The Nation Newspaper

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  • What is the price of a newspaper’s soul? 

    The media is no doubt one institution that has a critical to play in helping to deepen democracy and good governance in Nigeria and thereby promoting accelerated economic development, political stability, national integration and social harmony. It is certainly in recognition of its professional significance that the constitution specifically assigns the media the role of oversight of governments in power and by implication watchdogs of the people. To effectively play its part, however, the media must necessarily place uncompromising premium on truth, accuracy and integrity in the information it disseminates, which are indispensable elements for it to enjoy the trust, faith and confidence of the people. A media outfit devoid of credibility is like a plant without roots; its leaves will sooner or later shrivel and die no matter how well it seems to be blossoming in the short run.

    These thoughts come to mind as one contemplates the unrelenting efforts of the THISDAY newspaper to denigrate and discredit the person and politics of a National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through a series of mostly fictional reports predicated mainly on wild speculations, baseless insinuations and outright falsehood. The newspaper does not appear to have reflected on why Tinubu’s political stock not only remains strong and unshaken, but continues to rise by the day despite its unceasing attempts to tarnish and cast aspersion on his reputation. It clearly undermines both the intelligence of its readers as well as the political sophistication of Nigerians.

    In its Sunday, April 2nd, edition, THISDAY had reported in a front page lead story that the PDP caucus in the Senate had met to deliberate on Tinubu and had concluded that he was responsible for negative reports against its members and the leadership of the Senate in the media. According to the story, members of the caucus accused Tinubu of trying to destroy the Senate as an institution to smoothen the path to the realization of his purported presidential ambition in 2019. To achieve this, the caucus allegedly said that Tinubu was working in collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to fight Senators through the investigation of alleged corrupt acts on the part of the latter.

    The story’s unsubstantiated claim of a close relationship between Tinubu and the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, whom it describes as ‘a creation’ of Tinubu (whatever that means) suggests that it was planted partly to instigate Senators against voting in Magu’s favour, should his name be forwarded once again to the Senate by the Presidency for confirmation as the substantive EFFCC boss. Magu was the officer in charge of operations during Mallam Nuhu Ribadu’s tenure as Chairman of the EFCC. He was reputed to be very effective. During the tenure of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, he was hounded by some of those he had investigated who had come to acquire considerable influence in the new dispensation forcing him to quit the EFCC in controversial circumstances. If President Buhari has decided in his wisdom to bring Magu back to head the agency, how is that Tinubu’s business?

    The PDP caucus in the Senate has since made complete nonsense of the THISDAY report by stating categorically that it had not held any meeting at all at which Tinubu was discussed. The South-East Leader of the caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, emphatically described the report as the handiwork of mischief makers stressing that “It is far from the truth. We did not at anytime discuss Tinubu at our meeting and nobody accused the EFFCC of anything”. Senator Abaribe further said the caucus would not descend to the lowly level of attacking individuals for the purpose of vendetta. Yet, THISDAY had ‘authoritatively’ claimed that the PDP Senate caucus was set to go public with its purported allegations against Tinubu! Who then were the unnamed sources to which THISDAY attributed its story; a now discredited report that has done incalculable damage, once again, to its credibility as a believable medium of information dissemination?

    The report accuses Tinubu of responsibility for what it calls ‘savage attacks’ against the Senate and its leadership by some media outfits. Although it does not exactly say what these media attacks exactly, the newspaper was obviously referring to news reports as regards ongoing investigations by anti-corruption agencies and allegations of graft against the leadership of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki. These include the Senate President’s widely reported ongoing case of alleged false declaration of assets at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), his alleged implication in the attempt to bring a luxury vehicle into the country without paying the stipulated duties and the latest allegation that some aides working with Saraki were involved in the scandalous diversion of billions of Naira from the Paris Club refund to states through the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).

    It is astonishing that a newspaper would report that news reports, which are not opinion articles by individuals or the editorial, which is the opinion of a newspaper as an organization, constitutes ‘savage attacks’ on anybody. All the allegations against the Senate President are in the public domain. Not only is the false declaration case against him still in court, Senator Saraki has personally appeared before the Senate’s Ethics Committee to clear himself of any involvement with the importation of the vehicle whose existence he has not denied. Dr Saraki has also vigorously denied any personal link with the illegal funds diversion from the Paris Club loan refund, arguing that he cannot be blamed for alleged infractions of any of his associates.

    Since these are all issues in the public domain, can any credible news medium afford not to report them? Could such reports be described as ‘savage attacks’ especially since in every instance the Senate President’s side is reflected in the reports?  In any case, how do these reports constitute an attempt by Tinubu to bring down the Senate as an institution? It is no secret that Tinubu is one politician with unrivalled network of personal friendships in the country today spanning the length and breadth of Nigeria. These friendships include scores of senators   in the 8th Senate across partisan lines. Why would he, therefore, be interested in destroying or diminishing the Senate as an institution, which would also mean working against the interest even of APC Senators? It is simply illogical.

    If it is true that Tinubu is responsible for ‘attacks’ against the Senate leadership and the Senate, how come that he strongly commended the decision of the Federal Government to withdraw the forgery of Senate rules charges against the presiding officers of the Senate? On that occasion, his media office had issued a statement in which it described the withdrawal of the forgery charges as a welcome development. Tinubu had stated then through his media office that “New legislation will be required to help pull the nation out of the economic mire. With these forgery charges found not to apply, it is good that they be dismissed so that the National Assembly may focus on this important work ahead”. Are these the words and spirit of an adversary of the Senate and its leadership?

    The entire THISDAY report is hinged on what it purports to be Tinubu’s 2019 presidential ambition. In doing so, the newspaper is completely silent on Tinubu’s strong and widely-reported avowal that “As long as that patriotic and committed man named Muhammadu Buhari holds and seeks to hold the mantle as our president, then Tinubu stands behind him in unwavering support and confidence. Tinubu remains faithful to the mission of progressive reform and change that Buhari, he and the APC started”. Yet, this report was also published by THISDAY!

    On the one hand, THISDAY’s report claims that Tinubu is behind efforts to denigrate and discredit the Senate, but also on the other hand that he unsuccessfully sought the Senate’s cooperation to bring down the Buhari administration while the latter was recently on medical vacation. What a contradiction! In any case, what infraction had President Buhari committed for anyone to have attempted to bring his administration down? Could it be that the THISDAY report simply mirrors the subliminal but disguised wishes of those who sponsored it that the Buhari administration should fail to enhance the chances of their achieving their own presidential ambitions in 2019? It is so tragic that THISDAY readily offers its medium to the use of political blackmailers, hucksters and gangsters. No price should be high enough to buy a newspaper’s soul. 

