The Nation Newspaper

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  • Still on Jonathan’s blues

    Abdullahi Usman was Personal Assistant to former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, and his Recorder at the National Collation Centre for both the 2011 and 2015 national elections. He was in the thick of collation of the 2015 presidential and National Assembly (NASS) poll results, and here rejoins to claims of vote disparity in the following piece titled:

    Alleged one million-vote disparity in 2015 Kano results

    In his book, Against the Run of Play: How an incumbent president was defeated in Nigeria, Olusegun Adeniyi cited former President Goodluck Jonathan alleging a huge disparity in the election results from Kano State in respect of the presidential and National Assembly elections conducted by INEC on March 28, 2015. On pages 17 and 18 of the 221-page book, reference was made to a potential disparity of one million votes, as reported inter alia: “Go and check the results from Kano. The presidential election and that of National Assembly happened on the same day and same time. The National Assembly result reflected that about 800,000 people voted but that of the presidential election reflected a vote of about 1.8million.”

    In the same introductory section, a friend and former colleague in the electoral commission described this as “nothing particularly special,” and went on to explain, amongst others, that the alleged scenario in Kano was a “general trend (across the country) as many voters were more interested in the presidential election than in other elections;” but he was not specifically recorded as having disputed that outrageous disparity. While not disagreeing with his submission, it is important to stress that the figures ascribed to each of the two elections were nowhere near the actual number of voters in the official results.

    The 2015 presidential and NASS elections held on the same day nationwide. The NASS poll was for seats in the Senate and House of Representatives, hence three separate elections were simultaneously conducted on the said date.

    To compare the number of voters in the presidential election with voter turnout in each of the two NASS elections in any state, we must first arrive at the total number of votes cast in each of the NASS elections in that state. And, to do that, the three Senatorial Districts’ vote tally must be added together to get the cumulative number in respect of the senatorial election in the entire state, while the total number of Federal Constituencies in respect of the House of Representatives seats contested (which happens to be 24 in Kano) must equally be tallied to arrive at the grand total. The three can then be compared to see if there is any disparity, before we can proffer probable reasons for such disparity – if any.

    As we may recall from our elementary school Mathematics, the part cannot be greater than the whole. Consequently, the reference to 1.8million as the total number of people that voted in the presidential election in Kano cannot logically be correct where one of the 14 presidential candidates secured over 1.9million votes in that same election. The total number of votes cast in the 2015 presidential election in Kano State was 2,172,447, as captured on INEC’s Presidential Election Summary of Results From States “Form EC 8D (A)” – a stamped and sealed copy of which was given out to agents of all political parties on the ballot, and to representatives of security agencies present at the Collation Centre following formal declaration by the Commission in the early hours of March 31, 2015.

    This figure is broken down as follows: party/candidate with the highest votes scored 1,903,999 votes; party/candidate that came second scored 215,779 votes; the remaining 12 parties/candidates cumulatively scored 9,043 votes (which made it essentially a two-horse race). Total valid votes were 2,128,821; while rejected votes stood at 43,626, representing 2.01% of total votes cast. Total number of registered voters in Kano was 4,943,862, while number accredited was 2,364,434. The difference of 191,987 between accredited voters and total votes cast owed to those that failed to show up for voting after accreditation.

    The 2.01%  rejected votes for Kano was not dissimilar to many other states that recorded large voter turnout for that election. Examples are Kaduna (total votes cast – 1,650,201), Rivers (1,584,768), Katsina (1,481,714), Delta (1,284,848) and Akwa Ibom (1,028,551) with percentages of rejected votes at 1.98%, 1.22%, 2.17%, 1.33% and 1.12% respectively. Overall rejected votes percentage nationwide stood at 2.87% of the 29,432,083 total votes cast, compared to 3.19% recorded in 2011 out of 39,469,484 total votes cast.

    For the two NASS elections, both of which also ended up as two-horse races, INEC’s official results as published in various national dailies (excluding rejected votes and the cumulative votes scored by other parties in the election) were as follows:

    Senatorial election: (1) Kano Central: Winning candidate – 758,383; Runner-up – 205,809, (2) Kano North: Winning candidate – 381,393; Runner-up – 107,845 and (3) Kano South: Winning candidate – 498,528; Runner-up – 145,923. Total votes scored by the two leading political parties were 2,097,881. These excluded rejected ballots and votes scored by other parties that contested election in each Senatorial District, which could explain the difference of 74,566 compared to total votes cast in the presidential election.

    House of Representatives election: (1) Rano/Kibiya/Bunkure: Winner – 66,091; Runner-up – 30,129. (2) Karaye/Rogo: Winner – 54,907; Runner-up – 30,129. (3) Dala: Winner – 91,616; Runner-up – 4,740. (4) Nasarawa: Winner – 111,473; Runner-up – 12, 608. (5) Fagge: Winner – 44,226; Runner-up – 12,700. (6) Dawakin Tofa/Tofa/Rimin Gado: Winner – 79,473; Runner-up – 21,490. (7) Kura/Madobi/Garun-Mallan: Winner – 82,555; Runner-up – 30,708. (8) Ungogo/Minjibir: Winner – 89,945; Runner-up – 23,993. (9) Bagwai/Shanono: Winner – 48,548; Runner-up – 18,864. (10) Gwarzo/Kabo: Winner – 67,770; Runner-up – 17,610. (11) Kunchi/Tsanyawa: Winner – 53,250; Runner-up – 9,550. (12) Takai/Sumaila: Winner – 79,486; Runner-up – 21,521. (13) Tarauni: Winner – 55,221; Runner-up – 14,013. (14) Gezawa/Gabasawa: Winner – 65,114; Runner-up – 17,553. (15) Bichi: Winner – 39,408; Runner-up – 11,862. (16) Danbatta/Makoda: Winner – 52,871; Runner-up – 17,988. (17) Tudun Wada/Doguwa: Winner – 67,350; Runner-up – 16,844. (18) Dawakin Kudu/Warawa: Winner – 57,528; Runner-up – 21,338. (19) Kano Municipal Council: Winner – 81,104; Runner-up – 14,804. (20) Kumbotso: Winner – 50,549; 1st Runner-up – 14,239; 2nd Runner-up – 6,762. (21) Gwale: Winner – 47,179; Runner-up -13,382. (22) Kiru/Bebeji: Winner – 55,589; Runner-up – 22,674. (23) Wudil/Garko: Winner – 65,905; Runner-up – 11,169 and (24) Gaya/Ajingi/Albasu: Winner – 94,782; Runner-up – 13,862. Total votes scored by the two leading parties in the House of Representatives election across the state amounted to 2,032,472. These excluded rejected ballots and votes scored by other political parties, which could also explain the shortfall of 139,975 votes compared to the presidential votes tally.

    From the foregoing breakdown, it should be evident that any allusion to a probable disparity of one million votes between the number of people that voted in the presidential election and those that voted in either of the two NASS elections is nothing but an illusion.

