The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Pay up

    • FG should get NEPC to pay what it owes non-oil exporters

    The ruckus over the disbursement of Export Expansion Grant (EEG) which has pitted the Federal Government against operators in the non-oil sector merely indicates how little has changed in spite of official posturing about boosting the non-oil sector. At stake is the N125 billion worth of promissory notes – the Negotiable Duty Credit Certificates (NDCC) issued by the Ministry of Finance under the EEG scheme, but which the Federal Government has either neglected or refused to honour.

    Under the scheme introduced by the immediate past administration to boost non-oil exports, beneficiaries were granted subsidies of up to 40 percent based on the value of local content. The Federal Government would later suspend the scheme in August 2013 for the reason that the EEG scheme has become unsustainable. By this time, the exporters had in all, amassed NDCC’s worth N125 billion.

    Victor Iyama, President of the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN) puts the dilemma of the exporters this way: “Exporters have NDCC of over N125 billion in their hands. They have been stuck with it for several years now. Many exporters are now wondering if they have been handed a dud cheque by the Ministry of Finance”.

    The response of his counterpart, Chairman of Cashew Association of Nigeria, Babatola Faseru, was one of grim resignation: “They (NDCCs) are like cheques issued by the government. If the government says that people should not issue dud cheques, then they should honour the certificates”.

    We agree with the duo. Clearly, the failure to honour the NDCC injures the credibility of the Federal Government. The issue here is not so much the Federal Government’s prerogative to review the scheme as it deems, fit but whether such can be said to vitiate outstanding commitments to holders of its credit notes.

    Moreover, if the statement credited to the chief executive of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the agency which implements the EEG scheme, that the claims were being looked into with a view to restructuring a payment system for the beneficiaries is any reassuring, it is only to the extent that the statement does not deny that the NDCCs are valid instruments. Beyond that however, mere offer of bland assurances cannot be described as good enough.

    Given our understanding of how things work in the bureaucracy, such generalised statements, offer at best, cold comfort. Indeed, it could mean an interminable wait for payments that may or may not come. We think that the exporters deserve more.

    We expect the NEPC to commit to specific timelines for clearing the obligations. The path of honour lies in settling those obligations without further delay.

    Beyond that, one immediate question that arises is whether the EEG was actually budgeted for. If yes, what happened to the funds earmarked for it? And if no, how did the agency plan to meet the obligation to the exporters whenever they fell due? While the agency undertakes the review process, it will also do well to address these questions.

    At a time of shrinking oil revenues and heightened uncertainties in global demand for oil, we expect the Federal Government to be doing all within its power to boost activities in the non-oil sector. If merely to ameliorate the impregnable odds in the Nigerian operating environment – the very factors underlying the legendary non-competitiveness of our domestic products – a more rigorous effort to curb abuse of export incentives would seem to us better strategy to help the sector and indeed the economy than outright abrogation of incentives.

    We see a lot that the N125 billion can do to a sector with such proven potentials. The NEPC should find the funds to pay. If there are abuses in the process, the government should not hesitate to isolate these and deal decisively with the perpetrators. That is better than using the abuses as excuse to renege on an obligation.

  • Unhelpful quarrel

    • MTN and UNILAG should settle amicably their differences over the library donated by the telecoms giant

    The report that MTN, one of the preeminent mobile networks operating in Nigeria, has decided to withdraw the multi-million naira digital library it donated to an equally preeminent University of Lagos (UNILAG), is worrisome. Even more shocking is the trading of blames between the university and her donor, over who is responsible for the development. For a university that lays claim to excellence and for a telecommunications company that parades itself as a leader in the industry, we are surprised that such an important contribution to learning in Nigeria, has become a subject of controversy.

    Mr Akinwale Goodluck, an MTN corporate social executive, said the telecommunications company was withdrawing the facility because UNILAG has failed to keep to an agreement in the memorandum of understanding it signed in 2004. On her part, the university countered that it has given MTN the go-ahead to remove the facility, as it has been unable to keep to sections of the agreement it reached with the institution. Following this disagreement, the state-of-the art digital library with the capacity to link-up the university with other centres of learning across the globe, has been under lock and key for five years.

