The Nation Newspaper

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  • Bleach as much as you can, you can’t change your genes!

    The new fad in town is the cosmetologist’s way of making a paragon of beauty out of a hag.

    That is a problem on its own because that act alone is both a deception and an act of corruption. We will come back to that fact later. For now, the larger picture I see is that second colonisation from the West (plus the East now) has come into the Black world through body fillers they now apply to ebony-black ladies’ faces to turn them white.

    At weddings and birthdays especially, ladies’ facial outlays are changed through these body fillers that husband now mistakes his own wife for someone else, while most weaning tots hungry for breast sucking run away from their mothers when offered the human milk, because the artificial faces offering them some breasts to suck, do not fit into their mental pictures of the mums they know from birth.

    In case you haven’t observed closely, as I had done, look at the lady you normally know by her mushroom-patterned nose, suddenly turned European with an artificial narrow, long nose she carries at society events – courtesy of colonial- commissioned agents, otherwise referred to as cosmetologists.

    It’s tempting to dismiss all this as fun but it goes beyond that: like or loathe it, this new fad is now at the core of current rifts between relations and friends.

    Let me tell of an experience I had with an area aunty a few months back. We were at a social function recently invited separately by two different friends but I never realised my aunty was the lady seated two chairs away from me. I greeted her no doubt but not as chummily as I would have, if her facial contour had not be re-configured from the usual or natural.

    When a few days later I saw her in the neighbourhood where we all grew together and I warmed up to her, she responded so coldly in a manner suggestive of a kid whose fairy tale world had collapsed.

    “Why are you now greeting me when you were so casual in your salutation the other day at ‘so-so-and-so’ party”, she snapped, and I had to take recourse to swearing by the names of our forebears as witnesses, to convince her I didn’t know she was the fairy-world lady that sat two chairs away from me the other day.

    Or, the case of a man who went to grab and peck a lady she thought was his best friend’s wife at a party, only to realise the lady didn’t know her from Adam. The result? After apologising to the lady for mistaken identity, his wife who was watching the drama within earshot, picked offence at her husband’s overzealousness and I’m told that there’s an unending rumble in the home of that couple now.

    Or, take the case of another man who drove all the way from Yaba to Dolphin Estate in Ikoyi to visit a ‘smashing’ lady she had toasted at a party at Ikoyi a day earlier. I’m told the man almost fainted when his car pulled up in front of the lady’s house and was received by someone he could swear he had never met before. “I’m asking of so, so and so person”, said the man; to which the lady replied: “yes, I am” and an interesting scene began. “No, you are not”, the man countered, adding that he remembered the lady even spoke to him a while ago on the phone while asking for direction to her house, apparently to convince the lady he knew who he had come for.

    The drama got a life of its own when the man insisted on phoning the lady of his dream again, to double-check, only for the phone to ring in the palm of the lady standing before him. The man’s guard fell because the lady standing before him had apparently washed off the beauty that fascinated the man the day before. The man was no longer amused, and in order to dismiss himself from the lady’s presence, sold her a lie: “let me see a friend nearby, I will be right back”, before zooming off from the lady’s presence. It was the shock of his life!

    As things are now with these body fillers that reshape and redesign ugly women to suddenly become enhanced in beauty or a naturally endowed lady become wonderland’s paragon of beauty, it won’t be long before dirty slaps and exchange of fiery fisticuffs between respectable and otherwise restrained gentlemen and ladies become the order of the day at parties and other social functions – all in the name of get-more-beautiful fad in town!

    This reminds me of a life incident that occurred in a city in far-away Asia not too long ago between a hitherto love-birds’ couple, which ultimately ended up in divorce.

    The rich man, who was a comfortable executive in a car manufacturing company in Seoul, doted on his “pretty” lady so much that he had promised her an extraordinary gift whenever she delivered his baby. The wife had looked forward to this promise until the baby arrived, only for everything to go awry. ” I bet my child, begotten by my pretty wife, can’t be this ugly when I’m myself handsome”, the man thundered, on seeing the baby in her hospital cot.

    An argument ensued as the wife and those tending her and her baby, swore the baby was from his wife’s womb and quickly ordered a DNA test which confirmed the paternity of the baby. The man slumped and the question that burst from him, when revived, was: “how can a beautiful lady and a handsome me, beget this ugly tiny tot ?”

    The answer came in a manner as if the man had been hit by a thunderbolt: his baby is truly from his wife who had previously undergone plastic surgery to assume an artificial beautiful face – and that was before the couple met.

    Blimey! you can bleach, you can put in all the body fillers in the world or even get under the surgeon’s scalpel to enhance your beauty but, you can’t change your genes !

    When we were growing up, we used to know of “onidiris” whose plaiting prowess would take a beating on the world stage or the “lali” and other cosmetic implements queens, princesses and other girls or ladies of the time used to attract attention to themselves; but they never disfigured them as we witness these days.

    Let me end by warning that if ladies don’t retrace their steps on this issue, before long the after-effect may be too devastating for comfort. Let them ask those who relished in bleaching down to their arses to attract men but who have ended up losing their self-confidence and esteem because they have unwittingly bleached off their human essence; the very reason Yoruba people derisively call bleached Christian ladies “adie otio”, and who now wrap up their charred, disgusting necks with scarfs, as cover up, in searing weather, as if they are now muslim hadjias whose religion permit that manner of dressing.

  • In one Nigeria I stand

    Over the past two years, since President Mohammed Buhari became the President of Nigeria, there has been what I may call “Buhariphobia” in the country residing in the minds of some group of persons. These groups of persons include corrupt individuals, some religious groups and ethnic groups.

    For the corrupt group, they are afraid of Buhari because they know that a no nonsense Buhari will not continue to condone corruption in whatever guise and that those found wanting will be prosecuted. These corrupt persons know that Buhari will not allow business as usual in governance and that he will not be easily compromised, hence they resort to blackmail of his government, saying that the “fight against corruption is selective” or that he is abandoning all other aspects of governance and concentrating on corruption alone. For them, fighting corruption is witch-hunt. So they employ all kinds of negative propaganda, against his government, using their ill gotten wealth to fight back.

    For some religious groups, they reason that Buhari being a Muslim is working in the interest of Muslims – that he is out or has an agenda to Islamize Nigeria. How erroneous  !  These particular groups posit that boko haram was a creation of president Buhari. They also claim that the kidnap of Chibok girls was a stage managed affair. How Genial ! How can one rationally claim that Buhari is working in the interest of Muslims or out to Islamize Nigeria when the same Buhari administration dealt with Muslim Shiites in Kaduna who became lawless in their activities? Yes Buhari had the courage to do that even though they are his Muslim brothers/sisters.  How can anyone in his or her conscience say that Boko Haram was a creation of Buhari, when the same terrorist group is being dealt with, wiped out in Nigeria as against what we used to see in the past,  and the international community is praising Buhari government for this feat. Does it make any common sense for somebody to say that kidnap of Chibok girls was a stage-managed affair? Stage-managed by who? The good news is that concerted effort is being made to safeguard the life of these girls and rescue them. Thank God some have been rescued under Buhari and I believe that more will be rescued in due time until they are completely rescued.

