The Nation Newspaper

Category: Comments

  • Lateef Raji: Arrogance of death

    One of the most painful experiences anyone could have on earth is the death of a loved one. No doubt about it, death occurs in diverse places and through various means on a daily basis. In fact, man has come to accept with philosophical calmness the reality of death as an integral part of human existence. Such is the audacious brutality of death.

    In spite of the larger than life’s carriage of death, it however takes a sense of personal loss to really come to grapple with the pains that come with the demise of a close acquaintance. When we hear stories about the death of people in far and near places, we just take a casual note, shrug a bit and move on. It is one of those things and life goes on.

    But then, when death decides to pluck from the midst of those you consider as very dear to you, the reaction sharply differs. I had lost a dear brother and it was a very agonizing experience. It is never a tea party to lose a dear one. Though the hurt has healed, but the scar remains. Once in a while, I can’t but ruminate on what life might have looked like if my brother hadn’t succumbed to the cold hand of death. With the experience of my brother’s heart-breaking demise, I had erroneously thought that my heart is now cast in iron and no news of death could ever break me again. How wrong!

    Few years later, death was to strike again. This time around, it happened in a most wicked and traumatized manner and at a most unusual period. February is usually considered as a month of love. It has become a global tradition. Nearly everyone looks up to February in anticipation of a festival of love. But this particular February was a different one. It was a month of thick darkness. Characteristically, with darkness comes deep sorrow. Ironically, it was on a Sunday. Till now, everything had gone perfectly well. We have just had a glorious service at the church and were blissfully heading home. Then, my phone rang! It was a messenger of death! And suddenly, darkness beckoned. Few hours later, we had completed the burial of a dear colleague and her husband who died in a ghastly motor accident.

    It was an awfully tormenting experience that was so hard to fathom. But then, never undermine the capacity of the human heart to absorb misfortune. With time, we got over the shock of the deeply scary episode. Life is like a train in motion, though it stops at various terminals, it must move on. So again, life goes on.

    But then, as earlier affirmed, death is a daily routine in human existence. Few days ago, with the precision of a sharp shooter, death struck again. This time, death was quite subtle in its tactic. When I chatted with Hon. Lateef Raji on a popular social media platform that Saturday morning, I had great hope and immense relief that all was going to be fine. Hope is an essential component of life. Hope is a daily necessity. Without hope, life would be an excruciating torment. Hope has the ability to help people heal faster and easier. But death is arrogant. It has no place for hope. Indeed, death earnestly detests hope. Its primary mission is to turn hope to despair.

    So, barely 48 hours after the chat that ignited great hope in me that Hon. Raji would, indeed, play a fast one on death, the deadly monster struck with the decisiveness of a Supreme Court judge. Very early that bleak Monday morning, the messenger of death was again on duty. The mission was to herald the gloomy news of the demise of Hon. Raji. My heart ached! How does one begin a Monday morning with such devastating news? If he must die at all, must it be on a Monday morning? Such is the arrogance of death. It has no regard for time and place.

    Death meets man everywhere. It is procured by every instrument, and in all chances, and enters through many doors. To some, death come by violence and secret influence while to others it comes by the aspect of a star and the scent of a mist, by the emissions of a cloud and the meeting of a vapour, by the fall of a chariot and the stumbling at a stone. Others encounter death through a full meal or an empty stomach, by watching at the wine or by watching at prayers, by the sun or the moon, by a heat or a cold, by sleepless nights or sleeping days. Others are gotten by death through water frozen into the hardness and sharpness of a dagger, or water thawed into the floods of a river, by a hair or a raisin, by violent motion or sitting still.  Many deaths occur suddenly, like the case of those that recently lost their lives in Sierra Leone after a three day torrential rainfall. You see? Death even hides in rains!

    As I began to process the shocking news of Hon. Raji’s demise, in my distress, I thought: Why couldn’t death spare good people. At least, allow them live longer to reap the reward of their goodness. Hon. Raji was a good man. Initially, as the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor (2011-2015), he was naturally my boss. But then, good people aren’t too good at playing bosses. So, he soon became a friend. Later he became a mentor. He loved people and he wanted to make them happy. He ran an open door policy. His ears were ever opened to the yearnings of the people. Though he didn’t have much, but he was willing to share the little he had with people. Unlike modern day’s counterfeits, he was a real comrade who didn’t believe in undue craze for wealth. He had little but was quite contented with what he had.

    As I continued to process the news of his sad and untimely death, the rhetorical question came up in my mind once again: “Why would death not spare good people?” Well, that is what makes death arrogant. It does what it wants and gets away with it. Nothing can tame death. Not science. Not technology. Not even watchfulness. Death will strike when it will.

    As for the departed Hon. Lateef Raji, one would like to remind mourning family members, friends, loved ones and colleagues of the philosophical and immortal words of legendary Williams Shakespeare in Julius Caesar: “Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once”. Death has done its worst. It can’t kill him twice. Adieu, Lateef Raji! You have fought a good fight. As for all aching hearts, with time, they will heal again and life goes on.

     

    • Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

  • Senate and access to finance laws

    We all know that famous saying about giving a man a fish, or teaching the man ‘how’ to fish. That age-long adage draws an eternal distinction between the instant gratification of giving alms and the long-term satisfaction of teaching the intended recipient how to make some alms of their own.

    Now, with over 180 million people in Nigeria, it is critical for government across all levels to revisit the state of our present-day economy which has a working-age population of 108.59 million, but an ‘official’ unemployment rate of 14.2 per cent and an under-employment rate of 21.0 per cent. These numbers tell a difficult story that needs to be urgently addressed.

    This is why, since its inauguration, the 8th Senate has been working assiduously to pass reforms to Nigeria’s ‘access to finance’ laws. This is all aimed at providing Nigerians with more ‘fishing’ opportunities.’ Under the leadership of the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki — who stated recently that “people under 35 years old are the worst affected by the high rate of unemployment and under-employment in our nation” — the Senate is working to create new forms of capital through the passage of bills like the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Bill.

    Everyone knows that no bank will ever lend out money without securing some form of collateral. Everyone also knows that the most accepted form of collateral is landed property. However, millions of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) across the nation do not have fixed infrastructure assets. In this regard, the Secured Transactions Bill that was initiated in the Senate, passed by both Houses of parliament, and signed into law by acting President Yemi Osinbajo, closes the gap in securing credit and loans for MSMEs by making it possible for them to use their movable assets like cars, computers, and other machinery as their form of collateral to access loans.

    This new law will strengthen the financial inclusion of MSME’s as well as stimulate the responsible lending to these enterprises by the creation of a collateral registry. This registry will allow MSMEs and other Nigerians that are seeking loans to register their movable assets with the bank — after which the bank will have “exclusive charge” over the registered asset. This will ensure that the individual or entity will be able to secure their loan, and the bank will also be protected against any risk in the event that there is a failure or non-performance by the individual or business.

