The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • At seven, is Paris Agreement already on life support?

    At seven, is Paris Agreement already on life support?

    • By Karim Elgendy

    Nov. 4 marked seven years since the Paris climate accord came into force after it was adopted in the French capital in December 2015.

    The landmark climate treaty represented a watershed moment in climate change governance and became the moment when all nations committed to doing something about climate change. However, it had a hidden flaw.

    The agreement aimed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably 1.5C, compared to pre-industrial levels, build resilience to climate effects and align financial support with the scale and scope needed to tackle the climate crisis. However, national commitments under the agreement are entirely voluntary, as countries are required to submit pledges called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) on how they will reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts. Those NDCs never added up to the needed emission reductions.

    To address this, regular reviews – known as the Global Stocktakes – were mandated by the agreement to check if the world is on track to meet the goals of the accord and to advise nations on whether they need to revisit their pledges.

    First health check

    Just a few weeks ago, the first Global Stocktake report was publicly released. To no one’s surprise, it offered a sobering assessment. It found that while the Paris Agreement has spurred near-universal climate action, much more is needed now on all fronts as emissions are not falling nearly fast enough. The NDCs submitted so far would still lead to around 2.5C of warming this century. Implementation of current pledges is also lagging. Meanwhile, climate impacts are accelerating, and adaptation support remains fragmented, uneven and insufficient to deal with rising climate impacts and risks.

    The report called for steeper emissions cuts this decade across all sectors, capacity building, international cooperation, a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels starting with coal, boosting adaptation, scaling up climate finance, and aligning all financial flows with the Paris Agreement goals.

    Scientists say the window is closing fast and that our carbon budget for a 1.5C warmer world will run out before the end of the decade if emissions continue as they are today. However, limiting warming to 1.5C is still feasible if the monumental effort required is put in. This includes peaking emissions by 2025, reducing emissions by 43% by 2030, reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century, all necessitating an all-hands-on-deck effort. Countries have agreed to update their NDCs in 2025. This offers an opportunity to get on track.

    But this opportunity can only happen if we are all rowing in the same direction. Emissions in most nations are still rising rather than falling, stronger national policies and more finance for developing countries are not materializing at the scale or speed needed, vested interests are slowing the clean energy transition, and rhetoric is not always matched with real action.

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    The Global Stocktake highlights that while the Paris Agreement has strengthened climate consciousness, the grave prognosis demands emergency intervention before it is too late. Paris may not be dead yet, but its pulse is dangerously faint. Radical strengthening of commitments cannot come soon enough.

    Leaving fossils in the ground

    The Global Stocktake recommendation of phasing out fossil fuels is perhaps its least straightforward to galvanize action behind. The report notes in no uncertain terms that there can be no new fossil fuel infrastructure in a world committed to keeping warming in check, including phasing out the existing coal industry in a just manner by 2040 and phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by 2025.

    Later this month, delegates from around the world will gather in Dubai for UN climate change conference COP28 to negotiate a number of pending issues. Among those issues are interrelated ones, such as the way forward in light of the Paris Agreement’s poor report card, and the contentious issue of the phase-out of fossil fuel.

    The message from scientists, the 80 nations calling for a phase-out, and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is unambiguous – phasing out coal, oil and gas is make or break for 1.5C. Failure to do so will mean irreversible harm to lives and livelihoods. Yet oil and gas producers are pushing back.

    This sets the scene for a showdown in Dubai. Entrenched positions and no compromise in sight mean a challenging COP awaits. With just seven years remaining to nearly halve emissions, the stakes could not be higher. The lack of a negotiation track on phasing out fossil fuels complicates the progress. Unless a landing zone is found, another year could be lost with no new commitments or actions.

    The upcoming COP28 summit has been one of the most important climate milestones since the Paris Agreement. It is also the moment to bring it back from the brink as its pulse fades away. With the prognosis so dire, a radical action cannot come soon enough to revive the ailing climate treaty and steer the world away from climate catastrophe.

    •This article was originally published in www.aa.com.tr with the headline ‘Paris Agreement turns 7 years old today, but is it already on life support?’

