The Nation Newspaper

Category: Comments

  • Preparing Amnesty Programme for safe landing

    As the end of year approaches, it naturally lends itself for reflection. A stocktaking which in a sense,  is the circle of life itself; a constant process of inevitable change which ensures that there is a progression towards desired goals.

    The Presidential Amnesty Programme  which began in 2009 is an effective  strategy for Conflict Resolution.

    With my experience as the  last Commanding Officer of ECOMOG  in Sierra Leone and as the  Chief of Staff of the United Nations Mission in Liberia, the Nigerian Amnesty Programme is a master stroke of Political Engineering put together by the Federal Government.  The UN spends lots of money on its peace programmes  in West Africa because Amnesty by its very nature, is a very expensive programme therefore the Federal Government  should be commended for being able to execute such a  magnificent programme. But no amount of efforts, time and resources  spent to achieve peace  is too much. It is a  commendable  achievement for our country to disarm thousands of youths and attain a high measure of peace which has enabled the Ministries of the Niger Delta Affairs, the  Environment, and the NDDC to move into the Region to   carry out development projects like the massive Ogoni Clean-Up Project.

    Amnesty is a tasking process of  Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) for which the last phase being  Reintegration,  is in fact, the most difficult. The phase  actually comprises  five parts;  Reorganization, Reconstruction,  Rebuilding, Reinsertion, Reconciliation – of aggrieved persons- leading to sustainable Reintegration.

    One of the major achievements the Amnesty Office has made this year is to put in place offices  where we have  embassies to manage  beneficiaries.  We also established  a Twenty Four-Hour  Call Centre to handle complaints and reports from across the world, as well as provide the needed Real Time Information. We have also gotten  representatives in various states where we operate a Liaison Office manned by an  Information Manager who also liaises with Agencies, groups and individuals in the Region.

    Another outstanding achievement   is  the domestication  of  almost all the training programmes of the   Office including those on  formal Education,  Vocation and Post-Vocation Training. This has  reduced costs – as the Foreign Exchange component  is drastically reduced  thereby enhancing  it also means that more youths  can be trained. Large numbers of the Amnesty Beneficiaries  have graduated or are graduating this year, and another major bulk is scheduled to graduate in 2017. The implication of this is that more people are being empowered because we  consider a University Degree as empowerment. It also means that a steady flow of beneficiaries will exit the Programme. We have also conducted  a  biometric verification of beneficiaries in some areas of the Niger Delta, and we are spreading  the exercise to all other states covered by the Programme.

    We have also invested in entrepreneurial programmes under which beneficiaries are trained in areas of their choice, and are given starter packs by the Office to establish their own businesses  and become not only self -employed, but also employers of labour.

    The focus of the present administration  under His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR on agriculture has become a winning formula for  us in the Amnesty Programme. Working with agencies like the Bio- Resources Centre at Odi, Bayelsa State we have sent Beneficiaries to be trained in Improved Technology Agriculture. On Tuesday December 20, 2016, 97 Beneficiaries  graduated from the Centre. Four hundred and three others will graduate in the next four months.

    By way of  challenges, this year, there has been some reoccurrence of oil facilities vandalism. To stem it, at a point, I relocated to the creeks in order to reach out to elders, youths,  stakeholders Traditional Rulers and   various camp leaders. We have recorded some success with this approach. More importantly, the Presidency is addressing directly, aspects of complaints from  the Niger Delta Region which  sprout from the genuine concerns of the  people. The importance of this is underlined by the Presidency’s on-going engagement with the  Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF)

    There are of course aspects that are pure criminality which have nothing to do with the aspirations and interests of the Niger Delta  people. This is being addressed by the Security Agencies. It is  appropriate at this point, to advise people in the Niger Delta  to always take the path of dialogue and negotiation in resolving  issues. We must work for peace, sustain  and develop it if we hope to develop the Niger Delta Region.

    There is  also the challenge of  Small Arms  and Light Weapons proliferation; this is of course a Continental, if not a Global challenge. We at the Amnesty Office are working with concerned Agencies like the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Development in Africa to curb this menace.

    The Amnesty Office is seeking various ways  to meet the challenge  of unemployment by bringing  Job Placement  Vacancies to the attention of youths in the Region,  encouraging them to develop their employability skills and encouraging them to take to Agriculture. This is a sure way of gainful Self-Employment  contributing to Food security in the country and revamping  the country’s ailing  economy.

    It is our prayer that  the New Year  2017 shall be a happy and rewarding one for all of us and our dear  country, Nigeria.

    • Brigadier-General Boroh (Rtd) is Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

     

  • ‘Change’ mantra and recession from the lens of Christmas

    One of the most popular sermons during this yuletide when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ is that the season is more than a time for mere ceremony and jamboree. Rather, according the preachers, Christmas is a sacred moment for sober reflections on life, existence and salvation. This is because Christmas, beyond the wining and dining, calls humanity to a genuine confrontation with the import of what Christ, his birth and his ministry means for living a good and meaningful life. I have heard this message countless times. And I have equally heeded it in a series of reflective moments that call to mind the essence of life and how far or near I am to life’s purposes. This kind of reflective necessity is even more apposite as Christmas comes at the end of a year. The birth and the ministry of Christ give the opportunity to take stock of one’s experiences, successes and shortcomings in a year. “Life,” says Eugene O’Neill, the American playwright, “is for each man a solitary cell whose walls are mirrors.” And those mirrors enable those who are wise and reflective enough to take careful stock of what has gone before and what lies ahead.

    This is another Christmas, and it calls for due reflection again. And what better time is required for this than Christmas in a time of severe economic recession? It seems certain that this would be about the leanest Christmas ever in Nigeria, especially in terms of the cost of celebration. One of the terrible effects of the economic recession is the astronomical reduction in people’s purchasing power and the consequent diminution of the joys of celebration. Maybe this is for the best because it takes the opiate effect of celebration away from the tables of Nigeria. When Karl Marx argues that religion is the opium of the people, part of the effect of that are the sundry celebrations that allow people to drown their sorrows and disaffections in the moments of eating and drinking involved celebrations. Christmas therefore offers a good time to reflect on Buhari and the change dynamics that seems to have gone sower. What does Christmas mean for Nigeria? What does the birth and ministry of Jesus mean for the governance of Nigeria? What could Christ have said to Buhari?

    We are often told that Christ is the reason for the season. But what are the lessons that Nigeria can learn in this season of reflection? Nigeria, without doubt, is a deeply religious country. There are several million Christians for whom Christmas means a unique period that signal the birth of the savior of the world. There are also millions of Muslims who regard Jesus as a significant prophet of Islam. Thus, in spite of the antagonisms generated by different religious faiths as part of Nigeria’s plural problems, there are core issues that the birth of Jesus raises for rethinking Nigeria’s progress at a time when the birth of Christ speaks of salvation and renewal. Christmas does not only speak to the birth of Jesus Christ, but to the entire panoply of events that collectively defines Christmas. This is significant because Nigeria is at a juncture where all ideas about progress and salvation cannot be denied on the flimsy excuses of religious parochialism. There is no rocket science to the task of salvaging Nigeria. There is only the eager humility that recognizes and grasps at opportunity wherever they come from. Christmas offers some insights.

