The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • BRICS without mortar

    BRICS without mortar

    • Nigeria should tread softly in this new superpower rivalry 

    We may call the new and emerging bloc that entails Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa a mere protest group, or BRICS without mortar. But they stand a growing force in international relations and the balance of power in the world.

    Yet, it is easy to overstate their muscle. In their last summit in South Africa, they added new members, including the United Arab Emirate, Iran, Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

    As it stands, with more countries waiting in the wings, the countries in BRICS account for a growing population of the world. The countries that attended the last meeting accounted for about 40 percent of the world population.

    We cannot however take for granted that the western nations, especially the United States, that BRICS is up in arms against still make up the heft of the gross domestic product of the world. The European countries, though static today, combines with the North American giants, including Canada.

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    The problem with this bloc, unlike in the era of the cold war, is its absence of ideological impetus. The old Soviet bloc comprised communist countries in Eastern Europe that were under the Kremlin’s thumb. All of them are free today and none of them belongs to BRICS as yet. The United States was the champion of capitalism and liberal democracy.

    Today, the only thing holding BRICS together is a fear or antipathy to the United States. It is basically resentment rather than a belief. This will make it difficult to generate enough passion.

    Nigeria attended the South African summit and it generated speculations that Nigeria was going to pivot to China at the expense of its relationship with the west. Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, clarified the issue.

    Hear him: “So far, we have not applied for the membership of BRICS. And it is majorly informed by the fact that my principal, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a true democrat that believes in consensus building.”

    It is significant that President Tinubu received an invitation from the United States President, Joe Biden, just days after Vice President Shettima arrived from South Africa. That meeting will hold as part of the activities of the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York in mid-September.

    This shows how we should approach the emerging global politics. BRICS may have something to offer us as a nation, and we should not shun it. In the same way, we should not push the west away for what we can gain from them.

    This brings the years of the non-aligned movement masterminded by Josip Bros Tito of the old Yugoslavia that made countries, like Nigeria, who did not want to be sucked into the superpower conflict.

    BRICS bears the malice of China and Russia, two countries that look askance at US military and economic power and want to bring others into their spheres. Both countries have also entered a military and economic alliance and have just completed a joint military exercise in the neighbourhood of the United States. Russia is at war with Ukraine, and recently held an Africa summit to woo the continent, and Vice President Shettima also attended.

    Both nations should not see the rest of the world as naïve, and hence Nigeria should play its card with an eye to a national interest that does not place us inside any orbit. The BRICS has a good value in restraining the US in its exercise of economic strictures on Africa, a thing China is capitalising on with cynical zeal.

    India, a prominent member, is a cautionary tale as the Asian nation treats China with suspicion, a next-door neighbour with which it has had some military clashes.

    Hence Nigeria ought to take a non-aligned attitude while hoping to pursue its financial interest, especially with its New Development Bank, a counterfoil to the World Bank.

  • Willful murder

    Willful murder

    • The killing of Citizen Jubril in Lagos in broad daylight over land matters should be investigated and prosecuted

    President Bola Tinubu struck the right chord at the Nigerian Bar Association Conference when he declared the need for wholesale justice sector reform in the country. He pledged an upward review of salaries and emoluments of judges of superior courts.

    Beyond remuneration, the rot in the justice delivery system must be squarely addressed if the nation is to grow. Many have their fundamental rights trampled upon, while the Rule of Law amounts to nothing, where some of our personalities are concerned.

    One of the latest unfortunate developments in this regard was the killing of Chief Fatai Jubril of Lootu Village in Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State. The man, who until his death was the chief of the community, was said to have been shot dead by hoodlums allegedly hired by another chief contesting ownership of a piece of land with him.

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    Jubril’s widow told newsmen her late husband was killed in broad daylight even as she pleaded with his assailants. Her teenage daughter, too, looked on as he was shot dead point blank.

    Yet, weeks after the incident, the police have failed to charge the matter to court. Despite eye witness accounts by the widow and others who live in the community, neither the alleged killer, nor the known hoodlums, is in custody.

    While we have no means of ascertaining the whole facts of the case, we expect the police to have unravelled the truth, or to have gone far enough in assuring the Jubril family that no one is above the law. Witnesses have confirmed that policemen were at the scene of the crime as the victim was dealt deadly club and machete blows before the trigger that took his life was pulled.

    The police have a duty to get to the root of the matter in good time if citizens’ confidence in the justice system is to be restored. If the people are not to be encouraged to take to self-help, they have to see Nigeria as a country where justice is enthroned.

