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  • Edo September 28 poll: Beyond landslide victory

    Although the September 28, 2016 governorship ballot in Edo State came and went with massive victory for Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, the election would also be historically indexed for the worrisome pockets of isolated incidence which is not entirely unexpected in an election of this magnitude.

    Yet against this background, Godwin Obaseki won a resounding victory, Obaseki secured what has passed as one of the most comfortable triumph for his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). He recorded 319,483 amounting to 51.3% of the total valid ballot in all the 18 local governments of Edo State. His main rival Pastor Ize-Iyamu of PDP had a low 253,173 count.

    Other official results showed that CPC, KOWA, NCP, LP and ACPN put together with PDP’s they came nowhere what APC got. It was not an unexpected outcome, given the great performance posted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Oshiomhole administration. Edo State and its citizens had been transformed beyond their wildest dreams.

    Oshiomhole and his team has dealt with the perennial flooding problem and the bad roads by cleaning up the streets. In so doing he had in one swoop wipe away a major anxiety of the masses and road users. Benin, the famous ancient city, now has several six-lane roads, with functioning street lights here and there. How about the educational sector? The public schools are much more attractive than they were before the advent of APC administration.

    The structures are better than the private ones, with teaching practice and provision of instructional materials and the laboratory services meeting the best industry standards. Such has been the impact of changes in public schools that the citizens of Edo are moving their children from private institutions back to government-owned ones. Now there is a plea that the government should adopt the shift system in public schools in order to accommodate the astronomical rise in pupil

    and student population.

    How about the issue of public water supply? Before the coming of APCadministration, the general perception was that, like electricity, it was impossible to make water available to the people, especially in Edo Central. But the APC government banished that notion. The Govt. procured drilling rigs that can dig deep down as far as 2,500 metersfor water. This has made it possible for the citizens not to go far to search for water as it used to be. In Ekpoma for instance, there was an overhead tank that had been there for 30 years but without water. It was the same in Iruekpen and virtually every contiguous community. But now the APC government has provided what it calls “industrial boreholes that are working and supplying water everywhere.

    The health sector also witnessed vast changes. The Central Hospital built in 1903 is a typical example of the impact of government’s interventionist policy. The Oshiomhole machine saw its derelict state and demolished it and put a brand new one in place.

    The government was able to do all these because it cut costs by reversing the budget arrangement that existedbefore. Thanks to Governor elect Godwin Obaseki.

    This is how the Governor elect put it himself: “Our promise to build a state anchored on a productive economy that will transform and empower our citizen is sincere.

    I am compelled to reflect back to these unassailable achievements of APC government because in the weeks and months leading to the 28th September poll, there were orchestrated acts of violence meant to engender voter apathy. The opposition tried to trigger a crisis that would not only discourage interest in the election hut also tend to suggest that the APC government was the cause of the perceived insecurity.

    It started on Saturday 3oth April, 2006 in Auchi during the campaigns for the gubernatorial election in Edo State when Deputy Governor Pius Odubu narrowly escaped assassination attempt on his life.

    The hullaballoo that follow the assassination attempt had hardly died down when Godwin Obaseki was also attacked by gunmen in Owan.

    The state of panic and insecurity the enemies of Edo and haters of progress wanted to create in order to abort the 28th of September ballot and deny APC victory never came to pass as the exercise took place and gave the citizens the opportunity to show gratitude for the sterling performance of the APC administration.

    The electorate and people of the state were dogged in their determination to vote back to office an achieving government and

    remain partners of an administration bent on sustaining its iron-will drive to transform the state. Despite the evil propaganda of the opposition, Edo people voted overwhelmingly for Obaseki.

    For the government, it must be stated that it was undeterred by the pre-election acts of provocation that sought to force it to resort to precipitate decisions that would have denied it the sympathy and cooperation it had been enjoying from Edo citizens in particular and Nigerians generally. All along, the government displayed uncommon maturity and patience in the face of opposition provocation.

    This spirit of long suffering paid off eventually: On 28th of September, 2016, the people rewarded Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki and his deputy Philip Shaibu with a sweeping constitutional mandate for continuity.

  • Obaseki and his promises

    On Saturday, November 12, Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki will be sworn in as the elected governor of Edo State. There is no prize guessing that the people of Edo State gave him their mandate based on their conviction that he is the most convincing of those who vied for the office in terms of the plausibility of making good promises made. There is hardly any doubt that the task ahead is onerous. However, there is hope that he can deliver on his promise to evolve a practical economic policy from which the state can further prove that it has all it takes to survive above all economic odds. As part of the team that engineered the long term development masterplan for the state’s economic revolution, he is practically condemned to putting up a sterling development performance beginning from the moment he takes over the rein of office.

    In looking up him as a man whose words can be taken as his bond, the people of Edo State are convinced that the governor-elect’s professional capability as an investment expert and his eight year practical experience in governance are not the only qualities that tend to put him in good stead in terms of making good his promises. They are pointing at the earnest manner he commissioned a number of his aides to take an inventory of all the promises he made particularly those coming directly from the people’s demands. That is in addition to the dossier he has of all investable natural resources including where they are domiciled. The implication here is that his administration already has a priority implementation perspective. However, while his commitment is not in doubt whatsoever, he is expected to begin the implementation process with dispatch like a war tested general.

    Thankfully, both the outgoing and incoming governors are not only from the same political family without any known record of friction, they are also on the same development page more because the governor-elect operated as a vitally important part of the administration headed by the man he is succeeding. In other words, the governor elect is not coming in as a greenhorn as he knows so much about resources at the disposal of the state, limited as they are. Therefore, it can be argued that he equally understands how feasible and quickly it is for him to deploy them for the needful in line with his promises.

    The governor-elect made job creation one of the cardinal promises he will fulfil upon assuming office. At a time unemployment is one of the biggest challenges facing the nation, it is obvious that the people agree with him, at least, to the extent that his job creation plan is practically realizable. For them therefore, the time has come for him to walk his talk without any undue delay in the implementation of, for instance, the over 200,000 jobs he promised to create with investments in agro-business. That is perhaps the only way to prove to them that they did not make any mistake in making him the man to succeed the all-conquering Oshiomhole.

    Indeed, in making the point that his job creation policy will be driven in the main by investments in agro-business, the governor-elect needs commendation. The reason is not too far to seek because in the light of the ever-dwindling resources from crude oil, the nation’s sole economic mainstay, diversification is imperative. Therefore, since agriculture offers the most viable option for economic recovery or turn-around, it goes without saying that the state must take advantage of its vast potentials in the sector. As it is the case in other areas where he sought their mandate, the people also seem to be in complete agreement with governor-elect, hence they consider, as a foregone conclusion, the need for him to expedite action in terms of its implementation.

