Category: Editorial

Over four years after she was among 110 female students of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, abducted by violent bandits on February 18, 2018, Leah Sharibu, who was 14 years old at the time, remains in the firm grip of her captors. Following negotiations between representatives of government and the kidnappers, the students kidnapped along with Leah were released, while the innocent girl remained in captivity reportedly because she refused to renounce her Christian faith. It remains an inexplicable and inexcusable mystery why those involved in the negotiations had not insisted at all cost that the lone remaining girl be released along with her other colleagues.

Those who have lost all hope and come to believe that securing the release of Leah has become a veritable impossibility can certainly not be blamed for their pessimism. For, the Nigerian leadership elite at all levels has in the intervening years not demonstrated the kind of passionate concern that the pathetic case of this young lady deserves.

This is why although coming seemingly belatedly, the declaration by the military that there is still hope for the rescue of Leah and her return to her family, offers some consolation and a ray of hope. Speaking on a programme on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, assured the parents of Leah and others held captive by bandits and terrorists that their children would be rescued. According to him, “With the privileged position that I hold, I am aware of plans and of course of processes that are in place to ensure that not just Leah Sharibu but every other person held captive is released. About three weeks ago, one of the Chibok girls was rescued. I would like to reassure Nigerians and the world at large that the Federal Government, using the military, is working very hard to ensure that everyone that has been held captive regains their freedom”.

Leah Sharibu has only come to symbolise the plight of the large number of kidnapped persons, particularly school children in northern Nigeria who continue to remain at the mercy of their tormentors. Ever since 276 girls were abducted from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State in 2014, kidnapping in schools has become an epidemic across that region. For instance, on July 5, 2021, 128 students were abducted at the Bethel Baptist School in Kaduna, as they were preparing to write their examinations. Earlier In April, 2021, 23 students and staff were kidnapped from the Greenfield University, also in Kaduna. This has been the familiar story in schools in a number of other northern states. It has now become the pattern for kidnapped school children and other persons to be released to parents and other relations who are able to pay the huge ransoms demanded while those unable to do so remain in captivity.

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By some estimates, for instance, more than 1,000 students were kidnapped in the north in 2021 by armed groups and over 200 who have been unable to meet ransom demands remain with their captors. Of the about 20 school attacks recorded by the United Nations Children and Education Fund (UNICEF) in the north between January and September, 2021, the organisation notes that 1,436 children were abducted and 200 remain missing. The CDS was optimistic that with the recent re-designation and  gazetting of bandits as terrorists, the military will be able to step up its onslaught against terror, thus increasing the chances of rescuing kidnapped persons.

But the issue of securing the release of Leah and other remaining kidnapped persons, or even totally eradicating the epidemic of kidnapping is not entirely a matter of the intensity of military fire power. As we have persistently said, the most critical failing in the war against terror, extremism and insurgency is that of intelligence. It is reliable and accurate intelligence that enables the stealthy infiltration and penetration of the ranks of the enemy, thus exposing their vulnerabilities, weakening them from within, thus increasing the chances as well as success of external offensive rescue operations.

After prolonged agitations by various segments of the civil society, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration effected changes in the composition of the service chiefs with some salutary effects on the military operations against destabilising forces. However, the same changes were not effected in the hierarchy of the intelligence agencies and consequently, the complacency in that sphere continues to the detriment of the various forms of criminality assailing the country. Until this is done, the CDS’s optimism that kidnapped persons like Leah can still be rescued may be difficult to realise.

We hope the travails of Leah and her family will be a constant reminder to Nigeria’s leadership of its failure to live up to its responsibilities of rescuing all those who remain in kidnappers’ custody across the country, as well as ensuring the safety and security of every citizen of Nigeria.

In Okpanam town in Oshimili Local Government Area in Delta State came tragedy for which neither man nor God should take credit. But both man and God will factor into the telling of a collapsed church building that lapped up three persons, two female children and a woman.

It may not be called a murder in the cathedral – apology to playwright T.S. Eliot – yet because an investigation is afoot on how a church building belonging to a religious body called, ironically, Salvation Ministries came crashing at about 5:55 pm on January 10, when the worshippers were showing their gratitude and reverence to the creator of all things.

While the service was on in the town near the state capital Asaba, a construction work was going on, not only disturbing the rhythm of worship but apparently compromising the integrity of the structure. So, there are questions to be asked. From preliminary facts in the open space, this was not an act of God but a temptation.

According to news reports, the building was built by an original owner, then sold to a new interest because of the economic pressures during the pandemic lockdown. The new buyer wanted to renovate the building to raise its value in the market.

