Category: Editorial

It was a skewed version of what critics call a wedding and a funeral. The first part happened in Awomama, Imo State, on July 17. A young man, Chigozie Nnanna, invited friends and family to his post-wedlock/wine-carrying reception, according to witnesses.

After the day of jollity, they proceeded home, and they ran into a hail of bullets. According to Intersociety, a civil society group, the horror lasted from about 6:30p.m. to about 1a.m.

“… On getting to Ishieke Junction in Awomama community, sounds of live bullet gunshots started raining and rented the air, leading to a stampede, confusion and running helter-skelter by the returnees with some scampering for safety and others felled by live bullets… In the ensuing melee, scores were shot at close range and felled by bullets while others ran into the nearby bush and managed to escape,” reported Intersociety.

Some reports say seven persons died. Some other reports mention 14. Over 30 persons were injured in varying degrees of precariousness. Here is Intersociety’s account: “The names of the seven recovered dead victims/indigenes of Otulu Community in Oru West killed by Nigerian Army-allied/trained Ebubeagu Government Militia are Late Citizens Chigozie Obinwa, Chikere Anyadioha, Ifechi Ekesinachi and Emeka Ekesinachi (two blood brothers), Aboy Ihegboro, Chijindu and Ozioma; with five persons still missing.”

Other accounts say the groom died. But no watertight confirmation yet. It is however sad that the community has erupted in protests over what they see as a diabolical use of power by the security outfit known as Ebubeagu, set up by the state government under Hope Uzodinma.

The state governor has denied the charge that the dead were innocent citizens. Governor Uzodinma said it was a case of local bandits on evil mission gunned down by the security operatives aided by the Nigeria Police Force.

The governor said he had a security briefing and the head of the Directorate of State Services in the state assured him that the dead were not wedding guests but individuals out to no good. From all reports, the community and many citizens of the state, including civil society organisations who have conducted investigations, do not believe the version of the governor and the DSS.

There are important questions to ask on this matter. One, there are claims that the dead had no weapons. Was it true? Was there any evidence of exchange of gunshots? The reports say that those who survived and hid in the bushes placed calls to elders in their communities, especially the president-general of Otulu community and calls where then placed to high-ranking persons in the state, including legislators representing the community. Was this true as well? The fact that such calls were made indicates that there were eye witnesses. It is also curious from some reports that the shooting lasted for hours into wee hours of the morning. The governor and the DSS are too implicated to be neutral. We expect an independent inquiry that will unearth the cold facts.

If it is true that the victims were from a party, it is really sad, and it will become a Shakespearean wedding before a funeral. This is of the odd sort.

A family and community that was just happy to join two young people together will now lament a feast. This has become Nigeria’s odyssey in the past decade and things get worse as we hear and see yarns of tragedies from among us, as though we have no government and no law.

If Ebubeagu was set up to save a society drifting, the Awomama story is not a good example of how to do it.

The sentencing of Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, to 16 years imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 14 year-old girl leaves a sour taste in the mouth. It is a case of abuse of public adulation for a celebrity to abuse a minor. Though we think only of political offices when we rail against impunity in high places, this is one of such. Regrettably, Baba Ijesha took advantage of the celebrity status he enjoys to abuse the trust that goes with it.

His conviction and sentencing to four years of imprisonment per each of the four counts, which will run concurrently,  serves to confirm that the law is no respecter of persons regardless of one’s social standing in the society. It also illustrates the potential dangers children are exposed to in the hands of devious celebrities. And because of social media and television, the young ones are unduly attracted to celebrities, regardless of their moral standing. Of course, we recognise that there are celebrities who deserve all the adulations and their social standing.

Thankfully, the Directorate of Public Prosecution, Ministry of Justice, Lagos State, was tenacious in the pursuit of justice for the young girl, even when there was an attempt to reduce the sad experience to a crude joke, including the attempt by the culprit to make light of it as if it never happened. We commend Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo for refusing to be distracted by the celebrity status of the culprit. Before her court, Baba Ijesha was charged with a six-count of child defilement that included indecent treatment of child, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault by penetration.