    All these noises about Buhari having an agenda to Islamise Nigeria can not in any way be substantiated with any concrete evidence, rather those who peddle these inciting and dangerous rumour are out to pitch Muslims against Christians to create crises so as to achieve their whims and caprices. Yes their goal is to see Nigeria disintegrate along religious lines which will create opportunities to satisfy their selfish interests. Just recently, a massacre in a Catholic Church in Anambra which was reported to be a fall out of communal feud between rival individuals in that community is now being wickedly peddled in social media to be caused by jihadist Muslim groups. This is another satanic ploy to pitch Christians against Muslims in the country and some gullible persons have started believing this.

    For some ethnic groups, they reason that they are being marginalized under Buhari government and so they clamour for autonomy or secession. Truth is, I have not seen any government in place in Nigeria that has not been accused of marginalizing one ethnic group or the other. There has not been any government in Nigeria that has not been accused of favouring a particular section of the country in appointments, development etc.  Right from the time of independence to this present time, there have been cries of marginalization. Even during the colonial era, colonial masters were accused of favouring a particular section of the country. Again those who fan these embers of marginalization are the ones who have hidden agenda, they are hiding under the umbrella of marginalization to clamour for secession from Nigeria. The clamour for Biafra has become so rampant. The social media which is awash with this Biafran clamour is now a medium to disseminate lies, insults and negative propaganda against Buhari Government. Yet the originators of these lies and insults mostly some of my Igbo brothers claim they were descendants of Israel, that God is on their side and I ask in consternation and anger, how can God support lies, insults and evil propaganda to advance a purpose? How can God be associated with hate speeches geared towards achieving selfish agenda? My advice to my brothers is, they better go back to the Bible and read the history of the Israelites, how God intervened or is intervening for them on several occasions. What God required or requires of them is obedience to His commandment/will. With obedience to Him, God always fights or fought their causes without their help. God fights or fought for them even in unbelievable and miraculous circumstances. Cases abound when the Israelites were only required to be still, to be quiet to allow God act. But some of these my brothers are here and now making inciting comments, spreading falsehood, insulting constituted/constitutional authorities, heating up the polity and in some cases resorting to violence. In the light of all these I ask, what happens to love that Jesus preached and His disciples are preaching? What happens to tolerance and peace that were or are the hallmark of Jesus Gospel to Christians and to the world at large? How do you reconcile the notion that God is with Biafran agitators with the heinous epidemic of falsehood and insults spread across the social media by Biafran agitators? May I give a word of caution. Our God should not be mocked. Do not use the name of God in vain. I do not have anything against agitation for self determination, but it has to be done in a civilized manner. If you want to involve God, pray silently about it, ask His will to be done and at the same time display conducts that are Godly – Christ like conducts. “Those who go to equity must go with clean hands”. May I also caution that you don’t blackmail those elected under Nigeria constitution, sworn to protect, defend and uphold that same constitution expecting them to breach that oath of allegiance and support Biafra. Doing that will be grave conflict of interests. Some of the south east elected officials are boxed to a corner in this regard. They are at loss as to whether to support Biafra or bear true allegiance to Nigeria. My advise to them is that since they did not elect themselves, and were rather elected within the context of Nigeria and under Nigerian constitution and sworn to protect that same Nigerian constitution; until Nigeria ceases to exist, they must continue to bear true allegiance to Nigeria and to the Nigerian constitution.

    May I remind all these Buhariphobia groups that they cannot change God’s mandate. They cannot disrupt the Divine will of God for this country. They can go ahead in their evil intention to celebrate our President’s ill-health or wish him dead like some now do. Whether they like it or not, our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God who made it possible for Buhari to come to power to rescue and sanitize this country will make it possible for him to recover from his ailments and come back to continue with his divine assignment. We thank God there is no vacuum in government. God is using the Acting president Prof Yemi Osinbajo to keep the work going excellently well.

    Let me also caution our fellow Nigerian northerners, thread with caution no matter how highly provoked or how highly you feel that your brothers are insulted. We are in one Nigeria. Issuing threat and ultimatum to fellow Nigerians living in the north to leave is a height of constitutional breach. Churning out anti-Igbo songs to register your grievance is counterproductive. You do not solve problems by creating more problems. “Two wrongs, they say, do not make a right.” Nigeria is our country for Ibos, Hausas, Yorubas and other ethnic groups. No one ethnic group can lay claim to Nigeria alone.

    • Vincent, Former President, Catholic Brothers United, Lagos, Vingeorge2000@yahoo.com

  • The stalemated Arewa-Igbo phoney war

    Early this week, the 10-man committee set up on August 4 by the Coalition of Northern Groups, appropriately called ‘Arewa’, and Igbo leaders to find an amicable solution to the June 6 quit notice issued to the Igbo living in parts of the North could not find common ground. The Arewa and Igbo leaders had hoped that after the 10-man committee’s exhaustive deliberations, the quit notice would be rescinded. Not only was common ground not found, and a further 10-day extension of the committee’s sitting recommended, it was even apparent that the Arewa leaders had hardened their position in the face of what some observers described as the mollifying softening of position by the self-appointed Igbo leaders led by Chi Nwogu. Worse, in the estimation of many people, is the fact that as the two groups met, there was nothing to indicate that they represented their peoples or accurately approximated their yearnings.

    The statement issued by the northern coalition after the stalemated meeting early this week is instructive. According to the coalition which produced a communiqué after a town hall meeting in Kano: “Nnamdi Kanu’s recent action of forcefully grounding movement of people including those from other regions by shutting down most Southeast cities notwithstanding the mild and ineffective condemnation by some Igbo political, cultural and religious leaders has foreclosed the avenues for an expected early peaceful resolution. It is further justification of our concern expressed in the Kaduna Declaration and subsequent correspondences with the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the International Community. These renewed threats contained in Kanu’s unwarranted utterances and actions compel us to push further for definite national and international action that would decide the Biafran matter to conclusion once and for all.”

    The coalition adds: “In our usual truly patriotic aim to forestall the drift toward anarchy in Nigeria, and also to alert the international community as to where responsibility would ultimately lie if such momentous events ever came to pass, we have followed up our earlier effort by another round of initiatives of extending similar communications to relevant authorities. Accordingly, we have met with many leaders and groups with positive developments, while our doors remain open for discussions with more groups, leaders and agencies genuinely interested in addressing the separatist issues with a view to finally achieving a peaceful and stable Nigeria.”

    There is no explanation as to why the northern coalition should take it upon itself to grapple with the separatist struggles of a minor but admittedly vocal section of the Igbo, or why it thought the grounding of the Southeast by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) last May was maliciously directed at the North alone. But in the absence of the federal government’s meaningful and coordinated policies and measures to tackle the restiveness in the Southeast, the northern coalition has presumptuously assumed the onerous and indescribably complex responsibility of pacifying the Igbo. When the Coalition of Northern Youths addressed a press conference in June and announced a quit notice to the Igbo in the North effective October 1, it was not immediately clear what the intentions of the youths were, nor whether they were not working alone. It soon became clear, however, that they had much wider northern support than initially thought.

