The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • A big plunge

    A big plunge

    Last week, two different stories emerged about the position of Nigeria as an investment destination in Africa. There would have been little or no controversy, but for the wide gap in the positions of the divergent views. The first was the report by RMB, a division of FirstRand Bank Ltd, which says that Nigeria has dropped from Africa’s top 10 investment destinations to 14. According to the report titled “Where to Invest in Africa 2021,” Egypt remains the number one investment destination in Africa. The other countries are Morocco, South Africa, Rwanda; Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and Tanzania.

    RMB Africa Economist Daniel Kavishe said in view of COVID-19 “We created a new set of rankings that incorporated some of the unavoidable COVID-19-induced challenges, of which the operating environment score was one.” This is good because even though the pandemic brought many challenges to the world, it also provided opportunity for countries to showcase their creative talent.

    But the RMB rating is in sharp contrast to President Muhammadu Buhari’s claim that Nigeria remains the most viable and attractive investment destination in Africa. The president spoke in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in an address to a trade and investment forum at Dubai Expo 2020. He added that the country was on the way to becoming Africa’s leading industrial and trading nation. According to the president, “Nigeria’s pavilion at the Expo 2020 clearly shows why we remain the most viable and attractive investment destination in Africa. Our location, our natural resources, our population, and our regulations are there for all to see.”

    Unless there is something that the president is seeing that the rest of us are not seeing, it seems to us that the RMB report is more credible. Unless we want to continue living in fool’s paradise, even we (Nigerians) know that given the parameters that attract foreign investment, Nigeria has lost several grounds and can therefore not be the destination of choice for any rational investor. As Kavishe noted, capital will flow naturally to economies offering a good mix of opportunity and ease of doing business. The way things are in Nigeria today, it is difficult to expect investors, local or foreign, to see the country as a viable place to establish a business. Stable power supply is key for businesses to thrive, otherwise business establishments have to set aside huge sums of money to run alternative power systems. This means more running cost which would eventually be borne by the consumers.

    The road and communication networks too must be good to support the businesses. So are other infrastructural facilities like water supply. Above all, security is a very essential aspect of the business climate that no investor can ignore. There is no doubt that the insecurity in the country is a put-off to any investor. With the world now a global village, all that any investor needs do to get the relevant information about a particular business destination is to press a button and everything pops up on the computer. So, with all these challenges in Nigeria in the public domain, it is difficult to see the kind of marketing strategy that wants to award more than the country or any country for that matter has to offer, in its efforts to woo investors.

    Rather than continue to live on past glory, Nigeria must first accept that the way the country is structured today is a disincentive to business. If we are truly 14 even in Africa, then our economy is in reverse gear. We must come to terms with the fact that the economy is not growing and take measures to address the challenge. All the noise about Nigeria having a very big population would count for nothing if that population is not productive. Gone were those days when being big-for-nothing counted for much. Most of the businesses that relocated elsewhere from Nigeria in recent times would not have left if population alone were to be the parameter for locating business.

    The least we expect the government to do, at least for a start, is to fix power supply and ensure security of lives and property. Other things will then, hopefully, follow. Even if it is true, as President Buhari told his audience in Dubai, that some foreign and local investors have invested about N412billion ($992million) across 35 Nigerian startups in the first 10 months of this year, the point is that it could have been better if we had a more conducive environment for business.

    We should stop celebrating dew of blessing when we have the capacity to command and enjoy showers of blessing.

  • Unsustainable!

    Unsustainable!

    In a report to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Miscellaneous Offences Commission (ICPC), the Budget Office of the Federation made the bold recommendation that restructuring Nigeria into six zones is a critical and necessary condition for decisively addressing the current unsustainable cost of governance, which has become dysfunctional and obstructive to the goal of achieving meaningful development. The office noted that resources, which ought to be channelled into improving the quality of life of the citizenry through the provision of qualitative social services, including education, health, shelter, power supply, and critical infrastructure is expended on maintaining an over-bloated bureaucracy at all levels, abysmally large and unproductive number of political appointees and their aides, among other contributory factors to the high cost of governance.

