The Nation Newspaper

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  • Role of women in nation-building 

    The place of women in any endeavour can never be over emphasized and given their enormous contributions to socio-economic development, there can be no meaningful advancement where women are excluded. In Africa, the conditions of women are more critical, given lingering gender inequalities, domestic violence, lack of social protection, among other issues, that exacerbate injustice and privation. These and many more limit their ability to reach their full potential. Nigeria is one of the countries where women have faced challenges and discrimination for reasons of their sex and wrongful perception that women belong to a lesser class than their male counterparts; a perception strengthened by traditional and cultural practices.

    Be that as it may, Nigeria has continued to develop and implement national strategies and plans for the advancement of women in leadership and managerial roles in the form of amending legislation, policy and institutional framework as it affects the full promotion and protection of the rights of women. This year alone, the Federal Government has re-enacted several criminal laws to reflect a gender perspective and to ensure that restorative justice is incorporated for victims of crime, who are noted to be mostly women.  These include the Administration of Criminal Justice Act which is applicable in all federal courts, and the Trafficking in Persons Law Enforcement and Administration Act.

    Another model legislation in this regard is the Violence Against Persons Act (VAPP) 2015 which creates a broader legal framework for the prevention of all forms of violence, including rape, abolishes Female Genital Mutilation, unfair and discriminatory widowhood practices and other harmful traditional practices. It further makes provision for protection, compensation and rehabilitation for victims of violence. The government has also approved a National Gender Policy which acknowledges the attainment of gender equality as not only as an end in itself, but as a prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable development. In addition, there exists a National Policy for Protection and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking which provide a broad framework for providing protection and assistance to trafficked persons.

    Common to these legislations and policies is a review of the victimology recompense regime in our legal system, incorporating compensation and rehabilitation, counselling and supporting survivors through skills acquisition and financial empowerment. All of these are in acknowledgement of the lasting effect of trauma suffered by victims and need to restore them to some kind of acceptable social and psychological footing, maximizing their potential for full recovery. This is with the view to facilitating opportunities for victims of crime to continue to contribute their quota to critical sectors of our national life.

    To ensure coordination and sustainability of all initiatives in this regard, Nigeria has federal and state ministries of women affairs with a mandate to bring about speedy and healthy development of Nigerian women, children, and the main-streaming of their rights and privileges in national development process. The ministry with key development partners, including civil society organizations, has developed policies, initiatives and strategic plans to engender gender equality and ensure full and effective participation as well as equal opportunities for women in leadership at all levels.

    There has been a deliberate increase in the number of women holding leadership positions in crime prevention and criminal justice. Specifically, some critical positions held by women include the positions of Chief Justice of Nigeria and head of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judges of High Courts, Comptroller General of the Immigration Service, Commissioners of Police, Directors of Public Prosecution with significant numbers of women justices in superior courts of record. The Nigerian Army also now admits female combatants in the Armed Forces. I should also mention the position of Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons, which I am privileged to hold, as its second female chief executive.

    At a practical level, appreciable gains have been recorded in the last two decades and criminal justice policies and institutions are continuously being strengthened to better reflect the invaluable contributions and needs of women.  All of this has been possible as a result of intense advocacy as well as growing recognition of leadership potentials and competences, irrespective of gender. The result is that women are able to claim their pride of place in this sector and make invaluable contributions that have led to the positive development of criminal justice institutions and policies in the country.

    It is however acknowledged that a lot still needs to be done in this regard. While appropriate legalization and policies are in force in many parts of the country, there still appears to be a gap between the existence of these laws and policies in some areas and the reality due to cultural norms, prejudices and practices that reinforce discrimination against women, including the activities of terrorist groups. In pursuing the goals of women’s effective involvement in crime prevention and the criminal justice sector and building the capacity to ensure their own protection; strategies could broadly be categorized in two viz: Women as role actors within crime prevention and the criminal justice system institutions and, Women as subjects of protection from crime.

    A possible starting point is to deliberately ensure the incorporation of women in crime prevention because they are known to have more empathy and are more likely to win the confidence of victims of crime. Another point is the review of victimology recompense regimes and public education of members of society on the benefits of inclusive criminal justice practices and institutions. This will serve the dual purpose of supporting the place of women in criminal justice roles and dealing with gender attitudes, accounting for crimes committed against women.

     

    • Jedy-Agba is Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons(NAPTIP)
  • COMMENT

    COMMENT

  • Rethinking the nexus between technology and education in Nigeria

    Education is an issue I am tremendously passionate about. The correlation between the theme of this conference, Learning Technologies, and my educational and work experiences is rather fortuitous. I can speak authoritatively about the virtues of open learning technologies having used the platform to successfully complete my Ph.D. degree despite work commitments. Also, I served as the Project Lead for the initiative that revived the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in 2001. This assignment entailed working with the World Bank and undertaking study visits to at least 6 Open Universities around the globe. It also involved working with the UNESCO Working Group on Distance Learning and attending international conferences that focused on open learning.

    Apart from the role it played in my personal and professional evolution, I have come to associate the underdevelopment of the Nigerian state with its inability to essentially facilitate the harnessing of the critical human mass that will backstop its development plans and objectives. In my little monograph, The Joy of Learning (2010), I had the opportunity to outline the critical connection between learning and national development. Someone once said that “’Knowledge is power’ is the finest idea ever put into words.” True. But then it is also the most tragic for any nation not to realize. We have toyed with that idea, but we have not yet unlocked its awesome possibilities. We have enormous human resources, but we have not fully tapped into them. Bill Gates once remarked that “A digital nervous system enables a company to do information work with far more efficiency, depth, and creativity.” We can say no less for the development of any nation too.

    My current role as the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology has also enriched my experience by giving me unique insights into information and communication technology (ICT) issues at both global and national levels particularly with respect to using ICTs to drive development in areas such as education. My presentation today is therefore partly informed by a combination of these experiences and antecedents.

    In the last 15 to 20 years, I have witnessed in amazement the remarkable transformations that have been brought about by ICT. We all daily live these changes which have greatly impacted different sectors of the world economies including financial systems, health care delivery, commerce and trade, weather and traffic management, airline reservations and travel, consumer electronic devices, etc. According to Nicholas Negroponte, a US writer, “Like a force of nature, the digital age cannot be denied or stopped. It has four very powerful qualities that will result in its ultimate triumph: decentralizing, globalizing, harmonizing, and empowering.” Today, over 3.2 billion in the world are internet users with over 6 billion cell phone users. In Nigeria alone, there are over 150 million active phone lines for a population of approximately 170 million people. In today’s world, the youths are not only the largest consumers of ICT contents but are also the leading creators of online contents some of which are educational in nature.

    In fact, the advent of the mobile devices such as smart phones, phablets, tablets, apps, drones and the rapid rise of the number of mobile phone users and the number of people with Internet access has thrown up more opportunities as well as challenges that affect us all. The advent of the Internet of Everything (IoE) has given rise to aggressive roll out plans by most major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to ensure that within the next 10 years, every device being used by the human race will be connected to the Internet. With IoE, each device such as cars, microwave ovens, refrigerators, air conditioners, watches, etc. will be designed and built with Internet ready embedded smart chips and sensors. The IoE will clearly make for a much more connected world wherein distances will truly “no longer matter”.

    In the midst of all these developments, how is our education system stacking up or leveraging all of these digital technologies? To what extent are students using their expensive smart phones for learning? How many of the lecturers are using social media technologies to connect with these “digital generation” students as part of the teaching process? How will the role of lecturers change with respect to being teachers or facilitators? To what extent do the research projects in our tertiary institutions reflect the technology innovation taking place in Silicon Valley and education innovation taking place in the Boston Axis of the U.S.A?  How much of the terabytes of data being generated by these students (using their smart phones) are being captured, analyzed and used for decision making by their respective education institutions? How much of the aforementioned advances are we using as a nation to address the myriad of challenges we are facing in our education system today particularly with respect to insufficient capacity within traditional brick-and-mortar education institutions, shortage of teachers, examination malpractice, cultism and other social ills, historic insufficient funding and projected dwindling resources from falling oil revenues, exorbitant costs of printing and distributing hard copy textbooks, etc. Knowledge is the only meaningful resource today, so says Peter Drucker. And that knowledge is driven by technologies and channeled by nations into myriad of policies and development dynamics in a manner that make for national progress.

