The Nation Newspaper

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  • New face of Yoruba monarchy

    For about six years now, tradition and youthfulness have been cohabiting in some notable Yoruba kingdoms, and the result of this is visible civilisation within these environs. The practice, which commenced with the enthronement of Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi (Kesenla III), was not without initial criticisms because no one would have thought that a youthful mind was capable of the vast intelligence and maturity that became manifest in the Elegushi’s ability to continue to keep Ikateland together, and attract development to the kingdom.

    The enormous responsibilities of kingship is enough reason to inspire doubts about the aptitudes of new generation of Yoruba Kings to act as custodians of our traditions, and perhaps consider them unworthy of ascending the thrones of their forefathers.  Now, time has come to establish as myopic, the thinking that youthfulness could rob these middle-aged kings of the capacity to provide appropriate leadership and exercise sound judgement. The blinkered minds, predicated on deep-seated attachment to culture and tradition, have changed dramatically to embrace the freshness of youthfulness.

    Like other people, I had thought that his Master’s degree in Economics and extensive public service experience could not have sufficiently prepared him for a reign over three million people – a kingdom which is almost the size of Kuwait, although not as endowed, but as demographically diverse Kuwait. It was natural to reason that the incumbent Elegushi might not fittingly glide into the expansive shoes of the former Elegushi, Oba Yekini Adeniyi Elegushi, his father whose influence cut across ethnic and religious barriers.

    Alas! Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi (Kusenla III) has demonstrated that youthfulness midwifes innovation. His reign over Ikateland has shown that  Nigerian  youths are ready for leadership responsibilities. As the mascot of his generation of Kings, Kusenla III’s selfless and practical outlook is telling of the depth and resourcefulness of our generation of youths. In realistic terms, the perceived risk of entrusting Ikateland, a historically significant town, into the hands of a 34-year old man six years back, is now widely adjudged an advantage.

    Ikateland would have lost the benefits of Oba Ademola Elegushi’s mental agility to a cosmetic barrier mounted by age, but the progenitors of Ikateland would not renege on their covenant of development and progress. Accordingly, they made possible his ascension to their throne for activation of the age-long agreement of advancement and relevance cut with his predecessors.

    Just as Oba Ademola Elegushi, fate singled-out youthful Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi for rulership of Ile-Ife as the Ooni. The new Ooni, a self-made and hardworking youngman, is not just expected to steer the affairs of Ile-Ife as seamlessly as the enigmatic and stylish Oba Okunade Sijuade  (Olubuse II),  he also has a divine mandate to fosterthe unity of the Yoruba race.

    Oba Ogunwusi’s ascension to the supreme throne of Ooni comes with huge responsibilities. His tasks are  herculean  and compounded by some deep cultural issues  with complicated age-long rivalry amongst  Yoruba  Kings. But in his ‘youthful’ wisdom, the Ojaja II from Giesi Ruling House has signalled the birth a new Yoruba race with his unscheduled visit to the Alafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi on his 45th coronation anniversary. As the first Ooni to visit Oyo town since 1937, it is clear that the Arole Odua is a different kind of king and a man ofgreat wisdom.  Ooni Adeyeye is a youthful royal father gifted with the wisdom of King Solomon, like his royal brother, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi (Kusenla III).

    Now, Ile-Ife will have more than heritage and Obafemi Awolowo University, my alma mater, as  attractions. With the N7.2bn estate and resort centre which will potentially employ 5,000 indigenes and empower 20, 000 widows, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi is turning Ile-Ife into a major tourist attraction.  Should I ask if you perceive the socio-economic development championed by these young kings? Okay, wait till Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi unfolds his transformational plans for Ikateland in the coming months!

    Iwo town is the new centre of youth empowerment. The newly installed Oluwo of Iwo, His Royal Majesty, Oba Rasheed Adewale Akanbi is another man from this generation of youths who signposts our collective vision to take Nigeria to the next level.  After his coronation, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Akanbi (Ilufemiloye Telu1), announced that his reign would take Iwo to the “Promised Land”, and his subjects understood that the ancient town of Iwo has commenced a journey to renaissance.

    This theme vibrates across the land because it is the song on the lips of every Nigerian youth. We need to involve youths more in governance and social administration for better results. Now is the time to take advantage of youthfulness for national growth, economic development and better infrastructure. The energy, resources and knowledge to take Nigeria out of doldrums abound in this generation of youths.

    The soothing wind of transformation is blowing across the land even though the esteemed throne of Olubadan might not immediately be available for manning by a middle-aged man because of the town’s unique traditional system of governance. The route to the throne is hierarchical ascension  from two lineages (Egbe Agba and Egbe Balogun), through alternating system and each lineage has 23 positions before the throne.

    From the records, it takes between 38 and 40 years, for a Mogaji (thenext-in-line to the Olubadan) to become an Olubadan, and progression to Mogaji also takes about 40 years too. Therefore, the probability of a young man being king over Ibadan is slim. However, with Chief Abiodun Kola Daisi, the Ekarun Olubadan, rumoured ceding of his position to one of his sons who is a little over 40, Ibadan might just be getting ready for an unusually young Olubadan. This indicates belief in the capacity of this generation of youths to lead transformation, and champion developmental initiatives.

    The young Elegushi of Ikateland, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi, (Kusenla III), has proven through his conducts that youthfulness is an ingredient of social development.  Arole Odua, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife showed the world that this generation is about peace, progress and unity. Just within that frame, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Rasheed Adewale Akanbi amplified the aspiration of every Nigerian youth to turn Nigeria into the promised land.

    Except we want to shy away from the truth, culture is more delicate and complex than governance, and youths are acting as better custodians and harbingers of our traditions. I reckon that for Nigeria to record the long-sought transformation that will bring happiness to every citizen, youth empowerment and involvement in social administration, might just be the key.

    • Fafure writes from Lagos. 

  • Ugwuanyi’s long walk to good governance

    There is no doubt that the recent alarm by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that hard times await Nigerians following its projection that low oil revenue will linger for a long period, has set a new agenda and dimmed the hope of Nigerians towards a possible viable economy that would impact positively on their lives and enhance the pace of development.

    It is quite unfortunate that today’s crop of leaders are witnessing the worst economic depression in the annals of the country. Most economic indices keep pointing to the fact that diversification of the economy remains the only viable option for the nation’s economic recovery, as the mantra has changed from excess crude to bailout fund.

    But the consolation lies on fact that a handful of leaders had taken the bull by the horns and swung into action through their steadfastness, commitment and wide-range of visionary and innovative approach towards exploiting other avenues of revenue generation to tackle the needs of their people.

    In Enugu State for instance, where Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi holds sway, the present economic realities characterized by paucity of revenue in the midst of avalanche of demands have not dampened the detemination of the governor to advance good governance.

    Apart from the fact that Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration has continued to pay workers’ salaries promptly despite the economic meltdown, it has also maintained a harmonious working relationship with the organized labour in the state.

    It is on record that Governor Ugwuanyi in his desire to ensure delivery of quality jobs within stipulated contract period, had, through the chairman of the Enugu State Urban Renewal Committee, Arc. Chris Offor, ordered contractors handling various road projects in the state to speed up work, on the grounds that the government was in a hurry to deliver on its promises to the people despite the drastic effects of the economic meltdown.