While the court convicted Baba Ijesha of indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault and attempted sexual assault, he was discharged and acquitted of the offences of sexual assault by penetration and attempted sexual assault by penetration. It is important to note that the improvements in the Lagos State sexual offences laws was helpful in the trial of the culprit. If it was under the old criminal laws, wherein sexual offences revolved only around rape, there would have been no conviction, without establishing penetration.

That undue restriction of what constitutes sexual offence to only rape, which requires the proof of penetration, has been the bane of the sexual offences laws in many other states, and such difficulty aids rapists to get away with ease.  So, the conviction of Baba Ijesha for other types of sexual offences should serve as an encouragement to other states to enact modern sexual offences laws. Of course, such modernisation should include modern Child Rights Laws.

It is only when there are laws to cover all manners of sexual-related offences and other types of abuses of children that we can lay claim to being a modern society.

The archaic reliance on the difficulty of proving penetration, and the usual absence of collaboration or medical evidence, which allows scores of rapists, child molesters and abuses to escape the arm of justice must stop. Again, the era of allowing families of victims to compromise rape related cases must stop, and police and public prosecutors should be trained on how to garner evidence and prosecute.

We hope the conviction of Baba Ijesha would put other child molesters on notice that there are consequences for such grave indulgence. It should also serve as notice to such persons that where the state is determined, such wickedness would attract due comeuppance. We urge for vigilance amongst parents on whom they entrust their children to, and they should not be swayed by glamour and make belief. After all, all that glitters is not gold.

Vote buying has become such an obscene trend in Nigerian elections that calls are getting strident on how to tackle it. Much as Nigerian elections seem to be getting better, the menace hobbles the balloting process and tends to undermine its legitimacy. For instance, despite the general perception that the recent Osun and Ekiti state governorship polls marked an improvement in the processes of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), those elections witnessed rampant vote merchandising that security operatives had a tough time curtailing. Even the recent primaries by political parties to select their torchbearers in the 2023 general election were bedevilled by vote buying.

The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2022 has provisions illegitimising the abuse of voter cards and voting rights. Section 21 under Part I of the law vests the proprietary right on every voter card in INEC, while Section 22 makes it an offence if anyone (a) “is in unlawful possession of any voter card;” or (b) “sells, or attempts to sell, or offers to sell any voter card;” or (c) “buys or offers to buy any voter card, whether on his own behalf or on behalf of any other person.” This subsection stipulates liability upon conviction to N500,000 fine or two-year imprisonment, or both. Under Part VII of the same Act dealing with electoral offences, Section 117 stipulates that any person who, being entitled to a voter card, gives out the card for illegitimate purposes or has in his possession without lawful excuse more than one voter card commits an offence and is liable on conviction to N1,000,000 fine or 12-month imprisonment, or both.

These provisions, however, haven’t deterred  vote traders going by recent trends. Owing to increased use of technology by INEC, traditional avenues of electoral heist like ballot stuffing, ballot box snatching and results alteration have been blocked, and political gladiators seem to have shifted to suborning voters in efforts to crookedly impact electoral outcomes. It was the obscenity of the trend that apparently moved Akwa Ibom State Resident Electoral Commissioner Mike Igini to propose a life ban on any politician or political party caught in the act.

Speaking on a breakfast television show last week, Igini lamented that vote buying had  assumed an epidemic proportion requiring urgent attention. He warned that the practice has huge implications if not immediately checked, saying: “The first implication of vote buying is that it negates performance politics because the normal thing is that when an incumbent has performed, he should be rewarded in the next election on account of performance. But if vote buying is not dealt with right away, there will be no performance anymore because all you need do is keep money somewhere to buy the votes. Secondly, vote buying if not stopped, reinforces inequality in the society because it would be the case of only the rich and the wealthy. It will also lead to what is called class biased policies. When you allow vote buying to thrive, you are going to flood the society with inequality of public franchise.” Citing examples of prominent democracies like the United Kingdom, United States and Australia that had the challenge but dealt heavy-handedly to stop the trend, he proposed stiff penalty of life ban for anyone caught and the political party represented.

