The Nation Newspaper

Category: Comments

  • Change: Time to re-strategise

    Alot of events are unfolding in the country by every passing day and there is no gainsaying the fact that the change agents are putting in much effort towards ensuring that the misdeeds of the past are corrected and other necessary things are done to move the country forward. However, it is worrisome that despite all efforts, the situation on ground is a far cry from all expectations. Thus, it will not be out of place to say that the masses are in a state of confusion as a result of the fact that, what is happening to them is beyond comprehension. At the early stage of the administration, a lot of positive changes were experienced. Presently, the case has suddenly changed; queues have only just begun to disappear from the filling stations; electricity is now meant for the affluent and privileged few; the costs of living have sky-rocketed; many organizations are folding up and laying off workers; societal vices are on the rise again and there seems to be no end to the suffering of the masses.

    Consequently, the people are gradually losing their patience and faith in the system because they now have misgivings about every step taken by the government. Some of us who called for the patience and support of Nigerians to enable the administration make positive impacts have now become subject of mockery in the society.

    Numerous reasons and excuses have been adduced ranging from the global fall in oil prices; the looted treasury and bastardized economy; activities of some unpatriotic elements in government’s establishments; activities of Boko Haram; corruption in high places; battered image of the country; distractions from opposition and a host of others. In as much as I want to sympathize with the government for all these inherited problems, the fact remains that things are presently not working out as planned and the best way out would be to re-strategize and prioritize objectives. There is need for President Muhammadu Buhari to put measures in place to ensure that majority of the people can afford to fend for themselves. It is only then that you can make them understand and buy the idea of sacrificing to make the country great again. There is need to tackle the most pressing problems first before thinking of solving other secondary issues. Projects that will have immediate positive impact on the lives of the masses must attract urgent attention and be pursued vigorously.

    It is very important for leaders to always have it at the back of their minds that, there is a limit to human endurance. The people opted for change because their affairs were not properly handled in the last dispensation, which made life very difficult and unbearable for them. Consequently, they used their voting powers effectively to change the government. Thus; it was not as if the people in APC performed any magic or that they were tactically or strategically better than those of the other parties during the elections. The situation in the country then was so hard on the people and the future very discouraging that it became expedient to salvage their existence and future by voting out the then leaders to give a new set of people the benefit of the doubt. Therefore, if our leaders take the people for granted again, the consequences are very clear and predictable.

    In as much as I want to agree with the government that there is need for all and sundry to make sacrifices for the country to get to the desired destination, it must not be sacrifices of avoidable deaths through hunger and rising societal vices. In as much as the old saying that, there is no gain without pains is still relevant; it does not make sense when the people are made to suffer endlessly. At least, they should know what they are set to achieve at the end of the sufferings or trying period. It is no longer news telling them that change is slow to come because of the state of hopelessness the last administration plunged the country into. The people knew that something was fundamentally wrong and, that was what informed their resolved to vote in the government of change to alleviate the situation and not to worsen it.

    The wrangling within the ruling party is one major albatross of this government. The division caused by the composition of the leadership of the National Assembly which still persists is an indication that selfish interest is paramount in the minds and considerations of some of our leaders. The people who ought to work together to resolve the problems of the country are now divided. By now, one would have expected that the issue is buried and forgotten but, that is not the case.

    Cross carpeting of some members of the opposition parties to the ruling party is not also helping matters as it has turned out to be negatively affecting the performances of some office holders whose focus have now shifted to how to retain control of the party’s machineries in their respective localities. The situation is compounded by forces outside government whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection amongst the people and capitalize on the crises for selfish political gains. Time is ticking fast against their antics and they will be demystified and put to shame sooner than expected because, the masses are patiently observing the trends and waiting for the right time to show that power belongs to the people.

    As a result of the aforementioned, mutual suspicion is now prevalent in every facet of government and it has created an atmosphere or situation that can hardly breed good returns.

    In as much as I am personally convinced that the President meant well for the people and he is putting in every available/possible effort to deliver the dividends of democracy, he can only be himself. The people that ought to close ranks and join hands with him to move the country forward are the same elements that have polarized the affairs of government by sowing seeds of discord. They do not give a damn about the hardship the masses are presently experiencing. By their actions and dispositions, it is very clear, that they are only pursuing personal and selfish interests as against the national interest they want the world to believe.

    The President should note that, if anything goes wrong in the country, the blame will be his. Therefore, he should impress it on his lieutenants to sit up and face the business of governance squarely. No one should allow his/her political ambitions to conflict with the national interests (which is sacrosanct) otherwise, they should throw in the towel and allow those that will serve patriotically to come on board.

    The people are losing their patience; they need change urgently.

     

    • Oise-Oghaede writes from Surulere, Lagos.

  • Still on Kaduna religious bill and 1999 Constitution

    The Kaduna State Religious Preaching Bill has generated controversies. Some have held that the Bill is irredeemably unconstitutional on the authorities of sections 10 and 38 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999. But are they right in the light of the balancing provisions of section 45(1) CFRN?

    Some believe that the provision of section 4 of the Bill which recognises Islam and Christianity as the two major religions in Kaduna State breaches the provision of section 10 of CFRN 1999 which prohibits recognition of state religion by either the state or federal government. The relevant question however is whether recognising “two major religions” is the same thing with adopting a state religion. It is my view that the two are different. The Kaduna Bill does not seek to impose a state religion; it only seeks to regulate two major religions (out of others recognised in the state) with divisive and violent intolerant tendencies. To flout section 10 of CFRN 1999 therefore, a state or federal law must clearly provide that it is now adopting religion A or B as the official state religion to the exclusion of all others. This, obviously, is not the case here. We can equally argue that by establishing institutions for pilgrimage (to Mecca and Jerusalem only) at both state and federal levels, these two tiers of government have adopted Christianity and Islam as official religions on Nigeria. This is an argument that will be dead on arrival (DoA).

    Others fervently justified the unconstitutionality of the proposed Bill on the ground that most of its provisions contravene section 38 of the CFRN 1999 which recognises the right of every citizen to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Since this constitutional provision recognises the enjoyment of this right either in private or in public or in community with others, those who hold this view argued for an absolute (as opposed to a qualified) application of the provisions of section 38 without admitting or acknowledging the possibility of a derogation even within the ambit of the CFRN 1999. This explains their absolute assertion that people can decide to practise his Christian or Islamic religion and belief alone without regard to other members of the society.

    It is however important to clarify that the word “public” must be interpreted together with the words “in community with others.” It is by so doing that we can fully appreciate that the constitution is simply saying “your right to freedom of religion can be exercised in person in private, or in community with others in public and at designated places of worships.” This type of interpretation can be justified under the constitution itself which requires fair balancing of all the fundamental rights of citizens. Thus even though you have a right to freedom of speech, you cannot in the process defame other people: if you do, you will be visited with a civil suit for libel or slander. This need for balancing is equally echoed in one of the witty quotations of a former US Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr who said that “your right to swing your arms ends just where the other man’s nose begins.”

    More importantly, the CFRN 1999 permits governments (state or federal) to enact legislation needed for balancing citizens’ rights. This can be found in section 45(1) of the CFRN 1999 which provides thus:

    “Nothing in sections 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of this Constitution shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society

    (a)    in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health (emphasis added); or

    (b)   for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom  of other persons”.

