The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • For a strengthened police

    For a strengthened police

    •President Buhari’s plan to recruit 10, 000 additional police personnel is laudable. But welfare should undergird the new dawn

    President Muhammadu Buhari on August 17, at the opening of a National Security Summit, announced a plan to employ an additional 10, 000 police officers, both for regular police duty and to put terrorism in check.  The president also hinted at a police hinged on sound principles of community policing.  That is the right way to go.

    Said the president: “The need for community input to crime management and policing in Nigeria has become imperative, considering our current national insecurity challenges in which kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, transnational crimes, terrorism and other organised crimes evolve and threaten our national values and over-all progress as a nation”.

    In his own contribution, Solomon Arase, the inspector-general of Police (IGP), also pushed for the National Assembly passing, into law, the Police Trust Fund Bill.  The bill, the IGP insisted, would guarantee his much demoralised force better and adequate funding.  All patriots and every security conscious Nigerian should push for the bill’s passage.  This is because a more efficient, effective and trusted police is in the interest of all.

    On the gadgetry front, President Buhari even raised the ante by speaking on his government’s plan to install close circuit television (CCTV) monitoring systems, in major cities and towns nationwide; to curb crime and have a tight lease on terror.

    This again is commendable, particularly the more holistic viewpoint that permanently drills the consciousness of terror in Police consciousness, aside from the day-to-day control of routine crime.  It is a strategic model that should, if well implemented, stand this country in good stead; and avert a future terror insurgency, long after Boko Haram must have been history.

    ‘But again, the key to all of this promise is the welfare of personnel.  Right now, many police barracks nationwide are no better than warrens, from where even VIP rabbits would flee.  A police well catered for is, more likely, well oriented and well driven to handle its security duties, with sure-footedness and pride’

    Still none of all these would work, no matter how good on paper or how sound on principle, if the welfare of police personnel does not form the cornerstone of the envisaged plan.

    For starters, the stress on community policing (hardly a novel concept) is good.  For too long, the present police has betrayed an operational principle that suggests perhaps it is more comfortable with private policing (securing the few privileged citizens) than public policing (security the majority).  That should be discountenanced forthwith, for a scenario where a few state officials, and some high ranking ex-this and ex-that, near-monopolise police protection, while the majority suffer neglect, is not acceptable.

    Now, if the police is perceived to work for the community, it would be easier for the community to readily work for the police.  A police with its soul firmly anchored in the community would have little problem surmounting the intelligence challenge.  Gathering intelligence is, of course, key to security.  If this is well done, most crimes would probably be checkmated, even before they are committed.

    Still, community policing could only be the short-term way of deepening security and reinventing the police as an efficient and effective force.  The long term solution would be introducing state police, to make a cadre of the police well and truly community-driven.

    But again, the key to all of this promise is the welfare of personnel.  Right now, many police barracks nationwide are no better than warrens, from where even VIP rabbits would flee.  A police well catered for is, more likely, well oriented and well driven to handle its security duties, with sure-footedness and pride.

    So, the government should make it a point of urgent priority to invest in police welfare.  A well groomed police should see the citizens under its care more as assets to be jealously protected, not overbearing enemies to be endured, if not outright attacked.  Again, a happy police family would be less prone to corruption, one of the major drawbacks of the force at present.

    Let therefore this summit re-direct government attention to modernising the police.  But as the work gadgets are being addressed, so should welfare.  That way, the Nigeria Police should excel in its constitutionally given role.

  • Like a scam

    Like a scam

    •Was National Hospital, Abuja, hoaxing or merely horsing around when it booked a surgery it could not perform?

    It ought to be the number one public hospital in Nigeria. Situated right in the heart of the Federal Capital Territory, the National Hospital, Abuja (NHA) which began operation about 16 years ago, is a specialist facility that boasts some of the best medical professionals — Nigerians and expatriates.

    According to the hospital’s website: “Our strength lies in the use of state-of-the-art technology in a clean, conducive and patient-friendly environment, using highly skilled and motivated staff who see their employment here more as a vocation than a bread basket.”

    It is on account of the foregoing that we are taken aback by a recent report in a national newspaper in which a housewife accused the NHA of an action that could pass for a scam.