    The shutdown of the Southeast on May 30 by IPOB affected all Nigerians living and working in the Southeast. The implication of the shutdown for Igbo businesses were more far-reaching than for any other ethnic group. Yet the northern youths anchored their quit notice on that singular shutdown, declaring it as the immediate trigger for their action, as well as on the general agitation by the IPOB and perhaps too the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) to achieve an independent republic. When the northern youths who issued their incendiary quit notice would not be arrested, let alone interrogated by the police or other security agencies considering the wider consequences of the vexatious notice, many people began to suspect that the actions of the youths had much more support in the North than first believed. That fact was soon corroborated by the open declaration of support for the youths by some angry northern leaders.

    There are two major issues involved in the infamous quit notice. One is the separatist agitation in the Southeast, especially that part of it led by IPOB. Two is the response of the self-appointed northern youths. The second issue is much more germane today, for this column has already tackled the first issue, to wit, the separatist tendencies in the Igbo region. This column has always maintained that without bringing closure to the factors that propelled Nigeria to a civil war, the country would be playing the ostrich to expect that frictions between ethnic groups would always be automatically adjusted and mediated. The reasons for the war have not been tackled, and there is no indication they will be tackled soon. Consequently, the factors that caused the war, whether immediate or remote, will continue to fester. In addition, argued this column not too long ago, President Muhammadu Buhari’s abrasive assessment of and approach to separatist agitations, not to say his more damaging exclusion of the Igbo from the country’s top security apparatus, were bound to worsen the anger and alienation felt by the Southeast.

    Of more consequence today, therefore, is the assumption of responsibility by northern coalition groups, both youths and adults, since they have become indistinguishable, to tackle the IPOB/MASSOB agitations. Without doubt, a worrisome part of the North supported the quit notice issued to the Igbo in June, though exasperated political leaders of that region have been sensibly cautious in voicing support or opposition. The core North may overall be highly impacted by the Southeast agitations, but there is nothing to show that it is more highly impacted than other parts of Nigeria, including the Southwest and the Middle Belt. Since the presidency failed to act when the northern coalition issued its ultimatum, the northern youths assumed that the support of their miffed elders and the seeming indifference of the lackadaisical presidency gave fillip to their campaign to put pressure on the Igbo. But while pressure may be brought to bear on the Igbo, it is not certain that the northern groups properly measured, in the same way the presidency is capable of doing, the consequences of those pressures which they inappropriately brought upon the Southeast and the Igbo.

    By abdicating its responsibility, and apparently surrendering it to the northern youth coalition, the presidency may be setting the stage for a dangerous escalation of what is building up into a huge crisis. Much worse is the unpalatable fact that the meeting between the self-appointed northern coalition and the equally self-appointed Igbo leaders attempts to diminish the gravity of the malfeasant act of issuing fellow Nigerians quit notices. There are calibrated ways to handle separatist agitations, and the presidency should never have allowed that responsibility to be assumed by any group, no matter how personally offended. It amounts to self-help for any self-appointed group to purport to tackle separatist agitations. That function is the exclusive preserve of government, and anyone who appropriates that function ought to be apprehended by the law in order to prevent both escalation and outbreak of ethnic conflict.

    It must be emphasised that separatist agitations are in themselves not a crime, depending on how the campaigns are waged. Often they mask a cry for help, reflect underlying injustices, and indicate that a troubling and destabilising disequilibrium needs to be urgently addressed. What indeed constitutes a dangerous escalation is the response of the self-appointed northern coalition whose countermeasures completely abandons the causes of the friction to focus on the impact of the separatist campaigns on interethnic relationships and business. This is wholly wrong. The presidency should wade into the matter very strongly to calm the raging storm. It must make it clear that self-appointed ethnic teams negotiating with one another will not be tolerated, let alone allowed to organise talks that produce non-binding and illegal resolutions, no matter how sensible.

    And more importantly, having unwisely allowed separatist agitations to go on for far too long than is safe, and having also mismanaged them, the government must find quick and very innovative ways of reaching out to disaffected ethnic groups, running an inclusive government — which it is not doing at the moment — and creating conditions and enacting measures capable of healing wounds and promoting social, political and economic justice. The northern youths’ quit notice, the stalemated negotiations between self-appointed ethnic representatives, and the hardening and worsening separatist agitations are an indication of failure of leadership. The presidency has itself to blame. If it does not find a wholesome and realistic solution to the seething discontent ravaging the land, it should be prepared to accept blame for its abdication of responsibility.

  • Usain Bolt: End of an era

    There is, perhaps, no other athlete that has so much caught the attention of the whole world in contemporary time as Usain Bolt. It is not just about his talent. Neither is it about his imposing frame. Usain Bolts brings something extra to his trade that makes fans enjoy watching him. He is an enigma who starts and ends a race in an unusual electrifying fashion. Bolt is a showman on the tracks and no doubt, the tracks, the fans and the sport immeasurably love him. The way he does his lap of honour at the end of each race is simply exhilarating.

    Unlike any other superstar sprinter, unlike Carl Lewis or Michael Johnson, after winning a race, the drama has just begun for Bolt as he stops for every selfie, holding his now famous and iconic pose for every photographer. Sometimes he takes him an hour to complete a lap of honour when the race proper had taken him less than 10 seconds. For Bolt, it goes beyond winning. It is about how much of the ecstatic of winning he could savour. It is a combination of these that have made Bolt the most globally recognized sportsman since Muhammad Ali, with a greater global fan base than a Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan.

    Like every good story, there is always a beginning. For Bolt, his real burst into global sporting reckoning began at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Except, perhaps, for die-hard track and field enthusiasts, in Beijing the world knew very little about the 21 year rookie. Thus, much was not really expected from him. Indeed, his qualification for the final of the 100m race was considered as enough milestones for him. But then, the young and determined Bolt had other plans. By the time the 1000m race ended that summer night at the magnificent Beijing Olympics Stadium, the entire world was shocked to witness the arrival of a new track king.

    Not only did Bolt win the 100m race, he did so by setting a new world record of 9.69 which remains valid till date. Since then, Bolt has grown to become a global sprint phenomenon. His Olympics record is, to say the least, awesome: three Olympics, three gold medals in each of the three races he competed for;  a world record over 100m, a world record over 200m, a world record in the sprint 400m relay. Not only has Bolt created Olympic and athletics records, he has equally redeemed the sport from its numerous doping scandals.

    But for the grand entrance of Bolt into the scene, athletics was almost being ruined by the several doping scandals that had marred the image of the sport. For instance, at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Shawn Crawford who won the 100m race and was trained by disgraced Coach Trevor Graham, ended his career with a doping sanction. Close behind Crawford in bronze at Athens was Justin Gatlin (the man who ironically spoiled the party for Bolt at his last individual race as an athlete at the 2017 World Athletics Championship 100m final in London) who was another of Graham’s doping products. Gatlin had been banned for one year and four years respectively for dope related offences.  So, as the 2008 Beijing Olympics was approaching, almost every record-breaking sprinter – Justin Gatlin, Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery had been busted for drugs. This was the doping ravaged picture of athletics before Bolt came from the blue and gave the sport a clean new lease of life.