    It is also on record that the state Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Patrick Ikpenwa, had on several occasions during his routine inspection visits to sites, told contractors to stick to work specification, ensure that standards are maintained and work to ensure that the projects are completed within the specified period.  He added that the state government will not tolerate any form of laxity that could undermine its estimated time lag for the completion of the projects.

    In the Nike Lake Road project for instance, which is being undertaken by Setraco Construction Company, one is impressed to observe that work has reached the advanced stage of asphalts placement in the first one kilometre of the road. Also, in the Udenu Ring Road project, being handled by Ferotex Construction Company, progress report shows that drainages, culverts and earthworks are on-going. In the Amaeke- Nsude – 9th mile by-pass road project, being handled by CCC Nig. Ltd, earthworks have been completed; culverts are on-going while stone-base is 50% completed.

    In the Opi-Nsukka dual carriage road project, being done by RCC Nig. Ltd, clearing, earthworks, drainages and culverts are in progress while relocation of utilities is almost completed for the first seven kilometers of the road.  In the Amangwo- Amaeke-NBL junction road project, being handled by Tomando Nig. Ltd, clearing, relocation and earthworks are seriously on-going. In Emene – Adoration Ministry praying ground road project, being handled by Coys Construction Company, clearing, earthworks, drainages and relocation of utilities are equally on-going. The same can be said for other on-going road projects in the state.

    It also worthy of note that the governor, through the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, had successfully repaired most potholes in Enugu metropolis including the popular 9th mile corner roads, under the Operation Zero Pothole (OZP) programme initiated for aggressive maintenance of all the existing roads in line with his principle of seamless continuity and consolidation.

    All these landmark achievements and numerous remarkable feats recorded in other sectors of development, such as in the areas of education, health, agriculture, housing, etc, have left many to wonder about the secret behind the governor’s success story and long walk to good governance in Enugu State.

    Recently, the governor and his team were in Dublin, Ireland as part of investment drive, in keeping with his campaign promises to navigate the state through the current economic crunch and exploit other avenues of revenue generation for development.

    One appreciates the fruitfulness of the trip which led to the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Enugu State Government and the authorities of Dublin City University on how to promote and develop education in the state as one of the focal points of the government’s development initiatives.

    The visit also recorded other remarkable successes in shopping for investors and donor agencies that would key freely into the new phase of development in Enugu State. It is strongly believed that the fruitful discussions and other fallout of the investment trip would be felt by the people of the state in no distant time.

    Still on the governor’s long walk to good governance, Ugwuanyi has in recent times spent more time on the field than in the office in his bid to address the needs and problems of the people of the state.

    Within a space of three days, the governor made appreciable interventionist moves towards brokering peace between the two warring communities of Umuodo and Oruku in Nkanu East Local Government Area of the state through unscheduled peace mission visits and meeting with stakeholders of the two communities.

    He also embarked on a long trip through the communities of Amechi-Idodo, Amuzam and Amagunze in Nkanu East Local Government Area to inspect the mind-boggling dilapidated Uzam/Amechi Idodo/Inyaba/ Umunevo/Amagunze Inter-Community wooden bridge which has effectively cut the people of the areas off from other neighboring villages.

    After taking a long walk on the bridge during the inspection, he promised that his administration will do its best in spite of the economic meltdown to construct the bridge. The excitement that followed his promise was electrifying, as the villagers could not stop thanking him for the kind gesture and his prime honour as the first governor of the state to visit the site.

    The governor who made a brief stopover at Uzam Community Primary School, Amechi-idodo on his way to the bridge, to appreciate pupils of the school who lined up on the road in large numbers to welcome him, after identifying the needs of the school promised to improve on the learning condition of the pupils.

    In all, there is no doubt that Ugwuanyi  has through his absolute faith in God continued to maintain his promise to the people of Enugu State, “to deploy government services to create fair and equal opportunity for every willing citizen to make a living and create wealth, educate our children and enjoy life in a peaceful and secure environment”.

    These, he has pursued vigorously with all sense of commitment, vision, steadfastness and passion in spite of all the present economic tribulations.  It is, therefore, the responsibility of the people to continue to encourage and give his administration the maximum support it deserves to successfully drive the wheels of governance in this moment of economic depression.

    • Amokewritesfrom Enugu.

  • Education: Tambuwal chooses the best part

    The break of a new nationhood in Nigeria, gave birth to three distinct, divergent and strong models of development under a unique federal structure. The three tendencies, particularly after independence in 1960, propelled by very ambitious and visionary leaderships, led to the rapid development of each of the regions in the most dramatic and enduring way.

    The socio-economic and political vibrancy, particularly imbued by the buoyant economy, sustained by the famous groundnut pyramids in the North, the cocoa farms in the West and the palm produce in the East, not only gave rise to why many see the period as the golden era of the country, but bespeaks adequately of the place of leadership or lack of it in the affairs of man and his development in any milieu.

    But beyond the economic and political wizardry of that era, there was yet a clincher, which appeared to have made a difference among the competing areas, and still does now, even more than five decades, in those entities, which have now fragmented into different states. It was the phenomenon of education.

    Imbued by a singular vision, Obafemi Awolowo, then Premier of the Western Region, saw in it an opportunity for not only creating a major leap in the economic and social well-being of his people, but the fastest way to do so.

    Not that others did not see a similar vision, but the strategy adopted in pursuing the goal around it, appeared not as workable or fruitful. That mattered a lot. Thus, whilst the Michael Okpara’s East, adopted an approach where education was made available only to individuals who could afford it, sometimes at the most excruciating pains, or to community efforts available only to bright children, and Ahmadu Bello’s North appeared to have favoured the moralistic approach, through promoting religious education, Awolowo practically threw the doors open with his free education policy.

    The result! Phenomenal! Long before whole communities in the two other zones produced their first graduates, the West was already boasting of one in every family. Today, that trend has endured, even with the attempt by the others to catch up. The attendant picture in terms of the socio-economic and political development, bears ample testimony of the benefits of that vision, more than five decades after.

    It is against this backdrop that the current takings of Governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (AWT), can be situated. Like the biblical Solomon, who neither asked for money or riches, when God asked him to make a choice, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has not left anyone in doubt about his preference for his people while in office. He seems to sleep and wake education.

    Though it was a major item in during his campaign, he has since turned it into a major project, driven with a single-minded disposition since ever since.

    On December, 6 last year, after the State Executive Council (SEC), meeting, the Commissioner of Information, Alhaji Saidu Umar, announced the declaration of a State of Emergency on Education. A flurry of activities had emerged before and more have followed after to give impetus to this drive, an indication that the governor means business in making education the foundation of the state’s development architecture.

    From proposing a bill criminalising parents that refuse to send their child to school, to injecting 500 teachers into the educational workforce; from signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Teachers Institute (NTI) to train teachers in the state, to engaging in peer review mechanism, such as studying the Kano State girl-child transport programme and the Ondo State School free shuttle programme and to the setting aside of one per cent levy for every contract awarded in the state for funding education, the true picture of the governor’s vision and strategy is becoming more apparent by the day.

