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  • Views from Thailand

    My previous visit to Thailand was in 2008. During that visit, while I was attending a Gas Conference in Bangkok, I tried to see the country, not from a tourist’s perspective but, through the eyes of Bangkok’s daily newspaper, The Bangkok Post.

    After the visit, I wrote some notes, which focused on parallels between Thailand and Nigeria. During a recent visit, I was again drawn to read The Bangkok Post, during which I was motivated to update my observations during the earlier visit.

    Thailand’s 2013 GDP was $417 billion and international reserves were about $180 billion. The Thai military is now in power, having overthrown the civilian government in May this year. At the launch of the Anti-Corruption Day, held for the fourth consecutive year by the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand (ACT), the new Prime Minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, promised that his government regards the fight against corruption as a national assignment and a key element of national reform. He said that the problem had been accumulating for a long time and was causing severe damage to the country’s economy and reputation. Rather than just condemn corruption, as our leaders do, Thai leaders presented practical suggestions on how corruption can be tackled.

    On this visit, we had the opportunity of seeing quite a bit of the countryside, outside the cities of Hua Hin and Bangkok. Much of the land in the rural areas was cultivated with fish farms and other crops, especially rice farms for which Thailand is famous. The rural areas were not lacking in potable water supply or electricity. There was solar power where the grid did not reach. Perhaps the most striking of Thailand’s rural development were the floating villages and The Floating Market, which is about 100 kilometres out of Bangkok.  Our brothers from the Niger Delta can learn a lot from this floating “Town” with a labyrinth of waterways, shops and homes, served with electricity and potable water. No shanties were visible along these many kilometres of highways in the water.

    Despite the political crisis facing the economy, Thailand’s competiveness jumped six slots to 31st in the current World Economic Forum’s Competitiveness Report. Nigeria is in the 127th place while South Africa and Saudi Arabia dipped to 56th and 24th respectively.  Thailand’s economy appeared to be de-linked from whatever their politicians are doing.

    Bangkok, with a population of seven million, is both the capital city and the centre of commerce, industry and culture. The population of Thailand is about 62 million comprising 80% Thai, 10% Chinese and other minor ethnic groups making up the remaining 10%. It has the second largest economy in South East Asia after Indonesia. It hosted 13 million tourists in 2006 and earned revenue of $15 billion from tourism that year.

    Thailand’s biggest agro-industrial conglomerate plans to start producing palm oil over the next three years to capitalise on growing domestic demand for the commodity driven by its increased use in both cooking and bio-fuels. The company is to invest about $20 million and would start by planting its own land and expanding production through contract farming.

    The company would set up bio-diesel business units in three locations. Each unit would consist of a dumping yard, a crushing plant and a bio-diesel refiner and either a one-megawatt power plant or a gasifier. A gasifier is expected to require an investment of about $1.6 million, while a bio-diesel plant needs about $2.6 million. The bio-diesels would be sold to oil companies. Palm trees cultivation accounts for about three percent of all cultivated land in Thailand. As we all know, palm oil was a predominant export crop in the Eastern Region of Nigeria before the civil war. Nigeria was the world’s number one producer.

    The Thais are very serious about planting of trees. There is what is called the sugar palm tree. Very much like our own palm trees, they can grow quite tall but the leaves are different. Every part is useful – its leaves, trunk and particularly its fruit. Sugar is made from the sugar palm juice. Several household goods are made from sugar palm trees such as brooms, which are made from fibres. Wood from the trees is of high quality, durable and has a beautiful natural pattern. It is good for making furniture and other household items.

    However, the numbers of these trees have been declining. In one province, there were about 600,000 trees in 1995 but this declined to about 400,000 by 2003. By 2006 the provincial administration, local authorities and local people launched a project to plant one million sugar palm trees. Local people have been asked to take part in the project by planting only one tree each. More than 900,000 have now been planted and the remaining will be planted this year.

    Thaksin Shinawatra is a former Prime Minister ousted by the military a few years ago recently returned to Thailand. Since returning, he and his wife have been charged and granted bail on an abuse of power case relating to his wife’s purchase in 2003 of landed property valued at about $25 million.

    In another development, following the Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) decision to press corruption charges against Bangkok Governor, the governor suspended himself from duty and handed over office to his deputy. He said that the job suspension would allow him time to answer the ASC’s allegations. The charges follow alleged irregularities in the award of procurement contract for 315 fire trucks and 30 boats valued at about $220 million which was approved in 2004. Although the Bangkok Governor elected to step aside, he is allowed to keep working until the case reaches the Supreme Court’s Criminal Section for Political Office Holders.

    Thefts of parts of electricity pylon or tower are common. Thousands of kilograms of nuts and bolts anchoring pylons in place are stolen and sold as scrap metal. Those arrested face a maximum of 12 years in jail.

    Somchai Jitsuchon, research director at the Thailand Development Research Institution (TDRI), said that the pressing problem for Thailand is not poverty but the income gap. This, he says, is one of the worst in the world. He illustrates it with the number of people living under the poverty line, which is four percent of the population in the urban sector against 12% in the rural areas. He says the people should be worried about the inequality trend because this is the best “fodder” for unrest.

    Access to education is a major problem for low income families even if school is supposedly free. Only a small number of children are said to graduate from secondary school, not to mention university. A pension fund is a privilege for only a few. Many elderly people are mainly supported by their children working in factories and restaurants, who themselves are finding it hard to make ends meet.

    Medical education via tele-medical learning is gaining ground. Thai and Japanese medical students will now be able to study complicated medical procedures from leading professors of both countries, thanks to the tele-robotic surgery project developed by Japan. Makoto Hashizume of the Kyushu University’s Faculty of Medical Science said he planned to introduce tele-medical learning to other parts of the world to improve medical education.

    There are no fewer than 450 equities listed on the Thai Stock Exchange with average daily turnover for a recent week of $600 million. There are listings for Preference Shares and Warrants. Also listed are the Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX) and a Market for Alternative Investment. There is a Rubber futures market with daily rubber trading up to 120,000 kilograms. Current quoted price is about $2.82 per kilogram. As we may recall, rubber used to be one of Nigeria’s export crops before the oil boom of the 1970s.

     

    •Dr. Ihetu, former Managing Director of Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), is an Oil and Gas Consultant in Lagos.

  • Don’t cry now Nigeria

    Don’t cry now Nigeria

    Nigeria’s civil war hero, Brigadier Benjamin Maja Adekunle, alias “Black Scorpion” died in Lagos, on Saturday 13, September, this year aged, 78 years. May his gallant soul rest in peace. Amen.

    Typical of Nigeria’s opportunistic class, crocodile tears and absurd tributes will, and indeed have started, be pouring in torrents to the departed professional soldier and gentleman officer, nationalist and self-effacing hero. Genuine heartfelt condolences will be far and in between for the late retired Brigadier (Not Brigadier – General in his time in the Army) Adekunle.

    For a deserving citizen who had contributed so much to keep Nigeria a united country, clear the Lagos port during the self-inflicted, through government planlessness, congestion of the early 1970s, among other patriotic deeds, who was shamefully ignored, out of envy, pettiness and fickleness by successive governments, it is too late to now shed crocodile tears / pour hackneyed tributes to the “Black Scorpion.”

    In my rejoinder to a former Sunday Punch newspaper editor’s jaundiced and unfair comments on another nationalist, former Federal Minister, prodigy and ebullient politician, the late Adegoke Adelabu, alias “Penkelemesi”, published in The Punch newspaper issue on Wednesday, 14 November, 2007 (page 13), I wrote inter alia: “Due to reasons that we all know very well, Adelabu and other nationalists in his hue (Adekunle Fajuyi, Aminu Kano, Eyo Ita, Adaka Boro, Mbonu Ojike, Benjamin Adekunle etc) are deprived of history’s fair treatment by an ungrateful country”. That was my comment on Nigeria’s ingratitude to Benjamin Adekunle seven years ago when he was still alive.

