The Nation Newspaper

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  • Gambari: Quintessential diplomat at 70

    It is significant that few days before Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari’s 70th birthday on November 24, he was appointed as co-chair with Mrs Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State and Ambassador to the United Nations, to lead the High-Level Commission on Global Security Justice and Governance. That appointment came on November 20.  The commission is to find better mechanisms to prevent and resolve armed conflicts, address the human security impacts of climate change, and prevent future cross-border economic shocks. The commission is expexted to release their recommendations in advance of U.N’s 70th anniversary in September 2015. With membership drawn from far and wide, the array and calibre of membership of this commission is a confirmation of Gambari’s resourcefulness and acceptance in the international community.

    Nearly a month ago, Gambari, a distinguished Nigerian and world citizen turned 70. His life in the past 31 years has been devoted to public service and indeed service to mankind. He needs no introduction, having held office as Foreign Affairs Minister after the collapse of the Second Republic. He holds the record of being the longest serving Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations (January 1990 to October 1999), and altogether served under five Heads of State and President.  He was born in Ilorin, Kwara State, in 1944, and his aristocratic background must have played a role in his devotion to service. He left indelible imprints in the world politics and international system.

    I met Gambari during my undergraduate years. I was in need of a copy of his book, Theory and Reality in Foreign Policy Decision Making. Knowing that he lived outside the country, I was faced with an uphill task. With his email address, I was able to start what is now a lifelong friendship. In spite of his stature as an international civil servant, he attended to my request with dispatch and sent the book from his US base through his son (who has since then become our reliable courier). You are bound to be touched by Gambari’s humility.

    Gambari’s appointment as Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) was the beginning of his involvement in Nigeria’s foreign policy in its entirety. To assert that he was prepared for this challenge will be an understatement, for having received M.A. and Ph.D. both in Political Science/International Relations from Columbia University, he came fully prepared. He was in this position till his appointment as the Minister of External Affairs following the December 1983 change of government by the military. His tenure in office witnessed the high point of Nigeria’s engagement in international politics, and chiefly the Dikko affair (a foiled attempt to return the erstwhile Minister of Transport, the late Alhaji Umaru Dikko to the country from London in a crate), which was handled with utmost professionalism. Based on principle, he rejected the position of Minister of Education at the end of his tenure in August 1985 because his former bosses were still in detention.

    Writing extensively on Nigeria’s foreign policy, regional economic integration and International politics, he has captured his rich hands-on experience in numerous books. As an academic, and in spite of his diplomatic calling, he has published and continues to publish articles in national and international scholarly journals.

    As Nigeria’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Gambari was a senior member of the Nigerian Delegation to 10 consecutive sessions of the General Assembly (44th to 54th); he also served as President of the Security Council on two occasions (May 1994 and October 1995).  He has chaired the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid, which successfully saw the fall of that long-standing social injustice and the establishment of democratic rule in South Africa.

    He led several United Nations Missions, including the Special Committee Against Apartheid to South Africa and the Security Council Missions to South Africa, Burundi, Rwanda and Mozambique. Gambari also chaired the UN Special Committee on Peace-Keeping Operations.  He served as member, Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR) and also President, Executive Board of UNICEF. He later served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission to Angola (UNMA), and in that capacity helped to bring the peace process under the Lusaka Protocol to a successful conclusion.

    Upon completion of his mission assignment as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative in 1999, the UN, in recognition of his expertise offered him yet another appointment as Under-Secretary/Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on African Affairs. He later became the Under-Secretary/Head, Political Affairs Department of the UN- the most important office after that of the Secretary General. Gambari served the UN as Under-Secretary/Special envoy of the UN Secretary-General to the troubled Myanmar where his mediatory efforts yielded fruits, and led to multi-party democracy and the release of Aang Sun kyi from house arrest after close to two decades,  and her election into the parliament.

    The career of this seasoned diplomat in the UN cuts across important committees, commissions and special assignments including the chair of UN Security Council, UN committee on Apartheid, the head and special representative of UN Secretary –General to Cyprus, International compact with Iraq, UN special envoy to Myanmar (formerly Burma) and until recently joint UN-AU special representative to Darfur. Among the highpoints of his illustrious career was his role as the last chairperson of the UN Committee against Apartheid, under which aegis he presented UN’s congratulatory letter to the legendary Nelson Mandela during his inauguration as President of South Africa in 1994. In connection with this role, Gambari was in October 2012 honoured by the government and people of South-Africa with the highest decoration reserved for foreign recipients.

    He was in 2013 appointed the pioneer Chancellor of Kwara State University, (KWASU) Malete, by Governor Abdul Fatah Ahmed, and he was a member of the just concluded National Conference. He was the first African in 1985 to be conferred with the title, Honorary Professor by Chugsan University (founded by and named after Dr. Sun Yat Sen, leader of the 1911 Peasant Revolution and first President of Nationalist China); the University of Bridgeport (USA)  awarded him the Doctor of Humane Letters degree (honoris causa); the prestigious in 2002 Johns Hopkins University elected him in 2002 to membership of the University’s Society of Scholars; and the Government of Nigeria in 2003 awarded him the national honour, Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR).

    His commitment to peace and security of the world inspired him to establish the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, a non-governmental think-tank based in Abuja, Nigeria. The centre is devoted to critical analyses of and solutions to the problems of conflict prevention, management and resolution; democratization and sustainable development in Africa.

    Gambari’s greatest attributes are listening, patience, writing, reading voraciously and power of retention, humility and promotion of friendship. He has touched the lives of so many people and has made a significant difference in many of those lives, be it through mediating in conflicts or by helping to maintain the thin social fabric that conflicts so often tear apart. Gambari’s compassion and deep respect for the human person regardless of their background is widely acclaimed. Even after my graduation from the university, I have continued to enjoy what might be considered the paternal support of this uncommon Nigerian. Ours has grown into a father and son relationship. He shared with me moments of joy and despair, especially after a recent auto accident. He not only stood by me, he rendered every support to aid my full recovery.

    I must salute the humility and kindness of this great son of Africa and a distinguished Nigerian. May Allah continue to protect him and his household.

    • Badejo writes from Surulere, Lagos State.

  • Bukola Saraki at 52

    His father was the issue in any political discussion on Kwara State, until he gracefully bowed to the great beyond. Today, Bukola Saraki, scion of the legendary political wizard popularly called Olooye, is still the issue in the politics of Kwara. His father was the issue because none of his opponents could muster half of what he did in terms of political support and followership; none of them could establish and nurture a strong, viable political structure that could determine the pendulum of electoral victory so easily and dramatically as he did in the second republic when by a mere overnight announcement, the vote swung against the ruling NPN and delivered a resounding victory to the hitherto opposition UPN.