    At its commissioning in 2005, the library had 125 network computers, three laser jet printers, a VSAT-based internet connectivity, a server, 15 air conditioners and an alternative power generation source, which all ran efficiently in the first few years. With its link-up to other institutions, the university had access to varied reference books and research materials; 5,500 libraries, organisations, publishers of academic journals and scholarly works from across the world. At that commissioning, the Executive Director, MTN Foundation, Amina Oyagbola, was quoted to have said, “This library will support the assembly and creative use of up-to-date information at the click of a mouse”

    Considering the enormous benefits of the library, we urge the university and MTN to find a common ground for the use and maintenance of the facility. The University of Lagos which prides itself as one of the leading centres of learning in Africa cannot acquiesce to the notion that it does not give a damn about such research-supporting library; or even the more noxious comment that it lacks the capacity to maintain such a high-tech facility. While the comments that governments in Nigeria lack maintenance culture may be true, it will be embarrassing if University of Lagos gives the impression that it has been afflicted by that reprehensible culture.

    Before taking the decision to move the facility from the university, MTN should consider the wider implications of its action, particularly the perception of the public with regards to the company’s sense of social responsibility. For a company that has done so well in Nigeria, its robust balance sheet can maintain that facility for as long as it does business in Nigeria. This is not to say the university is right. At any rate, the debate over who is right or wrong is unhelpful. Even when MTN is threatening to re-locate the facility to Lagos State government, that act may not cure the backlash of such an action, since the state would rather prefer to gain its own facility, instead of being a second-hand beneficiary of one that was earmarked for another institution.

    Even as there is a disagreement over the state-of-the art facility, we commend MTN for the initiative in the first place. That type of library should no doubt represent the primary interest of any developing country like Nigeria. Considering the enormity of costs, particularly the foreign exchange component, a library that gives researchers access to costly research materials, books and academic journals from across the world, should be a prime resource for any academic institution; and in our view should be treated with pride and care.

  • Articulated vehicles and road mishaps

    SIR: For obvious reasons, Lagos will continue to attract articulated vehicles and trucks because of its prime socio-economic status. Lagos houses 22 industrial estates, 60% of nation‘s industrial and commercial ventures, 70% of national maritime cargos and consume about 50% of petroleum products in the country. Additionally, Lagos is home to about 2,000 industrial complexes, 10,000 commercial ventures and 22 industrial estates. It accounts for over 60% of Nigeria’s industrial and commercial activities; 70% of national maritime cargo freight, over 80% of international aviation traffic and over 50% of Nigeria’s energy consumption.

    Also, the two seaports in Lagos account for 70 percent of the sea trade in the country while about 80percent of international air travels arrive in and depart from Lagos. Aside this, Lagos consumes about 45 percent of the petroleum products in the country.

    With all these indicators, it would be difficult, for now, to banish articulated vehicles and trucks on Lagos roads. However, with the cooperation of major stakeholders in related sectors, the havoc being wrecked on lives and properties by articulated vehicles on residents in the state could be grossly reduced. For- instance, the continuous importation of locally consumed fuel in the country, arising from the inability of the federal government to fix local refineries, places serious burden on the state. With more than 50 fuel depots in Lagos alone, at least over 3,000 trucks travel to the state on a daily basis to lift petroleum products. This situation makes it rather difficult for relevant agencies of the state to properly monitor and control activities of trucks and articulated vehicles drivers in the state.  To redress the current trend, the Federal Government would need to urgently revive the failed national refineries. Various stakeholders in the oil sector need to ingeniously look into the petroleum distributive arrangement to evolve a more scientific and less cumbersome order of distribution.

    Equally, the Federal Government needs to invest massively in the infrastructure development of the transportation sector. Investment in transportation infrastructure enhances private sector activities as it lowers operational cost; enhances productivity, job and wealth creation through exchange of goods and services.  Infrastructure development in the sector is, therefore, critical to achieving human capital development in the country. One vital way through which this could be done is for the Federal Government to de-emphasise road transportation and revitalize rail transportation. If this is done, it could help, in no small way, to reduce carnage on our roads. It is a cheaper, effective and less cumbersome mode of transportation. Through rails, millions of litres of fuel and, indeed, people, goods and products, could be effectively and effortlessly transported across the country.