  • Horrific!

    Horrific!

    • Discovery of 70 bodies in Abia market raises questions on security alertness

    Abia State Governor Alex Otti  recently said 50 decomposing bodies, 20 headless ones and many skeletons were uncovered by security operatives during a raid of the forest around Lokpanta cattle market in Umunneochi axis of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway in the state. He also said payment of ransom to suspected kidnappers was traced to the market, which has now been sacked and marked for complete makeover by the state government.

    The governor, who spoke against the backdrop of insinuations that the take-over of the market was an ethnic card, said the move was rather in line with his administration’s determination to cede no inch of the state’s territory to criminals, and efforts to ensure safety of the life of every citizen and visitor to the state. He further argued that the plan to make the cattle market a daily market was not targeted at any particular tribe in the country, but rather aimed at revamping the security architecture of the market and its host community.

    Addressing journalists in Umuahia, the state capital, Otti said: “A few weeks ago, we found that a lot of ransom that was paid for kidnapping ended up somewhere around Umunneochi, and we decided to raid the place. During the raid, we made shocking discoveries. In less than 48 hours, we recovered over 50 dead bodies around the cattle market in Umunneochi. We recovered over 20 decomposing headless bodies – men, women, children! We recovered so many skeletons of people killed.” As is typical of most crime hubs, there were allied vices domiciled at the said location. “We also discovered that gunrunning, prostitution and so many things were happening in the market,” the governor said, adding: “So, we realised that the first thing to be done is to secure the market. We went in and brought down many brothels. And we felt that the market, just like any other market, should be a day market which starts in the morning and closes in the evening.”

    Otti further said part of measures aimed at boosting security in the area was to convert the market to a general-purpose one and fence it round. “We feel that those people hibernating in the market should go and live in the communities. We want to have a peaceful Christmas around Umunneochi and other parts of the state,” he stated. The governor recalled the imputation of an ethnic agenda to the measures, saying some people misinterpreted these to mean his administration was asking northerners trading in the market to leave the state. But the misunderstanding, according to him, was resolved upon interactions with leaders of the northern community who rescinded a threat to retaliate against the Igbo in the North.

    The northern community Umuchieze, in Umunneochi council area, however faulted the governor’s claim of discovery of 70 bodies, saying they were not aware. Community spokesman, Buba Abdullahi, was last Wednesday reported saying it was merely giving a dog a bad name just so to hang it.

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    ‘’The portrait of Lokpanta cattle market as sketched out by Mr. Governor was of one modern-day house of horror. No fewer than 70 bodies discovered, besides numerous skeletons unearthed! It is highly curious that those discoveries were made after the fact – that is, with so many people taken out of circulation and no red flags raised about the missing people before now. It must have been a function of extreme laxity of security alertness that so many people ended up interred around a single location, and such location remained under the radar of security agencies until this recent discovery that Governor Otti spoke about. Only heaven knows how many other locations like this yet exist and are staying under the radar of security agencies.’’

    The disclosure by the Abia helmsman is a big indictment on government – past and present – under which the sheer culling of the people affected was perpetuated. And who, by the way, were these victims and their family links? The skeletons are of which individuals? Under which circumstances were the people killed, and who are the likely culprits of the killings? It isn’t enough for the Abia State government to just take over the Lokpanta cattle market, it should also institute a panel of inquiry to conduct forensic and other relevant probes aimed at unravelling the circumstances of the killings and work with security agencies to track down the killers. The fact that such serial killings took place unnoticed also underscores the need for Abia and all other state governments, working with the security agencies, to install surveillance facilities by which dark spots in respective territory could be monitored.

    But beyond the roles of government and the security agencies, there is as well need for community awareness by every citizen regarding things happening in our surroundings. Besides cattle traders at the Lokpanta market, for instance, there were other people transacting businesses there who may not be directly involved in the killings, but whose lack of sensitivity to their surroundings provided cover for the killers. People need to be aware of their environment such that they could raise the alarm over any untoward ongoings they notice. Eternal vigilance, as they say, is the price of liberty.