    It will be over-simplistic and playing with human lives to overlook the fact that the Kaduna Bill is proposed to reduce religious violence/intolerance and mindless killing in that state. This is a state where several precious lives had been lost to riots resulting from the Maitatsine attack, the Danish Cartoons incident, the Miss World incident, and recently, the Shiite-Army clash. I therefore find it incomprehensible that anyone will discuss section 38 of the Constitution without referring to the above-quoted section which permits governments to come up with legislation required for rights-balancing.

    In further criticising the Bill and making a case for its jettison, some are offended that the Bill subjects “Christians to the jurisdiction of customary courts” when those courts lack understanding of Ecclesiastical matters. But truth be told, the court in this case is not called upon to interpret any Ecclesiastic provisions; rather the customary court will be interpreting a purely secular law as represented in the proposed Bill. So, this criticism is also DoA.

    Some have made too much issue of the requirement that any intending preacher must obtain licence from the JNI/CAN committee. In over-flogging this as a violation of the right to freedom of association, they failed to notice that the JNI/CAN group is simply performing a nominal administrative duty of issuing licence. The bulk of the work leading to license issuance (verification of personality, etc.) are within the prerogative of the local government committees. This makes a lot of sense since local governments are the closest to the people and they stand in a better position to know the characters of intending applicants. It is this local government committee which makes recommendation to the Inter-Faith committee on whether to grant or deny a licence. The Inter-Faith committee simply acts on this recommendation by authorising the JNI/CAN committee to issue license. Even though the local government committee is peopled mostly by JNI/CAN members, nowhere in the proposed Bill is it provided that membership of JNI/CAN is a precondition to licence grant.

    In the final analysis, a law such as this is long overdue for most states of Nigeria. In Ilorin, Kwara State where I live, government roads are blocked on Fridays for Jumat prayers, and on other days for any other programmes of the Mosque. Churches conduct vigils blasting their services through loud speakers at the highest volume, not minding the peace of the people in their vicinities. Are these to be understood as exercise of their rights to freedom of religion? What about atheists? Don’t they too have rights not to be bothered by whatever you are preaching? What about a Christian or Muslim who does not want to be bothered by whatever you are “selling” in the name of Almighty God or Allah? All these are necessary balancing in virtually all democracies of the world. As a matter of fact, in some of the countries I have been to, religious activities are legally required to take place only in sound-proof apartments. While the Kaduna State Bill may not be a perfect piece of legislation as it is, it is a welcome development. Concerned stakeholders in the state should therefore attend the public hearing of the Bill to make sure their concerns are taken care of. As an example, I believe the scope of where recorded religious materials can be played should be extended to include inside private cars but at a moderate volume. It is important we exercise our rights to freedom of religion with a balancing mindset. Only then can there be peace all over the country. May I close with the words of George Carlin that “religion is like a pair of shoes…Find one that fits you, but don’t make me wear your shoes.”

     

    • Olatunji, a lecturer at University of Ilorin, writes from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.  

  • Akenzua’s memo on Aburi

    When on March 15, last year, the Secretary of the Benin traditional council, Frank Irabor announced that “the leopard is ill in the Savannah bush”, we knew exactly what has happened to the Omo N’oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Erediauwa (CFR), the 38th Oba of Benin, who was born on June 22, 1923 and ascended the throne on March 23, 1979.

    The Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler of the Edo people and head of the historic Eweka dynasty of the Benin Empire.

    The services of Oba Erediuwa are well valued and will not be forgotten. Before becoming an Oba, as Prince Samuel Aiseokhuoba Igbinoghodua Akenzua, he was an outstanding civil servant. He in fact rose to become the Federal Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health before he retired in 1973.

    Along with others, he attended the Aburi meeting held at the Peduase lodge where the conflict of Nigeria was discussed from January 4-5 1967. Aburi is a town in Ghana. It is forty-five minutes’ drive from Accra, the capital of Ghana.

    Those who attended the meeting were Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon, Colonel Robert Adebayo,Lt-Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu, Lt-Col David Ejoor, Lt-Col Hassan Katsina, Commodore J.E.A. Wey, Major Mobolaji Johnson, Alhaji Kam Selem and Mr. J. Omo-Bare. Others are Prince S.I.A. Akenzua (Permanent Under-Secretary, Federal Cabinet Office.), Mr. P.T. Odumosu (Secretary to the Military Government, West.), Mr. N.U. Akpan (Secretary to the Military Government,East.), Mr. D.P. Lawani (Under-Secretary, Military Governor’s Office, Mid-West) and Alhaji Ali Akilu (Secretary to the Military Government, North.) The Chairman of the Ghana National Liberation Council, Lt-General J.A.Ankrah, declared the meeting open in his capacity as then the head of state of Ghana.

    The following was agreed upon – that Army to be governed by the Supreme Military Council under a chairman to be known as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Head of the Federal Military Government, establishment of a Military Headquarters comprising equal representation from the Regions and headed by a Chief of Staff, Creation of Area commands corresponding to existing Regions and under the charge of Area commanders, matters of policy, including appointments and promotion to top executive posts in the Armed Forces and the Police to be dealt with by the Supreme Military Council, During the period of the Military Government, Military Governors will have control over Area Commands for internal security, Creation of a Lagos Garrison including Ikeja Barracks. In connection with the re-organisation of the Army, the council discussed the distribution of Military personnel with particular reference to the present recruitment drive. The view was held that general recruitment throughout the country in the present situation would cause great imbalance in the distribution of soldiers. After a lengthy discussion of the subjects, the council agreed to set up a Military committee on which each Region will be represented, to prepare statistics which will show: Present strength of Nigeria Army; Deficiency in each sector of each unit; the size appropriate for the country and each Area command; Additional requirement for the country and each Area command.

    The Committee is to meet and report to council within two weeks from the date of receipt of instructions. The Council agreed that pending completion of the exercise in connection with re-organisation of the army, further recruitment of soldiers should cease. The implementation of the agreement reached on 9 August 1966, it was agreed, after a lengthy discussion, that it was necessary for the agreement reached on 9 August by the delegates of the Regional Governments to be fully implemented. In particular, it was accepted in principle that army personnel of Northern origin should return to the North from the West. It was therefore felt that a crash programme of recruitment and training, the details of which would be further examined after the committee to look into the strength and distribution of army personnel had reported, would be necessary to constitute indigenous army personnel in the West to a majority there quickly.

    As far as the Regions were concerned, it was decided that all the powers vested by the Nigerian Constitution in the Regions and which they exercised prior to 15 January 1966, should be restored to the Regions. To this end, the Supreme Military Council decided that all decrees passed since the Military take-over, and which tended to detract from the previous powers of the Regions, should be repealed by 21 January, after the Law Officers should have met on 14 January to list out all such decrees.

    The decisions at Aburi amounted to, in terms of political and military control of the country was that the country should be governed as a Confederation.

    Prince Akenzua along with top permanent secretaries including Alhaji Yusuf  Gobir, Phillip Asiodu, Eme Ebong, B.N. Okagbue and Allison Ayida deconstructed in Lagos, all that was agreed in Aburi.