Meanwhile, the Salvation Ministries was a tenant while the transactions were ongoing. Its rent had not expired, so the new owner could not evict the church because that would amount to a breach of contract, and of course a litigation may cost the new owner who would most likely not win his prayer in court against the church.

So, both of them exercised their rights. The church had to continue to use the space because it must enjoy the value of its money. The new owner had a right not to wait till the rent expired before beginning work on remodelling the property.

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Both rights collided and led to tragedy. The death of the souls showed that their rights were not enough, and humans can be sacrificed for what was apparently the rights of others.

The video of the tragedy as it was occurring went viral and efforts to rescue worshippers trapped inside generated impotent sympathies across the country, even as frantic efforts were made to save the lives of the worshippers.

According to the Delta State Police Command statement, “Rescue operation is over. Eighteen persons were rescued initially, four persons discharged, 11 persons still receiving treatment, three deaths recorded which include two female children and one woman. Their names are unknown for now. Kindly debunk the rumours making rounds that 10 people died.”

Obviously, neither the worshippers nor the owners appreciated the fragility of buildings undergoing construction or renovations. We would want to know the competence of the construction engineers.

Did they take the renovation work for approval before embarking on it? Did they assess the ability of the building to withstand the structural changes? Here the intervention of the Delta State government comes into play.

We have seen quite a few buildings go down in this country. In a nation that often ascribes everything to the Almighty, this is yet again an example where human efforts should not supplant that of their maker.

The tragedy of Okpanam was preventable. We must lay the charge to human errors and government neglect as we have seen across the country.

Even though the reports say three died, more of them are injured, and we are not able to assess the psychological harm as yet.

Desperate to worship and impatient to make profit, the landlord and pastor reaped neither salvation nor profit but the deaths of innocents.

The announcement by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) of the arrest of about 90 persons allegedly involved with fake COVID-19 test certificates and touting at two of Nigeria’s busiest airports, the Nnamdi Azikiwe and Murtala Muhammed international airports in Abuja and Lagos, respectively , is one sure sign that the nation’s aviation sector and immigration departments have  learnt nothing from the present pandemic in the world.

It is quite unfortunate that while the world is involved in serious research efforts and adopting various measures to curb the ever mutating virus, agencies and departments of government through laxity, poor or non-existent supervisory diligence have exposed humanity to more danger by allowing touting and forgery of COVID-19 test certificates to individuals.

The unfortunate issue is that in this global pandemic era, governments of nations have invested a lot to save their citizens and one of the measures is serious checkpoints at and even closure of airports in some cases, knowing the impact of global travels and the possibility of transmission from country to country.

While we commend the efforts of FAAN at arresting the suspects, we are also bound to state that the authority has failed in its duty as the government agency that oversees all other agencies working at the airports. Nigerian airports are some of the most porous with almost unrestricted entry for everyone. Even foreigners and some international news agencies had carried out covert investigations of corrupt activities at the airports.

It has been reported that some of the arrested officials have been suspended and are to be prosecuted in Abuja and Lagos. However, the number of suspects and the fact that they are staff of agencies working at the airports is very disheartening. They are possibly not all that ought to be arrested. Who are their bosses? Why have they not been sacked or why have they not been forced to resign?

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The crime under review can be regarded as crime against humanity because, with millions dead and more in hospitals across the globe, the touts issuing fake test certificates to travellers are devilish and potentially spreading the virus through their actions in a world almost at the edge of the precipice due to the effects and almost intractable nature of the pandemic.

These devilish forgeries are a blight on the image and health of the country and the suspects must not just be suspended, they must face the full wrath of the law. The sad irony is that some of them are members of the staff of the aviation authority and customer services department. Their criminal acts put a big question mark on the due diligence on their backgrounds to ascertain their suitability for the jobs.

We are convinced that the forgery of COVID-19 test certificates is somehow an offshoot of the value placed on mere paper certificates in the country. The notorious Oluwole fake certificate ‘minting factory’ on Lagos Island had existed for long and been alleged to have the capacity to produce any certificate and even some countries’ visas. There have been cases of some politicians who lost their positions based on forged certificates, but we believe many are still parading fake certificates undetected.

The rhetoric by the Managing Director of FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, about what would happen to any offending staff of the agency when caught is neither here nor there. The number of suspects is scandalous. The fact that most pandemics like Ebola and COVID-19 came into the country through the Lagos airport shows that there is failure of management in that agency.

Lives have been lost due to the incompetence of FAAN management; that agency must be made more effective by employing competent and committed handlers. Ports of entry into countries are some of the most important lines of defence or vulnerability of the country and incompetent people make the whole nation vulnerable to attacks and health hazzards.

Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investments, Mariam Katagum, at the last meeting of the Economic Sustainability Committee chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo gave Nigerians an update on the activities of the committee. Among others, she disclosed that 36 states of the federation have, in all, shared a total sum of N75 billion under the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) of the Federal Government. No state is expected to receive less than N1.7 billion cumulative from all the schemes under the plan. The development is sequel to the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2020, wherein he mandated the body to coordinate the implementation of the ESP aimed at cushioning the economic effects of the global pandemic.

To begin with, both the plan and the enabling fund which it gave rise to are hard to fault in the context of the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are truly deserving of commendation. However, it also bears stating that the initiative is neither novel nor even original, with variants of such interventions earlier rolled out by governments of such highly developed economies like those of the United States, United Kingdom and Germany, soon after the pandemic broke. For the Federal Government not to have acted proactively to assist the states, all of which were by then reeling under the effects of the lockdown, would have been most tragic if not irresponsible.

In other words, there is nothing wrong with the Federal government stepping in to help the states in their moments of need. More importantly, the Federal Government acted because it was in a position to do so. Pandemic or not, we have seen the Federal Government rush to bail out the states each time they are in trouble. A good example was when at the inception of this administration in 2015, President Buhari similarly offered a lifeline to the states when threatened by insolvency.

The problem is when this becomes a pattern as we have seen all too frequently in the relations between the Federal Government and the states, during which the former had acted more like a benefactor, as against an equal partner as one would expect under a true federal arrangement. Yes, there is a lot of inertia in the states, particularly in the area of revenue generation. So is corruption and mismanagement rife. But then, these are not exclusive to the states. Indeed, what available evidence suggests is that the Federal Government is able to act the Father Christmas only because it has infinitely more sources of revenue to tap from rather than any known record of shrewd management.

To argue that the states could be more imaginative is, therefore, beside the point. One obvious source of the problem is the revenue allocation formula which is preponderantly tilted in favour of the Federal Government. Under the current arrangement, the centre government takes 52.68%; the 36 states and the local governments are left to share the balance in the proportions of 26.72% and 20.60%, respectively, even as derivation is allocated 13%percent. As if this is not iniquitous enough, the same Federal Government has exclusive control of solid minerals, most of which have remained untapped.

While occasional interventions by the Federal Government might sometimes be necessary, what the states need is to be made not only viable but also largely independent. As we have always argued, the current unproductive, distributive and utterly stifling federalism must give way to a more functional one, in which the states are empowered to harness the resources in their domains for development. The corollary is for the Federal Government to shed the excess fat.

The latest Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) report on sectoral utilisation of foreign exchange for the third quarter of 2021 showing that the country spent $1.68bn on food importation between January to September last year should be a source of worry to every Nigerian. It is, if anything, indicative of the vast gap that still exists between the government’s oft-touted claims about sufficiency generally, and what the marketplace actually suggests. Put in the context of the billions poured into the various intervention programmes by both the apex bank and the Federal Government, Nigerians might begin to wonder if indeed those massive interventions are having the desired effects.

Even at that, the report is hardly an isolated one. In yet another report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country is said to have imported over N1trillion ($2.06billion) fish from major nine countries in the last two years. And only recently, this newspaper reported that the country actually spent about N500 billion on fish import in the last 11 months alone. Both reports also suggest that the imports have actually been growing over time. For instance, from $789.74million in 2019, fish import was found to have grown to $1.27billion in 2020 – a whopping 38 per cent or $480.2million in value. The same, of course, applies to Nigeria’s milk import bill said to have risen by 28 per cent within nine months. In other words, our economy has remained a consumptive one.

Not that we are entirely surprised at the findings of the reports. If anything, it seems highly likely that the figure is understated given Nigerians’ love for anything imported and the extent unscrupulous Nigerians will go to thwart those polices of government designed to encourage citizens to look inwards. At this time, the question that must bother those in charge of policies, as indeed every Nigerian, is the question what is actually going on or, better still, what needs to be done to reverse the trend. By this we mean getting Nigerians to invest in and eat what they grow. After all, the government has tried the weapon of a protracted border closure targeted at stemming the nefarious activities of smugglers and to protect our local farmers. Yet, the overall effects in either arresting smuggling or boosting domestic agricultural productivity have remained most debatable, such that commodities as foreign rice and poultry products, most of which are smuggled, are still found everywhere in the country. Equally noteworthy are the billions of naira committed into the Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme as indeed several other intervention projects to boost not just rice production but agricultural production in general. Even here, the jury is still out on whether these have achieved their intended objectives.

It takes nothing for government to admit that huge gaps still exist between the intendments of policies and the actual deliverables. That admission can only help it to better focus, if not appreciate what additional steps that need to be taken to bridge the gap.