  • Nwabueze exits

    Nwabueze exits

    • A patriot and constitutional law expert departs

    His contribution to “the Nigerian constitutional evolution and the evolution of the entire legal system of Nigeria” earned him a life-time achievement award from the Hallmarks of Labour Foundation (HLF). It was a defining honour for Prof. Ben Nwabueze, who died on October 29.  A statement by his family said he was 94. He was born in Atani, in present-day Anambra State.

    The distinguished constitutional lawyer and scholar made a name for himself not only by the books he authored but also through his participation in constitution crafting.  In a 2017 published interview, he said he would like to be remembered as “a true patriot of Nigeria,” and described himself as “a man passionate about knowledge.” At the time, he stated that he had written 34 books, the last of which was Save Our Constitutional Democracy from Emasculation.

    Among his books are The Machinery of Justice in Nigeria; Constitutional Law of the Nigerian Republic; Nigerian Land Law and Constitutionalism in the Emergent States. Others are Presidentialism in Commonwealth Africa; Judicialism in Commonwealth Africa; The Presidential Constitution of Nigeria; A Constitutional History of Nigeria; and Federalism in Nigeria under the Presidential Constitution.

    He was a prominent member of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) responsible for the 1979 constitution that gave birth to Nigeria’s Second Republic. He later criticised the same constitution, calling it “a unitary constitution, more or less in the devolution of powers.” Under that constitution, he observed, the Federal Government was “all-powerful,” and its powers “all-encompassing,” saying the CDC was “misguided” by the public clamour for a system that would promote unity at the time. According to him, “we thought the best way to achieve that unity was to create a powerful centre.”

    Following his changed perspective, he became a strong campaigner for a different approach, showing his dynamism as a thinker.  In 2017, he led a coalition called the Southern Leaders of Thought, which called for restructuring the country by abolishing the current 1999 constitution, which is fundamentally similar to the 1979 constitution. The group argued that the country “imperatively requires a new constitution adopted or approved by the people at a referendum.”

    His membership of The Patriots and Project Nigeria Movement, where he had leading positions among several other eminent Nigerians, further demonstrated his pursuit of Nigeria’s glory.  The groups, in a posthumous tribute, described him as “our leader in constitutional exploration for the stability and prosperity of Nigeria in the last 15 years.”

    Recognised as an authority in constitution crafting, he was a member of Zambia’s constitution drafting committee in 1973, and a constitutional adviser to the government of Kenya in 1992. Indeed, a former secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, was reported saying, “It’s on record that Prof. Nwabueze single-handedly drafted the Kenyan constitution, which saw the country move from a one-party system to a multiparty democracy.”

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    He studied Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, 1956 – 1961, and School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1961 – 1962. He earned his Doctor of Laws (LL. D) at the University of London in 1978, based on three outstanding books he wrote on Constitutionalism, Presidentialism, and Judicialism. The same year, he became the first academic to be made a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), mainly on the strength of his published works.

    Nwabueze taught Law at Holborn College of Law, London, and in some universities in Nigeria and other African countries, including the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the University of Zambia. He was a recipient of the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award (NNOM), the highest academic award in the country, which underlined his scholastic stature.

    He was appointed as the country’s minister of education in 1993, but held the position for only eight months; and was a recipient of the Nigerian national honour, Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).

    He was also a significant cultural figure, who co-founded the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in 1976, and served as its pioneer secretary -general. 

  • Another big one

    Another big one

    • Nigerian professor wins $100,000 global health prize

    Ibrahim Abubakar, a Nigerian Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and the Dean of the Faculty of Population Health Sciences at the University College London (UCL), has won the 2023 Roux Prize awarded by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine for his “ dedication to improving health outcomes over the past three decades”.

    Prof. Abubakar received $100,000 at the award ceremony held on 12 October in London.

    The award, according to the UCL, is to reinforce Prof. Abubakar’s efforts to support health systems in Nigeria and Africa’s Sahel region, benefitting the world’s poorest countries, among other significant programmes. This is a field that Nigeria has benefited immensely from in the last few years. His best achievement being the recent work on The Lancet Nigeria Commission which directly led to Nigeria passing a new law mandating basic health insurance and the creation of a vulnerable fund that covers 83 million underprivileged people.