    In addition to the Secured Transactions Bill, the 8th Senate has also passed the Warehouse Receipts Bill. This Bill will allow Nigerians to use their inventory or receipts and other forms of invoices as a form of collateral to secure loans. This Bill will also create a new transactional currency that Nigerians will be able to use to approach banking institutions to secure loans in the event of financial liquidity problems.

    Additionally, in May this year, keying into the economic diversification agenda of the APC-led federal government, the 8th Senate approved the Conference Committee report on the Bill for an Act to Amend the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund Act, 2016″. This Bill, which is aimed at expanding the reach of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund to cover farmers interests and increasing the amount paid into the fund, will also “raise the commitment of the Federal Government and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) towards the scheme and increase the maximum amount needed to attract a waiver of security requirement for credit granted.”

    Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who served as the Chairman of the Joint Committee of the Senate and House that considered the final Report of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund Act, emphasized that the Bill would not only provide food and promote agriculture in Nigeria, it would also help with the provision of credit facilities to prospective entrants into the sector at single digit rates.

    Finally, it is crucial to note that with the passage of some of these access to credit Bills, the 8th Senate has not been resting on its previous successes. Over the past few months, the Senate President and the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Financial Institutions, chaired by Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, have met with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and heads of commercial banks in the country to address the high interest rates on commercial loans.

    Now that a majority of its access to finance laws have either been signed into law or are awaiting assent by the President, the Senate has initiated these discussions with commercial banks because it believes that many banking policies that are currently in place are not favourable to Nigeria’s MSMEs — despite the role that these enterprises play in the development of the national economy.

    The Senate President has accentuated the fact that although the Senate understands the economic complexities that set the interest rates in the past, “Nigeria must deliberately frame its monetary policy regime towards support of business as” Doing this, will allow the country to meet the demands of the MSMEs that employ 88 per cent of the country’s workforce.

    Moving forward, it is time for the executive branch to also wade into this access to credit issue by backing the legislation with policy interventions that will reduce interest rates across the board. Doing this will guarantee that individuals and entities will be able to access more loans at affordable rates, which would automatically translate into more jobs for our youth and a more resilient economy that is not reliant on government spending alone.

    This is why creating opportunities for anybody — regardless of who they are — to be able to ‘fish’ should always be the first step.

     

    • Onemola is a senior legislative aide to the Senate President.

  • Enugu: Much ado about Iran’s investment

    Some years ago, Nigerians welcomed the advent of social media as channels of communication and information. It was invented to speedy dissemination of information and to promote effective communication. As good as it is, Nigerians have speedily turned it to rumour mill and a means of promoting and propagating hate speeches, lies, misinformation, divisive politics and propaganda. Mischievous Nigerians have also latched on its non-regulation by any agency to abuse it to the detriment of the peaceful co-existence of the country.

    That is why today almost every Nigerian is either a blogger or an online journalist, without a clear identity or particular address. All it requires is for one to get a Chinese handset, recharge date, sit down in the comfort of a home to be fabricating lies and sending out on the social media platforms undisturbed.

    They are always handy to be hired by politicians or any other persons to blackmail and demonise their perceived enemies without being tracked or traced. Many Nigerians, being gullible and lazy researchers and readers, usually rely social media platforms as news to form opinions. This is even when it is a basic rule in information dissemination that the sources of information are more important and credible than information itself. But who cares especially when some Nigerians for reasons best known to them have decided to replace credible news with rumour mongering and hate speeches?

    This was exactly what happened in Enugu recently after the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Nigeria, Morteza Rahimi Zarchi, spoke at the Government House, Enugu, during a courtesy call on the governor. He stated that he was in Enugu to see to the feasibility of establishing an Iranian Hospital, modeled after the one in Dubai, at the ongoing Heliu Residences Project in Enugu. The governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in his response said that his administration is fully committed to the sustenance of an environment that is conducive for businesses and other developmental initiatives in the state, as well as necessary legislations, institutional frameworks, favourable tax regime amongst others.

    As a background,  a private firm, FIT Consult Ltd, developing the Heliu Residences project in Enugu had invited the diplomat to the state to undertake a feasibility study of establishing an Iranian Hospital, modeled after the one in Dubai at the ongoing estate. The ambassador while in Enugu paid a courtesy visit to the Government House, Enugu, where he informed the governor of his mission to the state. At the meeting, no MOU was signed and no bilateral agreement was reached.

    With this, which happened in the broad daylight and covered by the print and broadcast media, some hired elements operating on social media platforms twisted the event by alleging that Enugu State government signed bilateral agreement with the Iranian government to build a world class hospital in the state as a step to Islamise the region!

    What a failed attempt to mislead and pitch the people of the state against the governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who has not only provided leadership, but has provided enabling environment for the peace that is attracting investors. But this is not unexpected as more of it will come, especially as 2019 elections are drawing nearer.

    It would be recalled that on assumption of office, Ugwuanyi’s government organised an investment summit where the economic potentials of the state was showcased to the world. Since then, investors across the country and outside have seen the state as a destination because of its peaceful and friendly environment.

    From the above scenario in Enugu, the questions are – where did the Enugu State governor go wrong in welcoming the Iranian Ambassador that was brought to the state by a private estate developer? When has it become an offence for a governor to assure an investor of enabling environment to operate? Does the state government have any power to stop private investors from attracting partners from outside the country? This is especially when such investors have received clean bill of health from the relevant security agencies.

    The problem is that Nigerians have failed to realise the limit of politics. Politicising developments is one of the major hindrances to rapid development and Nigeria is not an exception. The Enugu event reminds one of when the idea of Islamic Bank was initially mooted during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and some people kicked against it, expressing fear that the country will be Islamised through it. All sorts of rumours and propaganda were peddled to frustrate the establishment of the bank in Nigeria. But President Jonathan saw beyond the sentiments and emotions being bandied by some people and gave the order for the licensing of the bank which is today known as Jaiz Bank.

    Delivering a keynote address at the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) conference in Port Harcourt in August 2011 on the topic titled: “Sustaining an Enduring Democracy in Nigeria,” Nobel Laureate, Prof Soyinka said the fears that greeted the proposed Islamic banking were unnecessary, as long as the proposition does not contravene the law”.   He said laws do exist in the banking sector, even as he said the country can practise any form of banking as long as such practice does not go against extant rules and regulations in the land. He also said the proposed Islamic banking which exists in other climes should not be an issue because it was not responsible for the scores of developments that have dragged the Nigeria backwards, including the Niger Delta crisis, the Boko Haram or the epileptic power supply the country was experiencing over the years.

    “Does the entry of Islamic banking contravene the law? Why is it much of an issue and attracting inflammatory?”

