The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • A question of value

    A question of value

    • Nigeria’s wash-a-thon GWR seeker is part of society’s hunt low on values

    In her pursuit of a handwashing marathon world record, Enitan Subair was reported hospitalised after a 58-hour effort to get listed as a world record holder. A viral video showed her lying on a bed with, according to a report, “white and wrinkled hands.”

    She was quoted as saying, “I felt I should give up several times, especially when I was pressed. I was like can I go through this thing? That my mum and my friends are in this crowd, I feel very fulfilled to complete this task right in front of her.”

    She initially targeted a record of 50 hours, but ended the hand wash-a-thon on November 27, exceeding that period by eight hours. A 200-level student of Linguistics and African Languages at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, she attracted the attention of the institution’s authorities as she tried to set a world record. The university’s deputy vice-chancellor (administration), Prof. Abayomi Daramola, led a management team to encourage her during the task. The Student Union President of OAU, Abbas Akinremi, said after she ended the wash-a-thon “we took her to the university clinic.”

    The Guinness World Records (GWR) has not announced her as a new record holder. The British reference body, which lists world records “both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world,” is expected to review the evidence, and verify her efforts as a new record.

    Interestingly, there are those who consider her pursuit of the wash-a-thon record frivolous, and unworthy of a university undergraduate whose mind, they say, should be focused on higher matters.

    But she is entitled to lawfully seek fame as she deems fit, and in her own way. In a world of diversity, a multiplicity of aspirations should be expected. The question of what has value will not draw the same answer from everyone. This explains Subair’s wash-a-thon record chase.   

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    In May, for instance, Nigerian chef Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, grabbed the headlines following her attempt to set a cook-a-thon world record in Lagos. Her aspiration generated intense public interest. Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was at the cooking spot. The then Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, phoned her. The then President, Muhammadu Buhari, and Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was president-elect at the time, praised her.

    GWR confirmed that she had set a cooking record of 93 hours and 11 minutes. In November, she lost her GWR position to Irish chef Alan Fisher, who cooked for 119 hours and 57 minutes.

    Baci’s cook-a-thon record triggered multiple attempts by Nigerians to set world records. For instance, a lady, identified as Big Tresh, tried to set a 125-hour world record for the longest Instagram live video. According to her, she would be live streaming herself engaging in various activities, without a break.  

    A musician, Oluwatobi Kufeji Alejopataki, started a 200-hour singing marathon. Masseuse Joy Chukwudi’s plan to massage clients for 75 hours failed; she was reported to have collapsed after 50 hours.  

    A resident of Ekiti State, who identified himself as “Sugartee,” planned the longest kissing session, but was stopped by the state government, which described it as “unhealthy and immoral.”

    The growing list of GWR attempts in the country after Baci’s success, and the colourful variety, demonstrate the enthusiasm of the record chasers and their unlimited sense of adventure.

    We believe these record-chasing examples should be dismissed as of little value. Few societies applaud GWR as sterling or headline-grabbing when scientific breakthroughs, artistic hits, intellectual ideas that transform lives thrive. It is because we play low in those areas that GWR mesmerises us. In terms of value and values, GWR is a feat but subordinate to higher pursuits. It raises questions about what is valuable. The question of value won’t go away.

  • Sanitising the space

    Sanitising the space

    • Solid minerals deserve pride of place in the economy

    For too long, solid minerals have been relegated in the bid to rev up the country’s economy. The last time that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) came up with data on its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it stood at an insignificant 0.65 per cent. This is appalling when compared to the sector’s performance in other African countries like Botswana and South Africa in the same 2021. It contributed 40 per cent to Botswana and 18 per cent to the South African GDP.

    This is why we support the ambitious plan of the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Dele Alake, who, in unfolding a seven-point agenda, has promised to raise its contribution to 50 per cent during his tenure.

    To many, this would appear a tall order, to leap from less than one per cent to 50 per cent, overtaking the traditional giants like agriculture, oil and gas, as well as manufacturing by one quantum leap.

