The Nation Newspaper

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  • Let the light shine in Lagos

    It is apparent that the government of Akinwunmi Ambode is geared towards creating and ensuring that a new face of Lagos state is felt by all.  Lagosians must be thankful and grateful that most streets and communities in and around the state are beginning to show that the governor and his team are fully prepared to let electricity light illuminate all the nooks and crannies of the state.

    The state wears a new look at night, that most people, in fact, many families now want to take a stroll at night to wear off the stress of the day.  Only last week, Governor Ambode inaugurated an electricity light project for 67 communities.  These communities are within the Ibeju-Lekki axis of the state and the governor made it clear that the communities would be linked to the national grid.

    It is a clear attempt to ensure that everywhere and every facet of the state is made habitable in order to reduce the insecurity problem and other attendant consequences.  In order that this project is made plausible and very effective, the state government also promised to continue to pay the bills of the residents until the installation of meters in all homes in the 67 communities.

    Today’s Lagos is no longer the Lagos of yesteryears when darkness hounded most corners and hoodlums had easy access to most areas to perpetuate crime.  This Light Up Lagos project in the view of what the governor has to do is to build on tripod of community electrification, strengthen the usefulness of street lighting and ensure that the state is always safe and secure.

    This initiative has indeed seen the light of the day in some areas of the state.  With the full involvement of both private and public sectors, key stakeholders and an advisory committee set up by the government, it is clearly obvious that progress has been made in some key roads and streets and communities in the state.  It is not only that the lights show up continuously at night to encourage people to move about with much ease,  it is equally clear that the state government is genuinely committed to the well-being of the people.

    Just a few weeks ago, a friend of mine had a serious mechanical problem with his car on Third Mainland Bridge.  This was late in the night and there was no one in sight to render help.  However, with the help of one or two people, he was able to push the car to safety before a towing van finally came to the rescue.  This scenario played out well simply because the street lights were fully on and it was impossible for miscreants to operate in such a wonderful setting.  In those days when pitch darkness was the lot of Third Mainland Bridge and other areas, armed robbers, mischief-makers and rapists harassed people with impunity and reckless abandon.

    Governor Ambode promptly amplified his objective for this project when he stressed the fact that his administration has seen the plight of the people of the state.  To him, light symbolizes civilization and hope.  When God said at creation let there be light, He knew that with light and brightness man can exhibit love and cheerfulness.  Cheerfulness has become the sing-song of most residents now, particularly those who work late.  The level of fear of insecurity has reduced to its barest minimum.

    Go to Ikorodu area of the state and see how people walk leisurely in the evenings to savour the beauty provided by the street lights.  With the expansion of the roads and the introduction of the new BRT buses, street light have become a norm.  From 7p.m when the lights are on, till 6.30a.m when they are switched off, many people sit around the corners to either chat or stroll or busy themselves drinking and brooding over life.  There is hardly any fear of molestation.  In fact, the difference between night and day is now a bit difficult to decipher.

    Light is life and Ambode is truly giving life to the people.  One could imagine the joy and sense of Eldorado in the hearts of the residents of these 67 communities who did not see or experience light for five years.  Then suddenly there was light, a well-assured one provided by the leader of the state himself.  This is the sort of situation only leaders with deep sense of humanity can provide.  It is so heartwarming and also reinforces people’s confidence in the ability of the governor to deliver on the dividends of democracy.

    The most binding aspect of the needs of the people must always be identified by a leader who is serious about development.  Governor Ambode has fully demonstrated his readiness to carry his people along in order to continuously perfect the ingredients of development.  This was why he said: “today, we are delighted to say that these 67 communities have been connected to the national grid.  After a due assessment of the situation, we commenced work last year October.  Today it is no longer a promise; it has been realized.  It is a dream come true and these areas can feel the beauty of the government of the state.”

    To make this project come true, the government has adequately provided 33kvA high-tension lines just to serve this primary purpose.  The lines were laid from Ajah sub-station through Lekki to Eleko junction.  And from there also, a high-tension network covering over 131 kilometres spreading to the 67 communities was rehabilitated, with the provision of 86 transformers.  The cost of these have been put at N600 million.  All these were done with the singular hope that the residents themselves and other concerned people do not turn these installations into their personal property.  Hoodlums must not be seen to be the ones tampering with these meters in an attempt to sabotage government projects.

    And like Ambode clearly stated at that occasion: “Beyond fulfilling our promise to these communities, we have also demonstrated our commitment to run an all-inclusive government of which no one will be left behind.  Therefore it is expected that this project will boost the socio-economic activities in this area having suffered untold setback for over five years.”

    He went on to reiterate his readiness to look into similar problems in other areas of the state.  “I am aware that there are other places like this.  Beyond these 67 communities, we have about 34 other communities in Badagry alone with similar challenges.  And today, we are facing these problems with total commitment and resolve.”  And as it is now, before this year runs out this problem in these 34 communities will be a thing of the past.

    The infrastructure of government is gradually resurfacing in these areas to boost people’s confidence in government.  Ambode is a champion in this regard.  His love for what is good; what is pleasant to the eyes; what will give the populace a new glow and more has been his foremost forte.  This shows the mark of commitment only a committed cexecutive can display.  He knows it is time to work; it is time to push aside gimmicks and reach out to the masses.  It is time to move on with the times and then let light and brightness rule the lives of the people.

    This is what Governor Ambode has come to manifest, demonstrating it in ways only his calibre of person can really do.  Therefore let the Light Up Lagos project be allowed and encouraged to prosper for the good of all, after all, light and darkness can never meet – light is synonymous with progress.

  • Model of legislature-executive relationship

    In a presidential system of government like ours, where the doctrine of separation of powers is deeply enshrined in our constitution, each of the three organs of government enjoys its independence. Indeed, the framers of the deliberately set out to ensure that both the doctrine of separation of powers and principles of checks and balances are adhered to so as to safeguard our democracy from tyranny and dictatorship.

    This is why the executive, legislature and the judiciary are all run and inhibited by different individuals in a manner stipulated by  law.

    As a student of constitutional law and politics, I have overtime come to understand and agree with the  fact that of  the three arms, the legislature enjoys enormous powers more than any other. Perusing through pages of the 1999 constitution, one easily notices that it is replete with so many powers to the legislature.

    While lawmaking is the primary responsibility of the parliament, there are also other powers, functions and responsibilities that are constitutionally discharged by the MPs.

    These include but are not limited to confirmation of nominated ministers, ambassadors and heads of parastatals, powers to investigate any matter, especially those under the exclusive legislative list, summon any person, quasi-judicial powers to investigate and indict, expose corruption, powers over the budget and appropriation or power to approve expenditure of government, confirmation of appointment of Judges, including Justices of the Supreme Court, powers to impeach the president, and so on and so forth.