    The first insightful moment in the Christmas story is the decisive decision of the wise men who came visiting from the East. Their decision to visit Jesus came from a determined and very diligent deciphering of the time and its import. They saw the star, and they knew what it meant. They did not vacillate or speculate. They acted with the awareness of the transience of time. Timing is a critical factor in life. It is both a philosophical and spiritual issue. When we say life is short, we allude to the temporal limitation within which life’s events flow and ebbs. Time pushes us forward and also leaves us behind. One of the incredibly superficial explanations given to explain away Nigeria’s lackluster performance, after so many years of independence, is often that it took the United States more than two hundred years to arrive at where it is today. But then, time is precisely what Nigeria does not have. It therefore seems to me that any government in power must have the governance virtue of properly discerning the time and acting on its temporal imperatives. Temporal uncertainty seems to affect nations more than individuals. Nations are caught in between time-bound events and flows both at global, regional and local levels which do not give room for vacillation.

    This is especially true for the Buhari administration which stands at a significant threshold in Nigerian history. The change mantra which brought the administration to power is definitely a time-bound phenomenon. But it is an agenda that carries a national destiny implication. As it is, it seems that the change agenda persuasive power has waned terribly. There is a collective existential groan in the land; and Christmas does not appear at all like Christmas this year. It is as if change has been trapped in time, and the Nigerian government has no clue how to go about disentangling it. Thus, like Kurt Vonnegut would say, “Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment.” What would the wise men have done? They were wise men, and wisdom’s first condition is the understanding of the time. And the message of the time was very simple and profound: the star signaled the arrival of the Father’s promise. But a promise is nothing unless something is done to realize it. The wise men knew this, and they acted on it. The promise involved in the change agenda requires enthusiasm, decisiveness and action in the same manner that the wise men were motivated from the East to seek out the Christ.

    In moral philosophy, keeping a promise is a virtuous thing. God kept His by sending the Christ to die for the sins of the world. But then keeping that promise also cost God a lot. This is because promises are circumscribed by several circumstances, both positive and negative. Of course, the Buhari administration had to outline a programme of action before coming to power. But it takes gut and concentrated focus, especially in the face of near failure, to snatch victory from defeat. Christ’s journey from the manger to the cross and then to glory speaks to Nigeria’s struggle to get out of the woods. First, Christ’s birth was triggered by a response to a call for a census that was meant to ensure proper taxation. This is real, deliberate and directed action. On the one hand, the government of Rome had no illusion about the significance of proper data collection for the sake of proper policy implementation. Rigorous tax collection was the very base of the Romans’ architectural and public works marvel.

    On the other hand, when Jesus came into the world, his life was characterised by specific and deliberate leadership principles that the Buhari administration can benefit from. For instance, Jesus deliberately chose twelve disciples. Let us forget, for a while, the numerological or theological symbolism of the number 12. What is significant is that even Jesus recognized that leadership is a concerted effort of those with the requisite competences. Nigeria needs, for instance, an economic team of individuals with proven expertise to break down the intricacies of growth, development and progress as well as translates the change agenda into concrete development bites in terms of infrastructures that positively transform the circumstances of Nigerians. That, no gainsaying it, is real change.

    For Xunzi, the Chinese philosopher, “Heaven has its seasons; Earth has its resources; Man has his government. This means that man is capable of forming a trinity with the other two.” This is the real challenge—harnessing resources and expertise to well-conceived plan that matches conception to implementation and time. That Nigeria has not succeeded in getting all these elements in their proper administrative and governance mix means this year’s Christmas will be a silent one for Nigerians. But in the groans that pervade many homes, let us hope we all will have learnt some lessons for the season.

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

  • There was once a bench

    “CHIEF Justice, I am glad you gave that judgment, because I want you to feel free, If I commit a crime or do wrong in your opinion, to say so……if I am brought before you, send me to your jail—this is the way I want the judiciary to perform. You will never waver from the truth”. These were the words of the late Prime Minister,Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa(1912-1966), to the first indigenous Chief Justice of Nigeria, Sir Adetokunbo Adegboyega Ademola(1906-1993) in 1961 as published by Mr. Trevor Clark on page 541 of his book titled ”A RIGHT HONOURABLE GENTLEMAN”. Mr Trevor Clark, a Briton, worked in the colonial administrative service in Nigeria from 1948-1977.Sir Adetokunbo Ademola was the longest serving Chief Justice of Nigeria (1958-1972).

    The case Sir Abubakar was referring to involve the National Bank of Nigeria and Federal Government of Nigeria over an attempt by the Federal Government to probe the bank on certain allegations. But the Supreme Court then ruled against the Federal Government. In another instance Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa told Justice Ademola that”CJ, if I do anything wrong and I am brought before you, deal with me; and if necessary send me to jail……”. Justice Ademola himself quoted Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in the preface to the book.

    He added that after the case between Doherty vs Tafawa Balewa and others as saying after Judgment has been passed against the Prime Minister ”I am glad you have put us in our place; this is what we deserved. If I do anything wrong, do not hesitate to deal with me”. That was when the Judiciary was at its highest level in terms of integrity. Mr Trevor Clark later described Justice Ademola on page 363 of that book” as a cultivated man with a quite manner”. In 1964 Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, spoke out publicly once more for his brethren on the bench, calling the abolition of appeals to the privy council premature, and the abolition of the Judicial Service Commission deplorable:” The day that judges have to take instructions from politicians, or to acquaint them with their decisions beforehand, it will be time for us to pack up and go”.

    Kudos must be given to Justice Ademola and others for establishing the integrity of the Nigeria’s Judiciary. He was the son of Alake of Egbaland, Sir Oladipo Samuel Adeomola II (1872-1962), who reigned from September 1920 to 1962. Despite being appointed Chief Justice over first the African to serve in the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the person of Justice Samuel Olumuyiwa Jibowu(1899-1959), husband to Mrs. Cecilia Jibowu nee Alakija and Lady Deborah Jibowu of Iddo Ajinare in Ekiti State, Justice Ademola performed his duties creditably and was non partisan. Justice Ademola served as Chief Justice of Western region in 1955 and was appointed Chief Justice of Nigeria on April 1 1958. During his tenure and after his tenure, the Nigeria’s Judiciary was held high to the extent that there was a high demand from other countries for Nigeria’s Judges.

    Sir Lois Nwachukwu Mbanefo(1911-1977)from Onitsha and believed to be the first lawyer from eastern region of Nigeria,was called to bar in 1935 and served in 1961 as an adhoc judge at the International Court of Justice at the Hague, Netherlands. Justice Charles Dadi Onyeama(1917-1999). Father of the present Minster of Foreign Affairs,Geofrey Jideofor Kwusike Onyeama(60), was an associate Justice of the Supreme Court between 1964-1967.His contemporaries then were Justice Eugene Olufemi Morgan, Justice John Idowu Conrad Taylor(1917-1973),Justice Michael Oguejiofo Ajegbo Former Attorney- General of Eastern region, Justice George Baptist Ayodola Coker(1917- 1991), Justice Chukwunikweike Idigbe and Justice Lionel Brett. He was appointed Judge of International Court of Justice in the Hague in 1966 and served till 1976. Justice Taslim Olawale Elias(1914- 1991) was Chief Justice of Nigeria between 1972 and 1975.

