Category: Discourse

By Dr. West-Idahosa

Nasiru El-Rufai’s recent call for peaceful and lawful co-existence of citizens within Nigeria is a patriotic call that should have been made much earlier. But, for the descent to self-help now pervasive in many helpless communities, it is doubtful if this call would ever have been made. For a man of his intellectual strength and international exposure, the wait was too long indeed. However, it is better be late than never. The likes of Governor Bala Mohammed and his colleagues must urgently learn from El- Rufai’s realistic appeal for responsible leadership to prevail. It’s time for an end to crass opportunism.

Those who think that the only way to remain  relevant in the Nigerian political turf is to hook on to ethno-religious sentiments devoid of commonsensicality like a distressed coronavirus patient hanging on to oxygen supply, must think twice. They must remember the everlasting warning of the extraordinarily talented reggae maestro, Robert Nesta Marley when he said that- “ when the rain falls, it doesn’t fall on one man’s house”. Similarly, there are some who think that violence is the monopoly of any given group. This is incorrect. It is common knowledge that there is time for everything, including anarchy. May God forbid that we ever get there as a country.

It’s time to stop the obstinacy of  the Government and citizens alike. The rule of law must be allowed to prevail. The Government must ensure the indiscriminate enforcement of national extant laws on protection of lives and properties against defaulters. Similarly, the citizens must learn to obey such laws and expose those who flout the laws within their various communities. Our country is sinking further into the abyss of lawlessness. We don’t need incendiaries as political leaders in our country. Down with ethnic and religious champions. A  new era is what we desire. Thank God for men like Zulum. He twinkles like a star in the sky. Is he not a Nigerian? Why can’t the other political leaders emulate him? Do they forbid the greatest happiness for the majority of our country men and women? A few years ago, many would have added El-Rufai to Zulum. Not any more from his recent trajectory, but he looks like a man set to bounce back for the good of all.

It is not the quantity of men who people the political environment that matters, it is the quality. This is one of the big problems with our national life. Even those who can barely read and understand simple policies of Government bestride the political space like lords of the manor zonked in deep ignorance about how to build an egalitarian society. They plant cassava and expect to reap coco yam as satirically postulated by the late musical rain maker- Majekodumi Fasheki, popularly known as Majek Fashek.

Let us all heed the clarion call for a new order in our country and re-echo same loudly. Henceforth, what we want from our Government and people is day break.

Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

By Lanre Idowu

 

Sometime in 2006, in Abuja, Prince Tony Momoh and I were seated next to each other at a seminar. He was the chairman of the session, and I, the presenter. At a point something struck me about his appearance. I looked at his hair. It was jet black, without a speck of grey. Something was not right. I had more grey hair than Prince, so I whispered to him:

“Prince, this is scandalous. How come I have more grey hair than you?” He took a hard look at me, and replied: “That is because you do not manage your hair.” We both laughed.

Prince Tony Momoh, author, former editor, columnist, administrator, and subeditor; former Trustee, President,and General Secretary of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, former chairman, National Registration Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, former Information and Culture minister was a man who took himself serious.

His final exit provides useful opportunity to appreciate what he meant to his immediate constituency, the media, and his dear country, Nigeria.

In life, Prince Momoh lent his voice to worthy issues of governance and media development.

A self-assured man, he was a deep thinker who did not shy from pushing his ideas, no matter how controversial they were.

I first met him on the pages of the Daily Times when he was the editor (1976-1980). I enjoyed the paper’s Grapevine column which reminded readers of New Nigerian’s “Candido”. I also followed his struggles with the new ownership of the Times following government’s takeover in 1975.

Even as I joined the Times in 1982, I didn’t really make his acquaintance until 1986 when he was the minister of Information and Culture. Two incidents come to mind. As editor of ThisWeek magazine, I and my publisher, NdukaObaigbena were part of the delegation of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria that visited his office on April 8, 1987 to plead for support to get the government to reopen Newswatch magazine, which had been shut by the Babangida administration following its publication of details of the Political Bureau report. At that time, the supporting decree had not been published to justify the closure and Prince Momoh candidly told us that the hawks in government were bent on closure and our best case lay only in pleading for a short length of closure.

