the Bayero University Scholarship for Outstanding Academic Performance. He eventually earned the Michael Crowder Prize for the Best Student in Modern African History and the Best Graduating Student in the Department of History of the class of 1997. His department was so enamoured with his achievements that they immediately offered him a graduate assistantship the same year. Moses, known for his relentless pursuit of his dream of scholarly merit and achievement, travelled to the United States, where he obtained additional academic degrees from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. In 2004, he was appointed an Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University.

    Never one to rest on his oars or achievements, Moses continued to tread the path of hard work and research to build an illustrious career. At Vanderbilt, he established himself as an authority on the history of colonial and post-colonial Nigeria and as a distinguished scholar of Modern African History. Moses steadily rose through the academic ranks, to the position of Associate Professor in 2011 and, then, to a full Professorial position in history in 2015. At this point, he would have been forgiven by critics if he simply decided to sit back and never did another thing. After all, he had managed to build a star-studded career in a relatively short span. But no, not Moses! He continued to write, to publish, to teach, to give lectures, and to push the boundaries of his own achievements. Within this period, Moses received grants and fellowships from prestigious organizations that respect excellent scholarly vision and output. All through this time, Moses never once hid that he wanted the professorial Chair. That had always been his goal since he stepped into the academic profession, and Moses never wavered in the belief that he could achieve this dream. Today, he holds the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in African History. Moses, we are all very proud of you!!

    The endowed professorial Chair is in recognition of his prodigious scholarship and contribution to the growing literature on African History. At this point, let me “barbel” about his books. Moses’ first book, Colonial Meltdown: Northern Nigeria in the Great Depression, was published in 2009. He wrote this work to counter the existing historical accounts that have characterized the period of the Great Depression as one of non-existent colonial activity in Africa. Okay, so at this point, I think Moses has indeed proved Butler right. Historians, truly, alter the past, but they do so to show how accurate or inaccurate our assumptions and assertions about the past might have been. In this profound work of academic merit, Moses demonstrates the economic impact of the Great Depression on northern Nigeria, and also shows the resilience of the colonized people of northern Nigeria against the exploitation of the British colonial government.

    His second book, Colonialism by Proxy: Hausa Imperial Agents and Middle Belt Consciousness, published in 2014, also explores aspects of British colonial history where the colonial government created “subcolonialism” in northern Nigeria as a proxy system of government to rule over the people they considered too incorrigible to merit their system of indirect rule. His research shows how the legacy of that period, especially the manipulation of religious history for power, created a mechanism of dominance that continues to define modern Nigerian political culture. The book, very well done, was a finalist for the prestigious ASA Herskovits Prize for the Best Scholarly Book in African Studies in any Discipline in 2015. His third book, Africa in Fragments: Essays in Nigeria, Africa, and Global Africanity, also published in 2014, is a compendium of essays that explores Nigeria and Africa as it currently is, in a state of ebullition. His forthcoming book – and I encourage everyone to get a copy of it when it is released next year – Emirs in London: Nigerian Aristocrats, Metropolitan Travel, and Imperial Modernity, dwells on the travel narratives of the Emirs of northern Nigeria who travelled to the seat of colonial government in Britain in the early colonial and postcolonial period. This book is a fascinating account of how travel produced a class of citizens who demystified the white man and then turned around to establish themselves as brokers of a new regime of modernity in their local conclaves.

    In addition to these books, Moses has produced dozens of scholarly or peer-reviewed journal articles as well as book chapter publications in edited volumes. Despite the prodigiousness of his scholarship, he has not sealed himself within the ivory tower. Moses’ feet remain firmly planted on the shores of the local communities with which he works, and as a testimony to his passion for Nigeria, he continues zealously to produce numerous commentaries about Nigerian affairs. He analyses contemporary issues with the skills only a historian has mastered. Having diagnosed the problems, Moses proposes solutions for the country’s progress. His essays have appeared in major Nigerian newspapers in print and online. His provocative article “The Shattering of the Buhari Mythology” in African Arguments was voted by readers as the 2016 Best Article of the Year. On the USA Africa Dialogue Series forum, where I act as the moderator, he is that deep voice of Moses, whose refreshing and combative contributions show him as highly principled and humane, and that he is being seen as an intellectual driven by the goal of forging a better path for his society.

    Today, I congratulate Moses for his hard work, his zeal, his contributions, and even his faith in his own dreams. Certainly, historians can do a lot to alter the past as we have been taught to imagine it, but that is not even where their abilities end. What they also do best is help us to navigate the future by providing us with tools to understand the present. Moses is one of those eminent historians, who have empowered us by writing the past and present, while showing us the promises of the future of northern Nigeria, Nigeria as a whole, and modern Africa. His personal life and the scholarly paths he has taken are, in themselves, a scroll of history. His life – as he has lived it so far – is a unique account he is writing by continuously striving for what is better than the best. With his story, he is also shaping the future of others – in and out of the academia – who will rely on the path this historian forged through the dark and murky caves of the past to behold the promises the future holds for us.

    More grease to your elbow, Moses! You deserve the honour of an Endowed Chair bestowed by the honour’s name sake: Vanderbilt!

    • Prof. Falola is the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and University Distinguished Teaching Professor, The University of Texas at Austin, USA.