    In addition, vehicle inspectors must regularly ensure that only roadworthy vehicles are on the road. Unlatched trucks must not be allowed to ply our roads. Sales of drugs and alcoholic drinks at motor parks should be discouraged. Drivers’ unions must educate their members on safety issues while erring members must be sanctioned by relevant authorities. This is the time to stop avoidable and worthless loss of lives and properties.

     

    • Tayo Ogunbiyi

    Ministry of Information and Strategy,

    Alausa, Ikeja.   

  • The Service Chiefs must go

    The Service Chiefs must go

    They have not proved that they can handle the country’s security situation

    Like a festering sore, it is sad that the Boko Haram cankerworm is becoming intractable to the chagrin of all that cherish peace in the country and the world at large. Yet, our strong resolve is that the menace cannot continue despite the sect’s seeming defiance of maladroit official efforts to nip it in the bud.

    Our latest concern is informed by the incessant daring attacks of the sect in the northeast. Recently, the sect reportedly planted an Improvised Explosive Device that exploded at the Gamboru Market in Maiduguri, Borno State. Though no life was lost, four persons were critically injured in the incident. What makes this frightening is that it occurred barely 24 hours after 26 persons reportedly died in an earlier bombing of a Monday market in the city.

    Just last Thursday, a suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber detonated explosives as he was being frisked by soldiers at a checkpoint near a military barracks, also in Maiduguri. Sources said some people died in the blast. About an hour earlier, another suspected bomber attack occurred in front of the Jimeta Main Market in Yola, the Adamawa State capital. At least 15 persons were feared killed in that attack and over 30 persons injured. Again, the two attacks occurred barely 24 hours after a bomb planted by unknown persons exploded at a crowded commercial area in Maiduguri, killing innocent civilians.

    Baba Abare, Chairman of Fika Local Government Area of Yobe State, while identifying the targets of the sect as Fika and Ngalda in Borno State, exposed the weaknesses of our security agencies. Fika is 150 kilometres west of Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, and shares common border with Gombe State. He disclosed that the insurgents usually scare people away with sporadic gunshots so that they can loot foodstuffs and beverages in shops. They also razed, during a raid, the Fika Local Government Secretariat, a magistrate’s court and the Divisional Police Station. The disturbing aspect is that the incidents happened in broad daylight and surprisingly, the insurgents escaped after hours of operation, in two Toyota Hilux vans. But the questions are: how could the insurgents have escaped so easily in Hilux vans? Where were men of the Joint Task Force at the time of the incidents?

     The insurgents are, regrettably, getting more intrepid and making a mockery of our military’s efforts, otherwise, what would have given them the effrontery of even attempting to invade Maiduguri and neighbouring states? We read reports of their being repelled at a point but the truth is that the loss of 16 lives in that military encounter shows the contempt in which the sect holds the military. This trend cannot continue, which is why we condemn the military topmost hierarchy’s foot-dragging on President Muhammadu Buhari’s inaugural address directing the military high command to move to Maiduguri, the epicentre of the insurgents’ ruthless activities.

     We want the president to make good his promise to move the military high command to the Borno State capital fast. It is disheartening to note that the Service Chiefs, after the meeting with the president, are still thinking of coming up with a movement plan when they ought to carry out their commander-in-chief’s order, if only for its symbolic effect.

    We appreciate the fact that militarily powerful African countries, including Egypt, have pledged to co-operate with the country in her fight against the Boko Haram terrorists. But, apart from solidifying military cooperation with neighbouring and even powerful countries of the west in the important quest of quelling the Boko Haram onslaught, we call on President Buhari to forthwith dispense with the services of these topmost military officers. This is because they have lost all moral and political rights to stand and pontificate on military tactics and policy before Nigerians that mostly view them as incompetent to deal with the insurgents.