On another occasion, the encounter was indirect. Prince and the late Niyi Oniororo were locked in a controversy over the authorship of one of Momoh’s many letters to his countrymen that sought to bring governance issues home to the citizenry. Oniororo was obviously a consultant to the information ministry and may have contributed some paragraphs to the letter. The story resonated with us at ThisWeek as it coincided with the controversy on a similar charge of plagiarism against Ray Ekpu levied by the duo of Dele Momodu and Kunle Ajibade, who would later become prominent names in the media. So, we decided at ThisWeek to do a cover story on the subject.

Expectedly, we contacted Momoh’s office to clarify what the problem was. Momoh’s special adviser, Richard Ikiebetried to persuade me to accept Momoh’s line that he authored the letter. Tried as much as he did, we were not persuaded and our May 30, 1988 cover story, “Plagiarism: Guilty or not Guilty?” with the photographs of Momoh and Ray Ekpu conveyed our scepticism.

If Momoh held that against me, it was never mentioned for we were to work well together in subsequent years. We took to each other on the basis of shared passion for standards in the media. In 1998, I assisted him in Abuja to conduct the elections of officers of the Guild of Editors.

I cite five other instances within fourteen years when he lent his good name to some of my professional efforts. In 2005, to commemorate the first anniversary of Mr. Tunji Oseni’s  departure, we organised a memorial lecture, which Prince Momoh dutifully

delivered. Oseni and Momoh were classmates at Nsukka and Akoka, and also Daily Times colleagues. In 2009, when I presented my books, The popular is seldom correct and Bridges of Memory, he was there on the top table to lend his moral and financial support. In 2011, he wrote the foreword to Master of His Age: The Story of Anthony Enahoro, which I edited. That year, he also contributed a chapter to the ground-breaking work, Nigerian Columnists and their Art, which I also edited. He reprised the role for my 2019 book, UNEVEN STEPS: The Story of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.

In all of these tasks, he did not need any special prompting to perform. He gladly accepted them as professional duties to support a mentee. In appreciation of his numerous contributions to the professional health of the media, we honoured him with the Lifetime achievement award of the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence in 2012.

In him, the media has lost a treasured supporter who devoted his energy to raising standards. The Guild, in particular, has lost an advocate who saw their role as professional heads more critical than that of publishers or the rank and file journalists. It was not surprising that at the 2017 convention of the Guild, he donated 200 copies of the four-volume work, Nigeriana Stirling-HordenEncyclopaedia of Mass Media and Communication to the editors.

His parting advice to the media as contained in his 2019 foreword to Uneven Steps is worth restating. After establishing that Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria situates media accountability to the people, he called for good understanding of chapter 2, which deals with “Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy”. He then urged the Guild to play its leadership role by monitoring “the operation of the Code of Conduct of the Press.” He also stressed that chapter 2 of the constitution “must be the anchor of the mass communication programme in our institutions. Otherwise, we will continue to train for an unidentified market.”

It was a continuation of the mind-set that governed his tenure as information minister, which gave the industry such lasting laws that professionalised the practice of journalism, public relations, and advertising.

Without a doubt, Anthony Sulaiman Macnonoh Momoh, who managed his grey hair well, was a blessing to the media and the country. May his soul enjoy joyous activity in the celestial realm!

 

• Idowu is a Trustee of the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence

By Adesoro Tolu Austen

 

 

Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.” – Charles Spurgeon.

 

Ojo Olatunde Amos shattered a most debilitating ceiling orchestrated by his determined detractors on July 17th, 2020, to attain his crest of grandeur, when the Engr. Ahmad Kadi Amshi-led National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), elevated him to the position of an Acting Clerk to the National Assembly.

That historic development stunned and shocked the armada of conspirators that took an oath to prevent him from reaching the zenith of his professional career.

As Acting Clerk, those who had sworn to cripple him never relented; they regrouped and launched the second phase of a remote and ruthless campaign to smear his unparalleled stewardship of the National Assembly’s bureaucracy, via the media and other unorthodox methods.

Firstly, as Acting Clerk, Ojo broke conventional administrative bottlenecks, which plagued his predecessors for several years, by practicalising full-scale digitalisation of the plenary activities on the floor of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Today, talking of e-parliament, the order of the daily business of the National Assembly, attendance, proceedings and order papers are presently being captured on screen, including activities of lawmakers.