    No doubt, there is no country on the African continent that is as well endowed with mineral resources as Nigeria. The country is said to have at least 44 mineral resources in about 500 locations. But, over the years, successive governments have left the sector to artisans and illegal miners, using crude implements and robbing the country of needed revenue.

    We endorse the Alake agenda and hope it would be backed with necessary action.

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    One area where the Tinubu administration has taken action already, giving the impression that it means business, is getting all participants in the sector registered. On October 10, the Solid Minerals Ministry published in the Federal Government Gazzette the list of more than 2,000 licenced miners who had failed to pay the token N1,500 per cadaster per annum as required by law. They were all given the 30 days’ notice to regularise their payments.

     By November 10, 1,633 failed to respond and their licences were consequently revoked.

    Government should not go back on this, because if they could not pay just the annual due meant to show they were still interested, how would they pay taxes and other dues to the national coffers?

    The minister has been active in visiting countries recognised as giants in the sector. He was able to generate sufficient interest among businessmen in Canada. It is expected that the revocation of redundant licences would free up space for serious foreign investors, if backed up by incentives as the Federal Government has promised.

    We are aware that some foreigners have taken advantage of the existing poor regulatory framework.

     In states like Zamfara, Osun, Niger and Plateau, among others, the environment is despoiled, foreigners are seen exploiting indigenes, cheap child labour, contrary to the law, is engaged and security is easily breached. All this must stop if Nigeria is to leap ahead like other countries.

    It is inconceivable and unpardonable that the sector only raked in N819 billion into the national coffers between 2007 and 2021. To achieve its aim, the ministry needs all the support it could get from the ministries of finance, budget, trade commerce and industry, as well as foreign affairs.

    We call on Dr. Alake to quickly put the structure of his ministry in order, with zonal and state offices where necessary. He also needs to carry out an assessment of the staff he inherited with a view to weeding out those who might fall short of requirement.

     It is no secret that the country’s economy has been bleeding for years and now is the time to bind the wound in all areas. One of the immediate steps that must be taken is to have a unit of the police gorce specially to monitor the mining areas. This will require support of the state governments and  traditional rulers.

    Also, the minister should ensure that international standards are maintained so that national values are not appropriated by unconscionable individuals as is the case today in the oil sector.

    Perhaps the starting point is bringing together experts and stakeholders to understand the stance of this government. Excuses will not be sufficient in this era when Nigerians expect so much from the Tinubu administration.

  • School eyesore

    School eyesore

    • Wike intervention has saved a school from an ongoing tragedy

    It is a tragedy that we still have schools like the LEA Nursery and Primary School in Bagusa at the Abuja Municipal Area Council. Reporters visited the place, and The Punch Newspapers exposed it to the world.

    It is a tragedy because it is a nightmare of travesty of a classroom, or a place we expose our children to learn to be worthy and fruitful citizens of this country and civilisation.

    A classroom is a wrong word for it. It is more like a neglected shed, where a windswept day or hour may send the little wards away. A storm of rain may report a disaster of children careened away with wayward floods.

    There are goats there and it is not because the school wants to slaughter them for lunch break. They wandered into the domain of learning. We have rodents like rats and lizards and scorpions, and it is not because they need them for biology lessons. They are taking over because of its lack of hygiene. Flies buzz about in tribute to the stench in the air.

    The school is a makeshift shed of wood and zinc, and this contrasts schools that have blocks of classrooms. They have no toilets; no chairs and desks for students, except for a few that students scramble for. The majority of them either stand or sit on a dirty floor, only the creche part has cemented floor. In parts though, a mat is a luxury for them to sit on.

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    It is the same story for the teachers. They have no desks and chairs to work. How does a school like that produce a literate child? Yet, the city had a budget of N614 million for schools for the 2022-2023 year.

    “We just want classrooms like in other schools. The other schools are far away, so this is the only school my parents can send me to. We don’t have a library and board for our teachers to write on,” a pupil lamented.

    “Let me tell you the simple truth. It is not easy at all. Even some of us do not have chairs to sit on. At times, you have to fight hard to ensure that the pupils concentrate while in class, this is due to too much distraction from activities around the school area. Oftentimes, scavengers come around and you cannot chase them away,” a teacher stated.

