The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Repentant terrorists

    Repentant terrorists

    •We can only hope the Federal Govt. did its homework well before handing them over to the states

    The decision by the Federal Government to return “613 rehabilitated low-risk repentant terrorists” to the governments of their state of origin is of concern to us. While rehabilitation is ordinarily desirable, there must be a cocksure procedure to ensure that those involved do not return to their old ways. We also hope that the state governments have a secure way of monitoring the repentant terrorists, to stop them from reengaging in fresh evil plots.

    The Federal Government’s initiative is coming under the auspices of the Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC), established in 2015, as a window for willing and repentant terrorists to lay down their arms and undergo a structured deradicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration (DRR) programme. Chief of Defence State (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor, disclosed this through the Chief of Defence Training and Operation, Maj-Gen.  Adeyemi Yekini, during the 5th Stakeholders’ Meeting of OPSC in Abuja. 

    The CDS claimed that the programme has been a success and has resonated well within the region and the diaspora, and has also attracted attention from researchers from far and wide. As for the participants, the CDS said: “It is also important to mention that upon graduation from the programme, each client will be provided some food and personal items, as well as start-up pack, according to the trade learnt during training, to enable them set up small businesses and start a new life.”

    We hope the claims will be matched with action, and that the nation is not merely throwing money down the drain. As to what is expected from the states, the CDS noted: “We are optimistic that working closely with local and traditional authorities, the states can deploy security apparatus at their disposal to effectively track and evaluate the re-integrated ex-combatants.” He concluded: “I must emphasise that this is critical for all stakeholders involved in the reintegration processes, to mitigate or completely eliminate incidences of reoffending.”

    We are concerned whether the local, traditional and state institutions have the capacity to monitor the reintegrated persons as expected by the Federal Government. Without control of any of the security agencies and the police, especially the intelligence officials, we wonder how they can monitor the activities of those concerned. We thought that such high risk intelligence gathering can only be done by experts in the police, military and para-military organisations, who are trained and equipped with modern gadgets to do so.

    No doubt, the programme of de-radicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration of repentant low-risk terrorists is attractive, but it must not be done at the risk of exposing the communities they once ravaged to another round of terrorism. It is also important to consider the feeling of the victims of the terrorist attacks. As have been observed, it appears that the repentant terrorists have received better attention than their victims, who are left in Internally Displaced Persons’ camps in abject squalor.

    We wonder how those grossly affected by the terrorist activities feel when they see care and attention being showered on repentant terrorists, and how they are being ordered to reintegrate them back to the society. If the desired goal of seamless reintegration is to be achieved, there must be a Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD), so that both the victims and offenders speak to themselves. Such a programme enables the offender engage in acceptable restitution, so the victim can forgive.

    There should also be an established protocol for intelligence gathering that is accessible to the local, traditional and state institutions. That will enable those with information about any reemerging threat pass same to the appropriate quarters, without the risk of exposure. We also hope there is a full-proof measure to ensure that high risk terrorists are not allowed to slip back into the community through this programme.

  • Finance Bill 2022

    Finance Bill 2022

    •We commend its return by the president to National Assembly for necessary corrections

    It is just as well that President Muhammadu Buhari chose to return the Finance Bill 2022 as passed by the National Assembly for their reconsideration. We see this as a measure of the administration’s appreciation of the depth of the misgivings and out of deference to the concerns raised by critical stakeholders, notably the Organised Private Sector (OPS).

    This is even more so as the latter, whose membership is drawn  from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Nigeria Employers Consultative Assembly, (NECA), Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industries, (NASSI) and the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) had stated in no ambiguous terms that the bill as initially passed would sound the death knell of their members, most of whom are already gasping for breath.

    Among others, the body had complained about the imposition of excise duties on all services with rates to be determined by presidential order; a 0.5% tax on all eligible imports from non-African countries to fund Nigeria’s obligations to international organisations, the hike in Tertiary Education Tax from two and half percent to three percent on company profits – all of these ‘without regard for the current economic situation faced by businesses’.

    The body, in what it described as ‘legacy of taxes and levies’, noted that businesses are currently burdened with over 50 taxes, levies and fees (both legally and illegally). Their conclusion is that these numerous taxes and levies, aside constituting a disincentive to business, might in the end be a recipe for disinvestment. On the proposed excise duty at the rate to be specified by presidential order on all services, the body would opine that the provision was not just too broad but vague, and most certainly fraught with potential abuse.