     

    • Abdullahi Usman writes from usmanabd@gmail.com

  • Managing risks in agro-food chains

    Dangote tomatoes processing factory in Kano was shut down in 2016 due to unavailability of tomatoes. This was caused by a tomato disease that ravaged northern Nigeria. I wondered why Dangote Group could not do a risk analysis for their plant before take-off. If they did, it should have been obvious that disease is a big risk factor in agro-food chains. It would have made them to prepare a plan B – importing from neighbouring countries? Maybe they thought “It will not happen in Jesus name”, as Nigerian Christians often say, hence, were caught off-guard. This intervention is for actors in the agri-food sector in Nigeria (farmers, trader, processors, wholesalers, retailers and consumers), operating in our risky environment, surrounded by unforeseen events.

    “If I knew that broiler chicken prices were going that high, I could have reared more chickens.’’ Such a statement is common with value chain actors, who never foresee the future, and regret their poor judgement. Making decisions would be easy, if we are sure of the outcome.  However, decision-making process in agribusiness is not easy. Outcomes may be better or worse than expected. Nonetheless, we must make decisions and act, even with the risks. So, what are the risks?

    Agro-food value chain risks are numerous. They include: Production risks from excessive or insufficient rainfall, extreme temperatures, pests, and diseases, technology change that may fail; threat of obsolesce of machinery; asset risks (fire and theft), and non-farm sector developments. Price and market risks occur in situations where farmers plant crops and rear livestock but at harvest for sale, prices crash, or a sudden increase in input prices, after production had been planned, based on lower prices.

    Institutional risks emanate from sudden changes in policy and laws that affect agriculture e.g. laws guiding pesticide and drug use, ban on agricultural imports, government prices, income programs, tax, credit, and environmental policies.

    Human risks result from change in business objectives or illness and death of the agribusiness owners.

    Financial risks deal with how a firm’s capital is obtained and financed e.g. increase in interest rate and erosion of owner equity value.

    Occurrence of risks create impacts. Negative impacts create increased costs, reduced sales, prices and profits. There are positive impacts too. Good agribusinesses take risks to achieve better profits. The riskier the business, the higher the profits. The risk takers carefully manage risky but potentially profitable situations. So, who are the risk takers?

    Based on risk-taking behaviour, actors can be identified as risk avoiders, daredevils, adventurers and calculators. Avoiders are very cautious, expecting the worst to happen and never take avoidable risks. They miss economic opportunities and are contented just surviving. Daredevils take unnecessary risks, ignore facts and fail, for lack of precaution. Adventurers take challenging risks with excitement and actively look for opportunities to do so. They may keep the stakes to reasonable levels through business planning. Adventurers take risks, if financial survival is not at stake, but under external pressure, may become less cautious. Calculators understand they must take risks, yet, recognize different degrees of risk in situations. Before acting, they gather information, realistically analyze the odds, and try to reduce risks to acceptable levels. Most farmers are calculators. So, how do calculators manage risks for better profits?

    Good risk takers in agro-food chains manage risks in several ways:

    Choosing low risk activities by undertaking only part of farm activity with low risk e.g. planting climate resilient and disease resistant crops and rearing disease resistant livestock.

    Enterprise diversification through engaging in many farm enterprises at a time, so that if one fails, others will succeed e.g. mixed farming.

    Geographically dispersing production by spreading agribusiness activities across locations to avoid negative impact of localized weather and business environment.

    Selecting and diversifying by selecting production practices that are effective in different situations e.g. prophylactic drug use, to prevent disease outbreak and periodic maintenance to avoid machinery breakdown.

    Maintaining flexibility in marketing and financial decisions but specialization hinder flexibility.

    Obtaining good market information from commodity markets, outlook information and chatting services. The market information must be combined with other actions.

    Participating in government programmes for protection from downside prices through price support, loan programs, target prices, and in-kind payments.

    Spreading sales by making several sales of a commodity in year, instead of once, to guarantee average prices that are close to season average price.

    Forward contracting through input and output forward contracting to guarantee annual price stability.

    Hedging by giving up the chance of a very high price to be protected from a low price.

    Options trading provides actors secured price insurance. Options will not always guarantee a profit but allow agribusinesses to share in favourable prices.

    Insurance provides specialized liquidity and protection against specific losses. Insurance buys protection through payment of premium e.g. medical disability and fire insurance for buildings.

    Maintaining reserves to provide liquidity during adverse times e.g. inventory reserves (stored grain).

    Pacing investments by postponing capital expenditures, withdrawals for consumption and taxes.

    Acquiring assets through leasing rather than purchasing.

    Limiting credit and leverage by putting limits to loans. Limits are imposed by the entrepreneur or lender.

    Off-farm jobs held by actors to increase the firm’s capacity to bear risks and supplement income.

    Effective risk management entails anticipating difficulties and planning to reduce the consequences, by protecting actors from negative impacts of their decisions. In gaining protection, part of the potential gain is given up as risk management costs. Usually, chain actors prefer avoiding losses and benefiting from favourable events simultaneously. This is can be difficult to achieve. The trade-off is to manage risks effectively without unduly sacrificing gains. To achieve optimum results, integrated risk management strategies, that combine different risk responses, should be used. This is because no single risk response can provide protection from all risks. But, the strategy should reflect your goals, personal and financial circumstances.

     

    • Dr. Ingweye is of Department of Animal Science,

    University of Port Harcourt.

  • Ambode’s peculiar humility

    I have read some articles about the Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration since he mounted the saddle two years ago. I read about apprehension of Lagosians concerning whether he can perform like his predecessor in his early days in office when everything was going wrong.

    I read about when he started getting his bearing right in his first 100 days in office and when after one year in office, he has erased my doubts and those of other Lagosians about his ability to take Lagos to the next level. That Ambode will out-perform his predecessor, which is how it should be in any sane society, is not in doubt but that’s not the purpose of this piece.

    I rarely write about politicians but this is different. What baffles me is the rare humility of this performing governor. I live in Surulere and work on the Island, so I hardly go to satellite towns of Lagos and outskirts. I didn’t know the rate of transformation that has taken place until a friend of mine who has not visited Lagos in two years, visited via Ibadan -Lagos expressway recently entering through Berger, called me and shouted on the phone, “whaooo!! This is beautiful! Is this the same Berger”? He was talking to himself and at the same time asking me too many questions but he was very excited!

    When I finally answered him, I said I haven’t visited Berger in the last two years because I had no business to take me to that side of Lagos. He then shouted at me, “What do you mean? Please you must visit  Berger!” I then asked in exasperation because I was dozing off on the couch when his call woke me, “what’s so special about this your Berger?, He answered immediately, “so many things boy!

    I have never seen something like this in this part of the world! It is marvellous! This is how governance should be! This is a big deal! This must be the longest pedestrian bridge I have seen in Africa”! I know my friend who is a critic of every government is not frivolous, he doesn’t appreciate anything except it meets his standard which is almost utopian and I was jolted from my sleep and started wondering what could be so special about this Berger!. He visited me the following day in the evening and we both took off for Berger, my complaint about the traffic problem in that part of Lagos fell on deaf ears though I also wanted to see for myself what impressed my friend who is so fastidious!

    Lo and Behold, when we got to Berger, my mouth was agape, I was transfixed and I asked the same question, “Is this Berger”? I felt I was in Singapore! All the traffic bottlenecks caused by indiscriminate parking, activities of miscreants and touts were gone. The pedestrian bridge, which criss-crossed the Lagos Ibadan Expressway, is world class , the pedestrian bridge is very long and well lit, though I wouldn’t know if it is the longest in Africa as he claimed.