    On arrival in Lagos, Prince Akenzua discussed with General Gowon and raised objections to what was agreed in Aburi. Gowon asked him to raise a memo which he did. I am sure a copy of the memo is with General Gowon today while a copy is in the archives in the presidency. Civil servants are to be seen and not to be heard and that is why Prince Akenzua never released a copy of the memo to the world. The memo dated January 8, 1967 began with “Your Excellency, in view of my discussion with you last night, I am raising this memo in the interest our fatherland-Nigeria”. Prince Akenzua traced the long hard road that Nigeria has travelled and stressed on the need to keep a United Nigeria.

    In his view, Gowon has given too much away in Aburi and that it will lead to the destruction of the country. He further added that Gowon has “legalised” total regionalism which “will make the centre very weak.”  Prince Akenzua alluded in his memo that a weak centre will lead to confederation and total disintegration of the country. The memo prompted Gowon to summon a meeting of the Secretaries to the military governments and other officials which was held in Benin City between February 16 and 18 1967. The minutes of the Benin meeting presided over by H. A. Ejueyitchie, Secretary to the Federal Military Government, was a total rejection of what was agreed upon in Aburi. The Benin meeting interpreted in its own way the agreement reached in Aburi. After the Benin meeting, Lt-Col. Ojukwu started the “on Aburi I stand” slogan. Thereafter the Federal Government promulgated Decree No. 8 of 1967 which gave total powers to the centre. It has been so since. We shall continue to argue and debate the full implications of decree 8 which was promulgated on March 10 1967. The ghost of that decree still haunts us today.

    On February 16 1967, Colonel Ojukwu wrote to Gowon: “At Aburi, certain decisions were taken by the Supreme Military Council – the highest authority of the land under the present regime. For my part, I became dedicated to those decisions, only to discover soon that you and your Civil Service advisers, along with selfish and disgruntled politicians in Lagos, and perhaps elsewhere as well, did not feel the same. As a result you have seen to it that the decision taken at Aburi are systematically vitiated or stalled.”

    In his own broadcast, the then military governor of Western Region, Colonel Robert Adeyinka Adebayo on May 3 1967 said, “We tried at Aburi to find the basis for a solution but there was not enough confidence to build upon that basis. As a result, follow up action was slow and argument developed which further impaired confidence. When at last decree No. 8 was passed by the Supreme Military Council, we could not carry the Eastern Region with us.”

    In his broadcast to the joint meeting of the advisory committee of the Chiefs and Elders and the Consultative assembly of Eastern Nigeria on May 27 1967, Colonel Ojukwu said “In Lagos, the Permanent Secretaries there studied the recommendations and, to their credit, brought out clearly and unmistakably their meanings and implications. Having seen these, however, they unfortunately went beyond their rights and duty as civil servants to advice against the implementation of the Aburi agreements. From there our difficulties started and have taken us to our present stalemate”.

    Till today both sides (Gowon and Ojukwu till he died) interpreted what was agreed upon in Aburi in their own way. One of the problems at Aburi was that a portion of the meeting was not recorded. The military excused the civilians at a certain stage during the meeting and it was alleged that during this informal chat that Gowon made certain commitments to Lt. Col. Ojukwu especially on full regionalism.

    Even till today judging by the decisions reached at the last National Conference, we are still arguing on confederation or federalism.

    As long as Nigeria remain one under federalism, the memo of Prince Akenzua which was a wakeup call on General Yakubu Gowon and his efforts later will continue to be appreciated in no small measure.

    The nation remembers and the nation appreciates.

     

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

  • Railways: Enhancing Nigeria’s corridors of commerce

    It is a truth universally acknowledged that a developing nation in possession of a large population must be in want of a robust transport system. (Forgive me Jane Austen).

    There’s at least one concerted-effort activity that every free, hale and hearty Nigerian does every day and that is, move. From home to school, to the market, to the office; from neighbourhood to neighbourhood; from one state to another; from city to village and vice versa; from one country to another, and so on. We are always on the move and the largest chunk of this movement is by road, whether on foot, bicycle, tricycle, “okada”, by car, bus, “molue”, you name it. Not surprisingly, the roads are usually congested. Given that many destinations are land-locked, the road appears to be the most convenient and economical way for the majority of people to complete their journey. But there has to be a more efficient, land-based, affordable mode for mass transit and there is: rail. The railway is a somewhat unexpected solution provider for seemingly unrelated social and economic issues, and it could well be instrumental in fomenting a much needed industrial revolution here, as it has done in other countries.

    A fully-functioning railway network is not only useful for moving an assemblage of people from Point A to Point B, it’s also effective for transporting cargo, improving distribution logistics, decongesting traffic, boosting trade nationally and internationally, enhancing tourism and even improving inter-tribal understanding. When compared to the bulk goods movement capacity of road vehicles, rail ranks higher in safety, speed, size of cargo hold, scalability (extra train carriages can be added to a locomotive manned by one driver with one attendant), and strength in terms of durability.

    One way to improve the competitiveness of our exports is to have a full-bodied nationwide railway system that can be efficiently operated on lean margins. An intercontinental rail network would be even better. It doesn’t hurt to dream, but let’s walk before we run. According to the 2016 Economic Outlook published by Economic Associates, approximately 58% of our non-oil income is generated from four industries: trade, crop production, real estate and telecoms & info services. The revenue generated by these sectors could grow exponentially if we had a robust railway system. (Assuming there is stable power supply that would complement production efforts rather than a convulsive one that frustrates the best of intentions).

    While new rail tracks are laid and existing ones are expanded, gas pipes and cabling for telecoms or electricity transmission, can be laid at the same time. Yes, such infrastructural undertakings are expensive, but then so are the mental, physical, social, economic and environmental costs of sitting in traffic for 12 hours because of an overturned trailer. And besides, such mammoth infrastructural projects are excellent opportunities to attract irreversible capital input from abroad.

    Since the first construction of a railway in Nigeria just before the 1900s, we have built rail lines that go from Lagos to Kano; Port Harcourt to Kano; Port Harcourt to Aba; Abuja to Kaduna, and so on. Lagos also has an intra-state rail system. Unfortunately not enough attention was given to rail transport from the mid-1960s till recent years. Now however, there is a move to modernize existing railroads and build new ones to international standards, so much so that we are likely to have standard gauge rail, at least, from Lagos to Kano; Lagos to Calabar; Kaduna to Abuja; and Itakpe to Ajaokuta to Port Harcourt. But ideally, we should have railway service to every city, town, or hamlet with a population in excess of 500 people. Allowing the private sector to take over the railways will help achieve this goal.  Privatising the railways will raise the much-needed revenue for governance, improve our time to market and increase the fiscal competitiveness of our locally made goods. It makes one wonder why the 1957 Railway Act, slated for amendment since 1999 has not been attended to by members of the National Assembly.

    On the website, corridorsofcommerce.com, the US-based transport network, BNSF Railway, highlights the economic, social and environmental benefits of using trains to move “agriculture, raw materials and finished goods”, over a distance of 3,422 route miles within an area covering parts of the USA and Canada, which it refers to as the Great Northern corridor. “In 2009, the Great Northern moved over 124 million tons of freight. It would take over 4.9 million long-haul trucks on highways to move that much freight. The Great Northern saved over 570 million gallons of fuel and over 6 million tons of greenhouse gases.” Now fast forward to Nigeria and imagine what it would mean for our GDP if we could do the same here.