Igini’s proposal has its merits considering the seeming intractability of the challenge. But since this would require fresh tinkering with the legal framework, with all the bottlenecks associated, how about firmly enforcing extant provisions? Despite reported arrests of vote merchandisers during the Ekiti and Osun polls, for instance, no suspect has been brought to book. When arrested suspects are not penalised, potential culprits won’t be dissuaded from toeing same line.

Also last week, INEC’s Lagos State REC Olusegun Agbaje tasked the National Assembly on speedy passage of the National Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal Bill to check vote buying. Since there’s a difficulty presently with prosecuting offenders given the snail pace of conventional courts and preoccupation of INEC with other tasks in election management, we fully support this call. Otherwise, an offence that isn’t promptly punished is one bound to recur.

Formally, dishonourable people don’t deserve honour. It is, therefore, curious that 47-year-old Ado Aleru, described as a “repentant banditry kingpin,” was decorated with a traditional title in Yandoto, Zamfara State, on July 16. The Emir of Sabon Birnin Yandoto in the state, Aliyu Marafa, conferred the title of Sarkin Fulani on him, making him the leader of the Fulani in the emirate.

Emirate’s spokesperson, Lawali Magaji, was reported saying Aleru “has been trying to stop banditry within the emirate and we have seen positive changes.” The title, he added, “will give him more power to control the entire Fulani people within the emirate. It will also enable him to checkmate the activities of the recalcitrant bandits and take action against them.”

The state government’s reaction demonstrated its disapproval. Governor Bello Matawalle suspended the emir and set up a committee to investigate Aleru’s installation.

This is understandable, even commendable.  Aleru’s background is an issue. He was a notorious bandit, and it is uncertain he is reformed.  In 2019, he had participated in a peace meeting between the state government and some bandits’ leaders, but it did not bring peace. In June, he was alleged to have led a raid on Kadisau, a community in Faskari local government area of Katsina State, in which many people were killed. His armed group was said to have invaded the village on motorbikes.

The Katsina State Police Command had put a N5m bounty on his head. Despite this, he was also said to have led raids on other communities in Tsafe and Faskari local government areas in Zamfara and Katsina states.

Another peace meeting involving Aleru and community stakeholders took place some weeks ago following attacks on Mada community in Zamfara State. “He was there with some of his boys and promised to halt the attacks,” a resident who attended the meeting was reported saying.

From all indications, the emirate gave him the title out of fear rather than respect. He is expected to protect the emirate from others of his kind. Banditry has escalated in Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger states, leading to the killing and displacement of many people. Aleru’s installation marked a subtle surrender by the people, and loss of confidence in the capacity of the authorities to ensure security.

It is noteworthy that the Federal Government declared bandit groups operating in the country terrorists under Terrorism (Prevention) Proscription Order Notice, 2021.  Government had said: “These groups have engaged in attacks and wanton destruction of lives and properties in communities, kidnappings for ransom, kidnappings for marriage, mass abductions, cattle rustling, enslavement, imprisonment, severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, other forms of sexual violence and attacks on commuters.” These activities “constitute acts of terrorism, threat to national security and the corporate existence of the country,” it stated.

Considering Aleru’s unlawful activities as a bandit, it is scandalous that he was considered for a title. Reacting to his installation, the Katsina State Police Command said he was a wanted man.  Its spokesman, Gambo Isah, explained that Aleru is wanted for culpable homicide, terrorism, armed robbery, and kidnapping in Katsina.

It is unclear why he was not arrested during the ceremony. Failure to do so exposed the police and other relevant security agencies to deserved criticism; and also called into question the government’s fight against banditry.

Aleru’s chieftaincy title is unjustifiable, and must not be allowed to stand. It could encourage the installation of bandits as traditional chiefs in other areas for protection purposes; it could also promote odd and unacceptable moral standards.

The multiplicity of bandit groups under various leaders, who are mostly rivals, poses a serious threat to security. It would be absurd to expect bandits to provide protection from rival bandits.

The authorities should not encourage this approach to solving the problem of banditry. Enforcing the law and bringing bandits to justice is the ultimate solution.