    He was elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations to the International Court Justice at the Hague. In 1979, he was elected Vice-President by his colleagues on that court. In 1981, after the death of Sir Humprey Waldock, the President of the Court, he took over as Acting President. In 1982, the members of the Court elected him President of the Court. He thus became the first African Jurist to hold that honour.

    Five years later, Elias was also appointed to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague. General Thomas Johnson Umanakwe Aguiyi Ironsi(1924-1966) appointed in January 1966 the former director of Public Persecution in Eastern Region of Nigeria Chief Michael Chike Gabriel Onyuike(1922- 1993) from Awka, as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation.

    After his tenure he later served as Justice in the High Court of Tanzania between 1970 and 1974. Prince Bolasodun Adesumbo Ajibola(82) served as a Judge of the International Court of Justice at the Hague between 1991 and 1994. Justice Timothy Akinola Aguda(1923-2001) from Akure in Ondo State was the pioneer Chief Justice of Botswana when the landlocked country gained its independence September 30, 1966. Justice Egbert Udo Udoma(1917-1998) from Ikot Abasi,Akwa Ibom state, was the first Chief Justice of Uganda from 1963 to 1969.

    He handled the Buganda crisis case in 1965. Justice Udoma handed over handed over to Justice Dermot Joseph Sheridan who later became the first indigenous Chief Justice of Uganda. He is the father of the present Minister in charge of Budget and Planning, Senator Udo Udoma. Justice Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola(83) from Ilesha,Osun state, served as a Justice of the Court of Appeal in the Gambia between 1980-1983. He later became the Chief Justice of the Gambia between 1983-1992. He was Vice President of the World Judges Association in 1991.

    That was then. Not now. One can see the shock and disappointment when one read the arrest and persecution of some Judges recently. We can’t be all wrong. If we miss our way I guess it is the bench that must serve as the touchlight to show us the way. In spite of what has gone wrong in the bench there is still hope. Section 211 of the 1979 constitution says “the appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President in his discretion subject to confirmation of such appointment by a simple majority of the Senate.

    The appointment of a person to the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court shall be made by the President on the advice of the Federal Service Commission subject to approval of such appointment by a simple majority of the Senate. But Section 231 of the 1999 constitution says that (1) the appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate. (2) the appointment of a person to the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate.. Sections 230 to 296 have given wide powers to the National Judicial Council to carry out necessary reforms within the Judiciary.

    The members of the National Judicial Council are HON. JUSTICE W. S. NKANU ONNOGHEN, CFR,Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria,Chairman, HON. JUSTICE I. TANKO MUHAMMED, CFR ,Justice of the Supreme Court,Deputy Chairman,Others are HON. JUSTICE Z. A. BULKACHUWA, HON. JUSTICE E. O. AYOOLA, CON,HON. JUSTICE S. A. AKINTAN,HON. JUSTICE I. F. OGBUAGBU, CON,HON. JUSTICE UMARU ABDULLAHI, CON,HON. JUSTICE V. O. A. OMAGE, OFR,HON. JUSTICE I. N. AUTA, OFR,HON. JUSTICE B. A. ADEJUMO, HON. JUSTICE KASHIM ZANNAH, OFR,HON. JUSTICE NASIR A. AJANAH, CON,HON. JUSTICE A. N. NWANKWO, CON,HON. JUSTICE M. L. ABIMBOLA,HON. JUSTICE OKOI IKPE ITAM, Chief Judge, HON. KADI MUKHTAR IMAM JEGA,HON. JUSTICE JULIA ASABE KYENTU,MR. A. B. MAHMOUD, OON,MR. AUGUSTINE ALEGEH, SAN,DR. GARBA TETENGI, SAN,LADY DEBBIE OBODOUKWU,MR. TIJJANI INUWA-DUTSE, ESQ.,HAJIYA RAKIYA SARKI IBRAHIM, MON, MRS. R. I. INGA, Retired Public Servant (Permanent Secretary) DANLADI UMAR HALILU, ESQ., OON (Secretary). If you look at the profiles of members of the council, I am sure you will never doubt their integrity. The submission is for us to allow them to carry out the required exercise, not only rooting out corrupt Judges but also in the appointment of Judges. As they say in Latin”Post cineras Gloria venit—meaning after death comes glory”.

    They can still bring back the old glory to the bench. It is not impossible. ”A lawyer lives for the direction of his people and for the advancement of the cause of his country”.-Christopher Alexander Sapara Williams(1855-1915), first Nigerian Lawyer called to the bar on November 17, 1879, who later became Chairman Nigeria Bar Association between 1900 and 1915. •Eric Teniola, a former Director at the Presidency, stays in Lagos.

  • ABUAD Alumnus joins Huawei Technologies workforce

    WHEN the Immediate Past President of the Nigeria Society of Engineers, Engineer Isaac Olorunfemi, dubbed the Engineering Programme of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD’s) a template for Engineering education in Nigeria in June last year, hardly did he know that he was sowing a seed of prophesy.

    Shortly after that prophetic utterance, apart from the fact that many universities in Nigeria have been coming to see the towering triumph of Technology that ABUAD’s Engineering typifies and make use of the world-class equipment in its 37 Engineering laboratories, students and alumni of the College have been carting home national and international Awards, laurels, commendations and encomiums as well as recognitions.

    The latest of these commendable achievements was the recent appointment of Oghenetejiri Odjighoro, a 2015 First Class graduate of Electrical and Electronics Engineering of ABUAD, who was employed as an Assistant Engineer by the Lagos-based Huawei Technologies Limited, a leading multinational Networking and Telecommunications Equipment and Services company.

    The stuff Odjighoro was made of glowed very early in her life as a student in ABUAD with her expertise in Valued Added Programme in her College which exposed her to Basic Programming skills in C++, C#, MATLAB and LabView in addition to Microsoft packages of Office, Excel, Power-Point and Outlook. No wonder she won the Lady of the Year Award by the Nigerian University Engineering Students Association (NUESA) in 2015, SPDC Joint Venture University Scholarship Award (2010- 2015), Afe Babalola University Founder’s Merit Award (2010-2015) and Pan Ocean University Internship Programme and Scholarship Award (2014) as well as Professional Certification in General and Advanced (Level 3) Health Safety and Environment (HSE) by Deslog Energy Services.

    In her December 12, 2016 letter of appreciation to the University, Odjighoro was full of effusive and lavish praise for ABUAD Founder, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, the Management and staff of the University for empowering her with all the skills, including the studying of Chinese language, she needed to succeed and excel in her chosen career of Engineering. Her words: “I would like to start by thanking the Founder of my Alma Mata, Aare Afe Babalola, the Management and staff of ABUAD for empowering me with the knowledge and skills that have enabled me not only to stand, but also to thrive above my peers in the work force”. She added: “Today, I am a staff of Huawei Technologies, a leading multinational Networking and Telecommunications company, an appointment which would not have been possible without the practical and noteworthy skills bestowed upon me especially through the Afe Language programme.

