The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Idle river basin boards

    Idle river basin boards

    •They must be empowered to enable them deliver optimally

    River Basins play a pivotal role in any country’s socio-economic life. They are to provide water, food, habitat, fossil information, transportation, recreation, hydro-electric power, erosion control, flood control, oceanic recharge and pollution control. Nigeria has 12 river basin authorities spread across the regions of the country. President Bola Tinubu in December, 2024, reconstituted and inaugurated the boards of the 12 River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.

    The fact that the human body is made of about 90% water summarises the value of water to humanity. Beyond this, water is often described as life itself.

    Indeed, the annual celebration of Water Day is a direct validation and reminder of what humanity ought to do to ensure that the water crisis across the globe is deftly handled. It is interesting to note that the focus of Water Day is geared towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)6: water and sanitation for all by 2030, a mere five years away. The United Nations founded the Water Day in 1993 to raise awareness about water-related issues and advocate for sustainable water management practices across the globe.

    We are concerned that three months after their inauguration, the river basins are still operating without boards. We are so concerned because the country cannot do without very actively functional river basin authorities. Given the importance of water to humanity, the water resources ministry under which the boards usually operate ought to be one of the most active and possibly the most visible ministries in the country.

    Our RBDAs ought to be the most active sector of the socio-economic lives of the people and, given the global climate change issues, be alert to global activities fashioned to preserve and increase the value and sustainability of water resources through multi-faceted functions and activities. If any country in Africa is expected to be hyperactive when it comes to water resources and the like, Nigeria must be that country, due to her population, her role in the continent, and the need to provide and preserve water resources for lives and the various uses of water, especially for human sustainability through agriculture.

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    With the food insecurity and power issues in the country, irrigation and hydro-electric power depend hugely on the maximum functionality of the water resources ministry and the agencies under it. A river basin has as its core responsibility, efficient delivery of water-related services to the people.  If the aim of constituting the boards is not fully achieved, then the essence would be lost and individual citizens lose.

    While we applaud the reconstitution and inauguration of the boards, we must advise that, given the current situation where there are allegations that the inauguration was done after the budget, hence the boards lack funding, we recommend that things must be done differently henceforth for optimal performance.  The board members must be well informed and funded for maximum output.  Passion for the water resources value must be key in the constitution of such boards. Water is more important than oil. It only comes second to air in its value, and, as such, those playing any role with water resources must be well sought-out and planned for.

    We recommend that all boards be included before the annual budget is passed to avoid the lethargy the country is experiencing with the RBDA boards. A situation where the river basins are left to rot in spite of the value of water and other resources is definitely an ill-wind that blows no one any good. For too long, the water resources ministry seems to have remained under the radar. Given its importance, it ought to be more active as an inspiration to the boards and agencies under it.

  • Young farmers scheme

    Young farmers scheme

    •A great idea with equally great promise if well implemented

    Given serious food security challenges facing the country, the introduction of the Federal Government’s National Youth Agricultural Scheme is a reassuring development. The scheme involves the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Niger State government, and National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA). 

    Their partnership was formalised during a ceremony at the Government House, Minna, Niger State, where Minister of Youth Development Ayodele Olawande, Niger State Governor Mohammed Umar Bago, CEO/Executive Secretary of NALDA Cornelius Oluwasegun Adebayo, and Chairman of Niger Foods Sammy Adigun signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

    The programme, according to the federal authorities, is designed to “empower 100,000 Nigerian youths with the skills, resources, and opportunities needed to thrive in the agricultural sector,” and “aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, focusing on job creation, food security, and economic growth.”

    Apart from boosting local food production to strengthen the country’s economy, the programme is also expected to reduce youth unemployment by creating sustainable agricultural careers, give young farmers financial independence through economic empowerment, encourage the use of technology to enhance productivity and stimulate the agricultural sector to drive overall economic development.

    Adigun was reported saying the partnership aims to produce half a million tons of food, with each youth earning N150,000 monthly in the first year; with the prospect of earning millions over the next four to five years. Adebayo noted that the scheme was launched in Niger State because of its agricultural development efforts.

    Targeting youths for this agricultural programme makes a statement about the Federal Government’s recognition of the importance of youth inclusion towards achieving its development goals for the country.  However, the authorities need to make agriculture attractive to young people by promoting modern agriculture and pursuing rural development to ensure that youths can shun the pull of urban spaces.