    To say I was impressed is an understatement! I was carried away and started thinking if this kind of infrastructure was possible all along. What baffles me most was that Ambode hardly speaks about these things and when I complained to my friend in the course of our discussion on why Ambode was quiet about something like this, he simply told me that, Ambode believes his work should speak for him and that he is not frivolous like some of his colleagues who will execute a project of N10 million and will spend N100 million to broadcast and advertise it!

    My friend further told me he knew Ambode’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS) who complains that the Governor usually disagrees with his proposals to broadcast his achievements. He said the governor usually tells his CPS and Information Commissioner, “let my work speak for me, we don’t need to blow our own trumpet, let the people see and form their opinion”. We left Berger and instead of my friend taking me back home as agreed, he had another surprise waiting for me! He suddenly told me, we are not going home yet!

    I asked him why and he asked? “Have you been to Aboru of recent”? I said no. He smiled and said with a tone of finality, “we are going to Aboru now”.  I was getting angry because it was getting dark! He only told me, “you will thank me for taking you to Aboru this evening, I want you to see another wonder there”! I gave up like a prisoner of war. We got to Aboru around 9pm driving through Obafemi Awolowo way, Ikeja, Agege Motor Road, Iyana – Ipaja, areas I have not visited in the last two years and I saw everywhere glowing with streetlights, roads have been rehabilitated and I saw that night life has picked up once again with security personnel at every dark spot and they were very polite.

    By the time we got to the Aboru-Abesan Link bridge, I was lost for words. The bridge is very solid and everywhere was bright because of the streetlights. People were moving freely and I could see they were happy. The history of that bridge was not palatable as it has caused many residents of the area to relocate because it was in a terrible state where miscreants robbed those who used the dilapidated bridge! All that was no more! Again, Ambode did not make any noise about this.

    My friend also told me that Ambode is building another flyover bridge at Abule-Egba which is nearing completion, he has executed projects in all 20 Local Government Areas of the State and 37 Local Council Development Areas in the State apart from other projects, especially the over 600 kilometers of road he has either rehabilitated or reconstructed while 2 new roads per each Local Council Development Area are ongoing. He has built some Mini-water works to improve water supply, built blocks of classrooms in primary and secondary schools, renovated and equipped hospitals across the state and has brought crime rate down to the barest level.

    Apart from these physical developmental strides, he has empowered so many less privileged groups and associations in Lagos state yet, kept quiet and will not let his media aides talk about these except if journalists cover the event! Ambode has assisted many individuals that we don’t get to know about!

    What the people need from their leaders is performance and not big grammar while they do nothing. The people must see a difference in their lives and where this is easily felt is when they enjoy good infrastructure like roads, and pedestrian bridges, medicare, quality but affordable education and security of lives and property.

    There is the  argument that Lagos is rich, therefore, what Ambode  is doing is no big deal! Yes, it may be so, but without sincerity of purpose and the commitment to the welfare of citizens, such wealth of the state, will either be frittered on inanity, white elephant projects or end up in private pockets. We have seen examples of other Governors having billions of state funds in their personal bank accounts in the name of security votes and other uncompleted or ‘white elephant’ projects.

    Ambode is very kind, a cheerful giver, yet, he doesn’t make noise. A man of few words but full of action. Be that as it may, Governor Ambode should be praised for what he has been able to do in just two years in the saddle! Indeed, his work is speaking for him already!

     

     

    • Bamitale, an investment banker, writes from Surulere, Lagos
  • Their suffering must end now (on NYSC)

    Their suffering must end now (on NYSC)

    So many have gone, how many more young ones must go too?  The NYSC has long outlived its usefulness and is now a setback to young lives and a very real death trap.

    Would anyone give his worst enemy a bicycle to ride from Bayelsa to Zamfara with enough clothes tied on for a year’s stay?

    What the NYSC does is much worse.  The National Youth Service Corps pays young graduates a pittance, not even sufficient to buy a bicycle tire, and this ridiculous payout is their fare to crisscross the country to the remotest villages for their compulsory service year!

    In the Nineteen Seventies, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was established as the compulsory one year service period in which graduates of all tertiary institutions, whether one studied at home or abroad had to serve, before seeking paid employment in any establishment or institution.

    It involved posting to parts of the country, from far flung states, and even where NOTHING literally was on ground, corper’s were still sent there.

    The way it was conceived, no corper was permitted to reject his or her posting; ironically, potential employees had every right to out-rightly reject corpers posted to them, in fact, a rejection slip was part of the NYSC paperwork.

    Indeed I remember the story of an amusing a funny case involving one of the graduates from my school then.  He had been posted to teach at Queens College, Lagos.  But on getting there and reporting for duty, the principal of the school had taken one look at him and promptly issued him with a Rejection Slip Clearly, she couldn’t trust someone like him around her girls!

    Anyway, the NYSC became a centre of national corruption, with huge sums paid to cronies of the federal government to produce khaki uniforms or procure boots, to supply food – whatever ‘supplies’ were needed, corrupt practices were employed.

    Today, there are even more avenues for corruption.With the frequency of deaths of corpers posted to Boko Haram States, the NYSC was forced to give potential corpers a choice of  three states they would wish to be posted to, and that gave rise to “Sorting”.  So graduates now go from state to national headquarters of the NYSC parting with good sums of money to officials in charge who then guarantee them postings to their desired states.

    Later, the list comes out and sometimes they are lucky, other times, they get scammed.  In any case, funding for the scheme is non-existent.  It is one of the reasons that President Buhari had sought permission from the National Assembly to apply for a $30bn external loan.  (The National Assembly had turned down the request). The facilities built long years ago to accommodate the few graduates of the time, are still the ones in use today – meaning the NYSC camps are HOVELS.

    The numbers of graduates had grown to multitudes yearly, until the one time Director of Army Education, and later Director of NYSC, Maj. Gen. EdetAkpan (rtd), sent a memo to the highest military ruling council then, to step down some of the graduates.  Then the size became just barely manageable.  It was thanks to him that Colleges of Education, Teachers’ Training Colleges and affiliate institutions were able to send out their graduates into the job market without being a part of the NYSC.   Otherwise, with the number of graduates today from the state, federal and private universities and polytechnics, not counting the thousands from foreign institutions, the NYSC would have then been an impossible scheme.

    Which Is Just What It Is Today.

    Half a century on, and NYSC still pays corpers the same ludicrous bicycle allowance to add to the ridiculous and insulting stipend given to university graduates to go spend 12 months of their lives in various parts of the country, deliberately chosen as far away from their home/school/state as possible.  Today though, the scheme has an added deadly dimension.

    Batch in batch out, corpers die in road crashes on our terrible roads travelling by coach which is all their struggling parents can afford for them.

    But – when it is group of government officials on posting, they would be lodged in good hotels, given fabulous allowances and luxury transportation after which they are then paid…. “HARDSHIP ALLOWANCE”!

    But the hapless corper, undergoing hardship month after month is left to die in his or her place of posting.

    Corpers are used for Nigeria’s sensitive jobs, for instance they were deployed as officers during elections,also duringcensus.  The corpers are given a pittance to the job, once done they have to chase INEC all over for payment.Corpers in Calabar were forced to stage a demonstration at INEC office for their payment in the last elections.  This stipend is less than N10,000 each!  Nothing is provided by way of accommodation and their safety on the job is not guarantee.  Recall that many corpers were killed while on duty that time too.  The Jonathan-led Federal Government had to pay their families compensation.