     President Buhari must act fast now by sacking the service chiefs. Indeed, he has gone a bit low by calling them to a meeting, which in actual fact they do not deserve in view of the laxity with which they treated the country’s security under the immediate past administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

    The nation cannot afford to procrastinate on the issue of weeding out deadwoods from the military generally, starting from its top brass, because doing this will send the right signal about the new administration’s resolve to shed the toga of ineffective and corrupt past in handling the Boko Haram challenge. This is a task that President Buhari must quickly address so as to secure the trust and confidence of Nigerians. The major successes we have recorded in the battle against Boko Haram have not been the direct efforts of our military but through the assistance of neighbouring countries. So, on what basis are we still retaining the service chiefs?

  • Tanker disasters

    Tanker disasters

    •It’s high time our governments called the owners and drivers to order

    With four tankers falling within 48 hours in two states of the federation, it is indeed high time our governments did something about the menace of the tanker drivers on our highways. This is the position of the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, when he visited the scene of the tanker fire which occurred in the Iyana-Ipaja area of the state at about midnight on Tuesday. “It will also mean that we have to start doing something about our tanker drivers. We cannot continue to have losses of properties and lives just because our tanker drivers have become undisciplined.” Ambode said.

    Although there was confusion about the remote causes of the incident, it was obvious that the spilled petrol from a 33,000 – litre tanker with registration number KJA 238 XN, which fell from the tail of the Iyana Ipaja Bridge onto the new Iyana-Ipaja Road ignited the fire. Mercifully, no lives were lost but many people were injured. Similarly, many houses, cars, shops and other property were burnt. Many residents of the affected areas ran out naked when the fire started.

    The Lagos incident occurred less than 48 hours after a similar incident in Onitsha, Anambra State, when a trailer carrying petrol lost control and exploded into the Asaba Motor Park at the Upper Iweka area of the city on Sunday. The truck was descending from the Army Barracks side of the Onitsha-Enugu Express Way. It is difficult to ascertain the actual number of fatalities recorded in the incident as the casualties keep increasing due to the severity of the injuries sustained by some of the victims. At least 11 commuter buses and two motorcycles inside the Park caught fire together with the 40-foot tanker. Such was the severity of the incident that Governor Willie Obiano broke down in tears when he visited the scene.

    But for Governor Ambode who broke the news of two similar incidents at Badagry and Ojo areas of Lagos State “overnight”, when he was at the scene of the Iyana-Ipaja disaster, not many people were aware any such incidents occurred.

    The first impression one gets from these unfortunate incidents is that there are too many tankers plying our roads. And this is correct, even if saddening; saddening because it is a misnomer. We would not have needed such a huge number of tankers carrying fuel across the country if we had an efficient rail system. Apart from constituting grave risks to other motorists, they also reduce the lifespan of our roads.

    It is therefore high time the Federal Government began to consider modernisation of our rail system to enable us move fuel by rail. When this is done, we would have succeeded in substantially reducing the number of tankers on our roads, thereby reducing the risks they constitute to other motorists.

    This, however, is the long term solution. In the interim, we must do everything to ensure the safety of road users generally since we appear stuck with the trailers, at least for now. It goes without saying that one of the causes of accidents involving these articulated vehicles is inadequate maintenance of the vehicles. Many of them move about with worn-out tyres, etc. Those responsible for ensuring  roadworthiness of vehicles, particularly articulated vehicles, should take their job more seriously. The owners of the trailers and their drivers should be enlightened on the dangers of putting faulty vehicles on the road or overworking the drivers. It would also not be a bad idea to make them pay for any damage they caused in the course of duty or get them prosecuted whenever their actions lead to deaths, injuries or destruction as we witnessed in recent times.

    While we commiserate with the families of the dead, we urge the two state governments to keep to their promise of assisting the victims to enable them get over the incidents as quickly as possible.

  • Battering Blatter

    Battering Blatter

    •Blatter’s stand-down is welcome. But global football’s salvation lies in FIFA’s systemic revamp

    In the army, there are no bad soldiers — only bad officers. So, even if Sepp Blatter, FIFA president, has not suffered a personal indictment in the alleged corruption swamping the organisation, he lacked the moral right to contest the May 29 election, in Zurich, Switzerland.