    In choosing a title for this tribute, I struggled with the above, “Don’t cry for Him Nigeria” and “Don’t Cry for Me, Nigeria”, a variant of the 1970’s chart buster, “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”, dedicated to Isabella, the late wife of the also late Argentinian dictator, General Peron. Why did I drop the Peron variant? One, Adekunle never begged Nigeria to honour or mourn him and unlike the Perons, Adekunle was a patriot and complete Nigerian, if one considers the fact that his father, Thomas Adekunle, was Yoruba, mother, Amina Theodora, a Bachama from Adamawa and first wife, Comfort Akie Wilcox, from Bonny.

    In my formative (teenage) years, Benjamin Adekunle was one of my heroes. Others were my late paternal grandmother, Mama Asmau Odunola, woman leader of the now defunct NCNC in Ibadan, under Adegoke Adelabu, Adelabu himself, Obafemi Awolowo, Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Alimi Adesokan, Muhammad Ali, Pele, Wole Soyinka, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and Yusuf Olatunji a.k.a “Baba L’Egba”. As seasons fell on themselves, the portfolio of my heroes/ role models grew, and may still grow when individuals display talent, integrity, patriotism and fairness.

    The Nigeria / Biafra civil war (1967 to Jan. 1970) threw up Brigadier Adekunle as a professional soldier, strategist and myth. I soaked up his warfare fame and made known to him, through letters, as I did to Professor Wole Soyinka, while an untried political prisoner at the Kaduna Prison in 1967, courtesy of the retired General Yakubu Gowon – led Federal Military Government, my admiration of his (Adekunle) war exploits.

    In 1983, when I became a press secretary to the then governor of old Oyo State (present Oyo and Osun States) the late Chief Bola Ige and also to three military successors of his (retired Major-General Oladayo Popoola, retired Brigadier –General Adetunji Olurin and the late Brigadier-General Sasaneia Oresanya), the paths of the late Brigadier Adekunle and my humbleself crossed.

    Of our encounters, I recall here his courtesy visit to me in July 1999, sequel to my appointment as the Managing Director of Sketch Press Limited, Ibadan by the then newly – sworn in Alliance for Democracy (AD) governors of Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti States. Before their election as governors though, Odua Investment Company Limited, owned by the five states named above, had been saddled by the five former military administrators of the states to oversee the affairs of Sketch. I was seconded from ODU’A in 1998, where I was the substantive Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs, to run the affairs of Sketch, pro bono, as Coordinator. Later, ODU’A conducted interviews for a new management for Sketch and I handed over to the new Managing Director, Mr. Biodun Oduwole.

    But with the advent of civilian governments in Nigeria in May 1999, ODU’A states inclusive, the five governors  of ODU’A states, as explained earlier, sacked the Sketch Board and Management, and asked me to take over the newspaper company’s affairs again – also pro bono. It was during my second coming, as it were, in the capacity as acting Managing Director of Sketch that the late Brigadier Adekunle sent his Personal Assistant to me to deliver his congratulatory message and book an appointment for a courtesy visit. On the chosen day of the visit; my guest in keeping with military tradition arrived the now defunct Sketch Press Limited on Oba Adebimpe Road, Dugbe, Ibadan, some minutes earlier than the appointed time.

    I, with my management team, received him at the gate and led him to the MD’s office on the last floor of the three – storey building. Protocol over, he asked me to tell him the circumstances that led to my appointment an the Coordinator of the Sketch Press Limited .

    I narrated the story to him and as I was about rounding off, he asked “Mr Coordinator, do you have a letter of appointment as the acting Managing Director of the Sketch from the governors?”

    I replied in the negative, as I was verbally appointed by the governors without even any mention of an allowance to me! Brigadier Adekunle shook his head and bellowed that I should head the following day of his visit, to Governor Lam Adesina of Oyo State (the overseer governor’ of the Sketch Press Limited, to obtain a “formal letter of authority (appointment.”

    He told me his advice was based on his “bitter experience” as the emergency manager (actually Military Commandant) of the Lagos port, Apapa, from where he was unceremoniously eased out, after cleaning the port (Cement armanda) congestion.

    Thank God, I heeded Brigadier Adekunle’s advice to demand and obtain a formal letter of appointment, among other, words of wisdom (advice, if your prefer) that he gave freely to me.

    Sometime last year, his wife visited the late Aare Musulumi of Yoruba land, Alhaji Abdul Azeez Arisekola Alao, at his Oluwo, Ibadan home. I was present. She complained to Aare that her husband’s ONLY plot of land on one of the Oyo State Government’s Reserved Areas (GRA) in Ibadan, was about to be acquired or taken over. True to his kind nature, Alhaji Arisekola promised to make enquires about Mrs. Adekunle’s allegation. He did and when Mrs. Adekunle visited the Aare again early this year on the land matter, I was also present.

    Alhaji Arisekola Alao had intervened on the late Brigadier Adekunle’s behalf on the premise that “heroes/patriots like Adekunle should not be made to suffer over a plot of land which was legally acquired by him”.

    May the patriotic and kind souls of Alhaji Alao and Brigadier Adekunle rest in peace. Amen. In concluding this tribute, I admonish political leaders and public officers to honour our heroes/patriots in their lifetime. Please put an end to the insultive posthumous ‘oju aye’ (belated and filthy) awards / tributes.

    A word for our youth, please borrow the I can – do attitude of the late Brigadier Adekunle, who as a nine-year old in 1945, upon the death of his father, “Strengthened my resolve to take matters into my own hands. I resolved to leave home and look for someone to serve, in exchange for educational support. “He ran away from his brother’s home, roamed the streets for several days before finding his way to the home of one Reverend Ayiogu whom he persuaded to employ him (Adekunle) as a domestic servant on a salary of one shilling and six pence a month.

    Please don’t cry now Nigeria for Adekunle. It is too late. May the great soul of this great soldier and selfless nationalist rest in peace. Amen.

    •Oloye Alabi is Aare Alaasa Olubadan of Ibadanland

  • Enugu 2015 and Chime’s belated ‘stomach infrastructure’

    Enugu 2015 and Chime’s belated ‘stomach infrastructure’

    Although Governor Sullivan Chime swore to an oath of office to do good to all manner of people without discrimination, the consequences of the gross neglect of the lower cadre by his administration will be glaring by the time it elapses in May 2015.  In the past seven years and four months, the administration has through its various programmes demonstrated that it has no place for the middle class or the less privileged in the state.

    From imposition of multiple taxation and illegal levies to the incessant arrest and torture of people by Enugu State Waste Management Authority, ESWAMA, events in Chime’s elitist government of seven years and four months do not portray him as a leader who has not shown faith and care for the people he was meant to provide for their welfare.

    It is a common saying in Enugu State that Chime and his Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, have succeeded in making the people of the state poorer than they met them in 2007.  In order to conserve funds to build their personal empire, Chime and Nwobodo made sure that there is no new recruitment into the state civil service while the civil servants in the state have continued to cry out against poor salary scale approved by the governor.  The governor had cleverly adopted the N18,000 minimum wage as the benchmark for calculating workers salary in spite of protests by the labour union.  As a result, civil servants on Grade Level 01 Step 15, which is the lowest cadre earn below N16,000 after tax and other deductions.  The labour leaders said Enugu pays the least salary in the country and in the entire West Africa, thus making civil service very unattractive to young graduates just as the state remained the very poor in national development index.

     Parents of students of Enugu State University of Science and Technology,  (ESUT), and the Institute of Management and Technology, (IMT), Enugu have been groaning over high school fees charged by the two institutions, following the decision of Chime to withdraw financial support to them.  This has compounded the economic and security situation in the state as many who could not afford the high tuition fees have dropped out of school and resorted to self-help, which includes armed robbery, kidnapping and thuggery.