    Today many state governments have taken and still taking lower interest loans from the Jaiz Bank to develop their states. None of those who kicked against its establishment is kicking against getting loans from the bank at lower interest rate for development. Who knows if after building the worldclass hospital in Enugu, the Iranian government and its Nigerian investor will employ Nigerians as workers and provide healthcare services at affordable rates. This cannot be ruled out, what happened in Jaiz Bank.

     

    • Ude, wrote from Amokwe,Udi, Enugu State. 

  • LAUTECH crisis and the pseudo-patriots

    The plethora of commentaries and armchair analysis on the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, (LAUTECH) unfortunate crisis is as interesting and unpleasant. The situation, no doubt, presents some sworn critics the opportunity to showcase their unwarranted disdain for the workings of the governments of Oyo and Osun, the proprietors of the institution under reference. Inciting statements and related diatribes that are impertinent to the issue at hand are being freely and maliciously employed to disparage Governors Abiola Ajimobi and Rauf Aregbesola of Oyo and Osun states respectively, as visitors to the university. The development has presented elements from otherwise comatose and dead opposition political parties in the two states to yell at and condemn the perceived ineptitude of the proprietors at resolving the imbroglio, which portends serious dangers to the future of the students of the great institution.

    It is even more amazing that some of these critics, who once had the opportunity to administer the university directly and indirectly shouted louder in the unfair condemnation of the owner states government, instead of burying their heads in shame for largely contributing to the sorry state of the institution by their actions and inactions.

    I am particularly disappointed with the negative attitude of one of the uninformed commentators who alluded to ethnic coloration and introduced same to the whole harrowing episode. The fellow reasoned that LAUTECH at Ogbomoso is now being deliberately replaced by the Technical University, Ibadan.

    This sordid dimension is a reflection of how myopic and confusing the thoughts and feelings of some supposedly educated and influential people could be in this kind of situation. Such unfortunate outburst is capable of fanning the embers of ethnic disaffection between the indigenes of Ogbomoso and Ibadan if this person had not been well known for such divisive antics long before this time.

    He compounded his ignorance of the whole scenario when he made a veiled reference to what he called the deliberate unwillingness of the two owner-states to make public an alleged agreement that once ceded the ownership of the university to Oyo State. He further claimed that the agreement was allegedly signed by ex-Governors Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo and Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun, in a litigation involving the two owner states at the Supreme Court. That the said agreement was at the instance of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. I doubt if the fellow is aware that such a paper that has no ingredient of endorsement in the court registry or Justice Department is not valid and as such inadmissible as an exhibit in the court of law.

    The present poor State of LAUTECH is a direct consequence of the gross mismanagement of the university’s resources over the years from what I found out. The successive administrations of the institution had failed woefully to do the needful in making the institution self-sustaining or viably independent. Aside from the fact that the university has an over bloated workforce, some insiders claim that expenses on imprest, estacodes and other sundry allowances are normally accorded priorities  over statutory payment of the staff salaries and allowances. Keeping and operating 97 bank accounts by the university, some of which are said to have closed shop with the university’s funds therein entrapped, is not healthy for the growth of the university. It amounts to sheer wastage. It is mind boggling that the university which collects regular subventions from the governments, rakes in school fees from the students (regular and part-time) and research grants from the Non-Governmental Organizations could be run aground. In my own view, the pervasive inadequacies in the university system are part of the reasons why the labour unions were said to have blocked the auditors hired by the governments to carry out forensic audit of the institution from carrying out their duties. One of the findings reveals that the university is still operating manual accounting systems up till now. It is equally worrisome to note that the audit reports on the university’s finances for the years 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively are not ready.

    With the discovery of all these inadequacies that have impeded the smooth administration of the of the great institution and which had consequently precipitated the lingering crisis, I am of the conviction that the critic under reference could not have resorted to “argumentun ad hominien”, but for his complete consumption by fires of hatred against Governors Abiola Ajimobi and Rauf Aregbesola respectively. Pretending to be championing or promoting primordial interests, in a feat of a demagogue in this kind of situation, can only be self-serving. It is capable of generating unnecessary heat in polity.

    What moral justification can explain the workers’ action of preventing the governments’ forensic auditors from carrying out their duties? They were definitely wrong to have acted as dogs in a manger. It is crystal clear and regrettable too,  that there exists a cabal within  the university workforce that is hell bent in sabotaging the efforts of the owner state governments and well-meaning Nigerians at resolving the crisis once and for all.

    One can only take solace in the fact that the matter shall soon be amicably resolved once as for all by the University’s Governing Council that has just been constituted. The council, no doubt, consist of erudite scholars and administrators with proven track records of efficiency in crisis management. It is my candid opinion that the whole blame regarding the pitiable state of the institution cannot be wholly placed at the doorsteps of the owner states, but, the university management that created bulk of the crisis. So, the critics should take note of this.

    It is pertinent at this juncture to postulate that forensic auditing and proper screening exercise of the university personnel must be carried out with the objective of moving the university out of the present crisis. The outcome of the exercise shall avail the owner governments the unique opportunity of taking concrete steps aimed at normalizing the situation and make improvements. The university management should embark on austerity measures to conserve funds. This includes suspension of imprest accounts, embargo on paying salaries to staff on sabbatical leave, nominal staff promotion exercise till the university can stand on its own, etc.

    Blocking all the financial leakages will undoubtedly reinvigorate the financial strength of the institution. The Osun State government should also try to complement the efforts of its counterpart in Oyo that has been meeting up with its financial obligations to the university on regular basis. Even in the face of recession, and in the midst of this crisis, Oyo State government is said to have still deemed it imperative to release the subvention of over N150million naira to the university. Although Oyo State had slashed the subvention to the university by more than half, it is noteworthy that it has not reneged on paying the amount it promised the university. Moreover, the labour unions in the university, as stakeholders, should allow the government auditors to carry out their assignments without further delay. We cannot afford to be stagnant and expect miracles in this circumstance.

    Today, the pseudo-patriots should rise above sheer pettiness and partisan interest to contribute their genuine quota as solutions to the problems at hand. They should refrain from making inflammatory statements capable of misleading the members of public and pitching same against the owner state governments.

     

    • Akeem sent in this piece from Ibadan.

  • Anambra poll: Letter to APC delegates

    The primary election to nominate the APC flag-bearer in the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election comes up this Saturday, August 19. This date is of significance because on that date, the fate of APC in this year’s election will be decided. The outcome of the primary election will determine whether APC will contest the November 18 election to win or to lose.

    On August 19, the chances of the party and, indeed, the hopes of Ndi Anambra to effect the desired change in the governance of the state will rest squarely on the shoulders of the delegates to the primaries.

    I, therefore, urge the delegates, as they step out on that day to cast their votes to elect a flag-bearer, to please be reminded that a rare opportunity has been thrust upon them to do that which is right and which will be beneficial, not only to them, but to their own children, all Anambra children and posterity at large.