    “The LEA authorities paid the school a visit recently. Though I was not around, I was told that they visited and they promised that something would be done. A lot of letters had been written to the LEA and we copied AMAC and the FCT’s Education Department so that they could come to our aid but the LEA has promised to do something,” said the headteacher, Alfred Katungu.

    “We (the school) have a letter of approval, so it is not as if we are gathered here and doing something illegal.”

    The attention of the FCT minister was brought to the situation and he sent the mandate secretary Danlami Ihayyo to inspect.

    “So, it came to our notice when we saw a post in one of the newspapers, so the Minister of FCT directed us to come and inspect the school so that the minister will see how he can intervene so that the school will look very nice and the children will learn in a very conducive environment,” said Ihayyo. “The minister has directed that I come and supervise the school so that, in no time, the construction will commence in this school.

    It is cheering news. The minister announced that in three months, the FCT under him saved N110 billion. That shows that it is not for lack of money that that school was in bad shape but bad leadership.

  • Satellite scandal

    Satellite scandal

    • LASU’s undercover agent exonerates VC of complicity in certificate racketeering; only part-time programmes affected

    Beyond exonerating the Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), Ojoo, Lagos, Prof Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, of culpability in alleged certificate racketeering in the university, it has also become clear that the racketeering, contrary to earlier media reports, was not as pervasive as it was publicised. It affected only the part-time programme of the university’s satellite campuses.

    Indeed, an undercover agent not only exonerated Prof. Olatunji-Bello of complicity in the crime, he added that she did not do anything to obstruct the company charged with unravelling the scandal.

    That the racketeering began long before her assumption of duties was underscored by the fact that the university had under its immediate past administration engaged the services of WealthRoot Company to act as an undercover agent to unravel the syndicates that were manipulating the university’s server and fraudulently imputing records of non-graduates of LASU as the university’s students.

    According to the detective: “WealthRoot as a company had an understanding with the university with the mandate to understudy the mode of operations of the syndicates, under-study the process of recruiting their clients, all administrative and academic processes taken by the syndicates to the point of clearance, which required to be done in person, work with security agents to wrap up the syndicates, no matter their status or any level of external connection.”

    WealthRoot’s general manager Benedict Okohnma added that “this crime and the manipulation has nothing to do with the full-time regular undergraduate academic programmes of the institution”.

    The company was also mandated to recommend measures to prevent a recurrence of such crimes in the institution and submit its findings to the management.

    Satellite campuses are designed to meet the needs of working-class people who either could not gain admission into tertiary institutions for the regular programmes, or needed to combine work with study so they could generate money to sustain themselves while their academic programmes lasted. It was therefore a win-win situation for the institutions, the students and the country at large.

    However, LASU’s satellite campuses were scrapped by John Obafunwa who was the institution’s vice chancellor from 2011 to 2015, despite what was perceived as their benefits, particularly to the university. Apparently it was the rush to clear the backlog of students who had been admitted into the campuses before they were scrapped that some of the university’s former members of the staff exploited in order to make money illegally at the expense of the integrity of the university’s certificates.

    In its bid to get to the root of the matter, the university has suspended the dean of student affairs, Prof. Tajudeen Olumoko, pending the conclusion of the investigation. It also said it has put in place measures to fortify the certificate collection process in the university. These should be scrupulously adhered to.

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    We commend all those who have kept the matter alive since 2020 when the issue was made public. Particular mention must be made of the university’s alumni who are sufficiently embarrassed about this dent on the credibility of their alma mater. But a matter such as this would take painstaking efforts to resolve. The syndicates selling the university’s certificates would definitely cut across several sections and efforts must be made to get to the root of the matter without tainting those that know nothing about the nefarious activities of the bad eggs.

    The undercover agent said this much.

     So, contrary to the fear of cover-up, the university said it has done its part by handing over the matter to security agents. While seizing this opportunity to urge the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security operatives who have been working on the certificate scandal to expedite action so that those involved can be arrested and prosecuted, we call for a little more patience on this matter.