    Importantly, the authorities must also address the problem of insecurity in farming communities across the country.  For instance, reports last year said that bandits were forcing farmers in some communities in northern Nigeria to pay various sums to be allowed access to their farms, particularly during planting and harvest seasons.  The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) confirmed that they received complaints mainly from farmers in the North-East and North-West.

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    This situation further highlighted the country’s security crisis and its negative implications for food security not only in the affected localities but even beyond. AFAN observed that the situation “could cause untold stress in the food system.” The authorities must not allow the activities of bandits to complicate food production and supply in the country.

    The launch of the agricultural scheme is timely, in the context of the cost-of-living crisis and food inflation in the country. For instance, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that month-on-month food inflation rate increased in September 2024, notably affecting prices of staples such as rice, maize, beans, and yams.

    Also, a report by the bureau noted that the food inflation rate in November 2024 was higher than the rate recorded in October 2024, attributing the rise to “the rate of increase in the average prices of mudfish, catfish dried, dried fish sardine, etc. (fish class), rice, yam flour, millet whole grain, corn flour, etc. (bread and cereals class), Agric egg, powdered milk, fresh milk, etc. (milk, cheese and eggs class) and dried beef, goat meat, frozen chicken, etc. (meat class).”

    According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), food security exists when people have access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development, and an active and healthy life. By contrast, food insecurity refers to when the aforementioned conditions don’t exist. Central considerations include physical access, economic access, and sufficiency.

    The authorities should ensure that the young farmers scheme works by tackling the factors working against agricultural development in the country.

  • Porting forward

    Porting forward

    • It’s high time the Fed Govt made them competitive

    So soon after the January roundtable hosted by the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), the Nigerian ports is under the spotlight again. At the January roundtable, the focus was on the old plagues of inefficiencies, high costs, and poor infrastructure – factors considered as posing a mortal threat to the industry, undermining its competitive edge in the sub-region. Then, the president and council chair of the NBCC, Ray Atelly, had aptly described Nigerian ports as a “cash cow” that has been treated primarily as a revenue source rather than a trade enabler, and with it, the warning that Nigeria risks ceding dominance to francophone West African nations if it fails to modernise its ports.

    Months after, nothing appears to have changed. On a visit to Lagos the other week, the chairman of Shipping Agencies, Clearing and Forwarding Employers Association (SACFEA), Boma Alabi, narrated to the media of how, despite the more than two decades of so-called reforms, so much work has remained undone at our ports for anyone to begin any talk of meaningful progress.

    Just like those identified at the NBCC roundtable, the issues were virtually the same. She spoke of the same issues of excessive port charges and high vessel berthing costs as rendering Nigerian ports unattractive, compared to the neighbouring ports of Cotonou and Lomé. The situation, she noted, accounts for the diversion of Nigeria’s cargo traffic to neighbouring countries.

    To buttress her point, she cited a 2024 report by NPS Meridian Port Services Limited which showed Ghana’s Tema Port with its dedicated container terminal as handling 1.9 million 20-foot equivalent units, (TEU)’s annually, compared to Nigeria’s 1.2 million. She puts the stark difference between the two countries to the cost of berthing a vessel.

    According to her, whereas it costs $15,000 for a vessel to berth in Ghana, the same goes for $200,000 by the time the recent increase of 15 percent in ports and marine fees slapped on the vessels by the Nigerian Ports Authority is added. In Lomé, the same vessel pays $26,000, in Cotonou, it is $27,000, Singapore $29, 000, Shanghai $21,000 and Abidjan, $60,000.

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    Of particular note is the implication of the 15 percent hike in ports and marine fees, which she said, “has further driven up costs, making transhipment through Nigerian ports unviable. As a result, Nigerian importers and exporters prefer routing goods through Ghana and Cotonou, only to bring them back into the country for sale”.

    To the best of our knowledge, none of the issues raised above is new. In fact, the factors underlying the legendary inefficiency of our ports are already well documented to warrant any new calls for a study panel. Where the port infrastructures are not obsolete, they are only too inadequate for any meaningful scale of operations. Add the general state of the adjoining infrastructure around the ports to the mix, what emerges is the nightmare that doing business, particularly in the maritime sector, has become. And because the government  needs as much revenue as it can get, it turns to the agencies, even when services are sub-par.