    Other factors identified by the Budget Office in this regard include high cost of elections, corrupt budgetary practices as well as multiplicity and duplication of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

    Of course, there is nothing new in the observations and suggestions of the Budget Office. As far back as 1995, Nigeria’s Vice President in the Second Republic, the late Dr Alex Ekwueme, had delineated and suggested six sub-regional units as the best basis for efficient and productive governance in Nigeria. This has to a large extent been given informal acceptance and approval in several respects, but nothing concrete has been done to apply this formula to drastically reduce the cost of governance in order to make funds available for development. The undesirable consequences, according to the Budget Office, include underperformance of the economy, slow growth and persistent infrastructural deficits and challenges.

    Read Also: ICPC: 257 duplicated projects found in 2021 budget 

    To be sure, there are serious practical problems with implementing the fundamental and drastic solutions suggested by the Budget Office. In the first place, a new six-regional structure cannot be unilaterally decreed into existence. And those who are critical to implementing such solutions are beneficiaries of the same wasteful and unproductive structure. It is indeed instructive that at the 2014 National Conference organised by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, there was indeed a recommendation for an increase in the number of states from the present 36 to no less than 50. This incessant clamour for creation of states is informed by the fact that, no matter how unproductive they may be, even the most unviable states enjoy handouts from the centre, mainly from unearned oil revenues.

    This explains a situation whereby political office holders in the executive and legislature across the states earn the same uniform remunerations and enjoy the same perks, irrespective of the revenue they generate internally. The lack of seriousness in addressing the cost of governance challenge is illustrated, for instance, by the failure of successive governments to implement the recommendations of the Oransanye Report, which advocated a radical realignment and reduction in the number of MDAs to eliminate duplication and cut costs. In the same vein, despite persistent and prevalent complaints about the unjustified humongous allowances of the country’s legislators, nothing meaningful has been done to address the problem.

    The recommendation by the Budget Office is an urgent wake-up call that we can ignore to our peril. With 36 states, 774 local government areas and an excessively bloated Federal Government, Nigeria must be one of the most over-administered polities in the world. The current security challenges and endemic poverty that threaten the country’s very existence are partly a function of the current misapplication of resources. If things continue this way, there is every indication that the over-pampered and excessively indulged elective and appointive political office holders may soon find that they have no more viable country to govern.

    According to the Budget Office, personnel cost in the country at all levels for the past three years amounted to N9.7 trillion and this expenditure item represents a significant proportion of the cost of governance. Accordingly, MDAs recurrent spending rose from N3.61 trillion in 2015 to N5.26 trillion in 2018 and N7.91 trillion in 2020 and this excludes the cost of running government-owned enterprises and transfers to the National Assembly and the National Judicial Council (NJC). It is of course obvious that if the cost of governance can be radically curtailed, there will be more resources to channel to critical infrastructure that will create a better climate for businesses to thrive and thus enhance the capacity of the private sector to outstrip the government bureaucracy in terms of generating productive employment.

    The recommendation of the Budget Office for a fundamental restructuring of the polity is not only desirable, it is realisable. What is needed is the requisite political will to make it happen.

     

  • An old debate

    An old debate

    President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Justice Benedict Kanyip, must have stirred the hornet’s nest when he declared, last week, at a workshop on the Reform of the Finance (Control and Management) Act of 1958 organised by the Nigerian Law Reform Commission (NLRC), that the National Assembly lacks the power to increase budget proposals by the executive and its agencies. To him, adding to the estimates presented by the executive and its agencies amounts to a negation of the responsibility of the parliament, as, according to him, the essence of the parliament in a democracy is to serve as a check on the executive which possesses the power to spend.

    Said he: “it is the executive that knows where to generate money, it is the executive that presents budget; it is the executive that knows where the shoe pinches”.  To him, authorisation, which he equated appropriation with, “is either of two things – you maintain what is asked for or you reduce it, but certainly not to increase it.”

    He then wondered: “Now, how can you check on the spending power of the executive when you are telling them to spend more?”

    It is an old debate, no doubt. The sentiments, shared by many, are certainly not without some foundation. From padding to other egregious distortions that have become second nature to our indulgent lawmakers, we have seen them reduce the important annual appropriation process to a farce, with narrow interests of their few privileged members, as against the over-riding public interest, taking the centre-stage.