    In the report, one Mrs. Stella Adepegba had accused the NHA of charging her the sum of N50,000 for a surgery procedure it had no immediate capacity to carry out. According to Mrs. Adepegba, she had visited the hospital in May and after many weeks of evaluation she had been slated for hysteroscopy procedure on June 25, 2015. On this day, she was made to pay the fee and thereafter, wheeled into the theatre for the operation.

    However, after waiting in the theatre for hours without any sign that the procedure would begin, it took a technician who happened by to inform her that the hysteroscopy machine had been dysfunctional for over two years and was yet to be repaired as far as he knew. The technician was indeed bemused that she was billed for the procedure in the first place.

    He further revealed to her that another patient had paid for the same treatment two years earlier and had been parading the hospital for so long. In fact, she was made to visit every month to find out whether the machine had been repaired. Up till last June, she neither got treated nor was a refund made.

    In like manner, Mrs. Adepegba who said she was shocked by the ‘treatment’ she received at a premium national health facility like the NHA, requested for a refund since June 29. But as at last week, she was yet to get a positive response; instead, she was being given the run-around.

    “Since I submitted the letter (June 29), the National Hospital, Abuja, has refused to refund the money. My husband… went to their finance department, and they said they could not find the letter again. He also made a written complaint to the Chief Medical Director, but the money has not been refunded till date. This made me to conclude that the hospital has been scamming Nigerians by collecting money for medical procedures it lacked the capacity to do”, Adepegba lamented.

    ‘We aver that it is not enough to merely make a refund to the patient/victim, if indeed her story were true. The NHA is a major national institution and a medical one at that where matters concern life and death. The hospital’s management must investigate this issue thoroughly and ascertain whether there are other cases in other departments’

    Not even the communications unit of the hospital has a plausible response to the allegations above. The unit merely acknowledged awareness of the matter and noted further that, “the finance department has been directed to fast-track the refund of Adepegba’s money.”

    We aver that it is not enough to merely make a refund to the patient/victim, if indeed her story were true. The NHA is a major national institution and a medical one at that where matters concern life and death. The hospital’s management must investigate this issue thoroughly and ascertain whether there are other cases in other departments. It must make full and proper restitution. Beyond, that, it must also ensure that patients who have been denied medical attention as a result of this seeming official chicanery are availed due medical attention.

    NHA management must take into cognizance the fact that it may be held culpable, should the medical conditions of these diagnosed but mismanaged patients go awry. They will not stand exonerated until the now-delayed proposed procedures have been successfully carried out.

    Finally, the NHA would need to straighten its processes; it would need to manage its dented image and reclaim its face over this matter, wouldn’t it?

     

  • Treasury Single Account

    Treasury Single Account

    •Buhari’s master-stroke against pervasive public sector sleaze?

    Although it came without the typical fuss or drama as would ordinarily be expected, it is nonetheless a potentially lethal dart at one of the major sources of corruption in the public sector. We refer to President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to open and operate a unified Treasury Single Account (TSA) for all government revenues, incomes and other receipts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    No government agency is left out of the loop: fully funded organs of government like ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and foreign missions are in; so also are the apex bank, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA),  Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the National Shippers Council (NSC).

    Also affected are the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). Not left out are partially funded establishments like teaching hospitals, medical centres and federal tertiary institutions.  The rule applies to the extent that they maintain in the CBN, sub-accounts linked to TSA, which the accounting system would be configured to allow them access to funds, subject to their approved budgets.

    According to the president, the measure was aimed at promoting transparency; and ensuring compliance with sections 80 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution. We may well admit that the current exigencies under which revenues have plummeted across the board have made it imperative.

    It goes without saying that the extant fragmented system is fraught with too many abuses to lend to remedy. Under the extant regime, funds belonging to government are diverted to purposes other than for what they are meant; even the ordinary business of placing government funds in banks have become huge avenues for patronage and corruption across the board.  Add these to the huge expenditure outlays of some agencies and parastatals – many of which are known to dwarf those of many states in the federation – what we have is multiplicity of fiscal fiefdoms – all removed from the strictures of formal parliamentary control.

    We couldn’t therefore agree more with the president that the issues involved touch as much on the principles of transparent and accountable governance, as it is on the law of the republic. The law requires that all revenues be captured apriori; the same law grants the power to authorise all public expenditures to the parliament – through relevant appropriation laws. Nowhere does it admit of the practice under which agencies and parastatals could determine and spend what they pleased for whatever reasons, before remitting the balance.