    These, being the core issues underlying the lack of competitiveness, require no rocket science to solve. They are the by-products of years of underinvestment and failure to modernise operations, the culture of under-delivery by entities linked to government and the lack of will by the government itself to undertake the painful but necessary adjustments needed to turn things around. Much as we agree that the government needs all of the money from ports operations, it should not be at the expense of killing the goose laying the golden egg. A good way forward is for the government to move to align its charges with those of its maritime neighbours to reflect the current concerns by its stakeholders. 

  • Examination malpractices

    Examination malpractices

    • •National Assembly’s move to combat fraud in the education sector is welcome

    Nigerian leaders, whether in the executive or legislative arm of government, have usually failed to look into the roots of social problems. One of such roots is the widespread cheating in school examinations. In some cases, pupils have been tutored to cheat from as low a level as the elementary school where some parents and teachers have been found culpable.

    It could only be imagined how deep seated the menace is at the secondary, tertiary and professional levels, where it has developed into an industry in which invigilators, officials of examination bodies, teachers or lecturers, students and parents have teamed up to lower the value of certificates from our schools

    We, therefore, agree with the House of Representatives that it is time we revisited laws meant to curb the menace.

    The federal legislative chamber is considering a five-year jail term for anyone involved in leaking examination questions to students or candidates at whatever level. The bill proposed by Esosa Iyawe who represents Oredo Federal Constituency in the House, does not allow for an option of fine. However, for students, a fine of N500,000 or incarceration for three years is allowed.

    Anyone who knows how widespread the vice is and its effect on the society at large would not consider the penalty stiff. Lecturers, including experienced professors, have been caught in the web, with some prosecuted and punished under the old law. Many did it for sexual favour, while others for pecuniary gains. In all this, the stage is set for mind-boggling corruption in the society.

    Civil servants have been accused of initiating non-existent contracts and unqualified contractors are known to have rigged their way into landing huge contracts at padded costs. Governments should not think stamping out such practices is possible with mere deployment of personnel of such bodies as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices (and other related offences) Commission and the National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), among others, to go after offenders. They know their way and have accomplices in other institutions and agencies of government, and could therefore put out the fire that would have consumed them.

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    Government should note that enacting laws without implementation will yield no result. Under the existing law, law enforcement agencies have been reluctant to prosecute offenders. There is therefore nothing to suggest that things would be any better unless new measures are put in place.

    The opportunity to be offered by the public hearing that would follow committee consideration of the bill should be seized by well-meaning Nigerians and civil society organisations to make necessary suggestions. Failure to clean up the examination space would only devalue certificates from the country in the international community.

    Already, nurses and other public health workers are facing special scrutiny in the United Kingdom. It is thus tied to the image of the country that is crying for attention. President Bola Tinubu has a duty to ensure that things change under his watch.

    Similarly, the National Assembly should speed up the process of this bill that ought not to generate so much controversy. Although it has only passed through the second reading, important and urgent bills should not be delayed. Once it is passed to the relevant committee of the House of Representatives, it should receive the support of all. Since we have bicameral legislature, the Senate should take a cue and ensure that the needful is done.

    Like the case of sexual predators in some states, teachers found to be corrupting students in examinations should not just be prosecuted and jailed, they should have their names entered into a register that would prevent them from taking up employment in any school in the country. All schools should then be mandated to check such registers before recruitment exercises.

    Nigeria deserves the best and the very best. All schools and those saddled with the responsibility of moulding lives have a duty to cooperate with the authorities in ensuring that the bill is passed now and given full effect.

  • Probing bailouts

    Probing bailouts

    •Reps’ desire is good, but do they have all it takes for a thorough job?

    Various sectors of the nation’s economy, as well as ministries, departments and agencies received bailout funds, take-off grants and interventions from the Federal Government, especially from 2015 to date. The funds were released to the institutions to support their foundational operations, facilitate specific services and settle outstanding liabilities.

    Noble objectives.

    But, characteristically Nigerian, very few, if any of the MDAs, gave an account of how they spent the money.

    This is why we welcome the setting up of a special committee by the House of Representatives to investigate how the funds were utilised, as suggested by Kingsley Chinda, the minority leader.

    Chinda, who moved a motion of urgent public importance during plenary penultimate Thursday gave good  reasons why the disbursements should be investigated.

    “The House recognises that over the years, the government has allocated take-off grants and intervention funds to existing and newly-established agencies and institutions to support their foundational operations, as well as bailout funds to various agencies to facilitate specific services and settle outstanding liabilities.