    Ostensibly to ensure that biting poverty pervading the country is not a barrier to this pet project, the governor, recently caused the free distribution of 8,000 Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) forms worth N44million to indigent students seeking admission into various tertiary institutions across the country. He has also commenced the building of a teacher’s village, while introducing a package of special incentives for teachers in rural areas, as well as ensuring prompt payment of the school fees of indigenes of the state studying in various institutions in Nigeria and abroad.

    However, the most practical step taken so far in this direction, came on December 30, 2015 when, during his budget presentation, the governor announced a whopping N34.458billion, almost 30 per cent of the total N174.391billion estimate profile  for education. The estimate, which is above the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommendation, is not only an icing on the cake, but appears to have put paid to any form of doubt about the governor’s intention. It was also there that he announced a feeding programme for the pupils, to encourage that the classrooms are filled with pupils.

    Hear the reason: “My answer is simple: We have a lot to gain by addressing the challenges of the sector head-on. It is our firm conviction that when the people are educated, they’d definitely be better prepared to be self-sufficient. An economically independent society is the stepping-stone to combined productivity that leads to an economic growth of the nation as a whole….So declaring a state of emergency in the sector will enable us implement extra ordinary measures within a defined time-frame to achieve desired result. Our objective is to improve enrolment at all stages – basic, secondary and tertiary. We hope to improve quality of teachers by training and retraining, and recruitment of new ones. Any teacher whose capacity did not improve after the training will be reassigned to where his ability will be better needed within the civil service. The ultimate aim is to improve human capital capacity in the sector, eliminate inequality in access and radically improve numeracy and literacy.”

    The raison d’etre could not have been better expressed. But there is more to be argued in this direction. What better way to emphasise the knowledge economy argument than the state of Nigeria today, where the futility of reliance on natural resources is staring everybody in the face?

    With a simple stroke of fate, the giant has been cut down to size. It took the discovery of alternative to oil, the nation’s economic mainstay, to ensure this. Today, the collective fortunes of the country is not only oscillating dangerously, but its basic survival is practically threatened and hanging in the balance, leaving the future bleak.

    Yet, countries without as much as a fraction of Nigeria’s natural resources are witnessing growth and economic well-being in quantum proportion, the difference, of course, being the advantage of knowledge economy. Yes, how much does Microsoft or Facebook, an invention of just two individuals, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerbeg, make in a year? How many states in Nigeria would be combined to rake in such figures? Yet, so much is buried in the soil of every Nigerian state from Damaturu to Uyo and from Kafanchan to Abakaliki, or Iseyin.

    Why should Nigeria not be at the mercy of other people even with the huge natural resources when there is no basic knowledge or knowhow on how to tap and refine them into finished products? Even with the diversification that is being trumpeted currently, how far could it go without research and development, which can only come through the needed investment in education?

    That is where Tambuwal’s vision finds more expression in real terms. Besides, the current experience of insecurity in the country, owing to terrorism, high rate of crime and other social malaise, has provided another perspective to why the development of a robust and thriving educated populace is not only germane, but critical.

    Every single available fact, suggests that the prevalence of a massive and unacceptable cluster of the uneducated population, has remained the nursery through which this ugly and dangerous phenomenon has been fed and nurtured.

    The governor is certainly on a good journey. What remains is how far he would be willing and able to drive the agenda and how much energy and resilience he would be able, willing and ready to expend in climbing the hill in terms of the arduous nature of the road.   He has chosen the best part. The most important.

    • Igboanugo, a journalist, writes from Abuja.

  • Before the next fire in Anambra

    To those who believe in the holy books especially the Bible, when God warns it is established and it endures for all ages. This is true of the warning reeled out by God to the Israelites in I Samuel 8: 15, 17 when they demanded for a king to rule over them like the other nations.

    He told them: “the king (symbolising government) would demand of you 10% of your resources (tax is 10% of basic salary) either for himself or his attendants.”

    That warning seems to be playing out in our contemporary society as governments of the day keep on making demands on the people and the organised private sector in form of tax and levies without corresponding returns in terms of amenities and infrastructure that can guarantee a new lease of life or even the safety/security of businesses.

    In fact in these days of global economic downturn occasioned by the slide in crude petroleum prices, every tier of government now looks inwards to shore up whatever accrues to its vault; more so as revenue from the federation account keeps shrinking by the day.

    Income and corporate tax from individuals and the corporate entities is the first option being explored by these governments in more intensity than ever before since Lord Lugard introduced taxes in the country.

    The argument has been that it is one of the means through which government can raise funds to meet its responsibility to the citizenry especially the provision of the necessary basic infrastructure that will in turn protect and ensure survival of individuals and their business concerns.

    As the government encourages the payment of these taxes and levies, it behoves on it constitutionally to seek ways to assist these individuals and the corporate organisations to grow and make sufficient profit such that payment of any tax or levy becomes less cumbersome.

    However, the reality on ground is that most governments in the country have failed in their responsibility to provide even the basic infrastructure that will ensure the sustainability of both the citizenry and the corporate entities.

    This takes me to the case of the recent fire incident that engulfed the LPG plant of a subsidiary of Chicason Group of Companies in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Christmas Eve leading to the death of eight persons who were essentially onlookers and not workers of the conglomerate.

    My concern here is not the number of casualties or the setback the fire incident has caused to the company’s production processes but the efforts by government to prevent a recurrence especially as Nnewi is the industrial epicentre of not only Anambra state but the entire South-east geographical zone housing the first indigenous auto industry in the country, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Ltd., Ibeto Group of Companies and Coscharis Group, the factory where the first fully built motorcycle in this country was rolled out, to mention just a few.

    Various government functionaries, including the Labour and Employment Minister, Dr Chris Ngige, a former governor of the state, have visited the scene of the inferno to commiserate with the company without proffering measures to invigorate fire fighting in the state.

    So far there is no hope of a better response in case of a similar incident in the future as the in-house fire-fighting capacity recommended to Chicason Group including provision of water sprinklers, sand and fire extinguishers cannot suffice in the face of industrial fires.

    For instance, it is ridiculous that ill-equipped and short-staffed Anambra State Fire Service personnel had to travel 200 kilometres on a bad road from the state capital, Awka, to Nnewi with just a tanker of water to quell a fire resulting from an explosion from a gas plant. This is the evidence that there is no federal government presence to provide the type of sophisticated equipment needed to combat such an inferno, in that part of the country.

    To add salt to injury, there are no communications gadgets to mobilise other fire stations in the vicinity as the entire organisation has just one telephone line.

    Also on ground are only 83 personnel serving the entire state and who are paid a mere N10 hazard allowance monthly approved 44 years ago working with three fire engines and one water tanker which capacity is seven tonnes of water. Worse still, reports reveal that the station is bereft of a Turn Table Fire Vehicle meant for fighting fires in a three storey building.

    The company had met its own side of the bargain in the provision of basic safety equipment and the training of its staff in fire drills at inception hence the minimal loss of lives recorded and injuries incurred among the staff.