    “In Huawei, the skill of speaking or understanding Chinese, albeit not necessarily important, proved an added advantage to me. This was made possible through the Afe Language Programme which I undertook in 2012 where I learned Chinese from seasoned lecturers. During my interview, I wowed the panel which consisted of three Chinese men with my knowledge of basic Chinese. One of these three men later became my Supervisor.

    “For them, it was not about the depth of understanding or the fluency of speaking, it was simply the availability of the skill and the confidence to deploy it effortlessly. This, I believe swayed the appointment in my favour” Odjighoro stressed that with just one year after graduation, she has fully appreciated Babalola’s vision of breeding top tier students who embody numerous and varied skills as well as proficiency that will enable them stand out in all fields of human endeavour. “I am filled with respect and adulation for my Founder (Babalola) and the (pioneer) Provost, College of Engineering, Prof. Israel E. Owolabi, who worked tirelessly to raise students worthy of the title ‘Engineers’. It is truly an honor to be called an Alumnus of such a great institution”, Odjighoro, who had earlier worked as an Assistant Head of Programming with Lovettes Bit Company, an Entertainment-based company, concluded.

    Earlier feats by ABUAD Engineering students include when its “Team LifeWatch”, the inventor of AsthmaVisor, emerged fourth out of the five teams nominated for Imagine Cup Ability Award in the 2015 edition of Microsoft Imagine Cup Competition in Seattle, United States of America, on account of the potential impact their projects could have on the lives of people with disabilities and design principles, usability and potential in the market place.

    After the four-some of Adeyemo Oluwaseun Kayode, Raymond Obinaju, Sobola Timilehin David, and Ahwin Kevin shook the world with their AsthmaVisor, an Alumnus of the University, Engr. Olamide Popoola, led “Team Nigeria” to win the 2016 edition of the Unilever Idea Trophy in Category Number 1 Award for “Authentically on Brand, Relevant to target Audience and Drives Talkability and Shareability (A.R.T)” in the United Kingdom. Oluwaseye Bolaji Oguntuase, a 500 Level Mechanical Engineering student of ABUAD capped it all up when he won the 1st National Engineering Students’ Competition in Abuja on June 30, 2016 with his project, titled “Autonomous Pipeline leakage in the Niger Delta Area of Nigeria” beat 36 other contestants from the country’s six geo-political zones in a competition organized by the Committee of Deans of Engineering and Technology of Nigerian Universities (CODET). •Olofintila wrote from Ado-Ekiti

  • Financial market and home ownership

    As the Nigerian middle class grows it becomes inevitable that the financial market will start to march towards the funding of the housing market which we see in developed countries, especially America.

    This is a good thing but what safeguards can we start to put in place to prevent the risky financial mortgage practices that led to the 2008 financial crisis? It is necessary that we begin to take advantage of the few pros of being a developing country which includes vicarious hindsight; we have not directly experienced these mistakes but we can estimate that many of these cause and effect situations are subject to a law of nature that does not vary much from place to place. Sadly, many developing countries continue to make the very same mistakes that their developed counter-paths have made – from turning to processed foods despite its now documented links to various chronic diseases to adopting practices that speed up global warming. Perhaps the financial and housing sectors may walk on the other side by exploring the history of the link between the two sectors and choosing which path to follow based on this information. Housing economics identifies some major characteristics of the goods in the real estate market (housing units) which define the way that financial institutions manage the distribution of housing.

    The major characteristics are the lengthened ‘shelf life’ of the product – houses lasts for decades or even centuries; inelastic supply as the stock of housing remains fixed for long periods despite changes due to the time it takes to complete a new unit; and the fact that houses can be both an investment and consumption good to the same person.

    These unique characteristics of housing requires specialized financial institutions and markets specifically tuned to its highs and lows as misjudgment of the trends will create a situation of imperfect information that affects the entire economy. This is inevitable in a market where majority of assets held by a household is tied to housing and that is why research has shown that of the 50 major banking crisis that have occurred in the past 5 decades, over 75% were preceded by changes in housing market pricing. Such a well-developed housing mortgage market will need a primary and secondary mortgage market.

    The primary mortgage market consists of multiple lenders who directly compete to gain access to home owners by charging different terms and interest rates in a bid to attract more borrowers. Competition is key in any market and housing is no exception. But the government is still required to provide some structure in the form of short term interest rates which are directly linked to the market determined long term rates. In the case of the U.S., the federal funds rate (equivalent of the Central Bank’s monetary policy rate in Nigeria) was set so low that many analysts point to 0-1% interest rates as one of the reasons for the excesses of financial institutions in the boom years before 2008.

    Also, in this two-tier mortgage market, primary mortgage lenders have the option of not holding on to the right to collect the debt which they acquired when the borrower signs their mortgage contract. They can sell the ownership of this debt to players in the secondary mortgage market where similar mortgages are pooled together to form mortgage backed securities which are bonds backed by mortgages and sold to investors.

    There are diverse groups of investors who buy these securities – banks, governments, government agencies, pooled funds and much more and this dynamic market is part of the funnel needed to ensure that the housing market is continually funded with capital. Depending solely on government spending will not be nearly enough to provide housing for the majority of households especially in Nigeria’s large population. As many investors and stakeholders as possible should be a part of the market and that is why the secondary market is so important.

    However, this inclusion of many players contributed to the crisis as the trend on giving loans to risky borrowers became more rampant and many securities became backed by bad loans. Regulation is again key in ensuring that the many new players are held to a standard when determining who is eligible for a mortgage and that houses are not over-priced due to mere speculation. Credit growth brings this all together as a major key to achieving the increase in real estate provision and home ownership that is desired.

    This will be facilitated by the activities of the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance; giving credence to the creation of more financial institutions and linking the credit network to reputable investors, at home and abroad. Quality is even more important than quantity and it is important that economically sound regulations and processes ensure that financial institutions operating in the country are financially secure and avoid risky situations and financial decision aimed at increasing short term wealth to the detriment of the economy in the long term. •Folami wrote in from Lagos

  • Kwara: Two men, shared destiny

    Last week, a long-time friend with whom I operated closely as chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Lagos State Council, visited me in Ilorin. It was a great reunion which afforded us an opportunity to catch up on the past given the fact that this golden comrade has been out of Nigeria for a long time. Thus, we reviewed politics, policies, elections and sports. Almost everything that caught our fancy, but more importantly those things we consider dear to our commitments.

    Expectedly, one of the topics that featured prominently in the just two days my London-based friend spent with me was the Saraki factor in Nigeria and Kwara politics. “The man is seen as an oppressor. People say he’s arrogant, too rigid, never smiling, never mixing with the people he calls his followers”, my friend cried out as if that was his mission for the visit. He concluded with the big question “why?”

    But I was not surprised with this kind of jaundiced and skewed perception about the Senate President. I have had to contend with such insinuations, even as the chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Lagos State Council. They are contemptuous biases against perceived northern hegemony by elements outside the zone. Way back in 1992, a friend in Lagos had once queried why the late Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki was still in politics. “The same reasons why Chief Obafemi Awolowo died in politics,” I answered him simplicita. They both had the mission to work for a better country.