    The Jubrils of Ibeju Lekki in Lagos are not the only Nigerians crying for justice in a land where the rich and powerful can get away with anything. One is expected to know someone in authority if he is to be accorded his rights. And, when someone has the “connection”, he could get away with anything, including depriving others of their property or lives. Since the matter is now in the public domain, neither the police high command in Abuja, nor the Lagos State government could claim ignorance of the development. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and acting Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun should step in immediately. Tears must be wiped off the faces of the widow and children of the deceased. Lagos is not just the most populous state in Nigeria; it is the most cosmopolitan and sophisticated. It is the commercial nerve-centre and the private sector, including foreign investors being wooed by both the federal and state governments, should be assured that the state is safe for all residents, high and low.

    In the President’s plan to reform our justice system, it must be realised that the police deserve to be paid special attention. Our policemen should be specially trained, well remunerated and disciplined, especially as they are the ones that handle criminal investigations. When a shoddy investigation is conducted, a poor foundation is laid and the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) either returns a verdict that there is no valid case or, if it goes to court, it is easily dismissed after wasting the court’s time.

    In the instant case, we call on the Lagos State DPP to call the Commissioner of Police for an urgent meeting. A life has been lost in the most brazen manner. One case that comes to mind as comparable was the Jimoh Ishola case of 1975, when Raji Oba with whom he was involved in a land dispute was killed. However, he committed the murder under the cover of darkness while the 2023 killing was done in the open.  Ishola, also popularly known as Ejigbadero, was eventually sentenced to death by hanging in a case finally adjudicated by the Supreme Court.

    Land grabbers in Lagos have become notorious for taking the law into their hands. There is an urgent need to show that Nigeria operates under the Rule of Law. If the Ejigbadero case could be satisfactorily decided in 1978, there is no reason why the land grabbers in Lagos should not be told in clear terms that the state is not a jungle. After the Ejigbadero case, Lagos was rid of the land grabbers for years. This matter should be laid to rest conclusively and convincingly as speedily as possible.

  • Unnecessary confrontations 

    Unnecessary confrontations 

    • LASTMA and military personnel fighting in public is bad for their image

    Two viral videos showing confrontation between members of the Nigerian Army and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) need to be dealt with by relevant organs of the two institutions, to avoid a repeat. In a 31-second video, soldiers wearing scarves to conceal their faces attacked some LASTMA officials. In another 16-second video, a LASTMA official was dragging a soldier out of a bus and hitting him with a stick.

    While nobody has linked the two incidents, the relevant authorities should be worried.

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    Of course, the authorities have to investigate whether they are linked and those involved in the incidents. They also need to ensure the viral videos do not cause further agitation and reprisal attacks.

    We agree with the reported statement of the spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, who said: “I must say it is disturbing that the soldiers/LASTMA conflict is now one too many.” Indeed, it would be sad if the rank and file of the two agencies that should complement each other for public safety, turn on themselves for whatever reasons.”

    We are happy to hear from the army chief that “the authorities of the Nigerian Army are genuinely concerned and are embarking on a vigorous sensitisation campaign to educate our personnel on the need to ensure compliance with traffic rules and promote synergy and interagency cooperation in Lagos State and around the country.”

    Discipline is the hallmark of the military and as such, a soldier should show discipline at all times. Indeed, discipline is supposed to be an everyday and everywhere synonym for a trained soldier.

    Gen Nwachukwu further assured that: “To rein in our personnel, the military police have also been mandated to conduct ‘Operation Checkmate’ by carrying out intermittent surveillance to identify and arrest personnel who violate traffic rules or are found engaging in any untoward activity. The altercations are pointing to the fact that there is a need to strengthen interagency cooperation amongst the security agencies in Lagos.”

    The observation of the Army spokesman strikes a cord and we hope the army and LASTMA do the needful.

    The needful includes educating their personnel on interagency relationship. Those who wear uniform should be educated to understand that in or out of uniform, they are ambassadors of the institutions they work for. Such a mindset is necessary for discipline at all times. We hope the army will walk its talk, and urge LASTMA to inculcate similar values in their personnel. No doubt the work of LASTMA is sensitive, especially with regards to holding drivers to account, regardless of the institutions they work for.

    It is common sight to see military and para-military agencies drive against the traffic or use the exclusive lane reserved for BRT buses. And when they are confronted they feel desecrated, thinking that their uniform puts them above the general regulation for other traffic users. It is also common to see LASTMA officials use their uniform as a license to harass and intimidate drivers for minor traffic offences. Some of them are outright dubious, and should be weeded out of the agency.