    That the concerns raised by the OPS are legitimate is beyond question. We also note their concerns with the process, particularly the public hearings which they maintained were rushed through – without their inputs.  The National Assembly has a bounden duty to listen to their concerns while allaying them as far as possible.

    However, most of their concerns, which are certainly not new and to that extent will require far more work than a single legislation can hope to fully solve. At best, we expect the parties to utilise the window afforded by President Buhari’s withheld assent to thrash out some of the grey areas that they feel would hamper the operations of their members.

    Even at that, the government’s dilemma, most of which might seem largely self-inflicted, deserves to be acknowledged. In the first place, the nation’s traditional revenue source, crude oil, has proven not only unreliable but problematic with a huge chunk of the production either shut in due to a whole range of factors or, as has become the case in recent time, stolen outright. Second, is the growth in public debt and with it, the burden of the debt servicing, all of which have rendered further prospects of more debts increasingly toxic. In the Appropriation Act 2023, for instance, we have a total expenditure outlay standing at N21.83 trillion of which nearly 50 percent is expected to be financed by borrowing. Meanwhile, the World Bank has projected that debt servicing will gulp 123.4 per cent of the Federal Government’s revenue in 2023. Related to this is the abysmal tax revenue. At a tax to GDP ratio of seven percent, Nigeria is numbered among the worst five performers in the world – another Nigerian paradox of too many taxes with practically little deliverables. Yet, there is still the elephant in the room – the fuel subsidy which the government is still largely hamstrung to remove.

    We do understand that no bill can be perfect. Like those before it, the Finance Bill 2022 cannot be. At best, it is merely another step in the journey to make the budget instrument relevant, realistic and workable. We expect the OPS and other stakeholders to avail themselves of this last-ditch effort to engage on their concerns before its final copy is sent to the president for assent. For the citizens, the greater challenge is how to get the budget to deliver value for every kobo spent.

  • Responsibility to vote

    Responsibility to vote

    •Seriously, it is of critical importance to cast your ballot in the 2023 poll

    Eligible voters who fail to show up on election day have no basis to complain about election outcomes or the process of governance in the country. This was the argument by a prominent cleric as he asked Nigerians to ensure they collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and vote in the imminent 2023 general election.

    Emeritus Archbishop and Dean, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Maxwell Anikwenwa, stressed the imperative of people exercising their franchise penultimate Saturday at the dedication of Our Saviour’s Church, Awka, in Anambra State. He urged that every eligible Nigerian should ensure to cast his/her vote regardless of religious affiliation, saying voting constitutes an important part of any democracy and only the votes of citizens could ensure that quality leaders are elected into office. “It is not enough to register and collect your PVCs, it is very important to vote on election day in order to carry out your civic responsibility,” Anikwenwa stated, adding: “People often say ‘I will not get involved.’ But these are the same people who would turn around to complain about a government they did not take part in putting into power.” Nigeria, according to him, is in dire straits from which she must be rescued by every well-meaning citizen, “and this can only be done by our votes; bad governance can be checked at the polling units.”

    The appeal by the clergyman resonates because poor voter turnout is a major challenge for Nigerian electoral democracy. There’s been progressive decrease in percentage turnout of voters since the return to democracy in 1999, with an isolated exception in 2003. Official statistics from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed percentage turnout for presidential polls as 52.3 percent in 1999, 69 percent in 2003, 57.5 percent in 2007, 53.7 percent in 2011, 43.7 percent in 2015 and 34.8 percent in 2019. (Caveat: It should be noted that the percentage turnout trend is not directly reflective of quantum turnout because Nigeria’s voter roll ballooned from about 58million voters in 1999 to 82.3million in 2019, and now about 93.5million for the 2023 poll). It was reported that with only 28.6million voters turning out for the 2019 election out of 82.3million registered, Nigeria had the lowest voter turnout in Africa amidst a bourgeoning voter roll.