    They said so many things against him while he was alive, even though many of those who abused him then are today singing his praises. They criticised his style of consensus politicking which ensured there were no bickering as he led them to the electoral battle-field because it denied them the opportunities of ‘eating’ from post-primaries conflict. They frowned at his penchant for choosing the ‘nobodies’; men and women who by virtue of their poor economic background would never have hoped to become state functionaries, to become officials of state simply because it denied them what they thought was theirs by virtue of their wealth and privileged exposures and opportunities.

    They accused him of abusing humanity because he had a large followership of men and women who understood his philosophy of structured empowerment; men and women whose lives were regularly touched by his deep heart of compassion which made him organise diverse philanthropic activities that gave him the nickname Agoro bogun bolu; the community leader who takes care of both the soldiers at the warfront and the entire populace besieged by enemy forces. None of his opponents could do half of what he did, none of them could give half of what he gave, even when they had in abundance, none of them could go with their followers to half the length he went with his own. None of them could stay with their followers for the length of time he spent with his own; none of them could give detailed attention to their followers as much as Olooye gave his own. He served his people for years without bringing any of his children to benefit from the system. Of course most of his opponents were ‘foreign’ politicians who only came home to paste posters during election time and go back after their losses. In the real sense of it, they had nobody they could call, ‘my people’, as Olooye used to refer to his followers. ý

    They accused the father, and now it is the son, labelled differently as they did his father. It is not  strange though, after all, the Yoruba have a saying that your enemy can never credit you with the killing of a great game. It is amusing but ridiculous. None of those in the opposition, including the failed ones, grants a media interview without mentioning the name, Saraki. None of them can tell of his manifesto without mentioning the federal lawmaker. None could speak to their constituents without telling them they must deal with Saraki. Saraki, is the issue. And yet they say they want to silence a man they keep talking about!

    Like some left his father because he chose the ‘nobodies’ against them, some have also left the son because he followed in the footsteps of his father. They left because of failed personal ambition. They left the same system that made them because they wanted to subdue others of lesser social status. They left because of greed and envy, inpatience and jealousy. Those who parted company with him did so not because of differences in ideology; no, they decided to leave his company because they cannot understand why those who were seen as having no hope to have their names mentioned among the greats of Ilorin, nay Kwara State, could suddenly be catapulted to limelight through the political structure he inherited from his father and which he has made unprecedentedly more inclusive.

    Today, like his father, Saraki  has organised, by popular consensus,  the most peaceful, rancour free primaries at all levels in the state throwing up the people based on equity and justice. It is the only state in Nigeria without the usual political acrimonies and mudslinging. No protest, no defection from the party.

    Yet, the opposition call him all sort of names to appear righteous before the ignorant among their followers and satisfy their paymasters in Abuja.  We say the ‘ignorant’ because we know there are many among their followers who know these emergency critics are fake and are only enduring them to take their own share of the free money they are spending. On the D-Day, they will come to their natural habitats; that we know for sure. It is already manifesting.

    None of them has done anything new to empower the people following them; whatever they are doing now is what Saraki, the father started and which Saraki, the son has continued doing unabated. And even at that, why did it have to take their breaking away for them to start helping people when all along that has been the mantra of their leader? In their days with him, they hid their wealth and pretended there was nothing on them but now that they have rebelled, they are spending money to entice the same people they had told they were poor by following Saraki.

    What do they take the people for? Fools? Do they think they will not ask questions as to where they suddenly got the money “they are sharing”? Kwarans  know the truth. They know the opposition lied to them and are still deceiving them simply because they want their votes.

    Some of them are making their political debut but already imposing their dummies and children at the expense of those who have laboured hard for heir party, yet they accused Saraki of imposition. He never imposed his children who are as qualified, if not more qualified, on the people. What do they take the people for? Money mongers? Okay, time will tell.

    There are many issues to face instead of abusing Bukola Saraki. The Ilorin-Kabba Road is there. Ajase-Ipo/Offa road is there. The abandoned/ half done Asa Dam channelization is there. The dwindling financial fortunes of our country under an apparently inept administration is there. And of course, the over 250 kidnapped girls, not to talk of several others who have since been abducted since the start of the ‘419’ ceasefire, are still in the hands of our enemies. Shouldn’t their plight be a matter for discourse on the politics of 2015?

    As you celebrate yet another birthday today, I facilitate with you, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, political strategist plenipotentiary and worthy ambassador of Kwara State, for being a man of the moment. Congratulations and happy birthday, Distinguished Senator.

    • Oba writes from Iloriný

  • CPC, Coca-Cola and limits of reason

    I have a strong fascination for Nigerian proverbs, and it increases every time I have had cause to explore the deeper meaning and the life lessons encoded in each one of those wise, witty sayings. But, as the full weight of a proverb is better felt in its native language, much of the impact of these proverbs often get lost in translation.

    Have you heard this one: “You have pulled the trigger, why chase after the bullet?” I heard it long ago from an elderly manwho was admonishing a younger groom. The latter, obviously a conceited bully, was adamant on sending his wife packing for allegedly challenging his authority in public, even after the poor lady and his own parents had tired of explaining her action and begging for forgiveness.

    That proverb is a subtle admonition usually to an aggrieved person who has begun to react beyond the limits of reason or is unwilling to let go, even after his point is made. In other words, it says “You’ve made your point, don’t insist on a needless or foolish course to assuage your ego”.

    This wise counsel comes to my mind each time I read another of the unending twist in the unnecessary and unfortunate media blitz on the court case involving the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) and Coca-Cola and its bottling partner, NBC over “two short-filled cans of Sprite”. I normally do not like soap operas or anything resembling them. However, I have followed these obviously orchestrated media reports on CPC and Coca-Cola/NBCbecause it involves big business and a regulator.

    It seems to me that on this particular issue, someone pulled the trigger and has been chasing after the bullet to guide it aright.I do not wish to be a bore by rehashing the background details; there is already enough online.  Just in case you are late to the party, here is a summary: CPC investigated a consumer complaint in late 2013 involving two short-filled cans of Sprite during which it claimed to have found that Coca-Cola and its bottling partner, NBC did not have processes for quality assurance, product traceability and consumer complaints resolution.

    Consequently, the council directed the two companies to, among other measures, subject their production processes to its inspection for 12 months and to pay within seven days a sum of N100,050,000 broken down as follows: N40 million as civil penalties, N60 million as cost of CPC’s investigations and N50,000 as compensation to the consumer/complainant. The two companies disagreed with the CPC’s investigation report and the attendant orders and therefore applied to the courts for judicial review of the orders. But CPC reported the matter to the Attorney General of the Federation, who slammed criminal charges on the two companies and their CEOs, alleging failure to comply with the CPC orders.