    As enunciated in his campaigns, mechanizing agriculture is the real investment drive that he must accomplish. The people are eagerly looking up to him in terms of making good his promise of creating large scale farms with mechanized processes that will engage the army of young people currently in search of self-actualization.

    While criss-crossing the state during campaigns, the governor- went the extra mile of taking inventory of both the areas that required government attention in terms of infrastructural renewal and what must be done within what time. Obviously, he did this with a view to having requisite knowledge of where his investment drive requires attention in order to deliver on promises made despite prevailing economic realities. For instance, the governor-elect knows so well that the northern part of the state is noted for huge deposit of solid minerals, including limestone, quarry, etc. He is equally aware that besides its innumerable money-spinning tourism potentials, the state is also the home to a huge food and cash crop reservoirs. Albeit so, he must also prove that he knows too well that the people, whose mandate he has, expect him to prove without any undue delay, his ability to inject requisite sustainable economic elixir to banish the nightmare they have gone through in the knowledge that for so long, the state had so much economic rejuvenation potentials in untapped natural resources yet wallows in want. History will be fair to him if, without any undue delay, he sets about enlisting the right investment in all areas concerned.

    The governor elect also promised to employ the use of technology to produce the additional leverage for his administration’s job creation policy. Clearly, the driving force here is how effectively he is able to deploy internet broad band. However, a lot of people will be on the look-out, waiting to see how effectively he takes control of the sector’s inherent opportunities and work his way through the relatively novel concept as a job creation tool. The point he must not lose sight of is that the people are eagerly waiting to experience the end result.

    In the last eight years, so much has been done in the state in the area of infrastructural renewal. For instance, anyone who is familiar with the state both before Oshiomhole assumed office and now that he is leaving will attest to the fact that from its erstwhile comatose state, remarkable infrastructural development has been put in place. The catch-phrase is that if previous administrations had undertaken any worthwhile urban renewal process for the outgoing administration to build on, the state would have become an infrastructural El Dorado. However, even as much has been done, so much still needs to be done in education, road construction and health sector. The governor elect made as much promises which he is condemned to fulfilling pronto.

    For instance, in the education sector where the impressive red roof revolution is well showcased, there is need to re-introduce functionality with technical and vocational trainings. The reason is that unemployment persists mainly because the nation operates an education system that hardly pays any serious attention to specialization. But the need for functionality has become more imperative particularly now that diversification is the key to economic rejuvenation. To achieve any serious breakthrough in the diversification process, there is a more urgent need to create a functional workforce with requisite skills and trainings for emerging jobs. Therefore, the governor elect must fulfil his promise to establish technical schools and other vocational training centres to groom lettered artisans and other technical professionals in readiness for all emerging jobs, including for instance, technical equipment handling. That is in addition to his promise to encourage academic excellence across the state by making scholarship available to indigent but brilliant young people. There is hardly any doubt that this will go a long way in improving his administration’s all round development drive.

    Like other sectors, health also received its fair share of attention from the outgoing administration. In addition to cottage hospitals or health centres, it built functional general hospitals in all the state’s 18 local government areas. However, medical tourism remains one of the issues that emerged from the inadequacies in our health system. The result is that more often than not, medical issues that can ordinarily, can be handled within are taken to such places as India. One of its major implications is that it encourages capital flight. The Oshiomhole administration decided to introduce the 5-Star central hospital concept as part of the long term plan to curtail the trend. Necessarily, the edifice, which has the capacity to deal with a number of major medical issues hitherto referred abroad features enough alluring aesthetic splendour capable of attracting the patronage of both local and foreign, financially well-muscled medical tourists. The general expectation is that alongside the need to build more functional and well equipped health facilities for the general public, the governor-elect must endeavour to construct more of such highbrow medical centres in all major cities across the state. Accruing benefits are innumerable.

  • APC candidates and party loyalty

    Upon the formation of All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the 2015 polls, not many Nigerians gave the party chance of survival talk less of winning the 2015 polls. For this obvious reason and typical of the Nigerian political class, some founding fathers of the party suddenly jumped ship to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2015 polls. Also some visionary PDP members who were fed up with the PDP’s misrule and saw prospects in the APC willingly defected to the APC.

    This development never deterred these APC faithful, who truly and genuinely believed in the party’s philosophy and manifesto. Theirs were that having worked so hard to form the party, it was of no use dumping the party at the middle of the road. This was a true mark of party loyalty that is uncommon among Nigerian politicians.

    With General Muhammadu Buhari’s emergence as the party’s presidential candidate, these loyal party members and candidates doubled their efforts to ensure the victory of the party at all levels. At the end, their inputs paid off with APC’s presidential victory at polls against the ruling PDP, which is the first of its kind in the country’s political history.

    Coming on the altar of the change mantra, expectations and hopes were high among the APC faithful, having worked so hard for the party’s victory. Disappointedly and right from the onset of President Buhari’s government, it appeared the government had quickly forgotten how party loyalty and hard work by committed party members gave the party victory at the poll.

    Obviously, initial appointments by the government indicated that party loyalty has been exchanged for comradeship. Eyebrows were raised, but government spin-doctors defended the action, arguing that it was too early for party loyalists to complain of being abandoned or side-lined.

    These loyalists, especially the House of Representatives candidates that lost their elections as wounded warriors endured and persevered, hoping that things will get better. Unfortunately, almost two years down the lane, the trend has not changed.

    In view of this, many concerned party leaders have expressed their fears and worries over the development, which is unprecedented in party politics in Nigeria. They alleged that the APC-led government has been ambushed and hijacked by few individuals that contributed nothing in the party’s victory at the polls.

    One of Buhari’s long-time political allies and one of the founding fathers of the APC, Alhaji Buba Galadima complained bitterly over the development in his recent interview in The Guardian newspaper of September 18.

    Galadima said: “Up till now PDP is intact and about 99 percent of the offices of 557 agencies of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and even the political appointments by our APC government are PDP members. These people were not known to have participated in bringing this government into office.”

    Appeared to be worst hit by this development are APC House of Representatives candidates that lost their elections in their constituencies to the PDP desperate machineries and other unforeseen circumstances beyond their control.

    The group, which operates under the guise of Forum of All Progressives Congress (APC) 2015 House Of Representatives Candidate (APC 2015 HORC) is made up of renowned professionals or accomplished politicians. They are the closest to the grassroots in terms of their reach, number and strength. Currently, they are made up of 135 members and have continued to carry the banner of the party in their respective constituencies.