    Throughout his reign from 2008-2017, as the sport numero uno, Bolt stood tall as the new symbol of athletics and an example that new generation of aspiring athletes could emulate. He showed the world that an athlete does not need to cut corners before becoming a global prodigy. Through a dint of hard work and sheer determination, Bolt became a cult figure in the sporting fraternity. By the London 2012 Olympics, Bolt had so much elevated the status of the sport that over one million fans across the world jostled to buy the available 80,000 tickets for the 100m final event. This is aside hundreds of millions others that were glued to the television just to catch a glimpse of a ten-second event. Such was the thrilling power that the sport has had upon the world, thanks to Bolt’s captivating influence.

    This much was attested to by no other athletic personality than the legendary Michael Johnson whose 200 meters record Bolt shattered. “Athletics is in such a poor shape before Bolt busted into the scene. It is difficult to really put into perspective his impact, because the sport has done such a poor job of promoting itself and policing itself that Bolt has stood apart from the sport. Good for him, otherwise, I think the sport would have dragged him down.” In a blemished period, Bolt has been unblemished. Putting on the now famous Jamaican yellow vest, Bolt has brought so much ecstasy to diverse people across the globe.

    Though he lost his last individual race, the final of the 100m at the 2017 World Athletics Championship to dope-prone Justin Gatlin who won in a time of 9.92 secs, with his fellow American Christian Coleman second in 9.94secs and Bolt coming third with 9.95secs, to millions of his admirers and athletics enthusiasts all over the world, it doesn’t really matter anymore. Bolt has given his all to the sport that made him and which he also remade. Athletics now has only one golden boy. Usain Bolt is it! It doesn’t even matters anymore whatever happens at his very last race-the 400m relay race. Bolt would for a long while remain a colossus in the minds of sporting fans across the globe. He has done just enough to put his name in gold in the hearts of sports fans.

    The question on the lip of every concerned sport enthusiasts the world over is: “What happens to athletics after the exit of Usain Bolt? Finding an appropriate answer to this question would, no doubt, properly help in ascertaining what the future holds for the sport in the post Usain Bolt era. This is why it is, indeed, a sad tale for athletics that it was Justin Gatlin, a 35-year old athlete who has had a drug blemished career that is currently the world 100 metres champion. To many athletics pundits and buffs, this does not augur well for the future of track and field as it might be interpreted to mean the triumph of evil over good. The several boos and jeers that reverberated through the length and breadth of the London Olympics Stadium on the night that Gatlin ‘stole’ Bolt’s crown were indicative of fans’ detestation for cheating and cheats, and by inference their fear for the future of athletics.

    Meanwhile, as the curtain draws on Bolt’s eventful and successful sporting career, it is essential to join millions of fans across the world in wishing him the very best in his future endeavours. Thanks for all the sweet sporting memories.

     

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

  • Tech-U and the university ideal

    Nigeria’s and, undeniably, West and Central Africa’s first technical university, The Technical University (Tech-U), Ibadan, could not have come any other time other than now. A product of structured and strategic thinking, the university answers to the crying need to reclaim the university ideal and stem the raging tide of scotching youth unemployment arising, in some measure, to a consistent inadequacy in entrepreneurial and vocational trainings. The glaring limitations of the conventional universities in this regard provide a good ground for the take-off of an institution like the Tech-U.

    In his peroration on the history of universities in the United States of America, Robert Church brilliantly stresses the essence of university to be an emporium of learning and knowledge production for the continual advancement of society. He credits America’s vast progress in different areas to the great ideas which resulted from the workings and exertions of its higher institutions. It is in that connection that what he regards as the “university ideal” manifests – knowledge generation and dissemination, and the building of human capacity for the development of society. The university ideal, as he argues, is to “foster the search for new knowledge necessary to meet the ever-changing needs of modern society, to train intelligence and direct it to the service of society and [humankind …] these expectations form the essence of what may be called the university ideal.”

    In Church’s submission above, it is clear that a university does not begin to have any relevance until it is capable of generating and transmitting ideas that inspire and sustain human progress. The continual timely essence of the university inheres in its progressive enhancement of societal development in all humanly feasible ramifications. What this also means, as numerous examples from different advanced countries of our planet show, is that no nation can develop beyond the capacity or scope of operations of its educational institutions. Put another way, a nation whose educational bodies do not contribute consciously and largely to its quest for progress is a nation for whom development is a mirage.

    It is in that connection that the entrance of the Tech-U to the higher education industry in Nigeria requires some attention. Established by the Oyo State government under the leadership of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Tech-U seeks primarily to embody the university ideal through the efficient and responsible use of science, technology, engineering, and innovation in solving societal problems. It is founded on the principle of unique innovation, research collaboration, exceptional service, integrity, excellence, and the uplifting of human condition. This university, which will commence academic activities next October with two faculties (Natural Sciences and Engineering and Technology), and Centres for Language and General Studies, and Entrepreneurial and Vocational Studies is not in existence to serve some political aggrandisement need nor is it in place as a mere inconsequential addition to the ordinariness of many existing universities in Nigeria.

    Tech-U is a science-oriented institution with strong interest in generating solutions to the avoidable problems plaguing our society. Indeed, its focus on STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – education is strongly informed by the fact that development education is critical to the actualisation of progress for any country. This institution is out to produce young minds who are not only scholarly rounded, but who are equally soundly innovative, skilful, ethically sturdy, and wired to generate solutions to problems. The resolve of the management of the university is to see to it that the institution operates in all critical areas as a university whose existence means something to societal pursuit of progress through a constant conflation of old and new knowledge, and wide-ranging development of human capacity.

    What this means is that for the university to translate its vision into reality, things have to be done differently from extant norm in administration, curricular policies, teaching and training of students in the country’s higher institutions. That is, certain things have to be unique. Yes, Tech-U is poised to exemplify uniqueness in technical, development education. It is ready to set the pace and become a reference point through the quality of its graduates.

    More specifically, the management of the institutions has outlined certain initiatives that will enable Tech-U to accomplish progressively the university ideal. In the students of this university, the entrepreneurial spirit will be ingrained and sustained. Each student, regardless of their course of study, is required to sign up for two vocational programmes right from the 100 level. Before graduation, they must be certified as qualified in the two vocations enlisted in. It means they can begin their own start-ups. At 300 level, the students are expected to write proposals. The best of these will be selected and sent to the Bank of Industry as applications for grants, with the university as their guarantors. It must be noted that the vocational studies will be handled by experts in the various areas, not academics.

    The idea here is that graduates from Tech-U are not going to be the usual, conventional graduates that have come to be infamously characterised by the twin malaises of unemployment and un-employability. Our graduates are not expected to finish their studies and be out there walking the streets in search of jobs. With their vocational trainings, they can set up their own businesses to meet real market needs through creative production of products and services. The point has to be emphasised, as Adetona Salau, a STEM education advocate avers, that for young graduates to be effectively productive and contribute considerably to the economic affairs of their country/world, they need “a solid, entrepreneurship-style education”. This education, Salau explains, must empower them “with useful knowledge and skills to become employable; to quickly be productive when hired; and to even start their own businesses if they want to”.

    For us at Tech-U, our conviction is that entrepreneurship provides one of the fastest routes to socio-economic development. It enhances job creation and lasting productivity. This is the reason for the entrepreneurship curriculums that we have designed for our students – hence the sense in the motto of the university, Building Minds, Training Hands. Theory and praxis are fittingly married in the training of our students.