    There is abundant evidence that education is already taking advantage of some of the emerging digital technologies to support teaching and learning. We can see that from some of the exhibitions at this event. However, we would argue that to truly derive great benefits from the advancement of digital technologies, our education system cannot simply be “enabled” using existing digital technologies as an afterthought. ICT cannot simply be seen as a “support” function for operations such as student testing, managing accounts and finance, admission management, library management, etc. It is our firm belief that there is an urgent need to come up with new and sustainable education models designed for a digital era and the “digital generation” of students. Why? Simple reason: ICT contributes to the general IQ, or better still development quotient (DQ), of any nation through the adequate and appropriate technologizing of its educational frameworks. These new education models must be designed within the context of an increasingly connected world of digital technologies and social media addicted students. We cannot afford to simply adapt these digital technologies to the existing, and somewhat flawed, education models. In other words, the digital technologies mindset, world view and culture must be an integral part of the design of the new education models being proposed. These technologies, we can say, help facilitate a development-oriented educational system at the speed of thought, to borrow from Bill Gates.

    To underscore the importance of coming up with new education models within the context of a new digital world order, let us examine some of the challenges we currently face as a nation. First, there is the issue of insufficient capacity. For example, in 2014, of the over 1.7m students who sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), all the Nigerian universities have only a combined capacity to admit only 520,000 students of these students. Clearly for a country as large as Nigeria, the reality is that the traditional brick-and-mortar academic institutions cannot keep pace with the rate of growth of student populations seeking tertiary education. We need to be looking at alternative forms of offering education to our teeming youth population all yearning to gain admission into tertiary institutions particularly the over 1 m who fail to gain admission despite being qualified for it. A digital technology-based Open Distance Learning is such an alternative worth considering.

    Second, the high cost of traditional paper-based textbooks and limited access to learning materials is putting Nigerian students at a major disadvantage compared to their counterparts in other countries. The libraries are not only under-stocked but the few books they carry have to be shared between hundreds of students. This situation is even worse for the larger universities with populations of over 30,000 students per university. Third, there is the issue of inadequate and sometimes totally missing infrastructure such as classrooms, libraries, broadband Internet access, student accommodation, etc. In light of the fact that many of the schools still expect the students to physically attend classes, this state of affairs greatly impedes the quality of education the students get. Fourth, there are other issues such as mismatch between what the students are taught and the knowledge and skills demanded by employers in the market place, cultism and other social ills, cyber crimes, inadequate research output, exam malpractice, and lack of quality and timely data to aid planning and day-to-day decision-making.

    Despite all the above challenges, the good news is that advances in digital technologies provide tremendous opportunities for a country such as Nigeria to transform its educational system beyond what was possible just a decade ago. There are a number of factors that are playing to our favour in this regard. First, the culture of using technology for learning and teaching is gradually becoming a standard culture in most tertiary institutions around the world. In fact, there is a large population of Nigerians currently enrolled into long distance post-graduate programs in the United States and United Kingdom. Second, the gradual effort to roll out ICT infrastructure in many of the government owned Universities is helping to prepare the ground for a digital based education model. The increasing level of Internet penetration and the dropping prices of mobile devices especially tablets and phablets will tremendously help remove current infrastructure barriers.

    Third, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology has focused the last 4 to 5 years driving the adoption of technology across different sectors of the economy, growing the local ICT industry and increasing the capacity of the industry to exploit domestic business opportunities. As part of this effort, the Ministry designed a number of programs all aimed at driving the growth of the local ICT industry. Some of these programs include the National ICT Policy, National Broadband Plan, Nigerian Local Content Development in ICT and the national e-Government Initiative. Also, the enactment of the Cyber security Law has gone a long way to create an enabling environment for cyber activities and engender confidence for Nigerians to increase the level of use of the Internet for productive purposes.

    We see these programs as preparing the stage for the innovative exploitation of ICT to drive education particularly Open Distance Learning in Nigeria with respect to learning, teaching,  administration and management, research and development, evidence-based policy formulation, augmenting teacher shortage, and fighting exam malpractice and cyber crimes within student communities. Digital technologies such as Social Networks, Mobile Technologies, Big Data Analytics and Cloud Infrastructure and Services (commonly known as SMAC) lend themselves quite well to the new education model proposed earlier.

    It is our belief that the above proposed model provides a number of significant advantages. First, it provides for an opportunity for us to incorporate best practices into our educational system, and create a seamless linkage between the knowledge and skills of graduates and expectations of employers in the market place. Second, it addresses the aforementioned challenges particularly with respect to providing alternatives for all those applicants that cannot gain admission into traditional brick-and-mortar institutions. It is our hope that the increased penetration of low cost devices and falling prices of Internet access and widening footprint of broadband Internet access will make it easier to bring high quality education and edutainment contents to many more Nigerian students. We also believe that this widening infrastructure footprint will provide opportunities to those who are already employed but are looking for educational opportunities that fit into their work schedule. Third, the availability of digital records about student population, learning activities, infrastructure statistics, and census type data will provide governments at different levels with education related statistics that has been largely missing in the past due to poor data gathering infrastructure and expensive data gathering culture. Fourth, the model will allow for integration to open market education platforms such as Khan Academy, Udemy, YouTube, etc.

    We believe the rich stack of learning contents already offered by the latter will make for a much richer experience for Nigerian learners. And finally, the restructuring of our educational system for a digital era and a digital generation will create tremendous business opportunities for forward looking Nigerian ICT companies. We expect the attendant benefits to also help the current administration achieve its broader goals of diversifying the economy, creating jobs, fighting insecurity and fighting corruption.

    If you are sitting in this room today, and you aren’t worried about how we make the marriage between Technology and Education work with a new digital era mindset, then there is a real cause to worry. But whether we are worried or not, we are already on a head-on collision course with a digital future we cannot escape. And the gap between today and that point in the near future may even appear shorter than my time here at UI seems to me. But it is only if we can creatively seize control of the forces that define our lives and define our society can we then truly be prepared to recreate that inevitable digital and developmental future on our own terms.

  • President Buhari’s speeches and their gaps

    It is common knowledge that President Muhammadu Buhari and his loud band of minders campaigned their way into the hearts of fellow compatriots and the biggest office in the country with the memorable chant of CHANGE. While those who can still call their souls theirs will not contend against the glaring truth that Nigeria is in dire need of an oceanic change in all facets and sectors of its national life, what is rather puzzling is that those who champion the cause of the needed change hardly bother to beam the floodlight of change in the way certain things are done in the hallowed office. Here I am speaking of the speeches of the President. I stand with Farooq Kperogi in his brilliant observation (published by Sahara online portal on September 6, 2015, with the title ‘From Febuhari to ‘’Wailing Wailers’’: linguistic creativity decline of the Buhari brand’)that ‘President Buhari’s political brand is going from being the most linguistically innovative in the run-up to the last general election to being lackluster and plagued by grammatical and creativity deficits’.

    As a compulsively conscious minder of everything Nigerian, I have, at great pains, listened to President Buhari’s extemporaneous speeches and read some of the written ones, delivered in and out of Nigeria. I have nothing to gain from recklessness and frivolity, and as such they do not motivate my observations of his oral and written speeches. I am one of the few Nigerians who have not been impressed with the President’s planned and unplanned addresses. Too many gaps and gaffes define them. Most times, the speeches neither educate nor do they entertain at the level of elegance. If you are weaned on elegant prose and have increasing appetite for excellently realised literary expressions and engaging mnemonic phrases, you will deprive yourself of happiness to look to President’s Buhari’s speeches for one.