    I say to you all: You became a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) because you became tired of the status quo and wanted a change from failure to success and from stagnation to acceleration. You now have the opportunity to   effect that change by nominating someone who has ability and capacity to defeat the incumbent administration on November 18. History is beckoning you to write your name in gold, as a major catalyst in the change agenda in the state. How will you react? Will you be guided by emotions and sentiments to nominate that friend or relation of yours when, indeed, you know that he does not have what it takes to defeat the incumbent and win the election?

    Will you be guided by earnest desire for the common good to nominate someone who has what it takes to defeat other contestants and win Anambra governorship for the APC and thereby kick-start that overdue change for which you became a member of the APC?

    Dear delegate, it is now up to you to decide whether you want Ndi Anambra to remember you as the hero who effectively empowered change, or the villain who sabotaged the best chance for change we ever had.

    I accept that it is always difficult to strike a fair balance between what is and what ought to be. As an indigene of the state residing in Ghana, I have followed this year’s election with uncommon interest because, however we look at it, the results of all elections impact on us positively or negatively. The last time, I wrote an article and asked the question: Can APC rescue Anambra State? My answer now to that question is:  Yes, APC can rescue Anambra State only if it succeeds in rescuing itself from enemies within.

    I have studied the personal data and pedigree of all the gentlemen aspiring for the APC ticket and for the sake of our common good, I have decided to be more pungent and direct in this open letter. This year’s election is not any aspirant’s personal war. It is a battle between political parties and the best each party can do is to enter the war arena with its best war commander, and the best that each aspirant, truly loyal to his party can do, is to support the person among them who has the best chances to win the election for the party.

    This is the major reason why I am writing this letter. It does not appear that some of the aspirants will allow the best among them to bear the flag because to them, it is not about the party and its members but about their personal ambitions. It is up to the delegates to correct this impression because they are party delegates and not personal delegates of the aspirants and therefore, they must be guided by a good sense of who has the best chance to win the election for the party.

    After due research and studies, the name that effortlessly comes to mind as the most equipped and prepared at this time to win this year’s election for APC is Senator Andy Uba, and this is for six verifiable reasons which I urge the delegates to investigate.

    The first reason is the man’s vast experience. The requisite experience of any leader is a beckoning asset that his administration can always leverage on. Uba was a close presidential aide for nearly eight years and no one can ordinarily dispute the wealth of experience that flowed from the job. He had contested and won Anambra governorship election before and has become familiar with the terrain. He is equally a two-term serving senator, openly acknowledged as having the highest number of bills in the Senate. Having served in the executive and the legislature, he knows how government works and his experience can be trusted and relied on, on this.

    The second is that his belief in the core values of Anambra State is not in doubt. As a close presidential aide, he was instrumental to the appointment of the three most cerebral indigenes of the state ever to work at the same time for one administration. Charles Soludo, Dora Akunyili and Oby Ezekwesili were some of the finest gifts of Anambra State to Nigeria and Senator Andy Uba’s contributions to these appointments cannot be denied. His commitment to the completion of the 2nd Niger Bridge, the dredging of the River Niger and a sincere Anambra Airport are proofs that the best for the state will always remain his priority.

    Thirdly, no one wins more elections than a politician who is on ground and close to the people. This is Andy Uba’s greatest advantage. In 2007, he established the structures with which he won that year’s governorship election. In 2011, he used the same structures to win his senatorial election and used the same structures to win his senatorial re-election in 2015. He has been using the same structures to campaign for this year’s election because unlike many politicians, he never dismantled his structures. They have kept him very close to the people for 10 years and as the D-Day approaches in this year’s election, there is really no time for experiments.  What APC needs to win this year’s Anambra guber is for its delegates to nominate him because he has existing and well-serviced structures to win the election.

    The fourth reason is that the Senator has no godfather. He is his own boss and will be in charge of his own decisions and responsible for his own actions. From 1999 till date, we are all aware of the destruction godfatherism engendered in the state and how much it slowed our wheel of progress. Anambra State is tired of following someone who is following someone else.  Uba has a personal vision of what he wants to achieve in the state and this vision will not be impaired by the control of any godfather.

    The fifth reason that urges the choice of this man is his extensive connections in high places that the state can leverage on for negotiations and concessions. The senator is well respected in and outside the state and as an astute strategist, he has become our established bridge across diverse national interests.

    Finally, he sees leadership as service to the people and not an avenue to enrich self or acquire houses abroad. He seeks to use the office of the governor to continue doing good which he has been doing in his private capacity. If he could touch so many lives as an individual, he can only do much more as governor.

     

    • Dr. Offodeme writes from Takoradi, Ghana.

  • The shame of varsities’ toilets

    Nigeria is arguably the champion of Africa, given its enormous, robust human and material resources as well as population size of 180 million or thereabouts.  Therefore, it should be a vivid beacon of hope and excellence for the other countries in the continent.  This is achievable through the lenses of world-class educational systems particularly at the university level.  Nigeria is not doing badly, in terms of sheer weight of numbers.  Thus, for example, the country has over 40 federal universities and at least 38 state-owned ones.  But sadly enough, the morphology and content of the grammar of standard of the learning environment are very poor.  My emphasis here is on the university hostels including toilet facilities that are in a sorry state.  The university is a special institution committed to the development or nurturing of refined personalities capable of combining knowledge in a myriad of disciplines with good character. The essence of all these engagements is the improvement of the human condition across scales.

    Every university needs a pleasant, clean learning environment in order to produce gentle ladies and men in the final analysis.  The campus is not supposed to be a breeding ground for dirty, violent and rascally graduates.  The impact of the physical and social environment on students same as other Homo sapiens is certainly monumental.  Refined university graduates will plough back their vibrant knowledge into the larger system or society.  This is the cornerstone of social sustainability among other things.  Therefore, it is not a luxury to ensure that clean hostels and by extension, toilets are provided for students.  Indeed, clean hostel facilities are a necessity as opposed to an option.  This reality also determines to a great extent, the academic performance of each student in the long run.

    In my own opinion, provision of clean hostels including toilet facilities is part of the process of character building embedded in profundity.  University education should not be reduced to the sphere of mere awarding of certificates to students after completing their studies.  Every human being is to a certain degree, a product of his socio-physical environment.  Suffice it to say, that after training, education is what is left as a perpetual legacy.  That is the beauty of university training.  This underscores the reason why each university management team must develop a new narrative of total commitment to cleanliness.  Thus, for example, the motto of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan is “Knowledge and Good Character”.  Other universities have their own too.  The motto of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife is “Learning and Culture”.  “Naturally Ahead” is the motto for Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

    The founding fathers of these great universities knew what they were saying and doing because they had visions and were no doubt, on a mission.  Therefore, each management team must search its mind or heart to find out, how its university stands today, in terms of living up to the high ideals of the founding fathers.  Much can still be done despite the current lean budgets.  But this will entail careful re-prioritisation of the needs of students and the university as a whole.  Today’s public universities (with a few exceptions), have very dilapidated toilet facilities leading to several unhygienic practices by students – the movers and shakers of our tomorrows.