    The reason why the constitution accords the lawmakers such  powers and responsibilities is borne out of the fact that they are directly elected by the people. In other words, they represent the sovereignty of the people because in a democracy, sovereignty rests with the people.

    More than the two other organs of government, the legislators are the direct and number one custodians of the social contract and the parliament is the heart, nerve and hub of democracy without which there can be no democracy.

    More specifically, in Nigeria, where we have a bicameral legislature, whereas the Senate represents equality of states, the House of Representatives, on the other hand, represents equality of the people.  This is why there is hardly any tribe,  ethnic group or local government in Nigeria that does not have representation in the Green Chamber.

    This explains why the House is popularly referred to as the people’s chamber or House of the Nigerian people.

    Historically, this very important chamber has consistently been led by progressive young leaders and this tradition was upheld on June 9, 2015, when Barrister Yakubu Dogara was elected Speaker.

    Since his historic election, Rt. Hon. Dogara has not left anyone in doubt as to his philosophy, principles and leadership style. The Speaker strongly believes in dialogue, negotiation and consensus building, which are the cardinal pillars of his leadership.

    Today, the rancour and bitterness that trailed the election on June 9 last year have been effectively confined to the dustbin of history as a result of Dogara’s maturity, humility and politics of compromise, which saw the emergence of his opponents as leaders and chairmen of committees in the House.

    No wonder he has continued to enjoy enormous support and loyalty from his colleagues, who acknowledge his transparency and open-door policy.

    As one who opens new frontiers, the relationship between the House and the executive is more than cordial under Dogara’s leadership, as both the speaker and his colleagues are at peace with the ruling party and the government;  working together to deliver good to the people.

    It is his belief that the executive and the legislature must not fight or be engaged in a supremacy battle before they can work to move the nation forward.

    At every opportunity, he emphasises that the primary interest of leaders at all levels should be the people and not their ego or power tussle. At every fora, Dogara would make it clear that the bickering that characterised the relationship between the two arms of government in the past should never be allowed to rear its head again under the change administration of the APC because this government, which came on the promises of change, cannot afford to fail the people.

    Many pundits have asked: why is the parliament not slugging it out with the executive? Why is it that the legislature seems not to be utilising its powers to the fullest? Why is it that the House of Representatives does not adopt  confrontational approach in  relating with the executive? Why are they not fighting the executive?

    Speaker Dogara had cause to provide answers to these questions when he visited Olowo of Owo, Oba Dr. David Victor Folagbade Olateru- Olagbegi in Ondo State recently.

    The speaker underpinned the fact that the House under his leadership does not see their role or relationship as a confrontational one but that of support for whatever the executive is doing to lessen the burden of the Nigerian people and improve their living condition.

    “We don’t adopt a very confrontational posture just for the sake of proving that we have separate powers as allocated to us by the constitution, we cooperate more to ensure that good is delivered to the people,” he stated.

    He maintained that it is only when democracy is threatened that “we raise our voices”, adding, “I remember we have been doing that in this government. How we handled the crisis in Kogi State House of Assembly. It was actually an APC leader who led investigation into the matter and we condemned the impunity even as members of the ruling party. This is change we are talking about.ý”

    It is Dogara’s philosophy that as leaders, their primary responsibility is to work out solutions in the midst of crisis and not add to it or engage in petty squabbles, or issues that constitute distractions.

    Another clear example is the way and manner he handled the crisis that trailed the 2016 Budget as passed by the National Assembly. When concerns were raised by Nigerians and the executive on some provisions of the document, the Speaker adhered to the voices of the people and annouced that the House has resolved to re-examine the document.

    It is his belief that although the powers of appropriation as clearly stated in the constitution is vested in the National Assembly,  such powers should always be exercised with caution so that the public interest is not endangered.

    He has kept to his words, knowing well that working together, the three arms of government can deliver greater good for the greater number of Nigerians and lift them out of abject poverty since the primary purpose of government is the security and welfare of the people. This is also in line with his philosophy of non-confrontational approach to Executive-Legislature relationship.

    This is the change that Nigerians have been yearning for, the change they voted for and the change they need desperately in these difficult times.

     

    • Hassan is Special Adviser,  Media & Public Affairs to Speaker Dogara.

  • Lagos-Ibadan Expressway: The way out

    That the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has been so mired in controversy of high magnitude, attracting so many interests, is because of its significance to the socio-economic life of the country. Incidentally, it is the only major artery to Lagos, handling more than 90 per cent of the entire human and vehicular traffic to the commercial capital of Nigeria. It is the only road accommodating the large number of articulated vehicles, among thousands of other vehicles, lifting fuel and other goods out of the port city of Lagos, even as almost all attempts made to revive the railway system of the colonial era have been frustrated. This explains the interests always generated when the 115-kilometre expressway is being debated.

    In fact, the ante was upped in recent months because of the excruciating suffering of commuters and the sudden emergence of a company, Motorway Assets Limited (MAL), which claimed to be the new concessionaire, seeking N150billion to complete it – even when we were told by the past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan that it had awarded the contract for its reconstruction to Julius Berger and Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) at the cost of N167billion.

    Meanwhile, the Ogun State government also claimed that it carried out palliative measures to fix portions of the same road that had been purportedly concessioned to MAL. It is now abundantly clear that the shenanigans concerning the road were caused by the Jonathan administration, for political gains and selfish interest. It is also clear that the process of re-concessioning the road to Motorway after the termination of the concession to Bi-Courtney Highways Services Limited (BHSL), was far from transparent, as Nigerians were not aware of any calls for competitive bidding from competent companies for the road. It is obvious that it was an under-the-table deal, because Nigerians were also not aware when the purported contract to Julius Berger and RCC suddenly turned to a concession to Motorway, whose antecedents in PPP were also not known. Moreover, not a few are confused over the role played by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC). The ICRC, as we know, is saddled with the responsibility of regulating PPP.

    Therefore, for the road to become a world-class one on which travellers can have safe and smooth rides, there is the need for Federal Government to revisit the concession earlier granted Bi-Courtney. Simply put, Federal Government can escape the legal and moral cobweb in which it has entrapped itself, by allowing Bi-Courtney to complete the reconstruction on account of the company’s antecedents.

    No one can deny that Bi-Courtney, having spent three years maintaining the road with over $300million down the drain while its concession lasted, having acquired billions of naira worth ofequipment in preparation for the work to begin, and having the technical manpower and the financial muscle to execute the project, has the wherewithal to execute the concession excellently. Bi-Courtney’s performance at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal II (MMA2) attests to its capability to handle projects of such magnitude anywhere in the world.