    Two corps members, Daniel Saanu and Tony Ochayi died within one week of each other in Sokoto just last month.  In Bayelsa, a female corp member took ill and died in camp.  Several others drowned in a boat mishap on their way to their places of primary posting.  Even before Nigeria’s insurgency, corpers were being slaughtered in scores in religious crises in Nigeria over past years.  Boko Haram targetscorpers, in addition to other targets, and killing them mercilessly, setting fire to their lodgings with then inside, burning those youths to death.

    So many have gone, how many more young ones must go too?

    The organization of the scheme is deplorable.  For the graduate today, the end of his/her education will go something like this – upon completion of studies, the graduate would wait a minimum of one year at home, wasting his life, checking for his name on the NYSC list.   Finally, he/she is fortunate for the name to “come out” and then they may go for “NOW YOUR SUFFERING CONTINUES” as the NYSC has been commonly renamed.

    The NYSC has long outlived its usefulness and is now a setback to young lives and a very real death trap.  The National Youth Service Corp must end.  This Year.

     

    • 07055547031 (Whatsapp)

  • Expanding Nigeria’s tax base for economic growth

    BUILDING robust tax system is a must for any economy that is serious in its commitment to growth and development. This could explain why for the first time, the Federal Government of Nigeria and World Bank Group had a consensus on an issue of urgent national importance. Both agreed that tax revenue is a critical contribution, and for Nigeria’s economy to grow and its leadership position in Africa sustained, a reform of its tax system in a way that ensures that more people pay their taxes is paramount.

    All stakeholders agree that tax collection must grow in line with growth in the economy, and this can only happen when the country’s tax base is expanded. Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, believes that Nigeria’s tax system must be dynamic in order to respond to an ever evolving commercial landscape and increasingly technology-driven business models. For her, the current level of tax compliance is low and in some cases, the effective tax rate paid by those that are complaint about is lower than equivalent tax payments in most developed/developing countries. “We must respond to the growing phenomenon of base shifting and other practices that allow companies to evade their fiscal and legal responsibilities. We will critically examine our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to align taxes with economic activity in our bid to block all leakages,” she said.

    The minister said that those who are not paying taxes have to be exposed. “We only have about 13 million tax payers in Nigeria at the moment and about 12.5 million of them are Pay As You Earn (PAYE). So, all the wealthy and self-employed that pay taxes are only 500,000 in this country. People are going to be invited, and it is really the wealthy and rich that will be invited. We want to be much more aggressive on tax payment, not because we want to witchhunt anyone, but because we have to get our taxes to grow the economy. It is the job of government to ensure revenue redistribution from the high and low,” she told participants at the World Bank Spring Meetings held last month in Washington D.C. Tax collection is the collection of money on behalf of all Nigerians.

    For her, tax administration and technology can be deployed to widen compliance and encourage more individuals and companies into the tax net. In line with this objective, the government is investing in technology to boost tax collection efficiency. For instance, some of the recent initiatives in the Ministry of Finance mean that it is now virtually impossible to obtain a payment from the Federal Government without being fully tax compliant. Therefore, tax payment is part of the social contract between government and people and the most effective measure to enhance compliance is the knowledge that tax revenues are being utilized effectively for the development of the people. Adeosun said revenue mobilisation is critical to the success of Nigeria’s economic reform agenda.

    “We have an unacceptably low level of non-oil revenue, and much of that is driven by a failure to collect tax revenues. With a tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio of only six per cent, one of the lowest levels in the world, we have a lot of work to do if we are going to build a sustainable revenue base that will deliver inclusive growth. Our data gathering programme over the last year has now given us the tools we need to be more aggressive at pursuing tax avoiders, both domestically and abroad,” she said. Speaking further, she explained that as some of her contemporaries in the G24 have done successfully, Nigeria is going to focus on tax in 2017 through an asset and income declaration scheme to address her low tax revenue collection and ensure improved compliance, a broader tax base and more sustainable revenue.

    The minister also highlighted the need for strong budget implementation and transparency to create trust and accountability in government: “While we focus on raising revenue’s and bringing people into the tax system, we must be equally aggressive in our approach to budget implementation and transparency. Our people must know where their hard earned tax contributions are being spent and the impact that they are having on national development, and the daily lives of citizens.

    This will be a core focus for us.” Besides, the Federal Government is committed to the fight against corruption which has robbed us of development. Already, public financial management reforms are being implemented to strengthen Nigeria’s financial controls and ensure greater accountability. Government is also committed to addressing the current infrastructure deficit which is critical to economic development. But building infrastructure also requires huge capital accruals.

    Hence government is beginning to crack down on tax evaders to ensure equitable redistribution of wealth and funding of key developmental projects. There will be naming and shaming of those who refuse to pay their taxes, to improve Nigeria tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of six per cent. Also, there is ongoing collaboration with the British Government to ensure that Nigerians that own properties in the United Kingdom pay taxes in Nigeria while consumers of luxury goods are being targeted to pay higher taxes. The government is equally going to make it much more difficult for people to evade taxes. “At every data point of government, we will be picking up information that we will be using to compel people to pay taxes”. Besides, all the countries Nigerians admire have effective tax system.

    Nigeria has one of the worst tax to GDP ratios in the world. Yet our tax rates are comparably lower than the rates in these desired countries. There is therefore need to find ways to make the country’s tax collection much more effective through effective collection of tax data and naming and shaming tax evaders. The Federal Government does not intend to introduce new taxes, but will pay more attention to implementation of the tax laws. The job of government is to ensure that it is very difficult to evade taxes. Now we have already started that job by gathering data, because to tax people, you must know how much they earn or have. If you do not have the data, it is not going to work.

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) directed Nigeria to begin a new tax reforms that will enable it improve revenues, and wriggle out of economic crisis triggered by crash in crude oil prices. The IMF Director, African Department, Abebe Selassie, said the economic circumstances in Nigeria remain difficult, even though it is a country of tremendous wealth. He said government has to reform its tax system, but reduce the impact of such reforms on the poorest.

    For Selassie, government has to quickly decide on the particular tax handle it wants to use, but must ensure the poor are protected from the impact of such policies. He said that without such reforms, and huge investment in infrastructure, government’s objective of addressing poverty may not be achieved. He said: “Government needs to build more schools, invest more in health and education. All of this requires resources. So, it is imperative for government to be able to address its long-term development agenda including tax handles that will be able to generate revenues.

    But there are ways to mitigate the impact on the poor, without which, you cannot have the development that the country seeks. “Nigeria has moved from a period when oil prices were $100 per barrel for five or six years or more to where the prices are now. It is a huge hit to the income of the country and government’s revenue. The government has a lot of goods and services that it has to provide. A lot of public services it has to provide, which need to be financed and alternative sources of financing have to be found for that.” That alternative source of funding is taxation. Hence, it is believed that effective and successful implementation of the ongoing tax reforms in Nigeria is key to its economic diversification and dominance in both regional and global arena. •Ewulu, a financial consultant, works with Lagos-based Angelstege Advisory Services Ltd.