    It is shocking to say here, that most of the toilets cannot be directly used by students due largely to high population quite above the carrying capacity of each hall and/or the university in general.  No running water!  No functioning boreholes! Where there are a few boreholes, electric power supply is not available!  Not unexpectedly, the whole place stinks to high heavens.  For goodness sake, is this the kind of milieu needed for producing future leaders?  It is time to begin to rescue Nigerian public universities from the swamp of filthiness into which they have been sinking fast, at least in the last 15 years or so.  It is laughable (though painful too) that our often maligned students (victims of a system bereft of ideas, proactivity and financial prudence) now use potties like very young children in Day-Care centres.  No student, no matter how careless will directly use a toilet where maggots and flies among other harmful organisms are permanently “holding meetings”.

    Unfortunately, contemporary Nigerian university students are becoming more voiceless on a daily basis, in the face of high-handedness, insensitivity and unwarranted arrogance on the part of the management team.  The vibrant culture of academic democracy – a reflection of checks and balances, is on its way to extinction.  This culture of intellectual retrogression can hardly be found in smaller West African countries like Benin and Ghana.  Parents whose children or wards are readying themselves for resumption in these universities must not forget to buy potties for them.  Potties are some of the new valuables.  Young ladies use more potties than men in their halls or hostels.  You and I can guess the coping strategy of male students in this connection.  This is definitely an eyesore and indeed, a mind sore as Professor Niyi Osundare once said, in a public lecture he gave many years ago at the University of Ibadan.

    This relatively recent development diminishes our students especially the female gender.  But they have no choice, if they want to reduce the risk of infection to the barest minimum.  The management does not need to look the other way, because this problem or challenge is not insurmountable after all!   Companies producing potties should please bear with me.  They should not be angry with me because currently, they are smiling to the bank more regularly than hitherto.  This is because more potties are in demand by students across the board.  This is a blessing in disguise for the companies.  However, this blessing may be short-lived, once university management teams see my lamentation here, as a genuine effort to liberate our hostels and by extension, students from the abyss of filthiness.

    The popular rhetoric of inadequate funding of universities is not a solution.  The real solution here is prudent management of resources and the consciousness to make positive history for posterity.  Certainly, more funds will have positive expansionary effect on the university system generally.  But this will only be possible if the managers change their current narrative.  That is to say, that if they get their priorities straight.  It is on record, that a lot of federal universities were well funded during the last administration headed by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.  How was the money spent?  What was it spent for?  What were the priorities of each university management in the face of such largesse?  Problems or challenges of over-crowded hostels and over-used toilet facilities can be successfully addressed, if the management has the political will.  But if those in charge didn’t see anything wrong with dirty toilets, then positive change would be difficult to make.  It is dangerous to continue to gloss over this issue, thereby sending a wrong signal to our students and of course, the wide world that hygienic culture has no space in the contemporary university consciousness.  I will illustrate here, the seriousness of this matter, in order to help those few self-seeking, myopic, unpatriotic academics and administrators who might want to trivialise the subject, by pretending that there is no fire on the mountain.

    Some five years ago or thereabouts, a few students from the University of Ibadan were lodged in an unoccupied palace during an archaeological field training in Osun State.  Within the two-week period, the surroundings of the sacred building – the heart and soul of the host community, were in a thorough mess.  Human faecal and other material wastes turned the palace into a filthy space.  Consequently, one of the high chiefs holding the fort while the community was searching for a new king (oba) cursed the students for offending their sensibilities through the lens of desecration.  As a result of this poor behaviour, the departmental authorities could no longer use the sites in the community as a field school.  Although this behaviour is condemnable by all standards, we should not forget in a hurry, the centrality of physical and social environmental determinism in the evolution of human personality.  It is against this backdrop, that all public universities in the country must begin a behavioural revolution with a special emphasis on hostel facilities.  This is doable, in the face of unalloyed commitment to the common good, and indeed, our tomorrows.  The current narrative of lack of proactivity and near-complete indifference to the sufferings of Nigerian students has to change.

     

    • Professor Ogundele writes from University of Ibadan.

  • Akwa Ibom: Taking revolution to health sector

    The primary essence of government is to protect lives and property. Apart from the physical protection which connotes well-equipped security apparatuses and personnel, there is also the protection of life through efficient healthcare system. This is of immense importance as its absence allows diseases to strut innocuously but with the collateral consequence of avoidable population decimation.

    A trite saying asserts that “health is wealth”. Aside from the various shades of meaning deducible from this expression, it could also be inferred that a population with good health is a gain to the workforce of that society. The contrary is also a deficit and places such society at a disadvantage.

    A more narrow but pragmatic narrative on the imperative of good healthcare system can be seen in the case of individuals. Of course only a healthy person can achieve set goals. A wise saying parodies this in our local parlance which could be loosely cast as “the sick cannot keep pace with his peers”.

    There is therefore a relationship between health as a factor and the economy of any society. It is why good leaders invest enormously in the health sector to achieve optimum health for the people in the understanding that it is a critical resource to economic buoyancy of the society.

    Chief Obafemi Awolowo as Premier of Western Nigeria in the 50s paid priority to education and health. When he declared free education in that region, he guided the people through what they should prioritize in schools as courses of study. They included Law, Medicine, Banking and Finance, etc. Medicine like education was given premium consideration to ensure the maintenance of a healthy workforce. He often noted that it was the absence of education and lack of access to healthcare that bred superstition that was germane to untimely and premature death of the people.

    The primacy accorded good healthcare delivery system is very eloquent in the Western world. Apart from ensuring that hospitals are well equipped with efficient medical personnel, the system also ensures that access to facilities is not hindered by bureaucratic obstacles. The health insurance policy makes access to healthcare easy for all. Those societies value and respect the sanctity of life of their citizenry in recognition that only a society of healthy people can produce a healthy workforce.

    Governor Udom Emmanuel ofAkwa Ibom State, an urbane former banker, has focused intently on the health sector even though it was not part of his 5–point agenda. Apart from his zeal that has necessitated the slogan, “working beyond the promise”, it is safe to say that the governor having studied and had reasonable grasp of the fundamentals of good governance, sees the imperative of providing for the health of the citizenry as  a non-negotiable given. It was why at the blast of the whistle for the commencement of his tenure, he headed to St. Luke’s Hospital, Anua, where he gave the hospital a massive facelift. He also added to the complex a brand new building named after Dr. Ann Ward, an Irish female gynaecologist and Reverend Sister who once worked in that hospital.

    Today, the hospital which was established in 1937 wears a fascinating look owing to Governor Udom’s magnanimous gesture. It must be stated that the said facility is not owned by government. But for him, it is a facility that Akwa Ibom people use and so must enjoy government’s intervention.