Working assiduously with the positively oriented members of the NASC, Ojo started a revolution in the promotional exercise for staff by ensuring that the 2020 promotion examination results were promptly released and the necessary elevation of concerned staff perfected in record time.

Most remarkably, Ojo fulfilled his promise of paying the “First 28 Days Allowance” to Legislative Aides. It must be noted here that before the emergence of Ojo, the issue of payment of the First 28 Days Allowance to Legislative Aides by his predecessors was not only irregular, rancorous, but a thorny and controversial matter. He has equally settled the once protracted payment of Duty Tour Allowance (DTA).

After more than two months of purposeful and dynamic leadership, the NASC met on Wednesday 30th of September 2020, to make Ojo the full-fledged Clerk to the National Assembly, while the public announcement hit the airwaves on 3rd of October 2020.

In rewarding the sparkling and startling administrative efforts of this illustrious llobu-Asake descendant from Osun State, the NASC was only proactively and pragmatically playing its statutory role.

On the 8th of October, 2020, the occasion of the presentation of the 2021 Budget Estimates to the joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate, by President Muhammadu Buhari, allowed Ojo to demonstrate his superb understanding, total grasp and handling of his official mandate. The hosting ceremony was a huge success with the Clerk matching majestically beside the visiting Mr President.

Since the unquestionable and superlative assumption of his crest of grandeur, as the Chief bureaucrat of the National Assembly, Ojo is the first-ever professional Architect to get to that highest office in the chequered history of the National Assembly bureaucracy. This has no doubt gone a long way to prove pundits who underestimated him wrong.

As a professional Architect of flourishing repute who bagged one of the highest honour of fellowship of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, the Clerk to the National Assembly is concluding plans in this first quarter of 2021, to reduce paperwork within the floor of the National Assembly. This process would be achieved by E-Hansard, which is a verbatim report of the process of plenary sessions.

When implemented every law maker will have the benefit of receiving report electronically via their mobile phones. Nigerians too will enjoy unfettered access to the workings of the parliament.

Ojo holds the view that parliamentary staff deserves the best considering the importance of the service they render to the nation as they must be properly accommodated, hence the issue of staff housing, welfare, capacity building of staff and National Assembly Health Centre is constantly on the dashboard of the present management of the National Assembly.

Born on the 14th of February, 1963, in Ilobu, Osun State of Nigeria, the future Clerk to the National Assembly had his elementary and Secondary School at Ilobu, before crowning his first degree and masters degree in Architecture at the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in Osun State; he joined the services of the National Assembly in 2004, as Chief Architect in the Department of Estate and Works. Arch Ojo rose to the position of Permanent Secretary before he cruised his way into the Clerkship to the National Assembly.

At 58 years of age, we see a service conscious captain in Ojo, piloting the affairs of the National Assembly; an eager advocate of proactive leadership; a passionate espouser of excellence, a restless builder and an example of humanity.

His dream has been to be a positive and valuable citizen of Nigeria. This dream has been fulfilled.

At 58, Ojo, a devoted Christian and family man is certainly one of the outstanding figures of our democratic order and its symbol of forthrightness and courage. The Clerk is a perpetual lesson in service, which any good-intentioned individual should emulate. I pray for the Almighty’s continuous supply of good health and sound mind for this iconic bundle of service.

Riding his crest with grandeur as the undisputable Clerk to the National Assembly at 58 is indeed a story of a man who has been baked in the ideological oven of doggedness and humility; and from what we have seen so far, he has distinctively and marvellously proved pundits very wrong, in his approach to issues relating to the health of the National Assembly in Nigeria.

• Adesoro is the Special Adviser on Media and Labour to the Clerk to the National Assembly

By Paulinus Nsirim

 

WE read the opinion piece with the above title, published in The Nation Newspapers of October 18, 2020, under the ‘Barometre’ section and despite some of the snide, tasteless oxymoronic innuendos colouring it, the article also drew a chuckle or two for all its worth.

For a publication like The Nation, already synonymous for its Governor Wike bashing proclivities, its noticeable departure from the usual acerbic drivel which often drips with uncensored licence, to a more tactful employment of euphemism in this particular Wike narrative, surely evokes a hearty chuckle.

Indeed the fear of Wike’s litigation, is the beginning of wisdom against publishing reckless, slanderous stories with irresponsible libertarian liberties.