    So, which party pulled the trigger and is nowchasing after the bullet? Every right thinking person in our society ought to be glad that the CPC is standing up for our orphaned consumers and is taking big business to task in defense of the consumer. If, indeed, Coca-Cola and NBC have a poorer quality standard in our country and are deliberately short-changing consumers through “short-filling” their packages as the CPC seems to have alleged, then the full weight of the law must be brought to bear on both companies. But, more importantly, the processes for arriving at this very weighty conclusion and its consequence management must be such that would in the end portray CPC and the Nigerian government as acting within both the law and the limits of reason.

    In my view, this does not seem to be the case and the CPC is unwittingly pulling the rug from its own feet through its ill-advised chase of the bullet, as its actions in almost every angle of this case appears excessive, if not precipitate. In the first instance, I hope that the agency has adequate technical capacity to investigate a food production facility and, if not, that it collaborated with sister agencies like NAFDAC and Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) to arrive at the conclusion that Coca-Cola’s production processes lacked effective quality assurance, as this is not a mean indictment for a company of Coca-Cola’s pedigree.

    No less a commentator than Simon Kolawole in his back page piece in the November 31, 2014 edition of Thisday on Sunday described the whopping sum of N100,050,000 that CPC imposed on Coca-Cola and NBC as “daylight robbery”. It cannot be better said. Also interesting is that CPC apportioned the lion’s share of N60million to itself as cost of the investigation and another N40 million as civil penalties, whereas the poor consumer/complainant whose cause CPC is supposed to be fighting gets a paltry N50,000 or 0.05% of the booty. Truly a “daylight robbery”!

    CPC also appears to have been less tactful with the profuse manner it has used the media on the issue. From the press conference it hurried convened in Lagos in February where it showcased its investigation report hot from the press, to the clearly orchestrated same-day media blitz in October across print and online channels advertising the criminal charges and, of course, the sustained and sensational media coverage of subsequent court hearings in the matter.

    This approach is tactless and the agency should rather be focusing its mind and resources on winning the case in court, so that it can hopefully gain a judicial precedent that will establish the expansive scope to which it seems to have stretched its powers in the Coca-Cola/NBC matter. What if, after all of this media blitz, the court decides that CPC had acted out of order?

    The agency’s media goal in this case seems to be to amplify the nuisance factor, and this may be anchored on the perception that multinational corporations become vulnerable whenever their reputation is threatened. The ultimate aim is possibly to weaken the companies’ resolve to press on with the judicial review and thereby force them to pay the outrageous sum or to some form of settlement arrangement in order to have peace.

    How else does one explain the criminalization of the companies’ decision to seek judicial review of the orders, the orchestrated media blitz on the criminal case and the latest twist, i.e. the unleashing of activist NGOs and lawyers, all of whom are accusing the companies of impunity?

    It is noteworthy that impunity or reverse impunity is more grievous when it is committed by a government or its agency, as there is no further recourse for the victim and such act encourages everyone else to follow suit and it sends wrong signals about our country.

    My piece of honest advice to the Director-General of CPC is four-fold: first, the media is an unpredictable and often dangerous wave to ride to fame. Secondly, regulation is serious business and cannot be effectively and sustainably carried out with melodramatic approach. Thirdly, the fixation onthe Coca-Cola/NBC case seems to have blinded the agency to the entrenched abuses that consumers suffer in many sectors across our land. Finally, you have pulled the trigger, do not chase after the bullet. Let the courts finish the job!

    • Oluwo, an analyst, writes from Lagos.

  • On NDIC and bank depositors

    Our attention has been drawn to the editorial published in The Nation, page 19 of Wednesday, December 3, titled: “Big Scandal”. The editorial which claimed that the N25 billion depositors’ funds recovered from 48 closed banks in the past 25 years is yet to be claimed by the bank customers is quite confounding. The relevant part quotes: “Whatever excuses it gives, NDIC has not done enough to return funds to depositors of failed banks, even after 25 years”. This statement is to say the least misleading.

    The mandate of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) includes Deposit Guarantee, Banking Supervision, Failure Resolution and Banking Liquidation. Over the past 25 years, the NDIC has continued to discharge its mandate in an efficient and effective manner to attain its public policy objectives of protecting depositors and contributing to financial system stability.

    In the area of Claims Settlement, the focus of the editorial, the NDIC has performed creditably. Out of the total deposits of ¦ 206.22 billion in the 48 deposit money banks (DMBs) at the dates of their closure in 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2006, the insured deposits stood at ¦ 12.19 billion of which a cumulative sum of N6.825 billion had been paid to 528,277 depositors of the DMBs as at September 30. Similarly, the corporation had reimbursed a cumulative sum of N2.756 billion during the same period to 80,059 insured depositors of 103 microfinance banks (MFBs) which were closed in 2010 and 83 in 2013.

    In the same vein, a cumulative sum of ¦ 100.33 billion was received as liquidation dividends by 250,497 depositors of the 48 closed DMBs as at September 30. The payment of the liquidation dividends to depositors with claims in excess of the insured sums in the closed DMBs and MFBs was from the proceeds realised on the sale of the closed banks’ physical assets and recoveries from debts owed to them.

    That is not all. The corporation had also paid cumulative liquidation dividend of N2.031 billion to 453 shareholders of Alpha Merchant Bank, Pan African Bank and Nigeria Merchant Bank as well as first liquidation dividend of ¦ 6,405,773.50 which was paid to seven depositors of Gulf Bank and ¦ 82,083,26223 to 23 shareholders of Rims Merchant Bank (in-liquidation) respectively as at September 2014. Similarly, 446 creditors of Cooperative and Commerce Bank (CCB) received the sum of ¦ 179,311,178.65 while 24 creditors of Premier Commercial Bank in-liquidation were paid ¦ 1,671,827.97 as dividend during the same period. It is also worth noting that the NDIC had declared a final dividend of 100 percent of total deposits to 14 closed banks, indicating that all the depositors of the banks had fully recovered their deposits.

    It is imperative to draw the attention of your newspaper to some of the daunting challenges the NDIC had faced in its liquidation activities during the last 25 years.

    At the time the banking licences of the 48 banks were revoked, the NDIC had to deploy some of its staff to the various bank head offices and their branches for up to one year to fast track the settlement of depositors’ claims. During that period, most of the depositors with large balances collected their money.

    Most of the balances outstanding in the deposit registers of the closed banks today are small balances and had been abandoned by the account owners prior to the liquidation of the banks. These types of accounts dominate the deposit balances that are unclaimed by depositors.

    It is also important to note that some of the closed banks did not maintain proper records of their customers’ addresses in the mandate cards and even where they were available, some of the depositors had relocated to unknown addresses. In addition, most of the customers at that time had no mobile phones or telephone lines as we have today. It was therefore very difficult to either contact or locate their current addresses.

    It is only in this jurisdiction that the banking licence of a bank will be revoked and the owners who failed to take appropriate steps to turn around their bank would proceed to court to stop the NDIC from fulfilling its obligation to depositors. The legal action instituted by the owners of Peak Merchant Bank Ltd, Fortune Bank Plc and Triumph Bank Ltd which are still pending in various courts are classical examples.