    Currently, Lafarge uses the railways to move cement from Ogun State to other parts of the country.  As our national rail infrastructure is built up, other companies will be able to embark on a similar modal shift away from transporting industrial-capacity or wholesale goods by roads, to moving those same items by rail instead. When trains become the primary method for moving cattle, tomatoes, coal, petrol, sand, boulders and other such bulk inputs, confrontations between bovine drovers and agrarian homesteaders can perhaps be minimised, less agricultural produce would perish on the way to market, there would likely be fewer car crashes, and the roads would be a lot less crammed. Developers would benefit from an increase in the value of the land around the rail stations; entrepreneurs would benefit from a drop in the cost of doing business; young adults would benefit from an increase in employment opportunities; and government would benefit from an increase in the number of people able to pay tax, amongst other things.

    As a developing nation with a large population, we are in a sincere need of a robust, nationwide transport system. Perpetuating the delay in reviewing the 1957 Railway Act is ultimately self-defeating. As part of our strategy for sustainable economic growth, we need to give active, urgent, methodological attention to building up our railways.

     

    • Ms. Aboderin is a member of the Institute of Directors.

  • Government must let the markets work

    If there is any lesson the federal government must learn from the lingering petrol crises, in the unabated long queues at our petrol stations, it is that that a government cannot substitute itself for the market no matter the depth of its patriotic intentions.  From the management of the foreign exchange to petrol markets, we see an economic management paradigm that markets do not matter, that a government can take over the fundamental functions of markets from the supply of goods, to the determination of demand and the ultimate fixing of prices. Nothing illustrates the fallacy of this economic paradigm more than the current petrol crisis. When economic goods are mechanically and artificially priced below their true economic value, the effective and efficient functioning of markets are distorted, supply dries up and demand becomes over-bloated. This leads to secondary and parallel markets where economic goods will ultimately find prices closer to its true value. The few privileged elites who control supply benefit from unjustifiable rent, the market becomes inefficient and productivity and economic output ultimately decline. It will be useful to estimate the productivity loss and output decline occasioned by the current petrol crisis in all sectors of the economy including small business and the impact on the quality of life of Nigerian households.

    If the economic and output implications issues of a fixed pricing of foreign exchange are not as clear, it should be clearer with the petrol product crisis.  Essentially, the fixed price of petrol below its economic value created little incentive for the private sector to participate in the petrol market leaving virtually the NNPC as the sole supplier. Despite all patriotic intentions and the best of logistic management, the NNPC alone has been unable to cope and meet national demand. If any government must be open to market logic, it should be the one operating in a time of heavy fiscal constrains like the current administration. In the period of fiscal abundance, a government might have the resources to call the bluff of markets, even controversially so, but certainly not in the period of fiscal constraints where private sector resources need to be deliberately courted and mobilized to complement constrained fiscal supplies. From Venezuela to Nigeria, we see the same challenge of the anti-market economic policy and its negative effect on output and employment. A genuinely patriotic Hugo Chavez could call the bluff of markets when oil prices were high in his days in Venezuela but not the current Maduro government operating in period of low oil prices and heavily constrained fiscal state resources. Outputs have shrunk; inflation and unemployment have skyrocketed in Maduro’s Venezuela.  Shops are empty and there are typical long queues for basic essential groceries. Like Zimbabwe with the same unorthodox economic policies, we in Nigeria are now beginning to queue perpetually for fuel, queue for forex and queue for electricity.

    As it affects petrol and forex markets, the same issues affect the infrastructure and power markets. The Works and Power Minister has lamented  that while his ministry needs N2 trillion to complete just the road projects inherited from the previous administration, his ministry will at best have just about N400billion from the budget, which is expected to finance road construction, including investments required to radically upgrade our power infrastructure. It should be obvious that if we do not get our power markets to work with the right pricing of economic goods that provide sufficient incentives for private investments from home and abroad, we should say good-bye to serious improvement in our electricity situation. Babatunde Fashola despite his good track record may be potentially demystified by the current government economic policy.

    It is not that markets are always perfect and cannot fail. There are in fact critical instances where markets fail and their dysfunction necessitates the intervention of the state to protect the poor and the socially vulnerable. In the case of public goods like education and health, where the social benefits of investments are far bigger than private returns to capital, when private capital will not sufficiently invest in public goods, the state must intervene to correct market failure to ensure the protection of the socially vulnerable, the poor and the larger society.  The state will achieve this by driving public investments in social services including the provision of subsidies targeting the socially vulnerable.  Such public investments and social subsidies especially in a fiscally constrained state must be appropriately targeted to ensure that they are going to only those who deserve such subsidies, those who cannot afford to pay commercial prices.  Designing such social subsidy programme can be very challenging as we see in the petrol subsidy programme as well as in the current forex allocation programme, which is effectively a social subsidy programme to buy the dollar at prices below its true economic value. The true economic value or price of the dollar is the equilibrium price that balances demand and supply in the forex market. This price given parallel market rate today is clearly above the official fixed exchange rate.

    The distortion in the current forex subsidy programme is obvious. The subsidy programme is benefiting the rich and narrow elites more than the poor. The poor do not buy dollars. They do not process letter of credit nor buy dollars for capital investments in their companies and their subsidiaries abroad. They do not pay overseas school fees neither do they pay mortgages abroad using our dollar commonwealth. They do not travel overseas and certainly do not buy Personal Travel Allowances at official rates. And, there is certainly very little trickle-down effect of this heavy subsidizing of the dollar consumption of narrow elites as production inputs are priced at near parallel market rates, in the determination of market prices, even among businesses that are privileged to get the dollar at official rate.  The evidence of rising inflation confirms that the current non- market, fixed forex pricing policy, despite its good intentions has not delivered low prices of goods for the poor.

    The same distortion also happens in the petrol subsidy programme. The wealthy consumes more petrol with several fuel guzzling cars per household compared to the low income that uses mass-shared public transportation. The wealthy benefit from petroleum product subsidy more than the poor. The petrol product market will be more efficient if prices reflect their true economic value at equilibrium prices that balance demand and supply. At true economic prices, demand will reduce to match available supply. This will solve the lamentation of the petroleum minister that 30 percent of our fuel imports are ferried across the border to Cameroun and Chad where petroleum product prices are closer to their economic value.  In a market-driven pricing regime, the arbitrage margin between local price and cross-border price of petroleum product shrinks eliminating incentives to smuggle petrol across the border. Fuel imports and demand for dollar for fuel import will crash; the naira will appreciate with positive spiral effect on social welfare. Private sector supply of petroleum products will also increase at market prices, reducing the pressure on NNPC to supply and fulfil virtually most of national demand. We can then save resources from NNPC and plough them to fund social investments in infrastructure, public transportation, health and education.

    Our argument in essence is that a fiscally constrained government such as we have, cannot afford to distort markets in area where they are potentially efficient and create inefficiencies by its commission or omission. The social cost of such market distortions is high on society, the economy and general public welfare. While the anti-corruption stance of the Buhari government is commendable, it must embrace real economic pragmatism and allow markets to function if it will make a difference in reversing the economic downturn. There is very little evidence, even if nascent, that the anti-market economic policy orientation of the government is working. Growth rate is at its lowest in decades, unemployment and inflation are rising. It is now time for change. It is time for the government to let the markets work.