In announcing the ban on the use of SPY number plates nationwide last week, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba Alkali said the measure was to curtail widespread disregard of traffic rules by vehicle owners allotted the special numbers. Indeed, in June 2021, the IGP had ordered not only that the issuance of SPY number plates be put on hold, but also that the issuance of tinted vehicle windscreen permit across the country be suspended to help curtail the worsening security challenges. The new directive places a total ban on the use of SPY number plates by all road users in the country and empowers police and other security officers to confiscate all such numbers currently in use on the roads without, however, arresting owners of such vehicles.

The negative traffic and security implications of widespread abuse of the use of these number plates, which informed the directive, is certainly understandable. Those who are not authorized to have access to the number plates in question often obtain them illegally and exhibit them brazenly on our roads without consequence. Not only are these number plates exploited to disregard traffic rules as observed by the IGP, there is the suspicion that criminal elements utilize them to avoid scrutiny by security officers to facilitate their nefarious activities.

But the problem transcends the use of SPY number plates and is more deeply entrenched than the directive of the IGP suggests. For instance, a good number of vehicles on our roads do not display number plates at all, many have their number plates covered, some display their number plates only in front of their vehicles and not also at the back as legally required, while others move around with dealer number plates allotted to particular vehicle dealers for temporary use only all in violation of the law.

Again, the practice has become pervasive whereby vehicles have specialized number plates with such labels on them as Presidency, NASS, NANS or NLC for instance. It is sometimes difficult to ascertain if these vehicles actually represent the institutions indicated on their number plates and this is a serious security risk. Many celebrities and other high net worth Nigerians also use assorted special number plates as distinct from SPY numbers as a symbol of wealth and influence. It is doubtful that the IGP’s directive sufficiently addresses the various dimensions of the problem.

The general ban on SPY numbers across the country creates the impression that such numbers may not have their own useful and positive purposes. Many businesses in the medical, telecoms, banking, oil and gas, construction, financial services and logistics sectors among others may indeed legitimately resort to these numbers to reduce impediments in the movement of staff, equipment and goods thereby enhancing efficiency in the use of time as well as productivity.

According to the guidelines for issuance of SPY number plates, the vehicles covered must be pickup trucks such as Hilux, Nissan Frontier or Tundra, ambulances, bullion vans or Peugeot operational cars like 406 or 407; the affected vehicles must be registered in the company name and proof of ownership as well as vehicle license of company must be presented; the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registration certificate of the company must be provided and the passport bio-data page of the company representative must be made available to the issuing authority.

If stipulated requirements are strictly adhered to, the widespread abuse in the use of SPY and other specialized number plates would be drastically curtailed. We are of the view that it is the abuse in issuance of plate numbers by the police that must be addressed by the IGP rather than the general nationwide ban which, even if effectively enforced, may not necessarily have the desired impact in terms of achieving its objectives.

For as long as the current high level of corruption in the police and other security agencies obtains and officers on security patrol are vulnerable to receiving bribes from motorists, traffic violations will routinely occur and criminals will operate freely on the highways even without the need for SPY or other specialized number plates. The challenge is more deep-rooted and the IGP must go beyond addressing the symptoms which is the case with this directive.

With electioneering fever already creating heightened challenges for liquidity management, Nigerians can expect the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to resort to desperate measures. Barely two months after Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised the industry’s reference lending rate from 11.5 percent to 13 percent after a two-year freeze, the body last week announced another hike from 13 percent to 14 percent. This time, it added a stern warning to bank customers, especially politicians, to stop the practice of converting their naira holdings to the dollar or be ready to face its wrath.

“We are monitoring customers and banks; any banks (sic) involved will be sanctioned. We will place Post no Debit on the defaulting customer’s account. It is a very injurious tool to stop you from conducting illegal flows, either domestic or foreign currency,” CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele was quoted to have said.

Clearly, if the rate hike was expected – even if less justifiable at a time production costs are at their stratospheric levels ever – the threat to sanction forex regulation violators, reeking somewhat of frustration although not without foundation, must have presented a new twist.

While party politics has become a cash-and-carry affair, just as Nigerians continue to watch with consternation, the dollarization of the process heaps pressure on the forex market already badly strained. Taken together with the naira’s free fall in the midst of unprecedented global inflation, rising energy costs, a deepening crisis of logistic management and food inflation in particular, the CBN, now at its wit’s end, must have wondered about what additional measures are needed to stave off the crisis.