    The governor’s vision for the health sector seems to align with the postulation of a Swiss writer, Henry Frederic Amiel which noted, “In health, there is freedom. Health is the first of all liberties”. His vision can therefore be said to be that of an unencumbered citizenry that have internalized the cutting edge “Dakkada” creed that is already evolving Akwa Ibom indigenes into global icons. Swarmed by the achievements recorded by Akwa Ibom youngsters everywhere on the globe, the governor understandably seeks to create a liveable environment for the people with access to state-of-art facilities including that of health.

    Governor Emmanuel’s attention to healthcare sector smacks of a revolution. Containers of medical equipment are arriving the state in droves. The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Charles Udoh announced that about seven containers had already arrived the state with nine still awaiting shipment to Uyo from Port Harcourt. Currently, some of the equipment are being used to equip General Hospital, Etinan. According to the commissioner, the hitherto dilapidated GeneralHospital, Etinan, now wears the look of a rehabilitated and completely refurbished state hospital. He said that the governor is planning to replicate the same gesture in all the General Hospitals in the state. Just recently, the Secretary to the State Government, Sir Etekamba Umoren carried out an on-the-spot exhaustive facility tour of Ikot Ekpene General Hospital obviously with regard to the same intent. Not long ago, Governor Emmanuel flagged off the construction of an ultra-modern General Hospital at Ituk Mbang. Elucidating on the project, the information commissioner stated that the hospital which is strategically located at the site of the existing hospital at Ituk Mbang is meant to service Uyo metropolis and the Ibom International Airport.

    The governor’s emphasis on healthcare and sensitivity to the health of his people also draw testimony in his inauguration of an Emergency Response Training Programme comprising 25 doctors and 75 nurses. The body is designed to provide interventions to emergencies like the unfortunate Reigners Church incident. According to Charles Udoh, the governor through this massive investment in the health sector is taking a bold step to stem the tide of medical tourism abroad as well as reduce congestion on the tertiary and quaternary medical facilities in the state.

    Government’s huge investment in the health sector is in line with the Udom administration medical reforms which started in May. As the governor once noted, “a healthy population gives rise to a wealthy population”. According to the governor, an investment in the health sector is in the interest of Akwa Ibom people and therefore not an expense. He said that having been exposed to first class medical facilities in the world; he was under obligation to deliver same to Akwa Ibom people.

    Healthcare services constitute a strong human need that every responsible government must pay attention to. Sadly, the nation’s healthcare delivery system from primary, secondary to tertiary have been in comatose for years with successive governments paying not more than lip serve on its resuscitation. In 1983, in a coup speech, late General Sani Abacha said that “our hospitals have become mere consulting clinics”. Not much has changed in many parts of the country with frequent loss of lives in minor medical conditions as evidence. Governor Emmanuel’s deliberate reforms in that sector must be seen as a welcome development and an action plan by the administration to make the life of every Akwa Ibom person the state’s priority.

     

    • Iniodu is a public affairs analyst.

  • Rejigging Nigeria’s counterterrorism strategy

    From being underrated and likened to a band of rag-tag, amateurish, illiterate folks few years ago, the Boko Haram Islamic sect metamorphosed into the ‘world’s most lethal terrorist group’ –deadlier than ISIS, Al-Qaeda. No thanks to the sect’s unrelenting attacks, the 2015 Global Terrorism Index, GTI, ranked Nigeria as the third most terrorized country in the world. According to the Borno State governor – Kashim Shettima, Boko Haram’s sporadic eight years insurgency has led to the death of 100,000 and displacement of two million people (IDPs) in North-east. The Crises Group believes that famine, food crises is in the offing.

    While the Buhari administration and the military hierarchy frequently bluster how Boko Haram has been conquered or ‘’technically defeated’’, pragmatic evidence suggests that the Islamic sect is resilient against all odds and may likely remain a threat in the foreseeable future. A somewhat conservative and not quite up-to-date data culled from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) says that up till June, ‘’Boko Haram masterminded at least 48 attacks—successful and unsuccessful in Nigeria’’. If the sequence of attacks from the second week of June to second week of August is factored in, the above data will definitely skyrocket.

    As recent as August 1, purportedly defeated Boko Haram insurgents overran – Mildu, a community in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State killing seven people, injuring scores and torching houses. Boko Haram’s relentless attacks, killings, abductions and mayhem do not foretell a sect that has been defeated. They are resilient and still very much a threat. A 2016 Country Reports on Terrorism released by the United States Department of State Bureau of Counter-terrorism released on July 19, and obtained by ThisDay newspaper, asserts that ‘’the Nigerian military lacks capacity to hold captured territories in northeast Nigeria’’.  The candid report goes further to state that, “Despite gains made by the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), much of its reported progress was merely duplication of failed efforts carried over from the end of last dry/fighting season,” adding: “The Nigerian military was unable to hold and rebuild civilian structures and institutions in those areas it had cleared.” It further faulted the decision of the federal government to return internally displaced people (IDPs) to their original place of abode, saying that this was being done without adequate security.

    The counter-insurgency operation in North-east is characterized by flip-flops, alibi’s. According to The Guardian of March 31, Major General Enenche reportedly admitted that ‘’the real Boko Haram leader, Shekau is still alive’’. Said he: “… we are aware, and have come to know that the real Shekau is yet to be apprehended. It is because there are so many faces of Shekau that brought the mix-up, but the real Shekau is yet to be caught, and we will get him”. On July 22, ThisDay reported that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, gave a 40-day ultimatum to Major General Ibrahim Attahiru, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-east, to capture Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, dead or alive. Announcing the ultimatum, the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, said, “The Theatre Commander has further been directed to do so within 40 days’’. Capture a man you severally claimed is dead?

    Not to be outdone, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) bandies an alibi why it struggles to rein in Boko Haram. The latest of such defence is that thunderstorm and rainfall impacted negatively on its operations in the north-east. But thunderstorm and rainfall does not occur night and day, non-stop in the north-east. In a related development, the Nigerian military initially claimed it rescued 10 abducted University of Maiduguri and NNPC oil workers but their claim turned out to be falsehood. The military tendered an apology thereafter for misleading the public. The Defence Headquarters also blamed recent Boko Haram attacks in Borno State on the information the insurgents get from informants. Defence Spokesman, Major General John Enenche stated this on Monday, July 31, on Channels Television breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily. Reacting to the attack on the crude oil exploration team in Borno, Enenche noted that unless the terrorists were given adequate information about the progress of the exploration exercise, the team would not have fallen into the ambush. This penchant for untenable, hogwash, half-truths is why many Nigerians seldom trust the security agencies. If the insurgents upped the ante as a result of information from informants, it follows that the military’s counter-intelligence capability leaves much to be desired. Did the military not carry out risk assessment, surveillance before embarking on the escort? If the military with their sophisticated weaponry and expertise cannot safely escort the crude oil explorers, what is the fate of locals, civilians, and humanitarian staff working in the north-east?