    In view of the fact that loans and advances usually constitute the largest portion of banks’ assets, it needs to be understood that the inability of the corporation to pay liquidation dividends to depositors with claims in excess of the insured sums and other eligible claimants has largely been impaired by all the factors indicated above.

    Notwithstanding the above mentioned daunting challenges confronting the NDIC in discharging depositors’ claims settlement, the corporation had taken concrete steps to address the situation, which include but are not limited to the following:

    First, when a bank is closed prior to commencement of initial payout, advertisements are placed in selected national dailies as well as commercial announcements and depositor protection awareness radio and television jingles in major local languages. Local announcements are also made in churches and mosques, requesting customers of the closed banks to go to appointed agent banks nearest to their bank branches and file their claims. Filing of claims is a simple process of providing evidence to show that the account belongs to you. That was the process employed for the 35 banks that were closed prior to bank consolidation in 2006.

    Secondly, the accounts of the depositors who could not file their claims during the initial payouts were passed on to agent banks nearest to the closed banks’ branches where the depositors maintained accounts to continue payment to them. That was to save costs and avoid risks by the depositors from travelling long distances to collect their hard earned money.

    Third, the situation was different for the depositors of the 13 banks closed after 2006 under the Purchase & Assumption (P&A) failure resolution option, as their deposit liabilities were transferred by NDIC to the banks that acquired their parent (i.e. closed) banks. Under that arrangement, a depositor had the option to collect his/her total money from the acquiring bank or continue to maintain an account with it. Many depositors chose to continue to enjoy banking services with the acquiring banks.

    Fourth, in its efforts to improve payout in respect of the other 35 banks in-liquidation, the corporation initiated “depositors’ tracing” which involved locating the customer’s last known address appearing in the failed bank’s record in order to reach them. Although this effort yielded reasonable results, most of the depositors could not be located at their last known addresses.

    Under Section 22 (4) of the amended NDIC Act, any depositor of a failed insured institution who fails to claim his/her insured deposit from the corporation within six years after the notice of payment to the depositors is published in two national dailies and electronic media houses, such depositors shall forfeit their claims to the corporation. However, the NDIC in the 2006 amendment of its Act sought and obtained powers for its Board to extend from time to time the period within which a depositor is required under the new Act to file claim for the payment of insured deposit in a failed bank.

    In order to enhance its ability in the payment of liquidation dividends to uninsured depositors, the corporation designed a number of measures to facilitate debt recovery.  Among these measures are appointment of debt recovery agents, pursue debt recovery through court processes, selling of some of the debts owed to the closed banks to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and obtaining the CBN’s approval to deny bad debtors to closed banks owing N250 million and above from accessing new facilities from any other bank operating in the country.

    In conclusion, the NDIC, as a transparent organisation with the primary mandate of protecting depositors’ interest, is continuously determined to ensure that depositors of failed banks are promptly reimbursed. The corporation also wishes to put it on record that it will not abdicate its primary mandate of depositor protection. Instead, it remains resolute in partnering with key stakeholders, including the press to continue to protect depositors’ interest and also contribute to financial system stability.

    • Birchi is Head, Communication & Public Affairs, NDIC

  • COMMENTS

    COMMENTS

    For Segun Gbadegesin

    Good writeup but it must be noted that President Jonathan’s government is six years old and not four years. So, one may ask whether six years serial failures of no motion but deaths and violence unprecedented and monumental corruption can be further endured for another four years. From Ade, Abuja

    I have read your article in the back  page  of The Nation putting GEJ and the General side by side for an issue-based campaign, but I want to tell Nigerians that President Jonathan has nothing else to offer than unfufilled promises and signs of incompetence. Please check the three words in the Generals open letter to his party delegates. Corruption, insecurity and the fall of our great economy. All these three factors have not been addressed by President Jonathan  for the past  six years in office and yet he wants re-election. Lets forget about President Jonathan as he can never keep to his  words, the General’s word is his bond, he  is the solution to Nigeria’s problems at this cross-road. God bless Nigeria. From Kings, Port-Harcourt    

    It is good to have people like you. Your writing on issues at stake is marvelous. Thanks. From Ibrahim,Kano.

    If Governor Shema actually made the comment credited to him,too bad.Thats politics with bitterness in its crudest form.He needs to apologise publicly the same way he made the remarks,except if his denial for making the comment could as well mean showing of remorse for such unfortunate statement.That way,he can still be pardoned all the same.It really takes a leader or public figure with a large heart to accept his mistakes and apologise publicly. From Emmanuel Egwu

    Re: “Decision 2015: Issues at stake.” At last, the two Presidential candidates of two major political parties, APC and PDP,  have finally been picked by their repective parties. The next line of actions is the commencement of issues based electioneering campaings that will make them sell their programmes to the electorate and make the usual pledges and promises of what they will do. but at a time when there is misgovernance and we yearn for a change, it is expected that the APC will not feel shy to address the mistakes committed by the PDP in the areas of economy, security and corruption that has become a fish bone now hanging. in the throat of the nation and requiring a good, disciplined and competent leader to remove. As the PDP had woeflly failed to perform for the past 14 years, one expects that Nigerians will be looking up to the APC candidate General Buhari, for good leadership and improved security of lives and property, especially for the people in the North who,  I am sure, have suffered in the hands of Boko Haram who continues to kill innocent souls daily like rats for the past three years. So, the year 2015 is a year of decisionn and I hope the electorate will make a wise decision devoid of manipulations from the ruling party. From Prince Adewumi Oyeromade Agunloye

     

    For Olatunji Dare

    On implosion that never was; I congratulate both Governor Fashola SAN and Senator Tinubu. For Tinubu, his task is beyond Lagos, for he must ensure that with assistance from other leaders in other parts of Nigeria, Buhari as presidential candidate, Fashola as his vice, Ngige as Senate president and Amechi as Petroleum minister, President Jonathan is sent to Otuoke by road from Aso Rock. From Victor Nwaugo, Aba, Abia state

    Re-The implosion that never was.   I  do think the earlier pronouncement of Mr Akin Ambode by Asiwaju and Oba Akiolu was a leakage of a question paper. However, it ended well, having allowed the primaries to have taken place. I do not see any joy the PDP would derive from an envisaged implosion in APC. Head or tail, both would have competed at the battlefield. Let the Asiwaju and company put their house in order henceforth by stopping imposition of any candidate for peace to reign and democracy to thrive.      From Lanre  Oseni.

    The implosion I don’t pray PDP take over Lagos, because if they do ? May God help the people of the state. They are another set of human beings. I am not saying APC are saints but I will rather vote for a pick-pocket than vote for an armed robber that operates without fear of anybody. From Idris

  • Environmental regeneration in Lagos

    There is a virtue to the credit of governance in Lagos. The environment has been transformed to the admiration of all to the extent that many in the country now copy the good deed to turn their own enclaves into better cities and states.