As always, the issue is whether the tools routinely deployed actually work. Here, an evaluation of the impact of the measures over time would seem to suggest a problem so complex in its ramification and certainly far beyond what the routine tinkering with the MPR could ever seek to address.

Agreed, inflation has remained the elephant in the room. However, if the constant refrain about inflation targeting and with it the MPR pill that has become too generously deployed is all there is to cure the problem, we ought to have seen some steady, measured progress both in terms of its moderating effects on inflation and also its overall efficacy as a tool. What the data suggest isn’t just a country moving in circles but the imperative of a fresh approach to dealing with fundamental problems.

The rate of inflation currently standing at 18.6 percent is probably among the highest in the world. Last year when it was 16.95 percent, the World Bank rated Nigeria among the top 10 countries in the world with the worst inflation rates. True, a great deal of the factors behind the latest inflationary spiral are exogenously induced – the Russian-Ukraine war, the worsening energy crisis, etc. – yet, it is also a notorious fact that the CBN’s monetary easing – justifiable as it appears to be, and for which it now seeks monetary tightening –  actually contributed significantly to the wave.

At this point, the pertinent question that must necessarily follow is what the hike forebodes for the nation’s real sector, which aside grappling with the high cost of energy, particularly of diesel, would now have to deal with higher cost of borrowing. And this is the same sector whose access to forex has been severely curtailed as the CBN seeks the best way to ‘allocate’ the limited forex available, a sector forced to pay premium while the current chaotic rule of forex management endures – and all of these at a time the real incomes of consumers continue to suffer decline across the board. How the CBN hopes to resolve the dilemma remains to be seen.

It is the same way we see plans by CBN to move against speculators which, although good on paper, merely present the regulator a catharsis or at best a stunt to mitigate its palpable frustration and perceptible loss of control. Nigerians are only too familiar with the dark jungle that the financial services sector has become to pay serious attention to such facile threats. Not with ubiquitous forex traders along cities’ highways in their open kiosks wreaking havoc on the naira on daily basis.

Hopefully, it is still not late in the day for bold, complementary measures from the fiscal authorities – measures that are currently lacking – to save the situation.

Aside from a radical tinkering with the curriculum, job training and re-training should make Nigerian youths more employable

Youth unemployment statistics just supplied by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) is sobering, if not altogether surprising.  But it points to the paramountcy of work training and re-training in any modern economy.

Speaking at the second national skills summit in Abuja on July 14, ITF Director-General Joseph Ari gave the number of unemployed Nigerians as 122,049,400 — quoting figures from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Q4 2020 Report on Labour Force Statistics, Unemployment and Underemployment. Further breakdown of the stats show 69,675,468 have sundry qualifications and are willing to work. But only 46,488,079 were engaged, leaving over 23million Nigerians out of jobs.

The general reason, of course, is that the economy is not expanding enough to take in the rising number of applicants that yearly leave our tertiary institutions — and these figures were even as at 2020. Figures for 2021 and second quarter 2022 would have risen.

What is worse is that vacancies could well exist, particularly at the premium end of the job market that needs specialized skills; even at the medium and low ends that need precision skills.  But at all three levels, Nigerians are often found skill-deficient, so much so that many tertiary graduates are dubbed “unemployable” and the available jobs farmed out to expatriates.

This rather parlous situation, explained the ITF D-G, has sent his agency conducting “a skills gap assessment in six priority sectors of the national economy” in concert with the United Nations Development Organization (UNIDO). The survey was aimed at correcting the misnomer that makes businesses to invite foreigners to fill vacancies that yet exist in several sectors of a tight economy — a step which leaves many Nigerian youths empty-handed because of lack of requisite skills. To bridge this gap, the ITF has put in place a national industrial skills training for youths, women and the physically challenged, aside from sundry other empowerment programmes.  This is to raise the skills set of Nigerian youths, in different sectors of the economy.  But these programmes are making little or no impact, given the seriousness of the challenge.

The ITF has its head in the right place by its stress on job training and re-training, aside apprenticeship training for pre- and post-tertiary graduates. That is the ultimate direction to follow and deepen. Yet, where to start is a radical overhaul of the curriculum right from primary school.  Though not every child would turn out to be entrepreneurs, a shift must be made from education for white-collar jobs, to education to create value and jobs.  True, some progress may have been made along that line,  but the progress appears too little.  It’s time, therefore, to push full-throttle in that direction.