    Unfortunately, the learned jurist would have been more persuasive had his arguments been based on the constitution, the law or even plain logic. Falling short on those, he says Nigerians should accept his gospel that “authorisation”, which he equates with “appropriation”, “is either of two things – you maintain what is asked for or you reduce it, but certainly not to increase it.” Many Nigerians will certainly disagree.

    Without question, the constitution is unequivocal on the power of the parliament over the public purse. So is the unchallengeable authority of the legislature to determine what eventually gets spent one way or the other, including moving an already approved vote to another expenditure head (virement). Whether on those or more, there is little contention, just as there can be no questioning the powers of the National Assembly to adjust the budget parameters based on the information available to it, and based on its understanding of other national imperatives on which it does not necessarily share the position of the executive.

    Which explains why, in the absence of any specific provision that can be said to exist in the constitution that could be remotely interpreted as a curb on the powers of the National Assembly to make adjustments to budget estimates, the arguments have tended to devolve more around morality and the extant abuses, as against the law.

    Only recently, we saw how the Democratic Party-controlled US Congress pushed for an increase in the military budget by some $24 billion more than what the United States president, Joe Biden, had requested. Some moderate Democrats in the House Armed Services Committee actually joined their Republican counterparts to push through a measure to substantially raise the cost of the annual defence policy bill.

    The other side of the argument which has not been quite sufficiently made is that the National Assembly, unlike its counterparts in more mature democracies, does not have its own Budget Office, a factor that might explain its limitations; on the other hand, the executive branch, even with the full compliments of a bureaucracy – the Budget Office, has neither shown itself to be inviolate nor above board –. given not just its traditional tardiness, deliberate understatement of revenues and the pervasive corruption for which it is renown.

    So, the issue remains moot; which is why Nigerians who feel differently should continue to explore not only the option of judicial intervention but also to ensure that their voices are heard on this and other matters. In the meantime, it seems to us that the real issue is not so much about what the constitution or the law says but rather the penchant by a privileged few – and this cuts across the board – to abuse their position of trust.

  • R.I.P. Sylvester Oromoni

    R.I.P. Sylvester Oromoni

    For the Oromoni family of Delta State, celebrating the 12th birthday of their son, Sylvester Oromoni Jr., must have been one of their major plans for the year. However, the former junior secondary school student of Dowen College in the high-brow Lekki area of Lagos State died a few days before his birthday on December 4. He was allegedly bullied to death by five senior students who he had allegedly named before passing.

    A tearful father, Sylvester Oromoni Sr., had narrated how the alleged suspects had beaten the deceased and fed him some undisclosed liquid before his death. There has been outrage in the country over the death and the conflicting information from both the school and the family of the dead boy. The father and two siblings who were equally students in the same school insist the boy had earlier complained of bullying, last year.

    The management of Dowen College on the other hand said the boy sustained injuries while playing football in the school. But the account of the pains the boy experienced before he died by the father did not add up to a possible sports injury. However, the boy was courageous enough before dying to name the alleged student perpetrators. The Lagos State Police Command has announced the arrest of three of the five names the boy mentioned.

    There has been a rumour going round in the social media that the alleged bullying of the boy could be linked to his refusal to join a secret cult. Investigations by the police might reveal whether this was true or false. But the fact is, the boy is dead and that is the tragedy that has got even President Muhammadu Buhari assuring Nigerians that justice would be done.

    While we commend the Lagos State government for wading in and sealing off the school baring investigations, we equally commend the state police command for arresting three of the alleged suspects. We however hope that in a 21st century globalised world, fishing out the remaining two alleged suspects would help investigations in this tragedy.

    Honestly, we are concerned about how the school system in Nigeria has degenerated. Cases of anti-social behaviour by students, negligence on the parts of school management — teaching and non-teaching staff — have become too rampant and too disruptive of the education system. We however wish to take a more holistic look at the education sector in Nigeria because the death of Sylvester is tragic but it does seem that many Nigerian children have in recent years been victims of all sorts of abuses and trauma, including death, sexual assault, kidnappings and socio-economic and psychological abuses.

    The education sector in any economy is about the children/youth, the future of any nation. We feel that rather than the reactive actions after tragedies, governments at all levels ought to take proactive actions to checkmate some of the disruptive manifestations in the lives of the children. To start with, the proliferation of private schools is a clear indication that public schools are almost facing extinction. Ironically, most of the people in leadership passed through functional public school system. So what has changed?