    Read Also: CSOs unite to tackle voter misinformation in 2023 elections

    As part of sensitisation of the polity towards plans to create additional polling units in 2021, INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu said voter turnout across Nigeria hovered at an average of 30 to 35 percent of registered voters in the last two electoral cycles – a trend he noted unfavourably compared with an average voter turnout of between 65 to 70 percent in other countries, even in the West Africa sub-region. At a consultative meeting with civil society organisations, the INEC boss said his commission had interrogated the trend and concluded that several factors were responsible for discouraging voter turnout. “Among them are inadequate voter and civic education, ineffective voter mobilisation, the fear of violence during elections, unfulfilled promises by elected officials and low public trust in state institutions,” he stated, adding: “While the commission will continue to work with CSOs and all stakeholders to address these challenges, we are also convinced that access to polling units is a critical factor in voter turnout during elections. Countries with higher percentages of voter turnout during elections also have adequate and convenient voting locations for eligible voters, which are periodically adjusted to reflect increase in voter population. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Nigeria.” INEC has since succeeded in raising the number of polling units from 119,973 created in 1996 by former National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON) by additional 56,872 polling units to expand voter access to the ballot box. It also has done a lot to enhance transparency in the electoral process, so to boost voter trust.

    With those improvements, it is important for registered voters to exercise their franchise on election day as Archbishop Anikwenwa canvassed. Electoral participation is critical to democracy because voter apathy undermines at least three key indicators of democratic performance namely the accountability effect, the representative effect and the legitimacy effect. The accountability effect refers to the ability of citizens to hold elected officials accountable because they voted them into office, and not re-electing them in subsequent elections if they performed below par. The representative effect is the factor of elected officials truly representing their respective constituents by choice, not by default because of non-participation of those constituents. The legitimacy effect applies where non-participation of the electorate weakens the legitimacy of officials who emerge through the polls.

    Although Nigerian electoral law does not prescribe a minimum turnout quota to make an election valid, the key indicators outlined fully apply. The country has far too much at stake in the 2023 elections to be hobbled by voter apathy.

  • Due process, please

    Due process, please

    •We want latest power tariff reviews reversed because they are seemingly unjustified

    Nigerians who said both the Federal Government and the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) are taking them for granted with the latest clandestine upward review of electricity tariffs are right. Tariffs should not be fixed under the table, especially in a situation where parameters have been set for such reviews. Moreover, it  is an admission on the part of the regulatory agency that the tariffs are not justified if that agency abdicates the responsibility of making the new tariff regime known to the public to the very organisations it is superintending.

    As a matter of fact, to show the extent of the secrecy that attended the latest tariff reviews, some people said it took effect in December, last year, while others claimed it was the DisCos’ new year gift to electricity consumers. Even the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, which confirmed the tariff hike only did so on Twitter, and in response to a Twitter user’s request. It explained that it was based on the order of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). “Good day, please be informed that the increase in tariff is in compliance with NERC order,” the DisCo stated.

    This is wrong.

    Tariff increases in the power sector have conditions precedent stipulated in the

    Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO). As Prof Yemi Oke, a legal consultant and energy law advisor noted, “Every increase in electricity tariff must follow a Multi-Year Tariff Order. The year 2020 was the last order which speculated a bi-annual review to determine tariff increase. The MYTO must be reviewed…after following laid-down rules, including wide consultations. All these have not been done”.

    However, unlike some stakeholders who believe the tariff increases were uncalled-for because of the harsh economic situation in the country, we are opposed to the increase because it did not seem to follow this due process. Consumers hardly support any increase in tax or tariffs. The only increase that is popular among workers is upward review of wages.  But, the fact of the matter is that the electricity companies are also in business to make profit. Just like the electricity consumers, they too have bills to pick and which they must settle to remain in business. They are not for charity. And they have nowhere else to look for money to settle the bills except through the settlement of bills by their customers.

    As a matter of fact, but for the Federal Government that is still subsidising the sector, it is doubtful if the various tariff regimes they have been implementing these past years would have been sustainable.

    But then, it is difficult to determine appropriate pricing given the present situation of a metering gap of about seven million. This is a serious matter in a sector that has been privatised since 2013. And, as a matter of fact, this is the basic requirement in any sector where payment for goods or services is not to be determined by rule of the thumb. NERC should feel more concerned about this than tariff review based on guesstimates. Indeed, that should have been the starting point.

    The government itself saw this as a major challenge, hence it came up with the idea of free meters to consumers. Unfortunately, it allowed the free meter project to run simultaneously with the prepaid meters that the DisCos sell to their customers. This gave room to all manner of shady deals, as many power consumers neither got the free meters free nor got the ones offered by the DisCos at the official price. The resultant fiasco is what has left us still with about seven million consumers without prepaid meters.

