From the most part of March 2020 to date, I have observed that Borno’s governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, abandons the executive red chair, and desk in his main office at the Government House in Maiduguri.

So far, Prof has left that elegant ‘seat of power’ largely idle for nearly two years.

On Thursday, May 30, 2019, Professor Zulum, for the first time, sat on that powerful red seat, flanked by two Nigerian flags in the elegant office of the governor. He continued to sit on the same red seat whenever he was at his office.

Suddenly, around March 2020, the Professor began to neglect that red seat of power. But why?

By his nature, Professor Zulum is exceedingly a workaholic, an extraordinary goal-getter and he is very time-conscious. It is difficult to hold a 15-minute dialogue without Prof unconsciously talking about one project, programme or policy.The governor’s mind and office are always about work.

While Zulum was using the red chair, he often had to move back and forth between the cosy red seat and a green conference table surrounded by nine chairs at the centre of hisoffice. He prefers to hold meetings on the conference table rather than surrounded around the red seat.

Ahead of every work day, Prof would line up a number of individuals or groups of persons he either invited or gave appointments. For each person or group, he would allocate time, and always conscious of the time he sets. When anyone arrives, Prof would start with a brief salutation and go straight to the point, aiming to conclude individual sessions within five to 10 minutes and offering slightly more time for groups, depending on the issue in focus. Severally, the governor would host commissioners with heads of establishments under their supervisions and technical officials relating to particular projects around the green conference table. Perhaps, because Prof is too time-conscious, the speed with which he hosts meetings and deals with all kinds of issues, makes it less necessary for him to shift from the green conference table back the red ‘seat of power’. With time, Prof unconsciously stopped alternating between the red ‘seat of power’ and the green conference table. It is now nearly two years since Professor Zulum has only been operating from that green conference table, at the expense of the red ‘seat of power’.

I beg your pardon, I think from March 2020 to date, Professor Zulum did sit on the red ‘seat of power’, about 10 to 15 times, and in most instances, he was video recorded for state-widebroadcasts in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020, ahead of the June 12 democracy days in 2020 and 2021, and over some serious issues of public concerns.

Aside those momentous occasions, the red ‘seat of power’ stayed empty. Prof continues to operate from the green conference table whenever he is at the office.

But is there a potential message in Professor Zulum’s‘addiction’ to his office’s conference table rather than the red seat?

In her 2019 research article on the ‘psychology of conference tables’ published by Science of People.com, a behavioural scientist, Vanessa Van Edwards, infers that conference tables convey meanings of serious business and each seat, from that of the boss, to every seat around the conference table, conveysa particular meaning. She implies that anyone walking towards a conference table is bound to develop the mentality of becoming work-focused and less of sociality, whichdefinitely fit into the very nature of Prof Zulum.

As a Professor, who writes and reads a lot of research articles, Zulum apparently realized that seating around a conference table, rather than on the red ‘seat of power’ sends a message to everyone coming into the governor’s office – it’s nothing but work.

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Of course, Professor Zulum’s operation from a conference table does not mean that other governors and chief executives who use their official ‘seats of power’ are not dedicated or efficient. It is a matter of style! After all, Zulum himself is far more addicted to working in the field, an attribute from his engineering training, a professor at that discipline.

And as I once wrote, Zulum is an early riser. His work clock begins from 6 am and ends between 11 pm and 12midnight.

Most times, he would send invitations at night to assemble government officials who head organs of particular sectors, particularly education, healthcare and humanitarian services. The officials converge between 6am and 7am next day at the government house. Prof would then appear, often driving himself, to lead a small convoy of two or three private vehicles. At that point, officials who may have fallen short of meeting project targets after being funded may then start praying that the Prof does not visit their projects’ sites. Perhaps, the Prof, as a strict religious adherent, offers counter-prayers earlier at dawn before he sets out. So, he ends up heading straight to the sites that the officials do not want him to visit. Zulum detests poor performances and he rewards productivity so fast, and so well.

I should also hint that Prof has a number of trusted youths that he regularly assigns to obtain corroborative footages and photographs on work progresses, to compare with whatever reports he gets from officials in charge of projects and programmes. No matter how much Zulum trusts any official, the Professor rarely relies entirely on a single source of information. Consistently, he demands corroborative evidences from different sources and his style makes falsehoods less likely to come his way.

Regularly, Prof Zulum argues that keen monitoring and evaluation is one of the key enablers of the successes in private sectors when compared with public sectors. Zulum often cites that some workers earn more in public sectors but less dedicated compared to private workers with less pay, duelargely to strict monitoring and evaluation in private sectors.

In the meantime, Zulum had in his 2022 budget address,announced a critical plan to introduce a new system of effective monitoring and evaluation in Borno’s public institutions, starting with schools, hospitals and water services.

Certainly, Zulum’s regular monitoring keep heads of public institutions on their toes, especially when they know that the governor can show up at oddest hours. More so, Professor Zulum does not appear to enjoy relaxing in the office, a(subconscious) attitude that has left largely empty, the governor’s red ‘seat of power’.

• Isa Gusau is a special adviser and spokesman to Governor Zulum.

The thought of writing anything so soon about Kolade Victor Akinjo, a member of the House of Representatives (MHR) representing Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency, Ondo State never crossed my mind until the events of the last few days made it worthwhile to put his exploits for the year 2021 into proper perspective.