    Recall that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had attempted to expand and improve the Lagos-Ibadan road by concessioning it to BHSL under a Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) arrangement under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mantra of his administration. However, the brilliant idea did not yield the desired result before Obasanjo left in 2007. The succeeding administration could also not do much, despite its good disposition to the project, before the unfortunate demise of President Yar’Adua. It is noteworthy to recollect that officials in the Ministry of Works played an ignoble role by sabotaging Obasanjo’s concession idea with snail speed bureaucracy, vested interests, unbridled politicking and ignorance about how PPP works, all of which led to the final surreptitious termination of the concession by the Jonathan administration.

    While Nigerians waited with bated breath for the commencement of reconstruction of the expressway by Bi-Courtney, which waited for about two years for the approval of its design by the Federal Ministry of Works, we witnessed routine maintenance of several portions by the company, as a way of minimizing the incessant crashes and traffic gridlocks on the road, which the current concessionaire has refused to do because they lack the financial muscle and the technical capability to handle a project of this magnitude.

    Although when Jonathan announced the termination of the concession in November 2012, it was celebration galore by a section of the populace simply because they did not understand what concession is all about, events in the last few months and the attendant confusion have shown that it is not yet Uhuru for the Lagos-Ibadan Road.

    All over the world, concession is a major way of financing big projects, as various countries have embraced the PPP idea. But, such concessions are done transparently in other climes, while they are done deceitfully in Nigeria. From the Americas to Europe, Asia and other continents of the world, the idea of PPP has come to stay and Nigeria cannot be an exception in a global village. However, our country must do it right and with sincerity of purpose. Many companies are already involved in concessions, encouraged by their governments to provide jobs for their people and take the pressure of infrastructure provision off the government, but their concessions go to companies with the technical competence and financial muscle to execute such projects.

    In fact, Ferrovial Subsidiary Cintra, as one of the world’s leading private sector developers of transportation infrastructure in terms of the number of projects and the volume of investment, manages 28 concessions extending more than 2,232 kilometres of roads in Canada, the United States (US), Spain, the United Kingdom (UK), Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Colombia and Australia. The firm is one of the soundest multinationals in the sector, with investments totalling over 21.5 billion euro.

    Also, South Africa has an important experience in PPP, involving about 300 projects on the national and provincial levels since 1994. Indeed, the South African National Treasury, the body that deals with PPP projects, developed a PPP Manual. The manual defines “a PPP to be a contract between a public sector institution and a private party, in which the private party assumes substantial financial, technical and operational risks in the design, financing, building and operation of a project.” The guidelines discuss various procurement possibilities varying between public procurement and full privatisation. The South African National Roads Agency began tolling part of the major national roads in the mid-1990s and developed concessionary structures to overcome budgetary constraints.

    This is the beauty of PPP because it allows government to channel its resources to other means for the benefit of the citizens, and Nigeria with its current financial straits cannot be an exception.

     

    • Olagokun is an Ibadan-based company executive.

  • Ayade’s politics with ethics

    One of the biggest campaign issues in the United States of America in the last one decade or so is about the fact that Washington is broken and badly in need of fixing. This is because the American politicians now view every policy or programme of government from the narrow prism of partisanship. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, has found it difficult to have any of his programmes or policies passed by the congress-controlled Republican Party.

    Sadly, this situation exists also in our clime, with politicians from the two leading political parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), acting more like enemies than compatriots, who must work together for the good of the country.

    However, like William Shakespeare said, there is always an exception to the general rule. That exception in Nigeria today appears to be the governor of Cross River State, Professor Ben Ayade.

    Since assuming office on May 29, 2015, Ayade has maintained a very warm, cordial and close relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The President is of the APC while the Governor is of the PDP.

    Indeed, it is on record that the first state visit embarked upon by the President after assuming office on May 29, 2015 was to Cross River State to flag-off the construction of a very ambitious project; the 260km superhighway and the Bakassi Deep Seaport. Ayade hopes that when these two projects are completed, the state’s dependence on federal allocation would be decoupled forever.

    Months after that President’s visit on that rainy day in October, 2015, the wife of the President was to also pay a visit to the state. She was in the state to flag off her social safety net initiative, “Project Future Assured” for the mother and newborns; launch Dr. Lynda Ayade’s  Mediatrix Development Foundation and also commission two health centres in Ikom.

    It bears mentioning that President Buhari’s visit to Cross River was preceded by that of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s visit to the state, a couple of months after being sworn in. As it stands, Cross River is among the few states, if not the only state visited by the President, the President’s wife and the Vice-President within the first year of their presidency.

    This harmony between the presidency and Cross River under Ayade’s watch has, however, caused his party, the PDP and some elements of the APC in his state considerable discomfort.  Understandably so, given that it is rare in this part of the world for politicians of opposing political parties to be on speaking terms, how much more having a very warm relationship. Yet it is this sort of collaboration we need if development must not continue to elude us as a people.

    For Ayade, governance takes primacy over politics once elections are over. He understands that history will only be kind to him on account of how he impacted on the lives of his people and not the many political battles he fought and won or lost. As such, he has been preoccupied with providing leadership to his people as his administration takes one progressive step after another towards the new horizon of prosperity and happiness which he promised at his inauguration in 2015 to bequeath.

    Armed with a prodigious intellect and business acumen, it is not lost on Ayade that for Cross River as a federating unit to actualize its ambition of transforming from a third world to a first world, it needs the support of the federal government.

    But it is not just for the sake of Cross River that Ayade is friends with the first family.

    Ayade’s campaign which saw him berth at the Government House in Calabar was anchored on the philosophy that politics must be guided by ethics; hence the slogan; Politics with Ethics.

    On this philosophy, the good in an individual must not be obstructed or blurred by politics. And that no individual should be denied the opportunity to contribute to the development of the society simply on account of the political party he or she belongs.

    He adores and respects the president for the principles he represents, the principles of honesty, hard work and love for country.

    In forming his cabinet, the governor cast his net far and wide. It matters not to him which political party an individual belongs to once he can identify capacity and ability to deliver.  This explains why for instance, the state chairman of Labour Party (LP), Austin Ibok is the special Adviser to the governor on Inter-Party Affairs.

    Within his PDP, he found accommodation for those who even worked against his emergence, first as the party’s gubernatorial candidate and later as governor. Through concrete actions and not just precepts, Ayade has shown that he is above politics of pettiness, hate and party lines. This is certainly a new approach to politics that should be encouraged.

    Washington will give anything to have a person with Ayade’s philosophical understanding emerge as its next president to unite a political class divided by party lines. Tellingly, Ayade’s relationship with the presidency has not in any way weakened the dominance of his party in the state.

    The recent re-run election into Yakurr II State Constituency, despite the governor’s absence from the state on a working visit to Europe, Asia and South America wooing investors, was won by the PDP in spite of the fact that most of APC’s leaders in the state come from the area.