    The Physical and Urban Planning department of Anambra State government could have taken into consideration the industrial significance of Nnewi to locate a fire station there sophisticated enough to combat industrial fires.

    The government should go beyond making mere political pronouncements and take a positive step to make the public sector more responsive to the people it claims to serve.

    In this era of change in our country, it is expected that the All Progressives Congress, APC, administration at the centre will consider, as part of its job creation programme, employment of personnel to man its fire stations apart from equipping them adequately and improving the welfare package of fire fighters across the nation.

    Also while the Willy Obiano’s administration has gone down for the giant strides it has made since coming into office, there is much more to be done in the area of fire-fighting by ensuring that an industrial town like Nnewi is adequately covered.

     

    • Okeke writes from Lagos.

  • Buhari administration’s disturbing deficits

    There appears to be an erroneous assumption that, when the Presidency and its complements of staff have been elected and appointed, then the structures of governance have been formed and other structures become dispensable or redundant. Even more worrisome is the scant regard paid to the statutory guidelines enabling the governance structures of some federal commissions, boards, agencies and other relevant institutions. An important example is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), wherein paragraph 14 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) clearly stated that the board of INEC shall comprise of 13 members without floating any provisos requiring piecemeal, staggered or discretional constitution of the board. Since the inception of the current administration, Nigerians have witnessed serial constitutional violations, starting with an illegitimate appointment of an interim-chairperson of INEC by proclamation, which made no reference to the Council of State and Senate approval as required under section 154 of the constitution. This was followed later by a piecemeal appointment of the board of INEC, without an amendment of the constitution to enable piecemeal appointments, yet the National Assembly appeared cowed and intimidated to ask the executive to follow the path of constitutionality by exercising their oversight functions.

    The proper constitution of governance structures in a democratic society is not a discretional whim of the President; those who are appointed may be by his discretion, except where specific directional orders are made by statute, but the proper constitution of such institutions centres around the core notion of governance. Most development authorities agree with the description, that governance defines the practices, traditions and decision-making processes which characterize a society, how the people identify and solve problems, meet needs, and take advantage of opportunities. For instance, elections meet the need of democratic society to select leaders through the aggregate assent of constituents in the form of votes. To meet this need, a body is constituted that is fairly representative of the zones of Nigeria, these representatives guided by the constitution, the Electoral Act and other statutes, make guidelines for conducting elections. How the decisions they make to effect these needs are reached is important to how the public perceive the legality of their actions and therefore its credibility, legitimacy and acceptability. It is, therefore, a developmental defect in governance, and consequently a defect in the practices, traditions, decision-making process in election management as required for a democratic society, when the executive arm of government  discretionally decides without reference to enabling constitutional provisions to appoint the board of INEC, a governance structure, provided for by law in a piecemeal fashion by appointing seven instead of the 13 members required by law, to make decisions which are only considered legal and constitutional when a minimum of five of the statutory 13 members meet to take such decisions on election matters. It is only then that it is properly constituted.

    The same nonchalance in the requirements of proper democratic governance is evident in the constitution of federal boards dissolved by the Buhari administration. The statutes enabling these boards envisage that such boards constitute significant accounting layers in the decision making of such institutions. Persistent  failures to properly constitute such boards concentrates decision-making centrally, or worse still, it places in abeyance, core functions of such institutions where higher level decision-making are needed to generate implementable recommendations. In other instances such as the case of the AMCON, appointees where named and empowered without following due processes. These developments suggest a gap in the consistency of tradition and practices of the democratic functions which should define governance in Nigeria. Allowing such gaps to grow rather than being addressed may lead to regressions in institution building required to consolidate democracy in Nigeria.

    The case of INEC is particularly worrisome because when the President dissolved the boards of federal agencies in July 2015, he rightly exempted those executive boards mentioned specifically in section 153 of the 1999 Constitution such as INEC, NPC, the Code of Conduct Bureau etc. Whereas the Presidency conceded to the importance of such boards, yet it did not follow up with the proactive appointment of the full board of INEC, despite the fact that the board was primed to conduct gubernatorial elections in 2015 and 2016. It only conducted a reactive appointment of six members to join the only remaining one legal member making a total of seven out of the constitutionally prescribed 13 members, and this was after it was reminded by key players in the Civil Society that a subsisting court judgment had pronounced elections illegal, if conducted by a commission which had no quorum that meets the statutory requirements envisaged from a full member board.

    While other boards and statutory bodies are very important, INEC has been used to instantiate these governance deficits because of the fundamental role it plays as a foundation stone for a democratic society, and the touchstone of early developmental drive. Most recent authoritative work on the fundamental requirements for enduring development are in consensus that strengthening institutions which form multiple pathways of decision-making blends the gap between representative and participatory democracy. If the object of electing representatives is to ensure that the interest of the voters and constituents are well represented as delegated to elected officials, then involving more participants in the decision-making practices and traditions of society through such boards, commissions and councils broadens the goal of democracy. Whereas concentrating all decision-making in Abuja with limited representation in public institutions such as INEC, through piecemeal appointments runs counter to such goals.

    The constitutional requirement for a properly constituted INEC is clearly stated as 13 national commissioners, who in making decisions for elections and election matters according to section 159 of the constitution must have a quorum of not less than five, determined only from a full board of 13. At the moment INEC has an inconclusive and inchoate board of only seven members and if they sit as five members or seven, what quorum does this represent? Is it a five member quorum of seven or a five member quorum of a hypothetical but non-existent 13?

    The minimum quorum envisaged by the constitution is that calculated or determined from a 13 full member board and not a mere bringing of five people together to assume the role of a “provisional” board. The regression currently in INEC is a sad commentary given that constituting such a board properly in line with the provisions of the constitution is for national development.

    It is not only worrisome that president Buhari almost eight months in office has been unable to properly constitute the board of INEC that was previously made up of men of integrity that made it possible for him to win the 2015 election, it is disappointing that in making the limited appointments he has done, he has not given the commission the needed credibility it requires by appointing people with proven track records that will attract the confidence of all political stakeholders.

    • Dr. Adewale writes from Ibadan, Oyo State.
  • Creative taxation and matters arising

    Creative taxation and matters arising

    Taxes are hardly welcome with a smile. Even in jurisdictions where public funds are judiciously husbanded, taxes are often treated with as much dislike as for leprosy! As such, I was not surprised that my call for creative taxation has attracted an admixture of commendation and condemnation. One has learnt to take both with equanimity.

    Suffice to say, for a start, that politicians in general and serving legislators in particular are not the only ones who need to think outside of the box in the wake of the economic doldrums currently besieging our republic. The knights and dukes of the press, ostensibly canonized as putative purveyors of eclectic reasoning, must themselves elevate their criticisms beyond the box!