    • Bello, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja  

  • Ebenezer Obey: Philosophy on the wings of music

    THE French poet and philosopher, Jean Francois Saint-Lambert, once remarked: “Often I am still listening when the song is over”. He may have had Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi in mind. From the 70s until he joined the Lord’s commission and now back in the wings, every single album Obey waxed leaves a pulsating thought in the memory of those who understands good music. To start, this is perhaps the only opportunity I have to pay my debt of gratitude Chief Ebenezer Obey for the honour he graciously extended to me when he played at my mother’s 90th birthday in 2014. A friend of mine had offered to pay for a band and knowing that I am a quiet fan of Obey, he contacted him saying he did on my behalf. Obey not only cancelled his earlier commitment on the day, he instructed that I be told to pay just a token to cover the cost of logistics alone. My mother cannot fathom still what wand we pulled to bring down Obey to perform the way he did on that day. I remain ever grateful Commander.

    Today, when the elderly, the reflective minds and the music connoisseurs listen to the fast tracked, hip hop and rap music that categorise the present generation, they only shake their heads in regret and amazement. How do you enjoy any music that lacks meaning but only leaves you either sweating or tear-eyed melodramatic? Sometimes, my children have a good laugh on me and what they have chosen to call “old school”. It would appear to me however that the “old school” has its honour and its senses which, unfortunately, will take some of the children years to catch up with. One of that senses derives from thoughtful music. And I have musicians like Haruna Ishola, Yusuf Olatunji and Ebenezer Obey in mind. A good music can’t just be summed up by the dance or the sweat.

    Two elements endeared Obey’s brand of juju music to me. Obey’s music is philosophical music; it commands your critical attention. You are invited by the guitar and the drums not only to tap your legs but also to bend your mind to philosophical reflection. You get entertainment and deep thought for the price of one album! Unlike the commercial music and the profusion of sweat and aches, it is as if the content of Obey’s music compels you to take it easy on the dance so as not to miss out on the message! Where do you get that kind of music any longer? Thanks to the Asa – Bukola Elemides of this world, and I had celebrated her for this for giving contemporariness to Obey’s genre of music. Our age is an age on the fast track. Make as much money as you can by pandering to the obscene taste and degenerate desires of the people.

    Modern musicians seem to exploit the people’s uncouth nature for selfish gain. On the contrary, Obey’s music is an evergreen challenge; a corpus of reflective gems and thoughts. One could almost say that an unreflective person will not find Obey’s music fascinating. The music pushes you to the brink of thought. Second, Obey’s music is an exercise in social experience and national orientation. His songs are not just the regular sycophantic praise singing for the sake of money. What you hear is what you have seen around you. Or what you should be expecting, for good or for ill. After commencing his music career in the mid-50s, Chief Ebenezer Obey quickly mature over time from the normal dancehall melodies of the 60s and 70s to a richer cadence of a mixture of spiritually invocative themes and philosophically rich social analysis. This metamorphosis of Obey’s music also coincided with his transformation from a mere apprentice under the tutelage of Fatai Rolling Dollar to the formation of the Inter-Reformers band in the early 70s. The strength of Obey’s music, for me, is its ability to draw you close within the ambit of shared cultural, social and national experiences.

    The songs weave rich Yoruba sayings into an intricate musical complexity. The result is a music that speaks wisdom for living. Again, for me, the culmination of this unique style of music is The Horse, the Man and His Son (1973). This song portrays the mature and quintessential Obey at the height of his musical prowess. This is an existential song that rehashes the theme of man’s journey through life, and the albatross of ruinous expectations we often carry with us.

    The moral lesson, Obey counsels, is that no matter what you do, the world still sees you as essentially incapable, weak and foolish: “Kosogbon to’le da, ko si’wa to le wu, ko so’na to le gba, to le fi ta’ye lo’run o!” (No matter the wisdom, or the good behaviour, or the manners and ways you explore, you can never hope to satisfy the world). This lesson cuts to the heart of the African world where the extended family system and the social reciprocity framework conduce often to the impoverishment of a person. Such deep themes can equally be found in Ewa Wo Ohun Oju Ri (1964), Aiye Gba Jeje (1965), Ore Mi Ese Pelepele (1968), Alo Mi Alo (1975), Eda To Mo’se Okunkun (1977), Aimasiko (1987), etc. Apart from the fascination with philosophically inspiring songs, Obey’s musical corpus is divided between spiritually sensitive songs—which defines his latter efforts—like Orin Adura (1965), Orin Ajinde (1966), Edumare Dari Jiwon (1975), Adam and Eve (1977), What God has Joined Together (1981), Count Your Blessings (1990), etc; and socially tuned songs like Paulina (1967), Pegan Pegan (1969), Esa Ma Miliki (1971), In the Sixties (1979), Je Ka Jo (1983), Womanhood (1991), etc. Chief Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi also comes from the stock of that generation who were truly patriotic and care about the progress of the Nigerian Project. Again, that is a dying practice in Nigeria. Musicians today have become adept in pandering to the desires of the powerful for gain. Music is, for them, no longer a stentorian tool for generating strong constructive and reconstructive feelings about one’s fatherland. In music history, Peter Wagner did this to a glorious though tainted height.

    Ebenezer Obey inserted himself into the patriotic circle with Gari Ti Won (1965). This was followed successively by To Keep Nigeria One (1967), Isokan Nigeria (1969), Operation Feed the Nation (1976), Current Affairs (1980), The Only Condition to Save Nigeria (1984), Formula 0-1-0 (1989), and so on. Chief Ebenezer Remilekun Aremu Olasupo Obey-Fabiyi is now 75, and he has achieved immortality while still alive. Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, the German poet, once exclaimed, “Art is long, life short.” Obey has lived a good life, and he no longer need fear death. He has already outlived himself. He has expended himself for music, for God, for Nigeria, for family, for others. It is now time for music to expend itself for him. It is time for music—and for us—to appreciate this great legend in a protracted applause that will make all his effort a worthwhile one; and all his life a beautifully written sonnet on the wonderful grace of God. At 75, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey is accomplished in every sense. What characterised a good life more than that a person is able to serve God and humanity in whatever little ways s/he knows? We have had politicians, civil servants, business people, lawyers and clerics in Nigeria who have all contributed their own quota to the advancement of humanity.

    Ebenezer Obey has done more. And his success derives chiefly from the fact that he has invaded the homes and minds of Nigerians with music that entertains the bodies and agitates the minds. He did this with music, and this began at a period in our social history when musicians…and other artistes were relegated to the lowest rung of the social ladder. You can’t dare aspire to be a musician! Obey dared…and he conquered. At 75, he could sit back and hear the reverberation of musical and non-musical accolades. One could say that his success is a function of a powerful combination of a gentle deportment and a deep experience of the ways of the world. He knew right from the start what he wanted his music to do. He knew what he wanted to say. The persona of Chief Ebenezer Obey is far from being commercial. •Continued online

  • Dr David Lambo (1945-2017)

    A most remarkable Nigerian, Dr David Lambo, passed away on the 17th of March without leaving the type of ripples Nigerians are famous for creating as testimonies to lives spent in great service on this side of life. I suspect this is how David would have wanted it, to have his passion and footprints in the service of humanity speak louder than the life of a Nigerian that was itself marked by outstanding achievements. A post by his colleagues at Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) in Geneva and Nairobi, which announced his death, described him as a tireless humanitarian. It was an apt description, possibly coined by someone who knew him a lot longer than people like me who had the privilege of working with him at that stage of his life when it served principally to point others in a direction that he had followed for the larger part of his life.