    What this revealed was that Ayade has a persona that attracts and galvanizes one with a buy-in personality. He is a good husbandry of ideas and creativity. He is like a midwife who is ever ready to deliver the next generation into the world.

  • Limits of administrative adjudication

    With democracy subsisting, Nigerians are increasingly becoming more assertive of their rights, particularly the type that is based on the rule of natural justice or fair hearing, when confronted by an administrative action. The rule of natural justice, which is a common law doctrine, substantially equates with the provision of section 36(1) of the 1999 constitution on fair hearing. This rule was observed by God in determining the fate of Adam and Eve, before sending them away from the Garden of Eden. But with the expansion of administrative prerogatives, the rule increasingly suffers violence in the hands of administrative authorities exercising quasi-judicial powers.

    The recent decision of a Federal High Court curtailing the powers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to impose fine on a motorist is to establish the limits of adjudicatory powers of an administrative authority. With the 1999 constitution providing for separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary in sections 4, 5 and 6 respectively, there are limits to the cross-pollination of powers. So, when an administrative body, like the FRSC, exercises a quasi-judicial function, it can only successfully do so, if expressly it has the powers to act as such; and in exercising such delegated powers, it also acts in accordance with section 36(1), on fair hearing.

    It is important therefore to note that when a person, persons or bodies, exercises a quasi-judicial function, he or they have become a tribunal. In Onuoha v Okafor, Oputa CJ, as he then was, said: “The terms, court or tribunal … is usually used to indicate a person or body of persons exercising judicial functions by common law, statute, patent, charter, custom, etc. whether it be invested with permanent jurisdiction to determine all causes or a class or as and when submitted or to be clothed by the state or the disputants, with merely temporary authority to adjudicate on a particular group of disputes”.

    The various Tribunals and Inquiry Act and laws, gifts the federal and state governments authority to set up Tribunals of Inquiry to deal with specific enquiries as they may deem fit. But other administrative bodies may be imbued by the statutes establishing them with powers to either establish a standing body or create an ad-hoc tribunal in the exercise of powers confirmed on them. An example of such a standing body is the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee or the Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, while the FRSC official, or the LASTMA official who hears and determines a fine or penalty, over a traffic offence acts as an ad-hoc tribunal.

    Perhaps to stem the challenges and the limits of the powers of an administrative authority, like LASTMA, in exercising both the administrative and quasi-judicial powers, the Lagos State government opted to create mobile traffic offences tribunal, who is usually a magistrate from the judicial arm of government. One major advantage of this process is that it satisfies the requirement of section 36(1) of the constitution on fair hearing. The section in this respect provides: “In the determination of his civil rights and obligations… a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing… by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality”.

    The ability of an administrative authority which also constitutes itself into a tribunal to meet the fundamental requirement enshrined in the above provision of the constitution is probably the cause of the many failures of FRSC when the exercise of certain powers have been challenged by Nigerians in recent times. Such similar fate will meet any other administrative body where the exercise of its powers drifts into judicial or adjudicatory spheres unless such power is expressly conferred on such a body or tribunal by law or other delegated power.

    In determining when an administrative body acts judicially, Oputa JSC, in LPDC V Fawehimi, said: “The debate over what constitutes a judicial tribunal, quasi-judicial tribunal, a domestic tribunal, a tribunal simpliciter, abitrament, forum conpetens, etc. will certainly go on as an academic exercise; but once a body of persons by whatever name called are invested with authority to hear and determine particular issues, or disputes either by consent of the disputants, or by an order of court, or by the provision of a statute, such a body will be required to carry out its function with that fairness and impartiality, which the rules of natural justice dictate”.

    According to Eso JSC in Fawehimi’s case, “It is not easy to place a tribunal in the compartment of purely administering predominantly administrative, or one with judicial or quasi-judicial functions. In my view, a purely administrative tribunal may turn judicial, once it embarks on judicial or quasi adventure. The test to my mind should be the function the tribunal performs at a particular time. During the period of in-course into judicial or quasi functions, an administrative body must be bound in process thereof to observe the principles that govern exercise of judicial functions”.

    On his own part, Karibi-Whyte JSC, in that case, said: “The test necessary for determination whether a statutory body has judicial powers are: whether it has before it a lis inter partes, or an issue for determination by parties; whether the decision of the statutory body is binding; and whether the decision of the body is conclusive and final”. In exercising administrative adjudication, two of the fundamental principles that formed the nucleus of natural justice, even before its codification, as fair hearing, are audi alteram partem – hear the other party; and nemo judex in causa sua – the rule against interest and bias.

    In Adigun v A. G. Oyo state, Nnaemeka-Agu JSC on the principle of fair hearing, said: “The principle has been incorporated in our jurisprudence that a man cannot be condemned without being heard. This is often expressed by the Latin maxim, audi alterm partem – hear the other side, and it is applicable in all cases in which decision is to be taken in any matter, whether in a judicial, quasi-judicial or even in a purely administrative proceedings involving a person’s interest in a property right or personal liberty”. The point was reiterated by Eso JSC, in FCSC v Laoye, where he held: “The reasoning of this court in fair hearing is not only in accord with the law over the ages but agrees with common sense…. I think it is admitted in every reasonable culture, even apart from the decision of this court, that a judge should hear both sides before determining the guilt or otherwise of a person”.

    On nemo judex in causa sua, Holt CJ, in City of London v Wood, said: “It is against  all laws, that the same person should be party and judge in the same cause, for the party is he that is to complain to the judge, and the judge is to hear the party; the party endeavours to have his will, the judge determines against the will of the party, and has authority to force him to obey his sentence: and can any man act against his own will, or enforce himself to obey”. Thus, an administrative authority, also exercising quasi-judicial functions, is confronted by the “manifest contradiction” arising from being a party and a judge, in the same case. So, while administrative adjudication is a necessity in modern administration, it must be constituted in such a manner as to meet the requirements of natural justice and extant laws.

  • Wanted: An activist FCT administration

    Wanted: An activist FCT administration

    It was Charles de Gaulle that said, “Men are great only if they are determined to be so”. It is apparent that the FCT has not been so lucky in having ministers determined to be great and reproduce (at least if they cannot surpass) the achievements of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai regarding the administration of the city affairs. The following questions you hear these days are troubling and shameful: Who is the FCT Minister? Why is Abuja becoming dirty and disorganised? The level of mediocrity and impunity that has overtaken this beloved city since 2007 is unprecedented and saddening. For architects and allied professionals like me, the reckless distortion of the FCT Masterplan, organisation and administration is disheartening.