    After reading the objections of Tunji Adegboyega to my suggestions, no one can denounce his concern that part of the additional revenues accrued from creative taxation would be embezzled by the iniquitous political class. Unfortunately, perhaps unwittingly, Adegboyega sank into the very within-the-box mental framework he was denouncing! Otherwise, his preoccupation should have been about promptly how to effect such checks and balances that will prevent such taxes from being embezzled. Rather, he seemed to be arguing that because such creative taxes will be embezzled, they should not be collected. Is it possible that some of the taxes currently collected through variegated means and sources are also embezzled? If we stretch Adegboyega’s argument to its elastic limit, perhaps we should proscribe all taxation until such a time that we can guarantee the absolute cessation of embezzlement! But we must leave the ridiculous for the sublime.

    Contrary to the innuendoes of Adegboyega, the vast majority of Nigerians will hardly be affected by a revised system that taxes so-called allowances. Most of these allowances are hardly known to the masses! Rather, they are constitutive of obscene perks of the rotten upper caste in the public and private sectors of our workforce. The rumbling protestation that greeted my suggestion from some of my own colleagues reflected the angst of a threatened caste. It is no secret that most prosperous countries across the world embrace progressive taxation that ensures that those who earn more pay more taxes; those who earn far more pay far more taxes.

    In Nigeria, whether in the public or private sector, the extant practice is that huge portions of income are sheltered under the loophole of so-called allowances. What we need is a progressive scale of taxes based on the total earning of every citizen. Details of such progressive taxation can be left to the tax experts to evolve in the best interest of our republic.

    All of us are free to point accusing fingers to past and current leaders for the economic mess in which our republic is submerged. Unfortunately, the blame game will not suffice to get us out of this choking mess. Yes, let us blame; let us prosecute, punish and curse. But let us do more than these. Let us get creative in finding solutions.

    I am well aware that we already pay some valued added taxes on our phone calls. Currently, a page of 160 characters costs 3.81 naira. Adding one naira tax to a page of text message is, arithmetically, a relatively huge increase. But can we honestly say that Nigerians will suffer unduly for paying less than five naira per page of text? We used to pay about N15 per such text message at a time that one naira had double its current value!

    Likewise, I am well aware of the promises made prior to the disbandment of the toll on roads. But are current economic realities the same as those prevailing when the toll roads were disbanded in the second term of the Obasanjo regime? In any case, would we not have been far better served if our toll roads had been modernized rather than disbanded? Across the world, policies like this are not cast in stone as if government is gifted with inerrancy. On the contrary, tax laws are constantly revised to dynamically reflect society’s needs and resources.

    Alas, our short-term resources have plummeted while our needs continue to rise along with our escalating population. Hackneyed calls for the diversification of our economy must never discountenance the cost for such diversification and the lag phase between investment and yield. During this phase, we must find creative ways to cut the cost of government while also expanding its revenues. Anything short of these is wishful thinking. For example, many glibly talk about the potential for much higher tourist revenues for Nigeria while discountenancing the reality that this will not be actualized until we first develop the ancillary infrastructure for successful tourism.

    Iran has the third largest oil and gas reserve in the world, behind Russia and Venezuela but ahead of the USA and Saudi Arabia. Its re-entry into oil exportation diminishes the market share of Nigeria while concurrently further lowering price due to the cardinal law of supply and demand. This is a double whammy for the economic prospects of Nigeria. Nearer home, East Africa is emerging as the new frontier for oil and gas. Recent discovery of huge oil reserves in Kenya and Uganda has sobering implications for Nigeria. Tanzania, geographically the largest country in East Africa, has discovered 51 trillion cubic feet of gas; this is among the largest in the world. Furthermore, the emergence and sudden increase in the supply of shale energy means that the USA now depends less on imported crude. Shale technology is a fast growing trend in the USA where domestic production of petroleum and gas is obtained from fine-grained sedimentary rock. This worsens the situation for Nigeria- at least on the short run. Taxes are not chic but in our dire situation, they remain an option we must creatively employ.

    Like Adegboyega, Nigerians are generally pained and infuriated by the profligate prodigality and recent looting of our common patrimony. We salute recent efforts to recoup stolen funds. Even so, our pain and fury must not derail us into the common fallacy that these efforts constitute an eternal panacea for our woes. If we can recoup N2 trillion of stolen money this year, will this be a recurrent revenue for the next several years? Specifically, shall we be able to recoup the same amount every year for the next five years? What will be our recourse if the price for crude oil continues to plummet? Shall we arrest Dasuki and others and try them again?

    Elsewhere, I have advocated for the cancellation of so-called oil subsidy. But that must await its own separate discussion.

    • Prof Adeyeye is Senate Chief Whip.

     

     

  • Dissecting Nigeria’s pension scheme

    Dissecting Nigeria’s pension scheme

    Citizen Stanley Nwabia is a young Nigerian. With the country’s economy currently in the throes of financial crunch, he has only lately been inquiring of how to liquidate his pension funds.  “I want to liquidate my pension account and why must they tell me to wait till I turn 50?” – tweeted Stanley Nwabia. Citizen Nwabia is certainly not alone in this. No doubt, there are millions of Nigerians who like Stanley Nwabia, do not fully understand nor appreciate the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and the detailed workings of Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). Nwabia’s question obviously approximates those on the lips of many of our compatriots forced by the current economic circumstances to leave their employments before attained age 50.

    This was the background of the social media round table recently held in Lagos with the objective of tackling many of the contentious issues surrounding the operations of the pension law.

    The forum, Google Hangout, #AskPenComDG linked to live twitter feeds – something of a novelty – presented a perfect vista for the Nigerians Pensions Commission to interface with the general public. Notably, it held under the personal direction of the Director General (DG), National Pension Commission (PenCom), Chinelo Anohu-Amazu. The panel was made up of regulatory officials and pension industry experts.  On the PenCom team were Lana Loyinmi – Head, Benefits and Insurance, M. B. Umar – Head, Compliance and Enforcement, Farouk Aminu – Head Research and Corporate Strategy, G.E. Usoro – Head, Public Sector Pensions and M.S Muhammad, Commission Secretary /Legal Adviser. They were joined by Misbahu Umar Yola – Managing Director, Legacy Pension and Wilson Ideva – Managing Director, Premium Pension. Their task: to clear misgivings of the general public on the operations on the new pension law.

    The Nigerian pension industry has certainly come a long way. Pension and related issues had received significant attention over the recent past with the aim of solving the myriad of challenges bedevilling the retirement benefit system. The public sector scheme became unsustainable due to lack of adequate and timely budgetary provisions and increases in salaries and pensions.  There were demographic shifts due to rising life expectancies, which was a phenomenon that affected the family support ratio. In addition, Pension Administration had been largely weak, inefficient, less transparent and cumbersome.  The private sector schemes, which were largely akin to the Provident Fund Schemes, had been characterized by very low coverage and compliance ratio due to lack of effective regulation and supervision.  This resulted in complete paradigm shift from the Defined Benefits Schemes (DBS) as operated by both the public and private sectors to the Contributory Pension Scheme.

    The essence of the pension reform is to introduce a pension system that is sustainable and has the capacity to achieve the ultimate goal of providing a stable, predictable and adequate source of retirement income for each worker in Nigeria. The reform also seeks to establish a uniform set of rules and regulations for the administration and payment of retirement benefits in both the public and private sectors; stem the growth of outstanding pension liabilities; reduce fiscal cost of pension to government; stimulate domestic savings; and generate pool of long-term funds for financing developmental projects and increase private investments.