    In March 2022, he led an international multi-disciplinary team on a comprehensive analysis of Nigeria’s health system supported by Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data, which identified critical gaps and offered recommendations in key areas to improve the health system.

     Prof. Abubakar says he is driven by the dire need to improve the healthcare system, especially in an effort to help the most vulnerable amongst the population.

    The award winner has been as committed as he has been versatile. He was instrumental to many critical healthcare breakthroughs like the development of health initiatives for tuberculosis and COVID-19. He developed a research programme that improved screenings. He also chaired the committees like the WHO Strategic Advisory Group for TB that led to better diagnoses and increase access to treatment, contributing to two per cent annual decline in the new TB cases globally, from 2015 to 2018.

    In 2020, he was appointed the Scientific and Technical Adviser to the Nigerian Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, and he was instrumental to organising the team that responded daily to requests for evidence and aided in developing the type and timing of national COVID-19 restrictions. 

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    He has written over 40 papers that served as national vaccination policy and is also leading an international study on COVID-19 variants across continents.

    We commend Professor Abubakar for his commitment to the health sector and contributions to global health issues. It is pertinent to note that his research projects and works have been sponsored by institutions, individuals and organisations across the world, committed to the improvement of human health. 

    It is noteworthy that he comes from a country notorious for very little attention to a functional health and education sector.

    We are happy at the achievements of this very committed Nigerian who is flying the flag of Nigeria at the highest academic research level. 

    This however brings to focus the state of Nigerian tertiary institutions. Not much money is available either from governments or individuals for research or even for infrastructural development in our schools. Prof. Abubakar might have been part of the academics that are in permanent trade dispute with the government that often reneged on its agreements with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over staff welfare, forcing universities to close down for long periods.

    It is remarkable to note that the Roux Prize is sponsored by IHME’s founding member, David Roux, and his wife Barbara, that recognises people worldwide for their innovative and impactful use of the Global Burden of Disease data which is now in its 10th year. This gesture must be a lesson to the rich people in Nigeria and other African countries that can endow prizes in universities for research and academic pursuits.

     It is not enough to aspire to make the list of Forbes richest year-on-year without the riches impacting humanity. 

    We congratulate Prof. Abubakar and pray that his achievement inspire more individuals and governments to invest in human welfare in any field or research.

  • FG’s magnanimity

    FG’s magnanimity

    • We commend govt’s decision to pay four months of ASUU salaries

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken a major step towards normalising relations between the Federal Government and university teachers. The president has decided to pay four months of the eight months salaries of the lecturers that were seized following the invocation of the ‘no pay, no work’ rule against them by the Buhari administration. This was sequel to persistent breakdown of talks between the government and the university teachers, during the teachers’ last round of strike, last year.

    The lecturers had embarked on strike from February 14, 2022, to October 27, 2022, to protest sundry issues, including successive governments’ failure to honour agreements they willingly entered into with them. 

    A statement by Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesman, explained the rationale for the presidential prerogative: “In view of his determination to mitigate the difficulties being felt during the implementation of key economic reforms in the country, as well as his recognition of the faithful implementation of terms which were agreed upon during the fruitful deliberations between ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu has directed the grant of an exceptional last waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” order on ASUU, which will allow for the previously striking members of ASUU to receive four months of salary accruals out of the eight months of salary which was withheld during the eight-month industrial action undertaken by the union.”

    But the initiative is with a proviso that the waiver would be the last to be granted by the government to ASUU or any other union in the education sector.

    We commend the president for this initiative. Things are really hard in the country, especially with the reengineering of the economy by the present government. Even those that are receiving full salaries find it tough to cope with the pains of the economic reforms. It is therefore thoughtful of the government to realise this fact and to have taken steps to mitigate the hardship on the lecturers. 