We must of course admit that the monetary authority in particular has shown commendable leadership even where its fiscal counterpart has either faltered or acted below par. Overall, however, it is clear that massive gaps still exist within the value chain, notably in the area of logistics, storage/preservation and marketing that continue to hobble genuine efforts at the sector’s transformation. This obviously calls for renewed focus on investments – a basic prerequisite for commercial agriculture which is particularly desired at this time.

As for the sub national governments, theirs have been most unimaginative in terms of their overall response to the alarming food insecurity.

Going forward, we expect our various state governments to put their acts together, particularly as the task of addressing the gaps, in the final count, lies in their hands. So much for the billions flying around in interventions; we now realise how far these can go. Without the state governments putting in complementary measures – such as the strengthening of their extension services, with particular emphasis on site and services activities to ensure that our farmers are weaned off the drudgery of physical exertions, to mechanisation, not only will the desired goal of improved productivity of our farmers remain a mirage, the sector will continue to be unattractive to the army of young people so badly needed to turn the sector around.

Of course we cannot forget the insecurity in the land which has made many farmers flee their farms. This must be tackled vigorously if we don’t want to be pumping funds into agriculture only for bandits and other criminals to make such funds go down the drain.

Out for the eagled-eye auditors in the Office of the Acting Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr Adolphus Aghugu, the fact that over N14.7 billion being proceeds of the privatisation of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) are still allegedly hidden in commercial banks, would have remained unknown to the Nigerian public. An audit query to this effect was contained in the “Auditor-General of the Federation’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses Issues of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for the Year Ended 31st December, 2019″. The Auditor-General presented the report to the clerk to the National Assembly, Mr Ojo Amos, on September 15, 2021, enabling the Public Accounts Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives to commence investigation of the queries.

The report notes that while the privatisation of the PHCN had been concluded since 2013, the funds in question were still in the commercial banks as at December 31, 2016. By that time, the funds ought to have been remitted to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Privatisation Proceeds Accounts. The audit report pointedly accused the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) as being responsible for the infraction, which is not out of place since BPE is statutorily responsible for handling all privatisation exercises. It certainly cannot be that no officials of the BPE was aware of the existence of these shadowy accounts. Could the accounts have been shrouded in secrecy so as to perpetrate financial crimes and enable officials to line their pockets illegally? This is one of the questions that only an open and transparent probe of the accounts can help proffer answers to.

It becomes even more worrisome when the audit query states that “The issue has been communicated to the bureau via a letter with reference no. OAU GF/RESAD/05/2016/17 dated 19th April, 2018, and no response has been received”. The report is quite right to point out the implications of government agencies operating these kinds of shadowy, hidden accounts. It states that “Unauthorised funds kept in commercial banks may be diverted for other purposes thereby leading to loss of revenue available for government programmes”. It is precisely to block opportunities for fraud associated with government agencies opening several accounts in diverse banks, making it difficult to track government funds that the Treasury Single Account (TSA) was introduced. The auditor-general’s report thus directed that “The DG of the BPE is required to recover the sum of N14, 720, 396, 432.43 being proceeds of the PHCN privatisation and remit same to my office for audit confirmation”.

Surprisingly, the BPE, which did not deem it fit to respond to the auditor-general’s audit query, defended itself in a written submission to the requisite committees of the National Assembly. It stated that the two separate sums of N3.231 billion allegedly held in Fidelity Bank and N18.199 billion held in Stanbic Bank “were unaudited bank balances that were actually no longer in existence as of the date of the audited financial statements”. It explained further that its dollar- denominated funds in Access Bank and FCMB could not be transferred immediately due to non-existence of designated US dollars TSA for dollar balances. It submits that the correct balance in the Access Bank account was NIL as the bank had transferred $34.1 million to the CBN domiciliary account.

As for the FCMB account, the BPE averred that the balance in it as at 31/12/2016 was $36, 053. 15 following transfer of $65, 088, 198 .353. It further explained that “The residual balance remained until 18/9/2017 due to inability of the bank to remit as required under the TSA policy owing to initial unavailability of designated TSA for US dollar balances as required under the newly introduced policy”. The big question is why didn’t the BPE make these explanations and clarifications available to the auditor-general’s office once it received the audit query. Its submissions certainly need to be scrutinised, especially as these alleged hidden accounts raise, once again, questions as to the transparency of the PHCN privatisation process.

It is important to know who signed the mandate to open the accounts. Have interest payments been made on these accounts, and if so, to whom? Why are we just hearing about these hidden accounts now when they were supposedly opened in 2016? This is certainly a fallout of the political/bureaucratic corruption associated with the PHCN privatisation process, a situation which has made the unbundling of the former electricity behemoth and the emergence of private sector-owned distribution and generating companies of little effect on the country’s power supply capacity.