    All over the world, there are private and public schools that give parents options, but standards are uniformly enforced. This is often backed by very diligently thought-out policies and insistence, through supervision, that standards be maintained. This seems to be absent in Nigeria at the moment.

    The for-profit private schools are everywhere, including in buildings and environments not conducive for holistic learning. Extra-curricular activities are part of education but across the country, we see ramshackle buildings with signboards often reading “Government approved” but clearly below standards. We feel that governments at all levels must take a closer look at the education sector and set and supervise standards diligently. UN agencies like UNICEF and UNESCO set standards and Nigeria is signatory to most treaties on child rights and education.

    If standards are set and close supervision is carried out, certain negligent behaviour can be checked before damage like this death happens. Drug abuse, cultism, sexual abuse and hooliganism in all tiers of education happen because of lack of due diligence by operators of schools, public or private. It seems that excellence in learning and character is being neglected in our pursuit of mere certificates.

    Read  Also: Justice for Citizen Itunu and Sylvester Oromoni

    Education and child upbringing is not an exclusive preserve of schools. Parents must have their jobs done properly. Children are good copycats who watch their parents and other adults and replicate behaviour. Every diligent parent can observe the behaviour of his or her children and take measures to curb anti-social behaviour from infancy. Most behavioral patterns are formed in the first life cycle of life, 0-15 years. At this time, parents must work hard to straighten rough edges and be good role models while the school system can equally help in addition to formal education.

    We believe that Dowen College, being  a high-profile school, ought to have taken more proactive measures to checkmate bullying, listen to complaints from parents, observe students more closely and detect and punish anti-social behaviour by installing CCTV cameras that might have recorded actions and inactions of every human in that environment. With such, this tragedy might have been easier to unravel. Accounts by the father of the deceased show that his first year in the school was traumatic as he kept complaining about being bullied and his personal items being taken from him. The parents too replaced the items without seriously digging into the origin of the losses. They might have saved his life by just challenging those actions immedately.

    Reports of the alleged attitude of the school to previous reports of bullying by some parents, if true, show the school has no social connections and systems to protect children under its care. The school’s claim that the boy got injured playing football sounds so puerile because football is a 22-man team game, with a referee and sports masters. How is it that no student had owned up to having seen him playing ball, even if he played alone? The wounds in his inner mouth could not have come from a pitch fall. The fact that a mere sick bay nurse allegedly was the one that informed the parents that the child was ill leaves much to be desired.

    While we await the result of the investigations and possible prosecution of all that are found culpable by action or omission, this death, if anything good can come out of it, must be a wake-up call for refocusing of attention on the education and welfare of our children by governments. Parents must begin to raise confident children and take communication more seriously. All the children that kept silent because they were threatened with death are all victims of the trauma too.

    For governments, it is not enough to show sympathies and close down schools after tragedies, let fundamental actions be taken to prevent tragedies. Parents on their part must take parenting more seriously. The allegation of anti-social behaviour like this is nationwide and happens in both private and public schools. We must take action to save the children from themselves. They are our future.

    May the dead find peace as the living await justice.

     

  • Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin exits

    Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin exits

    Two narratives on the life and times of distinguished jurist and retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria Bolarinwa Babalakin situated him professionally and socially. His death on December 4, at the age of 94, prompted striking reminiscences of his life.

    After he retired from the Supreme Court in the early 1990s, according to his son, he also retired from material pursuits. “One day I came to meet him that we have a very big arbitration in my office and everyone has suggested that you have the calibre to be one of the arbitrators,” Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN), Chairman of Resort International Limited (RIL), narrated at a posthumous event in Gbongan, Osun State, the hometown of the late jurist.

    “I asked if he would do it but he kept to his word of not doing anything that concerned money again. I went on pestering him that $250,000 is the amount that will be paid for the job, I mentioned one of his bosses and friend who is the second arbitrator, yet he rejected the offer.”

    This story reflects not only Justice Babalakin’s expertise but also his rise above materialism. He focused on settlement of disputes that required his mediation skills but without the promise of material enrichment, and devoted his life to charity.

    The second account was about his intervention in a long-standing fight between two prominent Yoruba traditional rulers, the immediate past Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, and Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran.