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    This ‘no victor, no vanquished’ approach is good for governance. It is better than a zero sum game which would have compounded the lecturers’ woes and the students would have been the ones to bear the brunt. The release of the four months salaries would at least mitigate the temptation on the part of the lecturers to either depend on their students’ generosity and or compulsory ‘levy’ to survive. The educational sector would be the ultimate loser in such a situation. 

    While applauding the government for this initiative, we hope both parties have learnt lessons from the circumstances that led to this juncture.

    A sore point that led to breakdown in the relationship between the two parties was persistent flagrant repudiation by government of several agreements they both willingly reached.

    It is not as if ASUU had no justification to feel angry about this and several other reasons, like poor funding of the universities, with its implications for learning, teaching and research, among others.

    But is strike, particularly prolonged strike like the 2022 experience that lasted eight months, the answer to the crises in the universities? We do not think so. 

    Lest we forget, there was a nine-month strike by the lecturers in 2020, another three months strike in 2018, among others. If strike was the solution, our universities would have been some of the best in the world.

    We implore the government to take a wholistic view of the situation on our campuses with a view to changing the situation from its present comatose state to one conducive to the undertaking of the appropriate functions in the citadels of learning.

    Persistent strike, particularly as a first resort, is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.

  • Lucky Nigeria

    Lucky Nigeria

    • Nigerians who colluded with foreigners to cheat the country in the P&ID contract must be punished

    The judgment of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales sitting in London, which upturned an $11 billion arbitration award against Nigeria, brought joy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and every patriotic Nigerian. But for the judgment, Process & Industrial Development Ltd (P&ID), with the connivance of some unscrupulous Nigerians, had obtained an arbitral award of $6.6 billion, which rose to $11 billion as at March 2013, on account of interest fixed at seven per cent, amounting to about $1 million daily.

    Sometime in 2010, P&ID entered into a duplicitous contract to construct and operate a gas processing plant in southern Nigeria. The P&ID, with no previous experience or significant assets or technical competency, was awarded a 20-year contract to harness free gas in exchange for processed gas, without going through due process. After the deal collapsed, P&ID took Nigeria to arbitration in London, and on January 31, 2017, was awarded the $6.6 billion for lost profits which rose to over $11 billion.

    Following the award, Nigeria applied for an extension of time and relief from sanctions, and the application was granted by Ross Cranston, a judge of Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, in September 2020, who returned the case to arbitration.

    Last week, Justice Robin Knowles, agreed with the submission of Nigeria that P&ID obtained the contract by fraud, and quashed the arbitral award. He held that the contract was a scam intended to defraud the country, after examining evidence that officials of P&ID had paid bribes to obtain the contract, and more bribes to ensure a shoddy defence.

    We commend former President Muhammadu Buhari, who directed the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to contest the award. Having established that the contract and award are enmeshed in corrupt practices, we urge the government to ensure that all those who aided the scam, no matter how highly placed, are made to account for their crime against their homeland. In that regard, we urge that no effort should be spared, so as to serve as lesson to all those involved. It is unbelievable that Nigerians would aid foreigners to defraud their homeland.

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    President Tinubu was succinct when he said: “This landmark judgment proves conclusively that nation-states will no longer be held hostage by economic conspiracies between private firms and solitarily corrupt officials who conspire to extort and indebt the very nations they swear to defend and protect.” He added: “Today’s victory is not for Nigeria alone. It is a victory for our long-exploited continent and for the developing world at large, which has for too long been on the receiving end of unjust economic malpractice and overt exploitation.”

    We agree with Tinubu that Nigeria and indeed Africa have suffered so much in the hands of unpatriotic locals, with the support and connivance of their foreign collaborators. The underdevelopment of the continent despite its huge natural endowments and growing young, educated population, is a reflection and sad reminder of the potency of the exploitation. Some African countries, with massive underlying wealth, such as mineral resources, like Republic of Congo, remain so poor and insecure that non-state actors operate freely across their plains, as if theirs is a no-man’s land.