    “The House further notes that the effective utilisation of public funds is paramount to fostering accountability, transparency, and trust in MDAs, government institutions, and GOEs (government-owned enterprises”).

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    He said allegations of mismanagement and diversion of these funds inspired his motion of urgent national importance on the matter. He added, and rightly too, that such actions weaken vital public services and projects.

    Chinda cited  Section 88(2b) of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers the house to “expose corruption, inefficiency, or wastage in the management of public funds appropriated by the National Assembly,” to support his motion.

    We agree with the minority leader.

    Ours is a country where many public officials take undue advantage of public funds. This is bad for the country.

    There is the need for accountability, transparency, and effective utilisation of public funds. Mismanagement of such funds undermines public trust and hampers national development.

    It is gratifying that Chinda’s motion was adopted and the House consequently constituted a Special Committee led by Emeka Chinedu (PDP, Imo), to conduct an immediate probe into the disbursement and utilisation of the funds.

    The committee is to assess compliance with regulations and guidelines for fund management, identify instances of misappropriation or diversion, and recommend reforms, to strengthen regulatory frameworks, enforcement mechanisms, and accountability measures.

    It is unfortunate that, in our country bailouts, like palliatives, have become more or less a way of life. Unfortunately, palliatives too rarely get to those they are meant for, as they are cornered by some unscrupulous politicians and civil servants.

    Stealing of public funds or diversion of government property is not peculiarly Nigerian. What is peculiarly so is lack of accountability and or political will to make scapegoats of many of those implicated.

    However, much as we support the representatives in trying to dig into the disbursements of these funds, we doubt if they have the capacity for the task which covers about 10 years. Several institutions and agencies are involved, with many of them handed humongous amounts of money.

    In a matter like this, we are interested in thoroughness. Can’t the exercise be conducted in phases?

    Stealing of public funds is inimical to national development. It robs the government and people of monies that could have been better deployed into productive sectors.

    But, looking into how such funds are spent requires a lot of time and painstaking efforts in order to be able to successfully nail the culprits and send a signal to others that government would no longer treat them with kid gloves.

    We do not want this probe to end the way of similar ones conducted by the house, which did not go beyond the level of the investigation. 

  • New TB challenge

    New TB challenge

    •Improved capacity for detection raises hope. That should be matched with funding for treatment.

     The latest news from the tuberculosis (TB) front is sweet and sour.  In 2024, enhanced capacity to detect TB confirmed 400, 000, out of an estimated 506, 000 cases.  It’s the highest detection ever in Nigerian health history.

    On children, the report was even more dramatic.  Detection of children that had TB soared from 8, 293 in 2018 to some 43, 000 in 2024, again reflecting a vastly improved capacity to detect, the first step to treating and cure. 

    This enhanced surveillance capacity must be commended.  The next step must be adequate treatment and cure.  Such a logical progression demands critical funding.  So, the health authorities, federal, state and local, have their jobs cut out for them.

    We have Godwin Ntadom, director of public health at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, to thank for these latest stats.  On March 18 in Abuja, he did a pre-press briefing for the 2025 World TB Day, ahead of its yearly mark date of March 24.

    The news wasn’t exactly great on Nigeria’s TB burden.  With 400, 000 confirmed infections in 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global TB Report placed Nigeria as No. 1 in Africa, and No. 6 among 30 high-burden TB countries.  That’s no public health record to brag about.  But improved detection is a good start.

    This year’s theme: “Yes! We Can End TB – Commit. Invest. Deliver”, Mr. Ntadom says, echoes the global zest to fight the disease.  That’s good and highly welcome. But without an appreciable global warehousing of resources, and transparent allocation of these resources, much won’t be achieved.

    The “Commit. Invest. Deliver” punchline underscores the urgency.  It’s a TB race against time.   For a healthy and productive populace, Nigeria must play an active role in this anti-TB campaign.  So, it must maximise all the linkages with global partners, to attract funding.  But this war is certainly winnable.

    Still, on funding, it’s not the best of junctures, with the Trump US administration freezing global aids from USAID and sundry American interventions.  A standard overseas funding support, for years now, has grafted HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria into a single basket it dubs ATM. 