    “There was a day I called him early in the morning and I asked what he planned doing for the day,” his son recounted. “He told me that he was reconciling Ooni Sijuade and Oba Adekunle Aromolaran… He said God would do it. Two weeks later, he called and said ‘didn’t I tell you? The matter has been resolved.’

    The pursuit of peace and belief in God were dear to him.  He was a former president of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), and an active member of the Muslim Association of Nigeria and Ansar- Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, a Muslim organisation formed in the 1920s to promote education among Muslims and boost their moral and social development.

    Significantly, he was greatly interested in developing the country’s youth and preparing them for a fruitful future.  He was involved in the activities of Educare Trust, a group based in Ibadan, Oyo State, devoted to youth, health and education. Under his chairmanship of the group’s board,  it succeeded in introducing a ‘Co-Curricular Period’ in the Oyo State Education Class Programme, championed the concept of ‘Holiday School Programmes’ to use school facilities during holidays, and campaigned for more Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds from Corporate Nigeria for youth activities.

    Justice Babalakin was called to the Bar in England in the 1950s, and his rise to the exalted position of Supreme Court Justice demonstrated his quality. Indeed, President Muhammadu Buhari, in a condolence message, noted that as one of the final legal authorities during his time as a justice of the highest court in the land, he enriched Nigerian jurisprudence. He served in an era when the country’s judiciary was well regarded and enjoyed public respect, which sadly cannot be said of today’s judiciary.

    Notably, many of the posthumous tributes to him emphasised his good reputation both as jurist and citizen. It may well be that the depth of his religious devotion influenced his goodness.  Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said he valued him “very much for his wise and sagacious counsel.”

    His life of contentment possibly contributed to his longevity, which should serve as a lesson in a world driven by acquisitive impulses. His legacies include a good name, riches of the mind, non-materialistic lifestyle, serious spirituality, and social conscience.

  • Avoidable tragedy

    Avoidable tragedy

    Last Tuesday was indeed a sad day, and many reports have dubbed it a ‘Black Tuesday’ after about 17 pupils of Omole Primary School and Babs Fafunwa’s Secondary School, in the Ojodu-Berger area of Lagos, were crushed to death by a trailer. There are several accounts about the heart-rending incident, which has brought sorrow and anguish to families, and trauma for witnesses of the tragic incident, especially the surviving pupils. We extend our heart-felt condolences to everyone of them.

    By one account the driver of the trailer was running away from some law enforcement officials when he plunged into the pupils going home after their classes. If that is correct, the driver, if alive, must be made to face the law for multiple murder or, in the least, manslaughter. After all, if one engages in a reckless conduct capable of causing the death of another, he cannot but be held liable for the likely consequence of his reckless action.

    It is common knowledge that drivers of articulated vehicles are swollen headed because of the size of their vehicles, and are unwilling to obey traffic regulation officials, who they look down on, from their elevated position. It is common knowledge also that most of them do not update their vehicle particulars, and are therefore unwilling to stop when accosted by relevant agencies of government to check those papers. If that is the case, the owners of the vehicle should be made to account for the tragic deaths of the pupils.

    It is also important to examine whether the vehicle was road worthy prior to the incident. By some accounts, the break of the vehicle failed while on speed. We urge that the cause of the break failure be found out, and if it was a result of lack of maintenance, the owner should be held accountable as accessory to the charges against the driver. It is also important to find out whether the vehicle has genuine road worthiness certificate, and if it had, when it shouldn’t, the vehicle inspection officials should be made to account.

    We advise that speed breakers be erected around school areas in the state, and appropriate signs indicating the presence of school put in place. It is also necessary to educate the relevant traffic control officers, both federal and state, to be on guard during the early morning rush and closing hours, around school areas. Such education should also extend to how to enforce traffic control and regulation, and dealing with potential offenders. Instead of chasing a recalcitrant driver, the number plate can be recorded for a follow-up enforcement.

    Some traffic and vehicle regulators should not be on the road, for enforcement. One of such is the vehicle inspection officials, since inspection can only be done at the motor garages, before certificates are awarded to vehicles plying the roads. The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) officials should also concentrate on traffic control, instead of indiscriminate law enforcement on the highways. With plate numberings computerised, technology can be used to track vehicles whose documents have expired, and offenders of traffic rules and regulations.