    For us, the solution to such crisis witnessed recently lies with the relevant heads and officers of the various  agencies. With proper orientation, army personnel, both the rank and file, would understand that traffic control and management is for the good of all road users, and as such all must abide by it. On their part, LASTMA officials charged with exercising authority over road users should exercise their responsibility with decorum and respect for all, especially those entrusted with defending the welfare of the nation. Should some military personnel commit any infraction, LASTMA should report to relevant heads, and not resort to self-help.

  • Actualiser at last? 

    Actualiser at last? 

    • The Tinubu govt can’t afford to miss the opportunity of making Ajaokuta work

    Our past leaders recognised the importance of steel development but lacked the political will to achieve its objectives”. That was the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, speaking when he assumed duties on August 21, shortly after President Bola Tinubu swore in the ministers.

    Audu hit the nail on the head. But beyond this is the need for the present government that Audu is serving to rewrite the Ajaokuta narrative. What Ajaokuta needs now is an actualiser that would ensure that the project actually comes on stream, in line with the aspirations of its founding fathers.

    Ajaokuta Steel Complex was started in 1979 and commissioned in 1983. It is a matter for regret that despite the over $10bn spent on the project said to have reached 98 per cent completion as far back as 1994, the steel plant has not produced a single sheet.

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    Just like our equally moribund refineries that the Federal Government keeps spending on, Ajaokuta too has continued to gulp personnel and other costs. Each year between 2016 and 2023, personnel costs alone gulped about N30billion, according to The Punch. Also, the government has continued to make provision for electricity and other expenses.

    The company has been bogged down by one problem or the other. For instance, the 10-year concession tenure that the Obasanjo government entered into with MESSRS SOLGAS ENERGY of USA in June 2003 was terminated in August 2004 for alleged non-performance. Similarly, another concession arrangement entered into by the same government with Global Infrastructure Nig. Ltd (GINL), an Indian company, to operate Ajaokuta Steel and the Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Co. (NIOMCO), Itakpe, Kogi State, was again terminated by the Umaru Yar’Adua government, unfortunately without meeting the requirements precedent to such  revocation. This led to a prolonged legal battle that the Muhammadu Buhari government was only able to resolve in 2016. Even at that, not much has happened to make the plant functional. It has remained moribund.

    We expect Mr Audu to break the over 40 years jinx. The minister has, among other things, promised to set a roadmap for the development of the steel sector, aggressively pursue the completion of Ajaokuta steel, as well as facilitate the enactment of requisite laws to regulate the steel sector.

    We urge him to swing into action immediately. The steel sector is too important to the country, especially at this time when it is beset by serious economic challenges. We must revive Ajaokuta Steel not just to enable us produce steel but also to provide jobs for our youths, most of whom are either roaming the streets or are desperate to leave the country in search of better life in other lands. Yet, the company is said to have the capacity to provide direct jobs for over 10,000 technical personnel and indirect jobs for more than 500,000 others when fully operational. This is a lot.

    The separation of the steel sector from the former Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, would seem an indication of the importance the Tinubu administration accords the steel sector. Although it might mean increased cost of governance as some people have observed, but would be worth it if the minister and the government demonstrate the political will to break whatever seems to have so far jinxed the steel plant. The minister now has only one thing to concentrate on: steel and nothing but steel. He has been saved the distraction that the Mines sector would have been to him. So, he has no excuse not to deliver.

    Ajaokuta holds innumerable benefits that the country cannot afford to continue missing. Steel production has contributed immensely to the industrialisation efforts of several countries. The Tinubu government would therefore do Nigeria a lot of good by rewriting the Ajaokuta narrative. It would also etch its name in gold for succeeding where others had failed.

  • To Lai Oso: Ace journalist, scholar and humanist

    To Lai Oso: Ace journalist, scholar and humanist

    • By Umaru A. Pate

    This is one sad and painful tribute I would have prayed never to offer; a tribute in the memory of my bosom professional colleague and confidant, Professor Lai Oso, of the School of Communication, Lagos State University. Lai was one of Nigeria’s finest and highly respected media scholars. But the ways of the Almighty Allah are not dictated by the wishes of man; anytime the Almighty commands, mere mortals accept and thank Him through prayers. Never did I imagine that a fellow that chatted with me on WhatsApp on June 23, in the night will die few hours ahead on June 24 leaving his family and close associates like me answering questions on the certainty of the news of his death and the flood of condolences that followed.

    Every condolence message came with a unique story of how good Lai was and the grief, pain and sadness on his loss. From the messages, it was evident that Lai Oso was a truly good man who meant many things to many people. Individuals that called, irrespective of religious identity, gender or geographical location, especially colleagues and former students cried openly.  In most cases, I ended up consoling and pleading with them to take heart and submit to the reality of life’s fluidity and its transient nature; we are all here today, gone tomorrow. Such is the helplessness we have to accept about the painful reality of death and the overall precariousness of life.