     

    • Akanmu writes on Strategy and Public Policy.
  • I weep with Ugwuanyi

    I weep with Ugwuanyi

    This column has not paid much attention to the government of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Governor of Enugu State, since May 29, 2016 perhaps because the man fondly called gburugburu by his admirers is less hawkish than his predecessors. Indeed, I have heard many say that he is a friend to all, and that explains his fond name which can be approximated to a ‘A Man of the People’. Well, I know that the protagonist in that Chinua Achebe’s fictional work, is not a character any Nigerian politician would openly embrace; so I take back my interpretation, more so now that the governor and the state he governs has been thrown into mourning by their bloodsucking guests.

    But before the so-called herdsmen brought their killing prowess into Enugu State, I came closest to writing on Ugwuanyi’s performance in office few weeks ago following the Enugu Investment Summit – tagged – Beyond Oil: Fostering Inclusive Economic Growth and Sustainable Development, organized by Ike Chioke and his OGANIRU group. The conference according to Chioke, a member of the state economic advisory committee, was organized to “highlight Enugu’s prospects as a business destination while exploring the state’s potential in a wide range of industries.” Judging by the quality of the attendees and the philosophy behind it, I guess it can be described as a modest achievement. This column had in the past advised the south-east governors to coalesce and organize a common economy devoid of partisanship.

    So, while congratulating Governor Ugwuanyi, Ike Chioke and their team for the re-awakening, there is the need for them to expand the horizon to include other south-east states if the zone wants to spectacularly succeed despite the debilitating odds fostered by the misguided federal system that we ape. While awaiting the joint ventures, if I were Governor Ugwuanyi, I would concentrate my effort on nurturing agriculture and agro-allied industries considering the potential advantages the state has in this area. With adequate incentive, investment and organisation, the state’s Gross Domestic Product can be doubled in a few years if rice, cassava and yam farming is successfully promoted.

    As the Governor probably knows, the south-east’s fertile belt stretches from Adada through Olo, both in Enugu State, all the way to Anambra state and beyond. Sometimes I imagine the potentials of small scale industries, processing rice, yam, cassava, rice flour, yam flour, cassava flour and canned varieties, all along that fertile part. Still talking about agro-allied industries, I earnestly wish that Governor Ugwuanyi would resuscitate cashew farming, production and processing which is concentrated around Oghe and its environs.

    Should the Nigerian political elite, decide to release our dear country from the centralized vice-grip, and allow the decentralization of the modern factors of production, Uwuanyi and other governors of the zone can jointly produce the much-needed electricity, to power the farms and industries; develop a complementary rail line and other infrastructure, for the movement of the work-force, the produce and products, for local consumption and export earnings. But of course, the modern factors of production, like electricity and the rail line, are the exclusive preserve of the federal government and until the misguided elites across the regions come to their senses, state and regional economies and the attendant social security would remain a mirage.

    But it appears the modest efforts of Governor Ugwuanyi to chart a new economy for Enugu State would also turn a mirage should the bloodsucking herdsmen be allowed to fester unhindered by the failing Nigerian state. Barely few days, after showcasing Enugu State as an investment haven, Governor Ugwuanyi led another delegation to weep at the scene of a catastrophe, planned and executed by those who are supposedly doing business in his state. The people of Ukpabi Nimbo, who had their men, women and children slaughtered, for no cause at all, must be wandering at these wicked and malicious visitors who feed on their farms, their blood and their property.

    As Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, publicly wept, many Nigerians, including this writer, wept with him. As the Nigeria in many Nigerians die slowly, the accused Fulani herdsmen, have vowed that no force can stop them from feeding on the lives of their fellow countrymen for all to have a country. For these terrorists who pretend to be herdsmen, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria allows them unfettered access to roam the countryside, sucking the blood of others, as the price for nationhood. Without his saying so, the governor was obviously crying at his helplessness despite the false robe of the state’s chief security officer that he wears.

    Before him, Governor, now Senator Jonah Jang had cried at similar helplessness, when Plateau State was turned to a killing field, by similar strange visitors. Not long ago, former Senate President, David Mark had cried like a baby over similar mindless killings in Agatu, Benue State. There again, Senator Mark was helpless, despite his pretensions to a high office, as representative of his people.  Over that same issue, the present Governor Samuel Ortom, like his immediate predecessor, Gabriel Suswan, had ran to Aso rock, in such a terrible haste, crying over his helplessness. Before the people of Ukpabi Nimbo community were mindlessly killed, they were put on notice. According to one George Ajogu, their spokesman, “Because we lack security, the Fulani come here and tell us the land is theirs. They tell the farmers to kneel down and they rape the women in front of their husbands”.

    This column had on March 8, taken a hard knock on the emerging cruelty of the Fulani herdsmen in Agatu, among other issues, in an article titled: Authority to rape and maim. One reader had reacted angrily, prompting my apologies, even when I considered my premise, which is, the urgent need for President Muhammadu Buhari to speak truth to the herdsmen, despite his filial relationship with them. Unfortunately, it took the lives of more 48 men, women and children, murdered in cold blood, to attract the attention of the President, and the federal executive council that he controls. Worse still, Mr Ugwuanyi has also publicly asserted that he alerted the federally controlled security agencies in the state, yet the Nigerian state allowed this cruelty against the people of Ukpabi Nimbo.

    Now that the President has reportedly given a marching order to the national security agencies, let’s hope that they would bring the perpetrators to account. I hope that those who are in charge of our failing state would appreciate the enormity of the challenges ahead. To underestimate the grave danger posed by the blood-thirsty herdsmen is to chisel at the very foundation of country. The generation which has lost loved ones in Nimbo, Agatu, and other similar communities may have been lost permanently from the Nigerian project.

    Indeed, any person who is not appalled by the share audacity of the so-called herdsmen and is not fearful of the apparent incapacity of the Nigerian state to protect its citizens from them is an incurable optimist. Should the federal government continue to give these murderers kid-glove treatment, the fearful Boko Haram terror organization may as well hide under it to maim, kill and destroy, knowing that they are untouchables.

  • The American celebrity from Idemili South

    There is a blockbuster film making the rounds of the film houses of Europe, America and other parts of the movie-watching world.

    The title of the film is ‘Concussion’.

    It is, in reality the story of the life, travails and accomplishments of a Nigerian man from Nnokwa in the Idemili South of Enugu State.

    BenethIfeakanduOmalu was born in September, 1968. His father was a mining engineer, and his mother a seamstress. He was the sixth of seven siblings. His family had fled from the village of Enugu-Ukwu during the Nigerian civil war and only returned to their homestead after two years of being ‘internally displaced persons’ within the enclave of Biafra.

    He was a bright youth, and he attended the prestigious Federal Government College, Enugu for his secondary school education. His grades were good, and he was able to proceed from there to study Medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

    Following graduation in 1990, he worked for some years as a doctor in Jos, in the Middle Belt of the country.

    He would leave Jos in 1993 following the June 12 crisis. His next stop was the United States of America, where he embarked on postgraduate studies.

    In the course of time, he would ratchet up a bewildering array of degrees and fellowships including Masters in Public Health, Masters in Epidemiology, Masters in Business Administration, and Fellowships in Pathology and Neuropathology. He would get married to a lady from Kenya whom he would meet through his Church – the only way he could get to meet anyone since he was too busy with work to have a social life. They would have two children. And he would become a naturalized citizen of the United States of America in February 2015.