    LASU cannot afford to live with this stain for too long. We need an appropriate closure to the saga and this cannot happen until those involved are sanctioned to serve as deterrence not only to workers in LASU, but those in other higher institutions with proclivity for such criminality.

  • COVID-19 fund

    COVID-19 fund

    • We welcome House of Reps’ probe into how the money was spent

    The House of Representatives decision to look into alleged mismanagement of over N447.6bn COVID-19 intervention fund by 83 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government is a step in the right direction. The probe covers the period 2020 – 2022, and borders on alleged mismanagement of the funds earmarked to fight the global health pandemic. Going by the notice issued to the MDAs, each agency or department is to be represented by their “Chief Accounting Officer, Head of Finance, Head of Procurement and any other relevant officer, to defend the expenditure contained in their various submissions.”

    Although coming somewhat late in the day, we consider the probe nonetheless important.

    To begin with, it goes without saying that the elected representatives have a bounden duty to track the appropriated funds, to examine whether or not the expenditures were in alignment with their approval, and whether these were judiciously applied.

    Clearly, if the impact of the global pandemic was of a seismic scale, it quite typically brought the best and, perhaps the worst out of the officials charged with putting both containment and ameliorative measures in place. Unfortunately, whereas the pandemic containment strategies may have been deemed as somewhat admirable, Nigerians’ overall impression of the management of the so-called palliatives/interventions was certainly deemed as below par. Lacking in either rhyme or rhythm, we saw those running the MDAs treat the funds as something of a largesse, of which they were not expected to render account.

    Nigerians will certainly recall the unprecedented angst that spilled to the streets in those difficult days fuelled in part by the irresponsible, or better still, insensitive, manner with which officials went on as against their supposed duty of moving to calm the nerves of a people already drawn to the edge. If they were any appalled at how unscrupulous officials chose, at a time of their utmost vulnerability, to lock up in warehouses those items meant to bring succour to the people; far worse is that the government did nothing to bring officials responsible for the mess to book.

    The current probe has become not only necessary but borne out of the need for proper accounting, a necessary step in the effort to bring closure.

    The issues are as straightforward as could be. How much did the parliament budget for the pandemic? Was it N447.6bn or more? How much of the funds were actually released to the MDAs? Were these utilised for the purpose(s) they were meant? And were there mechanisms in place to ensure that these emergency funds were judiciously applied? What lessons for the future?

    Then of course is the part that most people fear the most: the possibility of some highly placed officials taking undue advantage of that moment of national apprehension to engage in corruption and to make illicit personal gains. If so, who are these functionaries?

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    Bottom-line: Nigerians expect is to see the lid removed from the COVID-19 intervention funds if only to enable them have full grasp of how things actually went. After all, we are not here dealing with the MDAs’ normal appropriations but emergency funds specifically set aside by government to mitigate the pains on citizens during that period of unprecedented anguish.  

    Helping to get answers to these and many more would seem the least the House could do to lay the matter to a final rest. However, the MDAs merely defending the expenditures contained in their various submissions – as the House has put out – would seem to us as too narrow in the circumstance. Instead, a thorough, perhaps forensic scrutiny of the various claims contained in them would seem more appropriate, if only to ensure that the House is not misled into drawing spurious conclusions. It is something that the anti-graft bodies, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, should be interested in. In fact, we urge them to take a more than passing interest if only to ensure that those who committed grave infractions against the country are brought to book.

  • Impunity writ large

    Impunity writ large

    • NAF personnel who attacked EFCC offices over detained colleagues must be punished

    The clash between some personnel of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and some operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Kaduna State zonal command of the EFCC leaves a sour taste in the mouth. The NAF personnel had stormed the EFCC office to effect the release of their colleagues who had been arrested for allegedly attempting to forcefully release some internet fraud suspects under custody.