Whether you love him or loathe him, Kolade Akinjo is a man in a class of his own, sui generis, with the manner he has distinguished himself to become one of the established figures in the political firmament and the consciousness of our people in Ilaje/Ese-Odo federal constituency.

His unswerving political camp experienced a heavy derision of his personage earlier this year when the unhealthy comparison with his colleague representing Akoko Northeast/Northwest all started, but with his disarming and natural taciturnity, he stayed focused on touching lives, maintaining relationship and administering placebo in form of assistance where necessary from behind his exclusive legislative circumvallation.

“No man is perfect and every soul is often misunderstood…..”.

That our expectations are high based on the myriads of challenges rocking us as a nation is not something unknown to many of us but we are still very lucky at this point in time to have a persona and political figure whose methods and style deserve a full study, in terms of impact and essence.

It is therefore not for nothing that his ideologies have since been structured towards the development of education in our federal constituency.

The extent to which the above assertion may be worthwhile was fully demonstrated within this “2021”- watershed period.

Through Hon. Kolade Akinjo’s legislative interventions, different collections of educational materials worth millions were distributed to our primary schools; Sienna buses were donated to Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and Nigeria Bar Association (NBA); libraries and classrooms all around were built and as well scholarships were given to public secondary school students and graduates of the Nigerian Law School from the Ilaje/Ese-odo Federal Constituency.

Within the area of empowerments and capacity building, Hon. Kolade Akinjo has splendidly demonstrated that a good name is worth much more than aggrandizement especially with his motorcycle and sewing machine empowerments, Mekunu Koya Cooperatives for our market women, the aged, farmers and fishermen alike and also the number of persons who through his interventions got enlisted and accommodated into the Federal Government agencies and programmes like FRSC, NDDC, immigration, the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police Force, NPower, SPW, NIRSAL loan scheme and many others.

That the name “Iraye”, as fondly called, has taken a unique place in the hearts of our people in Ilaje/Ese-odo federal constituency wasn’t in any way by happenstance. His essentialist views, intrinsic belief in integrity and principled personal discipline of courage as featured in his educational advancement, human capacity building and humanitarian support programmes within our federal constituency are testaments to his developmental torches which outshine panoptically even those in the Executive arm in our dear state.

In this month of December, 2021, aside from the usual festive period packages for his constituents across political divide, we witnessed the completion of the Primary School Project at Obinehin, Ugbonla and Inikorogha communities; installation of 20 solar street lights each in Ugbonla, Arogbo and Ebute-Ipare communities; the continuation of the most talked-about Ikuomola-Secretariat road in Igbokoda; the training of our public primary school teachers on graphic design with giveaway laptops through his zonal intervention projects; distribution of salon equipments to our hairdressers in Igbokoda and also the empowerments of 100 public primary and secondary school teachers in Ilaje/Ese-Odo federal constituency at the NUT hall, Igbokoda, Ilaje LGA headquarters barely a week ago.

Take it or leave it, within our mottled political landscape, Hon. Kolade Victor Akinjo, like the burst of a rainbow through a cloudy sky, has through dint of hard work and dedication joined the pantheon of revered leaders in Ilaje/Ese-Odo local governments as the only representative currently bringing succour to the people despite being a parliamentarian in the opposition party.

His audacity, sagacity, indefatigability and uniqueness remain boundless and borderless. No wonder so many of our patriotic youths see him as a quintessential mentor for his guarded and understated lifestyle, politics and academic successes.

As said earlier, “no man is perfect and every soul is often misunderstood…..”.

Oftentimes we’ve witnessed sponsored traducements by some coteries not comfortable with how he managed to get thus far or what he’s likely going to become ahead of them politically if left untamed – and more equally, we have seen in multiples those who truly love him and also some flak from those who wanted him to perform magic.

But as a man who has a strong knack for MLK’s philosophical saying that: “….the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy”, all these stumbling blocks are no doubt inspirational and have become catalytic to his continuous political reinforcements and re-alignments.

Until a closer relationship with Hon. Kolade Akinjo, no one would ever know at first sight that he is a flurry of beings curled into one: he is a science, an art, a foundation of genius with dashes of brilliance.

A man who whenever he stands to speak, none ever doubts his pure intellect, vision and sheer enterprise to become any form he creates as a true quintessential spellbinder. He’s a library of masterpieces, an extricate web of sensitivity and hope attuned in full measure of what the world needs.

Many years ago, our Nobel Prize winner, Prof. Wole Soyinka in his Prison Memoir proclaims: “the man dies in all who remain silent in the face of tyranny and injustice”. Out of his doughty inclination, our House of Reps member caused an explosive “sòrò sókè” outburst against the budgetary shenanigans of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and his cohorts for failing to allocate a single project to the oil-producing areas of Ondo State during the 2022 budget defence of the ministry, which of course better explicates his representative capacity and unwavering loyalty towards the aspirations of our people in the Niger Delta.

It is worthy to note that we cannot by a single representative overcome our age-long societal or ecological challenges especially the sea incursion ravaging Ayetoro community without the collaborative efforts of everyone in governance within the region.

However, Hon. Akinjo has on his own within this year moved several motions during plenaries to draw the attention of the federal government to the plight of our people in Ayetoro community, Ilaje LGA of Ondo state.