    One can only imagine the depth of my grief and the amount of my pain when Professor Rotimi Olatunji of the Faculty of Communication, Lagos State University (LASU) called to inform me on the evening of Saturday, June 24, that Lai was involved in an accident on his way back to Sagamu from Abraka where he went to examine some PhD candidates. At that point, we were not certain on his condition. We talked and agreed he should consult with Lai’s host in Abraka to verify the story. When he called back after reaching out to Abraka, my worst fear was confirmed. The police had confirmed that Lai was one of the two victims that died in an earlier reported fatal auto crash along the Ore-Ijebu highway.

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    Exactly 10 days to his death, precisely on June 14, I was with Lai in Lagos. Upon his recommendation, I was invited by the Dean of the School of Postgraduate Studies at LASU to serve as an external examiner for two PhD candidates that he supervised. I have been doing that for them over the years but that was the first time he appeared to be in a hurry for me to go to Lagos for the examination in May. I had to plead with him to stretch the date because of my commitments in the University of Miami, Florida, USA within the period. He agreed and we fixed June 14, two days after my return. I honoured the date and the candidates were examined after which he drove me to the Murtala Airport for a flight to Abuja. That was to be our last meeting.

    My relationship with Lai Oso was a long fruitful one that blossomed to that of a senior brother transcending family and professional lines. I first knew him through his school mate who was my former Head in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri, Professor Muhammad Danladi Musa, now of the University of Al’ain in the UAE. Both of them obtained their  PhD degrees from the University of Leicester supervised by Professors Paul Hartmann (Lai in 1987) and Peter Golding (Danladi). The two are deeply and admirably grounded in the Political Economy of Mass Communication scholarship. The evidence of their expertise in that perspective is respectably glaring in their scholarly publications and presentations.

     In the late 1990s and beyond, when I was the Head of the Department of Mass Communication in UNIMAID, Lai served as the pioneer external examiner for our postgraduate programme. He served for two terms diligently. For the period, he added value and quality to the content of our curriculum and the theses of our students. It was always a delight inviting him to UNIMAID because of his depth of knowledge, fairness of mind and exceptional empathy to staff and students. Where things appeared difficult and complicated, Lai simplified and made them easy to the understanding and satisfaction of all. Truly, Lai was a quintessential teacher as well as a quintessential leader who commanded high respect among his colleagues and earned the admiration of his students.

    He taught and examined with empathy, deep knowledge and cognitive affection.  He gladly empowered many, in words and deeds; he salvaged those in need, particularly thousands of students across Nigeria.  He was renowned for his altruism and selfless giving in his scholarship and personal resources. Thus, in Lai, we lost a very great gentleman, a gifted teacher, a great father, a great husband and companion, and a very progressive Nigerian who had unlimited concern for others. Lai Oso was more than a LASU professor; he was a partner in progress with every Nigerian media professional; he was a great helping hand behind many scholars and students in the country.

    Our relationship extended beyond UNIMAID to civil society activities, communication consultancy services and professional engagements in the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE), Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Advertising Practitioners Council, the Global Network for UNESCO Communication Professors (ORBICOM), the National Universities Commission and the United Nations system, among others. Together, we travelled the length and breadth of Nigeria; explored several countries in Africa and toured many parts of Europe and beyond.

    The bonding between us waxed stronger when I relocated to the Bayero University, Kano, in 2014. Again, in BUK, we regularly sought for his intellectual input in most of our activities in the Faculty of Communication. Consistently, he availed us of his phenomenal versatility and ever reliable dependability. When the faculty, under my deanship, together with the NUC and other stakeholders embarked on the review of the National Communication and Media Studies curriculum in 2018, he was in the forefront from the onset and offered the required leadership till the conclusion and launching of the document. Today, the success of that effort was partly his own.

    Without doubt, Lai Oso was a thoroughbred scholar who understood and promoted quality of communication scholarship in Nigeria. His scholarship from the political economy perspective was deeply critical and meticulously reflective and connected to the socio-economic and political contexts of Nigeria and Africa. That was excellently manifested in his Inaugural Lecture on Press and Politics in Nigeria: Whose side, delivered at the Lagos State University few years ago. The monograph is a compulsory read for any serious student of the Nigerian media. That lecture and many other scholarly contributions of Lai easily ranked him in the league of pioneering distinguished late Nigerian media scholars like Alfred Opubor, Fred Omu, Frank Ugbuajah, Femi Sonaike, Andrew Moemeka, Babatunde Folarin and  Eludayo Soola, among others. He was an excellent bridge between the foundation scholars and the current generation of communication scholars. Today, very few of their type like Professors Onuora Nwuneli, Idowu Sobowale Ralph Akinfeleye and Chinyere Okunna are still with us. We wish them longer life and more Grace ahead.