  • Akinlawon Mabogunje and the Cartography of Honour and Achievements

    IN this article, I will be using an unusual metaphor to make some significant points about the implications of a heroic pursuit of excellence that derives from a singularly patriotic spirit that wants to serve and make a mark through an unstinting and boldface committed service. The metaphor is unusual because it has to do with the discipline of geography.

    This is one discipline in the social sciences which no one talks about even though we live our entire existence in geographical dimensions. Geography speaks to the cartographic exercise of mapping the world, in lines, shapes, dots and colours, so as to facilitate an understanding of places and spaces. Without this exercise, it would have been impossible to achieve any meaningful planning of human existence. At another level, and even though again it is barely recognized, geography plays a significant role in the development planning of any nation. Since the city and its administration is very germane to what we call “governance,” there cannot therefore be proper governance without a cartographic understanding of what is to be governed, that is, the citizens and where they are occupying in space and time.

    But, as a metaphor, I am deploying cartography in this piece to sketch the mapping of one’s career trajectory in life without any hint as to where it will lead eventually in life. There is no one that did not begin life with some grandiose ambition of becoming a doctor, an engineer, a manager, an entrepreneur, a lawyer, a politician, a pilot, a pharmacist or an accountant. In fact, this list covers pretty much the space of achievements that even parents outlined for their children.

    Anything outside of it—a dancer, policeman, driver, teacher, fashion designer, musician, a blogger, philosopher, or even a geographer— is pure nonsense, at least in the wisdom of our parents! Choosing a career then has always been a struggle. Right from one’s youth, we attempt to prognosticate our future to see which career trajectory will lead to the rosy prospects we have set out for ourselves. I have been a part of this critical endeavour. When I told my parents I wanted to become a philosopher—after reading Plato’s Republic—they definitely thought I was either joking or insane.

    A philosopher! What does that even mean? I suspect their line of worries, like most parents today, must have been how “philosophizing” could put food on anyone’s table or provide for them in their old age. Hence, they were very firm in pushing me out of my fantasy into what they considered more worthwhile for my future—law. Providence however defeated both of us. I eventually became a political scientist and public administrator. I mentioned Providence because choosing a career is not a prospect which anyone can ever succeed in except Providence intervenes. Many have failed outside of it, even when placed in what has been considered the “prospective” career. And many have succeeded even beyond imagination in careers which have been roundly reproached by others.

    This article is to celebrate someone that has been dear to my heart and critical to my character and professional development as leading light and mentor for as long as I can remember. Just this April, Professor Akinlawon Ladipo Mabogunje was elected into the hallowed hall of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences! This is not just another award or induction into just any other professional or scholarly association. To understand the magnitude of this recognition, first consider those who have gone ahead of Professor Mabogunje: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alexander Graham Bell, Margret Mead, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Aaron Copeland, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, John Maynard Keynes, Akira Kurosawa, Nelson Mandela, Jürgen Habermas, Anthony Giddens, Michael Mann, and many more.

    The American Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1780, and is made up of 4,900 fellows and more than 600 foreign honorary members—Philosophers, statesmen, intellectuals, inventors, Nobel laureates, outstanding academia, innovators, thinkers and world-historic figures. And now Professor Mabogunje, geographer extraordinaire, has entered into this 237-year old revered chamber. So, I wonder: If Mabogunje were to be my son, and he asked to be a geographer, how would I have responded. Well, I suspect I would have taken the path my own parents took:What is geography? And how can “geographying” enhance anybody’s life prospect? I am almost certain that when Prof. Mabogunje set out on his lonely career course sixty four years ago in 1953, he had no idea whatsoever that he would one day be referred to as not only the “father of Geography in Africa,” but also achieve a preeminent honour and sit alongside worthy figures like Washington, Franklin, Emerson, Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. as distinguished members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. But from 1953 when he got his BA General degree in Geography, Mabogunje had never looked back.

    It seemed then to him that setting your own goals and running after your own objectives in life matters more than anything in life. Mabogunje became a relentless pursuer of excellence such that between 1953 and 1965, a space of just twelve years, he had already reached the pinnacle of his career! Becoming a professor might have satisfied so many, but not Mabogunje. In fact, he immediately recognized the significance of geography as a social science to the struggle for nationhood and development in Nigeria, and the urgency of professing not just academic insights but also policy recommendations that could become empowering for the citizens.

    Like I wrote in my review of his autobiography, being referred to as the Father of African Geography, according to Prof. Mabogunje, is more of a function of allowing his Ph.D to highlight the skills of quantitative and theoretical geography which contributed to giving urban and regional development an ‘African visibility’ in an evolving intellectual revolution. After a Master’s thesis titled The Changing Pattern of Rural Settlement and Rural Economy in Egba Division, Southwestern Nigeria (1958), Mabogunje went on to produce Lagos: A Study in Urban Geography (1968), and The Development Process: A Spatial Perspective (1980, revised 1989). There were also series of lectures the most outstanding of which are the 1977 University Lecture titled On Developing and Development and the Sixth Keith Callard Lecture Series in 1969 titled Regional Mobility and Resource Development in West Africa. As these titles made clear, all these theses, lectures, essays and research projects were already defining for Mabogunje the scholar how his discipline intersects the development process, especially in Nigeria. •Continued online

  • Adebayo: Uncrowned Yoruba leader

    General Robert Adeyinka Adebayo who died recently, a day before his 89th birthday no doubt during his life time impacted positively to the socio-political development of the country especially among the Yoruba. General Adebayo came to the political limelight in August 1966 when he was appointed as the military Governor of the then Western State by General Yakubu Gowon , the then new Head of State after the brutal second coup of July 1966.

    General Adebayo who was a Colonel at that time, succeeded Lt. Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi who was killed  in a gruesome manner in Ibadan together with his guest, General Aguiyi  Ironsi who was the Head of State before the coup. Prior to his appointment, General Adebayo was the first indigenous Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army between 1964 and 1965. Despite his high rank in the military, he was made the military governor and his appointment was facilitated by Egbe Omo Olofin then led by Dr. Koye Majekodunmi. Subsequent events showed that the Yoruba people were lucky to have somebody with the personality of Adebayo as their leader during those turbulent days.

    General Adebayo came to Ibadan and met a very divided and bitter Yoruba people who were at war with each other because of debilitating and acute political differences. Many people believed rightly or wrongly that the destructive political crisis in the West in the early sixties precipitated the coup of 1966. The first task of General Adebayo in Western State was to make efforts to unite the badly divided people of the state. He brought into his cabinet the opposing political tendencies in the state. In the cabinet, he had people like Dauda Adegbenro, Bola Ige. Michael Omisade, Olabisi Onabanjo, and  Joel Babatola who were  staunch supporters of Chief Obafemi Awolowo  who had just then been released from prison by General Gowon. The other political spectrum in the state was represented by Victor Olunloyo, Alade Lamuye and Kola Balogun who had sympathy for Chief S. L. Akintola, the last premier of the region.