    Read Also: DisCos fail to remit N69.94b in Q1 2022

    Thus, estimated or crazy bills are still prevalent in the sector, with the DisCos spreading the money for power consumed by those tapping power illegally (or those they could not reach for one reason or the other), among those without prepaid meters,  or those with the old meters, irrespective of whether their meters are working or not. What we thus have is a situation of a narrow market which in turn begets arbitrary high bills.

    Another metering issue has to do with electricity consumers with expired meters. In the first place, most consumers do not know that their meters have expiry dates. The prevailing practice is that DisCos still ask such consumers to pay for replacement of the so-called expired meters, whereas the meters belong to the DisCos. Again, many electricity consumers have had cause to complain that the new meters run unusually faster.

    These are germane issues that NERC as an impartial regulator ought to look into and not run to gift the DisCos approval for unjustified tariff reviews. The power supply in the country does not support any upward review of tariffs.  What we are saying is that the process for tariff reviews should be transparent; it is too opaque the way it is. That it has become a conspicuous practice of the DisCos make matters worse. So, let NERC wake up to its responsibilities. Its latest tariff reviews give the impression that the council’s sympathy lies more with the DisCos. This should not be. What the situation calls for is a balancing act.

  • A sad reminder

    A sad reminder

    The traumatised parents of the yet-to-be released students abducted from Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri in Kebbi State since June 17, 2021, have seemingly given up on any sort of either state or Federal Government intervention in getting their children released.

    Since the abduction of 80 students and their five teachers on that fateful day, the Nigerian Army succeeded in rescuing five students and two teachers the next day. One student was released on April 4. On June 20, 2021, a teacher and two students were rescued. On August 1, 2021, the bandits released two more students while on October 28, 28 students and two teachers were released. Thirty students and one teacher were released on January 9, 2022.

    The bandits have reportedly forcefully married 13 of the female students while 11 girls remain under captivity to this day.

    Their distraught parents have cried out that they are not getting any positive help from the government and, to worsen their anxiety, the abductors have stopped communicating with them after they requested for N100million ransom that the parents have not been able to raise.

    In a press briefing by the Committee of 11 Abducted Female Students of Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, the chairman, Salim Koeje, said they need the help of everyone or organisations that can help them raise the needed amount so as to get their daughters released. The abductees are aged between 12 and 16 years.

    Curiously, the parents claim to have contacted the mother of the alleged leader of the bandits, one Dogo Gide, who threatened that they might never see their daughters again if they do not raise the N100 million ransom.  The exhausted parents have resorted to selling their property, including houses that they are living in, to raise the money.

    This tragic story of the abduction of school children, especially girls, seems to have become a norm in a Nigeria with the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, at a scary 20 million and counting, with the female literacy rate at its lowest, especially in the Northern part of the country with a high rate of child marriages and  the tragedies of maternal and child mortality being the tragic consequences.

    The global community is still reeling from the shock of the sad abduction of 276 Chibok school girls in 2014, and even though some of the girls have either been released or rescued according to the Federal Government, more than 100 are still in captivity. The Dapchi school girls’ abduction of which the yet-to-be released lone victim, Leah Sharibu, has become a metaphor, is still on the global map of abductees from Nigerian schools.

    According to the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), 25 schools have been attacked in Nigeria while 1,440 students have been abducted since January 2021.  In 2014, about 59 students of the Buni Yadi Federal Government College were killed as they retired into their dormitories for the night. They were burnt on their school beds. The school attacks and abductions are so widespread that all tiers of the education sector are affected; primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Curiously too, the President’s home state, Katsina, and Bauchi State are at the bottom of the ladder educationally. They lead with the lowest literacy rates. We find this sad reality quite ironic.

    We are worried that unless the government sustains the momentum on its terror war, the deadly Boko Haram terrorists that have tainted the image of Nigeria would succeed in their negative advocacy of discouraging western education in Nigeria. The fact that affected parents cannot rely on either the state or local governments to help in the rescue of their children sends a very bad signal not just to citizens but to the world about the value Nigeria puts on its citizens, especially children.

    We regret too that despite the touted millions spent on the ‘Safe Schools Initiatives’, not much security has been seen in Nigerian schools. What this means is that more illiterates would be bred across the Northern Nigeria, especially because most parents would prefer an illiterate child that is alive to dead or abducted schooling ones.

    We are equally worried that there is no conclusive unravelling of any of the listed criminal acts of student abductions in ways that show that the government is repulsed by the tragic incidents. It is surprising that there are known bandits and Nigerian negotiators who the government cannot claim ignorance of. Why then are there no arrests and prosecutions? In this case of the Yauri students, the distraught parents are reported to have communicated with the leader of the bandits through his mother!