    His father was the famous Professor Adeoye Lambo, his mother, a British-born lady who lived her entire life in Nigeria for her family. He graduated from University of Ibadan in 1971, those days when that made you one of the world’s best. He worked for the Economic Commission for Africa(ECA) and  the United Nations High Commission for Refugees(UNHCR), rising to a senior position, and then left to spend a decade in the Nigerian private sector attempting to make a difference in giving Nigerian and Ghanaian agriculture a modern competitive edge that was accessible to the small farmer. He returned to the UN system, this time at the deep end of the UNHCR. In 1992 he served as co-ordinator of the agency’s largest repatriations operation ever organised with the return of 1.5 million Mozambicans to their home country. Until he retired in 2006, David was deeply involved in bringing the agency’s services to assist the defunct OAU and the government of Ethiopia.

    The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) was to provide a setting for putting in place David’s passion and experiences in dealing with conflicts and the search for peace and development on the African continent. For more than a decade since he joined HD in 2006 as Senior Advisor, he worked tirelessly to establish its Africa Programme. He was at the heart of conflict prevention, mediation and peace-building in Africa, as Advisor to Kofi Annan during the election violence in Kenya; as co-architect of many mediation processes in Somalia; facilitator of dialogue processes in Liberia during the 2011 elections; the inspiration for the complex but ultimately rewarding dialogue processes in parts of Nigeria’s Middle Belt; a key player in the delicate and discreet efforts to ensure a peaceful transition to a new administration before, during and after Nigeria’s 2015 general elections.

    To work with David was to learn the virtues of sacrifice for others and limitless confidence that there are always solutions to human conflicts, mostly in the willingness to explore options to violence. In the last few years, David agonised over the alarming growth of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and its neighbours. He was concerned that the context and nature of the insurgency is properly understood by the Nigerian state, and that its responses are informed both by the need to save the democratic process in Africa’s largest nation as its only guarantee for survival as one nation, as well as experiences of other nations which had dealt, or are dealing with massive internal security challenges or insurgencies. He espoused a long-term perspective that included a successful military campaign, a vigorous enquiry over social values and structures that may have been subverted before the rise of the insurgency or by it, and a comprehensive and aggressive policy that will reconstruct, rehabilitate and heal communities that have been damaged by the insurgency. He was passionate in his conviction that Nigeria could benefit from experiences of many countries across the world that had dealt with similar conflicts, and his last two years saw him visit every important leader from President Buhari to all key Ministers and aides to garner support for an opportunity to expose our policy makers to a range of choices in dealing with the current state of the fight against the insurgency.

    David’s most unique footprint in Nigeria is to be found in the largely unheralded success of the painstaking and laboured dialogue processes he and HD engineered in and around Jos, Plateau State, and parts of Southern Kaduna State. A decade ago, Jos led the way in terms of perennial conflicts involving neighbours who had cohabited for decades. No one was ever going to win in these circles of blood-letting, yet every attempted solution ended up making the problem worse. In this regard, parts of Plateau resembled Kaduna State. I hope one day David’s colleagues will tell the world what it took to create an atmosphere around northern Plateau that has largely brought to an end the permanent state of siege in which every community lived. The little that I know is that it involved an elaborate and extensive mapping of issues and grievances, and a dogged pursuit of community leaders, combatant youth, clergy, women groups, traditional and political leaders and security agencies in a period spanning years, to come to accept to even acknowledge existence of the others. ‘Enemies’ listed grievances and solutions, which were then exchanged. When they met, arguments about issues ranging from ancient history to recent incidents, land, identities, pride, injuries all kept tensions high, until it became clear that everyone had a cause, a grievance and solution, but none will find peace without some compromise and accommodation. In the end, communities signed peace agreements that appear to be holding more in Plateau State than in Southern Kaduna. In his last few months, David was excited about the invitation of Kaduna State government to revisit its earlier efforts to create a framework for peace anchored on the agreements of communities to design a peace process they can police and live with. I hope HD will support further efforts to do in Kaduna State, what was done in Plateau State.

    David would not accept the image of a hero. His humility and willingness to go wherever lie solutions or resources to find solutions gave him the means to open doors many would give up on. He was passionate about Nigeria and Africa, and lived his life like a very small breed of elderly Africans who have not walked away from seemingly hopeless generations. In 2015, President Olusegun Obasanjo, Senator Shehu Sani, David and I spent three days at the Oslo Peace Conference. In those few days, you could see that his courage in pushing himself in spite of very challenging health situation was only surpassed by his incredible devotion to his family and his aged mother who died only last year in Lagos. He was never without a new idea or a project to find peace. The greatest legacy he lives behind is a legion of people and colleagues who share his vision of Nigeria and Africa where human dignity and development can be pursued and achieved through a rediscovery of the basic foundation of human civilisation: the capacity to seek peaceful resolution to conflicts.

  • No one planted the Iroko tree

    •(A tribute to Pa J.O.S. Ayomike at 90)

    “You cannot plant greatness as you plant yam or maize. Whoever planted an Iroko tree – the greatest in the forest? You may collect all the Iroko seeds in the world, open the soil and put them there. It will be in vain. The great tree chooses where to grow and we find it there… so it is with the greatness of men.”
    – Chinua Achebe

    So it is with Johnson Oritsegbubemi Sunday Ayomike, simply known as JOS Ayomike. He turns 90 today. Born on 7th April, 1927, at Ogidigben in Ugborodo in the present-day Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, he finished his primary school at the First Baptist School, Sapele, in 1945, and after a brief spell, went to the Government Teachers Training College, Abraka, where he obtained Teachers Grade II Certificate in 1956.

    After obtaining his G.C.E., O.L & A.L, he transferred from the Secondary Modern School, Koko, to teach in the famous Hussey College, Warri, in 1960. He later obtained a job as a salesman in the Nigerian Tobacco Company Limited. Mr. Ayomike later went to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with Honours in June, 1966.

    He was a Management staff of the Nigerian Tobacco Company Limited from 1966 – 1980 where he rose to Senior Management positions and had experience of, and exposure to, several training courses in Nigeria and Overseas.  During this period, upon secondment, he was a Civil Commissioner in Midwest/Bendel State from 1975 – 1979. He served as Commissioner for Health from 1975 – 1976, Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources from 1976 – 1978 and then Commissioner for Information, Culture and Sports from 1978 – 1979.

    He holds numerous honours/awards for his contributions to the development of his Ugborodo Community, Itsekiri, Bendel State (now Edo & Delta States) and Nigeria, which cannot be fully captured in this piece.

    When the Warri and Kaduna Refineries were being built and pipelines were laid by Russian contractors to carry crude oil from Gulf Oil Co. (now Chevron Nig. Ltd) Tank Farm at Escravos to the Refineries, a grave incident that put the project in jeopardy occurred. Following a complex dispute over destruction of their fish-ponds, shrines and crops, the communities along the way stopped the project and drove away the contractors for over three months. On the advice of the then Head of State, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo (1976 – 1979), as Commissioner for Warri, then in Bendel State, he was dispatched by the State Governor to sort out the complex problem. After about two weeks, he resolved the problem and the pipe-laying work resumed.