    Truly, they came together on realisation of the need to encourage each other to keep the flame of APC burning and the party’s flag flying in their respective federal constituencies, in order to overcome the setback suffered by the party in losing the federal seats of those constituencies and to checkmate the impact of the loss in future elections with a view to recovering those seats for the party in the next available opportunity.

    They have also expressed their satisfaction with the way and manner the President has piloted the affairs of the nation since assumption of office and congratulated him on the landmark accomplishments so far recorded especially in the areas of security, anti-corruption, diversification of the economy and management. So also is the President’s handling of anti-terrorism efforts in the North East and militancy in the Niger Delta and elsewhere in the country. The recent release of about 21 Chibok girls by Boko Haram, they see as a crowning glory to President’s effective approach to the challenge of Boko Haram insurgency.

    They have equally expressed confidence in the ability of the President and capacity of the APC’s federal government to pull the nation out of the current economic recession and wholly endorsed the economic policies and palliative measures put in place by the President to tackle the current economic challenges.

    Prominent members of the 135-member forum include its chairman, Musa Danjuma Goyo, Secretary Chibuzor Obiakor. Others include former members of the 6th and 7th House of Representatives.

    All members of the forum have paid and still paying their dues in the APC, despite the situation on ground. That no doubt is clear mark of undiluted party loyalty that deserves recognition, considering that party politics anywhere in the world do not only encourage loyalty, but reward loyalty appropriately and handsomely. That is what Buba Galadima, Rochas Okorocha, Bisi Akande, and other party stakeholders are clamouring for in the party, before it becomes too late.

     

    • Dr. Agaba, a development expert wrote from Wuse, Abuja

  • Changing the Niger Delta narrative

    From the multi product economy of the 1960s, Nigeria has metamorphosed into a mono product economy, completely reliant on oil.  Every other source of revenue has been systematically abandoned by successive governments.  All emphasis has been on oil, oil, and more oil.  Scant attention was paid to other sources of government income because oil money was pouring in as global oil prices soared.  For years the boom continued. No one dared imagine Nigeria and indeed the Niger Delta, the proverbial cash cow, without oil. It was inconceivable!

    And then there was a burst. Oil price crashed. And for a long time it stayed crashed and refused to rise.  The cost of producing oil became more than the price it was sold. It was a harsh reality everyone had to grapple with.  Other sources of government revenue had to be found and quickly. The inconceivable had not only become possible.  It had become a reality, a harsh reality for many.  A Niger Delta whose oil could no longer save Nigeria.

    For organisations like the Niger Delta Development Forum (NDDF), which envision a Niger Delta where all persons are able to live sustainable livelihoods, generate income and employment, and create economic opportunities unhindered by constraints from within and outside the market system in the region and beyond, who have advocated and continue to advocate a self-sustaining non-oil dependent development in the Niger Delta, it was a validation that the Niger Delta can exist and develop without relying on oil and that sustainable development is not dependent on oil. In the five years of its existence, the NDDF has provided a platform for information sharing and collaboration opportunities for government, private sector, and civil society organisations pursuing approaches for equitable and inclusive economic growth in the Niger Delta.

    This year’s edition of the forum, the fifth in the series, was held in Owerri, the capital of Imo State on October 19-20. The forum was sponsored by the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), in collaboration with Niger Delta Development Initiative (NDPI), the Imo State Government and DFID funded Market Development for the Niger Delta (MADE).  Technical partners for the Forum include USAID Nigeria, DAI, NSRP, BRACED Commission and DEMAND Alliance.  The theme of the two days event was ‘Towards Self-Sustaining Development in the Niger Delta: Narrating and Showcasing a Re-Imagined Niger Delta’. Participants were drawn from government, the private sector and Civil Society Organisations all over the Niger Delta.  Those in attendance include the governor of Imo State, the NDDC Chairman, representatives of the governments of the nine Niger Delta states and the federal government, development partners, academicians, activists and people from all works of life.  Celebrities of Niger Delta extraction were not left out. Tee Mac, Nigeria’s maestro Concert Flutist, Hilda Dokubo and Monalisa Chinda, renowned Nollywood actresses and Mike Nliam, composer of the new theme song for the NDDF, were in attendance.

    In his welcome address, Sam Daibo, the Executive Director of PIND stated that ‘with each edition, the attendance at NDDF increases, the number of stakeholders interested in the forums increases, and in the last two years, we have been able to involve the governments of the host states directly in the planning of NDDF in order for them to take ownership of and drive the policy recommendations that come out of the forums. We no longer need to convince anyone as to the importance of dialogue and collective action for the Niger Delta, as our partners now on their own individually take on policy recommendations and decisions reached at the NDDFs into their own respective work plans’.

    While acknowledging the current challenges facing the Niger Delta, especially the re-emergence of violence by new militancy groups resulting from the hardship caused by the crash in global oil prices, Daibo stressed that PIND has been working towards a more peaceful and equitable Niger Delta for over five years and that they had great confidence in the region’s ability to realize its fullest potential. ‘In the face of these challenges, it is important to understand how we got here and to articulate our vision of how to move from where we are to where we want to go. We are putting NDDF to the service of this need to re-imagining a possible future, beginning with changing the narrative of the Niger Delta. We must promote a Niger Delta that ranks high in inclusive citizen participation in governance; where state governments operate with the concepts of transparency, accountability, and effectiveness; where diversity in economic pursuits are championed by state governments and executed openly; and a region that no longer grapples with violence but where peace reigns’ he stated.

    Several goodwill messages were delivered by different partners and government representatives, including the new NDDC chairman who noted that the problems bedevilling the Niger Delta were as huge as they were multifaceted and that the crash of the oil price and renewed militancy have further compounded the woes in the region.

    In declaring the 2016 NDDF open, His Excellency, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the  governor of Imo State, represented by his deputy Prince Eze Madumere, stated that the outcome of the round table meeting with all partners was the most important aspect of the NDDF and promised to drive all the projects to be implemented by PIND and the Demand Alliance Partners in various agricultural value chains in Imo State.

    Proceedings at the Forum focused on four key topics of peace, conflict mitigation, elections and development; regional cohesiveness – The role of federal, regional and state government institutions; climate change and the green economy; and economic diversification and the digital economy, in the form of presentations, discussions, and syndicate sessions. While the sessions focused on different topics, one recurrent theme in all the sessions was how to increase actionable opportunities for sustainable development in the Niger Delta.

    Lately, the Niger Delta has been in the news for the wrong reasons especially with regards to oil spills and militancy. For fora like the NDDF and other initiatives working to change the narrative in the Niger Delta, the major task is to create an enabling platform for dialogue on a way forward for the region and to facilitate collaboration among key stakeholders in the region including the government, the local communities, CSOs, the private sector and donor communities. It is only when they succeed in this that a Niger Delta that ranks high in inclusive citizens’ participation in governance and development can emerge.