    It is a fact that the best administration or measure that mitigated the spiralling decay in the FCT was the Obasanjo/El-Rufai partnership between 2003 and 2007. The partnership confronted the corruption, impunity and recklessness that they had met entrenched in the system. They adopted a “no-nonsense” and “no friend-of-the-status-quo” approach to achieve results. Mallam El-Rufai developed and perfected a system that was on its way to making Abuja a truly modern capital city like Johannesburg and Abu-Dhabi.

    Since most of us voted for Buhari, we had and still have great hope that it is possible to re-enact the spirit of El-Rufai as regards the FCT administration. So let us give the present FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammed Bello the benefit of the doubt. Though, I must say that lots of Nigerians are disappointed that no visible plan of action has been seen yet. It is expected that the. President would form a powerful partnership with the minister just as President Obasanjo did with El-Rufai. I have great liking for PMB and utmost confidence in his ability to bring change to the FCT and Nigeria. The FCTA ought to be chaired by the President as governor as provided by law while the minister should serve as the Minister of State just as he is doing with the Petroleum Ministry.

    Our beloved Capital City Territory has degenerated to the extent that the President will need to declare an emergency for the re-birth and renewal of the FCT in its entirety from the septic corruption in the FCDA where officials make it difficult for registered professionals to thrive as evident in the development of non-fancied, non-iconic buildings in the city, to the allocation of visible green areas to Mosques/Churches. For instance, it is in the public domain that the former administration allocated a plot of land to a popular church in Apo which was later discovered not to be originally designed for a religious institution and has become a contentious issue now.

    Another impunity is in the allocation of green areas to selected individuals for the development of an Event Centre and a Mosque for Wuye District Muslim Community. Another gloomy example is the allocation of a corridor between Federal Ministry of Finance and the Yobe State House along Ralph Shodeinde Street in the Central Business District to a car dealer where cars are now being sold, thus constituting a security risk to the Finance Ministry at this time when we should be more security-conscious.

    Allocation of plots to influential politicians, military personnel, civil servants, etc., for gardens is now the practice, where permanent structures are erected as event centres, restaurants, car-sales depots, etc. Even the existing spaces allocated for gardens are not properly maintained. For instance, the Asika Ukpabi Gardens in Wuse Zone 5 has degenerated so far that it has become a den of thieves. This garden was commissioned by the then President Obasanjo/El-Rufai.

    One will feel terribly disappointed that it had to take Senator Dino Melaye and his colleagues from the Senate to alert the FCT Minister on the abuse of the green areas in Maitama along the Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway/IBB Boulevard, opposite the Aguiyi Ironsi Barracks. Of recent, a director in the FCT was openly embarrassed on a national TV as being part of the beneficiaries of the lawlessness that has characterised this projected modern city, for erecting his personal house on that same green area.

    The FCT Minister should dismantle all the structures of mediocrity put in place by the immediate past FCT administration, so that he can achieve the expected results. It is worrisome that the Central Business District of Sandton in Johannesburg was created in the mid-70s almost at the same time as FCT Abuja. Can you compare the status of that beautiful district of Sandton with our beloved Central Area, Maitama or the almighty Asokoro District?

    One of my professional suggestions is that the original masterplan and the approved revisions as approved by the President/Ministers should be mass-reproduced and made available to the general public. This will curb arbitrariness in the FCT. This will help the public, especially professionals to be on guard against potential abuses and become reflex whistle blowers against the mafia in the system. There is need to also dismantle and re-organise the development control, AGIS and other agencies of the FCT. There should be a seamless system of approval for land and design approvals in the FCT in collaboration with Architects, Town Planners (NIA, NSE, NITP, etc) in generating consulting firms to form a body for design approval and development control.

    Concerted efforts should be made to complete major districts around the precinct of developed areas and zones like Durumi, Wuye, Mpape, Life Camp, Kado and Lugbe district that shame us a nation. We need to open up the satellite towns by putting in place first-class facilities and using international standard class contractors. There is need to create an Abuja disciplinary or orientation body like KAI in Lagos but must be PPP-driven to prevent it from being moribund within a short period. The body will regularly educate Abuja residents on cleanliness, courtesy on road usage, work against uncivilised behaviour like posting of posters on bridges, trading on the road/under bridges, etc.

    We need to design and construct modern car parks, markets with adequate parking lots and international airport. There is also need to enforce the design of modern malls by individual developers in the FCT instead of box-like structures currently being labelled as malls or plazas springing up all over the city. The so-called malls within the city must be properly insured. The FCT Minister should take a look at the recently-proposed almost $1billion airport to be constructed in Senegal and use it as an inspiration to actualise Mallam El-Rufai’s dream of building a modern state of the art airport, meant to be the best in Africa.

    Finally, the FCT Minister should convene a conference of stakeholders, professionals in the built environment, officials of the Ministry of Environment, etc., to brainstorm on the best way of actualising a dream of a befitting capital city for us as a nation.

     

    • Alonge is a Chartered Architect.

  • That new video of Chibok Girls

    Nigeria marked another inglorious milestone last week as the abduction of more than 200 students from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State turned two years, without the girls being rescued. Those abductions, by global consensus, dealt one of the most violent assaults in human history to child rights as well as girl-child education; and that is not to mention the crushing agony of parents whose wards were taken away. In a region of this country where much work yet needs to be done to change the cultural indisposition to girl education, the Chibok girls were shining role models. The abductees were in the thick of their Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination when Boko Haram insurgents struck at their hostels in the dead of night, herding some 276 students onto trucks that headed off to God-knows-where. Fifty-seven of those girls managed to escape as the trucks hastened off, and have since returned home. But the fate and whereabouts of those remaining have been an embarrassing mystery and a raw sore on the conscience of this nation.

    The second year remembrance last week was against the backdrop of chronic leadership failure, missed opportunities and yet to be effectual promises of diplomatic intervention. There is no debate that the costliest leadership failure in the whole episode was the reluctant and disoriented response by the former administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, which was in office at the time, such that precious time was lost in intercepting the fleeing insurgents and rescuing the abducted girls. That administration simply never seemed to believe that the girls were truly abducted, and notoriously signposted its disbelief with the infamous “There is God oooo!!” declaration by the former First Lady. But you see, that is how disconnected from reality politics gets when it is played for its sake. The Chibok abductions happened during an election year in this country, and the Jonathanians just seemed to think political opposition at the time orchestrated the alarm for some electoral gain. Not a few believed that even with a slightly belated response by the government machinery, the situation could still have been helped if the former administration had given the terrorists some pursuit, since you do not make hundreds of abductees and the means with which they were being conveyed vanish overnight. But the Jonathan administration failed to play that line, and instead conducted campaign-oriented inquisitions in Abuja as to whether or not there had truly been abductions. Regrettably, that gave Boko Haram the time to hide the girls away, as they have remained hidden even until now. Eventually, the administration that chose to play politics with such national emergency is itself history now.