     Apart from the mass recruitment of teachers carried out by the government a few years back in response to public outcry against shortage of teachers in the school system, Chime did not regard job creation as part of his developmental agenda. While no job was created by the administration, ironically, Chime, through his revenue agencies, largely seen as dubious and corrupt, descended on the self-employed who engaged in petty trading and other medium and small scale businesses to eke a living by imposing unaffordable levies and taxations.

     For instance, small business operators are forced to pay as much as N24,000 by ESWAMA as annual sanitation levy even when total cost of goods in such shops are less than that amount. Those who cannot afford the amount are arrested and detained in an illegal cell created by the agency. Before a detainee is released, the exorbitant sanitation fee must be coughed out in addition to a fine of not less than N10,000.

     Human rights organisations had raised several issues concerning the inhuman treatments being meted out to Enugu residents by the ESWAMA operatives.  In April this year, a 17-year-old student, Chidiebere Ede, was gruesomely murdered by an ESWAMA enforcement team for allegedly dumping refuse without bagging it.  The boy was beaten to death and thrown out of their moving bus.  Although the Enugu State Police Command arrested three staff of the agency, the matter was later swept under the carpet, thus further emboldening the thugs hired by the agency to terrorize the people under the guise of revenue generation for sanitation services that are in most cases not rendered.

     In Enugu today, traders run out or lock up their shops regularly for fear of revenue collectors who charge all manner of fees thus paralyzing economic activities.  There are different revenue agents parading the streets and terrorizing the residents particularly within the state capital.  They include those from ESWAMA, Board of Internal Revenue, Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, Enugu Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Agriculture, various urban local governments and others whose only identity is their reflective jackets.  Some mount roadblocks on the federal highways demanding different kinds of emblems from motorists. Even when such documents had been obtained from other states they are usually rejected thereby constituting serious difficulties for transporters.  The Chime government closes its ears to series of complaints regarding the activities of these hoodlums as if there is no government in the state.

     While those doing petty trading are crying out loud against multiple taxation and levies, the Chime government went a step further to impoverish Enugu people by engaging in demolition of shops under the guise of recovering the original master plan of Enugu capital city. No fewer than 10,000 shops had been demolished since Chime came to power in 2007, while over 20,000 traders had been displaced without any alternative provided by the government. The Old Park traders had their shops demolished while those doing their businesses on the streets were banished to make way for road construction.  In some instances, the roads were abandoned after shops on the roads were demolished.

     The civil servants are the worst hit in the government’s anti-people programmes.  Some people regard Chime’s insensitivity to the plights of the ordinary citizens as an economic warfare against the masses to keep them under perpetual bondage and make them subservient to his leadership style.

     A director on level 16 in Enugu State civil service, which is the highest paid, earns N91,000, including all allowances, while a director on middle grade for about three years earns N87,000 as take-home pay and he is not entitled to a vehicle and accommodation.  The President, International Solidarity for Peace and Human Rights Initiative and former Chairman of Civil Liberties Organisation in Enugu State, Comrade Osmond Ugwu  declared recently: “Enugu is the least paid in the entire country and in the whole of Africa; apart from the condition of service being the poorest, the condition under which civil servants work is most dehumanizing.  They don’t have tools with which they work.  Even those in the other sectors, teachers and medical sector are suffering the same thing.  That is why those in the medical and teaching profession have been protesting and threatening.

     “The most worrisome of it is that they are denied their basic fundamental rights of expression, assembly and agitation which are the hallmark of democratic practice in the world.  Enugu State is therefore as dictatorial as military dictatorship. The fundamental rights of the workers are being violated and they are in penury and that has invariably affected the entire population of the state because it is the workers that feed other sectors of the state.

     However, having realised the consequences of neglecting the people’s welfare, especially with the experience from the recent  Ekiti State governorship election where incumbent Governor Kayode Fayemi failed to secure a mandate for a second term on allegation of his not being “man of the people”, there is serious fear in Chime’s camp that anti-people’s policies since the past seven years could jeopardize his ambition to instal his successor as well as his plan to join the 2015 senate after his current tenure. He was said to have summoned members of his kitchen cabinet shortly after the Ekiti election where they reflected on the dangers of neglecting the people.

     An insider said that Chime, Nwobodo and other members of the cabinet then resolved to change their leadership style and embrace what they called “Stomach Infrastructure” in order to win the support of the people at the grassroots level. Chime who is aspiring to occupy the Enugu West senatorial seat, currently occupied by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, is currently distributing computers to some secondary schools as part of his campaigns to snatch the senatorial seat from Ekweremadu who had over the years empowered millions of youths in various local government areas of the state through the scholarship and bursary scheme of the Ikeoha Foundation.

    • Nwobodo wrote from Ogui, Enugu

  • Open letter to Ndigbo

    At the risk of being tagged once again as anti Igbo by rabid, commissioned slave traders who see Ndigbo as easy wares to be marketed to their political masters, I write this open letter to my people. At the huge risk of being called names by my brothers and sisters, I make bold to write this piece to my people. I have been called names in the past for speaking out and I may be wrong but please forgive me. I write because I know that a story that must be told never forgives silence. I write despite all odds because I know that when a writer is silent he or she is lying. I write because I want things to be done differently because I know that the greatest part of hell will be reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of great moral crisis.

    I write knowing fully well that I am not the best God ever created and therefore mine cannot be the last word. Two incidents involving Stella Oduah who was removed as a minister for corruption and General Ihejirika who just retired from the Nigerian Army necessitated this open letter. Stella Oduah was removed as Minister of Aviation for issues bordering on corruption. She was accused of financial recklessness.

    When the lid was blown open, our people went to town to defend her.  All Igbo organizations went to town with the chorus Leave Stella Oduah alone. The shouts came from our people all over the world and it was loud and deafening. When Stella Oduah was eventually eased out by the presidency, one thought our people will learn the lesson but not Igbo. Our leaders went to town with a project to honour her and others with awards in Lagos. In preparation for the ceremony one of the leaders spoke to the press: “We are honouring our own Mrs Stella Oduah to show the world that even when Nigeria mocks our brightest and best for doing a good job at the Aviation Industry, we must tell the world that we love and celebrate our own”.

    She was given an instant title of ADA IGBO. As I write this, billboards are at strategic locations in Igboland celebrating her as ADAIGBO.

    Now enter General Ihejirika, former Chief of Army Staff. General Ihejirika just retired from the Army after serving for more than three decades. General Ihejirika is now eyeing the governorship seat in Abia State on the platform of PDP just few months after pulling out of the Nigerian Army. But just recently an Australian peace negotiator, Stephen Davis who was allegedly contracted by the federal government and who spent four months in Nigeria negotiating with Boko Haram to get the kidnapped Chibok girls out, told the world that the former Governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff and Ihejirika have hands in sponsoring Boko Haram. The moment Steven Davis’ statement hit the public space, hell was let loose once again. Our people went to town with the usual mantra: Leave Ihejirika alone. Almost all the Igbo organizations have issued press statement suggesting that General Ihejirika is being persecuted for staking his life to fight Boko Haram for Nigeria. Again the noise was so loud and deafening. According to our people, Ihejirika is being persecuted because he is Igbo. Even Igbo World Assembly (IWA) in far away United States was not left out in the drama. In the social media it is Igbo versus other Nigerians.

    Now the questions are: do we need to defend Stella Oduah and General Ihejirika? Are they not competent to defend themselves? Were our people with them when they were serving? Can we swear we know them very well to continue this noise? Do we really know the character of these persons? Why this prebendal politics?

    If we continue to defend our tribes only, who will then defend Nigeria? Who is working for Nigeria if I may ask? Is it not bad for Igbo to continue to defend what they know nothing about? Are we not making ourselves objects of ridicule in the eyes of other Nigerians? When we pour invectives on other Nigerians or people who are different from us, are we not endangering the lives and businesses of Ndigbo scattered all over Nigeria?