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    ATM links the three diseases, as antibodies, the natural human bodily defence against infections, are as strong as good nutrition the body receives. Besides, ATM are common tropical infections.  So, it makes eminent sense for integrated funding to tackle the trio.

    Again, It’s not the best of funding for ATM, with President Donald Trump’s controversial isolationist policies. But it’s also a challenge for Nigeria and other hitherto beneficiary countries to look inwards; and take greater responsibilities for own citizens’ health and wellness.  The 2025 World TB Day should reinforce that funding challenge.

    Still, adequate funding for treatment is only one leg of TB.  TB is both a health and social challenge.  If adequate treatment takes care of the medical leg, the government must rev up anti-poverty policies to tackle the social burden.  Indeed, attacking TB from the social end would reinforce the old dictum that prevention is better — and cheaper — than cure.

    Mr. Ntadom already told us the trite: TB is worsened by poverty; and malnutrition, overcrowded living conditions and limited access to healthcare are an extension of poverty.  So, though the Tinubu government is executing critical reforms with accompanying pains, it must double up on doughty social safety nets to protect the very poor and the utterly vulnerable.

    Indeed, the very high TB burden for 2024 confirms the high index of poverty, which the government is duty-bound to attack and defeat. It can and it must. But it would take a lot of delicate balancing, without necessarily abandoning its reform strategic goals.

    A creative way to ensure better access to health care, by the very poor, is by mass-marketing health insurance.  Governments, at all level, should give buying health insurance a blitz among the populace: targeting guild societies and cooperatives: farmers, market folks, vulcanisers, auto mechanics, masons, etc.  If these societies and cooperatives buy into health insurance, they can mobilise their members to buy policies.

    To defeat TB — and other communicable diseases — is a task that must be done, to mimic that war-time slogan by the government of Gen. Yakubu Gowon.  It’s a war that must be won.

  • Fintiri holds the aces

    Fintiri holds the aces

    Only the Adamawa governor can save condemned famer Sunday Jackson, who killed a herder in self-defence

    A clemency by the Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, may be the only option to save the life of Sunday Jackson, the farmer, whose death sentence was affirmed by the Supreme Court, following a concurrent judgment of the high court, and the Court of Appeal, which found him guilty of murder. The story in the media invites sympathy, considering the grievous danger farmers face in the hands of criminal herders, who maim and kill, all in a dubious effort to gain food for their cattle.

    A number of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) has called the judgments of the three layers of courts a travesty. While we do not join that chorus, we are touched by the argument that the incident happened in the farm belonging to the farmer, and that the herder had attacked him, indeed stabbed him twice, before he overpowered the herder and subsequently killed him. The NGOs argue that the killing was in self-defence and not premeditated. But as plausible as the argument seems, the courts found otherwise.

    For the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Human and Socioeconomic Rights, Alex Omotehinse, the judgment signalled the loss of “hope for the common man.” He went further: “This is a clear miscarriage of justice. Jackson should not have been charged with murder—this was a case of self-defence. At the very least, it should have been considered manslaughter. Reports indicate that the herder stabbed him twice, and Jackson managed to retrieve the same knife to defend himself, which ultimately led to the herder’s death.”

    We urge the governor to examine the claims by those agitating for a review. The report indicated that the courts convicted the farmer based on his confessional statement to the police that he had opportunity to run away, but instead, he attacked his attacker. As lay men, we think that if he was attacked and he managed to get hold of the weapon to kill his assailant, he deserves a second chance to live. Of course, the court of public opinion is different from the courts of law, where judgment is based on the evidence adduced before the courts.

    Where, for example, the defence counsel is not able to clinically marshal the facts that will aid the acquittal of the accused person, the judge at the high court or even on appeal will not descend into the arena, to argue the case of the defendant accused of a crime. The Chief Executive Officer of Injustice Is Real, Ngozi Molokwu, who spoke to the press, asked rhetorically: “The police officer who was with him when he made the statement, what was the caution he gave the farmer? Did he read him his rights? The law says beyond a reasonable doubt. There is doubt as to the caution that was given to the farmer. He could have signed the statement under duress.”

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    No doubt, the reason why the farmer has the sympathy of some Nigerians is because of the prevailing clashes between farmers and herders, which see communities decimated by criminals masquerading as herders. That seemingly unending national challenge has wagered the odds against herdsmen, especially the violent ones, who allegedly come from the Sahel region into Nigeria, in search of pasture. These herdsmen carry arms and ammunition, attack villagers, burn, kill and maim with little consequences, giving the impression that they are above the law.