    In 1977, he led the State Delegation to attend the World Fishing Festival in Halifax, Canada, in the Fall of that year, and was admitted for one day as Honorary Citizen of the city by the then Mayor of Halifax. He was one of the leadership trios for the Itsekiri at the Vanguard of the Peace Efforts on the Warri Crisis; attended all the meetings at Warri, Asaba and Abuja.

    The establishment of the Nanna Living History Museum in Koko, commissioned by the then Head of State, Gen. Sanni Abacha, in 1996, was through his vision and tireless efforts. This effort is in furtherance of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments on-going national mobilisation strategy to encourage communities, private and corporate participation in the preservation of our national heritage. The then Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, in recognition of his contributions recommended him for National Honour.

    The late Gen. S. O. Ogbemudia (retd), a former governor of the then Bendel State, on his visit to the Nanna Living History Museum, Koko, on 19th  December, 2013, had this to say about J. O. S. Ayomike: “The Itsekiri Nation is an abiding study of how quality can roundly trump quantity. In the long unbroken chain of excellent leadership, right from the epochal exploits of Nanna to the recent Rewane phenomenon and the current robustness of Ayomike and his peers, the Itsekiri Nation has a lot to be proud of.”

    A writer of distinction, a wordsmith and historian, he has authored eight books in History and Ethnography (available in the National Library, most Embassies in Nigeria and Overseas Libraries, including the Library of Congress in U.S. and the London Library).  The books are:

    (a)    A History of Warri (198-page) 1988

    (b)    The Itsekiri at a glance (18-page) 1990

    (c)     The Ijaw in Warri (102-page) 1990

    (d)    Nanna-British Imperialism at work (58-page) 1992

    (e)    Benin and Warri: Meeting Points in History (79-page) 1993

    (f)     Selected Essays – A Mixed Grill (132-page) 2001

    (g)    Prince Ogbe Yonwuren 2015

    (h)    Editor and Major Contributor – Warri: A Focus on the Itsekiri (159-page) 2009

    He has written several published Essays (over 2 dozen) on Economics, Oil and Politics, Liberty and Democracy and favourable reactions to these publications (Books and Essays) came from several persons and institutions including the Vatican, the Oba of Benin, His Majesty Oba Erediauwa, Arch Bishop (now Cardinal) Anthony Olubunmi Okojie, U.S. Library of Congress, State and University Libraries in Nigeria and several Embassies.

    1. O. S. Ayomike is a founding member and the immediate past chairman of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought (ILoT), the foremost socio-political organisation formed since 1974. As a leader of the Itsekiri people, he set the pace in everything. He is a workaholic with huge appetite for scholarship, and very resourceful. Anytime you are with him, you must learn something new either in the history of the Itsekiri people, the Niger Delta and Nigeria or the economic and historical development of Europe in the Medieval and Renaissance era.

    Even at his age, he still has his hands on the plough. He pushes the younger ones to work harder. He abhors laziness. If he gives an assignment, he wants it done within a given time, if not earlier. In fact, some of us are used to saying that “Daddy”, as we often call him, will give you an assignment that he wants done yesterday. Such is his knack for hard work and service.

    He reads at least two Nigerian newspapers daily and international magazines like The Economist, Time International, Newsweek, etc.

    A devoted family man, J.O.S. Ayomike, in spite of his busy schedule still finds time for his family – both immediate and larger ones. He has been married to his adorable wife, Mrs. Utsaghan Ayomike (Nee Nanna), whom he simply calls “U.J.”, for over sixty years.  They were chosen as Delta State Model Couple of the year in 2006. They are blessed with lovely children – Bawo, Ojo, Ayo, Jolomi, Amaju and Tosan, grandchildren and a great-grand child.

    Like the proverbial Iroko tree, by divine grace, you chose to grow in our midst in this part of the world and we find you here; and for this, we thank God.

    As you mark your 90th Birthday, we say that you have fought a good fight and have kept the faith.

     

    Happy Birthday!

     

    • Chief Ekpoko is the Chairman of Itsekiri Leaders of Thought and he is based in Warri

  • The myth of Fela Kuti

    Perhaps Nigeria will never again know a figure so singularly iconic as the marijuana chain-smoking, government-yabbing, harem-maintaining, revolutionary musical virtuoso Fela Anikulapo Kuti – he who made a portable accessory of Death. In addition to his infamous twenty-seven wives, he managed to marry aesthetics and politics in a typically uncanny fashion.

    In his eponymous essay on semiotic theory, if I might simplify it at the risk of misrepresentation, the French critic Roland Barthes defined ‘myth today’ as different from the ancient stories of gods and monsters, but still relevant to modern culture as the narrative structures on which society is underpinned.  Per Barthes, everything signifies something greater or hidden. Popular culture is annexed by the status quo (the ruling ideology) and reproduced to mean something quite different from the original; depoliticised and decontextualised.

    What then does Fela Kuti signify? To conjecture, I take it for granted that Fela means something slightly different to everyone who has ever been stirred by his raspy crooning and barking amongst the horns and drums of his acolytic band. And indeed, he was akin to a prophet seized by some divine force, prancing bare-chested around the stage; otherwise contemplative with that sage-like, perennially occupied stare in his bloodshot eyes from inhaling the hemp or grieving over the African condition. To me, Fela the prophet, the gadfly, the swashbuckling iconoclast; to others, perhaps an errant musician ignorant of his place, an obstruction, a hypocritical decadent. And to the modern Nigerian music industry, it would seem, a fashionable bourgeois symbol of (faux) consciousness – not unlike the posters that commonly decorate dormitory walls.

    One has to discover Fela. The first time I heard him – I daresay everyone who has heard him and had a meaningful experience of it will have repeated similar sentiments – I was street-walking and the resonant strains of ‘Water No Get Enemy’ caught hold of me through the rolled-down windows of a danfo bus. I’ll admit that I am being slightly untruthful. Of course, I had overheard his music before that. His songs always struck me as odd. They seemed overlong and overly reliant on the instruments. This was the first time I had really heard him, and I was arrested. Hitherto, I had only ever glimpsed the nuanced undertones of Nigerian Pidgin’s common-sense quality. It was a political and linguistic epiphany. I was introduced to a radical who possessed an unwavering sense of justice, and had a penchant for incisive satire. It was as if every action and speech-act was part of a sophisticated maintenance of image; every utterance a subversive political statement.

    A few months later, I came across Wizkid’s sampling of ‘Lady’ in his song, ‘Jaiye Jaiye’ (which incidentally featured Fela’s son, Femi, who has remained politically engaged). ‘Lady’ has the distinction of being one of Fela’s most misogynistic songs, mocking the ways of a ‘civilised’ woman i.e. a ‘lady’, as opposed to the better, more submissive African woman. Fela was a champion of women’s rights in his own way, and both songs are light-hearted and even catchy, but sexism remains inexcusable. Furthermore, it speaks of a fundamental misunderstanding of Fela’s message and ideological stance to choose that song from his oeuvre and then promote it as a reincarnation of his style (and frankly, ‘Lady’ has little to do with the subject matter of Wizkid’s song). It is a dilution, a watering-down. Fela was much more than the spectacle and the Afro-beat. The politics must not be obscured.