    That he even contested and won, defeating Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, is a nauseating signal of how callously indifferent FIFA, as a body, had become to its thick whiff of alleged sleaze.

    Pray, how can FBI investigators, in full glare, round up no less than six high ranking FIFA executives, making a total haul of 14 arrests, and yet Mr. Blatter still went on to win the election? If that had stood, FIFA would have been an eternal joke; and it would be only a matter of time before the bubble bursts on what the Brazilian Pele calls the “beautiful game”, as we know it today.

    So, just as well, Mr. Blatter is offering to step down. But he should have made the offer immediate.

    Still, will Mr. Blatter’s exit solve FIFA’s problem? Not a chance. Though sleaze appears the surface of the current intra-FIFA manoeuvres, what really is playing out is two dramatically conflicting world view: a Euro-centric FIFA of the pre-Joao Havalange (the Brazilian who was FIFA’s 7th president), years; and the more inclusive global FIFA, which the embattled Mr. Blatter has  tried to maintain, in his 17 years as president, though he just won a futile four more years.

    Pre-1974 FIFA was basically Europe and South America, in that order. But Post-1974 FIFA has been more inclusive, spreading what Mr. Blatter loves to call the “FIFA Family” (but which his European rivals scoff at as global football cronies) to Africa and Asia; and even to the football innocents of Oceania. Because every FIFA member-country has one vote at the Congress, this Havalange-Blatter innovation has whittled down the power and influence of the traditional football European powers, thus often setting Blatter’s FIFA against UEFA, the richest, most dynamic and most advanced of the FIFA continental affiliates.

    What is more? Blatter, a former Swiss sports journalist who joined FIFA in 1975 as a marketing executive, is credited with radically growing the non-for-profit organisation’s financial chest, thus making it a humongous global mart, using football as enchanting and additive platform.

    Indeed, FIFA is said, in the past four years, to gross some 3.7 billion British pounds in yearly revenue, boasted another one billion British pounds in cash reserves and a probable 100 million British pounds a year as salaries and emoluments, on its pampered executives. The FIFA president’s salary is however alleged to be a trade secret. These years of soggy cash has regrettably come with alleged wanton corruption.

    So, at the May presidential election, the politics of football trumped the UEFA campaign for more transparency in FIFA. Despite the ooze of alleged corruption, the Third World affiliates of Africa, South America, Asia and Oceania still backed Blatter, who has spread FIFA’s cash their way. That left Europe, minus Russia which supported Blatter, in the lurch.

    But with the high-profile arrests, the business of football simply fought back. With Visa and other top-rank sponsors threatening to pull the plug, Mr. Blatter’s victory was pyrrhic. That explains his offer to stand down.

    Still, the stalemate subsists. FIFA may well be an alleged den of sleaze under Blatter, but no one is in a hurry to collapse that mega-mart — not FIFA, not the sponsors; not even the crusading UEFA, who all happily savour football’s global cash flakes.

    What to do? FIFA, with or without Blatter, needs a systemic overhaul. To start with, the organisation should break its paternalistic culture, expressed in unusually long presidential terms. The French Jules Rimet, was president for 33 years (1921-1954). The Brazilian, Mr. Havalange, was president for 24 years (1974-1998). Mr. Blatter himself has served for 17, and was gunning for 20 years, before the present rupture.

    FIFA should impose term-limits on its officials. That way, no single person would be in office long enough to be dysfunctional. We suggest a maximum of two four-year terms.

    Then, FIFA stakeholders should embrace a new confidence-building protocol that would give Europe its due without necessarily alienating the confederations of Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania.

    Such all-inclusive re-tinkering would give less reasons for alleged subversive favours, which could be injurious to football as we know it today: the largest and happiest family in the universe.

  • Letter to my President

    Letter to my President

    SIR: “I take responsibility for whatever happened under my watch. I cannot change the past but I can change the present and the future. So before you is a former military ruler and a converted democrat who is ready to operate under democratic norms …”

    These were your words unto millions of us while canvassing for our votes during the last electioneering process and all have now become history as the baton of leadership of this great nation has been handed over to you.