    But for that scenario, it would have been a non-issue to agitate for a person found guilty of murder by the three layers of our courts. So, uprooting the root cause of the crisis, as the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has vowed to do, is the solution to such clashes, whether between individuals, or communities. We urge the newly established Federal Ministry of Livestock Development to swing into action, and find durable solution to the provision of pasture for herders, so that farmers would have a safe environment to practice their farming.

    Both the herders and the farmers are critical to the much needed food security that is very important to the well-being of our country. If farmers are not able to go to farms, it directly impacts the lives of every Nigerian. The same applies if the herders are unable to access pasture for their animals. As we have canvassed in the past, the way out of the clashes between herders and farmers is for governments and private concerns to establish ranches.

    It can be argued that the convicted farmer, Jackson, was a victim of state failure, to provide him security in his farm. But for that failure, the attack may never have taken place. While the life of Ardo Bawuro, has been lost in very unfortunate circumstance, the state governor can stem further bloodshed by granting clemency to the farmer sentenced to death. At worst, a committal to life imprisonment may still serve as a deterrent, against culpable homicide, as found by the courts.

  • Health soldiers

    Health soldiers

    •The 774 new health officers should be a generational promise

    There is no value in governance when the people are sick. Hence, it made a lot of sense when the president appointed health fellows for the local government areas of the country.

    That means we have 774 young men and women who will serve as soldiers of wellbeing. They will be the ears, eyes, brains and footmen and women of healthcare. In that wise, they are also healthcare intelligence officers. They will provide input to services and be wingmen and women of doctors, nurses and other health officers in the local areas.

    Healthcare suffers the most in rural settings. They lack some of the basic healthcare services, especially for a developing country like Nigeria ravaged with water-borne and air-borne afflictions, and where childbirth that should usher joy to families has become, in many cases, instances of mourning.

    Experts have always identified ignorance and diseases as banes of a society, especially among the poor. Yet one leads to the other, especially ignorance becoming a mother of disease.

    In appointing the young men, the following criteria were followed. They must be between the ages of 25 and 35. They must have a bachelor’s degree in health-related, IT, or social sciences. They must have demonstrable interest/or experience in public health or health-related NGO and partner organisations, or community projects that demonstrate leadership and initiative. They must be available to participate full-time in the fellowship programme, must be an indigene of the state being applied for, must possess smartphones with data capabilities i.e. for WhatsApp, Zoom, etc. They must also have recommendation from a un- iversity dean or National Youth Service Corps place of primary assignment, or a respected organisation, demonstrating character and leadership. They also must demonstrate analytical skills and entrepreneurial drive.

    “I am here to inform you that the social movement to improve the health of Nigerians has begun, and we are already witnessing positive results,” remarked Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, minister of health and social services.

    The exercise to pick the 774 persons must have been rigorous as over 360,000 young men and women applied across the country.

    “Your selection is more than a recruitment; it proves our commitment to creating a nation where equal opportunities are available to every Nigerian, irrespective of social status, gender, or creed. You are this country’s greatest asset, and we are committed to fostering a bright future where Nigeria stands as a nation of pride for all,” President Bola Tinubu affirmed.

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    As soldiers of wellbeing, the health fellows carry a burden not only of a nation at large but a torch of a generation. The fellows are youths, and they will help the young and old. It is an investment in energy, empathy, ambition and the vitality of idealism.

    But they are going to operate in tandem with the unveiling of health infrastructure across the country. One of such is primary healthcare facilities.

    For instance, Professor Pate once asserted that, at the primary health care level, through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, in collaboration with the states, his ministry has outlined a plan to revive 8,300 primary health care centres across the nation to make them fully functional and to expand and upgrade them to 17,000 primary health care centres over the next three years. At least 1,400 primary health care centres are now equipped to provide skilled birth attendance.

    The fellows are not the only persons given the task to discharge health care. In September, 2024, his ministry announced the commitment to retrain 120,000 frontline health workers. This is part of a three-year agenda.

    With their skill and youth, we expect them to make their mark.

  • Uguamaye’s outburst

    Uguamaye’s outburst

    •We may invoke the provisions of the books to punish the corps member who criticised the govt. But is there any lesson from it?