     

    • Christopher wrote from Abuja.

  • Many troubles of the ruling party

    The emerging crisis in the house of the All Progressive Congress is a matter of concern to all well-meaning Nigerians, not just because it affects a party many gave their all to see win the 2015 General Elections, but mainly because the way it is playing out, the crisis has a potential to launch Nigeria into a war we can hardly afford and which we really do not need.

    But before looking at the possible long term effect of the personality clash that unfortunately has come to shape the political character of the ruling party, the first challenge created by the crisis is in its effect on the testimony of the APC as a party that has come to salvage Nigeria from her exposure to the years of the vultures.

    Many express concern, perhaps, rightly so, that if this life time opportunity to fix Nigeria is again frittered away through impunity and subversion of the rule of law, which are worst forms of corruption, another opportunity might not come in this generation. This was why Nigerians defied the primordial ethnic, religion and regional sentiments to vote for change. President Muhammadu Buhari represents the real face of change.

    We all voted for APC; we all gave our best to the party when it was in opposition because many Nigerians saw, or perhaps, thought they saw in APC a party that could replace the PDP that had been bedeviled with impunity. It was that culture of impunity which did not give consideration to the feelings and opinions of others apart from a clique that had surrounded the topmost leadership of the party that Nigerians were rejecting when they voted APC. We must not go back to that era.

    But given the way the party handled a number of contentious issues such as the selection of ministerial nominees, the Ondo gubernatorial primary, the Kogi State election and now the ambassadorial nominees, many people have not only began to fear things might not have really changed for us except the change in the party slogan.

    And the situation has now been made worse by the open altercation between Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a National Leader of the party and some interests within the party using Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, APC National Chairman as a lab rat.

    Although the crisis is festering to the delight of the opposition, it is my considered opinion that the situation can still be salvaged in the interest of our dear nation.

    APC leaders need to sit down and look themselves squarely in the face and accept that they have made critical mistakes but that things can still be corrected with humility and determination. And the first step will be to correct itself over the errors that have been committed in the National Assembly. The unnecessary bickering that was allowed over the choice of its leaders was totally uncalled for in a party that promised fairness and justice as the hallmark of its ideology.

    As such, all steps taken so far against those who emerged as natural leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives should be reversed. I think this is the sense in which even leaders of the APC such as former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Tinubu along with other stakeholders have commended the withdrawal of the forgery case against Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

    The National Assembly issue remains a political crisis that should have been settled in the court of politics and not the steps being taken simply to embarrass the leadership of the National Assembly. The strategy has, however, rather than achieve its intended objective, created a strong pillar of a united third force within the party that is ostensibly able to work with the opposition to the detriment of the ruling party.

    The same error of strategy is being committed in the way the party is going about the Tinubu challenge. Imagine that they want to try the party’s National Leader for ‘anti-party activities’! Which party? The party he almost singlehandedly formed and only invited others to queue? Should a visitor invited to dine and wine, hold the hands of the host? What an irony! But the spider that attempt to prevent the elephant from having its way shall move with the elephant. Asiwaju, the master strategist, has fought and won bigger battles for democracy. As the last man standing, he weathered the storm of more ferocious adversaries.

    Already just as it happened in the Saraki case, Tinubu might have been garnering support from hitherto political foes which definitely will create more problems for the ruling party. To have the likes of Tinubu and Saraki as internal opposition is not something a serious party should celebrate.

    It was Saraki that cried out about impunity then in the ruling PDP, the rest is history. Now it is Tinubu that, like Saraki, has begun to cry out about impunity within the APC. The party should be careful not to give room to another internal rebellion that will break its backbone before 2019.

    This is not what our people sacrificed to get in 2015 and that is why men of influence and political capital within the party should have a rethink about their respective positions on the crisis and come together to save the APC. It is law of natural justice that those who participated in the baking of the cake must know how it is shared. It is not too late yet.

     

    • Oba is Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Kwara State.

  • Season of anomie

    There is a paralysing feeling of despondency due to the suffocating economic and socio-political milieu across the country which has almost stripped us of our human essence.  All over the land, it has not been tales of aplomb for lofty things and achievements but rather tales of mind boggling malfeasance, crime and violence.  The whole world tends to look at us as poor specimen of human species especially when we rise up in arms in defence of the immorality and infamy of highly placed individuals in the society.  Everything in our clime appears to be in higgledy-piggledy topsy-turvy.  What has truly held and kept us afloat together as a nation has been the legendary good luck that at every twist and turn comes as a totem and a magic wand to stabilize the ship of state.

    What is trending now is corruption in high places which has always cast dark spectre on our survival as a nation from the very beginning, just as Nigerians throw dice to determine whether the fight against corruption is selective or vindictive, being targeted against perceived political foes. We seem to have lost our minds and sanity, reacting to serious issues that have kept our nation perpetually underdeveloped with our appetite rather than our heads and reason.   While footages coming from every part of Nigeria show a relapse into a medieval barbarism and anarchism, we watch in perplexity as the scale of justice and the rule of law sit on its head.  Most shameful is to watch the gladiators in hitherto exalted and reputable organizations employ all manners of schism in desperate protection of crooks who have desecrated their oath of office.

    It is clearly symptomatic of pirates and buccaneers having taken over the reign of power in this country like a ravaging locust and are holding the nation by the jugular.  We are in agreement that corruption is tearing the nation apart; political and economic corruption. What is indeed worrisome is the desperation to deploy the apparatuses of the state to shield individuals that are alleged of criminal infractions and malfeasance.  Legal philosophers have held that there should be equality before the law, and concluded that the king is not above the law because it is the law that makes him king.  Those who dispense justice are next to God because they wield the power of life and death and should therefore be above all appearances of impropriety.

    It is recorded in the Holy Bible, in the Book of 2nd Chronicles where God admonished Judges, “Take heed to what you are doing for you do not judge for man but for the Lord, who is with you in judgment. Now therefore, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes”.   Again, in the Book of 1st Samuel, God punished Eli and his family because his sons were taking bribe and perverting justice.  God Himself would not pardon a bribe taker and those who pervert justice. As the saying goes, those who live in glass house should not throw stone.

    Justice Oputa of blessed memory once observed  that, “In Rome, it is the legion that made the law legal but here in Nigeria and a democracy, it is effective adjudication, efficient judicial enforcement that makes the law legal”.  I am a stickler to the rule of law but the letters of the law are not absolute and immutable.  I am aware and it is a common knowledge that every citizen of Nigeria can exercise the power of arrest where the person is at the point of committing an offence; the person does not have to be a Jew and a Gentile before he can do that.  It is balderdash to argue that it is only the Nigerian Police, or the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that is empowered to arrest corrupt people in their official capacity when there is evidence of the loot is in a known place.