    We voted you into power because we know you to be a man of integrity and never a pushover when it comes to your belief and conviction and that is why we charge you today never to succumb to the selfish desires of some political parasites  whose ambition is to plunge this nation back to the dark and gloomy days of impunity, corruption and wanton killings of innocent souls.

    And going by what you said after being sworn in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.”  We will enjoin you to put an end to the custom of ‘sacred cow’ in the country and allow equity and fair play be your watchword.

    Really, we would not mind at all, if you shut the gates of Aso Rock to every hawk, wolf, pig and dog that flirts with every government of the day.  We know them by names and we believe you know them as well

    This brings us back to the issue of our young and innocent school girls which you raised in your inaugural speech, but are still in the snares of the fowlers. Though the immediate past government failed woefully to rescue them, our minds are still on them as we hereby beseech you by the mercies of  God to please bring back our girls as promised so that our joy may be full.

    In your words earlier quoted, you claimed to be a converted democrat yet we strongly believe that there are some unscrupulous elements who have been proven guilty and   need to be rehabilitated in Kirikiri  Maximum Prison  just to conform to the norms and values of this new Nigeria that you represent.  This is hardly about being vindictive, neither is it because you are still kitted in the uniform of a General nor paying off old scores,  it is only a measure to serve as deterrent to criminally-minded Nigerians.

    At this juncture, we want to plead with you to carry on with your genuine transparency as regards the governance of this nation as well as your sincerity to turn around the captivity of Nigeria so that every doubting Thomas and critic of your government as well as those who were influenced by the ‘Dollar rain’ will still come back to say, “Sai Baba; Sai Buhari” at the end of your administration.   And lastly, our dear President, we urge you to remain committed to all of your promises so that over 15 million Nigerians who voted you into power will never regret this action of theirs and will be able to say unto you in year 2019, “Well done, good and faithful President”.

    • Mojisola Ogunniran,

  • A plucky address

    A plucky address

    •President Buhari’s inaugural speech is efficient and pointed but…

    It is not anything near The Gettysburg Address delivered by President Abraham Lincoln of the United States to frame that solemn occasion of the commemoration of the national burial site in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It can also be argued that the grand moment of Nigeria’s historic democratic fervour may not have been properly framed, but it was an efficient address. Perhaps not unlike the Spartan persona of President Muhammadu Buhari, his inaugural address of Friday, May 29, 2015 was spare but pointed and effective.

    It was not devoid of sound bites and wow moments too as his line that “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody,” drew spontaneous applause. What the speech lacks in literary depth and finesse is amply made up for in the careful understanding and articulation of the critical issues of the day. It was indeed moving and inspiring in an efficient way.

    The president’s elocution and enunciation was vibrant and active though his voice dropped at a point perhaps due to fatigue. But overall, it was a moving, inspiring and efficient; much better than what we have had in the last couple of years.

    It was quite up-lifting and equally a show of statesmanship to acknowledge the outgoing president’s gracious acceptance of defeat early in the address. “I would like to thank President Goodluck Jonathan for his display of statesmanship in setting a precedent for us that has now made our people proud to be Nigerians wherever they are. With the support and cooperation he has given to the transition process, he has made it possible to show the whole world that despite the perceived tension in the land we can be a united people capable of doing what is right for our nation… I hope this act of graciously accepting defeat by the outgoing president will become the standard of political conduct in the country.”

    The speech captured quite succinctly, the current fears and aspirations of the citizenry. It is a fleeting pathway to the road ahead and a presage of the tone and character of the Buhari administration.

    “At home we face enormous challenges,” he said in broaching Nigeria’s immediate worries. He went ahead to outline them: “Insecurity, pervasive corruption, the hitherto unending and seemingly impossible fuel and power shortages are the immediate concerns.” Again, unlike our recent experience, President Buhari offered the people hope while reaffirming the people’s self-worth and confidence: “We are going to tackle them head-on. Nigeria will not regret that they have entrusted national responsibility to us. We must not succumb to hopelessness and defeatism. We can fix our problems.”