    We fear that Nigeria might slip further into the abyss if the government does not stop the abduction of students, especially from federal government colleges which used to be the pride of the country, for the value they brought in unifying Nigerian children after the civil war.

    In Africa, children are owned and protected by all adults. It is sad that the parents whose children are victims of these terrible scourges are left to fend for themselves. What this means is that there is a continual loss of trust and faith in government. Yet, the main essence of government is to protect lives and property. The productivity of those parents is reduced and their social functionality diminishes.

    This could even affect the population as young people might decide not to have children if they cannot be secured in the country.

    We hope the government can think of the dire consequences of all the insecurity in the society that is fuelling the school abductions. A solution must be found and these poor parents of Yauri and others whose children are still in captivity must be helped urgently by rescuing their daughters. Their issue must not be swept under the rug of political campaigns. Children are our future.

  • Smart security

    Smart security

    •The urgent need of Nigeria’s emergent rail corridor, following security challenges

    After the March 28, 2022 bandits’ attack on an Abuja-Kaduna train, that criminals could breach the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Igueben Station in Edo State, on January 7, is saddening.

    Some Warri, Delta State-bound passengers, the station manager and his ticketing clerk were among the disputed number of captives carted away for ransom.  Many others reportedly sustained bullet wounds from the free-shooting gunmen, before herding away as many as they could grab.

    A macabre politics of numbers followed that tragic drama.  The captors claim they have 31 victims; and are demanding N620 million for them all.  That boils down to N20 million per head. 

    But the Edo State government, quoting security briefings, counters the criminals have far less victims.  It also claims one of the gun men has been nabbed; and another disputed number of victims rescued.  There are no independent confirmation of all these claims and counter-claims.

    As sad as this fresh attack is after Kaduna, it must be put in proper perspective, if everyone — the security agencies, NRC, citizens themselves and the media — must pool resources to banish these ugly experiences.

    First, the insurrectionist view.  If Edo is the latest attack spot, while the vortex of previous attacks were in the North East and latterly, North Central and North West corridors, it could well mean the security agencies are flushing these felons from these previous epicenters to a new periphery.

    So, while lauding the security forces for noticeable achievements, they should deploy better tactics and strategies to face these fresh challenges. 

    Still on insurgency: terrorism is no frontal war.  It is a war by stealth.  Even if you nip 99 plots out of 100, public hysteria will still boom from that lone terror success. 

    But while insurgencies don’t last forever, crime is a cardinal part of any society and economy.  So, train attacks, in the long run, should be factored as a crime “growth area”, along Nigeria’s re-emerging rail corridors, after decades in the limbo.  That itself must have a counter-strategy, given the strategic importance of rail to the eventual take-off of the Nigerian real sector, after eons of mindless imports.

    But central to insurrection and routine crime is smart security: effective harvesting of human intelligence, efficient deployment of surveillance drones and allied technology to sweep the rail corridors and allied assets, and, of course, the federalisation of the security apparatus, peaking eventually in state police (for states who can absorb the bill) and even sub-state constabularies (for states with vast areas and thumping populations).

    In all of these, NRC, as the rail operator, must be at the vortex of this rail-focused security hub.  With vast numbers of train stations and platforms nationwide (and the emerging rail age in Nigeria will witness a lot more), there is no how NRC can muster “visible” security in all of these far-flung places. 

    Yet, in collaboration with government security agencies and some private-sector  security contractors, it could benefit from co-investment that could keep its passengers happy and safe; and keep its business booming. 

    More than any single body, however, NRC should feel responsible for every single soul that buys its ticket and enters its coaches.  But with a well thought-out safety and security policy, it shouldn’t be such a Herculean task.

    Also, both the Federal Government and NRC deserve support from state governments and communities blessed with these rail assets. For starters, follow the cliche: if you see something, say something, so long as the security of the intelligence source is assured.

    Then, ancillary investments in basic infrastructure as linking roads. Rail, by nature, traverses virgin areas, many times thick forests.  If one authority sites a rail asset in an area, the local community (state and local governments) could assist with building link roads. 

    That way, local taxis find it cheaper and easier to ply the routes, sure of passenger patronage.  With that buzz comes steady population which could act as disincentives for opportunistic attacks as experienced in Igueben.