    Prof Lai Oso’s death has robbed me of a respectable scholar and friend.  It, more importantly, also robbed Nigeria and Africa of a great son, very generous with his time, his knowledge and his resources towards all and sundry. His departure has left a void especially in the study of the political economy of the media in Nigeria. It will take time for the gap to be filled.

    We shall continue to remember Lai Oso. We shall continue to uphold his quality in scholarship, celebrate his purity of heart and cherish his sense of decorum in learning and character. It is very sad losing a professor like Lai at the time he died. We can only condole with his family and relatives; and also condole with ourselves. Adieu, Lai.

    •Prof Pate is of Department of Mass Communication, Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State.

  • Akpabio’s apology

    Akpabio’s apology

    • Leaders have to be more sensitive to the people’s plight

    Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s words exposing payment of holiday allowance to members of the Senate has  provoked widespread criticism. As the senators held their final plenary sitting before recess on August 9, Senator Akpabio, who was presiding told his colleagues that “a token” had been sent into their bank accounts by the clerk. His colleagues, who realised the likely response of the public to the gaffe, sought to correct him immediately, and, in making to correct the mistake, he used another metaphor that did not resonate well with Nigerians who have become very critical of leaders because of the cost of governance. Senator Akpabio said he had sent mails to their mailboxes. He apologised and we recognize that to err is human.

    In the entire episode, two things stood out. First, this is no time for expensive jokes.

    The senator may not mean it that way but such a statement could be perceived as taunting the poor. Even those in the vanishing middle class can hardly afford three square meals and pay their children’s school fees.

    We agree with senators who have cautioned the Senate President in presiding over the 109-member chamber. Many citizens see leaders as dealers that cruise around in exotic cars and live secluded in castles where those who elected them have no access to.

    Senator Akpabio is not new to controversies. The Senate President should see this as learning experience on his new perch where the hallowed chamber focuses on  discussions and debates. Coming after a short screening of ministerial nominees, the words rubbed the people on the wrong side.

    Senator Akpabio had an eight-year tenure as governor of Akwa Ibom State where he needed not take heed in presiding over the state executive council. In the former role, the proceedings were behind closed doors and no television cameras were allowed to project the sessions.

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    One other lesson the senators should learn from the unfortunate episode is that Nigerians want transparency and accountability in all their actions. They are representatives and servants of the people, and should thus be open to public scrutiny, especially of financial dealings. Paying senators recess allowance is not new, neither is it condemnable as such, after all, workers receive leave allowance and some are paid to take their families out on holidays. What angered the people was the presentation and non-disclosure of the amount paid. It was only after the controversy broke out that some lawmakers disclosed that it was N2 million. 

    Mercifully, the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly later clarified that “lawmakers are entitled to a recess allowance which is 10% of the annual basic salary of each legislator and is paid once a year” and it was budgeted for.

    This shows that Senator Akpabio only said what the lawmakers were entitled to and was not necessarily a show-off. It is the optics that worry.

    Nigerians have often called on the federal lawmakers to disclose all their allowances. Are they in accord with the statutory emoluments approved by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission? Soon after it was inaugurated, it broke into the open that N70 billion had been approved for the National Assembly as palliative to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal. While, as expected, this has been denied, the assembly has not fully explained what the money is for. While some have said it is for renovation of the building and furnishing of their offices, others said it is not meant for the people’s representatives only, but also the bureaucracy and other agencies attached to the National Assembly.

    All eyes are on the three branches of government at every level. What Nigerians want are leaders who empathise with them and demonstrate that in all ways. It is in the enlightened self interest of leaders to keep the fact that they have a duty to douse the tension in the land so that the bubble does not burst. Senator Akpabio, in particular, should take heed of the warning by his colleagues. His apology is well taken.

  • UNICAL sex scandal

    UNICAL sex scandal

    • The allegations call for a thorough investigation and possible prosecution 

    Female law students of the University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State, last week carried out a protest against the Dean of the Faculty, Professor Cyril Ndifon. They accused him of various sexual harassment offences and insisted he must be removed as the dean of the faculty. Many of the students carried placards that somewhat catalogued the alleged offences of the dean. Some alleged that he raped or grabbed them in his office, others claimed he manipulates the list of those going to Law School while some alleged that he manipulates examination scripts and uses his power as the dean to coerce them for sex.