    But for her being a serving youth corps member, Ushie Uguamaye’s somewhat harsh criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “terrible” president could simply have passed off as one of those outbursts from someone troubled by the country’s harsh economic realities. Uguamaye, also known as Raye, had, in a Tik Tok video that gained traction online on Saturday, criticised the present administration over the economic hardship being experienced by Nigerians.

    According to the corps member, “I am coming from a supermarket where I went to get foodstuff, and everything has gone up again. It’s just like every single week, prices keep increasing.

    “I want to know, what is the government doing about this increase? If a lot of Nigerians come out and start speaking about what we are going through, maybe changes will be made in the government.”

    Less than 48 hours after the video went viral, Uguamaye was summoned to the NYSC Local Government Inspector’s Office at Eti Osa, Lagos, on March 17, at 10.00 a.m. That is understandable.

    The NYSC must have been embarrassed by the content of the video, especially coming from one of the current participants of the scheme.

    At first glance, the outburst would seem like part of her inalienable right to freedom of expression. After all, she said nothing new. Even the government itself has not denied that things are hard. We must note that she may not be right about cost of food since recent surveys point to a downward trend. The government is not folding its arms, as it keeps working assiduously towards ameliorating the situation.

    However, Uguamaye, as a youth corps member, cannot hide under the provision of free speech.

    In the first place, she would seem to have contravened the very first objective of the scheme which is “To inculcate discipline in Nigerian youths by instilling in them a tradition of industry at work, and of patriotic and loyal service to Nigeria in any situation they may find themselves.” In other words, she might have acted contrary to the oath that she, like all others mobilised for national service, took at the beginning of the service year.

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    Moreover, the NYSC has its bye-laws to which members must subscribe. Under the bye-laws, corps members are “not to be rude to constituted authority. Any member who is rude to constituted authority shall be tried by the Corps Disciplinary Committee and, if found guilty, be liable to extension of service for a period not less than thirty (30) days with half pay”.

    All said, should we just throw away the baby with the bath water? Is there any takeaway from her outburst, harsh or primitive? For instance, we disagree with her statement that Lagos is smelly and all that. Indeed, Uguamaye’s reference to Uber and supermarket that she went to to get some items would seem to suggest that she is not an average corps member; she belongs to the elite corps.

    Still, we think there is something to take away from her criticism. Her lamentation is the lamentation of the average corps member.

    The truth is; things are hard for them. Their case is particularly pitiable because many of them are serving in places far from their states of origin or schooling. They cannot be living on the N33,000 monthly stipend that they are paid in this economy. And that at a time many of those taking them cannot afford to reasonably top the stipend because of the same economic realities. What with astronomical transportation and other costs!

    The impression we had last year when the minimum wage was being discussed was that corps members’ allowance would also be raised. It has not up till now, months after other workers have started earning the new wage. Yet, the corps members patronise the same markets like other Nigerians, albeit in a ‘strange land’.

    All said, Uguamaye, we understand, has since apologised for whatever rules and regulations she has flouted. The NYSC is at liberty to determine whether that would suffice or not, and act accordingly.

  • Painful but unavoidable

    Painful but unavoidable

    •It is up to the warring parties, not the president, for normalcy to return to Rivers State

    Once the National Assembly approves today the proclamation made on Tuesday by  the President, Rivers State, one of Nigeria’s most consequential domains, will be in a state of emergency for six months. It has generated controversy. At no time in the history of this republic or any other republic have actions like this never generated furore of one kind or another.

    But this day has been coming for over a year. The suspended governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara, locked horns with his predecessor and mentor, Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Fubara was accused of betraying the party power arrangement in the state by prying himself off his political group in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    It was simmering on the level of rhetoric, tame and guarded, until the dam broke open when the state House of Assembly building was bombed to rubbles. After that, in a dramatic episode, the governor mounted a stage around the state capital to address his enemies and rouse his followers in a show of proprietary rage.

    While his fight with the FCT minister was boiling over, the concrete manifestation of his foes was the state house of assembly where 27 members pitched their camp with Wike, and only four sided with the governor. Cooperation between the executive branch and the legislative branch had not only turned sour, it engendered a paralysis.

    The house would not accept his budget, and it would not accept his appointments to constitute his cabinet. He too would not extend to lawmakers their perquisites of office. Governor Fubara resorted to self-help. He was pushed to a helpless situation, and it reflected his inability to execute a charm offensive and bring the standoff to an end.