    Have we forgotten that our people are the most mobile in Nigeria? Do we know how other Nigerians rate us in this predictable defence? Do we consider the feelings of other Nigerians? What signals are we sending out?

    Don’t we have men and women who will say enough is enough in this madness of defending the indefensible?

    We know Igbo history, philosophy and sociology. When did it tolerate blind and unquestionable defence of someone who might have compromised his or herself while in office? When has Igbo become so ethically compromised that they do must defend even thieves from Igboland? Are these Igbo not aware that such fight, like in the case of Stella Oduah not only ridicules the Igbo but belittles them before others? What happens to the sanctimonious resolve of our fore fathers never to get involved in war of blame?

    When Professor Grace Grange, Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, and Speaker Patricia Etteh, were removed for corruption, did the Yoruba resort to this kind of blackmail? What is the North saying about Ali Modu Sherrif, the former Governor of Borno State implicated in Boko Haram insurgency with Ihejirika? These are just few cases I wanted to mention for emphasis.

    I do not think the way we are going now will help us politically. I do not think other Nigerians will trust us if we continue this way. I have slim hope that other Nigerians will take us serious in matters of Nigerian politics. I am not led to believe that we are getting it right, rather I think we are going the wrong way.

    For emphasis, Ihejirika may be guilty or not; but it is his to prove. I am not saying he is guilty for I do not know the details. He doesn’t need all the cahoots of persuaders now striving to show their support for him to do so. The best for Ihejirika is to step out and put a solid defence and shame his accusers. If he believes he will get the mob to extricate him, he is making a mistake and getting himself indicted by history and that is far more dangerous for him.

    I suggest that Igbo should stop creating enemies for itself in Nigeria. I suggest that Igbo should rise above ethnic preoccupation to help move Nigeria forward. If we are still one Nigeria, Igbo should consider the feelings of other Nigerians. This attitude of defeatism must give way to politics of ideas. This persecution complex must stop. This leadership complex must cease.

  • Tribute to Prof. J. F. Ade-Ajayi

    Within government, institutional and corporate circles, the University of Lagos is generally regarded as first amongst equals. There is no pretense about this to the extent that the official slogan of the University is “University of First Choice and Nation’s Pride.”

    The foundation of this enviable position was laid by great scholars who piloted the ship of the University over the years. One of these great scholars was the late Emeritus Professor J. F. Ade-Ajayi, who will be laid to rest tomorrow, September 19 in Ikole-Ekiti. He was aged 85.

    In the words of Emeritus Professors Michael Omolewa and Akinjide Osuntokun, “Ajayi was largely responsible for giving the University of Lagos its academic character, credentials and physical infrastructure”. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos from 1972-1978.  In a reminiscent piece entitled: “Ade-Ajayi’s Years of Development at the University of Lagos”, Professors A. F. Ogunye and T.G.O. Gbadamosi said his tenure was characterized by growth, development and expansion.  “The University made notable strides in the area of constitutional, academic and physical development.  These generated public awareness and interest in the university, thus leading to financial and moral support for the institution.”

    In the area of physical development, Ogunye and Gbadamosi argued that “about 21 buildings emerged including hostels for both male and female students and sports centre.  Faculty buildings included those for Chemical Engineering, Mass Communication, Science, Arts and Advanced Legal Studies. Service buildings included the Health Centre, Main Auditorium, Conference Centre and Guest Houses”. Till date, these buildings greatly eased the problem of congestion and consequently enhanced teaching and research in the university.

    In the area of sports development, Prof. Ogunye and Gbadamosi recalled how Prof. Ade-Ajayi’s tenure removed the derogatory remark of “Eko  for show” which was usually used to present Lagos athletes as only good in flashy and flamboyant dresses and not good on the field of play.

    According to the duo: “Eko for show’ was revised and re-coined ‘Eko for Gold’ when Unilag made a tremendous impact at the 7th NUGA games hosted by Unilag in 1978.  She won a total of 19 gold medals to place second behind UNIFE’s 20 gold medals.”

    Amongst students of the University who excelled in different sports during Ade-Ajayi’s tenure were Tony Omoregbe, Adokie Amasiemeka, Felix Owolabi and Francis Onwuchi, who were once key members of the national football team, the Green Eagles. A sports commentator, Hameed Adio also featured prominently along with P. Idahosa, Joshua Kio, Felicia Ochonogor and Eseroghene Ibini who were track and field athletes who represented Nigeria and excelled at several international competitions.

    Accommodation was a major problem of students in the University before the Ade-Ajayi era.  The Ashby Commission originally conceived the university as non-residential. However, the plan was abandoned when it was discovered that majority of the students came from outside the state.

    In the words of Ogunye and Gbadamosi, “Ade-Ajayi addressed the problem by building additional halls. Jaja Hall was built in 1973, Block C was added to Amina Hall in 1975, an extension was made to Moremi Hall in 1975 and a New Hall Complex or the 2,000 students’ hostel was built in 1978, all during Prof. Ade-Ajayi’s era.”

    Revealing the foundation of Unilag becoming the Nation’s Pride and University of First Choice, Professors Ogunye and Omolewa argued that the foundation was laid by Prof. Ajayi through what they called “a superb staff development programme”.

    Using the Chemical Engineering Department as an example, they revealed that from the onset, any first class graduate of the department was appointed an Assistant Lecturer outside the department quota and sent abroad for a Ph.D programme – while running his salary at home and wholly supported by the university abroad.

    “Some of the staff who benefitted under the scheme included Prof. Abiola Kehinde, Prof. John Edewor, Prof. Kayode Abdul-Kareem and Prof. Rahamon Bello, the current Vice-Chancellor of Unilag.

    “The generous staff development programme in Chemical Engineering was equally applied to other departments in the university. Some of the beneficiaries included Prof. Akin Oyebode to University of Toronto, Canada for his Ph.D in Law and Prof. Peter Adeniyi to the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, for his Ph.D in Remote Sensing.”

    It is gratifying to note that both Oyebode and Adeniyi became vice-chancellors of University of Ado-Ekiti and Federal University of Technology, Akure, respectively.

    Olusegun Akinluyi, who worked closely with five substantive Vice-Chancellors and three acting vice-chancellors of the university, described Prof. Ade-Ajayi as an academic administrator/administrative academic par excellence, a historian and reflective visionary with a clear mission, an informed innovator, a transformer of the occasional potential crises of senate into developmental advantage and a leader who at meetings did not relish the silence of the graveyard but welcomed criticisms and brainstorming.

    Frontline politician, Chief Ebenezer Babatope similarly described Ade-Ajayi, who was his boss as Vice-Chancellor of University of Lagos between 1973 and 1978, as a man of ideas. “He influenced many lives while he was at the head of the administration of the university.

    “Ever unruffled by events, Prof. Ade-Ajayi was ever at home with all those who believed in the dissemination of the truth in the discussion and analysis of men, matters and events of any situation”.

    Prof. Anthony Asiwaju, who wrote a piece entitled: “Insertion of Unilag as a World-Class University” in a collection of essays which elucidated J. F. Ade-Ajayi’s life and career, said Prof. Ade-Ajayi worked very hard for the re-positioning of Unilag as a world-class university.

    While describing Ajayi’s vice-chancellorship as watershed and full of uncommon accomplishments, Prof. Asiwaju said “Perhaps, the most indelible marks of Ajayi’s feat in repositioning Unilag for the status of a world-class university were the so many qualitative infrastructural expansions that still stand in witness.

    “First, were the structures that were aimed at enhancing qualitative academic productivity. These included the present Faculty of Arts building including the Arts Lecture Theatre, Faculty of Science, the Chemical Engineering building and the University Auditorium.