    Curiously, a fellow professor in Akwa Ibom University in Uyo, Sinem Abasi Ekong, alleged that the professor raped his 20-year old daughter  twice in his office. A few other alleged victims have equally been talking to some reporters and bloggers about their alleged experiences in the hands of the professor.  Again, the same professor was allegedly indicted for alleged sexual offences in the past but he seemed to have been left off with a slap on the wrist.

    We are worried that sexual harassment cases seem to be on the increase in various sectors of the country despite the awareness being created by some agencies of government, school authorities and some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). In fact one Professor Richard Akindele, formally of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, was jailed six years for sexually harassing a master’s degree student in the university.

    If the plethora of allegations against the now suspended dean are investigated and proved to be true, he must go down in history as one man whose actions contradicted his profession. Being a lawyer who has academically distinguished himself and specialised in some of the most sensitive aspects of law, like gender issues and humanitarian law on which he had authored many books, it beggars belief how he has been able to go against his professional ethics and negate all the principles of law he teaches and which had earned him the status of the dean. 

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    The man who had earlier been suspended based on allegations of sexual harassment had gotten off the hook when the courts ruled that the university should reinstate him. These most recent protests by the law students must be thoroughly investigated and the guilty parties, whether students or the professor,  or both, appropriately made to face the law.

    While the searchlight is on the man for now, we are also concerned that sexual and other forms of gender-based violence are daily perpetrated against women and even some boys. The crime is on the increase because it does seem that suspects easily get off the hook. There must be full and thorough investigations when these allegations surface. A society functions better when the rule of law is applied to suspects after investigations. The increase in gender-based violence is because there are no serious and consistent deterrents. This must change if we must progress as a nation.

    The academic sector is one sector that is literally an incubator in our world. Every product of any school graduates into the society. We are therefore worried that if the sex-for-marks social evil continues unabated, possibly because many suspects get off easily, mediocrity may take root. Those who are in positions of power and knowledge must realise that requesting for and getting sex in lieu of brilliance and hard work is shooting themselves on the foot. The incompetent doctor, engineer, laboratory scientist, lawyer, economist, teacher, etc. all graduate into the society and unleash their incompetence on every member of the society, including those accepting sex for marks.

    Sexual violence and the abuse of power and privilege at any level is an ill wind that blows no one any good. Sexual harassment is a crime that serious societies frown at. 

    The recent conviction of Harvey Weinstein the billionaire film director, R Kelly the renowned musician and Bill Cosby, the entertainment icon in the United States of America should show Nigeria that the law does not recognise faces.

    Now that Prof. Ndifon has been suspended, a thorough investigation and the application of the law should be next. No cover up. There must also be investigations of the students who alleged he sexually harassed them because there are proven cases of some students offering sex in lieu of diligence. They  too, if found to be guilty, must be punished. The world is watching.

  • Lean and mean

    Lean and mean

    • That FIRS should collect every kobo of federal revenue makes eminent sense

    Indeed, there is a lot to recommend the new thinking in federally collected revenue — making it the sole business of the Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS): a professionally ringed body that could do the collection on behalf of every federal revenue-generating agency.

    Indeed again, it would appear common sense — and you just wonder: why didn’t someone think of that before?  It is lean. Other things being equal, it should be mean and efficient.  Because it has prospects of focus and effectiveness, it’s likely to be cheap.  

    What solution could be tighter and sweeter: you gross more money, yet you spend far less gathering your trove!

    Still, though common sense ought to be common, it appears eternally rare.  For starters, there is always that temptation that the fastest way to access two points in a straight line is to go through curves!  

    Then, aside from crooked thinking that belies logic, there is human ego, which fires the erection and needless defence of turfs, which nevertheless cost time and money, in the worst abuse of sterile bureaucracy.

    That again speaks to the clarity of Taiwo Oyedele, the Special Presidential Adviser on Tax Reforms, whose Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms just clicked into gear.  

    That committee is insisting that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), with other 62 other bodies, under sundry agencies and ministries, should focus on their core duties of driving the revenues but leave the actual collection of cash to the FIRS, which has both the structure and the expertise for a seamless collection. 

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    “Our cost of collection is one of the highest,” Oyedele declared on a TV interview, “and the reason for that is that we’ve got all manner of agencies.  The Federal Government alone, we have 63 MDAs that were given revenue targets last year, no; actually in the 2023 budget.”

    “Two things that would come up from that,” he further explained: “on one hand, these agencies are being distracted from doing their primary function, which is to facilitate the economy.  Number two: they were not set up to collect revenue, so they won’t be able to collect revenue efficiently.”

    That, of course, segues into Oyedele’s ultimate proposition and, quite frankly, engaging solution: give FIRS that chore.