    Regardless of what Jonathanians did or failed to do, the Chibok girls debacle has been inherited by the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, and it is trite that the administration now has the responsibility to bring the girls back home. Thus far, there is little to cheer in that regard. Much as military forces have made huge strides under the present leadership in recovering territory from Boko Haram and severely decimating the terrorists’ ranks, the abducted girls are yet to be located, much less rescued – two years on. Relentless crusading by indefatigable activists of the ‘BringBackOurGirls’ movement has not been effectual in forcing positive results. Yet, many had wished that the milestone last week was not reached, and I suspect that this issue is one of the reasons the world is cynical about recent claims by the Buhari administration that the insurgency has been defeated.

    The international community was sufficiently outraged by the abduction of the Chibok girls, and leading countries volunteered pledges of logistical and intelligence support for their rescue. But those pledges have yet to yield any result two years on. The girls have not been rescued, and neither has there been any useful intelligence as to where they are being held. The closest indication of intelligence surveillance was an after-the-fact claim by former British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Andrew Pocock, to the effect that the United Kingdom and United States once knew the whereabouts of some of the abducted girls, but could do nothing to rescue them. Speaking to The Sunday Times of London in March, the envoy said about 80 of the missing girls were spotted by UK and US surveillance officials not long after their being abducted, but the Western governments felt powerless to offer help as any rescue attempt would have been too risky if Boko Haramists used the girls as human shields.

    Pocock’s narrative, as reported, went thus: “A couple of months after the kidnapping, fly-bys and an American eye in the sky spotted a group of up to 80 girls at a particular spot in the Sambisa forest, around a very large tree called locally the Tree of Life, along with evidence of vehicular movement and a large encampment.” According to him, the Chibok girls were there for at least four weeks, but the authorities were ‘powerless’ to intervene. “A land-based attack would have been seen coming miles away, and the girls killed. An air-based rescue, such as flying in helicopters or Hercules, would have required large numbers, and that meant a significant risk to the rescuers, and even more so to the girls,” he added. Perhaps the strongest disincentive for the Western powers, as the envoy was reported, was that the former Jonathan administration did not ask for help. But you would wonder why those powers slipped off the surveillance, for whatever it took to track the terrorists.

    Well, there appears to be a fresh hope that the Chibok girls are yet alive and well, and could be brought home. A video surfaced late last week showing 15 of the girls being interrogated, as proof that they were alive and could be bargained for, by the government, with their captors. In that video, the girls maintained a calm countenance and showed no visible signs of their ordeal in captivity. They were largely emotionless, and only an occasional hesitation in their individual responses to questions by a male voice behind the camera betrayed any intimation of fear in them. The video is reported to have been recorded on Christmas Day, last year, as part of negotiations between the Buhari administration and Boko Haram. One of the girls shown in the video, Naomi Zakaria, made an appeal at the end of the two-minute clip urging the government to help unite the abductees with their families. “I am speaking on 25th December 2015 on behalf of all the Chibok girls and we are all well,” she added.

    I dare say the video was heart wrenching for any humane viewer, even more so for Chibok parents who were reported to have confirmed the girls to truly be their missing wards. CNN correspondent, Nima Elbagir, said in her report that the video was sourced from someone keen to give the girls’ parents hope that some of their daughters were yet alive, and to motivate the government to help get them freed. But the government is understandably wary, against the backdrop of Jonathan administration’s experience with negotiators. Minister of Information Lai Mohammed, in the CNN report, confirmed that government was in possession of the video, and he acknowledged that government was in some talks with persons that supplied it towards securing the Chibok girls’ release. But he was cautious about the recording being valid as current proof of the girls’ well-being.

    And I see his point: It is difficult to believe that the notoriously bestial Boko Haramists, two years on, have humanely treated the Chibok girls as this new video suggests. But anything is worth the try to rescue the abducted girls. The government is here encouraged to follow through with the negotiations, even as the military keep up with assaults against the terrorists.

  • Still on Panama Papers

    Everyone fingered should speak to the allegations, even as the Buhari Presidency swiftly probes the allegations to try the indicted

    No one is perhaps surprised that Nigeria is well represented in the odious Panama Papers, the latest international scandal in which suspected fraudsters of all nations float shell companies, to corner public funds (politicians and public office holders), escape legitimate taxation (business barons) or launder drug money (international drug barons).

    It is a well and truly numbing United Nations of smart alecks, driven by uncommon greed to undermine and under-develop their countries!

    Captured in the humongous data, all of 2.6 tetrabytes, containing 11.5 million confidential documents, which one John Doe (not real name) leaked, were heads of state and governments of no less than five countries: Argentina, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates.

    This ensemble also include government officials; and close relatives and associates of top dogs in more than 40 other countries, including Russia and Nigeria. Host of choice for most of the registered  shell companies was the British Virgin Islands (which seems to have lost its virginity and innocence to sleaze!); while most of the oft-cited banks, law firms and middlemen, were domiciled in Hong Kong.

    Supremely orchestrating the sleazy music was Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm, which somewhat had developed  globally recognised rogue expertise in such dodgy business. A concert of journalists, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), probed and blew the lid on the scam.

    ICIJ comprised 400 journalists, at 107 media organisations, in 16 countries, led by German newspaper, Suddutsche Zeitung.  They all collaborated on the investigations. Premium Times, a Nigerian online newspaper, says it is the only Nigerian newspaper in this noble assemblage.

    The scandal has already started claiming scalps. In Iceland, Prime Minister Sigmumdur Gunnlaugsson, resigned his office, even though technically he broke no laws. His wife, Ann Sigurlaug Palsdottir, not him, was involved; and under Iceland’s parliamentary laws, he was not obliged to declare her interests. But so fierce was public opinion, in a normally laid-back jurisdiction, that the Prime Minister hurriedly exited.

    In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron still sweats to evade the drop. Again technically, he broke no laws. The deal was his inheritance from his father; and when he cashed out, he explained, he declared it and paid due taxes. But such is the public row that the jury is still out on whether or not he would survive the storm. Also, Spanish industry minister Jose Manuel Soria has joined the list of those who resigned over the Panama  Papers scandal.

    Of course, in Nigeria, the worst of global aberrations are bound to add the amoral Nigerian local flavour. Two of those named in the scandals are already proving this axiom painfully true.

    Dr. Bukola Saraki, Senate President, was mentioned. Initially, he claimed he did no wrong; and that the said assets belonged to his wife, Toyin, who came from a propertied Lagos family. But the wife’s lawyers countermanded that claim, saying the assets belonged to no family, but solely Mrs. Saraki’s.