    I read (with all sincerity I have difficulty making meaning of his words, hence I try to refrain from listening to him read) his first Independence Anniversary Address since assuming office and I encountered the same blandness in thoughts and flatness in expressions, plus the usual assorted grammatical bloomers. For that, I am inclined to agree with Paulo Coelho that ‘a mistake repeated more than once is a decision’. Buhari and his scriptwriters seem to have elevated inelegance in thoughts and writing to the upper chambers of excellence in the same way they have raised the anti-corruption war to the same level as structured, modern governance.

    It is against the foregoing backdrop that I weigh in with the following thoughts.

    Writing is easy, but writing well requires a greater dose of efforts. Thus, those who think and write for the president of a country cannot be those who just write. They have to be people who think progressively more profoundly and write well. Andre Breton educates us clearly on this requisite requirement when he says, ‘Of all those arts in which the wise excel, Nature’s chief masterpiece is writing well’.

    Certain presidential speeches across the world refuse to negotiate obscurity because those who wrote them had depths and the facilities of mind to write well. Those enduring speeches are products of efforts – structured applicationsof excellence through considerable and concerted efforts. When you encounter Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, you become a witness to the efforts demonstrated in their speeches. When you read Martin Luther King Jr., John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and Charles de Gaulle, you cannot miss the sheer breath of efforts evident in their clear thinking, cut-through logics, and entertaining literary richness. Have you pored over Nelson Mandela’s, Obafemi Awolowo’s, Kwame Nkrumah’s, Julius Nyerere’s, Nnamdi Azikiwe’s speeches, among a few other notable ones? You will never miss the pearls of good thoughts and the gems of elegant expressions even if all you do is a cursory reading. Or is there anyone who thinks Benjamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama, David Cameron, and, incredibly, Robert Mugabe, make speeches that are mediocrely produced?

    President Buhari’s speechwriters must attune their Nigerian minds to this settled fact: When you are a president’s speechwriters, you either write well or you do not venture there at all. When you are a president’s script authors, you must reflect and radiate the best of your craft always. You must improve your craft again and again. You must deploy your punctuations masterfully as you plot the graph of your thoughts masterly. The writer, Arlo Bates, articulately teaches that, ‘no man can write really well who does not punctuate well, who cannot vitally mean every punctuation mark as clearly as vigorously as he means any word’.It is the unvarnished fact those who write for the president have to face.

    Nothing short of or shorn of excellence must define the speeches of a president. If the institution called the presidency is grand, its outputs in all particular areas must be unavoidably grand and deliberately indicative of the organised pursuit of excellence. Everything about a president must ennoble the country, encourage the people to strive for positive values, and endear the young citizens to the values of excellence and virtues.

    A lot is revealed in the speeches of a leader. Through a leader’s oral and written addresses we come to know the quality of their thinking; we know the depths of their minds; we know in the way the speeches are written whether the leader is given to the pursuit of excellence or ‘the enemy called average’. Buhari and his speechwriters cannot continue to churn out hollow, flat, and inelegant texts and expect us to think they are visionary people committed to the pursuit of excellence. They must reach deeper into themselves or seek help to say what notable thing they need to say notably. They must remark remarkably and represent the grand office grandly. They must not be contented with punching below the weight of the Office of the President.

    Speeches that will outlive the entire time of President Buhari in office and his life on earth must necessarily steer clear of the little pond of ordinariness, which adorn his speeches since taking office. I wish to demand of the President and his writers to begin the real change they so deafeningly campaigned about from the presidency. That institution has birthed too much garnished claptrap and is yet to produce ideas and values we all as citizens can be greatly proud to associate with. The transition that has taken place in that institution must not be without a corresponding lasting transformation. When the president’s speeches accommodate excellence in substance and form, the fear that those who lead Nigeria do not think will fade away. But if the present inhabitants of the Nigerian Presidency remain inured to the old mediocre, belittling ways of doing things, Nigerians will not be diffidentto say like Mahatma Ghandi, we ‘can retain neither respect nor affection for [a] government which has been moving from wrong to wrong in order to defend its immorality’ and mediocrity.

     

    • Adesola, writes from

    Obafemi Awolowo University,

    Ile-Ife,

    Osun State.

     

     

  • Who wants Borno ‘dead’?

    It is generally believed and observed that peace is gradually emerging and the tide is turning for the good people of the Northeast especially in states ravaged by insurgency as Nigerian ground and air forces hold sway in areas hitherto occupied by the insurgents. Boko Haram fighters have been confined to Sambisa Forest and their firepower disseminated by Nigerian troops.

    Consequent upon the feat being recorded by the Nigerian armed forces, normal life is gradually returning to the Northeast, especially the insurgency-infested states. Borno State, epicentre of the strife, is improving socially and economically. Traffic jam features more on the streets of Maiduguri while educational institutions hitherto shut down by the Boko Haram sect’s invasion are being reopened. Earlier reduced on account of insecurity, opening hours for commercial banks have been increased to accommodate the upswing in commercial activities. Many now sleep with both eyes closed while rising blood pressure has generally come down. Once hopeless, the people now look forward to a true Borno accompanied by the philosophy of ‘Home of Peace and Hospitality’ that has eluded it for the past six years, no thanks to the insurgency.

    Peace described this part of the country before the unexpected happened. Before the shout of ‘Jack Robinson’, sad news sent shivers down spines and heartrending ululation filled the air. Breaking the news in a statement to the nation, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, Acting Director Army Public Relations, said that the Nigeria Army had uncovered a plot by highly-placed individuals and political groups to undermine and scuttle the fight against terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria. The announcement which brought back to mind the sad memories of death, sorrow and bloodletting of the past six years reads: “The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the public and send a very strong and serious final warning to some prominent individuals and political groups who hailed from Borno State in particular and Northeast generally, that there is information of plans by some highly-placed individuals and political groups to undermine and scuttle the fight against terrorism and insurgency in this country.

    “The unscrupulous individuals and their cohorts were determined to reverse the gains made and scuttle our efforts of achieving the Presidential directive to defeat Boko Haram terrorists within three months. They are enlisting the services of some non-governmental organisations in this grand design.

    “It has come to our knowledge that they were employing every means to see that our operation does not succeed in order for them to continue to enjoy certain benefits. It has been revealed that they are employing the services of marabouts and other unethical means in order to frustrate our efforts and the operations in addition to the campaign of calumny.

    “We are aware of their clandestine meetings and other diabolical efforts to achieve their nefarious aims. This would not be tolerated. Therefore, such individuals and groups should be warned in unmistakable terms that anyone found would be dealt with accordingly.

    “People should place the interest of the nation above any personal gain or ambition. The continued loss of lives and property in this country through terrorist activities do no one any good.”

    Chairman of the Borno Elders Forum (BEF), Ambassador Usman Gaji Galtimari swiftly reacted to the statement. He said: “… within the last four days, this Forum has noted with great concern comments coming from the social media over a critical statement emanating from the Nigerian military high command. In the said statement, the leaders of the Northeast, particularly Borno State, were accused of not only aiding the Boko Haram insurgency but are also beneficiaries of the horrific carnage.

    “While we recognise and acknowledge with the deepest sense of gratitude the tremendous efforts of the Nigerian armed forces in crushing the insurgency, we wish to state that the statement coming from the Army is a generalised one. The military, police and the DSS are in charge of security and are therefore privileged to find out those who pose security threat to the nation. We therefore expect them to, after having identified such persons or groups, promptly bring them to justice. A generalised statement such as was made may not be the solution to such serious problems.