    We may pretend otherwise but the truth as it stands today is that the image and reputation of the Nigerian Police is a whitewash. The failure of the Nigerian Police is partly responsible for the establishment of other agencies whose duties appear to overlap with that of the police like the Nigerian Road Safety Corps, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and these agencies today enjoy confidence of the populace more than the Police.

    What is even more troubling is the fact that we appropriate and personalize public offices.  An individual official is not the same as the state or institution that he presides or represents; Nigeria is not France where Napoleon would be equated with the state. Therefore, the National Assembly is wrong to say that the investigation and trial of some of its presiding officials is the trial of the National Assembly.  In the same vein, the arrest of some judges and Justices of the Supreme Court over suspicion of corruption is certainly not an attack on the judiciary.  We may extend the argument and equally draw the same conclusion that the arrest and arraignment of some members of the Armed Forces both serving and retired like Air Marshal  Alex Badeh and some service chiefs recently and serving Generals is an attack on the Armed forces, which I do not share.

    The histrionics of some elements in the NBA and the Judiciary is a wrong message that there are two measures of justice: justice for the ordinary citizens and justice for the elites or justice for the poor and justice for the rich.   It is obvious that this is the only government in this country that has the liver to come headlong with the  power cabals and syndicates behind the heist and corruption in this country that were hitherto untouchable. The man on the street should be wary of the antics of these individuals and groups that speak vociferously as if truly they are defending the rule of law and justice whereas they are just fighting to ensure that one of their own does not sink or go down. They are not fighting for the masses and they are certainly not fighting to revamp the image of our dear nation that has been raped and battered to a state of unconsciousness.  When these elites are losing their heads, when they engage in the wrong fight and struggle, we should not lose our minds but stand on the right side of history in this season of anomie.

    We have seen that the quality of representation in the National Assembly is poor and puerile. If not, why would it be a priority to start a process of amending the Act of the Code of Conduct Tribunal in order to whittle down its power or that of the President of the Tribunal  the moment the Senate President was arraigned?  Now the National Assembly is excited and in a jubilant mood to amend the Act of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) to clip its wings as they claim because they arrested some judicial officials.  Just the same way there is something uncanny about the current NBA chairman’s call at his inaugural speech in Port Harcourt for the amendment of the Act to take away the prosecutorial powers of the EFCC.  Now the same NBA chairman is calling for a State of Emergency in the judiciary; and I ask myself, over what?

    It is rascality in the extreme and infantile for a sitting governor to turn himself into a scout at midnight to ‘rescue’ a judge when law enforcement agents are carrying out their legitimate duties whereas the same governor cannot come out to rescue ordinary citizens caught in the fight between the ubiquitous cult groups that have turned life into nightmare in the state.  In the democracies that we ape, like the United States of America and Britain, no governor would interfere with activities of federal agencies carrying out their duties irrespective of the status of the person involved.  Nigerians should stop venerating thugs and hooligans as national leaders.

     

    • Kebonkwu Esq writes from Abuja.

  • Why Buhari’s integrity is pivotal to recovery

    A tell-tale sign of a man in anguish was all over the face of our President, when he appeared in a televised broadcast celebrating Nigeria’s 56th Independence Day last October. The speech he gave was melancholic, full of confession, empathy and appeals on the one hand; and yet reassuring on the other. It should be so. The President is irked by the sudden collapse of the economy from years of decay and lack of diversification. He is at the same time determined, more than ever, to get the economy back on track. And there is now a visible light at the end of the tunnel.

    He admitted in his opening speech:  “I know that uppermost in your minds today is the economic crisis…The recession for many individuals and families is real…for some, it means not being able to pay school fees, for others it’s not being able to afford the high cost of food (rice and millet)…”

    Then came the appeal to Nigerians: “Temporary problems should not blind or divert us from the corrective course this government has charted for our nation.” And the assurances followed: “I ran for office because I know that good government is the only way to ensure prosperity and abundance for all. I remain resolutely committed to this objective.”

    Weighty words of assurance, indeed.

    Since Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun announced officially that Nigeria is in recession last August, I have picked interest in the unsolicited, but welcome, search for solutions to Nigeria’s problems. From different walks of life, solutions are being proffered on the way out of the recession. Bankers, lawyers and the fourth realm of the estate have all offered what they believed is the way out. I x-rayed the offerings against the background of what the federal government is doing or trying to do. And my study is showing me that the government under Buhari is increasingly taking on board the solutions that these good Nigerians are offering. I am not oblivious of the increasing bashing of yet some disgruntled elements amongst us who are hell bent on showing Nigerians that the President has derailed. Of course, the international community is fully aware and appreciative of what the current leadership is doing to get us out of the economic wilderness.

    Some experts believe we are not sincere when we say we are in recession for the simple and revealing fact that oil, which is our sole source of foreign exchange, has declined. After all, it contributes only 15% of our GDP. The major contributors to our GDP are agriculture, services and trade. But this is a topic for another day.

    One of the earliest Nigerians to proffer solution out of our recession is a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba (SAN). He summarized the economic maladies responsible for the economic crises as “inflation, high interest rates, unemployment, weak infrastructure, oil price shock and no growth economy”. He called for the adoption of the Keynesian economic model of massive government spending on public works, reducing raging inflation at 17 percent in medium term. He thinks the government should also reduce MPR to a single digit –  five per cent. He says that government should reflate the economy in order to “spend our way out of recession,” among other measures.

    That’s an advice from a lawyer. Now let’s turn to a banker, a one-time governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, now Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II. I analysed his most recent comment on our current situation delivered via a paper presented at the 15th meeting of the Joint Planning Board and National Council on Development Planning recently. That paper was for most part sensationalised and quoted out of context. One needs to have the patience to read the full text (10,188 words) of the presentation to fully understand where the former governor was heading. He was full of praise for some of the policies of the federal government in areas such as fuel subsidy removal, devaluation of the Naira and not surprisingly critical at others such the exchange rate policy.

    The Emir blamed the current economic situation on the previous regimes’ penchant for borrowing, mainly to finance consumption. He is against borrowing to finance public sector wage bill instead of borrowing to finance production. The borrowing spree came after the foreign debt relief of the period from 2002-2008. The debt forgiveness freed up government balance sheets and government returned to borrowing.