    In order to further bring the people together, he started regular meetings of those he dubbed as ‘Leaders of Thought’ which were made up of Yoruba academicians, leading Yoruba leaders in business and religion and other notable groups in the state. He used his uncanny amiable personality and love for social life to douse tensions among various groups in the state. His efforts brought peace to warring Yoruba academicians at the University of Ibadan over the issue of the appointment of vice chancellor of that institution. He also helped to douse the tension generated in the appointment of non-indigene as the Bishop of Ibadan diocese of Anglican Communion. Despite his spirited efforts to bring peace and unite the Yoruba people during the turbulent period of Nigerian history, many people felt that he was not even-handed especially after he made sure that Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the titanic political leader of that time was made the Leader of the Yoruba People. General Adebayo faced many political problems during his tenure and the notable of these were the farmers’ revolt popularly referred to as the Agbekoya crisis of 1968-1969 and the seemingly intractable problem of appointing a new Alafin of Oyo to succeed Oba Ladigbolu. He faced up to these problems and his decisions on these two issues alienated him from the then political giants in the state, but he stood his ground and history had proved that he made the right decisions in solving the two problems.

    In addition to his peace efforts, his tenure could be credited with laudable achievements.  General Adebayo’s regime did everything possible for the take-off of the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University. His government provided huge sum of money for the university to move to his permanent site at Ile Ife. Unfortunately for inexplicable reason, the university did not honour the late General for his efforts and foresight on the university in his life time. General Adebayo will be remembered for the introduction of ‘cottage hospitals’ which brought medical facilities to rural communities. New water works were established in many parts of the state during his tenure. His government established Western State Court of Appeal. New working hours for the civil servants which is now being used throughout the country was introduced by him in Western State. Armed robbery menace was curbed during his time with the promulgation of the Robbery (Summary Trial and Punishment Edict of 1967) which stipulated life sentence for armed robbers. This life sentence was later changed to death penalty as a result of Federal decree. To ensure safety on the road, his government established the Road Safety Corps. To promote agricultural research, his government established the Institute of Agricultural Research at Moor Plantation

    One of the unforgettable legacies of General Adebayo in Yorubaland was the massive recruitment of the Yoruba into the military and Police during his time. Hitherto, the Yoruba people had been poorly represented in these forces and this had serious implication on the security of the people. This large recruitment made the Yoruba to contribute meaningfully to war to keep Nigeria one and helped the race from being derided by others as cowards and lovers of easy life.

    The tenure of General Adeyinka Adebayo in Western State came to an end on April 2, 1971 having served for five tumultuous years (1966-1971). After his stint as the Military Governor of Western State, he was appointed as Commandant of Nigerian Defence Academy between 1971 and 1972. He ended his military career in July 1972 after serving in ceremonial military duties between 1972 and 1975. All in all he served the military for 27 years.

    After his military career, General Adebayo threw his hat into political arena. He was one of the founders of National Party of Nigeria and was one of the vice chairmen of the party until the military took over power in December 1983. Many people felt that the General’s participation in politics was unedifying. Later in 2011 with age on his side, he joined the late Venerable Alayande to form Yoruba Council of Elders which was supposed to be an umbrella organization for all Yoruba persons irrespective of political leaning. This was to counter the Afenifere group which was known to have political preference.

    General Adebayo would be remembered throughout the country for the role he played as a voice of reason during the bloody crisis that engulfed the country between 1966 and 1970. In the old Western State, he would be remembered as somebody who united the Yoruba people to have one voice during the perilous period of Nigerian history between 1966 and 1970.  In governing the Yoruba people, Adebayo used his warm personality and jollity to douse tensions among the people. He related to people very well and attended many social functions, although some of his detractors criticized him for over-doing this and gave him the nick name of ‘ O wa nbe’. Nobody is perfect. General Adebayo had his weaknesses and he made some mistakes like any leader but the General loved the Yoruba people  and did his best to lift up the morale of the people after debacle and bitterness of the early sixties. It can be said that on any rational scale, only Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Ladoke Akintola could take precedence over General Adebayo in the contribution to the development of Yoruba race. It is a pity that political intrigues and to some extent minor personal flaw prevented him from being accorded his deserved honour to be crowned as the leader of the Yoruba, a position he deserved after the demise of Chief Awolowo.

    May his soul rest in perfect peace.

     

    • Prof Lucas, a retired don, writes from University of Ibadan.

  • For Dipo Famakinwa

    As the Senior Special Assistant (SSA), Research & Documentation, to former Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, the lot fell on me to treat and recommend proposals to the governor who would also send same to me for advice.

    One of the proposals sent to me and the SSA, Policy and Strategy, Dr. Femi Akinola, by the governor for advice was about a retreat on good governance and ethics for  Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants, which was later held at Royal Park Hotel, Iloko, Osun State.

    It was this proposal that brought Dipo and I together. I remember that Dr. Akinola and I invited him to a meeting in my office to defend his proposal before we wrote our recommendation to the governor.

    During and after the assignment, Dipo also became very fond of me. We used to exchange messages and calls. Shortly after the Iloko workshop, he came to Ekiti again to see Governor Fayemi about regional integration of the South-west states for economic development. He hinted me that he had told the governor he wanted me to be involved in the project as a member of the Technical Committee.

    The 24-member Technical Committee on Regional Integration of the South West was inaugurated by Governor Kayode Fayemi on June 21, 2012 in Ado-Ekiti with members drawn from Ekiti, Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Ondo states. This was after an earlier resolution at the July 8, 2011 meeting of governors of seven states of Western Nigeria where they agreed to collaborate on the issue of cooperation and integration of the region and to constitute a technical committee to drive the agenda.

    I was appointed as a member from Ekiti State with the then Commissioner for Integration becoming an automatic member. Later, Biodun Oyebanji as the Head of Office of Transformation became an active member and we travelled together many times to attend meetings and events connected with the scheme.

    Considering his pedigree, undying passion for the development of South-west states and the efforts he had put in kick-starting the development agenda in conjunction with then Governor Fayemi, it was not difficult to convince his colleague governors that Dipo was the man  to drive the agenda.

    Subsequently, Dipo Famakinwa became the Director- General of the regional integration project and immediately embarked on the production of a roadmap to achieving the agenda, which culminated in the production of the document which is today known as the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN).

    Before the DAWN document was produced, Biodun Oyebanji, Dr. Femi Akinola, Adewale Adeoye and I travelled with Dipo and others to all the state capitals in the South-west and met the governors except Akure in Ondo State because Governor Segun Mimiko was lukewarm to the idea.

    Dipo Famakinwa was a bundle of energy, focused, steadfast, a workaholic and a goal-getter. I didn’t know what it meant to be a member of the technical committee when I agreed with Dipo until I discovered the job involved when I was chosen as the “emergency” secretary of the technical committee.

    We usually held our meetings in the night till the wee hours of the morning in the state capitals.  I was responsible for taking notes and documenting all resolutions agreed at our numerous nocturnal meetings always held in the state capitals.

    Between 2012 and 2013, we met all the governors in the South-west, Kayode Fayemi, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Isiaka Ajimobi, Ibikunle Amosun and Raji Fashola who made their inputs into the document. We also met all the Speakers of the Houses of Assembly in the South-west in Lagos. The Speakers assured us of legislative backing for the laudable initiative.

    While all were tired in our nocturnal meetings, Dipo would never sleep and would become the chief whip of the committee. Any suggestion to adjourn till the following day was usually rebuffed. Dipo would always argue that we must finish all items on the agenda because nobody was sure of tomorrow.