    “The BEF will give its maximum support and cooperation to our law enforcement agencies in this regard. Indeed, apprehending those identified to be involved in this devilish endeavour will be most welcome by all Nigerians.

    “The forum wishes to extend its appreciation to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the tremendous support accorded the military and our states in ending this madness. We particularly thank the Chiefs of Army and Air Staff for their constant physical presence at the battlefront. Their exemplary conduct and leadership have greatly enhanced the military’s capacity to end the insurgency.

    “We are indeed grateful. We call on our soldiers and all other security outfits to sustain the tempo of their great efforts of securing our country. We are looking forward to the quick return of normalcy in our land.”

    Erstwhile Chief of Army staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah during his pulling out parade on August 5, 2015 corroborated the statement of Colonel Usman on the allegation that some people were trying to sabotage the military’s efforts in the on-going war against the insurgency for their personal interest. In his valedictory speech, Lt. General Minimah said: “If we had all stood against the terrorists at the onset through public condemnation of their activities and active collaboration with the military to confront them rather than use it as a tool to advance sectional, religious and political interests, we would not have been where we are today.”

    The jaw-dropping scenario prompts inevitable questions: Who wants Borno dead? Who wants Borno in perpetual bondage? Who wants Borno to remain the insatiable grave that continues to crave innocent souls? Who wants Borno to remain  entirely in a world where there are two categories of people, enemy or friend? Who wants Borno to remain under the toga of Shakespeare’s ‘architecture of ruins’ – a landscape of shattered homesteads, severed limbs, torn lives, ravaged farmlands and looted barns?

    “If there is any legacy that real soldiers in the strict prosecution of the professional campaign are supposed to leave behind, it is a legacy of orphans, widows and devastation.” Who wants this to be the continued bane of Borno? How long will Borno continue to bear the burden of millions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)? Who wants Borno to be in perpetual state of nightmare, despair, uncertainty and hopelessness? Who wants the socio-economic life of Borno to be in perpetual ruin?

    The questions are endless. But let it be known that elusive peace in Borno is elusive peace in Nigeria. The warmongers and agents of division who choose to make Borno in particular and the Northeast in general a permanent battleground for their own selfish ends may end up without peace themselves. This is because the religious books teach that those who kill by the sword will go by the sword. Even Shakespeare’s Macbeth reminded us that those who murder sleep would sleep no more. Let it be known that war has achieved nothing and will never achieve anything. All wars and misunderstanding always end up on the peace table for peacemakers and the reasonable. Let us remember the Biblical injunction: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God.” (Mathew 5:9).

    Let us remind ourselves of the popular saying: “United we stand, divided we fall”. Above all, Borno for over a thousand years of its existence has fought wars and triumphed. The present onslaught against the insurgency will not be an exception.

     

    • Izekor, a journalist and public affairs analyst, writes from Maiduguri.

  • Zaccheaus Oyewole Bamigboje: A venerable teacher and shepherd at 80

    I was very naughty in my early years at Lennon Memorial College, Okene. I wanted attention. I wanted to build a reputation for myself as a tough, fearless and radical student.

    One day, I got in the nerves of the school principal, Zaccheaus Oyewole Bamigboje, who will be celebrating his 80th birthday today in Ibadan by launching his biography titled “The Grace of God: The biography of a Scientist and Missionary.

    I was sent home on suspension – a prelude to expulsion. I was not the only one.

    The only condition for our re-admission was an undertaken by our fathers that we would be of good behaviour henceforth. I can’t remember now what exactly happened. A handful of us had led a rebellion against something. Perhaps it was over the quality food in the cafeteria. The principal saw our action as an affront to his authority. He was torn between sending us out of the school or giving us an opportunity to apologize for our wrongdoing. Following the intervention of some Anglican Church elders – the owners of the school – the Principal opted for the latter. And that was why we were asked to bring our fathers as sureties.

    I did not have the courage to go home to report myself to my father and, worse still, bring him to school to beg the principal not to expel me. My father had always thought that I was a model student – brilliant, disciplined and well-behaved. He would have been greatly shocked to learn that I led a different life in school.

    Keeping me in school was a major family project. I had already spent two or three years in school. Expulsion would have meant going to another school to start all over again. My father would have been disappointed to hear that the family fortune that had been invested in me had gone to waste on account of a misguided rebellion. “Remember the son of who you are”, my father cautioned the

    I decided not go home to Ihima. I stayed back in Okene, plotting, with my friend and room mate, Lawal Sani, how to get someone to stand-in for my father who was somewhere deep in Kabba-Bunu rainforest tending his cocoa, coffee, yam and cassava farms. In the end, we decided to talk to a neighbour who hailed from Ikare. He repaired motorcycles in Okene. He used to allow Lawal and I to ride one of his motorcycles around town. We would close early from school, change into our casual clothes, mount the bike and speed through streets with the heaviest traffic of our home-bound schoolmates. Bikes were a luxury in Okene in the early 1970s.

    To have access to a bike was a big deal for us high school students. We saw ourselves as big boys. Fellow students envied us. And Baba Aina, as our neighbour was known, allowed us the indulgence of cruising the town with his bike.

    Anyway, Baba Aina was properly briefed. He would pose as my father, beg the principal for forgiveness and promise that I would never rebel against constituted authority again. Baba Aina followed me to school the following day and did as he was coached. He promised the principal that he would personally discipline me at home having been told everything about my rebelliousness. With that, I was asked to return to my class. The principal had forgiven me and other rebels who brought their “fathers” to vouch for us.

    The essence of this story is to show how lucky we were to have been moulded by the tender hands of the man we affectionately called “20Gboje” (he used to sign his name, Z. O. Bamigboje with the “Z” looking like “2” and the “O” looking like zero). “The principal”, as we also referred to him, gave me and other rebels a second chance. Who knows what would have become of us if he had expelled us then. It would certainly have destroyed our lives and perhaps some of us would never have recovered from that experience.

    Venerable Bamigboje was strict but not wicked.  He gave us a second chance. He saw himself as a father who must have a bottomless well of patience and a large heart. He took over a small, obscure community secondary school with a history mediocre academic performance in 1973 and turned it into a respected centre of excellence within the seven  years he spent at Okene. The fact that nearly everyone in my set – the Class of ’77 – went on to become graduates and stars in various fields is a testimony to the administrative wizardry of Venerable Bamigboje.

    He was a hardworking man who ran the school 24/7 and also taught Mathematics and Physics. He was a quick learner. Early in his stay at the school, he learnt how to navigate the treacherous waters of politics, religion and ethnicity in Ebiraland. We admired how he – a Yoruba or “ana ikinami” (as the Ebira generally call those from other places) related perfectly well with the various communities in Ebiraland. He was a meticulous leader. He would embark on unscheduled tour of the campus and woe betide any teacher or student who was not where he or she should be or who was not doing his/her duty at that moment. The principal never hesitated to use his cane on any erring student. The fear Z. O. Bamigboje was the beginning of wisdom at Lennon Memorial College.

    Venerable Bamigboje knew most of his students by their faces, names and characters. What he wrote in my testimonial in 1977 remains the most definitive assessment of my personality till date. He was focused, committed and dedicated to his job. No wonder that he made the greatest impact on us at that stage of our lives. We will forever be grateful to him. He supervised the building a new campus for the school at Ageva along the Obehira-Ogori-Magongo Road and relocated the school there in 1978. Sadly, the civilian administration of Governor Adamu Atta did not allow Bamigboje to consolidate on his achievements at Lennon Memorial College. He was transferred from the school in 1979 to Erinle Secondary School. Bamigboje, who obviously loved and enjoyed his stay at Okene, declined to go to Erinle on what was clearly a politically motivated punitive posting and opted to go back to his home state of Oyo.