    No doubt, the colonisation and the ongoing neo-colonisation of the African continent by foreign powers, cannot happen without the collaboration of indigenes. The judgment of Justice Robin Knowles of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, which confirmed the collaboration of P&ID with Nigerians, to steal, off Nigeria, billions of dollars, confirms the existence of such criminal enterprise. Nigerian, nay African leaders must brace up to deal with this gnawing tragedy, if the continent is to survive the new wave of economic exploitation. 

  • Bizarre role reversal

    Bizarre role reversal

    • It is oil thieves that now set traps for security officials rather than the other way round

    It is unfortunate that technology which ought to have been deployed by security agencies to stay ahead of oil thieves and other criminals has now found its way into the hands of undesirable elements in the Niger Delta.

    It has been reported that oil thieves responsible for cornering revenue that should have been used for national development have now installed close circuit television (CCTV) along the  pipeline routes to aid their nefarious activities and beat our security forces.

    In addition, it is said that the oil bandits  have now acquired sophisticated rocket launchers, among other weapons, to ensure steady flow of crude oil supply for the illegal oil refineries in the region.

    This is a wake-up call for the federal and sub-national governments, as well as the security forces. It is a shame that given the level of insecurity in the country for more than a decade, we still lack basic equipment that oil thieves have found easy to purchase. President Bola Tinubu should mandate the National Security Adviser and service chiefs to ensure that all the CCTV cameras and other equipment installed by the thieves  are dismantled within weeks.

    It is commendable that crude oil production has picked up of recent, thus boosting national revenue. We cannot afford to be back to the era of so much shortage that made government resort to the heavy borrowing that has become not only an embarrassment, but an albatross.

    For so long, in various sectors of the society, criminals have always seized the initiative, and trillions of Naira have been lost to corrupt officials colluding to defraud the nation. As a result, Nigeria became the internationally acknowledged poverty capital of the world. Unemployment rate is high while crime keeps soaring month-on-month as the youth, including the well educated, are lured into crime.

    The Niger Delta where relative calm had been achieved  in recent years after a period of free reign by militants, is becoming restive again as a result of acts of omission and commission by the state.

     The President, as Chief Executive of the Federation, has been invested with powers and the mandate to get the machinery of government working perfectly. Whatever was wrong has to be corrected in the interest of the ordinary people.

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    Fossil oil, sadly, remains the mainstay of the Nigerian economy and therefore deserves full attention. There has been inexplicable delay in procuring modern technology for surveillance and protection of national assets in the industry. It is, however, never too late to  make the needed procurement.

    Federal lawmakers who have the power of appropriation and oversight have a duty to ensure that fund is earmarked in the 2024 budget for all that is required in this regard. And, given the lesson learnt from previous appropriation for CCTV cameras for streets of the federal capital territory and other cities, lawmakers have a responsibility to ensure that the technology budgeted for are actually procured and installed.

    Nigeria runs the risk of other African sub-regional leaders like South Africa, Egypt and Kenya leaving us behind. The African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) spearheaded by Morocco has already taken off without a clear roadmap for the Nigerian business community to effectively participate and benefit from it. The petrodollars that accrued to the country in decades was hardly used to develop it.

    Government has committed much of our resources to rehabilitating the dilapidated refineries, with the Port-Harcourt facility expected to come on stream in December. The other three are expected to become operational next year. Taken along with the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote private refinery, a boisterous Mele Kyari, Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, said Nigeria would soon become a net importer of petroleum products and thus save the Naira from free fall.

    All this will amount to nothing if the security forces continue to demonstrate utter lack of capacity to defend the oil facilities.  The buck stops at the President’s table as he is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The time to act is now, that he seems to enjoy the goodwill of the international community. He  should therefore make necessary purchases, installation and secure training of the personnel. Any official thereafter found to fall short of national expectations should be shown the way out. 

  • Endangered species

    Endangered species

    • Robbers’ consistent raids on university hostels must be condemned and punished

    The town, broken and decayed, just shred the gown: turning students in citadels of learning into helpless targets of opportunistic crimes!  

    That might sound as grim poetry: the town as metaphor for a society riven with crime; and the gown: students, in vast campuses nationwide, as sitting target of criminals who somewhat have turned tertiary institutions a growth area!