    According to the EFCC, they had arrested five suspects at an eatery in the Barnawa area of the state, based on credible intelligence indicating alleged internet-related fraudulent activities there. Following the arrest, some NAF personnel and two students of Nigeria Air Institute of Technology, Kaduna, Kaduna State, who were at the venue during the arrest later stormed the Kaduna zonal command of the commission and attempted to forcibly release the suspects.

    They were subdued and subsequently detained, necessitating an inter-agency dialogue that somewhat broke down. Some officers from NAF again stormed the Kaduna State Command of EFCC and attempted a commando-style attempt to free their colleagues from custody. Restraint from the EFCC side defused tension and the officers were released after they were profiled.

    This incident is sad but not unusual in a country where there is a perennial abuse of any type of power. Some military and even para-military personnel over the years have been reported to have shown absolute disregard for discipline and respect for the rule of law in ways that have resulted to either inter-agency quarrels or even attacks against the civilian population, sometimes resulting in injuries, destruction of property or even deaths.

    We condemn the unruly attitude of the NAF personnel and their disregard for due process and display of impunity. There are legal and constitutional avenues for expressing disapproval of actions from institutions and individuals. Use of force is not one of them. Again, soldiers are trained to uphold the highest forms of discipline and hierarchical respect of offices and institutions. How did the country descend to a level where individuals wearing uniforms bought with the tax payers desecrate their offices with unruly public display of total abuse of office?

    There seems to be no other explanation other than the reign of impunity that often goes unpunished in the Nigerian society. There is an ‘above-the-law’ attitude of many officers in uniform, irrespective of their rank or status. The idea of military and para-military uniforms being seen as an armour against any kind of disciplined behaviour ought to stop. In most cases, the system does not wield the big stick against offenders, so, no deterrents are set. That is why we continue to have repeated cases of inter-agency public quarrels. 

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    We have had a series of army vs. police, Navy vs. police, EFCC vs. DSS, LASTMA vs. police and all forms of indiscipline on the streets by military and para-military personnel.

    Cyber-crimes are being tackled with serious government focus globally to protect individuals and institutions from criminals. We cannot understand how the NAF personnel tried to take laws into their hands by physically trying to confront the EFCC over a job that is exclusively the latter’s. The EFCC does not report to the NAF and as such they ought to respect their duties. If the NAF men have any complaints, they ought to channel same through the courts.

    Cyber-crimes are a major contemporary crime that affects all countries and corporate institutions, including the military. Why would the NAF not allow the agency empowered by the constitution to do their job, especially when the arrested victims are not even their personnel? This is an obvious display of the impunity in the larger society where most people with institutional power arrogate certain privileges to themselves. 

    The optics and larger import are very bad in a world inter-connected with technology.

    The actions of the NAF personnel are a clear case of the obstruction of justice which in its own is another crime that earns individuals prosecution. Institutions of state are supposed to be beacons to the citizens. Even when you feel aggrieved as an institution or individual by the actions of a government agency, physical confrontation is very wrong and illegal. Any complaints ought to be directed to the right government agency for the right adjudication processes. Storming the office of another government agency is a display of a warped sense of entitlement and show of force that rubbishes the rule of law. The NAF high command must address the issue comprehensively and warn their personnel to be more law abiding.

  • Shameful lobby

    Shameful lobby

    • Advocacy against procedure for picking new perm secs is no-brainer

    A civil society group has taken up a campaign against the process of appointing new permanent secretaries in the federal civil service that involved directors writing a qualifying examination. The group last week alleged irregularities in the exam conduct, calling for a probe by government and possible cancellation of the process.

    The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) had in August invited directors on Grade Level 17 to apply to fill the vacancies for the position of permanent secretaries. A memo dated August 21, 2023, and signed by the Head of Service (HoS), Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, said the recruitment process was being commenced following approval given by President Bola Tinubu. That memo was addressed to Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, Accountant-General of the Federation, all ministers and ministers of state, the Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among others.