    At this time, we do not deny that the effects of the TSA on the agencies would differ across the board – all depending on the nature of their operations.  Notable examples often cited are the NNPC and the FIRS.  On NNPC, the argument is that numerous activities and cash obligations of the corporation are such that the TSA would ill-serve them.  On FIRS, the argument dwells on the existing incentive structures, put in place to ensure optimal performance of the service.

    Still, we find none of these requirements incompatible with the operation of TSA.  Another way to look at the matter is to inquire whether these operational issues cannot be captured within the framework of the larger national budget; after all, the essence is to bring transparency into the conduct of government business.

    ‘The challenge really is to bring efficiency, sophistication and speed to the operation of the national budget. So, with the current state of technology, that should not be difficult to achieve’

    The challenge really is to bring efficiency, sophistication and speed to the operation of the national budget. So, with the current state of technology, that should not be difficult to achieve.

     

  • The new forex policy

    • Good move.  If well enforced, it holds the promise to sanitize the local economy and curb money laundering

    The new controls put in place to ensure better management and utilisation of foreign exchange has understandably set the financial system abuzz.

    Friday July 31, the news was everywhere that banks were no longer accepting foreign currency deposits into domiciliary accounts. Next day, Saturday August 1, the official confirmation came via a notice by one of the nation’s leading banks to its customers, that they would no longer accept foreign currency cash deposits.

    The statement read: “Please, be informed that due to the unavailability of outlets for managing foreign currency cash deposits, we have found it necessary to temporarily suspend receipts of foreign currency cash deposits into domiciliary accounts at all our branches nationwide from Monday, August 3, 2015. In addition, foreign currency cash deposits into domiciliary accounts made prior to this notice will not be eligible for outward electronic transfer and can only be withdrawn as cash”.

    The same day – the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), citing ‘a recent report by the Global Financial Integrity group, which ranks Nigeria as one of the 10 largest countries for illicit financial flows in the world’, noted and applauded the move stating that “in line with global best practice, Nigerian banks have started to curtail the acceptance of foreign currency cash deposits, much the same way as customers in other countries cannot just walk into banks and make foreign currency cash deposits without proper documentation’. The implication of the latter is that the banks, rather than the CBN, triggered the policy.

    Be that as it may, on August 5, the apex bank fired another memo effectively sounding the death knell for the operation of domiciliary accounts. It read “In its continued efforts to stop illicit flows in the Nigerian banking system which aligns with the anti-money laudering stance of the Federal Government, the CBN hereby prohibts from the date of this circular, the acceptance of foreign currency by the DMBs”.

    It gave the owners of the accounts the option of either to withdraw their deposits or collect the naira equivalent. It also advised individuals who wish to source foreign exchange for eleigible and legitimate purposes to do so through the recognised channels while assuring that their requirements would be met.

    As would be expected, what followed were torrents of diverse opinions on even before the full import of the measure was digested, with many suggesting that the measure was rather draconian and hasty.

    Perhaps so. But, even without the harsh economic climate forced by the decline in crude oil earnings and hence its curb on foreign exchange inflows, it would seem to us a matter of time before the old order – the laissez-faire system in which the so-called parallel market held sway – would give. We say this mindful of the growing sophistication of the banking sector in general, and the industry’s giant strides in the area of enhanced payment systems, even across national boundaries, through its adoption of latest information technology platforms in particular. This development, in our view, has more than rendered the domiciliary accounts, superfluous.

    We have not heard the argument – not at this time – in favour of having multiple currencies as the nation’s legal tender. Indeed, the move towards the dollarisation of our fragile, mono-export economy would seem one of such absurdities fuelled only by the illusion of petro-cash.  And if we may add – with perhaps the exception of Zimbabwe and nearly a dozen of countries at war, we cannot recall a country whose currency has suffered the steady displacement by major international currencies as the naira even in commonplace domestic transactions such as payment for rents and school fees.

    It goes without saying therefore that the defence of the value of the naira from the activities of currency speculators must be seen as a sacred duty to the monetary authorities. We therefore see the new policy as a positive step in this direction. We also agree on the need to curb illicit foreign exchange transfers through stricter foreign exchange controls which the apex bank advanced as another reason behind the measure. We find the CBN’s commitment to make foreign exchange available for all legitimate transactions reassuring.

    Finally, we know money laundering is the root and branch of the pervasive corruption currently gnawing away at the heart of the nation. Scrupulously enforced, the measure promises to instil some sanity to our international trade.