    It appears Nigeria’s current effort is on ‘’de-radicalization’’ of the terrorists at the expense of prosecution or conviction. We hear almost on a daily basis how a senior Boko Haram “Commander” was arrested but nothing is ever heard about them standing trial. In August 2016, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says it presented relief items to a group of 800 former Boko Haram members who recently denounced their membership of the group. The repentant insurgents are being camped at a military-controlled facility known as ‘’Safe Corridor’’ in Gombe State where they are undergoing rehabilitation and de-radicalization programmes. Lately, 43 Boko Haram insurgents who supposedly surrendered to troops of Operation Lafiya Dole were air-lifted to join other ‘repentant’ insurgents in the said Safe Corridor programme in Gombe.

    The Senate stitched up an anti-terrorism law known as the Terrorism (prevention) Act which prescribed death penalty for individuals found guilty of terrorism. Nearly 10 years into Boko Haram’s insurgency and blistering terrorist attacks, there’s very sparse information as to the number of people (if any) convicted for terrorism or terrorist activities in Nigeria. Is Nigeria’s anti-terrorism law, a paper-tiger?

    Having tested the efficacy of kidnap-for-ransom-and-prisoner-swap-deals, recalcitrant, remorseless Boko Haram militants will continue to deploy this bargaining chip stock-in-trade. Predictably, the sect reportedly kidnapped about 10 women, part of a police/military convoy abducted along Damboa road, outside Maiduguri, Borno State. Just like the initial denial of the Chibok school girls’ abduction, the Nigerian government/police also denied the abduction of these women. It was after Boko Haram’s leader – Shekau released a video of the 10 distraught women that the Nigerian authorities owned up. Similarly, the Boko Haram faction purportedly loyal to IS-supported Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi is reportedly responsible for the recent ambush, attack and abduction of some University of Maiduguri staff that were part of a crude oil exploration team in Borno State. According to an aid agency worker, the death toll from the aforesaid attack stands at 69.

    There’s no gainsaying the fact that Nigeria has made progress in containing Boko Haram but asserting that Boko Haram has been defeated is fallacious. There’s urgent need to rejig Nigeria’s counterterrorism strategy, intelligence gathering capabilities. Nigeria’s anti-terrorism law must not be a paper-tiger sacrificed at the altar of an untested de-radicalization programme. Prosecuting terrorists, their sponsors, financiers promptly will also serve as a deterrent. Folks who do crime must be ready to do time.

     

    • Okereke is a security analyst/consultant, writer.

  • Jungle justice and state culpability

    The increased frenzy in media reports of jungle justice on the streets of Nigeria gives serious cause for concern.

    Please note that I said “increased frenzy in media reports” and NOT the jungle justice itself; for that has always been with us like the saying goes, “from time immemorial”! That the media is now merely giving the despicable practice of “jungle justice” more front-page treatment’ is commendable because that is part of the expectations or even obligations of developmental journalism.

    I put the responsibility for the growing incidences of “jungle justice” squarely and unapologetically at the doorstep of the government. You cannot sow wind and not expect to reap whirlwind. The multiplier effects of state-sponsored violence over the decades have not only manifested in jungle justice reminiscent of what obtains in banana republics, but also in violent agitations from different segments of the society such as students’ movement, ethnic militias, religious extremists, hiding under one genuine (or spurious) cause or the other  to unfurl destruction, confusion in many cases. These beastly acts on society lead to fear and uncertainty, while the government hopelessly and helplessly looks elsewhere in unjustifiable abandonment of the people.

    The Nigeria state has demonstrated bewildering tolerance, encouragement and actual involvement and execution of violence in some instances; so much so that it is widely held, though erroneously, among the populace that the ONLY language government understands is VIOLENCE!

    Nigeria’s history, for long, has been dotted by the ugly spectre of unmitigated violence by “unknown soldiers”! Ironically, or appropriately (?), Fela sang in one of his albums on the invasion of his house, “we have unknown soldiers, we have unknown civilians, all equal to unknown government”; a larger percentage of the populace has therefore, turned into “unknown civilians”, executing instant “jungle justice” based entirely and regrettably on the spur of the moment and desperate resort to self-help.

    Another pertinent example is Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian dramatist, playwright, author, poet and environmental activist who had to pay the supreme price with his life. In the strides of activists like Martin Luther King Jr., Indira Ghandi and so on, Ken, as he was popularly called, embarked on non-violent agitation  to draw attention to the environmental degradation of his immediate community and the danger of the Ogoni people, using the instrumentality of arts, including  his peculiar writing prowess, to draw global attention and demand for justice, equity, fairness and other fundamental human rights for his people as enshrined in the UNDHR of 1948, and to which Nigeria was and still, a signatory!

    What happened to Ken? He was murdered by the state via a fait accompli military tribunal without an option of appeal. It must not be lost on us that this same military government seized the reigns of governance in the first place, by violence. In Fela-speak, they will qualify as a sort of “unknown government”

    Another instance of state-sponsored violence is what happened in Lagos and in fact, all over the country, around July 4 –7, 1983. There was a nationwide protest organized by the Campaign for Democracy (CD) over the inexplicable annulment of the June 12, 1983 presidential elections won by Bashorun M.K.O Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), an election which was adjudged as the fairest and freest presidential elections in the annals of Nigeria till date? To quell the protest, the military despot, Sani Abacha, called out the soldiers to repress ‘armless’ protesters. Nearly 200 civilians were killed on the streets of Lagos and hundreds of others across the country!

    Perhaps as a sadistic icing of the cake, Abiola himself was eventually murdered just like his outspoken wife, Alhaja Kudirat Olayinka Abiola, who was shot in broad daylight on a the street of Lagos by a certified sniper who later became an “Unknown” sniper as part of the ploy by the state to cover up the killing!

    As can be deduced from the fore-going, our history is littered with open and clandestine killings, violence and incivility by the state and its agents known for what Fela called “sorrows, tears and blood”.

    So, jungle justice has been planted, continuously nurtured, and has been subconsciously engrained in our national psyche by the state!

    One more example will draw home my point; a worker in a textile factory located in Isolo was unlawfully shot and killed by trigger-happy policemen at a checkpoint, some time, in the early nineties on his way to work. The police authority duly arrested the officer and locked him up. The victim, I found out had eight children. As the then coordinator of Ikotun/Idimu Unit of CDHR, I contacted Barrister Femi Falana, and we visited the family house of the deceased. We held discussions with his elder brother, explained our mission and readiness to prosecute the case free of charge. You know what? The senior brother of the deceased told us not to worry that he will use Psalms (in the Bible) to finish the man! This is to illustrate the lack of trust citizens have in the judicial system.

    But as the religious books’ finishing-up options got somewhat delayed, people are now resorting to immediate self-help via “jungle justice”. Students would rather destroy school properties before seeking audience with the management. Ethnic militias, for example, will rather blow up petroleum pipelines in order to get government attention. Political office holders would rather use armed youths and organizations to settle scores with opponents than to engage in any intellectual debate based on people-oriented manifestos.