    Born of humble beginnings in Ikire, Osun State, on October 2, 1935, Venerable Bamigboje attended St. John’s Primary School in Ikire, Olu-Iwa College (now Adeola Odutola College), Ijebu Ode and Fourah Bay College in Freetown, Sierra Leone where he graduated with a Bachelor in Mathematics and Physics. He was sponsored to the university by alma mater Olu-Iwa College (Adeola Odutola College) Ijebu Ode. He returned to teach at the school for six and half years before being hired by the Kwara State Government as Principal of Lennon Memorial College, Okene. He spent seven years at Okene before returning to Oyo State in 1980. He taught and administered a number of schools in Oyo and Osun States before his retirement in 1993 after 34 years of meritorious public service. He went into the ministry of God full time, enduring another round of frequent transfers within the churches in the Anglican fold. He retired from priesthood in 2008 and lives quietly in Ibadan with his wife of 48 years, Phebean, their six children and several grandchildren.

     

    Happy birthday, Venerable Bamigboje.

  • Comments

    ‘Let Senator Saraki resign honourably now to allow the law take its course. We must move the nation forward and we cannot do this until we eradicate corruption. Nigerians should support Buhari to fight corruption in governance because if Nigeria is good today, everybody will benefit; corruption has become a scourge that needs urgent treatment. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State.
    The import of Saraki’s trial says it all. My worry is that I didn’t want to laugh today if not that you reminded me that ‘corruption is mere stealing’ as pronounced by GEJ. Well, the days of reckoning are here with us. Thanks for making my day. From Myke Edet, Calabar’

    For Segun Gbadegesin

    Re: Much ado about acting INEC chair. Metuh did not see anything good about the woman for five years until now. It only tells us after change of gear that, he (Metuh) should not be taken serious. Anonymous

    Re-Much ado about acting INEC chair. Everyone has the right to suspect an action. No one should expect less, from an opposition. As Metuh is free to make criticism, others are free to make defence of any allegation. But I see nothing wrong in an Acting capacity! From Lanre Oseni.

    RE: Much ado about acting INEC Chair: PDP wants to be seen and heard now that they are in the opposition. They are so far doing it poorly. On this one too, they have failed woefully. Anonymous

    You mean this 2015 election is the freest and fairest till date? How about the 1993 of late Chief MKO ABIOLA.? Anonymous

    The pdp must not be seen as a dead and burried party. As for the battle the pdp are in for battle but the question is can they win the battle? Anonymous

    Your piece on acting INEC Chair which appeared in The Nation is superb. Keep up the good job and forget people like Metuh.  From Joseph K.  Gboko.

    I read your view on the INEC Chair and wish to commend your analysis as being sound and perfect.  But will Metuh and his likes with their embarrassing comments understand? Keep it up, Nigeria must move forward in spite of these dry woods at the centre of the ocean. Thanks. From Chinwo. Port Harcourt.

    I do not believe the PDP, even in its present ersatz and diminished state is as silly and hare brained as the nit witted Olisa Metuh is portraying. He is harming the already battered party by his endless petty fogging on serious national issues to the pique and irritation of many. From Aondona Diwa

    President appointing Mrs Zakari as an acting chairman of inec is well accepted by Nigerians, pdp publicity secretary Olisa Metu is a drowing man, cheers to pmb. From Hon Ify Esione, Anambra State.

    Sir, as one of the good columnists I admire when it comes to analysis of issues of national importance, I cannot hold back my thanks for a professional analysis of your piece on “much ado about INEC chair”. Objectively, she is the most qualified not only in terms of long serving commissioner but in terms of educational background. Above all, PMB has demonstrated that women should have a place in governance. No wonder all the woman folk including 13 politics parties drum out their support for her except PDP. Like you concluded, if PDP wants this battle, they should go on. From Dahil Dakon  Sambo, Plateau State.

    I want to say thank you for the write – up at the back page of The Nation Newspaper of Friday July 24, captioned “Much ado about acting INEC chair”. I would like to advise that the PDP looks for a better person, like Alhaji Lai Mohammed of the Governing APC, outside Mr Olise Metuh who will be able to properly manage the PDP as to information management when in opposition. Most of Mr Metuh’s reactions to National issues are his personal views and not the views of the PDP. He seems to see nothing good, in every action of our dear President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB). Who else does he want PMB to appoint? Himself or who? From Mr Andy Olude, Lagos.

    It is interesting that Buhari won the 2015 Presidential election. Many believe and in fact his associates believe that Buhari is a clean man as far as the public is concerned. Let the truth be told. Don’t compare US with Nigeria. Anonymous

     

    For Prof. Olatunji Dare

    Sir, one of the reasons usually raised by EFCC is deliberate underfunding because those in people in power do not want to fight corruption. I think this must be addressed. Thank you sir for addressing the issue. From Femi Awosode.

    May Almighty God bless you for your well articulated write- up in The Nation of July 21, 2015 back page. Anonymous

    Re: EFCC: So much bark, so little bite. Mr. President is definitely   embarking on a national reform.  However, the EFCC is not adequately ready and prepared .Its barking now is just a smokescreen by its leadership to remain in office. Like Prof. Dare observed,”The suspect has in his corner some of the finest legal minds that money can buy,”; while EFCC would send lousy and even learning lawyers who might not even know the right court, and on shoddy investigation. Thus, the suspect escapes, for instance, in all the 40 charges or when found culpable fined #3 million for defrauding several billions of Naira or US dollars. This is why official stealing and corruption are on the rise .The EFCC definitely requires a reform and a Special Court. The calibre of its prosecutors is very vital in order to be efficient in the war on official corruption. From Ladipo O. David. Gwagwalada. 

    Re: EFCC:  so much bark, so little bite   You have aptly captured the reason why corrupt public officials have always gotten off easily in Nigeria . I have been an ardent follower of your column and l know you are close to people who are close to the corridors of power now. It will make a world of difference if you can have a way of getting this advice to the President – thank God we have a President who is focused on tackling corruption.   A lot of us ordinary mortals are aware of this shortcomings coupled with corruption among the EFFC officials. Unfortunately our voices cannot be heard; as such we are reduced to watching and grumbling.     Please do this as your contribution to our children and the future generations of this country.  May God bless and keep you in good health as you continue to contribute to the greatness of our dear country, amen. Anonymous

    You’re in right direction indeed with all you wrote concerning the killer of this country ‘s economy and development called “corruption “ do they read your  column and see the way out ?. In this country nigeria this cankerworm has come to stay unless those highly placed people realize that death is awaiting them. I like your articles any day. From Ola Dare. Akams E.

    Last week, I responded to Olatunji Dare’s emergence and re-emergence piece by starting with his masterpiece of November 8, 2011 on Saraki, only to discover that it was not carried. You probably did not understand what I was saying. I was trying to say that the Saraki of 2011, who made Kwara State to take care of him for as long as he lives and probably after, is still the same person. From Gbola Gbolagunte.

    It is a good thing that EFCC has woken up from its slumber to fight corruption that has made us a laughing stock for years. EFCC should bite corrupt leaders so much so that Nigeria can move forward. We cannot continue to answer Obi is a boy every year when few people are siphoning money meant for development of the country. EFCC should recover all stolen money as the leader who dislikes corruption is on throne. Judiciary should help EFCC to do their work by ensuring that corrupt leaders are jailed according to the weight of their crime. From Gordon Chika Nnorom

    Sir, may I humbly propose that you do a proposal to President Buhari on this divinely inspired article of yours of July 21, 2015.Kudos! From Solomon Aibangbe Esq.