    He dwelt a bit on some of the issues roiling the country and her people and stymieing the full realisation of her potential. Concerning electricity power, the president identified it as the single most debilitating cause of Nigeria’s poor economic performance. He noted that the close to the $20 billion spent since 1999 had only brought darkness, frustration, misery and resignation among Nigerians.

    “We will not allow this to go on. Careful studies are under way during this transition to identify the quickest, safest and most cost-effective way to bring light and relief to Nigerians,” he vowed.

    He has strong words for the insurgent Boko Haram group: “…a mindless, godless group who are as far away from Islam as one can think of.” He noted that though progress has been made in recent weeks by the armed forces, he thinks that victory cannot be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja. The Command Centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued.

    The inaugural address would not have been complete without a thought on the over 200 Chibok school girls abducted by the terror sect over a year ago. “Government will do all it can to rescue them alive,” he said.

    The twenty-three paragraph speech spoke to Nigerians, capturing their mood, reflecting their fears and firing up their hope for a new tomorrow. Well spoken, but time is now for action. Nigerians will expect him to live by these words and by every word he has spoken, for instance not publicly declaring his assets as stated.

    It is indeed a plucky and efficient address.

  • Air crash report

    Air crash report

    •Pilot errors signal need for better professionals at the helm

    It has become imperative for those managing the country’s airspace to raise the bar in mandatory checks in our airports. This is the crux of the issues emanating from the final report of the Accident and Investigation Bureau (AIB) on four air crashes that occurred in the country’s airspace. The report was a damning indictment of captains of the aircraft who ignored safety rules or flagrantly failed to follow necessary aviation commands.

    The air crashes covered by the report included that of the Beechcraft 1900D, with registration 5N-JAH belonging to Wings Aviation Services Air; the Cessna Citation 560XLS, with registration 5N-BMM, belonging to Bristow Helicopters; Boeing 737-500, with registration 5N-BLE, belonging to Aero Contractors; and AS 350 B2, with registration 5N-BHU, belonging to OAS Limited.

    The Beech 1900D aircraft which was on a revenue positioning flight on March 15, 2008 crashed at about 9.20 a.m. in a mountainous terrain at Bushi Village, Obalinku Local Government Area of Cross River State. The AIB issued an interim report on the crash on March 29, 2009. However, in its final report, the bureau blamed the flight crew for not responding promptly to the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), adding that they were not familiar with the route in a situation of low clouds, poor visibility and mountainous terrain. It also indicted the area controllers in the region of the crash, who “did not detect the estimates as passed by the pilot for position not in the filed flight plan” even as it added that  “The erroneous co-location of Bebi airstrip and Obudu on the NAMA chart confused the crew.”

    With regard to the Bristow Helicopters’ Cessna Citation 5N-BMM incident, the AIB cited “the decision of the pilot to continue the approach without the required visual reference,” poor crew coordination, pairing two captains together and marginal weather condition as causes of the crash. The other two crashes were not spectacularly different. For instance, the crew’s decision to continue the approach in an unstable condition; the captain’s inappropriate attempt to take over control of the aircraft, poor crew resource management; and the prevailing weather condition, among others, were fingered in the case of the Aero Contractors Flight 200.

    On the OAS Limited aircraft 5N-BHU, the causative factor for the crash was identified as the “pilot’s decision to conduct the flight under a Special Visual Flight Rule in an Instrument Meteorological Condition as depicted by the weather forecast.” Contributory factors included “the pilot’s descent from 500ft without a clear visual reference and the pilot was not instrument rated.” Eventually, the pilot was unable to give his position when requested by the Air Traffic Controller and the plane collided with high tension cables belonging to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria along the road to the Delta Steel Company in Delta State.

    In almost all these cases, no lives were lost but injuries, some serious, were sustained by some of the passengers and crew members. The aircraft and other property, including runway light assembles and armoured cables at one of the airports were destroyed.

    Part of the import of the report is that some of the air crashes we have had in the country were avoidable if the relevant agencies that are supposed to ensure standards and compliance with laid-down rules and regulations do their job thoroughly.