    But the story is not just about a young man from Idemili South who is living the American dream. It is bigger – far bigger than that.

    Brilliant, stuttering, self-effacing BenethIfeakandu kicked up a veritable storm in 2005 when he published a paper titled ‘Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury’ in an edition of the journal ‘Neuroscience’.

    At the time he was a Forensic Pathologist, working at the County Coroner’s office in Allegheny County, Pittsburg. Unlike other storms kicked up from time to time by publications in the academic press, the eddies and draughts of which were generally confined to academic circles, the storm kicked up by BenethOmalu’s publication caused reverberations in financial and sporting circles, as well as among the general population. For it touched on the interests of ‘American Football’ – a sacred institution in America as a way of life, a national game, and also a great power in financial circles. Children grew up from their mothers’ arms wanting to be football stars. Attendance at childrens’ football games is de rigeur for the American mum. And a person who actually goes on to become a football star acquires a virtually divine status in his local community, apart from making a lot of money.

    In 2002, Mike Webster – a retired star for the local team – the Pittsburg Steelers died. For several months before his death he had exhibited rather strange behavior.

    It fell to Ben to do an autopsy on Webster.

    His conclusions from the autopsy, and from his observations in similar situations over the months, were startling. The game of football – America’s national game, which expressed as nothing else could, the true American chutzpah, was not as safe as it was made out to be. The collisions involving the head that were a frequent part of the game did cumulative and often irreversible damage to the brain. Mike Webster’s brain, according to the man from Idemili South, bore clear evidence of repeateddamage which resulted in his failing cognition and erratic behavior in the twilight of his life. He gave a name to the condition – Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

    American Football was not just a Sport. It was Big Business.

    Predictably the Establishment – which stood to suffer incalculable loss if Football were somehow to be declared unsafe, drying up sponsorship and spectatorship, reacted by throwing the book – and every other weapon it had ready-to-hand, at him. Who was this upstart from the jungle in East of Nigeria to attack the American way of life and purport to speak for ‘Science’? The fellow couldn’t even speak English like an American – he spoke ‘Queens’ English with a Nigerian accent!

    Indeed, nothing is more hilarious – in a deadly serious way – than listening to Will Smith – the quintessential ‘black’ American, trying to speak like a Nigerian from Enugu State in the film ‘Concussion’.

    Ben Omalu would hunker down and ride the storm. In the fullness of time, the academic, and even the Sporting and Financial Establishments would come round to an acceptance that ‘Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy’ (CTE) is a reality, and that everything possible needs to be done to prevent American Football players from acquiring cumulative injuries to their brains with every one of those macho collisions that are a staple of the game, but which also lead to concussion.

    The Idemili man is a something of a star these days. He is Chief Medical Examiner at San Joaquim County, California and a Professor of Forensic Pathology in the University of California. It is said that he turned down the offer of a job in Washington that would have made him the pre-eminent Anatomical Pathologist in the USA.

    The importance of the Ben Omalu story is not just a patriotic basking in his celebrity, but an opportunity to highlight how much Nigeria needs Ben Omalu and what he does.

    Pathology – (aka ‘Anatomical Pathology’ or its older, more morbid name! – Morbid Anatomy) generally, and specifically Forensic Pathology – represents a gaping and dangerous hiatus in the healthcare system of Nigeria.

    A morbid humorist may wonder aloud why Nigerians should bother developing services for the dead, when we have our work cut out taking care of the living. That would be a sick, silly joke. The facts on the ground are scary indeed. The overwhelming majority of Nigerian citizens who die on a given day do not have clearly identified causes for their deaths. Even the actual numbers are not accurately documented, not to talk of the causes. In reality, every day, in every city and hamlet, people are getting away with murder, literally! A situation personally experienced by the writer may serve as illustration. An elderly Alhaji was brought in dead to the morgue of a Teaching Hospital by his wailing family, consisting of his wives and a number of adult male children. With one voice they were demanding that he be quickly ‘certified’ and his body released to them so they could bury immediately, according to the tenets of their religion.

    There was only one small problem. A close inspection of Alhaji’s head showed a depressed fracture of his skull, along with some bruising.  Somebody had smashed Alhaji’s head with a blunt object – probably one of the persons now wailing and demanding his release for burial.

    There are very few pathologists in Nigeria, and there is nowhere in the country where the Coroner’s Law – which stipulates that any citizen who dies while not under the direct care of a doctor who can vouch for his ailment is required to have an autopsy to identify his cause of death – is faithfully applied. Not even the in the clear outlier in Health services – Lagos State.

    The problem is not just the paucity of Pathologists but an inability so far to create a structure that is not set out to serve anybody’s ego but is actually customized to work in the Nigerian condition, maximally utilizing all available specialists on ground. There is also the need for  a paradigm shift in the mind-set of the citizenry. It is interesting to note that the religious requirement for early burial does not stop the most advanced Muslim nations from practising a coroners system.

    Perhaps in this era of Change, the Nigerian-American celebrity Pathologist from Idemili could be persuaded to take a one-year sabbatical from his job in California to lend his stature, his tough skin, and his organizational ability to drive the project of setting up an effective Coroner’s System for the nation of Nigeria, and selling it to the citizenry. AbikeDabiri – SSA to the President on the Diaspora – may well wish to make a bee-linefor California on her next foreign trip to talk to this man.

    For if he agreed, and we gave him the space to set up an all-embracing structure that would encompass all Anatomical Pathologists in Nigeria in sealing this gaping wound in our Health System, this would be a high-impact contribution to Change, from a single member of the Diaspora.

    Just a thought.

  • Enter the Herdsmen!

    In my dear country Nigeria, the notion that ‘nature abhors a vacuum’, is adopted and applied in a typically absurd manner. As a people, we seem to thrive on the basis that there must always be a smouldering fire to keep us busy.Moreover, rather unfortunately, for our wholesome interdependent coexistence, we have become very adept at creating or perhaps inventing fires. In the period since the return of civil rule, we have successfully dowsed the Sharia fire. In perhaps Obasanjo’s finest leadership moment, he cut off the oxygen from those who were fanning the embers. We dowsed the 2015 election fire. In perhaps Jonathan’s only leadership moment, he threw the lighting rod in his possession into the creeks rather than the highly combustible basin of ethno-religioussubstance that was clearly within reach. In the past few weeks it is evident that the Boko Haram fire is being successfully extinguished and even though the ash still smoulders in different places, our rejuvenated gallant military seem poised to choke out any remaining life in that fire.

    An informed analysis will show that all the incidents of fire making material that have troubled our dear country always assume dangerous combustibility when the material is addressed in sectional or religious toga. The most potent weapon of the army of fire-mongers is the manipulation and exploitation of our fragile sectional and religious fault lines. The most effective way to inflame the passion of our people is to spin every occurrence, as part of the orchestrated supremacy war between sections or religions. Our people, unfortunately and for different motivations fall for these and miss the real story. Missing the real story results in needless distractive posturing and causes more harm to the development of our collective interests. For instance if the Boko Haram insurgency had been properly isolated as pure terrorism, the national movement needed to crush it ab initio would have been forged and we will not be where we are today with that. Rather it was dressed as a Muslim versus Christian matter and an attempt to Islamize Nigeria. How such an absurd impossibility got any traction is a discussion for another day.