    This misrepresentation, if at a stretch, seems to sum up the general attitude: freeloaders are all in for the pomp and circumstance, but not the strife of revolutionary politics. I am generalising terribly, and possibly being didactic.  Nevertheless, examine a few other popular reworkings of Fela’s music (and his image) and the issue at hand will be evident. This manner of appropriation has happened with a host of populist icons from Bob Marley to Che Guevara (who is the poster boy for this sort of thing) to Thomas Sankara. Indeed, for the sake of directness, this article might be better titled ‘The Appropriation of Fela Kuti’.

    In 2013, after the release of that song, Wizkid tweeted that he was the ‘Young Fela’ in an ostensible (and ostentatious) bid to draw comparisons between himself and Kuti. The tweet resurfaced recently as Nigerians, no strangers to lip service, now wondered where the young Fela was amid the ongoing economic recession. In the background to this, Tuface Idibia, another popular musician, had planned a rally to call the government to action and later bathetically bailed out after acquiescing to a cautionary instruction by the police. Thus, there was no popular figure to spearhead the protests.

    The run of events was surreal, to minimise the description. Tuface appeared on television in suit and designer sunglasses flanked by wife, Annie, and spoke of how the onus was on him to lend his voice to the masses. There were the various galvanising messages and infographics. Then on Sunday, February 5, 2017, a day before the scheduled protests, Tuface opted out in a strange video posted to Instagram in which he appeared to be crying (sans sunglasses), fuelling speculation of coercion. He cited security worries, following ‘advice’ from the police. In his words: ‘it was not worth the life of any Nigerian’. The general response was sardonic and weary. I do not wish to impugn Tuface -the initiative is commendable, and the demonstrations held after all– but one could never imagine Fela, mauled and incarcerated so many times under military rule for dissidence, ‘falling the [collective] hands’ of Nigerians in such sublime manner.

    To compare oneself with myth, it seems, is folly. Granted, artists have no obligation to be political. But it is surely not untoward to hold them to the standards that they profess themselves to exemplify. If, as Marx suggests, ‘history repeats itself: first as tragedy, then as farce’, then the appropriation of Fela’s mythical mantle is the sad, inferior joke. Perhaps this should be considered a requiem.

  • Bolanle Ambode’s bright steps for brighter future

    Bolanle Ambode’s bright steps for brighter future

    In Africa, nothing kills as fast as poverty does. One area where the agonising hand of poverty is being felt across the continent is education. In view of the severe poverty situation on the continent, most parents can no longer afford to educate their wards as much as they would have loved to.  Ironically, education has long been recognised as a way out of poverty and ignorance for individuals, and as a way of promoting equal opportunity. The  late South African  President, Dr. Nelson Mandela, once reinforced the power of education when he described it as the greatest engine of personal development through which anyone could achieve his/her dreams, no matter how massive. Similarly, famous American botanist and inventor, George Washington Carver, also affirms that ‘education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.’
    Likewise, the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, once stated that he gave himself fully to studying and researching because he understood the power of education. A brilliant leader, who was raised in poverty, Awolowo rose above his environmental challenges to become a reference point in governance in Nigeria, thanks to the power of education.
    As Premier of the defunct Western Nigeria, Chief Awolowo used his free education programme to advance socio-economic advancement in the region. His blazing desire to expand his accomplishment in the Western region to the whole nation was clearly spelled out in1983 when he affirmed that: “To finance free education, we are going to block wastages like the N350 million allocated to be spent on chocolate in the Third National Development Plan. For the four years of my administration, there will be no dinner, no banquet, and no luncheon. Nobody will drink anything but water in the office, including my office if I am elected president!”
    It is, therefore, in view of the universal recognition of education as a pathway to attaining a just and progressive society that governments across the world accord it pride of place in the scheme of things. In Nigeria, for instance, the nation’s founding fathers knew that not much could be achieved without education and they consequently gave prominent attention to education. They had the foresight to realise that desired high-quality workforce, without which national development is possible, could only be guaranteed by investing in education.
    In the defunct Northern Nigeria, one-time Premier of the region and famous Northern leader, the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, laid a strong foundation for the region through his numerous educational initiatives. Indigent Northerners who were ready to learn were supported to get education through access to scholarships. Many of those who acquired western education became very successful in their various fields.
    Sadly, however, in the last few decades, the standard of education has drastically diminished in the country. No thanks to the nation’s wobbling economy, critical unemployment situation and nose- diving value system, education has obviously diminished in status in our beloved nation. Pronounced poverty, especially, has made it almost difficult for parents to invest in quality education for their wards. Across the country, many children have become hawkers and street beggars, just to make ends meet. A few of them that are interested in education could not actualise their dreams as a result of inability of their parents to make available seemingly simple school accessories such as shoes, bags and books.
    Shoes, in particular, have historically been one major necessity that students have found very difficult, over the years, to acquire. In Nigeria, for instance, famous national figures such as the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, ex- President Olusegun Obasanjo and former President Goodluck Jonathan have variously revealed how they spent their early years without shoes. Ex-President Jonathan, in particular, made the issue a huge campaign topic in the 2015 general election. He said: “I was not born rich. I was raised by my parents with just enough money to meet our daily needs. In my early days in school, I had no shoes and school bags.”
    It is, perhaps, in an attempt to contribute her own quota to the development of education in the country, Lagos State in particular, that the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, has come up with the initiative to provide public primary school pupils with shoes and socks. The essence of this initiative is to ensure that no pupil drops out of school, or is denied access to education, because of failure to obtain items as seemingly minute as shoes.  Mrs. Ambode has been doing this in the past one year through the platform of her Hope for Women in Nigeria Initiative (HOFOWEM).
    The Foundation in September last year initiated “Project Bright Steps” for public school pupils in Lagos State, during which Mrs. Ambode pledged to annually dole out 175,000 school shoes and socks to children in Primary 1-3 in Lagos State public primary schools. True to her words, the First Lady fulfilled her promise last year when, through the Foundation, 175,000 public primary pupils were presented with necessary shoes and socks.
    Another milestone was recently attained in the narrative of HOFOWEM’s “Project Bright Steps” initiative when a new set of 175,000 primary school pupils benefited from the scheme. Another dimension was, however, added to this year’s edition with the distribution of shoes and socks to pupils across the five Education Districts in the State. They are: Agege LGA Secretariat; St Agnes Nursery and Primary School complex, Maryland; Education District 4, Yaba; LGEA Secretariat, Ojo; and LGEA Secretariat, City Hall (Holy Cross).
    At this year’s event, the First Lady admonished the pupils to listen attentively in class; dress neat and smart to school; study well; obey and respect constituted authorities and discover and fulfill their potential. She further stressed that she conceived the project because of her love for children and desire to see them decently kitted for school to boost their self-confidence and overall performance. She said: “Properly equipping our children for school plays a great role in boosting their confidence level, morale, concentration and overall performance.”  While restating that it is the responsibility of the society to guarantee that children are supported to fulfill their purpose, she stressed that putting on shoes is not a luxury but a necessity. Mrs. Ambode further pledged that HOFOWEM would keep on sustaining the project because “our children deserve the very best”.
    Mrs. Ambode and her team should be encouraged by all stakeholders in this endeavour. The reality that all children are not born equal makes the “Project Bright Steps” venture a laudable one which must be sustained. Hopefully, with the initiative and others like it, our next generation of leaders won’t have to use the cliché “I had no shoes” as campaign rhetoric.