    We urge the AIB to remain committed to enhancing aviation safety and keep to its chief executive’s promise to continue to conduct thorough and unbiased investigations into aircraft accidents and serious incidents in the country. The bureau should expedite action on the other air crashes it is working on, with a view to releasing the reports on them on time.

    We hope however that the reports would not be allowed to gather dust in the shelves. Rather, they should serve as wake-up calls to every stakeholder in the aviation sector. Accidents are likely to happen once in a while; but we should try as much as possible to minimise their occurrence.

  •  Baba Sala at 80

     Baba Sala at 80

    • Nigeria’s King of Comedy attains a landmark age

    As Nigeria’ s burgeoning entertainment industry continues to grow from strength to strength, those individuals whose talent and determination helped to establish it must never be forgotten. One of the most prominent of these distinguished people is Moses Olaiya Adejumo, MON, alias Lamidi Sanni Oropo, Baba Sala, who recently celebrated his eightieth birthday.

    Olaiya’s life and career accurately reflect the trajectory of the entertainment scene in the country. Although he worked as a Sanitary Inspector, he did not permit his love of acting, music and comedy to lie fallow, and took up these pursuits after closing hours.

    In 1964, Olaiya led a highlife group called the Federal Rhythm Dandies whose membership included a young Sunday Adeniyi, who would rise to global fame as the juju maestro, King Sunny Ade. In 1969, he became a full-time stage actor and comedian, setting up the Moses Olaiya International Alawada Theatre Limited. The group toured extensively and visited many towns in Nigeria’s south-west, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States.

    Olaiya was quick to exploit the potential of television when WNTV/WNBS was set up in the Western Region, and his Yoruba-language comedies were extremely popular for decades. He was also a pioneer in the emerging movie industry and was one of the first producers of indigenous-language films. Some of the most notable were Orun Mooru (1982), Aare Agbaye (1983), Mosebolatan (1985) and Agba Man (1992).

    There can be no doubting the extent of Olaiya’s talent. Like Charlie Chaplin, he was a natural comedian who could provoke laughter without saying a word. His trademark props – enormous bow-tie, gigantic spectacles, over-large shoes, alarm clock and pipe – combined with his hilarious demeanour to create an unforgettable character that was synonymous with entertainment for much of the seventies and the eighties.

    Unlike many of his successors who are apparently unable to draw upon their cultural heritage for much of their material, Olaiya was solidly rooted in his culture, and able to exploit its Christian, Muslim and traditionalist elements, even though he was himself a Christian. His nearly five decades in the industry are untainted by scandal or improper behaviour. It is no surprise that he was made a Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) by the Obasanjo administration in 1978.

    Not surprisingly for one who was always at the cutting-edge of the entertainment industry, Olaiya has also had to endure many of its shortcomings as well. His Orun Mooru was so heavily pirated that it nearly drove him to bankruptcy, given the huge loans he had taken to make the film. Many of his television comedies are lost to history, no thanks to the lack of an effective archival system in the television sub-sector. It is doubtful if he receives royalties for his films that are still shown.

    Nigeria can celebrate this remarkable man by seeking to ensure that it creates an entertainment industry worthy of his successors. The country failed to heed the warning implicit in Olaiya’s own bitter experiences with piracy; it must now take decisive steps to ensure that those who attempt to profit from the creativity of others pay a high price for their actions.

    Films, television programmes and other intellectual property must be properly stored for the entertainment of future generations; it is depressing that the works of Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and other foreign comedians who existed decades before Olaiya can still be found.

    Perhaps most importantly, greater efforts should be made to draw upon the wisdom of veterans like Olaiya whose vision and determination enabled them to carve out a path for others to follow. May his life continue to serve as an inspiration for his compatriots.

     ‘Nigeria can celebrate this remarkable man by seeking to ensure that it creates an entertainment industry worthy of his successors. The country failed to heed the warning implicit in Olaiya’s own bitter experiences with piracy; it must now take decisive steps to ensure that those who attempt to profit from the creativity of others pay a high price for their actions’