    So, today, I’m not rattled that similar questions are being asked about his son.  “That’s the impression some people want others to have about Saraki. If you accuse him of being an oppressor, the question is, in what ways? Is it by assisting and supporting people who ordinarily would never have thought of being where today are because of their background of being children of the less privileged?

    In the political system of South-west today, is it possible to remove the Awolowo factor? How was Awo able to dominate the politics of the region despite the various opposition antics? Was it not because he met the needs of the people through policies and programmes? The opposition saw his hold on the region as oppressive too, but his people knew he was a God-sent.”

    “Look, take it or leave,” I continued, “Asiwaju Tinubu remains a credible rallying point for the South-west progressive political elites. He represents the voice of major of the voiceless. His generosity and care for the downtrodden endear him to the majority of the people. His knowledge of humanity which made him identify the enormous potentials in an Osinbajo, a Fashola, an Ambode, a Lai Muhammed and a host of other gifted politicians, is awesome. Those who distanced themselves from him may continue to vilify him, but those who have shared strategic sessions with him know his love for his people.

    “The same with Saraki and Kwara. His opponents would continue to cry and give him all sorts of names, but the people on ground, who daily, in one way or the other, are exposed to his impacts will continue to queue behind him, come rain, come sun. That’s the truth.” I said. A number of professionals, technocrats, academia, artisans, including the men on the street have found their ways to the heights of their competences through his benevolence.

    I asked my friend to let’s visit some communities in Kwara Central senatorial district where Saraki’s constituency projects are ongoing. How many of his ilk are doing that? What of his current empowerment programme? How many of those who accuse him of oppression are doing one tenth of that? It is easier to tag someone like Saraki as an oppressor because that simply gives his opposition something to latch on.

    At the accusation that he frowns all the time, I smiled and asked him if a man should laugh just for him to be seen as so doing. Again, come to think of it – those who make such pedestrian allegation, how many times have they had personal contacts with him? And let’s even assume this to be true without conceding, is it by smiling that you help your people? Those who claim to have the capacity to laugh and hug the masses, how many have they lifted up in life? Why is it that the masses keep flocking to the house of a man “without a smile”? Why do they snide at the men with smiles plastered on their faces and inviting them to come? Could it be that these poor masses can detect the difference between a genuine smile and a cosmetic one? Why do these so called “smilers” run away with their smiles at the end of every election in the state, because I am sure that allegation is coming from their quarter?

    I told my friend to discard that allegation.

    And then he landed on my boss, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed. Why is he not in charge of Kwara State, he asked.

    “Who told you the governor is not in charge here?” I asked. “Of course, to the opposition, he’s not in charge because he pledges allegiance to his political leader. He’s not in control because they expected him to steer political crises in the state; of course, that’s where political jobbers eke out their living. Governor Ahmed is not in charge because he’s desirous of leaving a positive footstep in the political and economic history of the state. He’s well focused on what he needs to do within the privileged time he has to be at the helms of affairs in the state,” I told Idrees, my friend.

    “The truth is,” I continued, “only a God-fearing mam, conscious of posterity, will behave the way of Governor Ahmed. There are very few of such men around. Most are pretentious and deceitful. They dress in borrowed ropes to get want they wanted and become their true self, traitors. Go and inquire from his cabinet members and aides and get to know the truth instead of accepting mere speculations. Governor Ahmed is fully in charge of the administration of the state,” I emphasised.

    The truth many are not willing to accept in our evolving democracy is that leadership would keep emerging and allegiance would keep evolving.  It is all part of politics. We should not see loyalty as a negative quality but rather as a virtue. Personally, for instance, I’m not very comfortable with what some APC leaders in the South-west are doing in this regard. No matter the offence or misunderstanding, virtue does not teach us to throw mud at our destiny helpers. Saraki is a destiny helper for Ahmed and none of the Holy Books teaches us to treat such men with disdain just because we are in a position of honour today. Dr Ahmed is a study in humility, resourcefulness and loyalty. Dr Ahmed initiates and implements policies and programmes of his administration and fully takes responsibility for the results.

    In any case, the truth that I know is that Saraki is too busy in Abuja than dictate to Ilorin. Governor Ahmed is too loyal to his conscience than block lines of communication between him and Saraki or deny his leadership. The earlier some people realise and accept this, the better.

    As both celebrate their birthdays this month, please, accept my warmest regards and that of my family.

    • Oba is Chief Pres Secretary to Governor Ahmed.

  • There was once a bench

    Chief Justice, I am glad you gave that judgment, because I want you to feel free. If I commit a crime or do wrong in your opinion, to say so……if I am brought before you, send me to your jail—this is the way I want the judiciary to perform. You will never waver from the truth”.

    These were the words of the late Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to the first indigenous Chief Justice of Nigeria, Sir Adetokunbo Adegboyega Ademola in 1961 as published by Mr. Trevor Clark on page 541 of his book titled “A RIGHT HONOURABLE GENTLEMAN”.  Clark, a Briton, worked in the colonial administrative service in Nigeria from 1948-1977. Sir Ademola was the longest serving Chief Justice of Nigeria (1958-1972). The case Sir Abubakar was referring to involved the National Bank of Nigeria and Federal Government over an attempt by the Federal Government to probe the bank on certain allegations. But the Supreme Court then ruled against the Federal Government.

    Clark later described Justice Ademola on page 363 of that book” as a cultivated man with a quiet manner”. In 1964 Sir Ademola, spoke out publicly once more for his brethren on the bench, calling the abolition of appeals to the privy council premature, and the abolition of the Judicial Service Commission deplorable:” The day that judges have to take instructions from politicians, or to acquaint them with their decisions beforehand, it will be time for us to pack up and go”. Kudos must be given to Justice Ademola and others for establishing the integrity of the Nigeria’s Judiciary.

    He was the son of Alake of Egbaland, Sir Oladipo Samuel Ademola II (1872-1962), who reigned from September 1920 to 1962. Despite being appointed Chief Justice over first the African to serve in the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the person of  Justice Samuel Olumuyiwa Jibowu (1899-1959), husband to Mrs. Cecilia Jibowu nee Alakija and Lady Deborah Jibowu of Iddo Ajinare in Ekiti State, Justice Ademola performed his duties creditably and was non partisan. Justice Ademola served as Chief Justice of Western region in 1955 and was appointed Chief Justice of Nigeria on April 1, 1958. During his tenure and after his tenure, the Nigeria’s Judiciary was held high to the extent that there was a high demand from other countries for Nigeria’s Judges.

    Sir Lois Nwachukwu Mbanefo (1911-1977)from Onitsha and believed to be the first lawyer from eastern region of Nigeria was called to bar in 1935 and served in 1961 as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice at the Hague, Netherlands. Justice Charles Dadi Onyeama (1917-1999), father of the present Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geofrey Jideofor Kwusike Onyeama (60), was an associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1964-1967. His contemporaries then were Justice Eugene Olufemi Morgan, Justice John Idowu Conrad Taylor (1917-1973), Justice Michael Oguejiofo Ajegbo, former Attorney-General of Eastern Region, Justice George Baptist Ayoola Coker(1917-1991), Justice Chukwunikweike Idigbe and Justice  Lionel Brett.