    Reports said the sifting process, which commenced in October, and is expected to close by November ending, involved three stages namely; written examination on public service and policy issues, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) proficiency test, and an oral interview. A total of 85 directors were shortlisted for the exam that held on November 6, but four were absent on examination day. It was reported that only 20 directors out of the 81 that sat for the examination passed and were invited for the ICT proficiency stage. A memo dated November 7 from the OHCSF said the 61 directors who failed the examination scored below 50 percent and were thus disqualified from the race.

    In its statement, the civil society group known as Centre for Public Accountability (CPA) alleged that the process was marred by “allegations of bias and manipulations” and described the qualifying examination as unconstitutional. The group’s spokesperson, Nuhu Adams, said: “We followed the recently concluded promotion examination from directorship cadre to permanent secretary rank and discovered it was marred with huge controversies that call for total cancellation and review of the entire process. It will be recalled that 85 directors from five states of the federation and two geo-political zones, namely the Northcentral and the Northeast, sat for promotion examination on November 6, 2023, with results released on November 7, 2023. It was reliably gathered that long before this exercise, there had been complaints about the composition of the examination committee, allegedly comprising mainly those known as the Head of Service’s allies.”

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    According to the group, Dr. Yemi-Esan whose office conducted the exercise needs to explain what happened with the qualifying exam. It cited unnamed stakeholders allegedly urging the President to cancel the examination and directly appoint the permanent secretaries as is done with ambassadors and the SGF in line with Section 17(1)(2) of the Constitution. The group wondered how only 20 of the 85 directors invited to sit for the examination scaled through, adding: “To ensure transparency and fairness, it may be prudent to involve external bodies or agencies in the investigation. This would help dispel any concern about conflict of interest and guarantee an unbiased scrutiny of the allegations.”

    But the case being plied by the group can be seen through as an ignoble lobby to discredit an official process just because some directors lost out. Actually, it isn’t beyond contemplation that some loser-directors might be behind the lobby. Only it’s a lame lobby because you do not discard a system just because some participants did not make the cut of success. 

    And it isn’t that there is anything strange about people failing examinations; what is strange is the huge number of directors affected.

    The advocacy group in its statement said the HoS needed to explain what happened during the conduct of the qualifying examination. But we think it is the directors who failed the examination that owe explanation on why they performed so poorly. The group may have a point though, in that the system also owes explanation on how directors who could not score up to 50 percent in an exam on public service and policy issues climbed up to the director level in the first place. Still, we believe in fresh chances and would canvass that the directors be given other opportunities to take a shot at the high office, and be barred only after failing a number of attempts. But it’s bad faith to float a lobby to discredit the system and disparage constituted authorities, i.e. the Head of Service, because one has failed official examination.

    Neither is the advocacy for direct appointment of permanent secretaries by the President, like ambassadors, a bright idea. Ambassadors are largely political appointees representing the President, whereas permanent secretaries are career appointees who rose through the bureaucratic ladder. Anyone who would be a permanent secretary must be found worthy of the bureaucratic rigour that goes with the position. But that is not to say the system is perfect. The Head of Service could recalibrate the process where necessary to make the conduct of the examination more transparent, and the entire process more fair and credible.

  • One minus one can’t make one

    One minus one can’t make one

    • Two houses of assembly in Rivers State cannot stand the test of the law

    The crisis in Rivers State is not only testing our constitution, but it has put on full display a sordid show of our political elite. Or, at least, a section of that elite in the maritime state. Right now, there are two groups describing themselves as the authentic house of assembly in the state.

    It is lawmaking as travesty. The people of the state earlier this year voted in individual legislators as part of a single assembly. Halving it defies law and reflects a lack of respect for the people. One of the groups comprises 27 lawmakers and the other four. It means the 27 lawmakers hold the majority, and the balance of four ought to see their body as not only inauthentic but also illegal.

    If the law says there is only one house of assembly, one of them cannot be embraced within our law. Obviously, four cannot make a law or even constitute a quorum. It shows that the four-man group cannot be described as a faction since it does not even have the numbers for robust influence. But it has become complicated because the four men, led by Edison Ehie, enjoy the backing of the governor, Sim Fubara.