Let it be placed on record that we are in agreement with the first paragraph of the article. Yes, Governor Nyesom Wike never backs down from a confrontation, especially when and where the defence of the interest of Rivers State is involved.  He has said this at every given opportunity; he walks the talk when required to and he does it in his characteristic nature of a brave, courageous leader, who does not need to play to the gallery to get his message across.

Talking about messaging, a lot has been said about Rivers youths proceeding with the #EndSARS protest and defying a ban on protests by Governor Wike. To be sure, the Governor has already explained the circumstances that led to the statement and one point which Governor Wike stressed but which unfortunately, many have deliberately ignored is the fact that to date, the Rivers protests have been the most peaceful #EndSARS procession in the whole country. The reason for this is no doubt the messaging contained in the Press Statement.

Of course, Governor Wike has rightly justified the need to issue the Press Statement  to ban the protests. He is the Governor of the State and his mandate is to protect and secure Rivers lives from security breaches, which are often identified by excellent intelligence. Those who live in Rivers State and followed the conversation on social media in the days leading to the protest would have been completely frightened by the open admissions of plans and plots to provoke something beyond a peaceful protest.

It is even surprising that a Newspaper like The Nation, with known Correspondents in Rivers state pretended to be unaware of this potential danger and then proceeded to publish a drivel like the subject article which insinuates that Governor Wike ‘took credit’ for the peacefulness of the protests. Apparently, the messaging in the last paragraph of the Press Statement banning the protest, was lost on the warped imagination of the authors of the article.

For the avoidance of doubt, the paragraph reads thus: “Law enforcement agencies are also directed to ensure that the ban is enforced and that violators are brought to book.”

The messaging was quite clear and deliberate. The subject of the protest has been cleverly given the responsibility to determine whether it will be peaceful or not. The directive was clear; obey and be damned, disobey and ultimately ensure a peaceful procession. The mandate was explicit. The messaging was perfect. Peace reigned to the disappointment of those who were shouting for war. The Rivers Governor proved once again that he is always steps ahead of his detractors.

Interestingly, the salient question which the authors of the article did not ask themselves is why a Governor, who had already banned protests, would now decide to come out and address the protesters? The real possibility that the people would turn against him and boo him and even throw missiles at him, to at least show how ‘unpopular’ his ban is to them, was very much in the air.

But contrary to their expectations, Governor Wike, the real fearless Maverick that he is, took the fairly lengthy, almost 10 minutes walk from Government House to meet the protesters. He was even hailed as he walked confidently towards them and not even a single song or placard of dissent was raised or heard.

A loud ovation greeted him when he mounted the podium. His voice was loud, strong and resonated unwaveringly like the Wike they have come to know and love and by the time he finished addressing them in a session which they even participated in, the essence and meaning of the protest had been redefined.

Their Governor has spoken and the message was delivered clearly and succinctly.The crowd was happy to see their Governor and dispersed peacefully. There was never a doubt that he would eventually come out to address them and he did not disappoint them. Governor  Wike knows his people and his people know him. He is truly a man of the people.

One fundamental, yet hugely erroneous mindset which most of Governor Wike’s naysayers, especially Newspaper Columnists, have tried so painfully with concerted effort, even at the expense of rational thinking, to establish, is to personalize the vibrant, courageous and direct advocacy for Rivers State interest by painting a picture that he is promoting his own personal interests.

It is even more unfortunate that some Rivers people, who should be supporting his unflinching crusade to ensure that the State gets what it rightfully deserves, are the ones like the rats inside the house, who have joined the rats outside, to reveal Rivers secrets and demarket Rivers State in the national and global space.

For instance, in this very article, the author, just like the naysayers did when the N78.9 billion refund was announced with great media blitz, used the very deliberate and misleading phrase referring to Governor Wike thus: “…but he displayed a most audacious brand of flexibility when the presidency disbursed N148bn COVID-19 funds to five states, with Rivers State a beneficiary.”

To set the records straight, the Presidency did not and has not ‘disbursed’ any funds to Rivers State. The Presidency only gave an  approval for the funds, which in the first place is a refund of Rivers monies expended on federal roads in Rivers State.  Again, the funds in question has nothing to do with COVID-19, another misleading information.