  • May/June massacre

    •Yet again, Nigerian students fare poorly in WAEC examination.  It’s time to go back to the basics

    Only 38.68 per cent of the 1.593 million students, who sat the 2015 West African Senior Schools Certificate Examination (WASSCE), passed with credits in five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.  That is another sobering reminder of the deep-rooted nature of the educational challenges currently facing Nigeria.

    Most of the statistics released by the Nigerian National Office of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) make for depressing reading: 118,101 candidates had their results withheld because of alleged involvement in examination malpractices; 47.62 per cent obtained six credits and above; 59.61 per cent obtained five credits and above; 86.40 per cent obtained one credit and above.

    In spite of the seemingly encouraging nature of these other figures, the five-credit including English Language and Mathematics benchmark is an appropriate measure of general performance because it represents the minimum standard for entry into the nation’s universities.

    Over the years, the performance of senior secondary school students in a major public examination has given administrators, educators, parents and other concerned stakeholders much cause for worry. Marginal improvements do nothing to hide the harsh fact that the country is turning out an increasing number of students who will clearly be unable to hold their own in a world distinguished by the global knowledge economy.

    The implications of this predicament are dire. As Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria is in desperate need of the artisans and professionals who will continue to drive its growth. If the country cannot be guaranteed a steady supply of intelligent and trainable youths who can become a formidable corps of skilled manpower, its future will be in jeopardy. As hundreds of thousands of unemployable young people pour into the labour market, it is certain that the social problems confronting the country will only continue to become more widespread and intractable.

    Ironically, successive governments have been only too aware of these facts. Education traditionally receives the largest share of the budget after defence. In the 2015 Appropriation Bill, it actually displaced defence to get the biggest cut: N392.36 billion, compared to the latter’s N388.80 billion.

    Part of the problem is that these huge funds are not often properly targetted. In states across the federation, primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions are characterized by decrepit infrastructure, poorly-motivated staff, and widespread shortages of educational consumables, textbooks and equipment.

    At a more fundamental level, however, it appears that the perennially poor performances in WASSCE stem from the shallow educational foundations being laid in many of the nation’s primary schools. Primary school education is the responsibility of states and local governments, and far too many of them restrict themselves to the payment of salaries as opposed to pursuing policies aimed at their overall development.

    Although states like Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Edo, Ekiti, Lagos, Kano and Ondo have achieved relatively good results in strengthening primary school education, there are still many obstacles to overcome. Funding is one, seen in the mystifying reluctance of many states to access grants available under the Universal Basic Education Scheme (UBES). As at January 2014, some N47 billion had not been utilized by the states because of their inability to provide counterpart funding.

    Another problem is the intransigence of teachers’ unions whose adamant opposition to proficiency testing of teachers has made it difficult to raise standards in the teaching profession and thereby improve the quality of teaching.

    In essence, Nigeria has created for itself a vicious cycle: badly-taught primary school pupils go to poorly-managed secondary schools where they are processed through the various classes until they get to WASSCE, where their cumulative inadequacies are brutally exposed.

     

    If the country is truly determined to achieve better overall performances in WASSCE and similar public examinations, it will have to return to the basics – the primary schools, where excellence can either be carefully nurtured, or strangled at birth.

  • Corruption in health sector

    SIR: The impact of corruption in the health sector in general is relatively well documented. There is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates that corruption undermines the cost, volume and quality of public service delivery, undermining the access and quality of patient care.

    Diverted resources reduce the level of resources and investments available for the public health system on which most vulnerable populations are more reliant on.

    Resources drained from health budget through embezzlement, fraud and corruption reduce the funding available for salaries, health services and maintenance, contributing to lower staff motivation, quality of care and declining service availability and use.

    Corruption delays and reduces the vaccination of new-borns, discourages the use of public health clinics, reduces satisfaction of households with public health services and increases waiting times at health clinics.

    A ten percent increase in corruption reduces immunisation rates by 10 to 20 %. Reducing corruption can result in significant social gains as measured by decreases in child and infant mortality rates, as well as percent of low-birth weight babies.

    In Geneva, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance that provides funding to increase access to immunisation for children in the world’s poorest countries, released its Nigerian audit report that covered the expenditures incurred and procurement activities conducted at the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and States in the fiscal years 2011-2013.