    We urge the state government to ensure a thorough investigation of what caused the loss of lives of the precious pupils. And to ensure that anyone found culpable is punished. We decry the public penchant to take laws into their hands, regardless of the level of angst and passion. The police should also be ever ready to mobilise to deal with rioting professionally at short notice. We advise reporters not to focus on reactions, but instead dig out information on who and what caused the mayhem.

  • Scrapping FERMA

    Scrapping FERMA

    The senate bill to scrap the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and form a new one looks genuine on the surface. Lawmakers intend to ensure by that bill to give a roads maintenance parastatal independence of funding and management because of the roads that need repair and restoration across the country.

    The bill, which is sponsored in the House of Representatives by Deputy Minority Leader Toby Okechukwu and Ossai Nicholas, and the senate by Yahaya Abubakar, will repeal The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency Act, The Federal Highways Act and The Control of Advertisement on Federal Highways Act.

    What they seek to achieve is an agency that will facilitate the development, financing, management and improvement of roads. It will also regulate the issuance of contracts for road concessions as well as public/private partnerships.

    It is a new approach to roads. Some of the complaints have been that the Federal Ministry of Finance does not release funds as frequently and in the plenitude that will make a difference in the maintenance of our road networks.

    Some points need to be addressed as the lawmakers proceed with the action. What do they wish to achieve when they want to make it a public-private partnership? The question is pertinent because the accusation is alive that some of the lawmakers have seen FERMA as a vehicle for what is now known as constituency projects.

    Many of them have been accused of two serious allegations. One, that a good deal of the contracts for FERMA go to the firms of lawmakers or firms fronting for lawmakers. Two, that most of the funds allotted to federal roads are misdirected to state roads, and even at that, some of the firms are owing for lack of diligence in execution.

    The consequence of these is that more roads are neglected, and the more they are neglected the greater the need for more contracts. It becomes a circuitous drama of incompetence, cynicism and corruption.

    So, when they are calling for private participation, it is lofty in principle. But we need a system of oversight and accountability that will shut out lawmakers who are supposed to make laws from profiting corruptly from the venture.

    Constituency projects have become a big bane of this democracy. Lawmakers now see themselves as executors of projects rather than enablers through legislation. Hence the suspicion that this new law may be innocent in principle but corrupt in execution. When money allocated to federal roads go to the work of state roads, it means we have turned the federal principle upside down. It has been the practice that state governments have taken over federal roads construction and maintenance and later asked for reimbursement. That has stopped with the Buhari administration. But lawmakers should not be seen to be doing the opposite.

    With a new agency, the new head will pass through the National Assembly. We hope lawmakers will not hunt for “cooperating” managing director that will give a wink and a nod to “business as usual.”

    If the allegations are right, the lawmakers must watch out. The roads are often handed over to the maintenance agency after construction by the works ministry. It is then the problem of FERMA has been controversial. Because of the rise in population, the commuter numbers have risen. That necessitates the construction of more roads because activities inevitably increase. The Buhari administration has stepped up road construction on a relatively massive scale, and that will mean more work for maintenance.

    That is why the lawmakers should ensure that what results from this bill meets the challenges ahead. It will save lives and connect parts of the country better.

  • Unacceptable indiscipline

    Unacceptable indiscipline

    It has always been a well known fact that lack of budgetary discipline resulting in financial recklessness and avoidable waste has been a critical contributory factor to Nigeria’s protracted economic crisis and underdevelopment. This much has once again been confirmed by the Consolidated Statement of Financial Performance for Year 2019 submitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly by the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF), Mr Adolphus Aghugu, for onward transmission to the Public Account Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives.

    In the first place, it is condemnable that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) submitted the 2019 Consolidated Financial Statement to the AuGF on May 25, 2021, 10 months behind schedule, in violation of the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The AuGF’s observation in this regard should not be treated with levity. Timeliness in meeting financial reporting deadlines is key to the objective of ensuring transparency and accountability.

    No less disturbing is the AuGF’s discovery that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) incurred extra-budgetary spending worth N5.892 trillion in the year under scrutiny. It is noteworthy that this was at a time of sharp decline in national revenues and the attendant economic hardship, when fiscal prudence and rectitude was of the essence. According to the AuGF, “there were no budgets for some revenue items recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Performance amounting to N5.892 trillion”. He stated further that “The resulting variances on revenue items not budgeted for could not be justified on ground of performance, the main essence of the Consolidated Statement of Budget and Actual”. Rather, the report submitted, the discrepancies “could be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system in the consolidation process”.