    Unfortunately, many Nigerians are still largely ignorant about the operation of the law hence the #AskPenComDG forum.

    For many like Citizen Nwabia, what they do not know is that the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) is a retirement rather than employment benefits. Indeed, a major issue that emerged from the panel was the relevant sections in the Nigeria’s Pension Law (Pension Reform Act of 2014) that had to do with withdrawing from a RSA. A question that repeatedly popped up was why contributors could not withdraw from the RSA any time they deemed fit.

    This issue is obviously borne out of a lack of awareness of the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2004.  This is because the law actually sets out detailed conditions for withdrawals. These include, retirement, permanent medical incapacitation/disability (to be confirmed by a medical board), and temporary loss of employment (loss of job without securing another for at least four months). The idea was to ensure that retirement funds serve the purpose of providing a means of livelihood to a worker at retirement, having actively provided service while in employment.

    This no doubt brings to mind the Hausa proverb about the one who asks questions not getting lost, one other question that emerged was the number of staff that an organization should have to qualify for enrolment in the pension scheme. Here again, the panel was explicit: it was mandatory for employers who have a minimum of three employees.

    Also addressed in detail was the process of accessing an RSA for a mortgage facility to own personal homes. Until recently, the Nigerian Pensions Fund law limited the contributor from using part of his pension to secure a mortgage. Happily, the amendment Act of 2014 has since rectified this by the provision of Section 89 (2) of the Act which provides that “notwithstanding the provisions of sub section 1 ( c ) of this section, a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) may, subject to guidelines issued by the commission, apply a percentage of the pension assets in the RSA towards payment of equity contributions for payment of residential mortgage by a holder of a RSA”.

    There were also complaints about the RSA transfer window, with social media users asking, ‘when will the RSA transfer window be open to enable a contributor to switch PFAs? To this, the panel explained the efforts of PenCom in providing the structures to facilitate easy transfers once the window is opened.

    Importantly, the panel stressed its readiness and willingness to assist employees who had issues and even went ahead to ask contributors to report organizations preventing their employees from enrolling into the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). There was the issue of non-remittance by some organizations despite debiting a staff’s pay for pension contributions. Contributors were advised to report to PenCom for enforcement action. Questions relating to the integrity of the CPS were also raised, however, it was stated in clear terms that the management and custody of pension assets was exclusively vested in the licensed operators – PFAs and Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) who are regulated and supervised by PenCom. This concern became more pertinent in the context of high profile pension fraud cases that have been widely reported. The celebrated pension scam is still fresh in the minds of Nigerians.

    Engaging with the Nigerian public via this #AskPenComDG event is obviously a classic example of e-governance that comes highly recommended at this time. The discussion forum has no doubt gone a long way to explain to the general public, the intricacies of the pension scheme and how it affects the personal lives of contributors and also, the social economy in general. One hopes that such interactions will become regular, offering a more direct means for interfacing with public institutions and citizens like Nwabia to get them better educated and informed and to understand and appreciate that the future shouldn’t be slaughtered on the altar of “enjoyment” today, at the detriment of the future.

    • Abdulkadir writes from Abuja.

     

  • Rule of law and arrogance of corruption

    It is no longer news that President Muhammadu Buhari abhors corruption like a plague. He, indeed, made the war against corruption one of the focal points of his electioneering campaigns. At every opportunity, he told Nigerians: “If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us”. That, of course, underscores the endemic and institutionalized nature of corruption in our nation.

    In Nigeria, corruption is worse than any killer disease one can ever think of. From independence till date, corruption has been bad news for our country. It has been estimated that over $300bn have either been outrightly stolen or misappropriated by government officials and their collaborators since the advent of the current political dispensation in 1999.

    Buhari would have none of that. For him, corruption must die for our nation to live. Now, true to his promise and, perhaps, true to type, Buhari has begun to tackle corruption headlong as evident in the various on-going corruption trials and investigations in the country. Revelations from such investigations, as usual, have been mindboggling. Weird disclosures concerning the arms scandal in particular, is quite nauseating.  That a group of Nigerians could boldly divert money meant for such vital national needs as purchase of arms for soldiers fighting insurgency to other use, is a reflection of how low we have sunk as a people. It is, therefore, a welcome development that legitimate means are being used to bring perceived culprits in the arms deal saga to book. The only thing that evil needs to thrive in any given society is for evil to constantly go unpunished.

    But then, for the President to actually succeed in his war against corruption, he has a big hurdle to cross. This hurdle is called the rule of law. Universally, the rule of law operates on the legal theory that law should govern a nation and not capricious verdicts of ‘powerful’ individuals.  The rule of law underlines the power and weight of law within society, principally as a restraint upon behaviour, including that of public officials. Democracy and the rule of law are mutually interwoven. For democracy to sufficiently thrive in any country, the supremacy of the rule of law must be jealously guarded. The guiding principle behind the rule of law is the prevention of anarchy and the creation of a just society where everyone is equal before the law. The rule of law presupposes that no lawbreaker must go unpunished.

    From the foregoing, it could be affirmed, at least in theory, that the rule of law provides a legal framework for Buhari to wage his war against corruption. Since supposed looters of the treasury have actually acted in defiance of the law, the law must take its toll on them. But it is not really that simple as the rule of the law equally protects alleged looters of the nation’s economy from arbitrary persecution and prosecution. This is the beauty of the principle of the rule of law. Since offence allegedly committed by the perceived looters is yet to be substantially proven before a competent court of law, they are presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

    This, however, is the dilemma of Buhari in his war against corruption. Over the years, corruption has found comfort in the provision of the rule of law to strengthen its evil hold on the nation. So, all it takes for an alleged corrupt individual to escape from or frustrate the wheel of justice is to hire a brilliant legal luminary who understands the strength and weakness of the law and uses same to the full advantage of his client. Since corruption has given the alleged looter enormous access to ill-gotten wealth, money is not likely to be a problem in the scheme to subvert justice. On the long run, rather than the law taking care of corruption, corruption takes care of the law. Ultimately, corrupt public officials and individuals become atrociously arrogant as they revel in their above the law status.

    Confronted by the enormous wealth and the smart corrupt public officials and ‘powerful’ individuals, the law simply becomes a mere paper tiger and a toothless bulldog. Of what use is a properly crafted law that cannot be enforced? This is exactly the reason why many of the high profile corruption cases that have been in court for years remain mostly inconclusive. Majority of the former governors and other prominent political figures whose corruption cases were once widely celebrated in the media are now walking free in the society and equally playing vital roles in the nation’s social-political and economic spheres. This has made many Nigerians to become dispirited about the likely outcome of the current onslaught against corruption. Many believe that, characteristically, corruption would have its way, irrespective of what the law says.