    Another important initiative that will distinguish graduates of Tech-U is their bi-lingual skill. This is expected to widen their sphere of opportunities and internationalise them. For example, of the 16 countries in West Africa, only four are Anglophone while 12 are Francophone. The point of this is that there are opportunities that being bilingual can enable one to tap richly from. It is in view of this that the study of French language has been decided as compulsory for all students of the university. In this too they must be certified. In fact, it is one of the conditions for graduation. Graduates of Tech-U will be empowered to fish in the waters of international markets, corporations, and industries.

    As an extra boost, students will, in addition to French, register for one Nigerian language. There will be various options to choose from. Taken together, the picture that emerges is one of students who will be fully busy and comprehensively engaged. In being so intensely engaged, it does not mean that the students will be debarred from some beneficial social engagements. The goal is to build the complete person, one who is psychologically well-adjusted and truly empowered to positively advance his/her society.

    As for facilities, Tech-U is well prepared to ensure that no essential equipment, tools, and other modern necessities of training in STEM education will be unavailable. Whatever is needed to ensure the quality training of students is being put in place. Moreover, the classrooms are designed to accommodate a maximum of 24 students. All the classrooms, library, and other similar ports of activities are fitted with air conditioners. Useful technological resources are richly deployed in all vital areas of the university. Quality learning must happen in conducive physical facilities. Therefore, it is not surprising that the National Universities Commission’s team that visited the university sometime in July to assess its resource readiness for take-off was largely impressed with the quality of the facilities already in place.

    One other strong point of the university is the high premium placed on partnerships and collaborations with established technical institutions overseas and reputable international organisations. For instance, Tech-U is collaborating with Texas Tech University, Lubbock, USA. As a matter of fact, students from Tech-U, Ibadan, will visit the institution for one year in the course of their programmes. A university which must operate in tandem with the university ideal must not only be international but must also have international exposure and connection. It is also for this reason that Tech-U will admit students from anywhere in Africa.

    Without doubt, a university that seeks to operate in this mode requires strong support from every vital sector of society.

     

    • Ademola is the Media/Public Relations Officer of Tech-U

  • Ugwuanyi: Ramping up state IGR

    Recently, the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State announced an impressive increase in the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) receipts through the sterling performance of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service, under the chairmanship of Emeka Odo.

    The Accountant General of the State, Sir Paschal Okolie, while briefing members of the state Executive Council on the mid-year budget review, declared that the state has grown its IGR to 35% of her total revenue, adding that the state’s IGR receipts for the period of six months (January-June) was N12.4billion – an unprecedented increase which he said almost equaled federal statutory allocation of N13.5billion to the state within the period under review. He also pointed out that the state’s total IGR receipts for 2016 was N14.2billion, describing the development as unprecedented on the part of revenue collection agencies in the state.

    The state’s Accountant General disclosed that the remarkable achievements being recorded in all strata of the economy in the state, especially in the provision of critical infrastructure and prompt payment of workers’ salaries on or before 25th of every month, among others, despite the severe economic recession in the county, were as a result of the impact of the significant growth in the income of the state, through her IGR.

    He added that, an effect of the milestone feat was also the governor’s further directive that all civil servants in the state be paid promptly on the 23rd day of each month, noting that the directive has been complied with.

    It would be recalled that Ugwuanyi in his inaugural address promised to turn the present economic challenges in the county into huge blessings by looking inwards to harness those potentials which free oil money has blinded the state from exploiting. He also pledged to lead by example to pilot “a lean government to free up resources and channel them to the real development issues”. He had declared that “every revenue-generating agency of government should be ready to generate and remit revenues to fund government development efforts”.

    In the same vein, he directed that “individuals and corporate entities should henceforth start paying tax as defaulters will not be counted as friends of Enugu State”, stating that “one thing I must assure you is that every kobo you put into the coffers of government will be utilized transparently and in a way that adds value to your lives”.

    In keeping with these promises, in June last year, in a bid to systematically increase the state’s IGR for the delivery of more dividends of democracy to the people, Governor Ugwuanyi took a bold step and reconstituted the state Board of Internal Revenue. The action,   which was taken pursuant to Section 19 (1) of the Finance (Amendment) Law of Enugu State, brought on board men of proven integrity and financial prowess to drive the noble agenda of the state government. It was also in reaction to the dwindling revenue from the Federation Account.

    One year down the line, the state’s Internal Revenue Service has displayed high sense of professionalism and has also brought innovation, fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability to bear in the discharge of its responsibilities. These enduring attributes, no doubt saw, to the remarkable achievements recorded so far by the board, which were responsible for the unparalleled boost of the state’s IGR to an enviable status contrary to what was obtainable in the past.

    For instance, the new board, according to its chairman, Emeka Odo has, in alignment with the vision of the governor, implemented far reaching measures to reform the revenue service, eliminate corruption, block pilfering of tax and non-tax income of government and ramp up the internally generated revenues in a steady and sustainable manner. It has also prosecuted an innovative and intensive regime of back-duty audits on major tax agents, creating zonal tax controllers to bring tax officials closer to taxpayers with an accelerated automation of tax assessment and collection process through the institution of an Integrated Tax Management System in the state.

    These measures resulted in the appreciable feats recorded in the first half of 2017, which stood the state’s IGR at over N12 billion compared to N7.2 billion actualized in 2016 starting from the month the new board was inaugurated.

    In a bid to galvanize the support of the judiciary for effective enforcement mechanism to ensure tax payment by every taxable adult and organization in the state, the board recently established and commissioned a Revenue Court in Enugu, with a clause that “government will no longer fold its arms and watch while citizens and corporate organizations evade tax and shun their civic obligations”.

    The message handed down by the chairman was so clear and instructive that “with the commissioning of the Revenue Court, it will no longer be business as usual” as “tax evaders will surely be prosecuted in accordance with the law” for “a situation where some major institutions and individuals treat tax issues with levity will no longer be tolerated”.

    It would also be recalled, that Ugwuanyi while inaugurating the board, last year, noted that the Internal Revenue Service in the state was crucial to the economic well-being of the government and by extension that of the people of the state, most especially in the present “days of the severe national economic depression that is threatening the solvency of government at all levels and which is already hindering their operations.”  The governor regretted that the receipts from Federation Account have been growing progressively smaller, making it expedient for most state governments to depend on Internally Generated Revenue to fund their activities and service their obligations.

    As a visionary leader, he revealed that he had envisaged the situation in his inaugural address when he warned that every revenue-generating agency of the state should be ready to intensify its efforts to generate and remit more revenues to fund government development efforts.

    Consequently, the governor charged members of the newly reconstituted board to raise their performance bar and develop strategies that would achieve a significant and substantial increase in the internally generated revenue of the state and equally mandated them to ensure the effective collection of all the revenue accruable to the government as well as checkmate all avenues of leakages and wastages in the process”.

    One is equally pleased to recall, that the chairman’s promises during the board’s inauguration, last year, to explore and exploit all sources of IGR and expand the tax net in the state, among others, to ensure that government meets its obligations to the people of the state have come to a reasonable fulfillment one year after.