    Undoubtedly, we need a total overhaul of the judicial system, massive reorientation of the populace, opening up the democratic space for accelerated and easy access to justice, popular and evidently efficient and effective alternative dispute resolution mechanism, and a government with demonstrated zero tolerance for violence at all levels.

    Until then, the bestial, base and horrific issue of jungle justice will not abate. The populist, flash-in-a-pan scape-goating of erring officers has turned out to be what it is: abysmal failure!

    A community, state, region, or nation engulfed by violence is a levelling respecter of nobody! No one is spared by the consequences of violence, either directly or indirectly in its ugly, negative multipliers.

    With the recent bewildering reports of “jungle justice”, cultism, ritualistic practices, and violence across the nation, the time to seek for alternative ways of social re-engineering is now or NOW!

     

    • Oladunjoye, journalist, sent this from Ijebu-Itele, Ogun State.

  • Graceless Grace

    Among the encumbering tribe of African power denizens, Zimbabwe’s First Lady Grace Mugabe flaunts her place with peculiar hubris. She is perhaps the most notable consort in power now who can’t wait to personally take over the reins. And that might well just be to formalise a function she is widely noted to already have appropriated for herself in proxy capacity. Because with her nonagenarian husband, President Robert Mugabe, being Africa’s oldest political ruler and by reason of age obviously fraying in lucidity, Madame Grace is reputedly the power behind the Harare throne and de facto lord of the Zimbabwean manor.

    But Her Imperial Ladyship may have pushed her arrogance of power beyond her own safety limits with the alleged assault, penultimate Sunday, on a 20-year-old South African model. Grace Mugabe was reported to have battered Gabriella Engels with an extension power cord upon finding her waiting in a hotel room in Johannesburg’s upmarket suburb of Sandton, in company of another lady  to meet up with her two adult sons, Robert and Chatunga. Both Mugabe boys, in their 20s, are resident in South Africa – a country that apparently offers a more luxuriant lifestyle than deprived Zimbabwe, which has been presided over for more than a whole generation by their father.

    Indications were that Gabriella was waiting to tag with Chatunga (and possibly the other lady with Robert) when the First Lady walked in to deliver her jungle justice. “We were chilling in a hotel room, and (the sons) were in the room next door. She came in and started hitting us,” the model told local media early last week. “She walked in with an extension cord and just started beating me with it. She flipped and just kept beating me with the plug, over and over…I needed to crawl out of the room before I could run away,” the media quoted her saying.

    That narrative was modified somewhat at a press conference last Thursday where Gabriella said she and four others, two of whom were the Mugabe boys, were “having pre-drinks” when Madame Grace walked in, looking for her sons. “The only people that were in the room with us were her bodyguards and they were standing back while she was beating us…I don’t understand why she attacked us like that,” she told journalists.

    Puritans could raise a red flag that a model and her friends, meeting up in a hotel room with male companions could well be scarlet damsels. And if so, it should be expected that the wife of famously ‘Old School’ President Mugabe, with his legendary advocacy for antediluvian ethics, would feel morally affronted. But even at that, her judgment on who to bear the brunt of her moral umbrage was specious, because the Mugabe boys at their age were self-accountable. Actually, they might have arranged the very rendezvous and footed the bills entailed in view of their privileged parenthood. The apparent nuance here is that rather than confront the seeming default by her sons on parental credo, the First Lady found it convenient to scapegoat Gabriella and her squad in that showpiece of primitive conduct.

    Well, South Africa isn’t a part of the Mugabe fiefdom. And so, as at the weekend, Madame Grace’s alleged aggression had rendered her a virtual hostage within that country’s borders. Following Gabriella filing a formal charge against her, the South African police required that she turn herself in for arraignment; but she did not and rather stayed out of sight, even forfeiting chances to give her side of the incident. But she also couldn’t leave South Africa because the police posted a red alert at the country’s borders to thwart her fleeing justice.

    Meanwhile, Her Ladyship stirred a diplomatic rift between both countries. Because Zimbabwe moved to invoke diplomatic immunity cover for her, whereas she was reported to be on a private medical visit and had not even used her diplomatic passport for the trip. But you could as well see the dilemma faced by South African authorities: besides being the wife of President Mugabe, with whom South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma is reportedly chummy, Grace is in her own right a potential president-in-waiting for Zimbabwe. She is in dead heated contest with Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa to take over the presidency after Mugabe leaves, and only last July pressed the 93-year-old to name his preferred successor in an apparent gambit to upstage Mugabe’s long-held position that the ruling Zanu-PF should choose a successor.

    The Mugabe camp as at the weekend was reported making overtures to buy out Gabriella and her family in a civil settlement. And it could succeed at some point with doing that. We wait to see what would remain of Madame Grace’s gracelessness when she is let off the tangle.

    Adventures of Area Fada

    Maverick entertainer, Charly Boy, and like-minds in the #Resume or Resign Coalition would perhaps have recognised by now that every cause has its cultural morality. In other words, no matter how necessitated or well intentioned a pursuit is, it needs to be first processed through the mill of cultural morality – more so in a dominantly traditional society like ours.

    Nigerians are typically nearly fetish about occasions that underscore human mortality – like deaths and debility by ailments. And so, even if it seems quite awkward, though not by any means illegal, that a serving President has been away from office on indefinite medical leave for some 100 days and counting, there is an inhering cultural mentality of forebearance and accommodation in most Nigerians because it could well be anybody else. In any event, the said absence has not in any significant way impaired the processes of governance.

    Charly Boy and his gang apparently didn’t think their mission through when they hit the streets last week, purportedly compel the resumption or resignation of ailing President Muhammadu Buhari. They had it coming to inevitably hit a dead end. What was evitable was the crude sleigh of hand by security agents against the group early in its campaign, and the mob attack on Charly Boy at Abuja’s Wuse Market that compelled calling off the campaign. Lynch mode, in my view, is never a justifiable disposition to any stimulus – even alleged ethnic incitement.

    Charly Boy did say the group was only backing down to re-strategise; I would say: perish the thought! There are more than enough counter-foot soldiers to bootleg your rallies and set the stage for violent confrontations.

    But that isn’t saying there are no issues with Mr. President’s continued stay in the United Kingdom, which I think symbolises submitting Nigeria’s sovereignty to that country, and a damning no-confidence vote in Nigerian medicare. It says nothing of the curious economics of the officially acknowledged parking fees for the presidential jet in London, which by now has topped a sum that could catapult the Nigerian medical system, if not indeed the entire economy, into the First World. And it says nothing of the seeming official tack now of crassly blackmailing any criticism of government with an accusation of corruption hugging, even where the critic by a long stretch hasn’t been near the public treasury in his/her dealings.

     

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