Infact, he wrote an open letter in that regard to President Muhammadu Buhari which was published by The Nation Newspaper on 28th May, 2021, and he has since pleaded with the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the head of the House Committee on NDDC to visit the locus in quo in order to know the heights of what our people are facing in that region. Unfortunately, they both refused.

That Hon. Akinjo is a force of nature or a towering force of hope with sound legislative and transformative depths is no gainsaying. Only a very few men can knead the tripartite traits of genius, modesty and character into that moral and human centaur as done by this extraordinary representative. While we hope for more, through his willingness, Hon. Kolade Victor Akinjo has achieved these with unequalled grace.

Finally, I wish to salute the resoluteness and steadfastness of our constituents in Ilaje/Ese-odo federal constituency for staying strong despite the challenges being faced at all levels. Perfection is not for mortals.

We can only continue to wish for the best from our own representative and not by running him down. It is not always about politics or who you are supporting but respect for our very own and understanding the true meaning of fairness, decency and humanism.

Thank you, Hon. Kolade Akinjo for still making us proud.

Compliments of the season.

•Ayodeji Omosowone, Legal Practitioner and Social Commentator

Lagos State is not only known as the city of excellence because of the arrays of state of the art infrastructural development, not for its massive industrial level or its impressive economic wits, the state has been able to set itself unique and different because of the ability of its people to always elect as its leaders, seasoned and well-groomed individuals who always come with a knack for excellence.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu might be in the first term of his led administration in Lagos State, however he has been able to create a name for himself as a true progressive, a man who loves the people and is greatly loved in return. He exhibits amazing qualities which ranks him amongst one of the best Governors to have ever served in Lagos State.

The growing impressive and excellent records of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu  is one which has continued to rack in various awards and accolades for him, his amazing and qualitative service delivery in Lagos State has not gone un-noticed, most recently, the Executive Governor of Lagos State was awarded the 2020 Zik Prize in Good Governance.

The prestigious award was organized by the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre, in honor of the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, a foremost Nigerian President. It is indeed encouraging and well deserved to see the Executive Governor of Lagos bag this award in recognition of his strong commitment to transforming Lagos State into a Mega City using the THEMES development agenda, while quietly solidifying Lagos State position as the Centre of Excellence.

This feat is better described in the words of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who stated,’ This well-deserved award is another feather to your already-full cap of honors. A recognition of your strong commitment to transforming Lagos into a mega city and enhancing its status as the Centre of Excellence, the award is also a call to do more”

While we congratulate Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on this well-deserved accolades, we must also commend him for his perchance for attracting the very best for Lagos State, it would be recalled that the governor recently went to Rome in Italy where he attended the European Corporate Council and Middle Est Summit which was themed, “Finding New Ways to Care”

Alongside other economic heavy weights, the Lagos state Governor was able to make a case for the economic advancement of the state by further opening up the state for more international partnership and investment. Also Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu joined an open and honest dialogue on such issues as healthcare, education, education and philanthropically funded projects.

Lagos State no doubt will keep attracting more development and growths in all its sectors when it has leaders like Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who is not only passionate about the growth of the state but also the welfare of the people.

His commitment to Lagos state is further reemphasized in his words while accepting the Zik Award for Good Governance, he said, “I will spend every day in office working for the people of Lagos on whose behalf I received the Zik Prize in Good Governance”.

It is usual to serenade teachers in this country, saying that they are the bedrock of education, the core builders of our nation, the guardians of our youth, and the best gifts of creation, and such other rhetoric. But the key question remains whether teachers, at one time so revered in this country that only clergymen were ranked higher than them, are being given the respect, love and care they so richly deserve; in short, whether they are being treated right. The answer, if experience since the return to civil rule in 1999 is anything to go by, is a categorical No. But that’s not where the tragedy lies: the real tragedy is that in most states, teachers are not just being maltreated, they are not even being treated as human beings in the first place. In this country, a state governor actually owed teachers over 24 months’ salaries!

Yet as the educationist, Carol Tomlinson, says great leaders unambiguously understand that the work of building student lives happens at the hands of teachers, and that much of the leader’s work must focus on supporting teacher success. These great leaders, she avers, “learn about the teachers as human beings—in the classroom and beyond. They seek teacher input and advice. They listen. They prove themselves to be worthy of a teacher’s trust, time and time again. They pay attention to teaching, not for purposes of judgment, but to learn from teachers and students. They provide multiple forms of support to help each teacher grow as a person and as a practitioner of and contributor to education.” And it is to those “multiple forms of support” that we now wish to pay attention as we ponder what has been going on in Ogun State since May 29, 2019 when Dapo Abiodun, the fifth democratically elected governor of Nigeria’s Gateway State, assumed office. No sooner had the Iperu-born prince assumed office than he abolished the educational levy instituted by his predecessor, thus returning thousands of children from economically deprived homes back to school, cleared the backlog of teachers’ promotion, started building model schools in all the wards in the state, and emplaced great incentives to motivate teachers at all levels of the educational system.