    The media too has a crucial role in sustaining rail security.  Most have reported the Igueben attack was by “suspected herdsmen”.  But no one has supported that claim with any proof.  Sensationalist reportage often gives criminals a head start, particularly if the hunch is wild and wrong.  It therefore pays everyone to stick to verifiable facts, and not some wild guesses, no matter how fashionable.

  • Ayo Olukotun exits

    Ayo Olukotun exits

    •He was a passionate crusader for good governance and an erudite scholar

    When, in 2016, he became the pioneer occupant of an endowed professorial chair in Governance in the Department of Political Science, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, it spoke volumes about his distinguished scholarship and the recognition of his crusade for good governance.

    Endowed professorships are uncommon in Nigerian universities, which also made his appointment noteworthy.  An endowed professorial chair has been described as “the highest academic award that the university can bestow on a faculty member. It is both an honour to the named holder and also an enduring tribute to the donor who establishes it.”

    This situates Prof Ayo Olukotun, who held the position for four years, and the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, who endowed the chair. Importantly, its objectives include “the initiation and execution of research that aims at finding solutions to contemporary challenges and issues of governance at local, state, national and global levels.”

    After his tenure, Olukotun became a director at the Oba Adetona Institute of Governance Studies also located at the same university. This showed his relevance beyond the endowed professorial chair.

    His death on January 4, at the age of 69, silenced a loud and clear voice passionate about the country’s progress and passionately opposed to the enemies of progress.  

    He was not only an academic but also a public intellectual who recognised the power of the media, using it to make strong public statements on the need for good governance in the country towards achieving development. To his credit, he demonstrated that an academic should not necessarily live in an ivory tower.

    He chaired the editorial board of Daily Times, and wrote pungent columns in some major newspapers, including Daily Times, The Guardian, The Anchor, Compass and The Punch.

    Read Also: Presidency: Tinubu is divine choice, says Ayorinde

    For instance, in his column in The Punch on December 9, 2022, titled “World-class education: Has Nigeria dropped the ball?” he argued that “Other indices showing that Nigeria has dropped the ball as far as higher education is concerned include the explosion in the number of universities—federal, state and private—while the existing ones are tattered, ill-funded and ill-clad.” He also said the country’s universities “ought to produce the answers to several questions regarding making the human condition in Nigeria and Africa benevolent rather than toxic.”

     In another article in The Punch on December 16, 2022, titled “2023: Returning power to sub-national governments,” the columnist argued that “rather than sit back and continuously lament the failure of the centre, it is time to examine the possibilities of making states and sub-national governments more productive, more welfare-oriented, countervailing thereby the collective misfortunes of Nigerians in successive central governments.”

    He had been involved in the struggle for a better society since his undergraduate years at the former University of Ife, Ile Ife, where he was president of the Students’ Union in the early 1970s. His academic career as a political scientist did not diminish his activism, which he expressed largely through his newspaper columns. 

    As a don, he taught at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State, the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State University (LASU), and was a visiting professor of International Relations at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State. He was also Head of Department of Political Science and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State.

    It is remarkable that several descriptions of Olukotun highlighted his non-materialistic and self-effacing personality.  These characteristics also earned him respect, beyond the celebration of his achievements as a scholar.

     He was a visible and vocal participant in the struggle for good governance. He will be remembered for speaking truth to power and illuminating the path to improved social conditions.

  • Steep rise

    Steep rise

    • We urge gradual rather than 200% increase in insurance premium

    It is understandable that the recent decision of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to order a drastic increase in the premium paid by different categories of insurance consumers by over 200% has raised varied reactions from stakeholders in the industry. Indeed, a significant number of Nigerians has urged the industry regulator to reverse itself on the issue.

    NAICOM had on December 22, last year, issued a circular to industry operators increasing the premium rates and gave January, 1, 2023, as the deadline for the new rates to come into effect. According to NAICOM, private vehicles that were paying premium of N5,000 for N1 million Third Party Property Damage (TPPD) limit are now to pay N15,000 for N3 million TPPD limit while owner goods vehicles are to pay premium of N20,000 and be entitled to compensation of N5 million in case of damage from peril or hazard. Other components of the price changes announced by the regulator are that commercial traders and general cartage are to pay premium of N100,000 for TPPD limit of N5 million, tricycles are to pay premium of N5,000 for N2 million TPPD limit while motor cycles will now pay N3,000 premium for TPPD limit of N3 million.