    Does it now follow that the law aids corruption? Has corruption become so deeply entrenched in our system that the law has become helpless to hack it down? Though, past experiences point to the fact that the law might no longer be sufficient in the war against corruption, the truth, however, is that corruption is not bigger than the law. There is enough in the law to annihilate corruption from the land. We only need to take decisive steps to reform the administration of justice in the country. The judiciary is, unfortunately, as corrupt as other institutions in the country. Allegations of fraudulent deals and gross misuse of office by judicial officers have continued to increase. Not a few judges have been accused of collaborating with criminals to undermine the judicial process. At every stage in the judicial system, one is confronted with unbelievable monumental acts of corruption. From the Investigating Police Officer, IPO, to other judicial officers involved, at one stage or the other, in a corruption case, one is bound to come face to face with the awesome ingenuity of corruption machinery in the country.

    For the war against corruption to be effectively fought and won, we need to do a total overhaul of the nation’s legal institution. Justice cannot be said to be served in a system that allows ‘small’ thieves to rot in prison while ‘big’ ones walk in absolute freedom. Equally important is the need for accelerated hearing of high profile corruption cases at all tiers of courts. Ordinarily, the trial of such cases ought to be conducted on a daily basis at the Federal High Court, but this is not being strictly adhered to. This is partly responsible for why corruption cases are adjourned for every flimsy and spurious reason.

    Perhaps, more importantly, government prosecuting counsels should brace up to dispel the theory that they sometimes conspire with individuals accused of corruption to go scot-free. An integral part of this theory is the constant filing of amendment of charges after the arraignment of the accused.  Non-appearance in court and unending demands for adjournments are other notable ploys purportedly used by prosecuting lawyers to frustrate high profile cases.

    The law is meant to trounce evil and evil doers. In any society where the reverse is the case, injustice would reign supreme. Sadly, this is the path we have trod for years. Obviously, it has led us to nowhere. Now, if we are to move forward, we must change our ways.

  • Campaign Slush Funding

    If anything is established beyond doubt in the festering $2.1billion armsgate scandal, it is that there is a close link between questionable disbursement of the public treasury and slush funding of election campaigns. I advisedly used the words ‘questionable disbursement of the public treasury,’ and not embezzlement of public funds that it really seems to be, because not much is incontrovertibly established yet about the sundry allegations, the bulk of which pends in the realm of partisan altercation. The judiciary will have to pronounce soonest on what is fact and what is hype, and I won’t jump on the mob-jury train ahead of what is proven in court. But it is eminently clear, as it were, that nearly all of the funds involved in the present scandal were disbursed in connection with electioneering campaign for the re-election bid of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 poll. And it is hard to find a sector of the Nigerian society that is spared some indictment in the booty sharing: the political class, naturally – across party lines, traditional rulers and religious leaders, community leaders and elders, the armed forces and, indeed, the media industry. It was an all-embracing sleaze of slush money fest.

    I stand with the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abdulahi Jalo, who has called on former President Jonathan to speak up on the scandal. Jalo was apparently indignant at the class accusation of PDP members in the scandal, and had wanted the former President to clarify his own role as well as the involvement of the party. It is a shame that the party saw differently and distanced itself from this sensible call. In what betrayed gross moral deficit on the part of the former ruling party, its Acting National Chairman Uche Secondus was reported as saying Jalo spoke for no one but himself. Well, I think that only makes proving the scandal in court all the more imperative for the present government, so that the world could see whether the party was hand in gloves with the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, who is accused of being the paymaster, or whether he acted as alleged outside the purview of the party, as Jalo was keen to establish. But that is really not my point of interest here.

    Earlier on, Senate President Bukola Saraki was reported as saying the funds diversion scandal exposed the failure of the National Assembly to effectively perform its oversight function. That is largely true, but I think there is more to it. The issue is that there are fundamental weaknesses in the legal regime for campaign financing that most politicians exploit. And unless relevant stakeholders, especially the National Assembly (NASS), work at correcting the existing weaknesses in the laws, the hysteria over armsgate would be tantamount to attacking a skin rash symptom while ignoring leprosy that is its root cause. Also, since there is some connection between misuse of the public treasury and slush funding of election campaigns, as armsgate suggests, the extent to which an incumbent could misapply public funds for campaign purposes under the present legal framework depends heavily on the personal morality of that incumbent. And that is not very helpful in this clime where strong morality is not a common trait of the political class.

    It isn’t that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is itself doing enough under existing provisions to regulate political party and campaign financing. The Commission, as I recall, never denied that it needed to do much more to live up to billing under the current provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act in monitoring political party finances and accounts; and I’ll be shocked if it makes any pretension to the contrary even now. But I was once on the inside in that Commission and I know from experience that its task is not made any easier by effete and nebulous provisions of the laws.

    We can’t contemplate highlighting all issues with the laws within the space that we have here, but we will illustrate. Take the provision in both the 1999 Constitution, as Amended (e.g., Section 225) and the Electoral Act 2010, as Amended (Section 89) requiring political parties to file their audited statement of finances with INEC, for instance. The much that INEC is required to do with those statements is to publish them for public information, and also submit a report on same to the NASS. The NASS is, of course, empowered by the Constitution (Section 228) to hold any political party that infringes some of the provisions liable through enactment of relevant laws, or by conferring on the Commission powers to enforce compliance. Another point here is: audited accounts, by their very nature, are after the fact of financial transactions by the political parties; and it is in the course of those transactions that ethical issues arise.

    Section 91 of the Electoral Act stipulates caps on election expenses that can be incurred by candidates seeking different political offices. Many analysts have questioned the logic and empirical basis of the expenditure caps, but that is not our interest here. Section 92 of the Act defines election expenses as “expenses incurred by a political party within the period from the date notice is given by the Commission to conduct an election, up to and including the polling day in respect of a particular election.” Also, by Section 30 of the same Act, notice of election must be issued by INEC not later than 90 days before the day of a particular election. Some implications of the foregoing framework are:

    (i)            The prescribed ceiling exempts expenditure that is incurred by a politician aspiring for elective office before INEC issues the notice of election, and could therefore encourage aspirants to ‘frontload’ their expenses; and

    (ii)          The expenditure limit seems to exclude expenses incurred by the political party on the candidate, and encourages the transfer of accounted expenses from the candidate to the party so as to beat the stipulated caps.

    Sub-section 10 of Section 91 of the Act further outlines penalties for breaches of the expenditure caps that no Nigerian politician, as far as I know, would consider a serious deterrent.

    The point being made is that there is much that needs to be done to the legal framework on elections to curtail slush funding of electioneering campaigns, which could encourage abuses of the common treasury by political incumbents at all levels. Armsgate should be an eye-opener to this reality. I also think it is not coincidental that the present scandal, which some have described as unprecedented in Nigerian financials, centres on security funds. The biggest fraud in the Nigerian public finance system is the so-called security vote. Put bluntly, security vote is a cesspit of filthy financing with the public treasury. Yet, nearly all political office holders at different levels have the vote. It will not do to just get outraged over what Dasuki may have done or didn’t do with armsgate; we need to have specific provisions in our laws for due process application of security votes if the fund must exist at all.

  • Between Bishop Kukah and Mohammed Haruna

    For a couple of Sabbaths now, two fine minds of northern stock, namely, Mallam Mohammed Haruna, a Former Presidential spokesman, and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah- the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, have been in the news for an on-going debate on issues relating to the manipulation of religion by Political power mongers and entrepreneurs who have used religion to extend their economic and political goals.