    According to him, “strategies will also be implemented to grow existing non-tax revenues and expand other income sources of government bearing in mind the economic indices of the state as a civil service driven economy.

    “We are aware that the state government is in a hurry to deliver more service to the people, through its development agenda, we shall harness all forms of Internally Generated Revenue to ensure that the present administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in Enugu State meets its obligations to the citizens.

    From the above narrative, one is compelled to appreciate the governor’s deep commitment to fulfilling all the promises he made in his inaugural address to the letter. This is evident in all his administration’s enormous achievements since its inception ranging from rural development, provision of critical infrastructure, prompt payment of workers’ salaries, qualitative and affordable education, healthcare delivery, investment promotion, agriculture, security, among others.

    This vision has gone a long way in attesting to the fact that Enugu State is working and truly in the hands of God.

     

    • Amoke, writes from Enugu State.

  • Malami and anti-graft agencies

    Of all the vote-catching strategies laid out by the ruling All Progressives Congress in the lead up to the 2015 general elections, its promise to prosecute an all-out war against corruption was unquestionably the most compelling and believable. This is because its presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, is widely known as a man of integrity with very strong aversion for corrupt practices.

    And so, due largely to its promise to fight corruption to a standstill and the credibility of the personality behind the pledge, APC was able to seize the mantle from the old guards of corruption and form a new government. Therefore, to refer to Buhari’s government as one of anti-corruption – one hoping to hinge its success in governance on how well it performs in this specific assignment – would not be out of place.

    To this administration’s credit, the last two years, or at least since one doughty, no-nonsense police officer named Ibrahim Magu became acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the anti-corruption war has been waged in a manner that has never been seen in the history of Nigeria.

    Amazing loads upon loads of stolen public funds in various currencies are being recovered and returned to government coffers. Thanks to the whistle-blower initiative, more and more disclosures about the hidden loots are being made to the relevant agencies. And unlike what obtained in the past, the big guns of society, hitherto untouchable, are regularly being hauled to the law courts on account of fraudulent activities. But as yet, no conviction of note has been recorded.

    As can be seen, it’s not been an easy fight. Corruption is refusing to be subdued. Government has lost some high-profile cases, while some others are stalemated. Cynics contend that failure to secure notable convictions is proof that government is shoddy in the way it is prosecuting the war; government officials counter that corruption is fighting back in a virulent manner.

    In a way, both are correct. While those who have made corruption a lifetime occupation won’t give up easily, it is also true that this administration routinely shoots itself in the foot as far as the anti-corruption campaign is concerned. Take for example, the unhealthy relationship between the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

    Sensing that it is being overshadowed by the two agencies, the AGF is angling to show its muscle as the pre-eminent government department in all matters legal, and especially as far as prosecuting corruption cases is concerned. Okoi Obono-Obla, Special Assistant to the President on Prosecutions, man Friday and agent provocateur, is the arrowhead in this needless exercise of power that is clearly aimed at meeting some self-serving political ends. At every given opportunity, Obono-Obla does not fail to reiterate the fable that the anti-corruption agencies are not co-operating with the office of the AGF. But the more likely position, in the assessment of many observers, is that these agencies are not willing to compromise in some high-profile cases in which the office of the AGF might be interested.

    That is why it is widely believed that other than crude, selfish politics, there can be no legitimate reason for the AGF’s latest threat, as conveyed by Obono-Obla, to report the heads of EFCC and ICPC to the presidency for refusing to hand over the case files of more than 35 former governors and senators. It is important to ask why the AGF wants these files. Why won’t he simply invite these agencies to a meeting to update him on the cases, and then explore ways of assisting in achieving diligent prosecution?

    No one is disputing the AGF’s status as the numero uno in the circumstance, but he should refrain from bearing down on these agencies as though they don’t have a statutory mandate to perform certain roles corresponding with his. To paraphrase a local proverb, the sky is wide enough for every bird to flap its wings.

    Instead of requesting cases started by other agencies, the AGF should initiate his own high-profile cases too to show that it not only barks but bites as well. Obono-Obla has accused the agencies of slowing down the anti-corruption war. Well, he has to show concrete proof of how this is happening before the charge can hold water, not by merely pointing to a refusal of the agencies to turn in files of the corruption cases they initiated.

    In any case the last time anyone heard of one group of government official publicly expressing misgivings about the other, it was one prominent member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), also a senior Advocate of Nigeria, berating Obono-Obla’s boss for openly disagreeing with acting President Yemi Osinbajo on the retention of Magu as the chair of EFCC.

    This individual stopped short of calling for the AGF’s sack. Before then, this same member and another articulate colleague at a forum on corruption organized in Abuja by the Pyrates Confraternity, separately pronounced doubts about the commitment of the AGF to the anti-corruption efforts of the government on account of serial embarrassing defeats handed the government in key cases prosecuted by his office.

    The AGF should rather strive to allay the fears of the public and restore confidence in his office, not perpetually bicker with other agencies over cases he didn’t originate.

     

    • Onyeacholem is a journalist. He can be reached on gonyeacholem@gmail.com

  • Deepening our democratic culture

    It would not have been within the contemplation of any rational thinking Nigerian that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could have continued to preside over the affairs of Nigeria in the build-up to the 2015 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.   The State had relapsed into  such confusion and lawlessness that any person from obscurity fielded by any political party with any measure of seriousness would have defeated the PDP candidate fair and square. It was a little wonder then that All Progressive Congress (APC) that was hurriedly tinkered together swept victory at the polls.  There was therefore great expectation that APC-led government was going to bring about noticeable change in all ramifications but that was not to be.

    Before the euphoria of victory ebbed, it became obvious that the APC could not manage its success and victory as it failed the first test over   the leadership of the National Assembly.  The party has still not recovered from those faltering steps.  From the beginning, individuals and groups within the party started acting out their personal and factional ambitions as against group interest.  This exposed the party as a coalition of strange bedfellows lacking in discipline and party loyalty without cohesion.  This further exposed the party as lacking a charismatic leadership that could husband personal ambitions without massaging the ego of any person.

    The members of the National Assembly have never hidden the fact by their acts and omission that they do not represent the yearning of the people that elected them to make laws for the good of the nation and the citizenry.  The quality of representation since inception of the 8th National Assembly has been an unmitigated disaster.  The reason is not unconnected with the quality and competence of members who do not have any ideological persuasion of altruistic act and understanding of democratic nuances. They are mere political jobbers and merchants who see their position as employment to earn a living above everyone else.

    Anything that appears to conflict with their personal interest, pay and allowances are perceived as feud against the National Assembly as an organ of government.  They also see the National Assembly as a seal of authority and immunity for acts of malfeasance by individual members.  Rather than engage the Federal Executive Council to deliver on key democratic dividends like creating jobs, improving on infrastructure like road and electricity, they are fighting for Principal Officers of the National Assembly to become members of National Council of State.  The 8th assembly has become only self-serving and self-protective to the annoyance of right thinking members of the public as shown when the leadership of the Senate in a derogatory manner insinuated that the move to recall a certain senator would not see the light of day before the House.