    The fire mongers were setting the stage to dress the President Buhari regime as being on an Islamization mission or its central anti-corruption focus as a sectional agenda. Conscious of the gullibility of a disenchanted and long-suffering people, the government seems to have deprived the fire-mongers of any flammable material in that regard. So just when it seemed we will enjoy a conducive national atmosphere where we could collectively deal with our developmental issues – enter the herdsmen!

    In the midst of economic hardship confronting its citizens across the entire country, the last thing this country needs is daily news of marauding herdsmen sacking villages and killing citizens, seemingly for the heck of it. What we do not also need is any attempt to address the troubling development from a sectional prism. By focusing on the Fulani in the herdsmen, we are unwittingly distracted away from uniting to confront the menace. Granted we have security agencies saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and property, they cannot properly discharge their functions without the understanding and support of the citizenry. The support and understanding of the citizenry will not be available in the present atmosphere of divisive rhetoric and threats, suspiciousness and propaganda of hidden ethnic agenda. Yes, we have Fulani herdsmen, but we also have Fulani farmers, Fulani cattle owners and Fulani cattle rustlers! The Fulani farmer, who also endures the bruntof primitive cattle rearing practices, is likely to see a herdsman as a rival for limited land resources and nothing more. The fact of their common ancestry will not solve the problem because the problem is economic and not tribal or religious, as the fire mongers in our midst will like us to believe.

    Disputes over land is an endemic national problem and several communities across Nigeria have suffered severe casualties from resultant communal wars. It always confounds me how just one errant farmer can start a full blown communal crisis by simply albeit wilfully trespassing on land belonging to or claimed by another neighbouring community. Whereas the errant farmer will personally own any products resulting from his trespass, the offended community usually takes up arms against the whole of the neighbouring errant farmer’s community as if it was a group decision. Surely, properly isolating and dealing with the trespass could avoid the shocking and needless loss of innocent lives that usually follows. Similarly, we make a serious and dangerous mistake when we use the term ‘Fulani herdsmen’ as if the Fulani people are accountable for the horrendous crimes committed by herdsman who may or may not be Fulani. Are we unwittingly or mischievously starting a fire in our house when the culprits are perhaps from elsewhere? Surely, we must unite and first defeat the violent herdsmen and begin the implementation of a long term solution.

    The emotive reaction I hear to the proposed grazing reserves idea is indicative of deep seated but misplaced prejudice. Unless we ban cows from our agricultural scope, is there really an alternative to government supporting the modernization of that industry, by the provision of dedicated land? Who are the beneficiaries of that industry, if not us in our entirety? It does not make sense to suggest that cows should be reared, only on ‘Fulani’ land, when it is for our entire benefit. That is the proverbial ‘throwing away the baby with the bath water’.

     In 1998, on the road from Damaturu to Gashua, our vehicle ran into a herd of cows on the expressway and hit one or two cows. I naturally and being oblivious of the herdsmen problem thought we should stop and inspect the damage to the car. My two Hausa companions screamed for the driver to speed off. My friends in their frightened state explained to me that the herdsmen would have slaughtered us had we stopped! Therefore, I could have been killed, all those years ago because government and the people did not have the will to pursue a policy to domesticate herdsmen and cattle! Fast forward to the present, I am more convinced that my life and those of other innocent victims is worth much more than the ‘sacrifice’ of land for agricultural purposes. Will it make sense, if ‘Igbo armed robbers’ robbed and killed a Yoruba family and the two tribes now engage in war as a result? It will not and likewise it will be a disservice to our good people, if we cloak terrorists in the toga of ‘Fulani herdsmen’ and get distracted from confronting these dangerous bandits with the unity of purpose required to stamp out these acts of terrorism.

  • Bailout: Between Enugu govt and ICPC

    Recently, some newspapers reported on the alleged mismanagement of the bailout fund given to 27 states by the federal government. The reports purportedly emanating from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleged that Enugu State government utilised N6 billion out of the N10.2 billion bailout fund collected last November to settle domestic debts, thus leaving staff salaries and emoluments unpaid.

    Expectedly, some of affected state governments have denied the allegation putting the ICPC on the spot. While it is not impossible that some state governments may have mismanaged or diverted parts of the fund for other purposes, it is also a fact that some states have utilised theirs for the purpose it was meant for – which is settling outstanding workers’ salaries and emoluments.

    From the referenced ICPC report on Enugu State government’s use of the bailout fund, it is obvious that the ICPC did not find out from the workers in the state on when last they were paid salaries before arriving at its conclusion. It is expected that in the process of investigating on how states disbursed the bailout funds, ICPC would have at least approached the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to get all the necessary documents submitted by the beneficiary states which was part of the conditions before the funds were released to them by the apex bank. If it had, ICPC in their reports would have been more accurate and precise on how much were requested by the states and how much were given to them and when. This is in order to avoid being speculative and mischievous as the case of Enugu State alleged to have collected N10.2 billion.

    The Enugu State government through its Secretary to the State Government, Elder Gabriel Ajah, and the state chapter of the Organized Labour in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Virginus C, Nwobodo, chairman, NLC; Comrade Igbokwe Chukwuma Igbokwe, chairman, TUC/JPSNC and Comrade Theo. O. Obasiani, secretary, JPSNC have refuted the claim saying that contrary to the figures bandied in the ICPC report, the state actually collected the sum of N4,207,000,000.00.

    Understandably, the workers in the state comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC) have described the allegation by the ICPC as false and misleading and a deliberate attempt to instigate workers and good people of Enugu State against the state government as well as tarnish the good image of the state.

    The workers their joint statement averred that “the Organised Labour in Enugu State is seriously embarrassed by the false, unfounded and malicious publication purported to have emanated from the office of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).” It explained that “a committee comprising labour and government was set up to verify, monitor and disburse the funds to the beneficiaries, adding that as at the time referred to by the newspaper publication of February 29, over 60% of the fund has been disbursed to the beneficiaries while the verification and disbursement exercise will continue till May 31, as some of the beneficiaries (pensioners) are yet to show up for verification.

    While expressing satisfaction with the management of the N4.207 billion bailout fund for payment of arrears of pensions and salaries, the Labour noted that it will continue to partner the state government for good governance and sustainable development of the state.

    Of course, since coming into office, Enugu State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has made workers’ welfare his government’s topmost priority. Given the character of the state as a civil servant state, his government has not only ensured that workers got their due, but has also carried them along in his developmental initiatives. This has been attested to by the leadership of the workers in the state and the national level.

    Indeed, during a fact-finding mission in the state towards the end of last year, President of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama alongside other labour activists could not hold their joy over the state government’s responsiveness and commitment to the workers‘ needs and welfare in the government’s policy thrust of ensuring transformed lives of the entire Enugu people.

    Speaking during the mission, NLC president, Wabba said: “I(  think in this country we are beginning to have leaders at the helm ( of affairs that are truly leaders. I strongly believe( that Enugu State is a lucky state. You have shown us that workers in your state are partners in progress, not slaves”.