    Recent commissioning of the Agege Waste Transfer Loading Station (TLS) has brought into sharp relief the yeoman effort exerted by Environment Commissioner Tunji Bello, with his two bosses, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Governor Babatunde Fashola, to bring about a turn-around on the deplorable Lagos environment.

    The Agege TLS is the third in the ambitious list of 20 stations earmarked to cover the entire state. It has been built to serve Ikeja, Ifako-Ijaye, Agege, Ojokoro and Orile. TLS construction is only one of three special phases of the concerted effort to bring filth-menace under control in Lagos. The other two are the use of dumpsites and the building of waste recycling plants.

    At the commissioning, Governor Fashola lucidly and expertly explained that solid waste management has gone beyond simply collecting and transporting refuse. It has become a mega enterprise, playing a paramount role in urban development and governance.

    There goes a trademark. They always know what they are talking about. These Lagos handlers have fully comprehended the problem they are up against and have been able to design the solution from a position of competence. Also, they do not spare expenses and are not deterred by the danger inherent in enforcement. They show themselves to be people of courage. I think people even call one of them The Last Man Standing after a fierce battle then-extant President Olusegun Obasanjo waged to bring entire South-west zone into the PDP.

    Tinubu, Fashola and Tunji Bello have made the difference in the matter concerning Lagos environment. The joy in their foray is that they are so informed about the problem and that they deftly access or create skills and expertise needed to confront the challenge. That is why they are winning where the military rulers woefully failed.

    It was not that the military didn’t do a thing. Their best was not good enough because they didn’t have a thorough knowledge of the problem or the solution. Happily, the state has come a long way from those days of yore when the military held sway in Lagos. The giant metropolitan entity was a jungle city, covered in hills of rubbish and enveloped in great stench that oozed from the decomposing wastes.

    Motor-parks, market places and downtown centres at Ojota, Oyingbo, Ladipo, Alaba, Ijora, Oshodi, Yaba, Marina etc, had their hidden vicinities turned into open toilets and dens of mischief.

    Diseases were rampant and death from unsanitary environment was commonplace. The late social activist and leading light, Dr Tai Solarin of that era, regularly hit newspaper front-pages salvaging some of those dead bodies. It got so bad at a stage Lagos clinched the unflattering epithet of being the dirtiest capital in the world.

    These gory environmental circumstances remained prevalent at the onset of this civilian dispensation in Lagos when Senator Bola Tinubu assigned Barrister Tunji Bello as commissioner for the environment. Work commenced. A body of new environmental rules was churned out. Where there is no law there is no offence. It became an offence, for example to throw garbage out of vehicles to the roads or sweep waste into gutters.

    Close on the heel of law enactment were the recruitment and training of officers and men as environment law enforcers. Tens of thousands of sweepers and cleaners were also engaged to keep the Lagos streets spick and span. Thousands of workers were similarly employed to labour and build wastelands in Oshodi, Mile-Two, Ojota, Ketu, Yaba, Palmgrove, Ojuelegba, Marina, Apapa, Costain etc into gardens of flourishing trees and flowers. Major city streets and roads were also paved and planted with trees as boulevards in the making.

    The battle to reclaim the environment also involved the creation of giant dumpsites all over the metropolis to which the huge hills of waste were hauled and incinerated. But in a state with ever-increasing population which generates refuse that rises by six to eight percent per annum, the dumpsites cannot be a final solution.

    Government therefore had to rise to the occasion establishing Waste Transfer Loading Stations. One each had been built at Oshodi and Simpson (Island) before the one in Agege that we now celebrate. Four others are reported to be under construction simultaneously at Ogombo, Abule-Egba, Ishasi and Owutu. The Agege TLS has been built by 850 professionals and artisans in 14 months on a piece of land from which 165,000 metric tonnes of waste was evacuated.

    The great efforts invested on regenerating the Lagos environment under the watch of Commissioner Bello have paid off handsomely. The megacity status has been enhanced. The infrastructure has been modernized. The ability to clean and beautify the state has been established. More jobs are created for the unemployed. More contractors are put to work.

    We now have a state so environmentally stable it can easily demolish the influx of a plague like that by the Ebola Virus Disease which infected the state this year and was effectively repulsed. In the past the EVD would have reigned supreme in Lagos as it now does in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

    The international community has also been very quick in recognizing the metamorphosis of Lagos into a world-class modern state to live in or visit as tourist or business persons. According to MasterCard’s Global Destination Cities’ Index, Lagos has today become the fourth most visited city in Africa with 1.3 million visitors this year.

    In 15 short years, the massive environmental regeneration battle waged by Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola and Tunji Bello has yielded happy dividends. Environmentally, Eko has become a better city to live in and a famous destination for tourists.

     

    • Amupitan wrote in from Lagos.

  • SURE-P: Three years after

    Three years ago, Nigeria was in the frenzied grip of another sort of campaign. There were intense arguments for, and against the planned removal of fuel subsidy. By January 2012, organised Labour paralysed the country with a nationwide strike that had echoes of similar work stoppages in the preceding decade when fuel prices were increased rather peremptorily. In the heat of the debate, anyone could have been forgiven for being cynically dismissive of the federal government’s insistent pledge of what it would do with its own share of the savings from the partial withdrawal of fuel subsidy.

    Now, three years later, it is fair to ask whether the cynics have seen their worst fears materialise. On the contrary, there is growing evidence that the federal government is keeping faith with its pledge of judicious use of its accruals arising from the fuel subsidy removal.

    Let’s take a sampler from infrastructural development. In 2006, the federal government awarded the dualisation of the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja highway. But the project languished in the doldrums owing to inadequate geological surveys occasioning poor design, and majorly the abject lack of funding, as the annual budget of the Federal Ministry of Works could hardly make any impact. Contractors abandoned their various sites on the Lots. Since 2012, following the launch of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) by the federal government, the story of the project has changed dramatically: the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja expressway is now a reality.

    Similarly, for more than two decades, the Benin-Ore-Sagamu expressway had collapsed, and the remedial patchwork that often was carried out on that critical arterial road was as laughable as it was dangerous. SURE-P funding is now making a huge difference that is clearly measurable in the reduced travel times on that route. The Benin-Ore part of the expressway has been totally reconstructed, while work is proceeding determinedly on the Ore-Sagamu axis. Indeed, the story is the same with the on-going total reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, which has a basket of funding to which SURE-P is contributory.