    University campuses once seemed sacred spaces and their lucky community, of students and dons, a special species free from crimes of the outer society.  

    Not any more! — and the latest example is the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, near Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.  That tragic violation came with own galling metaphor: the late Dr. Tai Solarin, educationist of first rank and societal purist of no mean feat, would have flinched at such a plague on a school named for him!

    In the wee hours of October 24, robbers invaded an off-campus private female hostel in Abapawa, a satellite community in Ijagun, the university’s host community.  They not only rid the girls of their valuables as cash and phones, they also raped four of them.

    This robbery and rape must meet the harshest of censures of the civilised community.  The Ogun State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Moimot Salako-Oyedele, has already rallied to the situation, visiting the school for an on-the-spot assessment; and rendering the violated prompt medical help.  They are all now at the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu.

    That is all nice and commendable.  The Ogun State government has also pledged itself to weaving a more impregnable security network around its university communities, aside from the police getting cracking to nail the felons.  That is equally welcome.

    Still, for how long will the government continue to secure the stable doors after the stallion had galloped clear?  With the increasing numbers of robbery attacks on off-campus hostels, a pattern is emerging: robbers seem to see the academy community as soft targets, with little or no security.

    That must change.  This brings to mind the Federal Government’s Safe Schools Initiative (SSI), aimed at protecting the school community, from all forms of security hazards, under the charge of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    Only in August, Ahmed Audi, the NSCDC commandant-general, ordered the decentralisation of locals’ training for SSI — a scheme in which the host community is integrated into the security architecture of the school in their area.

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    Such training, aside from the regular police anti-crime interventions, is exactly what Ijagun, Ogun State, and other host communities of tertiary institutions all over Nigeria need.  The intelligence of segment of SSI should surely help to bust intended crimes, even before they are carried out.

    Even then, state governments — that often flee from integrating students campus accommodation into their tertiary education development plans — should ponder a change in policy.  Though there have been a few breaches, hostels that robbers attack are mainly off-campus facilities.  

    That suggests that facilities on campuses are generally safer.  Though such a policy change would require a higher quantum of funding in a time of vanishing resources, it would save lives by reducing vile and opportunistic robberies.

    But en route to  a policy change, private investors in student hostels must prove their capacity to secure their facilities, as a pre-condition for the government and the university authorities approving such investments.  If the investors make money from these hostels, then the safety and security of the student occupants must be top priority.

    Meanwhile, the Ogun State government must walk its talk to arrest and bring to justice the TASUED criminals.  That should be prompt and without further delay.

  • Navigating the vacuum of leadership

    Navigating the vacuum of leadership

    Sir: Nigeria, a nation rich in diversity and potential, appears to be at a critical juncture because of a pervasive lack of effective leadership across various spheres. From political corridors to religious and spiritual realms, the vacuum of leadership has left the nation grappling with multifaceted challenges.

    In the political landscape, Nigeria has faced a recurring crisis of leadership marked by corruption, instability, and a lack of visionary governance. 

    The failures to address systemic issues, rampant corruption, and an inability to chart a unified course have hindered the nation’s progress. Forging ahead demands a commitment to transparency, accountability, and an inclusive approach that considers the needs of all citizens.

    The influence of religious and spiritual leaders is significant. Yet, there are concerns about the direction and impact of this leadership. The lack of a unified moral compass has led to divisions rather than fostering unity. 

    A recalibration of spiritual leadership towards values of tolerance, empathy, and a genuine commitment to societal well-being is imperative.

    Economic challenges persist, exacerbated by a lack of effective economic leadership. Issues such as unemployment, inflation, and a widening wealth gap demand a strategic and comprehensive approach. 

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    The way forward involves embracing economic policies that prioritize job creation, equitable distribution of resources, and sustainable development.

    Beyond politics and economics, Nigeria faces social challenges stemming from inadequate social leadership. Issues such as education, healthcare, and social inequality persist. The nation must prioritize investments in education, healthcare infrastructure, and social welfare programs to uplift the masses and create a more just society.