    Afterwards, Premium Times revealed what looked like damning evidence of Saraki buying one of the shell companies, off his wife for £3 million, way back during his gubernatorial years. Part of the papers Premium Times provided bore what looked like Mrs Saraki’s personal handwriting and signature. Still, Saraki, embroiled in his Code  of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) trial, is resorting to bluff and bluster. Worse: he is even attempting institutional subversion of our laws to selfish ends.

    His supporters are pushing a hurried amendment to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Law, as well as the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) of 2015. Both are aimed, like bandits billeted in the highest lawmaking chamber in the land, with a self-given mandate to subvert the law, at skewing both laws so that Saraki can wriggle out of his self-imposed troubles. Fond hope — but exceedingly reckless, provocative and condemnable.

    The second drama of the absurd involves David Mark, another former Senate President. After the news hit the wire, he claimed he had gone through the documents but didn’t find his name there! But Premium Times riposted: if the documents are still under wraps — and it was sure they were, since the newspaper was part of ICIJ — which document did Mark scour to clear himself of any alleged wrongdoing? Again, it would appear another bluff and bluster gone awry!

    Former defence minister Theophilus Danjuma has also been named in this sordid drama. He is the only Nigerian who has not thought it fit to respond. He owes it to Nigerians. The other, Onanefe Ibori, is in jail and may not be afforded platforms to explain himself. If the others who responded have resorted to subterfuge, at least they responded. Danjuma’s silence is unacceptable. He has been a prominent fixture in generations of this country’s leadership.

    At the end of the day, every name on the list is deemed innocent until proven guilty by detailed investigation and dutiful prosecution. That is why every Nigerian mentioned in the scandal must speak to the allegations; and fairly clear their names.

    But clearing your name is one thing. Stalling and lying to bury the truth is another. The first is fair and noble business. The other is provocative play on the polity’s intelligence. So, the earlier Saraki and Mark started fairly defending themselves, the better for them — and everyone. But that counsel also goes to other Nigerians mentioned, though the duo of Saraki and Mark are singled out because of strong suspicions of possible abuse of office, as sitting senators and public office holders.

    But however the mentioned decide to play it, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should swiftly move in and investigate the allegations. After that, it should bring the indicted to diligent prosecution and justice.

    The nation expects no less of an administration whose prime and legacy policy is zero tolerance for corruption.

     

  • Can Nigerian child hawkers become child soldiers?

    Without any prevarication, my answer to thequestion above is a resounding yes. There is a great possibility that children who have suddenly become the breadwinners of their families can effectively morph into killing machines if and when the circumstance within which to do so presents itself. It is no moot point that children who have spent virtually all their childhood on chancy streets waging economic wars on behalf of their parents and carers will be easier recruits for psychopathic state and non-state actors dissatisfied with certain actions of the system.

    The towns of  many an African country appear to be incomplete without the unsightly scenes of children, all of them below the age of 18 and some as young as between seven and 12 years, hawking various items. In traffic snarls, they are there. You find them on many streets and in different corners of towns. Some of them sometimes rush up to you pushing their articles of sales to you and appealing to you, strongly in their child-like demeanours, to buy from them so that they can have some money to take home. Woe often betides many of them who return home without selling one or two sachets of a bag of pure water, a tray of 20 oranges, seven tubers of yams, among other items.

    Yet, there exist special laws that are meant to check the criminal abuse of childrenin many of these countries in which child hawkers abound. Many of them are even signatories to international treatiesand conventions on the rights of children, some of which comprisethe 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the 1977 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions, and the most celebrated 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. In fact, many of the 54 African states have domesticated, through special laws,the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is designed to safeguardthe innocence, spirit and human essence of childrenfrom being abused in any way.

    In Nigeria, for example, the Child Rights Act,which was passed at the federal level in 2003 and enacted by about 16 State Houses of Assembly thereafter,is extant but its letters and spirit are consistently observed in breach. If there is any proof that the Nigerian state does not value its future, we need not look any further than to how in spite of the availability of the law on child rights and protection many of its children are still losing their humanity and are being consigned to the abyss of danger and irrelevance. Indeed, Nelson Mandela was right when he piquantly observed that, ‘There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children. By allowing many of their young to become the effective main sources of income for their kinfolks, Nigeria and many African countries reveal themselves as huge failures and disappointments. After all, as Pope Francis argued, ‘a society can be judged by the way it treats its children’.

    Something stands out for me in my ongoingresearch of the absurd phenomenon called child soldiers across many African countries. It is that the same factors that make the use of children as combatants in hostilities possible are very much the same catalysts that give rise to the use of many children as the active breadwinners of their varied families. Just as many warlords and rebel groups depend on children they have dangerously drugged and armed with brutally efficientAK-47s(now easier to wield by children) to make theircase with their states, so do many adults – parents, aunties, uncles, and guardians – wait endlessly on children who should be nurtured with education and nourished with sumptuous food for their daily growth. Thus, the childhood of many Nigerian children are way off from being paradisal.

    Modern warfare has changed profoundly. The unjustifiable involvement of children in hostilities is responsible for this change; in the same way that technological advance in weapon production contributes to it. And states that have lost the capacity to provide good governance, ensure strong institutions, and improve the socioeconomic conditions of their peoples arethe hotbed and fertile grounds for the breeding of children as vicious combatants and killers. Examples subsist in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the Sudan, the Congo, Uganda, Myanmar, and Colombia. As examples from Sub-Saharan African countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone show, children become easy recruits as combatants when there is overwhelming failure of development.

    Therein is the homogeneity in the factors that inform the catastrophic aberrations of child soldiers and child hawkers. Countries where children become breadwinners are not those with preventablesocioeconomic disorders, decaying public infrastructure, foregrounded youth unemployment, political instability, and insecurity. They are thosein which the measures of the quality of life like security, income, education, homes, food, and water are in horribly low percentages.

    As P. W. Singer explains with available statistics from the US Department of Labor, the Bureau of International Labor Affairs and the UN Population Fund, a disproportionate numbers of children around the world, especially in Africa, are uneducated, malnourished, marginalised, and disaffected. More than 250 million children live on the street; over 211 million children must work to feed themselves and their families; and about 115 million children have never been to school. The unprecedented number of child hawkers and the UNICEF incredible figure of 10.5 million out-of-school children (between ages 6 and 11) in Nigeria clearly attest to the horrendous condition of many a Nigerian child.

    Another striking similarity: Demagogues, rebel groups, and warlords exploit the vulnerability of children. They indoctrinate them. They are easy to maintain as cheap labour. They are expendable and easily replaceable – among others, Romeo Dallaire, P.W. Singer, Donald Dunson, Michael Wessells, AlcindaHonwana, Chris Coulter, MyriamDenov, and Ishmael Beah revealingly expatiate this point in their various books.