    Move over to the Loko-Oweto bridge that connects Nasarawa and Benue states, and SURE-P funding is the reason why the project is already more than 65 per cent complete, not to reference the hundreds of direct and indirect jobs being created in the process. Furthermore, the SURE-P wallet is one of the assured sources for financing the much-delayed Second Niger Bridge, the ground-breaking ceremony of which was performed this year by President Goodluck Jonathan. After many sorrowful years for commuters, the East-West Road was at about 22 per cent completion in early 2012 when SURE-P was created. Within two years of injecting funds, the East-West Road has notched more than 70 per cent completion with a new lot added, not to mention overcoming the havoc wreaked by the floods of 2012.

    The Lagos-Kano rail line that represents the Western line of Nigerian Railways is active today with regular commuter and cargo traffic, because of massive supplementary funding by SURE-P. The Eastern corridor, which runs from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri has also witnessed tremendous rehabilitation, on account of SURE-P financing. But one must also add that the brand new standard gauge rail line from Kaduna-Abuja is a dream come true, because SURE-P weighed in with funds. It is also deploying resources of up to N10 billion in support of the Abuja light rail project that is expected to ease intra-city transportation upon completion.

    The 21-member committee that manages SURE-P as a unique interventionist agency was established on February 13, 2012, after the smoke cleared from the protests against the partial withdrawal of subsidy. The mandate is judicious and transparent application of the federal government’s 41 per cent share of the subsidy savings. The funds are domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). All the 36 states of the federation and the 774 local governments are entitled jointly to 54 per cent of the subsidy savings, while the remaining five per cent goes to Ecological Fund, as well as cost of collection.

    SURE-P started receiving funds in July 2012. From then until now, it has received a total of N441 billion. The programme has an annual allocation of N180 billion, but its receipts so far have been N126 billion (2012), N180 billion (2013), and N135 billion (2014). SURE-P operates through specialised sub-committees and project implementation units that are embedded in, but insulated as much as practicable from the stifling bureaucracy in relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). SURE-P does not choose or award contracts on behalf of the MDAs. However, projects and programmes that are targeted for funding are evaluated by SURE-P in-house technical staff and outside consultants where necessary, to certify work done, before payment certificates are approved. The payment certificates are then forwarded to the Federal Budget Office, which scrutinizes the certificates, before advising the CBN, which credits the contractor’s account. This approach, no doubt, has boosted the confidence of contractors handling the infrastructure projects, hence the rapid milestones they have achieved in so short a time.

    SURE-P is focused primarily on critical infrastructure projects and social safety net programmes, which directly and positively impact on the people. The infrastructure projects include roads, bridges, and railway. On the other hand, the social safety net programmes cover mass transit; maternal and child health; community service, women and youth empowerment (incorporating the Graduate Internship Scheme); public works (under the aegis of the Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA); vocational training, as well as culture and tourism.

    If SURE-P can crow about its achievements in infrastructure intervention, it can crow even louder about the impact of aspects of its social safety net programme, which are not as visible as roads and bridges. Let us take it for granted that the major works in railways and on roads and bridges are generating jobs. Yet many more jobs are being created in the course of executing the social safety net programmes. No fewer than 12,400 youths have been engaged in maintaining 40 priority federal highways nationwide under the FERMA Public Works project. In the same vein, more than 120,000 jobs have been created for the youth, women, and physically challenged across the federation, under the community, social, women and youth empowerment programme. This is just as thousands of graduates have taken advantage of the Graduate Internship Scheme that prepares them for employment, even as they receive monthly stipends.

    By far the most remarkable is the landmark success in the Maternal and Child Healthcare programme. The programme is designed to increase the supply of skilled health workers to offer maternal and child health services at the primary health care (PHC) level, undertake infrastructural renovations to PHC centres, raise supply of essential commodities at PHC facilities with a view to upscaling service delivery, and above all to increase demand for maternal and child health care services in underserved and rural communities by deploying conditional cash transfers. As at August, SURE-P had recruited nationwide 11,912 health care workers made up of 2,811 midwives, 3,133 community health extension workers (CHEWs), and 5,966 female village health workers.

    Three years ago, who could have believed that the successes recorded thus far by SURE-P were possible? No one can assert that SURE-P is perfect; but it has shown what 41 per cent has achieved, and what lies ahead. If only we could also tally the aggregate positive showing of states and local governments with their combined 54 per cent receipts, we would have a much happier picture that the firm promises of partial subsidy withdrawal are being kept.

     

    • Omafume, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja.

     

  • HDP’s judicial victory as fresh hope for de-registered parties

    HDP’s judicial victory as fresh hope for de-registered parties

    Taking advantage of the opportunities offered INEC by the HDP verdict will help correct the error of the earlier disobedience of the FRESH court ruling. But when such opportunities are ignored, it leaves the wrong impression that justice matters only when it benefits the strong

    CLERGYMAN cum politician, Rev. Chris Okotie, has not ceased to be in the news since his Fresh Democratic Party (FRESH) squared up with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the de-registration of the party in December, 2012. Although it was not the only party that came under INEC’s hammer for alleged failure to meet certain regulations of the electoral body, FRESH succeeded in getting its ban upturned by Justice G. O. Kolawole of the Federal High Court 5, Abuja Division. Also recently, Hope Democratic Party (HDP) secured a separate but similar victory at Justice Ademola Adeniyi’s Federal High Court, Abuja. FRESH supporters are upbeat that the latest verdict would help the cause of the flamboyant man of God who is billed to host his annual GRACE programme, which highlights the popular KARIS awards, on Sunday, December 14,. While the street of Household of God Church, Oregun, Lagos is already being decorated with Christmas lights in preparation for the pastor’s biggest annual feast, the struggle for FRESH’s recertifcation remains the biggest issue on the lips of his supporters. Just as FRESH top shots are hopeful that the party would be recertified before the general election, Pastor Okotie is ever optimistic he will be one of the presidential contenders come Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2015 elections. Even his fiercest critics agree that the pastorpolitician has gained tremendous following over the dogged manner he has been pursuing his political project since 2003. Now, a note of caution: institutions like INEC, at this period of electoral politics, must work towards the preservation of our political process. Every structure in the polity should uphold the tenets of democracy—free speech, liberty, justice and self-governance—to salvage the credibility of our democracy which has been bastardised by a select group. Following the recent voiding of HDP’s de-registration, the disregard of the judicial process which INEC is engaging FRESH cannot but be viewed as a reign of impunity. Since July 2014, when INEC filed a notice of appeal challenging FRESH’s victory in the judgment Justice Kolawole delivered to void the deregistration of the party, the Commission has neglected the appeal it notified the court about nine months after the legally stipulated time. Justice Adeniyi was reported to have queried INEC’s refusal to comply with Justice Kolawole’s judgment, stating: “…the provisions of the law made it mandatory for court judgments to be given immediate enforcement… The orders must be obeyed. No selective obedience. The orders must be complied with immediately”. Although he warned INEC to immediately comply with his judgment, it is left to be seen if the agency will comply with this latest directive, by relisting the FRESH party in time for it to participate in the 2015 general election. Taking advantage of the opportunities offered INEC by the HDP verdict will help correct the error of the earlier disobedience of the FRESH court ruling. But when such opportunities are ignored, it leaves the wrong impression that justice matters only when it benefits the strong. The PDP and the smaller parties are locked in bitter dispute over the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended). The belief in certain circles is that it is targeted at small radical parties like FRESH which is hoping to shift the paradigm of our static, corrupt polity. Unfortunately again, the class of citizens who ordinarily should challenge the status quo see elections as the time for quiescent at home from the dreary tedium of work-life, rather than stand under the rain or sun for hours to vote for candidates whose credibility cannot be vouched for, particularly as they do not believe that the votes will count. It means that the control of elections is left to a cadre of people who, due to their economic deprivation, will readily hawk their votes for pecuniary inducements. There is also the air of anxiety, uncertainty and apprehension that pervades the atmosphere during these periods. The atmosphere has, over time, been created and sustained by the antics of political hoodlums who latch onto the umbrella of protection by their political lords to create a sense of fear in the people with vicious scare tactics. Let’s hope the 2015 experience will be different. The ruling cabal is placing too much faith in Nigeria’s famed preference for turning the other cheek in the face of the debasement of our political emancipation which has caused the present political dysfunction. This prolonged disruptive process and ‘degenerative democracy’ has left the masses groping for light at the end of the tunnel, hence the relevance of Okotie’s quest for a new paradigm. The odd alliance of business and political cronies, who favour the stability of an atmosphere of corruption, a well-funded and organised network of hoodlums aptly called youth wing, continue to take advantage of Nigerians’ apathy to the repeatedly rigged political power. True change in our government spells doom for the economic lifeline of Nigerian politicians. Sharing of government allocations, over-invoicing, diversion of funds, money laundering and other sources of leakage would be plugged, hence the ruling cabal will fight this change with the last drop of their blood. •Aderogba, a public affairs analyst, wrote in from Akure