It was only at the end of September this year that President Muhammadu Buhari wrote to the National Assembly to seek permission to release the money. Governor Wike thanked the President for the approval, just as any grateful Governor would do, but Rivers State has not seen a kobo of that money till date.

Some other critical questions to ask the naysayers are: ‘Has Governor Wike ever advocated for anything from the Federal Government that is personal to him and not in the interest of Rivers State? Has there been any issue that Governor Wike highlighted that is not a national problem?

In 2017, Governor Wike held a world press conference where he was the first Governor in Nigeria to highlight the brutality and atrocities of SARS and call for the police unit to be reformed or disbanded. Some top Rivers people actually protested for SARS to remain. Today, those people have been shamed into silence by Nigerian youths and their silence is defeaning. Yet Governor Wike came out boldly, addressed the protesters loudly, without fear and redefined the context of the agitation. That is how you know a great leader of his people and not one who plays to the gallery.

Governor Wike also set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry too, which  suggested far reaching recommendations. At that time, they accused him of playing politics, but today, the Federal Government has not only disbanded SARS, some officers have also been dismissed and will face prosecution. While other States will now be setting up their own Judicial Commissions of Inquiry, Rivers State has since concluded its own. This is the truth that the naysayers cannot live with so they write all manner of garbage to hide their shame, cowardice and ineptitude.

By the way, as the article rightly pointed out, “There is no doubt that Governor Wike sees himself as the epitome of good and empathetic governance in Nigeria”. This is arguably the most honest and correct statement in the entire write up and it is also important to inform the author that by the reckoning of Rivers people in particular and Nigerians in general, Governor Wike is already winning his coveted place in history and writing his name in gold.

And contrary to the puerile insinuation that the Rivers Governor “quickly and willingly eats his words,” one can say without equivocation that Governor Nyesom Wike is not only a man of his words, but he also walks the talk which he has demonstrated many times.

Recall for example that on September 13, 2017, Governor Nyesom Wike, while addressing a press conference in Port Harcourt, said the following: “Most of the kidnappings and armed robbery taking place in this State are done by men of SARS. They use exhibit vehicles to operate. As the Chief Security Officer of the State, you complain, but they choose to play politics with crime. They fight crime in some States, but they refuse to fight crime in Rivers State. We are done with the elections, but they are using SARS to create insecurity in the State. As I speak with you, they will deny.

“I have never seen a country where they politicise crime. It is very obvious that they want to give the impression that Rivers State is unsafe. They want to instil fear preparatory to declaring during the elections that there are so much killings. The authorities are deliberately trying to destroy a whole State and you want the people to be happy? I will no longer write (to the IGP). Now is the time to take my case to the public for the whole world to know what is happening.”

In October 2020, three years down the road from his first #EndSARS Press Conference, the Nigerian public has at last responded and Governor Wike, addressing the peaceful #EndSARS protesters in front of Government House, Port Harcourt, did not eat his words but repeated them for emphasis. He has always been a man of the people and a leader who stands by his words.

Yes, Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike is also Maverick. He is sincere and independent minded when it comes to fighting for what is right and in the interest of Rivers State. Those who accuse him of being an insincere politician are the real enemies of the people who want to only promote their own selfish interests at the expense of the wishes and desires of the people.

It is ironic indeed that some Rivers folks, especially those fighting Governor Wike for asking the Federal Government to give Rivers State its due, have conveniently forgotten that once upon a time, not too long ago, another Rivers Governor started and sponsored a very selfish, anti-Rivers acrimonious war of attrition, hate and bitterness against the Federal Government.

At that time, those vilifying Governor Wike today for calling out the Federal Government over Rivers interests, were the very crusaders, foot soldiers, propaganda merchants and incorrigible cheerleaders of the acrimonious war by that Governor against the Federal Government.

Sadly, the result of that war and the deadly repercussions and collateral damage it has brought to the State and Nigeria, are what Nigerians and Rivers youths are protesting against across the whole of the country today.

As the saying goes: “The chickens have finally come home to roost.”

 

• Nsirim is the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Rivers State

 

By Joseph Golwa

 

ONE of the forces shaking humanity today and has the potency of shaping and creating the new world order in the 21st Century is COVID-19. The G20 countries at their Saudi Arabia meeting in April acknowledged that the pandemic has exposed systemic weakness in global health systems, and showed vulnerabilities in the global community’s ability to prevent and respond to such threats.