Only last week, the Abiodun government commenced the distribution of appointment letters to 5,000 teachers employed through the Ogun Teach Scheme. The exercise being supervised by the Chairman of Ogun State Teaching Commission (TESCOM), Olalekan Ifede, followed Governor Abiodun’s promise during the celebrations marking the 2021 World Teachers Day that the teachers would soon be given their letters of appointment. The introduction of the Ogun Teach Intervention to employ 5,000 interns is to fill teacher vacancies in primary, secondary and technical colleges in the state. According to the governor, the move is ultimately “to ensure the future is better than the present.” That’s a noble objective.

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Among others, the Abiodun-led administration established the Ogun State Education Intervention Fund (OGSEIF) to achieve improved funding for the educational sector of the state. It also allocated lands to members of the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) and the Association of Primary School Headteachers of Nigeria (AOPSHON) for the construction of their secretariats. The government is currently supplying new furniture to all primary and secondary schools in the state and rehabilitating over 956 classrooms. It has upgraded 42 secondary schools to flagship schools for better performance and commenced the Ogun Digitalized Multimedia Lesson Plan to equip teachers with the resources for effective delivery in line with global standards. This accords with the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation on teacher development. As noted by the body: “the necessity of prioritizing human resource development in educational systems cannot be overemphasized. Among the strategies for action that will contribute directly to an improvement of the quality of education is a sustained investment in the professional development of teachers and the improvement of their working and employment conditions. The status of teachers and the status of education are closely related.”

Having introduced the pre-shaded optical mark recognition (OMR) objective answer sheet for the conduct of Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), a 50 per cent increase in feeding allowance for learners in special needs schools, full sponsorship of public school students to all academic competitions, the resuscitation and relocation of Ogun State Braille Book Production Centre which has been moribund for many years, as well as annual distribution of wheelchairs to the special needs learners, the Abiodun government can be seen to have taken the bulls by the horns in the education sector. If anything, the approval of scholarships for outstanding students in all of the state’s tertiary institutions, the establishment of the Ogun State Education Intervention Fund (OGSEIF) to achieve improved funding, the appointment of Headmaster and Principal Generals are all parts of the educational revival in the state. As observed by the ILO, teachers can only be the catalysts for change in the movement against child labour if they are supported in the process of improving their work with children in the classroom. Thus, their credibility among parents and community members and the all-important trust in their concern for the welfare of children and the community is closely tied to their ability to provide the quality of education that parents seek for their children.

During the recent World Teacher’s Day celebrations in Ogun State, the governor rewarded the best teachers in the state, gifting a semi-detached bungalow to the best overall teacher for the year 2020. His rationale: the state must continue to attract bright-minded young teachers to the teaching profession. For a governor who gifted a two-bedroom bungalow and a sum of N2million to an indigene of the state who emerged as the Overall Best Graduating Student of the Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos and set up an Endowment Fund with a seed money of N5million in honour  a student of the Ambassadors College, Ota, who emerged winner in the Global Open Mathematics Tournament, this came as no surprise. ANCOPSS, apprised of his giant strides in education, decorated him as the best Education friendly Governor in the South-West. The National Parents Teachers Association gave him the Best Governor in the Educational Sector award.

Successive governments paid lip service to getting quality professionals to man secondary schools in the state and this affected teaching negatively. But with Governor Abiodun’s recent initiative, the extant gaps will be bridged. All the teachers newly employed have a background in education: they have the professional competence to impart knowledge, armed with good degrees in their various disciplines. The move will definitely improve the quality of products coming out of the system and facilitate admission to higher schools. It is not for nothing that the governor is giving incentives to teachers: he wants them to be on top of their game. The message is clear: there is reward for hard work in Ogun State and teachers do not have to wait till they get to heaven to receive them. Besides, the renovation of primary schools across wards shows that he values education and makes it a priority. According to one of the newly employed teachers: “I see this move as a step in the right direction. Previously, it was PTA teachers that handled core subjects in may schools. Now that we have been employed, parents can spend the money they normally contribute at the end of every month to pay us on other things. It’s an exciting moment for the state.”

• Bakare sent this piece through seyibakare@gmail.com

By Nnedinso Ogaziechi

WORLD democracies thrive when it is well nurtured. The nurturing of democracies requires a lot of human efforts. There must be a deliberate and calculated effort by all citizens to play by the rules and make sure that the best tenets of democracy are upheld for its survival. The people must be the focal point of any democracy.

It is therefore very imperative that the representatives of the people at any level whether as party leaders, members of the executive, or  the legislature realize that their center of gravity is the people. What this means is that the people must be made to flourish under any viable democracy. It is not about self, it should always be about the people.

The introduction of colonialism in Africa disconnected the people from the system of government that was all inclusive. The west brought the mono system of government and surreptitiously sowed the seed of dysfunctional male dominance in the political space. The complimentary system of government in Africa was destroyed by colonialism. The burden of leadership has since been on the men and the result is the overwhelming chaos that has beset most African countries and with that the underdevelopment that goes with it.

In Nigeria for instance, the action of the 1929 Aba Women Riot seemingly reintegrated women into mainstream governance as they were appointed into the Native Court system. They had coalesced to oppose the draconian policies of the warrant chiefs. However, it does seem that most Nigerian women in politics learnt nothing from the Aba women of 1929. What with the non charlance and lack of intentional mobilization and  mentorship of young ladies to join the fight for integrative  democracy.