    He was appointed Judge of International Court of Justice in The Hague in 1966 and served till 1976. Justice Taslim Olawale Elias (1914-1991) was Chief Justice of Nigeria between 1972 and 1975. He was elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations to the International Court Justice at The Hague. In 1979, he was elected Vice-President by his colleagues on that court. In 1981, after the death of Sir Humprey Waldock, the President of the Court, he took over as Acting President. In 1982, the members of the court elected him President of the Court. He thus became the first African Jurist to hold that honour. Five years later, Elias was also appointed to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.

    General Thomas Johnson Umanakwe Aguiyi Ironsi(1924-1966) appointed in January 1966 the former director of Public Prosecution in Eastern Region of Nigeria Chief Michael Chike Gabriel Onyuike (1922-1993) from Awka, as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation. After his tenure he later served as Justice in the High Court of Tanzania between 1970 and 1974.

    Prince Bolasodun Adesumbo Ajibola (82) served as a Judge of the International Court of Justice at The Hague between 1991 and 1994. Justice Timothy Akinola Aguda (1923-2001) from Akure in Ondo State was the pioneer Chief Justice of Botswana when the landlocked country gained its independence September 30, 1966. Justice Egbert Udo Udoma (1917-1998) from Ikot Abasi,Akwa Ibom State,  was the first Chief Justice of Uganda from 1963 to 1969. He handled the Buganda crisis case in 1965. Justice Udoma handed over handed over to Justice Dermot Joseph Sheridan who later became the first indigenous Chief Justice of Uganda. He is the father of the present Minister in charge of Budget and Planning, Senator Udo Udoma. Justice Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola (83) from Ilesha, Osun State, served as a Justice of the Court of Appeal in the Gambia between 1980-1983. He later became the Chief Justice of the Gambia between 1983 and1992. He was Vice President of the World Judges Association in 1991.

    That was then. Not now.

    One can see the shock and disappointment when one read the arrest and persecution of some judges recently. We can’t be all wrong. If we miss our way I guess it is the bench that must serve as the torchlight to show us the way. In spite of what has gone wrong in the bench there is still hope.

    Section 211 of the 1979 constitution says “the appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President in his discretion subject to confirmation of such appointment by a simple majority of the Senate. The appointment of a person to the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court shall be made by the President on the advice of the Federal Service Commission subject to approval of such appointment by a simple majority of the Senate. But Section 231 of the 1999 constitution says that (1) the appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate. (2) The appointment of a person to the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate.

    Sections 230 to 296 have given wide powers to the National Judicial Council to carry out necessary reforms within the judiciary. The members of the National Judicial Council are Hon. Justice W. S. Nkanu Onnoghen, CFR, Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, chairman; Hon. Justice I. Tanko Muhammed, CFR; Justice of the Supreme Court, Deputy Chairman, Others are Hon. Justice Z. A. Bulkachuwa, Hon. Justice E. O. Ayoola, CON; Hon. Justice S. A. Akintan, Hon. Justice I. F. Ogbuagbu, CON, Hon. Justice Umaru Abdullahi, CON, Hon. Justice V. O. A. Omage, OFR, Hon. Justice I. N. Auta, OFR, Hon. Justice B. A. Adejumo, Hon. Justice Kashim Zannah, OFR, Hon. Justice Nasir A. Ajanah, CON, Hon. Justice A. N. Nwankwo, CON, Hon. Justice M. L. Abimbola, Hon. Justice Okoi Ikpe Itam, Chief Judge, Hon. Kadi Mukhtar Imam Jega, Hon. Justice Julia Asabe Kyentu, Mr. A. B. Mahmoud, OON, Mr. Augustine Alegeh, SAN, Dr. Garba Tetengi, SAN, Lady Debbie Obodoukwu, Mr. Tijjani Inuwa-Dutse, ESQ., Hajiya Rakiya Sarki Ibrahim, MON, Mrs. R. I. Inga, Retired Public Servant (Permanent Secretary) Danladi Umar Halilu, Esq., OON (Secretary).

    If you look at the profiles of members of the council, I am sure you will never doubt their integrity. The submission is for us to allow them to carry out the required exercise, not only rooting out corrupt judges but also in the appointment of judges. As they say in Latin – Post cineras Gloria venit—meaning after death comes glory. They can still bring back the old glory to the bench. It is not impossible.

    • Teniola, a former director at the presidency, stays in Lagos.

  • Amosun and Ogun workers

    Wednesday, December 21 was another red letter day in Ogun State. In one iconic gesture, the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration devoted a whopping sum of N12.5 billion to clear the arrears of gratuities and cooperative deductions of the workforce. A fragment of the amount goes to offset the severance package of the political office holders under the Otunba Gbenga Daniel-led administration and last dispensation. This is aside the payment of December 2016 salaries and bonus to the workers.

    This is big news for many reasons. Nigeria is in economic recession, exacerbated by the unprecedented plunge in the price of crude oil in the international market. We all know the crisis going on across the states of Nigeria in terms of salaries. While Ogun is not immune to the realities of the recession, the state government has never defaulted in the payment of monthly salaries to its workforce.

    Not many compatriots actually know that the Amosun government began payment of gratuities to retired workers from 2008. That is three clear years before he was elected in 2011. Some N24 billion was expended on this, including inherited deductions.

    I recall the argument then. “Mr Governor, please concentrate on your own tenure. You were not the one that owed those workers. That amount is enough to settle all gratuities during your own term!” But Amosun demurred, “These people are Ogun indigenes. They have served the state meritoriously. Yes, I did not owe them. But they have to be paid. They deserve to be paid!”

    No one, in its wildest imagination, had dreamt of the current recession. But the Amosun government was proactive. It introduced immediately Single Treasury Account and e-payment. This shot up the revenue of the state geometrically. In the Ministry of Commerce alone, the income generated suddenly rose from the average of N45 million per annum under the previous government to N550 million per  annum (representing 1,122% increase) within a space of one year  – all simply by blocking the loopholes in the old system and introducing a cashless policy! That percentage increase in one ministry alone is staggering! The new government considerably reduced the salaries of political office holders in addition to being among the few states having the lowest number of such office holders.

    Thus the Internally Generated Revenue of Ogun State rose from N750 million monthly under the former administration to N5 billion within a short space of time.

    The World Bank Doing Business Report of 2014, which rated Ogun among the five states that made the biggest strides in terms of ease of doing business in Nigeria, is enough testimony to the economic transformation brought about by the current administration. Today, Ogun has become the industrial hub of Nigeria due to the enabling environment provided for business by the Amosun government. Over 110 multi-billion naira companies have berthed in Ogun in the last five years. The latest is the Palms Shopping Malls, whose first plaza in Ogun State (Shoprite), the biggest in the country.

    Therefore, if Ogun has been able to stay afloat during the current financial difficulties in Nigeria, and has enjoyed industrial harmony, let the reader understand the road it had marched economically in the last five years. Ogun is also affected by the current storms but never overwhelmed!