    Some operatives of the Organised Private Sector such as the Director-General of the National Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, have welcomed the increase, arguing that it can help to grow the economy, develop the insurance industry and enable insurers to provide more effective risk-ameliorating services to the insuring public. In his words, “It is worthy of note that the current rate has been in existence for over five years while the cost of motor vehicles has increased exponentially. Coupled with the general increase of goods and services, the commission can be justified if there are guarantees for improved service delivery and a higher response rate from insurance companies”.

    Many motorists, licensing agents and other members of the public have however expressed an aversion to the price hike, stressing that it will have a negative impact on the pockets of the insuring public, given the current hazardous state of the economy. According to the Insurance Consumers Association of Nigeria (INCAN), the almost 20 million motor insurance consumers in Nigeria will require more than the one week notice given by NAICOM for the new rates to become operational. The association was of the view that rather than the steep increase in one fell swoop, the regulator should have considered the increase of the Third Party Motor insurance, for instance, in phases, starting from N7,500 to N10,000 to N12,500 and ultimately to N15,000 spread over a reasonable span of time. Its argument that NAICOM should accord priority to initiatives that will ensure the development of a greater level of confidence in the insurance industry in the country is quite plausible in our view.

    Again, the hike in the cost of Third Party Motor insurance should as much as possible not be an arbitrary decision but must have a sound scientific basis. For instance, how was the new premium arrived at? Do we have accurate data of number of accidents recorded within a given time-frame and the value of claims paid out? One of the reasons for the low patronage of insurance firms by the public in Nigeria is the high trust deficit with most people not believing that their claims will be paid in the event of unanticipated damage or peril. Increasing the premiums will further reduce the number of those who take insurance policies to the detriment of the development and expansion of the industry. With a higher level of confidence in the integrity and credibility of insurance companies, many more people may be encouraged to pay even with increased cost of premiums.

    Experts have argued that the focus of NAICOM and other stakeholders in the industry should be to increase insurance penetration in Nigeria by widening the number of those who seek to take insurance policies and that increasing premium rates is the last resort worldwide for countries that seek to expand the size and enhance the viability of the insurance industry. No less critical is the need for more intensive enlightenment of the public to appreciate the benefits of insurance as well as be aware of their rights under the law.

    We urge NAICOM to urgently consult stakeholders in the industry on the issue so that greater consensus can be achieved on the appropriate pricing of premiums.

  • Bizarre kidnappings

    Bizarre kidnappings

    • Abductions by blood relations are no less serious and should be treated like other cases

    Although the most prevalent forms of the crime of kidnapping for ransom, which has become pervasive in Nigeria include mass abduction of children from schools, particularly in parts of the North, as well as the kidnapping of persons by armed bandits on the highways and in communities, a no less insidious and pernicious form of the crime, is perpetrated on a smaller scale mostly by family members who know the victims very well. Mostly motivated by poverty, greed and the sheer desire to extort, the ransom often demanded in the latter and more bizarre specie of kidnapping is far lesser than in the former, more elaborate cases.

    However, this form of kidnapping is becoming more common in various communities and deserves the close attention of security agencies and community vigilante groups at the grassroots. A case of the latter type of kidnapping was recently reported in Ilorin, kwara State, when the state police command apprehended a man, Issa Naigheti, for allegedly colluding with two other suspects to arrest his own father, Bature Naigboho, in Igboho area of Orelope Local Government Area of Oyo State.

    The kidnap suspect reportedly confessed under interrogation that he and his collaborators carried out the act to extort money from their victim and they collected the sum of N2.5 million before fleeing Oyo State. Unluckily for him, he was arrested by the vigilant men of the anti-kidnapping squad of the Kwara State Police Command around Kamba area of Ilorin, and he is currently assisting the police to trace and arrest his collaborators, after which the case would be transferred to the Oyo State Police Command where the crime took place, for prosecution. This incident raises pertinent questions such as what was the relationship between this man and his father such that he could arrange the kidnap of his own blood relation for ransom? Was it a case of the end justifying the means? How long would this money have lasted and what antic would he have resorted to when the ransom money was exhausted as it inevitably would?