  • Igali: The other side of a classic diplomat

    The atmosphere at the banquet hall of Sheraton Hotels Abuja, Tuesday, November 4, was striking. It reflected an admixture of the unique essentials of man’s place in history and history’s place in man.

    The occasion, Book Reading, a rewording of the normal Nigerian book presentation, saw the unveiling of ‘Perspectives on Nation-state Formation in Contemporary Africa’ and ‘Global Trends in State Formation’, two books written by Ambassador Godknows Igali, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power. It was supposed to be a simple event. But it turned out a big ceremony, which not only captured the deep meaning and worth of the author’s intervention in the critical issues of the contemporary world society, particularly the domestic scenarios of Nigeria and Africa, but also an elaborate and consummate celebration and testimonial of his person and work over the decades.

    The rich presence of the doyens of the diplomatic corps, the academia, traditional institutions, the professions, public and private sector, the military and security apparatchik and even politics was indicative of not only his presence in the commanding heights of these critical arenas, but his personal touch and contributions to and in them as well.

    Expectedly, such a diverse outing presented a natural habitat for interrogating the critical issues confronting Nigeria, especially with its current challenges. Of course, the books in question, stoking some of the essentials, became the guide.

    Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, former Head of Service of the Federation, as the chairman of the occasion was full of praises for the author’s vision in putting his thoughts together in this regard, stressing the importance of such efforts in finding lasting solution to Nigeria’s very dire situation, especially the current threat to its very existence as a result of persistent security crisis.

    Laced with some witty comments, which roused the audience and scintillated the atmosphere, the nation’s former number one civil servant stressed why Nigeria must not shirk the responsibility of building a new society in spite of the odds.

    Describing Igali as passionate towards the Nigerian project, he said Nigerians must realise why the unity of the country is inviolable. His words: “We can only do that if we recognise the duty of contributing our quota and giving our support to our leaders, that is the powers-that-be. So long as we do not realise the beauty and the essence of being together in this country, we will continue to deceive ourselves. The work of God is what we should accept and live as brothers’ keepers and stop deceiving ourselves as a nation. This book reading is an opportunity to rekindle our hope that all is well and all will be well for Nigeria, insha allah!”

    The unveiling of the books by elder statesman, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark after a short welcome remark by the author, opened the floodgate for the reactions to flow from all corners of the hall, which was almost filled to capacity. Professor Ehiedu Iweriebor of the Department of Africana Studies, Hunter College City University, New York, and Professor Olayemi Akinwumi of the Department of History, Nasarawa State University, anchored two different sessions where eminent scholars provided the intellectual grilling of the books.

    The variance of personalities and voices regardless, a clear point was made that Nigeria could fix itself if it were able to rely on the positive side of its history and that the author had provided the template through which it could be achieved.

    As Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Muktar Shagari succinctly surmised: “What we are saying here today is how we can agree to live together under one nation. How can we agree that each person from the North to the South will have the same rights? As long as we believe that one group is better than the other, we can never get there. We must agree that every child no matter how disadvantaged from birth will have the same rights with even the son of the President. God put Nigeria together with 250 ethnic groups. God has a purpose. That purpose is that we should live together in peace and harmony.”

    Echoing these sentiments, Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi, recently retired Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and one of Igali’s soul-mates, said the author besides addressing domestic issues had also helped in addressing some of the misconceptions in the international realm.

    “What Ambassador Igali has done is a major contribution to the intellectual heritage of our great country. There was a time when a scholar, Hugh Trevor-Roper, at Cambridge University declared that Africa had no history; that the history of Africa was nothing but a gyration of some barbarous tribes in some picturesque and obscure corner of the globe and that the rest was darkness and that darkness was not part of history. Of course he has since fallen into disrepute. But it goes to underscore the need to record our past, because if you do not and if we are not mindful of the past we are coming from, we cannot understand the intricacies of the present and we cannot fathom out what the future will look like,” he said.

    Igali himself, stated his objective thus: “My motivation came as a result of my observation that in Africa, we worry a lot about our political problems and try to compare ourselves rather unfairly with some of the other democracies like Europe and America without realising that the historical antecedents and trajectory are not the same. As we saw in the discussions after the 30years war in Europe – 1618-1648; there was another 100years between that, they had been fighting. But the process of nations came with the treaty of Westphalia in 1648. It was negotiated. People sat down on the table to say how do we live together? You know unlike the kind of national conference we held, theirs was never held within a day or months. It took years upon years. Diplomats came and princes sat down and negotiated on how to live together and since then they have been trying to build on their democracies to fine-tune and perfect them. This is what we are doing. The President, this year, put on course the National Conference; although those books came much more before the national conference, but this kind of forum create opportunities for us.

    “We have tried to show the best case practices that we have done – Federal Character, National Youth Service Corps, Federal Government Colleges – things we have tried to do to make us realise that we are one people. So, I’m happy. We also looked at why some states collapsed like USSR and other states survived despite the political turmoil and ethnic complications.”