    All the 36 states of the federation must appreciate the government of President Muhammadu Buhari for its magnanimity, transparency and commitment to due process. Unlike the previous practice, where money was paid to only PDP states, all the 36 states of the federation are benefiting from funds released by the Federal Government to cushion the effects of the current recession. And one must immediately add that things began to fall apart economically in Nigeria since 2013. Everything was blamed on oil theft by the then government. Nigerians now know the truth – how billions of naira meant for development were squandered. Had they been well invested, such investments would have stood the country in good stead during the current drastic fall in global oil prices. As I once observed, we sowed the wind under the previous governments and we are now reaping the whirlwind.

    As the Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Barr Taiwo Adeoluwa, opined at a press conference on Wednesday, the Amosun government will continue to abide by the Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the labour unions. It has even now surpassed the expectations of the MoU.

    Another point that may not been known to the public is that the current government, in 2011, increased the salaries of workers. The rise almost doubled the wage bill of the state. And not just the state workers but local council’s as well. The argument of the governor has remained the same: “ Ogun workers are the best in the country, and there must be a commensurate reward for that.” Hence, Ogun, despite being number 25 out of 36 states in terms of the size of income from the Federation Account, pays the highest salaries to workers! This did not start today. It did not start yesterday, but since 2011. One is, therefore, shocked to the marrow that the present gesture to workers could be denigrated by some opposition elements in order to score a political point. But they are adept at hitting below the belt and scoring an offside goal. And we know the result of an offside goal – it comes to nought! While these detractors join the “Internet millipedes” to corrupt the public space with their half-truths and outright lies, Amosun is busy at his desk thinking and deploying strategies to further develop the state. As Ambassador Chris Cooter, Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria observed in April 2013, “The governor has been emphasizing that his administration is very particular about hard work. Here we are on a Sunday, I look at the construction going on, definitely, I am impressed. It is going to transform the state, no doubt. Whether it is canal, the road network, health or education, clearly, I can see a demonstration of the ‘can do’ attitude…”

    And while these “cold and timid souls” are asleep, snoring, Amosun is awake reading the feedback from the masses, who constantly send him messages about their views – and he reads them all and acts accordingly. Little wonder the bond that exists between him and the people.

    In the immortal words of Theodore Roosevelt in April, 1910, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly… who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

     

    • Soyombo writes from Abeokuta via densityshow@yahoo.com

  • From Burundi to Gambia through DR Congo!

    Here we go again! Africans just have a way of muddying the waters. When you are thinking that Africa may finally be nearing getting used to democratic governance, even in its most elementary and rickety form, it springs new surprises that promptly and rudely snap you out of such day-dreaming. Two diametrically opposed occurrences in two English-speaking West African countries (Ghana and Gambia) just a few days apart brought about this thought. Presidential elections were held in both countries just a few days apart and the results were exactly the same, i.e., unambiguous electoral shellacking for both incumbent presidents by the people. While Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama, who has just served only one term of four years out of two terms allowed by the constitution, willingly accepted the popular verdict, President Yahya Jammeh, his counterpart in Gambia who has ruled for 22 years, initially accepted the electoral verdict and congratulated the winner, Adama Barrow of the opposition party, only to make a complete and inexplicable about turn a few days later and to reject the result of the election, implying he intends to hang on to power illegitimately and against the wish of the people. Yahya Jammeh has thus carelessly tossed a spanner into the wheel of progress, and democracy is coming under a serious threat in that tiny nation.

    Yes, there is no denying the obvious fact that democracy is in recession across the globe. A number of recent studies by established scholars of democracy have indicated that democracy and its appurtenances, such as freedom and human rights, are being eroded, bending democracy into a crooked form almost beyond recognition. Many leaders who though had gained power through democratic means had been known to systematically and incrementally stifle democratic rule. While major powers like Russia and China have never been democracies even by the remotest of definitions, recent developments in countries like Turkey, Philippines, and now the United States of America with the election of that narcissistic demagogue Donald Trump as president, are confirming or lending credence to the conclusion by renowned scholars like Larry Diamond on the inexorable decline of democracy across the globe.

    Africa is evidently the poster boy of authoritarian rule. Since Africa came on the global scene with a plethora of newly independent states in the 1960s, most of the countries have since been ruled by an array of pretentious democrats, ruthless autocrats, psychopathic tyrants, sanguinary despots, sadistic presidents-for-life, and an assortment of cold-blooded military dictators, such that democracy is actually more of an exception on the continent than the rule. The proverbial ‘third wave’ of democratization has made little, mostly cosmetic, impact in Africa, as these Stone Age despots cynically manipulate democratic processes and symbols to consolidate autocratic rule. Robert Mugabe has ruled hapless Zimbabwe since 1980 and has just only a few days back manipulated his ruling party to endorse him at 92 years of age as its presidential candidate in the 2018 general elections. Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Paul Biya, Yoweri Museveni, Paul Kagame, to name a few, have kept their respective countries under tight-fisted rule for more than two decades each and have continued to manipulate democratic processes to entrench extreme personalist rule. The predictable end result of long personalist rule in the African experience is to bring the hapless country to ruin. The carcass of the so-called Democratic Republic Congo after Mobutu’s ruinous 32-year dictatorship is there for all to see!

    Today, intra-state violence rages on in Burundi where the president, Pierre Nkurunziza, has repudiated the constitutional term limit and rigged himself into office against the wishes of the people; DR Congo, perpetually embroiled in political turmoil since its independence in 1960, is about to combust all over again by President Joseph Kabila’s blunt refusal to conduct elections and leave power at the expiration of his tenure. The opposition coalition is gearing up for a fight, and no one can predict exactly how it will all pan out. As if that is not enough to unnerve Africans, Gambia’s pocket-size tyrant who initially accepted the results of the presidential election has made a dangerous about-face, repudiating the elections. He has also snubbed an ECOWAS attempt to persuade him to respect the will of the people by handing over power. Gambia is about to have its own baptism of fire, as Jammeh sticks to his guns and as the winning party is insisting on taking power in January. Jammeh has deliberately created what is known as a ‘Mexican stand-off’, a situation an online dictionary defines as “a stalemate or impasse; a confrontation that neither side can win.”

    Jammeh is now the bull in Gambia’s china shop, and unless a suitable deal is worked out quickly to ease out of power, the tiny country of less than two million people risks going the way of DR Congo. Africa has regrettably walked this destructive path too many times before, with extremely devastating consequences, a path that Professor Adebayo Williams famously calls “the road to Kigali”. Unfortunately again, it does not yet seem that African rulers have learnt any useful lessons from these destructive experiences. It was not long ago that the once peaceful West African country of Cote d’Ivoire also exploded in an orgy of massive post-election violence and bloodletting on a scale that beggared belief, simply because the incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, like Yahya Jammeh now, refused to give up power after a credible election that he lost. Jammeh should be told of the two fates that await him should he continue with his obduracy: leave in a casket, like Muammar Gaddafi, or be hauled before the International Criminal Court in The Hague to face trial like Laurent Gbagbo!