For Africans, China’s response to COVID-19 has shown its proactiveness is worthy of emulation, and has demonstrated that it is indeed a friend. Besides, the pandemic has taught the world that humans are so closely connected that our hopes as one global community with a shared destiny is irreversible.

Many lessons, including leadership responsibility in the management of public health systems, have been learnt globally since the virus. A critical lesson, especially for democracies in Africa, is the institution of good governance necessary for managing crises for peace, unity, stability and progress.

THE secret behind China’s global achievements, including managing the pandemic, is its leadership and governance system – an effective system that has availed the Chinese citizenry opportunity to be responsive, hardworking, patriotic, disciplined, and easy to mobilise for positive endeavours.

The Two Sessions

The progress attained by societies in a democracy is usually a function of the careful, implementation of good policies. Governance or regime types determine and affect the nature of public policy processes – openness, flexibility, robustness, humanity, and inclusivity in policy making process. The kind of democratic governance that can facilitate this arrangement is one that allows the interests of every citizen to be fully and effectively represented. This unique arrangement in China’s democratic governance is the Two Sessions

In trying to understand the importance and relevance of representative governance (as expressed in the Two Sessions), we are reminded of of John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). This 19th century political thinker regarded representative democracy as necessary for progress. He judged representative democracy on the basis of how far it “promotes the good management of the affairs of the society”. Mill accepted that all citizens, regardless of their status, are equal. These ideas, which are true for any representative governance system when operated transparently, has found practical meaning and expression in China’s Two Sessions.

The Two Sessions is the annual coming together of the top advisory and legislative chambers. The advisory body is called Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), while the legislative chamber is China’s supreme state organ and legislative body – National People’s Congress (NPC). The two bodies operate jointly on a routine basis through standing committees, work reports of the government and or state councils. It is worthy of note that the CPPCC represents the organisational platform of the Chinese People’s Patriotic United Front. It serves as the fusion of the joint work of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with civil society groups (CBOS), political parties, people’s organisations, and patriotic personages with no party affiliation. It is far bigger than Nigerian joint sessions of the National Assembly  and far wider than Nigerian  inter party forum organised by  INEC or any other similar forum/platform under AU or ECOWAS. Even in these, party or other differences always manifest. The China version is a group of hundreds or thousands of groups harmoniously deciding on matters of national interest.

Their ability to subsume their ethnic, party, cultural, economic interests in peaceful pursuit of national interest also explains the effectiveness of the Two Sessions as a body that expresses and represents the essence of collective not individual interests. China’s ability to skilfully operate the Two sessions has succeeded in building a national consensus. Consensus and consensus building have remained the strongest pillar of China’s democratic governance, producing perhaps the world’s widest coalition and alliances in strong unity with the ruling CPC. In Nigeria, or other African countries, we do not have experiences of any ruling party successfully entering into such a wide coalition of alliances for this long, for purposes of effective governance. Instead, what appears in many African democracies is the “winner-takes-all syndrome”.

THIS unique system is a result of years of historical experiences; of hardship and revolutionary struggles. Many African countries had their independence on a platter of gold. This historical experience convinces the CPC to imbibe the philosophy that no one political tendency despite its sophistication could exclusively drive the political agenda of sustainable and inclusive development without the input of broad sections of the people. The Chinese chose a type of governance to reflect those experiences, namely socialism with Chinese characteristics. The system has forged a strong solidarity ideologically, politically and organisationally at the national level as well as reforms and policy of opening up to the world. The essence of the opening up is to build a community of shared future for mankind.

The success story of the Two Sessions can best be illustrated with a few examples of a legislation on good governance after its meeting in May. The approval, for instance, of China’s draft Civil Code is significant because it reflects the reality and social context of China, particularly the concern for internal peace, security and stability.

CHINA’S Civil Code places the Rule of Law in the statute book for the purpose of being justiciable and accessible. This is a historic  turning point for the people. In addition to considering strategies to critically revive the economy and fiscal reform, the Two Sessions also addressed China’s sustained determination on poverty alleviation and desire to lift the people out of poverty by 2021. Next year is a significant target for China because it will be the centenary of the founding of CPC. These policies and legislation coming from the Two Sessions are a reflection of good governance, giving China several Firsts – the first country to lift 800 million of 1.4 billion people from poverty.