    Now, the solution appears crystal clear.  But not so the route to that destination — and that is the major challenge before the Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms Committee.  That is the critical success factor that could make or mar.

    Still, first: the low-hanging fruits. 

    Both President Bola Tinubu and Oyedele, the administration’s new tax czar, appear to have intricate and intimate knowledge of both the tax challenge per se and the sociology of tax — and general revenue payment or otherwise — in the Nigerian socio-economic milieu.  When an ex-Mobil Company Treasurer synchs with an ex-PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) tax technocrat, there surely nestles something new, fresh and exciting.

    Besides, as Lagos State governor from 1999 to 2007, Tinubu faced a similar challenge in marshalling revenue for development, in a milieu of fast rising expectations, which could easily have spiralled out into frustrations.  That Tinubu and his Lagos State government held fast back then, making a triumph of the chore and making a national reference and model of their state, is now clear comfort that might tease a glorious encore — other things being equal.

    Still, there would appear no open sesame here.  The federal bureaucracy could just be as intriguing as the many journeys of Lemuel Gulliver, in Jonathan Swift’s many fictional travels — now, not so easy; then, outright intractable!

    While the Tinubu governorship (read Gulliver) triumphed over the “easier” — but no less challenging and exacting — tax-cum-sundry revenue Lilliput in Lagos, the federal bureaucracy, and its set ways, could just be a puny Gulliver facing the Giants of Brobdingnag, in Abuja!  To succeed will take every skill, grit and even wile.  If Nigeria has a glaring and deep-set revenue-gathering challenge, it follows that an industry of well-oiled corruption is embedded.  That won’t be easy to dislodge!  But if it was done in Lagos, it could be done anywhere.  

    Still, the committee has its job well cut out.  First, it must nurture and ensure a buy-in from the various revenue powers and principalities.  Again, that won’t be easy for a lot of set ego is involved.  But perhaps the only way is to be open and transparent; and make FIRS to assure each agency that each would get its due credit, even as FIRS does the direct harvesting.

    But core to all of this is automation and technology.  With adequate digitisations that streamline tasks, the prospect of an efficient and effective clearing house would appear bright.  

    Nigeria surmounting its notorious revenue-gathering challenges is a win-win for everyone.  That would offer a new fundament for sustainable economic growth, development and eventual mass prosperity.  That is the task before the presidential committee.  It can’t afford to fail.

  • Flood warning

    Flood warning

    • People have to take alerts more seriously

    In the middle of the rainy season expected to span April to November, the prediction of possible flooding in 19 states in the country this month by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is quite disturbing. The notice calls for vigilance and proactive action, not only from the relevant governmental structures at all levels but also the people in the identified 56 communities that may be affected.   

    The federal agency’s Lagos territorial coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye, in a statement, listed the states and communities as: Delta (Aboh), Ekiti (Ado-Ekiti), Ondo (Akure, Idanre, Ifon, Iju Itaogbolu, Ogbese, Owo, Owena, Ondo).

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    Others are: Lagos State (Apapa, Badagry, Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Ikorodu, Ikoyi, Lagos Island, Ojo, Surulere); Anambra (Atani); Ogun (Ifo, Ota, Sagamu); Nasarawa (Lafia, Wamba); and Cross River (Ikom, Ogoja).

    Also included are: Bauchi State (Jamaare, Misau, Azare, Itas, Kafin Madaki, Kari, Kirfi, Tafawa Balewa, Katagum); Jigawa (Hadejia, Miga); Osun (Ilesa, Osogbo); and Kwara (Kosubosu).

    The rest are: Zamfara State (Anka, Bungudu, Gusau); Sokoto (Goronyo); Adamawa (Numan, Shelleng); Taraba (Serti); Benue (Ito, Katsina-Alan, Vande-Ikya); Imo (Oguta, Orlu); and Abia (Ugba). 

    Early in the year, the then Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, said the forecasts for 2023 showed that 178 local government areas (LGAs) in 32 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were in the high flood risk areas. The information was a warning. 

    After last year’s devastating floods, the federal, state, and local governments should have worked towards improving flood control in the country before the next rains. It remains to be seen whether the situation will be positively different this year. Flood management is crucial because the rains come and go.  

    Last year’s disastrous floods remain fresh in the minds of many Nigerians. Lack of preparation was an issue as floods described as the worst since 2012 devastated many parts of the country. Reports said the floods affected 33 of Nigeria’s 36 states. Official figures indicated that the floods displaced more than two million people, killed more than 600 and injured more than 3,000.