    Giving details of the budgetary abuses, the AuGF noted that at least 41 MDAs disbursed grants and contributions estimated at about N400.802 billion without budgetary provision, resulting in extra-budgetary spending, while another unspecified number of agencies reportedly spent N329.988 billion as employees’ benefits and subsidies, again without budgetary authority. Ironically, one of the organisations reported by the AuGF to have carried out what was described as ‘unusual positive variances in their personnel costs’ was the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, with an infraction in this regard to the tune of N146.30 million. This is indeed surprising as this ministry is supposed to be at the forefront of policing the budgetary process and exhibiting an example of fiscal responsibility worth emulating by others.

    Other agencies found wanting in different respects in terms of violation of budgetary procedures include the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Correctional Services (NCS), Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Nigeria Air Force (NAF). The AuGF also found that the AGF’s financial statement was silent on judgement debts and other contingent liabilities involving Nigeria, such as the US$6.6 billion plus accrued interests awarded against Nigeria in January, 2017, in favour of Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) by a London tribunal. Although litigation on the matter of the failed gas project involved continues in foreign courts, the fact still ought to be noted in the financial statement for purposes of clarity, records and transparency.

    Another example of the opacity in the country’s budgeting system as reported by the AuGF was the case of four MDAs, which had balances totalling N197, 307, 191,724.55 recorded as “Other Reserves” without the nature and purpose of these reserves being stated. A similar case was that of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), which reportedly presented about N14.990 billion as being ‘Available For Sale Assets Reserve’ without additional information to aid understanding of these assets, such as the nature, initial recognition and criteria of the items under this category.

    There is no way the country can meaningfully claim to be fighting corruption when these kinds of lack of transparency characterise its budgetary and public financial management.  All too often, statutory financial reports by the Office of the AuGF had been routinely ignored after presentation to the legislature, with no consequences for observed breaches of stipulated laws and processes. We hope this will not be the case this time around.

  • Wole Olanipekun: 70 cheers

    Wole Olanipekun: 70 cheers

    He may well be defined by his past and present positions in the sphere of law.  But that is not all that defines him.  Apart from his distinguished legal career, his philanthropy and passion for giving back have also earned him distinction.

    Chief Wole Olanipekun, who turned 70 on November 18, was called to the Bar in 1976 after graduating from the Nigerian Law School. He studied Law at the University of Lagos. It is a testimony to his quality that he attained the pinnacle of legal practice in Nigeria about 15 years after he qualified to practise law. He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1991, the first among those who left the Nigerian Law School in 1976, and the youngest to attain the status at the time. He was then 40.

    His professional growth and recognition reflect his devotion to the law.  After serving as Ondo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the 1990s, he was in 2002 elected as President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He became Vice President of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) the following year, which showed his international relevance. He remains internationally relevant as a council member of the International Bar Association (NBA).  He became a life bencher appointed by the Nigerian Body of Benchers in 2007, and he is Vice Chairman of the Body of Benchers.

    Notably, Olanipekun has been involved in landmark cases.  For instance, his position on fidelity to the constitution regarding the impeachment of a governor led to the reinstatement of Rashidi Ladoja in Oyo State in 2006.

    Also, he played significant roles in the successful legal battles to retrieve the “stolen” gubernatorial mandates of Adams Oshiomhole in Edo State, Olusegun Mimiko in Ondo State, and Kayode Fayemi in Ekiti State. Recently his gladiatorial role in the court gave Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State triumph in court.

    He also led legal teams that won in three presidential election-related cases, a record of sorts.

    His two-volume book titled The Voice of Law and Social Change says a lot about his social consciousness and his understanding of the role of law in social transformation.

    It is significant that he was considered competent to deliver the keynote address titled “Electoral Law, Election Petitions and the future of democracy in Nigeria” at the Nigeria in Transition workshop organised by the African Studies Centre, Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. His speech in February 2019 was regarded as an important contribution towards the development of Nigeria’s electoral system and the flowering of democracy.

    It is striking that his four children are lawyers, and two are SANs.