    In his words, “Nigeria kept borrowing, not externally, but internally. I think our external debt was just about $8 billion on the balance sheet. But, the Naira indebtedness of the Nigerian government, we were spending over 30 per cent (maybe 40 per cent now) of every Naira earned just servicing debts. That’s what you have. Nobody was noticing it. We have written off the debts, and then we kept building it up bit by bit. And when you look at where that debt was going into, you will see why, or part of the answer to the problem we are having.”

    He rhetorically asked the questions: “Where did all these debts go? Did it go to roads, power, refineries, or infrastructure? No. The new borrowings were simply recycled into much higher recurrent expenditures. What that did was that it helped sustain a consumption boom. And GDP was growing, largely driven by consumption spending.”

    The common solutions running across the recommendations of these voices are: massive spending on infrastructure to kick-start the economy, a flexible exchange rate policy; a devalued Naira; ability to attract foreign investors; development bank to rejuvenate lending, especially to SMEs,  the sector capable of effectively mopping of excessive labour and a re-orientation of Nigerians’ attitude.

    The Buhari regime is variously implementing these solutions already through various policies and programmes. The recent announcement to invest N600 billion on infrastructure is a case in point. A flexible exchange rate is finally in place after some foot-dragging. Closely related to this is that interest rate, which the CBN has raised, although this has come under attack by some stakeholders. But there is no doubt that  the only way we are going to reverse this recession is to increase liquidity in the foreign exchange markets and reduce the gap between the official rate and the parallel market rate. Bringing in the dollars that we need to finance imports will enable import of raw materials, which are the things that will increase production.

    As for reorientation of Nigerians, the answer is the Change Begin With Me campaign.

    Only recently the Minister of Finance announced the imminent take-off of a new bank which goes with the name Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), which will lend funds to SMEs. The seed capital of N410 billion has been acquired from World Bank, African Development Bank and European Investment Bank.

    However, my take on all this is that the need for a leader with integrity holds the key to our national economic rebirth. Whatever policies the FG puts in place, the world will remain sceptical if there is no integrity. The world will not come to our aid if our leader is not honest, and incorruptible. We should count ourselves lucky that our President has a high moral pedigree. And it is this pedigree that is warming our nation to the hearts and minds of the foreign countries. It is the pivot upon which the fulcrum of the support we are now receiving from developed nations revolves. Without it we will be nowhere. Thus, admixture of good economic policies and leadership of integrity remains the way out the current economic crises.

     

  • Are judges above the law?

    Are judges above the law?

    The current debate, in Nigeria, as to who is supreme between the judge and the law is significant because it will indeed move the country forward. We have already heard the two contenders and their supporters. We take the National Judicial Council as the first contender, while the federal government of President Muhammadu Buhari is the second contender. So you can justly say that it is a dialogue between the executive arm of government and the judiciary.

    Now lets’ briefly summarise their position. As I can gather from the press, the position of NJC is that judges are sacred cows, if not demigods. They can do no wrong. And if per chance they transgress, we have an internal procedure to deal with that. This in-house discipline in the most extreme case of corruption attracts dismissal or retirement of the earring judge. So that he will go home safely to enjoy the sweat of his labour. NJC calls its powers: EXCLUSIVE CONSTITUTIONAL DISCIPLINARY POWERS OVER JUDICIAL OFFICERS, (See THE NATION, October 14, page 45.)

    On the contrary, the position of the government seems to be that judges are bound by the laws of the land, which they administer to others. If there are grave allegations bordering on criminality levelled against a judge, the normal laws of the land, which they administer, prevail over in-house discipline. Now, many lawyers have spoken including the NBA either for or against both parties.

    Leaving sentiments aside, I believe the issue at stake is a serious one because it bothers on the RULE OF LAW, DEMOCRACY AND JUSTICE. This issue touches the foundation of our existence as a nation. It is not just the dignity or otherwise of the judicial officer.

    It would appear from the opinions expressed that many in our society have not fully embraced the idea of a democratic government whose anchor point is the doctrine of the Rule of law and Equality before the law. We are still operating a caste society while the rest of the world, including India and the United States, are tearing them apart. We cannot talk about isolating and insulating judges from the law of the land which they apply to others. Equality before the law is the foundation of a democratic society and of the Rule of law. Without this, democracy becomes just a label.

    From the beginning of time, a choice had to be made between man and the law. The Greek Philosopher, Plato, realizing the predilections of man preferred philosopher kings to rule. But when later in life he realized, there were few and far between, he cast his vote on the law. His disciple, Aristotle, having examined the matter in greater detail, said something which has been quoted for thousands of years: “He who bids the law rule, may be deemed to bid God and reason rule, but he who bids man rule, adds an element of the beast; for desire is a wild beast, and passion perverts the minds of rulers, even when they are the best of men. The law is reason unaffected by desire”.

    One of the most able men the English legal system had produced was Francis Bacon. He was a philosopher, scientist, scholar, and above all the Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon was the son of a judge. Yet as the Lord Chancellor, allegations of corruption trailed him. The Lord Chancellor is our equivalent of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, yet the English people did not sweep those allegations under the carpet, as would be done in Nigeria. There was proper investigation and a 23-count charge drawn up. He was tried. And he admitted his guilt and pleaded for leniency. He was not shown any leniency. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London and fined £40,000 in 1621, and stripped of all titles. Bacon was openly disgraced and thus began the era of a sane judiciary for England. His father’s mansion was sold to recover the fine. That is the rule of law. The judges in England became aware that if this could happen to the Lord Chancellor then. The book called Famous Trials reports this and other cases.

    Condoning or shielding corruption is the worst thing you can do to a country. The image of the judiciary is not and cannot be enhanced by shielding corrupt – judges. Today, many Nigerians including the corrupt ones prefer to run away from the country to other lands where they can dwell in safety. Why is this so? Law and order has broken down. The rule of law index is almost zero as published by the World Bank.

    For many decades I have practiced law in Nigeria in many jurisdictions. I have seen very good judges, the not too good, and the ignorant. Who can impeach the character of great stars life Chief Judge Okokon Ita of Cross River State Judiciary or Chief Judge, Edet Robert Nkop of Akwa Ibom Judiciary. A good judge carries his dignity and respect with him everywhere, even when they are no longer on our planet. See all the tributes written about JIC Taylor. They continue to live.

    In jurisprudence, there are two schools of thought regarding this matter. The first is positivism, otherwise called mechanical jurisprudence. They believe the judge is next to God. He can do no wrong. He applies the law mechanically without his human side intervening. But the second school, called the Realist Movement, headed by judge, Jerome Frank, demur. Frank in his famous book – Courts On Trial, discloses that judges are human, and that much harm is done by the myth that merely by putting on a black robe and taking the oath of office as a judge, a man ceases to be human.