    In addition, flooding destroyed vast agricultural land, disrupted fuel supplies, and caused food price increases. Also, it caused contamination of water sources that led to a cholera outbreak in the northeast of the country, which took more than 60 lives.

    The Federal Government had blamed the disaster on unusually heavy rains and climate change, suggesting that the main contributory factors were beyond human control.  But that didn’t tell the whole story.

     Identified problems that exacerbated the flooding last year included arbitrary construction on natural flood plains and storm water paths, and poor drainage systems, which were compounded by weak enforcement of environmental regulations. The Federal Government’s non-completion of the Dasin Hausa Dam in Adamawa State had aggravated flooding in Kogi, Benue and other states in the northeast last year.

    Also, the Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, last year, stressed the need for every state to set up a State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and local emergency committees, and fund them adequately. In 2016, NEMA had said there were no emergency management agencies in 11 states. It is unclear if the situation has changed positively.  

    Warnings are useful. But beyond warnings, the authorities and the people should deal with the flood factors that are not beyond human control. 

    It is noteworthy that 22,658 households in Kano State affected by the 2022 flood disaster recently received relief items distributed by NEMA. It is better late than never. 

    The agency’s boss attributed the development to the Special National Economic Livelihood Emergency Intervention for households affected by the 2022 flood and the vulnerable in the state. The beneficiaries received foodstuffs, household items and agricultural inputs. “A total of 660,884 households were verified and targeted to benefit from this Federal Government intervention across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,” the NEMA boss said.

    Ultimately, all levels of government in the country and the various communities within the national boundaries have a responsibility to take action to prevent flooding, or greatly mitigate its consequences.

  • Avoidable deaths

    Avoidable deaths

    • FRSC and other traffic personnel should do more to curb road crashes

    Nigerians must find media reports that about 4,387 persons died in road crashes in the first six months of this year sobering. The shocking statistic was released by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). This figure translates to an average of 731 fatalities each month or about 24 lives daily. Also, 14,108 persons sustained various degrees of injuries from the crashes while 15,789 others were rescued unharmed by the corps.

    FRSC’s public education officer Bisi Kazeem, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, last week, that “from January to June, a total of 4,387 people were killed as a result of road traffic crashes. The corps also recorded 14,108 injuries from the crashes within the same period.”

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    And these are for reported cases; several other accidents would have occurred within the period unrecorded. Suggesting that the figures can only be higher.

    Although casualty figures for the corresponding year were not readily available, the FRSC said there were fewer accidents involving articulated vehicles. Yet, the fewer accidents recorded an increase in fatality rate. So, even in this regard, it is not yet time for celebration.

    The rate of accidents in the country might seem negligible, but this is at the face of it. In real terms, it is quite significant and worrisome, especially when factors like the number of road networks, vehicles and drivers are considered.

    The United States has the highest number of accidents in the world. It recorded two million motor accidents in 2018, with more than three million injuries and over 37,000 deaths. But the country also has one of the highest road networks, one of the highest rates of drivers and it is also the highest consumer of automobiles globally.

    The same thing applies to Japan which had about 500,000 car accidents in 2018, with about 4,700 fatalities and 600,000 injuries. We can only imagine how many more lives we would have lost to road crashes if the country has anything near any of these indices considered in those countries.

    What this tells us is that we still have a lot to do to bring road crashes down to a bearable level.

    Road accidents, like most other accidents, are likely to happen when least expected. But there are predictable accidents. A driver who goes behind the wheels heavy on alcohol is danger waiting to happen. This is the situation with many accidents in Nigeria.

    The causes of road crashes in the country are too well known. Most, if not all, have to be addressed by the government, which, unfortunately is also a major cause. Here we are talking of bad roads, for example. Then, enforcement of traffic rules and regulations.

     There are too many bad roads all over the country. And, in a manner that seems to suggest the preference of the traffic and security officers for the bad roads, they erect check points on the bad portions of the roads. Governments at all levels must devote more resources to road networks in their jurisdictions. Fixing  bad roads not only help in reducing the rate of accidents, it also helps to reduce the man-hours lost on the roads.

    The FRSC itself has identified several other factors responsible for road crashes in the country.

     The corps should address these other factors. These include strict enforcement of highway codes, over-speeding, drunk-driving, the prevalence of untrained or partially trained and inexperienced drivers on the roads, etc. The corps should continue to enlighten road users on the advantages of ensuring sanity on the roads. They should constantly be reminded that life has no duplicate. It should also try as much as possible to discourage night travels.

    In all, we acknowledge the contributions of the FRSC towards ensuring that accidents, especially those involving trucks and tankers, are reduced to the barest minimum on our roads. It can and indeed should do more.