Another First is its opening-up policy with a focus on building a community with a shared future for humanity. This is being achieved in practice through initiatives as FOCAC, person to person contact, and BRI, among others. By these policies almost every country is being positively affected, directly or indirectly by China. This makes China the only country to have a citizen and human security focused foreign policy in such a large dimension that is highly active and robust. China is also the First nation to produce a White Paper on COVID-19, detailing the history and responses, to guide further research and other future responses. Defence budget was also addressed with a 6.6 per cent increase to enable China properly fund the Armed Forces and their participation in global peace and security successfully.

There is the issue of national security legislation meant to improve the national security architecture to contain threats, such as is experienced in Hong Kong. The issue of threats in Hong Kong is a serious internal security challenge because it is a special administrative region of China, under the “one country, two systems” arrangement and not “dual sovereignties”. It is important that the Two Sessions addresses it as a critical internal security concern, as Hong Kong crisis holds the potency of becoming an epicentre for external interferences  in China’s  internal affairs, and a threat to national security. Addressing the Hong Kong crisis through legislation is a significant and important outcome from the Two Sessions.

Lessons from  the Two Sessions

• The art and practice of building broad based coalitions and political alliances, consensus and inclusiveness as a strong basis for stability and progress in governance.
• Integrating political coalition and understanding with emergent national political culture, to achieve multi-party cooperation and wide political consultation.
• Importance of building wide political consensus towards effective mobilisation and planning to achieve specific national goals. This is why it was easy for the people to be effectively mobilised during COVID-19.
• Institutionalisation of the process of consultation, coordination and cooperation leading to emergent political culture that evokes greater sense of patriotism and ownership of the political process.
• The credibility of the political leadership and of the system determines good governance and positive service delivery. This in turn makes commitment to adherence to the rule of law easy and possible.

Africa needs China’s  experience

Many African states at independence adopted hook-and-sinker Western governance models they didn’t understand. Hence, they operated them wrongly because they were strange and not yet adapted to their cultures and environments.

Indeed, it is not the type or model of governance that matters, but the people behind the system – their discipline, knowledge, understanding and patriotism. The Chinese governance system is working because it chose and is practising a system with Chinese characteristics fashioned after years of historical experiences. Africans should learn to construct governance systems and administrative platforms with their peculiar circumstances and characteristics.

AFRICAN nations must realise that the post-pandemic era will be a global society and a world responding to a new normal. Worse still, prior to COVID-19, many of these countries had socio-economic challenges, and are battling recession and poverty. The virus only became a situation of adding pepper to injury. The post-virus development challenges can be addressed by strong leadership and good governance. African governments must position themselves and take liberty of the philosophy of the Two Sessions as a unique strategy if our collective aspirations of  realising and making the AU agenda 2063 a reality.

The Two Sessions is an apt model of true representative democracy as conceptualised by Stuart Mill. It symbolises everything that meets the universal principles of democracy which are authority, rule of law, legitimacy to rule and choice. Since the effective legislation and policies of the Two Sessions have an added value and credibility to China’s governance system, it means its transparent, unique democracy and democratic governance is working well. It is worthy of emulation as it is affecting the world positively in the spirit of China’s philosophy of building a community with a shared future for mankind.  The essential ingredients or substances of the Two Sessions critical to stable democratic governance include multi-party cooperation, political consultation and inclusive political processes. Once these are put in practice any crises situation can be effectively managed.  This must be cherished always as a watchword for African governments. These are indeed principles that can serve as effective strategies in mobilising the people and resources to meet the developmental challenges of the post COVID-19 era. It is an era requiring that we practise inclusivity not exclusivity; by-partisan solidarity not bitter partisan acrimony or unnecessary multi-party competition and opposition; it will be a period requiring unity of purpose in articulating national goals, not bickering over personal or party interests at the expense of national interests and goals.

THUS, identifiable mecha-nism in the China – African relations essential for institutionalising and deepening these unique governance attribute must be put as priority in our mutual interest. Deliberate investment in education as a soft power tool, culture and technology must be taken seriously as contained in the BRI programme. Africans must note that China’s lessons are not repeatable but are significant lessons to emulate.

 

• Golwa, ex-director general of Institute for Peace & Conflict Resolution, is senior research fellow at Centre for China Studies in Abuja.