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The Roundtable Conversation sought to find out why the situation is so dire for women in politics. We sat with Chief Justina Eze, a businesswoman, politician, diplomat and the first woman from the South East to be elected into the House of Representative in the Second Republic. She represented Uzo Uwani federal constituency in the old Anambra state in 1979. To her, many politicians including women often do not have a clear vision of what leadership means. In a democracy, leadership means a lot. As a government of the people by the people and for the people, each individual seeking election must first have a vision.

According to Ambassador Eze, the lack and neglect of her people was a propelling force to her joining politics. She  had seen the infrastructural decay and poverty following the civil war and having sort the assistance of some of the men in government without satisfactory result in terms of help for her people, she decided to deep her legs in the water of politics. Even though she was already a successful businesswoman , she realized that no matter how much she put in to help her people, it might not be as impactful as going to the House of Representatives to lobby for her people’s needs.

To her, politics should be purely about service to the people. To successfully achieve that, she suggests like late Ojukwu that politics must be played by people with second addresses, that is,  people that have achieved success on a personal level. She still recalls being interviewed by a journalist after her inauguration who  on seeing how gorgeously dressed she was asked her why she turned out the way she did. She recalls telling him that that had always been her style and she is proud of how much she had achieved and as such did not see politics as a meal ticket like most people.

Before she went into politics, she had achieved great success as a young lady through a dint of hard work and good investment drive. She remembers that getting into politics for her was with mixed feelings because she was seriously  into the construction of some of her hotels at the time and needed to be hands on with the workers. Again, some good male politicians like  Igwe Agbarakata, Francis Oloto, Fabian Ukuta, Christopher Ezea and many others were her mentors and pillars of support. They helped in finally persuading  her to join partisan politics.

All those men had these words for her, ‘our sister, you have made money, come and achieve more for  our  people”. Those were the good old days when conscience led people. Today  she  recalls her mentors but today, not many young politicians even respect those who showed them the way. These shows in the ways things have turned out. She was also a liaison officer to the President  Obasanjo on House of Reps. She was ambassador to Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau. Even as ambassador she was still involved in the local politics was always available to assist resolve party issues.

To her, women must learn to work together and be interested in uplifting others. Most women in politics seem to miss it sometimes by not mentoring others. Women can only grow by lifting and encouraging each other. The young female politicians must be deliberate in playing good politics. Tutelage and mentorship can never be jettisoned. To ambassador Justina, the younger female politicians must be ready to learn from the experienced women so that they gain from their experiences.

The North Central zonal women leader of the All Progressive Congress  (APC),  Hajiya, Hassana  Abdullahi Nyelong  was also our guest on the Roundtable. She believes that women in politics  are trying but a lot of work needs to be done. She feels more women in politics must show more commitment to mentoring and sponsoring younger women.  The must realize that leadership  goes with responsibility.

To her, she believes that women must come together, Ministers, first ladies and all those at the state and federal legislatures must come together to push for women inclusiveness. Women must be the ones to help themselves because they are natural nurturers. Honesty and integrity must be the guide for every politician male or female. There must be justice and fairness in intra party and inter party political dealings.

Nigerians must realize that we have to work to reduce poverty considerably so that you our children can be safe. Politics must be played with integrity and responsibility so that the country can develop and insecurity would not be an issue. She is very concerned about the lethargy with most female politicians.  To Hajiya, when God gives you power the only way to show gratitude is to lift others and make sure you over genuine service.

Politicians have the opportunity to change the country and it’s not about any one person but about all Nigerians. Governors must be accountable and legislators must equally be accountable and sensitive to the needs of the people. That is what leadership is about. She advises politicians to truly be more God-fearing and remember that they will give account of their actions to God that gave them the opportunity to serve. The women who have the opportunity to serve must realize that politics is a game of numbers. So women must make a deliberate attempts to encourage and  sponsor each other. Those women with power must help others. Ego must not be in the way of service.

Women in party administrations work so hard to help all politicians to access leadership. Political leadership is a serious affair that demands a certain level of responsibility. They are the pillars of political parties and must be treated with respect. It is unfortunate that sometimes after elections most people easily forget the efforts of party leadership especially the women. This cannot make for progress.  Politicians must learn to be selfless. All parties must work for the people and the programme must be towards service for the people.

From these two veteran female politicians, it is very obvious the passion they both have and their efforts at mentoring younger women. The Rountable Conversation  equally believes that just like the men work together to achieve success, the women must re-strategize and realize that it has been and still is a long walk to gender parity in Nigerian  in politics.

This year marks the centenary of the law allowing women to vote in many countries including the United states. That campaign was a product of women’s perseverance and foresight. Many political agitations and gender rights activism started by great women of old were mainly not for their immediate benefit. They worked for their daughters and generations unborn.  Loyalty in politics can never be wrong. All politicians must be loyal to their party principles and ensure service and justice for the people.

The country can only develop when the idea of service is the propelling force for all politicians. It is not about one leader or the other, it is about all the players and the people themselves. Every citizen must make a conscious decision to play his or her part in the democratic process. Blaming each other or showing apathy cannot develop the country.

Gender inclusiveness is the only way that development can come. Dual sex governance had always worked for Africa. The burden of leadership seems too overwhelming for African men. It is clear that in times of conflict in some African countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone, the women stood together to help the country heal after the war. Rwanda is today an investment and tourism hub in Africa because the women decided to step out and salvage the country after the 1994 genocide that devastated the country.