    “Next were the structures targeted at advancing the cause of an integrated academic community. These were outfits which drastically reduced off-campus accommodation of staff. They included such new residential houses and block of flats as the three multi-storey lagoon-side towers, the nearby College of Medicine residences, the adjacent new professorial houses on the Main Campus and the blocks of flats on the grounds of the defunct College of Education”.

    Asiwaju further identified the ultra-modern Staff Club building, the Bookshop building and refurbishing of the Main Library, amongst others.

    Consequent upon his landmark achievements in office, it would not be out of place if one of the structures put in place during his tenure, preferably, the Main Auditorium is named after him, in appreciation of his exemplary leadership.

    Similarly, other Vice-Chancellors that followed his footsteps, especially, Prof. Akin Adesola (1981-1988) as well as Prof. Jelili Adebisi Omotola (1995-2000) should equally be appreciated, so as to encourage future vice-chancellors of the university to work harder for the sustenance  of the laudable legacies of their predecessors.

    It could be recalled that Prof. Akin Adesola constructed the New Senate House and the second access road. He also expanded and repackaged the main entrance to the university. Prof. Omotola, however, built the Multi-Purpose Hall, established Unilag Ventures, the platform through which the university till date produces Unilag Water, Unilag Bread, amongst others, introduced the students’ work-study scheme and made several academic and non-academic members of staff house owners.

    While the new Senate House could be named after Prof. Akin Adesola,, the Multi-Purpose Hall could also be named after Prof. Omotola.

    • Popoola, teaches at the Mass Communications Department, Unilag.

  • Lagos and the national economy

    With a population of 21million, Lagos, Nigeria’s economic nerve centre, is one of the world’s largest cities. The population is rising faster than many experts and government officials would seem to appreciate. Many people fleeing from the North-east part in the wake of the Boko Haram insurrection are headed for Lagos. When kidnappers overwhelmed Rivers and Bayelsa states some six years ago, many from these places, including oil firms, fled to Lagos. When the security situation in the South-east became unbearable about three years ago, many relocated to Lagos; among them was the chief executive of ABC Transport.

    Lagos remains Nigeria’s melting pot, long after the federal administration moved to Abuja, because of the traditional liberal disposition of the people and, more importantly, the outstanding achievements of Governor Babatunde Fashola who is easily the most important revelation of Nigeria’s current democracy. His security system is incomparable. Violent crime is at an all-time low, despite the awful employment situation in the country and the nation’s growing misery index. The favourable economic environment in Lagos has seen the state’s economic landscape change constantly. Alas, the state’s strength is also its weakness as all manners of people not only from all parts of Nigeria but also neighbouring countries troop to Lagos in their thousands daily in search of physical and economic security. How can the state government provide adequate employment, adequate housing, adequate transportation, adequate electricity, roads, adequate schools, adequate healthcare facilities, adequate food, etc, to 21million people and still counting?

    Lagos is blessed to have as its governor a person imbued with what researchers in contemporary management science call a double loop mindset, that is, someone with a concrete vision of how to change the situation drastically because the current palliative or adaptive way is grossly inadequate to grapple with the enormous challenges. A few days ago, Governor Fashola went on an inspection of some capital projects financed with facilities from the international capital markets. The capital intensive projects include the 70-kilometre Mile 2—Badagry Expressway, a federal highway which terminates at the border with Benin Republic. The road, which used to have four lanes, is being expanded to 10 lanes. Also being expanded is the Mile 12—Ikorodu Road. The state of the art light rail on a very long bridge which criss-crosses parts of the state with the greatest population density will be completed within 12 months. These and some other projects like the brand new jetties connecting Badore, Ikoyi and Ikorodu, complete with modern water taxis, have been delayed by numerous legal actions over the right of way and compensation payment. Lagos is full of social activists who at the drop of a hat would head for the courts.

    Facilities for these huge projects have been provided because of the impressive credit rating which the state enjoys around the world. It is currently BB- with a positive outlook.  Lagos is the only state, otherwise called sub national government, which enjoys such a reputation in Africa. The other two sub national governments are in India and Brazil, two federations which make the list of BRIC nations, that is, four emerging nations whose rapid rise will take the world by storm in the next few years.

    As a Nigerian, one is filled with pride over the judicious use to which the Lagos State government has put the money from international lenders. But as someone from the South-east, I must confess I am filled with envy. The old Anambra State government, with the assistance of Dr Chu Okongwu when he was the Finance Minister, negotiated a $110m loan from the African Development Bank for rural electrification, rural water supply and for the establishment of an industrial development centre in Awka. The mouth-watering contracts were awarded to Arthur Eze’s Triax and Kings Engineering firms, which abandoned the jobs no sooner than they were started. About the same time, Prince Eze became chairman of Premier Breweries in Onitsha, the nation’s third biggest brewery after Nigeria Breweries and Guinness Breweries in Lagos. On Eze’s watch, Premier Brewery was closed down. And about the same time, Eze became chairman of Orient Bank, and ran the bank in such a way that made the Central Bank of Nigeria during the time of Paul Ogwuma as governor issue a circular banning him from ever being on the board of any bank. Last year, Arthur Eze was rewarded with a high national honour by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Back to the international credit facility to the Lagos State government for the reengineering of the state. True, Lagos does obtain considerable revenue from internal sources which are collectively higher than the monthly allocations from the federation account. But the revenues come in trickles from the payment of drivers’ licences, tenement rates, land use charges, etc. therefore, it makes sound economic and management sense to borrow substantial amounts for the huge projects and pay back the loans at an agreed interval of, say, every month from both the internally generated revenue and the monthly allocations from the federation account. What is important is the efficient management of the sources of the revenue and the end to which the resources are put at the end of the day. The Lagos State government has done pretty well in this area.

    It is a pity that Lagos State has taken over many economic challenges of the country. Most other economic centres in the country have since collapsed. Sully Abu, a founding member of The Guardian editorial board, once called national attention to the fact that up to the 1980s our northern brothers and sisters used to shun the suggestion to live or work in Lagos because they had alternatives in their own cities. But with the collapse of industries in Kano, Kaduna and elsewhere, they found themselves flocking to Lagos. The same thing can be said about other parts of Nigeria. I used to consider Lagos too rough. But with the collapse of Nigercem, Nigergas, Nigersteel, Premier Breweries, Aba Textile, Golden Guinea Brewery, Sunrise flour mill, AVOP oil, Anammco and others too numerous to mention, I just had to leave the South-east. As a professional, I didn’t want to be underemployed. Like most of those with whom I grew up in Enugu, Lagos is our new base because of the immense economic and business opportunities available in the nation’s commercial capital. The federal government has to realize that Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt should not be the only places with opportunities. It should, therefore, take measures to open up other parts.  We had thought that the nation’s six zones should be promoted as centres of socio-economic development, but unfortunately our prebendal politicians have turned the six zonal structure into a deadly instrument for sectional politics and private business gains. Nigeria’s political leaders should borrow a leaf from Governor Fashola on how to run a modern political entity in the 21st century. Lagos is driving the national economy effectively.

    • Dr Uchendu is CEO of a management consulting firm in Lekki, Lagos.

  • Ekweremadu: Of intellectuals in politics

    Ekweremadu: Of intellectuals in politics

    Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy President of the Senate and Speaker ECOWAS Parliament, reminds one of Rt. Honourable Dr. Newt Gingrich, a former college professor, former Speaker of the US Congress and one time Republican Presidential aspirant in the United States. One essential thing these two men have in common is the intellectual content they have brought to their countries’ politics.  Gingrich, the enunciator of the Social Contract with Americans along with Richard Armey is a consummate intellectual in American Politics, as Ekweremadu is in Nigeria.