    This is another instance of the rampant brazen pursuit of money by all means and the growing tendency to sacrifice even sacred family relationships and values to satisfy the urge. In another variant of this kind of bizarre kidnapping, the police in Ogun State, last March, reported that they had arrested a kidnap syndicate in the state made up of members of the same family, following incidents of several kidnappings within Shagamu and its environs. The family kidnap syndicate was made up of one Owena Okpara from Delta State and his children, Samson Okpara, Bright Okpara and Eze Okpara. They were arrested in the Ajaka area of Shagamu along with one Christian Ishaha who had accommodated them, for their roles in the kidnap of eight persons at different times. The police discovered in the course of investigations that three other members of the family, namely Godwin Okpara, Godspower Okpara and Mathew Okpara constituted the armed squad of the syndicate while the others specialised in spying on their target victims. Again, there cannot be a more bizarre example of the utter breakdown and perversion of family values.

    In yet another such instance, the police in Oyo State arrested and paraded a rat killer seller and his three children for allegedly kidnapping and killing an eight-year-old boy, Abdulraheem Bamimore, in the Saki area of the state. Two of the suspects had lured the deceased to an undisclosed location hoping to extort a ransom from his parents. But when the boy recognised them, they killed him and it was a search party that later discovered their victim’s corpse buried inside an uncompleted building in Alubarika area of Saki. A no less gruesome case was uncovered by the Niger State Police Command in Niger State, last year. In that incident, a teenager and his accomplice were arrested for the kidnap and murder of a 13-year old boy, Salisu. The suspects, Nafiu Umar, 18, and Usman Sabiu, 22, confessed to having kidnapped the victim and collecting a ransom of N100,000 from his father. Unfortunately, when the victim could not produce the contact of his father and had also recognised his assailants, they strangled him to death and buried his body in a shallow grave by the riverside.

    It is commendable that the police traced and arrested the suspected criminals in these cases. These bizarre cases of kidnap and murder should be tackled as seriously as the more sensational cases, for they are not less illustrative of the heightened heartlessness of our society.    

  • Talent killers

    Talent killers

    •Our varsities must be reorganised to bring out the best in our brilliant students, instead of frustrating them

    It is common for many Nigerian graduates who travel abroad for  higher degrees to excell. However,  the case of Ibukun Mofesola who graduated in the third class category from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is peculiar.  He had confidence in himself and would not accept the verdict that he is a below average student.

    That propelled him to enrol for another first degree course at Hertfordshire University, United Kingdom, where, 10 years after the OAU verdict, he bagged the first class honours degree in Computer Science, having obtained the earlier degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering. His joy was palpable as he posted his experience on the microblogging site, twitter.

    The fact that his post has gone so viral in Nigeria is an indication that many students and graduates of our universities could relate with the story. Many had fallen in the hands of cruel lecturers who marked them down, while the state of facilities cannot bring out the best in many. Libraries are poorly stocked, laboratories lack reagents, lecturers take unofficial vacation to teach in other institutions, thus starving their primary students, and the configuration of academic programmes is stultifying.

    Everything is stacked against the students as 10 or more students share rooms meant for three or at most, four. Water is, most times, a rare commodity, while power supply is epileptic, thus hampering learning and studying.  Lecture halls are so jam-packed that some have to sit on the windows, and those on the last row are usually unable to hear the teacher.

    The general environment is frustrating as the calendar is unpredictable. While each student is allotted academic advisers, it will be cruel to expect that teachers who are already overburdened by classwork, tests, examinations and research would find enough time to interact with their official mentees. These hurdles are none existent or minimal in universities in developed countries. Hence, our students abroad end in flying colours.

    This is one reason to understand lecturers who last year protested against the poor funding of tertiary institutions in Nigeria, calling for substantial money to be allocated for revitalisation of facilities. It takes commitment to keep to the agreement reached with the academic staff. It must also be complemented with a change of attitude across the board.

    The tone of Mofesola’s tweet indicates he is still bitter against the OAU and its authorities. He said: “I’d have loved to tag OAU too so they can say their own congratulations. Not sure if they’re on twitter, but if you know their handle, help me tag them. Pastor said this year, my enemies must congratulate me.”

    If the Nigerian economy is to improve,  there is a need to pay attention to the quality of education, especially tertiary education. This year must be a turning point in the history of Nigeria.  The government to succeed the Buhari administration should adhere to the United Nations Educational,  Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO’s) specification that 26 per cent of national budgets be allocated to education.  It is impossible to catch up with the developed countries if we continue to neglect tertiary education. There is so much to do in terms of encouraging innovation and technological development that the brilliant ones should be encouraged to blossom locally and be retained at home.

    There are so many Ibukun Mofesolas in Nigeria and the system must be reorganised to identify them. Those voting with their feet out of the country now should be encouraged in practical terms to return, with assurance that the system will no longer be a talent killer.