    He continues: “Experience discloses that those corrupt judges make the greatest pretence of the purely mechanical working of the courts, through the application of rules, when they decide cases. Then we see that the judging process, in the case of his decisions, actually began with conclusions, which were brought and paid for, and that the rule and facts were deliberately chosen by him, so as dishonestly to justify predetermined purchased decisions”.

    The book ends on this note: “Democracy must indeed fail unless our courts try cases fairly and there can be no fair trial before a judge lacking in impartiality and disinterestedness. For in a democracy, the courts belong not to the judges and the lawyers, but to the citizens, (Courts On Trial, 411, 413, 429 (1950).

    In some states in Nigeria, what do we find? The husband is the Chief Judge while the wife is the Chief Registrar of the court, making the judiciary a family property. Do we not find lawyers who run errands for judges and collect money for them? The papers have reported so much of this even among senior lawyers. When we talk about corruption, there are many facets. My experience in Nigerian courts shows that much work needs to be done to give our people a true sense of justice. Judicial corruption will not vanish overnight because of our complex system of doing things. Sometimes the fight for corruption is TARGETED and very SELECTIVE. But if every judge is made to know that there is no hiding place, they will be circumspect, and over time, we will have a sane society. A corrupt judge is worse than Boko Haram. He is like a housewife turned prostitute. She has renounced her wedlock by conduct and loses all respect even among those that paid the bribe.

    The dignity of the judicial office is inherent. Those who do well live with their dignity and even when they are gone, their glory never depart.

     

    • Afangideh, an expert in Comparative Law writes from United States of America.

     

  • Expensive jokes

    In the past decade or so, being a comedian in Nigeria has become quite lucrative. Some of the very successful ones rank among the top earners in the entertainment industry. Their voices and faces are better recognised than some of our public officials. Indeed, if the presence of any of the top guns in that burgeoning industry is announced at a ceremony, many, whether old or young, rich or poor, would strain their necks just to catch a glimpse. So, knowing how to make a joke has become a well sought after skill.

    Like football or even soldering, before the former became a money spinner, and the latter, the fastest way to power and wealth, at least in Africa, while it lasted, a person whose trade is to make jokes at a public functions was viewed as a scallywag. But not anymore. Indeed, being a successful public speaker would require one knowing how to pull off a few jokes just like the professional stand-up comedians. Part of the game will be to engage in self-deprecating jokes, to attract the attention of the audience, before passing off the main gist or speech of the day.

    Being a successful politician, invariably means being a successful public speaker, at least in those climes, where politics is an art, not a war. In our country, back in the days, some of the best known politicians were very successful public speakers. Some of the best in the first republic included Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Samuel Akintola, Adegoke Adelabu, and to a lesser extent, Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, and a host of others. In the second republic, Bola Ige, Jim Nwobodo, Abubakar Rimi and a host of others, joined the surviving few, from the first republic, in using the art of public- speaking to garner votes.

    The third republic was short lived. The few rave-making public speakers of the present fourth republic were a sprinkling from the second republic, but they have since been overwhelmed by the majority. That majority soon became the proponents of the do-or-die politics introduced by the amalgam of the swashbuckling former military officers, the remnants of the new-breed third republic political-contractors, and the poorly educated but stunningly rich guys, with unmistakable and daring braggadocio. So, being an exceptional public speaker in the present circumstance counted for little or nothing to the average politician. With the diminution in such skills, money became the public speaker.

    So, a politician with truckloads of petro-dollars and the capacity to provide the much sought after stomach infrastructure became the beautiful bride, instead of one with a prodigious elocution, as in other climes. Without other incentives at a political rally, any of the last three presidents of our country for instance, would send an audience to sleep if the measure was their elocution on a podium. Indeed, former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s throat clearing efforts, while making a speech, became the joke from the former General. Umaru Yar’Adua was even worse when the challenge was making public speech. The immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan, struggled so badly, with stringing a few minutes speech, even when he was reading from a text.

    Such has been our lot in the present republic. With the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari so far, the joke is on our president’s public-speaking credentials. PMB has notched a few gaffes, some of which are hilarious. The latest is his comments about the status of his wife and our first lady, Aisha Buhari, while talking to the press, with the Germany Chancellor, Angela Merkel, during a state visit. PMB who is reputed for maintaining a stony face, even while being briefed by his high officials, veered into an unchartered arena: cracking jokes.

    He thought he could pull a few light-hearted stuff when confronted by the press with the serious accusation by his wife that he has become a puny leader in the hands of those who have hijacked his presidency and its change agenda. PMB sought to exhibit the skills of a stand-up comedian not knowing that he needed to engage in a bit of practice. The President said that his wife belongs to his kitchen, his living room and his other room. Even though his demeanour portrayed it as a joke, the backlash has been unsparing and vicious.

    Of course, it was an expensive joke, made worse, by the fact that he was speaking beside a woman, who arguably ranks among the top 10 most powerful persons in the world. So, when he ‘joked’ that his wife belongs to the kitchen, he was portrayed as being insensitive, particularly to his host, who has made a success of her political career. The media and cartoonists showed Chancellor Merkel, looking very distraught after PMB made that statement, while cultural avatars and feminists around the western world also reacted rambunctiously. Perhaps if PMB was a German politician, that statement could have nicely ended his political career.

    But he is a Nigerian. And in Nigeria, particularly in this republic, making great speeches is not one of the criteria for political successes. Moreover how many of the millions of his talakawa supporters heard about the statement? In fact, for many of them, saying that a woman’s place is in the kitchen, living room and the other room, may be an honorary recognition. And if anyone raises any objection to their world view, they would be wondering if the persons head is correct. Again in our socio-political cultural context, those who belong to the famous ‘kitchen cabinet’, are considered more powerful than the regular guys, who merely occupy high offices.

    Assuming our President possesses the skills of any of the expensive comedians, like Ali Baba, Basketmouth, Gordon, AY, lepacious Bose and the host of them, he would have cunningly told the first lady and those feeling angst over his statement: ‘make una no vex, na joke oo’. But while PMB may be joking, or even expressing his default cultural believes, was the first lady joking, with that her explosive interview, granted the BBC? She wasn’t. She didn’t just complain, she added a treat. She said, she would not again campaign for the change agenda in 2019 unless PMB changes.

    Perhaps, Reuben Abati, the spokesman of former President Goodluck Jonathan was right in his recent write-up, about spiritual attacks and the possession of Aso Rock by foul spirits. Otherwise, why should President Buhari not dutifully take pretty Aisha’s wise counsel, which she confirmed she had dutifully offered the president, most likely in that other room that PMB referred to, before she went public with what many of us have been complaining about?