    To navigate these challenges, Nigeria must prioritize the development of a new breed of leaders. This entails investing in leadership education, promoting meritocracy, and fostering a culture of accountability. Leaders must be selected based on competence, integrity, and a commitment to serving the people.

    Moreover, there is a need for a collective effort to bridge ethnic, religious, and regional divides. National unity and cohesion are essential for progress. Engaging in open dialogues, fostering inclusivity, and celebrating diversity can contribute to the creation of a more harmonious and resilient Nigeria.

    The country stands at a pivotal moment where the deficiencies in leadership must be acknowledged and rectified. The nation has the potential for greatness, but unlocking this potential requires a concerted effort to instil effective leadership in all spheres. By embracing good governance, transparency, and a commitment to the well-being of its citizens, Nigeria can forge ahead towards a future of prosperity and unity.

    • John Amabolou Elekun, Iju-Ajuwon, Lagos
  • TAM probe

    TAM probe

    • We hope it won’t end up the familiar script

    Last week, the Senate constituted an ad-hoc committee to investigate the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over the N11.35 trillion spent in the last 13 years on Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the four refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna. The committee, chaired by Senator Isah Jibrin, was mandated to work with chairmen of the committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream); Upstream; Gas; Finance; Appropriation, and Public Accounts, is expected, among others, to examine all contracts awarded for the rehabilitation of the refineries, and to ascertain the progress on the ongoing works. 

    It was also to interrogate the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), NNPCL, and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) on the best approach to commercialise and ensure profitability of the refineries. In all, it has four weeks to turn in its findings.

    Given how previous exercises have yielded nothing tangible either in terms of turning the fortunes of the entities around or identifying those personalities who merely took the nation on a wild goose chase for punishment, it is at once tempting to dismiss this latest exercise as merely playing a familiar script. 

    Yet, to the extent that we are here dealing with huge amounts of public funds farmed out through contracts to entities that have neglected to deliver commensurate values to the people, the issue would certainly remain not only live as it were, but legitimate subjects for our elected representatives. 

    Broad fiduciary duties of contracts and performance apart, we are here dealing with the issue of crime and punishment; how to ensure that those who were given contracts by government and for whom huge amounts were paid are not only held strictly to the terms of their contracts but are disallowed from profiting from defrauding the common wealth.  

    Of course, it may well be argued on the other hand that the failure stemmed from abdication by those charged with the public duty of oversight on those entities; in other words, had the bodies done their duties as expected under the law, the sector would have in all likelihood been spared the mess that it has become, just as the country would have avoided the humongous costs that it has had to bear as a result.

    Now that the senate has elected to act, what can Nigerians expect? 

    We believe that the four weeks is more than enough for the committee given what is already available in the public domain, particularly from the records of earlier related probes. While it seems logical that the NNPC Ltd will have the records of who got what and so should be too ready to guide the committee, the same should go to the contractors; they are in good stead to assist the committee to shed light on what went wrong. In the end, nothing short of a full accounting for every kobo spent on the refineries, including those decisions and/or lack thereof, all of which combined, have made the country the butt of jokes across global capitals, is expected. 

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    Beyond that is the issue of the future of the refineries themselves. Interestingly, the Federal Government continues to assure Nigerians that the current cycle of TAMs would deliver. Indeed, we have heard over and over again that the December target date for the completion of the Port Harcourt refinery TAM is sacrosanct, and that Warri will come on stream by the end of the first quarter of next year, and Kaduna towards the end of next year. As always, our expectation is for the government to deliver on those promises. 

    Yet, the bigger question and which has remained unanswered is what happens after. Interestingly, the Senate listed the matter among others to be considered by the ad hoc committee. For us, it comes to the basic question of whether the so-called transformed NNPC Ltd could be trusted to run the entity as a truly commercial value-driven entity, going forward. Our instant retort in the circumstance would be – what in that entity’s past record is there to point at? Is it not the same archaic models that led us to this sorry pass? Surely, this is no time to further indulge in unprofitable games. The government as a matter of fact should be out there shopping for world class firms to run the entities profitably.