    Gavi as an organisation has a zero tolerance approach to misuse of funds. The Cash Programme Audit (CPA) of Gavi’s programme in Nigeria determined that US$ 2.2 million had been misused. In accordance with the joint letter of understanding and in line with Gavi and Nigeria’s Partnership Framework Agreement (PFA), co-signed by the then Minister of Health, the then Minister of Finance and the Gavi Chief Executive Officer, Gavi requested reimbursement of the identified US$ 2.2 million and this has since been fully reimbursed.

    Effectively, US$ 2.2 million had been misused by Nigerian officials and has had to be refunded by the Nigerian government. Shameful as this is, more worrying is the lack of conscience of officials who have misappropriated funds meant to save lives.

     

    • Professor Rotimi Jaiyesimi is

    Associate Medical Director for Patient Safety

    Basildon University Hospital

    Essex, England.

  • Looters beware

    Looters beware

    President Buhari’s insistence that all who looted the treasury will be brought to book is commendable

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to restoration of probity and sanity to national life should be sweet music in the ears of patriots and nationalists. For so long, things have gone wrong and the easy way that have been preached by many Nigerians is privatisation of the nation’s patrimony. Despite that path, values and virtues have virtually disappeared from the public space.

    The President, who was elected on the solemn pledge to reduce corruption to the barest minimum and make that path unattractive, has been confronted with a stiff resistance by those who may soon be charged before the law courts to answer to charges of theft and fraud. In the past two weeks, the President has been receiving visitors ostensibly on matters that relate to the plans to expose those who fiddled with the national wealth.

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan was at the Aso Villa, where he called the shots until May 29, to confer with his successor. He was reported to have brought up the ordeal of his aides who had been guests of the security agencies to respond to queries. Former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, the former Chief Security Officer Gordon Obua and some of the ministers are said to have been invited as a probe has been launched into large-scale malfeasance under the Jonathan administration.

    Thereafter, the General Abdulsalami Abubakar-led National Peace Committee was seen at the Villa to confer with the President, ostensibly on related matters. Although details of discussions held behind closed doors have not been made public, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, The Most Rev. Matthew Kukah,  gave credence to speculations that they had come to mediate at the instance of Dr. Jonathan.

    He indicated that the President should spend more time in addressing other pertinent problems confronting the country and insistently said the former President deserved commendation for his “spectacular act” of conceding defeat after the March presidential election. He subtly upbraided President Buhari for “frittering away” the goodwill engendered by the Jonathan concession.

    We find nothing wrong in the voluntary activities of the Peace Committee. Nigerians, especially those who have held high offices in the land, have a duty to take more than passing interest in national affairs.

    However, it is unacceptable that a matter that came up during the election and on which the electorate have spoken so loudly should be made subject to undue negotiation after the inauguration of the administration. President Buhari campaigned on the need to stem the tide of corruption. He solicited the support of Nigerians in undertaking the battle. It is therefore unacceptable that he would be reminded of a need to soft-pedal on the battle. Both Dr. Jonathan and the Peace Committee should be reminded that, in a democracy, the will of the people is paramount.

    The mind-boggling revelations coming out on how the national wealth was shared among a few should have elicited a strident call from the former president, his aides and admirers; as it would avail him the opportunity of laying the truth in the public domain. All that the administration’s key officials could ask is that the due process be followed. We agree with the Peace Committee that the Department of State Services, the Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have a duty to ensure that the Rule of Law prevails in the process of investigation and prosecution of suspects.

    To this end, we commend the president’s resolve to take those against whom prima facie cases have been established to court speedily. He has said, very soon, they would be arraigned and the charges against them made public. Thus far, no one has been unduly detained for days or denied access to their lawyers. The appointment of the Itse Sagay Panel to insulate the process from allegations of partisanship and pettiness is a step in the right direction. The reputation of the eminent lawyers and academics is an indication that the President does not intend to witch-hunt anyone.

    It is obvious that if the corruption virus is not exterminated, it has the capacity to snuff life out of Nigerians and Nigeria. The high level of unemployment in the country, poor state of infrastructure and the capital flight engendered by the sorry position of educational and health facilities, could be traced to the evil that general maladministration and corruption wrought on the economy.

    The Augean stable must be cleansed and there is no better time to do so than now. Rather than stand in the way of the Buhari administration to clear the mess, all statesmen and nationalists — indeed, all patriots —should lend a helping hand in ensuring that those duly ascertained as having a hand in perverting the course of national growth and development are punished and their loot recovered.