     

    For Gbenga Omotoso

    Sir, your satire reminds me of Chinua Achebe’s book, “Man of the People”. It reflects the insanity in our political system. You deserve the award as “Baba Sala” of Nigeria. As Fela said in one of his lyrics one does not know whether to laugh or cry about state of corruption in Nigeria. From Tunde Bankole

    I advise that you take your time, this suggestion can cause trouble for Ekiti o. Keep on advising, nice piece as always. Regards, Hakeem, Foreign Languages Dept, University of Benin 

    Though it goes more or less like a movie picture, your masterpiece, an anti-graft war advisory, is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Thanks. Anonymous

    Well done, brother Gbenga. Your advisory on anti-graft is, as usual from a veteran satirist, very illuminating. Kindly advertise for any taker on the establishment of a “Foundation for the promotion of Corruption”. There is already a going frenzy for “foundation forming” that our CAC can continue to reap bountiful corporate harvest – even if not all or any of the proceeds go into the Federation Account. For my own part, there shall be no patent right charge. It is given free of charge. Keep writing to release our cumulative tensions. Sincerely, A.A.Akingba (aka Triple A).

    Your piece “An anti-graft war advisory” is actually, à satire and a lamentation but we will get through, they won’t always get away so easy. Sir, PMB means business and they now know. From Manasseh Ehile  Manasseh

    Our problem isn’t knowing the ills of the country but how to solve the problem. The nation is richly endowed with theoretical experts who would even pride themselves of knowing the much that is wrong with the country but unable to show good example for the solution because they are often part of the problem. For example, Chimaroke Nnamani as the then Enugu State governor was busy giving lectures here and there with lengthy essays condemning corruption in the country, among other things. Today, we have all seen how much he was able to loot from his state even as he busied himself proffering “solution” to the nation’s problem. This  time it is El-Rufai, whose admin of FCT and BPE then, still left much to be desired now issuing death penalty on NNPC for being corrupt. A Wole Soyinka, Gani Fawehinmi or an Aminu Kano stands a better position to tell Nigerians what to do with the corrupt NNPC; not the El-Rufais of this nation, I think. From Emmanuel Egwu

    Your “Anti-graft war  advisory” editorial is  a true picture of what has enabled       corruption grow wings, only God   will deliver us. You did a nice job. From Elder Giddy Elena. Enugu Exile.

    Just read your article. Brilliant. One template to serve them all and it does. The anti-graft war has been a charade but one wonders if that might change. Anonymous.

    Re-An anti-graft war advisory. Sir, you said it all. As far as I am concerned, the Judiciary is the main problem of anti-graft war in Nigeria. When EFCC brings a corrupt case to court, the case will be dragged to eternity and will later be frustrated. From Kunle Bello, Abeokuta.

    Oooo am bursting in bits, where have you been all my life, you deserve editor of 5 years ahead for this amazing write up back page of The Nation of Thursday. Anonymous

    Re: anti-graft war advisory; I read this master piece with submission that you Nigerian journalist are just gifted, infact you have covered all area of how our money are being stolen and the consequences. Only God can deliver Nigeria. keep it up. From Barrister Ilori Ademola, Lagos. 

     

    For Tunji Adegboyega

    Kudos for that frank talk: The import of Saraki’s trial. I am personally proud of you. Impunity is considered a section in Nigeria’s constitution. Even with all glaring issues raised, they are alleging political victimisation. Far from that. Thank God attempts to get injunctions against trial couldn’t work this time around. My prayer is for more of Saraki to be arraigned. Thanks for such a nice piece. Anonymous, Makurdi.

    It is unfair to assume that Buhari’s government is ‘behind’ Saraki’s latest ordeal. The president’s posture is one of ‘non-interference’ with the functions of these statutory bodies and he has boldly ignored calls for him to intervene in some matters. In spite of this, the suspicion persists!. Also, it is a known fact this same Saraki, as a member of the ruling PDP, had a case of alleged fraud since 2012. I am truly amazed that Nigerians always attribute their problems to witch-hunt or persecution. Should our focus not be on whether the offence was committed or not? Nigeria is the only country I know where our rich suspects get court injunction against their investigation, arrest and prosecution – instead of proving their innocence in court. How then do we fight corruption? Since the duration of these investigations vary, it cannot be termed selective yet. Let’s watch. Anonymous. 

    Re: The import of Saraki’s trial. Some people have called Saraki’s trial political persecution and vindictiveness because his new political party, the APC, knew all he’s been tried for when he defected. Immediately he should have been rejected. Why now? Because he forced his way into senate presidency, period! Why did APC then allow Saraki (palm oil) to drop on its white garment? It is good to make all be placed before the law. It is clear even today that some animals are above the law. From Lanre Oseni.

    The import of Saraki’s trial says it all. My worry is that I didn’t want to laugh today if not that you reminded me that ‘corruption is mere stealing’ as pronounced by GEJ. Well, the days of reckoning are here with us. Thanks for making my day. From Myke Edet, Calabar.

    Let Senator Saraki resign honourably now to allow the law take its course. We must move the nation forward and we cannot do this until we eradicate corruption. Nigerians should support Buhari to fight corruption in governance because if Nigeria is good today, everybody will benefit; corruption has become a scourge that needs urgent treatment. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State.

  • Lagos economy, society and Ambode

    The Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode has a clear strategic imperative to meet the socio-economic challenges associated with a mega metropolis such as Lagos State. A strategic imperative, a clear pathway is essential to determine the future direction of the machinery of government and its overall effectiveness.

    This is why we must examine how well or otherwise the hardworking governor has been implanting its imprint on the affairs of Lagos State from inception. This is important for, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) bigger than many African countries Kenya included, Ambode has his work cut out. The state bears all the turbulence of a mega-metropolis including those relating to environmental issues; it also has a population issue with the demography growing in geometrical proportions, inducing a high ratio of youth unemployment.

    With a debt burden of about N500 billion, Lagosians are extremely lucky to have an accomplished chartered accountant at the helm of affairs in Lagos. It is no fluke or a mere coincidence that Lagos is not among the states seeking a bailout from the Federal Government. Ambode surely knows his onions.

    Very sensibly, Ambode’s economic thrust in response to the landmines is to attract and retain capital in hitherto unprecedented proportions. In order to turn a potential crisis from danger into opportunity, creating the atmosphere to exploit an opportunity means that Lagos has to be repositioned in the minds of investors.  Lagos, in his words is the “future citadel of entrepreneurship in this country. The state has a population of 21.9 million, of which four million are actually middle class. Lagos is the fifth largest economy in Africa and our GDP has hit $131 billion” – more than the GDP’s of 42 African countries put together.

    Within this context, Ambode will leverage on the prospects of a young demographic base and an aspirational middle class estimated at about four million and growing to attract foreign investment. Both the youth as well as the actual and potential middle class have become the key indices in the attraction of foreign investments in Africa. In this way, Lagos will be the ‘new frontier’.

    This is all very sensible. However, good intentions have to be backed up with a clear roadmap in other to walk the talk. The need to do this has induced the creation of an office of Overseas Affairs and Investment, also known as the Lagos Global initiative. A product of Ambode’s strategic thrust, the new office is now positioned as a beacon for global brands, indicating that a new market with varying degrees of opportunities has emerged on the west coast of Africa.

    Endearingly, Ambode’s strategy echoes what a proper federating unit should do within the context of achieving sustainable development in a federation. Let us recall that in the First Republic, the three regional governments had established offices in London to coordinate their exports as well as marshal their investment drive. Modernizing this position, it is clear that Ambode is promoting what we may label as a “Ready for business Lagos State” model. A Lagos perceived as an easy and friendly place to do business in and with, is crucial in winning the globally competitive race for investments.

    The new office is already making its mark as a one-stop shop which is what Ambode has in mind. The imperative here is the managerial co-ordination in a transparent manner (Ambode continuously places an emphasis on transparency and so do the potential and actual investors) providing a safe and secured environment against all the roadblocks, landmines and regulatory snags that might constitute both an impediment and a source of friction for the potential investor. In the words of Ambode –  “For any company that wants to do business in Nigeria, Lagos is your best bet.”