    My own case was worse because I had to take notes. Dipo presided over the meetings of the technical committee whose members were commissioners, Special Advisers and other top government officials in their respective states. Some of the active technical committee members I remember well are; Rev. Tunji Adebiyi, Mrs Ronke Sokefun, Dr. Bayo Ademodi, Mr. Deji Akinsola, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, Mr. Biyi Oloko, Mrs Florence Oguntuase, Professor Dolapo Lufadeji and Mr. George Adedeji. It was interesting working with such eminent panel of distinguished Yoruba personalities.

    We finally produced the final document after rigorous meetings and editing of the document by a body of experts.

    I was always afraid to visit Dipo at the Cocoa House office of the commission in Ibadan  because I knew he would “arrest” me with an assignment which I might find difficult   to turn down because of the tremendous respect I had for him and the vision of the DAWN I shared with him.

    Going through my laptop as I write this tribute, tears flow freely, dripping on my keyboard when I saw minutes of our meetings and how Dipo presided. My DG, as I fondly called him, was in a class of his own. Very cool, appreciative and always having an answer to any puzzle!

    One day, in apparent appreciation of my little contributions, he lapsed into a joke, saying: “I will tell Oga (Governor Fayemi) that he should loan you to us at the Commission and if he refuses, we may have to kidnap you.”

    Two weeks ago, I learnt about Dipo’s ailment through Fayemi, Minister for Mines and Steel Development. When he sensed my fear and anxiety, he said it was nothing to worry about, assuring me that Dipo would be fine. He hinted that he had concluded arrangement with some governors in the region to fly him out for treatment. I was relieved when I heard that but it was short-lived.

    Barely three days after the minister’s assurance that Dipo would be well, news of his death hit me like a thunderbolt. To say I was devastated is an understatement. I froze like a man who sees a snake on his bed when my brother called me and broke the sad news. I broke down and wept.

    A thoroughbred omoluabi with an uncanny understanding of people at first encounter, Dipo was such a nice guy who also had a fine notion of honour, integrity and valour.

    He was not one of those human beings who deliberately do wrongs and count those wrongs as part of human conducts. He was patient to a fault even in the face of provocation and ever courageous in the face of adversity.

    Dipo’s death is very painful but we cannot query God. I am comforted with the fact that Dipo lived a good life and died pursuing a noble cause: the development of Southwest states.

    I’m also comforted with the words of Socrates; “No one knows if death may be the greatest good and hence if someone fears death, they are making an error.”

    I pray God to grant his family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss and accept what they cannot change. To the members of the Technical Committee of the DAWN Commission, I commiserate with all of us for the sad loss of our Director-General.

    The only way to honour Dipo in death is for the South-west governors to ensure the full implementation of the DAWN document, which Dipo lived and died for.

    Adieu Dipo Famakinwa!

     

    • Jamiu was a member of the Technical Committee of the DAWN Commission.

  • Mabogunje and the cartography of honour

    As a metaphor, I am deploying cartography in this piece to sketch the mapping of one’s career trajectory in life without any hint as to where it will lead eventually in life. There is no one that did not begin life with some grandiose ambition of becoming a doctor, an engineer, a manager, an entrepreneur, a lawyer, a politician, a pilot, a pharmacist or an accountant. In fact, this list covers pretty much the space of achievements that even parents outlined for their children. Anything outside of it—a dancer, policeman, driver, teacher, fashion designer, musician, a blogger, philosopher, or even a geographer—is pure nonsense, at least in the wisdom of our parents! Choosing a career then has always been a struggle. Right from one’s youth, we attempt to prognosticate our future to see which career trajectory will lead to the rosy prospects we have set out for ourselves. I have been a part of this critical endeavour. When I told my parents I wanted to become a philosopher—after reading Plato’s Republic—they definitely thought I was either joking or insane. A philosopher! What does that even mean? I suspect their line of worries, like most parents today, must have been how “philosophizing” could put food on anyone’s table or provide for them in their old age. Hence, they were very firm in pushing me out of my fantasy into what they considered more worthwhile for my future—law. Providence however defeated both of us. I eventually became a political scientist and public administrator.

    This article is to celebrate someone that has been dear to my heart and critical to my character and professional development as leading light and mentor for as long as I can remember.  Just this April, Professor Akinlawon Ladipo Mabogunje was elected into the hallowed hall of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences! This is not just another award or induction into just any other professional or scholarly association. To understand the magnitude of this recognition, first consider those who have gone ahead of Professor Mabogunje: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alexander Graham Bell, Margret Mead, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Aaron Copeland, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, John Maynard Keynes, Akira Kurosawa, Nelson Mandela, Jürgen Habermas, Anthony Giddens, Michael Mann, and many more.

    The American Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1780, and is made up of 4,900 fellows and more than 600 foreign honorary members—Philosophers, statesmen, intellectuals, inventors, Nobel laureates, outstanding academia, innovators, thinkers and world-historic figures. And now Professor Mabogunje, geographer extraordinaire, has entered into this 237-year old revered chamber. So, I wonder: If Mabogunje were to be my son, and he asked to be a geographer, how would I have responded. Well, I suspect I would have taken the path my own parents took: What is geography? And how can “geographying” enhance anybody’s life prospect?

    I am almost certain that when Prof. Mabogunje set out on his lonely career course 64 years ago in 1953, he had no idea whatsoever that he would one day be referred to as not only the “father of Geography in Africa,” but also achieve a preeminent honour and sit alongside worthy figures like Washington, Franklin, Emerson, Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. as distinguished members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. But from 1953 when he got his BA General degree in Geography, Mabogunje had never looked back. It seemed then to him that setting your own goals and running after your own objectives in life matters more than anything in life. Mabogunje became a relentless pursuer of excellence such that between 1953 and 1965, a space of just 12 years, he had already reached the pinnacle of his career! Becoming a professor might have satisfied so many, but not Mabogunje. In fact, he immediately recognized the significance of geography as a social science to the struggle for nationhood and development in Nigeria, and the urgency of professing not just academic insights but also policy recommendations that could become empowering for the citizens.

    After a Master’s thesis titled The Changing Pattern of Rural Settlement and Rural Economy in Egba Division, Southwestern Nigeria (1958), Mabogunje went on to produce Lagos: A Study in Urban Geography (1968), and The Development Process: A Spatial Perspective (1980, revised 1989). There were also series of lectures the most outstanding of which are the 1977 University Lecture titled On Developing and Development and the Sixth Keith Callard Lecture Series in 1969 titled Regional Mobility and Resource Development in West Africa. As these titles made clear, all these theses, lectures, essays and research projects were already defining for Mabogunje the scholar how his discipline intersects the development process, especially in Nigeria.

    Thus, almost simultaneous with his intellectual development was also his administrative and policy restlessness to integrate knowledge with action and impact Nigeria. His involvement with the Western Nigerian Economic Advisory Council, Federal Capital Development Authority, DFFRI; his tenure first as Vice President and later as the first African President of the International Geographical Union, as well as numerous private sector responsibilities also combined with a truly pragmatic understanding of scholarship that brought geography into development planning and rural-urban development. It was therefore easy not only to set up the Development Policy Centre with Professor Ojetunji Aboyade in the 90s, but to also channel his convictions and unique scholarship into his understanding of development as a significantly grassroots phenomenon. With the optimum community (OPTICOM) initiative therefore, he meant to redirect government’s development energies in a manner that will yield the ultimate results for the empowerment of the people who really matter.