    Noting the unfolding trend of a new pan-Nigerianism in the country, he stressed: “If you watch, the time of my own parents, if you say you want to marry outside an ethnic group, it was an exception. In my own generation we are a little in-between. But today with our children you just marry who you like. So, almost all young people these days are not constrained by tribe. The language of tribe, tongue and so on is no more the big thing. If you ask any priest today, they will tell you that most of the marriages are across ethnic lines. So, we are becoming one community, we are becoming one country. Those cleavages are being broken. And I think it is very good for our country and over some time, you will not hear people saying I’m this ethnic group, I’m that ethnic group, you will hear people say I’m a Nigerian, the way an American will say I’m an American.”

    However, the pulsating vibes of a dream new Nigeria, the robust exchanges, the endless accolades, and the general enthusiasm, which hallmarked the event seems to run on the same track with the aggregating takeaway that Igali belongs to the enviable roll call of men and women daily burning the midnight candle to find solutions to the country’s problems rather than using their positions to create or exacerbate them.

    Just as Yayale posited, Igali’s activities in his current post is an ample testimony of this rabid passion to mend the crooked ways and fill the craters along the way of building a viable, beautiful Nigeria. Quite apt.

    In what seems a confirmation of President Goodluck Jonathan’s ability for finding the best men for each job, Igali was posted to the Ministry of Power almost at the same time with the helmsman, Prof. Chinedu Nebo to tackle the problems confronting one of Nigeria’s most critical sectors. The perfect alchemy that resulted from the blend of the rich experience of Nebo as a first-class engineer, a teacher and university administrator and Igali, the quintessential diplomat, civil servant and scholar, for instance dealt with, as effortlessly as a hot knife on butter, the labour issues that created a chaotic and almost comatose situation, which had threatened to stymie the privatisation process and essentially led to the seamless progression of the power sector to its current status of a robust, virile and humongous phenomenon, through which the hope of the envisaged socio-economic transformation of the country is becoming real by the day.

    No doubt, Igali’s example in ceaselessly trying to find solutions to the nation’s problems, as attested at that event, aggregates to Nebo’s depiction of a cathedral builder – one who builds not just for earning a living, but building for the society. Nigerians must be cathedral builders.

     

    •Igboanugo writes from Abuja  

  • Health for next generation through Universal Health Coverage

    When I served as a paediatrician in Rwanda’s public hospitals, I devoted myself to building a future where children could reach their full potential without fear of disease.  Today, as Rwanda’s Minister of Health, I can attest to the great progress our country has made to improve the health of everyone living in the “land of a thousand hills.” But I also recognize how critical it is to keep pressing onward, not only as a country, but also as a continent.

    Africa is home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world, but the benefits of this progress have not been felt equally.  For far too many, basic health care remains out of grasp. Millions of Africans simply do not have access to health facilities staffed with trained workers, or even to experienced community health workers. Even for those fortunate enough to live in close proximity to a health facility, many cannot afford to pay for basic healthcare services.

    The time has come to commit to making affordable, quality health care the cornerstone of Africa’s development. Several African countries have taken a stand on providing health services to all their citizens, and their efforts are already paying off through healthier communities.

    Twenty years ago, Rwanda was a nation devastated by genocide and war: Nearly eight in 10 people lived in poverty, our health system was all but destroyed, and one in four infants didn’t make it to his or her fifth birthday. Today, even though we still have a long way to go, Rwanda is flourishing. This is due to many factors, including a collaborative governance structure that aims to extract the most value for our people from the money spent. Rwanda’s visionary approach to prioritizing the nation’s health has also been instrumental in achieving this progress.

    Combining national resources with international donor support, we have developed a system to improve both geographic and financial access to quality basic care for all Rwandans.  Through our community-based health insurance scheme, called Mutuelles de Sante, approximately 90 percent of the population has health insurance, with another seven percent reached through civil, military, or private insurance. Even in the most remote villages, Rwandans can rely on local community health workers to deliver 80 percent of the preventive and primary care services and connect them to advanced care when needed. Under this system, Rwandans can access care without fear of financial ruin.

    The results of this approach, driven by a deep commitment to health equity, have been striking: Since 2000, infant mortality has decreased by 66 percent, child mortality has decreased by more than 70 percent, and deaths from HIV, malaria, and TB have fallen by nearly 60 percent.  Rwanda’s children were the first in sub-Saharan Africa to receive the vaccines for pneumonia and the human papilloma virus (HPV).

    Other African nations are also making important strides towards universal health coverage. Each country is developing its own model to provide coverage for its people—informed and influenced by our distinct cultures, histories, populations and settings. For example, in Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan has been a vocal supporter of universal health care and the National Health Insurance Scheme has recently intensified internal reforms. Going forward, it is necessary that each country feel ownership of both the successes and failures of the approach they opt to take.

    Whatever the approach, health systems should be participatory in nature, ensuring that communities provide “buy in” to the value of having health insurance, as well as a sustained political commitment to scale up these efforts.  This will help ensure that no one remains beyond the reach of efforts to provide affordable, quality care.

    The need for universal health care has never been greater throughout the world, and especially in Africa. Despite commendable progress in health over the past decades, Africa still faces the highest burden of disease, and continues to have far too many weak health systems. The recent Ebola epidemic has highlighted what is at stake for all of us if we fail to invest in both strong health systems alongside good governance.

    Health coverage is also a major financial challenge. Millions of Africans suffer financial hardship due to catastrophic expenditure whenever they are sick. According to the World Health Organization, about half of health care expenses in our region are paid out-of-pocket, and a 2009 study in Health Affairs found that one in every three households in Africa must borrow money or sell their possessions just to pay these fees.

    No family should have to choose between getting well and going bankrupt, especially when we’ve witnessed what a powerful force national health care can be for stability and economic growth. When governments invest in affordable health care, the whole population is healthier.  There are real economic benefits: there is less absenteeism at work, and the money saved by avoiding these consequences of poor health can be invested in building stronger futures for families and communities. School fees can be paid, new business can be started, and households can build savings.

    Politically, there has never been a better time for us to invest in universal health coverage. Two years ago today, the United Nations unanimously endorsed universal health coverage. Global institutions such as The Rockefeller Foundation and, more recently, The World Bank, have elevated the benefits of UHC globally, and to date more than 80 countries have asked the World Health Organization for assistance in implementing universal health coverage.

    Today, we mark the anniversary of this landmark decision with the first-ever Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day, a global call-to-action that has garnered unprecedented support from more than500 organizations.

    As we look beyond the 2015 Millennium Development Goals, African leaders face an incredible opportunity: If we invest in our health systems now—which we know yields an impressive return for the investment—we can build an Africa where individuals, families, and entire nations reach their full potential. Together, we can chart a course for a stronger, more resilient Africa and world.

    • Binagwaho is Minister of Health, Rwanda