Nigeria being the poverty capital of the world with almost 15 million out-of –school children must take leadership more seriously. Both men and women must re-strategize and be more involved and more selfless to rescue the country from the edge of the precipice. New entrants into the political space must be willing to serve in the real sense and not see politics as a jamboree or a road to affluence or fame.

The dialogue continues…

By Okey Ifionu

In his nearly five years as the prelate of the Diocese of Lagos Mainland, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Rt. Rev. Akinpelu Johnson has etched his theology and churchmanship on the spiritual walls of the Diocese, and I dare guess, in the hearts of his parishioners. I call him a master of theological dialectics and Anglo-catholicism. If he was a painting artist, his canvas will be covered with fascinating works that reflect man’s foibles and strengths and endless aspiration for perfection, all at once. But Bishop Johnson is a shepherd of souls and gifted teacher. And he does so in an uncommon style.

In his early days as the chief servant of our diocese, the response to his unique style of leadership and oversight among his clergy was a blend of both consternation and admiration for this rather “British man” who sees more than one side to every issue and can be amazingly candid.  After nearly five years, it has also become obvious that this scion of a long priestly lineage is clear-eyed about his mission in his see. One of the ways he has demonstrated this is through his rather eerie choice of Synod themes. Particularly striking is his theme for this year’s diocesan synod that lasted from May 20 —23. It was his fifth synod since he assumed office in August 2016 after an illustrious tenure as the Provost of Nigeria’s oldest  cathedral. Quite like the theme of last year’s synod (“Amos: A Cry for Social Justice”) this year’s (All Things Bright and Beautiful) is quite evocative in its breadth and sweep.

Generally a synod theme tells you something about what matters to a diocese but also provides a window into the heart and passions of a prelate.

Whereas last year’s synod theme mirrors Bishop Johnson’s passionate interest in matters of social and economic justice in the society and church, this year’s theme depicts unmistakably his concern for a healthy interaction between man and his environment. To some people such a theme might sound surrealistic or even utopian in a society like ours, but in truth Nigeria, like the rest of the world, is facing a clear and present danger arising from ecological abuse and mismanagement. God certainly made all things bright and beautiful but it is no longer quite so in most parts of the world. In other words, today all things are not so bright and beautiful on account of man’s disregard for divine injunctions. If this is not the time to put this ominous situation on the front burner of public discourse one wonders when!

In his sprightly and eloquent style of presenting his presidential address during synods, Bishop Johnson expounded on the theme by looking into God’s beautiful world at creation and the world in which we live today. Clearly so much has gone wrong and much, if not all of it, is the fault of man. Climate change, flooding, deforestation, landslides, air pollution to name just a few, are all consequences of man’s abuse of the pristine ecology that God created and beqeauthed to him.

True, God made all things and gave man dominion over them. But what is dominion? Bishop Johnson persuasively explains that the context in which the Bible uses the term, dominion implies  NURTURE and not DESTRUCTION. God could not have mandated man to destroy what He had so beautifully and wonderfully made. Yet that is apparently what man is doing today. Through indiscriminate tree felling and excavations, for instance, the Earth has become increasingly prone to landslides and desertification. These have grave consequences for man, and unless man ceases from such practices the earth is in great danger of ruin.

What Bishop Johnson seeks to achieve is to draw attention to these issues and show that God’s redemption is not just for man but also for other non-human components of the earth. He argues “that Christianity in Nigeria as it is currently understood and practiced…has given very little thought to creation and Man’s role in it. The emphasis, it seems, is firmly rooted with the question of Man’s individual eternal salvation.” Yet just as important is the Gospel’s concern “with the natural world as an object for redemption by Christ.”

In effect more consideration needs to be given to the way man interacts with the natural world. How so paradoxical that man would need to be reminded of the importance of  preserving himself by also preserving other non-human creations of God! One would have thought that self-preservation is instinctive. But the irony is that man has become willfully or otherwise the principal architect of his own misfortune through practices that are highly detrimental to his environment. Bishop Johnson calls for a volte-face by man in this fatal march towards self-destruction. When Nigerians mess up their environment with refuse of all kinds but particularly the plastic type, they must realise that that is a recipé for environmental crisis. Plastics are not biodegradable and will definitely harm the soil on which man depends for his sustenance. When we fell trees without planting new ones we are opening up the environment to desertification and aridity. When we dredge rivers or reclaim flood basins without carefully assessing the environmental impact that such things can have in the near or distant future, we are endangering the earth. Whereas God made all things bright and beautiful (Genesis 1:31), man has progressively ruined that beauty. How unfortunate!

The crux of Bishop Johnson’s address at the 2021 synod of his diocese is that ruining the earth is neither in man’s best interest nor consistent with God’s command that man tend the earth.

Of course there has been no shortage of excuses for man’s mismanagement of the environment. The main excuse is hinged on the view that the Bible permits man to have dominion over all other creatures. While that may be true, it needs to be stressed that dominion is not the same as destruction. Bishop Johnson proved the fallacy of that notion in a nuanced exposition of that scripture. The earth, like every good mother, provides for us– the flora and fauna, the solid minerals, rivers and oceans, etc. It is only proper then that we in turn care for it. By improving his relationship with the environment, man is doing himself a great favour. In the words of Bishop Johnson: “The Church in Nigeria must urgently take a fresh look at the accounts of creation and embrace a new theological ethic of creation that reminds Man of his responsibilities to God to care for the natural world and the environment. Our country is not immune from climate change and we have already started feeling its effects. It is clear that if the Church does not address the issue as a legitimate concern of God for His world, nature and the environment will destroy humanity.” This is not alarmist but a real possibility if Nigerians continue to treat the environment so mindlessly.