    Following in their footsteps, Ekweremadu recently, successfully defended his doctoral thesis for a PhD in Law.  The Thesis by Ekweremadu, who once taught both Constitutional Law and Labour Law at the University of Nigeria Nsukka where he earlier obtained Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Law is titled “A Critical Appraisal of the Legal Framework, Theory and Practice of Fiscal Federalism in Nigeria”.

    This is good news. Ekweremadu is bringing back that essential ingredient of politics, which appears to be in short supply in today’s democracy, and that is intellectual content. On both the floors of the Nigerian Senate and ECOWAS parliament, Ekweremadu makes his contributions by taking bearing from a well-researched and knowledgeable perspective, which greatly enriches debates and legislative functions of both bodies.

    Statesmen and great leaders are merchants of hope as intellectual politicians are merchants of workable ideas. As genuine men of the future, they do not only understand the past but they are also fully in touch with the dynamics that forge the present. They also foresee the future. While the ordinary politicians worry about the next election, the fundamental preoccupation of intellectual politicians, generally statesmen, is the welfare of state and the welfare of the current and future generations.

    The Ekweremadu example is clearly seen in his statecraft in the Nigerian Senate and the ECOWAS Parliament – the apex legislative arms of the Government of Nigeria and the ECOWAS Commission. Lawmaking requires well-reasoned deliberations for the laws so made to stand the test of time and serve the intended purpose. Though senators are allowed to hire consultants and have aides working with them, whose duty it is to help them perform effectively, there is no doubt that where the Senator is himself grounded, input, output and outcomes are better guaranteed.

    Ekweremadu’s feat is not surprising. He has delivered over 21 public lectures/papers both nationally and internationally on the themes of democracy, good governance, regional integration, security, economy, security, etc. From his works, we can see that intellectual politicians tell us things we need to know: how politics and society work, what happened in our past, how to analyse issues, how to appreciate the task of building a just society, as he (Ekweremadu) has effectively done. He and some other intellectual senators have kept us in conversation with the great minds of our past like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Tafawa Balewa and the rest.  Intellectual capacities of such rare politicians help to bring forth robust conversations and lend a hand to tap into the enduring wisdom of the past and provide a critical standpoint for assessing the limits of our current political assumptions.

    In his “Republic,” Plato put forward the ideal of a state ruled by intellectuals who combined comprehensive theoretical knowledge with the practical capacity for applying it to concrete problems.  Although some other thinkers prefer to distrust the value of intellectuals in politics, Ekweremadu has proved their assumptions wrong. He has shown that although all good politicians need not be intellectuals, they should live an intellectual life. He has become what intellectuals would wish for in a politician and what intellectual politician ought to be. He has shown what meaningful and crucial impact intellectuals can make, particularly in today’s rapidly changing times.

    As one sees it through him, intellectuals are those who have diverse wisdom and foresight, who apply their intellect and forward-looking visions for the purpose of awakening society. They help to divert the masses from what is unwise and wrong toward what is righteous and the good. No wonder, then, that Vietnamese word for intellectual, “trí théc”, is a combination of “mind” and “awaken”.

    There are three key factors in nurturing intellectuals: knowledge; ability and willingness to awaken society; and doing so for a noble cause or purpose. The lack of any one of these elements is inconsistent with the definition of an intellectual. From this perspective, it is evident that discussing the role of intellectuals is a discussion about the social responsibility of knowledgeable people.

    Ekweremadu has shown that he finds a great deal of truth in Einstein’s words: “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” He has equally proved that a person with capabilities and knowledge bears this kind of responsibility and owes his or her world the benefits of their profound wisdom. He has further shown that intellectual politicians use their capacity to contribute to steering politics and society away from the negatively-impacting results that they foresee, not just for past misdirected efforts, but also for current and future inappropriate endeavours.

    The preoccupation of Ekweremadu in Nigerian politics has been essentially this. He has equally amply demonstrated that good communication is vital if the intellectual politician is to succeed in effectively and convincingly conveying his or her vision for a better society. Building on universal and timeless values, intellectuals generally, not just the intellectual politician, also apply their knowledge to shape, and protect, social standards and values.

    Generally too, he is aware that, like everyone else, he has his own limitations and therefore ever willing to remain open-minded. Therefore, together with the responsibility to awaken society, he also constantly aware of his own limitations, which may limit his understanding and cause harm to society. This explains why the distinguished Senator is constantly searching for knowledge and made out time to pursue a PhD in Law at the University of Abuja despite his tight schedule. This is now in addition to leadership certificates from Harvard and Oxford universities.

    It is particularly interesting that while the individual who is leaving no stone unturned in the bid to replace Ekweremadu at the Senate is engrossed in chicken impeachment and petty politics, Ekweremadu remains deep and focused in his approach to politics. He is now more than a consummate lawmaker- he studied law, he taught law, he has been making law, and he has bagged the highest educational degree in law. What else? Perhaps, history will best remember him for the breaking of the jinx of constitution amendment in Nigeria, pulling through three historic constitutional amendments and on the verge of adding another.

    I do not see how Enugu people, South-east, the PDP and the Jonathan presidency would sacrifice such an experienced and competent intellectual lawmaker for a greenhorn come 2015.

     

    • Mefor, is Director, Centre for Applied Psychological Research, Abuja
  • COMMENT

    COMMENT

    For Olatunji Dare

    Ninety-five per cent of Nigeria’s politicians are animals in human skin. Its time we flush them out of the assemblies, replace them with patriots who will take sitting allowances for true service  to The Nation. From Babtunde Akanbi, IIorin South, Kwara State.

    Sir, the departure of Chief Tom Ikimi from any political party in Nigeria is a  good omen. Aside from being a silent-screen ideological conman, he is one of the few people in Nigerian history whose body has begun to stink before it died. PDP should not jubilate for his joining them. Rather, we should collectively demand that the President have him arrested as an enemy of the people of this country, based on his past. From Adegoke o, o. Ikhin, Edo State.

    I want to thank you for stimulating our memory faculties once again, as we Nigerians appear to be so forgetful of our past. I honestly thought I was the only one who couldn’t understand why political gangsters, area boys and proven thieves,  with  publicly known crimes to society, could not only become politically relevant, but  rub pepper into open sores, by fighting to be  politically recognised and vocal on issues, a lot of which they had contributed to in the past directly or indirectly. These group of vagabonds in power (V.I.P.)s should be hiding their heads in shame, which of course they lack. Sir, with your well written and thought off article, you not only hit the nail on the head, but hopefully, you have once again opened the eyes and forgetful minds of Nigerians to our not to far past. I thank you. From Dr dotun ransome-kuti

    This is a good account of the Edo High Chief. He is truly an AGIP (any govt in power). His co travellers are many. People like Anenih, Gana, Mantu, Ojo Madueke, Arthur Eze, Bode George, Babatope and many more. They have a price not pride. They are undignified and have no reputation. They are the Generals of Stomach Infrastructure. Anonymous

    Chief Tom Ikimi’s utterances against Asiwaju Tinubu over the APC chairmanship position is very unfortunate, and an indication that he has hidden agenda over 2015 general election against APC. APC can move on without him period. To be leader is not compulsory neither birthright to some people. God made leaders not by force.l believe Asiwaju Tinubu works on antecedent of the man, not by his capacity as leader of APC. He want APC to be strong as opposition. From Gordon Chika Nnorom

     

    For Segun Gbadegesin

    Re-The character of education.I enjoyed your recap of W.E.B. Du Bois I learnt in 1979-80 under Personalities in West African History. I particularly enjoyed what Galileo meant and his uncompleted works. At the point of death, he caved in, gave up to the lies of the World: he was  not manly again! It is a lesson because what would have become a monumental symbol of life achievement was lost. I hope, all, would learn to tell the truth, be bold for the sake of eternity. May God help and make our leaders be courageous to own up to truth. From Lanre Oseni.