That way, and with every segment of the system well-synched — primary, secondary and tertiary — tertiary graduates would have been well oiled for the jobs available; aside from lower non-graduate artisans being literate and well trained enough to take advantage of opportunities in the economy such as being skilled welders, plumbers, masons, mechanics, electricians, etc. But that is only at the base.  A modern economy, powered by IT and sundry rapidly changing developments is always in a state of flux. In this age of globalization, the Nigerian economy can’t become a passive recipient of foreign-trained hands.

That is why on-the-job training and re-training must be a vibrant part of the budget of any serious business that sets up shop in Nigeria. This is routine in most other countries, particularly giant corporates of the West and even in China, Japan, Korea and India.  If it takes a Nigerian policy to make that compulsory for every business in Nigeria — foreign or local — so be it.

If job vacancies are available in Nigeria, Nigerian youths should be well-trained to fairly compete for these jobs. That is no economic nationalism. Rather, it is fair competition under globalization. That is routine in every vibrant economy all over the world and Nigeria can’t be different.

Predictably, the terrorist attack on Kuje Custodial Centre on July 5 has escalated fear among residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its environs. “In Abuja, nobody walks freely now because of this incident,” the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Correctional Service, Edwin Anayo, was reported saying.  According to him, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) had recaptured 421 inmates who fled the custodial facility, but 454 were still at large.

The committee is investigating the alarming raid on the prison. The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed responsibility for the attack that led to the escape of many terrorists and other inmates. It is disturbing that terrorists freed terrorists.

The prison attack informed a letter, dated July 8, from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), FCT Command, to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

“Certified intelligence reveals that members of the decimated terrorist group ISWAP have concluded plans to launch more coordinated and spontaneous attacks on selected targets within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),” the NSCDC wrote.

It advised that “counter measures be emplaced,” adding, “There is a need to review existing security measures around such targets and other sensitive facilities with security formations in FCT to frustrate the planned attack.”  The letter said the information was to prompt “necessary action.”

It is unclear how the letter got into the public domain. It was not meant for public consumption. The leakage that the intelligence was exposed, possibly even to the terrorist group concerned. This was counterproductive.

NSCDC spokesperson Shola Odumosu explained why the letter was sent to the FCTA, the ministry that administers the Federal Capital Territory, and faulted the leakage. “Every security agency gives intelligence reports to the concerned authority from time to time and this one from the NSCDC is not an exception,” he said. “The leakage of the letter is not good for the battle the government is fighting against the insurgents.”

The organisation needs to clarify its definition of “the concerned authority.” The NSCDC is a paramilitary organisation that plays a role in national security in conjunction with the Nigeria Police. Did the corps share the same intelligence with the police and other relevant security agencies?  It seems that did not happen.

Although the FCTA administers the federal capital, in security matters, such as the one in question, relevant security agencies were in better position to respond to the intelligence than the ministry.

The corps perhaps expected the ministry to act on the intelligence by sharing it with the appropriate security agencies. But that amounts to rigmarole. Security is an urgent issue, and should be treated with a sense of urgency. This is why the communication to the ministry was odd.

Besides this oddity, it would be surprising if, for instance, security agencies like the Department of State Security (DSS), the Nigeria Armed Forces, and the Nigeria Police were unaware of the intelligence the NSCDC shared with the FCTA.  The mentioned security agencies are supposed to be more intelligence-oriented than the NSCDC. It is not expected that these agencies would wait for such intelligence from the corps.

This issue raises questions about intelligence sharing among the country’s security agencies. Are there standard procedures, for instance?

The value of inter-agency cooperation in security matters cannot be overemphasised. This is why the NSCDC communication was misdirected in the first place. Tackling insecurity in the country demands collaborative efforts by security agencies, not actions that suggest rivalry.

The situation calls for increased vigilance. FCT Police Command Public Relations Officer Josephine Adeh was reported saying: “We are on alert; we have beefed up security as expected. Our advice to residents is that they should be alert.” Other relevant security agencies should also be on alert.