    The one-stop shop, business friendly Lagos strategy has started to bear fruits. The new magnet for example has already attracted and received kudos from the diplomatic circles. If the embassies have nodded their approval, the real McCoy has been the expression of interest by the private sector, as in, “the taste of the pudding is in the eating.” Here, a lot of big-hitters operating in alignment with Ambode’s jobs-creation thrust have also trooped in ready for business mode. You can’t get them hitting bigger than Wal-Mart for example.

    The President of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Ms. Shelley Broader personally led a delegation unveiling the group’s strategic plan to expand its business in Nigeria using Lagos State as its launching pad. Those excited about the new investment coordination induced by Ambode include the Smart City Group who came in with a big investment plan, as well as the Knauf Group International, Germany’s leading manufacturing group which came with the insignia of the German government.

    Although his policy thrust has led to a breakthrough into increasing the flow of direct foreign investments (FDI’s), the governor is critically concerned about the areas investors are injecting capital into. The governor clearly has his own areas of priority, especially and crucially in meeting the state’s food security requirements which in his opinion is crucial to attaining the goal of self-sufficiency.

    To tie his economic thrust together, there are clear strategic imperatives to be undertaken. In the first place, there has to be a re-ordering of budget priorities foregoing hand-in-glove with the quest for investments. There must be new initiatives on infrastructure and a brutal pairing down of recurrent expenditure which in Nigeria translates to duplication, waste and inefficiency.

    This imperative came clear a week ago when the governor persuaded the Lagos State House of Assembly as to the need to re-order the year 2015 budget of the state government. The house approved N19,743,164,323 capital expenditure and N5,697,089,009 for recurrent expenditure bringing the total approved sum to N25, 440, 253, 332.

    Re-ordering the budget priorities means that the central thrust of Ambode’s economic strategy will be to invest in the infrastructural base of the state as part of the Lagos business friendly strategy. Businesses certainly need this to be attracted in the first place and to prosper. It is also critical to note that the infrastructural prioritization being undertaken by Ambode will cater for such critical business enhancing inputs such as the continuation of the construction of the blue light rail project, continuation of the construction of the Lekki-Epe Expressway and the acquisition of heavy duty equipment (Cranes and Forklifts) and for the employment trust fund and wealth creation programmes.

    Investment in infrastructure is incontrovertible to trigger off a multiplier effect on economic activities and investments and it is therefore clear that future Ambode budgets will be focused on placing infrastructure at the heart of sustainable economic development.

    In this light, the need to attract sustainable development also has to be accompanied by governmental initiatives, ensuring security and in the medium to long term, reconstruction of social safety nets. This is because a metropolis operates its socio-economic activities on the basis of twenty-four hour cycles round the clock.

    In a twenty-four hour economy, socio-economic activities do not grind to a halt at night. Major research from across the world recently has indicated that many cities over the past two decades have deliberately put in place measures to run a twenty-four hour economy. This makes sense, because the hospitality and entertainment industries, (so vital to the economy of a metropolis including that of Lagos) in particular, thrive better in a 24/7 economy.

    Entertainment spots such as restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, cinemas, casinos, concert halls, theatres and licensed clubs make more business in this respect. And of course high flying business executives having worked hard during the day have to unwind at night.

    In the next ten years it is expected that the state’s economy will be transformed away from the focus on younger people and entertainment. It is hoped that forty percent of the people taking advantage of the 24/7 economy will be aged over 40 and that 40% of operating businesses at this time will be chiefly anchored on formal businesses.

    Undoubtedly, Ambode’s ongoing efforts at transforming the state’s economy would, in a significant manner, accelerate the scale of socio-economic development, enhance productivity and usher in prosperity for all in the state. The clear economic thrust of macro-economic stability investment in both the social and fiscal infrastructure is obviously the way to achieve social and economic justice as well as the pathway to the sustainable development of what has already become one of the world’s major mega metropolises.

     

    • Badmus, an economist wrote in from Lagos

     

     

  • Kogi 2015: From past to present

    The Kogi State Governorship Election is scheduled for November 21. The polls may still be weeks away, but the scenario has reopened an old wound. It has thrown up two known gladiators who have had the privilege of governing the state at various times. These two gladiators are: the incumbent governor and Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Capt Idris Wada and Prince Abubakar Audu, two time governor of the state who is contesting for the fifth time on the platform of the All Progressives Congress. There are also other contestants like Philip Omeiza Salawu, immediate past Deputy Governor to Ex-Governor Ibrahim Idris who will be flying the flag of Labour Party, LP,  Akwu Goodman, All Progressives Grand Alliance and Enesi Ozigi, of Peoples Progressive Party, PPA. While Audu and Wada are of the Igala Stock, Salawu and Enesi are from the Ebira speaking region of Kogi State.

    Political analysts have however narrowed the contest to a two horse race, between Wada and his main challenger, Audu. The two men are not in unfamiliar territory. They had earlier been the toasts of political pundits in 2011 when the state went to the polls to elect their governor. On that occasion, Audu suffered a bloodied nose from the then  inexperienced Wada as it were.

    The two major contenders have had the opportunity to govern the State so their leadership qualities are not new to the people.  Prince Audu was governor in 1991 to 1993 and from 1999 to 2003. Capt Wada is about completing his first term of four years.

    An objective profiling of the two men while in public office is therefore not out of place. An eagle eye look at their achievements, temperament and other antecedents therefore affords the electorate the golden opportunity to make informed choice based on their performance and character traits.

    Audu’s supporters largely present him as the father of Kogi. According to them his performance in office is yet to be surpassed by any other administration in the state.  They  list the establishment of Kogi State University (KSU), Establishment of Confluence Beach Hotel and Establishment of Diagnostic and Reference Hospital in Ayangba as his major  achievements. Audu’s opponents are however quick to point out that most of the projects he lays claim to are phantom projects- that could not withstand the test of time. For example, the university Audu established apart from being named after himself was just a university in name as it lacked the basic facilities to offer any accredited course. It was successive governments that renamed the university to Kogi State University and ensured that facilities and resources were provided for the category A accreditation that the university’s courses enjoy today.  Even APC stalwarts like Alex Kadiri pointed out in a recent interview that  “Audu merely used the infrastructure already put on ground by the World Bank. Kogi State University is standing on the site of the World Bank Agricultural Project, where they had an airstrip. All the houses the lecturers are living were built with the loans collected from the World Bank. The state is still paying back and it is part of the debt every government must pay. The loan may not be fully liquidated in the next eight to nine years”.

    Apart from ensuring accreditation of all courses in KSU, Wada has gone ahead to establish the College of Medical Science and is constructing a world-class 250-bed teaching hospital. He has also established the Faculty of Education to improve the quality of teaching staff in the state.

    Another major project credited to Audu is the Confluence Beach Hotel which played host to conferences during his administration. Apart from constituting a drainpipe on the state’s resources, the devastating floods experienced by the state in 2012 exposed the underbelly of that project as it was constructed without any environmental impact assessment study. Governor Wada on his part set up the first modern environmental laboratory in the state to forestall such poorly planned projects in the future. He has also attracted investors that will take over the rehabilitation and management of the hotel.

    One achievement that Audu’s supporters claim is the establishment of Dangote Cement factory at Obajana. Objective analysts in the state are at a loss how they come about that claim as no benefit in terms of dividend payment has come to Kogi State since the inception of the factory.

    An area where Audu’s supporters cannot claim any achievement is in the area of agriculture. Wada’s focus on agriculture has resulted in the state becoming the number one cassava growing state in the nation. The feat has attracted the World Bank, the Federal Government and Cargill USA- a top manufacturing company ; now there is a move to partner with the state to establish the first staple crop processing zone in the nation at Alape, Kogi State. When completed, the income of the state will increase by about N14billion per annum.

    Unlike Audu who operated under a period of economic boom, Wada is operating under an unprecedented period of sharply dwindling revenue. Today, he has achieved an unparalleled 200 percent increase in internally generated revenue throughout the creation of a single revenue account and e-collection of revenue accruable to the state.