  • Saving APC house from falling

    Saving APC house from falling

    It is clearly no longer a matter of intuition for any discerning mind to know that the presidency and the 8th  National Assembly (NASS) are at daggers drawn, and have booby traps set and waiting for unguarded moments to take revenge. From the Presidency’s bare-faced disdain for NASS and insistence that they confirm the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, like it or not, despite what NASS says is a damning report by the Directorate of State Security (DSS) bordering on corruption, to NASS’s refusal to screen and confirm the Presidency’s 27 nominees for Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), ostensibly as payback for the Magu affront, only the blind would wait for tables to start flying before coming round to the fact that, as they say, there is fire on the mountain.
    Indeed, if nothing else suggested a deepening Cold War between these two constitutionally separate arms of government, perhaps the REC nominees list was all NASS needed to open up on perceived asphyxiating relationship between it and the Presidency. Until now, NASS had for weeks running, and still subtly protested over the Presidency’s apparent meddling in its affairs, by putting Ahmed Ali, the Nigeria Customs boss, touted to be in the good books of the Presidency, on the spot, and shockingly, the Presidency refused to weigh in on the matter.
    While it is not uncommon to disagree in all democracies, especially as such helps strengthen democratic fabrics and foster good relationship built on respect for separation of powers and unity of purpose, it is hard to imagine that the Presidency continued to act unconcerned, though, clearly, its position is tantamount to affront on the integrity of NASS. Worse still, it leaves a bitter feel to imagine that the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party, which rose to power on the promise to strictly adhere to democratic tenets, are themselves watching this macabre dance threatening all known democratic principles, and looking away, as if nothing is amiss.
    Today, with nearly all sectors of the economy on its knees, it remains to be seen how the APC leadership with sustained in-fighting, jostling for King-pie political appointments and glaring disrespect for separation of powers between the three arms of government, would galvanise what is left of their hugely battered reputation, vision and integrity, to delivering the much elusive democratic dividends that cost the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) the presidency.
    Starting well in its determination to fight corruption blamed largely for the hopeless situation in the land, defined by under-development, poverty, poor infrastructure, among others, one thought that the Presidency and APC leadership would conscientiously build on and deepen its corruption campaigns by learning and appropriating the rules of shared unity of purpose, respect for independence, negotiation and gentlemanly handshake across other arms of government, knowing it would not win the corruption war alone.  Instead, it would seem such factors as ego, personal interest and vendetta, with their corresponding negative impacts, have infiltrated its ranks leading to the ensuing sour relationship between it and other arms of government.
    But more curiouser is fact that neither the Federal Government nor EFCC has called into question some well-heeled officers of the government alleged to have unduly enriched themselves, including Secretary to Government of the Federation, (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal, leading to the erroneous perception that there are sacred cows in the fight against corruption.
    Babachir’s office, it was alleged, used a whooping N270 million, out of a total approved N12 billion for IDPs, to execute a grass clearing contract at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.  Alarming as the allegation is, especially involving a key government official, Babachir has since refused to obey Senate summons to respond to the allegations, but instead approached the court to scuttle investigations. That, in itself, is a dent on the anti-corruption war of the APC.
    While the NASS, like any other institution, may have its shortcomings, and definitely it does, things can only get worse where its authority and role as a check on the excesses of the other arms of government, particularly the Executive, is openly undermined. The unceasing amendment of charges against the Senate President, and the shocking exposure that the FG filed the case against Saraki before looking for evidence to nail him, have further exposed the executive as persecuting the legislative.
    This, perhaps, underscores the need for the Presidency, and by extension, the APC leadership, to eat the proverbial humble pie, as they say, to put its house in order. For, as it is said, a house divided against itself, certainly, may endure for a season, but will surely fall.
    It is high time the APC leadership learnt from the wisdom-engraved words of Albert Eistein, the German Theoretical Physicist, who said: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” There are ominous signs that all is not well with this government and the earlier it retraces its steps the better. In nearly every facet of the economy, you find yawning gaps of high but unfulfilled promises; guarded but simmering hopelessness; expectant but dashed high hopes.
    Now, it would seem that Armageddon has come to roost as crime index has risen geometrically. With the economy standing on a fragile pole; drifting into a coma almost as it shows no serious signs of recovery from scary recession, division between the executive and legislature can only make its condition worse. Surely, the Nigerian people deserve better than the growing recourse to deadly arm-twisting and winner-takes-all politics, propaganda and cheap blackmail, which tend to put a wedge on inquests bordering on public officers integrity. For, truth remains that except for personal interests taken too far or misplaced vendetta by either party, both belong to the same APC household, though separate in operations as they are in modus operandi.
    No doubt, there is still time to save the APC house from falling, beginning by healing the wounds arising from the suspicion and distrust that greeted the election of NASS leadership at the start of this administration, and the erroneous perception that one arm is superior to the other. But above all, this catastrophe can roundly be averted when each recognises the other as a separate organ in one body working for national progress. Only by these can the APC deliver maximal democracy dividends that would separate it from the same folly that cost the PDP the people’s trust when they needed it the most. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine!

    •Abdulwahaab Oba, Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara State Governor

  • Mushrooming varsities and development challenges

    The huge quest for university education by a large number of young Nigerians, especially in recent times, is a legitimate, healthy development that must not be sacrificed knowingly and/or unknowingly on the altar of mediocrity. This is because of the central role of research and education (in general) in society. Adequate facilities and competent world-class or near world-class teachers are sacrosanct in the scheme of things. Consequently, enormous funds and their prudent management are equally important.

    Today, Nigeria has 40 federal universities in Lagos, Ibadan, Ile-Ife, Nsukka, Zaria, Uyo, Port Harcourt, Otuoke, Kano, Maiduguri, Calabar, among others. Similarly, state-owned universities are 37 in number. They include, Akungba, Uturu, Ekpoma, Abraka, Lagos, Ilorin, Osogbo, Katsina, Yenagoa, Bokkos and Keffi. Privately owned universities are more in number (48) than the above two categories. These institutions include those located in Ota, Benin City, Ilorin, Ede, Owo, Ado-Ekiti, Lagos, Okija, Wukari, Okada, Mkar and New Karu.

    Most of these universities (especially the last category) are seriously understaffed due to low budgets, among other factors. It is too easily forgotten by most proprietors of private universities that a few impressive buildings here and there on an acquired land are not tantamount to a real university environment conducive to teaching and learning. Well-stocked libraries, which are ICT based, laboratories with regular electricity as well as highly motivated teachers, including professors, are some of the best indices of a proper university as opposed to a glorified secondary school.