    ECOWAS and African Union leaders definitely have their work cut out for them. Both organizations of which Gambia is a member-state must insist forcefully and unequivocally on the non-negotiability of the sanctity of the peoples’ choice of their own leaders, and it is time Africans threw down the gauntlet that if democracy would take root and deepen, it must begin with the respect for the sanctity of elections. They must do the level best to guide this Jammeh bull out of Gambia’s china shop, and save the long-suffering people of Gambia avoidable conflagration and bloodbath. The rest of the world can make all the righteous noises but they cannot help Africa until Africa first helps itself.

    Besides, unless Jammeh and Kabila are made to respect their countries’ constitutions and quit power, they risk setting dangerous and ignoble examples for other sit-tight despots to emulate. Even though what Jammeh and Kabila are doing is not entirely new in Africa, but the time has come for such to be stiffly resisted in order to send powerful signals across the continent that we have had enough of destructive sit-tight rule. If this is to be done, West Africa, erstwhile the most coup-prone of all the five sub-regions of Africa, must take the bull by the horns and set the positive example. This is a great test for President Muhammadu Buhari and his fellow ECOWAS plenipotentiaries, and they must know the rest of the world is eagerly waiting for them to act, and act decisively, first in defence of democracy, and second, to save Gambia from avoidable violence.

     

    • Prof. Fawole is of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

  • How long can Magu act as EFCC acting chair?

    The jurisprudence of statutory appointments is expanding particularly in the light of the controversy generated by the Senate’s resolution to defer Ibrahim Magu’s confirmation pending the time issues raised in the security report are resolved.

    This development may have raised vital constitutional questions to wit: whether the president is entitled to appoint anyone into an acting position when the statute provides for a substantive appointment in a given situation? Whether there is a specific duration to function for anyone appointed to an acting position? Whether the Senate by its action has already rejected the nomination of Magu? Whether the President is entitled to re-nominate Magu in the circumstances? Whether the content of the security report is enough to disqualify Magu? Whether the explanations offered by Magu in the circumstance are sufficient to confront the allegations in the security report? These and more posers are the subject of this intervention.

    Section 2(3) of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act 2004 providing for the appointment of the chairman and other members of the commission states as follows:

    “The Chairman and members of the Commission other than ex-officio members shall be appointed by the President and the appointment shall be subject to confirmation of the Senate.”

    Clearly from the above provision, the President is the appointing authority and his capacity to act in respect of same is fortified by the word ‘shall’ which has greater effect in statutory interpretation than the word ‘may’.  Therefore, no other authority can appoint the EFCC chair other than the President.

    Again the obligation to confirm the said appointment is also stringently vested in the Senate because the statute states that such appointment shall be subject to the confirmation of the Senate, the word shall conferring authority on the Senate to stamp such appointment with the seal of finality.  Consequently, that no one can take away from the Senate the authority to legally put a stamp of approval to a nominee of the president for EFCC chair.  This submission is authoritative regarding an appointment into the substantive position of the EFCC chair.

    However, what is the law regarding appointment into an acting position? Again in this area, our jurisprudence is not silent.

    Section 11 of the Interpretation Act cap 123 of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria vol. 7 updated up to the 31st day of December, 2010 and prepared under the authority of the revised edition (laws of the Federation of Nigeria) Act 2004 specifically on appointments generally provides:

    “(1) Where an enactment confers a power to appoint a person either to an office or to exercise any functions, whether for a specified period or not, the power includes-

    (a) Power to appoint a person by name or to appoint the holder from time to time of a particular office;

    (b) Power to remove or suspend him;

    (c) Power , exercisable in the manner and subject to the limitations and conditions (if any) applicable to the power to appoint-

    (i) To reappoint or reinstate him;

    (ii) To appoint a person to act in his place, either generally or in regard to specified functions, during such time as is considered expedient by the authority in whom the power of appointment is question is vested.

    (2) A reference in an enactment to the holder of an office shall be construed as including a reference to a person for the time being appointed to act in his place, either as respects the functions of the office generally or the functions in regard to which he is appointed, as the case may be.”

    What is clear from the above statutory provision is that the President being the appointing authority has a corresponding power to remove or suspend the holder of the office.  The President also has the power to reappoint or reinstate the holder of the office.  Equally related to this is the power to appoint any person to act in an acting capacity in respect of the appointment.  The persons who are appointed in an acting capacity can act generally in respect of all the functions of the holder of the substantive position.  The President as the appointing authority can appoint anyone to act in such acting capacity as long as the President pleases because in the wording of section 11(1)(c)(2) “during such time as it is considered expedient by the authority in whom the power of appointment is vested”.

    The implication of the above is that anyone can act in an acting capacity at the pleasure of the president; the duration of such acting appointment is being determined solely by the appointing authority.  Closely related to this is that the acting position does not require the Senate confirmation because in this case, the law specifically provides for confirmation with respect to substantive appointment on the theory that what makes the appointment substantive is the element of confirmation.

    Based on the above legal advisory, Ibrahim Magu is entitled to act as acting EFCC chair as long as the President pleases.  This is the position of the law; this is the position of the Interpretation Act.

    By the same provisions of the Interpretation Act, the President is entitled to re-nominate Magu even where his first nomination was not considered by the Senate.  In the same vein, where the substantive occupier of an office is removed by the appointing authority, in this case the President, the law vests the President with the power to re-instate such a removed occupant of the substantive position. Again, that is the position of the law.

    The other legal issue to be resolved is whether the Senate has by its action rejected the nomination of Magu?

    It is my submission that the Senate at its executive session merely deferred the confirmation of Magu pending the time issues raised in the security report are resolved.  This is because the screening of Magu was not carried out by the Senate at a plenary that would allow all senators take a vote on the question whether or not to confirm or reject the nomination.  The Senate may have power to regulate its own procedure by standing rules but that does not translate to the denial of majority of senators of the rights to exercise their voting powers to confirm or reject a nominee at a plenary particularly for a sensitive position of the EFCC chair where the occupant serves not only the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, the press but more importantly, the generality of the Nigerian public including the international community.  Confirmation of such an appointment ought not to be shrouded in secrecy because the whole world is interested.  Why was Magu’s proceedings conducted in secrecy?

    Closely related to this is the process leading to the nomination of a candidate by the appointing authority.  I dare say that the nomination of Ibrahim Magu forwarded to the Senate by the President could not have been effected without security clearance of the candidate.  The President whose integrity I know, will not forward the name of any candidate for such sensitive appointment without first seeking and obtaining security clearance.  The Vice-President whose integrity I know, as impregnable will not append his signature to a letter written to the Senate on behalf of his boss on Magu without seeking and obtaining security clearance.

    The other issue is the appropriate channel for forwarding a security report on a nominee by the President for a substantive office.  I take the strong view that the appropriate person to first receive and be notified of such report is the President being in this case the appointing authority.  I remain convinced that if such a report were forwarded to the President, the President would take steps to investigate the veracity of same and would not hesitate to withdraw the candidacy of the nominee even before the Senate has time to consider the issue.  Closely related to this is the timing of the security report coming months after the nomination of the candidate was forwarded to the Senate.  The other issue that cannot be glossed over is the seeming delay by the Senate in considering a nomination for such sensitive position forwarded to it by the President.