    Bombing the house became only the beginning of his impunity. He passed a budget, in an absurd mockery of executive performance, with only four members. That was a breach of the constitution. He did the same with his appointments.

    The die was cast, and quite a few persons, including Rivers State and Niger Delta elders, started to pitch their camps with him, including members of the influential Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) led by the late Edwin Clark. A flurry of court cases gave the impression of a hijacked local judiciary, as the governor sought injunctions and verdicts to cement his impunity.

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    Meanwhile, the president intervened, and made the stakeholders on both sides to sign a truce for peace. But it was just a piece of paper. Both sides stoked the rage, and the state suffered. Governor Fubara proceeded to conduct a local government election in defiance of court order.

    Fubara fattened in stubbornness by the month, and it became obvious to discerning observers that both sides were ossifying their positions.

    But the turning point came with the verdict of the Supreme Court. The top court ruled that there has not been legitimate governance in the state under Fubara. It also ruled that the 27 members of the house of assembly had not defected. It also condemned the defiance of court order to conduct the local government polls. Consequently, the Supreme Court ordered a stay in monetary allocations to the state as well as the local government areas.

    This gave the lawmakers a vigour of self-esteem in the eyes of the law. It was an opportunity for both sides to chart a common path but walked a rut. The governor had asserted his willingness to obey the orders of the apex court. He was given 48 hours to present his budget. He wrote a letter to the house, but the house had not replied him when he showed up at their gate and he and his team were barred entry. That was an act of ill-grace, on both sides.

    If he wrote the house a letter, he had no right to impose a time of hearing. He should have met them behind the klieg lights and tried to work out an affable start with them. The house, on its part, after giving a deadline, ought to have treated Fubara’s coming with respect and dignity.

    It was obvious that it was the lawmakers’ time for vengeance. They sent him a notice of misconduct, a legislative query. Fubara’s team denied receiving it. It was no longer about the law but about power. It was the beginning of the lawmakers’ march to impeachment.

    The next day, the nation’s jugular of wealth was compromised as pipelines became targets. The issue of fingering our source of wealth for attack has been in the conversation for weeks. Wike had dared the Ijaws supporting the governor – because they were kinsmen – to blow up the pipelines. He noted that they did not possess the monopoly of violence.

    A few days earlier, Governor Fubara had promised some youths that they would soon get instructions, and it was widely interpreted as a go-ahead for plunder. So, when the Trans Niger Pipeline was blown up in the region, it was perceived as the governor’s show of aversion to moves to oust him from office.

    Ousting him from office would not have been pretty. It would have involved more standoffs and stalemates as we witnessed with the governor’s denial of having received the notice of misconduct.

    It was then clear to all that the new turn of events was going to normalise violence and inevitable bloodsheds if not arrested. Both sides were holding their grounds, governance had been on holidays and the people merely watched a power game that promised no savoury end.

    That state of affairs compelled the president to declare a state of emergency in the state. Some have argued that the governor and legislature should have been retained. They cited the president’s position on the 2013 state of emergency slammed on three northeast states. But that is a wrong equivalence. The state of emergency on Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states were to preserve the democratic structures against a rampaging insurgency. The governors did not pick up fight with any political group or institution. So, it made no sense to dismantle the political structure of elected officials.

    In Rivers State, the political players were the real fountains of discord. If the president declared a state of emergency, it would be impotent if the players still occupied their positions and leveraged them to throw foxes among the country’s pigeons. They would have the resources to foment violence.

    Secondly, the constitution did not say a state of emergency should entail the dismantling of elected structures. It did not say they could not be suspended. It gives latitude to the president since the ultimate idea is to restore peace and normalcy. The lawmakers drafted section 305 of the 1999 constitution with a view to the wisdom and decency of the president to do the right. A state of emergency, by definition, fails if it retains any structure, democratic or not, that may nullify the purpose of its imposition by undermining tranquility, law and order.

    The appointment of a former naval chief, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, is the beginning, hopefully, of a turn for peace. Those who question the appointment show bias against a man who has served this country. If he is a former military man, so were elected officers like Muhammadu Buhari, Olusegun Obasanjo, David Mark, etc. He is a civilian and has the right like anyone to serve this country.

    Six months is a short time. We hope that it is not too short for sane heads to prevail. We do not expect the state of emergency to be extended. But it is not in the hands of the president but in the political society of Rivers State.