    Unfortunately, like so many brilliant initiatives, OPTICOM has only met with a measure of minimal success. All you need to do is read Prof. Mabogunje’s autobiography—A Measure of Grace—and you will be amazed, again, at how his beloved country has blocked him at every critical point of service and commitment. But there is a reason why Mabogunje’s commitment cannot become ordinary and forgotten. One reason is the multiplication of honours and awards that has attended his pursuit of excellence and service in life. But I have something else in mind. Many years ago, while straying about on my own course towards excellence in my chosen path of public service reform, I came under the mentoring influence Prof. Mabogunje and his friend, Prof. Aboyade. Between them, they moulded my conception of myself, my life, my profession and my contribution to posterity. Ojetunji Aboyade died many years ago, but Mabogunje took his mentoring of my progress in life by transforming it into an inter-generational platform when he became the chairman of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP).

    At both the cartographic and disciplinary level, therefore, Professor Akinlawon Ladipo Mabogunje’s ascension into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame has taught us all a lesson about life: Providence knows where you are headed; but let hard work, diligence and relentless commitment take you there. Then the whole world will stand in applause. We all stand in loud ovation to this gentle soul who has been so highly honored.

     

    • Dr. Olaopa is Executive Vice-Chairman, Ibadan School of Government & Public Policy (ISGPP).

  • MMA2 at 10: Lessons for private investors

    The 16th American President, Abraham Lincoln, once said, “It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong.” This month, Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Lagos, which is a product of the courage to dare to do right, will be 10 years old.

    This is significant in a way because what started in a modest way in May 2007 has now become a benchmark for measuring how an airport terminal should run. No doubt, the edifice, the first successful Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the country, has changed the face of the aviation industry in this part of the world. MMA2 has positively affected the psyche of all aviation industry stakeholders with the doggedness, perseverance and the zeal to overcome challenges by its manager. The terminal has disabused the minds of the stakeholders of the usually etched graphics of derelict airport terminals scattered all over the land with dilapidated facilities, often overheated and cloaked in darkness.

    The good thing is that 10 years down the line, MMA2, with its Multi-Storey Car Park (MSCP) and the facilities therein, still glitters in the aviation landscape as if it was built yesterday. Despite all the dream killer challenges, engineered by those who wanted to kill the MMA2 dream from inception, its operator, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), has since taken the odds as the tonic needed to “still do it”. According to the words of Elon Musk, “If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it.” That the terminal is still standing today like a solid rock in the midst of an earthquake-pummelled environment is a big plus to its operator, which toils day and night to “still do it”.

    One decade on, the success story of MMA2 is in tandem with the words of the British orator, author and two-time Prime Minister (1940–45) and (1951–55), Winston Churchill, who said, “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” Therefore, the courage and the resilience to make MMA2 work in the face of stiff opposition from vested interests is what counts to BASL and this is a lesson for private investors. BASL’s attitude is perhaps constantly inspired by the saying of the great inspirational speaker, Will Rogers that, “Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.”

    Ten aviation ministers have superintended over MMA2 in 10 years. While a few of them respected the concession agreement the ministry signed with BASL, majority of them did everything to strangulate the business: another big lesson for private investors.

    Going down memory lane, Dr. (Mrs.) Kema Chikwe (2001-2003) as Aviation Minister signed the MMA2 concession agreement between BASL and the Federal Government and did everything to ensure that the project got off the ground; Mallam Isa Yuguda (May 2003-June 2005) under whose tenure the structure of MMA2 took shape, was instrumental to the invitation of KPMG, an international consulting firm that recommended a concession period of 36 years; Prof. Babalola Borishade (now late) (July 2005-November 2006), through the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) offered BASL 36 years as the concession period, which the company accepted; and Femi Fani-Kayode (November 2006-May 2007) was Aviation Minister when MMA2 was inaugurated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in May 2007.

    Other ministers were: Felix Hyatt (June 2007-October 2008), appointed a Minister of State (Aviation) by the late former President Umar Yar’Adua, who could really not do much because the aviation unions and other interest groups overwhelmed him in a bid to ensure the death of MMA2. And under Hyatt, FAAN began breaching the concession agreement, while some airlines ordered to move their operations to MMA2 from the International Wing refused to do so; Babatunde Omotoba (December 2007-March 2010), who was advised by the then Attorney-General of the Federation, Michael Kaase Andoakaa (SAN), to hand over the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) to Bi-Courtney as part of the Concession Agreement, which Omotoba failed to do; Mrs. Fidelia Akuabata Njeze (April 2010 – May 2011), who was urged by the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to allow regional flight operations take place at MMA2, as part of the Concession Agreement, and who never yielded; Stella Oduah (July 2011-February 2014), who led the greatest assault on the enterprise called MMA2 and the Concession Agreement. Oduah was vehement in her opposition to anything MMA2 and did everything to cripple the terminal and take over its operations, but failed. She was succeeded by the suave Chief Osita Chidoka (July 2014 – May 2015), who on the other hand did everything within his powers to ensure that the provisions of the concession agreement were obeyed to the letter. Chidoka also declared MMA2 the Best Terminal in Nigeria, which unsettled so many vested interests, inaugurated MMA2’s Common User Passenger Processing System (CUPPS) and most importantly, approved the take-off of regional flight operations for the terminal, which agencies in the aviation industry, especially FAAN, did everything to scuttle; and the incumbent, Senator Hadi Sirika (November 2015-to date), who has, so far been unsupportive of the MMA2 Concession Agreement.

    All the ministers have, nonetheless, contributed either positively or negatively to what makes MMA2 stand solid today. But the endurance of the operator for the past one decade is what further makes the terminal tick.

    The ministers’ various contributions and those of FAAN were a reflection of what it takes to do business with the government, even when the administration under which they served had good intentions. Other private investors and prospective ones need to learn a lesson or two from this experience. Besides BASL’s experiences in the hands of these officials, the bitter experiences of politician and businessman, Chief Harry Akande and the Chairman of Virgin Atlantic Group, Sir Richard Branson, among others, who were shoved  aside after investing their billions of naira, come in handy here. They are still licking their wounds till date.

    Indeed, an angry Branson had this to say of his experience in the hands of government officials: “We fought a daily battle against government agents who wanted to make fortune from us, politicians who saw the government’s 49 per cent as a meal (ticket) to seek all kinds of favour, watchdogs (regulatory bodies) that didn’t know what to do and were persistently asking for bribes at any point. Nigerian people are generally nice but the politicians are very insane. That may be an irony because the people make up the politicians.

    “But those politicians are selfish. We did make N3billion for the Federal Government of Nigeria during the joint venture, realising that the government didn’t bring (anything) to the table/partnership except dubious debts by the previous carrier, Nigeria Airways. The joint venture should have been the biggest African carrier by now if the partnership was allowed to grow, but the politicians killed it. Nigeria is a country we shall never consider to doing business again.”

    Despite all this, “MMA2”, according to the chairman of BASL, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN) “represents considerable cerebral input into very modest resources.” Some food for thought and lessons, lessons all the way.

     

    • Omolale is Head, Corporate Communications, BASL.