    That piece on “The character of education” says it all. It is the naked truth that we, the so called educated elite have turned our education, the veritable weapon for fighting poverty, ignorance and underdevelopment to enslave our country in disunity and abject want. Shame on us! From Ladan Babakodong

    I appreciate your write up as it concern ‘the character of education’, but next time communicate the meaning clearly, so that even the lay man can get what you mean. From Martins Sunday, Cross river.

    Sir, I will like to air my view on your article entitled”The character of education” Government should focuss more attention on the provision of of basic infrastructure like power ( energy/electricity) water, roads, etc to create an enabling( conducive) environment to grow the economy.From Tayo Aluko, Governor’s Office, Ado Ekiti.

    This is my first time of, ever making a comment. Every word written in between the lines of this paragraph is perfectly the truth. Am a 16year-old girl living in an Island  Abonnema  of Akuku-Toru  Local Government Area, all in Rivers State I’ve taken a look at the community that surrounds me and has come to the conclusion that it is not something to write home about. Abonnema is a community that has the background of so many rich and famous men written on pages, and if you waalk round the town you will have a satisfying view of beautiful houses and mansions, a vivid evidence of their wealth. Abonnema has two secondary schools, but no library instead of sponsoring the building of beneficial  properties like libraries and recreational centers they go about squandering their money building mighty houses in different compounds and sub that they call ‘Ipku wari’ which they locked up with large padlocks. Are we aiming for a good country. Anonymous.

     

    For  Tunji Adegboyega

    Re: Presidential counterfeit. What, to me is paramount is the directive Mr President gave for the removal of the nauseating billboards. Many times, the so-called aides to Mr President and Messrs Governors rule the country and some weak states, respectively, through lies, deceit, and self-interest opinions not to grow our society but for their own pecuniary gains only. The president deserves commendation whenever he ‘listens’ and also deserves your ‘criticism whenever he falters. Commendation or criticism must however be objective rather than being politically motivated. From Lanre Oseni.

    It is very unfortunate that we have a president who does not believe the people he is leading but wants them to believe him. He ignored his fellow Nigerian men and women to visit the Chibok girls’ parents but chose to listen to a 17-year-old from Pakistan. Again, the president reduced the image of his country by saying that he was not aware of the #BringBackGoodluck2015 posters until Washington Post editorial kicked against it. Our honour has been taken away by a president who cannot differentiate politics from governance. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa, Lagos.

    There must be a rationale for the #BringBackGoodluck2015 posters because those billboards and posters were someone’s doing, to know Nigerians’ reaction over them before they spread #BringBackJonathan2015 nationwide. It is good that the president has ordered the removal of the billboards. President Jonathan’s second term is certain, if there is performance; after all, we want continuity. If a leader is doing well, eyes will see before hands will cast votes. All groups should take it easy. We all know that everybody is looking for ‘stomach infrastructure’ from the top; let them allow the president to concentrate. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State.

    My brother, yes, we are indeed being made to travel the same road again which you said bores your like. It may seem so, but please, don’t be, for that is what they want. Be like the preacher who kept preaching the same message each Sunday and when asked why, he said his congregation was yet to change and until they did, he would not change his message. Like you said, if not for the discerning like you and a host of others in this country who speak out, most of us would have been turned into morons, substituting truth for falsehood for truth and bad for good. Keep up this good work. God bless. From Naman Ishaya, Kafanchan. 

     

  • Abia: The Arthur Eze puzzle

    Last week, we drew the attention of Nigerians to a gaffe by former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, while speaking at a gathering of All Progressives Congress (APC) faithful in Owerri, Imo state. A repeat of the details of our submissions in that article is not necessary here but the synopsis  was that if Atiku is that wonderful, he should first make his native state, Adamawa, work better before coming to Imo to fan the amber of discord among the people.

    The same week, another prominent Nigerian, Prince Arthur Eze, came all the way from his native Anambra State to pass a no-holds-barred verdict on Abia State. Prince Eze, according to a newspaper report, had, at an event hosted by the Abia State government, lambasted the current administration for running it down. “Abia stinks” was how the only newspaper that reported the matter put it. The significance of this sole franchise to report Eze’s outburst will emerge in the course of this article but it is worth mentioning, at the moment, that though the circumstances are not entirely the same, Eze like Atiku was sowing the seed of discord among the good people of Abia State.

    Since that pronouncement, I have kept tab on the newspapers to see reactions to it, both from within and outside Abia State, and my findings are quite interesting. The only reactions are coming from individuals and groups known to be critical of the current administration in the state and which merely keyed into the Arthur Eze diatribe. Incidentally, those – individuals and groups—that have reacted so far are not domiciled in the state. And interestingly but not unexpectedly, their only medium of expression is the same newspaper that solely reported the Eze outburst.

    Yet, Eze had wondered whether there are no longer courageous men and women in Abia that could come out to condemn Governor Theodore Orji and his administration. So, the question is, why have Abians not made a song and dance of what Eze said? Why does it seem that they have decided to ignore Eze? And why is it that no other newspaper (apart from the one owned by the immediate past governor of the state) reported both the Eze comment and subsequent reactions?

    The answers are not difficult to fathom. The Abia political elite, which Prince Eze was most probably addressing, is far too sophisticated to see his comment as worthy of drawing its members into a needless quarrel among themselves or between it (or a section of it) and the governor. The reason for this is further that the Abia elite is so much conversant with the matter of Abia that it might have felt that it does not need an Arthur Eze to remind them of it.

    Before Eze went to Abia, Abia leaders had ways of making their feelings known to the governor and even though some of them might not be 100 per cent pleased with him, they might not believe that an outsider has a larger interest in the state than they do. Governor Orji might not have lined the streets of Abia with gold but because the nature of his administration is such that brings both the leaders and the people closer, they already knew more than what Eze was trying to school them on. They might have their fears and worries but they also know the constraints faced by their state.

    I have said severally before that the thing that sets the administration of T .A Orji aside is that it has succeeded in making Abia the only state in the South East geo-political zone where members of the political elite work on one page with the governor. Abia is the only state in the South East (at least ) where you could find a senator, the minister representing the state, top party hierarchy etc sit at the high table with the governor at an event. In order states, the members of the political elite have been chased away, either by design or default, leaving the governors to deal only with the people they can mesmerize. I was a keen watcher of the administration before Orji’s and I can state without any equivocation that the type of synergy that currently exists among members of the political elite in the state was hardly there.

    This is significant because though “firing” (electricity) and “watering” (potable water) is good, the major ingredient for developing any political entity, such as a state, is harmony among members of the political class. Differently put, political scientists have affirmed that over seventy percent of the content of governance is made up of intangibles; things (like law and order, political harmony etc) that cannot be seen or touched ( like road, electricity, hospital etc) but which form the very basis upon which the tangibles can be conceived and executed.

    This is what Governor Orji has given Abia State in no small measure.

    This is not the forum to tabulate what Orji has done in terms of  physical infrastructure; just as it is not our responsibility to do so. But it is sufficient to mention that no matter how bad the situation in Abia might be, it does not warrant the type of brashness which Prince Eze employed. At best it was a hyperbole but essentially Eze’s assertion was too ordinary to come from a fellow of his standing.  “Stinking” is an expression one would have expected from an implacable political rival of Governor Orji and who is not ready to concede anything. Is Prince Arthur Eze, Eze N’Ukpo, Ozo Igbo Ndu, a political rival to T.A Orji? No, in the strict sense of it but there is a familial relationship between him, Eze, and one of Orji’s worst critics today; a situation that tempts anybody to believe that Eze’s hit at Orji is part of the fight between the governor and the fellow in question.

    I am referring to His Excellency, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, Governor T.A Orji’s immediate predecessor. Eze is an uncle to Governor Kalu’s wife and though it is difficult to say that  Eze was  merely echoing Kalu and his camp, it remains a puzzle that Eze could find liberty  in so berating a governor of a state in Igboland where he, Eze, belongs to the topmost echelon in the political establishment; and who is therefore expected to  shun  the market place approach to resolving issues of politics and governance among people of the Igbo nation.