    Fubara has been at loggerheads with his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. It is a political fight between a godfather and godson but it has spilled into not only the constitutional arena, it has also inflicted mayhem and arson. Its signal event was the burning of the state house of assembly.

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    That singular act stirred a nation out of a lie that a governor who had just mounted the throne for three months was at peace with his mentor. Not the state alone was stunned but the entire nation. It compelled President Bola Tinubu to step in and restore a measure of calm. While the hysteria of rebels in the form of an arson act has not happened again, both sides are torching the atmosphere with rhetoric. Governor Fubara had even held a rally among his supporters and leapt from a mosh pit to a podium and spoke with a note of not only defiance but also belligerence.

    After the president’s intervention, there was an illusionary lull during which Wike and Fubara met. But it has turned out to be a photo-op with deceptive bonhomie. The minister has accused the governor of betraying his political family and himself. It seems that the bitterness between both sides are too deep for a presidential plea for an olive branch.

    We always expect the deficiencies of our politics to steer clear of the pristine integrity of our institutions. But that is only a fantasy.

    Institutions and human failings must interact, and, in this instance, it is proving a threat to the sanctity of the legislature. There can only be one law chamber because there cannot be two laws for a people in a democracy. For instance, at a recent sitting of the 27-man legislature, they passed two bills. One of them was to investigate the arson and prosecute the offenders.

    If the 27 members, led by Martin Amaewhule, are not at one with Governor Fubara, their efforts are in vain. Yet, the four-man group may attract the signature of the same governor for their own legislative bill. Such acts tease an oligarchy. It contradicts the basic tenet not only of law but also of democracy: that the majority carries the day.

    We have seen such ignoble scenarios before, especially in the days of President Olusegun Obasanjo when a straggle of kangaroo lawmakers held a meeting at odd hours to impeach governors. Today, we are witnessing it in Edo State. Such tendencies undermine any zest for a civilised society.

  • Follow the law

    Follow the law

    • This is the way out of Osun imbroglio

    The dispute between the Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, and the chief judge of the state, Justice Oyebola Ojo, must be resolved in accordance with the rule of law, since both parties are creations of law. We condemn the illegal attempt by the governor to remove the chief judge, in flagrant disobedience of the Third Schedule, Part 1, paragraph 21(d), of the 1999 constitution (as amended), which gives the National Judicial Services Commission (NJSC) power to recommend to the governor the removal of a judge, from office. 

    The governor penultimate week, through his spokesman, Olawale Rashed, announced that: “The Executive Governor of Osun State, Governor Ademola Adeleke, has approved the resolution of the Osun State House of Assembly asking the Osun State Chief Judge, Adepele Ojo, to step aside pending the investigation of allegations of misconduct, abuse of power, corruption, and disregard for rule of law against her by the house of assembly.” Regrettably, the state assembly joined the governor in his unconstitutional conduct. 

    The state assembly acted ultra vires the constitution in making the resolution to remove the chief judge, and the governor had no business to enforce same. Expectedly, there was public uproar over the manifest breach of the constitution by the house of assembly and the governor. Surprisingly, Governor Adeleke made the failed attempt to remove the chief judge, despite a ruling by the National Industrial Court, which ordered the maintenance of status quo. A member of the state judicial service commission also alleged that that constitutional body was illegally dissolved to pave way for the governor to unlawfully seek to remove the chief judge. 

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    We wonder what is driving the house of assembly and the governor to engage in such acts of impunity against the head of the third arm of government, with its own constitutional prerogatives? Could it be that the governor, treats important constitutional matters of state the careless way he dances to pop music, along streets? 

    We advise Governor Adeleke that it is his responsibility to provide adequate protection for the chief judge to exercise the functions of her office. If there are allegations of infractions against her, the NJC has the powers to investigate and discipline.

    Instructively, the strike by the Osun State Chapter of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has been declared politically motivated. The local chapter first started a demonstration against the chief judge, before the state chairman of JUSUN, Gbenga Eludire, unilaterally declared a strike. According to the National President of JUSUN, Marwan Adamu “Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria has never directed or approved that any of its members should proceed on any protest or picketing in Osun State judiciary or any other state to settle any perceived or real political scores.”