    Unless PMB is lost, he should listen to the wise counsel from his wife if he hopes to make a success of his presidency.  While he has done well fighting Boko Haram, and now rescuing some of the Chibok Girls, those legacies would pale into insignificance, unless the high unemployment and the ravaging hunger in the land are successfully wrestled to the ground. Some of the men and women whom the president has surrounded himself with, and which Aisha talked about, have not shown the capacity to work for the change, we voted for.

     

  • Lingering crisis over local government creation

    There is a lingering problem over the way and manner local governments have been created arbitrarily in this country. The problem became worse under the military. Some call it military nepotism and as it is now, with the 1999 constitution very difficult to amend, it seems we have to live and endure with the problem for a long time.

    Before independence in 1960, there were 240 native authorities in Nigeria, the North had 144, the West had 55 and the East had 47.  The states we referred to as East had 72 local governments in 1979 while the zone we referred to as West including Lagos had 60. The states that we group as the old North had 152 local governments in 1979 while the old Mid-Western region which we named as Bendel state had 19 local governments. In total we had 303 local governments.

    For example Lagos state had eight local governments in 1979. And they were Lagos-Island, Lagos-Mainland, Shomolu, Mushin, Epe, Badagry, Ikorodu and Ikeja. The same Lagos State now has 20 local governments according to the 1999 constitution. In 1979, Kano state had 20 local governments namely Kano (Metropolitan), Dambatta, Ringim, Minjibir, Gezewa, Bichi, Dawakin-Tofa,Gwarzo,Tundun-Wada, Rano, Wudil, Dawakin-Kudu, Dutse, Jahun, Birnin-Kudu, Gaya, Hadejia, Keffin-Hausa, Gumel and Kazaure. Now the old Kano State has been broken into two states, Jigawa and Kano state respectively. The present Kano state has 46 local governments while Jigawa has 27 local governments. In short the old Kano State of 1979 now has 73 local governments. Imo state had 22 local governments in 1979. Now Imo State had been broken into Abia and Imo state respectively. Abia state now has 18 local governments while Imo State has 28 local governments. In 1979, Rivers State had 10 local governments; now Rivers has been broken into two, Bayelsa and Rivers. Rivers State has 23 local while Bayelsa has eight local governments. Kaduna State had 14 local governments in 1979, now it has been broken into two Katsina and Kaduna states. Katsina now has 34 local governments while Kaduna has 23 local governments. Ondo State had 18 local governments in 1979, now it has been broken into Ondo and Ekiti states. The present Ondo State now has 18 local governments while Ekiti has 16 local governments. Ogun State apparently one of the few states that has not been split had 10 local governments in 1979 namely Abeokuta, Odeda, Obafemi-Owode, Ifo-Otta, Egbado-North, Egbado- South, Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu-North, Ijebu-East and Ijebu-Remo. The same Ogun State now has 20 local governments.

    Mid-Western Region was created in June 1973 following an act of the parliament. The region was renamed Bendel State on May 27, 1967. In 1979, the state had 19 local governments namely Oshimili, Oredo, Okpebho, Isoko, Ethiope, Bomadi, Burutu, Okpe, Warri, Orhionmwon, Ovia, Etsako, Ika, Agbazilo, Owan, Ughelli, Aniocha, Akoko-Edo and Ndokwa. Now the state has been split into two, Edo and Delta states. Edo has 20 local governments while Delta has 25 local governments.

    In 1989, we had 589 local governments in Nigeria. We now have 774 local governments. The last exercise on the creation of local governments in Nigeria was carried out by late General Sani Abacha, in 1995 when he appointed Chief Arthur Christopher Izuegbunam Mbanefo (86) as the chairman of the panel. Mbanefo, a Chartered Accountant later became Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United Nations during the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The secretary of the panel then was Dr. Adamu Fika, now chairman of the National Assembly Commission. Other members of the panel were Mrs Adefemi Abeke Taire nee Williams, former Secretary to the Lagos government but married to Chief Torch Oritsewehinmi Taire who died October 15 last year at the age of 81, Chief Kunle Oluwasannmi from Ipetu-Ijesha, Osun State and brother to Professor Hezekiah Oluwasanmi, former Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    On December 16 1997, Abacha appointed Chief Oluwasanmi, a former Custom Officer to replace Professor Iyawose Hagher as Minister of State for Power and Steel. The other members also include Mr. El- Nathan from Adamawa State, Alhaji Kofar Katsina, Chief Audu Ogbeh, now Minister for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Kufobai, Obong Umana O. Umana, General Peter Ademokhai(rtd.), former General officer Commanding First Mechanised Division Kaduna.

    There will always be constant conflict on creation of local governments in this country as long as states blessed with more local governments earn more than the other states with less local governments.

    As a way out maybe we should return to the measure adopted in 1963. Maybe that will reduce conflict; just maybe. Section 140 of the 1963 constitution (1) There shall be paid by the Federation to each Region a sum equal to fifty percent of –

    (a)        The proceeds of any royalty received by the Federation in respect of any minerals extracted in that region; and

    (b)        Any mining rents derived by the Federation from within that Region

    (2) The Federation shall credit to the Distributable Pool Account a sum equal to thirty per cent of —

    (a) the proceeds of any royalty received by the Federation in respect of minerals extracted in any Region; and

    (b) any mining rents derived by the Federation from within any Region.

    (3) For the purposes of this section the proceeds of a royalty shall be the amount remaining from the receipts of that royalty after any refunds or other repayments relating to those receipts have been deducted therefrom or allowed for.

    (4) Parliament may prescribe the periods in relation to which the proceeds of any royalty or mining rents shall be calculated for the purposes of this section.

    (5) In this section “minerals” includes mineral oil.

    (6) For the purposes of this section the continental shelf of a region shall be deemed to be part of that region.

    141.—There shall be paid by the Federation to the Region at the end of each quarter sums equal to the following fractions of the amount standing to the credit of the Distributable Pool Account t that date, that is to say—

    (a) to Northern Nigeria, forty ninety-fifths;

    (b) to Eastern Nigeria, thirty-one ninety-fifths;

    (c)  to Western  Nigeria, eighteen ninety-fifths;

    (d) to Mid-Western Nigeria, six ninety-fifths.

    142—Each Region shall in respect kin respect of each financial  year pay to the Federation an amount equal to such part of the expenditure incurred by the Federation during that financial year in respect of the department of customs and excise of the Government of the Federation for the purpose of collecting the duties referred to in section 136-139 of this Constitution as is proportionate o the share of the proceeds of those duties received by that region under those sections in respect of that financial year.

     

    • Teniola, a former director at the presidency, writes from Lagos.