• Ven. Okey Ifionu is a priest in the Anglican Diocese of Lagos Mainland

By Femi Ezekiel

Vision drives mission. Amidst the extra challenges and uncertainties wrought by the impacts of the recent past outbreak of the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic, globally, with no exception to a particular country, a handful of governors and other political office holders are under pressure to deliver on their mandate. To Ogun State helmsman, Prince Dapo Abiodun, is no exception. However, his unyielding commitment to building a more prosperous, equitable and sustainable society has separated him from the pack as he has distinguished himself among the rest, and he quickens his pace and doubles his efforts in all spheres of the state’s life. Among the key sectors that have formed the administration’s roadmap that is anchored on the acronym, ISEYA, is agriculture which is designed to fast-track the economy of the state, despite the sharp drop in the monthly allocation accruing from the Federation Account.

Globally, agriculture remains the greatest and fundamentally the most important sector of all industries as a proven driver of poverty reduction and a boost to the socio-economic well-being of a people. It is a poverty-eradicating initiative that provides inputs, service support and training required for farmers through a single-digit loan and guaranteed off-taker. Essentially, the ABP is an initiative of the administration’s commitment to increasing food production and to creating employment opportunities for the people of Ogun state, especially youths and women involved in agriculture and another avenue to boost the nation’s self-sufficiency in food production.

Thus, the agricultural agenda of the administration is one of the most ambitious in the country, with well over 80,000 individuals in line for linkage to land, market, credit facilities, market and training.

An approval of the road map by the current administration has had direct relation to food security, job creation and agricultural industrialisation which are pursued in an inclusive manner that deliberately incorporate youths and small-holder farmers.

It could be noted that one of the obstacles to youth involvement in Agriculture and Sustainable Investments in Agricultural Value Chain opportunities, especially in primary production, remains the access to land and difficult in linking farmers, including potential ones, to land and agricultural mechanization, especially in Southwest, Nigeria/Forest zone where a difficult terrain exists, in addition to other socio-economic factors limiting access fo Agricultural land.

Worthy of note, one of the prominent milestone achievements of this administration is the commitment towards coming to the aid of the young farmers and investors in the Agricultural land-clearing and preparation (ploughing, harrowing and ridging) and mechanisation of planting to a tune of 2,500 hectares of land in the 2020 planting season, despite the year was ravaged with the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. And these interventions have provided the support for the individuals to enjoy the infrastructure, such as lands, and access to credit linkage as part of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrower’s Programme which is one of the biggest and most successful in the country, that is made up of 4,565 cassava beneficiaries, 1,081 rice beneficiaries and well over 14,000 cassava and rice beneficiaries under the FGN/IFAD/Ogun Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), amongst others.

Resulting from the commitment of the current administration to linkage to land clearing and mechanisation as one of its interventions, the Federal government has come to the aid of the state government, with the land clearing project of 450 hectares for agricultural and industrial sectors. The gesture is to enable farmers and young people deliver on their production targets to factories, and also to pay back loans to credit partners to attain economic prosperity in their farming business.

By and large, it has become imperative to note that there is a need to strengthen its partner in order to deliver, in line with the agenda of the current administration to aggressively pursue partnership with National and international Development Agencies, with a mandate of throwing their weight behind the Agricultural Value Chain Opportunities.

As an administration that is not resting on its oars, it is keenly interested in byproducts of Agricultural Investments that are sustained industrialisation, job creation and food security, while the private sector is expected to continue to do more of their business in an enabling environment where the needed support is provided.

Key summary of the achievements include: Ogun State Post COVID-19 Food Response Intervention/Plan involving 5,000 Youths Food Vanguards and 40,000 small-holder farmers, poultry and fish farmers; and support to Food Production and Processing Locations in response to the need to ensure Food security, job creation, agricultural industrialisation and Prosperity, amidst the current pandemic situation; decontamination and disinfection of 67 slaughter slabs, 25 cattle markets, 20 goat and sheep markets and 30 live birds’ markets across the state, including decontamination of suppliers (People and Value) of Agro-inputs from other states at the state border, in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic; official flag-off of the Ogun State Government facilitated CBN Anchor Borrower’s Programme (ABP) by Governor Abiodun on August 23, 2019; and the flag-off of the 2020 Planting Season and Distribution of Inputs to 3,500 beneficiaries of Cassava Production under the Ogun State Government facilitated CBN Anchor Borrower’s Programme (ABP) on May 4, 2020.