    All felons, no matter how highly or lowly-placed, must be punished to serve as deterrence to others, especially as President Buhari is taking steps to set up the structure of his administration.

  • Haruna’s errors on Aregbesola

    SIR: Muhammed Haruna’s piece titled ‘Aregbesola’s predicament’ published on July 29 in your well respected newspaper refers. Haruna is a fine writer, who does his research very well, even if some people find his articles provocative and his argument sometimes non sequitur.

    His article on Governor Rauf Aregbesola was meant to be favourable, but in trying to be objective, he did more harm than good to him.

    His first barb was in siding with Punch on criticising the governor for building a religious worship centre for Christians. When Governor Aregbesola decided to build the centre, it was on the heel of the wild allegation that he was planning to Islamise Osun. What better show of goodwill than to build the worship centre for Christians?

    However, the governor explained that he was not even thinking of appeasing Christians. His motivation was the economic import of a religious centre for the state. He said he saw the crowds pulled at the various camp grounds of religious organisations and the economy built around them in accommodation, food, utilities and so on. He was just thinking of growing the state’s GDP.

    When Punch and the others so virulently criticised the governor for the venture, they were thinking less of separating state from religion, after all, the whole country was replete with other states that built churches and mosques for their people and we did not hear a whimper. What really pained and angered them about Aregbesola was that he had confronted them with an anomaly on their paradigm that portrayed the governor as a Christian-hating, sabre-rattling bearded mullah. They expected him to conform to this image and characterisation, not a church building, and evangelism crusade promoting governor.

    Secondly, Haruna did not get the facts right on the purchase of helicopter for security surveillance; and that is very uncharacteristic of him. He no doubt bought the falsehood being peddled by Osun PDP that the governor bought the helicopter for the use of himself and his family. This is far from the truth.

    The helicopter was acquired for security surveillance to complement armoured personnel carriers (APC) bought to fight crime. Before the chopper was purchased, the state government had built a state of the art call centre where it will be coordinated with ground forces but the centre needed a special security code which can only be supplied by NCC. Regrettably, NCC for political reason, refused to give this code and the chopper was grounded. For it not to be redundant, it was leased out for commercial purpose where it is making money for the state and is only recalled for use as the need arises. The government is still in hot pursuit of the security code and will still bring back the helicopter for surveillance. It therefore does not make to ask that it be sold.

    Thirdly, Muhammed Haruna’s unsolicited counsel that the governor travels out too frequently is uninformed. Aregbesola is the least travelled public official at his level. His unfailing attendance of the weekly state executive council meetings attends to this.

     

    • Michael Ogundele,

    Osogbo, Osun State

  • Oba Okunade Sijuwade (1930 – 2015)

    Oba Okunade Sijuwade (1930 – 2015)

    •Olubuse ‘waja’, ending a tempestuous era

    Ultimately, the traditionalists had their way, although it appeared a Pyrrhic victory of sorts.  With the August 12 formal announcement of the death of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, by the Ife Traditional Council, two weeks after he reportedly died in a London hospital on July 28, the culturally supported denialism of the town’s chiefs prevailed.

    The official rationalisation of the delayed obituary, supplied by the Obalufe, Solomon Omisakin, who spoke on behalf of the council members during their visit to the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, to finally break the news of Oba Sijuwade’s departure, is instructive.  Said the Obalufe:  ”The breaking of the news of the death of the king must follow traditional ways and rites. That is why it is coming at this time. The news of the transition to glory of any Yoruba monarch is not pedestrian news that one can just announce at a market place or a social gathering.”  Omisakin added: “The death of a great man like our royal monarch is great news that must be announced in a grand style.”

    In the global village of the communication age, where news travels fast and far, the conservative information management that is culturally prescribed in the event of a Yoruba king’s death was complicated by Oba Sijuwade’s exit in a foreign land. If the reported death had happened in the Oba’s domain, it would have been perfect for the enforcement of traditional secrecy. The London dimension instantaneously internationalised the news, and it is unsurprising that traditionalists wrestled with modernity and modernised media.

    There is no doubt that the space of mystification is shrinking in an increasingly open world, which is a potent challenge to the romantic mystique associated with certain ancient cultural practices. To allow a reign of silence for a specific period before announcing a king’s death, as reportedly dictated by Yoruba tradition, is out of sync with the information philosophy of the 21st century, which is speed-oriented.