    The histrionics of our lawmakers came to a level of absurdity when the acting President sent some nominees for confirmation.  The colour and temper of members of the Senate came to the fore when one of them rose up on a point of order that the Federal Executive Council having refused to drop the name of Ibrahim Magu as the chair of EFCC having been rejected by the Senate should not consider further screening of nominees from the executive. The same element went further that indeed, any person summoned by the EFCC should not honour such invitation.  That was a lawmaker; infantile and puerile to the ovation of his colleagues to our misfortune as giants of Africa.

    The President and indeed the Federal Executive Council may have given the jesters in the National Assembly ammunition in the manner it has gone about the Magu’s nomination and confirmation brouhaha.  The problem of APC started when the President preferred a kitchen cabinet without reflection as to national unity and the demand of the time.   It is no wonder therefore that even agencies of government and extra-ministerial departments and their leadership are not on the same page with their principal.  This is the reason why the Directorate of State Services acted like a parallel government and could not compare or share note with the Presidency before writing to the Senate indicting the President’s nominee for an office.  If the party and indeed the government is sure-footed, all the individuals involved in such act of sabotage should have been shown the way out.

    I am not sure we are looking for a saint in the chair of the EFCC but I know we need someone with tolerable baggage that can reinvigorate the fight against corruption. Like many other issues before it, the National Assembly has acted in a manner to show personal interest in the confirmation drama of Magu; period.

    The situation in Nigeria to a keen observer is worrisome; whether it is the economy and purchasing power of the people or security.  This is not to mention statistics of unemployment and decrepit infrastructure that is collapsing on our heads as we watch helplessly while we are fed with propaganda that is in contradistinction to the reality on ground. In the face of the challenging situations and struggle to eke out a living, our elected representatives are fighting over huge allowances and budget to buy SUV in this biting recession that refuses to go away.   If we are able to get to 2019, it is going to be a greater dilemma as the electorate still find it difficult to make their votes count; no thanks to electoral manipulation and violence by the gladiators.  The task facing Nigerian today is our inability to zero on the National Assembly and make demand on deliverance of democratic dividend.  I am yet to see one distinguished honourable member of the National Assembly that has displayed the temper and candour of a statesman in words and in deed that would help deepen our democratic culture.  The people should wake up and take up their gauntlet and begin to set agenda for 2019.

     

    • Kebonkwu Esq writes from Abuja.

  • Cost of monopoly at Nigerian ports

    In 2006, President Olusegun Obasanjo carried out a concession exercise to save the ports from total collapse. The concession was conceived to break the monopoly of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, increase efficiency of the ports through promoting competition on level playing fields; decrease cost of port services to users and also reduce the cost of support of the port sector to the government and to attract foreign direct investment, FDI.

    The post-concession era had hardly taken off when NPA brought a storm to bear on the smooth sail of the vessels. Without any official pronouncement or change in the agreement between government and concessionaires, NPA began to divert vessels carrying a class of cargo known as General Cargo to Intels terminal at Onne, Rivers State. This was irrespective of the importers’ port of preference for the discharge of their cargo.

    These cargoes which include pipes, steel pipes, dismantled rigs and so on were classified by NPA as ‘oil and gas cargo’, a nebulous term that was neither in the concession agreement nor in maritime lexicon anywhere in the world. Obasanjo could not understand where this impunity sprang from. Having set up a panel to investigate this odious arrangement, he suspended Intels, one of the concessionaires, from Nigerian ports after its indictment by the panel.

    The oil and gas cargo invention made another stormy appearance on November 7, 2007 under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and without any government policy supporting this resort to private monopoly, the Minister of State 2, for Transport, Prince John Okechukwu Emeka issued a directive that all ‘oil and gas cargo’ should be routed through the oil and gas cargo terminal in Onne. The ‘oil and gas terminal’ was a strange cook up to Yar’Adua as it was to the concessionaires whose businesses were beginning to emaciate fast. Miffed by this impunity, Yar’Adua fired the minister after the infamy of compelling him to reverse his directive on the pages of national newspapers.

    It is important to note that Yar’Adua’s family held shares in Intels. But after a critical examination of the huge negative impact of Prince Emeka’s directive which was crippling the maritime sector and driving investors out of Nigeria, Yar’Adua had no choice but to reverse the directive and sack the minister, a clear statement in patriotism.

    The death of Yar’Adua again saw the irrepressible oil and gas cargo issue loom even larger than ever. Once again a letter with the reference number EP/AGM/OPTS/034 dated March 18, 2013 from NPA and another dated November 8, 2013 from the Ministry of Transport ordered all vessels carrying ‘oil and gas cargo’ to be diverted to Intels terminal.

    From now on, the battle to exterminate the siege of the oil and gas cargo cabal and end private monopoly in Nigerian ports would rage and simmer for some years to come. Battles were fought in court and from the House of Representatives to the Senate, with committees of the National Assembly cancelling one another under extraneous influences.

    The cost of these battles is almost incalculable. Between November 15, 2007 and August 8, 2008, an estimated US$150 million was lost to neighbouring countries and about US$3.8 billion in the next eight years.

    The Board of Schlumberger, an oil and gas multi-national company which approved US$125 million investment into a new facility in Lagos moved the investment to Ghana after learning of the compulsory diversion of oil and gas cargo bearing vessels to Onne.

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Femi Atoyebi, a lawyer to Ports and Terminals Operators Limited, PTOL, in a paper presented before the Senate on the occasion of the Public Hearing on the Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Authority Act (OGEFZA) to Provide for the Designation and Establishment of Oil and Gas Free Zone and Special Investment Areas and Related Matters, captured the huge costs the concessionaires paid and were likely to lose due to monopoly. In his words, “the terms, tenure and amounts of the yearly lease ranged from US$1.25 million to US$10 million and later up to US$12 million”. Some of the concessionaires, having lost the most lucrative cargo, which is General Cargo that includes pipes, dismantled rigs and so on, now dubbed oil and gas cargo, could not continue with their businesses after seven years while many struggled and could not meet their financial obligations to government in terms of lease, throughput fees and taxes. Indeed the government is said to have lost well over US$2.1 billion by the beginning of 2017 in lease, throughput fees and taxes.

    The Managing Director of PTOL, Mrs Lizzie Ovbude, a fierce opponent of monopoly at the ports and a resilient advocate of the concession agreement lost three vessels carrying her cargo to the monopolistic directive in quick succession. Due to the diversion of these vessels, MV Kota Berlain, MV Kota Bakti, and Cosco Jing Gang Shan among others, her company lost millions of dollars.

    A lawyer, with focus on maritime stated unequivocally that “Nigeria’s economy must have suffered a loss of over US$7 billion due to the monopoly squabbles at the ports”. Expatiating, he argued that the colossal loss of revenues to neighbouring countries, the massive losses due to stunted investment and development of the ports and terminals, leakages, tax evasion and shedding of employees due to skeletal finances, all these he affirmed were far more than the estimated US$7 billion the government must have lost due to the heinous activities of the oil and gas cargo syndicate.

    Continuing, he added that “government is paying one concessionaire US$5.2 billion which it claims is “reimbursement” for construction of facilities at Onne, Warri and Calabar. My worry about such claims is that there have never been any reputable Quantity Surveyors to independently verify these claims and I guess too, that there is no Engineering, Procurement and Construction, EPC, or similar agreement between the concessionaire and NPA, to make auditing of the construction possible. So there are no checks and balances. And despite having their money refunded with interest in dollars, this concessionaire will still have exclusive use of the facility for 25 years. Quite hard to believe that this is happening in Nigeria in this age”, he lamented.