    Even when we disregard the fact that Kalu and Eze are in-laws, the rift between  the former and Governor Orji has become such that every well meaning Igbo leader has become worried and wishing that the matter be resolved without further delay. Prince Eze might have meant well for the people of Abia State but his posturing and timing of his utterances make even the worst critic of Governor Orji to conclude that he is taking sides with Dr. Kalu.

    Since the Abia incident, Dr. Kalu’s newspaper has published at least four follow-up articles and news reports, all amplifying the views expressed by the Anambra prince. I have written more than a dozen articles on the Kalu-Orji rift, all soliciting for a stoppage. The present intervention is informed by the desire, after seeing that Prince Arthur Eze’s outing in Abia is a negation of the quest by several Igbo leaders for a truce. But it is not late for Prince Eze. As a highly influential Igbo leader (Ozo Igbo Ndu), he should return to Abia to do what is expected of a leader of his standing.

  • …And they say Jonathan is clueless; really?

     he last time I travelled, by road, to Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital, one thing rang through my mind –the claim that President Goodluck Jonathan was clueless. Having driven on those roads through Lokoja from Abuja, down to Enugu and up to Abakaliki, I said to me, ‘if this is what it takes to be clueless, perhaps, we need more clueless persons at the helm of affairs in our country’.

    And all over us, we see every day, signs that the “clueless” leader is indeed, full of clues on how to alter trends for the good of Nigeria and Nigerians. I still remember his words upon inauguration as President in 2011. He said to us: “Nigeria…shall be a nation where positive change will continue to take place, for the good of our people. The time for lamentation is over. This is the era of transformation. This is the time for action”. Indeed, I am happy that I am witness to change in my country. This change is driven by a leader who has chosen to do things differently. From road to rail and air travel, down to a sustainable economy, power and job creation, to drastically reducing the food import bill, Jonathan is making an impact which disappoints his clueless-mantra critics. And then, I look back and remember that the accolades and tributes poured out on late Prof. Dora Akunyili, former NAFDAC boss, were because she chose to do things differently and left such a huge impact on us. Jonathan is, to my mind, driving on the same road Prof. Dora drove. Change is the only thing that makes impact on societies.

    Focusing on his promise, Jonathan has made so much impact in the lives of Nigerians that summarising the effects of his transformative performance in a few paragraphs would be like summarising the Holy Book in a page. To my mind, his impact on electoral reforms which has restored a high level of confidence in the electoral system come tops for me. Most other things about our progress take off from a credible electoral system. With him as the Captain of ‘MV Nigeriana,’ Jonathan has touched the power sector so radically that Nigerians now look forward to October, which his administration has promised to be a date for Nigerians with constant power supply. This promise, made by Prof. Chinedu Nebo, Jonathan’s Energy minister is a direct outcome of investments, direct and indirect, made in the sector including the unbundling of PHCN, privatisation of power plants and even funding of gas-to-power projects.

    Just a few days ago, his wife declared that Nigeria’s women have never had it so good in government. Indeed, by appointing more women into government, and handing them very sensitive positions, Jonathan has reversed the trend and gave women more voice in the governance of the country. Never in the history of Nigeria has women been at the helm of affairs in the third arm of government. This was a radical departure from the past. Looking at his credentials in the aviation sector, one can only say wow! Indeed, the transformation train had a stopover at the nation’s airports, on its way to the railway stations. Rail transport is revitalised just as much as our airports have moved away from being mere glorified aircraft parking lots.

    The transformation train touch in the nation’s educational sector has been phenomenal. With more access created for tertiary education with the approval and take off of more federal universities, granting of operational licences for private universities, upgrade of unity schools and improvement in study aid and teacher training, Jonathan showed how important education is to the transformation of Nigerians. His stride in creating Almajiri schools in the north of Nigeria, have been severally lauded and epochal.

    Further, there is no way one would reel out accomplishments of the Jonathan first era in government without talking of how better our roads have become. From Sokoto to Rivers, Nigeria’s federal highways have become much better than they were five years ago. These are observable facts. Countless bridges have been built across places where roads had been impassable. The second bridge over River Niger, may stand out a one of his loudest statements on infrastructure development.

    Perhaps, the biggest statement of Jonathan’s transformation of the agric sector is the disclosure, by Minister Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, that Nigeria’s food import bill has reduced by N415.6 billion. He said Nigeria’s food import bill dropped by over N400bn ($2.55bn) to N684.7bn ($4.35bn) by December 2013 from N1.1tn ($6.9bn) in 2009, the Federal Government has said. This is direct consequence of measures taken by the Jonathan administration to revive, revamp and recreate the agric sector. Obviously, with about N415billion being redirected to other economic activities, Nigeria is standing somewhere on the positive index.

    With Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Jonathan administration has re-engineered financial management in the country, plugging loophole through which Nigeria hitherto lost revenue that are now channelled to the transformation of the people’s lives. Statistics show that Nigeria has become the favoured destination of investors coming into Africa recording the highest investment of $8.4billion (around 930 billion). Government’s target is to attract $20 billion worth of foreign investments in three years. With the World Economic Forum on Africa successfully hosted in Abuja by the Jonathan administration, investors are tumbling over themselves to cut a piece of the Nigerian pie with multi-billion dollars investments. Multinationals, which had hitherto avoided Nigeria on stereotypes, have found in the country an opening for safe and profitable investment. Besides, the listing of Nigeria the Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) became a masterstroke. Before that in 2011, the Nigerian economy, based on an International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast, was expected to witness 5.9 percent GDP growth but figures from the Federal Bureau of Statistics in Nigeria showed that by third quarter of 2011 the GDP growth stood at 7.3 percent. Added to that, the recent rebasing of the Nigerian GDP, ranks Nigeria among top economic hubs in the world and even surpassing South Africa on the continent. Like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s Finance minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy would say “We do not want anyone to be poor. We want to do away with poverty”. That is Jonathan’s mandate for which is vigorously working.

    Revitalisation of the economy also led to the creation of the Subsidy Re-Investment Programme which had added impetus to infrastructure development across the country. Nigerians are sure better for it. All these efforts have added up to create more job opportunities for Nigeria’s youth. Jobs have been created in the agric sector, transport sector, housing sector, aviation sector, power sector etc with opportunities for further human resource development. Sure-P alone, has ensure the placement of over 5000 youths in a scheme which sees government paying each of them not less than N30,000 monthly in its internship programme.

    If the truth be sincerely told, all will attest to the fact that Jonathan’s touch on Nigeria has been massively positive. The fact that some of his transformative actions are “intangible” and are not immediately felt, does not vitiate the other fact that a few more years ahead, Nigerians would look back with pride.

    I believe it was for this reason that former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, addressing journalists in Minna during his last birthday celebration, spoke of how pleased, all former leaders of the country are with Jonathan’s performance. Babangida said they all have been there before and know what it means, and takes, to lead Nigeria and to deliver on promises. He summarised that “we appreciate what he is doing”. No better mark could a leader score when both the high and low sign off positively on his performance chart.

    A leader who achieves such positive appraisal by his predecessors, cannot, in real sincerity of the heart, be said not to have touched lives. But I am not surprised. The leaders who transformed Singapore, China, Korea and even those who turned Dubai from a desert in the early 1980’s to a centre of focus on trade, commerce, leisure etc, were all resisted by elements in their country who were beneficiaries of status quo. There were even blacks who opposed Martin Luther King Jnr. It is normal because change is a painful process for the bourgeois. Yet, one thing is clear, this Jonathan sure knows the clues to the nation’s socio-political and infrastructural development unless cluelessness has taken a different meaning in the political lexicon of his opponents!