    Remarkably, Olanipekun’s success story is enriched by his sense of sharing. He understands what it means to give back, and how that can make things better. The extensive range of his liberality teaches a lesson.

    In Ikere-Ekiti, his home town in present-day Ekiti State, there is the well-equipped Bar Centre he donated to the local NBA chapter, the State Specialist Hospital where he built a modern ward in memory of his mother, the vicarage he donated to the Anglican Church in memory of his father, and the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) centre he donated to his alma mater, Amoye Grammar School, Ikere- Ekiti.

    He demonstrated his philosophy as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council of the University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, from 2009 to 2013. He was said to have directed that his allowances be used for scholarships targeted at students in Law, Medicine and Computer Science faculties. He donated a lecture theatre to the university. Also, he donated a vice-chancellor’s lodge to Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo State.

    He received an honorary law doctorate from UI for services to law as well as to the university and society.  More importantly, he received the national honour Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in 2012.

    In an interview to mark his 70th birthday, he spoke about “the way Nigeria is,” saying “I don’t want to be part and parcel of the deceit to say that all is well.”  It was a voice of reason and a voice of change.

  • Insatiable quest for expatriates

    Insatiable quest for expatriates

    The International Labour organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency formed in 1919 with a mandate to advance social and economic justice through setting international labour standards. Its origin dates back almost 100 years ago, after a series of economically strangulating wars. Its establishment was necessitated by the discovery that lasting global peace can be established only if it is based on decent treatment of workers.

    The 186-member countries work with social partners, the workers and employers. The standards are expected to be followed by individual countries, as these two are like the heart and blood of global workforce. So, the ILO sets standards, develops policies and devises programmes to make the global systems functional for humanity.

    Each member-country tries to strictly protect both the workers and the employers as a means of enhancing economic productivity and global prosperity and peace. The ILO has standards that cover all aspects of employment and welfare of both the workers and the employers. Its role was rewarded in 1969 when it won the Nobel Peace Prize.

    The announcement by Hadi Sirika, the aviation minister, that the ministry had rejected about 90% of airlines’ requests for expatriate workers comes as a welcome development. This is traceable to the effort to comply with international labour standards of protecting indigenous workforce that have the same expertise as expatriates. The minister maintained that his ministry was collaborating with the interior ministry to possibly ensure that Nigerians who have equal competencies for highly skilled-jobs are given preference in the industry.

    The airline industry is one of the hardest hit sectors of our global economy, given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that has devastated the world and is still posing social and economic threats to individual and global economies. We therefore commend the aviation ministry for adhering to the ILO standards by attempting to protect workers in the aviation industry. Training as a pilot or engineer is a capital-intensive venture. Sources at the aviation industry insist that due to the effects of the pandemic on the aviation industry, there have been job losses in all sectors of the industry. It is therefore a national duty to protect these workers and make sure they are able to access available jobs they have the requisite qualifications for.

    Protecting indigenous workers is not a new phenomenon or unique to Nigeria. Most countries prioritise the employment of their nationals, especially in a post-COVID-19 world that has seen economies stretched to their limits. A pre-pandemic aviation industry saw the growth in Asia, Europe, Middle East, America and even Africa, so there seemed to have been a high job mobility for workers, but the almost two-year pandemic seems to have wiped out the gains in the industry, as in some other sectors.

    We commend the tripartite collaboration between the aviation ministry, Ministry of Interior and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in making sure that any request for expatriates can only be considered if there is a certification that there is no Nigerian with such qualification and who is ready to be employed.

    It is equally good that the minister is himself a pilot. He cannot be deceived about the industry by anyone. He understands that beyond training as a pilot or engineer, these workers undertake extra trainings to acquire aircraft specific licenses at extra costs and time. It equally takes a lot to train as a commercial pilot or an engineer in a fast growing industry, with new technology emerging frequently. It is just fair that countries like Nigeria comply with the standards of the ILO so that peace, the most important ingredient to development can reign as projected through worker-employer justice.

    We have a few take-aways from this. It is good to put a round peg in a round hole; people must be given jobs they are professionally qualified for. Government ministries and agencies must operate with best international standards, Nigerian agencies of government must obey international treaties the country is signatory to.

    While we commend the minister for his nationalistic zeal, we advise other ministries to take a cue and protect Nigerian workers at all times. Workers are the engine room of any vibrant economy.