    Speaking at this year’s Workers’( New Year Prayer session, Governor Ugwuanyi said: “We will continue to pay salaries. It is( only when we pay salaries that we can activate the economy of the state. This is because Enugu State is more of a civil service state. Enugu State TUC chairman, Chukwuma Igbokwe also on the occasion said: “Even when some ( states are having issues with the bailout fund, Ugwuanyi made sure(  we are involved in the management and disbursement of the fund to the extent that civil servants whose salaries and allowances were being( owed were paid…On the issue of arrears of the absorbed workers, we also approached him and we reached agreement. He has ( never promised the workers and failed them.”

    With such overwhelming testimonies and confessions about Ugwuanyi-led government’s responsiveness and commitment to their welfare since coming into office, the question is where did the ICPC’s report of alleged mismanagement of the state bailout emanate from. Was it a case of Biblical voice of Jacob and hand of Esau? Why did the ICPC choose to play to the gallery rather do their investigation on the bailout fund thoroughly? Is it a case of being used to do a dirty job against the state government? If not, why has ICPC remained silent in the face of the strong and obvious denial by the Enugu State government and Organized Labour in the state? Nigerians know that ICPC’s silence is not golden; it is suspicious and misleading. Again, if truly the reports were investigated and compiled by the ICPC and Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) as claimed by the ICPC, why hasn’t the leadership of the NLC substantiated or authenticated the reports?

    It is a known fact that most anti-graft agencies in the country including the ICPC abandoned their constitutional responsibilities in the past. Some have just suddenly woken up from slumber since the inception of the present APC-led administration. Nonetheless, it is very important for due diligence to be followed and professionalism to be exhibited in investigating sensitive a issue like the disbursement of states’ bailout fund. This is to avoid misleading the public and instigating the workers against their state governments.

    It is on record that since Ugwuanyi came into office, Enugu workers have not embarked on or threatened to embark on strike over issues of salaries or arrears. It is also indisputable that Enugu is one of the states with the least bailout fund with N4.207 billion out of the N32( billion requested for. The implication is that the state workers are the probably the best bailed out given the precarious financial situation facing workers across the country today. Anyone with contrary information should provide it with incontrovertible evidence and not misleading reports as we have seen from the ICPC.

     

    • Mrs. Ugwuada, a retired civil servant wrote from Nkanu, Enugu State.

  • Ambode and Lagos’ wheel of justice

    A democracy consists of three vital organs of government: the executive, legislature and the judiciary. The legislative arm formulates policy and enacts it as law, the executive carries out policy in action while the judiciary applies the law according to rules of procedural justice and resolves disputes. To guarantee freedom which is the hallmark of democracy, these three arms must be separated as much as possible and balanced against each other. For a successful democracy, the existence of a free and fair judiciary is a must.

    It is in view of the significance of the judiciary in a democracy that the Akinwumi Ambode administration has embarked on critical reforms geared towards oiling the wheel of justice in the state. One of such is the establishment of mobile courts. The introduction of the courts is one way the state government planned to ensure preservation of civility and peace in the society. The courts were inaugurated to summarily try traffic as well as environmental offenders and mete out immediate punishments to those convicted. This is also a way to decongest the courts and not add to inconclusive cases that have been in courts for years.

    The courts have since been operating in line with the constitution, thus dispelling residents’ fear about transparency and lack of bias in the prosecution of offenders. Consequently, justice is being dispensed at mobile courts with respect to the fundamental human rights of defendants arraigned in the courts. Starting with five vans, prosecution of offenders is being handled by lawyers in the state Ministry of Justice, while lawyers from the Office of Public Defender, OPD, responsible for provision of free legal services to the residents, are available to defend offenders who so desire.

    To further underscore the fact that Lagos is in the lead in legislation and law reform initiatives in Nigeria, the Ambode administration launched the ‘Revised Laws of Lagos State. The need for legislations to be up to date and relevant cannot be over-emphasised in ensuring the necessary legal infrastructure for socio-economic transformation. Lagos as the commercial capital of Nigeria faces enormous challenges in ensuring the security and economic well-being of its residents.

    The publication of the 2015 Laws of the State, marks the beginning of the process of continually making the laws accessible to the general public not only in Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole, but also beyond its borders globally.

    It highlights the resolve of the Ambode administration to make the Laws of Lagos State available online and accessible from any part of the world. To this end, Lagos State Law Reform Commission is at an advanced stage of developing an online platform for accessing the laws of the state and downloading such laws. The online platform will also provide access to all the laws that have operated in the state since inception in 1967. This will fulfill the obligation of the Lagos State government to create easy access to the laws, thereby promoting a platform for accountability and responsibility.

    More importantly, creating an online access to the Laws of Lagos State will be of a great service and benefit to investors and would-be investors in the state. Not only will such a platform enable investors to make informed decisions about investing in the state, but it will also help them to appreciate the various legal protections available for their persons and investment.

    Furthermore, the publication of the Laws of Lagos State is a step in the direction of the justice and security sector reforms which the present administration promised it will pursue in order to strengthen the rule of law in Lagos State.

    Another decisive judicial reform of the Ambode administration is the availability of all Lagos State Laws online. Hence, lawyers, investors and the public can now have access to all the laws of the state. This is a reflection of the commitment of the administration to drive governance and administration of justice in the state through innovation and technology.

    This innovative digital platform is the first of its kind, and another expressive proof to the tradition of excellence which Lagos is known for. Lawyers and the entire public could, therefore, now visit the site at www.laws.lagosstate.gov.ng  to view the laws and make their purchases.

    Having the Lagos State Laws available online offers everybody access to search, view and download the laws anywhere in the world by just the click of a button. The online platform is set to fulfil the obligation of the state government to create easy access to the laws, thereby promoting accountability and responsibility,and to enable investors to make informed decisions about their investments in the state.

    As a further way to integrate judicial reforms in the state, a plan to establish a DNA forensic centre, which will be the first of its kind in the country and will be located in a public health facility on Lagos Island, has been unveiled.

    The centre, which is to address the sophisticated nature of crimes in the state, is being initiated to step up crime fighting in the state. Despite current efforts at fighting crimes, Lagos has continued to face more sophisticated crimes.

    Consequently, crime fighting efforts in the state has to become more precise and intensive, especially in terms of deployment of technology that makes investigation and prosecution and adjudication more effective. The DNA centre will, thus, fulfil an unmet need for DNA profiling, a forensic technique that is now used worldwide.

    DNA profiling involves the extraction of DNA from body fluids, semen, nails, hair and other DNA generic sources. This will invalidate proof of alibi and validate physical presence of the suspect at the scene of the crime and the origin of DNA to the suspect. Though the role of DNA in the justice sector is globally acknowledged, a high-capacity DNA analysis centre is unavailable in Nigeria.

    Thus almost all the DNA testing requirements are done outside Nigeria. This leads to longer times and higher cost of concluding investigation and prosecution of crimes.

    Interestingly, the centre would not only fulfil the growing DNA profiling needs of the judicial process, but could also become a revenue generating centre for the state by serving the public, other states and neighbouring countries. To ensure this goal is met, the centre is to be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to support all levels of DNA collection from people and objects, evidence examination, DNA analysis and provide evidential DNA storage.

    Plato and Aristotle were Greek philosophers who both developed important ideas about the rule of law. According to them, chaos occurs when people are allowed to become lawless in a given society.  It is in order to guide against chaos in Lagos, that the Ambode administration has initiated decisive reforms in the State’s judicial sector.

     

    • Ogunbiyi is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.