Others include the shortlisting of the state by the African Development Bank (AfDB) as a major hub for Industrial Cassava, poultry, Agro-Forestry and Fishery, in the southwest zone, for the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone, after competitive bidding with other southwestern states; linkage to 3,500 young graduates/farmers to 60 bundles of improved cassava stems each, four bags of fertilizers each, 11 litres of herbicides and fund of N210,275:00k each from the CBN under the state government’s facilitate CBN Anchor Borrower’s Programme (ABP); about 50 locations identified across the 20 local government areas as farmland under the CBN/Ogun State Anchor Borrower’s Programme; Strategic Partnership and Support to unemployed graduates, International Development Partners and Farmers in large scale cultivation of rice and cassava in 36 rice growing locations in 11 LGAs; validation of recruitment of additional 100 Agricultural Extension Agents for overall provision of training and advisory services to farmers across the state; an approval of the release of 10,000 hectares of land at Iwoye-Ketu (Imeko-Afon LGA) for cotton Value Chain to enhance the ABP; access by farmers to farm inputs in all the nine Farm Service Centres in the state, and the procurement and distribution of initial 150MT of fertiliser, as supervised by the Agro Services Corporation; Ogun Broiler project; CBN Oil Palm and Aquaculture Projects; Ogun State/IITA Strategic Partnership; EU/GIZ/Ogun-Lagos state NICOP Project; successful kickoff of the World Bank/Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP); expression of interest from 300 private firms to partner with Ogun state to provide Farm Mechanization Services, input service delivery and in the development of key value chains which include cassava, rice, fish, poultry, cattle, dairy, among other commodities; the signing of an executive order on the framework for a responsible and inclusive Land Intensive Agricultural Investment (FRILLA); International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)/Ogun State Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP); Ogun State FADAMA 111 Development Project-additional financing (NFDP111-AF); amongst others.

However, the recent expression of interest by a team of the National Agricultural Land Department Authority (NALDA) that visited Governor Abiodun, in his office, in a bid to partner Ogun state in growing its agro-business has offered a ray of hope of a sustainable economy.

The decision by the Federal government to breathe life into NALDA and give support to states in the Agricultural agenda is timely. Without mincing words, Ogun state is blessed with 1.2 million hectares of arable land, with 80 % still lying fallow for cultivation.

It is to be noted that, while credit agencies are not willing to fund land clearing (bulldozing), and young people look up for assistance in this area, the state government has, in the recent past, in demonstration of its commitment, released 450 hectares of land to partners and Government Agencies in support of youths in Agriculture, as requested.

Notwithstanding, it is of the view that, in the embedded vision, Governor Abiodun had taken cognizance of the fact that, sustaining the agriculture as an engine room for industrialisation would propel the economic prosperity of the state. Thus, the engagement of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach in driving the economy in a just, fair, inclusive, methodical and participatory governance is a way of stimulating and increasing the agro-based sector for optimal contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.

While playing host to the NALDA team, led by its Executive Secretary (ES), Prince Paul Ikonne, at his Okemosan, Abeokuta, recently, Abiodun expressed delight for the interest shown in partnering with the Ogun State Government.

According to him, the Governor attributed the success of the administration’s agricultural project to the unflinching support of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government whereby agriculture is seen as a “triple barrel pillar” that allows the state to feed its people, create employment and as well, generate revenue into the coffers of the state government.

Besides, he noted that his administration had recently begun the construction of its Agro-Cargo International Airport located at Ilishan-Remo to boost the agricultural sector. Abiodun said the state won a bid to become a special agricultural processing zone, with the state taking the advantage of the Agro-Cargo Airport that sits on 5,000 hectares of land to its side.

“We are prepared to support NALDA, especially with the provision of land for the purpose of an Integrated Farm Estate.

“We are setting up a team of agricultural experts to look into ways of starting a Garri Packaging Plant in a no distant time and ensure that the youths, especially graduates benefit immensely from the training programme on soil testing and extension services”, averred the Governor.

However, it was gathered that the state would benefit from the Integrated Farm Estate, Garri Packaging Plant and, a training programme on soil testing and extension services for 200 young graduates in agriculture and other science-related degrees.

With its initial 700 hectares of land at Ijoga-Orile, in Yewa North Local Government Area of the state, for Cashew Estate, the reactivation of the Estate for food production is seen as another milestone towards self-sufficiency and economic growth.

“We are committed to achieve your desire in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision on food security and job creation. We will partner with you and be fast with it.

“Our programmes are in phases and we are committed to make living from them.

“We won’t sit back and watch you (Ogun State Government) do it alone. We will partner with you to make your state the food basket of the nation.

“Our mandate is to complement the efforts and activities of your agricultural sector.

“We will create market to bring development in the agrarian sector and create employment and job security through our activities.

“Ogun state is slated as one of the pilot states for the project.

“We are requesting for lands, sustainable for this project. And as soon as possible, we are ready to develop them. We know that Ogun state has capacity in cassava production. We will be off-takers from the farmers.

You (Ogun) are the first among other states in this project and your efforts and vision can’t be over-emphasized”, said the NALDA boss.

Meanwhile, NALDA’s Integrated Farm Estate is going to be sited in Ogun state, in the three senatorial districts. The Integrated Farm Estate is a concept that takes in everything from production to processing, packaging and marketing.

In line with the aggressive push for sustainable growth and development in the agro-business, there is no doubt that the bold initiative of the current administration in the state is a right step to guaranteeing food security on account of drought resulting from the global climatic changes.

In recognition of these agricultural policies and programmes, these interventions, by the current administration in the state, as a model, have brought more rays of hope of divestment from the hitherto much dependence on crude oil for survival which its prices are already crashing out, globally.

• Ezekiel wrote from Abeokuta, Ogun state capital