    Be that as it may, the fidelity to traditional principles demonstrated by the Ife chiefs speaks volumes for the continuing battle between tradition and modernity. Oba Sijuwade himself was an advertisement for tradition, especially because of his status as a pre-eminent Yoruba monarch and a custodian of the cultural values of the race. He ascended the throne in 1980 and took the title Olubuse II. In particular, Ile-Ife’s historically acknowledged position as the fount of Yoruba civilisation underlined Oba Sijuwade’s image throughout his reign.

    It is noteworthy that some critics focused on Oba Sijuwade’s alleged unprogressive tendencies in the country’s political sphere without sufficiently appreciating the difficulties of a monarchy in modern times oriented towards democratic governance. The truth is that Oba Sijuwade’s cultural radiance and relevance, distinct from his alleged political incorrectness, cannot be disregarded. Governor Aregbesola captured his essence in a tribute:  ”Ooni Sijuwade was a study and model in royalty…He exalted the place of royalty among our people. His contribution towards maintaining a place of pride for the Yoruba race on the world stage is huge.”

    On Oba Sijuwade’s route to the revered crown, he studied at Abeokuta Grammar School and Oduduwa College, Ile-Ife; and attended Northampton College in the United Kingdom where he studied business management. By the time he was crowned at age 50, he was already recognised as a wealthy man, which counted as an advantage to his kingship ambition.

    His death at age 85 not only marks the end of an era, but also the continuity of a tradition. That is why the Yoruba culture insists that kings never die.

  • Choosing the INEC chair

    Choosing the INEC chair

    •Amina Bala Zakari’s acting appointment is untidy. 
    Buhari can do better in choosing a substantive electoral chief
    President Muhammadu Buhari should be decisive in appointing a substantive chairman for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In making his recommendations for the approval of the Senate, President Buhari should bear in mind, the national and international acclaim, which Nigeria gained, because of the integrity and general acceptance of the immediate past chairman of the commission, Professor Attahiru Jega. The same consideration should also bear in his choice of candidates, to replace the national commissioners, whose tenures have come to an end.

    We consider the circumstance under which Amina Bala Zakari was appointed as acting chairman, well past her tenure, as untidy. Even more unnecessary is the controversy surrounding the process of her appointment and the accusations of filial relationship with the President. While Mrs Zakari may be eminently qualified to be INEC chairman, as some of the accusations do not restrict her candidature under the law, it is important for the president to take into account, the effect on the general perception about her integrity and independence.

    While no doubt, President Buhari is remarkably a person of high integrity, it is important that the president is seen by all to be completely detached, in making a choice of a substantive chairman for INEC. In projecting a candidate for that important office, geo-political, ethnic and religious considerations ordinarily should not be important issues. But where political opponents bring them to the front-burner, it may be wise for the president to stay as far away as possible, from any basis for such accusations, in the overall interest of the integrity of the electoral process. So, it is important that the President does all he can to avoid any accusations of bias and favouritism.

    Luckily as the appointment and performance of Professor Jega had shown, there are Nigerians of high integrity, and we urge the president to source, from across the country, such men and women to replace the chairman and commissioners, whose tenures have expired. We believe that it was to avoid accusations of bias that the Justice Muhammadu Uwais electoral reform panel, recommended to late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, that the appointment of the Chairman of INEC should be placed in the hands of non-partisans.

    In making the choice of the chairman of INEC and the national commissioners, the president should remember the enormous powers, privileges and responsibilities of the appointees, as provided for in the Third Schedule, Part 1F, of the 1999 constitution, as amended; and the fact that the success or failure of the electoral process, depends on the general acceptance of drivers of the process. As provided by the constitution, it is envisaged that the persons to be appointed must be persons of “unquestionable integrity”. Going down the provisions, it is apparent that the chairman and his commissioners are entrusted with enormous powers over political parties and the conduct of elections.

    We also note that the real integrity of the persons appointed is as important as the perception of the general public. So if for any reason there is reasonable suspicion that there is likelihood of bias in the choice of the chairman of the commissioners, then there may be a challenge to the credulity of the election that will be conducted.  That is why the appointive authority must exercise all possible caution from the beginning. That also explains the constitutional provision insulating the electoral body, among a select few, from any form of interference by any “authority or person”.

    In making a choice over who would be the next chairman of INEC, we urge President Buhari to act statesmanlike, in the overall interest of our country.