    So, who is instigating Mr Eludire, since the national body has dissociated its union from the actions he has taken to picket the office of the chief judge and embark on illegal strike? We urge Mr Eludire to immediately call off the strike, and advise the state’s JUSUN members to return to work. 

    We commend Justice Olayinka Afolabi, who resisted the temptation to become an unlawful acting chief judge. Judges with inordinate ambition who treaded such path of ignominy in the past, paid heavily for that.

    For the common good of the people of Osun state, especially those who have cases in court, the crisis playing out in the state judiciary should be resolved quickly in accordance with the rule of law. Renegade members of JUSUN, the state governor and house of assembly should direct any petition they have against Osun State Chief Judge, to the NJC, and stop using strong arm tactics to achieve political purpose.

  • Usman Baba Pategi, aka Samanja, (1942 – 2023)

    Usman Baba Pategi, aka Samanja, (1942 – 2023)

    • The soldier who later carved a niche for himself as actor

    He once observed: “How did I become popular, that I am so well known today, if not for my career choice? Who cares who Usman Baba Pategi is, if not for my role as Samanja?” He was, indeed, better known as Samanja, the name of the eponymous lead character in a popular long-running Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) drama series in the 1980s and 1990s. He died on November 12, aged 81.   

    The coinage from Sergeant Major (SerMajor), and the creation of the programme, were fruits of his military service. He explained: “The drama series, Samanja, was meant to enlighten the civil populace on the regimentation of the military.” It focused on the lives of soldiers inside and outside the barracks, and had a comic flavour. As Samanja, he spoke a mixture of Hausa, English, and Pidgin English, mimicking the usual style of communication among the rank and file.

    He joined the army in 1969. Interestingly, this was, he said, after “a Captain came looking for northern youths to volunteer to fight,” during the Nigerian Civil War. He was trained at the Army Training School, Oshodi, Lagos; and served in “the Mid-West in Kwale Town under the late General Sani Abacha,” who ruled the country

     dictatorially from 1993 until his death in 1998. According to him, he had observed “how our Sergeant Major controlled the other ranks and related with his superiors.”

    Before then, he had worked at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Kaduna, where he had some acting experience. He attended Pategi Primary School and Ilorin Middle School before he started working.

    When he retired from the army in 1985, he returned to what he described as “my first love, which is drama.” This time, he worked at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Kaduna. He collaborated with others at FRCN and NTA to create the drama series Samanja.

    He highlighted some of his memorable moments resulting from playing the role of Samanja, which gave an insight into his celebrity as an actor. They included “an invitation by a former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, to perform on stage during the Army Day celebration, the VIP treatment given me and my crew during the Nigerian Air Force Day Celebration in Ikeja, Lagos, when they dispatched a plane to fly me and my crew from Kaduna to Lagos. On that occasion, the plane was on stand-by and after we had performed, it flew us back to Kaduna.” Another one was “when my crew and I passed the night in Aso Rock, during the reign of General Sani Abacha when his wife invited us to perform.”

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    Credited with helping to popularise Hausa-language comedy movies in Nigeria, he was ranked among the pioneers of Kannywood, the Hausa-language sector of Nollywood, Nigeria’s growing film industry. Apart from acting, he scripted and directed movies.

    In 2017, he was among distinguished thespians decorated as Fellows of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) at a ceremony in Lagos. He was inducted into the NANTAP Hall of Fame in 2020. He was also a recipient of the Chief of Army Staff Award for Excellence in Acting.

    He could have chosen a different path. Born into a royal family in Pategi, a Nupe town in present-day Kwara State, he could have succeeded his grandfather and father as Etsu Pategi, king of Pategi. When the throne became vacant, the prince was encouraged to “come back home and rule my people,” but he had different aspirations. He said: “It didn’t appeal to me. My ambition was to make money through drama and retire to be a philanthropist and help the needy.”

    In the end, he succeeded in making a name for himself as an artiste, and left a legacy of impactful creativity.