    A university that has Lecturers 11 or 1 as heads of some of its academic departments is a mockery of a higher institution. Similarly, a higher institution where retired lecturers, including professors, constitute about seventy percent of its teaching staff is, with the best will in the world, a deceit to Nigeria and, indeed, all fellow humanity. Ill- motivated, ‘tired’ teachers with obsolete concepts as well as methods cannot give the best training to students in this modern age. While there is nothing wrong in tapping from the wide experiences and knowledge of retired professors, most of them are a world away from new concepts, methods and sensitivities needed to produce university graduates capable of making Nigeria and the rest of the global village their runway. This, to the best of my knowledge, is a fact!

    There is no doubt that the country needs higher education in order to remain atop the stream of local and global education and development, but this can only be actualised within the confines of careful planning  devoid of politics, selfishness and greed. In addition, unalloyed patriotism is of the essence! The Nigerian economy cannot benefit from mediocre engineering and ill-training of medical doctors, among others. The market space is already saturated with mediocrities – an encumbrance to national development on a sustainable scale.

    Such an ugly scenario should worry our educational policy makers and the generality of the people. It is lamentable that many Nigerian graduates today are going about with certificates in different disciplines without the expected knowledge and/or skills to deliver. What is the usefulness of a certificate when the holder is shockingly too academically weak to perform? Certificates are gradually becoming artifacts of fashion or an opportunity to decorate business cards. Ours is a society well embedded in laughable consciousness for titles such as Engineer, Architect, Doctor and Professor, not minding the commitment and hard work that go with them.

    The falling standard of education in Nigeria is not limited to private universities. My experience over the years has shown that this is a nation-wide problem. The future of education in Nigeria is certainly bleak! There is fire on the mountain! What is the purpose of employing a graduate in English Language who would be busy mis-teaching, misleading his unsuspecting secondary school students. Such a teacher is merely infecting students with his virus of mediocrity. Similarly, it is a set-back for the country as a collectivity, when, for example, an archaeologist employed by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments cannot do simple surveys and excavations of an archaeological site often in collaboration with other colleagues. It is pertinent to note here, that my English teacher in Form One at the Baptist Boys’ High School, Abeokuta, was just a Grade One teacher, and yet she was second to none in her profession.

    However, I’m aware of the fact that not all university graduates today are weak. Even in the olden days when Nigeria had about six universities with enormous opportunities for high standards, there were still a few mediocrities.

    This is at variance with what obtains today. The current situation is the reverse of the olden days. It is laughable when some universities brag of producing hundreds of PhDs during convocation ceremonies. While it is a truism that a few of them (against all odds) might be very good, most of them are holders of caricatured PhDs. This position derives from my many years (about 35years) of teaching and researching at the University of Ibadan.

    Things are falling apart rapidly and those in charge of the education sector, especially at the higher level of engagement, cannot afford to sit in limbo. There is too much emphasis on certificates to the detriment of direct production and re-production of knowledge. Not unexpectedly, most people (particularly those who are not academically endowed to be university students) are running helter-skelter to obtain degrees that are, of course, prostituted in a myriad of ways. I’m not suggesting here that Nigerians should not update their knowledge, provided such an ambition is devoid of fraudulent practices. Everything has been commercialised to the extent that an academically weak person can end up with a PhD – a dangerous phenomenon and something of a rarity until very recently.

    This is not the kind of higher education needed by Nigeria- understandably because it lacks the capacity to engender healthy socio-economic development. I submit here that the National Universities Commission with its headquarters in Abuja has to do much more to restore sanity to the system in the overall interest of Nigeria. The NUC must carry the Minister of Education along for a proper synergy.

    University education is a serious business! Adequate funding by the government, philanthropists, and multi-national companies, among others, is needed. But funds from these bodies have to be thoroughly monitored so as to ensure prudence-an unpopular concept in our contemporary Nigerian University culture. Several things such as competent staffing, well-furnished, well-equipped laboratories and, of course, staff motivation devoid of payment of ‘amputated’ salaries have to be factored in. Poorly motivated teachers and administrative, technical staff will never be adequately committed to their work. Therefore staff welfare should not be sacrificed on the altar of impressive buildings.

     

    • Professor Ogundele, Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan
  • Justice for Cynthia

    Justice for Cynthia

    The recent conviction of Nwabufor Echezona and Ezike Ikechukwu Olisaeloka, for the murder of Cynthia Osokugo, by Justice Olabisi Akinlade of the High Court of Lagos State, is a fitting denouement for the duo. This is without prejudice to their right of appeal. Now, the spirit of Cynthia is pacified, while the sympathetic public and the agonising parents of the delectable beauty, mercilessly murdered, can at least repose some confidence in our criminal justice system, even though it took five years to secure their conviction.

    The other two accused persons, Pharmacists Orji Osita and Maduakor Chukwunonso, were discharged and acquitted by the court. While they may be celebrating their freedom, I guess they will also be appalled by the criminal justice system that dragged them through a trial, which many had argued was overkill. Even while we appreciate the efforts that brought the murderers to their comeuppance, it is also important to examine the efficiency of the process.

    To gift us a better society, state governments should audit the processes involved in police investigation; review the experience of the relevant officials and the standards used to weigh the proof of evidence in the office of the Director of Public Prosecution before they decide to prosecute. Even without asking for a standard beyond reasonableness, such an audit would save many of those languishing in jail across the country, and also state resources.

    For me, it is also important for our country to begin to contemplate a more efficient criminal justice system, different from the current inefficient one. Considering the improvements already made by the Lagos State government in its laws, compared with other states of the federation, is it not worrisome that a criminal trial could take five years; and that those who had no link with a murder, could be subjugated to the horror of defending a murder charge for that long?

    This column on September 4, 2012, wrote on: “Convicting the murderers of Cynthia Osokugo.” At the risk of sounding impetuous, my argument then substantially falls on all fours, with the recent judgment. With a slight amendment, I represent my arguments:

    “The absolutely senseless Facebook-related murder of Miss Cynthia Osokugo around Festac Town, Lagos, once again portrays the moral abyss that many youths have sunk into. Reading through the newspapers’ account of the police report, one is appalled by the callous indignity and scurrilous imbecility exhibited by Nwabufor Echezona (33) and Ezike Ikechukwu Olisaeloka (23), who reportedly confessed to the murder of that beautiful young woman. But while we mourn Cynthia, the society will be better off, if the culprits receive their comeuppance. Also it is important that Pharmacists Orji Osita and Maduakor Chukwunonso are not unfairly charged together with the confessed murderers. But I will come to that…

    It is also encouraging that the often vilified Nigerian police moved quickly on this murder case, at least to the extent of nabbing the confessed murderers. But it must be borne in mind by the prosecuting authority that getting the accused persons charged to court, and getting them convicted for culpable homicide does not inviolably follow as a sequence. The prosecution must proffer hard core evidence to prove their case, and the courts are never in a hurry to convict, where there exists any iota of doubt. Notably, the prosecution is made up of the investigation and prosecution in court. So, if the first is messed up, then the second will not succeed as matter of course, and that is why the proof of evidence must contain only hard core evidence, not unnecessary emotional baggage.