    The setting is the Bishop’s key note Address delivered at Fountain University, Osogbo, to a Muslim Organization under the theme: Challenges for Development and Good Governance on 22nd November, 2015. The Bishop as a lover of controversy, and as it is usual with keynote Addresses, blazed the trail by dropping a brick clanger which was to become the subject of a thrilling debate especially between him and Mallam Haruna.

    Mallam Haruna who in turn used his Wednesday 30th December, 2015 column to criticize the Bishop over what he called “Kukah’s attack on Islam,” said, the Bishop, in his Address, chose to “ride on his hobbyhorse of what he says is the use of Islam by the Northern Muslim elite to impose their hegemony not only on the North but also on the rest of the Country.” Haruna went further to consolidate his point that the Bishop has been in a campaign of running tirades against Islam by extensively quoting from the Bishop’s sermon at the Funeral of the late Sir Patrick Yakowa-an erstwhile governor of Kaduna State.

    This triggered a rejoinder by the Bishop in the Daily Trust of Tuesday, January 5th and a further rejoinder by Mallam Haruna in both the Daily Trust and Nation of January 13th, 2016. While the Bishop in his rejoinder says Mallam Haruna misrepresented him, the later, in his, insists that the Bishop’s Address was simply “an attack on Islam”.

    We need to thank the duo for opening a debate which if properly invested in, will at the end serve us with enough interest in crossing the creeks on the role of religion in society. I am strongly of the view that the “two giants” as Dr Chris Abashiya called them, have not listened to each other enough to realize that they only have simply been confronting a common enemy using different strategies and languages, which I shall show in due course.

    In the heat of the Boko Haram insurgency, and when many stakeholders were afraid to speak against their brutal killings, Mallam Haruna, at several times, used his column to condemn the group while arguing that the group neither represents Islam nor are its members true Muslims. Indeed, Mallam Haruna has never failed to condemn any anomaly in the name of Islam or by alleged Muslims. A stellar example is his condemnation of the recent impunity in Zaria by the Shiites otherwise known as “Muslim Brothers.” The ace columnist said: “What the Shiites did last weekend in trying to stop an army convoy was not only foolish; it was illegal, even criminal.” As if that was not enough, he went further to withdraw their Citizenship saying: “…many a Sunni, who constitute the vast majority of the Muslim Umma in the country, as in the rest of the world, do not regard Shiism as Islam, mainly because of the higher esteem with which Shiites hold prophet Muhammad’s Family than they do his Sunna, that is, his words and deeds, which mainstream Islam regard as the second most important guide for behaviour after the Holy Quran”.

    The Bishop on his part, has an antecedent of crossing sword  even with leaders of his Faith constituency on the misuse of religion for selfish goals. Like Mallam Haruna, he is no stranger to controversy. Recently, a master-wordsmith, Dan Agbese, said of him: “I can think of no Public lectures or speeches delivered by him that left the accumulated dust of our placid sense of outrage undisturbed. Blame it on a) his courage to speak to power and b) the moral burden of his calling thrust upon him, daring him, I would imagine, to padlock his lips when our secular kingdom suffereth violence in the hands of venal men who serve the few more and the many much less.”

    Five years ago, on the occasion of Nigeria’s 50th anniversary lecture in Calabar, the fierce cleric described the behaviour and activities of some Christian leaders as “criminality masquerading as religion.” He continued: “pentecostalists are preying on the people’s fear. A man sees ‘vision’ and promises you the ‘cure’. No wonder today we have so many ‘prayer warriors’. This condemnation attracted a rebuttal from certain Christian’s figures who thought the Bishop was being too hard on the faith. For instance, Festus Eriye, Sunday Editor of The Nation fired back immediately.

    In recent times, the national leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) led by the militant Pastor Ayo Oritsenjafor, has had issues with the Bishop. He inter alia, vehemently refused to agree with CAN in an erroneous perception that Boko Haram insurgency is an attempt by the “Muslim North” to either capture power or Islamize the country.

    When the then Gen. Buhari was “falsely” accused of making an anti-Christian statement, it was the Bishop who boldly put up a piece in his defence, arguing that the accusation was merely an adversarial fabricandum aimed at tarnishing the Gen’s integrity – something he re-emphasized in the Yakowa funeral homily. This of course did not go without insults from some highly placed Christian leaders who accused him of playing the Northern card rather than being in the camp of those he sings the same credo with.

    Sincerely speaking and beyond the symptoms, I strongly believe that these two minds have been on the same course of fighting a common enemy, namely, the misuse of religion. I think the silver lining in this cloud is the need for an internal conversation in the form of aggiornamento amongst theologians of both Islam and Christianity on how they interpret and practice their religions as both the Bishop and Mallam Haruna attest to. This is where the Catholic Church has specifically done very well. The church has had about twenty one ecumenical councils aimed at looking into –from time to time- its beliefs and doctrines in the face of this changing world and its attendant realities. The council of trent (1545 – 1563) for instance stands out so far as the longest lasting council for eighteen years under five different popes.

    The problem both Islam and Christianity are facing today is their lack of locus to regulate the activities of miscreants who parade themselves as ambassadors of their religions when they commit havoc or set out to achieve certain goals that are anti-thetical to the commonwealth of society. I sincerely see the debate as a whistleblower to the predicament of the two religions which the Late Dr. Bala Usman raised long ago, but which we have either refused to address or do not have the sophistication to do.

    In this case, does the action of the Shiites represent the religion of Islam, for example? And can JNI or the sultan regulate their actions? Likewise, has CAN got the locus to regulate the activities of fly-by-night Pastors who preach prosperity gospel and run empires? Are the actions of the CAN president true representations of what Christianity stands for? True, in Nigeria today, while an average Christian believes that force and violence are essential ingredients of the Islamic religion, an average Muslim in turn is of the conviction that unbridled liberalism, indecency, and worship of the god of money via miracle and prosperity gospelling, are essential aspects of Christianity. The onus therefore is on all of us, welcome or unwelcomed, to continue to raise our voices against these miscreants who delude our religions with the viruses of their ego.

    Finally, disagreement is an essential character of academic everywhere in the world. It is their responsibility to raise issues, disagree and disagree that they may agree for the good of society. It is like a diagnosis of the problems of society that has to pass via a process for a good prescription of an ailment to be made. This is what the dialetics of Hegel is all about. And when Aristotle disagreed with his master Plato telling him that “Truth comes before friendship”, this was  exactly what he realised.

    This means that for intellectuals to worth their name, they must develop the sophistication to divorce the fallacy of ‘argumentum ad hominem’ by which they attack each other while sweeping underneath the issues that would have been for the good of society.

    The debate on the role of religion in society, or its manipulation and the need for honest conversation among its leaders and adherents is a welcome development. Let the debate go on for the good of our society knowing full well as Adamu said about the North, “we will never be able to solve our problems if all we think is that there are certain things that should not be said or mentioned.”

    • Damina, a student of Religion and Philosophy, is of the Holy Family Catholic Church, Gidan, Bako, Kaduna State.