Importantly, apart from improving security, authorities should ensure that the Kuje prison escapees still at large are recaptured as part of efforts to make the federal capital safe.

On Wednesday, July 20, one of Nigeria’s most accomplished scholars and a globally recognized expert in the field of comparative public administration clocked 80. The life of this distinguished academic and administrator illustrates vividly the grand irony of a nation brimming with renowned talents in diverse fields, yet trapped in the mire of underdevelopment due, largely, to failure of leadership. It is not surprising that to celebrate his birthday, Professor Adamolekun published and publicly presented a monograph titled: ‘Nigeria and I: Getting Politics Right to Make Nigeria Work’, which analyzed the country’s multi-dimensional crises and proffered ideas to help actualize her latent potential.

Identifying three critical factors for getting politics right, which he sees as a necessary condition for accelerated transformation of Nigeria, Professor Adamolekun stressed the urgent need in the country for a devolved federation, good democratic practice and administrative competence. Decrying the ‘unitary federalism’ inherited from the military in 1999, which he describes as an oxymoron, Professor Adamolekun advocates that Nigeria should urgently adopt and function as a devolved federal system and proposes that the country should be made up of six federating units with assignment of functions between the central government and the federating units based on the principle of subsidiarity.

Obviously not enamored of the oft-repeated mantra that the country’s current structure is non-negotiable, Professor Adamolekun in his monograph offers bold ideas for Nigeria’s renaissance. It is inevitable that as the country prepares for the 2023 elections, the kind of transformational leadership necessary to halt the current ever-deepening poverty and steady slide into anarchy is a key concern of the scholar. In his words, “Nigeria needs a development-oriented political leader, one under whose watch the country can begin to record steady progress in growing the economy, reducing poverty, assuring security and moving towards prosperity for all the citizens. This would be a leader who, at the end of his/her tenure, would be competitive for the Mo Ibrahim Africa Leadership Prize that was established in 2007. To the imperative of development-orientation, I would add four essential leadership attributes to the characteristics of the political leader that would make Nigeria work: integrity, intelligence, competence and vision”.

Born in Iju, Akure North-East Local Government Area of Ondo State, on July 20, 1942, Professor Adamolekun, after his elementary education, attended Oyemekun Grammar School, Akure where he obtained his secondary school certificate. Even that early in life, it was evident here was an academic star in the making. As he recalls in his memoir, ‘I Remember’, published in 2016, in his first year in secondary school, he was appointed as an Assistant Librarian for reading the highest number of books in the library among 120 students in Forms One, Two and Three.

Early in life, he had a clear vision of the success he sought to achieve as exemplified by two personal mottos he adopted as a youth. At age 13, he decided to be guided by the motto: “per Ardua ad astra”, which means “through struggle to the stars”. His second motto adopted about two years later was the admonition by the author, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that “the heights that great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight; but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night”.

This seriousness of purpose and commitment to hard work was no doubt responsible for his graduating from the University of Ibadan in 1968 with a First Class degree in French as his major and Political Science as minor. After obtaining M.Sc degree in Public Administration from then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), he proceeded to Oxford University where he obtained his doctoral degree in Administration in 1968.

A dedicated teacher, researcher and university administrator, Professor Adamolekun taught at the OAU from 1968 to 1988, serving at various times as Head of the Department of Administration and later, Dean of the Faculty.

After his academic career in Nigeria, he moved to the global stage where he worked as a public sector management specialist at the World Bank for about 18 years. His experience at the World Bank helped to consolidate his reputation as one of the world’s leading authorities in the field of comparative public administration. One of the most prolific writers in his area of specialization, Professor Adamolekun has published at least 36 books and monographs as well as 111 journal articles and chapters in books on politics and public administration.

In December 2005, he was conferred with the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM), which is the country’s highest national recognition for academic and intellectual achievement. He also bagged Doctor of Science, D.Sc (honoris causa) in 2016 from Lead City University, Ibadan. The publication of his monograph on the state of the nation to mark his 80th  birthday was in continuation of what has been Professor Adamolekun’s life-long vocation of contributing qualitatively to public discourse. We wish him a very happy and fulfilled birthday.