    Reading through some of the reported police charges, it seems they were couched to secure the maximum custody of all the accused persons, regardless of the actual cause of Cynthia’s death; and this may harm the prosecution. In Lori vs The State, 1ACLC at page 217, the Supreme Court, per Nnamani JSC, held: “In a charge of murder the cause of death of the deceased must be established unequivocally and the burden rests on the prosecution to establish this and if they fail the accused must be discharged. It is also settled law that the accused or put differently, it must be shown that the deceased died as a result of the act of the accused”. Also in Uguru vs The State, 2002 FWLR at page, per Uwaifo JSC, the SC held: “The burden on the prosecution is to prove not only that the act of the accused could have caused the death of the deceased but that it certainly did. If there is the possibility that the deceased died from other causes than the act of the accused, the prosecution has not established the case against the accused.”

    In Cynthia’s case, both the confessed felons and the pharmacists whose alleged complicity was that they sold ‘Rohypnol Flunitrazepam tablets (used to treat short-term insomnia) over the counter without prescription were all charged for the murder. The police must have been in a hurry to be seen to have performed, otherwise how they can conscientiously also charge Maduakor whose offence is that he merely sold the same drug to an undercover police officer, long after the murder of Cynthia had taken place, for complicity in the murder? Now if the police bothered to find out what the drug Rohypnol Flunitrazepam is, as clearly explained by the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), then unless there are other acts of complicity to ground conspiracy, charging Osita who allegedly sold the drugs to the confessed felons for the offence of murder, instead of dragging him to the Pharmaceutical Society for breach of professional ethics, is preposterous.

    That perhaps explains why PSN is protesting against the charges, stating that the sale of prescription drugs over the counter is a mere professional misconduct, and cannot rightly be ascribed to murder or even a conspiracy for murder. And they are right. In Njovens vs The State 1 ACLC at page 290; the Supreme Court held: “The overt act or omission which evidences conspiracy is the actus reus and the actus reus of each and every conspiracy must be referable and very often is the only proof of criminal agreement which is called conspiracy. It is not necessary to prove that the conspirators like those who murdered Julius Caesar, were seen together …. They need not all have started the conspiracy at the same time … the gist of this offence of conspiracy is the meeting of the mind of the conspirators …. Hence conspiracy is a matter of inference from certain criminal acts of the parties’ concerned done in pursuance or an apparent criminal purpose in common between them….” Is the alleged sale of Rohypnol such common purpose?

    Again the charge for armed robbery, against the two confessed felons and the pharmacists is mere distraction. If the two real culprits took Cynthia’s belongings after murdering her; stealing will be more appropriate…”

     

     

     

     

  • Lalong and the new Plateau

    The seat of the caliphate practically relocated to Plateau State as Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State convened its strategic annual retreat.

    Those that graced the retreat include the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Muhamad Saad Abubabakar, the Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Buba Gyang, the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Governors Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Simon Bako Lalong.

    The manner the dignitaries related with one another while in Jos further indicated that the current administration in the state has restored Plateau to its glory as the home of peace and tourism.

    According to Imam Imam, Governor Tambuwal’s mouthpiece, the second annual retreat was for the Sokoto State Executive Council, Permanent Secretaries and Directors-General, with the theme, “Consolidation of Achievements and New Strategies for Efficient Service Delivery in Sokoto State.” The venue was the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).

    National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, at the event said he was impressed with the many achievements of the APC government in both Sokoto and Plateau States.

    He said: “We inherited a bad economy but steadily we’ve progressed, we have now taken the turn to consolidate the economy.”

    While declaring the retreat open, Governor Tambuwal said it was meant to be a midterm assessment of his administration and explained that the first retreat which held in Kaduna gave rise to a declaration of a state of emergency in the education sector which is presently being pursued vigorously.

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammad Sa’ad Abubakar, on his part called on the Sokoto State government to organise a more elaborate retreat to cover the three arms of government and the local governments.

    It was remarkable that while the retreat lasted, the refreshing air of peace in Jos blew continually as the participants listened to the various papers presented and on no occasion was there any moment of apprehension as all was calm, quiet and peaceful.

    Those who have followed the Lalong administration know this was not just a coincidence, but the result of strategic thinking, agenda setting and the determination to pursue a goal that is beneficial to the state.

    From the inception of the current administration in Plateau State, the governor made it clear that he would pursue the path of peace; saying that only a few people gain from crisis, and that he would ensure that peace is attained for the general benefit of the people of the state.

    Less than two years into his administration, with what many have seen taking place in Plateau, it would be right to say Governor Lalong has not left any one in doubt that he achieved this feat that had eluded many administrations in the state.

    Plateau State, which is known as the home of peace and tourism, has not been able to live up to the name since the early 90s when it was officially labelled.

    Rather than provide avenues for tourists, business men, students, investors and other forms of adventurers to pursue their trade, the state began to lose even the few that were attracted to it through commerce, trade or education.

    Many, due to the incessant crisis, abandoned homes and business premises, and fled the state as nobody was certain what would happen next.

    In the wake of the 2008 to 2010 crisis alone, it is on record that thousands fled Jos while many factories and businesses premises were closed.

    Many applied to change schools for their wards that were schooling in Jos and its environs, and the Federal Government sought to relocate many of its agencies that were located in the state as the workers no longer felt safe to continue working in an environment that could not guarantee their safety.

    The Federal Court of Appeal, for instance, sought to conduct its business in other states rather than Plateau, while the training institute of the Federal Road Safety Corps was almost relocated to Enugu.

    Others like the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Nigeria Film Institute and the National Veterinary Research Institute were not spared from the conspiracy generated by the hostile environment and only managed to retain the headquarters within Plateau just by the grace of God as the then government appeared helpless on how to stem the exodus of men and businesses.

    But with the advent of the Simon Lalong-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government, things began to change as the administration wasted no time in putting in place the necessary machinery to restore confidence in the state.

    He started by giving all citizens of the state a sense of belonging while pursuing the path to peace and development, and made fairness and justice  cardinal principles of his administration.

    Soon, the dividing lines in the state began to disappear, and for the first time in a long while people of the state began to see themselves as development partners and sites as business avenues rather than the exclusive enclave of one ethnic group or members of a particular religion.

    In no time, the unnecessary pressure mounted on the state began to ease off as people, seeing the sincerity of government, embraced one another to live together in peace and harmony. Doors of opportunities were opened and the air of freedom settled in all parts of the state.

    This deliberate effort by the Lalong administration to ensure the development of the state started yielding results as citizens of the state have since put the past behind them and have moved on to paths that will enhance the quality of the trades and professions as well as the people’s standard of living.

    Many of the businesses that closed down were reopened, and the Federal Government agencies that were about to be transferred were left alone as Jos once again became the centre of attraction for many.

    Many state governments which at the mention of Jos usually found excuse to avoid the place began coming in as indigenes of those states began to troop in to relish the air of camaraderie and, by extension, contribute to the socio-economic development of the state.