    In the same vein, parents and guardians who use children to hawk and generate or supplement income do no less. They cash in on the vulnerability of the children and wrongly make them believe it is their duty to provide for the family. Those who use children to fight their senseless wars – political, religious, and economic – and those who fail in their duty to check the abusers of children all do terribly infernal evil to the tapestry of humanity.

    The challenge is for the Nigerian state to rouse itself from the lethargy of insensitivity and indifference to the plight of children in the country. It must protect its children by seriously applying the Child Rights Act against the unconscionable adults who enlist children in street hawking. Otherwise, the same adults who deem it apt to get them to fend for the family will recruit them as soldiers if and when the condition arises. States that have enacted the Child Rights Act must enforce it. Those yet to do so must give up their anaemic excuses and join the crusade against the destruction of children. We must be genuinely awaken to the legal, moral, and ethical implications of ensuring that some children grow well, receive sound education while a prohibitive number of others waste away on the streets seeking daily bread for adults.

    To prevent this present crop of child hawkers from becoming easy recruits for the devastating task of soldiering, governments at all levels in Nigeria must seek to improve the socioeconomic condition of the people. The poverty in the land is not natural. Something has to be done to transform this abominable condition. If the socioeconomic condition of the people continues to exacerbate,and if round and sound education is reserved for the children of the high and mighty, the rank of child hawkers will continue to swell, they will become easy and willing recruits for violent agitators and we may not have a country to call ours again. Now is the time to heed this call to action.

    • Ademola writes from ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile-Ife.

  • Change! What color are thou?

    The word Change is power packed; needs no qualifier for its impact or import to be felt. It is a word of emotion and distinctiveness. Hue? One is not certain though at times Change will come at you as sly and deceitful. Flip the coin and Change is on either side – negative or positive all is Change. It is a word you can’t find napping. However, it is pertinent to note that not every change action is neither desirable nor connotes improvement on what had existed.

    • There is nothing permanent except change. – Heraclitus
    • Constance is the foundation of virtues – Francis Bacon
    • My life changed when I encountered Jesus – Anonymous
    • There is danger in reckless change, but greater danger in blind conservatism.- Henry George – ‘Social Problems’
    • There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse; as I have found in travelling in a stage coach, that it is often a comfort to shift one’s position and be bruised in a new place. – Washington Irving – Tales of a Traveler

    Change! As the Nigerian would say ‘na you biko’; head or tail you win.

    What is, however, of importance from the above expressions is the dynamics of Change. A dynamism that enables it elicits formidable emotion irrespective of what it hits you with. However, Change, since the 2015 national elections has unwittingly become one of the most gleefully or scornfully used words. Consequently one would briefly take a go at Change action on purely business/management perspective. A political neutral arena where Nigerians of all political dispositions inter mingle in pursuit of one singular interest, the acquisition of stomach infrastructure – daily bread by many but wealth and fame for lucky few. That route hopefully would disarm those that the word change would ordinarily conjure up partisan political inklings; and instinctively make them feel Esau’s hand and the voice of Jacob in every sentence.

    Can anybody remember when the times were not hard and money not scarce? – Emerson, Ralf (1803 – 1882).

    It is pertinent to admit that the socio-economic flux currently visiting and its effects on Nigerians is at the root of this write up. A rational being gasps for change when it dawns on the individual that his/her situation has become not only unviable but indefensible. Similarly, the instinct for an informed private sector enterprise, which finds itself in identical economic nightmare most Nigerian enterprises public and private have of resent memory been experiencing would readily opt for image laundering or the ultimate, operational change action. The Obasonjo down to Jonathan’s administrations fully appreciated that and inaugurated respectively – rebranding, and transformation agenda.

    The quest for improvement and the pursuit of efficiency in operations is an agenda in change action. It is a change action that should be directed at discarding all nonviable operational practices. One of such is over staffing, which of recent has been complemented by a new malady ‘ghosts at work’. Uncontrolled hiring and retaining of unproductive staff are comparable to uncontrollable imposition of excess weight or fat on a fragile body frame; a development many Nigerians are conscious of its consequences, – the inability of the heavily laden skeleton to elegantly carry such superimposed load. Though, the unfortunate subject by our customary standard is hailed as being robust, well fed and nourished, but a simple function like ascending stairs, –  and for corporate bodies paying of salaries, translates to unbearable nightmare.

    That caliber of incapacitation is equally applicable to an over-bloated business entity, who in terms of business turnover and staff strength may momentarily appear to be in good shape, but who in real viability index does not have time on its side. An organization can therefore be a victim of its seeming success. Drucker, a management guru notes that; ‘size will have to fit the strategy of the business. The age when bigger is better is definitely over. The elephant is not a better animal than the cockroach, and the cockroach has outlived untold species of elephants.” Coincidentally, Nigerian Airways – ‘The flying elephant’ did not equally live long. General Obasanjo another guru knows why.

    One is of the view that any organization that aspires to be competitive and deliver; like an athlete, need to be flexible, lean and agile while still constantly subjecting itself to continuous self-examination and performance review. Once in awhile, an organization should pause; take a critical look at where it is at and where it would like to be. That constant self-assessment is advisable if it intends to be both viable and competitive; ‘be good at what you do or you won’t be doing it for long.’  The 2015 general elections in no uncertain terms made that point clear to our political class.

    To drive a change action through is an act of good leadership, in like manner to be in a position to drive an effect change, and shy away from executing that is a damnable failure of leadership. The drive for change and its sustenance must be championed by leadership. It is the shepherd that leads the flock to the green pasture and not the other way round.  Peoples’ expectations for good governance can no longer be ignored. Consequently, nations and governments are positioning either rightly or wrongly to satisfy that change yearnings. However, to rightly be in the position to accomplish that implies positioning the system on the right track, facing the right direction, while fully conscious of the required sacrifices, the score and objective.

    The goal of a change action is the attainment of desired objective. No change process is simple and stress free; to overcome the inherent inertia, and vested interests on what exists, the change agent has to be adequately prepared, properly psyched, firmly and confidently focused on the desired objective. For an organization to be in the best shape for the race of change necessitates a complete change in organizational ‘life style’ – the way we have been doing it mentality.

    It is common knowledge that sports coaches generally read the riot act to their athletes preparing for major competitions, ‘no drinking, no night life, and no women/men’; as all these dissipate energy/resources. Similar, appropriate riot act applies to an organization that intends to win the corporate survival race. Its preparation has to be total and focused with the muscles/organization structure made lean, fit and tough. The system’s will to succeed necessitating the retention of only needed personnel to keep operations efficiently running.

    Any change regimen as noted usually appear at the unset demanding, daunting and at times painful, but like all human positive efforts the reward of success invariably soothes, and often obliterates even the memory of pain. The joy of an Olympic gold medalist as he takes the lap of honor eloquently says it all.