    Another maritime close observer adds that the role of NPA and government at the ports defeats and indeed perverts the whole essence of the concession. “How, for instance, can the tariff regime not be regulated”, he asked.

    “The concessionaires clearly negotiated with the government and agreed on a flat tariff regime to ensure a level playing field. How is it that the same government now allowed one company to charge much higher tariff? Why is it that while 25 concessionaires charge US$7.40 dollars per tonne for discharge and loading of cargo and pay US$1.12 to the government, one single company and a concessionaire like others, that is Intels, charges US$65 per tonne and pays US$5.8 to NPA? This simply defeats the whole idea of reducing cost of doing business at the ports, one of the cardinal reasons for the concession. And that was why a lot of our importers turned to neigbhouring countries. So it becomes penny wise, pound foolish”, he concluded

    This was the cloudy situation at the ports when on April 27, 2015, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan gave the unintelligible directive that legitimized monopoly. Jonathan’s directive signed by a certain Engineer David Omonibeke, Executive Director, Marine and Operations, requested that all oil and gas related cargo must be handled only at the designated terminals at Onne, Warri and Calabar, three terminals operated exclusively by Intels. The same directive also instructed LADOL Integrated Free Logistics Zone Enterprise to relocate its US$500 million fabrication and integrated yards in Apapa, Lagos, South West Nigeria, to Agge in Bayelsa State. It was one directive that instantly put at risk over US$5 billion projects, 70,000 jobs and further cast an ominous cloud over Nigerian Content, a revolutionary edict that had attracted over US$5 billion investment in Nigeria’s petroleum industry since its signing in 2010, with a projection of another US$10 billion by 2016.

    Buhari’s recent counter directive that restored the concession agreement of 2006, saved Nigeria from an avoidable home-grown economic catastrophe.

     

    • Tare-Johnson writes from Port Harcourt.

  • Motions of change by 8th Senate

    Two years in the life of any administration is significant. This is especially so when the life span of that organization is just four years. Any organization that has successfully spent two years can no longer hide its goals, objectives, failures and successes. In a four-year tenure, two is equal to halftime. And half time in a game of football is a sure time to reflect on whether a team is getting it right and if not, to adopt new strategies to enable it up its game.

    Fortunately, for the 8th Senate, the last two years has been like 10 considering the milestones  it has attained through the laser-focused determination of its leadership to restore the legislature’s lost glory. Presently, the 8th Senate has shown itself as a worthy and dependable partner in the drive to sustain democracy, develop the country, diversify the economy and squelch the locust of corruption.

    Its President, Dr. Abubakar  Bukola Saraki, had clearly set the tone for the many innovative interventions when he told his colleagues, during one of its plenary sessions, that Senate would not abdicate its responsibility to government and the people under any guise.

    “Let me also state clearly that we shall not hide under the cloak of partisan solidarity to abdicate our constitutional responsibility under the principles of checks and balances,” he said. “We shall make critical interventions whenever they become necessary and undertake emergency actions whenever they are required, within the confines of the Constitution.”

    While some may argue that legislation and oversight is the de facto mandate of any legislature, it can also be said that the use of motions and critical interventions to respond to emerging national emergencies is obligatory. Notwithstanding, the 8th Senate in the last two years has engaged motions and interventions as veritable instruments in aid of the government, prevent monumental loss of revenue, rally support for security and humanitarian emergencies, protect the people from exploitation, curb corruption and to ensure the economic viability of the country.

    It must the said that the most lofty and people-friendly intervention of the 8th Senate has been its resolve to help uplift the economy through relevant legislations. In line with this, the Senate at inception fashioned a comprehensive agenda, which put the nation’s economy at the centre of its legislative business. To achieve this, the Senate commissioned a team of experts to work with the National Assembly to research and review all institutional, regulatory and legislative instruments operational in the country, identify their impact on the ease of doing business in the country and to come out with a way forward.

    It must be noted that in a bid to quickly terminate the recession facing the country, the Senate President, had in September last year, presented a 14-point plan to his colleagues for deliberation, adoption and subsequent transmission to the executive to aid it in rebooting the economy. Saraki added that while the executive is working on the recommendations enumerated above, the National Assembly would support it with the necessary legislations and oversight activities.

    While the Senate has kept its promise by passing major landmark legislations to support the economic revival strategies of the Federal Government like the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, Ports and Harbours Bill, Railways Act amendment, Public Procurement Act amendment, Federal Competition Bill and the National Road Authority Bill, to mention but a few, the executive has since adopted some of the recommendations.

    Also, most of the recommendations have been accommodated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan recently launched by the federal government. President Muhammadu Buhari in his speech before presenting the 2017 budget openly acknowledged and thanked the National Assembly for its resolutions on how to exit the recession and grow the economy.

    Let me, Mr. Senate President, Right Hon. Speaker, here acknowledge the concerns expressed by the National Assembly and, in particular, acknowledge your very helpful resolutions on the state of the economy, which were sent to me for my consideration,” Buhari said. “The resolutions contained many useful suggestions, many of which are in line with my thinking and have already been reflected in our plan. Let me emphasise that close cooperation between the executive and the legislature is vital to the success of our recovery and growth plans.”

    In addition, the Senate through a motion, during its early days, exposed the fraud inherent in the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy of the federal government and through painstaking investigation, helped the country to prevent the theft of N20 billion – monies that were being siphoned through a skewed commission parameter in favour of the software company engaged to operate the scheme by government.

    Senate intervention also led to the review of Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) forex policy to enable small business owners and individuals access required foreign exchange to keep their import businesses afloat and to meet the educational requirements of their wards in foreign academic institutions respectively. In this wise, many business that hitherto would have been asphyxiated were rejuvenated.

    The parlous power situation in the country and the fleecing of the ordinary Nigerians by some power companies also witnessed Senate’s immediate response. Through a motion, the 8th Senate mandated the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC) to immediately abolish fixed electricity charges and bulk metering hitherto imposed on electricity consumers.

    The Senate also investigated the failure to remit over $3.4billion revenue to the federal government by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) – with appropriate sanctions recommended. It halted the planned internet data tariff hike by telecommunications companies, despite the approval given to it by Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), stopped the payment of retroactive duty on imported vehicles, initiated by the Nigeria Customs Service and the investigation of the fraud and anomalies uncovered by the 2013 audit report of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). This report revealed that Nigeria lost over $9 billion in stolen, unremitted oil money in 2013.

    Interventions by the Senate have led to resolution of the crisis concerning the closure of the Queens College due to protests over the death of three students on account of the hygiene situation in the school, disagreement between Islamic and Christian groups over the merger of Islamic Religious Studies (IRK) and Christian Religious Knowledge (CRK) in the curriculum of junior secondary schools, the LAUTECH impasse in which the university jointly owned by Oyo and Osun States have been shut continuously for two years and many more.

    In summary, one can safely conclude that with the long list of achievements already recorded by the 8th Senate, the two years will witness the cancellation of past poor records and setting of new enviable ones.

     

    • Onogu is Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President.