    Wada has tried to keep faith with the state’s workers by ensuring that their salaries are paid as at when due. He has also cleared all the 21 years arrears of pension backlogs that he met. It is a known fact that in spite of the economic boom during Audu’s era, he owed civil servants for upwards of six months and blatantly refused to pay pensioners because he referred to them as ‘dead woods’. Another area where Wada is given full credit is the respect of the citizen’s inalienable right to freedom of speech. People of different shades express their opinions freely without fear of intimidation and victimization. The Wada administration is known for tolerance of opposing views even when they border on the absurd. During Prince Audu’s reign, this was not the case. The Prince reigned with iron hands and was generally intolerant of criticism and fostered tyranny on the people. People have not forgotten that in those dark days, a journalist was bathed with acid on the streets of Lokoja.  Today, journalists in the state can attest to the fact that they now operate in an environment where they operate without let or hindrance. Servants and the various labour unions also agitate for their rights without the fear of intimidation.  Traditional rulers can equally bear testimony to the fact that they no longer go through the excruciating pain of waiting by Jamata Bridge to welcome the governor whenever he travels to Abuja and his several trips abroad.  The arrogance and flamboyance of the past has today been replaced by simplicity and humility in governance.

    ‘Wada has tried to keep faith with the state’s workers by ensuring that their salaries are paid as at when due. He has also cleared all the 21 years arrears of pension backlogs that he met. It is a known fact that in spite of the economic boom during Audu’s era, he owed civil servants for upwards of six months’

    • Abu writes from Lokoja, Kogi State

     

  • Anti-graft war: Standing the test of crime

    For 16 years, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ruled Nigeria like a party that was principally inspired by the ideology of corruption. Like a disaster destined to happen, the party embarked on a ’voyage of no discovery’ and it was as if the gods were angry! Now, the rest as far as the derailed, tired and expired party is concerned, is history!

    Everything considered, the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC)’s festival of champagne-popping and glasses-clinking is not misplaced even as war on corruption as one of its cardinal promises is not unwelcome. But everything in life has a price attached to it; meaning that for the next four years, APC will be in the eyes of the storm. It also means that the party may choose to make things better or leave the stage even worse. With the former option, President Muhammadu Buhari has got a lot on his plate. He’s got to do a lot within a very short period of four years to bequeath to Nigeria a country that works. So much might have been achieved by the president’s ‘body language’ but, as we know, assumptions don’t count in governance, especially, in a situation where schemers whose corrupted hearts have lost the capacity to cry are not prepared to give up.

    In any case, it is music to the ears that the president has promised to wage a real war on corruption that has already driven the country from the position of decency into the abyss of normlessness. But Buhari’s capacity to tame the lion has never been in doubt. He is a man of impressive intellectual gifts, extraordinary moral courage and profound spirituality. As things stand, the president is the symbol of progressive politics in Nigeria. He is the new wine in a change wineskin who comes into presidential office with characteristic modesty, moderation and the primacy of public interest.

    In his Goodwill Message to the Second Plenary of the 2015 Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Buhari describes corruption as the ”main reason why a potentially prosperous country struggles to feed itself and provide jobs for millions”. Needless to repeat that corruption is symptomatic of Nigeria’s nationalized malaise and epitomizes with merciless severity, the physical decay and the loss of innocence bedevilling her geo-political, socio-economic and ethno-religious contiguities. It affects our daily lives, lowers compliance, distorts the level-playing field and can affect how we interface with the people. When corruption takes over the affairs of a country, standards get compromised and values become eroded easily; quality of service and infrastructure is reduced and budgetary pressures, both on public and private establishments increase insanely. This monster drains a country’s tank of joy, prevents initiatives, stifles growth, harasses destiny and transports problems to a tomorrow that is even far away.

    Corruption is as generic in dimension as it is legion in operations. Civilian sleaze! Spiritual morass! Executive deception! Legislative graft! Electoral treachery! Judicial trickery! There is geriatric corruption (as in government being piloted by old and tired hands); and there is psychological chicanery (like the providentially endowed Niger Delta region where indigenes produce more but eat little). We have monarchical deceit (as in the case of a former president trying to unconstitutionally perpetuate self in power); and there is ethnocentric speciousness. We have professional corruption and there is public service venality. The list is endless!

    We can indeed talk nineteen to the dozen at synonymising, synchronizing, replicating, rationalizing, even politicizing meanings, extra-meanings, anti-meanings, or counter-meanings for this cankerworm. The bottom-line is that it is a global disease which dates back to the Adamic Age. Remember Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Abraham and Hagar the Egyptian, Esau and Jacob, David and Bathsheba, Ananias and Sapphira, Sanballat and Tobiah, and Judas, to name but a few.

    In 2002, Germany’’s Defence Minister Rudolf Scharping was replaced for taking payments from a Public Relations “consultant with links to the arms industry. In 2004, Alain Juppe, former French Prime Minister, was barred from holding public office for a decade after he was found guilty of corruption. Geoffrey Robinson was suspended for three weeks from the British House of Commons over a £200,000 payment from a company owned by Robert Maxwell, a Labour tycoon. Jacob Zuma did not escape the cruel fangs of this heinous crime.

    On the home front, Nigeria, as we speak, competes favorably with less-endowed countries like Guinea and Guinea Bissau on the Corruption Perception Index. Incidentally, she also ranks as one of the eight countries in the world with the highest rate of trafficking. That is why former President Olusegun Obasanjo deserves commendation for his achievements in his anti-corruption campaigns, notable among which was the establishment of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.  But, a more important arm like the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, has been in sleeping mode.

    Incidentally, the judiciary has become so bastardized that only the rich and the powerful can access justice. The poor and powerless can go to blazes! Have we for once asked why Obasanjo’s ship of anti-corruption war didn’t get to the dock before berthing? As a matter of fact, it is not that Nigerians are sinners or that civilized countries are saints. The difference however rests with the rewards and sanctions. For instance, the way China deals with corruption leaves nobody in doubt as to where the country stands in its anti-corruption war. But, in Nigeria, it is a different ball-game. In the world we live, when a president told a stunned people that he’d not fight corruption by putting the people behind bars, the people could only marvel at their leader being a poor student of history and International Relations.

    The onus therefore lies on APC and President Buhari to learn from history and be methodical in preventing Suharto, Marcos and Sese Seko from resurrecting as Nigerians. And, in doing this, that war must be, and seen to be total, not selective.  APC must avoid the corruption of “lopsided” appointments but must courageously and creatively identify solutions that reinforce peace and justice. In particular, President Buhari must neither play politics to the detriment of policies nor consider doing the needful as a crime. He should understand that posterity, not any transient powers, will hold him responsible for the success or otherwise of the enormous responsibilities bestowed on him by providence.

    As a ’converted democrat’, Buhari may also need to be reminded that a society without values is a sterile society. Put bluntly, one way of measuring the competence of a progressive party is in its serving as an apostle of laughter where sorrow seems prevalent and succour where soreness appears imminent. Unfortunately, however; and sadly so, majority of Nigeria’s political actors are unfeeling in attitude and perfidious in disposition. They are none but mere jutting men camouflaging as democratic heavyweights. They smile with unequalled certitude but revolt inwardly with unenviable exactitude! That has been our lot in Nigeria! Of course, that is why we always gauge the worth of our religious leaders only by the sonorousness of their voices, the flashiness of their cars and the fatness of their bank accounts.

    A successful and an effective war on corruption demands sanctions that can serve as deterrents. It demands retraining, retooling and re-kitting of our law officers. It involves a reform and a review of relevant laws which must not see government only barking but also biting. Where the existing laws are weak, let them be strengthened; and where they are currently inactive, let them be activated.

    • Komolafe writes from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State.